MLB Power Rankings: Half Way There

Like the lyrics out of a Bon Jovi song, the baseball season is half way done. So yes, we’re half way there. And you know the rest. Teams are getting a much needed couple days off, while the party moves to Citi Field in New York City for the 2013 All Star festivities. With a break in the action, there isn’t a better time to assess who’s the most dangerous teams in the league right now. Granted four days off could and will likely have it’s fair share of negative and positive impacts on team, and we’ll see a handful of injured players return after the break. None the less it’s the perfect time for the power rankings. So here they are!

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1. Oakland Athletics ( 1st AL West)

The A’s might not have the best record in baseball, nor the most overall wins, but don’t let that lead you to believe they are not worthy of topping our power rankings at the conclusion of the first half to the season. Oakland lost just four games in the opening half of July, and played two top five team in their finals series. They topped it all off by cooling off a streaking Red Sox team, taking two of three games. Although neither team seemed ready for the great second half to end as it took 11 innings to decide the winner in the final game.

For the most part this team has been getting it done with a team effort, although Josh Donaldson has really elevated his game. He leads the team with his .310 batting average, 16 HR, 61 RBI, and .379 on base percentage. He was to nobodies surprise, the hero of the 11 inning game against Boston. He’s getting some help from Brandon Moss (44 RBI) and Yoenis Cespedes (43 RBI). Cespedes won the HR derby Monday night beating Bryce Harper in the final round.

Pitching wise the A’s have been pleasantly surprised with the reemergence of Bartolo Colon. Colon is tied currently third overall in wins with 12, and 3rd in the AL with his 2.70 ERA.

Oakland has a two game lead over Texas and we’ll see how they come back from their time off. No reason to think things will start to slow down for them though. This is a team you should expect to see in October.

2. St. Louis Cardinals (1st NL Central)

The Cardinals finished the first half with the best overall record in baseball. Thanks much in part to their excellent combination of powerful bats, and shutdown pitching. The Cards have a league best +127 run differential, if that tells you how much their embracing the two concepts of offense and defense. They are 3rd overall in runs, batting average, OBP, ERA, and 4th in WHIP.

It’d be a long list of notable performances in the first half as nearly every single player in contributing solid numbers. They’ve all got their moments, and there truly never is a safe spot in the lineup when pitching against this team. If you like to gauge seasons off All Star appearances, Yadier Molina, and Carlos Beltran are starters, wjile Allen Craig, and Matt Carpenter are reserves.

Pitching wise that’s still a team effort, but we’ve seen great numbers from Adam Wainwright (12 wins) and Lance Lynn (11 wins). Out of the bullpen the Cards closer Edward Mujica has been very useful in close game effort, with 26 saves, posting an ERA of 2.20 and a WHIP of .73.

The Cards had a slightly easier schedule in July and therefore drop below the A’s who had to fight hard down the stretch. Overall though even as good as they’ve been they don’t have much breathing room. Pittsburgh is just one game back, and the Reds a mere five. St. Louis is going to have to keep playing like they have been all year if they plan on winning this division.

3. Boston Red Sox (1st AL East)

I think everybody is amazed to see the Red Sox continue to win games. It looked like it’d be a quick collapse at the beginning of May, but they’ve held things together. What’s perhaps most impressive about the Sox remaining ahead, is Jon Lester has been shaky at best, and we haven’t seen Clay Buchholz pitch since June 8th. Two guys that were expected to be the literal representation of how the team is doing.

As always the Red Sox are scoring a lot of runs, currently leading the MLB with 498 total. They’ve also got the best OBP, and second best batting average, and slugging percentage. The difference between this and last year is the team is putting up runs in a more consistent manor. Which is making it much more enjoyable to watch them.

As if he doesn’t age, the Red Sox are being lead in nearly every category by David Ortiz. He’s batting .317, with 19 HR and 65 RBI. We’ve seen an impressive coming out party for Jose Iglesias who has made it next to impossible to take him out of the lineup. Dustin Pedroia is also playing well batting .316 with 6 HR and 56 RBI.

The Sox finally found a closer after a nearly three month emotional roller coaster. Close games no longer taking a couple years off fans lives. Koji Uehara who had been excellent in the set up, has looked very good since the closing role was handed to him back at the end of June. He’s got 8 saves with 3 blown, and 2 wins with a 1.70 ERA and .76 WHIP. The only concern going forward is his inning count as he’s already racked up 42.1 and the most he’s ever thrown in a year was 65 in 2011. Boston’s bullpen is very banged up and although there have been some young guys stepping up, things could get ugly very fast.

4. Detroit Tigers (1st AL Central)

The Tigers haven’t been perfect by any means, but they’ve also got a lot going right for them thus far. For starters Miguel Cabrera is making a solid case to repeat as Triple Crown winner, and Max Scherzer was undefeated until his final outing. Overall the team is putting up big numbers.

The Motor City Kitties trail only Boston in runs, but lead in batting average, are 2nd in OBP, and 3rd in slugging percentage. They’re everyday starting nine is a dangerous and there is no reason they’ll slow down in the second half. They aren’t dealing with any injuries and unless they start to, should look to stay atop.

Pitching wise would you have thought a pitcher would go 13-0 and it wouldn’t be Verlander? Well Max Scherzer is probably the only man who would have said yes to that question. Scherzer threw 19 games, and was a perfect 13-0 until his final outing before the break against the Rangers. Still he’s ending his first half with a 3.19 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. He’s the starting pitcher for the American League in the All Star game. He’s been getting good help from Verlander though who’s 10-6 with a 3.50 ERA and 1.34 WHIP.

It could be a tight race in the second half because Cleveland is playing extremely well trailing by just one and a half games. If the Tigers keep swinging the bats like they have and their pitching doesn’t utterly implode, they’re in a good spot to make try for another World Series.

5. Tampa Bay Rays (2nd AL East)

Out of the blue the Tampa Bay Rays are second in the AL East and are now the team putting the pressure on the Red Sox. Granted their schedule was insanely easy, the Rays were smoking hot in the start of July. It’s hard to tell how well they’re going to be coming out of the gates after the break, but if it’s hot, the Sox better watch out.

The Rays have become a little bit of a fly that comes just a little too closely until you eventually lose your mind for the Red Sox. Over the last decade now the Rays have been the reason the Sox miss the playoffs, in more than enough seasons. If they’re lingering closely come down the stretch they sit in a good spot to steal the show late.

The key to their second half will be in the pitching. Things finally started to look good towards the end, but that could revert instantaneously. Matt Moore has been the key to that, he’s 13-3 with a 3.44 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He’s gonna need some help in the second half though, whether that means David Price gets his act together, Jeremy Hellickson stays hot, or Alex Cobb makes a good return to the rotation.

Offensively the Rays have been lead by James Loney, who’s on pace to have one of his best seasons ever. He’s already matched his numbers from last year at the half way point, he’s got 9 HR and 43 RBI while batting .315. If he had a little more power and the first baseman depth wasn’t DEEP with talent, Loney could probably have been an All Star this year.

We’ll see how the Rays come out of the break and if they’re gonna be looking to hang around for some time, or head back down the standings.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd NL Central)

Well we’re half way there and the Pirates are 19 games above .500, and even fighting for the top spot with the Cards in the central. I think we all expected them to be good this year, but did anybody think they’d be this good? Sure there’s a lot of baseball left, but they’re looking good enough to at least end above .500 if nothing else.

They had a bit of a rocky end to the first half of the season, especially when you consider of their four series played in the beginning of July, three were home.

Going into the year the concern for the Pirates was their pitching, but currently leading the MLB in ERA, and batting averages against, the one area for improvement is actually offense. With a great pitching staff that could have a lot more wins if the run support was there. Francisco Liriano leads the team with 9 wins, Jeff Locke with a 2.15 ERA, and AJ Burnett with his 110 strikeouts. They’ve also been aided vastly by their closer Jason Grilli who leads the NL with 29 saves.

Offensively it’s Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez leading the team. But they’re both going to need a lot of help to close their season out. The Pirates have become the loveable losers and have a lot of fans rooting for them. They’re in a position to do much more than just being above .500, and they’re a team that will likely be making some moves before the trade deadline hits to help in that effort.

7. Cleveland Indians (2nd AL Central)

Terry Francona is continuing to do work with this franchise. They’re hot on the heels of the Detroit Tigers, trailing by just one and a half games at the break. After a slow start to July, the Tribe finished strong with a series sweep of a struggling Royals team.

They’re being kept alive by some very active bats. Guys like Mark Reynolds and Jason Kipnis really throwing the team on their back, although the offense in general for this team has looked very good. They’re 5th in the league in runs.

What’s going to be the one thing from stopping the Indians from perhaps taking the wild card -currently three games back- would be their pitching. Although Justin Masterson has been a quality starter currently 10-7 with a 3.72 ERA, the team really lacks a consistent starting rotation. Ubaldo Jimenez would be the next best with his 7-4 record with a 4.56 ERA. Otherwise you never know what you’re going to get from these guys.

That being said the Indians are still hanging around, and winning enough games to keep the pressure on Detroit. The wild card race in the AL is gonna be tough, and as surprising as it might be, the Indians best chance to make the playoffs is to somehow steal the division. They need to either find a top prospect to come drop jaws or make a move to bring in a pitcher though. Because without that their efforts might fall just shy of achieving the goal.

8. Texas Rangers (2nd AL West)

The Rangers came limping into the break having lost four of their last seven games. But considering the two series were against the Orioles and Tigers, on the road none-the-less, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. After all they’re the only team to register a loss to Max Scherzer this season, and they did it with a big 7-1 win Saturday night.

Adrian Beltre has become the star to a franchise that a lot of people thought could struggle this year. He’s batting an impressive .316 with 55 RBI, and 21 HR. He’s playing some awesome defense too, which is always fun to see. He’s getting some big help from guys like Nelson Cruz -.277, 69 RBI, and 22 HR- and Ian Kinsler -.281, 36 RBI, 9 HR.

Pitching has been the real high point for this team though. Yu Darvish has just been wowing the competition, although his win/loss won’t always show that. He’s 8-4 with a 3.02 ERA, but leads the MLB in strikeouts with 157. He’s currently on the DL, but there is a solid chance we’ll see him make his return next Monday.

Texas has the second wild card spot currently, and while they could win the division too, I think it’s safe to say this is a team we’ll see come October regardless.

9. Atlanta Braves (1st NL East)

The Braves are sitting pretty in one of the worst divisions in baseball right now. Currently they hold a six game lead over the Washington Nationals. They’re the only team in the division with a positive run differential if that tells you anything at all. Regardless they’ve still won 54 games in the first half.

It’s still too early to tell, but overall the Upton project seems to be a bust. In fact the whole dream team of an outfield has kind of been a disappointment. The only one living even closely to what was expected of them being Justin Upton who’s hitting .255 with 16 HR and 45 RBI. Jason Heyward has dealt with injury and played only 67 games, but even when on the field hasn’t been anything impressive, and BJ Upton has been embarrassingly bad. Good thing there are a number of other players who’ve been putting up good numbers like Freddie Freeman and Dan Uggla.

Luckily for Atlanta the pitching staff has been kind enough to put in a lot of work too. The Braves have the 2nd best ERA int he league and hold opponents to the 6th best batting average against. Mike Minor has been great out of the gate, he’s got a 9-4 record with a 3.02 ERA. Not to mention the bullpen has done really good work, and you can always relax a little knowing you’ve got Craig Kimbrel as a closer. He’s got 26 saves and a 1.53 ERA.

Unless the Nationals start to play like nearly everyone expected them to, the Braves pretty much have a cake walk to winning the division. They’ll start their time back from the break with a road trip that pits them against the White Sox, and Mets before coming home to face the Cardinals.

10. Baltimore Orioles (3rd AL East)

Out of the blue the Orioles find themselves third in the AL East thanks to a surging Rays team. But we’ll see how long that lasts as the Orioles clearly have the better lineup longevity wise. After all how can you go wrong with Chris Davis?

Davis is currently the one man standing in the way of Miguel Cabrera repeating as a Triple Crown winner. In fact if Davis can raise his batting average a little, he himself could even steal the Triple Crown right out from under him. Davis is leading the majors with 37 HRs and trails Miggy by two with his 93 RBIs. He’s batting .315 and would need to be up towards .350-.370 to win the final category.

The Orioles had a relatively hard start to their July. First a series against the White Sox that they lost, than a series in the Bronx which was lost too, before splitting a four game series with the Rangers, and finishing the month with a series win over Toronto. Coming back they’ll start off with Texas then Kansas City on the road before finishing the month with Boston and Houston at home.

The one thing that can hold this team back from making it to the playoffs is their pitching. They’ve got two good starters in Miguel Gonzalez who’s 7-3 with a 3.48 ERA, and Chris Tillman who’s 11-3 with a 3.95 ERA, but outside of those two, have nowhere to turn. They’re a team that would greatly benefit from making a trade to bring in another pitcher. If they do that, this is a team that should be feared in the second half. The AL East isn’t an easy division to walk away on top from, as a whole the teams of the division averaged 52.4 wins in the first half, most in the MLB.

11. Cincinnati Reds (3rd NL Central)

Just as the AL East is extremely competitive, so is the NL Central. The Reds could lead two other divisions with their record, but sit back in third in this tough division.

The Reds had a shaky start to their month, especially when taking into consideration they didn’t play anybody all that hard. They had the headlines July 2nd when Homer Bailey threw the first no hitter of the 2013 season. Which is where a lot of the spotlight has been on for this team all year, pitching. The Reds have the 4th best ERA, 2nd best batting average against, and best WHIP. They could get even better if Johnny Cueto could manage to stay healthy.

Batting wise the Reds showcase their talent vicariously through two players mainly, first baseman Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips. Phillips has the second most RBIs in the NL with 74, and Votto is just playing extremely well batting .318, with 15 HRs and 42 RBI.

The next month of baseball should be tasking for this team as they’re set to take on Pittsburgh, San Francisco, LA Dodgers, San Diego, Oakland, and San Diego again. They currently hold the second NL wild card spot, as currently three NL Central teams could potentially be playoff bound.

12. New York Yankees (4th AL East)

The Yankees might be looking good on an overall scale, and things could be getting better in the second half. They wowed the fans and the league by not only being above .500, but in fact they are just three games out from the wild card, and six from the AL East lead. This team was so banged up that nobody expected much at all from them.

Well Derek Jeter made his first start just before the break, and although he left with a quad strain he should be good to go when the action starts back up Friday. Curtis Granderson could be making his first appearance in July, and if ARod gets his life together and the Yanks decide to play him, could be back this month or August. Although the return of these injured stars does not guarantee the team will win anymore games than they already have been. But when you consider the lacking point in the Yankees game has been their offense thus far it couldn’t hurt.

New York’s pitching, while it hasn’t been outstanding could certainly be worse. Hiroki Kuroda has been the savoir of the rotation as even CC Sabathia hasn’t been able to overcome the difficulties of this season. Kuroda has a 2.65 ERA, which is the second best in the AL.

The Yankees start their second half with a series in Boston, and if they wanna make a statement of return should look to test the top team in the American League.

13. Philadelphia Phillies (3rd NL East)

Philadelphia is in that weird spot of if they change a couple things could finish their season strong or could utterly collapse. Right now the two options on what to do is break the team up and start thinking young, trading away some talent in exchange for young pieces and essentially giving up on this year, or they can try to bring in the necessary pieces and make a push for October. They’re five and a half games back from the wild card, and six and a half from the NL East lead, so realistically they are not out of it yet.

They finished the first half on a rather high note though. Winning series against Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Washington, and Chicago. Overall losing just four games so far in July.

It’s not the usual crowd carrying this team either, instead it’s young names like Ben Revere and Dominic Brown. Unfortunately they’re going to be without Revere for about six to eight weeks due to a foot surgery. Which will certainly hurt their cause. He hasn’t contributed run support, but by way of his solid batting average and on base percentage, he’s come across home plate 37 times. Old names like Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley are still contributing great numbers. They’ll be without Ryan Howard for the next six to eight weeks due to knee surgery, but that doesn’t have as negative of an impact as it would have in years past.

Still with the whole second half of the year ahead of them, this is a team that could get it together and scrap up at least a wild card run.

14. Los Angeles Dodgers (2nd NL West)

Is the NL West really that bad that the Dodgers are within two and a half games from the NL West lead? Yes. But things are looking up for the Dodgers who were embarrassingly bad just a month ago. They had a hot July start that could much in part be attributed to their easy schedule, but they did sweep the Diamondbacks just a week ago, so they definitely get some credit.

The Dodgers were fired up by the phenom that is Yasiel Puig who wowed experts and players alike in his first month up in the majors. Puig was batting .391 with 19 RBIs and 8 HRs in 38 games played. While 38 games is a very small sample size, his performance is impressive none the less. It’ll be interesting to see if he can keep things up in the second half, cause the Dodgers need all the help they can get.

They’re a very injured team, and the hope is the more healthy they become they more consistently good they’ll get. Because right now other than Puigs hot bat, it sometimes seems like Adrian Gonzalez is the only guy contributing. Gonzo has 59 RBIs with 14 HRs and is batting .297, leading the team in all categories.

Once healthy the Dodgers very well could become the top dogs of the NL West like most expected them to. So watch for them to have a nice finish to their year.

15. Arizona Diamondbacks (1st NL West)

Arizona holds a small lead out west, but it’s one that could get squandered in a heart beat. The Dodgers are looking to get healthy, and there is a chance the Giants pitching staff starts to get hot, so in order to keep their lead and win the division, which is the only way they’re gonna make the playoffs, they’re gonna have to have a great second half.

In order to do so though somebody has to step up offensively and help share the load Paul Goldschmidt is carrying. Paul is leading the team in every offensive statistical category and there really isn’t anybody close in any of the categories. As much as it’s nice to have somebody dominate the game, it’s nicer to have multiple guys contributing together. The Diamondbacks would not be winning any other division, and should really capitalize on their chance to catch the top dogs while they’re down.

They’re getting just enough done to survive, but in order to do that in the second half they’re gonna have to be a little more than just the middle of the pack in nearly everything that they do.

16. Washington Nationals (2nd NL East)

So far it’s been a little bit of a let down of a season for Washington. There was so much promise headed into this season, and it hasn’t been lived up to in any manner. Even the young talent that had many excited hasn’t necessarily met the high standards that have been set for them, there have been some good showings from other players though.

Ian Desmond who generally takes the back seat to Harper and Strasburg has shined since Stephen’s struggles and Harper’s injury. Desmond is batting .281 with 49 RBIs and 15 HRs. Ryan Zimmerman is also having a quality year with 51 RBIs, 11 HRs, and is batting .270.

Harper is looking to be back and he looked good in the HR Derby last night going to the finals before losing to Yoenis Cespedes. If he can come back and start contributing big numbers again, the offense will get some much needed help.

Strasburg meanwhile is being dubbed a let down, although his numbers for the most part have still been good. it’s mostly that he’s just not getting the run support he deserves. It’s not what it could be, but the 2.99 ERA he has is still respectable. If the offense can help out, and he can calm those nerves that seem to worsen each game, it’ll help big time in their hopes of catching the Braves.

The second half to their year could really go any way, either staying the current course, worsening, or getting much better. It’s all dependent on the breaking through of their offense, and the return of consistent quality pitching.

17. Chicago Cubs (4th NL Central)

Sure the Cubs record isn’t the prettiest thing in the world, but there is no denying the hot ending to the first half of the season they had. In the last month alone they put out great series against top level competition, winning a series against Pittsburgh, and splitting another with St. Louis.

I wouldn’t say it’s enough to say the Cubs are an upward bound team that could make the playoff race interesting, but it is proving there is a decent amount of hope in the future of this Cubs team. They’ve been lead by two young players that will likely have big roles in the future of this team. Those being Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo. Not to mention Alfonso Soriano is also giving his best performance in a Cubbies jersey.

The pitching staff also has a lot of hope to it, and bringing in Scott Feldman was a smart move. It brings some support to a starting rotation that hasn’t been impressive. Other than Travis Wood who’s 6-6 with a 2.79 ERA, and Matt Garza who’s getting into a swing of things, the Cubs didn’t have quality arm to give the ball to. Feldman will be a good fill to the rotation.

The Cubs are 10 games out of the wild card and while it’s not over, it’s a safe bet to say they won’t be playing in October this year. The future looks brighter and brighter every year for Chicago though, so keep an eye on the young talent that’s already playing at the majors level.

18. Seattle Mariners (4th Al West)

Like the Cubs, the Mariners ended their first half on a high note showing the top teams in the league that they aren’t just laying around and letting others walk all over them. While they’re not in a spot to make a push for the playoffs per se, the Mariners are at least keeping any games they play interesting.

They ended their first half winning series against the Rangers, Reds, and winning one game against the Red Sox, before sweeping the Angels.

There are elements present for success, but overall the teams needs a lot of new faces to the franchise. Namely some offensive help, but adding some help to the pitching rotation wouldn’t hurt them either.

They start after the break with a series in Houston, before coming home for the Indians and Twins, then go on a east coast road trip starting in Boston, and stopping in Baltimore.

The Mariners need to make quick work turning this franchise around while they’ve got guys like Felix Hernandez in their prime. But this year is not that year. Still they’ll win their fair share of games and keep things interesting enough in the second half.

19. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (3rd AL West)

This star studded team has really yet to turn things around, begging the question of if we’ll see that at all this year. The talent is there to make it happen, but why should anything change unless they make drastic changes to their starting rotation and bullpen?

There was a glimmer of hope last week having won two series against the top teams in the leagues, and it looked as though the pitching just might be coming around. Then the Angels went to Seattle where reality hit home, and hard, getting swept.

Sometimes an extended break in the middle of a disappointing season is exactly what some teams need, and we could see the Angels start fresh like the first three and a half months didn’t even happen. The competition at the top of the AL West might not be reachable, but the wild card could be an option. Although nine games back, it’s not the prettiest situation to be in.

Still with guys like Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Howie Kendrick, and Mark Trumbo filling the lineup, it could happen. Just as a little boy once said in a movie about the very same team. Perhaps the pretty boys of the Angels need to stop worrying about filming head and shoulders commercials and spend some extra time in the batting cage or on the mound.

20. New York Mets (4th NL East)

So yet again the Mets stink, but at least there are some exciting parts about watching them. Like for example once every five or so days we see a phenomenon called Harvey day occur, where all the embarrassed Mets fans crawl from their hiding places and celebrate their team like they’re World Series bound. Only kidding, we know Mets fans are very supportive all the time because losing is just part of the culture.

I wasn’t joking about the Harvey phenomenon though. Matt Harvey has stolen the spot light indefinitely with how well he pitched in the first half of the year. He’s 7-2 with an impressive 2.35 ERA, which is third best in the MLB. Not to mention he’s struck out 147 thus far. He’s the starting pitcher for the NL tonight in the All Star game even.

As always there are the fun guys to watch on this team like David Wright, Daniel Murphy, and Marion Byrd. But what can’t be fun in watching the Mets move forward without ever really making any changes to better their franchise. It’s been a couple of years now since we watched them collapse coming down the stretch, and even longer since they made the playoffs. Yet nothing ever seems to change in this part of New York. Gotta be getting old.

Anyways we’ll save that for another day, but the Mets finished their first half pretty respectably, winning 6 of their last 10 games. Coming back from the All Star break they have a round robin with their fellow NL East teams, first staying home for Philadelphia and Atlanta, before hitting the road for four games with Washington on the road, and finishing the month with another four game series in Miami. It’d be a decent chance to close some ground on their competition, because if they want to make a move they have to start early and never really stop.

21. Colorado Rockies (3rd NL West)

For a bit there the Rockies looked as though they could add some new competition to the NL West, and with everybody else struggling it’d be the perfect time to do so. But due to some injuries they’ve relapsed back into their ways of a year ago, which is losing for those uninformed.

Losing Troy Tulowitzki has really been a bummer as he was contributing 52 RBI in 64 games played. Now it’s all left up to Michael Cuddyer who’s batting .330 with 55 RBI, and Carlos Gonzalez with his .302 average and 64 RBI. Troy made is return just before the break but clearly was out of form. Look for his true return post All Star break.

Their pitching staff is a mess right now, and doesn’t look to be getting any better over night. Other than Jorge De La Rosa and Jhoulys Chacin, you couldn’t buy this team a win. Something that needs to be addressed if the Rockies wanna get back above .500.

They’ve got a relatively easy schedule to end the month of July, with the Cubs, Marlins, and Brewers. The only team above .500 they’ll face being the Braves to end the month.

22. Toronto Blue Jays (5th AL East)

There isn’t a team in the league that has been a bigger let down than the Blue Jays. I’ll pay you to find one. It’s been a shame because the majority of the guys they’ve brought on have contributed, as they haven’t had much of a problem putting runs up, although consistency is another issue. Pitching has utterly let this team down this season, and perhaps nobody bigger than 2012 Cy Yong winner RA Dickey.

The entire pitching staff is a mess and the only two good guys they’ve got tossing the ball being Dickey and Mark Buehrle, although neither with a positive win/loss. If they can some how turn things around and even provide two quality starters, this team becomes dangerous.

It seemed as though they were gonna get into a long term groove of winning just a month ago, where they won ten straight, sweeping three series. But reality hit home and they’re just getting by again. With just five wins in the first half of the month, this team either needs to shoot out of the break like a canon ball, or it’s already all over.

23. San Francisco Giants (4th NL West)

After getting no hit by the Reds, Tim Lincecum found his footing, and in his first truly good start of the year went out and no hit a struggling Padres team Saturday night. While that doesn’t mean they’re gonna start winning games, it’s a very good sign. One of the biggest problems for the Giants this year has been the struggling of what should have been a very good pitching staff.

It wasn’t just Lincecum who seemed lost in translation, but Matt Cain as well. In fact the only notable starter with a winning record being Madison Bumgarner who’s 10-5 with a 3.02 ERA.

With how the entire NL West has played the defending champs certainly aren’t out of it. If their pitching comes together and they step up batting a little they could easily capture the division. They’re currently six and a half games out. They’ll play Arizona, Cincinnati, the Cubs, and Philadelphia to end the month.

24. Minnesota Twins (4th AL Central)

By this point in the power rankings we hit the lost cause teams. Minnesota being a part of that group. There really isn’t anything exciting going on in this year. Joe Mauer is having a good year to nobody’s surprise. Also having a lovely showing from Justin Morneau. But at this point with the record they have there would be nothing smarter than to trade him away while they can get something for him. He’s batting .273 with 52 RBI and 7 HR.

The Twins had a horrendous start to July, winning just three games. Although they played the Yankees twice, Blue Jays, and a smoking hot Rays team. So we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, although it’s not like they were wowing us before anyways.

Coming back from the break they’ll have the Indians at home, then Angels and Mariners on the road, and Royals to end July. With the trade deadline looming in the near distance, the only time we’re gonna be seeing Minnesota in the headlines is if they make any trades.

25. Kansas City Royals (5th AL Central)

One of the more exciting teams in the early part of the seasons, the Royals have reverted back to the losing side of life. Their hot pitching that carried their wins in the first month of baseball, now in a full swing struggle. Not to mention the bats have been nearly non existent.

If the Royals wanna turn it around they’ll need guys like Jeremy Guthrie, Ervin Santana and most importantly James Shields need to kick it into overdrive. More importantly the offense that finished 24th in runs scored needs to get their job done better to a higher degree.

The Royals came crashing and burning into the All Star break, having lost five games straight. The start to their second half won’t be an easy one though, they’ve got the Tigers, Orioles, before getting the White Sox and Twins. That losing streak could extend a little longer.

26. Miami Marlins (5th NL East)

The Marlins had a nice July that wasn’t necessarily filled with wins, but they did pester a lot of teams in close games. And sometimes when you’re a cellar dweller of a team, that’s the most you can ask for.

They did win series against the Braves and Nationals, which is exciting for them. The Marlins are already just about out of the playoff race, and while it’s never fun to deal away fun players like Giancarlo Stanton, there is a decent amount they could get in exchange for him. The Marlins have a lot of voids to fill in their roster, and that might be one of the best ways to quickly fill them. He’s also being looked at by plenty of interested teams.

The high point right now for Miami being while their record may not show it, there are teams playing much worse than they are currently. So take a minute to rejoice.

27. Milwaukee Brewers (5th NL Central)

It seems for the time being Ryan Braun is safe from the looming PED suspensions that dominated headlines for a bit, which is good news for Milwaukee. Even with Braun on the field the Brewers are just shy of the worst record in baseball. They can take a lot of joy knowing Houston, and Miami will hold those records dearly.

They do however take a seat just below the Marlins on the power rankings much in thanks to a strong showing from the fishies in the start of July. The Brewers haven’t done anything differently, there are just some teams playing better than them.

It’ll be interesting to see just how bad of a record the Brewers will end up with, because at this point, they certainly aren’t getting any better.

28. Chicago White Sox (5th AL Central)

The White Sox had a very hard schedule in the first part of July. They performed just like they have all year though in that stretch, as it doesn’t ever seem to matter who this team plays, the fact of life for the Sox this year is they’re just gonna struggle.

Their offense is doing a horrible injustice to a pitching staff that is at least trying to be a respectable team. Chris Sale leading those efforts with his impressive 2.85 ERA, although thanks to dismal run support his 6-8 record may probably not show that very well.

All in all there are some good pieces on this team and with the right combination and moves could potentially become a relevant threat again. For this year though they’re just about done and nobody is fearing any games against them.

29. Houston Astros (5th AL West)

What can we say here, the Astros are doing exactly how we all expected them to. With the only surprise being that they have dominated the Angels in nearly every meeting with them so far. Kind of embarrassing for LA, but a nice place to get some wins for Houston.

They’re one of the more cash strapped franchises, and in a move that will help support their future efforts signed Jose Altuve to a four year contract. A wise overall decision, as Altuve is currently the one guy batting over .300 on the entire team. Even those with just four at bats.

Houston is hoping to cash in on a quality brew of prospects that will someday emerge from their farm system, but how long that’ll take if ever, who knows. Until then expect this team to be right where they are now, on the bottom.

30. San Diego Padres (5th NL West)

Bottoming out our power rankings we’ve got the San Diego Padres, who’ve provided a new definition to an off month. The Padres won just two games in the opening two weeks of July. There wasn’t a team in the league that was looking forward to the All Star break more than these guys, and luckily for them it’s here. Although it only lasts so long. Like a summer break for the slackers, the break comes and goes and before you know it, it’s back to the suck.

The Padres will now be looking forward to the end of this season, where they can recoup and hope to only better on what will go down as an embarrassing season.

(Photo 1 source) http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/f40f3606fa7f520417c0c9e02d7aa7a371d004ba/r=x513&c=680×510/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/07/14/1373849570000-AP-Red-Sox-Athletics-Baseball-oakland-walk-off-1307142054_4_3.jpg

(Photo 2 source) http://specials-images.forbes.com/imageserve/0fE22dEdV88En/0x600.jpg?fit=scale&background=000000

(Photo 3 source) https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/p480x480/946587_10151738398167931_1906322893_n.jpg

(Photo 4 source) http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Chris+Davis+Texas+Rangers+v+Baltimore+Orioles+H1U0gg85uuTx.jpg

(Photo 5 source) http://simlb.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/yasiel-puig.jpg?w=610&h=450

(Photo 6 source) http://simlb.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/matt-harvey-ap2.jpg?w=610&h=395

(Photo 7 source) http://www.csnphilly.com/sites/csnphilly/files/071313-lincecum-slideshow-ap.jpg

Author: Tyler Arnold

My name is Tyler Arnold, I am the founder, co-owner, and editor-in-chief of The Runner Sports. Sports have been my life since I was young, so here I am doing the only sensible thing, making a career of it. I love it all, and will watch any and every game I possibly can. Thanks for your readership.

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