Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #140: 9/6 vs. Rockies

Ranking the power rankings

A brutal sweep at the hands of the Dodgers was followed by a series loss against the Orioles at Chase Field. However, those teams have two of the four best records in the majors, so losing to them isn’t exactly a disgrace. Did the losses have an impact on Arizona’s standings in the power rankings? Let’s see...

• MLB.com: #13 (last week: #13)
• CBS Sports: #14 (last week: #12) - “The D-Backs had been one of baseball’s worst teams from early July through Aug. 11, then they turned around and looked like one of the best teams, winning 12 of their next 15. Now they’ve lost five of six. Maybe three at home vs. the Rockies starting on Monday gets them back to winning.”
• USA Today: #13 (last week: #13) - “Corbin Carroll six homers from a 30-40 season.”
• Sports Illustrated: #13 (last week: #9) - “Bad week for the Diamondbacks drops them four spots. I’m not overly concerned, though. The Snakes have struggled against the Dodgers for years, and Baltimore is the best team in the AL. They’ll have a chance to get some wins back early in the week when the Rockies come to town, before beginning a four-game series at Wrigley against the Cubs.”
• ESPN: #12 (last week: #13) - “When the week began, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly had combined for a 3.32 ERA in 52 starts, making up one of the best one-two punches in the sport — not to mention one of the biggest reasons why the D-backs remained in contention. In back-to-back starts against the Dodgers on Monday and Tuesday, however, Gallen and Kelly combined to allow 13 runs on 21 hits and six walks in 10⅓ innings, taking the loss in both outings. The D-backs have taken some major steps forward this year, but the gap between them and the Dodgers is still really wide, especially in recent weeks. There’s no better evidence of that than watching their two best pitchers by far struggle mightily against them.”

All told, not too much of an impact. SI are the only ranking to move them by more than one spot, and that feels more like a correction from an over-ranking. The net result is to drop the team one spot to 13th, and given their status on the edge of the playoff hunt, that seems about correct. They remain above the Giants, however.

NL West average power rankings

1. Dodgers: 2.4
2. D-backs: 13.0
3. Giants: 14.8
4. Padres: 19.6
5. Rockies: 27.8