2015 MLB Power Rankings Week 4

April has come and gone and there are more than a few surprises throughout the league. The Houston Astros have the best record in the American League. The Washington Nationals are mired in fourth place in a weak National League East. One month does not a season make but most experts would not have predicted either of those two factoids as the calendar turned to May. Let's see how the rest of the teams throughout baseball have fared thus far.

*Note ~ As always all stats and records are through Sunday's games.

1. St. Louis Cardinals (18-6) ~ Lots of bonus baseball in St. Louis last weekend. The Cardinals became the first team since Cincinnati in 1925 to sweep a series with a walk-off win in extra innings in each game. They also boast the best record in the bigs. (Last Week's Ranking 4)

2. Detroit Tigers (17-9) ~ Anibal Sanchez lost a perfect game in the sixth inning of Sunday's game against the Royals but the Tigers still picked up the win and split the series to retake first place in the AL Central. (LWR 1)

3. Kansas City Royals (16-9) ~ Starting shortstop Alcides Escobar had hoped to avoid the disabled list after taking a Danny Salazar pitch to the head last week. In today's game it's better to be safe than sorry. Escobar has been placed on the 7-day concussion DL. (LWR 2)

4. Los Angeles Dodgers (16-8) ~ Clayton Kershaw's .660 win percentage is the fifth highest in the deadball era for pitchers who have made 200 or more starts in their career. Some of the names above him? Whitey Ford, Pedro Martinez, Lefty Grove and Vic Raschi. Pretty good company there. (LWR 5)

5. Houston Astros (18-7) ~ The Astros currently lead all of baseball in home runs, stolen bases and strikeouts. Only one team has done that in Major League history: the 1938 New York Yankees. (LWR 8)

6. New York Yankees (16-9) ~ You probably already know that Alex Rodriguez tied Willie Mays over the weekend with his 660th career home run. What you might not know is that the pinch hit job was the first of his career. (LWR 10)

7. New York Mets (16-10) ~ If you told manager Terry Collins prior to the weekend that his team would hold the Nationals to one run in each game I'm sure he would take that any day of the week. The problem was the Mets didn't score in either of those games. Can't win if you don't score. (LWR 3)

8. Chicago Cubs (13-10) ~ Rookie Addison Russel hit his first home run and Jon Lester picked up his first win another 1-0 game against the Brewers. This game is proof as to why many Cubs fans are optimistic for the playoffs this year. (LWR 6)

9. San Diego Padres (14-12) ~ Justin Upton has had himself an excellent start to the season quietly hitting .301/.340/.602 with seven homers and 21 driven in. I miss him in a Braves uniform. (LWR 11)

10. Pittsburgh Pirates (12-13) ~ As exciting as it was for the Cardinals to win those three games in extra innings it had to be just as deflating to the Pirates. They will look to shake it off with three at home against the Cincinnati Reds before hosting the Cardinals for three more. (LWR 7)

11. Tampa Bay Rays (13-12) ~ Tampa's solid rotation got more good news this weekend when Matt Moore threw to live hitters for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer. He is expected to rejoin the rotation in mid-June. (LWR 9)

12. Baltimore Orioles (12-11) ~ They played three "home" games in Tampa Bay and won the series. Hopefully the unrest in Baltimore calms down and the O's can be back playing home games in Camden Yards soon. (LWR 14)

13. Washington Nationals (12-14) ~ The Nats played a wild game against the Atlanta Braves last week in which they came back from an early 9-1 deficit to pull out the improbable victory. The hero? Dan Uggla who's three-run homer in the ninth provided the winning margin. The same Dan Uggla who is the highest paid Brave this year. That is karma for the former Braves 2nd baseman. (LWR 19)

14. Oakland A's (11-15) ~ Oakland has scored 131 runs so far this season which is second in all of baseball behind the Toronto Blue Jays. I bet you didn't know that. If you did, kudos to you because I didn't know that. (LWR 18)

15. Miami Marlins (12-13) ~ Christian Yelich is set to begin a minor league rehab and could rejoin the lineup as soon as Thursday. Ichiro has been filling in while Yelich has been out. Not a bad option as your fourth outfielder. (LWR 20)

16. Boston Red Sox (12-13) ~ Boston lost yet another catcher as Ryan Hanigan needs surgery on a broken finger. Up comes prospect Blake Swihart who figures to see steady playing time in Boston. At Triple-A he was was hitting .338/.392/.382 with three extra-base hits (all doubles) and 11 RBI in 74 plate appearances. (LWR 13)

17. Los Angeles Angels (11-14) ~ What is wrong with Jered Weaver? The former ace is 0-4 with an ERA over six and a WHIP near 1 1/2. Is something wrong physically or is Father Time starting to catch up with him? (LWR 15)

18. Toronto Blue Jays (12-14) ~ Daniel Norris has been sent down to Triple-A despite having the only ERA under 4.00 in the rotation. Canadians, eh? (LWR 17)

19. Atlanta Braves (12-13) ~ Mike Minor has been moved to the 60-day disabled list due to no progress with his rotator cuff injury. I'd be surprised if he is pitching in the bigs before the All-Star break. (LWR 16)

20. Colorado Rockies (11-13) ~ Second baseman DJ LeMahieu is having himself a career year thus far slashing .392/.435/.506. He is a career .284/.322/.370 hitter. (LWR 12)

21. Cincinnati Reds (12-13) ~ Homer Bailey is officially done for the season as he will undergo Tommy John surgery. He is in the second year of a six-year $105 million deal. (LWR 23)

22. San Francisco Giants (12-13) ~ The Giants picked up a win in odd fashion over the weekend against the Angels. In the ninth inning the Angels had runners on first and third with two outs down by a run. A ball through the infield would tie the game. Well, the batted ball struck the runner between first and second base thus ending it right there. A very strange way to see a game end. (LWR 25)

23. Minnesota Twins (13-12) ~ Trevor Plouffe hit his first career grand slam as the Twins swept the Chicago White Sox in a four-game set to move above .500 on the young season. (LWR 26)

24. Seattle Mariners (10-15) ~ A month into the season and Nelson Cruz has more home runs (13) than the Mariners have wins. One of those things is good. One is not so much. (LWR 22)

25. Arizona Diamondbacks (10-14) ~ While things might not be great in the desert they certainly have a superstar in first baseman Paul Goldschmidt who is raking to the tune of .356/.448/.622. He is easily one of baseball's best young studs. (LWR 24)

26. Cleveland Indians (9-15) ~ Manager Terry Francona doesn't let his players sulk when things are going poorly. He is of the philosophy that each day there is a new game and the past is the past. That is a big reason why there are smiles in Cleveland's dugout despite the struggles on the field. (LWR 29)

27. Chicago White Sox (8-14) ~ Through 22 games the White Sox have scored only 70 runs which is dead last in baseball. They will need to change that in a hurry if they plan to compete with the Royals and Tigers. (LWR 21)

28. Texas Rangers (8-16) ~ Lost in the fact that the Rangers are bottom-feeders once again is that Prince Fielder has come back strong from an injury-plagued 2014. He is hitting a robust .358/.415/.479. He isn't on Goldschmidt's level but once the weather heats up in Texas the balls should be flying out of the yard. (LWR 27)

29. Philadelphia Phillies (9-17) ~ As I write this the Phillies are beating my Braves 3-0 because that's just what happens when I get to see my team play. Just like last week. It's deja vu all over again. Sigh. (LWR 28)

30. Milwaukee Brewers (7-18) ~ If you had Ron Roenicke as the first manager to be fired in 2015 it's time to collect your winnings. Former Brewer Craig Counsell will take over and I kind of hope he has as unorthodox an approach to managing as he did at the plate. (LWR 30)

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