ESPN.com
Heading into Week 2 of the season, the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals
are the only teams that remain unbeaten. The Tigers sit in the top spot
of our rankings, while the Royals come in at No. 2. The Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays hold down the third through fifth spots, respectively.This week's voters were Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Eric Karabell of ESPN Fantasy, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Most of the team comments come courtesy of the bloggers on the SweetSpot Blog Network. How do you rank all 30 teams? Go ahead and rank them yourself.
Tell us what you think about the Power Rankings. Use the hashtag #ESPNMLBPOWER.
| 2015 Power Rankings: April 13 | |||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | ||
| 1 | 5 Last Week: 6 | The Tigers are 6-0 for the first time since 2006, and boast a plus-31 run differential. The Tigers' rotation dominated the hapless Twins in their season-opening series, allowing only one unearned run. -- Alexandra Simon, Walkoff Woodward | |||
| 2 | 13 Last Week: 15 | What a first week. The Royals are hitting .327, allowed just 15 runs, scored 40 and Lorenzo Cain is making a great catch every day in center field. But these aren't your father's Royals: They also hit nine home runs in six games and if that continues, watch out. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot | |||
| 3 | 9 Last Week: 12 | A solid first week even though Clay Buchholz became the first Red Sox pitcher to give up 10 runs to the Yankees since 1945 and Mookie Betts is hitting just .192. The Red Sox lead the majors in walks. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot | |||
| 4 | 1 Last Week: 3 | Starting pitchers have been key to the Cardinals' 3-2 start, partly due to their stinginess with walks (1.48 walks per nine innings). -- Matt Philip (@fungoes), Fungoes | |||
| 5 | 6 Last Week: 11 | The Blue Jays are off to a solid 4-2 start, with good offensive performances from top to bottom and incredible contribution from the bullpen duo of Miguel Castro and Roberto Osuna. However, spring questions about Brett Cecil's health and Aaron Sanchez's command persist, making the next few weeks crucial for evaluating this team. -- Joshua Howsam (@House4545), Blue Jays Plus | |||
| 6 | 2 Last Week: 8 | Ubaldo Jimenez pitched seven scoreless innings in his 2015 debut on Saturday. Not only did he allow just one hit, but he walked only one batter -- a welcome change considering he walked more than 5.5 batters per nine innings last season. -- Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot | |||
| 7 | 15 Last Week: 22 | A 4-2 start against the Pirates and Cardinals gives Reds fans reason for hope, but it could have been 6-0 if manager Bryan Price weren't inexplicably enamored of the washed-up Kevin Gregg. Gregg has an ERA of 15.00 with a loss and a blown save already this season. -- Chad Dotson (@dotsonc), Redleg Nation | |||
| 8 | 6 Last Week: 2 | What is it with Clayton Kershaw and early-season starts in Arizona? Last May: 1 2/3 innings, seven earned runs, six hits, two walks. Saturday night: 6 1/3 innings, five earned runs, 10 hits, three walks. Yasiel Puig started the season 2-for-17 with six strikeouts. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit | |||
| 9 | 8 Last Week: 1 | Injury fill-ins like Dan Uggla and Tyler Moore have struggled as expected, but slow starts by Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond have made a bad situation worse. Luckily, Jayson Werth should return this week and Denard Span is ahead of schedule. -- Harper Gordek (@harpergordek), Nationals Baseball | |||
| 10 | 3 Last Week: 7 | Jered Weaver and his new 84-mph "fastball" are in some exclusive company. The only other starting pitchers since 2007 with an average fastball velocity that low are Jamie Moyer and 41-year-old Tom Glavine. Garrett Richards, please come back soon. -- Nathan Aderhold (@HalosDaily), Halos Daily | |||
| 11 | 17 Last Week: 28 | The Rockies' bats are alive so far in 2015, leading the NL in runs. Before you say "that's because of Coors Field," consider this: The Rockies swept the Brewers at Miller Park in their first series of the season. That was the first road sweep by the Rockies since the middle of June 2014, and they won only six road games after that. -- Jake Shapiro(@shapalicious), Rockies Zingers | |||
| 12 | 7 Last Week: 5 | Two extra-inning wins over the A's on Saturday and Sunday prevented what could have been an ugly 1-5 start as the bullpen blew late leads in both games. It was huge to get two outs at home plate on Saturday, including a tremendous Austin Jackson-Brad Miller relay in the bottom of the 10th to keep the game tied. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot | |||
| 13 | 6 Last Week: 19 | Week 1 for the A's had four blowouts (they were 3-1 in those games) and three nail-biters (0-3, including two extra-inning games). The Jekyll and Hyde routine isn't likely to be ameliorated by the return of Josh Reddick's boom/bust style to the lineup. -- Jason Wojciechowski (@jlwoj), Beaneball | |||
| 14 | 13 Last Week: 27 | Just like everyone predicted, the Braves won their first five games of the season. No Craig Kimbrel, no problem. No power in the lineup, no problem. Now we have to wonder how long the success of their new small-ball approach will last. -- Martin Gandy (@gondeee), Chop County | |||
| 15 | 1 Last Week: 16 | Only a week into the season, the odd-year jinx seems to be back in San Francisco. Matt Cain joined Hunter Pence on the disabled list to start the season and Jake Peavy, Brandon Belt and Casey McGehee have all battled minor injuries themselves. Depth is proving to be a huge issue already this season for the defending champs. -- Andrew Tweedy (@WCBGiants), West Coast Bias | |||
| 16 | 6 Last Week: 10 | The Padres are already looking to upgrade at shortstop (currently manned by Alexi Amarista and his career 77 OPS+). Will Middlebrooks had three hits and seven strikeouts in his first 19 at-bats. Brandon Morrow's Padres debut went well: seven innings, four hits, three walks and seven strikeouts. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit | |||
| 17 | 8 Last Week: 9 | In the first week of a season in which Cleveland is supposed to be a legitimate contender, the Tribe still can't beat the Tigers. To add insult to injury, catcher Yan Gomes was placed on the disabled list Sunday with a sprained right knee and Michael Brantley is dealing with lingering back issues. On the plus side, Jerry Sands went 3-for-4 with four RBIs on Saturday. -- Susan Petrone (@susanpetrone), It's Pronounced "Lajaway" | |||
| 18 | 1 Last Week: 17 | Set 'em up, knock 'em down: Leadoff man Curtis Granderson has reached base in all but one of the season's first six games and leads the NL with seven walks. Behind him, Lucas Duda and David Wright have combined for 16 hits and 20 total bases. -- Joe Janish (@metstoday), Mets Today | |||
| 19 | 15 Last Week: 4 | The offense has struggled out of the gate, hitting .228 on a six-game road trip to Cincinnati and Milwaukee. Two signs to watch: Starling Marte has 12 strikeouts and one walk, and Gregory Polanco has 11 K's and one walk. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot | |||
| 20 | 10 Last Week: 30 | Hey, they're .500 after playing the tough Red Sox and Nationals even though Jeff Francoeur has one of their two home runs and Cole Hamels hasn't won either of his first two starts. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot | |||
| 21 | 8 Last Week: 29 | The D-backs are winning the fight to remain relevant, the bullpen yielding six earned runs in its 24.2 innings. Only Archie Bradley managed to go at least six innings in the first turn through the rotation with his one-hit, four-walk debut. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona | |||
| 22 | 2 Last Week: 20 | Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch four times in the Cubs' first four games. In the last 50 years of Cubs history, only Reed Johnson has been hit by a pitch more (five times in 2008) in the entire month of April. -- Joe Aiello (@VFTB), View from the Bleachers | |||
| 23 | 9 Last Week: 14 | The Marlins are 1-5 in their first six games, scoring eight total runs in their five losses. Mat Latos was rocked in his Miami debut: two-thirds of an inning, seven earned runs, six hits, two walks. They play 20 of their next 29 games on the road. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit | |||
| 24 | 11 Last Week: 13 | The White Sox stumbled hard out of the gate, but Chris Sale's healthy return after only missing one start is the most important thing. The Twins' pitching helped wake the offense a bit. -- Nick Schaefer (@TheCatbird_Seat), The Catbird Seat | |||
| 25 | 2 Last Week: 23 | They're hitting under .200 and, as predicted, have already surged to the AL lead in strikeouts by hitters, but the pitching and defense have allowed just 18 runs, with George Springer saving the day on Sunday with a home run robbery. Next 19 games are against the Angels, A's, Mariners and Padres. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot | |||
| 26 | 8 Last Week: 18 | Opening week was more bad than good for the Yankees, who found themselves hampered by old problems (weak offense, shaky infield defense) and new (multiple baserunning blunders) in their first two series. Inconsistent starting and relief pitching only made matters worse as the Yanks look to right the ship this week. -- Brad Vietrogoski (@bradvietro), It's About the Money | |||
| 27 | 2 Last Week: 25 | While the first week of the season certainly could have gone worse from a results-oriented standpoint, injuries to Derek Holland, Shin-Soo Choo and Ryan Rua dampened the enthusiasm that comes with a new season. -- Brandon Land (@one_strike_away), One Strike Away | |||
| 28 | 4 Last Week: 24 | The Rays began the season with four of their top seven starting pitchers and primary second baseman on the disabled list. They soon added their DH and first baseman to the DL prior to the start of their second series of the season. Considering all the change in the offseason, the rash of injuries and seven rookies on the roster, a 3-3 start is quite the accomplishment. -- Tommy Rancel (@trancel), The Process Report | |||
| 29 | 8 Last Week: 21 | The first week of 2015 brought to mind the listless play of the 2014 collapse, which was exactly what everyone involved in Milwaukee sought to forget. Still, Jimmy Nelson and Wily Peralta effectively used their power sinkers to foreshadow better results for the coming weeks. Will the offense follow? -- Nicholas Zettel (@spectivewax), Disciples of Uecker | |||
| 30 | 4 Last Week: 26 | The first week went about as badly as it could have for the Twins, who looked every bit the part of a last-place team. Through six games, they've scored only 13 runs, fewest of any American League team. -- Nick Nelson (@nnelson9), Twins Daily | |||
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