O’s Power Rankings Week 12 - Top 5 at last!

Orioles Week 12 Power Rankings Roundup

We know computers hate the Orioles, and national broadcasters hate the Orioles, but do the folks who make power polls/rankings hate the Orioles? Winning five of seven games has even the national media bearish on the Orioles, it seems.

ESPN.com Power Poll (6th; Last Week: 7th)

Up a spot in The Worldwide Leader’s power ranking. “The Orioles' offense is surging. Thanks to Manny Machado's return from a brief suspension and power up and down the lineup, the O's rank second in the American League in runs per game. -- Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot”

SI.com: The 30 (5th; LW: 6th)

Jonah Keri elevates the Orioles one slot, placing them in his Top Five.

USA Today Power Rankings (4th; LW: 5th)

The Nation’s Newspaper lifts the O’s up one slot. Just three teams ahead of them. So that’s happened. 2011 is seeming further and further away all the time. “On pace for 259 home runs, five shy of record.”

Bleacher Report Power Rankings (4th; LW: 5th)

Slideshow Central also lists the O’s as the 4th best team in MLB. But, storm clouds are in the horizon. “The Orioles have been the best home team in baseball this year with a 31-13 record at Camden Yards, but they have struggled on the road at 14-17 with a minus-four run differential. With 16 of their next 19 games on the road, they'll need to prove those early struggles are a fluke or risk losing their hold on the division lead in the weeks to come.“

CBS Sports (6th; LW: 4th)

Matt Snyder slides the O’s down two, but that was before their performance last week. “When you have your "best closer in baseball" arguments, don't leave Zach Britton out. He is nasty and is now in his third season of elite-level production.” NOTE: These rankings will lag by almost a week due to their publication date.

Power Rankings Guru (N/A; LW 6th)

PRG is an aggregate of several national power rankings/polls, and they have the O’s at 6th.

reddit’s Power Poll (6th; LW: 7th)

The community editors over at reddit agree the O’s are one slot better than last week. “After two frustrating losses to begin the week, the O's won five straight to put together a 5-2 week. They averaged more than 6.8 runs per game and only scored fewer than five runs in one game. This offense can hang with just about anyone and they have a shot of breaking the major league records for home runs in a month of 58 (they're at 51 with three games left). Fun fact: Of the four robbed home runs in the MLB this month, three have come against the O's.”

OddsShark.com (9th; LW: 14th)

Ranks are based on rolling past 20 games overall. And the OddsShark.com rankings roller coaster sends the O’s up five slots.

The Baltimore Sun's MLB Power Rankings (4th; LW: 5th)

The Sun lifts the O’s a spot, and also has just three teams ranked higher than the hometown heroes. “The Orioles are a streaky team, especially at home. The five-game winning streak they headed west with was their fourth of the season, with 24 of their 45 wins coming on such streaks. They’ll do well to break .500 on this nine-game road trip.”

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.