MLB Power Rankings: Orioles, Phillies, Dodgers battle for No. 1 spot as Braves slip
At least three teams and as many as five have an argument for the top spot, so who gets it?
For a good portion of this season, picking the number one team hasn’t been difficult: The Atlanta Braves.
The Braves were my pre-spring training No. 1 and still held that spot heading into the regular season. They started 6-2 and only very slightly stumbled to 8-5 and that cost them the No. 1 for just one week. They then won 10 of their next 11 games for an 18-6 start. They were 19-7 last week and, again, it was pretty easy to just leave the Braves on top.
This past week, the Braves went 1-5. Not only have they coughed up the best record in baseball, they actually are looking up at five different teams right now in winning percentage. Given that they were swept by one of them (the Dodgers), there’s no way I can leave them on top.
I could see arguments that the Braves are still the best team in baseball, but I’m demoting them. I could see arguments for four other teams for the top spot, though the Guardians lost a series to the Braves last weekend and then went 3-3 this past week, including losing two of three to the Astros and then getting two of three from a terrible Angels team. As such, the Guardians have to stay a spot behind the Braves. That leaves three teams vying for No. 1.
The Dodgers were a very strong consideration and I wouldn’t argue with anyone wanting to put them at the top, but they end up in the three hole. They have won 11 of their last 13 and this surge has them back on track to win 100 games again despite falling to 12-11 on April 20. The still-banged-up and thin rotation is concerning enough for me to leave the Dodgers very slightly behind the top two. Walker Buehler comes back this week, so we’ll see what he’s got in store for everyone this season. I won’t be a bit surprised to see the Dodgers in the top spot next week.
I have one team in each league above the Dodgers.
The NL team would be the Phillies. The powerful offense is a threat to torch any pitching staff on any given night. There are three starting pitchers with a sub-2.00 ERA with at least two other very capable rotation arms. The bullpen is a bit deeper than the past two years. They got off to their usual slow start, it just didn’t linger at all — to the point that we can barely even say it was a slow start. They were 2-4 and then 5-6, but the sample there was just so small. They finished April 20-11 and have now won 16 of their last 19 games. They have the best record in baseball.
The Orioles get the honors on the AL side. They have won 15 of their last 20 and sit at 23-11 overall. This past week, they took three of four over the Yankees to grab control of the AL East and then went into Cincinnati to sweep a pretty competent Reds team. The went without 40% of their rotation for over a month this season, now having gotten one start each from Kyle Bradish and John Means. They won both games. The Orioles have a deep lineup that can hurt you in multiple ways, a strong pitching staff headed up by an ace in Corbin Burnes and so much organizational depth sitting in the minors.
