MLB National Power Rankings – April 12, 2010

The start of the 2010 Major League Baseball regular season is upon us and after only one full week of action some teams have already made a statement while some others could have probably used another week or two of spring training to get their act together. Every National League team has a dream of making it all the way to this year’s World Series, but in reality there are only a handful of teams that actually have a chance. Here is a look at my top four teams in the NL after week one and their currents odds to win the Pennant and the World Series.

Philadelphia Phillies Odds to Win the NL Pennant 3-1 World Series 6-1

So far the trade for pitching ace Roy Halladay has worked out like a charm. While their former ace, Cliff Lee started the season on the DL for Seattle, Halladay already has two wins under his belt including going the distance on Sunday in a 2-1 victory over Houston. In those two games he has an ERA of just 0.56. The Phillies are currently 5-1 and with one of the most formidable lineups in the league have already picked up where they left off last year by scoring 43 runs for an average of 7.16 per game. They host the Nationals for a three game set, starting with their 3:05 P.M. home opener today at Citizen’s National Park.

St. Louis Cardinals Odds to Win the NL Pennant 15-4 World Series 8-1

The Cardinals one-two punch of Matt Holiday and Albert Pujols has helped the Cardinals get off to a 4-2 start. In 26 at-bats, Holliday has 11 hits and has knocked in six RBIs. In 24 at-bats, Pujols has nine hits and has knocked in 10 runs. Last week they took two out of three from both Cincinnati and Milwaukee to make an early statement in the NL Central. In their home opener today against the Astros, Adam Wainwright gets the call. So far this season he is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA.

San Francisco Giants Odds to Win the NL Pennant 15-1 World Series 30-1

While everyone talked about Los Angeles and Colorado in the NL West, San Francisco’s 5-1 start has been the real story so far. After sweeping the Astros in three games on the road, they took two out of three at home against Atlanta. Their ace, Tim Lincecum has been impressive so far, winning his first two outings with an ERA of just 1.29. In Sunday’s 6-3 win over the Braves, he struck out 10 in seven innings of work after enduring a four hour rain delay. The Giants open up a three game series against Pittsburgh starting today at 7:15 P.M. (P.T.).

Florida Marlins Odds to Win the NL Pennant 16-1 World Series 30-1

After losing to the New York Mets 7-1 in the season opener last Monday, Florida has won four out of their last five games. They beat the Mets twice to win that series, and after losing their home opener to the LA Dodgers 7-3 on Friday, they beat them twice to win that series as well. The Marlins have relied on some solid hitting to jump out to the strong start. In their four wins they have averaged almost six runs a game as Jorge Cantu and Hanley Rameriz have led the way. Cantu has eight hits in 25 at-bats with 10 RBIS and Rameriz has seven hits in 21 at-bats with three runs batted in. The Marlins start a four game home stand against the Reds before heading to Philadelphia for a three game series this weekend against the Phillies.

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