Scott Cunningham - Getty Images
Jason Heyward is one of the big reasons that the Atlanta Braves are so high in the MLB Power Rankings.
Two different MLB power rankings are out in the first week of the season, and both list the Atlanta Braves as the sixth-best team in baseball. In fact the same five teams are in front of the Braves in each ranking. Here is the SB Nation power ranking for week 1:
And here is the ESPN power ranking:
Only one team is different between the two top tens (the Dodgers and Rangers). I find it interesting that many folks keep picking the Rockies to beat the Braves in the first round of the playoffs, yet the Braves are ranked ahead of the Rockies when it comes to power rankings. Anyway, that's a long way off and there's a lot of baseball between now and then.
It's good to see the Braves getting this kind of respect. It seems like the top-5 teams in each ranking are the upper echelon of MLB teams, and the next five are teams on the bubble who are trying to break into that upper echelon. Good to see the Braves thought of as "almost" upper echelon, now hopefully their play on the field will work to improve people's opinion and move them to that next level.
By the way, congrats to Peter Hjort, who posts here as PWHjort, for his Braves blog, Capitol Avenue Club, being selected to join Rob Neyer's ESPN SweetSpot Network. He wrote the snippet for the Braves in the ESPN power ranking.
0 recs | 34 comments
We were #1 in power rankings after week 1 last season
So I could care less. It’s nice to get a little reconition, but these don’t mean shit.
And congrats to CAC!
Scott Coleman - April 6, 2010 via mobile
ugh…
Smoltz's Beard - April 6, 2010
What are you ugh-ing about??
Scott Coleman - April 6, 2010 via mobile
Fixed. Pet peeve, sorry.
Smoltz's Beard - April 6, 2010
Oh whoops
Yeah, I tend to make a lot of mistakes when I’m posting from a phone. My apologies mr. beard
Scott Coleman - April 6, 2010 via mobile
No worries, and I still haven’t gotten around to looking into the mobile messaging, haha.
Smoltz's Beard - April 6, 2010
Its the wave of the future.
McCann and McWill - April 6, 2010
its pretty damn convenient whenever I have class and my dumbass forgot to charge my laptop the night before
Scott Coleman - April 6, 2010
Who's your dumbass,
and why do you have him charge your laptop instead of charging it yourself?
Jacob Peterson - April 6, 2010
Oh geez. That should say
My dumbass self.
I’ll just stop typing today…
Scott Coleman - April 6, 2010 via mobile
Couldn’t…
justincredubil02 - April 6, 2010
We were also voted #8 organization over on Fangraphs (#2 in the NL behind Colorado). Of course, I’m pretty sure that we were one of the favorites to win the WS last year, so we all know this doesn’t mean jack. Either way, it’s good to see.
Smoltz's Beard - April 6, 2010
Yes but
In a lot of ways, even some of us here were very reserved about our team last year. We knew Francoeur wasn’t going to turn things around, we knew that Garrett Anderson “The Professional,” wasn’t really worth a damn, and we knew that we’d overpaid Lowe.
What exactly are we secretly reserved about this year? Sure, Lowe still isn’t as good as we’d like, and maybe Glaus doesn’t stay healthy, and Chipper is always an injury risk. But that’s about it. We’ve got a solid line-up, great bench, great pitching, good bullpen.
Bronn - April 6, 2010
Agreed completely, I was just making the point of people outside the confines of this site, you know?
Smoltz's Beard - April 6, 2010
Health is the main concern
that I have. We’re counting on a lot of reclamation projects, but if it pays off its going to pay off big.
soup du jour - April 7, 2010
There is a youthful reserve supply for those projects though...
Glaus—Freeman
Wagner—Kimbrel
Saito—Medlen/Kimbrel/Gearrin
Chipper—Infante/Prado?
If they all go down, not many teams can deal with a bulk of injuries to guys in key positions, but those aren’t bad replacements outside of Chipper, but then that’s been a problem for a while.
Mr. Sanchez - April 7, 2010
Great news about PWHjort
It goes to show that the commentariat at this blog operates at the highest level, when regulars go on to enjoy blogging success like that.
Kudos
Sid Bream's Moustache - April 6, 2010
Wow, the coolest news I saw on this was that of Peter doing the snipper on the ESPN power rankings. He’s a very intelligent writer and has great knowledge of the Braves as well as baseball.
The rankings will shuffle as the season goes, but people are starting to understand that this is a talented team with some quality players in all facets of the game.
The question about this team now shifts from if they have the talent and skill to be a playoff team to whether or not they can remain healthy enough to stay competitive.
BenDuronio - April 6, 2010
Never thought I’d see the day where we were ranked behind Tampa Bay for ANYTHING.
bravos1984 - April 6, 2010
you know they were in the WS a couple of years ago, right?
Doghnut - April 6, 2010
Yes, but I used to go to games at the Trop when they were lucky to break 10,000 in attendance. The only time they would have a decent crowd was when the Yankees were in town. It was sureal to go to a game in April last year and see the place filled to the brim. I hadn’t benn to a game in that place with a full crowd since Cal Ripken was there with the Orioles in his last season.
bravos1984 - April 6, 2010
So 5 of the top 6 teams are from two divisions (AL and NL East)
Kind of cool.
taney71 - April 6, 2010
Think about that
Three of them are in the AL east, so one of the consensus top four teams in baseball is missing out on the playoffs. And it’s fairly certain that all three of those will remain in the top 5-8 throughout the season.
Bronn - April 6, 2010
Crap! I didn't think about that....
I’d love for the 3rd wheel in the AL East to be the Yankees.
taney71 - April 6, 2010
#6 sounds about right to me
Congrats to Peter. Good to see one of our own getting some bigger exposure.
Jacob Peterson - April 6, 2010
How is Tampa considered in the Upper Echelon of teams?
justincredubil02 - April 6, 2010
Pitching and Hitting..
I mean their lineup is stacked..
Bartlett
Crawford
Zobrist
Longoria
Pena
Upton
Burrell
Navarro/Shoppach
Aybar
Pitching
Shields
Garza
NIemann
Price
Davis
Granted their 3-5 in the rotation still has a lot to prove, but I bet there are few teams that boast that kind of young major league talent
UltimaParadox - April 6, 2010
Great defense, good starting pitching, good bullpen. Great minor league stockpiles of talent-which may not count for power rankings, but it sure does factor into their future.
Bronn - April 6, 2010
But this isn’t a organizational power ranking or even an upside power ranking. People really think that the Rays are one of the 3 best teams in baseball???
justincredubil02 - April 6, 2010
Seriously, this is what I’m wondering.
And ahahaha at your sig. ahaha
get swoll yunel - April 7, 2010
Don't know why that's hard to understand.
Bronn - April 7, 2010
More
They have an MVP candidate at third base. They have a 5 WAR Left fielder. They have a plus defensive CF who still has a lot of offensive potential. They have a first baseman with a huge bat. They have good defense up the middle-and even though Bartlett’s offensive season last year looks flukey, they’re still good on offense there as well.
And that’s a very solid 1-5 rotation. A former top draft prospect and a top 20 prospect before this season are bring up the tail end of it. Price was the #2 prospect coming into 2009 while Heyward was #5.
Yeah, that’s a pretty solid team.
Bronn - April 7, 2010
Unless Cole Hamels returns to his form of 2008, the Phillies aren’t going to stay that high. If Hamels and Happ are pitching like they were at the end of last season, the Phils’ No. 2 starter is Joe Blanton, and that’s, shall we say, problematic.
Tokyokie - April 6, 2010
It’s especially problematic when he is on the DL. They are so thin at SP. I have said all offseason long that their pitching is no where near close to ours, while our offense, barring any injuries or unforseen implosions, is pretty dang close to theirs.
justincredubil02 - April 6, 2010
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