You know what Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, Tommy Pham and Yandy Diaz have in common? They’re all making significant contributions on a first-place Rays team yet none were on Tampa’s roster this time last year.
Such is life for the ever-evolving Rays, who are building on last year’s 90-win season with a 10-3 start. They’re the biggest risers in this week’s power rankings, while Cleveland and the Cubs lose ground.
Inspired by Diaz, a previously-overlooked 27-year-old who now has three homers and a .946 OPS, this week’s power rankings present one trade per team that’s looming large early in 2019 (previous week’s rankings in parentheses)…
1 (1) 
Los Angeles Dodgers
By trading away Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers opened up playing time in their outfield. So far, the likes of Alex Verdugo (2 HR, 1.040 OPS) and Joc Pederson (4 HR, .972 OPS) are making the most of the opportunity.
2 (2) 
Houston Astros
Nearly two years after acquiring Justin Verlander, he still appears to be in peak form. Now 36, he’s still among the hardest throwing starters in the game. Since joining the Astros, he has a 2.45 ERA with seven times as many strikeouts as walks.
3 (4) 
New York Yankees
Three years ago, when the Yankees weren’t contending, they acquired Clint Frazier from Cleveland in the Andrew Miller trade. With Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks hurt, Frazier’s now getting the chance to start in New York.
4 (3) 
Boston Red Sox
On Tuesday, the Red Sox received their World Series rings. One of the deals that made their title possible? The June trade that sent minor-league infielder Santiago Espinal to Toronto for eventual World Series MVP Steve Pearce.
5 (5) 
Washington Nationals
A couple of weeks into his tenure with the Nationals, Yan Gomes has an .810 OPS from behind the plate. (Meanwhile, Cleveland’s catchers have a .607 OPS.)
6 (6) 
St. Louis Cardinals
Paul Goldschmidt already has six home runs, leading a deep Cardinals lineup that has yet to fully click. This is the kind of consistency St. Louis was counting on when they dealt three players and a pick to Arizona for Goldschmidt in December.
7 (7) 
Philadelphia Phillies
Back in 2014, the Phillies traded franchise icon Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers for an unknown pitching prospect. At the time, the move was bittersweet, but five years later Zach Eflin has a 0.75 ERA and 14 strikeouts compared to just one walk.
8 (9) 
Milwaukee Brewers
Remember when the Brewers acquired Christian Yelich for Lewis Brinson and three prospects? That deal continues to look like a heist for Milwaukee now that Yelich is backing up his MVP season with a 1.222 OPS.
9 (8) 
Chicago Cubs
Credit Jose Quintana for a great start Thursday, but he has never really pitched like a frontline starter on the north side of Chicago. Trading top pospect Eloy Jimenez to acquire him now looks like an overpay.
10 (10) 
Atlanta Braves
Ender Inciarte alone makes the infamous Shelby Miller trade a win for the Braves, but Dansby Swanson could make the deal even more lopsided. A dozen games in, the 25-year-old has a 1.155 OPS.
11 (16) 
Tampa Bay Rays
Not only does Yandy Diaz hit the ball exceptionally hard, he’s better than average at making contact. As he begins his age-27 season, he’s finally getting an extended chance to produce in the major-leagues.
12 (12) 
New York Mets
The Mets probably aren’t too worried about it just yet, but the players they sent to Seattle in the Robinson Cano blockbuster are off to strong starts. Anthony Swarzak has yet to allow a run and Jay Bruce has seven homers already. While Edwin Diaz has impressed in New York, Cano’s off to a slow start at the plate.
13 (11) 
Cleveland Indians
Instead of looking back, let’s look ahead at the seemingly inevitable Trevor Bauer trade. As a $13-million player, Bauer’s a luxury in Cleveland. Plus, he’ll get more expensive in 2020, his final year before free agency. Testing the open market clearly intrigues him, so it’s seemingly a question of when rather than if he’s traded. An off-season trade seems most logical, but could Cleveland get creative and trade him this summer while still trying to contend?
14 (15) 
Minnesota Twins
The Ryan Pressly trade still has to sting for the Twins. In 29 total innings since last summer’s deal, the reliever has a 0.62 ERA with 39 strikeouts compared to three walks. If the Twins knew what they had on their hands, they might not have traded him for minor-leaguers Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino.
15 (13) 
Oakland Athletics
In recent years, the Astros have won more trades than they’ve lost, but the November 2017 deal that saw the Athletics land Ramon Laureano continues to look one-sided. The 24-year-old combines exceptional speed and throwing ability in centre field.
16 (14) 
Los Angeles Angels
Sure, the Angels could use Sean Newcomb now, but the acquisition of Andrelton Simmons three off-seasons ago still stands up as one of the team’s best recent deals.
17 (19) 
Seattle Mariners
From the outside looking in, the Mariners didn’t seem particularly eager about adding Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion to their roster. Draft picks, cash and prospects were seemingly the Mariners’ primary targets in the deals that brought the two veterans to Seattle, but two weeks into the season Bruce and Encarnacion have combined for 11 home runs.
18 (17) 
San Diego Padres
Back in June of 2016 the Padres sent James Shields and cash to the White Sox for Fernando Tatis Jr., who is now showing why he’s one of the game’s top-ranked prospects in San Diego.
19 (18) 
Colorado Rockies
The Rays are rising on these rankings thanks in part to their skilled deal-making, but they’d like to have this one back. Before the 2016 season, the Rockies acquired German Marquez in a deal that sent Corey Dickerson to Tampa. Three years later, Marquez looks like a frontline starter.
20 (21) 
Pittsburgh Pirates
Austin Meadows has a 1.079 OPS and Tyler Glasnow has a 0.53 ERA, so unless Chris Archer can sustain his strong start, last summer’s trade with the Rays might tilt in Tampa’s favour.
21 (20) 
Cincinnati Reds
It’s not just Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig who are struggling. Tanner Roark has an ERA of 5.79 and Alex Wood’s on the IL. The Reds can’t afford to have Sonny Gray be their lone productive newcomer after an off-season of aggressive trades.
22 (22) 
Arizona Diamondbacks
Should Arizona have traded Didi Gregorius? Maybe not; he has averaged 3.3 WAR per season in New York. But Robbie Ray, the return in that deal, continues to generate strikeouts in bulk. He has whiffed 22 in 15.1 innings so far.
23 (23) 
Texas Rangers
Two summers ago, Willie Calhoun was enough to pry Yu Darvish away from the Rangers. At the time he was a top prospect with a .931 OPS at triple-A. Now, he’s still in triple-A after disappointing results at the MLB level and the Darvish return looks disappointing for Texas.
24 (26) 
Detroit Tigers
For the Tigers, the non-trade of Michael Fulmer looms as a missed opportunity for a rebuilding team. By the time Fulmer returns from Tommy John surgery sometime next year, the Tigers may have missed their best shot at converting the 2016 AL Rookie of the Year into prospects.
25 (24) 
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays have traded away all kinds of history in the last year, moving the likes of Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin, J.A. Happ, Kendrys Morales and Kevin Pillar in a series of high-profile trades. On a smaller scale, we’ve seen the Blue Jays’ trade activity lead to results in the majors. Two winters ago, the Blue Jays traded J.B Woodman for Aledmys Diaz. Last off-season, they flipped Diaz for Trent Thornton. That’s the kind of progression they need more of as their rebuild continues.
26 (25) 
San Francisco Giants
When the Giants acquired Evan Longoria, he had just completed a 3.4-WAR season with the Rays, but after a year-plus in San Francisco, Longoria has a below-average OPS+ of 83. The Giants owe him more than $60 million through at least 2022.
27 (28) 
Chicago White Sox
Last year, Yoan Moncada was a good but not great player while Chris Sale was a Cy Young candidate. This year, Moncada’s off to a great start while Sale’s allowing a run per inning. Could this be the year Chicago starts to benefit from the Sale-Moncada deal?
28 (27) 
Kansas City Royals
Any time you can get a big-league piece for a player to be named or cash, you’re coming out ahead. Two off-seasons ago, the Royals did just that, acquiring right-hander Brad Keller from the Reds. In 159.1 total innings with Kansas City, Keller has a 3.05 ERA.
29 (29) 
Miami Marlins
Just two years ago, the Marlins wanted pitching depth so badly that they traded Luis Castillo to the Reds for Dan Straily. Even at the time, Straily looked like a back-end starter. Now, he’s gone and the Marlins need young pitching. Meanwhile, Castillo could be in the midst of a breakout season in Cincinnati.
30 (30) 
Baltimore Orioles
When the Orioles acquired Jonathan Villar, he was scuffling so much that the contending Brewers were willing to let him go. Since then, he has returned to form, giving Baltimore a productive player in an otherwise pedestrian lineup.
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