MLB power rankings: Mets at No. 1

1. Mets: Juan Soto is hitting .299 with 4 homers and a .955 OPS over his last 18 games and Mrs. Met now has her own X account.

2. Dodgers: Teoscar Hernandez (9 HRs, 34 RBIs) lands on IL with groin strain Tuesday.

3. Padres: Jackson Merrill, last year’s runner-up for Rookie of the Year, returned from hamstring strain this week.

4. Tigers: Detroit has baseball’s top run-differential (plus-83) and the best home record (13-3) in the American League.

5. Phillies: Kyle Schwarber tied for MLB lead with 12 homers; Bryce Harper hitting .236 with a .771 OPS.

6. Yankees: Aaron Judge is AL’s triple crown leader and still clinging to .400 batting average at week’s end.

7. Cubs: Banged-up rotation should get boost from promotion of top prospect Cade Horton, ranked 46th overall by MLB Pipeline.

8. Mariners: Cal Raleigh, aka “Big Dumper,” giving offense-starved Seattle a bona fide slugger, tied for MLB-best 12 homers.

9. Giants: Former Met Wilmer Flores ranks second in baseball with 33 RBIs.

10. Diamondbacks: Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, fourth in fWAR overall, is referred to as “Frog Man” by teammates after interview saying his blood is “like a frog - cold.”

11. Guardians: Cleveland just finished 14-8 over stretch of 22 games in 23 days, including two doubleheaders.

12. Royals: Emerging ace Kris Bubic (1.69 ERA) leads staff that ranks second in MLB with six shutouts.

13. Atlanta: Reigning Cy Young winner Chris Sale has shaken off early slog, trimming ERA from 6.63 to 1.96 over last four starts.

14. Athletics: Shortstop Jacob Wilson, the No. 6 overall pick in 2023, is chasing Judge with a .357 batting average.

15. Red Sox: Underperforming Sox dealt another headache with $313-million DH Rafael Devers refusing to move to first base in wake of Triston Casas injury.

16. Brewers: Slumping All-Star catcher William Contreras (.693 OPS) playing through fractured left finger.

17. Rangers: Jacob deGrom is 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA in first seven starts, striking out 36 over 38 innings.

18. Astros: Framber Valdez, 0-3 with a 5.98 ERA in previous three starts, picked up first win this week since beating Mets on Opening Day.

19. Blue Jays: Anthony Santander, the Jays’ $92.5 million free-agent pivot from Pete Alonso, is hitting .196 with 5 homers and a .611 OPS.

20. Rays: Steinbrenner Field not friendly to new tenants with second-worst home winning percentage (9-16, 36%) in the majors.

21. Twins: Byron Buxton hit .316 with 5 HRs, 15 RBIs to power Twins during stretch of 10 wins in 15 games.

22. Reds: Manager Terry Francona was ejected for the 51st time this week, moving him ahead of Mike Hargrove and tying Jimmy Dykes on the career list (23rd).

23. Cardinals: Steven Matz is 1-0 with a 1.44 ERA and 0.960 WHIP in 10 appearances, including two starts.

24. Nationals: James Woods became only the third Nats player to reach 10 HRs in first 36 games, at age 22 or younger, joining Bryce Harper and Juan Soto.

25. Orioles: Charlie Morton, the $15M budget replacement for Corbin Burnes, is 0-7 with a 9.38 ERA. He was moved to the bullpen at the end of April.

26. Angels: Logan O’Hoppe is hitting .284 with 9 HRs and an .860 OPS, which ranks second among MLB catchers.

27. Pirates: Manager Derek Shelton was fired this week after a .410 winning percentage (306-440) over six seasons. Is GM Ben Cherington next?

28. Marlins: Sandy Alcantara, in his first season back from TJ surgery, has an 8.42 ERA for the second-worst rotation (6.35 ERA) in the majors.

29. White Sox: New Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, is a lifelong White Sox fan.

30. Rockies: Colorado’s 6-31 start is tied with the 1988 Orioles for worst of the Modern Era (since 1900) through 37 games. The 1884 Kansas City Cowboys were 5-32.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.