MLB Power Rankings: Washington Nationals top our preseason rankings

team. 2. If there is any team in baseball that has a farm system to rival the Chicago Cubs, it is the Minnesota Twins. The future is very bright in the Twin Cites. Unfortunately, the future is still a few years away. For now, the wait is going to have to be just that, as Minnesota does not seem in any hurry to push top prospects Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Alex Meyer, Trevor May, and Eddie Rosario before they are truly ready to contribute. <p>In the meantime, the Twins did surprise many by not only swooning for Twins All-Star Torii Hunter to return home, but also managed to pluck Ervin Santana off of the free agent wire this spring. Those two additions will help buy them some time, but there is still a lot of work to be done in Minnesota before they are a competitive team again. </p>. . Previous: . Minnesota Twins. 26

Texas Rangers. 27. team. 126. I don’t know if it was foresight or sheer luck on the part of Jon Daniels, but the acquisition of Yovanni Gallardo has become the most important move of the winter for the Texas Rangers. Gallardo isn’t going to make up for the loss of Yu Darvish (Tommy John surgery), but it certainly helps to soften the blow. Of course, that isn’t going to help the rest of the rotation either, where outside of Derek Holland is a complete mess. <p>Texas is going to try and hit its way out of a miserable year, and the return to health for Prince Fielder could certainly help that. However, you don’t see a whole lot of teams at the top of these rankings that rely on hitting and then settle for crossing their fingers with the pitching staff. </p>. . Previous:

You have to love the Rockies for at least trying year in and year out. They somehow manage to turn that Mile High air into an elixir for players needing a boost, as seen by the rise of Charlie Blackmon and the return of Justin Morneau, and the team is hoping that it’ll work its magic on newly acquired catcher Nick Hundley in 2015. <p>However, this team will only go as far as health and pitching will take them, and both of them are big, big question marks year in and year out. The team revolves around Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, but it doesn’t seem like either can put the injury bug behind them. Additionally, the Rockies are going into Jorge De La Rosa and Kyle Kendrick at the top of the rotation and a whole lot of young and unproven arms vying for the other three spots.</p>. . Previous: . Colorado Rockies. 28. team. 108

There’s a new sheriff in town in Arizona and his name is Dave Stewart and this new sheriff has some moxy. After flipping Wade Miley to the Red Sox for Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa, Stewart made his biggest splash of the winter by landing Cuban power hitter Yosmani Tomas and Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson. That’s a sign of some different thinking and some new avenues being taken in Arizona. <p>That said, there are some questions of logic going on as well. Does Tomas really fit at third base? If this team really going with a career journeyman at catcher instead of using some of its pitching depth to find a suitable starter? Can Chris Owings give them enough at shortstop? These questions would be less important if the other pieces around them were more dominant, but alas.</p>. . Previous: . Arizona Diamondbacks. 29. team. 8

6. You have to give Ruben Amaro some credit for not getting completely fleeced this winter, but only so much. Amaro did get a decent deal for Jimmy Rollins, but there is really no excuse why the Phillies aren’t in a full-scale rebuild and couldn’t find takers for Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, or Cole Hamels at some point this winter. Sure, Utley and Hamels are still premium buys, but Howard should have simply been put been flipped for a bucket of balls and been done with it. Instead, it’s going to be a long summer in the City of Brotherly Love and the Phillies will endure the same questions next winter when another year of mileage has been put on these vehicles. <p>It says enough to know that your number two starter is Aaron Harang and a Rule 5 pick is starting in center field. There is no point in beating this dead horse any more than it needs to be.</p>. . Previous: . Philadelphia Phillies. 30. team