The Cardinals are finally knocked out of the #1 spot after a lengthy run there, while the Indians continue to fall.
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 | Red Sox | 38 | 26 | Boston's offense was the best in the majors over the last week, with a team line of .330/.414/.583, led by Dustin Pedroia's .588 wOBA. |
2 | Yankees | 35 | 27 | Jeff wrote last week that Curtis Granderson was this season's Jose Buatista; and the Yankee is just behind with the Blue Jay for the major league lead in homers with 20. |
3 | Cardinals | 38 | 28 | Kyle Lohse is quietly having the best season of his career; working around a low K rate by not walking anybody (1.8 BB/9) and getting groundballs. |
4 | Rangers | 36 | 30 | By virtue of his record (7-0) and ERA (2.10), there's a distinct chance that Alexi Ogando ends up being the AL's All-Star game starter this year. |
5 | Phillies | 39 | 26 | Chase Utley has more stolen bases (3) than home runs (2) this season, after having his power diminish a little in 2010. You'd think the speed would go first. |
6 | Brewers | 37 | 28 | Prince Fielder now has 19 home runs on the season, after already knocking 8 out in June - half of the Brewers total for the month. |
7 | Reds | 34 | 32 | Ever since his rookie season, Johnny Cueto's strike-out rate has been trending downwards, but he's improved his control and dropped his home run rate as well. |
8 | Braves | 37 | 28 | Tommy Hanson has stepped up his game this year, now striking out over a batter an inning (9.6 K/9), even with a fastball that's dipped in velocity a bit. |
9 | Blue Jays | 32 | 33 | How long will Kyle Drabek be able to hand on to a major league rotation spot while walking more batters than he strikes out (0.9 K/BB)? |
10 | Diamondbacks | 35 | 30 | Kelly Johnson is continuing to display the power he showed in '10, but a drop in walk rate and one of the NL's highest strike-out rates has made him only an average hitter. |
11 | Tigers | 35 | 29 | The Tigers have caught up with the Indians in the Central, in part with the help of a Brennan Boesch hot streak and Miguel Cabrera being Miguel Cabrera. |
12 | Rockies | 31 | 33 | Ubaldo Jimenez looks to be getting back in the swing of things, with a 2.06 FIP and 2.96 xFIP in the last month (though he is only 1-3 to show for it). |
13 | Indians | 34 | 28 | The Indians have been outscored 80-41 in the last couple weeks, as the starting rotation - which seemed like it might be the team's undoing - has been beat up on. |
14 | Rays | 34 | 30 | Johnny Damon's walk rate this year has been almost cut in half, but he has reached base in 36 straight games - tending to draw a free pass in games with no hits. |
15 | Marlins | 32 | 31 | For a third straight season, Ricky Nolasco's strike-out rate has fallen over a full K per nine. And yet his ERA is trending downwards, as his xFIP stays steady. |
16 | White Sox | 32 | 35 | Carlos Quentin is hitting a lot like he did in his break-out 2008 campaign and, though it's certainly early yet, his UZR numbers look much better than 2010's -24 (!) runs. |
17 | Angels | 31 | 35 | Rookie Mark Trumbo leads the team with 11 home runs, but he hasn't done a whole lot with the bat other than hit the longball (.252/.299/.463). |
18 | Mets | 31 | 33 | Dillon Gee is a perfect 7-0 this year, and has New York's lowest FIP amongst starters at 3.59. He's getting it done with a nice change-up and good control. |
19 | Athletics | 28 | 38 | The only Oakland position player at even 1 fWAR is Kurt Suzuki, and he's hitting just .236/.309/.341. Offensive bar is mighty low for a quality defensive catcher. |
20 | Giants | 36 | 29 | The best FIP in the starting rotation belongs not to Tim Lincecum, or Matt Cain, or Jonathan Sanchez, but Madinson Bumgarner (2.70). He's got the losing record though (2-8). |
21 | Pirates | 31 | 32 | In his sophomore season, Jose Tabata has really upped his walk rate (6% to 12%) which has made him a fine option towards the top of the line-up. |
22 | Orioles | 30 | 32 | Brian Matusz has made three starts since coming off the DL. His ERA is 5.11, he has as many walks as strike-outs, and his fastball is coming in at only ~86 mph. Kinda concerning. |
23 | Mariners | 33 | 32 | The M's have recently been one of baseballs best defensive teams, but this year they have the worst fielding mark (UZR + stolen base runs saved) in the AL. |
24 | Royals | 28 | 37 | Of the nine pitchers to get a start for the Royals this season, only five have been above replacement level (fWAR - six if you go by brWAR). AL's worst starter ERA/FIP/xFIP. |
25 | Dodgers | 30 | 36 | Since coming into the league in 2008, Hiroki Kuroda has quietly been one of the major's best starters; around 20th in ERA, FIP, and xFIP (min. 500 IP total in that span). |
26 | Nationals | 29 | 36 | Washington made Mike Morse a starter towards the end of last season, and he's rewarded them by continuing to hit - .300/.345/.517 this year. |
27 | Cubs | 25 | 38 | Of the nine Cubs with at least 100 PA, four of them have walk rates under 4% (Byrd, Barney, Soriano, Castro). No wonder they're last in the majors in that area. |
28 | Padres | 29 | 37 | Though still pitching relatively well, Mat Latos isn't showing the dominance he did in 2010. His K/BB ratio has fallen from 3.8 to 2.5 as his ERA and FIP have come up almost a full run. |
29 | Astros | 24 | 41 | Michael Bourn's leading the majors with 26 stolen bases, which combined with his .350 BABIP aided batting line gives him the top fWAR amongst position players with 0-1 HRs. |
30 | Twins | 25 | 39 | Delmon Young doesn't have a negative fielding numbers, and yet is still barely above replacement level with just 2 home runs and a bounce-back of his strike-out rate. |