It’s time for the second edition of the SAN Major League Baseball power rankings, and things have changed a bit since we published the first list of the season back on April 16. A few teams have cooled off, and there are some surprising new entries in the top 10.
Is the NL West still leading the pack?
Let’s start with the Los Angeles Dodgers as our top team, who were fifth on the list one month into the season. They’ve picked it up after a small slump and, despite a rash of injuries, are still winning ballgames. Is anyone surprised by this? Probably not. Shohei Ohtani has 12 homers, and they’ve won 11 of their last 15 games to lead the powerful NL West.
The key in this latest stretch, however, has been 36-year-old Freddie Freeman. His .376 average is a success that manager Dave Roberts believes is sustainable.
“With his swing, the lower half, it’s a little different than it was, than it has been throughout his career,” Roberts said. “But I think this is kind of a new normal for him. And he’s finding ways to make good on it and feel comfortable while doing it.”
Next up, the Detroit Tigers are moving from sixth up to second on the list simply because they keep winning. Their team statistics are in the top 10 in nearly every major offensive category. Ace pitcher Tarik Skubal has 50 strikeouts and just a single walk in his last seven starts. They’ve won eight of their previous 11 games, and beating up on the Los Angeles Angels and Colorado Rockies is exactly what good teams do.
We’ll go back to the NL West for team number three on the list. The San Diego Padres didn’t slip too much –– they pretty much stayed where they were a month ago, which was number one. They are another team roughing up the worst team in baseball, having beaten the Rockies by three touchdowns Saturday, 21-0.
Which teams are in the middle of the pack?
As we pointed out four weeks ago, Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm is still struggling, having just hit his first homer of the season. However, Kyle Schwarber is picking up the slack in a big way. Schwarber is fourth in OPS and tied for the major league lead in homers with 14. The Phillies are surging because of it, having won 11 of 15 games. Manager Rob Thomson says the power hitting gets better as the weather warms up.
“We’ll go through a stretch, maybe a couple of stretches, where we don’t hit home runs but right now it’s coming,” Thomson said. “The air is –– the ball’s carrying a lot more right now –– it’s warmer.”
At spots five and six, a pair of teams have slipped, but not by much. The New York Mets and San Francisco Giants have nearly identical records and are getting good balance from their offensive lineups.
New York is finally seeing Juan Soto heat up a little, with five homers in his last 10 games. If he takes off, so will the boys from Queens. San Francisco is leaning on its bullpen with a major league-best 2.53 ERA.
At number seven, the hottest hitter on the planet is Aaron Judge, and it’s been that way since game one of the season. Judge has an unbelievable .409 average, an OPS over 1,000, and he’s tied for the league lead with 14 homers. With a starting rotation in shambles, he has single-handedly carried the New York Yankees to their 23-17 record.
Who’s making a charge up the list?
Before being swept over the weekend by the Toronto Blue Jays, the Mariners were the hottest team in baseball, having won 18 of 24 games. Catcher Cal Raleigh is smashing homers, and they are getting contributions from unknowns like Ben Williamson and Leody Taveras. The M’s are certainly streaky, and with some pitching injuries, they could go in the other direction quickly, but Manager Dan Wilson is still confident.
“When we play to who we are as a team, things go really well,” Wilson said. “When we get on base, cause traffic on the bases, get ahead in the count, when we control the count –– that’s what we do, and that’s when we have the consistent success.”
At number nine, another hot team, the Kansas City Royals, have won 10 of their last 13 to get back in the AL Central race. It’s all about pitching for them. Since April 20, their staff ERA is 2.25. They’re still last in the majors in home runs with just 27, and rank near the bottom in a lot of offensive categories, but they’re moving in the right direction.
The Cubs had a tough stretch the last couple of weeks –– if you call playing .500 baseball tough. Not to mention, we found out the newly elected Chicago-born pope, Leo XIV, is a White Sox fan. All that means is that they dropped from second on our list to 10th. The northsiders are still second in runs scored and third in homers, which will help them surge once again. Especially considering 12 of their next 15 games come against the Miami Marlins, Pope Leo’s White Sox and the Colorado Rockies.
So that’s the top 10. We should also shout out two of the hottest teams in the league –– the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals –– who just missed the list. Both teams have won eight of their last 10 games. We’ll see if those streaks are sustainable and where they stack up one month from now.
contributed to this report.
