KPSL Power Rankings: Dodgers and Cardinals Lead The Pack In Pre-Season Results

KPSL Strat Power Rankings 2026! 

Here…we….go! The 2025 Power Rankings had the Nationals ranked 5^th and they won the title!  Maybe the Reds should take some inspiration from that? 

With the Strat ratings out, I again attempted to put the pieces together again and build each team up.  With the league rosters as of January 19 in front of me (with all trades through the end of that day factored in), I cracked open the spreadsheets and did my thing!

As in past years, I rank each team in the following categories:

1. Offense – starting lineup

2. Pitching – starters

3. Pitching – bullpen

4. Defense

5. Draft

For the first four categories, I use ratings from the SOMBB files, with lineups set considering at-bats and innings needed for the season.  I use logical platoons and try to be realistic about who could crack the lineup.  Some teams at this point really do not have some positions covered, so I bent the rules if I absolutely had to. 

The measure for hitters is “Strat OPS” (OB chances + TB chances + (BP homer chances x 2).  I make a lineup versus righties and a separate one versus lefties. I weigh the lineups 70/30 (righty/lefty) for a combined number.  Many teams have positions being manned by players they may well want to replace, but my rating is where your lineup is as of today.

For pitchers, the measure is “Strat OPS against.”  It is the same equation, but I weigh starters and relievers a little differently.  For relievers, I leave the split at 50/50, but for starters, I assume that lefty starters will face 70% righty batters.

For defense, I apply the classic Baseball Think factory “runs per 162 games” ratings to create relative defensive values. 

For the final category, I rank the draft’s first 10 rounds (I know…I went back to 5 rounds, now I am back to 10) and add up to one whole point to a team’s power score.

I provide rankings in each category, and then do an overall power ranking, giving teams with a “power number” on an 11-point scale.  I always stress that the “power number” is interesting but not a rock-solid math marvel. I am always happy to share the lineups and ratings I came up with for your team.  Just drop me a note.  Let’s do this…

Reds Ketel Marte Is a Big Piece of the Cincy Offense.

1.    Offense – starting lineup

Teams are ranked by projected lineup Strat OPS.  Higher is better. For platoons, I assume the player starting versus right-handed pitching will get 70% of at bats. And the ratings are:

Team	OPS
Reds	83.57
Nationals	81.88
Dodgers	81.78
Giants	80.14
Cardinals	78.20
Rockies	78.03
Phillies	76.90
Diamondbacks	75.17
Brewers	74.82
Padres	73.71
Cubs	73.23
Pirates	69.72

There has been a very tiny bump in offense overall, but these are still not the salad days of bats.  Let’s look at who brings the lumber:

1. Reds (83.57) – Ketel Marte might be the most underrated player of our time.  The Reds do damage against both sides and have reasonable on-base and power.      

2. Nationals (81.88) – If you are looking for diamonds, you look to the Nats.  They have the best overall power numbers.  Seiya Suzuki is my dark horse MVP pick…with the right luck.

3. Dodgers (81.78) – Of course, Ohtani is the most likely guy to land an MVP, and Big Blue is going to score plenty of runs.  Hunter Goodman is going to rake too.

4. Giants (80.14) – There are going to be plenty of games where Soto and Acuna put the hurt on people.  This the last team in on my personal “elite bats” category.  The next three teams are decent but a clear step back.  

5. Cardinals (78.20) – Freddie Freeman’s defense has slipped a little bit, but he’s still deadly on offense.  And having 566 at bats from one catcher is helpful.

6. Rockies (78.03) – Will Smith and Matt Olson both got really sweet cards, but there are some holes here.  But bats and defense are also the only categories where the Rockies are in the top half of the league, so I am going to bank it as a win.

7. Phillies (76.90) – Dylan Crews did not turn out to be worth the investment, but the Phils still have Corbin Carroll and have enough power to hang in the middle tier of offenses.

8. Diamondbacks (75.17) – It doesn’t look like much by the numbers, but the Snakes are a big step back.  Every team from here down essentially has holes in the lineup.  So there is hope. This team is sneaky good versus lefties though if they are smart with platoons.

9. Brewers (74.82) – I actually expected the Brew Crew to be higher on the list.  Despite Kyle Stowers getting all the hits, the Brewers simply are a bit deficient on hits.

10. Padres (73.71) – The pickup of Mike Tauchman did actually nudge the Friars past the Cubs.  Despite a respectable middle of the field, the Padres lack power and are 10^th.

11. Cubs (72.23) – Rob is rebuilding this team, and frankly that’s a solid idea.  He’s talked about trading Schwarber, but he does help a lot in this lineup.

12. Pirates (69.72) – With 4 first round picks, I feel sure the Pirates are going to bump this number up a lot.  But it’s starting from a bad, bad place.

2.    Pitching - starters

The measure is opposing hitter OPS, so lower is better.  Teams are ranked over their best 750 starter innings, which equals about 412 in the KPSL.  That’s not going to get you through the year, but it’s a realistic number to look at before the draft. We have a new team sporting the top rotation! 

Yamamoto and Rasmussen lead the Dodgers rotation.

Team	Strat OPS allowed
Dodgers	42.20
Cardinals	42.71
Giants	48.21
Nationals	48.27
Reds	52.20
Pirates	52.36
Diamondbacks	52.83
Rockies	53.84
Phillies	57.33
Padres	57.38
Brewers	58.01
Cubs	61.01

The Marlins / Giants had held the top spot for three years.  Now it’s Big Blue. 

1.     Dodgers (42.20) – That little bit of Ohtani on the mound was just enough to push the Dodgers into the top spot!

2. Cardinals (42.71) – Skenes and Woodruff have shut down cards, and he backs them up with a good group including surprise breakout guy Ryan Nelson.

3. Giants (48.21) – Not on the top, but Wheeler and company still put the Giants in a good spot in terms of starters.

4. Nationals (48.27) – Jeff traded away Rodon, Ray, and Luzardo and STILL holds down the number 4 spot.  That speaks volumes to how deep his staff was.

5. Reds (52.20) – Hunter Greene has been on the block, but he’s on top of this rotation.  There is a step back here to 5^th rated, but the Reds starters are balanced and strike guys out.

6. Pirates (52.36) – It took seven starters to get to 750 innings, but the Buccos have a decent group, led by a stud in Freddy Peralta.

7. Diamondbacks (52.83) – Jim picked up local lefties Luzardo and Suarez, and it improved his rotation dramatically. 

8. Rockies (53.84) – Before trading season began, I couldn’t even scrounge up 500 usable starter innings.  So while I may not be near the top, I’m happy to be here.

9. Phillies (57.33) – Without their recent trade to add Liberatore and Peterson, the Phils would have been dead last in this category.  Progress is progress.

10. Padres (57.38) – I had to put Mile Mikolas into this rotation to make it to 750 innings.  No one wants or expects that to be necessary.

11. Brewers (58.01) – Rodon is swell on the top here.  But everyone else is below league average, keeping the Brewers in the back of the ratings.

12. Cubs (61.01) – Rob made a decision to trade away two decent starters and weaken the staff as he looks to the future.  Weaken it for now he did.    

Aroldis Champion is going to be scary closing games for the Dodger Blue.

3.    Pitching - relievers

As with starters, the measure is OPS against.  For now, I projected the top 250 innings of MLB relief that each team has (equal to 138 innings. in the league).  That is a little less than 50% of what teams need, but bullpen arms make up a ton of our draft. We have two VERY good bullpens dominating this year.

Team	Strat OPS allowed
Dodgers	25.10
Phillies	25.89
Pirates	35.34
Cardinals	35.59
Reds	38.67
Diamondbacks	39.74
Nationals	39.79
Brewers	41.96
Padres	52.97
Cubs	57.71
Giants	60.40
Rockies	62.26

The gap from the top to the bottom is enormous here.  But the same team is on top.  Big Blue is a pitching juggernaut.

1. Dodgers (25.10) – His top 4 (Jansen, Chapman, Adams, Vesia) would each be the best reliever on many teams in this league. 

2. Phillies (25.89) – The Phillies would not have been in the top 5 before they picked up Morejon and Rodriguez.  But pick them up they did, and they are both excellent cards.

3. Pirates (35.34) – Santana, Hader, and Maton are all very good and pitched a lot in 2025.  And Steve has the picks to likely build the league’s best bullpen.

4. Cardinals (35.59) – Several big strikeout arms and at least 5 good relievers heading into the season.  The Redbirds have a strength here.

5. Reds (38.67) – That’s two pitching categories, and two 5^th-place rankings for the Reds.  With the bats Mike has, it’s a good way to live.

6. Diamondbacks (39.74) – Anchored by a couple of Yankees (Bednar and Doval), the Dbacks are just good enough to land in the top half.  

7. Nationals (39.79) – Really in a dead heat with the Dbacks.  Tony Santillan is the most low-key shutdown arm in MLB btw.

8. Brewers (41.96) – Things are about to fall off a cliff here, so the Brewers are sitting just fine.  

9. Padres (52.97) – It’s Devin Williams and a bunch of marginal guys, but the Padres are far ahead of the rest of who’s left.

10.  Cubs (57.71) – If the Cubs had held onto Morejon and Rodriguez, they would have been 2^nd   in this rating.  But Rob is betting he’ll be happier in the long run.

11. Giants (60.40) – It’s Tanner Banks and some guys.  This is pretty bad.  But it isn’t the worst.

12.  Rockies (62.26) – Ouch.

4.    Defense

I used the “fielding total bases” chart to rate defense.  I include catchers (but not pitchers), and the max rating possible is thus 257.15.  So, the true value of your defense is how much better than 257.15 you are.  LOWER is better. 

RANKING	TB
Phillies	39.36
Padres	41.68
Giants	43.94
Cards	54.98
Pirates	58.35
Rockies	62.28
Dodgers	63.01
Diamondbacks	67.33
Nationals	79.53
Reds	79.71
Brewers	88.45
Cubs	105.78

The Padres have been dethroned at the top thanks to a lot of low “e” ratings for the Phils.  The Cubs are quite leaky.  Breaking down defenses is not a joy for me, so accept the math and let’s move on.

5.    Draft

I gave 10 points for first round picks, 9 points for 2^nd, etc etc, and 1 point for 10^th round picks.  The Pirates have the highest “draft points” I think I have ever recorded.

RANKING	Draft Points
Pirates	115
Brewers	73
Dodgers	73
Nationals	61
Cubs	60
Diamondbacks	55
Padres	48
Cardinals	46
Reds	45
Giants	37
Rockies	30
Phillies	17

Steve is done drafting in the 5^th round, and it’s going to help him for sure.  The Phillies, as has become tradition, are bringing very little draft value to the party.  But also noteworthy is that two teams that have been near the top in many ratings (Dodgers, Nationals) are near the top here.  That’s dangerous!

6.    Overall Power Rankings

As always, parts 1-5 of this analysis are the substance.  Look at where your team sits and hatch some plans. This part is useful, and I know people really care where they land, but it’s just the dessert to the main course. The first four categories are weighed as the Strat card weighs them for us, assuming starters will get 66.66% of the action. Someday I may well adjust this down a bit.  I have played with lowering this, but it has never made a huge difference.  The chances correlate to the points and percentages below:

OFFENSE – 50% (5 points)

STARTING PITCHING – 25% (2.50 points)

RELIEF PITCHING – 12.5% (1.25 points)

DEFENSE – 12.5% (1.25 point)

I then value the draft at one point.  A team on top of each category would have a perfect score of 11.  And here we are:

TEAM	OFF	START	REL	DEF	DRAFT	TOTAL
Dodgers	4.79	2.50	1.25	0.79	0.63	9.96
Cards	4.38	2.44	0.62	0.93	0.40	8.77
Nationals	4.80	1.91	0.50	0.55	0.53	8.29
Giants	4.60	1.92	0.22	1.15	0.32	8.21
Phillies	4.23	1.35	1.17	1.25	0.15	8.15
Reds	5.00	1.63	0.53	0.55	0.39	8.10
Pirates	3.48	1.62	0.63	0.87	1.00	7.60
Diamondbacks	4.05	1.60	0.50	0.72	0.48	7.35
Rockies	4.36	1.54	0.20	0.80	0.26	7.16
Padres	3.89	1.35	0.28	1.20	0.42	7.14
Brewers	4.00	1.32	0.45	0.45	0.63	6.85
Cubs	3.84	1.20	0.24	0.29	0.52	6.09

The Dodgers are on top of two categories and get a very big win in this beauty contest! They are ahead of the pack.  The Cardinals have solid pitching and look strong enough to get their own tier at number 2. 

The next four teams are all close in these ratings but are very different teams.  The Nationals have some depth and have good draft picks.  The Giants have a small but very solid core.  The Phillies are rock solid in the field and have some definite star players.  The Reds and the league’s best and deepest offense.

Take a step back from there and you have the Pirates and Dbacks.  Steve’s team has definite holes, but if I put the four players I think he takes in the first round on his team, he rises up a lot.  Jim’s Dbacks seem to be in the middle of every category, but there is enough on this team to build up.

The Rockies, Padres, and Brewers IMHO are a step back.  Each has notable holes in the roster.  The Rockies can hit a bit and are ok in the field, but the pitching is still a problem.  The Padres are weak with the bats despite tremendous defense.  The Brewers pitching is troubled like the Rocks.  The Cubs do sit like an anchor on the bottom, but Rob knows what he’s signed up for.  They are not likely to contend this year, but he’s working to rise up the charts in 2027!

All information compiled by Ed Cilurso.