2014 MLB Power Rankings Week 14

The All-Star rosters have been announced which can only mean one thing. Soon we will have to go a few days without regular baseball. That my friends is a depressing time of year. While the All-Star game decides who gets home field advantage in the World Series (which is ridiculous) everyone knows the game is still treated like the exhibition that it is. But this article isn't about the All-Star game. It's about how the teams stack up from the best to the worst. So let's dive into that and if you want more All-Star talk keep reading and see if I mention any snubs.

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

1. Oakland A's (55-33) ~ The best just got a bit better. Oakland pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Cubs and landed Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija to bolster the already strong pitching staff. Oakland is starting to look like the favorite to win the American League pennant. (Last Week's Ranking 1)

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (51-40) ~ Josh Beckett had to leave his start last night with a hip injury and is unsure if he will be ready for his next time out. Losing his 2.26 ERA and 1.03 WHIP would be a big blow to a hot Dodgers squad. (LWR 3)

3. Los Angeles Angels (51-36) ~ The Angles have the second best record in all of baseball. The only problem? They share a division with Oakland who has baseball's best record. (LWR 4)

4. Milwaukee Brewers (52-37) ~ While a 1-4 week is not ideal the Brew Crew still hold the largest division lead over a second place opponent as they lead the Pittsburgh Pirates by 4 1/2 games. (LWR 2)

5. Detroit Tigers (48-37) ~ Victor Martinez is very quietly having the best season of his stellar career slashing an impressive .328/.391/.599 and is leading his team with 21 home runs. (LWR 5)

6. Atlanta Braves (49-39) ~ Their nine-game winning streak was snapped Sunday, however, Atlanta is a team on a roll and has some friendly match-ups in the next two weeks against teams with losing records. The time to go on a run is now for the Braves. Oh, and vote Justin Upton for the #FinalVote in the National League. (LWR 10)

7. Washington Nationals (48-39) ~ The Nats' kept pace with the Braves this week by going 5-1 and remain only a half game back. This division race is right where everyone thought it would be. (LWR 8)

8. San Francisco Giants (49-39) ~ Brandon Belt was activated from the disabled list and should help stabilize a sputtering offense. Finally some good news for a team that has been scuffling for weeks. (LWR 6)

9. Seattle Mariners (48-40) ~ The Mariners are contending and they owe their pitching staff a lot of the credit so far. Seattle has allowed a league low 299 runs (3.4 per game) this season. (LWR 11)

10. Baltimore Orioles (48-40) ~ Kevin Gausman didn't get the win due to the bullpen blowing a big lead but he was magnificent again in his latest outing against Boston. He has now allowed one or fewer (that means zero) runs in four of his last five starts. He may have been optioned to AAA again but he should return quickly. (LWR 14)

11. Toronto Blue Jays (47-43) ~ Losing Edwin Encarnacion is not going to help the Jays find their offence (for Canada) again. (LWR 7)

12. St. Louis Cardinals (47-42) ~ Joe Kelly looks like he is almost ready to rejoin the rotation but questions still remain on the status of Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia. (LWR 9)

13. Pittsburgh Pirates (47-41) ~ Pittsburgh picked up their first sweep of the year this weekend against the Philadelphia Phillies. Two Pennsylvania teams heading in opposite directions. (LWR 16)

14. Kansas City Royals (45-42) ~ Greg Holland may be heading to his second straight All-Star game but I feel he is still unknown to the casual fan. He is putting together another sterling year in KC with 23 saves, a 1.93 ERA and an impressive 50 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. (LWR 13)

15. Cincinnati Reds (45-42) ~ Jay Bruce made a start at first base for the ailing Joey Votto who may be DL-bound once more. The Reds just simply put do not have an adequate replacement at first base. (LWR 12)

16. New York Yankees (44-43) ~ Picking up Brandon McCarthy will help the rotation but the fact that CC Sabathia may be done for the year, and perhaps his career, is the big news out of New York this week. (LWR 15)

17. Miami Marlins (43-45) ~ Look, I'm a Braves fan, so I have to want Upton to win the Final Vote. That said, Casey McGehee deserves a spot on the squad. (LWR 17)

18. Cleveland Indians (43-44) ~ It looks like Cleveland will be without Michael Bourn for the next month as he was placed on the DL with a strained left hamstring. (LWR 18)

19. Chicago White Sox (42-47) ~ Chris Sale, who is 8-1 with a 2.16 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 96 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings did not make the All-Star team. That is asinine. Sale not making the squad makes me something something. (LWR 20)

20. Boston Red Sox (39-49) ~ John Lackey is not happy about the Orioles' Nelson Cruz being elected to start in the All-Star game because of his involvement with Biogenesis. I say he did the time that the players voted on (you know, in the Collective Bargaining Agreement) and he has earned his spot. (LWR 19)

21. Minnesota Twins (39-48) ~ Glen Perkins and Kurt Suzuki will be the only Twins representing the team for the All-Star game in Minnesota this year. To be honest, it's one all-star more than I thought they'd have. (LWR 21)

22. Tampa Bay Rays (41-50) ~ Are the Rays making their move? They have won 10 of their last 14 to climb out of last place in the AL East. (LWR 29)

23. New York Mets (39-49) ~ With so many teams in the market for starting pitching help it brings up the question of Bartolo Colon's availability. If he could be swapped for two prospects I think it makes sense for the Mets to make that deal. (LWR 23)

24. Texas Rangers (38-50) ~ The Rangers, who won 91 games last year, are already at the 50-loss plateau prior to the All-Star break. Just goes to show that injuries can completely derail a season. (LWR 22)

25. San Diego Padres (39-49) ~ While I was surprised to learn the Pirates had picked up their first sweep over the weekend I was not surprised to learn the Padres picked up their first as well against the Reds. Well, maybe I was. But for a different reason. (LWR 30)

26. Chicago Cubs (38-48) ~ On the other side of the blockbuster trade the Cubs picked up prospect Addison Russell who only adds to their rich infield depth (ie Kris Bryant and Javier Baez) in the minor leagues. (LWR 27)

27. Colorado Rockies (37-52) ~ Since June 17th the Rockies are an abysmal 3-17. Starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa has accounted for those three wins. That is incredible in two different ways. (LWR 24)

28. Philadelphia Phillies (37-51) ~ A.J. Burnett came back to pitch this season for Philadelphia. Funny that he may not finish the year there. (LWR 26)

29. Houston Astros (36-54) ~ They may be very good very soon but they haven't been good lately losing 16 of their last 20 including going winless last week. (LWR 25)

30. Arizona Diamondbacks (37-53) ~ It's back to the bottom of the pack for the D'Backs and that's a fact, Jack. (LWR 28)