For the one and only time this year, these power rankings will be solely done via my own bias, as soon as I have working data to go with to plug into my own spreadsheets to come up with unbiased results, then and only then will I have bias free Power Rankings for you to look at and ponder. I will do a top 15 for most of my power rankings except every 20-21 games I will do all 30 teams.
- St. Louis Cardinals: They won 97 games last year and were 2 games away from winning it all. So for an encore they upgraded their defense, speed, and power. If they have any holes it might be one or two middle relievers in a funk. I cannot wait to see what Matt Adams can do with regular at bats and about 550 of them this season.Also do not be shocked to see them lead baseball with best average with RISP.
- Boston Red Sox: Like the Cardinals, the Red Sox won 97 games last season and have a rich farm system to plug any needed holes. They will not quite be the same team as last year but I could still see them winning 90 games this season without blinking. I think Grady Sizemore could be the comeback player of the year for the AL this year.
- Detroit Tigers: Verlander, Scherzer, and Sanchez are one of the nastiest trios in baseball, Paired with annual MVP Cabrera, a power lineup that is still lethal without Fielder, and with a new skipper at the helm in the form of former Gold Glove winning Catcher Brad Ausmus, I see nothing stopping them from another bid to the playoffs.
- Los Angeles Dodgers: The best team money can buy so I have read. The main question is can their team stay healthy enough to have meaningful years from Ramirez, Kemp, Ethier, and the rest of the team. Then the question to be asked are Kershaw’s issues that prevented him from pitching tonight anything to worry about?
- Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays always manage to put out a quality project without spending as much on it. They have a better lineup than they have had in past years combined with a rotation that has lots of talent, and they never seem to give up either. If they make it past the All Star Break without trading up pieces of their team, I would say they are a lock for nothing less than a wild card.
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Expect a lot of talent to transition to their 25 man roster this year. They have may miss Burnett pitching for them this year, but they have more prospects coming up that can pitch like Cole. On top of that they will have other impact players showing off their stuff this year. Plus they still have a good core of players centered around the reigning NL MVP.
- Washington Nationals: It pains me to put them this high on my rankings, it really does. I have heard since what I am calling their fluke run in 2012, No one liked the Nats in 2012 until after the All Star Break, all I remember hearing at the beginning of 2012 is how the Phillies had the best three man rotation in baseball and how they would be a repeat 100 game winner. Interesting, that is almost what they have said about the Nats since the end of 2012. I keep hearing about all of this talent with no solid track record to back it on. Given the nature of all the injuries to the Braves gives the Nationals the best shot they are going to get at winning that division. Had it not been for that, I would maybe given them as high as 13 on this list. If you want a top spot on my list, it has to be earned.
- Texas Rangers: Had it not been for all of their Injuries they would rank higher on this list. I am curious to see how far they have to dig into their farm system to get anywhere this year (Keep in mind the Cardinals used 21 rookies last year). They have a nasty lineup, maybe the best in baseball in terms of production, but anyone with half a brain can tell you it takes solid healthy pitching and about 35 players to win a WS.
- Cincinnati Reds: They have also seen more injuries than they like, although they are not as crippled yet. Losing Chapman for one fifth of the season is not good by any measure either. I wonder what their production will be like without Choo. They will have an interesting year, if they hold their ground until they are healthy they have a shot at a wild card.
- Kansas City Royals: I think this year the kids in Kansas City will be alright as a whole. they should have some breakout years and solid production backed by a solid rotation. They may even give Detroit a better run for their money than expected.
- Atlanta Braves: The Braves might start the year gimping, but if players play to their potential (I am looking at the Upton Brothers and Uggla) they could have better production, and they still have a formidable staff. I expect them to take a wild card at best though.
- Baltimore Orioles: The one thing that hurt them last year was not their defense or their production, it was the lack of anything close to a pitching staff that was contender quality. They have made moves to address that and I want to see if it will be enough to push them into October for the second time in three years.
- Seattle Mariners: I think they could have one of the best 4 rotations in baseball, along with the free agents they picked up in terms of position players and the prospects they are adding to the mix, they could be the Dark horse of the AL this year. If you have a fantasy league and you are looking for pitching to fill out your team, pick any of their three young guns and problem solved. To say they have the best pitching in that division is an understatement given all the injuries to the A’s and Rangers.
- Oakland A’s: They may not have deep pockets, and their farm system regularly gets depleted by restocking the 25 man roster, but they seem to find a way to win, and at the end of the day, best single player awards do not always get to the playoffs, this is still a team sport, and the A’s have time and time again turned a lot of nobodies into a team that plays in October.
- San Francisco Giants: They have won two WS in the last 4 years, and it is hard to write them off totally. If they have a comeback year with their starting rotation good things will happen, they could maybe even outplay the Dodgers. I wanted this last spot to go to an NL team, and it was a hard toss up between them and the Padres (potential dark horse for the NL). At the end of the day to be honest though the Padres are pretty up and down and inconsistent.