Final Regular Season MLB Power Rankings - October 4, 2012

By Chris Carelli | @Chris_Carelli

The road to the World Series begins on October 5 with the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals set to face off against the team they caught from behind last season to reach the 2011 playoffs, the Atlanta Braves in the afternoon play-in game. In the night game the Texas Rangers meet the Baltimore Orioles after each team succumbed to their division competitors in the final days of the regular season.

The division series this year will run in a 2-3 format, with the lower seed hosting the first two games of the series and then the final three games will be played in the higher seed's park.

The winner of each one game playoff mentioned earlier will determine who gets to welcome the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees to their respective ballparks. In the other matchups, the San Francisco Giants will host the Cincinnati Reds, and the Oakland Athletics will travel to Detroit to face the Tigers.

As for the rest of the league this is a time to evaluate the year and begin to shape rosters for the 2013 season. So, here are the final regular season rankings. Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

Scouting Notebook featuring Byron Buxton

(William DeShazer/Naples Daily News)

By Nathaniel Stoltz | @stoltz_baseball

In the September issue of Big Leagues Monthly | Magazine, I wrote up a “scouting notebook” of sorts with my thoughts about players I had seen in person in the past month. I’ve had the opportunity to see over a dozen games involving several highly-touted prospects, encapsulating the Carolina League, the South Atlantic League, and the Appalachian League. Here are my thoughts on some of the most notable names I saw—I have more to share beyond this, but that can wait until next month!

Byron Buxton, OF, Twins (Rookie-Advanced Elizabethton)

Buxton, the second overall pick in the 2012 draft, clearly boasts all sorts of tools. He’s got wiry strength, power projection, and plenty of athleticism. However, he’s just 18 and has a lot standing between himself and the majors; at times, he looked like the rawest player on the field in the Appalachian League, taking fastballs down the middle, waving at curves in the dirt ten inches off the plate, and misplaying balls in the outfield. But for every head-scratching play he makes, he’ll wow you with something you don’t expect an 18-year-old to be able to do, like pull his hands inside a fastball on the inside corner and rip it to left field, or lay down a perfect drag bunt. He clearly has first-division upside if he can refine his game, but at this stage, any number of developmental paths are possible. Just because his issues are theoretically fixable doesn’t necessarily mean they will be fixed, after all. As with former Twins first-round outfielder Aaron Hicks, it could be years before we know quite how well Buxton’s tools will translate.

MLB Power Rankings - September 24, 2012

By Chris Carelli | @Chris_Carelli

Since last week's rankings went up three National League teams earned postseason berths with the Cincinnati Reds winning the NL Central, the San Francisco Giants winning the NL West and the Washington Nationals who are closing in on the NL East title, securing at least a wild card bid.

The Atlanta Braves are inching closer to a playoff appearance which alluded them in 2011 after a massive collapse. The St. Louis Cardinals, who overtook the Braves last season are being pursued closest by division rival Milwaukee Brewers after the Crew has staged a magnificent two month blitz and the Los Angeles Dodgers who haven't played all that well since May.

In the American League all spots are very much up in the air. In the AL East, New York and Baltimore are separated by one game with the Rays holding on. The same differential holds true in the AL Central between Chicago and Detroit. The Texas Rangers have had a hard time closing the Oakland A's and Los Angeles Angels out of the AL West race but still have a fairly big lead (4 games) with ten games remaining. The Yankees, Orioles, Rays, A's and Angels are all contenders for the wild card spots after the division races filter out.

So, here are the power rankings for this week. Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

MLB Power Rankings - September 10, 2012

Joey Votto is back, Stephen Strasburg is done for the season and the Baltimore Orioles are indeed for real. There were plenty of story lines this past week which played a part in the rankings and the races for playoff berths in both leagues.

The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are streaking; winning five and six straight games respectively. The Braves' streak has them seven games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers who are right now the first team out of the National League wild card race.

The Angels have moved within one game of the Orioles for the last spot in the American League playoffs and only 2 1/2 games behind division rival Oakland who holds the top position.

With their excellent weeks both teams made moves up the charts while the Washington Nationals swap places with the Texas Rangers mostly due to Strasburg's departure from the field. Please let us know what you think about the rankings in the comments below.