Here is the result in plain text:
9-3
Last Power Ranking: 1
Early difference-maker: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
If the Dodgers can turn Michael Conforto into an All-Star again, it won’t matter if Jon Garland comes out of retirement and makes every start for them for the rest of the season. They’ll hit their way to 160 wins. But assuming they’ll need some reliable starting pitching at some point, Yamamoto has been their best source of that so far.
7-2
Last Power Ranking: T-4
Early difference-maker: Jesús Luzardo
There’s a lot going right for the Phillies. Kyle Schwarber has been a monster, Zack Wheeler has been as good as ever, Edmundo Sosa has been awesome off the bench and the bullpen has picked up the slack for struggling closer Jordan Romano…
6-4
Last Power Ranking: 2
Early difference-maker: Aaron Judge
The Yankees are this high in our rankings for many reasons, most of them to do with their offense. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe have been the best middle-infield duo in baseball, Paul Goldschmidt has been resurgent at first base, and both Trent Grisham and Ben Rice have taken advantage of more-than-expected playing time…
9-2
Last Power Ranking: 7
Early difference-maker: Jackson Merrill
Merrill is the only Padre currently with a double-digit RBI total and now, he’s one of those Padres who can pick up a restaurant tab, too. San Diego expects him to be a superstar and make up for the less-than-superstar production it might get from Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado going forward.
8-3
Last Power Ranking: 3
Early difference-maker: Josh Smith
The thing about the Rangers is that there are at least six guys I could nominate here. Nathan Eovaldi has pitched like an ace. Jack Leiter looks more like a blowtorch and less like a flameout. (This is absolutely a “Leiter” pun, I’ll own it.)
8-2
Last Power Ranking: 15
Early difference-maker: Wilmer Flores
The Giants are off to their fastest start since 2003, when they went wire-to-wire and finished with the best record in baseball. That team had Barry Bonds in his prime, but this team has a healthy Wilmer Flores, which is roughly the same thing, at least for the first couple of weeks of the season.
1-8
Last Power Ranking: T-4
Early difference-maker: Spencer Strider?
Almost all of the Braves’ positive impact has come from three players: Marcell Ozuna (he can still hit), Matt Olson (ditto) and Spencer Schwellenbach (two starts, three hits, 14 strikeouts, no earned runs). But the Braves have only one win because of…
6-4
Last Power Ranking: 16
Early difference-maker: Spencer Torkelson
I could easily go with Riley Greene here, but he was already pretty good last year. That doesn’t mean he can’t be a difference-maker, but if we truly want to highlight something new and current, Torkelson has been a different player this year, hitting .289 (.953 OPS) with a pair of homers.
8-5
Last Power Ranking: 13
Early difference-maker: Kyle Tucker
As much fun as it would be to give the nod to Carson Kelly, who hit for the cycle and has some very fun small-sample early-season numbers, the clear answer here is Tucker. Dude has been everything the Cubs hoped they were getting when they traded away a prospect (Cam Smith) who this spring looked very capable of giving them a bad case of Trade Regret.
6-5
Last Power Ranking: 14
Early difference-maker: Andrés Giménez
Of all the guys to hit cleanup on this team, Blue Jays manager John Schneider has gone with his slick-fielding second baseman since Opening Day. Giménez came into the season with a barely above-average 101 OPS+ for his career, but he’s justified the lineup choice by coming out of the gate with the best offensive numbers on the team.
4-6
Last Power Ranking: 11
Early difference-maker: Brandon Lowe
Eight seasons in the big leagues, and Lowe has yet to finish a year with below-average offensive numbers. He came close in 2022 (103 wRC+) but has otherwise never had a season with less than a 112 OPS+ or 114 wRC+. When Lowe’s healthy, he hits, and he’s doing it again this year…
4-7
Last Power Ranking: 24
Early difference-maker: Sims Campbell
It’s impossible to accurately judge this from afar, but here’s what the numbers show: Last season, the Marlins ranked next-to-last in staff ERA. Only the Rockies were worse. This season, the Marlins have an above-average ERA that’s nearly a run better than last season.
4-6
Last Power Ranking: 23
Early difference-maker: Brady Singer
We’re going for good difference-makers, right? Because I could make the argument that a few guys have made a bad difference, given that the Reds put together an impressive 35-inning scoreless streak last week.
…and so on.
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