MLB Power Rankings 2.0 - Post-Trade Deadline Edition

We've learned some things since the last round of Power Rankings:

• Ervin Santana post All-Star break is doin' work (no-no).
• Adam Dunn is dunnski (check out the K% leaders).
• Similarly, the Pirates are done, just as I predicted (though I suppose most people didn't feel the need to look at advanced statistics to jump to the same conclusion).
• Jacoby Ellsbury is a crazy talented Navajo whose ownage is powered by America. He's a people's champion who has won free tacos for all, and will soon win an MVP award for his constituents.

Without further ado, let's take a look at how the teams stack up for the home stretch now that the trade deadline dust has settled.




MLB Power Rankings!

1. Philadelphia Phillies (-) - By measures of ERA, FIP, xFIP, WAR, their pitching is the best. Offensively, they made a deal for Hunter Pence, who has paid immediate dividends. At this point all they need to do is keep their players healthy as it seems they will cruise to home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
2. Boston Red Sox (+1) - See above for Jacoby Ellsbury love. I figured he'd rebound and put up numbers similar to 2010 Carl Crawford minus the power, but he now has more homers than Adrian Gonzalez. The pitching injuries have me a bit nervous, but Theo did his due diligence by dealing for moon-faced southpaw Erik Bedard as a replacement for Clay Buchholz, whose back is fractured like J-Lo and Marc Anthony's relationship. Hopefully he'll be back in time for the playoffs.
3. New York Yankees (-1) - Despite losing Alex Rodriguez to injury, the Bronx Bombers have plugged away and continue to win games, including a recent 8 game streak that was recently snapped by the Red Sox. Derek Jeter has shown signs of life, including a memorable 3,000th hit game, but it's the pitching that has carried the team of late. Even Phil Hughes has gotten in on the act, lowering his ERA from 13.94 to 6.93 since returning from injury. Well done!
4. Texas Rangers (+3) - The starting pitching doesn't blow you away, but the bullpen got a huge boost with deals for Koji Uehara and Mike Adams. The offense remains dangerous, even without Adrian Beltre. If I were to tell you that a team put up 20 runs last night and you had to guess who it was, you'd probably guess the Rangers. And you'd be right.
5. Atlanta Braves (-) - The pitching's still good, O'Ventbrel is still the best relief combo in the game, and guess what: they're hitting. Dan Uggla is on an improbable 30 game hit streak, and Michael Bourn is now exerting his supremacy in the outfield, providing excellent defense and speed at the top of the order. They've weathered injuries to Brian McCann and others well so far, but the coming weeks could be a huge test.
6. San Francisco Giants (-) - Like the Phillies, they win because they pitch well, ranking second in ERA, FIP, and WAR. They match up well head-to-head with any team based on that fact alone. They also made a McCovey Cove splash by trading for OF Carlos Beltran, and while he hasn't panned out yet, he's still by default one of their top three offensive players, and they needed offense like Bruce Dickinson needed more cowbell.
7. Milwaukee Brewers (+2) - This team is finally playing to its potential. We're witnessing the Great ERA Correction of 2011 with Zack Greinke, and the bullpen received a boost with the acquisition of Francisco Rodriguez. Losing Rickie Weeks hurts, but they still have offense enough to binge on wins as we've witnessed over the past couple weeks.
8. St. Louis Cardinals (-) - The Cards made some trades of their own before the deadline, acquiring Rafael Furcal, Edwin Jackson, Mark Rzepczynski and Corey Patterson. Leaving town was highly touted OF Colby Rasmus, who evidently didn't jibe with LaRussa. The Cards offense is still solid, and they needed depth in their rotation, so for the short term I'll call it a gain, but Rasmus may make them pay long-term.
9. Anaheim Angels (+4) - The Angels have quietly put together the 4th best ERA in the league, thanks to the resurgence of Ervin Santana and the continued dominance of Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. Not even Bobby Abreu's .153 post-ASB BA can slow them down!
10. Tampa Bay Rays (-6) - Joe Maddon's team is hard to read these days. There were some trade rumors swirling regarding BJ Upton and James Shields, but nothing came of it. Perhaps the team is trying to stick together for when they enter their new stadium next year. 2011, however, is a lost cause going up against the Sox and Yanks. The faux hawks aren't gonna work this year, guys.
11. Arizona Diamondbacks (+1) - One and a half months later, they're still hanging around. Their position players are 6th in WAR ahead of such teams as the Brewers and Phillies thanks to being the best defensive team in the league. I can't imagine them being serious playoff contenders because their team is young, but being youthful isn't a bad thing.
12. Detroit Tigers (-2) - Despite taking over 1st place from the Indians, the Tigers just can't get any love from TDZ. That's because they're the only 1st place team with a team ERA above 4, plus they're a middling team in terms of position player WAR. They do, however, have very talented players that keep them afloat in Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera, plus solid years from Jhonny Peralta, Victor Martinez, and Alex Avila. Will the acquisition of Doug Fister put this team over the top? Or will it merely elicit stifled chuckles for sounding so dirty. We will see.
13. Cleveland Indians (-2) - Remember when this team had the best record in the league? Well, they were who we thought they were, but they're still pretty good. Roster additions Jason Kipnis (minors) and Kosuke Fukudome (trade) offer more options offensively, and this team could move up the ranks if streaky pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez finds his mojo. 2012 looks to be a better timeframe for a playoff run though. 
14. Toronto Blue Jays (+5) - Having stocked his team with some elite young players, Alex Anthopoulos might be the hottest GM in the league right now. The additions of Colby Rasmus and Brett Lawrie are a boost to a team that could become dangerous if Ricky Romero got some help from the rest of the pitching staff. Give AA time and he might be able to get just that.
15. New York Mets (+1) - Hello, New York Metropolitans. Welcome to the top half of the league. Don't be scared! I know it all seems foreign to you, and it doesn't make sense that you've lost Carlos Beltran and K-Rod via trade and Jose Reyes to injury and ended up here, but David Wright and those random AAAA players somehow win 50% of the time. Congrats.

Prepare for the cellar dwellers in a few days!