MLB Power Rankings: Week 2
You have to love the early part of the MLB season. There are many teams that are both surprises and disappointments. The buffer of preseason rankings are beginning to lose their weight and now we start to base these rankings based on what we are seeing from actual baseball. There are quite a few surprised on this list past the top 2 so let’s get to it!
10 - San Francisco Giants (9-6)
Is Tradon right about this team being a Wild Card contender? They had a weird week, taking the series from the Reds then losing a series to the Marlins. Offensively this team is not good but they have the 3rd best team ERA in baseball right now. If they keep that up, who knows what can happen?
9 - Oakland Athletics (9-7)
Thank goodness! After a 1-7 start the A’s have themselves a nice 8-game winning streak going and are looking more and more like the team I predicted to win the AL West. Granted, they played the Tigers and Diamondbacks this week so I’m curious to see how they play against better competition moving forward.
8 - Kansas City Royals (9-5)
Huh? What happened to the Twins and White Sox running this division? Well the Royals have entered the conversation after a 5-2 week. This team is just about average in every category and that will most likely be where they will end up. However, no other team in that division has stepped up and I’m gonna give the NL Central leaders credit.
7 - Los Angeles Angels (8-5)
They went 2-2 last week with a bulk of the weekend series against the Twins being postponed. The Angels are still an interesting team but they have star power and are in a wild division. Their 5th ranked offense is carrying this team right now. The pitching, ranked 22nd, will be a problem but for now they are a top 10 team.
6 - New York Mets (7-4)
This team had high expectations coming into this season. They’ve had a ton of postponed games but they did go 5-1 last week, 3 of those wins against division rival Philadelphia. They have struggled a bit offensively but their 4th ranked pitching staff is what will carry this team.
5 - Milwaukee Brewers (8-7)
This is one of few teams that are doing what I expected. They are pitching great but their offense is gonna struggle. I still like them as favorites to win the NL Central. Let’s also talk about Corbin Burnes who has 30 strikeouts and 0 walks to start the season!
4 - Cincinnati Reds (9-6)
I left this team off the power rankings last week because I thought it was just a hot start. Maybe that will end up being the case but this Reds team has shown they are gonna be competitors in 2021. They have the third best run differential and third best offense. I do think their pitching will be their downfall eventually but for now they are riding high.
3 - Boston Red Sox (11-6)
Well damn, who saw this coming? The Red Sox have gotten off to a very hot start in 2021. They have the best offense in baseball right now led by J.D. Martinez who has a ridiculous OPS of 1.239. With as weak as the AL East has looked so far, we might wanna start taking Boston seriously.
2 - San Diego Padres (10-7)
They may have lost 2 of 3 from the Dodgers but they easily could have swept. They went toe-to-toe with the best team in baseball, which makes their series split with the Pirates very confusing. They’ll get another chance to take a series from the Dodgers next weekend in LA.
1 - Los Angeles Dodgers (13-3)
The Dodgers are just so far above everyone else in baseball right now. They swept the Rockies and took the series from the Padres in the first chapter of an exciting division battle. They have a lot going well but their starting pitching is definitely the strength so far as they are 9-1 with a 2.44 ERA.