2015 MLB Power Rankings: Rangers take over Wild Card spot

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Aug 15, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre (29) is congratulated by designated hitter Prince Fielder (84) after hitting a three run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the sixth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The American League Wild Card has seen quite a bit of drama this season. Over the last month or so, there have been as many as six different teams to lead either the first or second spot.

This week, a seventh team has emerged as the Texas Rangers currently sit 1.5 games up for the second Wild Card. The Rangers are the most unlikely team of any to be in this position.

Injuries took away three-fifths of their opening day starting rotation to start the season including Cy Young candidate Yu Darvish. The bats of Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland have kept the Rangers floating around .500 and now other guys are starting to pitch in.

Since the All-Star break, the Rangers are 22-13 and their offense is second in the AL in batting average and third in runs over that time frame. Adrian Beltre, Shin-Soo Choo, Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor are all shaking off slow starts and now scoring and driving in runs at a impressive clip.

Also to the surprise of many, the addition of Mike Napoli has proven to be pretty effective. Since join the Rangers, Napoli is hitting .318 in 11 games while facing mostly left-handed pitching.

Now if they can just get Cole Hamels (4.73 ERA in four starts with Texas) to pitch at the level we all know he is capable of, maybe the pitching can finally give the offense some support.

Other teams who enjoyed success last week include the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and Toronto Blue Jays.

Teams who struggled a bit last week include the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles

Here are the power rankings for the week.

Next: Dodgers and Giants slide.

Aug 23, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Stephen Piscotty (55) hits a solo home run during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

team. 33. The new name on the St. Louis Cardinals for everyone to get to know is <a href=. 78-45. Previous: 1st. St. Louis Cardinals. 1

7. The Kansas City Royals sent <a href=. 75-48. Previous: 2nd. Kansas City Royals. 2. team

3. team. 4. The Pittsburgh Pirates have limited <a href=. 74-48. Previous: 3rd. Pittsburgh Pirates

Coming into today, <a href=. 71-51. Previous: 4th. Chicago Cubs. 4. team. 9

Previous: 7th. Toronto Blue Jays. 5. team. 39. The Blue Jays have taken back first place in the AL East despite .192 average for <a href=. 69-55

43. The New York Yankees announced earlier today that <a href=. 68-55. Previous: 6th. New York Yankees. 6. team

135. The Houston Astros won five of their seven games last week despite the fact that only three players his above .250 over that span of time.. 69-56. Previous: 8th. Houston Astros. 7. team

New York Mets. 8. team. 3. It is easy to point at the New York Mets pitching staff when looking for the reason behind them being first in the NL West. But don’t overlook their offense who is tied for second in the NL since the All-Star break in home runs.. 67-56. Previous: 10th

71. There are $307 million reason why the Dodgers and manager <a href=. 67-56. Previous: 5th. Los Angeles Dodgers. 9. team

San Francisco Giants. 10. team. 40. The Giants are lucky the Dodgers have been just as bad, if not worse than them over the last few weeks. They sit just a 1.5 games out of first place in the NL West with three games in Los Angeles remaining on their schedule.. 66-58. Previous: 9th

Next: D'Backs and Padres still in the hunt.

Aug 15, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (44) hits a single in the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

While the pitching for the Rangers hasn’t been spectacular this season, <a href=. 64-59. Previous: 13th. Texas Rangers. 11. team. 126

102. The Los Angeles Angels made a surprising move at the start of last week by demoting <a href=. 63-61. Previous: 12th. Los Angeles Angels. 12. team

Previous: 11th. Baltimore Orioles. 13. team. 11. Opponents have hit just .163 against <a href=. 62-61

Minnesota Twins. 14. team. 2. Despite all the struggles the Minnesota Twins have had over the last two months, they remain just 1.5 games out of the second AL Wild Card.. 63-61. Previous: 14th

team. 8. The Diamondbacks are just five games out of first place in the NL West and are playing the best baseball of anyone in the division as of late.. 62-61. Previous: 17th. Arizona Diamondbacks. 15

Previous: 15th. Washington Nationals. 16. team. 90. If anyone is to blame for the Washington Nationals collapse, start with <a href=. 62-61

team. 21. The Tampa Bay Rays are 2.5 games in back of the second AL Wild Card and will only get worst if the back end of their bullpen continues to have issues.. 62-62. Previous: 16th. Tampa Bay Rays. 17

18. team. 127. The Padres are another team benefiting from the Dodgers’ and Giants’ struggles. They come into today 6.5 games back in the NL West and still have 19 games remaining against the top three teams in the division.. 61-63. Previous: 20th. San Diego Padres

63. The Detroit Tigers didn’t do themselves any favors in the Wild Card race this weekend by dropping three of four to the Rangers.. 59-64. Previous: 18th. Detroit Tigers. 19. team

team. 128. The same can be said for the Chicago White Sox who dropped three of four at the start of the week to the Angels.. 58-64. Previous: 19th. Chicago White Sox. 20

Next: Tough week for the Braves and Reds.

Aug 16, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Seattle Mariners right fielder Nelson Cruz (23) hits his 36th home run of the season during the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

57-67. Previous: 21st. Seattle Mariners. 22. team. 62. It is unfortunately that <a href=

14. The Boston Red Sox offense has been impressive over the last few weeks and should give new team president Dave Dombrowski plenty of options this offseason.. 56-68. Previous: 24th. Boston Red Sox. 23. team

<a href=. 54-71. Previous: 27th. Oakland Athletics. 24. team. 96

25. team. 76. The Milwaukee Brewers appear to have two young building blocks in their rotation in <a href=. 53-72. Previous: 26th. Milwaukee Brewers

17. Another week in the books, another start without a win for <a href=. 53-71. Previous: 23rd. Atlanta Braves. 26. team

61. I bet the Cincinnati Reds can’t wait for this season to end.. 51-71. . Cincinnati Reds. 27. team

Philadelphia Phillies. 28. team. 6. The Philadelphia Phillies have likely lost their impressive rookie <a href=. 50-74. Previous: 30th

team. 82. <a href=. 50-74. Previous: 29th. Miami Marlins. 29

108. <a href=. 49-73. Previous: 28th. Colorado Rockies. 30. team

Next: Potential managerial candidates for the White Sox in 2016

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