Who is the best team in the MLB? Well over a month through the 2024 Major League Baseball season, we have enough games to fairly evaluate all 30 clubs. While the MLB power rankings Week 6 don’t necessarily reflect who the best MLB teams will be in October, we do capture where things stand in baseball right now.
Let’s dive into our MLB power rankings for Week 6.
MLB power rankings: Worst MLB teams
30. Chicago White Sox (30)
The Chicago White Sox are the worst team in MLB. There are no signs of imminent improvement, demonstrated by the fact that the White Sox are now simply adding to their complete security at the bottom of the standings. After winning just six games in April, it’s not unfair to under if Chicago can even record seven victories in May.
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29. Colorado Rockies (29)
Well, at least the Colorado Rockies provided some joy for the fan base this week by promoting top prospect Jordan Beck. he dominated the Triple-A level (.999 OPS) in April, earning a promotion to make his MLB debut. Considering there is little else to celebrate right now for Colorado, we’ll just tip our cap to Beck already racking up hits in the Rockies lineup.
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28. Miami Marlins (28)
The teardown is underway. Just over a year after trading away Pablo Lopez to land Luis Arraez, the Miami Marlins shipped him off to the San Diego Padres along with $10 million in cash for a package of prospects. Given the cash Miami is including, it is essentially buying prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella. However, given Arraez was one of the worst defensive infielders in MLB and he’s nothing more than a singles hitter, we can’t necessarily fault the Marlins for making this deal.
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27. Los Angeles Angels (25)
There’s the Mike Trout injury everyone feared was coming. Playing at an MVP-caliber level once again, Trout’s body provided the baseball world with another example of how much greatness it has robbed from the game with devastating injuries. As for bright spots, at least Jo Adell (.850 OPS) has turned into something, but poor defense and a low walk rate suggest he’ll likely never come close to the All-Star talent everyone hoped for.
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26. Pittsburgh Pirates (23)
After jumping out to a 9-2 start, the Pittsburgh Pirates have completely collapsed. From April 9 to May 3, Pittsburgh recorded a 5-17 record. For comparison, the only other teams with fewer than seven wins in the last 22-plus games are the Angels, White Sox and Rockies. Sadly, the Pirates pitching (3.95) hasn’t even been that bad over this 22-game span.
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25. Oakland Athletics (27)
The young, scrappy Oakland Athletics have already exceeded our expectations this season. A team that started 7-17 is now 16-17 in May. There are going to be much more bad stretches ahead and we doubt the A’s finish the season anywhere close to the .500 mark, but at least this isn’t the club we saw last season that regularly inflated their opponents’ run differential with blowout games.
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24. St. Louis Cardinals (22)
Through 32 games, the St. Louis Cardinals lineup ranks 28th in runs score (112), 26th in batting average (.219) and 25th in OBP (.299) Willson Contreras was brought in to be a complementary bat to help Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, instead he’s the only one producing in St. Louis. Father Time has come for St. Louis and it might be time for the Cardinals to declare themselves as sellers.
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23. Houston Astros (24)
The Houston Astros are finally showing some signs of life. A trip to Mexico seemed to work wonders, first resulting in a predictable sweep of the Rockies but then providing momentum to help the Astros take the series against the Cleveland Guardians at Minute Maid Park. Considering how poorly things went against the Seattle Mariners, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Houston also drops its set to the New York Yankees. If that happens, it might just be time to accept that the Astros aren’t a playoff team in 2024.
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22. Washington Nationals (26)
We’ll say this about the Washington Nationals, they are becoming an interesting team to watch in 2024. The Nats have series victories this season over the Dodgers, Astros, Marlins and Giants, which is particularly impressive given the payroll gaps between some of those clubs versus Washington. There still isn’t enough here to project Washington fights for .500 all year, but at least the Nationals are competitive right now.
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21. Toronto Blue Jays (16)
We’re ready to call TOD for the 2024 Toronto Blue Jays. Through 32 games, the Blue Jays lineup has easily been one of the worst in the majors. For anyone who held out hope for a turnaround from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.220/.289/.268), George Springer (.220/.238/.341) and Bo Bichette (.162/.205/.216) their numbers in the last 10 games paired with their season-long stats suggest that simply isn’t happening.
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20. Arizona Diamondbacks (19)
It’s beginning to look like the 2024 season will just be a down year for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The last time they won a series came on April 12-14 against St. Louis, the results have been well below the .500 mark ever since. We’ve been believers in the Diamondbacks’ talent, but at some point, you just have to accept the on-field results and that is just the simple fact that Arizona’s pitching has been about as effective as the bees were holding their ground at Chase Field.
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19. San Francisco Giants (21)
Just as the San Francisco Giants appeared to be showing signs of life, they got pummeled by the best team in baseball right now. After 35 games, San Francisco has one of the worst run differentials (-36) in MLB this season and with a 3-7 record over their last 10 games, it’s starting to feel like this might be the year that results in changes to the front office.
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18. Cincinnati Reds (11)
It’s starting to feel like the Cincinnati Reds are just going to be the MLB team in 2024 that delivers small peaks and valleys, all to finish near the .500 mark. Momentum seemed to be building after the four-game split against the Philadelphia Phillies, then Cincinnati’s run production disappeared in Texas and San Diego. The Reds schedule doesn’t get any easier from here, so our hopes aren’t high for a turnaround.
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17. New York Mets (15)
It’s fitting that, two months out from the MLB trade deadline, the reports on the New York Mets are mixed. There might not be enough on the roster, even with small additions, to make a push for the postseason. However, the Mets have also proven competitive with teams like the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers. Unfortunately, the series in Tampa Bay was a bad look for the Mets but at least Christian Scott looked good in his MLB debut.
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16. Tampa Bay Rays
We’re still not totally sold on the Tampa Bay Rays moving forward. Taking out the New York Mets in a three-game sweep with the Rays lineup scoring 20 runs does ease some concerns, but this has been a bad team for most of the year. The record (17-18) entering Monday might not reflect that, but ranking outside the top 18 in major pitching and hitting categories is alarming.
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15. San Diego Padres (17)
The San Diego Padres just don’t have the starting pitching to contend right now. Joe Musgrove did just deliver a nice rebound start, but it did little to improve a pitching staff that entered Monday ranked 21st in ERA (4.28) and 18th in batting average allowed (.241). Instead of adding pitching, San Diego used some of its prospects to acquire Luis Arraez. He will be a solid on-base guy, but he’s also a singles-only hitter who will bring negative value if San Diego puts him in the field. Plus, the Padres’ biggest weakness remains pitching.
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14. Kansas City Royals (13)
This upcoming stretch is our litmus test for the Kansas City Royals. The results against clubs like the Baltimore Orioles and even Detroit Tigers have gone poorly, the upcoming sets against the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers are a proving ground. If the Royals want to be taken seriously as a playoff contender nationally, the next six games are their chance to make their case.
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13. Minnesota Twins (18)
A 12-game winning streak changed a lot of things. Morale rapidly improves, the lineup is playing with more confidence and pitchers just seem to it their spots better. Then, you remember the Twins’ wins have all come against the White Sox and Angels. This is a nice little stretch for Minnesota, but we’ll need to see victories against teams that aren’t at the bottom of consensus MLB power rankings.
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12. Detroit Tigers (12)
The Detroit Tigers haven’t lost a series since April 15-18 against the Texas Rangers. In their last 10 games (April 21 – May 2), the Tigers pitching staff has compiled a 3.34 ERA in 89 innings pitched and that has helped lead to a tie for the third-most wins in MLB over that span. Even the Tigers lineup (.244/.313/.427) has been pretty productive as of late. The run production is even more impressive when you consider Colt Keith (.406 OPS), Spener Torkelson (.590 OPS) and Javier Baez (.507 OPS) all have 90-plus at-bats this season.
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11. Boston Red Sox (14)
It’s been a season of waves for the Boston Red Sox. They started -2, dropped to 7-7, rebounded to 13-10 then sunk again to 14-13. Now, the upward wave is back with consecutive series victories over the Giants and Chicago Cubs. There’s some consideration of moving them into the 10th spot, but inconsistency is the problem right now. A strong showing against the red-hot Twins or the No. 1 team in our MLB power rankings (Atlanta Braves) would instill a lot of confidence in the Red Sox moving forward.
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Best MLB teams right now
10. Texas Rangers (9)
The Texas Rangers lineup needs to be great for this team to survive the injuries to its starting rotation. As of late, .237/.295/.467, that hasn’t been coming. Max Scherzer is on a rehab assignment, though, and we know the Rangers’ All-Star bats are capable of heating up at any given moment. So there isn’t a major concern with Texas, but it’s slumping as some other top competition is heating up.
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9. Seattle Mariners (10)
The Seattle Mariners entered Friday with an 8-3 record in their last 11 games (1.47 ERA) and an 11-4 mark since April 14, again carried by dominant pitching (1.54 ERA). What makes Seattle such a scary potential foe in October is how dominant the starting rotation and to some extent, the bullpen can be. If the Mariners lineup – .199/.261/.358 slash line in last 10 games – can ever get itself going, this will be one of the best MLB teams.
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8. Milwaukee Brewers (4)
As if the Milwaukee Brewers lineup couldn’t get better – 157 runs scored (5th) and .259/.339/.423 slash line – they just called up top prospect Tyler Black. While it’s not a guarantee he is successful immediately, his talent certainly adds more depth to the batting order in Milwaukee. The one big weakness for this ballclub right now is a pitching staff that ranks 26th in quality starts (eight) and 19th in WHIP (1.31) entering Monday.
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7. New York Yankees (5)
The week ended with a disappointing Gerrit Cole injury update, but it wasn’t the worst news possible for the New York Yankees. As for the Yankees lineup, it’s responsible for a respectable .250/.323/.408 slash line and 112 wRC+n in the last 16 games. Even without Cole, the pitching (3.07 ERA, 3rd in MLB) has been very good over that stretch as well. Although, New York is 5-6 since April 20. There’s no real long-term concern here with New York, especially with how well Juan Soto is playing.
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6. Chicago Cubs (8)
Life isn’t too bad for the Chicago Cubs right now. The drubbing last Saturday in Boston (17-0 loss) tanked the run differential, but this has still consistently been one of the best MLB teams in 2024. Fortunately, Justin Steele is nearing his return to the mound at Wrigley Field and with how well Shota Imanaga is pitching (0.78 ERA, 5 wins), that’s huge for the Cubs rotation. With the level of talent on the roster, we see no reason the Cubbies can’t hang around in the top 10 of our MLB power rankings for months to come.
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5. Cleveland Guardians (2)
It’s a small tumble down the MLB power rankings week 6 for the Cleveland Guardians. Back-to-back series against the Astros and Atlanta Braves resulted in a 2-4 showing. Fortunately, the work Cleveland did before that still has this team pushing to be double-digit games above the .500 mark. Maybe the Guardians aren’t in the elite tier of the best MLB teams, but they still stand out in the American League.
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4. Atlanta Braves (1)
Not how the Atlanta Braves saw their trip to the West Coast going. Injuries can be blamed for dropping a series to the Mariners, especially since two of those defeats were one-run games. However, after losing in extra innings to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Braves were outscored 16-3 in their next two defeats. With the Cubs and Padres ahead on the schedule, it’s going to be a challenging few weeks for Atlanta. Of course, they have a track record and roster worth believing in.
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3. Baltimore Orioles (3)
The Baltimore Orioles simply continue to hold their ground in our MLB power rankings. The Orioles lineup is responsible for the highest wRC+ (134) in MLB from April 14-30, thanks to a league-high .483 slugging percentage. Baltimore also just welcomed back starting pitcher John Means, though, Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder) did hit the injured list in his place. With the upcoming Orioles schedule featuring some weaker opponents, Baltimore could be riding high in mid-May.
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2. Los Angeles Dodgers (7)
That’s the version of the Los Angeles Dodgers that could soon reclaim the No. 1 spot in our MLB power rankings. Facing one of the best teams in baseball, Los Angeles outscored Atlanta 20-3 in a three-game sweep. Entering Monday, the Dodgers lineup leads MLB in runs scored (197), batting average (.273), OBP (.355) and slugging (.451). When you can do all that and your pitching is improving, that’s a World Series contender.
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1. Philadelphia Phillies (6)
The Philadelphia Phillies posted the best record in MLB in April (21-11). During that stretch, the Phillies pitching staff compiled a crisp 3.40 ERA with one of the lowest batting average allowed (.219) in the majors. However, after crediting the pitching for so long, we need to highlight a Phillies lineup that posted an MLB-best .276 batting average with the second-highest wRC+ (132) from April 14-30. When Philadelphia is at its best, there are few teams more fun to watch in baseball. With the run they are on, the Phillies are both the hottest team in MLB and the best team in baseball right now.
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