MLB Power Rankings 2021: Standings after 2nd full week
We're hitting the three-week mark of the 2021 MLB season and the standings at this point are surprising, to say the least.The Royals, Red Sox and Mariners sit atop their respective American League divisions, with preseason favorites in the Twins, White Sox, Yankees and Astros encountering some early-season hiccups.In the National League, the Dodgers are playing as well as everyone expected coming off their 2020 championship. The Giants and Padres have also looked strong in the first few weeks.But outside of the West, just four NL teams are above .500, and preseason division favorites Atlanta and St. Louis aren't among them.It's been a strange start to the season. Here's how all 30 teams stack up as we hit the three-week mark.
Last week: 29
Colorado lost seven straight before Germán Márquez’ seven-inning complete game on Saturday. Granted, those games all were against the Dodgers, Giants and Mets, but they have fewest wins in baseball. It doesn’t get any easier this month, with series against the Astros and Phillies next.
Last week: 30
Detroit started last week off strong by sweeping the Astros before dropping four straight to Oakland. The Tigers have the worst run differential in baseball, behind an AL-worst team ERA. Only two of their hitters (minimum 30 at-bats) have an average above .240, too.
Last week: 25
Arizona followed a series win over the Reds with a 2-4 week against Oakland and Washington. They’re sixth in runs scored, but their pitching staff isn’t doing the offense any favors, sitting 24th in ERA. Did anyone envision catcher Carson Kelly hitting .400 to start the season?
Last week: 26
Remember how the Rangers scored 21 runs across their first three games? They’ve scored 38 times since then. Texas’ series win over the Rays was impressive, although a series loss to the Orioles followed. Dane Dunning, acquired from the White Sox for Lance Lynn, has been dealing so far (0.60 ERA, three starts).
Last week: 24
The Orioles are middle-of-the-pack in both runs scored and runs allowed. Four of their eight hitters with at least 30 at-bats are hitting under .200. They may be better than this ranking, but by how much? Starter John Means (1.52 ERA, four starts) has been a major bright spot, delivering another dominant outing Sunday.
Last week: 23
The Cubs started 3-1. They’re 3-8 since then, losing all four series in that span. Chicago has the NL’s worst run differential, their starters allowing the fourth-most earned runs in baseball to date. The offense broke out in two games over the weekend after a rough start, although they went 1-1 in those games — both 13-4 final scores.
Last week: 28
Break up the Pirates! No one had expectations for Pittsburgh entering the season, but they’ve quietly won two of their past three series, the exception being a 2-2 split with the contending Padres last week. It probably isn’t sustainable — only the Cubs have a worst run differential in the NL — but it’s been a treat to see.
Last week: 18
The Cardinals haven’t been all that impressive so far. Their only series win is over the Marlins, and they followed that with three straight series losses, most recently to the Nationals and Phillies. St. Louis has the worst rotation ERA (6.24) in the game through three weeks.
Last week: 27
The NL East may be a five-team race after all. Miami went 5-2 last week, picking up impressive series wins over Atlanta and San Francisco. Starling Marte and Jesús Aguilar, two key members of their 2020 postseason team, are leading the way offensively. The rotation has been pretty good.
Last week: 10
Are the Yankees the 21st best team in baseball? Of course not, but they aren’t playing well in the early going, with all eyes on the offense. New York has dropped five straight games and has scored less than five runs 10 times this season. They’ll straighten things out, but in the meantime, here we are.
Last week: 19
A 4-3 week is a step forward from that 1-5 start, but the Nationals now are without Stephen Strasburg (10-day IL with shoulder inflammation). Their starting staff also has Patrick Corbin off to a shaky start, and Jon Lester is still working into game shape. We haven’t seen the Nats at full strength after that early COVID-19 outbreak, so there’s room for improvement here.
Last week: 14
Toronto was picked by many to break out this season, but it feels like they’ve missed an opportunity to take hold of the AL East over the middling Rays and Yankees. The Jays’ two series wins are against New York, but they’re 3-7 in their other games. It doesn’t get any easier with series coming up against the Red Sox, Rays, Nationals and Braves.
Last week: 4
This is quite the drop for Minnesota from our last rankings, but they’re coming off a 1-4 week and are dealing with some COVID-19 concerns. They’re scheduled to return Tuesday, although which players they could be without is uncertain at this moment.
Last week: 17
Admittedly, this feels low for Cleveland. Then again, their offense has scored less than five runs in 11 of 15 games as their rotation (3.30 ERA) has started off strong. They’ll need as much pitching as they can get, with series against the White Sox, Yankees and Twins up next.
Last week: 22
Who had the Mariners leading the AL West this late in April? Seattle is getting things done against quality opponents, with series wins against the Giants, Twins and Astros under their belt already. Oakland is surging and Houston looked strong before encountering some COVID-19 concerns, but the Mariners are worth keeping an eye on.
Last week: 11
In one of the stranger developments last week, the Rays lost a four-game series to the Rangers before sweeping the Yankees. Randy Arozarena, a breakout star last postseason, is mired in a 4-for-27 slump, and five others Rays regulars are hitting below .200. Tyler Glasnow’s early dominance continues.
Last week: 5
Atlanta responded from a 13-4 drubbing to the Cubs on Saturday with a win by the same score on Sunday. Ronald Acuña Jr. has been the NL MVP for the month of April but left Sunday’s game with an abdominal strain. The Braves have a deep lineup (fourth in MLB in runs), but losing Acuña for an extended stretch would present an early challenge.
Last week: 16
The Giants have won three of five series behind a rotation with the game’s third-best ERA. They’ve allowed the second-fewest earned runs as a staff (only the Mets, with just 11 games played, have allowed fewer). They’ve also scored the third-fewest runs. It’ll be fun to watch how they fare against the Padres and Dodgers next month.
Last week: 3
Houston had a rough week, highlighted by a three-game sweep to the Tigers. But they played without four members of their starting lineup, including José Altuve and Alex Bregman, for much of the week after losing them to the COVID-19 related IL. The A’s are surging, but the Astros will bounce back.
Last week: 20
In a stacked division, the Royals sit in first place as we near the end of April — just like we all expected. Kansas City hasn’t lost any of its five series, beating the Angels and Blue Jays last week. They aren’t the flashiest, but the early results speak for themselves. Whit Merrifield continues to be one of the most underrated stars in the game.
Last week: 6
The Phillies are pitching well enough to remain in most games. Their bats, on the other hand have been inconsistent in the first few weeks (11th in the NL in runs) after being a top 5 offense in 2020. Bryce Harper, Jean Segura, Didi Gregorius and J.T. Realmuto are off to good starts, at least.
Last week: 13
The White Sox are still looking to hit the level of dominance many expected of them entering the season, but a 4-3 week against Cleveland and Boston is a good way to start. Their bullpen is responsible for seven of their eight losses, picking up another over the weekend.
Last week: 21
Hello, Oakland. The A’s have won eight straight after a brutal early schedule featuring series against the Dodgers and Astros, and they’ve taken advantage of recent matchups with Arizona and Detroit. Jed Lowrie is off a torrid start offensively after injury-riddled seasons the past few years.
Last week: 12
Sure, their offense is so-so, but you don’t need many runs when you pitch the way Milwaukee has to open the season. Brewers starters have the best ERA (2.07), highlighted by Corbin Burnes’ minuscule 0.49 mark through three starts. That Brandon Woodruff guy (2.12 ERA) has been pretty good, too.
Last week: 15
Here come the Mets? New York has skyrocketed to first in the NL East, their starting staff paving the way. Mets starters are second in baseball in ERA, behind Marcus Stroman (0.90 ERA) and Jacob deGrom (0.45). They even got deGrom a win in one of his three starts.
Last week: 8
Cincinnati’s bats cooled off against San Francisco and Cleveland, with three runs in four of six games last week, but they’re still first in the NL in that category. Ace Luis Castillo has the highest ERA on their starting staff, which surely will balance out and make this team even more dangerous.
Last week: 7
The Halos had a 2-2 week cut short by Minnesota’s COVID-19 concerns. Their offense, with 10 runs in both wins, continues to be one of the game’s best, ranking eighth in MLB in runs. Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout are crushing the ball — as is first baseman Jared Walsh.
Last week: 2
Splitting a four-game set with the Pirates wasn’t great, certainly before their three-gamer with the Dodgers over the weekend. Los Angeles took two of three from San Diego, but we’ll chalk that up to the Dodgers being head and shoulders above everybody else. The two clubs square off again this weekend in what will be another must-see series.
Last week: 9
Party like it’s 2018? J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts are raking and Nathan Eovaldi is dealing. Is this really the same team that the Orioles swept to open the season? Boston is 10-3 since then, including 4-3 against AL Central heavyweights Minnesota and Chicago this past week.
Last week: 1
Status quo at the top of the list. The Dodgers are 13-2 since that Opening Day loss to the Rockies and have won eight of nine. Zach McKinstry’s hot start came out of nowhere, and they’ll need it with Cody Bellinger dealing with a hairline fracture in his left fibula.
