We know computers hate the Orioles, and national broadcasters hate the Orioles, but do the folks who make power polls/rankings hate the Orioles? Actually, they’re a little more optimistic than last week.
ESPN.com Power Poll (8th; Last Week: 10th)
The Orioles rise two spots, but ESPN thinks the end may be nigh. “After treading water to begin the season, the Orioles' rotation is starting to crack. O's starters have the third worst ERA in the American League, along with the third worst strikeout rate and fourth worst walk rate (before Sunday).
An on-the-mend Yovani Gallardo could return soon and help, but there isn't much immediate help in the O's farm system." -- Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot
SI.com: The 30 (6th; LW: 6th)
Jonah Keri keeps the O’s at 6th. And since his column this week featured teams most affected by injured players, be glad the O’s are not the focus of his analysis.
USA Today Power Rankings (6th; LW: 8th)
The Nation’s Newspaper brings the Orioles up two spots. “Royals, Blue Jays and Red Sox on the horizon.” Gee, thanks, like we couldn’t read a schedule ourselves.
Bleacher Report Power Rankings (7th; LW: 10th)
Slideshow Central decides to move the Orioles up three slots. “With three more home runs last week, Mark Trumbo is now tied for the MLB lead with 18. He's one of three Orioles players already in double figures, and they rank third in the majors as a team with 80 long balls.”
CBS Sports (11th; LW: 5rd)
Matt Snyder drops the O’s out of the Top 10. “They started 7-0, followed with a 9-12 stretch, won seven more in a row and have gone 5-10 since. It's getting about time for another seven-gamer, no? Look like they're gonna need those to stay in the race.” Well, they didn’t get a 7-game win streak, but they did OK against the Red Sox and Yankees.
Power Rankings Guru (7th; LW 8th)
PRG is an aggregate of several national power rankings/polls, and they have the Orioles 7th, which makes sense with the rest of these rankings.
reddit’s Power Poll (10th; LW: 7th)
reddit’s rankers aren’t buying what the Orioles are doing, and drop them three slots. Tough crowd. “In seven starts this week, O's starters had a 7.50 ERA and a 1.611 WHIP while allowing 12 HRs. Take away Gausman's 6 IP, 1 ER start on Sunday, and it jumps to 8.70 and 1.633.
Still, the O's managed a 4-3 record against the Red Sox and Yankees as the offense did their best to pick up the slack. Hyun Soo Kim in particular has been a stud. He's become a consistent starter and is slashing .382/.455/.500.”
OddsShark.com (24th; LW: 17th)
Ranks are based on rolling past 20 games overall. And the OddsShark.com rankings roller coaster takes another deep dive, as the O’s are now 24th. Wow. Talk about an outlier.
The Baltimore Sun's MLB Power Rankings (6th; LW: 9th)
The Sun brings the O’s back solidly in the middle of the Top 10. “The come-from-behind tactics of the Orioles are becoming their go-to move, making late moves in their last five games and winning four of them. This team is frustrating. They spent a week looking like they’d never win again, and now you can’t take your eyes off them. I doubt that’s soon going to change.”
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.