Every week, we ask a selected group of our baseball writers — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.
April showers bring May flowers, and April All-Stars bring … well, debates about who got snubbed when the real All-Star teams are announced come July.
If things stay the same, there should be some fresh faces (Kevin McGonigle at shortstop), some returning faces (Mike Trout back in center field) and some year-over-year constants — is there any world where Shohei Ohtani isn’t starting, either at DH or, based on his early stats, as the NL’s starting pitcher? (We don’t think so.)
For this week’s Power Rankings, we’re identifying one player, an April All-Star if you will, who’s made a case for the Midsummer Classic at Citizens Bank Park in July, or at the very least a reason to watch their team in the early going.
All player stats through the end of April unless otherwise noted. Team records through end of play on May 3.
Record: 25-11
Last Power Ranking: 2
April All-Star: Matt Olson
Nobody has as many candidates for April MVP as Atlanta, given that we could easily recognize Chris Sale, Bryce Elder, Robert Suárez, Drake Baldwin, Ozzie Albies or Michael Harris II. But it’s Olson who leads the entire National League in wins above replacement (according to FanGraphs), with an OPS over 1.000 and a league-leading 15 doubles and 11 homers. You wouldn’t call the last two years for Olson bad, but they were down from his 54 homers and top-five MVP finish in 2023. He looks like that version of himself so far this year for the team with baseball’s best record. — Tim Britton
Record: 24-11
Last Power Ranking: 3
April All-Star: Ben Rice
One month into the season, it’s Rice and not Aaron Judge with the best numbers in the New York lineup — and indeed, all of baseball. Entering Monday, it’s the 27-year-old 12th-round pick from Dartmouth leading the sport in WAR (according to FanGraphs). And none of this is fluky. Rice ranks in the 99th percentile in expected batting average, expected slugging percentage and expected wOBA. He slots into the 98th percentile in hard-hit rate and 97th percentile in average exit velo and barrel percentage. Rice is as hot this season as Juan Soto ever was in the Bronx. — Britton
Record: 22-13
Last Power Ranking: 1
April All-Star: Shohei Ohtani, the pitcher
There were, unsurprisingly, a lot of choices here. Justin Wrobleski, strikeouts be damned, logged a 1.50 ERA. Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were fantastic. The offensive catalysts, as expected, were… wait, Max Muncy, Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing? OK, then.
Yeah, Ohtani has been great at the plate. Some home runs, a bunch of walks, the usual, whatever. Can we talk about his pitching? His 0.60 ERA? He went exactly six innings in each of his first five starts and allowed a grand total of two earned runs. Ohtani the pitcher would carve up Ohtani the hitter if the two met on the field in April. — Zack Meisel
Record: 23-12
Last Power Ranking: 4
April All-Star: Nico Hoerner
Now that José Ramírez has etched himself a Hall of Fame career, he’s no longer baseball’s most underrated player. That title now goes to Hoerner, a two-time Gold Glover, constant source of trade speculation before his six-year extension, and the heartbeat of the Cubs. Yet, never an All-Star.
Hoerner finished his April hitting .300/.376/.464, a 139 wRC+. He also hit four home runs across April; he hit seven total in 2024 and 2025. His 1.4 fWAR tied for the most among all second basemen (seventh most in baseball for April), with his 3.9 defensive adjustment leading everyone. — Johnny Flores Jr.
Record: 18-18
Last Power Ranking: 7
April All-Star: Kevin McGonigle
Here’s where McGonigle finished among qualified rookies for April:
- Hits: 1st (32)
- Doubles: 1st (9)
- Average: 1st (.327)
- OBP: 1st (.426)
- SLG: 2nd (.520)
- WAR: 1st (tied, 1.4 fWAR)
- wRC+: 1st (165)
Not only is the 21-year-old wunderkind leading his fellow rookies, but he’s also hanging up there with established MLB players in many of these rankings. The bat is advanced, and if it weren’t for some below-average defense, there’s a good chance he’d be MLB’s fWAR leader.
He’s an April All-Star, and at this rate, probably an every-month All-Star, too. Unleash the “Hi Kevin” meme from SpongeBob. — Flores
Record: 18-16
Last Power Ranking: 9
April All-Star: Jacob Misiorowski
A year ago, Misiorowski’s inclusion in the All-Star Game ignited a heated debate about “worthiness.” At the time, he had just five games to his name. A year later, no debate is needed. Misiorowski is as good as he was then, if not better. He finished April leading the league in K/9 and strikeout percentage. Only one player in the NL (Tyler Glasnow) had more strikeouts than Misiorowski’s 40.
The lanky right-hander finished April with 109 pitches thrown at 100 mph or higher. The next closest starter had just 36.
Jacob Misiorowski has a custom Gengar glove with a Pokémon card in the web pic.twitter.com/NHxPbr9Ohg
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 18, 2026
Not only is “The Miz” an April All-Star, but he should be July’s NL starter. If the All-Star Game is about growing the game of baseball, then there’s no better player than Misiorowski and his Pokémon-themed glove to throw the first pitch. Let the kids nerds play. — Flores
Record: 22-12
Last Power Ranking: T-11
April All-Star: Nick Martinez
The red-hot Rays might be the Yankees’ closest competitor in the American League right now, and it’s thanks to a starting rotation that sits fourth in baseball in ERA entering Monday. Signed to a one-year deal in the winter, Martinez is pitching the way he did down the stretch of 2024 in Cincinnati, when he was one of the game’s best in the second half. Martinez has basically flipped the usage of his sinker and four-seam (throwing the sinker much more this year), and boosted his changeup usage. He’s yet to allow more than two earned runs in a game, and Tampa Bay is 5-1 when he takes the mound. — Britton
Record: 19-16
Last Power Ranking: 5
April All-Star: Gregory Soto
Paul Skenes will certainly be an All-Star, and the NL’s starting job is his until he says otherwise. So, let’s talk about another guy. Signed to a one-year, $7.5 million deal to fortify the backend of Pittsburgh’s bullpen, Soto has looked closer to the lefty All-Star who once headlined Detroit’s ‘pen instead of the guy that’s posted a 4.40 ERA across the last three seasons.
In April, Soto allowed three runs across 11 1/3 innings, a 2.38 ERA. Two of those runs were in a blow-up against Texas. He finished with one save, two wins and six holds, striking out 14 batters against four walks.
Soto has been nails for a Pirates team holding steady in a competitive NL Central. — Flores
Record: 17-19
Last Power Ranking: 10
April All-Star: Emerson Hancock
Pop quiz: Who ranked fourth in the majors in bWAR through the end of April, just behind Yordan Alvarez, Kevin McGonigle and Matt Olson? Answer: Cole Young, of course. The 22-year-old has given Seattle a lift at second base. He’s not the choice here, though, just the answer to a trivia question if you’re desperate for an icebreaker at a party.
We’re going with Hancock because all six of his starts ranked somewhere between solid and exemplary. He recorded a 2.86 ERA, barely walked anyone and struck out nearly one per inning. For a team missing Bryce Miller and dealing with a scuffling Luis Castillo, Hancock has stepped in and helped keep the rotation a strength (3.88 ERA, ninth in MLB). Not to mention, he saved his best outing for the start of May, with 14 strikeouts in seven dazzling innings against the Royals on Saturday. — Meisel
Record: 20-14
Last Power Ranking: 6
April All-Star: Mason Miller
What is there to say about this guy that hasn’t already been said? He finally proved mortal last week when he allowed a pair of runs and (gasp) three hits against the Cubs. He allowed three hits total in his other 14 appearances. There were two otherworldly closers available at the trade deadline last summer. The Padres wound up acquiring Miller, who owns a 0.93 ERA ever since. The other one, Emmanuel Clase, is awaiting trial after being swept up in an alleged sports betting scheme. This seems to have worked out well for San Diego. — Meisel
Record: 21-14
Last Power Ranking: T-21
April All-Star: Jordan Walker
Entering the 2026 season, the former first-round pick was firmly in make-or-break territory. After posting -0.6 fWAR and -1.3 in 2024 and 2025, respectively, time was effectively running out on the 23-year-old to prove he could hang in the majors.
No matter, as all Walker has done is hit this season, giving Cardinals fans one more thing to look forward to and St. Louis brass one more piece to build around. In April, Walker hit eight homers, had 20 RBIs and a .283/.345/.545 slash line. The defense could stand to be better, but the bat is legit. — Flores
Record: 16-18
Last Power Ranking: 8
April All-Star: Jacob deGrom
He’s doing it again, even as he approaches his 38th birthday. Here’s how many runs deGrom allowed in his five April starts: 1, 1, 0, 1, 1. That’s not binary code. That’s a two-time Cy Young Award winner demonstrating that he can still shove. Everything’s checking out well: the walk rate, the strikeout rate, the home run rate. That explains the 2.01 ERA through the end of April. Somehow, the sport’s all-time leader in strikeout-to-walk ratio continues to improve upon his historic mark this late in his career. — Meisel
Record: 18-18
Last Power Ranking: 16
April All-Star: Parker Messick
Among American League starters for April, Messick finished seventh in ERA (2.08) and fifth in fWAR (1.0). That he’s doing it all with a four-seam fastball that ranks 228th in the league in average velocity (93.6 mph) and below league average overall is all the more reason to celebrate his development.
What he lacks in swing-and-miss, Messick more than makes up for in limiting hard contact and barrels. His 54.9 groundball rate was better than noted groundball maestro Framber Valdez. And for the few Messick does let get on base? He does a good job of leaving them there (78.9 percent left-on-base rate).
Oh, and lest we forget his ninth-inning no-hitter bid.
Messick is an April All-Star and an All-Star for anyone who’s tired of all these youngsters chasing velocity. — Flores
Record: 18-16
Last Power Ranking: 14
April All-Star: Shea Langeliers
The A’s offense was supposed to hum, so it’s tempting to choose Aaron Civale, who posted a 3.23 ERA in his first six starts to stabilize the rotation and keep the club afloat in the AL West. But Langeliers has blossomed into one of the league’s most underrated players. Through April, he recorded a .974 OPS and was tied for the league lead in hits. He logged a 1.018 OPS in the second half last year, and in case you needed further proof, it appears that surge was no fluke. — Meisel
Record: 16-19
Last Power Ranking: 19
April All-Star: Louis Varland
Mason Miller justifiably takes up all the oxygen when we discuss relief pitchers right now, but Varland has a good case for being the American League’s Miller Lite (if we can call him that in a Labatt town). Varland’s striking out 43 percent of opposing hitters himself, and he’s allowed just one earned run in 17 innings while stabilizing the back end of the Blue Jays bullpen in taking over for Jeff Hoffman in the ninth. — Britton
Record: 20-15
Last Power Ranking: T-11
April All-Star: Elly De La Cruz
This was a tough one, and I apologize to Reds fans who are on Team Sal Stewart. Both are objectively correct, but I chose De La Cruz for his power, speed, and defense combination.
De La Cruz finished April with exactly eight homers and eight stolen bases, posting a .942 OPS over 26 games. His 1.6 fWAR over April was tied with Matt Olson, Aaron Judge and Yordan Alvarez for the most in baseball.
Still just 24 years old, it feels like De La Cruz is just scratching the surface of his potential. That he’s doing it as a 6-foot-6 shortstop is all the more mind-blowing. He finished April second to Bobby Witt Jr. in Outs Above Average (five) among shortstops, with the second most runs prevented (four).
Yeah, we’ll take that any day of the week. — Flores
Record: 16-19
Last Power Ranking: 17
April All-Star: Otto López
Let’s give the edge to López over his double-play partner, Xavier Edwards, even if the path to the All-Star team is more difficult at short. While the two are putting up similar offensive numbers with batting averages above .330, López brings more value with his glove. Miami’s offense, as a whole, looks to be emerging from years-long dormancy thanks to the continued development of players like López and Edwards. The Marlins are 11th in wOBA entering Monday. — Britton
Record: 16-17
Last Power Ranking: 13
April All-Star: Ildemaro Vargas
Sometimes it takes players a couple years to settle in against big-league pitching. Sometimes it takes a change of scenery. Sometimes it takes being released by the Cardinals, signing with the Diamondbacks, being selected off waivers by the Twins and then the Cubs and then the Pirates and then the Diamondbacks, signing with the Nationals and then the Diamondbacks, and then the Diamondbacks again to really find your footing. His six home runs already match a career best. He’s already more than halfway to his career-best hit total, set in 2024, when he was worth minus-0.5 WAR for Washington. This isn’t the guy you would have anticipated posting a .378/.398/.689 slash line through April. But sometimes it takes players a year or 10 to figure it out. — Meisel
Record: 15-20
Last Power Ranking: 15
April All-Star: Taylor Ward
We could spend this paragraph detailing the potential Rutschman Renaissance behind the plate for the Orioles — but the catcher has stepped to the plate less than half the number of times Ward has so far this season. The other right-handed acquisition in the offseason, Ward has turned a good eye at the plate into a great one. He’s walked more than he’s struck out, thanks to a huge reduction in Ks so far this season. A chase rate that was always strong has been halved; it’s the best in the league this season. And he’s not swinging and missing at pitches in the zone as often as he did in the past. Baltimore’s lineup is feeling a lot fuller for it this year. — Britton
Record: 15-20
Last Power Ranking: 18
April All-Star: Ryan Jeffers
Entering a contract year, Jeffers has made himself a strong case for the winter and, in the interim, has given Minnesota a reason to potentially deal him to a contender at the deadline.
In April, Jeffers slashed .324/.446/.559, with four homers and 17 RBIs. Had he finished with enough PAs to qualify, he’d be seventh in the majors by wRC+ for April (181), one spot ahead of Matt Olson (180 wRC+) and one spot behind CJ Abrams (182 wRC+).
It helps Jeffers’ case, then, that the AL is very weak in the catching department this season. So far, it’s really just the Athletics’ Shea Langeliers and Jeffers making noise. — Flores
Record: 16-19
Last Power Ranking: 26
April All-Star: CJ Abrams
This isn’t the first time Abrams has gotten off to an outstanding start. His career OPS is around .730, but near .850 in April. He’s been better even than that early this season, entering Monday just three points on his batting average away from a .300/.400/.500 slash line. And for the optimists in Washington, there’s more in his batted-ball data and expected numbers that lead you to believe this start is more sustainable than previous ones. — Britton
Record: 14-22
Last Power Ranking: 28
April All-Star: Yordan Alvarez
Kai-Wei Teng and Peter Lambert made a valiant effort, as we all predicted six weeks ago, but we’ll go with the guy who led the league in just about every offensive category: batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, home runs, RBIs, intentional walks, opposing pitcher blood pressure, WAR, total bases, opposing manager gray-hair rate, fan curse words per at-bat on the road and also hits.
In a month when Murphy’s Law haunted the Astros, Alvarez’s Law stated that what can go over the fence will go over the fence. He reached the end of April with a .356/.462/.737 slash line, the sort of numbers you produce on “MLB The Show” before you switch to something more challenging than beginner mode. — Meisel
Record: 16-19
Last Power Ranking: 25
April All-Star: Bobby Witt Jr.
Bobby Witt Jr.
That’s it, that’s the blurb. Kidding (mostly).
But seriously, Witt continues to be one of baseball’s must-watch talents. After a slow start (by his standards) to April, he finished the month blazing, going 18-for-54 (.333 batting average) over his final 13 games, with two homers, a triple and six doubles, a .986 OPS.
Even when he wasn’t contributing with his bat over the month’s first 14 games, he was using his legs, going 7-for-8 in stolen base opportunities.
That, plus his standout defense at short, allowed him to finish fifth in fWAR for the month (1.5). — Flores
Record: 17-18
Last Power Ranking: 30
April All-Star: Munetaka Murakami
After spending most of the winter on the sidelines, with the potential of returning to Nippon Professional Baseball staring at him, Murakami has proved that the doubters were only partially correct. Sure, he strikes out a ton, but he also takes his walks and his power is as good as anyone in baseball, finishing April second in homers behind Aaron Judge.
Not only is Murakami an April All-Star, but he should be headlining this year’s Home Run Derby.
The same way that a rookie Judge entered with 30 home runs and rookie Cody Bellinger with 25 in 2017, and Pete Alonso with 27 in 2019, Murakami should be the headlining freshman for a contest dedicated to launching baseballs into the stratosphere. — Flores
Record: 15-20
Last Power Ranking: 24
April All-Star: Cristopher Sánchez
Just about nothing has gone right in Philadelphia, but at least Sánchez looks much the same as he did in his Cy Young runner-up season in 2025. His changeup is still one of the best in baseball, and his chase, whiff and strikeout rates have remained steady even though the ball has been put in play a little harder against him so far this year. The offense’s struggles have been front and center for the Phillies, but Sánchez being Sánchez has been critical for a rotation that hasn’t done its part around him, either. — Britton
Record: 14-21
Last Power Ranking: T-21
April All-Star: Willson Contreras
I guess it makes sense for someone who was traded from the Cardinals to the Red Sox to have so much red on his Baseball Savant page. For a team that has disappointed so comprehensively to start the season, Contreras has matched and exceeded the expectations that greeted the veteran’s acquisition from St. Louis. He and Wilyer Abreu have carried the Boston offense while so many others have struggled, and Contreras has also continued to elevate his defense at first base. — Britton
Record: 14-22
Last Power Ranking: 29
April All-Star: Chase Dollander
It’s fun when a well-regarded pitching prospect climbs his way to the majors and flourishes — especially when it happens in Colorado. Dollander has supplied bulk innings behind an opener, and he’s started a game, and through it all, he posted a 1.29 ERA in 28 innings in April, with a healthy walk rate, strikeout rate and zero home runs allowed. (Just ignore how he started the month of May.) The fastball is electric. The sinker and slider are effective. The curveball had a ridiculous 60% whiff rate. His introduction to the majors was ugly last year. This year, he’s appointment viewing. — Meisel
Record: 13-23
Last Power Ranking: 20
April All-Star(s): Mike Trout and José Soriano
The world just makes more sense when the Angels employ two of the sport’s top superstars, yet stare up at everybody in the standings. Here they go again, only it’s Soriano playing Ohtani’s old role of co-headliner alongside Trout. It’s difficult to choose between the two, so we won’t. We’ll fawn over Soriano’s first month-plus, when he registered a 0.84 ERA, and we’ll marvel at Trout being up to his old tricks. He reached the end of April with 10 home runs and a .999 OPS, the sort of output we haven’t witnessed from him in about four years. — Meisel
Record: 13-22
Last Power Ranking: 27
April All-Star: Clay Holmes
For more than 50 years, Steve Carlton’s performance on the 1972 Phillies has been the standard for individual success on a woeful team. Carlton won 27 games that season, and Philadelphia went 29-12 (.707) with him on the mound — and 30-85 (.261) with anyone else starting.
Holmes doesn’t come with the track record or reputation Carlton did, but for one month at least, he’s been the Mets’ best chance for a win. He lowered his ERA to 1.69 with another sparkling start Sunday in Anaheim, and the Mets won for the fifth time in his seven starts (.714). They are 7-20 (.259) when he doesn’t take the mound. — Britton
Record: 14-21
Last Power Ranking: 23
April All-Star: Landen Roupp
Roupp was solid in 106 innings last year, but his performance through April suggested a breakout season could be unfolding before our eyes (at least, before his dud on Saturday. Pay no attention to that). He logged a 2.55 ERA in his first six starts, averaged more than a strikeout per inning and surrendered only one home run. He limited opponents to a .149/.248/.207 slash line, which means he essentially made every hitter resemble a pitcher trying to bat, and, well, they don’t do that anymore. That’s what the universal DH is for. – Meisel
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