For the third week in a row I have the Tampa Bay Rays at the top spot. They have the best pitching staff in the majors. The best offense was a toss up between them and the Yankees. I pushed up the Yankees a spot because they are the hottest team in the majors right now, winning nine of their last 10 games. No other team can say that they’ve won at least eight of their last 10 other than the “Bronx Bombers.”

It was hard to drop the Rays with three of their guys who are in contention for the Cy Young Award (Matt Garza, David Price, and Jeff Niemann). I pushed the Phillies up four spots because of their offense and they’ve been pretty hot over the past week and a half.
 
Rounding out spots four through ten, we have the Twins, Giants, Padres, Cardinals, Rockies, Mets, and Blue Jays, with the Brewers, Rangers, and Tigers barely missing the top 10. My current MVP leaders are Andre Ethier and Miguel Cabrera while Phil Hughes and Ubaldo Jimenez sit at the top spots for my Cy Young Awards.

Carter’s MLB Power Rankings-Teams:
1. Tampa Bay Rays (22-8) Last Week: No. 1
Offense Rank: 2nd
Pitching Rank: 1st
Last 10 Games: 7-3

2. New York Yankees (21-8) Last Week: No. 3
Offense Rank: 1st
Pitching Rank: 5th
Last 10 Games: 9-1

3. Philadelphia Phillies (18-12) Last Week: No. 7
Offense Rank: 5th
Pitching Rank: 8th
Last 10 Games: 7-3

4. Minnesota Twins (20-11) Last Week: No. 5
Offense Rank: 6th
Pitching Rank: 6th
Last 10 Games: 7-3

5. San Francisco Giants (17-12) Last Week: No. 2
Offense Rank: 17th
Pitching Rank: 3rd
Last 10 Games: 6-4

6. San Diego Padres (19-11) Last Week: No. 6
Offense Rank: 18th
Pitching Rank: 2nd
Last 10 Games: 6-4

7. St. Louis Cardinals (19-12) Last Week: No. 4
Offense Rank: 16th
Pitching Rank: 4th
Last 10 Games: 5-5

8. Colorado Rockies (15-15) Last Week: No. 9
Offense Rank: 11th
Pitching Rank: 7th
Last 10 Games: 5-5

9. New York Mets (17-13) Last Week: No. 8
Offense Rank: 19th
Pitching Rank: 9th
Last 10 Games: 5-5

10. Toronto Blue Jays (18-14) Last Week: No. 15
Offense Rank: 10th
Pitching Rank: 14th
Last 10 Games: 8-2

11. Milwaukee Brewers (14-16) Last Week: No. 17
Offense Rank: 3rd
Pitching Rank: 21st
Last 10 Games: 7-3

12. Texas Rangers (17-14) Last Week: No. 13
Offense Rank: 15th
Pitching Rank: 12th
Last 10 Games: 7-3

13. Detroit Tigers (17-13) Last Week: No. 10
Offense Rank: 12th
Pitching Rank: 18th
Last 10 Games: 6-4

14. Oakland Athletics (16-15) Last Week: No. 11
Offense Rank: 20th
Pitching Rank: 11th
Last 10 Games: 4-6

15. Florida Marlins (14-16) Last Week: No. 14
Offense Rank: 14th
Pitching Rank: 15th
Last 10 Games: 3-7

16. Chicago Cubs (14-17) Last Week: No. 12
Offense Rank: 8th
Pitching Rank: 23rd
Last 10 Games: 4-6

17. Atlanta Braves (13-17) Last Week: No. 20
Offense Rank: 25th
Pitching Rank: 13th
Last 10 Games: 5-5

18. Arizona Diamondbacks (14-17) Last Week: No. 18
Offense Rank: 4th
Pitching Rank: 29th
Last 10 Games: 4-6

19. Washington Nationals (16-14) Last Week: No. 21
Offense Rank: 22nd
Pitching Rank: 17th
Last 10 Games: 6-4

20. Boston Red Sox (15-16) Last Week: No. 23
Offense Rank: 7th
Pitching Rank: 28th
Last 10 Games: 5-5

21. Los Angeles Dodgers (14-17) Last Week: No. 19
Offense Rank: 9th
Pitching Rank: 27th
Last 10 Games: 3-7

22. Chicago White Sox (13-18) Last Week: No. 22
Offense Rank: 23rd
Pitching Rank: 20th
Last 10 Games: 5-5

23. Cincinnati Reds (15-15) Last Week: No. 24
Offense Rank: 13th
Pitching Rank: 24th
Last 10 Games: 6-4

24. Seattle Mariners (11-19) Last Week: No. 16
Offense Rank: 29th
Pitching Rank: 10th
Last 10 Games: 2-8

25. Los Angeles Angels (13-18) Last Week: No. 25
Offense Rank: 21st
Pitching Rank: 26th
Last 10 Games: 3-7

26. Kansas City Royals (11-20)  Last Week: No. 27
Offense Rank: 24th
Pitching Rank: 25th
Last 10 Games: 3-7

27. Cleveland Indians (10-18) Last Week: No. 26
Offense Rank: 28th
Pitching Rank: 16th
Last 10 Games: 3-7

28. Baltimore Orioles (9-22) Last Week: No. 29
Offense Rank: 27th
Pitching Rank: 22nd
Last 10 Games: 5-5

29. Houston Astros (9-21) Last Week: No. 28
Offense Rank: 30th
Pitching Rank: 19th
Last 10 Games: 2-8

30. Pittsburgh Pirates (14-16) Last Week: No. 30
Offense Rank: 26th
Pitching Rank: 30th
Last 10 Games: 5-5
 

Carter’s AL Most Valuable Player Award Race:
1. Miguel Cabrera (DET): .371 avg., 43 hits, 7 HRS, 32 RBI
2. Alex Gonzalez (TOR): .266 avg., 34 hits, 10 HRS, 26 RBI
3. Vernon Wells (TOR): .328 avg., 40 hits, 8 HRS, 23 RBI
4. Paul Konerko (CHW): .284 avg., 27 hits, 13 HRS, 27 RBI
5. Robinson Cano (NYY): .348 avg., 39 hits, 9 HRS, 21 RBIS
6. Jose Guillen (KC): .273 avg., 33 hits, 8 HRS, 21 RBI
7. Ty Wigginton (BAL): .284 avg., 27 hits, 10 HRS, 20 RBI
8. Evan Longoria (TB): .333 avg., 38 hits, 7 HRS, 23 RBI
9. Andruw Jones (CHW): .264 avg., 23 hits, 9 HRS, 17 RBI
10. John Buck (TOR): .239 avg., 22 hits, 8 HRS, 18 RBI

Carter’s NL Most Valuable Player Award Race:
1. Andre Ethier (LAD): .394 avg., 41 hits, 10 HRS, 32 RBI
2. Albert Pujols (STL): .314 avg., 37 hits, 7 HRS, 25 RBI
3. Kelly Johnson (ARZ): .292 avg., 31 hits, 10 HRS, 19 RBI
4. Chase Utley (PHI): .299 avg., 32 hits, 8 HRS, 18 RBI
5. Mark Reynolds (ARZ): .239 avg., 26 hits, 10 HRS, 27 RBI
6. Matt Kemp (LAD): .285 avg., 35 hits, 7 HRS, 21 RBI
7. Jason Heyward (ATL): .291 avg., 25 hits, 8 HRS, 26 RBI
8. Alfonso Soriano (CHC): .323 avg., 32 hits, 7 HRS, 18 RBI
9. Jorge Cantu (FLA): .265 avg., 31 hits, 7 HRS, 28 RBI
10. Rod Barajas (NYM): .244 avg., 20 hits, 9 HRS, 17 RBI

Carter’s AL Cy Young Award Race:
1. Phil Hughes (NYY): 4-0, 1.69 ERA, 31 strikeouts
2. David Price (TB): 4-1, 1.91 ERA, 33 strikeouts
3. Matt Garza (TB): 5-1, 2.09 ERA, 39 strikeouts
4. C.J. Wilson (TEX): 3-1, 1.51 ERA, 29 strikeouts
5. A.J. Burnett (NYY): 4-0, 1.99 ERA, 28 strikeouts
6. John Danks (CHW): 3-1, 1.98 ERA, 34 strikeouts
7. Andy Pettitte (NYY): 4-0, 2.08 ERA, 27 strikeouts
8. Francisco Liriano (MIN): 4-1, 2.36 ERA, 39 strikeouts
9. Jeff Niemann (TB): 2-0, 2.23 ERA, 24 strikeouts
10. Doug Fister (SEA): 2-1, 1.71 ERA, 18 strikeouts

Carter’s NL Cy Young Award Race:

1. Ubaldo Jimenez (COL): 6-0, 0.87 ERA, 44 strikeouts
2. Roy Halladay (PHI): 6-1, 1.45 ERA, 48 strikeouts
3. Tim Lincecum (SF): 4-0, 1.70 ERA, 56 strikeouts
4. Barry Zito (SF): 5-0, 1.49 ERA, 28 strikeouts
5. Livan Hernandez (WSH): 4-1, 0.99 ERA, 11 strikeouts
6. Jaime Garcia (STL): 3-2, 1.18 ERA, 30 strikeouts
7. Adam Wainwright (STL): 4-1, 1.96 ERA, 36 strikeouts
8. Jon Garland (SD): 4-2, 1.71 ERA, 25 strikeouts
9. Roy Oswalt (HOU): 2-4, 2.48 ERA, 36 strikeouts
10. Brad Penny (STL): 3-2, 1.99 ERA, 24 strikeouts

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