MLB Uber Power Rankings

In this third edition of these rankings, the Indians and Orioles soar upwards, the Brewers take a tumble, and last year's World Series teams claim the top two spots. All records and statistics are through Thursday, May 10th. Last edition's rankings are in parentheses.

1 (1). Texas Rangers (21-11): Those three series losses in a row after injuries to Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton prove that this team's biggest weakness is its fragile health.
2 (3). St. Louis Cardinals (20-11): In the NL, the potent Cardinals are simply in a league of their own. Lance Lynn is 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA, and Lance Berkman hasn't even been playing much.
3 (4). Tampa Bay Rays (20-12): They're good enough to win without him, but losing Evan Longoria for two months will really hurt.
4 (2). New York Yankees (17-14): After weathering some devastating injuries and offensive slumps, the starting pitching is finally settling in.
5 (6). Atlanta Braves (19-13): The offense that was so pathetic last September has scored the third-most runs in baseball.
6 (7). Washington Nationals (19-12): Bryce Harper has arrived, and he's sorely needed in an outfield crippled by Jayson Werth's six-week injury.
7 (9). Toronto Blue Jays (17-14): Some long-awaited breakouts are taking place: Edwin Encarnacion has 10 homers and a .903 OPS while Brandon Morrow's tidy ERA sits at 2.27.
8 (5). Detroit Tigers (16-15): Since a 9-3 start, the Tigers are 7-12, and the Indians' strong play means the division race won't be the cakewalk it was supposed to be.
9 (8). Los Angeles Dodgers (20-11): They obviously can't be treated as a fluke anymore, though any team that feels the need to sign Bobby Abreu still has some major holes.
10 (18). Cleveland Indians (18-13): While they aren't as good as their record suggests, they have the 5th-best team OBP in the majors, which bodes well moving forward.
11 (14). Cincinnati Reds (16-14): Johnny Cueto (3 total ER in his last 5 starts) and Jay Bruce (7 HRs in his last 12 games) are on fire right now.
12 (10). Arizona Diamondbacks (14-18): One of those teams that's just much better than its disappointing start suggests.
13 (11). Los Angeles Angels (14-18): They've won three series all year: two against the Twins, one against the Orioles. Even with Chris Iannetta's two-month injury, I retain faith that they're not THIS bad.
14 (20). Miami Marlins (16-15): A recent seven-game win streak culminated in Carlos Zambrano's complete-game shutout.
15 (24). Baltimore Orioles (20-12): What a week: they won a 17-inning game in Boston with Chris Davis on the mound, gave up four homers to Josh Hamilton, and beat the Rangers by turning all five of their hits into home runs.
16 (12). Boston Red Sox (12-19): They've lost 11 of their past 12 home games and Josh Beckett, embroiled in a golfing scandal, was ruthlessly booed by the Fenway faithful during his stinker against Cleveland.
17 (13). Philadelphia Phillies (14-18): Just suffered a devastating three-game home sweep at the hands of the Mets, each loss featuring a late-game bullpen meltdown. Might Cole Hamels become July's shiniest trade target?
18 (15). San Francisco Giants (15-16): As much trouble as the Rays are in without Evan Longoria, the Giants will suffer twice as much with Pablo Sandoval on the shelf.
19 (16). Chicago White Sox (15-17): A 5-11 stretch and Chris Sale's elbow troubles have quickly ended Chicago's hot start.
20 (19). New York Mets (18-13): Easily the luckiest team in baseball right now; their minus-18 run differential is an omen for the coming regression.
21 (15). Milwaukee Brewers (13-18): Four straight series losses. Mat Gamel and Alex Gonzalez lost for the season. The third-worst run differential in the majors. Things aren't going well in Milwaukee right now.
22 (22). Oakland Athletics (16-16): There were some nice positives in their back-to-back road series wins at Boston and Tampa Bay.
23 (23). Seattle Mariners (15-18): Kyle Seager has been the most pleasant surprise, with his .298 average, .510 slugging percentage, and 20 RBIs.
24 (27). Houston Astros (14-17): They have a positive run differential, which nobody, not even the Astros, saw coming. As a bonus: Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers are improving their trade value.
25 (21). Colorado Rockies (13-17): Going through a typical Rockies season: lots of offense, miserable pitching, and often-baffling inconsistency.
26 (26). Pittsburgh Pirates (14-17): Not going anywhere with their pathetic lineup.
27 (28). Kansas City Royals (11-19): Almost everything has gone wrong for a Royals team that some expected to finally make some noise this season.
28 (29). Chicago Cubs (13-18): Bryan LaHair, career Triple-A masher, has a ridiculous .384/.476/.767 line with 8 homers, putting himself in the lead for best story of the year.
29 (30). San Diego Padres (11-21): The possibility of losing Cory Luebke for the season is a tough break for Padres fans desperately searching for any reason to watch their team play baseball.
30 (25). Minnesota Twins (8-22): Their minus-63 run differential is the worst in the majors by a mile, mostly thanks to a frighteningly-bad pitching staff that also ranks as baseball's worst.


Two critical series loom this weekend: the Angels will try to start digging themselves out of their hole against the Rangers, while two of the top teams in the National League--the Cardinals and Braves--face off. Meanwhile, the Orioles continue their quest to prove themselves with another series against the Rays and Andy Pettitte makes his season debut on Sunday against the Mariners.