2023 GoldSheet MLB Power Rankings
We are back with another edition of the Gold Sheet’s MLB Power Rankings. Every Tuesday, we will break down the last week of MLB action and move teams up and down these rankings accordingly.
At the Gold Sheet, we have an understanding of what to expect from teams based on these first 50 or so games. We can surmise power rankings based on future odds of winning the 2023 World Series and current performance, and the Gold Sheet has found some teams that we believe are better or worse than advertised. Here is the ninth edition of the Gold Sheet’s 2023 MLB Power Rankings, which will update weekly.
For this week, even though we are just 50 games into the season, we decided to settle the score between which teams actually have the makings of a playoff team and which teams, despite playing well, do not.
GoldSheet 2023 MLB Power Rankings | May 23rd
| Team | This Week | Last Week | Change |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 1 | 1 | N/A |
| Atlanta Braves | 2 | 2 | N/A |
| Baltimore Orioles | 3 | 3 | N/A |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 4 | 5 | +1 |
| Texas Rangers | 5 | 6 | +1 |
| Houston Astros | 6 | 7 | +1 |
| New York Yankees | 7 | 8 | +1 |
| Minnesota Twins | 8 | 9 | +1 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 9 | 10 | +1 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 10 | 4 | -6 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 11 | 12 | +1 |
| Boston Red Sox | 12 | 15 | +3 |
| San Diego Padres | 13 | 16 | +3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 14 | 22 | +8 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 15 | 11 | -4 |
| New York Mets | 16 | 23 | +7 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 17 | 18 | +1 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 18 | 14 | -4 |
| Seattle Mariners | 19 | 13 | -6 |
| Miami Marlins | 20 | 17 | -3 |
| San Francisco Giants | 21 | 25 | +4 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 22 | 19 | -3 |
| Chicago Cubs | 23 | 20 | -3 |
| Washington Nationals | 24 | 21 | -3 |
| Chicago White Sox | 25 | 28 | +3 |
| Detroit Tigers | 26 | 25 | -1 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 27 | 27 | N/A |
| Colorado Rockies | 28 | 26 | -2 |
| Kansas City Royals | 29 | 29 | N/A |
| Oakland Athletics | 30 | 30 | N/A |
Tier One: Playoff Teams
No. 1 Tampa Bay Rays
No. 2 Atlanta Braves
No. 3 Baltimore Orioles
No. 4 Los Angeles Dodgers
No. 5 Texas Rangers
No. 6 Houston Astros
No. 7 New York Yankees
No. 8 Minnesota Twins
No. 14 St. Louis Cardinals
No. 16. New York Mets
As you can see, while I am bullish on some teams now and bearish on others, these are the squads that I think will round out the postseason. Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Texas all could falter, but they are all well-constructed teams that play hard and are a plus at most things on the first.
The Yankees, Mets, Cardinals, Dodgers, Braves, and Astros are all too familiar faces to the playoffs, and for good reason. While these teams are all flawed, they are also some of the best teams in the sport.
As for the Twins – one team in the AL Central has to make it – and they look like the most complete team in the division.
Tier Two: On the Fence
No. 10 Toronto Blue Jays
No. 11 Los Angeles Angels
No. 13 San Diego Padres
No. 15 Milwaukee Brewers
No. 19 Seattle Mariners
No. 22 Cleveland Guardians
These teams have a chance to make it due to 1. their sheer talent or 2. their situation. If the Rangers falter, the Angels and the Mariners have a shot to duke it out and steal a Wild Card spot. The Guardians and Brewers play in very winnable divisions, so they cannot be ruled out either.
The Blue Jays and the Padres have too good of rosters to be thrown to the side and dismissed. Either of these two teams can win 15 of their next 20 games, and I would not bat an eye. With that being said, both of these teams do have issues they need to address if they want to make the playoffs in this very competitive environment.
Tier Three: No Shot of Making the Playoffs
No. 13 Arizona Diamondbacks
No. 12 Boston Red Sox
No. 18 Pittsburgh Pirates
No. 20 Miami Marlins
No. 21 San Francisco Giants
No. 23 Chicago Cubs
No. 24 Washington Nationals
No. 25 Chicago White Sox
No. 26 Detroit Tigers
No. 28 Colorado Rockies
No. 29 Kansas City Royals
No. 30 Oakland Athletics
Despite the Red Sox and Diamondbacks playing great baseball, I find it very hard to believe they make the playoffs this year. These teams are both too fundamentally flawed to make it for the stretch run, and I expect them to regress as the season goes on.
The name of this tier says it all. Even though the Pirates got themselves off to a hot start, they are not a playoff-caliber roster. Same with Miami and Chicago – they are doing well keeping themselves in games, but winning is not sustainable. As for the rest of these teams – they never had a chance to begin with, and they do not have a chance now.
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