West Villages Improvement District: August 19 MLB Power Rankings: Atlanta Braves near top with playoffs looming

WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA – AUGUST 18: Manager Clint Hurdle #13 of the Pittsburgh Pirates greets his players during team introductions before the game against the Chicago Cubs during the MLB Little League Classic at Bowman Field on August 18, 2019 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

by James Kunkle
https://tomahawktake.com/2019/08/19/august

The Atlanta Braves remain near the top of the MLB Power Ranking with the postseason quickly approaching.

We’ve officially entered the magic number and eliminating teams from the playoff chase time of the year. Let’s get right to it as we rank the Atlanta Braves and the rest of Major League Baseball in our weekly MLB Power Rankings.

30. Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles get the bottom spot this week as they are officially the first team eliminated from playoff contention. Being realistic, however, they were eliminated back in March.

29. Detroit Tigers
It is probably no surprise that Miguel Cabrera is the team leader in RBI’s but the surprise is it is with only 48 on the whole season. That’s bad.

28. Miami Marlins
The Atlanta Braves start a series with the Marlins on Tuesday. Let’s hope they don’t play us as tough as they did a little over a week ago.

27. Kansas City Royals
The Royals have a couple of players with tons of talent. One being Jorge Soler who is putting up numbers this year many envisioned he would be putting up all along.

26. Toronto Blue Jays
The Jays got a scare over the weekend as Vladimir Guerrero Jr was injured. Reports are it is not that serious and he should be just fine.

25. Seattle Mariners
The Mariners took two out of three over the weekend against the Jays and that was largely due to Kyle Seager absolutely raking. Hopefully Felix Hernandez can come back and finish his Mariner’s days in good style.

24. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Second Half has been rough for the Pirates, but let’s hope they can get hot over the next few days as they start a series with the Nationals starting Monday.

23. Chicago White Sox
Early last week the White Sox took a series over the Astros. So kudos to them as they still seem to be playing good hard baseball.

22. Colorado Rockies
Good news is they have won 4 in a row and are reeling in the 3 other NL West teams they can still catch. The better news is they are finally getting consistency from Jon Gray who is pitching well again.

21. Cincinnati Reds
They split a series with the Cardinals this past weekend but were swept by the Nationals. Thanks! On a serious note, what Rookie Aristides Aquino is doing is absolute bonkers.

20. San Diego Padres
Tough break for Fernando Tatis Jr and the Padres as he will most likely miss the rest of the season. Better for both parties though to rest up and have him healthy for the 2020 season.

19. Texas Rangers
The Rangers went to Minnesota and got smacked around as the Twins swept the 4 game series and outscored them by 16 runs. The team did retire Josh Hamilton’s number though.

18. Arizona Diamondbacks
Not a good weekend for the Dbacks. They were almost swept by the Giants and lost Robbie Ray to the IL with an injury. The teams pitching depth will be tested now.

17. San Francisco Giants
Just when we thought the Giants were back to reality and out of the picture, they have gotten hot again and are lurking at the back of the Wild Card Race. Thanks in large part lately to Brandon Belt.

16. Los Angeles Angels
The Angels stay close to .500 thanks in large part to a near sweep of the White Sox. They took 3 out of 4 from them.

15. Philadelphia Phillies
We all know the Phillies main problem is pitching, and this following stat proves it. The Phillies only have 47 quality starts this year, and that is after 124 games. That won’t cut it.

14. Milwaukee Brewers
The NL Central race is going to come down who can finish the best in September? The Brewers are still within 2 thanks in large part to that crazy win against the Nationals this past Saturday evening.

13. New York Mets
Look at the following schedule for the Mets. Their next 8 series are against the following in order. Cleveland, Atlanta, Cubs, Philadelphia, Washington, Philly again, Arizona, and then the Dodgers. That’s absolutely brutal.

12. Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are clinging to their playoff hopes by winning 5 straight, but Chris Sale is on the IL with an injured elbow. No doubt, the Red Sox are holding their breath awaiting more word.

11. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs have tons of trouble winning on the road this year, but they finally took a road series this weekend at the hands of the Pirates. We must say that one of those games was at a neutral Williamsport, Pa., however.

10. St. Louis Cardinals
Despite the fact that the Cardinals lead the NL Central at this point (By Winning Percentage) they are listed on most prediction sites to have under a 50% chance at making the playoffs. Interesting to say the least.

9. Oakland Athletics
The A’s are the real deal and after taking 3 out of 4 from the Astros this past weekend, they are still only 7.5 games back of them. They could still pull off a HUGE upset.

8. Washington Nationals
The Nationals only loss in their last 7 games was that crazy drama-filled game with the Brewers Saturday. They also get Max Scherzer back Thursday. The Atlanta Braves still need to gain games to feel good.

7. Tampa Bay Rays
Most know Tampa’s strength is the team’s pitching and that was proven to be especially true Saturday and pitched 13 innings without issuing a single walk.

6. Cleveland Indians
The Indians lost a little ground to the Twins in the AL Central race but more important is that Corey Kluber had to exit his rehab start with arm trouble. They will need him to make noise in October.

5. Minnesota Twins
The Twins who have gotten a small gap for first in the AL Central have an extremely talented outfield. Max Kepler has burst onto the scene this year and should be a household name.

4. Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves cooled off the Mets some and then took two out of three against the Dodgers. More important is the fact the bullpen held their ground in those two wins. The injuries are worrisome though as the team’s depth will be tested

3. Houston Astros
The Astros are only 4-6 in the teams last 10 games and the Athletics just beat them pretty good, but I think everyone is in agreement that the worst the Astros could do is lose in the ALCS. They have too much talent on the team.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers
What the Atlanta Braves did to Hyun-Jin Ryu was a rarity in 2019 so far. Saturday was only the second time all year he had given up more than 2 Earned Runs in a game. That series certainly felt like a playoff preview.

1. New York Yankees
If a team has ever lived up to the saying of next man up more than this Yankees, I don’t know who it is. Gio Urshela is the latest Bronx Bomber to do that…hit bombs.

So that is our rankings this week.

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate