MLB POWER RANKINGS 2010 11 April : The first week of the MLB season has come and gone with a few surprises and some impressive starts. The Blue Jays, A’s and Giants are teams atop of their respective divisions with five wins and best records in baseball.
The Blue Jays are in the toughest division in baseball so their rein in AL East could be short lived. The A’s have shown they can compete with a roster of top prospects and proven veterans. They are in a winnable division but will need Daric Bartonto to keep up his hot start.
The Giants have the pitching to win the NL West but it is their hitting that could be their down fall. So far their 5-1 start is in part because of the offense scoring runs. With the first week in of the 2010 season in the books here is the first power rankings of the season.
1. Philadelphia Phillies (5-1): There is a reason why they have been in the World Series the last two years. A 5-1 start on the road shows this team is not slowing down.
2. New York Yankees (4-2): The world champs got off to a great start by beating the hated Red Sox.
3. Toronto Blue Jays (5-1): Winners of five straight games, hot starts are needed to keep up with the Yankees and Red Sox.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (4-2): After a six game road trip to start the season they are 4-2 and atop of the division.
5. Boston Red Sox (3-3): Although the Red Sox are 3-3 with the lineup and rotation they have we all know they are a force.
6. San Francisco Giants (5-1): The Giants have the best rotation in baseball but are not known to be a good hitting team. So far so good as their bats are hot but they need to stop hitting into double plays.
7. Detroit Tigers (5-1): They lost their opening series to the Royals but swept the Indians. Their test will come when they face the Twins.
8. Oakland A’s (5-1): With Daric Bartonto leading the way the A’s are letting the other teams in the AL West know they are contenders.
9. Minnesota Twins (5-2): A new stadium and Joe Mauer signed to a long-term deal; the sky’s the limit for the Twins in the AL Central.
10. Arizona Diamondbacks (4-2): The D-backs have scored five or more runs in their five wins. They scored 15 runs against the Pirates on Sunday night.
11. Florida Marlins (4-2): They are giving up too many runs but have been putting up big numbers as well.
12. Atlanta Braves (3-3): Rookie wonder Jason Heyward has been impressive with two home runs and seven RBI’s. We will see if pitchers will be able to figure him out.
13.
Tampa Bay Rays (3-3): If Evan Longoria is in the lineup the Rays have a chance.
14. Los Angeles Angels (2-5): Off to a slow start and even with free-agent losses in the off-season the Halos and Mike Scioscia know how to win the AL West.
15.
Texas Rangers (3-3): Vladimir Guerrero is showing he still has it with a .500 average after the first week of the season.
16.
Colorado Rockies (3-3): The Rockies are many peoples sleeper pick in the NL West. They have the most complete team in the division but can they put it all together night after night.
17. Chicago Cubs (2-4): Slow starts have never been good for the Cubbies.
18. Chicago White Sox (2-4): Pitcher Mark Buehrle made the defensive play of the year on Opening Day.
19. New York Mets (2-4): The last couple of years the Mets have tried the Yankee way of buying a Word Series but have not had results. Will this year be any different?
20. Los Angeles Dodgers (2-4): Good and talented team but you know it’s bad when Manny Ramirez is not your biggest distraction to the team.
21. Milwaukee Brewers (3-3): The Blue Crew will need to learn how to beat the Cardinals.
22. Cincinnati Reds (3-3): Is this the year manager Dusty Baker makes the Reds contend?
23. Washington Nationals (3-3): Strasburg! Strasburg! Strasburg!
24. Seattle Mariners (2-5): I have a feeling they will not be in the bottom rankings for much longer. Losing Cliff Lee until May hurts.
25. Pittsburgh Pirates (3-3): Impressive start against the Dodgers.
26. Cleveland Indians (2-4): It must be hard to be an Indians fan to see all these All-Stars previously on the Tribe now helping other teams win. But they got great prospects for those trades, right?
27. Kansas City Royals (2-4): The bullpen has been a royal pain in the…
28. San Diego Padres (2-4): I joke with my friends who are Padres fans that they could field their Triple-A team and probably get the same amount of wins this season with their major league team.
29. Baltimore Orioles (1-5): The O’s seem to be the only team going down and not up in the AL East.
30. Houston Astros (0-6): Even when Lance Berkman returns from injury he may not be enough to help them out of their hole.
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