MLB Power Rankings: Concern for the Dodgers? (6/9)

There are six divisions around baseball. As I write this, the first-place team has at least a .600 winning percentage in four of those divisions — both Easts and both Centrals. The AL West-leading Astros sit at 36-29, a .554 winning percentage. And the Dodgers are out in front of the NL West, but at 39-27, their winning percentage is .591. The overwhelming favorites from the start of the season have only the fifth-best record right now, owing to their overwhelming load of pitchers on the IL. There’s no shame in a 96-win pace, but the Dodgers sitting behind four other teams in the standings right now is a surprise.

That’s not the case in the latest edition of our MLB Power Rankings, where the Dodgers are still closer to the top of the heap. Check out notes on all 30 teams below, and then scroll to the bottom for the latest

Fantasy Baseball Power Rankings (6/9)

1. New York Yankees (Last Week: 2)

39-25, 95.8 projected wins

Aaron Judge OPS by month:

• April: 1.159
• May: 1.251
• June so far: 1.224

Dude’s a machine.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (Last Week: 1)

39-27, 95.2 projected wins

The Dodgers have the league leader in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, and remarkably, that’s three different dudes — Freddie Freeman’s average (.345), Will Smith’s OBP (.428) and Shohei Ohtani’s slugging (.633).

3. New York Mets (Last Week: 4)

42-24, 94.1 projected wins

Juan Soto’s at a .346 average in June, and even better: 12 walks against 4 strikeouts. Turns out you can’t necessarily judge a 15-year contract by two months.

4. Detroit Tigers (Last Week: 3)

43-24, 92.6 projected wins

Tarik Skubal (deservedly) gets all the headlines, but after a lull in May, Jack Flaherty has righted the ship lately, going 18 innings and allowing 1 run with 21 strikeouts against 5 walks in his last three starts.

5. Chicago Cubs (Last Week: 6)

40-25, 91.6 projected wins

The Cubs have no one with a .900 OPS, but five different guys with at least an .870 — Carson Kelly (.872), Michael Busch (.890), Pete Crow-Armstrong (.871), Kyle Tucker (.899) and Seiya Suzuki (.881). Add in Matt Shaw’s turnaround since being called back up, and this is a very balanced offense.

6. Philadelphia Phillies (Last Week: 5)

37-28, 88.9 projected wins

Since reaching 36-19, the Phillies have lost 9 and 10. And the offense has gone in the tank, with a 68 wRC+ over the last two weeks that is better only than the Rangers and Rockies.

7. Houston Astros (Last Week: 11)

36-29, 86.8 projected wins

Call them the Houston Lurkers, because the Astros just hung out in a middling second place in the AL West, and then when the Mariners started to flounder, they took off — they’ve made up 6 games in the standings on the Mariners, going 10-4 with the Mariners at 4-10.

8. San Francisco Giants (Last Week: 10)

38-28, 86.3 projected wins

The Giants pulled the plug on LaMonte Wade Jr., sending the former OBP monster to the Angels for a bag of peanuts. Somehow, Dominic Smith is slated to be the starting first baseman for a potential playoff team.

9. San Diego Padres (Last Week: 7)

37-27, 86.1 projected wins

He turns 33 next week and has five different top-10 MVP finishes in his career, but Manny Machado is on pace to rival the best season of his career right now. He’s played every game and has 2.6 bWAR and a career-best 155 wRC+ right now.

10. Toronto Blue Jays (Last Week: 12)

35-30, 85.0 projected wins

When the Blue Jays traded for Andrés Giménez, the conversation was “great fielder, and maybe his hitting will rebound to his monster 2022 performance.” Unfortunately, it’s gone the other way, with Giménez hitting a pitiful .206/.285/.312. The defense is still excellent, but that slash line is barely playable for any glove.

11. Seattle Mariners (Last Week: 8)

33-31, 84.1 projected wins

As Cal Raleigh goes, so go the Mariners: He’s at .291/.396/.803 with 18 home runs in wins, but .252/.363/.504 with 8 home runs in losses.

12. Minnesota Twins (Last Week: 13)

35-30, 83.9 projected wins

Is he heating up? Royce Lewis was sitting at .130/.200/.203 at the end of May, but in seven June games, he’s got 7 hits (almost double the 4 he had before June) and slashing .389/.522/.500.

13. Tampa Bay Rays (Last Week: 17)

35-30, 83.8 projected wins

Drew Rasmussen gave up 2 runs Sunday. That’s not that notable (2 runs, 6 innings? Good start!), except … it was his first runs allowed since May 11. He had four straight scoreless starts in between.

14. St. Louis Cardinals (Last Week: 14)

36-29, 83.7 projected wins

It’s weird when things just click for an entire roster, but that’s what happened for the Cardinals. They were 14-19 at the end of May 2. Since then, they’re 22-10. They flipped from a 69-win pace to 111.

15. Atlanta Braves (Last Week: 9)

27-37, 83.1 projected wins

It was easy to say the Braves would right the ship for a while, but now we’re approaching mid-June, they’re 10 games under .500, they’re in fourth place (2.5 games ahead of the Marlins), and they’ve lost seven in a row. It might turn into sell season in Atlanta.

16. Arizona Diamondbacks (Last Week: 15)

31-34, 82.0 projected wins

With Corbin Burnes out for the year (and likely much of 2026), the Diamondbacks are going to go back to leaning on Zac Gallen … which is why it’s rough that he’s at a 5.15 ERA with a 4.88 FIP so far.

17. Milwaukee Brewers (Last Week: 20)

35-31, 81.6 projected wins

Jose Quintana has had such a weird career. He put up a 4.51 ERA in his age-28 to age-32 seasons 2017-2021, including a disastrous 6.43 in 2021. He was done. Instead, from age 33 to age 36 (now), he’s played for four teams and has a 3.32 ERA, including sitting at 4-1, 2.66 this year.

18. Cleveland Guardians (Last Week: 16)

34-30, 80.7 projected wins

The Guardians were eagerly anticipating the return of Shane Bieber, but after a setback late last week that has him consulting the doctor who did his Tommy John, they can no longer really count on anything from him.

19. Kansas City Royals (Last Week: 19)

34-32, 80.4 projected wins

Jac Caglianone is hitting a disappointing .240/.240/.320 through six games, but (a) tiny, tiny sample, and (b) his hard-hit rate would rank fifth if he qualified, and his exit velocity would rank 19^th. He might strike out a lot, but the hits will start falling.

20. Texas Rangers (Last Week: 18)

31-35, 79.7 projected wins

Since dropping from the 1 spot in the lineup, Marcus Semien is hitting a respectable .259/.351/.381 in 44 games. Since dropping from the 5 hole, he’s .362/.426/.617 in 15 games. Maybe he’s working out the kinks.

21. Boston Red Sox (Last Week: 21)

32-35, 79.4 projected wins

Listen, I don’t know if the Red Sox should call up Roman Anthony yet or not. These things are complicated. I just want to watch this and go “whoa” a few times.

22. Cincinnati Reds (Last Week: 22)

33-33, 77.7 projected wins

Is the good Christian Encarnacion-Strand showing up? He slashed a miserable .190/.220/.293 last year, then was at .158/.183/.298 before hitting the IL in April. But in three games since returning, CES is 7-13 with 3 home runs. That would be a big boon to the Reds.

23. Baltimore Orioles (Last Week: 23)

26-38, 76.2 projected wins

Not much has gone well for the Orioles this year, but Jackson Holliday has rebounded nicely from a rough rookie year. He’s a respectable .263/.316/.433 right now.

24. Los Angeles Angels (Last Week: 25)

30-34, 76.0 projected wins

Since returning from the IL, Mike Trout is slashing .344/.432/.469 in nine games. Better: Since Trout returned, Jo Adell is slashing .345/.441/.897.

25. Washington Nationals (Last Week: 24)

30-35, 75.0 projected wins

Kyle Finnegan’s at 18 saves now and a 2.38 ERA. The Nationals bullpen has a 5.81 ERA overall. Man, imagine if he had landed on any other team.

26. Pittsburgh Pirates (Last Week: 26)

26-40, 71.6 projected wins

Telling a pitcher that he can’t get a win if he even gives up one run is the epitome of bad vibes, but Paul Skenes’ only win since the end of April came in his only scoreless start. He’s gotten a no decision or a loss in five of his last six starts despite no more than 1 run allowed in any of them.

27. Miami Marlins (Last Week: 27)

24-39, 68.9 projected wins

Sandy Alcantara’s start last Tuesday (6 innings, 2 runs) was his best of the year. That’s … not a compliment. He’s still at a 7.89 ERA and 5.03 FIP on the season.

28. Sacramento Athletics (Last Week: 28)

26-41, 68.5 projected wins

Lawrence Butler has righted the ship lately. Check out his home/road splits. He’s got basically the same batting average (.273 at home, .272 on the road) and similar OBPs (.345 vs. .336). But he’s slugging far better in Sacramento (.516 vs. .432). That’s 20 extra-base hits vs. 12. He likes it in Sac-town.

29. Chicago White Sox (Last Week: 29)

22-44, 60.0 projected wins

It’s another miserable year on the South Side, but the White Sox have found some success with Rule 5 draft pick Shane Smith, who has a 2.45 ERA through 12 starts.

30. Colorado Rockies (Last Week: 30)

12-53, 51.7 projected wins

The Rockies finally won three in a row, sweeping the Marlins. They celebrated that by … getting outscored 25-8 to the Mets in a three-game sweep.

Check out our full rankings below: