Most baseball predictions are relatively straightforward. Sure, you can argue over whether Joey Votto will be better than Albert Pujols or who will win the AL East, but as long as the focus is on just one outcome, it’s at least easy to understand the train of thought.
That’s why, when one person decides to power rank all 30 MLB teams, things inevitably go awry.
There’s a general consensus about how the top and the bottom should look, but in between the two extremes, things can get pretty screwy. One man’s top-three team is in another man’s bottom five.
Luckily, Bleacher Report’s Featured Columnists have found a solution. Twenty-six of the site’s most knowledgeable writers, representing 18 teams, all wrote in with their lists, which we combined into this—our composite power rankings, in which the group consensus outweighs our individual biases.
For each team, you can see our average ranking, as well as the extreme highs and lows they reached on our ballots. The numbers are accompanied by commentary from 18 different writers, so you can read a whole range of different perspectives on how the 2011 season will shake out.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this survey—now let’s see how we do!