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2019 MLB Power Rankings
We’ve seen some hot starts fade as we get deeper in the season. The Seattle Mariners were fun through the first few weeks, but are back under-.500. The Detroit Tigers overachieved for a stretch, but are back amongst the scrubs of the AL. At the same time, slow starts from teams like the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox are a thing of the past. The Cubs are back atop the NL Central and while the Sox dug a deeper a hole, they’re back over-.500 and rising.
With many of the early season surprises having faded away, we still have some that appear to have some staying power. Who had the Minnesota Twins having the best record in the AL in mid-May? What about the Pittsburgh Pirates holding a Wild Card position or the Tampa Bay Rays ahead of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox, let alone both?
The baseball season is a marathon and we’re still early in the race, but the sprinters are starting to falter and what we are left with may be stories we can follow into September. With yet another week under our belts, we again take a look at the Power Rankings as he now sit in the middle of the month.
ODDS TO WIN 2019 WORLD SERIES (AS OF MAY 20TH) |
Arizona Diamondbacks +5300 |
Atlanta Braves +4200 |
Baltimore Orioles +300000 |
Boston Red Sox +1275 |
Chicago Cubs +1150 |
Chicago White Sox +30000 |
Cincinnati Reds +21000 |
Cleveland Indians +2650 |
Colorado Rockies +12000 |
Detroit Tigers +75000 |
Houston Astros +350 |
Kansas City Royals +120000 |
Los Angeles Angels +10500 |
Los Angeles Dodgers +515 |
Miami Marlins +400000 |
Milwaukee Brewers +1800 |
Minnesota Twins +1100 |
New York Mets +3650 |
New York Yankees +500 |
Oakland Athletics +14500 |
Philadelphia Phillies +890 |
Pittsburgh Pirates +7500 |
Saint Louis Cardinals +1650 |
San Diego Padres +7500 |
San Francisco Giants +30000 |
Seattle Mariners +25000 |
Tampa Bay Rays +1700 |
Texas Rangers +30000 |
Toronto Blue Jays +50000 |
Washington Nationals +3450 |
ODDS TO WIN 2019 AMERICAN LEAGUE PENNANT (AS OF MAY 20TH) |
Baltimore Orioles +150000 |
Boston Red Sox +625 |
Chicago White Sox +14000 |
Cleveland Indians +1295 |
Detroit Tigers +36500 |
Houston Astros +165 |
Kansas City Royals +60000 |
Los Angeles Angels +5000 |
Minnesota Twins +535 |
New York Yankees +245 |
Oakland Athletics +7000 |
Seattle Mariners +12000 |
Tampa Bay Rays +820 |
Texas Rangers +14500 |
Toronto Blue Jays +24500 |
ODDS TO WIN 2019 NATIONAL LEAGUE PENNANT (AS OF MAY 20TH) |
Arizona Diamondbacks +2400 |
Atlanta Braves +1800 |
Chicago Cubs +500 |
Cincinnati Reds +9500 |
Colorado Rockies +5300 |
Los Angeles Dodgers +212 |
Miami Marlins +185000 |
Milwaukee Brewers +825 |
New York Mets +1750 |
Philadelphia Phillies +425 |
Pittsburgh Pirates +3500 |
Saint Louis Cardinals +741 |
San Diego Padres +3500 |
San Francisco Giants +14000 |
Washington Nationals +1625 |
The latest power rankings are below.
1: Houston Astros (26-15) - Coming out of the weekend, the Astros have won five straight and are 8-1 in their last nine. Houston is as complete a team as there is in the game. They’ve got a stacked lineup that’s producing even with Jose Altuve—now on the IL—hitting just .243. George Springer is having a monster season with a 1.060 OPS and 15 home runs. He’s got a .321/.400/.660 slash line. Behind him, Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley lead the team with a .967 and .968 OPS respectively, but they’re not alone. The Astros have nine players with an OPS+ of at least 109. There are five players with at least nine homers, too. On the mound, Gerrit Cole seems to have turned the corner after a slow start and Justin Verlander sits at 6-1 with a 2.51 ERA. Collin McHugh is the only starter not really performing and he was just moved to the pen where he dominated last year. Fortunately, they have one of the deeper minor league systems to pull upon when they do have a need. Corbin Martin just got the call to take the spot in the rotation.
2: Los Angeles Dodgers (27-16) - Predictably, A.J. Pollock is on the IL. Health has plagued him for years, but even with that, this team is still loaded with offensive talent. Cody Bellinger has mashed with a .407 average and 14 dingers. Joc Pederson has a dozen homers, too. Max Muncy looks like the real deal after a surprising 2018. Meanwhile, Justin Turner got off to a slow start, but has heated up the last week, too. On the mound, Hyun-Jin Ryu has had a great year going 5-1 with a 1.72 ERA in eight starts. He’s one of seven legitimate Major League starters at Dave Roberts’ disposal. With Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill, and Ryu, the Dodgers have one of the game’s best rotations. The bullpen could use some help given some home run troubles for Kenley Jansen and a terrible start for Joe Kelly, but Julio Urias is now in the pen with Dylan Floro and Scott Alexander, adding to the options.
3: Chicago Cubs (24-14) - The Cubs continue to win and are now 23-8 after their rough road trip to open the year. They’re 12-2 in their last 14 games. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are both swinging very well. Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward and Javier Baez add depth to the order. They’re all having excellent seasons. The pitching has also turned the corner. Yu Darvish is still a bit of a question mark. He’s walking way too many batters, but with a 10.8 K:9 ratio, he’s showing flashes of dominance. Getting him going is really the only thing this team needs to get to the next level. Jon Lester has a 1.16 ERA and the rest of the rotation have an ERA+ ranking form 124 to 141. The pen is also a bit light with Pedro Strop and Brandon Morrow on the IL, but Steve Cishek and Brandon Kintzler are nailing down the late inning chances for now.
4: Minnesota Twins (25-14) - The Twins have the best record in the AL. Let’s repeat that: The Twins have the best record in the AL. Minnesota’s pitching was a question coming into the year. Micaeal Pineda is the weak link in the rotation, but Jake Odorizzi has been fantastic alongside Jose Berrios and Martin Perez at the top of the rotation. Blake Parker has been one of the game’s best closers in the early going while Ryne Harper and Taylor Rogers and company have exceeded expectations out of the pen. The offense for this team was never the question, but that’s been excellent, too. After a slow start, Marwin Gonzalez is starting to hit. Mitch Garver has a 1.214 OPS in limited chances behind the plate. Jorge Polanco, Nelson Cruz, Byron Buxton, and Jonathan Schoop are all performing at or above expectations.
5: New York Yankees (24-16) - Injuries continue to be the main storyline, yet this team has found a way to win despite that. James Paxton and Luis Severino are both on the IL now, but Domingo German and the rest of the rotation have stepped up in their absence. German is 7-1 with a 2.70 ERA and the ace of the staff through the first month and a half. The offense is getting along, too. Luke Voit and Gary Sanchez are providing the power while Gio Urshela, D.J. LeMahieu, Clint Frazier and a cast of depth pieces have provided enough to keep the Yankees close to the Rays in the AL East. Now, the Yankees have some of their big pieces due back over the next few weeks and months and that should make this team even better.
6: Tampa Bay Rays (24-15) - The Rays still sit atop the AL East, but the lead is shrinking. Tampa Bay has lost three of their last four games and now have to contend with Tyler Glasnow, the early favorite for AL Cy Young Award, on the IL. A 6-1 start with a 1.86 ERA for Glasnow really helped propel the Rays. Charlie Morton and Blake Snell are still two elite level starters, but the rest of the Rays rotation will feature openers and the likes of Jalen Beeks and Yonny Chirinos eating innings. Of course, that’s not a bad thing given how well Chirinos and Beeks have pitched this year. At the plate, Brandon Lowe and Yandy Diaz have really lifted the offense. The Rays aren’t a huge power team, but they can hit homers when needed and can manufacture runs. They’ve a versatile offense that does enough to support a top-end pitching staff.
7: Philadelphia Phillies (23-16) - The injury to Vince Velasquez is concerning as he was off to a good start this season, but the Phillies are still the most complete team in the NL East. Zach Eflin, Jake Arrieta and Jerad Eickhoff have all looked good in the rotation while Aaron Nola’s starting to turn it around. The pen could use an extra arm or two, but this team could certainly add that at the deadline. In the lineup, the Phillies have Rhys Hoskins leading the way with far less pressure than last year given Bryce Harper, Jean Segura and Andrew McCutchen were added to the mix. None of the newbies are crushing it, but they’re adding more depth than this team had last year and Hoskins is taking advantage. This team is solidly in the upper-half of the league in runs scored and rank fourth in team ERA. They have room to grow in both areas, too.
8: Boston Reds Sox (22-19) - The Sox continue to climb up the list. They’re 11-2 in their last 13 games and look a lot like the team that won the World Series last year. Mookie Betts is back looking like one of the game’s best players after a slow start. J.D. Martinez is hitting for average and power, again. Meanwhile, Mitch Moreland has 12 homers and Michael Chavis has taken his opportunity and ran with it, filling in with production at second base. Right now, the Sox have an above average offensive player at every position save for Jackie Bradley Jr. in centerfield and even he is starting to swing the bat better. On the mound, Chris Sale is starting to look more like himself after a terrible start and while David Price and Nathan Eovaldi are sidelined those that are healthy are pitching much better.
9: Arizona Diamondbacks (22-19) - The offense is holding out, for now. Arizona has a strong rotation Luke Weaver has been a huge bonus coming over in the Goldschmidt trade. And while Merrill Kelly hasn’t been a top flight starter, he’s been a serviceable back-end option to Weaver, Zack Greinke, and Robbie Ray. Add in a strong pen with Greg Holland and Yoan Lopez and you have a makings of a good pitching staff. The offense was spotty in 2018 and that was with Paul Goldschmidt. The bats were expected to struggle in 2019, but Adam Jones has been a very strong addition and Christian Walker has come out of nowhere to actually outperform Goldy to this point in the year. That won’t last and Walker will regress, but if he’s even a solid-average option at first, this is still a deeper lineup than most expected in the preseason.
10: Milwaukee Brewers (24-28) - Gio Gonzalez has been a great addition to the Brewer’s rotation. In three starts, he’s allowed just three runs in 16 innings. Gonzalez gives the Brew Crew another credible starter along with Zach Davies, who has a 1.54 ERA in eight starts, and Jhoulys Chacin. The young guns haven’t panned out according to plan and that’s kept Milwaukee from climbing to the top of this list. What makes the Brewers dangerous is there is room for growth. Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes will get better. At the plate, Jesus Aguilar, Travis Shaw, Lorenzo Cain and even Orlando Arcia should all be better, too. While Christian Yelich is due some regression from his 1.196 OPS through his first 37 games, there’s plenty of upside to the offense to more than make up for that regression.
11: Atlanta Braves (21-20) - Do the Braves have enough pitching? That’s really the question for this team. Freddie Freeman is a stud. He’s got a .308/.403/.536 slash line. Josh Donaldson, Ronald Acuna Jr., Nick Markakis and others give Atlanta a stacked lineup that has power, on base, and average. This team can score and they can score in several different ways, but it all comes down to pitching. Julio Teheran, Kevin Gausman, and Mike Foltynewicz are solid veterans. Mike Soroka and Max Fried have looked great, too. The rotation should be enough, but the pen hasn’t panned out. Arodys Vizcaino is on the IL. A.J. Minter couldn’t cut it and had a 9.82 ERA. Right now, Luke Jackson is the closer with a lot of questions marks leading up to him.
12: St. Louis Cardinals (22-19) - There’s a lot that’s gone right for the Cardinals. Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Carpenter have had his usual slow starts, but Paul DeJong, Marcell Ozuna, and Jose Martinez have made up for it though the whole lineup has slowed down here in May while the team has gone 2-9 in their last 11 games. The pitching hasn’t been as good as the Cardinals are used to getting. Miles Mikolas is getting back into shape, but Jack Flaherty has regressed, Dakota Hudson has been okay and Michael Wacha has a 5.35 ERA. They need more from the rotation so they can get to John Gant, John Brebbia and Jordan Hicks with the lead.
13: Cleveland Indians (21-18) - Somehow, despite a poor offense and a couple big injuries in the rotation, the Indians are still afloat in the AL Central, but this is a flawed team. Mike Clevinger should return somewhat soon, minimizing the loss of Corey Kluber a bit, but this team is built on the rotation and has a hole in the back-end. Jefry Rodriguez has looked good in four chances, but it’s hard to expect that to continue. Still, the rotation with Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, and Shane Bieber is strong. Brad Hand is a strong closer while Adam Cimber and Dan Otero are both good set up options. The problem now is just the depth in the pitching staff. The offense has the same issues. Carlos Santana is the only hitter putting up an above average season and he’s slowed of late. The team is still waiting for Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez to get. This team should be better and the upside of Ramirez, Lindor and company is enough to keep this team in the top half of the rankings for now.
14: San Diego Padres (22-19) - The Padres are this year’s feel good story of a team built from the farm system that wasn’t supposed to be contending for another year or two. We seem to have a team like this every year, but with a -9 run differential, it’s easy to be weary of the sustainability. Still, the team’s kept afloat with their best player—Fernando Tatis Jr.—on the shelf. The pitching, though, has really been impressive. Nick Margevicius, Chris Paddack and Matt Strahm look like legitimate arms and Kirby Yates is as good as it gets in the ninth inning. The Padres still have a few holes like second-base, catcher and the back end of the rotation, but it’s starting to come together for the perennial losers in southern California.
15: Pittsburgh Pirates (20-17) - It’s hard to put the Pirates higher than these even with the record given the poor run differential. Despite that, the Pirates seem to find ways to win and surprise. The bullpen is great. Felipe Vazquez has one earned allowed in 18.2 innings. Francisco Liriano has been amazing setting him up. That’s helped the Pirates win more than their share of close games. The starting pitching, even with some injuries, has still performed well despite regression on the early season numbers. The bats, however, aren’t there enough to be more than a middle-of-the-road team. They’re second to last in the NL in runs scored. Starling Marte and the like need to step up, but for now it’s Gregory Polanco, Josh Bell, and Bryan Reynolds.
16: New York Mets (19-20) - The Mets are slumping just like they did after a hot start in 2018. This may be an entirely different roster, but it still seems to be cursed. The offense is improved. Pete Alonso has been everything the team hoped. Micahel Conforto has improved, but Robinson Cano is league-average, there’s still no good option in centerfield and while Wilson Ramos was supposed to help behind the plate, he hasn’t hit. Making matters worse, the rotation which was supposed to be the strength hasn’t been. Steven Matz is on the IL, Zach Wheeler has a 4.35 ERA and Noah Syndergaard has a 5.14 mark. The bullpen, meanwhile, hasn’t been good enough getting to Edwin Diaz. Justin Wilson and Jeurys Familia were supposed to be the answers. That hasn’t worked out.
17: Colorado Rockies (19-21) - The Rockies are trying to get back into the mix. After a 3-12 start, the team has gone 16-9 to get close to the .500 mark, but is there enough to be much more than that? Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon and David Dahl are a good foundation for the offense, but the offense already ranks second in the NL in runs scored and that’s not been enough. The pitching has regressed after making strides the last two years. German Marquez is the real deal, but Kyle Freeland, Jon Gray and Antonio Senzatela haven’t been as good as we’ve seen them the last couple years.
18: Los Angeles Angels (19-21) - As inconsistent a team as there is, the Angels do have Mike Trout and that makes them at least fun to watch. Trout continues to get better and sports a 1.035 OPS. Kole Calhoun, Brian Goodwin, Tommy La Stella and Andrelton Simmons give him some support. Shohei Ohtani and Albert Pujols add to the mix, too. The offense isn’t bad, the pitching—for the most part—is. Felix Pena is throwing okay. Tyler Skaggs is interesting, but Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill were failed signings. Cody Allen falls into the same category. This team, despite the additions, is basically the same one that was mediocre last year, making them mediocre again. It’s basically Trout and a cast of characters around him with too little pitching to make a difference.
19: Cincinnati Reds (18-23) - The Reds are better than their record suggests. They’re 18-23, but have a +30 run differential something has got to give. The bullpen can take some blame. It hasn’t been very good and Raisel Iglesias has struggled, blaming it on his usage, but his command just hasn’t been there. In the starting pitching department, this team did a 180 from last year. Luis Castillo may be the best pitcher in the NL—or at least has looked the part through his nine starts and 1.76 ERA. All five starters have an ERA+ of at least 108 and we haven’t seen Alex Wood yet. Offensively, Joey Votto may finally be showing age and regressing. He’s batting .206, but the recently promoted Nick Senzel has helped spark the offense that before his call-up was basically just Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winkler, and Derek Dietrich.
20: Oakland Athletics (19-23) - Matt Olson is back and Kendrys Morales has been cast aside. That helps the offense—and defense—which missed Olson fiercely. Add him to Matt Chapman, Khris Davis, Stephen Piscotty, and Marcus Semien and you have a respectable offense again. That keeps the A’s in the mix—and potentially at the top—of the also-rans in the AL West after the Astros. The A’s overcame a pieced together rotation to win 97 games last year. That was unlikely and that strategy working in back-to-back seasons is even more unlikely. So far, it seems that the pitching isn’t good enough. The pen hasn’t pitched well enough to make up for the rotation and save Mike Fier’s recent no-hitter, the rotation hasn’t been good enough for much of anything.
21. Seattle Mariners (20-23) - Well, the magic is gone. The Mariners are 2-12 in their last 14 games. They’re not that bad, but they’re not as good as they looked during their 13-2 stretch to start the year either. This team is probably somewhere in between with their current record a good indicator. The pitching isn’t good enough. Marco Gonzales and Yusei Kikuchi are solid Major League starters, but the rest of the rotation needs help. The bullpen overachieved for much of the year to this point and the offense is streaky. Jay Bruce, Tim Beckham, and Domingo Santana have been hot and cold throughout their careers. Edwin Encarnacion is a dependable bat and so is Mitch Haniger, but when the rest of the team goes cold, that’s just not enough.
22: Washington Nationals (16-24) - Is it too early to throw in the towel on a should-be contender? If not, the Nationals are the team to give up on. Washington has a great trio atop their rotation, but somehow the Nationals have only won two of Max Scherzer’s nine starts. Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin are as good a top three in a rotation as anyone has, but the bullpen is a mess and the offense isn’t enough. Even with Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto back in the order, the Nationals aren’t scoring enough to win consistently. They’re a flawed team and something needs to give to shake things up. Dave Martinez’s job is on as hot a seat as exists in the sport.
23: San Francisco Giants (17-23) - With Buster Posey on the IL, this offense is Brandon Belt with his .228, but .827 OPS, and little else. The outfield continues to be a revolving door with plenty of players, but no answers. Evan Longoria is finally starting to heat up, but he’s not the same player he was in his 20s. This team needs to find a way to score more runs. Until then, this is where they top out in any power rankings. This team could sink further, though, particularly if Madison Bumgarner is dealt. That’s looking likely. Others could move from the pen as the Giants’ bullpen is their strength. The only problem for them is you need an offense and rotation to get to the pen with the lead.
24: Detroit Tigers (18-20) - The Tigers have scored the fewest runs in the AL. They have hit the fewest home runs and have the third lowest batting average and second worst OBP, getting on less than 30-percent of the time. The offense is massively flawed. Miguel Cabrera is no longer a middle of the order bat. Instead, he’s a singles hitter batting .294 with just one homer and six doubles. Nobody on the team has more than three homers. Despite an inept offense, the pitching keeps the team in the game, mostly. Matthew Boyd and Spence Turnbull have pitched well. Daniel Norris has looked good, too. In the pen, Shane Greene continues to close out the games the Tigers should win. Given the poor offense, it’s truly amazing this team is just a couple games under-.500, but that’s all on the pitching.
25: Chicago White Sox (18-21) - Eloy Jimenez was supposed to be the next big piece up to help spark this team. He’s been on the IL for a while now and had a .674 OPS when he went on the shelf. Instead, Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada seem to have finally turned the corner. They’ve both regressed a bit from hot starts, but are still producing while Jose Abreu and James McCann complete at least half of a good offense. On the mound, Carlos Rondon was an answer when healthy, but Lucas Giolito has been much better than expected after a rough year last year. He’s 4-1 with a 3.55 ERA. In the bullpen Alex Colome has pitched well in the closer’s role at least allowing this team to win the games they should.
26: Texas Rangers (17-21) - Losing four in a row and five of six have dropped the Rangers more than any other team on this list. Texas is now in the cellar of the AL West standings. The offense is good. Or at least not bad. Joey Gallo has a .248/.399/.615 slash line, showing he’s more than just a home run or bust bat. Elvis Andrus has stepped into the leadership role left by Adrian Beltre. Hunter Pence is another fun story for this team as he’s rejuvenated his career as a bench bat and has started getting more playing time. This offense isn’t perfect, but it could compete. The pitching cannot. Mike Minor aside, the rotation is a mess and the bullpen with Shawn Kelly on the shelf doesn’t exactly offer much relief. Minor has a 2.68 ERA in his eight starts, the rest of the rotation has an ERA of 5.25 or higher with Shelby Miller at 7.48 in seven starts.
27: Toronto Blue Jays (16-24) - The early season story was simply the wait for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He’s now in The Show, but hasn’t started hitting, yet. He’ll be a big piece when this team is good again, but it’s not this year. Justin Smoak and Eric Sogard are doing the damage, but they’re aging vets. The latter of the two playing way over his head. The offense just doesn’t have enough pieces yet. Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman are showing they could be a part of this team going forward—or trade pieces. The rest of the rotation, however, has some issues; enough in fact that this team just traded for Edwin Jackson to give them innings.
28: Kansas City Royals (14-27) - The Royals’ offense is actually much better than one would expect given the record. That just goes to show how bad the pitching has been. Hunter Dozier has raked this year with a 1.034 OPS. Adalberto Mondesi, Whit Merrifield, Alex Gordon, and Jorge Soler are a good foundation to a lineup. There are, of course, holes, but it’s the pitching that’s been the biggest issue. Brad Keller is the best of the bunch, but he would be a No.5 on most other teams.
29: Baltimore Orioles (14-26) - After a historically bad start, Chris Davis has actually been an okay bat for the Birds and while his average is just .189, his OPS+ is up to 81. That’s not good, particularly considering what he makes, but it’s no longer amongst the historically bad numbers. While Davis is starting to hit a bit, the team has Dwight Smith Jr. and Trey Mancini surprising a lot of people. Those two at least give the Orioles a semblance of a lineup. Too bad the pitching, with a 5.51 team ERA, is a complete train wreck.
30: Miami Marlins (10-29) - The Marlins are epically bad. They’ve got the worst record and run differential in the sport. The team has lost eight of nine and that hardly seems like a feat any more. Neil Walker is the only hitter producing even close to league average numbers. The team ranks dead last in most offensive stats and has a 4.85 team ERA, second worst in the NL. There are some bright spots on the mound, none more than Caleb Smith, but the rest of the starters are starting to show their flaws just like the bullpen and lineup.
MLB Teams
American League - East
American League - Central
American League - West
National League - East
National League - Central
National League - West
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