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We know computers hate the Orioles, and national broadcasters hate the Orioles, but do the folks who make power polls/rankings hate the Orioles? No, no they do not, at least not this week.
MLB.com (4th; LW: 8th)
MLB.com wants to make it as difficult as possible for you to actually find these Power Rankings, but after 10+ minutes on their site, I finally found them. And the effort was worthwhile - the O’s are now #4 in the rankings. But MLB just does have a knack for making it as hard as possible to consumer their product, don’t they?
USA Today Power Rankings (4th; LW: 12th)
The Nation’s Newspaper moved the Orioles up eight slots. And as of April 17, this was true: “Trey Mancini (4), Chris Davis (3) out-homering Red Sox (5) by themselves.”
Bleacher Report Power Rankings (6th; LW: 7th)
Slideshow Central is still bullish on the O’s - they’ve moved up to 6th in their rankings.
CBS Sports (1st; LW: 2nd)
Matt Synder ranks the Orioles as the best team in baseball. Really, he does. “They are 8-4 with Manny Machado and Mark Trumbo hitting poorly. That'll play at the one spot.”
reddit’s Power Poll (8th; LW: 8th)
The community editors over at reddit have not changed their view of the O’s, leaving them at 8th this week. “Another year, another strong O's team out the gate. And, naturally, it's the pitching that's leading the way. Just as we all predicted. Dylan Bundy is currently rocking a 1.86 ERA/1.64 FIP after three starts and the team's 3.36 FIP is 4th in the majors. Also, on the offensive side, rookie Trey Mancini is now up to 7 HRs in 39 career PAs. Boy, playing the Blue Jays is fun right now.”
OddsShark.com (6th; LW: 15th)
Ranks are based on rolling past 20 games overall. They will typically be the lowest rankings the O’s receive, and they have the O’s at 6th. Huh.
ESPN.com Power rankings (3rd; LW: 4th)
The World-Wide Leader stays optimistic about the O’s, lifting them one slot to 3rd. “Zach Britton was placed on the disabled list Sunday with forearm soreness, so the question is whether the O's back end of the bullpen will succeed in his absence. Britton has been the best reliever in baseball since 2014 (minimum 200 IP) and has converted 54 consecutive save opportunities, tied for the second-longest streak in MLB history (saves became official in 1969). -- Sarah Langs, ESPN Stats & Information”
Rotoworld (4th; LW: 7th)
Jesse Pantuosco factors in hot/cold streaks, resume and roster construction in his rankings. He has the Orioles 4th, and wrote this before Kevin Gausman’s implosion on Tuesday: “It’s only a matter of time until Trey Mancini becomes a household name. So far he leads the Orioles with four homers and a booming .364 average.
A strained forearm sent ace closer Zach Britton to the disabled list, but there’s no need to panic. His fill-in Brad Brach holds a stingy 1.91 ERA with a 10.8 K/9 since the start of last season. Even Baltimore’s rotation, which was thought to be the team’s Achilles heel, has impressed with a 3.67 ERA in the early going.”
Fox Sports (6th; LW: 10th)
The folks at Fox Sports have the O’s just outside the Top 5, but firmly in their top 10. “One Nice Thing: Through the first 12 games of Trey Mancini's career (which started last season), he has seven home runs and 14 RBIs — tying an MLB record. One Not-So-Nice Thing: Manny Machado's season has started poorly at the plate — he's slashing .175/.298/.375”
Power Rankings Guru (N/A; LW: 7th)
PRG is an aggregate of several national power rankings/polls, and they didn’t update their rankings this week.
SI.com: The 30 (N/A; Last Week: 8th)
Jonah Keri has changed up his ranking methods, and apparently isn’t doing his rankings every week. Odd. Unless it returns, this will be the last listing for SI.com.
Any egregious slights or wild overestimation of this team? Any polls you’d like to see included? Add your thought down below and hit me up on Twitter @Bill_Duck21804 where you will find way, way too much discussion of politics and MMA for any baseball fan’s liking.