MLB Power Rankings: Braves take over the top spot, Cubs surge after 10-game win streak

Featured in this week’s MLB Power Rankings, the Braves take over the top spot, Mason Miller keeps dominating in historic fashion, Cal Raleigh looks like himself again, and the Red Sox, Phillies, and Mets are all varying degrees of disaster as the calendar prepares to flip to May.

As a reminder, this article is a combination of current performance and long-term outlook.

Let’s get started!

Note: Rankings are from the morning of Monday, April 27

1) Atlanta Braves ⬆️

Last week: 2

Say hello to our new No. 1 team. After taking two out of three against the reeling Phillies over the weekend, the Braves are the first team in MLB to reach 20 wins this season. Atlanta also leads the majors in runs scored despite Ronald Acuña Jr. not playing his best so far. Michael Harris II is certainly doing his part to pick up the slack.

2) Los Angeles Dodgers ⬇️

Last week: 1

The Dodgers sliding down to No. 2 is more of a statement on the Braves than anything else. Los Angeles ended the Cubs’ 10-game winning streak while outscoring them 18-4 between Saturday and Sunday. Shohei Ohtani slugged his first homer since April 12 as part of Sunday’s victory. Even the best player in the world struggles every now and again.

3) New York Yankees ⬆️

Last week: 4

The Yankees won eight straight before dropping Sunday’s series finale to the Astros. Cam Schlittler continues to look the part of an ace, posting a 1.77 ERA with a ridiculous 41/4 K/BB ratio in 35 2/3 innings across his six starts. Things are looking good here, especially as Gerrit Cole and Carlos Ródon inch ever closer to returning.

4) San Diego Padres ⬇️

Last week: 3

Mason Miller is now the owner of the longest scoreless streak in franchise history, moving past Cla Meredith. That it happened in Mexico City — in a series where the Padres and Diamondbacks combined for 29 runs in two games — makes it all the more impressive.

Miller is 6 2/3 innings behind Gregg Olson (1989-1990) for the longest scoreless streak by a reliever all-time. Who are we to doubt him at this point?

5) Chicago Cubs ⬆️

Last week: 11

Despite losing back-to-back games to the Dodgers, the Cubs make a huge leap this week after their 10-game winning streak. Seiya Suzuki homered in three straight games during the streak, and boasts a strong .305/.414/.525 batting line in 16 games since getting a late start on the season due to a sprained right knee.

6) Cincinnati Reds ⬆️

Last week: 8

If you drafted Sal Stewart in your fantasy baseball league, you are probably doing really well. The 22-year-old rookie leads the majors with 29 RBI, to go along with nine homers, seven steals, and a .291/.385/.602 batting line. The company he finds himself in is pretty special.

7) Tampa Bay Rays

Last week: 7

Some wondered how Junior Caminero would fare from a power perspective trading in hitter-friendly Steinbrenner Field for a return to The Trop this season. Looks pretty good to me.

After mashing 45 homers last year, Caminero has eight through 27 games this season. Perhaps most encouraging, he’s striking out less often and showing more patience at the plate. Positive signs of growth there.

8) Pittsburgh Pirates ⬇️

Last week: 6

Konnor Griffin hasn’t gone gangbusters on the league to begin his MLB tenure, but he notched back-to-back multi-hit games over the weekend, including his first major league homer on his 20th birthday.

The first of many.

9) Detroit Tigers ⬇️

Last week: 5

The Tigers are sputtering a bit, but the same can’t be said for Spencer Torkelson. He’s now homered in five straight games to tie the franchise record.

Marcus Thames was the last to do it in 2008, but so have Willie Horton (1969), Vic Wertz (1950), Hank Greenberg (1940), and Rudy York (1937).

Torkelson will attempt to set the franchise record on Tuesday against the Braves. The MLB record is eight straight, set by Ken Griffey Jr. (1993), Don Mattingly (1987), and Dale Long (1956).

10) Arizona Diamondbacks ⬇️

Last week: 9

Watch Nolan Arenado turn back to the clock for this diving snag to close out a comeback victory against the Padres on Sunday in Mexico City.

Arenado has also turned it back at the plate recently, hitting .455 (15-for-33) over his last last nine games.

11) Seattle Mariners ⬆️

Last week: 13

“Big Dumper” is finally starting to look like last year’s version of himself. Cal Raleigh has slugged four homers over his last six games after having just two over his first 23 games. The party is over for opposing pitchers.

Side note: I can’t move past the Mariners without highlighting one of the weirdest plays I’ve seen, as Logan Gilbert caught a ball in his jersey but it was ruled as a hit.

The great thing about baseball is that even with it being a daily sport where there’s often 15 games a night, there’s still a god chance you’ll see something you’ve never seen before.

12) Milwaukee Brewers ⬇️

Last week: 10

Probably didn’t feel great tor Red Sox fans to see what Kyle Harrison did on Sunday, as he racked up a career-high 12 strikeouts over six scoreless innings against the Pirates. The southpaw finds himself in some pretty legendary company to begin his time with the Brewers.

If there’s any reason to remain optimistic about the Brewers, it’s that they continue to find a way to refresh and remain successful.

13) Texas Rangers ⬆️

Last week: 15

Josh Jung’s career hasn’t progressed as hoped since his impressive rookie showing in 2023, mostly due to injury, but he’s showing some promising signs to begin the year. Since going hitless over his first four games, he’s slashing .378/.434/.689 with four homers, 14 RBI and a 10/7 K/BB ratio. The approach has been better and he’s seen a healthy jump in average exit velocity.

14) Cleveland Guardians ⬇️

Last week: 12

Not a great week for the Guardians, who dropped series to the Astros and the Blue Jays. We’ve known Cleveland to usually have one of the better bullpens in baseball, but their 4.55 ERA ranks 21st in the majors this season.

15) Athletics ⬆️

Last week: 19

It isn’t as flashy as his power exploits, but Nick Kurtz is doing something that only a couple of players in MLB history have done.

Now that Kurtz has the A’s franchise record, up next is the all-time list. Nick Johnson had a 17-game streak in 2003 while Barry Bonds reached 17 straight games in 2007 and 18 straight in 2002. That’s the list! I, for one, welcome our new OBP overlord.

16) St. Louis Cardinals ⬇️

Last week: 14

Four straight losses for the Cardinals, who take a slight fall in this week’s rankings. I don’t enjoy saying this, but it’s more likely they end up in the 20s than continue to hang out in this group.

17) Baltimore Orioles ⬆️

Last week: 18

Adley Rutschman has picked up where he left off since coming off the injured list, as he’s hit .412 (7-for-17) with three homers and eight RBI across four games.

18) Toronto Blue Jays ⬆️

Last week: 23

After giving up the game-tying homer to Miguel Rojas in Game 7 of the World Series last fall, Jeff Hoffman holds a rough 6.94 ERA to begin the year. The Blue Jays will give him a break from the closer role for now, relying on a committee led by Louie Varland. Speaking of Varland, he was involved in a pretty funny interaction with a fan recently.

19) Minnesota Twins ⬇️

Last week: 17

I noted my skepticism about the Twins a couple of weeks ago and here they are losers of nine out of their last 10 games. This is a lot more likely to be who they are moving forward.

20) Philadelphia Phillies ⬇️

Last week: 16

Zack Wheeler’s return was a positive development, but there’s very little else to feel good about right now. With their recent 10-game losing streak, the Phillies are tied with the Mets for the worst record in baseball. Who would have predicted that? This team is surely better than what they’ve shown, which is why I just can’t drop them too far, but Rob Thomson might not last long enough to see it happen.

21) Miami Marlins

Last week: 21

Who is this man and what has he done with Liam Hicks? The 26-year-old backstop is breaking out in his second MLB season, as he’s slashing .314/.354/.523 with five homers and 24 RBI across 27 games. Only the Braves’ Drake Baldwin (25) has driven in more runs among catchers. Meanwhile, only former Marlin Luis Arraez has struck out less often than Hicks in the early going.

22) San Francisco Giants ⬆️

Last week: 24

Jung Hoo Lee hit .571 (12-for-21) during the Giants’ six-game homestand. San Francisco went 4-2 against the Dodgers and the Marlins as they climb closer to the .500 mark. Up next are the scuffling Phillies.

23) Los Angels Angels ⬇️

Last week: 20

The Angels have lost seven out of their last eight games to slide down our rankings. There’s been some roster turnover as well, as Jordan Romano was designated for assignment over the weekend after a brief stint as the team’s closer. The 33-year-old reeled off four saves to begin the season, but he served up nine runs over his last five appearances before getting the boot.

24) Houston Astros ⬆️

Last week: 25

The Astros have the worst record in the American League while also scoring the most runs in the league. That’s hard to do. It’s a trying time for Astros fans, but at least they get to watch Yordan Alvarez on the daily. He’s pretty much leading the league in everything.

25) New York Mets ⬆️

Last week: 26

Swept by the Rockies over the weekend, including a doubleheader in which they scored just one run over 18 innings on Sunday. The Mets have scored two runs or fewer in 14 out of their 28 games played this season, so it’s no surprise that they hold the worst record in the majors at the moment. Is it time for desperate measures?

26) Boston Red Sox ⬇️

Last week: 22

As bad as the Red Sox have been, it was still pretty stunning to see the Red Sox fire Alex Cora along with five coaches over the weekend. It’s not his fault how the roster was constructed or that the team didn’t re-sign Alex Bregman, but it’s not like Craig Breslow will suffer the consequences for that. At least right now. The most troubling thing is the environment which has been created in the move’s wake.

It’s a shame to see one of the most passionate fanbases in baseball be subjected to this level of dysfunction.

27) Washington Nationals

Last week: 27

It’s been a weird stretch for James Wood, who is hitting .196 over his last 13 games while also putting up a .934 OPS. How the heck is that possible, you may ask? Well, hitting five homers and walking 16 times definitely helps.

28) Kansas City Royals

Last week: 28

After going without a homer for his first 19 games, Jac Caglianone has two homers over his last five games, including this game-tying shot in the ninth inning during Sunday Night Baseball on Peacock and NBCSN.

We also saw Bobby Witt Jr.’s first homer of the season in this one. The Royals eventually won it with a walk-off shot from Lane Thomas in the 10th inning to cap off a sweep of the Angels. They might just be turning a corner.

29) Colorado Rockies

Last week: 29

The Rockies just pulled off a sweep of the Mets and their first doubleheader sweep on the road since way back in 2011, giving them 13 wins for the year. They didn’t reach 13 wins last year until June 12. Progress?

30) Chicago White Sox

Last week: 30

Weirdest first MLB homer of all-time? Weirdest first MLB homer of all-time.