Major League Baseball

MLB power rankings: Rays for real? Time for concern with Cardinals, Phillies?

Updated Apr. 10, 2023 6:53 p.m. ET

Scoring, stolen bases, batting averages and batting averages on balls in play are all up. Game lengths are considerably down. Everything MLB's new rules were meant to address appears to be working.

Maybe none of that is particularly shocking. What is surprising is that last year’s National League champion Phillies currently have the same number of wins as the Nationals, while the reigning World Series champion Astros have the same number of wins as the Reds and Rockies.

As we get to our second week of power rankings below, we’ll highlight other surprises on all 30 teams.

1) Atlanta Braves (6-4; last week No. 2)
The second-highest slugging percentage on the Braves belongs to … Orlando Arcia. There were questions coming into the year about which shortstop would take over, and the 28-year-old veteran is rewarding the Braves’ faith.

2) New York Yankees (6-3; LW 3)
Aaron Judge is picking up where he left off with a 1.194 OPS, but he’s not the Yankees' leader in on-base percentage, walks or stolen bases. Those honors belong to Gleyber Torres, who’s looking more and more like the promising former top prospect who dazzled in his first couple years in the league.

3) Houston Astros (4-6; LW 1)
I’m trying to keep in mind the reigning champs did start last season 7-9, and they’ll eventually get José Altuve and Michael Brantley back, but it’s getting harder to keep them toward the top. The Reds and Pirates are out-slugging them. Is this the James Click curse? (Probably not.)

4) Tampa Bay Rays (9-0; LW 7)
Forget how ridiculous this rotation has been for a second. The Rays have not only allowed the fewest runs in baseball, they’ve also outscored every team in baseball by at least 15 runs. Their weak competition thus far is worth noting, but 9-0 is 9-0, and their plus-57 run differential is more than double that of any other team.

5) New York Mets (5-5; LW 4)
The pitching injuries and struggles are worth noting, but the star-studded Mets lineup has the fourth-lowest batting average in baseball. Eduardo Escobar is slashing .125/.152/.250. Omar Narváez is hurt. Time to let the kids play?

6) San Diego Padres (6-4; LW 5)
Seth Lugo hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2017. The 33-year-old has been the best starter in the Padres’ rotation through the first couple weeks of the year.

7) Los Angeles Dodgers (5-5; LW 6)
Jason Heyward has three home runs in six games and mashed the hardest-hit ball of the season for the Dodgers. Conversely, their typically trusty bullpen has absorbed two losses, ranks 24th in strikeout percentage and is letting opponents bat .269. Strange times.

8) Toronto Blue Jays (6-4; LW 9)
Matt Chapman has started his contract year as arguably the best hitter in baseball through 10 games (.475/.523/.800). On a lesser note, José Berríos has allowed 12 earned runs in 9.2 innings, which, given how poorly last year went, is less of a surprise as it is a confounding red flag. The hopes of last year being a blip are dwindling.

Blue Jays' Matt Chapman smashes a grand slam vs. the Angels

9) Minnesota Twins (6-3; LW 10)
Entering Sunday, the best starting pitching ERA in baseball belonged to the Twins. Basically everything they could’ve hoped for is coming to fruition. Trade acquisition Pablo López is anchoring the rotation and looks like a star, while Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda all appear healthy.

10) Cleveland Guardians (6-4; LW 11)
Two of the three worst ERAs in the Cleveland bullpen right now belong to James Karinchak (9.00) and Emmanuel Clase (5.40), and they still have a winning record.

11) Milwaukee Brewers (7-2; LW 15)
Brian Anderson leads the Brewers in every slash line category and entered Sunday fourth among all qualified hitters in weighted on-base average. Yes, that Brian Anderson.

12) St. Louis Cardinals (3-6; LW 8)
It's been a bizarre start in St. Louis. Jack Flaherty has allowed 13 free passes in 10 innings … and has a 1.80 ERA. The Cardinals are in the NL Central’s cellar despite boasting the top batting average in baseball. Nolan Gorman leads the team in OPS, while 33-year-old journeyman Taylor Motter has the hardest-hit ball of their season. There’s also already been a bit of a kerfuffle:

13) Seattle Mariners (4-6; LW 13)
Jarred Kelenic has a .286 batting average, while J.P. Crawford has the highest average exit velocity on the team. I promise those stats weren’t incorrectly flipped.

14) Philadelphia Phillies (3-6; LW 12)
Bailey Falter and Matt Strahm have a combined 1.77 ERA in their three starts; Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker have a combined 6.14 ERA in their six starts.

15) Los Angeles Angels (5-4; LW 16)
Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout and Taylor Ward are all playing to form. But the highest percentage of barrels per plate appearance? That belongs to rookie Logan O’Hoppe.

Logan O'Hoppe CRUSHES a 424-ft homer to give Angels 6-0 lead over Blue Jays

16) Texas Rangers (5-4; LW 14)
One result of the rotation spending? Dane Dunning and Cole Ragans are now in the bullpen and haven’t allowed an earned run in a combined seven appearances. Ragans has one more win as a reliever this year than he did in nine starts last year. The Rangers’ bullpen has a 1.89 ERA.

17) Arizona Diamondbacks (6-4; LW 22)
The D-backs have won more than they’ve lost despite trailing in every game this year. They have an OPS over 1.000 in close and late situations.

18) Boston Red Sox (5-4; LW 18)
OK, the actual best hitter in baseball to start the season has been 34-year-old Adam Duvall (.455/.514/1.030).

Adam Duvall hits a two-run home run to give the Red Sox a commanding 8-0 lead over the Tigers

19) Chicago Cubs (4-4; LW 19)
The only National League pitchers to throw six scoreless innings in each of their first two starts of the year are Chicago’s Marcus Stroman and Colorado’s Kyle Freeland.

20) Chicago White Sox (4-6; LW 17)
Position player Hanser Alberto has a 21.60 ERA in two appearances — and that’s not the highest mark in the White Sox bullpen, which currently sports a league-worst 8.31 ERA.

21) Baltimore Orioles (4-5; LW 20)
In addition to leading the team in steals, Jorge Mateo is tied for the team lead in homers.

22) San Francisco Giants (4-5; LW 21)
The Giants have struck out more than any team in baseball … and rank fifth in OPS.

23) Pittsburgh Pirates (6-3; LW 24)
Clearly, extension discussions aren’t distracting. Entering Sunday, no player in the majors had barreled more balls than Bryan Reynolds. He leads MLB in expected wOBA and expected slugging percentage and now sports a 1.334 OPS.

Shohei Ohtani & Bryan Reynolds highlight Ben Verlander's early MVP race

24) Cincinnati Reds (4-4; LW 25)
MLB’s strikeout leader is 25-year-old Nick Lodolo. He has 21 strikeouts through two starts.

25) Miami Marlins (4-6; LW 23)
The Marlins should be able to lean on their starting pitching. Sandy Alcántara and Jesús Luzardo have combined for a 1.32 ERA; the rest of their starters have combined for a 6.75 ERA.

26) Colorado Rockies (4-6; LW 26)
Kris Bryant has reached base safely in 47 of his 52 games with his new team dating back to last year but is still looking for his first homer as a Rockie at Coors Field.

27) Kansas City Royals (3-7; LW 27)
The Royals have nine hitters with at least 10 at-bats this year who are hitting under .200. Their .184 team batting average is the lowest in the majors.

28) Washington Nationals (3-7; LW 29)
Victor Robles has the fourth-lowest strikeout percentage among qualified NL batters, so there's that.

29) Detroit Tigers (2-7, LW 28)
The Tigers have as many homers (five) and triples (one) as Bryan Reynolds this year.

30) Oakland Athletics (2-7; LW 30)
They’re the anti-Rays; no team has scored fewer runs or allowed more runs than the A's.

Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. He previously was the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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