MLB Power Rankings

Who's moving up? Who's sliding down? Here's a look at who's hot and who's not in this week of baseball.

1. Houston Astros (last week: 3): Justin Verlander's the ageless wonder of baseball. He leads the league in ERA (1.11) and is third in baseball in SO (98). The combination of Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Dallas Keuchel will prove to be tough for anyone looking to dethrone the defending champs.
   
2. Boston Red Sox (2): After Boston's challenging four-game slate in Houston, the Red Sox will face Detroit, Baltimore, and the Chicago White Sox for their next nine games. This will be a grand opportunity for the Red Sox to separate themselves from the Yankees.
   
3. Milwaukee Brewers (4): Winners of 14 of their last 18, the Brewers show no signs of slowing down. Lorenzo Cain (.396 OBP, .840 OPS, 11 stolen bases) and Christian Yelich (24 RBIs, .310 BA, .859 OPS) have proven to be nice additions for the Brew Crew. Also keep an eye out for Jesus Aguilar (nine homers, 30 RBIs, .315 BA, .380 OBP, .957 OPS).
   
4. New York Yankees (3): Losing four of their last six isn't a fun ordeal when you're the Yankees, especially when your rival is atop the division. They'll be going on an 11-game road trip, but the road trip's forgiving; their toughest opponent looks to be their cross-town rival, the Mets.
   
5. Atlanta Braves (5): Another young Brave made an impressive impact recently: Max Fried pitched five innings today, striking out six Mets. Their dogfight with the Phillies, who are also a young team, will be a fun race to watch this summer.
   
6. Seattle Mariners (9): Marco Gonzales (3.60 ERA, eight GDPs) hasn't allowed an earned run in his past 19.1 innings pitched. But he hasn't been the only Mariner pitcher who's been spectacular recently. The reason why the Mariners have won nine of their last ten has been because they've allowed more than three runs twice in the past ten games.
   
7. Philadelphia Phillies (6): A ten-game road trip that spends a good amount of time on the West Coast will determine if the Phillies are for real. In fact, the only series the Phillies will have against a losing team will be against the San Francisco Giants to kick June off.
   
8. Washington Nationals (-): Welcome to the top ten, Washington! Bryce Harper (16 homers, 38 RBIs, .379 OBP, .907 OPS) is making a case for why he should get a lot of money next year. Juan Soto (.320 BA, .410 OBP, .560 SLG, .974 OPS in 25 AB) has been a spark plug for the rejuvenated Nationals.
   
9. St. Louis Cardinals (7): After the Brewers series, the Cardinals get a bit of a reprieve in the schedule. 13 of their next 16 games will be at home, with match-ups against the Reds, Marlins, and Padres.
   
10. Chicago Cubs (8): Are the Cubs getting hot? They have a +77 run differential and have the third-best bullpen regarding ERA (3.71). In any case, they'll be duking it out with Milwaukee during the summer.
    

In the Hunt: Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers