Ivy League Cubs

By: Jacob Zanolla

(This was written before any Memorial Day games. A Cubs rant is coming, don’t worry)

It’s Memorial Day, and we are already a third of the way through this MLB season. First off I just want to talk about how insane that is, as the season seems to be going so quickly. Anyways, let’s get into our first IvyLeagueCubs Power Rankings! These are just my opinion, so don’t get too angry….

30. Chicago White Sox (15-39)

They’ve lost five games in a row, and have been a mess all season. Hey, they beat the Cardinals in a series though! 

29. Miami Marlins (19-35)

They already traded Arraez, with others sure to be moved by August. They’ve suffered several injuries, but I’d argue they didn’t really have much of a chance to begin with. Especially in the NL East, it sure seems like the Marlins are a lock for last place. 

28. Los Angeles Angels (20-33)

The Angels are once again an absolute mess. Anthony Rendon is hurt and just sitting on the bench collecting his paychecks, which is a yearly occurrence at this point. Mike Trout is also hurt, and won’t be back for a few more months. Trout’s injury probably stops him from being traded at the deadline, but good grief Arte needs to sell the team. 

27. Oakland Athletics (22-33)

Speaking of selling the team, the Athletics are also a mess. However, they’re doing better than I had expected. As weird as this sounds with them being 11 games under .500, I was expecting worse at this point in the season. Mason Miller has been the star of this team, with his future home in question. 

26. Colorado Rockies (18-34) 

We all knew the Rockies would be bad this year. Clearly it’s tough to play half of your games a mile above sea level, but the rest of the division is thriving. They did take two of three from the Phillies, and won seven straight games earlier this month. In those seven games, the Rockies scored 44 runs, allowing only 14. They’ve cooled off since then, but the series win against Philadelphia helped their ranking by a couple of spots.

25. New York Mets (22-30)

Meet the Mets… a team that is once again underperforming. Although at this rate is it expected? Francisco Lindor looked at a pitch right down the middle with a full count and men on, basically summarizing their whole season into one at bat. It’s only May, but the season is off to a very rough start for Steve Cohen’s ball club. Again.

24. Toronto Blue Jays (23-29)

The Blue Jays may end up being my most disappointing team in baseball. On paper they should have a decent amount of talent. Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr headline the offense, with José Berríos as their ace so far this season. If things continue to go this poorly in Toronto, I’d expect them to be sellers at the deadline. This would be huge for baseball, and could have some massive Cubs implications as well. 

23. Cincinatti Reds (23-30)

Remember when Ben Verlander said “I think they [Reds] should be favorites to win the division.”

Well Ben, that’s not going too well. Injuries have played a part, but they just haven’t been producing. Elly De La Cruz has been quite good, but there doesn’t seem to be enough talent to actually do something with this current roster. 

22. Washington Nationals (23-28)

CJ Abrams has been good, putting up 0.9 fWAR with a 113 wRC+. Someone who has been way better than expected is Trevor Williams, leading the Washington Nationals with 1.5 fWAR and a 2.29 ERA. They haven’t been great, but overall solid compared to last season. 

21. Texas Rangers (25-29) This is another team that could be the most dissapointing, depending on how they finish the season. Coming off of a World Series Championship, the Rangers are four games under .500. They’ve had a few injuries, but mainly just haven’t been able to produce at the same time in order to win ballgames. 

20. Houston Astros (24-29) 

Another team that has been really bad so far is the Houston Astros. They started off poor, but having a bulk of their starting pitching injured didn’t help. If they don’t climb up in the standings soon I could see Alex Bregman traded. They’re only 3.5 games out of first place though, so it’s not too bad as of now. 

19. Arizona Diamondbacks (25-28)

The Diamondbacks lost the World Series, but didn’t really lose anyone this offseason. Instead they signed Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery. Rodriguez got hurt during Spring Training, leading to the signing of Montgomery. The main thing contributing to their lack of wins is probably the injuries, along with underperforming from stars. Corbin Carroll was one of the best players in all of baseball last year, but currently has a 63 wRC+ and 0.0 fWAR. 

18. Pittsburgh Pirates (25-29)

Paul Skenes is the top pitching prospect in all of baseball, and the main reason people were excited to see the Pirates. Jared Jones has surprised a lot of people and been ace caliber as well, with Mitch Keller improving lately. They started off very strong, as they always do, but once again fell off and now sit near the bottom of the division. 

17. Tampa Bay Rays (26-28)

The Rays are always sneaky good, but they’re not off to a great start. It’s tough being in such a tough division, as only two games below .500 has them in fourth place. 

16. St. Louis Cardinals (25-26)

The devil magic never ceases to amaze me. The Cardinals are one of the hottest teams in baseball, backed by their ace Sonny Gray. They swept the Orioles and the Cubs (2 game series due to rain). While I doubt it lasts, they’ve quickly made up ground in the NL Central race. 

15. San Francisco Giants (25-28)

Blake Snell highlighted several acquisitions for the Giants this offseason. Problem is Snell and Lee are hurt (Lee out for the season), which has killed their chances. I didn’t think they were going to be legit to begin with, but three games under isn’t too bad at this point in the season. 

14. Detroit Tigers (26-27)

Tarik Skubal and Kerry Carpenter lead a Tigers squad that has been quite solid. The problem is that they’re in fourth place and 10 games back, but only 2.5 games behind the wild card race. They’re in a tough spot as of now, it’ll be interesting to see where they go from here. 

13. Boston Red Sox (27-26) 

The Red Sox are only this high because of their starting pitching. The offense has been ok, but they’re sort of middle of the pack. It doesn’t matter if they don’t score several runs a night when their rotation is one of the best in baseball. They won’t do anything in this division but are still in the running for the Wild Card. 

12. Chicago Cubs (27-26)

The Chicago Cubs, what can ya say. They’re an absolute mess right now, with the offense forgetting that their job is to hit the baseball and score runs. With one of the worst averages in baseball the last month, they’re quickly losing ground in the standings. Hopefully they can turn it around, but the series in St. Louis was an absolute killer vibe wise. I had them at tenth but couldn’t defend them being a top 10 team right now. 

11. San Diego Padres (28-28)

The Padres traded Juan Soto, and are still sitting at .500. Dylan Cease joined a really solid rotation, and the offense is star studded as well. Boegarts is out for a while, but he wasn’t doing too much anyway. Luis Arraez came to San Diego a few weeks ago and has done well, but it’s gonna be tough to overtake the Dodgers. The Wild Card is very much in play however, plus we all know Preller will be aggressive at the deadline. 

10. Minnesota Twins (28-24)

Byron Buxton has been injured for quite a bit, and Royce Lewis is already out as well. They’re pretty streaky, winning twelve in a row before losing six in a row. As long as they have their rally sausage, they’ll be fine. 

9. Seattle Mariners (28-26)

Anyone who has read my work before knows that I love the Mariners rotation, and they’ve been worthy of this praise so far. Julio Rodriguez has been heating up lately, which would be huge for Seattle. At first place in the AL West, a stronger offense would make this team elite. 

8. Milwaukee Brewers (30-22)

Craig Counsell left town, they traded Corbin Burnes, and signed Rhys Hoskins. It was a very odd offseason, but they’re still producing at an elite rate. They’re winning the division as of now, and are easily the favorites going into June. 

7. Los Angeles Dodgers (33-22)

I didn’t think I’d have the Dodgers this low, but they’ve been quite disappointing to begin the season. They’ve still been really good, but not as impressive as I expected. They’re currently in the middle of a five game losing streak, which moved them down a spot or two. 

6. Atlanta Braves (30-20)

The Braves are at six, but Acuna’s season ending injury will really hurt them over the rest of the season. Austin Riley should be back soon, but already having Strider out is not ideal. They’ll be fine and make the playoffs, but they’re no longer my picks for the NL East. 

5. Kansas City Royals (34-20)

The Royals were a team that I didn’t expect to be this good until next year, but they’ve been absolutely fantastic. Cole Ragans is elite, and Bobby Witt Jr. has made an argument to be the best player in all of baseball. If they decide to aggressively buy at the deadline, the Royals could be a serious problem. 

4. Baltimore Orioles (33-18)

Baltimore was my choice to win the AL East, and they’ve proven me right, almost. They’re two games back in the division, and 5.5 games up in the Wild Card race. Jackson Holliday got called up but didn’t produce, however he’ll be up within a few months. Kyle Bradish came back quicker than I was expected which helped a lot as well. 

3. Cleveland Guardians (36-17) 

Stephen Vogt is in his first season as a major league manager, and has now lead the Guardians to nine straight wins. Bieber got Tommy John which should have hurt them, but they’ve battled through it and are surprisingly one of the best teams in baseball. The Royals will give them a fight for the division, but it’s definitely a different order of teams than I figured. 

2. New York Yankees (37-18)

Gerritt Cole hasn’t pitched at all this season, but the Yankees are just fine. Juan Soto continues to be one of the best players in baseball, with Aaron Judge sitting right by him with elite stats. 

1. Philadelphia Phillies (38-16) 

At number one I have the Phillies. Ranger Suárez joins Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler at the top of the rotation. Bryce Harper already has 2.1 fWAR, with a 155 wRC+ and 13 home runs. On the other side of the diamond Trea Turner is producing at a top tier level as well. Alec Bohm is someone that I wanted to highlight, as his production has surprised me so far. He has 2.2 fWAR thus far, a third of his career WAR accumulation. All of his offensive stats have improved, including a .375 wOBA and .502 SLG.