Well, here we go again — Year 14 of my MLB power rankings. This space will be occasionally a bit different than it has been in the past. This week, I’ll give my first in-season ranking of the teams but without comments exclusively on the top 10.
Let’s start with the Hometown Nine. The Orioles aren’t off to the start we had hoped after two big Opening Days victories, the first a 12-2 pounding of the Blue Jays in Toronto on March 27 and then a rip-roaring home-opening 8-5 victory against the Red Sox before a sellout crowd, punctuated by an amazing national anthem performance from Baltimore’s own “American Idol” contestant Gabby Samone.
As the Orioles get ready to take their game to Arizona, they have played three series and have not been able to win one. That reminds us a little too much of the less-than-dynamic finish to the 2024 season.
While it’s way too early to panic, there is no question the Red Sox have come to play, as I wrote in a column a few weeks back. That doesn’t eliminate the Orioles from the playoffs, but it clearly is going to make their path anything but a sure thing.
Without getting into the weeds, it looks like the Orioles in their offseason calculations may have underestimated who they needed to face left-handed starters. Identifying a problem is Job 1, but close behind is who gets you past those problems.
There is plenty of time and space to detail the ups and downs of the 2025 campaign. We’ll get into that later.
Last year, I greatly underestimated the Guardians, Brewers and Dodgers heading into the season. About a month in, I had to abruptly recalibrate on all three division-winning teams. The Dodgers smartly pivoted to emphasizing bullpen depth, which allowed them to win the World Series despite an array of big-time rotation misses: Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and the seemingly always hurt Clayton Kershaw.
This year, it looks like I was wrong on the depth of the NL West, with the Giants and Padres off to fast starts in addition to the Dodgers. However, I did like the Rangers to win the AL West and the Mariners to fade. What a shame for Seattle to waste all that starting pitching, with a woeful offense. Former Mariners catcher Dan Wilson looks miscast as a big league skipper. Time will tell.
The Cubs made several moves in the offseason, headlined by the trade for star outfielder Kyle Tucker, and have given highly-paid skipper Craig Counsell more of a chance to win games.
I wouldn’t panic yet if I were a Braves fan. Catcher Sean Murphy is returning shortly. Outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is getting closer to a late April debut. The Braves do miss lefty Max Fried and the innings Charlie Morton would be eating.
Angels GM Perry Minasian was pretty busy with a lot of moves around the edges and so far some of them are paying off. Later this week they get back shortstop Zach Neto, who should steady the infield defense. To date, Mike Trout is healthy.
I’ll have more during the week on the Orioles. In the meantime, here are my first power rankings:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (9-2)
2. Philadelphia Phillies (7-2)
3. Texas Rangers (8-2)
4. New York Yankees (6-3)
5. Chicago Cubs (7-5)
6. Boston Red Sox (6-4)
7. New York Mets (6-3)
8. San Diego Padres (8-2)
9. San Francisco Giants (8-1)
10. Arizona Diamondbacks (5-5)
11. Detroit Tigers (5-4)
12. Milwaukee Brewers (5-5)
13. Kansas City Royals (4-5)
14. Baltimore Orioles (4-6)
15. Toronto Blue Jays (5-5)
16. Houston Astros (4-5)
17. Atlanta Braves (1-8)
18. Los Angeles Angels (6-3)
19. Cleveland Guardians (3-6)
20. Miami Marlins (5-4)
21. Athletics (4-6)
22. Tampa Bay Rays (4-5)
23. Cincinnati Reds (3-7)
24. Minnesota Twins (3-6)
25. St. Louis Cardinals (4-5)
26. Washington Nationals (3-6)
27. Pittsburgh Pirates (3-7)
28. Seattle Mariners (3-7)
29. Chicago White Sox (2-7)
30. Colorado Rockies (2-7)