ESPN.com
The St. Louis Cardinals were the unanimous pick among our panel of experts as baseball's best team heading into Week 6 of the season. The Kansas City Royals hold tight to the No. 2 spot, while the Los Angeles Dodgers rise two spots to No. 3.This week's voters were Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Eric Karabell of ESPN Fantasy, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Most of the team comments come courtesy of the bloggers on the SweetSpot Blog Network. How do you rank all 30 teams? Go ahead and rank them yourself.
Tell us what you think about the Power Rankings. Use the hashtag #ESPNMLBPOWER.
| 2015 Power Rankings: May 11 | |||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | ||
| 1 |
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Last Week: 1 | After losing Adam Wainwright for the season, the Cardinals spent the past four games without Matt Carpenter. But subs like Peter Bourjos and Mark Reynolds are picking up the slack, helping the Cardinals hold onto the best record in baseball. -- Matt Philip (@fungoes), Fungoes | |||
| 2 |
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Last Week: 2 | The Royals continue to roll, taking two out of three from the Tigers, but there are two things to watch: Jeremy Guthrie has a 5.70 ERA and has struck out just 14 batters in 36.1 innings while second baseman Omar Infante has a .253 OBP. Those are areas the Royals could address at the trade deadline. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot | |||
| 3 | 2 Last Week: 5 | Yasiel Puig tweaked his hamstring again while on a rehab assignment, which will delay his return to the club. It's unlikely the Dodgers will need him anytime soon, as they play 13 of their next 16 games at home, where they are 13-2 this season. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Replacement Grit | |||
| 4 |
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Last Week: 4 | The Royals are as real as the Tigers' mounting injury concerns and (insert broken record) lack of bullpen depth. Also, will the real J.D. Martinez please stand up? If a fifth straight AL Central crown is to be donned in Detroit, health, the 2014 Martinez batting combo and the Tigers' lineup depth will need to appear with greater consistency. -- Ryan Callery (@AdSal44), Walkoff Woodward | |||
| 5 | 2 Last Week: 3 | Chris Carter is batting .151 and has a .558 OPS in 30 games. The Astros need a whole lot more than that from a guy batting in a run-producing spot in their order. -- ESPN.com | |||
| 6 | 1 Last Week: 7 | The Yankees are still atop the American League East standings despite CC Sabathia's awful start and Masahiro Tanaka's elbow injury. This is due in large part to their bullpen, which is putting up impressive numbers with Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller leading the way, and their offense, which is being led by the red-hot Jacoby Ellsbury. -- Stacey Gotsulias (@StaceGots), It's About the Money | |||
| 7 | 1 Last Week: 6 | With a 17-9 record and 2.99 ERA, Mets starting pitchers lead all of MLB in wins, winning percentage and ERA, and they've issued the fewest walks (34). The entire staff is second to St. Louis in ERA at 2.86 and tied with the Cardinals to lead MLB in saves (15). -- Joe Janish (@metstoday), Mets Today | |||
| 8 | 7 Last Week: 15 | Bryce Harper had six home runs and 13 RBIs in the Nationals' past four games. He now leads the Nationals League in homers (11) and is third in RBIs (28). -- ESPN.com | |||
| 9 |
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Last Week: 9 | Just when it looked like the Rays were starting to get healthy, the team likely lost two of its top three starters for the season. Alex Cobb was announced as the club's Opening Day starter, but instead he will miss the entire 2015 season and most of 2016 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Drew Smyly is also likely out for the season with an injured shoulder. -- Tommy Rancel (@trancel), The Process Report | |||
| 10 | 7 Last Week: 17 | Roster churn is the name of the game for the Blue Jays. Since the beginning of May, the Jays have promoted eight players to the major league level. Some have been useful, like Chris Colabello, but others have been lacking. Either way, a roster full of filler is the unfortunate reality for the Jays as they continue to battle injuries. -- Matt Gwin (@Matt_HBB), Blue Jays Plus | |||
| 11 | 1 Last Week: 10 | Justin Upton has 15 RBIs in 19 career games against the Diamondbacks, the club that drafted and traded him. San Diego has played nearly 7,400 games in its 45-plus year history, and has never had a player hit for the cycle. Friday night, Wil Myers (no triple) and Will Venable (no double) became the 359th and 360th to miss the cycle by one hit. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Replacement Grit | |||
| 12 | 9 Last Week: 21 | The red-hot Twins have won nine of their past 11, and are four games above .500 for the first time since 2010. Yep, it's been quite the drought. -- Nick Nelson (@nnelson9), Twins Daily | |||
| 13 | 5 Last Week: 8 | Through the first 21 games, the Cubs' pitching staff posted a 3.53 ERA. In the past nine, they have an ERA of 6.49. -- Joe Aiello (@VFTB), View from the Bleachers | |||
| 14 | 2 Last Week: 16 | Garrett Richards has a 2.27 ERA in five starts, and in that time (31 2/3 innings) he has allowed only one home run. -- ESPN.com | |||
| 15 | 5 Last Week: 20 | The Reds continue to tread water around the .500 mark; they'll need better production from the outfield in order to move up in the standings. Cincinnati outfielders are hitting a dismal .198/.272/.358, including Billy Hamilton's .268 OBP from the leadoff spot. -- Chad Dotson (@dotsonc), Redleg Nation | |||
| 16 | 2 Last Week: 14 | The Orioles may feel comfortable using Jimmy Paredes only at DH, but that's fine if he keeps hitting. Out of all major league players with 75 or more plate appearances, Paredes is third in slugging percentage (.684). -- Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot | |||
| 17 | 5 Last Week: 12 | Jarred Cosart, who has yielded only 15 homers in 274 2/3 career innings, gave up his first-ever grand slam on Friday. Dee Gordon, leading the majors in batting average at .439, is hitting a gaudy .509 (29-for-57) at home. Tom Koehler versus Bryce Harper prior to last Wednesday: 2-for-15 (.133) with three strikeouts. Wednesday: three at-bats, three homers. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Replacement Grit | |||
| 18 |
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Last Week: 18 | The Giants entered the season with question marks surrounding their starting pitching, but the offense has proven to be the Achilles' heel of the defending champs. San Francisco has scored the third-fewest runs in baseball and has yet to score more than six runs in any game this season. -- Andrew Tweedy (@WCBGiants), West Coast Bias | |||
| 19 | 8 Last Week: 11 | With a home run on Sunday and two-hit games in four of his past five starts, Jung Ho Kang (.333/.377/.521) is hitting his way into a regular spot in the lineup, especially with Josh Harrison (.173) and Jordy Mercer (.194) both struggling. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot | |||
| 20 | 4 Last Week: 24 | The Braves need to stop serving as the catalyst for the Nationals' hot streaks. Atlanta hasn't had an injury to a pitcher yet this season, but it already has used 19 of them, one fewer than it used all of last year. At some point the Braves will realize they traded too many relievers in the offseason, and the answer to their bullpen woes is not in their minor league system. -- Martin Gandy (@gondeee), Chop County | |||
| 21 | 8 Last Week: 13 | A thrilling win on Sunday prevented a sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays, but it also capped a third consecutive series loss. To bat every day, a scuffling Allen Craig has been shipped to Triple-A Pawtucket, where Jackie Bradley Jr. has been red-hot. Meanwhile, the team's patience is being rewarded with Mike Napoli, who drew two walks on Sunday to go along with his third home run. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona | |||
| 22 | 1 Last Week: 23 | At 12-21, the A's have the worst winning percentage (.364) in the American League. -- ESPN.com | |||
| 23 | 2 Last Week: 25 | After a team meeting and a couple of rainouts, the offense broke out in a big way with 11 home runs and a .911 team OPS in the next six games. Robbie Ray was dominant in his D-backs debut, while Daniel Hudson also impressed when the rainouts led to his first start in nearly three years. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona | |||
| 24 | 2 Last Week: 22 | Seattle had a 3-3 week in which all three of its losses were by a single run. Nelson Cruz cooled off a little, hitting only one home run, while Felix Hernandez, J.A. Happ and James Paxton all turned in effective starts. Things were shaken up when it was announced that Brad Miller would be moving off shortstop for Chris Taylor and heading to the outfield permanently. -- Jeff Wiser (@outfieldgrass24), Inside the 'Zona | |||
| 25 | 3 Last Week: 28 | After putting up an OPS of .423 in the month of April, Shin-Soo Choo has turned things around nicely with a .982 OPS so far in May. Perhaps more impressive, he has had 10 extra-base hits in the first 10 days of the month. -- Brandon Land (@one_strike_away), One Strike Away | |||
| 26 | 1 Last Week: 27 | Carlos Rodon got his first MLB start (six solid innings, eight strikeouts) as the White Sox won back-to-back series. With Hector Noesi leaving his previous start with an injury and Chris Sale and Jeff Samardzija suspended, can he finagle a steady rotation spot? -- James Fegan (@TheCatbird_Seat), The Catbird Seat | |||
| 27 | 1 Last Week: 26 | If you say something like "the Indians have homered in six consecutive games, and Nick Swisher went 4-for-4 last night," you might think they had finally won a game. Last week, they dropped series to division rivals Kansas City and Minnesota. -- Susan Petrone (@susanpetrone), It's Pronounced "Lajaway" | |||
| 28 | 9 Last Week: 19 | Very little seems to be going right for the Rockies right now. Losers of nine games in a row going back to last week, they lost relief-ace Adam Ottavino for the season to Tommy John surgery. They even lost two (and a half) games to rain -- in Denver. One bright spot: reliever John Axford's 2-year-old son, who is recovering from a rattlesnake bite, threw out the first pitch on Friday. -- Adam Peterson (@PlayerTBNL), Rockies Zingers | |||
| 29 |
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Last Week: 29 | Hey, Chase Utley got hits in back-to-back games! With a pinch-hit single on Saturday and a double on Sunday he raised his average to .116. It had dipped to .099 after Friday's game. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot | |||
| 30 |
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Last Week: 30 | With a managerial shake-up for the Brewers, signaling that the rebuild is on, the club had its best week yet on the field. The Brewers accomplished something new in 2015: they didn't play their best ball, but efficiently turned 39 runs scored/42 runs allowed into a 4-3 record. -- Nicholas Zettel (@spectivewax), Disciples of Uecker | |||
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