MLB Power Rankings: Making Sense of the Madness
Injuries and some truly bad performances played havoc with the MLB standings this past week. How did that affect the power rankings after Week Three?
Generally, heading into the MLB season, it is fairly easy to see who the top teams are going to be. Likewise, it is easy to determine which teams are going to be playing for that top draft pick, looking forward to a rebuilding season and dreams of contention in the coming years. At least, that is typically how it is when heading into a new season.
This year, some of those suppositions have been turned upside down. The Blue Jays, who were expected to contend for the postseason yet again, have the worst record in the game. The Cubs and Indians have scuffled for the first three weeks of the season, posting identical records and sporting the same run differential. The Giants have the worst record in the National League, and have lost ace Madison Bumgarner for six to eight weeks after a dirt bike accident.
Meanwhile, the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks have the two of the three best records in the NL. Even more surprising is that the Rockies have actually pitched their way to the top. Even the Padres, who were expected to be a 100 loss team, have managed to hover within a few games of .500.
So what does it all mean for this week’s installment of the MLB Power Rankings? Let’s take a look through and see where your favorite team is ranked heading into Week Four of the season.
Not only have the Blue Jays been scuffling to start the season, but they are now starting <a rel=. . Previous: 22nd. Toronto Blue Jays. 30. team. 39
San Diego Padres. 29. team. 127. The Padres may have the worst run differential in the MLB at -29, but they are only three games under .500. Although they may not stay around .500 for the entire season, this decent start bodes well for the future. Just imagine if they had a Major League caliber starting pitcher.. . Previous: 30th
7. The Royals have gone seven consecutive games without scoring more than two runs, tying a team record for offensive futility. Sunday’s lineup literally looked as though <a rel=. . Previous: 19th. Kansas City Royals. 28. team
Previous: 27th. Los Angeles Angels. 27. team. 102. Normally, <a rel=.
17. The Braves had been at .500 twelve games into the season. After a six game losing streak, the only real difference between this year’s team and last year’s is the level of experience on the pitching staff. At least Braves fans can watch <a rel=. . Previous: 25th. Atlanta Braves. 26. team
25. team. 40. The San Francisco Giants were already in trouble before Madison Bumgarner went on the disabled list following an accident on his dirtbike. At least he didn’t go all <a rel=. . Previous: 10th. San Francisco Giants
Previous: 15th. Seattle Mariners. 24. team. 62. Remember how <a rel=.
team. 61. Don’t look now, but the Reds are still over .500, and have the third best run differential in MLB right now. Even though they are still using a bullpen by committee, at least nominally, <a rel=. . Previous: 26th. Cincinnati Reds. 23
Previous: 24th. Chicago White Sox. 22. team. 128. <a rel=.
Milwaukee Brewers. 21. team. 76. Three weeks in, and <a rel=. . Previous: 23rd
33. After a dreadful start to the season, <a rel=. . Previous: 21st. St. Louis Cardinals. 20. team
The biggest victory for the A’s happened off the field. Although they do not have a location just yet, the A’s announced that they will be staying in Oakland, and will build a new stadium. One of the most traveled teams in MLB history will be staying put.. . Previous: 29th. Oakland Athletics. 19. team. 96
6. The annual <a rel=. . Previous: 28th. Philadelphia Phillies. 18. team
team. 4. The Pirates were already having a disappointing season when <a rel=. . Previous: 16th. Pittsburgh Pirates. 17
126. The Rangers have won four games in a row, albeit against the Royals. The biggest news from the weekend involved the performance of <a rel=. . Previous: 20th. Texas Rangers. 16. team
. Previous: 18th. Minnesota Twins. 15. team. 2. Are the Twins starting to fall back to Earth? After a promising start to the season, they have lost seven of their last ten games. If they are about to fade back to the pack, the performance of <a rel=
Tampa Bay Rays. 14. team. 21. The Rays take a lot of heat about their sparse crowds at Tropicana Field. This past week, those few fans helped give Tampa Bay a victory, as the Tigers twice let a fly ball drop because a fan called for it. Maybe having few fans in the Trop isn’t so bad after all.. . Previous: 17th
. Previous: 5th. New York Mets. 13. team. 3. Heading into Sunday night’s contest against the nationals, the Mets had won only one of their last eight games. Meanwhile, <a rel=
team. 82. <a rel=. . Previous: 8th. Miami Marlins. 12
11. team. 63. <a rel=. . Previous: 11th. Detroit Tigers
Arizona Diamondbacks. 9. team. 8. Here we are, three weeks into the season, and the Arizona Diamondbacks still lead the National League West. Although we keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, they have the second best run differential in the MLB at +26. Could <a rel=. . Previous: 13th
11. It was an interesting weekend for the Orioles and <a rel=. . Previous: 14th. Baltimore Orioles. 8. team
108. A shutout at Coors Field? That is how good the Rockies pitching staff has been lately, where <a rel=. . Previous: 9th. Colorado Rockies. 7. team
43. So it turns out that <a rel=. . Previous: 12th. New York Yankees. 6. team
Boston Red Sox. 5. team. 14. <a rel=. . Previous: 4th
Is it time for the Dodgers to be concerned about <a rel=. . Previous: 1st. Los Angeles Dodgers. 4. team. 71
Chicago Cubs. 3. team. 9. At some point, the Cubs will find their way. It is just an early season World Series hangover. They are too talented to remain around .500. While all these talking points make sense, at what point during the season do the Cubs start to be concerned by their performance?. . Previous: 2nd
2. team. 90. The National League leaders, the Nationals have been on fire lately. Winners of seven consecutive games, Washington has overcome their bullpen issues with a white hot offense. Perhaps the biggest surprise has been <a rel=. . Previous: 6th. Washington Nationals
135. After constant attempts to acquire <a rel=. . Previous: 3rd. Houston Astros. 1. team