MLB Power Rankings – The Top 10

2017 July week 3 top 10 power rankings. In the National League, the NL West is the best division. Three teams from the NL West have a chance to make it to this year’s MLB Playoffs. The Dodgers appear poised to continue their dominance while the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies look strong.

It’s a different story in the American League. Although Houston appears ready for the playoffs today, Boston, Cleveland, the Tampa Bay Rays, and New York Yankees are all in a fight to just make it to the post-season.

Check out my 2017 July week 3 top 10 power rankings!

2017 July Week 3 Top 10 Power Rankings for Both MLB Leagues

American League – Top 5

1. Houston Astros 62-30

The Houston Astros went 2 out of 3 in their 3 games after the MLB All-Star Game Break. The Stros beat Minnesota 10 to 5. They lost 2 to 3 to Minnesota in the second game of their 3-game series versus the Twins. Then, they beat Minnesota in the third game 5 to 3.
Houston’s Mike Fiers provided the most impressive performance by an Astros pitcher. Fiers struck out 11 Twins in Houston’s Sunday win over AL Central Division contender Minnesota. We’ll see if Fiers can keep it going this week.

2. Boston Red Sox 52-41

The Red Sox continue atop the competitive American League East Division. Boston battled the New York Yankees in their 3 games after the All-Star Break. They beat the Yankees in 2 out of 4. Boston jumped all over their hated rivals in the first game last Friday.

The Red Sox beat New York 5 to 4. In the next 2 games, the Yankees got the upper hand. New York beat Boston 4 to 1 in 16 innings of craziness. Then, New York beat Boston 3 to 0 in the first of a double-header on Sunday.

Sunday’s second game was all about David Price. The Boston Red Sox pitcher tossed an incredible game. He threw 8 innings, gave up 7 hits and no earned runs, and struck out 8. In my Mid-Season MLB Power Rankings last week, I talked about how great Boston looked going into the second half.

All they needed was Price to get it going. Maybe, with this win, Price has finally gotten it going. If he has, Boston might be the team to beat for the AL Pennant.

3. Cleveland Indians 47-43

Cleveland finished off MLB All-Star Week by losing 3-straight. The Oakland Athletics, yes, the A’s, beat the Tribe 5 to 0, 5 to 3, and 7 to 3. Is it time to panic if you’re the Cleveland Indians?

Probably not. The second game was tied before Andrew Miller gave up an earned run. Miller almost never does that. He’s one of the best relievers in all of baseball. Before Miller gave up the run, Corey Kluber had struck out 12 in only 7.1 innings pitched.
I’ll wait before jumping all over Carlos Carrasco. He allowed 5 earned runs off 6 hits in 6.1 innings pitched in the 0 to 5 Tribe loss. Carrasco has bounced back from bad performance before.

4. Tampa Bay Rays 49-44

The Tampa Bay Rays have a real shot to make it to the AL Playoffs. The Rays beat the Angels in 2 out of 3. It took 10 innings for the Rays to beat LAA 2 to 1 on July 14. Then, they dominated the Angels 6 to 3 in Saturday’s battle.

Alex Cobb started Saturday’s game. Cobb threw well. He limited the Halos to 1 earned run off 6 hits, and pitched 7.2 innings. He struck out 4 while walking 3. If Cobb can become consistent, the Rays might be a dark horse in the post-season.

5. New York Yankees 47-43

Should I start with the good news first? Nah. The 4 to 5 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Friday is because closer Aroldis Chapman allowed 2 runs in the 9th. How often is that going to happen? Not often. Still, it wasn’t a good look for Chapman.
The other bad news is that the Yankees didn’t touch David Price in the second game of the double-header on Sunday. Price dominated New York.
Good news? How about CC Sabathia shutting down Boston’s batting line-up this past Saturday? Sabathia, who is 8-3 this season, pitched 6 innings. He did walk 5, but he only yielded 2 hits. He also didn’t yield a single earned run.

National League – Top 5

1. Los Angeles Dodgers 64-29

No team has been as impressive this season as the L.A. Dodgers. Counting what they did this past weekend, LAD is on a 9-game winning streak. The Dodgers swept Kansas City before the All-Star Break. They beat the Royals 4-1, 5-4, and 5-2.

Then, after the All-Star Break, La-La Land traveled to Miami where they dominated the Marlins in 3 straight games. The Dodgers beat the Marlins 6-4, 7-1, and 3-2. It’s hard to pinpoint what’s not going well for LAD right now. So, I won’t.

2. Washington Nationals 55-36

Washington completed a 3-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds this past Sunday, July 16. Gio Gonzalez, often the forgotten man in Washington’s rotation, was great in his start against the Reds on July 14. Gonzo allowed 4 hits in 8.1 innings pitched. He didn’t give up an earned run, only walked 2, and struck out 6.

3. Milwaukee Brewers 52-42

For some reason, the Brew Crew responds when their ace, Zach Davies, is on the mound. Davies has a somewhat terrible 5.08 ERA. His WHIP is sort of a horrendous 1.50. He’s only struck out 69 batters in 102.2 innings pitched. I don’t think he’d break into Washington’s rotation.

But, somehow, someway, Davies racks up the wins. Zach is an incredible 11 and 4 on the season. Again, I have no idea how Davies and the Brewers are doing this. Davies allowed 5 earned runs off 6 hits in only 5.1 innings pitched against Philadelphia this past Friday. What happened?

If you guessed the Brewers beat the Phillies 9 to 6, you’d be right. The Brewers have won the last 4 times Zach Davies has started. Milwaukee has won the last 7 out of 8 games that Davies has started. If Milwaukee could clone Zach Davies, there’d be no question that they were going to win the NL Central Division.

4. Arizona Diamondback 53-39

The Atlanta Braves swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in 3 games last week. If you go back 9 games ago to the D’Backs versus the Dodgers, before the All-Star Break, AZ has lost 8 out of its last 9. That’s just not all that great. In fact, it’s downright terrible.

The D’Backs must come out of their rut this week. If they don’t, they could very well end up behind Colorado in the NL Playoff Standings. Can the D’Backs do it?

I’m not sure. This week, they play Cincinnati before taking on Washington. Cincinnati beat the D’Backs in 2 out of 3 before the All-Star Break. Washington has pitchers that can match up with Zack Greinke and Robbie Ray.

5. Colorado Rockies 53-41

If you read last week’s NL Mid-Season Power Rankings, you know that I was ready to put a fork into the Rockies. Did my mind change over the weekend? Nope. Not at all.

The Rockies took Mets’ starter Steven Matz to the woodshed this past Sunday. Matz lasted 1 inning versus Colorado. He allowed 7 earned runs off 9 hits. The Rockies beat the Mets 13 to 4.

But, the Mets beat the Rockies in the 2 games before the final contest of the 3-game series. Jacob deGrom struck out 11 Rockies when allowing a single earned run off 4 hits in 8 innings.

Seth Lugo held Colorado to 3 earned runs off 7 hits in 6.2 innings pitched. Colorado lost 3 to 9. The saving grace for the Rockies right now is that Arizona is playing worse than they are.

What do you think?

Written by D.S. Williamson

One Comment