Too early for 2024 Power Rankings? Not at all!

All right, so the Hot Stove is just now starting to warm up, and none of the big dominos have fallen. We don’t know where any of the top free agents are going, or what trades teams are going to make, or even, in some cases, who is going to manage some of these teams. But that’s no reason we can’t try to capture this specific moment in time with … some Power Rankings.

• Latest free-agent and trade rumors

These are not necessarily speculative plays by our panel of voters: This is simply trying to pin down where everybody is right now, before all the rosters start shuffling like mad. You’ll definitely notice that the postseason made a big difference: Not a lot of people had the 90-win Rangers in the their top five at the end of the season, but when you win a World Series, you turn a lot of heads.

We’ll do some more Power Rankings as the offseason progresses, but for now, here are our in-this-moment Power Rankings.

1) Braves
Our voters are not fazed by a frustrating, and still a little bit shocking, postseason exit. The team with the best record in 2023 stays atop the first '24 rankings, and why wouldn’t they? This lineup is still stacked, they’ve got a guy who’s probably about to win his first MVP Award and all the truly important players are fully signed and on board. The Braves are likely to add some pitching this offseason -- of course, isn’t everybody? -- which could only further cement their position atop the National League East … and the NL. But as the Braves know, where you land in the Power Rankings doesn't matter: It’s what you do in the playoffs that matters. The Braves already seem ticketed for the 2024 postseason. This offseason, we’ll get a better sense of what they’ll look like when they get there.

2) Rangers
It’s amazing what one postseason run will do, no? The Rangers were a happy success story for most of 2023, but they lost their AL West title on the season’s final day and were thought by many to be in danger against the Rays in the AL Wild Card Series. But nope! Bruce Bochy ended up leading the team to its first Commissioner’s Trophy and his fourth ring. And even more exciting? The Rangers may well be better in 2024. Max Scherzer should be back and healthy, Jacob deGrom is hopeful of returning in '24 and they’ll have a full season of Evan Carter -- not to mention all their other young players, and of course their two AL MVP finalists, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. The Rangers aren’t going anywhere. Wouldn’t it be something if they followed up their first World Series title with another one?

3) Orioles
The postseason outcome was a disappointment, no question about it: Everything that went right for the Orioles went wrong once they ran into the buzzsaw that was the Rangers. But our panel is far from worried, both in 2024 and moving forward. There’s so much young talent here, and the beauty of the Orioles is that there is still so much more left to come, led by Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 overall prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and someone who may be in Baltimore sooner rather than later. The Orioles have some starting-pitching-depth concerns, and the central storyline of their offseason revolves around how they will address that -- or if they will address that. But having this many fantastic young position players buys you quite a bit of margin for error. The Orioles are just getting started.

4) Phillies
It sure looked like the Phillies were ticketed for their second straight World Series there for a second, didn’t it? Heading into Citizens Bank Park, in front of those fans, with a 3-2 lead in the NL Championship Series? You can’t ask for much more than that. Alas, the D-backs blitzed the Phillies in those two games, and the veteran Phillies were thwarted. They obviously should still be good in 2024, but it’s worth noting that this is an old team that’s just getting older, and they also may be losing Aaron Nola, the senior member of their staff, to free agency. That’s not to mention the perpetual Braves problem. Still: The Phillies, when they are healthy and grooving, are as scary as any team in baseball. They’ve certainly earned their spot in the top five.

5) Rays
It might seem a little surprising to see the Rays so high here, especially considering the amount of uncertainty with this roster, from Wander Franco’s situation to rumors that Tyler Glasnow could be moved to the usual churn you see from the Rays every offseason. But it’s a sign of just how much goodwill this front office has earned -- how often they tend to figure things out -- that they’re this high. The Rays had a miserable postseason, but they’re a team you always assume will find a way back next year anyway. And one of these days, they’ll break through.

The rest of the field of 30:
6. Astros
7. Dodgers
8. Blue Jays
9. Mariners
10. Twins
11. D-backs
12. Yankees
13. Cubs
14. Padres
15. Reds
16. Red Sox
17. Mets
18. Brewers
19. Marlins
20. Giants
21. Guardians
22. Cardinals
23. Tigers
24. Nationals
25. Angels
26. Pirates
27. White Sox
28. Royals
29. Rockies
30. A’s

Voters: Will Leitch, Alyson Footer, Anthony Castrovince, Paul Casella, Mark Feinsand, Nathalie Alonso, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Sweeny Murti, Travis Miller