MLB Power Rankings Week 7: Mets, Phillies, Brewers and Braves Climb

We’re approaching the point in the 2026 Major League Baseball season where every club has played 50-plus games, the time of year when true contenders begin to emerge. As we’ve witnessed in the past week, though, even the best MLB teams can hit a rough patch.

Let’s dive into our latest MLB power rankings, with the statistics used as of Friday, May 15,

1. Atlanta Braves (3)

The Atlanta Braves became the first team in MLB to win 30 games and they’ll soon be the first to hit a plus-100 run differential. Again, it’s remarkable to see from this club at a time when Ronald Acuna Jr., Sean Murphy, Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver are all on the injured list. Drake Baldwin (.889 OPS) has cooled off a bit, but Matt Olson (1.001 OPS), Ozzie Albies (.817 OPS) and Michael Harris (.336 OBP) are making up for it with the Braves lineup leading MLB in runs scored (237), batting average (.270) and slugging (.447).

2. Chicago Cubs (2)

The Chicago Cubs’ 10-game win streak came to an abrupt halt this past week against the Rangers and Braves. It was a miserable week for the Cubs lineup, mustering just a .124/.221/.183 triple-slash line during the five-game skid. A get-right series is looming for Chicago next weekend versus Houston, but for now there are two major challenges against the red-hot White Sox and Brewers. Things may get worse before they get better for the Cubs.

3. Milwaukee Brewers (6)

The Milwaukee Brewers showed this past week why they are one of the best MLB teams in 2026. Hosting the Yankees and Padres, Milwaukee’s lineup put up a .253/.328/.361 triple-slash line with 22 runs scored, but the pitching staff (2.35 ERA and .204 batting average allowed) made that enough. This team’s pitching depth already makes it dangerous, and the run production should improve as Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio settle in.

4. New York Yankees (1)

The New York Yankees were going to run into a cold spell eventually and it came this past week. What made it hurt is ace Max Fried going down with an elbow injury, but the hope is that he avoids a long-term absence. Even if he misses time, Gerrit Cole is on the verge of returning so this will remain an outstanding rotation. What must improve is a Yankees lineup that managed just a .181 batting average in its last five games.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers (4)

The Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to split the four-game home series with the rival Giants, but that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of this ball club. After a 15-4 start to the season, Los Angeles has gone 11-14 with its pitching staff faring well (3.59 ERA) while the lineup (.707 OPS, 15th in MLB) underperforms. This is still clearly one of the best teams in MLB, but Los Angeles is at risk of dropping a series or two on its upcoming nine-game trip versus the Angels, Padres and Brewers.

6. Tampa Bay Rays (7)

The Tampa Bay Rays are just an unstoppable force right now. Back on April 21, they lost consecutive games to Cincinnati to fall to 12-11. Since April 22, Tampa Bay has the best record in baseball at 16-3. Pitching is doing the heavy lifting, with a 1.84 ERA across the last 171 innings pitched that is nearly a full run better than the second-best team (2.76 ERA, Brewers). With the Rays facing the Marlins and Orioles up next, we could be looking at a team that is 16-plus games above .500 before its trip to Yankee Stadium (May 22-24).

7. San Diego Padres (5)

For all of the money invested into the San Diego Padres lineup, it’s been a massive letdown. Fernando Tatis Jr. (.288 slugging) isn’t hitting for any power this year, Manny Machado is having a career-worst season at the plate (.190/.287/.340) and San Diego has gotten nothing from Ramon Laureano (.091/.231/.182) and Xander Bogaerts (.209/.277/.372) this month. Despite all of that, San Diego entered the weekend with a 25-18 mark and that’s with a rotation that has delivered the fourth-fewest quality starts (nine) in MLB.

8. Pittsburgh Pirates (9)

Since his rough start on Opening Day, Paul Skenes boasts a 1.09 ERA with a 31.3 percent strikeout rate, a 0.53 WHIP and a .124 batting average allowed in eight starts. He’s well on his way to winning the NL Cy Young Award once more. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation will have Jared Jones back in it soon and the lineup is getting plenty from Oneil Cruz (.805 OPS), Brandon Lowe (.878 OPS) and Nick Gonzalez (.380 OBP). Even with some regression from the Pirates lineup (fourth-most runs scored), this team is clearly ready to contend for a playoff spot.

9. Seattle Mariners (8)

Hitting the injured list is probably the best move for Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners. He was never returning to the absurd first-half numbers we saw in 2025, but he’s also a better hitter than what we’ve seen this year (.560 OPS). Fortunately for Seattle, it has an incredible six-man rotation to carry it and the lineup could still deliver above-average run production without Raleigh available.

10. Philadelphia Phillies (13)

The Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the second-best record in baseball this month at 9-4. Pitching (3.29 ERA) has been excellent, with Zack Wheeler returning closer to form and Andrew Painter coming off an excellent start. The Phillies lineup still isn’t doing enough (.246/.290/.418) to suggest this team is all the way back to form, but what matters is flipping the season around from 9-19 to 21-23 in a three-week span.

11. St. Louis Cardinals (11)

Even if the St. Louis Cardinals don’t make the playoffs this season, 2026 will be viewed as a massive success. JJ Wetherholt (.364 OBP) already looks like one of the best second basemen in baseball, Jordan Walker (.945 OPS) is emerging as a star, and the combo of Alec Burleson (.791 OPS) and Ivan Herrera (.805 OPS) looks like long-term fixtures in the Cardinals lineup. We have less positivity regarding St. Louis’ pitching, but it’s the bright spots from the hitters that matter.

12. Cleveland Guardians (15)

After falling below the .500 line near the end of April, the Cleveland Guardians have started to find some stability. It certainly helps to face a few of the worst MLB teams, but playoff hopefuls have to get victories wherever they can get them. What we’re excited about moving forward is seeing further improvements from Cleveland’s pitching staff with the help of Patrick Bailey.

13. Sacramento Athletics (16)

The Sacramento Athletics blew their chance at a home series victory over St. Louis, prolonging the fight to stay above the .500 line. The good news is that the Athletics lineup has been great in May (.778 OPS, fourth in MLB) and that’s made up for some predictably awful pitching (4.71 ERA, 24th in MLB). Two winnable sets against the Giants and Angels could provide the A’s with some momentum before a tougher stretch in their schedule.

14. Texas Rangers (12)

The good news is that the Texas Rangers have won consecutive series, making up some ground after two rough showings against the Yankees. It could get even better from here. A weekend series against the Astros pitching staff is a gift for the Rangers lineup, as is the trip right after to Coors Field. If everything goes well, Texas could win five consecutive series.

15. Cincinnati Reds (10)

The hot start to the season feels so long ago now for the Cincinnati Reds. Unfortunately, it also felt inevitable given how top-heavy the Reds lineup was. In May, the Reds lineup ranks 12th in runs scored (57) and 18th in OBP (.308). Those are adequate numbers, but they aren’t nearly enough to overcome a pitching staff (6.06 ERA) that is performing like it is at Coors Field.

16. Detroit Tigers (14)

The spiral continues for the Detroit Tigers. Tarik Skubal isn’t returning anytime soon and his club has the second-worst record in baseball (5-13) since April 24. It should come as no surprise that pitching (4.68 ERA) is a major issue for the Tigers. On the bright side, Riley Greene (.917 OPS) and Kevin McGonigle (.833 OPS) are keeping the Tigers lineup afloat.

17. Arizona Diamondbacks (18)

The Arizona Diamondbacks rolled into May feeling pretty good about their 16-14 record. May hasn’t been kind to Arizona. The run production from the Diamondbacks lineup (38 runs scored, second-fewest in MLB) has been ugly and it’s a shame because Arizona’s bullpen (1.99 ERA) has been lights out. Perhaps Arizona can get things back on track, especially since it’s closing out the month against the Rockies and Giants.

18. Chicago White Sox (22)

It’s impossible to ignore the Chicago White Sox’s success at this point. The five-game win streak this week highlighted how good Chicago’s pitching has been early this season, with Anthony Kay now the latest to have success. If Miguel Vargas (.840 OPS), Colson Montgomery (.831 OPS) and Munetaka Murakami (.904 OPS) can just maintain their power strokes, maybe a .500 record is within the realm of possibility.

19. Washington Nationals (17)

Pitching clearly won’t be a strength for the Washington Nationals anytime soon, but it doesn’t need to be when you have a lineup that produces at a top-five level. We’ll be curious to see if the new regime is able to acquire a viable starter this summer because everything the coaching staff is doing with the hitters bodes well for player development across the board.

20. Baltimore Orioles (19)

Perhaps taking down the Yankees sparks something for the Baltimore Orioles and they get back on track. Granted, we thought that might be the case a week ago after they beat the Marlins and then it got followed up by an ugly home series versus the A’s. The talent on the Orioles roster is clearly there and it would be a major step forward if they can come out of this six-game road stand against Washington and Tampa Bay with a winning record.

21. Kansas City Royals (20)

One step forward, two steps back for the Kansas City Royals. It certainly doesn’t help to lose Cole Ragans because the Royals lineup (181 runs scored, 22nd in MLB) really can’t carry much weight for this team. It’s only made worse because of the Royals bullpen (4.64 ERA), which can’t seem to consistently preserve leads and keep games close.

22. Toronto Blue Jays (21)

At least the Toronto Blue Jays took the Rays to extra innings twice this week. Outside of that, though, it’s mostly been constant ups and downs for the Blue Jays. Addison Barger is back on the injured list again, Jose Berrios had a setback and Max Scherzer isn’t returning to the mound anytime soon. The reigning AL champs don’t look like a playoff threat.

23. New York Mets (28)

The New York Mets are 7-3 in their last 10 games. It’s been a two-week stretch headlined by great pitching (2.73 ERA) with a bullpen (.209 batting average allowed) that is finding its rhythm all the while Carson Benge and Mark Vientos are heating up at the plate. New York dug itself into a deep hole, but it’s at least making some progress in climbing out of it.

24. Minnesota Twins (25)

With Mick Abel, Pablo Lopez and Taj Bradley on the injured list, the Minnesota Twins are somehow staying competitive. There are some bright spots right now, including Byron Buxton (1.136 OPS in May) and Brooks Lee (.298 batting average). What’s also standing out is how Minnesota is getting such impressive results out of Bailey Ober (3.46 ERA) and Connor Prielipp (3.32 ERA) as of late.

25. Miami Marlins (24)

Robby Snelling makes his MLB debut and immediately hits the injured list with a UCL sprain. This happens at the same time as Eury Perez (11.6 percent walk rate) having major command issues and Sandy Alcantara (6.21 ERA in last six starts) showing further signs of regression. With the pitching staff starting to spiral down, Miami seems destined to slip further below .500.

26. Boston Red Sox (23)

Through 43 games this season, the Boston Red Sox lineup ranks 23rd in OBP (.313), 28th in runs scored (161) and 29th in slugging (.354). It’s Wilyer Abreu (.860 OPS), Ceddanne Rafaela (.762 OPS), Willson Contreras (.822 OPS) and nothing else at this point. There’s a favorable stretch upcoming in the Red Sox schedule, but nothing we’ve seen in the last two months suggests this club can take advantage of it.

27. San Francisco Giants (30)

We’ll focus on the positive for the San Francisco Giants. Rafael Devers (.356/.412/.667) is finally getting back into form this month and second baseman Luis Arraez is performing like an All-Star. There have also been some recent improvements at the plate from Willy Adames and Heliot Ramos. Even still, it feels like San Francisco is destined to be a below-average team for the rest of the 2026 season.

28. Colorado Rockies (26)

Well, the Colorado Rockies were at least watchable for a little while. The team wasn’t particularly good before when it swept the Mets to improve to 13-16, but it’s been a rough watch ever since. What at least makes this situation better than last year are the bright spots in the lineup (TJ Rumfield, Hunter Goodman and Troy Johnston).

29. Houston Astros (29)

Tatsuya Imai was atrocious in his return to the mound for the Houston Astros. Unsurprisingly, this pitching staff still has the worst ERA (5.59) and WHIP (1.58) in baseball. The Astros lineup (.230 batting average) has also cooled off in May, which just makes the rotation giving up five-plus runs per game feel even more daunting every night.

30. Los Angeles Angels (27)

The Los Angeles Angels have been the worst team in MLB since April 18. In that stretch, all 29 other clubs have won at least eight games, with a majority of them having double-digit victories. By comparison, Los Angeles is 5-18. Kurt Suzuki is going to be a one-and-done skipper.