Major League Baseball

MLB Top 10: Dodgers, Blue Jays, Mets leading the way

Published Apr. 18, 2022 8:06 p.m. ET

By Ben Verlander
FOX Sports MLB Analyst

Every Monday of MLB season, we'll bring you an updated version of the MLB Top 10 to highlight the best teams in the sport.

MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers, Cardinals and Blue Jays headline the list

Ben Verlander breaks down his power rankings for Week 2, including the Los Angeles Dodgers back at the top, the St. Louis Cardinals cracking the top 10 and the Houston Astros falling to the six spot.

Watch "Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander" on YouTube or subscribe on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts.

Let's get to it.

10. Milwaukee Brewers

This team revolves around pitching, but they aren’t getting much help from their offense right now, with most of the team hitting .200 or worse. The pitching will keep Milwaukee in most games, considering they might have the best staff in baseball, but this offense must be better.

9. San Diego Padres

The Padres are coming off a big home series win against the defending champs. Their starting pitching has looked strong to start the year, and the offense has shown glimpses of what it’s capable of. Having Bob Melvin leading the charge will make a huge difference for this team this year.

8. St. Louis Cardinals

Albert Pujols is back, and just like that, the Cardinals are off and running. Nolan Arenado is carrying the load so far for the offense, hitting well over .400 with four homers and 12 RBIs already.

7. Tampa Bay Rays

It's tough to get a feel for the Rays so far this season. They swept the Orioles to start the year, lost a series to the A’s and then played in three fantastic baseball games vs. the White Sox, in which they lost the first two by a score of 3-2 and won the finale 9-3. Never count the Rays out of anything, though. I’ve learned that lesson enough.

6. Houston Astros

The Astros have shown flashes of excellence in every facet of the game but haven’t quite put them all together. The hitting can be great, the starting rotation has been awesome, and the bullpen has looked good. However, through the first couple of weeks, they all seem to be doing well at different times.

5. San Francisco Giants

Stop counting out the Giants. It took forever last season for the world to understand how good they were, and they were underrated again to start this season. But the Giants came out of the gates hot, led by a pitching staff that is statistically the best in baseball, with a 2.20 ERA through Sunday.

4. Chicago White Sox

Please just keep the White Sox healthy. It seems like every day a key player for this extremely talented team is getting hurt. Yet they are 6-3, even though it seems they haven’t really started clicking yet. This team is very, very good.

3. New York Mets

The new-look Mets have proven thus far that they are an elite MLB team. The revamped offense looks good, and the pitching staff, even without Jacob deGrom, has been fantastic. Chris Bassitt is looking like he might have been the most underrated pickup of the offseason, and Tylor Megill is, dare I say it, picking up the slack of deGrom so far.

2. Toronto Blue Jays

This team is fun, and their offense is absolutely electric. They won’t win 100-plus games this year because of how good and deep the AL East is, but they are as talented as anyone and a scary team to face. The offense gets all the hype, but in the back end of the bullpen, Jordan Romano is quickly becoming one of the best closers in baseball.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers opened the season by losing a series on the road to the Colorado Rockies. Since then, they haven’t lost, sweeping the Twins and Reds. This team is incredible and has one of the best offenses ever assembled. They came out of the gates slowly, but they’re off and running now.

Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the "Flippin' Bats" podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him on Twitter @Verly32.