1. St. Louis Cardinals
The best team in baseball keeps on rolling with the punches. The Cardinals lost star outfielder Matt Holiday this week to the disabled list as he suffered a partial quadriceps tear. They also lost their most reliable starting pitcher in Lance Lynn to a forearm strain in his right arm. This is now five injuries to five major pieces of this team (Wainwright, Adams and Walden are the others), but the Red Birds are not slowing down. St. Louis stayed hot this week as they went 3-2, including a two game sweep against the Royals (Sunday’s series finale was rained out). Jhonny Peralta is off to a scalding hot June as he is hitting .349 with two homers and five RBIs to start the month. He also leads the team in homers and RBIs for the season. The Cardinals will take on the Minnesota Twins for two two-game series, and then they’ll be off to Philadelphia for a three-game weekend series.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers churned out another impressive week to move up to No. 2 in this week’s power rankings. LA went 5-1 with a three-game sweep against the Diamondbacks and taking two of three from the Padres. Clayton Kershaw looks like he has shaken off his early season rust and is now back on top of his game. Through his last four starts Kershaw has given up three earned runs in 28.2 innings while striking out 39 batters. The Dodgers will have four games against the Texas Rangers this week, and then they’ll play a tough San Francisco Giants team for a three-game weekend series. The Dodgers are just 2-7 vs San Francisco this season.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
Outside of the Cardinals there might not be a hotter team in the National League than the Pirates. Pittsburgh has won 17 of its last 22 games and has vaulted itself right back into the race in the National League Wild Card. The combination of AJ Burnett and Gerit Cole has been lethal thus far for the Bucs. The two righties have combined for a 16-4 record and an ERA of 1.80. Pittsburgh will take on the White Sox for four games this week, and then they’ll be off to our nation’s capital to take on the Nationals.
4. New York Yankees
After a terrible month of May, the Yankees have picked it up in June. Since the turn of the calendar the Bronx Bombers are 8-3 and have found themselves back in first place in the AL East. Alex Rodriguez has been a pleasant surprise this season. A-Rod has hit .268 with 12 homers and 32 RBIs thus far. Mark Teixeira is also having a bounce-back year. The switch-hitting slugger is hitting .256 with 17 homers and 47 RBIs (team leader in both) and an on-base percentage of .370. The Yankees have four games against the Miami Marlins, and then they’ll wrap up their week with a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers.
5. Toronto Blue Jays
They may be only 34-30, but the Blue Jays are the hottest team in baseball. Winners of their last 11 games the Blue Jays have lifted themselves right back in contention for the AL East. During their 11-game run the Jays have outscored their opponents 88-40. They have the best offense in baseball scoring 5.5 runs per game. Josh Donaldson is proving to be one of the best offseason acquisitions as he is hitting .315 with 17 homers and 45 knocked in to go with a .369 on-base percentage. The Blue Jays will look to continue their roll, as they will take on the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles this week.
6. Kansas City Royals
7. Houston Astros
8. Tampa Bay Rays
9. San Francisco Giants
10. Minnesota Twins
11. New York Mets
12. Washington Nationals
13. Chicago Cubs
14. Detroit Tigers
15. Texas Rangers
16. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
17. Baltimore Orioles
18. San Diego Padres
19. Atlanta Braves
20. Arizona Diamondbacks
21. Cleveland Indians
22. Chicago White Sox
23. Cincinnati Reds
24. Seattle Mariners
25. Miami Marlins
26. Boston Red Sox
27. Colorado Rockies
28. Oakland Athletics
29. Milwaukee Brewers
30. Philadelphia Phillies
Follow Bobby on Twitter @RENorell_III
