MLB Power Rankings: Tigers cling to top spot as Dodgers make their move

63. The Tigers continue to be the class of baseball, getting production up and down their line-up and sporting a pitching staff that has allowed the second fewest runs in baseball. The loss of Max Scherzer has seemingly been a non-issue, with Shane Greene giving Detroit 23 innings and only 1 run allowed.. . Previous: . Detroit Tigers. 1. team

71. The Dodgers have gone 7-3 over their last 10 and used that run to vault themselves to the top of the NL Central. Adrian Gonzalez is off to a blazing start, but this team will be driven by pitching. Imagine how scary they’ll be once Clayton Kershaw, Brandon McCarthy, and Brett Anderson start contributing. But can this team survive the entire month of April on basically a 4-man rotation?. . Previous: +2nd. Los Angeles Dodgers. 2. team

. Previous: -1th. Kansas City Royals. 3. team. 7. It was tough to knock down the Royals, especially considering they’ve continued to play exemplary baseball and sport the best run differential in the game. However, two losses to the Minnesota Twins don’t make a good case. What more can you say about the unheralded contributions of Paulo Orlando?

. Previous: +2nd. St. Louis Cardinals. 4. team. 33. St. Louis has surrendered an MLB low 26 runs in their first twelve games. That’s been an important piece of their start, especially as they’ve only managed to score 44 of their own (25th in baseball). However, the bats haven’t been silent, with the Cardinals hitting a collective .260 (8th in MLB). Eventually those runs will come across and this could be a very scary team to deal with.

. Previous: +17th. New York Mets. 5. team. 3. Perhaps this is a bit premature for the Mets, who have surprised many with an 11-3 start. However, a convincing 9-1 over their last 10 and a +22 run differential are nothing to sneeze at. For as impressive as Matt Harvey has been, the trio of Jake DeGrom, Jonathan Niese, and Bartolo Colon have been outstanding. The loss of Travis d’Arnaud will hurt, but the debut of top prospect Kevin Plawecki (2 for 4, 2 runs) seemed to erase those concerns.