MLB POWER RANKINGS
Herald baseball writers break down the MLB hierarchy and map out how the season might play out.
1. Dodgers (2021 record: 106-56):
One of the deepest teams on paper in baseball history? They might be. Losing Corey Seager and Kenley Jansen hurts, but adding World Series champion and 2020 National League MVP Freddie Freeman and closer Craig Kimbrel fixes that. Walker Buehler and 20-game winner Julio Urias lead a talented pitching staff.
2. Rays
(100-62): They have the best players you’ve never heard of, every year. There’s star power in Wander
Franco, Randy Arozarena and Brandon Lowe, and a farm system that produces an endless supply of topend arms as the Rays seek the franchise’s first-ever World Series title.
3. Astros
(95-67): Justin Verlander is back from Tommy John surgery to lead a staff that also includes Lance McCullers Jr., Christian Javier, Luis Garcia and Framber Valdez. If Jeremy Peña can come close to replacing the void created by Carlos Correa’s departure to Minnesota, this offense is scary.
4. Braves
(88-73): It’s hard to be too high on any team that lets its franchise player walk in free agency, but the Braves could use it as a rallying cry. With Matt Olson taking over at first base and a world-class bullpen, the Braves still look dangerous.
5. Brewers
(95-67): When you’ve got three of the best starters in baseball, it’s just about getting to October and letting them loose. Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta hold the keys for the returning National League Central champs.
6. White Sox
(93-69): They have three closers, three aces and an offense built around young talent that has yet to peak, but the roster feels like it was built by Dave Dombrowski: topheavy with holes around the edges. Still, this team should be playing in October.
7. Mets
(77-85): This is the year. It has to be. It’s always the year (until it isn’t) for the local nine in Flushing. New owner Steve Cohen opened his pocketbooks and now the Mets have arguably the game’s best two pitchers, Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, but deGrom’s season is already fading as he’ll miss at least a month with a stress reaction in his shoulder.
8. Red Sox
(92-70): As usual, an elite offense will lead this team as far as it can, though it will need another career year out of Nathan Eovaldi, a healthy return from Chris Sale and bigger workloads from Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock to survive in the toughest division in baseball.
9. Blue Jays
(91-71): How does a team that loses two of its three best players remain in the hunt? Replacing Marcus Semien and Robbie Ray with Matt Chapman and Kevin Gausman isn’t ideal, but keeps the Jays in contention around one of the brightest young cores in baseball.
10. Phillies
(82-80): If you thought Dombrowski would be content only making slight additions in his second year in Philly, you haven’t been paying attention. Dombrowski spent big to bring in Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez could be as good of a onetwo-three as any in baseball. Look out.
11. Giants
(107-55): How on earth did the Giants do it last year? With career years from everybody, including Buster Posey, who rode off into retirement. Logan Webb looks like a Cy Young contender, but expect the G-men to fall back to earth a little.
12. Yankees
(92-70): Perhaps the Yankees didn’t win the Giancarlo Stanton sweepstakes when they acquired him from the Marlins in 2018; they lost. Taking up too much payroll with not enough production, Stanton leads a revamped Yankees team that isn’t young enough, reliable enough or consistently healthy enough to be taken seriously, particularly after whiffing in free agency.
13. Mariners
(90-72): They were five games short of the playoffs last year and made some key additions, including left-handed stud Robbie Ray and former Cincinnati sluggers Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker. Could this finally be the year the M’s end their 21-year playoff drought since the 116-win club in 2001?
14. Cardinals
(90-72): Paul Goldschmidt and
Nolan Arenado are linchpins in an offense full of talented young outfielders, but the Cardinals rotation is beat up and will need to rely too heavily on 40-year-old Adam Wainwright.
15. Padres
(79-83): How did a team this talented finish with a losing record?
The Padres replaced manager
Jayce Tingler with future Hall of
Famer Bob Melvin, but they’re without superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. for half the season as he recovers from a broken wrist suffered in a motorcycle accident. They’ll need Yu Darvish and Blake Snell to have renaissance seasons if they’re going to contend.
16. Angels
(77-85): Eventually Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani will play in their first postseason game, right? Joe Maddon is in Year 3 with these guys,
MLB changed the rules to benefit Ohtani, who can now stay in the game as DH after he’s done pitching, and there should be no more excuses on Gene Autry Way.
17. Twins
(73-89): Stealing Carlos Correa on a three-year deal might’ve been the offseason’s most surprising (and productive) signing.
The Twins can hit, one through nine, but do they have enough pitching around Sonny Gray to actually compete?
18. Tigers
(77-85): How did the Tigers win
77 games with this roster? Former Astros skipper A.J. Hinch deserves a lot of credit and has a little more talent to work with this year, as Detroit added Eduardo Rodriguez to front the rotation and Javier Baez to secure the infield.
19. Guardians
(80-82): Jose Ramirez is a superstar player stuck on a bad team, but don’t overlook the Guardians’ pitching staff, which is deep with talent as Terry Francona looks to get his squad back into the playoffs for the sixth time in 10 years.
20. Rangers
(60-102): It’s not often a 60-win team goes out and spends like they’re on the precipice of a World
Series appearance, but the Rangers did just that in adding Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. The offense should have no trouble scoring runs but the pitching staff remains light.
21. Royals
(74-88): Salvador Perez shattered his previous career high in homers
(27) with a 48-homer season that put the Royals back on the map.
They added Zack Greinke to front a young rotation and hope star prospect Bobby Witt Jr. can make a senior-sized impact.
22. Marlins
(67-95): Derek Jeter made a surprise exit from the front office as general manager Kim Ng gets to work in her second year as general manager. The pitching staff is loaded with young talent and the offense made a few strong additions, but there’s probably not enough here to compete in a difficult division.
Win projection: 88-74
SKINNY: The addition of Trevor Story makes this lineup as potent as any in baseball, and that should help them contend in a loaded AL East, despite some pitching questions in the rotation and bullpen. The eventual return of Chris Sale paired with Nathan Eovaldi – plus the emergence of Garrett Whitlock as the closer – will help them sneak into the playoffs as a Wild Card team.