MLB Power Rankings: An Unexpected AL Team Heats Up

Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield examine the early-season performances of the Rays and Tigers. (2:42)

We have a new team making its top-five debut in Week 6.

The Rays, the second-best team in the American League behind the Yankees, come in at No. 5, their highest ranking of the season, which they started at No. 18.

The rest of the top five remains the same, with the Dodgers holding steady at No. 1 despite going 5-5 over their past 10 games, the Yankees retaking the No. 2 spot, the MLB-leading Braves at 3 and the Cubs fourth.

Our Week 6 list saw a number of other big movers: The Cardinals and A's reached their highest rankings of the season, Nos. 12 and 13, respectively, while the White Sox had the biggest rise, going from No. 29 to 21.

What else has changed in the span of one week?

Our expert panel has ranked 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 Jesse Rogers, David Schoenfield and Bradford Doolittle to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 5 | Preseason rankings

Record: 23-14

Previous ranking: 1

The Dodgers' rotation news remains a mixed bag of excellence and injury. On the positive side of that scale, Shohei Ohtani and emergent lefty Justin Wrobleski are pitching like National League Cy Young candidates. Tyler Glasnow was near that level as well before leaving his start Wednesday because of back spasms. After the game, manager Dave Roberts said Glasnow would undergo an MRI but was optimistic that an IL stint would be unnecessary. Glasnow has started the season 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA and has allowed less than a half a hit per inning -- just 19 over 38⅔ frames. -- Doolittle

Record: 25-12

Previous ranking: 3

The Yankees made it official: They're going to ride with Jose Caballero as their starting shortstop. After Anthony Volpe completed his minor league rehab stint, the Yankees optioned him to Triple-A, keeping Caballero as the starter. "He's been a key factor in us getting off to a really great start this year on both sides of the ball and the basepaths," Aaron Boone said. Caballero has been outstanding on defense, with a 90th percentile range ranking via Statcast. While Volpe won a Gold Glove as a rookie in 2023, he struggled on defense last year and had offseason surgery on his left shoulder. He hit .271 with one home run in 14 games between Double-A and Triple-A on the rehab assignment. -- Schoenfield

Record: 26-12

Previous ranking: 2

There's no stopping the Braves, who have built an incredible, near double-digit lead in the NL East. They remain the only team above .500 in the division with no signs of slowing down. Atlanta is second in MLB in OPS and second in the NL in ERA. That combination helped the Braves to an easy series sweep of the Rockies over the weekend, just days after a series win over the Tigers and before that the Phillies. The Braves are gobbling up wins and haven't even found their stride on the mound -- or should I say Strider? Spencer Strider just returned from injury. Let's see whether he helps take Atlanta to yet another level. -- Rogers

Record: 25-12

Previous ranking: 4

The Cubs are rolling, already producing two winning streaks of seven or more games. Their current eight-game winning streak includes three consecutive walk-off wins over the Reds. Cincinnati manager Terry Francona noted how deep Chicago's lineup is when Pete Crow-Armstrong batted ninth Tuesday. It's a sign of the times for the Cubs, who are getting contributions from all 26 players on the roster. Former Rockies hurler Ryan Rolison is the latest Cubs player to garner headlines. He has finished four games for Chicago, earning three wins along the way. The Cubs look like the class of the NL Central right now. -- Rogers

Record: 24-12

Previous ranking: 8

With 12 wins in 13 games after sweeping the Blue Jays, the Rays have joined the Yankees in separating themselves from the rest of the AL. Tampa Bay's pitching was absolutely phenomenal during this stretch, allowing just 17 runs and never more than three in one game, including three shutouts. With Ryan Pepiot out for the season because of hip surgery and Steven Matz (elbow inflammation) joining Joe Boyle on the injured list, manager Kevin Cash is reverting to an old tactic: the opener. Griffin Jax has made a couple of starts and is building up innings to go longer in games, throwing 45 pitches and 2⅔ innings in his last outing. -- Schoenfield

Record: 22-14

Previous ranking: 5

Padres fans might have been pained when San Diego traded elite hitter Juan Soto to the Yankees, and while Soto's star has remained bright, the deal is working out pretty well for the Friars as well. In fact, you could argue the 2026 club would be lost without the contributions of starters Michael King and Randy Vasquez , both acquired from New York in the Soto deal. King started the season with a 141 ERA+ over his first seven starts, while over the same number of outings, Vasquez was at 130. No other San Diego starter with at least two outings was above 94. -- Doolittle

Record: 19-16

Previous ranking: 11

Jackson Chourio 's return from injury has been a boost for the Brewers, who already have one of the better offenses in the league. They scorched Arizona for 26 runs in two games last week but haven't been as consistent at the plate as their numbers would indicate. Chourio should help in that department. He had four hits in his first game of the season Monday. Outside of Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee is getting healthier. Watch out for a Brewers-esque run at some point soon. -- Rogers

Record: 18-20

Previous ranking: 7

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The Tigers entered the season with what looked like a strong, veteran-laden starting rotation appropriate for a team with World Series aspirations. While those hopes linger, the start of the season has seen the rotation plan fall apart because of injuries (Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize and Justin Verlander), subpar performance ( Jack Flaherty and Framber Valdez ) and squirrelly behavior (Valdez). Thus, in what has become an annual ritual, manager A.J. Hinch will have to piece things together for the time being while hoping that Skubal's elbow procedure proves to be a simple cleanup. -- Doolittle

Record: 20-17

Previous ranking: 9

Konnor Griffin is heating up. Since turning 20 on April 24, he's slashing .395/.458/.651. Speed is the name of his game. His bat speed is near the 90 percentile mark, while his sprint speed is in the 99th percentile. His hit streak has reached eight games, not long after his signature big league performance so far: a four-hit day against the Reds that was a home run shy of the cycle. Speaking of homers, he hit his first career dinger on his birthday and has added another since. He's trending up. -- Rogers

Record: 18-20

Previous ranking: 10

With Bryan Woo and Logan Gilbert struggling in recent outings, Emerson Hancock has emerged as the team's top starter alongside George Kirby . Hancock had a brilliant 14-strikeout game against the Royals over the weekend, although Andres Munoz wound up blowing the save as the Mariners lost in 10 innings. Hancock leads MLB in strikeout-to-walk ratio. His sweeper, which he rarely threw last season, has turned into a major asset, and he's throwing it 23% of the time, using it against lefties and righties. -- Schoenfield

Record: 20-17

Previous ranking: 6

Some of rookie Sal Stewart 's expected stats -- such as his slugging percentage -- are better than his actual ones, which already earned him rookie of the month for April. Can the 22-year-old help carry a Reds team that's reeling from some poor pitching performances? Expect Stewart to see a heavy dose of breaking pitches as he has proven he can hit fastballs. He's hitting under .200 on at-bats that end on a breaking pitch. Once he learns to lay off some of those pitches, his sub-.250 OBP against them should increase. -- Rogers

Record: 21-15

Previous ranking: 18

The Cardinals continue to defy expectations, taking a series vs. the Dodgers then following that up with winning one against the Brewers. Those were two of the top three teams in the NL last year. St. Louis might qualify as one of the better ones so far this year, thanks to a solid all-around offense that ranks near the top of the league. The Cardinals do give up as much as they score, but they still have a winning record. High-leverage victories have been their calling card so far as they've hit and pitched in the clutch. Can that last? Stay tuned. -- Rogers

Record: 18-18

Previous ranking: 16

Nick Kurtz 's consecutive games streak with a walk ended at 20 -- tied with Barry Bonds for the second longest in MLB history behind Roy Cullenbine's record of 22. Kurtz drew a remarkable 25 walks in 94 plate appearances over that 20-game stretch. What's interesting is that it's not like pitchers are completely avoiding him: Kurtz ranks 39th among qualified hitters in the percentage of pitches in the strike zone, so 38 guys see fewer strikes. He's 22nd in chase rate, so there are batters who swing less often at pitches out of the zone. He's 16th in lowest swing rate, so he does run a lot of deep counts. Add it up and it leads to a lot of walks. -- Schoenfield

Record: 17-19

Previous ranking: 13

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Evan Carter looked like a future star when he came up in September 2023, having just turned 21 years old, and played a key role in the Rangers' World Series run, posting a 1.058 OPS in 23 regular-season games and then .917 in the postseason. He has battled injuries, including back problems, since then but is healthy this year and still struggling at the plate. His defense in center field and plate discipline remain excellent, so maybe that keeps him in the lineup for now, but he's hitting too many routine fly balls rather than the line drives he hit in 2023. Carter is also 0-for-20 against left-handed pitching, continuing his career struggles against lefties. -- Schoenfield

Record: 17-20

Previous ranking: 22

Could the Phillies be righting the ship under interim manager Don Mattingly? Was it bound to happen anyway? It really doesn't matter. What matters is their record since moving on from Rob Thomson: 8-1. More important than the manager change might be the return of Zack Wheeler . He's off to a good start after returning from injury and could be the key to the Phillies' resurgence over the next few months. Just as important is Jesus Luzardo 's past two outings, as he gave up just two runs over 13⅓ innings. The Phillies' lineup remains iffy -- especially after the top of the lineup -- so their road back to respectability is through that pitching staff. It's coming around. -- Rogers

Record: 19-19

Previous ranking: 15

Cleveland has cooled considerably over the past couple of weeks. As usual, the low-scoring Guardians have found themselves in a ton of close games, but whereas they thrived in such contests a year ago, they have not in 2026. Last season, Cleveland was plus-17 (50-33) in games decided by one or two runs, a big reason it won the AL Central despite a negative run differential. So far this season, the Guardians are once again in the red in terms of run differential, but they're also 10-11 in games decided by two runs or less. -- Doolittle

Record: 16-21

Previous ranking: 17

Vladimir Guerrero Jr . is hitting well over .300 and getting on base, but he's not hitting the ball over the fence yet, with just two home runs on the season. His power outage is one reason the Jays are near the bottom of the majors in home runs and runs scored. His hard-hit rate is down about seven percentage points, to the

_Originally reported by [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48694135/mlb-2026-power-rankings-week-6-dodgers-yankees-braves-cubs-rays)._