One Week In - MLB: Power Rankings, Matchups, Highlights and more

It may be snowing outside, but apparently this is spring. In any event, baseball is underway. Less than a week in, there isn’t much that can be concluded in terms of the postseason outlook, but that won’t stop us from speculating.

Taking a look at our division leaders, the Boston Red Sox go 3-1 against the Tampa Bay Rays behind some excellent pitching. All three wins were by a narrow one-run margin and if it wasn’t for a blowup 8th inning by Joe Kelly, Boston would likely be undefeated. Kelly almost blew the save in game four, as well. Bold move by Alex Cora to throw him out there in the 9th; almost paid for it.

The repeat-favorite Houston Astros are also off to a 3-1 start. By all accounts, they’re still the team to beat this year with an incredibly talented young roster. Excluding the lone loss of the series, they outscored the Texas Rangers 21-6. Add the loss and they still double their output at 22-11. When the 4th starter in the rotation – new-addition Gerrit Cole – is getting 11 strikeouts, you know the league is in trouble.

The Washington Nationals maintain a clean record, one of only 4 teams to survive the weekend without a loss. Bryce Harper is still the most exciting player in baseball and his web-gem, two-homerun Easter day performance was the perfect example of such.

If you’re a fan of the other league favorites, there’s no need to panic, yet. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers sit at 2-2 with hopeful futures. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton seem as formidable as we thought for the Yanks and the Dodgers outscored the San Francisco Giants 14-2, with their two losses coming by way of 1-0 games. It’s a little worrisome that the Chicago Cubs dropped two to the “worst team in baseball,” the Miami Marlins, but the season is young.

(image via MLB)

Top Three Plays

3. Kevin Pillar Steals All The Bases

2. First Pitch Homerun

1. Inside-The-Parker on Opening Day

What To Watch

It’s all about the NL East. The division-favorite Washington Nationals look to be deserving of the hype, currently sitting atop the standings with a 3-0 record. The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves both won their opening series, sitting at 2-1 overall. Even the Marlins climbed to a respectable 2-2 against a dangerous Cubs lineup.

The coming week features a mix of divisional matchups with the Phillies at the Mets and the Nats at the Braves. If things keep trending in the same direction, the Mets and Nationals should be sitting in first and second, making for one heck of a weekend series between the two.

The Mets head down to Washington for Thursday and Saturday day games. Seemingly anticipating this matchup as much as we are, ESPN has snagged the third and final game of the series for this week’s Sunday Night Baseball.

With the addition of the Marlins taking on the Phillies this weekend, we should have a much clearer, top-to-bottom picture of the NL East this time next week.

Power Rankings