2020's Top 15 Teams

[Nash Walker]

As we move closer to the 2020 season, who are MLB's top 15 teams?15. San Diego Padres

 

The Padres look incredibly exhilarating. Fernando Tatís Jr. hit .317/.379/.590 with 22 homers in 84 games in 2019. Manny Machado is bound to bounce back without the pressure of free agency. Eric Hosmer slugged a paltry .425 last year and must earn his way in 2020. He's an X factor for the Friars.

 

Right-hander Chris Paddack was outstanding in his rookie season, dazzling to a 3.33 ERA and 153 strikeouts in 140 2/3 innings. A full season of The “Sheriff” will be fun to watch. Lefty Joey Lucchesi is a serviceable No.2, and offseason acquisition Zach Davies is a solid mid-rotation arm. The Padres are close, and this could be the start.

 

14. Milwaukee Brewers

 

The Brew Crew, led by the illustrious Christian Yelich, figures to be good again this summer. The rotation is conducted by 2019 All-Star Brandon Woodruff and newly acquired lefty Brett Anderson. Righty Josh Lindblom, the 2019 KBO MVP, will look to continue his excellence from overseas.

 

The trade for Mariners catcher Omar Narváez was a thrifty one. Narváez hit .278/.353/.460 with 22 homers last year for Seattle. Keston Hiura looked legit in his 84-game debut as well. Still, the Brewers farm system ranks dead last in baseball and they middled in most categories last year.

 

13. Chicago White Sox

 

The offseason champions added 2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel, outstanding catcher Yasmani Grandal, lefty veteran Gio González, Twins killer Edwin Encarnación, and former top prospect Nomar Mazara, among others. They supplemented a talented core that once occupied their minor league system and is now breaking through.

 

Two spots in the White Sox rotation are held by two of the worst pitchers from 2019 in Dylan Cease and Reynaldo López. The White Sox ranked second in ground ball rate and dead last in strikeout-to-walk ratio last year. Tim Anderson and Yoán Moncada posted historically high BABIPs and José Abreu’s ability to hit righties is declining quickly. The upside is there, but plenty of things will need to go right.

 

 

12. Los Angeles Angels

 

The Angels have learned that they need more than just the best player on planet Earth. Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, and Shohei Ohtani make up the most impressive trio you'll find. Justin Upton played in only 63 games last year after hitting 30 home runs in 2018. There’s another boost to the lineup.

 

Their weak pitching staff sticks out like a sore thumb. Ohtani is easing his way back after Tommy John and will help a ton, but there’s nothing of impact behind him. They signed Dylan Bundy and Julio Teheran this winter to help mitigate some of the expected damage. Still, that lineup is nasty.

 

11. Chicago Cubs

 

Everyone seems to love ripping the Cubs for being “old” and “washed” after missing the playoffs in 2019. Javier Báez, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras make up one of the more talented infields in baseball, and they just won the World Series in 2016.

 

Yu Darvish had himself a stellar second half last summer, posting a 2.76 ERA and striking out 118 in 81 2/3 IP. Kyle Hendricks is a solid No.2, but Jon Lester and José Quintana will need to bounce back for the Cubs to return to form. Craig Kimbrel, whom the Cubs signed in June, needs to be better too.

 

10. Cleveland Indians

 

Everything went wrong for the Tribe to start 2019. The Twins quickly emerged as a powerhouse, José Ramírez was ice cold, and Corey Kluber struggled and then got hurt. They still won 93 games and pushed the Twins until late September. They’re still very daunting.

 

Ramírez woke up and hit .327/.365/.739 with 16 homers in his final 44 games. Francisco Lindor is the best shortstop in baseball. Carlos Santana continues to be underrated and Shane Bieber and Mike Clevinger lead a strong rotation. Their outfield is a bit of a mess, but Franmil Reyes has big-boy power. The Indians have won 380 games since 2016, third most in MLB.

 

9. St.Louis Cardinals

 

The Cards have a clear identity. Their defense is the best in baseball, and they can bloop you to death on offense. St.Louis ranked 21st in OPS and 24th in homers last year, but they still won the NL Central and made the NLCS. They’re a legacy franchise that knows how to win.

 

Jack “The Slayer” Flaherty posted the second lowest second half ERA since the expansion era in 2019. Only Nolan Ryan in 1986 allowed a lower opponent batting average after the break. Flaherty is an ace and the bullpen was the seventh best in the league last year.

 

8. Washington Nationals

 

The defending champions lost Anthony Rendon, but Juan Soto, Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin, and Howie Kendrick are back. The Nats added former Astro Will Harris to their bullpen and re-signed second-half star closer Daniel Hudson.

 

Eric Thames hit .247/.346/.505 with 25 homers for Milwaukee and signed a one-year deal with Washington this winter. He is another high-character individual on a roster filled with them. While less alarming, don’t discredit the still-powerful Nats.

 

7. Oakland Athletics

 

Matt Chapman has saved 64 runs at third base since 2018. Nolan Arenado has saved 25. Chapman not only dominates the hot corner, but he hit 36 homers last year and ranked fourth in bWAR, ahead of Trout. If only the Twins would’ve drafted Chapman with their first-round pick in 2014.

 

Shortstop Marcus Semien ranked one spot ahead of Chapman in bWAR after a breakout season. First baseman Matt Olson hit 36 home runs and led his position in bWAR. The A’s outfield flashes the talented Ramon Laureano in center and a committee of average bats in the corners. Exciting lefty Jesus Luzardo should lead the rotation soon.

 

6. Atlanta Braves

 

Ronald Acuña Jr. represents the next wave of young stars. He hit .280/.365/.518 with 41 homers and 37 steals in his age-21 season last year. The record-breaking duo of Donaldson and Freddie Freeman is broken (go Twins), but Freeman, Albies, and Dansby Swanson make up a formidable infield.

 

Road warrior Mike Soroka went 7-1 with a 1.55 ERA outside of Atlanta last year. Lefty Max Fried went 17-6 with a 4.02 ERA and 9.4 strikeouts per nine.The bullpen should be better with Will Smith and Chris Martin, and outfielders Christian Pache and Drew Waters lead a strong Braves farm system. They are my favorite to win the talented NL East.

 

5. Tampa Bay Rays

 

Charlie Morton, Tyler Glasnow and a healthy Blake Snell should fuse together for a premier rotation. Their bullpen, led by former Twin Nick Anderson, paced baseball in fWAR last year.

 

The offense will be bolstered with the additions of José Martínez, who hit .329/.397/.600 off lefties last year, and Yo****omo Tstusugo, who hit 139 homers in his last four seasons in Japan. I’m so bullish on Austin Meadows as a superstar that I predict he finishes second to Mike Trout for MVP.

 

4. Minnesota Twins

 

Our Twins didn’t get the bona fide ace they longed for, but it’s hard not to view this offseason as anything other than a success. The Twins are projected to have 10 above-average hitters, the most in baseball. They bashed 307 homers last year, and then added Josh Donaldson, who has the second most bWAR in baseball since 2013.

 

2019 All-Stars José Berríos and Jake Odorizzi welcome Kenta Maeda, who held right-handed batters to the lowest batting average among starters last year (.158). The Twins bullpen ranked first in fWAR after the All-Star break in 2019 and added veteran Tyler Clippard, the BABIP god. They’re gonna be goooooood.

 

3. Houston Astros

 

This may be the last year where the Astros find themselves among the elites of baseball. George Springer will enter free agency next winter, Justin Verlander just turned 37, and Zack Greinke will match his age in October.

 

Their core of Alex Bregman, Yordan Álvarez, and José Altuve will remain intact through at least 2024. Their farm system, though, after trading three top prospects for Greinke, is widely regarded as the worst in the American League. The Astros are looking at being more good than great after 2020.

 

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

 

2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts and 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger join forces on an elite Dodgers club. Walker Buehler posted a 3.26 ERA with 10.6 strikeouts per nine in 2019 and assumes the “ace’’ role. Top prospects Gavin Lux and Dustin May lead an outstanding farm system.

 

Future Hall-of-Famer Clayton Kershaw was much better than advertised last year. 2014 Kershaw is long gone, but what remains is a solid No.2 starter behind Buehler. The Dodgers are deep, poised, and should emerge from the National League this fall.

 

1. New York Yankees

 

The Yankees miraculously won 103 games last year after setting the MLB record for most players on the IL. Gio Urshela completely broke out, hitting .314/355/.534 with 21 home runs in 132 games. From 2016 to 2018, Urshela hit .225 with a .589 OPS and eight combined homers.

 

No matter how you cut it, Aaron Judge is a superstar. If he can stay healthy, the Yankees are my clear-cut favorite to win the World Series. Gerrit Cole, Gleyber Torres, and DJ LeMahieu join Judge as MVP-caliber pieces.

 

 

What do you think?

 

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[mikelink45]

Sad to see the fallen Red Sox not make the cut.  The White Sox are the most questionable of these (and the Padres). Where does Arizona rank - they are a mystery team to me. I might like the Rangers better than some of the last five too. 

 

The Angels are the team that has taught all of baseball two things - it is a team game and having the best player to carry you without supporting pieces does not work outside the NBA and second - pitching matters.

 

 

[TwinsFan268]

I think you did a pretty good job. Maybe next time you should do the top 15 worst teams in baseball. (I mean, I know they're just going to be the ones not on this list but still.)

 

Minor correction: The Twins hit 307 home runs. The Yankees were the ones with 306. We hit more, and I love to let Yankee fans hear about it. (Ha.)

[In My La Z boy]

This puts us in the hardest division if they go with the No league's, 3 divisions plan.

I am counting 7 of your top 15 including the Twins in the Midwest division. Eastern easiest at only 3 of your teams - leaving 5 in the West. 

I don't like that plan if you've got the 15 correct.

[Doctor Gast]

I think you are spot on! Of course you could argue like # 1&2 or # 3&4 but that`s just slight variance of a person`s point of view.

[TopGunn#22]

I would flip flop the Twins and Astros and that's nitpicking.  I think you did a great job ranking.  I think the Astros are going to be a little "off" this year, and they ARE relying heavily on two pitchers who will be 37 years old (no matter how GOOD they are).  The Twins lineup is better, but not by much.  The Twins bullpen is better.  So I slide the Twins to #3 and Houston to #4.   We play the Yankees in the ALCS and find out if we can break the curse to move on to a 1965 rematch.  I nominate Tony Oliva and Sandy Koufax as the World Series Honorary Captains.  

[Minny505]

As MikeLink pointed out, I think the Dbacks deserve a spot in the Top 15...arguably at #12. 

 

I would probably drop the White Sox out. I'm probably a little low on them, but, with the exception of Grandal, they seemed to have a quantity-over-quality offseason. It established a floor and they have the most variance on this list, but I just don't see enough breakthrus for them to be noticeably better than .500.

You could talk me into dropping the Angels or Padres as well. Just get the Dbacks on this list already!!! ;o)