Athletics Take Huge Leap in Latest ESPN MLB Power Rankings

The Oakland Athletics seemed to be falling apart quickly when they started the season 1-7, but have since ripped off 11 straight wins. There is no team hotter than the A's in the league and it has caused them to take a huge leap in ESPN's latest MLB power rankings.

Oakland was ranked No. 18 last week, but has not dropped a game since then. The Athletics find themselves all the way up at No. 6 this week as they lead the American League West division with a 12-7 record. They have been getting the job done every time they step out on the field.

Athletics Jump in Power Rankings

The most amazing part about this winning streak for the Athletics is their lack of statistical achievement. They do not rank amongst the top eight teams in the MLB this year when it comes to categories like runs per game, team on-base percentage, strikeouts per 9 innings or earned run average.

In fact, their team ERA of 4.71 in the fifth-highest mark in all of baseball. However, things are starting to turn around with their pitching staff as they have posted a shutout in four of their last six games. Yusmeiro Petit has been a bright spot coming out of the bullpen with a 3-0 record and 1.69 ERA.

Plus, outfielder Ramon Laureano leads the MLB with 8 stolen bases so far this year. There is no reason to believe that the Athletics can't keep this kind of production up or even improve in some areas. They have the pieces to make a lot of noise this season playing out west.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.