MLB Top 15 Power Rankings Week 1: 03/28 - 04/06

Welcome to the first official Top 15 Power Rankings report for the 2019 regular season! We are already 10 days into the season and there has been plenty of excitement already for almost every team through their first 7, 8, 9, or 10 games. So far this season, we have seen some players emerge that many of us likely didn't expect to emerge, plenty of home runs, and a continuation of MLB's efforts to continue marketing the game by focusing on the games biggest names.

With that being said, here is this week's Top 15 Power Rankings report, along with a look at five key moments/takeaways from the first 10 days, and stats for both leagues.

Five Key Moments/Takeaways

Besides stating the obvious about the slow starts that the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and Houston Astros have been off to, there have been plenty of other exciting moments. Sure, there might be some cause for concern for the four aforementioned teams, but if history indicates anything and given the talent on all four teams rosters, they all should eventually find their groove and be just fine. Here are five other key moments and takeaways from the first ten days of this season. 

• Bryce Harper Overtakes Philadelphia - Harper Mania has hit Philadelphia and hit Philadelphia hard from Day 1 of the regular season. Harper didn't get his first home run on Opening Day, but came through big time during the 2nd game of the season cracking a home run during the 7th inning. Since then, Bryce Harper has 3 home runs and 5 RBI, but have no fear because there will be plenty more to come and Harper has already proved he loves shining in the big stage of Philadelphia. 
• deGrominator Deals - This should come as no surprise, but Jacob deGrom through 2 starts, has proven that he is the best starting pitcher in all of baseball and it's hard to argue against that. So far this season, deGrom has a 0.00 ERA over 13.0 IP with 24 strikeouts and a 0.77 WHIP. In fact, deGrom has been so impressive that he has tied, Bob Gibson's streak of 26 consecutive Quality Starts, which was set 51 years ago! Yes, it dates back to last season, but it just illustrates how dominating Jacob deGrom has been for almost a full year now. 
• Bauer Outage in The Land - Bauer Outage refers to, Trevor Bauer of the Cleveland Indians, another starting pitcher that has been very impressive thus far. Right now, you could make the argument that Bauer has stepped up into the ace role for the Indians and is going to be a pivotal part of their starting rotation over this season and next. To this point, Bauer has a 0.64 ERA over 14 innings of work with 17 strikeouts and a .024 Opponent Batting Average Against. Don't be shocked if the Bauer Outage continues for a long period of time over The Land this season! 
• Seattle Mariners Scorching Hot Start - The Seattle Mariners, a team that everyone expected to be in full rebuild mode this season, have come out of the gates soaring and have been off to a surprising start. In fact, the Mariners 8-2 record to start this season, is the best record during the first 10 games of the season, in franchise history. In addition to that, yesterday afternoon, the Mariners became the first team with, at least 23 home runs through the first 10 games of the regular season, since the Detroit Tigers in 2006. Who knows, maybe the Seattle Mariners are this years surprise team! 
• Cody Love Becomes the Dodgers Next Best Power Hitter - If any hitter has been off to a scorching hot start, it's been Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman/rightfielder, Cody Bellinger. Nicknamed, Cody Love, Bellinger currently leads all of baseball with 6 home runs, has 17 RBI, and an impressive .950 slugging percentage through 42 plate appearances. Last season, it took Cody Bellinger 41 games before he hit his 8th home run of the season. You probably couldn't script a better start for Bellinger this year. 

Top 15 Power Rankings

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (7-2) 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .778 
• Win Streak: W 4 Games 
• Run Differential: +30 
• Team ERA: 4.02 Over 85.0 IP 
• Team Batting Line: .303/.394/.580 Over 314 At Bats 

2. Seattle Mariners (8-2) 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .800 
• Win Streak: W 1 Game 
• Run Differential: +22 
• Team ERA: 3.72 Over 92.0 IP 
• Team Batting Line: .274/.367/.549 Over 350 At Bats 

3. Milwaukee Brewers (7-2) 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .778 
• Win Streak: W 1 Game 
• Run Differential: 0 
• Team ERA: 5.44 Over 81.0 IP 
• Team Batting Line: .262/.352/.493 Over 294 At Bats 

4. New York Mets (6-2) 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .750 
• Win Streak: W 1 Game  
• Run Differential: +8 
• Team ERA: 3.53 Over 71.1 IP 
• Team Batting Line: .266/.331/.423 Over 286 At Bats 

5. Philadelphia Phillies (5-2) 

• Division Ranking: 2nd Place 
• Winning Percentage: .714 
• Win Streak: L 1 Game 
• Run Differential: +19 
• Team ERA: 4.35 Over 62.0 IP 
• Team Batting Line: .272/.388/.491 Over 232 At Bats 

6. Tampa Bay Rays (6-3) 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .667 
• Win Streak: L 1 Game 
• Run Differential: +12 
• Team ERA: 2.09 Over 82.0 IP (Best in MLB) 
• Team Batting Line: .226/.288/.342 Over 301 At Bats 

7. San Diego Padres (6-3) 

• Division Ranking: 2nd Place 
• Winning Percentage: .667 
• Win Streak: W 3 Games 
• Run Differential: +3 
• Team ERA: 3.22 ERA Over 81.0 IP 
• Team Batting Line: .242/.323/.419 Over 289 At Bats 

8. Minnesota Twins (5-2) 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .714 
• Win Streak: W 1 Game 
• Run Differential: +7 
• Team ERA: 3.43 Over 63.0 IP 
• Team Batting Line: .262/.347/.430 Over 237 At Bats 

9. Cleveland Indians (5-3) 

• Division Ranking: 3rd Place 
• Winning Percentage: .625 
• Win Streak: W 3 Games 
• Run Differential: -1 
• Team ERA: 3.09 ERA Over 70.0 IP 
• Team Batting Line: .180/.266/.269 Over 245 At Bats 

10. Pittsburgh Pirates (4-3) 

• Division Ranking: 2nd Place 
• Winning Percentage: .571 
• Win Streak: W 3 Games 
• Run Differential: +6 
• Team ERA: 2.45 Over 66.0 IP 
• Team Batting Line: .234/.331/.351 Over 239 At Bats 

11. Atlanta Braves (4-4) 

12. Detroit Tigers (6-3) 

13. Arizona Diamondbacks (5-4) 

14. Texas Rangers (5-4) 

15. New York Yankees (4-4) 

Summary of Thoughts

When it comes to the best team in baseball right now, you could make a case for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Seattle Mariners. Both teams are off to a scorching start and if it were a perfect world, both would be tied for first place, but because this is a rankings list, both had to be put in their respective positions. Regardless, the Dodgers and Mariners each deserve a tremendous amount of praise for the way they have played thus far and the offense that they have received. The pitching numbers for the Dodgers aren't necessarily promising at the moment, but you have to think those get better over time especially with Walker Buehler, Ross Stripling, and Julio Urias on that staff. 

Furthermore, the Milwaukee Brewers currently occupy third place, but if the Seattle Mariners scuffle at all coming up here soon, then they could easily over take second place maybe even first eventually. There's a lot of qualities to like about the Brewers, especially their offense and the potential that many of the arms on their pitching staff possess, but some of those arms haven't performed at their highest level yet. Moving forward, they likely will come into form and eventually start firing off on all cylinders, but Craig Kimbrel sure would look good at the back end of that bullpen still. 

Rounding out the Top 10 are both the Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates. You could make a case that the Atlanta Braves belong in one of these spots, but because of the stellar pitching that both the Indians and Pirates have received so far, that's why they rank where they do. The offense for both teams is numbing and it's not a guarantee that it's going to get any better because that was a primary concern for both clubs heading into the season. Although the Cleveland Indians were picked for the second AL Wild Card spot on here and the Pittsburgh Pirates were predicted to miss the playoffs, that doesn't mean that either team should completely give up and not pursue outside offensive upgrades especially as the trade deadline gets closer. 

Finally, the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers deserve to be listed within the Top 15 for the way they have started this season. Detroit has gotten a really good performance from their entire pitching staff thus far. In fact, the Tigers currently have the second best ERA (2.44) in baseball which no one probably saw coming. For the Texas Rangers, the offense has been the main selling point and a reason why the team is currently in second place amid the AL West. To date, the Rangers have 13 home runs, 46 RBI, and a cumulative team slugging percentage of .439 through 289 at bats. 

Player Stats

Top 5 Starting Pitchers: 

• Jacob deGrom (New York Mets) = 0.00 ERA over 13.0 IP w/ a .174 OBAA 
• David Hess (Baltimore Orioles) = 0.00 ERA over 8.1 IP w/ a 0.48 WHIP 
• Joey Lucchesi (San Diego Padres) = 0.00 ERA over 10.1 IP w/ 13 Strikeouts
• Matt Shoemaker (Toronto Blue Jays) = 0.00 ERA over 14.0 IP w/ a .091 OBAA 
• Trevor Bauer (Cleveland Indians) = 0.64 ERA over 14.0 IP w/ 17 Strikeouts 

Top 5 Relievers: 

• Brandon Brennan (Seattle Mariners) = 0.00 ERA over 6.2 IP w/ a .182 OBAA 
• Blake Treinen (Oakland Athletics) = 0.00 ERA over 6.2 IP w/ 8 Strikeouts 
• Lou Trivino (Oakland Athletics) = 0.00 ERA over 6.2 IP w/ a 0.30 WHIP
• Craig Stammen (San Diego Padres) = 1.42 ERA over 6.1 IP w/ a 0.63 WHIP  
• Adrian Sampson (Texas Rangers) = 1.86 ERA over 9.2 IP w/ 5 Strikeouts 

Top 5 Batters: 

• Cody Bellinger (Los Angeles Dodgers) = .425/.452/.950 over 40 At Bats 
• DJ LeMahieu (New York Yankees) = .458/.536/.542 over 24 At Bats 
• Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals) = .444/.516/.926 over 27 At Bats 
• Carlos Santana (Cleveland Indians) = .444/.516/.593 over 27 At Bats 
• David Peralta (Arizona Diamondbacks) = .429/.429/.667 over 42 At Bats