Welcome back to The Call to the Pen! A quick rundown this week thanks to a very busy Monday. This past weekend, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Piazza were inducted into the Hall of Fame. I already wrote about Griffey’s induction when it was announced but I always liked Piazza as well. Let’s get to the Power Rankings…

Power Rankings

The Bottom:

30) Atlanta Braves (33-66): Even
29) Minnesota Twins (37-61): Down 1 
28) Cincinnati Reds (38-60): Up 1
27) Tampa Bay Rays (38-60): Even 
26) Arizona Diamondbacks (41-57): Even
25) Milwaukee Brewers (41-55): Down 
24) San Diego Padres (43-56): Down 4 
23) LA Angels of Anaheim (43-55): Down 1
22) Philadelphia Phillies (45-55): Down 1
21) Oakland Athletics (45-54): Up 3

The Middle:

20) Chicago White Sox (48-50): Down 1
19) Kansas City Royals (48-49): Down 2 
18) Colorado Rockies (47-51): Up 4
17) New York Yankees (50-48): Up 1
16) Detroit Tigers (51-48): Down 1
15) Seattle Mariners (50-48): Up 1 
14) Pittsburgh Pirates (51-47): Even
13) New York Mets (52-45): Down 1
12) St. Louis Cardinals (52-46): Up 1
11) Miami Marlins (53-45): Even

The Top:

10) Toronto Blue Jays (52-42): Down 2  
9) LA Dodgers (56-44): Even
8) Houston Astros (54-44): Up 2
7) Texas Rangers (57-42): Down 3 
6) Cleveland Indians (56-41): Down 1 
5) Boston Red Sox (55-41): Up 1
4) Baltimore Orioles (57-40): Up 3
3) San Francisco Giants (58-40): Down 1
2) Washington Nationals (58-41): Up 1 
1) Chicago Cubs (59-38): Even 

The Cubbies made their big bullpen acquisition today when they finalized a trade to get Aroldis Chapman from the Yankees. This might be the marquee trade of the 2016 Trade Deadline but there’s plenty of deals to be made. The Cubs needed a shutdown closer as they’ve had the most blown saves since 2011, Chapman’s first full season. The Nats could probably use a bullpen arm, the Red Sox could use maybe one more starting pitcher (although the Drew Pomeranz trade could be great) while the Orioles and Rangers definitely need a starter. The next week will be very interesting for Trade Deadline nerds as we watch the trade market develop.

Phillies Update:

Last week was interesting for the Phils. The Marlins series could have been very different if the bullpen holds the lead on Monday or if the bats had it going on Tuesday. The only unavoidable loss was Thursday’s demolishing on Star Wars Night, which was awesome. Friday night’s shutout by Zach Eflin was incredible. Watching him pitch that way makes me extremely excited for the Phillies’ future. While Vince Valasquez’s name has been thrown around for trade interest with the Rangers, if the Phillies hold on to Vince, Eickhoff, Nola, and Eflin, they could develop into a great rotation. Along with Herrera, Franco, and the other prospects in the pipeline, the future looks very, very bright for the Phightin Phils. The Phils continue their roadtrip while the DNC is in Philadelphia. They play in Maimi this week (they sealed up a 4-0 win tonight as I wrote this post) and then the Phillies head to Atlanta on Thursday for a weekend four-game series.

Disagree with the Rankings? Let me know in the comments

(cover photo via)