2025 MLB power rankings: Tigers jump, Dodgers best Yankees again

The Phillies jumped to the top of our power rankings for the first time, but they quickly fell apart and finished this weekend with a four-game losing streak.

It goes without saying that they have lost their position at the top of the rankings this week.

Even though Jesús Luzardo had to wear it on Saturday in the worst start of his career, his actions up to that point are still valid. He was one of the best offseason acquisitions, going into the disaster with a 2.15 ERA through his first 11 starts in Philadelphia.

We have a far better understanding of how the decisions made this winter are working out now that the season is more than three-quarters over.

We look at each team’s best offseason moves from across the league for this week’s power rankings.

Okay, so now we’re examining the top offseason moves made by 29 teams. Please skip the card and continue.

Perhaps one of the greatest Rule 5 selections ever made is Shane Smith. Among all American League pitchers who have pitched at least 50 innings this season, his ERA of 2.68 is the 12th lowest. Furthermore, according to fWAR, Chase Meidroth, who was acquired in the Garrett Crochet trade, is the sixth-most valuable AL second baseman.

Even at age 38, Andrew McCutchen continues to hit well above the league average. In this lineup for Pittsburgh, that is a force.

Just a quick reminder that on May 13, the A’s defeated the Dodgers 11-1, and they were 22-20. Since then, they have won one of their eighteen games. just one game. The first. Brent Rooker signed a five-year extension and is still playing well. Their biggest offseason addition, Luis Severino (3.89), has been reliable, but their ERA is the worst in MLB.

One point for this year’s top Rule 5 draft selections. Shortly after Smith’s initial trip to Chicago, the Marlins acquired catcher Liam Hicks from the Tigers. A 2021 ninth-round selection, Hicks has a .811 OPS while playing behind the plate on a part-time basis. He is currently being tried at first base by Miami as well.

In an unusual way, Tomoyuki Sugano has reached a productive 3.23 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. He walks no one, but he also doesn’t strike anyone out, as he has the lowest strikeout rate of any eligible American League starter.

After that eight-game winning streak, they have now lost seven of eight games. Despite having a career-best 3.06 ERA, Yusei Kikuchi hasn’t had the same impact as he did in the second half with the Astros last season. He leads the majors in walks with 35 and the Angels’ rotation includes three of the top five MLB leaders in free passes.

Mike Soroka’s underlying numbers are better than his 5.81 ERA would suggest, but none of the big offseason additions have performed especially well. He has a 3.49 expected ERA and the lowest walk rate of his career, but he will need to lower his hard-hit rate.

Having lost nine of their last eleven games, the D-backs are starting to lose their edge. Corbin Burnes left his start on Sunday with elbow tightness, as if losing series to the Pirates and Nationals weren’t bad enough. After getting off to a slow start, Burnes was pitching like the ace Arizona had envisioned, going 2 for 13 in his last nine starts.

According to the Braves, Ronald Acuña Jr. is making a comeback. neither Spencer Strider nor they are panaceas. Although Acuña looks fantastic, Atlanta has a 3-6 record since he returned. It doesn’t help that Jurickson Profar, their only noteworthy offseason addition, won’t be able to return until the end of the month due to his performance-enhancing drug suspension.

Before having a rough first outing of June on Sunday, Nick Martinez, the only MLB player to accept the qualifying offer this winter, had a 2.25 ERA in May and pitched at least six innings in each of his five starts during the month. There are other starters who have struggled against the Cubs lineup besides him.

Boston’s biggest offseason additions have been fantastic despite the chaos this year. Regretfully, one of them has been put on hold for some time. Before suffering a quad strain, Alex Bregman appeared to be the best third baseman in Major League Baseball. In contrast, Crochet leads the American League in strikeouts.

Rehiring Nathan Eovaldi appears to have been one of the best offseason decisions any team has made. In terms of ERA (1.56) and WHIP (0.81), Eovaldi is ranked second in MLB. Although he is currently on the injured list, it does not appear that his triceps problem will be a constant problem. He would have been a great asset to Baltimore.

In 2024, Michael Wacha had one of his best seasons ever, recording a 3.35 ERA, earning him a three-year extension. His ERA is even better this year (2.88). The Royals’ lineup is among the weakest in MLB, but their rotation is once again among the best. It’s time to see what Jac Caglianone, the top prospect, can accomplish!

The difference between closer Jeff Hoffman’s April (1.17 ERA) and May (13.50) couldn’t have been more significant. He’s still getting strikeouts, and he should have better days soon. Interestingly, Toronto took over Myles Straw’s contract in an attempt to acquire Roki Sasaki by adding international bonus pool funds. That didn’t go as planned for the Blue Jays, but Straw has, ironically, been more valuable in Toronto this season than Sasaki has been in Los Angeles.

Jose Quintana has stabilized the Milwaukee rotation this season by allowing a total of six earned runs in his six starts, with the exception of one spectacular appearance against the Cubs. For the seventh consecutive game, Quintana started Sunday’s victory for the MLB’s hottest team.

Harrison Bader has the second-highest OPS among Twins hitters who have batted at least 100 times this season. 787), only surpassed by Byron Buxton (. (823).

We might discuss Danny Jansen and Ha-Seong Kim, who began a rehabilitation assignment in anticipation of his recuperation from shoulder surgery. However, the Rays’ trade of Jose Siri for Eric Orze, a 2020 fifth-round pick of the Mets who had given up four runs in 1–2 career innings prior to this season, is the best illustration of what they do. This season, Orze has pitched 22.01 innings out of Tampa Bay’s bullpen with an ERA of 0 points 81.

Carlos Santana is 39 years old and still accomplishes his goals. Following Josh Naylor’s trade, the Guardians arranged the reunion, and the two are now contributing similarly to their respective teams. Santana is once more rated as an above-average defensive first baseman and has his highest OPS+ since his 2019 campaign. Additionally, watch for Shane Bieber’s anticipated summer comeback.

Following one of the worst seasons of his career, Jorge Polanco was brought back by the Mariners. Aaron Judge was the only American League player with a higher wRC+ than Polanco at the end of April. Even though Polanco’s stats have drastically decreased since then, he is still hitting 30% higher than the league average.

Although Houston fans still can’t enjoy watching Tucker in Chicago and Bregman in Boston, Isaac Paredes at least offers some solace. This season, Paredes has hit as many home runs as Bregman, despite the Astros’ new third baseman currently having a 1-for-22 slump.

Nolan Arenado’s trade was the focus of the entire offseason, but it never happened. They invested $2 million wisely when they signed Phil Maton to a one-year contract halfway through the spring. Maton has not given up a run in his last eight appearances and has struck out 28 batters this season while walking just six.

Neither of the Giants’ two major offseason acquisitions is performing up to par. Willy Adames is performing below replacement level, and Justin Verlander, who is currently on the injured list, has yet to record a victory this season despite recording a 4.33 ERA in 10 starts. However, he has a 2.97 ERA over his last six appearances, and it doesn’t appear that he will be out for much longer.

If Nick Pivetta hadn’t had a qualifying offer attached, you have to wonder how long he would have been hanging around in free agency. Still, San Diego benefited from the rest of the league’s inaction. With a 2.00 ERA in his last three starts, Pivetta has given up two earned runs or less in seven of his 11 starts. For a rotation with little depth in San Diego, that output has been enormous.

Well, that period of dominance was brief. Prior to facing the juggernaut, uh, the Brewers, Luzardo’s ERA skyrocketed from 2.15 to 3.58 after Milwaukee hit him for 12 runs, but he had only given up 16 earned runs in his first 12 starts combined. The Phillies had already dominated their opponents. Regardless of the outcome of this weekend, acquiring Luzardo through a trade was among the best wintertime decisions.

Max Fried was pitching like the best starter in the American League until he was tagged for six runs in Los Angeles this past weekend. That was a pretty good offseason backup plan. Nevertheless, the Juan Soto contingency plan appears to be a major success. Cody Bellinger has been productive in the outfield, Paul Goldschmidt has turned back time, and Devin Williams has improved recently following a difficult start that forced him out of the closer position. Before losing to the Dodgers once more, they had won seven consecutive series.

After spending so much money on new players, it appears that the Dodgers made the right decision in bringing back Teoscar Hernández, who leads the team in RBI after an All-Star season in Los Angeles. It’s a perfect fit. Additionally, keep an eye on Hyeseong Kim. When he moved to the majors, his bat was the biggest unknown, and in May, the rookie hit .422.

The Cubs had been in need of a star player for years in order to base their lineup. They now have the second-highest scoring offense in baseball after adding Tucker. It also seems like a wise investment to spend $29 million on Matthew Boyd given the rotation’s current status.

The Mets are winning despite the fact that the first of 15 years of the Juan Soto era has not exactly begun as expected. They have surpassed expectations with their (healthy) free-agent pitching additions, from Clay Holmes to Griffin Canning. However, Pete Alonso’s triumphant return—he has been the Mets’ best hitter and is on track for a larger payday—is the biggest victory to date.

The Tigers return to No. 1 after sweeping the Giants and defeating the Royals in a series. 1. . Even though they could have signed someone like Bregman this winter, I would still feel a little better about their prospects going forward. However, Gleyber Torres has unquestionably improved an offense that needed support after his time in New York ended poorly. In Detroit, his walk rate has increased to a career-high level, his barrel rate has doubled, and his strikeout rate has been cut in half. Take a look at how red this page is.