MLB Power Rankings: Teams on the Rise

Welcome to the fifth edition of our 2024 MLB Power Rankings where we saw the most movement, yet.

Both New York teams sagged on our list while AL clubs like the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins made some considerable moves up.

Last year’s league champions continue to stall in neutral and there is a new team at the very bottom of our rankings.

2024 MLB Power Rankings 5.0

Atlanta Braves (Previous #1): The Braves’ machine is humming just fine despite a Monday-night collapse against the Mariners. They swept the Marlins and took two of three from the upstart Guardians last week.
Los Angeles Dodgers (Previous #4): For as unimpressive a start as the Dodgers had over the first month, a sweep of the Nationals and a series win against the Blue Jays has them sitting on top of the NL West by four games. They have won seven of their last 10, including a win on Monday over Arizona in which they did not strike out a single time.
Baltimore Orioles (Previous #3): The Orioles overtook the Yankees for first place in the AL East on Monday, which is somewhat remarkable given their bullpen issues in recent days. After taking two of three from the Angels, they lost two of three at home to the lowly Athletics.
New York Yankees (Previous #2): The Yankees didn’t find much more success against the A’s, splitting a four-game series. They bounced back with consecutive 15-run hammerings of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Cleveland Guardians (Previous #5): There is no shame in losing two of three to the powerhouse Braves, which momentarily slowed down Cleveland after taking two of three from Boston. They have a chance to keep rolling this week against the floundering Astros.
Philadelphia Phillies (Previous #8): The Phillies are hanging with the Braves to ensure the NL East stays a two-horse race this season. After splitting a four-game set with the Reds, they swept the Padres to stay in touching distance, just 1.5 games back.
Milwaukee Brewers (Previous #6): The Brew Crew cooled down a bit by splitting four games with the Pirates before losing two of three to the Yankees at home, but they still remain toward the top of the NL Central.
Chicago Cubs (Previous #11): Nipping at Milwaukee’s heels are the Cubs, who took first place in the division after Monday night following a dramatic 3-1 over the Mets in which they broke up Luis Severino’s no-hit bid in the eighth. They’ve won five of their last seven after sweeping the Astros, and losing two of three to the Red Sox.
Texas Rangers (Previous #7): The defending champions are still sort of just listing along in the early portions of 2024. They’re only a game out of first in a disappointing AL West despite flirting with .500.
Detroit Tigers (Previous #12): Detroit moves up in the rankings thanks to series wins over the Rays and Royals. They’re three games back of the Guardians in the AL Central.
Kansas City Royals (Previous #10): The Royals conceded some ground to by losing last week’s series to Detroit, but they won three of four from the Blue Jays to stay firmly in the conversation for second place in the AL Central.
Cincinnati Reds (Previous #16): Elly De La Cruz is on fire and the Reds are hanging around near the top of the NL Central. They split with the Phillies before losing two of three to the Rangers.
Seattle Mariners (Previous #18): The Mariners entered Tuesday’s play on top of the AL West after a strong week of series wins over last year’s World Series combatants, the Rangers and Diamondbacks. That fuels a considerable surge up our rankings list.
Boston Red Sox (Previous #15): Cedanne Rafaela is making a name for himself as the BoSox rebounded from a series loss against the Guardians to take two of three from the hot Cubs.
New York Mets (Previous #9): The Amazins’ hot streak came to a significant halt toward the conclusion of their west-coast swing. They lost two of three to the Giants before coming home to lose two of three to the Cardinals. They then spoiled Luis Severino’s gem by only scoring one run against the Cubs on Monday night.
Toronto Blue Jays (Previous #13): Toronto’s progress up the power rankings were halted by a 2-5 week in which they dropped three of four to the Royals and two of three to the Dodgers. Thankfully the Rays exist or else they’d be at the bottom of the AL East.
San Francisco Giants (Previous #21): After all that, the Giants are in second place in the NL West thanks to series wins over the Pirates and Mets.
San Diego Padres (Previous #14): The Padres have slowed down from a hot stretch. They’ve lost seven of their last 10 including a disappointing four-game split against the Rockies before getting swept by the Phillies.
St. Louis Cardinals (Previous #22): After taking two of three from the D’Backs, the Cardinals were one strike away from sweeping the Mets before Harrison Bader and Mark Vientos flipped the script. Still, they are 4-2 in their last six and could climb higher next week with matchups against the Tigers and White Sox looming.
Minnesota Twins (Previous #25): The Twins finally looked like the team that was supposed to run away with the NL Central this season. All they needed to do was play some bad baseball teams. They swept four games from the White Sox and then swept the Angels for a perfect 7-0 week. They should climb higher, too, with another series against the White Sox on deck.
Arizona Diamondbacks (Previous #19): The defending champions are in fourth in the NL West and went 2-4 last week to the Cardinals and Mariners. Reigning Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll has struggled mightily this season, batting just .189 across his first 29 games.
Washington Nationals (Previous #23): The Nationals have been a pleasant surprise to start the season as they’ve stayed near that .500 line. It helps when they can take care of business against bad teams, sweeping a four-game series from the Marlins after losing two of three to the Dodgers.
Pittsburgh Pirates (Previous #20): The Pirates’ swoon continues after a red-hot start. They split with the Brewers, and lost two of three to San Francisco. Lo and behold, they are in a tie for last place in the division, which is where we all thought they would be at the start of the season, anyway. Still, a very easy schedule awaits with the Athletics and Rockies on deck. If they struggle, they are going to plummet further down the power rankings.
Tampa Bay Rays (Previous #17): Do you know how bad you have to be for a few days to get swept by the Chicago White Sox?
Oakland Athletics (Previous #28): Split Yankees, 2/3 Orioles
Los Angeles Angels (Previous #26): Anthony Rendon is hurt again, Mike Trout is doing everything he can to no avail, and the Angels continue to waste a generational, Hall-of-Fame talent. They went 1-5 last week and are 11-18 this season. Yet they’re still better than the Astros.
Houston Astros (Previous #24): Yuck. The Astros keep dropping and deservedly so. They were swept by the Cubs and took a quick two-game set from the Rockies, which won’t help their case here. This is their worst start since 1969.
Miami Marlins (Previous #27): The Marlins went 0-7 last week, getting swept by the Braves and the Nationals. They are 6-24, yet somehow, there are two teams worse than them.
Chicago White Sox (Previous #30): Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox for moving out of the bottom spot of our power rankings for the first time this season. Entering the weekend’s series against the Rays with just three wins, they doubled their season win total with a remarkably surprising sweep.
Colorado Rockies (Previous #29): They split with the Padres, which is something, but then lost two straight to the very-bad Astros. They are 7-21 and 10.5 games out of first in the NL West. It is not even May.