The Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series. They overcame adversity to do so, as star Jacob deGrom suffered an early-season injury while Adolis Garcia and Max Scherzer both suffered injury concerns in the World Series. Despite all of this, many people around the baseball world still consider the Atlanta Braves to be atop the MLB Power Rankings.
However, the reigning champions take the top spot in our power rankings. There is no need to worry for Braves fans though, as they are right behind Texas. Without further ado, let's dive into ClutchPoints' way-too-early 2024 MLB Power Rankings.
1. Texas Rangers
The Braves had the best record during the regular season and were clearly the best team. Stepping up in the playoffs means something though. Texas' offense took care of business while the pitching performed well enough.
There is certainly an argument to be made here for Atlanta. However, the World Series winning Rangers earned the top spot in our rankings.
2. Atlanta Braves
Ronald Acuna Jr. and the Braves enjoyed a special regular season before stumbling in the playoffs against the Philadelphia Phillies. Acuna accomplished things never seen before on a field while Atlanta earned MLB's best overall record, via MLB.com.
The Braves have most of their core signed to long-term deals and should be competitive for years to come. They can certainly earn the top spot once again down the road. For now, Atlanta will have to settle for No. 2 overall.
3. Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles were the AL's best regular season team. They feature a talented young core of players and are another ball club that will remain competitive moving forward.
Baltimore would benefit from adding pitching and they may be aggressive in free agency. The Orioles don't always spend big during the offseason, but doing so ahead of the 2024 campaign will be important amid their pitching question marks.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
Ranking the Diamondbacks in our MLB Power Rankings was extremely difficult.
On one hand, Arizona won just 84 games during the regular season and narrowly snuck into the NL Wild Card. On the other hand, the Diamondbacks upset everybody in the playoffs and reached the World Series before falling to the Rangers.
Diamondbacks fans will argue that the team should be even higher, while fans around the MLB world may even claim that AZ doesn't deserve a spot in the top 10. In all reality, there are arguments to be made for both sides. We factored in Arizona's all-around performance and placed them No. 4 overall, something that will be impacted by their free agency performance.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers were a better team than the Diamondbacks during the regular season. LA won the NL West by 16 games. In the end, though, LA was defeated by Arizona in the NLDS.
The Dodgers' struggles in the playoffs, with the shortened 2020 season standing as the exception, are impossible to ignore. Los Angeles has a legitimate argument to be MLB's best regular season team. But consistent postseason success has alluded them.
This is still a very good team that is expected to be aggressive in free agency. Signing Shohei Ohtani seems to be of the utmost importance for LA. The Dodgers will climb our MLB Power Rankings if they land Ohtani, but for now they check in at No. 5.
6. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays are another team that performs well in the regular season but struggle in the playoffs. At least the Dodgers have a World Series within the past few years to justify their postseason underperformance. Tampa Bay, though, has never won a World Series.
What Tampa Bay accomplished during the 2023 regular season was impressive considering all of the injuries their pitching rotation dealt with. The Rays are hoping to reach new heights in 2024, however.
7. Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies were upset in the 2023 NLCS by the Diamondbacks. Still, Philadelphia appears to be one of baseball's best teams.
Aaron Nola is set to hit free agency. Meanwhile, Rhys Hoskins, who missed all of 2023 due to injury, will also be a free agent. Philadelphia would likely prefer to re-sign both players if possible.
Even if Nola and Hoskins find new homes though, Philadelphias has enough depth to compete. However, finding a Nola replacement will be important.
8. Houston Astros
The Astros have been consistent over the years, winning two World Series championships since 2017. Houston reached the ALCS in 2023 before getting eliminated by the Rangers.
Houston's veteran core of players is getting older, but they have new stars emerging like Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker. The Astros should continue to perform well. Their dominance of the AL West is finally being challenged though.
9. Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee lost manager Craig Counsell to the Chicago Cubs. It will be intriguing to see how that plays a role in 2024. Counsell has become one of MLB's best managers over the years.
The Brewers are now in the process of trying to find a new manager to lead their ball club. Milwaukee's pitching projects to perform well once again in 2024, but the team could use some offensive help.
The Brewers still feature enough talent to compete in the NL Central.
10. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays finished in third place in the AL East despite enjoying a solid season. Toronto's ability to stay afloat despite playing in a loaded division is impressive.
They will need to make contract decisions on stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette fairly soon, since both players are not too far away from hitting free agency. If they can lock both of those stars up and build around them, the future will remain bright in Toronto.
11. Seattle Mariners
The Mariners snapped their postseason drought in 2022 only to miss the playoffs again in 2023. That said, Seattle still had a strong '23 campaign and they narrowly missed the postseason.
Julio Rodriguez leads an up-and-coming offense while the starting rotation has a number of exciting young arms. The bullpen is reliable as well. Seattle projects to be a sneaky contender in 2024. It wouldn't be surprising to see them make a big splash or two in free agency.
12. Minnesota Twins
Despite winning the AL Central, Minnesota is just No. 12 in our MLB Power Rankings.
The AL Central was MLB's worst division in 2023. The Cleveland Guardians, a team that has been competitive in recent years, stumbled to a sub-.500 record and a third place finish. As for the rest of the division, the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals struggled throughout the year while the Detroit Tigers finished second.
This led to the Twins cruising to a division title. Minnesota has question marks on their roster and they are far from a complete team. But the Twins are talented and will likely perform well once again in 2024.
They will be a very interesting team to follow in the offseason.
13. Chicago Cubs
Chicago landed Craig Counsell as their new manager in a shocking move to open the offseason. Former manager David Ross did a fine job but apparently Chicago felt a change was needed.
Perhaps Counsell's presence will help the Cubs return to the playoffs in 2024. The roster features some young talent but Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman are free agents. Losing them will hurt Chicago. After signing Dansby Swanson last offseason though, there is a chance that the Cubs stay aggressive and surprise the MLB world in free agency.
They might even make a Shohei Ohtani pursuit.
14. Miami Marlins
The Marlins surprised a lot of people with their performance in 2023. Miami's postseason-caliber play has fans wondering what the future holds for the ball club.
Miami has had pitching talent/prospects in the organization for years now. The question is whether or not they can add at least two reliable bats in the lineup. If they are able to accomplish that, then the Marlins will climb our MLB Power Rankings.
15. San Diego Padres
Oh, the Padres. The team that some picked to win the World Series in 2023 and ultimately missed the playoffs altogether.
San Diego is in a tough position this offseason. They want to compete and add even more talent in free agency. But after a lucrative offseason last year that did not pan out, they could opt for a more conservative approach. And of course there is the issue of Juan Soto's future.
Soto doesn't have a long-term contract and the Padres don't want to risk losing him in free agency next year. If they are unable to agree to an extension with Soto, then a trade could come to fruition.
16. New York Yankees
The Yankees fell apart in 2023. Aaron Judge played well but missed a significant amount of time due to injury. The rest of the lineup was abysmal while the pitching rotation dealt with no shortage of injury trouble.
In addition to Judge, Gerrit Cole continued to impress this past season. On the bright side for New York, they have two superstars in Judge and Cole who they can build around. But it is beginning to become increasingly difficult to trust this Yankees squad.
17. Cincinnati Reds
The Reds were actually competitive in 2023 despite most people not taking them seriously heading into the year. This isn't exactly a World Series contending ball club just yet, but a few key additions in free agency could turn them into serious NL Central contenders.
18. San Francisco Giants
San Francisco made a playoff run towards the end of the '23 season but it ended up falling short. The Giants later let go of Gabe Kapler and signed Bob Melvin, who was the former Padres manager.
San Francisco is hoping this change will benefit the team.
The Giants were aggressive last offseason in their Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa free agency pursuits. In the end, they didn't add either superstar (although they agreed to a deal with Correa but it fell apart due to an injury concern).
This means they might be aggressive once again in free agency this offseason. In fact, I firmly believe that San Francisco will sign at least one, possibly even two stars before the 2024 season begins.
19. Boston Red Sox
Boston has questions to answer. The Red Sox's lineup is probably good enough to compete, but their pitching is lacking to say the least.
The Red Sox might need to sign a pitcher like Aaron Nola or Blake Snell to lead their rotation. Adding another arm or two behind a potential ace would completely turn this franchise around. The Red Sox are close to being a legitimate contender once again, but they need to make these moves.
20. Detroit Tigers
The Tigers have slowly climbed the standings in recent years. As a result, they now find themselves at No. 20 in our MLB Power Rankings.
Playing in the lackluster AL Central will help Detroit's chances in 2024. Their up-and-coming roster is also something to keep an eye on. It is possible that the Tigers are still a year or two away from being ready to make a run, but the future is bright in Detroit.
21. Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians entered this offseason tasked with one of the most difficult challenges in baseball… replacing legendary manager Terry Francona.
The Guards recently found their guy, hiring two-time MLB All-Star Stephen Vogt.
From a roster standpoint, the solution is simple for Cleveland. Sign two or three productive hitters and bring in one or two veteran pitchers. Cleveland doesn't always like to spend money though so there is no guarantee that they will make those moves.
If not, there is a chance that ace Shane Bieber gets traded this offseason amid his upcoming free agency.
22. New York Mets
Speaking of new managers, the Mets hired former Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza to replace Buck Showalter.
New York, in similar fashion to the Padres, spent a lot of money last offseason and still missed the playoffs. Many people around the MLB world still expect the Mets to stay aggressive in free agency this offseason.
The Mets will probably make a big splash, but the question is whether or not their signings can lead to a playoff berth.
23. Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh's rebuild continued in 2023. They slowed down following a strong start to the year, but the Pirates are beginning to see some of their prospects blossom at the MLB level.
This fanbase needs something to be excited about soon. The Pirates should be a competitive ball club within the next couple of years.
24. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals won the NL Central in 2022 and were expected to play well again in 2023. And then the wheels completely fell off.
St. Louis didn't just turn into a mediocre team like the Padres and Mets. No, the Cardinals were one of the worst teams in the sport this past season.
Yet, they still had a respectable offense. For the Cardinals, it all comes down to the performance of their pitching. St. Louis needs to add starters in free agency if they want to compete in 2024.
25. Los Angeles Angels
The Angels just can't seem to buy a playoff berth. They started both 2022 and 2023 strong before struggling as those seasons continued on.
Now Shohei Ohtani is expected to leave in free agency and the Halos find themselves near the bottom of the MLB Power Rankings once again. A complete rebuild may be in order for this ball club amid their consistent underperformance.
26. Washington Nationals
The Nationals are rebuilding and the future is bright. Washington won't compete in 2024, but they are quickly developing their prospects.
Look for the Nats to start making things interesting in 2025.
27. Chicago White Sox
The White Sox were terrible in 2023 and ultimately entered a rebuild. They are starting over and will probably struggle over the next couple of years.
At the very least, the White Sox attempted to build a winner. The results just failed to show themselves in 2022 and 2023.
28. Colorado Rockies
Colorado appears to be stuck. They signed star Kris Bryant after trading Nolan Arenado away, but they continue to sit at the bottom of the NL West.
The Rockies don't have many big league players who they can trade away for talented prospects. The Rockies' current position is extremely challenging to navigate. They need to find a solution soon.
29. Kansas City Royals
Kansas City is another rebuilding ball club. The emergence of Bobby Witt Jr. in 2023 surely excited fans. Kansas City is building an intriguing roster around Witt Jr. and perhaps the Royals will compete fairly soon.
30. Oakland Athletics
Finally, the Athletics round out our MLB Power Rankings. The Athletics' biggest storyline in 2023 was their potential move to Las Vegas.
The franchise has traded away just about all of their stars over the years as they prepare for relocation.
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