MLB Power Rankings #10

Now we have finally broken into the top 10 teams in my MLB Power Rankings. This is what we have been building up too, so before we get into the #10 team, lets recap what we have so far.

30. Royals
29. Indians
28. Astros
27. Pirates
26. Mariners
25. D-Backs
24. Blue Jays
23. Nationals
22. Padres
21. Orioles
20. Dodgers
19. Angels
18. Marlins
17. Tigers
16. Mets
15. Rays
14. A's
13. Cubs
12. Reds
11. Cardinals

Now lets get into the #10 team in my MLB Power Rankins......

#10- Atlanta Braves

Rotation-
1. Derek Lowe
2. Tim Hudson
3. Tommy Hanson
4. Jair Jurrjens
5. Mike Minor

Bullpen-
CL- Craig Kimbrel
SU- Scott Linebrink
SU- Jonny Venters
MR- Peter Moylan
MR- George Sherrill

Lineup-
1. Martin Prado- LF
2. Jason Heyward-RF
3. Chipper Jones-3B
4. Dan Uggla-2B
5. Brian McCann-C
6. Alex Gonzalez-SS
7. Freddie Freeman-1B
8. Nate McLouth-CF

It's too bad these guys play in the same division as the Phillies, because if it were not for the Phillies the Braves would easily win this division. They have a dominant pitching staff that has a plethora of arms moving up from the minors that also help improve a solid bullpen, and with the addition of Dan Uggla the Braves now have a very potent offense. Now I think this is an extremely strong team but they do have a few flaws. They lack a true ace, Derek Lowe is an innings eater and Tim Hudson may have put up good numbers but his stuff no longer rates as an ace in my eyes. But Tommy Hanson is on the cusp of developing into an ace, he has the stuff and potential to be the anchor of this braves pitching staff for years to come. Johnny Venters and Craig Kimbrel are two exciting young arms that will battle for the closers spot this year and provide a solid foundation for this bullpen. The offense has also improved mightily, Dan Uggla provides the raw power for the middle of the lineup, and Jason Heyward provides the 5 tool talent to pair with Uggla. The Braves have 4 legitimate offensive stars in Martin Prado, Heyward, Uggla and Brian McCann to go along with aging veterans in Alex Gonzalez and Chipper Jones, and up and coming talent in Freddie Freeman. The Braves have a nice balance on offense and on the mound that I think they have a realistic shot at making the playoffs this season, barring some unfortunate injuries. But even if they do not make it this year, the Braves are a team on the rise and should take over when the Phillies begin to decline.

MLB Power Rankings #14-#11

I had some time today so I thought I would finish up the bottom 20 teams in my Power Rankings by doing the #14-#11 Teams. Now we are entering the area where I will likely receive the most criticism for my picks, but that's just part of the sports writing business. Well that's enough small talk, lets dive right into the Power Rankings.

#14- Oakland Athletics

Rotation-
1. Trevor Cahill
2. Brett Anderson
3. Gio Gonzalez
4. Dallas Braden
5. Rich Harden

Bullpen-
CL- Andrew Bailey
SU- Grant Balfour
SU- Brad Ziegler
MR- Brian Fuentes
MR- Michael Wuertz

Lineup-
1. Coco Crisp-CF
2. David Dejesus-RF
3. Daric Barton-1B
4. Hideki Matsui-DH
5. Josh Willingham-LF
6. Kevin Kouzmanoff-3B
7. Mark Ellis-2B
8. Kurt Suzuki-C
9. Cliff Pennington-SS

I realize some people may think that the A's should be higher on this list, I would agree with them but I am still a bit skeptical about their offense. I am sold on their very talented young pitching staff and their very deep bullpen (maybe to deep if there is such a thing). But I am skeptical to put a team with a questionable offense to high. they could go the route of the Giants or the route of the Mariners, until the season starts we wont know with team they will be. But with the additons of Matsui. Willingham and Dejesus they will be better than the 2010 club that finished .500. So to sum things up they could very well win the world series this year but because they have the chance of collapsing and they are not as proven as some of the teams ahead of them Im ranking them at 14.

#13- Chicago Cubs

Rotation-
1. Ryan Dempster
2. Carlos Zambrano
3. Matt Garza
4. Randy Wells
5. Carlos Silva

Bullpen-
CL- Carlos Marmol
SU- Kerry Wood
SU- Sean Marshall
MR- Andrew Cashner
MR- John Grabow

Lineup-
1. Kosuke Fukudome-RF
2. Starlin Castro-SS
3. Marlon Byrd-CF
4. Aramis Ramirez-3B
5. Carlos Pena-1B
6. Alfonso Soriano-LF
7. Geovany Soto-C
8. Blake DeWitt-2B

I have a feeling this is the pick I will get the most flack for on this post. Yes I am a Cubs fan, so maybe you think I have a bias, and maybe I do but I used a statistical system to devise these rankings and this is were they came out, so whatever bias I may have had no influence on the spots on the Power Rankings. But the Cubs have bolstered their rotation with the addition of Matt Garza and helped the pen by bringing back a true Cub in Kerry Wood. They also hope to add some pop with the Powerful yet strikeout prone Carlos Pena. With a little luck and healthy years out of Ramirez, Pena and Soriano, the Cubs could post similar offensive numbers to their 07' and 08' campaigns. They should be competitive in the division but I would not expect playoffs as the NL Central is very tough this season. The Cubs may be able to look forward to this off season though if Pujols doesn't re-sign with the Cardinals as they are well positioned to offer him a contract.

#12- Cincinnati Reds

Rotation-
1. Bronson Arroyo
2. Johnny Cueto
3. Homer Bailey
4. Edinson Volquez
5. Travis Wood

Bullpen-
CL- Francisco Cordero
SU- Aroldis Chapman
SU- Nick Massett
MR- Bill Bray
MR- Logan Ondrusek

Lineup-
1. Drew Stubbs-CF
2. Brandon Phillips-2B
3. Joey Votto-1B
4. Scott Rolen-3B
5. Jay Bruce-RF
6. Johnny Gomes-LF
7. Ramon Hernandez-C
8. Paul Janish-SS

This is yet another pick I expect to receive some criticism. How can I put the defending NL Central Champions out of the top 10? As I have said before I ran each team through some statistical analysis and the Reds actually came out lower than this but I bumped them up because of last season. I have some serious concerns about how sustainable their success can be with this team. First lets start with the pitching staff, while they have depth they lack elite talent that can pitch you deep into the playoffs. When they do not match up against any of the elite teams in baseball in terms of their pitching staff. They do have some young arms that are on the rise but they really lack the ace at the top. I did not understand why they didn't get in the bidding for Grienke or Matt Garza. That was the main problem I have with the Reds, they basically stood pat during the offseason while their opponents reloaded. Now they do have excellent hitters in Votto, Phillips, Bruce and potentially Drew Stubbs and they do play some of the best defense in the National League. I also like Aroldis Chapman in the bullpen and it looks as if he could be one of the most dominant closers in baseball in the near future, when given the chance. But for now he will be an elite setup man. Don't get me wrong this is a very good team that is a lock to contend for the division in 2011. But unless they develop or acquire a bonafide ace or multiple ones for that matter, I don't see them ever making progress in the playoffs.

#11- St. Louis Cardinals

Rotation
1. Chris Carpenter
2. Jake Westbrook
3. Jamie Garcia
4. Kyle Lohse
5. Open

Bullpen-
CL- Ryan Franklin
SU- Kyle McClellan
SU- Jason Motte
MR- Trevor Miller
MR- Mitchel Boggs

Lineup-
1. Ryan Theriot-SS
2. Skip Schumaker-2B
3. Albert Pujols-1B
4. Matt Holliday-LF
5. Lance Berkman-RF
6. Colby Rasmus-CF
7. David Freese-3B
8. Yadier Molina

I think it's obvious why the Cardinals are not in the top 10. With Wainwrights injury I think this may be a generous spot to place them in the power rankings, but while they may have lost him they still have a potent lineup, solid bullpen and a serviceable rotation. I think they can stay competitive, but i don't think they can keep up in what is going to be a very tough NL Central. They are having to rely on Carpenter, a 36 year old injury prone starter, Jamie Garcia who has one solid major league year under his belt and the oft injured Jake Westbrook. They will also need Kyle Lohse to bounce back and find a suitable fifth starter if they want to compete in 2011. On the offensive side they are also relying on some injury plagued players to stay healthy. Lance Berkman will have to transition back to the outfield and try and stay healthy on some already bulky knees and David Freese needs to stay healthy as well. When this entire team is healthy, they may be able to be in this #11 spot, but more likely than not they will slip down this list as the year progresses.

Now we have completed the bottom 20 teams in the majors. Starting next week I will begin my top 10 countdown to the top team in baseball. Look out for further posts and hopefully once i complete the power rankings we can have a podcast dedicated to them.

Podcast 2-24-11

It took me a while but I was finally able to get this podcast up. Again it is not edited but we have streamlined the show so that it is about 60 minutes long. Today we talk about NBA trades, the impact of Adam Wainwrights injury and about some of the better nicknames in sports. We are continuing to work on improving the show,
hope you enjoy.

Podcast 2-17-11

Sorry it took a little while to upload this one, its been a very busy week. I wanted to get a chance to edit this but I wasn't able to because as I said it was a busy week. But in this podcast we talk about the Albert Pujols contract negotiations and the Carmello Anthony trade saga. There are also 2 new segments that we did but overall this is a shorter show than usual. Hope you enjoy!!!

MLB Power Rankings #19-#15

After a hiatus we have finally started working on my Power Ranking posts!! To speed up this process a little bit i am going to sum up the #19-#15 teams in this post. Instead of in depth reviews of each i will breifly summarize each team but i will still list their rotation, bullpen and lineup. I am only doing this for these teams and will return to doing each team individually for the top 10. So lets take a look at the #19-#15 teams in my Power Rankings.

#19- Los Angeles Angels

Rotation-
1. Jered Weaver
2. Dan Haren
3. Ervin Santana
4. Scott Kazmir
5. Joel Pineiro

Bullpen-
CL- Fernando Rodney
SU- Scott Downs
SU- Hisanori Takahashi
MR- Kevin Jepsen
MR- Francisco M. Rodriguez

Lineup-
1. Erick Aybar-SS
2. Howie Kendrick-2B
3. Torii Hunter-RF
4. Vernon Wells-LF
5. Kendry Morales-1B
6. Bobby Abreu-DH
7. Alberto Callaspo-3B
8. Jeff Mathis-C
9. Peter Bourjos-CF

The rotation is the strength of this team with 2 top of the rotation arms anchoring several middle of the rotation arms. The bullpen is improved with Takahashi and Downs coming in this season, but the closer situation may be a problem. They need to find an upgrade over Fernando Rodney at closer. The offense should be improved from 2010 with Kendry Morales returning from injury and the addition of Vernon Wells. But they are still a fairly mediocre offense that has power but in terms of getting on base they may struggle. Bourjos should provide some speed but he is only a temporary option in center till Mike Trout reaches the majors which will be sooner rather than later. This is a team that should finish around .500 but it will be tough to compete against the Rangers and A's in 2011.

#18- Florida Marlins

Rotation-
1. Josh Johnson
2. Javier Vazquez
3. Ricky Nolasco
4. Anibal Sanchez
5. Chris Volstad

Bullpen-
CL- Clay Hensley
SU- Leo Nunez
SU- Brian Sanches
MR- Randy Choate
MR- Ryan Webb

Lineup-
1. Chris Coghlan-CF
2. Omar Infante-2B
3. Hanley Ramirez-SS
4. John Buck-C
5. Mike Stanton-RF
6. Gaby Sanchez-1B
7. Logan Morrison-LF
8. Wes Helms-3B

The Marlins are pretty good all around, the staff has an ace in Josh Johnson, they got some help in the pen by trading Cameron Maybin and Hanley Ramirez anchors a powerful offense. The rest of the staff outside of Johnson are good middle of the rotation talent and Javier Vazquez add some experience and more strikeout potential. The bullpen should be pretty good and Hensley looks to be a solid closer in 2011. The best part of this Marlins team in my mind is the offense, there are so many great young players on this roster that are just beginning to blossom. Mike Stanton may very well be the most powerful player in major league baseball and combined with young outfielders Logan Morrison and Chris Coghlan they look pretty good. At third they will likely start Wes Helms to start the year but before the All-Star break we will see top prospect Matt Dominguez. This is a team that has a good long term outlook (as usual) and while they may not go to the playoffs this season, once they get in their new stadium they will have a shot.

#17- Detroit Tigers

Rotation-
1. Justin Verlander
2. Max Scherzer
3. Rick Porcello
4. Phil Coke
5. Brad Penny

Bullpen-
CL- Jose Valverde
SU- Joaquin Benoit
SU- Ryan Perry
MR- Brad Thomas
MR- Daniel Schlereth

Lineup-
1. Austin Jackson-CF
2. Brennan Boesch-RF
3. Magglio Ordonez-DH/OF
4. Miguel Cabrera-1B
5. Victor Martinez-C/DH
6. Ryan Raburn-LF
7. Carlos Guillen-2B
8. Jhonny Peralta-SS
9. Brandon Inge-3B

This is another team that is pretty solid all around. The pitching staff has a legitimate ace in Justin Verlander and Max Scherezer is a very good number 2 starter. There is somewhat off a drop off after those 2 but Rick Porcello has a lot of upside and Phil Coke is an intriguing starting option. The main concern will be the health of Brad Penny as he has a long injury history. The bullpen was bolstered by the addition of Joaquin Benoit and they have a good closer in Jose Valverde. The offense was also bolstered in the off season by adding Victor Martinez to most likely but can catch and play first when needed. With V-Mart now in the lineup we should see Miguel Cabrera's numbers continue to rise and don't be surprised if he finishes as the AL MVP in 2011. It will really depend on if they can keep up with the White Sox and the Twins in a top heavy AL Central.

#16- New York Mets

Rotation-
1. Johan Santana
2. Mike Pelfrey
3. Jonathan Niese
4. R.A. Dickey
5. Chris Young

Bullpen-
CL- Francisco Rodriguez
SU- D.J. Carrasco
SU- Manny Acosta
MR- Pat Misch
MR- Bobby Parnell

Lineup-
1. Jose Reyes-SS
2. Angel Pagan- RF
3. Carlos Beltran-CF
4. David Wright-3B
5. Ike Davis-1B
6. Jason Bay-LF
7. Ronny Paulino-C
8. Ruben Tejada-2B

Some may think this is a little bit of a reach but I think the Mets are a bit of a sleeper team in 2010. They have their faults especially in their rotation but i think the offense is much more talented than what they showed in 2010. Chris Young will be an interesting guy to watch in 2011, if he can stay healthy he could really elevate this staff. The Bullpen is the main area of concern as Francisco Rodriguez has had some off field trouble and they will be relying on some health risks to give them innings in the pen. The offense should rebound as most of these guys experienced injuries last season and most are healthy now. I don't care what you may say about Jason Bay, there is no way he only hits 6 homers again unless he gets hurt. Carlos Beltran is another bounce back candidate for the Mets this season and Jose Reyes is looking to rebuild his value. They have motivation and desperately want to become relevant again so I think they will make a push to be a .500 team in 2011.

#15- Tampa Bay Rays

Rotation-
1. David Price
2. James Shields
3. Wade Davis
4. Jeff Niemann
5. Jeremy Hellickson

Bullpen-
CL- Kyle Farnsworth
SU- J.P. Howell
SU- Joel Peralta
MR- Adam Russell
MR- Andy Sonnanstine

Lineup-
1. Johnny Damon-LF
2. Ben Zobrist-1B
3. Evan Longoria-3B
4. Manny Ramirez-DH
5. Matt Joyce-RF
6. B.J. Upton-CF
7. John Jason-C
8. Reid Brignac-SS
9. Sean Rodriguez

2011 may be a down year for the Rays, but they will still be competitive. They have an extremely tough rotation with ace in the making David Price and up and comers in Wade Davis and Jeremy Hellickson. The bullpen lost almost everyone from the dominant 2010 pen but still looks to be solid although closer may be an issue. The place that took the biggest hit was the offense with the losses of Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Jason Bartlett who were mainstays of the Rays franchise. But they brought in some veteran help new young players adjust to the big leagues. Manny should be a huge upgrade at DH and Damon should help offset the loss of Carl Crawford (although he will never be replaced only succeeded). They also have several young stars coming into their own in Reid Brignac, Sean Rodriguez and possibly Desmond Jennings later in the season. As I said this may be a down year but they have excellent management and have plenty of options on the farm to replace what they have lost.

That is the #19-#15 teams on my Power Rankings, I will post my #14-#11 teams later in the week, so look out for that. Before I get into the top 10 i will do a brief recap of all the teams thus far. Please give me feedback on my rankings!!

Chris "da Franchize" Hart

Podcast 2-8-11

It's been a little bit of a gap again but we finally have our next podcast up. Today we recap the Super Bowl, talk about the current College Basketball season, NBA All Star Team snubs, surprises and disappointments of the current NHL Season and the Albert Pujols contract negotiations and Michael Young trade rumors. Hope you enjoy!!

MLB Power Rankings #20

Again there has been a bit of delay in posting. I apologize for making you wait so long for the #20 team but we did get a new podcast up and hopefully will record another one this week. I also plan on doing some sort of fantasy baseball preview that may include podcasts throughout the season. But today we have finally reached the #20 team in my power rankings, and there is a bit of a jump in quality of teams at this point. This is a team that could very well win their division and go to the playoffs but based on my statistical evaluation i think they fall in this spot. This team would be the Los Angeles Dodgers, they have made several moves in this off season that set them up to compete in 2011 but I'm not sure they stand up against the competition ahead of them. Lets take a more in depth look at the Dodgers.

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Chad Billingsley
3. Ted Lilly
4. Hiroki Kuroda
5. Jon Garland

This is by far the best pitching staff we have looked at thus far. They have a top of the rotation starter in Clayton Kershaw who may become one of the most dominant left handed starters in the game. He may regress some this season because of increased workloads and just being a young pitcher but he should still be a solid top of the rotation arm. Chad Billingsley is a guy who looked like he was becoming the ace of this team after a stellar 08' season. But regressed in 09' and got better in 10' but not to the level he was at before. He is a solid middle of the rotation arm who may have some upside but it looks as if 08' was a fluke. Ted Lilly came over from the Cubs at the deadline last year and was dominant for the Dodgers. He is another solid middle of the rotation arm who doesn't have great velocity and is homer prone but he is a bulldog and can be dominant at times. Hiroki Kurdoa is another solid middle of the rotation arm who will post solid ERA's and strikeout totals and should fit perfectly in the number 4 spot in the rotation. Jon Garland is a solid back of the rotation starter who's success is driven from his ability to induce ground balls. This is a very deep rotation that could easily get a team to the playoffs, it just depends on how the rest of the team performs.

Pen-
CL- Jonathan Broxton
SU- Hong-Chih Kuo
SU- Matt Gurreir
MR- Kenley Jansen
MR- Ronald Belisario

Jonathan Broxton had his struggles last season but i think he has enough of a solid track record to suggest he could be good again this season. He has some nasty stuff and he is a bulldog on the mound, he should be able to rebound. Hong-Chih Kuo was excellent in a setup role last season posting a 1.20 ERA in 60 IP with solid peripheral stats. Matt Gurreir was the big addition to the pen this year after being one of Minnesota's dominant set up man since 2005. Kenley Jansen was excellent last season as well, posting a .67 ERA in 27 IP. He should prove to be a solid middle relief option for this pen. Ronald Belisario struggled in his second season, posting a 5.04 ERA with a minimal amount of strikeouts. He could be better this season as middle relievers are some of the most unpredictable players in baseball. This bullpen is improved from last and should prove to be one of the better ones in the league.

Lineup
1. Rafael Furcal-SS
2. Matt Kemp-CF
3. Andre Ethier
4. James Loney-1B
5. Juan Uribe-2B
6. Casey Blake
7. Rod Barajas-C
8. Jay Gibbons-LF

There be some big names on this roster, but overall this is the weakest part of the Dodgers roster. Rafael Furcal is a solid leadoff hitter, he can hit .300 with a solid OBP and good speed. Matt Kemp was being counted on to be one of the young stars of this team, but failed to do so in 2010. He has pop and speed but didnt get on base enough and played horrendous defense last season. Kemp is a guy that the Dodgers need to bounce back if they want to be competitive in 2011. Andre Ethier was outstanding early on in the season in 2010, but an injury knocked him out for a while and he wasn't the same after his return. The dodgers need to do better than Loney at cleanup and at first base. He can drive in runs but as you know RBI's are a worthless statistic in terms of talent evaluation. He is a middle of the pack hitter who is being relied to do more than he can. Juan Uribe is a nice addition to this offense, he doesn't get on base enough or hit for a high average but he has good pop for a middle infielder and has great versatility. His bat should add some punch to a lineup that really lacks it. Casey Blake is on the downside of a solid career and we are really beginning to see his production fall of here as the average went below .250 last season. He still can play defense and has some pop but he is on the decline. Rod Barajas was effective at the end of the season for the Dodgers last season and has replaced the former star catcher Russell Martin, whose production really fell of this past season. Barajas provides solid pop behind the dish but he isn't going to hit for a high average and is on the downside of his career. The true weak link of this team is in Left Field were they are attempting to platoon a washed up Jay Gibbons and Marcus Thames. Thames can provide some pop but Gibbons hasn't played a full major league season since 2005. His minor league numbers last season look good and he played effectively when brought up last season and if he is effective he should provide some nice pop. But more likely than not Left Field is going to be a problem area for the Dodgers. The Dodgers could be a playoff team if their offense plays to its upside and if the pitching stays healthy. But worse case scenario i think they are around a .500 team.

Rotation