Power Rankings (1-5)

5) Atlanta Braves – Michael James

I have some troubling and breaking news. One of these teams in the top 5 is guaranteed of not making the playoffs this year and it could very well be the Braves at number 5. If you do your mental math of what teams are left for the rankings, you will get why Braves miss the playoffs. The NL East is a bitch and the toughest division by far in the league. Braves were able to sneak in last year with a first round exit, but the injury bug has already hit Atlanta pretty hard and there can be no slip-ups when in this division. Dilison Lamet, JT Realmuto, Jason Vargas, and Jimmy Nelson have all popped up on the injury report and if all go to the DL, the Braves will be short 1 Starting pitcher slot to start the year (Don’t fact check me). Braves still have a dynamic team lead by their consistent offense of Free Agent pickup of the year Whit Merrifield, along with Mitch Moreland, Dee Gordon, Mike Moustakas, Trevor Story, Adam Eaton, Justin Upton, and more! The pitching staff brings consistency as well, but the injuries to starting pitchers already puts them in a hole and will need to hope for easy opponents for the first quarter of the year. This team will for sure compete for the NL East and NL Wild Card, but there is a lot of talented teams in the NL that are standing in his way.

Projection: 3rd Place NL East – Misses Playoffs

4) New York Yankees – Tim Dillon

Always weird talking about my own team and then ranking them pretty high in the rankings, but after a ALCS appearance in 2016 and a World Series appearance in 2017, this team deserves the 4 spot. The offense brings a lot of big names, mostly named Jose with guys like Jose Abreu, Jose Ramirez, and Jose Altuve. The non-Jose guys include Ian Happ, Ian Desmond, David Perelta, and Wilson Ramos. A mixture of good guys, but injuries could hurt this team offensively as the team lack depths overall for bats. The pitching depth is better with guys that can be plugged in any week and perform on any given week. The team has aces, which gives the Yanks an edge over other teams with Justin Verlander, Marcus Stroman, and Jose Berrios. The secondary pitchers also carry their weight, but have to find more consistency, which includes guys like Rich Hill, Jordan Montgomery, Jhoulys Chancin, Andrew Cashner, and Carlos Rodon. The bullpen sets up nicely with Osuna, Familia, and Rodney, but have to avoid injuries and hope Rodney doesn’t get replaced halfway through the year. Overall, this team is built for a playoff run once again and the biggest weakness for this team will be dealing with injuries and if that can be overcomed, I see another World Series appearance for New York

Projection – Wins AL East – Loses in World Series

3) Miami Marlins – Brandon Saccone

And we have arrived at the big, bad Marlins of Miami, who is well known for having the most points in the 2017 year, but missing the playoffs. I don’t even know how that is physically possible, but he pulled it off. A team filled with stars all over the field looks to redeem themselves in 2018 and make a deep run. This offense is stacked that he has an all-star Didi Gregorious on the bench along with a consistent bats of Melky Cabrera, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Jay Bruce. All of those guys would be starters on other teams. I’m not even going to say any of their starting bats because saying their bench is a good idea of what they have to offer on offense. Pitching doesn’t have the same amount of depth, but has good pitching all-around with Grienke, Faria, Gio Gonzalez, Rick Porcello, and Kenta Maeda. I don’t this would qualify as a top 5 pitching staff by any means, but the offense makes up for any type of weakness in pitching. I expect this team to have no problem making the playoffs this year and the offense will be right there with the Rockies for most offensive points in the league.

Projection: NL Wild Card Winner

2) Washington Nationals – Kyle Jackoswitch

Even with the Marlins having no problem making the playoffs, I still see them not winning based on how good the Nationals are this year. The overall lineup from bats to pitching looks really damn good and they will be ready to defend their title. The bats have a young core with some good veterans to surround that group. The veteran leadership comes from Ryan Zimmeramn, Anthony Rendon, and newly acquired Yoenis Cespedes, who all bring a big bat to the table. Speaking of big bats, yall ever heard of Aaron Judge? Yea, I think he will make a great combo with Cespedes for the kings of New York. Let’s not forget about Corey Seager, Byron Buxton, Alex Bregman, and Yoan Moncada. This team has a bright future ahead of them and a great present team that is ready to win back-to-back championships. The pitching staff is not the best depth (at least for relievers), but the starting pitching rotation should be close to top 5 this year. It includes Luis Severino, Steven Stratsburg, Kevin Guasman, Dylan Bundy, Jameson Tallion, and Mike Folty. The team is almost perfectly built for a dynasty league and will have plenty more years of reckoning to come.

Projection: Wins NL East – Loses NLCS

1) Colorado Rockies – Sam Jordt

And we have arrived at our #1 spot and for the 2nd consecutive year, the Rockies sit at the top of the rankings. High expectations come to no surprise from the Rockies organization as they have always been under the impression that it is championship or bust. 2 straight seasons making the playoffs and has fallen short both seasons of winning the whole thing. The talent is all there, but the NL has been such a tough conference so every game is up for grabs when it comes to playoff time. Sam is on year 3 of this championship push and he hopes 3rd time is the charm with his powerhouse offense and star-studded pitching staff. Gioncarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Kris Bryant, George Springer, Nelson Cruz, and Rhys Hoskins all are expected to be over the 500 fantasy point plateau this year. SHEEEESH! For pitching the star names don’t stop with dudes like Jake Arrieta, Max Scherzer, Chris Archer, Carlos Carrassco, Charlie Morton, Robbie Ray, and some talent off the bench with Lancy Lynn and Trevor Williams. Even in a super tough NL, Rockies are almost guaranteed to be in the big dance and all he has to do from there is execute and put it all together. To get to the World Series, you most likely have to go through 2 of the following teams: Nationals, Marlins, Braves, Reds, Cardinals (All ranked in top 10) It won’t be an easy journey for this team in Colorado, but the Rockies will look to get over the hump in 2018 and win their first championship.

Projection: Win NL West – Win National League Best Record – Win Overall Best Record – Win Most Points for in Season – Win World Series defeating New York Yankees