Before you raise your eyebrows too much at these rankings, keep in mind that they’re not just a reflection of how the teams have been doing, but an approximate ranking of how good the teams’ future prospects look based on various factors, including but not limited to their actual performance so far. Because of those factors, some teams will seem like they’re pretty high or low compared to their performances in Week 1.

American League

1) Devil Rays. This team’s stock will have time to go down later, but MelloMathTeacher showed that they will be unstoppable as long as he’s at the helm. The third-highest score of the week, achieved with the most hyper-defensive team build in the league, speaks for itself.

2) Cubs. Emery hasn’t lost any of his spark during the offseason. As long as the Cubs’ first defensive performance was a fluke and isn’t replicated, they’ll be at the top of these rankings all season.

3) Royals. We got a clear look at what this team can do when they’re running well, and they’ll be a feared team throughout the season as a result. Their defense held up well also. The only reason they aren’t higher is because they are likely to be less consistent week-to-week than the top two teams, and there will be much worse games from them in future weeks.

4) Rangers. Perhaps the biggest shock of opening week was this squad thoroughly trouncing the Orioles, performing far better at both offense and defense than I had thought they could preseason. A repeat performance at a less favorable field will raise their stocks even higher.

5) Reds. This team was another surprise, putting up a strong showing on offense and only swept away by one of the best coaches in the league. Cincy fans’ optimism should be tempered, though, until they prove they can do this at other fields and not just at the Gardens.

6) Angels. Solid Opening Week performance from this squad with no great issues, but clearly not nearly as high-powered of a game as any of the top five put out.

7) Pirates. This week was a mighty blow to Baltimore. Their struggles on offense are understandable given the defense they were facing, but their defense was shown to have major problems that could torpedo their chances. If Ray Tran catching becomes a routine for this team and doesn’t turn out to just be a fluke, they’re in deep trouble indeed.

8) Orioles. Opening Week was similarly dark for the Orioles, as they struggled to score much against a suspect defense while being swept away by their suspect offense. Perhaps the bigger issue here was my assessment of the Rangers, but all the same, nothing about this game bodes well for the O’s.

9) Rockies. MartianMan is more comfortable with his team this season, but still not putting up the highest run totals. While their defense did fine in Game 1, they’ll need to up the run output if they want to start racking up the wins.

10) Braves. Putting up single digits against the Bombers’ defense isn’t a great sign for a Braves offense that already was concerning in the preseason, but we’ll see how they do against more typical competition.

11) Hornets. The Hornets did not perform any better than expected in Week One – they could only score on three solo home runs, and their defense did approximately nothing as their opposition logged the highest score of the week. Not promising for the rest of their season.

12) Bombers. Suffice it to say that this team did not have any great strengths that we missed in the preseason.

National League

1) Monsters. The Monsters lived up to preseason hype, with both the highest R.D. and lowest opposing R.D. in the NL for Opening Week. This is an opposing team on both sides of the field, and they appear to be primed to run the table this season.

2) Giants. IT’s squad performed almost as well as the Monsters did in the first week, scoring only one less run and giving up the same number of runs as AIs, at a cloned field to boot. This bears them out as a good all-around squad well-suited for their home field, and they’re the favorites in the NL East if they can keep up this performance.

3) Marlins. Nobody expected the Marlins to prosper at Eckman, but prosper they did! A performance that good, in that hostile of a field, from an offense that initially seemed weak, is an eye-opener, and if that’s not a fluke, this might be Shrewsbury’s breakout season.

4) Twins. The Twins had a very rough first game, getting tilted early on and never really getting off the ground after that. But it’s clear that this is an offense that’s capable of far more than they produced in their first game, and there’s a lot of room for the Twins to bounce back. Don’t count them out yet.

5) Yankees. The Yankees also struggled on livestream to start out the season, scoring only three runs despite a potent offense while their defense didn’t do a whole lot. With most coaches that would merit a much bigger drop than this, but with Crazyei8hts at the helm? That seems like a fluke.

6) Diamondbacks. The D’Backs had a good first outing, putting up one of the highest scores of the week from the NL while their defense held against an intimidating Brewers lineup. On the other hand, 12 runs at Tin Can Alley isn’t a particularly impressive score; we’ll need to see more good games from the D’Backs before I jump aboard their train.

7) Brewers. Much like the Twins, the Brewers had a rough first game but have a potent offense capable of much more. Their defense also didn’t get beat up too badly by the visiting D’Backs, offering hope that it will hold out well enough to leave victory within reach.

8) Athletics. The A’s collected a deserved first win this week, but it wasn’t a particularly standout showing, with only five runs and against a relatively weak team. This is unlikely to be their last win, but they’ll need to up the scoring if they want to be playoff contenders.

9) Fishes. Coach elchrisblanco tends to heat up more as the season goes along, so in that sense the Fishes’ first result isn’t too worrying. It does signify that they might have trouble here in the opening weeks, though, and the Marlins’ score against them doesn’t bode to well for their defense.

10) Cardinals. Still ranked low despite their win, the Cards’ opening game showed several weaknesses in this team, particularly when playing at their home field. Their win came against another likely weaker team and required a bit late rally as well; their performance on the road will do a lot to determine if they stay this low or jump up in the standings.

11) Melonheads. The Melonheads put up a solid score – against a weaker defense, at a field that accentuated that defense’s weaknesses, and they still ended up losing. Right now this looks like a team that can put forth solid efforts but not actually seal the deal, and evidence that they can actually win will be needed before their stock can rise significantly.

12) Wombats. The Wombats’ first game bore out their perceived weakness on offense, as they lost to one of the four lowest scores of the week. I foresee similar struggles scoring throughout the season for this team; it could be a long season down under.