Welcome to the Rotoworld MLB Power Rankings, a weekly feature that will run every Tuesday through the end of the 2019 regular season. These rankings are not fantasy-driven in any way, though I will include nuggets of more abstract fantasy advice here and there inside the individual team write-ups. Who’s hot, who’s not -- that sort of thing. Send any and all complaints to me on Twitter: @drewsilv. Please believe me when I tell you that I do not hate your team.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 19-12
Last Week: 1
The reigning National League champions rattled off four straight victories last week against the Cubs and Pirates before falling 3-2 to the rival Giants on Monday night. Cody Bellinger managed to stay hot in that 3-2 loss to San Francisco, going 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI while pushing his season slash line to .434/.508/.906. And this is no longer such a small sample size at 128 plate appearances. Bellinger leads all major leaguers in hits (46), home runs (14), RBI (37), and runs scored (30), and he is also the MLB leader in OPS (1.413) here on April 30. It should come as no surprise that the 23-year-old remains at the very top of the fWAR leaderboard.
2. Houston Astros
Record: 17-12
Last Week: 2
The Astros split a four-game weekend series against the Indians before falling 1-0 to the Twins on Monday night in Minnesota. Houston has gotten just one home run in 29 games from the first base position, with Yuli Gurriel struggling to a .240/.292/.375 batting line in 113 plate appearances so far. That may be an area that the front office will look to upgrade ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. There aren’t many other holes on this roster. Quick shout-out here to setup man Ryan Pressly, who has yet to allow a run in 12 1/3 innings this year. Since the Astros acquired him from the Twins last July 27, he has posted a 0.50 ERA and 45/3 K/BB ratio in 35 2/3 frames.
3. Tampa Bay Rays
Record: 19-9
Last Week: 3
Tampa Bay got swept in a three-game series last weekend against the Red Sox but just achieved revenge in a rain-shortened two-game set at Fenway Park, winning 2-1 on Saturday and 5-2 on Sunday before then earning an 8-5 victory over the Royals on Monday night in Kansas City. This team has now won five of its last six and currently boasts the best winning percentage (.679) and run differential (+47) in the major leagues. Top first base prospect Nate Lowe was called up from Triple-A Durham on Monday afternoon and doubled and drew a walk in his MLB debut. The 23-year-old was named the Rays’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2018 after batting .330/.416/.568 with 27 home runs and 102 RBI over 130 games.
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4. St. Louis Cardinals
Record: 18-10
Last Week: 4
The Cardinals have won three straight games and eight of their last nine to open up a three-game lead on first place in the National League Central standings. There’s not enough chatter in the industry about Paul DeJong, who doubled and drew two walks in Monday night’s 6-3 defeat of the Nationals and is slashing .342/.400/.605 through 125 plate appearances this season. The 25-year-old shortstop sits behind only Cody Bellinger, Christian Yelich, and Mike Trout on FanGraphs’ leaderboard charting wins above replacement. As a whole, the Cardinals offense ranks first in the majors in batting average, third in on-base percentage, and fifth in runs scored.
5. Minnesota Twins
Record: 17-9
Last Week: 8
Minnesota has won four straight games and outscored the opposition 20-4 during this stretch. That includes a 1-0 victory over the Astros on Monday night, in which Jake Odorizzi worked seven scoreless innings to out-duel Justin Verlander. The Twins are currently 2 1/2 games up on the Indians for first place in the American League Central standings and seem poised to make a legitimate run at their first division title since 2010. Jorge Polanco has cooled off somewhat but still holds a shiny .327/.385/.612 batting line in 109 total plate appearances this year. He’s one of three Minnesota regulars with an OPS north of .900. Now if only Marwin Gonzalez could get going.
6. New York Yankees
Record: 17-11
Last Week: 9
The Yankees remain the most injury-riddled team in Major League Baseball, but they’ve had a rather favorable early-season schedule and continue to take advantage of it. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games -- three against the Royals, three against the Angels, and three this past weekend against the Giants. Luke Voit was just named the American League Player of the Week after slashing .433/.528/.867 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 36 plate appearances between April 22-28. Since being acquired from the Cardinals last July for a couple of relievers, the 28-year-old boasts a 1.023 OPS with 22 home runs and 58 RBI in 67 games.
7. Philadelphia Phillies
Record: 16-12
Last Week: 7
The Phillies did what they were supposed to do this past weekend against the Marlins, taking three of four while jumping into first place in the NL East. Jerad Eickhoff was terrific in Friday’s 4-0 victory, allowing just two hits and one walk over seven shutout frames. He has a 2.12 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 17 innings this season and could maybe run away with the rotation spot that once belonged to Nick Pivetta, who was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on April 17 after posting an 8.35 ERA in four starts to open the year. Zach Eflin did Eickhoff one better in a 5-1 victory on Sunday, throwing the first complete game by a Phillies starter since September 2016.
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8. Milwaukee Brewers
Record: 16-14
Last Week: 5
Milwaukee took two of three from the Mets over the weekend before topping the Rockies for a 5-1 victory on Monday night. Jesus Aguilar hit his first two home runs of the season in that win over Colorado, after going homerless in his first 85 plate appearances to open the 2019 campaign. He still owns a weak .501 OPS for the year and is on pace for just 11 dingers -- a far cry from his 35-homer, .890 OPS showing in 2018. Christian Yelich was held out of the lineup Monday after tweaking his back while running the bases on Sunday, but it doesn’t sound like a serious issue. He owns a ridiculous .353/.460/.804 slash line in 29 games played.
9. Cleveland Indians
Record: 15-12
Last Week: 11
It’s been a rocky start to the season for the Indians, but they’re three games above .500 and starting to hint at possibly going on a run after splitting a four-game weekend series on the road against the Astros. Francisco Lindor has three home runs in eight games since missing the first three weeks of the season due to calf and ankle injuries. Jose Ramirez has started to play more like the guy who finished third in the AL MVP balloting in both 2017 and 2018. Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco have both fared a a little better lately, and Trevor Bauer is rocking a 1.99 ERA after limiting Houston to one run over eight innings in a 2-1 win on Friday.
10. Chicago Cubs
Record: 14-12
Last Week: 12
The Cubs haven’t lost a series since dropping two of three to the Brewers back between April 5-7. Javier Baez finished second in the NL MVP balloting in 2018 and looks to have designs on winning it this season. Despite an 0-for-6 showing in Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks, which was still a 6-5 victory for Chicago, the 26-year-old infielder is slashing .315/.356/.640 with nine home runs, 22 RBI, and 23 runs scored in 26 games played. He will -- and should -- remain locked in as the Cubs’ everyday shortstop when Addison Russell returns from his domestic violence and abuse suspension, with Russell instead working into the mix at second base.
11. Atlanta Braves
Record: 14-14
Last Week: 10
21-year-old right-hander Mike Soroka held the Padres to one run on four hits and a walk over six innings Monday in a 3-1 victory for Atlanta. The most surprising thing about that win was that the Braves’ bullpen delivered three scoreless frames to close it out. Chants for Craig Kimbrel have rung out more than once this year at SunTrust Park, and yet the former Atlanta stopper remains unsigned on the free agent market. Braves relievers have combined to allow 65 walks in 102 innings this season and they have the worst strikeout-to-walk ratio of any bullpen group in the majors. Look for the front office to beef up the relief corps ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.
12. New York Mets
Record: 14-14
Last Week: 6
The Mets were five games above .500 on April 12, but they’ve since lost 10 of their last 15 games and they have to be concerned about the health of ace right-hander Jacob deGrom, who returned from the 10-day injured list on Friday but went on to allow five earned runs over four innings in a 10-2 loss to the Brewers. Maybe his elbow is still barking? The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner has a 4.85 ERA and 1.38 WHIP through five starts this season, after delivering a 1.70 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over 32 starts in 2018. Without a fully-functioning deGrom, it’s hard to envision the Mets making a real run at the National League East title.
13. Seattle Mariners
Record: 18-13
Last Week: 13
The Mariners got embarrassed in the final two games of their four-game weekend series against the Rangers, falling 15-1 on Saturday and 14-1 on Sunday. They’re tied for first place in the AL West here on April 30, but the Astros -- the team they share that top spot with -- are going to be very difficult to fend off as the season rolls along. Seattle has lost 11 of its last 16, and the next 16 games on the schedule are against the Cubs, Indians, Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics, and Twins. Those are all teams with postseason aspirations. Marco Gonzales has been great (5-0, 2.80 ERA), but the pitching staff lacks depth and the offense is bound to regress at some point.
14. San Diego Padres
Record: 16-13
Last Week: 15
San Diego rattled off five straight victories last week against the Reds, Mariners, and Nationals before falling 7-6 in Sunday’s series finale versus Washington and 3-1 to the Braves on Monday night in Atlanta. Fernando Tatis Jr. gave a scare to Padres fans in that loss to the Nats on Sunday, as he was forced to do the splits while stretching for a throw at second base in the bottom of the 10th inning and grabbed at his hamstring in pain. The good news is he eventually walked off the field under his own power and could return to action before the end of this week. The 20-year-old shortstop is batting .300/.360/.550 through his first 27 major league games.
15. Arizona Diamondbacks
Record: 16-13
Last Week: 20
The Diamondbacks lost two of three to the Cubs over the weekend, but they’ve won 10 of their last 14 games and rank top-eight in run differential at +20. Veteran right-hander Zack Greinke has settled in after a rocky start to the season and will carry a 15-inning scoreless streak into Tuesday night’s series opener against the Yankees. He hit his first career triple last Thursday in Pittsburgh while also holding the Pirates to two hits and one walk over seven scoreless frames. Eduardo Escobar was just named the National League Player of the Week after going 12-for-25 (.480) with three home runs, eight RBI, and eight runs scored in six games between April 22-28.
