Featured in this week’s Power Rankings, Tarik Skubal shows out, the Astros are back among the game’s elite teams, Sonny Gray throws a super-charged Maddux, the Guardians' bats are having a historically-bad June, James Wood gets the Barry Bonds treatment, and the Marlins are unstoppable.
(Please note these power rankings are a combination of current performance and long-term projected outlook)
Let’s get started!
Eric Samulski breaks down some of the top waiver wire adds for the upcoming week of fantasy baseball
Note: Rankings are from the morning of Monday, June 30.
1) Dodgers ⬆️
Last week: 2
It’s been a little while, but the Dodgers have reclaimed the top spot in our rankings. Max Muncy has been one of the best hitters in the majors since he began wearing glasses on April 30 to address an astigmatism, batting .296/.422/.593 with 13 home runs and 51 RBI over 51 games. Somebody get this man a Warby Parker endorsement deal.
2) Tigers ⬇️
Last week: 1
It was pretty cool to see the Tigers featured on Sunday Night Baseball this week. Tarik Skubal was obviously amped up for the occasion, as he struck out eight batters (including seven in a row) through the first three innings against the Twins. He ended up fanning 13 batters while allowing just one hit over seven scoreless frames. He’s on another level right now.
3) Astros ⬆️
Last week: 7
The Astros were No. 11 in the June 2 edition of MLB Power Rankings, but they’ve climbed into the top-three with an MLB-best 19 wins this month. Rookie outfielder Cam Smith has found his comfort zone of late with four homers and 15 RBI with a .342/.398/.566 batting line over his past 20 games. The club has to hope that Jeremy Peña’s fracture rib won’t keep him out for long.
4) Cubs
Last week: 4
Great sign for the Cubs last Thursday, as Shota Imanaga blanked the Cardinals with five-innings of one-hit ball in his return from a hamstring injury. The southpaw now holds a 2.83 ERA across his first 38 starts in the majors.
5) Phillies ⬇️
Last week: 3
The Phillies’ rotation has featured some excellent pitchers in recent years, but what Ranger Suárez is doing right now outshines them all. With another gem against the Braves on Sunday, he’s now posted a 1.19 ERA over his last 10 starts. That’s the lowest by a Phillies starter over a 10-game stretch since Cliff Lee put up a 0.93 ERA over 10 starts to finish the 2011 regular season.
6) Yankees ⬇️
Last week: 5
The Yankees’ lineup continues to be boom or bust at times, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been locked in since returning from the injured list on June 3. Including a four-RBI game in Sunday’s win over the Athletics, Chisholm is hitting .318/.379/.600 with six homers, 18 RBI, four steals, and 14 runs scored in that timespan.
7) Rays ⬆️
Last week: 9
Maybe it's the Ken Griffey Jr. nostalgia in me, still something special about seeing a player hit a home run to the warehouse at Camden Yards. This one from Jonathan Aranda in Saturday’s rout against the Orioles traveled 467 feet, the third-longest home run by a Rays player in the Statcast era. Just another accomplishment on his resume this season as All-Star selections approach.
8) Brewers ⬆️
Last week: 11
Joey Ortiz has struggled miserably out of the gate this season, but he’s turned the corner in a huge way recently with three homers, 11 RBI, and a .326/.354/.522 batting line over his last 11 games. He had just two home runs over his previous 70 games this season.
9) Cardinals ⬆️
Last week: 13
Sonny Gray needed just 89 pitches to complete a one-hit shutout — with 11 strikeouts and no walks — against the Guardians on Friday night. While a “Maddux” is all well and good, but even cooler for Gray was that it was his first shutout in nearly 10 years.
10) Mets ⬇️
Last week: 6
The Mets have lost 13 out of their last 16 games and were outscored 30-4 while being swept by the Pirates this past weekend. Tenth might be too high given their pitching struggles/injuries and ice cold offense.
11) Padres ⬆️
Last week: 10
All the talent on the Padres and would you believe that Gavin Sheets leads the team in RBI? It’s true. Sheets was in the middle of everything in Saturday’s win over the Reds; he went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer, two doubles, and this excellent catch in left field.
A great victory for Padres general manager A.J. Preller.
12) Giants ⬇️
Last week: 8
Bad times. After being swept by the Marlins, the Giants went on to lose two out of three to the White Sox over the weekend. The Giants are now 4-8 since the Rafael Devers trade.
13) Blue Jays
Last week: 12 ⬇️
The Blue Jays sit three games behind the Yankees for first-place in the AL East going into a four-game series at Rogers Centre to begin the week. It doesn’t get bigger than this in late June/early July.
14) Reds ⬆️
Last week: 17
In the same game where Nick Martinez came within three outs of a no-hitter, Spencer Steer put up a three-homer game Friday against the Padres. Bothered by a lingering shoulder issue during spring training, Steer endured a rough start to the season, but he’s hitting .442 (19-for-43) over his last 11 games.
15) Mariners
Last week: 14
Cal Raleigh’s first half has already been a great story, but it has a chance to get even better at the Home Run Derby next month. Cal’s dad, Todd, is expected to throw to him and the hope is that his younger brother, Todd Jr., will serve as the catcher for the festivities. Sure, Ronald Acuña Jr. will be the hometown hero in this one, but how can you root against this?
16) Rangers ⬆️
Last week: 20
The Rangers continue to hover around the .500 mark, which has basically been their life dating back to late April. At least there’s room for positivity within the starting rotation. Jacob deGrom is coming off a no-hit bid, Nathan Eovaldi is back from the injured list, and Kumar Rocker has enjoyed the best three-start stretch of his young career.
17) Diamondbacks ⬆️
Last week: 19
The Diamondbacks blew a four-run lead on Sunday while getting swept by the Marlins. The bullpen has been a sore spot, as they rank 28th in the majors with a 5.22 ERA.
18) Angels ⬆️
Last week: 23
Jo Adell has finally arrived? The 26-year-old is tied with Juan Soto for the MLB lead with 11 home runs this month. He’s cut down on his strikeouts and is showing an uptick in barrels and average exit velocity, so there’s plenty to like here. In fantasy baseball, this is what we call a post-post-post hype breakout.
19) Braves ⬇️
Last week: 16
For the Braves, it has routinely been one step forward and two steps back. Are they running out of time? In theory, there’s a boost for the offense on the way, as Jurickson Profar is set to make his return on Tuesday from his 80-game PED suspension.
20) Red Sox ⬇️
Last week: 15
Saturday’s 15-run explosion is more of the exception since the Rafael Devers trade. The Red Sox are hitting .215 with a .656 OPS since the trade. Oddly enough, the Giants have the same batting average and OPS during that time.
21) Guardians ⬇️
Last week: 18
The Guardians have hit just .206 in the month of June. According to the Associated Press, that’s the third-worst batting average in franchise history for a month with at least 13 games played.
22) Twins
Last week: 22
The Twins’ bullpen somehow has a 6.80 ERA this month. Nobody will be happier to see that calendar flip to July on Tuesday.
23) Royals ⬇️
Last week: 21
The Royals snapped an 11-game home losing streak (and a six-game losing streak overall) in Saturday’s victory over the Dodgers. The Royals have lost 17 games this month, their worst month since August of 2023.
24) Marlins ⬆️
Last week: 27
The hottest team in baseball is…the Marlins? Thanks to a five-run eighth inning against the Diamondbacks on Sunday, the Marlins have won seven straight games. Rookie slugger Agustín Ramírez continues to be a force and Edward Cabrera is delivering on the promise he’s shown in the past.
25) Pirates ⬆️
Last week: 28
How dominant was the Pirates’ three-game sweep over the Mets over the weekend? We’re talking something that hasn’t happened for the Pirates in 90 years kind of dominance.
R.I.P. Dave Parker
26) Orioles ⬇️
Last week: 24
It’s always eyebrow-raising to see a team score 22 runs, as the Orioles did on Friday night. But it’s even more interesting that the Rays held a 6-0 lead in the second inning. How many O's fans do you think turned off that game early?
27) Nationals ⬇️
Last week: 25
This year has spiraled out of control for the Nationals, but there’s already immense respect being shown to 22-year-old slugger James Wood. The Angels gave him four intentional walks on Sunday.
28) Athletics ⬇️
Last week: 26
Has Luis Severino been traded yet? What about now? Severino hasn’t been shy about his thoughts about playing in Sacramento. And while he got crushed at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, he has seen much better results at home than at Sutter Health Park. It’s a tricky spot given the three-year, $67 million deal (largest guaranteed free agent deal in franchise history) he signed with the A’s this past offseason, but it sounds like an untenable situation.
29) White Sox
Last week: 29
Signed in May, Adrian Houser has turned into a nifty little trade chip for the White Sox. The 32-year-old has reeled off a 1.90 ERA over his first seven starts with the club, including seven scoreless frames against the Giants on Saturday.
In other news, check out White Sox rookie Chase Meidroth going all Matrix to avoid this tag at second base on Sunday.
30) Rockies
Last week: 30
Marveling at Tyler Freeman’s month of June. He’s hitting .373 with a .478 on-base percentage and has struck out just four times in 92 plate appearances. One of those strikeouts came on Sunday and he was ejected (along with Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer) for his disapproval.
Eric Samulski
