“The top 10 has been shaken up by a surprising team’s strong start to the season.
“The early part of the season has seen a surprising team make a strong push into the top 10 in Power Rankings.”
Highest score of the season: 17 | Lowest score of the season: 23
The experiment with Jordan Hicks continues to be successful. The veteran reliever, who previously tried to transition into a starting role with the St. Louis Cardinals but failed, currently boasts a 1.61 ERA in five starts. On Sunday, he only allowed one run in five innings pitched. However, upon closer examination, this may have been his shakiest start yet. He walked four batters and did not record a single strikeout. It is surprising that Hicks, known for his strong throwing velocity, struggles to strike out batters, as he only has 18 K’s in 28 innings this season. While the lowest rate of his career so far, this trend continues to hold steady.
When the Mets are performing strongly – which they are currently – their fanbase exhibits unmatched adoration for their team and frustration when others overlook them in the baseball world. This is actually quite admirable, as being a fan is all about experiencing extreme emotions. After all, who wants to be only moderately invested in a sports team? Loving them passionately is the truest expression of devotion.
Highest season: 6
Lowest season: 21
A peculiar aspect of the Astros’ disappointing beginning is that two of their players, Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker, rank among the top seven in the Majors for FanGraphs WAR. However, neither of these players is responsible for the team’s 5.10 ERA, which currently ranks second-worst in the league.
Highest season: 10 | Lowest season: 25
The New York Mets, who have been on fire recently, suffered a loss against the Dodgers on Sunday. They have been excelling in all aspects of the game for the past two weeks, with their pitching staff boasting a 1.84 ERA until Adrian Houser’s performance on Sunday. The offense has been strong thanks to contributions from all players, including Starling Marte who seems to have moved past his struggles last season. Unfortunately, there was some unfortunate news as Francisco Alvarez’s injury will keep him off the field until June. On a positive note, Tomás Nido has returned to the team.
Season high: 28 | Season low: 29
The Rockies began their season on a poor note, but there was a glimmer of hope on Sunday. Despite a potential game-winning home run being disqualified due to fan interference in the 9th inning, the team bounced back and defeated the Mariners during a doubleheader opener in the extra 10th inning.
Highest season: 4 | Lowest season: 11
Should we be concerned about the new players? Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford, who were expected to do well as AL Rookie of the Year contenders, have only hit two home runs combined (both from Carter) and have a combined batting average of .219. However, this is still a better start compared to Jack Leiter’s MLB debut on Thursday for the Rangers.
Season high: 3 | Season low: 5
In approximately 15 years, Colton Cowser will have a successful career as an MLB player and will be achieving milestones. During this time, he will reach his 1,500th hit. At this moment, a seven-year-old rookie will accidentally throw the ball into the stands, not realizing its significance. A 50-year-old Craig Kimbrel will find this amusing.
Highest: 9 in a season | Lowest: 17 in a season
A standout player for the Rays so far has been Richie Palacios, a 26-year-old outfielder they received in January by trading Andrew Kittredge. He boasts a .429 on-base percentage and even batted third against the Yankees on Sunday.
Highest point in the season: 4 Lowest point in the season: 8
The Phillies followed the recommended strategy for a 10-game homestand against the Pirates, Rockies, and White Sox and achieved an impressive record of 8-2. Despite concerns about their offense at the start, the veteran players are getting into a groove and their 14-8 record is their strongest since 2018. Keep an eye out for Trea Turner, who is batting .348.
Highest of the season: 18 | Lowest of the season: 24
Paul Goldschmidt’s sole extra-base hit of the season was a 401-foot home run off Tyler Glasnow on March 28. As of now, he has 13 singles and a batting average of .179. Although he is not solely responsible, his performance may be a major factor in the Cardinals’ current offensive struggles.
Highest score of the season: 7 | Lowest score of the season: 20
Besides Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter, the young batters on the Tigers team haven’t yet found their rhythm. However, they are being supported by a surprisingly impressive bullpen. This bullpen boasts a league-leading 1.65 earned run average, with closer Jason Foley not allowing a single earned run so far.
Season high: 10 | Season low: 15
One interesting fact in baseball remains that the 2023 Diamondbacks made it to the World Series despite being outscored, but the 2024 Diamondbacks, who have the third-highest run differential in the National League, have a losing record.
Highest point of the season: 4 | Lowest point of the season: 21
The Guardians only lost one series this season (against the Yankees) and had an impressive week, winning three out of four games at Fenway and easily beating the A’s at home. They have three more games against the Red Sox in Cleveland this week, followed by a highly anticipated three-game series in Atlanta over the weekend. Although they seem to be exceeding expectations at the moment – ranking second in runs despite being 11th in on-base percentage and 13th in home runs – they will soon have the opportunity to prove themselves against the top-ranked team.
Highest for the season: 1 | Lowest for the season: 6
Over the entire weekend, the Dodgers continuously reassured anyone who would listen that they were not concerned about their slow start. Despite losing three consecutive games and five out of six games against the Nationals and Mets, all of which were at home, they remained confident. They proved this confidence by defeating the Mets on Sunday, thanks to an outstanding performance by Tyler Glasnow and a fifth homerun from Shohei Ohtani as a member of the Dodgers. Despite their shaky start of 13-11, they are still the only team in the NL West with a winning record. Heading into a nine-game road trip, they hold the lead in the division and are comforted by the knowledge that their lineup consists of Betts, Ohtani, and Freeman.
The Mets have been performing well recently, winning series against teams like the Reds, Braves, Royals, Pirates, and Dodgers. This has led to a significant increase in their rank in our Power Rankings for this week. They have been a pleasant surprise in the world of baseball and a welcome improvement from their performance last year. However, after suffering a 10-0 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday, there are questions about whether they will continue to perform well next week. As always, these rankings were created by a group of MLB.com contributors, but the commentary is my own. If you disagree with the rankings, voice your opinion towards all of us. And if you don’t like my commentary, feel free to express your grievances towards me.
Highest season: 5 | Lowest season: 19
The Brewers showed their dominance in the NL Central by sweeping the struggling Cardinals on the road. What was noteworthy is that they did it with ease and without scoring as many runs as they have in other games this season. Despite only scoring two runs on Friday and Sunday, their strong pitching, particularly from the bullpen, secured their victories each time. They have the opportunity to prove themselves further with a four-game series in Pittsburgh followed by an exciting weekend matchup against the Yankees at home.
Highest point of the season: 8 | Lowest point of the season: 19
Do you recall the time when the Jays boasted a trio of promising young players, namely Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk, and Bo Bichette, that was the envy of the baseball world? Despite their combined four home runs, which is one less than their teammate Daulton Varsho, and a collective batting average of .216, the Jays still managed to have a successful 4-2 week, including two victories against the formidable Yankees at home.
Highest season score: 28 | Lowest season score: 30
Reworded: Finding positives in the White Sox offense can be a challenge, but two players stand out: Gavin Sheets and Paul DeJong. Together, they account for over half of Chicago’s home runs. Sheets, in particular, has shown significant improvement with a .373 OBP, which is 100 points higher than last year.
Highest season score: 1
Lowest season score: 3
The Braves have reclaimed the top spot, and it’s clear our voters will regret not keeping them there before. The Braves are dominating, even with Ronald Acuña Jr. having just one homer and Austin Riley with a .259 average and two homers. Max Fried has a 7.71 ERA and Spencer Strider is out for the season, yet they are still at 14-6, tied for the second-best record in the league. They’re making it look effortless.
Highest season record: 23 | Lowest season record: 29
The victory on Sunday against the Cubs guaranteed a much-needed series that was not lost: a four-game draw at Wrigley Field, which shows some improvement. However, there are still a lot of negative updates: A.J. Puk, dealing with fatigue in his left shoulder, joins the growing list of injured young starters for the Marlins. Their upcoming games in Atlanta this week may not result in their first successful series win.
Season high: 2 | Season low: 7
This week, DJ LeMahieu will start his Minor League rehab assignment and may be back as soon as next weekend. The question is, where will he fit in the lineup? Oswaldo Cabrera has been performing exceptionally well, even outshining Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Anthony Rizzo, and Anthony Volpe. It’s possible that LeMahieu will have to go back to his previous role as a super-utility player and play various positions to see playing time once he returns to The Bronx.
Highest season: 9
Lowest season: 25
In the past week, the Pirates have suffered from a poor offense, only scoring nine runs in six consecutive losses. The exception to this was Andrew McCutchen’s 300th homerun, which was one of only three extra-base hits for him this season. Overall, McCutchen has struggled with a batting average of .173.
The individuals who will be casting their votes are David Adler, Nathalie Alonso, Anthony Castrovince, Doug Gausepohl, Will Leitch, Travis Miller, Sweeny Murti, Arturo Pardavila, Manny Randhawa, Andrew Simon, and David Venn.
Highest season score: 6, Lowest season score: 24
Losing two of three against the Orioles is nothing to be ashamed of, even if the first of those losses ended a nine-game home winning streak. There’s more going on here than just a little hot streak: Their four lineup stars — Salvador Perez, Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and MJ Melendez — have combined for more home runs (18) than six teams have in total.
Season high: 13 | Season low: 23
A fun fact is that throughout the history of baseball, only three teams have managed to have a collective batting average below .200 for an entire season: the 1884 Wilmington Quicksteps, 1884 St. Paul White Caps, and 1884 Kansas City Cowboys. It appears that offensively, 1884 was a slow year as two teams failed to hit a single home run. Currently, there are also two teams with a batting average below .200 this season, including the Twins at .195 (with the White Sox being the other team).
Highest of the season: 24 | Lowest of the season: 26
How is Mike Trout’s game changing as he reaches the middle of his career in baseball? It appears that he may be sacrificing some of his previous success in getting on base for more power: He currently has more extra-base hits than singles, which is something he has never done before. This has resulted in a lower OBP compared to his previous years, but his slugging percentage remains consistent with his best seasons.
Highest season score: 12 | Lowest season score: 15
Keep an eye on the current plot of “Elly De La Cruz’s rapid understanding” as she had five walks in the last two games of the Reds’ series against the Angels this past weekend. This brings her total to 12 for the season, which is one-third of her total in 2023.
Highest season value: 14
Lowest season value: 19
On Friday, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his sixth home run of the season against Yariel Rodríguez, bringing his career total to 112. This places him just one homer behind his father, Fernando Tatis Sr., who hit 113 in his 11-year career. It has taken Tatis Jr. just over four seasons to reach this milestone.
Highest season score: 11
Lowest season score: 21
The M’s were unable to take sole possession of first place after a long game at Coors Field on Sunday, but their four consecutive wins prior to the loss brought a positive energy back to Seattle. As expected, Julio Rodríguez played a big role in these wins, going 9-for-19 at bat. It is surprising that he has not hit a home run yet, however.
Season high: 26 | Season low: 27
The arrival of the CJ Abrams era is now upon us: The key figure of the Juan Soto trade continues to dominate in stealing bases, and astonishingly, also leads the MLB in slugging as of Sunday. He has hit six home runs, three triples, and four doubles. It is highly likely that he will achieve a 30-30 season, potentially even this year.
Highest temperature this season was 27 degrees and lowest temperature was 30 degrees.
The performance of the A’s has exceeded expectations due to their strong bullpen. However, their standout player from 2023, Zack Gelof, has struggled at the beginning of the season with a .202 batting average and a high strikeout rate.
Highest season score: 9 | Lowest season score: 12
Could Sunday have marked the end for Kyle Hendricks? Despite facing one of the weakest offenses in baseball, Hendricks, who entered the game with an 0-2 record and a 12.71 ERA, did manage to lower his ERA…but still gave up four runs in four innings and ultimately lost 6-3. Hendricks is known for starting the season slowly – he has only won three out of twelve March/April starts since 2019 – but the Cubs may be running out of patience. With Jameson Taillon returning and Justin Steele soon to follow, Hendricks’ spot in the rotation seems to be in jeopardy.
The post “The top 10 has been shaken up by a surprising team’s strong start to the season.
“The early part of the season has seen a surprising team make a strong push into the top 10 in Power Rankings.” appeared first on Americano Sports.
Boston Celtics Cruise to Victory in Game 1 Against Miami Heat: Jayson Tatum’s Triple Double Overshadowed by Controversial Collision
The Boston Celtics won Game 1 of the first Playoff series against the Miami Heat without too many problems. Leading Boston is Jayson Tatum, author of 23 points, 10 rebounds,…
The post Boston Celtics Cruise to Victory in Game 1 Against Miami Heat: Jayson Tatum’s Triple Double Overshadowed by Controversial Collision appeared first on 247sports News.
