MLB rankings: All 30 teams on Opening Day ranked by watchability – For The Win

Happy 2021 opening day in Major League Baseball to you all!

Its time for a full season of MLB action after an abbreviated 2020, and to kick things off, were not doing a traditional power rankings.

Instead, as weve done with the NBA, were asking the question: if you have MLB.TV, which teams would you want to watch the most? Thats right, its another round of watchability rankings, which is a very unscientific combination of star power, the fun youll have watching the team, and maybe some oh boy, is this squad going to be a train wreck?

So away we go:

Im extremely intrigued by third base prospect KeBryan Hayes and for fantasy purposes in deep leagues, Ill take a flier on Colin Moran. But while they start a rebuild, this is the least watchable team in the Majors.

Why arent they in last? For starters, Miguel Cabrera is 134 hits away from 3,000 for his storied career, so well want to tune in for that chase when it heats up.

For another, there are some young arms Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize among them to keep an eye on. But the Tigers are NOT going to be good this year.

I will be very much interested in tuning in to see Trey Mancini mashing again after battling and beating colon cancer. And if you like offense, theres more of that here too with Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander.

Ill call this: Do you like offense? Part II. Theres Joey Gallo either striking out or hitting big bombs. Theres some speed from Leody Taveras. Maybe theres a David Dahl breakout coming after his days in Colorado ended.

But pitching? Itll be a long season from that point of view.

The buzz over hyped prospect Jarred Kelenic has gotten LOUD, so this feels like a good spot for a team that will probably be among the bottom-dwellers, although they do have Ty France (who hit .309 last season), former first-round pick Taylor Trammell and, oh yeah, AL rookie of the year Kyle Lewis. Also: is THIS the year Justus Sheffield starts putting together a breakout?

Hmm. Maybe they should be higher?

Will they be worse than some of the teams lower on this list? Probably not.

But this is a team full of vets thats also trying to look toward the future. So while Ill tune in to see Mike Yastrzemski and Mauricio Dubon mash, Im not exactly getting excited about Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford and past-his-prime Buster Posey.

A bad team with some fun youngsters > a mediocre older team. Fantasy baseball managers can turn their noses up at Adalberto Mondesi (note: please dont), but dude has stolen 91 bases in his past three seasons. Whit Merrifield continues to be one of the more well-rounded players in the game. Can Jorge Soler get back to his 2019 form when he nearly hit 50 dingers?

Oh and I CANT WAIT for Bobby Witt Jr. to come up.

Underrated, even here. Zac Gallen when hes healthy is one of the best young arms in baseball, Josh Rojas has been hot all spring, Ketel Marte is a season removed from .329-32-92 and 10 swipes, Tim Locastro is speedy Ill tune in!

The pitching stinks, blah blah blah, whatever.

Trevor Story is still there (for now), and hes a superstar. And you know youre going to get all kinds of offensive fireworks in Colorado, so I dont expect anything different given the lineup filled with names like Raimel Tapia, Ryan McMahon, Brendan Rodgers, C.J. Cron (can he hit 40 in the mountain air?) and vet Charlie Blackmon.

(Whispers) I dont think last year was a fluke.

Now, that doesnt mean theyre making the playoffs. All those jokes before the abbreviated 2020 season turned into a reality as the small-sample-size Marlins made the postseason.

What Im saying is: among the young, rebuilding teams, this ones the one I want to tune in for the most (and as a New York Mets fan, Ill see them plenty!). From the promise of Jazz Chisholm to a starting staff that we could be talking about as the best in the game in a few years, Im in.

I am aware Im going to get destroyed by North Siders for this one, but heres the thing: its sort of a known quantity. And while thats not the worst thing, it takes the level of excitement down.

Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo arent in their primes. The pitching staff is good (I love Kyle Hendricks and Zach Davies but theyre not known for their electric stuff. This is a team built for defense). Javier Baez is still so much fun to watch, but Im just not that excited beyond him.

I love Wrigley, though. Does that help?

Another team whose fanbase will no doubt write me angry letters/tweets.

But from a watchability standpoint, I think theres better out there right now. And this is zero offense to Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez (the latter of whom will hopefully get back to hitting .300 and sending baseballs into orbit). Im also hopeful that this is finally the year Franchy Corderos sweet swing makes an impact. The return of Chris Sale is intriguing.

That said, Im more into the teams below.

I want so badly to throw this team higher with a great mix of young pitchers (Luis Castillo in the rotation and Tejay Antone, Amir Garrett) and a group of hitters who play in a park made for dingers. And then theres Joey Votto, who may be older but is still entertaining.

While they might be not that great from a standings point of view, theyll be more entertaining than the teams above.

This is where it gets extremely tough for me. There are an endless amount of storylines here: Ageless Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. Jack Flaherty and Jordan Hicks dazzling on the mound. Is Nolan Arenado going to prove playing outside of Denver will work? Are Dylan Carlson and Tyler ONeill the real deal?

Theres also some real flop potential here and the schadenfreude that comes with it for non-Cards fans. This might be rating them too low.

Three words: Bryce. Harper. Swing.

Thats a good reason to watch this team. So is Aaron Nola pitching but whatever. Star power counts for a lot in these rankings.

With the As, its always a fun, weird ride, a how did they do that?! kind of feeling when you see them contend. And they could do it again this year with Matt Olson, Matt Chapman and two of my favorite young hurlers in Frankie Montas and Jesus Luzardo.

Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes are one of baseballs best young 1-2 punches. Devin Williams and Josh Hader out of the bullpen are a nightmare for opponents. And thats before we get to former MVP Christian Yelich.

Also, Keston Hiura might be a star.

Heres a team with fun but train-wreck potential now that Francisco Lindor is gone Jose Ramirez is still terrific and dont underestimate Eddie Rosario and Franmil Reyes. The bullpen has three amazing arms. Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale are all great. As a Mets fan, I can tell you Andres Gimenez is going to be awesome.

But they might be bad after so many years of contending.

That offense, oh my goodness, THAT OFFENSE! Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette, Vlad Guerrero Jr. (maybe THIS is the year he hits a million homers), Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez, Rowdy Tellez and new addition George Springer. WHEWWWWWWWWWWW.

The pitching is very iffy. So very watchable up to that point.

I hate myself for putting them this low. Were talking about Mike Trout, who is still the games biggest superstar. Were also talking about the chance to watch Shohei Ohtani become a two-way stud on the mound and at the plate.

But the Angels arent going to be very good. That holds them back.

Juan Soto. Trea Turner. Even if theyre not what they once were, lets add Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg into the mix. A real fun team to follow.

Just a top-to-bottom fun team to watch, as Nelson Cruz continues to crush baseballs at the age of 40, Byron Buxton continues his breakout, Miguel Sano does the same and a staff that now has Kenta Maeda as its ace.

The team you love to hate gets this high ranking for that very reason, although they also happen to be a very, very talented team you love to hate.

Goodness, this team is just so fun. Between Randy Arozarenas breakout last year to Brandon Lowes huge 2020, the possibility of Wander Franco coming up this year and the how the heck do they keep doing this?! feeling I love it all.

Fine. Im biased. Whatever.

But Francisco Lindor is a superstar. Pete Alonso hits baseballs very, very far. Jacob deGrom is the best pitcher in the game. Steve Cohens tweets are amazing. And of course, with this team, theres always the chance it falls apart. Welp.

One of the best young groups of players in the league may be about to explode. Even with Eloy Jimenez out with injury, Andrew Vaughn might be a terrific replacement. Luis Robert, Yoan Moncada, Nick Madrigal, Luis Giolito this team is STACKED.

And I live for Tim Anderson batflips.

The question: how will Tony La Russa manage this team? Ill be watching for that, too.

So much of this ranking is because of Ronald Acuna, but lets give some love to Marcell Ozuna, Freddie Freeman and the rest of this lineup. Their pitching staff is mega-deep and filled with young future stars Max Fried, Mike Soroka and Ian Anderson. Whats not to love?

As usual, the powerhouse to watch with a lineup that can mash 1-through-9. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hitting balls is a thrill. The pitching is superior. A well-oiled machine. Why arent they higher? Some thoughts below.

Of course. Its like watching an All-Star game every night. Thats it.

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MLB rankings: All 30 teams on Opening Day ranked by watchability - For The Win

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