Monday, June 21st -

June 14-20 was the week of the streak. There are four teams that ended the week on winning streaks of 5 games or longer. Several interesting interleague series led to surprising results, such as the Mariners’ sweep of the Reds. Another week of interleague play ensues in Week 12. Expect the unexpected when leagues clash in matchups that occur only once every 4 years. Let’s take a look at how interleague play is affecting our rankings.

This Power Rankings takes into account season performance thus far, but also accounts for expected future performance and reasons for past performance (such as a major injury, etc). Therefore, current team records won’t always correspond with a team’s spot in the rankings. Like always, debate is encouraged. Here is the Week 12 MLB Power Rankings, with Last Week’s Rank in parentheses:

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1. (1) New York Yankees, 43-26 - The Yankees are finally back in sole possession of first place in the AL East. New York has the best record in baseball, despite not playing particularly well at the moment. The Yankees have just played consistently good baseball all season long, battling through injuries and adversity with admiration. Phil Hughes is now 10-1 on the year. C.C. Sabathia has often times pitched down to opponents this season, but has been getting the job done against top competition. He outdueled Roy Halladay and Johan Santana for wins last week.

2. (4) Boston Red Sox, 43-28 - The Red Sox were hot going into last week, and boy did it continue. Boston swept the Diamondbacks and Dodgers on their way to a new 6-game winning streak. They are now just 1 game back of the Yankees for first place in the division, and for the best record in baseball. Clay Buchholz got his 10th win on Sunday night, tying him with Hughes and David Price for the most AL victories. Talk about a youth movement in the AL’s starting pitching hierarchy; all three of those guys are 25 or younger. The Red Sox lead all of baseball in runs scored, despite numerous injuries and a preseason identity of a “pitching and defense” club. Boston is back to their usual ways.

3. (2) Tampa Bay Rays, 42-27 - The Rays continue to slip slightly each week. It’s finally caught up to them, as the Sox and Yanks have passed them in the AL East standings. Still, I think the Rays are a top-3 team in baseball. If it has to be that the top 3 all come from the same division, so be it. The AL East is just a powerhouse. The Rays are loaded with the pitching and offensive versatility to be in it for the long haul. This division race should be the top storyline in baseball for the final month or two of the season.

4. (7) Atlanta Braves, 42-28 - The Braves are the top-ranked National League team in my rankings for the first team all season. They have the best record in the NL and are riding a dominant pitching staff with a surprisingly solid, consistent lineup. Martin Prado leads the NL in batting, and has by far the most hits. Troy Glaus leads the NL with 56 RBI’s. The impact of Jason Heyward on this lineup also cannot be downplayed in any way. Atlanta has the best home record in baseball by a wide margin, at 24-7. All is well in the ATL.

5. (3) Minnesota Twins, 40-29 - The Twins had the most incredible win of the week, coming back from 5 runs down in the 9th inning against the Phillies before winning the game, 13-10 in the 12th inning. However, the Tigers are back lurking in the AL Central division race, just 1.5 games back. Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer are having down years in the middle part of the lineup. The resurgence of either one of these power hitters could be the spark that this team needs.

6. (9) Texas Rangers, 41-28 - The Rangers are cruising, and are now on an 8-game winning streak after sweeping the Astros and Marlins last week. Josh Hamilton is hitting .444 with a 1.307 OPS in the month of June. Colby Lewis threw a complete game on Saturday as he continues to be a wonderful surprise in the rotation. Texas is back to doing what they do best in scoring tons of runs, but they finally have some legitimate starting pitching and a feared bullpen.

7. (10) St. Louis Cardinals, 38-31 - The Cardinals haven’t been playing particularly well, but their modest consistency has landed them back in first place in the NL Central. Moving Matt Holliday to the 2-hole in the lineup appears to be a good move. Adam Wainwright continues to be a model of consistency in the rotation. Wainwright recorded his 22nd consecutive quality start at home on Sunday, setting a major league record. We’ll see if recently acquired Jeff Suppan can return to his old Cardinal form to smoothly round out this rotation.

8. (5) Los Angeles Dodgers, 38-31 - The Dodgers were swept in Manny Ramirez’s return to Boston. With Chad Billingsley hitting the DL, the rest of the starting rotation must pick up the slack and continue to pitch at a high level. On the season, the Dodgers have just a +5 run differential in all their games. The Marlins have a +23 ratio, despite having 5 less wins. L.A. has been able to win close games with their stud back-end bullpen, and they hope to continue to do so. Andre Ethier is batting just .210 since May 31st, when he returned from the DL after his finger injury.

9. (13) San Francisco Giants, 38-30 - I’ve moved the Giants back up into the top 10, where I think they rightfully belong. The addition of Buster Posey is really providing a big spark to this lineup. Matt Cain has been the best and most consistent starter in this great rotation, even better than Tim Lincecum. Andres Torres is quietly having a nice season in the outfield, hitting .287 with a .860 OPS and 11 stolen bases.

10. (8) San Diego Padres, 40-29 - The Padres continue to put their formula of pitching, defense, and timely hitting into action. Their strategy is perfect for their home ballpark. The first-place Padres have just 2 regulars batting above .280 right now, and barely. But San Diego leads baseball with a 3.07 team ERA, and they also have the second lowest bullpen ERA (2.66) in the league.

11. (11) Toronto Blue Jays, 38-32 - It’s well documented that the Blue Jays lead baseball in home runs by a wide margin. However, they are doing so with the 3rd lowest team average in baseball. They are tied with the Mariners for worst average in the AL. That’s a concern. They have also struck out more times than any other AL team, and have the fewest stolen bases. Toronto has essentially been an all-or-nothing offensive team throughout the season. This rotation has been good enough to keep them in games and shut down opponents when asked to, but the offense may need to become a little more dynamic as their scouting report weaknesses become so obvious.

12. (6) Cincinnati Reds, 37-33 - It was a rough week for the Reds, who lost 2 of 3 to the Dodgers before being swept on the road by the lowly Mariners. I think we need to see more consistent starting pitching from Cincinnati before they can be considered a top-10 team again. However, I still expect the pitching improvement to occur in the near future. The Reds are under .500 on the road and score over a full run less per game away from their hitter-friendly ballpark.

13. (14) New York Mets, 39-30 - The Mets took an 8-game winning streak into their Subway Series against the Yankees, before dropping 2 of 3 in Yankee Stadium. Solid starting pitching continues to carry the team, while Jose Reyes is slowly but surely rounding back into superstar form. Jason Bay needs to be more productive batting 4th in the order for the Mets to be a true threat.

14. (12) Philadelphia Phillies, 35-32 - The Phillies continue to struggle to win games, one way or another. After suffering 1-0 and 3-2 losses the week before, the Phillies were getting outscored by opponents last week. The worst loss was a 13-10 defeat to the Twins at home, despite having a 5-run lead going into the 9th inning. Roy Halladay is also just 1-3 since his perfect game.

15. (17) Detroit Tigers, 38-30 - Big week for the Tigers, who went 5-1 and now are just a game and a half back of the Twins. Before we start moving them up much higher in the rankings, it’s imperative that their starting pitching improves. Rick Porcello, their #2 starter at the beginning of the season, was optioned to Triple-A over the weekend. The 21-year-old was expected to make major strides this season, and has instead regressed poorly. He’s still young and talented, and should figure it out in the minors before joining back up with the big club. Armando Gallarraga has had an up-and-down couple of starts since his near perfect game.

16. (15) Los Angeles Angels, 39-33 - The Angels are chugging along, getting solid pitching performances to match their streaking bats. Howie Kendrick has turned his season around in June, despite a subpar first 2 months. However, the Texas Rangers are flying high in the standings in front of them, and the Angels need to keep within striking distance, knowing how tough it will be to win the wildcard this year with all the stacked teams in the East.

17. (16) Colorado Rockies, 36-33 - Another 3-3 week for the Rockies. It’s the same old story for this team, only now they have lost their best position player for 4-6 weeks. Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki injured his wrist and will be a crucial loss for this team for awhile. Meanwhile, Ubaldo Jimenez is now 13-1 and continues on his historic ride. The impressive thing about Jimenez is that his strikeout rate is down from last season, and his walks are up. He doesn’t overpower hitters, he just pitches with perfect consistency and design to every batter. His team is reaping the benefits from his preparation and execution every 5 days.

18. (22) Chicago White Sox, 34-34 - The White Sox have shown signs of life! Chicago swept the Nationals and Pirates last week on their way to a 6-game winning streak. Playing inferior National League opponents was just what the doctor ordered for this struggling team. Jake Peavy dealed a complete game shutout against the Nats, something that the team was hoping to see more of this season. Perhaps Peavy can start to turn his season around now.

19. (19) Florida Marlins, 33-36 - Young outfielder Mike Stanton looks great. But this lineup as a whole is very hit-or-miss on a daily basis. The consistency is lacking from Coghlan, Cantu, and Uggla, as they have all been incredibly streaky at the plate. Josh Johnson, though, is doing his part as the ace of the staff. Johnson has quality starts in all but 2 starts this season, and he’s been dominant in the last month. Johnson has gone at least 6 innings and gives up 2 or less earned runs in 7 consecutive starts.

20. (20) Oakland Athletics, 34-37 - The A’s are quickly falling in the standings. They are now much closer to last place than they are to first place. Their young starting pitching has done what we thought they would do, but the lineup has also rounded into its mediocre form. Shortstop Cliff Pennington is batting .222 with a .636 OPS in 230 at bats. Disciplined young slugger Daric Barton had impressive splits for much of the season, but he now has more K’s than walks, and has just 4 home runs in 251 at bats.

21. (21) Chicago Cubs, 31-38 - A day after getting smoked 12-0 at home, the Cubs came back and laid a 12-1 win back on the Angels. It was a big statement from Chicago, but also a good representation of their unpredictable play. The Cubs are getting no consistency from the sluggers in the middle of the lineup, wasting nice offensive seasons from some of their young players like Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro, and a good season by leadoff man Marlon Byrd.

22. (18) Washington Nationals, 31-39 - The Nationals are on a 6-game losing streak after being swept by the White Sox and Tigers. So much for Stephen Strasburg’s call-up leading to a resurgent ballclub. If anything, the rest of this team is just standing and watching the phenom dominate opponents without remembering that it’s their job to score the runs for the team. Strasburg has 32 K’s in his first 3 major league starts, the most of any pitcher in history after his first 3 appearances.

23. (26) Seattle Mariners, 28-41 - The Mariners are alive! They swept the Reds at home over the weekend to record a solid week. This is what the team was hoping for at the beginning of the season, the ability to win low-scoring, close games with their great rotation and spectacular defense. They need teams to fear the Felix Hernandez-Cliff Lee combo. Both starters are pitching well now, and perhaps the M’s can start to turn things around. Their hitting remains a joke, though.

24. (23) Milwaukee Brewers, 29-40 - The Brewers are going nowhere fast. Corey Hart leads the National League with 18 home runs, and the offense continues to do its thing. The starting rotation is atrocious after Yovani Gallardo, who has done his best to be a dominant ace. Gallardo is 3rd in the NL in strikeouts. But Milwaukee’s team ERA continues to balloon, and is dangerously close to raising above Pittsburgh’s for the 2nd worst in baseball, only behind the Diamondbacks.

25. (24) Kansas City Royals, 29-41 - The Royals lead all of baseball in batting average again. They just can’t do anything with it. Their slugging percentage is in the bottom 3rd of the league. Jose Guillen is starting to cool off significantly, now batting just .266 with the 5th most K’s at the plate in the AL. Zach Greinke has already served up 2 more home runs this season than he did all of last year, while winning the Cy Young.

26. (25) Arizona Diamondbacks, 27-43 - Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton are 1 and 2 in all of baseball in strikeouts, by a wide margin. That’s not a good number for your 3 and 4 hitters to own. Arizona is easily pacing the majors with the worst team ERA in the league, another bad stat to take ownage of. The Diamondbacks have a solid 17-16 record at home, but are an awful 10-27 on the road.

27. (27) Houston Astros, 26-44 - My bottom 4 teams in the rankings all stay in the same order. The ‘Stros have the 5th worst team ERA in baseball, and the lowest OBP in the league. Michael Bourn leads the National League in stolen bases, but his runs are way down from last season. Berkman and Lee have struggled to drive in runs for most of the season.

28. (28) Cleveland Indians, 26-42 - Super catching prospect Carlos Santana has looked very good at the plate so far in the bigs. He’s going to be a legitimate middle-of-the-order player for this team. That is, unless they trade him away. He also is quickly learning his trade in the field. Santana got bowled over at the plate by Adam Dunn when he was in his way looking to score, despite there not being a play at the plate. It was a clean hit, and Adam Dunn is not a guy you want to get run over by.

29. (29) Pittsburgh Pirates, 25-44 - The Pirates’ -151 run differential is the worst in the majors, and only Baltimore has fewer road victories. Pedro Alvarez is hitting under .100 since his promotion to the bigs, and Jose Tabata has struggled as well. Still, it’s imperative that Pittsburgh continues to develop their young hitters during this miserable season. Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones are nice pieces for the future, although Jones is already 30 years old in his second season.

30. (30) Baltimore Orioles, 19-50 - The worst team in the league continues to get dominated. All of their young players have regressed this season, including 2009 All-Star Adam Jones and star right fielder Nick Markakis. Matt Wieters, super catcher savior, has 12 extra-base hits in 221 at bats, batting .222 with a .605 OPS. A platoon of replacement-level veterans could be just as mediocre. This team needs to find a way to develop their promising young players.

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BIGGEST RISERS -
San Francisco Giants (Currently 9th, up 4 from last week)
Chicago White Sox (18th, up 4)

BIGGEST FALLERS -
Cincinnati Reds (Currently 12th, down 6 from last week)
Washington Nationals (22nd, down 4)

Disagree with any of these rankings? Drop a comment and let me know. Be on the lookout for a new update every Monday.