Are the Braves a serious threat to the Dodgers? (2:50)Buster Olney and Alden Gonzalez analyze the Dodgers’ recent struggles and how much of a threat the Braves are to Los Angeles. (2:50)
Week 7 also brought another first — a top 10 debut for a club that has struggled to find a rhythm over the past few seasons. The Cardinals, at No. 10 this week, split a four-game series with the Padres after taking series against the Dodgers and Pirates en route to a top 10 record in MLB.
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, David Schoenfield and Alden Gonzalez to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash used the word “chaos” last week to describe the Rays’ offensive attack because of all the things they do to pressure opposing defenses — bunting, stealing, slapping hits the other way, etc. They are among the top five in steals, lead the majors in sac bunts and have the fewest strikeouts of any team. As Toronto demonstrated last fall, an offense with that kind of diversity can be dangerous. — Olney
Travis Bazzana has the look of a future leadoff hitter, with his ability to command a strike zone. In his first 55 plate appearances, he drew 12 walks while striking out just eight times, and his chase rate — how much he swings at pitches outside the strike zone — was an extraordinary 18.5% going into play Wednesday, the fifth-lowest rate among all hitters with at least 50 plate appearances. The Guardians have loved his grittiness and speed. — Olney
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. bottomed out in the last weeks of the 2025 regular season, and the Jays’ staff thought he just put too much pressure on himself. Well, he’s going through a similar slump now, and manager John Schneider again alluded to his superstar first baseman’s trait of trying to carry the weight of the offense. So far in the month of May, Guerrero is batting .116 with no extra-base hits. — Olney
To make room for Snelling, the Marlins released Chris Paddack, who had gone 0-5 with a 7.63 ERA, eating the remainder of his $4 million salary (which isn’t much but makes him the current third-highest-paid Marlins player — or fourth, if you count Avisail Garcia’s $5 million buyout). — Schoenfield
Trevor Rogers was one of baseball’s best stories in 2025, when he posted a 1.81 ERA for the Orioles, and they counted on him to be a foundational player for their staff this year. But Rogers has struggled badly, generating a 5.77 ERA; he’s allowed as many runs (23) and earned runs (22) as he did last year, but in 75⅓ fewer innings. The Orioles’ rotation ERA is over 5.00 and in the bottom five of the majors — disastrous. — Olney
The Braves continued their blitz through the first quarter of the schedule by taking two of three at Dodger Stadium, including back-to-back decisive 7-2 wins. The big highlight was Spencer Strider allowing one hit in six scoreless innings in his second start back from the injured list, looking more like the pre-Tommy John surgery Strider of 2022-23 than what we saw of him in 2025. Meanwhile, Matt Olson is playing at an MVP level, leading the NL in runs, doubles, RBIs, total bases, OPS and OPS+ heading into Wednesday’s action. He also passed Gus Suhr with his 823rd consecutive game played, and now ranks 10th on the all-time list, with Eddie Yost (829) just a few days away. — Schoenfield
With Carlos Rodon back and Gerrit Cole returning soon, there will likely be spillover from the Yankees’ rotation into the bullpen, with Will Warren and Ryan Weathers seemingly the best candidates to shift into a relief role, if needed. (This could change if Max Fried, who will have an MRI on his left elbow on Thursday, is out for an extended time.) Additionally: Hard-throwing Carlos LaGrange could be promoted for the bullpen if his command improves, and GM Brian Cashman’s history suggests he’ll be hyperaggressive in adding help before the trade deadline. — Olney
The Padres find themselves in first place in the National League West, a half-game ahead of the two-time defending champion Dodgers, and Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill, the three players who are supposed to carry their offense, have all been well below league average. Instead, it has been Ty France, Xander Bogaerts and Miguel Andujar carrying the offense. That won’t continue, but neither will the struggles of Tatis, Machado and Merrill. Another thing for Padres fans to look forward to: Lucas Giolito joins their rotation this weekend. — Gonzalez
On Monday, Cal Raleigh showered in full uniform, a sign that his prolonged slump had grown to the point of desperation. Maybe that worked. The following night, Raleigh hit a line-drive single that snapped an 0-for-38 skid, a source of levity among his teammates. Bryan Woo waved a towel in his direction as he came into the dugout, as if the Mariners’ catcher needed to be cooled off. Josh Naylor pretended to ask for the ball as a keepsake. Raleigh followed with another single. By the end of the night, his batting average remained at just .166, second lowest among qualified hitters. But maybe it was the start of something. — Gonzalez
Michael McGreevy delivered back-to-back scoreless starts, allowing just four hits over 12 innings, to lower his ERA to 2.18. He’s allowed batters a .184/.232/.310 line, giving him the 10th lowest OPS among qualified starters. He doesn’t whiff a lot of batters, but he’s riding a low BABIP. He’s held right-handed batters to a .135 average, mostly using a sinker/sweeper combo but changes that to a four-seamer/changeup/curveball/cutter arsenal against lefties. With a fastball that averages 90.9 mph, we’ll see how sustainable this is but it’s all working now. — Schoenfield
The Phillies went 11-3 in their first 14 games under interim manager Don Mattingly, posting a 3.16 ERA while hitting .267 and averaging 5.0 runs. Of course, the schedule has factored. In a 13-game stretch in which the Phillies played only the Cubs and Braves, they went 2-11, ending with Rob Thomson getting fired. They’ve played the Giants, Marlins, A’s, Rockies and Red Sox under Mattingly. Still, some slow starters are finally hitting: In that 14-game stretch, Alec Bohm had an .833 OPS with nine RBIs in the 11 games he played; Bryson Stott slugged .531 with 12 RBIs; and Brandon Marsh hit .457 to raise his average to an MLB-leading .350. — Schoenfield
Henry Bolte wasn’t on many people’s radars for a major league call-up this season, but his success in Triple-A became too much for the A’s to ignore. Bolte, a 22-year-old former second-round pick out of high school, recorded hits in 12 consecutive plate appearances at Las Vegas this month, including seven for extra bases in back-to-back games. Bolte should get some looks in center and right field with Denzel Clarke out with a bone bruise in his right foot. “He kind of forced the hand,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of Bolte. — Gonzalez
Jacob deGrom put together a vintage performance against a lethal Cubs lineup on Mother’s Day, throwing seven scoreless innings and striking out 10 to lower his ERA to 2.62. Offensive production continues to be a problem for the Rangers, consistently putting pressure on the pitching staff to keep them in games. And while their bullpen has been one of the best units in the sport this year, their rotation has mostly been middle of the pack. More performances such as the one from deGrom — and more health for Nathan Eovaldi, who was scratched from his last start with tightness in his left side — are needed. — Gonzalez
During Framber Valdez ‘s ugly May 5 start against the Red Sox — which ended for him with a Trevor Story HBP and a suspension for the left-hander — there were a lot of indications that Boston was discerning his pitch grips and relaying them to hitters. For that particular game, Valdez had worn a markedly smaller brown glove, which presumably made it a lot easier for Red Sox hitters to see his pitching hand in the set position. When Valdez played catch in K.C. over the weekend, he was back to using an oversized red glove. The guess here is he won’t wear that small glove again. — Olney
The D-backs officially waved goodbye to Alek Thomas earlier this week, trading him to the rival Dodgers for a teenage outfield prospect. Thomas was once considered a foundational player, but his defense didn’t prove spectacular enough to make up for his sagging offense. In his place, the D-backs called up center fielder Ryan Waldschmidt, the 31st pick in the 2024 draft. Waldschmidt gives a struggling Arizona offense an infusion of patience, power and base-stealing potential, but others need to get going around him. — Gonzalez
More young Marlins are making their way to the majors. Robby Snelling, a 22-year-old lefty and the No. 47 prospect in Kiley McDaniel’s preseason top 100, made his debut and allowed three runs in five innings, with his four walks perhaps a sign of first-game jitters. Catcher Joe Mack, the No. 61 prospect, has been up for nearly a couple of weeks. Reliever Josh Ekness throws 97 mph and could emerge as a key guy in the bullpen. Thomas White, the preseason No. 18 prospect, might be next, although the Marlins are bringing him along slowly in Triple-A (he’s yet to pitch five innings).
The Nationals continue to hang close to .500 thanks to an offense that is second behind the Braves in runs per game. It’s been a team effort. Jose Tena and Luis Garcia Jr. are hitting over .300 in May with an OPS over 1.000 for the month. CJ Abrams continues to drive in runs and James Wood continues to get on base and score runs. If only they had any semblance of a rotation. Manager Blake Butera has resorted to using an opener for Zack Littell after earlier doing it for Miles Mikolas. Both vets continue to struggle, however, and there isn’t any obvious help at Triple-A Rochester. — Schoenfield