No AL Central teams in the top 15 now. Who know who'll pull that one out at the end?
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 | 61 | 37 | Seems like Andrew Miller hasn't quite solved his control problems; 6.4 BB/9 (to just 4.7 K/9) since his call-up. |
2 | Yankees | 58 | 40 | Since coming back from the DL, Derek Jeter is hitting .318/.384/.455 (with a .392 BABIP) - up to a .313 wOBA on the season. |
3 | Phillies | 63 | 36 | Domonic Brown has shown some nice plate discipline as a rookie this year (11.9% walk rate, 15.5% K rate). |
4 | Rangers | 58 | 43 | Despite only getting into 59 games, Mike Napoli is already at 2.2 fWAR thanks to 13 home runs in 209 PA. |
5 | Cardinals | 53 | 47 | Yadier Molina's going to mess up his consistency; between 6-8 HR per year from '05-'10, and 7 already this season. |
6 | Braves | 59 | 42 | The contract doesn't like amazing, but Derek Lowe is on pace for his third straight 2.6+ fWAR year as a Brave. |
7 | Giants | 58 | 43 | Madison Bumgarner has upped his strike-out rate to 7.9 K/9 this year, and he's 5th in the NL in fWAR at 3.9. |
8 | Brewers | 54 | 48 | After a solid 2010 campaign (3.4 fWAR), Casey McGehee has fallen off a cliff this year (only 5 HR, -0.7 fWAR). |
9 | Mets | 50 | 50 | Over the last month, Jonathon Niese has a 4.7 K/BB ratio and a 2.52 xFIP (5th best in the majors over that span). |
10 | Blue Jays | 50 | 51 | Since being recalled from Triple-A, Travis Snider is hitting .292 with a .514 SLG. Also, 23 K's to 1 BB in 17 games. |
11 | Angels | 54 | 47 | In their last 15 total games, Dan Haren, Jered Weaver, and Ervin Santana have walked a combined 81/18 K to BB ratio. |
12 | Diamondbacks | 54 | 47 | David Hernandez has done a nice job as closer since JJ Putz got hurt; 0.00 ERA, 0.94 FIP, 1.92 xFIP and 7 for 7 on saves. |
13 | Rays | 52 | 47 | 3.17 ERA aside, Jeremy Hellickson hasn't been quite as great as some expected going into the season (4.29 FIP). |
14 | Reds | 49 | 51 | Dontrelle Willis is back in the majors, and getting a bunch of groundballs (57.1% GB rate) - plus a sub 7 walk rate (4.2 BB/9). |
15 | Rockies | 48 | 53 | Derek Jeter fWAR through age 26 season - 24.3. Troy Tulowitzki is on pace for ~25 fWAR through 2011, his age 26 season. |
16 | Tigers | 53 | 47 | Miguel Cabrera has been the AL's second best hitter this year (.417 wOBA) with his .312/.430/.553 line. |
17 | White Sox | 48 | 51 | Over the past month, Juan Pierre is second on the team in slugging percentage (.456), thanks to a .367 BA. |
18 | Indians | 51 | 47 | Josh Tomlin is a flyball pitcher who doesn't miss bats, but he's had success by never walking anyone (ML best 1.07 BB/9). |
19 | Dodgers | 44 | 56 | They're only 9-12 over the last month, but LA starters have - by far - the major's top strike-out rate (8.5 K/9) in that time. |
20 | Nationals | 49 | 51 | All five of the team's top starters have an xFIP between 3.60 (Jordan Zimmermann) and 4.09 (John Lannan). |
21 | Marlins | 48 | 53 | Javier Vazquez has been great over the last month; 2.87 ERA, 2.82 FIP, 3.07 xFIP, and a K/BB ratio of 7. |
22 | Pirates | 51 | 47 | No Pirates' pitcher has lost more games in the last month than Tim Wood's 2, and he only has 1.1 IP. |
23 | Athletics | 44 | 56 | If the A's trade Josh Willingham, their top remaining hitter with at least 200 PA will be Coco Crisp (.270/.319/.389, .318 wOBA). |
24 | Royals | 42 | 58 | If I'm KC, I'm trying to cash in on Melky Cabrera's .295/.332/.454 season if a team wants to give up something for him. |
25 | Padres | 44 | 57 | Alberto Gonzalez had a .301 wOBA in 2008, and things have only gotten worse since then; .284, .258, and now .227 this year. |
26 | Mariners | 43 | 57 | Brendan Ryan has 2 home runs and is batting .264. He easily leads the team in position player fWAR at 2.2. |
27 | Twins | 47 | 53 | Scott Baker missed a couple weeks and Glen Perkins is a reliever; they're 1-2 in pitcher fWAR for MIN over the last month. |
28 | Cubs | 41 | 60 | Kosuke Fukudome has one of the major's top walk rates at 13.6%, but poor defense and little power has him at just 0.1 fWAR. |
29 | Orioles | 40 | 57 | Felix Pie once had some promise and still has some tools, but he's been one of the worst player in baseball in '11 (-1.7 fWAR). |
30 | Astros | 33 | 67 | 5'6" Jose Altuve was called up last week, and has one single (and that's it) in each game he's played. |
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