2010 Playoff Rankings
Playoff rankings require us to peer into a cloudy crystal ball, and predict who is going to win which series. Thus, there's a lot of volatility in the rankings, and you'll also see lesser players boosted in the rankings because they're projected to play more games. Of the first four series, as much as it kills me to say so, I think that the Phillies by far have the greatest chance of advancing, and probably the best chance of getting to the World Series.
If I had to seed the eight teams in the playoffs, I'd rank them as:
1. Phillies
2. Yankees
3. Rays
4. Giants
5. Rangers
6. Braves
7. Twins
8. Reds
(Players qualify at a position with 10 or more games there in 2009 - or in the case of fewer than 10 games at any position, where that player has played the most.)
* = check status. Note that this isn't just injury status, but also playoff roster status, and what role the club intends for the player. The final starting rotations for the playoffs haven't been fully determined for some teams, and quite frequently that remains fluid.
1B
1. Ryan Howard, (PHI)
2. Mark Teixeira, (NY-A)
3. Nick Swisher, (NY-A)
4. Aubrey Huff, (SF)
5. Carlos Pena, (TB)
6. Joey Votto, (CIN)
7. Lance Berkman, (NY-A)
8. Michael Cuddyer, (MIN)
9. Derrek Lee, (ATL)
10. Dan Johnson, (TB)
11. Willy Aybar
2010 Playoff Rankings
Playoff rankings require us to peer into a cloudy crystal ball, and predict who is going to win which series. Thus, there's a lot of volatility in the rankings, and you'll also see lesser players boosted in the rankings because they're projected to play more games. Of the first four series, as much as it kills me to say so, I think that the Phillies by far have the greatest chance of advancing, and probably the best chance of getting to the World Series.
If I had to seed the eight teams in the playoffs, I'd rank them as:
1. Phillies
2. Yankees
3. Rays
4. Giants
5. Rangers
6. Braves
7. Twins
8. Reds
(Players qualify at a position with 10 or more games there in 2009 - or in the case of fewer than 10 games at any position, where that player has played the most.)
* = check status. Note that this isn't just injury status, but also playoff roster status, and what role the club intends for the player. The final starting rotations for the playoffs haven't been fully determined for some teams, and quite frequently that remains fluid.
1B
1. Ryan Howard, (PHI)
2. Mark Teixeira, (NY-A)
3. Nick Swisher, (NY-A)
4. Aubrey Huff, (SF)
5. Carlos Pena, (TB)
6. Joey Votto, (CIN)
7. Lance Berkman, (NY-A)
8. Michael Cuddyer, (MIN)
9. Derrek Lee, (ATL)
10. Dan Johnson, (TB)
11. Willy Aybar, (TB)
12. Jorge Cantu, (TEX)
13. *Mitch Moreland, (TEX)
14. Mike Sweeney, (PHI)
15. *Troy Glaus, (ATL)
16. *Ross Gload, (PHI)
17. *Freddie Freeman, (ATL)
18. *Travis Ishikawa, (SF)
19. *Chris Davis, (TEX)
2B
1. Robinson Cano, (NY-A)
2. Chase Utley, (PHI)
3. Ben Zobrist, (TB)
4. Ian Kinsler, (TEX)
5. Juan Uribe, (SF)
6. Brandon Phillips, (CIN)
7. Omar Infante, (ATL)
8. Freddy Sanchez, (SF)
9. Orlando Hudson, (MIN)
10. Reid Brignac, (TB)
11. Sean Rodriguez, (TB)
12. Mike Fontenot, (SF)
13. *Nick Punto, (MIN)
3B
1. Alex Rodriguez, (NY-A)
2. *Evan Longoria, (TB)
3. Michael Young, (TEX)
4. Juan Uribe, (SF)
5. Pablo Sandoval, (SF)
6. Placido Polanco, (PHI)
7. Scott Rolen, (CIN)
8. Omar Infante, (ATL)
9. Brooks Conrad, (ATL)
10. Danny Valencia, (MIN)
11. Willy Aybar, (TB)
12. *Greg Dobbs, (PHI)
13. Jorge Cantu, (TEX)
14. *Troy Glaus, (ATL)
15. Mike Fontenot, (SF)
16. *Juan Francisco, (CIN)
SS
1. Derek Jeter, (NY-A)
2. *Jimmy Rollins, (PHI)
3. Juan Uribe, (SF)
4. Jason Bartlett, (TB)
5. Elvis Andrus, (TEX)
6. Alex Gonzalez, (ATL)
7. J.J. Hardy, (MIN)
8. Orlando Cabrera, (CIN)
9. Sean Rodriguez, (TB)
10. Reid Brignac, (TB)
11. Edgar Renteria, (SF)
12. Andres Blanco, (TEX)
13. Paul Janish, (CIN)
14. *Nick Punto, (MIN)
C
1. Jorge Posada, (NY-A)
2. Buster Posey, (SF)
3. Joe Mauer, (MIN)
4. Brian McCann, (ATL)
5. *Carlos Ruiz, (PHI)
6. John Jaso, (TB)
7. Bengie Molina, (TEX)
8. Ramon Hernandez, (CIN)
9. Francisco Cervelli, (NY-A)
10. Ryan Hanigan, (CIN)
11. Eli Whiteside, (SF)
12. *Kelly Shoppach, (TB)
13. Matt Treanor, (TEX)
14. *Dioner Navarro, (TB)
OF
1. Carl Crawford, (TB)
2. *Josh Hamilton, (TEX)
3. Jayson Werth, (PHI)
4. Nick Swisher, (NY-A)
5. Curtis Granderson, (NY-A)
6. Nelson Cruz, (TEX)
7. Shane Victorino, (PHI)
8. B.J. Upton, (TB)
9. Brett Gardner, (NY-A)
10. Andres Torres, (SF)
11. Jason Heyward, (ATL)
12. Ben Zobrist, (TB)
13. Raul Ibanez, (PHI)
14. Michael Cuddyer, (MIN)
15. Delmon Young, (MIN)
16. Jay Bruce, (CIN)
17. Denard Span, (MIN)
18. Drew Stubbs, (CIN)
19. *Jason Kubel, (MIN)
20. Austin Kearns, (NY-A)
21. Jose Guillen, (SF)
22. Jonny Gomes, (CIN)
23. Rick Ankiel, (ATL)
24. Jeff Francoeur, (TEX)
25. Matt Joyce, (TB)
26. Julio Borbon, (TEX)
27. *David Murphy, (TEX)
28. Eric Hinske, (ATL)
29. Marcus Thames, (NY-A)
30. Nate McLouth, (ATL)
31. Ben Francisco, (PHI)
32. Laynce Nix, (CIN)
33. Melky Cabrera, (ATL)
34. Matt Diaz, (ATL)
35. *Cody Ross, (SF)
36. *Desmond Jennings, (TB)
37. Chris Heisey, (CIN)
38. *Brad Hawpe, (TB)
39. *Domonic Brown, (PHI)
40. *Aaron Rowand, (SF)
41. *Jim Edmonds, (CIN)
42. *Nate Schierholtz, (SF)
DH
1. Vladimir Guerrero, (TEX)
2. Jim Thome, (MIN)
3. Willy Aybar, (TB)
RP
1. Mariano Rivera, (NY-A)
2. Brian Wilson, (SF)
3. Rafael Soriano, (TB)
4. Brad Lidge, (PHI)
5. Billy Wagner, (ATL)
6. Neftali Feliz, (TEX)
7. Francisco Cordero, (CIN)
8. Ryan Madson, (PHI)
9. Matt Capps, (MIN)
10. Kerry Wood, (NY-A)
11. Jose Contreras, (PHI)
12. Jeremy Affeldt, (SF)
13. Joba Chamberlain, (NY-A)
14. Santiago Casilla, (SF)
15. Ramon Ramirez, (SF)
16. *Takashi Saito, (ATL)
17. David Robertson, (NY-A)
18. Aroldis Chapman, (CIN)
19. Sergio Romo, (SF)
20. Grant Balfour, (TB)
21. Javier Lopez, (SF)
22. Brian Fuentes, (MIN)
23. Dan Wheeler, (TB)
24. Nick Masset, (CIN)
25. Darren Oliver, (TEX)
26. Peter Moylan, (ATL)
27. *Darren O'Day, (TEX)
28. Matt Guerrier, (MIN)
29. *Arthur Rhodes, (CIN)
30. Jesse Crain, (MIN)
31. Randy Choate, (TB)
32. *Jon Rauch, (MIN)
33. *J.C. Romero, (PHI)
34. Chad Qualls, (TB)
35. *Chris Ray, (SF)
36. *Dan Runzler, (SF)
37. *Dustin Nippert, (TEX)
38. *Pat Neshek, (MIN)
39. Danys Baez, (PHI)
40. Chad Durbin, (PHI)
SP
1. Roy Halladay, (PHI)
2. CC Sabathia, (NY-A)
3. David Price, (TB)
4. Tim Lincecum, (SF)
5. Cole Hamels, (PHI)
6. Matt Cain, (SF)
7. Roy Oswalt, (PHI)
8. Cliff Lee, (TEX)
9. *Andy Pettitte, (NY-A)
10. Francisco Liriano, (MIN)
11. Matt Garza, (TB)
12. Philip Hughes, (NY-A)
13. Derek Lowe, (ATL)
14. C.J. Wilson, (TEX)
15. Tim Hudson, (ATL)
16. James Shields, (TB)
17. Tommy Hanson, (ATL)
18. Carl Pavano, (MIN)
19. Jonathan Sanchez, (SF)
20. Johnny Cueto, (CIN)
21. Bronson Arroyo, (CIN)
22. Madison Bumgarner, (SF)
23. Colby Lewis, (TEX)
24. Brian Duensing, (MIN)
25. Edinson Volquez, (CIN)
26. Joe Blanton, (PHI)
27. *Jeff Niemann, (TB)
28. Jeremy Hellickson, (TB)
29. *Barry Zito, (SF)
30. *A.J. Burnett, (NY-A)
31. *Homer Bailey, (CIN)
32. *Scott Baker, (MIN)
33. *Wade Davis, (TB)
34. Kevin Slowey, (MIN)
35. Tommy Hunter, (TEX)
36. *Javier Vazquez, (NY-A)
37. *Travis Wood, (CIN)
38. Derek Holland, (TEX)
39. Andy Sonnanstine, (TB)
40. Nick Blackburn, (MIN)
