Now approaching the quarter-mark of the season, the Phillies and Orioles hold the two best records in baseball — while teams like the Astros and Diamondbacks are off to surprisingly poor starts. Let’s see how all 30 teams stack up.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (24-13)
This Week: vs. Miami, @ San Diego
The Dodgers have won 12 of their last 14 games. They have two legitimate MVP candidates including the hottest hitter in baseball, Shohei Ohtani. Since his disastrous debut, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a 1.64 ERA. They just swept their biggest rival in the National League, outscoring the Braves 20-6 in a three-game set. Oh, and they just added two-time All-Star Walker Buehler back into the rotation. This team is a wagon.
2. Philadelphia Phillies (25-11)
This Week: vs. Toronto, @ Miami
The first-place Phillies have won six in a row and now boast the best record in baseball. Philadelphia swept the Giants in four games with a convincing win on Monday to close the series. Zack Wheeler was excellent against San Francisco – 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 11 SO – as both Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper chipped in home runs. The only bad news stemming from the Phillies right now is the health of starting shortstop Trea Turner. Turner was placed on the IL over the weekend with a hamstring injury and is expected to miss the next six weeks.
3. Baltimore Orioles (23-11)
This Week: @ Washington, vs. Arizona
The O’s landed the first haymaker in the season series versus the rival Yankees, winning three-of-four in Camden Yards over the Bronx Bombers. Baltimore’s staff – led by Grayson Rodriguez – shut out the star-studded Yankees in the first game of the set. Thursday saw the return of starter Kyle Bradish – 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 SO – as Ryan Mountcastle and Jorge Mateo went yard in the 7-2 victory. Their next series was a sweep of the Reds in Cincinnati – capped off with an 11-1 win on Sunday. The O’s have scored more runs (180) than any team in the American League.
4. Atlanta Braves (20-12)
This Week: vs. Boston, @ New York Mets
It’s been a brutal stretch for the perennial National League powerhouse. Losers of six of their last eight games, the Braves aren’t playing their best ball as of late. Getting swept by the Dodgers was a brutal outcome. After two strong starts to begin the year, Bryce Elder got knocked around badly by the Los Angeles lineup – 3.1 IP, 7 ER, 3 HR. Atlanta is now five games behind Philadelphia in the win column.
5. New York Yankees (23-13)
This Week: vs. Houston, @ Tampa Bay
New York’s bats just couldn’t get it going at Camden Yards. The Yankees got shutout in Game 1 and scored just two runs in each of the last three games. That occurred directly after New York scored 15 runs in each of their final two games against Milwaukee in the previous series. Aaron Judge struggled mightily against the O’s, finishing the series 1-for-13 at the dish. He bounced back nicely over the weekend in Detroit, collecting five hits in the three-game set including a home run in Sunday’s finale.
6. Cleveland Guardians (23-12)
This Week: vs. Detroit, @ Chicago White Sox
Atop the American League Central are the Cleveland Guardians who have been the most consistent team throughout the early season. Last week’s scheduling did them no favors. The Guardians had to travel to Atlanta to take on the Braves before going to Houston to face off with the Astros. A 2-4 record in those games wasn’t the worst possible outcome. After defeating Detroit on Monday, the Guardians have now won three in a row – and held their opponents to just one run in each of those contests. Triston McKenzie was lights out against the Tigers – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 SO – and has a 2.57 ERA over his last four starts.
7. Chicago Cubs (21-15)
This Week: vs. San Diego, @ Pittsburgh
Chicago’s pitching staff could carry the team to a division title. Shota Imanaga continued his dominant run, pouring in another excellent performance last Wednesday in a 1-0 win over the Mets — 7.0 IP, 3 H, 7 SO. Javier Assad (1.66 ERA) and Jameson Taillon (1.13) have been great thus far. 2023 All-Star Justin Steele returned to the mound for the first time since Opening Day tossing 4.2 IP of shutout baseball. They’re currently tied atop the NL Central with the Brewers, but would likely be a few games ahead if it weren’t for closer Adbert Alzolay blowing five saves already. Upgrading that role could be a point of emphasis for the Cubs as we approach the trade deadline.
8. Milwaukee Brewers (20-14)
This Week: @ Kansas City, vs. St. Louis
Losers of three in a row, the Brewers have to pick it up in a hurry. The Cubs made up ground by taking two-of-three over the Brew Crew in Chicago over the weekend. Then, the Brewers lost Monday’s opener versus the Royals. Some good news for Brewers fans: Christian Yelich took part in batting practice over the weekend. His return to the lineup is imminent. Milwaukee boasts one of the league’s most potent offenses when Yelich is available.
9. Seattle Mariners (19-16)
This Week: @ Minnesota, vs. Oakland
Are the Mariners turning the corner? After an uninspiring 12-12 start, Seattle went 7-3 over a two-week stretch that included series wins over the last four teams to reach the World Series — Rangers, Diamondbacks, Braves, and Astros. The wins over the division rivals both came on the road in Texas. After dropping Game 1 in Houston on Friday, Seattle rallied to take two in a row to clinch the series. Sunday’s win saw Cal Raleigh hit his 8th HR of the season off of prized reliever Josh Hader.
10. Texas Rangers (20-16)
This Week: @ Oakland, @ Colorado
Texas’ offense seems to be picking up steam as of late. Saturday’s win over Kansas City was perhaps their most impressive performance of the year. The Rangers scored 15 runs against a team that has boasted one of the better pitching staffs in baseball this year. Nathaniel Lowe went 4-for-6 on the day and has a .309 AVG on the year. Monday’s win over Oakland saw Corey Seager hit his third HR of the year. If Seager starts to heat up, the Rangers will begin stacking up wins.
11. Minnesota Twins (20-14)
This Week: vs. Seattle, @ Toronto
The Twins have been one of the hottest teams in baseball over the last month, making the AL Central race that much more interesting. Minnesota is 13-1 over its last 14 games and has been putting together complete performances on both sides of the diamond. The run coincided with the return of outfielder Max Kepler, who has been tearing the cover off the baseball since he came back (.439 AVG, 1.218 OPS over the last 13 games).
12. Kansas City Royals (21-15)
This Week: vs. Milwaukee, @ Los Angeles Angels
Kansas City continues to smash expectations, currently tied in second place for the AL Central with the Twins. And, it’s not like they’re just squeaking by in a lot of these games. The Royals boast the best run differential in the division and have had some dominant wins along the way. That includes a three-game stretch last week in which they beat the Blue Jays (twice) and Rangers (once) by a score of 17-3. The ageless wonder Salvador Perez smashed his 8th HR of the year in the win over Texas.
13. Detroit Tigers (18-17)
This Week: @ Cleveland, vs. Houston
Detroit had a rough weekend in New York. For one, the team unveiled hideous-looking City Connect jerseys which left many fans disappointed. On the field, the Tigers were smacked around by the hosting Yankees in the three-game set — scoring just six runs total in a losing sweep. On Monday, the Tigers dropped the first game of the season series against the Guardians. Former No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson is yet to homer this year and boasts a .217 AVG through 33 games.
14. Boston Red Sox (19-16)
This Week: @ Atlanta, vs. Washington
Boston finds itself smack-dab in the middle of the AL East. They’ve been far more consistent than the Rays and Blue Jays, but don’t have the overall talent to truly contend with the Orioles or Yankees. It’s a rough spot to be in, but an underdog role has always suited the Red Sox. After starting excellent on the road (10-3), Boston has dropped each of its last two road series — including last weekend’s tussle with the Twins.
15. Washington Nationals (17-17)
This Week: vs. Baltimore, @ Boston
At .500 through 34 games, the Nationals are already smashing expectations. It’s been a fun ride for a team that many expected to be among the worst in the league. The Nats provided plenty of excitement for the home fans over the weekend, hanging up a total of 20 runs in two wins over the Blue Jays. CJ Abrams has slowed down just a bit, but 23-year-old second baseman Luis García Jr. has picked up the slack. The former top prospect went 7-for-9 with 2 HR, and 8 RBI in the three-game set versus Toronto.
16. San Diego Padres (19-19)
This Week: @ Chicago Cubs, vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego may just be .500, but it made an early splash last week. To the surprise of many, due to the timing, the Padres acquired Luis Arráez from the Miami Marlins in exchange for three prospects and a minor league reliever. Arráez has won the Batting Title two years in a row and will now look to win his third in a row with a third team — 2022 with the Twins, 2023 with the Marlins. Arráez hits for a high average but he won’t impact the team with his power or defense. He is a good player, but it remains to be seen how much of an impact he will have on San Diego’s hopes of returning to the postseason.
17. Cincinnati Reds (16-18)
This Week: vs. Arizona, @ San Francisco
Cincinnati is currently mired in a poor stretch of play. The Reds are 2-8 over their last 10 and are riding a five-game losing streak entering Tuesday’s matchup with the Diamondbacks. Last week began with a 5-2 win in San Diego, but the Reds proceeded to score a total of eight runs over the next five games — two losses to the Padres and a sweep at home against Baltimore. Cincinnati’s offense has struggled for much of the year and is now hitting .210 collectively. It’s early, but the Reds will not win the National League Central if they continue to struggle at the dish to this extent.
18. Tampa Bay Rays (18-18)
This Week: vs. Chicago White Sox, vs. New York Yankees
The Rays may wear their new City Connect uniform for the rest of the season — and we wouldn’t complain. Tampa Bay debuted its CC uniform last Friday in Game 1 of its series with the New York Mets and it has gone 4-0 since then. The Rays have worn the awesome uniform in all four games and they’ve already stated they plan on wearing it until they lose a game. In the sweep over the Mets, Tampa scored 20 runs — this came on the heels of scoring four runs over three games in Milwaukee. On Monday, the Rays began their series with the White Sox with an 8-2 win.
19. Arizona Diamondbacks (15-20)
This Week: @ Cincinnati, @ Baltimore
Although we are only one week into May, the Diamondbacks may be seeing their dreams of winning the National League West slipping away. Entering Tuesday, Arizona finds itself 8.0 GB of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the West. The D-Backs had an opportunity to cut into the deficit last week, but they dropped two-of-three at home to the high-powered Dodgers. To secure their only win, the D-Backs tied the game in the 8th inning and won in the bottom of the 10th on a two-run walk-off HR. The weekend wasn’t any kinder to the team, either. After being outscored 16-4 in the two losses to LA, Arizona was outscored 20-2 in its two losses to the Padres. The D-Backs avoided the sweep by winning the finale 11-4, but it was a bad week overall.
20. Oakland Athletics (17-19)
This Week: vs. Texas, @ Seattle
The Oakland Athletics are four games ahead of the Houston Astros. It remains hard to believe even as we near 25-percent of the season being completed. On the heels of winning a series in Baltimore, the A’s returned to Oakland and won the first five games of their homestand. Oakland swept the Pirates behind a strong performance from its pitching staff. In three wins, Oakland’s staff allowed three total runs. Then, the A’s welcomed Miami to town and won two-of-three. In Game 2, Oakland won 20-4. The club has lost two in a row, but it has a chance to make a statement this week as it takes on the two teams currently at the top of the AL West.
21. Toronto Blue Jays (16-19)
This Week: @ Philadelphia, vs. Minnesota
The Blue Jays have lost four series in a row. Toronto has lost two series to Kansas City over the past two weeks — 2-5 overall — and has also dropped series to the Dodgers and Nationals, respectively. Last week, the Jays went 1-2 at home against the Royals and lost two-of-three in Washington. Alek Manoah’s return to the rotation didn’t go well. On Sunday, Manoah surrendered six runs and walked four batters in 4.0 IP. The Jays are hovering near .500 despite their best players’ continued struggles. Bo Bichette (.195 BA), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.373 SLG), and George Springer (.205 BA) need to start producing.
22. New York Mets (17-18)
This Week: @ St. Louis, vs. Atlanta
The Mets played seven competitive games last week — that’s the encouraging news. The bad news, New York went 2-5. New York began its week by hosting the Chicago Cubs for four games. The teams split the first two games, with each win coming by two runs. Game 3 was a 1-0 Cubs victory and the Mets won Game 4, 7-6, in 11 innings. Following the split, the Mets traveled to Florida and were swept by the Rays. New York lost the first two games of the series by two runs apiece and then failed to protect a lead in the 9th and 10th innings to fall for a third time. The string of close games continued on Monday as the Mets pulled out a 4-3 win in St. Louis.
23. San Francisco Giants (15-21)
This Week: @ Colorado, vs. Cincinnati
Things have not gone as planned for Bob Melvin’s team so far. Entering Tuesday, the Giants sit in fourth place in the National League West and are 8.5 GB of the rival Dodgers for the division lead. San Francisco’s starting catcher (Patrick Bailey) and backup (Tom Murphy) are both on the IL. Blake Snell is also on the IL — and he was not good before going down with an injury. Across three starts, Snell allowed 15 runs in 11.2 IP. The Giants went 1-6 last week — ending the week with a four-game sweep in Philadelphia.
24. Pittsburgh Pirates (17-19)
This Week: vs. Los Angeles Angels, vs. Chicago Cubs
Pittsburgh enjoyed its first decent week in quite some time. After an 11-5 start to the year, Pittsburgh found itself at 14-15 entering last week. An ugly three-game sweep in which the Buccos scored three runs dropped the team four games below .500 and a Game 1 loss to Colorado dropped them further into the depths. However, the Pirates rallied to win the last two games of the series to claim their first series win since the first week of April. After a Game 1 victory over the Angels, the Pirates can make it two in a row.
25. St. Louis Cardinals (15-20)
This Week: vs. New York Mets, @ Milwaukee
A horrendous called third strike ended St. Louis’ chance at winning a game last week, but that doesn’t make it any less pathetic that the team dropped a series — at home — to the White Sox. Before losing at home to the Sox, the Cardinals lost two-of-three in Detroit. A 3-0 win in the opener of Chicago appeared to be a sign of things to come…until it wasn’t. The Cards dropped Game 2 in extras (third strike) and lost the finale 5-1. On Monday, St. Louis lost its third game in a row. After finishing the series with the Mets, the Cards will head to Milwaukee.
26. Houston Astros (12-22)
This Week: @ New York Yankees, @ Detroit
Houston capitalized on some fortuitous scheduling — playing the lowly Rockies in hitter-friendly Mexico City — and continued to hit upon arriving back in Houston. Following the two-game sweep over Colorado, the ‘Stros welcomed Cleveland to town. In a 10-inning win, Houston scored 10 runs. A 3-2 loss in 10 innings the next night was followed by an 8-2 win in the finale. The club extended its hot streak to five wins in six games with a 5-3 win over Seattle on Friday. However, the Mariners responded by winning the final two games of the series. Now, Houston sits 7.0 GB of Texas in the AL West.
27. Los Angeles Angels (12-23)
This Week: @ Pittsburgh, vs. Kansas City
The only team in a worse spot in the American League West than the Astros? The Los Angeles Angels. With Mike Trout out of the lineup, the Halos lost both of their series last week — and are now 3-14 over their last 17 games. Los Angeles won Game 1 of both series (vs. Phillies, @ Guardians) and lost the other four games. On Monday, the Halos lost their third game in a row. The team has been putrid offensively, having scored one run in each of their last four losses.
28. Miami Marlins (10-27)
This Week: @ Los Angeles Dodgers, vs. Philadelphia
Miami began its week by sweeping the Rockies — yay! — and finished the week as the first team to officially quit on the season. Only a few months removed from reaching the postseason, the Marlins traded Luis Arráez to San Diego for three prospects and a minor league reliever. Miami dropped its first two games without Arráez — including a 20-4 drubbing in Oakland. The team managed to avoid a sweep with a win in the finale, but lost Monday in Game 1 against the Dodgers. After facing the juggernaut, Miami returns home to face another elite team (Philadelphia).
29. Colorado Rockies (8-26)
This Week: vs. San Francisco, vs. Texas
The Rockies are one of three teams in baseball that are ready for the season to be over. 14.5 games out of first in the National League West, Colorado still hasn’t won a series in 2024. Colorado was swept by the equally pathetic Marlins — although two games were lost in 10 innings — and lost two-of-three in Pittsburgh over the weekend. Colorado opens up a six-game homestand Tuesday.
30. Chicago White Sox (8-27)
This Week: @ Tampa Bay, vs. Cleveland
Remarkably, Chicago has won two of its last three series…and still doesn’t have 10 wins on the season. The White Sox swept Tampa Bay two weekends ago, but four losses in a row immediately followed. The last of those losses came in Game 1 against the Cardinals. However, the Sox responded by winning the last two games of the series. Monday saw Tampa Bay hand the Sox an 8-2 loss. Another losing streak may be in the works.