The first half-week of the Major League Baseball season is always such a mixed bag. We know we aren’t supposed to get all emotional or draw wide-sweeping conclusions based on such a small sample of games, yet we sat around and waited all winter for meaningful MLB action. Deep down inside, we can’t help ourselves.
As an example, most readers know I’m a Cubs fan. I will admit that while my head knew that the Opening Day loss wasn’t the biggest deal in the world, I was pretty bummed and even a bit angry about my favorite team getting pounded by what is likely one of the worst teams in baseball. I’m pretty livid about the series loss. Hey, we’re all human.
Still, here in the Power Rankings, the key is to keep our wits about us. I often say in the early going that we need to react without overreacting. With only a half week of action, there’s hardly anything to react to at all. Let’s look back at last year for some examples of how reacting could lead us astray.
The three teams with winning records above all missed the playoffs, while the teams that looked terrible ended up in the postseason. Of course, the Dodgers were 5-0 and that 0-4 Braves start was the beginning of a disaster of a season.
How do we know what is real and what was a mirage? We don’t, really. We can judge teams based on confirmation bias (I knew the Dodgers were gonna be unbeatable!), but that’s about it so far.
Are the Braves and Orioles having bounceback seasons after falling apart last year? Are the Rangers for real? How about the Marlins?!?! The Brewers look great again, but was that just a lack of competition? The Yankees looked amazing, but do the Giants actually just suck? Are the Phillies taking a step back? How about the Blue Jays sweeping the Athletics; did that tell us anything?
We just don’t know yet and that’s part of the fun.
I do know one thing for sure: I missed this. I’m excited for the grind that is our marathon of a regular season. We’ll see plenty of surprises through the course of the season. The most unsurprising thing will be the Dodgers winning the NL West with ease. Again. But we’ll see plenty of other fun things. I promise. We’re back, baby!
Biggest Movers
|
Rk |
Teams |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
They’ll obviously go 162-0. We can cancel the rest of the season. | — | 3-0 |
2 |
|
Only one start, but it was interesting to see Dylan Cease throw his fastball at a much lower rate than in any previous season. And he struck out 12. | 1 | 3-0 |
3 |
|
That was a pretty emphatic first series. I see nothing about which to complain. | 1 | 3-0 |
4 |
|
Even trailing 7-2 is no concern for this juggernaut. | 7 | 3-0 |
5 |
|
Kevin McGonigle through three career games: .417/.462/.583. That’ll play. | 1 | 2-1 |
6 |
|
Is Emerson Hancock going to have a breakout season? Man, look out for this rotation. | 4 | 1-2 |
7 |
|
Given the injury woes in the rotation, what an encouraging start from Reynaldo López on Saturday. | 1 | 2-1 |
8 |
|
I wondered if being freed from a terrible team would rejuvenate Luis Robert Jr. So far, so good. | 1 | 2-1 |
9 |
|
I’m bullish on an Orioles bounceback season and there were several good signs in the first series. Among them: Adley Rutschman is hitting. | 5 | 2-1 |
10 |
|
Pete Crow-Armstrong last season had three bunt hits. So far this season, he already has two. It’s a nice wrinkle for a player who hit 31 homers last year and can fly. | 5 | 1-2 |
11 |
|
Very nice series win in Philly to start the season, especially since they had to scratch Jacob deGrom from his start. | 6 | 2-1 |
12 |
|
I had concerns heading into the season that the offense would be far too reliant on the top three hitters, as awesome as they are, and nothing in the first three games has alleviated those concerns. | 3 | 1-2 |
13 |
|
Quite a start to the season for Sal Stewart. That kid can rake. | 9 | 2-1 |
14 |
|
Rough Red Sox debut for Sonny Gray, but that bullpen has looked stellar outside of Greg Weissert. | 4 | 1-2 |
15 |
|
The Marlins are 3-0 for the first time since 2009. And hey, how about Sandy Alcantara on Opening Day? | 9 | 3-0 |
16 |
|
Rough debut for Tatsuya Imai. The rotation behind Hunter Brown is concerning. | 4 | 2-2 |
17 |
|
Saturday’s loss had to be a tough one to swallow, but the Royals bounced back with a very good all-around game on Sunday. They’re fine. | 4 | 1-2 |
18 |
|
They just scream mediocrity to me, but hey, splitting four games in Seattle is a success. | 2 | 2-1 |
19 |
|
Obviously winning matters, but the Pirates weren’t really all that far from sweeping the Mets. Make Oneil Cruz catch two flies in the opener and then make better pitches in extras in game two. (Of course, they were awfully close to getting swept too). | 4 | 1-2 |
20 |
|
Mike Trout is amazing again? Dare we dream? | 6 | 2-2 |
21 |
|
I still love the A’s offense for the season, but 49 strikeouts in three games in Toronto is a rough debut. | 6 | 0-3 |
22 |
|
Really good sign from Randy Vásquez to work six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. The Padres’ rotation is worrisome, but a big step forward here could work wonders. | 6 | 1-2 |
23 |
|
Joey Wiemer is apparently the best hitter in baseball. Who knew? | 6 | 2-1 |
24 |
|
The monster start to the season by Jordan Walker has to be encouraging. It’s not just the numbers. Everything about him looks the part. | 1 | 2-1 |
25 |
|
I’ve spoken with relievers before who have lamented that a bad outing early in the season can ruin their numbers for weeks or even months. Ian Seymour gave up five runs without getting an out on Opening Day. That’s gonna leave a mark. | 6 | 1-2 |
26 |
|
It took 20 innings, but the Giants finally scored their first run of 2026 on Saturday. Maybe their manager should’ve given more “fire and brimstone” speeches. I hear those definitely help with big leaguers. | 8 | 0-3 |
27 |
|
Zac Gallen’s problem innings last season were the first, second and fourth. He threw four scoreless innings against the Dodgers on Opening Day! And then he fell apart in the fifth. Back to the drawing board. | 6 | 0-3 |
28 |
|
Royce Lewis is 2 for 9 this season, but both hits are home runs. | 1 | 1-2 |
29 |
|
Three games, three bombs for Munetaka Murakami. | 1 | 0-3 |
30 |
|
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Rockies are awful. | — | 0-3 |
