Here are this week’s power rankings. For my take on the Red Sox firing Alex Cora, click here.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (19-9, No. 1 last week): I’m surprised the Padres are right on their tail. The two sides square off for the first time in 2026 in San Diego in mid-May. In an oddity, the two teams’ next meeting is also in San Diego in late June.
2. New York Yankees (18-10, No. 3): The Yankees took advantage of two wounded teams, taking five of six from the Red Sox and Astros. They’re still getting very strong work from their starters — except for Luis Gil, who was optioned to Triple-A following his April 26 start. Gerrit Cole has looked good in his two rehab starts. He’s probably three starts away from his ’26 debut in pinstripes.
3. Atlanta Braves (20-9, No. 2): The return of Spencer Strider (oblique) is nigh. The right-hander is penned in next weekend in Colorado. The offense has been really good except for Austin Riley (.209/.298/.345) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (.239/.356/.358).
4. Chicago Cubs (17-11, No. 4): The Cubs’ 10-game winning streak ended with losses in the two final games in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. They have a tough week ahead, with a three-game series in San Diego against the Padres and then a three-game series against the Diamondbacks at Wrigley.
5. Cincinnati Reds (18-10, No. 7): Manager Terry Francona’s magic is alive and well in the Queen City even though starters Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer and Brandon Williamson have all been putrid. I love this team, but this degree of success seems unsustainable if one of those three can’t pick it up. Hunter Greene won’t be back until July at the earliest.
6. San Diego Padres (18-9, No. 11): Closer Mason Miller has a 0.00 ERA, 0.38 WHIP, 27 strikeouts and two walks in 13.1 innings so far. Starters Michael King and Randy Vásquez have given the Padres 61 strong innings, while Nick Pivetta (flexor strain), Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez have been less effective. The Padres are 17th in the majors in runs scored.
7. Milwaukee Brewers (14-13, No. 5): The starting pitching has been pretty solid with Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison and Brandon Woodruff, but the Brewers have hit just 19 home runs, tied for the fewest in the majors. They do lead the league in steals (36). Manager Pat Murphy is keenly aware he has to be aggressive to make up for lack of punch with Jackson Chourio (hand), Andrew Vaughn (hamate) and Christian Yelich (groin) all on the IL.
8. Seattle Mariners (14-15, No. 8): While the Mariners may not seem worthy of a spot in the top 10, I have faith in the essence of this team. Their team ERA is fifth in all of baseball. The offense is just starting to heat up — slowly but surely.
9. Pittsburgh Pirates (16-12, No. 10): Six hitters have double-digit RBIs. Starters Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Braxton Ashcraft are keeping Pittsburgh in games. The top five or six relievers look really good. This ain’t your older brother’s Pirates.
10. Cleveland Guardians (15-14, No. 6): A 2-4 week dropped the Guardians back a few slots. They missed Steven Kwan in the leadoff spot, but he’s back now.
11. Detroit Tigers (15-14, No. 9)
12. Athletics (15-13, No. 14)
13. Tampa Bay Rays (16-11, No. 15)
14. Baltimore Orioles (13-15, No. 16)
15. Texas Rangers (14-14, No. 18)
16. Boston Red Sox (11-17, No. 13)
17. Arizona Diamondbacks (15-12, No. 12)
18. Toronto Blue Jays (12-15, No. 22)
19. Kansas City Royals (11-17, No. 24)
20. San Francisco Giants (13-15, No. 25)
21. Los Angeles Angels (12-17, No. 17)
22. Philadelphia Phillies (9-19, No. 19)
23. New York Mets (9-19, No. 21)
24. Minnesota Twins (12-16, No. 20)
25. St. Louis Cardinals (14-13, No. 23)
26. Miami Marlins (13-15, No. 28)
27. Washington Nationals (13-16, No. 26)
28. Houston Astros (11-18, No. 17)
29. Chicago White Sox (11-17, No. 29)
30. Colorado Rockies (13-16, No. 30)