Major League Baseball: Dunkel Index Rankings - Monday, April 19, 2021

We have seen just over two weeks of the Major League Baseball season. The 2021 Dunkel MLB Power Rankings have been updated. Let’s see what we have found:

Dodgers Still Remain at Top

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to show they are the best team in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers took care of their closest competition in the division by winning 2 out of 3 over the weekend. The Dodgers hold the top divisional lead in all of the game, as they are 3.5 games up. Los Angeles and San Diego will get together for a four-game series at the end of this week as well. Los Angeles is doing great damage on the offensive side, with more than 5.5 runs per game, and have hit 22 homeruns so far in 16 games. The Dodgers lead MLB with an OBP of .354. Justin Turner is absolutely red hot with a .404 batting average in 64 plate appearances this season.

Rockies Remain at the Bottom

There is no surprise the Colorado Rockies have been the worst team in Major League Baseball through the first 16 games of the season. After beating the Dodgers on opening day, the Rockies have won just 3 out of their last 15 games. Trading away Nolan Arenado was sign #1 that Colorado had no interest in fielding a competitive team in 2021. Trevor Story may be next. The Rockies have the worst OBP in baseball, and their pitching has been a mess. Colorado has the worst WHIP in all of the game, at 1.48, and are letting teams hit for nearly .260 on the season. The Rockies look to be the best bet to lose 100 games this season, especially in the NL West.

Seattle? Boston? Kansas City?

The Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and Kansas City Royals have got to be the two biggest positive surprises thus far in 2021. The Red Sox and Mariners are 10-6, while Mike Matheny and his Kansas City Royals are 9-5. Those are the three divisional leaders in the American League, with the Angels and Athletics as the next two best records. Seattle is doing the job on both sides, offense and defense, but got to love the start of Mitch Haniger, with a .338 batting average and four homeruns. For Boston, they lead Major League Baseball in runs scored with 9.3 per game; they have a .277 batting average and are scoring more than five runs per game. On the pitching side, the Red Sox are 10th in the game, allowing just four runs per game. Finally, the Kansas City Royals - the lead the American League Central but are not doing anything great. The main reason Kansas City is leading - they are doing everything solid. The Royals are scoring 4.4 runs per game and allowing 4.2 per game. Kansas City is not hitting for a ton of power with just 13 homeruns, but they have allowed just 13 as well, which is 6th best in MLB.

Opposites in New York

The New York Mets lead the National League East with their 7-4 record, while the New York Yankees are dead last in the American League East, at 5-10. This is something to watch throughout the season, as the Yankees had high expectations like usual. There is probably not a more disappointing team so far in 2021 than the New York Yankees.

Head out to the Dunkel MLB Power Rankings to see where the teams fall after 2+ weeks of the 2021 season!