My weekly MLB power rankings get a bit of shakeup at the top. The Cubs parlayed their second 10-game winning streak of the season into the top spot in my rankings. Meanwhile, the Yankees were swept in Milwaukee and slipped to third.
The Padres moved up to No. 7 and into a tie with the Dodgers in the National League West.
The Mariners, despite being three games below .500, continue to hover in the top 10. That won’t last unless they start to play up to their capabilities.
The Phillies, now No. 10, are showing signs of life. They are 10-4 since Don Mattingly took over as manager.
All told, there are six teams at 19-22, the Rangers are 19-21 and the Diamondbacks are 19-20. So there is a lot of parity from Nos. 9-24 in my rankings.
In my 15 years of doing these rankings, I cannot remember a season with so many teams closer to being good than bad. With so many serious big-time pitching injuries, it seems we may be entering a new era in baseball with more and more teams unable to get over the hump to be true contenders. But for bits and pieces, those teams can look closer to good than bad.
Let’s revisit this topic around the All-Star break. As for now, here are my power rankings.
1. Chicago Cubs (27-14, No. 3 last week): The Cubs made history with two 10-game winning streaks in the first 39 games of a season, which hadn’t been done since the Brooklyn Dodgers did it in 1955. The Cubs themselves hadn’t had two 10-game winning streaks in a season since 1935.
2. Atlanta Braves (28-13, No. 2): Going out West and splitting 6 games with Mariners and Dodgers was impressive. More impressive is that Spencer Strider is back and looks great.
3. New York Yankees (26-15, No. 1): A stunning three-game sweep at the hands of the Brewers doesn’t dim what the Yankees have done. They have Carlos Rodón back, and Gerrit Cole is probably two weeks away from his 2026 debut in pinstripes.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (24-16, No. 4): The Dodgers are just 9-12 in their last 21 games. Hmmm, that’s about how long Mookie Betts was out with a strained oblique. He will be active against the Giants on May 11.
5. Tampa Bay Rays (26-13, No. 7): I am so sick of myself for underestimating this Rays organization. I had them at No. 23 in my power rankings to start the season, but they have pitched and prodded themselves into the playoff picture. They start the week in first place in the American League East.
6. Milwaukee Brewers (22-16, No. 5): The highlight of the Brewers’ three-game sweep of the Yankees was Friday night’s electric performance by Jacob Misiorowski. Six shutout innings in a 6-0 win doesn’t tell half the story. Misiorowski threw 10 pitches harder than 103 mph and three registered at 103.6, the fastest pitches of the Statcast era among starting pitchers. In fact, Misiorowski now has the seven fastest pitches recorded by starters in the Statcast era.
7. San Diego Padres (24-16, No. 9): The Padres are now eight games over .500 and tied with the Dodgers atop the NL West. All that and Manny Machado, at 33 years old, is batting .191/.294/.353. Last year he had 60 extra-base hits. This season, he has hit just 10. He has seven years left on a $350 million deal beyond this season. Should the Padres be worried?
8. Pittsburgh Pirates (22-19, No. 8): The Pirates’ solid start was due in large part to the inspired play of the Oneil Cruz. After play on April 13, he was hitting .355/.429/.645. He is now hitting .255/.320/.473 as the strikeouts pile up. If this continues, can the Pirates continue playing plus-.500 baseball?
9. Seattle Mariners (19-22, No. 10): The Mariners are a talented and perplexing team. This past week encapsulates Seattle’s season. The Mariners took two of three from the Braves at home, then went to Chicago and lost two of three to the pesky White Sox.
10. Philadelphia Phillies (19-22, No. 17): The Phillies fired Rob Thomson as manager on April 28 with a 9-19 record. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski offered the job to Alex Cora, who turned it down. Don Mattingly has brought them back from the brink with a 10-4 run. Helps when pitchers pitch better and hitters hit better.
11. Athletics (22-19, No. 13)
12. St. Louis Cardinals (23-17, No. 16)
13. Cleveland Guardians (21-21, No. 11)
14. Cincinnati Reds (22-19, No. 6)
15. Detroit Tigers (19-22, No. 12)
16. Kansas City Royals (19-22, No. 20)
17. Boston Red Sox (17-23, No. 18)
18. Toronto Blue Jays (18-22, No. 14)
19. Texas Rangers (19-21, No. 15)
20. Arizona Diamondbacks (19-20, No. 19)
21. Washington Nationals (19-22, No. 29)
22. Baltimore Orioles (18-23, No. 21)
23. Miami Marlins (19-22, No. 22)
24. Chicago White Sox (19-21, No. 26)
25. New York Mets (15-25, No. 23)
26. Minnesota Twins (18-23, No. 25)
27. San Francisco Giants (16-24, No. 24)
28. Los Angeles Angels (16-25, No. 27)
29. Houston Astros (16-25, No. 28)
30. Colorado Rockies (16-25, No. 30)