Tuesday, April 13th -

The 2010 baseball season is off and running. With one week in the books, it’s time to start back up the weekly power rankings. Every Monday afternoon, I will bring to you an updated ranking. The first installment comes one day late (Tuesday), and covers all games played through Monday night.

This Power Rankings takes into account season performance thus far, but also accounts for expected future performance and reasons for past performance (such as a major injury, etc). Therefore, current team records won’t always correspond with a team’s spot in the rankings. Like always, debate is encouraged. Here is the Week 2 MLB Power Rankings:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….............................

1. New York Yankees, 4-2 - The defending champs started their 2010 season with consecutive road series victories over their top AL East competitors (Red Sox, Rays). C.C. Sabathia pitched a near no-hitter last week and has picked up where he left off in 2009. Curtis Granderson doesn’t seemed phased by New York. Doing what he does, Curtis is already hitting .348 with 2 HR and 3 SB as a Yankee.

2. Philadelphia Phillies, 6-1 - The defending NL champs lead the league in practically every offensive statistic after 1 week. Placido Polanco is playing like he never left Philly the last 2 years (hitting .480). Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are off to MVP-like starts like expected. Jimmy Rollins is off to a hot start but is now dealing with a calf injury.

3. St. Louis Cardinals, 5-2 - Albert Pujols' stats through 7 games: .407, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 1.400 OPS. Is there any doubt that he could potentially win the Triple Crown this year? Meanwhile, Adam Wainwright has been dominant, while Chris Carpenter has struggled a bit. If both are clicking like they’re used to, it’s never going to be easy to take a series from the Cards.

4. Minnesota Twins, 6-2 - The Twins opened up brand new Target Field with a W over the Red Sox last night. Joe Mauer is having no post-contract slump, and Jon Rauch is doing a fine job in replacing Nathan in the 9th inning. The new closer has converted all 5 save opportunities thus far, and looked dominant in doing so.

5. San Francisco Giants, 6-1 - If the Giants keep getting the timely hitting like they have to open the season, their starting pitching is good enough to win that division. A resurgent Barry Zito would make this staff arguably the best in the NL. He’s 2-0 so far, and given up just 3 runs in 13 innings.

6. Detroit Tigers, 5-2 - Like I’ve been saying for months, look out for young centerfielder Austin Jackson on this team. The Tigers have the 23-year-old rookie leading off a potent offense, and he’s hitting .300. He has power and speed. After a great first start, Max Scherzer struggled in last night’s loss to the Royals. He’s the piece that could turn this rotation from good to great.

7. Oakland Athletics, 6-2 - Few people think the A’s have a chance to compete for the playoffs this year, given their feeble lineup and youth across the board. But the pitching staff is absolutely loaded with young talent, and all it takes some timely hitting and breakout performances for this team to win lots of games. 1B Daric Barton is already hitting .380, and he’s a legitimate prospect.

8. Boston Red Sox, 3-4 - People keep pointing at David Ortiz as the reason for Boston’s struggles. But who really expected him to produce consistently this season, after what we saw last year? If the Red Sox are counting on Papi to be their slugger, they’re in big trouble. Fortunately, they have many other ways to score runs.

9. Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3 - They’re winning close games that they would have lost last year, but the bullpen is still struggling a bit. They need to be able to shut it down when they get leads. David Price looked fantastic in his first start (7.2 innings, 7 K’s, W over the Yankees), and that’s great news. He could be their best starter as early as mid-season this year.

10. Colorado Rockies, 3-3 - A dangerous team all around, the Rockies need to stay healthy. Getting Jeff Francis and Huston Street back into the pitching staff will be huge. Ubaldo Jimenez has pitched great so far. Ian Stewart (2B) is hitting .400 with 2 HR after week 1, and might be headed for a breakout season.

11. Texas Rangers, 4-3 - They have smartly placed Neftali Feliz as their new closer. Frank Francisco is better suited for the set-up role, while Feliz will be the dominant 9th inning man they need. The offense is already hitting well, but wait until Ian Kinsler returns next week. Rich Harden is already off to his typical inconsistent start, with flashes of both brilliance and mediocrity.

12. Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-2 - My surprise team in 2010 is off to a good start. Then again, it has come in 6 home games against the Padres and Pirates. CF Chris Young is third in MLB in RBI (11), and 2B Kelly Johnson is second in home runs (3). They’re eagerly awaiting the return of Brandon Webb to the rotation, but it’s going to be a few more weeks.

13. Florida Marlins, 4-3 - 2 series victories to open the year is all you can ask for. Jorge Cantu is second in baseball with 12 RBI, and the lineup looks real good. If Hanley Ramirez has an MVP-like season, look out for this team. Their rotation depth is a question mark, but Nate Robertson is off to a good start.

14. Atlanta Braves, 3-4 - Chipper Jones is already hurt, and he’s no longer a guarantee in the middle of the lineup. Don’t be surprised if the phenom RF Jason Heyward starts hitting 4th or 5th soon (currently hitting 7th). Martin Prado and Brian McCann are off to good starts. Jair Jurrjens got rocked last night, but expect that to be an anomaly, not a trend.

15. Toronto Blue Jays, 6-2 - Based on their ranking here, I’m clearly not buying the Blue Jays’ hot start. But Vernon Wells might have resurrected his career by getting healthy this season, and he’s got 5 HR’s already. The development of Shawn Marcum after missing all of ’09 is remarkable. They need him to be an ace to have any chance of competing for a full season.

16. Cincinnati Reds, 3-3 - Aroldis Chapman looked good in his Triple-A debut, and expect him to be starting for this team by the end of May. Meanwhile, they need Johnny Cueto to pitch like an ace while they wait for the arrival of Chapman and injured Edinson Volquez. Young CF Drew Stubbs is off to a great start, and the lineup looks fairly potent.

17. Milwaukee Brewers, 3-4 - The story for the ’10 Brewers has been Trevor Hoffman pitching like he’s, well, 43 years old. The all-time great has blown 3 saves already and might be done for. We’ll give him a second chance, but Milwaukee is going to cost themselves several victories without a better closer.

18. Chicago White Sox, 3-4 - Jake Peavy has not looked good thus far, and they need him to be better. Alex Rios is hitting under .200 again, which all Sox fans feared. Fortunately, Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko are driving in runs. They need more offensive consistency to move up in these rankings.

19. Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-4 - Vicente Padilla was their Opening Day starter, and he has an 11.00+ ERA. Not a good sign. Their lineup looks fine, but they need more consistent starting pitching. Clayton Kershaw lasted just 4.2 innings in his first start, and Chad Billingsley just 5.1.

20. Los Angeles Angels, 2-5 - Hideki Matsui is off to a great start with his new club. Unfortunately, few others in the lineup have joined him. They also seem to be missing John Lackey. The rotation is 1 arm short so far. Oh, and prized prospect 3B Brandon Webb is 1 for 19.

21. Seattle Mariners, 2-6 - Cliff Lee is still hurt, and Felix Hernandez was far from dominant in his first 2 starts (no Wins, 3.29 ERA, 7 BB, 9 K’s). Franklin Gutierrez is the only hitter batting over .300, and Milton Bradley is hitting .120 and already flipping off fans. That’s not a good formula for a team that’s built on a foundation of 2 aces, and productive small-ball.

22. Chicago Cubs, 3-4 - Cubs fans always think that it’s their year. With a 102-year World Series drought, why wouldn’t they? Unfortunately, there’s simply not enough here. They need Ted Lilly back in a hurry, and somebody needs to inject some youth back into Alfonso Soriano.

23. Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-4 - This team has played with some encouraging life early on. Ryan Doumit and Garrett Jones have provided solid slugging, and young star CF Andrew McCutchen makes this team go. They really need Zach Duke to develop into the ace they once thought he’d become.

24. Washington Nationals, 3-4 - Another potential cellar dwellar that has played with some life and energy so far. The Nationals are definitely improved from last year. Young SS Ian Desmond hit the most impressive home run in week 1, with a scorching line drive shot into straight away centerfield.

25. New York Mets, 2-4 - The starting rotation is absolutely problematic. Not sure how they’re going to get enough consistent quality starts to be competitive, even if their offense does prove to be somewhat explosive. Jose Reyes is back, and Carlos Beltran will be soon.

26. Kansas City Royals, 3-4 - Maybe the one team that has a big beef with these rankings, the Royals look like a feisty bunch. Joakim Soria is a legitimate top 5 closer in baseball, and we know about SP Zach Greinke. The lineup is scrappy and they score some runs, they just need to find some more starting pitching.

27. San Diego Padres, 3-4 - They scored 11 runs in one inning last night. Expect a few series this year in which San Diego fails to score that many runs in 3 games. But for now, they look competitive. Chase Headley and Kyle Blanks are good young hitters.

28. Baltimore Orioles, 1-6 - Closer Mike Gonzalez may soon lose his job. 2 blown saves in week 1 can do it for you. Miguel Tejada, however, looks good early on. They will be able to hit this year, they just need to find some pitching, and it starts with the bullpen being able to hold leads.

29. Cleveland Indians, 2-5 - As was pointed out on Baseball Tonight, the Indians have committed just 1 error in 7 games. Unfortunately, they’re not hitting the ball well at all. Chin-Soo Choo is productive, but that’s about it. Fausto Carmona has looked good in 2 starts, and it’ll be a tremendous help if he can have a comeback season.

30. Houston Astros, 0-7 - They’re the only winless team in baseball and badly need Lance Berkman to return from injury. Wandy Rodriguez has looked very hittable in 2 early starts. They have a team OBP of .240. That’s not going to win you very many games.

Disagree with any of these rankings? Drop a comment and let me know. Be on the lookout for a new update every Monday.