Justin Verlander's brother Ben drops bold take putting $1.95B team over Dodgers in Power Rankings
Justin Verlander's brother, Ben, is an MLB insider who has consistently praised the Dodgers over the last few years. While Ben Verlander recognizes that the Los Angeles Dodgers are the favorites to win the World Series, he's also quick to recognize that other teams have been better in 2025.
The "Flippin' Bats" podcast just revealed the weekly power rankings provided by Verlander on Tuesday, and he has another team from the National League West Division on top. The San Diego Padres are currently valued at $1.95 billion according to Forbes, and they are outplaying their rivals from Los Angeles.
'I can’t believe most power rankings have the Dodgers at 1 over the Padres still," Verlander captioned his own post
Verlander currently has the Dodgers at six in his most recent power rankings, and those came out after LA lost a series to the Chicago Cubs. He has the Padres at the top of his list and provided an additional comment as to how well that team is playing.
"No chance. Padres are ROLLIN'."
Through 17 games this season, the San Diego Padres have gone an impressive 14-3 and are 11-0 at home. Verlander has the Chicago Cubs up to number four in his rankings, a team that got bumped up four spots.
Justin Verlander's brother Ben heaps praise on Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani
Ben Verlander is never one to shy away from giving hot takes, but he's also very appreciative of some of the current stars of the game. Before the start of the 2025 Tokyo Series on March 18, Verlander gave Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani a huge compliment on the "Flippin' Bats" podcast.
"The best player in the sport. The best player in the world. A global superstar. This game has grown exponentially because of him," Verlander said. "He is the greatest baseball player of all time, and now he gets to return home, play in Tokyo, in the Tokyo Dome, in a Dodgers uniform. His first time wearing a major league baseball uniform, I just can't wait.
"Shohei is idolized in Japan," Verlander added. "He is every word you could possibly think of. He's a superstar. He's a hero there. He's talked about this in an interview, how much it means when kids come up to him, saying they want to be him someday. They want to be like Shohei. They want to play like Shohei."
Ohtani will be looking to push the Dodgers back past the Padres in the weekly power rankings, especially when he gets back on the mound.