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MLB Power Rankings: Who's been the best player on each team?
Superstars Aaron Judge and Yordan Álvarez are mashing their respective teams up the power rankings. Veteran Nathan Eovaldi and rookie Bryce Miller are doing the pitching equivalent for their squads on the mound.
For this week’s Power Rankings, we’ll also look around MLB at which players have performed the best for their franchises through the first 50-plus games.
1) Tampa Bay Rays (39-16; last week 1)
Considering they’ve scored more runs than any team in baseball, it feels appropriate to choose an offensive player here. Yandy Díaz leads all qualified major leaguers in OPS a third of the way through the season, and he’s not even the team’s leader in wins above replacement. (That would be Wander Franco.)
2) Texas Rangers (33-19; LW 4)
The Rangers needed another ace to emerge with Jacob deGrom out. Eovaldi answered the call, going 3-0 with a 1.10 ERA and 0.77 WHIP over four May starts. He looks like a legitimate American League Cy Young contender at age 33.
3) Houston Astros (31-21; LW 5)
Since falling to 17-18, the Astros have gone 14-3. Álvarez has been the consistent force in a Houston offense that just recently began to click. He is the only qualified player in the lineup with an OPS over .800, and it’s now up over 1.000.
4) Baltimore Orioles (34-19; LW 2)
You might have heard by now how good Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista have been at the back end of the Orioles’ bullpen, but Cedric Mullins also deserves credit for the Orioles’ hot start. He has done a little bit of everything, leading the team in RBIs (39) and steals (13), providing late clutch hits and playing above-average defense in center field.
5) New York Yankees (32-23; LW 6)
Judge’s nine home runs in May are only four short of what the Guardians have produced as a team this month, which is all the more remarkable considering Judge was out for the first eight days of May. He leads the AL in homers this year despite missing nearly two weeks with a hip injury.
6) Los Angeles Dodgers (32-22; LW 7)
A model of consistency, Freddie Freeman has been the best hitter in the National League this year, leading the NL in hits (72) and the majors in doubles (22). In the midst of a 17-game hitting streak, Freeman has gone 30-for-68 (.441) with 11 doubles, four homers and a triple.
7) Atlanta Braves (32-21; LW 3)
Ronald Acuña Jr. looks like an early MVP front-runner, leading the NL in runs (46) and stolen bases (22), while leading his team in hits (66) and doubles (15).
Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. will win NL MVP
8) Arizona Diamondbacks (30-23; LW 8)
Speaking of early award front-runners, Zac Gallen leads all qualified major-league pitchers in Fangraphs’ version of WAR. The Gallen-Merrill Kelly combo is doing wonders for the D-backs’ rotation.
9) Seattle Mariners (28-25; LW 16)
As concerningly as the year began in Seattle, the whole Mariners rotation gets props here. Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Miller have all been worth between one and two wins this year, which is remarkable considering Miller has only made five starts thus far in an incredible rookie season.
10) San Francisco Giants (27-26; LW 15)
Playing for a team that is quietly moving up the ranks, Thairo Estrada is quietly putting together a terrific year, one that has been put on hold for the moment as he deals with a wrist sprain. He has 15 more hits than any Giants player, and his 13 steals make up nearly half of San Francisco’s stolen bases on the year (30).
11) Los Angeles Angels (28-26; LW 11)
Yeah, it’s Shohei Ohtani.
Shohei Ohtani & Ronald Acuña Jr. headline top five players in MVP race
12) Boston Red Sox (28-25; LW 9)
Alex Verdugo’s OPS has dipped below .800 just one day this year. He slowed down this week, but he still leads the resurgent Red Sox in hits, runs and doubles while playing some of the best right field in baseball.
13) Toronto Blue Jays (28-26; LW 10)
Like Eovaldi, Kevin Gausman has been a stabilizing ace for his team’s rotation and is among the early front-runners for AL Cy Young. Gausman’s 89 strikeouts trail only Spencer Strider and Ohtani for the most in the majors. His performance is all the more important considering Alek Manoah’s early struggles and the Blue Jays’ recent slide.
14) Milwaukee Brewers (28-25; LW 12)
Milwaukee has not done much offensively this year. One exception is Owen Miller, who’s slashing .348/.378/.609 in 20 games this month.
15) Miami Marlins (28-26; LW 18)
It takes a special hitter to have an OPS near .900 despite just one home run through nearly 50 games. Luis Arráez is that. He leads the majors with a .376 batting average and has just 10 strikeouts in 200 plate appearances.
16) New York Mets (27-27; LW 14)
Pete Alonso leads the majors with 20 home runs. His power is crucial for a Mets team that doesn’t have another player in double digits in the category.
17) Minnesota Twins (27-26; LW 13)
The Twins’ rotation has been one of the early success stories of the 2023 season, and it starts with Sonny Gray, whose 1.82 ERA leads all qualified MLB starters.
18) Philadelphia Phillies (25-28; LW 17)
On a team known for its bats, the Phillies’ leader in WAR this year is actually Zack Wheeler. He is pitching a lot better than his 3.60 ERA would indicate — his 30.2% whiff rate is the best of his career — so the best could still be ahead this year for the hard-throwing righty.
19) Detroit Tigers (25-26; LW 23)
Eduardo Rodríguez’s sensational 2.19 ERA stands out on a Detroit team exceeding expectations. Will the Tigers trade the 30-year-old lefty during a career year, or will their second-place standing in the dismal AL Central make them think twice? They don’t have to answer that question just yet.
20) Pittsburgh Pirates (26-26; LW 19)
Up until his last start, when he allowed six runs in six innings to the Mariners, Mitch Keller looked like one of the best pitchers in the National League. Even after the rare clunker, he has a 3.01 ERA and has thrown no fewer than eight strikeouts in each of his past six starts.
21) San Diego Padres (24-29; LW 21)
Fernando Tatís Jr. is back, but Juan Soto is BACK. His OPS is up to .928, and he has the best hard-hit rate of his career. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been enough to make up for the litany of shortcomings throughout the rest of the Padres' lineup.
22) Cleveland Guardians (23-29; LW 22)
It’s been a modest year for José Ramírez by his standards (.273/.349/.460), but he’s on a different planet than his teammates at the plate. None of them even have an OPS over .700.
23) St. Louis Cardinals (24-31; LW 20)
On a team with Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, no Cardinals player has a higher OPS, knocked in more runs or hit more homers than Nolan Gorman.
24) Cincinnati Reds (24-29; LW 27)
The only major-leaguers with a higher batting average than TJ Friedl in at least 150 plate appearances this season are Arráez, Freeman and Bo Bichette.
25) Colorado Rockies (24-30; LW 26)
See that stat directly above? Elias Díaz shares the same .333 batting average as Friedl.
26) Washington Nationals (23-30; LW 28)
It’s been a bounce-back year for Jeimer Candelario, who’s hitting 16 percent better than league average while grading out defensively as one of the best third basemen in the sport.
27) Chicago Cubs (22-33; LW 24)
By WAR, their best player this year has been Dansby Swanson. For the moment, though, there’s no one hotter than Christopher Morel, who has nine homers in 17 games since getting called up. Unfortunately, the Cubs have still dropped 11 of their past 14 games.
28) Chicago White Sox (22-33, LW 25)
Luis Robert has been a bright spot in an abysmal start on the South Side. In addition to playing a dazzling center field, he has already tied his career high with 13 homers.
29) Kansas City Royals (16-38; LW 29)
At 33, Salvador Pérez is still doing his thing. Among qualified catchers, only Atlanta’s Sean Murphy and Colorado’s Díaz have a higher OPS than the veteran Royals backstop.
30) Oakland Athletics (10-45; LW 30)
It’s not all bad news in the East Bay. Brent Rooker, a 28-year-old former first-round pick, has found his footing as an Oakland regular and entered Sunday with a 154 OPS+.
Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. He previously was the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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