Power Rankings, Week 10: Rays Continue To Pass Eye Test as Baseball's Best Team

The Tampa Bay Rays have won all but one home series so far this year, and already have 48 wins, seven better than anyone else. They've been terrific, even after that 13-0 start, and remain the clear No. 1 in my power rankings. Here's a great explanation why.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Every day for two months, the Tampa Bay Rays have forced their media relations people to keep digging up one epic stat after another. Most wins, biggest routes, best home record, most homers, most consecutive steals, great pitching, etc.

It just goes on and on.

This epic start hit a little bump on Saturday when the Rays lost 8-4 to the Texas Rangers. Hear. that? Lost a game! It's actually a big deal simply when they lose at home.

But the Rays won 7-3 on Sunday to win the series with the Rangers, who arrived in Florida with the second-best record in baseball. The Rays are an amazing 31-7 at Tropicana Field and they're 48-20 on the season, playing stunning .706 ball Their 48 wins lead baseball by the wide margin. It's the Rangers who are next at 41, along with the Baltimore Orioles.

There's a reason why the Rays have been the wire-to-wire No. 1 in most baseball power rankings since that 13-game winning streak to start the season. That's not changing anytime soon either, because they keep passing the eye test week after week. They were 6-1 this week,  and that was with series against division leaders Minnesota and Texas

The Rays remain No. 1 in my power rankings on Monday regardless, because I've seen the Rays 10 times now and in every time but one — Saturday's loss at home —  they've looked like world-beaters.

Here are the 10 games I've seen so far, an amazing six straight SHUTOUTS before losing 1-0 to Marcus Stroman and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. They won those first six games by a combined score of 45-0, so, yeah, I think they're pretty good.

• March 30 — Beat the Detroit Tigers 4-0 on Opening Day in St. Petersburg.
• April 8 — Beat the Oakland Athletics 11-0 in St. Petersburg
• April 9 — Beat Oakland 11-0 again in St. Petersburg
• April 10 — Beat the Boston Red Sox 1-0 in St. Petersburg
• April 18 — Beat the Reds 10-0 in Cincinnati
• April 19 — Beat the Reds 8-0 in Cincinnati
• May 29 — Lost to the Cubs 1-0 in Chicago
• June 9 — Beat the Texas Rangers 8-3 in St. Petersburg.
• June 10 — Lost to the Texas Rangers 8-4 in St. Petersburg.
• June 11 — Beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 in St. Petersburg

There is still a very long way to go in this season, but 68 games is a very good sample size. Here are five reasons why I think there's no question they are the best team in baseball right now, and for the near future:

1. They can rake

Tampa Bay has been hitting homers at a record pace all season, and it's happening because they are getting power from throughout their roster. For instance, the Rays have hit an American League-best 112 home runs — the Los Angeles Dodgers have 113 — and have six guys with 11 or more home runs, eight with nine or more and an amazing 12 sluggers with seven or more. Need a comparison? The Cleveland Guardians have only TWO guys with more than four homers. The point is, the Rays will hurt you at the top of the order, the middle or the bottom. 

2. They can run

Despite the power, the Rays can also crush you with the get-them-on, get-them-over, get-them-in philosophy. They lead all of baseball with 87 stolen bases, and it's not even close. (Pittsburgh is second with 70.) Wander Franco, who's always on base, leads the way with 22 and six Rays have stolen six bases or more. Need another comparison? The Colorado Rockies have stolen 26 bases as a team, and only one player has more than four. The Rays run effectively, too. They had stolen 35 bases in a row before Jose Siri got caught on Sunday, another club record. 

3. They can pitch

The Rays have a terrific 1-2 punch in their rotation with Shane McClanahan (10-1) and Zach Eflin (8-1), and now that Tyler Glasnow is back and looking like his old self, they can pitch you to death. They are 12-2 in McClanahan's 14 starts, and they are 10-1 in Elfin's 11 starts. (He goes again on Monday night when the Rays start a West Coast trip in Oakland.)  That's a 22-3 mark — 19 games over .500 — with just those two starters. "I didn't know that,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said when I mentioned that stat to him on Sunday. "It is comforting. I didn't realize that. It's very telling of what they're doing and how much they mean to our team and when they take the ball and go out on the mound, they give us a chance to win every time.''

4. They aren't slowing down

A lot of people scoffed at the Rays' 13-0 start because they were beating up on projected MLB lightweights, but here's an amazing stat. Since then, they are 35-20, good for a .636 winning percentage. That alone would be the second-best mark in baseball — Texas is at .641, baseball a half-game better. And trust me, the Rays aren't giving those first 13 wins back.

The basically played contenders every week in all of May and early June, and still survived. They are on pace to win 114 games. Sure, there are going to be some hiccups along the way, but this is still a team very much on a roll. They are 8-2 in June, with a West Coast trip to Oakland and San Diego up next.

1. They aren't overwhelmed by the moment

For the Rays, it doesn't matter who they're playing. They do a great job of pre-series planning and they're good to go no matter who they are facing. They are 22-13 in games against teams over .500, which says a lot, too. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy is impressed with them, ''because they just seem to be doing everything right right now. They pitch, they run, they hit the ball out of the park a lot.'' For a while, you thought the bullpen might be a trouble spot — and it still may — but Shawn Armstrong is back, Robert Stephenson came over in a trade and closer Pete Fairbanks will be back any day. 

Tom Brew's Week 10 power rankings

Here are my MLB power rankings after Week 10 of the season ending on Sunday, June 11.

Remember, I take the entire season into account, and not just a hot weekend. I also factor in some projected trends. So, no. Oakland isn't moving into the top-10 just because they won five in a row. And when I guess right on a trend — two weeks I told you I thought Miami would get hot in a soft spot in their schedule and they've gone 12-3 — I lean on that, too.

So here are my rankings, from 1-30

1. Tampa Bay Rays 
2. Texas Rangers 
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Arizona Diamondbacks
6. Los Angeles Dodgers
7. Houston Astros
8. New York Yankees 
9. Toronto Blue Jays
10. Miami Marlins
11. Pittsburgh Pirates
12. Los Angeles Angels
13. San Francisco Giants
14. Milwaukee Brewers
15. Minnesota Twins
16. Philadelphia Phillies
17. Cleveland Guardians
18. Boston Red Sox
19. Seattle Mariners
20. San Diego Padres
21. Cincinnati Reds
22. New York Mets
23. Chicago White Sox
24. Chicago Cubs
25. St. Louis Cardinals
26. Detroit Tigers
27. Colorado Rockies
28. Washington Nationals
29. Kansas City Royals
30. Oakland Athletics