In what could be a season-long battle, the Braves and Dodgers were once again vying for our top spot in this week’s Power Rankings, with Atlanta just barely edging out Los Angeles.
Another team might soon be in that mix, as the Yankees have the most wins in the majors at 13.
The Astros — New York’s storied American League foe and fellow powerhouse — are struggling to start the campaign, falling out of our top 10 and all the way to No. 17 as they sit in last place in the AL West. How concerned should Houston be?
And what should we make of some of these early-season trends we’ve seen across the league?
Our expert panel has combined to rank every team in baseball based on a combination of what we’ve seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers, Alden Gonzalez and Jorge Castillo to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.
Record: 12-5
Previous ranking: 2
Ozzie Albies will be sidelined for at least a couple of weeks after fracturing his right big toe when hit by a pitch. He had been off to a nice start with a .317 average and ranked second on the team behind Marcell Ozuna with 14 RBIs. Meanwhile, after getting off to a slow start in the power department and going homerless in the team’s first 16 games, Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a home run in Wednesday’s extra-inning win over the Astros. His longest homerless streak last year was 14 games. If there’s a reason to be slightly worried he isn’t going to match his MVP numbers of 2023, it is that his strikeout rate has spiked back up to around 24%, where it was in 2022, after it dropped to 11.4% last season. That’s something to watch. — Schoenfield
Record: 12-9
Previous ranking: 1
It turns out the Dodgers aren’t immune to the industrywide frailty of starting pitching. Bobby Miller, their promising young flamethrower, is on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. And though the Dodgers don’t currently believe it’s serious, shoulder ailments are always a cause for concern. Emmet Sheehan, meanwhile, has been battling forearm inflammation since the early part of spring training, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said recently it is “a longer-term situation.” Given the injury histories of others such as Tyler Glasnow, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and James Paxton, there’s certainly some anxiety about the season-long health of the Dodgers’ starting rotation. Or, at least, there should be. — Gonzalez
Record: 13-6
Previous ranking: 3
The Yankees jumped out to a sterling 12-3 record, winning close games late, despite Aaron Judge‘s sluggish start. Then they lost three games in a row, and the focus on Judge’s productivity intensified. The all-world slugger is hitting .183 with 22 strikeouts in 19 games. The AL-leading 16 walks are encouraging, but Judge hasn’t done his usual damage to pitches in the zone. An abdominal issue hindered him in March, limiting him to 22 spring training at-bats, but he insisted this week that wasn’t a factor. History suggests it’s only a matter of time before Judge, who will turn 32 years old later this month, starts smashing baseballs on the regular. The sooner he does, the likelier the Yankees can continue their promising start without ace Gerrit Cole. — Castillo
Record: 12-6
Previous ranking: 4
Two years ago, the hype in Baltimore was centered on Adley Rutschman. Last season was Gunnar Henderson‘s turn as the hotshot rookie. Jackson Holliday has snatched the spotlight in 2024. And all for good reason, as the three are on superstar tracks. But the Orioles’ promising young position-player core doesn’t stop at them. Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser would’ve garnered more attention atop other organizations’ prospect rankings. Instead, they slid under the radar through the Orioles’ system, and they now are shining in Baltimore. Westburg, the club’s…
This article was originally published by a www.espn.com . Read the Original article here. .