MLB Power Rankings (Updated June 9)

1. St. Louis Cardinals (38-20, previous No. 1) – The Cardinals continue to prove they are the best team in baseball with yet another dominant weekas they now lead the NL Central by 6.5 games. Michael Wacha continues to pick up the slack, with Adam Wainwright being lost for season, as he’s second in the NL with eight wins.

2. Houston Astros (34-25, previous No. 2) – Maybe the fall back to Earth has started for the Astros as they have lost five straight games, but even with the struggles of late, they still hold a three-game lead in the AL West. It will be interesting to see if Houston can bounce back and regain its early season form.

3. Minnesota Twins (33-24, previous No. 3) – Thanks to a 20-10 home record, the Twins are now tied with the Royals for first place in the AL Central. Arguably the most surprising team in baseball to open the season, they are led by Mike Pelfrey, who has a 2.28 ERA, the fourth-best in the AL.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers (33-25, previous No. 4) – Thoughthe Dodgers have dropped six of their last 10 games, they still sit atop the NL West standings by a game over the Giants. Adrian Gonzalez’s power numbers have gone down a bit, but he still is fifth in the NL, hitting .329.

5. Kansas City Royals (32-23, previous No. 6) – Kansas City holds a very slim lead over the Twins in the AL Central with its plus-43 run differential, the second-best mark in the AL. The Royalsalso would have six of the nine AL All-Star starters if All-Star Game voting ended today.

6. New York Yankees (32-25, previous No. 13) – The Yankees have been on a roll of late, winning six in a row and seven of their last 10 to lead the AL East. Their offense, led by Mark Teixeira, has led the wayas his 17 home runs and 45 RBIs are second and first in the AL respectively.

7. San Francisco Giants (32-26, previous No. 5) – San Francisco had a chance to take advantage of the Dodgers struggling, but it too haswon just four times its last 10 games and still trails them by a game in the division. Madison Bumgarner has rebounded after a slow start to rack up seven wins, tied for fourth in the NL.

8. Pittsburgh Pirates (31-26, previous No. 12) – The Pirates have a plus-43 run differential, third-best in the NL, but they still sit in third place in the NL Central. Their pitching staff, especially starting rotation, continues to lead the way as Gerrit Cole (1.73) and A.J. Burnett (2.11) are both in the top five in NL ERA’s.

9. Tampa Bay Rays (31-27, previous No. 16) – Like the rest of the AL East, the Rays have been on a hot streak of late, winning seven of 10 games to move 1.5 games behind the Yankees. Chris Archer is dominating, as his 1.84 ERA is second in the AL.

10. New York Mets (31-27, previous No. 7) – New York is back on top of the NL East standings, leading the Nationals by half a game. Bartolo Colon continues to lead the Mets’ rotation with his eight wins, the second-most in the NL. If the Mets want to look to find a way to get better, they can point to their 10-19 road record.

11. Chicago Cubs (30-25, previous No. 11) – Chicago has played well so far this year, they just happen to be in the same division as the best team in baseball so they are 6.5 games out of first. Anthony Rizzo is having a solid season, batting .332, fourth in the NL and has a WAR of 3.2, tied for third in the NL.

12. Washington Nationals (30-27, previous No. 8) – Washington is in the midst of a funk, losing eight of its last 10 games to fall out of first place in the NL East. Bryce Harper, with an NL-leading 19 homers, and Max Scherzer (1.85 ERA) continue to have good years, but need help from the rest of the team.

13. Texas Rangers (30-27, previous No. 15) – Texas and Josh Hamilton received a tough break, as after he returned to the majors he suffered a hamstring injury and is expected to miss about a month. Even with the loss, the Rangers have won seven of 10 games to move three games behind the Astros in the AL West.

14. Detroit Tigers (30-28, previous No. 9) – Detroit is under-performing as it currently sits in third in the AL Central because it has dropped eight of its last 10 games. Things have gone so poorly they now have a minus-three run differential on the year. Miguel Cabrera’s .320 average is fifth in the AL.

15. San Diego Padres (30-29, previous No. 17) – San Diego has won seven of its last 10 games, but still trails the Dodgers by 3.5 games in the NL West. Ironically, they have a better road record (15-14) than they do home record (15-15). For them to challenge the Dodgers they will need to get better from the mound.

16. Toronto Blue Jays (29-30, previous No. 23) – It has been a very strange season in Toronto, as even though they have the best run differential in the AL, at plus-53, they are still four games behind the Yankees in the AL East. The Blue Jays are one of the hottest teams in baseball at the moment, winning six straight and seven of 10.

17. Los Angeles Angels (28-29, previous No. 10) – It appeared the Angels were going to make a run, but things have turned in a hurry as they have lost five straight games to fall five games out in the AL West. Center fielder Mike Trout is doing everything he can, as his 3.5 WAR is second in the American League.

18. Cleveland Indians (27-29, previous No. 19) – Cleveland is trying to get back in the AL Central race, as they trail the Royals by 5.5 games. Jason Kipnis has the best WAR in the AL at 3.7, to go along with his .338 batting average, the second-best mark in the AL.

19. Atlanta Braves (27-30, previous No. 14) – Things aren’t going as well as they should in Atlanta as the Braves have lost six of their last 10 games to fall into third place in the NL East. Shelby Miller continues to be a bright spot with his 1.84 ERA, the second-best in the NL.

20. Arizona Diamondbacks (27-30, previous No. 21) – Even though Arizona is three games below .500, they are only 5.5 games back in the NL West and remain in striking distance. They will need to have more than Paul Goldschmidt perform for them, as currently his .340 average is third in the NL and his 47 RBIs are second.

21. Boston Red Sox (27-31, previous No. 26) – The Red Sox had their first three-game winning streak since the first week of the season, but couldn’t gain any ground in the AL East because everyone else in the division was hot as well. Their starting pitching has come around and their potentially powerful offense has shown signs of doing the same.

22. Chicago White Sox (26-30, previous No. 20) – Opening the year it was thought the White Sox would have a chance to make the playoffs, but as of now that doesn’t look like it will happen. They have a minus-54 run differential, the worst in the American League.

23. Baltimore Orioles (26-30, previous No. 22) – Baltimore is the only AL East team not to go on a mini-win streak this past week, as they have dropped six of their last 10 games. They have a big home series with the Red Sox this week, as both are currently the worst two teams in the division.

24. Colorado Rockies (26-30, previous No. 25) – Despite one of the worst records in baseball, the Rockies still are far from out of anything in the NL West, trailing the Dodgers by 5.5 games. DJ LeMahieu’s .342 average is second-best in the NL.

25. Seattle Mariners (25-32, previous No. 18) – Seattle’s minus-30 run differential is third-worst in the AL as even with Nelson Cruz’s AL-leading 18 home runs, they are struggling to score runs. At eight games out in the AL West, they are in danger of falling out of the division race and it isn’t even the middle of June.

26. Cincinnati Reds (25-31, previous No. 24) – Because the Reds play in the division with the best team in baseball, their playoff chances aren’t very high, as they currently trail the Cardinals by 12 games.

27. Miami Marlins (24-34, previous No. 27) – Even though the Marlins are seven games out in the NL East, Giancarlo Stanton has turned it on of late hitting 19 home runs and driving in 49 runs on the year, both the most in the National League.

28. Oakland Athletics (23-36, previous No. 28) – Oakland is a disaster this season as their bullpen as lost many games for them this season, none bigger than blowing a 4-0 lead in the eighth inning before losing to the Red Sox 7-4 on Sunday. They have a plus-three run differential, which shows their offense is there, they just cannot close games out late.

29. Philadelphia Phillies (22-37, previous No. 29) – The Phillies have dropped seven of theirlast 10 games and now sit 9.5 games out in the NL East. Theyhave a major league worst minus-76 run differential.

30. Milwaukee Brewers (21-37, previous No. 30) – Milwaukee just cannot recover from its miserable start as they still have the worst record in baseball and a minus-61 run differential.