Spring has arrived, baseball is back and Heavy's MLB power rankings make their season debut. For the first time in over a century, we do not go into baseball season with the Cubs' World Series drought. Instead, Chicago is in a new position of responding to a season of success. All eyes will be on the Cubs as they look to prove last year was not just one magical season. The first week of the season was full of surprises with teams like the Minnesota Twins and Arizona Diamondbacks getting off to hot starts. There was also teams like the Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants who underperformed relative to their preseason expectations. Which leads us to a quick note about the power rankings. While we do not want to completely forget what we know about each team, overall the rankings are based on how a team has performed through the first week of the season. While everyone has a different philosophy on power rankings, we are choosing to reward the teams that have performed well so far even if it is through a small sample size. In our eyes it is better to reward a team that has played well for one week rather than give the nod to a team that simply won the most preseason honors. This means that next week's rankings could look drastically different but that is the fun part. Teams like the Giants and Blue Jays could bounce back from a poor first week but the rankings are not based on what a team could do in the future. As the season goes on, teams will start to emerge and fans will have a better idea of which teams are here to stay. For now, we have one week of baseball to go on and we are going to take a few moments to acknowledge the best teams of that week. Secondly, the stats and standings listed throughout the rankings are as of Monday, April 10. Click the arrow on the right side of the above image to see the first week of Heavy's MLB power rankings. (Getty)
No. 10 Houston Astros
Standings: 4-3 (2nd in AL West)
Outlook: It's not been a great start for the Astros, but they have done good enough to sneak into our top 10. After starting off by winning three straight games against the Mariners, they have lost three of their last four games. Two of those losses came against the Royals, and Houston needed extra innings to avoid getting swept in the series. Houston's pitching has been one of the bright spots of their first week. Chris Devenski has thrown 14 strikeouts with a 1.13 ERA. Lance McCullers Jr. threw 17 strikeouts with a 2.77 ERA in his first two starts which included a win. The Astros have gotten some power from their several hitters. George Springer hit four homers while Marwin Gonzalez has three home runs. The Astros are on the road this week with stops in Seattle for a rematch with the Mariners then to Oakland to take on the A's. (Getty)
No. 9 Tampa Bay Rays
Standings: 5-3 (2nd in AL East)
Outlook: Tampa Bay won their home opening series against the Yankees and followed it up by winning three out of four games against the Blue Jays. Chris Archer is off to a good start with a 2.45 ERA and 13 strikeouts. Outfielder Steven Souza leads the Rays in hitting with a .370 average, 10 hits and six RBI. Tampa Bay is on the road all week with series against the Yankees and Red Sox. It is early but the Rays started the season by outperforming AL East favorites like the Blue Jays and Red Sox. (Getty)
No. 8 Cincinnati Reds
Standings: 4-2 (2nd in NL Central)
Outlook: The Reds are another team that has surpassed expectations to start the season. Cincinnati was able to take a series at St. Louis by winning two of three games. The Reds also won two of three games against the Phillies in their opening series. This week, they travel to Pittsburgh then host the Brewers. Zack Cozart and Adam Duvall have been two of the best hitters for the Reds. Through six games, Cozart is hitting .450 with nine hits. Duvall is hitting .348 with five runs and two home runs. On the pitching side, Cincinnati has received solid outings from several players. Brandon Finnegan threw seven innings of scoreless baseball with nine strikeouts. Scott Feldman split his two starts throwing 12 strikeouts with a 2.53 ERA. (Getty)
No. 7 Detroit Tigers
Standings: 4-2 (2nd in AL Central)
Outlook:The start to the Tigers season has been cut short with two of their games against the White Sox being postponed. The Tigers split the two games that were played then took three of four games against the Red Sox. The Tigers received two good outings from Justin Verlander who starts the season with a 1.35 ERA and 14 strikeouts. Detroit has been able to survive a dreadful start from Miguel Cabrera who hit .095 his first six games. The Tigers take on the Twins at home then go on the road for a series with the Indians. (Getty)
No. 6 Los Angeles Angels
Standings: 5-2 (1st in AL West)
Outlook: Los Angeles is off to a fast start in the AL West. The Angels split their opening four-game series with the A's and swept the Mariners. The Angels are powered by a couple of hot bats. Yunel Escobar and Andrelton Simmons are both hitting .400 or better. The Angels have been able to survive several high scoring games with their solid hitting. They will take on the Rangers at home then travel to Kansas City as they look to stay atop the AL West. (Getty)
No. 5 Colorado Rockies
Standings: 5-2 (2nd in NL West)
Outlook: It has been a good beginning of April for the Rockies. The Rockies took three of four games in Milwaukee then won two of three against the Dodgers. Closer Greg Holland has been stellar picking up four saves and six strikeouts in the Rockies first seven games. Colorado has a talented group of hitters with Mark Reynolds leading the way. Reynolds is hitting .346 with three home runs and 8 RBI. Outfielder Gerardo Parra is hitting .440 to start the season with 11 hits. The Rockies host the Padres this week then go on the road to take on the Giants. (Getty)
No. 4 Chicago Cubs
Standings: 4-2 (2nd in NL Central)
Outlook: The Cubs started off the first week of the season on the road. Chicago survived the road trip and will get to celebrate with their fans at Wrigley Field as the banner goes up. The Cubs took two of three games in their opening series against the Cardinals. Chicago also took two of three games against the Brewers. This week, the Cubs host the Dodgers and Pirates at Wrigley. The story for the Cubs to start the season has been their pitching. Jake Arrieta has picked up two wins in his first two starts. Arrieta had 16 strikeouts with a 2.08 ERA in those starts. Chicago has also had solid outings from players like John Lackey and Jon Lester. The Cubs are dealing with unprecedented success in Chicago, and it will be interesting to see how they start the season after achieving the one thing fans had been waiting a century to see. (Getty)
No. 3 Minnesota Twins
Standings: 5-1 (1st in AL Central)
Outlook: Contrary to preseason expectations, the Twins got out of the gates fast. Minnesota won five of their first six games. The Twins swept the Royals in their opening series and followed it up by winning two of three games against the White Sox. Pitcher Ervin Santana is already off to a crazy start. Santana got wins in two of the Twins first five victories. He has an ERA of 0.69 and has thrown seven strikeouts in 13 innings. Minnesota has also benefited from some strong batting including third baseman Miguel Sano who is hitting .350 while notching two home runs and 8 RBI. The Twins head to Detroit for a series then are back home for another series against the White Sox as they look to continue their hot streak. (Getty)
No. 2 Baltimore Orioles
Standings: 4-1 (1st in AL East)
Outlook: It's no shock that the Orioles picked up where they left off last season. Baltimore swept their two-game series with the Blue Jays then followed that up by taking two of three games from the Yankees. Their strong start can only help the Orioles in a competitive AL East. Chris Davis has led the way for Baltimore hitting .333 to start the season. It has been a slow start from some of their other bats, and Baltimore will look to pick it up as the season continues. The Orioles have a difficult upcoming stretch of games as they are on the road for the next week and a half. The Orioles head to Boston then to Toronto for three-game series with each squad. It will be a week of AL East battles as the Orioles look to continue separating from the other teams but could also lose ground if they are not careful. (Getty)
No. 1 Arizona Diamondbacks
Standings: 6-1 (1st in NL West)
Outlook: What a week the Diamondbacks have had. Arizona started out by taking three of four games against the Giants then swept an Indians team coming off a World Series appearance. The Diamondbacks have a difficult week ahead as they head to California to take on the Giants and Dodgers. Next week, they will stay in the state to take on the Padres. Arizona's bats have had success with seven full-time players hitting .300 or better. Second baseman Brandon Drury has been red-hot hitting .476 with 10 hits, 5 RBI and 4 runs. Zack Greinke has looked good in his first two starts throwing 10 strikeouts with a 2.31 ERA. While Arizona has a long road ahead, they are on pace to more than outperform most people's expectations for the team heading into the season. The Diamondbacks need to string together a few more weeks of wins to prove they are for real. (Getty)
MLB Power Rankings: Week 1