QUARTER POLL POWER RANKINGS

UPDATED: 2012 Power Rankings

QUARTER-POLL

NO YANKEES OR RED SOX IN TOP 10

TOP 10 TEAMS 

 10. Cleveland Indians.  (23-18) not ranked last poll. 5-5 in last 10 games. Currently leading the AL Central by 2.5 games. Not a very impressive team as they rank in the middle of the pack in runs, batting average and slugging. An offense led by Jason Kipnis will go under the radar. Derek Lowe has been outstanding to this point as a starter and Chris Perez has been just as good closing games. 
9. Miami Marlins.  (22-19) not ranked last poll. 6-4 in last 10 games. Miami is 3.5 out in the East after a horrible start. Don't look now but Carlos Zambrano is an elite pitcher again currently sporting a 1.96 ERA. Josh Johnson had been struggling but looked like an ace last outing. They are only 3 games out and they have got little production Jose Reyes or Heath Bell to this point. I look for them and the Marlins to get hot at some point.
8. Toronto Blue Jays. (25-17) ranked 8th last poll. 5-5 in last 10 games.  Yes I have the 3rd place AL East team ranked ahead of the First place Central team. Brandon Morrow has stepped up and they have now a legit 1-2 ace combo in Ricky Romero from the leftside and Morrow blowing ched from the right. Edwin Encarnacion leads the offense in HR RBI and OPS. He would appear in the MVP voting if the season ended today. 
7. St. Louis Cardinals. (22-19)  ranked 5th in last poll. 2-8 in last 10 games.  struggling lately but they are still 2nd in batting average and OPS and 3rd in overall SLG and Runs scored. They lose Berkman again, Craig was off to a hot start hit the DL, Chris Carpenter is still out. The offense is being led by Rafael Furcal and Carlos Beltran. The Cardinals don't need Carpenter as much as they need Wainright to regain form if they want a chance at repeating.
6. Washington Nationals. (24-17) ranked 4th last poll. 5-5 in last 10 games. Well thank you Adam LaRoche for saving the Nationals season. Leading the team in average, home runs and rbi he has provided enough offense with that pitching staff to maintain as they wait on Morse. Both Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg would appear on the NL Cy Young ballot to this point. 
5. Tampa Bay Rays. (25-17) ranked 2nd last poll. 5-5 in last 10 games. 15-6 at home. With an offense led by Matt Joyce to me it looks like they will need another bat to keep pace in the East. Longoria out, the Rays are hanging in there. No one wants to face Price, Shields Hellickson in a series. 
4. Baltimore Orioles. ( 27-15)  ranked 7th last poll. 7-3 in last 10 games.  currently 2 games up in the East with no signs of cracking. Buck Showalter has built a team that should compete all season. Adam Jones is doing what Matt Kemp did last season in bursting out. Think of the great CF in the AL East, Adam Jones, Curtis Granderson, Jacoby Ellsbury and Bossman.
3. Atlanta Braves. (26-16)  ranked 3rd  last poll. 7-3 in last 10 games. Leading the competitive NL East by 1.5 games. Freddie Freeman leads the offense in HR, RBI and Runs while Brandon Beachy (5-1) has a microscopic 1.33 ERA. The staff is outstanding and the bullpen is still the great. 
2. Texas Rangers.  (26-16) ranked 1st in last poll. 5-5 in last 10 games.  First time not in the no. 1 spot the Rangers seem vulnerable all of a sudden. While Josh Hamilton gets all the credit, Elvis Andrus has quietly played the best SS in baseball. 
1. Los Angeles Dodgers. (28-13) ranked 6th last poll. 8-2 in last 10 games. Have best record in baseball. 19-4 at home. With Matt Kemp out the Dodgers are a surprising 5-2. Already 7 games up on San Francisco in the West. Starting pitching has been lights out.