MLB Week Two Power Rankings

All rankings are as of Apr. 20.

1.) Los Angeles Dodgers (10-3) (Last week: No. 8) — The Dodgers had a perfect week: Good hitting mixed with good pitching. In their last seven games, they have given up 18 runs, while scoring 53.

Chad Billingsley is an early front-runner for the NL Cy Young, while the “O-Dog” Orlando Hudson may be going for a batting title.

2.) Toronto Blue Jays (10-4)(LW: No. 9) —  The Blue Jays have been hitting the ball and pitching well. This is something nobody could have predicted. Roy Halladay has stepped up without A.J. Burnett, and the Blue Jays bats have as well.

Adam Lind is showing a lot of potential with his bat, as well as Aaron Hill, who's bat has been very lively, unlike last season. The Blue Jays lead the American League East.

3.) Florida Marlins (11-1) (No. 3) —  As easy as it is to give Florida the No. 1 or No. 2 spot because of their record, six of their wins come from sweeping the Nationals twice. That’s not to degrade this Marlins team, whose bats have been blazing to start the season.

Florida has the best rotation in the National League, even though you may not even know their names. They’ve also won seven games in a row.

4.) St. Louis Cardinals (8-5)(No. 2) —  Putting the Cardinals at No. 4 may be a no-no to some. But with Adam Wainwright, and Kyle Lohse pitching well, and the bats of Ryan Ludwick, Chris Duncan, Yadier Molina, and Albert Pujols hitting well, they should be OK.

However, I’m pretty sure the Cardinals want Chris Carpenter back in the rotation as soon as possible.

5.) San Diego Padres (9-4) (No. 4) —  The Padres had another fantastic week in baseball. Heath Bell is the team’s best player right now. The fact that the Padres let Bell get a day off Sunday may have cost them a victory against the Phillies.

With the Dodgers playing as well as they are, the Padres are sticking right beside them. Two teams in the NL West are actually playing above .500. Amazing.

6.) Chicago White Sox (7-5) (No. 14) — The White Sox had an outstanding week, winning five out of seven. They are in a dogfight in the AL Central, with four teams above .500.

The team’s hitting and pitching has been OK after twelve games. The White Sox are going have to maintain both to win this division. The question is, can they?

7.) Chicago Cubs (7-4)  (No. 6) — The Cubs won three of five games this week. My only problem with the Cubs is the lack of relief pitching. They’ve got relievers, but who is going to step up and take control of the closer role in the bullpen?

8.) Detroit Tigers (7-5)(No. 7) — A team I called inconsistent last week. I still can't hop on the bandwagon. They are playing decent stickball at home, but on the road they aren't the same team.

They do have some decent pitching right now, and without Jeremy Bonderman or Dontrelle Willis, that’s not too shabby.

9.) Seattle Mariners (8-5) (No. 5) — Easily one of the most underrated teams in baseball right now. They are hitting the ball extremely well, especially contributors such as Ken Griffey.

Ichiro’s return to the Mariners lineup helps. Sweeping the AL West rival Los Angeles helps even more.

10.) Kansas City Royals (7-5)(No. 25) — OK putting them at No. 25 last week may have been a mistake. But after watching Zack Greinke pitch this week, I think we have extremely underrated this Kansas City team.

Their pitching is amazing, and one of the hitters that fantasy players don't know about—Mike Jacobs—is on fire right now. The Royals are tied for first in the mumbled and jumbled AL Central right now, and they have won five of their last seven.

11.) New York Mets (6-6)(No. 13) — The Mets are playing above .500, and Johan Santana has been excellent to start the season. New York is playing in the tough NL East, and needs to start playing better.

They may be No. 11 this week, but the Mets need to win the easy games, and start playing better in the tougher games to make the playoffs.

12.) Pittsburgh Pirates (6-6) (No. 17) — They had two straight shutouts against the Atlanta Braves to end the week, and they are above .500 right now.

The Pirates are in the same division as the Cubs and the Cardinals, who are always tough. This week, they’ve got the Marlins.

13.) Boston Red Sox (7-6) (No. 24) — OK putting the Sox at No. 24 last week was wrong of me as well (It was the first week; I’m allowed, right?) Well the Red Sox woke up this week and won five of their seven games.

The entire AL East seems to have woken up a little bit as well. With all five teams playing good baseball, September is starting to look a little bit better.

14.) Atlanta Braves (6-6) (No. 1) — I put the Braves No. 1 last week because they were amazing.

What the hell happened this week?

They lost five games, including two straight to the Pirates in which they didn't score. The bats were silent this week for Atlanta.

15.) Texas Rangers (5-7) (No. 15) — Good at home, not on the road. They lost four of six week. The bats showed up every other game in a very inconsistent effort by the Rangers.

Josh Hamilton is hitting .229 at the moment as well, with only one home run. Hopefully his bat will light up soon. At the very least, veteran Kevin Millwood is pitching well.

16.) Tampa Bay Rays (5-8) (No. 16) — The Rays bats have been hitting well. The pitching has been a little bit...well, not the same as last year’s World Series team.

Maybe they should think about calling up David Price. Hopefully Evan Longoria can keep his hitting up as well. If that happens, the Rays should be OK.

17.) Los Angeles Angels (4-8) (No. 12) — The Angels pitching staff is lost right now. They only have three true starters in the rotation, and without a starting rotation they’ve been getting beaten up.

Without Vladimir Guerrero in the lineup, the Angels are struggling in the simplistic AL West.

18.) Baltimore Orioles (6-7) (No. 10) — They have lost five in a row, including four losses to the Red Sox as they were swept on the road in Boston. The Orioles played so well last week; hopefully, they can get back on track.

19.) Minnesota Twins (7-7) (No. 23) — The Twins had an OK week of baseball. They started very poor, but won three straight as they swept the struggling Angels.

One positive note: Glen Perkins. He is playing very good baseball, and is the Twins’secret weapon as of now. However, without Joe Mauer, the Twins aren't a playoff team.

20.) Cincinnati Reds (6-5) (No. 20) — This week ,they won two out of three against the Brew-Crew and the Astros. It doesn't say much. But the Reds are above .500 right now.
This week they face the Cubs and the Braves. If they can win two out of three against both of them, the Reds will be on the top of the NL Central.

21.) New York Yankees (7-6) (No. 18) — Giving up 22 runs to the Indians at home is unacceptable. They lost by eight runs three times this week. In fact, their best pitcher of the week was Nick Swisher.

As easy as it is to make fun of the Yankees, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte are all pitching decent right now. They just need to get better depth in the bottom of the rotation.

Maybe they should put Joba Chamberlain back in the bullpen and let Phil Hughes get some action in the Bronx.

22.) Cleveland Indians (4-9) (No. 26) — They went 3-4 this week. However, they hit extremely well. Their pitching staff is struggling again this season.

23.) Colorado Rockies (4-7)(No. 11) — The Rockies lost four of five this week. The NL West has three potential last-place teams, but I refuse to believe it’s the Rockies.

Colorado has a bunch of young talent, and they can hit the ball well. However, they haven’t done so this week, and haven’t pitched well either.

24.) Philadelphia Phillies (5-6) (No. 22) — What else is there to say. They have a better team then last year, but they aren't playing good baseball.

We all know what to expect from this team. They just aren't playing smart.

25.) Oakland Athletics (5-7) (No. 28) — The Athletics are a team I personally like to watch. However, I believe they are just sporadic. They don't really have a starting lineup.

Hopefully, their young staff will start pitching well, because they could have one of the most underrated pitching rotations.

26.) Arizona Diamondbacks (4-8) (No. 19) — They only scored two runs this weekend. Two runs with one of the youngest teams in Major League Baseball. Not showing much talent as of lately.

27.) San Francisco Giants (4-8) (No. 21) — The Giants won the series against the Diamondbacks this weekend by winning two of the three games, by only scoring four runs in those three games. Tim Lincecum just amazes me.

He is a phenomenal pitcher, and the fact he lost the game Saturday after pitching such an amazing game just makes me angry. Lincecum is a talent.

28.) Milwaukee Brewers (4-8)(No. 27) — They went 2-4 for the second straight week. They aren't getting the big bang from J.J. Hardy and Ryan Braun.

29.) Houston Astros (4-8)(No. 23) — This team is just not good. Roy Oswalt is pitching mediocre — un-Oswalt like, even. And Miguel Tejada is hitting well, but only has one RBI to show for it. The Astros need to start playing some baseball.

30.) Washington Nationals (1-10) (No. 30) — This team is flat out embarrassing to watch. Adam Dunn is about the only positive note on this team.

They are so embarrassing the MLB doesn't even care about their merchandise. In case you missed it, this weekend the Nationals jerseys spelled out "Natinals."

Just embarrassing.