Updated: April 29, 2013, 11:49 AM ET

Rangers rise to the top

Week:

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After hanging around the top 10 for the first four weeks of the season, the Texas Rangers catapulted into the top spot in our Power Rankings for Week 5.

The Atlanta Braves dropped one spot to No. 2, while the Boston Red Sox held onto the No. 3 spot for the second straight week. The St. Louis Cardinals rose five spots to No. 4, and the Baltimore Orioles jumped six spots to take over the No. 5 position to round out the top five.

This week's voters were Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN The Magazine, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Most of the team comments come courtesy of the fan bloggers on the SweetSpot Blog Network. Meanwhile, you can rank the teams yourself.

Tell us what you think about the Power Rankings. Use the hashtag #ESPNMLBPOWER.

2013 Power Rankings: April 29
RANKTEAM / RECORD TRENDINGCOMMENTS
1
5
Last Week: 6		Rookie right-hander Nick Tepesch has pitched well in four starts, having compiled a 2.53 ERA in 21 1/3 innings. -- ESPN.com
2
Braves
15-9
1
Last Week: 1		The Braves are now as cold as they were hot after losing four straight games, including a sweep against Detroit this past weekend. Health and getting batters on in front of Justin Upton are the biggest keys for the Braves to get back to their winning ways. Both of those point squarely to Jason Heyward, who needs to get better results when he returns from the DL. -- Ben Duronio, Capitol Avenue Club
3
--

Last Week: 3		The Red Sox capped off an impressive 7-3 stretch by sweeping the struggling Astros this past weekend. The difficulty level will rise significantly this week, however as the Red Sox begin a six-game road trip that'll take them to Toronto and Texas. -- Hunter Golden, Fire Brand of the AL
4
5
Last Week: 9		The Cardinals' rotation continues to be their strength, as they lead the National League in fielding independent pitching at 2.78, but their bullpen has been leaky (worst in league with a 4.46 FIP). -- Matt Philip, Fungoes
5
Orioles
15-10
6
Last Week: 11		The Orioles are keeping pace, sitting three games behind in the AL East with the help of the resurgent Nate McLouth, who refuses to get out in 46 percent of his trips to the plate. -- Jon Shepherd, Camden Depot
6
Tigers
13-10
1
Last Week: 5		Coming off a 5-1 week (and a sweep of the Braves), the Tigers are staring at the Twins at home and the Astros on the road. And I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad Jose Valverde is on this team. -- Joshua Worn, Walkoff Woodward
7
3
Last Week: 4		In winning three of four from the Reds, the Nats had three starters win consecutive games for the first time since the first three games of the season. -- Harper Gordek, Nationals Baseball
8
Giants
13-12
1
Last Week: 7		With 25 home runs allowed, fifth most in the National League, the Giants are on pace to give up 162 home runs this season. That's 20 more than what the 2012 team surrendered. Ryan Vogelsong (2.08 home runs per nine) and Matt Cain (1.88) have been particularly vulnerable to the long ball. -- Chris Quick, Bay City Ball
9
Rockies
15-10
1
Last Week: 8		The Rockies had a dose of reality this week: The team was 2-5 and injuries to Jhoulys Chacin (15-day DL) and Troy Tulowitzki (shoulder) could really put a damper on the hot start. -- Travis Lay, Blake Street Bulletin
10
Reds
14-12
--

Last Week: 10		Reds rookie Tony Cingrani has been brilliant after three big league starts: 2-0, 1.50 ERA. Even better, he's struck out 28 while walking only four. What will the Reds do when Johnny Cueto returns from the DL? -- Chad Dotson, Redleg Nation
11
2
Last Week: 13		The D-backs won three extra-inning games, and then Patrick Corbin closed out the week with another strong performance. Grit is good. -- David Schoenfield, SweetSpot
12
--

Last Week: 12		In a crushing blow to the Blue Jays, the Yankees swept Toronto in four close games with Mariano Rivera picking up three saves. I hear the kid has a future. -- David Schoenfield, SweetSpot
13
11
Last Week: 2		Having not played in a game in more than two weeks because of a hand injury, Yoenis Cespedes returned to the A's lineup on Sunday and delivered a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning in a game the A's went on to win in the 10th. -- ESPN.com
14
Royals
13-9
--

Last Week: 14		The Royals are 13-9 and are in first place in the AL Central despite averaging barely four runs per game. Jeremy Guthrie matched a Royals record with his 16th straight start without a loss. Relievers have also pitched the fewest innings (56) in the majors. -- Diane Firstman, Value Over Replacement Grit
15
Pirates
15-10
5
Last Week: 20		At 15-10, this is the Pirates' best 25-game start since their last playoff season (1992). The relievers are a combined 6-2 with a 2.42 ERA and 11 saves in 12 chances, but they've already pitched 93 innings (second most in the majors). -- Diane Firstman, Value Over Replacement Grit
16
Rays
12-13
1
Last Week: 17		Rays ace David Price is 1-2 with a 5.21 ERA. Matt Moore, their emerging ace, is 5-0 with a 1.13 ERA. They'll face their old ace, James Shields, on Tuesday when Tampa Bay plays the Royals in Kansas City. -- Tommy Rancel, The Process Report
17
Brewers
12-11
5
Last Week: 22		Carlos Gomez enjoyed a power spike in 2012 and was rewarded with a three-year, $24 million extension. Thus far in April, he's making the Brewers look smart. He's hitting a robust .338/.376/.538 with three home runs, and he also has a .396 weighted on-base average. -- J.P. Breen, Disciples of Uecker
18
Dodgers
12-12
2
Last Week: 16		A 4-2 week got the Dodgers back up to .500, but Josh Beckett remains a question mark in the rotation; he's allowed eight home runs and 18 runs in 30 1/3 innings. -- David Schoenfield, SweetSpot
19
Angels
9-15
--

Last Week: 19		The Angels lead the AL in batting average, but are near the top of the league in runners left on base. They'll get a boost this week with Erick Aybar expected to return to the lineup, but will it be enough to keep them in contention? -- Jeff Mays, Halos Daily
20
Mets
10-13
2
Last Week: 18		This time last week, the Mets were in second place with a 9-8 record. Since then, they've gone 1-5, dropping to fourth place, and have been outscored 31-16. -- Joe Janish, Mets Today
21
--

Last Week: 21		The Phillies' win on Sunday was a good model for bullpen stability, with Antonio Bastardo, Mike Adams and Jonathan Papelbon each throwing a scoreless inning. It also produced another truly odd line from the starting pitcher: Cole Hamels threw six innings, allowed one earned run, struck out eight, but walked six. The Phillies will finish April with a losing record. -- Ryan Sommers, Crashburn Alley
22
Twins
11-10
3
Last Week: 25		After going 15-33 in April the past two seasons, the Twins are a game above .500 with two days left in the season's first month. -- Nick Nelson, Twins Daily
23
--

Last Week: 23		With 15 of their next 18 on the road, the White Sox better enjoy Monday's off day before heading to Texas and Kansas City this week. -- David Schoenfield, SweetSpot
24
9
Last Week: 15		The Jays lost six games last week by a total of eight runs. The upcoming May schedule is brutal; the Jays have a month to get their act together or this season will be a write-off. -- Matthias Koster, Mop-Up Duty
25
1
Last Week: 26		Two rainouts and a travel day gave the Indians a funky schedule, and it showed in their play, as the offense managed to score more than three runs in only one game. Bright spots came from respectable outings by Scott Kazmir and Cory Kluber, which may bode well for the future of the rotation. -- Susan Petrone, It's Pronounced "Lajaway"
26
2
Last Week: 24		Kyle Seager's 16-game hitting streak ended on Sunday, but the Mariners received seventh-inning home runs from Jason Bay and Mike Morse (off ex-Mariner Jason Vargas) to win 2-1 and take three of four from the Angels -- putting the M's in third place. -- David Schoenfield, SweetSpot
27
Cubs
9-15
1
Last Week: 28		With two games to play, Anthony Rizzo is two home runs shy of tying the Cubs' record for home runs in April. The record is held by Alfonso Soriano. -- Joe Aiello, View from the Bleachers
28
Padres
9-15
1
Last Week: 27		The Padres are fresh off sweeping a three-game series from the Giants, the first time the Padres have swept the Giants since May 2010. -- ESPN.com
29
Astros
7-18
--

Last Week: 29		Houston is 4-2 against Seattle and 3-16 against everyone else. The staff ERA has crept up to 5.51, worst in the majors, and its .297 average allowed is 21 points higher than that of any other team. -- David Schoenfield, SweetSpot
30
--

Last Week: 30		A 2-4 week against the Cubs and Twins isn't quite good enough. Three one-run losses and a two-run loss make it more painful. They're still averaging fewer than three runs per game. -- Diane Firstman, Value Over Replacement Grit
  • Biggest Jump:
  • 6
  • Biggest Drop:
  • 11

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