ESPN pre-season power rankings

[RallyPanda]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/seasonpreview_cubs/no-1-chicago-cubs

Angels - 16th

[bloodbrother]

Higher than I thought they'd put them. VALIDATION!

[Second Base]

Just the way I like it. It's like prospects, hype can be a killer, but being ignored and under-estimated, that can fuel a fire in the right player.

Everyone is writing the Angels off having completely ignored who Nava has been his whole career or what he's been this Spring, along with the natural progression of Trout, Calhoun and Cron. They also write off our pitching staff, having forgotten it wasn't so long ago that Shoemaker was the "in" pitcher with his beard and splitter, or that Santiago was an all-star last year, or that Skaggs has front of the rotation upside and is coming back.

This will make it all the more sweet when we destroy their beloved Rangers, Astros and Mariners. Does anytone remember where we were predicted to finish in 2014 when we won 98 games? Wasn't it like 80 wins?

[RallyPanda]

Am I the only one who thinks the Cubs (1st) and the Giants (3rd) are way overrated?

[Broad Street]

Giants, a little. Cubs, not so much, that team is stacked.

[zenmaster]

We are ranked 16th and predicted to finish 4th in AL West and Mariners are ranked 19th and predicted to finish 2nd in AL West. haha

[Guest]

ESPN is a joke. 

[VariousCrap]

Actually, the list isn't too bad.  They have the Angels projected to win 80 games and they are going to do better than that.  I think the Angels will win 86-90 games this year.

[WallyWorld]

There's definitely something fun about the start of this season. It's kind of cool to be overlooked and have zero expectations put on the team.

[Docwaukee]

predicted future org WAR?  That's just crazy.  

 

Any time you predict over 90 wins for a team, they are overrated.  

 

Every team has warts.  Some teams get hit with the injury bug more than others.  Guys age unexpectedly.  Others develop quickly or have career years.  

 

Every team in the AL has the capability of making the playoffs.  I like our chances right now.  

 

I'd like them a lot better if we had one more reliable starter in the current rotation.  Maybe that ends up being Skaggs or Trop soon enough.  

[Angel Oracle]

16th is about where I was guessing.

[AngelsLakersFan]

I've upgraded my expectations from 83 wins to 84

 

I've gotten more optimistic about Nava and Giavotella, but it could very well just be that spring optimism we all tend to feel. Weaver and Wilson have been huge disappointments, but I do still have high hopes for Tropiano, Shoemaker and now Skaggs.

[WallyWorld]

Middle of the pack seems about right for this team right now. But, like most teams, I think they have the potential to be a top 10.

[wpghalo]

I dunno but plz let this be a season we can look forward too because the way Angels are playing in spring training this year has gut me all kinds of excited

[Blarg]

The Angels eeked out 85 wins with a crap lineup of under achievers. Their rotation was shot full of holes as well.

What these rankings ignore is two fold, one is roster creation, how simple improvements like having a reasonable leadoff and #2 hitter changes the complexion of the game and also skill sets like running which helps fill the gaps between your power hitters in the moto and back half of the lineup.

Couple this with creating a complete bench that plays into the managers style of play and you have to say it is an improvement over the previous season. Most managers are station to station so adding speed doesn't improve their game plan. For Scioscia it is like adding a run per game. Last night the Angels were tagging in to their lead with speed on the base paths that wasn't there last season.

The Angels will have a more successful season than last year. Once the rotation settles in they will be a very hard team to beat. 90+ wins are well within their abilities.

[Jay]

I'd like them a lot better if we had one more reliable starter in the current rotation.  Maybe that ends up being Skaggs or Trop soon enough.  

 

fingers crossed

[Slegnaac]

Only 7 AL teams ranked ahead of the Angels is encouraging. But 2 of them are in our Division.

[Guest]

Screw the naysayers. I was listening to 710 ESPN, and they were going on about how the Angels are finished as a franchise for the next five years. They said that Mike Trout should be traded. What a bunch of hyperbolic clowns.

[Stradling]

Half this board are naysayers.

[Lou]

Seeing how bad the starting rotation is and how much the offense sucks besides Trout and maybe Calhoun I really wouldn't expect them to get anywhere near 90 wins.

lol you're adorable

[beatlesrule]

2 years ago, I made a prediction post on another board that the Cubs would win it all in 2018.  I am pretty sure I will be wrong.  They could easily win it all this year.  That being typed, I am fine with being ranked 16h.  I expected like 23rd.

[Tank]

Half this board are naysayers.

While the other half are "just keeping it real, dog."

[Docwaukee]

No team in the AL west is good enough on paper to think they will just run and hide and no team is bad enough to completely discount them except for maybe oakland and even they have improved.  

 

One of the Angels, Rangers, Astros or Mariners are likely going to have a really good season.  One or maybe two of the other teams will have solid seasons and vie for the wild card spots.  

 

We need to keep in mind that the rest of the AL is pretty strong.  There aren't really any cupcakes.  

 

Another thing I found interesting was that last year we had one of the highest quality of SP against in all of baseball.  It's only about a 3-4% difference between what we saw vs. Texas and Houston, but over every player for each of those teams over the course of an entire season it could make a big difference.  

 

It's a random event but if it normalizes it could me additional wins.  

[Blarg]

The Mariners are not a. 500 team.