SF Giants see massive jump in latest power rankings following strong start

The SF Giants have the best winning percentage (.889) in baseball at the moment. Behind a strong start, they have seen a massive jump in the latest Power Rankings, coming in at No. 8.

SF Giants see massive jump in latest power rankings following strong start

Power rankings are typically a pulse of where the league is at right now. It is not necessarily a ranking of the best teams in baseball, but rather, who is playing the best at a point in time. It is also meant to be a conversation starter, and this one certainly stirred up the conversation among Giants fans.

The Giants have three NL West division rivals ahead of them in the rankings. The first two are not terribly surprisingly with the Los Angeles Dodgers at No. 1 followed by the San Diego Padres at No. 4. However, the 5-5 Arizona Diamondbacks sit one spot ahead of the Giants at No. 7.

The Chicago Cubs also sit ahead of the Giants at No. 6. They have a 7-5 record in the NL Central, which looks like it could be one of the weaker divisions in baseball. Their ranking is likely influenced by the strength of schedule thus far. The Cubs have already played the Dodgers, Padres, and Diamondbacks

With all that being said, the Giants did see a huge jump from last week's rankings, going from No. 21 to No. 8. Will Leitch of MLB.Com expands on the ranking by highlighting unexpected hitting standouts such as Wilmer Flores and the team's clean defense thus far. The Giants have also been more aggressive on the bases to start the year.

Perhaps, another key to the Giants' success has been hitting with runners in scoring position. The two-out hit with runners on base has eluded them in recent seasons. Over the weekend, they notched a handful of two-out, run-scoring hits.

The first was a walk-off hit off the bat of Willy Adames on Friday. Flores followed that up with a walk-off hit on Sunday afternoon. They have just shown a knack for that this year.

So, on one hand, the Giants saw a huge spike in their power rankings. On the other hand, No. 8 feels a tad low for a team playing as well as they have. What do you think? Is the ranking too high? Too low?