NFL

MLB Power Rankings Update: The Final Stretch

Which teams are looking good as we inch closer to Major League Baseball's postseason?

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 beat 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
#1Toronto Blue Jays100.00%29.60%99.20%1.31
#2Los Angeles Dodgers99.50%18.20%99.50%0.9
#3Houston Astros69.80%5.00%9.10%0.83
#4Cleveland Indians0.10%0.00%0.00%0.68
#5Chicago Cubs100.00%5.00%0.00%0.67
#6San Francisco Giants0.50%0.00%0.50%0.65
#7New York Mets100.00%13.20%100.00%0.62
#8Tampa Bay Rays0.00%0.00%0.00%0.45
#9Washington Nationals0.00%0.00%0.00%0.4
#11Pittsburgh Pirates100.00%4.70%12.20%0.4
#10St. Louis Cardinals100.00%6.30%87.80%0.4
#12New York Yankees100.00%3.30%0.80%0.32
#13Kansas City Royals100.00%10.80%100.00%0.22
#14Oakland Athletics0.00%0.00%0.00%0.05
#15Seattle Mariners0.00%0.00%0.00%0.05
#16Los Angeles Angels29.60%0.80%6.30%-0.07
#17Boston Red Sox0.00%0.00%0.00%-0.14
#19Baltimore Orioles0.00%0.00%0.00%-0.16
#18Arizona Diamondbacks0.00%0.00%0.00%-0.16
#20San Diego Padres0.00%0.00%0.00%-0.2
#21Detroit Tigers0.00%0.00%0.00%-0.29
#22Texas Rangers95.60%2.80%84.60%-0.32
#23Cincinnati Reds0.00%0.00%0.00%-0.34
#24Miami Marlins0.00%0.00%0.00%-0.44
#25Minnesota Twins5.00%0.10%0.00%-0.59
#26Milwaukee Brewers0.00%0.00%0.00%-0.63
#27Chicago White Sox0.00%0.00%0.00%-0.69
#28Atlanta Braves0.00%0.00%0.00%-1.38
#29Colorado Rockies0.00%0.00%0.00%-1.46
#30Philadelphia Phillies0.00%0.00%0.00%-1.51