MLB Week 5 Power Rankings: Which red-hot NL team is No. 1? - ESPN

A new week brings… shocker! Yet another No. 1 team atop our list.

The National League continues to dominate MLB as well as our power rankings, with seven of the top 10 clubs residing in the Senior Circuit. Meanwhile, the American League is represented by two East teams and a red-hot Central squad.

As we enter May, it's time to start taking what we've seen — for better or worse — a little more seriously as the sample size continues to grow. How do we make sense of all these first month performances?

Our expert panel has combined to rank every team based on what we've seen and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Jesse Rogers, Alden Gonzalez and Buster Olney to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 4 | Preseason rankings

Record: 21-10
Previous ranking: 3

The pitching continues to be nothing short of remarkable, coming at a time when the Mets have been without Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas, and closer Edwin Diaz has been shaky. The Mets' pitching staff has the best ERA but they're also dominating in underlying metrics, as well — the lowest home run rate (by far), second-highest ground ball rate, third-highest strikeout rate and fourth-best rate of stranding baserunners. Only one team has allowed fewer stolen bases. — Olney

Record: 21-10
Previous ranking: 1

Shohei Ohtani turned on the first pitch he saw from Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara on Tuesday night and launched it 114 mph for a leadoff homer. It marked his first time going deep in 13 days. Mookie Betts, the man who hits behind him, has scuffled for most of that stretch. Max Muncy, meanwhile, went 106 plate appearances before finally connecting on his first home run Wednesday. Th