MLB Power Rankings: Yankees, Orioles Battling For Top Spot

The MLB season is only a month and a half old, but there have already been several surprises this season. The Chicago Cubs - the consensus preseason title favorite - are barely over .500, yet they are just one of a handful of teams that are surprisingly struggling. The Blue Jays, Giants and Rangers are all in last place in their respective divisions. That said, there have also been plenty of pleasant surprises, like the Yankees hot start and the Rockies leading the NL West. 

How does every team in the league stack up as we approach the quarter point of the season? Here's our latest MLB Power Rankings:

30) San Francisco Giants (11-23)
What can we say about the Giants? Everyone on their roster has either gotten off to a terrible start or has gotten injured.

29) San Diego Padres (13-21)
We knew that San Diego was going to struggle this year, and that has been the case. They've lost five of their last six games.

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28) Atlanta Braves (11-19)
Atlanta looked like they were trending in the right direction a week ago, but they have since gone 0-5. Consistency will be a problem with this young team all season long.

27) Toronto Blue Jays (12-21)
The Blue Jays are no longer the dumpster fire they were in the first few weeks of the season, playing roughly .500 ball of late. However, they still have a huge hole they need to dig themselves out of.

26) Kansas City Royals (12-20)
The Royals are still recovering from their nine-game losing streak and have gone 5-4 over their last nine games. Still that streak came against the Twins, White Sox and Rangers - none of whom are exactly great.

25) Philadelphia Phillies (13-18)
Philly was 11-9 and things were looking up for them this year, but they have since lost nine of their last 11 games.

24) Miami Marlins (13-19)
As bad as Philadelphia's tailspin is, Miami's is worse - they have lost 11 of their last 14 games. However, they get the slight nod over their NL East foe because they're more talented.

23) Texas Rangers (14-20)
Texas was expected to compete for a World Series title this year. Instead, they've lost seven of their last 10 games and have uncharacteristically struggled to push runs across the plate. There is still time for them to turn it around, and that will start when their bats start to come alive.

22) Tampa Bay Rays (16-19)
Tampa Bay has been more competitive than expected, but have lost four of their last five games. Their four errors against the Royals on Monday shows where this team needs to improve.

21) Pittsburgh Pirates (14-19)
The Pirates nearly won 100 games just two seasons ago, and have since fallen off the cliff. They have lost seven of their last 10 games.

20) Oakland A's (15-18)
Oakland has won four of their last six games, but that comes on the heels of a 1-8 stretch. Still, they're a young group with upside.

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19) Los Angeles Angels (17-18)
Seems like the Angels are going to be a streaky team all year. They're currently in the funk, losing five of their last seven games.

18) Chicago White Sox (15-16)
Following a six-game win streak that had the White Sox looking like one of the better teams in the league, they have lost seven of their last nine games.

17) Seattle Mariners (16-17)
Despite their multitude of injuries, the Mariners have shaken off their terrible start to tie the Angels for second in the division. Their bats have come alive in their current 5-1 stretch.

16) New York Mets (16-16)
The Mets have been an absolute trainwreck off the field this year (we don't need to dive into all of that), but that has overshadowed their on-field play. An 8-3 run has put them back to .500 on the year.

15) Detroit Tigers (16-15)
Detroit ranks third in the majors in quality starts, which is one of two things this group does exceptionally well. The other? Bouncing back from losing skids, which is why they're over .500.

14) Milwaukee Brewers (17-16)
Eric Thames has been perhaps the best story of the young MLB season, and he leads an exciting Milwaukee offense. However, their pitching leaves a little something to be desired.

13) Minnesota Twins (16-14)
The Twins have been surprisingly solid all season long, but two blowout losses to the Red Sox this weekend gave them a negative run differential on the season.

12) Arizona Diamondbacks (18-16)
Most of Arizona's losses this season have come against good teams, though they are in a recent slide, losing five of their last six games.

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11) Cincinnati Reds (18-15)
Cincinnati appeared to be crumbing back to earth with a 1-8 stretch a few weeks ago, but have since won eight of their last 10 games. Another month of this, and the Reds will convince us that they're for real.

10) Chicago Cubs (17-16)
Yes, the Cubs haven't been the dominant team we all expected them to be. They have played arguably the toughest schedule in the league to this point, but pretty much everyone on their roster is also underachieving. Chicago still has plenty of time to get back on track, however.

9) Boston Red Sox (17-15)
Boston ranks in the top three in the league in both batting average and on-base percentage, as well as in the top 10 in ERA, WHIP and quality starts. So, why are they only two games above .500? Consistency, or a lack thereof.

8) Los Angeles Dodgers (19-14)
The Dodgers have the second-best run differential in the majors (+50) and are great at home. The problem is their struggles on the road (7-8).

7) Cleveland Indians (18-14)
The Indians have been solid, as is expected, and their record is set to improve in a big way once they get their rhythm at home - they are only 6-6 in Cleveland so far this season.

6) St. Louis Cardinals (18-14)
St. Louis was another team that got off to a terrible start, but they have been red hot since, winning 15 of their last 20 games. They're in first place in the NL Central and have ben largest run differential in the National League.

5) Colorado Rockies (21-13)
Now, we reach the 20+ win club of the power rankings list, led by Colorado. There are reasons why they may regress - they have allowed the second-most runs of any team with a winning record - but their offense is legit and they keep finding ways to win games against quality competition. The jury is still out on the Rockies.

4) Washington Nationals (21-12)
The Nationals still have bullpen concerns, but they have a 4.5 game lead in their division and a +50 run differential. They will not be challenged in the NL East.

3) Houston Astros (22-11)
As good as Washington has been, Houston actually has the largest lead (six games) of any of the six division leaders. They're among the two best teams in the league in ERA, WHIP and opponents batting average, showing the dominance of their pitching staff.

2) Baltimore Orioles (22-10)
Don't look now, but the Orioles have the best record in baseball thanks to a six-game win streak. Baltimore also has the league's best home record (13-3).

1) New York Yankees (21-10)
New York does trail the Orioles by a half game in the AL East, but they have been more impressive than any team in the MLB. They lead the majors in run differential (+56) and are second in runs scored. Led by Aaron Judge's breakout season, the Yankees are a title threat once again.

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