MLB power rankings entering May 2026

As the month of April closes, it’s once again time for our weekly MLB power rankings. This past week saw our first two coaching casualties when Boston’s front office decided that enough was enough and fired everybody, and then the Phillies followed suit and put Rob Thompson out of his misery. We’ll get into all 30 teams and how they’re faring after a full month of baseball in this week’s power rankings.

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For a second week in a row, the Mets reside at the bottom of my rankings. At this point, it just seems appropriate that this team plays its games in a town called Flushing. They have too much talent on this roster to stay here all year, and I expect them to put together something resembling a winning streak once they get Francisco Lindor back. Bo Bichette and Juan Soto look like they are starting to wake up, so maybe that will at least stop the bleeding.

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#29: Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies have been as much of a mess as the Mets this season, suffering a recent 10-game losing streak of their own, which led to the dismissal of Rob Thompson. A glimmer of hope could be that Zach Wheeler has finally joined the team, but their problems run deeper than the starting rotation.

The offense has ranked in the bottom three in the league in most offensive categories all season. Now that Don Mattingly has taken the reins of this veteran roster, it may motivate the sleeping bats. The early returns look promising, and much like the Mets, I don’t expect this team to be down here all year.

The pitching staff is still in shambles. Spencer Arrighetti has been with the team for about 2 weeks and leads the staff in victories. Overall, they have the league’s worst team ERA, which is sitting at almost 6 runs per game. The offense is making the losses exciting, as Yordan Alvarez and company are top 5 in the league in batting average, runs scored, on base%, and slug%. Manager Joe Espada’s seat has to be getting hotter with every loss.

You would think that the first team to fire their manager would be the worst team in the rankings this week. But alas, there are worse teams than the Sox. Boston’s roster responded to the firing with some public grumbling about the front office, but on the field, they have actually won a few games in a row.

We’ll see what the long-term effects of hiring Chad Tracy will be as the season progresses, but in a small sample size, it seems like they will play small ball and run more. Rookie phenom starting pitcher Peyton Tolle has fans excited after an impressive debut.

The team was hovering in the middle of the pack for most of the early going, but their bullpen has just been awful. The team finally had enough of the Jordan Romano experience and designated him for assignment this past week, with no clear replacement on the roster to close games. For now, Kurt Suzuki is going to go with a “closer by mob” approach. The talent level in the bullpen can’t even be considered good enough to qualify as a committee at this point.

#25: Kansas City Royals

They managed to sweep the Angels this past week, but they are still scuffling. The starting pitching outside of Cole Ragans had been decent to start the season. Ragans seems to have gotten on track, but everybody else has crashed and burned recently. Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha specifically had a rough week. Bobby Witt finally hit his first two home runs, so maybe the offense will begin to click, and the team can build on that recent winning streak.

I don’t know if the Rockies actually moved up 3 spots or if they just stood still while the other teams plummeted to the bottom of my rankings. The sweep in Citi Field was impressive, especially the performance of Chase Dollander, who excelled in his first actual start of the season (he had been pitching in a bulk relief role prior).

The offense was typically vanilla in the series as they tend to be while away from Coors, scoring 10 runs in the 3 games, but the pitching staff was excellent, allowing just 4 runs. If they can do the same against more capable competition, they may actually begin to rise in these standings based on their own merit, rather than by default.

Will Venable has these guys competing every night, and they’ve managed to alternate wins and losses over the past couple of weeks. Munetaka Murakami has been on fire, leading the league in homers after 30 games and leading this young lineup that gets Austin Hayes back this week. The rebuild should get some help in May with a few more call-ups, including pitcher Hagen Smith, one of the few top 10 picks left from the 2024 draft that hasn’t made their debut yet.

The team is still stuck in 2nd gear, alternating wins and losses while the Yankees and Rays pull further and further away. John Schneider finally made a change at closer, demoting Jeff Hoffman from the role and giving the ball to Louis Varland in the 9th. The move has paid off almost immediately as Varland has locked down 3 straight saves while Hoffman has been unscored upon as the set-up man.

In the rotation, Tre Yesavage finally returned and looked like he picked right up where he left off last season. Hopefully, more help is on the way for this pitching staff that ranks in the bottom half of the league in ERA, wins, and batting average against.

Manager Craig Albernaz had a rough week, starting with getting his face broken by a foul ball, followed by watching his Birds lose 2 of 3 games at home against the hapless Red Sox. On the bright side, Adley Rutschman made it back from the IL, while Pete Alonso and Gunnar Henderson are both starting to heat up, which has the offense pointing in the right direction. Now, the pitching staff needs to follow suit. Shane Baz’s most recent start gives us some reason for optimism.

The Nats are actually up 4 spots from last week, but as with the Rockies, that was by default. They have actually started pitching fairly well in stretches, and we can forgive them for dropping 3 of 4 games to the Braves, as they just aren’t in the same weight class as Atlanta yet. The bullpen is still a bit of a mess, and they will be without Clayton Beeter for the foreseeable future as he was put on the IL with a sore forearm.

The Twins took a big tumble this week after going 2-10 over a recent 12-game stretch, which included a sweep at the hands of the Rays and dropping 2 of 3 to the bumbling Mets. The bats have been the culprit for the most part, as they averaged just 2.4 runs per game in 9 of those 10 losses. Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, and Luke Keaschall need to collectively get going if this team is going to turn things around.

The team has managed to stop the bleeding a bit, taking 2 of 3 games from each the Dodgers and Marlins, but overall, they are still trying to work their way back to .500. The offense is still dead last in the league in runs scored and I can’t help but think they will call Bryce Eldridge up from AAA as soon as they pass the threshold to keep his rights for an additional year. That should happen within the next couple of weeks.

They have been playing right around .500 ball for the past week or so, and they are beginning to lose sight of the soaring Braves. Their bullpen will be without Pete Fairbanks for the next couple of weeks, so they will have to patch the late innings together with their supporting cast until he is able to return.

To their credit, this team stays in every game and has shown they are no pushover by going toe to toe with the mighty Dodgers. The pitching will be what carries them, and they have reinforcements aplenty in the minors with Braxton Garrett ready when needed at AAA, along with uber prospects Robbie Snelling and Thomas White.

The Rangers were a top 10 team a week ago, but it was more a matter of default and maybe a bit of projecting on my part. This team has a ton of holes in their lineup, and it has shown as they rank in the bottom 10 of baseball in batting average, runs scored, slug, and on base%. To make matters worse, they will be without Wyatt Langford for at least another week after he landed on the IL with a flexor strain in his forearm.

The offense has been miserable lately, so they pulled the trigger and called up former #1 pick, Travis Bazzana. The hope is he’ll bring a bit of thunder from down under and give the lineup a boost of energy. They responded by promptly losing 1-0 to drop their fourth game in a row.

The team needs Kyle Manzardo, Steven Kwan, and Jose Ramirez to wake up, or else it’s going to be a long season. Tanner Bibee might need somebody to check on him after his latest loss dropped him to 0-4 on the season, leaving him winless in 7 starts in which the team has scored a total of 4 runs while he’s been on the mound.

The M’s have heated up a bit lately, thanks to Josh Naylor and Julio Rodriguez finally starting to figure things out. The tandem has been on a tear, hitting well over .400 with 3 homers and 4 steals over the past week. Cole Young has also been a key contributor at the bottom of their lineup, while Cal Raleigh has found his power stroke with 3 homers over a stretch where the team won 5 of 6 games while averaging 6 runs per game.

The offense has been carried by the hot-hitting Idlemaro Vargas, who was named player of the week in the NL after scorching the ball and already matching his career high in homers for a season, after just a month of baseball. Geraldo Perdomo has been missing time with a sore ankle, but should be back soon, as should catcher Gabriel Moreno.

#12: Detroit Tigers

The Tigers have been playing right around .500 all season long, and while they’ve been stuck in the mud, the rest of the division has started to drown in it. The entire division is within a few games of each other, and the Tigers have a chance to pull away when they start playing AL teams again. Over a recent stretch, they have played the Reds, Brewers, and Braves (all ranked ahead of Detroit on this list) and haven’t had much success.

#11: Milwaukee Brewers

A recent 4-game slide set them back a bit in the uber-competitive NL Central, but they look like they have managed to right the ship. Kyle Harrison, Jacob Misiorowski, and Kyle Patrick have led this pitching staff that ranks in the top 10 in the league in ERA (3.75) while the offense has been paced by a couple of surprises in Gary Sanchez and Garrett Mitchell. Christian Yelich is on track to rejoin the team and should help keep the Brew Crew in the thick of this tight Central division.

As I mentioned in the open, the Swinging A’s are one of the few teams in the Junior Circuit that are playing “winning baseball” through the first month of the season. They aren’t exactly lighting the world on fire, but they have managed to alternate wins and losses to keep their heads above water while the rest of their division has been sinking.

Nick Kurtz keeps getting on base while Shea Langeliers has been showing his power, but the hottest bat in their lineup has been Carlos Cortez, who was on fire recently, batting .600 with an OPS north of 1.800 en route to AL player of the week honors.

#9: Pittsburgh Pirates

They hit a couple of bumps over the past week or so, as Carmen Mlodzinski has now struggled in two straight starts, Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft each had their worst career starts, and Mitch Keller has seen his ERA creep back north of 3.

Luckily, they still have that Skenes guy, so long losing streaks aren’t a problem. They are going to have their hands full as they are in the midst of a stretch of 10 games against division rivals Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, which will be followed by a West Coast road trip. If they can manage to keep exchanging wins and losses as they have been, they should stay in the mix in the Central well into the Summer.

The wins and losses have been coming in bunches for the Red Birds as they have alternated winning streaks and losing streaks all season long. There has been more good than bad, and the young team has been riding the bats of Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson, JJ Wetherholt, and, recently, Nathan Church. The pitching will be what ultimately holds them back if it doesn’t improve, ranking near the bottom of the league with an ERA of 4.81 and a batting average against of .264.

They rode a recent 10-game winning streak to keep pace with the smoking hot Reds before dropping a couple of games to the Dodgers. They are playing well right now, riding their hot bats that collectively lead baseball in On Base % while ranking top 3 in both runs scored and batting average.

The bullpen is hurting a bit with both Danny Palencia and Caleb Thiebar on the IL, but Hoby Milner, Corbin Martin, and Ben Brown have stepped up, and Phil Maton has recently returned from an IL stint of his own to provide depth.

#6: Tampa Bay Rays

They are the second-best team in the AL, and much like the San Diego Padres, that makes them merely the best wild-card team in their league as of now. The Rays have been hot, but despite a recent 6-game winning streak, they have slipped behind the Yankees in the AL East standings. Bryan Baker has helped stabilize the back end of their bullpen, while Yandy Diaz leads the lineup that ranks 5th in the league in batting average.

#5: Cincinnati Reds

They clawed their way to the top of the Central over a week ago and haven’t looked back since. They did the bulk of their damage against the weaker American League, winning 7 of 9 against the Tigers, Rays, and Twins, led by the scorching hot bats of Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz. Nick Lodolo is getting closer to making his season debut after dealing with blister issues, which should only bolster a pitching staff currently ranked 7th in the league in ERA.

#4: San Diego Padres

The team keeps winning despite the back end of the rotation giving them almost nothing, and with Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta missing time. Some help is on the way with Griffin Canning getting stretched out in his rehab starts, and Lucas Giolito is now signed and expected to join the team in about a month. Until then, it will be up to Michael King and Randy Vasquez to anchor the staff while Mason Miller and friends protect any leads the team gets.

#3: New York Yankees

The Evil Empire looks to be back on track as Aaron Judge and Ben Rice have mashed the Yankees back to the top of the AL. The starting pitching has been nearly flawless, with the only recent flaws coming from the since-demoted Luis Gil. Top prospect Elmer Rodriguez will be asked to fill in until Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole return to further enhance an already loaded rotation that has been led by Max Fried and Cam Schlittler.

#2: Los Angeles Dodgers

Even when things don’t feel like they’re going great, they’re going pretty darn good in LA. The team has slipped a bit, going a mere “mortal” .500 over a recent 10-game span that has them with the narrowest of leads over the Padres in the West. As many would love to see the team with the highest payroll in the game collapse, it’s just not very likely to happen.

The bullpen stumbled a bit as they are getting used to life without Edwin Diaz, but I wouldn’t worry, as Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Tanner Scott, and flame-throwing youngster Edgardo Henriquez are better than any bullpen outside of Mason Miller country. The team is still ranked top 3 in every major offensive and pitching category imaginable.

#1: Atlanta Braves

We have a new #1 team for the first time this season. The Braves keep winning baseball games while the rest of the NL East has been fading fast. Atlanta has the largest lead of any division leader, and they look to be on cruise control for a spot in the postseason.

It’s way too early to even think about such things, but this team is loaded, and they will get Spencer Strider back this weekend to join a rotation that is ranked either 1st or 2nd in the entire league in Wins, ERA, WHIP, and Quality Starts. The offense has been just as good, ranking at the top of the pack in both runs scored and batting average. They are the best team in baseball right now.

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