Carter’s MLB Power Rankings: April 12

1. Philadelphia Phillies (5-1)

Great offensive team + Roy Halladay success = success for whole team.

The Phillies have scored a league-best 43 runs so far this season. And that’s just offense. They’ve also given up an NL-low 18 runs so far. 

Roy Halladay is currently my leader in my NL Cy Young award race (posted at bottom of article). A 2-0 start with a 0.56 ERA and 17 strikeouts is not very surprising for Halladay in his first two starts.

 

2. Arizona Diamondbacks (4-2)

Like the Phillies, the key to the Diamondbacks so far has been their offense. They have scored 41 runs so far only six games into the season. Blame most of that on guys like newcomer Kelly Johnson, Chris Young, Justin Upton, and Miguel Montero (all who have at least six hits this season).

 

3. Oakland Athletics (5-2)

Sure they are the best offensive team in the American League right now, but enjoy that while you can, A’s fans. Not very many people are expecting the A’s to have much success this year. Can they prove the haters wrong?

 

4. Detroit Tigers (5-1)

The Tigers already have four players with at least 10 hits this year (Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez, Austin Jackson, Brandon Inge).

 

5. St. Louis Cardinals (4-2)

The Cardinals are having success offensively. They have scored 37 runs during their first six games, and Albert Pujols is still playing like Albert Pujols (nine hits, four HRs, 10 RBIs through first six games).

 

6. Toronto Blue Jays (5-1)

Great start for the Blue Jays’ pitchers. They’ve only given up 18 total runs so far.

 

7. San Francisco Giants (5-1)

I’m not surprised that the Giants have only given up 20 runs so far. If you have pitchers like Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain as your top two pitchers, you can expect the “runs against” number to be pretty low all year long.

 

8. Minnesota Twins (5-2)

Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, and Joe Mauer are (not surprisingly) leading the way for the very nice Twins offense.

 

9. Atlanta Braves (3-3)

I’m not even going to lie…this Jason Heyward kid is starting to grow on me. He’s going to be pretty good!

 

10. New York Yankees (4-2)

No surprise that the defending champions are ranked in the top five in the majors in scoring. Great offensive starts by Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, and Derek Jeter so far.

 

11. Colorado Rockies (3-3)

They might not look like a top-10 team in my eyes just yet, but they are getting there. Carlos Gonzalez is playing his part very well (.393 average, 11 hits through six games).

 

12. Texas Rangers (3-3)

If it weren’t for Frank Francisco, the Rangers could be 5-1 by now.

 

13. New York Mets (2-4)

This team looks a little better than 2-4 right now. Jeff Francoeur looks to be the MVP of the team for the first week of the season. He’s batting .476 with 10 hits, two HR, and six RBI.

 

14. Boston Red Sox (3-3)

Former MVP Dustin Pedroia is playing like the team’s MVP through the first week (.370 average, 10 hits, 3 HR, 7 RBI).

 

15. Los Angeles Dodgers (2-4)

One guy to pay attention to: Charlie Haeger. He pitched well against the Marlins recording 12 strikeouts while giving up four runs on three hits.

 

16. Chicago White Sox (2-4)

John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Matt Thornton all recording at least six strikeouts so far this season as the White Sox pitching staff as a whole is playing pretty well. They’ve only given up 20 total runs this year.

 

17. Florida Marlins (4-2)

I know the Marlins are over .500, but opponents have scored five more runs than them through the first six games.

 

18. Milwaukee Brewers (3-3)

Now if only their pitching starts showing up, they could be a few games over .500. Only Pittsburgh and Washington are the only other NL teams that have given up more runs than the Brew Crew.

 

19. Cincinnati Reds (3-3)

The Reds need to start hitting more. Their leading hitter (Joey Votto) only has six hits.

 

20. Tampa Bay Rays (3-3)

I know it’s only the first week of the season, but the Blue Jays are looking to take the “third best team in the AL East” title away from the Rays.

 

21. Cleveland Indians (2-4)

How ’bout that Chris Perez, huh?

 

22. Baltimore Orioles (1-5)

Arguably the worst offensive team in the AL so far. The O’s have only scored 19 runs so far this year.

 

23. San Diego Padres (2-4)

Not a very good offensive team. Can’t blame it on Chase Headley (11 hits) or Adrian Gonzalez (8 hits) though. My fifth place NL West preseason ranking for the Padres is looking pretty good so far.

 

24. Chicago Cubs (2-4)

Lack of offense. The Cubbies have only scored 18 runs in their first six games. That’s the second-lowest total in the majors entering Monday.

 

25. Kansas City Royals (2-4)

The Angels are the only AL team to give up more runs (44) than the Royals (41).

 

26. Seattle Mariners (2-5)

Not sure if the return of Cliff Lee will make that much of a difference for the Mariners’ pitching woes. Other than Felix Hernandez, who do they really have in the rotation?

 

27. Pittsburgh Pirates (3-3)

The Bucs lost their pitching staff!! Somebody go find them!

 

28. Washington Nationals (3-3)

Only the Pirates have given up more runs than the Nationals.

 

29. Los Angeles Angels (2-5)

I wonder if the Angels are missing John Lackey yet? I bet they are. The Angels have given up an AL-worst 44 runs so far this year.

 

30. Houston Astros (0-6)

The Astros are not playing well offensively. Pretty much the only reason why they’re still winless. Their pitching staff isn’t too hot either. The Pirates are the only NL team to give up more runs than the Astros so far this year.

 

 

Carter’s 2010 MLB Award Races:

 

AL Most Valuable Player

1. Magglio Ordonez (DET): .462 avg., 12 hits, 2 HR, 6 RBIS

2. Miguel Cabrera (DET): .522 avg., 12 hits, 2 HR, 8 RBIS

3. Hideki Matsui (LAA): .370 avg., 10 hits, 2 HR, 5 RBIS

4. Nelson Cruz (TEX): .450 avg., 9 hits, 4 HR, 9 RBIS

5. Alex Gonzalez (TOR): .346 avg., 9 hits, 4 HR, 4 RBIS

 

NL Most Valuable Player

1. Matt Holliday (STL): .423 avg., 11 hits, 3 HR, 6 RBIS

2. Ryan Howard (PHI): .357 avg., 10 hits, 3 HR, 10 RBIS

3. Jeff Francoeur (NYM): .476 avg., 10 hits, 2 HR, 6 RBIS

4. Albert Pujols (STL): .375 avg., 9 hits, 4 HR, 10 RBIS

5. Ian Stewart (COL): .391 avg., 9 hits, 2 HR, 5 RBIS

 

AL Cy Young Award

1. Jered Weaver (LAA): 1-0, 3.00 ERA, 13 strikeouts

2. Dallas Braden (OAK): 1-0, 2.77 ERA, 12 strikeouts

3. Kevin Millwood (BAL): 0-1, 2.13 ERA, 11 strikeouts

4. Shaun Marcum (TOR): 0-0, 3.46 ERA, 11 strikeouts

5. James Shields (TB): 0-0, 3.97 ERA, 11 strikeouts

 

NL Cy Young Award

1. Roy Halladay (PHI): 2-0, 0.56 ERA, 17 strikeouts

2. Tim Lincecum (SF): 2-0, 1.29 ERA, 17 strikeouts

3. Ubaldo Jimenez (COL): 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 13 strikeouts

4. Dan Haren (ARZ): 1-1, 3.95 ERA, 13 strikeouts

5. Charlie Haeger (LAD): 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 12 strikeouts

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