When you’ve won two World Series in a row — and when you employ over half a billion dollars worth of talent — you earn a certain amount of benefit of the doubt. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been in trouble before; heck, just last fall, they were two outs away from a loss in Game 7 to Toronto, only to once again pull things out of the fire. Doubt them at your own peril.
And yet … boy, this weekend sure felt like a wake-up call, didn’t it? The Atlanta Braves came into Dodger Stadium and took two of three from the defending champs, and did so convincingly. Meanwhile, the streaking Chicago Cubs have now opened up a multigame lead in the NL Central and pulled ahead of L.A. in the NL standings. For the first time in a long time, the National League feels like it might be open for the taking, and our latest MLB power rankings reflect just that.
30. San Francisco Giants
- 2026 record: 15-24
- Last week’s ranking: 21
In the messed-up game of musical chairs called “who has the worst vibes in baseball,” the Giants might be winning. Tony Vitello’s managerial tenure has been a disasterclass that may spoil the big league dreams of college baseball managers everywhere, and Rafael Devers is perhaps the worst player in baseball by total WAR. That’s an apocalypse.
–Oliver Fox
29. New York Mets
- 2026 record: 15-25
- Last week’s ranking: 29
The worst team money can buy has been fairly stable but still not all that inspiring. Pitching has been spotty, and there’s really no saving an offense that can’t get on base 30 percent of the time. It borders on shocking that the Mets are not making any organizational changes, though there’s still time! To get to my completely arbitrary goal of .500 by the 50 game mark, the Mets would have to go on a serious tear.
–OF
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10. Athletics
- 2026 record: 21-19
- Last week’s ranking: 10
The A’s pitching staff is not to be trusted. I get that. But it is at least better than what we saw last season, and this offense is getting better and better now that Brent Rooker is back hitting like his old self after an oblique injury. Are they the most talented team in the West? Almost certainly not. But the Astros are a mess, and it sure seems like the Mariners aren’t running away with anything. Why not bring playoff baseball to Sacramento?
–CL
9. Pittsburgh Pirates
- 2026 record: 22-18
- Last week’s ranking: 14
The Pirates have become impossible to ignore. We tried; namely, FanSided’s Chris Landers tried. But the Buccos’ savvy offseason moves are paying off, albeit not in their entirety. Marcell Ozuna isn’t a good baseball player at this stage of his career despite hitting his 300th career home run the other night. Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn, though? Solid contributors! Konnor Griffin is a star after a tough start to his first big-league season. Paul Skenes and this rotation remain, unsurprisingly, solid minus Bubba Chandler.
–MP
8. Milwaukee Brewers
- 2026 record: 22-16
- Last week’s ranking: 9
The Brewers are starting to look like the Brewers again. Milwaukee got a little too cocky before Opening Day, as they traded Caleb Durbin and Freddy Peralta — two important cogs to last year’s team that won 97 games. This team isn’t on pace for anything close to that, but it’s a sound NL Wild Card contender nonetheless. If we’ve learned anything about the Brewers, it’s to never count out their pitching. Jacob Misiorowski has emerged as one of the best young pitchers in the National League. He’s a Cy Young candidate for a reason. The rest? Well, they’ll figure it out along the way.
–MP
7. San Diego Padres
- 2026 record: 23-17
- Last week’s ranking: 5
We’re seven weeks into the season, and Fernando Tatis Jr. is still homer-less. He’s one of seven qualified hitters without a dinger, which is just astonishing. Guys like Michael King and Randy Vasquez have helped keep the rotation somewhat afloat, and Mason Miller remains otherworldly, but the Padres have not hit enough — and Tatis is right in the middle of that. For them to embark on a deep October run, they’re going to need Tatis to get going.
–ZR
6. St. Louis Cardinals
- 2026 record: 24-16
- Last week’s ranking: 7
As the Cubs keep widening their gap in the NL Central (currently a 3.5-game lead), the Cardinals look like just about the only team within striking distance. It’s early, and that could change. But to the Cards’ credit, they continue to surpass my expectations. Before the season, FanSided and most outlets wrote of St. Louis’ demise. This is Chaim Bloom’s team, after all, and there’s no way he intended to actually compete for a playoff spot in 2026. But Oli Marmol, Jordan Walker and a pitching staff better than the sum of its parts had other ideas. It should be a fun summer in St. Louis.
–MP
5. Tampa Bay Rays
- 2026 record: 26-13
- Last week’s ranking: 8
Is it time to just give ourselves up to Rays devil magic (or Devil Rays magic)? They’ve been defying the naysayers all year long, thumbing their nose at those who look at their roster and their record in one-run games and insist that regression has to be coming, and now they’re in first place in the AL East. Again, there’s reason to be skeptical; this offense is not very good, and this pitching staff is punching way above its weight. But we’ve seen this act from this team before.
–CL
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
- 2026 record: 24-16
- Last week’s ranking: 3
The rich got richer this week, as Blake Snell made his season debut against the Braves. Now, Snell didn’t look his sharpest, and he replaced the now-injured Tyler Glasnow, but getting the two-time Cy Young winner back only makes the Dodgers scarier. It feels like they haven’t hit their peak yet and won’t for a while, but Los Angeles still looks poised to run away with the NL West and compete for yet another World Series title.
–ZR
3. New York Yankees
- 2026 record: 26-15
- Last week’s ranking: 2
Just when the Yankees seemed to have finally turned the corner and put the bad vibes of previous Aaron Boone teams behind them, they get swept by the Brewers, including an absolute howler of a loss on Saturday night that checked all of the worst 2025 Yankees boxes — from defensive miscues to bad at-bats to a shaky bullpen. It’s not time to panic yet in the Bronx; this team is still very, very good, and one loss is only one loss. But they’d do well to remind everyone that this is a new team in a new year.
–CL
2. Chicago Cubs
- 2026 record: 27-14
- Last week’s ranking: 4
The Cubs’ second double-digit winning streak of the season came to an end this weekend thanks to the Diamondbacks, but there’s little denying they’re one of the best teams in baseball. What Chicago is lacking is reliable starting pitching. Sure, their depth can get them through tough times in the regular season, but the Cubs need to add another frontline starter if they hope to beat the Dodgers or Braves when it counts (and possibly both). Chicago is the class of the Central, and anyone still questioning Craig Counsell’s contract should take a serious look in the mirror.
–MP
1. Atlanta Braves
- 2026 record: 28-13
- Last week’s ranking: 1
A series loss in Seattle followed by a disappointing showing in Game 1 of this weekend’s series at Dodger Stadium might’ve had Braves fans on edge, but Game 2 wiped any concerns away. Spencer Strider looked like vintage Strider in his second start of the season, allowing just one hit in six innings against the Dodgers and striking out eight. If the Braves get that version of their righty, they’re serious threats to win the World Series.
–ZR
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