MLB Team Power Rankings: The Cleveland Indians Are Finally Who We Thought They Were
Teams Ranked 10th to 1st
Technically, there's been no change among the top five teams in our power rankings, but we're on the verge of quite the shakeup. On August 29th, there was a 0.84 difference in team nERD between the Dodgers and Indians. That deficit is now down to just 0.03.
| Rank | Team | nERD | Record | Playoff Odds | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Boston Red Sox | 0.41 | 81-62 | 100.0% | 0 |
| 9 | Tampa Bay Rays | 0.53 | 71-74 | 4.4% | -2 |
| 8 | St. Louis Cardinals | 0.63 | 75-68 | 35.2% | 0 |
| 7 | Chicago Cubs | 0.70 | 77-66 | 72.3% | -1 |
| 6 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 0.77 | 83-61 | 100.0% | +2 |
| 5 | Washington Nationals | 1.08 | 88-55 | 100.0% | 0 |
| 4 | New York Yankees | 1.31 | 78-65 | 99.6% | 0 |
| 3 | Cleveland Indians | 1.61 | 88-56 | 100.0% | 0 |
| 2 | Houston Astros | 1.63 | 86-57 | 100.0% | 0 |
| 1 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1.64 | 92-52 | 100.0% | 0 |
Biggest Rise: Arizona Diamondbacks
The Indians are getting all the headlines for their historic winning streak -- and rightfully so -- but the Arizona Diamondbacks just recently enjoyed a 13-game winning streak of their own.
We talk about the D-Backs offense quite a bit, but it's been their effective pitching that's truly made the difference for them this year. The rotation has been showing out over the past two weeks, as well. In 80 innings of work over the last 14 days, they've posted the highest fWAR in baseball (2.8), the best strikeout rate (30.3%), the lowest opponent batting average (.197), and the second-fewest homers allowed per nine innings (0.56).
That's pretty good, and Robbie Ray has been a huge piece of this puzzle, both all year and recently. He's been worth 1.2 fWAR over his last 20.1 innings of work, which includes a 46.8% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate, and 1.73 SIERA.
Biggest Drop: Tampa Bay Rays
Prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, we had to get used to the Tampa Bay Rays being aggressive and going all-in for a playoff spot. Unfortunately for them, the dog days of August -- and now into September -- haven't gone according to plan.
There's been some bad luck involved for manager Kevin Cash and his club. The rotation has posted a respectable 4.13 SIERA, but it has been quite unlucky thanks to a 5.85 ERA in the last two weeks. The offense hasn't been much better, with their team wRC+ of 76 being just barely better than the equally-struggling Marlins.
One guy who is making the most of the base hits he's actually getting recently is trade-acquisition Lucas Duda. The first baseman has just a .176 batting average over his most recent 37 plate appearances -- not good. However, he's still managed a 104 wRC+ because he's posted a .412 ISO during that same span, including 4 home runs.
