RADIO
It's been nearly a month since the pseudo-Opening Day when the Dodgers and Padres played the first regular season games in Korea. And, wow, a lot has happened since then in terms of major injuries to star pitchers and position players already. It's a long season, but there are certainly some teams that should be starting to worry about slow starts and there are still some teams who had lower expectations coming into the season that are "playing with house money" right now - to borrow a term from the casinos.
It's time to refresh our weekly power rankings. Remember, I will be factoring in past performance, the current level of performance, overall talent, and preseason expectations into the rankings - with the latter being a bit more relevant now than it will be in later weeks.
Like Drake, we always "start from the bottom" (#30) and work our way up to the top spot. And with that being said, let's unveil the Week 4 MLB Power Rankings!
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Maybe Next Year?
30. Chicago White Sox (3-15)
Last Week's Ranking (28)
Sorry, Chi-Sox fans, it's official - your team is the worst. Not only do they have the worst record in baseball, but they're a massive -53 in run differential. They just signed Tommy Pham off the street and he's instantly a top-3 hitter in their lineup. Strap in for some tough times, this could be a season for the history books in terms of futility.
29. Miami Marlins (4-15)
Last Week's Ranking (30)
Edward Cabrera, White Castle Special. 🤮🍔🍔🍔 pic.twitter.com/7S9mGVF9l2
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 15, 2024
The best development for Miami last week was the season debut of Edward Cabrera, who struck out 10 over six solid frames. Their pitching has been much better of late, including a surprisingly good start from David Weathers last week, too. However, the offense is still asleep as this team has scored the second-fewest runs in the National League.
28. Colorado Rockies (4-15)
Last Week's Ranking (29)
The Rockies won only one game last week and saw their run differential drop to -41, which is the worst in the NL. We were expecting some big things from Nolan Jones at the plate, but he's struggling to make contact. As far as fantasy goes, it's been Ryan McMahon and Ezequiel Tovar leading the way as the most productive members of Colorado's offense.
27. Oakland Athletics (8-11)
Last Week's Ranking (27)
Oakland has won six of their last ten games, and there's a pretty sizable gap between them and Colorado in this bottom tier as the A's have been much more competitive. Paul Blackburn leads the rotation with an impressive 1.08 ERA through his first four starts and Mason Miller looks like he could be one of the most dominant closers in baseball. Despite the depressing context that surrounds this team with its relocation, the actual team itself is trending up.
26. Washington Nationals (8-10)
Last Week's Ranking (25)
Washington, like Oakland, is trending up and has been competitive against better teams. Heck, they just took two out of three against the mighty Dodgers. MacKenzie Gore looks like he could have a big year on the mound and C.J. Abrams continues to rake from the leadoff spot.
At Least We're Not As Bad As The Worst Teams
25. San Francisco Giants (8-11)
Last Week's Ranking (24)
The Giants always find a way to compete and they might even be playing over their heads right now with 8 wins considering that they really struggle to score on offense. Their pitching is carrying them right now as youngsters Jordan Hicks, Keaton Winn, and Kyle Harrison have been better than expected.
24. New York Mets (10-8)
Last Week's Ranking (26)
The Mets are moving up this week and are now 8-2 over their last 10 games after a horrid start out of the gates. The pitching has been solid, both the starters and the bullpen. They just swept my beloved Buccos and officially out of the basement tier of garbage teams.
That's a SWEEP! 🧹🧹🧹 #MetsWin #LGM pic.twitter.com/qiepKxyxCX
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 17, 2024
23. St. Louis Cardinals (9-10)
Last Week's Ranking (23)
The Cardinals had a chance at a winning record this week but lost yesterday to Oakland as their offense continues to struggle. They've scored only 70 runs this season, which is tied for the second-lowest in the NL with Miami.
22. Los Angeles Angels (9-9)
Last Week's Ranking (21)
Just a reminder that when healthy, Mike Trout is still one of the best hitters in baseball. And Reid Detmers continues to pitch well at the top of their rotation. But the Angels seem destined to be mired in mediocrity this year as they lack the depth of talent needed to compete with the big boys.
Wait, What's Going On?
21. Minnesota Twins (6-11)
Last Week's Ranking (22)
The Twins continue to be one of the most disappointing teams in baseball when you compare their current record with preseason expectations. This offense is slumping badly and has just a wRC+ of just 80 (28th in MLB) through their first 17 games. Their strength was supposed to be their starting pitching, but Louie Varland and Bailey Ober have been disappointing so far. I had the Twins as a top-10 team to start the season and favorites in the AL Central Division, but they have some major work to do now to catch up to Cleveland and Kansas City who are off to hot starts.
20. Houston Astros (6-14)
Last Week's Ranking (17)
I am not ready to take a full victory lap here on the Astros just yet, but I did have them as my most overrated team coming into the season. We keep waiting for them to start to crawl out from this hole they've buried themselves in, but last week they just sunk deeper into it.
They are scheduled to get Justin Verlander back soon, which could help if JV is able to give them even 80% of his usual effectiveness. They have to stop the bleeding soon, they continue to give up runs in bunches as their 110 runs allowed is the most in the American League.
19. Seattle Mariners (9-10)
Last Week's Ranking (15)
The Mariners are starting to show some signs of turning it around, but I had to bump them down a few more slots this week. Despite having one of the best starting rotations in baseball, they're still -11 in run differential as their offense has been middling at best.
I'm more optimistic about Seattle right now than Minnesota. Logan Gilbert looks fantastic and Bryce Miller, too. Their bats are slowly waking up. Hang in there, Mariners fans, I think better days are coming.
18. Detroit Tigers (10-8)
Last Week's Ranking (17)
Detroit didn't move much this week. They're still getting some really good pitching from their starters, but very little offense to support them. They're 27th in wRC+ and at some point that's going to catch up with them.
17. Pittsburgh Pirates (11-8)
Last Week's Ranking (16)
The Pirates just lost their first series of the season as they were swept by the Mets in a three-game series in New York. The bullpen blew two of those games and Pirates fans (and fantasy managers) were furious with the team's decision to pull Jared Jones (one of the biggest surprises in baseball) after only 5 innings and 59 pitches in game two of the series.
As a Pirates fan, I'm still pretty thrilled with a winning record at this point but also disappointed we haven't seen more consistent production from the Bucs' top young hitters (Cruz, Davis, Hayes).
16. Milwaukee Brewers (11-6)
Last Week's Ranking (18)
I'm not sure how Milwaukee is doing what they are doing. They lost Christian Yelich to an injury last week and still managed to have a winning week. Heck, they were getting no-hit by Michael King yesterday and still managed to pull out a 1-0 victory late in the game. The Brew Crew has an impressive +25 run differential and they probably deserve to get bumped up to the next tier soon. I just keep waiting for some regression, though maybe it's not coming.
15. Kansas City Royals (12-7)
Last Week's Ranking (20)
Kansas City is one of the feel-good stories in baseball so far. They have a legit ace leading their rotation in Cole Ragans, along with a revitalized Brady Singer. They also have a budding superstar in Bobby Witt Jr. and a bunch of good young hitters around him in an underrated lineup. Salvador Perez is hitting home runs like it's 2021 again (back when he led the AL with 48). Another good week from KC and we can bump them up into the next tier I think, let's see if they have some staying power.
Middle of The Road
14. Toronto Blue Jays (10-9)
Last Week's Ranking (13)
The Jays have been getting some great innings from Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Berrios, but Kevin Gausman is still struggling a bit - even though he looked a bit better yesterday. The pitching isn't the issue here as much as the lack of offense, but the expected statistics suggest that Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and George Springer get it going sooner rather than later.
13. Tampa Bay Rays (10-9)
Last Week's Ranking (12)
Not much movement here for Tampa as they're still right in the middle of the pack. They have a winning record despite a -19 run differential, which is no easy feat. They could easily be a few games under .500 and their season has been largely a mixed bag of results thus far. Stay tuned!
12. San Diego Padres (11-10)
Last Week's Ranking (14)
I'm coming around on the Padres a bit as they make a small jump in the rankings. Dylan Cease has been better than I thought he would be (though I fear regression is still coming) and Michael King finally put it all together yesterday.
Michael King proving he can not only stick as a starter, but be an impact one.
7.2 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 10 K#Padres pic.twitter.com/qGdwp5aq4n
— Eric Cross (@EricCross04) April 17, 2024
The offense is pretty stacked and continues to carry this team as they lead the NL in runs scored (109). If the Pads can get their pitching figured out (Darvish is on the IL now) then maybe they end up contending this season.
11. Cincinnati Reds (9-9)
Last Week's Ranking (11)
The Reds continue to be a tough team to gauge. They are finally hitting the ball now and have a +10 run differential despite just a .500 record. Hunter Greene has been underwhelming, but Nick Lodolo looked fantastic in his debut and Graham Ashcraft is showing signs of turning the corner. This team has so much talent, but I can't really move them up into contender status until we see them do it on the field with more consistency.
10. Boston Red Sox (10-9)
Last Week's Ranking (9)
Boston drops out of the "contenders maybe" tier as they've come back to the field. They are still a really fun team to watch with both a talented young group or hitters and hurlers. However, now Rafael Devers is dealing with an injury and Masataka Yoshida has been benched because he can't hit anything. Garrett Whitlock hit the IL this week, too. The Sox simply don't have enough depth to deal with too many injuries to key contributors.
9. Philadelphia Phillies (11-8)
Last Week's Ranking (10)
The Phillies are certainly trending in the right direction, winning seven of their last ten games. But this team still has a -6 run differential as the offense has been slow to get going. They certainly have the talent to contend this season. Good signs last week were a solid outing from Aaron Nola and dominant outings from both Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez against Colorado. Now let's see them beat some good teams, please.
8. Chicago Cubs (11-7)
Last Week's Ranking (9)
The Cubs welcome back Jameson Taillon to their rotation today and will need him to give them some quality innings this season as their rotation continues to be without their ace from last season, Justin Steele. When Steele returns, he and Shota Imanaga are going to be a nasty 1-2 punch and Chicago has enough bats in this lineup to win consistently. They should be able to stick around all season as a threat to win the NL Central.
Contenders, Maybe?
7. Arizona Diamondbacks (9-10)
Last Week's Ranking (7)
The Snakes are our only team with a losing record in this tier. I have a hard time dropping them just yet as they still have a +19 run differential. It's been a tough draw out of the gate for them with series against Atlanta, Chicago (NL), and the Yankees. They have a chance to get going here this week with four games against the Giants and if they can't get over the hump by next week then perhaps they're not the contender we thought they were.
6. Texas Rangers (10-9)
Last Week's Ranking (4)
The Rangers dropped this week as they have failed to create any separation in their division despite a slow start from Seattle and a terrible start by Houston. Jack Leiter gets the start on the mound today for them, which is exciting, but also shows that they need starting pitching help already (not a good sign). This lineup is stacked with talent top to bottom, but rookie Wyatt Langford hasn't hit much this year after having an amazing Spring Training.
5. Cleveland Guardians (12-6)
Last Week's Ranking (5)
Cleveland has the 8th-best wRC+ in baseball at 109 as they continue to hit the ball well. I bet you can't name another hitter on this team other than Jose Ramirez, can you? Go ahead, I'll wait. As long as they continue to get this type of offensive production, the Guardians have enough pitching to compete for a playoff berth. That's even with having lost Shane Bieber for the year. At some point, they'll get Gavin Williams off the IL and the bullpen is as strong as ever.
4. New York Yankees (13-6)
Last Week's Ranking (6)
The Yankees simply won't go away. Juan Soto refuses to get out and the Bronx Bombers have the most wins in the AL despite Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres slumping at the plate and Gerrit Cole being on the IL.
Walk. Single. Double. Home Run. Walk.
Just another day at the plate for Soto ☺️Presented by @Delta pic.twitter.com/2oMVq4YEf7
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 18, 2024
The Yanks are legit, I have to eat crow here as I thought they'd struggle early on. Perhaps they will still regress a bit, but they manage to keep winning despite not playing their best baseball. It feels like they aren't going anywhere.
Contenders, For Sure
3. Baltimore Orioles (12-6)
Last Week's Ranking (3)
Baltimore's offense is so much to watch. They can hurt you in so many ways, but they've been hitting the long ball lately with Gunnar Henderson leading the way with six on the season. Cedric Mullins is enjoying a renaissance with five HR of his own and Colton Cowser has four dingers already in just his first 45 at-bats since being called up.
Three straight games with a homer for Gunnar Henderson! 💪 pic.twitter.com/936Z3Eoxhl
— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2024
Four other Orioles have four home runs and they aren't Adley Rutschman or Ryan Mountcastle either. This lineup is deadly, even with Jackson Hollisday struggling mightily. Let's not forget they have more bats down in Triple-A and that they get two of their starters back here soon (Means and Bradish). Baltimore remains my favorite to win the AL this year.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (12-9)
Last Week's Ranking (1)
The Dodgers have lost their spot at the top! They dropped a series to the Nationals and finally looked human as they were shut out by Jake Irvin of all people. Tyler Glasnow followed up his 14-strikeout performance by getting hit around by the Nats just to remind us that he's still a work in progress at times. Mookie Betts is still hitting everything and might be the front-runner for NL MVP right now.
1. Atlanta Braves (12-5)
Last Week's Ranking (2)
The Braves take over the top spot this week. They lead the league with a massive 131 wRC+ as their offense continues to pummel opponents. Marcell Ozuna continues to demolish baseballs and now has eight home runs and is hitting .352. This offense is so good that I bet you didn't even notice they lost Ozzie Albies for a month, did you? Perhaps the loss of Spencer Strider for the season will catch up to them eventually, but for right now they look like the best all-around team in baseball.
I'll see you next week for my newest batch of rankings - feel free to let me know what I got right and wrong!
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