San Diego Padres: Week #14 power rankings update

The San Diego Padres had an excellent week this week. How evident is their success based on some of baseball’s most credible power rankings lists?

The San Diego Padres have strung together several weeks of consistent baseball now in a row. This week, they played six road games, three in Cleveland and three in Philadelphia. To the surprise of many, the Friars were able to pull off a winning road trip to continue their momentum in the right direction.

Especially surprising was San Diego’s series victory over the Indians, the defending American League champions. The two games they were able to win are a credit to their pitching, as they surrendered a total of two runs in these 18 innings.

The Padres did go 4-2 this week, but they still have a long ways to go to convince analysts to see them as legitimate. This is evident based on the power rankings, where the Friars are still among the worst in baseball. This week’s update begins with ESPN.

ESPN: 29th

ESPN credits San Diego’s pitching for their recent success, but doesn’t give the club a promotion from their status at #29. Somehow, they even rank below the Giants, who they lead in the standings by five games.

"The Padres have one of the worst offenses in baseball, but their pitchers have been much better lately. They’re top-five in the NL in ERA and WHIP over the past four weeks, led by Jhoulys Chacin. Reliever Brad Hand is San Diego’s lone All-Star; he’s foremost among their trade chips ready to help contending teams at the deadline."

FanRag Sports: 28th

More from Friars on Base

• Jurickson Profar free agency update likely rules out Padres reunion
• Fernando Tatis Jr. may not take to outfield move after Xander Bogaerts addition
• Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. trade rumors, Seth Lugo chase, Manny Machado
• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher
• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster

Much like ESPN, FanRag points out San Diego’s insufficient offense. Also much like ESPN, they rank the club among the worst in baseball. The only difference is, at least FanRag has enough respect for the Padres to rank them ahead of the putrid Giants.

"With a minus-128 run differential, this ain’t over yet. These guys should be the bottom-dweller favorites."

Bleacher Report: 20th

The Padres have been working their way up Bleacher Report’s power rankings for four weeks now. This week, they leapfrog the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Marlins to land inside the top 20 for the first time on any of our lists this season. Hopefully, this momentum that has given the team more respect than ever before in 2017 can carry over to after the break.

Next: Home Run Derby: What to expect, predictions

Can the 38-50 Padres continue to move their way up this coming week? The All-Star break makes it a short week, underscoring the significance of the weekend series beginning on Friday against the Giants. Stay tuned for next week’s update.