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The 2020 NPB Season is more than a month in, passing the quarter mark with fans returning in July. While lots of action has happened, several teams have taken some leaps and others fell. Here are the power rankings through the month of July.
As a reminder, power rankings are not truly based on win and loss record, that's what standings are for. Records are reflecting of games played through August 2.
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1. [=] Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (22-15-1)
/The Hawks retain the top spot after a slow beginning. Best thing? They did it with Kodai Senga not playing the first week and without Yurisbel Gracial and Alfredo Despaigne as they started the year stuck in Cuba. Both players will be back when ready as they were cleared weeks ago. Other players like Ryoya Kurihara are getting valuable playing time for the long run. Expect the defending champions to only get better.
Their only question is now COVID-19 related, as a Yuya Hasegawa (who was on the farm since early July) tested positive and forced the entire team to be tested. After some results, only one ichi-gun staff member had it and it's uncertain who will allow games or not.
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2. [^] (4) Rakuten Eagles (20-17-1)
The Eagles offense is the best in the league with the help of Hideto Asamura. Offensively, everything has gone right for them with Eigoro Mogi looking solid while new addition Daichi Suzuki and Stefen Romero both being huge. Pitching is decent, but for now, no one is stopping their offense.
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3. [=] Yomiuri Giants (22-12-2)
The Giants appear like they can go on cruise control to the Central League. Tomoyuki Sugano will likely win the CL Pitcher of the month award with a great performance. More amazing? Hayato Sakamoto isn't tearing it up, but the Kyojin don't need him to be with others like Kazuma Okamoto and recent addition Zelous Wheeler doing well.
Statistically, they're the best offense and defensive team in the league, but the numbers feel inflated due to the Central being watered down. They cannot be first based on their competition.
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4. [^] (12) Yakult Swallows (17-15-5)
The Swallows have overachieved up to this point as they're competitive. A big reason for this beyond the usual suspects? Munetaka Murakami and Kotaro Yamasaki are producing on offense. Albert Suarez has been walking hitters and his ERA isn't as reflective of how performance, but the starting pitching is average as a whole. The downfall will be their bullpen as this run doesn't look sustainable for a 120 game season.
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5. [=] Hanshin Tigers (17-17-2)
To the Tigers credit, they came off an ugly start only to get back to being above .500 at one point. Their winning is reflective of Justin Bour and Jerry Sands up to this point, as both guys didn't do much in the beginning, but have torn it up recently. Starting pitching appears to be solid too, but the bullpen has its question marks as Kyuji Fujikawa even spent time away from the ichi-gun.
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6. [v] (2) Saitama Seibu Lions (17-18-1)
The Lions aren't flashy by any means, but they're also right in the middle when they're not playing the Softbank Hawks. Offense is flawed and starting pitching has issues, but the bullpen becomes a large strength with Kaima Taira, Reed Garrett and Tatsushi Masuda taking the high leverage innings. Even with the offensive struggles, there's talent to get better through the 1/4 mark.
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7. [^] (8) Chiba Lotte Marines (19-19)
The Marines had a red hot start at beginning 8-1, however, they've been 11-18 since pulling off a 6-game sweep of Orix. Atsuki Taneichi looks to be the ace of the future, but the veterans Ayumu Ishikawa and Minabu Mima haven't helped as much as they could. This is also a partial transition year with the Marines hoping Hisanori Yasuda emerges as he gets several starts.
They're going to need to play well without Takashi Ogino, who recently injured himself again.While historically injury prone, the Marines were spoiled the last two seasons when he showed his value and he only missed half of 2018 when being hit by a pitch, a freak accident.
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8. [v] (6) Yokohama DeNA Baystars (18-18-2)
Who is this team? An inconsistent one. For several weeks, they had the continuous results of a win followed by a loss, followed by another win. With the continuous .500 ball, they followed it up with a six-game losing streak only to claw back to .500 again with series wins over the Carp and Giants. Manager Alex Ramirez gets the foreign treatment of unfair heat by the media, but he shouldn't be going anywhere, at least not in the short term.
Import signing Tyler Austin looked good until he was hurt while Takayuki Kajitani was hitting again like years of old. Keita Sano and Toshiro Miyazaki are also doing well, but it's the fall of Jose Lopez that stands out offensively. Their biggest downfall to this point is Yasuaki Yamasaki having trouble closing games, possibly not being his year. If anything, the Baystars are getting a steal out of Kentaro Taira, who was once a compensation selection for the loss of Shun Yamaguchi.
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9. [^] (11) Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (17-19-2)
The Fighters have competed after looking like they would lie down, even without Kohei Arihara producing as much as they need. For a rebuilding team, they have to like what they're getting out of Toshihiro Sugiura. Unfortunately, Po-Jung Wang has not lived up to the hype after coming from Taiwan and the offense is still below average as a whole.
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10. [v] (7) Hiroshima Carp (13-19-4)
The Carp are currently in last place in the Central League off percentage points, but the offense is a sign of hope. Who would have thought Shota Dobayashi would be teh batting champion leader up to this point? Otherwise, Seiya Suzuki and the others continue to be a threat when it comes to the bats. Pitching is the painful part, as Kris Johnson was taken off the ichi-gun roster and it's up to Daichi Osera to carry the load. It didn't help that Yusuke Nomura was hurt, but they have to like what they're getting out of rookie Masato Morishita.
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11. [v] (9) Chunichi Dragons (15-21-3)
The Dragons have looked like a last place team through the first month. In short, they lack an ace. However, they haven't been dull with Akira Neo's recent callup and even fifth round high school rookie Yuki Okabayashi as well as Takaya Ishikawa getting playing time. The youth movement is in, but the pitching is forgettable. Right now, Hiroshi Suzuki is on pace to be a bust and the bullpen isn't reliable.
One thing they're likely to win is the trade with Orix last season as Takahiro Matsuba has regained form. If he can stay in the rotation all season, they got a steal.
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12. [v] (10) Orix Buffaloes (14-21-3)
The Buffaloes are sometimes called Buffa-Lows when things go bad. In this case, they've been their own worst enemy when they lost a six-game series to the Chiba Lotte Marines with most of the defeats being decided late. While they've competed in some series against the Rakuten Eagles and Lions, they cancel it all out in the following week and haven't shown they can take the next step if they have momentum.
Starting pitching has lived up to their expectations, but the offense is still a weakness minus Masataka Yoshida. While Kenya Wakatsuki has played well, Adam Jones hasn't made the impact the Buffaloes have hoped for. Will this team continue to go one step forward followed by two steps back? If they limit the mistakes, the pitching has shown they can compete.
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