MLB Power Rankings - May 18: Surging Cubs crack top 10; Blue Jays plummet to No. 21

1. St Louis Cardinals

It hasn't been easy finding a reliable replacement for injured right-hander Adam Wainwright, as Tyler Lyons and Tim Cooney have allowed 11 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings (6.46 ERA) since the 33-year-old ruptured his Achilles last month. Jaime Garcia could fix this problem, at least temporarily, before his shoulder inevitably explodes a few weeks from now.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

Yasiel Puig will be out for "a while" after aggravating his wonky hamstring on a rehab assignment? No matter. Among 11 teammates with at least 50 plate appearances this season, all but three boast an OPS above .848.

3. Washington Nationals

A.J. Cole will get a second chance to make an impression in Washington after Doug Fister landed on the disabled list Friday, providing another capable arm for a rotation that owns a solid 3.95 ERA this season - a figure that belies some outstanding peripheral numbers.

4. Kansas City Royals

Opponents might as well pack it in if they're trailing after seven innings because the Royals - well, really Wade Davis and Greg Holland - have fashioned a 1.45 ERA from the eighth inning onward, holding batters to a .179 average over the game's final few frames.

5. Detroit Tigers

Seemingly incensed that he didn't win a third-straight MVP award last summer, Miguel Cabrera seems determined to hit his way back into the voters' good graces. Over his last five games, the 32-year-old has clobbered four home runs while going 9-for-21 (.429), raising his 2015 OPS to 1.038.

6. Houston Astros

It's only a matter of time before Carlos Correa, the 20-year-old promoted to Triple-A last week, is plying his trade in Houston. Since the beginning of May, the club's shortstops have combined for 0.0 wins above replacement while hitting .254/.277/.381 with a 23.1 percent strikeout rate. (Not that it's kept the Astros from winning, though).

7. Chicago Cubs

It's odd this Bryant kid isn't getting more attention, because the 23-year-old rookie is hitting .327/.452/.633 over his last 14 games while crushing four home runs. Bryant is also on pace to become the first player to walk 100 times in his rookie season since 1950.

8. New York Yankees

Slumps expose weaknesses, and it's getting increasingly difficult to ignore the two gaping holes in the middle of the Yankees' infield. Didi Gregorius owns a 46 OPS+ in his first 34 games as New York's everyday shortstop, while second baseman Stephen Drew is hitting .169 with no home runs in his last 22 games.

9. New York Mets

Their tenuous division lead is just about gone, but with Noah Syndergaard now plying his trade in Queen's - the 22-year-old hurled six strong innings Sunday for his first career win - there's reason to believe New York's enviable rotation could lead the Mets to a wild-card spot.

10. Tampa Bay Rays

Apparently, it's not that tough replacing two really good starters - both Alex Cobb and Drew Smyly are done for the season - because the Rays have allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of their last 10 games.

11. Minnesota Twins

Following a miserable start to the season, Brian Dozier reaffirmed his status as Minnesota's best player by compiling a ridiculous .310/.394/.607 line with five home runs and three stolen bases in his last 21 games, leading the charge for the American League's fifth-strongest offense over the last month.

12. Los Angeles Angels

It doesn't really matter that the Angels aren't scoring many runs these days because the club's rotation continues to dominate, posting a 2.72 ERA with a 4.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio in May.

13. San Diego Padres

A.J. Preller earned countless plaudits this winter, but even he couldn't have predicted that the Padres would be surrendering more home runs per game (1.48) than all but one MLB team six weeks into the season. That HR/FB rate will stabilize over a larger sample, though.

14. Pittsburgh Pirates

Want to know why the Pirates are still below .500 despite having the tenth-best run differential in the majors and one of the most effective rotations in the National League? Ask Gregory Polanco.

15. San Francisco Giants

For a team with few household names in their lineup, the Giants haven't had any trouble generating runs of late. No team boasts a better batting average than the Giants (.299) this month, and Hunter Pence is 4-for-8 with a double and a walk since returning to the lineup Saturday after opening the season on the disabled list.

16. Chicago White Sox

With seven wins in their last eight games, the White Sox are quietly earning back some respect following a disastrous start to the season. An improved offense has fueled Chicago's recent turnaround, as the White Sox rank fourth in the AL with a .764 OPS over the last two weeks.

17. Seattle Mariners

Felix Hernandez took his first loss of the season Friday, when his control eluded him against the Red Sox. Still, if the Mariners want to contend, the 29-year-old might have to be darn near perfect. In games started by Hernandez, the Mariners are 7-1. Everybody else? 10-19.

18. Cincinnati Reds

Twenty scouts showed up to watch Johnny Cueto's most recent start, but his fellow starters deserve some recognition, as well. After all, they've managed to keep their collective ERA below 4.00 despite surrendering 1.37 homers per nine innings.

19. Boston Red Sox

Criticizing Boston's rotation at this point is like picking on Justin Bieber: it's just too easy. Instead, let's belabor the point that the Red Sox have been the second-worst offensive team in baseball this month after adjusting for league and park effects.

20. Baltimore Orioles

There isn't much going right in Baltimore these days. Averaging just 2.93 runs per game this month, the Orioles continue to scuffle offensively and haven't received much production from anyone besides Jimmy Paredes and Manny Machado of late.

21. Toronto Blue Jays

Even the most unflappable optimist would struggle to find something redeeming about the Blue Jays' pitching staff. Not only does Toronto own the worst FIP in the majors, but only one of the team's starters owns an ERA below 4.26. That starter, by the way, is Daniel Norris, who's currently plying his trade in Triple-A for the Buffalo Bisons.

22. Atlanta Braves

Shelby Miller leads the majors with a 1.33 ERA after hurling a shutout against the Miami Marlins on Sunday - he also came within one out of tossing a no-hitter, by the way - and continues to be a pleasant anomaly in an otherwise unimpressive Braves rotation.

23. Miami Marlins

So the Marlins brought general manager Dan Jennings down from the front office to replace manager Mike Redmond, fired after Sunday's listless performance against Shelby Miller. Though he has no managerial experience, Jennings can't really screw up too badly so long as his tactical philosophy endeavors to get Giancarlo Stanton to the plate as often as possible:

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

24. Texas Rangers

Amid substantial improvements from some of their most prominent players, the Rangers have actually managed more wins than losses this month. Both Shin-Soo Choo and Adrian Beltre have been particularly un-terrible of late, as the former boasts an 1.087 OPS in May while the latter is hitting .375 with three homers in his last eight games.

25. Arizona Diamondbacks

Archie Bradley struggled Saturday in his first start since taking a line drive off his face on April 28. His return should bolster a rotation that owns a 5.26 ERA while surrendering a whopping 1.60 home runs per nine innings this month.

26. Cleveland Indians

The Indians continue to insist top prospect Francisco Lindor needs more seasoning, but incumbent shortstop Jose Ramirez sure seems determined to lose his job. The 22-year-old owns a .188 on-base percentage over his last nine games and is one of the only players on the Indians who isn't hitting right now.

27. Oakland Athletics

The Athletics haven't won consecutive games since way back on April 13-14 and have earned just two victories in their last 12 contests at O.co Coliseum. Not to point fingers or anything, but Coco Crisp is just 2-for-40 (.050) this season and was bumped to No. 7 in the lineup Saturday for the first time since 2008.

28. Philadelphia Phillies

Carlos Ruiz characterized his team's performance in 2015 as "frustrating" last week, using the same word manager Ryne Sandberg employed (at least) three times Tuesday to describe the nascent stages of the season. Maybe sounding off provided some catharsis, though, because the Phillies have won five straight games, somehow.

29. Colorado Rockies

If Troy Tulowitzki is indeed traded in the near future, he'd better hope his new team isn't within walking distance of Colorado. The 30-year-old doesn't seem too found of walking these days, drawing just two free passes in 120 plate appearances while also posting his worst isolated power (.164) since 2008.

30. Milwaukee Brewers

"I got lucky," said Carlos Gomez after he escaped without a concussion despite being plunked in the helmet by a 97-mph fastball from Noah Syndergaard on Sunday. Gomez's remark prompted further evaluation, though, as the 29-year-old had obviously suffered memory loss and forgot he plays for the Milwaukee Brewers.