MLB Power Rankings: Chicago Cubs, White Sox at the top

17. The Braves continue to be the worst team in the majors having just seven wins on the season and winners of three of their past 10 games. They are already 11 games back in the NL East, with the team having even fewer team home runs (six) than their win total (seven). As a team they are batting .228 (27th overall) and there isn’t much of a silver lining for this squad in 2016.. . Previous: 30th. Atlanta Braves. 30. team

. Previous: 29th. Minnesota Twins. 29. team. 2. The Twins have won three of their past 10 games, and are still in the single-digit win total with just eight wins. On the road they have many woes with a 2-11 mark this season, but are near the middle of the pack in team batting average in the majors at .242 and in the same spot in team ERA at 4.06.

28. team. 127. The Padres are 23rd in the majors in batting average at .236 and 21st in in team ERA at 4.31. They are last in the NL West at 11-16, but still are just 3.5 games back of the top spot in the division. They are 4-6 in their past 10 games and have a road record of 5-8 and home mark of 6-8.. . Previous: 28th. San Diego Padres

team. 43. The Yankees with all they have at their fingertips are a huge disappointment this season with just eight wins as the season is into the first week of May. They won just three times in their past 10 games, and are pretty bad on the road with a 3-8 record. The Yankees have struggled with pitching this season with a 4.74 ERA and are 23rd in batting at .234.. . Previous: 21st. New York Yankees. 27

61. The Reds are one of the toughest teams to watch in the majors because no lead is safe for them once the starting pitcher exits the game. The pitching of the Reds has the worst ERA when their team has the lead at 6.39. Their bullpen is a big problem as well, with their relievers having an ERA of 6.52 in 98 innings (the worst in baseball), which is over a full point higher than the team in 29th place. If the Reds don’t fix their bullpen soon (they’ve allowed at least one run in 21 straight games), they could be entering the same territory as the Braves.. . Previous: . Cincinnati Reds. 26. team

Milwaukee Brewers. 25. team. 76. Not many expected much from the Brewers this season, but are they as bad as their overall record? Milwaukee has the 15th best batting average at .243, but their pitching has been terrible. Milwaukee currently has the worst ERA in the majors at 5.52, leading them to winning just four of their past 10 games, which isn’t going to cut it in the NL Central.. . Previous:

team. 135. Just like last week I’m still at a loss for how poorly the Astros have played thus far this season. They are 23rd in the majors in reliever ERA at 4.30, the ERA of their starting pitching isn’t any better at 5.13 (26th in the majors), and they are 29th with a team batting average of .225. Houston has won four of its past 10 games and it doesn’t look like things will get better any time soon as they have just nine wins this season.. . Previous: . Houston Astros. 24

21. The Rays should have more than 11 wins, but they are playing in a division with both the Red Sox and the Orioles, so they have some tough competition. The Rays are not getting it done at the plate on a consistent basis as they are 30th in the majors with a .221 batting average, and they are tied for 28th in walks with 65, giving them an on-base percentage of .290. One plus is their team ERA is ninth best in the majors at 3.61, but until the hitting catches up the season will continue to be tough.. . Previous: . Tampa Bay Rays. 23. team

Entering Wednesday’s games the Angels have a 12-15 overall record and are 4-6 in their past 10 games, leaving them in the same spot as last week. This ball team is still only three games back in the AL West and they have enough talent to overcome this slow start. The Angels have the 15th best ERA in the majors at 3.88 and their batting average overall is 16th at .243. It will be interesting to see if the Angels can improve over the following week.. . Previous: . Los Angeles Angels. 22. team. 102

The Diamondbacks have been a disappointment thus far, but their hitting is the ninth best in all of MLB at .263, third in home runs (39), second in triples (11) and sixth in doubles (50). Then there is the pitching, with a 5.03 ERA (27th overall) and the second-worst starter ERA at 5.64. Until the Diamondbacks get their starting pitching going the results will continue to be the same.. . Previous: . Arizona Diamondbacks. 21. team. 8

20. team. 82. Even though they lost <strong><a href=. . Previous: . Miami Marlins

Previous: . Colorado Rockies. 19. team. 108. Colorado has improved this season compared to their play last year, as they are fourth in the majors with a .272 batting average. They are just a couple games out of the top spot in the NL West, but have won just three of their past 10 games. At home they have just four wins, compared to eight losses. The Rockies will need to improve that home record if they want to stay in the race with the Giants and Dodgers this season..

18. team. 96. The Oakland Athletics are one of those teams where it is tough to tell if they will be a contender this season. They are currently three games back in the AL West, won just three of their past 10 games, but have a winning record at home and not on the road. They are 24th in the majors in batting (.234), but 12th in pitching (3.71 ERA). Oakland is still a mystery, hence them staying in the same spot as last week.. . Previous: . Oakland Athletics

Toronto Blue Jays. 16. team. 39. With the offensive firepower the Blue Jays have on their roster shouldn’t we all expect more than what they’ve produced thus far this season? They have a losing record at home (6-8) and are 7-7 on the road. Toronto has top 10 pitching in ERA at 3.60, but their bats aren’t awake yet, being 26th overall with a .230 average. Once they put everything together the Blue Jays will be very dangerous.. . Previous:

. Previous: . Seattle Mariners. 15. team. 62. The Mariners moved up a good amount in these MLB Power Rankings this week, as they are in the thick of things at the top of the AL West. Seattle has won seven of its past 10 games, and are excellent on the road so far in ’16 at 10-4. Their team batting is 22nd in the majors (.236), but their pitching has a 3.00 ERA in 26 games (fifth overall) making them an interesting team to keep track of the rest of this week.

. Previous: . Philadelphia Phillies. 14. team. 6. This is a team I’m still not 100-percent sure about; are they overachieving so far in ’16? Either way they are 13th in ERA (3.79), 28th in batting (.227) and still have winning records at both home and on the road. Just like Seattle this team is catching my attention.

71. The Dodgers are better than a team that is one game over .500, right? They are just 4-6 in their past 10 games and have a losing mark at their home field. With a 19th-place batting average in the majors (.241), and a top 10 pitching staff (3.57 ERA) the Dodgers should be better than second place in the NL West in the early part of May.. . Previous: . Los Angeles Dodgers. 13. team

. Previous: . St. Louis Cardinals. 12. team. 33. The Cardinals are another one of those strong teams who aren’t playing up to their usual standards so far in ’16. They are already seven games back in the NL Central, have won just four of their past 10 games and have a losing record at Busch Stadium a little over a month into the season. It is still early, but right now this team doesn’t look like Cardinals squads we are all used to watching, especially one where they are 14th in team ERA, but are seventh in batting average (.270).

Previous: . Texas Rangers. 11. team. 126. Texas is in a battle right now with the Mariners for first place in the AL West as they are holders of the same amount of wins entering Wednesday’s games. The Rangers are very good at home with a 10-5 mark, but on the road they have a losing record of 5-7. Texas is 5-5 in their past 10 games and are just out of the top 10 in MLB batting average at .254. The are also 11th in team ERA at 3.68, leaving this 11th place spot as a nice ranking position as well..

5. team. 14. Boston had a tough loss to start their series with the White Sox on Tuesday, but still showed they are one of the better teams in all of baseball against very good competition. The Red Sox could use some help from their pitching staff who are 19th in the majors with a 4.27 ERA, because their batting has been consistent with the second-best average in the majors at .280. Once the Red Sox get all their pitching sorted out, they will become even tougher to keep out of the top spot in the AL East.. . Previous: . Boston Red Sox

3. The Mets are a very interesting team as they’ve won eight of their past 10 games, have winning records both at home and on the road and still can’t get past the Nationals just yet. The Mets are 13th in the majors with a .250 batting average, but are known for their superstar pitching staff which is fourth in the majors with a 2.84 ERA. The Mets have come a long way since the first week or two of the season, and will continue to be in a battle with the Nationals for the NL East all season.. . Previous: . New York Mets. 4. team

The only reason for the drop in the rankings isn’t because of anything the Nationals have done, because they are still a very good team so far. It is more about what the White Sox have done. The Nationals are 6-4 in their past 10 games and lead the NL East by 1.5 games over the Mets. Washington has the second-best ERA in baseball at 2.36, but even with 18 wins they still have room for some improvement at the plate. They are a very interesting team to keep a close eye on this season.. . Previous: . Washington Nationals. 3. team. 90

Nobody thought the White Sox would have 19 wins at this point of the season, right? They are a very exciting team to watch with a late-inning motor that I’m not sure any team in the majors has equaled yet this season. Though they don’t bat for the best batting average as a team (17th) or score runs at a high rate (17th), they are starting to turn things around at the plate. It is their pitching that holds the key to their success. They have a pitcher in Chris Sale who is 6-0 (1.66 ERA) in six starts this year, a pitching staff with the third-best ERA overall (2.59) and their bullpen is by far the best in the majors right now with a 1.58 ERA in 74 innings, including 10 saves.. . Previous: . Chicago White Sox. 2. team. 128

1. team. 9. This team is also exciting to watch, giving the Windy City a lot to cheer for this season with their counterpart in the White Sox also playing really well. The Cubs have the fifth-best bullpen so far as their pitching staff has a 2.29 ERA, including the pitching of Jake Arietta and his 6-0 record (0.84 ERA). The Cubs are a very dangerous team, and their pitching staff is a main reason for that statement and their spot as the top team in these MLB Power Rankings.. . Previous: . Chicago Cubs