Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - Our Official MLB Power Rankings | 836

Episode Date: May 13, 2024

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Hello and welcome to Talking Baseball, the first ever talking baseball power rankings. Buckle up! Jeff Passing Day. Splinker. Bat speed. Yeah. Yeah. Paul Skeens, get out!

Before the rain gets you. Hey, Livy, thanks for tuning in. Thank you all for tuning in. to talking baseball, presenting you by Seekkeek Code Talking. 10. BBD, behind the ones and twos, myself, Jake Storelli, and Trevor Plouffe. Here to lay it out, man. We're at what, the quarter pole of the season?

If you're looking for the recap today, we love you. Might be a little bit of a funky week, but we are doing what the people want, what the people need, whatever makes them happy. Kenneth Farid And we Trev I think we thought

this was going to be a fun exercise And maybe it is We're going to lose some people today Trying to Dice these teams up A little trickier than we thought I'm hip with the kids This is going to be like a tier list

But it's not going to be a tier list Because I don't know how to do a tier list But you're right Like there are I think there's groups of teams That you could probably place in you know

any order you wanted they all kind of make sense but yeah you're right like for instance I'm very curious where you guys have the Cardinals right very curious where you guys have

the Rangers there's a lot of teams in this in baseball right now that are just kind of up in the air it kind of could be anywhere so I think this is going to be fun I believe we're going to try to come to a consensus right we all have our own rankings right here this is not a blank sheet

although it looks blank from back here. Looks blank from that. And then we're going to try to just do our talking baseball power rankings. We're coming up with one list. I'm not doing power rankings. Everyone else is using power rankings. We can't call it power rankings, right?

Trev! I like that you're running hot today. I'm running out. The baseball community's hot. Sports are hot in the streets. And yeah, I thought A at the rip, I wanted to do a little compare, contrast. because we have the people.

I am the mouthpiece of the people and Jeff Passon's mouthpiece that we, when we do our team profile and projections, we ask the people to rank them. And then we have a list, we release them in that reverse order. And there's always a couple caveats because there's a few signings that haven't happened, which is kind of funny in and of itself

because how many we talk about, the impact of one player and like what's gone on with Trout in L.A. and how much one player can change things. But we get sucked into it in the off season when it's probably how much has your young players developed? Because there's so many of them on every team. So are you ready to get into it? You got anything else you need to get off your chest, Trev?

I'm ready, man. You're hot. Again, I think the top three teams you can probably interchange. At least that's what I think. even the top four teams you could interchange and they could be one, two, three, or four. So we are going to hurt some feelings today. But yeah, I'm ready to go. I think I have a consensus number one though. Yeah, I think the top five, I think there's a lot of great conversation points. I'm not going five. I'm going four. I think top four. That's it. Okay. After that.

Well, I'm interested to see them. And so how about this? I'll chew off just to get the kind of a primer or base for our people. The top five that they selected coming into the season, it was the Atlanta Braves at number one, it was the Dodgers at number two, Rangers at number three, defending champs, the Baltimore Orioles at four, and the Philadelphia Phillies were at five.

Houston Astros at six, by the way. That'll be a fun one. Trevor, the first game you wanted to play was everyone say they're number one on the count of three is... I think we should. The first ever talking baseball power rankings

at the quarter mark of the season in three, two, one. Dodgers. Okay, so we're all there. We did it. I think it makes sense. And as we fill out the rest of the list, you know, God, do the Phillies have

an argument right now. They sure do. Better record. I think it has something to do with the fact that the Dodgers didn't really hit their stride until recently. And when you put that together with all the guys on this team, at a certain point, baseball comes down to the Jimmy's and the Joe's a little bit. You can look at bat speed, the new stat we'll dive into and all that. But this team is stacked, man, and they're performing. Yeah, I think, again, you could kind of, I like the Phillies a lot here, but the Dodgers, to me, is a team that

they're not going to be super streaky. Like, this is the team that's a juggernaut that's not going to be streaky. Sometimes I feel like the Phillies can be streaky, although they're starting pitching is like stabilized that this year. They're streaking on the good side a lot. But the Dodgers offensively as a whole, like I think getting like Andy Pawhed is like,

like you mentioned, we know, especially with these good teams, like you're going to have your three or four players that you can count on in your lineup, and then it's like, what are the rest of the guys who are you? The Phillies saying, Bryson Stott's looking really good for them. But I feel like this year,

we've just seen a little bit, a little bit longer of a lineup from the Dodgers. They have high-end, bullpen guys. The starting rotation right now, one thing you'd say is like, in the fifth spot, what are you going to do?

but right now you're choosing between, and by the end of the season for sure, you're going to be choosing between Bobby Miller, Walker, Bueller, and, and Kershaw for the quote-unquote fifth spot in the rotation. There are other four guys that have been up there been pretty dang good. I just, they're a juggernaut, man. And again, you could probably put maybe two other teams in this top spot, but to me, the Dodgers is the most well-balanced team of those. I liked how you mentioned Andy Pahas off the rip.

rookie outfielder for the Dodgers has an 8-1-3 OPS right now, 23-year-old Cuban ball player. You know, I love it, yep. You know, right now they have him tucked into their seventh hole where a lot of teams, especially at the bottom of the list, I mean, even, you know, I love my Cincinnati Reds. They've been really struggling to hit this year. Like, you start doing the where would Andy Pahez be in your lineup

or how many tweets would we receive about Andy Pahez if he was on your team? And for the Dodgers, it's just like the body for now in the outfield. Like, okay, you know, Chris Taylor, Kike, they'll have hot streaks at some point this season. I know Outman and Lux have kind of been struggling. And Outman was kind of last year's Andy Pahas. So they are first in OPS, first and run scored, third in starting pitching ERA, second and fourth in bullpen ERA and second in bullpen whip that, yeah, I mean, they have the top billing, they have three of the top four hitters in baseball, three of the top

three? Like, when you talk power rankings, if you really wanted to put a list that starts Shohei Freddie Muky, I mean, I could throw Judge and we could throw Ronnie at you and a couple other guys, but they're special, they're playing that way, and like you mentioned, they're still getting healthier. Yeah. Showhead doing what he's doing offensive to this year is massive. It's comical.

You expect the guy to be good. You don't expect him to be this good. And then Mookiee Bet's what stood out for me. And he's done this a little bit throughout his career. The walks to strikeout ratio has been dang good during his career. But right now he's got 30 walks to 18 strikeouts for the 441 OBP. That's something else right there. That's your shortstop.

Right. Formerly the best defensive right field are now playing shortstop. And Freddy's Hall of Fame, just trailing. Just trailing them. Okay, so I think you're alluding to it. Are you putting the Phillies, too? Because I did. I had the Phillies of two.

Okay. I had them three, but ahead of the Braves, which is the point we're all making. Billy's number two. This one's an easy one for me. Honestly, they've kind of done everything right as well this year. Harper's been good.

As much as you talk about Shohei and Mookie and Freddie, don't forget about, you know, Bryce Harper. This guy is, he could be the best hit in baseball depending on the day. Like when he gets hot, he gets scorching hot, and he hits homers too. Their lineup has gone. It's been really long.

Like I said, Bryson Stott has been turning on a lot lately. Alec Bohm has been phenomenal to start the year. We know about the starting pitching. They basically, I mean, they have a six-man rotation they can go to. Ranger Suarez has been unreal. They have some bullpen guys that have really stepped up this year. Hoffman's been nasty.

I always say they're going to win a World Series in the Rice Harper era. I have them picked to win the World Series this year. They're a complete team. They really are. So I'll put them at number two and have no hesitation about it. They're 20 and 7 in their last 27 games. And I, again, for me, it was just, it was, it was a fun ask for the baseball season. Like, hey, Phil, let's get out of the gate hot and give the Braves a run for their money.

I think the things that would be question marks are getting answered not only in like, check the box. Ranger Suarez has been one of the best pitchers in baseball. Alec Bohm has been one of the best hitters in baseball. And those guys were like the, you know, is Ranger going to put it together for a full regular season? Does Boehm fit this team, right? Because he's kind of an offensive profiled third baseman.

Like, do they need that? Well, yeah, sometimes. And I don't know, man. This Phillies team last year, they got out of the gate. Depending where you want to do it, on May 19th last year, they were 20 and 20. On June 2nd, they were 25 and 32. Like, they got off to a pretty bad start last year to finish as a 90-win team.

Now that they're off to this start, if they keep it rolling, they're a team that's going to chase 100 wins, and we didn't know if the Phillies would ever do that. And I think you're, I liked what you said earlier. The starting pitching becoming a little more complete, I think that's the difference maker. Like Turnbull's been awesome for them. That would they have so many dudes on offense

that if they get that pitching, what do you do? We've always said it's Wheeler, Swares, and Nola when it comes down to the playoffs, you pair it down to three, that's great. But if you can add, you know, Chris Sanchez who's been, like when I watch him pitch, I think this guy is absolutely nasty. And he's the numbers backing that up now,

three, two on the year for him. And you mentioned Turnbull. He was great. I think he's in the bullpen now, and they're going to figure that whole thing out with Walker and him at the back. But again, a great problem to have when you have to decide who your fifth guy is and you have a couple good options. That's what you want.

Like I said, in years past, you know, what's the bullpen been? And this year, like, they've been pretty dang good, man. So they made it the point. They said it coming out of spring training. Topper said, we're focused on winning the division. They wanted to make a point. Let's not try to sneak into the playoffs. Let's go try to win the division.

Let's get off to a fast start. They made a point to say, remember that the games matter in April and May, the same. And we, collectively as a baseball fans, always just said, hey, they don't care, they don't care. This year, they made it a point. And here they are, man, running it right now. And Mookiee's an unreal creature. We just talked about him. Bryce Harper moving to first base and still performing.

And I don't know, our expectations for him are through the roof that a two-year-old. 261, 387, 894 OPS. It almost feels like a little low for Bryce. It'll be interesting to track the rest of the way. Does he trend up from there? Because that wouldn't shock anyone. And God, Alec, boom, a 934 OPS 338 batting average. Castiano's house struggled mightily at the beginning

where he's starting to turn it on a little bit. You have those guys. You have those streaky guys, Schwabber, Castellanos, guys like that who, you know, throughout the year going to go pretty hot, pretty cold. But he's on one of his hot streaks now the last couple days. Trev, the rest of our power rankings

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Trev, you had it as a top four. Yes. Which I'm going to think, actually, who are you leaving out? because in my head the next three are Yankees, Orioles, Braves in some order. Braves are out of my top four. Okay. Cook. Cook, King.

Well, I have the Orioles at number three. Okay. And you? You're the Yankees. I'm an NL snob. I have it Dodgers, Philly's Braves right now. Wow. I can't give it to the Braves right now.

I think that they, they can get there but and the record okay this is this is why it gets tough I'm bringing the Braves down a little bit because they're not

playing to their potential yet their records is playing to their potential if that makes any sense like they're winning baseball games they're kind of like the guardians to me I probably have the guardians a little bit lower than you guys do but they're winning baseball games

they're atop the division still but I feel like for some of these teams I'm looking to the future and for some of the teams I'm ranking in the present. It's a very difficult operation for me. But for the Braves, yeah, I just, I think that they, there's too many guys cold on offense

that I don't think they deserve a top three ranking just yet. And they've done well to like whether the injury bug and all these things, like they're doing what they're supposed to be doing. I just feel like this is my way of saying like, hey guys, like step it up a little bit. You're the Atlanta Braves. So I don't have them in my top four. In fact, I don't have them in my top five

Or my top six Whoa Yeah, well, okay, now we're Now we're doing it Now Trev for clicks Yeah, I guess I Maybe I'm going a little too much off a reputation Because you're right

I mean, Ronald Cunia Jr's numbers this year And coming off a Sunday night baseball Where he got picked off twice Uh, Maddie Olson date my daughter, like a a lot of these guys' numbers, you're right, aren't very bravest or what you'd expect them to be, but they're seventh and batting average.

They're six in on base. They're six in OPS. 13 and runs scored, which I still very much value as a stat. But at the same time, they haven't been hurt by it. They've been winning games, but I think there's room for improvement on this team. This is a little slap in the butt for them.

That's all I'm saying. Ron. You have them at three. Bebers, who's your three? Well, I had I had that group of four rounding out the top five as like, I could be talked into any order, but I did go Dodgers, Orioles, Phillies, Braves,

yanks. So I have Orioles three. Beaver says Orioles two. I had Orioles four. I have them as the top dog in the AL. I think that Orioles lineup that, you know, it's young, it's relentless, here we go again.

They're first in home runs. They don't even have a home run hitter. Fifth and OPS, eighth in run scored. Their pitching is more impressive. Like, and I, obviously, Corbyn Burns is the name that we've all known because he won the Cy Young. It was the big trade they did. The part that's crazy to me is like they, you know, Cole Irvin kind of came into the

season, not part of the rotation. He's been awesome. Kyle Braddish just came back. years, where'd he finish in the Sy-Young? Fourth? John Means just came back. Your former Orioles ace that felt like the team kind of moved on while he was out of commission. And their bullpen's been electric too that I believe, I believe in pink. I believe in getting your playoff scars and being tested and all of that, which the Orioles,

they don't really have that yet. At the same time, the other teams in the American League don't as well that I think the Orioles are top dog right now. Are we going to put them at three? I think on average it's where they've been better than the Braves. I'm all right with that. I'll put them at three. I think that this is maybe the longest lineup in baseball. Yeah, I think I'd give them that.

And we talk again, we talk about guys stepping up and what, Bowser and Westberg have done to go along with Gunner Henderson, who I think is my favorite player in baseball or not. I think he's taken over Trey Turner as my number one shortstop guy that I like to watch. He's just so fun. His swing is so pretty and powerful. And you mentioned the starting rotation. They've kind of been the surprise. They've been really good. Now, Craig Kimberle has not been good for them. So the back end of the bullpen, they need to like figure it out. They say they're going to continue to stick with him. We'll see how long that goes. There's been all the Mason Miller talk. Would they go?

and try to get someone like that. I believe they're going to add to the bullpen. I guess that's one thing you can point to. Okay, like they haven't had the guy to close out the game who's been consistent for them. Doesn't matter. They still continue to win. I just really, really like this team.

I don't, they still haven't got swept since Adley Rushman has come up. They haven't lost consecutive games since, like, April 13th, so a full month where they just bounce back and have answered. They're legit, man. be an interesting deadline for them yet again and probably every year for the next couple, although we would have said that for the Chicago White Sox

who haven't been mentioned yet on the power rankings list and might not be till late in the episode. But yeah, I mean, closers are usually something you can find because teams like to cash in those chips when they can because technically war value-wise, you're not getting it there. Yeah, I mean, it feels like something that would be a no-brainer, and you wonder if we get some Felix Bautista rumors by the end of this season, which would be very interesting.

They are stacked, and it, again, like Jackson Holiday got sent back down. Is he going to be back up this year, and does he contribute? Interesting to see. So, if we're going, Dodgers, Phillies, Baltimore. Yes. the fourth team is I have the Yankees as four now you understand why this is an interesting topic

for me and David yeah you guys are going to be called bias but I let off with saying I have them four so I like where their offenses at I think Soto has completely changed every hitter in that lineup's mentality and he just brings a completely different vibe offensively to your team clearly

like obviously you put one of the best hitters in the lineup, he's going to make it better, but I think he makes it feel different. Like the approaches are better because of him. I think the starting pitching has been, all the question marks that we had about the starting pitching had been answered. And you still haven't even had Garrett Cole pitch for you yet.

That's very, very, that means something. So I kind of like everything about the Yankees and what they got going on right now. Pretty close to the situation here. the Yankees lineup has been good and it hasn't felt like it's all happened yet, which again is kind of a, that's, for me, that's good news. Like Volpe moving up to lead off,

he's just kind of, he had a rough stretch. It seems like he's going again. Judge kind of hadn't clicked, and somehow his season numbers are good, and he's like starting to go nuts. Soto's incredible. Every at bat is must watch. Verdugo carried for a little bit.

Rizzo has turned it on. Stanton has been consistently a threat with young guys contributing that, I guess I was trying to keep my Yankee bias out of it, putting the Braves above them. I had the Yankees at five. Okay. I had the Yankees at five.

So not too far above. No, no, no. But I thought the Orioles deserve the nod. And, I mean, twist my arm. If you think the Yankees are better, than the Braves right now. I can believe in it. You guys can convince me, Bebers.

What do you have for? I had Yankees at 5, but like I said, two through 5, I could have been talked into just about any order. As long as Orioles were ahead of Yankees and Phillies were ahead of Braves. You guys both have the Braves ahead of the Yankees.

I did. I mean, again, it's... Typically, that's when we would say, okay, then they're going to be four. I have them at 7. I think we have them as close enough of a toss-up that your drag-down makes yanks four braves five rather fair? Yeah, I'd go yanks.

I'd go yanks and braves if we're coming up with the consensus. I do think you're right. I think the Yankees have been a little better than the Braves with more upside potential. The Braves have been a little worse with crazy upside potential that feels like it hasn't happened yet. That, again, it becomes kind of the fun part of this. Are you forecasting or not, which I don't think these are supposed to be. So let's go, Yanks, babe.

Most wins in the Yale right now. Playhomes hasn't allowed an run run. Whoops. That's nice to have in the back end of your bullpen. Like I said, the rotation to me has been the most surprising part of this entire thing. Because Cortez, I mean. Luis Heel. Luis Heel's been a huge, I mean, that's what we would tell you.

Who's going to step up for your team? Heel's been great. Rodon's been great. I think the best days of Stroman are still ahead of him, but he's had really good starts. He's kept you in ball games and given you a chance to win for sure. Clark Schmidt's been great. And again, when is Garrett Cole going back?

He's throwing right now, right? He's throwing off a mound. He threw like, I think he threw 29 pitches, not 30. Yeah, it's like it's happening. So I think the Yankees, the Yankees know they have a good team, which is cool. But they're not going to rush Cole at all. July,

July is kind of currently in Yankees' heads of like we would expect to see Garrett Cole by them. Love that. Okay, so we have Dodgers, Phillies, and then we're going to go Braves with Five. That's what it sounds like. Okay. I had a couple teams ahead of them,

but I think it was, I had a difficult time doing that. It wasn't for clicks, people, I promise. I just, again, I think that they haven't been as consistent as they need to be. And in saying that, they're still winning games at a great clip. So it's difficult. So I can't wait to see where you're going next, because this next hodgepodge...

This is where it became truly challenging to me. This is where I don't know where... I think this might be the opposite of hot takes, because I think we're... This is the part of TPP's where we look at each other and we're like, I don't, I don't know. I mean, Seth Lugo is the best pitcher in baseball. So I'm just going to name some teams that I think are on the table. Are we done with Braves discussion?

I think so. I think we mentioned them along the way. I think the Braves are fine with what's happened. They expect more from their team. They don't expect a team to be above them in the standings. And the Phillies have been cooking. 24 and 13 and we're saying you guys aren't even good. Brahe stands, when you're commenting, remember who had them at three.

The next grouping of teams that can be chopped up a lot of different ways, Guardians, Royals, Brewers, Cubs, twins, mariners. I mean, Texas, it might start be tearing down a little bit there. I have Texas in that group. So, Trev, I, I think you've had the most, I don't want to say variance, but you've had a little gap. Who, who is your next up? I have the Brewers at five.

Okay. I'm in on the Brewers. I'm in on my, I was teetering between five and six for them. Okay. I had them at six. They landed six. Our biggest ass from the brew crew for years was do something offensively, and they've been like, they've been great offensively.

a juggernaut. Third in OPS, third in stolen bases, six in homers. And if I, if we had talked about that before the season, we would have said what, like Jackson Cherio's next. Like, he's, he's been on the struggle bus. It's been, it's, it's the young player thing that has become so obvious, I think, to us. And I almost think there's a point to not, I don't know, in baseball, we get sucked into free agency and trades and what are we going to do. But when Bryce Terang becomes a top 50 player, when William Contreras becomes an MVP candidate, and all the contributions like at points this year,

Blake Perkins has been going off. Freelick, Oliver Dunn had a run there. That with Reese Hoskins' consistency, Willie Adomas, locking back into who Willie Domus is in a contract year, The Brewer's offense is a problem, and they've just always pitched, even though their numbers aren't flashy pitching-wise right now. And they brought Robert Gasser, so that's a boost to the starting rotation for them. Bullpen, they're trying to figure out everything.

But, again, they have guys that can get it done. But, yeah, to me, it's been offensively. This is what's carried this team. Yelie's had a great year. And you mentioned, like, this is a pretty long lineup now. I think Reese Hoskins definitely changed the dynamic of the team. We've talked about them being the new bad boys at baseball. There's a little bit more of an edge to them, I feel like,

than there has been in years past. And they just been winning baseball games. They've just done a really, really good job. Some young guys, some old guys. I mean, Gary Sanchez having big hits here and there for them is awesome to see. So, yeah, I mean, they've done enough to me to, you know, to warrant being a top five team, although I think we have them at six. Yeah, I think it's six.

and I, those other teams, those other teams that we're about to talk about, they either have a little more history question marks or this season has had more question marks for me that I like the Brewers getting the nod. Trevor McGill, I think backhand is like, he's turned it on real nice. Do you have Brian Hudson in your book before the season?

So not before the season. Not before the season. He pitched in an extra inning games against the Yankees, so I became familiar with him. But yeah, he was on a scoreless streak. And that's, Devin Williams got hurt right before the season. Like the brewers right before the season were primed for maybe the wheels fall apart. There's no more counsel.

What are we going to say about Houston? This could have been a helly. Evan Williams gets hurt right before the season. Like the things you were- The Triton Burns away and we're like, okay, what do they do? What are we and then he mentioned, Deb Williams is hurt. And I said, during TVPs,

I said, this is when I trust the Brewers the most. Yeah. And here they are. When they snuck in that, one of those teams. When that Reese Hoskins contract came out, all of us did a head tilt like, damn.

That's, we were all mad. We didn't think about it until it happened and that it felt so perfect. Sending him to the twins. Didn't work out. Although Slam tan has been all right for us. Not really.

He's turning on. Yeah. Yelly, by the way, hasn't missed a beat. would have been in Fuego, missed 23 games. 0 for 5 and the first one, he's 7 for 11 since that.

Yum. How's that sausage on your head, Carlos Lamtana? Do you have the twins next? Are you all in? I do have the twins next. I had them ahead of the Braves. Maybe that was a little bit of bias for me right now.

I like that. And I have them ahead of the guardians who are, you know, they're winning the division, but I think the twins have just played incredible ball. I think they're like 17 and 3. in their last 20. The offense has turned it on. Starting pitching still interesting to me. I think there's still room for improvement there. Although

Paddock and Simmon Woods Richardson have had some pretty decent starts in the last couple times through. They just they kind of have it all. There's not a big hole on this team, if you will. The offense has been really good as of late, and it's been through guys like Willie Castro and Ryan Jeffers, I mean, Jeffers you would expect, but Willie Castro has done a really nice job. Guys like Julian and Akirloff have largely kind of struggled

and haven't really carried their weight. But their scoring runs when they need to, the timely hitting has been great for them during this run. They've hit with runners in the scoring position. Before that, they were just horrible. I don't think they got their first table with runners in scoring position for like the first two weeks of the season and all of a sudden they're just getting a hit it seems like almost every single time when they get a guy on.

So they're running hot. I think that's the reason why I have him this high. And again, I just think the roster is pretty complete, like pretty full. And they've dealt with injuries too. They're going to get better. When Maurice Lewis gets back, they're going to be better. Byron Buxton is almost back from his knee. I don't know what they called it, just a knee strain.

But when they're full goal, when they have all the guys, and Kepler continues to do what he's been doing, they're playing great baseball right now. It's like hard to not have them up in the rankings when you run off a streak like this. And you could have said, yeah, it was the white socks or the Angels, but they just did it to the Rangers, excuse me, the Red Sox, the Mariners, and the Blue Jays.

Those are better teams. And they're continuing to win series. So I'm all in right now. Guardians, Twins, Twins, Royals. I'll listen to any argument about those teams. I think with power rankings, I think team history does come into play. And the twins have that.

They've been the most consistent. The guards have kind of, they let us down last year. When you click on their team page, I don't know. The depth of that team, like they kind of haven't gotten a lot from their rotation right now. Like you look at the Guardian's rotation,

and it used to feel like they had the advantage there every game almost. And it doesn't feel like that now. And their lineup is still so reliant on just one or two guys. Quan is now hurt. Yep. Which is difficult for them. That, yeah, I think the twins get the knot over the Guardians. And if the Royals had a different team name,

I think they would get the knot over the twins. But what they've shown us the past couple years, you just can't do that. I have them close. Are we put in the twins at seven? Where'd you have them at, Beavers? I had, this whole tier was a mess. I have them in this group.

Technically I had them, I think, nine. But everybody in this area was like, I can be talked into whatever. I mean, who was ahead of them? Did you have the guardians? Cleveland's in the group. Cubs are in the group. Rangers and Mariners are in the group.

Rangers were a very difficult team They were really weird I just I think for Even coming into the season For the Texas Rangers There were There were some question marks

That they got a lot of like Well You know defending champs And I think part of the reason And A that should get respected B They're waiting for a lot of guys to come back.

And so I think for current power rankings, they kind of didn't, these other teams deserve love before them. And when we check in next time, we'll see where that is. I think the only, the only team that could give Minnesota a full argument for where better

would be the Cubs. Okay. I've Cubs a little lower. But I kind of haven't been bought in on the Cubs. Cubs. I've been telling Cubs fans like I'm starting to drink the Kool-Aid. I'm about it. I mean Shoda has just been so good.

I'm good with the twins there. I think they've deserved it. Twins at seven. It is. God. Buy as much. Yanks, twins? No, no. Hey, 17 and 3 will get you skyrocketed up the power rankings. Yeah, they survived that initial punch of the season. And those

two teams are about to tee it up for three in the Bronx. So that's right. That'll be fun. Eight hole. I picked Aaron Judge for my home or draft picked. Wow. Look at that. Fade in the fade, people.

Fade in the fade. Let's try to round off this top 10. I do think we got to start moving and shaking a little more so we can get to everyone's teams. I guess you would be the person I would ask between the Royals and the Guardians right now. And then I guess what... I have the royals ahead of the Guardians.

My 8, 9, 10 right now is Rangers, Royals, Audres. Wow. Wow. I think the Padres are really turning it on. I'm actually becoming a big-time Padres fan. They just took a series. They've taken all of this series from the Dodgers. They split the first one, but they've taken it to the Dodgers.

Our number one team in the rankings, they've done a really good job against them. I think there's still room for improvement there offensively for them. They have some guys that, you know, Tatis could still get it going and Bogart's could still get it going. But I just kind of like what I see when I watch them play. They look like a scary team to me. Like they look like a team that can make a run in the playoffs. Part of me likes it.

Because we've done some Padre's schedule, and they also just added Louisa Rize. Like that's a significant piece. Yes. cut back to me 15 minutes ago saying how one player can't change a team, but maybe they can't. That's the beauty. You walk the Dodgers off.

That's the beauty of it, yeah. Texas, I can't put up there right now. And maybe timing's everything in life. They just got swept by the rocks. You used, you know, the Orioles haven't been swept with Adley. Texas, that's supposed to be. Six runs in three games, I think it was there. Get the sticks hot.

and get on a hot streak and it went the other way. Well, who's your 8, 9, 10? 8, 9, 10. Fucking, fucking twins. I didn't mean that. You did mean that. I did mean that. You said that with your gut.

I'm going, I need the Royals. I have the Royals. Man, the Royals make a time. I have the Royals ahead of the Guardians. I'm going to go Cubs, Royals, and I like the Padres now. Like at a certain point, you do have to respect the talent.

I agree. Bebers, what's like you're rounding out of the top ten, then we can kind of put these numbers together here. I'm comfortable with that. I would have been fine with Cleveland or Texas sneaking into that group, but I'm not slamming the table. table for them over. Are we going

Royals, Padres, Cubs rounding out the top 10, we're leaving the Rangers and the guards out? I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. I think I would say the order again. Royals, Padres Cubs. I think the Cubs have to be above the Padres. They've been good.

Royals, Cubs, Padres? Yes. Royals ahead of everyone, huh? Royals at eight? Dude, if they... If they weren't named the Royals, I think we would be a lot more hype on them Hyde for second in the AO with the 49 plus 49 run differential

rotation's been great the rotation's been awesome fourth in ERA their 12th in runs scored the bullpen is solid all the young player stuff Michael Garcia Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquintinino Melendez had a stretch

he kind of came back down to Earth all right royals at eight it is congratulations Kansas City that's got to be exciting to have your team back in the fold after what how many years has it been man it's been a minute in a minute

you have some exciting what I like about this team the Royals is you have Sal Perez who's just a god tier catcher check that out that's some lingo for you I think I've heard Teddy say that one time he's been incredible and then you have Bobby Witt

so you have like a baby and a grandpa just playing out of their mind I love it I love everything about it and the people they brought in to the rotation

they could be seen as like oh we'll see how it goes they've been lights out they're playing really really good baseball so I like giving them eight and then we're going to go Cubs at nine

and writing all this down and Padres at 10 Treve you can go see all of these teams play on seat geek. Seat Geek. I mentioned code talking 10 off the top. 10% off. If you're going to see if these royals are for real.

If you need to support your team because you can't believe Texas and Seattle, didn't it make the top 10? Go check it out with Seat Geek. It's so easy to use. Also, if you're going to concerts and stuff, like they mentioned Bad Bonnie on here. Sure.

That was my nickname for it. a couple years. Code talking 10, whether you've used the app or not, 10% off your next order. They've kept this code going for us. There's a link in the description. Download it. Seat Geek, they're the best. Trev, I think we need to start cooking with gas. So I want you to run through 11 through 15. Do you know Patrick Wisdom is one dotting it? Why isn't he playing more? That's a question for Cubs fans. I got to figure that out. Anyways, 11 through 15.

Okay, well, I have the Rangers at 8 on my ranking, so I haven't put them in yet. We're coming up on them. So I would go, well, I would go Rangers, Guardians, Mariners, Red Sox. Is that enough, teams? Yeah, Rangers, Guardians, Mariners, Red Sox. That's enough for us.

I mean, I think we've ended up being disrespectful to Cleveland. Like, they had an awesome April. They're still doing a lot of good things in winning games. That for me, if I had to sort through those teams, I think I would go... So did you say Seattle? I have them after the Guardians. I'll go Rangers, Guardians, Mariners, but I'm open to putting the Guardians ahead of the Rangers, if that's what you're thinking.

because they are still in first in the AL Central and the Mariners are in first in the AOS. So I can flip-flop those two teams. It doesn't matter to me. Yeah, for me, and this goes against my hitting book a little bit, Seattle hadn't hit. But like, that kind of hasn't slowed them down

and there's going to be more hitting. Like, Julio's going to happen at some point. You think? I think. Two homers on the year, right? You just hit one yesterday? Maybe it's starting. I feel like we said that a lot with the Mariners' offense.

Okay, they're going to be here. I also give them a ton of credit. Every year I'm like, this team, I like what they're doing. They seem to have a plan. And you look and you can say, this is a pretty long lineup. And then it just kind of doesn't happen.

They end up like 13th or 14th and run scored throughout the year. So we've been bitten by that before. But I think, you know, the rotation is, you know, one of if not the best in all baseball. I would go... I would go Cleveland, Seattle, Texas.

Okay. Cleveland has shown it on different sides of the ball. Seattle's pitching the hell out of the ball. They currently lead the division, both them in Cleveland. And what you're saying, right? Like, it could be glass hat full. Julio's about to go. The rest of the offense will come with it.

Or that could not happen until, like, July, because we've kind of seen that. So I want to give the Guardians deserve some flowers. And yeah, Texas, maybe it's just bad timing for them, but I don't know. Coming off a sweep of the Rockies, I feel like that leaves a bad taste. That's tough. That's tough for them. But that's a great game.

I'm looking at the, this is the thing with Cleveland, okay? Like, I want to like them. They are winning the division. They're finding ways to win. But like the offense, I don't think is going to be able to, they're not going to be ninth in the baseball and runs scored throughout the year. I think there's going to be a little bit of regression there. They're 15th in OPS, 19th in OBP.

I feel like middle of the pack offensively is probably where they end up landing. And the starting pitching hasn't been great. And that's usually where we can rely on them. So maybe I'm talking myself into maybe they can be or they should be where they're, I don't know, man. It gets difficult right here. The bullpen for them has been phenomenal. that's been really, really good.

I'll leave them at 11. 11, 12, 13, that's Cleveland, Seattle, Texas. I'll take that. 14, 15, 16, to me will be something like Red Sox, Debacks, Tigers. Okay. A, kind of funny. Cleveland and Texas are about to play three in Texas,

so can look foolish on that in a couple hours. Okay, say that again. 14, 15, 16. I mean, would be Red Sox, D-backs, and Tigers. Red Sox, D-backs. And now we're getting to the point of the rankings where teams have holes and, you know, some good things that they're doing.

Like, obviously what the Red Sox starting pitching has been doing this year is awesome. But the offense hasn't been good enough to propel them into a higher standing to me. Playing a little catch-up trying to write down the official... So we're officially Cleveland 11, Seattle. Battle 12, Texas, 13? Yes.

Okay. And then, Trev, I think you're right. I think in that 14 slot, I think it's the Boston Red Sox. They're middle of the pack offensively, and the pitching is kept them afloat. Yeah, again, they're starting pitching. We're almost waiting for the bottom to fall out.

We were waiting for the bottom to fall out a week in, and it hasn't. So at a certain point, you've got to give credit. their bullpen numbers are nice. And the offense, they've survived a lot of injuries. Like, they... Yes, they had a ton of injuries. There's no doubt about that.

This is the Red Sox 5 through 9 right now. Vaughn Grissom, who just came back, Dom Smith from the rafters, Connor Wong, who's had a couple big days at the office, Garrett Cooper and Raphaella, kind of flipping the line. and right now the bench, Romi Gonzalez, David Hamilton, Rob Refsider. So they have survived Casas and Story and Yoshida's now out.

The Red Sox deserve a lot of credit for what they've done this year. Yeah, I think this is an appropriate ranking for them. For me, it's the snakes are coming. Watching them play against the Orioles this weekend, Corbyn Carroll got off to an awful start to the season. It was getting ugly. They've got Monty rolling now. Their third and runs scored.

I've got to call it big games. Yeah, they've cooked the books on that a little bit, but those big games were also this weekend against the Orioles that we said how good their pitching's been and everything. It feels like they've been waiting and it's happening that they deserve a little respect from last year. Paul Seawald is back for them. Like they've gotten some guys.

back and some guys going that I think it's about to really happen for the snakes. Yeah, by the end of the season, we could be talking about their rotation as one of the best in baseballs, or at least one of the deepest in baseball. So I like having them there. I like thinking that, yes, they could rise up in these rankings. There's been a bunch of questions asked about Padres, D-backs, like, which one would you take to make the playoffs this year? And I think that's a really healthy discussion. And we have the Padres at 10. D-back's on their way up. Snakes got to earn it just a little more.

They dug a little hole. It's looking better. It's feeling like what good Diamondbacks baseball is, just like action on the bases every inning. That's what it felt like in the Orioles series. That, yeah, you know, they've got Monty now. They're still waiting on some more reinforcements. I think they're coming.

And the Padres, too, that division. And you're right. The Tigers are the last team. They still have some upside. They've come into a funk, but I think when it's... You need to figure it out offensively, man. And we've said that about a lot of Tigers teams. Yeah.

You know? But yeah, of these next teams where things start to get ugly that I... Again, I think we're going to start throwing more darts at the board. But I liked what I've seen from the Tigers this year more than the Rays, the Nats, the Mets, question mark. you know do you believe in the Blue Jays talent because they're a win behind a couple of those teams but one win in baseball can go away quick so yeah I have the Tigers at 16

although they have been playing pretty bad baseball as of late I think they lost seven of their last nine offensively they just haven't gotten it going I actually liked the City Connect jerseys when I saw them in play on the field that's a take It doesn't matter whether they're rankings, but I just wanted to say that. Don't love the script, the font on them, but everything else is pretty cool.

Also, the Cleveland Guardians. I mentioned that said on Twitter. I really like those. Yeah, the clea? So the nice texture. To me was very nice. Anyways. So we have them at 16.

17, 18, 19 for me is Mets, Rays J's. I'd raise Jays. So the same three. Okay. So we found another grouping. If we were doing those tier lists, you're always talking about, Yeah. Ray's Mets, J's.

Rays, Mets, Jays. If I'm being honest, I believe in the Blue Jays more than those other teams. Talent level. Rays, I don't know what's going to happen. I'm fascinated. They just got some reinforcements back. Josh Lowe. Randy and Yandi had awful, awful aprils,

and now they're starting to click. The Ray's brand of baseball just feels like, felt like a team that never made mistakes to a team that defensively and base running makes a lot of mistakes Ray's fans, I guess, sound off. I would say Jay's Ray's Mets. Jay's Rays Mets. I can get down for that,

especially at this point. Yeah, we're at that point. I think these teams are too. The next follow-up grouping, well, A, the two big, The biggest disappointing teams so far this year are probably Cardinals and Astros? Yes.

I don't have them in my next group in here. Okay. I don't have them among the next three. So would your next three be Nats, Giants? Nats, Giants, Reds. Those are the three I have. Okay, then it's a Nats.

The Reds are playing horrible baseball. Horrible. We still have them above the Astros and the Cardinals overall near, which is a crazy thing to say. number one, I thought the Reds would be a better team. They just haven't gotten the job done. And number two, I mean, the Astros and the Cardinals, we definitely went on years past to develop those preseason rankings,

or at least the thought process of where they're going to be throughout the year. And they just haven't gotten to done, man. I don't, I don't, there's going to be so many players available from these teams, and it's going to be shortly. It's going to happen. I have a feeling this year, and I was talking to someone about this, we're going to see guys getting traded a lot earlier this year, than years past.

The deadline to me is, I think that's the smart play. I think that's the way baseball is going to start moving. We see the podgers already making moves. The Marlins are going to start shipping people off pretty quickly. Then after that, I feel like it's going to start to snowball. And we're going to see teams like the Cardinals start moving pieces. I mean, they've dug themselves such a big hole. I mean, yesterday, I don't know.

Does the manager really mean anything? I'm not sure. But they look like they're, like Marmall's trying to fire them up by getting thrown out of games. That's when you know things are bad. When you're a manager and you've got to get thrown out to fire your team up, that's when you know you're down bad. But yeah, so I have Nats at 20, Giants at 21, Reds at 22. Say that again, I'm sorry. Nats at 20, Giants at 21, Reds.

at 22. Giants have been giant-y. There's a chance we check in, but there's also three teams kind of, we do like them more. That they haven't been playing a pretty brand of baseball. They might have gotten the Reds at the right time this weekend. That I don't know, I hope we're saying a different story for San Francisco,

but they kind of haven't been doing it on any level, which no they haven't and the nationals have played the best baseball of these teams but the expectations are kind of zero but man they might build there's a lot of there's young guys coming like natitude might be back soon yeah there's they're on their way as far as a giants you're 21st in OPS 24th and whip for your starters 19th in wit for your relievers i mean you just really haven't done anything well and then jung who lee's out now I think that's an appropriate ranking for we're out in the Cs right now for the Giants.

Nats over Giants? Nats over Giants. I have Nats, Giants, Reds. And then this is where it becomes just an absolute... What's this tier? The F tier? Are we at the F tier? I don't think we're at the F tier. I think Marlins, Rocks, White Sox have clearly bottomed.

I do have the two teams that we've been kind of dancing around next I have the pirates I have the pirates and the A's ahead of no I don't actually I have the Pirates at 23 I have the Astros one spot above the A's because and this is what I was thinking when I wrote that I do have Astros I there's no way the A's finish ahead of the Astros in the standings this year even with what we're looking at right now and how bad the a Shows have been I just can't fathom

a season right now where the A's finish ahead of the Astros by the end of the year. Then let's go Astros A's. And the A's have played better baseball. They're a baseball team. I know that's not the best breakdown you'll get. But like, I watched them play the Mariners this weekend, and it was very much, like, they were putting the pressure on the Mariners, and that back end of their bullpen is horrifying that you,

if you go down to the A's, you're probably going to lose that game. I know I've said that a few times, but they are a real... Put them ahead of the asteros, because at least they're playing an inspired brand of baseball. I think if we're being honest with current, for who you'd rather play this weekend, I would rather play Houston than Oakland. Houston did just went two or three from the Tigers That I believe Let's go let's go

So I have First of all we have pirates ahead At least I do I'm kind of out on the pirates Do you want to go A's Pirates Astros Did you watch the Paul Skeen start I did

I did watch the Paul Steakways My takeaway is This guy's Clearly a Biggiegease Like clearly a Biggiegease Yeah Is there room to improve Yes

The command will get better. First start, kind of weird weather. The command will be there. Once the command is there, he's clearly an ace. Like, the stuff is incredible. The way he controls the slider and is able to steal a lot of first-pitch strikes from it and hitters counts, throwing that up there, having to respect the change-up,

fastball as hard as he throws it. Once he learns to locate that fastball a little bit better, he's like, no doubt my mind, this guy's an ace. Yeah, I do think it's funny that we go through the same thing in sports that Skeens is incredible and it's probably going to be an ace for the next blank amount of years. But it was like when Chris Morel knew a fastball was coming at this level. Yeah, he got the 3-1. I thought he was in a pump and he had a laser back up the middle.

At this level, they hit that where I think at a lot of levels they do not. So I think that'll be the fun adjustment to watch. as Skeen develops, whether it's, hey, 3-1, maybe you can't throw the fastball, or if you're going to throw it, you've got to put it in a nice spot. So it's kind of funny to see that happen, but yeah, he's got it. I just, I don't think the pirates can hit it all. That, like, I had them below Houston and Oakland. Okay, let's go A's Astros, Pirates.

I could do that. Yeah, the Pirates right now, 27th in OPS, 27th and run score, 25th in homers, 26 in average, 23rd and stolen vases. Not where you want to be. Okay, so 24's A's, 25 Astros, 26 is the Pirates. Is that what I have? I think 25. I think we're through 25. We're through 25 is the Astros.

Yes. Pirates. I think I have A's 23 Astros, 24 Pirates, 25. Okay. You're 2016? I have the Cardinals. It's the Cardinals. I have the Cardinals.

Then I believe it's the rest of the teams. Like the Cardinals, I don't know why. I still have a string of hope for them. But I think they're going to be one of these teams that starts offloading their product pretty quickly. I made a call for Aeronauta to be traded. A lot of Cardinals fans are like, not this again, not this early in the season.

It's like, well, first of all, I don't think I've ever said that. But they've played horrible baseball. Horrible. Uninspired, horrible baseball. Like, it's coming. It's coming. Like they are going to start unloading if they can.

You know, he's got a no trade clause. Or, you know, whether he wants to go on. I'm sure he does. Things are going to start happening here. So, yeah, I have Cardinals at 26. And then to me, at the end, you can kind of slice this up however you want it. I have Angels 27 because they've played some of the worst baseball I've ever seen in person. But they're not as bad as the Rockies, the White Sox, or the Marlins.

And that's how I have my end of the rankings shaping up. Cardinals, Angels, Rocky's, White Sox, Marlins. Yeah, I mean, Rocky's huge time to get that W-4 going. Like, yeah, I could battle a little bit because I, oh my God, the White Sox are scoring 2.9 runs per game, Jesus. It's bad. Just that their roster page is so sad. I have them 30th, but.

Brendan Rogers steals his first base, so we like that. They're going to get rid of some of their guys. Kopec's going to get traded. I'm curious to see what they do with crochet, if they're going to continue with him. There's moves coming. But anyway, you slice it.

The last four teams are all kind of the F tier for me. Yeah. You're right. And that is the end of the list. Halos, I hope you guys have fun ball, and maybe Cole Tucker can be the light that brings fun ball to the Angels. Yeah, I think that's the end of the list.

Babes, you want to read it off? The official power rankings? Yes, our top. Starting from number one, we have the Dodgers, Phillies, Orioles, Yankees, Braves, 5. From 6 to 10, we have Brewers, Twins, Royals, Cubs, Padres. Central, Dave. It's a lot of Central.

A lot of Central. Up top. 11 to 15, Guardians, Marines, Marines, Red Sox, D-Backs, 16-20, Tigers, Tigers, Tigers, Blue Jays, Ray's Mets, Nationals, 20, 21 to 25, Giants, Reds, Astros, Pirates, and then our final five are the Cardinals, Angels, Rockies, Marlins, White Sox, unless there's an exact order we want those bottom three, but I kind of just put that down. Fine.

I think the biggest movers for me that could move up this list are the Giants and the rays. I think if the Giants found the way to be a little bit more consistent and start hitting the ball a little bit, they can move up. And the rays are, again, just kind of an anomaly. They've started to go a little bit now.

And Johnny DeLuca's been hot since he's been back. Like, there's a chance that we see the rays go on some sort of run here and they could, you know, find themselves the top third of these rankings. That wouldn't surprise me whatsoever. Yeah, I, oh God. I was just going to say I was going to buy a little redstock, But their West Coast trip, and they've got a tough schedule that... I was going to give a speech about how the Reds, you know,

if they can get a little four-game winner, and they start having flashbacks to last season, and some balls start finding out field grass, like they can get the sauce again. I shouldn't have looked at their schedule. I'll say Toronto. I still believe in their talent over the race as a team that... It should click at some point,

but it's always supposed to have clicked. that maybe that big comeback against Minnesota can find something in them, although they lose the next day. I want Toronto to burn us on this list. I wish I could believe in the Cardinals or the Astros, but I just don't. And the team that I think we're scared about, I mean, the Kansas City Royals, like if that bottom falls out quick, I think we're going to be looking at each other like, I mean, it's the Royals.

Right. I could see that. Yeah. Rangers at 13 could escalate. They just won. They've proven they can win. They got guys coming back. They're a half game out of first place of their division.

That would be the... They'd be the upper end. The Draft King's Ropa Dope bet would be Mariners or Texas to be top five in the next power rankings, negative 1-15. and I would probably take it. Like one of those teams is probably going to go nuts, right? Rangers are third and runs scored. If we did this, and I mentioned this before, but, you know, depending when we would have done this last year,

we would have been talking about a 20 and 24 Phillies team and is their bottom falling out and what's next for them. So, hey, if your team was towards the bottom of the list, note that there's a good chance we could be wrong. That was hard. It's not an easy activity. It's not an easy activity.

Hey, again, we wanted to try something a little different, mix up the series of recaps. Please comment if you like this. This is kind of the quarter pole of the season. Do you want a three-quarter poll check-in? What did you like? What didn't you like? Why were we wrong about your team?

Please let us know in the comments And make sure you guys are subscribed All that stuff helps So Wednesday Might be another special episode People are talking Yeah, some stuff cooking

We'll prompt you I'm gonna get Wyatt Langford right That's what I'm gonna do Okay, I'm gonna get this kid right Yeah Yeah No that's not what's gonna have It's on the IL

Four arms I think Get Evan Carter back to Tennessee Me and him and go swimming in that stream The Elizabeth and twins Although not the Elizabeth and twins anymore Who's playing at that field? I want to know You Evan Carter and Jesus

And Morgan Wallin No way it was on