Welcome to InSzn Sports' MLB Power Rankings; May Edition! After about 2 months of baseball, each team's overall success for the season is starting to form. With some teams overperforming their pre-season predictions, as well as some underperforming teams sprinkled in. As always, if you enjoyed this MLB article, check out the MLB page on the website and subscribe to InSzn + for more featured articles.
30. Chicago White Sox
Just a couple of seasons ago, the White Sox were atop the AL Central and had 93 regular season wins in 2021. However, the White Sox have the 2nd worst hit total on the year with the least amount of runs scored and home runs. (MLB.com). The pitching is not even average this season, making the White Sox the new worst team in the league, and making the Oakland Athletics seem like the Phillies.
29. Colorado Rockies
For seemingly the entire decade thus far, Colorado has been one of the three worst teams in all of baseball. This season, they rank dead last in both ERA (Estimated Run Average) and Strikeouts this season. (MLB.com). At Coors Field, even though the pitching is expected to suffer, the bats are supposed to be better. But, that is far from the truth. Outside of Ryan McMahon and Nolan Jones, no one on their team is having a good hitting season.
28. Miami Marlins
After competing in the NL Wild Card just a season ago, the Marlins have entered full rebuild mode. Miami has the 2nd-worst on base percentage this season, and that is to be expected after trading arguably their best bat in the lineup, Luis Arraez. (StatMuse). Before the season even started, they lost Sandy Alcantara, and then lost Eury Perez immediately after in the opening weeks of the regular season. Miami ranks this low due to its lackluster offense and brutal pitching injuries
27. Cincinnati Reds
Man, the Reds have had one of the strangest starts to a MLB season. Cincinnati had a pretty good start to the season, but they have been extremely cold as of late. Despite the brilliance of Elly De La Cruz, the Reds have ranked 5th in total team strikeouts at the plate this season. (MLB.com). On the mound, the Reds have been above average, but their offense has been so lackluster, which seems so off after their breakout season last year.
26. Oakland Athletics
The reason why the A's are not last in these power rankings is because of how unbelievable Mason Miller has been thus far. In 16 games this season, Miller has 9 saves and 41 strikeouts in 20.1 innings! (MLB.com). Oakland has also had a somewhat average offense this season, ranking 18th in slugging percentage. Overall, the Athletics have not been nearly as bad as people thought before the season started.
25. Toronto Blue Jays
Despite great pitching from Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi, the Blue Jays have underperformed tremendously this year. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been disappointing, as he has not been able to hit the ball for much power this season. They sit at 2nd worst when it comes to run total, and bottom 5 in total home runs. (StatMuse). Bo Bichette and Alejandro Kirk have been shells of themselves and have done nothing for this team. Although the Blue Jays will play better baseball as the season goes on, they have been so unexpectedly bad this season.
24. Los Angeles Angels
With the departure of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout's brutal injury, the Angels are still stuck at the bottom of the league. This feels like a crime because before Trout went down, the Angels were actually a solid team with playoff aspirations. As expected, the pitching is still a massive problem, ranking bottom 5 in ERA and runs allowed. (StatMuse). However, if Mike Trout is able to return quick enough, the Angels could be hovering .500 in a weak AL West this season.
23. Houston Astros
The Astros have been nothing short of underwhelming this season. How is a team that leads the league in batting average, have the league's HR leader, Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman this bad? The answer is their pitching, specifically their starters. Houston ranks 27th in ERA and 2nd worst in walks, which is a major reason why their record is below .500. (StatMuse). If Houston just wants to make the playoffs, they will have to get healthy on the pitching side of the roster and trade for some other starters.
22. New York Mets
As expected, the Mets have taken a step back this season. However, no one saw the horrible season that Francisco Lindor is having right now. Lindor has a .203 batting average and a .634 OPS, which is nowhere near the caliber of player he has shown to be in the past. (MLB.com) In a tough NL East, The Mets have not been the clear cut 3rd best team in the division that many speculated before the season.
21. Washington nationals
Despite the Nationals being bottom 5 in OPS and batting average, this team has not been that bad. (MLB.com). CJ Abrams is blossoming into a star for this team, and their pitching staff has been impressive to say the least. Overall, this Nationals teams has just been slightly below average to kick off the 2024 MLB season.
20. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates have been a little bit disappointing, but the call-up of Paul Skenes will strengthen one of their weaknesses, pitching. The Pirates have been bottom 10 in HRs/9 and Walks/9 thus far. Also, their offense has not been very good. The Pirates rank 3rd worst in slugging percentage, and Extra Base Hit percentage. (Team Rankings.com).
19. Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona has had a pretty good offense thus far, ranking top 10 in both on base percentage and total runs. (MLB.com). However, they rank bottom 10 in team ERA, with only one starting pitcher under 4.00 ERA in Zac Gallen. In a relatively competitive NL West, the Diamondbacks have seen their struggles thus far.
18. Texas Rangers
The defending World Series Champions have gone off to a slow start this season, in large part due to the early inconsistencies with their star players. However, they have started to play better baseball, and are in the middle of the pack when it comes to team statistics for the most part. Jon Gray has had a fantastic start to the season, and once the Rangers can get Jacob deGrom and/or Max Scherzer back, their record should start to jump up in the standings.
17. St. Louis Cardinals
Again, Nolan Arenado is projecting to have two off seasons in a row, which is why the Cardinals are not in the upper echelon of the NL Central. However, Nolan Gorman and Paul Goldschmidt have both kept the Cardinals in the middle of the MLB. St. Louis ranks 21st in both team ERA and batting average, and second to last in total runs. (Yahoo!sports.com).
16. Detroit Tigers
After a lightning hot start to the season, Detroit has cooled off quite a bit. However, the Tigers' pitching staff has overperformed and exceeded all expectations. Reese Olson, one of their bottom-end starters, currently has a 1.92 ERA and 47 strikeouts, which makes him one of the best pitchers in the league this season. (Yahoo!sports.com). Despite their expected struggles at the plate, the Tigers have been one of the most surprising teams in the MLB.
15. Tampa Bay Rays
In a super competitive AL East, Tampa Bay has somehow ended up in 4th place. Isaac Paredes has been electric yet again, tallying 9 HRS and 29 RBIs so far. (BaseballReference.com). The Rays have been the definition of mediocre this season, with no major strengths or advantages that could allow them to make the playoffs.
14. San Francisco Giants
The Giants have certainly fought to put themselves in contention for the second best team in the NL West with the Padres. Before getting injured, Jung Hoo Lee looked great in the small sample size that was provided. The Giants rank top 1o in both total hits and on base percentage. (StatMuse). Once Jung Hoo Lee returns from injury and the rest of lineup starts to perform a little better, the Giants could be a dangerous dark horse team in the NL.
13. San Diego Padres
After trading Juan Soto this offseason, many speculated a dip in the performance of the Padres. However, they have been pretty good this season. The Padres rank top 10 in RBIs, BBs and OPS this season, proving that their offense has been very good. (MLB.com). Fernando Tatis Jr. has been much better in comparison to last season, and with the addition of Luis Arraez, the MLB's current leader for the batting title, this team could be a threat come October.
12. Chicago Cubs
Sitting at 2nd in the NL Central, the Cubs have had a good start to the year in large part to the excellence of Shota Imanaga. In 53.2 innings, Imanaga has a 0.84 ERA, which leads the league by 0.9, while also having 58 strikeouts on the year. (StatMuse). The Cubs have not even been great at the plate thus far, meaning that once the bats get going, this team could propel themselves into the top 10.
11. Minnesota Twins
In a weak AL Central, the Twins have underperformed so far. With saying this, they have undergone injury issues with Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis. Their catcher, Ryan Jeffers, is currently having a career year at the plate, hitting 10 home runs and 33 RBIs. (StatMuse). Once the star duo returns to the field and the pitching comes to life, the Twins should be in a much better spot for playoff contention.
10. Seattle Mariners
Despite leading the AL West so far, the division is simply too weak to be only 2 games above .500. The pitching has been very good for the Mariners. Luis Castillo and Logan Gilbert are both top 25 starting pitchers in baseball, and have proved it thus far. However, the offense has been strangely bad. Seattle ranks last in team strikeouts at the plate, and 27th in total hits. (MLB.com). Seattle is another team that needs the bats to wake up in order to fully separate themselves as the leading team in the AL West.
9. Boston Red Sox
Before the regular season started, nobody thought the Red Sox would be 3rd in their division and at .500. Boston's success can be attributed to their top notch pitching staff. The Red Sox rank 3rd in ERA and BBs, as well as 8th in SO (strikeouts) this season. (StatMuse). Although Boston is expected to cool down, sitting at 3rd in the best division in baseball is impressive considering their pre-season expectations.
8. Milwaukee Brewers
Without any superstar hitters on the team, the bats have been brewing in Milwaukee. The Brewers rank 4th in on base percentage (OBP), 6th in RBIs and BBs as well as 7th in total hits (StatMuse). As expected, the pitching has bee good, as always for the Brewers, even without Corbin Burnes.
7. Kansas City Royals
Bobby Witt Jr. is the main reason why this team has a 34-21 record to start the season. In just his second MLB season, Witt has a slashline of .309/.366/.477, while hitting 9 home runs and 36 RBIs, making him one of the favorites to win the AL MVP. (MLB.com). Meanwhile, the pitching staff has been nothing short of amazing to kick off the regular season. Kansas City ranks 5th in Saves and 7th in ERA (MLB.com). What a turnaround for the Kansas City Royals this season, who are looking to compete for a World Series Title.
6. Atlanta Braves
Last year it was Ronald Acuna, this year it is Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna has a slashline of .311/.396./.612 with an OPS of 1.008! (MLB.com). And guess what, they still have Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy and Ronald Acuna in that lineup. In addition, Chris Sale has been unbelievable, placing 2nd in wins and WHIP thus far. All in all, Atlanta is still a top 10 team in all of baseball.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers
With a team loaded full of superstars for another season, the Dodgers have lived up to the pre-season hype. Ohtani might be the single most talented player in MLB history, proving it with the best batting average and 2nd best hit total in all of baseball. (MLB.com) Mookie Betts is looking to win an MVP award after placing 2nd the year prior, and might be the favorite at this moment. Tyler Glasnow, one of the betting favorites for NL Cy Young, has posted a 3.09 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP, which is incredible. (BaseballReference.com). Top to bottom, this Dodgers team has the title of the most talented roster in the MLB.
4. Cleveland Guardians
The most underrated player in baseball, Jose Ramirez, is coming for his respect as the Guardians have the 2nd best record in all of baseball. Ramirez is hitting .263 with 15 big flies and 52 RBIS (leading the league). (StatMuse). Andres Gimenez is having a bounce back start to the season, and is looking like the 2022 version of himself. Not only have the bats been on fire, Cleveland's pitching has been dominant. The Guardians lead the league in Saves, and rank 4th in both ERA and SO (StatMuse). Cleveland is looking to win the World Series this season and capitalize off of the great years that their whole roster is having at the moment.
3. Baltimore Orioles
Although the Jackson Holliday call-up was a bit premature, the Orioles are still a juggernaut. Gunnar Henderson is looking like the favorite to win AL MVP, slashing 17 homers and 37 RBIS in 200 at bats (MLB.com). His teammate, Colton Cowser, may be the favorite to win AL ROY with the way he is hitting the ball. Baltimore is also one of the best pitching teams in baseball, ranking 2nd in WHIP and 5th in ERA. Despite all of this success, they are in a war for the top spot in the AL East.
2. New York Yankees
It turns out the Gerrit Cole injury early on this season has not affected the Yankees at all. New York ranks 1st in ERA (2.82) and 4th in WHIP, in large part because of Marcus Stroman and rookie pitcher Luis Gil. In addition, the three headed monster of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton have led them to 77 home runs, which leads the league. (Yahoo!sports.com). Shortstop Anthony Volpe currently has a 19 game hitting streak, chasing Joe Dimaggio, who has the longest hitting streak at age 23 or younger in Yankee history at 22 games. The Yankees are yet again one of the top teams in baseball.
1. Philadelphia Phillies
Not only do the Phillies have the best record, but they arguably have the best starting pitcher trio in all of baseball. Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have been unbelievable, but Ranger Suarez has been the best starting pitcher in the National League. Suarez is 9-0, with an ERA at 1.75 and WHIP at 0.82 in 72 innings! (Yahoo!sports.com). Not only is the pitching incredible, but the lineup might be even better. Bryce Harper could very well win the NL MVP with his season so far, and Alec Bohm has been the best third baseman in the NL. Harper, coming off of an elbow injury last year, has a .923 OPS with 13 homers and 41 RBIs to kick off the season. Even J.T. Realmuto is having a bounce back year and claiming his spot as one of the best catchers in the league. Overall, the Phillies have been significantly better than any other team in baseball.
Alex Bailey, Senior Writer
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