A couple of powerhouse offenses failed to score in the last week of baseball. Meanwhile, teams that looked like they were headed for a skid started to win. There is still much baseball left to play, as we are only seven weeks into MLB season.
Will the surge continue? San Diego Padres You will be able to catch up with the Los Angeles Dodgers In the National League West Can the Houston Astros Catch Aaron Judge And the New York Yankees In the American League What is the highest level of Boston Red Sox risen in our rankings?
Our expert panel ranks every baseball team based on what we’ve seen and what we know going into the 162-game seasons. 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 their early observations on all 30 teams.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 29-14
Previous ranking: 2
Mookie Betts Although it was slow to start, the five-time All-Star quickly rose to the top of the MVP list with a hot May. Betts’s last 22 games have seen him slash.341/.410/.739 and he has scored four runs in his four last starts. His offensive surge comes at a time when Dodgers’ rotation is noticeably shorthanded. Clayton Kershaw Andrew Heaney We are still making progress. — Gonzalez
2. New York Yankees
Record: 31-13
Previous ranking: 1
Although the Yankees appear to be one of the most talented teams in the game, questions are being raised about their future. Aroldis Chapman And whether the team can afford him to remain their closest. Meanwhile, Aaron Judge — in his contract year — has had one of his best seasons and looks like a MVP candidate. With Judge’s offense and strong performances from the pitching staff the Yankees seem to have very few holes. –– Lee
3. Houston Astros
Record: 29-16
Previous ranking: 3
The Astros have established themselves as one the most feared title contenders in baseball, but they have done so with a less than vintage performance from All Star third baseman. Alex Bregman. Bregman’s plate discipline is excellent, maybe even better than ever. Bregman is among the league’s leaders in walks, and has walked as much as he’s struck it out. That’s kept Bregman’s overall production solid despite a lagging .230 average**. And that figure is driven by a rock-bottom .237 BABIP**, 51 points below Bregman’s career norm. This is all luck. However, Bregman is hitting more flyballs at the expense line drives. His average launch angle, per StatCast, has been 22.1 degrees**, by far the highest figure of his career. — Doolittle
Record: 29-17
Previous ranking: 4
After some thrilling wins, the Mets lost Tuesday’s best game, losing 13-12 to the Giants. This was after the Mets scored seven runs in eighth and two in ninth. Edwin DiazHowever, he was unable to hold the lead in ninth. It was his third blown save of the season and second appearance in this series. Setup man Drew SmithHe was not scored upon in his 12 first appearances. In fact, he has allowed runs in 4 of his six past appearances. Late-game relief has been a bit shaky. — Schoenfield
5. San Diego Padres
Record: 28-16
Previous ranking: 8
The Padres required Manny Machado You can play like a superstar with Fernando Tatis Jr. He has gone one step further and is now a front-runner for the MVP. Machado is the NL’s leader in OPS, and the majors lead the majors (by a healthy margin considering it’s only May) in FanGraphs wins over replacement. While Machado is pacing the offense, the Padres’ talented and well-respected rotation finally lives upto the hype. This team is going to be absolutely terrifying when Tatis comes back. — Gonzalez
Record: 28-16
Previous ranking: 5
The latest news Freddy Peralta It doesn’t sound very good so Milwaukee suddenly seems a little more vulnerable at the mound. Peralta has a shoulder strain, while fellow all-star Peralta is still on the field. Brandon Woodruff He is still looking for rhythm, though he may have found it in his last game against the Nationals. He allowed just one run on five hits and did not issue a walk. His two last outings have been positive. Kolten Wong had a rough week at the plate, going 1-for-19** over a six-game span. Rogers
Record: 27-18
Previous ranking: 6
Only one major league team was ranked in the top five for OPS, starting-pitcher ERA and relief-pitcher WHIP, as of Wednesday morning. It would be the Angels. They’re more than just Angels. Mike Trout Shohei Ohtani They are currently. They are one of the best-rounded teams in the sport. This is evident by their plus 48 run-differential. — Gonzalez
Record: 26-17
Previous ranking: 9
Shane McClanahan Drew Rasmussen They have been one the most dominant rotation duos in MLB so far, keeping Tampa Bay ahead of the rest of its competitive division. Keep an eye out for lefty pitchers. Jeffrey SpringsThis is a player who has put in strong performances for the Rays and could be Tampa Bay’s next big surprise. Wander Franco Rays have been having a difficult May and need to get back on track to be competitive with the rest. — Lee
Record: 27-17
Previous ranking: 12
Minnesota fans are likely to long for their former closers no matter how great the Twins are so far. Taylor RogersRogers was traded to San Diego by the Twins the day before their season began. Rogers has been nearly perfect for the Padres while Chris Paddack Rogers is the Minnesota player who was injured. The deal’s other returnee is Emilio Pagan, has been okay with six saves. He also has a good ERA which is not really supported his peripherals. The danger of hindsight is that it can be dangerous. There is a fine line between dominant rookie Pagan and pagan. Jhoan DuranThe Twins converted 12 out of their 16 first save opportunities. This is a success rate (75%), which is higher than any other MLB leader.— Doolittle
Record: 24-19
Previous ranking: 10
St. Louis feels like a team that is waiting for the NL Central to be taken over. After a convincing 18-4 win over the Pirates, St. Louis’ run differential has risen and is now higher than that of the first-place Brewers. Importantly, the Cardinals have played three more games against plus-.500 opponents than Milwaukee. Paul Goldschmidt A huge week at the plate with 10 RBI and a walk-off grand slam, as well as a great week of play. Rogers
Record: 24-19
Previous ranking: 7
The Giants were the surprise of the majors in last year’s season in large part due to their ability to put together a starting lineup that exceeded all reasonable expectations. However, this hasn’t been true lately. The Giants’ starters have a 4.33 ERA for May, which is 19th in major leagues. The team has lost seven of its 11 last games. Additionally, its pitching staff has allowed 85 earned runs in 97 innings. — Gonzalez
Record: 23-20
Previous ranking: 11
Toronto began May on a poor note, but they have since improved their record against the Reds and Mariners. The offense has struggled with runs, especially when compared to the talent. This team will need to get more from its veterans like Hyun Jin Ryu, Jose Berrios, Teoscar Hernandez Matt ChapmanAssuming that pitchers are available. Alek Manoah Kevin Gausman Can keep up their top-notch performances. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ?. Bo Bichette The team will need to be more aggressive if it wants to achieve its championship goals. — Lee
13. Boston Red Sox
Record: 20-23
Previous ranking: 21
The Red Sox are making a comeback, moving ahead of the Orioles on the division standings and accumulating victories to close the division gap. Trevor StoryThe team’s recent success has been largely due to’s bat coming back to life. This has taken the pressure off of the bullpen which has been performing well in recent weeks. Nick Pivetta After struggling greatly in the first half of the season, has shown some remarkable performances in recent week. — Lee
Record: 22-21
Previous ranking: 14
If Johnny Cueto Continues his resurgence. Questions about where? Dallas Keuchel The White Sox’s pitching staff is going to become more complicated as it tries to fit in. The rotation Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech Lucas Giolito These fixtures will soon be upgraded by, hopefully, Lance LynnCueto has been in the top six for each of the three AL Cy Young voting cycles. Cueto, with two scoreless appearances, seems to be the best candidate for No. 5 — if he is able to remain as effective or very close to it. Keuchel must make some progress in order to be considered for a sixth starter. Keuchel’s 6.60 ERA may be troubling enough, but it is even worse. In seven starts, Keuchel walked more batters (18 than he struck out (16). — Doolittle
Record: 21-23
Previous ranking: 13
The Braves would be thrilled to have you there Ian Anderson Get on a roll. He has had some solid outings, including one run against the Mets early May and one against Milwaukee last Monday. However, those outings were mixed with some poor games so his ERA stands at 4.07. His strikeout-minus-walk rate dropped to 13.3% in 2021. His K rate is also down more than 6 percent from last year. Anderson’s postseason numbers, a career 1.26 ERA and 35.2 innings of work, may have created unrealistic expectations. However it feels like Anderson has more upside. Schoenfield
Record: 20-24
Previous ranking: 15
Zack Wheeler Looks like he’ll be back in his Cy Young-contending form. He finished second in the 2021 election. After a disappointing 8.53 ERA in his three previous starts, Wheeler now has a 1.38 ERA with 40 strikeouts, six walks, and one home run over his last five outings. This is after a total of 32.2 innings. After pitching seven scoreless innings against Padres, Wheeler fanned ten to defeat the Braves on Monday. This weekend’s three crucial games for the Phillies are at Citi Field. It is part of a difficult portion of the schedule which includes series against the Giants and Angels. Schoenfield
Record: 18-22
Previous ranking: 16
Jose RamirezThis season was a career-best for the player. For a player whose career includes three top-3 finishes in AL MVP voting, this is no small feat. His OPS+ of 1.000+ is a career record and is impressive when you consider the general levels of lower offense in the majors. Ramirez’s OPS+ score is 195. This is 28 points higher than his previous record. Ramirez’s increased mastery over the strike zone, and improved ability to get the ball onto the plate are the main reasons for this. Ramirez has walked nine times more than he has struck out. Through Tuesday, he was ranked second in AL pitch counts per plate appearance (4.39) and third in contact percent (87.9%). — Doolittle
Record: 18-24
Previous ranking: 18
As of Wednesday’s game, they had a plus-13 run differential but a losing record. They were 6-13 for one-run games, with 0-2 in extra innings. However, they were 7-2 in blowouts (those decided by five runs or less). They may just need some luck, timing and a lot more clutch relief to win more close games. Their chances of catching the Mets seem slim considering their meteoric start. However, the Mets haven’t yet played and they won’t be playing their first game until June 17. There are many head-to-head matches to make up the ground. Schoenfield
Record: 23-22
Previous ranking: 19
Although the D-backs rotation is looking good, they have had many impressive contributions from their players, they still need to add their biggest offseason player. Mark MelanconKeep it up. The closer, 37 years old, has converted 10 of his 11 save chances. However, he has a 7.04 ERA. He has only struck out eight of the 73 batters he has faced so far. — Gonzalez
Record: 18-27
Previous ranking: 17
After an optimistic 11-6 start, Mariners went 6-21 over 27 games, including a four game sweep by Red Sox at Fenway Park. This means that they are open to making changes. They signed Justin UptonAfter a few practice games in the minors, he will join the team. Kyle Lewis He made his debut at DH on Tuesday after he had completed his injury rehab. These moves will not help a bullpen ranked 25th in ERA, or a rotation that allowed the most home runs in major leagues. Schoenfield
Record: 18-25
Previous ranking: 23
Patrick Wisdom As he continues to drive for power, proving that he is an everyday player, he is disproving some scouts. He is one of only eight NL player to hit at least 10 home runs and he has already scored in four games. This hasn’t helped the Cubs very much in the standings, as The Friendly Confines haven’t been very kind to the team these days. Despite having a home record of 7-15, they are still buried in NL Central. Rogers
Record: 20-23
Previous ranking: 20
Kris Bryant After his back injury got worse, he was put on the injured list again Wednesday. He signed a $182 million contract for seven years. He has been in just 17 of the Rockies’ 43 playoff games this season with a.676 OPS (zero home runs) and a.676 OPS. The team has dropped 12 of its 16 last games. This could quickly get very ugly. — Gonzalez
Record: 19-23
Previous ranking: 22
Texas isn’t making much progress in the standings but their pitching staff has been taking steps in what seems to be a year of transition for the team. Even after losing four out of six games, Rangers still had a 3.42 ERA. They were able to keep them in games against a Houston team that was hot. While there were some bad starts, the bullpen was solid. Martin Perez He threw the gem: a complete-game shutout of the Astros. Rogers
Record: 18-27
Previous ranking: 26
The future is here. The Orioles called up top prospect Catcher and the catcher Adley RutschmanThe beginning of a new era in Baltimore baseball was marked by the signing of Rutschman at Camden Yards. Rutschman won’t save the team, but his arrival to Camden Yards is a sign of Baltimore’s long-awaited rebuild. Rutschman’s first call-up comes from one of the most respected baseball farm systems. Grayson Rodriguez Gunnar Henderson Projected to be in major leagues by the end of 2023 season. — Lee
Record: 19-27
Previous ranking: 24
Oakland is seeing a turnaround now that the team’s talent shortage is beginning to take effect. Jed Lowrie Leads the team with an OPS+ of 110. This speaks to the team’s bigger offensive problems and lack of top-end talent. Rookie reliever Dany Jimenez This has been one of the few bright spots on this team with a 0.49 ERA in 18 relief appearances thus far this season. — Lee
Record: 14-28
Previous ranking: 27
The Royals’ disappointing year seems to only get worse. Kansas City’s current six game losing streak saw four blow leads. We won’t dwell on this space’s pleasantness this week. Let us instead focus on the recent performance of starter Brady Singer. Singer started the season in Kansas City before being sent to Omaha to extend his innings and improve his change-up. Singer has made back-to-back seven-inning scoreless games since he was recalled by the big club. — Doolittle
Record: 18-25
Previous ranking: 25
Nobody expected that the Pirates would compete for third in the NL Central. So far, it hasn’t been a bad season. After an okay April, the team has regressed in may, with back-to-back victories just once this month. They were swept by the Cardinals on Saturday, giving up 28 runs over three games. The Pirates now have the worst run differential in NL, with an 18-4 thrashing from St. Louis. They also lost a 21-0 game this year. Rogers
Record: 15-28
Previous ranking: 28
The Tigers’ offensive woes are so bad that it is hard to believe. Detroit has scored just 118 runs. It is not only the lowest run total in major leagues, but Chicago has 154 runs over the same amount of games. OPS+ adjusts for league and ballpark contexts so that the Tigers’ pathetic 79 would rank as the third-worst figure in the franchise’s 122-year history. Although you might believe there is no way to improve, consider this: Detroit’s April average of.229 was the lowest ever for a team. As we enter the final week of May, the Tigers have reached.210 thus far. — Doolittle
Record: 15-30
Previous ranking: 29
After dropping 10-1 to the Dodgers and 9-4 to them on Tuesday and Monday, respectively, in games where the starters allowed 13 runs in 7.2 innings, the rotation ERA soared to a shabby 5.92, nearly two runs above the major league average. Nationals starters have only nine times pitched six innings or more in their first 45 games. The average allowed is.271. Nationals players aren’t known for their mushy balls. This pace will continue to be the worst ever. Cincinnati’s has been worse. Schoenfield
Record: 13-30
Previous ranking: 30
Cincinnati now looks more like an MLB team, even though their first two games against Cubs were not very competitive. The Reds had previously been to Toronto, where they pitched well against a strong Blue Jays team. They allowed seven runs in two losses of three. On offense, Aristides Aquino After being recalled from minors, he is off to a great start. His power will only be realized if he can find consistency at the plate. At the opposite end of the spectrum was Tommy Pham. In seven days, he scored.160. Rogers