MLB Playoff Predictions: Power Ranking Each Component of All Eight Teams
The month of October has now arrived. The fall leaves are changing colors and falling, the NBA is starting to warm up, the NFL is in full swing, Golf has finished its annual Ryder Cup, and for us baseball fans, it's playoff time!
For those whose teams have made the playoffs, this is the best time of the year, as eight teams fight to win the World Series. For those who are not as fortunate, it is still enjoyable to see the best of the best square off.
In this slideshow, the eight playoff teams have been power ranked. The rotations, bullpens, lineups, everything is looked at to see what teams really have the edge. Are some all hitting and no pitching, or are many of the teams actually rather complete?
Starting Rotation
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My ratings for the rotation are only for the top three (four if that's been confirmed) in the rotation, not a five-man team.
8. Cincinnati Reds: Volquez had a great September yes, but a Volquez/Arroyo/Cueto rotation is only decent. As a team they work, but none of them scream ace or playoff clutch to me.
7. Tampa Bay Rays: David Price has been amazing this season. Beyond that, Garza and Wade Davis have been merely solid, and putting James Shields into the mix raises question marks.
6. Texas Rangers: Tommy Hunter and C.J. Wilson have quietly had great years, but Cliff Lee and Colby Lewis have struggled lately.
5. New York Yankees: Once you take out Burnett and Vazquez, suddenly the rotation looks a lot better. CC Sabathia has had great years, though question marks surround Hughes.
4. Atlanta Braves: Hudson should get more credit than he has for this year, and Tommy Hanson's been hard luck this year. What separates them and the Yanks is I trust Derek Lowe just a bit more than Hughes.
3. Minnesota Twins: The Sabrmetricians love Liriano, and for good reason. Pavano and Duensing have had very underrated years to go along with Liriano's return to form.
2. San Francisco Giants: If Tim Lincecum can tap into his 2008-09 form, they're a Phillies-quality rotation. Cain, Lincecum, and Sanchez have had very good years, and those strikeout totals they put up will be key.
1. Philadelphia Phillies: Roy Halladay will probably win the Cy Young, Roy Oswalt was an ideal pickup, and Cole Hamels is far better than his 12-11 record indicates. Best in the league, and easily the best of the playoff teams.
Bullpen
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8. Cincinnati Reds: Beyond Aroldis Chapman and Arthur Rhodes, who else can put a real hurt on the team? I don't see it.
7. Minnesota Twins: They have few weaknesses in the bullpen, but they don't really have any strengths either. Jon Rauch, Jesse Crain, and others don't exactly pose fear.
6. New York Yankees: Mariano Rivera is lights out and always will be. That being said, I can't trust anyone except Kerry Wood or maybe Boone Logan to actually get them to Mo, although they have improved in recent weeks.
5. Philadelphia Phillies: Brad Lidge has regained his form, and Contreras and Madson have been playing well. Like those above no, none of them are really "lights out;" that's what the starters are for.
4. Texas Rangers: Led by Feliz, their bullpen is both solid and underrated. The two Darrens and Alexi Ogando are both good bridges to him.
3. Tampa Bay Rays: They have a few question marks, but Rafael Soriano, Joaquin Benoit, and Grant Balfour should be the answer to any of those.
2. Atlanta Braves: Billy Wagner, Jonny Venters, and the rest of the bullpen is nearly as good as the starters. When your worst regular reliever has a 2.97 ERA you're doing alright.
1. San Francisco Giants: Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla, Ramon Ramirez, they are stocked with game savers who won't let you grab any easy runs.
Starting Lineup
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8. San Francisco Giants: Let's just say that they didn't make the playoffs due to their amazing bats. Buster Posey and others are good, but don't measure up.
7. Atlanta Braves: Prado's a good leadoff hitter, and everyone loves Heyward, though they actually don't get much production out of their lineup.
6. Tampa Bay Rays: Their lineup is very hit and miss. For every Evan Longoria or Carl Crawford, there's a Carlos Pena or Ben Zobrist—power, but they don't get on base much.
5. Texas Rangers: Question marks at catcher and first base, but any team with Josh Hamilton and Vlad Guerrero will be just fine.
4. Minnesota Twins: They would jump to No. 3 if they had Justin Morneau. That being said, they still have Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, and Danny Valencia all having great years for them.
3. Philadelphia Phillies: As a whole, they have a great lineup with no major weaknesses.
2. Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto's the presumed NL MVP, leading a team of Scott Rolen, Brandon Phillips, and others who have been amazing all year.
1. New York Yankees: Robinson Cano, Mark Teixiera, A-Rod, Brett Gardner...when Derek Jeter's a weak spot on a team, then the lineup must be amazing.
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Bench
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8. Texas Rangers: Their bench is more of a mishmash of catchers and first basemen to see what works; Andres Blanco's the main bright spot here.
7. New York Yankees: They win with their starters; Ramiro Pena and Austin Kearns luckily don't need to be used much.
6. Minnesota Twins: Alexi Casilla and Matt Tolbert's RBI counts bump them just pass the Yankees, though neither have much here.
5. Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays lack numbers but have quality here; Reid Brignac and Matthew Joyce are both good off the bench.
4. Cincinnati Reds: In a way it's not surprising all the NL teams win here, after all, they need benchwarmers and pinch hitters to work around pitchers. The Reds are solid with Paul Janish and Laynce Nix.
3. San Francisco Giants: All of the benchwarmers on this team are solid, from Edgar Renteria to Travis Ishikawa.
2. Philadelphia Phillies: Ben Francisco, Ross Gload, and others can jump in when someone is in a rut without missing a beat.
1. Atlanta Braves: Two words: Omar Infante.
Defense
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8. Atlanta Braves: One of team with 100+ errors in the playoffs. They're just not good in the field.
7. Texas Rangers: The other six teams in the playoffs are among the league's best fielders, unlike these two teams.
6. Tampa Bay Rays: A solid fielding team, but the rate that their pinch hitters make errors is worrying.
5. Philadelphia Phillies: Ryan Howard's 14 errors hurt them, though they're fine in the field otherwise.
4. Minnesota Twins: A very solid fielding team, no one with a worrying fielding percentage.
3. Cincinnati Reds: Just like the Twins, no real weaknesses on the field.
2. San Francisco Giants: Nearly as good as the Yanks in the field, though Sandoval messed that up.
1. New York Yankees: Fewest errors as a team, and if you take out Cervelli's bad season behind the plate they look even better.
Ballparks
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8. Tampa Bay Rays: Yes, they have a solid win-loss record there, but Tropicana Field automatically finishes last. Mainly a pitchers' park this year, and they have some question marks in the rotation.
7. Cincinnati Reds: They don't get much attendance, and their park leans towards favoring pitchers, which is bad news for this team.
6. San Francisco Giants: While they do play in a pitcher's park, it doesn't seem to give them as much of an advantage as one might think.
5. Texas Rangers: A hitter-friendly park is good for this team, but it's good for the rest of the AL too.
4. Philadelphia Phillies: A well-rounded ballpark along with amazing attendance helps the Phillies out.
3. Minnesota Twins: Target Field's been kind to them this year, as they have the best home win-loss record in the AL.
2. New York Yankees: They play in Yankee Stadium, very much a hitters' park, which works out perfectly for them.
1. Atlanta Braves: They're 56-25 at home, so they're doing something right over there at Turner Field.
Intangibles
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The intangibles will not be ranked, since different players and teams have different goals and people that they're playing for; it doesn't seem fair to them to try and rank them all.
Tampa Bay Rays: They have the top AL record, and need to show they were deserving. Carl Crawford is gonna be a standout playmaker, since he's looking for that big contract in the offseason.
New York Yankees: Yankees inherently have an obscene amount of pressure, where nothing less than a title is acceptable.
Minnesota Twins: Despite losing as many players as they did due to injury, they're in the playoffs, and now have to fight despite their battered lineup. This could also be Thome's last hurrah in the playoffs.
Texas Rangers: The team will try and bring Lee a ring, or get as close as they can get to it. The AL West was a weak division, they will try and shed the idea that they're the best of limited options.
Philadelphia Phillies: World Series three-peat, and a second ring.
Atlanta Braves: Win one for the past, the present, and the future. Bobby Cox, Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson Jason Heyward...those that doubted the team all season will be proven wrong, at least they hope so.
San Francisco Giants: They had to win one game of three to get into the playoffs, and they barely accomplished that. They will need to shake the struggles they had and look to the next series, and only that.
Cincinnati Reds: You could write an article just on the Reds coming out of nowhere this season, being the young, up-and-coming team that comes together in hopes of winning it all.
So Who Wins?
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Based on these power rankings, looking at each series could be difficult. Both the Giants and Braves have the pitching depth, both the Yankees and Twins have a potent lineup and starting rotation, and the Rays and Rangers both have star power with some holes in the lineup. The Reds are in the same boat as the Twins and Yankees.
The only team that really stands out in my eyes is the Phillies. They seem to be the most complete team, and they are near the top in nearly all of these power rankings; hitting, pitching, fielding, etc. Still, defense and pitching is what win championships, and if any team has that it's the Giants.
It could be any team's series to take this year, such is the beauty of the 2010 season. While my vote may be the Phillies to win it all, I could just as easily see the other seven teams pulling it out. All that matters is where the chips fall.
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