Sometimes, you just have to take a step back and appreciate a truly great week in Major League Baseball. Whether it was Juan Soto, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Tucker, or Jonny DeLuca, baseballs were flying out of stadiums all week long and superstars and role players alike were producing riveting moments from coast to coast. But with so many standout performances, both by these individuals and their respective teams, it becomes extremely difficult to decide how to stack the 2024 MLB power rankings.
Do you reward recent performance? Memorable head-to-head matchups? Teams with the best underlying metrics? It's a complicated mess to sort through, but we're sure going to try.
Where did your team land in this week's power rankings? Read on to find out…
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (no change)
It was another methodical week for the Dodgers, who won the last three games of their series with the Reds and saw Shohei Ohtani deliver his first walk-off hit wearing blue. Walker Buehler had his best outing since his return from injury, Jason Heyward homered in his first game back and everything is clicking for the team everyone's been chasing in the MLB power rankings for almost a month now. It's close at the top, but the Dodgers still reign supreme.
2. Philadelphia Phillies (+1)
The only possible negative thing you could say about the Phillies right now is that they aren't being tested. They've still played just three games against teams with a record over .500 at the moment and those were their first three games of the season against the Braves. But ask yourself: Why are all those teams under .500? It's due in large part to the fact that they've lost all the games they played against the Phillies. This is a team firing on all cylinders and they've got as good a shot as anyone to hoist the Commissioner's Trophy come November.
3. Baltimore Orioles (-1)
The Orioles fell behind the Yankees atop the AL East this week, but they remain tied in the loss column and are still playing great baseball. Gunnar Henderson briefly had a two-homer lead on all other MLB hitters Sunday until Kyle Tucker rudely erased that lead with a pair of jacks in Houston. But Henderson is probably the number one AL MVP candidate right now and the Orioles remain one of the select few teams with seemingly all the tools to make a title run this season.
4. New York Yankees (+1)
The Yankees aren't really losing ballgames right now and it's hard to deny them a spot in the top three of the MLB power rankings at this point. They remain in fourth by the narrowest of margins, if only because they still aren't that far removed from dropping their only matchup with the Orioles. But the starting rotation and lineup are both playing the best of any team in the game and it wouldn't be a surprise if the Yankees claimed the top spot at some point this summer.
5. Atlanta Braves (-1)
The Braves can keep their top-five spot for now based on track record, but something is definitely off with Atlanta right now. They've lost three in a row to fall five games back of the Phillies in the NL East, Ronald Acuña Jr. is dropping routine fly balls and nobody but Marcell Ozuna is hitting up to their full potential. The Braves should get Austin Riley back in the lineup soon and they play a doubleheader Monday, so perhaps in a mere few hours, they will have split their series with the Padres and gotten back on track.
6. Cleveland Guardians (+3)
What a week it was for the Guardians, who won their series in Texas against the defending champs and then swept rival Minnesota to establish control of the Central division lead once again. The weekend was full of heroics, as Jose Ramirez hit a game-winning homer Friday night and Will Brennan hit a three-run walk-off bomb to seal the sweep Sunday. The Guards have once again found their stride in the wake of Steven Kwan's injury and it appears no setback is capable of keeping them down for long.
7. Kansas City Royals (+3)
This weekend was a telling sign of just how much the Royals have improved from a season ago. After jockeying with the Athletics for the worst record in baseball for much of last summer, K.C. swept Oakland out of town with ease over the weekend, improving to 28-19 and 3.5 games clear of the Wild Card cutoff. There's certainly still plenty of time for things to deteriorate, but these Royals might just hang in this race for the long haul.
8. Milwaukee Brewers (no change)
The Brewers were out-dueled by the Astros in what felt like a very evenly-matched series this weekend in Houston. However, they did gain ground at the top of the NL Central standings on the week, thanks to some slip-ups from the Cubs. The depth looks a little thin right now, but William Contreras is doing everything in his power to keep Milwaukee at the top of the heap. And he's making a darn good case to get MVP consideration, too.
9. Chicago Cubs (-2)
If the Cubs thought they had a favorable home matchup with the Pirates on their hands coming into the weekend, they certainly thought wrong. Jared Jones, Paul Skenes, and Bailey Falter all dominated the Cubbies on the mound and if not for a controversial safe call at home plate on Saturday's walk-off single, Chicago might well have lost all four games. Sometimes, you just run into a hot pitching staff and there's not much you can do at the game's highest level.
10. Seattle Mariners (+1)
The best thing the Mariners have going for them at the moment is they somehow find themselves in the weakest division in baseball so far if we're purely judging by records. But of course, this was also the division that produced both challengers in last year's ALCS, so it's hard to imagine staying on their current win pace will keep Seattle in first place all season.
11. Tampa Bay Rays (+4)
Now this is the Rays baseball we've become accustomed to seeing in the Kevin Cash era. Tampa tortured two of its AL East foes all week long, frustrating pitching staffs with long at-bats and pouncing with timely home runs when the games hung in the balance. Now back over .500 and in a tie for the third Wild Card spot, the Rays will look to maintain their dominance over the Red Sox at the Trop starting Monday night.
12. Texas Rangers (no change)
At what point does a slow start turn into a championship hangover? Because the Rangers are clearly trying to test everyone's patience by now. A series loss to the lowly Angels dropped Texas back to .500, now just 2.5 games ahead of the Astros for second place in the West. Outside of a red-hot Marcus Semien and catcher Jonah Heim, no one in the lineup has over 1.0 bWAR, a far cry from last season when seemingly every Ranger was an All-Star. And to make matters worse, Adolis García was scratched Sunday with a sore forearm, though it looks like it's nothing all that serious.
13. San Diego Padres (no change)
Could you be any more confusing, San Diego? After being swept at home by the last-place Rockies, the Padres went on the road and took the first two games in convincing fashion from the 26-16 Braves as Yu Darvish became the third pitcher ever to win 200 combined games between MLB and Japan's NPB. And very appropriately, the Friars find themselves at exactly .500 heading into Monday's twin bill with Atlanta. Let's just see where this roller coaster takes us next!
14. Minnesota Twins (-8)
There's one surefire way to drop yourself five-plus spots down the MLB power rankings, and that's winning zero games in a calendar week. The Twins fulfilled their annual tradition of being dropkicked by the Yankees, then squared off with division rival Cleveland and took another sweep, falling to 5.5 games back in the AL Central standings. In what has been the streakiest season of any team in baseball so far, the Twins are back to heading in the wrong direction.
15. Detroit Tigers (+1)
The Tigers did well to take two of three on the road in Arizona, setting the tone with a 13-0 thumping of the defending NL champs Friday night. But Detroit continues to hover around the .500 mark while the top two teams in the Central separate themselves from the pack. Tarik Skubal is awesome, but otherwise, it's beginning to look like the Tigers just on't have the juice to challenge at all for a division title and might even be out of the Wild Card picture before too long.
16. Boston Red Sox (-2)
Most of the news is bad in Boston right now, as the Red Sox fell under .500 for the first time since Easter with a 2-5 week and Garrett Whitlock suffered a setback in his rehab and is now shut down with elbow soreness. However, we simply have to shout out Rafael Devers, who has an active five-game home run streak to tie a franchise record most recently matched by none other than Bobby Dalbec in 2020. If Devers mashes like this all summer, there's always a chance the Sox could remain in the Wild Card hunt.
17. San Francisco Giants (+3)
The Giants finally accomplished their first three-game winning streak of the season, then added a fourth on Sunday just for kicks. Luis Matos went absolutely bonkers against the Rockies with 11 RBI between Friday and Saturday, and then Heliot Ramos joined in on the youth movement with his second career home run Sunday. Losing Jung Hoo Lee for the season is devastating, but San Francisco could be on the way to finding an identity if the AAA callups continue to shine.
18. Houston Astros (+5)
Now that's more like it, Houston. Taking all four games from the lowly Athletics is one thing, but the Astros made a real statement by winning their series with the first-place Brewers this weekend, pushing themselves within 3.5 games of the Mariners at the top of the division. Both Seattle and Texas had the chance to bury Houston while they were down and both failed. Now, it's a three-team race in the wild, wild West once again.
19. Arizona Diamondbacks (no change)
The Reds continued to be the Diamondbacks' savior this week, as Arizona is now 5-1 against Cincinnati and 17-24 against everyone else. The D-Backs then refused to retain any positive momentum from a series win, getting shellacked Friday night by Detroit en route to losing two of three at Chase Field. And it's almost Memorial Day and Corbin Carroll is still one of the ten-worst qualified hitters in all of baseball. At what point do the D-Backs have to consider either a phantom IL stint or a minor league demotion to get Carroll right?
20. Toronto Blue Jays (+1)
If you want a positive takeaway from this week up north, it's that Alek Manoah looked fantastic for a second straight start on Sunday, and this time he finished off the seventh inning without allowing any runs at all. On the downside, Toronto lost the series after blowing a 4-0 lead Saturday afternoon and fell deeper into last place, a full 11.5 games back of the Yankees. One good week could still turn things around, but some uncomfortable conversations are going to be had in the front office if the Jays stay at the bottom of the heap as the calendar turns to summer.
21. Pittsburgh Pirates (+4)
There's some legitimate momentum building for the Pirates in the Paul Skenes era. After taking three of four from the Cubs at Wrigley, the Buccos have separated themselves from the Reds and Cardinals at the bottom of the NL Central and are getting strong pitching performances from most of their other starters as well. It's still unlikely this is the year Pittsburgh breaks their playoff drought, but the future looks promising nonetheless.
22. New York Mets (-5)
Blowing a four-run ninth-inning lead against the lowly Marlins was easily the low point of the 2024 season for the floundering Mets. There were even reports that Edwin Díaz cried in the locker room after allowing the game-tying home run and openly expressing his willingness to give up the closer role. Reed Garrett seems to be the man for the job, at least temporarily, as he slammed the door on Miami on Sunday to salvage one win in the series.
23. St. Louis Cardinals (+3)
The good news? St. Louis won both of their matchups this week and no longer looks like the worst-hitting team in baseball. The bad news? The Cards are still six games under .500 and have to face the Orioles to start the new week. There's some momentum building, but it will take a lot more weeks like this one before we can start factoring the Cardinals into the playoff picture again.
24. Washington Nationals (-6)
The Nationals continued their sloppy run of recent play with two more series losses this week, bringing their record to 4-8 in the past two weeks. Many of the hitters who got off to hot starts this season have cooled off significantly and it continues to be clear that Washington doesn't have the pitching depth to challenge for a playoff spot in 2024.
25. Cincinnati Reds (-1)
It really just keeps getting worse. There are only six teams yet to reach 20 wins so far in the new season and somehow the Reds, who were 16-13 three weeks ago, are still one of them. Elly De La Cruz and his 30 stolen bases continue to stand out, but nobody else is pulling their weight on either side of the ball. Not only are the Reds hovering on the edge of becoming sellers, but pretty soon there are going to be loud calls for manager David Bell to lose his job.
26. Los Angeles Angels (+1)
It was a feel-good week for the Angels, who took their series from the defending champs in Arlington over the weekend and only lost a 12-inning war of attrition on a Carson Fulmer hit-by-pitch. Jo Adell continued flirting with a breakout while Kevin Pillar got his 1,000th career hit and 100th career stolen base in the same week. The Angels are becoming something of a haven for ballplayers whose big-league careers might otherwise be over but hey, it's always nice to at least be known for something unique.
27. Oakland Athletics (-5)
Unfortunately, the brief surge towards .500 appears to be all but forgotten in Oakland. The Athletics have lost their last eight in a row and find themselves dangerously close to last place in the AL West after two solid weeks in the third spot. But that was always going to happen to a team whose long- and short-term plans are completely undefined. Perhaps the A's can shift their focus towards getting Mason Miller the start at the All-Star Game.
28. Colorado Rockies (no change)
That seven-game winning streak sure was fun! Unfortunately, the Rockies lost all their steam when they rolled into Oracle Park, allowing the Giants to put some life back into their own season with a sweep. But fortunately, the Rox catch a break from travel early this week as they'll stay in the Bay Area to take on the A's. It's quite possible that series will determine who stays out of the bottom three in next week's MLB power rankings, so all the sicko fans out there should definitely keep an eye on it.
29. Miami Marlins (+1)
You have to appreciate the little victories in a dismal season and the Marlins clearly did so with their four-run comeback victory against Edwin Díaz and the Mets on Saturday. And Miami actually won both of its series this week, something it hadn't done all season beforehand. Plus, if Josh Bell keeps hitting clutch home runs, perhaps he will garner the Fish some legitimate trade capital at the deadline this year.
30. Chicago White Sox (-1)
The White Sox clearly had to eat a slice of humble pie after winning consecutive series for the first time all season and they certainly did that in the Bronx this weekend. Chicago was outscored 17-5 in a three-game sweep and is now just one run shy of becoming the first team to reach a -100 run differential this season. We continue to see a comical bumper car race for the bottom three slots in the MLB power rankings and this week, it's the White Sox' turn to bring up the rear.
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