Mariners get respect in new ESPN MLB power rankings – kinda

The Seattle Mariners have been the best team in baseball for a month.

That’s no opinion, by the way, but rather a stone cold fact. Since April 7, the Mariners are 19-7, which is the best record in that time in MLB.

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Along the way, the Mariners have won nine straight series, something they haven’t done since 2001 when they won a franchise-record 15 consecutive series. It’s helped Seattle jump out to a 22-14 record, the best start to a season by a Mariners team since 2003, and a three-game lead over the second-place Athletics for the AL West lead.

 

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With all of that considered, you’d think the Mariners would be getting respect in ESPN’s MLB power rankings. And frankly, they are. But it still seems a bit underwhelming.

In ESPN’s latest power rankings released Thursday, the M’s came in at No. 9 out of the 30 major league teams, a jump of two spots from the previous rankings.

Like I said, kinda underwhelming.

But looking a little closer, you can find there is a little more respect than it seems on the surface.

Among American League teams, the Mariners are third in the rankings – which makes sense. The National League is seen as vastly superior over the AL this year, particularly with ESPN as we learned from one of the outlet’s longtime insiders last week.

“In the time that I’ve covered baseball, I’ve never seen one league so much better than the other league. The National League is staggeringly better than the American League,” Buster Olney told Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy last Friday.

Olney went as far as comparing the NL to “the Justice League” – you know, Batman, Superman, uh… Elongated Man? (guess Olney is more of a DC guy than a Marvel enthusiast) – while describing the AL as the “land of opportunity.”

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The AL teams ahead of the Mariners in the power rankings? The other division leaders.

At No. 7 is the AL East-leading New York Yankees (21-16), and the No. 5 team is the Detroit Tigers, who are atop the AL Central at 24-13.

Hold up: the Tigers are that good? Did they forget they’re still on the hook for $73 million to Javier Báez?

Wait – did Javier Báez (10th among AL hitters with 1.5 fWAR) forget he’s Javier Báez?

Alright, maybe we won’t quibble with the surprising Tigers’ standing in the rankings. But the Mariners (.611 winning percentage) are technically ahead of the Yankees (.568).

Typical. Never can get away from that East Coast bias, can you?

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