The Rangers maintain their oh-so-tenuous hold on the top spot, while the Yankees and Nationals have jumped into the top five. The White Sox, Angels, and Pirates were the teams that made the biggest jumps up the rankings. All records and statistics are through Monday, June 11th. Last edition's rankings are in parentheses.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (35-26): Since a 15-4 start, the Rangers are 20-22. Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland have hit the DL, Alexi Ogando is banged up, and Roy Oswalt has degenerative discs in his back. Are they still the AL favorites?
2 (6). New York Yankees (35-25): 14 wins in their last 18 games, thanks to resurgent starting pitching; Andy Pettitte's 4.44 K/BB ratio would be the best mark of his career.
3 (3). Tampa Bay Rays (35-25): They've committed the third-most errors in baseball, are still without Evan Longoria...and somehow, some way, are tied for first in baseball's toughest division.
4 (7). Washington Nationals (36-23): Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg have been the two best strikeout pitchers in the NL, and Bryce Harper continues to do things that 19-year-olds shouldn't be able to do.
5 (5). Atlanta Braves (34-27): What to make of the streaky Braves? Brandon Beachy (1.98 ERA) and Michael Bourn (.372 OBP from the leadoff spot) have been sensational; Mike Minor (6.57 ERA) and Brian McCann (.234 average) have not.
6 (4). Los Angeles Dodgers (39-23): Despite getting no-hit by the Seattle Mariners, the Dodgers have won six of eight and Kenley Jansen has been dominant in the closer role.
7 (15). Los Angeles Angels (33-29): 15 wins in 19 games thanks in large part to 20-year-old Mike Trout, who amazingly ranks 3rd in the AL in Wins Above Replacement (with 2.9) even though he missed the first 20 games of the season.
8 (2). St. Louis Cardinals (31-30): Their +55 run differential is 2nd-best in baseball, but rather frustratingly, they're just one game over .500. And now Jaime Garcia's shoulder has imploded.
9 (11). Cincinnati Reds (32-27): Joey Votto would be the NL's MVP if the season ended today thanks to his godly .355/.476/.631 line.
10 (20). Chicago White Sox (33-27): 13 wins in 14 games propelled the white-hot White Sox to first place in the AL Central. Chris Sale has a sub-1.00 ERA over his last 5 starts and Adam Dunn is on pace for 50+ home runs.
11 (8). Toronto Blue Jays (31-30): Brandon Morrow's injury leaves the pitching rather thin after Ricky Romero, which is a problem in the cutthroat AL East. Perhaps a trade for...Matt Garza?
12 (9). Cleveland Indians (32-27): Jason Kipnis is quietly enjoying a fantastic season at second base, with 10 homers, 15 steals, and a .285 average.
13 (10). Baltimore Orioles (34-26): The exact opposite of the Cardinals: they're the only AL East team that's been outscored, yet they're 8 games over .500 with help from 9 (nine!!!) extra-innings victories.
14 (18). San Francisco Giants (34-27): They're 2-11 when Tim Lincecum starts. Who could've predicted that?
15 (16). Arizona Diamondbacks (30-30): By returning to what they do best (scoring runs in bunches), the D'backs have admirably fought their way back to .500.
16 (13). Boston Red Sox (29-32): Right when things finally get fixed (the bullpen, Clay Buchholz), more things start falling apart (Daniel Bard, Dustin Pedroia's thumb).
17 (12). Miami Marlins (32-29): June hasn't been as kind as May was; the Marlins were outscored by the Rays, 22-7, in a three-game sweep.
18 (27). Pittsburgh Pirates (32-27): How can you be a first-place team despite scoring the fewest runs in baseball? By employing some red-hot pitchers and playing in a division with the Cubs and Astros.
19 (14). Detroit Tigers (28-32): Haven't looked like a playoff team for some time now, and the front office needs to start contemplating some major moves to turn this thing around.
20 (19). New York Mets (32-29): Starting to come back to earth; it's as if they suddenly remembered they only have one capable hitter and absolutely no bullpen to speak of.
21 (17): Philadelphia Phillies (29-33): Roy Halladay is on the DL. Cliff Lee is winless. The Ghost of Jim Thome is hitting cleanup. Things have gone south very quickly in Philly.
22 (21). Milwaukee Brewers (28-32): Rickie Weeks (.158/.298/.287) apparently doesn't know that the season started two months ago.
23 (24). Seattle Mariners (27-35): Hey, at least they no-hit the Dodgers.
24 (23). Kansas City Royals (24-34): Eric Hosmer has finally come alive, but in the least-surprising development of all time, Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur aren't as good as they were last year.
25 (22). Oakland Athletics (26-35): Owners of the worst slugging percentage in baseball. It's time for a new ballpark.
26 (24). Houston Astros (26-34): Red Sox reject Jed Lowrie has 12 HRs and a .898 OPS, teaming up with Jose Altuve to form quite an intriguing double-play combination in Houston.
27 (26). Colorado Rockies (24-35): Opponents are hitting .297 off of the Rockies' unfathomably poor pitching.
28 (30). Minnesota Twins (24-35): Trevor Plouffe (not a made-up person) helped fuel a recent 9-3 stretch that has lifted the Twins out of the Power Rankings cellar.
29 (28). Chicago Cubs (20-40): They suck, but at least they're making headlines by dangling intriguing trade bait, making exciting draft choices, and signing Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler to a $30 million deal.
30 (29). San Diego Padres (20-41): They finally have a slugger who can knock it out of Petco Park (Carlos Quentin has 5 HRs in 10 games)...which means he's a safe bet to be traded within the month. That's the status quo for baseball in San Diego.
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