Remember when nobody wanted Munetaka Murakami?
The Japanese slugger was the most sought-after foreign free agent, then statistics came out that he couldn’t hit velocity, and he had to settle for a two-year, $34 million contract with the White Sox. Well, Murakami is proving just about everyone wrong, and currently is tied with Yordan Alvarez for the major league lead in homers with 11. Oh, and he’s batting .273 with seven homers against fastballs.
It’s fun to highlight White Sox players, because they’ve often been at the bottom of these lists. Might as well mention Everson Pereira while we’re on the South Side too. The former Yankee prospect has a .908 OPS with a .357 OBP and three homers in 49 at-bats.
Other news around the league? The Phillies asked the Mets to politely hold their beer. Philadelphia enters Saturday on a 10-game losing streak, dropping to 8-18 on the season while being outscored 69-26 during the stretch. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber have played like MVPs, but the remainder of the lineup has come up short. The Cubs have also been a benefactor of the Mets and Phillies struggles, as eight of the 22 combined losses between the two NL East rivals have come at the hands of the Cubbies.
Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
1. Dodgers
Are the Dodgers mortal? It sure looks like it over their last seven games.
In the last seven games, LA has gone 2-7 against the likes of the Giants, Rockies, and Cubs. Only one of the loses came against Chicago, with the meat of the stretch coming against two lesser rivals.
There’s still no reason to drop the Dodgers or panic. The club got an excellent performance Thursday from Tyler Glasnow, who punched out nine Giants over eight scoreless innings. The real culprit for their poor stretch is their lack of offense. The club has scored only eight runs over their last four games. Andy Pages has considerably cooled off during this seven-game blip, slashing just .120/.185/.160.
2. Braves
Atlanta is building its case as a World Series contender for 2026.
Did they have the talent to do it? Yeah, obviously. But injuries and underperformance has kept this club from Dodger-level good since 2023. Fast forward to now, and the Braves have built themselves a comfortable lead in the NL East before May.
They’re 9-1 in their last 10 games, which includes four wins over the floundering Phillies. Matt Olson has been the sparkplug for this offseason, and has seven homers, a .944 OPS, and a major league leading 11 doubles in 27 games. Then of course is the pitching, which continues to limit runs and enters Saturday tied for first in the majors in ERA (3.11). Oh, and here’s your weekly reminder that this is all without Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach.
3. Yankees
There was a reason I didn’t drop the Yankees too far last week. They have the talent, and will be OK.
Well since that decision, the Yanks have rattled off a seven-game winning streak, including a three-game sweep of the Red Sox in Boston.
So how have the Yankees dominated this past week. Easy. Pitching and Ben Rice. The lefty slugger from Massachusetts homered in four consecutive games dating back to last week, and has also slugged five homers in last eight games. I’m not joking, if the season ended today, Rice would be the American League MVP. He’s slashing .316/.450/.747 with nine homers and 20 RBIs. Rice is also second in the majors in slugging, OBP, OPS, fourth in homers, and 14th in batting average.
Then there’s the starting rotation. It dominated in Boston. Luis Gil pitched 6 1/3 scoreless Wednesday, Max Fried pitched eight scoreless innings with nine strikeouts Thursday, and Cam Schlittler allowed one run over eight innings Saturday. Entering Saturday, the Yankees are tied for the lead in ERA (3.11) in MLB.
4. Cubs
The Cubs might be ranked fourth, but they’re playing like the best team in baseball right now.
Chicago has ripped off a 10-game win streak, catapulting them to the top of the NL Central. Sure, nine of those ten wins have come against the Mets and Phillies, but it’s still a massive accomplishment. They even backed up the performance with a comeback win over the Dodgers Friday night, which saw Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson club later homers to win 6-4.
During this stretch the offense has been torrential. They’re averaging 7.2 runs per game, and producing despite Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch being invisible. The rotation has also held up during this streak. Edward Cabrera and Shota Imanaga continue to shove and have ERAs under three, plus Javier Assad has looked good in his last two outings, allowing just one run in 6 2/3 combined innings.
5. Pirates
Did everyone see that Oneil Cruz homer off the top of the foul pole in Texas? If not, I give you permission to leave this article.
Seriously though, it’s could finally be the Cruz breakout season that fantasy experts have been waiting for. The lefty is slashing .271/.333/.542 with eight homers and five doubles. The slugging number in that slashline is the most important. The power was always going to be there for the 6’7 Cruz, the question was if he could translate it into in-game power. There were glimpses of it in 2024 when Cruz slugged .449, but April has been promising for the potential breakout candidate.
Of course there’s also the pitching. It’s the backbone of this team. It’s shockingly registered the third-lowest ERA (3.32) in the majors, and has led the Pirates to a 15-11 record and +26 run differential. There’s obviously the big names like Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller, but a breakout arm in the rotation has been Braxton Ashcraft. The 26-year-old has pitched to a 2.43 ERA in five starts, and is striking out 9.7 batters per nine.
6. Padres
San Diego was one of baseball’s hottest teams last week.
They swept a four-game series on the road against the Rockies, came home to sweep the Mariners to claim Eddie Vedder, then traveled to Anaheim to take a three-game series against the Angels.
Overall, the stretch saw the Padres go 9-1 in 10 games. Then earlier this week they won two of three against the Rockies at home. This run of course is aided by timely hitting and one of the best bullpens the sport has ever seen. Mason Miller is working on a 12 1/3 scoreless streak this season, and a 33 2/3 consecutive scoreless streak dating back to August 6 of last season. Another name everyone should learn is Bradgley Rodriguez. The righty has a 0.73 ERA in 12 1/3 innings and wears glasses. The latter makes him cool.
7. Rangers
Texas has been steady this season. They’re 13-13, have a +8 run differential, and are second in a weak AL West.
So why are they so high on this list? Well, the pitching has been elite. Coming into Saturday, they have the eighth-lowest ERA in the majors (3.86), propped up by a vintage Jacob deGrom (2.13 ERA) and young Kumar Rocker (3.48 ERA).
The offense has been middling, and took a hit two days ago when the Rangers placed Wyatt Langford on the 10-day IL with a flexor strain. At least Josh Jung seems to have found his stroke. The third baseman, who was a crucial piece for Texas during their 2023 World Series run, has an .877 OPS through 23 games.
8. Diamondbacks
The Snakes have jumped out to a 14-11 start. And it’s because of their… pitching?
Yeah, the rotation has held up a slow offensive start for the D-backs. Through their first five starts in the rotation, Eduardo Rodríguez has a 2.89 ERA, Michael Soroka has a 2.60 ERA, and Zac Gallen has a 3.51 ERA.
Yet, despite these stellar performances, the Diamondbacks have the 20th-lowest ERA in the majors. And outside Corbin Carroll, Ildemaro Vargas, and Geraldo Perdomo, the entire D-backs lineup is flopping around. In fact most of them have OPS+’s under 100. Still, there’s hope for many D-backs hitters to bounce back and power this team toward a wild-card spot. Especially Ketel Marte, who has a .694 OPS through his first 24 games.
9. Brewers
Brandon Woodruff this. Jacob Misiorowski that. How about Chad Patrick?
The 27-year-old has a 2.35 ERA in 23 innings, and leads a strong rotation in ERA. The aforementioned two starters have also been great. Woodruff has a 3.77 ERA in his comeback year, and Misiorowski leads starters with a 14.2 K/9 and has a 3.04 ERA.
Outside the pitching, the offense has mustered enough runs. Brice Turang has a .900 OPS entering Saturday and Garrett Mitchell has put up a more than respectable .804. Just imagine what the lineup will look like when Christian Yelich returns from the 10-day IL.
10. Twins
Well, the Twins have lost six of their last seven. That’s what I get for slotting them at five last week.
They got swept by the Reds, dropped a series to the Mets, and lost Friday 6-2 to the Rays. So why are they still here?
The lineup is strong, especially when this healthy. We always talk about Royce Lewis and his potential, Byron Buxton as a superstar when on the field, but let’s give some flowers to Ryan Jeffers. The catcher is one of the most underrated catchers in baseball, and has a .889 OPS entering Saturday. He’s had an OPS+ above 100 dating back to 2023, and hit a clutch grand slam Thursday in a loss to the Mets.
The major question mark will be the rotation. Joe Ryan allowed seven earned runs Thrusday to the Mets, but is usually among the best in the AL. Mick Abel is on the IL right now, but when he was pitching, he was striking out 10.2 batters per nine to go with his 3.98 ERA.
Rest of the Field
11. Marlins
12. Tigers
13. Orioles
14. Guardians
15. Reds
16. Mets
17. Rays
18. Phillies
19. Mariners
20. Athletics
21. Angels
22. Astros
23. Cardinals
24. Blue Jays
25. Giants
26. Red Sox
27. Royals
28. Nationals
29. Rockies
30. White Sox
Previous Rankings: W3 | W2 | W1 | OD
