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 (14-4): There was a lot of movement in this week’s rankings. But the Dodgers remain firmly entrenched here with a stellar record, MLB’s best early-season offense and a pitching staff that just tortured the Mets in a three-game sweep. (Last week: 1st)
2) Braves (12-7): Matt Olson being the Braves’ best hitter so far isn’t a huge surprise. But Mauricio Dubón, Drake Baldwin and even Dominic Smith also being in that conversation? All signs of what has been an auspicious opening few weeks in Atlanta, even with a bunch of big names still on the IL. (Last week: 4th)
3) Yankees (10-9): Two walk-off wins against the Angels saved the Yanks from what could’ve been a disastrous week. Still, between Jazz Chisholm not appearing to know the rules and a five-game losing streak that included a sweep to the Rays, the Bombers’ hot start has officially ended. (Last week: 2nd)
4) Rangers (10-9): It sure looks like the Rangers got the better of the Brandon Nimmo-Marcus Semien trade. Nimmo is hitting .319 with a team-best .915 OPS in Texas. Semien? Well, we’ll get to the Mets later. (Last week: 6th)
5) Brewers (10-8): Last year, the Brewers were defined by long winning streaks, including their historic 14-game run. This week, they suffered their longest losing skid in almost three years, dropping six in a row before salvaging a series against the Blue Jays. (Last week: 3rd)
6) Padres (12-6): Things suddenly feel different in San Diego. A seven-game winning streak* that included three walk-off victories will do that. *It should be noted, however, that four of them came against the Rockies. (Last week: 19th)
7) Guardians (11-9): Parker Messick couldn’t complete a no-hitter he took into the ninth Thursday. But he’s been the biggest early surprise (3-0, 1.05 ERA, 25 Ks) for a Guardians team that keeps finding new ways to win. (Last week: 10th)
8) Cubs (9-9): They’ve dealt with early injuries but haven’t stubbed their toe as bad as some other hopeful NL contenders (see below). And that’s with Alex Bregman, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch all sitting with a sub-.700 OPS. (Last week: 8th)
9) Phillies (8-10): Cristopher Sanchez has been good. The rest of a bottom-five ranked Phillies pitching staff? Not so much. They’ve dropped three straight series and have two veteran starters –– Jesús Luzardo and Taijuan Walker –– with ERAs over 7.00. (Last week: 7th)
10) Pirates (11-8): Three weeks in and Paul Skenes has the highest ERA of any Pirates starter. And he’s given up just three runs in three starts since a nightmarish Opening Day in New York. So far, so good on their status as a darkhorse playoff contender (Last week: 12th)
11) Dbacks (11-8): Last year’s surprise breakout star in Arizona was Geraldo Perdomo. So far, journeyman infielder Ildemaro Vargas is off to a similar kind of start. His 1.068 OPS is even better than Corbin Carroll, who is playing like an MVP candidate. (Last week: 16th)
12) Mariners (8-11): Was Ichiro’s broken stadium statue a bad omen? Well, the M’s won four straight games after that mishap but then blew a six-run lead in San Diego on Wednesday. (Last week: 14th)
13) Orioles (9-10): It’ll be soft foods only for a while for Craig Albernaz, after he took a foul ball to the face in the dugout that broke his jaw and fractured seven cheekbones. His team is only doing slightly better. (Last week: 15th)
14) Blue Jays (7-11): As if they weren’t banged up enough, George Springer fractured his toe at the start of this week. Consider this the “treading water” portion of their season. We’ll see if they can stay afloat. (Last week: 9th)
15) Mets (7-12): Where to begin. The Mets have lost eight straight games. They’ve scored 12 runs in that span. Their big offseason additions –– Bo Bichette, Luis Robert Jr., Semien and Jorge Polanco –– have combined for -0.5 WAR. And Steve Cohen is already trying to calm fan frustrations on social media. (Last week: 5th)
16) Rays (11-7): With six wins in a row and eight out of 10, the Rays are doing their typical Rays thing, finding another homegrown gem in speedster Chandler Simpson. (Last week: 24th)
17) Reds (11-8): There’s only one division without a losing team right now. Who would’ve guessed it’d be the NL Central. The Reds have been part of the surprise, overcoming a bottom-five pitching performance. (Last week: 20th)
18) Twins (11-8): Last week, we said the Twins were the most surprising above-.500 team. Now, they’re tied for the most wins in the American League. (Last week: 25th)
19) Tigers (10-9): Let this be the beginning of an apology tour for the next few teams. Last week, we predicted the Tigers might be forced to trade Tarik Skubal at the deadline. Then they reeled off six straight wins. Our bad –– for now. (Last week: 22nd)
20) Cardinals (10-8): So far, the Cardinals surprisingly don’t stink, either. They’re probably like the Twins, punching above their weight now. Still, there’s a lot of other, supposedly better teams that would love to have their record. (Last week: 23rd).
21) Marlins (9-10): It was back to reality this week for the previously surging Marlins. They dropped five of six games and didn’t score more than five runs in any of those defeats. (Last week: 11th)
22) Astros (8-11): Three key starters are on the injured list –– which also matches the number of interpreters. One of the injured starters, Tatsuya Imai, has already gone through a rough transition from Japan. At least they snapped their seven-game losing streak. (Last week: 13th)
23) Royals (7-12): So much for those moved-in outfield fences. The Royals are bottom five in runs, batting average and OPS. (Last week: 17th)
24) Red Sox (7-11): Remember how the Red Sox were going all in on run prevention after losing Bregman? They have the seventh-worst team ERA now and just watched their ace, Garrett Crochet, get tagged with 10 runs in Minnesota. (Last week: 18th)
25) Athletics (10-9): They caught the New York teams at the right time, winning five of six against the Yankees and Mets. But they’re still having problems pitching in their minor-league home of a ballpark, with 48 runs allowed in seven games. (Last week: 27th)
26) Angels (10-10): Is Mike Trout back? His five home runs at Yankee Stadium were historic. Unfortunately, the Angels could do no better than split a four-game series. (Last week: 26th)
27) Nationals (9-10): Here are the early OPS team leaders: Dodgers, Astros, Braves … Nationals? They’ve been a pleasant surprise to start. But keeping that kind of production up seems unlikely. (Last week: 29th)
28) Giants (7-12): Three weeks into the season, the Giants are already down to a 3.5% playoff probability, according to Baseball Reference. Not what Tony Vitello had in mind for his debut season. (Last week: 21st)
29) Rockies (6-12): These are the Rockies we know and loathe, squandering a 6-6 start by dropping their next six games. But, hey, at least they have new (minority) owners! (Last week: 28th)
30) White Sox (6-13): Some thought the White Sox might be feisty after a flurry of offseason moves. Should’ve known better. (Last week: 30th)
Award tracker: NL Cy Young
1) Sandy Alcantara, Marlins (4 starts, 30 ⅓ innings, 2-1, 2.67 ERA, 22 Ks, 0.86 WHIP)
Alcantara lived a nightmare in his most recent start, as the Tigers pounded him for seven runs and 10 hits in six innings. His ERA jumped by more than two points, but here at The California Post, we think innings pitched are important for a starting pitcher, particularly a starting pitcher on a bad team. Alcantara remains the NL leader in that category by a wide margin.
2) Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers (4 starts, 25 ⅔ innings, 2-1, 2.10 ERA, 21 Ks, 0.82 WHIP)
A coin flip could determine who belongs here between Yamamoto and Dodgers teammate Shohei Ohtani, but the edge here goes to Yamamoto, who has come closer to delivering a signature performance. Against the Mets this week, Yamamoto served up a leadoff homer to Franciso Lindor but didn’t give up another hit until the seventh inning.
3) Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (3 starts, 18 innings, 2-0, 0.50 ERA, 18 Ks, 0.72 WHIP)
Ohtani is the NL leader in ERA and WHIP, and an argument could be made that he deserves to be at the top of this list. He’s been remarkably consistent but gets dinged here because he’s yet to pitch beyond the sixth inning. Expect that to change soon.
