These are the last power rankings of the first full month of the MLB season. How much do we know so far? Well, let’s go to the last power rankings of April last year. The No. 1 team in those rankings? That would be … the Mets, a team that ended up missing the playoffs entirely. Meanwhile, the team that ended up winning the American League, the Blue Jays? They were 18th. Long way to go, folks.
These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.
1. Dodgers (previously: 1)
The Dodgers’ bullpen has been wobbly of late, but here’s a good reminder of just how many pitchers this team has: Roki Sasaki, who didn’t even pitch that well on Saturday night, still dazzled people with his reconfigured splitter, which he threw a career-high 48 times in a win over the Cubs. He earned only the second victory of his MLB career in that game, by the way.
2. Yankees (previously: 4)
Aaron Judge turned 34 on Sunday! There is no one in the world I’d trust to tell the story of Aaron Judge on his 34th birthday than the great Sarah Langs, so you’ve got to read her piece. A fun bit: He entered his birthday with a 1.026 career OPS. The only players with higher marks in their first 1,072 games are Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Frank Thomas, Todd Helton, Albert Pujols and Hank Greenberg. That’s quite a list to rank ninth on. Oh, also, he homered on his birthday, because of course he did.
3. Braves (previously: 2)
Sure, it’s early, but the Braves are making real headway already. According to Fangraphs Playoff Odds, they are at 93 percent to reach the postseason, something they, of course, missed last year.
4. Cubs (previously: 8)
The Cubs’ winning streak ended at 10 over the weekend, but it’s worth noting how truly dominant they were during the streak. As MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian pointed out, they had a collective .944 OPS during the streak (that’s what Ty Cobb hit for his career) and they had a 2.64 ERA (essentially Cy Young’s ERA).
5. Padres (previously: 3)
It’s hard not to keep talking about Mason Miller, who is now at 34 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, 6 1/3 off the all-time reliever record held by Gregg Olson. (And 24 1/3 behind Orel Hershiser’s all-time record.) He has already set the Padres’ record, beating Cla Meredith’s mark. Meredith, in a cool touch, sent Miller a message.
6. Reds (previously: 9)
Until their loss on Sunday, the Reds were on an absolute heater, and while a lot of that is because they keep winning so many one-run games (still 7-0 in them), they’re also hitting more of late: They were averaging nearly six runs a game over their past 12 games coming into Sunday.
7. Pirates (previously: 5)
Paul Skenes took a perfect game into the seventh inning on Friday, and it speaks to how incredible he has been to start his career that it’s a little surprising he doesn’t have a no-hitter yet. Actually, neither he nor Tarik Skubal, the clear best two pitchers in baseball, have a no-hitter yet … but that they both flirted with one within the past week is a good sign one is definitely pending.
8. Tigers (previously: 13)
Spencer Torkelson is a famously streaky hitter, and the Tigers are never better than when he’s on one of his hot streaks. He’s certainly on one right now: He has homered in five straight games, the first Tiger to do so since Marcus Thames in 2008. “I'm hunting my pitch,” he said. “Swing on time, hunt my pitch and put my swing on it. That's it.”
9. Brewers (previously: 7)
Imagine striking a guy out on a 102.7 mph fastball and simply saying, “It felt the same as any other start. I think that’s just how it is. Normal.” That’s how Jacob Misiorowski felt about tossing the fastest strikeout pitch since pitch tracking began in 2008. No sweat.
10. Diamondbacks (previously: 6)
The Mexico City Series was fun for everyone involved, but it was particularly fun for Alek Thomas, who played for Team Mexico (and wore his jersey to the ballpark on Saturday). He then went out and homered. “It’s an honor to play here in Mexico City; it’s definitely really special to me and my family,” he said.
11. Guardians (previously: 12)
I’m a sucker for baseball milestones, and MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins had a great piece this week on all the José Ramírez milestones that are coming up. The big one: Barring injury, he’s going to get to both 300 homers and 300 steals this year.
12. Rays (previously: 10)
Shane McClanahan, even with his short career so far, is a part of Rays history -- he’s 10th all-time in strikeouts, for example -- so it must have felt particularly great for him to get his first win at Tropicana Field since June 2023 on Saturday. “I love pitching here, man. I love pitching for this community, this team,” McClanahan said. The Rays are now 11-1 against American League teams, which is handy, considering that’s the league they play in.
13. Rangers (previously: 11)
It’s awesome to see when a 30-year-old makes his MLB debut, which is what Rangers reliever Peyton Gray did Thursday night. “Every time that phone rang in the bullpen today, I kind of got a little antsy,” Gray said, still out of breath postgame. “It was like, ‘This could be my moment.’ But when it was finally my turn, it was awesome. I wasn't nervous, actually. I was more excited. Prepared. … I visualized this moment so many times throughout my life, and then I just felt prepared. I know I belong here. I think I've shown it now.” Amusingly, the batter he struck out in his 1-2-3 ninth inning was 19-year-old Konnor Griffin (though he did turn 20 the following day). “That makes me feel pretty old,” Gray said with a laugh.
14. A’s (previously: 17)
Nick Kurtz walked on Sunday to break the franchise record with 16 consecutive games with a free pass, held by Rickey Henderson (1993), Max Bishop (1933) and Topsy Hartsel (1905). (When you’ve beaten Topsy, you’ve really done something.) He’s also homering again, which is to say, Nick Kurtz is playing like an MVP candidate again. And don’t look know, but the A’s are back in first place by themselves.
15. Mariners (previously: 20)
It has been an awkward start for a team many people (including me) picked to win the American League, but the Mariners still seem to be in good shape. No one in this division is running away from them, their stars are getting hot and even with a losing record, they’re outscoring their opponents. Don’t be shocked if the Mariners are in first place in this division in a week.
16. Orioles (previously: 16)
It’s a good sign when your team has to put up the following sign:
It has been particularly lovely to see Adley Rutschman hitting like Adley Rutschman again, with a 1.064 OPS in his first 13 games. “Vintage Adley,” manager Craig Albernaz said.
17. Cardinals (previously: 14)
Closer Riley O’Brien had his first tough appearance of the season on Saturday, but on the whole, he has been one of the best relievers in the sport. Which, as I wrote for the Cardinals newsletter this week, is actually a reason the Cardinals are going to likely trade him.
18. Marlins (previously: 22)
The Marlins have been perhaps the prime beneficiary of the implosion of the Mets and Phillies so far in the NL East: Merely hanging around .500, like they are, is enough to be second place in that division right now. It also helps that Sandy Alcantara is Sandy Alcantara again: Not only does he have a 3.05 ERA, he’s taking on a clear leadership role on the team, and specifically on that staff.
19. Blue Jays (previously: 23)
Munetaka Murakami has gotten most of the Japanese slugger import headlines so far this year, but Kazuma Okamoto is starting to find his swing. He launched multiple 425-foot-plus homers this weekend and is looking very much like the Bo Bichette replacement he is meant to be. “That’s a big boy homer,” manager John Schneider said after his most recent blast.
20. Twins (previously: 15)
The little Twins boomlet that started the season has faded, and fast: The Twins have lost nine of 10. One of the major issues: Byron Buxton is 8-for-40 with 14 strikeouts during this skid. The team always struggles when Buxton is out of the lineup, or struggling himself.
21. Giants (previously: 24)
It was Brandon Belt Day at Oracle Park on Saturday night, and the Giants honored the fan-favorite first baseman with a day that celebrated his unique sense of humor. “This is a very surreal moment for me,” Belt said. “I never thought this would happen. But when I think about this day and the Giants organization for doing this for me, the only thing that pops into my mind is, it’s about time. I thought this would happen the day after I left.” (He was kidding.)
22. Angels (previously: 19)
The game where he robbed three homers in a game will surely be the defining moment of his season, and perhaps his career, but it should be noted that Jo Adell is not, in fact, off to a great start this year. His OPS is down almost 90 points from last season, and he only hit his fourth homer on Saturday. He had 37 last year; he is, well, not very close to that pace right now.
23. Mets (previously: 26)
The Mets made a lot of additions this offseason, and one they were counting on was Freddy Peralta. But he has gotten off to a slow start, and much of it has been because of inefficiency. As MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo points out, Peralta has not recorded an out in the seventh inning in more than nine months. The Mets aren’t worried. “He’ll get there,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of Peralta. “He’s an ace. I’m not worried about that. I trust him, and I know that he’s more than capable to go long in the games.”
24. Astros (previously: 25)
The Astros are walking hitters at an alarming rate, and that’s a very dangerous thing when you’re playing a team like the Yankees, like they did this weekend. The Astros’ 158 walks lead baseball, and when you’re walking that many hitters, it’s tough to do anything. “Just those 10 walks, man,” said manager Joe Espada. “They are tough to defend when you put yourself in that spot, and then you’re forced to throw strikes, and then they’re going to put some good swings on you. We just have to be better.”
25. Phillies (previously: 21)
The losing streak finally ended this week, but the road back for the Phillies remains an extremely steep one. One thing that might help: Starting today, they won’t play a team that made the playoffs last season until they travel to Fenway Park (to face a team with its own problems right now) on May 12.
26. Red Sox (previously: 18)
Obviously, it was a tumultuous weekend in Boston, with the firing of manager Alex Cora and much of his staff. Cora -- presuming he doesn’t get another stint with the Red Sox after this one -- ends up being the third-winningest Red Sox manager of all time, behind Joe Cronin (who won 1,071 games, but no World Series) and Terry Francona (who won 744, and two World Series titles). Cora ends up at 620 and, of course, one World Series win.
27. Nationals (previously: 28)
The Nationals’ pitching has been the source of their woes this year, with the second-worst ERA in baseball and the third-worst starting pitcher ERA. The primary issue has been homers given up; they’ve allowed 48, the most in baseball by five full home runs.
28. White Sox (previously: 29)
Munetaka Murakami is becoming an object of immense fascination around baseball. Sure, he is tied for the MLB lead in homers, but it’s how he has done so that is so intriguing. He has 11 homers and zero other extra-base hits: Yordan Alvarez, the guy he’s tied with for the homer lead, has nine doubles. Murakami is 14th in total bases, which is hard to do when you are leading in homers.
29. Royals (previously: 27)
The Royals have gotten off to a disastrous start, but Saturday night, they looked the way they’re supposed to look. Cole Ragans struck out 11 in six strong innings, the team scored 12 runs and all the excitement Royals fans had for their team in the preseason looked justified. It was, remarkably, the first game the Royals had won this year that Ragans pitched.
30. Rockies (previously: 30)
While the Orioles wait on Jackson Holliday to recover from his wrist injury -- and there was a setback with that again this week -- here is your reminder that his brother Ethan, a fellow Holliday phenom, is showing off his stuff in the Minors. After a slow start, he launched a three-run shot Saturday at Single-A Fresno that came off the bat at 108 mph and traveled 444 feet. He’s still 19 and will be up, one suspects, sooner than you might think.
Voters: Jason Catania, Dan Cichalski, Jason Foster, Rick Gold, Jared Greenspan, Thomas Harrigan, Will Leitch, Brent Maguire, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon, Ismail Soyugenc, David Venn, Zac Vierra.