2015 MLB Power Rankings Week 2

Boston Strong. That was the message David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox sent throughout baseball and the country after the horrific bombing at the Boston Marathon two years ago. Today is the 2nd anniversary of those attacks and the Sox made the city proud with a 7-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles that helped vault them atop the American League East. While a simple victory in a baseball game does not diminish the horrors of that fateful day it should put a smile on the face of most Bostonians. That was the single day game today so now it is on to the reason you clicked here: the rankings.

*Note ~ All stats and info include today's Red Sox / game.

1. Detroit Tigers (10-2) ~ Max Scherzer who? Tigers fans were expecting a decline in the starting rotation when Scherzer left via free agency but Shane Greene has impressed early on by allowing only one earned run in his first three starts. (Last Week's Ranking 2)

2. Kansas City Royals (9-3) ~ The Royals and Oakland A's got a little chippy this weekend in a series that featured quite a few bean balls and a few ejections that all stemmed from a hard slide into second base by the A's Brett Lawrie. Headhunting has no place in baseball. It will be interesting to see if anything more comes out of this dust-up. (LWR 1)

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (9-3) ~ One of the hottest teams in baseball is out in L.A. where the Dodgers have won eight straight and boast the highest team OPS (.885) in the game. (LWR 7)

4. New York Mets (10-3) ~ Who is the hottest team you ask? Believe it or not it is the Mets who have the best record in the National League. Matt Harvey is 3-0 and looks like easy money to win Comeback Player of the Year. (LWR 11)

5. St. Louis Cardinals (8-3) ~ Almost equally hot are the Cardinals who have reeled off five consecutive wins including last night's crisp two hour and two minute victory over the Cincinnati Reds. That has to make Rob Manfred and the powers that be behind the pace of game rules smile. (LWR 13)

6. Boston Red Sox (8-5) ~ While the Sox are scoring runs in bunches (AL high 70 runs scored) they are giving them up just as frequently (2nd in the AL with 65 runs allowed). Odds are one of those trends will end. Which one remains to be seen. (LWR 3)

7. Atlanta Braves (8-4) ~ Newcomer Nick Markakis has given the offense a boost with his superb .479 OBP, however, of his 15 hits on the year only one is for extra bases (a double). The Braves will need to see a bit more power from a middle of the lineup hitter. (LWR 6)

8. San Diego Padres (8-5) ~ The Padres reworked offense is paying early dividends as the club sits 10th in baseball in runs scored (59) after finishing dead last in 2014. If the team can keep this up they can be dangerous in the NL West. (LWR 18)

9. Baltimore Orioles (7-6) ~ To say that Adam Jones is on a tear would be an understatement. He currently leads MLB in runs (12), hits (21), RBI (16), batting average (.457) and OPS (1.338). Those numbers will obviously taper off but Jones is locked in and is showing he is as dangerous a hitter as there is in baseball. (LWR 16)

10. Chicago Cubs (6-5) ~ In case you were unaware, the Cubs called up top prospect Kris Bryant on Friday. Bryant, 23, led the minors with 43 home runs last season while posting a 1.098 OPS and was batting .321 (9-for-28) with three home runs and 10 RBI over his first seven games in Triple-A this season. Suffice it to say there is a lot of hype around this kid. (LWR 5)

11. Washington Nationals (6-7) ~ Craig Stammen, an unheralded arm in the Nats pen, was lost for the year due to a torn flexor tendon. Will this heat up rumors that free agent Rafael Soriano could end up back in the nation's capital? (LWR 17)

12. Toronto Blue Jays (6-7) ~ Stop me if you've heard this before: Jose Reyes is injured. The star shortstop has a cracked rib and may be in line for a stint on the disabled list. His presence on the basepaths will be missed for the big bats of Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and others behind him in the lineup. (LWR 4)

13. Pittsburgh Pirates (6-6) ~ The Pirates are doing it with pitching. While their offense is scuffling the Buccos pitching staff ranks in the top eight in ERA (3.03), WHIP (1.05) and Batting Average Against (.212). (LWR 15)

14. Oakland A's (6-7) ~ Once again it appears Billy Beane knew what he was doing when he traded away Josh Donaldson. The A's rank among baseball's best offensively ranking in the top six in batting average (.280), OBP (.339), and slugging (.430). (LWR 12)

15. Colorado Rockies (7-5) ~ OK. I was wrong. Last week I told everyone to add Colorado's new closer to their fantasy team. What I didn't mention was that the Rockies were giving the job to Adam Ottovino. He's the guy you want. Let's chalk that up to an early season error on my part shall we? (LWR 9)

16. Los Angeles Angels (5-7) ~ At 23 years 253 days Mike Trout becomes the youngest to join the 100 homer/stolen base club. I have a funny feeling that will become a common theme throughout his career. (LWR 19)

17. Arizona Diamondbacks (7-6) ~ Josh Collmenter gets the years first shutout by allowing 4 singles and one walk while striking out two. He also went 3-for-5 with a run and RBI. Not a bad day at the office. (LWR 14)

18. New York Yankees (6-6) ~ Alex Rodriguez is now just two home runs shy of tying Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time list. You wouldn't know it because the Yankees are keeping his accomplishments hush-hush as they try to weasel their way out of paying him his milestone bonuses. (LWR 24)

19. Houston Astros (6-6) ~ The season is only two weeks old but the Astros sit alone atop the AL West. I bet they would not have been your first, second, third or maybe even fourth guess if I had asked you who led that division. (LWR 26)

20. Cincinnati Reds (5-7) ~ Pete Rose is back in baseball! Well, sort of. Fox has hired him as an analyst. It's a start I suppose. (LWR 8)

21. Tampa Bay Rays (6-7) ~ Steven Souza looks like a star in the making. Acquired in the offseason he leads the Rays in home runs (3), RBI (10) and batting average (.289). He and Evan Longoria could be a dangerous duo in the heart of the lineup. (LWR 10)

22. Seattle Mariners (5-7) ~ The M's have not hit a grand slam since September 2013. That drought spans 115 plate appearances with the bases loaded. With Nelson Cruz in town one has to figure that will change soon. (LWR 20)

23. Minnesota Twins (5-7) ~ Torii Hunter, on Sunday, hit his first home run for the Twins since 2007. Ahhh, nostalgia feels good doesn't it? (LWR 30)

24. Chicago White Sox (4-7) ~ Not to be outdone by their crosstown rival Cubs the White Sox have called up their own top prospect in lefthander Carlos Rodon. He is expected to pitch out of the bullpen initially but could see time in the rotation later in the year. (LWR 25)

25. Cleveland Indians (4-7) ~ Danny Salazar has been re-called from Triple-A and has a permanent spot in the rotation after Zack McAllister was demoted to the bullpen. If he can control his walks he could be an important piece of the rotation. (LWR 23)

26. Texas Rangers (5-8) ~ Neftali Feliz allowed two runs Sunday night taking the blown save and loss. That snapped a streak of 27 straight scoreless innings by the Rangers' closer. (LWR 27)

27. Miami Marlins (3-10) ~ Giancarlo Stanton is now the franchises all-time leader in career home runs with 156. He passed Dan Uggla last week and stands to pad his lead due to his thirteen-year contract with the fish. (LWR 29)

28. San Francisco Giants (4-10) ~ Nine straight losses for the defending champs. Is it too early to make a joke about how this is an odd year? What's that? I did that last week? Oh. (LWR 21)

29. Philadelphia Phillies (4-9) ~ When Jeff Francoeur is your clean-up hitter and it isn't 2007 your team has big, big problems. (LWR 22)

30. Milwaukee Brewers (2-10) ~ Carlos Gomez, arguably the team's best player is on the disabled list with a hamstring injury and the club is off to its wurst start ever. I'm not even sorry. (LWR 28)