MLB Power Rankings: Who was the best player on each team?

Superstars Aaron Judge and Yordan Álvarez are stomp their respectively plow on the power ranking. Veteran Nathan Eovaldi and rookie Bryce Miller do the pitching equivalent for their squads on the mound.

For this week’s Power Rankings, we’re also looking around MLB to see which players have performed the best for their franchises in the first 50-plus games.

1) Tampa Bay rays (39-16; last week 1)
Considering they’ve scored more runs than any baseball team, it feels appropriate to pick an offensive player here. Yandy Díaz leads all qualified Major Leaguers in OPS for a third of the season, and he’s not even leading the team in wins over replacement. (That would be Wander Franco.)

2) Texas Rangers (23-19; LW 4)
The Rangers needed another ace to come out with Jacob deGrom. Eovaldi answered the call, going 3-0 with a 1.10 ERA and 0.77 WHIP over four May starts. He looks like a legit American League contender Cy Young at 33 years old.

3) Houston Astros (31-21; LW 5)
Since falling to 17-18, the Astros have gone 14-3. Álvarez was the constant force in a Houston attack that recently started to click. He is the only qualified player in the lineup with an OPS over .800, and it is now over 1,000.

4) Baltimore Orioles (34-19; LW 2)
You may have heard by now how good Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista have been at the back of the Orioles’ bullpen, but Cedric Mullins also deserves credit for the Orioles’ hot start. He’s done a little bit of everything, leading the team in RBIs (39) and steals (13), racking up late clutch hits, and playing above-average defense in center field.

5) New York Yankees (32-23; LW 6)
Judge’s nine home runs in May are only four fewer than what the Guardians produced as a team this month, which is all the more remarkable considering that Judge was out for the first eight days of May. He leads the AL in homers this year despite missing nearly two weeks with a hip injury.

6) Los Angeles Dodgers (32-22; LW 7)
A model of consistency, Freddie Freeman was the leading hitter in the National League this year, leading the NL in hits (72) and the majors in doubles (22). In the midst of a 17-game hitting streak, Freeman went 30-for-68 (.441) with 11 doubles, four home runs, and a triple.

7) Atlanta Braves (32-21; LW 3)
Ronald Acuna Jr. looking like an early MVP leader, leads the NL in runs (46) and stolen bases (22), while leading his team in hits (66) and doubles (15).

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Ronald Acuna Jr. van Braves becomes NL MVP

8) Arizona Diamondbacks (30-23; LW 8)
Speaking of early frontrunners, Zac Gallen leads all qualified major league pitchers in Fangraphs’ version of WAR. The Gallen-Merrill Kelly combination works wonders for the rotation of the D-backs.

9) Sailors from Seattle (28-25; LW 16)
As worrying as the year started in Seattle, the entire Mariners rotation gets props here. Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Miller were all worth between one and two wins this year, which is remarkable considering Miller has only made five starts in an incredible rookie season so far.

10) San Francisco Giants (27-26; LW 15)
Playing for a team that is quietly on the rise, Thairo Estrada is quietly putting together a great year, one that has been put on hold for now due to a sprained wrist. He has 15 hits more than any Giants player, and his 13 steals make up nearly half of San Francisco’s stolen bases for the year (30).

11) Angels from Los Angeles (28-26; LW 11)
Yes, it’s Shohei Ohtani.

Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuna Jr. headline top five players in MVP race

12) Boston Red Sox (28-25; LW 9)
Alex Verdugo’s OPS has dipped below .800 for just one day this year. He slowed down this week, but he still leads the resurgent Red Sox in hits, runs and doubles while playing one of the best right fields in baseball.

13) Toronto Blue Jays (28-26; LW 10)
Like Eovaldi, Kevin Gausman has been a stabilizing asset to his team’s rotation and ranks among the early front-runners for AL Cy Young. Gausman’s 89 strikeouts trail only Spencer Strider and Ohtani for most in the majors. His performance is all the more significant given Alek Manoah’s early struggles and the Blue Jays’ recent slide.

14) Milwaukee Brewers (28-25; LW 12)
Milwaukee hasn’t done much offensively this year. An exception is Owen Miller, who beats .348/.378/.609 in 20 games this month.

15) Miami Marlins (28-26; LW 18)
It takes a dedicated hitter to have an OPS near .900 despite hitting only one home run in nearly 50 games. Luis Arraez is that. He leads the majors with a .376 batting average and has only 10 strikeouts in 200 at bats.

16) New York Mets (27-27; LW 14)
Pete Alonso leads the majors with 20 home runs. His strength is critical to a Mets team that has no other double digit player in the category.

Mets’ Pete Alonso becomes the first MLB player to hit 20 home runs this year

17) Minnesota twins (27-26; LW 13)
The Twins’ rotation was one of the first success stories of the 2023 season, and it begins with Sonny Gray, whose 1.82 ERA leads all qualified MLB starters.

18) Philadelphia Phillies (25-28; LW 17)
On a team known for its bats, the Phillies’ leader in WAR this year is actually Zack Wheeler. He throws a lot better than his 3.60 ERA would indicate – his 30.2% whiff rate is the best of his career – so the best of the year could be ahead for the hard-throwing right hand.

19) Detroit Tigers (25-26; LW 23)
Eduardo Rodríguez’s sensational 2.19 ERA stands out as a Detroit team exceeds expectations. Will the Tigers trade the 30-year-old lefty during a career year, or will their second-place finish in the dismal AL Central make them think twice? They don’t have to answer that question yet.

20) Pittsburgh Pirates (26-26; LW 19)
Until his last start, when he gave up six runs in six innings to the Mariners, Mitch Keller appeared to be one of the best pitchers in the National League. Even after the rare clunker, he has a 3.01 ERA and has struck out no less than eight in each of his past six starts.

21) San Diego Padres (24-29; LW 21)
Fernando Tatis Jr. is back, but Juan Soto is BACK. His OPS is up to .928 and he has the highest pass rate of his career. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to make up for the litany of flaws in the rest of the Padres lineup.

22) Cleveland Guardians (23-29; LW 22)
It’s been a modest year for José Ramírez by his standards (.273/.349/.460), but he’s on a different planet than his teammates at the plate. None of them even have an OPS over .700.

23) St. Louis Cardinals (24-31; LW 20)
On a team that includes Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, no Cardinals player has a higher OPS, more runs batted in, or more home runs than Nolan Gorman.

24) Cincinnati Reds (24-29; LW 27)
The only Major Leaguers with a higher batting average than TJ Friedl in at least 150 at bats this season are Arráez, Freeman and Bo Bichette.

25) Colorado Rockies (24-30; LW 26)
See that stat directly above? Elias Díaz shares the same .333 batting average as Friedl.

26) Washington nationals (23-30; LW 28)
It’s been a recovery year for Jeimer Candelario, who hits 16 percent better than the league average while running defensively as one of the best third basemen in the sport.

27) Chicago Cubs (22-33; LW 24)
By WAR their best player this year was Dansby Swanson. At this point, however, there is no one more handsome than Christopher Morel, who has nine homers in 17 games since being drafted. Sadly, the Cubs have still dropped 11 of their past 14 games.

28) Chicago White Sox (22-33, LW 25)
Luis Robert was a bright spot in an abysmal start on the South Side. In addition to playing a dazzling center field, he has already tied his career with 13 homers.

29) Kansas City Royals (16-38; LW 29)
At 33 years old, Salvador Pérez is still doing his thing. Of the qualified catchers, only Sean Murphy of Atlanta and Díaz of Colorado have a higher OPS than the veteran Royals backstop.

30) Oakland Athletics (10-45; LW 30)
It’s not all bad news in the East Bay. Brent Rooker, a 28-year-old former first-round pick, has made his way as an Oakland regular, going in on Sunday with a 154 OPS+.

Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. Previously, he was the editor of the Dodgers’ digital and print publications. Follow him on Twitter @RowanKavner.