Power Rankings 2024

[Moose Milligan]

I know some of you guys love Power Rankings!  

This week on ESPN, the Orioles are #2 behind the Braves.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/40016247/mlb-2024-power-rankings-week-4-braves-orioles-dodgers-guardians

 

Quote

2. Baltimore Orioles

Record: 16-8

Previous ranking: 4

The talk the past few years in Baltimore has been about the Orioles' blindingly bright future. Well, that future is here. The Orioles are World Series contenders with a deep, explosive lineup featuring one 30-year-old regular. Gunnar Henderson (23) is building an MVP case. Adley Rutschman (26) continues showing he is one of the top catchers in the majors. Jordan Westburg (25) and Colton Cowser (24), two under-the-radar prospects, are mashing from the bottom half of the order. Heston Kjerstad (25), the No. 2 draft pick in 2020 and Kiley McDaniel's 48th-ranked prospect, was just called up. The weakest link in the lineup so far is the most hyped of them all: Jackson Holliday (20). But Holliday, the consensus No. 1 prospect in the sport, will eventually figure it out. When he does, the Orioles will be a nightmare for pitchers. -- Castillo

 

[Spy Fox]

Fangraphs still hesitant to move the O's into their top "The Best of the Best" tier. That title belongs only to the Dodgers and Braves for now, with the O's one notch lower in "On The Cusp of Greatness" along with the Phillies and Yankees. 

Looking back, this is the Dodger's first week returning to top billing after two weeks where their Tier 1 was simply "The Braves." The Yankees had a couple appearances in the top tier during their early hot streak.

But I'm thinking the O's will spend much of the summer with ATL and LAD in "The Best of the Best." At Fangraphs, and in popular opinion as baseball's current big three. 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/fangraphs-power-rankings-april-29-may-5/

[lfallo1]

CBS Sports has us #1 ... we did it.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-power-rankings-orioles-phillies-dodgers-battle-for-no-1-spot-as-braves-slip/

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, lfallo1 said:

CBS Sports has us #1 ... we did it.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-power-rankings-orioles-phillies-dodgers-battle-for-no-1-spot-as-braves-slip/

Cool!  That's much better than winning a playoff game!

[Frobby]

I read these for amusement, but at the end of the day, there’s only one power ranking that matters, and there is no website that decides it.  

[dystopia]

45 minutes ago, Spy Fox said:

Fangraphs still hesitant to move the O's into their top "The Best of the Best" tier. That title belongs only to the Dodgers and Braves for now, with the O's one notch lower in "On The Cusp of Greatness" along with the Phillies and Yankees. 

Looking back, this is the Dodger's first week returning to top billing after two weeks where their Tier 1 was simply "The Braves." The Yankees had a couple appearances in the top tier during their early hot streak.

But I'm thinking the O's will spend much of the summer with ATL and LAD in "The Best of the Best." At Fangraphs, and in popular opinion as baseball's current big three. 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/fangraphs-power-rankings-april-29-may-5/

Fangraphs will never acknowledge the Orioles. I doubt they'll make it there even if they're on pace to win 120 games by the ASB.

[Orioles West]

44 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I read these for amusement, but at the end of the day, there’s only one power ranking that matters, and there is no website that decides it.  

True. I'll never quite understand why people take the time to generate power rankings (outside of college sports where a large number of teams are trying to get attention for a few spots in football or basketball). Baseball has a decent way to determine the best of the best.

[Spy Fox]

13 minutes ago, dystopia said:

Fangraphs will never acknowledge the Orioles. I doubt they'll make it there even if they're on pace to win 120 games by the ASB.

I think the "Fangraphs hates the O's" lines are out of date. The O's were the only AL team their writers unanimously picked to make the postseason. Nearly half of their writers picked the O's to make the World Series (12/25), more than any other AL team. 

[Philip]

Power rankings are a fun source of debate, but they also give an informal opportunity to gauge “us vs them”

I can’t wait till we play the Braves or Dodgers, but till then we have the PRs!

[Spy Fox]

3 minutes ago, Orioles West said:

True. I'll never quite understand why people take the time to generate power rankings (outside of college sports where a large number of teams are trying to get attention for a few spots in football or basketball). Baseball has a decent way to determine the best of the best.

They take the time because clicks = cash. And we click, because we want to hear warm and fuzzy things about our team. Or we want to hear nasty things confirming our angst. Depending on the moment. 

[Orioles West]

Just now, Spy Fox said:

They take the time because clicks = cash. And we click, because we want to hear warm and fuzzy things about our team. Or we want to hear nasty things confirming our angst. Depending on the moment. 

Fair point. I know better too, money is always the answer! No clicks from me over the years. The AL East standings tend to be my focus.  However, there has to be enough people wanting to react to how their team is perceived - thus those clicks.

[RVAOsFan]

 

[Aristotelian]

4 minutes ago, RVAOsFan said:

 

Guaranteed we get swept now.

[dystopia]

18 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Guaranteed we get swept now.

Not if we get a Roy Firestone reverse-jinx thread to cancel it out.

[Bahama O's Fan]

Kiss of death