MLB Power Rankings - June 22: Stingy Pirates grab No. 2 spot; Mets sink to No. 16

1. St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals' success in recent years makes much more sense following last week's shocking revelation that the FBI and Justice Department are investigating the organization for allegedly hacking into the Houston Astros' internal network. How, for instance, does their rotation own a 2.99 ERA in June? Hacking. How does Jhonny Peralta have an .874 OPS? Hacking. How did Yadier Molina lose all that weight this offseason? Hacking.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates

After recording five shutouts in a six-game span last week - the fifth team in history to accomplish such a feat - the Pirates' rotation boasts a sterling 2.81 ERA with a 3.47 strikeout-to-walk ratio this month. Their knack for inducing weak contact is virtually unparalleled this season, as they rank second in baseball in both ground-ball rate (53.1 percent) and HR/9 (0.62).

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

Apparently, the Dodgers didn't get the memo that their rotation was supposed to struggle in the absence of Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy. Over the last four weeks, the club's rotation owns a 3.38 ERA with a 21.2 percent strikeout rate, the sixth-best mark in the National League over that span.

4. Houston Astros

Carlos Correa - he of the .863 OPS - became the third-youngest player since 1900 to steal three bases in a game when he ran rampant against the Cleveland Indians on Thursday. Only Rickey Henderson* and Ty Cobb* accomplished the feat at a younger age.
*denotes Hall of Fame member

5. Kansas City Royals

What the Royals lack in thump - they're currently tied for fourth-last in the AL with a .137 isolated power - they make up for in shrewd baserunning. Only one team, after all, has done a better job taking an extra 90 feet on the basepaths than the Royals, who have advanced two bases on a single or scored from first on a double 47 percent of the time thus far.

6. Tampa Bay Rays

In case you needed more proof that Tampa Bay can literally turn any unheralded minor-leaguer and/or platoon player into a regular contributor, Joey Butler, David DeJesus, Logan Forsythe, Steven Souza, and Brandon Guyer all boast a better wRC+ than Evan Longoria this season.

7. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs' prospects are better than your team's prospects. Kyle Schwarber, for instance, hit .364/.391/.591 with a homer and a triple whilst serving as the club's designated hitter for their five-game interleague stretch last week. He was optioned back to Iowa on Sunday, though, because the Cubs are so good they don't have a spot for him.

8. Washington Nationals

If there was any doubt as to who is the best pitcher in Washington's rotation, Max Scherzer has all but eradicated it. No qualified starter boasts a better ERA (1.76) or more WAR (4.0) than Scherzer, who came within inches of a perfect game Saturday while also becoming the fifth pitcher ever to allow one hit or fewer in consecutive complete games.

9. New York Yankees

Even though most guys in the Yankees' clubhouse eat dinner at 5:15 pm, the club's lineup has proven amazingly potent in 2015. Buoyed by an increasingly decorated Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees own the third-best wRC+ (107) in baseball this season while trailing only the Houston Astros for the MLB lead in homers.

10. Toronto Blue Jays

Close games continue to be an issue for the Blue Jays, who rank third-last in the American League with 10 meltdowns in June despite enjoying an 11-game winning streak earlier this month. Brett Cecil has been a huge part of Toronto's problem lately, managing a 15.88 ERA with a pair of losses over his last six appearances.

11. San Francisco Giants

Who needs Hunter Pence? Of the seven players with at least 200 plate appearances for the Giants this season, all but one boast a wRC+ greater than 121 thus far. That contingent, by the way, includes household names like Joe Panik (.304/.374/.459) and Matt Duffy (.290/.340/.435).

12. Texas Rangers

The Rangers have lost consecutive games just twice this month, but it's only a matter of time before regression strikes. No rotation in baseball boasts a more favorable discrepancy between its ERA (3.57) and fielding independent pitching (4.07) than Texas, who also own the second-lowest HR/FB rate in the American League despite playing in a stadium that encourages home runs.

13. Baltimore Orioles

Despite undergoing two major knee operations in the last 20 months, Manny Machado once again looks like the burgeoning star who earned an All-Star berth back in 2013. Frankly, he looks better. Through 69 games thus far, the 22-year-old boasts career-highs in OPS (.882), isolated power (.217), walk rate (8.8 percent), and stolen bases (11).

14. Minnesota Twins

Joe Mauer's meager .654 OPS since the beginning of June is disappointing. The really alarming part, however, is that the 32-year-old has actually performed better at the plate than five of his teammates over that span (min. 30 PA).

15. Detroit Tigers

Death, taxes, and the Tigers' ineffective bullpen. Since the beginning of June, the club's much-maligned relief corps owns a disastrous 5.85 ERA with a 1.74 WHIP while surrendering an eye-popping nine home runs in just 47 2/3 innings.

16. New York Mets

Absent both Daniel Murphy and David Wright, it's getting increasingly difficult to identify the good hitters in New York's lineup. Over the last two weeks, for instance, the Mets rank dead last in the National League with a .220 batting average, while scoring more than five runs just once in their last 13 games.

17. Los Angeles Angels

Not to be alarmist, but there might be something wrong with Mike Trout. Sure, he's hitting .323/.389/.516 over his last nine games, but he hasn't hit a home run or stolen a base over that span. Is it too early to call him a bust?

18. Atlanta Braves

A sore wrist kept Freddie Freeman out of the lineup all weekend, effectively incapacitating one of Atlanta's few threats to hit the ball over the fence. Amazingly, the Braves have hit just four home runs over the last two weeks, the lowest mark in baseball over that span. Freeman, by the way, was responsible for two of them.

19. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks shipped their top pick in last year's draft, 19-year-old right-hander Touki Toussaint, to Atlanta on Saturday in order to rid themselves of the roughly $10.1 million remaining on Bronson Arroyo's contract. Apparently, after watching his club's rotation author a 110 ERA- this season, Dave Stewart felt he didn't need any high-upside pitching talent in his organization.

20. San Diego Padres

It remains to be seen if Pat Murphy, unlike recently discarded manager Bud Black, can find a way to jump-start a miserable offense hitting just .239/.294/.362 with the worst strikeout rate in the NL (24.1 percent) over the last month. (Spoiler: He can't, and neither could Black, because managers don't play).

21. Cincinnati Reds

Jay Bruce deserves credit for turning himself back into something of a desirable commodity, managing a .950 OPS with six homers and nine doubles over his last 32 games after hitting just .162/.272/.333 through his first 34 contests.

22. Cleveland Indians

Remember how Michael Brantley finished third in MVP voting last season? Do you recall Yan Gomes earning a Silver Slugger award last summer? The former is hitting .264 with no home runs in his last 32 games while the latter owns a .560 OPS since coming off the disabled list May 24.

23. Seattle Mariners

Over nearly two decades with the Seattle Mariners, Edgar Martinez hit .312/.418/.515 with 309 home runs and a 147 OPS+, emerging as the platonic ideal of a designated hitter. It'll be more impressive, however, if he does something to bolster the current Mariners' offense, taking over Saturday as hitting coach for a team with a .669 OPS in 2015.

24. Colorado Rockies

Chad Bettis, who opened the season in Triple-A, owns a 3.44 ERA (3.60 xFIP) over eight starts for the Rockies this season, and is quickly emerging as Colorado's best pitcher. Then again, being the best starter on the Rockies is like being the toughest kid at a spelling bee.

25. Boston Red Sox

The ignominy refuses to relent for the Red Sox, who benched Pablo Sandoval for a game last week after he was caught cruising Instagram during a game. The Red Sox are crazy fortunate, though, that nobody has noticed how Sandoval has liked every photo from the San Francisco Giants' account for the last two months.

26. Oakland Athletics

Billy Beane must be thrilled that two of his best trade assets are heating up as the July 31 deadline nears. Over his last 13 games, Ben Zobrist owns a .961 OPS with seven extra-base hits while Tyler Clippard boasts a 1.50 ERA with an 8:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last five appearances.

27. Chicago White Sox

Eleven players have received at least 100 plate appearances for the White Sox this season. Only one of them, Jose Abreu, has created runs at an above-average rate. That should help illuminate why the White Sox have plated more than four runs in a game just twice in 19 contests this month.

28. Miami Marlins

Why have almost two-thirds of Giancarlo Stanton's home runs come with the bases empty this season? Maybe because the club's vaunted leadoff man doesn't know how to take a pitch. Amazingly, Dee Gordon hasn't drawn a walk since May 24, managing a slightly-above-average .324 OBP throughout that 25-game stretch.

29. Milwaukee Brewers

Even if Doug Melvin can't find an amenable deal for Carlos Gomez, the Brewers still have several compelling trade chips in their bullpen. Francisco Rodriguez, for instance, owns a 1.08 ERA with a 31.9-percent strikeout rate, his best mark since 2006. Opponents are hitting just .167 off Michael Blazek, meanwhile, and have yet to take him deep this season. Will Smith has allowed one run since May 12.

30. Philadelphia Phillies

Ruben Amaro Jr. held an impromptu media session Wednesday after watching his club stumble to an eighth consecutive loss, the maligned executive praising his team for "battling pretty well," while throwing his support behind manager Ryne Sandberg. After the session, however, Amaro quickly added "proficient public speaker" to his resume and handed out copies to everyone in sight.