MLB Team Power Rankings: Red-hot Padres leapfrog Dodgers for top spot

Another week, another major shakeup in our MLB Team Power Rankings. That’s the beauty of the early part of the baseball season.

From what we’ve seen so far, most of MLB’s best teams reside in the National League. That was somewhat expected, but we figured that the Braves would be one of those teams. That’s not the case so far.

These power rankings are a combination of current performance and long-term projected outlook. The Dodgers should be fine and figure to find their way back to the top spot before long, but the Padres can’t be denied right now.

Let’s get started!

1. San Diego Padres ⬆️

Last week: 8

We’ve got a new No. 1! And the Padres have certainly earned it in the early going, not just with the best record in baseball (and a 10-0 record at home!), but also a historic showing against the Rockies over the weekend. They’ll begin a series against the NL Central-leading Cubs on Monday, which should be a good one.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers ⬇️

Last week: 1

The Dodgers have dropped three series in a row since starting the season 8-0. Baseball gonna baseball. They should have a chance to get healthy with a home series against the Rockies to begin the week.

3. New York Mets ⬆️

Last week: 7

Pete Alonso is loving life hitting behind Juan Soto. After an admittedly disappointing 2024, Alonso already has four homers and 18 RBI to go along with a .321/.431/.660 batting line. He’s only struck out nine times in 65 plate appearances, so he’s seeing the ball extremely well right now.

4. Philadelphia Phillies ⬇️

Last week: 2

The Phillies’ offense has hit the skids, including a pair of shutout losses this weekend against the Cardinals. Nobody exemplifies the struggles more than Brandon Marsh, who hasn’t had a hit since the third game of the season on March 30.

5. San Francisco Giants ⬇️

Last week: 3

Jung Hoo Lee certainly enjoyed his first visit to Yankee Stadium over the weekend, slugging three homers in the three-game set, including a two-homer game on Sunday. His first season stateside was cut short due to injury, but he’s looking like a key piece for this lineup.

6. Chicago Cubs ⬆️

Last week: 9

We’ll start with the good news. After dropping both games of their season-opening series in Japan, the Cubs got back at the Dodgers by taking two out of three over the weekend, including a 16-0 shellacking on Saturday. The bad news? Justin Steele needs elbow surgery and will miss the remainder of the season.

7. Texas Rangers ⬇️

Last week: 4

The Rangers went 1-5 on their roadtrip and lost phenom outfielder Wyatt Langford along the way. They have a series against the AL West-leading Angels to begin the week.

8. New York Yankees ⬇️

Last week: 5

Yankees starters have combined for a major-league worst 5.40 ERA so far this season. The hope is that Clarke Schmidt can help provide a boost. He’s slated for his season debut on Wednesday.

9. Detroit Tigers ⬆️

Last week: 14

Remember when Spencer Torkelson’s name surfaced in some trade rumors this offseason? The Tigers are surely happy they didn’t follow through on those talks, as the 2020 No. 1 overall pick slugged his fifth homer on Sunday and now owns an impressive .309/.409/.673 batting line through 15 games.

10. Toronto Blue Jays ⬆️

Last week: 16

Sunday’s extra-inning victory over the Orioles carried some extra meaning for Jeff Hoffman, who had a potential free agent deal with Baltimore wiped out due to an issue with his physical. He struck out four batters over two scoreless innings for the win. Nothing like a little spite as a motivator.

11. Boston Red Sox ⬇️

Last week: 6

Garrett Crochet almost made history against his former team on Sunday, carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning before it was broken up by recent call-up Chase Meidroth. In an interesting twist, Meidroth was part of the return package for Crochet.

12. Arizona Diamondbacks ⬇️

Last week: 10

Corbin Carroll was right in the middle of back-to-back comeback victories over the Brewers this weekend as his monster start to the season continues. He already has five homers after not hitting his fifth homer until July 13 last year.

13. Atlanta Braves ⬇️

Last week: 11

The Braves have rebounded somewhat since their 0-7 start to the season, but the best news of all is that Spencer Strider is set to make his return from Tommy John surgery on Wednesday.

14. Houston Astros ⬇️

Last week: 12

Isaac Paredes’ pull-happy approach is tailor-made for the Crawford Boxes and we saw it in action this weekend against the Angels, as he went deep in all three games.

15. Kansas City Royals ⬆️

Last week: 17

Cole Ragans has struck out 10 or more batters in three straight starts. He’s the second pitcher in franchise history to do it, joining former All-Star Kevin Appier, who accomplished the feat in 1996.

16. Los Angeles Angels ⬆️

Last week: 19

I’ll take “Things Nobody Expected” for $200, Alex. The Angels lead all MLB teams with 30 homers so far this season. It’s great to see Mike Trout mashing baseballs again, but Kyren Paris has been one of the biggest surprises of the young season. Trying to emulate Aaron Judge isn’t the worst idea ever.

17. Cleveland Guardians ⬆️

Last week: 21

What’s going on with Emmanuel Clase? He’s already allowed six earned runs in seven innings this year after allowing just five earned runs in 74 1/3 innings all of last season.

18. Seattle Mariners

Last week: 18

Cal Raleigh homered in all three games this past weekend as the Mariners completed a three-game sweep of the Rangers. While the Mariners’ spot in these rankings is unchanged from last week, they’ve now won four straight.

19. Baltimore Orioles ⬇️

Last week: 13

It’s been a shaky start to the year for the Orioles, but there was a nice moment on Saturday, as Felíx Bautista notched his first save since returning from Tommy John surgery. The 29-year-old isn’t quite back to normal just yet, as he’s walked five batters in four innings of work and isn’t pitching on back-to-back days.

20. Tampa Bay Rays

Last week: 20

When the Rays picked up Joe Boyle in the Jeffrey Springs deal with the Athletics this offseason, many predicted that the club would do their magic and turn him into a frontline starter. For one day at least, that came true. Adding a “splinker” to his high octane fastball and nasty slider, Boyle dominated the Braves over five-plus hitless innings on Sunday. The big question is his control — he lost the strike zone before being pulled in the sixth — but the Rays have to be thrilled with the early results.

21. Milwaukee Brewers ⬇️

Last week: 15

After playing a part in the Brewers’ epic ninth inning collapse against the Diamondbacks on Saturday, it was acknowledged that closer Trevor Megill has been dealing with a knee issue. It was apparently troublesome enough that the Brewers sent him for an MRI. No structural damage was found, but he’s now seeking a second opinion.

22. Cincinnati Reds ⬆️

Last week: 25

What a start the season for Hunter Greene. With seven scoreless frames on Sunday to finish off a three-game sweep of the Pirates, the 25-year-old fireballer now owns a 0.98 ERA and 31/4 K/BB ratio through his first four starts. Cy Young Award favorite?

23. Washington Nationals ⬆️

Last week: 26

Dylan Crews has had a brutal start to the season and CJ Abrams hit the injured list this weekend with a right hip flexor strain, but at least James Wood appears to be on a rocketship to superstardom.

24. St. Louis Cardinals ⬇️

Last week: 23

The “torpedo bat” commentary has died down somewhat since the Yankees’ tortured the Brewers two weekends ago, but count Willson Contreras among the converted. He went 2-for-4 in his first game with the bat on Saturday against the Phillies before adding two more hits — including his first homer of the season — on Sunday. Safe to say he’ll be sticking with it.

25. Athletics ⬇️

Last week: 24

A’s rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson went 0-for-4 on Sunday after hitting safely in 15 straight games to begin the season. He’s a fun mix of styles. Despite one of the most aggressive approaches in the game — he’s yet to draw a walk through 61 plate appearances — he has the third-lowest strikeout rate among qualified hitters. Hey, it’s working for him.

26. Minnesota Twins ⬇️

Last week: 22

You don’t have to remind Twins fans about this, but we’re now talking about a prolonged stretch of futility. After letting a playoff spot slip through their fingers last September, the Twins currently own the second-worst record in the AL.

27. Miami Marlins ⬆️

Last week: 28

I said two weeks ago that the Marlins were probably going to peak at No. 28 this year, so I’ll give them credit for being a pesky bunch. It’s rare that you’ll see a game-ending catch as good as the one Dane Myers had against the Mets last week.

28. Pittsburgh Pirates ⬇️

Last week: 27

Paul Skenes is coming off his worst start as a professional, as he allowed five runs over six innings against the Cardinals last Tuesday. With the way this offense is hitting (they are hitting .198 as a team), Skenes almost has to be perfect.

29. Colorado Rockies

Last week: 29

Didn’t score a single skinny run over the weekend, but hey, these new City Connects look pretty smooth.

30. Chicago White Sox

Last week: 30

The White Sox took the first two games of their series against the Red Sox over the weekend before they were completely befuddled by some guy named Garrett Crochet on Sunday. He might have a future in this game.