We’re only a little over two weeks into the MLB season, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t rank the teams in order of their performance so far. As the saying goes, you can’t win the pennant in the first two weeks of the season, but you can certainly lay the groundwork to lose it in that amount of time.
In what will likely be a bi-monthly installment this season, here is the first MLB Power Rankings list.
1. Colorado Rockies- Troy Tulowitzki is playing like the NL MVP candidate he was projected to be, and the team is on a six game winning streak. Four of those wins may have come against the Mets, but a four game sweep is a four game sweep.
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Texas Rangers
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Kansas City Royals- Taking full advantage of a division that has thus far been turned on its head, the Royals have been hitting surprisingly well thanks to the emergence of once highly touted prospect Alex Gordon.
6. Milwaukee Brewers
7. New York Yankees
8. Cleveland Indians- Like Kansas City, the Indians have been a surprise thus far in the AL Central. Reason for optimism in Cleveland? Fausto Carmona, their de facto ace, has yet to win a game and his ERA is over 6.00…telling signs that things can only get better.
9. Los Angeles Angels
10. Chicago White Sox
11. Florida Marlins
12. Baltimore Orioles- Dropping two games to divisional rival New York is not a recipe for success in the stacked AL East. If you think you can hear Buck Showalter shouting from where you’re sitting, you may not be entirely crazy.
13. San Francisco Giants
14. Toronto Blue Jays
15. Detroit Tigers
16. Atlanta Braves- The Braves have yet to win a series this season, and their offensive production is a major reason why. Atlanta fans need not keep a hand near the panic button just yet, though. This is a young team, and conventional wisdom says that if you have sticks, they’ll come alive eventually.
17. St. Louis Cardinals
18. Chicago Cubs
19. Los Angeles Dodgers- It would not be surprising if the biggest story surrounding the Dodgers organization this season is not related to the team’s play. That being said, Los Angeles may be hanging around 19th in the power rankings all season.
20. Washington Nationals
21. Minnesota Twins- Joe Mauer may be the single most valuable player to any one team in the entire league. With him, the Twins are perennial AL pennant contenders. Without him, they are a stumbling franchise that can’t win even a single series.
22. Boston Red Sox- Were it not for that fact that Boston would have been near the top of the list on a hypothetical “pre-season Power Rankings”, they would be at the bottom of this list. The Red Sox offensive lineup is good, but not unstoppable. You can’t expect them to win when the pitching core has a collective ERA of 6.77, worst in the majors.
23. San Diego Padres
24. Arizona Diamondbacks
25. Oakland Athletics
26. Pittsburgh Pirates
27. Tampa Bay Rays- Losing Manny Ramirez was more a blow to team chemistry than anything, but that can have a large effect on a team early in the season. Team chemistry isn’t the only thing manager Joe Maddon has to worry about, however. The Rays aren’t really doing anything well right now.
28. New York Mets
29. Houston Astros
30. Seattle Mariners- With Kansas City, Cleveland, and even Pittsburgh doing better than predicted, the gap between Seattle and everyone else seems even larger than usual.
– K. Becks
