MLB

MLB Power Rankings Update: The A's Are Better Than You Think

Despite being nine games under .500, the Oakland Athletics are one of the better teams in baseball, per our algorithm.

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.

TeamPlayoffsChampsDivisionnERD
1Los Angeles Dodgers80.60%16.80%64.60%1.28
2Toronto Blue Jays49.10%5.40%22.60%0.88
3Houston Astros73.80%7.40%60.70%0.87
4Oakland Athletics11.20%1.20%4.50%0.85
5St. Louis Cardinals97.80%14.60%78.50%0.76
6San Francisco Giants54.00%5.30%27.50%0.51
7Tampa Bay Rays68.60%7.30%38.60%0.51
8New York Yankees42.10%2.70%17.10%0.46
9Baltimore Orioles46.90%5.00%21.00%0.45
10Kansas City Royals67.10%5.80%54.40%0.45
11Chicago Cubs52.80%2.40%6.90%0.36
12Detroit Tigers41.10%3.70%26.40%0.32
13Pittsburgh Pirates72.50%4.30%14.40%0.23
14Cincinnati Reds5.10%0.00%0.20%0.14
15Washington Nationals73.70%8.40%68.70%0.13
16Los Angeles Angels33.10%3.30%18.60%0
17Cleveland Indians9.70%0.60%4.80%-0.07
18New York Mets24.10%1.30%17.80%-0.07
19Seattle Mariners10.20%0.50%4.90%-0.32
20Boston Red Sox3.50%0.20%0.70%-0.34
21Texas Rangers20.90%1.00%11.20%-0.38
22Miami Marlins2.70%0.10%1.80%-0.43
23Arizona Diamondbacks5.40%0.10%1.90%-0.54
24San Diego Padres13.00%0.60%5.60%-0.62
25Atlanta Braves16.90%1.00%11.70%-0.67
26Minnesota Twins21.40%0.80%13.70%-0.92
27Colorado Rockies1.30%0.00%0.40%-1.06
28Milwaukee Brewers0.00%0.00%0.00%-1.33
29Chicago White Sox1.40%0.00%0.70%-1.51
30Philadelphia Phillies0.00%0.00%0.00%-1.72