There are some big climbers and fallers in this week’s edition of the MLB Power Rankings. Who grabs the top spot midway through April?
One full week into the MLB season, and the standings still look somewhat strange. The Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Angels, and Arizona Diamondbacks are all at the top of their respective divisions while the contenders sort things out and struggle to get started. With more data to digest this week, the power rankings look a little different, with some big movers in both directions. Whether or not the surprise teams will maintain their gains for more than a few weeks remains to be seen, but it’s exciting for fanbases that expected plenty of losing this year.
Dive on into the weekly MLB Power Rankings and see where your team falls within the 30 big-league clubs.
The Braves have done the unthinkable — they have unseated the San Diego Padres as worst team in Major League Baseball. Starting the season with an eight-game road trip did the Braves no favors, and they can look forward to finally opening their new ballpark at the end of the week. That will be exciting — if fans can get there on time.
As ugly as their record looks, the Braves have not been that bad. They played three close games with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The offense has been solid, with Freddie Freeman, Brandon Phillips, and Nick Markakis enjoying hot starts. Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte will soon heat up. The pitching is what has sunk the Braves so far, specifically the bullpen with its 5.56 ERA through seven games. Julio Teheran has been excellent in two starts, and has not allowed a run. The rest of the rotation has struggled.
The White Sox have surprisingly gotten very respectable starts out of James Shields, Miguel Gonzalez, and Derek Holland. It’s Jose Quintana they should be worried about. The White Sox biggest trade asset is 0-2 to start the year with a 6.17 ERA and has allowed four home runs in 11.2 innings. A regression to the mean should be coming — for the entire rotation.
At the plate, the White Sox are off to a slow start. Jose Abreu is still looking for his power stroke. He started slow last year as well. Todd Frazier is batting well below .200, but is making contact. Geovany Soto has been a bright spot, hitting three home runs.
Down on the farm, Yoan Moncada is off to a scorching start at Triple-A. Reynaldo Lopez has struggled with his control, but has 15 strikeouts in 8.1 innings. Lucas Giolito has struggled so far this year. When White Sox fans get tired of all the losing by the MLB club, they can turn their attention to these three and dream about the future.