MLB Power Rankings: Spring Training (part 2 of 4)

9. MINNESOTA TWINS 
The Twins are an amazing organization. They always seem to lose their star players like Torii Hunter and Johan Santana but recover by bringing up great players from their farm system. I love Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Jason Kubel are formidable 3-4-5. The only thing that could hold them back this year is their rotation. Its not very good. Francisco Liriano isn't the player he was before Tommy John and the rest of the Twins rotation is very mediocre. I have a feeling that they will be in post season contention for most of the season, but if the rotation doesn't improve they won't be able to pass the White Sox and Yankees for a playoff spot.



10. COLORADO ROCKIES 
I love this teams lineup. Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzski, and Todd Helton are great hitters in one of the most hitter friendly ballparks in the game. Dexter Fowler is a talented, young centerfielder and I love this team's rotation. Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa, and Jhoulys Chacin are really good. The Rockies love their Latin American pitchers. I don't know why, but I just have a good feeling about this team. They have a great balance of talented hitter and pitchers but they lack the depth or overall talent of the teams ahead of them.



11. MILWAUKEE BREWERS 
The additions of Sean Marcum and Zack Grienke gives the Brew Crew the best rotation in the NL Central division, especially since Adam Wainwright went down. Zack Grienke might miss a few starts at the beginning of the year but he will be the ace this team needs. Yovani Gallardo is also a talented starter who has the ability to give the Brewers a chance to win every time he takes the mound. Corey Hart, Prince Fielder, and Brian Braun give the Brewers a strong 3-4-5. The only thing that worries me about this team is their bullpen. It is REALLY bad. They only had a 64% save percentage.

12. DETROIT TIGERS
The Tigers have some young players to get excited about. I love Austin Jackson. He is a fantastic player who will become the face of the franchise. Brad Inge is the prototype of a rugged, hustling baseball player that every team wishes they had. I am worried about almost every other position player on the team though. Can Miguel Cabrera stay out of jail? Will Magglio Ordonez stay healthy and effective? How will Carlos Guillen recover from microfracture knee surgery? Is Jhonney Peralta any good? Can Victor Martinez stay healthy for once? That is way too many wild cards. Verlander and Scherzer are good starters but the rest of the rotation worries me.


13. LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Art Moreno must be really pissed at losing out on Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Beltre. This team has a lot of talent players. Kendrey Morales is an animal, its too bad that he got injured celebrating a walk off. I think that he can carry a team with his bat and defense. The Vernon Wells trade was a bad move. He has been over the hill for years now. Bringing him in was a stupid desperate move. They have a good rotation but not great. After Weaver and Haren the rest of the guys are solid. Ervin Santana won a lot of games but is ERA was pretty high. Scott Kazmir is washed and Joel Piniero is nothing special.

14. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
I know that the Dodgers didn't have the sexiest off-season of all time but they had a very good one. Ted Lilly and John Garland are two of the most underrated pitchers in the NL. They will never put up great stats or a lot of Ks but they will give you a chance to win every time they hit the mound. I love their starting rotation. The  Dodger's bullpen is also strong. The only thing that worries me about the Dodgers is their position players. There are so many questions. Can Matt Kemp get his act together? Will Rafael Furcal stay healthy? How will the team play without Joe Torre? If the Dodgers respond well to Mattingly's managing style and Kemp rebounds from a bad season the Dodgers will be much higher on the list. I just don't see it happening right now.

15. OAKLAND ATHLETICS 
The Oakland As had a great off-season. OF David DeJesus, RP Brian Fuentes, and Hideki Matsui are great additions to this young, up-and-coming team. The A's pitching staff rivals the Ranger's staff for best young starters. Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, and Dallas Braden are all very good starters. The 5th starter is a bit of a question mark though.The A's have the best bullpen in the MLB, period. The only thing holding this team back is their offense. Their line has little to no power in their lineup and they had a .256 batting average last year. I don't see this team generating enough runs to be in playoff contention over the course of a season.

16. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 
The Cardinals are a good team with a lot of bad luck and drama. The off-season was a bad one for the Cardinals. They are stupid enough to bring in Lance Berkman. Berkman isn't a good hitter anymore and he can't play defense. He is a DH on an average AL team not an outfielder for a NL team that is trying to contend. After that blunder they fail to sign Albert Pujols to an extension and that will be a lot of baggage for the team to deal with throughout the season, especially if they start slow. Then Wainwright gets injured in spring training and hes' done for the season. That is way too much for this team to overcome. They will probably win 80 games, but that won't be enough to contend for a playoff spot.


All of these teams with the exception of the Cardinals have the talent to make the playoffs. They just don't have enough "sure things" on their roster. I am sure that one or two of these teams will put it all together and make the playoffs but right now I don't have faith in them.

PAZ
SOUTHSIDE55