First Quarter MLB Power Rankings Preview!

1. Philadelphia Phillies - Despite a less than stellar batting performance so far this year (in the bottom third of the league in runs scored and in the bottom half in batting average), the Phillies will soon be welcoming back the big bat of Chase Utley. One also cannot ignore the fact that the Big 4 (Lee, Oswalt, Halladay, Hamels) account for 17 of the team's 28 wins.

2. San Francisco Giants - The Giants came out of the gate a bit slowly, but have won 14 of their last 18 games. The struggles of Madison Bumgarner have been concerning, but Brian Wilson seems to be working out of his funk and the team will soon see the return from the DL of important offensive contribution in Aaron Rowand, Pablo Sandoval, and Mark DeRosa.

3. Cleveland Indians - Nick's brother is probably wondering why Cleveland is not listed first considering their league-best record of 29-15, but part of it is how much Cleveland's success has rested upon the young arms of Carlos Carrasco and Josh Tomlin (3 combined years of experience). There is no doubt that the Indians' offense is a force to be reckoned with (scoring at least 8 runs 10 times so far), even with Grady Sizemore on the DL. In order for this team to stay in contention, they will need Fausto Carmona to pick up his performance.

4. Florida Marlins - The Marlins started hot and, along with the Braves, seem in a good position to contend with the Phillies in the NL East. Josh Johnson's record doesn't show it, but he has been dominant once again (ERA of 1.64) despite just recently hitting the DL. Leo Nunez is a perfect 17 out of 17 on save attempts, but if Florida is going to truly contend in the East, they will need a stellar performance from at least one other pitcher alongside Johnson.

5. St. Louis Cardinals - The Cardinals lead the NL Central, but with Albert Pujols playing almost human baseball (batting just .269, gasp!) and Adam Wainwright all but gone for the season, it has taken unbelievable performances from Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman and the emergence of pitchers Kyle McClellan and Jaime Garcia (combined 11-1) to keep them on top. If Pujols gets hot, this will be a very tough team to beat.