MLB Power Rankings: What’s going on behind the Dodgers? (3:56)Dave Schoenfield and Kiley McDaniel discuss the latest MLB Power Rankings. (3:56)
One week early on in an MLB season can bring a whole lot of change — and that’s exactly what we saw in our Week 3 power rankings.
Though the top of the list stands strong with the Dodgers and Yankees, the rest of it saw quite a bit of change. The Mets, on an eight-game losing streak, plummeted from No. 5 all the way to 18. Similarly, Houston saw its ranking drop from ninth last week to No. 24 after losing nine of 10 games before pulling off a narrow win over Colorado on Tuesday.
Minnesota, currently atop its division, jumped up from 24th to 14th and the Pirates have entered the top 10, debuting at No. 8, following a strong start to the season.
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 Alden Gonzalez, David Schoenfield and Buster Olney to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.
Detroit has ripped off five straight wins, and the pitching that the Tigers worked hard to improve in the offseason has started to manifest. Framber Valdez held the Royals to one run over seven innings Tuesday, two days after Tarik Skubal stifled the Marlins. Monday’s off day was crucial for the Detroit bullpen, after the Tigers had played 10 games in 10 days. Kyle Finnegan has yet to give up a run in eight appearances. — Olney
Every season, Cleveland’s front office works to manage payroll and compete with the relative nickels it has — and despite that, every year, the Guardians generate pitching that keeps them in contention. Rotation members Parker Messick, Joey Cantillo and Gavin Williams are all off to strong starts to this season, and Erik Sabrowski has become one of baseball’s most consistent set-up men, with 14 strikeouts in his first nine innings. — Olney
Former Twins manager Rocco Baldelli is working with the Dodgers’ organization, and standing on the field at Dodger Stadium earlier this week, he said he told friends all winter that Minnesota would be better than expected because of some of the high-end talent it has. Like Taj Bradley, who generated a 1.25 ERA in his first four starts, and, of course, Joe Ryan, who was sought by other teams at the trade deadline last summer. The Twins currently have one of the best records in the AL. — Olney
With Toronto’s pitching devastated by injuries, the everyday lineup might have to carry the Jays for a bit, creating little margin for error — but not to worry, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is heating up. Including a three-hit game Tuesday, he has 11 hits in his past 23 at-bats, with four doubles, four walks and two strikeouts. — Olney
The Diamondbacks began their season by being swept by the two-time defending champion Dodgers, but they have since won 11 of 16, maintaining strong hopes of staying in the race while reinforcements return from the injured list. The first of those was Merrill Kelly, who took the ball Tuesday night and helped his team defeat the Orioles. Kelly wasn’t great, but he recovered nicely after rough second and third innings, ultimately pitching into the sixth.
“It’s so Merrill, isn’t it” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “He gets himself into trouble, takes a deep breath, and just executes to get out of a jam.” — Gonzalez
Garrett Crochet and manager Alex Cora assured reporters that the left-hander is healthy after his ugly start Monday, when he gave up 11 runs in 1⅔ innings and generated only three missed swings among 55 pitches. But Crochet’s early-season velocity dip has caught the attention of rival evaluators. “He didn’t get above 96 mph,” one of them said. “Last year, it was like he was never below 96 mph, and he could overpower you.” Crochet’s next scheduled start is against the Tigers on Sunday. — Olney
The two-series trip to New York couldn’t have gone much better as the A’s took two of three from the Yankees and then swept the Mets. This included two 1-0 wins, with Jeffrey Springs beating the Yankees on a combined one-hitter, and then Aaron Civale and four relievers blanking the Mets on four hits. Springs followed up with another strong outing to beat the Rangers 2-1 on Tuesday and is now 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA and a .134 average against. — Schoenfield
Of all statistics in the big leagues so far this season, this might be the most impossible: Bobby Witt Jr. has scored one run in 18 games, despite the fact that he’s really fast and has a .346 on-base percentage, with 17 hits and 10 walks. And on top of that, he has eight steals. But nobody has been driving him in, as a big early-season issue for Kansas City has been the struggles of the guys in the middle of the lineup. Vinnie Pasquantino has a .444 OPS and Salvador Perez a .477 OPS. — Olney
The trade of Lenyn Sosa earlier this week was a classic case of a rebuilding team using its assets to attempt to augment its future. Sosa has largely been a journeyman in his career and probably would not have been with the team when the White Sox become relevant again. So, with the Blue Jays decimated by injuries and searching for roster Band-Aids, Chicago flipped Sosa to Toronto for 18-year-old outfielder Jordan Rich and a player to be named later or cash considerations. — Olney
The Braves began their season with a rash of injuries to their rotation and the season-long, PED-related suspension of outfielder Jurickson Profar. Three weeks in, Austin Riley and Ronald Acuna Jr. have yet to really get going. And yet, within a landscape in which almost everybody is hovering around .500, the Braves have separated themselves early, winning 12 of their first 19 and outscoring teams by a combined 44 runs. Their offense has scored the most runs and their pitching staff is tied for the second-fewest allowed. And though Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson, Chris Sale and Raisel Iglesias are doing what we’d all expect, the likes of Mauricio Dubon, Dominic Smith, Reynaldo Lopez and Bryce Elder have really stepped up. — Gonzalez
There was a thought going into the offseason that the Padres might try to convert Mason Miller into a starting pitcher. It made some sense — they were going to be low on starters, and Miller has always possessed the ability to pitch more than an inning at a time. Ultimately, though, the organization backed off, and that has been a gift for baseball fans everywhere — because Miller could be on the verge of a historic season as a closer. The 27-year-old right-hander has faced 27 batters this season and has struck out a whopping 20 of them. He has registered 8⅓ scoreless innings, during which he has allowed only two baserunners. And he is at the center of a Padres team that is surging early. — Gonzalez
Zack Wheeler’s prognosis was wholly uncertain when he was diagnosed with a blood clot last August. Now, though, his return is nigh. Wheeler made his fourth rehab start for the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate on Tuesday, striking out nine batters and giving up three runs over 5⅔ innings. He’ll make only one more, then should rejoin the Phillies’ rotation before the end of the month. Wheeler has been one of the game’s best, most durable starting pitchers over the past eight years. Not only are the Phillies getting him back — and adding him to what should be a superb rotation alongside Cristopher Sanchez, Andrew Painter, Jesus Luzardo and Aaron Nola — they’re seemingly getting him in his previous form. — Gonzalez
The Marcus Semien-for-Brandon Nimmo trade has paid early returns. Though Semien has struggled with the Mets, Nimmo has been the Rangers’ best offensive player, ranking among the MLB leaders in batting average while swatting eight extra-base hits. But he hasn’t had a lot of help, as key hitters such as Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford are hovering around .200 (Seager) or below (Langford). Nathan Eovaldi came out of the gate with two rough starts but has righted himself with two strong outings to beat the Mariners and A’s. — Schoenfield
You can bet the Yankees’ coaching staff will go to work with the team’s infielders after Tampa Bay bunted and ran aggressively against New York in last weekend’s series. There were a couple of key instances when New York first baseman Ben Rice charged a bunt and no one covered first base, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. pinched to the middle. It seemed as if Tampa Bay were a basketball team running a full-court press the Yankees were seeing for the first time. The Rays face the Yankees next May 22-24. — Olney
It was a disastrous weekend for the Astros, losing four games to the Mariners to extend their losing streak to eight games before finally winning Tuesday. Houston pitchers walked 26 batters in the first three games against Seattle. To make matters worse, Tatsuya Imai joined Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier on the IL because of “shoulder fatigue,” also known as “can’t throw strikes” after walking 11 batters in his first 8⅔ major league innings. The Astros already have the worst rotation ERA in the majors and now they have to dig deep into their depth. — Schoenfield
Jose Soriano’s electric start to 2026 has the baseball world buzzing. He’s 4-0 with a 0.33 ERA, giving up one run in 27 innings and only nine hits. Now 27, Soriano has always had a great arm while relying heavily on his sinker/knuckle-curve combo and struggling with his control. This year, he has upped his four-seam fastball usage from 8.6% to 23.4%, which has made his sinker even more effective. Throw in a wipeout splitter he’ll use primarily against lefties, and the complete arsenal has been unhittable so far, while he has kept the walks under control. It’s hard to say if the Angels have enough to surprise, but having a legitimate ace is a good start. Soriano is looking like one. — Schoenfield
The Rockies hit the road last week on the heels of a four-game winning streak, then got brought down to earth pretty quickly in San Diego. They lost the first two games in walk-off fashion, dropped a third against former staff ace German Marquez, then watched their longtime rotation anchor, Kyle Freeland, get scratched from the fourth. Freeland experienced lingering shoulder soreness while warming up for Sunday’s series finale and will await his prognosis. The 32-year-old left-hander is off to a nice start, posting a 2.30 ERA with 13 strikeouts against four walks (albeit four hit by pitches, too) in his first three starts. The hope is he can just treat this with rest. — Gonzalez