SF Giants: Power rankings overlook best team in baseball

MLB.Com released its weekly power rankings on Monday and the SF Giants moved up one spot from No. 4 to No. 3 this week. With a 46-26 record, which is the best in baseball, and on the heels of a week in which they won six out of seven games, it does feel like the Giants are being overlooked.

SF Giants: Power rankings overlook best team in baseball

The purpose of power rankings is to serve as a temperature check for how teams are doing. It is a fun discussion item that rarely carries any weight.

That said, Giants fans are frustrated by the apparent slight that comes with being ranked No. 3 despite having a .639 winning percentage. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros come in at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

Perhaps, the Giants do not have the star power compared to the Astros and the Dodgers. After all, Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, and Kevin Gausman have led the way but they are not seen as the faces of baseball. Obviously, few active players have achieved more accolades than Posey and Crawford throughout their careers.

In the case of the Astros, they have Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, and Alex Bregman stirring up the excitement in Houston. Similarly, Mookie Betts, Trevor Bauer, Corey Seager, and Cody Bellinger garner plenty of the spotlight for the Dodgers. The Giants have stars but they are more reserved than the stars on the Astros and the Dodgers.

Another criticism is that the Giants have played a light schedule thus far, which might be a fair point. However, that is not something that the organization can control. The National League seems watered down but the Giants have eclipsed seemingly every hurdle that they have encountered.

Regardless, when they have faced off against a quality team, they have generally held their own. Below is the record against teams with over a .500 winning percentage for the Giants, Dodgers, and the Astros as of Monday night:

• Giants: 19-13
• Dodgers: 18-21
• Astros: 35-19

Out of the three teams, the Astros have faced the toughest schedule so far, whereas the Giants have a better record than the Dodgers against teams with over a .500 winning percentage.

Nevertheless, power rankings are meant to stir up an emotion and it feels like Giants fans feel that the No. 3 ranking is not good enough. During the championship run, San Francisco was always seen as the underdog, so this is familiar territory for the organization. It may not be an even year, but it sure seems like the Giants have some magic brewing in 2021.