There was quite the interesting stat bouncing around last week. Through Tuesday, the combined run differential of four teams balanced out to zero with the combined run differential of the other 26 teams. Let's clarify that with the actual numbers:
At the time, the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees and Brewers were a combined +480 in run differential while the other 26 teams were a combined -480.
It's not going to remain exactly there, but it's a nice illustration of the dominance of these four teams compared to any of the other contenders. All four teams are at least +97 right now, while no other team is better than +21. It isn't like there are a bunch of teams worse than -100 dragging things down, either (the Rockies are the worst at -90). It's just a case of four utterly dominant teams at the top.
Though others have cracked the top four in Power Rankings multiple times this season, it is unsurprising now to see these four teams putting some distance between themselves and almost everyone else in the W-L column. Right now, the Yankees have the fourth-best record in baseball, but they are only two back from having the best record. In fifth are the Rays, who trail the Yankees by two games.
- We don't need to spend extra time on the two-time defending champs. We all knew they'd be here.
- The Braves were in their worst stretch of the season, having lost six of eight, before coming home to take down the mighty Brewers in a series. They're still on pace to win 102 games and that's at nearly the halfway point.
- The Yankees are currently without Aaron Judge and Max Fried, among others, and have won nine of their last 13.
- The Brewers haven't lost many series since late April but just dropped one in Atlanta. Still, it was against the Braves, on the road and those first two games truly could've gone either way before Milwaukee crushed them on Sunday.
Some might say this is a good way to judge which teams might win the World Series this season and, sure, these are far and away the teams with the best chance right now. The landscape can shift with more than half the season still remaining, though. Just look at how close the Blue Jays came last season. They had gotten hot by now, sure, and were 42-36 at this point, but they also still had a negative run differential.
Still, there appears to be a huge separation between the Big Four this time around. We'll hit the halfway mark this coming week with four juggernauts.
Biggest Movers 6 Blue Jays 7 Padres RkTeams ChgRcrd 1
Dodgers I know it's more about the money and that they've won two titles in a row, but it's funny to look back now at all the outcry triggered this past offseason by the Kyle Tucker signing. He's hitting .234/.331/.374 right now. -- 49-29 2 
Braves After 11 starts and a 1.97 ERA, I wondered if Bryce Elder would be able to stave off regression and remain a good starter all season. He's answered. Emphatically. After posting a 7.20 ERA in his next four starts, he got tattooed on Sunday by the Brewers to the tune of eight earned runs in the second inning. -- 48-28 3 
Brewers Even after a "bad" start (he's set a high bar, after all), Jacob Misiorowski is on pace for more than 300 strikeouts this season. No Brewers pitcher has ever come even close to that. The club record is 264 (Ben Sheets, 2004). -- 46-29 4 
Yankees Cam Schlittler's ERA through 16 starts is 1.71, the lowest mark for a Yankees pitcher through this many starts since Hall of Famer Whitey Ford in 1964. -- 46-30 5 
Rays Looking at measures like BaseRuns and run differential/Pythagorean record and we're to believe the Rays don't belong all that close to the Big Four. Their record says they are the closest team of the remaining 26. Let's see how long they can keep up this dance. -- 43-31 6 
Phillies Kyle Schwarber is now on pace for 61 home runs. -- 42-35 7 
Cardinals JJ Weltherholt homered in consecutive innings Sunday, prospect Joshua Baez had a four-homer game last week and looks ready, Jordan Walker is a beast, etc. This rebuild sure doesn't seem too painful, huh? 2 41-34 8 
Guardians The Guardians have yet to play the upstart White Sox, but face them seven times between Monday and July 6. Can they show them who runs the AL Central? -- 41-37 9 
Marlins They lost two to start the week, but responded with a four-game winning streak. The Marlins are now 14-4 in the month of June. 2 40-38 10 
White Sox I sang their praises last week due to going 4-1 vs. the Braves and Dodgers. One thing I neglected to cover was their increasingly drastic home/road splits. A true contender with staying power needs to be better on the road than 15-25. 3 39-37 11 
Nationals They've lost three of four and when that happens with a team that's been defying expectations like this, the concern is it's the start of an extended downturn. They come home now for a four-game series against the Phillies -- and the Nats are 16-22 at home this season. Gulp. 1 40-38 12 
Mariners I've given the Mariners passes for offensive woes in the past due to their extreme pitchers' park, and that environment remains really tough on hitters. Even in ballpark-adjusted stats, though, this isn't a good offense. On the six-game homestand they just finished against the Orioles and Red Sox, the Mariners scored 3, 3, 3, 2, 1, and 3 runs, respectively. Sure, the Red Sox rank 8th in MLB ERA, but the Orioles are 22nd. The home ballpark isn't working *that* hard. 2 40-39 13 
Blue Jays The Jays had an impressive week, going 4-1 despite, quite humorously, being outscored (look up Friday's score from Wrigley if you're curious). 6 38-39 14 
Cubs Pete Crow-Armstrong is on a monster heater. It goes back further, but just to illustrate the point, in June he's hitting .437 with four doubles, two triples, nine homers, 14 RBI, 14 runs and six steals in 17 games. He has positioned himself as one of the most valuable players in all of baseball. He could sure use a lot better play from his teammates, though. 3 40-37 15 
Pirates Quite a bounce-back season for Bryan Reynolds. He was a below-average hitter last season and right now he ranks 16th in the majors in OPS. 1 39-39 16 
Athletics Inconsistent yet exciting? Check. Fringe playoff contender? Check! Hey, sometimes my preseason thoughts are spot on. -- 38-40 17 
Twins This is a very impressive surge by the Twins. They won two of three from the Cardinals at home then went on the road and swept the Rangers before taking two of three in Arizona. They are now just one game out of a playoff spot. 6 38-41 18 
Diamondbacks The placement of Ryne Nelson and Michael Soroka to the injured list -- where Corbin Burnes has been since last season -- has done a number on the rotation depth. Kudos to rookie Jose Cabrera for his five scoreless-inning MLB debut on Sunday. -- 39-38 19 
Rangers Since returning from injury, Wyatt Langford is 19 for 60 (.317) with five doubles and four home runs. He's still only 24 years old, so this could be what him figuring it out at the big-league level looks like. 4 37-40 20 
Padres The Padres have only won eight of their last 25 games. Yet they're still only a half-game out of a playoff spot. Welcome to the three wild card era. 7 39-37 21 
Reds They've been a pretty bad team since the start of May but, due to the state of the playoff races, are right within striking range. Going 4-2 with a pair of series wins against the New York teams this past week could've been the start of a bounce-back. And Elly De La Cruz's return is imminent. -- 37-39 22 
Orioles That was an impressive series win in Dodger Stadium over the weekend. The Orioles now have a chance to build some momentum, as they get the hapless Angels on the road before returning home to face the Nationals (a tough road team, to be clear, but it's possible they are hitting a downturn) and the Road White Sox. 2 37-42 23 
Astros The Astros have won four of five and are close enough to take over a playoff spot within the next week. 1 37-42 24 
Tigers The clock is ticking here to look like contenders before the trade deadline, but the Tigers are 11-6 this month and Tarik Skubal will be full-go next time out. There's a chance here. 1 33-44 25 
Mets You know, they are technically still close enough to became a legit playoff contender with just one hot streak and Francisco Lindor returns to the lineup any day now. 3 34-43 26 
Royals Last week I mentioned that Jac Caglianone was figuring things out and it sure appears to be the case. This time around, let's highlight another promising youngster in Carter Jensen. He now has a 12-game hitting streak and has raised his OPS from .657 to .749 in that span. -- 32-46 27 
Red Sox I mentioned the Red Sox home woes last week and then they went out and lost three more -- without a win -- before heading out to the road. They are a pathetic 12-25 in Fenway Park. This means they play like a 110-loss team at home. They were a playoff team last year. -- 31-44 28 
Angels The Mike Trout injury news felt pretty devastating. For us, I mean. Not having him playing in the Philadelphia All-Star Game would be such a bummer. -- 32-47 29 
Giants I'm rooting for Luis Arraez to get traded again. That would put him on his fifth team in five seasons. Not that he could match five teams in three seasons from Kenny Lofton (2001-03), but it would still be fun. And, sure, lots of fringe roster types jump around a ton, but we're talking here about a three-time All-Star and three-time batting champ. -- 31-46 30 
Rockies They're on pace to win 19 more games than last season. That would still leave them 62-100. I always say baby steps are still steps but that's actually a huge leap forward. -- 30-48 Add CBS Sports on Google Join the Conversation comments 
