The opening weeks of the baseball season result in a lot of flux in the MLB Power Rankings at The Wife Hates Sports, which are calculated into a figure that incorporates hitting statistics, pitching numbers, records and more. Hence, a significant amount of change will likely exist throughout the month of April, as teams establish themselves with specific strengths and weaknesses.
The Boston Red Sox – after an emotional rollercoaster week due to the tragic events at the Boston Marathon – emerge in the top slot, followed by the Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds.
This week’s big winners are the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers, each jumping eleven spots, while the big losers are the Oakland A’s, after falling nine slots and out of the top ten.
The entire list of MLB Power Rankings is as follows, featuring some specific team or player related statistics, along with the clubs that had positive or negative jumps in the latest poll:
Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester have each been outstanding for the Red Sox so far this season
KP’s MLB Power Rankings: April 23, 2013
Note: Stats and point totals as of Tuesday morning (4/23/13) and do not include night games
1. Boston Red Sox (100 points) – Last Week: #6
Clay Buchholz (4-0, 0.90 ERA and 29 K’s in four starts) and Jon Lester (3-0, 1.73 ERA, 23 K’s in four starts) have each had an early season resurgence after struggling last year.
2. Texas Rangers (94 points) – Last Week: #11
Boston tops this week’s MLB Power Rankings
Yu Darvish leads the Rangers’ pitching staff in wins (3), ERA (2.03) and strikeouts (38).
3. Colorado Rockies (92 points) – Last Week: #10
The Rockies are getting it done offensively, and in a big way. Colorado currently is third in MLB in runs (104), first in average (.282), second in OBP (.351) and first in slugging percentage (.482).
4. Atlanta Braves (87 points) – Last Week: #1
Bullpen arms Anthony Varvaro, Cory Gearrin and Craig Kimbrel have combined to throw 25 2/3 shutout innings, while giving up just 11 hits and striking out 24 batters.
5. Cincinnati Reds (82 points) – Last Week: #16
Cincinnati’s hitting and pitching combined rating landed as the highest mark in the National League for this week’s rankings.
6. Kansas City Royals (76 points) – Last Week: #8
If you’re one of those that questioned that Kansas City’s moves would make any difference, consider this: The Royals’ combined hitting/pitching rating in these rankings is higher than any other team.
7. San Francisco Giants (65 points) – Last Week: #4
More known for its pitching, the Giants are off to a solid start offensively, sparked by the play of Brandon Crawford (.303 avg.), Pablo Sandoval (.301) and Angel Pagan (.286).
8. St. Louis Cardinals (61 points) – Last Week: #3
In four starts this season, Adam Wainwright is 3-1, with a 2.48 ERA, 28 K’s and ZERO walks.
9. Baltimore Orioles (56 points) – Last Week: #14
It’s WAY too early to even whisper the word “Triple Crown”, but Chris Davis is second in the AL in average (.391), tied for first in home runs (7) and second in RBI (22).
10. New York Yankees (49 points) – Last Week: #12
Robinson Cano leads the team in five major categories: batting average (.333), home runs (6), RBI (14), on base percentage (.390) and hits (25).
11. Oakland Athletics (48 points) – Last Week: #2
In eight total starts, Brett Anderson and Jarrod Parker have combined to post a 1-6 record, while walking 21 batters over 37 2/3 innings.
12. Detroit Tigers (48 points) – Last Week: #7
In his first season with the Tigers, Torii Hunter is off to a torrid start, batting .392, with 29 hits over 74 at bats and a .438 on base percentage.
13. Arizona Diamondbacks (46 points) – Last Week: #5
The Reds (182 K’s) are the only National League team to have more strikeouts than Arizona’s pitching staff (162 K’s in 19 games).
14. Pittsburgh Pirates (38 points) – Last Week: #17
Wandy Rodriguez (0.56 ERA) and A.J. Burnett (2.79 ERA) are two rotation arms off to solid starts.
15. New York Mets (36 points) – Last Week: #9
Matt Harvey (4-0, 0.93 ERA, 10 hits, 32 K’s in 29 innings) has been one of the biggest stories in the National League so far this season.
16. Milwaukee Brewers (33 points) – Last Week: #27
Jean Segura is batting .359 on the young season, but only five of his 23 hits have gone for extra bases (three doubles, one triple and one home run).
17. Minnesota Twins (22 points) – Last Week: #21
The Twins are pitching to contact, allowing just 37 walks this season, the fewest in baseball to date.
18. Los Angeles Dodgers (21 points) – Last Week: #13
Matt Kemp (.235 average, 0 HR, 6 RBI in 18 games) has had a far from inspirational start to the season.
19. Cleveland Indians (16 points) – Last Week: #20
A streaky player during his tenure in Baltimore, Mark Reynolds is off to a hot start in Cleveland, with 7 home runs (tied for league lead) and 18 RBI (4th in AL).
20. Los Angeles Angels (15 points) – Last Week: #25
With a lineup that features Mark Trumbo, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, it’s shocking to see that no player in the Angels’ lineup has more than two home runs to this point.
21. Tampa Bay Rays (14 points) – Last Week: #28
Matt Moore is living up to the hype, posting a 4-0 record, while allowing just ten hits, with a 1.04 ERA and 29 strikeouts over a span of 26 innings.
22. Chicago White Sox (7 points) – Last Week: #19
Adam Dunn is struggling again, posting just a .101 average with 27 strikeouts in 69 at bats.
23. Philadelphia Phillies (7 points) – Last Week: #18
Cole Hamels has struggled for the Phillies this season
It’s only eight combined starts, but it’s very strange to see both Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay with an ERA above the 6.00 mark.
24. Washington Nationals (6 points) – Last Week: #15
One of the biggest issues with the Nats has been the team’s fielding, which has committed an MLB-high of 18 errors so far this season.
25. Chicago Cubs (-11 points) – Last Week: #24
The Cubs have seen promising starts to the season from starters Carlos Villanueva, Travis Wood and Jeff Samardzija (each has an ERA under 3.40).
26. Toronto Blue Jays (-16 points) – Last Week: #23
With Jose Reyes on the DL, no healthy member of the Blue Jays is currently batting over .275.
27. Seattle Mariners (-20 points) – Last Week: #22
The Mariners spent the offseason trying to add pieces to its offense, but Seattle’s .224 team average is currently the worst in the American League.
28. San Diego Padres (-25 points) – Last Week: #29
Starters Tyson Ross, Jason Marquis and Edinson Volquez have combined to walk 30 batters over a span of 55 2/3 innings.
29. Houston Astros (-30 points) – Last Week: #26
The Houston pitching staff has just four quality starts over its first 19 games, which is the fewest in Major League Baseball.
30. Miami Marlins (-48 points) – Last Week: #30
Miami’s .212 team batting average is not only the worst in baseball, but it’s also twelve points lower than any other team. The Marlins also have 6 home runs in 19 games, by far the fewest in the league.
* All stats per MLB.com
Note: RED = Falling 3+ spots from last week, GREEN = Rising 3+ spots from last week
The Wife Hates Sports MLB Power Rankings system has a method to its madness, attempting to be different and not just rank by popularity and record. It mixes a secret formula of six completely different categories, meshed into a points system. The categories don’t just include team results regarding record, but how each team has performed recently, as well as incorporating some statistics on both a team’s offense and pitching staff, too.
Haha… you know the major websites have had the power rankings going since Opening Day, right? Hey, there are some good and interesting stats and thoughts in there. Honestly, this time around, it was something that I could piece together quickly, after everything that went down in town last week…
Dude, even the first BCS poll doesn’t come out til late in the college football season.
Baseball power rankings in late April?