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The 2015 Major League Baseball season kicked off Sunday with a clash between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Everyone else joins the fray Monday.
Opening Day probably should be a national holiday, because let’s face it: no one is being too productive, anyway. Baseball is back and every team is starting from scratch, spawning hope across the continent.
But, as we’ll learn, not all teams are created equal. Some rule, some stink and others toil away in the middle. We figured slapping down some power rankings would be the best way to figure out where everyone stands on Opening Day.
So, let’s rank each team from No. 1 through No. 30. You can disagree, of course, but no one has to listen.
1. Washington Nationals
This team is absolutely stacked. Its starting rotation is nuts. Maybe they’ll run the table.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher on the planet, and Zack Greinke would be the ace almost anywhere else. Enjoy watching that two-headed monster again this season.
3. Los Angeles Angels
Mike Trout can’t play all nine positions at once, but he’s still the best player in baseball and will help the Halos win a lot of games.
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Bucs might have the league’s most dynamic outfield. Their offense is deep and well-rounded.
5. St. Louis Cardinals
Battle-tested. The Cardinals are perennial contenders, and nothing from the offseason suggests they won’t be near the top again in 2015.
6. Baltimore Orioles
The O’s have been criticized for not making any major additions. But they still won 96 games last season and advanced to the ALCS. They’ll be fine in a division that figures to be weaker than previous years.
7. Seattle Mariners
The Mariners’ starting rotation could be very, very good. They also added offensive punch in the form of Nelson Cruz.
8. Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox might score 8 million runs this season, give or take a couple.
9. Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are aging and trending in the wrong direction, but they still have a potent offense. Detroit needs Justin Verlander to rebound after losing Max Scherzer.
10. Kansas City Royals
Losing James Shields hurts. The Royals’ lights-out bullpen remains intact, though. An interesting formula for success might work again this season.
11. San Francisco Giants
Never count out the Giants. They lost Pablo Sandoval and failed to reel in Jon Lester, but the defending World Series champions should do enough to stick around throughout the season.
12. Chicago White Sox
The White Sox made some splashy moves, including adding Jeff Samardzija. It might not be enough to put them over the top, but the AL Central is there for the taking.
13. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays, like some of their AL East brethren, have a very potent offense and questions on the pitching side. Expect plenty of 10-9 games this season.
14. San Diego Padres
The Padres made moves right up until Opening Day, landing dominant closer Craig Kimbrel and the artist formerly known as B.J. Upton from the Braves on Sunday. Their outfield defense could be a circus, but their pitching should be solid and their offense should be much improved.
15. Miami Marlins
Young and exciting. Can they put it all together?
16. Chicago Cubs
The Cubbies might top this list as soon as next season. For now, it’s all potential.
17. Oakland Athletics
The A’s shuffled their roster, for lack of a better word. It doesn’t look like they got any better, but it’s tough to count them out given their track record in recent years.
18. New York Yankees
The Yankees are old. Are they washed up? And will Masahiro Tanaka’s elbow stay in one piece?
19. Cleveland Indians
Terry Francona has been working his magic since arriving on the scene. He’ll need to do so again this season because the roster isn’t overly impressive, even in the wake of Corey Kluber’s Cy Young season.
20. New York Mets
The Mets should be respectable, especially since they’ll be able to beat up on the Phillies and Braves this season. Matt Harvey, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, is a stud atop a formidable rotation.
21. Cincinnati Reds
The Reds need guys like Jay Bruce and Joey Votto to bounce back, especially since their rotation won’t be as good with Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon pitching elsewhere. If those guys don’t bounce back, it’ll be a long season in Cincinnati.
22. Tampa Bay Rays
Joe Maddon is gone, and there could be some growing pains to kick off the Kevin Cash era. The rotation will be all right, but Tampa Bay lacks thunder in its lineup.
23. Milwaukee Brewers
2014 was a tale of two seasons. 2015 might bring more consistency, but it might not be for the better.
24. Houston Astros
The ‘Stros are trending upward, which tends to happen when you rack up high draft picks. It might be another couple of years before they’re serious players.
25. Minnesota Twins
The Twins can hit a little bit. But their pitching and defense are lackluster, and things only got worse last week when Ervin Santana was suspended for 80 games after a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.
26. Texas Rangers
The Rangers were ravaged by injuries last season. That trend already is continuing this season with Yu Darvish and Jurickson Profar going down for the year.
27. Arizona Diamondbacks
The D-Backs feature some big boppers. Unfortunately for Arizona, that does little to help its terrible pitching.
28. Colorado Rockies
Good offense. Crappy pitching. Just another year in Denver.
29. Atlanta Braves
The Braves are sending everyone packing as part of their rebuilding process. The battle for worst team could get interesting.
30. Philadelphia Phillies
Poor Cole Hamels.
Thumbnail photo via Allan Henry/USA TODAY Sports Images
