MLB rankings

[molsaniceman]

Does this put Dougie over the edge?

MLB Power Rankings: How All 30 Teams Stack Up 1 Month from Spring Training

 

[moxie]

Giants are middle of the packish.

 

[calsnowskier]

Does this put Dougie over the edge?

MLB Power Rankings: How All 30 Teams Stack Up 1 Month from Spring Training

Good article, but it is already rather dated. And some of the data is just flat out wrong. I understand them not having Jackson on the Giants, since he was signed after the cutoff date (1/15), but they listed Cutch as the CF when it was announced pretty much right away that he would be playing RF.

That said, I have no qualms with their placement of the Giants at 18. I just question their methodology for arriving at their conclusions.

 

[navamind]

Good article, but it is already rather dated. And some of the data is just flat out wrong. I understand them not having Jackson on the Giants, since he was signed after the cutoff date (1/15), but they listed Cutch as the CF when it was announced pretty much right away that he would be playing RF.

That said, I have no qualms with their placement of the Giants at 18. I just question their methodology for arriving at their conclusions.

Yeah, I'm not sure the Marlins are better than the Tigers or Royals now that they've dealt Yelich.

Rangers seem too high. That rotation looks pretty bad and even Hamels seems like an uncertainty IMO. Not to mention they have a few other weak spots (outfield, DH, 2B, C).

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

pretty fair, although I dont like the Cubs nearly as much as they do

An aging rotation and a very average looking lineup outside of Rizzo and Bryant

Lots of potential though with the lineup if Baez, Contreras, schwarber and happ can have good seasons

 

[navamind]

very average looking lineup outside of Rizzo and Bryant

Come on, you could do this with just about any team. Take away Stanton and Judge and the Yankees lineup looks pretty average. Take away any of Bellinger/Seager/Turner and the Dodgers look pretty average. Etc. Even if it's true, they still have Rizzo and Bryant, two of the best hitters in the NL.

The Cubs were 4th in the league in runs scored and finished 2 runs behind the Rockies for the most in the NL. They had the 2nd highest wRC+ in the NL behind only the Dodgers. In 2016, they were 3rd in the league in runs (behind only the Rockies and Red Sox) and were tied with the Cards for first in the NL in wRC+. Their lineup looks pretty damn good to me. Contreras has been one of the best offensive catchers since getting called up. Ian Happ slugged .514 with 24 home runs in only 113 games. I also expect a rebound from Schwarber, he had a pretty strong 2nd half last year (.253/.335/.559).

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

Come on, you could do this with just about any team. Take away Stanton and Judge and the Yankees lineup looks pretty average. Take away any of Bellinger/Seager/Turner and the Dodgers look pretty average. Etc. Even if it's true, they still have Rizzo and Bryant, two of the best hitters in the NL.

The Cubs were 4th in the league in runs scored and finished 2 runs behind the Rockies for the most in the NL. They had the 2nd highest wRC+ in the NL behind only the Dodgers. In 2016, they were 3rd in the league in runs (behind only the Rockies and Red Sox) and were tied with the Cards for first in the NL in wRC+. Their lineup looks pretty damn good to me. Contreras has been one of the best offensive catchers since getting called up. Ian Happ slugged .514 with 24 home runs in only 113 games. I also expect a rebound from Schwarber, he had a pretty strong 2nd half last year (.253/.335/.559).

Maybe the postseason is pretty fresh in my mind, i just saw too many outs in that lineup....I hate Heyward, Zobrist and Russell as offensive players, and Baez will drive you crazy....Like you said, if Schwarber bounces back, and Happ is the real deal, it changes the entire look of that lineup.....And yeah on Contreras, I guess he is pretty damn good

 

[navamind]

Maybe the postseason is pretty fresh in my mind, i just saw too many outs in that lineup....I hate Heyward, Zobrist and Russell as offensive players, and Baez will drive you crazy....Like you said, if Schwarber bounces back, and Happ is the real deal, it changes the entire look of that lineup.....And yeah on Contreras, I guess he is pretty damn good

Heyward has been nothing but disappointing. I really don't know what to make of him. Zobrist was pretty awful last year, but he was quite productive in 2016 (.272/.386/.446) and he was pretty steady up until 2017. I thought Russell would break out last year, but he really slumped for a while. Even then, his offense is still about average/slightly below average for a middle infielder, plus his glove makes up for that. Same goes for Baez. They're still young enough to improve offensively.

The rotation could be a concern though. I'd expect Lester to bounce back from his down year and Quintana/Hendricks should be good, but the back end looks pretty suspect though I like the Chatwood signing. Still needs to cut down on the walks, but he pitched pretty well despite pitching at Coors.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

Heyward has been nothing but disappointing. I really don't know what to make of him. Zobrist was pretty awful last year, but he was quite productive in 2016 (.272/.386/.446) and he was pretty steady up until 2017. I thought Russell would break out last year, but he really slumped for a while. Even then, his offense is still about average/slightly below average for a middle infielder, plus his glove makes up for that. Same goes for Baez. They're still young enough to improve offensively.

The rotation could be a concern though. I'd expect Lester to bounce back from his down year and Quintana/Hendricks should be good, but the back end looks pretty suspect though I like the Chatwood signing. Still needs to cut down on the walks, but he pitched pretty well despite pitching at Coors.

On Zobrist and Lester, I think you have to start paying a little attention to their age, and in Lesters' case, the innings on that arm.......

Im loving this Brewers lineup, id love for them to add a Darvish/Arrietta/Cobb type

 

[navamind]

On Zobrist and Lester, I think you have to start paying a little attention to their age, and in Lesters' case, the innings on that arm.......

Im loving this Brewers lineup, id love for them to add a Darvish/Arrietta/Cobb type

This is true. Lester has pitched a lot of games. He's made 31+ starts ten years in a row plus the other ~140 postseason innings he's thrown over that span.

 

[JohnU]

Seems pretty subjective, all in all. I don't see Tampa Bay that high.
I think the rest of the division is catching up on the Cubs. Winning 93 gets tougher when more teams are pushing for .500 or better.

 

[Voltaire26]

Tigers at 30 ... no place to go but up!! The Indians may have the biggest margin between them and 2nd place ever ... I think Minnesota is overrated.

 

[msgkings322]

Nobody knows nuthin'

 

[JohnU]

This whole rating system is pegged to "if they can stay healthy" which is about the lamest platform ever for evaluating a baseball team. Geez, if the Germans hadn't attacked Pearl Harbor .... blabba blabba.

It's also another of those things where we assume the teams that were good will remain such and those that were bad are still a year or so away from producing a contender. It's just not very original analysis. How the HELL do the Yankees not scream to the top two or three on this list after signing away the only guy to legitimately hit 50 HR in a season in decades?

I just didn't see anything in this analysis that wasn't done out of zero research, seat of the pants planning and 'well, here's the 2017 standings, now see if that fits for 2018.'

I will also say, and get laughed at ... the team that signs Dusty Baker to manage them will eventually make the playoffs. It's happened everywhere the guy has been.

 

[calsnowskier]

the only guy to legitimately hit 50 HR in a season in decades

 

[bksballer89]

Agent: 'Fight is brewing' over slow MLB market

 

[JohnU]

Right, I forgot ... Barry Bonds is playing left field this year for the Yankees.
Cheesh ... miss the point much?

 

[tducey]

Thanks for posting this. Going to be a fun season, also all these free agents yet to be signed. Where they go could change these power rankings.

 

[calsnowskier]

Right, I forgot ... Barry Bonds is playing left field this year for the Yankees.
Cheesh ... miss the point much?

My post had NOTHING to do with Bonds. I was referring to the ridiculous numbers put up league wide last year due to juiced balls. If you were to pitch super balls to me, I could hit 50 HRs too.

 

[JohnU]

My post had NOTHING to do with Bonds. I was referring to the ridiculous numbers put up league wide last year due to juiced balls. If you were to pitch super balls to me, I could hit 50 HRs too.

So I suppose the target for this thread is who's got the best team. I think Stanton makes the Yankees the team to beat now. Not Houston. Not LA.