2015 Season Opening Rankings

Power rankings are posted here using the Power Ranking Editor
Post Reply
User avatar
Guardians
Posts: 4584
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:00 am
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Name: Pat Gillespie

2015 Season Opening Rankings

Post by Guardians »

Very sorry for the delay in these rankings, but with work, travel and holidays, I've been a bit behind in putting these together. Hope you enjoy.

Contenders :D

Pirates: The reigning champions get the Opening Day nod atop the power rankings out of respect, but JP isn’t looking as dominant as he has in the past. No. 2 on this list should battle him all year, given health and a reasonably consistent sim. The offseason acquisitions of Felix Hernandez and Chris Tillman solidify what was a weakness. Adding in Wainwright, Haren and Martinez and the rotation is among the best in the league. With Wainwright and Haren, avoiding long DL stints will be key. Sabathia is a great No. 6, but isn’t close to what he used to be and JP likely hopes to avoid using him. The bullpen is probably the deepest in the league. On offense, Trout, Trumbo, Wright, Holliday and Molina will provide the bulk of the attack. The Pirates feel old and like a team that’s going to need an overhaul sooner rather than later. For 2015 though, things should be just fine.

Keys to victory: What is Trumbo going to provide and will lack of middle infield offense be a factor?

Season prediction: 1st, NL Central

Phillies: Nick’s squad could easily be No. 1 on this list and could be by the end of the season. He’s gone through quite the transformation in a short period of time with smart trades and hanging onto once after-thoughts who are now studs. This rotation can match anyone in the league, as having Zimmermann, Samardzija, deGrom, Bailey, Peavy and Shoemaker coming at you is stout. The offseason pickup of Betances, coupled with Davis, Perkins and Walden may give him the best bullpen in the league. Freeman and McCutchen are studs, while Ellsbury and Donaldson form the next level of support, followed by Werth and Utley and a couple solid regulars. This team is poised to power through teams and rack up many wins. Whether or not it can get things done in the playoffs is another matter.

Keys to victory: What does the sim thing of aging stars Utley, Werth and Ellsbury?

Season prediction: 1st, NL East

Tigers: The timing could be right for Detroit to again get to the top of the IBC’s American League. Injuries to competitors and a strong Hamlin team moving to the NL has helped, but so have the offseason moves. Never shy to trade a player, Pat made a blockbuster over the winter when he brought in Giancarlo Stanton to pair with Paul Goldschmidt in the middle of the order. The offense is obviously guided by those two, but having Altuve and Pollock at the top with Beltre and Pujols behind likely generates a lot of home runs and strikeouts. The pitching staff is good, but unspectacular. Lester anchors the rotation and Cobb (if healthy) and Wood, Roark and Hendricks make an above average starting five. The bullpen is good enough with Herrera and Storen at the end. The Tigers tend to fall short, so we’ll see how the sim treats his players coming off 2014 injuries (Stanton, Goldschmidt, Pollock).

Keys to victory: Can this team hit in Detroit?

Season prediction: 1st, AL Central

Marlins: Dan would love to see a full season without major injuries. Even with injuries, he’s always in the mix, albeit a notch below Philadelphia on paper. He features the best left side of the infield in Tulowtizki and Longoria and by the way he’s got Cano, Belt and Ramos to round out the infield. The outfield is solid with Gardner, a currently hurt Span, Myers and Joyce/Byrd. Myers in San Diego will be interesting to forecast. Alexei Ramirez is there for Tulo insurance. The biggest question mark is the pitching after Price. Verlander is hurt and showed signs of a loss of stuff in 2014. Peralta took a step forward in 2014, but Salazar was iffy, Cahill found a cliff and Buehrle got a year older. The rotation has talent, but question marks. The bullpen is above average. Having Washington and Atlanta in your division helps boost the win totals, but whether the Fish can hang in the playoffs will be the real challenge. There are plenty of prospects to trade if one is needed.

Keys to victory: Tulowitzki only making one 15-day DL trip

Season prediction: 2nd, NL East, WC 1

Red Sox: Like the Pirates, this is a veteran team, but one that has a stockpile of prospects who he creates in the system before they know they’re prospects. So, Tullar always has a bank of trade bait to make necessary adjustments. Big Papi, Napoli, Springer and Neil Walker are going to be the power of this lineup with speedy Leonys Martin at the top. A return of Victorino is welcomed and the added defense of Uribe, Barmes and Gentry will help a weak pitching staff. It’s unclear what Josh Hamilton will be able to contribute. Scherzer is going to be able to match any pitcher in a single game, but beyond him are two guys light on experience in Tyson Ross and Colin McHugh. ZIPs is sometimes funny in the sim with guys who have one year of good stats, so that will be important to watch in Boston. Hudson and Burnett are solid veteran innings eaters to round out the top five with Justin Masterson and Tyler Matzek available if needed. Kimbrel is in the bullpen is all you need to know there.

Keys to victory: Old guys staying healthy and vets like Victorino and Uribe exceed expectations

Season prediction: 1st, AL East

Twins: The Twins made some adjustments to fix his apparent need for more offense by bringing in outfielder Hunter Pence for Jake Lamb and Mike Kingham. That move took a slight hit when Pence broke his arm on a wild pitch during spring training. Once he returns sometime in May, he’ll be a needed addition to a team that’s already rich in pitching. The rest of the lineup includes young stars Joc Pederson and Jorge Soler as well as 2014 breakouts Brian Dozier and Conor Gillaspie. Whether the latter two replicate those numbers and ZIPs treats them well are other matters. The pitching is what will drive the Twins, with Bumgarner, Teheran, Richards, Wacha, Syndergaard, Gibson, Norris and Barnes. The Jansen injury also hurts, depending on how long he’s out.

Keys to victory: Pitching will be fine. Offense is the key. Can they score runs?

Season prediction: 2nd, AL Central/WC 1

Giants: The Team Formerly Known as the Athletics takes its talents to the other side of the Bay as the Giants. The move frees Hamlin from Brett Perryman, but pits him against the Dodgers and Diamondbacks. The big move this offseason was obviously trading cornerstone player Giancarlo Stanton. In return, the Giants picked up the needed depth to round out the team. Yoenis Cespedes is not Stanton, but he’s a very capable power hitter and has a cannon of an arm. Ian Desmond adds power and speed as a 20/20 shortstop, which is extremely rare. His average and OBP won’t be thrilling, but he will provide plenty of offense at a rare position. Anibal Sanchez adds to a rotation that previously was Kluber and a bunch of guys. Another forgotten offseason move was snagging Michael Brantley, Howie Kendrick and Danny Duffy in exchange for basically Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. This could be a steal. And, of course, there’s Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval. The Giants will hit and with Kluber, Sanchez, McCarthy and Duffy, they should keep the ball in the park. This could be a sleeper team.

Keys to victory: Consistency in the pitching staff

Season prediction: 1st, NL West

Rangers: The offseason was promising for the reigning AL West champions. Prince Fielder was healthy and Matt Wieters was recovering from Tommy John surgery and the team seemed poised to get back on track to terrorize the American League. Then Yu Darvish was pulled from a spring start, headed to Dr. Andrews and had his elbow torn open. The offseason pick up of Phil Hughes is now even more important, as he will join Shields, Ventura and Lincecum in the rotation. It’s unclear where the rest of the pitching will come from and the bullpen is only really three deep. The offense should continue to rake, led by Miggy and Fielder, Ramirez, Gordon and perhaps Polanco/Odor. Brett has the prospects to make a move, but given the lack of strong competition in the AL West, it’s likely he rides out the season before considering any big trades.

Keys to victory: No more SP injuries and Polanco/Odor playing above their projections

Season prediction: 1st, AL West

Dodgers: It seems like the same story every year for the Dodgers -- several very good hitters and a team full of pitchers who are recovering from or about to have surgery. It’s amazing, but Shawn continues to keep the train rolling in Los Angeles. Emerging with steady forces Jose Bautista and Ryan Braun is the young star Kyle Seager and a 2014 deadline pick up -- Dustin Pedroia. All together,, this team has a very good core of offense that should keep it in most games. The friendly confines of Chavez Ravine should help the pitching staff, though it is again bruised and battered. Ryu is hurt, Parker, Perez and Beachy are recovering from surgery, while Crow is going under the knife and Hochevar and Straily are just now returning. That leaves Lohse, Niese, Hellickson and a lot of question marks. Shawn has a strong bullpen, a competent offense and Toronto-esque DMB voodoo. Will it be enough in 2015?

Keys to victory: It seems silly to call healthy pitching a key to victory. The key is for the lack of pitching to continue not being an impediment

Season prediction: 2nd, NL West/WC 2

Orioles: After years as a cellar dweller, Baltimore used a lot of prospect talent to make a blockbuster trade and other shrewd moves to turn into a contender and make the playoffs in 2014. They will now look at 2015 and the return of their ace as a chance to capitalize on last year’s successes. Fernandez will be back around June and Carrasco is coming off a career year. Greinke, Cashner, Porcello and Miller make this one of the best rotations in the league. Carlos Gomez, the return of Chris Davis and Kemp pace the offense with Heyward manning RF. Moustakas and platoons of Zunino/Avila and Anna/Hechavarria are weak spots than can be addressed as the year goes on. An Allen/Britton back end of the pen with a solid group around them is very good. The question will be whether battling in the AL East will hurt this team enough to keep it down or if sim stars Fernandez and Gomez can lift this team deep into the playoffs. Either scenario is plausible.

Keys to victory: Does a pitcher get traded to address offensive weaknesses and does it work out?

Season prediction: 2nd, AL East/WC 2

Brewers: A team that could never find offense found some this offseason, with one player coming at a relative bargain and the other costing an arm (leg optional). Milwaukee has always had strong pitching and weak hitting, but that has all changed. Offseason acquisitions of Anthony Rendon, Derek Norris, Ryan Zimmerman and Colby Rasmus have this team poised to hang with any team offensively. Zimmerman was the steal, costing only and old (but strong defensively) Juan Uribe. This isn’t the same Ryan Zimmerman of 2009, but he’s a very good bat. Rendon was very expensive, costing staff ace Stephen Strasburg. This was a major trade and time will tell how this works out, though Rendon is currently hurt. Norris cost prospects, while David Robertson came at the cost of young pitcher Kyle Zimmer. The overhaul has put Milwaukee in a position to contend in the NL Central. Cueto now takes over a staff with Fister, Smyly, Stephenson and Nova, which is good but not great. Fowler, Gordon, Pearce, Prado, Escobar and the new acquisitions form a strong eight hitters. Robertson, Smith, Grilli and others form a bullpen that will blow few saves. Pitt is still king in the NLC, but Milwaukee should be pesky enough to make it interesting.

Keys to victory: A quick recovery for Rendon and no pitching injuries

Season prediction: 2nd, NL Central, WC 2 contender

Royals: One of the last moves of the offseason showed that Kansas City is in it for 2015 by trading top catching prospect Blake Swihart to get Michael Pineda. While Pineda is not old, Swihart is a player the Royals long coveted and kept out of previous trade talks. With Pineda, Iwakuma, Gray, Kazmir and Norris the staff is strong. Offensively, Rizzo is one of the league’s best first basemen and power hitters. Frazier had a breakout 2014 and Wong and Zobrist form a strong middle infield. Whether LaRoche will play out of position to accommodate Victor Martinez at DH will be another juggling act for this team. The bullpen is solid, but doesn’t have a door shutting closer. There’s no question this team will be good, but it will claw with Minnesota and Detroit for wins and may end up in a battle with Baltimore for a wild card spot. There’s some depth and a few name prospects from which to trade if the Royals want to go for broke. But the team is also young enough to flip veterans for young players. Sim results may likely cause the team to alter course as the year goes on.

Keys to victory: Finding at bats for the sluggers and no major pitching injuries

Season prediction: 3rd, AL Central/WC 2 contender

Borderline Contenders :)

Blue Jays: This is a team that everyone assumes will fall off the wagon at some point, but Bishop has figured out the key to DMB like the kid who first figured out how to get to the Graveyard in Zelda for NES. You have to assume that if any year it will end, it will be 2015. The year after an improbable run to the World Series, Bishop now faces the possibility of playing without Cliff Lee all year and possibly Mike Minor for most of the year. That leaves Toronto with a staff of Keuchel, Fiers, Wada, Chen and Gonzalez. Crisp and Granderson are old, Calhoun looks to be a solid young outfielder, Semien could be better than we thought and Simmons is a defensive whiz. But, this team leaves a lot to be desired. Toronto gets this ranking mainly because Pat continues to work his magic, but with injuries, increased AL East competition and an aging infrastructure, it could be time to rebuild.

Keys to victory: Continuing to do the winning with a team that doesn’t look great on paper thing.

Season prediction: 3rd, AL East

Yankees: The Bombers have had their ups and downs of late, but they now have a squad full of young talent, doing a full rebuild fairly quickly and positioning the team to contend with young studs soon. For 2015, the team could easily push for a playoff spot or fall far short, depending on how much DMB likes guys like Archie Bradley, Javier Baez, Arismendy Alcantara and others. The offseason Rendon for Strasburg trade was a big one and gives the team a true ace, along with Masahiro Tanaka, who could have some bad news on his arm coming with a dip in velocity. But Bradley, Gausman, Montero, Meyer, Berrios, Severino and Foltynewicz make up a good chunk of the league’s top pitching prospects. Tapia, Almora, Barreto, Plawecki, Judge and others are the next line of sluggers who are poised to come through New York.

Keys to victory: JB’s patience in sticking with the rebuild

Season prediction: 4th, AL East

Astros: The Rockies-turned-Astros made a huge move at last year’s trade deadline, shipping Baez, Meyer and picks to New York for King Felix.Felix was horrible in Colorado and brought the Rockies just shy of a playoff spot. After the season, Felix was shipped with Nelson Cruz to Pittsburgh in a trade that brought in Yasiel Puig, Cole Hamels and Ian Kinsler, building up a team that was looking old and light on overall talent. Matt Carpenter and Adam Jones are going to help this team rake and Hamels at the top is joined by Dickey, Colon, Greene and Koehler. There’s a potential opening with an injured Texas team, but the Astros likely need another arm to win the division.

Keys to victory: Another pitcher or major sim success with one of the rotation members

Season prediction: 2nd, AL West

Reds: The Red Legs have been in the mix for a playoff spot for several seasons and Ken has done a good job keeping things together despite injuries and facing the perennial difficult Pirates. But this team looks like a notch below past Reds teams. First, the pitching staff isn’t that good for a potential playoff team. Buchholz, Jimenez, Leake, Collmenter and Hammel just doesn’t have a great ring to it. Perhaps Ken is trying the Red Sox no-ace approach, so we’ll see how it works. Offensively, there are sluggers in Encarnacion, Nelson Cruz and JD Martinez. Murphy, Guerrero and Aybar should be able to stay on base to get knocked in. The pen is good, but not intimidating. Ken likely has a few trades in him if he needs it, but this team, as is, could be left out when October rolls around.

Keys to victory: Going to need more out of the pitching staff than it looks like it has

Season prediction: 3rd, NL Central

Diamondbacks: With as much talent as this team has, it should continuously be a contender. Injuries in 2014 stalled the Diamondbacks after reaching the World Series in 2013. Back is a core group of Justin Upton, Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Santana, with Lawrie, Melky Cabrera and others. The Diamondbacks have gone a little young in the offseason, but this is a team that should still put up wins. If management wants to go for the playoffs, it certainly has the talent and tools. If it wants to wait, it wouldn’t be blamed. Matt Moore and how Holland are hurt, Latos looks bad, Liriano is solid, but Zimmer, Urias and Glasnow show a bright future. Chapman is among the best in the business and Franco, May and Pompey are ready to contribute now. This ranking may be high or just right, depending on whether 2015-oriented moves are made.

Keys to victory: Whether victory now or later is the team’s goal

Season prediction: 3rd, NL West

Mets: Anytime you’ve got the Nationals and Braves in your division, you should win some games. Though when you also have the Phillies and Marlins in your division, that could be a wash. Such is the life of the Amazins, who are slated for third place in the NL East unless something drastic happens. The team pulled off quite the blockbuster last year, shipping actual Met and owner favorite David Wright to the Pirates in a deal that netted Aramis Ramirez and Jose Reyes. Both are old and injury prone, but together make the team better. Cuddyer, Blackmon, Gattis, Morse, Kiermaier and Duda give this team what should be a pretty potent offense. Kennedy, Quintana, Wilson, Cingrani and Erlin make up the staff. A bullpen with Parnell, Mejia, Familia, Ramos and others is unspectacular, but steady. This team could be a surprise success story as the season goes on.

Keys to victory: Going to need some starting pitching depth and an upgrade

Season prediction: 3rd, NL East

Playing for 2016 and Beyond :arrow:

Mariners: After years of toiling, Seattle sees bright things in the future. A huge gamble paid off during this year’s draft, as management pulled off a shocker, giving up a handful of prospects for the pick that brought in future potential stud Yoan Moncada to add to a team with top prospect Byron Buxton, Jonathan Gray, Lucas Giolito, James Paxton and a host of other Mariners prospects/other prospects. This team has enough talent now with veterans Headley, Morales and Brett Anderson and newcomers Abreu, Ozuna, Heaney, Dickerson and LaStella to win some games, but this isn’t a team that should be trying to win in 2015. If management stays patient, it’s likely to enjoy another top 10 draft pick and the chance to continue building for 2016 and beyond. The future is bright. It’s just that the future isn’t now.

Keys to development: Seeing a season where Buxton doesn’t get hurt and hoping Paxton, Ozuna, Giles are prepped for good projections.

Season prediction: 3rd, AL West

Rockies: The Rockies formerly of Houston take their show to the National League for 2015 and a big change in scenery. Instead of the more friendly confines of Minute Maid Park, this team goes to the humidor-tainted Coors Field. The Astros were a solid 86-76 last season and will join former rival Athletics as the Giants. Instead of Texas, Seattle and Anaheim, it’s Los Angeles, Arizona and San Diego. From that perspective, it’s probably a little bit tougher altogether. Overall, the 82 games in Denver could prove the most difficult. The rotation has promise in Alvarez, Griffin, Gonzales, Cooney and Anderson, but it’s not the type you look at in Colorado and think it’s going to blossom. There could be some painful growing pains. The offense is in good shape, though, with studs Nolan Arenado and Starling Marte to go with 2014 breakouts Mesoraco and Cain and Morneau. There are some solid building blocks here, but 2015 may be a season of transition to see how acclimated this team is to playing in Colorado.

Keys to development: Seeing how pitchers fare in Colorado and another year of minor leaguers' seasoning

Season prediction: 4th, NL West

Cubs: It’s never good to be ranked below the rebuilding Mariners, but considering the lack of moves the Cubs have made in the last couple years, it’s not hard to see why. Kershaw is great and he’s been great for years. He must hate his IBC life. Gio Gonzalez is a bright spot in the rotation, Salvador Perez is a top catcher, Eaton is good in center, Adrian Gonzalez is a slugger right now and Castellanos could be good in the future. But the rest isn’t so rosy. This team is still carrying Hiroki Kuroda, who is in Japan. Ryan Howard should have been traded four years ago and Josh Vitters still isn’t good. While the Cubs have taken a hands-off approach to building for now, it’s also taken a hands-off approach to building a farm having dealt its first round pick this year and carrying only eight draftees. The Cubs have a great top of the rotation in Kershaw/Gonzalez/Lackey and even Eovaldi. Gonzalez is a nice bat with Eaton, Andrus and Perez. But beyond that is a team coming off a 77-85 season in a touch division that should really start looking to the future.

Keys to development: A little TLC and an eye toward 2017, starting with Gabe’s Summertime Sale O’ Rama

Season prediction: 4th, NL Central

Cardinals: For a rebuilding team, the loss of Oscar Tavares was a huge blow to the future, aside from the tragedy of the actual situation. But this team still has a lot of talent as it looks toward 2016 and beyond. The June trade of Gausman and Hak-Ju Lee for Mookie Betts and Hunter Harvey looks just fine and Taijuan Walker, Christian Yelich, Lance Lynn, Kevin Pillar, Jonathan Lucroy, Matt Adams, Yasmany Tomas, Trevor Rosenthal, Tyler Skaggs and Aaron Sanchez all look like young stars to lead this team. Veterans Matt Cain, Alex Rodriguez, Josh Johnson and others look out of place, especially since Cain came at the price of Blake Swihart, but they could be solid trade bait during the summer if this team looks to fall short. The farm is deep and the team has lots of young stars. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this team finish out of the cellar in the NL Central, but its real calling isn’t for a few years.

Keys to Development: Can Walker turn into the TORP he’s supposed to be?

Season prediction: 5th, NL Central

Rays: It seems the Rays have perennially had a good team on paper that doesn’t seem to pan out, either through injuries, players turning into pumpkins or extended DL stints due to a lack of roster management. All have been problems in the past and while the Rays do have some solid veteran players, the team doesn’t have a track record of success to inspire confidence it will turn that around in 2015. The positives? Votto, Jay Bruce, McCann, Choo, Asdrubal Cabrera and allegedly Juan Lagares. On the pitching side, Weaver, Gallardo, Huchison, the return of Corbin and Hahn have to make fans happy. Miller/Papelbon should inspire confidence that leads will be kept. On paper, this team looks to be better than New York. History shows otherwise. If this team wants to rebuild around Votto, Bruce, Huchison and Corbin, there are plenty of veterans it could trade. If it wants to compete, it’s short of the rest of the field and only has a couple prospects with trade appeal.

Keys to development: Start moving the role player veterans with trade value (Davis, Rios, etc) before actually moving the big ones (Gallardo, Cabrera, Weaver, Choo, Papelbon)

Season prediction: 5th, AL East

Padres: Unlike the Cubs’ lack of moves, the Padres’ lack of moves have been for the future. So, despite relative absenteeism, this team has an amazingly bright future. With the Stroman injury and last year’s Sano injury, it’s not quite there, but the teams above should be worried. Kris Bryant is a monster bat and coupled with Sano, Billy Hamilton, Machado, Kipnis, D’Arnaud and Correa, this will be a very fun team to watch. Along with Stroman is Archer, Odorizzi, Pomeranz and Miley and a park that doesn’t require much out of pitchers. There’s no real pen in place, but that’s not required right now. Schwarber over Moncada could haunt this team, but Schwarber is proving to be solid and there are a few other solid prospects on the way.

Keys to victory: A Stroman recovery with no setbacks and Sano coming back strong

Season prediction: 5th, NL West

Athletics: The last player here in the rotation of teams is the Athletics, who were formerly the Giants. It’s been four years since this ownership group has found itself in the playoffs and seems to have been turning over young players since. There are some solid players in place right now, but trades for vets recently have seemed out of place. What value does Mark Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez (recently traded away) have on a team with only a handful of decent starting pitchers? Some of the moves seem odd, but there is a young core of players from which to build. That starts with Matt Harvey and Jake Arrieta and a year from now, Zach Wheeler. On offense, the lineup is going to be filled out around Michael Taylor, Xander Bogaerts, one day Jurickson Profar and the future of Josh Bell, Jorge Alfaro and whatever can be brought in for recently added Josh Harrison. Considering the names that have come and gone from this team in recent years (Trout, Betts, Russell, Gausman, Bauer, deGrom is a small sampling), this team should have a stronger young core, especially on offense, but it is a work in progress. For 2015, the pitching and offense will be a little weak, but patience is important.

Keys to development: Wheeler returning successfully from surgery and gambles on neverbeens Smoak, Hudson, Turner and Francisco turning into something

Season prediction: 4th, AL West

White Sox: The 2015 White Sox have a few pieces that will be pesky for division rivals, but this likely won’t be a team that joins the three-team race for the division crown. It has undertaken quite a few changes from its 2011 AL Central winning team and even was a .500 club in 2012 and 2013 before a dropoff in 2014. Billy Butler leads the offense, which isn’t a great thing for South Side fans to hear. Otherwise it’s Avisail Garcia, Rosell Herrera, Steven Souza and Dariel Alvarez. The staff has the potential of A.J. Cole, Jarred Cosart, Hector Santiago and Kris Medlen with Chris Withrow, Zach Duke and a few average arms, but there are many holes. The team has a few players on the cusp in Elier Hernandez, Brandon Drury, Micah Johnson, Travis Shaw and Zach Davies and the 2014 draft was strong with Bradley, Finnegan and Lopez. The farm lacks top-tier talent, but does have its share of what could be solid regulars.

Keys to development: A good gamble or two on young free agents and a strong 2015 draft

Season prediction: 4th, AL Central

Nationals: For a minute there, the Nationals looked like a team ready to compete in 2015. But after a minute, management traded all that now talent for later talent in true Z fashion. The 2015 squad might not be a complete doormat, but it shouldn’t improve too much on 2014’s abysmal results. If the cycle of trades of prospects for vets and vets for prospects stops for a year, this team could be in pretty good shape as soon as 2016. With Philadelphia and Miami seemingly good for a while, it’s still an uphill battle, but the likes of Verlander, Tulowitzki, Utley and Werth only have so many good years left. The rotation starts with Matz and Blackburn now with Rodriguez and Wisler close. Sims, Gonzales, Lively, Stewart and Holmes represent the next wave of arms. On offense, it should be fun to watch this team develop. Alvarez and Snider are interesting vets for this team, but the roots start with Swihart, Dahl, Renfroe, Lamb, Robertson and Santana/Piscotty. Fisher, Hill, McKinney, Vogelbach, Herrera and Suarez types also have upside.

Keys to development: If a bevy of trades don’t happen this summer, Dahl’s improvement is key and can Sims and Holmes take leaps?

Season prediction: 4th, NL East

Angels: Snakebit by major injuries and a lack of development on key prospects is a short summary of recent years for the Angels. We still don’t know what Dylan Bundy is, but coupled with Cole and Taillon and House, Locke, Guthrie and Luke Jackson, there is a glimmer of hope there. Both Cowart and Trevor Story have been languishing in the minors and Courtney Hawkins is a big project, but Tim Anderson, JP Crawford and Michael Gettys/Tyler Kolek from the the 2013 and 2014 drafts look promising. Nick Williams and Teoscar Hernandez could turn into solid hitters and Trevor Plouffe, Scotter Gennett and Lonnie Chisenhall look like solid hitters for 2015. The offense still lags behind the pitching, but help seems to be on the way. Using the surplus of infield talent to score a young power hitter should be the next course of business.

Keys to development: If one of Story, Cowart or Hawkins can turn a corner and the team avoids major pitching injuries

Season prediction: 5th, AL West

Braves: The Braves are coming off a miserable 65-win season, but they do have the promise of young Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo to look forward to. It’s always nice having Chris Sale on the squad and Jesus Montero again has promise. Garza, Harang and injury prone Morrow and Garcia round out an unspectacular and unlikely to last rotation. But the real issue here is the lack of moves to really move this squad forward. Does it have more talent on paper than teams like the White Sox and Nationals? Yes. But with its hopes in the likes of Mauer, Markakis, Salalamacchia, Maybin, Morrison and Middlebrooks, major changes are necessary and this team is in no shape to compete in 2015. The picks of Castillo and Casey Gillaspie, along with Henry Owens, Brandon Nimmo and Nomar Mazara could be very good building blocks. If enough efforts were made, this team could really be positioned to compete with a good young squad in a couple years. For now, it’s stuck between being just below average and very bad.

Keys to development: Trades are necessary and Nimmo and Owens need to keep climbing the prospect charts

Season prediction: 5th, NL East

Indians: When you look at 2015 talent, the Indians take the cake for lack of truly ready MLBers. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some building blocks for the future. That talk starts with Joey Gallo, who has prolific power. Building around him are outfielders and back-to-back first rounders Clint Frazier and Alex Jackson. Nick Gordon, acquired in a deal for Luis Severino, slots in as the shortstop and leadoff hitter of the future and the likes of Rymer Liriano, Jacob Realmuto, Roman Quinn, Gabriel Guerrero, Nick Ciuffo and A.J. Reed are all prospects expected to play future roles. The pitching staff lacks a TORP prospect, but has a cast of projected rotation members in Jordan, Webster, Lorenzen, Fedde, Freeland, Johnson and Wieland. For now, this team will drop a lot of games and position itself for another top 5 draft pick, which could lead to more top talent for the farm. For a team whose oldest MLB player is 26, that shouldn’t be much of a concern

Keys to development: An important year for Frazier, can Roman Quinn be relevant again and one of the young pitchers to make a leap

Season prediction: 5th, AL Central
Last edited by Guardians on Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
Astros
Posts: 2977
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2002 1:00 am
Location: PHX
Name: Ty Bradley

Post by Astros »

Nice job Pat. When I dealt Swihart for Cain, Oscar was still alive and I thought I was a pitcher and maybe one hitter away from contending for a wild card. Things changed obviously
User avatar
Rockies
Posts: 2552
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 1:00 am
Location: Denver, CO
Name: Nate Hunter
Contact:

Post by Rockies »

Probably right in that the Rockies are at least another year away from making some noise.. But I'm pretty happy with how I've positioned this squad. Where I think we might surprise is with the defense. Its perhaps one of the best in the league, and might keep me in more games than you think. Looking forward to trying to tame the enigma of Coors Field. Who best than a real life CO native.

And where is Blair in the conversation for young arms in the rotation?

Kela K and Miguel Castro(Low A to closing games in MLB.. shocking) are showing up in the MLB, the pen should be a bit stronger next year.

Thanks for the write up Pat!
User avatar
Athletics
Posts: 1870
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 1:00 am
Location: San Diego, CA
Name: Stephen d'Esterhazy

Post by Athletics »

Wait...so you mention shitty pitcher Guthrie but not Shipley or Lyles...and no love for Meadows? But yes, injuries are a killer...add Kyle Smith to the list of TJ cases that are present on my squad. Thanks for pointing out the Kaleb Cowart failure...atleast I have moved on from the Brett Jackson nose dive.
"My shit doesn't work in the playoffs. My job is to get us to the playoffs. What happens after that is fucking luck."

LAA 11 - 15 331W - 479L
LAA 16 - 20 477W - 333L 17-20 ALW
OAK 21 - 22 214W - 110L 21-22 ALW
User avatar
Giants
Posts: 3461
Joined: Thu Jan 20, 2005 1:00 am
Name: Jake Hamlin
Contact:

Post by Giants »

I arbitrarily endorse these rankings
Your REIGNING AND DEFENDING #evenyear IBC CHAMPION

2015- #torture #evenyears 179-145
2006-2014 Gritty Gutty A's 828-631
2005 Texas Rangers 65-97
Total: 1072-873 .551
Post Reply

Return to “Power Rankings”