Dodgers Team News

Dodgers Fall Down in MLB Power Rankings

The Dodgers have fallen to second in MLB’s power rankings this week after holding the top spot for three consecutive weeks.

The offense has been fifth-best in OPS and third-best in wRC+ so far this season. The defense is the best in Major League Baseball by an enormous margin (55 DRS with the Astros next in line at 38). The club also boasts the fourth-best starting rotation in baseball according to their 3.44 ERA as a staff.

With all things being considered, it is not exactly unfair to say they are the second-best in the power rankings. In fact, they have the third-best record in baseball, behind both the 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros (31-16, .660) and the surprise AL Central division-leading Minnesota Twins (30-16, .652).

Both the Astros and Twins top the Dodgers in most of the categories mentioned above but it is entirely understandable to put the Dodgers second considering their talented roster and their standing as one of the consistent powerhouses in Major League Baseball.

It would obviously not come as a huge surprise to see the Dodgers reclaim the top spot in the near future considering that the franchise has firmly implanted themselves as the best team in the National League.


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Daniel Preciado

My name is Daniel Preciado and I am 19 years old. I am a sophomore Sport Analytics major and Cognitive Science and Economics dual minor at Syracuse University. When I am not in New York, I live in Whittier, California --- not too far from Chavez Ravine. I am pretty old-school for being an analytics guy and I will always embrace debate. Also, Chase Utley did absolutely nothing wrong.

3 Comments

  1. Not hard to figure out, they have the D H, extra hitter, Dodgers blow them away in home runs, plus American league weak.

    1. Chuck:

      Exactly right. Comparing certain stats from the AL to the NL are biased towards the AL. That extra non-fielding hitter in place of the pitcher changes a lot, beyond just the one hitter. I changes how the game is played from multiple aspects. I am so glad they kept the DH out of the NL. Real baseball!

    2. Definitely. However, if you take a look, the Astros are an insane amount better than the Dodgers in most offensive stats. Therefore, I think the amount that the extra hitter picks up the offense for say, the Astros, is not enough to drop them below the Dodgers.

      In better terms: The Dodgers would not be better than the Astros offensively if the Astros played in the National League without the DH.

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