I know Orioles fans are disappointed with a dismal 3-6 showing to date, especially this past week (1-5), but only one team in the American League East is playing well.
I had four AL East teams in my top nine this time last week. The Yankees were No. 2, the Red Sox No. 6, the Orioles No. 8 and the Jays No. 9. The Yankees have slid past the Dodgers into the No. 1 spot, while the other three teams from the AL East all went 1-5 this past week. The Red Sox are 2-7, the Jays 4-5 and the Orioles 3-6.
I doubt things will go this poorly for these three teams all year, but it’s going to be interesting to see how those clubs react to such poor opening stretches.
So what do you think of the ABS system? I can’t stand it. It’s so quick, why don’t we just have all ball and strike calls made electronically? What exactly is the problem of getting it right and consistent on all pitches?
We are seeing just how off home-plate arbiters can be, so much so that the Twins were able to challenge nine times in a game. That’s crazy and I find the challenges take away the flow of the game.
Here are my power rankings:
1. New York Yankees (7-2, No. 2 last week): No Gerrit Cole, no Carlos Rodón, no Clarke Schmidt, no Luis Gil, no problem. Max Fried, Cam Schlittler and Will Warren have all been very good. Gil does return later this week from a brief minor league option.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (7-2, No. 1): Any team that loses Mookie Betts (back) to the IL has to drop at least one spot.
3. New York Mets (6-4, No. 7): They just lost Juan Soto to a calf strain, but no IL stint yet. I am digging the rotation of Nolan McLean, Freddy Peralta, Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes. Bullpen addition Tobias Myers — the ex-O’s prospect traded for Tim Beckham — has been lights-out. So have closer Devin Williams and helpers Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley and Huascar Brazobán.
4. Milwaukee Brewers (7-2, No. 11): All skipper Pat Murphy does is work around the Brewers’ frugal ways and win, baby, win. This club is always underestimated — until you look up at the win-loss record.
5. Seattle Mariners (4-6, No. 3): Not a good start. The offense has been awful outside of Brendan Donovan and Cole Young. But throughout the course of a full season, starts Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo, Emerson Hancock and eventually Bryce Miller will match up with anyone.
6. Philadelphia Phillies (5-4, No. 10): Are they aging out? Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and youngin’ Alex Bohm aren’t helping out a staff getting great work so far from recently extended Cristopher Sanchez and Aaron Nola. It was only one start, but Andrew Painter was lights-out in that 2026 debut.
7. Chicago Cubs (4-5, No. 5): Like the Phillies, the Cubs rank this high because of the slow starts of those AL East teams. Losing Cade Horton for any length of time would be a killer. He has had Tommy John surgery in the past, but this forearm strain is not supposed to be that serious. They do get outfielder Seiya Suzuki back in the next several days. He hurt his knee in the WBC.
8. Atlanta Braves (6-4, No. 12): Drake Baldwin (four home runs) is a star, but aside from him, Walt Weiss’ club is struggling to score runs. However, look at these ERAs in the rotation: Bryce Elder (0.00), Chris Sale (0.78), Grant Holmes (2.45) and Reynaldo López (1.64). Relievers Raisel Iglesias (0.00) and Robert Suárez (0.00) have been lights out as well.
9. Detroit Tigers (4-5, No. 4): Not off to a great start. I look at the lineup and wonder where the juice is supposed to come from. Maybe Kevin McGonigle can help create some danger in the lineup. But any team with Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez is going to be tough to win a series from.
10. Houston Astros (6-4, No. 14): Hunter Brown is out at least two or three weeks with shoulder soreness. That’s bad news. The good news is Yordan Alvarez hasn’t gotten hurt, yet. Better news, first baseman Christian Walker off to a great start in his second season in Houston.
11. Pittsburgh Pirates (6-3, No. 16)
12. Boston Red Sox (2-7, No. 6)
13. Cincinnati Reds (6-3, No. 17)
14. Toronto Blue Jays (4-5, No. 9)
15. Cleveland Guardians (6-4, No. 18)
16. Baltimore Orioles (3-6, No. 8)
17. Kansas City Royals (4-5, No. 13)
18. Texas Rangers (4-5, No. 15)
19. Miami Marlins (6-3, No. 19)
20. Athletics (4-5, No. 21)
21. San Diego Padres (4-5, No. 20)
22. Arizona Diamondbacks (5-5, No. 23)
23. Tampa Bay Rays (4-5, No. 24)
24. Los Angeles Angels (5-5, No. 25)
25. Chicago White Sox (4-5, No. 29)
26. San Francisco Giants (3-7, No. 22)
27. St. Louis Cardinals (5-4, No. 28)
28. Minnesota Twins (3-6, No. 26)
29. Washington Nationals (3-6, No. 27)
30. Colorado Rockies (3-6, No. 30)
See Also:
• Stan ‘The Fan’ Charles: Not Excited By The Orioles’ Start? Join The Club