Spring training is finally underway, and games are set to begin this week in the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, so let’s kick things off with another updated version of our MLB power rankings.
We last updated these rankings Feb. 22, so any transactions or injuries that have taken place between then and now were factored into the changes you’ll see in the following rankings.
Notable additions during that span include: OF Ian Desmond (TEX), OF Dexter Fowler (CHC), IF/OF Chris Coghlan (OAK), OF Will Venable (CLE), OF Shane Victorino (CHC), OF Drew Stubbs (TEX), OF Domonic Brown (TOR), 1B/3B Casey McGehee (DET) and RP Rafael Soriano (TOR).
We also saw Abraham Almonte (CLE) suspended, Jose Reyes (COL) put on administrative leave and Hyun-Jin Ryu (LAD) ticketed for the disabled list.
There were also a few simple shifts in opinion on how some teams stack up to others.
There’s obviously no game action to justify shuffling these rankings at this point, but here in the offseason, the more you think about teams, the more your opinion is likely to change.
Call it analysis or call it overanalysis, it’s just a part of these preseason rankings—and 400-plus comments on the last version of these rankings gave me plenty to think about.
As with any offseason power rankings, these are not simply meant to be a prediction for the year ahead. Instead, they are a look at how teams would stack up with the rosters they currently have if the season were to start today.
Keep that in mind when considering where your favorite team falls in the following rankings, as a lot can still change between now and Opening Day.
Note: This time around, we’ve included a projected 25-man Opening Day roster for each club. The roster projections from Roster Resource served as an invaluable starting point in this exercise, though I made changes based on my own opinions.
In the following projected rosters, (R) indicates a player with rookie eligibility remaining, while a bold player is a newcomer to the team.