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Padres Fans Will Love Latest ESPN MLB Power Rankings

By Larry Rupp

San Diego Padres fans will love the team's spot in ESPN's latest MLB power rankings.
San Diego Padres fans will love the team's spot in ESPN's latest MLB power rankings. / Denis Poroy/Getty Images
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The 2021 MLB season is now eight weeks in and there may not be another team having as much fun out on the diamond as the San Diego Padres. They have won 11 of their last 12 games overall and now sit 1.5 games up in the NL West division with a record of 32-18.

The Padres' recent success has caused them to jump in ESPN's latest MLB power rankings all the way up to the No. 1 spot. San Diego came in ranked No. 2 last week, but found a way to jump over the Chicago White Sox.

Padres No. 1 in ESPN Power Rankings

This shouldn't come as a major surprise given the firepower the Padres bring to the table in every part of the game. Most notably, closer Mark Melancon (MLB-leading 17 saves) and San Diego's bullpen has been nothing short of amazing so far. It leads all of baseball with an ERA 2.42 and a strikeout total of 252.

San Diego features a powerful lineup that can put crooked numbers up on the board as well. However, it's the little things that matter here as the Padres are stealing 1.14 bases per game (No. 1 in MLB) and strike out the second-fewest amount of times per game (8.12) in the league.

Yu Darvish (1.76 ERA) and Joe Musgrove (2.28 ERA) also continue to lead what is a deep starting rotation. The Padres just seem to be above-average at every spot on the roster. It's a major reason why the team has third-best odds to win the World Series at +750, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

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