MLB Power Post - Part II

More MLB Power Rankings after the break, but I'm warning you, it gets ugly from here on out. Like, bad guy dying at the end of Indiana Jones ugly.

They told me not to look at Carlos Lee playing the outfield, BUT I DID. AUGHHH!

16. New York Mets - Wow, can you tell Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran are playing for contracts? Their starting staff is a house of cards, but they've been surprisingly effective to this point. Is there some way a .500 team can implode? I'm at a loss here.
17. Washington Nationals -The Natinals are surprisingly 9th in team ERA without Stephen Strasburg. Offensively, Mike Morse has been as solid as expected, while Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman should at some point raise their batting averages. Defensively I love the tandem of Wilson Ramos and Ivan Rodriguez behind the plate, which partly explains why the pitchers are doing so well.
18. Colorado Rockies - As usual, this team can hit, but their pitching is suspect. Ubaldo Jimenez might finally be turning the corner as he's lowered his ERA by 2 runs over the past 1.5 months, but outside of him and Jhoulys Chacin, who's going to beat you? It looks like they're going to have to depend on Tulo and CarGo to go bonkers in September to make their usual late run, but that's a dangerous way to live... and an entertaining one.
19. Toronto Blue Jays -Jose Bautista and Adam Lind are perhaps the best 1-2 punch in the league this year, but aside from them and Ricky Romero, this team is Swiss cheese: holes galore. I can't even imagine how angry/depressed I'd be if my team had to choose between Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch to close games. Then factor in that their other teams are the Maple Leafs and Raptors. Thank goodness for the CFL and its 75% of teams making the playoffs. Argos are 1-0!
20. Seattle Mariners - If I told you that Ichiro was hitting only .268 on the year, and he was still leading the team in BA, would you believe me? Their team BA is .226. Can you even believe that?! And yet the Mariners have improved since last year, thanks entirely to their starting pitching. Rookie Michael Pineda is basically what Stephen Strasburg wishes he was, and Erik Bedard, Doug Fister, and Jason Vargas have been pleasant surprises to say the least.
21. Pittsburgh Pirates - For a team regularly ranked #30 in power rankings over the years, 2011 is a welcome improvement in Three Rivers country. None of their starters will scare you, but they've been dependable so far, while closer Joel Hanrahan is channeling the ghost of Roy Face in earning a well-deserved All-Star appearance. Andrew McCutchen leads a low slugging offense that's opportunistic enough to scratch out some runs, helping the Pirates achieve a winning record. Don't expect their starters to maintain this level of play into the second half though.
22. Oakland Athletics - The fact the A's have the best ERA in the AL and are ranked this low should tell you something about how incredibly bad their offense must be. Their offense is last in the league in HRs, and 3rd to last in runs scored. Coco Crisp is the only offensive player on the team that is ever started in my 12 team fantasy league, and he bats .268 with no power. Billy Beane longs for the days of Scott Hatteberg. At least there's a movie coming out about Moneyball (trailer). Brad Pitt leads an intriguing cast.
    
23. San Diego Padres - The Padres are very similar to the Mariners, with nearly identical runs scored, and a slightly higher ERA. Aside from brief flirtations with Chase Headley, Ryan Slugwick and Anthony Rizzo, no Padre position player is ever started in my fantasy league. Given their minimal production on offense, they play a dangerous game where the margin for victory is razor-thin - but with revelation Tim Stauffer leading the rotation, and a slew of formidable relievers in the pen, the Pads somehow make it work less than half the time.
24. Florida Marlins - If anyone in Miami cared or noticed, this is quite the disappointing year for their baseball team. Part of it was expected (Josh Johnson on the DL again), and part of it was a shock (Hanley Ramirez turning into Julio Lugo). If Ramirez's recent 70 point bump in OPS this past week means he's back, the Marlins can shoot up this board to 15. On top of that, when Josh Johnson returns I'd put this team as high as 10. Until then, they stink like fish.
25. Los Angeles Dodgers - Like the Marlins, this is a team I expect to see climb the board (at least slightly) by September. Their closer situation has been one of the most comical aspects of the year, with Jonathan Broxton being 300 lbs of injured, Kenley Jansen losing the strike zone, and Hong-Chih Kuo's case of the yips. Their starting pitching is actually not bad, so if they solidify the closer role (Javy Guerra?) and Matt Kemp doesn't have to go it alone on offense, the Dodgers could move up this chart.
26. Baltimore Orioles - Despite being last in the AL East, there are some positives worth acknowledging for this wayward franchise. For one thing, their offense is decent, and I'm particularly surprised by the J.J. Hardy renaissance. Their pitching is certainly an issue, but Zach "Great" Britton leads a better staff than last year. I suppose this team is kind of like the city of Baltimore itself: some nice parts to look at, but mostly horrific.
27. Chicago Cubs - I actually like their offense - particularly Starlin Castro, Darwin Barney, and Carlos Pena following his belated emergence from hibernation. Their starting pitching, though, has been fueling ROFL-copters all year long. Three of their starters have ERAs of 6.50 and higher, and it's gotten so bad that their depth chart only lists 4 pitchers for fear of actually committing to any of those meatball tossers. Too bad they can't keep a lead, because their 7-8-9 relievers are rather good.
28. Minnesota Twins -Their pitching can, and will, improve, but their key offensive players are underperforming so much that Minnesotans must be sick to their stomachs. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are shells of their former selves, Jason Kubel is injured, Jim Thome is old, and they clearly have too many players whose first names begin with a J. They need Billy Heywood to remind them of how fun the game can be.
29. Kansas City Royals - Probably more than any other small market team, I want the Royals to do well. They tend to have exciting prospects, but the waiting seems endless when it comes to actually seeing a payoff. At least the Rays actually made the postseason, these guys barely eclipsed the .500 mark just once since 1994. Anyways, you've got to be excited about Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon but their starting pitching is "Cubs" atrocious, and that will continue to hold them back for the next few years.
30. Houston Astros - Their team ERA is an MLB worst 4.70, and 5.42 for innings 7-9. That's when you know your team's finding a way to lose ballgames. Their offense is serviceable, but they're 4th to last in fielding % and 6th to last in range factor. When does El Caballo's contract expire? The end of 2012?! Augh....

They say good things come in threes... realignment discussion is yet to come in the thrilling conclusion to this MLB Power Post trilogy.