MLB Power Rankings

With the MLB regular season heading into June, who's in prime position for October? Who's making their move?

1. Boston Red Sox (last week: 1): Mookie Betts (.359 BA, 17 home runs, 1.187 OPS, .750 SLG) is making a solid case for being the AL MVP, but a side injury will keep him out for a little bit. J.D. Martinez (19 homers, 50 RBIs, .315 BA, .374 OBP) and crew will pick up the slack, especially in a tight AL East race.
2. New York Yankees (4): Luis Severino has won seven straight starts and has been a strong cog in an otherwise suspect rotation. If Masahiro Tanaka (4.79 ERA, 8.65 K/9) and Sonny Gray (5.50 ERA, 1.60 WHIP) can turn their acts around, the Yankees will be impossible to beat down the stretch.
3. Houston Astros (1): The Astros just came off a brutal stretch where they faced off against the Indians, Red Sox, and Yankees. After their two-game series with the surprising Seattle Mariners, they'll have an easy schedule heading to the All-Star break: their only two series against a squad over .500 will be against divisional rival Oakland.
4. Milwaukee Brewers (4): The Brewers' next 11 games will be against playoff contenders, including a home series against the Cubs. It'll be a tough stretch from the Brewers, but a great test to see how good the Brewers really are. Players like Lorenzo Cain (11 stolen bases, .385 OBP, .815 OPS) will have to put all hands on deck for this stretch.
5. Seattle Mariners (6): Surprise! The Mariners are in first place in the AL West! It seems they have their eyes on more than just a mere wild card spot. But they'll have a tough schedule coming up that'll include the Red Sox, Astros, and Yankees. The stretch will test their mettle to see if the Mariners are for real.
   
6. Chicago Cubs (10): Before Jon Lester's start against Pittsburgh on May 29, Lester allowed three runs or fewer in seven straight starts, going five or more innings in all of them. This type of pitching will be what is needed from Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish in order for the Cubs to become a threat not just in the NL Central, but in the NL altogether.
   
7. Atlanta Braves (5): The Braves lead the majors in runs scored with runners in scoring position and two outs with 99 runs. Charlie Culberson's heroics along with Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis hitting has been a boon for Atlanta offensively.
   
8. Washington Nationals (8): Washington has battled through injuries all season, especially to players like Adam Eaton. They were hit with some more bad news as they sent Jeremy Hellickson to the 10-day DL. Luckily, their only true test in the next 14 games will be the New York Yankees (and maybe San Francisco if Madison Bumgarner starts on one of those days).
   
9. St. Louis Cardinals (9): Good news for St. Louis as they'll be activating Carlos Martinez and Yadier Molina from the disabled list. Michael Wacha's (2.41 ERA, 61 SO, 1.7 WAR, 1.10 WHIP) sudden re-emergence as a quality pitcher and Miles Mikolas stepping up in the rotation will help the Cardinals in the race for the NL Central.
   
10. Los Angeles Angels (-): Just when the Angels thought they were out of the woods with a rough 10-game swing in the Eastern Time Zone, they have to do a nine-game trip west after Kansas City. Road series against divisional foes Seattle and Oakland will put the Angels to work in getting back into the wild card hunt.
    

In The Hunt: Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics