We're a month into the season, and teams are starting to emerge as the team to beat in their respective division. The MLB season is not a sprint so there is plenty of time for things to change. However, four weeks is enough time to get a sense of where teams could be headed. The New York Yankees were involved in two of the marquee series from this past week. The Yankees took two games in Boston while the opener was rained out. The bigger matchup in terms of the standings came against the Orioles to end the week. The Yankees and Orioles were two of Heavy's top three teams in last week's power rankings, but the Yankees proved they were the better team (at least for this week). The Yankees battle the Nationals in our rankings for the honor of the top team in baseball. Washington had a solid week by winning three of four games at Colorado. The Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels are three teams that are starting to get hot at the right time. The Oakland A's have gone the opposite direction and have dropped out of the rankings after losing five straight games.
As we look at some of the best individual performances to start the season, the Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman is having quite the season. Zimmerman is leading the league in batting average (.410), home runs (11) and RBI (27). There are a number of pitchers tied for a league-leading four wins. One of them is the Twins' Ervin Santana who also has the lowest ERA in the majors at 0.77. The Rockies' Greg Holland continues to be the best closer in baseball with a league-leading 10 saves. A couple notes about Heavy's power rankings. The standings and statistics listed are as of Sunday, April 30. Click the arrow on the right side of the middle of the page to see Heavy's latest MLB power rankings. (Getty)
No. 10 Los Angeles Angels
Standings: 13-12 (2nd in AL West)
Last Week's Ranking: Not Ranked
Outlook: The Angels have gone on a nice little run and find themselves second in the AL West behind the Astros. After losing the opening game of the week against the Blue Jays, the Angels followed up with a win to split a four-game series. They went on to sweep the A's in a three-game stand. This week, the Angels will travel to Seattle then host Houston for another three-game series. Mike Trout is carrying the Angels batting efforts as the only player hitting over .300 at .355. Trout has 33 hits, 17 RBI, seven homers and 66 total bases. On the pitching side, there is not necessarily one player that stands out. The Angels have five pitchers with more than 20 strikeouts. (Getty)
No. 9 Chicago White Sox
Standings: 13-9 (1st in AL Central)
Last Week's Ranking: Not Ranked
Outlook: The White Sox enter the week on a six-game winning streak and won all their games last week. They are 7-3 over their last 10 games. The White Sox swept the Royals then took the first two games at Detroit. Chicago spends the entire next week on the road with a four-game series against the Royals then head to Baltimore. Avisail Garcia is hitting .376 with 32 hits, 20 RBI and 54 total bases. (Getty)
No. 8 Arizona Diamondbacks
Standings: 15-10 (2nd in NL West)
Last Week's Ranking: 7th
Outlook: Arizona took three of four games at home against the Padres. The Diamondbacks will be on the road for the majority of the week. They head to Washington then Colorado in a series where the winner will likely be leading the NL West. After a hot start, the Diamondbacks continue to keep their head above water but not much more than that. Arizona is 5-5 over their last ten games. Taijuan Walker is off to a great start going 3-1 in his first five games. Walker has a 3.94 ERA with 33 strikeouts. The strength of their team has been their hitting with six players hitting above .300. Six hitters have more than 40 total bases. (Getty)
No. 7 Cleveland Indians
Standings: 13-10 (2nd in AL Central)
Last Week's Ranking: Not Ranked
Outlook: After losing their first two games last week, the Indians bounced back by winning two games against the Astros to win the series. Cleveland split their next two games with the Mariners. The Indians are on the road for the next week and a half. The Indians go to Detroit for a four-game series then head to Kansas City for three games against the Royals. Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor lead the Indians hitting efforts. Both players have six home runs and are hitting over .300. Ramierez has 21 RBI and 53 total bases while Lindor has 54 total bases. (Getty)
No. 6 Chicago Cubs
Standings: 13-10 (1st in NL Central)
Last Week's Ranking: 5th
Outlook: The Cubs took two of three games against the Pirates on the road. Chicago followed that up by splitting the opening two games in Boston. After the Cubs finish out against the Red Sox, they go back home to host a four-game stand against the Phillies then have a three-game home series against the Yankees. The Cubs core continues to be their pitching. Jake Arrieta is 3-1 with 34 strikeouts. Jon Lester has been solid but is still waiting for his first win after coming up empty in his first five starts. (Getty)
No. 5 Colorado Rockies
Standings: 15-9 (1st in NL West)
Last Week's Ranking: 4th
Outlook: Colorado finished out a clean sweep of the Giants then took a step back by losing three of four games against the Nationals. They start this week on the road against the Diamondbacks and Padres. The Rockies conclude the week with another matchup against Arizona, but this time the Rockies will host the three-game series. Closer Greg Holland picked up his 10th save and has given up only two earned runs this season. Colorado is off to a great start hitting. Mark Reynolds and Charlie Blackmon both have seven homers. Nolan Arenado is hitting .315 with 28 hits and 59 total bases. (Getty)
No. 4 Houston Astros
Standings: 15-9 (1st in AL West)
Last Week's Ranking: 6th
Outlook: Houston started out last week by completing a series victory at Tampa Bay. Things got a little shaky after that as the Astros lost two of three games in Cleveland. This week, the Astros start out the week at home by finishing a series with the A's then host the Rangers for four games. The week concludes on the road against the Angels. Houston has had good hitting to start the season with five players hitting over .300. Yuli Gurriel has been especially solid hitting .347 with 25 hits and 37 total bases. (Getty)
No. 3 Baltimore Orioles
Standings: 14-8 (2nd in AL East)
Last Week's Ranking: 1st
Outlook: It was a tough week for the Orioles. Baltimore lost four of six games. The Orioles were able to get two wins against the Rays but had a painful opening to their series with the Yankees losing the first two games. It does not get any easier this week for Baltimore. They finish up their series in New York with the Yankees then continue traveling to Boston for a four-game series with the Red Sox. The Orioles finish up the week at home against the White Sox as they try to get back on top in the AL East. (Getty)
No. 2 Washington Nationals
Standings: 16-8 (1st in NL East)
Last Week's Ranking: 2nd
Outlook: The Nationals spent the majority of the week on the road. Washington both started and ended the week against the Mets. They finished out a sweep of the Mets on the road to start it, but lost their first two games against New York at home in the rubber match. The Nationals crushed the Rockies with their bats scoring double-digit runs in three of their four games at Colorado. The Nationals won three of those four games. After finishing up their latest series with the Mets, they host the Diamondbacks then the Phillies to finish out the week. (Getty)
No. 1 New York Yankees
Standings: 15-7 (1st in AL East)
Last Week's Ranking: 3rd
Outlook: After starting off the week with a loss to the Pirates to drop a three-game series, the Yankees did not lose another game last week. New York took both games in Boston then won the first two games at home against one of the best teams in baseball, the Baltimore Orioles. This week, the Yankees will host the Blue Jays then go on the road to square off with the Cubs. Starlin Castro has been the Yankees most consistent hitter. Castro is hitting .356 with 31 hits, 16 RBI and 49 total bases. (Getty)
MLB Power Rankings: Week 4