How will the MLB power rankings look after the first few days of games?
Behold, the baseball season is upon is. The games count, the home runs count (especially if they are hit by a certain bearded pitcher from San Francisco), the strikeouts count, and the standings are real (especially for the 2-0 first-place Minnesota Twins!).
The first week of the MLB season, after the long winter, is a bit of a tease. Most teams take off after Opening Day, the players and fans are still getting into a rhythm, and it is still very hard to take anything concrete away about the upcoming season. Nevertheless, the people demand their weekly edition of the MLB power rankings, and who am to let a little thing like very limited sample size get in the way of that. Read on for the Opening Day edition of the MLB power rankings.
It’s going to take some monumentally-bad play from the rest of the league for the Padres to climb out of the bottom spot in the power rankings. They started Opening Day off with a lopsided loss to the Dodgers. Starter Jhoulys Chacin did not make it out of the fourth inning and allowed nine earned runs. Hybrid reliever/catcher/outfielder Christian Bethancourt’s debut on the mound was ugly. He allowed three runs in an inning and a third while walking two and allowing two inherited runners to score.
The Padres bounced back to win their second game of the year, and got a strong performance on the mound from Clayton Richard. The left-hander tossed eight shutout innings, and was backed up by multi-hit games from rookie Manuel Margot, Wil Myers, Yangervis Solarte, and Erick Aybar.
The Reds started their season with a punchless performance against the Phillies, scoring only once against Jeremy Hellickson. They mounted a brief rally in the ninth inning, but ultimately fell short. Looking up and down the lineup in Cincinnati, there is not much to be excited about this season, and little reason to think this offense can do enough to support a pitching staff that should be among the worst in the league.
We will now pause for a brief public service announcement. “JOEY VOTTO…please accept a trade to any team in the league. Just say the magic words and you can be gone, hitting in a lineup with eight other legitimate big leaguers. Please do it, you’ll be much happier.”
End PSA.
The 2017 season could not have gotten off to a worse start for the White Sox. Their original Opening Day was rained out, forcing the game back a day. When the weather cleared up, only a few thousand fans actually turned up to see them take on the Tigers.
The game itself was a disaster. Jose Quintana allowed three home runs and six earned runs in only 5.1 innings. He also walked three and struck out only two. Quintana did have a handful of starts like this last season, allowing three home runs in two separate starts. Still, not the type of start to the season the White Sox were hoping for from Quintana as they look to shop him to the highest bidder.
The Braves may have been a touch overrated in the initial edition of the power rankings this season. They could still improve on last season’s record and finish, but Opening Day provided a better look at what is to come this year. While there is certainly no shame in being shut down by Noah Syndergaard, three of their seven hits came off the bat of Freddie Freeman. He cannot be expected to do everything by himself again this season, but probably will not get much support.
The big issue for the Braves on Opening Day was the fact that their bullpen imploded after Julio Teheran left the game. Teheran pitched six stellar innings, but the game went off the rails when the relievers took over. The Mets hung a six-spot on the Braves in the seventh inning, as the bullpen allowed three hits and five walks. It was ugly all around, and the struggles of the bullpen will be a problem all year in Atlanta.
The Brewers are 0-2 to start the season, but have played competitive games with the Rockies. Starting pitching has been an issue so far, and Junior Guerra is now on the disabled list after only making it into the third inning on Opening Day. Zach Davies was shelled in the second game of the year, allowing six runs in 4.1 innings while walking four. Davies started slow last year as well, but finished strong.
Eric Thames, it turns out, is not just good in Korea.
Offensively, the Brewers have had no real issue scoring, but that was to be expected entering the year. Travis Shaw is off to a hot start, and already has four doubles. That’s important, because he has been able to do some of the damage against left-handed pitching. Shaw was pigeon-holed as a platoon player in Boston, but could get a bigger role in Milwaukee if he keeps hitting southpaws.
Game One of the season was a big success for the Twins as they blasted the Royals by a score of 7-1. Ervin Santana dazzled, allowing only two hits over seven innings. Minnesota got a big home run from Miguel Sano, and free-agent catcher Jason Castro delivered two hits and two RBI. Seeing Byron Buxton strike out three times, however, is problematic.
Minnesota came back just as strong in the second game of the year, blowing out the Royals again. Sano had another big game. If he continues to break out, look for All-Star numbers.
The Twins may actually sneak up on some teams this year, but their rotation does not have enough depth to make a serious run at contending, not even for a .500 record. After Santana, the rotation should struggle most nights. This is a make-or-break year for Buxton, and it did not get off to a strong start.
The A’s have split a pair of games so far this season with the Angels, with Khris Davis homering twice on Opening Day. Oakland very nearly pulled out a second win to start the year, but blew Tuesday night’s game after allowing three runs in the ninth inning. Closer Ryan Dull allowed three runs on three hits and a home run to lose the game.
Oakland should feel good about Sean Manaea turning in a solid start in his season debut. The A’s have a group of budding young aces in their rotation this year, and Manaea may have the highest upside. Their bullpen is going to give up some leads like it did this week.
There is not much that can be taken away from the Phillies beating the Reds on Opening Day. Jeremy Hellickson pitched well enough, but hardly dominated a poor lineup. The Phillies eked out four runs against one of the worst pitching staffs in the league. With very little else to work with, that data point will keep them exactly where they started the year in the power rankings.
Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders were signed over the winter to provide some veteran depth to a young lineup, and they both had an impact in the first game. Kendrick had three hits, while Saunders drove in a run and walked. Jeanmar Gomez nearly blew the lead in the ninth, providing a preview to what should be a season full of plenty of rides on the ninth-inning roller coaster.
Mike Trout is doing Mike Trout things early in the season, which is to be expected. He has a homer, a double, and a triple in two games The rest of the lineup has collected hits around him, and mounted a nice comeback to win on Tuesday night against the A’s.
There is enough on offense to expect the Halos to be reasonably competitive this season, and they fixed their holes in left field and at second base over the winter. The starting pitching, however, is what will ultimately break the team this year. Neither starter so far has looked impressive, while the offenses around the AL West have looked good so far.
The Diamondbacks played a very exciting game on Opening Day last Sunday, sinking the Giants with a furious rally against the bullpen and All-Star closer Mark Melancon. All-Star center fielder A.J. Pollock announced his return from injury with some excellent play, and has already driven in four runs while homering twice and stealing four bases. He does not get nearly enough recognition for being one of the best outfielders in baseball. That will change if he keeps up numbers like this.
On the mound, however, the Diamondbacks have been a disaster. Zack Greinke looks like a shell of himself, as does closer Fernando Rodney. The bullpen imploded in the second game of the year as well. Expect dozens of 9-8 games with exciting back-and-forth action all season from Arizona, but not enough wins or pitching to make any real noise in the National League.
This season will be a turning point for the Royals franchise, and it did not get off to a stellar start on Opening Day. After handing Danny Duffy a big extension over the offseason, the right-hander started the season with a strong six-inning start, allowing only one run while striking out eight. The bullpen blew it, allowing six runs in the seventh inning. Not an ideal start for a team that has several big free agents pending. Nate Karns and Matt Strahm came back and allowed six runs in relief in the second game of the year.
This is not the type of offense that should record only three hits against the Minnesota Twins of all teams, chalk it up to Opening Day nerves, but the Royals will have to get the sticks rolling to support what should be a middling pitching staff.
There’s no real shame in getting shut down by Stephen Strasburg on Opening Day. He is one of the best pitchers in the league. It happens, and the Marlins will have to regroup and attempt to deal with the rest of the Nationals strong starting rotation.
The bullpen will need to be a strength this year for a Marlins team without a real ace, and it let them down on Opening Day. Edinson Volquez was able to get through five innings without allowing a run. From there, the relievers allowed two home runs and four runs to let the lead slip away. Miami’s rotation just simply is not good enough to afford many lost leads.
For a team looking to keep its championship window open a year longer, the Pirates certainly got off to a disheartening start on Opening Day. Gerrit Cole struggled through the Red Sox lineup, while Andrew McCutchen struck out three times and went 0-for-5. Both have to be better for the Pirates to have any real shot at contending.
The offense was completely shut down by the Red Sox in the second game of the year. The Pirates did not get a single runner past second base in a 12-inning game. On the plus side, Jameson Taillon pitched a gem, matching Chris Sale with zeroes.
Cole should rebound from the poor start. Boston’s lineup is strong one to nine, but seeing McCutchen swing a bat as if all the bones in his body had been replaced with noodles does not bode well. Is this really the beginning of the long, downhill slide for a former All-Star and MVP?
The Yankees watched Masahiro Tanaka get bombed out early on Opening Day, and have to worry about his health and long-term future. He looked great in Spring Training, but his elbow has long been viewed as a ticking time bomb. Sabathia pitched great in shutting down the Rays, and if the Yanks can get him through a lineup twice without any damage, that counts as a big win at this point of his career. While Aaron Judge has looked good at the plate, Gary Sanchez is still looking for his initial hit of the season.
Michael Pineda remains the biggest enigma in baseball. He allowed eight hits and four runs in only 3.2 innings in his 2017 debut, and struggled to hold runners on. Gary Sanchez has a rocket for an arm, but even he cannot contend with Pineda’s slow delivery and lackadaisical attitude about holding runners on base. There is no excuse for allowing a stolen base to lead-footed catcher Derek Norris.
Entering the 2017 season, we knew several things about the Rays. First, they would hit a ton of home runs, but most of them would likely be of the solo variety since the team struggles to get on base as a whole. The starting rotation would have to pitch well every night in order to contend. The bullpen would be awful, but the outfield defense would be among the best in the league.
Through two games, most of that preseason narrative has played out true to form in Tampa Bay. They jumped all over Masahiro Tanaka and the Yankees on Opening Day, but could barely put bat on ball the next time out against CC Sabathia. Chris Archer pitched very well on Opening Day, but Jake Odorizzi was shelled in the second game. The bullpen has not yet been asked to do much.
While the Rockies have started the year with a strong start, we are no closer yet to knowing whether or not their pitching staff can do enough to stay in contention for an entire year. The Brewers are not exactly the 1927 Yankees, but were able to put five runs across the plate in each of the season’s first two games.
Jon Gray is expected to take a big step forward and trend towards becoming an ace this season, but he allowed five runs in only four innings on Opening Day. Was it just nerves? The Rockies will have to hope so, because they cannot be much more than a .500 team (albeit a very exciting offensive .500 team) without better pitching from their young arms.
An 0-3 start against the Astros is not nearly enough to write off the Mariners this season. They are a trendy pick for good reason. While their lineup is underrated, it is one of the best in the league. Can they pitch it, though? That’s a big question that cannot be answered this early in the season.
Seattle’s ace Felix Hernandez left his Opening Day start early with a groin injury. That’s bad. Offseason pickup Drew Smyly began the year on the disabled list. That’s bad. The Mariners do not have enough depth in their rotation to get by if either pitcher ends up on the shelf for an extended period of time. Be cautiously optimistic about this team’s chances to contend for now.
My, oh my! The things the Rangers lineup has done to baseballs through the first two games of the season are enough to make a grown man blush. Joey Gallo, Carlos Gomez, and Rougned Odor have hit some tape-measure shots. Words don’t really do these bombs justice.
Joey Gallo just hit a home run from Globe Life Park all the way to Jerry World. pic.twitter.com/UYlTVyuG7g
— Avi Miller 🧢 (@AviMiIIer) April 5, 2017
Unfortunately, the team the Rangers have been playing to open the season, the Indians, have hit just as many of their own home runs. Texas’s pitching staff has struggled to contain Cleveland’s offense. Yu Darvish struggled with his command on Opening Night. Closer Sam Dyson has looked awful so far, allowing eight runs in his first inning of the season. His velocity is down, which is an even bigger problem considering MLB has changed the way it measures velocity out of a pitcher’s hand.
Opening Day followed a familiar script for the Baltimore Orioles. Starter Kevin Gausman did just enough, but struggled with command. The offense put up a few early runs, but struggled to do much more. The bullpen came in, slammed the door. Manny Machado did Manny Machado things at third base, and Mark Trumbo came through and hit a walk-off homer in extra innings.
Here is your friendly, weekly reminder that Manny Machado is very good at catching and throwing. It’s kind of him to let others share the AL Gold Glove at third base from time to time.
There is reason for great excitement for Orioles fans after seeing Dylan Bundy’s season debut. He allowed only four hits and one run in seven innings with eight strikeouts. We have been waiting years to see him unleash his slider on big-league hitters, and he finally got that chance last night. It was as majestic as advertised.
Wash, rinse, repeat, for this team that has seemingly always been able to find a way to win the past five seasons despite widespread skepticism around the baseball. Gausman needs to be sharper going forward, but the offense will obviously heat up in a hurry. It’s still hard to make any realistic proclamation about the hopes of the Orioles until seeing their rotation make a few passes.
Is it too early to fret over the health of the Mets starting rotation? No, no it is not. Noah Syndergaard left his Opening Day start with a blister. Thor pitched an outstanding game, but blister problems have kept pitchers out for weeks at a time. Funny, really, that something as innocuous as a blister could force a 6-foot-6 human who weighs over 250 pounds and throws 101 mph to miss starts.
Steven Matz and Seth Lugo are also already on the DL. The Mets do not have much more depth if anyone else in the rotation goes down. Terry Collins is in a very precarious position managing this staff, and the season could go up in flames if any major injuries occur.
Opening Day in Baltimore yielded some interesting results for the Blue Jays. Marco Estrada pitched very well, and was able to work around a few doubles by the Orioles in the early innings. The bottom of the lineup did most of the work, with Steve Pearce and Ezequiel Carrera both recording multi-hit games. The heart of the order, however, was shut down.
Jose Bautista struggled in the first two games of the year, and the middle of this lineup no longer strikes the same type of fear in opposing pitchers. What they continue to do well, and will continue to do well, is work counts and get into good hitter’s counts. That will help hold off the aging curve for MLB’s oldest team. The starting rotation is going to do the heavy lifting as was the case last season.
There are several things that stood out from the opening series between the Cardinals and the Cubs, a matchup that remains the best rivalry going in baseball these days. First, Carlos Martinez is now the hands-down ace of this staff. Adam Wainwright has ceded that title. Mike Matheny tried to go the route of stretching his closer out on Opening Night, and it backfired. The St. Louis bullpen lacks depth, and that could prove to be a problem going forward.
St. Louis has a very scrappy ballclub, and they did not bow down to the World Champion Cubs. They will be a very competitive team all year if the rotation can hold up. Martinez is going to do his part, and Wainwright put the Cardinals in a good position to win.
The Tigers opened their season a day late against the White Sox, and did what a contender is supposed to do against a bad team, winning easily and recording a shutout. Is that impressive? Not so much, at least from a mound standpoint. Justin Verlander should pitch well against the White Sox as they are currently constructed. Beating up on Jose Quintana, however, that deserves a tip of the cap.
Detroit’s lineup is aging, but still dangerous. The AL Central is very watered down this year after the top two teams. That will give the Tigers plenty of chances to pad their win total. The pitching staff might be problematic after the top three, but should still be good enough in this division.
Giants fans had to be having a mini-meltdown watching their team blow a lead in the ninth inning on Opening Day. Signing All-Star closer Mark Melancon to a long-term contract should have solved the issues that plagued the Giants all of last season, but alas, the Diamondbacks came back and handed Melancon the loss in his first appearance with his new team.
Melancon will be fine. The Giants will be fine. The bullpen will be fine. If you’re a Giants fan, take two deep breaths, put the loss in the rearview mirror, and enjoy the fact that Madison Bumgarner, the pitcher, is tied for the MLB lead with two home runs.
Last year, the Dodgers were among the worst teams in the league at hitting left-handed pitching. It took all of two games this season for those same issues to rear up again. After battering the Padres on Opening Day, LA was shut down by fringe left-hander Clayton Richard. Moves were made over the offseason to make the lineup more balanced, but the Dodgers still have some work to do against southpaws.
Obviously the Dodgers will lose some games this season against left-handers, and you cannot draw too many conclusions about one bad game against a lefty in the first week of the season. Clayton Kershaw was phenomenal on Opening Day, and will continue to build his annual case for the Cy Young.
Picking up right where he left off last season, Rick Porcello picked up the win on Opening Day at Fenway Park. Andrew Benintendi homered, making it easier to forget that this will be the first season without David Ortiz in a Boston uniform. It was a relatively subdued offensive performance from Mookie Betts and the lineup that tore up the American League last year, but it’s early.
If the Red Sox move up the power rankings in the coming weeks, it will be because their starting rotation and bullpen will have proven themselves. There are no questions about the lineup and its abilities to put up runs night in and night out. Can the pitching staff hold onto the leads the offense stakes them too? That will be the big question for the Red Sox early in this season.
As has become his personal custom, Bryce Harper homered on Opening Day against the Marlins. So far, so good for the 2015 MVP who struggled for most of last season. Harper had a monster Spring Training, and also had a monster April last season before coming undone after Joe Maddon pitched around him for an entire series. Which Harper shows up for the rest of the season will determine how far the Nationals go.
Stephen Strasburg was dominant on Opening Day, and the bullpen was not tested. The Nationals do not have an established closer, which may or may not work out. Dusty Baker has several very good relievers in his bullpen, but none of them have the valuable experience getting outs in the ninth inning. The Nationals will be a good test case for everyone on either side of the closer debate.
During the buildup to the regular season, the Astros were one of the most widely debated teams in the league. Sure, they had a blockbuster offseason that filled out their lineup with three more potential All-Stars, but how would their starting rotation fare? After only two games, those questions have to be quieting some.
Houston sent 2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel to the hill on Opening Day and got a dominant performance. Lance McCullers followed suit on Tuesday night, pushing the Astros to 2-0 against the Mariners so far this season. These were two very strong starts from key members of the rotation. Keuchel and McCullers were both slowed by shoulder injuries last year, but if they stay healthy, Houston may be able to challenge Texas for best one-two punch in the division.
Three games into the year, and the rest of the American League has to be on high alert after seeing the way the Indians lineup has raked Texas pitching over the coals. Even without All-Star second baseman and leader Jason Kipnis, the Indians have given the Rangers fits to start the year. With the return of Michael Brantley and the addition of Edwin Encarnacion, this may very well be the most dangerous lineup in the league.
Starting pitching, which was supposed to lead the way for the Indians before their offense materialized into a force to be reckoned with, has been spotty so far, but Corey Kluber typically starts slow. Carlos Carrasco pitched very well in his return, allowing two runs in 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts. As expected, the bullpen led by Andrew Miller and Cody Allen has been nearly perfect. The Indians will be in the conversation for the top spot here all year.
What?!?! The Cubs lost a game? How? I thought they were supposed to be the best team ever? Sad. Alas, the Cubs will not be going 162-0 this season as they look to defend their World Series title. A hard-fought game with the rival Cardinals did not go their way on Opening Night. What a disappointment.
Dripping with sarcasm, of course.
Through two games, Kyle Schwarber has worked wonders out of the leadoff spot, reaching base four times. Javy Baez has made a handful of sparkling plays in the field, as has Albert Almora. Jake Arrieta looked closer to 2015 Arrieta than the 2016 version that struggled with command and efficiency at times. He will never approach his record level of dominance from his Cy Young campaign, but could come close in a contract year. The Cubs are loaded, and it will take a serious slipup for them to fall out of the number-one slot.