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2023 Vendetta MLB Power Rankings: March/April

MLB Power Rankings

(Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

MLB Power Rankings
The Astros earn the crown atop our 2023 Power Rankings. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

2023 Vendetta MLB Power Rankings: March/April

It was a long offseason, but the 2023 MLB Season is finally here! That means it’s power-ranking time! Without further ado, let’s dive into the first edition of our monthly 2023 MLB Power Rankings, which will be for both March and April!

30. Oakland Athletics

Average: 29.8

(Matt Hanifan 29, Julian Casciano 30, Trey Daubert 30, Jack Sabin 30)

Skinny: This is not a good team, which is why they come in last in our first 2023 power rankings. Though they do have some intriguing bats in Jesus Aguilar and Seth Brown with some young pitching depth in Ken Waldichuk, JP Sears and James Kaprelian. Oakland’s not a squad with any perceived expectation outside of them possibly moving to Vegas. 

29. Washington Nationals

Average: 28.5

(Matt 30, Julian 28, Trey 28, Jack 28)

Skinny: The Nationals are leaning more into their future than ever before with CJ Abrams, Luis Garcia and MacKenzie Gore. There isn’t much to look forward to, but at least pivoting to the young players is a step in the right direction for Washington.

28. Cincinnati Reds

Average: 28.3

(Matt 28, Julian 27, Trey 29, Jack 29)

Skinny: The Reds will likely be one of the worst teams in MLB in 2023, which is why we’re so low on them in this month’s rankings. They won 62 games last year and it might again this season. Trade Joey Votto to a contender!

27. Detroit Tigers

Average: 27

(Matt 26, Julian 29, Trey 27, Jack 26)

Skinny: The Tigers were a sneaky candidate to be an 80-win team a year ago. Spoiler alert: That did not happen. Frankly, they weren’t even close, reaching 66. They have not finished above .500 in seven of the last eight seasons. Their rotation isn’t completely healthy and the arms that are — namely Matthew Boyd, Spencer Turnbull and Matt Manning — haven’t entirely performed up to their potential *yet*. Spencer Torkelson is a fun power bat, but they’ll have to get production from their veteran bats if this team has any chance of cracking 75 wins. 

26. Colorado Rockies

Average: 26.5

(Matt 27, Julian 26, Trey 27, Jack 26)

Skinny: Death, taxes and the Rockies owner Dick Manfort making outlandish preseason predictions. He didn’t predict them to win 90-plus games, but he did say he believed they could play “.500 ball” this season. Unless I’m missing something, that won’t happen. Sorry, Rockies fans.

25. Kansas City Royals

Average: 24.3

(Matt 24, Julian 25, Trey 23, Jack 25)

Skinny: The Royals are another bottom-feeder in the AL Central, but at least they have the development of Bobby Witt Jr. and Brady Singer to possibly look forward to? The former could be a 25-25 candidate, while Singer capped off 2022 with a 2.63 ERA with a 3.25 FIP over his final 16 starts. They have some youth in the building, but they’re not going to be near the top of the AL Central in 2023 … again.

24. Pittsburgh Pirates

Average: 23.8

(Matt 25, Julian 24, Trey 24, Jack 22)

Skinny: At least Pittsburgh has Andrew McCutchen back for a second stint and Oneil Cruz, who tears the living cover off baseball’s, entering his first full season. There’s not much else to be giddy about in Pittsburgh, with Bryan Reynolds on the trade block.

23. Arizona Diamondbacks

Average: 22.3

(Matt 20, Julian 21, Trey 25, Jack 23)

Skinny: The Diamondbacks have multiple budding young bats in Gabriel Moreno, Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll to go along with a formidable pitching duo in Zac Gallen — who sported a 1.58 ERA (2.27 FIP) over his last 15 starts, including a 44.1 inning scoreless last season, the seventh longest in MLB history — and Merril Kelly. They have not won over 85 games since 2017, when they last made the playoffs. This might be another bridge year for the DBacks to get the neophytes acclimated, but the future has never been brighter for Arizona.

22. Chicago Cubs

Average: 21.8

(Matt 22, Julian 20, Trey 21, Jack 24)

Skinny: Bagdonas labeled the Cubs as one of his squads that he’s keeping an eye on this season, and rightfully so! They made multiple fascinating additions in Dansby Swanson, Eric Hosmer and Jameson Taillon, plus the additions of possible reclamation projects in Trey Mancini and Cody Bellinger. They don’t have an incredibly deep lineup, rotation or bullpen, but there’s a world where they make *some* noise in the NL Central.

21. Miami Marlins

Average: 21.5

(Matt 23, Julian 23, Trey 20, Jack 20)

Skinny: The Marlins’ lineup improved with the addition of Jean Segura and reigning AL batting champion Luis Arraez, but still need fully healthy seasons from Jorge Soler and Jazz Chisholm to make any sort of noise. The head of their pitching rotation of Sandy Alcantara, Jesus Luzardo, Edward Cabrera and Trevor Rogers is one to be excited about, but their ceiling is dependent on their hitting, not pitching.

20. Boston Red Sox

Average: 19.3

(Matt 19, Julian 22, Trey 18, Jack 18)

Skinny: As I discussed on Tuesday’s Daily Show, the Red Sox could be one of the more fascinating teams in the American League this year. In my view, they have a wide range of outcomes. Their rotation is a question mark with rising stud Brayan Bello and James Paxton both injured, plus the question mark surrounding the health of Corey Kluber (at age-37) and Chris Sale. General manager Chaim Bloom did a fine job cleaning up the mess that was the 2022 bullpen with the additions of Chris Martin, Richard Bleier and Kenley Jansen, and they have a few new faces in the lineup in Justin Turner, Adam Duvall and Masataka Yoshida. But there’s still a wide range of outcomes, especially if age and injury become an issue with a few of the players they’re relying on to produce.

19. Los Angeles Angels

Average: 19

(Matt 21, Julian 16, Trey 22, Jack 17)

Skinny: As I referred to on the daily show, I feel more confident about the Angels’ rotation than I have in years past. If Anthony Rendon remains healthy, their lineup should be much more formidable alongside Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, two of the best players in MLB. Let’s hope the Angels don’t Angels, though. They’re still at the bottom-half of this month’s rankings, but can move up.

The Angels come in at No. 19 in our March/April power rankings!

18. San Francisco Giants

Average: 18

(Matt 16, Julian 18, Trey 19, Jack 19)

Skinny: The Giants were very close to signing Arson Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, but instead walked away with Michael Conforto (who did not play in 2022) and Mitch Haniger. Their lineup isn’t incredibly deep, but possesses athleticism headed by Lamonte Wade and Thairo Estrada with Joc Pederson slotted in the middle of the order. You could argue that San Francisco has one of the more underrated rotations in baseball, despite losing Carlos Rodon to the Bronx after it added depth in Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea to make up for Rodon’s production.

17. Baltimore Orioles

Average: 18 (tiebreaker goes to team with better 2022 record)

(Matt 18, Julian 19, Trey 14, Jack 21)

Skinny: Baltimore looks strong heading into the 2023 season. After being one of the biggest surprises in MLB last season, they didn’t do much during the free agency period. The team with the best farm system in MLB is going to rely on elite play from their young stars. Adley Rutschman, Rookie of The Year favorite Gunnar Henderson and others will highlight this group. The biggest question heading into the Orioles season is if they can compete with the big boys in a crowded AL East. No doubt that they will be a pest in the side for all their opponents in 2023. They can start strong in April, they could carry that momentum for the entirety of the season. — Julian Casciano

16. Texas Rangers

Average: 15.8

(Matt 17, Julian 15, Trey 17, Jack 14)

Skinny: A summer after signing infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to a combined $500 million, the Rangers inked former Mets ace Jacob deGrom to $185 million (over five years), as well as Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney. They also hired one of the most respected managers in MLB, Bruce Bochy, in hopes to improve a 68-94 record from a year ago after entering the season with reasonably high expectations. 

15. Chicago White Sox

Average: 15

(Matt 13, Julian 17, Trey 15, Jack 15)

Skinny: Pedro Grifol isn’t Tony La Russa, so the White Sox are already on the right track! Jokes aside, they had a disappointing season a year ago and still have yet to get much development — albeit in part due to injuries — from Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. If they can get consistently healthy seasons from that trio plus Tim Anderson with bounce-back campaigns from Lucas Giolito and Yasmani Grandal, then they should be closer to their 93-win mark in 2021 than its 81-win mark a year ago, even after losing Jose Abreu and AJ Pollock.

14. Minnesota Twins

Average: 13.3

(Matt 15, Julian 13, Trey 13, Jack 12)

Skinny: After a Ring around the Rosie offseason marathon, Carlos Correa ended up back with the Minnesota Twins. There’s still plenty of question marks around Joey Gallo’s production and Byron Buxton’s health, but their lineup should total average production. They also have some intriguing arms in Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan with an above-average bullpen, but this is a 75-80 win team, unless they have multiple breakout campaigns.

13. Milwaukee Brewers

Average: 13.3

(Matt 14, Julian 14, Trey 12, Jack 13)

Skinny: There’s a world where Milwaukee wins the division if their lineup finally comes together and their pitching staff is one of the best in MLB. There’s also a world where their lineup flames out, they’re on the worse end of the NL Wild Card race by the end of July and they sell off even more pieces. With St. Louis loading up yet again, it’s likely the latter is more likely. They didn’t make any substantial additions but are two years removed from winning 95 games, so anything’s possible.

12. Cleveland Guardians

Average: 11

(Matt 12, Julian 11, Trey 11, Jack 10)

Skinny: The Guardians are still the strongest team in the AL Central. The addition of Josh Bell was massive to add depth to their lineup. This is a young, deep roster that has very good players at almost every position. Few squads are able to get more out of their starting pitcher than the Guardians, and that showed last season with Cy Young candidates Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie. Cleveland has a strong farm system. It should be another fun season for the Guardians. — Casciano

The Guardians rank outside of our top 10 in this month’s power rankings!

11. New York Yankees

Average: 10.5

(Matt 6, Julian 4, Trey 16, Jack 16)

Skinny: Woah! The Yankees are out of the top-10 to begin the vaunted March/April rankings. The Yankees rotation went from one of the best in the American League at the New Year to a 2-3-man unit with injuries to newly-signed Rodon, Frankie Montas and Luis Severino. Their lineup still has question marks around Aaron Judge, who will likely regress after a historic 2022 season. But New York will likely still find a way to churn out at least 90 wins, especially if they don’t suffer any more major injuries and their lineup positively regresses to the mean.

10. Tampa Bay Rays

Average: 10.3

(Matt 11, Julian 12, Trey 10, Jack 8)

Skinny: The Rays are the model of consistency across MLB, thanks to #analytics, which is why they’re in the top-10 in our March power rankings. They inked Zach Eflin to the biggest deal in franchise history and are expected to roll out another high-upside lineup, spearheaded by Randy Arozarena and Wander Franco, who dealt with injuries a year ago. If you’re looking for a sneaky World Series candidate, the Rays are always looming.

9. St. Louis Cardinals

Average: 9.3

(Matt 8, Julian 10, Trey 8, Jack 11)

Skinny: The Cardinals were a top-five offense in MLB and improved with the addition of catcher Willson Contreras. They have a litany of versatile middle infielders, two MVP candidates on the corners and young bats (Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar) who round out their lineup. They’re the likely NL Central division winner, as long as their rotation and bullpen remain healthy.

8. Seattle Mariners

Average: 7.8

(Matt 7, Julian 9, Trey 6, Jack 9)

Skinny: The Mariners got their first sniff of the postseason in 21 years last year, so the expectation will be greater this year.  Their already-lengthy lineup (and infield defense) improved with the additions of Kolten Wong and Teoscar Hernandez, who has 30-home run potential. The Ms will also get a full year of Luis Castillo to pair with a sneaky deep rotation. This team has good of a chance as anyone else in the AL West at dethroning Houston for atop the division, even though it’s not a guarantee.

7. Philadelphia Phillies

Average: 7

(Matt 9, Julian 6, Trey 7, Jack 6)

Skinny: It was a very active offseason for the Phillies, and it needed to be after being just two wins shy of finishing one of the more magical playoff runs to date. The headline move was bringing in superstar shortstop Trea Turner to secure a position that had been an Achilles heel for this Phillies team for what felt like a lifetime. And the addition of guys like Taijuan Walker, and Gregory Soto should help sure up an already impressive pitching staff. In plain terms the Phillies are a team are were in the World Series just a season ago and got even better, safe to say expectations in Philly are high. Missing Harper for the first half of the season will hurt but there is plenty of star power in this lineup to help combat that. — Jack Sabin

6. New York Mets

Average: 6.5

(Matt 10, Julian 3, Trey 9, Jack 4)

Skinny: The Mets took a big hit when they lost superstar closer Edwin Diaz during the World Baseball Classic. Pair this up with the loss of Jose Quintana and the Mets have had one of the more unfortunate springs of any team. Even without these two arms, this Mets squad looks to make a lot of noise again in 2023. They replaced Jacob deGrom with Justin Verlander and signed Kodai Senga. Re-signing Brandon Nimmo was crucial. Their lineup looks to be just as potent as last season, and the pitching staff might be even better. A hot April could set the tone for this Mets season. — Casciano

The Mets and Phillies are back-to-back in this month’s power rankings!

5. San Diego Padres

Average: 4.8

(Matt 3, Julian 5, Trey 4, Jack 7)

Skinny: Spend Spend Spend!! That was the clear motto AJ Preller and this Padres team had going into this offseason. And to their credit, they did just that. They extended Manny Machado and Yu Darvish to monster contracts that will keep them in SD for the foreseeable future. They then went out and signed Xander Bogaerts to a huge 11-year contract, basically admitting to MLB that they are all in. In fact, Rob Manfred himself came out and questioned how the Padres were able to afford all these contracts. But for now, they have found a way and have been able to put together a very impressive roster as a result. A healthy lineup that will include Soto, Tatis, Bogaerts and Machado is lethal and should lead the Padres very deep into the playoffs if only certain players can stay healthy. They’re rightfully a top-5 team in this month’s rankings. — Sabin

4. Toronto Blue Jays

Average: 4.8

(Matt 5, Julian 8, Trey 1, Jack 5)

Skinny: Is it crazy to believe the Jays can’t finally break through to win the division and be a World Series contender? There are definitely questions in the lineup with the acquisitions of Brandon Belt, who’s had a hard time staying on the field the last two seasons, Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho, who’s entering his first full season in the bigs. But their newfangled lineup balance matters and there isn’t as much pressure with the big boppers sandwiched at the top of the order. 

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

Average: 4.8

(Matt 4, Julian 7, Trey 5, Jack 3)

Skinny: Clayton Kershaw continues to break my brain with how good he is — even with his declining velocity at 35-years-old. I’m not completely folding on the length of their lineup with J.D. Martinez and Max Muncy coming off bad 2022 seasons after being productive in previous seasons. Losing Gavin Lux and Walker Buehler for the season due to injury doesn’t help, but this roster can still churn out 90-95-plus wins.

2. Atlanta Braves

Average: 1.8

(Matt 2, Julian 2, Trey 2, Jack 1)

Skinny: Atlanta is the second-best team in our rankings this month, even though I had them at the top. As a Phillies fan, this Braves team scares me. I mean when you look at this team you can’t see a real glaring weakness. The rotation 1-5 is excellent with guys like Max Fried and Kyle Wright , providing stability at the top with guys like Spencer Strider set to take another step and emergence as one of the top pitchers in the game. And the lineup is chock-full of talent. Matt Olson at first is about as good as it gets. A middle infield of Ozzie Albies and Orlando Arcia gives you 2 solid gloves up the middle. Austin Riley continues to prove that he is one of the top offensive third basemen in MLB. And an outfield with the likes of Michael Harris and Ronald Acuna, who I think is due for a huge season, tops off a scary team. The NL East will be a bloodbath but I think the Braves have a slight edge over its rivals. — Sabin

1. Houston Astros

Average: 1.8

(Matt 1, Julian 1, Trey 3, Jack 2)

Skinny: Houston is still the best team in MLB, as of today, which is why they rank atop our Power Rankings. The defending champions may have had a questionable offseason at times, losing veterans like Justin Verlander. The addition of Jose Abreu makes this ‘Stros team a scary one. Their infield is probably the best in MLB. Dusty Baker’s lineup is lethal. Not having Altuve for an extended period will sting, but the champions are the league’s best team. GM Dana Brown has configured this squad to be amongst the American League’s elites again.– Casciano

***

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