Base Knock GM Power Rankings - NL

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

Early this past month I asked each GM to send me a power ranking of each team in their League.  I then inputted each ranking and averaged them out.  I will post a few team breakdowns each day over the next week until we reach the number 1 ranked team.


7 out of the 16 NL GMs participated in this ranking list.  There was a good amount of parity in the NL rankings as no team had a consensus rank across the board.  Most teams had similar ranks but there were a few that had drastic differences in their highest rank compared to their lowest rank.  I hope everyone enjoys and I expect a lot of feedback on this.

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

16. GIANTS



Average Rank: 15.5

Highest Rank: 15

Lowest Rank: 16

DBacks Kyle Rank: 15


Best Offseason Additions:

None


The Giants have spent most of this offseason building to the future. Taking their cue from the Philadelphia Sixers the Giants have decided to go full scrap on their major league roster. They’ve managed to trade off almost every piece of Major League talent they had. By doing this they have managed to build one of the best farm systems in the entire league. The question the Giants now face is do they sit back and let their young farm develop or do they trade off their young assets for more proven players? Regardless, I don’t see this team winning any games this year except maybe against the Mets.

Trust in the plan, whatever that may be.

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

15. METS




Average Rank: 15.3

Highest Rank: 14

Lowest Rank: 16

DBacks Kyle Rank: 16


Best Offseason Additions:

DRAFT PICKS!!!!!


The Mets have taken a similar path as the Giants. They have bled their team dry of almost all of their Major league talent. Just as with the Giants the Mets farm system is one of the best in the league. The main difference in the Giants and Mets strategy is that the Mets used their big amount of cap space to sign and then immediately trade Major league talent for high draft picks. While the future looks bright for the Mets, the present does not. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR JUNE 1-7! Battle Royale of the Giants against the Mets! Winner is the loser and the loser is the winner.


Continue to get those picks.

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

14. MARLINS





Average Rank: 11.3

Highest Rank: 5

Lowest Rank: 15

DBacks Kyle Rank: 14


Best Offseason Additions:

Carlos Beltran, J.A. Happ, James Paxton, David Wright


The Marlins got a late start due to an inactive GM not participating in free agency. However, since Travis has taken over the Marlins have been one of the more active teams. The Marlins have managed to put a team together with solid players across the board. The obvious bright spots of this team are Goldschmidt, Soler, and Garrett Richards. The team itself is very solid across the board and doesn’t really have any glaring holes. The bullpen is the weakest area, however solid RPs are usually easier to trade for than any other position. There’s not much depth on the team and there’s not a whole lot of specs ready to contribute this season. That being said, the future is really bright for this team. I expect them to be contenders sooner rather than later.


Goldy and Soler sounds like a TV sitcom

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

13. ROCKIES





Average Rank: 11

Highest Rank: 7

Lowest Rank: 13

DBacks Kyle Rank: 13


Best Offseason Additions:

Dustin Pedroia, Steve Pearce


The once mighty Rockies have now shifted gears into rebuilding. They have made some significant trades to build towards the future. I had done my rankings right after my original post about the idea, since then I believe the Marlins have moved past the Rockies for this season. The emphasis for the Rockies is building for the future. They traded off David Price, David Wright, and Joey Votto this offseason. Their farm system has gone from lower half in the league to top half of the league. I don’t see a playoff contention this year, but their setting up pieces to help return this team to its once great glory.


The Youth Movement is upon us.

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

12. DODGERS




Average Rank: 9.8

Highest Rank: 8

Lowest Rank: 13

DBacks Kyle Rank: 8


Best Offseason Additions:

Adam Jones, Pat Neshek


The Dodgers made a giant splash to start the offseason by trading for Adam Jones. This move gave them a very good 1-2 punch in the OF with Jones and Blackmon. However, that trade also hindered their free agency by killing their cap space. Their lack of moves to fill holes (OF/DH/SP) has hurt this team’s chances this season. They’re not a team to sleep on however as they have some impact players and are a few moves away from building a potential playoff contender. As it stands right now I think they are sitting 3rd in their division and are just below the other playoff contenders in the NL.


Will they impact the playoffs by buying or selling?

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

11. NATIONALS




Average Rank: 9.7

Highest Rank: 7

Lowest Rank: 12

DBacks Kyle Rank: 11


Best Offseason Additions:

Chase Headley, Joey Votto, Gerrit Cole, Josh Harrison, Leonys Martin


The Nats have been wheeling and dealing. They have managed to trade off various degrees of depth and farm talent to put together a pretty formidable team. The strength of their team is their pitching staff. Thru various trades and free agent signings they have put together a really good 5 man rotation. Throw on top of it a bullpen that’s anchored by a good closer (Rondon), and what you get is a playoff contending pitching staff. The main concern for the Nationals going forward is depth. They are an injury or two away from going from NL East Division Champ contender to being a team looking at making a run next season.


Make sure your guys are doing proper stretching and eating their vitamins.

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

10. BREWERS




Average Rank: 9.4

Highest Rank: 8

Lowest Rank: 13

DBacks Kyle Rank: 9


Best Offseason Additions:

Joc Pederson, J.D. Martinez


This is a rank that was very accurate a week ago and looks too high now. A week ago the Brewers squad had a talented group of veterans that looked like it could compete or could build towards the future. Within a week they have clearly made a decision that they are playing for the future. A big move that sent Carlos Gomez, Jared Weaver, and veteran Colby Lewis packing. That move brought to the team Joc Pederson, Danny Salavar, Sam Selman, and a lot of cap flexibility going forward. It was a bold move and hopefully one that pans out for this now young rebuilding team.


Let the Youth Movement begin!

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

9. PIRATES




Average Rank: 8.7

Highest Rank: 1

Lowest Rank: 13

DBacks Kyle Rank: 7


Best Offseason Additions:

Jacoby Ellsbury, Alexander Guerrero


The Pirates have gone from one of the worst teams to one of the more controversial teams in terms of rankings. They had one first place vote and a couple of thirteenth place votes. So where will they fall? I personally had them seventh which is a bit of a cop out. The reason for such a disparity in rankings is that the batting order and the pitching staff are polar opposites of the spectrum. The Pirates sport what is arguably the best batting order in either league. They’ve got impact bats at every position other than 2B. Their DH is Evan Longoria for goodness sake! The pitching staff on the other hand is extremely weak. Tanaka is their only SP on staff as Pat Corbin is still recovering from his second TJ surgery. They’ve got 4 solid RP in their bullpen and a couple of guys in the high minors on their farm. The bats are championship worthy but the arms, or lack there of, are bottom of the barrel.


Will they make enough moves to have a good enough pitching staff to make the playoffs?

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

8. BRAVES




Average Rank: 8.5

Highest Rank: 5

Lowest Rank: 14

DBacks Kyle Rank: 5


Best Offseason Additions:

Chase Anderson, Kendrys Morales, Jake Lamb


The Overachieving NL East defending Champ Braves. At least that’s what they were at the end of last year. This year they are expected to win or else this year’s a failure right? If that’s the case than the Braves did a solid job of keeping their core intact. The spent most of their available cap space on resigning their own free agents and have very little room to add any big name guys. That being said this team is not very deep. They go six deep in their starting rotation and could add a couple more names if Chad Billingsley and Daniel Hudson return to starting. Their bullpen is average at best and even worse when Uehara is hurt. Their MI is very weak and but their rest of the batting order is pretty solid. It’s easy to overlook the Braves as a contender but based on their recent history we shouldn’t count this team out.


Can they win a division where three other teams have drastically improved?

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

7. CARDINALS




Average Rank: 8.3

Highest Rank: 4

Lowest Rank: 12

DBacks Kyle Rank: 12


Best Offseason Additions:

Chris Johnson, Francisco Liriano, Michael Cuddyer


The Cardinals used what little cap space they had this offseason to pick up impact players Francisco Liriano and Michael Cuddyer in the hopes of winning a division title. I’m not sure if they’ll win the division or not but I do know that those two signings have helped put them in a place to at least contend for the NL Central crown. This team has no holes in the batting order as they have starters across the board. They currently have a 3 man rotation as Ryu and Fernandez are recovering from injuries. However, when those two guys get back healthy the Cards will have one of the best 5 man rotations in the league. Their bullpen isn’t deep but it sports a top end closer in Rosenthal and a potentially good closer in Doolittle if he can win his job back once he’s recovered from injury. The main problem with this team is depth or rather the lack thereof. You can already see how this team will struggle against top teams if anyone is hurt. However, if this team can get and stay healthy than it should be one of the best teams in the NL let alone the NL Central.


Greinke, Kershaw, and Fernandez OH MY!

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

6. PHILLIES




Average Rank: 8.2

Highest Rank: 2

Lowest Rank: 14

DBacks Kyle Rank: 10


Best Offseason Additions:

Santiago Casilla, Justin Verlander, David Freese


Just as with the Marlins and the Nationals the Phillies decided to make a push for this season. They put in a good amount of money into free agents and made a couple of trades to help their squad this season. They have managed to put together a batting order with a starter at every position and a couple of impact bats. I would say the main concern with the batting order is the injury risk involved with guys like Kemp and CarGo. However, it should be a pretty productive group if they can stay healthy. The pitching staff however is a different story. The bullpen is arguably the best in either league, as they are throwing out 3 good closers. This is clearly the strength of their team. The weakness though is definitely their starting pitchers. They currently only have 3 healthy starters with Verlander on the DL, but do have a couple of high minors pitchers that could get the call up during the season. I personally don’t think they currently have the starting pitching to win the division but could make a move or two to make them the favorite. This division is wide open as shown by these rankings. I’m not sure who’s going to win between the Braves, Phillies, Marlins, or Nationals but I do know it will be an exciting race.


The real life Phillies wish they were run as well as these Phillies.

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

5. ASTROS




Average Rank: 6

Highest Rank: 3

Lowest Rank: 10

DBacks Kyle Rank: 6


Best Offseason Additions:

None


Things were very quiet in the Astros organization this offseason. There were no free agent signings and no big trades. The main reason for the Astros being so quiet is that they already had their team setup to compete this season. This team has no real glaring holes on it. They’ve got a solid batting lineup, a good rotation that goes 5-7 deep, and a solid bullpen led by Brett Cecil. This team could be even better if Javier Baez learns how to no strikeout and/or if Joey Gallo gets called up. So even though they sit 6th on this list, I think it’s safe to say that this is easily a team that can compete for more than just their division championship.


I don’t expect this team to be quiet the whole season as far as moves are concerned.

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

4. CUBS




Average Rank: 5.7

Highest Rank: 2

Lowest Rank: 12

DBacks Kyle Rank: 4


Best Offseason Additions:

None


Another team that was extremely quiet during the offseason. The Cubs didn’t need to do much this offseason as they already had a pretty good team in place regardless of free agency. A balanced mixture of vets (Texiera, Granderson, Werth) and youth (Bogaerts, Schoop, Degrom) make up a pretty balanced team. The weakest part of this team is easily the Catcher position as that’s the only position without a true starter. The strength is in the depth of the team. The Cubs have to legit starting SS & 3B, have a pitching rotation that goes beyond 5 guys, and a farm team with some guys making or going to making an impact in the bigs this season. It will be hard for other teams in the NL to compete with the amount of depth the Cubs can run out on the field.


Can these Vets hold up for the whole season?

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

3. DIAMONDBACKS




Average Rank: 4.3

Highest Rank: 2

Lowest Rank: 10

DBacks Kyle Rank: 3


Best Offseason Additions:

Prince Fielder, Adrian Beltre, Carlos Gomez, John Jaso, Jared Weaver, Kyle Kendrick


It’s a little weird writing a team breakdown of my own team but here goes nothing. Easily one of the most active teams in the league this offseason, the Diamondbacks have managed to put together a pretty deep team from top to bottom. They’ve got starters at every position, a 9 man rotation, and a few guys in the high minors. The weakness of this team is that they don’t have any dominant Pitchers. Having 9 starters on the roster is great, but it would be better if one or two of those guys were aces. The bullpen also has a similar problem as there is plenty of depth but no closer to really solidify it.


I would feel much better if I wasn’t in the same division as the Padres.

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

2. REDS




Average Rank: 2.8

Highest Rank: 2

Lowest Rank: 4

DBacks Kyle Rank: 2


Best Offseason Additions:

CC Sabathia, Michael Brantley, Doug Fister, Carlos Santana


You got to love the Reds energy and attitude this offseason. They got out of the gate early with some really big trades and cleared enough cap space to resign their top free agent (Gio Gonzalez). This is a crazy talented team across the board. Anthony Rizzo, Jose Altuve, and Hanley Ramirez lead the batting order. They’ve got a stupid good 6 man rotation led by ace Matt Harvey. However, their bullpen is a little light with Aroldis Chapman and not much else filling out the pen. They were very aggressive in offseason trades and I would assume they would keep that up during the season. This team has all the talent but lacks depth and a complete bullpen. With the way their contracts are set up this team needs to be in win now mode, so I would assume there should be some trades in their near future.


You know your rotation is good when Sabathia is your #6 guy.

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

1. PADRES




Average Rank: 1.5

Highest Rank: 1

Lowest Rank: 4

DBacks Kyle Rank: 1


Best Offseason Additions:

George Springer, Jeurys Familia, Bartolo Colon, Matt Holliday, Ben Revere


I really wish Matt (Padres GM) was a big jerk. That would make it a lot easier to hate him for building this team in my division. The defending NL Champs came into this offseason fully loaded and ready to compete for another NL Championship. However, they decided instead to trade off some potential point production this season to help widen their potential Championship season beyond just a year or two. Don’t be fooled though by those moves, as they are still very stacked and very deep. Their batting order isn’t the best but it’s very solid. Their top 5 starters aren’t the best in the league but they have potentially 11 starters. Their bullpen isn’t as good as the Phillies but it’s pretty good. Basically everything about their team is above average and when you add that all up you get the favorite to win the NL.


Don’t get too comfortable as the defending NL Champ.

[Braves GM (Jared)]

Great job Kyle gathering all this.