Team	Grand Total	Rank	Bats	Rank	SP	Rank	RP	Rank	Analysis
Houston	65.2	(1)	38.9	(2)	16.8	(2)	9.5	(1)	What a difference a single draft can make, as Houston added three potential all-stars in the 2022 draft in Corbin Carroll, Josh Jung, and Spencer Steer. The Sliders went on to shock the world in winning the NL West and ultimately losing in the World Series. It was a busy off-season after, as Houston added Jose Altuve, Eduardo Rodriguez, and a new-look bullpen. The result is, theoretically, a smooth NL West crown for the snake-bitten franchise. As long as nobody dies or half the team gets hurt, of course.
Kansas City	63.7	(2)	42.8	(1)	15.3	(8)	5.6	(14)	RW wouldn't fuck this up two years in a row, right? The Monarchs lineup tops WSL this year, no Goose, with strength at nearly every spot. With Marcus Semien in town, trading Ozzie Albies for Riley Greene should pay dividiends for years. KC should be in the conversation for pitching throughout the year, as their rotation lacks a true #1 and their pen needs work. However, they have SP depth to deal and a handful of prospects with some luster. With all four teams in the NL Central gunning for it this year, this is a race to watch.
Boston	61.6	(3)	35.5	(4)	18.7	(1)	7.4	(4)	Few teams in recent memory have thrown assets at pitching quite as Boston did this off-season, using $85M or so in long-term salary and nearly all their draft picks to fill out their rotation and bullpen. Quality won out, as the gap between BOS and 2nd place Houston's rotation is the same between HOU and Juice's 11th ranked rotation. Last year's draft essentially solved their lineup issues, with 4 legit starters in Moreno/Stott/Abrams/Jones adding to Christian Walker's and Ryan McMahon's established sticks. It'll be a surprise if they don't win the AL East, despite it being arguably WSL's most competitive division.
Chicago NL	61.5	(4)	37.5	(3)	15.9	(6)	8.1	(3)	We've reached the Tinkerer Teams for the next 5. Chicago's had a reputation of paying as much attention to 5th rounders and lottery tickets rather than impact talent. Well, that all stopped this off-season after the Whales swung big on Eury Perez with the #1 pick in the draft, then signed Kyle Tucker and Clayton Kershaw to massive deals. The roster looks balanced, with a farm system that should supply some trade fodder in July. Chicago should be in the market for any 1B and 2B that are available. There's no easy wins in the NL Central this year, but the Whales should finish with at least a wild card spot. Maybe a division win if RW stays off his meds.
Cleveland	55.4	(5)	32.1	(8)	16.7	(3)	6.6	(9)	WSL's resident lover of soft-tossing lefties and 5th outfielders looks to cobble together another division win with a couple stars and a high floor/low ceiling collection of role players led by Juan Soto and newly-acquired 3B Alex Bregman. Their signing of Luis Castillo contines to pay dividends, given the general drop off in SP quality recently. He'll team up alongside Jesus Luzardo and Tyler Glasnow to be the backbone of what looks to be a second straight AL Central title.
Baltimore	54.7	(6)	33.6	(5)	13.8	(12)	7.3	(5)	Ladies say you should look for a man that's RW in #general and BB in the DMs. Well, look no further. The Sax were as aggressive as any team in WSL, essentially adding 2/3 of their roster by draft/trade/signing this off-season. They could lay claim to the best overall infield in WSL, though the lack of star power in the OF balances that out a bit. It feels like their rotation should grade out a bit better than their ranking. Expect Baltimore to be first in line should any front line players hit the market. Even without, they should have little trouble topping the NL East this year.
Los Angeles	54.3	(7)	30.9	(9)	14.8	(11)	8.6	(2)	Coming off a big World Series win, rebuilding a the LOS roster with a lot of talent hitting free agency would be a tall order. To the surprise of none, the Juice may have come up short. For a franchise known for star talent, spending over $40M on bench players and the back of the bullpen seems risky, especially after giving away their 1st round pick to rent Joe Musgrove for a few weeks. Luckily, LOS is still in the AL West, where a .500 record nearly always secures a division win. It'll be interesting to see the Juice transition from being ACs-west to more Atlanta-west. It can be done, but the degree of difficulty just got real high.
Toronto	53.5	(8)	33.0	(6)	15.2	(9)	5.3	(17)	It seemed inevitable that some colossal Toronto move was coming, whether it was picking up some high draft picks for a bag of beans, trading four quarters for a dollar somewhere, or bringing in a major FA…and nothing really happened. Staying put should pay off in the long run, as the Avengers have done as well as anyone in WSL developing young pitching. With Boston seemingly untouchable this year, Toronto will battle for a wild card spot with an eye on next off-season with a ton of cash in hand.
New York	49.8	(9)	32.8	(7)	13.0	(15)	4.0	(21)	It's theoretically a rebuilding year in New York, as the ACs somehow acquired 13 of the first 60 players in this year's draft. Yet, they look to be a potential wild card contender. Go figure. Any roster with Mike Trout, Freddie Freeman, Corey Seager, and the rest will score some runs, but it's unlikely the AC pitching holds up long enough for it to matter against elite teams. For the 2024 season though? Oh baby.
Chicago AL	47.8	(10)	27.1	(11)	13.6	(13)	7.1	(7)	Chicago finally solved its SS roadblock…sort of…after trading Carlos Correa to St. Louis for George Springer. Somehow, they're back in the same position with the emergence of Ezequiel Tovar. In theory, that pushes Bo Bichette to DH, but Yordan Alvarez really shouldn't be in LF often on a serious roster. It's one of many questions the Black Sox look to solve as they push for their first playoff berth in almost a decade. It's a hold-and-cold roster otherwise, with some all-world players like Zack Wheeler, Alvarez, and Spencer Strider up top, alongside some real depth issues at the back of the roster.
St Louis	46.4	(11)	26.5	(13)	15.2	(9)	4.7	(19)	St. Louis walked into free agency with a giant bullseye on their back, and boy, did they get hammered losing Zack Wheeler and Zach Eflin. That's a lot of Zach(k)s? to lose. The timing could be better, given the overall strength of the NL Central this year. The Stars tried to mitigate the pitching loss by adding Paul Goldschmidt to the offense. In a best case scenario, St. Louis' defense allows the pillaged rotation to outperform enough to secure a Wild Card spot. Expect St. Louis to be calling teams about every RP with a pulse in July.
Seattle	46.0	(12)	27.1	(10)	13.1	(14)	5.8	(13)	Last season was a wake up call for Seattle, after losing the NL West to Houston in the final weeks. With quickness, the Yeomen cashed in their draft and Brendan Donovan for Brandon Nimmo and a pair of Hunters, Green and Brown. It was an unusually bold move, but given what pitchers are getting paid these days, it was probably for the best. The expected follow up splash in free agency didn't quite materialize, as Seattle focused on re-signing their own guys vs acquriing outside help. We're assured there's no truth to the rumor George Washington squinted when Ownership opened their wallet for Kevin Gausman, however. The status quo means a potential Wild Card slot, but it's hard to see them overcoming Houston this year.
Detroit	45.2	(13)	22.7	(19)	16.1	(5)	6.4	(10)	Some would say the D in Detroit stands for DH, as the Red Army features around half a dozen hitters that wouldn't see the field for most other WSL teams. To counter that extreme, management focused on adding plus defenders in Willy Adames, Johan Rojas, and James Outman. Whether trading a top 12 pick for Outman, a 5th rounder last year, works out remains to be seen. Defense will make a difference though, as Detroit already features arguably the most underrated rotation in WSL. Led by a pair of breakout candidates in Bailey Ober and Kyle Bradish, the Red Army has a good shot at battling Seattle and St. Louis in the Wild Card race.
Arizona	44.1	(14)	22.8	(18)	15.9	(6)	5.4	(15)	Tell me if you've heard this one before: Arizona had a big upcoming free agent, refused to trade them at the deadline, then lost them for nothing in free agency. Well, Gerrit Cole's now in Boston and nobody could have seen this coming. In lieu of paying Cole the biggest salary in recent WSL history, Arizona brought back Seth Lugo and added Framber Valdez and Jeff McNeil, among others. For a team that's long relied on a couple big stars and little depth, this was probably the right idea. Sure enough, Arizona's rotation looks to be as good as it has in years, with a strong 1-5 if not a single elite option. Whether they'll score enough runs to catch Juice is probably unlikely, but stranger things have happened.
Florida	43.1	(15)	26.8	(12)	11.0	(17)	5.3	(17)	Florida may have gotten the break of the decade seeing Anthony Volpe slip out of the top 5 of the draft and into the Gators' arms at pick 15. He fills a need that's been open since, essentially, they drafted Xander Bogaerts. All eyes were on whether Florida could bring back both Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuna, yet Florida managed to do both. They're as good as any star pair in WSL, but the depth really isn't here yet. In another division, maybe Florida could get some momentum. In the AL East, however, they're all but assured a 4th place finish.
Milwaukee	41.1	(16)	18.7	(22)	16.5	(4)	5.9	(11)	Many teams in WSL were thirsty in free agency, and Milwaukee was happy to give them a sip. The Alchys set out to bring back at least one of Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez, but both voted no and signed elsewhere. Despite all that, the Milwaukee rotation still features Justin Steele and Blake Snell, giving them a shot at staying relevant. Chances are they'll cash in one of the McLain/Torres/Pena trio to add a 1B or OF at some point, but this lineup is going to keep the Alchys from making a serious run at Cleveland and Chicago this year.
Washington	39.9	(17)	24.2	(15)	12.1	(16)	3.6	(22)	Year 1 of the post-Berg era saw a Washington roster with a lot of injured pitching and ill-fitting parts get a real overhaul. While they didn't splurge in free agency, necessarily, WBT added Nate Eovaldi at a relatively cheap price, while Willson Contreras at $9M feels like the bargain of the off-season given top-5 catchers have been getting $20M+ the last few years. Their lineup now features a pair of high picks in Jordan Walker and Christian Encarnacion alongside Trea Turner and an underrated bevy of outfielders that should cause havoc on the basepaths. Of course, that rotation will be their downfall given they have maybe 3 healthy SP on the roster at any given time. Look for Washington to really arrive next year, not now.
Texas	38.0	(18)	23.2	(17)	9.5	(18)	5.3	(16)	2023 serves as a proof of concept for Texas, as they largely avoided signing major contracts and kept most of their draft picks. The end result is a rotation that largely looks set for 2024 and, as long as they don't fall for that annual Toronto trap, a bunch of cap space in tow. It'll be a struggle for them to hit .500 this year, even in a weak AL West, but there's reason to believe next year could be Texas' year.
Pittsburgh	36.9	(19)	26.1	(14)	8.8	(20)	2.0	(24)	It's been the same routine the last few years with Pittsburgh, in that they'll have an interesting draft, make a good trade or two…and then nothing really happens after that. Expected to make a big splash in free agency and in desperate need of pitching, the Yinzers lost Nate Eovaldi to Washington all while adding Lance Lynn, Joe Musgrove and...um...Tony Kemp? After three years of losing key FAs and not replacing them, it's almost time for their young stars to start hitting free agency in the next few years. Ownership will need to refocus if they're to get out of the cellar of the AL Central any time soon. The stars are there, but the depth is very much not.
Atlanta	36.6	(20)	20.5	(21)	9.1	(19)	7.0	(8)	Every team is looking for an edge and Atlanta may have found theirs after stealing 250 bases last year. For context, no other team in WSL broke 100. The Black Crackers will need every one of those SBs in 2023, as their lineup looks to be the weakest by far of any serious contender. Injuries and domestic violence issues have sapped the effectiveness of a rotation with a lot of name value, but probably little results.  ATL did have one of the bargains of FA, getting Zach Eflin for $17M while seemingly every SP on the market went for $10M more. Now if only they didn't bail Toronto out of two dead years of Julio Urias, they'd be rocking.
Philly	33.2	(21)	22.3	(20)	6.2	(21)	4.7	(20)	The Phanatics roster is a WSL-throwback to the times of teams eventually getting that bill for years of bad behavior in free agency. Between Tim Anderson, Starling Marte, Johnny Cueto, Robbie Grossman, and Frankie Montas, Philly has more than half of their cap space tied up in replacement-level players. In a relatively stacked NL East, and NL in general, they'll have trouble getting out of the cellar. Their long-term future will be determined by the development of their young pitching. If Kyle Harrison, DL Hall, and Gavin Stone join Bobby Witt and Aaron Judge as impact players going forward, there's hope in the city of brotherly love. Otherwise, well, at least the cheesesteaks are good.
Colorado	29.5	(22)	23.9	(16)	3.5	(24)	2.1	(23)	I mean…it's great that Colorado has a team in WSL again. This particular team though? It'll take another two years to fully dig itself out of the many red wine-drunk Byrd mistakes. Similar to a few other situations in WSL, the Red Foots have a significant amount of cap tied up a handful of players and few of them are impactful. If they can find a deal for Mookie Betts they can live with, chances are he's gone. On the plus side, they likely drafted a real SS for the future with Brayan Rocchio and Zach Neto. Otherwise, this roster has as little talent as any in WSL top to bottom.
San Francisco	29.0	(23)	16.9	(23)	4.9	(23)	7.2	(6)	In Year 2 of the post-China Mike era, the Stooges remain hamstrung with $50m devoted to the corpses that used to be Michael Conforto and Yoan Moncada. You might be noticing a pattern here with bad contracts and teams at the bottom of the rankings, right? You can squint and see a path out of the darkness, however, as San Francisco may have added something like 4-7 legit rosterable players in the draft. The team was aggressive with what cap space they did have, adding Marcus Stroman, Jeff Hoffman, and Brandon Lowe as July 1st tradebait. For the first time in a while, there's reason to dream in the bay area.
Anaheim	24.1	(24)	12.7	(24)	5.6	(22)	5.8	(12)	We round out the terrible contracts weight teams down series with Anaheim, holding arguably the worst contract in WSL with Javy Baez. Could we see our first 300K hitter? It's in play, folks. Luckily, the team may have drafted Baez's replacement in Marco Luciano. He'll join Evan Carter and last year's 1st Brett Baty to form the core of their long-term lineup. The problem? Anaheim has essentially zero pitching to build around in the short term or long term, especially with Lucas Giolito's decline. It's going to be a long year for the Assassins.