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We know computers hate the Orioles, and national broadcasters hate the Orioles, but do the folks who make power polls/rankings hate the Orioles? There seems to be consensus this week that the O’s don’t suck.
ESPN.com Power Poll (6th; Last Week: 8th)
Up two spots in The Worldwide Leader’s power ranking. “When Chris Davis gets on a roll, not many players are better. After a quick start to the season but then a subpar May, Davis is on fire in June. He already has hit six home runs this month, including homering in five straight games.” -- Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer),Camden Depot
SI.com: The 30 (6th; LW: 6th)
Jonah Keri leaves the Orioles just out of the Top Five.
USA Today Power Rankings(6th; LW: 6th)
The Nation’s Newspaper also leaves the Orioles at #6 in its rankings. I’m sensing a pattern here. “Tough to win with three dicey rotation spots, but offense is that good.”
Bleacher Report Power Rankings (8th; LW: 7th)
Slideshow Central bucks the trend and drops the O’s one slot in its rankings. “While the offense is firing on all cylinders, the Orioles still have to be concerned with their starting rotation behind Chris Tillman and Kevin Gausman, as their other three starters have struggled mightily in June.”
CBS Sports (3rd; LW: 11th)
Matt Snyder is back on the Orioles’ bandwagon, lifting them to 3rd. “Is there enough being said about Mark Trumbo's season at the plate? Probably not. He leads the majors with 20 homers, sure, but he's hitting .299 with a .351 on-base percentage compared to career marks of .250 and .300, respectively, heading into the season. He's made himself a much more complete hitter.”NOTE: These rankings will lag by almost a week due to their publication date.
Power Rankings Guru (6th; LW 7th)
PRG is an aggregate of several national power rankings/polls, and they have the Orioles 6th. As I said earlier, I’m sensing a trend.
reddit’s Power Poll (8th; LW: 10th)
The community editors over at reddit may be ready to believe in the Orioles again, lifting the team two slots. “O's starters named Chris Tillman & Kevin Gausman: 3.20 ERA, 1.191 WHIP, 8.43 K/9. O's starters not named Chris Tillman & Kevin Gausman: 5.96 ERA, 1.601 WHIP, 6.32 K/9. They need to figure out something with the rest of this rotation because the guys in there now aren't cutting it. The offense can only do so much. 24 runs and 12 homers was good for a 1-3 record in this last series…”
OddsShark.com (14th; LW: 24th)
Ranks are based on rolling past 20 games overall. And the OddsShark.com rankings roller coaster climbs this week as the O’s are now 14th.
The Baltimore Sun's MLB Power Rankings (6th; LW: 6th)
The Sun leaves the O’s right where they were last week, and right where most power ranking shave them - sixth. “This team goes through stretches where the starters look like they don't belong in the majors, and ones when they’re so good it’s unrecognizable. We’re in the former now, but if the bats keep it up, the Orioles might not fall too far.”
Any egregious slights or wild overestimation of this team? Any polls you’d like to see included? Add your thought down below and hit me up on Twitter @Bill_Duck21804 where you will find way, way too much discussion of politics and MMA for any baseball fan’s liking.