2015 ASB Power Rankings (Jeff Passan 30 degrees version)

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2015 ASB Power Rankings (Jeff Passan 30 degrees version)

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1. Pirates. The 2014 World Series champs stand far ahead of any other team in the IBC as the midseason's No. 1 team. One could argue injuries to Wainwright, Wright, Beltran and Holliday have harmed their abilities to amass an even greater lead, however, preying upon a weak division (including a no-GM team has padded the record. But with Trout and Felix, additions of Colon, Napoli and Carpenter are all useful pieces that will help the Pirates remain a scary postseason opponent. Teams looking to avoid the WC spot and face the Pirates are the Marlins and the...

2. Phillies. Nothing like a little 16-player trade to mix things up. This week, the Phillies were able to pick up arguably the best pitcher in baseball and the best closer according to ZIPs for Jacob DeGrom, Dellin Betances and a late 1st round pick in a weak draft with the rest of the pieces being filler. Quite the midseason move to try to avoid the aforementioned WC spot. Scherzer/Zimmermann/Shark is as strong as it comes, but the Fightins are going to need a healthy Freddie Freeman and Jacoby Ellsbury to keep the momentum going because otherwise they're going to fall behind division rival...

3. Marlins. No trades to speak of, just continued success. Price, the return of Verlander and a solid supporting cast of pitching along with old standbys Tulowitzki, Cano, Myers, Gardner and Belt have the Marlins positioned as the current NL East division leader. The recent Phillies trade -- on paper -- seems to put the Marlins at a disadvantage, but we all know DMB does what it wants. This should be one of the best races to watch the rest of the year, much like the one facing the...

4. Tigers. Detroit holds a slim AL Central advantage after a mini pre-All Star Game slide. The loss of Stanton is showing, despite pickups of Melky Cabrera and Nick Markakis to try to keep the train going. While the Tigers have gotten above average pitching out of their pitchers, the addition of Julio Teheran and a very good 3.22 projection gives the team a solid #2 righty to slide between Lester and Alex Wood. That, along with the likely return of Stanton in another three weeks should be a large boost for a struggling team, kind of like Stanton's real life teammate, Jose Fernandez, who is with the...

5. Orioles. Fernandez is back! He's the perfect second-half boost to a team that's already in first place. As long as he avoids major injuries, Baltimore is positioned to take a crack at the American League's top record going into the postseason. Fernandez/Greinke is quite strong, as is the rest of the rotation. The key will be for the offense to better perform, as Gomez, Heyward, Kemp and others haven't been as strong as projected. There's no reason the Orioles can't add to last year's big playoff push and become a major 2015 IBC candidate, though if Toronto wins the division, they're sure to run into the...

6. Royals. The Royals boast the second-best record in the American League and boast a balanced offense and pitching, with a real shot to take the AL Central crown. The loss of Miguel Montero until early August doesn't help things, but he's not a major offensive force anyway. Gray, Kazmir, Pineda with Rizzo, Zobrist, Vmart and Frazier pace the offensive side. The acquisition of Lorenzo Cain is going to provide KC with a CF for the first time all year. His plus defense and speed will help on the defensive side, while possibly adding some in the lineup. Leaving the NL West is probably bad for Cain and good for the...

7. Dodgers. As usual, the starting pitching injuries overshadow a strong offensive team and a deep bullpen. Despite the flaws, the Dodgers are still in the NL West race and close enough in the Wildcard race to be a contender. Bautista and Braun are looking older with constant nagging injuries and now Pedroia is shelved. The real issue, though, is Michael Blazek being a necessary cog in the rotation. Without some improvements, it's on to 2016 for LA, but not yet for...

8. Giants. This team has all the makings of putting up a strong 2015 run, despite major IBC National League competition this year. With Kluber, Arrieta and Sanchez at the top of the rotation and a strong core of Posey, Cespedes, Brantley, Sandoval and Kendrick, this is a team that should be considered a real threat. The problem is the Giants are in a dogfight of a division race and that doesn't count Pittsburgh, Miami or Philadelphia, who likely all end up in the playoffs. San Fran boasts the third best run differential in the NL, which is in contrast to that of the...

9. Mariners. Here we are past the All-Star Break and the Mariners are in first place in the IBC NL West. This would be a great story if media covered fake baseball leagues, but for us it's just fun to see Brennan not sitting in last place like usual. The staff is led by A+ pitcher Lucas Giolito with help from Brett Anderson, Zach McAllister, Adam Warren and Andrew Heaney (thanks DMB!) Jose Abreu is the most intimidating hitter in the lineup, as everyone else is hitting under .245. Buxton and Dickerson are the best two hitters and are hurt. It's an improbable sustained run to the top, but give the Mariners credit for competing and not buying (yet) on a 2015 run, unlike their 1970s expansion twin, the...

10. Blue Jays. Speaking of improbable, the Blue Jays continue to amaze and are a slim 1.5 games behind Baltimore in the standings. The "on paper" arguments should probably stop at this point with Toronto, as they continue to shine with a mishmash of platoons and solid strategic decisions. Keuchel is a real ace as well as the team's ace, though the rest of the rotation is weak. The recent acquisition of Ian Kennedy doesn't hurt. The lineup is bizarre, especially when you see Darin Ruf is hitting .342 with 8 home runs in 37 games. Ty Kelly has a .385 OBP and Jung-ho Kang has a .376 OBP. Bizarro world, but nor really for a team deep in the heart of Texas, the...

11. Rangers. The perennial powerhouse keeps getting knocked down due to critical injuries. In 2014, it was Weiters and Fielder. In Spring Training, it was Yu Darvish with TJ. The acquisitions of Lincecum and Hughes were band aids. Now it's Cabrera and Alex Gordon and while there's plenty of farm, it's unclear if there's a willingness to throw on more gauze pads. This is a team equally 3.5 games behind the division lead and WC 2, so 2015 is far from lost. And the American League isn't as strong as the National League, but even with injuries, there's a better chance here than with the...

12. Reds. Despite a nearly 20-game division deficit, this team remains dedicated to being a strong wildcard contender, using a strong offense and enough H2H trickery to stay in contention. The Encarnacion, Cruz, Martinez murderer's row is propping up the pitching staff, which is weak. The addition this week of Jake Peavy adds another veteran arm, albeit not a particularly healthy one. Leake has been much better than projected and Collmenter much worse, so some second half adjusting may happen. If not, this team will be looking up at the...

13. Dbacks. Arizona came out of nowhere in the last few weeks to take a lead in the NL West, staying ahead of both San Francisco and Los Angeles with some renewed health. Matt Moore's long absence is over and he came back with 8 ks over 5 shutout innings before the break. Urias may be back soon and Mark Trumbo was acquired recently for Chris Carter, which is sort of dealing for the same guy. If healthy, the Dbacks could be back into the top echelon of IBC NL teams. Again, the 2015 competition is tight, so we'll see. But this team has elements to keep it in the race, which is decidedly different than the 2015 plans of the...

14. Astros. An early season run to the top of the AL West made Houston seem like a 2015 contender, but a months-long injury to Yasiel Puig and underperformance of Matt Carpenter slowed the train to a halt. Now it's onto 2016 for the IBC Astros, as the team recently moved Carpenter in a deal for Adam Wainwright, which gives the team another ace with Cole Hamels for next year. Other deals could be in the works to plan for next year and beyond. With Carpenter gone, there's an immediate need at 3B that could be filled via trade. And you know who likes big trades? The...

15. Red Sox. The team on the other end of the massive 16-player deal, the Red Sox are in full sell mode at this point. Walker, Napoli, Scherzer, Hamilton and others have flown off the shelves within the last month. A typical annual contender, the Red Sox are rebuilding and it's likely that names such as Ortiz, Hudson, Burnett, Howell and Victorino will be gone before 2015 ends. The new-look Red Sox will be led by DeGrom, Springer, Margot, Betances, Tyson Ross and whatever is picked up in the draft and brings a similar young-look to a 2015 pretender, the...

16. Cardinals. This was another feel-good first half story, as Aaron's Cardinals are still a year away. A hot start faded and now this is a team hoping for a strong real-life second half from Christian Yelich, Kevin Pillar and others. With A-rod already in tow, Mookie Betts, Taijuan Walker, Lance Lynn, Lucroy, Vincent Velasquez, Tomas and Aaron Sanchez, the Cardinals should be ready for another, possibly more sustained, run in 2016, which is not something that was likely on the minds this spring of the IBC...

17. Twins. Minnesota fell from a Top 10 preseason ranking down to middle of the pack after a bunch of injuries and underperformance. But, there's no doubt this team's pitching will lead them in 2016 and probably for many years after that. Bumgarner, Thor, Wacha, Richards, Norris, McCullers is among the best crop of young pitching in the league -- quite possibly the best. But the offense lags behind. The Twins do boast All Stars Joc Pederson and Brian Dozier, but injuries and poor performances from Pence, Soler, Gillaspie, Jackson, Gregorious and others threatens plans for 2016. Adding a few key bats again figures to be a priority here, but who knows what the future holds with the...

18. Rays. Martin has put together a strong run in 2015 and now has Pat Corbin back in the rotation. It's unclear whether Weaver/Corbin/Gallardo and Votto/Bruce/Choo will be enough to cut into Baltimore and Toronto, but he's only six games behind the Blue Jays for WC 2, and they'll play a lot the rest of the year, so there's reason for optimism. Losing Hahn certainly doesn't help, but when you have Juan Lagares, anything can happen! A Superman player is something missing from the...

19. Brewers, who are rocking Dexter Fowler/Colby Rasmus in CF. Milwaukee is now in sell mode, having moved out Pearce and offering up other 2015-helpful pieces for 2016-helpful ones. The offseason Rendon/Strasburg trade seemed like it could have been a major win for both sides, but it seems as if both teams somehow lost. Both players have been injured all year and their respective stocks have fallen. Rendon's injury is probably the least scary and he is younger, so Milwaukee maybe still comes out ahead. But, it's time to bulk up a little on offense and grab another starter, a position of abundance for the...

20. Athletics. This is another seller at the deadline, with a few parts that could be useful to contenders. The Dark Knight highlights the team's strengths -- pitching and a pitcher's park. The offense lags behind, though Michael Taylor has been good in MLB and AAA this year and Rafael Devers is on the way. Xander Bogaerts made a leap, but Jackie Bradley Jr. has not. There are some pieces for 2016, including Harvey, Bauer, Graveman and a returning Zach Wheeler. That's a good staff, but the team needs bats or a park like that of the...

21. Rockies. Colorado has a better pitching foundation now that it has picked up Carlos Rodon. Along with Alvarez, Chi Chi Gonzalez and others, the team might be able to pitch in Denver. Arenado/Marte are the future of the lineup, but the rest looks suspect outside of maybe Cozart, who was hot pre-injury and Grichuk. Moving Morneau is a top priority for this young team, but there's still more building to do. Never will the Rockies amass as much building, however, as the...

22. Nationals. Because the re-tooling never ends in Washington and this Nationals team has a lot of fun parts to look forward to seeing. Dahl, Alcantara, Lamb, Difo, Swihart, Eduardo Rodriguez, Matz and Wisler are all soon to help on the Major League stage, while Robertson, McKinney, Vogelbach, Underwood, Hill, Fischer, Stewart and others are close. It's likely at least 50 percent of these players won't still be on Washington by opening day, but there's a need to write something about currently rostered players. Speaking of rosters, the one that never changes is the...

23. Cubs. The headless horseman of IBC teams, Gabe left this team with Clayton Kershaw, so some owner someday will be happy about that. There's a handful of desirable offensive pieces and Gio Gonzalez, but it's a shame that Lackey won't be dealt this year to help for 2016. This team also has Hiroki Kuroda on its roster. It's like a house that hasn't had its lawn mowed in 12 months and the roof is falling apart. That's the Cubs. Feel bad if you're listed under 23 and for those purposes, it's great that No. 24 is the...

24. Yankees. Certainly it appears the Felix for Baez, Meyer and picks deal from 2014 isn't looking so great right now, but the Yankees have other things to be happy about. For one, Bryce Harper. That's kind of a big one. Hosmer, Lindor, Plawecki, Severino, Hedges, Foltynewicz, Gausman, Bradley, Berrios and others are all young and developing. Aaron Judge and Franklin Barreto are on the farm, along with Brinson, Tapia, Winker, Newcomb and old standbys Gary Sanchez and Jurickson Profar. Strasburg, too. There are some things to look forward to in New York, well maybe the Bronx, but less so in Queens home base of the...

25. Mets. This was another 2015 borderline contender that just never got off the ground. The good news for the Mets is they're squarely in line to pick up a top 3 pick in the 2015 draft, which is good because this year's draft reportedly isn't very deep. The Amazins just picked up another first rounder by moving Ian Kennedy to Toronto and should work to quickly deal Jose Reyes, Michael Cuddyer, Aramis Ramirez and Michael Morse. Eliminating those older/injury prone players and bringing in some young players will bring down the average age of the team close to that of the...

26. Indians. This team is really young and really has very few usable 2015 pieces for contenders outside of Ender Inciarte, who's good, but also young himself. Recent trades have changed the structure of the young players and there are some building blocks. Joey Gallo amazed in his first couple weeks as a callup this year, but faded. The strikeouts aren't going away, but either is the power and he can actually run. In the future if he sticks at 3B, he'll look good next to Nick Gordon and across from AJ Reed or Josh Bell with possibly Inciarte, Almonte and Alex Jackson behind him. Lorenzen is a solid arm, with Justin Nicolino, Allen Webster, Kyle Freeland, Erick Fedde, Brian Johnson and Lucas Sims hanging around. There's a need for top-tier pitching, but isn't there always? The good news is there's some talent here, but not nearly enough to compete with the young talent of the...

27. Padres. This is a team sitting next door to the Cubs' ramshackle house, but at least the top step has been swept off a few times. And, unlike the Cubs' house of horrors, the Padres' foundation is rock solid. Years of good drafting and doing nothing with the roster has led to the Padres being on the verge of super stardom. Kris Bryant, Carlos Correa, Miguel Sano, Jason Kipnis, Chris Archer, Billy Hamilton, Kyle Schwarber, Manny Machado and others. There may not be a more impressive group of young stars and future stars in the IBC, which can't be said for the...

28. White Sox. The best player on this team might be Billy Butler, so there's cause for concern. The squad has a few bright spots in AJ Cole, Hector Santiago, Avisail Garcia, Steven Souza and Brandon Finnegan, but by and large, it's going to be a large-scale rebuild. And, with the penchant for dealing for and drafting South Side players, the rebuild may take longer than expected. For the most part, however, the Pale Hose have been able to stay healthy, which is key and something not currently boasted by the...

29. Angels. Dylan Bundy, Jameson Taillon, Jordan Lyles. Dropping like flies. At least Gerrit Cole is healthy. If there is room for optimism, it comes in the form of JP Crawford, Tim Anderson and Austin Meadows, who are still looking like the top prospects Anaheim needs them to be to ever get out of the cellar. The overall pitching depth is strong, if it can avoid a major surgery. Bundy, Cole, Taillon, Shipley, Kolek, Ball, Lyles could actually turn into something. And with the aforementioned bats and Nick Williams, Preston Tucker and Trevor Story/Kaleb Cowart, there may one day be a resurgence. But for now, the Angels are currently gunning for the No. 1 overall pick, but will have to fight hard to defeat the...

30. Braves. This team has languished for a few years and it didn't help that it once dealt away Bryce Harper for a package highlighted by the currently rostered Jesus Montero (he's been called back up!). Joe Mauer looks old, Logan Morrison is no longer a Twitter star and Brandon Morrow/Jaime Garcia are always hurt. However, there may be a glimmer of hope. Brandon Nimmo and Nomar Mazara threaten to make up a pretty good 2/3 of an outfield in the next couple years. And the team still has Ben Revere, Rusney Castillo, the turnaround season of Cameron Maybin and the hope of Henry Owens. But, the Braves are obviously highlighted by its most recognizable asset -- Chris Sale. He's an ace and not many teams have an ace. If you do have an ace, you're in a good spot, just tell that to the...

Pirates. Because in Felix we trust. Argh. The Pirates may live and die by Felix and that's how playoff baseball should be. With a top-tier pitcher, a series is always within reach and that's what will be needed for any hopes of back-to-back IBC championships come October.
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Good work Pat
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Post by Rockies »

Agreed, fun read..
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Rockies wrote:Agreed, fun read..
The Power Rankings Committee apologizes for wrongly assuming the Rockies would want to build around its best player. We strive for extreme accuracy and will do better in the future :)
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Tigers wrote:
Rockies wrote:Agreed, fun read..
The Power Rankings Committee apologizes for wrongly assuming the Rockies would want to build around its best player. We strive for extreme accuracy and will do better in the future :)
Well, you can't have it both ways.. Trying to fix the rest that is suspect... :-)
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