2024 MLB Power Rankings after opening weekend: Braves on top, Yankees flying, Mets falling

The first weekend of the 2024 season is complete and with it being a new month to help officially usher in the start of spring, it only felt right that we dropped our first MLB power rankings of the season. 

New York’s teams are trending in two different directions after the Yankees went into Houston and swept their arch-rival Astros in a four-game series. As for the Mets, 2024 could not have gotten off to more of a disappointing start as they were swept by David Stearns’ ex-club, the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Let’s dive in:

2024 MLB Power Rankings 1.0

1. Atlanta Braves: Major League Baseball’s most complete-looking team went into Philadelphia and took two of three from the rival Phillies. 
2. Los Angeles Dodgers: Pitching has left something to be desired here in these early parts of the season and that could be something that ultimately derails this dream team. But with this kind of offensive firepower, they are going to win a lot more games than they lose.
   

   

3. New York Yankees: How long will the starting pitching hold up without Gerrit Cole? That remains to be seen, but the Yankees found ways to win games in what had been a house of horrors for them in Houston. An impressive start to the season fueled by Juan Soto and Oswaldo Cabrera… Oswaldo Cabrera?
4. Baltimore Orioles: One of the most exciting, young teams in baseball now has an ace in Corbin Burnes. Good pitching and an offense that has already scored 11-plus runs in two games is a good formula.
5. Texas Rangers: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… even if it is a terrible bullpen. Rangers relievers are off to a bad start this season, yet they took two of three from the Cubs. Carry on, defending champions.
6. Arizona Diamondbacks: Nothing like an easy series against the Rockies to warm up to a new season. The defending NL champs have scored 30 runs in their first four games. 
7. Toronto Blue Jays: Can the Blue Jays finally meet those high expectations? A season-opening split in Tampa is a promising enough start. Their standing was helped by Kevin Gausman looking solid in his season debut, overcoming an injury scare.
8. Milwaukee Brewers: We still don’t know what kind of Mets we’re going to get in 2024, but the Brewers just smacked them in the mouth with a sweep at Citi Field. This is a well-balanced lineup that has a star-in-the-making in Jackson Chourio.
9. Tampa Bay Rays: Devil magic in Tampa will see the small-market Rays defy logic and be in the running for the AL East this season. 
10. Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies are going to frustrate their fans in the regular season, grab a Wild Card spot, and become one of the most exciting teams in October. We should be used to his play by now, right? Dropping two of three to the Braves doesn’t change that.
11. Seattle Mariners: They are striking out at an alarming rate to start the season but if it is just an early anomaly, I like the Mariners and their young pitching to take another step forward in 2024.
12. Minnesota Twins: These are still the favorites to win the less-than-impressive AL Central, even if the Royals smacked them 11-0 on Sunday.
13. San Francisco Giants: The NL West clearly belongs to the Dodgers, but the Giants put forth an early case as to why they should be considered No. 2 in this division. A split in San Diego is solid. A strong showing in LA against the Dodgers could see them climb up these rankings next week.
14. Houston Astros: It is still the Astros and they should be fine, but they embodied Murphy’s Law during their four-game series against the Yankees. That is par for the course for this team considering they had a losing record at home last season and won one of just six postseason games at Minute Maid Park.
15. San Diego Padres: The Padres score a lot of runs and they give up a lot of runs. Seems like a recipe for a middle-of-the-road .500 team.
16. Pittsburgh Pirates: What a great start for a franchise that has constantly been kicked in the gut for the better part of the last three decades. The Marlins are no slouches and they should be in the Wild Card conversation, so to start the season with a four-game sweep of them is huge.
17. Detroit Tigers: A three-game sweep of the White Sox sets up the possibility of a blistering start for Detroit. They have three in New York against the Mets and then they face the lowly Athletics. An easier schedule, certainly. But how bad are the White Sox? That is why this team isn’t higher.
18. Chicago Cubs: Christopher Morel and Seiya Suzuki are going to keep the Cubs in contention in the NL Central, but the injury to ace Justin Steele could be a disaster for Chicago.
19. Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber looked great and the Guardians took three of four, but they did so against the Athletics, so let’s hold our horses before catapulting them up this list.
20. St. Louis Cardinals: There is no shame in losing three of four to the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Nolan Arenado is struggling but once he gets back on track, the Cardinals will be just fine and in the thick of the NL Central race.
21. Boston Red Sox: A split in Seattle is good enough for Boston, who on paper could be the worst team in the AL East. Their bullpen is shaky and Kenley Jansen injuring his back won’t help.
22. Cincinnati Reds: I want to believe in the Reds. They seem exuberant and super fun, but they had to eek out a series win against the Nationals and now play the Phillies, so early expectations are limited.
    

    

23. New York Mets: In theory, the Mets should be a Wild Card hopeful this season and linger around the middle of the pack of these power rankings. But they start 2024 near the bottom after a miserable showing against the Brewers where they were walked over by Rhys Hoskins. The offense looks bad — JD Martinez can’t come soon enough.
24. Kansas City Royals: Eleven runs against the Twins gave KC something to cheer about after a miserable start. Bobby Witt Jr. looks like a superstar, so at least they have that going for them.
25. Los Angeles Angels: A team meeting was called two games into the season. That is not a great sign for Ron Washington’s men. 
26. Washington Nationals: They realistically could have come away from Cincinnati with two wins, but this is a team that snatches defeat from victory at this point.
27. Miami Marlins: If you get swept in a four-game series by the Pirates, you plummet down these rankings. Those are just the rules. 
28. Colorado Rockies: This is a very bad baseball team. 
29. Oakland Athletics: This is a very bad baseball team that draws less than 4,000 fans per game due to embarrassing ownership.
30. Chicago White Sox: Garrett Crocheet and Luis Robert against the world. That’s a recipe for disaster. 

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