Week In Review/Top 15 Power Rankings: 09/17 - 09/23

By: Chris Larson 

This is the second to last Week In Review/Top 15 Power Rankings report for this year's regular season and it is certainly hard to believe. This season seemed to go by in the blink of an eye, but provided plenty of excitement throughout and there's still some competitive baseball going on, most notably in the National League. Regardless, with one week left in the regular season, we will likely be treated to a couple more monumental moments before the final bell rings next Sunday, but first let's take a look at what happened over the past week and hand out credit where it is due.

Week In Review

• Yelich for MVP Case Added To - The week started off with a real bang for Christian Yelich, of the Milwaukee Brewers, who recorded his second cycle of the regular season. It's been amazing to watch Christian Yelich all season long and he should only continue to get better considering that he is only starting to enter his peak years. 
• Ryu Goes Seven - Hyun-Jin Ryu, starting pitcher for the Dodgers, tossed seven scoreless innings on Monday night against the Colorado Rockies. That performance was the key motivator behind a big week for the Dodgers, who overtook first place in the NL West, as the week wore on. 
• Kyle Hendricks Deals in the Desert - If the Arizona heat wasn't hot enough on Monday, Kyle Hendricks pitching performance for the Chicago Cubs, certainly was. Hendricks threw 8 and 2/3 innings, going one out away from a complete game, while striking out 8 Diamondback hitters. 
• Tail-Gem-Lon Tuesday - Jameson Taillon had himself a night on Tuesday as he recorded, 11 strikeouts and easily one of his best starts this season, against t he Kansas City Royals. Taillon continues to provide a nice 1-2 punch, alongside Trevor Williams, for the Buccos and should be their future aces to build around. 
• Word of the Day: Snellzilla - Blake Snell deserved a huge round of applause on Tuesday as he recorded his 20th win of the season, the most of any starting pitcher in the MLB, this season. In addition, Snellzilla locked down his 200th strikeout, by far the most of his young MLB career. 
• J-Kid Comes In Hot - Jason Kipnis had himself a wonderful Wednesday, as he hit a walkoff Grand Slam, against the Chicago White Sox. If that wasn't amazing enough, it also happened to be J-Kid's 1,000th career hit. Baseball sure has a way of providing some special moments at big times. 
• O's Reach 108 - As if this season hasn't been bad enough for the Baltimore Orioles, things got worse on Wednesday as Baltimore locked down it's 108th loss of the season. That was the most since the team moved to Baltimore in 1954 and likely helped with the decision to not have manager, Buck Showalter, return next season, which was announced Friday afternoon. 
• Red Sox Clinch the East - The Boston Red Sox became the second team, of the season to officially clinch their respective division, on Thursday. Heading into this season, many predicted that the New York Yankees would win the division with the Red Sox taking a wild card spot, but Boston prevailed, exceeded expectations, and have certainly played a terrific brand of baseball all year. 
• A's Take Away the Angels Halo for a Day - In a game that was only broadcast on Facebook Watch, the Oakland A's took away the magic Halo that hangs over the Angels on a day-to-day basis, as they beat them with a final score of 21-3. Once again, Oakland is showing us that they have fight and a significant amount of chemistry, which are two reasons behind their magical season this year. 
• Blue Jays Play Spoiler with Comeback Win - The Blue Jays have practically been in spoiler mode since the middle part of June and they definitely used that to their advantage on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Before the 9th inning of Thursday's game, Toronto trailed 8-2, but miraculously scored 7 runs in the 9th, including two home runs in that inning by, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Justin Smoak. 
• Cole Train Reaches 1,000 K's - Houston Astros starting pitcher, Gerrit Cole aka The Cole Train, recorded his 1,000th career strikeout on Friday night. Quite a milestone for him and something to add to his impressive resume from this season with the Stros. If it weren't for Blake Snell reaching new heights this season, Gerrit Cole could easily take home the AL Cy Young and still could receive quite a few votes. 
• Keeping Up With the Gurriel's - If your having trouble trying to keep the Gurriel's (Lourdes and Yuli) straight you're not alone, especially if you are looking at the box scores from Friday night. That's the night that both brothers went yard for their respective teams - Lourdes for the Toronto Blue Jays and Yuli for the Houston Astros. If you ask me, Lourdes has the power, while Yuli continues to have the best hair in the game! 
• deGrominator Makes History AGAIN - Every week it seems as though Jacob deGrom finds a new way to impress all of us and add to his NL Cy Young resume. Well, this week he accomplished something that hasn't been seen in 108 years - that's as deGrom recorded his 23rd consecutive quality start - surpassing the previous modern-day record shared by Bob Gibson and Chris Carpenter. 
• Khris "Khrush" Davis Makes Headlines Again - It's starting to feel as though Oakland A's slugger, Khris Davis, is finally starting to get the recognition that he so desperately deserves. On Friday night, he hit his league leading 44th home run of the season, before adding on his 45th home run in grand fashion later that night, via a walk-off. 
• Braves Take Home the NL East Crown - Saturday afternoon, on home turf, the Atlanta Braves clinched the NL East in front of all of their fans, a special moment for the team and the entire fan base. If you were to survey random baseball fans prior to the start of this season and ask them if the Braves would win the NL East, you probably would have been laughed at quite a bit. Way to go, Braves and take a bow, Brian Snitker, who should be the NL Manager of the Year! 
• Tribe Starting Rotation Makes History - Surprise, surprise, the Indians made history once again which is just a compliment to what a terrific team Cleveland has once again this season. Following Saturday's game, Cleveland officially became the first team, in MLB history, to have four starting pitchers record 200 or more strikeouts, over the span of a regular season. Quite an accomplishment for the trio of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, and Trevor Bauer. 
• Big Sexy Gets New Ink - When Bartolo Colon took the mound Saturday, it wasn't just some ordinary Saturday night for him, as we all captured a glimpse of Big Sexy's new tattoo. It just goes to add to the legend, behind his already, legendary name! If you didn't see it, click here: https://www.mlb.com/cut4/bartolo-colon-has-a-massive-new-tattoo-on-his-arm/c-295689006
• V-Mart's Final Career Game - What a legendary career it has been for Detroit Tigers icon, Victor Martinez, who was recognized at Comerica Park Saturday in what would be his final career game. The Tigers honored Martinez with a wonderful pre-game ceremony and of course there were tears, memories, and plenty of good times to be had. Best of luck to you, V-Mart! 
• Hawk Harrelson Rides Off Into the Sunset - A legendary broadcasting career, that of White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson, came to an end yesterday as Hawk Harrelson called his final White Sox game. As with everything, all good things must come to an end, and man what an impact Hawk has left on the game and the entire city of Chicago. Definitely a legend and someone who will always be respected for his work. All the best, Hawk! 
• Rox End the Weekend in Grand Fashion- The Rockies had a terrific weekend down in the desert as they swept the Dbacks and kept their playoff hopes alive. It was a vital series for Colorado as they are still alive in both the running for first place in the NL West and in the NL Wild Card race. 

Top 15 Power Rankings

1. Houston Astros (98-57) [Ranking Last Week: 1] 

2. Boston Red Sox (105-51) [Ranking Last Week: 2] 

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (87-69) [Ranking Last Week: 7] 

4. Chicago Cubs (91-64) [Ranking Last Week: 4] 

5. Atlanta Braves (88-68) [Ranking Last Week: 10] 

6. Cleveland Indians (87-68) [Ranking Last Week: 9] 

7. Oakland Athletics (94-62) [Ranking Last Week: 5] 

8. Milwaukee Brewers (89-67) [Ranking Last Week: 6] 

9. New York Yankees (95-60) [Ranking Last Week: 3]

10. Colorado Rockies (85-70) [Ranking Last Week: 8] 

11. St. Louis Cardinals (87-69) [Ranking Last Week: 11] 

12. Tampa Bay Rays (87-68) [Ranking Last Week: 15] 

13. Seattle Mariners (85-70) [Ranking Last Week: 14] 

14. Philadelphia Phillies (78-77) [Ranking Last Week: 13] 

15. Arizona Diamondbacks (79-77) [Ranking Last Week: 12] 

Summary of Thoughts 

It's definitely hard to argue with the first two teams in the Top 15 Power Rankings list. As was written about last week, the Houston Astros are the BEST team in baseball, even though the Boston Red Sox record might say that Boston is really. Houston has it all going for them, however, the Charlie Morton situation is something that will be worth keeping an eye on. Charlie Morton was slated to play a significant role in the postseason for Houston and if they are without him, it's a bit of a step back. However, they have plenty of pitching depth in guys, such as Chris Devenski, Colin McHugh, and others who can hopefully help to fill the void. Outside of the Astros and Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers saw the biggest climb this week and it's easy to see why, based on their 8-2 record over their last 10 games. There's no denying the fact that the Dodgers have turned their style of play up a notch and have really kept their foot on the gas pedal here over this final month. Also, Los Angeles has a dangerous 1-2 punch in, Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler now, something that could help them advantageously come October. 

Beyond those 3, rounding out the Top 5 are the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves. Again, hard to argue with both of those choices based on recent play and just how both teams have fared throughout the course of this season, especially the young Atlanta Braves, who have already clinched the NL East. The Braves have a lot of things to like about them as do the Chicago Cubs who will likely be a threat in October once again. Both teams have been a lot of fun to watch down the stretch and Chicago is keeping things interesting in their race for the, NL Central crown, with the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Outside of the Top 5, there's not many other notable thoughts on the Top 10, besides the fact that it was extremely difficult trying to rank the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, and Milwaukee Brewers, without putting any of the 3 in a tie for a certain position. All three teams have their advantages and weaknesses, but overall all 3 deserve a significant amount of recognition and will provide interesting storylines here over the final week of the regular season and come the postseason. 

Beyond that, the most notable move in the bottom 5 on the list was the Tampa Bay Rays, who moved from the 15th spot to the 12th spot, over the span of this last week. Tampa Bay has played a very good brand of baseball since the beginning of August and are starting to show the tremendous amount of potential that they have going into next year. If the Rays played in another division, besides the American League East, they would probably be in a valuable position right now and could even have a chance of making it into the postseason. Hopefully, this winter the Rays front office can make the necessary moves to get the team over the hump and in next year's postseason mix. 

MVPs of the Week

American League: 

1. Blake Snell (Tampa Bay Rays): 0.00 ERA over 11.2 IP with 16 Strikeouts and a 0.69 WHIP 
2. J.A. Happ (New York Yankees): 0.82 ERA over 11.0 IP with 13 Strikeouts 
3. Yuli Gurriel (Houston Astros): 12-for-26 with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 10 RBI, a .462 batting average, and a .462 on-base percentage 
4. Luke Voit (New York Yankees): 7-for-19 with 4 home runs, 8 RBI, 1 walk, a .368 batting average, and a .400 on-base percentage 

National League: 

1. Kyle Hendricks (Chicago Cubs): 1.10 ERA over 16.1 IP with 13 Strikeouts and a .123 Opponent Batting Average Against 
2. Hyun-Jin Ryu (Los Angeles Dodgers): 0.00 ERA over 13.0 IP with 13 Strikeouts and a 0.62 WHIP 
3. Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves): 12-for-26 with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 8 RBI, 2 walks, a .462 batting average, and a .500 on-base percentage 
4. Freddy Galvis (San Diego Padres): 10-for-23 with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 5 RBI, a .435 batting average, and a .435 on-base percentage