Here are the Power Rankings at quarter mark

Here are the Power Rankings at quarter mark

May 23rd, 2022

While not much has changed at the top over last week, this week’s edition of Power Rankings features a big surge up the list by an American League East club trying to overcome a slow start to the 2022 campaign. Meanwhile, last year’s National League West champions have dropped in the Rankings following a hot start to the season.

Now that we've reached the season's quarter mark, here’s a look at how our voters ranked the 30 clubs, from top to bottom:

Biggest jump: The Red Sox vaulted six spots from No. 21 to No. 15, thanks in large part to Trevor Story, who broke out of his season-opening slump in a huge way by launching five home runs in Boston’s four-game series against the Mariners at Fenway Park. Punctuated with a walk-off grand slam by Franchy Cordero to complete the sweep of Seattle on Sunday, the Red Sox went 6-1 during the week and have won nine of their last 12 to inch closer to the .500 mark for the season (19-22).

Biggest drop: The Giants (No. 7 to No. 10) and the Mariners (No. 15 to No. 18) each fell three spots this week after San Francisco was swept by the Padres over the weekend and Seattle went 1-6 on the week.

1) Yankees (1 last week)
DraftKings World Series odds: 5.5-1
Despite being swept in a Sunday doubleheader by the White Sox, the Yankees still finished the week 4-3 to preserve their standing as the team with the best record in baseball, at 29-12. Aaron Judge launched his MLB-leading 15th homer of the season in Game 1 of the twin bill, and the trio of Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo has 36 homers already in 2022. Meanwhile, the starting rotation leads the AL with a 2.90 ERA.

2) Dodgers (2)
DraftKings World Series odds: 4.5-1
The Dodgers nearly had a perfect week, reeling off six straight wins beginning with a 5-4 victory over the D-backs on Monday. But Los Angeles dropped a heartbreaker against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park to close out the week on Sunday, when a Max Muncy error at first base enabled Philadelphia to win in 10 innings, 4-3. Still, the Dodgers have won seven of their last eight and enter the new week with a slim half-game lead over the Padres in the National League West.

3) Astros (4)
DraftKings World Series odds: 8-1
Houston stumbled a bit out of the gate this past week, dropping two of three against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. But the Astros rebounded to take three of four from the Rangers at Minute Maid Park to maintain a 1 1/2-game lead over the Angels in the American League West. The starting pitching has been phenomenal, with Justin Verlander’s 1.22 ERA leading a rotation whose 2.96 ERA is the second-best in the Majors. Astros starters also lead the AL with 228 1/3 innings pitched so far this season.

4) Mets (3)
DraftKings World Series odds: 8-1
The Mets had to grind through a tough week, with a pair of doubleheaders -- one at home against the Cardinals to begin the week and another over the weekend at a chilly Coors Field after snow postponed the series opener in Denver. And if that weren’t difficult enough, they also had to put Max Scherzer on the injured list and will be without him for six to eight weeks. But New York still emerged with a 5-2 record and some excitement along the way, including a Pete Alonso walk-off homer to beat St. Louis on Thursday.

5) Brewers (6)
DraftKings World Series odds: 10-1
With their win over the Nationals in Milwaukee on Saturday, the Brewers improved to 26-14 on the season, their best start through 40 games in franchise history. We always knew the pitching would be there, both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen, but the question was whether the offense would deliver. So far, so good, as Milwaukee enters the new week ranked seventh in MLB with 193 runs scored. Rowdy Tellez and Hunter Renfroe have led the way with nine homers apiece, and Christian Yelich has shown signs of bouncing back after two difficult seasons at the plate.

The rest of the field of 30:

  1. Padres (8)
  2. Angels (5)
  3. Rays (9)
  4. Twins (10)
  5. Giants (7)
  6. Blue Jays (11)
  7. Cardinals (12)
  8. White Sox (13)
  9. Braves (14)
  10. Red Sox (21)
  11. Phillies (16)
  12. Guardians (17)
  13. Mariners (15)
  14. D-Backs (20)
  15. Marlins (18)
  16. Rockies (19)
  17. Rangers (23)
  18. Orioles (26)
  19. Cubs (22)
  20. Pirates (27)
  21. A’s (24)
  22. Tigers (25)
  23. Royals (29)
  24. Nationals (28)
  25. Reds (30)

Voters: Alyson Footer, Anthony Castrovince, Paul Casella, Mark Feinsand, Nathalie Alonso, Mike Petriello, Sarah Langs, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Doug Gausepohl