NL West rivals top Power Rankings, but a few clubs hot on their heels

The battle for the top spot of our Power Rankings was, once again this week, a battle of Southern California. We don’t release vote totals in these rankings, but so you know: Just like last week, the Padres and Dodgers were this close. We wonder if they will go back and forth like this every week until June 9, when the two teams finally play each other.

These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.

1. Dodgers (previously: 1).
Shohei Ohtani returned to the Dodgers’ lineup on Sunday after missing two games for the birth of his first child: Congratulations, Shohei, parenthood is amazing. You’re going to love it. The man still needed to get back to work, though, particularly considering the Dodgers went 11-for-62 with just six runs in the two games without him. (Even if he would have taken a few more days off, I bet they would have ended up figuring it out.)

2. Padres (previously: 2).
There aren’t many more exciting things than making your MLB debut, so imagine how frustrating it was for Padres No. 11 prospect Tirso Ornelas, who, at the age of 25, sure had put in his time. He was scheduled Saturday to start in place of the injured Jason Heyward, but the problem was: His flights kept getting delayed. He ended up not making it in time, only arriving 80 minutes before gametime, which was particularly frustrating because his mother and brother were already there. (He ended up pinch-hitting.)

3. Mets (previously: 4).
The Mets are doing everything right at the moment, with a Citi Field crowd that was losing its ever-loving mind in a sweep of the Cardinals over the weekend. The pitching has been so good -- and Francisco Lindor so dramatic -- that no one seems to mind (or even have noticed) Juan Soto’s slow start. He’s still walking a lot, but he’s also hitting .256 with only three homers. His OPS is still .821, which is probably only slow for him.

4. Cubs (previously: 5).
The Cubs are so hot right now that they can get terrible news, like the loss of Justin Steele for the season, and still have it be a great week. They currently lead the Majors in runs and hits, are tied for the lead in walks … and they’re even tied for third in stolen bases. They look like they might run away with this division.

5. Phillies (previously: 3).
Bryce Harper is on a hot streak, and, I’ve noticed, Harper tends to be at his most Zen when he’s on a hot streak. Thus: “I just thought ‘[I’m] walking more. When I walk more, I see more pitches, I feel better at the plate.’ I think when I walk, good things happen. I’m getting good pitches over the plate and not missing them.” Zen Bryce. He has gotten on base at least once in his past 17 games.

6. Yankees (previously: 7).
A lot of things have been going right for the Yankees so far this year, but let’s not overlook the comeback they’ve gotten from Paul Goldschmidt. The former MVP had some speculating that he might be considering retirement last summer during a miserable final season in St. Louis, but he’s now hitting .361 and playing an excellent first base in The Bronx. The power hasn’t returned (he only has one homer so far), but if he’s hitting like that, the Yankees won’t miss it.

7. Giants (previously: 6).
The Giants, inevitably, slowed down a little bit this week, but you don’t have to squint hard to still see good stuff here, and much of it has come from Jung Hoo Lee, the free agent out of Korea who got everybody inspired in San Francisco last year before struggling and then getting hurt. He has been magnificent so far, putting up a .333 batting average and a .982 OPS. And his teammates love him: “It's just cool to see him [succeed],” Giants pitcher Logan Webb said, “because he's such an amazing guy, great teammate and brings a lot of energy.”

8. Tigers (previously: 8).
Spencer Torkelson has been a streaky player throughout his career, and most of his hot streaks have been followed by some long, ugly droughts that have left the future of the former top overall pick in doubt. But the hot streak he’s on right now just might stick. Torkelson -- who didn’t even have a guaranteed starting job heading into the year -- has the seventh-highest OPS in baseball.

9. Diamondbacks (previously: 10).
The D-backs were cruising, one of the hottest teams in baseball, until they ran into the Cubs at Wrigley over the weekend; it may take them a week or so to recover from that absurd 13-11 loss on Friday afternoon alone. Good news: They’re already done with the Cubs for the season.

10. Rangers (previously: 9).
The Rangers lost on Friday night and will surely be happy to have the Dodgers out of town, but all told, the good news they got will offset the loss long-term: Jacob deGrom is back to being Jacob deGrom. After a slow, frustrating start to his season (and a leadoff homer hit by Tommy Edman on Friday), deGrom was vintage deGrom, retiring 20 of the final 23 batters he faced and (even more exciting) going a full seven innings. We may be about to get the full deGrom experience again.

11. Red Sox (previously: 12).
It was a joy to everyone in baseball, not just people involved with the Red Sox, when Liam Hendriks returned to an MLB roster for the first time since June 9, 2023, a 680-day absence. He won Comeback Player of the Year that year after returning from treatment for cancer, but this time it has been Tommy John surgery. Baseball’s better with him back on a mound. “It’s been a long and arduous journey to get here, but now I’m here,” Hendriks said. “I can perform and go out there and do what these guys pay me to do.”

12. Blue Jays (previously: 15).
The Jays spent a whole offseason under the gun, trying and failing to get Juan Soto and Pete Alonso, being unable to extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and having most of baseball wondering whether, if they got off to a slow start, they’d trade away everyone. But now? With Vlad Jr. signed and the team playing well, the vibes in Toronto, they are great. As our own Keegan Matheson wrote this week, “it’s clear that something significant has shifted in this organization.”

13. Guardians (previously: 14).
José Ramírez spent 152 games as the No. 3 hitter last season -- it’s where he has been most of his career -- but for the first 17 games this year, he was in the No. 2 slot. Manager Stephen Vogt moved him back to the three-hole on Friday night, and Ramírez immediately responded, going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two runs. Here’s betting he stays there for a while -- probably the rest of the season.

14. Mariners (previously: 18).
The Mariners do not, it’s fair to say, have an overwhelming offense. Their lack of offense has been a problem for a few years now; considering how excellent their pitching has been, that lack is in fact the reason they’ve only made the playoffs once in the past 20 some-odd years. Thus it’s probably best that, when the Mariners actually get hitters on base, they make sure they don’t make outs once they’re there. On Friday night, in a 3-1 loss to the Jays, the Mariners left four runners on the basepaths, with three runners thrown out on the bases and Julio Rodríguez caught stealing at a pivotal point in the eighth inning. “That’s being aggressive and that’s what we’re trying to do,” manager Dan Wilson said. “We’ve just got to be smart about our aggression.” Apparently.

15. Brewers (previously: 11).
The Brewers have been ridiculously streaky this year, with win streaks followed by losing streaks followed by winning streaks, but one guy has remained consistent, the same stud hitter he has always been: William Contreras. During his 11-game hitting streak that ended on Saturday, he put up a .341/.404/.610 line with three homers and 12 RBIs.

16. Astros (previously: 17).
Now that’s what the Astros were waiting for from Cam Smith. The Astros’ top prospect, somewhat surprisingly handed a starting spot on Opening Day, had a miserable start to his season, putting up a .591 OPS … until Friday. Then he homered twice against the Padres, with four RBIs, and suddenly his OPS was higher than Isaac Paredes’.

17. Orioles (previously: 13).
Yeah, it’s fair to say Orioles fans are freaking out right now: Just ask one. The source of the frustration is probably what you’d expect: The lack of moves to help out the rotation in the offseason are coming home to roost, with injuries and ineffectiveness leading to the worst starters’ ERA and the worst K/9 rate (6.29) in baseball. Heading into Saturday, opponents were hitting .300/.349/.507 against Orioles starters, a ghastly line that makes it really, really hard for them to win. And then the Reds went out and scored seven earned runs off Charlie Morton in just 2 1/3 innings on Sunday, which won’t help those numbers.

18. Reds (previously: 20).
Some teams go the whole season without losing a game when leading after the eighth inning. Worrisomely, the Reds have already had this happen twice this year, which might be the sort of thing that having Alexis Díaz back could help.

19. Braves (previously: 21).
Chris Sale was pretty clear how he, and really all Braves fans, feel about the start to their season, saying the first few weeks have “sucked.” As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman noted, the Braves have had just four worse 18-game stretches to begin a season going back to 1901. But Spencer Strider is back. And Ronald Acu?a Jr. almost is.

20. A’s (previously: 25).
The A’s return to Sacramento this week after a Midwest road trip through Chicago and Milwaukee, but you can forgive them if they’re not that excited to be home, considering how much trouble they seem to be having adjusting to their new digs. The A’s are 8-5 on the road … and 2-7 in Sacramento.

21. Angels (previously: 16).
Are we sure Mike Trout is OK? Before Saturday’s two-homer performance, he was 2-for-22 with 13 strikeouts over his previous six games. Would you believe that Trout is hitting .184? His OBP, .409 for his career, is currently. 289.

22. Rays (previously: 22).
There might have been more Yankees fans at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa for their four-game series than Rays fans -- reasonable, considering it’s the Yankees’ spring park, and also, they’re the Yankees -- but it’s still the Rays’ home and they did manage one stunning comeback win Saturday night, despite losing the other three games.

23. Royals (previously: 19).
The big rap on the Royals last year was that they were a one-man offense: It was Bobby Witt Jr. and everybody else. That is, alas, proving to be the case again this year: He has put up an .847 OPS for the season. The rest of the team, combined? .547.

24. Cardinals (previously: 23).
A great factoid from St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold in his Write Fielder newsletter this week: Lars Nootbaar is only two leadoff walks away from tying the MLB record for most walks to lead off a game over the season’s first month. (Davey Lopes had eight in 1975; Nootbaar has six.)

25. Nationals (previously: 24).
James Wood is off to the sort of blistering start that makes it clear why so many people see him as a future star -- or even a current one -- but as MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan noted, he’s a somewhat unusual power hitter, in that he doesn’t elevate the ball nearly as much as you might think. He hits the ball on the ground more than 60 percent of his at-bats, but it’s what he does when he gets the ball in the air that counts: He has the highest barrel rate on fly balls in the Majors this year.

26. Twins (previously: 27).
When you’re struggling like the Twins have been struggling, you’ll take any sort of happy news that you can, particularly when it involves a key part of your future. Their No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, Luke Keaschall -- who is No. 57 overall -- made his MLB debut this week, accelerating in part because of (if you can believe this) a whole bunch of injuries to established Twins regulars. Keaschall looked good, but remember: He’s had injury issues of his own. The second baseman just had Tommy John surgery last year.

27. Pirates (previously: 28).
You know what’s more rare -- far more rare -- than a no-hitter or a cycle? A batter hitting a leadoff homer that accounts for the only run in a 1-0 victory. Oneil Cruz did that on Thursday in a win over the Nationals, becoming only the 31st player in MLB history to do so.

28. Marlins (previously: 26).
When the Marlins traded for Connor Norby last year, he instantly became a key part of their future and, really, their organizational direction: Young hitters will have that sort of effect. Thus, it’s just good news that he’s back on the field after suffering an oblique strain right before Spring Training ended. The Marlins need to find out just what they have in Norby. Now they have the chance.

29. White Sox (previously: 29).
I find it impossible to resist a proud mom cheering on her son making his MLB debut. Catcher Edgar Quero, the No. 6 White Sox prospect, played his first game this week, and his mom was there, interviewed by the White Sox sideline reporter. (This is forever a favorite part of MLB telecasts.) He reached base in his first at-bat and is a clear part of the White Sox future. She’s going to get to watch a whole bunch of his games.

30. Rockies (previously: 30).
It might strike you as a little early to start firing hitting coaches already, but the Rockies felt like they had to make a move. Thus, they let hitting coach Hensley Meulens go this week, replacing him with … Clint Hurdle! It has been 18 seasons since Hurdle managed the Rockies to their lone World Series appearance, and now he’s back trying to turn this offense around.

Voters: Nathalie Alonso, Jason Catania, Daniel Feldman, Sarah Langs, Will Leitch, Travis Miller, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Zac Vierra.