MLB Power Rankings: New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays compete to dominate this week's AL rankings - April 24, 2022
The MLB season is well and fully underway as teams jockey for position in the league during this early phase. No one has definitively broken away from the pack in the American League. Every team in the league has at least five wins in their first fifteen games of the young season.
The AL East is going according to plan as four teams are on the hunt for the penthouse suite. The Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, and Red Sox look to stake a claim in the division.
The AL Central is the most tightly packed. The bottom of the division team, Kansas City Royals, are just two games behind the division-leading Minnesota Twins after a Chicago White Sox slump this week.
New contenders are stepping up in the AL West. The Seattle Mariners currently hold the top spot, while the Los Angeles Angels and the biggest surprise of the season — the Oakland Athletics — are in hot pursuit of the division title.
Top five MLB American League teams based on power ranking
#5 Houston Astros
The 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros barely made it into the top five this week. They just broke their slump last night courtesy of a Jeremy Peña walk-off home run at home. Before that, the Astros only managed to win one game in their other six games of the past week. Peña's walk-off saved them from plummeting further down the order and ended their week on a high note.
His time is now. https://t.co/ihxUUHlSnr
"His time is now." - @ Houston Astros
They will have a more favorable matchup as they travel to Arlington to kick off the Lone Star Series against the Rangers. They will then travel north of the border to face the Blue Jays on Friday for a three-game series against the AL East juggernauts.
#4 Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are going full steam ahead. It's been a patient and slow burn but a rewarding rise to the top four spot of the power rankings. Powered by the bats of Ty France and J.P. Crawford, who are averaging .375 and .352, respectively, the Mariners won all but one of their games last week. They now sit on top of the AL West and share the best record in the league with the Yankees and the Blue Jays.
Sunday sweep 🧹🧹🧹 https://t.co/BBXo9MBENu
"Sunday sweep 🧹🧹🧹 " - @ Seattle Mariners
Seattle's pitching crew can't be overlooked. They have given up only a 2.96 ERA, good for the sixth-best in all of the MLB and second-best in the American League. They are also proving to be tough adversaries for opposing batters as they have only given up a .219 average against the lineups they face.
The Mariners face a tough test next, as they travel to Florida to battle the AL East contender Tampa Bay Rays. After Tampa, they will head to Miami to face the Marlins for interleague play.
#3 New York Yankees
The Bronx Bombers look in prime form after sweeping the Cleveland Guardians in their most previous series. It is still a mystery how they were stunned 5-0 by the Baltimore Orioles to open the previous week, but it's all in the past now.
The New York Yankees now share the top spot in the MLB's AL East with the Toronto Blue Jays and share the league-leading 10-6 record with the aforementioned Jays and Mariners.
The battery lineup still needs to heat up, as they are only batting a .235/.314/.380 stat line. The pitching crew is carrying the load for the Bronx-based squad. The Yankees have given up just a 2.53 ERA as a unit and have punched out 139 batters in the process. Both stats lead the AL in the said categories. Gerrit Cole capped off the week with a shutout against the Guardians.
Cole had it cookin'. https://t.co/l2mPjnE9jU
"Cole had it cookin'." - @ New York Yankees
The Yankees have a favorable matchup coming into the new week with the Baltimore Orioles on deck before traveling to Kansas City to face the Royals for a three-game affair.
#2 Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays pull rabbits out of a hat seemingly every season. They are just a game behind the AL East co-leaders Yankees and Blue Jays with a 9-7 record at the moment. They've won four of their six games in the past week. The most important of which were the two wins against the division rival Boston Red Sox.
The batting order of the Rays has been delivering with an MLB eighth-best RBI and ninth-best batting average. They've driven in 67 runs and have a team slash line of .244/.318/.390 so far. They are led by Wander Franco and Ji-Man Choi, who have 22 and 13 base hits, respectively.
Sunday Funday with Sugar Shane and the boys
#RaysUp
"Sunday Funday with Sugar Shane and the boys #RaysUp" - @ Tampa Bay Rays
It will be a week in which the Rays' star power will be tested as they open it by hosting the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners before welcoming AL Central leaders the Minnesota Twins during the weekend. This will be a preview week if the Rays can hang on and prove themselves one of the MLB's better teams this season.
#1 Toronto Blue Jays
The boys from the North slingshot to the top spot of our power rankings. They share the best record in all of the American League with the Yankees and Mariners at the moment at 10-6.
Expectations were high for the Blue Jays. So far, they have lived up to the billing. Their batting crew has been stellar to start the season. They have a team slashline of .250/.308/.413 with 135 base hits and 65 RBIs. Of course, they are powered by 2021 AL MVP runner-up Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is batting .351 with 12 RBIs.
The @BlueJays are the first team in the AL to reach 10 wins this season 👏 https://t.co/viOehDkgL3
"The @BlueJays are the first team in the AL to reach 10 wins this season 👏" - @ FOX Sports: MLB
The powerhouse Blue Jays will have a tough schedule as they face fellow AL East contenders the Boston Red Sox, followed by the AL West favorite Houston Astros to complete the upcoming week. Will they be able to hold on to the top spot? Find out next week!