\n<\/p>\n
Every week,\u200b we\u200b ask a selected group of our baseball\u200b writers\u200b \u2014 local and national \u2014 to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.<\/em><\/p>\n April showers bring May flowers, and April All-Stars bring \u2026 well, debates about who got snubbed when the real All-Star teams are announced come July.<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 is there any world where Shohei Ohtani isn\u2019t starting, either at DH or, based on his early stats, as the NL\u2019s starting pitcher? (We don\u2019t think so.)<\/p>\n For this week\u2019s Power Rankings, we\u2019re identifying one player, an April All-Star if you will, who\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n All player stats through the end of April unless otherwise noted. Team records through end of play on May 3.<\/em><\/p>\n Record: 25-11 April All-Star: <\/strong>Matt Olson<\/p>\n Nobody has as many candidates for April MVP as Atlanta, given that we could easily recognize Chris Sale, Bryce Elder, Robert Su\u00e1rez, Drake Baldwin, Ozzie Albies or Michael Harris II. But it\u2019s 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\u2019t 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\u2019s best record. \u2014 Tim Britton<\/em><\/p>\n Record: 24-11 April All-Star: <\/strong>Ben Rice<\/p>\n One month into the season, it\u2019s Rice and not Aaron Judge with the best numbers in the New York lineup \u2014 and indeed, all of baseball. Entering Monday, it\u2019s 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. \u2014 Britton<\/em><\/p>\n Record: 22-13 April All-Star:<\/strong> Shohei Ohtani, the pitcher<\/p>\n 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\u2026 wait, Max Muncy, Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing? OK, then.<\/p>\n 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. \u2014 Zack Meisel<\/i><\/p>\n Record: 23-12 April All-Star:<\/strong> Nico Hoerner<\/p>\n Now that Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez has etched himself a Hall of Fame career, he\u2019s no longer baseball\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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. \u2014 Johnny Flores Jr.<\/em><\/p>\n Record: 18-18 April All-Star:<\/strong> Kevin McGonigle<\/p>\n Here\u2019s where McGonigle finished among qualified rookies for April:<\/p>\n Not only is the 21-year-old wunderkind leading his fellow rookies, but he\u2019s also hanging up there with established MLB players in many of these rankings. The bat is advanced, and if it weren\u2019t for some below-average defense, there\u2019s a good chance he\u2019d be MLB\u2019s fWAR leader.<\/p>\n He\u2019s an April All-Star, and at this rate, probably an every-month All-Star, too. Unleash the \u201cHi Kevin\u201d meme from SpongeBob. \u2014 Flores\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Record: 18-16 April All-Star:<\/strong> Jacob Misiorowski<\/p>\n A year ago, Misiorowski\u2019s inclusion in the All-Star Game ignited a heated debate about \u201cworthiness.\u201d 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\u2019s 40.<\/p>\n The lanky right-hander finished April with 109 pitches thrown at 100 mph or higher. The next closest starter had just 36.<\/p>\n Jacob Misiorowski has a custom Gengar glove with a Pok\u00e9mon card in the web pic.twitter.com\/NHxPbr9Ohg<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/b>Last Power Ranking: 2<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b>Last Power Ranking: 3<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b>Last Power Ranking: 1<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b>Last Power Ranking: 4<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b>Last Power Ranking: 7<\/b><\/p>\n\n
<\/b>Last Power Ranking: 9<\/b><\/p>\n\n