The Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers have experienced plenty of success in the past, but all fans want to do is look towards the future and think about just how good their teams may be down the road. For the Angels, the club just signed Albert Pujols to a monster contract and added left-handed starting pitcher CJ Wilson to bolster their starting rotation.
For the Dodgers, the team has been hamstrung by financial restrictions in previous years, but it looks like the ownership situation is nearing a resolution and they have two young All-Stars in Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw.
ESPN recently released their 'Future Power Rankings' for every team in baseball. Where did the Angels and Dodgers come in on the list? We have that info after the jump...
The Angels came in at No. 7 overall. Here is a snippet from the article on the team from Buster Olney:
Even though the Angels ceded control of the AL West to the Rangers the past two seasons, they have been one of baseball's most successful franchises over the past decade. And with two bold transactions this winter -- the signings of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson -- they are in good position to battle Texas for the division crown the next few seasons.
Not only does Pujols give them a middle-of-the-order bat they sorely lacked, but top prospect Mike Trout is poised for superstardom. Throw in the fact that their top four pitchers -- Wilson, Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana -- are all under team control through 2013 and that owner Arte Moreno will not hesitate to spend, and you have yourself a team that isn't going away.
And here are the Dodgers, ranked 19th in baseball:
This ranking is a bit of a leap of faith, as it's assumed throughout the industry that the Dodgers' next owner will come in looking to spend. That new owner will also get the chance to negotiate a new cable deal, which should be one of the richest in the game.
The Dodgers already have Matt Kemp, arguably the best all-around player in baseball, signed through 2019, and Clayton Kershaw, the best young pitcher in the game, whom they are expected to lock up as well. Once the ownership situation is settled, prepare for some moving and shaking at Chavez Ravine.
These rankings seem pretty fair, even if they are just silly power rankings from a few baseball analysts.