Each week, The California Post will power rank MLB’s 30 teams and check in on one intriguing awards race. Here is this week’s edition (records through Thursday night):
1.) Yankees (26-12)
Another week, another new No. 1. While the previously top-ranked Braves were fine this week (4-2 on a Colorado/Seattle road trip), the Yankees just keep playing better than everyone else. They have won 16 of their last 19 games, rank first in the majors in team ERA, and trail only the Braves in scoring. Their latest feel-good story: Cody Bellinger, who is 14-for-his-last-26 with 10 extra-base hits and 13 RBIs. (Last week: 2nd)
2.) Cubs (26-12)
What a week at Wrigley. The Cubs won all seven games of their homestand, including three-consecutive walk-offs against the Reds from Monday to Wednesday. Matthew Boyd’s freak injury –– a torn meniscus while playing with his kids –– is a bummer. But 15-straight home wins going back to April 12 mean the vibes remain high. (Last week: 4th)
3.) Braves (26-12)
It’s only the second week of May, but this week’s series at Dodger Stadium has the feel of a potential postseason preview –– or, at the very least, an important litmus test. After all, for as good as the Braves have been to this point, they have just one series win over a team with a winning record (and that was the 20-19 Guardians). Their performance against the Dodgers could be a telling indicator of just how real they are. (Last week: 1st)
4.) Dodgers (23-14)
Speaking of the Dodgers, they have their own questions to answer this weekend. While their offense finally showed some life after a recent slump, they’ve been playing .500 ball since mid-April at this point. There’s no doubting their championship credentials. But they could use a statement series win against a team like Atlanta. (Last week: 3rd)
5.) Rays (25-12)
In this week’s editions of unbelievable stats: The Rays are 5-10 against NL Central opponents –– and 20-2(!) against everyone else. That includes a current seven-game winning and 13 victories in 14 games overall. They haven’t allowed more than four runs once in that stretch. (Last week: 6th)
6.) Cardinals (22-15)
Maybe we’re drinking the Cool-Aid too much, but the Cardinals have been hotter than a toasted raviolli lately. They had a winning record on a homestand against the Dodgers and Brewers, last year’s NLCS contestants. They have a top-10 offense. And their pitching has been better than expected. (Last week: 11th)
7.) Padres (22-15)
Their rotation is running on fumes. Their offense is bottom-10 in batting average and OPS. And Fernando Tatis Jr. still doesn’t have a home run. And it seems like it has started to catch up to them during a recent 3-6 stretch. (Last week: 5th)
8.) Brewers (19-16)
Don’t look now, but is Brice Turang joining the MVP conversation? Entering Thursday, he led the National League in on-base-percentage (.439), ranked top-five in OPS, and trailed only Matt Olson in Fangraphs’ WAR among position players. Yet another success story for the Brewers, who drafted him 21st overall in 2018. (Last week: 7th)
9.) Pirates (21-17)
It was gut-check week for the Pirates, after a recent five-game losing streak. They responded by sweeping the Reds and taking two of three from Arizona. That’s what playoff teams do. The Pirates continue to look like one early on this year. (Last week: 13th).
10.) Mariners (18-20)
The bad news for Seattle: They have spent exactly one day above .500 so far this season. The good news: Even after another up and down week –– getting swept by the Mariners, but then taking two of three from the Braves –– they are just a game out of the division lead in the AL West. (Last week: 10th)
11.) Phillies (17-21)
Are the Phillies back? They’re at least trending that way. They’ve won eight of 10 games since replacing Rob Thomson with Don Mattingly. Their offense is finally starting to wake up, too, highlighted by Bryce Harper hitting .333 with three homers over the last week. (Last week: 20th)
12.) Guardians (20-19)
The AL Central has rivaled the AL West for mediocrity so far this year. At least the Guardians ensured the division has one winning team by salvaging a four-game split against the Royals. (Last week: 14th)
13.) Reds (20-18)
We hate to say we told you so –– but we did identify the Reds as a #RegressionToTheMean team in this space last week. Since then, they’ve lost seven in a row, saw their perfect record one-run games get shattered, and suddenly find themselves in last place in a competitive NL Central. (Last week: 8th)
14.) Diamondbacks (17-19)
This was not a good week for the Dbacks. They were swept in Wrigley. They were dominated by Paul Skenes and the Pirates. And for the first time in a month, they are back under .500, feeling the effects of an (as expected) undergunned pitching staff that has the majors’ fifth-highest ERA. (Last week: 9th)
15.) Rangers (17-20)
The Rangers could really use more from Corey Seager. While he has seven home runs, 19 RBIs and a .726 OPS, he’s batting a career-worst .209 and striking out way more than he ever has before. (Last week: 12th)
16.) Athletics (19-18)
We still aren’t buying the A’s, but maybe we don’t have to. Their division has been so bad, even their mediocre play has been enough to keep ahold of first place. (Last week: 19th)
17.) Blue Jays (16-21)
We keep waiting for the Blue Jays to turn things around. But after a four-game losing streak, it hasn’t happened yet. In a surprise, their offense (26th in scoring) has been more problematic than their pitching (17th in ERA). And that’s with 10 homers from Kazuma Okamoto. (Last week: 16th)
18.) Orioles (17-21)
Things were looking good when the Orioles won six of seven games during the second week of April. Since then, however, they’ve won back-to-back games only three times. (Last week: 18th)
19.) Marlins (17-21)
Something that might surprise you: Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez is leading the majors in hits. Something that won’t: Miami is starting to slip again, going 2-5 this week. (Last week: 17th)
20.) Red Sox (16-22)
We don’t know if Chad Tracy will be a good MLB manager. But he certainly wasn’t afraid to call out Framber Valdez’s antics this week. At the very least, the team is 6-5 since Alex Cora was scapego– … er, fired. (Last week: 24th)
21.) Royals (17-21)
They sure took their sweet time, but the Royals finally look like a competent baseball team again. Whether they can evolve into a “good” club remains to be seen. (Last week: 27th)
22.) Tigers (18-20)
Tarik Skubal is having surgery. Framber Valdez is getting suspended. And the team just got swept by the previously hapless Red Sox. A week from hell, from start to finish, leaving their prospects this year suddenly very much in the air. (Last week: 15th)
23.) White Sox (17-20)
Munetaka Murakami continues to hit home runs, trailing only Aaron Judge with 14. And 24-year-old shortstop Colson Montgomery has added nine long balls of his. However, the pair have also combined for 99 strikeouts –– and only 61 total hits. (Last week: 26th)
24.) Nationals (18-20)
Random stat alert: James Wood leads the NL in walks … and strikeouts. Feast or famine, much like the big-swinging, bad-pitching Nationals as a team. (Last week: 22nd)
25.) Astros (15-23)
There are injury problems. Then there is whatever curse has descended upon the Astros this year. Carlos Correa was stunningly lost for the year with one bad swing in the batting cage. Their pitching staff has become such a mash unit that Lance McCullers Jr. tried to push through a broken fingernail. (Last week: 23rd)
26.) Twins (16-22)
Good thing Joe Ryan seems to have avoided a major injury. Because trading productive veterans like him at the deadline might be the only positive thing the Twins will be able to do this year. (Last week: 28th)
27.) Mets (14-23)
A 4-2 road trip against the Angels and Rockies this week gave the Mets some reprieve. Still, one of their losses came on a walk-off in Anaheim, while the other was decided on a grand slam Craig Kimbrel yielded in Denver. It was still a small step forward. But this team needs to begin making bigger leaps. (Last week: 30th)
28.) Giants (14-23)
This past week, Tony Vitello tried motivating his team by posting in the clubhouse their rank in on-base-percentage (30th) and walks-per-nine-innings (23rd). Maybe next week, he can hang these rankings up instead. Because after losing seven of eight, the club now has its worst record in seven years, and the worst run differential in the sport. (Last week: 21st)
29.) Rockies (15-23)
They avoided getting swept by the Mets, but lost six-straight games before that. On the bright side, they can at least make a case for having the No. 1 grounds crew in the league, which has been kept busy by some early-season snowstorms. (Last week: 25th)
30.) Angels (15-23)
One viral tweet sums up the Angels best: They have a top-five MVP candidate in Mike Trout. They have a top-five Cy Young candidate in Jose Soriano. And yet they still have the worst record in the American League. We’ll take it one step further here, by putting them deservedly in dead last place. (Last week: 29th)
Award Track: American League MVP
1) Aaron Judge, Yankees (.270 average, 15 HR, 29 RBIs, 1.043 OPS)
Believe it or not, the three-time MVP reached 15 homers this year faster than he ever had before. And that’s after he only had three in his first 14 games. It has helped him take the early WAR lead in the AL (2.3) and the Yankees play like the best team in baseball through the season’s first six week.
2) Yordan Alvarez, Astros (.319 average, 12 HR, 27 RBI, 1.061 OPS)
The Astros are a mess. But Alvarez is back to MVP-caliber form. He has a hit in 27 of 38 games, and has reached safely in all but five. He is in the top-10th percentile of almost every Baseball Savant hitting metric. And the only real question, as Houston continues to spiral, is whether the club would give even the slightest consideration to trading him this year, as their championship window threatens to close.
3) Ben Rice, Yankees (.343 average, 12 HR, 27 RBI, 1.214 OPS)
If you thought Rice’s bat was gonna cool off by now, think again. His OPS is almost 150 points better than any other qualified hitter. His batting average is second only to Ildemaro Vargas. He only has 108 at-bats, including just 30 against left-handed pitching. But his numbers against lefties have actually been better, erasing doubts he’s only a part-time platoon player.