2016 Week 6 MLB Power Rankings

— -- Our kind of town, Chicago is.

Six weeks into the season, the Chicago Cubs (again the unanimous No. 1) and the Chicago White Sox stand 1-2 in our MLB Power Rankings. It's early, but the Windy City has plenty to brag about, as its teams boast the two largest division leads in baseball.

Meanwhile, the other Sox -- the Boston Red Sox, that is -- have turned a recent offensive explosion, led by what has become a fantastic farewell tour by David Ortiz, to blast their way into the No. 3 spot. Among the other movers and shakers, the Los Angeles Dodgers jumped five spots from No. 16 to No. 9, while the surprising Philadelphia Phillies also cracked the top half of the list.

This week's voters are Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Eric Karabell of ESPN Fantasy, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Most of the team comments come courtesy of the SweetSpot Blog Network.

Past rankings: Week 5 |  Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason

1. Chicago Cubs

Record: 27-9
Week 5 ranking: No. 1

After a series win against Pittsburgh, the Cubs have played to a 7-2 record so far against the Pirates and Cardinals combined. --  Joe Aiello ( @VFTB), View from the Bleachers

2. Chicago White Sox

Record: 24-14
Week 5 ranking: No. 3

Chris Sale has added off-day running to his schedule this year, and he raced to 8-0 with a complete-game win over the Yankees on Friday. Only three qualified pitchers have bested Sale's 1.67 ERA so far this season -- including teammate Jose Quintana. --  Ryan P. Morrison ( @ryanpmorrison),  Inside the 'Zona

3. Boston Red Sox

Record: 24-14
Week 5 ranking: No. 5

The Red Sox lead the majors in batting average, and it's not close: their .298 mark is 20 points ahead of the Rockies (.278). Rattling off four consecutive games of 11-plus runs, the team has scored nearly six runs per game after scoring 4.6 runs/game last season. -- Ryan P. Morrison ( @ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona

4. Washington Nationals

Record: 23-15
Week 5 ranking: No. 2

Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy rank first and third in the NL in OPS (with Aledmys Diaz in between), but Harper continues to get pitched around. He had 17 walks in 23 games in April but 24 in 14 games in May, and is on pace for 175 walks. The only player with more walks in a season: Barry Bonds (three times). -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot

5. Baltimore Orioles

Record:  23-13
Week 5 ranking: No. 6

The Orioles' starting rotation was a clear concern heading into the season, and so far it has held together (even without an injured Yovani Gallardo). O's starters have been in the middle of the pack in strikeouts per nine innings, walks per nine and ground-ball rate -- and, entering Sunday, sixth-best in the majors in home runs allowed per nine. -- Matt Kremnitzer ( @mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot

6. New York Mets

Record:   21-16
Week 5 ranking: No. 4

The Mets are 18-3 when scoring four or more runs and 3-13 when scoring three runs or fewer; they have three wins after trailing in a game, tied with Atlanta for the fewest in the majors, and their .210 batting average with runners in scoring position is worst in MLB. -- Joe Janish ( @metstoday), Mets Today

7. Seattle Mariners

Record: 21-16
Week 5 ranking: No. 7

A midweek sweep of the Rays helped offset a tough weekend series against the Angels. With the Rangers nipping at the Mariners' heels in the AL West, the M's will head back on the road this week (visiting Baltimore and Cincinnati), where they're 13-6 to date. -- Jeff Wiser ( @OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona

8. Texas Rangers

Record: 22-16
Week 5 ranking: No. 9

After a weekend series against Toronto that saw an infield brawl, outfielder Drew Stubbs has as many home runs on the season as Prince Fielder, one being the walk-off variety on Saturday. -- Brandon Land ( @onestrikeaway), One Strike Away

9. Los Angeles Dodgers

Record: 20-18
Week 5 ranking: No. 16

Coming into Saturday's start, Scott Kazmir had yielded nine homers in his first 37 1/3 innings. Clayton Kershaw has struck out 77 and yielded only four walks. That's a 19.25 K/BB rate, which would be a season record for ERA title qualifiers. He has at least 10 strikeouts and no more than one walk in each of his past five starts, setting an MLB record. -- Diane Firstman ( @dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit

10. San Francisco Giants

Record: 22-18
Week 5 ranking: No. 10

The outfield duo of Denard Span and Hunter Pence had big weeks for the Giants, who remain neck-and-neck with the Dodgers for the NL West lead. Even Jake Peavy got in on the action, as he tossed a strong game against the scuffling D-backs on Saturday. -- Jeff Wiser ( @OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona

11. St. Louis Cardinals

Record:  20-18
Week 5 ranking: No. 11

Once again, Matt Carpenter is quietly having an outstanding season, hitting .257/.387/.522 with 25 runs and 26 RBIs. He's hit .306/.417/.694 in May with nine extra-base hits. -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot

12. Pittsburgh Pirates

Record: 19-17
Week 5 ranking: No. 8

After finishing April with a .226 average, Andrew McCutchen has been on fire in May, hitting .333 with a 1.022 OPS through Saturday. The Pirates' outfield leads the majors with 4.6 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. -- Ryan P. Morrison ( @ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona

13. Philadelphia Phillies

Record: 22-16
Week 5 ranking: No. 17

According to Baseball-Reference and in terms of WAR, the Phillies are less than replacement level at every position except center field and catcher. According to the standings, the Phillies are six games over .500. Can good pitching continue to beat the team's own poor hitting? --  Richard Bergstrom ( @rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers

14. Cleveland Indians

Record:  17-17
Week 5 ranking: No. 12

The Indians have lost five of their past eight games, with four of those losses coming against the two teams with the worst records in the league. The pinnacle of frustration came with a 16-inning, 5-3 loss on Wednesday against the Astros even as  Jason Kipnis went 5-for-7. To make matters worse, Michael Brantley is on the 15-day DL with shoulder inflammation. -- Susan Petrone, It's Pronounced Lajaway

15. Toronto Blue Jays

Record: 19-20
Week 5 ranking: No. 13

Through Friday, Toronto's rotation sported a 1.59 ERA in 85 innings this month. The starting staff leads the majors this season in innings pitched and the American League in ERA, opponents' batting average and opponents' OPS. Since Aug. 14 of last year, J.A. Happ's 1.68 ERA is the second-best in the major leagues. He trails only Chicago's Jake Arrieta. -- Diane Firstman ( @dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit

16. Miami Marlins

Record: 20-17
Week 5 ranking: No. 15

Christian Yelich's home run Saturday afternoon was his fifth this season, two short of his total from all of last year and only four off his career high of nine, set in 2014. With Mike Dunn hurt, Miami is the only MLB team without a left-hander in the bullpen. Lefty Joe Beimel signed a minor league deal with Miami, and the 39-year-old is reporting to extended spring camp. -- Diane Firstman ( @dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit

17. Kansas City Royals

Record: 18-19
Week 5 ranking: No. 14

Wade Davis blew his first save of the season on Sunday, although the Royals managed to win in 13 innings on Kendrys Morales' walk-off home run. The offense, however, continues to struggle and enters the week last in the AL at 3.54 runs per game. -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot

18. Tampa Bay Rays

Record: 16-19
Week 5 ranking: No. 18

The team finally has a five-man rotation, and Matt Andriese may be the best part of it already. The bad offense loses its best hitter in Logan Forsythe for a month, so others will need to pick up the slack. The Rays are still among the worst teams in baseball with runners in scoring position and have put the fewest runners on base in the AL. -- Jason Collette ( @upintheair), The Process Report

19. Colorado Rockies

Record: 19-18
Week 5 ranking: No. 20

The pitching is better than the team ERA suggests. Rockies starting pitchers have gone at least five innings in 13 of their 14 May starts. Usually the Rockies are last in the league in walks allowed, but right now, they're 10th. The staff sports a solid 3.38 road ERA and received good home outings this homestand, including Jon Gray's first major league win. -- Richard Bergstrom ( @rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers

20. New York Yankees

Record: 16-20
Week 5 ranking: No. 23

The Yankees finished their 10-game homestand strong by taking three out of four against the Royals and two of three from the White Sox. In good news, Chase Headley's bat remembered how to hit for extra bases, and the Yankees' offense scored more than six runs in four of those games. On the flip side, Masahiro Tanaka struggled in both of his starts this past week. Now the Yankees head west for seven games, and it could be make-or-break time. -- Stacey Gotsulias ( @StaceGots), It's About the Money

21. Arizona Diamondbacks

Record: 17-23
Week 5 ranking: No. 24

Baseball can be a cruel game, and after a slow start, the D-backs made up significant ground on the division, resting just one game back of the lead on Tuesday. Four consecutive losses by a combined seven runs through Saturday swung them back to last place in the NL West entering Sunday's contest. -- Jeff Wiser ( @OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona

22. Detroit Tigers

Record: 16-21
Week 5 ranking: No. 19

In the movie "Tiger Town," little Alex is told by his dying father to always believe. So, he wishes for his favorite player, aging star Billy Young, to hit home runs. Every time Alex does this, the Tigers win. Brad Ausmus wishes it were that easy. -- Richard Bergstrom ( @rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers

23. Houston Astros

Record: 15-24
Week 5 ranking: No. 25

On the bright side, George Springer has five home runs and 14 walks in 15 games in May, and Jose Altuve ranks second in the AL in OPS and leads the majors with 15 steals and continues to draw walks (22, after just 39 in all of 2015). Dallas Keuchel, however, has allowed five-plus runs in four of his past five starts; he did that three times in all of 2015. -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot

24. San Diego Padres

Record: 17-22
Week 5 ranking: No. 26

After 37 games, the Padres already had 36 players appear on their 25-man roster. They were also shut out nine times in those first 37 games, while no other team had been shut out more than four times. After two awful years in Atlanta, Melvin Upton's .757 OPS through Friday is right in line with his last three seasons in Tampa. -- Diane Firstman ( @dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit

25. Oakland Athletics

Record: 16-22
Week 5 ranking: No. 21

Oakland starters are 2-9 with a 7.97 ERA in May, and the A's have allowed fewer than five runs just four times in the month -- three of those in games started by Rich Hill, who is looking like prime trade bait come July. -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot

26. Los Angeles Angels

Record: 16-21
Week 5 ranking: No. 22

They ended a six-game losing streak with a big weekend in Seattle, winning twice with ninth-inning rallies against Mariners closer Steve Cishek and then pitching a 3-0 shutout on Sunday. They also acquired Jhoulys Chacin from the Braves for rotation depth. -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot

27. Milwaukee Brewers

Record: 16-22
Week 5 ranking: No. 28

Solid pitching is finally beginning to eat up innings in the Milwaukee rotation. As of Saturday, four starting pitchers went at least six innings in the past week, something that had been a struggle for Brewers pitching this season. Still, Milwaukee stands pat at the No. 4 spot in the NL Central.   -- Gabe Stoltz ( @Stoltzy3), Disciples of Uecker

28. Cincinnati Reds

Record:  15-22
Week 5 ranking: No. 27

Another rough week saw Cincinnati win just two games, and Joey Votto's continuing struggles aren't making life any easier for Reds fans. Through 37 games, Votto is just hitting .215/.353/.355. Where is the Joey Votto we all came to know and love? --  Chad Dotson ( @dotsonc), Redleg Nation

29. Minnesota Twins

Record: 10-26
Week 5 ranking: No. 29

The Twins opened their season with a nine-game losing streak and narrowly avoided another one when they beat the Indians on Saturday to snap their latest skid at eight. For all its power potential, the lineup has been shockingly unexplosive. It's been nearly a month since the Twins scored more than six runs in a game. -- Nick Nelson ( @NickNelsonMN), Twins Daily

30. Atlanta Braves

Record: 9-27
Week 5 ranking: No. 30

The Braves are slowly getting one part of their team into shape. Entering Sunday, the starting rotation of Julio Teheran, Matt Wisler, Aaron Blair, Mike Foltynewicz and Williams Perez -- who are all 25 or younger -- have thrown 76 1/3 innings and posted a 2.13 ERA over the past two weeks. Perhaps the fruits of Atlanta's rebuilding efforts are starting to ripen. -- Martin Gandy ( @gondeee), Chop County