The two-time defending champion Dodgers are a great team. They remain a decent bet to win the World Series and have been one of the best teams in baseball all season. I’m sure there will be people out there arguing against this move and it’s totally fair to believe it shouldn’t happen, but I’m pulling the trigger.
The Dodgers are not the No. 1 team in the Power Rankings this week.
That honor has been stolen by the Atlanta Braves.
What a difference a year makes, huh? The 2025 Braves were arguably the most disappointing team in baseball, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and finishing 10 games under .500. This time around, they look a lot more like the version we saw win the World Series in 2021 before posting back-to-back 100-win seasons in 2022-23.
The offense is scary again, averaging 5.72 runs per game. Drake Baldwin is proving his rookie season was no fluke. Matt Olson is slugging over .600. Ozzie Albies is hitting .316. Michael Harris II is slashing .323/.360/.559. The Braves have been crushing opposing pitching staffs and haven’t even gotten close to their best work from Ronald Acuña Jr. or Austin Riley.
Predicting a bounce-back in the lineup came easily this spring. The question marks were headlined by the injury-decimated rotation. Chris Sale has been his ace self even at age 37. That isn’t entirely shocking. On the flip side, how about the work from Bryce Elder (1.95 ERA) and Martín Pérez (2.70), with quality contributions from Grant Holmes and Reynaldo López? Heading into the season, the Braves were looking at five starters on the injured list, including their second and third starters in Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach.
No worries, say the likes of Elder, Pérez and Holmes. The Braves rank third in the majors with a 3.12 rotation ERA.
The bullpen with Raisel Iglesias (currently on the IL, but won’t be out long), Robert Suarez, Dylan Lee and Tyler Kinley has been dominant, too.
Put it all together and the Braves have the best record in baseball with a robust +65 run differential.
This is enough to pry that top spot away from the mighty Dodgers. The Braves might not have the spot for long, but it was time to make the change.
Biggest Movers
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Rk
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Teams
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Chg
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Rcrd
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1
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Braves
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On top of everything mentioned in the intro, the Braves still haven’t lost a series. Their worst series was a four-game split against the Diamondbacks. That’s the only split. They’ve won eight series and lost zero.
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1
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20-9
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2
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Dodgers
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The Dodgers had lost five of seven after blowing the lead late on Friday, then fell behind early on Saturday. Then they steamrolled the Cubs in two straight. Every team will go through struggles and the Dodgers will always bounce back.
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1
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19-9
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3
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Yankees
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Aaron Judge already has 10 homers this season and is up to 378 in his career. The only players with more home runs in a Yankees uniform are Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Lou Gehrig.
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4
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18-10
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4
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Padres
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Blowing a 7-1 lead on Sunday was a bummer, but the Padres had won 17 of 21 before that. They were due for some sort of a backslide. There’s now a fun matchup on tap with the Cubs visiting Monday through Wednesday. Perhaps the Padres have some revenge for the 2025 playoff loss.
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1
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18-9
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5
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Reds
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The Reds just keep winning. They’ve taken nine of their last 11. In the “finding ways to win” department, they are 7-0 in one-run games. The newest was a 9-8 win late Friday night, after a rain delay, in one of the most entertaining games of 2026.
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1
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18-10
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6
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Cubs
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What an amazing comeback Friday night in Dodger Stadium to give the Cubs their first 10-game winning streak since 2016.
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4
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17-11
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7
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Pirates
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The Pirates have had three series against fellow NL Central teams so far. They’ve won all three.
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2
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16-12
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8
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Rays
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The Rays have won 11 of 15 and quietly have one of the best records in the American League. They just needed to get back to the Trop, right?
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5
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16-11
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9
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Diamondbacks
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Small-sample caveats apply, but holy smokes Ildemaro Vargas is going crazy. The 34-year-old career minor-leaguer/journeyman came into the season a career .249/.289/.357 hitter in 1,313 MLB plate appearances. Through 20 games this season, he’s hitting .367/.383/.722 with six doubles, two triples, six homers and 20 RBI.
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5
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15-12
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10
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Tigers
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Spencer Torkelson has now homered in five straight games. He also has three doubles in that stretch. He was slugging .229 through April 21. Today is April 27 and he’s slugging .472.
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1
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15-14
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11
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Athletics
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Is Nick Kurtz gonna be one of those traditionally slow starters? Remember, he took a while to get going last year and then went bonkers. He started slow this season, but he’s 9 for 30 with four homers in his last eight games. He’s rocking a .424 OBP on the season.
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4
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15-13
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12
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Brewers
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Kyle Harrison has now made five starts for the Brewers and has a 2.28 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 30 strikeouts in 23 ⅔ innings.
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4
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14-13
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13
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Guardians
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We’ve grown accustomed to seeing the Guardians with a dominant bullpen. Sometimes it feels like it carries them. So far this season, Guardians relievers have a 4.55 ERA. That’s not gonna cut it.
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4
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15-14
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14
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Mariners
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Cal Raleigh has four homers in the last six games and the Mariners have won four straight. They’ll have first place locked down soon enough.
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5
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14-15
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15
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Rangers
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There’s always concern when players get old — by MLB standards, obviously — that Father Time is coming. Nathan Eovaldi is 36. He had a 1.73 ERA in 22 starts last season. In six starts this year, he has a 5.79 ERA and has given up nine home runs. Uh oh…
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1
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14-14
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16
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Blue Jays
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Here they come? The Jays have won five of seven and taken back-to-back series.
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10
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12-15
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17
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Cardinals
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That’s four straight losses and the upcoming schedule looks pretty tough (at PIT, vs. LAD, vs. MIL, at SD).
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5
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14-13
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18
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Orioles
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Pete Alonso is now hitting .196 with a .336 SLG. You might be wondering if he’s ever started this poorly. The answer is no. His previous worst first month, by OPS, came in 2022 when he hit .250/.316/.429.
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—
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13-15
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19
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Giants
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Don’t look now, but there appears to be a pulse in San Francisco. The Giants have won seven of 10.
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3
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13-15
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20
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Marlins
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Xavier Edwards leads the National League in hitting at .343. Can you name the three Marlins players who have won a batting title? Hanley Ramirez in 2009, Dee Gordon in 2015 and Luis Arráez in 2023.
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1
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13-15
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21
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Nationals
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Quick, who is the major-league leader in stolen bases? Did you guess Nasim Nuñez? He has 13, putting him on pace for 72. No Nationals player has ever stolen more than 47. Of course, the franchise history includes the Expos and they saw nine seasons of at least 70 steals (Ron LeFlore is the record holder with 97, Marquis Grissom topped 70 twice and Tim Raines did it six times).
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2
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13-16
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22
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Rockies
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A road sweep! How about that!?! And get this, the Rockies won their 13th game on April 26. Last year, they won their 13th game on June 12. It moved their record to 13-55.
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6
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13-16
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23
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Angels
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José Soriano is out of his mind. He’s 5-0 with a 0.24 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. He’s already up to 2.7 WAR. Also, hilariously, his ERA+ is 1836 (not a typo!).
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6
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12-17
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24
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Twins
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So much for the fast and fun start. The Twins have now lost nine of their last 10.
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8
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12-16
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25
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Red Sox
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Hey, they’ve won two in a row and Garrett Crochet looked like his normal self on Saturday. A glimmer of hope?
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1
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11-17
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26
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White Sox
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If a bad team wants to start turning things around, it needs to start winning home series. The White Sox have lost eight of their last nine games at home.
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1
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11-17
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27
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Astros
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Cam Smith in his final 55 games last season hit .146/.251/.228. In 29 games this season, he’s hitting .216/.316/.361. He’s only 23 years old, so patience is key here, but he hasn’t hit well in quite a while.
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—
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11-18
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28
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Royals
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They’ve won four of five and that comeback Sunday — including a game-tying homer in the ninth and a walk-off home run in the 10th — was the type of game that gets things turned around.
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2
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11-17
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29
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Mets
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After winning two straight over the Twins with Juan Soto back in the lineup, it wasn’t too difficult to see things getting back on track for the Mets after that 12-game losing streak. Instead, they were swept by the Road Rockies. Pathetic.
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—
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9-19
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30
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Phillies
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The Phillies were never under .500 last year. In 2024, they were never more than two games under .500. They hadn’t previously been 10 games under .500 since 2017.
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10
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9-19
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