MLB power rankings: Red Sox come home with best pitching staff in baseball

Yeah, so maybe the Boston Red Sox didn’t need Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell or any other bold-faced name to augment their roster.

They’re coming home with the best pitching staff in baseball.

The Red Sox, consensus picks to finish last in the American League East, won seven of 10 games on a West Coast road trip and return to Boston for their Tuesday home opener with the hopeful feeling their young pitchers all took a step forward in 2024.

They certainly made the biggest leap in USA TODAY Sports’ MLB power rankings, rising nine spots to No. 10.

Boston easily leads the majors with a 1.49 ERA (Cleveland is second at 2.28), with the starting staff of Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, Kutter Crawford, Nick Pivetta and Tanner Houck combining for a 1.53 ERA, an apparently rousing endorsement of new pitching coach Andrew Bailey.

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They’ll now enjoy a 10-game homestand to build upon the early success.

A look at this week's rankings:

1. Atlanta Braves (-)

• Spencer Strider elbow woes an absolute gut punch.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto has yet to give up a run in the United States of America.

3. Texas Rangers (+3)

• Quietly outscoring opponents by more than two runs a game.

4. Baltimore Orioles (-1)

• Would help to borrow a run or two from Jackson Holliday's Class AAA Norfolk squad, which has scored in double digits in four of six games.

5. New York Yankees (+2)

• Marcus Stroman hasn't given up an earned run in 12 innings.

6. Philadelphia Phillies (-2)

• By their usual April standards, 4-5 ain't bad.

7. Arizona Diamondbacks (-)

• Geraldo Perdomo tears meniscus, Jordan Lawlar has thumb surgery, so it's Kevin Newman and Blaze Alexander at shortstop.

8. Cincinnati Reds (+5)

• Spencer Steer ranks third in OPS (1.313) and second with 12 RBIs.

9. Chicago Cubs (+8)

• Take a series off Dodgers and Shota Imanaga looks like the real deal.

10. Boston Red Sox (+9)

Tyler O'Neill's five homers tie Mookie Betts atop leaderboard.

11. Seattle Mariners (-2)

• Andres Munoz's ninth-inning meltdown not what the bullpen needed.

12. Milwaukee Brewers (+4)

• Colin Rea is basically Corbin Burnes, as we all assumed.

13. Cleveland Guardians (+5)

• For now, they have the pitching depth to overcome loss of Shane Bieber.

14. Toronto Blue Jays (-9)

• It's early, but ranking 22nd in runs, 24th in OPS confirming worst fears.

15. Tampa Bay Rays (-4)

• Ryan Pepiot strikes out 11, walks none in Coors Field tour de force.

16. Houston Astros (-4)

• Josh Hader has given up a run in four consecutive outings.

17. Pittsburgh Pirates (+5)

• Another awesome April. So what's next?

18. Minnesota Twins (-8)

• Looks like they finally have company up and down the AL Central.

19. San Diego Padres (-5)

• Jackson Merrill enjoys a four-hit game a couple weeks before 21st birthday.

20. Detroit Tigers (+1)

Offense looking a little suspect, once again.

21. San Francisco Giants (-6)

• After 10 games against Padres, Dodgers, schedule should provide opportunity.

22. Los Angeles Angels (-)

• Catcher Logan O'Hoppe batting .417 with 1.167 OPS.

23. Kansas City Royals (+4)

• Is this pitching staff for real?

24. St. Louis Cardinals (-4)

• Sonny Gray set for St. Louis debut Tuesday.

25. New York Mets (-2)

• 3-6 doesn't look so bad when you start 0-5.

26. Washington Nationals (-2)

• They run with wise abandon: 16 steals in 17 attempts, second in majors.

27. Miami Marlins (-1)

• 1-9 start, Eury Perez surgery looks like the prelude to a summer of misery.

28. Chicago White Sox (-)

• "We need to turn the corner soon," says Garrett Crochet. Grim words for early April.

29. Colorado Rockies (-)

• Not sure why fans would boo Kris Bryant, who simply accepted the money he was offered.

30. Oakland Athletics (-)

• Turns out John Fisher does have one friend - Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé.