MLB Power Rankings: Cam Schlittler showing Cy Young form for Yankees, White Sox aren’t going away

Featured in this week’s MLB Power Rankings, the Braves finally hit a speed bump, Braden Montgomery announces his arrival with authority, Geraldo Perdomo goes racing, and Yordan Álvarez continues to mash at a prodigious pace.

As a reminder, this article is a combination of current performance and long-term outlook.

Let’s get started!

Note: Rankings are from the morning of Monday, June 8

▶ Check out this week’s recommended fantasy streaming SPs from Eric Samulski!

1) Atlanta Braves

Last week: 1

After losing just two series in their first 20 this season, the Braves have now lost back-to-back series and four out of their last five games overall. Ronald Acuña Jr. is back on the IL with a hamstring injury and Spencer Strider is also sidelined again with an elbow injury that the pitcher said “doesn’t look great.” The Braves still have a very comfortable lead in the NL East, but three other teams in the division are over .500 and the Mets are clearly capable of better.

2) Los Angeles Dodgers

Last week: 2

One of these days, it’s going to happen. After losing a no-hitter on a Jackson Holliday homer in the ninth inning last year, Yoshinobu Yamamoto came oh-so-close again on Saturday against the White Sox. An error by Mookie Betts ended his perfect-game bid in the eight before Tristan Peters homered in the ninth to break up the no-hitter.

Yamamoto also fell one batter shy of tying the longest consecutive batters retired streak since the expansion era. Much like members of the 1972 Dolphins, I have to assume Yusmeiro Petit got out a bottle of champagne knowing that his record is safe for now.

3) Milwaukee Brewers

Last week: 3

Well, this is just getting ridiculous now. “The Miz” reached new levels of dominance in Friday’s start against the Phillies, as he spun a one-hitter with a career-high 15 strikeouts. Despite the high strikeout total, he still managed to throw a “Maddux,” which is a shutout with fewer than 100 pitches. Nobody has ever struck out more batters in a “Maddux” performance. Misiorowski faced the minimum in the game, as he gave up a leadoff single to Kyle Schwarber in the fourth before he was erased on a double-play grounder. Much like Yamamoto above, it feels like a no-hitter for Misiorowski is more of a “when” than an “if.”

4) New York Yankees

Last week: 4

Is this Starting Pitcher Week or what? I swear I didn’t do this on purpose, but it’s becoming abundantly clear that Cam Schlittler has the runway for the AL Cy Young Award. After saying that Blue Jays fans are “easy to rage-bait,” the 25-year-old fired seven innings of one-run ball on Saturday to lower his ERA to 1.82 for the year. Despite missing Aaron Judge, the Yankees have won six out of seven to climb to first place in the American League East.

5) Tampa Bay Rays

Last week: 5

The Rays swept the Red Sox before losing two out of three to the Angels over the weekend. It was nice to see three homers to salvage Sunday’s finale, but that’s a rare event for this team. The Rays are last in the majors with 57 homers this season. Can they maintain their early-season pace with this style of play?

6) St. Louis Cardinals

Last week: 6

We’ve given a ton of love to Jordan Walker in this column this season, but how about Alec Burleson? The 27-year-old recently homered in four straight games and added another on Sunday. He’s sporting a 14-game hitting streak and is just five RBI away from Walker and Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages for the NL lead. Burleson’s quality of contact has improved across the board, setting him up to easily surpass his career-high of 21 homers. The Cardinals clearly have the lineup to continue to surprise, but the big question is if their pitching can hold up.

7) Chicago White Sox ⬆️

Last week: 9

It’s a great time to be a White Sox fan. The club took two out of three from the Dodgers over the weekend and find themselves in first place for the first time since 2022. Moments like the one below from Braden Montgomery in his MLB debut make you start to believe that this is a charmed season.

8) Philadelphia Phillies

Last week: 8

What’s going on with Trea Turner? While the Phillies continue their slow climb back into playoff position, Turner is hitting just .172/.209/.264 over his last 21 games. The slow start is no fluke, as he’s striking out more than ever before while continuing a downward trend in quality of contact. He’s remained near the top of the lineup for Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly, but we could see some changes there soon. Some have even clamored for him to get benched as a mental reset. It feels like this week could be a tipping point.

9) Cleveland Guardians ⬇️

Last week: 7

If there’s a team who can’t afford to lose their star player, it’s the Guardians. We’re about to find out what this team is made of as they’ll be without José Ramírez for the next 4-6 weeks due to a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. He previously broke the hamate bone in his right hand in 2019, which is the only other time he’s ever been on the injured list in his career.

10) San Diego Padres ⬆️

Last week: 12

Yes, this hasn’t been the start to the season that anyone would have imagined for Fernando Tatís Jr., but it feels like he’s the only one in this Padres lineup who has been hitting recently.

Not a bad way to get your second homer of the season. Tatís is hitting .383 with a .414 on-base percentage over his last 19 games.

11) Washington Nationals ⬆️

Last week: 16

At this point, most fans know about the type of offense that the Nationals are bringing to the table, but their starting rotation has been surprisingly effective as well. The club ranks eighth in the majors in rotation ERA (3.79 ERA) over the past 30 days, including a gem from Miles Mikolas against the Mariners on Sunday. This rotation is a big reason why the Nats are on the verge of cracking our top 10.

12) Chicago Cubs ⬇️

Last week: 11

Remember how great Nico Hoerner looked at the start of the year? Well, he’s hitting just .180 over his last 35 games. He’s probably due some better batted ball luck — he’s at .244 this year despite a career BABIP of .301 — but this goes to show that avoiding strikeouts and making contact isn’t everything.

13) Arizona Diamondbacks

Last week: 13

Geraldo Perdomo was a thorn in the Reds’ side on Sunday. In addition to crashing the Reds’ mascot race below, he connected for a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning.

While the power has gone missing this season, Perdomo is hitting .297 over his last 21 games.

14) Seattle Mariners ⬇️

Last week: 10

The Mariners just completed a rough 4-6 roadtrip and they saw both Josh Naylor and Andres Muñoz exit due to injury on Sunday. Fortunately, neither injury is considered serious and both Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford are close to returning, as well. I’m very confident in saying that we haven’t seen the best from the Mariners yet.

15) Miami Marlins ⬆️

Last week: 21

At 10-2, the Marlins have the best record in baseball so far this month. Max Meyer outdueled Paul Skenes on Sunday and Jakob Marsee did his best Superman impression with this diving catch to snuff out a potential rally.

16) Pittsburgh Pirates ⬇️

Last week: 14

Six straight losses for the Buccos, who will be missing Oneil Cruz for the 4-6 weeks due to non-displaced fractures in his left hand. It’s a major loss for a team who is already without star rookie Konnor Griffin.

17) Athletics ⬆️

Last week: 19

The A’s went 4-2 during their chaotic weeklong stay in Las Vegas. While the pitching staff was punished at times, including a 23-9 loss to the Rockies on Sunday, they pounded out 47 runs — and 20 homers — over the six-game stretch at Las Vegas Ballpark. Jacob Wilson also made his return from the injured list in another boost for the offense.

18) Texas Rangers ⬇️

Last week: 15

Once again, we’re waiting for the Rangers to climb above the .500 mark. The Rangers salvaged the finale against the Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball on NBC and Peacock, but they did it without Corey Seager, who missed his third straight game following a collision at home plate on Thursday. It was initially reported that he was dealing with soreness to his jaw and ribs, but he’s also experienced some concussion symptoms.

19) Toronto Blue Jays ⬇️

Last week: 17

The Blue Jays have been banged up all season, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. being the latest to miss some time, but you can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel here. Alejandro Kirk made his long-awaited return from the injured list on Friday and Shane Bieber is on the verge of joining the Blue Jays’ rotation.

20) Cincinnati Reds ⬇️

Last week: 18

The Reds have dropped five straight series and 12 out of 16 games overall to fall into last place in the NL Central. At least recent call-up Noelvi Marte is making his case to be a lineup mainstay, as he’s homered in each of his last three games.

21) Baltimore Orioles ⬇️

Last week: 20

Orioles fans are witnessing the best of Pete Alonso right now. The $155 million man is hitting .327 with five homers, 12 RBI, and a 1.067 OPS so far this month.

22) Minnesota Twins

Last week: 22

Apparently something clicked for Royce Lewis during his demotion to Triple-A. Returning to a more pronounced leg kick, the oft-injured 27-year-old is hitting .379 (11-for-29) with three homers since the Twins brought him back earlier this month.

23) Houston Astros

Last week: 23

I said in last week’s column that health might be the only thing that gets in the way of Yordan Alvarez winning the AL MVP this season. After seeing him hit two homers in the first inning on Friday, I stand by that opinion.

While the Astros have been spinning their wheels recently, there’s reason for optimism this week with staff ace Hunter Brown set to return from the injured list on Tuesday.

24) New York Mets

Last week: 24

At long last, Bo Bichette is doing Bo Bichette things again. After a brutal first two months as a Met, the 28-year-old is hitting .333 with three homers and 12 RBI this month. With Francisco Alvarez back in the fold and Francisco Lindor potentially heading out on a rehab assignment in the coming days, this lineup is about to look much more potent.

25) Boston Red Sox

Last week: 25

You couldn’t have asked for a better atmosphere than Sunday Night Baseball at Fenway Park. The Tartan Army descended upon the Rangers-Red Sox game for “Scotland Day,” one day after Scotland defeated Haiti 1-0 at Gillette Stadium in the World Cup.

Up next for Scotland is Morocco on Friday.

26) Detroit Tigers

Last week: 26

Tarik Skubal gave up three runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings and took the loss in his return from the injured list on Saturday against the Guardians. It’s safe to say that he wasn’t happy with his performance.

Skubal’s next start comes against the White Sox on Friday, which is the start of a crucial 10-game homestand. Where they stand after that could determine their course going into the trade deadline.

27) Kansas City Royals ⬆️

Last week: 28

A brutal start to the season just got worse for Vinnie Pasquantino, who will be sidelined for at least the next four weeks following surgery to remove the fractured hamate bone from his right hand.

28) San Francisco Giants ⬇️

Last week: 27

Last week, 21-year-old Bryce Eldridge became the youngest player in MLB history to hit a walk-off grand slam. And while the drama of the actual home run is a lot of fun to watch, so is Eldridge’s reaction to learning about his place in history.

29) Los Angeles Angels

Last week: 29

Angels rookie right-hander Walbert Ureña has quietly been a nice story during the first half, as he’s posted a stingy 1.84 ERA over his last eight starts. While the control has been an issue (23 walks in 44 innings during this stretch) for the hard thrower, the 22-year-old misses lots of bats with his elite changeup and has shown an ability to keep the ball on the ground. Some hope for Angels fans moving forward.

30) Colorado Rockies

Last week: 30

How ironic is it that the Rockies set a new club record with 23 runs scored on Sunday against the Athletics, but it didn’t happen at Coors Field? More importantly, is this a proper use of irony? Alanis Morissette wasn’t the best influence for me.