1. (↑7) Tampa Bay Rays (14-5): Tampa Bay finishes the week with the best record in the majors and sits atop the FPR (250/300 total points) for the first time. The Rays are first in RBI (112), runs (113), and wins (14). The hottest team in baseball has won 8 of their last 10 and have a 1.5 game lead in the AL East.
2. (↔) New York Yankees (12-6): This just shows how good the AL East truly is. The Yankees have only one category where they did not score at least 20, and that was K’s (15). The Yanks have been able to do this with Javier Vazquez having the worst ERA in April for any Yankee since 1913. They will be probably be here all year, as well as they should in Power Rankings everywhere.
3. (↓2) Minnesota Twins (13-6): It looks as if the Twins are starting to slip now, as they fall two spots this week. Or not. They have won seven of their last 10 and still put up an impressive 218 (out of 300) points this week. They sit three games ahead of the second place Tigers, while they are set to go on a six game road trip. Three games each against the Tigers and Indians, they should win at least four of six.
4. (↑9) San Diego Padres (11-7): San Diego has been consistent lately while winning 8 of 10, with that, they are the biggest climbers this week. The Padres do not lead in any category but they do lead the NL West, which is a huge surprise. If their pitching (118) can continue to be solid they may be able to carry their offense (93) in trying to stay in the top 10 and in the playoff hunt.
5. (↑6) Chicago Cubs (9-10): The Cubs finish the week off with a three game sweep of the Brewers and in turn they crack the top five for the first time (191 pts.). Marlon Byrd has been on a tear and should be picked up for those of you who need an OF. Byrd led the league in hits (16) and avg. (.571) last week
6. (↑3) St. Louis Cardinals (11-7): The red birds have Penny, Wainwright, and Carpenter doing work for them right now while closer Ryan Franklin is doing just good enough. We all know they have the best hitter in baseball (Albert Pujols) but they need to get more production from his teammates. They will be here all year if no major injuries occur: a.k.a. Chris Carpenter.
7. (↓1) Philadelphia Phillies (11-7): I wouldn’t have thought the Phillies could ever of fallen this far, but its early and they will withstand the test of time I’m sure. They have only won four of their last 10 with the loss on Sunday to the D’Backs.
Philadelphia will finish the upcoming week with a three game home series against the Mets who are currently just a half game back of them for first. They should move up the Fantasy Power Rankings and begin to pull away from the rest of their division by the end of the week.
8. (↑4) Los Angeles Dodgers (8-10): Joe Torre has created a monster─a fantasy monster! While his batting average has fallen a little Matt Kemp still has a stat-line of .313/20/7/20/2. Kemp and Andre Ethier (.356/5/16) are carrying the Dodgers two their league leading (tied with Rays) 130 offensive points.
9. (↓4) Oakland Athletics (12-8): The A’s finished the week with a 11-0 victory over the Indians but now they go to play a series at Tampa Bay and then across the border to Toronto. If the A’s finish next week above .500 that would be a feat in itself, but 114 pitching points is impressive and should keep them near the top 10.
10. (↓7) San Francisco Giants (10-8): The Giants finished the week with the most pitching points (124 of 150) with having no less than 19 points in any pitching category. As we all know their hitting will not be great this year so they will need this type of pitching to remain in the top 10. And it’s possible with Lincecum, Cain, Zito, and Sanchez in that rotation.
11. (↑3) Los Angeles Angels (10-10): The Angels are coming off a big week where they finished with a series victory against the Yankees winning two-of-three. The halos are a solid team and scored in the bottom 10 in only one category, they are 7-3 in their last 10 and two games back of Oakland.
12. (↓8) Toronto Blue Jays (10-9): Attention passengers: Toronto will now begin its descent to the bottom two of the AL East. Going 4-6 in their last 10, the Blue Jays fall eight spots after losing a series to the Rays to close out the week.
13. (↓6) Florida Marlins (10-9): Very quietly Leo Nunez has gone 8.1 IP without giving up a run. Florida will probably be consistent most of the year while staying around .500 and near the top 10 in the FPRs.
14. (↓4) Colorado Rockies (10-9): This year is all about Ubaldo Jimenez. He is one of three pitchers (Lincecum and Halladay are other two) with four wins in the NL.
15. (↑8) Milwaukee Brewers (8-10): Moving up eight spots, the Brewers are the third-most productive offensive team (125) behind only the Rays and Dodgers.
16. (↑2) Arizona Diamondbacks (8-10): Arizona has only one win (1-5) on the road and are 3-7 in their last 10. A big early series at Colorado will be on the D’Backs' agenda this week.
17. (↓2) Cincinnati Reds (8-11): The Reds need pitching, badly. Will they give the call to Cuban fireballer Aroldis Chapman? With that being said there offense is playing well scoring at least 20 points in four offensive categories (94 total).
18. (↓1) Chicago White Sox (8-11): The Sox moved down one spot this week despite playing their best baseball of the year with a sweep against the Mariners. Two walk-offs and a Paul Konerko HR in the eight and the Sox lead the MLB in HRs (and SBs). With their pitching being pretty much atrocious the power surge couldn’t have come at a better time.
19. (↓3) Washington Nationals (10-9): The Nationals lead the League in saves and are third in stolen bases. Their pitching is slacking putting up just 71 points to date.
20. (↑2) Texas Rangers (8-10): The Rangers are on a bit of a cold streak, but I like them as a sleeper this year. Feldman is better than he gets credited for and Feliz will be a huge boost with the more experience he keeps getting.
21. (↑6) Detroit Tigers (10-9): The Tigers (72) aren’t in the same league as the Twins (112) in terms of offensive production and their pitching isn’t good enough to pick up the slack. Judging by the FPR the Tigers have a long way to go to catch up to the Twins in the standings.
22. (↑2) Boston Red Sox (8-11): The Red Sox still have everyone scratching their heads as they are 4.5 games back of the Rays for first and threre games under .500. Before the season I declared the Red Sox as having the best rotation in baseball and I am sticking to it, look for them to improve on their 61 pitching points.
23. (↓3) Kansas City Royals (7-11): The Royals put up respectable numbers─when compared to previous Royal teams. Their 34 pitching points is good for second worst in the Majors while their hitting has been better than expected (107).
24. (↑1) New York Mets (9-9): Decent pitching but a lack of hitting, the Mets need help offensively. They are on a four-game win-streak to start the week off and have won seven of their last 10.
25. (↓4) Seattle Mariners (9-10): The Mariners need more than just Cliff Lee to come back. They need their offense to come back. They have a minuscule 44 offensive points after week three.
26. (↑4) Houston Astros (8-10): Not the biggest movers in regards to this list but the biggest risers in regards to confidence. 28/84/112 are the Astros FPR (offensive/pitching/total) numbers for the week, 75 points higher than last week. An astonishing turn around, let’s see if they can continue to move up.
27. (↓8) Atlanta Braves (8-9): Unfortunately, this was done before the Sunday night game…that’s just the way the cookie crumbles Braves and Mets fans. Still the Braves have not been all that impressive which is why they dropped eight spots, that, and losing five in a row. Only 96 total points after week three.
28. (↔) Cleveland Indians (8-10): The Indians have the least amount of offensive points with just 21. They are in the bottom four of the league in Ks, AVG., runs, RBI, and HRs.
29. (↔) Baltimore Orioles (3-16): They may be one slot out of last but they are by far the least impressive team to date. Baltimore has won two of their last 10, and that’s with winning their game on Sunday.
30. (↓4) Pittsburgh Pirates (7-11): The Pirates look to be back to their old routine. Their pitching is terrible (7.15 ERA and 1.71 WHIP) and their offense can’t score nearly enough runs batting only .233. They were outscored 36-1 during their series against the Brewers.
Best Offense: (130) Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays
Best Pitching: (124) San Francisco Giants
Worst Offense: (21) Cleveland Indians
Worst Pitching: (17) Pittsburgh Pirates
Originally Published on www.FantasyBaseballSportal.com
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