Dan Canova’s Power Rankings: Top 5 Teams for Week 3 of Major League Baseball
Who has emerged? Actually, it’s more like what has stayed the same.
Week 3 of Major League Baseball has dictated many possibilities looking forward into the upcoming weeks. I feel almost as if every time I do one of these posts, I have new things to talk about constantly. But there’s always the same basic statements that need to be drilled into people’s heads. For example, Matt Kemp is the best player in Major League Baseball, Period. Or Justin Verlander continues to dominate as the best pitcher in baseball. Albert Pujols and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are struggling big time, but it’s a young season. It’s far from over.
Here’s my top 5 teams in baseball for Week 3:
5. New York Yankees: A week ago, I had the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees tied for the number 5 spot. Now I have erased the Sox, and the Yankees stand alone. The Yanks beat Boston twice this past weekend, and they might have on Sunday as well if it weren’t for mother nature. The reason why I still have New York at number 5 is simple, their pitching stinks. The reason why they are even in the my top 5 is because they have one of the best lineups in all of baseball. I’m sure it will continue, especially the way Derek Jeter has looked. He went from 36 to 26 years old.
4. St. Louis Cardinals: No Albert Pujols? No problem. The Cardinals are the 2nd best team in the National League, possibly number 1 in some people’s eyes, but they remain at number 4 on my list. Their pitching has been phenomenal, and they lead the National League in homeruns, batting average, and hits. A team that lost their best player in franchise history, didn’t lose a beat from winning the World Series a year ago. They remain hot.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers: Even though the Dodgers lost Sunday afternoon, this week they are still my number 1 team in the National League, but they dropped from 1 to 3 overall. The Cardinals may have a better overall team than LA, but Matt Kemp continues to show why he is the best player in all of baseball. He’s single handily carrying the Dodgers. The man is batting .450 with 9 homeruns and 22 RBI’s in 16 games. I love the hitting of this team, but other than Clayton Kershaw, their starting pitching may be inconsistent later this season.
2. Detroit Tigers: This week, the Tigers faced off against my number 1 team in my Power Rankings, the Texas Rangers. Texas took 2 from the boys in Detroit. The one game Detroit did win was when their ace was on the hill, Justin Verlander, the best pitcher in all of baseball. The Tigers seemed to cool down a bit, hitting wise, but remember the Texas Rangers went to the World Series the last two seasons. They are an overall great team. I expect the Tigers and Rangers to be playing in the ALCS come October.
1. Texas Rangers: The best hitting team in all of baseball. 1-7 is awesome. Kinsler. Andrus. Hamilton. Young. Cruz. Beltre (who did pull a hammy yesterday). Napoli (who’s homered 5 out of the last 6 games). Just an absolute great team. Their pitching is doing well. All they really need to do is keep their offense close enough in games, because they will put up tons of runs. 6, or 7 sounds good. The Rangers have the best record in all of baseball, and this year I believe they are on a mission. The past two seasons, they came so close to winning the World Series, two appearances, and they came up empty handed. I can see them returning for a third year.
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