Complete Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Record | Elo | Opponent Elo | Playoff Odds | Power Score | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Braves | 24-13 | 1606 | 1503 | 99.0% | 1607 | 1 |
Tier 1 – The Best of the Best
- Braves: 24-13, 1606 Elo, 1503 Opponent Elo, 99.0% Playoff Odds, 1607 Power Score
- Dodgers: 27-15, 1596 Elo, 1498 Opponent Elo, 99.1% Playoff Odds, 1599 Power Score
The Braves bounced back with four wins in five games last week and were just a Brandon Nimmo walk-off home run away from sweeping the Mets on Sunday night. They’re still sitting behind the Phillies in the NL East, but that feels like an accomplishment considering how many of their stars aren’t really hitting yet. Right now, their starting rotation is carrying a lot of the load.
The Dodgers lost their first series in three weeks when they traveled to San Diego and dropped two of three this past weekend. Their schedule looks pretty easy for the rest of the month; they don’t play a team with a record over .500 until June 7, when they’re scheduled to face the Yankees. Shohei Ohtani’s weekend back issues are certainly a concern, and it might behoove the Dodgers to ease up on the throttle during this lighter stretch of the schedule. If he’s able to stay healthy all season long, Ohtani has a great shot at being the first triple crown winner since Miguel Cabrera did it in 2012.
Tier 2 – On the Cusp of Greatness
- Phillies: 28-13, 1577 Elo, 1470 Opponent Elo, 93.8% Playoff Odds, 1584 Power Score
- Yankees: 27-15, 1576 Elo, 1508 Opponent Elo, 92.4% Playoff Odds, 1578 Power Score
- Orioles: 26-13, 1574 Elo, 1495 Opponent Elo, 88.5% Playoff Odds, 1577 Power Score
The Yankees won their series against the Astros and Rays and are still looming behind the division-leading Orioles. Aaron Judge looks like he’s heating up — he hit three homers last week — and Juan Soto has somehow managed to improve upon his already elite skill set.
The Phillies and Orioles possess the two best records in baseball. The reason they’re a tier below the three teams ahead of them is because of their strength of schedule relative to those other teams. They also started lower in the preseason rankings and have had to climb through the ranks to get to their current position. Make no mistake, Baltimore and Philadelphia are in the midst of phenomenal seasons so far and are in pole position to dictate the shape of the playoff race for the rest of the summer.
Tier 3 – Solid Contenders
- Twins: 24-16, 1556 Elo, 1483 Opponent Elo, 81.5% Playoff Odds, 1556 Power Score
- Brewers: 24-16, 1533 Elo, 1505 Opponent Elo, 65.5% Playoff Odds, 1536 Power Score
- Cubs: 24-17, 1532 Elo, 1494 Opponent Elo, 70.1% Playoff Odds, 1534 Power Score
- Mariners: 22-19, 1533 Elo, 1502 Opponent Elo, 61.4% Playoff Odds, 1530 Power Score
The Mariners and Twins battled each other over a four-game series last week, with Minnesota emerging triumphant before winning a weekend series against the Blue Jays; it was the team’s sixth straight series win. Seattle bounced back from the series loss by winning two of three against the plucky A’s over the weekend. When we look back on all the moves made this past offseason, the signing of Shota Imanaga could go down as the one with the greatest bang for the buck. Imanaga has been one of the best pitchers in baseball so far, which has helped the Cubs keep pace with the Brewers in the NL Central.
Tier 4 – The Melee
- Royals: 25-17, 1522 Elo, 1490 Opponent Elo, 40.1% Playoff Odds, 1524 Power Score
- Guardians: 25-16, 1518 Elo, 1482 Opponent Elo, 40.6% Playoff Odds, 1522 Power Score
- Padres: 22-21, 1525 Elo, 1517 Opponent Elo, 58.2% Playoff Odds, 1521 Power Score
- Red Sox: 21-19, 1511 Elo, 1511 Opponent Elo, 24.6% Playoff Odds, 1507 Power Score
- Mets: 19-20, 1507 Elo, 1525 Opponent Elo, 29.5% Playoff Odds, 1502 Power Score
- Rangers: 22-20, 1501 Elo, 1494 Opponent Elo, 39.5% Playoff Odds, 1499 Power Score
There wasn’t much movement within this tier over the last week, as a lot of these teams simply treaded water. The Red Sox salvaged two wins on Saturday and Sunday after beginning the week with three straight losses; the Padres won both of their series last week, including a big one against the Dodgers over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Royals continued their hot start to the season with a pair of series wins — they’re now in a virtual tie with the Twins and just a half game behind the Guardians in the AL Central.
