MLB Team Power Rankings Update: The Rockies Just Keep Winning
Teams Ranked 20th to 11th
Before we even talked more in depth about the Orioles, we tried to figure out what was going on with the Chicago Cubs. They responded with a solid week after we called some more attention to them, but they've sunk back down to .500 because of a current four-game losing streak.
At 67.5%, they still have the highest playoff odds among this group of teams, but the Rockies -- who moved out of the 16th spot for the first time since the start of this month -- are close to eclipsing them.
| Rank | Team | nERD | Record | Playoff Odds | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Seattle Mariners | -0.30 | 24-29 | 13.8% | -1 |
| 19 | Los Angeles Angels | -0.11 | 26-29 | 8.8% | -4 |
| 18 | Toronto Blue Jays | -0.07 | 24-27 | 23.1% | +6 |
| 17 | Milwaukee Brewers | -0.03 | 27-24 | 12.4% | -4 |
| 16 | Chicago Cubs | -0.01 | 25-25 | 67.5% | -3 |
| 15 | Miami Marlins | 0.02 | 20-30 | 5.5% | +5 |
| 14 | Colorado Rockies | 0.08 | 33-20 | 63.8% | +2 |
| 13 | Minnesota Twins | 0.24 | 26-21 | 20.6% | -2 |
| 12 | Chicago White Sox | 0.29 | 24-26 | 11.6% | +5 |
| 11 | Cincinnati Reds | 0.34 | 24-26 | 6.2% | -3 |
Biggest Rise: Toronto Blue Jays
Are the Toronto Blue Jays still alive and kicking?! After such a dreadful start, it certainly seems like it.
As recently as April 18th, they were the worst team in baseball according to nERD, and had a 17.7% chance of making the playoffs. While their odds of returning to the postseason hasn't changed all that much since then, they're getting awfully close to .500.
And things are looking up -- J.A. Happ and Francisco Liriano will soon be returning from the disabled list to help the starting rotation, while Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki have already re-claimed their spots in the every-day lineup.
Toronto boasted the second-best offense this week thanks to a team wRC+ of 150, which was undoubtedly helped by Monday's 17-3 blowout win. However, it was still helpful to have four different players with at least 20 plate appearances to post a wRC+ above 200 (Kendrys Morales, Devon Travis, Jose Bautista, and Justin Smoak).
Biggest Drop: Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels weren't expected to seriously contend for a playoff spot, but they've been hanging around .500 for most of the year. Unfortunately, any chance they have at being competitive moving forward has likely vanished with an injury to Mike Trout's thumb, which will require surgery and a lengthy stay on the disabled list.
So, their current playoff odds of 8.8% seem even more dim than normal. How can we properly show Trout's value to Los Angeles, though? This tweet, sent out prior to Monday's game, will help.
Mike Trout:
.337/.461/.742, 16 HR, 10 SB in 206 PA
Rest of Angels:
.226/.298/.341, 39 HR, 27 SB in 1809 PA
— MLB Statistics (@MLBRandomStats) May 29, 2017
We all deserved to watch a potentially historic season from Trout in its entirety, but we'll just have to sit back and wonder what could've been instead.
