Archive for July 1st, 2012

2012 MLB Baseball Power Ratings (As of 7/1)

July 1st, 2012 by Bankroll Sports Staff | Posted in MLB Baseball   Comments Off on 2012 MLB Baseball Power Ratings (As of 7/1)

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*Our Current MLB Power Rankings & Records are as of 7/1/2012
(Our Next Major League Baseball Power Ratings Update: 7/25/2012)

1. Texas Rangers (50-29) – Texas has won five in a row, and became the first team in Major League Baseball to win 50 games. The Rangers are looking to sweep the Oakland Athletics at home on Sunday. Texas is the top offensive team in all of Major League Baseball with 426 runs scored, a .284 batting average and .346 slugging. The Rangers’ Josh Hamilton leads the team with 25 homeruns, while driving in 73 runs as well. Texas plays at Chicago on Tuesday.

2. New York Yankees (47-30) – Despite losing C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettitte in the same week; the Yankees are in full control of the American League East. The Yankees lead the Orioles by five games. New York has seen Robinson Cano lead the way with a .308 batting average, while Curtis Granderson has blasted 23 homeruns and drove in 46 runs. New York will start a big week on Monday with a trip to Tampa Bay, before taking on the Red Sox over the weekend.

3. Los Angeles Angels (43-35) – After a slow start, the Angels are right back into the mix within the American League postseason chase. Despite their hot play – the Angels trail Texas by 6.5 games in the AL West. Los Angeles is the AL leading team for the first of two wildcard spots. The Angels are the fifth best batting team with a .268 batting average, led by Mike Trout’s .336. The Angels head to Cleveland on Monday to open up a series.

4. Washington Nationals (44-32) – The Nationals continue to be a surprise story in all of Major League Baseball. Washington is 12 games over .500, and leads the NL East by 2.5 games. The Nationals are the top pitching team in all of MLB with a 3.18 earned run average. Washington also has 50 quality starts; which ranks third in the game. The Nationals will welcome the San Francisco Giants to town on Tuesday for a three game series.

5. San Francisco Giants (44-35) – The Giants 2012 success was seen through the 2012 All Star game voting. The Giants got three starters into the game; Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Melky Cabrera. San Francisco has been hot as of late; moving to 9 games over .500. Lately, San Francisco has had a tough time scoring, as the Reds have beat them twice in a row. San Francisco is led by Cabrera’s .350 batting average.

6.  Los Angeles Dodgers (43-36) – Los Angeles is having a tough time scoring runs. The Dodgers were shut-out on Friday and Saturday by the New York Mets. Los Angeles has scored just 304 runs on the season; which ranks them 24th overall. The Dodgers look to get their top offensive threat Matt Kemp back immediately after the All Star break. Los Angeles will play the Sunday night game of the week, and then welcome Cincinnati to town.

7. Cincinnati Reds (43-34) – The National League Central leading Reds were shut-out on Thursday night but came back with impressive wins Saturday and Sunday in San Francisco. The Reds hold just a slim one game lead over Pittsburgh in the National League Central. Cincinnati is led by Joey Votto’s .350 batting average, along with Jay Bruce and his 17 homeruns and 54 runs batted in.  The Reds continue their road trip with a visit to Los Angeles to start the week.

8. Chicago White Sox (42-36) – The White Sox continue to be surprise leaders out of the American League Central. Robin Ventura in his first season as manager has done a great job with a mix of veterans and youngsters. Chicago leads Cleveland by 2.5 games in the division. The White Sox are 7th in the league with 366 runs scored; led by Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn. Chicago will start a series with the two time defending AL champion Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

9. Baltimore Orioles (42-36) – The Orioles made a statement that they were going to do whatever they could to contend in the second half. Baltimore is 42-35 overall, and in second place in the AL East. The Orioles traded on Saturday for veteran Jim Thome. The former Phillie slugger is expected to be a regular as designated hitter for the Orioles. Baltimore’s Adam Jones is leading the team with a .300 batting average and 19 homeruns.

10. Atlanta Braves (41-36) – Atlanta continues to hang around in the National League East divisional race. Atlanta is the 9th highest scoring team in the league with 353 runs, while batting .260. The Braves’ Martin Prado is batting .323 while Jason Heyward has blasted 12 homeruns. The pitching for Atlanta has been anchored by Tommy Hanson, with 9 wins. The Braves will host the Chicago Cubs on Monday in an effort to get hot before the All Star break.

11. New York Mets (43-36) – The Mets are getting great starting pitching, especially from their knuckleball pitcher – R.A. Dickey. New York shut-out the Dodgers in both games on Friday and Saturday and head into their Sunday night game with Dillon Gee on the mound. The Mets offense is seeing third basemen David Wright put together a great season, with a .355 batting average. New York comes into Sunday trailing Washington by 2.5 games.

12. Pittsburgh Pirates (42-35) – The Pirates had a good weekend in St. Louis winning the first two games by scoring a bunch of runs. Andrew McCutchen is having a sensational season, with a .346 batting average and 15 homeruns. Pittsburgh is trying to break the longest streak in professional sports history of being under .500. The Pirates come into Sunday trailing Cincinnati by just a single game. Pittsburgh’s A.J. Burnett leads the team with 9 wins.

13. St. Louis Cardinals (40-38) – The Cardinals, following their five game winning streak lost three straight to Miami and Pittsburgh. St. Louis has been one of the top hitting teams in all of the game, but still trail Cincinnati by 3.5 games coming into Sunday’s action. The Cardinals top offensive player has been their catcher Yadier Molina with a .311 batting average and 13 homeruns. Molina was one of four Cardinals named to the All Star game.

14. Boston Red Sox (41-37) – The Red Sox are the second highest scoring team in all of baseball; with 404 runs. The Red Sox are fourth in the game with a .270 batting average. On Saturday; the Red Sox scored just 2 runs in a loss to the Mariners. Boston’s offense has seen David Ortiz bat .305, hit 21 homeruns and drive in 53 runs on the season. The Red Sox will head out to Oakland this week before taking on the Yankees over the weekend.

15. Tampa Bay Rays (41-37) – The Rays have dropped seven of their last ten to fall into fourth place in the American League East. Tampa Bay got a great outing Friday from David Price, but then could not back it up with a win on Saturday. The Rays offense is led by the power of Matt Joyce, with 11 homeruns. The Rays are one of the worst offensive teams, as they are batting just .233 as a team. Tampa Bay prepares to take on divisional leading New York this week.

16. Cleveland Indians (40-38) – The Cleveland Indians feel they can make a run in the American League Central if they are able to shore up their pitching. The Indians have the third worst ERA in all of baseball; with a 4.61. The offense for the Indians has been led by Asdrubal Cabrera, who is batting .292 with 11 homeruns. The Indians come into Saturday in second place in the division. Cleveland’s catcher Carlos Santana is day-to-day with a couple nagging injuries.

17. Toronto Blue Jays (40-38) – The Blue Jays put up 11 runs on Saturday over Los Angeles, to make the two day total 18. Toronto has the ability to score with anyone, especially in their home field. The Blue Jays Jose Bautista has once again shown the ability to hit the long ball, as he leads the AL with 26 homeruns. Third basemen Edwin Encarnacion also has 20+ on the season. The Blue Jays are without their top starting pitcher Brandon Morrow.

18. Detroit Tigers (38-40) – The Detroit Tigers would like to catch fire, and play to the level they feel they should be playing. The Tigers, who many felt should win the American League Central are three games under .500. The Tigers’ ace Justin Verlander was defeated Friday night by Tampa Bay, and their ace David Price. The Tigers have seen their center fielder Austin Jackson lead the way with a .324 batting average. Miguel Cabrera has blasted 16 homeruns on the season.

19. Arizona Diamondbacks (39-38) – Arizona has played good baseball as of late. With their winning ways, they have climbed back into the National League West chase. The Diamondbacks come into Saturday trailing San Francisco by just four games. The Diamondbacks saw their second base men Aaron Hill pick up his second cycle of the season. The Diamondbacks youngster Wade Miley leads the team with 9 wins and a 2.19 earned run average.

20.  Oakland Athletics (37-42) – The Athletics let one get away on Friday night. Oakland let 2-0 heading into the bottom of the 8th, only to see Texas come back to win the game 4-3. The Athletics have scored 295 runs and allowed 294 on the season. Oakland heads into Saturday’s action, 12 games behind the Rangers within divisional play. The Athletics top offensive threat has been Josh Reddick, with a .260 average, along with 18 homeruns and 39 runs batted in.

21. Milwaukee Brewers (35-42) – At 8 games under .500 – the Brewers are also 8 games behind the Reds in the National League Central. After winning the division and getting to the NLCS a year ago – Milwaukee appears to be sellers at the trade deadline. The Brewers top trading chip could be right hander Zach Greinke, who leads the team with 9 wins. The Brewers have a team earned run average of nearly 4.25 on the season. Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun is once again having another MVP type season.

22. Miami Marlins (38-40) – The Marlins have struggled through most of the season, but their struggles have reached a new level in the month of June. The Marlins have lost seven of their last ten overall. Miami was able to pick up a win on Friday night, behind Josh Johnson. The Marlins offense has struggled a bit; scoring 289 runs on the season, which ranks them 27th in all of Major League Baseball. The Marlins are 8.5 games back in the NL East.

23. Philadelphia Phillies (36-45) – Marred in last place within the National League East – the Philadelphia Phillies need to get going. Charlie Manuel’s team come into Saturday 10 games behind the Nationals for first place in the National League East. Cliff Lee, one of the Phillies top starting pitchers has yet to record a win in 2012. The Phillies offense ranks 10th in the league with 343 runs, while also ranking 7th with a .265 batting average. The top offensive threat for Philadelphia has been catcher Carlos Ruiz, who is batting .356.

24. Kansas City Royals (35-41) – Kansas City is playing some of the best baseball in all of MLB. The Royals have won four straight games and moved to within four games of .500. The Royals offense has enjoyed the success of Alcides Escobar, and his .316 batting average. Kansas City as a team is batting .264, which ranks in the top ten in all of Major League Baseball. Despite being under .500 – the Royals are just 5.5 games behind Chicago in the American League Central.

25. Seattle Mariners (34-46) – The Mariners are 16.5 games behind the front running Texas Rangers in the American League West. Seattle was shut-out by the Red Sox Friday night. The Mariners are 27th in the league in batting, with an average just over .230. The Mariners’ youngster Justin Smoak has provided the power; as he leads the way with 11 homeruns. The Mariners’ Jason Vargas leads the starting pitchers, with 7 wins.

26. Houston Astros (32-46) – The Astros have fallen on some tough times recently, as they have dropped to 13 games below .500. On Friday, Houston was unable to score; as the Cubs beat them 4-0. The Astros lone All Star will most likely be Jose Altuve, who leads the team with a .309 batting average. Houston’s Lucas Harrell leads the team with 7 wins on the season.

27. Minnesota Twins (32-45) – The Twins come into the weekend with the worst record in the American League. The Twins took a 4-3 loss on Friday to Kansas City to fall 5.5 games behind the Royals for fourth place. The Twins offensive numbers are led by Josh Willingham, who has 15 homeruns and 50 runs batted in, while scoring 40 runs. The Twins pitching is 29th in all of baseball with an earned run average of 5.02.

28. Colorado Rockies (30-47) – The Rockies cannot seem to find a solution to their porous pitching staff. Colorado’s earned run average is over 5 on the season. The Rockies have put together just 18 quality starts in 76 games. The Rockies offense is anchored by Carlos Gonzalez, who is batting .338, and has also blasted 17 homeruns. Colorado is in fourth place in the National League West. The Rockies are 13 games behind the Giants in the division.

29. San Diego Padres (29-50) – The Padres allowed 10 runs on the road at Colorado to drop their 50th game of the season. San Diego is the worst offensive team in all of Major League Baseball, with just 263 runs scored. The pitching for the Padres has fared a little better behind Clayton Richard. Richard has an ERA of just 3.77. San Diego comes into the weekend 16 games behind the National League West leading San Francisco Giants.

30. Chicago Cubs (28-49) – The Cubs continue to re-build as they call up their prospect in Anthony Rizzo during the past week. Chicago has dropped to 22 games under .500, and look to be shipping a few guys off at the deadline. The latest names to be sent out include Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster. The Cubs are 29th in all of baseball with just 280 runs scored. The pitching for Chicago ranks 27th in MLB with an earned run average of nearly 4.50. Starlin Castro will most likely be the lone Cub representative on the National League All Star team.