MLB Power Rankings 8/13/2012

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Washington Nationals +3	4
	Since Ian Desmond went on the disabled list, the Nationals are 18-5. Desmond was the Nationals leader in WAR at the time of his injury.
	2	Texas Rangers +1	3
	Ryan Dempster’s second start for his new team was much better than his first. He went 6 and 2/3 inning while giving up 0 earned runs in a 6-3 victory of the Red Sox last Tuesday. He is scheduled to make his third Texas start on Monday against the Yankees.
	3	Cincinatti Reds -1	2
	Billy Hamilton update: Hamilton now has 139 steals, just 6 shy of Vince Coleman’s minor league record, despite having 20 games left in the season.
	4	New York Yankees -3	1
	On Friday, Ichiro tied a career high, by driving in 5 runs in a 10-4 Yankee win. The last time Ichiro had 5 RBI’s in a game was in 2004. Friday’s game also marked the 2nd multi-hit game for Ichiro since joining the Yankees.
	5	Atlanta Braves +1	6
	Aside from his start against the Mets on Sunday, Ben Sheets has been masterful for the Braves. He is currently 4-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 6 starts.
	6	Chicago White Sox -1	5
	Jake Peavy has easily been one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball this year. He is pitching to the tune of a 3.08 ERA, to go along with a 9-8 record, 4.3 WAR, and a K/BB rate over 4.
	7	St. Louis Cardinals +3	10
	The Cardinals lost to the Phillies Sunday, to drop them to 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.
	8	Pittsburgh Pirates	8
	The Pirates halted an 11 game home losing skid to the Padres on Sunday, by crushing them 11-5.
	9	Tampa Bay Rays +5	14
	Tampa Bay is arguably the hottest team in baseball right now, as they have won 8 of their last 10 and have taken over the top spot in the AL Wild Card race.
	10	San Francisco Giants -1	9
	The Giants lead baseball with 77 runs scored so far in August.
	11	Oakland Athletics	11
	The A’s loss to the White Sox Sunday marked just their 2nd series defeat since the end of June.
	12	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -5	7
	Jered Weaver snapped his 9 game winning streak yesterday, as the Angels fell to the Mariner 4-1. They have now lost 3 consecutive series to the White Sox, A’s, and Mariners.
	13	Detroit Tigers -1	12
	The Tigers were unable to win their series against Texas, but they are still only 2 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central.
	14	Los Angeles Dodgers -1	13
	Since Joining the Dodgers, Hanley Ramirez has hit .274/.357/.387.
	15	Baltimore Orioles +1	16
	In just 4 games with the Orioles, top prospect Manny Machado is 6 for 16 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI’s. He could be a huge help to the Orioles down the stretch as they try to make the postseason for the first time since 1997.
	16	Arizona Diamondbacks -1	15
	Despite being just 1 game over .500, the D-backs are just 5 games out of first place in the NL West.
	17	Boston Red Sox	17
	The Red Sox have been struggling of late, but a 14-1 Sunday beat down of the Indians could be the start of a Red Sox run. Jon Lester picked up his first win since June 27th by striking out 12 over just 6 innings.
	18	Toronto Blue Jays	18
	The Blue Jays have used the most players in the majors this year at 51, largely due to a plethora of injuries.
	19	New York Mets	19
	Since his no-hitter, Johan Santana has made 9 starts, pitched 44 innings, and has an ERA of 6.54.
	20	Milwaukee Brewers +2	22
	On Sunday, the Brewers snapped an 11 game road losing streak thanks to a strong start from Yovani Gallardo. Gallardo is 10-0 in his last 10 starts against the struggling Astros.
	21	Seattle Mariners -1	20
	The Mariners were able to subdue the Angels offense on Sunday, winning 4-1 to take the series.
	22	Cleveland Indians +1	23
	Zach McAllister has been solid for the big league club in 13 starts in 2012. He has a 3.46 ERA, a 112 ERA+, and a strong K/9 rate of 8.
	23	San Diego Padres +3	27
	San Diego’s 7-3 run has propelled them to a 3 spot jump in this weeks power rankings.
	24	Philadelphia Phillies -3	21
	Juan Pierre, who started for the 2nd time in August, hit a walk off single last night to beat the Cardinals in 11 innings.
	25	Miami Marlins	25
	The Marlins currently have a 5 game winning streak against the Phillies. The last time they had a 5 game winning streak against the Phillies was in 2004.
	26	Minnesota Twins -2	24
	Trevor Plouffe will likely return to the Twins on Monday. Plouffe has been on the DL since July 21st with a bruised right thumb.
	27	Kansas City Royals -1	26
	Jeremy Guthrie has been great in his last 2 starts for the Royals. In 14 innings, he has given up just 3 runs while striking out 10.
	28	Chicago Cubs	28
	The Cubs have lost 11 of their past 12, and are beginning to threaten the Rockies for the 2nd worst record in all of baseball.
	29	Colorado Rockies	29
	Franchise star, Todd Helton, went down with a season ending hip injury earlier this week. He plans to return in 2013 for what could perhaps be his final season.
	30	Houston Astros	30
	This weekend, the ‘Stros took 2 of 3 from the Brewers to win their first series in weeks. Jordan Lyles stepped up and delivered 7 strong innings, allowing 2 earned runs, with 5 K’s and 0 walks.

Biggest Jump: Tampa Bay Rays +5

Biggest Drop: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -5

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