MLB Power Rankings: Mets, Cardinals making things tough at the top

. Previous: +6th. Chicago Cubs. 6. team. 9. While Kris Bryant continues to get all the press in Chicago, eventually something needs to be said about the masterful move it was to acquire Jake Arrieta. Since Arrieta came over to the Cubs from the Orioles, the right-hander has gone 17-8 with a 2.72 ERA, a 2.87 FIP, and a 8.8 K/9 ratio over 235 innings (38 GS). That’s ace material, and at 14.5% of Jon Lester’s deal.

4. Pittsburgh was bound to make a move at some point and they rode a 7-3 last 10 to do it. Still missing is Andrew McCutchen, but it’s been made easier with the trio of A.J. Burnett, Francisco Liriano, and Gerrit Cole all throwing the ball so well. Only the Astros have recorded more ground-outs that Pittsburgh and no team has given up less home runs.. . Previous: +4th. Pittsburgh Pirates. 7. team

New York Yankees. 8. team. 43. Welcome back to the land of the living Mark Teixeira! Left in the rubble of other aging Yankees legends, Teixeira emerged to claim the AL Player of the Week on the back of a .333, 5 HR, and 10 RBI. A notoriously slow starter, Teixeira has a career-best 8 home runs in April. Still worried about the long-term effectiveness of the starting pitching in New York, especially now that Tanaka is hurt again, but things seem to improving on that front.. . Previous: +7th

9. team. 127. The influx of offense has worked well for the Padres, as they lead the National League in runs scored and their 21 home runs rank 3rd in the game. Oh, and the switch to the National League seems to be suiting James Shields well, as he leads the NL in strike-outs. Money has seemingly been well-spent in San Diego.. . Previous: -2th. San Diego Padres

10. team. 14. Somehow, the Red Sox have managed to win 11 games despite allowing the second most runs in all of baseball at this point. The offense is deep enough to keep them in ball games, but Boston isn’t going to figure into the race if it can’t find an answer for their starters’ cumulative 5.84 ERA. Granted, it can’t stay that bad all season long, but it desperately needs some help.. . Previous: -4th. Boston Red Sox