MLB Power Rankings 2012: Surprising Teams Among Hottest Clubs in Baseball

Jun 1, 2018

The 2012 Major League Baseball season has reached the 50 games played mark, and while some of the teams atop the standings are the usual suspects, there are a number of clubs sitting in first place that have caused their fans to do a double take.

Baltimore Orioles (29-21, First Place, AL East)

There were a number of teams mentioned before the season as potential contenders in the American League East, and none of those teams were the Baltimore Orioles.

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Still, propelled by Adam Jones' hot hitting and the second-most homers in the AL, here the Orioles sit, tied for first place with the Tampa Bay Rays at the 50-game mark.

The Orioles have hit a bump in the road the past couple of weeks, dropping four in a row and seven out of their last 10.

How manager Buck Showater and Baltimore responds to this adversity will go a long way towards determining whether the Orioles' hot start was a mirage or they're in it for the long haul in the AL East.

Chicago White Sox (28-22, First Place, AL Central)

The Chicago White Sox were expected to be among the teams of the thick of the AL Central race before the season, but after stumbling out of the gate, the ChiSox had fallen by the wayside.

However, there's no hotter team in baseball right now than the White Sox, who have won nine in a row, averaging more that eight runs a game over their last 10 contests.

That stretch included a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians in which the streaking Sox pounded the Tribe for 35 runs, vaulting Chicago past Cleveland and into first place.

If first baseman Paul Konerko keeps pounding the ball like he's 26 instead of 36 (an AL-leading .386 average and .462 on-base percentage), the White Sox likely won't be in any rush to hand the top spot in the division back anytime soon.

Washington Nationals (29-20, First Place, NL East)

General manager Mike Rizzo and skipper Davey Johnson probably hoped to see some signs of life from their struggling franchise in 2012 as Washington's young talent began to mature.

With that said, the team has blossomed more than even Rizzo or Johnson could have dared hope, as the Nationals roared out of the gate to the second-best record in the National League on the heels of a plus-27 run differential, also second best in the NL.

The Nationals sport the lowest team ERA in all of baseball at 2.96, due in no small part to the phenomenal pitching of Cuban Gio Gonzalez, who has a 2.25 ERA over his past five starts (all wins) and leads the majors in strikeouts.

Add in the clutch hitting of first baseman Adam Laroche (eight home runs, 33 RBI, .896 OPS), and while there's always some concern that a young team will fade over the course of a grueling season, this group of youngsters may just be built for the long haul.

2012 MLB Power Rankings as of May 30, 2012

1. Texas Rangers

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

3. Tampa Bay Rays

4. Washington Nationals

5. Baltimore Orioles

6. Cincinnati Reds

7. St. Louis Cardinals

8. Chicago White Sox

9. Miami Marlins

10. New York Yankees

11. Cleveland Indians