2026 MLB Power Rankings, Cy Young Award Tracker

Every Friday, The California Post will power rank MLB’s 30 teams and check in on one intriguing awards race. Here is this week’s edition:

1) Dodgers (9-3): The Dodgers started hitting, scoring 52 runs in a 5-1 road trip this week. Even with Mookie Betts hurt, they’ve managed just fine behind Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages –– the early MLB batting leader. (Last week: 1st)

2) Yankees (8-4): A lack of early offense started catching up to them, costing them a series loss to the A’s in which they were shut out in the rubber match. Then again, Aaron Judge won’t hit .222 for long. (Last week: 2nd)

3) Brewers (8-4): Out with the pocket pancake, in with the pocket … turtle? Whatever works for the Brewers, who are trailing only the Dodgers in wins right now. (Last week: 3rd)

4) Braves (8-5): We’re still waiting on the judges’ scores for the Reynaldo Lopez/Jorge Soler fight. But the Braves’ pitching staff as a whole has come out victorious most nights, leading MLB with a 2.03 ERA. (Last week: 5th)

5) Mets (7-5): Juan Soto is on the IL, but the Mets still won four in a row after a shaky opening week. And that’s with Francisco Lindor mired in a familiar slow start. A surprising early split: They rank third in bullpen ERA so far. (Last week: 8th)

6) Rangers (7-5): The Rangers’ offense started slumping again this week. Luckily for them, the Mariners were even worse while getting swept in Arlington. (Last week: 6th)

7) Phillies (6-6): It’s been 20 innings and counting since the Phillies last scored a run. And even Cristopher Sánchez didn’t look great in his last outing. (Last week: 9th)  

8) Cubs (6-6): The excitement of Alex Bregman’s arrival and contract extensions for Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner have yet to translate to the field. They are exactly .500 and rank exactly 15th in OPS. (Last week: 11th)

9) Blue Jays (5-7): This is not the AL pennant defense they were hoping for. They dropped 5 of 6 to Rockies and White Sox –– ouch –– then narrowly avoided a sweep to the Dodgers. Alejandro Kirk had thumb surgery, and Max Scherzer is pitching through forearm tendinitis. (Last week: 4th)

10) Guardians (8-5): Cleveland is doing Cleveland things, ranking sixth in team ERA and riding the Chase DeLauter wave –– he’s up to an MLB-most five early home runs –– to an early spot in first place in the AL Central. (Last week: 13th)

11) Marlins (8-5): Time will tell if the Marlins are truly back. But Sandy Alcantara sure looks like he is, following up a shutout of the White Sox by pitching into the ninth against the Reds (even if he gave up a couple late runs to blow a lead). (Last week: 12th)

12) Pirates (7-5): Konnor Griffin has arrived and already been extended. Paul Skenes is starting to flirt with no-hitters. And don’t look now, but the Pirates have a top-10 team OPS. (Last week: 17th)

13) Astros (6-7): Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier both suffered shoulder injuries this week. Even worse, they got swept by the Rockies in Denver. (Last week: 7th)

14) Mariners (4-9): Not tough to analyze the Mariners right now. Their lineup is hitting .184 with a .581 OPS. The only surprise: That they’re last in scoring, too, clearing the Reds by one run. (Last week: 10th)

15) Orioles (6-6): Taylor Ward and his AL-leading 18 hits (including an MLB-most nine doubles) has been a nice investment so far. Pete Alonso and his .188 average and 15 strikeouts? Not so much. (Last week: 14th)

16) Dbacks (6-6): Corbin Carroll continues to rake, but the bullpen has already blown a couple games again. They’re looking forward to Merrill Kelly’s return from injury. (Last week: 16th)

17) Royals (5-7): Rookie catcher Carter Jensen got wake-up moment last week, literally. He was scratched from the lineup after oversleeping and arriving to the ballpark late. (Last week: 15th)

18) Red Sox (4-8): Fourth time’s the charm for Boston, which finally won a series against the Brewers. It’s just too bad we won’t see Willson Contreras vs. the Milwaukee pitching staff again this year. (Last week: 19th)

19) Padres (6-6): The Padres entered Thursday night with just seven home runs and a .336 slugging percentage, both ranking bottom five in the majors. But, they still found a way to win series over the Red Sox and Pirates. (Last week: 21st)

20) Reds (8-5): Even with Eugenio Suarez back, the Reds haven’t hit much. But their pitching has surprised. Too bad everyone else in the NL Central has gotten off to equally solid starts. (Last week: 24th)

21) Giants (5-8): Another week of Tony Vitello headlines –– including him, uh, revealing some closed-door incidents … that he, uh, actually liked because they came before wins? Who knows if he can turn around this slow start, but at least he’s entertaining. (Last week: 20th)

22) Tigers (4-9): Prepare yourself for the Trade Deadline of Tarik™. Because a few more weeks of this, and Detroit might drift dangerously far out of the playoff picture, with its Skubal decision looming. (Last week: 18th)

23) Cardinals (7-5): The flier on Dustin May hasn’t worked (13 runs allowed in two starts). But younger arms including Michael McGreevy and Matthew Liberatore have impressed. (Last week: 22nd)

24) Rays (5-7): The Trop is back! The Rays … not so much. They are uncharacteristically bottom five in team ERA so far. (Last week: 23rd)

25) Twins (7-6): And the award for most surprising above-.500 team to this point goes to Minnesota! Enjoy it. It’s unlikely to last. (Last week: 26th)

26) Angels (6-7): Good for Jo Adell. As a rookie in 2020, his most memorable moment was deflecting a ball over the fence for a home run. Six years later, he had a three-HR-robbery game this week. (Last week: 27th)

27) Athletics (5-7): Back-to-back series wins against the Astros and Yankees is a positive. But the way they pitched in their first home series at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park was a reminder of the challenge ahead. (Last week: 28th)

28) Rockies (6-6): Last year, the Rockies didn’t win their first series until June. June! This year, they have two in two weeks. (Last week: 29th)

29) Nationals (4-8): Nothing like getting the juggernaut Dodgers as your opponent for your first home series of the season. It predictably did not go well. (Last week: 25th)

30) White Sox (4-8): Munetaka Murakami is quickly becoming the new king of the three true outcomes. He has four homers, eight walks and 16 strikeouts. (Last week: 30th)

Award tracker: NL Cy Young

1) Sandy Alcantara, Marlins (3 starts, 24 1/3 innings, 2-0, 0.74 ERA, 18 Ks, 0.58 WHIP)

The Miami workhorse continued to pile up innings in his most recent start, taking a shutout into the ninth inning against the Reds on Tuesday. Alcantara departed the game with two men on base, only to have the Marlins’ bullpen allow both of them to score. The runs charged to Alcantara were the first he’d allowed this season.

2) Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (2 starts, 12 innings, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 Ks, 0.75 WHIP)

Ohtani looked out of sorts in his Wednesday start against the Blue Jays, but that’s what made it exceptional. Despite early control problems, he held the Blue Jays to one unearned run and departed the game with a 3-1 lead. Great pitchers manage to limit damage when they’re not at their best, and that’s what Ohtani did. 

3) Mitch Keller, Pirates (3 starts, 18 innings, 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 11 Ks, 0.94 WHIP)

Keller’s spot on this watch list is bound to be taken by the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has looked capable of throwing a no-hitter in the early innings of each of his starts. Keller, 30, is off to the best start of his solid-but-unremarkable eight-year career, as he’s made a quality start in each of his three games. He blanked the Padres for six innings Wednesday, allowing three hits and a walk.

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