Power Rankings: Rays have hope bright future is near
By Eric Mack | Senior Fantasy Writer Follow EricUpdated May 13
This had to be the first time in history the Yankees would trade everything they have for the Tampa Bay Rays. Heck, it sounds debatable even still.
But believe it. The Rays, for once, have what the Yankees want.
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| The Rays acquired Monday night winner Matt Garza in an offseason trade with the Twins. (AP) |
Scott Kazmir (1-1, 2.70) is already an ace, as long as he stays healthy. And he is just the start of something great with their pitching staff. James Shields (4-2, 3.14) might be the best young pitcher Joe Public doesn't know, while Matt Garza (2-1, 3.86) showed the Yankees firsthand Monday night exactly how good he can be with seven shutout innings.
Fourth and fifth starters Edwin Jackson (2-3, 4.04) and Andy Sonnanstine (5-1, 5.07) might not look like much, but they sure have looked better than the cast of characters the Yankees have had to rely on in the back of their rotation the past few years. Heck, Jackson and Sonnanstine won't even be the ones in the rotation when the Rays are really hitting the fast track. That would be 2007 No. 1 overall pick David Price, who has yet to throw his first official pitch as a pro, and perhaps one of the elite Double-A arms, Jake McGee or Wade Davis.
The Rays have organizational pitching depth big-budget teams like the Yankees usually just dream of. It is not yet a changing of the guard, but it is at least a first salvo.
The upstart Rays are 14-7 at home, which includes the series opener against the Yankees and a late-April sweep of the defending champion Red Sox. Clearly, they are much more than merely a thorn in side of the Beasts of the East.
A hot start is all well and good -- especially when focusing on the success in the cozy comforts of home. But we are far more excited about the prospects of the Rays than that of the much-hotter Marlins, who come into the week with MLB's best record, or even the A's, who currently boast the best ERA in baseball at 3.29 and celebrated another return of ace Rich Harden from the DL.
We move the Rays into the elite of our latest Power Rankings, the top 10, one spot behind those A's and three spots ahead of the Marlins. Again, we don't expect those teams to stick around here.
But in the Rays' case, we would be much less surprised if they did. Not a bad turnaround of perception for a franchise that was the first in baseball history to draft No. 1 overall in back-to-back years.
The complete Power Rankings:
| Power Rankings | |||
| Current | Team | Previous | |
 | 1 | Yankees · Trends | 4 |
| Good business: With two sprinkles of transactional pixie dust, the Yankees went from pitching-poor to pitching-rich. The Hiroki Kuroda and Michael Pineda acquisitions push A.J. Burnett into the position he was born to play, designated pie-facer. Bad business: Maybe they overpaid Russell Martin by 20 grand or so. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Their only concern is the inexorable dribble of granular sediment -- "sand," if you will -- down the hourglass, and the recurrent back pain that accompanies it. | |||
 | 2 | Rangers · Trends | 2 |
| Good business: Sure, Yu Darvish cost them $107.7 million between the contract and the rights fee, but he was the only high-upside play in this year's market. Plus they'll defray the costs by placing a pun jar by the door. By imposing a 25-cent fine for every "clever" Yu-related headline ("Yu Got It!," "It Had To Be Yu!"), the Rangers should be in the black on his deal by March 2014. Bad business: Joe Nathan cost $14 million for two years and Ryan Madson cost $8.5 million for one. At least they didn't misread the market as badly as the Phillies and Marlins did. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Assuming they can put up with all the armchair analysis -- "Oh, if only they could slap a Band-Aid and some ointment on Game 6's psychological scars!," etc. -- they're poised to contend for the next half-decade. | |||
 | 3 | Angels · Trends | 10 |
| Good business: Snaring the best available player and pitcher on the same day is a fine way to apologize to your fans for several years of free-agent bridesmaidery. Bad business: Their DH overload trumps Detroit's, plus Mark Trumbo at third base feels like one of those practical jokes that sounds funny but ends up with someone losing two fingers and his sense of smell. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Pretty darn OK if Mike Scioscia can be convinced to play his best players (Bourjos/Trout over Wells, etc.). Scioscia vs. Iannetta feels like a sequel to Scioscia vs. Napoli. | |||
 | 4 | Tigers · Trends | 3 |
| Good business: They might've paid retail for Prince Fielder, but it was nonetheless one of the biggest moves of a huge offseason. See, the italicizing is funny because Prince Fielder outweighs most things that are big and huge, like trees or Yetis. Jokes are funny! Bad business: As is well documented, I hate the Tigers, their players, their management, General Motors, the MC5 and every municipality that starts with the letter 'D.' So let me point out that they're planning to trot out four should-be DHs on defense, a OBP-free top two in the batting order and a closer who might as well change his name to "T. Regression Candidate." Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: The other four AL Central teams have already scripted their concession speeches. | |||
 | 5 | Rays · Trends | 7 |
| Good business: Unlike some people we know (cough, EUROPEAN UNION, cough), they didn't spend money they don't have. Bad business: As lovely a fellow as Carlos Pena may be -- upon re-upping with Tampa, he thanked all 65 Rays season-ticket holders by name and tithed 35 percent of his salary to local charities -- he adds a lump of K's to a batting order that's already strikeout-prone. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: They do two things (pitching the ball, retrieving the ball afield) better than anyone else and another thing (hitting the ball) well enough. That's plenty. | |||
 | 6 | Red Sox · Trends | 8 |
| Good business: Teams that couple smear campaigns with organizational enemas don't usually end up with replacements as nimble-minded as Bobby Valentine and Ben Cherington. Bad business: The Yankees found some pitching, but the Sox haven't yet responded in kind. In the AL East, if the guy next door buys a Wi-Fi enabled riding mower, you have to counter by snaring a GPS-enabled/4G mower with racing stripes; that's how the game is played. Also, what's with the shortstop purge? Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: I count 10 great players on this roster. Can somebody double-check that for me? | |||
 | 7 | Phillies · Trends | 5 |
| Good business: Ty Wigginton remains reliably near-mediocre at a plethora of defensive positions. Bad business: In a buyer's market for closers, they overpaid Jonathan Papelbon by $30 million. Ruben Amaro Jr. ping-pongs between inspired contracts (Halladay, Lee) and bone-dumb ones (Howard, Papelbon) with greater frequency than any GM in the biz. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: So long as the limbs of the Big Three starters remain attached to their torsos, there's only so far the Phillies can fall. | |||
 | 8 | Diamondbacks · Trends | 6 |
| Good business: The key piece in the Trevor Cahill deal was a prospect only a few months younger than Cahill. What did I miss here? Bad business: Jason Kubel isn't as good as the guy he's replacing in left field, but I'm OK with his addition if the D-backs use Gerardo Parra in center to spell Chris Young against righty pitchers. I've probably spent more time thinking about this than necessary. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: They're the class of a nosepicker division. | |||
 | 9 | Reds · Trends | 20 |
| Good business: Yay for patience! The Reds gave up a bunch for Mat Latos, but not as much as the Nats did for Gio Gonzalez, an inferior pitcher. Plus they alone timed the closer market just right, getting Ryan Madson on the team-friendliest deal in the history of Scott Boras clients. Bad business: They appear to be the only team in baseball that views Ryan Ludwick as something other than bench effluvia. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Could this team manage itself? I would feel better about its chances if it could. | |||
 | 10 | Cardinals · Trends | 1 |
| Good business: A few years too soon > a few years too late. That holds for both the supadupastar player and the skipper. Bad business: To hear some people tell it, they needed to import a chemist to maintain the clubhouse equilibrium. Unfortunately, most Cardinals -- most MLB players, actually -- did their graduate dissertations on "Biosemiotic Signifiers in the Larry The Cable Guy oeuvre," rather than on interpersonal relations. So they'll just have to generate chemistry the old-fashioned way: By winning and hot-footing each other's shoes and such. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: What Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa left behind ain't too shabby. | |||
 | 11 | Braves · Trends | 11 |
| Good business: They didn't make a single move of even mild consequence. Given some of the rumored 70-cents-on-the-dollar trades involving Jair Jurrjens, that counts as a positive. Bad business: Judging by the Alex Gonzalez/Jack Wilson do-si-do, the Braves value different qualities in a shortstop than the rest of us do. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: The terms of my probation prevent me from mocking, criticizing or otherwise commenting about Fredi Gonzalez. The best I can do? As a manager, he's ... a manager. | |||
 | 12 | Marlins · Trends | 18 |
| Good business: For the first time in more than a decade, they spent "money" on "players." Bad business: Hanley Ramirez found out about his shift off shortstop from the counter girl at Macy's. Good thing he's not the type of personality who would downshift into lollygag mode over a perceived indignity like that, or temper his frustration by inhaling a case of cookie dough. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Whither Josh Johnson's shoulder? If it's functional, the Marlins are a playoff team. If it spends the season encased in ice, they're a sideshow -- a wildly entertaining sideshow with a flair for social-media self-destruction, but a sideshow all the same. | |||
 | 13 | Rockies · Trends | 14 |
| Good business: Marco Scutaro for a scrub pitcher with awful peripherals -- in late January, no less? Any time I'm offered that kind of no-brainer trade in Fantasy, I demand an independent background check and an enhanced urine screen for toxins. I trust the Rockies did the same. Bad business: They overpaid for "winning players" like Michael Cuddyer and exiled the cheap, useful Seth Smith for a pair of pitchers unlikely to find Coors Field especially welcoming. I'll take Smith and the $7 million-$8 million difference in salaries over Cuddyer and the rest of the good-character gang, thanks. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: The roster isn't yet entirely Tracy-proofed, but it's closer than it was at the end of last season. To wit, each new reliever comes with a user's manual. | |||
 | 14 | Nationals · Trends | 12 |
| Good business: They convinced Davey Johnson to stick around. I like Davey Johnson. He's salty. Bad business: According to disclosure statements recently filed with the SEC, Nats owner Ted Lerner has "a metric ton" of money. Had he spent even 1/198,675th of it on Prince Fielder, he might've found himself preening from a luxury box during home playoff games this October. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Not enough offense to make it happen. | |||
 | 15 | Giants · Trends | 17 |
| Good business: They didn't extend Barry Zito's contract or re-up Aaron Rowand. Bad business: As is Brian Sabean's wont, he bought high on the fantastically average Melky Cabrera. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Great pitching, no hitting or defense, blah blah blah. I'm as tired of writing it as you are of reading it. Maybe I'll fill the Giants' Power Rankings real estate this season with non-baseball musings -- recipes, book reviews, that kind of thing. | |||
 | 16 | Blue Jays · Trends | 9 |
| Good business: They didn't bow to fans' WE ARE READY TO WIN NOW SO PLEASE DELIVER UNTO US MANY COSTLY FREE AGENTS carping. That was the only rational move, given that Yu Darvish was the sole fit for a team at this intermediate stage in its development. Bad business: Alex Anthopoulos swung only one jaw-droppingly amazing trade, acquiring the cost-contained Sergio Santos for a fluff-balling prospect. Frankly, he has conditioned us to expect one of those every fortnight. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: To contend, they'll need some premature destiny-realization by the touted young'uns (Rasmus, Snider, Arencibia et al). That seems a lot to ask. | |||
 | 17 | Royals · Trends | 13 |
| Good business: Jonathan Sanchez may be a headache of a pitcher owing to his disdain for the strike zone, but he's a tremendous return for a player of Melky Cabrera's limited caliber. Bad business: Wasn't Dayton Moore supposed to convert some of his positional-prospect bounty into a pitcher or three? I'm almost certain I read that somewhere. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: The pitching isn't there yet, but they're going to be a nuisance to play in September. On the late-season schedule: the Rangers, Angels and Tigers (two series). Prepare for loads of "it's not the size of your payroll, it's the size of your heart" pontificating if the Royals play a part in sending one of those big-payroll behemoths home early. | |||
 | 18 | Brewers · Trends | 16 |
| Good business: Aramis Ramirez doesn't help the righty/lefty balance, but he remains a credible middle-of-the-order bat. Bad business: Replacing Yuniesky Betancourt with Alex Gonzalez is like replacing a gently stewed diaper with a decaying ferret. Shortstop may not be the easiest position to fill nowadays, but come on. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: It would be a lot rosier if undercover Cardinals operatives didn't frame teetotaling family man Ryan Braun by slipping all that synthetic testosterone into his soup. | |||
 | 19 | Indians · Trends | 15 |
| Good business: $5 million seems about right for Derek Lowe at this stage in his career -- which has been way underappreciated, by the way. Bad business: But do the Indians have the infield defense to backstop him and the other ground-ballers in the rotation (Justin Masterson, whatever the hell we're calling Fausto Carmona nowadays)? And how about the offense at first base and in left and center field? And can the bullpen repeat its lockdown performance of 2011? So many questions. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Not to repeat myself, but: So many questions. | |||
 | 20 | Dodgers · Trends | 24 |
| Good business: With the Dodgers set to be sold for around $1.4 billion, Frank McCourt is set to make a pretty penny on his $430 million investment. Sure, it came at the cost of his marriage, reputation, credit rating and soul, but it's not like he's going to be applying for food stamps anytime soon. He'll own eight oceanside bungalows before the year is out. Bad business: Filling out a 25-man roster is a necessity. Filling it out with fungibles like Jerry Hairston Jr., Adam Kennedy, Matt Treanor and Chris Capuano is not. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Judging by the aforementioned moves, Ned Colletti apparently thinks this team is only a few bench/depth guys away from competing. How adorable is that? | |||
 | 21 | Twins · Trends | 19 |
| Good business: Major-league sports firings don't get any more polite than the Twins' dismissal of Bill Smith. The team offered him job counseling, rent-free office space and one month of severance pay for every disastrous infield addition he made (which came out to $16.5 million). Bad business: For an organization so often praised as lean and savvy, the Twins sure misread the market an awful lot (Matt Capps, etc.). Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Show me favorable doctors' notes for Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Denard Span, and then we'll talk. | |||
 | 22 | Mariners · Trends | 25 |
| Good business: That "challenge deal" with the Yankees looks nice for the M's. Jesus Montero is a catcher like a unicycle is a unicorn, but he'll anchor the Mariners' order for the next decade. Plus Hector Noesi is more than capable of occupying a low-rotation spot until the next wave of kids is good to go. Bad business: You can't accumulate the cash to own a major-league team without crossing paths with a few unsavory characters, and yet Chone Figgins still hasn't been disappeared or convinced to pursue another vocation. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Less depressing than they were in 2010 and 2011, but hardly a happy rainbow of mirth and whimsy. | |||
 | 23 | Padres · Trends | 29 |
| Good business: If Carlos Quentin performs as well in his free-agent year as you would expect someone of Carlos Quentin's ilk to perform in his free-agent year, the Padres should be able to spin him for something tasty at the trading deadline. Bad business: Unless somebody overhyped Anthony Rizzo in the first place -- I'm looking at you, Jed Hoyer -- it seems that Andrew Cashner and a fast outfield defense guy is a way-thin return for him. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Sunny and 72 degrees, with a light northwest breeze. | |||
 | 24 | Cubs · Trends | 26 |
| Good business: The newly Theoriffic front office exorcised the Zambrano demon and made a few hey-why-the-hell-not upside plays (Ian Stewart, Travis Wood, David DeJesus, Anthony Rizzo). Bad business: Why is Matt Garza still a Cub? This offseason, lesser starters were moved for packages the Cubs should've jumped at -- uh, assuming they were offered. In the wake of the News Corp. thing, I haven't hacked any voice mailboxes in a while. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: For the first time in a while, they're not the biggest disaster in town. | |||
 | 25 | White Sox · Trends | 21 |
| Good business: Robin Ventura is a righteous dude. After years of Ozzie brushfires, it'll be nice to have a level-headed individual without a Twitter handle in control. Bad business: Every time somebody floated an "Adam Dunn for A.J. Burnett/Jason Bay/Alfonso Soriano/other horrific contract -- who says no?" trade concept, the answer was "the team that's not the White Sox." Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: They're rebuilding! They're not rebuilding! They're rebuilding! They're not rebuilding! | |||
 | 26 | Pirates · Trends | 22 |
| Good business: The six or seven healthy starts they get out of Erik Bedard should prove a real treat. Bad business: The additions of Clint Barmes, Rod Barajas, Casey McGehee and Nate McLouth send a powerful message to fans: namely, "hope is a lie." Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Chronic, irrational optimist Clint Hurdle is "totally psyched." | |||
 | 27 | Mets · Trends | 23 |
| Good business: They apparently have a limitless line of credit from the MLB Central Slush Fund, or whatever it's called. That comes in handy when Bobby Bonilla -- still menacing at 48 -- shows up at Citi Field with Louisville Slugger in hand, demanding his annual deferred contract installment. Bad business: Everything, but especially $12 million for Frank "Frankie the Frank" Francisco. No 72-win team needs a late-game security blanket. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: Sad. | |||
 | 28 | Athletics · Trends | 27 |
| Good business: They jump-started phase 18 (a) (iii) of their rebuilding effort by trading their two best starters and their closer. The players they received in return are said to be good ... Bad business: ... but let's be honest: Even the prospect mavens haven't seen any of those guys play more than four or five times. Maybe they're good, maybe they're not. Either way, prospect-fetishism is as much a scourge as chronic nail-biting. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: They'll hit the bad, boring and hopeless trifecta. | |||
 | 29 | Orioles · Trends | 28 |
| Good business: They may not have filled any of their pressing needs (rotation depth, power-hitting corner infielder, usable left fielder), but only a single starter -- Nick Markakis -- underwent surprise midwinter surgery. That's progress. Bad business: They extended a two-year contract with an option to Wilson Betemit, last seen missing breaking pitches by three yards in the ALCS. He accepted faster than you can say "Chris Jakubauskas." Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: They won't sniff fourth place. They're the only team in baseball that goes into the season knowing that beyond a reasonable doubt. | |||
 | 30 | Astros · Trends | 30 |
| Good business: They hired a "director of decision sciences," whose first assignment was attempting to steer Carlos Lee past a sumptuous dessert buffet. Bad business: None, really. The new regime didn't understate the enormity of the rebuilding task, which would've been a credibility-deflating first step. Adults are in charge now. Prognosis as of 11:14 a.m. GMT on Jan. 26, 2012: The turnaround will be sloooooooooow. | |||
