2020 NPB Power Rankings: September Edition

 The 2020 NPB season passed its halfway point. With plenty of storylines ahead, it's time for another edition of power rankings of games through the month of August. 

A reminder that power rankings are not reflective of win and loss record.  

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1. [=] Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 37-23-2 (16-8-1 in August)

The defending champions retain the top spot with Yuki Yanagita having an MVP season with Yurisbel Gracial returning to the team. What's even better? Kodai Senga hasn't needed to carry the rotation with others stepping it up. This team should continue their winning ways with minimal flaws. They're also milking out Tsuyoshi Wada with a solid season from him and Shuta Ishikawa rebounding frmo 2019. Nobody has it better than the Hawks. 

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2. [^] (3) Yomiuri Giants 35-21-3 (14-10-1 in August)

The Giants have had no trouble on offense and others improving without Hayato Sakamoto needed has made a difference. Zelous Wheeler was a steal of a trade from the Rakuten Eagles while Tomoyuki Sugano is on pace for a Sawamura Award. Quietly, Shosei Togo is playing well for their rotation too. Who would have thought Hiroyuki Nakajima Only problem? Their competition is the Central League. Are these numbers all a farce against a watered down league? 

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3. [^] (7) Chiba Lotte Marines 34-26-2 (16-8-2 in August)

The Marines take a leap after a strong effort from winning. However, their pitching is a concern with several starters giving up runs. What's also deceiving in their record is how they're 12-2-1 against the Orix Buffaloes while a combined 22-24-1 against everyone else in the Pacific League. This ranking is tentative, but the breaks have gone their way up to this point. What's been key is the power from Leonys Martin and Seiya Inoue, but their run differential is currently (-14). They'll still compete for a possible 2nd place postseason spot, but the Marines have their flaws from the rotation. 

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4. [^] (8) Yokohama DeNA Baystars 31-28-3 (14-11-1 in August)

The Baystars remain inconsistent, but finished with the second best record in the Central League overall and for the month. Keita Sano has been on a tear and the starting pitching has shown they can win games. Offense as a whole is still a question mark, but right now, they're the closest answer to the Giants in the Central League race, emerging from the pack. 

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5. [v] (2) Rakuten Eagles 31-28-3 (12-12-2 in August)

A .500 month for the Eagles has shown they're human. After the first month of the year, they looked like they can hang with the Softbank Hawks with their offense, but the close games have resulted in losses more times than not. Pitching is suspect, but the main bullpen arms have shown they can close the deal. If anything, the Eagles offense shows they can't be written off in a game. 

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6. [^] (9) Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 29-30-3 (13-11-1 in August)

The Fighters take a leap and even had a day above .500 in a small surge. Drew VerHagen looks to be a solid import pitcher while Naoyuki Uwasawa's return and the emergence of Toshihiro Sugiura have carried the rotation. However, the bullpen is still a weakness. On offense, Haruki Nishikawa is playing like he wants to be posted and Sho Nakata is providing the needed power. Kensuke Kondo can still hit for average, but there are still holes in the lineup. If anything, the Fighters have overachieved up to this point for a rebuilding group and it's good in the long run that guys like Ryusei Kawano are getting reps. 

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7. [v] (5)  Hanshin Tigers 29-28-3 (13-12-1 in August)

The Tigers get a notch down in these rankings for being in the Central League compared to what the Fighters accomplished this month. Their biggest kryptonite is thee Yomiuri Giants, where they have a 2-8 record against them and were shutout for three consecutive games during a series in Tokyo Dome this month. 

Pitching is promising while the hitting has taken a large step forward with foreign imports Jerry Sands and Justin Bour continuing to be on a tear with the former being clutch. Adding to Bour and Sands is Yusuke Ohyama having at least 10 home runs, where power is something that Tiger teams of the past have lacked. 

What's drawing them back besides the Giants is their defense, where the errors pile up. There's no way this team comes in first behind some of these guys in the field. Things look bright for 2021, but they continue to be second fiddle to the Kyojin, which has been majority of the rivalry's history. 

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8. [^] (11) Chunichi Dragons 27-32-4 (13-11-2 in August)

The Dragons had a productive month moving up to fourth place in the Central League. Yudai Ono, who is currently in a contract year, continues to perform as the ace. Players are getting their feet wet and they have an intriguing amount of imports including recent Cuban addition Yariel Rodrguez. This isn't the year to win, but it could be the last rebuilding one for a team that has the longest A-class drought in NPB. Also, how about Koji Fukutani acting as a secret weapon in the rotation? 

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9. [^] (10) Hiroshima Carp 24-30-6 (12-12-2 in August)

The Carp are still finding issues with their pitching staff, but Seiya Suzuki continues to carry the squad. Manager Shinji Sasaoka is experimenting left and right with pitching decisions and even base stealing. If anything, rookie Masato Morishita looks like an ace of the future and his presence prevents the pitching staff from being unwatchable. 

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10. [v] (6) Saitama Seibu Lions 26-32-2 (9-15-1 in August)

The Lions bats continue to be poor and nothing is going right to click for wins. On some days it's the bullpen that goes wrong, others it's the offense and on other occasions, it's the starting pitcher. This team has been spot starting and bullpening their way through games while having a below average offense. Takumi Kuriyama is the only consistent hitter in the lineup, which isn't good for the core players. Reed Garrett looked invincible a month ago, but now he's struggling. They're going to need to turn things around quickly if they want any chance at the postseason. 

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11. [v] (4) Yakult Swallows 24-31-5 (7-17-1 in August)

The Swallows just snapped a five game skid to end a disastrous month. However, there was one bright spot in all of this: Yasuhiro Ogawa's no-hitter against the Baystars being one of seven wins. Munetaka Murakami will likely take the reins next year as the countdown to Tetsuto Yamada's time in the Swallows uniform dwindles. Reality hit the Swallows hard this month as the bullpen and starters aren't good enough. Did we forget to mention Ogawa is also in a contract year? 

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12. [=] Orix Buffaloes 20-38-4 (6-18-1 in August)

How low can you go? The Buffaloes hit a new BuffaLow moment when skipper Norifumi Nishimura resigned when the team went 1-11 in their last 12 games up to that point. Satoshi Nakajima was promoted from farm manager and won his first three games, but the team was hit with reality the following week when they went 1-5 combined against the Hawks and Marines.

Offensively, this team will go as far as Adam Jones and Masataka Yoshida can take them. Jones will cross the 2,000 MLB and NPB combined hit career mark this month which will receive applause and something to market. However, the offense still has holes and liabilities in the lineup and it doesn't appear to get better. 

Pitching is still solid in both the rotation and main bullpen as Tyler Higgins looks like a great pickup. Orix continues to be their own worst enemy when lacking attention to detail. Maybe Nakajima limits these issues as promoting the farm manager is the logical thing to do. 

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