S26- Power Ranks (1-5)

1. San  Fransisco

Another season and another Power Rankings with San Fransisco on top. During FA of S24 I marvelled at SF stealing Bo Gragg for a rock bottom price. Wondering aloud how a great franchise could get so lucky. Well I have to do the same thing again in S26. SF locked up the best FA SP Glenn Kerr for a below market contact. I estimate that Gragg & Kerr are worth about 30M in the open market & San Fran has them for 18M.  An Elite team with an Elite farm system and Elite FA deals = #1 Power Ranks

2. St. Louis

I've been carefully watching the Browns given the division they reside in. For the last few years I've viewed the franchise as a sleeping giant waiting to awake. Well the alarm went off in S25 to the tune of a 108W (24W jump). The Browns are a young team and one year older and better. Don't expect the top 2 seeds in the AL to change this season

3. New Britain

Speaking of sleeping giants........Djbradford jumped to NL taking over a terrible franchise in S22. I had been waiting for the season when the Yorkies would rise again. I think Dj would be the first to admit that his World Series run was likely a season or 2 early, which is scary because his team is only going to get better. I expect that NB & the next team in the Power Ranks will be locking horns for the NL penant for the next 3-4 seasons.

4. New Orleans

Bigtex1 build to a contender was slow and methodical and the patience has paid off the last 2 season (99 & 97W). At this point the regular season success hasn't translated to the playoffs however I attribute that more to the randomness of a short series than the caliber of the team. New Orleans is a strong team with a balanced offense and pitching staff.  If there was a flaw to the Jazz it would be the lack of a true cornerstone MVP caliber hitter.

5. Kansas City

I've made the analogy before but it does always seem adapt, the Charlie Brown of the AL faces an uphill battle having traded away B. Thames in the off-season and lost G. Kerr to divison rival SF. I have considered SF and KC over the past 3 seasons to be 1a & 1b in terms of talent for the first time in a few seasons there is a noticeable gap. Despite the gap KC is one of the 5-6 team that I see with a legitimate title shot. With a talented roster KC will have a date to the playoff dance