2015 MLB Power Rankings: Harper pushing the Nats to the top
May 15, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder
Bryce Harper(34) is congratulated by third base coach
Bob Henley(14) after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Bryce Harper has arrived folks.
Over his last 11 games, Harper has nine home runs, 21 RBI and the Washington Nationals have won nine of those 11 games.
That streak for Harper and Nationals have them just a half game behind the New York Mets for first place in the National League East division.
The Nationals however not the only team in baseball riding a hot streak.
The city of Chicago has come alive. The Chicago White Sox are winners of five straight and have the highest climb of any team in this week’s power rankings while the Chicago Cubs have won six of their last seven.
The Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies are also riding five-game winning streaks.
With hot streaks come cold spells as the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and the city of New York headline teams going in the opposite direction heading into this week.
Here are the rest of the rankings.
Next: The Astros enter the top five.
May 16, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrer (24) watches the ball as he follows through while batting during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports
33. The St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in baseball and top spot once again this week. The starting rotation should get a boost as <strong><a href=. (25-12). Previous: 1st. St. Louis Cardinals. 1. team
Los Angeles Dodgers. 2. team. 71. An opportunity at playing time has led to a resurgence for <strong><a href=. (24-13). Previous: 2nd
63. The Detroit Tigers took the liberty to cool off two of the hottest teams in baseball last week in the Cardinals and Minnesota Twins. In the process <strong><a href=. (23-15). Previous: 4th. Detroit Tigers. 3. team
team. 7. For the Kansas City Royals to remain at the top of of the AL Central, they need more production from their starters. Since entering the rotation for the injured <strong><a href=. (24-14). Previous: 3rd. Kansas City Royals. 4
Houston Astros. 5. team. 135. The Houston Astros are last in the AL in batting average, first in strikeouts and 11th in ERA yet they have the best record in the AL. It is incredible how much of an impact home runs and stolen bases have made for them this season.. (25-13). Previous: 7th
6. team. 90. While the Nationals are finally starting hit, the rotation may be a concern soon. <strong><a href=. (22-17). Previous: 9th. Washington Nationals
7. team. 9. While all the talk for the Cubs lately has been in the direction of <strong><a href=. (21-16). Previous: 13th. Chicago Cubs
43. A rough week for the New York Yankees has resulted in their AL East division lead shrinking to just one game. Consistency from the starting rotation continues to be the biggest issue.. (22-17). Previous: 5th. New York Yankees. 8. team
3. The New York Mets are in the same boat as the Yankees as far as losing ground with their division lead. While starting pitching is not an issue, the vanishing power of their offense is.. (22-16). Previous: 6th. New York Mets. 9. team
Minnesota Twins. 10. team. 2. The Twins remain a factor in the AL Central but must continue to get career years out of <strong><a href=. . Previous: 8th
Next: The White Sox are working their way up.
May 17, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Chicago White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia (26) celebrates with infielder Jose Abreu (79) after scoring a run against the Oakland Athletics in the fifth inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Rays. 11. team. 21. The Yankees struggles have benefited the Tampa Bay Rays the most. The pitching continues to carry the load as opponents are hitting for a MLB worst .222 average.. (21-18). Previous: 11th
Previous: 12th. San Francisco Giants. 12. team. 40. The San Francisco Giants have now climbed their way to second in the NL West and get a three game series against the Dodgers this week. The last time these two teams met, the Giants got a three game sweep in San Francisco.. (20-18)
team. 102. It took a while but the Los Angeles Angels finally have pushed themselves over .500. While the offense still could be more productive, the story is their pitching which now leads the AL in ERA.. (19-18). Previous: 20th. Los Angeles Angels. 13
14. team. 128. Another team on the rise is the White Sox. Led by <strong><a href=. (17-17). Previous: 24th. Chicago White Sox
127. The San Diego Padres pitching struggles have caused them to drop below .500 for the first time this season. The offense has also had trouble scoring runs since <strong><a href=. (19-20). Previous: 10th. San Diego Padres. 15. team
Cincinnati Reds. 16. team. 61. The slumps continue for the Cincinnati Reds. While <strong><a href=. (18-20). Previous: 16th
17. team. 17. An argument can be made that <strong><a href=. (18-19). Previous: 19th. Atlanta Braves
(18-20). Previous: 15th. Pittsburgh Pirates. 18. team. 4. The Pirates ran into two hot Phillies and Cubs team last week. There are some positive to the week as it appears <strong><a href=
It think it’s safe to assume that the Boston Red Sox have one starter they can count on in <strong><a href=. (18-20). Previous: 21st. Boston Red Sox. 19. team. 14
Previous: 18th. Baltimore Orioles. 20. team. 11. The Baltimore Orioles are having problems pitching and scoring runs this season. Think they regret not opening the check book on <strong><a href=. (16-19)
Next: The Marlins are a mess right now.
May 6, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder
Giancarlo Stanton(27) hits a three run home run against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 7 – 5. Mandatory Credit:
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
39. The Blue Jays won just one game last week and sit at the bottom of the AL East. There is only so much the offense can do when your pitching staff is allowing five runs per game.. (17-22). Previous: 14th. Toronto Blue Jays. 21. team
62. The Seattle Mariners rotation is slowly starting to come around after a terrible start to the season. The offense and bullpen however have not given the starters much support as of late.. (17-20). Previous: 22nd. Seattle Mariners. 22. team
82. The Miami Marlins started the week witnessing a couple of mammoth home runs from <strong><a href=. (16-22). Previous: 17th. Miami Marlins. 23. team
(16-23). Previous: 30th. Philadelphia Phillies. 24. team. 6. The Phillies have been playing good baseball of late and now have a new face in their lineup in top prospect <strong><a href=
<strong><a href=. (16-22). Previous: 25th. Texas Rangers. 25. team. 126
Arizona Diamondbacks. 26. team. 8. The Diamondbacks are aonther team who managed just one win last week. While it was a good sign to see <strong><a href=. (15-21). Previous: 26th
Previous: 26th. Oakland Athletics. 28. team. 96. The bullpen continues to be the story for the Oakland Athletics. They were responsible for three of the team’s five losses last week.. (13-26)
The Milwaukee Brewers received a scare yesterday when <strong><a href=. (13-25). Previous: 28th. Milwaukee Brewers. 29. team. 76
(13-21). Previous: 27th. Colorado Rockies. 30. team. 108. The talk surrounding the Colorado Rockies is whether the team’s struggles will result in a trade for <strong><a href=
Next: Baserunning has been an issue this season for the White Sox