MLB Power Rankings: Two small-market contenders are outplaying MLB’s richest teams

Memorial Day weekend is here, which means it's time for contenders to look in the mirror. That's good news for division leaders like the Rays, Guardians, Braves, Brewers and Dodgers. It suggests more complicated questions are ahead for the likes of the Tigers, Mets and Red Sox. This week's MLB Power Rankings aren't just your usual variety, but rather a reflection of where these teams stand in the MLB landscape. And trust me, it's not all good news.

If there's one thing we've learned through two months of baseball, it's that money alone can't buy success. Sure, the Dodgers rank among the top of our rankings once again, but they have infrastructure. Look no further than the Mets, Phillies and Red Sox as examples of what happens when spending goes wrong. Thankfully for all those would-be contenders, it's never too late to make some critical adjustments.

30. Los Angeles Angels

• Last week's rankings: 30

The Angels are once again where everyone expected them to be, at the bottom of the American League West. The only real difference is that the Astros are keeping them company. Mike Trout trade speculation is going to dominate the next two months for LA, but Jo Adell and Jorge Soler may be the likelier trade candidates.

-Jordan Campbell, Baseball Insiders staff

29. Colorado Rockies

• Last week's ranking: 29

The Rockies are building something here. They aren’t close to competing, but rival executives have praised the job of new pitching coach Alon Leichman. They have some solid trade assets such as Antonio Senzatela, Michael Lorenzen and Mickey Moniak, among others, but one player I do not anticipate being moved: All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman, who has 11 homers in 46 games and is controllable until 2030.

-Robert Murray, FanSided MLB Insider

28. Detroit Tigers

• Last week's ranking: 21

Detroit lost eight straight coming into Sunday’s series finale against Baltimore, and now it's nine. These are dire times in Motown, with the Tigers on the verge of an extremely difficult trade deadline decision: to trade or not to trade Tarik Skubal. With Skubal almost certain to walk in free agency, the Tigers need to weigh the benefits of a massive trade haul against the negative effects on morale that come with trading a franchise cornerstone. It’s unclear how the Tigers can turn this ship around, unfortunately. The Framber Valdez signing has backfired spectacularly, while Riley Greene and Kevin McGonigle are the only Tigers who can seem to generate consistent results at the plate.

-Chris Kline, FanSided.com

27. Kansas City Royals

• Last week's ranking: 25

Any team swept by the 2026 Boston Red Sox needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror. Kansas City has an MVP-caliber cornerstone in Bobby Witt Jr., but the rest of its lineup is lagging right now. Carter Jensen has cooled off after a torrid start. Jac Caglianone is finally putting it all together, but he’s just not consistent enough to counter the steep decline of Salvador Pérez and Vinnie Pasquantino. The Royals will pin their hopes on an excellent rotation, but recent injuries to Kris Bubic and Cole Ragans leave Kansas City in a precarious position. Especially if Seth Lugo lets his foot off the gas pedal, like he did last season.

-CK

26. San Francisco Giants

• Last week's ranking: 25

Well under .500, the Giants look like sellers at the trade deadline. They are not ready to do so yet, of course, and prefer to hold onto their star players. But after signing Willy Adames and trading for Rafael Devers, expectations were high in San Francisco. And Buster Posey appears to be feeling the heat based on his responses in a recent KNBR interview.

-RM

25. Baltimore Orioles

• Last week's ranking: 24

We’re reaching critical mass in Baltimore, unfortunately. After some hefty investments this offseason in the likes of Pete Alonso and Shane Baz, neither have delivered. And while so many headlines are about the Red Sox’ struggles out of the AL East, the Orioles are actually the ones occupying the last-place spot in the division standings. Getting swept by the Rays and then having a rain-soaked series in Detroit on the weekend doesn’t switch up the vibes for this team in any positive manner, and it’s hard to know where to even look for answers at this point.

-Cody Williams, FanSided

24. New York Mets

• Last week's ranking: 23

New York has slowly begun to turn a corner, with Carson Benge finding a higher gear (and now promoted to the leadoff spot), while fellow rookie AJ Ewing arrived in Queens like he was shot out of a cannon. The Mets are still short on time with a lot left to figure out, from Francisco Lindor’s IL stint to Bo Bichette’s flatlining production or the complete deterioration of Marcus Semien. That said, with Juan Soto doing Juan Soto things and a rotation anchored by a genuine Cy Young candidate in Nolan McLean, there’s at least a path back to postseason contention.

-CK

23. Houston Astros

• Last week's ranking: 26

Since looking real good during the first week of the regular season, the Houston Astros have been stepping closer and closer to an all-out implosion. If you squint, the pitching staff is starting to get healthy but now the offense has entered a funk. The way things are headed, the Astros are going to be a clear seller at the trade deadline.

-JC

22. Boston Red Sox

• Last week's ranking: 22

One would’ve thought that, even if sweeping the Royals isn’t exceptionally meaningful, that the Red Sox might’ve found the spark that they were looking for. Instead, they immediately went the opposite direction over the weekend against the Twins, a team that Boston just can’t figure out. It was the lifeless offense again in a loss on Saturday after an uncharacteristic bullpen blowup cost them on Friday night at Fenway. It still feels as if the pitching and defense reliance of this team makes the margin for error entirely too thin when the Red Sox simply don’t have the consistent offensive performance necessary to make that worthwhile.

-CW

21. Miami Marlins

• Last week's ranking: 20

The early-season magic dust has worn off for the Marlins, but Eury Perez finally appeared to turn a corner with 6.1 innings of one-run baseball in Friday’s win over New York. Meanwhile, Max Meyer has really settled into an ace-like groove, which means Miami’s rotation could be turning a corner. The plan is to stretch out Tyler Phillips with Robby Snelling done for the year. With how well Phillips has pitched out of the ‘pen these past couple years, there’s reason for optimism. On the lineup front, the Marlins are still a feisty bunch, led by red-hot Xavier Edwards, one of the most valuable infielders in MLB to date.

-CK

20. Toronto Blue Jays

• Last week's ranking: 19

After being lumped into the biggest early-season disappointments, the Blue Jays are starting to look more like the team most people expected them to in the 2026 campaign. Dropping the first two games against the Yankees but fighting back to split showed the fight of this team, and they continued that by winning a home series against Pittsburgh. Toronto had won seven of their last 10 entering Sunday as well. Unfortunately, Dylan Cease and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leaving the finale against Pittsburgh threatens to derail this mounting Blue Jays momentum.

-CW

19. Minnesota Twins

• Last week's ranking: 28

Minnesota is playing better baseball of late, led by sneaky MVP candidate Byron Buxton, who’s still every bit a five-tool superstar in center field. Minnesota has also unearthed a few other gems. Austin Martin probably won’t maintain his current pace, but he’s making such sound decisions at the plate, with excellent, contact-laden results to show for it. Zebby Matthews has potentially turned a corner on the mound, stepping in for a struggling Simeon Woods Richardson and looking like the top prospect he once was.

-CK

18. Texas Rangers

• Last week's ranking: 18

Now is the time for the Rangers to get hot. They're in the midst of seven consecutive games against the Astros and Angels. It’s the perfect get right opportunity that should catapult them past the Athletics in the division. If it doesn’t happen now, it may not happen at all for Texas this season.

-JC

17. Seattle Mariners

• Last week's ranking: 14

Will the real Mariners please stand up? Being swept against the Padres last weekend was a suggestion that Seattle could just be having one of those seasons where things just never get going. The Mariners are still good enough to beat teams they should (sorry, White Sox), but until they actually have momentum on their side, doubt will remain.

-JC

16. Washington Nationals

• Last week's ranking: 17

Washington took two of four from the Mets and has now given Atlanta everything it can handle, including a combined one-hitter in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over the hottest offensive team in baseball. That was an extremely encouraging sign for the Nats bullpen, which took over after Jake Irvin got hurt in the fifth inning. If Washington can start holding the leads its lineup creates, with James Wood, CJ Abrams and Daylen Lile all mashing, the Nats are a sneaky, sneaky Wild Card threat in the NL.

-CK

15. Athletics

• Last week's ranking: 12

We may be starting to see some regression from the Athletics. Their run differential has dipped into the red but the silver lining is that they might be in the weakest division in baseball. Even with the regression, the Athletics are still beating up on the bad teams, and that should be good enough to keep them relevant for the duration of the season.

-JC

14. Pittsburgh Pirates

• Last week's ranking: 12

The last month of baseball hasn’t been too kind to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the last week hasn’t been much better. There’s time to turn things around for Pittsburgh, but the good thing is this season isn’t nearly as grueling in the Steel City as it usually is. Pittsburgh actually has a winning record and after several years of landing the top prospects it’s finally starting to pay off. The upcoming week for the Pirates will test them and their ability to compete against some of the strongest teams in MLB.

-Wynston Wilcox, FanSided.com

13. Philadelphia Phillies

• Last week's ranking: 10

Donnie Baseball probably shouldn’t get full credit for “saving” the Phillies, but it’s hard to ignore the scale of Philadelphia’s turnaround since he took over as manager. The Phillies are still a deeply flawed team, but Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler were effectively the two best pitchers in baseball in the month of May. The Phils are 6-0 when Wheeler takes the mound since his return from a surgery that has ended careers before. It’s so impressive. As long as the Phillies boast two Cy Young candidates, a resurgent Bryce Harper, and an MVP candidate in Kyle Schwarber (who is flirting with 60-plus homers), the wins will keep coming.

-CK

12. Cincinnati Reds

• Last week's ranking: 13

The Cincinnati Reds are not who we thought they were, or maybe they’re exactly who we thought they were, depending on who you ask. The Reds have hit a bit of a rough patch, but have turned things around if you will over the last few games. It was an eight-game losing streak that thwarted them, but they still look like a playoff team for now. As the Reds pitching staff continues to get healthy, it might be the move that helps them stay in wild card contention at the very least. Surviving the NL Central won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible either.

-WW

11. Chicago White Sox

• Last week's ranking: 16

The Southsiders won their Rivalry Week series against the Cubs, which felt like a meaningful statement. Chicago is still volatile, largely due to its subpar pitching, but at least Davis Martin is a Cy Young candidate all of a sudden. The lineup isn’t as deep as it feels, but the kids are alright, and the Sox clearly have a bright future. Munetaka Murakami has been one of the most dominant offensive forces in MLB to date; Sam Antonacci is a dawg, Colson Montgomery detonates on every mistake pitch and Miguel Vargas is enjoying a proper breakout campaign.

-CK

10. Chicago Cubs

• Last week's ranking: 2

The Cubbies dropped many spots off being the No. 2 team in our rankings last week. It should be a surprise as the hot start has since cooled. The Cubs are in the middle of a seven-game losing streak and have just two wins since May 9. Chicago is still one of MLB’s top teams and should still have the playoffs in sight – despite a long hunt for October baseball – but their pitching problems are starting to loom large. It doesn’t help that their offense has taken a bit of a dip either.

-WW

9. Arizona Diamondbacks

• Last week's ranking: 15

There’s a reason why the Diamondbacks didn’t do an epic sell off at last year’s deadline and held onto Ketel Marte in the winter. They believed they could compete. And at 27-24, they seem ready to compete for a postseason spot this year. Torey Lovullo and Mike Hazen have done a masterful job, with the offseason trade to bring in Nolan Arenado looking like a stroke of genius.

-RM

8. St. Louis Cardinals

• Last week's ranking: 8

The Cardinals are up from last week’s ranking and one of the 10 best MLB teams in 2026, just like we all expected. We didn’t know what to think of the Chaim Bloom era in St. Louis and it’s already off to a roaring start. The most odd thing about these Cardinals is they aren’t blowing teams out and rarely are getting blown out. They have one of the smallest run margins of any team inside the top 10 and yet, they’re still winning. It turns out patience truly does pay off.

-WW

7. New York Yankees

• Last week's ranking: 6

Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon are officially back for the Yankees rotation. Unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers, Cole’s debut (and a stellar outing) was marred by New York not being able to hold on against the Rays on Friday. Meanwhile, Rodon has simply been pedestrian. It’s been more worrisome, however, that Aaron Judge has been in the midst of a dire slump over the past couple of weeks, and with the Rays rolling like they are, they certainly need Judge to give the offense more than the .197 OPS over the last seven days. Perhaps his walk-off home run on Sunday will turn that streak around.

-CW

6. Cleveland Guardians

• Last week's ranking: 9

Zack Wheeler put an end to Cleveland’s seven-game win streak, but a four-game sweep of Detroit in the series prior certainly has Guardians fans riding high. Gavin Williams is criminally underrated, as evidenced by Friday’s scoreless eight-inning performance (in a 1-0 win over Philadelphia). Parker Messick and Tanner Bibee round out what should be one of the AL’s best three-man pitching gauntlets come October. Moreover, the Guardians’ lineup is no longer all squeezes and sacrifices. Rookies Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana continue to provide much-needed thump.

-CK

5. San Diego Padres

• Last week's ranking: 7

Despite Fernando Tatis Jr.’s struggles, the Padres are thriving in the NL playoff race and in a strong position to compete. AJ Preller is evaluating the trade market for bullpen help in hopes of lessening the load on Mason Miller, as first reported by The Athletic, and considering the ownership change, perhaps Preller can swing big at the deadline once again.

-RM

4. Los Angeles Dodgers

• Last week's ranking: 3

The Dodgers once again are a force and are the definitive favorites to win the World Series. Shohei Ohtani, despite “not really having it” on the mound on Wednesday, tossed five scoreless innings and lowered his ERA even further below 1.00. He also homered on the first pitch of the game. The Dodgers aren’t going away anytime soon.

3. Milwaukee Brewers

• Last week's ranking: 5

The NL Central is still one of the strongest divisions in baseball despite some of the early starts cooling off. One constant has been the Brewers, who are atop the division and one of the best in baseball. They swept the Cubs, and despite a likely series loss to the Dodgers, remain a step ahead in the NL. This team could very well be set up for a deep playoff run. It’s a long season, but for now, the Brewers are still in the top half of the league.

-WW

2. Atlanta Braves

• Last week's ranking: 2

Atlanta still holds a heavy lead in the NL East despite the recent tidal wave from Philadelphia under Don Mattingly. The Braves aren’t infallible, but they’re the closest thing to it in the National League right now. The offense has come alive, even despite a few pesky injuries (Drake Baldwin’s absence will be a real test) and the pitching staff continues to overcome long odds, with Chris Sale front and center in the Cy Young race. Bryce Elder has been the biggest revelation of Atlanta’s season so far. He continues to pitch deep into games and offer a real stabilizing force where the Braves most need it. He deserves so much credit.

-CK

1. Tampa Bay Rays

• Last week's ranking: 1

Tampa Bay is showing precisely zero signs of going away. While a game in their weekend clash with the Yankees was washed out and postponed on Saturday, the Rays didn’t add a single tally to the loss column before Sunday, sweeping Baltimore and then rolling into the Bronx to spoil Gerrit Cole’s return to the bump. Junior Caminero is scorching hot once again, posting a ridiculous 1.389 OPS over the past seven days, and leading the charge on offense. With the lowly Orioles, Angels and Tigers on deck in the next three series, Tampa’s hold on the AL East (and likely the American League) is almost surely going to stay intact.

-CW

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