As I said on Bluesky yesterday (you can follow me on Bluesky here), doing an MLB Power Rankings article in April is not recommended. Almost everything you thought last week is irrelevant the next. We’re prisoners to the moment, but April is a reminder not to get too far out over your skis.
These wild swings or slumps feel more meaningful right now, but they really aren’t within the context of a full season. The cream should rise to the top over time, which is why I want to reiterate that this article is a combination of current performance and long-term outlook.
This week, the Yankees and Brewers are headed in the wrong direction while the Padres, Pirates, and Athletics continue to climb. Let’s get started!
This week’s update includes a lot of closer movement and 11 newcomers in the Top 300.
Note: Rankings are from the morning of Monday, April 13
1) Los Angeles Dodgers
There’s no easy outs in this Dodgers lineup, even with Mookie Betts sidelined. Max Muncy delivered the second three-homer game of his career in Friday’s win over the Rangers, which was capped off with this walk-off blast.
Shohei Ohtani keeps getting on base (while not giving up earned runs on the mound), and the bottom-third of the lineup continues to be crazy productive. One thing to monitor: Edwin Díaz’s velocity has been down so far this season and the Dodgers figure to be careful with him in the short-term.
2) Atlanta Braves
With a decisive 13-1 victory over the Guardians on Sunday Night Baseball on NBC and Peacock, the Braves now hold the best run differential (+46) in the majors. Only the Dodgers have scored more runs, and only the Dodgers have a better record.
The Braves also have the best City Connect jerseys by far among the new arrivals this season.
3) San Diego Padres
Wanna get weird? Craig Stammen certainly did this weekend, as he put Fernando Tatís Jr. at second base in back-to-back games despite him never starting a game there in the majors. Of course, Tatís is a special athlete, so he handled the assignment with aplomb.
The Padres should be riding high after sweeping the Rockies this weekend, but all eyes will be on Nick Pivetta’s elbow in the days ahead.
4) New York Yankees
The Yankees have lost five straight, including a sweep at the hands of the Rays this weekend. The lineup is struggling — their .206 average is third-lowest in the majors right now — but it’s hard to push them down too far after just one bad week.
5) Detroit Tigers
After dropping five straight, the Tigers swept the Marlins over the weekend, including a strong start from Tarik Skubal and Kevin McGonigle’s first major league homer. This team is going to be in the middle of it all summer.
6) Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians got hit hard against the Braves this weekend, but their pitching is likely to keep them in contention once again in the AL Central. Parker Messick (0.51 ERA through three starts) and Joey Cantillo (2.45 ERA in three starts) have been especially impressive so far.
7) Seattle Mariners
I’m literally repeating myself from my Tigers write-up earlier. The Mariners scored 23 runs in a sweep against the Astros over the weekend after losing five straight games coming in. We know that pitching is great, but look out if that offense starts kicking in consistently.
8) Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies have lost four of five, but it probably won’t be long before they rise up this list again. One great sign? Bryce Harper is hitting .526 (10-for-19) with a homer, four doubles, six RBI, and a .640 (!) OBP over his past six games.
9) Milwaukee Brewers
Losers of five straight, the Brewers were swept by the Nationals over the weekend. Christian Yelich was forced to exit Sunday’s finale with hamstring tightness and manager Pat Murphy said he wasn’t expecting it to be good.
10) Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates blew a chance at a sweep of the Cubs on Sunday, but things are still trending in the right direction for these up-and-comers. Oneil Cruz endured a rough opening series against the Mets, but he’s now hit safely in 11 straight games while putting up five homers, 13 RBI, and six stolen bases.
11) Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles have won five out of six during which Gunnar Henderson has slugged four home runs. Henderson took a step back last year while dealing with a left shoulder impingement and inflammation, so the power is nice to see. He’s really selling out for pull power so far this season, with a pull air percentage of 35.7 percent, a massive increase from his 15.7 percent career average.
12) Texas Rangers
Brandon Nimmo is enjoying life in the leadoff spot with his new team. After slugging a pair of homers on Saturday, he knocked in two more runs on Saturday as the Rangers salvaged the finale against the Dodgers. Nimmo is hitting .367 through 15 games so far, including nine multi-hit games.
13) Oakland Athletics
If things fall through in Las Vegas, the Athletics could consider relocating to New York. They seem to like it there. After taking two out of three from the Yankees, the A’s swept the Mets over weekend. We also got a glimpse of their home run celebration, which consists of a gaudy gold chain and an elephant mask which is, of course, a nod to their franchise history. A clever and slightly troubling tribute.
14) Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays swept the Yankees for the first time since 2021 this past weekend and speedster Chandler Simpson notched three more hits on Sunday. He’s now hitting .411 (23-for-56) with a .441 on-base percentage to begin the season.
15) New York Mets
We’ve seen hitters have their power sapped after hamate bone surgery, but can it also impact your baseball IQ? While Francisco Lindor had a two-hit day against the A’s on Sunday, he’s been involved in a number of strange mental lapses in the early part of the season. The track record suggests he’ll be just fine, but the Mets need the best version of him with Juan Soto sidelined. Like, ASAP. The Mets are headed to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers to begin the week.
16) Chicago Cubs
In the depths of an 0-for-30 slump, Michael Busch began Sunday’s game on the bench. He ended up being one of the heroes, as he delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth which resulted in the tying run scoring on a bad throw from the outfield. Carson Kelly then walked it off in the bottom of the ninth.
The Cubs need all the good news they can get right now, so having Busch find it at the plate would be huge.
17) Minnesota Twins
The Twins have won six out of seven as Taj Bradley continues to come up big early on. Believe it or not, the Twins are actually tied with the Guardians for the best record in the American League. Forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical. Still, a nice start for them.
Cool moment from Sunday’s win against Toronto was the reaction of Andrew Morris’ mom as he made his MLB debut.
18) Cincinnati Reds
Rookie slugger Sal Stewart has hit the ground running this season, but the rest of the offense is struggling to find consistency. The Reds rank 29th in the majors in OPS (.623) and only three teams have a lower batting average (.205) and on-base percentage (.298). Remember how hot Matt McLain was in spring training? He’s hitting .215 with zero homers and a .595 OPS through 16 games. The club decided to shake things up Monday morning by demoting Noelvi Marte to Triple-A after he’s scuffled in sporadic playing time to begin the year.
19) Toronto Blue Jays
It just keeps getting worse for the defending AL champs. After already losing Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger in recent days, the Blue Jays had to place George Springer on the IL on Sunday due to a fractured big toe. As of the now, the Jays are hopeful that Springer could return around when he’s first eligible.
20) Arizona Diamondbacks
Great news for the Diamondbacks, as Merrill Kelly is expected to make his season debut against the Orioles on Tuesday in Baltimore. Now if only they could get that offense going. Arizona ranks second-to-last in the majors with nine home runs.
21) Houston Astros
Where does “Freefalling” fit in your pantheon of Tom Petty classics? I think “American Girl” has to be No. 1, then a sleeper pick, “Room at the Top.” That last one actually feels like a lot like the state of MLB after the first couple of weeks.
The Astros have lost seven straight and eight out of nine while their starting rotation is in shambles.
22) Kansas City Royals
Sunday’s loss to the White Sox notwithstanding, the Royals’ starting rotation has been a strength in the early going. Their 2.92 ERA ranks fourth-best in the majors and they’ve allowed two earned runs or fewer in 11 out of 16 games. Veteran stalwart Michael Wacha has allowed just one run across his first three starts. Did you know Wacha is tied for seventh among active starters with 113 wins?
23) Miami Marlins
The Marlins got swept by the Tigers over the weekend while scoring just three runs across the three games. Detroit’s ace Tarik Skubal was as advertised in Sunday’s game while former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara was pummeled for seven runs on 10 hits, including three homers. Worth watching for the Marlins this week is the progress of Kyle Stowers, who is on a minor league rehab assignment after missing the start of the season with a hamstring injury.
24) Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have won four out of five after getting off to a brutal start. They should climb this list in the weeks ahead.
25) St. Louis Cardinals
I only have one question: Is this good?
Most home runs in team’s first 15 games of season, Cardinals history:
2006 Albert Pujols: 10
2004 Scott Rolen: 8
2026 Jordan Walker: 7
1998 Mark McGwire: 7 https://t.co/LDs6WeligH
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 12, 2026
Jordan Walker has already hit more homers than he did though 111 games last season.
26) Los Angeles Angels
Is José Soriano the best pitcher that most people don’t know about? If he keeps this up, it shouldn’t be much longer.
#Angels José Soriano is the first player in American League history to pitch 6.0+ innings, with one-or-fewer runs allowed and three-or-fewer hits allowed in each of his first four games of a season
— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) April 12, 2026
27) Washington Nationals
Blame the Home Run Derby if you want, but James Wood had a brutal second half last season. He’s rediscovered his power stroke to begin this season, with four homers in his last seven games.
28) San Francisco Giants
Staff ace Logan Webb has a 5.25 ERA to begin the year and the Giants’ offense has lacked much in the way of punch, but don’t blame Willy Adames. He put up four straight multi-hit games last week and ranks second in the majors with nine doubles.
29) Colorado Rockies
The Rockies started their week with a sweep of the Astros (the club’s first since last June) before getting swept in four by the Padres. At least Jordan Beck provided one of the best catches of the season so far.
This time, a deep drive by Castellanos wasn’t meant to be.
30) Chicago White Sox
The White Sox are dead last in the majors in batting average and runs scored, yet there’s still reason for excitement this week. Top prospect Noah Schultz is expected to make his major league debut on Tuesday against the Rays. We also learned in recent days that the White Sox plan to give “Pope Hats” to all fans on August 11. Best giveaway ever?
