SEC Baseball Power Rankings Week 7: A stat to change for each team

It’s safe to say that very few people expected Texas A&M and Florida to be 0-6 after two weekends of SEC play. Yes, the league has had plenty of positive surprises, but the struggles of the preseason national No. 1 and another preseason top-10 team draw the headlines.

Obviously, those teams would like to fix those win-loss records, but as we do our weekly round-up of SEC baseball, here’s the rundown on ranking the SEC and a team stat that each squad would like to fix this week.

SEC Baseball Power Rankings Week 7

We’ll start with 16 in our weekly rankings and work our way up to the No. 1 spot:

16. Missouri (9-14, 0-6)

The Tigers remain consistent, but unfortunately, they’re consistent in the wrong direction. The Tigers were swept by a combined 18 runs by a middle of the pack Ole Miss team. The 7.68 team ERA (more than 2.3 runs worse than the 15th team) is one thing that has to be fixed. If not, Missouri will have plenty more 17-10 type games.

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15. Texas A&M (12-12, 0-6)

Yes, we’ve tried to be patient after a slow start. But there’s slow starts and then there’s this. A&M has scored 15 runs in 6 SEC games against a pair of decent, but not overwhelming opponents. A .258 team batting average is the top number to solve. The 15th ranked SEC team is hitting .280. The individual players have plenty of talent, but this offense is just unwatchable right now.

14. South Carolina (17-9, 1-5)

There’s no shame in getting swept at Arkansas. But losing by 10, 9 and 7 runs in the 3 games isn’t a good sign. A .435 team slugging percentage is barely ahead of A&M. Carolina’s the team that’s 15th in batting average too, but the Gamecocks could use more power for certain (25 homers is 14th in the SEC).

13. Mississippi State (16-9, 1-5)

State did pick up a win at Oklahoma and was competitive in all 3 games. A stat for State to fix is the 20 unearned runs that have scored off Bulldog pitchers — that’s second worst in the SEC ahead of only Ole Miss. Mississippi State’s 26 errors are third most in the SEC.

12. Kentucky (15-8, 2-4)

Kentucky has won a game in each of its 2 series, but has also struggled mightily in nonconference play. Kentucky’s 23 homers (15th in the SEC) is a number to fix. Yes, the Wildcats were successful a year ago with small ball. But the pitching and defense isn’t on that level, so the power bats have to come alive.

11. Florida (18-9, 0-6)

Yes, they’re 0-6. But having opened with Tennessee and Georgia, we’ll avoid another A&M style drop for at least one more week. After giving up 40 runs in 3 games against Georgia, pitching is the immediate problem. A 5.36 team ERA is 15th in the league and has to improve.

10. Ole Miss (19-5, 4-2)

The Rebels picked up a sweep of Missouri and are playing relatively well. One thing to fix is better contact hitting. The Rebels are have struck out 214 times, which is 15th in the SEC. With Florida on deck next, the contact hitting gets a shot to improve.

9. Vanderbilt (20-5, 4-2)

The Commodores swept A&M, so their pitching might not be quite as strong as it seemed against the sleepy Aggie bats. Vandy has its own offensive issues. They’re dead last in the SEC in homers, but given their speed, improving on a .284 team batting average (14th in the SEC) is the most immediate need.

8. Auburn (20-5, 4-2)

Auburn took a series win over Kentucky and has quietly kept itself in the upper echelon of SEC standings. For a team with as many close wins as Auburn has, the Tigers need to improve on just 7 saves so far. They’ve won 5 1-run games, if that gives any indication of the way the bullpen flirts with disaster.

7. Oklahoma (20-3, 4-2)

Oklahoma swept Mississippi State to raise above the .500 mark. The Sooners are playing well overall, but could stand to up their power numbers. Oklahoma has just 28 homers this year, which is 13th in the SEC.

6. Alabama (23-3, 4-2)

Yes, Alabama lost a series to Tennessee, so they do drop back into the realm of normal teams. The Tide have had an impressive early season. One of few areas for improvement is control — Alabama’s pitchers have allowed 100 walks, which is third worst in the SEC.

5. LSU (23-3, 4-2)

The Tigers dropped 2 of 3 to Texas. This ranking is less an overreaction to losing a competitive series than highlighting the 4 teams ranked above the Tigers, who have all been amazingly solid. An area to fix is being more efficient in the running game. LSU has been caught stealing 10 times in 31 attempts, so a 67% stole base success rate is the worst in the SEC.

4. Texas (20-3, 5-1)

Texas gets a leap from outlasting LSU for an impressive series win. What could the Horns improve? Patience at the plate, as their 110 walks is next to last in the SEC. A .399 on base percentage ranks 13th.

3. Georgia (25-2, 5-1)

A 40-13 cumulative series win over Florida does nothing to hurt the Bulldogs’ mojo. What can they fix? Consider 123 walks allowed by Georgia pitchers, which is worst in the SEC.

2. Arkansas (23-3, 5-1)

A 35-9 cumulative sweep of South Carolina might not be quite as impressive as Georgia, but it’s a pretty similar statement. There’s not much to fix, but 19 stolen bases ties for last in the SEC. The Hogs don’t have to turn into the 1980s St. Louis Cardinals, but a little more competence in swiping a base wouldn’t hurt.

1. Tennessee (23-2, 5-1)

Tennessee did take a loss at Alabama, but won the series on the road and looked rock steady in doing so. What’s not to like? Tennessee does give up a ton of stolen bases, with 35 successful thefts from opponents being the most in the SEC.

Joe Cox

Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.