We all know how preseason rankings work out. I mean, USC could tell you all about being overrated. But ultimately there's 24 of us so why not rank all 24 of us? In an effort to avoid bias, I had three GMs that I trust to rank my team and I would average their rankings together to form a more perfect uni...wait, wrong speech. Then I find that pretty much everyone agreed on the same top teams except for one and that was only cause the one knew a big deal had just went down. It was a big offseason and I'd expect there will be a handful of really great teams competing. Now, starting with last place....
24. Detroit
They have one note worthy player and that's their glorified DH playing catcher, Santop. Unfortunately they have a pretty mediocre farm. There's no light at the end of is tragedy.
23. Toronto
Their ace is a million years old. They have a couple of bats but honestly, you wonder if their GM ever pays any attention to their state of deterioration.
22. St Louis
They don't have much either but they do have a GM that knows what he is doing and a farm to look forward to.
21. Philadelphia
Depending on how fast their pitching develops, they could quickly flight out of the bottom to at least middle of the pack.
20. Minnesota
They might end up with some of the worst pitching in the entire league and that will ultimately keep them in the bottom tier of teams.
19. San Diego
They were probably the most active team in the offseason. This has resulted in a tear down of their team, leaving just a few bats and even fewer capable pitchers in the Majors.
18. Kansas City
They're either going to be surprisingly competitive or they will be one of the three worst in the league. But they started the rebuild a year ago so it's now on to round 2.
17. Atlanta
Perhaps if their GM made an effort to obtain pitching, they'd be decent. But they are probably going to be pretty miserable until that area is addressed.
16. Chicago (A)
I liken them to the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. Routinely mediocre, tries buying players to be somewhat competitive but buys the wrong players and stays in the middle of the league. They just need a Greek guy.
15. Montreal
They are slowly rebuilding their finances and in the process building a farm. They still have good players at the Major League level, as evidenced by their recent trade block. Real wild card.
14. Arizona
They lack depth and that ultimately keeps them from being a real player.
13. Los Angeles
There is some talent but they have a shallow rotation and limited power outside of Dick. With San Diego dropping back, LA could climb a notch but they're far from Colorado and San Francisco
12. Texas
Half the time I forget they're even in the league. I don't even know who they have on their team. Hank Blalock? Mark Teixeira? Aaron Sele?
11. Oakland
Returned to glory sooner than expected. They may have the best farm by far and will constantly be introducing that talent to the bigs over the next two years. They lack pitching depth to sustain for now.
10. Chicago (N)
They're ever evolving, constantly reloading, and always capable of landing big time talent. They will take a step back after trading away Colavito but they're gaining stability with their finances.
9. Cincinnati
Boom or bust. They are in financial hell and are unable to replace those lost. But they still have a great couple of players that can easily carry the team, including that inhuman beast in the rotation.
8. New York (N)
They have numerous good players and Mendez is primed to be Lew Burdette 2.0, but they often lack the greatness to put them over the top in the playoffs.
7. Anaheim
The potential is solely in the rotation. If they all put forth a quality season, they challenge Houston and make real noise. Or they could flop and fall back to the middle of the pack.
6. Houston
They had a pretty huge offseason. They lack some depth, mostly with pitching, but the top heavy talent should push them to winning the division and challenging Balty.
5. New York (A)
They're old but their old guys are good. Sounds like the Steinbrenner Yanks. They have two young guns that will soon be in the rotation and they're not afraid to make any kind of deal.
4. San Francisco
They just added serious thunder in a recent acquisition. They still have great players coming up in the farm and Williams might be the most underrated ace in the league. Shit just got real, as they say.
3. Boston
This was the average ranking provided by our peers. I think my pitching is going to be better to go along with my nucleus of bats. I personally had my team a few places lower, though.
2. Colorado
Good for 100 wins or more but they really only have one pitcher that scares you. And he also happens to be the only pitcher who can tango with Jose Rijo.
1. Baltimore
Really the only thing I have to say is look at the postseason numbers for their top 5 hitters AND that's why everyone I've spoken too has them número uno.