With Spring Training games suddenly on the horizon, we are about to be faced with an overwhelming amount of choice. While its true that MLB.tv allows viewers to watch most games going on in the league, the physics of human eyesight mean that we have to prioritize and watch only one game, or two teams, at any given time.
Never fear though! I’m here to help. What follows is a list of all 30 teams, organized and ranked according to watchability and excitement. A good MLB.tv team isn’t necessarily a good team, but is always a team filled with good or dynamic players that make the viewing experience that much more fun. For instance, last years’ MLB.tv MVT (most valuable team) was the Kansas City Royals even before they had some really exciting and surprising post season success. The Royals were full of fireballing relievers, speedy outfielders, boneheaded (and therefore fun) managerial decisions, and, once a week when Yordano Ventura and his 100 mph fastball took the mound, #YordanoDay, a cause for celebration on the Off The Bench twitter account.
Let’s take a look at this years’ prospects, from worst to first.
30. Minnesota Twins– Phil Hughes might pitch! Oh, wait. No, Rickey Nolasco or Ervin Santana! Ugh, that’s terrible too. Well they have Joe Mauer playing first a bit and at the end of the game you might get to see Glen Perkins, so there’s that I guess.
29. Philadelphia Phillies- The once a week chance to see Cole Hamels doesn’t make up for the fact that I’d have to watch Ryan Howard strike out and Darin Ruf play baseball.
28. Milwaukee Brewers- Getting so see Ryan Braun hit three or four times a game isn’t that exciting because nobody likes Ryan Braun anymore. I preference really good or exciting pitchers in my MLB.tv rankings and the Brewers don’t really have any.
27. Arizona Diamondbacks- Sure, it’ll be interesting to see Yasmani Thomas at the beginning, but if he doesn’t do his best Jose Abreu impression, this team will be tough to watch. Paul Goldschmidt is really good though.
26. Colorado Rockies- It’s true that they have Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, but they are hurt most of the time. The Rockies will be good to watch if you like offense as they certainly have no pitching to speak of, but not if you like to see the Rockies win. (Side note: yes, I’m excited to see Jon Gray pitch and will absolutely watch when he debuts)
25. Houston Astros- The Astros have a glut of good young players and that’s always fun, but there isn’t anyone there that screams ‘watch me!’ That could change if a few guys have big first halves.
24. Atlanta Braves- All the good and exciting players are gone. I’m not tuning in to see anyone on this roster besides Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons. Simmons is a big one though because he make a few spectacular plays almost nightly. Also Craig Kimbrell throws hard. In August, I plan to tune in to see him pitch for some other team.
23. Texas Rangers- Utterly unwatchable last season and another year of no Jurrickson Profar is too bad. But Prince Fielder and Shin Soo Choo coming back helps, and Yu Darvish and Yovani Gallardo give them two fun starters.
22. Cincinnati Reds- Joey Votto is great, but has been hurt. Aroldis Chapman is awesome but pitches one inning a game. Johnny Cueto is fun once a week. Jay Bruce is alright. Eh.
21. Cleveland Indians- Cory Kluber is a blast and Michael Brantley is great, but Nick Swisher isn’t and Yan Gomes might be a great catcher, but I’m watching for his ABs.
20. Tampa Bay Rays- Now that Ben Zobrist and David Price are gone, Evan Longoria is the only player that’s must-see. Chris Archer and the rest of the starters are good, but in an understated sort of way. When Matt More comes back and proves he’s healthy, that’ll help a lot.
19. San Fransico Giants- Yeah, they won the World Series, but they aren’t that exciting. Madison Bumgarner is fun but he isn’t as day to day dominant as he was in October and Buster Posey is great in stretches too but the weirdness of Hunter Pence doesn’t make me really want to flip over to San Fran.
18.Baltimore Orioles– When Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Matt Weiters, and Chris Davis are all humming, this is a fun team. Even JJ Hardy is interesting. When they’re hurt or underperforming, not so much. Hopefully Chris Tillman will be notable MLB.tv pitcher this year, there’s a real chance.
17. New York Yankees- Who would you like to watch? Brendan Ryan? Ivan Nova? Chris Capuano? The star power of the roster makes them noteworthy, A-Rod makes them a spectacle, but they’re old and oft-injured and Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury aren’t going to change the fact that they’ll generally be painful to watch this season.
16. Oakland Athletics- The A’s are always really good with a roster of guys that we’ve all only half heard of, so that helps. But no Cespedes, no Lester, and no Donaldson make them harder to watch at the start of this year. Billy Butler doesn’t really help either, but Sean Doolittle and Tyler Clippard at the end of games is a blast and Ben Zobrist and Sam Fuld playing together will get me to watch.
15. Chicago White Sox- The White Sox might have ranked last last year. No longer! Jeff Samardzija is really good and has some great hair, David Robertson is underratedly fun to watch, and Jose Abreu has become a bona fide must watch AB four times a game.
14. St. Louis Cardinals- Jason Heyward is great to watch, so is Mat Adams, the modern Adam Dunn. I like Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, and Trevor Roesnthal . And Yadier Molina makes all games watchable singlehandedly if you know what to look for.
13. Toronto Blue Jays – RA Dickey is fun because you never know where the ball is going. Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are fun because you never know how far the ball is going. Josh Donaldson brings a new twist to the team and is a solid mid-order bat. The Jays could be really good.
12. Pittsburgh Pirates– They have former MVP Andrew McCutchen, young exciting player Gregory Polanco, Starling Marte, and new Korean Shortstop Jung Ho Kang, who I have high hopes for and am excited to see. Right now, Gerrit Cole is the only pitcher that makes me want to watch, but their rank could be higher if AJ Burnett smiled, or Jameson Taillon makes his comeback.
11. Seattle Mariners– Robinson Cano and King Felix Hernandez almost single handedly put this team at number 11. Other than that, I could really take or leave the Mariners.
10. New York Mets- Which awesome and exciting starter will pitch tonight? The former Cy Young caliber guy coming back after missing a year? The reigning rookie of the year? The big, fat, ageless wonder? The hard-throwing right hander? Plus you get David Wright and Wilmer Flores (just kidding).
9. Detroit Tigers- Will Miguel Cabrera bounce back? Will Justin Verlander? How will Yoenis Cespedes hit in Detroit and how many amazing throws will he make this season? Will Ian Kinsler hit as well as he did last year? What will happen with JD Martinez and Victor Martinez? Lots of interesting questions.
8. Miami Marlins- This is an exciting team with lots of new pieces that might make a stealth run at the playoffs. Giancarlo Stanton is one of the most exciting players in baseball, and Jose Fernandez is coming back soon. Plus, now the Marlins have Dee Gordon, who is a classic MLB.tv guy with all his steals and the potential for a major blunder ever present. Also, the one and only Adeiny Hechavarria, an OTBB fan favorite.
7. Boston Red Sox- There are lots of new faces in Boston and lots of young players to see. The big draws are Mookie Betts, Xander Boegarts, Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez, and Rusney Castillo. Not a whole ton to get excited about amongst the pitchers though.
6.Kansas City Royals – The Royals got knocked from one despite the added intrigue of the World Series. The losses of Billy Butler, Nori Aoki, and James Shields don’t take off the luster as much as the loss of the novelty from seeing them so much last October. Their roster is largely intact from that run, where the other teams above them have greater intrigue.
5. Los Angeles Angels- Any team with Mike Trout automatically gets into the top 5. He’s the best and most watchable player in the sport on both offense and defense. Plus you get Albert Pujols as an added bonus? I’m in.
4. San Diego Padres- The Padres are going to be really, really exciting in the beginning of the year. They have so many good, new players, it’ll be fascinating to see them all gel and settle into their new surroundings. How good will this team be? Will they excel or implode? Definitely must watch in April.
3. Washington Nationals- The Nats might be the best team in baseball and they certainly have best starting rotation. Like the Mets, you can’t pick a bad night to see Washington, they’ll always have an interesting pitcher throwing. Plus Bryce Harper doing Bryce Harper things, Anthony Rendon, and Jayson Werth. Yup.
2. Chicago Cubs- The Cubs are going to be so much fin to watch. Javy Baez is a mystery with the bat, Jorge Soler is explosive, Sarlin Castro is full of surprises, Anthony Rizzo is great, Jon Lester is there too. Now they have Miguel Montero and soon Kris Bryant on top of all that. The Cubs would be my number 1 if not for…..
1. Lost Angeles Dodgers- Yasiel Puig, Clayton Kershaw, Joc Pederson, Jimmy Rollins, Zach Grienke, Juan Uribe, Adrian Gonzales and company are pretty exciting but the soundtrack they play to, the smooth stylin’s of Vin Scully, put them way over the top.
-Max Frankel
