During the two years that I have published MLB Power Rankings, the bi-weekly list has been a fan favorite amongst my readers. Apparently, something about the ranking of teams based on which teams are hot and which teams are cold gets everyone excited.
It’s back again for 2013, although a little earlier than last year. Think of it as an apology for not releasing predictions for the league prior to the season beginning.
In case you are new to the site, here is the rundown: I rank the teams 1-30 based on recent play and overall standings. A team’s last 10 games are particularly important in the final ranking a team receives.
Just a few weeks in, here are the first rankings of the season.
1. Atlanta Braves- The Braves have been getting it done with pitching (and Justin Upton), but imagine how scary this team could be if Jason Heyward’s bat comes alive once he comes off the DL…
2. Texas Rangers
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Colorado Rockies- It’s early, but the team has to be happy with the performance at the plate so far. The Rockies lead the league in batting average and are second in runs scored.
5. St. Louis Cardinals
6. Pittsburgh Pirates- The pitching rotation has looked solid so far, and Andrew McCutchen is in a bit of a slump. Sounds a lot like Atlanta’s situation, only no one knows whether Pittsburgh can keep it up past July.
7. San Francisco Giants
8. Oakland Athletics
9. Baltimore Orioles
10. Cincinnati Reds- Based on what we’ve seen so far, it looks like it’s going to be another year of streakiness in Cincinnati.
11. Kansas City Royals- Right now, Kansas City is doing everything well. It remains to be seen whether the pitching will become an issue, but the Royals are a fun team to watch for the first time since the early 1990s.
12. Arizona Diamondbacks
13. Milwaukee Brewers- The hottest team in baseball is fourth in their division. The NL Central is going to be interesting this year…
14. New York Yankees
15. Minnesota Twins
16. Tampa Bay Rays
17. New York Mets
18. Detroit Tigers- Apparently, when you’re the overwhelming favorite to win a division, runs are easy enough to come by that you don’t need to worry much about missed opportunities…
19. Los Angeles Angels
20. Los Angeles Dodgers
21. Washington Nationals
22. Toronto Blue Jays- This isn’t how the Blue Jays wanted to start their most promising season in quite some time. Everyone in the AL East seems capable of playing well, so Toronto needs to get its act together quickly.
23. Cleveland Indians
24. Chicago White Sox
25. Philadelphia Phillies- Perhaps another slow start by the Phillies is a sign that the team needs to move on from its core of pitchers, who have all been struggling.
26. Seattle Mariners
27. Houston Astros
28. San Diego Padres
29. Chicago Cubs
30. Miami Marlins- The Marlins are the only team in baseball that is already double-digits back from the division leader. Who actually goes to their games? Anyone?
– K. Becks