Rounding the Bases

National League Power Rankings

by Caleb Musselman

The first quarter is almost in the books and the National League is all over the place. With only a few teams playing consistent baseball, every division is up for grabs at this juncture. Let's take a look at this season's first installment of National League Power Rankings.

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1. St. Louis Cardinals (26-13) - The Cardinals are 12-3 through the first half of May. Plain and simple, there isn't a team that is hotter right now than St. Louis. Beltran, the sage, is batting .309 with 10 homers through the first quarter of the season. Whoa. Next to him, Molina, like a fine wine, is getting better with age. He's hitting at an impressive .333 average and leads the team with 49 total hits. On the mound, Lynn has 6 wins and is closely followed by Wainwright and rookie stud Shelby Miller with 5 wins a piece. The question for St. Louis lies at the back of the bullpen. Edward Mujica, in his first year as a closer has closed 11 out of 11 this season. Can he keep it up? Can the perennially good first half pitchers (Garcia, Lynn) continue to play well all season? Will Beltran stay healthy? There are many questions for the Cards, but right now the birds are singing in St. Louis. 

2. Washington Nationals (21-19) - Oh my goodness, I can't believe he put the Nats at number 2. Relax. These are power rankings. Not a "who might win their game tonight" article. If the playoffs started tonight, I think the Nats would be just fine. That being said, they have struggled in many facets of their game and thankfully have a long time to figure it out. With the Braves slowing down, much of the pressure has been taken off of the Nats to quickly right the ship. With Harper (.300, 10 HR, 21 RBI) taking a few days off to fix his ego after having a run-in with the Mr. Centerfield Wall, the Nats must find a way to put together a winning streak.  What's the worst thing that could happen for the rest of the league? For Jordan Zimmermann to have a dynamic first quarter. 7-1 with a 1.69 ERA through 8 starts (really?!), Zimmermann is hotter than the token sweaty guy at a pool party who refuses to take his shirt off. Strasburg (1-5, 3.10 ERA) has lost a bunch of one run games. Once he gets things together and Gio starts to perform, the Nats will begin rolling. It is only a matter of time. 

3. Cincinnati Reds (24-16) - Surprise, surprise. The Reds are good again. Votto is hitting .327 but his HRs are down this year with only 4. Brandon Phillips is reaping all of the benefits of hitting close to Votto with 34 RBIs. The Reds pitching numbers have been very mediocre thus far with a few injuries to key guys (Cueto). Can this team win 100 games this year? I don't think so only because of the difficulty of their division. They will battle St. Louis tooth and nail all year with the Pirates nipping at their heels. 

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4. Atlanta Braves (22-18) - Well, the Braves were hot. Going 4-6 in their last ten and dropping off the map in May, Atlanta has finally come back down to earth. Easily the best team through the first 25 games, the Braves have a few kinks to work out. Justin Upton has clubbed 13 homers thus far. Wow. Problem? He is hitting most of those with nobody on base. He only has 23 RBIs on the year which is dismal for a player with so much long ball success. While Justin is thriving in his new city, his brother B.J. is easily the biggest disappointment of the early season. Batting .145, with 3 HRs and 6 RBIs, older brother Upton could be the biggest stumbling block for the Braves in the days to come. In addition, the Braves starting rotation must step up their game if they want to keep their nose in front of Washington. 

5. San Francisco Giants (23-17) - Surprisingly for the Giants, 8 of their 9 top fielders are hitting over .250. A team that is perennially grounded in stellar mound presence is getting an unexpected lift from the bats. The Giants lead a muddled Western Division that is legitimately up for grabs at the moment. The upside for the Giants is that their pitching hasn't been playing particularly well. Upside you say? If they can lead their division with subpar pitching, once the sleeping giants are awoken, this team will be flying high. Leaving the Dodgers in the dust, I might add. 

6. Pittsburgh Pirates (23-17) - Is this the year?! I don't want to jinx anything but I truly believe it is. Problem, they are the third best team in their division! The Pirates are a solid team, but at best I see them playing the play-in game. Regardless, Grilli has been absolutely superb in taking Hanrahan's spot at the back of the bullpen. Further, Starling Marte has arrived on the scene. He's the real deal, people. The Pirates are getting legit pop from a host of players which is encouraging. If McDonald can have a solid year and Wandy can keep up his solid play, the Pirates could make some noise. In fact, I expect them to. 

7. Arizona Diamondbacks (23-18) - Arizona at #7? I know, I know. Just wait til you see #8. Right now, you can't argue with the standings. Led by Paul Goldschmidt, the D-Backs have put together a solid first quarter. Goldschmidt is an absolute stud. We saw flashes of dominance last season, and now with .322, 10 homers and 32 RBIs, Goldschmidt has staked his claim. On the mound, Patrick Corbin leads Arizona with 6 Ws. I expect the D-Backs to finish right around .500, but for right now things are exciting once again in the desert. 

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8. Colorado Rockies (21-19) - Haha. This will be the highest the Rockies make it all year, but I figured I'd give them their spot in the sun just this once. Off to a hot start, the Colorado has gone 3-7 in their last 10 and are quickly declining. Like an inexperienced runner, they seem to have used up all their speed in the first leg. Could get ugly from here. 

9. Los Angeles Dodgers (17-22) - I wish I could say I am surprised. LA quite possibly has the two most stacked rosters in all of baseball. What does that get them? Two teams who are floundering under .500. The Dodgers are a conundrum. They can't get any fans and they can't get any wins. What's the problem? Hanley. Hanley Ramirez is one of the worst team leaders in all of baseball and until teams realize that, he will continue to bring down every team he joins. The Dodgers have the potential to win 90 to 93 this season, but a LOT has to change for that to be a possibility. 

10. Philadelphia Phillies (19-22) - The Phillies...a team who bought the barn in 2010 and looked destined for multiple rings is losing speed quickly. Laced with talent, the Phillies have a wretched bullpen and a dismal bottom of the lineup. Couple that with Hamels starting 1-6 and Halladay on the DL and that explains the mediocre start. However, with such a rough start to the year, the Phillies still have hope to turn it around. Led by Utley and a hot hitting Howard, this team has shown signs of 2008 throughout the young season. A playoff run rests of the backs of Rollins and Hamels. 

11. Chicago Cubs (17-23) - The Cubbies, baby. This team has had the same problem for about 10 years now. They have fantastic individual talent at various positions, but too many holes at key spots to make anything happen. Rizzo is nasty (9HRs and 29RBIs). Their problems lie chiefly in the bullpen. Marmol has been atrocious for a few years now and Shawn Camp has a 7.39 ERA in 19 games. Goodness gracious, stop putting him in. The Cubs will win 72 games. Another year with the curse screaming in your ear. 

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12. San Diego Padres (18-21) - San Diego has one of the worst offenses in the MLB. Well, unless you don't count the Marlins (minor league team?). The Padres have been surprising thus far but that is mostly due to the jumbled mess that is the West. Jason Marquis, who was banished from St. Louis to live a life of solitude at Petco Park, leads the Padres with 5 wins. They will fall as the rest of the division wakes up and puts their dancing shoes on. 

13. Milwaukee Brewers (16-22) - Nothing makes me happier than to see the Brewers at the bottom of the Central. Interesting stat - There are only 3 active players who have over 200 homeruns before the age of 31. Cabrera, Braun and Fielder. Unfortunately, Milwaukee can't count on interesting statistics to win them games. 

14. New York Mets (14-23) - In easily the most unbalanced division in baseball, the Mets are one step above the worst team in the league. New York has been bracing for this type of year for a while now as they shipped everyone off and started fresh with a bunch of middle schoolers. It's going to be a rough year in Flushing Meadows. If it were up to the fans, they would have flushed this one down the ole john after the first week. 

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15. Miami Marlins (11-29) - Miami....New park. No fans. Ugly seats. No fans. In the biggest bandwagon city in America, Miamians are trying to block this Marlins team out of their vision. Really, I just feel for Stanton. He needs a get out of jail free card.