It's been quite a week in baseball...there's been some serious movement in the rankings since week seven. With lots to talk about, let's dive right into this week's rankings:
30. Houston Astros (30)
The Astros hold down the bottom spot again this week. It's very tough to win games when there's hardly any recognizable names in your team's rotation. This is the case right now in Houston, and there's still a way to go before the Astros can turn their farm system assets into major league wins.
29. Chicago Cubs (28)
The Cubs slide back a spot after a disappointing week. What hasn't been disappointing, however, has been the play of Emilio Bonifacio. Bonifacio scored five runs Tuesday night against the Cardinals, and is hitting an impressive .313. The Cubs will host the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field this weekend.
28. Arizona Diamondbacks (29)
The Diamondbacks' offense is finally starting to show some promise. Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .326 in the month of May, and that's a great sign for Arizona.
27. Pittsburgh Pirates (23)
What's up with the Bucs? Pittsburgh has been the biggest disappointment so far this season. If the Pirates can't find an answer soon, they're going to continue to fall behind in the NL Central. Failing to right the ship soon will make a return to the playoffs very difficult.
26. Philadelphia Phillies (15)
The Phillies seemed to be finding some consistency until American League bats crushed their pitching. Philadelphia is 3-7 in their last 10 games, and head into a series against the Cincinnati Reds this weekend.
25. Cleveland Indians (27)
The Indians have strung together some quality wins in the past week, allowing them to move up two spots. Mike Aviles has been hot at the plate, hitting safely in seven out of his last eight games.
24. Seattle Mariners (22)
After a great stretch of games, the Mariners have hit a bit of a rough patch...I have a difficult time believing they'll win if Felix Hernandez isn't pitching. I talked about catcher Mike Zunino being able to contribute in this lineup before the season started, and he currently leads the club in home runs with six. It's got to be tough seeing a player that's in his first full season hit more home runs than the player who was in all the headlines during the offseason.
23. San Diego Padres (24)
Point blank: The Padres have the worst offense in baseball. It's amazing to me that this team is almost at .500. If San Diego could somehow find some offense, this team would be turning heads and could potentially earn a wildcard spot. As for now, the pitching will continue to keep the Padres afloat.
22. Kansas City Royals (25)
The Royals put an end to their losing streak a little over a week ago by winning six out of their last eight games. Eric Hosmer has been terrorizing opposing pitching lately, hitting .417 in his last seven games.
21. Minnesota Twins (21)
The Twins' offense has been very effective this season, scoring the sixth-most runs in all of baseball. Minnesota is the complete opposite of the San Diego Padres. Instead of offense, the Twins are in severe need of some good pitching.
20. Toronto Blue Jays (26)
The Blue Jays put together some quality wins over the past week. Jose Bautista seems to have found his stroke from a couple years ago, already blasting 10 home runs. Toronto is in the thick of what will be a race to the finish in the AL East.
19. Tampa Bay Rays (17)
The Rays are below .500, but I wouldn't count them out in the AL East race just yet. Manager Joe Maddon has found countless answers to the club's problems in the past, and I'm sure he'll find solutions to answer all the injury issues that have occurred within the Rays' pitching staff.
18. Miami Marlins (20)
The Marlins have been on the rise that last few weeks, but the team took a devastating blow this week. Jose Fernandez will not pitch for the rest of the season, and it's really a shame. Fernandez was off to a great start before getting injured, and he's now scheduled for Tommy John surgery on Friday.
17. Boston Red Sox (18)
The Red Sox have found ways to get on base, putting together a cumulative on-base percentage of .337 - third-best in the league. The problem is driving in those runners. Boston has stranded 292 runners on base this season, which is fourth-worst in the American League.
16. Chicago White Sox (19)
The White Sox have really impressed me over the past few weeks with the amount of young talent they have. Jose Abreu leads baseball in home runs as a ROOKIE. Think he'll have a good case for Rookie of the Year?
15. Cincinnati Reds (16)
The Reds' rotation has been durable. Cincinnati ranks fourth in the MLB in quality starts by starting pitching, with 26. Johnny Cueto is still continuing to quietly build his case for the NL Cy Young.
14. New York Mets (14)
The Mets' starting rotation took a hit this past week, with Dillon Gee having to go on the 15-day disabled list. The Mets travel to D.C. this weekend to take on the Nationals.
13. Washington Nationals (11)
The Nationals had to place Adam Laroche on the 15-day DL due to a quadriceps injury. Washington has had success even with the absence of Bryce Harper, who was their best bat. The Nationals don't have any games to give away, as they find themselves in a tight divisional battle with the Atlanta Braves.
12. St. Louis Cardinals (12)
The Cardinals are feeling the void in their lineup that was created when Carlos Beltran left town. Jhonny Peralta adds some power to the lineup, but he isn't nearly as consistent as Beltran was. The Cardinals' young pitchers have all struggled a little bit this season, but this team will be fine once they find their groove.
11. Baltimore Orioles (10)
The Orioles are yet another team dealing with an major injury this week. Baltimore announced that they will be resting Matt Wieters until possibly July 1st due to an elbow injury. That date could possibly be extended if fears of the worst-case scenario are confirmed. If that's the case, Wieters will need to undergo Tommy John surgery, which would end his season.
10. Texas Rangers (9)
Yu Darvish has been dominant for the Rangers so far this year, but he isn't getting enough run support from the talented Texas lineup yet. Darvish has already struck out 54 hitters, but he's still looking for just his fourth win.
9. New York Yankees (8)
The Yankees had a difficult time in their inter-city rivalry matchup with the Mets, but they're still playing good baseball. Like almost every other team on this list, the Yankees have had to battle the injury bug, losing several pitchers to the DL. The Bronx Bombers have been hitting the ball very well, and that's been the key to keeping them within a game of the Orioles in the AL East.
8. Los Angeles Angels (13)
The Angels have gotten some great outings from their starting pitching. Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs have shown the Halos have some impressive young talent on the mound, and there should be run support on the way - this time last year was when Mike Trout started heating up at the plate in a big way.
7. Los Angeles Dodgers (7)
The Dodgers stay at number seven this week after some pretty tough luck against the SF Giants. This Dodgers team is way too talented to drop much farther than seventh this early.
6. Colorado Rockies (6)
The Rockies also had a bad week, but Troy Tulowitzki has been putting up insane numbers this season. Tulowitzki is currently hitting .391, which is the best mark in all of baseball. The rest of the hitters in the Rockies' lineup are also contributing - Colorado, as a team, has a league-best batting average of .298. The Detroit Tigers have the next-best average, at .277.
5. Atlanta Braves (5)
The Braves will get a chance to avenge last weekend's series loss to the Cardinals, as Atlanta travels to St. Louis this weekend. The Braves need to find more consistency in their lineup if they want to be a true contender.
4. Oakland Athletics (3)
Oakland easily has the most underrated offense in Major League Baseball. Brandon Moss is a phenomenal hitter, and he's crushed three home runs in the last seven days.
3. Milwaukee Brewers (2)
The Brewers have the second-best record in the National League so far. Milwaukee isn't showing signs of letting up, but they've cooled off slightly over the past week. Francisco Rodriguez has stepped right into the closer role this year, already tallying 16 saves.
2. San Francisco Giants (1)
The Giants have played really well so far this season, but they're yet another team trying to deal with injuries to key players. Brandon Belt was placed on the 15-day Disabled List this week after getting hit on the thumb by a pitch.
1. Detroit Tigers (4)
The Tigers have finally taken off, with Miguel Cabrera finding his stroke at the plate. The Tigers are easily the hottest team in baseball, and were my pick to go to the World Series from the AL this year.
Thoughts or questions? Feel free to tweet me @griffaldo.
