MLB Power Rankings: Can the Chicago Cubs be stopped?

17. Atlanta has a season run differential of -61 runs, and in their past 10 games they are 3-7, going four consecutive games to end this past week. They are leaving Turner Field in what is its final season in shambles, as they are imploding before the actual stadium with a 1-15 record at home. If there ever was a team who was trying to “earn” the No.1 overall pick in any sport, it is the 2016 Atlanta Braves.. . Previous: . Atlanta Braves. 30. team

. Previous: . Minnesota Twins. 29. team. 2. The Twins have just seven wins entering this week, as they were swept in three games by the AL-leading Chicago White Sox. Minnesota has trouble scoring runs, being they are 25th in the majors with 106 runs and 20th in the majors with 251 hits. Things won’t be any easier for them with the Baltimore Orioles visiting them next at Target Field, starting Monday.

127. There are a number of teams who could sit in this spot, but the Padres lost their past two games this past week and for their past 10 games are 6-4. They still don’t have a winning record at home or on the road but are just 1.5 games back of being fourth in the AL West. The problem, though, is starting Monday they must take on the MLB-best Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Even with their 13-19 record, the Padres are only 3.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are in first in the division, so there is still a lot of hope in the early stages of May.. . Previous: . San Diego Padres. 28. team

61. The Reds still have the worst bullpen in all of baseball, and I heard a stat on Sunday saying the Reds bullpen has given up the lead and gone on to lost the game eight times this season, and I don’t believe that included doing so on Sunday. The Reds’ bullpen on Saturday was laughable as they were tied 6-6 going into the 10th inning, only to see them allow seven runs in the top of the inning to the Milwaukee Brewers, including a grand slam. There have been better times to be a baseball fan in the Queen City, that’s for sure.. . Previous: . Cincinnati Reds. 27. team

The Brewers are the second-worst team in the majors in run differential as they are at -47 runs for the season compared to those they’ve faced this season, but they did just come off a series against a team worse than them in at least relief pitching in the Cincinnati Reds, splitting a four-game series. One plus for the Brewers is they are tied for ninth in the majors with 133 RBIs, roughly the same as the Washington Nationals following Sunday’s games, and they are just three games away from tying the St. Louis Cardinals in the win column.. . Previous: . Milwaukee Brewers. 26. team. 76

This team should never be this bad, and even though they did defeat the Boston Red Sox twice this weekend, they are still a shell of themselves with just 11 wins and a 4-10 mark on the road. The past 10 games, the Yankees have gone 3-7, and being they are in the bottom of run differentials this season, plus being 27th out of 30 in home runs with 24 thus far, the Bronx Bombers are not the Yankees we’ve become accustomed to watching over the years.. . Previous: . New York Yankees. 25. team. 43

. Previous: . Los Angeles Angels. 24. team. 102. The Angels need the start flapping their arms in the outfield, hoping the Disney movie can occur in real life, because they have just 13 wins this season and are 3-7 in their past 10 games. They’ve had some injuries to their pitching, and some of their power hitting isn’t that powerful anymore, leaving them five games out of first place entering the week but losers of three consecutive games. Their pitching has the 12th-best ERA in the majors (3.83), but their batting has them with just 25 home runs, 24th-best in the majors.

135. The Astros might be stepping up their play with a 5-5 mark in their past 10 games and being on the verge of having a .500 record at home. Houston won two-of-three over the Seattle Mariners this past weekend and in their series before won two-of-three versus the Minnesota Twins. Houston has won four of their past six games<span class=. . Previous: . Houston Astros. 23. team

Previous: . Arizona Diamondbacks. 22. team. 8. The past three games have gone well for the Diamondbacks with three consecutive wins, but even if it was against the Atlanta Braves, they have put themselves within striking distance of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who hold a two-game lead over Arizona entering the week. The Diamondbacks are consistent at the plate with a .259 team batting average (ninth in the majors) and are seventh in MLB with 146 runs. The problem is their pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.73 on the season..

108. The Rockies are one game under the .500 mark entering this week, and being just one game out of the NL West standings behind the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers, they could begin to really shake things up this week in the division with the Arizona Diamondbacks next on the schedule. Colorado’s pitching is holding them back this season with a 4.90 ERA, but their team batting is fourth in all of baseball at .275, and they are fifth in the majors with 42 home runs.. . Previous: . Colorado Rockies. 21. team

Previous: . Oakland Athletics. 20. team. 96. Oakland hasn’t played that well as of late with a 3-7 record in their past 10 games, and they have over double the losses at home (11) than wins (five), and that’s never a good mixture for any team to have. Their pitching has been, middle of the road this season with a 4.15 ERA, and of the 141 runs allowed, 131 have been earned. The A’s are coming off two straight losses to the Baltimore Orioles, and it won’t be much easier with the Boston Red Sox next up on the schedule, starting Monday..

The Tigers have dropped 10 spots this week in the MLB Power Rankings and for good reason, as they are two games under .500, have lost six games in a row and have a losing record at home (5-9). The Tigers were swept by the Texas Rangers this weekend, causing Detroit (the reigning AL Central champions) to fall to seven games back of the division lead in early May.. . Previous: . Detroit Tigers. 19. team. 63

team. 21. The Rays are the anti-Detroit Tigers this week, jumping up five spots in the rankings, due in large part to winning their past four games, while gaining a 9-9 mark at home and a 6-4 record in their past 10 games. On a negative for the Rays, they do have the least amount of hits in the majors (217), but their pitching has the sixth-best ERA in all of baseball (the third-best in the AL) at 3.46, with just 99 earned runs allowed (one of only six teams to do so before Monday’s games).. . Previous: . Tampa Bay Rays. 18

The Cardinals are a .500 baseball team thus far this season, and that may be partly because they have a tough schedule in the NL Central with the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates ahead of them, but this just doesn’t seem like the usual Cardinals we’ve become accustomed to watching each season. St. Louis is 14th in team ERA (3.92), their batting is sixth in average (.269) and they’ve scored the second-most runs in baseball with 175, but in the standings they have lost six of their past 10 games and are 9.0 games back of the division lead, though just two in the Wild Card.. . Previous: . St. Louis Cardinals. 17. team. 33

7. Kansas City took a big drop in the rankings this week as they too are a .500 baseball team a little over a month into the season at 15-15, with a 4-6 mark in their past 10 games as well, just like the Cardinals. The road hasn’t been a friend of KC with a 6-10 record this season, and they’ve scored one of the lower run totals in the majors thus far with 96 runs, while their pitching has given up 115 runs in 30 games.. . Previous: . Kansas City Royals. 16. team

82. Though the Marlins are fourth in the NL East, they continue to play decent baseball by being winners of seven of their past 10 games, holding a 16-14 overall record, and are just three games off of the New York Mets, who are the current division leaders. The Marlins could play better at home (6-9), but on the road, they are pretty good at 10-5. Though they lost two consecutive games to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Marlins have the third-best batting average in MLB at .277.. . Previous: . Miami Marlins. 15. team

Previous: . Toronto Blue Jays. 13. team. 39. Just what type of team will the Blue Jays be this season? They are 16-17 entering Monday and have lost two straight in their weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are nearly .500 at home (9-10) and are .500 on the road (7-7). This team hasn’t hit their stride yet with their hitting not being that consistent with a .234 batting average (25th in MLB), but their team ERA is seventh at 3.47. If the hitting ever catches up to the pitching, the Blue Jays will look like the team they were last season..

40. The Giants are a very interesting team, even by dropping a couple of spots this week in these MLB Power Rankings. They are 5-5 in their past 10 games, they have a 10-8 record at home but have a losing record of 7-8 on the road. They dropped because not for their overall play, but just for the fact some teams have some more momentum than they do currently. The pitching of the Giants is out of the Top 20 in team ERA at 4.33 (22nd overall), though their batting is fifth in the majors with a .269 average and third in on-base percentage at .344 through the first 33 games of the year.. . Previous: . San Francisco Giants. 12. team

71. Since May 1, the Dodgers have won four of six games, including their past two games with win a series against the Toronto Blue Jays, leaving them tied with the San Francisco Giants for first place in the NL West. Los Angeles has won 11 road games this season and with a 16-15 record are over the .500 mark a month into the season. LA can be a better team, and their 5-8 mark at home is one of the reasons they are not a Top 10 team just yet.. . Previous: . Los Angeles Dodgers. 11. team

Previous: . Philadelphia Phillies. 10. team. 6. Who would have ever thought the Phillies would be this productive of a team one month of the season? Philadelphia has won two straight, have winning records on the road (10-9) and at home (8-5) and are just two games back of the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals in the NL East. The Phillies have a solid chance of gaining on those two teams with a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves and three against the Cincinnati Reds next on the schedule. Before Monday’s games, the Phillies have a 3.95 ERA (15th in majors) and have the 29th-best batting average at .227, but they are managing to win games, and one of those reasons is their pitching is holding the opposition to a .236 batting average this season..

team. 126. The Rangers break into the Top 10 this week due to winning their past three games and winning six of 10. They are just a half game back of the AL West lead and are pretty good at home this season with a 10-5 record. Texas is 13th in all of MLB with a 3.91 ERA and is 11th in team batting average (.257). The Rangers are also eighth in runs scored (143) and eighth in hits (276). Texas has a tough task ahead next when they host the AL-leading Chicago White Sox for three games, then follow that with three against the Toronto Blue Jays, a team they just lost three straight against on Tuesday-Thursday.. . Previous: . Texas Rangers. 9

62. One month into the season, and are the Seattle Mariners the best team in the AL West? The standings say so for now, and they have played well as of late with seven wins to three losses in a span of 10 games, plus they’ve won 13 times on the road this season, but they must get better at home (5-7). With 18 wins, tied for the second-most in the AL, Seattle is deserving of jumping up seven spots this week in the MLB Power Rankings, but now they have to prove they can stay there.. . Previous: . Seattle Mariners. 8. team

. Previous: . Pittsburgh Pirates. 7. team. 4. The Pirates are staying pat this week, and this ins’t a bad thing because they are one of the better teams in the majors, it is just that the teams above them might just be a tick better right now. That could and most likely will change this week with the Reds next up on the schedule, then from there they will see how good they are with the Cubs coming up over the weekend. The Pirates have the most hits in the majors (313) and the best batting average at .284, but their pitching is a little off with a 21st-ranked ERA (4.25), while allowing 134 earned runs.

Chicago White Sox. 2. team. 128. The Chicago White Sox faced the Boston Red Sox to start the week without Boston facing Chris Sale or Jose Quintana, so there is still a lot left to be seen if these two face each other with each team taking on the other’s top pitchers. <p class=. . Previous:

1. team. 9. The Cubs stay at the top of the MLB Power Rankings yet again, following a week where they are on a seven-game winning streak, including a four-game sweep of the Washington Nationals, a team that has 19 wins of their own. <p class=. . Previous: . Chicago Cubs