Flapjacks Power Rankings 4/7

For those playing in our Yahoo H2H league, here is a look at the power rankings as we head into the second week. Not much movement yet since it's only been one week, but we do have a new #1. Click the link to read more.

4/7/08 Flapjacks Power Rankings
(Season record and last week's rankings in parentheses. )


1. The Macafeys (7-3-0) (2)
The Macafeys move into the top spot with a solid offense, sparked by an impressive display of speed, led by Michael Bourn and Carlos Gomez with 4 steals each. Derek Lee provided the power with 3 HR. Rich Harden has helped by staying healthy and striking out 15 in his first two starts. Tim's bullpen is a little shaky, but Jeremy Accardo recorded 3 saves last week, and the rotation should be good enough to career any reliever missteps. Keep an eye on Alex Gordon, as he could be starting to heat up.

2. The Dinos (5-5-0) (3)
Jonathan received a great week from Ben Sheets, who will carry The Dino's pitching staff as long as he stays healthy. Also important to the rotation's success was John Smoltz's first start back from injury, where he struck out 6 in 5 innings, and Joe Nathan's 3 saves. The offense was a bit sluggish last week, batting .264, but the power is there, led by Chase Utley's 3 HR. Watch out once Ryan Howard and Miguel Cabrera start to hit. A bright spot is the early success of J.D. Drew, hitting .375 with 2 HR to start the season.

3. The Balls (6-3-1) (1)
The Balls drop a couple of spots this week, despite the great starts of Jake Peavy and Pat Burrell. Losing Pedro Martinez hurts, and the bullpen imploded a bit the first week, but the strong first start by Edison Volquez give hope for future success. The offense is starting to look weak on the bench, with poor starts by Milton Bradley and Dave Roberts. Brubaker needs players like Robinson Cano and Garrett Atkins to start raking.

4. Screaming Lemurs (6-3-1) (4)
Lemurs remain in the 4th spot for the second week in a row. Strong starts by Ian Kinsler, Ryan Braun, and Rafael Furcal have help offset last week's injury to Victor Martinez, and Carl Crawford's inability to hit so far this season. Lemurs have a strong staff, led by Brandon Webb and Cole Hamels, though it looks like their lack of closers will keep them from winning the saves category each week.

5. The Tossers (3-7-0) (5)
The offense is looking strong, led by Alex Rodriguez, Torii Hunter and Corey Hart, but Troost needs a healthy Gary Sheffield and a productive Brad Hawpe to be able to move up in the rankings. Troost's staff pitched poorly, despite great starts by Chris Young and Derek Lowe. Takashi Saito and Francisco Cordero helped out by both picking up a win and a save last week. Disappointing to see that Jason Bartlett has not stolen a base yet.

6. Adrian's Revenge (5-5-0) (7)
The whole rotation kind of fell on its face last week, but my team gets a boost with the return of Brad Lidge. Despite an early failure, Kerry Wood went on the save 3 games. Ian Snell had a very promising second start, striking out 10 in 6 innings. The offense hasn't looked good at the plate, but they did hit a league high 17 HR last week, led by Rick Ankiel and Chris Young with 3 each. If Mark Teixiera would wake up, this offense could be quite good. The rotation still needs some work, though.

7. Val Kilmer's Asshole (3-6-1) (6)
Mark's team drops a spot because of poor weeks from Justin Verlander, Hustin Street, Lance Berkman and Andruw Jones. Mark adds Michael Cuddyer, out for at least two weeks, to a growing list of injured players. Not much offense here if his stars don't hit. Joe Blanton has been pretty solid to begin the season, and Vernon Wells has been swinging the bat well.

8. Butt Admirals (7-2-1) (10)
The Admirals move up two spots based on his solid, balanced offense, and the solid relief work by Bobby Jenks and Joakim Soria. The strong starts by Kosuke Fukodome and Nate McLouth have really helped this team out. Those two will probably fade after a while, so the Admirals success will depend on whether their infield can heat up and whether Josh Beckett can stay healthy. Aaron Harang has been a bright spot on the pitching staff. The Admirals could use another decent closer if they want to stay competitive.

9. Self Indulgence (7-3-0) (8)
Self Indulgence got good first weeks out of Chipper Jones and Carlos Delgado, but the rest of the offense has been pretty anemic. His rotation has been a bright spot, with great starts by Johan Santana, Chien-Ming Wang and Jered Weaver, but his relief pitching has been less than stellar. This team could move up quickly if their offense can put together a couple solid weeks in a row.

10. Summer Fox (3-6-1) (9)
Summer Fox has been hurt by slow starts by Jason Bay and Ichiro, but he's getting a lot of production from his middle infielders, such as Aaron Hill, Yunel Escobar, and Brandon Phillips. Tim Hudson and Daisuke Matsuzaka have both pitched well in their first couple of starts. Summer Fox is waiting for John Lackey and Randy Johnson to come off the DL, and for Colby Rasmus and Brandon Wood to come up from the minors, but until that happens, this team will be in the lower part of the rankings. Having Billy Wagner and Jason Isringhausen as closers is the team's strength.

11. Dissect Yourself (2-7-1) (11)
Some good offensive production but hot starters like Xavier Nady and Corey Patterson, but this team is going to be hurting until guys like Alfonso Soriano, Matt Holliday and Troy Tulowitzki can hit above the Mendoza Line. Losing J.J. Putz to the DL is a tough break, as C.J. Wilson is the only other pitcher on this team getting save opportunities. Some good starts by Brad Penny and Jon Lester.

12. Naterade (3-7-0) (12)
This team has the potential to move up because of the high upside of its youngsters, but it's going to be hard, as younger players tend to be streaky early on. Howie Kendrick is on fire, hitting .444 with 2 stolen bases, and Justin Upton is showing his power early, with 3 HR. But Justin Morneau, Edgar Renteria, and Russell Martin have all hit poorly so far. Felix Hernadez has been an ace, and rookie pitchers Johnny Cueto and Hiroki Kuroda both had solid debuts. The bullpen is solid, but watch out that Francisco Rodriguez doesn't end up on the DL soon. This team has talent, but it might take a few weeks to put it together.

Thoughts or opinions? Let me know in the comments section.