MLB Power Ratings
Our staff has developed MLB baseball power ratings with up to date rankings and how we as handicappers see these teams. We will list our MLB team rankings on a week by week basis and as much as possible. You can check this page for up to date MLB power ratings from Cappersinfo Sports Handicapping. Thanks for visiting and don't forget to check out all the free sports picks in the forums and free picks monitor, other sports betting information, and MLB baseball predictions for sports handicappers!
CappersInfo Current MLB Power Rankings
(2012 Preseason Rankings)
1: Detroit Tigers (95-67 in 2011) – With all of the great teams in the American League, the Tigers might be a bit overlooked. They won 95 games last year, and their really only major change was to add Prince Fielder (though they did lose Victor Martinez as well). This is a great team that is well managed. Justin Verlander is going to win a ton of games on the campaign, and he is surely going to have a lot of help around him once again this year. This could be one of the most unheralded teams in the game right now.
2: New York Yankees (97-65 in 2011) – Picking up Hiroki Kuroda and Michael Pineda in the offseason finally added some depth to an otherwise iffy New York starting pitching staff. The question is whether age is going to catch up to this team sooner than later. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Mariano Rivera aren’t getting any younger, and others on this squad like Andruw Jones and Andy Pettitte aren’t exactly young chickens either.
3: Philadelphia Phillies (102-60 in 2011) – Generally speaking, pitching wins championships in baseball. It didn’t get the job done last year for the Phils, and this year, they are going to need even more out of their staff. It is anyone’s guess how players like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are going to respond to injuries when they get back in the fold. What we of course know, is that Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Cliff Lee make up a flat out awesome rotation, and Jonathan Papelbon should be able to slam the door shut in the ninth inning with a heck of a lot more consistency than Brad Lidge has in the past.
4: Los Angeles Angels (86-76 in 2011) – What a mix the Angels have this year! They have a lot of veterans like Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu that are clearly at the end of their careers, but they also now have Albert Pujols to add into the mix as one of the best hitters in the league. Mark Trumbo and Peter Bourjos could both be great youngsters to watch out for this season, and we know that the rest of this infield is stout as well. Kendrys Morales is also back in the lineup after missing all of last year. And the rotation? How does Jered Weaver, CJ Wilson, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana sound? Sounds like the Halos are going back to the playoffs this year to us.
5: Texas Rangers (96-66 in 2011) – The Rangers have won the American League pennant in back to back seasons, and it is hard to say that they don’t have a chance of doing so again this year. This is a great team for sure, and it is a lineup that can really mash. If Yu Darvish can be as good as the departed CJ Wilson was, this team will be fine and will once again be a massive contender in the very stout American League. Otherwise, the Rangers could take a step backwards.
6: Tampa Bay Rays (91-71 in 2011) – Tampa Bay pulled off some tremendous magic last year when it was able to come all the way back from the depths to get into the playoffs. The Rays are deep with pitching, knowing that there are just a ton of young arms already in the rotation and waiting in Durham as well. Carlos Pena is back and should add some pop to the lineup, and a full year out of Desmond Jennings in the outfield could bode well as well. Manager Joe Maddon has a team that looks ready to contend again this year.
7: Milwaukee Brewers (96-66 in 2011) – Any time that you can put both Zack Greinke and Yovani Gallardo in the rotation next to each other, teams have to take notice. These two were absolutely unstoppable last year at home. It is going to hurt quite a bit to not have Prince Fielder in the fold, but Ryan Braun is still coming off of an MVP season, and he still has a relatively formidable lineup surrounding him this year. This team isn’t as good as it was a year ago, but the rest of the NL Central is really, really bad.
8: San Francisco Giants (86-76 in 2011) – The Giants didn’t get into the playoffs last year, but they could contend again this season in a wide open NL West. We don’t understand the Matt Cain contract, but we at least see where all of the young pitchers on this staff will make a great unit in 2012. The question is whether the bats are really going to be there to be able to compete this year. There will be plenty of 1-0 and 2-1 games that San Fran has to win this year.
9: St. Louis Cardinals (90-72 in 2011) – Sure, Manager Tony LaRussa has retired. Sure, Albert Pujols has left team. That doesn’t mean though, that the Cardinals are just all of a sudden chopped liver. They are still the defending World Series champs, and save for Pujols, they are really bringing back largely the same team that was so dominating down the stretch a season ago. Lance Berkman shifts to first base, while Carlos Beltran joins in the outfield to take Berkman’s spot. The starting rotation gets back Adam Wainwright as well. The potential is definitely here for the Redbirds again.
10: Boston Red Sox (90-72 in 2011) – We just can’t ignore the fact that the Red Sox are still made up of a strong team. Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Adrian Gonzalez make up a great lineup, even if the likes of David Ortiz and Carl Crawford don’t end up producing this season. Josh Beckett is one of the three dominating arms in this rotation. We just don’t like this bullpen, though. Getting rid of Jonathan Papelbon might ultimately look like a mistake, especially knowing that the team’s new closer, Andrew Bailey is going to miss the first half of the season with a thumb injury.
11: Atlanta Braves (89-73 in 2011) – The bats for the Braves aren’t all that great, but if you look at this pitching staff when it is healthy, you can’t help but be impressed. Craig Kimbrel now owns the record for most saves in a season for a rookie, and he had two fantastic setup men a season ago in Eric O’Flaherty and Jonny Venters. Tim Hudson, Mike Minor, Brandon Beachy, and Jair Jurrjens are setting up for a great pitching staff. Even though Derek Lowe is now gone, the rest of this staff is definitely set to succeed this year, and the Braves might be able to quickly get over the gaffe of collapsing on the eve of the playoffs last year.
12: Miami Marlins (72-90 in 2011) – Many think that the newly rebranded Marlins might be able to win the whole enchilada this year, but we just don’t see it, especially in this division. Mark Buehrle was a nice pickup, and Carlos Zambrano has the potential as well. Heath Bell should set in and immediately be one of the best closers in the game once again. This lineup though, has its holes. Giancarlo Stanton can hit the ball a mile, but the Marlins overpaid for Jose Reyes, and there is a real question as to whether the move to put Hanley Ramirez at third base will work or not. Manager Ozzie Guillen might get a lot out of this team, but we just don’t know if it will translate into a playoff bid.
13: Arizona Diamondbacks (94-68 in 2011) – We didn’t really believe all that much in the Diamondbacks last year, and that hasn’t changed much this season either. They just aren’t all that great in our eyes. Daniel Hudson and Ian Kennedy combined to win 37 games, and the likelihood of that happening again just isn’t all that great. The lineup is still very young and doesn’t have a lot of star power beyond Justin Upton, and the team just hasn’t had a great history with trades either.
14: Cleveland Indians (80-82 in 2011) – The Indians made a big move last year by picking up Ubaldo Jimenez at the trade deadline. It could ultimately end up looking like a great move when this season is said and done with if he can get his velocity back. Adding Derek Lowe helped as well. Cleveland’s bullpen is still in shambles, but the team can quietly hit the ball. If this starting rotation holds together from #1 to #5, the Tribe could win 85 games and at least stay in the playoff discussion this year.
15: Washington Nationals (80-81 in 2011) – Stephen Strasburg is healthy and looks ready to dominate once again this year, and the rest of the rotation around him is setting up nicely as well. The bullpen for Washington is again going to likely be the strength of the team. Remember that last year, this team finished a game below .500, and that came with Strasburg starting just five games, Bryce Harper never making an impact in the majors, and Jayson Werth barely hitting .220 for the season. Those things will all change, and that is why many think this is the scariest young team in the game.
16: Toronto Blue Jays (81-81 in 2011) – Every single year, we think that the Blue Jays are going to be falling down just a bit, and every single year, they seemingly finish right around .500 and win a bunch of games against some of the best teams in the division. That being said, this AL East is still as brutal as ever, and getting into the playoffs is out of the question. There have been a lot of good moves made by this team over the years though, and it could end up working out well for the Jays once again this year.
17: Cincinnati Reds (79-83 in 2011) – The Reds are really only going to go as far as Joey Votto takes them. They don’t have that great of a lineup otherwise, and though the starting rotation, led by Johnny Cueto has a lot of potential with a lot of strong, young arms, the bullpen was clearly thrown into flux when Ryan Madson was knocked out for the season in Spring Training. Yikes. Manager Dusty Baker is on the hot seat for sure this year in the Queen City.
18: Los Angeles Dodgers (82-79 in 2011) – New ownership led by Magic Johnson is going to ultimately make this LA team dominating again, but it is still going to take some time to get the job done. Clayton Kershaw is outstanding, as is Matt Kemp, but the rest of this team around these two is chock full of guys that are just pretty much average. “Average” could be good enough in the NL West, but it shouldn’t be good enough to get past some of the other great teams that the NL has to offer.
19: Chicago White Sox (79-83 in 2011) – Chicago seems to have problems reaching goals every single year. There is still some talent in the lineup, especially if Adam Dunn can make it up to average again. Paul Konerko isn’t getting any younger, but the middle of the infield with Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez is as stout as it gets. Remember that this rotation, with John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Jake Peavy, definitely has the ability to record a heck of a lot of outs as well. Still, the Sox are a ways away from competing for a title.
20: New York Mets (77-85 in 2011) – The Mets overachieved last year with 77 wins, but if they were in, say the NL Central, we could see them competing for a playoff bid. The schedule will definitely prove to be brutal this year, and we know that the team is going to probably have to unload Johan Santana and possibly David Wright by year’s end as well. Still, these two vets combined with some of the youngsters like Ike Davis makes this team at least remotely intriguing to watch in 2012.
21: Minnesota Twins (63-99 in 2011) – Manager Rod Gardenhire just isn’t going to have a team that threatens to lose 100 games again this year. Hopefully, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau prove to be healthy, and Francisco Liriano can return to be a front of the rotation type of pitcher. If those three facts are true, the AL Central is winnable. Don’t call us optimists, though. The Twins are still a ways away from competing again.
22: Oakland Athletics (74-88 in 2011) – The A’s always seem to have a team that has some potential, and every half dozen years or so, they come out of seemingly nowhere to compete. The addition of Yoenis Cespedes is going to help out quite a bit, though there is a lot of work to be done with this young rotation to make this team a force this year. Brandon McCarthy is going to have to prove to be a stud on a regular basis, or Oakland might struggle.
23: Kansas City Royals (71-91 in 2011) – The Royals are setting themselves up to challenge in the AL Central in two or three years, and it is about time from where we are sitting. Eric Hosmer is going to be leading a young team into battle this year, and once KC learns how to win and gets some of these young arms in the minors into the bigs and ready to go, it will be a fun team to watch. Still, 80 wins seems like a difficult task to try to accomplish, even in the suspect AL Central.
24: Colorado Rockies (73-89) – There’s no way that the Rockies can be this bad. They just can’t. Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez are both cornerstones to build a franchise around, and there were some prudent moves made in the offseason, like picking up Marco Scutaro, Michael Cuddyer, and Jeremy Guthrie.
25: Pittsburgh Pirates (72-90 in 2011) – For the first time in nearly two decades, the Pirates were buyers at the trade deadline last year. They fell apart once they made all of their moves and finished with a very Pittsburgh-esque 72-90 mark, but the potential was clearly shown for a team that is young and growing. Andrew McCutchen is one of the best young players in the league, but he needs some help to grow as a potential star, or he is going to be the next major player to leave the Steel City.
26: Baltimore Orioles (69-93 in 2011) – The Orioles were supposed to be a team that improved last year with some big name additions. However, they just never really panned out, and about the only thing that the team accomplished was knocking the Red Sox out of the playoffs on the final day of the season. Don’t expect for all that many things to improve this year for a team that is overmatched by four teams that are better than they are this year.
27: Chicago Cubs (71-91 in 2011) – Good thing the Cubs have Wrigley Field, because they don’t have a heck of a lot else that is all that intriguing right now. This infield is awfully young with Darwin Barney, Starlin Castro, Ian Stewart, and Bryan LaHair likely getting the starts on Opening Day, and save for Alfonso Soriano and Marlon Byrd, there isn’t a lot of veteran help for this team to build around. Ryan Dempster is the best man in this pitching staff, and that’s not saying a heck of a lot. Carlos Marmol needs to get his head screwed on straight again to be a successful closer as well.
28: Seattle Mariners (67-95 in 2011) – The Mariners made the interesting move in the offseason of picking up Jesus Montero in exchange for Michael Pineda. Meanwhile, Felix Hernandez is still looking around and just trying to figure out where he is going to get some help from. Perhaps this will be the year that the M’s give him some salvation and trade him to a contender, where he would probably immediately be a Cy Young Award candidate.
29: San Diego Padres (71-91 in 2011) – The Padres were clearly fool’s gold two years ago when they were contenders right down to the last day of the season. Last year, they were one of the worst teams in the league, and they really don’t have a heck of a lot but prospects to show for the fact that they no longer have their two best pieces to their bullpen in Heath Bell and Mike Adams. It could be a long, long year at Petco Park to say the least.
30: Houston Astros (56-106 in 2011) – There were times last year that the Astros looked like they had some promise, but those times were few and far between. JA Happ, Wandy Rodriguez, and Bud Norris might start off what could be a decent rotation this year, and Brett Myers was quietly a solid closer. Adding Jed Lowrie should help defensively for an infield that was woeful at times. The Astros won’t lose 106 games again this year, but they might struggle to avoid 100 losses.
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