MLB Power Rankings 2012: Teams Poised to Finish August on High Note

The 2012 MLB season is nearly three-quarters done.

Yes, you read that correctly. Baseball's regular season is well into the back end of what has been one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory.

Sometimes it seems like the dog days of August drag on forever, and they certainly do for some teams at the bottom of their respective divisions. However, August is one of the most pivotal regular-season months of the year, aside from the two months that it is sandwiched between.

There will be teams that fall out of contention these last two weeks of August, but there also will be teams that go on a tear and ensure that there won't be a catastrophic meltdown come the end of September.

Here you'll see full MLB power rankings, accompanied with a handful of highlighted teams that are ready to tear up the league for the rest of August.

1. Washington Nationals (71-44)

As a fan of the New York Mets, it pains me to do this, but the Washington Nationals are truly the best team in baseball right now.

They have won eight of 10 games and currently have a 4.5-game lead on the Atlanta Braves. That gap would be much wider if the Braves hadn't gone on a tear over the last 10 as well.

The Nats boast a plus-96 run differential, good for third in the majors. Every current Nationals starter has an ERA under four, with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann leading the way at 2.90 and 2.35, respectively.

Many people have debated whether the Nationals will indeed shut down Strasburg once he hits his 160-180 innings pitched, and it looks like that is definitely going to happen. He's currently at 133.1 innings, meaning he probably has four or five starts left depending how Davey Johnson decides to work him.

Strasburg will be around until at least the end of August and probably mid-September, meaning the Nationals will continue to tear it up with five quality starters taking the bump.

Oh, and Ian Desmond, one of the year's biggest surprises, should be back from injury soon.

2. Texas Rangers (67-47)

The Texas Rangers increased their AL West lead over the Los Angeles Angels to 6.5 games over the last 10 games by going 7-3 over that span.

Since August began, the Rangers have six players who have played in at least 10 games hitting over .300. Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Mitch Moreland and David Murphy are all tearing the cover off the ball right now.

The starting pitching hasn't been brilliant as of late, but it doesn't need to be when the Rangers have scored at least five runs in all but four of their games this month.

Ron Washington's crew figures to break out the bats in the Rangers' next series against the pitching-challenged New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

After that, it's series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins—all teams with which the Rangers' high-powered offense is going to have a fun time.

3. Cincinnati Reds (69-46)

The Cincinnati Reds have played .500 ball over the last 10 games, but that has been without Joey Votto in the middle of the lineup. Before this stretch of mediocrity, the Reds had won 22 of 25 dating back to the beginning of July, but hit a bump in the road since.

Fortunately, help is on the way in the form of a very easy schedule to end August. Their next 11 games come against teams with losing records (New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies), then it's series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros to finish out the month.

Johnny Cueto continues to keep himself in the Cy Young discussion, while Mat Latos, Bronson Arroyo and Homer Bailey have done well enough to give the team a chance to win most nights.

The Reds have a plus-71 run differential, and with this easy schedule, they easily should be able to eclipse the 80-win mark before September rolls around.

4. New York Yankees (67-47)

The New York Yankees have seen the gap between them and their AL East foes significantly diminish  this month.

The pitching figures to be a bit of a problem over the next few weeks, with CC Sabathia hitting the disabled list and Ivan Nova allowing nine earned runs in his last 12.2 innings pitched.

5. Atlanta Braves (66-48)

Fredi Gonzalez and the Atlanta Braves have been on a tear as of late, but Freddie Freeman isn't going to continue his trend of driving in a run per game for the rest of the month.

A tough stretch is on the horizon, with series coming against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants.

6. Tampa Bay Rays (62-52)

Back from the dead, the Tampa Bay Rays have roared back to grab the top spot in the AL wild-card race and sit just five games back of the struggling Yankees in the AL East.

Evan Longoria is finally back, but still needs some time to shake the rust off after returning from his injury. Everybody in the baseball world knows just how dangerous the Rays are if Longoria is protecting everyone else in the middle of that lineup.

Longoria isn't the story so much as the pitching is, though.

In August, Rays pitchers have allowed just 19 runs over the course of 10 games. Every single pitcher who has stepped onto the mound for the Rays this month has posted a sub-2.00 ERA, with the exceptions of Jeremy Hellickson and Burke Badenhop.

Pitching is the key to late-season and postseason success, and the Rays undoubtedly have one of the best—if not the best—staffs in the entire league.

August series against the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays will do nothing but help Tampa Bay's record.

7. Pittsburgh Pirates (64-50)

As expected, Andrew McCutchen's production has tailed off after his ridiculous July in which he hit .446, and the Pittsburgh Pirates have suffered from it.

After going 17-9 in July, the Pirates are just 5-6 this month. A four-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers and two three-gamers with the St. Louis Cardinals could make or break the Pirates' season before September begins.

8. Chicago White Sox (62-51)

The Chicago White Sox have a two-game lead in the AL Central and have scored the sixth-most runs in the league this season.

Chris Sale continues to be a blessing for the team and is now 14-3 on the year, with a 2.60 ERA.

9. San Francisco Giants (63-52)

The San Francisco Giants are now in first place in the NL West thanks to Buster Posey's insane .459 average and 15 RBI in August. He's the hottest hitter in baseball right now and has just six fewer RBI this month than he did in all of July.

Who would have thought Brandon Belt could belt (pun intended) out 13 hits over his last 28 at-bats? Marco Scutaro also has 13 RBI this month despite posting just a .694 OPS in 12 games.

Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong and Madison Bumgarner are three of the best pitchers in the league, combining for 33 wins. Each of them has thrown for at least 140 innings.

The Giants are lucky enough to play the San Diego Padres, Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs in August, so don't be surprised if that NL West lead grows by the time the last month of the season is upon us.

Now, if Tim Lincecum could get it together—maybe that's too much to ask.

10. Los Angeles Dodgers (62-53)

Matt Kemp is starting to heat up after a mediocre (by his standards) stretch of games. Unfortunately, the team's next 10 games will come against opponents that are at least 11 games over .500.

11. St. Louis Cardinals (62-53)

Somehow, someway, the St. Louis Cardinals are in third place in the NL Central despite accumulating a run differential of plus-101—the highest mark in the league for a team not leading its division.

The Cardinals are going to need the Pirates and Reds to falter if they are going to make any headway in a tight division.

12. Baltimore Orioles (62-53)

The Baltimore Orioles seem to be the dark-horse pick that some analysts are choosing to make the playoffs.

That isn't going to happen. Not because the Orioles aren't a good ball club but because the AL East competition is just too good for them to put together a solid run.

13. Detroit Tigers (61-54)

The Detroit Tigers have been disappointing this year and have lost four of five after winning six straight.

This up-and-down year is going to have to change if Jim Leyland wants to see his team playing in October.

14. Los Angeles Angels (60-55)

It is absolutely mind-boggling to think about all the individual talent that the Los Angeles Angels have on their roster.

It is even more mind-boggling when you realize that their individual talent currently has them in third place in the AL West behind the next team on this list.

15. Oakland Athletics (61-53)

The only reason the Oakland Athletics are remotely in the discussion to reach the postseason is because of a 19-5 July.

In August, the A's are just 5-6 and look to be ready for a slide out west.

16. Boston Red Sox (57-59)

Adrian Gonzalez is once again a formidable piece in the middle of the Boston Red Sox lineup, driving in 18 runs in August while hitting a torrid .422.

It may be too late, though, as the Sox sit 5.5 games out of the wild-card race and are all but irrelevant in the AL East.

17. Arizona Diamondbacks (58-57)

The Arizona Diamondbacks are 4-6 over their last 10 and find themselves buried underneath two good teams in the division race.

One game over .500 isn't going to allow the team to even sniff postseason play, so Justin Upton, Jason Kubel and company need to turn it up.

18. New York Mets (55-60)

The New York Mets are pretty tough to watch right now. What we saw at the beginning of the season proved to be the best-case scenario, and now many of the everyday players aren't much more than minor league all-stars.

The Wilpons are going to need to spend some money in the offseason because the bats in the farm system aren't what they think they are.

19. Toronto Blue Jays (54-60)

The Toronto Blue Jays gave some of their division foes a scare early on, but their lack of pitching solidified their place in the cellar of the AL East.

20. Milwaukee Brewers (52-61)

Ryan Braun leads the Milwaukee Brewers in virtually every offensive category. Corey Hart and Aramis Ramirez are doing their best to help him out, but the Brewers aren't going anywhere.

21. Philadelphia Phillies (52-62)

This is nothing more than a consolation prize, but the Philadelphia Phillies have scratched and clawed their way out of last place in the NL East.

Roy Halladay is getting back on track, something that the Phillies desperately need if they are going to bounce back next season.

22. Cleveland Indians (53-62)

The Cleveland Indians have the worst run differential in the American League (minus-101). There are a lot of good players on the team, but nobody who is truly great.

Maybe next year will be the year Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana finally get it together and lead this team to sustained success.

23. Seattle Mariners (53-63)

The Seattle Mariners are in last place, but they aren't the most miserable last-place team in the league.

With a run differential of minus-eight, the Mariners haven't been all that embarrassing this year. If nothing else, they dumped Ichiro's salary by sending him to the East Coast.

26. San Diego Padres (51-65)

The San Diego Padres have won seven of their last 10 games—shocking, I know.

It's going to get ugly in August for the Padres, though. Bud Black's team will play its next 16 games against above-.500 opponents to round out the month.

25. Miami Marlins (52-63)

The Miami Marlins decided to give up on their once-promising young team at the trade deadline. Things have gotten worse for the team now, as they are in last place in the NL East behind the lowly Phillies.

26. Minnesota Twins (49-65)

The Minnesota Twins have just as bad a record as their division rival below, but they can hit. The Twinkies are top 15 in the league in runs scored, batting average and on-base percentage.

In a year when the Twins were supposed to be unwatchable, they haven't been gut-wrenchingly bad.

27. Kansas City Royals (49-65)

Another year, another bad Kansas City Royals team. They should have been better than 49-65 by this time, but sometimes things just don't go so well.

There's a decent crop of young players out in Kansas City, so hopefully the franchise can turn it around in the coming seasons.

28. Chicago Cubs (44-69)

Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro continue to be the two young bright spots for the North Siders, but there isn't much to look at past that.

Alfonso Soriano is having a solid year, with 20 homers and 69 RBI, but he's likely not going to be a part of the team's future plans.

29. Colorado Rockies (41-71)

Coors Field does in the Colorado Rockies again. This team has no pitching, and the hitting isn't good enough to keep up with other teams.

The Rockies are 16 games under .500 at home and just 14 under on the road.

30. Houston Astros (38-78)

There isn't much to say about the Houston Astros, who are 40 games under .500 and clearly the worst team in baseball.

Nobody is envious of Brad Mills' job; he's won less games this year than they are games under .500.