Dodgers or Yankees: Who takes top spot in Week 1’s power rankings? (3:12)Buster Olney and Alden Gonzalez break down the strong start to the season for the Dodgers and Yankees. (3:12)
We’ve also seen bullpen concerns in the early days (especially in Kansas City), an exciting first start on the mound from Shohei Ohtani and a surprising team atop the standings in Miami, and no teams have gone undefeated in the first week of game play.
Is your favorite club off to a dominant start — and more importantly, will it last? Or are you hoping the first week’s returns aren’t a glimpse of the future?
Our expert panel has ranked every team based on a combination of what we’ve seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Buster Olney, Alden Gonzalez and Bradford Doolittle to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.
Andrew Painter’s debut could not have gone better, with the tall right-hander averaging almost 97 mph in his debut and spotting his secondary pitches. Like other rookies around baseball, he competed with remarkable composure. “That is him,” texted David Dombrowski, the Phillies’ head of baseball operations. “He does not seem to get rattled. However, an extremely competitive person. He keeps that inside.” Painter could help extend the Phillies’ championship window. — Olney
Give the Royals credit for not clinging to preprogrammed thinking when it comes to their bullpen hierarchy, though the evidence around Carlos Estevez might have been too troubling to ignore. Estevez averaged 96 mph with his four-seamer while leading the American League with 42 saves last season.
This spring, he was throwing in the 89-91 mph range, and in his first regular-season appearance, a save opportunity in Atlanta, he averaged 91, showed zero command and allowed six runs, including a game-ending grand slam by Dominic Smith. Initially, Estevez remained on the active roster in hopes of building back the missing velocity, likely in a low-leverage role. However, on Wednesday, he landed on the IL with a bruised foot. Maybe the break will do him good. — Doolittle
Now back with the Twins, he put up scoreless innings in two low-leverage outings early on. He’s throwing a cutter that he has only experimented with in the past, so it will be interesting to see if Rogers’ leverage index begins to climb as manager Derek Shelton sorts out Minnesota’s new-look bullpen. — Doolittle
Roki Sasaki was a disaster in spring training, allowing 26 of the 52 batters he faced to reach base, 15 of which did so via walk. When he took the mound for his regular-season debut Monday, many expected the worst. And then he was … fine. Sasaki pitched into the fifth inning and allowed just one run and two walks. It certainly wasn’t dominant, but it was clearly a building block — an exceedingly important one, given that Sasaki said he had “no confidence at all” going into that start. The Dodgers have made it clear that they’re going to give Sasaki every opportunity to start for them, but he needs to continue to make progress. — Gonzalez
The pitching staff, with a 1.01 ERA through six games, has the potential to be overpowering by season’s end if the Yankees can continue to have good luck with injuries. They allowed just three runs in the first four games, and Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole continue to make progress in their respective rehabilitations from arm surgery. Cole will be back in the first part of June, and Rodon will return in the next couple of months (although he might be slowed by some hamstring tightness experienced this week). Luis Gil will step into the fifth spot in the rotation on April 10. The Yankees’ bullpen could be bolstered later in the year by rotation spillover. — Olney
The Mariners were previously able to finalize long-term deals with their two franchise cornerstones, center fielder Julio Rodriguez and catcher Cal Raleigh. Now they’ve secured someone they hope will reach the big leagues soon, signing highly touted infielder Colt Emerson to an eight-year deal worth at least $95 million. Emerson, the Mariners’ first-round pick in 2023, has skyrocketed through their system, reaching Triple-A last year. At some point this season, he should become their every-day second or third baseman. By next year, he’ll probably replace J.P. Crawford at shortstop. More importantly, the Mariners continue to sign players who should help them extend their contention window. — Gonzalez
The 2026 version of the Blue Jays should be better defensively and more versatile than the 2025 team. With the departure of Bo Bichette, Andres Gimenez is now entrenched as the Toronto shortstop, with Ernie Clement at second — two high-end defenders. The surplus of outfielders allows the 36-year-old George Springer to become close to a full-time designated hitter, with Daulton Varsho, Addison Barger, Jesus Sanchez, Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw covering the innings in center, right and left. — Olney
In a season marked by exciting rookie debuts, the Tigers have already seen evidence that their decision to break camp with Kevin McGonigle on the Opening Day roster was sound. Detroit fans have seen a player who, at the very least, dominates the strike zone, grinds at-bats and maintains a mature approach in high-leverage spots. He also looked equally comfortable at shortstop, his focus in the minor leagues, and third base, where he barely played before reaching the majors. It’s only a week, but McGonigle has shown why his arrival with the Tigers generated so much hype. — Doolittle
In the weeks and months ahead, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep could rejoin the Atlanta rotation. Until then, the Braves will try to make it work with what they have, which is why the solid performances from Reynaldo Lopez and Bryce Elder felt very important. Lopez recovered his velocity after making a mechanical adjustment in his delivery, and Elder continues to throw harder, something he showed at the end of last season. The Braves hope Strider will be back from his oblique injury in three to four weeks. — Olney
The Rangers’ first season under new manager Skip Schumaker is off to a solid start. They’ve won four of their first six games, with veterans Jake Burger, Corey Seager and Brandon Nimmo swinging the bat well, and two young pitchers in MacKenzie Gore and Jack Leiter putting together solid starts in their first turns through the rotation. It’s early, but the vibes are good. “We’re having fun,” Jacob deGrom told local reporters. “Skip’s done a great job managing this thing so far, and the guys have been having a good time. … You have to show up every day and get ready to play, but you also have to have fun playing.” — Gonzalez
Boston manager Alex Cora has said he will handle the glut of outfielders/DHs he has, but it won’t be easy. Masataka Yoshida started at DH on Tuesday but has just eight at-bats and is still hitless through five games. When Yoshida was in the starting lineup, Jarren Duran did not play. Roman Anthony, who might be Boston’s best offensive player, has appeared in every game, as has Wilyer Abreu — a star in this year’s World Baseball Classic — and Ceddanne Rafaela, regarded as perhaps the best defensive center fielder in the game. So long as this group stays healthy, hard choices will have to be made by Cora. — Olney
Adley Rutschman’s offensive production was in precipitous decline each of the past two years, with his OPS dropping from .809 in 2023 to .709 in 2024 and then .673 last season. But he is off to a hot start in 2026, a great sign for the Orioles, as he has reached base in six of his first 13 plate appearances. The early signs are that new manager Craig Albernaz will use Rutschman similarly to how the Mariners use Cal Raleigh, deploying him at catcher in most games — he started four of the Orioles’ first five games behind the plate — and at DH on the days he doesn’t catch. — Olney
Lance McCullers Jr.’s first start of 2026 saw him throw seven innings for the first time since September 2022, qualifying as one of the cooler stories of this season’s first week. McCullers missed the entirety of the 2023 and 2024 seasons, then worked through a 6.51 ERA in 55⅓ innings — while making four separate stints on the injured list — in 2025. It was hard to expect anything from him going into this year — but then he recorded 21 outs, allowed just one run and struck out nine batters against the Red Sox in his debut. The Astros’ offense has been swinging it well in recent days. If the Astros can get more starts like this from McCullers, they might just make a playoff run. — Gonzalez
We didn’t know what to expect from Tony Vitello in his jump from college coach to major league manager, but we knew it was going to be interesting. And this first week certainly didn’t disappoint. It began with the Giants scoring one run in their first three games against the Yankees, during which Vitello blamed, of all things, his emotional speech. And it ended with his team taking two of three from the division-rival Padres, during which Vitello summoned Kanye West for some reason. What matters most of all, though, is that the Giants’ offense finally woke up on Tuesday, scoring nine runs on 16 hits, and that Vitello has seemingly found some footing. — Gonzalez
After the Twins mostly emptied out their bullpen with last season’s flurry of in-season trades, the relief corps on this year’s roster was rife with uncertainty. Early on, it looks like one productive contributor might be familiar: Taylor Rogers. It was something of a stunner when the Twins dealt Rogers and pre-breakout slugger Brent Rooker to San Diego for Chris Paddock and current Reds closer Emilio Pagan right before Opening Day in 2022. Since then, Rogers has gone from San Diego to Milwaukee to San Francisco to Cincinnati to the north side of Chicago.
Dodgers or Yankees: Who takes top spot in Week 1’s power rankings? (3:12)Buster Olney and Alden Gonzalez break down the strong start to the season for the Dodgers and Yankees. (3:12)