NFL
By: Nicholas Mukhar
Let’s get a couple of things out of the way, right away. These early season MLB Power Rankings DO NOT include the New York Yankees (cue gasp) or the Philadelphia Phillies (cue anger). They do include a Pittsburgh Pirates squad off to its best start in two decades, a Minnesota Twins team with a rotation ready to compete, and the Tampa Bay Rays who seem to have made a New Year’s resolution not to lose.
10. Texas Rangers
No Corey Seager, no problem for a Rangers squad that’s hitting right around .300 as a team. Who knows what this offense is capable of when their major off-season acquisition returns to the lineup. Combined with a strong starting staff, and the Rangers could be in contention for the long haul.
9. Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh is off to its best start since 1992. Back then it was a young, five-tool player named Barry Bonds who led the Pirates to a division championship during his final season in Pittsburgh. This year it’s Bryan Reynolds powering the Pirates while Ke’Bryan Hayes and Ji-Hwan Bae are taking advantage of the larger bases early this season. Pittsburgh is tied for 2nd in Major League Baseball in stolen bases.
8. Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers make the top 10 if nothing else for showing some incredible resilience.
Garrett Mitchell? Done for the season.
Brandon Woodruff? Out for the foreseeable.
Yet Milwaukee keeps winning, largely because they have a top 10 player in each of the OPS, hits, and RBI categories.
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7. Houston Astros
Don’t look now but here come the defending world champs with a hot start out of the gate. We all know about Houston’s offense, but what flies under the radar is one of the youngest rotations in all of baseball – led by Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez. Not a single member of Houston’s starting pitching rotation is 30 years old yet.
6. New York Mets
Max Scherzer suspended and Justin Verlander injured. Boom. Here come Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and one of the best hitters in the game Pete Alonzo to power the Mets to one of the best starts in the National League. With Closer Edwin Diaz out due to his World Baseball Classic injury, David Robertson has stepped up to lead the team in saves so that the Mets don’t miss a beat.
5. Minnesota Twins
Yes, the Twins are in, and the Yankees are out. Deal with it. I’m still a big believer in Minnesota and its 10-4 start. That’s despite the Twins coming back down to earth to having the 3rd-worst on-base average and slugging percentage (OBS) in baseball. Still, Kente Maeda is back and the Twins made a free agency splash by signing Pablo Lopez. As long as the Twins’ rotation can stay on track, they have a major chance to compete in the AL Central.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers bullpen does give some cause to pause. But they’re still the Dodgers. They seem to have righted the ship after a 5-5 start and have an early-season lead in the NL West division at the time of this writing. They’re third in all of baseball in on-base plus slugging (OPS), seemingly not missing a beat after losing Cody Bellinger, Trea Turner, and Justin Turner to free agency over the winter.
3. Atlanta Braves
The Braves took a major hit in free agency, losing a potential franchise player in shortstop Dansby Swanson who signed with the Chicago Cubs. That left the door open for Catcher Sean Murphy to lead a potent lineup that’s depending heavily on Ronald Acuña Jr. to return to his 2019 form. Both Acuña Jr. and Murphy are proving up to the task early on, making Atlanta look like serious World Series contenders once again.
2. Toronto Blue Jays
On paper, the Blue Jays look to have it all. Powerful pitching, a superstar slugger (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.), and they filled some important holes via free agency (Kevin Kiermaier in center field and Brandon Belt at first base). Toronto has been knocking on the World Series door the last two years, posting back-to-back 90+ win seasons. If the Jays can stay healthy, this may finally be the year for Major League Baseball’s only Canadian squad.
1. Tampa Bay Rays
What in the Fred McGriff-Carl Crawford-Evan Longoria is happening in Tampa? 22-5 at the time of this writing, including 8-2 in their last 10 games and – perhaps most impressively – 14-2 at their Tropicana Field home. So can anyone stop the Rays? Until a team goes out and proves it, they’re Baseball’s team to beat.
