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Once again it's time to refresh our weekly MLB power rankings. I do this every Friday as most teams have wrapped up their mid-week series and are set to start new weekend series today.
Remember, I will be factoring in past performance, the current level of performance, overall talent, and preseason expectations into the rankings - though it's time to start letting go of expectations and focusing on what each team is doing on the field so far.
We have even more movement amongst teams this week with some big-time risers (and fallers) and a shake-up to our top-5! Here are your Week 7 MLB Power Rankings!
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The Bottom Dwellers
30. Colorado Rockies (9-28)
Last Week's Ranking (29)
The Rockies are our new "worst team in baseball" as they won just twice last week and are 2-8 over their last ten games. We could honestly put any of the bottom three at #30 this week, there's not much separating these teams other than one win and a few runs in run differential.
29. Chicago White Sox (10-28)
Last Week's Ranking (30)
Okay, White Sox, you get one week to say "We don't suck as much as those guys." But you are on notice that it won't take much to get bumped back to the 30-spot.
28. Miami Marlins (10-29)
Last Week's Ranking (28)
More bad news for the Marlins this week as Edward Cabrera hits the IL. This team has to be the most disappointing of our bottom dwellers as their roster at least LOOKED like a potentially competitive one coming into the season. Injuries happen to all teams, but this Miami team is underperforming in every way. They already dealt Luis Arraez this week in a trade and is likely to put more veterans on the block soon.
At Least We're Not Those Guys
27. Los Angeles Angels (14-24)
Last Week's Ranking (26)
The Angels are bottoming out quickly without Mike Trout. The lineup they are rolling out is rough and they're now sitting at -40 run differential. They beat up on my Pirates for a few wins with Patrick Sandoval throwing a gem, but this team lacks punch on offense, and their best pitcher, Reid Detmers, has also regressed over his last several starts, too. Don't be surprised to see the Angels as sellers at the deadline.
26. Houston Astros (13-24)
Last Week's Ranking (25)
I'm running out of excuses for Houston. There's really no way this team should be this bad, right? Nothing has gone right for the Astros this year, but they are not completely buried yet. It's going to take a sustained winning streak to get there, but Houston still has enough talent to be a playoff team come September. Do I think they will be? Probably not.
25. St. Louis Cardinals (15-22)
Last Week's Ranking (24)
At least Sonny Gray has been awesome, right, Cards fans? And then Sonny Gray got smacked around by the Brewers last night. Even though their rotation is enough to qualify for AARP benefits, it's really been the inept offense that has doomed this team this season. They simply can't score.
24. San Francisco Giants (17-22)
Last Week's Ranking (20)
The Giants were unable to complete the sweep of the Rockies this week and have now dropped seven of their last ten games. Even Logan Webb has shown some cracks in the armor lately, and their pitching is supposed to be carrying them. This team is not good and doesn't look like they are going to be this season at any point. Maybe I'm wrong.
23. Toronto Blue Jays (17-20)
Last Week's Ranking (19)
The Jays continue to fall down the rankings as they have now entered the danger zone of being considered a "bad team" after multiple years of being in contention. Good teams certainly don't have -44 run differentials, that's for sure. The slumping big three of Guerrero, Bichette, and Springer are driving fantasy managers and Blue Jays fans alike mad.
22. Pittsburgh Pirates (17-21)
Last Week's Ranking (21)
But this was supposed to be the year! Yeah, not really, we knew better. But it was fun to dream for a few weeks, right? Jared Jones is awesome and Paul Skenes pitches this weekend. Too bad the Bucs can't score any runs, which is why they simply aren't winning many games.
21. Oakland Athletics (18-21)
Last Week's Ranking (27)
Oakland is trending up in a big way, winning six of their last ten games. They're probably heading for worse times yet, but at least they are competing right now and that's all you can really ask for.
20. Washington Nationals (18-18)
Last Week's Ranking (22)
The Nationals are .500 despite a -8 run differential. That's better than most thought they would be this season. I could see them hovering around .500 for a while, but I'm not sure they have enough talent to be a winning team this year. James Wood should come up at some point and provide some excitement on offense, but this team is clearly rebuilding and not in a rush.
So...Are They Good?
19. Tampa Bay Rays (19-19)
Last Week's Ranking (23)
Just when I had buried the Rays, they went 5-1 last week and are back to .500 on the season. So, once again, I really don't know how good they are. I do know that they are better with Josh Lowe back in the lineup and rookie Johnny DeLuca has been a nice addition to a struggling offense as well. Taj Bradley debuts for the Rays tonight and they really need another big arm like his to get their season back on track.
18. Cincinnati Reds (16-21)
Last Week's Ranking (14)
The Reds are reeling right now, dropping eight straight games and nine of their last ten.
.@JoshRojass has been on fire this season. Check out the full breakdown from @heygoldy. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zte7rV8h5T
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 9, 2024
They are only a few more losses from dropping out of this tier into the bottom third, but we know they have the talent to turn it around. Do they have enough veteran leadership in the clubhouse this year without Joey Votto? Stay tuned, the range of outcomes for this season for Cincy is quite wide.
17. New York Mets (18-18)
Last Week's Ranking (18)
I never know what to say about the Mets, they are 5-5 over their last ten games and still exactly .500 on the season with just a +5 run differential. They are the perfectly mediocre team this season, so ranking right in the middle of 30 teams makes total sense to me.
16. Arizona Diamondbacks (18-20)
Last Week's Ranking (11)
I finally had to drop the Snakes down out of the top few tiers this week. Arizona is actually a few games closer to .500 than they were last week, but their +13 run differential is starting to regress back to average. This team could certainly go on a run at any point this season, but right now they seem stuck in neutral.
15. San Diego Padres (20-20)
Last Week's Ranking (17)
The Padres moved up a few spots this week, but are still just .500 on the season. They could be better than this, they have the pitching and hitting talent, but something tells me we see them hover around .500 for much of the season. They just can't seem to put it all together and this roster is built to win now, so they'll have to decide if they want to be buyers or sellers at the deadline or risk being stuck in purgatory.
14. Detroit Tigers (19-18)
Last Week's Ranking (12)
Is this the beginning of a slide down toward the middle of the pack for Detroit? We knew they were playing a bit over their heads for the first month and even with solid pitching, it's going to be hard for them to overcome the major lack of offense. They are still barely hanging on to a winning record and positive run differential (+6).
Trending Up, On The Verge Of Contention
13. Boston Red Sox (19-18)
Last Week's Ranking (13)
I created a new tier this week for teams that I know are good, but I still view as outside the top third in the league. It's a small group, but the Red Sox certainly belong here. Their +34 run differential shows that they should probably have a few more wins, and let's also remember that they are dealing with some injuries to both their rotation and lineup.
Nick Pivetta did make it back this week but had a tough outing against the Braves. The Red Sox weren't really even trying to contend this year, so any success they have this season will just serve as momentum for next year when they can retool their roster and possibly make some impact moves that will turn them into contenders.
12. Milwaukee Brewers (22-15)
Last Week's Ranking (7)
The Brew Crew is still tied for the fifth-most wins in baseball, but I really can't put them into the next tier as contenders with only a modest +25 run differential and their lack of star power. Christian Yelich is back and makes a nice 1-2-3 punch with William Conteras and Rhys Hoskins, but Freddy Peralta is the only pitcher on this staff that strikes any fear into the heart of the opposition. The Brewers are still overperforming in my opinion and due to regress closer to the middle of the pack.
11. Seattle Mariners (20-18)
Last Week's Ranking (16)
Seattle just dropped three out of four games to Minnesota, striking out 53 times in four games. The strikeouts are a big issue with this offense, which is really holding this team back from contending as their starting pitching has been solid.
.@JoshRojass has been on fire this season. Check out the full breakdown from @heygoldy. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zte7rV8h5T
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 9, 2024
Josh Rojas has been a nice success story for the Mariners, but they are going to need Julio Rodriguez to start putting up bigger numbers and the rest of the offense to start making more contact. One thing to watch this weekend is Bryan Woo making his season debut tonight against Oakland.
10. Chicago Cubs (22-16)
Last Week's Ranking (8)
The Cubs dropped a bit this week, mainly because some other teams behind them in the rankings got hot and really deserved a promotion. Chicago got both Cody Bellinger and Justin Steele back this week, so they have to be excited to have most of their core pitchers and hitters off the IL and ready to make a run in the NL Central.
Contenders, Maybe?
9. Kansas City Royals (23-16)
Last Week's Ranking (9)
KC remains in the top-10 this week and some might argue they should be higher than 9th, based on their +52 run differential that is tied with Philly for the third-best in baseball. I love that the Royals are good again, but it's a long season so I have been careful to move them up slowly as we get more and more evidence that they can continue to contend.
They're playing great baseball right now and the story continues to be excellent starting pitching. They'll need guys like Seth Lugo, Alec Marsh, and Michael Wacha to continue to pitch well, and perhaps that's why I have my doubts about their contender status as all three guys could be overperforming early.
8. Texas Rangers (22-17)
Last Week's Ranking (10)
The Rangers have turned it on lately, winning seven of their last ten games. Their schedule this week sets up nicely as they get the lowly Rockies in Coors this weekend and then a showdown with the Cleveland Guardians at home. They're still a couple of games up on Seattle, but the Mariners are closing in on them as this should end up being a two-team race in the AL West (unless Houston miraculously turns it around)
7. Minnesota Twins (22-15)
Last Week's Ranking (15)
By far our biggest jump in the rankings this week belongs (again) to Minnesota. The Twins continue to play some inspired baseball and have put their slow start pretty far behind them in the rearview mirror. Ryan Jeffers has arrived as one of the better hitting backstops in baseball.
"Oh yeah, baby!!!"
Royce is all of us after that Jeffers smash! pic.twitter.com/aiSJSirOj4
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 9, 2024
Minnesota has won eight of their last ten and has seen their offense heat up in a big way. And they are doing it without one of their better hitters (Royce Lewis) who is on the IL. The pitching is above average and the offense has finally caught up, we are finally seeing why a lot of people (including myself) were high on this Minnesota team coming into the season.
6. Cleveland Guardians (24-14)
Last Week's Ranking (2)
The Guardians are clinging to the lead in the AL Central, but the aforementioned Twins are closing in quickly. Cleveland also fell out of the top tier for me this week as we are finally seeing some regression from their offense and their pitching. Ben Lively wasn't going to be that good forever, and Carlos Carrasco is not a long-term solution either. They need Gavin Williams back in a big way as the strength of this team should be their pitching. The loss of Steven Kwan at the top of the lineup has certainly dinged the offense lately, too.
Contenders, For Sure
5. Atlanta Braves (22-12)
Last Week's Ranking (1)
The Braves had a nice run at the top of our rankings for three weeks, but they've cooled off a bit, winning just four of their last ten games. There's nothing to be worried about here, this team is a World Series contender and should be in the top 5 all season. And if anything, the Braves have to feel pretty good about what they are getting out of Chris Sale right now as he looks as good as he has in several years.
4. New York Yankees (25-14)
Last Week's Ranking (6)
The Yankees and Orioles are set to battle it out for the AL East this season, as both have created some separation from Boston and the rest of the division. Both teams have an identical +53 run differential, but the Orioles have a half-game lead in the division and are still my favorite to win it based on how much young talent they have.
The Yankees would have the ultimate trump card, however, if they get word that Gerrit Cole can return midseason or even late in the season as this team has looked good enough to potentially secure a Wild Card berth even without their ace.
3. Baltimore Orioles (24-12)
Last Week's Ranking (3)
The Birds are flying high as our top-ranked American League team. Orioles' nation has to feel pretty darn good about the first few starts from Kyle Bradish and John Means's debut. Getting both back in the rotation should offset the short-term loss of Grayson Rodriguez and once all of them are healthy at the same time, Baltimore could have one of the better rotations in the AL to go along with their bevy of talented young hitters.
2. Philadelphia Phillies (26-12)
Last Week's Ranking (5)
The fightin' Phils have technically the best record in baseball, as they sit a half-game ahead of the Dodgers currently. Like L.A., they've won eight of their last ten games and have it going both on offense and with one of the best starting pitching staffs in baseball.
Are the Phillies the best team in baseball?#MLBNow | #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/0iReTpksuh
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) May 9, 2024
Zach Wheeler is the current frontrunner to win the Cy Young and Ranger Suarez (their #3 starter) looks like he could be an ace on a lesser staff in his current form. The Phillies and Braves are head an shoulders ahead of the rest of their division and it's a shame that one of those teams is going to end up as a Wild Card team this postseason.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (26-13)
Last Week's Ranking (4)
The Dodgers are back on top once again, it was really only a matter of time until this uber-talented bunch got things back in gear. They didn't lose at all last week, reeling off seven straight wins and increasing their league-leading run differential to a whopping +74.
Shohei Ohtani is on pace for one of the best offensive seasons in baseball history, if you haven't been paying attention and rookie Gavin Stone has found his footing, giving the Dodgers some much-needed stability at the back end of their rotation.
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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