As the calendar flips to June and teams across baseball have roughly 60 games under their belts, the MLB landscape is starting to take shape and the line between contenders and also-rans is becoming more defined.
With that being said, a whopping 23 of the league’s 30 teams still sit within five games of a playoff spot entering play on Monday.
In other words, there is still a lot to be sorted out between now and the annual shuffling of talent known as the trade deadline that awaits at the end of July, and the coming weeks will go a long way in deciding who buys and who sells.
All of that to say, these weekly MLB power rankings remain an extremely fluid process. If a team is winning, it will climb. If a team is losing, it will fall.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (36-23)—(+3)
2. Chicago Cubs (37-22)
3. New York Mets (37-22)
4. Detroit Tigers (39-21)—(+1)
5. New York Yankees (36-22)—(-4)
6. Philadelphia Phillies (36-23)
7. St. Louis Cardinals (33-26)
8. Tampa Bay Rays (30-29)—(+5)
9. Houston Astros (32-27)—(+5)
10. Milwaukee Brewers (32-28)—(+10)
11. San Diego Padres (33-24)
12. Cleveland Guardians (32-26)—(-3)
13. Seattle Mariners (32-26)—(-1)
14. San Francisco Giants (33-26)—(-4)
15. Minnesota Twins (31-27)—(-7)
16. Toronto Blue Jays (31-28)—(+6)
17. Kansas City Royals (31-29)—(-2)
18. Washington Nationals (28-31)—(+5)
19. Texas Rangers (29-31)
20. Boston Red Sox (29-32)—(-4)
21. Cincinnati Reds (29-31)
22. Arizona Diamondbacks (28-31)—(-5)
23. Atlanta Braves (27-31)—(-5)
24. Los Angeles Angels (26-32)
25. Pittsburgh Pirates (22-38)—(+2)
26. Baltimore Orioles (22-36)—(+3)
27. Miami Marlins (23-34)—(-1)
28. Athletics (23-37)—(-3)
29. Chicago White Sox (18-41)—(-1)
30. Colorado Rockies (9-50)
With a weekend series win over the New York Yankees, who were No. 1 in last week’s rankings, the Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the top spot for the first time in three weeks.
That included an 18-2 blowout victory on Saturday that saw them build a 10-0 lead after two innings, and four-hit games from Tommy Edman and Hyeseong Kim at the bottom of the batting order illustrated the depth of their high-powered offense.
The Milwaukee Brewers are the biggest risers of the week following series sweeps of the Red Sox and Phillies. And during their current seven-game winning streak, they have moved above the .500 mark for the first time since they were 19-18 on May 6.
Christian Yelich (10-for-20, 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI), Jackson Chourio (10-for-28, 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI) and Sal Frelick (10-for-25, 2B, 3 RBI) led the way at the plate, while the starting rotation combined for a 2.61 ERA over 31.0 innings of work.
Also making a significant climb, the Toronto Blue Jays took two of three from the Rangers on the road before sweeping a four-game series at home against the Athletics to rebounded nicely from getting swept by the Rays.
They wrapped up the month of May with a 16-12 record and plus-25 run differential, and they continue to be an extremely tough draw at home with a 20-12 record at the Rogers Centre.
Finally, don’t sleep on the Washington Nationals as a team that can at the very least continue to be a thorn in the side of contenders when things are clicking.
They took two of three from the Mariners and Diamondbacks on the road last week, and with a 10-4 record over their last 14 games they are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now. With three more long balls last week, rising star James Wood now sports a .952 OPS with 15 doubles, 16 home runs and 44 RBI in 59 games.
A few short weeks ago, the Minnesota Twins were the hottest team in baseball and riding a 13-game winning streak that saw them climb from fourth to second in the AL Central standings.
However, they have stumbled to a 5-7 record in their last 12 games, and series losses to the Rays and Mariners on the road last week sent them tumbling out of the top 10 and back to the middle of the pack.
With Byron Buxton and Matt Wallner both activated from the injured list last week, the offense is back to full strength, and a four-game series against the Athletics should give them a good opportunity to get back on track.
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves have tumbled down the rankings side-by-side the last few weeks, going from No. 12 and No. 13 two weeks ago to No. 17 and No. 18 last week to outside the top 20 this time around.
The D-backs have lost four straight series, going 3-9 during that stretch with a five-game losing streak, and the pitching staff ranked 28th in the majors with a 5.33 ERA in May.
The Braves are also riding a four-series skid, and rookie right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver (9 GS, 3.86 ERA, 42 K, 44.1 IP) was lost for the season to a torn UCL last week, putting even more pressure on the starting rotation.
Those two will face off head-to-head for a three-game series at Truist Park starting on Tuesday.
They stand as two of the most compelling teams toeing the buyer or seller line, and the coming weeks will go a long way in deciding how each of them approach this year’s trade deadline.
Hitter of the Week: Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
Stats: 8-for-23, 6 HR, 10 RBI, 6 R
Raleigh became the first catcher since Mike Piazza to post back-to-back 30-homer seasons last year while also taking home AL Platinum Glove honors, and with six long balls last week he moved into the MLB lead.
The 28-year-old has 23 home runs in 58 games, and his 1.016 OPS makes him one of only four qualified hitters with an OPS above 1.000, joining Aaron Judge (1.254), Freddie Freeman (1.060) and Shohei Ohtani (1.049).
Pitcher of the Week: Framber Valdez, Houston Astros
Stats: 1 GS, W, 9.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Valdez has finished in the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting in each of the past three seasons while emerging as the ace of the staff in Houston, and he is now in a contract year trying to secure a bag in free agency.
The left-hander tossed his second complete game of the year on Saturday, and he has a 3.12 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 73 strikeouts in 78 innings to rank second among all pitchers in innings pitched.
Rookie of the Week: Jacob Wilson, Athletics
Stats: 10-for-24, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, SB
With 10 more hits in six games last week, Wilson now ranks second in the majors with 80 knocks on the year.
His .357 average ranks second among qualified hitters, and he has tallied just 13 walks and 14 strikeouts in 241 plate appearances, showcasing some of the best contact skills in the sport. With 12 doubles, seven home runs and a .504 slugging percentage, he is also showing more than enough pop to be a true impact offensive player.
