MLB Power Rankings – One Month Down, Six To Go

With the first month of the baseball season officially in the books, it’s time to take a look and see where each team stands. As expected, some teams are sitting at the bottom of barrel, while others that were supposed to be contenders sit on higher pedestals.

In between, is a hodgepodge or surprises from struggling favorites to surging underdogs. This season is starting to take shape as one of the most interesting.

With a few months to go, let’s see where each team ranks, starting at the bottom.

 

30. Oakland Athletics

“There are rich teams and there are poor teams. Then there’s fifty feet of c**p, and then there’s us.” This quote from Billy Beane in the movie Moneyball seems way too appropriate, this team is worse than terrible. With the civil war between the fans and ownership, a move to Las Vegas can’t come soon enough.

29. Chicago White Sox

It’s hard to tell if this season’s struggles are from growing pains with a new manager or are due to the various injuries this team has endured. What isn’t hard to tell, something needs to change.

28. Kansas City Royals

Chalk this season’s slow start to a young team with a new manager. You shouldn’t expect them to climb too much higher but don’t be surprised if they go on a surprise run.

27. Colorado Rockies

Well they’re not in dead last, that’s an accomplishment right? They’ve got a long way to go to reach the lofty goal of .500 baseball that the team owner set for them.

26. Detroit Tigers

Take in every moment of this season, as it’s the “Miguel Cabrera retirement tour.” Grab your souvenirs because there’s not much else going on for this team, and you shouldn’t expect playoff gear.

25. Washington Nationals

Another year, another rebuild for this team. It’s hard to believe how bad the drop off has been since they won the World Series in 2019.

24. St. Louis Cardinals

Not many people thought they’d see this line up struggle, and yet here we are. St. Louis is not looking so hot right now but this is too strong of a lineup to keep down.

23. San Francisco Giants

Did the National League West get better or did San Francisco just press pause and change the difficulty from easy to veteran? Either way, 2021 is looking like an outlier in not only it’s time with San Fran, but as a manger in general.

22. Cincinnati Reds

It’s a long way to go for Cincinnati before they’re ready to compete for the division but realistically, after more than a decade since their last division crown, to see them taking steps to help get the necessary pieces in place is huge. This was going to be another throw away year anyways, why not just use it as a “professional development year.”

21. Seattle Mariners

Seattle won’t be here for long more than likely. After last season, it shouldn’t be too much longer before they’re competing for the American League West.

20. Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland may have time but they’re going to need to take the car out of neutral and shift it into drive soon. They’re going to need to keep pace with the division leading Twins if they’re going to have any hope of playing in October.

19. Chicago Cubs

Chicago is showing signs of life in the north side of the city rather than the south side. The Cubs need to get the ball rolling to keep pace in the division but they’re still doing alright to start the year.

18. San Diego Padres

Once again, despite all the money and resources that San Diego spent, they’ve been underwhelming to start the season. They should get better as the year progresses but sometimes slow starts can tell the story.

17. Philadelphia Phillies

Last year showed us to never count out anyone. However, this season resembles less of a hangover and more of an uneasy feeling for Philadelphia. They probably didn’t envision themselves in fourth place after the first month of the year.

16. New York Yankees

The American League East has finally joined the chat. New York has been bogged down with injuries and some rough performances. Expect them to bounce back to life at some point this season once they’re healthy.

15. New York Mets

How did we get here? The Metropolitans spent a lot of money just to be in third place after one month. If they don’t pick up the pace a bit, they could be in real danger.

14. Boston Red Sox

Boston is producing runs and they’re hitting pretty well. The question right now is, how long will this pitching hold up. In the games they’ve lost, it’s been because of the starter breaking down after a while.

13. Los Angeles Angels

Nobody was expecting a hot start from the Los Angeles Angels, yet here we are. The question will now become “can they maintain it?” The easy answer is no, but stranger things have happened.

12. Houston Astros

Even without their leader, second baseman Jose Altuve, the Astros aren’t looking bad. If they can keep this up, it should be a fun year for them.

11. Miami Marlins

Despite giving up 35 more runs than they scored, the Marlins are right there. Miami has solid pieces in play and realistically, could be dangerous if they can produce more runs. The pitching is there, the contact hitting is there, just need some power and run production.

10. Arizona Diamondbacks

It seems like manager Torey Lovullo read our National League West preview, because Arizona is keeping up with the Los Angeles Dodgers. While early, it’s never a bad thing to have a team kick it into second-gear early, provided they don’t stall out.

9. Los Angeles Dodgers

Speaking of the Dodgers, they’re in the top 10 right now. Could they be higher? Perhaps, but at this juncture, they’re in a dog fight with Arizona. Give it time, they’ll climb higher up the rankings.

8. Minnesota Twins

Minnesota flipped the switch early and is off to a roaring start. The one consistent question with Minnesota, in particular their star player Byron Buxton, is can he stay healthy? If they can, this team could go on a serious run.

7. Texas Rangers

All it took was the right manager; who knew? Texas is looking really good right now. If they can keep this up, Bud Black and company may see themselves playing October baseball again.

6. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays just missed out on joining the top five this month. It’s too bad because there’s three other American League East teams in there at the moment. They’re doing well and are looking like an early playoff contender.

5. Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are in the top five but they’re not even the best team in their own division (that team is shocking). Still, the Brew Crew look locked and loaded and ready to go to war with the division leading team. It will be interesting to see how long it takes before they get on the heels of that team.

4. Atlanta Braves

Consistency is key, and there’s nobody more consistent than the Atlanta Braves. The Braves currently are the top dogs in their division and show no signs of letting go. Manager Brian Snitker has a lot to be proud of, he’s really blazing his own trail down in Atlanta.

3. Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore carried over so much momentum from last year into this season. This has been nothing short of a surprise but the question of maintaining their start will come up quickly. The American League East is the toughest division right now in baseball and this will be a test to see if they’re for real or not.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates

It feels like this should be an AFC North season preview piece with Pittsburgh and Baltimore so high, but this is an MLB article. Well Pittsburgh’s young players have finally put it together seemingly and they’re building to a massive season. We’ll see how it goes from here but let it be known that the Pirates went from a “Hodgepodge of Nothing” to the penultimate team on this month’s power rankings.

1. Tampa Bay Rays

Who else was it going to be? They’ve lost six games this month. Six! The Tampa Bay Rays are looking like a predator right now and the only question is who will play the role of Dutch, or will we have to watch an Al Dillion movie? Either way, watch out, Tampa Bay looks to be really good this year.