MLB Power Rankings - Week 5

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 22-11
Previous Rank: 1
They have enough power in Kemp, Loney and others to ride out the Manny suspension and I don't yet see a reason why he won't be back in the middle of the lineup on July 3rd.

2. Boston Red Sox
Record: 20-12
Previous Rank: 2
They should be getting Dice-K back soon and they should soon be moving Big Papi down soon. His on-base percentage is higher than his slugging percentage. Delmon Young has a higher slugging percentage.

3. Toronto Blue Jays
Record: 22-12
Previous Rank: 3
The Blue Jays play the Yankees this week signaling the first time they play one of the big 3 in the AL East so far this season.

4. St. Louis Cardinals
Record: 20-12
Previous Rank: 4
They are struggling a little going 5-5 in the last 10, but that can be expected with Carpenter and Ankiel on the DL.

5. Detroit Tigers
Record: 17-13
Previous Rank: 8
Joel Zumaya is reminding people of how good he is when he is healthy with 6 scoreless innings so far and Justin Verlander seems to finally remembered how to pitch with 1 ER in the last 3 starts with 31 strikeouts in 23 innings.

6. Kansas City Royals
Record: 18-14
Previous Rank: 10
They are riding the wave of Zach Grienke and if recently called up #1 overall pick Luke Hochevar contributes this team might just pitch into contention this year.

7. Cincinnati Reds
Record: 18-14
Previous Rank: 11
The lineup is clicking with Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips awaking, but the success of this team depends on Jonny Cueto and Edinson Volquez.

8. Milwaukee Brewers
Record: 18-14
Previous Rank: 16
Ryan Braun is an absolute stud but what is really driving this team is the breakout of Rickie Weeks who is hitting .277-7-21.

9. Chicago Cubs
Record: 17-14
Previous Rank: 5
The team is staying afloat with disappointing starts from Milton Bradley, Derrek Lee, and Geovanny Soto but they have also allowed to the NL Central to be a 4-team race.

10. New York Mets
Record: 17-14
Previous Rank: 20
This team must hate Johan Santana. Last year the bullpen let him down and this year in his two losses he has yet to give up a earned run. He is still well on his way to a 3rd Cy Young.

11. Florida Marlins
Record: 17-15
Previous Rank: 7
The team is struggling a little but it is not because of Hanley Ramirez who is hitting .348-6-19 with 6 stolen bases.

12. Texas Rangers
Record: 17-14
Previous Rank: 17
Playing well winning 7 of the last 8 and they should get Josh Hamilton back on Tuesday. The problem is that they still don't pitch well and the Angels are getting healthy.

13. San Francisco Giants
Record: 17-14
Previous Rank: 14
The most surprising thing about this team is the return of Barry Zito to a respectable pitcher with a 3.57 ERA and 4 earned runs in his last 4 starts.

14. Los Angeles Angels
Record: 16-14
Previous Rank: 21
Things are starting to look brighter with a sweep of Kansas City and John Lackey returning on Friday with Ervin Santana not far behind him.

15. Tampa Bay Rays
Record: 15-18
Previous Rank: 18
Evan Longoria is currently on a pace for .358-52-216. I don't expect that but he is making my MVP pick look very good. Most impressive stat so far by Longoria: He has 44 hits and 44 RBI.

16. New York Yankees
Record: 15-16
Previous Rank: 6
Much was made of A-Rod's home run in his first at-bat back but he has gone 1-10 since then against Baltimore. I am not anticipating him putting up big numbers this year and New York looks headed for disaster.

17. Philadelphia Phillies
Record: 15-14
Previous Rank: 12
Cole Hamels had a good start this week but he isn't the only problem on a team with an ERA of 5.39. This team is wasting the offense being provided by Utley, Ibanez, Howard and Werth.

18. Minnesota Twins
Record: 15-17
Previous Rank: 15
I may be called a homer but if they ever sort out the bullpen this team is primed to go on a huge run with a productive offense and a rotation that can all give you quality starts. Joe Mauer looks determined to win a 3rd batting title this year but he needs to stay healthy.

19. Atlanta Braves
Record: 16-16
Previous Rank: 19
Interestingly, the Braves do not have a player with 4 home runs yet on the season but they have 6 players who have 3 home runs.

20. Seattle Mariners
Record: 16-16
Previous Rank: 9
They have been brought back to earth last week losing 6 of the 7 games. This team is headed to the cellar of the division with a bullet.

21. Chicago White Sox
Record: 14-17
Previous Rank: 13
Have won 2 out the last 9 games. There does not seem to be a specific reason for the collapse but this team is old and seems to have passed their prime.

22. Houston Astros
Record: 14-17
Previous Rank: 24
The curious case of Lance Berkman continues. He is a career .300 hitter hitting .184 but he has 7 home runs on the season.

23. San Diego Padres
Record: 13-19
Previous Rank: 25
This team is in a free fall getting swept by the Astros and losing 16 of the last 20 games. The countdown until the trade of Jake Peavy has started.

24. Baltimore Orioles
Record: 13-19
Previous Rank: 29
There is hope for the future with Markakis and Adam Jones but this team is in the wrong division to ever realize that hope.

25. Colorado Rockies
Record: 12-18
Previous Rank: 28
This team has talent, the problem is that Colorado will never be able to develop a pitcher as evidenced by the struggles of Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales.

26. Arizona Diamondbacks
Record: 12-19
Previous Rank: 22
The team is hitting an absolutely brutal .236 as a team. The main culprits are Chris Young (.193) , Conor Jackson (.182), and Eric Brynes (.216). The bright side is Justin Upton has broken out hitting .384-7-17 since April 24th.

27. Cleveland Indians
Record: 12-21
Previous Rank: 26
This team is a officially a failure and I would expect heads to roll in Cleveland soon. To be 12-21 with the talent assembled is a shame and someone needs to be held accountable.

28. Pittsburgh Pirates
Record: 12-19
Previous Rank: 23
The bottom has finally fallen out for Pittsburgh losing 8 games in a row to plummet to the bottom of the NL Central.

29. Oakland A's
Record: 11-18
Previous Rank: 27
The good news is Matt Holliday is starting to hit home runs again hitting 4 in the last 11 games. The bad news is that he is hitting .200 in those last 11 games.

30. Washington Nationals
Record: 10-20
Previous Rank: 30
Finally something of to draw the interest of National fans: Ryan Zimmerman has a 29 game hitting streak.

Stud of the Week: SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA
Stats: .533 4 HR 7 RBI 3 SB
Honorable Mention: Joe Saunders, Zach Greinke, Johnny Damon, Jason Bay

Dud of the Week: OF Jordan Schafer, ATL
Stats: .120 0 HR O RBI 12 strikeouts in 25 at-bats
Dishonorable Mention: Brandon Inge, Adam LaRoche, Phil Hughes, Bronson Arroyo

#14 Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays
Last Year: 86-76 4th in AL East
This Year: 4th in AL East



It is safe to say that the Blue Jays are the best 4th place team in baseball. They have a good team but are in the wrong division. How much must it have hurt last season to see the Rays do what the Jays have tried so hard to do and pass the Yankees and Red Sox. The problem is how they go about trying to get better. They try to spend and acquire and you can not beat the Yankees that way because they will always outspend and outacquire. This season will be very familiar to Jays fans as they are a good team that has no chance to make the playoffs or contend.

Opening Day Lineup w/Projections
SS Marco Scutaro .261 6 HR 45 RBI
2B Aaron Hill .277 13 HR 58 RBI
RF Alex Rios .293 17 HR 83 RBI 26 SB
CF Vernon Wells .277 23 HR 89 RBI
DH Adam Lind .285 13 HR 76 RBI
3B Scott Rolen .259 11 HR 54 RBI
1B Lyle Overbay .264 14 HR 57 RBI
C Rod Barajas .241 9 HR 45 RBI
LF Travis Snider .278 16 HR 54 RBI

Rotation
RHP Roy Halladay 16-8 3.04 ERA 177 K
RHP Jesse Litsch 14-7 3.37 ERA 121 K
LHP David Purcey 8-10 4.78 ERA 121 K
RHP Casey Janssen 6-10 4.98 ERA 98 K
RHP Scott Richmond 3-8 5.23 ERA 103 K

CP LHP B.J. Ryan 3.15 ERA 29 SV 58 K

Best Case Scenario: Selig re-aligns the teams in mid season sending the Blue Jays to the NL West. Travis Snider explodes and becomes a reliable 5 hitter. Rios and Wells finally don't disappoint. Dustin McGowan comes back this year and contributes. Rolen spends the entire season pretending the baseball is Tony LaRussa. This team wins 85 or 86 games.

Worst Case Scenario: Halladay gets hurt. Snider is sent to AAA. Rolen and Overbay are totally ineffective. Fail to fill out the back half of the rotation and gets beat around by the top of the division. This team quits realizing the hill they face in the AL East and finish with 75 or 76 wins.

Player Most Important to Success: Travis Snider. He is the 6th best prospect acording to Baseball America. In only 73 at bats last year he showed glimpses of his potential going .301-2-13. He has serious .300-30-100 potential. The question is when does he realize it. If he can develop this year he can move up the lineup to the 5 hole and protect Rios and Wells better than Adam Lind. If he can hit 20+ homers this year the Blue Jays should have a solid middle of the lineup that can get them a few games.

Outlook: The Blue Jays despite the division won 86 games last year. That will be significantly more difficult this year because they lost A.J. Burnett to free agency, Shawn Marcum to Tommy John surgery and Dustin McGowan is out until the All-Star break because of his shoulder. They still have Halladay and a few decent hitters but there is not nearly enough to make a run. It must be hard to play knowing that the best they can hope for is 4th place and the worst they can do is also 4th place.