MLB Power Rankings: Rangers, Diamondbacks look real; all AL teams in top five

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Instead, they have the look of competitors. The offense is exciting. They have five double-digit double-digit players, decent home run prowess, and run the bases well. Freshman Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a great year, as did must-see rookie Corbin Carroll. There may be downsides, but overall 10 6 Going over .500 games on March 5 is a huge achievement for these D-Backs. They’ve also gone 15-7 since May 11. About the Rangers, I’ve said it many times about the Rangers The huge upside is that this team can win the World Series if everyone is healthy and playing to their ability. I also think the difference is so great that a bad season and a fourth-place finish in the AL West is possible. So far everything is going well . Heck, you can’t even say things like “everything’s going well” because it’s not. Jacob DeGroe started just six times, and Corey Seager missed more games than he played. However, Rangers are amazing at this point. They have the second-best record in the majors — just 2.5 games behind a team that started the season at 13-0 — and have the best run with 30 points. Their offense is arguably the best in the majors, trailed only by the star production of All-Marcus Semien, Adolis García, Josh Jung and Jonah Heim, among others. The rotation is also excellent. Nathan Eovaldi will now be in Cy Young’s campaign, while Jon Gray and Dane Dunning (in place of deGrom) have done well. I also think we’ve seen enough to give Appropriate due is Bruce Boch’s influence in that dugout. My preseason game got both the Rangers and Diamondbacks Missed playoff projections. If you gave me a mulligan, I would pick the Rangers without hesitation. If you give me an NL-only mulligan, I’d have to seriously consider using it on Diamondbacks. Biggest Motivator

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1

Rays

They are still holding on to the best start in franchise history. The previous high win total of 61 races was 39 (in 2010), and 38 in 2019 and 2021. — 43-19

2

Rangers

only So far this season, four teams have scored 300 points. Only Rays and Rangers are over 350. Rays are 355. The Rangers are on 376 and have played three fewer games than the Rays. — 38-20

3

astronaut I’m going to play a little game to illustrate how high the bar is set by the Astros. Let’s be honest: How strong do the Astros feel this season? Think in the back of your mind how much the Astros have impressed you this year. Now compare that to the realization that they’re on track to win 96 games. 1 36-24

4

Oriole Obviously I was wrong about the Orioles going into the season. I thought they would be mediocre. They are far from it. Sunday’s win in San Francisco brings the Orioles to 20-10 on the road on the season. They didn’t win 20 road games in all of 2018. In fact, they went 19-62 on the road that year. 1 37-22 5

Yankees Since May 1, the Yankees are 21-10. Only the Rangers (21-9) have been better in that stretch. 2 36-25 6

Dodgers JD Martinez hit just 16 homers in 533 at-bats last season. His .448 slugging percentage was the lowest in a decent sample since 2013. He was entering his age-35 season when the Dodgers decided to sign him to a one-year deal. He has 14 home runs and hits over . 600. 1 35-25

7

brave Over the course of 162 games, individual results will occur that look weird or stupid or even fake. The Warriors lost two of three to the hapless A’s, showing that anything is possible. The series is one of the reasons the NL doesn’t have a top-five team. I couldn’t put the Warriors there after that. Had they won that overtime game, they would have probably won five innings, the Yankees six and the Dodgers seven. 1 35-24

8

Rattlesnake Man, Eddie Rosario’s slam on the ninth Sunday was a punch. The D-Backs will enter the NL with the best record this week. 2 35-25

9

Blue Bird They don’t seem to be afraid anymore. The Jays have now won six of their seven games. They still have far fewer home games (25) than away games (35). They host the Astros’ four-game series, and it’s going to be fun to start the week. 2 33-28

10

Winemaker

Jon Singleton returned to the majors for the first time since 2015. Extraordinary story. 3 32-28

11

twin After taking the first two games of the series from the Guardians, it really feels like the Twins have a chance at a weekend to remember. Then they dropped the next two, and the 3 1/2 game-leading Guardians felt very thin. 3 31-29

12

Red Sox The Red Sox have lost nine of their past 13 games and have gone 9-15 since May 6. 3 30-30

13 marlin Here’s a good score from the dossier where you can’t predict baseball: Sandy Alcantara is 2-5 with an ERA of 5.07. In his 12 starts, the Marlins are just 4-8. However, they are four games over .500 and in playoff position. 2 33-28

14

Angel I keep getting asked how close to the playoffs the Angels must be in order for Shohei Ohtani to be placed in the trade zone, The answer is more. Now five games away from the final wild card, there’s no way to justify trading the player in that range. 2 31-30

15

Metropolis The roller coaster ride continued as the Mets swept the Phillies before being swept by the Jays. Over 60 games, they are at 0.500. Also, this group of 12-18 cannot be ranked. Place them however you like. 2 30-30

16

sailor

I was really overzealous last week. I own it. The Mariners have been of no help with their embarrassing performances over the past week, that’s for sure. 8

29-30

17

pirate

Now they have won five in a row. They’ve never been 20-8, but by winning that many, they’re poised to exceed expectations all season. Especially when they’re in the central division (even the stronger of the two), they have a fighting chance. 4 31-27

18

giant

best Since then, five out of seven games have been lost. The good news is that the three-game series in Colorado and the subsequent three-game series against the Cubs at home could be a productive week. 6 29-30

19

If we could use GIFs in these team comments, I think I’d go for Smails The judges are pretty intense Say “Well, we’re waiting! “comment of. 1 27-32 20

Phillies For whatever reason, Kyle Sch Kyle Schwarber had far better numbers in June than any other month in his career. In 2021, he hit 16 homers in 100 at-bats. Last year, he had 12 homers and 27 RBIs in 27 games. On Sunday, he hit two homers and drove home six. he came? 2 28-32

twenty one

protector

Triston McKenzie in his 2023 He quit IL in his debut in 2019 and hit 10. Despite the many problems so far this season, the Guardians are only 3.5 games behind the Twins. Um……

1 27-32

twenty two

red The Reds are just three games behind while the No. 1 Brewers come to town for a four-game series. A move to No. 1 in June of this season would mark a major statement to a disillusioned (and rightfully so, mind you) fanbase. Instead, the Reds have now lost four games in a row with six outs. 2 27-33

twenty three

Bear Two of the Rays’ three (and nearly sweeping them all) have been one hell of a week. 5 26-32

twenty four

White Sox They are better than the Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Phillies, The Angels, Mariners and Padres are closer to No. 1. Say hello to AL Central, everyone! 2 26-35

25

tiger

After only one game on Memorial Day, the Tigers have lost Having dropped five of six games, they now face the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Braves and Twins in their next four series. We can start burying them. 6 26-32

26

national

Remember last year when Joey Meneses was a rookie at . 324 in 56 games? He’s off to a slow start this season, but he’s now hitting . 336 over his past 43 games. 1 25-34

27

Cardinal

They just got swept in Pittsburgh, losing five of six games, again shooting at .500 under par rod score. At this point, the bad times have far outweighed that string of booms. 4 25-35

28

the Rocky Mountains I love a good, old fashioned Coors demolition point. Check this out: Catcher Elias Diaz is hitting .374 with a 1.052 OPS at home, compared to .244 and .620 on the road. He has 6 homers and 21 RBIs at home, 0 and 8 on the road. He also played one less game at home. 3 26-35

29

Royals

In almost any other season, there will be a lot of focus on how Poor Twitch Royals have gotten to this point. For example, last season’s worst team in baseball won at odds of 0.340. In 2021, the worst team played . 321 and lost 110 games per game. The Royals are now [0.305] and still lead the A’s by seven games. — 18-42

30

Athletics

Their record is 32-130 . — 12-49