MLB Power Rankings: Tigers take top spot, Twins on fire

Welcome to the fourth edition of the MLB Power Rankings for the 2025 season. The last edition ran May 5, while the next edition will be published June 2.

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1. Detroit Tigers

The Tigers have it all: good hitters, nasty pitchers, and that sprinkle of magic needed to win close games. The most promising development for Detroit is Tarik Skubal following up his Cy Young season with another great campaign. He's whittled his ERA down to 2.67 and owns an AL-leading 11.8 K/9.

2. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs took advantage of a soft part of their schedule by winning five out of six against the Marlins and White Sox. Chicago's lineup gets even deeper when Dansby Swanson mashes the ball. The two-time Gold Glover is slashing .372/.462/.628 with three homers, eight RBIs, and three stolen bases over his last 13 games.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

Although the Dodgers seemingly place a new player on the IL daily, Shohei Ohtani is starting to heat up. The three-time MVP has eight home runs, four doubles, 19 RBIs, and a 1.299 OPS over the last two weeks. He's accounted for 33% of Los Angeles' homers over that stretch.

4. New York Yankees

Aaron Judge might not have Juan Soto hitting alongside him anymore, but his supporting cast has been quite good of late. Jasson Domínguez and Cody Bellinger each have an OPS over .970 over the last two weeks and have combined for seven home runs. New York is third in MLB in homers in May.

5. New York Mets

Juan Soto's return to the Bronx was a bit of a dud. The star outfielder went 1-for-10 with four walks as the Mets dropped two of three to the Yankees. Soto has eight home runs and an .822 OPS in his first 46 games in Queens compared to nine home runs and a .917 OPS through 46 contests with the Yankees last year.

6. San Diego Padres

The Padres' bullpen has stumbled over the past two weeks after being a strength to start the season. San Diego relievers have collectively posted a 8.66 ERA with three blown saves after allowing 34 earned runs over 35 1/3 innings. On a positive note, Manny Machado has found his form. He's hitting .413 with six RBIs and a 190 wRC+ over his last 13 games.

7. Philadelphia Phillies

Kyle Schwarber's done much of the heavy lifting as the Phillies have slowly found their stride. The impending free agent is second in the NL with 15 home runs. The back end of the bullpen will be tested with José Alvarado's 80-game suspension. He leads the club with seven saves.

8. San Francisco Giants

The major-league leader in RBIs is ... Wilmer Flores. The 33-year-old has already driven in 42 runs in 46 games thanks to a ridiculous .395/.500/.744 slash line with runners in scoring position. Flores already has three games in which he's collected at least four RBIs.

9. Minnesota Twins

The Twins are rolling. Minnesota has followed up a 13-14 record in April with a 13-3 mark in May, which includes a 13-game winning streak that was snapped Sunday. A huge factor in the team's success is an incredible pitching staff that owns an MLB-best 2.39 ERA and 1.04 WHIP this month. Hopefully, Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa return from injury soon.

10. St. Louis Cardinals

So much for the rebuild. The Cardinals have been one of baseball's hottest teams, winning 12 of their last 14 games. Their rotation, led by Sonny Gray and the emerging Matthew Liberatore, has been surprisingly good. The group ranks fourth in the NL in ERA (3.53) and third in WHIP (1.20) while throwing the third-most innings (259 1/3).

11. Seattle Mariners

Seattle dropped five of six at home against the Blue Jays and Yankees before sweeping the Padres in San Diego. Closer Andrés Muñoz has thrown 20 1/3 scoreless innings to start the season, having allowed just seven hits while striking out 27.

12. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks are somehow 1-3 when scoring 10-plus runs, with the latest setback coming in a 14-12 loss to the Rockies on Saturday. Arizona needs to figure out what's wrong with Zac Gallen, who's surrendered 11 earned runs over his last 17 2/3 innings. He's got a 5.14 ERA in his walk year.

13. Houston Astros

Houston's hovered around .500 this month thanks to an elite pitching staff that's masked an underwhelming offense. Ronel Blanco, Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown have a combined 2.57 ERA in May, while Jose Altuve doesn't have a home run or RBI in his last 15 games.

14. Atlanta Braves

Atlanta's starting pitching has been key in helping turn things around. The rotation is third in MLB with a 2.70 ERA this month and is set to welcome Spencer Strider back again Tuesday. The offense is starting to show signs of life and should receive a jolt with Ronald Acuña Jr. finally nearing his return.

15. Texas Rangers

The Rangers won seven of their last nine games thanks to a pitching staff that surrendered a combined 20 earned runs. Nathan Eovaldi continues to be nails, as he's given up one run with 19 strikeouts over his last 18 2/3 innings (three starts). Jacob deGrom also looks like he's back, allowing two runs with 17 punchouts across his last 13 innings (two starts).

16. Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians continue to defy projections and keep pace with their AL Central peers. José Ramírez, as always, has been the engine that makes everything go. The dynamic third baseman owns a 1.112 OPS over the last two weeks with four home runs and four stolen bases.

17. Kansas City Royals

The Royals' rotation depth will be tested with top starters Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo on the IL. Kris Bubic's emergence will help ease the pressure, as the left-hander owns a sparkling 1.66 ERA with 1.10 WHIP and 9.3 K/9 this season after giving up one earned run over his last 13 1/3 innings (two starts).

18. Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox have dropped 11 of their last 17 games and are dealing with a number of issues. The starting pitching behind Garrett Crochet is getting crushed, and they're getting almost no production from the middle-infield tandem of Trevor Story and Kristian Campbell this month. The pair is hitting 13-for-102 (.127) with two home runs and 36 strikeouts in 25 games.

19. Cincinnati Reds

If you need a home run, call Will Benson. The 26-year-old has five homers in his last four games and owns more extra-base hits (seven) than strikeouts (five) this season. Benson's already tied for fourth on the club in homers despite only playing eight games.

20. Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are really missing the comforts of Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay is 11-17 at Steinbrenner Field with a minus-nine run differential. The Rays haven't had a losing home record since 2016.

21. Toronto Blue Jays

Daulton Varsho has injected some life into what was a stagnant offense. The center fielder leads the team with six home runs despite playing just 14 games since coming off the IL. He also owns a .898 OPS. Nine of Varsho's 12 hits have gone for extra bases.

22. Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers have been shut out six times in May, including four times over the last six games. Milwaukee's offensive woes are creating negative vibes in the clubhouse. Manager Pat Murphy publicly said his team didn't go out and spend a lot of money in the offseason, while Rhys Hoskins admitted the offense stinks.

23. Washington Nationals

The Nationals likely hoped they'd be a little further along in their rebuild by now, but CJ Abrams and James Wood are at least playing like cornerstone pieces. The duo has seven home runs and 16 RBIs, and both players are sporting an OPS over .900 in May.

24. Los Angeles Angels

One of the highlights of the Angels' season will probably end up being a surprising three-game sweep of the Dodgers in the Freeway Series. Taylor Ward has six homers over the last two weeks after going deep twice against the in-state rivals. However, Ward somehow only carries a .691 OPS despite 12 home runs on the year.

25. Athletics

The Athletics dropped five straight and nine of their last 11 games as the pitching staff has crumbled. The club allowed an AL-worst 90 runs (6.77 ERA) over its last 13 games. Making matters worse, the offense has only scored 52 times over that span, with 22 of those runs coming in two games.

26. Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles are a disaster and recently fired manager Brandon Hyde. There is plenty of blame to go around, but the pitching staff might be the biggest offender. This group has been worth a baffling minus-0.5 fWAR with the worst ERA (5.55), FIP (5.03), and HR/9 rate (1.7) in the AL.

27. Chicago White Sox

Maybe the new pope can't help the White Sox. General manager Chris Getz joked that a higher power led to his team's 4-3 record since the arrival of Pope Leo XIV. However, Chicago proceeded to lose four in a row, including a sweep at the hands of the Cubs. The White Sox have dropped eight straight to the North Siders.

28. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton and made him the scapegoat for what's shaping up to be another dismal season in Pittsburgh. The offense has been absolutely punchless, hitting the fewest home runs in the NL (33) with a combined wRC+ (72), which is only better than the historically bad Rockies. Somebody please get Paul Skenes some help.

29. Miami Marlins

The Marlins likely entered the season planning to trade away former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara at the deadline. Unfortunately for them, their ace has been a shell of himself in his return from Tommy John surgery. The two-time All-Star owns a 7.99 ERA and 1.61 WHIP through nine starts.

30. Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are 1-5 since firing manager Bud Black. In true Colorado baseball fashion, they sandwiched a 14-12 win over the Diamondbacks on the weekend with a pair of shutout losses. The Rockies have played 14 different opponents this season and have a losing record against all of them.