2020 Post FA Power Rankings
Jan 20, 2020 14:40:14 GMT -5
Tigers GM (Alex), Rangers GM (Bill), and 7 more like this
Post by Mets GM (Jack) on Jan 20, 2020 14:40:14 GMT -5
30. Washington Nationals
Enough here to win some cats throughout the season and be better than last year, but not enough to win more then Bregman will win alone. Perhaps an owner can make something out of this team and be an overachiever. With the right owner, armed with 5 1sts and 7 2nds in the next 2 drafts and now plenty of cap space this team could be in playoff contention by 2022.
29. Boston Red Sox
I’m curious to see how many cats Bregman can win alone, Last year Will’s team won 58, I think he can get around 65-70. 4-5 years from contention.
28. Houston Astros
Back to familiar territory for Max. Quite a fall from grace after being the runner up only 16 months ago but here we are. Usually I’d say Judge and Greinke alone are enough to be in the top 25, but almost everyone has a full roster this season which should make for a very fun and competitive season. Not sure when Max’s team will revive itself, but Greinke is OTB.
27. Colorado Rockies
Rockies is in much better shape than they were a year ago, but they’ll still fall a few spots in the standings due to a much improved division and just not enough players. Steve still has several interesting names to keep an eye on and if he fills out his roster with some starting caliber options around Rodgers, Springer, Keller, etc. he could move up his draft position. Likely a year or two from playoff contention though.
26. Kansas City Royals
Royals will obviously be markedly better this year with the new ownership, however it’s hard to give them much of a chance in their division when they don’t have much certainty in their lineup. Pitching should be competitive most weeks though and I won't be surprised if they knock off a few goliaths throughout the year as prospects come through the system.
25. Baltimore Orioles
Enough here to finish better than this, but Jeff doesn’t set his lineups during the season and this team doesn’t have the talent to overcome poor management like his teams of the past used to. I could see a 2nd consecutive sub 100 cat season for him. Also his interleague slate sucks (ARZ,CIN,MIA). Bad year to be a 4th place AL team.
24. Cleveland Indians
Like I said, a bad year to be a 4th place AL team, playing ARZ,CIN,MIA instead of WSH, COL, and MIL. that may as well be a 15 cat difference and when you’re in this bracket of teams that’s a ton, last year pick 7 and pick 14 were separated by only 16 cats. I like Psych’s roster to be more competitive than last year, but I think the league as a whole has improved considerably and it will be much more difficult for him to stay in the race as long as he was able to a season ago.
23. Oakland Athletics
Similar story to Psych, better team though. This league is one of like 12 for Paul so as long as he’s not competing for a championship which is fairly unlikely this season then he won’t care all that much about it, and so a 2nd consecutive losing season for Paul, he does have madrigal though.
22. Atlanta Braves
Bare offense to go along with several overpaid SP’s. Wood clearly has some young stars blooming with Senzel, Jimenez and Tatis, but he hasn’t built the team around them enough to be as competitive as he was last season. Losing hernandez and iglesias up the middle will prove costly as I suspect a step back from him this year.
21. Texas Rangers
Added Semien and brought back Fowler to his team that didn’t lose much outside of SP, that said he’s got some young starters coming up, and I think the future looks brighter for Bill. I’ve been the one who always thought Bill’s team was just average every year with no actual direction, but I am starting to see a light at the end of his tunnel. Still average this season though.
20. LA Dodgers
Last season was definitely a disappointment for Jake after he picked up kershaw and some others to compete for the NLW and then fell shy of .500. This year his SP’s will be lead by Kluber, Clevinger and Boyd, but I question whether the core of his offense is good enough to be a contender. Andujar, Swanson, Haniger and Dahl all give reasons for optimism, but they also all give reasons for pessimism. Young team, perhaps a year away from NLW contention.
19. Milwaukee Brewers
Very talented, but not deep in what is a behemoth of a division, can definitely use his weak schedule to his advantage and possibly get up to 3rd in the NLC, but I can’t see him being better than STL or CIN. just not enough depth in the rotation behind Bauer, and he honestly wasn’t that good last year.
18. Arizona Diamondbacks
Similar to MIL, but a weaker division that could be easier to get through, he’s got some holes in the rotation and offensively at 3B and OF but overall I think hemmons gets back into a +.500 competitive team this year.
17. Chicago Cubs
I think Jason is selling/rebuilding, slowly enough though that he remains a WC contender atm, that said, the NLC is loaded this year, and if you’re not all in, then you’re out. His SP has thinned a ton, and his offense is much younger as he’s acquired spects and shedded long term salary. But until he trades Trout he will still be ahead of the previous group.
16. Tampa Bay Rays
Forbz will be competitive and has a talented team, but he currently only has 24(Counting Hoerner) rostered players and it’s hard to tell how many games he’ll get from Votto/Miggy at 1B,and he has a major hole in CF. It’s a tough team and he’ll be in most matchups, but depth will be his downfall.
15. Miami Marlins
Probably a year early on this one, but I think Kevin’s team is a bit improved and he only finished 17th in the league last year. Obviously he’s got excellent starting pitching, but his offense has caught up, he needs to put together a bullpen and maybe a few depth players on offense and he can compete for a playoff spot.
14. San Francisco Giants
There’s no doubt that the roster looks ugly due to the number of FA contracts, lack of any prospects, and a significant number of drop penalties and obligations, but the talent on the team should hold up. Keuchel, Richards, Junis and Archer is a good top 4. And Baez and Moustakas surrounded by starting caliber guys makes for a strong offensive team. JT also tanked last season which means he will play BOS, KC, and HOU in interleague play, matchups he should dominate while Noah plays DET,LAA, and NYY. Should be interesting to see if he can hang around long enough to steal the division for a year.
13. New York Mets
2018 will be the blueprint for my team this season, Obviously not a ton here, and I’m reliant on quite a few bounceback seasons and breakout sleepers, But I do believe I have enough to remain competitive in every matchup, ultimately I think I fall victim to a more difficult schedule than I have had in recent seasons as the NLE has improved considerably, and my interleague matchups are more difficult. I’m excited about where I can be a year from now though.
12. Toronto Blue Jays
Not very deep, should have some spects graduate though and help throughout the season, think sanders is a WC contender but seems to be going for 2021 when he’ll have more depth.
11. Chicago Whie Sox
Anyone with Freeman, Yelich, and Sale will be a factor. Mike lacks the depth he’s had in years past and there is a notable omission of Giancarlo Stanton in his OF. Still, I think Mike can contend for the ALWC with some good fortune bouncing his way for once. Or on the other hand, for the first time in quite a while if ever, mike’s team could fall flat and he’ll rebuild leaving him under .500.
10. San Diego Padres
Not a good team, Playoffs due to bad division
9. New York Yankees
See Padres
8. LA Angels
John has a good team, but it’s obviously lost a bit from last year, he was able to bring back Betts, and land Verlander. There’s championship potential for this team because it’s so deep and he’ll probably look to add a top SP at some point to go with Verlander. I still have him as ALWC 2 due to his difficult schedule and Dave also having a juggernaut.
7. Cincinnati Reds
On paper, this is always a top 10 team, and then we play the games and it isn’t top 15. Finally with some stability under seth I think the reds breakthrough to a WC appearance. A few overlooked offseason transactions acquiring Justin Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Danny Santana. He also fixed the future cap situation and still has Mize waiting in the wings. Very good offseason by Seth.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates
This has the feeling of a team going for it one last time before the rebuild. Most of his long term deals are paid down this year (Ozuna, Stanton, Abreu) before becoming big contracts so it will be hard for him to replace Correa and his other minor FA’s, but this is a column about this season and with a healthy Stanton and a change to a quantity pitching approach I expect Caleb to contend with Matt and Kory for the NLC and NL championship.
5. Minnesota Twins
Patty still has the same team he inherited from Brent. He doesn’t trade so he stays in the same spot. Bullpen will wreak havoc bc Diaz is going to have a huge bounceback, Offense is Manny and other Alex Gordon types (That works), and a deep rotation.I’m giving Patty ALWC1, Where he beats John and then upsets the top seeded Tigers to reach the ALCS, but is upended by Dave.
4. Seattle Mariners
Dave’s offense from C-RF is probably the best in the league, and he ROBBED Raisel Iglesias in FA to give him a reliable CL, his pitching has quality and quantity so he can win in different ways. Overall, I just think Dave’s had a lot of shit luck, but this is his year to take the AL.
3. St Louis Cardinals
Matt has to be all in because I count 10 players headed for FA(Mostly (6)’s) so some could sign EXT’s but the NLC is trending up and this is probably the end of the line for him. Like PIT it’s Championship or Bust except PIT already got his. He’s got the best SP staff in the league, it’s a matter of if Arenado and Acuna can hold up with the rest of the contenders lineups.
2. Philadelphia Phillies
Kory underachieved last year and I was able to hold him off for the NLE, but I don’t think I’ll be able to due so again. He’s got Harper and Corbin which hurts my heart. Bell, Merrifield, Moncada, Pham, Rosario, Gray, German, Osuna. Up and down the roster he’s just loaded and he’s still got guys coming through his farm system so it’s going to be an uphill battle to find a way past him for the rest of the NL the next few years. Mike Fiers is on his team though, so that could be his downfall.
1. Detroit Tigers
Without Zack Wheeler, this is not a top 10 team. But defending champs added an Arm like that for just the #2 overall pick and it lands him at #1. Honestly though, the league allowed Alex to bring back a lot of his own guys in FA on HTD’s. So we have ourselves to blame. He’ll finish the regular season in 1st place because of that. But he’ll fall to someone in the playoffs.
Enough here to win some cats throughout the season and be better than last year, but not enough to win more then Bregman will win alone. Perhaps an owner can make something out of this team and be an overachiever. With the right owner, armed with 5 1sts and 7 2nds in the next 2 drafts and now plenty of cap space this team could be in playoff contention by 2022.
29. Boston Red Sox
I’m curious to see how many cats Bregman can win alone, Last year Will’s team won 58, I think he can get around 65-70. 4-5 years from contention.
28. Houston Astros
Back to familiar territory for Max. Quite a fall from grace after being the runner up only 16 months ago but here we are. Usually I’d say Judge and Greinke alone are enough to be in the top 25, but almost everyone has a full roster this season which should make for a very fun and competitive season. Not sure when Max’s team will revive itself, but Greinke is OTB.
27. Colorado Rockies
Rockies is in much better shape than they were a year ago, but they’ll still fall a few spots in the standings due to a much improved division and just not enough players. Steve still has several interesting names to keep an eye on and if he fills out his roster with some starting caliber options around Rodgers, Springer, Keller, etc. he could move up his draft position. Likely a year or two from playoff contention though.
26. Kansas City Royals
Royals will obviously be markedly better this year with the new ownership, however it’s hard to give them much of a chance in their division when they don’t have much certainty in their lineup. Pitching should be competitive most weeks though and I won't be surprised if they knock off a few goliaths throughout the year as prospects come through the system.
25. Baltimore Orioles
Enough here to finish better than this, but Jeff doesn’t set his lineups during the season and this team doesn’t have the talent to overcome poor management like his teams of the past used to. I could see a 2nd consecutive sub 100 cat season for him. Also his interleague slate sucks (ARZ,CIN,MIA). Bad year to be a 4th place AL team.
24. Cleveland Indians
Like I said, a bad year to be a 4th place AL team, playing ARZ,CIN,MIA instead of WSH, COL, and MIL. that may as well be a 15 cat difference and when you’re in this bracket of teams that’s a ton, last year pick 7 and pick 14 were separated by only 16 cats. I like Psych’s roster to be more competitive than last year, but I think the league as a whole has improved considerably and it will be much more difficult for him to stay in the race as long as he was able to a season ago.
23. Oakland Athletics
Similar story to Psych, better team though. This league is one of like 12 for Paul so as long as he’s not competing for a championship which is fairly unlikely this season then he won’t care all that much about it, and so a 2nd consecutive losing season for Paul, he does have madrigal though.
22. Atlanta Braves
Bare offense to go along with several overpaid SP’s. Wood clearly has some young stars blooming with Senzel, Jimenez and Tatis, but he hasn’t built the team around them enough to be as competitive as he was last season. Losing hernandez and iglesias up the middle will prove costly as I suspect a step back from him this year.
21. Texas Rangers
Added Semien and brought back Fowler to his team that didn’t lose much outside of SP, that said he’s got some young starters coming up, and I think the future looks brighter for Bill. I’ve been the one who always thought Bill’s team was just average every year with no actual direction, but I am starting to see a light at the end of his tunnel. Still average this season though.
20. LA Dodgers
Last season was definitely a disappointment for Jake after he picked up kershaw and some others to compete for the NLW and then fell shy of .500. This year his SP’s will be lead by Kluber, Clevinger and Boyd, but I question whether the core of his offense is good enough to be a contender. Andujar, Swanson, Haniger and Dahl all give reasons for optimism, but they also all give reasons for pessimism. Young team, perhaps a year away from NLW contention.
19. Milwaukee Brewers
Very talented, but not deep in what is a behemoth of a division, can definitely use his weak schedule to his advantage and possibly get up to 3rd in the NLC, but I can’t see him being better than STL or CIN. just not enough depth in the rotation behind Bauer, and he honestly wasn’t that good last year.
18. Arizona Diamondbacks
Similar to MIL, but a weaker division that could be easier to get through, he’s got some holes in the rotation and offensively at 3B and OF but overall I think hemmons gets back into a +.500 competitive team this year.
17. Chicago Cubs
I think Jason is selling/rebuilding, slowly enough though that he remains a WC contender atm, that said, the NLC is loaded this year, and if you’re not all in, then you’re out. His SP has thinned a ton, and his offense is much younger as he’s acquired spects and shedded long term salary. But until he trades Trout he will still be ahead of the previous group.
16. Tampa Bay Rays
Forbz will be competitive and has a talented team, but he currently only has 24(Counting Hoerner) rostered players and it’s hard to tell how many games he’ll get from Votto/Miggy at 1B,and he has a major hole in CF. It’s a tough team and he’ll be in most matchups, but depth will be his downfall.
15. Miami Marlins
Probably a year early on this one, but I think Kevin’s team is a bit improved and he only finished 17th in the league last year. Obviously he’s got excellent starting pitching, but his offense has caught up, he needs to put together a bullpen and maybe a few depth players on offense and he can compete for a playoff spot.
14. San Francisco Giants
There’s no doubt that the roster looks ugly due to the number of FA contracts, lack of any prospects, and a significant number of drop penalties and obligations, but the talent on the team should hold up. Keuchel, Richards, Junis and Archer is a good top 4. And Baez and Moustakas surrounded by starting caliber guys makes for a strong offensive team. JT also tanked last season which means he will play BOS, KC, and HOU in interleague play, matchups he should dominate while Noah plays DET,LAA, and NYY. Should be interesting to see if he can hang around long enough to steal the division for a year.
13. New York Mets
2018 will be the blueprint for my team this season, Obviously not a ton here, and I’m reliant on quite a few bounceback seasons and breakout sleepers, But I do believe I have enough to remain competitive in every matchup, ultimately I think I fall victim to a more difficult schedule than I have had in recent seasons as the NLE has improved considerably, and my interleague matchups are more difficult. I’m excited about where I can be a year from now though.
12. Toronto Blue Jays
Not very deep, should have some spects graduate though and help throughout the season, think sanders is a WC contender but seems to be going for 2021 when he’ll have more depth.
11. Chicago Whie Sox
Anyone with Freeman, Yelich, and Sale will be a factor. Mike lacks the depth he’s had in years past and there is a notable omission of Giancarlo Stanton in his OF. Still, I think Mike can contend for the ALWC with some good fortune bouncing his way for once. Or on the other hand, for the first time in quite a while if ever, mike’s team could fall flat and he’ll rebuild leaving him under .500.
10. San Diego Padres
Not a good team, Playoffs due to bad division
9. New York Yankees
See Padres
8. LA Angels
John has a good team, but it’s obviously lost a bit from last year, he was able to bring back Betts, and land Verlander. There’s championship potential for this team because it’s so deep and he’ll probably look to add a top SP at some point to go with Verlander. I still have him as ALWC 2 due to his difficult schedule and Dave also having a juggernaut.
7. Cincinnati Reds
On paper, this is always a top 10 team, and then we play the games and it isn’t top 15. Finally with some stability under seth I think the reds breakthrough to a WC appearance. A few overlooked offseason transactions acquiring Justin Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Danny Santana. He also fixed the future cap situation and still has Mize waiting in the wings. Very good offseason by Seth.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates
This has the feeling of a team going for it one last time before the rebuild. Most of his long term deals are paid down this year (Ozuna, Stanton, Abreu) before becoming big contracts so it will be hard for him to replace Correa and his other minor FA’s, but this is a column about this season and with a healthy Stanton and a change to a quantity pitching approach I expect Caleb to contend with Matt and Kory for the NLC and NL championship.
5. Minnesota Twins
Patty still has the same team he inherited from Brent. He doesn’t trade so he stays in the same spot. Bullpen will wreak havoc bc Diaz is going to have a huge bounceback, Offense is Manny and other Alex Gordon types (That works), and a deep rotation.I’m giving Patty ALWC1, Where he beats John and then upsets the top seeded Tigers to reach the ALCS, but is upended by Dave.
4. Seattle Mariners
Dave’s offense from C-RF is probably the best in the league, and he ROBBED Raisel Iglesias in FA to give him a reliable CL, his pitching has quality and quantity so he can win in different ways. Overall, I just think Dave’s had a lot of shit luck, but this is his year to take the AL.
3. St Louis Cardinals
Matt has to be all in because I count 10 players headed for FA(Mostly (6)’s) so some could sign EXT’s but the NLC is trending up and this is probably the end of the line for him. Like PIT it’s Championship or Bust except PIT already got his. He’s got the best SP staff in the league, it’s a matter of if Arenado and Acuna can hold up with the rest of the contenders lineups.
2. Philadelphia Phillies
Kory underachieved last year and I was able to hold him off for the NLE, but I don’t think I’ll be able to due so again. He’s got Harper and Corbin which hurts my heart. Bell, Merrifield, Moncada, Pham, Rosario, Gray, German, Osuna. Up and down the roster he’s just loaded and he’s still got guys coming through his farm system so it’s going to be an uphill battle to find a way past him for the rest of the NL the next few years. Mike Fiers is on his team though, so that could be his downfall.
1. Detroit Tigers
Without Zack Wheeler, this is not a top 10 team. But defending champs added an Arm like that for just the #2 overall pick and it lands him at #1. Honestly though, the league allowed Alex to bring back a lot of his own guys in FA on HTD’s. So we have ourselves to blame. He’ll finish the regular season in 1st place because of that. But he’ll fall to someone in the playoffs.
