Rounding the Bases

American League Power Rankings

The Red Sox Ascension

By Ryan Frisco

Photo Cred www.bleacherreport.com

1. (+2) Boston Red Sox (53-34) - The Red Sox have proven that lapse a month ago was just a fluke and they truly are the team to beat this season in the American League.  In baseball's toughest division, they have risen to the top, the cream of the crop.  They don't do it by crushing numbers, rather steady consistency by  a lot of guys.  David Ortiz is as clutch as he's ever been, leading this team offensively.  Starting pitching has been stellar with Clay Buchholz leading the team with 9 wins and a 1.71 ERA.  Only one starting pitcher has a losing record.  I'm going to say it now, the Red Sox are a shoe in for the playoffs this year.

2. (+5) Oakland Athletics (50-36) - I knew the Athletics had it in them.  After a rough start, they have shown their true colors and are in their rightful position of leading the AL West.  This team is one of the few that have done it right, growing players through a fruitful farm system.  The team doesn't have standout stars, none of their players are leading the prestigious categories, but the team as a whole is winning games... a lot.  Bartolo Colon has had a rebirth in the city of Oakland, and his 11-3 record is the reason they stand alone on top out West.

Photo Cred www.washington.communities.com

3. (-2) Texas Rangers (49-36) - The Rangers may have dropped from the top spot in the rankings, but that isn't so much their downfall as it is the great play of the two teams above them.  Texas is still right in the battle for the West title and easily a Wild Card Contender.  Texas is having a great season so far from Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz at the bat. Yu Darvish has been their solid starter, leading the majors in Strikeouts.  The big piece for this team so far is their ability to come from behind late in the game.  The bullpen has kept them in it and the bats have come through.  Much like the next team in our rankings...

4. (0) Baltimore Orioles (48-39) - The Orioles are killing me this year.  They have the most potent offense in the league.  Chris Davis is on pace for 60+ homeruns.  Manny Machado is looking at possibly 75 doubles.  Four guys have 100+ hits and six have over 40 RBIs.  They score runs.  The problem?  They don't have good pitching.  No starter has an ERA under three.  The offense has done a great job of coming back for wins, and the bullpen has done a good job of blowing leads.  Jim Johnson leads the majors with 29 saves...he's also blown six of them.  They just signed a new starting pitcher, Scott Feldman this week.  He needs to be that piece that brings this team together or they will fall apart down the stretch.  Right now, they need to stop blowing leads, like they did again tonight.

5. (0) Detroit Tigers (47-38) - The Tigers, as they should be, are winning the AL Central division. Miguel Cabrera is leading one of the top offenses in the MLB, on pace for possibly a second Triple Crown in as many seasons.  Max Scherzer is having a Cy Young like season, starting off 13-0 in 17 starts.  No one has started this long without losing since Roger Clemens in 1986.  Along with Justin Verlander, they are 22-5 combined.  The Tigers could be better given their circumstances, but the power in their lineup paired up with their great starting pitching should bode well for this team in the second half of the season.

Photo Cred www.sportingnews.com

6. (-4) New York Yankees (47-39) - The Yankees have a good record, but that is more a reflection of the poor teams they have played lately rather than any amount of skill they have.  This Yankees team is different from any I've ever seen. They don't have stars out there anymore.  There is no consistency in the lineup.  Only two players (Robinson Cano and Brent Gardner) have played 80 games.  No regular is batting .300, no one has 60 RBIs, only three guys have double digit homeruns...this is not the Yankees we are used to. Starting pitching has also been rough. They let up too many runs and no starter yet has 10 wins.  The only bright spot is Mariano Rivera, who has been shut down amazing.  This team needs things to change quickly to have a shot down the stretch.

Photo Cred www.sportpeaks.com

7. (-1) Cleveland Indians (45-42) - I still have trouble seeing this team as a viable contender, but I'll be honest, they are really giving the Tigers a run for their money!  They are getting some steady, not great, production from the bulk of their lineup, and pitching is consistent, not amazing, but good enough to keep them in the race halfway through the season.  It'll be interesting to see what happens in the second half of the year.  If the Indians sneak in as the 5th Wild Card spot, I wouldn't put it past them putting together a run to the Series!

8. (+1) Tampa Bay Rays (48-40) - I should probably have the Rays a bit higher on the list, but I feel their shots in the long run are less than the teams ahead of them.  They play in the best division and baseball, and have put together a good string lately to put themselves back in the race.  I'm just not sure if they have lasting power.  Evan Longoria has been hot, and their lineup is capable of going off at the drop of a hat.  Matt Moore is still pitching okay, but has cooled off after his dominant start.  The Rays are definitely capable of surprising everyone, but I don't see their year being 2013.

9. (+5) Los Angeles Angels (42-45) - This spot is a toss up between the Angels and the Blue Jays, and I'm giving it to the Angels due to the fact they've actually moved up in their division.  The Angels had a horrid start to the season, about 10 games under .500 early on.  They have since gone on a couple of streaks and come to within 3 games of .500.  They still have a long way to go, but they are moving in the right direction...'Hey, it could happen.  The Angels could win the pennant.'

Photo Cred www.hawaiiherald-tribune.com

10. (+3) Toronto Blue Jays (42-45) - Another team that started out poor and has picked up their game.  The dream team Toronto bought that was supposed to be so good has been average lately, which is better than what they were.  Unfortunately, they still find themselves last in the MLB's best division, the AL East.  The Blue Jays are getting some pretty good power numbers offensively, but not a single one of their starting pitchers has a winning record...teams will not win games if their starters cannot get the job done.

11. (-3) Kansas City Royals (41-43) -  Yes, this is the Royals team I'm used to seeing.  The run was nice while it lasted, but it appears that Kansas City is back to their losing ways, unfortunately.  There is no hint of power on the team, no player has even 10 homeruns and no one has 20 doubles.  Even though their pitchers ERA is better than most teams, they don't score enough runs to win them the games.  Things are better than usual in KC, but more time is needed to be a contender.

12. (-1) Seattle Mariners (38-49) - With these last few teams, the ranking doesn't really matter so much. Realistically, these teams are out of contention.  I put the Mariners here because I really like Raul Ibanez and love that he's tearing it up still at this age.  21 homeruns for the guy!  Other than that, not too much else exciting in the Seattle.  Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma each have decent ERAs, but that unfortunately is not enough to get them anywhere near contention.  Another year, another chance to rebuild for the Mariners.

Photo Cred www.zimbio.com

13. (-3) Minnesota Twins (37-47) - Joe Mauer is great.  Justin Mourneau is good.  The tandem has been struggling to make anything happen in the Twin Cities for years now. Starting pitching is inconsistent and bad.  If they can't get a team together soon, I'd want to jump ship if I were Mauer.

14. (-2) Chicago White Sox (34-50) - Well, last rankings I talked about how the White Sox's struggles were due largely in part to the shortcomings of Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn. Since them, Konerko has picked up his average some and Dunn has tore up with homeruns and RBIs.  Unfortunately, the rest of the team did not follow suit, as they slip further down the list and further away from the playoffs again.

15. (0) Houston Astros (32-56) - Well, the Astros have picked up their game a little bit, but not much.  They have no offensive production, and no studs on the pitching side of things.  They need help...a lot of it.  Hopefully this is just a case of getting used to a new league all together and not a 10 year epidemic for Houston...I'm sure the catch phrase 'Houston, we have a problem' has been used WAY too many times this year.

Agree? Disagree?  Let me hear it peeps!

Ryan Frisco is a co-founder and MLB Analyst with Sports Eye View.  He can be reached at ryanafrisco@gmail.com.