2015 MLB Power Rankings Week 19

Before I get to today's rankings I want to give a little shoutout to someone who is not yet in the big leagues.

David Denson is a name you may not have heard yet but it’s a name that will live on forever. Denson, a first baseman and outfielder in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, has become the first openly gay player in MLB or its affiliates. Kudos to him and his teammates for accepting him right away. The year is 2015 and acceptance is far greater now than it has ever been. Let’s hope this helps others come out if they want to make that information public.

With that said I won't keep you waiting any longer. On to the rankings!

*Note ~ All records and stats are through Sunday's games as always.

1. St. Louis Cardinals (75-42) ~ Another man down in St. Louis: Randall Grichuk has been placed on the disabled list due to a problematic shoulder. He only leads the team in slugging (.561) and OPS (.835). (Last Week's Ranking 1)

2. Kansas City Royals (71-46) ~ Kansas City remains the cream of the crop in the American League and have the largest division lead (12 games)in the bigs. While that is great they still went out and added pitching depth by bringing in Joba Chamberlain and Wandy Rodriguez. (LWR 2)

3. Pittsburgh Pirates (69-46) ~ It may have taken extra innings in two games but the Pirates escaped Citi Field with a sweep and sit just five back of the Cards in the National League Central. One of these teams will have to open the playoffs with the one-and-done game. (LWR 3)

4. Chicago Cubs (67-49) ~ It's almost unthinkable that the Cubs are this good this soon. Theo Epstein was revered in Boston for ending their long title drought and if he does the same in Chicago he will forever be a front office god. (LWR 5)

5. Los Angeles Dodgers (67-51) ~ By tossing seven innings of one run ball Zack Greinke lowered his ERA .01 to now sit at 1.58 for the season. You know it's a special season when seven innings of one run ball lowers your ERA by .01. (LWR 4)

6. Toronto Blue Jays (65-54) ~ In possibly the biggest series in Toronto for the last 20 years the Jays dropped two of three to the New York Yankees to fall out of first place in the American League East. The lineup, however, is a modern day murderer's row. I expect them to bash their way back to the top in short order. (LWR 6)

7. New York Yankees (64-52) ~ New York's pitching held that vaunted Jays lineup down for the most part allowing just seven earned runs in the three game set. That's the kind of performance that advances teams in the postseason. (LWR 7)

8. San Francisco Giants (64-53) ~ Full. House. Tribute.

9. New York Mets (63-55) ~ Being swept at home by the Pirates wasn't exactly the best thing for the Mets, however, they retain their lead in the NL East due to the erratic play of the Washington Nationals. (LWR 9)

10. Houston Astros (64-54) ~ Dallas Keuchel has been beastly at Minute Maid park this season. He is holding opponents to a .208/.258/.289 line during his home starts. That's domination. (LWR 10)

11. Baltimore Orioles (60-56) ~ Don't look now but if the season ended today the O's would be back in the playoffs. They currently hold a 1/2 game lead over the Los Angeles Angels for the second wild card. (LWR 14)

12. Texas Rangers (59-57) ~ Cole Hamels hasn't exactly had the best first two starts in a Texas uniform giving up five home runs in just 13 2/3 innings. He surrendered 12 long balls as a Phillie this season in 128 2/3 innings. (LWR 13)

13. Los Angeles Angels (60-57) ~ LA has demoted Matt Shoemaker to Triple-A. He finished 2014 with a 3.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 124/24 K/BB ratio in 136 innings compared to 4.76 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 105/30 K/BB ratio in 117 1/3 innings this season. (LWR 11)

14. Washington Nationals (58-59) ~ For the second year in a row the Nats were a sexy World Series pick. Now, on August 17th, they sit under .500. What is going on in the nation's capital? (LWR 12)

15. Tampa Bay Rays (58-59) ~ Drew Smyly is back off the disabled list. He didn't look sharp Sunday against the Rangers but in his previous 10 starts since joining Tampa in the David Price trade he boats an ace-like 1.96 ERA with a 65/14 K/BB ratio. (LWR 16)

16. Minnesota Twins (59-58) ~ Top prospect Byron Buxton just played in Moosic this past weekend and I didn't have a clue. I dropped the ball there with a chance to see one of the best up and coming players in the game for the price of a Triple-A ticket. (LWR 15)

17. Chicago White Sox (55-60) ~ Chris Sale fanned 15 Cubs on Sunday which puts him on pace to eclipse 300 strikeouts for the season. That hasn't been done since 2002 when Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling both reached the mark. (LWR 18)

18. Arizona Diamondbacks (57-59) ~ Arizona general manager Dave Stewart has said he wants to make Paul Goldschmidt a Diamondback for life. He is under contract through 2018 with a team option for 2019 so there's no hurry to tear up the team-friendly deal. (LWR 19)

19. Detroit Tigers (56-61) ~ Last week young catcher James McCann was in the middle of calling out shortstop Jose Iglesias for his work ethic. Now he is accusing Alex Rios of stealing signs. He is starting to make a name for himself but maybe not the way he wants. (LWR 17)

20. Cleveland Indians (54-62) ~ Corey Kluber has pitched a complete game while allowing just one run in each in three of his last four starts. I think it's safe to say he is back to his Cy Young award-winning form. (LWR 20)

21. San Diego Padres (56-62) ~ Matt Kemp hit for the cycle on Friday night becoming the first Padre to do so. While he has played well since the All-Star break he has largely been a disappointment in his first season in San Diego. (LWR 22)

22. Atlanta Braves (53-64) ~ For the second time this season Shelby Miller took a no-hitter into at least the eighth inning. I think it’s safe to say that trading away Jason Heyward worked well for both clubs. (LWR 21)

23. Seattle Mariners (55-63) ~ Hisashi Iwakuma pitched the fifth no-hitter in Seattle history last week in a victory over Baltimore. Let's focus on the good side of the pitching here. You earned that much Seattle. (LWR 23)

24. Boston Red Sox (52-65) ~ Manager John Farrell announced he has stage 1 lymphoma and will miss the rest of the season. Bench coach Torey Lovullo will fill in for the rest of 2015. This goes beyond baseball and I wish Farrell the best going forward. (LWR 25)

25. Cincinnati Reds (51-65) ~ Last week Todd Frazier became the fourth player this season to hit a walkoff home run in a multi-homer game joining Chris Davis, Andre Ethier and Josh Donaldson. (LWR 260

26. Milwaukee Brewers (51-68) ~ With a grand slam Sunday Ryan Braun tied Robin Yount's club record for career home runs at 251. If he spends his whole career in Milwaukee he has a good chance at doubling that number. (LWR 27)

27. Oakland A's (51-68) ~ After being scratched from a start last week ace Sonny Gray is back on the mound tonight. He's the best thing the A's have going for them at the moment and for their future. (LWR 24)

28. Colorado Rockies (48-68) ~ The pitching starved Rockies look like they might have something with rookie Jon Gray. The top prospect has allowed four earned runs over his first three starts with 14 strikeouts and four walks. (LWR 28)

29. Philadelphia Phillies (46-72) ~ Chase Utley could be the next long-tenured Phillie out the door. The veteran second baseman is said to be drawing interest from the Angels, Giants and Yankees among others. He can, of course, veto any trade by exercising his 10-and-5 rights. (LWR 29)

30. MIami Marlins (47-70) ~ Over the weekend Ichiro collected his 4,192^nd professional hit (counting his time in Japan) which moves him past Ty Cobb into second place on the all-time hits list. If you want to look at it like that. I know I do. (LWR 30)

Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave feedback. I will try and respond as quickly as possible. Want to be like Jose Bautista and follow me on Twitter? @therichwhiteguy