ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – APRIL 24: Jose Urquidy #65 of the Houston Astros walks to the dugout after being relieved in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on April 24, 2023 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Instead of including all 30 teams, this week’s MLB Power Rankings points the finger directly at 12 teams with a reason to panic.
This week’s MLB Power Rankings will ignore more than half of the league. Only 12 teams will be looked at because 18 of them don’t have much to panic about.
We have teams like the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates giving fans forgotten excitement. Then there are clubs like the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals progressing as expected. We even have the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins leading their divisions with ease.
Those teams won’t get ripped apart or praised this week. Instead, we head to the basement to check the panic meter. It’s these 12 ball clubs with the most to worry about as we begin the second full month of the season.
12) MLB Power Rankings: San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants shouldn’t be too panicked simply because expectations weren’t exactly setting them up for massive success this season. They were arguably the biggest losers of the offseason. Instead of Carlos Correa or Aaron Judge, they signed Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger. The Giants were set for about 80 wins at best. They’ll be lucky to get there.
Many of the offseason decisions the Giants ended up making have gone horribly. Ross Stripling hasn’t pitched well. Taylor Rogers has been nothing like his twin and teammate, Tyler Rogers, with an ERA bad enough to have fans questioning if they actually are related. There’s also Sean Manaea who looks ready to bounce around the league for the rest of his career.
The Giants were already a subpar ball club with even more not-so-great players added into the mix this offseason. Panic might not be the best way to describe where this team is. Downtrodden might be more fitting because it doesn’t feel like the Giants are close to climbing out of the hole they’re in.
11) MLB Power Rankings: Houston Astros
Houston Astros fans don’t need to be on a hunger strike, but if they were hoping for a cakewalk to the postseason they’ll need to think twice. This division is far more competitive than it has been in recent years. The Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels aren’t making it easy on the defending champions. With the American League East looking so powerful, winning the division is pretty important.
The last time the Astros missed the postseason was in 2016. Fans have gotten used to seeing them go far. There hasn’t been an ALCS from 2017-2022 without them.
This year is a little different. They’ve been playing without Jose Altuve. Alex Bregman has slumped early. The pitching staff isn’t as deep as it was last year. Astros fans know better than to panic too quickly. This season may include a little more heartbreak than usual. They barely make it into this week’s MLB Power Rankings. If things continue down this path, they’re likely to move up.