The National League still holds the top spot in our Power Rankings. But, just three weeks into the MLB Season, the American League has begun to make a splash.
What is the red hot AL team competing with the likes? Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco GiantsAnd New York Mets? Where are the Chicago White SoxWhat happens if you lose eight consecutive games? Are there any new teams at No. 30?
Our expert panel combined to rank each team in baseball using a combination what we’ve seen sofar and what we knew going into a 162-game marathon of a full MLB season. We also reached out to ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield and Bradford Doolittle as well as Jesse Rogers, Jesse Rogers, Alden Gonzalez, and Jesse Rogers for early observations on all 30 teams.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 12-6
Previous ranking: 1
We talked at the beginning of the season about the Dodgers’ weakness in their rotation. The Dodgers have the highest starting-pitcher ERA among the majors through three weeks. Walker Buehler, Clayton KershawAnd Julio UriasThey have performed at the level they expected, Tony GonsolinAnd Andrew HeaneyThe revelations about the shoulder soreness of the former, who is currently on the injured-list, have been shocking. Oh! Dustin MayHe is well on his return. The Dodgers currently have a pace of 108 wins, which is about right. — Alden Gonzalez
2. San Francisco Giants
Record: 13-6
Previous ranking: 3
It’s true, they got you again. You took a look at the Giants roster, noticed some key missing players, and felt underwhelmed by their totality. Once again, they didn’t seem to have dominance. Three weeks later, the Giants have the second-highest winning percentage and are tied for first place with the Dodgers in the majors for the highest run differential. They look every bit the same as the team that won the 107th game last year (even without the playoffs). Buster PoseyAnd Kevin GausmanThese are just a few of the many. These Giants seem to always find a way. This year, the Giants have had a lot of help. Carlos RodonAnd Joc PedersonThese are two smart pickups from the offseason. — Gonzalez
Record: 12-7
Previous ranking: 4
The Blue Jays team lives up to their expectations. Shortstop Bo BichetteAlthough’s struggles have been a problem in the lineup, the young star dominated the game and beat the Red Sox by two runs on Monday. Catcher Zack CollinsSince being traded from the Chicago White Sox, he has been a key contributor to the team. — Joon Le
4. New York Mets
Record: 14-6
Previous ranking: 2
Their starting pitchers beat the Nationals’ struggling lineups in six games and four games, but they also won three other series against the Phillies and Giants, respectively. This means that they have won their first six series in Mets history. Their homestand against the Braves, Phillies, and Nationals will provide them with an excellent opportunity to further extend their lead in NL East. The news came on top of all that the NL East lead was extended to them by the Braves and Phillies. Jacob deGromThe results of a MRI on Corey showed that he had significantly reduced his stress reactions and he was able to begin strengthening exercises. — Dave Schoenfield
Record: 12-6
Previous ranking: 7
The Yankees bounceback start was a significant development. Gerrit ColeThe pitcher allowed only four hits and one walk, while striking out nine batters. Cleveland GuardiansSunday. Infielder is an additional bright spot. Isiah Kiner-FalefaHe is a solid start at the plate, and is one the best position players in WAR for the team during the first part of the season. — Lee
Record: 10-8
Previous ranking: 10
Wander FrancoHe continues to be as great as his advertising claims. Rays shortstop, who hit.319 in 17 games this year and is ranked in the top-5 of baseball for WAR, looks like the best player in April. — Lee
Record: 11-7
Previous ranking: 15
Logan GilbertHis first four starts were a success, with him going 3-0 and allowing only one earned run in 22 innings. Although his advanced metrics aren’t as impressive than the ERA (emphasis added), he’s only allowed two extra-base hits. Gilbert’s family from Orlando was there to watch him throw 5.2 scoreless innings against Rays. One noticeable improvement over 2021: Gilbert is throwing all three of his offspeed pitches more hard while keeping his fastball at 95 mph. Schoenfield
Record: 10-7
Previous ranking: 11
St. Louis had a terrible week at the plate. They averaged 2.71 runs per games in their seven previous games, including Wednesday’s 10-5 win against the Mets. They pitched well, at least until Monday’s ninth inning when they surrendered five runs to the Mets. The game ended in a 5-2 loss. They were a decent home-run hitting team and only hit one in seven games, but they won four of seven. — Jesse Rogers
Record: 12-7
Previous ranking: 8
The Padres are near the top of majors for three-true outcomes percentage. Manny Machado, Eric HosmerAnd Jurickson ProfarThe Padres were able to combine for a great 1.007 OPS but had not received much production beyond those three. If Jake CronenworthAnd Trent GrishamThey can get started — one would assume they will eventually — but the Padres should be able to maintain their heads above water until that day. Fernando Tatis Jr. returns. — Gonzalez
Record: 12-7
Previous ranking: 13
The Brewers didn’t get a good deal from the schedule makers. They played Sunday night in Philadelphia and then traveled home to play a late afternoon game against Giants. On Monday, they went on to Pittsburgh for a series. They were 3-1 in their four games, and now they are near the top of the NL Central. Corbin BurnesAnd Brandon WoodruffThey are becoming more like the 2021 versions of them. Rogers
Record: 8-11
Previous ranking: 9
Despite strong starting from Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Austin RileyAnd Marcell OzunaThe offense is only at the middle of the pack. Eddie RosarioAfter undergoing eye surgery to correct blurred sight, he was last year’s playoff hero and went 3-for-4 without an RBI. He will now be spending eight-to-12 consecutive weeks on the IL. In the meantime, neither Adam Duvallnor Dansby SwansonThe team, which combined for 65 home runs last season, has cleared the line entering Thursday. They also had 54 strikeouts in 143 batting practice innings.Schoenfield
Record: 9-9
Previous ranking: 6
The Astros’ offense has not only struggled during the first month of the season but it hasn’t even looked like an Astros offensive. Balance is the hallmark of the elite Houston offense of recent vintage. The goal of the elite Houston attack has been balance. The Astros have scored a lot via the longball so far. Or they haven’t been able to score at all. Houston topped the majors in batting average between 2017 and 2021, averaging.267. In their first 18 games, the Astros hit just.209 this season. Although it’s early, very early, this Houston offense is not what we have come to expect from an Astros offensive. — Bradford Doolittle
Record: 12-7
Previous ranking: 14
Mike TroutMike Trout is back, and boasts an extraordinary.365/.476/.808 average through his 14 first games. The Angels’ starting pitching has been the most encouraging aspect of this year’s team. This is especially true for three men who are not named. Shohei Ohtani. Noah Syndergaard, Patrick SandovalAnd Michael LorenzenThrough their three initial starts, they have combined for a 1.71 ERA over 47 1/3 innings. — Gonzalez
Record: 10-8
Previous ranking: 16
C.J. CronThe $14.5 million, two-year extension was signed by. He enjoys playing in high altitude. The power-hitting firstbaseman posted a.326/.412/.661 strike line at Coors Field last summer and is currently batting.350/.372/.800 there. This offense has helped to lift the Rockies to the top of the sport’s most unexpected teams in just one month. — Gonzalez
Record: 8-11
Previous ranking: 12
Boston is currently at the bottom in the American League East due to inconsistency in their pitching staff. The pitching staff boasts standouts such Nathan EovaldiAnd Garrett WhitlockThis will result in better performance for the team. Nick PivettaAfter high expectations from the front office, he has struggled through his three first starts. — Lee
16. Chicago White Sox
Record: 7-10
Previous ranking: 5
The White Sox lost six games in five days against Minnesota and Cleveland, and were outscored an average of four runs. Eloy JimenezA hamstring injury caused him to go down. Tony LaRussa caused a stir when he used a poor lineup in one of his games. Leury GarciaThird place. Tim AndersonSix errors were made in three games. One bright spot was the fact that the White Sox aren’t as bad as they were during their losing streak. No team is as bad now as the White Sox were during their losing streak. — Doolittle
Record: 10-8
Previous ranking: 22
After a slow start to the season, Twins preseason optimism had to be in doubt. Minnesota jumped to first in the AL Central after a modest win streak. The sudden turnaround can be attributed to two main factors: A surprising starting lineup and a division that looks very winnable with Chicago in disarray. The rotation was the Twins’ greatest question mark going into the season. However, it has been great in the beginning. The starters rank well in collective ERA and are in the top 10 for most other metrics, except for a poor rank in strikeout rate. Nearly everyone pitched in, but it was a low-key, no-agent revelation. Dylan BundyHe was 3-0 and had a 0.59 in his three previous outings. — Doolittle
Record: 9-10
Previous ranking: 19
In the first game of the season, the Phillies were 1-6 Aaron NolaAnd Zack WheelerThis helps to explain the sub-.500 run. The good news is that Nola only allowed one run in seven scoreless innings against the Brewers in his last outing, which the Phillies lost by 1-0. Wheeler was able to give up four runs over five innings and see his fastball velocity return closer to 2021. The potential exists for a very solid rotation. However, it needs to be started. The Mets will be their first opponent, with seven games in nine. After that, they’ll travel to Seattle and Los Angeles to play the Dodgers. Schoenfield
19. Cleveland Guardians
Record: 7-11
Previous ranking: 20
Although the Cleveland offense is now at a more comfortable level after its blistering start, they still rank highly in many key categories. Although the Guardians remain a top-ranked team in home runs scored, their attack has been more of a take and rake offense. Statcast ranks them third in collective sprint speed and they are in the top 10 for most defensive metrics. — Doolittle
Record: 10-9
Previous ranking: 23
Oakland is still competitive despite having to gut their roster in the offseason. With strong performances from the team’s starting pitchers, it has been one of the bright spots on the roster. Frankie Montas, Cole Irvin, Daulton JefferiesAnd Paul Blackburn. — Lee
Record: 6-11
Previous ranking: 17
The Tigers Miguel CabreraMiggy hit the 3,000-hit milestone last week, which was a nice bit of history. Cabrera ranks in the top tier of all-time Tigers batters, even if you only focus on his Hall of Fame Detroit career. According to baseball-reference.com, Cabrera ranks fifth in runs created as a Tiger, behind Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, Charlie Gehringer and Harry Heilman. He is third behind Heilman and Kaline as righty hitters, and has a chance to catch Heilman before he retires. — Doolittle
Record: 9-8
Previous ranking: 21
The Marlins will not be going anywhere except for their huge offseason pickups Avisail GarciaAnd Jorge SolerStart to hit. Both were hitting below.200 on Wednesday and had only hit one home run each. Garcia’s 18-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio was alarming, while Soler has been a double liability as Don Mattingly has started Soler in left field.Bryan De La CruzOften, it is used as a replacement for a defense. Schoenfield
Record: 8-10
Previous ranking: 18
Over the weekend, the Cubs had one strange series against the Pirates. They lost three of four games, but beat Pittsburgh 17 runs. They scored 21 runs in their win, but only eight in the three losses. Despite the inconsistent four-game set, they still lead the majors for OPS. It has a lot to do with rookie success Seiya Suzuki. He has been cooling off, but is still on-base for over 45%. Rogers
Record: 6-10
Previous ranking: 25
You have to wonder at some point if the Royals will just take bait with the first baseman. Carlos Santana. This is what Santana looks like at 36. He draws walks, but isn’t producing enough contact to make him a positive attack producer. While Nick Pratto, the Triple-A first base prospect is struggling, Vinnie Pasquantino, another first base prospect has been hitting well and exhibits Santana-like plate discipline. Santana must show that he has something left to offer if he is to prove it.— Doolittle
Record: 8-10
Previous ranking: 27
You must give credit to the Pirates. They won 4-3 the day after being beaten 21-0 by the Cubs. They actually played solid baseball and won 3 of 4 games in Chicago. The series won even brought them to.500. On Tuesday, however, they were defeated by the Brewers. Daniel VogelbachAnd Ke’Bryan HayesBoth had strong weeks with the Pirates. The former player won a game with a homerun. Rogers
Record: 6-12
Previous ranking: 26
The Rangers have been slow to start but are now playing better baseball, particularly on the mound. Dane DunningAlthough it wasn’t perfect, Texas was able to get solid starts thanks to Glen Otto and Texas. Martin PerezLast week. After getting a taste from the major leagues last year, Otto was particularly impressive in his season debut. He shut down Oakland on Friday and allowed just one run in five innings. It’s a good sign for a staff that ranked in the bottom of the ERA rankings until the last seven. Rogers
Record: 6-14
Previous ranking: 24
Last week we mentioned the lineup, and it’s only gotten worse. Heading into Thursday’s game against Marlins, the Nationals have lost seven consecutive games. They have failed to score more runs in any of their seven losses. Even their previous win was a 1-0 victory. Oh, and they have allowed the most runs in National League. The Nationals record for 2009 losses of 103 seems likely to be in play. Also, don’t overlook the franchise record of 110 that was set back in 1969’s Expos expansion season. Schoenfield
Record: 8-11
Previous ranking: 28
Only one of the 13 D-backs players has absorbed more plate appearances than the rest. Seth BeerAn adjusted OPS greater than 110 has been achieved by. Although they average only three runs per match, the D-backs have the second-lowest OPS. They have also received nice contributions from three of the team’s starters. Merrill Kelly, Madison BumgarnerAnd Zac Gallen. Look for the positives. If the Rockies end up being better than expected, the D’backs are ready for another 100-plus-loss year. — Gonzalez
Record: 6-12
Previous ranking: 30
Ace John MeansWill have Tommy John surgery. This will mean that he will not be able to play the remainder of the season. It will also impact the Orioles roster. But starter Bruce ZimmermannThe team’s greatest surprise so far has been the rookie, who posted a 1.20 ERA in his first three starts and a 1.13 WHIP in his 15 innings. — Lee
Record: 3-15
Previous ranking: 29
Cincinnati won a game With a win over St. Louis, the worst team in baseball ended an 11-game losing streak. But Joey VottoIt is tweeting about a hitting slumpYou know that things are not going well. Reds rank 30th in OPS/ERA. For a team without any star players, other than the aforementioned Votto (second baseman) and the Reds, that pretty much says it all. Jonathan India.Rogers