Every Friday, The California Post will power rank MLB’s 30 teams and check in on one intriguing awards race. Here is this week’s inaugural edition:
1) Dodgers (4-2): Not a single one of their biggest stars is hitting, and yet they’re 4-2 and have already swept a division rival. Just wait until the lineup gets hot.
2) Yankees (5-1): On a staff with a 1.01 team ERA, it’s hard to pick who had a better week: Max Fried (2-0, 13 ⅓ scoreless IP, 10 Ks) or Cam Schlittler (2-0, 11 ⅔ scoreless IP, 15 Ks).
3) Brewers (5-1): They’ve pitched well, highlighted by Jacob Misiorowski’s 18 strikeouts in 11 innings. And they’re tied for the MLB lead in runs, getting help from Christian Yelich, Brice Turang and even Gary Sánchez.
4) Blue Jays (4-2): One strange opening-week result: The Blue Jays lost a home series to the Rockies. But they’re still off to a fine start, with Kazuma Okamoto already hitting two home runs.
5) Braves (4-2): Last season, the Braves didn’t get their fourth win until April 12. This year, an NL-leading 2.00 ERA from their pitching staff has them there within two series.
6) Rangers (4-2): It’s amazing what happens when you score runs. Last year, the Rangers’ anemic offense wasted a strong pitching staff. This year, their hot bats (including even Andrew McCutchen’s) have keyed a nice start.
7) Astros (5-2): It’s been like old times in Houston, with Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa fueling a surprisingly dynamic lineup so far.
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8) Mets (3-3): What a strange week for the NL’s biggest wild-card contender. Knocked out Paul Skenes on Opening Days. Won on a Luis Robert walk-off home run. Yet heard Bo Bichette get booed, then dropped a series in St. Louis.
9) Phillies (3-3): Welcome to the majors, Justin Crawford. The 22-year-old is batting over .400, and got his first career RBI on a walk-off Wednesday. Good thing too, because Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner are hitting under .200.
10) Mariners (3-4): Cal Raleigh’s encore to last year’s 60-homer season? So far, zero long balls and 15 strikeouts, getting off to a slow start like many of his Mariners’ teammates.
11) Cubs (3-3): The Cubs scored the eighth-most runs in the opening week. They allowed more than two in only two games. Yet, they split a six-game homestand against the Nationals and Angels. That, as they say, is baseball.
12) Marlins (5-1): Caveat: They’ve played the Rockies and White Sox. But, Liam Hicks is mashing, Sandy Alcantara is dealing, and after a strong finish to last year, the vibes are up in Miami.
13) Guardians (4-3): Don’t expect many teams to win series in L.A. this year. But one week in, the Guardians have already done it. And, they avoided a more serious injury to rookie star Chase DeLauter.
14) Orioles (3-3): Pete Alonso is 7-for-23 with his first Orioles home run. Trevor Rogers now has a 1.76 ERA over 20 starts going back to last year. Time will tell if they can get more support.
15) Royals (3-3): A ho-hum first week, with one positive early sign: Young slugger Jac Caglione is 6-for-18 with only five strikeouts to this point; early improvement after his rookie struggles last year.
16) Dbacks (3-3): Starting the season at Dodger Stadium for a weekend of World Series celebrations was a bad draw. But then they returned home and swept the Tigers, riding Corbin Carroll’s hot start.
17) Pirates (3-3): Congratulations to Paul Skenes, whose ERA is back under 10.00 following his Opening Day (and not entirely self-inflicted) nightmare. On the bright side, the Pirates already have an MLB-leading 10 home runs.
18) Tigers (2-4): The Tigers scored eight runs on Opening Day. They have 16 in their five games since. That includes a shutout defeat Wednesday to waste Tarik Skubal’s seven-inning, one-run gem.
19) Red Sox (1-5): At least they got to celebrate an Opening Day win. Because there hasn’t been another victory since. Wilyer Abreu is the only regular batting even .230. Their 4.91 team ERA is fifth-worst in MLB.
20) Giants (2-4): Tony Vitello is already making headlines, and not at all for the right reasons. And while Luis Arráez is doing his thing, batting .304, the rest of the lineup remains a work in progress.
21) Padres (2-4): The Padres had plenty of pitching questions entering the year. But what they really can’t afford: For their lineup to have more weeks like this one, when they hit just .202 and tallied just three home runs.
22) Cardinals (4-2): A rebuilding season has begun with unexpected series wins over the Rays and Mets. Young pitchers Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy have looked good thus far.
23) Rays (2-4): Yandy Díaz remains a force. Drew Rasmussen has impressed early coming off an All-Star season. But whether they can be a surprise playoff contender remains to be seen.
24) Reds (3-3): Hunter Greene’s injury has put a pall over the start of the season. But rookie infielder Sal Stewart has provided hope with his strong start.
25) Nationals (3-3): The Nats survived a Cubs-Phillies road trip to open the season by going .500. Their reward? Welcoming the Dodgers for their home-opener Friday.
26) Twins (2-4): In what will be a forgettable season, the Twins made a little history: Derek Shelton became the first manager ejected for arguing something ABS-related.
27) Angels (3-4): How quickly the hope of a 2-0 start began to flicker. Suddenly, the Angels have dropped four of five.
28) Athletics (1-5): Shea Langeliers has five home runs already. Little else in right in an opening week that began with back-to-back walk-off losses.
29) Rockies (2-4): During a six-game opening road trip, the Rockies actually pitched OK. Too bad they have to return to Coors Field this weekend to face the powerhouse Phillies offense.
30) White Sox (1-5): The good news: Munetaka Murakami already has three home runs. The bad news: Their lineup has an overall .192 average, and their pitching staff has an 8.63 ERA.
1) Sandy Alcantara, Marlins (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 16 innings, 12 Ks, 0.56 WHIP)
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Alcantara pitched the first shutout in the majors this season, but only 6,505 fans were at loanDepot Park on Tuesday to watch his 93-pitch masterpiece –– as he pointed out postgame.
2) Chris Sale, Braves (2-0, 0.75 ERA, 12 innings, 9 Ks, 0.58 WHIP)
Sale was “as sick as a dog” when he made his Wednesday start against the Athletics, Braves manager Walt Weiss told reporters. But the 37-year-old gave up only one hit over six innings, a homer to Shea Langeliers.
3) Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 innings, 6 Ks, 0.67 WHIP)
Ohtani looked as if he might have no-hit stuff until he gave up a two-out double to Rhys Hoskins in the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday in his season mound debut. Look for Ohtani to have periodic flirtations with no-nos this year.
