What a fantastic first week of the 2013 season! Here are my power rankings for the National League, but keep in mind it is hard to do them for the first week. That being said the stats do not lie when they match the eye test.
- Washington Nationals (previously 1)
Yes, I am keeping them at the number one spot. Yes I know they lost to the Cincinnati Reds 15-0. But you cannot ignore their talent. Bryce Harper has 3 home runs and 5 RBIs and is batting .360. Jayson Werth has six hits and four RBIs. Jordan Zimmerman will continue to get better. The pitching has to stay healthy. Stephen Strasburg must anchor the rotation.
2. Atlanta Braves (previously 5)
If the Nationals do not stay healthy they have to contend with the Braves. They destroyed the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 and 9-2 in the first two games and just swept the Chicago Cubs this weekend. Justin Upton has seven hits, seven RBIs, and five home runs. Four of the starters are batting over .300 and three are not far behind. They have the potential to contend for the East tittle.
3. Cincinnati Reds (previously 4)
Pitchers. They have to get control of their starters. The offense can only hold them together for so long. Todd Frazier has 12 hits, nine RBIs, and is batting .480. Only a few of their batters are hitting below .300. But if their starters stay inconsistent they will lose more games than they should. So far, Shin-Soo Choo has set the table nicely for the middle of the Reds order. And Johnny Cueto has looked dominant.
4. San Francisco Giants (previously 3)
They won 2 out of 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but lost 2 out of 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals. They lost on Sunday 14-3. But Tim Lincecum had a great outing against the Dodgers and showed he is probably back to his old ways. Barry Zito’s game against the Cardinals proved last year’s really good year probably was not a fluke.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks (previously unranked)
It was between them and the Dodgers. I chose Arizona because they beat the Cardinals 2 out 3 while the Dodgers only beat the Giants once. All but two of their starters are batting over .300. The other two are batting .281 and .269. Next up are the Pirates, which should not be a problem, but they will play the Dodgers this upcoming weekend, which should prove if they are as good as they appear.
Teams to watch:
Los Angeles Dodgers
St. Louis Cardinals
Colorado Rockies – I did not rank them because they did beat terrible teams. I will wait until they play someone decent before potentially moving them up in the rankings.
Series To Watch This Week:
Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants (This would be a great series for the Rockies to prove if they may be legit)
Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Agree? Disagree? Let me know on Twitter!
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