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MLB power rankings Week 9: Royals, Cardinals, Giants climb with Yankees, Phillies on top
By Matt Johnson,
23 days ago
Who is the best team in MLB? We’re just over two months into the 2024 MLB season and June is right around the corner. With the MLB standings really taking shape, it’s time to dive into our latest MLB power rankings with evaluations on all 30 teams.
Let’s dive into our MLB power rankings for Week 9. As always, we’ll provide analysis of the 10 worst MLB teams on Saturday afternoon.
MLB power rankings: Worst MLB teams right now
30. Chicago White Sox (29)
The Chicago White Sox are the worst team in MLB. Eloy Jimenez is back on the injured list, news that seems as old as time for the former emerging star. Chicago has also gone on a stretch with a 1-7 record, firmly securing their spot back at the bottom of the standings. The trade deadline can’t get here soon enough.
The Colorado Rockies won six games in April. Before May even wraps up, Colorado has 10 wins this month before May 25. This is certainly still one of the worst MLB teams in 2024, but at least the Rockies don’t look lifeless anymore. However, it could also be argued that all these wins might start hurting their MLB Draft lottery odds.
The team that traded Luis Arraez then told the entire league just about everyone on its roster will be available this summer, seems to be showing some fight. In the last two weeks, the Miami Marlins have delivered series wins over the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers. We’ll just say this, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is once again proving why he’ll be hired quickly by another team after this season.
It’s been a bit of a weird stretch, as the Los Angeles Angels are among some of the worst MLB teams that are playing pretty well over the last week. Los Angeles took it two two of its division rivals, which, might say more about the state the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros are in right now. Still, kudos to the Halos for this solid week of performances.
The wheels really came off for the Cincinnati Reds in May. Believe it or not, back on April 29, Cincinnati was three games above the .500 line. Around a month later, Cincinnati is fighting to avoid being double-digit games below .500. Beating the Dodgers and Padres once is nice, but it’s time for the Reds to start thinking about who they want to flip for prospects this summer.
The Oakland Athletics snapped their lengthy losing streak with a series victory against the Rockies, but that might only be a momentary stoppage. Oakland now has to face the Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners followed by a series against a desperate Toronto Blue Jays team. By the end of this, they’ll probably be hanging around with the White Sox and Rockies.
It was fun while it lasted. The Washington Nationals made it to 20-20, a mark we never would’ve bet on happening in 2024. Yes, the Nats are 2-7 since then and they still have to face the Braves and Guardians before May wraps up. While the regression has arrived, Washington was fun for a little while.
From 12-8 to 21-29, the 2024 season unraveled quickly for the New York Mets. The good news is that the Mets have enough veterans to flip for prospects at the trade deadline and there’s some homegrown talent in the upper minors that will come up once New York waves the white flag on the season. The losses are piling up, but the Mets’ future is bright.
We’re focused on Paul Skenes with the Pittsburgh Pirates moving forward and the experience has been spectacular. Plus, since the rookie’s arrival, the Pirates have seemed to be more competitive in games (7-6 since May 11). That feels like all the Buccos can ask for, at least for now.
It’s hard to gauge the Houston Astros right now. After taking the series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston immediately followed it up by dropping a home set to the Angels. There’s just no consistency with this team in 2024 and given some of the veterans on expiring contracts, it’s fair to wonder if selling might be the best option.
MLB power rankings Week 9: Cardinals, Giants, Red Sox rise
20. Detroit Tigers (17)
The Detroit Tigers entered Friday with as many losses in May as the White Sox (eight). It was just under a month ago that Detroit held an 18-13 record, teasing everyone into believing this could be a breakout season. Since that point, the Tigers have been one of the worst MLB teams. In some ways, it’s disappointing, but it’s also a fitting outcome for a club that keeps giving at-bats to Javier Baez.
Just as the MLB trade rumors started popping up about Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Toronto Blue Jays start winning a few games. Granted, the victories have come against the White Sox and a collapsing Tigers team, so this still isn’t saying much. But hey, Toronto closes May against the White Sox and Pirates, so maybe some confidence will turn everything around.
We’d like to welcome the St. Louis Cardinals to the 2024 MLB season. Hope seemed lost in the middle of May with a 15-24 record, but this team has a slight pulse. It’s one thing to beat the Angels and an inconsistent Red Sox club, but sweeping the Baltimore Orioles is a real spark of hope. Now just a few games under .500, it’s fair to say the National League is keeping a door open if the Cardinals recover.
Just as we start to put our concern with the lack of talent on the Tampa Bay Rays roster, because of the on-field results in May, they get swept at home by the Boston Red Sox. To make matters worse, there are upcoming matchups against the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles to close out the month. We know the Rays won’t be aggressive buyers this year, which does influence our thinking, leading to the renewed belief that hard times are ahead.
From bad to worse for the Texas Rangers. As if the reigning World Series champions didn’t have enough pitcher injuries, starter Jon Gray (groin) is now facing an extended absence. With all the arms missing and the issues in the pen, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Texas is 18th in ERA (4.17) and 17th in WHIP ( 1.29 ). Our new concern, however, is a Rangers lineup that ranks 22nd in OPS ( .673 ) this month. If that doesn’t improve, the free fall in our MLB power rankings won’t stop here.
A poor showing against Detroit was immediately followed up with a surprising series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, including two consecutive wins at Dodger Stadium. Arizona has shown a lot more fire as of late and its pitching and run production are on the upswing. Up next, a very winnable stretch of games that could give the Diamondbacks a winning record by early June.
The San Francisco Giants are the biggest risers in our MLB power rankings this week. San Francisco entered Friday 10-3 in its last 10 games, even with the pitching staff posting a 4.45 ERA and outfielder Jung Hoo Lee suffering a season-ending injury. Of course, all of this work to get back near the .500 mark could be outdone within a week if San Francisco gets knocked around by the Philadelphia Phillies (May 27-29) and New York Yankees (May 31 – June 2).
What matters for the San Diego Padres is their 12-8 record in May, tied for the sixth-most wins in MLB with a better winning percentage than the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves. Knocking out Atlanta in that head-to-head series also made a statement and the Padres maintained the momentum by taking out Cincinnati. If the Padres are above .500 entering June, the outlook is very promising for the rest of the season.
There are times in the season when you absolutely need a series win and that’s what happened for the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Prior to that, Boston was 22-24 with a 3-11 record since May 7. That trip to Florida dug Boston out of a tailspin. It’s certainly possible they slide right back down next week after facing the Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles, but for now, a little positivity in Boston.
May is going to be a month to forget for the Chicago Cubs. From 21-14 on May 5 to 27-24 after dropping three consecutive series, including two at Wrigley Field. It also doesn’t help Chicago that the Cardinals have gathered a little momentum heading into their head-to-head meeting and that’s immediately followed with a set against the Milwaukee Brewers. Still, we remain believers in the talent quality on the roster.
After carrying the Seattle Mariners early in the season, pitching has been a bit of a letdown lately for the M’s. Seattle entered Friday with a 4.52 ERA in May (21st in MLB), which is coming at a time when the Mariners lineup (.708 OPS, 12th in MLB) has started turning things around. Still, the series split against the New York Yankees was a nice showing, enough to get Seattle into a featured spot in our MLB power rankings. Although, that also says a bit about the Cubs’ collapse and the uncertainty after the top 9 teams.
A six-game stretch against the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians went poorly for the Minnesota Twins, with an 0-6 record and -24 run differential. FOrtunately, after dropping the road opener to the Nats, Minnesota came back to take that series and then it took advantage of a disjointed Rangers team. Wins aren’t easy to come by for a lot of teams right now, so Minnesota racking up winning streaks makes a real difference in the American League.
If only the 2024 Milwaukee Brewers could be combined with one of their previous iterations. The Brewers lineup ( .256/.331/.420, 257 runs scored ) is delivering this season, but Milwaukee’s starting rotation has also managed just 13 quality starts (26th in MLB) in 51 games. Milwaukee should feel a bit better though after its trip to Fenway Park, which saw both the Brewers lineup and pitching perform If Milwaukee can come out on top of that home series against the Cubs, it can create some real distance in the NL Central.
Heading into Sunday, the Atlanta Braves were fine all things considered. Yes, Spencer Strider is lost for the season, Austin Riley has missed 13 consecutive games and both Michael Harris II (.255/.291/378) and Matt Olson (.20/.316/.396) have been huge disappointments this year. However, Sean Murphy was closing in on a return and the Braves still had a 29-20 record. The Ronald Acuña Jr. knee injury doesn’t just hurt the lineup, it’s a blow for morale in Atlanta. The Braves have survived injuries already, but this blow feels lasting.
This lull is only temporary for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but this team has just not been playing great baseball as of late. Widely viewed as one of the best MLB teams in 2024, Los Angeles entered Sunday with a 7-8 record since May 10. The 3.81 ERA from the Dodgers pitching staff over that span isn’t bad, but Los Angeles is spending too much money for a lineup that can’t buy a hit (.214/.285/.365) in the last 15 games. If there’s hope for the Dodgers, it’s the fact that the Mets and Rockies are on deck.
The Baltimore Orioles were due for a slump and that’s just what the last two weeks have been. What hurts even more is the John Means injury, which for now is an IL stint but could turn into a much longer absence. One thing this recent dip does highlight for Baltimore is that in order for the team to become World Series contenders, they need to upgrade the bullpen and add another bat or two.
A year ago at this time, the Kansas City Royals were more than 20 games below .500. Fast forward to 2024 and they are a top-8 team in consensus MLB power rankings. Bobby Witt Jr. (61 hits, .915 OPS) is the obvious star, but Cole Ragans’ development into an ace (3.34 ERA) with Seth Lugo (1.79 ERA) thriving in a new environment, makes the Royals a fantastic story. We see no reason why this run of excellence can’t continue. Plus, with the Dodgers and Orioles slumping, the only place for the Royals to go is up and it’s earned.
Back come the Cleveland Guardians. The club went from 19-8 to 24-16, with an ugly sweep at the hands of the White Sox. Then, Cleveland got back on track. The Guardians lineup really showed out against the Rangers and Twins, while it was the pitching that led the way against the Mets. Cleveland will likely never get the national recognition it has earned this season, but the results in 2024 speak volumes about this surprising team.
Life is good for the New York Yankees. Through their first 21 games in May, New York recorded the second-most wins (16) and it only trails the Philadelphia Phillies (five) in losses. The Yankees pitching ( 2.56 ERA ) has been lights-out and the Yankees lineup ( .819, 1st in MLB ) has been just as good. If all of that isn’t enough reason to give New York confidence, Gerrit Cole and DJ LeMahieu are closing in on returns.
The Philadelphia Phillies are the best team in MLB. How good? Since April 15, the Phillies are 29-6 . Putting that into perspective, the second-best record over that span (Cleveland Guardians) is 23-12. Some will cite an easier slate of opponents, but it’s not like we haven’t seen some of the best MLB teams drop a series every other week to a team near the bottom of our MLB power rankings. What matters is that more than 50 games through the season, the Phillies lineup leads MLB in runs scored ( 277 ) and this team leads MLB in quality starts (30).
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