NOTE: Team and player statistics are updated through Monday morning, August 2 11:00 AM CT
1. New York Yankees (66-38)
After a not-so-great first three months to the season, Mark Teixeira has hit .344, with 8 homeruns and 26 RBIs in July, which moves him up to number seven in my AL MVP rankings. The Yankees also own the AL’s best home record at 34-16.
2. Tampa Bay Rays (65-39)
While the Rays’ starters have a 2.73 ERA in the past nine games, the Rays are hitting only .237 and averaging 4.3 runs over the same span. What impresses me about this team is that they still own the MLB’s top road record (33-18).
3. Minnesota Twins (59-46)
No other team has won at least nine of their last ten games.
4. San Diego Padres (61-42)
The Padres haven’t lost more than three straight games since August of last year. Very impressive and very consistent. They own the NL’s top road record at 28-20.
5. Texas Rangers (61-44)
With the addition of Jorge Cantu, the Rangers fans can finally look for better offense from the first base position.
6. St. Louis Cardinals (59-46)
The Cardinals remain my favorite to win the NL Central because of their three-head pitching monster in Carpenter, Wainwright, and Garcia.
7. San Francisco Giants (61-45)
I’d be shocked if the Giants finished lower than second in the NL West at the end of the season.
8. Atlanta Braves (59-45)
Another bad week for the Braves, whose once-substantial division lead is now down to 2.5 games. They still own the MLB’s best home record (34-13).
9. Cincinnati Reds (59-47)
The Reds have won four of five, led by Brandon Phillips, who is 8-for-23 (.348) with seven RBIs.
10. Boston Red Sox (60-45)
BOLD Prediction: If the Red Sox are more than four games back of the division leader by the start of September, they won’t make the postseason.
11. Chicago White Sox (59-45)
Habitual slow starter Gavin Floyd has a 1.02 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP over his past 10 starts.
12. Philadelphia Phillies (57-48)
I think the Phillies are starting to develop a strong “never say die” attitude once again. They are getting decimated with injuries and they are only 2.5 games behind in the NL East.
13. Colorado Rockies (55-50)
Since the All-Star break, Carlos Gonzalez has hit .355 with four home runs and a 1.045 OPS, which puts him in the top ten in my NL MVP race.
14. Toronto Blue Jays (54-51)
Jose Bautista, the major league home run leader with 32, is 15-for-30 (.500) with six homers and 14 RBIs in his past eight games.
15. New York Mets (53-52)
Since the All-Star break, the Mets are averaging 2.9 runs scored per game and are 5-12, with seven of the losses decided by two runs or less.
16. Florida Marlins (53-52)
After 13 straight starts of allowing no more than two earned runs, Josh Johnson has now allowed three earned runs or more in consecutive starts.
17. Oakland Athletics (52-52)
Over his past seven games, Rajai Davis is batting .393 with five RBIs.
18. Los Angeles Dodgers (54-51)
The Dodgers have scored an MLB-worst 36 runs in 17 games since the All-Star break.
19. Los Angeles Angels (54-53)
Torii Hunter has struggled at the plate since the All-Star break, hitting .220 with a .558 OPS.
20. Detroit Tigers (52-52)
Looking for a reason, beyond the obvious injuries, to explain the Tigers’ freefall? Exhibit A: Their minus 20 run differential
21. Washington Nationals (46-59)
The Nationals are still looking for their first winning August in Washington (62-80 in the month since 2005).
22. Chicago Cubs (46-59)
The Cubs have more 1-run losses (24) than any other team in the majors.
23. Milwaukee Brewers (48-58)
The Brewers were back in it for a while, thanks to a five-game winning streak. Now, thanks to a five-game losing streak, they are once again completely out of contention.
24. Cleveland Indians (44-61)
The stripped-down Tribe boast two 2-0 rookies with sub-2.00 ERAs and a 10-7 post-All-Star record, but the offense remains conceptual at best.
25. Kansas City Royals (45-60)
The trade deadline opened an everyday spot for Alex Gordon in left field. Since his recall from Triple-A on July 23, he’s hit .229/.270/.429 with two HRs. Sink or swim.
26. Arizona Diamondbacks (39-66)
The D-backs outscored the Mets 27-12 over the weekend after scoring only 18 runs during a seven-game losing streak. It’s also interesting how they own the NL’s worst home record but they are only five games under .500 (24-29) at home.
27. Houston Astros (45-59)
Its about time the Astros get out of that dreaded number 28 spot. They’ve been there pretty much the entire year (if you’ve been following my rankings at all…)
28. Seattle Mariners (39-67)
The Mariners are on pace to score 526 runs over the entire season, which would be the least amount any team has scored(in an 162-game season) since 1971. Ouch.
29. Baltimore Orioles (32-73)
Let the Buck Showalter era begin! (Not that it really matters.)
30. Pittsburgh Pirates (36-68)
Rookies Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker and Jose Tabata each finished July with a plus-.800 OPS (.855, .825 and .813, respectively).
Carter’s MLB Award Races:
National League MVP Award Race:
1. Joey Votto (CIN): .322 avg., 119 avg., 27 HR, 72 RBI
2. Albert Pujols (STL): .298 avg., 116 avg., 25 HR, 74 RBI
3. Ryan Howard (PHI): .292 avg., 119 hits, 23 HR, 81 RBI
4. Carlos Gonzalez (COL): .320 avg., 124 hits, 21 HR, 69 RBI
5. Adam Dunn (WSH): .276 avg., 103 hits, 25 HR, 66 RBI
6. Corey Hart (MIL): .288 avg., 100 hits, 23 HR, 72 RBI
7. Rickie Weeks (MIL): .276 avg., 118 hits, 22 HR, 67 RBI
8. Dan Uggla (FLA): .275 avg., 106 hits, 23 HR, 65 RBI
9. Prince Fielder (MIL): .259 avg., 99 hits, 24 HR, 46 RBI
10. Mark Reynolds (ARZ): .220 avg., 77 hits, 24 HR, 66 RBI
American League MVP Award Race:
1. Miguel Cabrera (DET): .351 avg., 132 hits, 26 HR, 93 RBI
2. Josh Hamilton (TEX): .362 avg., 144 hits, 23 HR, 75 RBI
3. Vladimir Guerrero (TEX): .305 avg., 118 hits, 21 HR, 85 RBI
4. Jose Bautista (TOR): .260 avg., 96 hits, 32 HR, 80 RBI
5. Robinson Cano (NYY): .331 avg., 134 hits, 21 HR, 71 RBI
6. Paul Konerko (CHW): .297 avg., 106 hits, 25 HR, 72 RBI
7. Mark Teixeira (NYY): .256 avg., 102 hits, 21 HR, 74 RBI
8. Nick Swisher (NYY): .300 avg., 113 hits, 20 HR, 55 RBI
9. David Ortiz (BOS): .258 avg., 82 hits, 22 HR, 71 RBI
10. Carlos Pena (TB): 212 avg., 75 hits, 23 HR, 68 RBI
National League Cy Young Award Race :
1. Josh Johnson (FLA): 10-4, 1.96 ERA, 151 strikeouts
2. Adam Wainwright (STL): 15-6, 2.19 ERA, 147 strikeouts
3. Roy Halladay (PHI): 12-8, 2.21 ERA, 149 strikeouts
4. Ubaldo Jimenez (COL): 16-2, 2.67 ERA, 126 strikeouts
5. Mat Latos (SD): 11-4, 2.45 ERA, 113 strikeouts
6. Chris Carpenter (STL): 11-3, 2.93 ERA, 128 strikeouts
7. Jaime Garcia (STL): 9-4, 2.33 ERA, 94 strikeouts
8. Yovani Gallardo (MIL): 9-5, 2.77 ERA, 130 strikeouts
9. Tim Hudson (ATL): 11-5, 2.40 ERA, 74 strikeouts
10. Clayton Kershaw (LAD): 10-6, 2.94 ERA, 144 strikeouts
American League Cy Young Award Race:
1. Cliff Lee (TEX): 9-5, 2.51 ERA, 118 strikeouts
2. Andy Pettitte (NYY): 11-2, 2.88 ERA, 90 strikeouts
3. David Price (TB): 14-5, 2.90 ERA, 117 strikeouts
4. Clay Buchholz (BOS): 11-5, 2.68 ERA, 78 strikeouts
5. Jered Weaver (LAA): 10-7, 3.04 ERA, 162 strikeouts
6. Felix Hernandez (SEA): 7-8, 2.90 ERA, 149 strikeouts
7. Jon Lester (BOS): 11-6, 3.05 ERA, 150 strikeouts
8. Jeff Niemann (TB): 9-3, 3.08 ERA, 98 strikeouts
9. Trevor Cahill (OAK): 10-4, 2.93 ERA, 70 strikeouts
10. C.J. Wilson (TEX): 10-5, 3.11 ERA, 100 strikeouts
National League Rookie of the Year Race:
1. Jaime Garcia (STL): 9-4, 2.33 ERA, 94 strikeouts
2. Gaby Sanchez (FLA): .288 avg., 110 hits, 12 HR, 49 RBI
3. Jason Heyward (ATL): .270 avg., 86 hits, 11 HR, 50 RBI
4. Ike Davis (NYM): .248 avg., 84 hits, 15 HR, 53 RBI
5. Alcides Escobar (MIL): .245 avg., 84 hits, 2 HR, 27 RBI
American League Rookie of the Year Race:
1. Austin Jackson (DET): .306 avg., 118 hits, 1 HR, 23 RBI
2. Neftali Feliz (TEX): 2-2, 3.57 ERA, 48 strikeouts, 29 saves
3. Brennan Boesch (DET): .291 avg., 89 hits, 12 HR, 51 RBI
4. Reid Brignac (TB): .270 avg., 62 hits, 6 HR, 35 RBI
5. Justin Smoak (SEA): .198 avg., 59 hits, 10 HR, 39 RBI
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com