Henry Roldán
We’re in the middle of May, which means we can dig a little further into the MLB Power Rankings now that the clubs have taken shape and their numbers are stable.
That is why, in a new edition of our JefeBet Power Rankings, we continue to look at the most powerful clubs throughout all Major Leagues, as well as those who have yet to break out of the bottom half. Come on, join us.
MLB Power Rankings 2022: The podium
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees have stormed to the top of our Power Rankings, as they are the only team remaining without a loss of at least 10 games (25-9) and have won 20 of their previous 24 games.
During the last week, they also gave a blow of authority by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays on two occasions and winning three of four against the White Sox, in Chicago. They’re co-leaders in the majors in ERA (2.74), their collective OPS is second-best in the league at .742 and they’re co-leaders in connected home runs with 49, 22 of them between Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton .
Houston Astros
Together with the Yankees, they are the hottest team in baseball. The Houston Astros had won 11 games in a row before succumbing to the Nationals on Saturday, and they had been successful in 12 of their last 13 matches after Sunday’s game. This is unquestionably what has propelled them to the top of the American League West Division with a 23-12 record.
The team’s offense is second in the league with 48 home runs, while its pitching has proven unhittable for opponents. In their last 12 victories, the collective pitching barely allowed 12 earned runs, their three main arms, Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez and Luis García have an ERA below 3.00, and the bullpen is second in the league with an ERA of 2.69.
New York Mets
In a tight battle for the top spot in the National League Power Rankings, the Mets moved one step ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Power Rankings: they concluded the week with the best record in the old circuit, going 23-13.
The New Yorkers lost just their first series of the season this weekend to the Seattle Mariners, but remain the second-best team in the NL in ERA at 3.40. On the offensive side, no one in MLB has a better collective OBP than them at .329, while they’re fifth overall at .251.
MLB Power Rankings 2022: The Disappointments
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox have had a disastrous start to the season, losing seven of their last ten games and sitting at the bottom of the American League East Division, 12 games behind the Yankees, with a 13-21 record.
On paper, Boston has failed to fuel up, despite possessing one of the largest payrolls in the game and one of the most feared offenses. Its 126 runs scored are the eighth lowest in all of Major League Baseball. Despite having power players like Rafael Devers, Trevor Story, JD Martnez, Alex Verdugo, and Xavier Bogaerts on their roster, they only manage to hit 20 home runs as a team, second only to the Detroit Tigers (16).
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals’ season hasn’t looked good since the preseason, and the predictions have come true. They are last in the Eastern Division of the National League, having lost seven of their last 10 games; besides that, their record of 12-24 is the second worst of the old circuit.
While the offense has performed well, and they lead the majors in hits with 304 and ninth in OBP with .318, their pitching staff is one of the worst in all of MLB: their collective ERA of 4.88 is the third highest in all of the league. His starters only manage five quality starts, a number which is the third-lowest on the circuit. Additionally, their 38 home runs allowed are tied for fourth-highest.
Cincinnati Reds
What about the Cincinnati Reds? While they showed signs of improvement earlier in the week, winning six of their last ten games, they demonstrated on Sunday why they are the weakest team in the Majors at 9-26.
Added to all their collective problems, the Reds lost 1-0 to the Pittsburgh Pirates despite the fact that their pitching did not allow a single hit to their rivals. This demonstrates that, despite improving offensively during the week, the team’s inconsistency is so severe that they still have the league’s lowest collective ERA of 6.04 and 49 home runs allowed.
