MLB Power Rankings: Week 14 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Team (Current Record|Last Week's Ranking)

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (55-32|1)—Matt Kemp was passed over for the All-Star Game for Jayson Werth. Kemp (.583 avg/6 RBI/1.476 OPS last week) was sure playing like he deserved it. There's also no signs of Manny Ramirez (.350 avg/8 RBI/1.085 OPS last week) slowing down.

All-Star Orlando Hudson (.150 avg/.292 OBP last week) continues his struggles. The Dodgers' offense leads the National League in hits (834), batting average (.275), and on-base percentage (.353).

The pitching staff also leads all of baseball in WHIP (1.27), batting average against (.233), and comes second in ERA (3.57). A bad sign for the bullpen is that All-Star Jonathan Broxton is injured, and closing duties will be relegated to Guillermo Mota if need be.

2. Boston Red Sox (53-34|2)—Dustin Pedroia (.481 avg/5 RBI/1.500 OPS last week) has been on-fire, as has Jason Varitek (.333 avg/.955 OPS last week). David Ortiz (10 RBI/1.105 OPS last week) has been an RBI-machine, despite still not hitting a lot. Kevin Youkilis (.200 avg last week) has cooled down massively.

Jon Lester was fantastic last week, lowering his ERA to sub-4.00 and Josh Beckett continued his dominating play. Tim Wakefield's win total has risen in his past three starts, as has his ERA. John Smoltz has not been effective in a single start yet (sorry, 5.0 IP is not effective, Sawx fans), and Brad Penny hasn't been great.

The bullpen is starting to show signs of wear-and-tear, and has relegated title of best bullpen to the Dodgers.

3. Los Angeles Angels (48-37|5)—The Angels scored 24 runs in their past two games... without MVP-candidate Torii Hunter and slugger Vladimir Guerrero. No team in baseball has a better batting average (.283) than the Angels.

They're also fourth in baseball in runs (456), hits (828), RBI (436), and on-base percentage (.347). Bobby Abreu (.375 avg/8 RBI last week) has been an RBI machine, while Erick Aybar (.579 avg/1.547 OPS last week) and Juan Rivera (.333 avg/6 RBI last week) have been hot.

The Angels are going to learn how to beat the Rangers if they want to make the playoffs, as John Lackey (11.57 ERA last week) and Ervin Santana (11.25 ERA) were embarrassed by Texas. Joe Saunders (8.71 ERA/2.03 WHIP last week) has also struggled.

4. New York Yankees (51-36|3)—The Yankees cannot win at Angel Stadium, having lost 16 of their past 21 games there. Alex Rodriguez (.409 avg/3 HR/1.345 OPS) is now number ten on the home run list. Derek Jeter (.433 avg/1.148 OPS last week), Robinson Cano (.400 avg/1.004 OPS last week), and Hideki Matsui (.353 avg/8 RBI last week) have played great.

Brett Gardner (.333 avg/6 RBI last week) should have injected himself into the Rookie of the year discussion. Eric Hinske has three home runs in nine at-bats for the Yankees.

Andy Pettitte (10.45 ERA last week) and Joba Chamberlain (7.88 ERA/2.50 WHIP last week) have each looked awful in their past two starts. CC Sabathia (1.29 ERA/0.57 WHIP) had a great rebound game last week.

5. San Francisco Giants (49-38|5)—How is somebody (Pablo Sandoval, 11 RBI last week) who is ranked fourth in batting average (.334) and sixth in OPS (.969) not an All-Star? Travis Ishikawa is batting .375 during his current ten game hitting streak and Juan Uribe (.556 avg/1.619 OPS last week) has also been hot.

Jonathan Sanchez threw the first no-hitter for 2009, and was nearly perfect in doing so. Barry Zito (0 ER/8.1 IP) looked vintage in his last start.

Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain continued their great play, although hopefully nothing too serious is wrong with Cain, as his throwing arm was hit by a line drive. Brian Wilson (5.40 ERA last week) needs to give up less runs.

6. Texas Rangers (48-38|4)—The Rangers continue to dominate the Angels. They're only ranked lower because the Angels have the hardest strength of schedule in baseball. Andruw Jones (7 RBI last week) has been an RBI machine, but still cannot consistently hit. Ian Kinsler (.167 avg last week) has also lost his ability to hit consistently.

Josh Hamilton (.292 avg last week) has failed to get an home run, let alone an RBI since returning. All-Star Nelson Cruz (.133 avg last week) has also struggled. Tommy Hunter (0 ER/6.0 IP) was excellent in his last start and Scott Feldman has also been great (2.13 ERA last week).

Kevin Millwood (10.64 ERA/.362 BAA last week) has looked awful.

7. Philadelphia Phillies (47-38|16)—The Phillies look like they've returned to their winning ways. Chase Utley (.423 avg/3 HR/1.346 OPS last week) has been on-fire. Jimmy Rollins (.401 avg/1.222 OPS/5 SB last week) is starting to play great. So have All-Star additions Shane Victorino (.367 avg/7 RBI last week) and Jayson Werth (4 HR/11 RBI/1.365 OPS last week).

Ryan Howard (.318 avg/1.136 OPS last week) has also been on-fire. The return of Raul Ibanez should also help this offense. Joe Blanton (0.61 ERA last week) has been the Phillies' best pitcher. Cole Hamels (1.29 ERA last week) has finally looked good and J.A. Happ has continued to put up great rookie numbers.

8. Tampa Bay Rays (48-40|8)—Where has Evan Longoria (.237 avg last month) gone? All-Star Ben Zobrist (.364 avg/6 RBI last week) has continued his great play. Carlos Pena (.182 avg last week), BJ Upton (.192 avg last week), and Carl Crawford (.200 avg last week) all have struggled as of late. Jeff Niemann looked great in his complete game shutout, albeit was against Oakland.

James Shields has consistently played great under-the-radar and David Price (1 ER/6.0 IP) finally had another good start. Scott Kazmir (9.95 ERA last week) has yet to be effective since returning of the disabled list. Joe Nelson and Grant Balfour out of the bullpen have not been strong suits for the Rays.

9. Detroit Tigers (47-39|7)—Placido Polanco (.353 avg/1.006 OPS last week) was the Tigers' best player last week. Marcus Thames (7 RBI) has been an RBI-machine, but can't hit consistently. All-Stars Curtis Granderson (.238 avg/0 RBI last week) and Brandon Inge (.200 avg/.654 OPS last week) have struggled as has Magglio Ordonez (.154 avg/0 RBI last week).

All-Star Edwin Jackson (1.29 ERA) has continued his phenomenal play while Luke French (1 ER/6.1 IP) outdueld Zack Greinke in his last start. Justin Verlander hurled yet another quality start while Armando Galarraga (3.46 ERA last week) continues to look like a viable fourth pitcher.

10. St. Louis Cardinals (48-41|10)—Skip Schumaker (.435 OBP last week) has looked like an actual leadoff hitter. Ryan Ludwick (.375 avg/11 RBI/1.157 OPS last week) has been absolutely on-fire, as have Albert Pujols (.364 avg/1.136 OPS last week) and Colby Rasmus (.304 avg/1.037 OPS last week).

Why weren't Adam Wainwright (9-5, 3.09 ERA) and Chris Carpenter (7-3, 2.47 ERA) named All-Stars? Joel Pineiro (1.00 ERA/0.33 WHIP last week) has consistently been good while Todd Wellemeyer (9.00 ERA/.423 BAA last week) has stunk. The Cardinals' pitching staff has the fourth best ERA (3.77) and third best WHIP (1.29) in all of baseball.

11. Colorado Rockies (46-41|12)—Todd Helton (.375 avg/1.131 OPS last week) should have been an All-Star. Dexter Fowler (.348 avg/5 SB last week) and Troy Tulowitzki (.308 avg/1.088 OPS last week) have been hot, while Brad Hawpe (.150 avg/.411 OPS last week) has cooled down.

Jason Marquis (1.93 ERA last week) continues to throw great stuff, while the rest of the starting pitching rotation didn't fare well at all last week. The Rockies lost Alan Embree for the year, in a painstaking injury, so the Rockies are going to try Matt Belisle in their not-so-good bullpen again.

12. Seattle Mariners (45-42|9)—Franklin Gutierrez (.385 avg/8 RBI/1.121 OPS last week) has been on-fire, while Russell Branyan (.167 avg last week) has been struggling.

Ichiro Suzuki is now on yet another ten game hitting streak. Jason Vargas (0 ER/5.0 IP) was good in his last start while Jarrod Washburn (2-0, 0.56 ERA last week) has been phenomenal.

Felix Hernandez (1.13 ERA last week) is climbing up the Cy Young ladder, while Erik Bedard didn't look good in his return. Brandon Morrow (5.73 ERA) has yet to be an effective starter. Seattle still has the best pitching staff in the American League (3.74 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, .246 BAA).

13. Chicago White Sox (45-42|13)—Jermaine Dye (.455 avg/1.220 OPS last week) and Paul Konerko (.450 avg/10 RBI/1.400 OPS last week) continue to carry the offensive load for the Pale Hose. A.J. Pierzysnki (.364 avg/1.000 OPS last week) has also been hot.

Jose Contreras (1.42 ERA last week) continues to dominate since returning from the disabled list. All-Star Mark Buehrle keeps piling up wins while John Danks and Gavin Floyd were terrible in their starts against the Twins. Clayton Richard (0-2, 19.29 ERA last week) looks like he's going to be demoted soon, as Bartolo Colon made his rehab start.

14. Milwaukee Brewers (45-42|11)—Losing series against the Cubs and the Cardinals isn't going to help the Brewers make the playoffs. Ryan Braun (.167 avg/0 RBI last week) struggling contributed to those losses.

Prince Fielder (.400 avg/1.170 OPS last week) and Matt Gamel (.333 avg/1.233 OPS last week) have been playing great. Manny Parra (0 ER/7.0 IP) looked great in his return from the minors.

Both Jeff Suppan and Yovani Gallardo struggled in their starts against St. Louis, while Braden Looper continues to struggle and Mike Burns has yet to be an effective starting pitcher.

15. Chicago Cubs (42-42|18)—The bipolarity continues for the Cubs. Ryan Theriot (.435 avg last week) has been hot as has Alfonso Soriano (.389 avg last week). Derek Lee (8 RBI/1.077 OPS last week) has continued to produced runs. Aramis Ramirez is 5-for-20 since returning from the disabled list.

Geovany Soto going on the disabled list isn't a good sign for the Cubs and Milton Bradley (.154 avg/.507 OPS last week) continues his awful play. Ryan Dempster is on the disabled list after a "freak" accident. Rich Harden (1-4, 6.53 ERA) has been awful since returning from the DL, while the rest of the rotation (especially rookie Randy Wells) has been solid.

16. Florida Marlins (45-44|15)—There was an obvious correlation between Hanley Ramirez sitting on the bench and the struggles of the Marlins. Dan Uggla (.320 avg/5 RBI last week) has finally started to play well as have John Baker (.364 avg last week) and Jorge Cantu (.308 avg/5 RBI last week).

Chris Volstad was phenomenal in his complete game shutout of the Giants, while Josh Johnson has continued to pitch well. Andrew Miller and Sean West both have struggled, while Ricky Nolsaco finally had a terrible start (7 ER/6.0 IP) since returning from the minors.

17. Houston Astros (43-44|21)—The Astros have the second best batting average (.268) in the National League. Carlos Lee (.400 avg last week), Miguel Tejada (.375 avg/6 RBI last week), and even Kazuo Matsui (.350 avg/.500 OBP last week) have been great.

Michael Bourn (.333 avg/6 RBI/1.054) and Lance Berkman (7 RBI) have been great run producers. Wandy Rodriguez (8-6, 2.56 ERA) was an All-Star snub. Roy Oswalt (2-0, 2.57 ERA last week) has been great in his last few starts while the rest of the rotation has been unreliable.

18. Minnesota Twins (44-44|14)—Justin Morneau (.300 avg/5 RBI/1.041 OPS last week) continues to be the best player in the AL. Joe Mauer (.364 avg last week) has continued with his hot bat and Jason Kubel (.412 avg/1.187 OPS last week) has been great.

Nick Blackburn (2-0, 2.81 ERA last week) may be the most underrated pitcher in the American League. The rest of the rotation all have stunk in their last starts. Jose Mijares (11 holds, 1.91 ERA) should also be in the discussion for Rookie of the Year.

19. Atlanta Braves (43-44|19)—Martin Prado (.400 avg/.471 OBP last week) and Nate McLouth (.324 avg/1.035 OPS last week) have been playing great. The Braves must feel good to have let Jeff Francouer go. Tommy Hanson had a rough outing in his last start, while Jair Jurrjens has been able to rebound well this year after bad starts.

Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami were both great in their last starts, yielding only one earned run in six innings pitched each. Javier Vazquez (2.95 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) should be the All-Star fill-in for Jonathan Broxton.

20. Cincinnati Reds (42-44|17)—Joey Votto (.321 avg/18 total bases last week) continues to put up stellar numbers. The Reds do not have much offense from anywhere else, as they're fifth or worse in the Majors in runs (349), hits (721), RBI (331), total bases (1142), batting average (.248), and slugging (.392).

Homer Bailey has been putting up good numbers, but not getting wins. Bronson Arroyo was on both ends of the extreme last week, pitching one complete game shutout and one awful outing (9.00 ERA). Usually reliable Johnny Cueto also struggled (13 ER/5.2 IP).

21. New York Mets (41-45|22)—The story is the same with Mets, as they can hit for average (.268), but can't hit for for power (50 HR/.387 slg/1121 total bases/228 extra base hits). Nobody on this team had more than two RBI last week.

The Mets are also the only team in baseball who didn't hit a home run last week. We'll see if Jeff Francouer can do anything. David Wright (.238 avg/1 RBI last week) has gone missing. Johan Santana (1.29 ERA last week) has looked great in his last two starts, and Oliver Perez has looked good. Fernando Nieve has also lost three games in a row.

22. Toronto Blue Jays (44-45|20)—The Jays' season is going downhill fast. Will Roy Halladay be dealt to another team? Vernon Wells (.355 avg last week) has played better and Marco Scutaro (.320 avg/5 RBI last week) has continued his great play.

Marc Rzepczynski (1 ER/6.0 IP) looked good in his debut, but got no run support. Ricky Romero has not lost in over a month, while Roy Halladay has not won in a month (due to lack of run support). The Jays also released closer BJ Ryan as Scott Downs returned off of the disabled list.

23. Arizona Diamondbacks (38-50|23)—Gerardo Parra (.444 avg/5 RBI/1.057 OPS last week) should definitely be in the Rookie of the Year discussion. Miguel Montero (.375 avg/1.025 OPS last week), Stephen Drew (.316 avg/1.079 OPS last week), and Justin Upton (.308 avg/6 RBI last week) have all contributed to the Diamondbacks winning seven of their last eight.

Every starter except one had a sub-3.00 ERA last week. Dan Haren (2-0, 0.60 ERA) continues his Cy Young campaign, while Jon Garland and Doug Davis continue to improve their trade value.

24. Baltimore Orioles (39-48|25)—Luke Scott (.400 avg/16 total bases/8 RBI/1.255 OPS last week) has been absolutely on-fire. Matt Wieters (.294 avg last week) continues to improve while Nolan Reimold (.100 avg/7 strikeouts last week) is struggling.

David Hernandez (2 ER/6.0 IP) had a good start in his last game and Brad Bergesen hurled yet another quality start. Jason Berken also looked a lot better (2 ER/5.2 IP) in his last start. Rich Hill continues to be his inconsistent play while Jeremy Guthrie will be missing his next start due to injury.

25. Oakland Athletics (36-49|25)—The A's still lack offense, as they're the worst American League team in hits (706), total bases (1067), batting average (.244), slugging (.368), and extra base hits (215).

Orlando Cabrera (.357 avg/4 RBI last week) has played a lot better as have Adam Kennedy (11 total bases) and Kurt Suzuki (.346 avg last week). Brett Anderson was fantastic in his complete game, two-hit shutout of the Red Sox. Dallas Braden has also continued his great play, while the rest of the starting rotation hasn't pitched that great.

26. Kansas City Royals (37-50|26)—The Royals are an awful offensive team, being worst or second worst in all of baseball in runs (346), RBI (330), batting average (.252), total bases (1180), on-base percentage (.312), and slugging (.401). Willie Bloomquist (.385 avg/1.061 OPS last week), Billy Butler (.367 avg/1.040 OPS last week), and David DeJesus (.346 avg/6 RBI last week) have been playing well.

Brian Bannister (1.98 ERA last week) has been great while Zack Greinke has been outpitched in his last two starts. An injured Gil Meche would not be good for the Royals.

27. Pittsburgh Pirates (38-49|23)—The Pirates as a team only batted .181 with 15 RBI last week, where the Pirates went 1-5. Matt Capps (6.00 WHIP/33.75 ERA last week) has been terrible as he blew a huge game against the Phillies. Garrett Jones (.364 avg/1.122 OPS last week) has been playing great.

Nobody else on offense has stepped up. Paul Maholm pitched good last week, but is still inconsistent. Zach Duke has also pitched well, but has lacked run support. Virgil Vasquez and Charlie Morton have also not pitched well in their past starts.

28. Cleveland Indians (35-53|29)—Cleveland's big bats in Victor Martinez (.111 avg last week) and Shin-soo Choo (.211 avg last week) have struggled. Grady Sizemore can drive in runs, but still has failed to consistently hit. Carl Pavano has only yielded two earned runs in each of his past three starts, while Cliff Lee has not won in a month.

David Huff and Jeremy Sowers have yet to be reliable or consistent. Cleveland has the worst pitching staff in all of baseball (5.35 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and .281 BAA), while Kerry Wood continues to give up runs.

29. San Diego Padres (35-52|24)—The Padres have now lost seven in a row and are at the bottom of the NL West. The Friars are the worst offense in the baseball, being last in the Majors in runs (324), hits (676), RBI (310), batting average (.232), on-base percentage (.310), and slugging (.367).

The team batted a collective .192 with 17 RBI last week, including being no-hit by Jonathan Sanchez. Chad Gaudin, Tim Stauffer, and Kevin Correia all pitched well last week, but got no run support. Josh Geer has been inconsistent and hasn't won since the end of May.

30. Washington Nationals (26-60|30)—The Nationals are the first team in the Majors to reach 60 losses. Only the Nationals could bat a collective .328 with 35 RBI and only go 2-5 during the week. Nyjer Morgan (.367 avg last week) has played well. 

We should blame the defense, which committed nine errors in the past seven games, while the catchers allowed nine stolen bases in that span. Or we could blame the pitching, which boasted a 5.06 ERA and only 1.20 K/BB ratio. Craig Stammen (1.69 ERA/1.00 WHIP last week) has been pitching well as of late.

Previous Power Rankings: |1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|

Breakdown, awards choices, and much more on the next page...

Breakdown:

Biggest climb: The Philadelphia Phillies jumped nine spots from No. 16 to No. 7 by going 6-1 last week.

Biggest fall: The San Diego Padres fell five spots from No. 24 to No. 29 by losing seven in a row.

Best team average: The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best team average (2.07) by being first eight times, second four times, fifth once, and eighth once.

Worst team average: The Washington Nationals have the worst team average (29.79) by being ranked last 12 times, 29th once, and 28th once.

Teams yet to fall out of the top 10: Dodgers and Cardinals

Teams yet to climb out of the bottom 10: Indians and Nationals

Prediction of the week: The NL will win the All-Star Game.

Division Rankings/Picture (Record|Last Week's Ranking)
*Divisional rankings are based on the average power rankings.

1. AL West (177-166|1): (3) Laa, (6) Tex, (12) Sea, (25) Oak
2. AL East (235-203|2): (2) Bos, (4) Nyy, (8) Tbr, (22) Tor, (24) Bal
3. NL West (223-213|3): (1) Lad, (5) Sfg, (11) Col, (23) Ari, (29) Sdp
4. NL Central (258-262|4): (10) Stl, (14) Mil, (15) Chc, (17) Hou, (20) Hou, (27) Pit
4. NL East (202-231|6): (7) Phi, (16) Fla, (19) Atl, (21) Nym, (30) Was
6. AL Central (208-228|5): (9) Det, (13) Cws, (18) Min, (26) Kcr, (28) Cle

If the playoffs started today...

1. Boston v. 3. Detroit
2. Los Angeles v. 4. New York

1. Los Angeles v. 3. St. Louis
2. Philadelphia v. 4. San Francisco

If awards were handed out today...

AL MVP: Justin Morneau (Minnesota Twins)
NL MVP: Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals)

AL Cy: Zack Greinke (Kansas City Royals)
NL Cy: Tim Lincecum (San Francisco Giants)

AL RoY: Ricky Romero (Toronto Blue Jays)
NL RoY: Colby Rasmus (St. Louis Cardinals)

AL MoY: Jim Leyland (Detroit Tigers)
NL MoY: Bruce Bochy (San Francisco Giants)

AL Comeback: Aaron Hill (Toronto Blue Jays)
NL Comeback: Chris Carpenter (St. Louis Cardinals)