MUST READ! 2016 MLB Rankings Long but worth the read
So Spring Training is
just twelve days away, and for baseball fanatics like myself couldn’t be
happier. Like my grandmother always says “Spring Training is the first sign of
spring” and she couldn’t be any more correct. The 2016 MLB Season will be a
very exciting season for sure with many storylines along the way. So without
further ado here is my rankings of teams 30-1!
RANKINGS:
30-1
#30: Philadelphia
Phillies: The Fighting Phil’s finished dead last in the league last year going
63-99, and not much is changing. Young prospect Aaron Nola should headline a
decent starting pitching staff, but with players like Ryan Howard and Carlos
Ruiz still on the roster from the glory days on the Phillies, it doesn’t help their
case any with the stuffed cap and poor performance from both Howard and Ruiz.
With that said the bright spots of this Phillies team Maikel Franco and Odubel
Herrera should look to impress fans and their organization with good seasons
this year.
#29: Cincinnati Reds:
With the trade of Johnny Cueto last July, the good winning baseball in Cincy
went alone with the wind. It would not surprise me if players like Joey Votto,
Branden Phillips, and Jay Bruce find new teams at the 2016 trade deadline of
August 1st. Anthony DeScalfini or Raisel Iglesias do not look like
they have what it looks like to be a number one in this league, and losing Mike
Leake to the Giants also does not help Cincinnati any. J.J. Hoover is a middle
reliever that will take over the closing role after the trade of Chapman. All
in all Cincinnati does not have enough talent after losing so much this
off-season to compete in a tough division and will find themselves at the
bottom of the barrel this season.
#28 Colorado Rockies:
Colorado has a very similar situation to Cincinnati in the talent department
and also the tough division. However, the Rockies have better trade value for a
rebuild in Carlos Gonzalez. I would be shocked if come August 2nd he
is still on the Rockies roster. Now this roster is not all bad, players like
Nolan Arenado (who won last year’s National League Gold Glove for third base),
Charlie Blackman, and recently acquired Jake McGee. Other than that the Rockies
starting rotation does not have the talent to continuously win in that ballpark
and that division. Jose Reyes also is a liability to Colorado and we will see
what the thirty two year old shortstop will produce with him losing a step due
to the Toronto turf.
#27: Milwaukee Brewers: I
have talked about Milwaukee this week in them starting a rebuild and that is
why they find themselves here. Jonathan Lucroy like Carlos Gonzalez of the
Rockies will most likely find himself dawning a new uniform come August 2nd
2016. The rumor birds have been screaming that Lucroy wants out, and even
Lucroy himself said he doesn’t want to be a part of a rebuilding team, that he
wants to win. Losing Yovani Gallardo this offseason and trading away Mike Fries
and Carlos Gomez last season, this team has lost a ton of depth not only on the
field, but in their rotation, which already needed help. Milwaukee took a flyer
on Chris Carter and he should be good enough protection for Ryan Braun. Will
Middlebrooks and Kirk Niewuenhuis are some of the key additions that bring
solid play, but in the end with teams like St. Louis and Chicago in the
division they will succeed in getting a high draft pick and starting a much
needed roster overhaul.
#26: Oakland Athletics:
Oakland enjoy the Superbowl and the play of the Golden State Warriors why you
can, because come spring the baseball team is not looking so hot. Now it is the
Oakland A’s who seem to have magic every season and seem to be in the
conversation for a playoff team, but not this year. With ageing players like
Coco Crisp, Billy Butler, and Yonder Alonso this team needs to take a page out
of its own book and get younger. The back end of the bullpen with John Axford
and Ryan Madson should be interesting to try to bridge the gap to Sean
Doolittle. This team still has Sonny Grey and Jesse Hahn, but after that
nothing much, team that up with a low scoring offense and a shaky back end of
the bullpen leading up to the closer, smells like a lot of tough late loses for
the A’s.
#25: Minnesota Twins: Joe
Mauer is getting older and with that Minnesota is becoming less and less
marketable and important in the league. Also with the aging Mauer who is
progressively getting worse and a liability to the team. Byung Ho Park is the
most prized Japanese free-agent that is now calling the twin cities home and we
will see if he is all the hype. Starting pitching is again the problem for this
team that is headlined by Kyle Gibson at the number one slot. Ervin Santana and
Phil Hughes should be good supporting pitchers for a team with decent talent.
Glen Perkins is still closing and we shall see what he beholds this season,
which based on the offense and the starting pitching you are looking at maybe
thirty saves, which isn’t bad for a playoff team, which this team is not.
#24: San Diego Padres:
What a swing for the Padres from 2015 to 2016! From number four on my ranking
list last season to number twenty four this year. Well the one year run for the
title didn’t work out and so a huge roster overhaul again. Signing Alexi
Ramirez, which is a great signing for them will help the young guns like Blash,
Solarte, and Brett Wallace. This rotation is the bright spot for this team with
three really good arms in Ross, Shields, and Cashner. I fully expect Cashner to
have an All-Star year this year and really come into a zone for San Diego, possible
even becoming the ace of the staff. Moving Myers who is a liability in the
field to first was a smart move and replacing him with a decent player in Jon
Jay was probably the best thing that happened this offseason for San Diego.
This teams down fall is that there are just too many good teams in the National
League this year and they don’t have the offense or the pen to keep up.
#23 Baltimore Orioles: With
Bud Norris gone, and no clear number one on the roster this team will struggle
keeping teams off the board early. The O’s do get a full season from Matt
Wieters, and they pick up a nice right handed bat in Mark Trumbo. You never
know what you will get from a Buck Showalter lead group, who might be getting a
little impatient with the World Series drought. I see the O’s slightly ahead of
the Rays with about eighty six wins.
#22: Atlanta Braves: Trading away defense for
offense is never good, but we will see what the case is this go around with
Atlanta. This team is not very talented offensively and that is why they are at
this stop. With that point, the pitching for this team, will make this team
live or die in a tough division. Julio Teheran will have to prove himself as
the number one for this club. Many Banuelos and Bud Norris are the two most important
pitchers on this staff however. If these two can get anywhere from ten to fifth
teen wins for this team they have a chance at seventy five wins.
#21: Tampa Bay Rays: The
Rays proved that they can tread water without David Price or Wil Myers. Getting
Myers bat back in form of Corey Dickerson and Steve Pearce will help this team
push toward .500. Injuries is always the concern for a young talented pitching
staff that can compare to that of the New York Mets when healthy. However the
Rays are still hurting in depth and at the closer role. So for the second year
in a row I see the Rays at .500.
#20: Cleveland Indians:
This team has not moved an inch from last season in my opinion. Rajai Davis was
a needed addition to a team that had no running game last year. We will see
what Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana will give us if they can both stay on the
field. The back end the rotation with Salazar, Bauer and Tomlin as well as the
back end of the bullpen with Shaw and Cody Allen is the concern I have for this
team. Everyone knows Corey Kluber will be a Cy Young Candidate, strike out a
ton of people, and win twenty or so games. But the three, four, five pitchers
are the problem for this team, with the lack of explosiveness on offense.
Besides Kipnis, Santana, and Gomes this team lacks run production.
Realistically this team gets around seventy wins.
#19: Seattle Mariners:
With players that have talent but continuously under preform this year will be
no different for Seattle. Getting Nori Aoki, Adam Lind, Leonys Martin, and
resigning Hisashi Iwakuma are the good parts of the offseason and can lead to
some good wins by this club it comes with a clause. Adam Lind is now thirty two
years old and is in a big ballpark for most of his games. Steve Cishek was a
failed closer in Miami and we will wait and see what type of player he wants to
be. Robinson Cano is becoming an afterthought to Nelson Cruz at this point and
will continue due to the ballpark. The back end of the rotation for Seattle is
also a problem. Miley and Karns are going to need to go positive for this team
to even possible make noise and that doesn’t seem likely. So I see about
seventy seven wins or so for this ball club, again drastically under preforming
for the talent on the team.
#18: Texas Rangers: A Cinderella
performance by this bunch is 2015 will come up short of the ball this go
around. While getting Cole Hamels last season this team hasn’t really improved
much anywhere else. Scott Tolleson will have to prove himself as a closer and
the pen as a whole to get to him is shaky. Shin-Soo Choo will have to show up
and be the guy that he was in Cincinnati for Texas this season to possibly have
another Cinderella year. I see this team getting around eighty five wins.
#17: Miami Marlins: The Marlins are very interesting
team to me. Adding guys like Wei-Yin Chen, and Chris Johnson this team could be
very, very good, giving the Mets and the Nationals a run for their money. But,
the reason I have them at number seventeen is because Miami has a new manager
in Don Matingly and the team will have some bumps early in the season and with
that division being as good as it I see them ending up just a couple of games
out of first with about eighty eight wins.
#16: Arizona Diamondbacks: This team has seemly won
the offseason but they do have a downfall… their youth. Now usually being a
very young team is a good thing, but not in this case. Their bench is extremely
and unproven, the catcher position is still very much a problem that needs
immediate attention. The improvements on the staff with Zach Greinke and Shelby
Miller are great moves for the here and now. Grabbing Jean Segura made sense
giving a young up and coming player in Chris Owings his chance to truly prove
himself while filling a whole at short, and getting rid of the daunting veteran
contract of Aaron Hill. I see a drastic improvement for the D-Backs in a good
division get around ninety wins. One last note for why I put Arizona in this
position is because I overestimated the Padres last season and I will not do that
again.
#15: Toronto Blue Jays: Trading Ben Revere was a good
move to help the back end of the bullpen getting Drew Storen, it will hurt the
lineup in more ways than one. The first way is the element of speed that Revere
gave them. Secondly I am still not sold on the idea of Troy Tulowitzki leading
off this lineup. And finally Michael Saunders is not Revere, and will give the
Jays a nice bat from the left side, but Revere made them so much more dangerous
than without, and I believe they could have been fine with him still on roster.
Another thing that I don’t like about the Blue Jays is the amount of sophomore
players that have to play key roles for them. Colabello, Pillar, and Goins have
to continue their excellent play to keep this Jays team a float and getting win
after win. I’m also not sold on Marcus Stroman being the number one for this
team followed by a knuckle baller that has not nearly been himself since
leaving New York. The positives for this team are the raining AL MVP Josh
Donaldson is entering his prime and should continue to provide great baseball
from the hot corner. Another thing is Jose Bautista is on a contract and should
play extremely well to get a well-deserved pay day. Realistically the Blue Jays
are around the ninety or so wins.
#14: New York Yankees: The climb will definitely be a
large one to overcome with what the Red Sox have done this offseason. With that
said the bombers have improved getting Starlin Castro to play second base,
which was a most upgrade in the post Cano era. Also snagging Aroldis Chapman
from Cincy for basically nothing. Third
base is the biggest concern for the yanks as the Chase Headley trade has not
really panned out, and a backup option wouldn’t be too extreme at this point.
The ever aging A-Rod is yet another year older and if he can give the bombers
half of what he gave them in 2015 I think they’ll be happy. The Yankees only
made it the Wildcard game and with the additions could find themselves fighting
for the division late in the year, and get back to the winning culture of the
Yankees. This team is about even with the Jays at this point and I see them at
the same ninety win mark.
#13: Pittsburgh Pirates: If there was any time to a
good team in a crowded division this is the time. I am starting to feel bad for
Pittsburgh and their fans. For being so bad for so long then finally putting
together the production of the field and winning games only to come up short in
wild card games. Maybe this year will be different, with A.J. Burnett gone, the
Bucs focused on pitching this offseason trading for Jon Niese and Ryan
Vogelsong. Hopefully this paired up with a new bridge to Melancon which
includes Yoervis Medina and Neftali Feliz will lead to more wins. Adding these
two pieces to an already good bullpen will only help the Bucs out. The Jolly
Roger will be raised about ninety five times this year, if I’m keeping track.
#12: Los Angeles Angles: Nothing but upgrades for the
Hallows this offseason. David Freese didn’t quite work out in LA so they
brought in Yunel Escobar for more of a power guy. The defense struggled last
season so they went out and got the best defensive player in the game right now
in Andreleton Simmons. This team is hurting starting with “King Albert” Albert
Pujols is starting the year, and once he gets back this team will really start
to take off. I will be extremely surprised if this team does not make the
playoffs because I see about ninety five plus wins for the hallows.
#11: Chicago White Sox: Solid pitching for certain with this bunch
that is no question. Improving the infield trading for Todd Frazier and Brett
Lawrie which these two are two great bats in the middle of the order and on the
field. Lawrie is now on his third team and we will see if he can live up to his
potential that was showing at times way back into Toronto, in many ways this
might be his last chance. Stealing Alex Avila away from the division rival
Detroit Tigers was a great move and like the Angels nothing but good upgrades
for the south-siders. Ninety five to ninety eight wins wouldn’t be so
far-fetched for this group.
#10: Los Angeles Dodgers: Now we are on to the top ten
and it just gets even tougher. First year manager Dave Roberts has his hands
full with a loaded roster. It is not too often that you lose your number two
starter which just happens to be Zach Grienke and still be the top roster in
the division. The Hollywood money bought some good replacements in Scott Kasmir
and Kenta Maeta. The lineup is the same and vets like Utley and Crawford will
benefit this tremendously. I could see about ninety eight wins for the Dodger
Blue.
#9: Detroit Tigers: What a busy offseason for the new
Detroit GM Al Avila, who improved this team 110% from last year. It started
with replace Max Scherzer with his former teammate Jordan Zimmermon. Then improving
the bullpen getting “K-Rod” Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Lowe, and Justin Wilson.
Finally signing Justin Upton to a huge contract. It will be tough to be the
defending champs the Kansas City Royals but this team will come extremely
close. I see about an even one hundred wins in the Motor City.
#8: Boston Red Sox: As much as this kills me, Boston
had excellent off-season’s in back to back years. This year it was snagging
David Price away from the rival Blue Jays. Also don’t forget this offseason
started with the Sox’s trading for Craig Kimbrel. So much improved from last
season, Hanley Ramirez should transition over to first rather smoothly and Red
Sox Nation should have about ninety three wins
#7: Houston Astros: This team was tied with key free
agents all winter long and only got their hands on Doug Fister, who is an excellent
pick up for them, but not the best one they could have gotten. This team is the
most talented squad in the majors arguably. With young players like Jose
Altuve, Carlos Correa, Evan Gattis Tony Sipp, and Dallas Keuchel. The back end
of the pen is the only question but the combo of power/speed in the lineup and
the depth in the rotation will start the Astros dynasty this season. This team
will battle for the best record in the American League with one hundred and
eight wins.
#6: St. Louis Cardinals: This squad doesn’t really
need that many improvements to make a serious title run and it is almost there.
Stealing Mike Leake away from Arizona was huge and should energize the Cards
fan base BIG Time. Yadier’s health will be a major key to this teams’ success
but I see around the one hundred win mark.
#5: New York Mets: Crazy to me that this team would be
this far low in my rankings. If they didn’t resign Cespesdes they would be much
higher. Replacing Murphy with Neil Walker was smart, while log jamming
shortstop was not. One of those guys will be traded somewhere for something.
One hundred wins would not be so far fetch for this squad.
#4: Washington Nationals: Ben Revere will help this
team tremendously and give them the speed element that they have been missing.
Daniel Murphy will have to prove himself and be extremely productive and show
that he is not just a post season story. This division will be an absolute dog
fight all year long and will be decided by probably less than two games. The one
hundred mark is where I have the Nats sitting right now.
#3: San Francisco Giants: Huge upgrade in the starting
rotation, which gives them the number one rotation in the league, and also
filling that center field whole with span, propels this team to yet again make
a title run for the fourth time in six years. One hundred and five wins by the
bay wouldn’t be crazy with that starting staff.
#2: Kansas City Royals: Signing a key piece in Ian
Kennedy and resigning both Joakim Soria and Alex Gordon still put this team at
the top of the Junior Circuit. These guys are the defending champions for a
reason. Reinforcements are coming in Jason Vargas and closer Tim Collins.
Resigning Greg Holland would elevate their chances at a repeat by a whole lot. One
hundred and eight or nine wins could be very likely for the defending champs.
#1: Chicago Cubs: It was been a LONG TIME. One hundred
and six years to be exact. If there was any year to be excited for a World Series
title on the North side this would be it. Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, John
Lackey to team up with the team that made the NLCS last season has them at the
top. With that said it also gives them an enormous target to carry on their
backs. The pressure to get a ring this season will define this team this season
and every year from here on out for the Cubs. The record of one hundred and
eleven wins might not be crazy for an real life “video game team”. Realistically
I see about one hundred and nine or ten wins.
Sources:( bleacherreport.com, baseballreference.com,
mlb.com)
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Good list but I don't think that many teams will get to 90+ wins.
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