The Chicago Cubs are human. But they're still the best team in baseball.
Despite a sweep at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals, followed by losing three of four to the Miami Marlins, the Cubs remain our unanimous No. 1 in this week's MLB Power Rankings -- their 12th straight week atop the list.
Still, they can't rest on their laurels. The San Francisco Giants remain hot on their heels after mowing down opponents on a recent road trip to hold the No. 2 spot for a second straight week. Are they poised to to make Week 13 unlucky for Chicago?
There was plenty of movement in the top 10. Among the risers and fallers, the Cleveland Indians jumped from No. 8 to No. 4, and the Los Angeles Dodgers leaped from No. 12 to No. 8. The Toronto Blue Jays fell from No. 6 to No. 9, and the Cardinals fell out of the top 10. Overall, though, the biggest week might have belonged to the Houston Astros, who jumped all the way from No. 18 to No. 11.
This week's voters are Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Eric Karabell of ESPN Fantasy, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Christina Kahrl (ESPN.com editor and SweetSpot blogger). Most of the team comments come courtesy of the SweetSpot Blog Network.
Past rankings: Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason
1. Chicago Cubs
Record: 48-26
Week 11 ranking: No. 1
The Cubs are 9-11 in their past 20 games but still lead the NL Central by 9 games and have the best record in baseball. Cubs fans should not be worried in any way. -- Joe Aiello (@VFTB), View from the Bleachers
2. San Francisco Giants
Record: 49-28
Week 11 ranking: No. 2
San Francisco keeps on winning and is in a race with the Cubs and Rangers to become the first team to win 50 games. In fact, the club is coming off its best 40-game stretch in 62 years. Brandon Belt keeps hitting, and the rotation churns out quality starts. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona
3. Texas Rangers
Record: 49-27
Week 11 ranking: No. 4
Texas still has the best record in the American League but will face the challenge of having three starting pitchers on the DL in Yu Darvish, Colby Lewis and Derek Holland. -- Brandon Land (@onestrikeaway), One Strike Away
4. Cleveland Indians
Record: 44-30
Week 11 ranking: No. 8
In a week full of highlights, do you mention the game with four triples (three in the same inning), the game with four home runs, the game with four home runs in the same inning or the back-to-back complete games? Or do you just talk about the nine-game win streak? By any measure, the Tribe had a good week. -- Susan Petrone, It's Pronounced Lajaway
5. Washington Nationals
Record: 44-32
Week 11 ranking: No. 3
Stephen Strasburg -- he of the $175 million contract extension -- has now landed on the disabled list with the upper-back strain that caused him to miss two starts, making him unavailable for this week's series against the Mets. Meanwhile, Max Scherzer continues to have an odd season, as he's now on pace for 43 home runs allowed. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
6. Baltimore Orioles
Record: 45-30
Week 11 ranking: No. 7
The Orioles' offense is surging. Thanks to Manny Machado's return from a brief suspension and power up and down the lineup, the O's rank second in the American League in runs per game. -- Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot
7. Boston Red Sox
Record: 41-34
Week 11 ranking: No. 5
Jackie Bradley Jr.'s aggressiveness this season has paid dividends. Last year, he hit .186 with a .329 slugging percentage against "power" pitchers in the top third of the league in strikeouts plus walks; this year, he's at .283 and .565. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona
8. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 41-36
Week 11 ranking: No. 12
Saturday's game was the first in the past 15 that did not include a Dodger home run. Despite this, the team was only eighth in the league in homers and 10th in runs in the NL. After using 13 different starting pitchers last year, Los Angeles has already gone through eight this season. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
9. Toronto Blue Jays
Record: 41-36
Week 11 ranking: No. 6
Without Jose Bautista, who is on the disabled list with turf toe, Toronto's powerful lineup had started to lack some punch at the top. Devon Travis has stepped up to fill that void, as he is hitting .447 (17-for-38) with three home runs, four doubles, nine RBIs and six runs in his past 10 games through Saturday. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
10. New York Mets
Record: 40-34
Week 11 ranking: No. 9
James Loney has hit in 13 of his past 14 games, going 17-for-50 (.340), and has reached base safely in 16 of his past 17 games and in 21 of the 24 games he's played with the Mets. In his Sunday debut, rookie Brandon Nimmo became the 16th MLB player from Wyoming. -- Joe Janish (@metstoday), MetsToday.com
11. Houston Astros
Record: 39-37
Week 11 ranking: No. 18
They're 22-9 since George Springer became the leadoff hitter on May 24. One key has been Carlos Correa, who has a .902 OPS since then with 22 RBIs and 14 extra-base hits in 28 games. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
12. Kansas City Royals
Record: 39-35
Week 11 ranking: No. 11
Ian Kennedy picked up the rotation with 11 K's in seven innings Sunday after Edinson Volquez and Chris Young had combined to give up 19 runs in back-to-back games. Young has allowed an unfathomable 21 home runs in just 53 2/3 innings. Yordano Ventura is suspended and Kris Medlen is rehabbing from shoulder inflammation, but either should be up soon to replace Young in the rotation. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
13. St. Louis Cardinals
Record:39-35
Week 11 ranking: No. 10
After losing Friday's game on a walk-off home run, Trevor Rosenthal is out as Cardinals closer, having allowed 28 hits and 21 walks in 24 innings. You don't need sabermetrics to say those are awful numbers. Mike Matheny has said he'll go bullpen by committee, but look for Seung-hwan Oh (51 K's, 8 BB in 38 IP) to take over. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
14. Miami Marlins
Record: 41-35
Week 11 ranking: No. 14
A.J. Ramos (24-for-24 in save opportunities) has fronted a bullpen that through Saturday had a 3.69 ERA and had held opponents to a .235 average. Giancarlo Stanton's past 10 games through Saturday: .371/.436/.600. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
15. Detroit Tigers
Record: 38-38
Week 11 ranking: No. 15
Whoa. Did that really happen? Not only did Justin Verlander give up four home runs in a game on Sunday, it happened in one inning. It was just the second time he's allowed four in a game, the first coming on Sept. 18, 2007, also against the Indians. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
16. New York Yankees
Record: 37-37
Week 11 ranking: No. 16
While the American League playoff picture starts to take form, the Yankees continue to be noncommittal on participating in the race. They went 3-2 at home this past week and have the Rangers coming to town for four games this week before heading back out on the road to finish the first half. At 37-37, it's time to either make a run or fade far enough out of the playoff picture to make selling at the deadline the primary objective. -- Brad Vietrogoski (@BradVietro), It's About the Money
17. Seattle Mariners
Record: 38-38
Week 11 ranking: No. 13
Seattle's skid continued with a sweep at the hands of the Tigers this week, which included a pair of games decided by one run and another by two. Close has not been close enough for the M's, who are weathering a storm of injured pitchers as Houston climbed past them in the AL West. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona
18. Pittsburgh Pirates
Record: 37-39
Week 11 ranking: No. 17
Since the beginning of the 2013 season, Mark Melancon has thrown 166.1 innings in save situations entering Sunday, which leads all of baseball. The reliable righty shook off a blown save May 21 to rattle off 11 scoreless appearances. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona
19. Chicago White Sox
Record: 38-38
Week 11 ranking: No. 19
Chicago tied an MLB record by blasting seven home runs on Saturday, as six players in the starting lineup went yard, including Brett Lawrie, who did so twice. Unfortunately, each homer was a solo shot, and the team dropped the contest to Toronto. On-base percentage has been an issue for the White Sox, who rank 11th in OBP in the AL. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona
20. Arizona Diamondbacks
Record: 36-42
Week 11 ranking: No. 22
It was a week of records for the D-backs: Brad Ziegler's franchise-record streak of converted saves ended at 43 on Thursday. The next day, the D-backs came back in the ninth to beat the Rockies 10-9, which set a new NL record for longest nine-inning game in history, at 4 hours, 30 minutes. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona
21. Colorado Rockies
Record: 36-39
Week 11 ranking: No. 20
With Jose Reyes' release and talk of potential All-Star snubs, the fine campaign Mark Reynolds is having is being overlooked a bit. He's batting .291/.356/.462 with eight home runs and playing solid defense, and on Sunday, he added a walk-off homer to his resume. He has been a very nice value pickup by Jeff Bridich. -- Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers
22. Tampa Bay Rays
Record: 31-43
Week 11 ranking: No. 21
Teams can sometimes handle a rash of injuries or a string of bad pitching, but it is tough to win that battle on two fronts at the same time. Add in way too many mental mistakes and poor fundamental baseball, and it is not tough to understand why the Rays' losing streak reached double digits on Saturday. -- Jason Collette, The Process Report
23. Milwaukee Brewers
Record: 34-41
Week 11 ranking: No. 23
Following their tumultuous 2-7 West Coast road trip, Milwaukee has rebounded by taking two of three from the first-place Nationals. Matt Garza has looked good coming back from the DL (1-0 with a 2.81 ERA), which raises hopes of Brewers fans that he could be packaged in a move at the trade deadline. -- Gabe Stoltz (@Stoltzy3), Disciples of Uecker
24. San Diego Padres
Record: 33-44
Week 11 ranking: No. 27
With a playoff berth unlikely and in the interest of protecting young arms, manager Andy Green said the Padres are entertaining the idea of a six-man rotation once Andrew Cashner returns. That would mean Erik Johnson is likely to remain on the big league roster until Tyson Ross comes back. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
25. Oakland Athletics
Record: 32-43
Week 11 ranking: No. 26
They beat the Angels three out of four to climb out of last place. With Rich Hill still on the DL, who is their likely All-Star rep? There's not really a good option. Maybe reliever Ryan Madson (2.32 ERA, 14 saves) finds his way onto the roster. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
26. Los Angeles Angels
Record: 32-44
Week 11 ranking: No. 24
Albert Pujols passed Harmon Killebrew on the all-time home run list with his 574th home run, 11th-most all time. Next up: Mark McGwire at 583 and Frank Robinson at 586. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
27. Philadelphia Phillies
Record: 32-45
Week 10 ranking: No. 25
Not only are the Phillies worst in the league at getting on base, mustering a mere .284 OBP, but they're also giving up outs on the bases. They've been caught stealing 25 times, second in the league, and their stolen base success percentage is 56 percent, fourth-lowest in MLB. -- Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers
28. Cincinnati Reds
Record: 29-47
Week 11 ranking: No. 28
The sorry state of the current Reds was underscored by the weekend reunion of the 1976 champs and the simultaneous gathering of team Hall of Famers. Can Johnny Bench and Barry Larkin still hit? -- Chad Dotson (@dotsonc), Redleg Nation
29. Atlanta Braves
Record: 26-49
Week 11 ranking: No. 29
Nary a day goes by without someone writing a column that includes a trade rumor involving Julio Teheran or Arodys Vizcaino. With 23 straight scoreless innings, Teheran is in the midst of the best stretch of his career. -- Martin Gandy (@gondeee), Chop County
30. Minnesota Twins
Record: 24-51
Week 11 ranking: No. 30
The Twins hit six homers in a win at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. It was a rare explosion from a lineup that has mostly failed to live up to its power potential. Byung Ho Park, the rookie Korean slugger who was a big piece in that potential, is batting .194 and appears on the verge of a demotion. -- Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN), TwinsDaily