MLB Power Rankings Update: The Rays Are Climbing
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 | 98.40% | 23.00% | 86.20% | 1.99 |
| 2 | Kansas City Royals | 68.10% | 5.10% | 36.20% | 1.12 |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Rays | 57.60% | 7.10% | 45.00% | 1.08 |
| 4 | Detroit Tigers | 76.00% | 9.40% | 49.40% | 1.03 |
| 5 | Houston Astros | 64.60% | 3.80% | 46.60% | 0.87 |
| 6 | Oakland Athletics | 8.60% | 0.70% | 4.10% | 0.84 |
| 7 | St. Louis Cardinals | 93.00% | 11.20% | 78.70% | 0.83 |
| 8 | San Francisco Giants | 76.20% | 4.80% | 13.50% | 0.79 |
| 9 | Toronto Blue Jays | 27.70% | 2.40% | 16.00% | 0.64 |
| 10 | Chicago Cubs | 38.20% | 1.50% | 8.80% | 0.55 |
| 11 | New York Yankees | 30.30% | 2.30% | 18.40% | 0.55 |
| 12 | Baltimore Orioles | 24.50% | 2.00% | 13.40% | 0.41 |
| 13 | Cleveland Indians | 21.30% | 1.30% | 7.30% | 0.38 |
| 14 | Washington Nationals | 88.00% | 11.90% | 80.10% | 0.38 |
| 15 | New York Mets | 37.60% | 1.40% | 16.60% | 0.36 |
| 16 | Seattle Mariners | 42.60% | 4.10% | 26.00% | 0.16 |
| 17 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 44.70% | 2.90% | 12.20% | 0.13 |
| 18 | Cincinnati Reds | 2.60% | 0.00% | 0.30% | -0.08 |
| 19 | Texas Rangers | 7.20% | 0.10% | 3.60% | -0.10 |
| 20 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 1.50% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -0.14 |
| 21 | San Diego Padres | 10.00% | 0.30% | 0.30% | -0.16 |
| 22 | Los Angeles Angels | 35.90% | 3.00% | 19.60% | -0.17 |
| 23 | Minnesota Twins | 20.40% | 0.90% | 6.70% | -0.47 |
| 24 | Miami Marlins | 0.80% | 0.00% | 0.30% | -0.51 |
| 25 | Atlanta Braves | 8.40% | 0.20% | 3.00% | -0.53 |
| 26 | Boston Red Sox | 13.60% | 0.80% | 7.20% | -0.59 |
| 27 | Chicago White Sox | 1.60% | 0.00% | 0.40% | -0.93 |
| 28 | Colorado Rockies | 0.20% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.08 |
| 29 | Philadelphia Phillies | 0.20% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.20 |
| 30 | Milwaukee Brewers | 0.40% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.21 |
