Welcome to our baseball power rankings for 2021! We will look at Stemshul’s official 64tacos ranking system each week to see how the teams (and specifically the Tigers) are doing throughout the summer. With the full 162 game schedule back after last year’s COVID abbreviated 60 game season, the first few weeks won’t be too defining. Among the top 5, you would expect the Yankees and Astros to be there. The other three (Angels, Reds, and Cardinals) are expected to be mediocre to decent, but could put it together and have great years. I’d say the team most likely of the three to break through is the Angels. Mike Trout is the best player in baseball and Shohei Ohtani will try to be the first player in a million years to be an everyday player (as a DH) AND a starting pitcher. He’s shown to can be great at both, but keeps getting injured. It would be fun it he can put it all together. Of course, he hasn’t yet, and despite Trout being the best player since 2012, the Angels haven’t made the playoffs since 2014.

At the bottom we have two teams expected to struggle (Marlins and Pirates) and three who shouldn’t (Braves, A’s, and Rays). Not too worried about the latter three; Atlanta in particular is very talented and this trio should rise in the next few weeks. The Tigers had a good first week. In their three wins (3-2, 5-2, 4-3 in 10 innings), they pitched well and were patient at the plate (1.93 ERA and 5.3 BB/G). In the two losses (9-3 and 15-6): 12.00 ERA and 2 BB/G. Small sample size, of course, but with two rookies in Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize in the starting rotation (maybe Matt Manning later this year?) and a makeshift bullpen, pitching and walks will be key for the climb back to respectability (Detroit was last in both ERA and BB/G last year).

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