By Darryl Reina
In the wake of Monday's trade deadline, it's now officially a race to the wire. It just might come down to one of our Top 25 player's making the difference. The Yankees brought in Bobby Abreu (HM), and the Dodgers adding some class by trading for veteran Greg Maddux. Both Alfonso Soriano (#3) and Miquel Tejada (#11) were rumored to be moving in major deals, but nothing happened. Take a look at this week's RealGM.com Player Rankings.
This Week (Last Week)
1.(1.) David Ortiz: Since joining the Red Sox he's hitting over .500 in walk-off situations. He has raised his season average to .292, and leads MLB with 37 HR's and 105 RBI's. Ortiz is my leading candidate for MVP.
2.(2.) Albert Pujols: Despite inconsistent play from the Cardinals this last week (losing 5 straight), Pujols is still hitting at a .321 clip.
3.(6.) Alfonso Soriano: Soriano was one of the biggest names not dealt this week. It was the "best trade" the Nationals didn't make. He has 34 HR's and is raising his batting average (.287).
4.(5.) Derek Jeter: Jeter raised his average to .354 this week with the Yankees and Red Sox in a virtual tie for the AL-East lead.
5.(4.) Ichiro Suzuki: The Mariners remain in the AL-West race with Ichiro hitting .342.
6.(7.) Miguel Cabrera: Cabrera remains consistent at the plate for the Marlins (.326).
7.(9.) Roy Halliday: The Blue Jays ace hurler improved his record to 13-2 this week.
8.(HM) Ryan Howard: Howard is putting up some impressive stats for the Phillies (35 HR's, 87 RBI's). We welcome Howard to our Top 10.
9.(3.) Joe Mauer: Maurer's average has dropped to a still solid .368. The Twins will need him and their young pitching staff to produce down the stretch.
10.(HM) Carlos Beltran: Beltran has an outstanding July and now has 32 HR's, 94 RBI's for the first place Mets. Is he primed for another productive play-off run? Another new member of our Top 10.
11.(15.) Miquel Tejada
12.(11.) David Wright
13.(8.) Francisco Liriano
14.(19.) Manny Ramirez
15.(10.) Brandon Webb
16.(18.) Vladamir Guerrero
17.(HM) Freddy Sanchez
18.(HM) Chase Utley
19.(14.) Jonathan Papelbon
20.(21.) Vernon Wells
21.(HM) Gary Matthews, Jr.
22.(HM) Carlos Zambrano
23.(20.) Mariano Rivera
24.(HM) Josh Beckett
25.(HM) Alex Rodriquez
Honorable Mention: Barry Zito, Aramis Ramirez, Lance Berkman, Victor Martinez, Ivan Rodriquez, Curt Schilling, Nomar Garciaparra, Justin Moreau, Scott Rolen, Tom Glavine, Mike Mussina, Jermaine Dye, Magglio Ordonez, Brian McCann, Edgar Renteria, Carl Crawford, Jason Bay, Jose Reyes, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Casey Blake, Grady Sizemore, Carlos Lee, Tom Gordon, Jason Isringhausen, Bobby Abreu, Jeremy Boderman, Trevor Hoffman, Matt Holiday, Paul Konerko, Jose Contreras, Chris Carpenter, Jim Thome, Johan Santana, Michael Young, Pedro Martinez, Milton Bradley, John Lackey, Ryan Zimmerman, and Michael Barrett






