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| The Royals’ Mike Moustakas is the top All-Star Game vote-getter for AL starting third baseman. |
1. St. Louis Cardinals (1): Redbirds responded to tough news of Matt Adams’ season-ending quad injury by putting together a winning streak.
2. Kansas City Royals (2): Mike Moustakas, who hit a career-low .212 in 2014, has taken the lead in the All-Star Game vote for starting AL third baseman.
3. Houston Astros (3): Two years removed from a 51-111 finish in their AL debut, Astros’ status as Best of the West has a long-term look.
4. Washington Nationals (4): Jayson Werth’s broken left wrist latest evidence hard-luck Nats are destined to be tested.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (5): Yasiel who? Dodgers haven’t missed a beat with captivating but polarizing superstar Puig on disabled list.
6. San Francisco Giants (7): Four straight shutouts for pitching-centric Giants last week at pitcher-friendly AT&T Park.
7. Minnesota Twins (8): GM Terry Ryan on team’s remarkable recovery from 1-6 start: “We just seem to find a way.”
8. Detroit Tigers (6): Bereavement leave of staff anchor Alfredo Simon posing another challenge to resilience of injury-plagued rotation.
9. New York Mets (9): Mets trusting experiment with six-man rotation will keep young arms for September stretch.
10. Pittsburgh Pirates (16): UCLA product Gerrit Cole, first overall choice of 2011 draft, fulfilling great expectations as Bucs’ ace.
11. New York Yankees (12): Pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, sidelined since April 27, slotted to make comeback start this week in Seattle.
12. Chicago Cubs (11): As exciting young team proceeds upward and onward, growing pains are part of the deal
13. Los Angeles Angels (13): Chris Iannatta and Matt Joyce awakening from prolonged slumps at the same time.
14. Tampa Bay Rays (10): After throwing eight scoreless innings Wednesday, Chris Archer wanted to continue classic pitchers’ duel against his baseball idol, King Felix.
15. Atlanta Braves (14): Stellar month for starter Shelby Miller ended with a thud vs. Giants.
16. Seattle Mariners (21): Laborious climb to hike record over .500 looking like Sisyphus’ mythological rock push.
17. Texas Rangers (23): First-year manager Jeff Banister turning heads after 7-15 start.
18. Baltimore Orioles (17): Starter Tyler Wilson, team’s 2014 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, didn’t disappoint during Thursday debut.
19. Cleveland Indians (25): Corey Kluber’s 13-strikeout gem vs. M’s showed why his 2014 Cy Young Award wasn’t a fluke.
20. Boston Red Sox (19): Spot start of rookie lefty Eduardo Rodriguez was one for the books.
21. San Diego Padres (15): Petco Park will seat 20,000 for outdoor basketball game in December between San Diego State and University of San Diego.
22. Arizona Diamondbacks (22): Sweep at St. Louis, where they were outscored by four runs in three games, suggests D-Backs are close to contending.
23. Toronto Blue Jays (24): Third baseman Josh Donaldson entered weekend with a 2.9 WAR (wins above replacement) rating, better than 2.3 of M’s slugger Nelson Cruz.
24. Chicago White Sox (20): Dual-team owner Jerry Reinsdorf too distracted by coaching overhaul of NBA Bulls to dwell on disappointing South Siders.
25. Colorado Rockies (26): Starting rotation, never a team strength, key to Rox winning four of five last week.
26. Cincinnati Reds (18): Late-May skid — Reds were 18-17 two weeks ago — a comprehensive team effort involving starters, bullpen and hitters.
27. Milwaukee Brewers (27): The “Selig Experience” — a 1,500 square-foot exhibit celebrating career of former MLB commissioner who returned baseball to Milwaukee by pilfering Pilots from Seattle — opened Thursday at Miller Field.
28. Philadelphia Phillies (28): GM Ruben Amaro violated first commandment of sports marketing last week: Thou shalt not insult fans.
29. Miami Marlins (29): Weird decision by GM Dan Jennings to wear manager’s cap for first time has worsened already toxic climate in clubhouse.
30. Oakland A’s (30): Midseason fire sale figures to begin with offers for potential 2016 free agents Scott Kazmir, Ben Zobrist and Tyler Clippard.
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