Baseball: MLB Power Rankings

MLB Power Rankings: FinalScores FIRST EVER

(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

Craig Campbell
June 12, 2019

FinalScore’s FIRST EVER MLB Power Rankings are here! Every week, our contributors will bring you their thoughts on the best teams in Major League Baseball. 

Just over one-third of the season is in the books, there have been three clear-cut best teams in MLB: Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Minnesota Twins.

One could reasonably put these 3 teams in any order and to give you an idea of how good these teams have been over the past month or so and how little separation there is between them: Over the past 30 games, the Astros are 23-7, and the Twins & Dodgers are 21-9 each.

There’s still a lot of season ahead and division races are just starting to heat up. Here is how the team sees the MLB this week from top to bottom. To rank every team from top to bottom, here are most of the factors that will be taken into account: Overall record, current W/L streaks, last 10 games, and run differential.

**Records as of June 11, 2019**

TOP 10
1. Houston Astros (46-22; last week: N/A)
Sporting the league’s best record and winning 8 of their last 10, the Houston Astros top our first ever FinalScore MLB Power Rankings. Most of their schedule in the last 10 games hasn’t been against the best teams (Orioles, Mariners, A’s) but did defeat the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night & play again Wednesday night before going back to mediocre opponents over the next week (Blue Jays, Reds)

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (45-23; last week: N/A)
The Dodgers already have a nine game lead in the NL West and boast a run differential of +105, but have lost back-to-back games to the Angels. A four game series with the Chicago Cubs is ahead this week, so the Dodgers could easily take over the top spot next week.

3. Minnesota Twins (44-21; last week: N/A)
The Twins have been a bit of a surprise this season, not necessarily by leading the AL Central, but leading the division by a whopping 10.5 games already in June. Having a league-leading run differential of +113 helps. They did win 3 of 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays a week and a half ago, but have responded by dropping 2 of 3 to the rival Cleveland Indians.

4. Tampa Bay Rays (41-25; last week: N/A)
The Rays are tied atop the AL East with the New York Yankees. They post a run differential of +95, have been 6-4 in their last 10, and they took 3 of 4 from the Boston Red Sox, all of those wins by at least 4 runs.

5. New York Yankees (41-25; last week: N/A)
The Yankees have received a huge boost from DJ LeMahieu (.316 Batting Avg) & Luke Voit (16 HRs) and while they’ve have a barrage of injuries, including Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, they are still tied at the top of the AL East with the previously mentioned Rays.

6. Milwaukee Brewers (38-29; last week: N/A)
The Brewers have been quite the baffling team me a bit, only having a +10 run differential (which isn’t that of an elite team) but are 6-4 in their last 10 games and have played one of the toughest schedules thus far this season...and have a half game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

7. Chicago Cubs (37-29; last week: N/A)
Signing Craig Kimbrel will provide a huge boost for a struggling bullpen, but will have to wait a few weeks before he’s able to contribute. The Cubs are 6-3 over their last nine games, sweeping three games from the St. Louis Cardinals, but have lost 3 of 5 total games against the Colorado Rockies this past week. They finish out the Rockies series then have a big four game road stand at the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend.

8. Philadelphia Phillies (38-29; last week: N/A)
The Phillies are tied with the Atlanta Braves at the top of the NL East but were swept by the Dodgers a week and a half ago, perhaps showing how they stack up against the league’s best. They finish a homestand Wednesday then hit the road for two tough division series against the Braves (3 games) and the Nationals (4 games).

9. Atlanta Braves (38-29; last week: N/A)
The signing of pitcher Dallas Keuchel provides a veteran presence to a youthful Braves’ starting rotation. The Braves have been on a tear this week, winning 5 straight, albeit against struggling teams (Marlins, Pirates) but every game counts when keeping pace with the Phillies, whom they play this weekend.

10. Texas Rangers (36-30; last week: N/A)
The most surprising team thus far this season is the Texas Rangers. While they’ve had a fairly weak schedule over the past month, they’ve beaten the Boston Red Sox in two straight games & finish their series this week.

No. 11-15

11. Arizona Diamondbacks (35-33; last week: N/A)
12. Colorado Rockies (35-31; last week: N/A)
13. Boston Red Sox (34-34; last week: N/A)
14. Cleveland Indians (34-32; last week: N/A)
15. Oakland A’s (34-34; last week: N/A)

​The Red Sox seem to have picked themselves up a bit, but are still attempting to get out of their early season slump. They dropped 3 out of 4 to the Rays and have lost three straight. The Indians are still two games over .500, taking 2 of 3 from both the Twins and the Yankees, even with a run differential of -5. The Rockies were extremely hot, winning 8 straight, but have come back down to Earth, going 4-5 since. D-backs won 5 straight games before losing Tuesday to the Phillies and are battling the Rockies for 2nd place in the NL West.

No. 16-20

16. St. Louis Cardinals (33-32; last week: N/A)
17. New York Mets (33-34; last week: N/A)
18. San Diego Padres (33-34; last week: N/A)
19. Washington Nationals (31-36; last week: N/A)
20. Chicago White Sox (32-34; last week: N/A)

It’s a bit surprising to think that the Nationals are this bad this season. They’re 7-3 in June so maybe they’re starting to turn it around? The Mets have been inconsistent all season, but will have a brutal month of June and could very easily fall to the bottom of the NL East. The Cardinals swept the Cubs to start June but then were swept by the same Cubs last week.

No. 21-25

21. Los Angeles Angels (33-35; last week: N/A)
22. Cincinnati Reds (29-36; last week: N/A)
23. Pittsburgh Pirates (30-36; last week: N/A)
24. San Francisco Giants (27-38; last week: N/A)
25. Seattle Mariners (28-42; last week: N/A)

The Pirates beating the Braves twice last week is the only real bright spot in an awful month of June so far (2-8) and their -68 run differential has caught up with them.  The Mariners were off to such a hot start at the beginning of the season but quickly came back to reality by the end of April and June hasn’t been nice to them either (3-7). The Reds are +36 but are 3-6 in June.

No. 26-30

26. Miami Marlins (23-42; last week: N/A)
27. Detroit Tigers (24-39; last week: N/A)
28. Toronto Blue Jays (23-43; last week: N/A)
29. Kansas City Royals (21-45; last week: N/A)
30. Baltimore Orioles (21-45; last week: N/A)

The Tigers are second to last in run differential (-110) and are only 11-21 at home. The Blue Jays have dropped five straight while the Marlins have dropped six straight. The Orioles own the No. 30 spot in our rankings this week, posting a league-worst -122 run differential and tied with the league’s worst record along with the Royals.