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 | 90.30% | 20.90% | 83.30% | 1.09 |
| 2 | Oakland Athletics | 8.50% | 0.90% | 1.90% | 0.91 |
| 3 | Houston Astros | 81.90% | 7.80% | 60.50% | 0.87 |
| 4 | Toronto Blue Jays | 41.80% | 4.80% | 23.80% | 0.77 |
| 5 | St. Louis Cardinals | 99.60% | 15.40% | 82.40% | 0.65 |
| 6 | Kansas City Royals | 76.30% | 6.40% | 64.00% | 0.39 |
| 7 | New York Yankees | 54.00% | 4.50% | 32.00% | 0.38 |
| 8 | Baltimore Orioles | 39.00% | 3.40% | 20.20% | 0.35 |
| 9 | San Francisco Giants | 34.90% | 2.40% | 12.70% | 0.34 |
| 10 | Chicago Cubs | 49.50% | 1.80% | 2.70% | 0.33 |
| 11 | Detroit Tigers | 32.40% | 3.20% | 17.10% | 0.33 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Angels | 61.80% | 6.80% | 31.20% | 0.31 |
| 13 | Washington Nationals | 82.30% | 8.60% | 75.70% | 0.28 |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Rays | 38.70% | 3.50% | 20.70% | 0.27 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 85.00% | 4.90% | 14.90% | 0.23 |
| 16 | Cleveland Indians | 11.60% | 1.00% | 5.80% | 0.15 |
| 17 | Cincinnati Reds | 3.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -0.02 |
| 18 | New York Mets | 28.30% | 1.30% | 16.60% | -0.02 |
| 19 | Seattle Mariners | 7.30% | 0.40% | 2.20% | -0.39 |
| 20 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 5.50% | 0.20% | 2.10% | -0.4 |
| 21 | Boston Red Sox | 8.10% | 0.50% | 3.20% | -0.42 |
| 22 | Miami Marlins | 1.80% | 0.10% | 1.00% | -0.45 |
| 23 | San Diego Padres | 5.80% | 0.20% | 2.00% | -0.54 |
| 24 | Texas Rangers | 12.20% | 0.40% | 4.30% | -0.55 |
| 25 | Atlanta Braves | 13.20% | 0.20% | 6.80% | -0.7 |
| 26 | Milwaukee Brewers | 0.80% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -0.82 |
| 27 | Minnesota Twins | 23.60% | 0.50% | 11.60% | -0.84 |
| 28 | Chicago White Sox | 2.70% | 0.00% | 1.40% | -1.31 |
| 29 | Colorado Rockies | 0.20% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.32 |
| 30 | Philadelphia Phillies | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.69 |