MLB Power Rankings: Washington Nationals top our preseason rankings

Kyle Franzoni

The 2015 Major League Baseball season officially gets underway on Sunday night with a marquee match-up between the rival Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals on ESPN, but we thought we’d officially get things underway a few days earlier with our pre-season Power Rankings.

Now by their nature, power rankings our subjective by nature and pre-season rankings are even more so. They are often held captive to the whims of the author or more accurately, the extent of their exposure to the game as a whole. We tried to take a bit of that subjectivity out of the equation, but interjecting not one, but four people into the process, including our last three MLB Editorial Directors (Aaron Somers, David Hill, and myself), and our Senior Director of Sports (Joel Wagler) into the voting process. The thought process was that we could come up with a consistent, consensus power ranking.

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It didn’t necessarily work out that way.

To showcase that point, the only consensus we all came to was the number 1 team in the league (we’ll get to that in a second, I promise). Outside of that pick, we had 16 different teams get top 10 nods, with one team (The Marlins) getting a second place vote on one ballot and a 22nd place spot on another. Needless to say, we had some varying opinions, but in the end, we were able to come to an agreed upon power ranking that will surely spark some debate among the masses.

With that in mind, I formerly present the inaugural MLB Power Rankings for 2015.

Next: 6-10: Royals and Tigers and Birds, oh-my!

Oct 6, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) hits a single during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Next: 11-15: The last two World Series champs get their say

Oct 26, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner waves to the crowd after defeating the Kansas City Royals during game five of the 2014 World Series at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Next: 16-20: Canadian power or Yankee mights

Mar 22, 2015; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson (20) singled during the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Next: Braves and Rays take a siesta

Mar 28, 2015; Dunedin, FL, USA;Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) reacts after catching the ball for an out during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Next: The final five ride in shame

Mar 13, 2015; Bradenton, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Ervin Santana (54) pitches during the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

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Kyle Franzoni

Kyle Franzoni has covered Major League Baseball for nearly 10 years at sites like Jays Journal, Call to the Pen, Halo Hangout, and Dodgers Way. His work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, Fox Sports, and other outlets. A native of Vermont, currently residing in Tennessee, Kyle is the former MLB Editorial Director and the current Head of Contributor Operations for FanSided.