The first four teams are pretty firmly ensconced at the top of the rankings.
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 |
56 |
36 |
Jacoby Ellsbury's line (.310/.370/.493) is being buoyed by a .340 BABIP, but he's also displaying decent power (13 HR). |
| 2 |
Yankees |
54 |
37 |
CC Sabathia has been dominant recently - over the last month he's 6-0 with a 1.16 ERA, 1.62 FIP, and 2.09 xFIP. |
| 3 |
Phillies |
58 |
35 |
Cliff Lee is the only pitcher in the majors with both a home run and a stolen base; each year since '00 there's been a max of one. |
| 4 |
Rangers |
54 |
41 |
Since giving up 5 runs in 0.2 IP on July 2nd, Derek Holland has thrown two straight complete game shutouts. |
| 5 |
Braves |
55 |
39 |
Rookie Freddie Freeman (.273/.347/.454) has been the second best hitting Braves regular this year with his .351 wOBA. |
| 6 |
Cardinals |
50 |
44 |
Fernando Salas seems to have taken to closing well enough; 17 saves in 20 chances, a 2.56 ERA, and a 4.2 K/BB ratio. |
| 7 |
Giants |
54 |
41 |
Pablo Sandoval isn't just having a bounceback season with the bat; he's also posting a career best +11 UZR. |
| 8 |
Brewers |
50 |
45 |
Zack Greinke is striking out almost a third of the batters he's faced (30.9%) - the highest mark in the majors (min. 75 IP). |
| 9 |
Mets |
47 |
46 |
Led by Carlos Beltran (6th in the NL at 12.9%), the Mets have the best walk rate in the league this season (9.3%). |
| 10 |
Rays |
50 |
42 |
BJ Upton is leading the team in both homers (15) and steals (22), but is only 5th amongst position players in fWAR. |
| 11 |
Angels |
51 |
44 |
Bobby Abreu passed R. Sandberg and A. Dawson in career fWAR this season. He'll likely go by Bobby Bonds (63.3) too. |
| 12 |
Blue Jays |
47 |
48 |
Rajai Davis has the lowest OBP in baseball for a player with more than 10 stolen bases (.261, 25 steals). |
| 13 |
Diamondbacks |
50 |
44 |
Arizona is the only team in the majors with three players in double digits in homers and steals (Upton, Roberts, Young). |
| 14 |
Reds |
46 |
48 |
A decent offense and one of the majors' best defensive units has the Reds as the top sub .500 team. |
| 15 |
White Sox |
46 |
48 |
Edwin Jackson is having himself the best season of his career, showing some improved control (2.8 BB/9). |
| 16 |
Tigers |
49 |
45 |
While Rick Porcello has upped his strike totals this year, they're still well below average at 5.3 K/9. |
| 17 |
Rockies |
45 |
49 |
How many top prospects is Ubaldo Jimenez (3.42 '11 FIP, making ~$11 M total through 2013) worth? |
| 18 |
Indians |
49 |
43 |
Despite striking out quite a bit, Carlos Santana has been on a tear over the last month (.247/.398/.556, 7 HR). |
| 19 |
Dodgers |
42 |
52 |
Forget the curve; Clayton Kershaw has had baseball's most valuable slider this year (+18.2 runs). |
| 20 |
Pirates |
48 |
44 |
Ronny Cedeno has been out since July 1st, but he's still only 0.7 wins behind Neil Walker (1.9) for the #2 spot on the team in fWAR. |
| 21 |
Athletics |
41 |
54 |
The A's have - by far - the lowest ERA in the majors over the last month (2.40). And yet they're only 11-14 in that span. |
| 22 |
Marlins |
45 |
49 |
Just 21 years old, Mike Stanton is tied with Albert Pujols for 5th in the NL with 20 home runs this year. |
| 23 |
Nationals |
47 |
47 |
Jayson Werth isn't being helped out by his .256 BABIP, but where's the power? Only 10 home runs and a .142 ISO. |
| 24 |
Royals |
38 |
56 |
Luke Hochevar is getting a lot of groundballs this year (51%), but his strike-out rate has dried up (4.6 K/9). |
| 25 |
Mariners |
43 |
51 |
Since getting to .500, the M's have gone on a 9 game losing streak during which they've scored just 11 runs. |
| 26 |
Padres |
41 |
54 |
Cory Luebke has done a nice job since moving into the rotation recently; 1.50 ERA, 2.38 FIP, 2.57 xFIP through 4 starts. |
| 27 |
Twins |
43 |
49 |
Justin Morneau is out, Joe Mauer is still sitting on 0 home runs, but the Twins are only a game out of 3rd place in the Central. |
| 28 |
Cubs |
38 |
57 |
Sean Marshall has once again been one of the best relievers in baseball this year (1.5 fWAR, 2.38 xFIP). |
| 29 |
Orioles |
37 |
54 |
The team's top starter by fWAR, Zach Britton (1.5), has been sent to Double-A. Starter #3, Chris Tillman (0.9 fWAR), is in Triple-A. |
| 30 |
Astros |
31 |
63 |
The Astros are on pace to lose about 109 games, which would be the most in a season for a team since Arizona's 111 in 2004. |
