Power Rankings March 8th.

Parentheses denote last week's rankings, current record.


1. (2, 44-12) New York Yankees: Their time has come to be on top of the power rankings with Minnesota struggling this week the Yankees are on top. Their staff has a ERA of 2.37 and less than half of the league has a ERA that isn't double that it will be interesting to see what happens when or even if the staff slips up a bit.

2. (3, 39-17 ) New York Metropolitans: Yes haters this is a Frank Sinatra song, but after destroying Minnesota and having the second best record in the league we couldn't find a way to keep the New York teams out of the top 2. In the past the Mets offence has not been a strength but this season they are 3rd in the league with 332 runs scored and a top 5 team OPS.

3. (4, 37-19 ) St. Louis Greys: The good times aren't so good for the Greys lately they have dropped 4 of their last 5 including being shut out twice, but to be fair those were against the Yankees. If they want to keep this pace up they could look to upgrade their lineup they have only scored 262 runs 12th worst in the league.

4. (8, 36-20) Albuquerque Isotopes: The 'topes have won 15 of 18 which is pretty impressive. They also have the most potent offence in the league so they have that going for them too.

5. (1, 34-22) Minnesota Fatboys: After going 3 and 7 in their last 10 the Fatboys got knocked off the hill and took a little tumble down the power rankings but it's still early in the year and you can't count out the the team that has won back to back championships especially with their lineup.

6. (5, 34-22) Milwaukee Twindyans: It's not that they were worse this week it's that other teams got better the Twindyans are still the same good team they were last week they are a balanced team with a top 8 pitching staff and lineup with a star in each.

7. (6, 34-22) Anaheim Anteaters: Haywood Gipson better boost the offence because right now it's 20th in the league right now the pitching staff is carrying Anaheim and with a staff full of number 2 starters it should hold up throughout the season.

8. (9, 34-22) Cheyenne Tackleberries: Cheyenne has been a bit of surprise this year they have finished re-building and they did it well apparently and are riding a 6 game winning streak right now.

9. (7, 31-25) Chicago Jayhawks: What happened here? Most teams would be happy to be 31-25 but it got to bug Chicago that they can't seem to find the high gear that allowed them to rule the NL in the past years and with Sliva and the Yankees running away that's got to bug Chicago's owner.

10. (14, 32-24) Iowa City Comics: For a little while we thought Iowa had grown old fast but that was premature Iowa is back to their self and making a run to the top of the NL South.

11. (12, 33-23) Oklahoma City Twins: The Twins have been pretty darn good that last few seasons and relied on the pitching staff but this is getting redicualous they are 6th best in ERA and 6th worst in runs scored.

12. (10, 27-29) Florida Cottonmouths: Florida is on a 5 game losing streak currently which is going to drop you in the power rankings

13. (15, 32-24) Tampa Bay Devil Rays: The most surprising stat of the week to us was that Tampa bay is actually 5th in runs scored in the league.

14. (18, 33-23) Nashville Twang: A winning season in Nashville? It could happen this year. They are on a run right now winning 9 of their last10.

15. (11, 30-26) Buffalo Europeans: Buffalo has been really good in their last 10 games going 7-3 but they fell in the rankings because some teams had better weeks.

16. (23, 29-27) San Antonio Sting: The Sting have been the most surprising team this year expected to be one of the worst teams in the league they are actually average at least so far this year which has to be a nice surprise.

17. (13, 28-28) Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims: It wasn't a good week for the Boeheims who watched teams make a run while they stood still as a result they lost ground.

18. (17, 29-27) Sioux Falls Gunslingers: Sioux Falls is only 5 back of Milwaukee and still in the race they just can have many bad streches because Milwaukee is pretty good.

19. (19, 29-27) Boston Red Sox: Same story different year they can't pitch but they can hit.

20. (21, 29-27) Boise Mashers: Bosie has to have Anaheim a little worried because they are only 5 back and Anaheim isn't used to competition.

21. (16, 25-31) Philadelphia Phenomenauts: After it looked promising Philly went 2 for 8 in the last 10 games to drop off the charts.

22. (20, 25-31) Kansas City Monarchs: They have a decent pitching staff but the offence ain't good for want is this now the 7th straight year?

23. (22, 24-32) Montreal Grand Orange: Losing seven in a row is not something that will keep you in a playoff race.

24. (26, 25-31) Richmond Roustabouts: They aren't terrible like some of the teams below them but there isn't much to get excited about either.

25. (24, 23-33) Vancouver Vigilantes: Beating Chicago must have felt nice but they aren't the team they used to be either.

26. (25, 19-37) Santa Cruz Amigos: The Amigos will have to look for some new friends if this keeps up.

27. (27, 18-38) Tacoma Downpour: The Pitching staff knocked half a run off it's era this week which isn't easy to do.

28. (28, 19-37) Pittsburgh Pug Dogs: Actually they might be under preforming right now but that doesn't mean they are good just not this bad.

29. (30, 18-38) Washington D.C. Bureaucrats: Second worst offence 5th worst pitching staff but the AAA team is good.

30. (29, 16-40) Monterrey Conquistadores: The pitching staff isn't utterly horrible it's just bad and that's the bright spot here.

31. (31, 17-39) Los Angeles Hangars: Last in the league in Era is not a easy thing to do. LA must like a challenge.

32. (32, 13-43) Colorado Springs Silver Stars: Their last 10 games 3-7 that's pretty much par for the course here.

Top 10 Second Basemen

The series looking at the best players at each position continues.

10. Mikey Houston, Pittsburgh Pug Dogs: Houston had a fine rookie campaign in season 5, hitting .293/.358/.463, and he's been even better with the bat so far this season. Houston's best offensive skills are solid contact and patience. He's also equally skilled against righties and lefties, although he doesn't have very much power.

Defense is another story for Houston. His arm is poor, even for a second baseman, and his glove isn't nearly good enough yet. His range is OK, but it's certainly below average. In all, he looks like one of the worse defenders at second base, although his numbers haven't been terrible so far in the majors.

9. Javier Vizquel, Cheyenne Tackleberries: Vizquel put up very solid numbers on offense his first two seasons, but he slumped a bit in season 4 and then missed nearly all of season 5 with a torn hamstring. He's hitting OK so far in season 6, and his career line is right around .290/.345/.470, which is fine for a middle infielder. Vizquel has exceptional contact skills and he's solid everywhere else on offense except for his mediocre batting eye.

Defensively, Vizquel has a very strong arm for second because he's a failed shortstop. While his range and glove aren't good enough for shortstop, they're decent for the other side of the bag. His fielding has steadily improved since a brutal rookie season, and he's now probably right around average for the position.

8. Clarence Hampton, San Antonio Sting: Hampton struggled in his rookie year in season 2, but since then he's been good for at least an .800 OPS each season, and his career line is around .290/.350/.465. He's having the best season of his career so far in season 6. Hampton has good contact ability and he's a deadly hitter against lefties. His power and patience are both solid, and he's not terrible against righties.

Defensively, Hampton's pretty close to average. Since the beginning of season 4, when his defensive skills appear to have maxed out, he's made relatively few errors and he has a +/- total of 4/3. Hampton's biggest problem is actually his durability, which has limited him to a career high of 137 games in a season.

7. Alejandro Javier, Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims: Javier is struggling a bit to start this season, but even so he has a career line of around .280/.360/.510, so there's no reason to think he won't end up with very solid numbers yet again this season. The key to Javier's offensive production is good power and very good patience. His contact isn't good and he doesn't hit lefties well, but he is good against righties.

Javier isn't good on defense, but he isn't terrible either. He put up some brutal defensive numbers in seasons 2 and 3, but he's been solid since then. He may not be acceptable defensively much longer, though, as his range and arm strength are already slipping.

6. Byung-Hyun Yosida, Boston Red Sox: Yosida put up excellent numbers when he first reached the majors at the end of season 4, and while he hasn't been quite that good since, he's still a quality offensive player. For his career, Yosida has about a .300/.350/.510 line, and he's been slightly better than that so far this season. His offensive skills don't jump out at you, but his solid power and patience and great ability against lefties makes up for his mediocre contact.

Defensively, Yosida's range and glove are excellent, while his arm is merely average for the position. He'll likely never be a top-five second baseman, as he's expected to move to center field in season 7.

5. Trent Gordon, New York Metropolitans: Gordon was an excellent hitter in seasons 4 and 5, posting nearly identical seasons of .303/.385/.501 and .301/.373/.502, but he's struggled mightily so far in season 6. After failing to get above the .700 OPS mark in 41 games with Anaheim, he was traded to the Mets and has at least gotten on base at a good clip through his first couple games. Gordon's contact and batting eye are both very good and he has solid power. He's also equally good against righties and lefties.

Gordon's not so good on defense, as his range and glove are both below average and his arm is just decent. He may actually have to move to left field soon as his defense is only going to get worse as he moves past age 30.

4. Charlie Ratliff, Iowa City Comics: Ratliff was a solid hitter in three of his first four seasons, then he hit .293/.387/.500 in season 5. He's not hitting so well to start this season, but he's still got a career line around .285/.360/.450. Ratliff's success on offense comes from a good batting eye and a very good approach against both righties and lefties. His contact is decent, but he doesn't have much power.

Defensively, Ratliff's glove and range don't look great, but he has a very good arm for second base and he's fielded the position very well over the years. His career +/- total of 17/8 is very solid.

3. Mikey Bennett, Minnesota Fatboys: Bennett's not going to light things up on offense, but he gets on base at a good clip and is definitely an above average hitter for the position. In his two-plus seasons, he's put up a line around .300/.360/.450, and he's exceeding that level so far this season. Bennett has good contact, decent power and good patience, and he's equally solid against righties and lefties.

Bennett really shines on defense, where his range is good, his glove is average and his arm is great for second base. He won the Gold Glove in season 5 and while he hasn't been quite as good in the field this season, he's still an excellent defender.

2. Darron Kirkland, New York Yankees: Kirkland has moved all over the field in his career, but he's seeing most of his time at second base right now. His offense has been inconsistent, as season 3 was really the only time he lived up to expectations with the bat until this season. For his career, he's hitting around .290/.340/.520, but he has the potential to be much better. Kirkland has a very good mix of contact and power and his batting eye is decent. He's also equally good against righties and lefties.

Kirkland's range and glove are fine for second base and, as a converted shortstop, his arm is well above average for the position. While he's significantly below average when he plays shortstop, his defense is very solid at second base.

1. Bill Cameron, Albuquerque Isotopes: A no-brainer, at least until some of the elite second base prospects establish themselves in the majors. Cameron posted a .952 OPS to win the Rookie of the Year award in season 4 and he was even better with a 1.020 OPS in season 5. He's struggled to get on base this season, but he still sports a career line around .300/.360/.600. Cameron has good contact and great power, which helps him overcome a mediocre batting eye. He's also solid against both righties and lefties.

Cameron's not great on defense, as his glove and arm accuracy are both below average and his range and arm strength aren't tremendous. His only other issue is that his durability and health have limited his ability to play a full season thus far.

Power Rankings: March 2, 2008

Parentheses denote last week's rankings, current record.

1. (1, 28-14) Minnesota Fatboys: They might not have the best record in the league. However, they've managed to be this good despite staff workhorse Ruben Crespo posting an ERA close to 7, thanks in no small part to an offense that has averaged an unheard-of 8 runs per game this season.

2. (2, 33-9) New York Yankees: Bernard Rhodes is hitting .404. Haywood Towers' .48 ERA leads a staff that has allowed 103 runs in 40 games. Will the team continue to play this well? Probably not. Are they for real? Even with a regression to the norm, the pitching staff looks excellent, and should keep the Yankees among the league's elite.

3. (3, 28-14) New York Metropolitans: The league's best pitching staff swaps starter Kelvin Sullivan for Trent Gordon and prospect Bip Reagan. Of course, that still leaves Gerard Tomlinson, Gary Long, and 2-time Cy Young Award winner Red Wainhouse. A staff that good combined with a talented, improved lineup will always be a major threat in the playoffs.

4. (5, 31-11) St. Louis Greys: Like the Yankees, there's no way that team ERA (2.76) is sustainable. Even so, the team should still be excellent at preventing runs; the Greys have a very solid defense that should keep the team in almost any game. The offense, however, is a bit suspect.

5. (4, 25-17) Milwaukee Twindyans: Pete Skinner and Vic Alfonzo headline a very good team that should run away with the division. One thing of note: the AAA team is 34-7. They're probably better than the last six or seven teams in this list. Just saying.

6. (6, 26-16) Anaheim Anteaters: Adding Kelvin Sullivan should make the pitching staff that much better, and swapping uber-rookie Haywood Gipson in for the departed Trent Gordon should jumpstart the sputtering offense. Considering the competition, they're about as sure of a lock to win their division as any team.

7. (8, 23-19) Chicago Jayhawks: Rookie Stu Butler is finding the big leagues to be quite a challenge; he's hitting a meager .199/.310/.329. Mo Greer has been a revelation, and the pitching staff has held up nicely, but the Jayhawks need to find a way to match last year's offensive production if they want to have any chance of catching the Yankees.

8. (10, 25-17) Albuquerque Isotopes: All-World DH Edwin Hogan is hitting .294/.407/.537. Almost any player would be proud of that kind of production; Hogan, however, is a career .360/.451/.648 hitter. Bet on him to heat up. On a different note, the Isotopes have managed to keep their staff ERA under 5 (4.88); at Isotopes Ballpark, that's quite an accomplishment.

9. (11, 25-17) Cheyenne Tackleberries: Eugene Ramirez (2.86 ERA) and Stump Jordan (2.25) have carried the team on their backs; Jay Brower (4.35) has been decent, but Juan Cortes (6.18) has stunk, and the bullpen has been atrocious. Patrick Taubensee has somehow allowed 10 homers in 27 1/3 innings. If Ramirez and Jordan falter or get hurt, this could go downhill in a hurry.

10. (7, 23-19) Florida Cottonmouths: Cy Kelly's pitching this season has been amazing; in a different way, so has Joe Harper's. The team still looks like heavy favorites to win what looks like the weakest division in the American League.

11. (16, 21-21) Buffalo Europeans: The pitching is already strong as it is (team ERA of 3.92), and with the best collection of young arms in the minors, it's only going to get better. A bat or two might make them a legitimate wild-card threat; even without a move, they should still be one of many 2nd-tier AL teams vying for a wildcard spot.

12. (12, 25-17) Oklahoma City Twins: At the time of his signing, very few of Gleeman World's GMs thought Max Leary would live up to his contract. With one year to go, it looks safe to say that the majority was wrong. Leary has posted back-to-back 240 inning seasons of sub 3 ERA ball. The offense is punchless as usual, but should they sneak into the playoffs, Leary's dominance could make the Twins a dangerous first round foe.

13. (14, 21-21) Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims: They're going backwards, currently losers of 3 in a row, and 8 of their last 10. Youngsters Jeremy Walker and Sting Berger have held their own, and Adam Haynes is building on last year's success. But the rest of the team needs to step up for Syracuse to have a chance.

14. (9, 23-19) Iowa City Comics: This should be a 90 win team; the Comics return the same core players from the last couple of seasons, and none have experienced any significant decline. Still, there are some warning signs, the most significant one being that they've been outscored by the opposition this season up to this point.

15. (13, 23-19) Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Tampa's ambivalence towards Oswaldo Dotel's talent is puzzling, to say the least; dealt to the Jayhawks for an expensive reliever and a center fielder with a AAA ceiling, he'll be given a chance to prove his worth elsewhere. As for the actual team, Jose Morales is a pest in the best way (.398 OBP, 28 steals), Clay Gibbons leads the league in homers, and Richard Maxwell and Charlie Stevens continue to mash. They'll definitely be in the hunt.

16. (21, 22-20) Philadelphia Phenomenauts: The offseason acquisition of Lee Roundtree looks like a success right now, unlike the disappointing Houston Linden. Brent O'Donnell looks like a legitimate MVP candidate. But outside of the injured Rigo Pineda, the Phenomenauts don't have a single starting pitcher with an ERA under five and a half.

17. (20, 22-20) Sioux Falls Gunslingers: Scot Rhodes is doing his best Adam Dunn impersonation (.228/.347/.557), which is useful. Derek Boone is doing what no pitcher wants to do, however; he's channeling the spirit of Mark Redman. Anyways, the team itself is a long shot to compete with the Twindyans; it's more likely that they'll finish last in the division than first (not that either's all that likely).

18. (19, 23-19) Nashville Twang: The lineup is just not that good; a declining Wiki Perez is their only impact bat. The rotation is mediocre, and certainly not much of a threat to any playoff team. With apologies to Nashville fans, I can't really get that excited about this team.

19. (15, 20-22) Boston Red Sox: One of last year's best offenses, the Sox just don't look the same this year. Yes, they've scored more than 5 runs per game, but that's not really all that impressive given the park; even worse, they're allowing almost 6 runs per game. The lineup has drawn a league-low 97 walks in 42 games. That's not going to cut it when your game plan revolves around destroying everyone else's pitching.

20. (27, 18-24) Kansas City Monarchs: Big ticket free agent Dale Rooney has been disappointing (4.88 ERA); that's pretty much been the theme of the team this year. From youthful sluggers Brandon Stewart and Tony Cela to veteran hurlers like Rooney and Ben Cox, the team is littered with disappointments. On the bright side, they've won their last 5 games; is that a sign of better things to come?

21. (18, 21-21) Boise Mashers: They've been the poster boy for consistent mediocrity. The team has never finished a season with a .500 record, but they've never won fewer than 71 games in a season. Other than Season 2's division title, they've finished 2nd every season. This season looks to be more of the same.

22. (17, 21-21) Montreal Grand Orange: Cesar Piedra and Jesus Arias are on the wrong side of the Mendoza line, and Josh Wagner is one bad game away from joining them. All three of these guys are starters, and there's nary a single impact bat to neutralize their damage to the offense. The pitching staff has a collective ERA above 5. And they're somehow .500. Something's got to give; if the line is .500, my money's definitely on the under.

23. (22, 20-22) San Antonio Sting: Apologies to Sting fans everywhere; as the worst team from Season 5, they were the default worst team in the preseason rankings. Good start not withstanding, the team's really not this talented (an expected winning % of .385). Still, this looks like the best Sting team since Season 2.

24. (30, 16-26) Vancouver Vigilantes: This team is better than their record would indicate. They have a .459 expecting winning percentage, which isn't far off from contenders such as the Devil Rays (.479) or Comics (.493). I'm not saying that they're a contender just yet, but they do have an exciting collection of offensive talent. If they can build a pitching staff around Billy Ray Perry, they might have something here.

25. (24, 16-26) Santa Cruz Amigos: They've fallen a long ways from last year. The Amigos still have star-level talent; Ronald Garcia and Dale Stewart have been great, and Francisco Pulido, Woody Perry, and John Parker have performed admirably as the team's top 3 starters. However, the lesser talents on the roster are dragging the team down, and are inexplicably still getting plenty of playing time. Without change, this team is doomed.

26. (25, 18-24) Richmond Roustabouts: Letting Pat Badilla (.333/.397/.511) go for next to nothing was a mistake. So was trading Lee Roundtree (.344/.386/.534) on the cheap. As a result, what should be a strong farm system is currently ranked as the 3rd worst in the American League.

27. (29, 13-29) Tacoma Downpour: On a 6 game losing streak right now; they'll need to win at least one against the Conquistadores in their upcoming series, because their next 10 games will be against the Twins, Yankees, and Twindyans. The defense is still bad (25 errors, tied for worst in ML), and you can't allow more than 5 runs per game with the aid of the best pitcher's park in the league and expect to win.

28. (23, 13-29) Pittsburgh Pug Dogs: News flash: you can't win if you don't hit and don't pitch. The Pug Dogs are the 6th worst team at scoring runs, and the 7th worst at preventing them. It's going to be a long season. On the bright side, 3 of their 4 minor league affiliates are above .500.

29. (31, 12-30) Monterrey Conquistadores: Clayton Mack is rapidly declining, and Louis Cannon has disappointed badly. The lineup is among the worst in the league, but the pitching has been surprisingly competent, so that's something.

30. (26, 15-27) Washington D.C. Bureaucrats: Garrett Kline is up for good; he's struggled a bit, but he'll be fine. The team is hitting .231/.293/.370. The team. That's Mike Matheny territory. But that's what happens when you budget less than 20 million dollars into team salary. With their farm system, though, you can be sure they'll be better next year.

31. (28, 12-30) Los Angeles Hangars: The Hangars have had by far the worst pitching staff in the league up to this point, with a team ERA of 6.20. That might fly at Coors, but it's downright inexcusable in a pitcher's park such as Dodger Stadium. The team is in need of a complete rebuild.

32. (32, 10-32) Colorado Springs Silver Stars: This pretty much sums up the whole season.

Top 10 First Basemen

Here's the next installment in the series looking at the best players at each position.

10. Lee Roundtree, Philadelphia Phenomenauts: Roundtree has been something of an unheralded player throughout his career, but he's definitely a good hitter. He hit .306/.371/.588 in season 5, which is almost exactly in line with his career averages. Roundtree has excellent contact and very good power and patience. He's not very good against righties, but he's solid against lefties.

While defense isn't terribly important at first base, Roundtree is above average across the board in the field. In fact, his biggest weakness as a player is his durability, as he's only good for about 140 games in a season.

9. Wiki Perez, Nashville Twang: Early in his career, there were a lot of disagreements over just how good a hitter Perez is. There's no doubting his ability now, though. In the past three seasons, he's posted a .900-plus OPS each year while missing a total of just four games. He hit .277/.380/.574 with a career-high 52 homers in season 5. Perez gets his value from very good power and outstanding patience, a combination that allows him to overcome mediocre ability everywhere else.

Perez is a slightly below average defensive first baseman, but he's not so bad that you'd ever have to consider moving him to DH. Perez also benefits from having great durability, which allows you to keep his bat in the lineup just about every game.

8. Jesus Reynoso, Albuquerque Isotopes: Reynoso's only shown great power once, but he's still been a very accomplished hitter. His .382 OBP and .540 SLG from season 5 are right in line with his career averages, and he's off to a nice start this season. Reynoso's rates well across the board offensively, and his best attributes are his excellent contact and very good batting eye.

Reynoso's arm is below average even for first base and his range isn't very good, but he has a reliable glove and is probably only slightly below average defensively overall. He also has very good durability, which allows him to play nearly every game as long as he avoids injury.

7. Richard Stocker, New York Metropolitans: Stocker burst onto the scene with an excellent half-season in season 4. He wasn't quite as good in his first full year in season 5, but he still posted a .300/.356/.596 line and he's hitting even better so far this season. Stocker's only weakness is his ability against lefties, but he's very good everwhere else on offense.

Stocker's defense is above average everywhere except his poor arm accuracy. Stocker doesn't have great durability, but the Mets proved last year that just about anybody can play almost every game if you don't care how tired they get. And making Stocker play when he's fatigued probably isn't as big a risk as it would be for some players because he has excellent health.

6. Charlie Stevens, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Stevens is getting a little bit old, but he's still an excellent hitter. He had the best season of his career in season 5, posting a .347/.444/.573 line. He's not likely to be quite that good this season, but his OBP has topped .390 every season and his lowest SLG is .505. Stevens doesn't have great contact or power, but his batting eye is terrific. He's also very good against lefties and outstanding against righties.

Defensively, Stevens is out of position at first base. Ideally, he'd be a DH, but in the NL it's worth the sacrifice on defense to get his bat into the lineup. His durability isn't great, but he can still play 145-plus games without any problems.

5. Rickey Dixon, Chicago Jayhawks: Dixon was merely good in season 5, hitting .283/.402/.527. That was the second time in five seasons he's posted an OPS under .930, but he cleared the 1.000 mark in each of the other three seasons, going over 1.070 twice. Dixon has very good contact and power combined with a tremendous batting eye. He's only decent against righties and good against lefties, but that's been plenty for him to excel thus far.

Dixon's range has declined to the point where it's well below average, but the rest of his defensive skills are above average. Aside from an injury-plagued season 2, Dixon's durability has allowed him to average 155 games a season.

4. Bernard Rhodes, New York Yankees: Rhodes is coming off his best season, when he hit .379/.453/.643 while splitting time between the Pug Dogs and Yankees. While Rhodes has posted a .950-plus OPS every season, that was the first time he went over the 1.000 OPS mark in his career, and he's well over that mark again so far this season. Rhodes rates very well across the board on offense, and his contact and ability to hit righties are both excellent.

Rhodes is above average defensively at first base, and he's actually playing exclusively in left field for the Yankees this season after splitting time between left and first for them last season. Rhodes' combination of good durability and excellent health has allowed him to play at least 148 games every season.

3. Toby Joseph, Minnesota Fatboys: After hitting very well in seasons 1 and 2, Joseph has kicked it up a notch in the past three seasons, posting at least a .400 OBP in each. In season 5, he hit .326/.413/.601. Joseph doesn't have elite power, but he has tremendous contact and patience and is a dynamic hitter against righties. He's also good, though not great, against lefties. It's funny that his worst offensive season is the one that brought him his MVP award.

Joseph's defense is excellent, as his season 2 Gold Glove attests. He's above average across the board and his glove is particularly good for a first baseman. Joseph's also a true ironman, as he's played more than 160 games in four of his five seasons.

2. Matt Governale, Boston Red Sox: For the third time in the past four seasons, Governale posted an OPS above 1.070 in season 5 to win his second MVP award. This time, he hit .337/.417/.678. Governale combines very good contact and patience with elite power (which allowed him to set the single-season record with 77 homers in season 2), and that's more than enough to overcome the fact that he doesn't have a great advantage against either righties or lefties.

Governale's not a good defensive player, as his terrible glove drags him down despite the fact that he's slightly above average everywhere else, but his poor fielding is a minor price to pay for his bat. And that bat's only missed three games total over the last four seasons thanks to his excellent durability.

1. Chipper Velandia, Iowa City Comics: Velandia is one of only three hitters in the world to top the 1.000 OPS mark in each of the first five seasons, and he actually topped 1.150 for the second time in his career to win the season 5 NL MVP award. Velandia's second-best season of his career checked in with a .334/.399/.759 line. He also became just the third player to hit 70-plus homers in a season with his 72 longballs and he set a single-season record with 181 RBIs. Few players can match Velandia's combination of contact and power, and he backs that up with a very good batting eye. He's not great against lefties, but he's an absolute terror for right-handed pitchers.

Velandia's defense is just about average, maybe slightly above average because his arm is solid for a first baseman. The only real problem with Velandia is that he's not the most durable player, so he's only played 150-plus games once.

Power Rankings Week 1. last weeks rankings in ()

1. (1) Minnesota Fatboys 14-5 Toby Joseph won this weeks player of the week and the Fatboys take the team honor. Minnesota has scored 179 runs this year and no other team has even reached 130. They could be the first to score 1100 runs which would be outstanding.

2. (5) New York Yankees 16-3 The Yankees have played in 7 one run games and 4 extra inning games so far this year and it's not surpriseing that they are 6-1 in those one runs games considering they have the best Closer in the game in Brian Murata who has pitched 11 innings of scoreless baseball to start the year.

3. (2) New York Metropolitans 14-6 Geoffery Bates isn't letting the rumors that he's gay effect him on the playing field hitting 1.253 to start the year. Even holding a press conference to say he isn't gay didn't stop the rumors but maybe dating a playmate will. The Mets are about as sure of bet you can find to make the playoffs it's just a matter of what seed they will get.

4. (4) Milwaukee Twindyans 14-5 Milwaukee is doing about what you would expect playing well and leading the division again. You have to wonder if they ever get bored up on top? I'm guessing no.

5. (16) St. Louis Greys 16-4 Is it real or just a hot start that's the question that everyone in St. Louis is asking (well that and why the hell did we let the owner name the team after a ABC prime-time soap). Well on offence only Ben Everett really sticks out but the pitching staff has been excellent in fact John Carroll has been the 3rd best pitcher on the team.

6. (8) Anaheim Anteaters 14-5 I hear Anaheim is looking to trade Trent Gordon but that is the worst keep secret in baseball and as long as he is playing second base Haywood Gipson will be playing second base in AAA. Is it a vast conspiracy to keep the phenom trapped? Anaheim's GM thinks so in a recent conversation I had with him he said it's the only rational explanation, the interview was interrupted when he learned that his new tinfoil hat was ready.

7. (6) Florida Cottonmouths 12-7 Cy Kelly has been great so far this season sporting a 1.04 era in 26 innings. Could this be the year Cy Kelly wins a Cy Young? We hope so if only for the amount of horrible puns it would create. Interesting fact 14 position players have appeared in at least 10 games so far this year Florida is definitely looking forward to the playoffs trying not to wear out the team early in the season.

8. (3) Chicago Jayhawks 11-9 The Jayhawks record looks bad (for them) but they have out scored their opponents by 51 runs and their record should only improve the main cause of the poor record is 1-5 record in one run games and the 0-2 record in extra innings. We fully expect the Hawks to be back in the top 5 by next week.

9. (7) Iowa City Comics 10-10 As Chipper Velandia goes so do the Comics and the Big Chip started the year in a big slump now that he's out of it Iowa is winning again and have won 7 of the last 10. We can't help but try and think though that the team is old and could disappear in a hurry.

10. (10) Albuquerque Isotopes 11-9 The only player on the Isotopes not hitting is Edwin Hogan but we aren't worried when he does though the 'topes might explode.

11. (24) Cheyenne Tackleberries 12-8 Did Cheyenne get good enough over the offseason to jump from cellar dweller to title contender? Only time will tell but we think they have a shot if they can parlay this luke warm start to a hot start.

12. (14) Oklahoma City Twins 11-8 OTC is a solid team but not a great team they should be fighting for the 2nd wild card at the end of the season which is really the only spot we see up for grabs.

13. (12) Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10-10 The other team that should be fighting it out for the last playoff spot. Miguel Abreu won the pitcher of the week with a 0.54 era the 26 year old kid shows a lot of promise and is a player to watch.

14. (11) Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims 10-10 Rookie third baseman Sting Berger has started off the year about as well as you could expect hitting 7 home runs and putting up a .950 Ops.

15. (9) Boston Red Sox 9-10 For a brief moment it looked Boston had learned how to pitch but now that moment is gone and we are back to where we were last year Boston will have to hit their way to the post-season and right now they aren't hitting well enough.

16. (15) Buffalo Europeans 9-10 Buffalo has a strong core that they can improve in the future mostly from within. They are like 4-5 other teams in the AL right now that could win a WC spot

17. (19) Montreal Grand Orange (9-11) A team Ops of .689 isn't going to get you anywhere fast. At least Diego Valdez has pitched well as has Clint Radke and Juan Moya but other than these three the pitching staff has been horrible.

18. (20) Boise Mashers 9-11 Boise would fit in well with the clusterfuck of AL teams that are good enough to be in a playoff race but not good enough that you'd bet on any one of them. That's too bad because in the NL that won't cut it.

19. (23) Nashville Twang 10-9 A decent start but they will most likely end up with more than 85 losses unless they cash in some of their trade chips.

20. (22) Sioux Falls Gunslingers 10-10 Sioux Falls has surprised people before no reason they can't do it again they are probably better than some early season previews had them but they are in the same situation as Boise.

21. (18) Philadelphia Phenomenauts 9-11 There just weren't enough changes to expect anything other than a 4-5 game improvement over last year which would put them in 85-84 loss territory not terrible but not good either.

22. (32) San Antonio Sting 10-10 False hope? Maybe. But they could use some hope in San Antonio even if it is false.

23. (26) Pittsburgh Pug Dogs 7-12 Not sure what to say here this team really mirrors Dave Littlefields Pittsburgh team and that's not a complement.

24. (17) Santa Cruz Amigos 7-12 They downgraded a lot over the offseason and it shows.

25. (30) Richmond Roustabouts 7-13 A rebuilding team just looking to play out the season and that their young team improves.

26. (29) Washington D.C. Bureaucrats 7-12 For all the talk of Washingtons AAA team being stacked it's only 10-9. The fans should be treated to some late season callups that will impress if nothing else.

27. (13) Kansas City Monarchs 9-11 This team sucks.

28. (21) Los Angeles Hangars 6-13 They locked up Nunez this offseason I hope he can handle losing.

29. (28) Tacoma Downpour 6-13 I don't think the sun is going to shine any time soon here but on the bright side the draft ranking is only a week and a half away so there's something to get excited for.

30. (25) Vancouver Vigilantes 5-14 Qu'est-il arrivé à laisse obtient le Membre d'un groupe d'autodéfense eh? That's French Canadian for what ever happened to let's get Vigilante?

31. (27) Monterrey Conquistadores 4-15 At least Vancouver has a catchy motto what does Monterry have? Well Johnnie Cooper has pitched well so far.

32. (31) Colorado Springs Silver Stars 4-16 The move to Colorado hasn't helped the Silver Stars bats they have only scored 59 runs second fewest in the NL.

Top 10 Catchers

Here's the next installment in the series looking at the best players at each position.

10. Ernest Crawford, Florida Cottonmouths: Iowa City's Giomar Mercado just misses the list this season because he's too big a risk at this point. The best-case scenario is that he gives you 120 quality games. But with such poor health, there's a very real chance that he'll suffer a major injury at some point and really mess up your catching situation.

Crawford's not a great catcher, but he's solid and safe. He posted a .352 OBP in each of his first two seasons in the majors, but he significantly increased his power from a .388 SLG in season 4 to a .477 SLG in season 5. He rates well across the board offensively, and there's no reason to think his offensive surge in season 5 was a fluke.

Defensively, he calls a good game and has a fairly strong arm, although it's not always on target. He's definitely at least average when it comes to overall defense compared to the rest of the league's starting catchers.

9. Lewis Stephens, San Antonio Sting: Stephens is a good hitter, but the reason he's not higher on this list is that he's not really a catcher. He plays behind the plate almost exclusively, but he's a terrible pitch caller and his throwing arm has gotten very weak.

Still, he does have a career OBP around .390 and a SLG around .490. Even in somewhat off years in seasons 4 and 5, he still put up OPS marks near .800, and he's absolutely killing the ball so far this season. He doesn't have much power, but his contact is excellent, his batting eye is solid and he destroys right-handed pitching.

8. Bernie Guerrero, Minnesota Fatboys: Guerrero might be higher on this list if not for a terrible .667 OPS in season 5. Now he has to prove that was a one-year aberration, and he's off to an excellent start. Even with the terrible output last season, Guerrero still has a career OBP of .350 and a career SLG of .480. His contact isn't that good, but he has nice power, is very good against both righties and lefties and has an excellent batting eye.

Guerrero is solid across the board defensively, with better ratings than many starting catchers in every category. His durability isn't great, but it's good enough that he can play up to 135-140 games if pushed.

7. Derek Page, Boston Red Sox: Although he wasn't quite as bad as Guerrero, Page also needs to prove he can bounce back from an down season after posting a .740 OPS in season 5. Before that he had back-to-back seasons with an OPS above .950 and three in a row above .900. Page has solid contact and a good batting eye to go with very good power, and he's very good against both righties and lefties.

Page doesn't have much range and his glove is slightly below average, but he's a solid signal caller and his arm is decent. He's also developed into a workhorse capable of catching 140-150 games without getting too fatigued.

6. Brian Wilson, Anaheim Anteaters: Wilson would have fared much better on this list before age began robbing him of much of his ability. In season 5, he posted or tied career lows in games (143), at-bats (434), runs (64), hits (131), doubles (17), homers (18), RBIs (61), walks (53), batting average (.302), OBP (.381), SLG (.475) and OPS (.856), and it's been a steady decline since season 1 in many of those categories.

Wilson still has very good contact and patience, but his power has disappeared almost entirely. He's still good against righties, and he was never particularly strong against lefties. Wilson's throwing arm has also become pretty weak, and his durability and health have declined significantly.

In fact, depending on how much more he declines before season 7 begins, this may be the last season he's even qualified to be a starting catcher.

5. Joey Robinson, Boise Mashers: Robinson has gotten on base just over 37 percent of the time each of the last two seasons while posting SLGs of .490 and .484. He doesn't have any real weak spots on offense, and his contact and ability to hit lefties are both very good.

Robinson is a good but not elite hitter, and the same can be said for his defense. He has very nice range, a solid arm and decent pitch-calling skills. Combine good but not great offense, good but not great defense and the durability to play 150-plus games a season, and you have a top-three overall catcher.

4. Jerome Perkins, Kansas City Monarchs: Perkins has improved as a hitter every season since his major league debut in season 2, culminating in his .363/.413/.497 line in season 5. He's not likely to hit .363 again, but there's no reason Perkins can't hit .330/.390/.460 or something similar, making him a very valuable hitter. Perkins has excellent contact and dominates against lefties, and he has a solid batting eye. He doesn't have much power and he struggles some against righties.

Defensively, Perkins is a mediocre pitch caller, but he has a very strong and fairly accurate arm (he's thrown out 30 percent of runners trying to steal on him in his career, which is quite good in this league). He's also durable enough to play 140-150 games without issue.

3. Josh Wagner, Montreal Grand Orange: Wagner has been an excellent hitter in four of his five seasons. Season 5 was actually the worst of those four, and he posted a .303/.393/.507 line. For his career, he has an OBP around .390 and a SLG around .525. Wagner's offensive value comes from very good power and a near-perfect batting eye.

Defensively, Wagner has a good throwing arm, but his pitch calling isn't anything special. And his biggest problem is that his durability limits him to 120-130 games a season.

2. Stan Lennon, New York Metropolitans: Lennon's offensive value comes from his perfect batting eye, which has helped him post an OBP of at least .415 every season (he was at .432 in season 5). With that kind of on-base ability, it doesn't really matter that he has almost no power, hitting just 53 homers in nearly 2,000 career at-bats. Lennon has good contact and while he struggles some against righties, he's deadly against lefties.

The biggest concern for Lennon is his throwing arm, which is very weak. Base runners have already been successful on 14 of 16 attempts against him. He does call a good game, and he's still durable enough that he can catch 140-plus games without wearing down.

1. Richard Maxwell, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: If Maxwell had average durability, he'd not only be the best catcher in the league, he'd be one of the five best position players in the league. Except when Edwin Hogan catches, Maxwell is far and away the best offensive catcher in the league. And Hogan's advantage with the bat isn't even as pronounced as it first appears since Maxwell plays in a neutral park while Hogan plays half his games in the league's best hitters park.

Maxwell's .296/.361/.621 line was the worst of his career, as he put up OPS marks around 1.060 in both seasons 3 and 4 (and he's already tearing the cover off the ball in season 6). Maxwell has a good batting eye, but the key is his amazing combination of contact and power. And while he's only decent against lefties, he's a monster against righties.

Defensively, Maxwell is solid with his range and glove and he has a strong and accurate arm. He also calls a decent game. The only issue is the durability, which limits him to no more than 120 games in a season unless you really push him.

Still, I'd rather use my backup catcher an extra 20 or so times a season and have the catcher with easily the most ability in the league playing the rest of the time. And if you're a playoff team, Maxwell's value is even higher because his durability isn't nearly as big an issue with the extra off days built in.

Top Five Designated Hitters

This is the first in a series looking at the best players at each position in Gleeman World. I'm starting with designated hitters because it's the easiest, since it only includes half the league.

Throughout the series, I'll be looking at who is the best player right now, not who has had the best career. Essentially, if you had to pick one player to play this position for your team for this season and this season only, who would it be? That's what these rankings will be about.

5. Daryle Petrick, Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims: This was a tough choice between Petrick and Buffalo's Raymond Speaker, but Petrick definitely has the edge. Petrick's offense is based on great contact and a perfect batting eye. He posted a .942 OPS in season 5, but that overlooks how valuable he really was because you can't tell from that number that he reached base 43 percent of the time.

In his career, Petrick has drawn 400 walks while only striking out 175 times, an astounding ratio. He doesn't have a great deal of power, but he doesn't need it with his on-base skills. The only thing that hurts him is a durability that limits him to 130-140 games a season.

4. Thumper Neagle, Cheyenne Tackleberries: You could make a case for putting the next three guys on this list in any order, but Neagle lands in the No. 4 spot just because of his health. It doesn't appear to have caught up with him so far, but it will some season. Even if you assume Neagle's a better hitter than the next two on the list, which is no sure thing, why would you take a greatly increased risk of injury for a very slight increase in production?

Neagle was solid his first 1.5 seasons in the major leagues, but he didn't show his true ability until season 4. He blasted 58 homers and posted a 1.055 OPS that season, and then he followed it up with a 65-homer, 1.005 OPS campaign in season 5.

Neagle's a little more inconsistent than the other hitters on this list because he has a poor batting eye -- the only one of the five, in fact, who doesn't have a very good batting eye. He makes up for it by being very good or excellent everywhere else.

3. Hector Soto, Boston Red Sox: Soto made a quick ascension to the majors, signing as an international prospect midway through season 2 and making his big league debut late in season 3. He posted a .951 OPS in season 5, and that was actually a good bit below his output in season 4, when he was AL Rookie of the Year runner-up. In each of his two full seasons, he's topped 40 homers, 115 runs, 115 RBIs, a .310 batting average, a .370 OBP and a .575 SLG.

Soto doesn't have elite ability in any area on offense, although he is excellent against lefties, but he doesn't have a real weakness either. He could be better against righties, but he hits for good contact and has very good power and patience.

2. Jumbo Rijo, Minnesota Fatboys: Rijo may end up being primarily a catcher down the road, but he spends most of his time at DH right now, and he's a darn good one. After destroying minor league pitching for 3.5 seasons, Rijo broke into the majors for 36 games in season 4 and posted a .962 OPS. He was nearly as good in season 5, putting up a .942 OPS to win the Rookie of the Year award.

Rijo's very good across the board offensively, and he's better than very good in a couple places. He's excellent against left-handed pitchers and he has immense power, as shown by his 50-homer rookie season.

1. Edwin Hogan, Albuquerque Isotopes: Hogan has caught all four games this season, but he hasn't been a full-time catcher since season 3 and he's played 394 games at DH and 265 at catcher in his career, so we're listing him as a DH this season. Whatever position he's listed at, there's no doubting his hitting ability. Hogan's .342 batting average in season 5 was the worst of his career, but he still won his fifth consecutive AL batting title. And he posted a 1.098 OPS, giving him five consecutive seasons with an OPS above 1.085 (and five straight with an OBP above .440).

Hogan has very good contact and power, but the real strength of his game comes from his near-perfect batting eye and the fact that he's turned himself into a flawless hitter against both righties and lefties. If Gleeman World is ever going to see a .400 hitter, it's probably going to be Hogan.