Rays Named American League's Best Team in Latest MLB Power Rankings

The Tampa Bay Rays are on a hot streak.

The team continues to win games out on the West Coast, picking up their seventh straight victory after taking down the Athletics in the opener in Sacramento. As the team looks to extend its lead in the American League East, they're hoping their recent MLB trade deadline acquisitions can help it make a deep postseason run. As Erik Neander, the Rays' front office, and the rest of the fan base hope for their first World Series title, the chances continually improve every single day.

On Monday, Bleacher Report released their latest power rankings, and the Tampa Bay Rays dropped in at number 4 in all of baseball. 

"The Rays six-game winning streak is the longest in baseball after they swept the Rockies and Mariners on the road last week, and that also moved them above the .500 mark on the road to 30-28 on the year," stated B/R. "The counterpoint to that, of course, is that their 41-18 home record is the best in baseball. New catcher Liam Hicks (5-for-17, 2 2B, HR) has slotted nicely into the middle of the lineup." 

The acquisition of Liam Hicks certainly has been a good one so far for the Rays. Since heading over from the Miami Marlins, he has slugged .588 in his first five games in a Tampa Bay uniform. If he continues this stretch, he will easily go down as the biggest value trade this season by any MLB team. Adding Hicks to the lineup is certainly a huge boost to offensive production at the catcher position. 

Tampa Bay has had no issue winning baseball games at Tropicana Field. Still, lately, after picking up their seventh straight win on Monday night against the Athletics, they now hold a winning record when traveling away from Tampa Bay. 

As the Rays hope to keep improving their power rankings, moving up to potentially the top three or even the top spot once the season comes to an end, the pitching rotation has become somewhat of a concern. 

Although the team continues to pitch at high performance, availability could soon be an issue. The team is still awaiting Shane McClanahan to return from injury, and Griffin Jax was recently placed on the injured list after being scratched earlier this week with right elbow discomfort. 

It's worth noting that, although Bleacher Report sees the Rays as the fourth-best team in MLB, they are number one in the American League. The three teams ahead of them all come from the National League. The Milwaukee Brewers hold the top spot, followed by the Chicago Cubs and then the Los Angeles Dodgers. The second-best American League team is directly behind Tampa Bay, as the Boston Red Sox sit at five.