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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? This week, they’re surprisingly optimistic.
MLB.com (14th; LW: 16th)
Alyson Footer at MLB.com lifts the Orioles to 14th, which she has is five slots higher, but I coulda swore she had them at 16th last week...
Bleacher Report Power Rankings (14th; LW: 17th)
Joel Reuter lifts the Orioles up three slots. Unless the Oakland series goes better than the Angels series, next week is gonna be bowling shoe ugly.
CBS Sports (15th; LW: 16th)
Matt Synder lifts the O’s one slot. “One of my many mottos is Believe In Buck. I will not stray, either.”
reddit’s Power Poll (17th; LW:20th)
The community editors over at reddit raise the Orioles three slots. “So apparently Tim Beckham is a god now. Gausman continued his resurgent second half, Machado is hitting the crap out of the ball, Schoop learned plate discipline and has transformed into a top 5 second baseman, and I continue to not understand this team. The question is now if the rotation will be able to keep the team in enough games to sneak into a Wild Card spot. And now that Chris Tillman is in the pen, the odds have improved some. Which is depressing to type.”
OddsShark.com (1st; LW: 13th)
Ranks are based on rolling past 20 games overall. They will typically be the lowest rankings the O’s receive, but not this week - they have the O’s in the #1 slot, ahead of the Dodgers. Yeah, I have no idea, either.
ESPN.com Power rankings (16th; LW: 17th)
The World-Wide Leader lifts the Orioles just one slot this week. “Tim Beckham might be the greatest Oriole ever. The jury's still out, but he has had one of the best starts to an Orioles career we've ever seen. Baltimore acquired the former first overall pick by the Rays at the deadline, and all he did was notch a multi-hit game in each of his first five games, including three home runs. According to Elias Sports Bureau research, his 13 hits were the most by any Orioles player in his first five games with the team and his three homers tied for the most.”
Rotoworld (15th; LW: 19th)
Jesse Pantuosco elevates the O’s back to the first page of his rankings at 15th. “The surging Orioles have come roaring back in the AL Wild Card race by winning eight of their last 10. Jeremy Hellickson spun seven shutout frames in his Orioles debut last week while newcomer Tim Beckham has mashed to a .536 average since joining Baltimore at the trade deadline. Zach Britton recorded his 58th consecutive save in Saturday’s win over Kansas City. That’s an American League record and the second-longest streak in major league history.”
USA Today (16th; LW: 19th)
The Nation’s Newspaper’s lifts the Orioles three slots, making them the highest mover of the week. “Tim Beckham (14-for-24, 7 XBH) mashing in first week with O's.”
Power Rankings Guru (16th; LW: 19th)
PRG is an aggregate of several national power rankings/polls, the O’s site just outside the top half of the league.
SI.com: The 30 (25th; Last Ranking: 21st)
Jonah Keri has apparently completely abandoned doing Power Rankings now, so this will be the last week he appears here.
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.