2015 MLB Power Rankings: Rays, Marlins, Pirates streaking
Apr 21, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer (22) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
As we enter the fourth week of the 2015 season, the Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates are all riding five-game winning streaks.
The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets continue to reign as the elite teams in the National League while the Houston Astros have and Detroit Tigers remain as division leaders in the American League.
Trending down this week are the Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves.
Here are the rankings for this week
63. <strong><a href=. (13-6). Previous: 1st. Detroit Tigers. 1. team
2. team. 33. The root of the Cardinals success this season can be attributed to currently having baseball’s lowest ERA. That could very well change soon as <strong><a href=. (12-5). Previous: 4th. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Many are impressed by the Mets’ 11 game winning streak which finally came to an end last week. But are they really this good or have they just taken advantage of an easy schedule to start the season?. (14-5). Previous: 5th. New York Mets. 3. team
Previous: 3rd. Kansas City Royals. 4. team. 7. We are not even a full month into the season and <strong><a href=. (12-6)
71. After a week in which the Los Angeles Dodgers were swept by the San Francisco Giants, the team received even more bad news as injuries to both <strong><a href=. (11-7). Previous: 2nd. Los Angeles Dodgers. 5. team
6. team. 4. The Pirates look to have a true ace in <strong><a href=. (11-8). Previous: 13th. Pittsburgh Pirates
Next: Where do the Padres rank?
Apr 26, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) pitches during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
127. The strength of the San Diego Padres this season was supposed to be their pitching. Instead control has been a major issue and the bats have been strong enough to carry the load.. (11-9). Previous: 6th. San Diego Padres. 7. team
8. team. 21. The Rays may have a true <strong><a href=. (11-8). Previous: 20th. Tampa Bay Rays
Previous: 15th. Houston Astros. 9. team. 135. It’s not pretty sometimes watching the swing-happy Astros. But the fact remains that they entered the year as the one team with no shot of winning the AL West and instead are the only team in the division playing winning baseball this season.. (11-7)
43. The New York Yankees look to have a formidable 3-4 punch in the middle of the order with <strong><a href=. (11-8). Previous: 17th. New York Yankees. 10. team
team. 9. The Chicago Cubs offense has been impressive since the call up of <strong><a href=. (10-7). Previous: 12th. Chicago Cubs. 11
12. team. 14. The Red Sox currently have seven players hitting under .200 and no starting pitcher with an ERA under 4.00. And somehow sit just one game back from first place in the AL East.. (10-9). Previous: 8th. Boston Red Sox
Next: Are the Rockies an improved team?
Apr 25, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher John Axford (66) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. The Giants defeated the Rockies 5-4 in extra innings. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Previous: 10th. Colorado Rockies. 13. team. 108. You get the feeling that it’s just a matter of time before the Colorado Rockies get left behind in the NL West. Their offensive numbers are impressive but they just don’t have the pitching to maintain.. (10-8)
Previous: 9th. Atlanta Braves. 14. team. 17. The Braves are another team that lack the talent to stay in the playoff hunt all season. The offense is beginning to go cold and starting rotation isn’t deep enough to carry the load.. (9-9)
11. Last season it was <strong><a href=. (9-10). Previous: 7th. Baltimore Orioles. 15. team
The Los Angeles Angels surprised us all with the news that <strong><a href=. (9-10). Previous: 22nd. Los Angeles Angels. 16. team. 102
The emergence of <strong><a href=. (9-10). Previous: 18th. Toronto Blue Jays. 17. team. 39
Previous: 14th. Oakland Athletics. 18. team. 96. The Oakland Athletics have lost their last four games and now lose <strong><a href=. (8-12)
Next: The Nationals had a tough week
Apr 24, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) connects for an RBI single during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
90. It’s mind-boggling to see the Nationals struggle this much to start the season. There is good news on the horizon however as <strong><a href=. (7-12). Previous: 11th. Washington Nationals. 19. team
(8-10). Previous: 19th. Cincinnati Reds. 20. team. 61. <strong><a href=
Chicago White Sox. 21. team. 128. The Chicago White Sox witnessed <strong><a href=. (8-9). Previous: 23rd
(8-10). Previous: 16th. Arizona Diamondbacks. 22. team. 8. It looks like a sudden injury to <strong><a href=
team. 62. The combined numbers for all the starting pitchers for the Seattle Mariners not named <strong><a href=. (7-11). Previous: 21st. Seattle Mariners. 23
Despite sitting in the bottom five in the AL in just about every major offensive and pitching category, The Minnesota Twins have been competitive the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately Detroit comes to town today.. (8-10). Previous: 24th. Minnesota Twins. 24. team. 2
25. team. 40. The San Francisco Giants seem to finally have a pulse. They swept the Dodgers last week and are getting strong production from their 1-2-3 hitters, <strong><a href=. (8-11). Previous: 27th. San Francisco Giants
Next: Who is ranked last?
Apr 26, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers (50) reacts after giving up a solo home run to St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Mark Reynolds (12) in the fifth inning at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
During the Marlins five game winning streak, they have held their opponents to two runs or less. <strong><a href=. (8-11). Previous: 29th. Miami Marlins. 26. team. 82
Texas Rangers. 27. team. 126. The Texas Rangers have the AL’s worst batting average and it’s not even close. It is just unbelievable how bad <strong><a href=. (7-11). Previous: 25th
Philadelphia Phillies. 28. team. 6. The Philadelphia Phillies are the NL’s version of the Rangers. Just replace Beltre and Choo with <strong><a href=. (7-12). Previous: 28th
(4-15). Previous: 30th. Milwaukee Brewers. 30. team. 76. The Brewers continue to be baseball’s worst team. Last week, two more key players in <strong><a href=
Next: Has Jamaal Charles Lost a Step?