The MLB Power Rankings are out and there's been a lot of movement in the top five, with another AL East team joining the elite group. The Tampa Bay Rays continue to hold their position at the top, but the Baltimore Orioles are quickly catching up, moving up a spot to enter the top five. The O's are led by American League Player of the Week Gunnar Henderson, who has been on fire lately.
In the rest of the rankings, the Texas Rangers remain in second place, while the Houston Astros have dropped out of the top five and lost star player Yordan Alvarez to the injured list. Over in the National League, the Atlanta Braves hold strong in third place, while two NL West contenders, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, each move up a spot to claim the fourth and seventh places. Our expert panel has ranked every team in baseball based on a combination of what we've seen so far this season and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon. ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers, Alden Gonzalez, and Joon Lee also weighed in with an observation for all 30 teams. At the top of the rankings, the Tampa Bay Rays show no signs of slowing down, despite suffering some injuries. The return of Tyler Glasnow provided a significant boost to the Rays' rotation, as he allowed just one run on one hit and struck out six in six innings against the high-scoring Texas Rangers. With Glasnow and lefty Shane McClanahan, the Rays could have one of the game's best one-two punches.
The Texas Rangers remain in second place, thanks to their deep offense led by veteran shortstop Corey Seager. Despite losing pitcher Jacob deGrom, the Rangers have held their own on the mound and maintained a healthy lead over second-place Houston. The Atlanta Braves suffered a setback with a seven-game winning streak snapped on Sunday but bounced back with a thrilling win against the Mets. The team won three straight games after trailing by three runs for the first time since they moved to Atlanta in 1966, thanks to Ozzie Albies' three-run walk-off home run. The Los Angeles Dodgers are struggling with injuries to their starting rotation and suffered three walk-off losses on a recent road trip. The health of their starting rotation is a bigger concern for the team, as they might have to navigate the rest of the month with a four-man rotation.
Sponsored
Rookie Gunnar Henderson is finding his stroke for the Baltimore Orioles, hitting 13 hits and four homers in the past week. With outfielder Cedric Mullins working his way back from the injured list, Baltimore's offense could take another big leap. As the season heats up, it'll be interesting to see how the teams stack up in next week's MLB Power Rankings.
