Major League Baseball’s regular season lasts six months, and we’ve seen all four days of it. This is now my 12th season of doing the official power rankings, and the toughest rankings are always early in the season. I would say the hardest thing in terms of team rankings is coming next week because I’m not really going to be moving a lot of teams this week.
The hard part of this week’s assignment is avoiding condescension. Why would I lecture readers about how stupid it would be to draw sweeping conclusions from 3-4 game examples when all non-buffoon fans already know this? To the right?
I refuse to insult your intelligence by explaining how foolish it would be to call the Rockies as a team as good as the Padres based on a single series. I’m not going to sit here trying to convince you that the Astros are still a better team — by a decent margin — than the White Sox because you’re all smart enough to know that yourself. The Dodgers are still better than the Diamondbacks and we all know that. And you don’t really have to tell me that the Rangers aren’t the best team in baseball, nor are the Phillies anywhere near the worst. you know all these things
To the right? TO THE RIGHT?
Of course, it should also be pointed out that we are all human and it is not fun to go through games completely without emotion. I’m no different. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m a die-hard Cubs fan. With a 1-0 lead on Saturday, I started dreaming of a win and I’m happy. Then, when a defensive backup dropped a game-changing blooper in front of him instead of going for a dive catch, I was furious. Then on Sunday I was completely down for a second. So it works.
And you know what, I wouldn’t want it any other way. That’s what being a fan is all about, and the lows make those highs so much better.
All of this remains true. It’s just that coming here, I have to switch into logic analysis mode, and in doing so I have to point out that three games out of 162 is less than 2% of the season. It’s 1.85% to be exact. We honestly can’t change strongly held opinions based on 1.85% of anything. Therefore, there will be no in-depth analysis in the team comments. We just haven’t seen enough baseball for that.
I have said in the past that we can react without overreacting. What that means in the rankings is that if the teams are close and one has outperformed the other, I will move them. However, I’m not going to do anything to put the Rockies ahead of the Astros. If you push me, my answer will come from the great Jack Nicholson: Crazy sell elsewhere, we have all the supplies here.
Biggest movers
rk | teams | change | req |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | — | 2-2 | |
No, I’m not demoting them after a 2-2 start against a team that could reasonably be a contender. | |||
2 | 3 | 2-1 | |
That’s how great Aaron Judge is gonna be all the time now, huh? | |||
3 | — | 2-1 | |
Rotation will be an issue here for a brief second before Kyle Wright and Max Fried are 100 percent, but we’ve seen a lot from the Braves in the second half over the past two years to avoid long-term concerns. | |||
4 | 2 | 2-2 | |
Continuing the theme of the intro, it’s a lot easier from the outside to tell fans to calm down after an 0-2 start. I don’t blame the fans who started getting scared after those first two games. Not a little. Those last two games should help ease the tension. The Padres will only get better as the season progresses. | |||
5 | 3 | 3-0 | |
On the one hand, they are to be commended for doing business against a clearly inferior opponent. And oops, that was a thorough swipe. On the other hand, it’s difficult to read how good the Rays are because the Tigers are pathetic. | |||
6 | 5 | 2-1 | |
Pitching, mainly rotation, remains an issue, but offense is as strong as it comes. This was serious work with the wood for a series. | |||
7 | 3 | 3-1 | |
Once Kodai Senga found his command, he was nearly untouchable. That fork ball was pure dirt. There’s more to come! | |||
8th | 2 | 2-2 | |
Two lackluster offensive games when the big question of the season was the second half of the lineup, but what about Trayce Thompson on Saturday night? holy smoke | |||
9 | 4 | 3-1 | |
Just as we need to avoid panicking about the bad things, we shouldn’t overdo it about the positive things. Still, winning three out of four in Seattle is a pretty amazing start to the season. | |||
10 | 5 | 3-0 | |
As I’ve said about the Rays, the Twins have to be commended for taking care of the business — but it’s hard to read about how ferocious the “competition” was here. | |||
11 | 6 | 3-0 | |
Encouraging start, apart from Jacob deGrom being flung across the yard. For now, we’re assuming this was an isolated incident, making the inaugural series a success. | |||
12 | — | 2-1 | |
It was rocky for a second, but getting two out of three at Wrigley to start the year was just what they needed to do. | |||
13 | 6 | 1-2 | |
It was just a series, but it wasn’t very impressive at all. They were a couple of well-placed blunders because they weren’t swept. | |||
14 | — | 2-1 | |
I admit that I went against my own advice and started to have doubts creeping into my head during that pathetic offensive performance in the opening game. That ends well, but all is well and getting two out of three on the road is a success. You know what wasn’t a success? Anthony Rendon and his Oakland fan incident. They make nearly $40 million a year playing a game. You are the winner in this equation. At least you should be. | |||
15 | 4 | 2-2 | |
Pretty impressive split even if the Astros isn’t at full strength. How about starting Yoán Moncada, huh? | |||
16 | 6 | 1-3 | |
They went on a four-game losing streak in the first week of last season, which is a pretty decent prospect at this current three-player, right? But… yeah, pretty rocky start. | |||
17 | 1 | 2-1 | |
Pitching is a valid concern although it probably couldn’t get much worse and they are 2-1. | |||
18 | 9 | 0-3 | |
They’ll be better if they get Bryce Harper and Ranger Suárez back, but that was a misstep — especially after the hot start against deGrom. | |||
19 | 4 | 2-2 | |
They’re probably not a playoff team, but the D-Backs will be a colossal nuisance to their rivals all season. Take this four-game split at Dodger Stadium as the first proof. | |||
20 | 2 | 1-2 | |
They looked terrible in the two losses, but hey, getting one of three in the Bronx to start the season isn’t a total disaster. Saving this middlegame was great. | |||
21 | 1 | 1-2 | |
They’ve scored runs, but some of them could be because the Red Sox are fielding poorly. And the pitching for the Orioles wasn’t exactly up to date either. Overall not an encouraging weekend but it’s only three games. | |||
22 | 1 | 1-3 | |
I love Jazz Chisholm. He’s one of my favorite players. He’s just not a midfielder. There was also no valid reason for the experiment. | |||
23 | 1 | 1-2 | |
Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson look like a fun 1-2 strike at the top of the order. The rest leaves a lot to be desired, even with Seiya Suzuki returning from injury. | |||
24 | 2 | 2-1 | |
Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene will have their ups and downs (note Greene’s current ERA after opening day), but they’ve already hit 17 in 8 1/3 innings. And don’t forget Graham Ashcraft! He was great on Sunday. | |||
25 | 3 | 2-2 | |
All in all, a damn good start for a team with very low expectations. Kris Bryant, Charlie Blackmon and CJ Cron showed how strong the middle of this lineup can be. And they weren’t even home yet. | |||
26 | 1 | 1-2 | |
Watching Oneil Cruz continues to be fun, Bryan Reynolds is still great and it’s good to see Andrew McCutchen back with the Pirates. There. I wanted to start by saying nice things. | |||
27 | 2 | 1-2 | |
Good job from MacKenzie Gore on Sunday. As I said, much of whether 2023 will be a success for the Nationals franchise depends on the returns from the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner and Juan Soto trades. | |||
28 | 2 | 1-2 | |
Congratulations on the opening day win! | |||
29 | 5 | 0-3 | |
Not really a lot of ways to spin this launch. Simply brutal. | |||
30 | 5 | 0-3 | |
Is it good to be beaten 21-3 in a series? | |||