Colorado Rockies should move into top five of MLB Power Rankings

After the Colorado Rockies series against the Chicago Cubs, it’s time to reevaluate the MLB.com Power Rankings. The Rockies were able to dominate the defending champs in two out of the three game series.

They did this without three of their top pitchers in Jon Gray, Tyler Chatwood and Tyler Anderson. They did this without both of their starting catchers. They did it with talent that hadn’t pitched in the majors until a month ago. The Rockies are winning by any means necessary and they are earning the right to be called one of the best teams in baseball.

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Before the series with the Cubs, the Rockies were ranked sixth in the MLB.com Power Rankings.  There is no doubt that the Washington Nationals deserve to be number one. The Rockies proved they have a long way to go to compete for the title of best team in the league based on the four game series at the end of April with the Nats.

The team ahead of the Rockies in the rankings though is the Cleveland Indians at number five. The Indians are sitting at a record of 18-15 in a weak AL Central division. Their starting pitching hasn’t matched last year’s performance but their bullpen is still very strong. The Rockies have earned to switch spots with the Indians. The Rox should be compared more favorably to the number four team on the list, the Baltimore Orioles who are tied for first in their division with the Yankees.

The series against the Cubs showed that the Rockies can compete with the best in the National League after a deflating series against the Nats. Cubs manager Joe Maddon said after the series in Denver that his team has gotten off to a slow start because of fatigue and schedule. Maddon may have a point, especially in the series against the Rockies.

The Cubs came to Denver after a Sunday Night Baseball game against the Yankees (another premiere team) where they lost a one run game in 18 innings. Only to meet a hail delay that led to a double header.

In those conditions it’s hard to win any games. But the reason the Rockies series win against the Cubs was impressive is because they gave the Rockies faithful (that was drowned out by Cubs fans) a reason to think this team was built to last.

It is arguable that the Rockies caught the injury bug worse than any other team in the league. It’s the backups on this team that are giving this team a chance. Mark Reynolds, Antonio Senzatela, German Marquez (who defied the physics of Denver baseball and had a no-hitter into the seventh inning at Coors Field) and even Dustin Garneau are stepping up when the team needs them most.

Next: Colorado Rockies: German Marquez loses no-hit bid, shows mettle

It doesn’t get any easier from here. If the Rockies have a bad series against the Dodgers, Los Angeles will already be back in first place. The Rockies are off to the best start in franchise history at 22-13. That’s all it is though, a start. They are doing what good teams do though and win by adopting the next-man-up principle. Their 4.31 relatively good ERA doesn’t hurt either. While this team still has much to prove, they have shown they are deserving to at least be in the top five clubs in baseball.