MLB Power Rankings: Padres claim top spot, Braves behind eight ball

Welcome to the second edition of the MLB Power Rankings for the 2025 season.

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1. San Diego Padres

The Padres have come out on a mission this season. The club is 12-1 at Petco Park, outscoring opponents 66-19 with six shutouts. Fernando Tatis Jr. looks primed to make a run at NL MVP, as he's gone deep eight times with seven stolen bases and a 1.127 OPS over 21 games.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers' record is great, but they haven't been dominating games as expected. Yoshinobu Yamamoto looks like a $325-million arm with his 0.93 ERA and 11.8 K/9 through five starts. Roki Sasaki is slowly acclimating, but he's struggled going deep into games and owns a 5.16 FIP with an alarming 7.3 BB/9.

3. New York Mets

Pete Alonso has been a man possessed to start the season. The veteran slugger is hitting .346 and is second in the majors with 24 RBIs. It didn't come easy, but Alonso is showing just why it was so important the Mets brought him back this winter.

4. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs are tearing the cover off the ball, leading the majors in runs scored and ranking second in OPS. They'll need to continue doing damage at the plate, especially in light of ace left-hander Justin Steele's season-ending elbow injury.

5. Arizona Diamondbacks

D-Backs executive Mike Hazen is looking pretty sharp after inking shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to a four-year, $45-million extension in February. Perdomo has 16 walks to just nine strikeouts and has already equaled his home run total from last season. The 25-year-old is a perfect pairing with Corbin Carroll atop Arizona's deep lineup.

6. San Francisco Giants

Jung Hoo Lee is showing why the Giants gave him $113 million. The 26-year-old is coming into his own after being limited to 37 games last year as a rookie because of a shoulder injury. He's in a tie for fourth in the majors with 14 extra-base hits to go along with a .333/.389/.593 slash line while playing great defense in the outfield.

7. New York Yankees

It might be time to worry about Devin Williams. The normally lockdown closer has had a nightmarish start to his time in the Bronx. Williams allowed four hits in an outing for the first time in his career, and he's seen his K/9 drop and his BB/9 rise. His ERA also sits at 9.00. It's fair to wonder if Aaron Boone might remove him from the closer's role to try and get him back on track.

8. Philadelphia Phillies

It's been an inconsistent April for the Phillies, who won their first series over the weekend since taking one from the Dodgers at the beginning of the month. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Nick Castellanos have picked up the slack for the scuffling Alec Bohm and Max Kepler. The bullpen has also been one of the worst in the majors, with Jordan Romano posting a 15.26 ERA in 7 2/3 innings.

9. Detroit Tigers

Spencer Torkelson has hit the ground running. The former first overall pick leads the Tigers in home runs and RBIs and is drawing walks at the best rate of his career. Torkelson has become a crucial cog for the Tigers after there were major question marks about his place on the roster at the start of spring training.

10. Texas Rangers

Tyler Mahle is off to a blazing start. The 30-year-old owns an MLB-best 0.68 ERA and .112 opponent batting average. In terms of the bats, Joc Pederson has been a major disappointment. The veteran slugger is an abysmal 3-for-55 with a combined zero homers and RBIs over 18 games.

11. Milwaukee Brewers

Right-hander Chad Patrick moved into the rotation and has given manager Pat Murphy everything he could've hoped for and more. Patrick has a 2.11 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning pitched in five appearances (four starts). The 26-year-old has put himself in a position to keep a spot in the rotation even when some of Milwaukee's injured starters return.

12. Seattle Mariners

The Mariners won their fourth consecutive series over the weekend and sit above .500 despite being middle of the pack in runs and rotation ERA while sitting near the bottom of the majors in batting average and defensive rating. So, how are they successful? The Mariners are second in the majors in steals and fourth in walks, which has allowed them more opportunities to generate runs and win close games. Six of their 10 victories this month have come by two runs or fewer.

13. Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto's bullpen has been an early point of strength. Blue Jays relievers are above average in K/9 and ERA after ranking near the bottom of the league in those categories in 2024. The duo of Yimi García and Jeff Hoffman in the eighth and ninth innings looks like one of the league's best lockdown pairings.

14. Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox are finally getting the best of Trevor Story. The oft-injured shortstop is hitting .318/.348/.518 to go with a team-leading five home runs. Boston's been very inconsistent to open the season, though, with its flaws on full display. The lineup's struck out the second-most times in MLB, while the team also ranks last in errors.

15. Cincinnati Reds

Where would the Reds be without Hunter Greene? The right-hander has dominated in four of his five starts to begin 2025, authoring a 2.35 ERA with 18 hits in 30 2/3 innings, along with top-four rankings in WHIP and opponents' batting average. Take away one stinker against the Orioles over the weekend, where he allowed three homers and five earned runs, and Greene would likely be the early front-runner for the NL Cy Young.

16. Cleveland Guardians

Beating the White Sox and Pirates in six of their last 12 games certainly helped the Guardians after a rough patch to begin the month, but they're just 1-5 against teams over .500 this season. The Yankees and Red Sox coming to town will be a true test for a Guardians club that's struggled to score and has two important pieces of its bullpen - Emmanuel Clase and Paul Sewald - not pitching to their usual standards.

17. Houston Astros

The Astros' lineup just isn't the same without Kyle Tucker, who looks like an NL MVP candidate, and Alex Bregman. Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith have been respectable with a combined six homers, but Christian Walker is slashing .156/.253/.260 across 21 contests. On a positive note, Hunter Brown is emerging as a top starter. The 26-year-old's authored a 1.50 ERA with 0.83 WHIP and 22 strikeouts over 24 innings (four starts).

18. Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles' starting pitching is a mess. Baltimore ranks last in rotation ERA (6.11) and FIP (5.50) as the team tries to maneuver injuries and underperformance. Six Orioles starters, including Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, and Kyle Bradish, are on the injured list, while Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer, and Cade Povich have been disasters, combining to allow 52 earned runs and 14 homers in 58 2/3 innings.

19. Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays have struggled to generate much offensively in the first weeks of the season. However, Jonathan Aranda has been a steady source of offensive productivity. Aranda is among the league leaders in a number of batted-ball metrics. The 26-year-old has cut his strikeout rate and increased his walk rate. Aranda looks like he has staying power as a middle-of-the-order bat.

20. Atlanta Braves

The Braves own an 8-6 record since beginning the season in an 0-7 funk, but that's still not good enough to get it done in a tough NL East. If Atlanta is going to dig itself out of the basement and go on a run, it'll need Chris Sale to find his form. Last year's NL Cy Young winner is sporting a 6.17 ERA through five starts, with opposing hitters owning a .313 average against him.

21. St. Louis Cardinals

It's been an underwhelming start for the Cardinals and Wilson Contreras, in particular. Contreras is hitting well under .200 and running the highest strikeout rate and lowest walk rate of his 10-year career. The Cardinals will be hard-pressed to have much success if Contreras doesn't find a way to produce closer to his career norms.

22. Athletics

Slugger Tyler Soderstrom has been one of the surprise stories in the early part of the season. Soderstrom is tied for the league lead with nine home runs and is sporting an OPS over 1.000. The 23-year-old has legitimate 40-homer potential with the Athletics playing home games at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. The stadium is already looking like a huge boost for offensive numbers.

23. Los Angeles Angels

The Angels are digging the long ball. Los Angeles has hit the fourth-most homers (33) thanks to a healthy Mike Trout, who's got eight already. Kyren Paris has also come out of nowhere with five homers, five steals, and a 1.018 OPS over 19 games.

24. Kansas City Royals

The Royals have been a disappointment out of the gate after a surprising trip to the postseason in 2024. Both Salvador Perez and Jonathan India need to get it going at the plate. The two veterans have combined for just two homers and are both hovering around a .600 OPS.

25. Washington Nationals

James Wood is going to hit 50 homers in a season at one point in his career. He's already got seven this year and continues to show major opposite-field power. MacKenzie Gore also looks like he's taken another step forward, as the left-hander owns an MLB-best 45 strikeouts in just 29 innings.

26. Minnesota Twins

The Twins aren't in a good spot. They're eight games under .500, have an injured ace in Pablo López, and the club's two biggest stars - Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton - are hitting a combined .220 with five homers in 21 games. To make matters worse, fans aren't showing up to watch the product. Minnesota is averaging just 17,995 attendees through its first nine home games, which comes at a time when ownership uncertainty clouds the franchise's future.

27. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates are in the NL Central basement despite a strong start to the campaign for stars Paul Skenes and Oneil Cruz because of one of the worst offenses in the majors. Pittsburgh ranks 23rd in runs scored, 27th in homers and wRC+, and 29th in batting average and FanGraphs' offensive rating. Offseason acquisition Tommy Pham owns the third-worst OPS (.441) of any qualified player in the majors, while Ke'Bryan Hayes' 60 wRC+ ranks 148th out of 170 qualified big-leaguers.

28. Miami Marlins

It'll likely be another long season for the Marlins, but at least Max Meyer is finally healthy and turning into the pitcher the club envisioned he could be when they took him with the No. 3 pick in 2020. The 26-year-old has amassed a 2.63 ERA with 1.13 WHIP and 27 strikeouts across 24 innings (four starts).

29. Chicago White Sox

The White Sox showed some early promise to begin the season, even winning a series against the Red Sox, but it's been all downhill since. Chicago has lost six of its last seven, and it's been outscored by 29 runs in the losses. Only one regular - Matt Thaiss - sports an OPS above .750, and the team has combined for just 16 home runs and 68 runs scored. The starting pitching hasn't been miserable (4.30 ERA, 0.4 fWAR), but one of the club's best pitchers, Martín Pérez, went on the IL after a solid start to his campaign.

30. Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are a giant mess, and it's not even May yet. Colorado endured a franchise-record 32-inning scoreless streak and fired its hitting coach, while Kris Bryant revealed he's dealing with a lumbar degenerative disc disease.