Baseball Power Rankings

I figured I would do this once a month. Offord did it for football and I think he tried to do it for baseball last year, but it kind of fell by the wayside. So I will give it a try. Feel free to disagree and argue with any rankings as you see fit.

Oh So Good
1. Tampa Bay Rays
This team has it all: hitting, pitching, speed, power, starters, relievers. My World Series prediction may not be such a pipe dream after all.

2. St. Louis Cardinals
One of the better pitching staffs so far this season. Obviously they have a great lineup, I just wonder if Rasmus can keep up his insane pace. Also I have to wonder if the pitching staff can continue to be as dominant without striking out as many batters. I see them staying up high though, since they play the NL Central teams most of the season.

3. New York Yankees
Seriously, they are the Yankees. What else do I need to say about them?

4. Minnesota Twins
The interesting thing about their pitching so far this season is that it seems to be playing about at the level it could play all season. Some teams (Padres) seem to be pitching out of their minds, and it should catch up to them soon. The Twins do not seem to be one of those teams, which is a good thing for them. Obviously they can hit.

5. San Diego Padres
I predict this team will drop out of the top ten in a short time. They are playing great at home right now. Their pitching is ridiculous, but their hitting is still one of the worst in the league. I mean down there with the Pirates.

6. New York Mets
The hottest team in baseball at the moment, aside from the Rays. Their hitting is finally coming alive and it means they are starting to win games. Pitching has been good like the Twins at a sustainable level.

7. San Francisco Giants
They still have very little offense, but when your pitching staff only gives up 70 runs, you can win some games. The biggest problem they are having right now is winning close games (1-5 in one-run games). Obviously, since I have Matt Cain this year in one of my fantasy leagues.

8. Philadelphia Phillies
I blame them not being in the top three because of Happ. Yep, that is the reason. Also, I love reading all the stuff about Howard's huge contract and how it is such a bad idea. This offense is too good to not win a shit-ton of games.

9. Detroit Tigers
You may be wondering why I have them down here instead of up above the Giants or Phillies. Their hitting is way above where it should be at the moment. Austin Jackson cannot keep up this pace. Unless we are looking at the greatest player of all time (I hope, I have him on one of my fantasy teams). I do believe they are a top ten though, mainly because Justin Verlander will not pitch as badly as he has at the beginning of this season (he started out similarly last season).

Almost There
10. Texas Rangers
They can hit and they can steal. They can also pitch, well not really. Could the AL West be the new AL Central? Meaning: the team that wins barely breaks .500...

11. Toronto Blue Jays
Now we get into all the teams with so-so records. The Jays started hot, but things are starting to even out. Their pitching is decent and in any other division they would probably be in first place.

12. Colorado Rockies
Yes they have a losing record, but their expected W-L is 15-10. It seems to me they are just not getting some things to fall their way. Also, have they not started out bad before and then won like 20 games in a row or something to win the division or the wild card?

13. Chicago Cubs
Average age of this team is around 102 or something. Just kidding, not that old. Who knows though, maybe Gorzo is the answer...

14. Oakland Athletics
Good young pitching. Where the hell does Beane find them? He should look for some hitting though. Not so good in that department.

15. Florida Marlins
As usual they defy reason.

Ugghhhhhh
16. Washington Nationals
Somehow they keep winning games. Although, I am sure Capps will start blowing games soon. It is an inevitability.

17. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, or whatever they are called
Hitting has been decent, but the pitching has been pretty bad.

18. Arizona Diamondbacks
One of the best hitting teams in baseball right now. Also one of the worst pitching teams. Haren should be able to start dominating and maybe Edwin Jackson can maybe give up less than six or seven runs a start and the D-backs will have a chance to climb.

19. Cincinnati Reds
Whatever. How are they doing well, yet got swept by the Pirates? Weird.

20. Boston Red Sox
Obviously they should be better than this, or should they? I wonder if they are hoping to see the Padres collapse so they can try for Adrian Gonzalez?

21. Atlanta Braves
They have Jason Heyward. Also, the best last place team in baseball?

22. Los Angeles Dodgers
Or should that honor go to the Dodgers? I bet Andre Ethier wishes he could play the Pirates all season...

23. Cleveland Indians
Maybe Jobu needs a refill...

24. Seattle Mariners
Not really that bad of a team. But, who knows if they will be any good in the coming months.

25. Milwaukee Brewers
I wanted to put them further down, their expected W-L is boosted by the games against the Pirates, unfortunately that does not mean you can exclude. They have no real pitching aside from Gallardo. They do have a few good hitters though, I think their names are Rickie Weeks and Alcides Escobar...

26. Kansas City Royals
They were hitting way above their true ability, but that is starting to fall back to earth.

27. Chicago White Sox
Haha, I think someone said they had the best rotation in baseball? Peavy has been great so far...also, I believe they have the lowest batting average, which could change.

OH MY GOD THE HORROR!!
28. Pittsburgh Pirates
They have the worst expected W-L record in all of baseball (5-20). They are 5-1 in one-run games, which is funny since a few years ago they were like 1-15 in those situations. Win close, or lose very big...great.

29. Baltimore Orioles
I realize that before they won three games in a row, they only had four wins, but they should not be this bad. They could move up, all the way to like 25...

30. Houston Astros
Wow, they are a shitty team. They are at the bottom of almost every category. Unfortunately they swept the Pirates this about a week ago...but screw them they are going to the bottom.

Obviously this will change dramatically in one month...well maybe not the bottom.