2018 NPB Power Rankings: Final Edition

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The 2018 NPB regular season is coming to a close with only a handful of makeup games remaining. With A-class and B-class decided, it's time to give a final power rankings list for the entire league.

While power rankings can't be truly decided on win percentage and the standings, the body of work as a whole combined with what has happened since the All-Star break have been factored in. A few makeup games haven't happened yet at the time of this writing, but it won't affect these rankings as the records will be updated as they're played. .

Here's how it looks:

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1. [^] (2) Saitama Seibu Lions (88-53-2); 20-8 since 9/1; 16-7 at clinching point

The Lions finish 2018 with a franchise-record scoring offense while going on a season-high 12-game win streak to hold off any challengers. By the winning the Pacific League Pennant, the tough competition made them better and they'll be favorites as they enter the Climax Series. It's rather impressive this team stayed in first place since Opening Day and didn't falter minus being tied once in the summer. They're the fifth team in history to do this and first since 1997.

Their other rare distinction is being the second team to win a pennant with the league's highest ERA since the 2001 Kintetsu Buffaloes. Much of this comes from the middle relief giving up runs with a high lead, but even then, the bullpen has its question marks coming into the postseason.

Hideto Asamura, Hotaka Yamakawa and Shogo Akiyama were three of the most potent players in NPB and it's a bonus they're all on the same team. Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura also helped with a huge boost in the second half, slugging beyond just his 28 HRs.

2. [^] (3) Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (82-60-1); 21-10 since 9/1

The Hawks made an impressive run to end the regular season, but came up just short despite having a seven game win streak in the midst of the month. Yuki Yanagita will be an MVP candidate and the talent is still there. They could have won the pennant themselves if their 6-11-1 July wasn't so poor, or having an inconsistent first half.

In this case, it was how they started, not how they finished to lose the pennant. However, they are still a contender despite the struggles because they're red hot.

3. [v] (1) Hiroshima Carp (82-59-2); 13-15 since 9/1; 9-11 at clinching point

The Carp were on cruise control since the pennant was all but decided at the All-Star break. A strong August took place. but it's been a month of meaningless baseball for the most part. Yoshihiru Maru should the Central League MVP with a new career high in HRs.

Offensively, everything is there to make a run, but how does the pitching hold up? Kris Johnson had a solid rebound year while Daichi Osera was the leader in the rotation.

4. [=] (4) Tokyo Yakult Swallows (75-66-2); 18-10 since 9/1

It was in late August when five teams in the Central League had a losing record. The Swallows emerged to being over .500 and stayed that way in September. Tetsuto Yamada reached Triple 3's for the third time in the last four years while Wladimir Balentien continues to mash with their 2017 MVP Tomotaka Sakaguchi, Nori Aoki and "Yuhei" Takai.

This team can hit and turned the corner right at interleague play. No one could've predicted this team to be in A-class after everything went wrong a year ago. This year, everything went right from being healthy to the Central League competition faltering. Pitching is slightly below average, but the Swallows should be competitive given how strong they're been since June.

5. [^] (6) Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (73-66-3); 12-14 since 9/1

The Fighters have arguably been backed in to the postseason with two consecutive losing months. However, they still finished with a winning record, which is something many pundits didn't expect after losing Shohei Ohtani. They have a nice young core to build on and the Fighters will be entering the Climax Series with house money.

6. [v] (5) Yomiuri Giants (67-71-5); 9-9 since 9/1

The Giants get penalized for having a losing record and finishing .500 in the last two months combined. They did well enough to escape two years of B-class, but still didn't earn it given they have a losing record.

Now that they're in, they'll be a dangerous threat with Tomoyuki Sugano playing his first postseason game since 2015 (he missed 2016 with an injury) and Kazuma Okamoto making his debut. Not many thought they'd get great contributions from C.C. Mercedes to take them into A-class.

This group is inconsistent as a whole, but the opportunity to get hot is there. Only thing strange about it all? Yoshinobu Takahashi has resigned and will be outgoing while Tatsunori Hara will return next year.

7. [^] (12) Yokohama DeNA Baystars (67-74-2); 16-12 since 9/1

The Baystars waited too long to make a run and get into A-class. Pitching wasn't there for 2018 with consistently poor performances and injuries piling up. For a group that looked like a last place team statistically much of the year, this 2018 shortcoming is a makeup for them getting in last season.

They ended up wasting a year of Neftali Soto and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, where the bats were also an issue as they were too home run dependent. It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff looks. Alex Ramirez is staying for 2019, but he will be on the hot seat.

8. [=] (8) Orix Buffaloes (65-73-5); 12-13 since 9/1

Orix got their biggest win of the year when manager Junichi Fukura resigned. It was overdue, but the worst part about this is how they wasted years of Yuki Nishi, who could be leaving in free agency or to the posting system. Former Marines manager Norifumi Nishimura will be in charge next year, but this has the feeling of a lazy hire given he was their head coach this season.

Starting pitching is good enough to compete, but can the talent be developed? If the coaching staff doesn't have a shake up, it looks like it could be the status quo.

9. [=] (9) Chunichi Dragons (63-77-2); 10-11 since 9/1

The Dragons, by some miracle, find a way to avoid the cellar again in our power rankings as they'll be in 5th place in the Central. Bullpen was hard to watch while it took some veterans and foreign imports performing above expectations to escape last place. The youth is still developing and no one has stepped it up yet.

Manager Shigekazu Mori is likely to move to the front office while his current position is currently vacant. Another group of veterans from last decade have finally retired as we say farewell to Masahiro Araki, Hitoki Iwase and Takuya Asao. Unfortunately it has been a hard fall for Asao, who will retire at age 34 after being an MVP at one point in his career.

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The Pit

This section was really hard to decide who should be in last. All three teams are deserving of it.

10. [^] (11) Tohoku Rakuten Eagles (57-82-3); 10-16 since 9/1

The Eagles will retain Yosuke Hiraishi as the manager for 2019, continuing the trend of the interim being given an opportunity for the following season. After Masataka Nashida stepped down, the team responded with a decent run in July before they faltered. At least their losing looks competitive, unlike two teams below in the rankings.

Starting pitching is there, but the offense took a big step back and will lack pop with multiple imports not returning. Rakuten also lacks speed on the bases besides having bullpen issues stemming from the second half of 2017.

11. [v] (10) Chiba Lotte Marines (59-79-3); 7-21 since 9/1

The Marines are on a 13-game losing streak in home games and have had the worst record since the All-star break at 19-41-1 at the time of this writing. Tadahito Iguchi's first year ends on a thud with several mistakes going wrong, from a base running blunder by Shogo Nakamura to the bullpen collapsing.

Some can fall back on Takashi Ogino's injury at the All-Star break, but Ayumu Ishikawa's is what has really hurt them. It's likely Ishikawa played 2018 through an injury after he had a strong first half. Their biggest goal in this offseason will be to retain Mike Bolsinger, who had an excellent first year in Japan. It's possible the home run totals for the Marines will get better, as Zozotown Marine Stadium will get a terrace of seats similar to how the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks added some to the Fukuoka Yafuoku! Dome in 2015.

12. [v] (7) Hanshin Tigers (61-79-2); 11-20-1 since 9/1

The Hanshin Tigers were the only team in NPB to not have a winning month in 2018 and will finish dead last in the Central League. Their best month was going 12-12 in May, but the offense never put it together as a whole when the pitching hid all deficiencies. The Tigers set a new franchise record for most losses at Koshien Stadium with 39. The top high school had more wins in the Koshien Tournament (6) than the Tigers did (5) from August to the end of 2018.

Bullpen regressed from 2017 while the injuries piled up in September, but this team was eliminated a long time ago given how the offense had the same struggles as before. Similar to the Marines, the Tigers lack any pop. The Tigers were good for one thing in 2018: Knocking the Baystars out of the postseason by going 17-8 against them.

Tomoaki Kanemoto just resigned from his managerial position. Should be interesting to see who is next.

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