SteemSports Presenter:@thesportsguy
SteemSports Editor:@scottybuckets
Now that the All-Star break has arrived, it's time to take a look back at the first half of the season and re-assess where everyone finds themselves as we get ready for the dog days of summer - and the baseball season. While certain contenders got off to incredibly slow starts to the season and a few surprises have emerged, everything has kind of settled down heading into the All-Star break and gave way to standings that are fairly familiar.
The American League has pretty much been set since April, with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees coming out hot right out of the gates and either one has really cooled off. They've distanced themselves considerably from the rest of not just the AL East, but the rest of the American League with the exception of the Astros. Unless something incredibly drastic happens, the Sox and Yanks are locks for the postseason, the real question is who will be the division champ and who will be the wild card?
The AL West has been the most difficult division in baseball for most of the season and as we assess the current standings, that position has only strengthened. The defending Champs continue to sit atop the division with a nice 5-game cushion. The Mariners have been the biggest surprise of the first half, and even their 4-game skid heading into the All-Star break hasn't done much to quell expectations of them reaching the postseason. The Athletics are on fire over the past couple of weeks and are coming on strong. It looks like too many injuries for the Angels to overcome as they've continually slid back after a solid start to the season. Right now, it appears that the only real "race" in the AL will be between the Mariners and A's for the second Wild Card spot.
The National League continues to be as balanced as we have seen to this point in a season. Each division owns at least 3 teams that are at .500 or better, and the NL West now has 4 teams all above .500. The Cubs and Dodgers have rebounded nicely after slow starts to the season and find themselves atop both divisions - where most expected them to be by this time of the year.
A 6-game skid heading into the break by the Brewers is the main reason the Cubbies were able to overtake Milwaukee atop the division after the Brew Crew had led the Central for the majority of the season, right up until this past weekend. While the Brewers limped into the break, they are still tied with Chicago for the most wins in the NL with 55.
Philadelphia and Atlanta continue to battle in the NL East with the Nationals still underperforming at just .500 for the season. Washington was expected to win that division once again but have been plagued by inconsistency the entire season. Both the Phillies and Braves seem legit at this point, and neither seems like they will fade away in the second half of the season. The Braves lineup is the best in the NL and the Phils' starting pitching is dangerous enough to bring home the division. It appears that the Phillies and Braves will duke it out till the end for the East crown, the Brewers and Cubs will do the same for the Central, and as of right now, the West is wide-open, although the favorites have to be the Dodgers once again.
Without further ado, let's get to our latest 'MLB Power Rankings' - All-Star break edition. Same disclaimer as always, these are the top 20 teams regardless of league or division standings, etc. The top 10 are not necessarily the picks to make the postseason, and the rankings fluctuate based on how teams are trending with their play as of late - here we go:
1 HOUSTON ASTROS (64-35) -
The defending Champs continue to sit atop the 'Power Rankings' thanks mainly to a dominate pitching staff that still owns a team-ERA of under 3.00 with 99 games in the books. Their 2.94 team-ERA is easily the best in the majors, and they may very well make history with a run differential that sits at an insane +188.
2 BOSTON RED SOX (68-30) -
The Red Sox continue to own the best record in baseball, and are one of only 3 teams with 60+ victories. Their offense continues to get the job done, and a recent hot streak - they won 10 straight before Friday's loss to the Blue Jays, has them at a sizzling 17-3 in their past 20 heading into the break and very close to passing Houston for the top spot.
3 NEW YORK YANKEES (62-33) -
While the Yankees haven't been able to keep up with the scorching hot play of the Red Sox, they are still easily one of the best teams in baseball. They are paced by their historic power numbers - they lead the majors in HRs with 161 - 27 more than Boston, in 3 fewer games. They also lead the league in slugging at .463 and are going to continue to be a dangerous lineup to try and maneuver through for opposing pitchers.
4 CHICAGO CUBS (55-38) ⬆
The Cubbies have been a mainstay at the # 5 spot in our rankings for weeks now, and a 7-3 mark, including winners of 3 straight heading into the break has them atop the division and into the # 4 spot in the rankings. Chicago ranks out as one of the best clubs when it comes to hitting and pitching, and although the power numbers have been a bit weak, it hasn't prevented them from attaining the NL's best record to this point.
5 LOS ANGELES DODGERS (53-43) ⬆
The Dodgers are back in first in the NL West. They managed to pass the D-Backs right before the break and currently sit a 0.5 game better than Arizona. The uptick has coincided with increased production at the plate - especially in power numbers, now look for LA to be active at the trade deadline as they look to stay atop a very competitive NL West.
6 SEATTLE MARINERS (58-39) -
The Mariners finish the first half of the season as the biggest surprise. After Robinson Cano's suspension was announced early in the year, it seemed as though Seattle was destined to crumble, but alas, their play has gotten steadily better, and even a 4-game skid, and 3-7 mark in their past 10 heading into the break wasn't enough to move them from the # 6 spot.
7 CLEVELAND INDIANS (52-43) ⬆
The Indians find themselves all the way up to the # 7 spot in our All-Star break power rankings. While their play has been mediocre at best as of late (4-6 in their past 10) it hasn't kept them from expanding their lead in the extremely weak AL Central to 7.5 games. If the pitching comes along in the second half, they could catch fire similar to last season and take off as the season moves along.
8 OAKLAND ATHLETICS (55-42) ⬆⚡
The A's have been absolutely outstanding as of late, and earlier predictions that this team might get it going and make a serious push seem to be coming to fruition. They head into the All-Star break playing their best ball of the season, having gone 16-5 in their past 21 and are easily the top riser in this week's rankings. Watch-out for this talented, youthful squad in the second half, as they are pushing Seattle for a Wild-Card spot. In fact, you heard it here first - Oakland will continue to improve and will make the post-season as one of the AL Wild Cards.
9 MILWAUKEE BREWERS (55-43) ⬇❄
Oh the Brew Crew. A nice stretch of solid play had the Crew at a season-best 18 games above .500 and owners of the best record in the NL. After a dismal 6-game losing streak, including a rare 5-game sweep at the hands of the Pirates in Pittsburgh, the Brewers find themselves 2.5 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central at the break. They are not surprisingly the biggest tumbler of the week, falling 5 spots from # 4. It's not all bad news, however, as they are still tied with Chicago for the most wins in the NL. They are one of the front-runners in the Manny Machado sweepstakes, but if they lose out to the Dodgers, will still need to look elsewhere for a boost before the deadline.
T-10 ATLANTA BRAVES (52-42) ⬇
The Braves had been a mainstay in the 6-7 spots in the rankings for quite sometime now, but a recent 3-7 patch heading into the break has dropped them into a tie for 10th, and out of first place in the NL East by a 0.5 game to the Phillies. They still own one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball, and although some question marks still exist with the backend of the rotation, appear built for the long-haul.
T-10 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (53-42) -
The Phillies had a nice stretch of hot play (12-4 in 16 games) cooled off by the Marlins over the weekend as they dropped a pair heading into the break. None-the-less, the Phils were able to overtake the top spot in the East and find themselves in a great position after the first half. They are one of the surprising teams thus far, as a revamped starting rotation has been the catalyst. Strap-on your seat-belts Phillies' fans, it appears they are in-store for a season-long pennant race.
12 ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (53-44) -
The Diamondbacks continue to hover around 10 games better than .500, and while that was good enough to keep them atop the NL West for most of the first half, the Dodgers have finally woke up from their early-season slumber and were able to just overtake Arizona heading into the break. This club gets very good pitching, but ultimately, they depend on the bat of slugger Paul Goldschmidt. As he's heated up, the D-Backs were able to erase a dreadful early-season stretch of play that saw them go just 3-17 over 20 games.
13 COLORADO ROCKIES (51-45) ⬆
The Rockies head into the All-Star break winners of 5 straight, and 8 of 10 overall to go from a .500 club to now just 2 games out of first in the NL West. The bullpen and power numbers have been stellar all season long, and if they can get more consistent starting pitching, could continue to build on the recent momentum. The West is wide-open right now, but it may be difficult to catch the Dodgers.
14 WASHINGTON NATIONALS (48-48) ⬇
There's one word that best sums up the Nationals first half to the season: inconsistency. The Nats have the bats, dominant starting pitching, and experience to once again make the postseason, but need to combat incredible inconsistency that has plagued them from the beginning of the season. They are still within 5.5 games in the NL East, but are just 6-10 in their past 16 games. They might have dug a little too deep of a hole, but are still just one winning streak away from being right back in the thick of things.
15 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (50-48) ⬆
The Giants are the fourth team from the NL West to crack the top 15, and while they continue to sit at 2 games above .500 and have played .500 ball for about a month straight now, find themselves within striking distance in the West at just 4.0 games back. They will most likely have to acquire another bat or two if they are to make a post-season push, but for now sit inside the top 15 at the break.
16 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (48-46) ⬇
17 TAMPA BAY RAYS (49-47) ⬆
18 PITTSBURGH PIRATES (48-49) -
19 LOS ANGELES ANGELS (49-48) ⬇
20 MINNESOTA TWINS (44-50) -
The St. Louis Cardinals dropped a few more spots, and despite being 2 games above .500 still trail Milwaukee by 5 games and the Cubs by 7.5 games in the NL Central. They just fired manager Mike Matheny in an attempt to salvage the season, but the front office didn't do enough this past off-season to close the gap with the Brew Crew and Cubbies. It's going to take some moves before the deadline, and not just a managerial change if the Cards are to make a postseason push.
The Pirates meanwhile, are now right behind the Cardinals in the NL Central. After seemingly sliding further and further into the rearview, they finished the first half strong by winning 6 straight, including a 5-game sweep of the then-first place Brewers. Will the Pirates be able to build off of the recent momentum or fade into the background in a jumbled race for the NL Wild Card spots?
Finally, the Angels continue to slide in the wrong direction, as it has become apparent that even the incredible play of Mike Trout can't make up for all of the injury woes Los Angeles has had to deal with. It might be too late for the Angles, considering how difficult their division is, and passing both the red-hot A's and the Mariners seems like an insurmountable task.
The Rays continue to improve as the season goes on, and what they've been able to accomplish in a division featuring the Red Sox, Yankees, and disappointing Blue Jays, deserves some applause. If they can continue to improve, they could challenge the Mariners and A's for the AL's 2nd Wild Card spot, but it's going to take some help from both of those squads. Get ready baseball fans - it appears that we are in for an exciting second half to the season!
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