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MLB Power Rankings: Mariners continue hot start to the season, American League full of surprises

BySean Sears|
TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 21: Members of the Seattle Mariners stand for the national anthem ahead of their game against the Oakland Athletics during the 2019 Opening Series at the Tokyo Dome on Thursday, March 21, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 21: Members of the Seattle Mariners stand for the national anthem ahead of their game against the Oakland Athletics during the 2019 Opening Series at the Tokyo Dome on Thursday, March 21, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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ANAHEIM, CA – APRIL 10: Albert Pujols #5, Justin Bour #41, Andrelton Simmons #2 and Zack Cozart #7 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim congratulate each other on a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 10, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA – APRIL 10: Albert Pujols #5, Justin Bour #41, Andrelton Simmons #2 and Zack Cozart #7 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim congratulate each other on a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 10, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)

16. Los Angeles Angels, 7-6, third in the AL West

The Angels offense hasn’t found its stride yet and are missing Shohei Ohtani and Justin Upton at the moment, forcing players like Briant Goodwin and Albert Pujols to have to play more consistently to start the season. However, Mike Trout exited Tuesday’s game with a right groin strain right as he was starting to heat up, and the $430 million-dollar man has an OPS of 1.529 to start the season.

However, with the offense not hitting it’s been the Angels bullpen holding things together with their league-leading 1.67 ERA. The starters have traded good and bad starts but aren’t as bad as their 5.55 ERA suggests, thanks in large part to Matt Harvey and his 10.05 ERA, and will get better once Ohtani is included in the rotation. But the Angels have once again assembled an underrated bullpen with veteran Cody Allen handling the closing. Fingers-crossed Trout is okay, but if the Angels are without their two biggest stars in Trout and Ohtani for an extended period of time they could be in some trouble.

15. St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5, third in the NL Central

The Cardinals have squeezed a few one-run wins out to start the season, thanks in large part to their improved bullpen, which currently in the top 10 in terms of ERA. And their starting rotation has proven to be solid, despite a rough outing for Miles Mikolas. Ultimately, the Cardinals could have one of the best rotations in baseball and certainly the best in the NL Central.

However, their offense hasn’t been able to score runs consistently, as their newest addition Paul Goldschmidt has been hot and cold to start 2019. He’s hit six home runs on the year, which leads the club, but has also struck out 14 times, also leading the club. Kolten Wong has been on a tear to start the year with a 1.151 OPS, but with his track record, those numbers are likely non-sustainable for him. With Carlos Martinez, Luke Gregerson and Brett Cecil all set to return sometime in the first half of this season, the Cardinals already-strong pitching could get even better, but their offense outside of Wong needs to wake up. This would be a great time for Matt Carpenter to do Matt Carpenter things.

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