NL Power Rankings: Redbirds on Top, Other Teams Playing Catch-up 15.

Miami Marlins (last week: 15) Well for the Marlins it is the same old story they struggle hit and pitchers do well, but not great. They do have some young players that will be exciting to watch in a couple of years, and I wonder if they would be better off trading Stanton for more prospects. When healthy he is one of the best power hitters in the game. They are losers of five straight games, but the game on Monday against the Rays will be a delight for anyone who likes to see young starting pitchers. Miami has their young starter Jose Fernandez facing another young upcoming pitcher in Jake Odorizzi for Tampa Bay. The prospects of them having a player represent the team in the allstar game dont look promising. The best player on their team is Fernandez, but there are other rookies in the NL that are more deserving than him. 14. New York Mets (last week: 12) David Wright is putting up MVP-type numbers on a bad team this season, but sooner or later he will go into a slump, and someone else has to pick up the slack for them. If you thought Ike Davis would be that guy, that is what every Met fan believed coming into this season. There were constant rumors of them sending him down to Triple-A, and this apparently woke up his sleeping bat. Davis before helping the Amazins

avoid a sweep Sunday night at the hands of the Atlanta Braves was hitting a paltry .148 on the season. This is not acceptable for a player that was expected to be another power threat along with Captain America.

13. Chicago Cubs (last week: 11) Cubbies responded in a big way by earning a victory over the Cincinnati Reds in extra innings on Sunday. This can be a signature win for them this season, as much has not gone their way this season. They just sent reliever Shawn Camp to the DL, and whoever takes his place should not have any pressure to perform well. Camp did not set the bar too high, as indicated by 7.56 ERA and giving up 14 runs in 16 innings. 12. Milwaukee Brewers (last week: 13) Brew Crew are one team that will be looking for the month of May to come to end. They have not won a series against a team since the end of April and are 5-18 in May. This month has also seen the team not win backto-back games. They believed that Sunday was their best chance to end the streak with ace starter Yovani Gallardo on the mound. He has pitched anything like an ace this season, and is on pace for just 150 strikeouts. This would break his four-year streak of at least 200 Ks.

11. Los Angeles Dodgers (last week: 14) Don Mattingly days as manager of Dodgers may be numbered. If that is the case he will go out in his own way. He benched both Ander Ethier and Matt Kemp in different games this week, citing he wanted the team to show grit and fight. Kemp did not start on Sunday, and it appears the frustrations with the team are starting to affect his overall play. He is in a slump and has showed no signs that he will break out anytime soon. The offense for Dodgers is so bad that with the bases loaded against the Cardinals, Mattingly elected to allow pitcher Clayton Kershaw to hit for himself rather than use a pinch-hitter. 10. San Diego Padres (last week: 10) The Pesky Padres played that way this weekend in Phoenix, as their offense continued to hit well. Carlos Quentin is starting to get hot with his bat, as he is hitting .306 with four homers and seven RBIs in the last ten games. The only problem for them is that their starting pitching has let them down. They will remain a .500 team at best until the pitchers perform better. 9. Philadelphia Phillies (last week: 9)

Cole Hamels did everything possible to try to put Philadelphia in position to get to .500. The only issue is that the offense let him down again, and this is a common theme with them this season. The starting pitching does a great job of limiting the opposition to score, but eventually the offense has to come through and score some runs.

8. Washington Nationals (last week: 8) Stephen Strasburg is finally pitching like the ace of the Nationals staff, and has added another element to his game. He is now proving to be a pitcher that can do damage at the plate, as he earned two hits on Sunday and one of them was a double. If Strasburg keeps this up, and along with Zimmerman the Nationals will have great 1-2 combo at the top of their rotation. The pitching will have to be great, as Bryce Harper will miss a couple of games next week with a sore knee. The offense has struggled with him in the line up, and I can only imagine how bad they will be without him. 7. Colorado Rockies (last week: 6) AT&T Park has continued to be a house of horrors for Colorado, and if you watched the ending of the game on Saturday, that explains it perfectly. The offense for them is great, but the bullpen has to be more consistent especially against the Giants.

6. San Francisco Giants (last week: 7) Speaking of those Giants, they are inventing more ways to come back against opposing teams. The Giants seem to thrive and play their best baseball when they are behind. Their home ballpark must have special powers, and must sense when the team needs something miraculous to happen. If you dont believe me, explain how Angel Pagan hits a walk-off inside the park homer.

5. Arizona Diamondbacks (last week: 5) Patrick Corbin even on bad day can still look good, and earned his eight victory of the season on Sunday. The pitching is not the only reason the snakes are in first place. Eric Chavez has found the fountain of youth in the desert. He is hitting .333 and has seven homers on the season with only 111 at-bats this season. Chavez has made the most of his opportunity to play, and is producing on offense. 4. Atlanta Braves (last week: 4) Evan Gattis is everything the Braves could have wanted and more this season. He always seems to do something that impacts a game for the Bravos. He is their catcher of the future, and is making Brian McCann look expendable.

Gattis and Craig Kimbrel are two bright young players that may allow Atlanta to run away with the division title this season. Atlanta and Washington are very evenly matched, but the Braves have a superior offense. 3. Cincinnati Reds (last week: 3) Dusty Baker probably does not feel too confident in any reliever besides maybe Aroldis Chapman in his bullpen. The bullpen once again allowed another lead to slip through their grasp against the Cubs. Cincy has a great team, but until the bullpen improves they are the third-best team in the Central division. 2. Pittsburgh Pirates (last week: 2) Jason Grilli and rest of the Pirates pitching staff will get a real test this week with series against the Tigers and Reds. They are winning plenty of close games, but that may end against two of the best hitting clubs in all of baseball. 1. St.Louis Cardinals (last week: 1) When you can put four runs on the board against Clayton Kershaw, you are doing something right. Kershaw before this start had not allowed more three earned runs in previous 22 starts, and last time it happened was last July against the Redbirds.

So far the Cardinals are best team in baseball, and they have showed no signs of slowing down.