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|  It’s time for the debut of your 2006 MLB Power Rankings
Red Sox look like the team to beat
Dayn Perry / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 2 minutes ago
It’s time for the debut of your 2006 MLB Power Rankings.
The moves are made, the rosters are coming together and spring games are underway. As such, it’s time to assess how these teams should fare in 2006. These rankings have nothing to do with spring performances to date; rather, they’re forecasts based on personnel moves, injuries and thumbnail performance projections.
Questions for this week … Which color of Sox takes top honors? What’s the toughest division in baseball? Who’s going to be the worst first-place team? Who’s going to be the best last-place team? Why should you care about the Marlins? What happens if the A’s stay healthy? Braves or Mets in the NL East? Are the Indians primed to take the next step forward?
Answers to these questions and more …
MLB Power Rankings Week Of 03/13/2006
1 Red Sox - - 1/1 The Red Sox have done a solid-to-admirable job of filling their holes at third, first, shortstop, and in center. The relief corps has been impressively revamped, and the rotation has imposing depth. To boot, Theo Epstein’s back in the fold. Much depends on the health of guys like Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, David Wells and Keith Foulke, but as things stand now the Red Sox are tops in baseball.
2 White Sox - - 2/2 Too often, GMs coming off a championship run are content to pare their nails while other teams improve. Not so with the bold Kenny Williams. The White Sox paid dearly for their acquisitions, but they now have a DH who’ll pound right-handed pitching and a rotation with six upper-tier starters. Those moves, and their returning core, mean that the Pale Hose are set to repeat in baseball’s toughest division.
3 Yankees - - 3/3 As the Bombers are wont to do, they filled their most gaping hole but overpaid to do so. Johnny Damon gives them a capable, albeit pricey, glove in the outfield and good left-handed stick at the top of the lineup. The rotation is potentially deep, if a tad unimposing, and the bullpen will be solid. The aging lineup is still capable of scoring 800-plus runs on the season.
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4 Cardinals - - 4/4 Strong rotation one through five, diminished but solid bullpen, first-order core of Pujols, Edmonds and Rolen and depth in the outfield. St. Louis won’t sniff 100 wins for a third straight season, but they are rather handily the best team in a down-cycled National League.
5 Athletics - - 5/5 If Rich Harden, Bobby Crosby, Eric Chavez, Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley all stay healthy, Oakland could be tops in the AL. Even if they all don’t, the A’s should win the West. Bradley and Thomas aid an improved offense, and the rotation could be among the game’s best. Oakland is most assuredly back
6 Braves - - 6/6 No, they’re not going anywhere. Full seasons from talented youngsters like Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann will help the cause, and the front of the rotation is as good as anyone’s. They’ll lose some defense in going from Rafael Furcal to Edgar Renteria, but the offensive levels of production should be comparable. The Joneses are still MVP caliber performers, and Marcus Giles, when healthy, is one of the most underrated players in the game. Still, questions remain … Will the bullpen be as lousy as it was last season, and how will Atlanta fare without Leo Mazzone?
7 Mets - - 7/7 The offseason was something of a mixed bag for the Mets, but they did land a pair of elite performers in Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner. David Wright will continue to make strides, and Carlos Beltran, buoyed by a healthy hamstring, should improve his numbers. The rotation will miss Jae Seo and the league-average stylings of Kris Benson, but a full season of Aaron Heilman as a starter will help the cause. The keys for the Mets will be whether, between Kaz Matsui and Anderson Hernandez, they can get adequate production from second base and whether Jose Reyes improves
8 Angels - - 8/8 The bullpen will be strong once again, and GM Bill Stoneman has done a passable job in replacing the innings he lost in Jarrod Washburn and Paul Byrd. Also, moving Darin Erstad back to center and thereby clearing the way for Casey Kotchman was sensible, but where are the runs going to come from? This offense is going to be a serious liability. And by the way, did you know that “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” in full-out English reads as “The Angels Angels of Anaheim”?
9 Blue Jays - - 9/9 If Roy Halladay manages a full season, the Jays will have an imposing, and groundball-heavy, pitching staff. The addition of B.J. Ryan also gives them an elite shutdown closer. Of course, that groundball staff would fare even better if Orlando Hudson and Corey Koskie still around. A solid a team—a team that would win the NL West—but they’re just not on the level of the Red Sox and Yankees.
10 Tigers - - 10/10 Your darkhorse AL team for 2006 … The Tigers’ offense will be among the league’s best, and if some of the young pitching (e.g., Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya in the bullpen) comes along, they could be a second-place team. The bullpen needs work (Todd Jones helps nothing), and Kenny Rogers is in for a serious regression. Still, this is a club worth paying attention to.
11 Indians - - 11/11 The Tribe is becoming a trendy pick in the AL going into the upcoming season, but there are reasons for concern. To wit, the bullpen has been seriously thinned out, reigning AL ERA champ Kevin Millwood is no more, they’ll get inadequate production from third base (at least until Andy Marte takes the job from Aaron Boone), first base and the outfield corners, and Jhonny Peralta is in for a regression. That all adds up to a disappointing season in Cleveland.
12 Phillies - - 12/12 Pitching is still the problem for the Phils. The bullpen last season was among the NL’s worst units, and that was with Billy Wagner. As for the rotation, it’s still spotty, and bringing in the likes of Ryan Franklin won’t help. It’s vital that the Phils bench David Bell on the double, but that’s not likely to happen. Blame it on the ongoing fealty to vets with pricey contracts.
13 Twins - - 13/13 The Twins will have one of the best run-prevention units in the game, but the offense is bad. Like The Ring 2 bad. The upshot is a likely fourth-place finish in the rough-and-tumble AL Central. The Twins will err badly if they give the fifth starter’s job to Scott Baker instead of Francisco Liriano.
14 Dodgers - - 14/14 L.A. is almost bound to be healthier this season, and the nifty acquisitions of Rafael Furcal, Danys Baez and Jae Seo will push them over the top in the decidedly lackluster NL West.
15 Rangers - - 15/15 Hank Blalock is a great rebound candidate, and Brad Wilkerson’s fly-ball stroke will find Ameriquest Field to be quite accommodating. The addition of Kevin Millwood helps the rotation, but the back end is still terribly problematic. Given a few breaks, the Rangers could finish second, but they’re not in Oakland’s class.
16 Brewers - - 16/16 They’re the second-place team in the NL Central if and only if Ben Sheets is healthy. Considering his recent history and the muscle injury he’s already incurred this spring, that may not be a safe bet. Still, Prince Fielder should win the NL Rookie of the Year, and Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy should continue to progress.
17 Padres - - 17/17 The Padres, by re-upping with Brian Giles, trading for Mike Cameron and signing Mike Piazza—have held serve quite nicely, but if the Dodgers maintain some semblance of good health, then San Diego is out of luck.
18 Orioles - - 18/18 The O’s core—Miguel Tejada, Ramon Hernandez, Jay Gibbons, Brian Roberts and Melvin Mora—is quite solid, but there’s simply not enough surrounding talent to allow them to compete in the AL East. Expect progress from Daniel Cabrera and Erik Bedard, but the lineup still has a number of holes.
19 Cubs - - 19/19 The Cubs’ hopes for contention in 2006 depend upon a thicket of contingencies. If Kerry Wood stays healthy, if Mark Prior stays healthy, if Derrek Lee doesn’t regress to his pre-2005 levels, if Greg Maddux doesn’t go over the cliff, if the bullpen holds together, if Dusty Baker doesn’t give too much playing time to Neifi Perez and Marquis Grissom, if Juan Pierre hits better than he did last season, if Jacque Jones is religiously platooned … That’s way too many ifs.
20 Astros - - 20/20 Even if Roger Clemens opts to pitch again in the majors and re-signs with the Astros, this team won’t be returning to the postseason. At the very least, they’ll be without Clemens’ services until May 1, and both he and Andy Pettitte are primed for regressions. The offense is awful, especially if the smoldering remains of Jeff Bagwell decide to play another season.
21 Mariners - - 21/21 Seattle will be the best last-place team in the game this season. If that’s not comfort enough, then M’s fans can savor every pitch from Felix Hernandez—one of the best pitching prospects in the annals of the game—and see how the young middle infielders develop. Seattle is good enough to play spoiler quite effectively, but contention is highly unlikely.
22 Nationals - - 22/22 Rookie Ryan Zimmerman will show pop to the gaps and once-in-a-generation defense at third. Livan Hernandez will soldier on as perhaps the most underrated starting pitcher in baseball, and John Patterson will look to build upon his breakout season in 2005. Overall, however, the offense just isn’t good enough.
23 Reds - - 23/23 For the first time in what seems like forever, the Reds aren’t hindered by an outfield bottleneck. The trade of Sean Casey to the Pirates means Adam Dunn can move to first, and Ken Griffey Jr., Wily Mo Pena and Austin Kearns can man the outfield. The pitching isn’t there, and health is a concern for every member of that newly unfettered outfield. Having Aaron Harang as their “ace” will prevent the Reds from aspiring to seriousness.
24 Giants - - 24/24 It all depends, of course, on how often Barry Bonds and his ailing knees are able to take the field. Even with Bonds for most of the season, the Giants aren’t going to contend. If he misses most or all of the 2006 season, San Fran could finish last in baseball’s weakest division.
25 Diamondbacks - - 25/25 The Snakes won’t contend this season, but their staggering collection of young talent means the future is supernova bright. Expect a big year from the ground-balling Brandon Webb, who’ll benefit from having Orlando Hudson behind him.
26 Devil Rays - - 26/26 Consider them the AL’s answer the Diamondbacks. The Rays are far from contention in the here and now, but their forthcoming youngsters may mean divisional supremacy in the years to come. Key questions: Can Tampa scare up any starting pitching behind Scott Kazmir?
27 Rockies - - 27/27 GM Dan O’Dowd has tried about every approach under the sun, and nothing has worked. Baseball on Planet Coors is a tricky thing, and the Rox are no closer to figuring it out. Scary thought for the day: Todd Helton is signed through 2011. Yeah, 2011.
28 Marlins - - 28/28 The craven sell-off by Jeff Loria, who’s toe-deep in the process of murdering his second franchise, is worthy of full-throated ridicule, but the team itself won’t be all that bad. By that we mean they won’t lose 100 games. Relish the opportunity to see Miguel Cabrera hit, and see how Jeremy Hermida fares in his bid to win NL Rookie of the Year.
29 Pirates - - 29/29 The Pirates, in keeping with recent tradition, have added a number of pointless vets over the winter. That won’t keep them out of the cellar. The organization boasts an impressive collection of young left-handed pitching, and their development should keep Buc fans occupied. At least until May.
30 Royals - - 30/30 The Royals, by adding vets like Reggie Sanders, Mark Grudzielanek and Mark Redman, will be a tad better this year, but that really speaks to how awful they were in 2005. Alex Gordon and Billy Butler are on the way. Otherwise, it’s lousiness as usual in KC. |
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