MLB

MLB Power Rankings Update: Who's Catching the Cubs?

JJ Zachariason  —  @LateRoundQB Aug 29th, 2016
The Cubs are still at the top of our power rankings as we approach September. Can anyone catch them?

Here at numberFire, we like math. We're not about subjectivity. So when we calculate our power rankings, it's not based on what our eyes are telling us or what our feelings say. It's based on straight up math.

For baseball, we use our nERD metric to show how good a team actually is performing. nERD, for those of you who are unaware, tells us how many runs a team should win by against a league-average opponent on a neutral field. A nERD of 1.00, for instance, means that team would beat an ordinary one by a run. If that team was facing a squad with a nERD of -0.5, we'd expect them to win by 1.5 runs.

Take a look at how things are shaping up around Major League Baseball, sorted by nERD.

TeamPlayoffsWorld Series ChampionnERD
Chicago Cubs100.00%26.00%1.9
Boston Red Sox81.90%10.20%1.19
Washington Nationals99.70%13.60%1.09
Los Angeles Dodgers97.30%11.10%0.98
Toronto Blue Jays92.00%11.20%0.95
Cleveland Indians94.00%11.40%0.95
St. Louis Cardinals57.20%2.00%0.84
San Francisco Giants80.50%4.00%0.66
Seattle Mariners26.40%1.20%0.49
Detroit Tigers36.20%1.70%0.31
New York Mets20.30%0.70%0.19
Miami Marlins22.40%0.40%0.19
New York Yankees7.90%0.20%0.11
Houston Astros13.80%0.80%0.1
Tampa Bay Rays0.00%0.00%0.05
Baltimore Orioles42.20%1.80%0.01
Pittsburgh Pirates22.30%0.20%-0.16
Texas Rangers96.80%3.40%-0.3
Kansas City Royals8.70%0.20%-0.31
Chicago White Sox0.10%0.00%-0.36
San Diego Padres0.00%0.00%-0.39
Milwaukee Brewers0.00%0.00%-0.42
Colorado Rockies0.20%0.00%-0.43
Oakland Athletics0.00%0.00%-0.54
Los Angeles Angels0.00%0.00%-0.61
Minnesota Twins0.00%0.00%-0.85
Arizona Diamondbacks0.00%0.00%-0.85
Atlanta Braves0.00%0.00%-0.88
Cincinnati Reds0.00%0.00%-0.94
Philadelphia Phillies0.00%0.00%-1.09