We haven’t even hit June yet, but the power rankings as of Memorial Day have clubs beginning to climb into or fall out of contention.
1. Philadelphia Phillies (34-19) | Last week: 5 (+4)
Yes, the schedule was favorable with trips to face the Rockies and Athletics over the past week, but Philadelphia went 6-1—with the lone loss being a close game yesterday that snapped a nine-game winning streak. Trea Turner has been red hot in May with a .340 average, and the Phillies are hoping to bury the Braves starting tomorrow night.
2. Detroit Tigers (34-20) | Last week: 1 (-1)
Detroit could have remained atop the power rankings, and ace Tarik Skubal bounced back from two sub-par outings to pitch a shutout with 13 strikeouts yesterday. Before salvaging the series, though, the Tigers had lost the first three games at home versus Cleveland to drop their AL Central cushion to 4.0 games.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (32-21) | Last week: 2 (-1)
The tough stretch for Los Angeles didn’t start as well as they wanted after falling to the Mets last night, and it’ll be a full month of challenges before taking on the Nationals in late June. Of course, the return of Shohei Ohtani on the mound is something to look forward to, and he was treated like a movie star throwing live batting practice over the weekend.
4. New York Yankees (32-20) | Last week: 4
A 3-2 loss to the last-place Rockies on Friday was the only blip on the radar for New York last week, and they’ll try to keep it going against the Angels before the highly anticipated showdown versus the Dodgers. Aaron Judge has hit eight home runs in 10 career games against the top NL opponent.
5. New York Mets (32-21) | Last week: 3 (-2)
The Mets are happy with the series win over the Dodgers, but they first dropped two-of-three versus the Red Sox and saw the Phillies overtake the NL East lead—and pushing it to a 2.0-game advantage. Facing the White Sox and Rockies as the two worst teams in the MLB could be what’s needed to get Juan Soto going.
6. Chicago Cubs (32-21) | Last week: 8 (+2)
Three offensive outbursts with 11+ runs over the past week suddenly has Chicago tied for the second-most wins in the NL—and as mentioned last week, the soft schedule has positioned them to move up in the power rankings. We’ll get a better indication if the Cubs are for real when they travel to Detroit and Philadelphia in early June.
7. San Francisco Giants (31-22) | Last week: 7
The big news over the past week for the Giants was Justin Verlander being placed on the IL with a pectoral strain, and while it doesn’t seem like he’ll be out long, we know how injuries can impact a pitcher—especially one in his age-42 season. Overall, San Francisco is hanging tight in the NL West.
8. San Diego Padres (29-22) | Last week: 6 (-2)
The Padres had to slip in the power rankings with a six-game losing streak that began with a sweep at the hands of Seattle last weekend, but a series win on the road versus the Braves this weekend might have them back on track. The play of Manny Machado (.321 average on the year and four multi-game hit games over the past five outings) has gone overlooked.
9. St. Louis Cardinals (30-23) | Last week: 12 (+3)
St. Louis found a way to hang on in all three games of a sweep versus the Diamondbacks, and moving Nolan Arendo down to the No. 6 spot in the lineup seems to have worked out thus far with seven RBI since the change last Monday. The road woes (11-15 record) need to be corrected this week versus the Orioles and Rangers.
10. Seattle Mariners (29-23) | Last week: 9 (-1)
The season debut for George Kirby didn’t go well with five earned runs in 3.2 innings against Houston, but Seattle is glad to have him back nonetheless. If not for a 1-11 stretch for the Athletics (now 7.0 games back), things would be really tight in the AL West with 4.0 games separating the top four teams.
11. Minnesota Twins (29-23) | Last week: 10 (-1)
12. Cleveland Guardians (29-23) | Last week: 13 (+1)
13. Kansas City Royals (29-25) | Last week: 14 (+1)
14. Houston Astros (28-25) | Last week: 16 (+2)
15. Atlanta Braves (25-27) | Last week: 11 (-4)
16. Arizona Diamondbacks (26-27) | Last week: 15 (-1)
17. Boston Red Sox (27-28) | Last week: 19 (+2)
18. Tampa Bay Rays (26-26) | Last week: 22 (+4)
19. Milwaukee Brewers (26-28) | Last week: 20 (+1)
20. Texas Rangers (26-28) | Last week: 17 (-3)
21. Cincinnati Reds (26-28) | Last week: 18 (-3)
22. Toronto Blue Jays (25-27) | Last week: 21 (-1)
23. Los Angeles Angels (25-27) | Last week: 24 (+1)
24. Washington Nationals (24-29) | Last week: 25 (+1)
25. Oakland Athletics (23-31) | Last week: 23 (-2)
26. Miami Marlins (21-30) | Last week: 26
27. Baltimore Orioles (18-34) | Last week: 27
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (19-35) | Last week: 28
29. Chicago White Sox (17-36) | Last week: 29
30. Colorado Rockies (9-44) | Last week: 30