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After a turbulent season in 2020 that was cut short due to COVID-19, we’re finally back to a full 162-game campaign in 2021. Fans had been eagerly awaiting the new MLB season to start at the beginning of April, and now, nearly two months in things are starting to take shape. We’ve got players and teams on fire, and then there are others who would probably like to set fire to their current form.
But how is it all looking this week after another exciting round of fixtures?
Social Media trends
Whether you’re looking for the best or worst plays of the week, you can guarantee you’ll find them shared by someone on social media. Whether it be by the official MLB channel, teams, or even independent bloggers who like to talk stats, you’ll find everything you could want to see or know on the likes of Twitter nowadays. And here are some of the hottest trending posts right now:
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr. is currently hitting .335/.445/.665 with 15 home runs (HR) so far this season putting him joint top of the MLB for HRs. He’s in sensational form and it doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down any time soon. No doubt we’ll see a few more clips like this throughout 2021.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Vlad Guerrero Jr. is hitting .335/.445/.665 with 15 HR.<br><br>Unreal. <a href="https://t.co/jgYZHDJFJS">pic.twitter.com/jgYZHDJFJS</a></p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1396918231739346945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>It isn’t just offensive plays that are making the rounds on social media though, with pitchers also getting their fair share of respect. With MLB having changed the size of the balls to help the offensive side of the game, their plans may have back-fired as we’re seeing more and more no-hitters each week. Including Corey Kluber who threw the New York Yankee’s’ first no-hitter since 1999 as he pitched against the Texas Rangers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Yankees’ Corey Kluber threw a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers. It was the first for the franchise since 1999 and MLB’s sixth this year. <a href="https://t.co/7MXjXCWU08">https://t.co/7MXjXCWU08</a></p>— The New York Times (@nytimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1395210204111949827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Power Rankings
Going into the new season, the LA Dodgers were favorites for everyone’s MLB Picks as they looked to be the first team in twenty years to win back-to-back World Series titles. And they started the 2021 campaign off strongly topping the Power Rankings for the first few weeks, but they slowly dropped down the pecking order the past couple of weeks. Where do they stand now though?
- San Diego Padres
Record: 30-17
Previous Ranking: 6
Movement: Up 5 places - Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 29-18
Previous Ranking: 9
Movement: Up 7 places - Boston Red Sox
Record: 29-19
Previous Ranking: 4
Movement: Up 1 place - New York Yankees
Record: 28-19
Previous Ranking: 10
Movement: Up 6 places - Tampa Bay Rays
Record: 29-19
Previous Ranking: 11
Movement: Up 6 places - Chicago White Sox
Record: 26-19
Previous Ranking: 1
Movement: Down 5 places - Houston Astros
Record: 26-21
Previous Ranking: 2
Movement: Down 5 places - Oakland Athletics
Record: 28-20
Previous Ranking: 3
Movement: Down 5 places - San Francisco Giants
Record: 28-19
Previous Ranking: 5
Movement: Down 4 Places - St. Louis Cardinals
Record: 26-20
Previous Ranking: 7
Movement: Down 3 Places - Toronto Blue Jays
Record: 23-22
Previous Ranking: 8
Movement: Down 3 Places - Cleveland Indians
Record: 24-20
Previous Ranking: 12
Movement: No movement - Chicago Cubs
Record: 24-22
Previous Ranking: 19
Movement: Up 6 places - New York Mets
Record: 21-19
Previous Ranking: 13
Movement: Down 1 place - Atlanta Braves
Record: 23-24
Previous Ranking: 14
Movement: Down 1 place - Milwaukee Brewers
Record: 23-23
Previous Ranking: 16
Movement: No movement - Miami Marlins
Record: 22-24
Previous Ranking: 21
Movement: Up 4 places - Philadelphia Phillies
Record: 23-24
Previous Ranking: 15
Movement: Down 3 places - Kansas City Royals
Record: 22-23
Previous Ranking: 23
Movement: Up 4 places - Texas Rangers
Record: 22-27
Previous Ranking: 25
Movement: Up 5 places - Washington Nationals
Record: 20-23
Previous Ranking: 20
Movement: Down 1 place - Cincinnati Reds
Record: 20-25
Previous Ranking: 18
Movement: Down 4 places - Los Angeles Angels
Record: 20-27
Previous Ranking: 22
Movement: Down 1 place - Detroit Tigers
Record: 18-28
Previous Ranking: 30
Movement: Up 6 places - Seattle Mariners
Record: 21-26
Previous Ranking: 17
Movement: Down 8 places - Minnesota Twins
Record: 17-29
Previous Ranking: 26
Movement: Up 3 places - Colorado Rockies
Record: 18-29
Previous Ranking: 28
Movement: Up 1 place - Pittsburgh Pirates
Record: 18-28
Previous Ranking: 27
Movement: Down 1 place - Arizona Diamondbacks
Record: 18-30
Previous Ranking: 24
Movement: Down 5 places - Baltimore Orioles
Record: 17-29
Previous Ranking: 26
Movement: Down 4 places
The biggest movers this week were the LA Dodgers who have returned to form, climbing 7 places in the Power Rankings, and the Seattle Mariners who drop 8 places with a poor run of form.
It seems the Dodgers, despite starting the season well, slipped to a run of games where they were 5-15. They just couldn’t do anything right, and it seemed as though their hopes of retaining their title was off. But having re-discovered their form from last season, they are now 11-1 on their current run and have the second -best run differential in Baseball.
As for the Mariners, it has been a miserable time for their fans. They’re currently on a six-game losing streak, and in that time were outscored by 36 runs. They were never favoriting at the start of the season anyway, but they’re normally much better than this. And if they don’t stop the leak of runs any time soon, they’ll end up at the bottom of the Power Rankings pretty soon.
Still, neither of these teams were top this week, instead it was the San Diego Padres who claimed the number one spot. And as one of the Dodgers main rivals for the World Series this season, that is something that was to be expected. What may not have been expected though is for them to be on a winning streak that now stretches to nine games, having won 12 of their last 13 played. And a large part of that is down to some sensational performances from Fernando Tatis Jr. who has been showing off his Baseball skills.
Who will be top next week? Who knows? At the moment the season is unpredictable. No one expected the Dodgers to go on such a bad run. And no one could’ve predicted the form of Vlad Guerrero Jr. Could he help his team climb the rankings? If he keeps this up then it’s likely, but whether he can carry them to a World Series is another thing all together.
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