MLB: Week 18 Power Rankings

Photo Credit: Kelley L Cox – USA Today

Baseball is back in business in the second half as with a new week comes new MLB Power Rankings.

1.) Oakland Athletics - All they do is win, win, win no matter what. In the past week they’ve lost twice, but have looked strong out of the gate for the second half. This team right now is a sure fire October team. Stephen Vogt has turned it up recently hitting .379 in July, adding another bat to the already dominant A’s offense. The bigger question is can anyone stop this team at the moment?

2.) Los Angeles Angels - With the A’s playing so well right now, the Angels need keep pace with them in order to win the AL West. The Angels, as predicted, made the big trade for Huston Street to help bolster their bullpen, making Angels look even more scary. As for now, they’ve done a great job playing great baseball. They did stumble against Baltimore but they are capable of owning the title right now as league’s second best team with All-Star MVP Mike Trout leading the way.

3.) San Francisco Giants - After giving away the division lead to the Dodgers, the Giants have surged out the gate to take back the lead. The pitching is what is key for this run if the Giants want to win the NL West. They have an important series with the Dodgers this weekend to help extend the division lead. The key to what has helped the Giants all year is the power of their bats, hitting 86 home runs the first half. They have continued hitting for power and the pitching is going to just help more. They have stars like Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Tim Hudson to give them their consistent pitching.

4.) Washington Nationals - Bryce Harper is the man for the Nationals right now. After slumping for a long time, Harper seems to have found his bat again and the Nationals are grateful for that and hope he continues to be a consistent bat for the team. They’ve had a great start to the second half of the season are looking confident to win the NL East.

5.) Detroit Tigers - Every year the Tigers seem to struggle right after the All-Star break and then turn it on when the postseason is near. This year the trend looks to continue, although they have a comfortable division lead at the moment. The team has looked awful out the gate and nothing seems right for them, not even Justin Verlander. Though with this slow start don’t doubt the Tigers, they will still win the AL Central.

6.) Baltimore Orioles – Nelson Cruz was a big signing in the offseason and now has got a little cold. He needs to turn it up for the Orioles to make an impact in the postseason, but the rest of the team has looked good going into the second half. They need to carry the momentum to win the AL East.

7.) Milwaukee Brewers - Jonathan Lucroy has helped this team immensely. Despite needing a trade for a big bat the Brewers have bounced back nicely and are now looking to push away from their competition in the NL Central after such a disastrous 2013. The 2014 Brewers have been such a nice story to see. Now the big question is if they can become the Boston Red Sox of last year with the worst-to-first story line

8.) Los Angeles Dodgers - Well the second half already has not been nice to the Dodgers with injuries to both superstars Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig (both are back now). Now after having such a great end to the first half, the start to the second has told a much different story. The bullpen is a real issue as well as Matt Kemp, complaining of playing time and asking for a trade. They are in a tight race for first in the NL West with the Giants. Also expect an outfielder from the Dodgers to be traded for bullpen depth. All-in-all, this team needs to get healthy first.

9.) Pittsburgh Pirates - The Pirates have started out hot at home and are looking to get back into the playoffs. The starting rotation and outfielder Andrew McCutchen have been playing excellent. They just need to some hitters to do better as well as their bullpen straightening out. But the Pirates can move up if they keep play so well at home.

10.) New York Yankees – This team has done well and have been in the AL East hunt all year. They just traded the Padres for a rental in Chase Headly, who is going to fill the third base hole they have been missing out on all year. The Yankees are playing great baseball to start this second half and additions like Brandon McCarthy and Headley are only going to help this ball club. Be on the lookout for the Yankees, though they do need one more bat and another upgrade the bullpen.

11.) St. Louis Cardinals - After working hard to get back to tie the Brewers in the NL Central, the Cardinals have lost a little bit of gas, going 5-5 in their last ten. The injury of Yadier Molina is affecting them greatly, as their pitchers will not have the veteran leadership they need until he is fully healthy. The pitching isn’t looking so great and they just need to power through without Molina.

12.) Atlanta Braves - The Braves are finally healthy and have a full 25-man roster. They also finally cut Dan Uggla who was nothing more than a dead weight for the Braves. They also have a ‘grit-and-grind’ mode that has helped them the whole season as they are currently fighting with the Nationals for the NL East lead.

13.) Seattle Mariners - Offense. Thats what the Mariners are missing right now and look to improve. They just acquired Kendrys Morales from the Minnesota Twins, and are looking to potentially add Ben Zobrist. The pitching has helped but the offense needs to pick up the slack. They better find it quick or they will fall in the race for the postseason.

14.) Cleveland Indians - After coming in the second half from a bad start, the Indians are looking to be the comeback team they were when they entered the playoffs last year. Jason Kipnis is tearing the ball off the bat and the starting rotation is dominating the competition. The AL Central isn’t in sight yet but by being competitive, they can shock any team come October.

15.) Toronto Blue Jays - Still looking like a team that lost a lot of steam after a hot start, the Blue Jays may keep falling. But, at the moment they are keeping pace to keep contending in the AL East. This team is too talented to not win the AL East. Melky Cabrera is in a slump, but when he wakes up, the AL East becomes a little more interesting. The Blue Jays may also make a trade for a pitcher which they desperately need before the deadline

16.) Kansas City Royals - The Royals are above .500 and now look to finally get into the playoffs, starting the second half right. Alex Gordon and James Shields are key for this team to keep rising in the rankings. But right now they need to focus on the bats. This team needs more power in the lineup as they are currently last in in the majors in the home run category.

17.) Cincinnati Reds - The Reds dealt with injuries to their superstars in Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto, as things aren’t looking so well for the Reds right now. In recent games they have had batters get on-base in scoring situations but failed to convert. Right now its just survive and win without their main bats and see what happens from there.

18.) Tampa Bay Rays - The Rays were a mess in the first half but now are just 4.5 games back in the Wild Card. The man to lead the Rays has to be David Price, unless he is traded to another team by the July 31st trade deadline. Look for the comeback Rays to make a surprising run and maybe come back in a somewhat weak AL East.

19.) New York Mets - The Mets haven’t looked terrible of late but they have showcased one pitcher who has been dominant this season: Bartolo Colon. Colon is a trade asset that could possibly give the Mets some prospects and there’s a good chance he gets traded. The Mets are rebuilding at the moment and Colon will help in the process by being traded. Now the Mets are just looking to play until the season ends and make some moves in the offseason.

20.) Chicago White Sox - The White Sox are still technically in it for the Wild Card, but in no way look like a team in contention for a playoff spot. John Danks has turned it up lately for the White Sox, but with a record under .50,  they are not in a great position. At least the White Sox fans have rookie phenom Jose Abreu to watch

21.) Boston Red Sox - Championship hangover at its best. Considered World Series favorites before the season started, a week after the half way point and the Red Sox in no way look like a team that is gonna defend their title in October. They look to finish above .500.

22.) Miami Marlins - Still in rebuild mode, the Marlins are just giving their team experience at the Major league level. It may work in their favor in the future, but right now this team looks to just finish above .500. They have assets for the future, but are one of the league’s lower teams. They still started the second half better than expected.

23.) Minnesota Twins - Another team looking to rebuild, the Twins have started out the second half pretty bad. Though Josh Willingham has kept showing that he could possibly be an x-factor for a contending team, the rest of the team is struggling. As a whole, the Twins have not been playing well and are dead last in the AL Central. They are looking to be sellers at the deadline.

24.) Arizona Diamondbacks - The Diamondbacks have started the second half in a great way by winning, but it may be a little as they are 10.5 games out of the Wild Card at this point. The Diamondbacks are not looking to be sellers at the deadline, but buyers. They have started the second half great nonetheless but the question that surfaces is, can they pull a surprise run?

25.) Philadelphia Phillies - The Phillies are looking as bad as they’ve ever been in a long time. They are 3-7 in their last ten and now they look to rebuild now and can start off by trading players for prospects. A person to trade right now to a contender is Marlon Byrd. Surely by the recent play the Phillies are an under .500 team this year.

26.) Chicago Cubs - Obviously trading Jeff Smardzija was not going help the Cubs, but the more important part was that they got prospects that will help long term. But short term, this is not going to help. They’ve looked awful.

27.) Houston Astros - With such a low paying and young roster, one has to expect this from the Astros. Nothing can help them right now as it is a rough time to be an Astros fan. The future looks bright though.

28.) San Diego Padres - Odrisamer Despaigne is looking like a stud as in his last five major league starts - almost throwing a no hitter in one of them – he has been nothing short of dominant. Other than trading Chase Headly for essentially nothing, the Padres are just going to keep losing. Nothing is going right at the moment besides Despaigne.

29.) Colorado Rockies – With having stars like Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, one could not think the Rockies would be this bad. But they are and now the Rockies might have to trade the both of them and go into a full rebuild mode. Tulowitzki has expressed that he’s getting frustrated of not being in playoff contention, and may see himself being traded.

30.) Texas Rangers - Can it get any worse? Ever since they almost won the World Series in 2011, every year has been a decline. They are playing like the worst team in baseball. Nothing is going right in Texas, as they need an overhaul in the offseason. A start may be firing liked coach Ron Washington.

For future power rankings, and other baseball news, stay tuned at the Insider Sports Network!