The Dodgers were dethroned from the No. 1 spot in the 2026 MLB Power Rankings, a weekly list built by a selected group of baseball writers who rank the teams from first to worst. The records used were current through the end of play on May 3, giving the snapshot a fresh cutoff as the season moved deeper into spring.
That mattered because the rankings were not only about teams. They also doubled as an April awards board, with Matt Olson, Ben Rice, Shohei Ohtani and Nico Hoerner all turning in starts strong enough to force their way into the conversation. Olson led the entire National League in wins above replacement according to FanGraphs, backed by an OPS over 1.000 in April, 15 doubles and 11 home runs. Ben Rice entered Monday leading baseball in WAR and sat in the 99th percentile in expected batting average, expected slugging percentage and expected wOBA, while also ranking in the 98th percentile in hard-hit rate and the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and barrel percentage.
Ohtani added a different kind of case. He posted a 0.60 ERA as a pitcher in April, went exactly six innings in each of his first five starts and allowed two earned runs across those outings. Zack Meisel’s view of that month was blunt: Ohtani the pitcher would carve up Ohtani the hitter if the two met on the field in April. That is the kind of line that tells you how dominant the month was, even before the All-Star talk begins.
The rankings piece put those numbers in a larger frame that will matter again in July, when the 2026 MLB All-Star Game is scheduled for Citizens Bank Park. It suggested some fresh faces, some returning faces and a few year-over-year constants, with Ohtani a likely starter either at designated hitter or, based on the early pitching line, as the National League’s starting pitcher. Mike Trout was mentioned as a possible returning face in center field, while Kevin McGonigle was listed as a possible fresh face at shortstop. José Ramírez was described as having etched himself a Hall of Fame career, which only sharpened the contrast between established stars and the next wave.
Nico Hoerner fit that in-between space as one of the story’s quieter force multipliers. The two-time Gold Glover, who has never been an All-Star, hit.300/.376/.464 in April with a 139 wRC+, four home runs and 1.4 fWAR. His 3.9 defensive adjustment led everyone, a reminder that the best weeks are not always the loudest ones. The Cubs have long known what Hoerner brings. This month simply made it harder for anyone else to miss.
That is what the power rankings captured this week: a reshuffling at the top of the standings and a set of April performances that already look like more than a hot start. The Dodgers have lost the first-place spot, and the players making noise now are the ones likely to shape the next round of conversation when the All-Star selections land in July.