{"id":611102,"date":"2026-04-28T11:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/611102\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T11:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:10:10","slug":"mlb-power-rankings-lets-look-at-the-league-leaders-in-good-and-bad-stats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/611102\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB Power Rankings: Let\u2019s look at the league leaders in good and bad stats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week,\u200b we\u200b ask a selected group of our baseball\u200b writers\u200b \u2014 local and national \u2014 to rank the teams from first to worst<\/a>. Here are the collective results.<\/p>\n

A month into the season, Major League Baseball has its first 20-win team (the Braves), its first 50-strikeout pitcher (Jacob Misiorowski), and its first fired manager (Alex Cora). There\u2019s a resurgent superstar in Los Angeles (Mike Trout), a rookie sensation in Detroit (Kevin McGonigle) and too many struggling veterans in San Francisco (Rafael Devers, Willy Adames and even Logan Webb). Among the early double-digit home run hitters are a pair of usual suspects (Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez) but also include first-year Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, who looks like an excellent find for the White Sox.<\/p>\n

The last two teams stuck with single-digit wins were \u2014 believe it or not \u2014 a pair of preseason playoff favorites: the Mets and Phillies.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still relatively early, but a month is a decent benchmark for taking stock of the early standouts and disappointments, so this week\u2019s Power Rankings look at one statistical leader \u2014 good or bad \u2014 from each team.<\/p>\n

All stats through Monday morning unless otherwise noted.<\/p>\n

Record: 20-9
Last Power Ranking: 1<\/p>\n

ERA leader (qualified): Justin Wrobleski (1.50)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a known secret that Shohei Ohtani would like to win the Cy Young Award this season. This is because he\u2019s like one of those extraterrestrial hunters<\/a> in \u201cPredator,\u201d and he\u2019s willing to embarrass hitters and ruin their best-laid offensive plans just to add to his trophy room. Shameful, really.<\/p>\n

So it would be extremely comical if Ohtani lost the Cy Young to Wrobleski. Just dream with me a little bit. Imagine a scenario where Wrobleski maintains this pace and goes 29-0, with an ERA under 2.00 and a strikeout rate about where it is now, at about 12 percent. He\u2019d have to get the Cy Young, and it would be an impossibly funny twist from the ol\u2019 baseball gods. It\u2019s much more likely that Ohtani leads the NL in ERA by this time next week, but what\u2019s April for, if not these silly dreams? \u2014 Grant Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 20-9
Last Power Ranking: 2<\/p>\n

RBI leader: Matt Olson\/Drake Baldwin (25)<\/p>\n

The Braves were the first team to 20 wins, and there are so many ways to go when singling out one of their leaders. We could mention Chris Sale, who leads the team (and the majors) with five wins, helping guide a rotation that\u2019s been good and could soon add Spencer Strider. We could also mention the team\u2019s saves leader, Raisel Iglesias, who went on the IL last week only to be replaced by a tremendous backup plan in Robert Suarez, who\u2019s also been excellent. But we\u2019ll single out the one-two punch of Olson and Baldwin, who have led a deep offense that\u2019s been great despite Austin Riley being off to a slow start and Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. running hot and cold. \u2014 Chad Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 19-10
Last Power Ranking: 3<\/p>\n

OPS leader: Ben Rice (1.183)<\/p>\n

Aaron Judge is having another elite season (seventh in the AL in fWAR through the weekend), but it\u2019s first baseman Rice who leads the Yankees in OPS, RBIs, doubles and fWAR. In all of baseball, only Yordan Alvarez entered this week with a higher qualified OPS. Rice was a 12th-round pick out of Dartmouth and never ranked as a top prospect, but he got to the big leagues in 2024, broke out last season, and he\u2019s thrived through the first month of this season. A major problem for the Yankees is that not enough regulars are following Rice\u2019s lead.\u00a0\u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 17-12
Last Power Ranking: 4<\/p>\n

AVG\/OBP\/SLG and OPS leader (min. 40 PAs): Mois\u00e9s Ballasteros (.397\/.446\/.690, 1.136)<\/p>\n

I had to include the 40 PAs, because \u2014 remarkably \u2014 Michael Conforto leads the team with a .469 OBP, but he\u2019s done so in only 32 plate appearances.<\/p>\n

If we had set the minimum a bit higher, Ballasteros wouldn\u2019t have qualified either. His usage has been a real point of contention in Chicago, where manager Craig Counsell has limited his rookie\u2019s exposure to left-handed pitching. He\u2019s taken 60 plate appearances against right-handers and just five against southpaws.<\/p>\n

Counsell has grown a bit exasperated with all the questions about it, saying last week, \u201cDo you guys want to develop players or do you want to win? Which one do you want?\u201d \u2014 Levi Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 16-13
Last Power Ranking: 7<\/p>\n

ERA, strikeout leader: Braxton Ashcraft (2.43, 32)
H\/9 leader: Paul Skenes (4.3)
HR\/9 leader: Carmen Mlodzinski (0.0)<\/p>\n

It might be a cop-out to choose three, but I think it illustrates a point: the Pirates\u2019 pitching staff isn\u2019t just Paul Skenes and a list of anonymous hurlers. The two I didn\u2019t mention: Mitch Keller, who was an All-Star as recently as 2023, and Bubba Chandler, who is still just 23 years old and in his rookie season. And oh by the way, Jared Jones is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and beginning a rehab assignment<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n

The Pirates are on the come-up for real, and that rotation is one big reason. (Another one: they finally invested in the offense, which is no longer a flaming pile of haunted old dolls.) \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 19-9
Last Power Ranking: T-5<\/p>\n

FIP leader: Mason Miller (-0.47)<\/p>\n

Fernando Tatis Jr. leads the world in baseballs hit harder than 95 mph<\/a>, which helps take the sting out of his .600-something OPS, if you\u2019re looking for an encouraging stat. Miller is the Padres\u2019 representative, though, because he\u2019s good enough to break math. The whole point of FIP is to be on the same scale as ERA. It\u2019s designed to be a familiar-looking number that means something about run prevention.<\/p>\n

His is a negative number, though, because Miller throws hard enough to rupture the space-time continuum. I think the FIP is negative because the fastball went back in time and struck out Mike Devereaux on the 1987 Dodgers. Strikeouts have become boring in baseball \u2026 with one exception. Here he is. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 15-14
Last Power Ranking: T-5<\/p>\n

bWAR leader: Kevin McGonigle (2.0)<\/p>\n

Not two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. Not Gold Glover Dillon Dingler. Not has-homered-in-five-straight-games Spencer Torkelson. Not three-time All-Stars Gleyber Torres or Javier B\u00e1ez (who also has three Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger, though \u2014 to be fair \u2014 those were a while ago). Not two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner Riley Greene, or the guy whose last name (Carpenter) was occasionally replaced with \u201cBonds\u201d when he was at his peak, since \u201cKerry\u201d rhymes with \u201cBarry,\u201d (unless you\u2019re British). Not the guy who signed a six-year extension before his MLB debut (Colt Keith).<\/p>\n

Nope, it\u2019s McGonigle, who has played 28 big-league games, and is hitting .330\/.423\/.528 (.951 OPS) with two triples, two home runs, and more walks (16) than strikeouts (15).<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s very early in his career to be quite this hyperbolic<\/a>, but \u2026 that\u2019s a heck of a start. \u2014\u00a0Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 14-15
Last Power Ranking: 9<\/p>\n

K\/9 leader: MacKenzie Gore (12.2)
OPS leader: Josh Jung (.920)<\/p>\n

Sorry, I had to pick two because both are equally important for the Rangers.<\/p>\n

First: When the Rangers traded for Gore, it was an example of doubling down on an existing strength. One number that really drives home the point? Gore entered Monday night as the AL leader in K\/9, at 12.2, but \u2014 depending on how things go Tuesday, he may lose that lead to his own teammate Jacob deGrom, who currently sits at 12.4, but hasn\u2019t yet pitched enough games to qualify for the leaderboard.<\/p>\n

But the bigger development might be that Jung seems to finally be having that big breakout season. The eighth pick of the 2019 draft, Jung finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2023, but has battled injury after injury, struggling to find consistency. He\u2019s been on fire this month. \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 14-13
Last Power Ranking: 8<\/p>\n

K\/9 leader: Jacob Misiorowski (14.1)<\/p>\n

There are certainly more off-the-beaten-path options here (reliever Aaron Ashby leads the NL with 15 appearances), but taking that option would be like passing up free tickets to see Kendrick Lamar because I wanted to see Rip Randy and the Donkey Boys at my friend Dave\u2019s garage.<\/p>\n

It might be easy to set Misiorowski\u2019s greatness aside as early hype after last year\u2019s All-Star situation, but he has been a legit superstar this year. In addition to leading the sport in strikeouts (51), his 14.1 K\/9 from a starting pitcher is unheard of. Only once has an ERA-qualifier finished a season with more than 14 K\/9, and I\u2019m not sure that should count, since it was Shane Bieber in 2020. The highest in a full season was Gerrit Cole (13.8 K\/9 in 2019 with the Astros). \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 14-16
Last Power Ranking: 11<\/p>\n

Blocks per average (per game) leader: Cal Raleigh<\/p>\n

Yessir, Raleigh doesn\u2019t just lead the Mariners in blocks per average (per game)<\/a>; he leads the entire AL. He\u2019s always been a fine defensive catcher, and this year is no different. He\u2019s a rock, this guy. Defensively speaking, that is.\u00a0A real rock. Defensively.<\/p>\n

Offensively, well, that\u2019s an uncomfortable topic. Raleigh is both flirting with the Mendoza Line and barely hitting for power, on pace for his first sub.-700 OPS since his rookie season in 2021. The Mariners weren\u2019t expecting him to hit another 60 homers, but another 35 or 40 would be just ducky, and they aren\u2019t going to go very far until he gets back on that pace. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 18-10
Last Power Ranking: 13<\/p>\n

bWAR leader: Sal Stewart (1.3)<\/p>\n

Stewart also leads the Reds (and, at time of writing, the NL) in RBIs, with 29, and tied with Elly De La Cruz for the team lead in home runs (9). The 22-year-old rookie has been an absolute sensation in Cincinnati and is an early Rookie of the Year favorite, even over fellow NL Central mega-prospect Konnor Griffin.<\/p>\n

Making Stewart even more valuable: he can play second and third base. With Nathaniel Lowe going Bonds-mode over the weekend and hitting four home runs in three games (including a walk-off) \u2014\u00a0 and with Eugenio Su\u00e1rez recently hitting the IL with an oblique strain \u2014 that versatility gives manager Terry Francona more options for lineup construction. \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 17-11
Last Power Ranking: 14<\/p>\n

On-base percentage leader: Yandy D\u00edaz (.425)<\/p>\n

After winning a batting crown in 2023, D\u00edaz had a down year in 2024 and got off to a slow start in 2025 (he had a .286 on-base percentage at the end of May), but from June onward, he really found his footing again, and he\u2019s kept going through the first month of this season. Through the weekend, only Yordan Alvarez, Ben Rice and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. were getting on base at a higher pace among qualified batters, and D\u00edaz was also in the top five in the AL in batting average and wRC+. He and Junior Caminero \u2014 and generally Jonathan Aranda, who\u2019s been hot and cold \u2014 have led a Rays offense that ranks third in the American League in runs per game.\u00a0\u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 15-12
Last Power Ranking: 10<\/p>\n

OPS (and more) leader: Ildemaro Vargas<\/p>\n

Oh, you haven\u2019t heard of 31-year-old Vargas, the 10-year veteran who currently leads the NL in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS? Hmm. You\u2019re what we hardcore baseball observers refer to as \u201ca casual,\u201d but that\u2019s OK. You have to start somewhere.<\/p>\n

Just kidding, it\u2019s perfectly acceptable to not be aware of Vargas until right now. He\u2019s played 478 games in the majors, but sparingly and almost exclusively in utility roles. He\u2019s been on the Diamondbacks four times \u2013 they\u2019ve sold his contract, bought his contract, released him and signed him. And now he\u2019s leading the NL in OPS. It\u2019s not going to last (one of his Baseball-Reference similarity scores is Bill Pecota<\/a>, the light-hitting infielder who was the tongue-in-cheek inspiration for the statistic)<\/a>, but they\u2019re having a blast with it right now. They should be. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 15-13
Last Power Ranking: 23<\/p>\n

Walks leader: Nick Kurtz (30)<\/p>\n

The humble base on balls is not the stat Kurtz would prefer to lead the majors in, but he\u2019ll take it, especially since his keen eye was the only thing keeping him afloat during his early struggles. The hits are starting to fall, and it\u2019s only a matter of time before a lot more of them start falling over the fence.<\/p>\n

Just missing the cut for the A\u2019s statistical leader: Jacob Wilson, .3 percentage points away from having the highest percentage of swings at pitches out of the strike zone<\/a>. That explains why his batting average is .278 and his on-base percentage is .282, an incredibly funny combination of numbers. Maybe the A\u2019s should make him room with Kurtz on the road, see if a couple of walks sneak into his suitcase somehow. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 13-15
Last Power Ranking: 16<\/p>\n

Strikeout leader: Gunnar Henderson (41)
Home run leader: Gunnar Henderson (9)<\/p>\n

Henderson\u2019s strikeout rate is unusually high this season \u2014 through the weekend, he led the majors in strikeouts \u2014 and his walks are down, but despite not getting on base a ton, he\u2019s remained top 20 in the AL in RBIs and runs. He\u2019s hit for a ton of power, which the Orioles have surprisingly lacked as Pete Alonso is off to a slow start, Adley Rutschman is hurt, and Taylor Ward has hit a ton of doubles with only one homer. Another interesting Orioles leader: three pitchers are tied for the team lead in wins with two \u2014 Opening Day starter Trevor Rogers, reliever Rico Garcia (who\u2019s been terrific) and second-year starter Brandon Young (who\u2019s made two starts and won them both). \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 15-15
Last Power Ranking: 12<\/p>\n

Stolen bases leader: Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez (11)<\/p>\n

I wanted to write about Parker Messick\u2019s winning percentage (1.000) and ERA (1.76), but these power rankings are written before Monday\u2019s games finish, and Messick was scheduled to start against the Rays. Lemme know how he did! In the meantime, Ram\u00edrez just continues to plug away on his Hall of Fame career.<\/p>\n

With those 11 steals, he\u2019s up to 298 in his career. He\u2019s also at 291 home runs, meaning at some point this year, he should hit the 300\/300 club. Only eight other players have ever done that. But here\u2019s the list of players who have done it with one team:<\/p>\n

Willie Mays, end of list. \u2014\u00a0Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 13-16
Last Power Ranking: 18<\/p>\n

Innings pitched: Sandy Alcantara (41 1\/3)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a real mixed bag down in Miami, where the Marlins got through the weekend with a perfectly neutral run differential. They\u2019ve been, perhaps, better than expected, but not exactly good. The best bit of news has been the durable success of Alcantara, who came into the week tied for the major-league lead in innings while pitching to a 3.05 ERA (135 ERA+). Max Meyer, Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards have also been good, but Kyle Stowers has been hurt most of the year, Jacob Marsee has hit below .200, and Agust\u00edn Ram\u00edrez has shown limited power. Come July, though, the Marlins\u2019 season won\u2019t be a total bust as long as Alcantara remains an elite trade chip. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 13-16
Last Power Ranking: 17<\/p>\n

bWAR leader: Taj Bradley (1.2)<\/p>\n

For all the subtractions the Twins have made in the last nine months, Bradley has been a huge addition. Acquired from the Rays for reliever Griffin Jax at last year\u2019s deadline, Bradley is 3-1 for the Twins, with a 2.91 ERA.<\/p>\n

In the second half of last year, it did not appear that this trade went all that well for the Twins. Jax pitched in 23 games for the Rays, with more strikeouts than innings pitched and a 3.60 ERA, while Bradley struggled to a 6.61 mark in six starts for Minnesota.<\/p>\n

What a difference a year makes. Jax has been better than his numbers would imply (he had one horrendous outing in early April), but Bradley has been the Twins\u2019 best starter and helped them overcome the absence of Pablo L\u00f3pez (Tommy John). \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 12-16
Last Power Ranking: 21<\/p>\n

Strikeouts leader: Dylan Cease (44)<\/p>\n

If you do a casual search for MLB strikeout leaders, you might assume that Kevin Gausman leads the Blue Jays in Ks (38 strikeouts in 35 innings, a good pace more or less in keeping with his career norms). But the Blue Jays\u2019 real strikeouts leader is Cease, who has fanned 44 in just 25 2\/3 innings (which isn\u2019t enough workload to qualify for stats like ERA, and thus his name doesn\u2019t always show up on leaderboards). Cease entered the week tied with Gavin Williams for the most strikeouts in the American League. His strikeout rate is the highest in the majors among pitchers with at least 20 innings (only a handful of relievers have a strikeout rate better than Cease). \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 12-18
Last Power Ranking: 15<\/p>\n

ERA leader: Jos\u00e9 Soriano (0.24)<\/p>\n

The Angels were a game over .500 about three weeks into the season, Mike Trout was looking like a helpful version of his old self and Soriano was unhittable. Cut to 10 days later, and \u2026 yeah, that\u2019s pretty much all the same, except the Angels are several games under .500 now. The saying \u201clife comes at you fast\u201d doesn\u2019t apply here; the baseball came slowly, and it was excruciating to watch.<\/p>\n

Except when Soriano has been on the mound, of course. He has a 0.24 ERA through six starts, which leads the league, and he\u2019s gotten there by allowing one run in 37 2\/3 innings. His adjusted ERA (ERA+) is 1,836, which means he\u2019s been 1,736 percent better than the average pitcher at preventing runs this season. Seems low. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 12-17
Last Power Ranking: 20<\/p>\n

Strikeout leader: Trevor Story (37)<\/p>\n

The Red Sox have only two lineup regulars \u2014 Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu \u2014 who got through the weekend with an OPS higher than .753. They have only one starting pitcher \u2014 rookie Connelly Early \u2014 who started the week with an ERA below 4.00. Roman Anthony has gotten on base but not hit for power, third base acquisition Caleb Durbin is hitting below .200, and veteran shortstop Story has one of the highest strikeout rates (and lowest fWARs) in baseball. It\u2019s a bad mix that most recently left manager Alex Cora and much of his coaching staff without a job.\u00a0\u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 15-13
Last Power Ranking: 22<\/p>\n

Appearances leader: Justin Bruihl (15 games pitched)<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not going to besmirch Bruihl, who is from Petaluma, Calif., and gives me an excuse to leave gratuitous links to Peanuts cartoons<\/a>, but it\u2019s not great for the Cardinals that he\u2019s leading the National League in appearances. He has a walk rate of 6.3 per nine innings pitched, and he has a strikeout rate of 3.8 per nine innings pitched. They\u2019re not even decent ratios if you flip them.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also been unscored upon over his last five appearances, so maybe the Cardinals know what they\u2019re doing, after all. They\u2019re over .500, even if they\u2019ve been outscored on the season, and JJ Wetherholt is turning into a star. Right now, everything\u2019s coming up Fredbird<\/a>, at least relative to preseason expectations. Let Bruihl keep his scoreless streak going. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 13-15
Last Power Ranking: T-27<\/p>\n

OAA to 2B\u2019s left\/OAA to 2B\u2019s right: Luis Arraez (2 OAA in each direction)<\/p>\n

Baseball loves to throw nonsense at you. Always has. It loves to concuss you when it throws the nonsense, too. Then, after the symptoms subside, you find yourself used to the strangest things, like \u201cRick Ankiel is an outfielder now\u201d or \u201cJuan Marichal was on the Dodgers,\u201d as if they weren\u2019t ideas put in your head by force.<\/p>\n

Anyway, Arraez is currently one of the better defenders in baseball, according to Outs Above Average. It\u2019s not just a fluke, either, as he\u2019s also passing the eyeball test, looking fluid and sharp on both routine plays and tricky double plays alike. I\u2019m not sure if there\u2019s a movement to get Ron Washington in the Hall of Fame yet, but maybe there should be. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 9-19
Last Power Ranking: 19<\/p>\n

Earned runs: Taijuan Walker (23)<\/p>\n

When the Phillies released Walker last week, he led the majors in earned runs (and he had the highest ERA among pitchers with at least 20 innings). So, is that going to solve the Phillies\u2019 pitching problems? No, because Aaron Nola and Jes\u00fas Luzardo are also top 10 in earned runs (21 apiece), and the staff as a whole ranks 28th in the majors in ERA.<\/p>\n

That would be problem enough for the Phillies, but their lineup \u2014 outside of Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh \u2014 is also radically underperforming expectations. Alec Bohm has the lowest wRC+ in the majors among qualified hitters (16), but Bryson Stott has also been stunningly unproductive (four runs, four RBIs, 51 wRC+). If only Cristopher S\u00e1nchez could pitch every day. \u00a0\u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 11-17
Last Power Ranking: T-27<\/p>\n

Home runs allowed leader: Cole Ragans (7)<\/p>\n

I tried to find relevant team leaders who were doing good things, but it\u2019s pretty concerning that Ragans has been allowing 2.3 HR\/9 for the Royals this year. Remember: He finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2024, looking like the trade-steal of the decade after Kansas City acquired him from Texas for Aroldis Chapman in 2023.<\/p>\n

But the southpaw was limited to 13 starts last year, thanks to injuries (groin strain, rotator cuff strain). The hope was that he\u2019d be back to 100 percent and lead the Royals\u2019 rotation this year. Instead, he\u2019s 1-4 with an ERA of 5.00 and a FIP (6.05) and WHIP (1.481) that suggest it\u2019s not just bad luck. \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 13-16
Last Power Ranking: 24<\/p>\n

NL home run leader: James Wood (10)<\/p>\n

When he homered in three straight games last week, Wood became the third player to reach double-digit home runs this season. He came into this week as the NL leader in homers and walks (and strikeouts) while ranking second in runs and fifth in wRC+. He\u2019s great. CJ Abrams has also been good, and Foster Griffin looks like a nice find in the rotation. It\u2019s given the Nationals a good amount of high-end impact, but the rest of the team has been more or less what you\u2019d expect: some useful role players, but not nearly enough to keep them above .500. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 9-19
Last Power Ranking: 25<\/p>\n

Slugging percentage leader: Francisco Alvarez (.427)<\/p>\n

Among qualified hitters, Alvarez is the only Mets player who ranks in the top 130 in the majors in slugging percentage (and even he ranks outside of the top 70). Juan Soto would crack the top 100 if he had enough at-bats to qualify, but even he isn\u2019t crushing the ball. Alvarez and Soto are the only Mets hitters with more than 25 at-bats and an OPS+ above league average. The rest of the lineup has been a mess (Alvarez was their only hitter to enter this week with more than two home runs). The pitching has been middle-of-the-pack in ERA, with Nolan McLean looking like a legitimate ace, but the Mets\u2019 offense has the lowest wRC+ in the majors, which explains their rapid fall down our Power Rankings. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 11-18
Last Power Ranking: 26<\/p>\n

Everything leader: Yordan Alvarez<\/p>\n

As of Monday morning, Alvarez led all of baseball in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, total bases, hits and home runs. He leads only the American League in RBI, so there\u2019s still work for him to do.<\/p>\n

On Aug. 31 last season, an injury-compromised Alvarez was hitting .219\/.336\/.360, which looks more like middle-infielder numbers. Would he ever be the same again? The answer was hazy once upon a time. Now it looks like he\u2019ll resume his career as one of the best left-handed hitters of his generation. Sometimes it really is an injury that\u2019s the only problem with a player. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 13-16
Last Power Ranking: T-27<\/p>\n

Runs saved with ABS<\/a> leader: Hunter Goodman (2.3)<\/p>\n

One of the Rockies\u2019 best organizational developments continues to be Goodman, who was a first-time All-Star last year. He\u2019s putting up even stronger offensive and defensive numbers this year, but he\u2019s the team representative for a reason that\u2019s almost as impressive: He\u2019s saving more runs than any other catcher<\/a> with ABS reviews. He\u2019s called for 22 reviews, and he\u2019s won a strike in 17 of them. And according to FanGraphs, which keeps track of this stuff because of course it does, that\u2019s saved his pitchers about 2.3 runs.<\/p>\n

The dingers and plus defense might get him back to the All-Star Game, but the ABS challenges will be entertaining to watch. If it\u2019s a skill \u2014 a repeatable one that seems to follow players around, from season to season \u2014 it will change everything about how we evaluate catchers. Fingers crossed, sounds like fun. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 12-17
Last Power Ranking: 29<\/p>\n

Home run leader: Munetaka Murakami (11)
Strikeout leader: Munetaka Murakami (41)<\/p>\n

Before Murakami came stateside, his scouting report was, and I\u2019m paraphrasing here, \u201cHe\u2019s going to hit dingers and he\u2019s going to strike out.\u201d Well, he currently leads the AL in strikeouts and the whole dang sport in home runs. Good job, scouts. You nailed this one.<\/p>\n

With 11 home runs in 122 plate appearances, Murakami is on pace for (we can do that legitimately now, right? April\u2019s almost over? OK, I\u2019m just gonna go for it) \u2026 54 home runs. (Editor\u2019s note: Murakami hit home run No. 12 in Chicago\u2019s delayed nightcap.)<\/p>\n

The last member of the White Sox to hit over 50 home runs was \u2026 nobody. Albert Belle holds the franchise record, with 49 in 1998. While I was looking this up, I found a good trivia question: In 1993, Frank Thomas became the first member of the White Sox to hit more than 40 home runs in a season. Who held the record previously?<\/p>\n

(There\u2019s really no good place to hide the answer since we\u2019re at the bottom of this article, so here ya go: It was 37, set by Dick Allen in 1972 and later tied by Carlton Fisk in 1985.) \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every week,\u200b we\u200b ask a selected group of our baseball\u200b writers\u200b \u2014 local and national \u2014 to rank…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2317,4818,2111,371,374,479,2318,2319,2320,1230,372,373,2321,2322,2323,2324,2325,2326,363,1189,369,480,2240,2328,2329,481,99,1231,974,2330,364,2331],"class_list":{"0":"post-611102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-arizona-diamondbacks","9":"tag-athletics","10":"tag-atlanta-braves","11":"tag-baltimore-orioles","12":"tag-boston-red-sox","13":"tag-chicago-cubs","14":"tag-chicago-white-sox","15":"tag-cincinnati-reds","16":"tag-cleveland-guardians","17":"tag-colorado-rockies","18":"tag-detroit-tigers","19":"tag-houston-astros","20":"tag-kansas-city-royals","21":"tag-los-angeles-angels","22":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","23":"tag-miami-marlins","24":"tag-milwaukee-brewers","25":"tag-minnesota-twins","26":"tag-mlb","27":"tag-new-york-mets","28":"tag-new-york-yankees","29":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","30":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates","31":"tag-san-diego-padres","32":"tag-san-francisco-giants","33":"tag-seattle-mariners","34":"tag-sports","35":"tag-st-louis-cardinals","36":"tag-tampa-bay-rays","37":"tag-texas-rangers","38":"tag-toronto-blue-jays","39":"tag-washington-nationals"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}