We have some movement, people. While I was reluctant to make any major changes to our MLB Power Rankings after the opening weekend of the season, you’ll see some dramatic shakeups this week.
The NL West has been the best division in baseball so far, with the Giants off to their best start since 2003. They’ll be tested in short order, though, as San Francisco will soon embark on a 10-game road trip against the Yankees, Phillies, and Angels.
Let's get started!
Eric Samulski breaks down some of the top waiver wire adds for the upcoming week of fantasy baseball.
1) Los Angeles Dodgers
Last week: 1
The Dodgers are…human? In addition to being handed their first two losses this weekend by the Phillies, they lost Blake Snell due to left shoulder inflammation.
2) Philadelphia Phillies
Last week: 2
After taking two out of three from the Dodgers this weekend, the Phillies will now try to bury the struggling Braves even further in the NL East.
3) San Francisco Giants ⬆️
Last week: 18
Credit to the Giants, who actually have a better winning percentage than the Dodgers at the moment. The club swept the Mariners over the weekend, with Wilmer Flores providing the walk-off hit on Sunday.
On a side note here: Seeing real life buddies Willy Adames and Julio Rodríguez one-up each other during the series was a treat.
4) Texas Rangers ⬆️
Last week: 8
The Rangers have the best record in the American League despite hitting just .192 as a team so far.
5) New York Yankees ⬆️
Last week: 6
Frustrating loss on Sunday notwithstanding, the Yankees’ bats continue to mash. They lead the majors with 25 home runs and nobody has hit more than Aaron Judge, who has six.
Behold, the perfect stat.
6) Boston Red Sox ⬇️
Last week: 4
Rafael Devers is going to be fine. After the brutal start to the season which we mentioned last week, Devers is 10-for-19 (.526) with a homer, three doubles, seven RBI and a 2/5 K/BB ratio over his last five games.
7) New York Mets
Last week: 7
The Mets’ bats haven’t hit their stride just yet, but the pitching staff is picking up the slack with an MLB-best 1.91 ERA through nine games.
8) San Diego Padres ⬆️
Last week: 11
Not a bad week for Jackson Merrill. Days after securing a nine-year, $135 million extension, Merrill slugged a two-run homer as part of a comeback win over the Cubs on Sunday. In doing so, he became the youngest player in Padres history to reach 100 career RBI, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.
9) Chicago Cubs ⬆️
Last week: 13
With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. getting his $500 million extension with the Blue Jays, Kyle Tucker is sitting pretty for a similar if not better payday this winter. The Cubs couldn’t have asked for much more from their prized offseason addition, as he’s hitting .319 with five homers and an NL-best 15 RBI.
10) Arizona Diamondbacks ⬇️
Last week: 5
Corbin Burnes is off to a shaky start this season and Ketel Marte just hit the injured list with a left hamstring strain.
11) Atlanta Braves ⬇️
Last week: 3
No team has ever made the postseason after starting the season 0-7. With expanded playoffs, there’s still a good chance the Braves can be the first, but no question this is pretty ugly.
12) Houston Astros ⬇️
Last week: 9
The Astros came back from six runs down to defeat the Twins on Sunday afternoon. That’s very on brand for Houston-based teams this weekend.
13) Baltimore Orioles ⬇️
Last week: 10
The Orioles’ bats have gone quiet over the past week, but it's likely just a matter of time with Gunnar Henderson back in the fold.
14) Detroit Tigers ⬆️
Last week: 16
The Tigers did what they were supposed to do over the weekend, sweeping the White Sox to climb to the top of the AL Central. Spencer Torkelson provided the walk-off winner on Sunday as his hot start to the season continues.
15) Milwaukee Brewers ⬆️
Last week: 19
The Brewers are hanging tough despite yet another injury in their rotation, this time with Nestor Cortes dealing with a flexor strain in his throwing elbow once again.
16) Toronto Blue Jays ⬆️
Last week: 17
The Blue Jays were swept by the Mets this weekend as their offense continues to struggle, but who cares about that? Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is staying with Toronto for the long haul!
17) Kansas City Royals ⬇️
Last week: 14
Kris Bubic was a popular breakout candidate during spring training and he’s backed up the hype so far this season with a 0.71 ERA through his first two starts.
18) Seattle Mariners ⬇️
Last week: 12
Victor Robles might have made one of the best catches of all-time on Sunday. Unfortunately, he injured his shoulder in the process and could be looking at an extended absence.
19) Los Angeles Angels ⬆️
Last week: 27
Logan O’Hoppe homered again on Sunday, becoming the first player in Angels history to homer in four straight games as a catcher.
20) Tampa Bay Rays ⬆️
Last week: 22
Four straight losses for the Rays, who will now play at Steinbrenner Field for the next two weeks as they try to squeeze in as many home games as possible before the summer months.
21) Cleveland Guardians
Last week: 21
Everyone knows that José Ramírez is great, but he still might be the most underrated superstar in the game. He slugged his way to the second three-homer game of his career on Friday against the Angels.
22) Minnesota Twins ⬇️
Last week: 15
The Twins’ 3-6 record is not a matter of bad luck. Minnesota’s starters have combined for an MLB-worst 6.98 ERA while their offense is hitting just .198 as a team.
23) St. Louis Cardinals
Last week: 23
That hot start feels like a distant memory already. Iván Herrera has been a bright spot so far, including a three-homer game of his own against the Angels on Wednesday, but he’s expected to land on the injured list after leaving Sunday’s game with left knee inflammation.
24) Athletics
Last week: 24
How soon until 2024 first-rounder Nick Kurtz makes his MLB debut? The 22-year-old first baseman is off to a monster start with Triple-A Las Vegas, hitting .412 with four homers and 12 RBI through eight games.
25) Cincinnati Reds ⬇️
Last week: 20
The Reds’ offense finally broke out against the beleaguered Brewers’ pitching staff on Saturday, but it has been some rough sledding so far, including a recent 35-inning scoreless streak.
26) Washington Nationals
Last week: 26
Dylan Crews finally got his first hit of the season on Friday and followed that up with two hits and a stolen base on Sunday. The Nats have won back-to-back games, but get a tough test to begin the week with a series against the Dodgers.
27) Pittsburgh Pirates ⬇️
Last week: 25
The Pirates might have won on Sunday but it was an embarrassing day for the organization.
To be fair, Pirates president Travis Williams owned up to the mistake and the team plans to restore the Clemente tribute. Kudos for the quick response, but it never should have happened in the first place.
28) Miami Marlins
Last week: 28
While it happened as part of a 10-0 loss to the Braves on Friday, Max Meyer struck out a career-high eight batters while allowing three runs over six innings. The 2020 first-rounder has had an encouraging start to the year after a shaky return from Tommy John surgery in 2024.
29) Colorado Rockies
Last week: 29
The Chase Dollander Era is upon us. It’s easy to forget how hyped Jon Gray was when he was first called up, but Chase Dollander might be the best homegrown hope yet from a pitching perspective. Boy, do they need it.
30) Chicago White Sox
Last week: 30
Five straight losses for the White Sox after a nice start to the season. They are who we thought they were.
Eric Samulski