MLB Power Rankings

[Troy (Toronto)]

Post Auction Power Rankings: 2/22/15

Rankings are based on a points system. 10 possible points for SP, INF, and OF. 3 Possible points for Help. (Help points based off of TOP prospects who will be able to help for this season) Tiebreakers are based on my discretion. Points are given on overall talent and depth for each group. RP was not a factor in these rankings.


20.

Core Four: Jay Bruce, Matt Holliday, Todd Frazier, Jacob deGrom

Review: No player stands out as the best on this team. Filled with mediocre players who wont hurt the team, but probably wont do much to help either. They do have depth, which helps them. This team is not a lost cause, but will need something drastic to happen to leap them forward.

Help: Aaron Nola

Breakdown: INF: 6, OF: 6, SP: 6, HELP: 1 = 19

19.

Core Four: Clayton Kershaw, Alex Gordon, Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Headley

Review: Lacks stars, minus Kersh, but has enough mediocre offensive depth. Rotation is bad after Kershaw. (Danks, House, Peralta, Feldman, Medlen, Locke) Mediocre squad all around. Will need crazy seasons from the unlikely again. (Pearce, JD, Carter, Santana)

Help: Andrew Heaney

Breakdown: INF: 7, OF: 6, SP: 6, HELP: 1 = 20

18.

Core Four: Chris Sale, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Michael Wacha, Kyle Seager

Review: Lots of Youth on offense with Baez, Vasquez, Singleton, Franklin, Garcia, Ect. But with all this youth brings too many question marks. Offense could be abysmal with a bad break or two. The pitching should keep them near .500 with good depth. (Sale/Ryu/Wacha/Wheeler/Odorizzi)

Help: Miguel Sano, Jon Gray

Breakdown: INF: 6, OF: 5, SP: 8, HELP: 2 = 21

17.

Core Four: Stephen Strasburg, Jon Lester, Andrew McCutchen, Yoenis Cespedes

Review: This team will probably have its troubles competing. Will be tough for McCutch and Stras to keep it afloat. Formidable rotation headlined by Stras and Lester with complements from Yovani, Miley, and Ian Kennedy. The offense will struggle at times with not much to offer other than Andrew and Cespedes.

Help: JT Realmuto

Ranking: INF: 5, OF: 7, SP: 8, HELP: 1 = 21

16.

Core Four: Bryce Harper, George Springer, Corey Kluber, Zack Greinke

Review: Quite a few young players with superstar potential, (Xander, Springer, Harper) However, the offense will be too inconsistent and has too many holes currently. Lough, CQ, and Ruggiano all are in the lineup currently. Not good. The Rotation is led by Kluber and Greinke with formidable depth pieces behind them.

Help: Joc Pederson, Aaron Sanchez

Breakdown: INF: 5, OF: 6, SP: 8, HELP: 3 = 22

15.

Core Four: Buster Posey, Jonathan Lucroy, Matt Carpenter, Sonny Gray

Review: Best catching duo in the league with Buster and Lucroy. They appear to be subpar everywhere else. SP has lots of injuries and question marks. (Gee, Parker, Skaggs, Nelson)

Help: Mike Foltynewicz

Breakdown: INF: 8, OF: 7, SP: 6, HELP: 1 = 22

14.

Core Four: Chris Davis, Carlos Gomez, Ian Desmond, Matt Harvey

Review: Pitching leaves a lot to be desired. They will need Harvey to come back 100% healthy, CD to put up 2013 season numbers, and breakouts from guys like Gose, Cron, and Gyorko to be on the radar.

Help: Steven Souza, Henry Owens

Breakdown: INF: 7, OF: 7, SP: 6, HELP: 2 = 22

13.

Core Four: Freddie Freeman, Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Yu Darvish

Review: Lots of Pitching depth (Peavey and Lackey are the #7 and #8) It will be needed with the Injury concerns from Yu and Tanaka. They lack offensive depth and firepower after top 4 guys. Not good when you have Middlebrooks/Snider/McGehee in the lineup.

Help: Addison Russell, Jesse Winker

Breakdown: INF: 7, OF: 6, SP: 7, HELP: 3 = 23

12.

Core Four: Anthony Rizzo, Ryan Braun, David Price, Jordan Zimmermann

Review: This team has a lot of players. A lot. Some are probably useless, but they still have an assortment to choose from. They are a pretty mediocre group after the few stars.

Help: Kris Bryant, Eddie Butler

INF: 6, OF: 6, SP: 8, HELP: 3 = 23

11.

Core Four: Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Abreu, Cole Hamels, Adam Wainwright

Review: 3B/SS is going to plague them until Lindor and Franco arrive. Other than that they have 2 thumpers in EE and Abreu, with complements in Kipnis, Calhoun, and potentially Polanco. Rotation is solid with the two ACES in Hamels and Waino at the top.

Help: Francisco Lindor, Maikel Franco

Breakdown: INF: 6, OF: 6, SP: 8, HELP: 3 = 23

10.

Core Four: Evan Longoria, Brian Dozier, Paul Goldschmidt, Yadier Molina

Review: Impressive Offense, will probably out hit everyone with the core plus Gardner, Gomes, and Ozuna. The starting pitching is laughable. (Dickey is the ACE.) However the offense could carry them to the playoffs.

Help: Marco Gonzales

Breakdown: INF: 10, OF: 7, SP: 5 HELP: 1 = 23

9.

Core Four: Miguel Cabrera, Justin Upton, Adrian Beltre, Johnny Cueto

Review: Very well rounded squad with a good mix of youth and vets. (Zunino, Wong, Stroman) OF is weak other than Upton. Will need a JHAM resurgence to improve the outlook.

Help: Kyle Crick

Breakdown: INF: 9, OF: 6, SP: 7, HELP: 1 = 23

8.

Core Four: Troy Tulowizki, Starling Marte, Jason Heyward, Max Scherzer

Review: No depth. Has a solid enough team to compete for a low end playoff spot, if they can do something about the weak infield. Soler and Pompey could be great pieces, and the rotation looks good enough with Max, Lee, Wood, ect.

Help: Jorge Soler, Dalton Pompey

Breakdown: INF: 6, OF: 8, SP: 7, HELP: 3 = 24

7.

Core Four: Yasiel Puig, Madison Bumgarner, Starlin Castro, Eric Hosmer

Review: I had many options to put in the core, leaving out Carlos Santana, Samardzija, Latos, and Ventura. This is another team with lots of quality depth. SP has 8 legitimate starters, with other depth pieces. OF is the only area of concern.

Help: Christhian Bethancourt, Eduardo Rodriguez

Breakdown: INF: 9, OF: 6, SP: 9, HELP: 1 = 25

6.

Core Four: Anthony Rendon, Nolan Arendao, Michael Brantley, Jose Fernandez

Review: One of my favorite teams, loaded with young talent in Arenado, Rendon, Belt, Eaton, Brantley and Profar, if he was healthy. Hunter Pence is the veteran complement roaming the OF. The rotation however, is subpar at best until Jose Fernandez gets back.

Help: Daniel Norris

Breakdown: INF: 9, OF: 8, SP: 6, HELP: 2 = 25

5.

Core Four: Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Altuve, Salvador Perez

Review: They went all out on 3 of the best players in the game, thus leaving pretty significant holes in the roster, pitching wise. Rotation is full of number 5’s. Alfredo Simon is the ACE. It gets uglier after that. The stable of aces in the minors probably won't be able to help that much this year either, with many coming off injury and ineffectiveness. (Bundy, Zimmer, Bradley) How far will the terrific trio take them?

Help: Dylan Bundy, Kyle Zimmer, Archie Bradley, Braden Shipley.

Breakdown: INF: 7, OF: 10, SP: 5, HELP: 3 = 25

4.

Core Four: Prince Fielder, Pablo Sandoval, Josh Donaldson, King Felix

Review: This could be a dangerous team if they stay healthy, (VMART, PRINCE). SP headlined by the M’s starters (King and Iwakuma, falls off after that however)

Help: JP Crawford, Andrew Susac

Breakdown: INF: 10, OF: 6, SP: 7, HELP: 2 = 25

3.

Core Four: Joey Votto, Alex Cobb, Julio Teheran, Gerrit Cole

Review: I envy the collection of young SP's the Rocks have assembled. (Cole, Teheran, Cobb, Archer, Tillman) Offense has solid pieces in Votto, Walker, Martin, and Zobrist with decent depth. OF is the only weak spot.

Help: Noah Syndergaard, Michael Taylor, Aaron Blair

Breakdown: INF: 8, OF: 5, SP: 10, HELP: 3 = 26

2.

Core Four: Robinson Cano, Jose Bautista, Hanley Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia

Review: You gotta love the starpower they bring to the table in Cano, Peds, Hanley, Jose and even Choo. Rotation will need the old Matt Cain and the NL version of Hammel to make a serious run for a championship.

Help: Stephen Piscotty, Garin Cecchini

Breakdown: INF: 8, OF: 10, SP: 7, HELP: 1 = 26

1.

Core Four : Matt Kemp, Nelson Cruz, Jose Reyes, Ian Kinsler

Review: No true superstars, but they have a very well rounded team with multiple options at each position. Steady, proven contributors all around. Pitching staff is full of reliable 3’s, but solid depth. This team should be near the top all year. The 3 young arms should provide a jumpstart to the rotation too.

Help: Carlos Rodon, Taijuan Walker, Brandon Finnegan

Ranking: INF: 8, OF: 8, SP: 7, HELP: 3 = 26

[Troy (Toronto)]

Power Rankings, Edition 1. ^Above.

[Deleted]

Nice work man. Always love readng these rankings.
But Detroit will finish better

[Gregory (Houston)]

---

MLB Futures Power Rankings

This set of Power Rankings is designed to project how well a team is doing 2~3 years down the road, when about half the prospects are in the league, and contracts are beginning to expire.  There were 5 categories taken into consideration for each team: Current Talent, Cap Management, Farm System, Poison Contracts, and Draft Picks.


Current Talent (35 pts) : Looked only at the talent on the active roster, gave minor consideration to contract length if there were a lot of one year contracts.

Cap Management (10 pts) : Primarily based off of each team's cap space.  Payments and contract length were major factors.

Farm System (20 pts) : Pretty self-explanatory. How well is each team's current farm system going to be doing in 3 years? Both depth and star power were considerations. 15 was the point value for an average system.

Poison Contracts (15 pts) : This was partially a measure of a player's boom-bust potential compared to their contract. Some players will never be able to live up to their contract, and this score reflected that.

Draft Picks (20 pts) : How many (high) draft picks a team has over the next two years. 15 was average point value.


Without further ado, presenting the MLB Futures Power Rankings!


20. 

Current Talent: 33. This team is well-set to contend this year, with Kershaw, Gray, Lucroy, and Hamilton leading the charge.
Cap Management: 1. Holy crap this team is so screwed next year.  Kershaw has a huge contract kicking in, and OAK has 25M+ in payments this season. 
Farm System: 9.  Oakland enacted a major tear-down of their farm system to win now. Their top prospect is...Taylor Guerrieri?
Poison Contracts: 9.  Hamilton is over-paid, and there will be a reckoning with Kershaw's contract next year.  High bust potential on Hamilton/Myers/AGonz due to age or being unproven.
Draft Picks: 6. Again, another category in which Oakland threw in the towel. This Power Ranking was not kind.

Overall: 58 pts.  This team is set to self-destruct in the next few years.


19. 


Current Talent: 26.  Harper, Springer, Gordon, and Kluber are all good players, and will continue to be good 3 years from now.  They are alone on their team, though.
Cap Management: 2.  They have 0 cap space, and are up against the wall. Not many of their contracts will be expiring next year, which leaves them stuck.
Farm System: 14.  They could have a better system, but it will work.  Sanchez, Berrios, and Adames are all good pieces.
Poison Contracts: 3.  Quite a bit of bust potential on this team, and no way to get out of it should any of their studs implode.
Draft Picks: 15.  They haven't had any action on this front.

Overall: 60 pts.  If everything pans out, they might be good enough to be a contender. However, there is a lot of risk here.


18. 

Current Talent: 28.  Rizzo is a good piece, Braun is ok for a secondary stud, and Price will have to perform.  The depth is good.
Cap Management: 7. Next year will be tricky, as Chapman's payment comes off the books. Most of those low-end players will have to go.
Farm System: 17.  One word: Bryant.
Poison Contracts: 10.  Rizzo is a bit overpaid, Chapman and Zobrist will be well overpaid.
Draft Picks: 5.  Wow.  I needed a microscope to find their draft picks.

Overall: 67 pts.  Once Bryant hits the majors, this franchise will look a lot better. There is a lot of potential here, just no draft picks. The farm in a few years could be in critical condition.


17. 

Current Talent: 32.  They are set to contend this year.  Plenty of high quality players here.
Cap Management: 2.  They are capped out, and will need to make room for over 15M next year. This is a crisis situation.
Farm System: 14.  A bit below average.  Sims and McCullers will have to pan out for this team to be a force.
Poison Contracts: 11.  Tomas is looking to be closer to busting every day now. Most of the other players are being paid close to market value.
Draft Picks: 11.  They have sent away both of their 1st rounders. Not the wisest strategy.

Overall: 70 pts.  Another win-now team that might not be able to last. Say your prayers and bet on this team this year.


16. 

Current Talent: 30.  This is a well-balanced team that should do well in a number of categories.  This was one of the most evenly constructed rosters in the league.
Cap Management: 6. They are very, very close to capping out.  They may not have much money next year to play with.
Farm System: 15.  Many players are close to breaking into the majors.  Peterson and Conforto were both notable.
Poison Contracts: 4. Here's a list of 9M+ players on Miami: Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Ben Zobrist, & Todd Frazier.  I spy someone who doesn't belong.
Draft Picks: 15. Not much activity on this front.

Overall: 70 pts.  A good team, but with several bad-to-meh contracts in Revere, Frazier, and Arcia.


15. 

Current Talent: 20. This roster has possibly the least talent on it, as the GM tried a strategy that fell flat on its face.  Several trades later, this team is in full-on rebuild mode.
Cap Management: 7. Several payments will come off the books next year.  This will be a source of hope come the next offseason.
Farm System: 16. Sano, Owens, and Gray could all be stars. This was a well-stocked farm.
Poison Contracts: 11.  No particular contract struck me as horrible. However, the overall bust potential is high with this group, including Baez, Ellsbury, and Castellanos.
Draft Picks: 20. They have doubled up on 1st and 2nd rounders for both of the next years. This will hopefully lead to great things in Philly.

Overall: 74 pts.  A team that has definitely embarked on the rebuilding path.  Keep an eye on them as their top prospects begin to graduate.


14. 

Current Talent: 24.  Losing Yu Darvish for the season hurts a lot.  With him probably goes Toronto's playoff hopes. 
Cap Management: 8. They have a fair amount of space for next season, coming in at just over 10M.
Farm System: 15.  They have some quality, top tier pieces in Russell and Winker.  Overall, there is some good depth here.
Poison Contracts: 9.  Darvish is looking like a worse and worse contract by the day. Freeman could get ugly in a hurry if his FB distance continues its alarming decline.
Draft Picks: 19. This team has picked up a spare first rounder in 2015, which will be an immense help come the next offseason.

Overall: 75 pts.  They are in a limbo between contending and rebuilding, what with their ace having a season-ending injury before games ever started.


13. 

Current Talent: 29.  They will be relying on two or three studs the entire season to drag them through the brutal West.  This could be an amazing success, or a catastrophic failure.
Cap Management: 7. They project to have a little over 5M going into the next season in cap space. Not too much, but enough to sign another mid-tier piece.
Farm System: 15. Bell and Mondesi are both studs that are expected to pan out.  Both have spots being warmed in the majors right now.
Poison Contracts: 10.  Puig and Bumgarner could both be deals that LA regrets next year.  Bumgarner pitched a herculean number of innings last year, and Puig is the picture of boom-bust players.
Draft Picks: 15. No activity on this front.

Overall: 76 pts.  This team is well-constructed to add in their top prospects to primary positions of need.  They need to hope that their top players pan out, or they will be in a world of hurt.


12. 

Current Talent: 21.  Aside from McCutchen and Lester, this team doesn't have many WOW players on the roster.  It will be a struggle this season.
Cap Management: 9. Excellent contracts overall, there's not much more you could ask for from this cap-conscious team. They are set up well to deal with free agency in the coming years.
Farm System: 16. Seager, Zimmer, and Peraza are all studs that should perform excellently for Chicago in the near future.
Poison Contracts: 14. Again, the front office made good decision involving their cap space.
Draft Picks: 16.  The extra Arizona pick was just enough to push this team into above-average status, especially with their lower projected finish.

Overall: 76 pts.  Wait till next year. It'll be a great year next year!


11. 

Current Talent: 32. Trout, Abreu, and Hamels equip this team to be in contender discussions all year. 
Cap Management: 5.  The aforementioned players cost this team 72.5M.  Ouch.
Farm System: 16. Lindor and Franco are both high-quality picks that fell. Both are set to take over spots in TB's lineup shortly.
Poison Contracts: 5.  The top 3 players are on prohibitive contracts. Yes, they are all top players, but with top money.
Draft Picks: 19.  They have 2 first rounders in each of the next two years. This sets up the farm well for years to come.

Overall: 77 pts.  This team is well set to contend this year and will be a force for many years, as long as they keep their cap under control.


10. 

Current Talent: 29.  Cabrera, Upton, and Cueto are all studs. It just seems that Seattle cannot shake the injury bug, as key players have gone down with both nagging and freak injuries over the last few weeks.
Cap Management: 7. Seattle has about 6M to work with: Not too bad, not too great. This will allow them to be noticed on the FA market, but they can't break the bank.
Farm System: 16. Correa is possibly the #2 prospect, and Dahl is an excellent hitter who will be moving to the thin Colorado air soon.
Poison Contracts: 10.  Seattle has done a pretty good job avoiding disastrous signings. Due to injury woes, a number of their deals look worse now than they did at signing.
Draft Picks: 15.  Seattle has held course here.

Overall: 77 pts.  They would have been a playoff hopeful had injuries to Stroman, Span, & the drug issue with Hamilton not happened. As is, they will have a strong core of prospects rising through the ranks to Seattle shortly.


9. 

Current Talent: 31.  Here's a list of their infielders: Gomes, Goldschmidt, Dozier, Longoria, Mercer. Aside from shortstop, this is a star-studded list of the best in the game at the diamond positions.
Cap Management: 6. They find themselves with very little room to work with under the cap when the Wheeler payment runs out.  
Farm System: 13.  One of the worst farm systems that wasn't torn down intentionally, this group is riddled with holes from top to bottom. Mazara is their best man.
Poison Contracts: 12.  Dozier is a high risk player: Will he come back or won't he?  Longoria is being paid for past performance a bit much, as well.
Draft Picks: 15. Very little activity. 

Overall: 77 pts.  This team is set to dominate in hitting, now can they back it up with their staff?


8. 

Current Talent: 32.  Boston has a deep, balanced lineup with a number of studs at the top, including Gomez, Harvey, and Sale.  This team is built to win, and win for years.
Cap Management: 9.  They have an excess of 9M going into the next year with, and very few holes to fill.
Farm System: 16.  Also another strength of the organization, their farm system is one of the tops. Swihart, Matz, and Souza all project well.
Poison Contracts: 7.  The depth was good, but they could well have overpaid on several of their contracts if the DL doesn't stay empty.
Draft Picks: 15.  Not much going on here.

Overall: 79 pts.  This team is well-built and has very few weaknesses.


7. 

Current Talent: 30.  Stanton leads the charge, with CarGo, Arenado, and Mesorasco backing him up. We shall see if the pitching turns out to be at all useful with Corbin not returning until near the ASB.
Cap Management: 8.  This team has a lot of minimum players, but that didn't cut into nearly 9M of cap left this year.  They can make some waves next offseason.
Farm System: 15. Urias, Crawford, and Olson all have massive potential, but the overall level drops off after that.
Poison Contracts: 11.  Stanton is overpaid, even if he mashes 45 HR every year. Additionally, many of the players have big splits. We'll see if Dallas can make it work.
Draft Picks: Nothing to get excited about, Dallas has kept all of their draft picks.

Overall: 79 pts.  The star-studded hitting may be enough to carry this lineup through to the playoffs, or they could flop around Stanton. Only time can tell, but the future is looking up for this club.


6. 

Current Talent: 21.  This team has more holes than Swiss cheese. It has very few saving graces, and could fall even further if many of the players don't have miraculous seasons again.
Cap Management: 9.  San Francisco has more than enough room to make any moves it wants to, especially after the Kershaw payment runs out.
Farm System: 20. This is by far the best farm system in the league. It'll have to be, given how terrible the active 28 are.
Poison Contracts: 12.  The overall contract situation is good, although a few of the contracts are high (McCann, Betts, Gordon).
Draft Picks: 17.  They skimmed a first rounder from Arizona in the Adrian Gonzalez trade, putting them in even better shape moving forward.

Overall: 79 pts.  Our last rebuilding team, they are well-positioned to have a field day come free agency.


5. 

Current Talent: 32. This studded lineup is full of household names, ranging from Seager to Cole to Duda to Teheran.  They are a well balanced, even squad that looks to be setting up well.
Cap Management: 6.  They have about 4M in cap space, and project to go up more next offseason when several payments come off the books.
Farm System: 14. Michael Taylor is the best player available, but he may be stuck for another year while Denard Span mans the middle for Washington.
Poison Contracts: 13.  This club has well thought-out contracts on the books, with very few glaring errors.
Draft Picks: 15. Very little activity here.

Overall: 80 pts.  This club intends to contend, and they are set to maintain their roster comfortably moving forward.


4. 

Current Talent: 32. A number of stars occupy this lineup, including Posey and Encarnacion. More fearsome is the rotation, with Hernandez, Fernandez, and Wainwright all being studs in their own right.
Cap Management: 7.  They have a dizzying number of payments in and out, but most of their low-end contracts come off the books next season.
Farm System: 17.  They employ some of the top pitching prospects in the game, including Syndergaard, Rodon, Kolek, and Meyer.
Poison Contracts: 12.  That Fernandez contract is a doozy if he doesn't return to form pre-injury.
Draft Picks: 13.  They traded their first rounder this year, but maintained two second rounder to minimize the loss.

Overall: 81 pts.  This club will be depleted in their farm as soon as the top prospects move up, but they have the talent to win now.


3. 

Current Talent: 33.  This is possibly the best club in the league, employing the services of Bautista, Ramirez, Molina, Cano, and Pedroia.  Their starters are extremely weak, but they could well win it on hitting alone.
Cap Management: 6.  They could be caught in a bind in the coming years, with only 3M to throw around and not many contracts expiring soon.
Farm System: 16. This was one of the better farms, with top prospect Buxton attempting a comeback from an injury riddled season last year. However, their ranking swings solely on his shoulders. 
Poison Contracts: 13. Overall, no contract sticks out as a poor one, with a good balance among the hitting.
Draft Picks: Minnesota has been quiet on the trading front overall.

Overall: 83 pts.  I would be heavily surprised not to see this club in the playoffs for years to come.


2. 

Current Talent: 32.  Their lineup and rotation are very well balanced, with very few flaws.  If Pence doesn't come back, then the lineup could suffer a bit. However, I don't see that happening any time soon.
Cap Management: 8.  They spent most of their money, but it was evenly distributed.  
Farm System: 15.  Their top prospects are excellent, but it falls off after Appel. There are a few bright spots, but the top guys are enough to propel them to an average ranking.
Poison Contracts: 14.  Hardly any mistakes in the construction of this ballclub. 
Draft Picks: 15. They've held steady on their draft picks.

Overall: 84 pts. Both Cleveland and the next team will be battling over the season for the best team of the future.


1. 

Current Talent: 31.  The final team on these power rankings has a solid roster from top to bottom, just trailing the elite clubs in the league. They have holes in the infield, but everything else is well-covered.
Cap Management: 10.  This was by far the savviest team with their cap.  It's hard to do much better than they did.
Farm System: 15. Both Jackson and Pompey are star outfielders, and will greatly benefit their club when they arrive at the Show.
Poison Contracts: 13.  Tulowitzki and Marte might have been slightly overpaid, but those are minor concerns compared to the overall construction of the roster.
Draft Picks: 15.  Not much happened here, they retained all of their draft picks.

Overall: 84 pts.  I expect great things out of this lineup both this year and in the future. There's no reason why this team won't be a contender for years to come.

[Troy (Toronto)]

Awesome. Enlighten me next time, would have loved to help.

[Gregory (Houston)]

Knee-Jerk Week 1 Power Rankings: 4/13/2015

These power rankings were based off of last week's results, with significant consideration given to close categories, prior ranking, and expected regression.


20. 

Astonishingly, this team managed to do BETTER than expected, after selling off most of their movable assets in a flurry of trades immediately prior to the season's opening. However, the overall lack of talent will have this team permanently attached to the bottom of the standings for most of the season.

Movement : (-1)
Last Week : (3-8-1)
19. 

By far the worst performer of the week, the Phillies barely avoid the cellar...for this week.

Movement : (-1)
Last Week : (0-11-1)

18. 

The Red Sox had an admirable pitching display this week, posting a WHIP of 1.097. However, their bats failed them in the end, only scoring 19 runs over the week.

Movement : (-4)
Last Week : (2-10-0)

17. 

Putting up just a .236 AVG and 26 runs, this team couldn't capitalize on several key categories.  They finished out the week in disappointing fashion.

Movement : (0)
Last Week : (4-7-1)

16. 

Still waiting on super-prospect Bryant to be called up, Kansas City had a reasonable week, with stellar pitching including 6 W proving to be not enough.  Get some offense over here!

Movement : (-4)
Last Week : (4-7-1)

15. 

Excellent averages saved this team, posting a .294 AVG, .748 OPS, and 1.172 WHIP.  Otherwise, this team doesn't look to be going anywhere fast.

Movement : (-4)
Last Week : (4-7-1)

14. 

An offense predicted to be great turned out to flop fast, with only 27 runs scored and 18 RBI's, to pair with a .238 AVG.  An unexpected pitching performance or two made this week respectable for the Yanks.

Movement : (-4)
Last Week : (4-6-2)

13. 

Wow. A team projected to do great things this year flopped in the very first week.  A couple of stellar outings barely saved this team in the final two days. Our biggest fallers, this team needs to turn it around in a hurry.

Movement : (-7)
Last Week : (4-7-1)

12. 

I would have this team higher, but my editor tells me that I can't crown a champion in week 1. So, take this rank with a grain of salt and some excellent upward potential.  Our biggest riser had a fantastic week, with performances coming in from all around the team.

Movement : (+8)
Last Week : (11-0-1)

11. 

Another team seriously outperforming expectations, we've now rounded into the encouraging part of the rankings.  They had the best WHIP far and away, and the rest of their ratios were stellar as well.

Movement : (+5)
Last Week : (7-4-1)

10. 

This shift in rankings corresponds primarily to the major moves that the Athletics made before the season opener, which netted reigning Cy Young winner, Kershaw. Oh, and they also did pretty good in the hitting department, going for 43 runs, 31 RBI's, and 11 stolen bags.

Movement : (+5)
Last Week : (8-4-0)

9. 

This team underperformed slightly, but they ultimately fared pretty well for themselves. The Mariners brought home 23 baserunners, as well as batting .284 and OPS'ing .784.

Movement : (0)
Last Week : (5-7-0)

8. 

More than a few youngsters broke out this week, giving the Blue Jays a potentially over-inflated ranking. We'll see how the GM decides to take this franchise, as there have been hints of blowing it up soon.

Movement : (+5)
Last Week : (7-4-1)

7. 

This is a fairly generous ranking, as the Rangers have a long way that they could slide.  Will their offensive production hold up with only a .691 OPS?  And will their pitchers near 60 K's every week?

Movement : (-3)
Last Week : (7-5-0)

6. 

Despite the large fall, the Indians did fairly well for themselves, given that Pence is still out.  However, there are a number of teams that did much better last week, and so the fall is necessitated.

Movement : (-5)
Last Week : (6-4-2)

5. 

One week, Minnesota. You have one more week to justify a high place in these rankings, or you'll be in double-digits before you can blink. Absolutely horrible showing, and we can only hope for positive regression from this wunderkind-style offense.

Movement : (-3)
Last Week : (4-8-0)

4. 

As one of two teams with 0 stolen bases and tied for the lowest runs scored, can the Astros keep it up? Points in all the right categories gave them a win that should have been closer.

Movement : (0)
Last Week : (7-4-1)

3. 

Another excellent showing from the deep Braves, as they went deep 12 times and had 41 RBI's to show for it. A nice 4 saves complemented a league-high 73 strikeouts in the opening week.

Movement : (+4)
Last Week : (10-2-0)

2. 

The top squad in the West, the Dodgers had just enough to push by with the top record.  However, this squad could regress in a hurry.

Movement : (+4)
Last Week : (8-3-1)

1. 

Apparently it's all in the air, as the Rockies blasted 10 HR's, 37 RBI's, and an outstanding .808 OPS, good enough for the best overall. The pitching should come around soon enough. This is the team to beat right now, they are on FIRE.

Movement : (+1)
Last Week : (7-4-1)