Power Rankings: Tigers make top-5 debut as Mariners, Royals are on the rise
The battle between National League powerhouses for the No. 1 spot continues in Week 6.
The Dodgers, Mets and Padres are still duking it out for the title of best team in baseball, with Los Angeles retaking the top spot from New York on our list. The top five is rounded out by a new team, as well, with the Tigers breaking in at the No. 5 spot.
Detroit is the top American League team this week, with the Yankees coming in at No. 7, the Mariners cracking the top 10 and the Royals, the week's biggest risers, at No. 11.
What else has changed in the span of one week?
Our expert panel has combined to rank every team based on a combination of what we've seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield, Jorge Castillo and Bradford Doolittle to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.
Record: 25-12 Previous ranking: 2
The Dodgers are suddenly scrambling in the outfield. Teoscar Hernandez was tied for the MLB lead in RBIs when he landed on the injured list because of a groin strain that manager Dave Roberts said would keep Hernandez out for "weeks." James Outman replaced Hernandez on the roster and started in center field Tuesday with Andy Pages sliding over to right. Meanwhile, Michael Conforto continues to struggle. With Tommy Edman also out, Roberts says he sees a lot of platooning in the short term. At least Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman are both red-hot to carry the offense. -- Schoenfield
Record: 24-14 Previous ranking: 1
When the Mets signed ex-Yankee Clay Holmes this past winter, it was a mild surprise. The bigger surprise was that he was inked to join the rotation. Holmes entered the 2025 season with four career starts, all during his debut season for Pittsburgh in 2018 -- whereas he has played a relief role in 307 games over eight MLB seasons. Seven starts into his Mets career, Holmes looks like a bona fide rotation fixture. He's 4-1 with a 2.95 ERA and 2.18 FIP. His strikeout and walk ratios are matches for what he posted last season as a reliever, and he has yet to give up a homer to 156 batters faced. -- Doolittle
Record: 23-13 Previous ranking: 4
Michael King and Nick Pivetta continue to team for one of the best duos in the majors, going a combined 9-2 with a 2.12 ERA. King returned to the Bronx -- where he played for the Yankees for four seasons -- and pitched another gem Tuesday, giving up three hits and two runs in six innings (although the Padres' bullpen had a rare meltdown and proceeded to give up 10 runs in the seventh inning). After a poor outing on Opening Day, King has a 1.71 ERA over his past seven starts. -- Schoenfield
Record: 22-16 Previous ranking: 5
The Cubs' offense has been a force, but the team is facing adversity among its starting pitchers. First, Justin Steele needed Tommy John surgery and was lost for the season. Then Javier Assad, out because of an oblique strain to begin the season, sustained another oblique strain during a rehab start and was shut down. Finally, on Monday, Shota Imanaga was put on the IL because of a strained hamstring. The Cubs haven't provided a timetable for Imanaga's return. It'll be on Matthew Boyd (2.75 ERA), Colin Rea (2.43 ERA) and Jameson Taillon (3.86 ERA) to hold down the rotation for now. -- Castillo
Record: 23-13 Previous ranking: 7
The Tigers have flourished in a number of ways during the season's opening weeks but one thing that really stands out is the degree to which they have dominated at Comerica Park. They've started 13-3 at home with a net per-game differential of plus-2.81 runs, the best in baseball. To put it another way, that differential translates to an .819 expected winning percentage, or 133 wins over 162 games. Not unrelated: Detroit has also moved into the early lead in the chase for the AL's top postseason seed, which of course carries with it home-field advantage in October. -- Doolittle
Record: 24-14 Previous ranking: 6
Logan Webb just keeps rolling along as one of the most underrated starters in MLB. He led the majors in innings pitched in 2023, ranked second in 2024 and again ranks among the league leaders this season. He has given up only one home run in 48⅓ innings and is producing a career-high strikeout rate (up eight percentage points from last season). He has used his sweeper more this year, but his changeup has been much more effective than it was in 2024, perhaps because he's throwing it less often. -- Schoenfield
Record: 21-16 Previous ranking: 3
Max Fried has been exceptional as a Yankee, posting a 1.05 ERA through eight starts. Carlos Rodón has rebounded from a choppy early stretch and sports a 2.96 ERA in eight outings. Outside of those two, the Yankees' rotation is iffy at best without Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil. Clarke Schmidt recorded his best start of the season Tuesday against the Padres after dealing with injuries. Will Warren has a 5.65 ERA. Carlos Carrasco was designated for assignment. Marcus Stroman is out indefinitely. While Gil is progressing in his recovery from a lat strain, the Yankees need Fried and Rodón to continue registering quality starts. -- Castillo
Record: 21-15 Previous ranking: 8
Bryce Harper's homer during the Phillies' wild 11-9 loss to Arizona on Tuesday ended a 13-game long-ball drought. That's far from Harper's longest homerless streak -- he went 38 games without one in 2023 -- but it still highlighted an uneven start for Philly's marquee player. Harper has started every game thus far for manager Rob Thomson. Does he need a rest? Should the Phils be worried? Probably not. Harper's BABIP has cratered but that's one indicator that tends to regress to career norms. His power numbers are down but, per Statcast, his bat speed is actually up from 2024. He'll be fine. -- Doolittle
Record: 22-14 Previous ranking: 11
And finally Cal Raleigh rested ... almost. Raleigh had started the first 34 games of the season, either at catcher or DH. His two-homer, five-RBI game Saturday against the Rangers helped power the Mariners to their eighth consecutive series victory. Against the Athletics on Tuesday, Raleigh was on the bench ... until the ninth inning. Trailing 3-2 with the bases loaded and one out, Raleigh pinch hit for Mitch Garver and delivered a go-ahead two-run single in a 5-3 victory. His 12 home runs are tied with Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead. -- Schoenfield
Record: 19-18 Previous ranking: 9
Geraldo Perdomo continues to rake, including a 4-for-5 game with two doubles and three RBIs in Sunday's wild 11-9 win over the Phillies. Perdomo has more walks than strikeouts, is 9-for-9 stealing bases, has a 99th percentile ranking in outs above average at shortstop and has already produced 2.2 fWAR compared to 2.0 all of 2024. That figure puts him in a five-way tie for the third-highest fWAR -- behind only Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso. -- Schoenfield
Record: 22-16 Previous ranking: 19
The Royals' offense has been moving in the right direction, aiding a recent torrid stretch that was driven by elite run prevention. Bobby Witt Jr. has produced all along but, as good as he is, he can't do it alone. Help has arrived in the form of Maikel Garcia, whose surge has brought his season numbers into lockstep with Witt. Garcia's swing decisions have improved by leaps and bounds, lowering his already-solid strikeout rate and lifting his walk rate well over league average. Garcia, who has started at four different positions, will merit All-Star consideration if he maintains this pace. -- Doolittle
Record: 19-19 Previous ranking: 10
Boston received a huge blow over the weekend, losing Triston Casas for the season because of a ruptured patellar tendon. Now the Red Sox have to figure out who will play first base. The current answer is a combination of Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro, but that probably isn't permanent -- and Gonzalez exited Wednesday night's win after a collision on the base path and is day-to-day. Boston could move Rafael Devers to first base and have Masataka Yoshida, who hasn't played this season because a shoulder injury is inhibiting his ability to throw, as its DH. The Red Sox could shift rookie Kristian Campbell from second base. They could seek external help. They could even call up one of their top two prospects, Roman Anthony or Marcelo Mayer, to play first. They have options. -- Castillo
Record: 22-15 Previous ranking: 16
The Guardians have stayed afloat in the standings thanks to a spate of comeback wins and one-run victories. Eventually they'll need some of their underperforming positions to produce. Steven Kwan has arguably been the best at his position in left field but his outfield partners have collectively been among the worst. Right fielder Jhonkensy Noel has sputtered along with a sub-.500 OPS while, in center, Opening Day starter Lane Thomas had an OPS under .400 before hitting the IL because of a bruised wrist. Cleveland needs numbers from both before the close-game luck begins to run out. -- Doolittle
Record: 17-19 Previous ranking: 13
As a group, the Braves' outfield ranks in the bottom five by wins above average. The fixes: get Ronald Acuña Jr. back, get Michael Harris II going and navigate the weeks until Jurickson Profar returns from suspension. On the latter front, a promising left-field platoon might be taking shape in Alex Verdugo and Eli White. For now, both are needed to man the outfield corners, but that will change when Acuña returns. At the plate, Verdugo has a career .783 OPS against righties; meanwhile, after struggling early in his career against southpaws, White has crushed them in limited time the past two seasons. -- Doolittle
Record: 19-19 Previous ranking: 14
The Reds' season continues to be strange. Their plus-30 run differential ranks eighth in the majors and suggests a 22-16 record. Instead, they remain tethered to .500 territory. The offense's inconsistency is the main culprit. After scoring 22 runs in a three-game sweep of the Rockies in Denver, Cincinnati tallied three or fewer runs in six of their next nine games. Jose Trevino and Gavin Lux have been crucial contributors in their first seasons in Cincinnati, but the Reds need more from Elly De La Cruz, one of the sport's most dynamic talents who has been about a league-average hitter so far. -- Castillo
Record: 18-18 Previous ranking: 12
As the Astros struggle to score runs, it won't help that Yordan Alvarez landed on the IL because of hand inflammation. The All-Star slugger was already off to the worst start of his career, hitting .210/.306/.340 with only three home runs and seven extra-base hits in 29 games, when he was scratched from Saturday's lineup and then didn't play Sunday before the Astros finally put him on the IL. Alvarez isn't the only Astros hitter struggling as Yainer Diaz and Christian Walker have sub-.300 OBPs, and Jose Altuve is scuffling with sub-100 OPS+, his lowest since 2013. -- Schoenfield
Record: 19-19 Previous ranking: 18
Joey Ortiz, acquired before last season in the trade for Corbin Burnes, put together a 3.1 fWAR rookie campaign in 2024, hitting 11 home runs with a 104 wRC+ and good defense at third base. That's what makes his production in 2025 so shocking. Now playing shortstop as Willy Adames' replacement, Ortiz has compiled -0.6 fWAR in 37 games this season. He's batting .175 without a home run and a .206 slugging percentage. His 27 wRC+ ranks 160th out of 161 qualified players and has hampered the offense, which as a whole has a 90 wRC+, the seventh-lowest mark in the majors. -- Castillo
Record: 20-18 Previous ranking: 20
The A's got to within one game of first place and had a chance to tie Seattle on Tuesday but blew a ninth-inning lead. It was the second blown save in four games for the A's. On Saturday, Mason Miller had a rare bad outing, serving up a walk-off grand slam to Miami's Kyle Stowers. With Miller unavailable Tuesday after throwing 55 pitches over three days, Tyler Ferguson came on for the save -- his fourth appearance in four days -- and gave up a 3-2 lead. It was the first time an A's pitcher threw four days in a row since 2015. -- Schoenfield
Record: 18-19 Previous ranking: 15
Looking to turn around a moribund offense, the Rangers hired former All-Star Bret Boone as the team's hitting coach, while firing offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker. At the time of the move, the Rangers ranked 25th in the majors in batting average, 25th in slugging and 29th in both runs and walk rate. Previous hitting coach Justin Viele and assistant hitting coach Seth Conner remain on staff. Texas then erupted for 16 hits Tuesday in Boone's first game, winning consecutive games for the first time since April 17. Evan Carter returned to the majors and went 2-for-5. -- Schoenfield
Record: 16-20 Previous ranking: 17
Steinbrenner Field has not been very kind to the Rays so far. They're 9-15 in their temporary digs and 7-5 elsewhere. The stadium has played as expected, as a hitters' haven. Opponents have taken better advantage of that with 35 home runs and a .256/.313/.418 slash line. Meanwhile, the Rays have hit 22 home runs at home. They're built to win games with pitching and defense. That combination so far hasn't been suited for Steinbrenner Field. -- Castillo
Record: 16-20 Previous ranking: 22
The Blue Jays made four major offseason acquisitions. Three -- Anthony Santander, Andres Gimenez and Max Scherzer -- have been colossal disappointments. Santander has a 75 wRC+ as the team's primary DH. Gimenez is a defense-first second baseman, but he began the year as the team's cleanup hitter and has a 68 wRC+. Scherzer has thrown three innings. But Jeff Hoffman has established himself as one of the top closers in baseball after two teams nixed agreements with him during the winter due to concerns about his shoulder health. The right-hander gave up two runs over his first 14 appearances, recording a 1.10 ERA, until his three-run hiccup Tuesday against the Angels. -- Castillo
Record: 17-20 Previous ranking: 21
A Twins offense that has floundered for much of the season received a much-needed boost when oft-injured Royce Lewis finally made his season debut. Lewis went down because of a hamstring strain in mid-March and sat out the first five-plus weeks. That was nothing new for a talented player whose career high in games is 82. When he has played, he has produced, posting a 124 career OPS+ with 35 homers and 110 RBIs per 162 games played. Now that Lewis is back, the spotlight falls on shortstop Carlos Correa, who continues to limp along with career-worst percentages. -- Doolittle
Record: 19-19 Previous ranking: 24
By most metrics, the Cardinals have by far deployed the best defense in baseball. In the middle of it is center fielder Victor Scott II. Coming off a disastrous rookie season in 2024, in which he posted a 40 OPS+ in 53 games, Scott is thriving as a contact-first speedster with elite defense at a premium position. He's tied for fourth in the majors in defensive runs saved and outs above average while batting .289 with 11 steals in 12 attempts. At 24, Scott is solidifying himself as a centerpiece of the Cardinals' rebuild. -- Castillo
Record: 17-21 Previous ranking: 25
In the middle of April, the Nationals' bullpen performance was so off-the-charts bad that manager Dave Martinez called a meeting in his office just to address the relievers. Did it work? At the time, their relief ERA was an astounding 7.21. Three weeks later, that number is ... 7.22. The irony is that closer Kyle Finnegan, who was non-tendered by Washington last fall before signing back late in the offseason, has been pretty good (3.07 ERA over 15 appearances with 12 saves in 14 chances). That tells you a little about how badly the rest of the bullpen has struggled. -- Doolittle
Record: 13-22 Previous ranking: 23
General manager Mike Elias took blame for the team's ghastly start and voiced his support for manager Brandon Hyde last Friday. Elias' offseason decision-making and the subsequent injuries have tanked the starting rotation, but the vaunted offense isn't doing its part. Cedric Mullins, Jackson Holliday and Ryan O'Hearn have been bright spots, but Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle, Heston Kjerstad and Jordan Westburg all have an OPS+ under 100. Gunnar Henderson, slowed by an intercostal strain to begin the season, isn't playing like the MVP candidate he was in 2024. Tyler O'Neill is on the IL again. Baltimore ranks 23rd in runs scored and that isn't good enough to overcome the rotation's warts. -- Castillo
Record: 12-26 Previous ranking: 28
It has been a disastrous season for the Pirates, on and off the field. There was the controversy surrounding the franchise's decision to replace a Roberto Clemente logo with a hard iced tea ad at PNC Park. Last week, a fan broke his neck, clavicle and back when he fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall onto the field. This week, a video of a PNC Park usher fighting a fan went viral. On the field, the Pirates are in last place in the NL Central again with one of the worst offenses in the majors. -- Castillo
Record: 14-22 Previous ranking: 27
The Marlins have been competitive in some facets this season, but the area that decidedly does not fit that bill has been a glaringly awful starting rotation. Miami's 6.35 rotation ERA ranks ahead of only the 6-29 Rockies. The Marlins have always been built on strong rotations when they've been good -- but in 2025, they've produced only five quality starts in 36 games. Surely their starter ERA will move in the right direction from here (right?), but if it doesn't, the franchise nadir (a 5.58 rotation ERA in 2007) could be in jeopardy. -- Doolittle
Record: 15-20 Previous ranking: 26
Part of the problem with the slumping Angels: a defense that ranks second worst in the majors in defensive runs saved (ahead of only the A's). Catcher Logan O'Hoppe, first baseman Nolan Schanuel and third baseman Luis Rengifo all rank as the worst at their positions via defensive runs saved. Schanuel and Rengifo also rank near the bottom in Statcast's outs above average, as does center fielder Jo Adell. (Kyren Paris has been getting more time there of late.) The Angels back up that bad defense with the worst team OBP in the majors. -- Schoenfield
Record: 10-27 Previous ranking: 29
The White Sox aren't what analysts would label as "good," but their record would be less terrible if not for an amazing 2-10 start in one-run games. Five of the losses were last-inning road defeats, including Tuesday's debacle that featured rookie Chase Meidroth getting bonked on the head by a routine pop-up. Chicago's saves leader is Brandon Eisert -- with one. That's right: After six weeks of the season, the White Sox have recorded exactly one save. The late-game failings undermine a club that, by and large, has cleared the low bar of playing better than it did in 2024. -- Doolittle
Record: 6-29 Previous ranking: 30
The Rockies actually won two games in a row last week, beating the Braves 2-1 behind a solid outing from Chase Dollander and then beating the Giants 4-3 with two runs in the eighth inning. Alas, the losing picked right back up and the Rockies' wRC+ fell to 64 (100 is average). The MLB low since 1901 is 68 (by the 1920 Philadelphia A's) and even last year's woeful White Sox came in at 75. So, yes, we're looking at one of the worst offenses of all time. -- Schoenfield
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