There’ll be a lot of shuffling around the MLB power rankings in this funky season, but the top four or so teams look pretty clear after about a week and a half of baseball.
1. New York Yankees (7-1) | Last week: 1
Aaron Judge has homered in his past five games, with six total homers in the span. The Yankees have been dominant to this point.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (7-3) | Last week: 2
It was great to see Clayton Kershaw make his season debut yesterday, throwing a strong 5.2 innings (three hits, six strikeouts). LA has a majors-best +30 run differential through ten games.
3. Minnesota Twins (7-2) | Last week: 3
The Twins have one more game played by the Yankees, but they lead the American League in run differential (+22). The Minnesota bullpen has looked excellent, and the team will be tough to beat if they can jump ahead in games offensively.
4. Atlanta Braves (7-3) | Last week: 4
The Braves have outclassed the Mets through three games of their four-game series, starting with a five-run eighth inning for an 11-10 comeback win last Friday night. To begin last week, Atlanta showed good fight to even up a four-game series with Tampa after losing the first two.
5. Chicago Cubs (7-2) | Last week: 8 (+3)
The offense of the Cubs did the heavy lifting against the Reds early in the week before the pitching tightened up in a weekend sweep of the Pirates.
6. Oakland Athletics (5-4) | Last week: 5 (-1)
The A’s were only able to score 16 runs in five games last week, so they were lucky to go 3-3 thanks to the pitching effort.
7. Washington Nationals (3-4) | Last week: 7
Juan Soto, arguably the best player on the Nationals, has been unable to play this season because of false positive COVID-19 tests, which is really a tough break for Washington. The Nats played just four games last week because of COVID concerns.
8. Tampa Bay Rays (4-6) | Last week: 6 (-2)
Getting swept by the Orioles is not a good look for the Rays, who have now dropped five straight after a 4-1 start. However, they were able to get a couple of wins over a strong Braves team to start last week.
9. Houston Astros (5-4) | Last week: 9
It has not been a fun stretch for the Astros to begin their shame tour, but they’ve found a way to be above .500 despite some early struggles. Justin Verlander’s status will obviously have a huge sway on their championship chances.
10. Cleveland Indians (5-5) | Last week: 11 (+1)
Cleveland’s pitching looks fantastic, and they did about as good of a job as you can containing the Minnesota offense. They rise one spot despite a sub-.500 week.
11. St. Louis Cardinals (2-3) | Last week: 10 (-1)
COVID-19 has hit the Cardinals hard, and their playing status remains up in the air. Who knows how the virus spread, but you would have thought players would be extremely careful after the Marlins situation.
12. Milwaukee Brewers (3-3) | Last week: 13 (+1)
The Brewers were basically in the same boat as the Red Birds last week after their four-game series was postponed. Losing Lorenzo Cain to an opt out is a huge loss.
13. Colorado Rockies (6-2) | Last week: 18 (+5)
The Rockies make a sizable five-spot jump in the power rankings, and they have a case to be into the top ten after a 6-2 start. Colorado can keep things rolling with series versus the Giants and Mariners this week.
14. San Diego Padres (6-4) | Last week: 12 (-2)
The weekend ended with a series loss to the Rockies, but the Padres should feel optimistic about their first ten games. San Diego leads the majors in runs scored.
15. Cincinnati Reds (4-5) | Last week: 16 (+1)
The Reds capped the MLB’s first-ever seven-inning doubleheader with a shutout win over the Tigers, with Trevor Bauer throwing a seven-inning complete game—a feat you probably never thought you’d hear about before 2020.
16. Chicago White Sox (5-4) | Last week: 22 (+6)
It is a promising sign that the White Sox took care of business versus an under-matched Royals team. A four-game series against the Brewers should be a bigger test.
17. Philadelphia Phillies (1-2) | Last week: 15 (-2)
Despite no positive COVID-19 cases, the Phillies have been out of commission for over a week, which is unfortunate. Now, Philadelphia must face a juggernaut Yankees team.
18. Baltimore Orioles (5-3) | Last week: 26 (+8)
The Orioles were able to get their first sweep in nearly two years, and they sit at 5-3 after nearly two weeks. They deserve a spot in the top 20 for now.
19. Los Angeles Angels (3-7) | Last week: 14 (-5)
Things simply have not gone the Angels’ way to open the year, and star two-way player Shohei Ohtani will get an MRI on his arm after another disappointing start.
20. Toronto Blue Jays (3-4) | Last week: 25 (+5)
The Jays’ four-game split with the Nats was their only action last week, but it’s enough to move them up the power rankings.
21. San Francisco Giants (5-5) | Last week: 20 (-1)
The Giants have a very difficult schedule early in August: vs. COL, @ LAD, @ HOU, vs. OAK.
22. Boston Red Sox (3-7) | Last week: 21 (-1)
The Yankees are clearly the superior roster right now, but it still has to hurt the Red Sox to get swept by their archrival. They’ll look to bounce back against the Rays and Jays this week.
23. New York Mets (3-7) | Last week: 17 (-6)
The Mets franchise looks like a mess, but Yoenis Cespedes’ move to walk out on the team and his teammates without telling anyone is totally unprofessional and a poor reflection on him.
24. Detroit Tigers (5-5) | Last week: 24
Tyler Alexander struck out nine consecutive batters in three perfect innings to tie the American League record yesterday.
25. Texas Rangers (3-5) | Last week: 27 (+2)
Joey Gallo had three hits, a home run, two runs, and three RBI in the Rangers’ win over the Giants on Sunday.
26. Seattle Mariners (4-6) | Last week: 30 (+4)
After a series win over the Angels and one victory against the A’s, the Mariners get out of the basement of the power rankings.
27. Arizona Diamondbacks (3-7) | Last week: 19 (-8)
It’s early, but the Diamondbacks have been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball through the first couple of weeks. The offense needs a jolt of energy.
28. Miami Marlins (2-1) | Last week: 23 (-5)
If the Marlins did indeed start the COVID-19 spread by going out to a club in Atlanta, it’s a terrible look for the players. Miami could be No. 30, and it’s too bad the MLB doesn’t demote franchises for underperforming.
29. Kansas City Royals (3-7) | Last week: 29
The big news of the week for the Royals was that NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes became a part owner of the team. That can only be good news as it helps draw interest from the area.
30. Pittsburgh Pirates (2-7) | Last week: 28 (-2)
Among teams with over five games played, the Pirates stand alone as a team with fewer than three wins.
Yanks are legit.
Yeah Soto didn’t even have the virus. Ridiculous
Braves took a hit