MLB Power Rankings - Four

PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 20: Connor Joe #2 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts after hitting a three-run home run in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on April 20, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Unfortunately, I don’t have time to write much this week, but here are my rankings:

1. Tampa Bay Rays (20-3) (Last week: +0)

The Rays just can’t lose. They have the most home wins to start a season still, and they’re hitting home runs every game.

2. Milwaukee Brewers (15-8) (LW: +1)

Maybe the Brewers are higher than they should be, but they’re still a good team that has only had a few mess-ups.

3. Atlanta Braves (15-8) (LW: -1)

The Braves got swept by the Astros who have now seemed to turn it on, but I can’t punish them too much for that.

4. Toronto Blue Jays (14-9) (LW: +1)

The Jays handed the Yankees their first series loss of the year.

5. Houston Astros (12-11) (LW: +11)

The Astros are back in the area they should be in after a series win against the Blue Jays and a sweep of the Braves.

6. New York Mets (14-9) (LW: +2)

They won a series against the Dodgers but split a series with the Giants who had been playing bad baseball before.

7. New York Yankees (13-10) (LW: -3)

They started the season winning four straight series but over the last three they have a split, a win, and a loss.

8. Los Angeles Dodgers (12-11) (LW: +1)

9. Arizona Diamondbacks (13-11) (LW: +1)

10. San Diego Padres (12-12) (LW: +1)

Yes, I purposefully did this to show how close the top of the NL West is to me. The Dodgers are the best team out of the bunch and have the best run differential by a good margin. The Diamondbacks lead the division right now, but it seems like their days in that spot are numbered. The Padres got Fernando Tatis Jr. back, which can help an offense that has been surprisingly slow to start, but they still don’t have great pitching in my opinion and are still third in the division.

11. Baltimore Orioles (15-7) (LW: +2)

Here comes the O’s on a seven-game win streak! I feel like that should give them a spot in the top ten but I just couldn't fit them in, and I needed to consider that their opponents were the Nationals and Tigers with a game against the White Sox and Red Sox each as bread to the sandwich.

12. Texas Rangers (14-8) (LW: +0)

Out of all the surprising early season success teams, the Rangers are the ones that I think can hold on and make it to the playoffs. This is another team that should probably be higher, but they’ve also been playing the Royals and A’s.

13. Pittsburgh Pirates (16-7) (LW: +8)

Another team on a roll! These Pirates are also on a seven-game win streak. They picked up those wins against the Rockies and Reds.

14. Chicago Cubs (12-9) (LW: +0)

Man, I feel so bad for Drew Smyly. He was absolutely rolling and to lose a perfect game due to a collision with your catcher on a little dribbler is terrible. As for the team though they swept the A’s and lost three of four to the Dodgers.

15. Minnesota Twins (13-10) (LW: -9)

16. Cleveland Guardians (11-12) (LW: -9)

Both these central squads dropped significantly after disappointing weeks for both. The Twins lost series to the Red Sox and the Nationals. The Guardians had a weird week where they had two doubleheaders and lost series to the Tigers and Marlins. The Twins are still in the lead of the division, and the Guardians know it’s early, but they should be glad to still be very close.

17. Boston Red Sox (12-12) (LW: +0)

The Red Sox beat the Twins and Brewers, but they’re still .500 on the year.

18. Miami Marlins (12-11) (LW: +1)

Series wins against the Giants and the Guardians move Miami up a spot.

19. Seattle Mariners (10-12) (LW: -4)

The Mariners road back to the playoffs could be difficult if the Rangers keep playing this way. This team needs to figure it out ASAP even if it’s not yet panic time.

20. Los Angeles Angels (11-12) (LW: -2)

The Angeles are still ahead of the Mariners in the standings, and if they’re ahead at this point next week I will probably put them ahead in the power rankings too, but based off of last week’s rankings I’ll keep the Mariners ahead for now.

21. Philadelphia Phillies (11-12) (LW: +3)

Finally, the Phillies are headed back in the right direction after beating the White Sox and the Rockies. Hopefully, those wins didn’t just come because they were playing bad opponents.

22. San Francisco Giants (9-13) (LW: +0)

The Giants lost a disappointing series to the Marlins but managed to salvage the last game, take the last two of four from the Mets, and soundly beat the Cardinals Monday evening. Maybe things are turning around in the City by the Bay? Just a little?

23. St. Louis Cardinals (9-14) (LW: -3)

The Cards have not been in the Cards’ favor, and they’ve been playing poorly all year. They only managed one win each series against the Diamondbacks and Mariners this past round.

24. Detroit Tigers (8-13) (LW: +1)

Hey, they beat the Guardians and took a game from the Brewers.

25. Chicago White Sox (7-16) (LW: -2)

We really thought that this White Sox team would be something special a few years back. Now, they can hardly get a win. This past ranking round they lost to the Phillies and got swept by the Rays. Ok, the results to the Rays are acceptable.

26. Cinncinati Reds (8-15) (LW: +0)

They got manhandled by the Rays and Pirates, only managing one win in 7 games, but both those teams have been on fire. They managed to squeak out a win against the Rangers on Monday night though.

27. Washington Nationals (7-14) (LW: +2)

Congrats Nats! You won a series against the Twins! Good Job!

28. Colorado Rockies (7-17) (LW: -1)

The Rockies have two wins in their last 13… yikes.

29. Kansas City Royals (5-18) (LW: -1)

This Royals team wasn’t supposed to be anything special this year, but they’re terrible! They at least managed to win one game against the Angels last week.

30. Oakland A’s (5-18) (LW: +0)

………

The A’s got swept by the Cubs, took a win from the Rangers, and walked off the Angels on Monday night. That’s not what I want to discuss though.

I feel so bad for these A’s fans.

They’ve had to deal with such a terrible ownership group that trades away every good player they’ve had and is now moving the team to Las Vegas.

I hope that the A’s stay in Oakland. It’s a very small chance, but I hope.

These fans deserve better, they deserve their team, and a team that is competitive.

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