Our MLB power rankings

1. Chicago Cubs (No. 1 in last week’s rankings): Cubs could be in market for catcher if Miguel Montero’s back problems turn out to be persistent.

2. Washington Nationals (3): Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy are only Nats with hot bats.

3. Chicago White Sox (6): Liberated from any preseason expectations, Chicago’s other team is thriving in subdued spotlight.

4. New York Mets (17): Second baseman Neil Walker began weekend with nine home runs; his single-season high is 23.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates (4): Bucs aren’t wowing anybody with power, but their on-base percentage is the best in baseball.

6. Kansas City Royals (2): Defending champs appeared bedeviled during three-game sweep by Angels in Anaheim.

7. Los Angeles Dodgers (7): Returning to sea level after visiting Denver, hitters to blame for four-game sweep at hands of Marlins.

8. Boston Red Sox (18): David Ortiz on career extra-base hit No. 1,118, which vaulted him past Jimmy Foxx and Ted Williams for 18th on all-time list: “That’s what happens when you play a long time. Man, I’m old.”

9. Texas Rangers (5): When Elvis (Andrus) doesn’t leave the building, he’s often worth an RBI triple.

10. St. Louis Cardinals (10): Starters Adam Wainwright and Mike Leake have disappointed, but Cards can mash.

11. Baltimore Orioles (11): That 7-0 burst out of the gate didn’t provide much of a cushion.

12. Seattle Mariners (16): M’s new CEO offers profile of ideal leader for ownership group: a local guy with a ton of money and a deep affection for baseball.

13. Arizona Diamondbacks (13): Manager Chip Hale on Chase Field playing as a launching pad: “It’s balls flying, a fast infield, a fast outfield. What’s 12-7 here could be 5-2 someplace else.”

14. Los Angeles Angels (21): Nicknames built on combining the syllables of first and last names are tiresome, but starting pitcher Nick Tropeano’s — “NiTro” — is pretty cool.

15. San Francisco Giants (24): Pitcher Jeff Samardzija went into weekend with five RBIs, two fewer than Buster Posey.

16. Cleveland Indians (19): In throes of sophomore slump, starting pitcher Cody Anderson has been sent to Triple-A to polish delivery mechanics.

17. Philadelphia Phillies (22): Rebound from 0-4 start can be traced to surprisingly effective pitching.

18. Detroit Tigers (8): Manager Brad Ausmus on Tigers taking three of four against Oakland after getting swept by Cleveland last weekend: “It’s amazing, isn’t it? Your season’s over one day, and four days later, you’re contenders.”

19. Oakland Athletics (9): Starters aren’t equipped to compensate for bottom half of batting order, which is a succession of automatic outs.

20. Tampa Bay Rays (20): Rays are treading water in up-for-grabs AL East.

21. Colorado Rockies (14): Colorado adept at solving big deficits, but converting comebacks into victories is another proposition.

22. Toronto Blue Jays (12): Vaunted offense stymied by 28.7 percent strikeout rate.

23. Miami Marlins (27): Until PED users face a lifetime ban for their first offense — and the testing process is made more vigilant — guys like Dee Gordon will be tempted to beat a flawed system.

24. New York Yankees (25): Infielder Ronald Torreyes, the Yanks’ version of Astros’ dynamo Jose Altuve, is vying for regular playing time.

25. Houston Astros (26): AL West favorites have too much talent to spend summer wallowing in fifth place.

26. Cincinnati Reds (15): Trio of reinforcements off the DL figure to solidify shaky starting rotation.

27. Milwaukee Brewers (23): By any measure, either traditional (5.71 ERA) or advanced (35.8 percent hard contact), Brewers pitching ranked last through first three weeks.

28. Minnesota Twins (29): A 21-year-old named Jose Berrios, who made his debut Wednesday, is Twins’ youngest starting pitcher since Pat Mahomes in 1992.

29. San Diego Padres (28): Listless Padres finally exploded for nine runs last week against Giants ... and lost because the pitchers surrendered 10 earned runs.

30. Atlanta Braves (30): Fredi Gonzalez survived 0-9 start, but his future as manager is more a matter of hours than days.

This story was originally published April 30, 2016 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Our MLB power rankings."