FanPost

MLB Power Rankings, Week One

I post power rankings every week (in theory anyway, it's more like "whenever I feel like it) over at another message board because I usually hate the ESPN ones.  Anyway, I thought I'd share them with the HH crowd from time to time (most likely not every week) for you guys to see.  Feel free to post your own in here, as well.  Here they are (based partially off expectations, with some weight given to performance thus far):

  1. Los Angeles Angels (5-1): OMG BIASED TOP PICK! Their rotation has been shut-down brilliant thus far, without Colon or Weaver, their defense is twice as good as last year, and Matthews is getting on base for Vlad to be Vlad. Anderson hasn't looked this lively since '03. Bullpen is, and will be, lights-out.
  2. New York Yankees (2-2): They've looked very mediocre to start the season. Bats are there one minute, gone the next. Their rotation was suspect going into the season, and it still is as such. Rankings based on this fact: gap between Angels' pitching and Yanks' pitching is far greater than the gap between Angels' hitting and Yanks' hitting, thus far. Not a good debut for Igawa.
  3. Cleveland Indians (2-1): The offense is status quo right now, and so is the pitching. Too bad only one of those things is actually a good thing. This coming stretch should be brutal if they get forced into playing make-up games. Also cheated out of a win so far (albeit, no loss given yet either), which could be tough in a potentially tight division.
  4. New York Mets (4-1): Their offense is doing exactly what it's supposed to do thus far, and that's with Carlos Delgado's bat asleep on the job. And their rotation? So far, so good. They still have to be the class of the N.L., especially with Philly off to such a poor start.
  5. Detroit Tigers (2-2): I only want to put them up here because of last year's performance, but I'm not sold on them by a long shot. Their pitching hasn't quite been there so far, but their bats haven't jumped alive yet either. And this is a division where you're going to need consistency out of both all year to compete.
  6. Boston Red Sox (2-3): They should be somewhere lower based on their miserable start against one terrible team, and one mediocre team. The offense is atrocious, so at least that can be counted on to bounce back. Dice-K was shut-down in his first start, their defense is rock solid, and they don't give teams extra runs or chances.
  7. Atlanta Braves (4-1): Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann, Chipper and Andruw Jones, and Edgar Renteria are a pretty solid force for a lineup, but so far the pitching staff has been a little wild, and inconsistent. If they can mature some over the season, they could put in a good run for a wild card spot this year.
  8. Minnesota Twins (3-1): I don't want to discount them entirely based on their piss-poor rotation, but this is about as high as they will get ranked all year. I don't expect the rotation to be this good for very long, and once it cracks, its offense is going to have to be very good to compete in this division. It's going to have to be better than it is...which is alot to ask.
  9. Arizona Diamondbacks (4-2): They've found some ways to score runs so far, which is what can be expected of their young talent if it produces as well as it can. When Quentin comes back, they should get even better. Randy Johnson, back in the NL, could produce some results once he's back in an already decent rotation.
  10. Los Angeles Dodgers (3-2): Their decent start has been helped by facing the Giants early, but their rotation is quite simply the best in the NL West. I'm just not sold quite yet on who is going to be the start-to-finish bat to carry them throughout the season, but the lineup is a nice mix of veterans and youth.
  11. Chicago Cubs (3-2): This offense can score some runs if everyone stays together for the season. Their rotation looks like it can hold itself together to allow slightly fewer runs than they score, especially against an anemic division.
  12. Toronto Blue Jays (2-2): Their offense is hammering away right now, but they'll need an effective (not just Healthy) Burnett to go with Halladay if they want to contend all year. Their bullpen with Ryan and Frasor looks set for the season, even if they will miss Speier.
  13. Oakland Athletics (2-4): They're off to a slow start, but they're more notorious for hot finishes anyway. The offense they've been marching out from day to day so far looks pretty poor for a division contender, and their rotation beyond Harden and Haren looks fairly mediocre. Blanton throws pitches fatter than himself, and if he does that all year, this could be the year the regular season magic stops in Oakland.
  14. Philadelphia Phillies (1-4): This is a bad division to start 1-4 in (if there is such thing as a good division to make such a start). Brett Myers and Cole Hamels make up a solid rotation, and their infield's offense is possibly the best in the majors. Fortunately for them, they haven't been beaten that badly thus far.
  15. Chicago White Sox (2-2): Their rotation is just down right awful right now (Vazqeuz provided a bright spot, however), and no one should be that terribly surprised. Their bats should turn it around and make this team competitive for a while, but if their pitching is not addressed, the A.L. Central will not be forgiving to them.
  16. San Diego Padres (3-2): I like their rotation, especially with Peavy returning to ace form. This team could easily challenge for the division if their bats stay alive enough to score 4-5 runs a game, which shouldn't be too much to ask.
  17. Milwaukee Brewers (2-3): They're more than a dark horse to win the division, but even division winners in the N.L. Central are ugly looking teams. Ben Sheets' opening day start was a sign of hope for the team, and guys like Fielder, Weeks, and Hall could provide some solid offensive contributions.
  18. St. Louis Cardinals (1-4): Possibly the worst World Series winner in baseball history is off to a terrible start, and it's not shocking in the least. Their rotation after Carpenter is a wash of who's who of "who?", and their hitting is basically the same thing after Pujols and Rolen. I see potential in the rotation, and the same with the hitters, but it's not high-ceiling stuff. That said, it's the N.L. Central, so God only knows what will happen.
  19. Seattle Mariners (2-1): I like them as dark, dark horses for the wild card, but nothing more. They're lucky to not have picked up a loss at Cleveland on Friday, and they'll need luck all season to get anywhere. Felix Hernandez looked spectacular in his first start, and that should bring hope to a team that will rely heavily on a talent-rich, but underproducing offense.
  20. Florida Marlins (3-2): They could be a wild card contender this year if their talent matures from what it was in 2006. Or it could settle down, and the team could as well. I see them contending into late August, before settling down to be a .500 or so team. That rotation could be potentially dominant, however.
  21. Texas Rangers (2-3): The team with the management that just doesn't learn. How many years in a row can a team rely on its offense to overcome the shortcomings of its pitching staff? Go out and get an ace for your staff, and do it now. Oh, but Kinsler is looking pretty awesome.
  22. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2-2): It's kind of sad, really. A team with so much young talent, and it will never be able to match up with the Yankees and Sox. Scott Kazmir, Delmon Young, Akinori Iwamura, B.J. Upton, Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, Elijah Dukes...all going to waste on a team in a position to go nowhere better than 4th place.
  23. Cincinnati Reds (4-1): Someone should want to kill me for putting a team with such a hot start down this low, but I just don't like what I see for whatever reason. I think the Harang/Arroyo duo is grossly overstated, and the rest of their rotation leaves something to be desired. I say bring in Homer Bailey now, and see if this mediocre offense can score enough runs to give him some wins towards a Rookie of the Year resume.
  24. Pittsburgh Pirates (3-2): I want to keep them out of the bottom five for now, mainly because of their potential to succeed. Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche is good middle of the order punch, and Ian Snell, Paul Maholm, and Zach Duke could provide a few surprises in the rotation.
  25. Houston Astros (1-4): Carlos Lee is off to a slow start, and needs to pick things up in a lineup that already lacks a threat beyond Lance Berkman. The ace-hitter, ace-pitcher duo of Berkman and Oswalt actually reminds me of a poor man's Cardinals' duo of Pujols and Carpenter. The Cardinals are a team you shouldn't be modeling your "poor man's" team off of.
  26. Baltimore Orioles (1-4): Blah blah blah young talent blah blah blah. They've got Nick Markakis, Erik Bedard, Chris Ray, and Miguel Tejada to carry the team this year. That won't be enough top match up with teams in the N.L. West, let alone the A.L. East.
  27. San Francisco Giants (1-4): Who the hell on this team can hit besides Bonds? They have virtually no offense, but their rotation could be quite good this year if Zito steps it up and produces alongside Cain and Lowry. But I just don't see them going anywhere this year.
  28. Colorado Rockies (3-2): They'll probably stay productive for a while, then crash and burn before settling down into last place all over again. Holliday and Atkins can hit, but so can anyone in Colorado. Ask their poor pitching staff, they know that pretty well. It's gonna be another wasted year in the thin air.
  29. Kansas City Royals (2-3): I don't expect them to be 100-loss-bad this year, but they're still something of a wreck. They took it to Boston in the opener, then fell flat. Once Alex Gordon adjusts to this new level, they could be a 70 win team this year. Modest, but certainly an improvement.
  30. Washington Nationals (1-5): You hear some pundits saying that a new stadium will invigorate them in a couple years, but you can't invigorate them into producing when they have nothing to produce with. Beyond Zimmerman, their best player is probably their closer, Chad Cordero. Not a good place to be in when they'll rarely have anything to close out.

This FanPost is authored by an independent fan. Tell us what you think and how you feel.

Trending Discussions