MLB power rankings: Where Giants, A's sit after World Series
Here's how we rank all 30 teams in our first post-World Series version of the MLB Power Rankings.
For all the concerns back in June and July, the 2020 MLB season ended up being a (mostly) resounding success.
The number of opt-outs ended up being pretty low and the list consisted nearly entirely of veterans who are well down the back nine anyway. While multiple teams had early-season COVID-19 issues, the league got a handle on it and nearly made it the final two months of the season without a positive test. After 57 days and nearly 200,000 tests with negative results, MLB incredibly had to pull Justin Turner out of Game 6 because of a positive, just the 92nd of the year.
The 60-game season ended just in time, and while it was strange at times, we ended up with the best team in each league in the World Series, with some thrilling October games, breakout stars and the end of a 32-year drought. The season was worth it, but now the attention turns to the Hot Stove, with the hope that 2021 is a bit more normal. Before the offseason rumors start flying, here's an early look at how we stack up all 30 teams heading into 2021.
They'll have the top pick in the draft for the first time since 2011, when they selected Gerrit Cole. This draft is again loaded with high-upside college pitching at the top, so congratulations to the young man who will be selected by the Pirates next June and then get traded away during his arbitration years.
How's this for a bizarre stat from the 2020 season? The Tigers hit .321 against left-handed pitching, the highest mark in the majors by 36 points. So, they did something right.
Example 2,459 of why bad teams absolutely have to trade their aces when they're riding high. They held Lance Lynn, 33, at the deadline and then watched him give up 20 earned runs in five September starts.
Despite a run of awful seasons, they only rank 12th in Baseball America's organizational prospect rankings, so the future isn't what you would expect. They have ignored the international market for years, a crushing mistake in today's game.
Ownership deserves every ounce of scorn that has come or ever will come for trading Mookie Betts. Good luck with all that "financial flexibility."
Kudos to the Royals, who did not have any furloughs or layoffs during the season and thus far haven't been one of the teams to announce offseason layoffs. We'll see how it goes heading into next year, but any organization supporting employees -- when so many others aren't -- should be applauded right now.
Madison Bumgarner had a 6.48 ERA in his first season in Arizona and allowed 13 homers in nine starts, but he finished on a high note, throwing back-to-back five-inning shutouts and allowing just four hits while striking out 11. Let's hope a normal offseason gets Bumgarner back on track. The game is more interesting when he's able to attack hitters.
Stop. Wasting. Mike. Trout's. Prime. The Angels have a new front office coming in, so hopefully Trout finally gets some support.
It seems like this happened seven years ago, but much of the talk in the offseason was about these guys trading third baseman Nolan Arenado. That will be revisited this winter, with Arenado having an opt-out in his contract after the 2021 season.
Perhaps the most intriguing team in the bottom 10, they played better-than-expected ball in 2020, and rookie Kyle Lewis entrench himself as a potential building block. In Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez, they have the top two outfield prospects still in the minors. The future is bright.
They were a great story, making the playoffs after a COVID-19 outbreak and then upsetting the Chicago Cubs. The Marlins also got outscored by 41 runs during the regular season. They have their ace in Sixto Sanchez, but they have a lot of holes and play in a tough division.
The roster here feels a little stale, and with the worst farm system in the Majors, it's unclear how they immediately improve it. They'll need much more from Christian Yelich, who shockingly hit .205 during a shortened season.
They ran out of pitching over 60 games and their two best starters are free agents, the top of the division is loaded, and their best prospects are more likely to arrive in 2022 than 2021. Buster Posey's return will help, and they're one of the few teams with the financial power to have a big offseason during a pandemic. We'll see if they use it.
This might feel really low for a team that just made the ALCS, but outfielders George Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick are free agents, starting pitcher Justin Verlander will miss the whole year after Tommy John and the rest of the group could finally have to play in front of fans who haven't forgotten about the trash can. They look poised for a step back.
Bryce Harper has very vocally called for them to lock up catcher J.T. Realmuto, but the best free agent on the market will have no shortage of suitors. Regardless of what the Phillies do with Realmuto, they need to fix a bullpen that was historically bad.
Forget about getting pitcher Noah Syndergaard back or chasing Realmuto, or anything else they do with their roster. They're this high because they're about to swap the Wilpon family for billionaire Steve Cohen. The Mets are offseason winners already.
Cleveland end up much lower if Francisco Lindor, a free agent after the 2021 season, is finally traded. He was always an obvious fit for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they have to be thrilled they held Corey Seager and instead went hard after Mookie Betts.
Solid roster. They're not getting hit hard by departures. They generally add in free agency. But ... imagine if they had held onto Randy Arozarena?
Remember them? It was a disappointing title defense, but they still have Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin in the rotation and Juan Soto leading the lineup. That's enough to keep you in the race.
Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javy Baez and Kyle Schwarber all can be free agents after next season. So do the Cubs take one last run at it, or do they break it up and get a head start on the rebuild? Given that Theo Epstein seems to have just one more year in Chicago, it's likely they take another run.
Nate Pearson got his feet wet in 2020 and could give them an ace next season, they won't lose much in free agency, they have a good farm system and all of their young hitters should keep improving. It would help if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.791 OPS) takes the leap.
Trevor Bauer is almost certainly gone, but they don't lose much else, and the window is still wide open for an NL Central title and postseason run. They were aggressive last winter and should double down in the coming months.
Nelson Cruz is a free agent, but their core is young and intact. They should compete with the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central crown, but it's hard to predict anything but a postseason flameout until they prove they can win a game in October.
They'll get hit hard in free agency, and it's hard to see them spending what it'll take to bring shortstop Marcus Semien and closer Liam Hendriks back. But, they have the potential to have the best rotation in the AL and the division isn't very strong.
They let their manager go after making the playoffs, a sign that they're ready for much larger goals. Their biggest offseason addition could be hard-throwing 24-year-old right-hander Michael Kopech, a former top-20 prospect who opted out of the 2020 season.
A playoff disappointment once again, they have big-time pitching issues. Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and J.A. Happ are free agents, and Luis Severino won't be back from Tommy John until the summer. But they're the Yankees. They'll spend big to fill out that rotation.
Injuries to Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet kept the Padres from taking a serious run at the Dodgers in the playoffs, but they'll have a legitimate shot to win the NL West next season. Fernando Tatis Jr. will be the preseason favorite for MVP and at some point they'll add Mackenzie Gore, the game's best pitching prospect.
Marcell Ozuna and Mark Melancon are free agents, but this team remains loaded, especially with young ace Mike Soroka expected back in spring training. Freddie Freeman will be named NL MVP in a few weeks and Ronald Acuna Jr. will be joined in the outfield full-time by Christian Pache, the 21-year-old who is one of the top 10 prospects in the sport and looked right at home in the postseason.
Tim Hudson, after the Nationals pulled Jordan Zimmermann in Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS: "I was pretty happy he wasn't out there anymore. They could have brought Sandy Koufax in and we probably would have had smiles on our faces."
NEVER give the opposing dugout a lifeline.
Mookie Betts is 28. Walker Buehler is 26. Cody Bellinger is 25. Will Smith is 25. Julio Urias is 24. Dustin May is 23. The Dodgers have eight straight division titles and now a ring, and they might just be getting started.
