MLB Power Rankings: Opening Day

MCB’s MLB Power Rankings: 30-26

Mar 11, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox second baseman

(15) is congratulated by first baseman

(79) after hitting a solo home run in third inning against the Texas Rangers at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

30. Houston Astros

Lastros, am I right?

There’s going to come a day when Houston’s prospects have all arrived and they have tons of money to spend. They’re going to be a dominating team then, but now they’re headed for another lousy last-place finish.

29. Miami Marlins

Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton are a treat to watch, but the rest of the Marlins comprise a roster that’s a near joke for an MLB club. They do have some other young talent that could make things interesting (Christian Yelich, mainly), but ownership still has a long way to go to convince the fans that they’re interested in building a sustainable squad.

28. Minnesota Twins

The Twins were going to be interesting this year — seeing if/when Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton would come to the big leagues, but Sano is now out for the year with Tommy John surgery (unusual for a position player) and Buxton was always more of a longshot anyway. The big league roster isn’t much to look at, outside of Joe Mauer, there may not be another 2.0+ WAR player on the team (maybe Ricky Nolasco, but maybe not).

27. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs have a lot of minor league talent getting ready to burst into the Major Leagues over the next couple of years, but they’re not here yet. For now, we’re probably looking at the franchise’s fifth-straight sub-.500 season.

26. Chicago White Sox

The Southside Sox are definitely heading in the right direction. Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Jose Abreu, Adam Eaton, and Avisail Garcia make up a solid young core, but they just don’t have the fill-in pieces to make this a competitive roster this season. You really have to like many of the moves they’ve made in the last 8-9 months, however.