The first-half of the season is in the books. It's safe to say it has been one interesting year thus far. As the all-important second-half is knocking at the door, one team returned to the top after being out for a few weeks. 

 

The Detroit Tigers returned to the top despite only winning two games to close out the half. Their hold on the AL Central is keeping them a strong team, with the eyes towards another postseason berth. The Chicago Cubs climbed up two spots to #2; however knocking on their doorsteps are the Milwaukee Brewers. There's a two-way tie for #3-the Los Angeles Dodgers stay parked from the previous week (despite an awful week of closing out with only two wins); despite winning five games, the Houston Astros got knocked off the top perch because the three outlets (MLB, CBS, ESPN) didn't think they were good enough to stay on top. After debuting last week, the Toronto Blue Jays move up a spot to #5. Climbing up a spot at #6 are the New York Mets as they hope to regain first place in their division. The Milwaukee Brewers, showing a threat to takeover the NL Central from the Cubs, climbed up to #7 thanks to winning six games to end the first-half on a strong note. Despite holding the lead in the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies fell three notches to #8 thanks to only winning two games. The New York Yankees still remain in the rankings at #9 despite creating a division logjam.     

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​​​​​​HOT SOX GET IN; KNOCKS OFF RIVAL

​If you thought the Blue Jays knocking off the Yankees from the top perch in the division was bad enough, the AL East got interesting to close out the first-half as the Boston Red Sox strung seven straight wins in a row, including sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-game set. Those seven wins are part of a ten-game winning streak which has shot the Sox to third; they are on the heels of the archrival Yankees for second. As the end result of this hot streak, the Sox climb into the power rankings at #10. At the same time, the Sox knocked the Rays out of the power rankings. Now they open the second-half with the #2 Cubs so it will be a test to see if their streak will continue.  ​

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The first power rankings of the second-half will return later this month-a day before the Trade Deadline. So expect things to get interesting before the day arrives.

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​This year, we have decided to do away with the tiebreakers to determine who will be ranked higher. So if the average is the same after the numbers have been tallied up, it will be it is what it is. 

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