Major League Baseball, how we missed you. The 2024 MLB season has already kicked into high gear, with potential surprise contenders, massive losing streaks, and historic moments galore. And now that we have a sample size, our MLB Power Rankings might actually carry some weight.
There's plenty of movement in the following MLB Power Rankings, with the Pittsburgh Pirates leading the way with the biggest jump, up eight spots. The biggest drop belongs to the New York Mets, who nonetheless may have righted the ship with their weekend series win. Where did your team end up this week? Read on to find out!
1. Atlanta Braves (no change)
History repeats itself.
A home opener #walkoff for the @Braves! pic.twitter.com/0GOyyrevmn
— MLB (@MLB) April 6, 2024
Even in the wake of the Spencer Strider injury news, the Braves had to stay in the top spot of the 2024 MLB Power Rankings simply because no other team has yet demonstrated the kind of moxie Atlanta displayed this weekend. The Braves had two massive comeback wins Friday and Saturday and then pulled off the sweep of the defending NL Champs Sunday behind a second straight good outing from Chris Sale.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (no change)
Yes, they lost the series at Wrigley Field, but the Dodgers still swept the rival Giants this week, saw Shohei Ohtani hit his first two home runs in blue, and are three games clear already of the rest of the NL West in the standings. They're bound to drop a series here and there, but this is going to be another Dodgers team that makes a run at least 100 wins.
3. New York Yankees (+7)
Welcome back to the party, Yankees. This team is well-rounded, has played exceptionally well in the clutch thus far, and is hitting the crap out of the baseball. Giancarlo Stanton looks five years younger. Anthony Volpe looks like he's already in his prime. And it's all because the two-headed monster of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto allows everyone else to relax in the lineup around them. This team is going to be a problem all summer long, and should stay near the top of the MLB Power Rankings.
4. Baltimore Orioles (-1)
Wild, Wild, Walk-Off pic.twitter.com/qAIBU8sfPg
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 2, 2024
The Orioles surely must have thought, after last season, that their days of looking up at the Yankees and Red Sox in the AL East standings were behind them. At 5-4, the Orioles have two walk-off wins and two walk-off losses already, both tops in MLB. They'll head into Fenway Park this week hoping to spoil the Red Sox' fun and reestablish themselves as the beasts of the East.
5. Texas Rangers (+1)
If the Rangers are going to have a World Series hangover, it doesn't look like it's coming in April. Texas has won its first three series of the year and shot to the top of the AL West. And although the offense is off to a fine start, it will soon go nuclear if rookie sensations Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford start to hit their strides.
6. Philadelphia Phillies (-1)
It hasn't been the fastest of starts for this Phillies team, but that's almost become their signature at this point. The bullpen has been shaky at times and sure, they'd love for Trea Turner not to wait until August to start hitting this year, but this is clearly going to be a good baseball team. The games won't start mattering for Philly for a while.
7. Milwaukee Brewers (+4)
It seems like we write off the Brewers at the start of every season at this point, just for them to turn around and remind us that they always manage to field a winning ballclub. The entire team seems to be hitting, the starting rotation behind ace Freddy Peralta has done just enough to win, and the bullpen, even without Devin Williams, is a powerhouse. Message received–no one's allowed to doubt the Brewers anymore, no matter how many superstars they trade away.
8. Chicago Cubs (+7)
Shota Imanaga is phenomenal. In 10 innings he's allowed just four hits, struck out 12, and would be 2-0 if not for a lengthy rain delay shortening his Sunday start against the Dodgers. With fellow countryman Seiya Suzuki socking dingers and the rest of the Cubbies' offense starting to come alive, this could be a team ready to assert itself as the early frontrunners in the NL Central.
9. Houston Astros (-5)
NO-HITTER!!!
Ronel Blanco throws a no-hitter in his eighth career start! pic.twitter.com/6Yj8yufOps
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 2, 2024
Thank the heavens for Ronel Blanco. The Astros' 30-year-old first-time starting pitcher threw a no-no to give them their first win Monday, then turned around and set an expansion-era record for consecutive no-hit innings to start a big-league season Sunday. The bad news? The Astros are 1-7 in games Blanco hasn't pitched. Justin Verlander looks to be on his way back soon and that couldn't be more desperately needed for this Houston club.
10. Seattle Mariners (-3)
Mariners fans who hoped their team wouldn't be entirely dependent on starting pitching this season are so far utterly dismayed. The team has a .589 collective OPS — third-worst in the big leagues — and is striking out over 10 times per game.
There have been ups and downs on the pitching staff as well, but it's not like George Kirby is going to give up eight runs every start. If this offense is destined to be mediocre, though, the M's will have a tough time stopping their new playoff drought at just one season.
11. Arizona Diamondbacks (-2)
The Diamondbacks played a ton of tight games this past week and came out of it with a tough-to-stomach 1-5 record against the Yankees and Braves. The six-run comeback defeat Saturday night was particularly brutal for a team that slammed the door whenever it had the chance all October long. A trip to Coors Field sure comes at a nice time for these Snakes.
12. Tampa Bay Rays (-5)
Ryan Pepiot was phenomenal at Coors Field for the second time in his career Sunday, enabling the Rays to salvage a series win in Colorado. Unlike last April, though, the Rays are struggling early with the bats. Their best hitter thus far is Ben Rortvedt, recently discarded from the Yankees because he was the third catcher on the New York roster.
13. Minnesota Twins (-2)
We're just going to lump the AL Central together for now and hope nobody remembers what order we chose to put them in. This division is already messy with the Twins underperforming through their tiny sample size and their two chief competitors coming out of the gates hot. Minnesota keeps the advantage for at least one more week based on last season, but that could change in a heartbeat.
14. Cleveland Guardians (+7)
If Shane Bieber weren't already done for the season, there's a good chance the Guardians would be ahead of the Twins, who they just took back-to-back games from in Minnesota. Assuming Cleveland handles its business against the White Sox, they should get a real chance to prove they're serious and move up the MLB Power Rankings when they host the Yankees this coming weekend.
15. Detroit Tigers (+5)
The last team in the majors to take a loss and still ranked third in their own division? We hear you, Tigers fans. But Detroit seems to only want to win their games by one run each and just dropped a series at home against the Oakland Sacramento Athletics. Go handle business against Pittsburgh and Minnesota this week and then we can really start to talk.
16. Pittsburgh Pirates (+8)
Olivares walks it off for the WIN! pic.twitter.com/bOgEPimQck
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 7, 2024
Alright, it's time to buy in. The Pirates took two out of three from the Orioles in dramatic, yet weird fashion thanks to Edward Olivares' hustle and Gunnar Henderson's errant throw. That ties the Buccos with the Yankees for the best record in baseball thus far at 8-2. They fooled us last April with their 20-9 record before ultimately sputtering, but we're all ready to get fooled again.
17. Toronto Blue Jays (-5)
The Blue Jays came into the week feeling pretty good about their offense and immediately got no-hit by the Astros' Ronel Blanco in just his eighth career start. They proceeded to lose that series in Houston and then another in the Bronx, so although it's early, the Jays will need to perform better against their fellow AL playoff hopefuls if they want to vault back into the top half of these MLP Power Rankings.
18. Boston Red Sox (+5)
The good vibes from a 6-2 start looked like they might all be unraveling with the devastating injury to Trevor Story and the defense starting to kick the ball over Southern California. But the Red Sox bounced back with four homers on Sunday, including one from AAA call-up David Hamilton, replacing Story in the lineup. With the Orioles on tap in the Fenway Park season opener, the Sox have to make sure their momentum makes the trip with them back across the country.
19. San Francisco Giants (-5)
THAIRO AND CHAPPY CALLED GAME pic.twitter.com/fMmnNqYOl7
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 5, 2024
A pair of one-run losses against the Dodgers makes this Giants team look a lot worse on paper than they've played on the field thus far. But their 4-6 record against a tough schedule thus far is a reminder that San Francisco is in a no-holds-barred death match to make the playoffs out of the NL West. But hey — Blake Snell makes his season debut on Monday, so there's certainly that to look forward to.
20. San Diego Padres (-4)
Starting the season in Korea has made all the Padres' early season stats look wonky, but the pitching has been encouraging as of late. Right now only Fernando Tatís Jr. is pulling his weight offensively among the team's highest-paid stars, so if the rest of the lineup comes around, the Friars can start to hit their stride and start to climb the MLB Power Rankings.
21. Cincinnati Reds (-3)
It's been an up-and-down season already for the Reds, who would have just been swept by the Mets if not for some Saturday heroics from Spencer Steer. Perhaps the most important wrinkle so far is that Frankie Montas has been fantastic in his first two starts thus far. If he pitches like an ace, this is a playoff contender without a shadow of a doubt.
22. St. Louis Cardinals (-3)
The Cardinals are 5-5, yet somehow alone in last place in a suddenly-stacked NL Central. But most of the team is off to sluggish starts at the plate, so there's hope for a rebound in the near future. This week will be a nice measuring stick for the Cards as they face off with the two teams in last year's NLCS, the Phillies and Diamondbacks.
23. Kansas City Royals (+4)
Bobby Witt Jr. is playing like a superstar, while the Royals have a top-three starting rotation by almost any statistical metric, which felt like a pipe dream at this time a year ago. Can they sustain the good vibes long enough to stay in the hunt in a wide-open AL Central? It's definitely not out of the question.
24. Los Angeles Angels (+2)
You have to give it up to Ron Washington, who sensed trouble after two awful games in Baltimore to start the season, called a team meeting and immediately propelled his new team to a four-game winning streak. Mike Trout is hitting balls 470+ feet again and Reid Detmers is striking out the world. This team can hang around for a while if the young players in the lineup can start to click.
25. New York Mets (-8)
Tyrone Taylor gives the @Mets their first win of the season! #Walkoff pic.twitter.com/8gjUF6LhyL
— MLB (@MLB) April 4, 2024
We know the offense isn't as bad as it looked through the team's five-game losing streak, but this is still a very discouraging start to the year for the Mets. But New York did win its first series of the year on the road against a tough Reds team, so perhaps they just decided to get all their worst baseball of the year out of their systems at the first possible opportunity
26. Washington Nationals (-1)
Sometimes, it's hard to remember that the Nationals are indeed one of the 30 teams playing big-league baseball on a given day. They'll flash signs of improvement for a series or two and then go completely silent just as abruptly. One last tip of the cap to Stephen Strasburg, though. This shoddy rotation sure could use a guy with his electric stuff nowadays.
27. Miami Marlins (-5)
If there was anything controversial about the ClutchPoints preseason rankings, it was putting the Marlins, fresh off a playoff appearance, in the bottom 10. As it turns out, they were far too high. The Fish finally got that elusive first win on Sunday, but the entire pitching staff is hurt and the lineup has nobody performing at league average or better. It's going to be a painful setback year in South Florida as they will likely stay at the bottom of the 2024 MLB Power Rankings.
28. Colorado Rockies (+2)
That Ryan McMahon walk-off grand slam in the home opener sure was fun, even if the Rays will go to their graves saying it happened because the baseballs were terrible. But the Rockies already seem to be making it a goal to see just how many runs a truly awful pitching staff can give up with Coors Field as their home ballpark. Rising above the bottom five at any point this season feels like an impossible task for this Colorado team.
29. Oakland Athletics (no change)
Hey, if we did this purely based on records, the three-win Athletics would actually have to move up the list! But lest we forget, the A's also played a game this week in which they made five errors in a three-inning span. With the franchise set to spend the next three years in a AAA park, the players on the current roster will be fighting to prove they deserve to play the other half of their games in major league stadiums.
30. Chicago White Sox (-2)
The injury to Luis Robert Jr. takes the White Sox from an awful team with one superstar to straight-up unwatchable. Garrett Crochet is one of the most fascinating pitching storylines in baseball, but his team has lost literally every game he hasn't taken the mound so far, which is why they are last in the 2024 MLB Power Rankings.
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