Season 23 is the brink, which means it's time for the preseason power rankings! There were some interesting off-season events, including a change in ownership for the back-to-back champs Dover, who still come into the season as the #1 team, although they should be heavily challenged for that spot throughout the season. Coming in at #2 is Houston, who has broken into the ranks of the elite by adding 3-time Cy Young Award winner
Norman LaPorta and 2-time MVP
Dustan Jackson to an already solid squad. Tampa Bay comes in at #3, as they should have another great year, along with #4 Pittsburgh who has won 100 games 3 out of the last 4 seasons. World Series runner-up Atlanta comes in at #5, despite being the undisputed, unchallenged #1 in their owner's mind. Jokes aside, it wouldn't be shocking to see them a top the rankings at some point this season. Here are the complete rankings, good luck to all the teams in Season 23!
|
Team |
W |
L |
Comments |
| 1 |
Dover |
109 |
53 |
Hard to drop the back-to-back champs at this point |
| 2 |
Houston |
94 |
68 |
Adding LaPorta and Jackson should make them elite |
| 3 |
Tampa Bay |
109 |
53 |
Some argue they are aging, but should be solid again |
| 4 |
Pittsburgh |
105 |
57 |
Looking like a contender again with great pitching |
| 5 |
Atlanta |
96 |
66 |
World series runner-up should have a great season |
| 6 |
Los Angeles |
92 |
70 |
Always in the thick of it, and should be this season |
| 7 |
Boston |
105 |
57 |
Not sure if they can repeat last season, but still good |
| 8 |
St. Louis |
89 |
73 |
Solid across the board, so should be in it this season |
| 9 |
Las Vegas |
86 |
76 |
NL West is tough, but they should be up for the fight |
| 10 |
Buffalo |
88 |
74 |
Great pitching, but how will the offense produce? |
| 11 |
Helena |
87 |
75 |
If the pitching improves, they could be on the rise |
| 12 |
San Juan |
83 |
79 |
Made some moves in FA, and have solid core of youth |
| 13 |
Little Rock |
86 |
76 |
Coming off a down season, have the talent to rebound |
| 14 |
Durham |
88 |
74 |
This team is up and down, what will this season hold? |
| 15 |
Charlotte |
82 |
80 |
Pretty solid club here, and could be headed higher |
| 16 |
Austin |
84 |
78 |
Offense needs to improve for them to contend |
| 17 |
Ottawa |
81 |
81 |
Offense was an issue for them, can they improve? |
| 18 |
Pawtucket |
80 |
82 |
Have some potential here, and city move should help |
| 19 |
Louisville |
77 |
85 |
Losing Jackson hurts, but pitching is the main issue |
| 20 |
Colorado Springs |
73 |
89 |
AL West contenders, but not because of team talent |
| 21 |
Salt Lake City |
80 |
82 |
Fell apart at the end last season, and lost some FA's |
| 22 |
Seattle |
61 |
101 |
Have good prospects, can the offense get it down? |
| 23 |
Albuquerque |
70 |
92 |
Lost a few FA's, as the new owner makes it their own |
| 24 |
New York |
72 |
90 |
We'll see if they're able to take a step forward |
| 25 |
Syracuse |
75 |
87 |
Pitching needs to improve for them to get better |
| 26 |
Rochester |
74 |
88 |
Pitching got rocked last season, will it improve? |
| 27 |
Texas |
67 |
95 |
Surprisingly bad offense last season needs to improve |
| 28 |
Salem |
71 |
91 |
At least you can't count them out of the AL West race |
| 29 |
Trenton |
69 |
93 |
Lost some FA's, so they're a bit of a question mark |
| 30 |
Philadelphia |
51 |
111 |
Not really sure where they're at with the rebuild |
| 31 |
Florida |
53 |
109 |
This is a rebuild for sure, but new owner is solid |
| 32 |
San Francisco |
55 |
107 |
Can they finally get it together this season? Not sure. |