MLB Power Rankings: Gerrit Cole finding his groove for Yankees, White Sox crack the top 10

Featured in this week’s MLB Power Rankings, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Gerrit Cole look like themselves again, we heap more praise on Jacob Misiorowski and Cristopher Sánchez, Mariners fans show appropriate levels of petty, and we add to the list of weird baseball injuries.

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

Let’s get started!

▶ Check out Eric Samulski’s SP streamer recommendations for this week!

Note: Rankings are from the morning of Monday, June 1

1) Atlanta Braves

Last week: 1

Consider this: The Braves have been the best team in baseball this season despite Ronald Acuña Jr. not being his usual self at the plate while also missing time due to injury. Well, “La Bestia” has awoken.

Acuña had just two home runs through his first 42 games this season. He’s hit five in his last four games.

2) Los Angeles Dodgers

Last week: 2

The Dodgers are rolling right now, with 14 wins in their last 17 games. Perhaps the best sign? Progress from Roki Sasaki. He’s allowed just four earned runs with a 19/2 K/BB ratio in 17 3/ innings over his last three starts.

3) Milwaukee Brewers ⬆️

Last week: 4

For as impressive as Cristopher Sánchez was in the month of May, you could argue that Jacob Misiorowski was better. He allowed just one run in 38 1/3 innings while compiling a 57/6 K/BB ratio. Opposing batters hit just .109 against The Miz in May, compared to .181 for Sánchez.

4) Tampa Bay Rays ⬇️

Last week: 3

The Rays hit their first real rough patch in recent days, but Shane McClanahan continues to be a rock in this rotation. He fired five innings of one-run ball for the win against the Angels on Sunday and holds a sterling 2.45 ERA across 11 starts.

5) New York Yankees ⬆️

Last week: 6

I said in last week’s column that it would be nice to see more strikeouts from Gerrit Cole, so of course he went out there and struck out 10 batters last Wednesday against the Royals. It’s easy to dream about a postseason rotating led by Cole, Max Fried, and Cam Schlittler, but there’s a long way to go.

I can’t move on from the Yankees without mentioning their 13-run third inning against the A’s on Sunday. The offensive eruption fell just one run shy of the highest-scoring inning in franchise history. And they did it all without hitting a home run. Perhaps equally strange, they were held hitless in every other inning.

6) Cleveland Guardians ⬆️

Last week: 7

In a week where the Guardians dropped four out of six, it was announced that Travis Kelce is a new minority owner. The legendary tight end grew up a Cleveland fan and even considered a career in baseball, so it’s a surely a bucket list item to be involved with his hometown team. Patrick Mahomes is undoubtedly happy for his friend, but of course he took the opportunity to roast him.

7) San Diego Padres ⬇️

Last week: 5

The Padres have lost six out of their last seven games, but hey, Fernando Tatís Jr. finally hit his first home run of the season Saturday. It was a no-doubter, too, as he launched it 451 feet.

That had to feel good. Tatís had gone 240 plate appearances without a home run dating back to last season.

8) Seattle Mariners ⬆️

Last week: 17

Now that’s a leap. With six straight wins, the Mariners are back where we thought they’d be. Over .500 and in first place in the AL West.

Remember the piggyback drama with Luis Castillo last week? Well, Bryce Miller and Castillo did an excellent job in Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks, setting up Victor Robles’ walk-off RBI single.

Side note: I respect pettiness. And the reaction from Seattle fans to the Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly the Seattle SuperSonics) losing Game 7 to the Spurs was just priceless.

9) St. Louis Cardinals ⬇️

Last week: 8

You may not like it, but this is what peak dad looks like.

Us dads might not know where anything is, and we might forget to pack the sunscreen, but if there’s a foul ball in the vicinity and we just happen to be holding our kid, that’s not going to stop us from fulfilling our destiny.

10) Chicago White Sox ⬆️

Last week: 14

That’s right, the White Sox have bumped the Cubs out of the top 10. I didn’t plan it this way, but it’s a cool symbolic moment. It took the White Sox until July 5 last year to reach 30 wins, so whether they can maintain this level of performance or not, there’s progress being made. It’s just a shame that Munetaka Murakami will miss several weeks due to a hamstring injury.

11) Chicago Cubs ⬇️

Last week: 10

The Cubs finally got back in the win column last week, but they finished the month of May at 13-16. Shota Imanaga exemplifies the struggles, as he gave up 10 home runs with a 5.80 ERA over six starts in May.

12) Pittsburgh Pirates ⬆️

Last week: 13

Coming off a sweep of the Twins, the Pirates have won six out of eight. They’ll have to get by for a little while without star rookie Konnor Griffin, but Ryan O’Hearn had two hits (including a homer) in his return from the IL on Sunday. Jared Jones is also back after undergoing surgery to repair the UCL in his right elbow last May.

13) Philadelphia Phillies ⬇️

Last week: 11

While the offense continues to struggle, Cristopher Sánchez keeps chasing history. The southpaw broke the Phillies’ franchise record with 44 2/3 scoreless innings. It’s the seventh-longest such streak in MLB history, with Orel Hershiser (59 IP) still sitting on top. He’ll try to keep climbing on Wednesday against the Padres.

14) Arizona Diamondbacks ⬇️

Last week: 9

The Diamondbacks fall out of the top 10 after being swept by the Mariners. Folks in the r/baseball community were critical of their inclusion last week given that they got hot while playing teams like the Rockies and the Giants. There’s some validity to that criticism. Up next is a major test against the Dodgers.

15) Cincinnati Reds ⬇️

Last week: 12

Troubling sight for the Reds on Sunday, as Elly De La Cruz was forced to leave due to right hamstring tightness. He landed on the 10-day IL on Monday. Not an ideal start to June after the Reds went 10-17 in May.

16) Washington Nationals ⬇️

Last week: 15

Behind a potent offense, the Nationals went 16-12 in May. It’s easy to forget that they actually went 15-12 last May. This is still a flawed team, but their success feels more real this time.

17) Toronto Blue Jays ⬆️

Last week: 19

In a bizarre scene, Blue Jays outfielder Jesús Sánchez was forced to exit Sunday’s game against the Orioles after he was hit in the right wrist on a ball thrown by a kid from the stands.

It was apparently a miscommunication, with no ill will on the part of the kid. And fortunately it doesn’t appear as though Sánchez is seriously injured. With the way things have gone with the Blue Jays this year, it’s about time they caught a break on that front.

18) Texas Rangers ⬆️

Last week: 21

The Rangers have hovered around the .500 mark through much of the first two months. Is this the week they finally make a push? After taking care of business against the Royals over the weekend, they get the Cardinals on the road to begin the week before returning home to face the Guardians. One encouraging note is that Wyatt Langford is back playing rehab games after dealing with a nagging forearm injury.

19) Baltimore Orioles ⬆️

Last week: 22

The vibes are improving in Baltimore. Including a five-run comeback against the Blue Jays in the ninth inning on Saturday (see below), the Orioles went 7-3 during their 10-game homestand. Now they’ll head on the road to face the Red Sox and the Blue Jays.

20) Athletics ⬇️

Last week: 16

The A’s can’t wait to hit the road. They lost five out of six on their recent homestand and are now 11-17 at Sutter Health Park this season. The difference, not surprisingly, is stark. The A’s have a 5.73 ERA (29th in MLB) at home compared to a 3.39 ERA (fourth-lowest) on the road.

21) Houston Astros ⬆️

Last week: 23

After a brutal April, the Astros went 15-14 in May and have won seven out of their last 10. Cam Smith has swung the bat better in recent days (hitting .300 over his last 11 games), but he’s also contributing with the glove.

22) Minnesota Twins ⬇️

Last week: 18

Six straight losses for the Twins, who continue to have rotation issues. Minnesota lost Bailey Ober due to right elbow inflammation over the weekend and also designated Simeon Woods-Richardson for assignment after he posted a 7.74 ERA through 12 appearances (10 starts) to begin the year.

23) Boston Red Sox ⬆️

Last week: 24

It’s been a tough start to the season for Jarren Duran, but he’s finally seeing results. He’s hitting .347 with six homers and 14 RBI over his last 11 games. He’s improved his season OPS by nearly 150 points during the hot stretch.

24) New York Mets ⬆️

Last week: 26

The Mets were swept by the Marlins last weekend while scoring just two runs across three games. This past weekend, they turned the tables by plating 25 runs in a three-game sweep of Miami. Baseball!

25) Miami Marlins ⬇️

Last week: 20

Add this one to the annals of weird baseball injuries. Eury Pérez threw four scoreless innings against the Blue Jays last Wednesday before he was forced to exit the game after injuring himself while stretching the dugout. It turns out that he suffered a high-grade strain of his right gracilis, which is one of the muscles in the inner thigh area.

26) San Francisco Giants ⬆️

Last week: 27

Where did this come from? A fixture near the bottom of the league in runs scored through two months, the Giants knocked around the Rockies for 19 runs on Sunday as Jung Hoo Lee had a five-hit day. He’s 11-for-15 (.733) since coming off the injured list.

27) Kansas City Royals ⬇️

Last week: 25

The losses are piling up. KC has dropped six straight and 16 out of their last 19. Maikel Garcia left Saturday’s game with a hamstring issue and there’s a chance he could end up on the injured list.

28) Detroit Tigers

Last week: 28

If you lose 21 out of 25 games, you deserve to find yourself here. Yes, the rotation has been hit hard by injuries, but the Tigers were last in the majors with 81 runs scored in May.

29) Los Angeles Angels

Last week: 29

If you are going to get ejected, make sure it’s for something as ridiculous as a National Anthem stand-off.

Before you get on your soapbox, just realize that Brent Suter was unlikely to pitch anyway after he threw 25 pitches the night before. Just embrace the pure silliness that can only happen in baseball.

30) Colorado Rockies

Last week: 30

As Paul DePodesta attempts to figure out how to win in Colorado, one of the big responsibilities will be setting the foundation at the minor league level. That’s why it’s disappointing to hear that last year’s first-round pick, Ethan Holliday, is done for the season after surgery to address a stress fracture in his left foot. The 19-year-old hit .262 with nine home runs and a .952 OPS over 33 games with Class A Fresno this season.