MLB Power Rankings 29 April 2012

MLB Power Rankings 29 April 2012

Here we are with this week’s five best and five worst MLB teams. Remember, the best or worst being #1. Here goes:

The Best

#5 St. Louis Cardinals

            Even with the absence of Chris Carpenter and the demise of Adam Wainwright, the Cards rotation has posted the league’s second best ERA. The rotation leads the league in the WHIP statistic. David Freese has been a freak this year by driving in twenty runs and hitting .333.

#4 Tampa Bay Rays

            The Rays one-two punch of Price and Shields boast a very underrated offense. With BJ Upton coming off the DL they are now even more powerful. Their pitching has supported the offense, and it ranks pretty much in the middle in every category. The Rays are very good at one thing: that’s winning baseball games.

#3 Washington Nationals

            The Nats pitching has been phenomenal this year. They rank pretty much first in every pitching stat. Sixteen out of twenty-one starts have been quality starts. This rotation, led by Stephen Strasburg, has only allowed six dingers all year, and they rank first in the league in strikeouts.

#2 Los Angeles Dodgers

            This was a sleeper team that I knew had the potential to be scary. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier are in a three-way tie with Josh Hamilton for the league lead in RBIs with 24. Matt Kemp has been sensational this year, hitting eleven homeruns! (Five more than the Nationals have allowed this year.) Not to mention, he’s hitting .425! The Dodgers’ rotation hasn’t been bad, ranking eighth in the league in ERA. That’s a good formula for winning games.

#1 Texas Rangers

            The Texas Rangers sport the best record in baseball currently. The reason they boast the best record is their star studded lineup has been killing the ball. The Rangers have the best average in the MLB. They tie with the Yankees for most homeruns with thirty-four. They have scored the most runs in the MLB. They are fielding well and again are tied with the Yankees for the best field percentage in the Major. The rotation has pitched to its potential with addition of Yu Darvish. The Rangers are playing very well ,and they spend their second straight week at the top of the power rankings.

The Worst

#5 Miami Marlins

            The Marlins record is really the only reason they make this list. The team simply needs to gel, and their rotation needs to find their identity. I think this is a temporary position for the Marlins.

#4 Chicago Cubs

            The Cubs pitching has been pretty mediocre with the exception of Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza. The bats, really have been the concern as the Cubs have only hit .237 this year. This ranks twenty-fourth out of thirty.

#3 Los Angeles Angels

            My World Series pick comes in at third worst in the power rankings this week. The Angels have blown six saves. Albert Pujols has had a bad start. He’s currently enduring his second worst homerless streak of his career.

#2 San Diego Padres

            No surprise the Padres are here. They are only hitting .213 as a team, which is the second worst in the league. They also rank twenty-sixth in runs scored.

#1 Minnesota Twins

            The Twins have had a rough week. They sport a 5.77 ERA (worst in the MLB). Morneau and Maurer have only hit a combined five homeruns. Minnesota is a team that depends on their power ,and so far it has let them down.

So there you have the power rankings for 29 April. I hope you’ve enjoyed them. As always, feel free to email me at JCGriffin13@yahoo.com or shoot me a tweet @griffaldo .