Source: abdcards.com / There was plenty of movement in this week's power rankings - with a few familiar teams leading the charge - The Astros, Yankees, and Red Sox are all streaking in the right direction.

Welcome back all to another edition of the MLB power rankings presented by @sportsguychris. It was a busy week in the majors, with the Astros on one heck of a hot streak, the Dodgers maintaining their solid play, and the Rays, Cubs, and Brewers all continuing to coast along. The Yankees are just outside of the top 5, and fellow AL East rival and defending Champs Boston are making a move after a terrible start. There was one new addition this week, with Seattle continuing to tumble. The Mariners are just 9-21 after a 13-3 start, and it's tough to figure out what exactly is happening in the Pacific northwest at the moment. As always, there is plenty to cover, so let's get to it, here is this week's MLB Power Rankings:

1 LOS ANGELES DODGERS (30-16) ↔️

The Dodgers remain atop the power rankings again this week despite a serious charge from the Astros. LA has been playing darn good themselves as of late too - winners of 4 straight & 8-2 overall in their last 10. They are 3rd in the NL in both strikeouts & team-ERA and are 1st in opponents batting average. While the pitching has been superb, the bats continue to provide plenty of pop as well - LA ranks 1st in the league in runs scored & 2nd in longballs with 70.

Source: twitter.com / The Astros have really took flight of late, and have now won 9 straight to claim the best record in baseball by 1/2 game over the Dodgers.

2 HOUSTON ASTROS (30-15) ⬆️

Just as predicted in the first edition of the power rankings last week, the Astros have indeed took off & are the hottest team in baseball - winners of 9 straight - and are now owners of the best record in all of baseball (1/2 game better than the Dodgers). Exceptional pitching is once again leading the charge - they rank 2nd in the AL in team-ERA & strikeouts & have allowed opponents to hit just .203 on the season - tops in baseball. They are knocking on the door of the top spot in the rankings.

3 TAMPA BAY RAYS (26-16) ⬇️

The Rays dropped a spot for this week, flipping places with the red-hot Astros. While just 5-5 in their last 10 overall, they continue to lean heavily on outstanding pitching to start the year. Tampa is the only team with a sub- 3.00 ERA - at 2.82, and also rank 3rd in the AL in strikeouts, and are 2nd in all of baseball in opponents batting average - limiting teams to just .210 thus far.

4 CHICAGO CUBS (26-16) ↔️

The Cubs are 7-3 in their last 10, and are now 6th in the NL in runs scored, 6th in HRs, and 2nd in on-base %. The offense has been solid, and the pitching has been even better, ranking 2nd in the league in team-ERA, while allowing opposing teams to hit just .232 on the season - good for 3rd in the NL.

5 MILWAUKEE BREWERS (27-20) ↔️

Not surprisingly, the BrewCrew continues to lead the NL in HRs, and are currently 3rd in runs scored through Friday. The pitching has improved as well, as they have climbed to 6th in the league in team-ERA at 4.15. They've gotten back to playing solid baseball as of late, going 11-5 in their last 16, with Christian Yelich continuing his scorching start to the season (.336 avg, 18 HRs, 40 RBI & a whopping 1.196 OPS).

Source: northjersey.com / The Yankees rallied for 3 runs in the 9th yesterday for a walk-off victory over Tampa Bay and 1st place in the AL East.

6 NEW YORK YANKEES (27-16) ⬆️

The Yankees are surprisingly just 8th in the AL in runs scored, and are 5th in the league in both HRs and slugging %. They still happen to have won 4 straight and are 8-2 in their last 10 overall. They scored 3 in the 9th on Friday to overtake the Rays for 1st in the AL East heading into the weekend. They are up 3 spots this week to #6 and closing in on the top 5.

7 MINNESOTA TWINS (28-15) ↔️

The Twins continue their surprising start to the season, and are now 7-3 in their last 10, and winners of 3 straight. The offense, in particular, has been a strong point, as they rank 4th in the AL in runs scored, are 3rd in HRs with 80, 2nd in batting average, and 2nd in slugging %.

8 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (25-19) ⬆️

The Phillies continue to lead the NL East, and find themselves shooting up two spots from #10 last week. The offense continues to rank mediocre in most categories, including HRs - where they are just tied for 11th in the NL. They are up to 5th in team-ERA at just a hair over 4.00 (4.01).

Source: vintagebrand.com / The defending Champs are back to playing quality baseball and have made their awful 3-9 start a distant memory.

9 BOSTON RED SOX (23-21) ⬆️

The defending champs were the big mover this week - jumping up 5 spots and into the top 10. They are now 7-3 in their past 10 and 20-12 overall after a dreadful 3-9 start to the season. The bats are leading the charge as the Sox are now 5th in the league in runs scored & batting average & 2nd in on-base %.

10 ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (24-20) ⬇️

The Diamondbacks dropped a couple of spots in this week's rankings, after going just 2-4 in their last 6, and 4-6 in their last 10 overall. While the D-Backs are 2nd in the NL in runs scored, and 3rd in HRs, they are just 8th in on-base %. The pitching has been mediocre as well, ranking 7th in the NL in team-ERA, while allowing opponents to hit .250 (5 points higher than the mlb average).

Source: aaronmilesfastball.com / It's hard to believe, but the Cards are just 3-12 in their past 15 overall...

11 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (23-22) ⬇️

It wasn't all that long ago that the Cardinals were sitting at 20-10 & owned the best record in the NL. The Cards have failed to take flight as of late, however, as they are now just 3-12 in their last 15, including losses in 3 straight, and are the big tumbler of the week. A surprisingly poor team-ERA (4.37 - 9th in the NL) and mediocre defense to this point (7th in the league in overall fielding %) are partly to blame for the recent skid.

Source: royalsreview.com / The Indians have had to rely heavily on their pitching to make up for a lackluster offense to this point...

12 CLEVELAND INDIANS (23-20) ↔️

The Indians remain locked in behind the Twins in the AL Central, as well as the 12 spot in the power rankings. A porous offense is still plaguing Cleveland early-on as they rank just 13th in the AL in runs scored, HRs, & batting average (.226). The pitching is trying to make to up for it, ranking 3rd in the league in both team-ERA & walks allowed.

13 SAN DIEGO PADRES (23-21) ⬇️

The Padres have continued an elongated stretch of mediocre play - going 5-5 in their last 10, but just 2-4 in their last 6. They've cooled considerably after their hot start to the season, but there is still a lot to like about this young club, especially the pitching - which ranks 4th in the NL in ERA & 1st in saves, while issuing the second fewest amount of walks in the league with just 117.

14 ATLANTA BRAVES (24-21) ⬆️

The Braves have won 6 of 7, and appear to have finally awakened after a slow start to the season. Last year's NL East Champs have once-again experienced problems with their pitching, as they rank just 10th in the league in team-ERA & have issued the most walks of any team with 184. The good news? They are back to hitting & are currently tied for 1st in the NL in team batting average at .260.

Source: pinterest.com / Despite a -48 run differential, the Pirates are a game above .500 on the season, and into this week's power rankings.

15 PITTSBURGH PIRATES (21-20)* ⬆️

The Pirates got a 3-game sweep of the division- rival Cardinals, but have followed it up with a pair of losses. That being said, it was still enough to squeak their way onto this week's power rankings. Despite being outscored by 48 runs on the season, the Pirates have still managed a winning record, and are tied for 3rd in the very competitive NL Central.