Monday, April 13, 2015

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MLB Power Rankings - April 13: Tigers, Reds jump after big Opening Week

Reposted by Danny B Sports

by Jonah Birenbaum 54m ago
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1. Washington Nationals

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
2-4 2-4 1 (-)
One columnist had the gall to criticize Max Scherzer after the newly signed right-hander was purportedly outdueled by Bartolo Colon on Opening Day despite surrendering fewer earned runs while recording more outs. The only legitimate conclusion to draw from Monday's contest, therefore, is that Opening Day literally turns people insane.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-3 3-3 2 (-)
Why do the Dodgers lead the majors in isolated power thus far? Adrian Gonzalez. The 32-year-old became the first player in history to clobber five home runs through his team's first three games and is hitting .609/.667/1.391 this season. Aren't small samples fun?

3. Los Angeles Angels

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
2-4 2-4 3 (-)
Mike Trout is the best baseball player on the planet. Mike Trout has struck out in six of his first 24 trips to the plate this season. These two facts are not mutually exclusive.

4. St. Louis Cardinals

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-2 3-2 5 (+1)
Adam Wainwright is the venerable veteran and Carlos Martinez is the compelling youngster, but Lance Lynn remains the unheralded hero in the Cardinals' rotation. After quietly fashioning a career-best 2.74 ERA over 33 starts in 2014, the 27-year-old right-hander allowed just one run while fanning nine over six frames against the Cubs in his season debut.

5. Toronto Blue Jays

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
4-2 4-2 7 (+2)
Devon Travis, 24, boasts a 126 OPS+ in his first week at the major-league level. Dalton Pompey, 22, has ripped a pair of doubles and a homer since being promoted to the No. 2 spot in the lineup Friday afternoon. Oh, right, and then there's Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson and Jose Reyes. Now you know why only three teams have scored more runs than the Blue Jays through the first week of the season.

6. Detroit Tigers

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
6-0 5-1 10 (+4)
It's not terribly consequential, frankly, when Justin Verlander returns from the disabled list if his teammates keep leading the majors in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Blessed with renewed health, Miguel Cabrera has simply refused to get out thus far in 2015, hitting .520/.586/.840 with two homers and two doubles through his first six games.

7. Pittsburgh Pirates

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
2-4 3-3 4 (-3)
In a stark departure from 2014, the Pirates have struck out more frequently than any other team in the majors this season, posting a robust 28.4 percent strikeout rate that limited them to just 14 runs in their first five games.

8. Boston Red Sox

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
4-2 3-3 8 (-)
The first week of the season encapsulated the very essence of the Red Sox. Blessed with a ridiculously deep lineup, the Red Sox plated six or more runs in four of their first six games, winning each of those contests by a combined margin of 17 runs. When they scored fewer than six runs, however, victory eluded them. So, yeah, this team's formula for success is about as subtle as a Boston accent.

9. San Diego Padres

RECORDPYTHAG RECORDPREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
4-3 4-3 9 (-)
Though Wil Myers has yet to find his groove in San Diego -   not surprisingly, he hasn't drawn a walk in his first seven games - both Matt Kemp and Justin Upton have enjoyed strong starts in their new environment, going 19-for-56 (.339) with seven extra-base hits in their first week with the Padres.

10. Seattle Mariners

RECORDPYTHAG RECORDPREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-3 2-4 6 (-4)
Felix Hernandez is expected to make his next start after leaving Sunday's series finale against the Oakland Athletics due to tightness in his right quad. Considering how poorly the Mariners hit through their first seven games - only two everyday players boast an on-base plus slugging above .700 thus far - that news is especially encouraging.

11. Chicago Cubs

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-2 3-3 12 (+1)
Shockingly, it's the veterans that deserve most of the credit for the Cubs' success so far, as Jorge Soler is hitting .222 with a 30 percent strikeout rate while Arismendy Alcantara remains hitless through his first 12 at-bats of 2015. (Obligatory Kris Bryant update: the 23-year-old has two home runs through his first four games in Triple-A.)

12. Cleveland Indians

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
2-4 2-4 11 (-1)
The optimism generated this week by Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco was mitigated considerably after catcher Yan Gomes suffered a knee sprain that'll require about two months to heal. Not only is Gomes tied for the team lead in wins above replacement over the last three seasons, but he also keeps Carlos Santana marooned at third base, where he can't do as much harm.

13. New York Mets

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-3 3-3 14 (+1)
Jeurys Familia's grasp on the closer role grew a little tighter Saturday - at least on an interim basis - after Jenrry Mejia received an 80-game suspension for testing positive for Stanozolol. Despite turning 25 in October, Familia boasts far more ninth-inning experience than any of the other seven relievers in New York's bullpen. (Heading into Monday's game against the Phillies, Familia has seven career saves).

14. Cincinnati Reds

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
4-2 3-3 19 (+5)
Billy Hamilton didn't steal his first base of 2014 until April 9, five days after he was thrown out by Anthony Recker trying to steal second as a pinch-runner. Just six games into the 2015 season, Hamilton has swiped seven bags and has yet to be caught. His speed, of course, is unparalleled, but his 14 percent walk rate thus far augurs extremely for the Reds' under-appreciated offense.

15. Chicago White Sox

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
2-4 1-5 13 (-2)
It took some pinch-hit heroics from J.B. Shuck on Saturday for the White Sox to earn their first win of 2015, and the collective struggles of the rotation through the first week of the campaign isn't the most encouraging sign for a team built around effective starting pitching.

16. Kansas City Royals

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
6-0 5-1 22 (+6)
Maybe it wasn't a fluke. Though they were widely dismissed by pundits this offseason, the Royals remain one of two undefeated teams in baseball after securing consecutive three-game sweeps over the White Sox and Angels to open the campaign. A formidable bullpen is once again at the root of Kansas City's success, as the club's relief corps has yet to surrender an earned run in 16 1/3 innings.

17. Oakland Athletics

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-4 5-2 16 (-1)
No one can even act surprised at this point that little-known Mark Canha is hitting .360 with two doubles and a home run already, because this is precisely why Billy Beane had a book written about him. Drew Pomeranz also exemplified Beane's ability to find undervalued talent, as the 26-year-old managed seven scoreless innings in his 2015 debut after crafting a 2.35 ERA (3.77 FIP) over 69 innings last season.

18. San Francisco Giants

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-4 3-4 18 (-)
The Giants bolstered their rotation depth by re-signing both Jake Peavy and Ryan Vogelsong this winter so, naturally, Chris Heston was recalled from Triple-A to start Wednesday after back pain felled Peavy and Matt Cain landed on the disabled list with a flexor tendon strain. A rash of injuries to the starting corps really doesn't augur well for a team whose rotation was, ostensibly, an area of strength heading into the 2015 campaign.

19. Baltimore Orioles

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-3 3-3 21 (+2)
The loss of Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis hasn't compromised Baltimore's ability to hit the ball over the fence thus far, as the Orioles lead the majors with 11 homers in 2015. Though Manny Machado has yet to nail down his timing, Chris Davis is already driving the ball with authority to the opposite field and Alejandro De Aza remains a sneaky valuable hitter atop the Orioles' lineup against right-handed starters.

20. Miami Marlins

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
1-5 1-5 15 (-5)
Weren't the revamped Marlins supposed to inspire fear this season? Because it appears some of the newcomers didn't get the memo. Martin Prado and Michael Morse have combined to hit .233 with one extra-base hit so far while Mat Latos recorded just two outs in a laughable first outing with the Marlins.

21. New York Yankees

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
2-4 3-3 20 (-1)
Masahiro Tanaka's first two outings did little to allay fear about his wonky elbow, though his command improved a bit in his second start after an ugly showing in the Bronx on Opening Day. Pundits will continue to pontificate about his elbow until the inevitable Tommy John surgery, but every start Tanaka makes in the meanwhile is one that doesn't go to Esmil Rogers.

22. Milwaukee Brewers

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
1-5 1-5 17 (-5)
Some of that famous midwestern stoicism might come in handy right now because the Brewers' performance through the first week of the season wasn't at all encouraging. The club's offense eked out the fourth-worst walk-to-strikeout ratio in the National League this week, while only one team in the majors has surrendered more home runs thus far than the Brewers.

23. Tampa Bay Rays

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-3 3-3 23 (-)
Kevin Kiermaier refuses to slow down following his breakout 2014 campaign, as the 24-year-old outfielder leads the American League with seven extra-base hits and has reached base safely in five of six games thus far. Tim Beckham, meanwhile, has also enjoyed an auspicious start, hitting .364 with a homer and a triple in five contests.

24. Houston Astros

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-3 3-3 24 (-)
There aren't many brand names in Houston's rotation, but it's time to start taking Dallas Keuchel seriously. After fashioning a 3.21 fielding independent pitching last summer, Keuchel boasts a 1.29 ERA through his first two starts of 2015 and has surrendered just one home run to a left-handed hitter since last April.

25. Atlanta Braves

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
5-1 5-1 28 (+3)
Who needs Craig Kimbrel when you've got Jason Grilli and Jim Johnson and Cody Martin? Since unloading their erstwhile closer last weekend, the Braves have improbably compiled the strongest record in the National League. Much of that success can be attributed to a stalwart relief corps that boasts an obscene 0.44 ERA with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate this season while holding opponents to a .094 batting average.

26. Colorado Rockies

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
4-2 4-2  27 (+1)
Nobody doubts that the Rockies will score runs this season - there's a pretty formidable core in Colorado between Troy Tulowitzki, Nolan Arenado and Corey Dickerson - but it was particularly encouraging to see young pitchers like Jordan Lyles, Tyler Matzek and Eddie Butler enjoy some success in their season debuts despite uninspiring peripheral numbers.

27. Texas Rangers

RECORDPYTHAG RECORDPREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-4 3-4 25 (-2)
The accursed Rangers simply can't catch a break. Derek Holland was placed on the 60-day disabled list Saturday after lasting just one inning in his regular-season debut, creating a massive crater in a rotation still reeling from the loss of Yu Darvish. They're still definitely one of the two best teams in Texas, though.

28. Arizona Diamondbacks

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-3 3-3 29 (+1)
The Diamondbacks may continue to experiment with Yasmany Tomas at third base, but Jake Lamb is probably the better option at the position. Not only is Lamb a stronger defender, but the 24-year-old also hit .327/.407/.566 in the upper minors last summer and has already infused some life into Arizona's pedestrian lineup this season. Through his first four games of 2015, Lamb is hitting .364/.462/.727 with one double and one home run.

29. Minnesota Twins

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
1-5 1-5 26 (-3)
The hapless Twins slogged through 24 scoreless innings before logging their first run of the season Friday afternoon in a 7-1 loss to the Tigers, finishing the first week of the campaign with a combined .515 on-base plus slugging. Put another way, the Twins enjoyed less offensive success this week than the Chicago Cubs' pitching staff.

30. Philadelphia Phillies

RECORD PYTHAG RECORD PREVIOUS RANK (CHANGE)
3-3 2-4 30 (-)
Jonathan Papelbon's contempt for his employer was obvious when he drolly asked reporters after Wednesday's contest: "What is a Phillie? A horse?" Papelbon, though, was clearly unaware that the term "Phillie" is actually derived from an old latin word that means "roster devoid of talent."

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