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2015 MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers, Nationals, Cardinals the top 3 – Metro US
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2015 MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers, Nationals, Cardinals the top 3

2015 MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers, Nationals, Cardinals the top 3
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1. Los Angeles Dodgers – After falling in Game 7 of the ALDS to the Cardinals last season,the Dodgers are out for revenge. With a starting rotation of ClaytonKershaw, Zack Grenkie, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy, you’re likely not going to find a better rotation in the game.

2. Washington Nationals – The Nationals already had one of the top young talents in the game inBryce Harper butWashington went out and had one of the better offseasons in baseball this past winter. With the addition of Max Scherzer, their pitching staff will once again be one of the best in baseball.

3. St. Louis Cardinals – The Cardinals are known for their pitching, led by young stud Michael Wacha, but St. Louis went out and got right fielder Jason Heyward to help bolster its lineup. They will are surely the favorites in the NLCentral.

4. Seattle Mariners – The Mariners missed the playoffs by just one game last season, and with additions theorganization made there’s a good shot they will end their postseason drought this year. Last year’s home run leader Nelson Cruz should help the Mariners offense become one of the better ones the American League has to offer in 2015.

5. Los Angeles Angels – Los Angeles was one of the best teams in 2014, winning the AL West. There’s no doubt the Angels will be good this season, but how good is the question.The status of slugger Josh Hamilton remains up in the air.

6. San Francisco Giants – The defending World Champs lost their third baseman in Pablo Sandoval to the Red Sox and may not even be their best team in their division. But, with the World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner leading the way, anything can happen.

7. Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh has had a sudden resurgence in the past few seasons led by center fielder Andrew McCutchen. He will get some help with Korean infielder Jung Ho Kang, who hit 40 homers in Korea last year.

8. Kansas City Royals – There are a lot of question marks with the defending AL champion Royals, and that is why they aren’t even in the top five. Kansas City lost their ace in James Shields, so they will be in search for a new No. 1 starter to lead their rotation to go along with their exceptionally strong bullpen.

9. Detroit Tigers – The Tigers are loaded offensively, as they are always close to, or at the top in baseball in runs, but pitching could be an issue this season. Detroit lost two of their top starters in Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see their pitching and defense dip this season.

10. Toronto Blue Jays – No team made more noise this offeason than the Blue Jays as they added Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson offensively. Toronto has been tabbed by many to win the AL East, which would get them back into the postseason for the first time since 1993.

11. Oakland Athletics – Oakland lost a lot of talent this past offseason, and seems to be going with a new philosophy of younger players with cheaper contracts. Will it be enough to get back to the postseason?

12. Boston Red Sox – The Red Sox could be much higher on this list, but coming off a last place finish last season, they haven’t proven anything yet. The Soxshould have one of the better lineups in baseball with the additions of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. The team’s success will depend on the pitching and how well they can perform.

13. San Diego Padres – Similar to the Red Sox, this team could be ranked higher with all the talent they acquired this offseason, but they haven’t proven anything and they are coming off of a disappointing 2014 season.

14. Baltimore Orioles – Led by Buck Showalter, the Orioles should once again be in the playoff mix this season. The loss of Nelson Cruz will likely affect their offensive production, but they are hopeful their pitching can help pick up some of the slack.

15. Cleveland Indians – The Indians were in the Wild Card hunt for much of last season, and should be able to compete with the Tigers and Royals in the AL Central once again this year, especially with defending AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber. Also with Terry Francona as manager, the team has as good of a chance as any to make a run at the postseason.

16. Miami Marlins – Miami showed a lot of promise last season, especially with their run in the middle of the season. With a healthy Giancarlo Stanton, and not a dominant team in the NL East, the Marlins could be back making a run at the postseason again.

17. Chicago Cubs – Could this be the Cubs year to turn things around? General manager Theo Epstein certainly helped his cause by getting arguably the best free agent pitcher on the market in Jon Lester. The Cubs play the opening game of the season Sunday night.

18. New York Yankees – There are a lot of question marks with the Yankees going into the season. The biggest is the health of their pitching staff and how will Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia hold up. Right now, it’s hard to see the Yankees doing much damage this year.

19. Tampa Bay Rays – Like the Yankees, there are a lot of question marks as well. After losing David Price last season, their starting rotation certainly isn’t as good as it once was. They too have injury concerns in their rotation with Alex Cobb and Drew Smyly having tendinitis.

20. Chicago White Sox – The White Sox had a terrible year last season, but made some moves this past offseason to give them help for 2015. Jeff Samardzija headlines the players they added, but they also added talent in Melky Cabrera and Adam LaRoche.

21. New York Mets – Although the Mets struggled much of last year, they showed some promise towards the end and are looking to carry some of that momentum into this season. Getting Matt Harvey back in the rotation will certainly help.

22. Texas Rangers – After a major disappointing year in 2014, the Rangers will look to rebound this season. Things won’t be as easy as they could have been as Yu Darvish is out for the year with an elbow injury.

23. Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee was one of the best teams in the majors to open the season last year, but slowly dropped in the rankings as the season went on. They will once again need All-Stars Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez to have good years once again.

24. Houston Astros – After a few years at the bottom of the league’s standings, the Astros could be looking at a bit of resurgence this season. After winning the batting title last year, Jose Altuve will once again lead the Astros’ offense.

25. Cincinnati Reds – The Reds struggled for much of last seasonand didn’t really do much in the offseason to get any better. They still have one of the better pitchers in the league Johnny Cueto, but one pitcher usually isn’t enough to get it done.

26. Minnesota Twins – There isn’t really much to get excited about with the Twins these days. They are hoping new manager Paul Molitor can bring some life to the organization.

27. Atlanta Braves – Atlanta always seems to be at the top of the NL East, but that may not be the case this year, as the rest of the division got much better and the Braves did not. Their offense should once again struggle.

28. Colorado Rockies – There’s no doubt the Rockies can score runs, as they are always at or near the top with runs scored, but they never can have the pitching to even remain competitive.

29. Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies haven’t made the postseason in three years and the draught looks to continue as the team now looks to rebuild for the future and getting rid of its core players.

30. Arizona Diamondbacks – Arizona had the worst record in the league and they didn’t do much in the offseason to give any real hope that it won’t be the case again this year. So, for that reason they start the year in the last spot.