MLB National Power Rankings – April 20, 2010

The 2010 Major League Baseball regular season is underway and after two weeks of action some teams have already made a statement while some others are off to a much slower start than expected. 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 two and their currents odds to win the Pennant and the World Series.

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

With a record of 8-4, St. Louis has been getting it done one series at a time. They started by taking two out of three from Cincinnati to open the season, two of three from Milwaukee, and two of three from Houston in their home opening series. This past weekend they took two out of three from the Mets to win their fourth straight series. So far it has been the bats of Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Ryan Ludwick along with the arms of Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter that have led the way for the Cardinals.

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

Philadelphia was able to fatten up both their record and batting stats with six games against Washington and three against Houston, but once they ran into some solid pitching against Florida their bats became quiet in two consecutive losses over the weekend. None the less the Phillies are off to a solid start and their prized offseason acquisition, Roy Halladay has been nothing short of spectacular. He is already 3-0 with and an ERA of 1.13 in his first three starts. Placido Polanco has also been a welcomed addition to the lineup as he is batting .396 with 12 RBI’s and two home runs.

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

Even though they ran into a small bump in the road this weekend, losing two of three to the Dodgers, San Francisco still leads the West by two games. They started the season by sweeping the Astros on the road and then returned home to take two out of three from Atlanta. The top of their rotation has been impressive so far with Tim Lincecum getting three wins in his first three starts and Barry Zito getting two wins in his first three. Lincecum’s ERA is .90 and Zito’s is 1.86. The bat of Juan Uribe has also made a difference as he has already has 14 hits and driven in 10 runs in just 43 at-bats.

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

Florida was able to close the gap in the East to just a ½ game by finding a way to slow down the red hot Phillies bats and run their record to 8-5 by taking two out three games of the weekend series.  In Saturday’s game behind the arm of Ricky Nolasko they held them to just one run in a 5-1 victory and on Sunday; Nate Robertson, Burke Badenhop, and Leo Nunez combined to shut them out 2-0. Marlin 3B Jorge Cantu continues at a torrid pace already racking up 16 RBI’s and three homeruns in 52 at-bats.

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