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MLB Power Rankings: Cubs still on top

By Joshua Sadlock

Apr 4, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (49) walks off the field after the top of the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (49) walks off the field after the top of the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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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.

30

San Diego Padres (1-2)

Last week: N/A
Last rank: 30

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.

Apr 3, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price (38) shakes hands with first baseman Joey Votto (19) during opening ceremonies before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price (38) shakes hands with first baseman Joey Votto (19) during opening ceremonies before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports /
29

Cincinnati Reds (1-1)

Last week: N/A
Last rank: 28

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.

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