Final member of Power Rankings Top 5 rocketed up 14 spots

Would you believe that, after Sunday, we are nearly 10 percent of the way through the season already? How in the world did that happen? The days go by so quickly; they grow up so fast, don’t they?

These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.

1. Dodgers (previously: 1)
The Dodgers are off to a blistering start with an MLB-best 11 wins in their first 15 games, but similar to last season they still have an NL West rival close on their heels with the Padres sitting just 1 1/2 games back in the division.

2. Yankees (previously: 2)
The Yankees had a rough series in St. Petersburg over the weekend, but it should be said that despite their losing streak, they’re hardly floundering: Six of their seven losses have been by one run, and they still have the best run differential, by far, in the American League.

3. Braves (previously: 4)
Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his first homer on Friday, the second time in three seasons he has taken more than 52 at-bats to get off a homer schneid to start his season. Considering these have been the three most injury-riddled years of Acuña’s career, the three years since his MVP season, the most important aspect as always is health. With Matt Olson looking like his old self of late, if Acuña can get going and stay on the field, it could look like 2023 again in Atlanta fast.

4. Brewers (previously: 3)
Ho hum, it’s a Brewers team that is outperforming everyone’s expectations again. The Brewers have one of the five best run differentials in baseball. And it may get easier: Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn will be back sooner than many expected.

5. Padres (previously: 19)
For all the great pitching going on in baseball right now, there continues to be no one better than Mason Miller, who on Friday night ran his streak to 28 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, five short of the franchise record. His 79.2 % strikeout rate was the highest by a pitcher in his first seven appearances of a season since at least 1900. "I love that that guy is on our team,” said teammate Gavin Sheets.

6. Guardians (previously: 12)
The Guardians are off to a fun start, and it should be noted that they’ve done it without getting much from José Ramírez: The perpetual MVP candidate is hitting .180 with just two homers so far. One still suspects he is, uh, going to figure it out pretty soon. His homer on Saturday did finish off the feat of hitting a homer against every other team in the sport. (The Braves were the only team left.)

7. Pirates (previously: 15)
It has been a while since the Pirates have been as fun as they are right now, and while it is obviously early, it should still be cherished. After all, the Pirates have, quite famously, never won the NL Central, the only team in the division that never has; they’ve won it four fewer times than the Astros, who have been in the American League for nearly 15 years. First place is first place: This is the good stuff.

8. Rangers (previously: 14)
Everybody has their own opinions on this stuff of course, but to these eyes, the best two new City Connect jerseys belong to the Pirates and the Rangers: That TEJAS across the chest looks fantastic. And the red, something the Rangers haven’t worn since 2022, is “cochineal red,” which comes from an insect that’s significant in Mexican culture. “If you squeeze the [cochineal] insect, it does make this crimson, rich, royal color,” said Daisy Rincón, the Rangers manager of multicultural marketing. “It was used in Mexican artistry, traditions and the clothes of nobles and royalty. It has a lot of that royal significance.”

9. Phillies (previously: 8)
The Phillies offense has been sputtering in a way that is increasingly concerning, and it’s starting to look like it’s Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper or bust with this team: The Phillies are 27-7 when they both homer in the same regular-season game, like they did on Saturday, but absolutely no one else in the lineup is currently hitting at all.

10. Mets (previously: 10)
This may seem sort of obvious, but: The Mets need Juan Soto in the lineup. Since he hit the injured list with a calf injury, they have scored just 27 runs in their eight games. Watching them try to hit against the A’s pitching -- the A’s pitching! -- over the weekend was actively brutal.

11. Diamondbacks (previously: 21)
The Diamondbacks are keeping their heads above water despite a difficult schedule early, but one thing they’re not doing should be noted: They’re not hitting homers. After going deep eight times in their first seven games, they only hit one in their next nine games.

12. Blue Jays (previously: 6)
Jays fans have felt snake-bitten since last year’s World Series, and 2026 isn’t making them feel any less so: The injuries are piling up, with George Springer now joining Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, José Berríos, Anthony Santander, Yimi García, Alejandro Kirk, Addison Barger and Cody Ponce on the IL. It’s going to be a struggle just to hang on for a while.

13. Cubs (previously: 11)
The Cubs’ offense hasn’t really shown up yet, despite the comeback walk-off victory on Sunday. There was a stretch during the Pirates series in which they went 1-for-23 with runners in scoring position. Manager Craig Counsell is not worried. “It’s going to turn. It’s going to happen.”

14. Mariners (previously: 5)
The Mariners haven’t gotten off to the start they might have wanted, but a sign for what they’re looking for moving forward came on Saturday, when their stars all showed up at once: J.P. Crawford, Cal Raleigh, and Julio Rodríguez went 5-for-10 with two homers, two walks and all eight RBIs in a win over the Astros.

15. Reds (previously: 20)
The Reds had been hoping that they would be able to fix whatever has ailed Ke’Bryan Hayes, who, despite his defensive skills, has had only one above-average full offensive season in his career. They haven’t had much luck so far: He, amazingly, has just three hits – all singles – in 38 at-bats (.079) in 2026.

16. Marlins (previously: 16)
Jeff Conine might have been known as Mr. Marlin, even though he’s actually second on the Marlins’ all-time games-played list, behind Luis Castillo. It is going to be increasingly difficult for his son Griffin to catch him; he went on the IL this week after having a left hamstring excision and will miss 6-8 weeks. He missed most of last year to injury as well and, over three years, has played in only 65 games. (He’s 959 Marlins games behind his dad.)

17. Orioles (previously: 13)
Pete Alonso famously got off to a roaring start last year upon returning to the Mets, but the motor is taking a little longer to get moving this year: He is hitting .190 and is striking out in more than a third of his plate appearances. Oddly, he has as many stolen bases (1) as homers. He did have two hits on Sunday, a good sign moving forward. “I feel bad,” Alonso said. “A lot of people believe in me, and I believe in myself, but I’m not delivering results. I will. I just haven’t. But I will.”

18. Tigers (previously: 9)
The Tigers’ start has been disappointing, but in Riley Greene and Kevin McGonigle, it’s obvious they have two young hitters to build around who are the envy of baseball. Greene’s monster three-run homer on Saturday marked his 15th straight game of getting on base to start the season, and McGonigle, who hit his first career homer on Sunday, has as more walks (nine) than strikeouts (eight), an impressive achievement for a 21-year-old in the first games of his career.

19. Astros (previously: 7)
Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in OPS (and is tied for second in homers behind the Cardinals’ Jordan Walker), which is incredibly encouraging after his injury-riddled 2025, but it won’t matter if the Astros can’t get better starting pitching: Their starters’ ERA is the highest in baseball right now, and injuries are only piling up.

20. Cardinals (previously: 23)
There may be no more pivotal player for the Cardinals this year, and perhaps moving forward, than Jordan Walker, who is still only 24 years old. He doesn’t have to be as good as he has been so far -- hitting the ball as hard as ever, but now in the zone and in the air -- to secure his spot as a player to build around. But it changes everything about this team for the next half-decade if it turns out this is who he is. Because right now? This second? He’s one of the best hitters in baseball.

21. Royals (previously: 17)
Bobby Witt Jr. has stolen eight bases so far, but, thanks to the Royals lineup’s struggles around him, it’s not really helping all that much: He has, somewhat surprisingly, scored only one run this season.

22. Red Sox (previously: 18)
The Red Sox seem to have recovered from a miserable start, particularly the offense. A five-run ninth inning on Saturday against the Cardinals seemed to spur them on Sunday, and they were pushed along by the vets: Willson Contreras and Trevor Story both had four hits, with a combined five RBIs in the finale.

23. Giants (previously: 22)
The pressure remains on manager Tony Vitello, which everyone (most of all him) saw coming, and will remain until the Giants get their season back on track. It would help if Rafael Devers gets hot: He’s hitting .222 with a .269 OBP and just two homers.

24. A’s (previously: 26)
Nick Kurtz is off to a rather cold start, hitting just .204, but it should be said: He is still among the top 10 hitters in exit velocity. Which is to say: Hang in there, he’s going to come back around, and surely soon. A good sign: He’s getting on base a ton, and he hit his first homer of the season in the A’s 1-0 win against the Mets on Sunday. It’s about to get very good.

25. Twins (previously: 27)
There have been some baserunning issues early on, but on the whole, this Twins team is off to a much better start than their miserable 2025. But look out: Royce Lewis, who was off to a great start, is back on the IL again: It is the ninth time he has been on the IL in his four-year career.

26. Rays (previously: 24)
It sure is wonderful to see the Rays back in Tropicana Field; the old place has never looked better, and the crowds clearly came out to see them and their beloved digs. And now the team looks forward to its “forever home,” with plans released this week with the hope that it will open in 2029.

27. Angels (previously: 25)
The Mike Trout hot streak that began the season has slowed considerably in the last week, sadly: He has not homered since the second game of the season and is just 5-for-his-last-42. He’s still getting on base, though: He’s at a .400 OBP, which would be his highest number since 2021.

28. Rockies (previously: 30)
You don’t want to get too carried away, but the Rockies have shown some signs of life early; ask the Astros, whom the Rockies just swept, about how Colorado is looking. Sure, they’re still in last place. But remember: The Rockies didn’t get their sixth win last year until May 1, a win that made their record 6-25. It is certainly much earlier than May 1 right now. Progress!

29. White Sox (previously: 29)
You know how the worry about Munetaka Murakami was that he wouldn’t be able to hit offspeed stuff? Well, since he homered in his first three games, he’s 5-for-42 with one homer, four RBIs, and 18 strikeouts in his past 13 games. In that time, he has seen fastballs in less than half the pitches thrown to him, which might have something to do with it.

30. Nationals (previously: 28)
That the Nationals have stalled the past few years does not mean all of their young players have. While James Wood’s 221 strikeouts last year caught headlines, he still was arguably better in 2025 than he was in ‘24, and he is better so far in ‘26. He's tied for third in the Majors with five home runs, and he’s hitting the ball as hard as anyone in the sport. He may just end up being the star we all thought he was going to be.

Voters: Jason Catania, Dan Cichalski, Theo DeRosa, Mark Feinsand, Rick Gold, Jared Greenspan, Thomas Harrigan, Will Leitch, Brent Maguire, Arturo Pardavila, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon, Ismail Soyugenc, David Venn, Zac Vierra, Andy Werle