26. Colorado Rockies (Preseason Rank: 30)
March/April Record: 14-18
For the first time in quite some time, the Rockies are a team that’s somewhat enjoyable to watch. The fact that they’re only four games under .500 and not in last place in the NL West is enough of a victory in itself, but we’re still not ready to shoot them up the rankings any higher … yet.
Mickey Moniak looks like a stud, Hunter Goodman is still one of baseball’s best hitting catchers, Chase Dollander is breaking out, and Antonio Senzatela is randomly one of the best relief pitchers in the game. Similarly to the situation in Houston, this group of players isn’t going to be enough to carry this team all that far, but we can still commend them for what they’ve done so far, right?
27. Houston Astros (Preseason Rank: 15)
March/April Record: 12-20
The Astros’ longstanding dynasty coming to an end has been the talk of the town for years now, but they’ve always found a way to be in the thick of things when all is said and done. So far in the new year, they’ve limped out of the gates, and it’s worth wondering if the hole they’ve dug for themselves is too deep already.
Sure, the Astros currently have a stunning 14 players on the injured list (and one on the paternity list), so they’re clearly not operating with a full roster, but the top five hitters in their lineup can only do so much while the rest of the offense and the vast majority of the pitching staff are lagging behind.
28. Los Angeles Angels (Preseason Rank: 28)
March/April Record: 12-20
The Los Angeles Angels have two things going for them so far this season. They have a newfound ace, Jose Soriano, in early Cy Young talks, and Mike Trout looks healthy for the first time in a long time, and is back to being one of the best players in baseball.
29. Philadelphia Phillies (Preseason Rank: 2)
March/April Record: 12-19
The Phillies have already fired their manager, promoting Don Mattingly to replace Rob Thomson, who took Philadelphia to the World Series back in 2022 and to the NLCS in 2023. Since then, the Phillies haven’t won a playoff series, although they did take two division titles.
Regardless of the prior success, a slow start left the Phillies in a position where Dave Dombrowski felt their best bet was to cut ties with Thomson to try to spark this team. Only time will tell if he was right.
30. New York Mets (Preseason Rank: 6)
March/April Record: 10-21
Losers of 17 of their last 20 games to close the month, no team is more excited to play May baseball than the New York Mets. April was not kind to the Mets, as they dealt with a stretch where Juan Soto was on the IL with a calf strain, in which they lost a dozen games in a row.
The Mets got Soto back and finally broke their losing streak, only for Francisco Lindor to go down with a more serious calf injury that has him out indefinitely. Luis Robert Jr. and Jorge Polanco are now both on the IL, which is not helping a lineup that is the worst in baseball.
There is enough talent in that room for the Mets to still turn this into a season, but it has gotten late fast for them, as they will need a good month of May to claw closer to .500.
The post MLB Power Rankings: First Update of the 2026 Season appeared first on Just Baseball.
