MLB Power Rankings: 20 Players Due for a Harsh Wake-Up Call
Ladies and gentlemen, the calendar has turned to March and that means that spring training is well underway and the start of the 2011 Major League Baseball season is just weeks away. It's the best time of the year, forget football and all those other sports, baseball is where it's at.
With a new year comes new and in some cases renewed optimism. Whether or not your favorite team is able to put together a great year is irrelevant right now because everyone believes that they have a chance, they just need one or two things to go right for that to happen.
What we are doing today is a power ranking. Not a traditional power ranking of teams, but a power ranking of some players. Specifically, players who have underachieved or been in some trouble off the field and are in need of some kind of wake-up call.
Almost every team has at least one player like that, but we are going to look at the top 20 players that are due for a harsh wake-up call, as we have defined it.
So without further ado, here are the 20 players in need of that call.
20. Manny Ramirez, OF, Tampa Bay Rays
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You could make a case that Manny's wake-up call came when he was suspended for 50 games, but knowing his personality that probably didn't bother him too much.
Manny sat on the free agent bench for most of the winter because no one wanted to sign him until his price came down. The Rays are counting on him to be a big part of their offense this season, and if his attitude is the same as it was near the end of his tenure in Boston the Rays won't hesitate to dump him.
19. Aaron Hill, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays
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Will the real Aaron Hill please stand up?
After posting a .286/.330/.499 line in 2009, Hill struggled mightily in 2010, hitting only .205/.271/.394. The Blue Jays are rebuilding now, and they need to know if Hill is going to be the second baseman of the future or just a flash in the pan.
Hill will never be an on-base machine, but he has a lot more power than he showed in 2010. Defensively, he is fine, but if you are killing a team on offense odds are good you won't be around very long.
18. Jorge De La Rosa, SP, Colorado Rockies
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Jorge De La Rosa signed a big contract to stay in Colorado. He has all the promise in the world, a good power arm with the secondary stuff to be a top of the rotation starter, but he has battled injuries and poor performance in his seven years.
He only has one more chance to prove that he can be a capable big league starter, and he needs to take advantage of that opportunity.
Plus, the Rockies need him to live up to his potential if they want to compete in the National League West.
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17. Jimmy Rollins, SS, Philadelphia Phillies
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If the Phillies didn't have the rotation that they do, Rollins would be much higher on this list, but because they are loaded with pitching he lands here.
Their offense looked old last season, and they struggled in the playoffs. You can credit the Giants pitching staff for that, but a lot of the problem was with the Phillies.
Rollins has been on a downswing since he won the National League MVP award in 2007. He has been injury prone and when he has played he hasn't looked good. If the Phillies want to win a World Series they need Rollins to be the player that he used to be.
16. Brett Wallace, 1B, Houston Astros
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It's still way too early to consider Brett Wallace a bust or anything like that, but he has to show some signs that he is capable of being a Major League hitter. He only played in 51 games, which is an unbelievably small sample size, but looked like a disaster at the plate.
All told, Wallace hit .222/.296/.319 in 144 at-bats. He hit two home runs, had eight walks and 50 strikeouts. He is a big part of what Houston wants to do in the future, and he will have every opportunity to prove himself in 2011.
15. Adam Jones, CF, Baltimore Orioles
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Adam Jones has all the potential in the world. He is a potential five-tool player, but he is nearing that point in his career where that promise only means so much and the results have to start being seen.
Jones was an All-Star in 2009, but faded down the stretch due to injuries and fatigue. Last year, Jones never got things going, and he really regressed in a lot of areas. He has never quite mastered the art of hitting a breaking ball, which is a problem that he has to fix sometime soon.
Jones is only 25, so don't completely count him out yet.
14. Justin Upton, RF, Arizona Diamondbacks
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Justin Upton is a star in the making. He has all the tools that a scout looks for when they are evaluating a player. He is only 23 years old. He just signed a huge six-year contract last season.
The problem is that his game really regressed in 2010 after a terrific 2009 season. He went from .300/.366/.532 in 2009 to .273/.356/.442 in 2010. His home run total dropped from 26 to 17. His strikeouts increased from 137 to 152 despite 31 more at-bats in 2009 than 2010.
2011 will be an important year for Upton to show that he is closer to the 2009 player than the 2010 version.
13. Matt Kemp, CF, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Matt Kemp got a reputation last year as a player who is lazy. There were reports that he took games off, didn't really play hard, etc. Like Upton, he has all the talent in the world and can be one of the best center fielders in baseball.
Kemp endured the worst season of his young career in 2010 (.249/.310/.450) despite playing in every game last year.
The Dodgers need him to be the player he was in 2009 if they want to contend. Kemp needs to prove that he takes the game seriously after his performance last year.
12. Pablo Sandoval, 3B, San Francisco Giants
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Let's be honest, Pablo Sandoval's 2010 season was a disaster of epic proportions. He showed up to spring training last year out of shape. He couldn't field the ball, and his weight had a dramatic effect on his ability to hit the ball.
Sandoval only played in six games for the Giants in the postseason last year because he was so bad.
This year looks to be a different story as Sandoval showed up to camp in much better shape and looks like he is ready to contribute to the Giants offense in a big way.
11. Seattle Mariners' Entire Offense
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The Mariners offense was bad in 2010. That is actually the understatement of this still very young century. The Mariners offense was historically bad in 2010. They ranked last in almost every offensive category including runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
They didn't do anything this offseason to try and upgrade the offense, unless you consider Miguel Olivo an offensive force, so they will have to have a lot of improvement from a lot of players.
The good news is they have two young players who should make some impact at different points this season. Justin Smoak, who they acquired in the Cliff Lee trade, has a ton of potential and just needs time to develop.
Dustin Ackley, the second overall pick in the 2009 draft, struggled early in his first year at Double-A, but really finished strong and looks like the hitter everyone imagined he would be. He will start the year at Triple-A, but will be in Seattle at some point this year.
10. Carlos Beltran, CF/RF, New York Mets
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Carlos Beltran has been missing in action for most of the last two years. He is making a ton of money for the cash-strapped Mets and will be switching from center field to right field.
This is an important year for him because he will be a free agent after this year and needs to prove that he can stay healthy for an entire season if he wants to attract any kind of attention on the free agent market.
The Mets, while probably not going anywhere this season, hope that Beltran performs well because if he does they can trade him and get something back.
9. Grady Sizemore, CF, Cleveland Indians
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From 2005-08, Grady Sizemore was one of the best players in the American League. In 2008, he became the 32nd player in baseball history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases.
However, things fell apart for Sizemore in 2009. He battled injuries that year and had to have surgery on his elbow. 2010 wasn't any better as he had to have microfracture knee surgery after playing in 33 games.
The Indians need Sizemore if they hope to do anything. Sizemore needs to play to reestablish his value because he has a team option for 2012 that will likely not be picked up if he struggles again.
8. Carlos Zambrano, SP, Chicago Cubs
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Carlos Zambrano endured a tumultuous 2010 season. He was a disaster early in the year, the Cubs sent him away for awhile, and when he came back he was put in the bullpen. Eventually he was put back in the rotation and looked really good.
However, Zambrano needs to show consistency, and more importantly he needs to show that he is mature enough to handle the trials and tribulations that go along with being a baseball player. He needs to find some middle ground so he doesn't fly off the handle at the slightest little thing.
7. Jake Peavy, SP, Chicago White Sox
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All offseason, the White Sox have been raving about how Jake Peavy looks in his rehab from back surgery. That's all well and good, but these are things that we have heard before. We know that Peavy can rehab with the best of them because he gets hurt so often. The problem is if he can stay healthy over the course of a whole season.
The White Sox have a pretty solid rotation with John Danks and Mark Buehrle, but they need someone else to provide something in the rotation. Edwin Jackson looked strong in September, but he doesn't have a strong track record. I've never liked Gavin Floyd as much as other people do. That leaves Peavy as the pitcher with the most upside for this team.
If Peavy can stay healthy and be productive, the White Sox will win the American League Central.
6. Michael Young, DH, Texas Rangers
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Michael Young has been crying all offseason long because the Rangers toyed with the notion of trading him. Well, get over it because this is a business, and if they could get out from under that albatross contract that Young has they absolutely should try.
Plus, Young is not a good defensive player (don't you dare try and throw Gold Gloves out because you will be banned) and his offense is not what it used to be, so why wouldn't they try and get rid of him?
Young needs to put all that emotional junk behind him and go out and play. If he doesn't, the Rangers won't hesitate to bench him.
5. Josh Beckett, SP, Boston Red Sox
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Red Sox fans everywhere held their collective breath when they heard Josh Beckett was hit in the head with a ball. Fortunately, it sounds like he is doing fine and won't miss any significant time.
Of course, that's today and we all know how fragile Beckett has been throughout his career. This Red Sox team had a tremendous offseason, which reignited their World Series dreams, but they need to have some questions answered about their rotation.
The Sawx should be fine at the top with Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, but after that there are a lot of question marks. Beckett was at one time the ace of the staff, and he still has the stuff to be that guy, but he needs to prove his worth to this team again.
4. Zack Greinke, SP, Milwaukee Brewers
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Last year was not one that Zack Greinke wants to remember. Coming off a Cy Young in 2009, Greinke struggled a lot in 2010. His ERA went from 2.16 to 4.17. Strikeouts per nine innings was still good at 7.4, but that was his lowest mark since 2006.
Greinke now finds himself on a contending team for the first time in his career. He has a chance to prove that his 2009 season was not a fluke, but rather closer to the pitcher that he is as opposed to the 2010 version.
The Brewers need Greinke to be the ace that he was in 2009 if they want to compete in the National League Central.
3. Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals
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Albert Pujols says that his contract status will not be a distraction, and I believe that much. However, if Pujols thinks that he is going to get a 10-year contract, or even $30 million per season, he needs to wake up.
Pujols has been fa-nominal, if I may borrow from Jim Rome, in his first 10 years. But he is 31 years old, going to be 32 next season. He needs to realize that the market for aging first basemen, no matter how great they have been, is not what it once was.
All the big market teams are locked into first basemen for a long time. Pujols cares too much about his St. Louis legacy to go to Chicago. So where is he going to go?
He's not going anywhere if he thinks he should get 10 years.
2. A.J. Burnett, SP, New York Yankees
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A.J. Burnett, you wanted the money and the spotlight and all that stuff, well now you have to play like a pitcher worth five years and $85 million. When the Yankees won the World Series in 2009, Burnett was an adequate pitcher, which was good enough.
Last year, he started out fantastic, but his old problems of control and composure crept up on him and he finished with an ERA over five and 15 losses. The Yankees have a lot of questions in their rotation after CC Sabathia, and Burnett is arguably the biggest question of them all.
Another poor performance this season and the Yankees will look to dump him faster than Charlie Sheen dumped rehab. (Yes, I have used some variation of that joke before, but I like it).
1. Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers
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Miguel Cabrera's situation is the most touchy of all these because there is a serious personal problem here that needs to be dealt with.
Whether he wants to admit it or not, Cabrera has a problem and he needs to get proper treatment for it. He says that he will get the help he needs, but it's tough to imagine that happening with him playing baseball for the next seven months.
That DUI arrest last month was an eye-opener if the reports of what he said are in fact true. Forget baseball, Cabrera needs to wake up and take care of his life.
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