2024 MLB Power Rankings To Begin June
Two months into the 2024 season, Just Baseball presents another update to our MLB power rankings.
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The first two months of the MLB season are officially in the books, and with the beginning of June comes another update to Just Baseball’s MLB power rankings.
Back in March, we released our initial preseason power rankings. Last month, we put out our first update of the year. We now have twice as large of a sample size to work with, and as you can imagine, we’ve learned a lot more about all 30 teams.
With just about 60 games in the books, we no longer need to put so much stock in 2023 results and preseason expectations. We no longer need to temper our expectations for teams off to hot starts; the Guardians and Royals look like legitimate contenders. On the flip side, it’s time to start seriously worrying about teams that are still struggling; what are the Rays and Blue Jays going to do?
There is plenty of season left to play and plenty of time for narratives to change. However, it’s time to start taking power rankings more seriously. If your favorite team is in one of the top 10 spots on this list, their playoff chances are looking pretty good. If you find them closer to the bottom, it might be time to start looking for the panic button, just in case.
The Top 10 Best Teams in Baseball
There has been a shakeup at the top of the power rankings. For the first time this year, the Braves won’t be the first team you see on the list. They aren’t even in the top five. In their place, their fiercest division rivals have surged to the number one spot. The Phillies are playing like the best team in baseball.
The next several slots on the power rankings are filled with familiar faces. The Yankees, Dodgers, and Orioles continue to dominate, while the Guardians, Royals, and Brewers continue to prove they’re for real.
Rounding out the top 10 are a pair of newcomers: the Padres and Mariners. San Diego makes our top 10 for the first time this season, while Seattle has clawed back up after a bit of a slow start.
1. Philadelphia Phillies (Prev. Ranking: 4)
May Record: 20-7
The Phillies scored more runs than any other team in May, finishing with the best run differential (and the best record) in baseball. It still seems hard to imagine that the Phillies can stave off the Braves all year, but it’s becoming more and more plausible with each passing day.
2. New York Yankees (Prev. Ranking: 3)
May Record: 21-7
If there’s any team that can give the Phillies a run for their money right now, it’s the Yankees. Aaron Judge’s monster performance in May (14 home runs, 277 wRC+) powered the Bronx Bombers to the top of the AL standings, and this team is only going to get stronger with Gerrit Cole’s return.
3. Cleveland Guardians (Prev. Ranking: 2)
May Record: 19-9
No one expected the Guardians to look like a powerhouse in 2024, yet two months into the season, there is no other way to describe this team. Cleveland is up there with the very best teams in baseball on both sides of the ball thanks to superstar performances from José Ramírez, Emmanuel Clase, and… David Fry?
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (Prev. Ranking: 5)
May Record: 17-10
The Dodgers’ bats weren’t as overwhelming in May (109 wRC+) as they were in April (128 wRC+), but the arms stepped up to keep this team in the top five on the power rankings. Dodgers pitchers posted a 2.93 ERA in May, the fourth-lowest figure in baseball, while Shohei Ohtani powered the offense with another dominant month.
5. Baltimore Orioles (Prev. Ranking: 6)
May Record: 17-9
This time last year, the Orioles were trailing a powerful rival in the AL East. Then, over the rest of the season, they were easily the best team in the American League. The 2024 team has all the talent to go on a similar run, and this time, no one would be nearly as surprised.
6. Kansas City Royals (Prev. Ranking: 9)
May Record: 17-11
No one should be shocked that Bobby Witt Jr. has blossomed into a superstar. What’s harder to believe is how well the rest of the team around him continues to perform. Seth Lugo has been a particular bright spot, pitching his way into the AL Cy Young race over the first two months of the season.
7. Milwaukee Brewers (Prev. Ranking: 8)
May Record: 16-12
May was another great month for the Brewers, who now hold a commanding lead over their rivals in the NL Central. Plenty of people wrote this team off after the Brandon Woodruff injury and Corbin Burnes trade, but the Brewers are in a good position to win a second consecutive division title – for the first time since their days in the AL East!
8. Atlanta Braves (Prev. Ranking: 1)
May Record: 13-14
It was a rough month for the Braves, and the fact that they’re still in the top 10 is a testament to their strength. After losing ace Spencer Strider in April, the Braves lost reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. in May. They’re still loaded with talent, but they’re no longer the odds-on favorites in the NL. Heck, they’re not even the favorites in their own division anymore.
9. San Diego Padres (Prev. Ranking: 20)
May Record: 16-11
The Padres have shot up the power rankings after a strong performance in May. Jurickson Profar continues to amaze, while Luis Arraez was a huge addition to the offense. The bullpen has also played a huge role in the team’s recent success thanks to lights-out closer Robert Suarez, breakout arm Jeremiah Estrada, and reliable long-man Adrian Morejon.
10. Seattle Mariners (Prev. Ranking: 12)
May Record: 15-14
The Mariners have been the best team in a strangely uncompetitive AL West. It’s hard to imagine the Rangers and Astros will remain below .500 much longer, but Seattle’s offense is bound to improve, too, and the M’s have given themselves a nice head start over the first two months of the season.
Middle of the Pack (11-20)
Being in the middle of the pack in Major League Baseball is not where anyone wants to be. That is of course unless you were a bottom tier team prior, and enjoying a hot streak has vaulted you up in the power rankings.
When you look at the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, both teams saw a big jump after a strong month of May that pushed them back into Wild Card contention. The Houston Astros enjoyed a similar jump in the rankings, but their early-season hole has yet to be completely erased.
Meanwhile, the Cubs are one of our biggest fallers in the rankings, dropping from inside the top 10 at No. 7, all the way down to No. 14 (and even that might be generous).
The Twins, Blue Jays, Rays, and Tigers were all in the middle last month, and remain there again, as they have yet to prove they are worthy of cracking the upper-echelon in the top-10. Finally, the Red Sox have seen their brief stint in the top-10 drop-off this month.
11. Minnesota Twins (Prev. Ranking: 16)
May Record: 16-12
The Twins have been one of the streakiest teams in the league so far this year. At their best, they look like one of the top teams in baseball, but injuries and underperformance have kept them from catching up to their surprisingly competitive division rivals.
12. San Francisco Giants (Prev. Ranking: 21)
May Record: 15-13
Despite a pile-up of injuries, the Giants found a way to improve their record over the second month of the season. Matt Chapman (133 wRC+ in May) and LaMonte Wade Jr. (172) stepped up at the plate, while ace Logan Webb put together a strong month on the mound (2.40 ERA over five starts).
13. St. Louis Cardinals (Prev. Ranking: 22)
May Record: 13-12
Were we too quick to give up on St. Louis? Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado aren’t what they used to be (and neither are the Cardinals), but this team is back in the Wild Card race after a solid showing in May.
14. Chicago Cubs (Prev. Ranking: 7)
May Record: 10-18
May was difficult for the Cubs. In particular, it was a hard month for the Cubs’ offense. While their pitching staff put up an impressive 3.88 ERA, the bats combined for an 88 wRC+ as Chicago fell well behind Milwaukee in the NL Central race.
15. Boston Red Sox (Prev. Ranking: 10)
May Record: 12-16
The Red Sox came back down to earth in May, reminding us why we thought they’d be closer to a .500 club than true contenders entering the season. This team has some terrific players, but a slew of injuries has severely tested their depth.
16. Detroit Tigers (Prev. Ranking: 11)
May Record: 11-16
The Detroit Tigers have cooled after their hot start to the season, which had us wondering if they would be contenders this year. While their pitching is certainly strong enough to contend, a slide in May has this team more set up to sell some of that pitching at the deadline, instead of buy.
The recent demotion of Spencer Torkelson is just the latest in a series of disappointments with their lineup, which has not been able to produce enough runs so far in 2024. Torkelson’s struggles and demotion, are only compounded by Kerry Carpenter being lost to a stress fracture in his back.
17. Texas Rangers (Prev. Ranking: 15)
May Record: 11-16
We are still waiting for the defending champs to play like we know they are capable of, yet they find themselves hovering around the middle, barely keeping their heads above water. There is still a fantastic team here that can be unlocked at any time, it just hasn’t happened yet.
18. Houston Astros (Prev. Ranking: 24)
May Record: 15-14
The Houston Astros are big risers in our rankings compared to last time, when we had them all the way down at No. 24. A winning month of May was a good start for Houston, but playing one game over .500 is hardly an achievement for a team that has been on a dynastic run in previous years.
We need to see a lot more in June to be able to proclaim the Astros as contenders who can pull themselves back from their completely dreadful start.
19. Tampa Bay Rays (Prev. Ranking: 18)
May Record: 14-13
The Tampa Bay Rays have not fallen out of the race just yet, but they are not playing up the lofty standards they have set for themselves. With position players that rank 20th in fWAR and 21st in wRC+, it is no surprise to see them at No. 19 on this list. They aren’t a bad team, but haven’t been a very good one either.
20. Toronto Blue Jays (Prev. Ranking: 17)
May Record: 12-13
The Toronto Blue Jays have put together a very similar season to that of their division rival in Tampa, and yet things feels much more dire north of the the border. The Blue Jays are approaching the end of a contention window with Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, and will soon be faced with tough decisions on how to proceed as a franchise.
Both Guerrero and Bichette are free agents after this year, so there is no rush to deal them at this deadline, but trying to find a way to contend with them this year may be a longshot.
The 10 Worst Teams in Major League Baseball Right Now
When it comes to the top 10 worst teams in Major League Baseball, this list won’t often be too interchangeable, as teams like the Miami Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels are likely to remain in this group all year.
We have seen a pair of teams freefall into this grouping though, after playing some pretty awful baseball in the month of May.
21. Arizona Diamondbacks (Prev. Ranking: 19)
May Record: 11-15
The Arizona Diamondbacks are new to the bottom, but have only fallen a few slots from last month. They, like the Rangers, have failed to find the magic we saw last October. Luckily, they have the best second baseman in the National League, as Ketel Marte is helping keep the Diamondbacks from slipping too far out of the race.
22. Pittsburgh Pirates (Prev. Ranking: 23)
May Record: 12-14
The Pittsburgh Pirates might not leave the bottom at any point this year, but at least they are a lot of fun to watch. Jared Jones and Paul Skenes are much-watch television atop this rotation, promising a very bright future in store for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
23. Washington Nationals (Prev. Ranking: 24)
May Record: 12-15
The Washington Nationals have the chance to be a lot of fun soon, as they have not fallen too far under .500 at this point in the season and should soon get the lift of promoting the recently crowned top prospect in all of baseball, James Wood.
24. Cincinnati Reds (Prev. Ranking: 13)
May Record: 9-18
One of the two teams that cratered towards the bottom of this list. Nothing has gone right in Cincinnati over the past month, and with the ascension of the St. Louis Cardinals, it seems like the Reds are back to being in a battle at the bottom of the NL Central with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
A position they have been in a lot over the last few years, but one that they hoped to be past at this stage of their rebuild.
25. Oakland Athletics (Prev. Ranking: 25)
May Record: 9-19
The Oakland Athletics have been bad, and yet have exceeded expectations all at the same time. With Mason Miller and Brent Rooker both playing at an All-Star level, the A’s could become one of the more fascinating teams to watch at the deadline, with the ability to leverage the control of their potential All-Stars into a steep return of prospects if they chose to make some deals.
26. Miami Marlins (Prev. Ranking: 28)
May Record: 14-13
The Miami Marlins played much better in the month of May, finishing with a winning record. While there is not much to talk about offensively these days, the Marlins can still pitch. The left-handed trio of Ryan Weathers, Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett has been great lately in the Marlins rotation, giving them a chance to win some games and get back to a level of respectability.
27. Colorado Rockies (Prev. Ranking: 29)
May Record: 14-13
The Colorado Rockies enjoyed a seven-game winning streak this month, which has propelled them up a few slots on this list. There was one point this year where the Rockies seemed to be spiraling towards a historically bad season. If they can keep things up, they should be able to avoid that fate.
28. Los Angeles Angels (Prev. Ranking: 27)
May Record: 10-17
Jo Adell and Taylor Ward are providing the Angels with a consistent source of offense, and Kevin Pillar has somehow been doing his best impression of Mike Trout, giving the Angels a really good outfield all of a sudden. With that said, the team at large is not very good.
29. Chicago White Sox (Prev. Ranking: 30)
May Record: 9-19
The Chicago White Sox get a reprieve from being the worst team in baseball, simply because we want to spotlight a team who’s fall has been more pronounced. And that team in the New York Mets.
30. New York Mets (Prev. Ranking: 14)
May Record: 9-19
Yes, the Mets are probably better than a handful of the teams that are ranked above them on this list, but you can make the argument that no team in baseball in playing worse right now than the Mets.
The Mets pitched to a 4.85 ERA in the month of May, the worst mark in Major League Baseball.
Jorge Lopez brought national attention to the Mets last week, spotlighting a bullpen that has been atrocious for well over a month now. In May, the Mets blew seven saves in 12 opportunities. And that is not including a four-run lead that Edwin Diaz coughed up to the Miami Marlins.
Diaz is now on the IL, and the Mets are going closer by committee to try to fill the gap. Struggling to find answers in the pen, the Mets have fallen out of the race and if they don’t play better baseball soon, they are looking like surefire sellers at the deadline.