2013 MLB Power Rankings Week 16

Have you heard of Wil Myers? Of course you have. The rookie phenom has been lighting it up for the red hot Tampa Bay Rays over the last month and it doesn't seem like there are any signs of stopping him or the Rays. They may have lost yesterday in the Bronx but Tampa has rocketed near the top of the division and can reclaim first place in the American League East by beating the Boston Red Sox tonight. David Price will toe the rubber and in his last outing he threw a five-hit complete game against those very Sox. Is the hot streak enough to vault Tampa to the top of my prestigious Power Rankings? Well, no. Not yet at least. But they are damn close.

* Note ~ As always stats and records are through Sunday's games.

1. St. Louis Cardinals (62-40) ~ The Cards may have just been swept by the Atlanta Braves but they still have the best record in baseball to go along with the best run differential. Besides, they always lose to the Braves. St. Louis is 1-8 against Atlanta since the start of 2012. (Last Week's Ranking 1)

2. Tampa Bay Rays (62-43) ~ I talked about Myers in the intro and it seems the Rays are just on cruise control at this point. At a very high speed I might add. Oh, and they just added All-Star reliever Jesse Crain today in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. (LWR 4)

3. Pittsburgh Pirates (61-42) ~ The Buccos start the week off with a rare five game set against the division-leading Cardinals. To say this is a huge series is an understatement. (LWR 3)

4. Boston Red Sox (63-43) ~ The Red Sox are having an impressive year but you have to believe GM Ben Cherington is eyeing rotation help. With the health of Clay Buchholz a major issue and the inconsistency of Jon Lester another arm is a must in bean town. (LWR 4)

5. Atlanta Braves (60-45) ~ The sweep of St. Louis is encouraging as is the return of frontline starter Brandon Beachy but words can't express the huge void left by the season-ending injury to Tim Hudson. (LWR 5)

6. Oakland A's (62-43) ~ Oakland has the best ERA in the American League and rumors have them as the front runners to land Jake Peavey from the White Sox. Oh yeah, and Brett Anderson is working his way back from the disabled list. Things are looking good out in O-town. (LWR 6)

7. Cincinnati Reds (59-47) ~ The Reds ran into the uber hot Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend. I will give them a mulligan on that series. They still have a comfortable hold on the second Wild Card spot. (LWR 8)

8. Detroit Tigers (59-45) ~ Max Scherzer leads the American League in wins (15), WHIP (0.91) and is second in strikeouts (164). I'm betting he has the AL Cy Young award wrapped up by now. (LWR 10)

9. Baltimore Orioles (58-48) ~ Manny Machado's assault on the all-time doubles record is safe as he has only one double since the calendar turned to July. (LWR 7)

10. Los Angeles Dodgers (56-48) ~ Yasiel Puig hit the first walkoff home run of his career this past weekend. He slid into home plate and people are all abuzz about it. I bet somewhere Kendrys Morales smiled. (LWR 13)

11. Texas Rangers (56-49) ~ Rumors are floating around that the Rangers are willing to trade All-Star closer Joe Nathan. They have a more than capable Joakim Soria who would slide into the 9th inning role if Nathan were to depart but I think that is highly unlikely. (LWR 9)

12. Cleveland Indians (56-48) ~ Cleveland is only a game behind the Orioles for the second Wild Card spot. That has everyone in Cleveland saying OH-Hi-O('s). Did that land? I hope it landed. *runs sheepishly into the next room* (LWR 14)

13. New York Yankees (55-50) ~ Alfonso Soriano returns to the Bronx Bombers where he will fit right in with the rest of the aging former All-Stars. Unless New York has a big move up their sleeve I don't see them finishing higher than third in the AL East. (LWR 11)

14. Arizona Diamondbacks (54-51) ~ The D'Backs are fading and fading fast. Hovering around .500 might be enough to stick around in the NL West but they have to hope the Dodgers play that way as well which I don't see happening. (LWR 12)

15. Washington Nationals (52-54) ~ One thing is for sure: The Nationals are making it very easy on Atlanta by not putting up a fight for the first 100-pus games of the year. (LWR 15)

16. Colorado Rockies (51-55) ~ Somehow I feel like the Rockies are a bigger threat to win the NL West than the Diamondbacks are. That they haven't been healthy all year leads me to believe they have a second half push in them. (LWR 18)

17. Kansas City Royals (51-51) ~ Will KC be buyers or sellers at the deadline? Their hot start our of the All-Star break has them on the brink of contention. Let's see if GM Dayton Moore has any tricks up his sleeve in the next 48 hours. (LWR 21)

18. Toronto Blue Jays (48-56) ~ Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle had it right last week when he said that maybe the Jays just aren't as good as everyone thought they would be. Considering they were my preseason pick to win the AL East I would have to agree with that. (LWR 16)

19. Philadelphia Phillies (49-56) ~ Each week I think the Phils are going to plummet in my rankings and then I take a look at who remains and can't drop them any lower. So, number 19 by default. Good going Philly. (LWR 17)

20. Seattle Mariners (50-55) ~ Believe it or not the M's have been playing solid ball lately and should get a healthy Michael Morse back in the middle of the lineup this week. They won't sniff the postseason but a third place finish is a real possibility. (LWR 24)

21. San Francisco Giants (46-58) ~ The defending champs are just about down for the count. I put them on a nine. Will Brian Sabean sell off useful pieces such as Hunter Pence? We will know in a few days. (LWR 19)

22. Chicago Cubs (48-55) ~ The Cubs got a nice haul for Matt Garza yet I feel they got fleeced in the Soriano trade. Jed Hoyer isn't done dealing however. He has more time to pull off a nice prospect bounty. (LWR 22)

23. Los Angeles Angels (48-55) ~ It appears that Albert Pujols will miss the remainder of the season with a tear in his plantar fascia. Angels fans might tell you the Albert Pujols they know hasn't played all year. (LWR 20)

24. San Diego Padres (48-58) ~ Teams are in the market for an outfield bat and the Padres would do well shedding Carlos Quentin who has been playing well since the break. I'm not sure what they could get for him but some team stinking of desperation could throw a nice prospect at them. (LWR 23)

25. New York Mets (46-56) ~ The innings limit is on. Matt Harvey will make another 10 starts this year before being shut down. In actuality that means he will only miss the final two weeks or so of the season. (LWR 25)

26. Minnesota Twins (45-57) ~ Joe Mauer's wife gave birth to twins of her own last week. That's dedication. Somewhere Eli Manning's pregnant wife is worried. (LWR 26)

27. Milwaukee Brewers (43-61) ~ How bout that Ryan Braun everyone!?! Amirite!?! (LWR 28)

28. Chicago White Sox (40-62) ~ Everyone on the White Sox roster not named Chris Sale or Addison Reed should be available over the next two days. (LWR 27)

29. Houston Astros (35-69) ~ Jose Veras is already out the door to Detroit and Bud Norris should be next. It's bare bones time for the Astros. (LWR 29)

30. Miami Marlins (40-63) ~ The Marlins were shut out by the Brewers last week. For the whole series. I still can't wrap my brain around that. They didn't score for 37 consecutive innings. (LWR 30)