I've been asked a lot recently who I thought was the best team in baseball. It seems like a pretty easy question to answer, but I find myself always finding more than one team come to mind. You see, when it comes to my looking for the best team in baseball it's often hard to just look at records and make an assumption based on such a small sample size. I mean, it's only the second series starting for each of the clubs.
But if we look at it from a couple of different perspectives, I think we can come up with a pretty accurate list. I'm going to be putting out a new MLB Power Rankings/Pole every Tuesday during the course of the season. Things we will consider in ranking each of the 30 clubs will be betting opportunities, trends, overall record, road records, run/loss differentials and overall talent. I think these are all fair ways of making sure we have a competitive list that also takes into account where teams might be headed in the future, which can give us value moving forward this season.
ESPN and other various sports sites have been doing this for years.
Obviously I'm not trying to compete with sites like ESPN or CBS, but we want to have our own list.
I think both of those do a pretty good job of looking at teams and getting the right order put together. I think before the season started last week I would have had a significant opinion on the Red Sox being atop my rankings, but they've struggled out the gate with their starting pitching and Carl Crawford has looked lost at the plate. They're still in my Top 10, and some may think that's too high, but when we look at their potential and ability, they're going to be one of those teams that takes control of their division and plays considerably better as the season wears on. I don't think Texas caught them off guard, I just think the Rangers did a great job of beating up on Boston's pitching. With that, we'll dive right into my Power Rankings.
Brandon Watson's MLB Power Rankings:
1. Texas Rangers
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. New York Yankees
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Toronto Blue Jays
6. Cincinnati Reds
7. Atlanta Braves
8. Baltimore Orioles
9. Los Angeles Dodgers
10. Boston Red Sox
11. Colorado Rockies
12. San Diego Padres
13. San Fransisco Giants
14. Seattle Mariners
15. Chicago Cubs
16. Milwaukee Brewers (even at 0-4)
17. Pittsburgh Pirates
18. Florida Marlins
19. Oakland A's
20. Detroit Tigers
21. St. Louis Cardinals
22. Kansas City Royals (I don't believe)
23. Minnesota Twins
24. Anaheim Angels
25. Washington Nats
26. Tampa Bay Rays
27. New York Mets
28. Arizona Diamondbacks
29. Cleveland Indians
30. Houston Astros
Beginning next week, we will put the "last week" ranking next to the team along with their overall record. We will also be posting the total number of points each team is given, based on the formula I have that ranks each team. Let me know what you think! I hope to have a discussion going based on my opinions. I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say!