John McGrath’s MLB power rankings

1. St. Louis Cardinals (1): Quadriceps injuries to the Matts — Adams and Holliday — forced Cards to overpay for underperforming Brandon Moss.

2. Kansas City Royals (2): Kendrys Morales went into weekend with league-leading 70 RBIs in 101 games. Splitting time between the Twins and M’s last season, he finished with 42 RBIs in 98 games.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates (3): After making everybody forget he’s 38, A.J. Burnett has given up 19 runs in three starts after break.

4. New York Yankees (6): Yankees hope short right-field porch in the Bronx might help solve some of the confidence issues that plagued Dustin Ackley in Seattle.

5. Houston Astros (7): Between trade with Brewers and sweep of Angels last week, Astros re-established themselves as team to beat in AL West.

6. Los Angeles Dodgers (5): Rotation solidification deal for Marlins’ Mat Latos and Braves’ Alex Wood was a buckle-the-seatbelt move in anticipation of another wild NL West race with Giants.

7. San Francisco Giants (10): Mid-rotation starter Mike Leake, acquired from Reds, has allowed only two earned runs in last 30 innings.

8. Los Angeles Angels (4): Tough week was salvaged by news that Mike Trout’s wrist injury isn’t serious.

9. Washington Nationals (7): After trade for Jonathan Papelbon, the “no comment” from demoted closer Drew Storen was telling.

10. Chicago Cubs (11): Dan Haren, acquired from Marlins, is one of two to have made at least 30 starts in each of the past 10 seasons. (The other? Mark Buehrle.)

11. Minnesota Twins (8): Twins had lost 10 of 12 before the Mariners brought their traveling salvation show to Target Field.

12. New York Mets (12): Most bizarre week of soap-opera summer for Mets culminated with last-minute acquisition of Tigers left fielder Yoenis Cespedes.

13. Toronto Blue Jays (13): A year after curious decision to remain inactive at the trade deadline, Jays went go-for-broke bonkers.

14. Baltimore Orioles (17): Outfielder Gerardo Parra, picked up from Brewers, was among baseball’s hottest hitters in July.

15. Tampa Bay Rays (15): Chris Archer retired the first 19 Tigers he faced Wednesday, but his perfect-game bid turned into a 2-1 defeat because of some imperfect defense.

16. Detroit Tigers (14): On his Twitter page, free-spirited lefty starter Daniel Norris lists the three things he most wants to find: Eternal life, the strike zone, and good waves.

17. Arizona Diamondbacks (20): D-backs most profound regret? They won’t be back to sweep the home team in Safeco Field any time soon.

18. Chicago White Sox (21): RIP Billy Pierce, who won 211 games in 18 seasons before devoting 46 years as a primary fundraiser for Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities.

19: Texas Rangers (18): Trade for Phillies’ ace Cole Hamels more about 2016 and beyond than long-shot playoff shot in 2015.

20. San Diego Padres (23): General manager A.J. Preller, who made no moves before deadline, seems to have more faith in his team’s wild-card quest than the rest of the world does.

21. Cleveland Indians (16): Starting prospect Rob Kaminsky, a 2013 first-round pick by St. Louis, gave Tribe a better-than-expected return for Moss.

22. Cincinnati Reds (25): Brandon Phillips’ reaction upon learning he became first player to hit two homers, steal two bases, collect four hits and drive in seven runs in a game: “I’m glad ya’ll told me. History, baby.”

23. Atlanta Braves (19): Braves see Cuban minor-leaguer Hector Olivera, picked up from Dodgers, as a versatile, middle-of-the-order bat who can hit .280 with power. One caveat: He’s 30.

24. Seattle Mariners (22): Promotions of Jesus Montero and Ketel Marte might be only reason to pay attention to M’s box scores for next two months.

25. Oakland A’s (24): Lefty starter Sean Manaea, acquired from Royals in Ben Zobrist trade, has three-pitch repertoire capable of dominating.

26. Boston Red Sox (28): Knuckleballer Steven Wright outpitched power-throwing White Sox ace Chris Sale last week.

27. Colorado Rockies (27): Wednesday “Jeopardy!” episode referring to Troy Tulowitzki and his team’s “mile high hopes” was taped months before shortstop was traded to Toronto.

28. Milwaukee Brewers (26): Minor league outfielder Brett Phillips, 21, was key inducement to complete six-player swap with Astros.

29. Miami Marlins (29): Starter Jeff Brigham, a UW product from Federal Way, among trio of prospects Marlins picked up in three-team trade with Dodgers and Braves.

30. Philadelphia Phillies (30): Hamels first player to throw a no-hitter and be traded before his next scheduled start.

This story was originally published August 1, 2015 at 5:54 PM with the headline "John McGrath’s MLB power rankings."