Beyond the Box Score Power Rankings: Week 22

by Daniel Moroz on Aug 29, 2011 2:30 PM EDT in Power Rankings

And the Twins finally fall back into last place - getting swept in a four game series with the Orioles (at home, no less) will do that.

Just as a reminder: some of the things that go into these rankings include runs scored and allowed, run distributions, wOBA, wRC, FIP, xFIP, DRS, UZR, etc., Base Runs, BABIP and HR/FB% adjustments, and our guts.

Rank	Team	Wins	Losses	Comments
1	Yankees	78	51	Not only is David Robertson leading the AL in strike-out rate at 13.6 K/9, but he's the only guy with 50 IP with 0 HR allowed.
2	Phillies	83	46	Cliff Lee in August: 0.58 ERA, 2.14 FIP. And yet his 2.59 xFIP makes it only his third best month this year.
3	Red Sox	82	51	Jacoby Ellsbury came into 2011 with 20 career home runs in 1,513 PA - he has 23 homers in the 591 PA this year.
4	Rangers	75	59	As a flyball pitcher with a 12.3% HR/FB, Colby Lewis has been taken deep more than any other AL pitcher (1.6 HR/9).
5	Brewers	80	54	Corey Hart has homered 8 times in the last month, getting his wRC+ up to what would be a career high 135.
6	Rays	72	59	James Shields just became the second pitcher in the last 10 years with 10 complete games in a season (CC in '08).
7	Braves	79	54	Brandon Beachy is leading all Braves starters - and all major league rookie starters - with a 4.0 K/BB ratio.
8	Cardinals	69	64	Marc Rzepczynski has done a nice job in relief since coming over from Toronto; 0.82 ERA with a 2.52 xFIP.
9	Angels	72	60	Jerome Williams was very good in his first major league start since 2007; 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K.
10	Diamondbacks	74	59	David Hernandez's transition to flame-throwing reliever seems to have gone well; 94.5 mph fastball, 9.8 K/9.
11	Tigers	73	59	Justin Verlander - with 20 wins already - has a chance to be the first pitcher since Bob Welch in 1990 with more than 24.
12	Reds	66	66	Only 4 Reds - Votto, Phillips, Bruce, and Stubbs - have more than 325 PA this year; fewer than any other team.
13	White Sox	65	65	A 3.24 xFIP from their pitchers in August has Chicago above .500 and in second place in the AL Central.
14	Blue Jays	66	66	Jose Bautista leads the majors with 106 walks; also with 87 unintentional walks (more than all but 3 guys have total BB).
15	Mets	62	68	Chris Capuano's complete game 13 K, 2 H, 0 BB shutout recently was the highest game score (96) of the season.

16	Rockies	63	70	Over the last two years, no pitcher in baseball has a better K-BB ratio than Rafael Betancourt's 9.5.
17	Dodgers	62	69	James Loney has 4 home runs in August; he hasn't hit more than that many in a month since 9 in September of 2007.
18	Giants	71	62	They're still in second place, but have the worst run differential in the division (454 scored, 471 allowed).
19	Athletics	60	73	Gio Gonzalez is having a nice season (3.35 ERA), but he has the highest walk rate amongst starters in the majors (4.2 BB/9).
20	Indians	65	64	Cleveland recently fell under .500 for the first time since April 3rd, which is also the last time they were in 3rd place (till now).
21	Padres	60	73	After a bit of a rougher start this year, Mat Latos has his ERA down to 3.74 with a solid August (2.45 ERA, 2.56 FIP, 3.39 xFIP).
22	Royals	54	79	Felipe Paulino has proven to be a nice pick-up for KC; only 2-6 but with a 3.83 ERA, 3.42 FIP, and 3.92 xFIP.
23	Marlins	59	72	Since the start of the 2010 season, only Brian McCann and Mike Napoli have hit more homers amongst catchers than John Buck.
24	Nationals	62	69	Though he was decent as a starter (4.56 FIP), Tom Gorzelanny has been even better since moving to the pen (1.71 FIP).
25	Cubs	57	76	With a strong finish, Marlon Byrd could earn his total contract in both just 2010 (4.3 fWAR) and 2011 (2.6 fWAR in only 94 games).
26	Mariners	56	75	For a guy that throws 95+ mph, Brandon League sure relies on limiting walks and flyballs for his success (just 6.4 K/9).
27	Pirates	62	70	Before being put on the DL last week, Kevin Correia had given up 8 home runs in his last 20.1 IP.
28	Orioles	52	77	Tommy Hunter since joining the Orioles; 5.97 ERA with a 2.8 K/9 (though the 4.39 xFIP isn't awful). Building block!
29	Astros	43	90	Yeah he's making a fair bit of money, but Wandy Rodriguez isn't a bad pitcher; 21st in the majors in xFIP from 2008-20111 at 3.63.
30	Twins	55	77	Denard Span (+18 UZR/150) plus Ben Revere (+19 UZR/150) plus almost anyone might be the best defensive outfield in the majors.