USA TODAY International Edition
Status quo in MLB power rankings
Dodgers and rest of the top five hold steady
How USA TODAY’s eight-person panel voted this week in the MLB power rankings: 1. Dodgers (movement from last week, –): Corey Seager (hitting .425 in June) heads to the injured list with a hamstring injury.
2. Astros (–): Yordan Alvarez hit four homers in his first five games. 3. Twins (–): Jorge Polanco is leading the AL batting title race.
4. Rays (–): Charlie Morton’s first loss came in his 15th start of the year. 5. Yankees (–): Giancarlo Stanton is set to make his return this week. 6. Braves (+3): They’re on fire, starting June with 12 wins in 15 games. 7. Cubs (-1): They haven’t played the Brewers since May 10 and won’t again until July 26. 8. Brewers (-1): Christian Yelich making a run at a 40-40 season. 9. Phillies (-1): Looking up in the National League East for the first time since April. 10. Red Sox (–): With plenty of room to upgrade, they’re a team to watch at the deadline. 11. Rangers (+1): 36-year-old Hunter Pence leads the team in RBI. 12. Rockies (-1): Charlie Blackmon went 21-for-37 with three four-hit games last week. 13. Diamondbacks (+3): The price for Zack Greinke (8-2, 2.65 ERA) just keeps going up. 14. Cardinals (–): Paul DeJong now has 19 extra-base hits in 20 games against the Mets. 15. Indians (+3): The Twins’ dominance should make it an easier decision for the Indians to sell. 16. Athletics (+1): Prospects A.J. Puk and Jesus Luzardo impressive in their first minor league outings of 2019. 17. Padres (-4): Hunter Renfroe on pace to be San Diego’s first 50-homer man since 1998.
18. Mets (-3): Edwin Diaz has blown three of his last six save attempts. 19. Nationals (+1): Quietly won 14 of 21 games from May 24 to June 16. 20. Angels (+1): Shohei Ohtani becomes the first Japanese-born player to hit for the cycle. 21. White Sox (+2): Big road trip starting Tuesday: at Cubs, Rangers and Red Sox. 22. Reds (–): Scooter Gennett getting a rehab stint underway after missing nearly three months.
23. Pirates (-4): The first All-Star voting update has Josh Bell leading at first base. 24. Giants (–): Only a matter of time before the strip-mining of this team begins. 25. Mariners (+1): With Edwin Encarnacion gone, who will be the next Mariner traded? 26. Tigers (-1): Manager Ron Gardenhire leads the majors with five ejections in 2019. 27. Blue Jays (–): Cavan Biggio playing in Houston was a cool thing to see. 28. Marlins (–): Sixto Sanchez, the big piece in the JT Realmuto trade, looking sharp in Class AA.
29. Royals (–): Adalberto Mondesi could be the first since 1990 to steal 50 bases with 100 RBI. 30. Orioles (–): Top pick Adley Rutschmann wins the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top amateur.