MLB Power Rankings Week Five: Brewers force their way to the top

Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /
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Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

I give, I give.

The Milwaukee Brewers are arguably the best team in baseball through one month of baseball. They have been good for enough games and by enough of a margin (+0.88 run differential per game, per Baseball Prospectus). So yes, MLB Power Rankings in April and May are a balancing act as we try to make sense of how good these teams are right now and how good they will be down the road, but the Brewers look like they have the goods to keep it up for the long run.

The Atlanta Braves and Oakland A’s both probably have more pitching and they both have slightly better Diff/G (+1.29 for Braves, +1.52 for the A’s), but the Brewers claim the top spot. There are still six teams that I believe will emerge as the elite six in the league, but right now the Brewers belong at the top.

You have the three best teams mentioned above, elite teams that have underachieved so far, a handful of truly putrid teams, and a large confusing mass in the middle. The fluidity from number 10 to number 25 or so is baffling and will seemingly continue that way for most of the season. If nothing else, it looks like a lot of teams will be in the hunt for a Wild Card spot.

MLB Power Rankings: Week Five

Milwaukee Brewers
1.  Milwaukee Brewers (18-7, +6) /
Oakland Athletics
2.  Oakland A’s (15-10, no change) /
Atlanta Braves
3.  Atlanta Braves (17-7, no change) /
Detroit Tigers
4.  Detroit Tigers (12-9, no change) /
Los Angeles Dodgers
5.   Los Angeles Dodgers (14-12, -4) /
Washington Nationals
6.  Washington Nationals (14-12, no change) /
St. Louis Cardinals
7.  St. Louis Cardinals (14-12, -1) /
Texas Rangers
8.  Texas Rangers (15-10, no change) /
San Francisco Giants
9. San Francisco Giants (15-10, +2) /
New York Yankees
10.  New York Yankees (15-10, no change) /
Kansas City Royals
11.  Kansas City Royals (12-12, +3) /
Boston Red Sox
12.  Boston Red Sox (12-14, -3) /
Los Angeles Angels
13.  Los Angeles Angels (11-13, +1) /
Baltimore Orioles
14.  Baltimore Orioles (12-12, +5) /
Colorado Rockies
15.  Colorado Rockies (14-12, +5) /
Toronto Blue Jays
16.  Toronto Blue Jays (12-13, no change) /
Cincinnati Reds
17.  Cincinnati Reds (11-14, no change) /
Tampa Bay Rays
18. Tampa Bay Rays (11-14, -6) /
New York Mets
19.  New York Mets (14-11, +5) /
Chicago White Sox
20.  Chicago White Sox (13-13, +1) /
Pittsburgh Pirates
21.  Pittsburgh Pirates (10-16, -6) /
Philadelphia Phillies
22.  Philadelphia Phillies (13-12, +3) /
Seattle Mariners
23.  Seattle Mariners (10-14, no change) /
Cleveland Indians
24.  Cleveland Indians (11-14, -6) /
Minnesota Twins
25.  Minnesota Twins (12-11, +1) /
San Diego Padres
26.  San Diego Padres (12-14, -4) /
Miami Marlins
27.  Miami Marlins (11-14, no change) /
Chicago Cubs
28.  Chicago Cubs (8-16, no change) /
Arizona Diamondbacks
29.  Arizona Diamondbacks (8-20, no change) /
Houston Astros
30.  Houston Astros (9-17, no change) /