2013 Pre-FA Power Rankings

[Deleted]

1. Kansas City Royals - Nelson Cruz is the 4th best outfielder. McCutchen, Braun, and Upton all have an argument for best player at their respective position in the outfield, and the infield isn't shabby either. Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas are young Royals who look to have great seasons this year. Starlin Castro is the best young SS in the game, and Eric Hosmer has the potential to be a top 5 1B. Weaver, Moore, Kennedy lead the pitching staff. - AL CENTRAL PREDICTED WINNER.

2. Detroit Tigers - 3 all star pitchers with Verlander, Dickey, and Bumgarner. Has perennial all-stars Reyes, RZimm, Posey, and Uggla in the infield, with an unbelievable outfield including Joey Bats, Cargo, and Grandyman. WOULD DESTROY ANY OTHER DIVISION, PREDICTED WILD CARD.

3. New York Mets - Best pitching in the league, with Felix, Cain, Niese, Harvey, and Medlen. Led on offense by David Wright and Prince Fielder, wth younguns Manny Machado, Jesus Montero, and Jason Kipnis filling out the infield. Has 3 underated outfielders in Austin Jackson, Dexter Fowler, and Choo. NL EAST PREDICTED WINNER

4. St. Louis Cardinals - Best offense in the league, with phenom Mike Trout leading it, with a supporting cast including Kinsler, Rosario, Craig, Acab, Panda, and Trumbo. Starting Pitching may need some luck this year, but is still very good. Iwakuma and Samardija are breakout candidates, and Lester and Wainwright have ace potential. NL CENTRAL PREDICTED WINNER

5. Chicago White Sox - Another AL Central team. Team has above average players at other positions, led my Mike Stanton, Miguel Cabrera, and Evan Longoria. If this team adds one more quality SP, they could challenge to win the toughest division in ODC. PREDICTED AL WILD CARD

6. Los Angeles Angels - Led by superstars Tulo and Kemp. Backed up by Jay Bruce, Mike Morse, Brandon Phillips, Mike Teixera. Team may not be as noticeable as the teams above it, but this team is solid all the way around, and has an easy path to the playoffs in on of the weaker divisions, the AL West. PREDICTED AL WEST WINNER

Next 6 to come..

These are the first 6 playoffs teams. 3 are from the AL Central. NL West is still up for grabs, and the AL East will be a intriguing 2 team race. Between Rays and Yankees. Not Orioles.

[Deleted]

I think tigers has made enough moves where even if its not a complete omg mess i still think he's taken some steps back and allowed royals to jump into 1st place.Royals hasn't just been a lucky guy though he's made some gorgeous deals and absolutely made that team unbelieveably good.

[Deleted]

7. Tampa Bay Rays - Doesn't have one superstar besides arguably Jason Heyward, but has solid, above average players all around the diamond, with a very deep rotation, and a bullpen that has no depth, but has 2 great pitchers in it. PREDICTED AL EAST CHAMPION
8. Cincinatti Reds - Needs some OF/3B help, but other than that, the team is pretty solid all around, and has a good shot at making a wild card run in 2013. PREDICTED NL WILD CARD
9. Chicago Cubs - A young, high potential infield paired with a young, high potential rotation makes for a dangerous team. This team should be able to stay in the thick of things early on, and may recieve just enough of a boost from some midseason callups to pull away for the final WC spot. Predicted NL WILD CARD
10. Texas Rangers - Offense led by Dustin Pedroia, with some nice peices around him. Rangers has a nice dark horse shot at the AL West Crown, but likely will have to win the division to make the playoffs.
11. Cleveland Indians - A team that would likely make the playoffs if they weren't in the AL Central. Good offense, but the pitching is a bit worrysome, and a Hultzen call up may help a lot. Indians need a few things to fall their way, but have a good outside chance at the playoffs.
12. Miami Marlins - Team is in a semi rebuild mode, but has superstars AGon and Cano on offense still, along with a guy named Bryce Harper that is better than Mike Trout, and is about to have his age 20 season. So watch out. Marlins have a lot of high potential injury prone SP, but if a couple things go right in the rotation, this team could be very, very dangerous. Myers and D'Arnuad figure to be in the MLB at some point, and they may play a big role late in the season.

According to these predictions:

AL East: Rays
AL Central: Royals
AL West: Angels
AL WC's: Tigers and White Sox
AL Bubble Teams: Rangers, Indians

NL East: Mets
NL Central: Cardinals
NL West: None yet
NL WC: Reds and Cubs

NL Bubble Teams: Marlins

[Deleted]

Next 6:

13. Twins
14. Diamondbacks
15. Yankees
16. Orioles
17. Phillies
18. Nationals
19. Athletics

Explanations to come tomorrow

[Tigers GM (Alex)]

Just wondering jimmy, how exactly have I taken a step backwards? My infield is basically the same as it was last season, in my OF I downgraded from McCutch to Grandy, but upgraded from Aoki to Bautista. My bench has been upgraded big time. As for my pitching, I downgraded from Kershaw to Dickey, but then also upgraded Romero/Porcello to Burnett/Fiers, and also added Davis, Turner, and Volquez as more depth. My bullpen is the exact same as last season, and finally I've significantly upgraded my farm since the end of the year.

[White Sox GM (Michael)]

JT, nice job so far. I'm enjoying the rankings. Can't wait to see the rest.

One thing: I think you're overrating younger teams. It makes sense, since you're in rebuilding mode and young players always make tye roster shinier, but there's something to be said for proven vets. I think that these are generally good rankings with good blurbs.

[Deleted]

Alex,

I'm not a fan of really most of the guys you have bautista and zimmerman in my eyes are on the way down not up if not performance wise health wise which tie into each other.You've improved the farm while staying relatively close to what you were which is excellent for long term survival that being said Fiers is a smoke and mirrors type very easy to imagine him not being the same.I think the rotation obviously with Verlander is still good better then most but let us remember you were the invincible tigers.If i say a step back and your widely considered the 2nd best team now then I would think I said something right correct? IMO and maybe because i've been rebuilding so long I'm a little out of touch you have alot of guys who are big candidates for shitty seasons.Names that come to mind: Zimmerman Ortiz Bautista Bumgarner Dickey basically your whole rotation turner volquez and what not.Corey Hart and Dan Uggla are another couple guys I think could be disappointing.

The conclusion I reach is that like i said before you haven't ruined the team and your still in the top2 of the league but whether it be improving the farm or cutting a touch of salary you've taken some steps back in my mind.

[Deleted]

5th best team in the division and 13th best overall. damnit!

[Astros GM (Max)]

... I have no words to describe this. Why the fuck am I ranked so low? I will contend for the NLC, I dont think I will win, but NLWC is highly likely. If I move to the ALW I think I am imediately the favorite or possibly an ALWC with the ALC teams beating up on each other. JT you way overvalue these young teams. I do have an older team, but they are set to contend this year, which is what the power rankings are supposed to be for.

Max

[Astros GM (Max)]

AND You have me finishing 4th in the NLC... Priceless, really priceless...

Max

[Bryan (ex WAS)]

guess these wont be finished