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It feels as if we’ve only just begun our trek down the winding road of the 2022 season, and yet the calendar has already flipped to May. Some teams have rode the power rankings like a roller coaster, shooting up and down as their weekly performances hover around the extremes. The more information we have to judge, the more these will stabilize. In the meantime, be sure to save the receipts from the first few weeks to bring up later in the year to show us how off-base we were.
If there’s one cause to hitch your wagon too, though, it’s this: the Reds are probably going to get quite comfortable in the cellar for the foreseeable future.
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30. Cincinnati Reds (Last Week: 30)
What can you say about this start from Cincinnati? The Reds were outscored 48–24 in a winless week against the Padres and Rockies. They’re last in the majors in ERA (6.19), last in wRC+ (67) and second to last in runs scored (67). Perhaps the less said, the better.
29. Washington Nationals (LW: 29)
It was another ho-hum productive week at the plate for Juan Soto, who reached base multiple times in four out of six games and somehow made contact on this pitch despite Washington managing just two wins last week. Rookie Josiah Gray turned in a strong start in Sunday’s win against the Giants, though, allowing just one hit in six shutout innings.
28. Baltimore Orioles (LW: 27)
Taking two out of three against the Red Sox undoubtedly helped take the sting out of losing four straight to the Yankees. The Orioles have not won more than two games in a row this season, though the bullpen hasn’t been to blame. Baltimore relief pitchers rank second in the majors in fWAR (1.4) and seventh in xFIP (3.42). If that production keeps up for the next couple months, the team should have some trade chips to cash in at the deadline in what’s setting up to be yet another rebuilding season.
27. Kansas City Royals (LW: 25)
The Kansas City lineup has yet to wake up, as basically every hitter not named Andrew Benintendi remains in a season-long slump. The Royals rank dead last in the majors in runs scored (62) and have the lowest slugging percentage (.316) in the American League.
26. Pittsburgh Pirates (LW: 26)
Only the starting rotations of the Nationals (6.04) and Reds (8.03, incredibly) have worse ERAs than Pittsburgh. Pirates starters have logged a collective 5.86 ERA through their first 22 games. Surprisingly, José Quintana‘s sub-4 ERA is the best of the group after bouncing back nicely from posting a 6.43 ERA with the Angels and Giants last season.
25. Detroit Tigers (LW: 23)
Detroit's rough week can be best summed up by Tuesday’s walk-off loss to the Twins that would make the Bad News Bears blush. I could rehash what happened, or I could point you to Will Laws’s breakdown of how the play quickly devolved into chaotic bliss here.
24. Arizona Diamondbacks (LW: 28)
A late blown lead on Sunday against the Cardinals was a damper of an ending to what was an otherwise encouraging week for the snakes. Right-hander Merrill Kelly has been outstanding through four starts, allowing just four runs and no homers with 26 strikeouts. Arizona’s rotation ranks second in the majors with a 2.60 ERA.
23. Texas Rangers (LW: 24)
We were extremely skeptical of the Rangers’ starting rotation coming into the season. One month in, and the outlook remains dubious. The group ranks 26th in the majors with a 5.03 ERA, allowing a league-worst 1.45 home runs per nine innings.
22. Chicago Cubs (LW: 20)
More than 21% of Chicago’s run production this season came in the team’s 21–0 win over the Pirates on April 23. Since then, the Cubs have managed just 15 runs in seven games, going 2–5 in that span.
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21. Oakland A’s (LW: 22)
Since debuting with the A’s in 2017, Paul Blackburn had posted a 5.74 ERA across 138 innings entering this season, hardly proving himself worthy of a big-league rotation spot. But he’s been lights out through four starts in 2022, going 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA and a 1.55 FIP. Blackburn doesn’t light up the radar gun, but he pounds the strike zone and his sinker helps him generate a ton of ground balls.
20. Cleveland Guardians (LW: 17)
Through the first month of the season, the Guardians have proven themselves against bad teams, yet have been unable to step up when the competition improves. Cleveland is 0–10 against teams .500 or better, going a combined 0–7 against the Yankees and Angels over the last two weeks. The team is 9–2 against clubs with losing records, though, and fittingly swept the A’s over the weekend.
19. Chicago White Sox (LW: 13)
One of the best offenses in baseball a year ago, the White Sox lineup remains in a rut. The team ranks 27th in the majors in runs scored (69), last in on-base percentage (.271) and last in walk rate (5.9%).
18. Boston Red Sox (LW: 16)
The Red Sox rotation didn’t look up to par heading into the season but has actually held up well through the first month. It’s the offense that’s been wayward: Boston hitters have posted a collective 79 wRC+, worst in the AL.
17. Colorado Rockies (LW: 18)
When playing at the friendly confines of Coors Field, C.J. Cron remains maybe the best hitter in the history of baseball. That may be a slight exaggeration, but the 32-year-old continues to be a menace at home. He hit his NL-leading eighth home run of the season Sunday and is hitting .340/.393/.679 in Denver this season compared to just .200/.222/.486 on the road.
16. Atlanta Braves (LW: 14)
The defending champs continue the search to find their rhythm in the early goings after dropping two out of three to the lowly Rangers over the weekend. Atlanta’s pitching staff has the third-largest difference between its ERA (4.28) and FIP (3.57) in the majors, so perhaps some positive regression in the run prevention department is on the way. Matt Olson’s bat has cooled off after a blistering start, with the first baseman managing just six hits in 49 plate appearances over his past 11 games.
15. Philadelphia Phillies (LW: 19)
Seven of Kyle Schwarber’s 15 hits this season have gone for home runs, and three have been doubles. That’s how you get a ludicrously funny slash line of .200/.318/.520 through 21 games.
14. Miami Marlins (LW: 21)
The Marlins have won three straight series as their pitching staff has begun to heat up. Miami has allowed just 3.5 runs per game the past two weeks. Right-hander Pablo López has given up just one run all season, with 23 strikeouts and only four walks across 23 1/3 innings.
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13. Houston Astros (LW: 10)
As the Astros continue their up-and-down start, Justin Verlander has quickly returned to his status as the staff ace. Coming off of Tommy John surgery, the 39-year-old has allowed just five runs through four starts, with 28 strikeouts over 26 innings. He threw a season-high 91 pitches in his last outing, completing at least six innings in each of his last three starts.
12. Minnesota Twins (LW: 15)
With the rest of the AL Central stumbling along, the Twins have taken early control. The rotation is a key reason why: Minnesota starters have a combined 2.62 ERA, fourth-best in the majors, as a previously unheralded group of Dylan Bundy, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Chris Archer have performed well through the first month.
11. St. Louis Cardinals (LW: 6)
The Cardinals have lost just one of their first seven series to begin the season and have a 12–9 record despite not winning more than two games in a row. Nolan Arenado gets a lot of attention for his hot start (and rightfully so), but Tommy Edman has been excellent as well. The leadoff hitter reached base two more times Sunday before leaving with a sore hip flexor, but the injury is not expected to be serious.
10. Seattle Mariners (LW: 9)
If there’s any reason to believe Seattle can replicate—and even exceed—last season’s success, it’s the hot start by the offense. The Mariners had the worst batting average (.226) and ranked 22nd in runs scored last season. So far, the Seattle offense ranks third in the majors in wRC+ (122) and third in the AL in runs scored (102). If Julio Rodríguez can hit more missiles like this, the production will only get even better.
9. Tampa Bay Rays (LW: 8)
For a team that uses openers and bullpen games more than any other, having your traditional starting pitchers deliver when their turn comes carries even more importance. That makes the starts from Shane McClanahan, Corey Kluber and Drew Rasmussen critical to Tampa Bay’s success. McClanahan in particular has shined, with 42 strikeouts in 27 innings.
8. Milwaukee Brewers (LW: 12)
Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak came to an end against the Cubs on Sunday, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying on the part of Corbin Burnes. The reigning Cy Young Award winner struck out 10 over seven innings—his latest gem to start a season—but took a tough-luck loss. Through five outings, Burnes has 43 strikeouts and a 1.93 ERA.
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7. Los Angeles Angels (LW: 11)
New leadoff hitter Taylor Ward has been a revelation atop the Angels lineup, posting a .507 on-base percentage through his first 67 plate appearances. He’s just one of many hot bats in the league’s highest-scoring offense, but it’s the starting rotation—which owns a 3.53 ERA—that has the Angels in first place at the start of May for the first time in Mike Trout’s career.
6. San Diego Padres (LW: 7)
The Padres have fattened up on a soft schedule to date, going 13–4 against teams with losing records. They’ve faced winning teams just six times so far, and the road doesn’t get much tougher over the next couple of weeks.
5. Toronto Blue Jays (LW: 4)
Toronto’s Pythagorean record lags behind their actual mark, but they remain this high in the rankings because they have yet to lose a series. Kevin Gausman has lived up to his high price tag, while fellow starters Alek Manoah, Ross Stripling and José Berríos have performed well to this point, too.
4. San Francisco Giants (LW: 3)
It turns out the only team that can slow down the Giants is … the Nationals? San Francisco dropped two of three at home to Washington but remains right on the heels of the Dodgers and Padres in the NL West. One of the strengths of the team so far has been the bullpen, which leads the NL with a 2.59 ERA.
3. New York Yankees (LW: 5)
The Yankees haven’t exactly gone through a murderer’s row during their nine-game winning streak, but you can only play who’s on the schedule. New York’s bullpen ERA (2.58) ranks second in the AL, and their starters rank second as well (2.83). That’s plenty of run prevention to support a lineup this loaded, especially if Anthony Rizzo comes close to maintaining this white-hot pace.
2. New York Mets (LW: 2)
After 2021’s Year of the No-Hitter, the Mets got it going in 2022 with a combined no-no on Friday that featured five pitchers, and six walks and sparked plenty of online discourse about whether combined no-hitters are worth celebrating. No matter which side of the (increasingly inane) debate you fall on, the Mets are rolling and undoubtedly lowering the guards of fans in Queens and beyond who are ready to be hurt again.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (LW: 1)
For the first time this season, the two-person brain trust behind these power rankings was split on which club deserved the top spot more. In the end, the Dodgers edged out the Mets, largely because it somehow feels like Los Angeles is far from reaching its highest potential. The bet here is that it’s only a matter of time before baseball’s best roster starts ripping off wins and separating itself from the pack.
