Honorable Mentions
10. Seattle Mariners
Led by Nelson Cruz last season, the Mariners had a couple of really good performances from their hitters in a disappointing 2015 season. Having Cruz back, along with the emergence of Kyle Seager and Ketel Marte, the Mariners offense looks to be in a good shape with the power and speed in the lineup. The team also signed some quality veterans to help supplement some of Seattle’s bigger pieces with the additions of Adam Lind, Nori Aoki and Chris Iannetta.
9. Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox lineup certainly has upside with very young talented players like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogearts and Jackie Bradley possibly improving on last season. Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez will also look to bounce back from down years in 2015. Boston still has reliable veterans in Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz too. Overall, there are many good hitters in this lineup who bring a lot of things to the table. However, the Red Sox just don’t have enough established players to be in the top five.
8. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals always seem to find a way to have a quality lineup. Even with injuries all over the field last season, St. Louis managed to have a batting order that was still very productive. Guys like Randal Grichuk, Kolten Wong and Stephen Piscotty were able to step up and carry the offense, which is a very good sign for the team’s future. These players look they are going to produce solid numbers for years to come and with hitters Matt Holliday and Matt Carpenter supporting the Cardinals’ young studs, St. Louis should be one of the better offenses in the game.
7. Baltimore Orioles
The O’s did a lot this offseason to keep their offense from falling back to Earth in 2016. The team re-signed Chris Davis to a record setting deal, had Matt Wieters accept a qualifying offer and added power hitters in Mark Trumbo and Pedro Alvarez. Baltimore should be one of the top power hitting teams in the league, but their achilles heel will probably be their strikeouts and ability to get on-base consistently. Even with all of this talent in the lineup, the Orioles have hitters that are prone to extended slumps, which will limit how good the Orioles offense will be. However, the Orioles will still have one of the best offenses in the major leagues in 2016 due to the amount of power that their batting order will produce.
6. Los Angeles Dodgers
Even though the team just lost Andre Ethier for 10-14 weeks according to the Los Angeles Post, the Dodgers still have guys who have been productive in Carl Crawford, Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig. Granted they have also all been inconsistent as well. Though Pederson is a frequent strikeout victim because of his long swing and Yasiel Puig has had some character concerns, the talent in the Los Angeles outfield stacks up very favorably to every other team in MLB. In addition, Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner and Howie Kendrick will be able to provide consistent offense for the team. Not to mention that the club now has the talented Corey Seager for a full season.
Next: 5. San Francisco Giants