World Series Not Enough for Texas Rangers to Top First MLB Power Rankings

The defending World Series champion Texas Rangers aren't among the top two teams in the first MLB.com Power Rankings for 2024.

The Texas Rangers are the defending World Series champions. Doesn’t that automatically make them the best team in baseball?

Not if you ask MLB.com.

The first Power Rankings of 2024 were released by the league’s website and the club holding the Commissioner’s Trophy isn’t at the top of the heap. Or even sitting No. 2.

The first two spots are reserved for the National League, with the Atlanta Braves being the current top dog. Shohei Ohtani and his Los Angeles Dodgers are second in line.

Here’s the MLB.com breakdown of the Rangers:

And here we find the defending champs, not only nestling in at No. 3 in the rankings, but No. 1 in the American League. Does this mean the Rangers are favorites to return to the World Series? Learning that Max Scherzer won’t be back until midseason was a setback, but if the Rangers can stay afloat until then, they’ll not only have him, they’ll have Jacob deGrom, too.

Maneuvering through the first few months of the season is the common concern surrounding Texas. But with an explosive offensive led by MVP contender Corey Seager, the Rangers should have enough pitching until the cavalry arrives.

More from MLB.com:

And staying afloat shouldn’t be too much of a problem: Corey Seager seems primed for an MVP-caliber season. With Ohtani in the other league, is Seager the early favorite for 2024 AL MVP? And they’ll get a full season from postseason hero Evan Carter who, amazingly, is still only 21 years old (he won’t turn 22 until August). The Rangers will get to hoist their first World Series banner on Opening Day this year. But there will be plenty of 2024 highlights other than that one to come.

The ranking for the rest of the American League West: Houston Astros (6), Seattle Mariners (11), Los Angeles Angels (24) and Oakland Athletics (30).

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