MLB Power Rankings Update: Which Teams Are in the Best Shape Heading Into the Season's Second Half?
Here at numberFire, we like math. We're not about subjectivity. So when we calculate our power rankings, it's not based on what our eyes are telling us or what our feelings say. It's based on straight up math.
For baseball, we use our nERD metric to show how good a team actually is performing. nERD, for those of you who are unaware, tells us how many runs a team should win by against a league-average opponent on a neutral field. A nERD of 1.00, for instance, means that team would be an ordinary one by a run. If that team was facing a squad with a nERD of -0.5, we'd expect them to win by 1.5 runs.
Take a look at how things are shaping up around Major League Baseball, sorted by nERD.
| Team | Playoffs | Champs | Division | nERD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 92.10% | 20.60% | 84.70% | 1.11 |
| 2 | Oakland Athletics | 8.40% | 0.90% | 2.60% | 0.77 |
| 3 | Houston Astros | 63.40% | 7.10% | 40.20% | 0.7 |
| 4 | Toronto Blue Jays | 33.20% | 3.30% | 16.20% | 0.65 |
| 5 | St. Louis Cardinals | 98.30% | 11.90% | 70.60% | 0.53 |
| 6 | Kansas City Royals | 91.30% | 8.80% | 79.70% | 0.5 |
| 7 | San Francisco Giants | 38.10% | 2.90% | 13.90% | 0.48 |
| 8 | New York Yankees | 69.10% | 5.60% | 51.00% | 0.44 |
| 9 | Chicago Cubs | 49.90% | 2.20% | 3.10% | 0.39 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 91.20% | 7.40% | 26.30% | 0.3 |
| 11 | Detroit Tigers | 22.20% | 1.60% | 5.80% | 0.27 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Angels | 73.10% | 8.40% | 51.80% | 0.27 |
| 13 | Cleveland Indians | 15.80% | 1.00% | 3.20% | 0.24 |
| 14 | Washington Nationals | 77.20% | 8.20% | 69.40% | 0.22 |
| 15 | Baltimore Orioles | 26.10% | 1.70% | 12.60% | 0.22 |
| 16 | Tampa Bay Rays | 32.90% | 3.20% | 15.70% | 0.15 |
| 17 | New York Mets | 42.40% | 2.20% | 27.80% | 0.14 |
| 18 | Cincinnati Reds | 1.10% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -0.07 |
| 19 | Seattle Mariners | 8.10% | 0.50% | 3.00% | -0.27 |
| 20 | Miami Marlins | 1.10% | 0.00% | 0.80% | -0.3 |
| 21 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 2.50% | 0.00% | 0.70% | -0.42 |
| 22 | Boston Red Sox | 10.60% | 0.60% | 4.40% | -0.43 |
| 23 | San Diego Padres | 2.20% | 0.10% | 0.60% | -0.49 |
| 24 | Minnesota Twins | 37.80% | 1.40% | 10.70% | -0.63 |
| 25 | Texas Rangers | 5.20% | 0.30% | 2.40% | -0.64 |
| 26 | Milwaukee Brewers | 0.20% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -0.73 |
| 27 | Atlanta Braves | 3.40% | 0.10% | 2.00% | -0.9 |
| 28 | Colorado Rockies | 0.20% | 0.00% | 0.10% | -1.12 |
| 29 | Chicago White Sox | 2.80% | 0.00% | 0.60% | -1.21 |
| 30 | Philadelphia Phillies | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.83 |
