Season 15 Power Rankings # 2

The regular season is half-way over for Season 15, so it is time to check in with a new edition of the power rankings.  Let's get right to it!  Fueled with motivation of being denied the top spot in the last edition, Buffalo played tremendous ball since the quarter-way mark, and is the new # 1 team.  An equally hot Detroit team comes in at #2, whose pitching improved while maintaining stellar offensive numbers.  Pitching-dominant Honolulu comes in at #3, the only team with a team ERA under 3.00.  #4 is Oklahoma City, dropping from #1, they actually didn't play that bad since the last rankings, there were just other teams that were more dominant.  Here's the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Buffalo	55	26	3	Felt they were #1 last time, this time they get the top nod
2	Detroit	54	27	6	Offense has been big, and pitching is stepping it up
3	Honolulu	52	29	2	League's top pitching staff, definitely amongst the elite
4	Oklahoma City	49	32	1	Fell off a little, but still a force to be reckoned with
5	Seattle	49	32	4	Offense is suprising so far, but pitching roughed up lately
6	Pawtucket	47	34	5	World's top offense, and getting good enough pitching
7	Toronto	48	33	8	They're back in the mix, pitching improved a lot
8	Nashville	44	37	7	Still playing well, with solid numbers across the board
9	Tampa Bay	43	38	14	Excellent since the last rankings, so a nice bump here
10	Cincinnati	44	37	9	Offense is struggling a bit, but pitching is getting it done
11	New Britain	43	38	11	Pitching has stepped it up, but offense fell off a bit
12	Durham	43	38	18	Pitching has settled down, and still getting nice offense
13	Cleveland	38	43	29	Have turned it around, with the bats producing big time
14	St. Louis	40	41	10	Good team started slow, capable of turning it around
15	Tucson	39	42	13	Fairly middle of the road on all the numbers, so we'll see
16	Pittsburgh	41	40	12	Pitching improved some, and they have decent offense
17	Helena	39	42	15	Could use a little more offense to get in the AL West mix
18	Rochester	39	42	17	Might be a bit unlucky, numbers say they're better
19	Indianapolis	41	40	20	Still hanging in there, good pitching, but not much offense
20	Scranton	37	44	22	They have the offense, and pitching has improved some
21	New York	37	44	27	Playing better with a nice improvement across the board
22	Burlington	41	40	16	Hasn't gone well since the last rankings, but still over .500
23	San Francisco	38	43	21	Offense has been struggling, but hanging in there
24	Oakland	36	45	24	Pitching got roughed up some since last rankings
25	Louisville	33	48	31	Improved since the last rankings, after rough start
26	Chicago (AL)	33	48	32	Also trending upward with better all-around play
27	Little Rock	33	48	19	The wheels have fallen off as of late, really struggling
28	Memphis	31	50	25	Offense is up some, but pitching has been rocked lately
29	Jacksonville	33	48	26	Showed some improvement pitching wise, a good sign
30	Chicago (NL)	34	47	30	Just not getting the offense to compete right now
31	Vancouver	33	48	23	They're not playing well on any level currently
32	Salt Lake City	29	52	28	Offensive numbers show some promise here

Season 15 Power Rankings # 1

We're out of the gate for season 15, and it's time to check in with the power rankings.  The trend overall this season seems to bet a lot of good offense to go with really bad pitching.  The top 2 spots do not change from the preseason rankings, with Oklahoma City coming in at #1 and Honolulu at #2.  If the start of the season is any indicator, these two teams could be battling it out for the top spot all season, and in fact have a series coming up which could bet telling.  It wouldn't be a reach to put Honolulu at the top spot.  Buffalo comes in at #3 with another strong start out of the gate.  Seattle jumps from outside the top 10 to #4 with an incredible start, although it remains to be seen if they can keep it up.  Hard hitting Pawtucket round out the top 5.  It's certainly been an interesting start, can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds.   Here are the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	26	14	1	Playing great, so no reason to drop them right now
2	Honolulu	27	13	2	Incredibly close #2, have almost unseeded OKC
3	Buffalo	27	13	4	Strong start again, will they falter this team?
4	Seattle	27	13	12	Incredible start for them, but not sure they can keep it up
5	Pawtucket	23	17	5	Came out of the gate with a surge off offense, looking good
6	Detroit	25	15	15	They jumped up again with great offense and good pitching
7	Nashville	22	18	7	Solid numbers across the board, looking strong so far
8	Toronto	24	16	22	Big jump here, the offense is producing out of the gate
9	Cincinnati	22	18	19	Solid so far, but the offense is still a sllight question mark
10	St. Louis	21	19	6	Offense hasn't produce yet, but still a very strong team
11	New Britain	21	19	10	Good offense, but feeling the loss of Mouton a bit it seems
12	Pittsburgh	21	19	11	Their pitching has been pretty bad, but bats are there
13	Tucson	18	22	3	Disappointing start of the season for the pitching staff
14	Tampa Bay	19	21	8	Great numbers, but mediocre record, so have been unlucky
15	Helena	18	22	9	Another slow start here, but they usually bounce back
16	Burlington	23	17	29	One of the surprise teams so far, pitching looks great
17	Rochester	21	19	18	Very good pitching here, they're definitely a threat
18	Durham	19	21	13	Pitching hasn't adjusted to the move to Durham yet
19	Little Rock	20	20	16	The pitching hasn't been great, but nice offense for sure
20	Indianapolis	22	18	28	Nice start for them, but the offense is still a bit iffy
21	San Francisco	20	20	30	Decent start, but the numbers aren't really that great
22	Scranton	16	24	14	Pitching has been roughed up so far, but good offense
23	Vancouver	19	21	20	With bad underlying numbers, 19 wins is a surprise
24	Oakland	18	22	27	Pretty average across the board, look to be improving
25	Memphis	16	24	17	Usual story with them, elite pitching, equally bad offense
26	Jacksonville	16	24	21	Similar to a lot of teams, bad pitching and good offense
27	New York	17	23	24	Pitching is ok, but the bats don't seem to be there yet
28	Salt Lake City	15	25	25	Good enough on offense, bit pitching majorly struggling
29	Cleveland	14	26	23	Same story as Salt Lake, only their pitching is even worse
30	Chicago (NL)	17	23	31	Pitching is improved, but the offense is really hurting so far
31	Louisville	13	27	32	Pitchers likely have a lower ERA in batting practice
32	Chicago (AL)	13	27	26	Not as bad pitching wise, but the offense isn't there

Season 15 Preseason Power Rankings

Spring Training is in full swing for Season 15, with off-season free agency yielding some interesting player movement, it's a good time to weigh in with the Preseason Power Rankings!   Always the most difficult to do not knowing exactly how player movement will affect the standings, it's fun to speculate even though they might not be the most precise.  At the top of the rankings is Oklahoma City, even though it's an odd-numbered season, they are looking strong and there is no reason to bump them from the top spot.  Honolulu comes in at #2 on the heels of signing big time Free Agent starter Stewart Mouton.  A solid Tucson squad rounds out the top 3.  There are certainly a number of other teams capable of cracking the top 3 this season, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.  Good luck to everyone in Season 15, here are the complete rankings!

		Season 14
	Team	W	L	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	101	61	Looking good, even though it's an odd numbered season
2	Honolulu	93	69	Adding Mouton should give them a nice boost
3	Tucson	96	66	Bringing back a solid squad, should be good again
4	Buffalo	96	66	Always in the thick of things and look solid again
5	Pawtucket	98	64	Offense always gets it done, and should contend again
6	St. Louis	94	68	Looking like a very good squad this season
7	Nashville	85	77	Adding top FA Posada will help pitching staff greatly
8	Tampa Bay	89	73	Have a good team, is this the season it comes together?
9	Helena	88	74	Kings of the AL West should be strong this season
10	New Britain	98	64	Lost a couple of players to FA, but should be good still
11	Pittsburgh	75	87	Very active in Free Agency, so should be improved
12	Seattle	79	83	Added SS Nippert, can he hit in Seattle is the question
13	Durham	81	81	Also very active in Free Agency, we'll see if it pays off
14	Scranton	95	67	Offensive is there, but pitching is a bit of a question mark
15	Detroit	90	72	Losing Posada is a blow, but offense is their strength
16	Little Rock	86	76	Middle of the pack last season, but could improve
17	Memphis	89	73	Always seem to find a way to be in it, don't count them out
18	Rochester	84	78	Seemed to underperform last season, so we'll see
19	Cincinnati	79	83	Pitching was a strong point for them last season
20	Vancouver	79	83	The offense struggled last season, we'll see if they improve
21	Jacksonville	75	87	Making strides here, are they ready to take the next step?
22	Toronto	73	89	Took a step back last season, so not sure about them yet
23	Cleveland	75	87	Certainly capable of a few more wins this season
24	New York	78	84	Improving, but the offense was an issue last season
25	Salt Lake City	75	87	Franchise seems to be going in the right direction here
26	Chicago (AL)	73	89	Pitching struggled some, but offense was pretty good
27	Oakland	64	98	Offense coming around, but pitching was weak last season
28	Indianapolis	63	99	Taking steps forward, we'll see if the offense improves
29	Burlington	64	98	Always tough to get offense in this park, but improving
30	San Francisco	63	99	Fell off majorly towards the end of last season, so we'll see
31	Chicago (NL)	56	106	Not really sure if this is the year they step it up some
32	Louisville	58	104	Can't really say where they are in their rebuild as of yet

Season 15 Free Agency Preview

Matty Posada none none Age: 31 B/T: S/R Born: Higuey, DO Position(s): P (SP4) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Stewart Mouton none none Age: 32 B/T: R/R Born: Trenton, NC Position(s): P (SP1) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Who will bolster their rotation with these former Cy Young winners?

Season 15 Free Agency Preview
Season 15 is upon us, and it's time to get rolling with offseason free agency.  This year's class is heavily weighted towards pitching, and is top heavy with two Cy Young award winning studs in 3 time winner Posada and one-time winner Mouton.  The hitting class is fairly weak, but there are a few good finds out there nonetheless.  It will be an interesting free agency period for sure, good luck to all, here's the complete top 10!  No, make that a top 11!  We missed a key player on our first go-around.

1. Matty Posada, 31, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 2.63 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $95 million

Possible Destinations:  Chicago (AL), Pittsburgh, Detroit, Oklahoma City

Signed with Nashville - 5 years, $102.8 million

It's not often that the opportunity comes along to land a 3-time former Cy Young winner, but alas the opportunity is for the taking this off-season.  Posada is elite across the board and sure-fire ace.  At his next destination he will be looking to cement his legacy as one of, if not the, greatest pitcher in Kenny Powers history.  He will not come cheap, however. 

2. Stewart Mouton, 32, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 2.64 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $90 million

Possible Destinations: Nashville, Seattle, Chicago (AL), Durham

Signed with Honolulu - 5 years, $91 million

Mouton, a former Cy Young award winner himself, seems every bit as elite as Posada.   He has the same incredible career ERA, and great ratings across the board.   He hardly is a consolation prize if you don't land Posada, he could be just as good.  Someone will land an ace by signing Mouton, but again it will be costly. 

3. Chipper Nippert, 31, SS
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 41 HR 120 RBI average
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $62 million

Possible Destinations: Helena, Oklahoma City, New Britain, Durham

Signed with Seattle - 5 years, $75.5 million

Despite lackluster splits, Nippert has managed to flat out crush the ball throughout his career thanks to elite contact and power.  Still, the subpar splits may lead to some variability in batting average, but he should still crush a ton of home runs.  His biggest asset is his plus fielding ratings that making him a realistic play at shortstop.  That kind of power and contact at shortstop is pretty rare, making him a major asset to whomever lands him.  Age is a slight concern, but he should be able to put up similar numbers for a few more seasons, if not more.  

4. Brooks Michaels, 29, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 4.07 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $58 million

Possible Destinations:  Oklahoma City, New Britain, Detroit, Helena

Signed with Durham - 5 years, $42.5 million

Michaels is not quite as elite as the top 2, but can still be a solid add to a rotation.  The big difference between Michaels and the top 2 is pitch quality, but he is still a great SP.  His career ERA suffered a bit in Dover, so he is better than it indicates, and he is only 29 years old, which means he should be just as effective at the end of his contract as he is now.  

5. Herbert Davis, 35, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.48 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $36 million

Possible Destinations: Durham, Seattle, Honolulu, Oakland

Signed with Seattle - 3 years, $22.8 million

Davis is an innings eater RP that is still going strong at age 35.  Hard to say that he really has any weaknesses in his arsenal, as we give him plus ratings across the board.  Age may be a slight factor at this point, particularly if teams are thinking of a 5 year deal, but he should still be extremely solid for the next few seasons for sure.  

6. Harry Vargas, 37, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.60 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $22 million

Possible Destinations:  Pawtucket, Scranton, Buffalo, New Britain

Signed with Helena - 2 years, $13.3 million

Still going strong at age 37, showing little signs of decline in his output, Vargas will be a solid add to just about any rotation.  He's yet another pitcher with strong ratings across the board in this free agent class.   The question is, how much longer can he produce at an elite level, and how much will owners be willing to pay given that fact.  

7. Jose Alonso, 33, 3B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .295 career AVG
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $30 million

Possible Destinations:  Chicago (AL), Oklahoma City, Tampa Bay, Nashville

Signed with Pittsburgh - 3 years, $26.25 million

In a very weak free agent class of hitters, Alonso earns the nod as one of the top offensive players available.  He is great in the field, and should work anywhere except SS, which is exceptional for this stage in his career.  He has elite contact, and is great against righties and has a solid batting eye at the plate.  He should have a few good years left in him, and has championship experience, winning 4 rings with OKC.  

8. Reid Fassero, 33, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.83 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $27 million

Possible Destinations:  Seattle, Scranton, Pittsburgh, Cleveland

Signed with Pittsburgh - 2 years, $4.5 million

A returnee from last year's list, Fassero didn't exactly conquer the world during his 1 year deal in Cleveland.  Still, he's a very solid RP capable of eating a lot of innings, so that definitely has value.  Although not as good as Davis, he is two years younger and is capable of bettering his mediocre performance from last season. 

9. John Saitou, 35, SP
No Designation
Key Stat: 3.43 career ERA
Salary Over/Under:  3 years, $27 million

Possible Destinations:  Scranton, Pittsburgh, Oakland, St. Louis

Signed with Detroit - 2 years, $10.4 million

Saitou, although not as elite as some of the other options in the class, could be a nice, cheaper alternative to some of the big guns that will be more expensive.   His last two seasons in Pawtucket weren't great, but he still has very good control, and pitch quality, and nice splits.  He doesn't keep the ball down or throw with a great deal of velocity, but can still be a sold #3/#4 type for at least a few more seasons. 

10. Edwin Pierzynski, 28, 3B
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: 186 career HR
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $32 million

Possible Destinations: Helena, Nashville, Honolulu, Toronto

Signed with Pittsburgh - 5 years, $34.3 million

Pierzynski isn't exactly an elite hitter, but in this weak offensive free agent class, he makes the top ten.  His last few seasons have been disappointing at the plate, but he still has plus power, and a good batting eye.   His mediocre contact and RH split, are a bit of a drain on his batting average, and that is his downside.  He can still play a decent 3rd base in the field, and is only 28 years old.  

11. Pep Hasegawa, 32, DH
No Designation
Key Stat: 285 career HR
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $9 million

Possible Destinations:  Durham, Chicago (AL), Helena, Pittsburgh

Signed with Tampa Bay - 3 years, $9.3 million

Pep is one of the best hitters available with great power and nice splits.  His contact and batting eye are mediocre, which has resulted in him struggling some years.  That, and the fact that he played most of his career in Seattle, but even a move to St. Louis didn't help much.  I guess we still think he's capable of doing better, and would be a nice addition as a DH in the AL.  

Season 14 Wrap Up

Oklahoma City Bombers (NL) tisi29 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Oklahoma City wins it all again in an even-numbered season!

Like clockwork, Oklahoma City took home their 4th consecutive even-numbered season World Series title.  That's not to say it was an easy road, as they were down 3 games to none in the ALCS to Honolulu.  Apparently, they forgot it was an even-numbered season until Game 4, as after that there was no stopping them, as they won 8 games in a row to take the crown, beating fellow number 1 seed Pawtucket to take the crown.  Pawtucket had a great season as well, but it appeared after the amazing comeback, Oklahoma City was a team of destiny, and there was no stopping them.  Congrats to both owners on great seasons, and the good news for all of the owners is that it is an odd-numbered season coming up, so it's anyone's title to take!

Individual awards were also handed out for Season 14, let's take a look at the winners. 

Most Valuable Player
American League -  Jason Tolbert, New Britain - .334 AVG 35 HR 127 RBI
Tolbert won a very close MVP race in the AL with a fantastic season at the plate.  The 28 year-old takes home his first MVP with his best season yet in his 6th full season in the majors.  He also made the All-Star team, his 2nd, and won a Silver Slugger, also his 2nd.  Tolbert looks to have many more productive seasons ahead of him. 

National League
J.C. Ganzel, Honolulu - .303 AVG 51 HR 119 RBI
Jeremy Randall, Buffalo - .299 AVG 44 HR 110 RBI
Speaking of very close races, the NL MVP race ended in a tie, and resulted in co-MVPs.   Ganzel crushed the ball all season for Honolulu, and also made the All-Star team (2nd), won a Silver Slugger (2nd) and took home a Gold Glove in RF (1st).  Extremely impressive, he's an elite talent and at jsut 26 years old, could get back here again.

Meanwhile, Randall caught games for one of the best pitching staffs in the league, while being extremely productive at the plate.  On top of this being his 3rd MVP win, only the 3rd player in Kenny Powers history to do so, he also won his 5th Silver Slugger and made his 5th All-Star team.  At just age 27, he has a decent chance of becoming Kenny Powers' first ever 4-time MVP. 

Cy Young Award
American League - Matty Posada, Detroit - 21-6 1.84 ERA 220 K
Posada was dealt to Detroit in the off-season, as Louisville began its rebuild process, and the deal yielded high dividends for Detroit.  Posting a microscopic ERA and a solid strikeout total, Posada took home his 3rd Cy Young Award, having won the previous two with Louisville.   He also made his 7th All-Star appearance, and is still only 30, so he will be shooting for the rare feat of 4 Cy Young awards, which has been done by only one other player. 

National League - Alberto Campos, Tucson - 21-4 2.79 ERA 203 K
Touted as the top prize in this past off-season's free agent class, Campos did not disappoint and lived up to his massive contract by taking home his first Cy Young award.  Campos was dominant in Tucson all season, and made his 6th All-Star appearance as well.  Luckily for Tucson, he's still got 4 years left on his contract!

Rookie of the Year
American League -  Brett Leach, Madison - .283 AVG 53 HR 135 RBI
A young 23-year old slugger, Leach helped anchor one of the league's most potent offenses with a tremendous rookie season in which he crushed 53 homers.  He also made the All-Star team.  The Rookie of the Year race wasn't even close, as not many rookies put up such elite numbers.   Look for him to continue to win awards in seasons to come. 

National League - Alex Sanchez, Tucson - .287 AVG 48 HR 127 RBI
In another blowout win, Sanchez took home the Rookie of the Year award in the NL, with similarly impressive numbers as his AL counterpart.   His elite power should enable him to produce many more similar stat lines in future seasons, of which there will be many, as he is only 21 years old. 

Fireman of the Year
American League -  Jay Borbon, Nashville - 2.90 ERA, 41 SV - 3rd win
National League - Damaso Perez, Vancouver - 2.96 ERA, 41 SV - 1st win

That's a wrap for Season 14, hope to see you all back for Season 15, after a hopefully quick rollover!  

Season 14 Final Power Rankings

A little late with these, my apologies, but better late than never!   Let's jump right into the rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	101	61	1	Another great season in the books for them
2	New Britain	98	64	4	Solid down the stretch all around
3	Pawtucket	98	64	9	Best record down the stretch, to cap off a great season
4	Tucson	96	66	7	Very well balanced team this season
5	Honolulu	93	69	5	Solid numbers across the board and a nice finish
6	St. Louis	94	68	11	Pitching really stepped it up this season
7	Madison	95	67	2	Struggled down the stretch, despite improved pitching
8	Detroit	90	72	3	Under .500 since the last rankings, but a good season
9	Buffalo	96	66	6	The 2nd half of the season did not go great for them
10	Little Rock	86	76	14	Stepped it up down the stretch, nice finish
11	Arizona	88	74	10	Offense was really good, and pitching held its own
12	Tampa Bay	89	73	13	Pitching is outstanding, but offense held them back some
13	Nashville	85	77	15	Had a nice finish to the season to move above .500
14	Memphis	89	73	8	Offense is the worst of the contenders, but nice pitching
15	Rochester	84	78	12	Outstanding pitching, but mediocre overall down the stretch
16	Cincinnati	79	83	22	Excellent finish, showing improvement across the board
17	Portland	75	87	23	Also had a great finish, numbers better all around
18	New York	78	84	25	Great stretch run, but the offense may be a concern still
19	Seattle	79	83	18	Not good at all the 2nd half of the season after nice start
20	Pittsburgh	75	87	17	Rough stretch run, the offense folded at the end
21	Texas	81	81	19	Pitching needs improvement to take a step forward
22	Jacksonville	75	87	21	Pitching fell apart a bit down the stretch
23	Cleveland	75	87	24	Really nice finish, going over .500 since the last rankings
24	Chicago (AL)	73	89	26	Showed all around improvement down the stretch
25	Vancouver	79	83	16	Things really fell apart for them at the end
26	Toronto	73	89	20	Their offense didn't produce enough to contend this season
27	Indianapolis	63	99	31	Over .500 down the stretch, which is a good sign
28	Oakland	64	98	29	Pitching is a major issue, but offense is pretty good
29	Burlington	64	98	27	Need to find some more offense to move up
30	San Francisco	63	99	28	Collapsed down the stretch in every way
31	Louisville	58	104	30	They're rebuilding so hopefully they made progress there
32	Chicago (NL)	56	106	32	Not quite there yet, but should be making progress

Season 14 Power Rankings # 3

Before we start full speed ahead down the stretch in Season 13, it's time to check in with another edition of the power rankings!  There was a change at the top, as preseason #1 Oklahoma City reclaimed the top spot with a stellar 30-13 record since the last rankings.   The only team that managed to match that feat was offensive juggernaut Madison, who comes in #2, followed by an equally powerful Detroit team at #3.  Previous #1 Buffalo fell the way of their predecessor Memphis in taking a bit of a step back after claiming the top spot, falling to #6.  They are still very capable of bouncing back.  Good luck to everyone down the stretch, here are the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	81	44	2	Stepped it up to reclaim the top spot, looking strong
2	Madison	78	47	6	Great run lately, with elite offense and better pitching
3	Detroit	72	53	7	Offense is solid as ever and pitching has improved
4	New Britain	73	52	3	Numbers down a bit, but still getting the wins
5	Honolulu	71	54	4	Offensive numbers are down, but hanging in there
6	Buffalo	78	47	1	Not a good stretch at all, but certainly can bounce back
7	Tucson	72	53	9	Major jump in offense since last rankings is a good sign
8	Memphis	72	53	11	An up and down season looks to be back on the upswing
9	Pawtucket	72	53	12	Improved pitching has helped them as of late
10	Arizona	67	58	19	Nice leap up the rankings, as pitching has improved a lot
11	St. Louis	71	54	10	Holding steady here numbers have been consistent
12	Rochester	66	59	14	They're the league's top pitching staff, and offense is up
13	Tampa Bay	68	57	5	Pitching has taken a bit of a hit since the last rankings
14	Little Rock	62	63	16	Very nice improvement across the board as of late
15	Nashville	62	63	20	Playing solid since the last rankings, pitching is better
16	Vancouver	65	60	21	Another team on the rise, with improved pitching
17	Pittsburgh	60	65	15	Numbers are better than record, tough schedule perhaps
18	Seattle	62	63	8	Since the last rankings:  Just. Plain. Awful.
19	Texas	64	61	13	Pitching has fallen off, and so has their record
20	Toronto	62	63	17	Holding steady around .500, can they take it up a notch?
21	Jacksonville	58	67	22	Over .500 since last rankings, getting better offense
22	Cincinnati	57	68	25	Playing better lately as the offense shows signs of life
23	Portland	52	73	28	Nice improvement overall and over .500 since last rankings
24	Cleveland	56	69	29	Also over .500 since last rankings, pitching is improving
25	New York	56	69	32	They're coming alive as well, better across the board
26	Chicago (AL)	54	71	24	Things fell off overall for them since the last rankings
27	Burlington	53	72	26	Holding steady, with not much change in the numbers
28	San Francisco	54	71	18	Offense has taken a big hit, and it's sent them reeling
29	Oakland	49	76	23	Pitching staff has been lit up lately, but offense is decent
30	Louisville	46	79	27	They're rebuilding, so this was pretty much expected
31	Indianapolis	44	81	30	Numbers look better, but it hasn't translated to Wins
32	Chicago (NL)	43	82	31	Better pitching, but the offense hasn't produced lately