New York, May 5, 2026, 08:16 (ET)
- Atlanta has replaced Los Angeles at No. 1 in the latest MLB.com and FanGraphs power rankings.
- The Braves entered Tuesday at 25-11, with MLB’s best winning percentage and an 8.5-game NL East lead.
- The Dodgers are no longer the clear early-season front-runner, though projection systems still rate them as a major October threat.
The Atlanta Braves have taken over the top spot in major MLB power rankings, ending the Los Angeles Dodgers’ early-season grip on No. 1 after a sharp Braves run and a Dodgers wobble in the first week of May. MLB.com put Atlanta first for the first time in more than three years, while FanGraphs’ latest model also ranked the Braves ahead of the Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers. ( [1])
The shift matters because it is no longer just a weekly media shuffle. Atlanta entered Tuesday at 25-11, with a plus-80 run differential — runs scored minus runs allowed — and an 8.5-game lead in the NL East, while the Dodgers, Yankees and Cubs remain tightly grouped among baseball’s strongest early clubs. ( [2])
It also gives the season’s first month a cleaner shape: the Braves are setting the pace, the Yankees are pushing from the American League, the Cubs have turned Wrigley Field into a problem for visitors, and the Dodgers are still dangerous but no longer alone at the top. ESPN’s earlier Week 5 list still had the Dodgers first, followed by the Braves, Yankees and Cubs, underscoring how quickly the board has moved. ( [3])
MLB.com’s Will Leitch wrote that Atlanta returned to the top after “two years of injuries, struggles and plain misfortune,” with the Braves moving from third to first as the Dodgers dropped from first to third. The Yankees held second, the Cubs stayed fourth and the Padres rounded out the top five. ( [4])
FanGraphs reached a similar conclusion through a different method. Jake Mailhot’s rankings use a modified Elo rating system — a points-based model, borrowed from chess, that reacts to wins, losses and opponent strength — and had Atlanta first with a 1603 power score and 95.5% playoff odds. The Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers followed. ( [5])
The Braves’ case is not subtle. CBS Sports analyst Matt Snyder wrote that “there is no question” Atlanta is baseball’s best team right now, citing a 25-10 start at the time, the majors’ best record, the National League’s best record and a lead over the two-time defending champion Dodgers. ( [6])
Atlanta’s offense has been the blunt force behind the climb. CBS said the Braves led MLB in runs, batting average and OPS — on-base plus slugging, a broad measure of hitting value — while also ranking second in team ERA, the average number of earned runs allowed per nine innings. ( [7])
The Yankees are the closest AL counterweight. MLB.com pointed to Ben Rice’s 1.214 OPS as the best mark in baseball at the time of its ranking, while FanGraphs noted that Aaron Judge and Rice each hit three home runs during the ranking week and that Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón could soon bolster the rotation. ( [8])
The Cubs give the National League another challenger. MLB.com said Chicago had won 11 straight games at Wrigley Field, its longest home winning streak there since 2008, while MLB’s standings showed the Cubs at 23-12 and leading a crowded NL Central that includes the Cardinals, Reds, Pirates and Brewers. ( [9])
The Dodgers’ fall is more about timing than collapse. MLB.com said Los Angeles lost four straight before salvaging a series finale in St. Louis, and noted Shohei Ohtani was 0-for-14 during that stretch. Still, the club entered Tuesday at 22-13 with a plus-68 run differential and the NL West lead. ( [10])
There is a clear risk in calling this race too early. Ronald Acuña Jr. has landed on the injured list with a hamstring issue, FanGraphs said, and its updated projected standings still had the Dodgers finishing with 97 wins, ahead of the Yankees at 95 and the Braves at 93. The model view, in plain terms: Atlanta owns the moment, but Los Angeles still owns plenty of forecast weight. ( [11])
For now, the Braves have the cleaner story and the better record. They have not just passed the Dodgers on one list; they have turned a hot opening month into a measurable lead across standings, rankings and run prevention, with the Yankees and Cubs close enough to keep the top of baseball unsettled.
References
1. www.mlb.com, 2. www.mlb.com, 3. www.espn.com, 4. www.mlb.com, 5. blogs.fangraphs.com, 6. www.cbssports.com, 7. www.cbssports.com, 8. www.mlb.com, 9. www.mlb.com, 10. www.mlb.com, 11. blogs.fangraphs.com
