MLB Power Rankings: Harper, Nationals on the rise

Only Giancarlo Stanton hits the ball harder than Joc Pederson, who hits the ball at an average velocity of 96.1 mph. The Dodgers will take the resulting 10 homers and .919 OPS.

The Cardinals have MLB’s best pitching staff despite losing Adam Wainwright for the season. Just about the entire pitching staff has impressed while Matt Carpenter has sparked the St. Louis lineup with 24 extra base hits and a .960 OPS.

Bryce Harper is the best player in the National League. He leads the NL in home runs, RBI, walks, OBP, slugging percentage and wins above replacement. And the 22-year-old has emerged as the frontrunner for NL MVP without ever facing a pitcher younger than him.

One year after uncovering J.D. Martinez, the Tigers are getting big-time production from Anthony Gose: a .313 average with an .805 OPS and seven steals.

When the Royals selected Mike Moustakas second overall in 2007, they expected him to hit. He struggled through his first four MLB seasons but has opened his age-26 season with an impressive .900 OPS.

While the Los Angeles offence has under-performed, the Angels’ pitching staff has a 3.48 ERA thanks to the likes of Garrett Richards, Hector Santiago and C.J. Wilson.

Who expected Alex Rodriguez to have 10 home runs with a .900 OPS at this point? Now 39, A-Rod could endear himself to Yankees fans with one last big year.

Jake Marisnick has become Houston’s starting centre fielder thanks to a hot start that includes nine stolen bases with a .792 OPS. Still just 24, Marisnick’s a big reason for Houston’s surprising start.

Everyone expected Kris Bryant to hit big-league pitching, but Addison Russell’s ability to hold his own at the plate has to be considered a pleasant surprise. The infielder has 11 extra base hits in his first 102 plate appearances.

No one’s surprised to see Matt Harvey pitching well, but I didn’t expect this. The right-hander has a 1.98 ERA with seven times as many strikeouts as walks through eight starts.

Not only does Brandon Crawford have an .898 OPS, his average batted ball velocity of 92.7 mph suggests it’s not a fluke.

Brad Miller may not be a polished defender at short, but he has five home runs and an .810 OPS, an indication he may be ready to break out as a legitimately above-average offensive player.

Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by Starling Marte anymore, but the 26-year-old has increased his OPS for the third season in a row (.877 OPS) and seems headed for a career-high in home runs (8 HR).

Definitely not a whole lot of pleasant surprises for the Red Sox, so I’ll go with the fact that Boston’s just 2.5 games out of first place despite having so much go wrong. And for the record, the four AL East teams here could be placed in virtually any order.

Jimmy Paredes has six homers with a Steve Pearce-like .983 OPS. Considering he entered the season with a career OPS of .609, that definitely qualifies as a surprise.

The youngest player in baseball has a 0.83 ERA. Hard-throwing reliever Roberto Osuna is averaging more than a strikeout per inning as Toronto’s 20-year-old relief ace.

It’d be inaccurate to call Chris Archer a surprise, but he’s been better than expected after boosting his strikeout rate, lowering his walk rate and increasing his swinging strike rate. That 2.47 ERA looks sustainable.

Many players see their numbers drop off when they join the Padres. Not Justin Upton. The 27-year-old has 11 homers with a .908 OPS.

Jason Kipnis had a rough year in 2014, but he’s bouncing back in a big way with 16 extra base hits and an .892 OPS.

Avisail Garcia has always had potential, and this year he’s putting it together with an .833 OPS. The White Sox rank last in the AL in runs, so they’ll take all the offence they can get.

Kyle Gibson has a 2.98 ERA through eight starts and while this elite production doesn’t look sustainable, the Twins will enjoy it while it lasts.

Light-hitting shortstop Zack Cozart has six homers with an .839 OPS, but the Reds will need a few more pleasant surprises to become legitimate contenders.

Craig Kimbrel headlined the trade that sent Cameron Maybin to Atlanta, but the former top prospect has quietly produced, with four homers and a .783 OPS.

It took Stephen Vogt all of 32 games to match his 2014 home run total (nine). The catcher ranks among the league leaders with a 1.018 OPS.

Dee Gordon’s hitting .395, and while batting average doesn’t come close to telling the whole story that’s pretty remarkable. Gordon also ranks among the leaders in wins above replacement with 2.6.

Nick Martinez had his ups and downs in Texas’ rotation a year ago, but he’s off to a phenomenal start with a 1.88 ERA in eight starts. His 4.95 xFIP suggests regression’s on the way, however.

Off-season acquisition Adam Lind leads the Brewers with a .903 OPS, and if Milwaukee becomes a mid-season seller he could be a popular trade chip.

Sophomore right-hander Chase Anderson is off to a great start with a 2.54 ERA through eight outings.

No one’s going to confuse Aaron Harang with Cole Hamels, but credit the Phillies for believing in Harang’s 2014 bounce-back. The right-hander has a 1.82 ERA for the Phillies, which puts him on track to be a decent trade chip in July.

It’s been a rough start to the season for the last-place Rockies, so I’ll go with starting pitcher Kyle Kendrick, who has four hits in 14 at-bats for a .762 OPS.