Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays Lead MLB Power Rankings

The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, the top two teams in the latest ESPN Power Rankings, square off in a huge series this weekend.

© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

What a week for the Texas Rangers … and what a weekend to come.

The Rangers received some devastating news with the season-ending loss of Jacob deGrom with a showdown series against the Tampa Bay Rays on the horizon. If fact, those are the top two teams in the latest MLB Power Rankings from ESPN’s panel of baseball experts.

Texas moved into the No. 2 spot, its highest ranking this season and trailing only the Rays. The two division leaders, owners of the best two records in baseball, begin a three-game series Friday night at Tropicana Field.

Per ESPN:

The Rangers had the proverbial good news/bad news kind of week as they increased their lead in the American League West with a sweep of division rival Seattle. Texas outscored the Mariners 30-9 in three games over the weekend, and Marcus Semien has remained hot, with a hit in 25 straight games (ending Wednesday, as he went hitless in the 1-0 loss to the Cardinals) and 31 of 33. The team's +155 run differential through its first 60 games is the best to start a season by any MLB team since the 1939 Yankees.

Of course, there’s another side to that coin.

The bad news? Texas lost Jacob deGrom to elbow surgery. It's a major blow, but Bruce Bochy, already the heavy favorite for AL Manager of the Year, has the team depth to keep rolling.

The Texas rotation has been resilient without deGrom. Nathan Eovaldi, who compared the Rangers to a former World Series champion, has pitched like an ace and should receive serious All-Star/Cy Young consideration. Martín Pérez, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney and deGrom replacement Dane Dunning continue to shine, as well.

That’s not to say the Rangers won’t be in the market to add another starting pitcher before the trade deadline. Another bullpen arm could be the cards, too.

The rankings for rest of the AL West: Houston Astros (4), Seattle Mariners (16), Los Angeles Angels (17) and Oakland Athletics (30).

Andrew Heaney (4-3, 4.03) is scheduled to start the Rays series opener for Texas, with Tyler Glasnow (0-0, 3.72) going for Tampa Bay. First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. CT.

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