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Each week, The California Post will power rank MLB’s 30 teams and check in on one intriguing awards race. Here is this week’s edition (records through Thursday night):
1) Dodgers (17-8): For the first time this year, there was real consideration at this spot following the Dodgers’ 3-4 road trip to Denver and San Francisco, and the injury to Edwin Díaz. They stay here for now, but the gap has narrowed. (Last week: 1st)
2) Yankees (16-9): The Yankees have an MLB-best 3.07 team ERA, and Gerrit Cole is on the comeback trail. They are watching Aaron Judge round into form, and Ben Rice ranks second in the majors in OPS. This week, it led to six straight wins. (Last week: 3rd)
3) Braves (18-8): After the disaster of last season’s 86-loss campaign, the Braves are officially back as legitimate National League contenders –– ranking top two in team ERA and OPS. Even the Dodgers aren’t doing that; granted, they’re third in ERA and first in OPS. (Last week: 2nd)
4) Cubs (16-9): The Cubs have caused a lot of consternation in Philadelphia and New York. They’ve won nine in a row, all against the Phillies and Mets; contributing to those teams’ recent panics while reaffirming themselves as an NL force, as well. (Last week: 8th)
5) Padres (17-8): It was another week of beating up on bad teams for the Padres (series wins against the Angels and Rockies). Then again, that’s what good teams do. And, thanks to a better-than-expected pitching staff, that’s exactly what the Padres have been so far. (Last week: 6th)
6) Brewers (13-11): If the Brewers played in the AL West, they’d be in first place. But in the unexpectedly frisky NL Central, they are in last. No matter. We’ll take their +23 run differential so far (compare to, say, the Reds’ below) as a sign they’ll finish much higher than that. (Last week: 5th)
7) Rangers (13-12): Speaking of the AL West, the Rangers remain the first-place beneficiary of the division’s slow start –– thanks, in large part, to what has been a throwback season from 37-year-old Jacob deGrom so far. (Last week: 4th)
8) Pirates (14-11): This group of 9-10 teams from the Brewers on down could be rearranged in any order. So we’ll give a nod to the biggest feel-good story of the pack, with the Pirates continuing to look like a dark horse after years in the darkness. (Last week: 10th)
9) Guardians (14-12): The Guardians are the anti-Brewers, leading their division despite a negative run differential. Luckily for them, they should still win plenty as they play more divisional games against what is easily an MLB-worst AL Central. (Last week: 7th)
10) Dbacks (14-11): We highlighted Ildemaro Vargas in this space last week. Then he had another week with a .300 batting average and 1.000 OPS. Among players with 70 plate appearances, he has the second-highest OPS in the NL. (Last week: 11th)
11) Reds (16-9): Can baseball teams make a deal with the devil? Because how else do you explain the Reds being 6-0 in one-run games and 3-0 in extra innings? Eventually, those marks should #RegressToTheMean (their run differential is -2 overall). Until then, however, they keep climbing. (Last week: 17th)
12) Tigers (14-12): Tarik Skubal is pacing toward another year of Cy Young contention (3-2, 2.72 ERA, 9.4 K/9). But rotation-mate Casey Mize has been even better so far (2-1, 2.51 ERA 10.0 K/9). Also, at age 38, Kenley Jansen is still rolling as a quality closer. (Last week: 19th)
13) Rays (13-11): The Rays aren’t the worst team in baseball. But they sure feel like the most anonymous. Most interesting thing this week: Junior Caminero showing off his TopGolf skills. (Last week: 16th)
14) Orioles (12-13): Pete Alonso has three home runs and almost 30 strikeouts. Chris Bassitt and Shane Baz each have ERAs over 5.00. Some of their other offseason acquisitions have been better. But it’ll be a long season in Baltimore if those veterans don’t get going. (Last week: 13th)
15) Mariners (11-15): Cal Raleigh has started hitting home runs again. Now if he could just get his batting average back over .200. The Mariners’ sleepy offense sure could use it. (Last week: 12th)
16) Blue Jays (10-14): We will reserve harsher judgment of the reigning AL pennant winners until they are closer to full health. But a month in, they’ve still yet to get going. (Last week: 14th)
17) Giants (11-14): We’ve taken jabs at Tony Vitello’s rah-rah approach in this space before. But in his first taste of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry, his team took two of three –– thanks in large part to its bullpen’s self-described “F-you” attitude. “The Dodgers are just another baseball team,” reliever Ryan Walker said. Feels like the kind of thing Vitello would’ve scripted. (Last week: 28th)
18) Cardinals (14-10): Sorry to the fine city of St. Louis. But we aren’t buying the Cardinals’ hot start quite yet. Eventually, their bottom-five team ERA figures to catch up to them. (Last week: 20th)
19) Mets (9-16): The Mets won a game! Then another! And all it cost was … a long-term injury to Francisco Lindor. Even when they win, apparently, they find ways to lose something. But, hey, at least Juan Soto is back and Austin Warren is the everyman’s MVP. (Last week: 15th)
20) Phillies (8-17): Sorry to Phillies fans for being distracted by the Mets. You now have baseball’s undivided attention. The Phillies dropped nine in a row through Thursday and don’t even have a Soto-injury excuse to hide behind. Zack Wheeler’s return can’t come soon enough. (Last week: 9th)
21) Twins (12-13): Has it already hit midnight on the Twins’ Cinderella start to the season? Sure felt like it when they hit a game-tying grand slam in Queens on Thursday, only to lose on Bo Bichette’s first signature moment of the season. (Last week: 18th)
22) Marlins (12-13): Whoever let the Marlins and Brewers wear teal and baby blue on the same day last week should be punished. That’s all the analysis we got here this week. (Last week: 21st)
23) Athletics (13-12): Nick Kurtz would not have been our guess for MLB’s early-season leader in walks. Consider this your fun fact of the week. (Last week: 25th)
24) Astros (10-16): Yordan Alvarez is back! The Astros … are not. This weekend’s series against the Yankees could be an early litmus test to see if their season can be turned around. (Last week: 22nd)
25) Red Sox (9-16): It might be time to panic in Boston. The Sox scored more than two runs only once this week and were humiliated offensively by the Yankees (and fast-growing Red Sox villain Cam Schlittler) in a sweep at Fenway. (Last week: 24th)
26) Angels (12-14): Good news is, the Angels are not wasting José Soriano’s historic 0.24 ERA to start the season, going 6-0 on the days he pitches. Bad news is, they’re 6-14 the rest of the time. (Last week: 26th)
27) Nationals (11-15): It still feels like a mirage, but the Nationals’ offense continues to produce, ranking second in scoring. Too bad their pitching staff ranks second last in ERA. (Last week: 27th)
28) Rockies (10-16): Rival teams are praising the Rockies’ increased competitiveness this year –– the latest being the Dodgers after they split four games at Coors Field. For now, moral victories like that will have to suffice. Actual ones remain tough to consistently come by. (Last week: 29th)
29) White Sox (10-15): It’s Murakami Mania on the South Side, after the Japanese slugger hit homers in five straight games to key back-to-back series wins. That’s good enough to get them out of last place. (Last week: 30th)
30) Royals (8-17): They’ve lost 9 of 10. They are making viral-worthy bloopers. And their veteran leader was feuding on social media with their manager. At least the new ballpark renderings look nice. (Last week: 23rd)
Award tracker: NL Cy Young
1) Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (2-0, 0.38 ERA, 24 innings, 25 strikeouts, 0.75 WHIP)
Ohtani isn’t even technically qualified right now, thanks to his conservative pitching usage. And yet, he ranks second among NL starters in WAR so far and only looks to get stronger on the mound. If he’s going to win the Cy Young with a record-low number of innings pitched, this is the blueprint.
2) Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers (3-0, 2.45 ERA, 33 innings, 38 strikeouts, 0.70 WHIP)
The only NL pitcher with more WAR than Ohtani to this point is his teammate, Glasnow, who also leads the league in WHIP, ranks third in strikeout rate and looked every bit a Cy Young challenger when blanking the Giants over eight innings this week.
3) Bryce Elder, Braves (3-1, 1.50 ERA, 30 innings, 29 strikeouts, 0.97 WHIP)
We were *really* tempted to troll and make an all-Dodgers top 3 with Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But a deserved cap-tip here to Elder, the right-hander who (among qualified pitchers) is the NL ERA leader and has been perhaps the brightest surprise amid the Braves’ strong start.
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