| Rk | Team | Proj. W-L | Comment |
| 1 | Red Sox | 99-63 | Preparing their title defense on the assumption that the Curse of the Minky won’t last 86 years. |
| 2 | Yankees | 95-67 | Snagged the Big Unit, but spent big dollars on imperfect pitching solutions at the expense of shoring up glaring weakness in CF. The best team $200 million can buy? |
| 3 | Cardinals | 93-69 | Starting pitching is functional, not flashy, but this team has too many big bats for the rest of the league to get past. |
| 4 | Cubs | 90-72 | With Sosa now a bittersweet memory, health of Prior, Wood and Zambrano is everything to this club, and everything is a bit shaky right now. |
| 5 | Phillies | 90-72 | Should fare better under low-key manager Manuel than Explodable Head Bowa, and with upgrades like groundball-friendly Lieber over homer-happy Milton. |
| 6 | A’s | 88-74 | Despite fears for life after the Big Three, organizational depth and front-office smarts feed plenty of optimism. |
| 7 | Twins | 86-76 | Santana and Radke could be league’s top 1-2 punch, and full years of Morneau and (hopefully) Mauer should boost offense. |
| 8 | Dodgers | 85-77 | Penny, Perez, Lowe, Weaver, Erickson, Alvarez, Jackson–spot the reliable, healthy starter and win a prize. |
| 9 | Indians | 85-77 | Up-and-comers could make the Twins sweat if they stick to blueprint and let young talent mature; Juan Gone in RF and Grady Sizemore in Buffalo calls their resolve into question. |
| 10 | Padres | 84-78 | Led by Cy candidate Peavy, these NL West vultures could swoop in if Dodgers falter and Bonds sits. |
| 11 | Angels | 83-79 | Controversy over name change overshadows so-so offseason. McPherson should provide much-needed injection of youth at 3B; similar boldness at 1B with Kotchman over Erstad would be a plus. |
| 12 | Braves | 82-80 | PECOTA begs to differ, but after 13 division titles in a row, there’s little sense picking against them until they prove otherwise. |
| 13 | Marlins | 81-81 | Full seasons from Beckett and Burnett could make for an exciting Fish tale. |
| 14 | Mets | 81-81 | High-profile signings Pedro and Beltran offer improvement, as will a full season of David Wright. |
| 15 | Giants | 81-81 | Barryless will be perilous; assume 10 runs (one win) lost for every 14 games with Feliz and Tucker in LF. |
| 16 | White Sox | 80-82 | Speed’n’defense makeovers don’t pan out often, nor does cornering the market on fragile Cuban refugee starters. |
| 17 | Rangers | 79-83 | Runs will be scored in Arlington, lots and lots of runs–many of them by the Rangers, but not enough of them. |
| 18 | Astros | 79-83 | B’s not so killer without Beltran and (for April) Berkman, but a healthy Pettitte to go with Clemens and Oswalt ought to help. |
| 19 | Orioles | 78-84 | Slammin’ Sammy Sosa joins bomb-prone offense; pitching is already thin without Punchin’ Ponson’s antics–bar fights and big butt to the contrary, Boomer Wells he ain’t. |
| 20 | Mariners | 77-85 | Big Beltre and Sexson signings will propel this team upward, not far enough. |
| 21 | Reds | 76-86 | Dunn, Griffey, Kearns, Pena provide nice outfield depth, but they need to push the fences deeper to help Milton and company keep the ball in the park. |
| 22 | Tigers | 76-86 | Beware the Plexiglass Principle: big leap back to respectability sure to be offset by returns to earth by Pudge, Guillen, Inge. |
| 23 | Diamondbacks | 76-86 | 78 million for Ortiz and Glaus? We’re still laughing. |
| 24 | Brewers | 74-88 | Talent on the farm offers promise for the post-Selig era, but they’ll take their lumps for a while yet. |
| 25 | Nationals | 74-88 | High profile signings of Guzman and Castilla will surprise lots of people. Especially Jim Bowden, and not in a good way. |
| 26 | Rockies | 73-89 | Proof that a winning altitude is a necessary ingredient in building a champion. |
| 27 | Blue Jays | 73-89 | Koskie signing emblematic of a regime in danger of losing the plot. |
| 28 | Pirates | 72-90 | Beautiful ballpark. Rudderless team. |
| 29 | Royals | 69-93 | Lima Time may get the headlines, but Greinke Time is the team’s best hope to avoid Royals Blew epitaph. |
| 30 | Devil Rays | 68-94 | Hordes of young talent means they’re no longer hopeless; deploying that young talent correctly will make all the difference. |
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