Let Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge hog all the headlines and national TV slots. While they were going one-on-one in L.A., both were upstaged by a catcher in the Pacific Northwest.
Oh, Cal Raleigh won’t match those greats sublime overall offensive numbers soon. Yet Raleigh has now taken the major league lead by homering for the third consecutive game, his 23rd homer putting the Mariners in position to salvage a series win against Minnesota.
And he’s helping the Mariners tread water both in the American League West and USA TODAY Sports’ power rankings.
With the season just past the one-third mark, Raleigh is on pace to threaten Salvador Perez’s record for home runs by a primary catcher – 48, set in 2021. Raleigh was the first catcher to hit 20 home runs before the end of May.
Raleigh leads Seattle in every major offensive category save batting average, where his .264 average is second to J.P. Crawford’s .272. His 1.016 OPS trails only those Dodger-Yankee megastars – Judge, Freddie Freeman and Ohtani.
All the more important given the rail-thin margin the offensively-challenged Mariners operate. They won two games by walk-off this weekend and cling to a half-game lead over Houston in the West – thanks largely to their most unlikely MVP candidate.
A look at our updated rankings:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)
- If you’re scoring at home, that’s 15 pitchers now on the injured list.
2. Detroit Tigers (+1)
- That’s a six-game lead in an AL Central very much looking like Detroit and Everybody Else.
3. New York Mets (+1)
- Francisco Lindor clubs 261st home run, moves past Derek Jeter into third for homers by a shortstop.
4. Chicago Cubs (+1)
- Good vibes moderately dimmed by Kyle Tucker’s jammed ring finger.
5. Philadelphia Phillies (-3)
- Lose four of five after Bryce Harper sidelined following hit-by-pitch.
6. New York Yankees (-)
- Max Fried finally throws a clunker, in his hometown.
7. San Diego Padres (+1)
- Manny Machado (.308 average, .861 OPS) quietly having All-Star caliber season.
8. San Francisco Giants (-1)
- In losing four of five, produce just seven runs for hard-luck pitchers.
9. St. Louis Cardinals (-)
- Sonny Gray’s racked up six wins, nearly halfway to career-best 14.
10. Cleveland Guardians (-)
- Nolan Jones starting to put a grim 14-for-92 (.152) start behind him.
11. Seattle Mariners (-)
- Vaunted infield prospect Cole Young gets the call – and gets walk-off RBI in debut.
12. Houston Astros (+2)
- Yordan Alvarez was nearly back – until he wasn’t.
13. Minnesota Twins (-1)
- Matt Wallner hits a home run on his first swing since April 15.
14. Milwaukee Brewers (+5)
- They’ve won seven in a row as starting pitchers go 15 games without giving up more than three runs.
15. Toronto Blue Jays (+8)
- Addison Barger, who has homered in three consecutive games, may have finally arrived.
16. Kansas City Royals (-3)
- They’ve lost five of seven against Tigers.
17. Tampa Bay Rays (-2)
- No room for the moment for electric rookie Chandler Simpson, sent back to Class AAA.
18. Texas Rangers (+2)
- Marcus Semien is 8 for 14 (.571) with a 1.468 OPS batting eighth – and should soon earn a promotion.
19. Cincinnati Reds (-2)
- Alexis Díaz went from All-Star to traded as a minor leaguer in less than two years.
20. Boston Red Sox (-)
- Getting a little ridiculous we haven’t seen Roman Anthony at Fenway yet.
21. Atlanta Braves (-3)
- Go figure: They’ve lost eight of 11 since Spencer Strider returned, followed by Ronald Acuña Jr.
22. Arizona Diamondbacks (-6)
- Grim stuff: Snap a four-game losing streak but $215 million man Corbin Burnes exits with elbow discomfort.
23. Washington Nationals (-1)
- Wild road trip: Score seven runs in 10th inning and 10 runs in first inning.
24. Los Angeles Angels (+1)
- Mike Trout’s return can’t stop slide of seven losses in eight games.
25. Miami Marlins (+1)
- Cold game: Ronny Simon commits three errors, cries in dugout, gets designated for assignment.
26. Baltimore Orioles (+2)
- Gotta start somewhere: First sweep comes against White Sox.
27. Athletics (-3)
- Sixteen losses in 17 games, including 0-6 road trip that makes a Yolo County return look appealing.
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (-)
- Andrew McCutchen’s 240th homer as a Pirate ties him with Roberto Clemente.
29. Chicago White Sox (-)
- Top prospect Kyle Teel knocking on door with .885 OPS at Class AAA.
30. Colorado Rockies (-)
- They’re 9-50. Nine and fifty. Nueve y cincuenta…
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