MLB Highs & Lows: Rays, Pirates Top the Charts

The Pittsburgh Pirates are still the top team in the National League while the Los Angeles Dodgers are starting to show signs of life. That is not a surprise as the Dodgers were one of the favorites coming into the season according to the MLB predictions.

There are many of the usual suspects at the bottom of the power rankings as well, even though the Oakland Athletics are coming off a rare victory.

When looking at the MLB picks, perhaps people are starting to give the Pirates a little bit of credit as the odds to win the World Series moved from +15000 to +6500 in the last week.

Here’s a look at the teams at the top and bottom of the weekly power rankings. Check out our MLB picks, stats, injury reports and MLB predictions. There’s plenty of MLB betting info to consider.

Top Five

1. Tampa Bay Rays

Even with a rare late-game meltdown, the Rays continue to set the pace in the majors.

Facing a Chicago White Sox team that had lost 10 games in a row, Tampa Bay led by two runs in the seventh inning in Sunday’s series finale and was up 9-5 going into the bottom of the ninth inning before Andrew Vaughn capped a seven-run rally with a walk-off, three-run home run.

Tampa Bay still has an MLB-best 23 wins and the 14 victories at home are more than the total number of wins by 11 teams so far this season.

The Rays lead the majors with a .281 batting average, 61 home runs and a .528 slugging percentage as well as the best team ERA.

“The Rays have 9 home runs in this series”

~ six pitches later ~

We now have 11 home runs in this series pic.twitter.com/9kZJFNRBmW

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 30, 2023

Six players are hitting .300 or better, led by Josh Lowe’s .342 average.

Shane McClanahan (5-0, 2.12 ERA) and Pete Fairbanks (no runs allowed in eight relief appearances) lead the pitching staff.

• Championship odds: +850

2. Pittsburgh Pirates

If Tampa Bay leading the way in the American League is considered a surprise, what would be the word to describe what the Pirates are doing in the National League?

Pittsburgh lost at least 100 games in both 2021 and 2022 but is 20-9 even after Sunday’s loss to Washington.

Only Oakland and Washington had longer odds to win the World Series than the +25000 mark assigned to the Pirates, according to the sportsbook.

Pittsburgh leads all National League teams with a .449 slugging percentage while starting pitchers Vince Velasquez, Mitch Keller and Roansy Contreras are a combined 10-3. David Bednar could stake a claim at being the best closer in baseball right now. He is 2-0 with an 0.69 ERA with nine saves in 10 opportunities.

• Championship odds: +6500

3. Baltimore Orioles

It hasn’t always been each, but Baltimore is 11-2 over the last 13 games. The Orioles are 4-0 in one-run games during that stretch and have a +8 run differential over the last eight contests.

Baltimore has the second-best winning percentage in the American League. However, the strong start has been overshadowed by what division rival Tampa Bay has been doing.

The Orioles are 10th in team batting average and 14th in team ERA and still have found a way to get off to a 19-9 start.

Shortstop Jorge Mateo leads the offense with a .347 average and he is one of nine Orioles with at least two home runs. That is something to keep in mind for those taking part in live betting.

• Championship odds: +8000

4. Toronto Blue Jays

This makes three teams from the American League East in the top four.

Toronto saw its six-game winning streak snapped in a wild 10-inning game against Seattle on Sunday.

With Matt Chapman, who leads the American League with a .384 batting average, Whit Merrifield, Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero Jr. all hitting over .300, there aren’t many holes in the Toronto batting order.

Kevin Gausman leads the majors with 54 strikeouts and once Alek Manoah gets going, watch out for the Blue Jays.

• Championship odds: +1200

5. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are just three games over .500, however, they have won two of their last three series.

Losing two of three to Pittsburgh was a bitter pill to swallow. Still, Los Angeles has won six of the last eight games to shake off a tough start.

Getting catcher Will Smith back after he missed two weeks has been a boost to the lineup. Tony Gonsolin, who was 16-1 last year, recently made his season debut so expect the Dodgers to continue to climb in the standings.

Max Muncy already has 11 home runs while it is business as usual for Clayton Kershaw, one of the front-runners to win the NL Cy Young Award by the Las Vegas odds. He is 5-1 with an 1.89 ERA in his first six starts.

• Championship odds: +850

Bottom Five

26. Detroit Tigers

The Tigers probably deserve a better record than 10-17 with 13 of the last 17 games being decided by three runs or less.

Detroit is 3-8 over the last 11 games with a -11 run differential during that stretch.

Former first-round picks Spencer Torkelson and Nick Maton are hitting .206 and .171 and future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera has just a .189 average. The pitching hasn’t been much better with the starting rotation posting a 5-13 record and 5.11 ERA

• Championship odds: +30000

Going long with @zshort_20! pic.twitter.com/ugM2AWGy43

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 29, 2023

27. Kansas City Royals

Kansas City gets to play the next 10 games at home. Is that actually good news?

The Royals are 1-12 at home. The Royals are hitting .190 with 114 strikeouts in 13 home games to go with a 6.00 ERA at Kauffman Stadium.

Bobby Witt (.222 batting average) and M.J. Melendez (.174) are both struggling, as is pitcher Brady Singer (2-3, 8.49 ERA).

• Championship odds: +50000

28. Colorado Rockies

Catcher Elias Diaz (.321 batting average) as well as relievers Justin Lawrence and Brent Suter are doing their best, but there are so many issues with this Rockies team.

The starters are 8-16 with a 6.04 ERA, the worst mark in the National League. Playing in a hitting-friendly environment, the Rockies are 25th in the majors with 22 home runs. Colorado is already seven games out of first place in the NL West and three games in back of the fourth-place team.

• Championship odds: +100000

29. Chicago White Sox

A 10-game losing streak came to an end on Sunday. However, the White Sox have the second-worst run differential in the major leagues.

It was not a good sign outfielder Luis Robert, one of the team’s best players, was pulled from a recent game for jogging down to the first base on a ground ball that he could easily have beaten out with minimal effort.

The schedule has been brutal with the last 16 games against Tampa Bay, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Now the White Sox open a three-game set with Minnesota before Chicago starts to meet teams with losing records.

Gregory Santos has been a pleasant surprise with a 1.88 ERA in his first 13 relief appearances.

• Championship odds: +10000

30. Oakland Athletics

Even after snapping a five-game losing streak by scoring once in the seventh and once in the ninth, Oakland is 6-23 with a run differential of -117. At this pace, the Athletics would be outscored 1,285-631 this season.

The pitching has been a disaster with a 7.72 ERA and 50 home runs allowed. The starting pitchers are 0-15 with an ERA of 8.51. Oakland is already 11½ games out of first place in the AL West.

• Championship odds: +100000