1. New York Mets (last week No. 3)
The Mets continued their hot start this week as they were able to extend their win streak all the way to 11 games before losing to the Yankees on Friday night. Lucas Duda has led the offensive charge for the Metropolitans since David Wright was placed on the disabled list. Duda is hitting .324 in the early going with two home runs and 11 RBIs. Matt Harvey, Bartolo Colon, Jacob deGrom and Jonathon Niese have all pitched exceptionally well, and they’re getting great work out of the bullpen from Jeurys Familia, Jerry Blevins and Alex Torres. Looking ahead, the Mets have a tough week ahead of them with the streaking Miami Marlins and the talented Washington Nationals.
2. Detroit Tigers (No. 1)
The Tigers lost their spot at No. 1 as they went 3-4, including losing four in a row at one point. Nonetheless, this is still one of the best teams in the league. Miguel Cabrera is off to a scalding start hitting .377 with three home runs and 13 RBIs. Jose Iglesias was lost for all of 2014 with a leg injury and has come back this year on a tear. The shortstop is hitting a robust .379 while playing some Gold Glove caliber defense. One thing Tigers fans should be concerned about is their bullpen. The Tigers are ranked 26th in the league in bullpen ERA. That is one thing to keep your eye on as the season progresses.
3. Kansas City Royals (No. 2)
Since starting off 7-0, the Royals are just 5-6 but still one of the better teams in baseball. The Royals so far are making more headlines with their antics on the field than for their actual play. So far the Royals have been involved in three on field altercations with the other team. This week it reached a full boiling point as the Royals and White Sox had a full on brawl leading to suspensions of staff ace Yordano Ventura, centerfield Lorenzo Cain, starting pitcher Edinson Volquez and reliever Kelvin Herrera. The Royals need to clean up their act, as they can’t afford to lose players to suspension.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (No. 5)
The Cardinals had a tough end to a great week as they most likely lost their ace Adam Wainwright for the whole season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. This is a huge loss for the Cards. Wainwright has the most wins since the start of the 2013 season with 41. Michael Wacha and Lance Lynn will need to step up in the absence of Wainwright. Other than the loss of Wainwright, the Cardinals had a great week as they went 4-2. They took two of three from both the Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers. They’ll play hosts to the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates this coming week.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (No. 4)
After having one heck of a week last week, the Dodgers went on to get swept by the last place San Francisco Giants. They did manage to bounce back and take two out of three from the San Diego Padres to salvage what would have been a terrible week. The Dodgers will get a chance at some revenge, as the Giants will visit Dodger Stadium this week. They will then play host to the Arizona Diamondbacks next week.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (No. 10)
7. San Diego Padres (No. 6)
8. New York Yankees (No. 11)
9. Boston Red Sox (No. 9)
10. Colorado Rockies (No. 12)
11. Houston Astros (No. 12)
12. Chicago Cubs (No. 13)
13. Tampa Bay Rays (No. 25)
14. Baltimore Orioles (No. 8)
15. Atlanta Braves (No. 7)
16. Toronto Blue Jays (No. 18)
17. Chicago White Sox (No. 23)
18. Minnesota Twins (No. 22)
19. Miami Marlins (No. 29)
20. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (No. 16)
21. San Francisco Giants (No. 28)
22. Seattle Mariners (No. 20)
23. Arizona Diamondbacks (No. 19)
24. Washington Nationals (No. 14)
25. Cincinnati Reds (No. 21)
26. Oakland Athletics (No. 15)
27. Cleveland Indians (No. 24)
28. Texas Rangers (No. 26)
29. Philadelphia Phillies (No. 27)
30. Milwaukee Brewers (No. 30)
Follow Bobby on Twitter @RENorrell_III
