MLB Power Rankings: Week Twelve Update

The baseball world was shocked last week. Heck, let’s be honest, I was shocked last week. And we’re all going to talk about it for the rest of our lives.

The Red Sox last week traded Rafael Devers to the Giants, getting back Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, James Thibbs III, and Jose Bello. It was an early end to a saga that featured much drama and polarization within the baseball community.

Regardless of whether you think it’s Devers’ fault or Craig Breslow’s, you just don’t see a move of this magnitude in baseball. Devers was slated to spend the next nine years in Boston. It was his team. He had already won a ring in the city.

It’s gotten to the point where David Ortiz post-trade is posting shade on Instagram directed toward a current player. It’s far from over. And as the baseball gods bless us with storylines, the Red Sox are currently in San Francisco to face the Giants for the weekend.

Now, from a baseball standpoint, it’s a shell-shocking move for the National League West. The Giants had missed a middle-of-the-order bat, yet were still one of the best teams in baseball. The move puts them on par with the Dodgers and most likely ahead of the Padres, and should reignite one of baseball’s most historic rivalries.

1. Dodgers

There’s an easy way to describe last week for the Dodgers: Handling business.

Two consecutive series against the Giants and Padres — both hot and on the Dodgers’ tail — resulted in series wins, including three of four against the Padres, which included some back-and-forth all series long between the benches.

Yet, even with the very brief suspension of Dave Roberts, the Dodgers got back some fire. A mediocre start to June has led to a 7-3 stretch in their last 10 games and a healthy four and a half game lead over the Giants. And the best part for the Dodgers? The stretch has been led by Andy Pages, who’s slashing .308/.316/.538 with three homers and 12 RBIs in his last 15 games.

2. Tigers

Detroit didn’t necessarily have a great week, but there’s no cause for panic.

They lost a series to the peak and valley 2025 Reds, then won a series at home against the Pirates, with Paul Skenes being the sole reason they didn’t sweep.

Detroit enters Saturday with the sixth-best team ERA (3.49) in the majors, fifth-best WHIP (1.20), sixth-best OPS (.720), and fifth most runs (379). Riley Greene is also heating up again, and has an .869 OPS with 17 homers on June 21.

3. Yankees

Yeesh, what a week for the Yankees. A six-game losing streak, back-to-back sweeps by the Red Sox and Angels, and six runs in six games. Not a recipe for success.

Yet, every team goes through losing streaks. And the Yankees bounced back with a 7-3 win over the Angels. Sprinkled in those games was spectacular pitching by the Yankees. Despite scoring six runs in the six losses, the Yankees’ pitching only gave up 13 runs. All the games were winnable.

The Bombers have an important stretch coming up against the Orioles, and it looks like their offense has stabilized. They bounced back with a 7-3 win over the Angels Thursday, and scored three runs last night in a 5-3 loss against the Orioles.

4. Rays

Tampa might not be a fluke.

They’re 12-6 in June, and have clawed all the way back to the top of the American League East standings. On the morning of June 21, the Rays trail the Yankees by just a game and a half.

It started with suspect teams in the Rangers and the Marlins in the first week of June. But then they went to Citi Field and swept the then National League best Mets on the road. They then went home and split against a resurging Orioles team, including winning a game they trailed 8-0 after two innings.

Drew Rasmussen, Shane Baz, and Ryan Pepiot have been leading the charge in the rotation, and Junior Caminero has blossomed into one of Major League Baseball’s best players. Did I mention that Shane McClanahan is coming back as well?

5. Phillies

Philadelphia has had quite the turnaround. And all without Bryce Harper.

After being swept by the Pirates on the road, the Phillies have responded by going 9-2 against the Cubs, Blue Jays, Marlins, and Mets. Three of those teams are no joke.

The result? The Phillies are back in first place, and should be getting Harper back soon after his X-ray came back negative. Unsurprisingly, the pitching staff has held down the fort, with Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suárez, and Cristopher Sanchez all registering sub-three ERAs at the end of June.

6. Astros

Usually Memorial Day is the pinnacle date of baseball where we know who teams are. But it seems a lot of clubs have had a later start. Especially the Astros.

Houston has gone 8-2 in their last 10 games, jumping out to a 44-32 record while separating themselves from the Mariners and Rangers.

They really could have gone 10-0, but two walk-off bombs by rookie Nick Kurtz stole some games for the Athletics in Sacramento. It’s been a collective effort, as the ‘Stros have outscored opponents 61-29 during this 10-game stretch and have opened a five-game lead in the division.

A lot of the talk has been about the pitching staff with Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez, but Jeremy Peña has been a game changer for them. Joe Espada moved the shortstop to leadoff, and he’s responded with a .366/.414/.540 with seven homers in 49 games.

7. Cubs

The Cubbies at seven might be perplexing to some. We’ve ranked them higher than this before, and they’re still first in the NL Central with a 45-30 record and +101 run differential.

The motivating factor is the competition. They took three of four last week against the Pirates, but split with the Brewers after and lost Friday to a scuffling Mariners team at home.

Earlier, the Cubs lost series to the Phillies and Tigers, leading to a 23-24 record against teams over .500. That’s not bad, but it’s not as good as some teams higher than them such as the Yankees (29-23), Tigers (27-21), and Rays (25-20).

8. Giants

Again, I emphasize, WOW. I’m envious, Giants fans.

The Giants have mainly been lower on the top-10s because of their offense, but with the addition of Devers, I can easily see the Giants being a top-five team in baseball.

The outfield with Jung Hoo Lee, Heliot Ramos, and Mike Yastrzemski were no issue. But the infield was littered with guys who had OPS+’s under 100. First base was especially the main struggle, with LaMonte Wade Jr. registering a 59 OPS+ before being DFA’d.

Last week left a lot to be desired, but the Devers’ trade came a little late. The Giants lost a series pre-trade to the Dodgers, then faced the Guardians at home for Devers’ debut. Friday’s loss to the Red Sox (hilarious by the way) also wasn’t great, but the club has a six-game stretch with the Marlins and White Sox to correct. Remember when I was pushing Ryan O’Hearn? Some might say I was being a little too realistic.

9. Mets

Going from one to nine in one week is hard. But our Mets did it.

A seven-game losing streak has followed their six-game winning streak, leaving the Mets in second place behind the Harper-less Phillies.

All the losses have been, well, lifeless. After blowing their 5-1 lead over the Rays Friday, the Mets have put together exactly one single competitive game: Tuesday’s opener in Atlanta, which also saw a 4-1 lead blown.

The main culprit has been the regression of the pitching. Reed Garrett and Huascar Brazobán have led the charge in that department, but starters such as Griffin Canning and Clay Holmes have also followed.

The real underlying issue, however, has been the offense. Sure, they’ve hit the seventh most homers (95) in the majors, have the eighth highest slugging (.416), and the sixth highest OBP (.327), but they don’t score runs. They’re twelfth in runs scored (335). Their batting average with runners in scoring position is the second-worst in baseball (.215). Yep, they’re 29th. Oh and by the way, the only team behind them is the White Sox, and their average is .213.

10. Padres

San Diego had a chance to make a statement the last week in a half. Starting June 9, the Friars were 37-28 and had seven games coming up against the Dodgers. Now, on June 21, the club is 40-35 and went 2-5 against their division rivals.

It’s hard to hold losing games against the Dodgers. They’re elite. But for a team built to win with division aspirations, it’s not going to land them high on the top-10. The Padres also lost a series with the Diamondbacks in between, not helping their cause in the best division in baseball.

Rest of Field

11. Blue Jays
12. Brewers
13. Diamondbacks
14. Cardinals
15. Red Sox
16. Braves
17. Reds
18. Mariners
19. Royals
20. Rangers
21. Twins
22. Orioles
23. Guardians
24. Angels
25. Athletics
26. Pirates
27. Nationals
28. Marlins
29. White Sox
30. Rockies

 

 

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