Power Rankings: Tigers in first, but Dodgers, Cardinals, Mets are close

Detroit takes first place in the Power Rankings for a second straight week, but the red-hot Dodgers, Mets and Cardinals are all nipping at the Tigers' heels.

The Tigers remain atop the Power Rankings for a second straight week, but three National League teams are close behind. The Dodgers, Cardinals and Mets are all jockeying for space behind Detroit, with Los Angeles and New York riding some long win streaks into the top five.

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It's no surprise that the Tigers are still No. 1, given their 10–2 record and powerful offense. Detroit is averaging a major-league-best 5.67 runs per game thanks in part to MLB's second-best OPS (.855). But the Dodgers, Cardinals and Mets can make strong claims to the top spot as well. Los Angeles has an MLB-best .885 OPS, has won seven straight games and boasts the game's hottest hitter in Adrian Gonzalez, who entered Monday's action batting .469/.527/.939 in 55 plate appearances. St. Louis has the league's best ERA at 1.91 through 99 innings. And New York, which enters the week on an eight-game winning streak, is led by a rotation that has a sparkling 2.84 ERA, 74 strikeouts and just 11 walks through 79 1/3 innings. Nonetheless, the Tigers took four of this week's six first-place votes, with the Dodgers and Mets splitting the other two.

At the bottom of the rankings, the first two weeks have been a brutal slog for the Brewers, who are 2–10 and sit in last place in the NL Central. Milwaukee has lost five straight games and has scored a league-low 30 runs this year while allowing 65, second-worst in baseball. All-Star centerfielder Carlos Gomez is on the disabled list with a hamstring strain, but just as problematic for the Brewers are ice-cold starts by fellow All-Stars Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy. Braun hasn't shown any signs that his weak 2014 was a fluke, batting just .237 with no extra-base hits so far this season. Lucroy, meanwhile, has only seven hits in 42 at-bats for a putrid 32 OPS+. The rotation has been even worse: Matt Garza has a 5.40 ERA and 9/9 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 16 2/3 innings, while second starter Kyle Lohse has been pounded for 18 earned runs and four homers in 15 2/3 innings.

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Elsewhere in the rankings, a lot of teams took big jumps or falls as the league continues to settle itself in the early going. A three-game win streak and the resurgence of Alex Rodriguez (.316/.447/.711 in 47 PA) has the Yankees all the way up to 15th after debuting at 27th last week. Another AL East team, meanwhile, took a big plunge, as the Blue Jays dropped from fifth to 14th. Toronto lost five of its seven games last week, with series losses to the Rays and Braves, thanks to a feast-or-famine offense: The Jays scored 19 of their 32 runs in their two wins, but were otherwise shut down by Atlanta and Tampa Bay pitchers. Toronto's 70 runs scored are best in baseball, but the team's .246 average and .319 on-base percentage are closer to league average.

1. Detroit Tigers

PREVIOUS: 1

RECORD: POINTS176

Low Vote: 4th

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

PREVIOUS: 7

RECORD: POINTS171

Low Vote: 3rd (4x)

3. St. Louis Cardinals

PREVIOUS: 4

RECORD: points163

Low Vote: 5th (2x)

4. New York Mets

PREVIOUS: 13

RECORD: points162

Low Vote: 7th

5. Kansas City Royals

PREVIOUS: 3

RECORD: points155

Low Vote: 14th

6. San Diego Padres

PREVIOUS: 6

RECORD: points146

Low Vote: 8th

7. Baltimore Orioles

PREVIOUS: 14

RECORD: points128

Low Vote: 17th

8. Boston Red Sox

PREVIOUS: 2

RECORD: points126

Low Vote: 16th

9. Pittsburgh Pirates

PREVIOUS: 18

RECORD: points117

Low Vote: 15th

10. Atlanta Braves

PREVIOUS: 9

RECORD: points116

​Low Vote: 25th

11. Chicago Cubs

PREVIOUS: 12

RECORD: points114

Low Vote: 17th

12. Oakland Athletics

PREVIOUS: 10

RECORD: points108

Low Vote: 18th (2x)

13. Washington Nationals

PREVIOUS: 15

RECORD: points106

Low Vote: 17th (2x)

14. Toronto Blue Jays

PREVIOUS: 5

RECORD: points97

Low Vote: 19th (2x)

15. New York Yankees

PREVIOUS: 27

RECORD: points96

​Low Vote: 20th

16. Houston Astros

PREVIOUS: 21

RECORD: points88

Low Vote: 20th

17. Los Angeles Angels

PREVIOUS: 20

RECORD: points85

Low Vote: 21st (2x)

18. Colorado Rockies

PREVIOUS: 16

RECORD: points83

Low Vote: 26th (2x)

19. Arizona Diamondbacks

PREVIOUS: 23

RECORD: points82

Low Vote: 28th

20. Seattle Mariners

PREVIOUS: 11

RECORD: points79

Low Vote: 24th

21. Tampa Bay Rays

PREVIOUS: 17

RECORD: points75

Low Vote: 22nd (2x)

22. Chicago White Sox

PREVIOUS: 25

RECORD: points57

​Low Vote: 25th

23. Cincinnati Reds

PREVIOUS: 8

RECORD: points54

Low Vote: 26th

24. Cleveland Indians

PREVIOUS: 22

RECORD: points49

Low Vote: 26th

25. Texas Rangers

PREVIOUS: 26

RECORD: points38

​Low Vote: 26th

26. Minnesota Twins

PREVIOUS: 30

RECORD: points38

Low Vote: 29th

27. San Francisco Giants

PREVIOUS: 19

RECORD: points29

Low Vote: 29th (2x)

28. Miami Marlins

PREVIOUS: 28

RECORD: points23

Low Vote: 30th (2x)

29. Philadelphia Phillies

PREVIOUS: 24

RECORD: points17

Low Vote: 30th

30. Milwaukee Brewers

PREVIOUS: 29

RECORD: points12

Low Vote: 30th (3x)