MLB: Power Rankings 1.0

The St. Louis Cardinals lead our first power rankings of the season, followed by the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Oakland Athletics. Preseason World Series favorites, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, are ranked 6th and 9th, respectively. Other teams in the top-10 include the San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, and Milwaukee Brewers. With that said, the Dodgers remain the betting favorites at +325. Full rankings below!

1. St. Louis Cardinals (21-14): St. Louis has been the class of the NL thus far, going 12-8 at home and recording a division-best +23 run differential. The Cardinals, led by MVP candidate Nolan Arenado (38 H, 23 RBI) and Paul Goldschmidt, are 8-2 in their last 10 games with wins over the Pirates, Mets, and Rockies. Keep an eye on Jack Flaherty in the NL Cy Young race after an impressive 6-0, 2.83 ERA start to the season. St. Louis gets Milwaukee and San Diego this week.

2. Chicago White Sox (19-13): Chicago came into the season with a lot of hype and they’ve lived up to the billing through 32 games, riding a 3-game win streak. The White Sox have an MLB-high +53 run differential behind batters Jose Abreu, Adam Eaton, and Yermin Mercedes. With that said, Chicago’s starting rotation is also one of MLB's best. Carlos Rondon (5-0, 0.58 ERA), Dallas Keuchel, and Lance Lynn have been a great combination, even with Lucas Giolito struggling a bit.

3. New York Mets (16-13): New York has finally caught fire at the plate, winning five consecutive games over the Diamondbacks and Cardinals to put themselves atop the NL East. Even with their recent hot streak, the Mets have the lowest runs scored (101) in the MLB but have been competitive because of elite pitchers like Jacob deGrom (3-2, 0.68 ERA), Jeurys Familia, Marcus Stroman, and Taijuan Walker. Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have combined for 46 hits in 29 games.

4. Boston Red Sox (22-14): Boston has been the biggest surprise of the young season, going 12-5 on the road and scoring an MLB-high 188 runs through 36 outings. Xander Bogaerts and JD Martinez (10 HR, 31 RBI) have been scorching, while Nathan Eovaldi, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Garrett Richards are a combined 11-4. Rodriguez has the best ERA of the bunch at 3.82. The Red Sox have scored 28 more runs than the next highest in AL East.

5. Oakland Athletics (21-15): Oakland is the only team in the top-five that has a negative run differential at -10 but they’re 13-11 at home and 8-4 on the road despite struggling to score consistently. The pitching staff consisting of Jake Diekman, Sean Manaea, and Frankie Montas have kept this team in the mix, while Jed Lowrie and Matt Olson have remained solid at the plate. If Elvis Andrus and Matt Chapman can pick things up, Oakland could compete for a World Series berth.

Other Playoff Teams:

6. Dodgers (18-17)

7. Giants (20-14)

8. Indians (18-14)

9. Yankees (18-16)

10. Brewers (19-16)

Rest of the League:

11. Astros (18-16)

12. Braves (17-17)

13. Padres (19-16)

14. Rays (19-17)

15. Phillies (18-17)

16. Mariners (18-17)

17. Reds (16-16)

18. Royals (16-17)

19. Rangers (18-18)

20. Blue Jays (17-16)

21. Cubs (17-17)

22. Marlins (15-18)

23. Diamondbacks (15-19)

24. Twins (12-20)

25. Nationals (13-17)

26. Angels (15-18)

27. Orioles (16-19)

28. Pirates (14-20)

29. Rockies (12-22)

30. Tigers (10-24)

World Series Odds:

- Dodgers (+325)

- Yankees (+700)

- Mets (+900)

- Padres (+900)

- White Sox (+1,300)

According to Vegas Insider.

MVP Candidates:

1. Carlos Rondon (White Sox)

2. JD Martinez (Red Sox)

3. Nolan Arenado (Cardinals)

4. Jacob deGrom (Mets)

5. Fernando Tatis (Padres)

Photo Credit: Draft Kings.