MLB power rankings: Mariners make their case as best of the AL West

Gleyber Torres’ flair for the dramatic has become a habit in the early going of his career. The 21-year-old became the youngest player in AL history to homer in four consecutive games when he went deep five times in four days. The fifth shot was his second walk-off in his first 32 career games, beating fellow prodigies Bryce Harper and Manny Machado to their second walk-offs by over 200 games.

After taking two of three from the Braves a week ago, the club rallied to split a four-game series in Houston over the weekend and did so without Mookie Betts, who was placed on the disabled list Friday. Luckily enough, Boston's next nine games are against Tigers, White Sox and Orioles, who have a combined .366 winning percentage.

Amid a gauntlet stretch of the schedule for the Astros that featured consecutive series with the Indians, Yankees and Red Sox, Jose Altuve got into a major groove. During a stint last week, Altuve hit in 10 straight at-bats and has propelled himself to the top of the MLB hits leaderboard. Over the past two weeks, Altuve has hit .383 with 23 hits, although only six have gone for extra bases.

After spending much of the first two months of the year as an underrated part of a tight NL Central scene, the Brewers deserve overdue respect. They became the first team to reach 30 wins in the NL and lead the league in victories after winning every series in the month of May — before oddly dropping two of three to the White Sox to open June.

Of all the things to be excited about regarding the Braves in the early going, questions surrounding how far their starting rotation can carry them have been valid. However, the breakout of Mike Foltynewicz could be an answer to those concerns. The righty threw his first career complete game and shutout last week, holding the Nationals to two hits and lowering his ERA to 2.22 on the year.

The rise of the Cubs has continued, and it should be no surprise if in two weeks they have emerged as the top team in the National League. In a victory that seems to be uniquely crafted for baseball in 2018, they picked up a win via an Albert Almora Jr. walk-off double in 14 innings despite striking out 24 times, an MLB record for a victorious team.

Is there anything that Max Scherzer cannot do? Picking up his 150 ^th career victory and winning NL Pitcher of the Month honors for a second straight month were not enough apparently. Against the Braves on Saturday afternoon, not only did he get a pinch hit in the 14^th inning, but he also charged around the bases to score the game-clinching run. It was a unique moment for the steadily improving Nats, both with their collective health and in the standings.

The up-and-down year for the Tribe continues, but of late the ups have been more frequent than the downs. Behind the red-hot play of Francisco Lindor (.373, 10 HRs in May), the Indians picked up five wins against the Astros and Cubs. Despite their lukewarm start, they have been in first place in the AL Central since April 21 and finally look ready to play up to potential.

Jake Arrieta put to bed any of doubt about being worth the big contract he held out for over the winter. Prior to Sunday, going back to May 3 Arrieta had allowed three earned runs over his last five starts, lowering his ERA a full run to 2.15. Even after Sunday’s rough outing (five earned in a loss to the Giants), Arrieta still stepped up and showed the leadership expected of him, calling out the club for a lackluster effort, including his own.

The Mariners answered the challenge of the fork in the road they were staring at two weeks ago and did so in resounding fashion. Seattle has climbed up to the top of AL West behind an impressive ensemble performance led by Jean Segura (multi-hit games in five of his last 10) and Nelson Cruz (.407 with four extra-base hits in the last week). Even Felix Hernandez got into the mix, allowing one run over eight innings on Sunday, his longest outing since August 2016.

The Cardinals nearly capped an important weekend series win over the Pirates with a historic makeup effort via Michael Wacha. Back in 2013, he nearly no-hit the Nationals in his ninth career start until a ninth-inning infield single. Well, his second shot at immortality ended via only a slightly harder-hit Colin Moran flare to right, again in the ninth. Although the no-no was spoiled, Wacha’s impressive season carried on, improving to 7-1 and lowering his ERA to 2.41.

Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani could be en route to bringing both AL MVP and Rookie of the Year Awards to Anaheim, but don't forget about Andrelton Simmons. Amid an 11-game hitting streak, his average is up to .330e. Of course, his defense also remains superior, as he has already been good for over one defensive win.

Here come the Dodgers, winners of four of their last five after sweeping the Rockies on the heels of splitting a four-game set versus the Phillies. Despite losing Clayton Kershaw only five innings into getting him back from the disabled list, they have continued to pull things together. Much of the credit goes to the continued turn-back-the-clock efforts from Matt Kemp, who is leading the NL in hitting at .344.

An odd season for the Rockies continues despite the club continuing to hover around first place in the NL West. Although traditionally possessing baseball’s most pronounced home-field advantage, the club remains south of .500 at Coors Field on the year, while having a winning record on the road. If the Rockies could only find their home-cooked magic of years past — the opportunity to run away with a lackluster division is there.

The opportunity was there for the Pirates to really make a statement in the NL Central with four consecutive series against in-division foes. Instead it proved to be a minefield, as they went 4-9 against the Reds, Cubs and Cardinals over the last two weeks and are barely clinging to a record north of .500.

There is never a boring moment with the wacky Tampa pitching staff. Jonny Venters, who had not pitched in the majors in six years, has worked to a 0.87 ERA over his first 14 return appearances. Meanwhile, Austin Pruitt converted the first five-inning save in over 15 years on May 27. Don't forget about the starters, either. Nathan Eovaldi took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in his first start in two years.

The D-backs are a first-place team that is still resting on its laurels from April. May was an absolute disaster. After failing to win consecutive games since early May, a gift from the scheduling gods provided a branch to grab in an effort to slow their free fall. The Reds and Marlins allowed the beleaguered D-backs to win four of five and continue to hold on to their NL West lead by a fingertip — for the time being.

The comings and goings of the Giants have been dizzying to keep up with. In an astonishing name check, pitcher Dereck Rodriguez — son of Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez — joined the club. Former closer Mark Melancon also rejoined the club, as did Hunter Pence. In the coming week, Madison Bumgarner will make his season debut on Tuesday. However, the club will be without Brandon Belt, who headed to the DL due to an emergency appendectomy. Keep up with all of that?

The secret strength of the Athletics' early start has been the phenomenal performance of the bullpen, which posted MLB's second lowest ERA in May at 2.79. The leader of the pack has been closer Blake Treinen, whose personal ERA dropped beneath 1.00 after his latest appearance. Fellow late-inning hurlers Lou Trivino (0.82) and Ryan Buchter (1.69) join Treinen in being particularly stingy thus far.

The current incarnation of the Tigers welcomed back Miguel Cabrera last week and heated up a bit in the process, pulling into second place in the AL Central. But the biggest headline of the week for the club had to do with the future, as the Tigers selected Auburn pitcher Casey Mize with the first pick in the MLB Draft. It marked the first time the organization had the top pick since 1997, when Rice pitcher Matt Anderson’s name was called first overall.

Although there has been very little to get excited about regarding the Twins so far, Eddie Rosario has proved to be the exception to the rule. On the heels of a three-homer game against the Indians — that included a walk-off shot — the 26-year-old is looking the part of a breakout star. His average is up to .317, and he is on pace to blow past last year’s 27-homer campaign.

Jacob deGrom is pitching at a historically significant pace so far this year, surrendering one run or fewer in seven straight starts. He has twice struck out 13 in the process and lowered his ERA nearly a run and a half over his last 10 outings. The continued mediocrity of the Mets, however, has allowed them to benefit from only two victories in the process.

Of late, the Padres have had the benefit of playing their peers, beefing up on wins against the Marlins and Reds. With the way their bullpen has stood up, their odds could be bettered in the upcoming series with the Braves and Cardinals as well. Brad Hand, Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates combined for a 1.14 ERA, 6-0 record with 11 saves and 11 holds in May.

It is hard to assign what is more to blame for the Blue Jays' seemingly endless fall down the AL East standings. Is it a mediocre offense that saw its runs per game drop nearly two runs from April to May, or a starting rotation sporting a 5.38 ERA? Regardless, there is plenty of blame to go around, and it could come down on the shoulders of manager John Gibbons soon.

The Royals have been somewhat more successful of late but are still not a good team. Case in point: After taking four of seven from the underwhelming Rangers and Twins, as soon as they faced a team over .500 (in this case, the Athletics) they took a 16-0 shutout on the chin.

If somehow the Rangers can get every game to make it past the ninth inning, they would be a shoo-in for the postseason. Saturday’s 10-inning victory was their sixth extra-inning win, and they are 6-1 overall in extra frames.

Scooter Gennett continues to defy the odds. The irresistible second baseman slugged his way to NL Player of the Month honors for May after hitting .398 and driving in 24 runs. The Cincinnati native is setting himself to be a popular name as trade deadline season begins to set in.

Lucas Giolito came into the year carrying big expectations. Now his performance may have earned him a vacation from the Sox rotation. He has allowed more earned runs than any pitcher in baseball and has hit 10 batters as well. He has also issued 37 walks against only 30 strikeouts over 55 innings. It is beyond time to sit him down before the damage to his development becomes irreversible.

Is anybody carrying more useless weight than Manny Machado currently is in his final few days as an Oriole? Consider that despite the presumptive All-Star shortstop hitting .327 and leading the AL in total bases, the O’s have only topped five runs twice in the past two weeks and have scored an AL-worst 215 runs on the year. It is hard to imagine how futile the Machado-less days ahead will truly be.

Free J.T. Realmuto. The standout catcher is posting another great campaign that is going to waste as the Marlins are approaching 20 games under .500. Alongside his excellent work behind the plate, Realmuto has accounted for 1.9 wins despite playing only 39 games, something that any number of contenders would like to add to their everyday attack.