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A large majority of Americans70 percent, according to the latest Gallup pollsupport marijuana legalization, and that sentiment is especially strong among younger voters. Gallup found that 79 percent of 18-to-34-year-olds thought marijuana should be legal, compared to 64 percent of adults 55 or older. Similarly, a Pew Research Center survey found that support for legalization was inversely correlated with age. It therefore makes sense that President Joe Biden, who has generated little enthusiasm among Americans of any age group, would try to motivate young voters by touting his support for “marijuana reform.”

The problem for Biden, a longtime drug warrior who is now presenting himself as a reformer, is that his position on marijuana falls far short of repealing federal prohibition, which is what most Americans say they want. His outreach attempts have clumsily obfuscated that point, as illustrated by a video that Vice President Kamala Harris posted on X (formerly Twitter) earlier this month.

“In 2020,” Harris writes in her introduction, “young voters turned out in record numbers to make a difference. Let’s do it again in 2024.” The video highlights “the largest investment in climate action in history,” cancellation of “$132 billion in student debt,” “the first major gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years,” and $7 billion in subsidies for historically black colleges and universities. Then Harris says this: “We changed federal marijuana policy, because nobody should have to go to jail just for smoking weed.” That gloss is misleading in several ways.

Biden has not actually “changed federal marijuana policy.” His two big moves in this area were a mass pardon for people convicted of simple possession under federal law and a directive that may soon result in moving marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, a category supposedly reserved for drugs with a high abuse potential and no recognized medical use that cannot be used safely even under a doctor’s supervision, to Schedule III, which includes prescription drugs such as ketamine, Tylenol with codeine, and anabolic steroids.

Although Harris, echoing Biden, says “nobody should have to go to jail just for smoking weed,” that rarely happens. Biden’s pardons, which excluded people convicted of growing or distributing marijuana, did not free a single prisoner, and they applied to a tiny fraction of possession cases, which are typically prosecuted under state law.

When he announced the pardons in October 2022, Biden noted that “criminal records for marijuana possession” create “needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities.” But his pardons do not remove those barriers. They do not entail expungement of marijuana records, which is currently not possible under federal law. The certificates that pardon recipients can obtain might carry weight with landlords or employers, but there is no guarantee of that.

Biden’s pardons also did not change federal law, which still treats simple marijuana possession as a misdemeanor punishable by a minimum $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. So people can still be arrested for marijuana possession under federal law, even if they are unlikely to serve time for that offense (which would be true with or without Biden’s pardons). The pardons that Biden announced on October 6, 2022, appliedonly to offenses committed “on or before the date of this proclamation.” When he expanded those pardons on December 22, 2023, that became the new cutoff.

Marijuana use still can disqualify people from federal housing and food assistance. Under immigration law, marijuana convictions are still a bar to admission, legal residence, and citizenship. And cannabis consumers, even if they live in states that have legalized marijuana, are still prohibited from possessing firearms under 18 USC 922(g)(3), which applies to any “unlawful user” of a “controlled substance.”

The Biden administration has stubbornly defended that last policy against Second Amendment challenges in federal court, where government lawyers have likened cannabis consumers to dangerous criminalsand “lunatics.” Worse, Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, which increased the maximum prison sentence for marijuana users who own guns from 10 years to 15 years and created a new potential charge against them, which likewise can be punished by up to 15 years behind bars. This is the very same law that Harris touts as “the first major gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years.”

Biden, in short, has neither “decriminalize[d] the use of marijuana” nor “automatically expunge[d] all marijuana use convictions,” as Harris promised on the campaign trail. Both of those steps would require congressional action that Biden has done little to promote.

What about rescheduling? A recent poll commissioned by the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform,Marijuana Moment reports, found that “voters’ impression of the president jumped a net 11 points” after they were informed about “the implications of the rescheduling review that the president initiated.” That included “an 11-point favorability swing among young voters 18-25,” who “will be critical to his reelection bid.”

But let’s not get too excited.Since rescheduling has not happened yet, it is not true that Biden “changed federal marijuana policy” in this area either. And assuming that the Drug Enforcement Administration moves marijuana to Schedule III, as the Department of Health and Human Services recommended last August in response to Biden’s directive, the practical impact would be limited. Rescheduling would facilitate medical research, and it would allow state-licensed marijuana suppliers to deduct business expenses when they file their federal tax returns, which is currently prohibited under Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code.

Even after rescheduling, however, marijuana businesses would remain criminal enterprises under federal law, which makes it hard for them to obtain financial services and exposes them to the risk of prosecution and asset forfeiture. For businesses that serve recreational consumers, prosecutorial discretion is the only protection against that risk. Cannabis consumers would still have no legally recognized right to own guns, and people who work in the cannabis industry would still face other disabilities under federal law, including life-disrupting consequences for immigrants. Rescheduling would not even make marijuana legally available as a prescription medicine, which would require approval of specific products by the Food and Drug Administration.

In response to overwhelming public support for marijuana legalization, in other words, Biden has made modest moves that leave federal prohibition essentially untouched. While he does not have the authority to unilaterally deschedule marijuana, he cannot even bring himself to support legislation that would do that. Why not?

During the 2020 campaign, Biden echoed seven decades of anti-pot propaganda, saying he was worried that marijuana might be a “gateway” to other, more dangerous drugs. “The truth of the matter is, there’s not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug,” he said. “It’s a debate, and I want a lot more before I legalize it nationally. I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it….It is not irrational to do more scientific investigation to determine, which we have not done significantly enough, whether or not there are any things that relate to whether it’s a gateway drug or not.”

After Biden took office, his press secretary confirmed that his thinking had not changed. “He spoke about this on the campaign,” she said. “He believes in decriminalizing the use of marijuana, but his position has not changed.”

Biden’s rationale for opposing legalization is the same line of argument that Harry J. Anslinger, who headed the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962, began pushing in the early 1950s after retreating from his oft-reiterated claim that marijuana causes murderous madness. “Over 50 percent of those oung [heroin] addicts started on marijuana smoking,” hetolda congressional committee in 1951. “They started there and graduated to heroin; they took the needle when the thrill of marijuana was gone.”

Anslinger reiterated that point four years later, when he testified in favor of stricter penalties for marijuana offenses. “While we are discussing marijuana,” a senator said, “the real danger there is that the use of marijuana leads many people eventually to the use of heroin.” Anslingeragreed: “That is the great problem and our great concern about the use of marijuana, that eventually if used over a long period, it does lead to heroin addiction.”

Since then, a great deal of research has examined this issue, which is complicated by confounding variables that make the distinction between correlation and causation elusive. Biden nevertheless thinks “more scientific investigation” will reach a definitive conclusion. If he won’t support legalization until we know for sure whether marijuana is a “gateway drug,” he will never support legalization.

The supposedly reformed drug warrior’s intransigence on this issue poses an obvious challenge for Harris, a belated legalization supporter who is trying to persuade voters who take the same view that Biden is simpatico. Marijuana Moment reports that Harris’ staff recently has been reaching out to marijuana pardon recipients, “seeking assurance that the Justice Department certification process is going smoothly and engaging in broader discussions about cannabis policy reform.”

According to Chris Goldstein, a marijuana activist who was pardoned for a 2014 possession conviction, the vice president’s people get it. Goldstein was “surprised by how up to speed and nice everybody was,” he told Marijuana Moment. “Her staff really did know the difference between rescheduling [and] descheduling, and they were interested to talk about it.”

No doubt Biden also understands the difference. The problem is that he supports the former but not the latter, which he rejects for Anslinger-esque reasons. Cheery campaign videos cannot disguise that reality.

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Entertainment

Fight like a girl? Ana de Armas on twisting phrase for a new meaning

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June 6, 2025

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Fight like a girl? Ana de Armas on twisting phrase for a new meaning

More often than not, the inclusion of women in an action film is shaped by the male gaze, the tropes, the stereotypical backstory and/or the unnecessary physique-revealing scenes connected to it.

“That’s a pet peeve of mine,” director Len Wiseman tells Sky News in an interview for his new John Wick spin-off starring Ana de Armas.

“I think a lot of times you see it’s overly sexualized or there’s not a realism to it, and it is important to me that [this was] approached from a female [perspective] that can be labelled: ‘A woman is strong to begin with’. I think there can be some kind of pandering in certain ways that I think is too far.”

Wiseman started his career with the female-led action film franchise Underworld starring his former partner Kate Beckinsale before directing Die Hard 4.0, Total Recall and Sleepy Hollow.

From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina serves as a spin-off to the John Wick films and is set between the events of the third and fourth movies.

It follows a young trainee assassin who looks to be the next world-renowned assassin in the film universe.

“We never wanted to go as far as Eve looking like we were doing a female John Wick. Eve is Eve and is a woman… and it’s a woman in a man’s world,” says de Armas.

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“That phrase ‘fight like a girl’, we wanted that to come across as something really empowering and really pull from there. That is a motivation for her. That has been said before in a derogatory way or as something diminishing.”

Ana de Armas as Eve and Robert Masser as Dex in Ballerina.
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De Armas insists she didn’t want to be a ‘female John Wick’. Pic: Murray Close/Lionsgate

Wiseman and de Armas both say that while they wanted Eve to be strong, they also wanted her to feel every moment of the battle. If there are choreographed fight scenes or flashy action moves, she feels them.

“I wanted her to struggle,” explains de Armas, detailing how she consistently asked for her to look more dishevelled as the film progresses.

“It didn’t come from a place of I need to prove myself, I don’t need to prove myself to anybody, but I wanted to do that from the moment we started talking about the script, we even brought on board a female writer, because it was important for me to have that.”

De Armas, similar to her soon-to-be co-star Tom Cruise, relished in undertaking the more difficult stunts and wore the bruises and marks from them like badges of honour.

Ana de Armas as Eve in Ballerina
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Playing Eve involved stunts and even some bruises. Pic: Larry D Horricks/Lionsgate

The actress would even send photos of the markings the following day to Wiseman proudly as she jokes: “I just wanted to keep him posted, you know, on how my body was at the end of the day.”

The film was shot practically, with the explosions and countless action surprises for film fans happening on set repeatedly.

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When asked about her toughest stunt to execute, without hesitation, she mentions a scene which included prop grenades.

“All the debris and everything that was flying with those grenades were real, so most of the dust and the little things flying were getting in my eyes, and I just could not open my eyes during the scene. So in between takes, the medics were like just rinsing my eyes with some water.”

With a film set around changing the meaning of ‘fight like a girl’, de Armas says she has a clear definition of it now: “Be yourself and make people gravitate around you and your rules. You make your own rules.”

From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina is in cinemas now.

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Business

Musk says Trump appears in Epstein files and $150bn wiped off Tesla’s value as row between them explodes

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June 6, 2025

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Musk says Trump appears in Epstein files as row between them explodes

Elon Musk says Donald Trump appears in files relating to the disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

It’s the latest in a string of barbs between the men as they appear to have dramatically fallen out in a public spat.

In a post on X, the tech billionaire said: “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.

“Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”

Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida with Jeffrey Epstein in 1997. Pic: Getty Images
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Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida with Jeffrey Epstein in 1997. Pic: Getty Images

He gave no evidence for the claim. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the comment.

In a statement, she said: “This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill [a Republican tax and spending bill] because it does not include the policies he wanted.

“The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.”

Epstein killed himself in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors.

Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP
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Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP

Read more:
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January 2024: Epstein list – Who is named in unsealed documents?

Trump in previously released Epstein documents

Donald Trump has been named in previously released documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein.

One Epstein accuser in 2016 said she spent several hours with the disgraced financier at a Trump casino but she did not say if she met Mr Trump and did not accuse him of any wrongdoing.

Mr Trump once said he believed Epstein was a “terrific guy” but that they later fell out.

The latest claims by Musk about the Epstein files tap into conspiracy theories that sensitive files the government possesses have not yet been released.

In another post on Thursday, Musk, the owner of social media platform X, attacked Mr Trump’s tariffs, saying they “will cause a recession in the second half of this year.”

The Tesla boss shared a post calling for Mr Trump’s impeachment and asked whether it was “time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle”.

Musk also said his company SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft “immediately” following Mr Trump’s threats to cancel government contracts with Musk’s businesses.

Dragon is the only US spacecraft available to deliver crew to and from the International Space Station.

The spat has already hit Tesla shares, which lost about $150bn (£111bn) in value, closing down 14.3% for the day.

President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk talk with to reporters near Tesla vehicles on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Washington. (Pool via AP)
Image:
President Trump has responded to Musk’s criticisms about his signature tax bill. Pic: AP.

It comes after the president said he was “disappointed” with Musk after the entrepreneur publicly criticised Mr Trump‘s signature tax bill.

The president suggested his former backer and adviser missed being in government and has “Trump derangement syndrome”.

He added: “I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”

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Footage shows Trump and Epstein in 1992

In a Truth Social post, the US president said: “Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went crazy!”.

On Tuesday, the world’s richest man called the president’s tax and spending bill “outrageous” and a “disgusting abomination” – days after abruptly leaving his position spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The bill, which includes multi-trillion-dollar tax breaks, was passed by the House Republicans in May and has been described by the president as a “big, beautiful bill”. By contrast, Musk has called it the “big, ugly bill”.

FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk listens to U.S. President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 11, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
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Musk claimed responsibility for Mr Trump’s election success. Pic: Reuters.

Shortly after the president expressed his disappointment in Musk on Thursday, the SpaceX boss responded.

“False”, he wrote on his X platform.

“This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!”

In another scathing post on X, Musk claimed responsibility for Donald Trump’s re-election success.

He wrote: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”

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Why doesn’t Musk like Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’?

It came after Mr Trump told reporters the Tesla chief executive was unimpressed electric vehicle incentives were being debated in the Senate and could face being cut.

Read more on Sky News:
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Last Thursday, Musk revealed on X that his scheduled time as a “special government employee” was coming to an end.

Before the news broke, Musk’s father told Sky News his son was “not a very good politician”.

But speaking to Gillian Joseph on The World, Errol Musk insisted there was “no rift between Elon and Donald Trump”.

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Sports

MLB Power Rankings: Are the Dodgers or Tigers No. 1 this week?

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2 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

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MLB Power Rankings: Are the Dodgers or Tigers No. 1 this week?

Jun 5, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

Here comes the American League!

The Detroit Tigers have retaken the No. 1 spot and are one of four AL teams in the top 10 in Week 10 alongside the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros — who cracked the top 10 for the first time this season.

The National League is still well-represented at the top of our list, with the usual powerhouses battling Detroit for first place.

Meanwhile, a number of clubs have continued their fall down our rankings this week, including the Boston Red Sox dropping to No. 22 and the Arizona Diamondbacks to No. 19, with each at its lowest ranking of 2025. Will they be able to overcome their struggles and bounce back?

Our expert panel has ranked every team based on a combination of what we’ve seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Jesse Rogers, Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 9 | Preseason rankings

Record: 41-22
Previous ranking: 2

After serving up four home runs to the Rangers on May 10 and seeing his ERA rise to 4.61, Jack Flaherty has reeled off a 2.22 ERA over his past four starts. He is looking much more like the pitcher the Tigers had in the first half of 2024 before they traded him to the Dodgers then re-signed him as a free agent over the winter. In three of those four recent games, Flaherty threw his fastball just over 50% of the time, which he hadn’t done in any of his first eight starts. The Tigers also received consecutive scoreless starts from Keider Montero filling in for the injured Reese Olson. This rotation isn’t just Tarik Skubal. — Schoenfield

Record: 37-25
Previous ranking: 3

The Dodgers’ offense has kept L.A. in its familiar first-place perch despite widespread pitching struggles. The attack might be getting even more potent thanks to the sudden resurgence of Max Muncy, perhaps baseball’s hottest hitter. Muncy capped a seven-game stretch in which he hit .409/.500/1.227 with a game-tying homer in Tuesday’s dramatic extra-inning win over the Mets. It was Muncy’s sixth long ball of that stretch, during which he lifted his season OPS from .653 to .781. For the season, Muncy has a .945 OPS at Dodger Stadium, but an anemic .593 mark on the road. — Doolittle

Record: 39-23
Previous ranking: 6

Ronny Mauricio is back in the big leagues. The former top prospect debuted with the Mets in September 2023, but he tore an ACL in winter ball then had a second surgery last summer, ultimately missing the entire 2024 season. After hitting .515 with three home runs in nine games in Triple-A this year, the Mets called him up to replace the injured Mark Vientos on the roster. He went 0-for-4 on Tuesday while playing third base. The switch-hitter could get time at third, second and DH, although the Mets do have Brett Baty, Jeff McNeil and Luisangel Acuña capable of playing the infield, as well. — Schoenfield

Record: 37-23
Previous ranking: 4

Take 2 for Devin Williams. The Yankees righty is back in his closing role after Luke Weaver went down with a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for four to six weeks. Will Williams be better this time around? The Yankees think so after he had a decent run as a middle man. He hadn’t given up a run in 10 of his previous 11 appearances before returning to the closer job. Just as important, Williams walked only one hitter during that time frame while striking out 15. His first test back at closer came on Tuesday. And while he passed — New York beat Cleveland 3-2 — he did give up a run in the ninth. So, stay tuned. — Rogers

Record: 37-24
Previous ranking: 1

After a hot stretch against the Pirates, Rockies, A’s and Braves that saw the Phillies win 11 of 12 games, Philadelphia got swept at home by the Brewers over the weekend, losing the three games by a combined score of 28-11. Jesus Luzardo allowed 12 hits and 12 runs in a 17-7 loss, seeing his ERA climb from 2.15 to 3.58. He became just the 12th pitcher in MLB history to allow as many as 12 runs while pitching 3⅓ innings or fewer. On the bright side, while Ranger Suarez allowed seven runs in his 2025 debut, he has since had three scoreless starts in five appearances (although he picked up a no-decision in a 5-2 loss to Milwaukee as the bullpen blew a 2-1 lead). — Schoenfield

Record: 38-23
Previous ranking: 5

The Cubs are managing just fine without Shota Imanaga (hamstring) and Justin Steele (elbow), but they probably will look to augment their staff via trade come July. Chicago got a huge outing from second-year player Ben Brown over the weekend when he threw six shutout innings against the Reds, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out nine. It came after the team used lefty Drew Pomeranz as an opener. That trend could continue, as Brown is a two-pitch pitcher who has trouble going through a lineup three times and sometimes gets into first-inning trouble. An opener addresses both issues. — Rogers

Record: 35-25
Previous ranking: 7

As the Padres keep trying to patch up their hole-riddled lineup, Manny Machado continues to put up All-Star numbers in his 14th season. Machado has never hit .300 in a full season (he hit .304 in the shortened 2020 campaign), but he might get there this year as he suddenly has become a line-drive force. He is striking out less than at any time since 2021, yet his average exit velocity is the highest it’s been during that span. Machado is 32, but he shows every sign of graceful aging as he approaches the 2,000-hit milestone for his likely Hall-of-Fame career. — Doolittle

Record: 32-28
Previous ranking: 8

Seattle slipped behind Houston in the AL West since we last convened, but the news out of the Great Northwest is getting brighter. Starter Bryce Miller was activated from the injured list after a three-week stay. Even better, Logan Gilbert was slated for a second rehab start as his recovery from a balky elbow nears completion. If Gilbert is activated soon, the Mariners’ projected five-man rotation — Miller, Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo and Bryan Woo — will be intact for the first time all season. That Seattle spent so much time in first place despite that fact could portend a happy summer for Mariners fans. — Doolittle

Record: 34-28
Previous ranking: 9

The Giants have slid in the standings and the win-loss column of late, as their robust pitching staff hasn’t been able to carry an increasingly foundering offense. With Wilmer Flores, Mike Yastrzemski and Jung Hoo Lee all slowing after good starts, first-year general manager Buster Posey has started to shuffle the roster, most notably designating LaMonte Wade Jr. for assignment. In the minors, top prospect Bryce Eldridge was moved from Double-A to Triple-A, so perhaps he could help later in the season. For all the shuffling, the key remains free-agent splash Willy Adames, who continues to labor with a sub-80 OPS+. — Doolittle

Record: 33-28
Previous ranking: 12

The Astros returned to the top of the AL West for the first time since the initial few days of the campaign. They accomplished this despite an ongoing plague of pitching injuries and the lingering unavailability of star slugger Yordan Alvarez. Perhaps the biggest reason for the Astros’ ability to remain afloat has been shortstop Jeremy Peña‘s emergence into a top-10 overall player in the AL. The 27-year-old has morphed from a high-strikeout, low-walk power threat to a complete package at the dish. Peña has slashed his whiff rate to elite levels, losing no power in the process while continuing to shine on defense. — Doolittle

Record: 33-27
Previous ranking: 10

The Cardinals are holding steady in the NL wild-card race despite an up-and-down week. But the question continues to linger in St. Louis: Can the Cardinals stay in the race long enough to convince the front office not to trade away their pending free agents? Inside the clubhouse, undoubtedly that answer is yes. It might get to the point that outgoing top decision-maker John Mozeliak decides to add. Why not take one more kick at the can? — Rogers

Record: 34-27
Previous ranking: 11

Chris Paddack is turning into one of the pleasant surprises of 2025. After the Twins acquired him from the Padres in 2022, he underwent Tommy John surgery after just five starts, wiping out nearly two full seasons. He had a 4.99 ERA last year in 17 starts, allowing a .283 average. He allowed nine runs in his first start this year, but he has posted a 2.47 ERA since then. He then enjoyed his best outing of the season on Sunday in Seattle, allowing one run in eight innings with 10 strikeouts while throwing 110 pitches (although he came away with a no-decision in a 2-1 loss). — Schoenfield

Record: 34-29
Previous ranking: 20

Finally. The Brewers are showing some life. An eight-game win streak that ended Tuesday night vaulted them into the playoff picture. Their offensive surge has been led by Christian Yelich — who hit .414 with a 1.1313 OPS during the win streak — but he’s not the only one doing damage. Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick also had big weeks, contributing to a sweep in Philadelphia for the team’s signature series win so far this season. — Rogers

Record: 33-27
Previous ranking: 14

Jose Ramirez has been on extended hot streak. He had a 21-game hitting streak in May that included 11 multihit outings. After a hitless game on Friday, he followed with three straight two-hit games, raising his average to .330. Ramirez last hit .300 back in 2017, and his current OPS+ would be the second highest of his career, behind only the shortened 2020 season. He might not approach a 40/40 season like last year, when he fell one home run short, but he could be headed for a third 30/30 campaign. He should be the easy All-Star starter at third base for his fourth start in the Midsummer Classic and seventh selection. — Schoenfield

Record: 30-29
Previous ranking: 16

Junior Caminero is heating up, hitting .400 over a 10-game stretch that ended Tuesday. He hit five home runs and drove in a whopping 17 runs during that span, including a two-homer game against Houston over the weekend. He added another blast in Tuesday’s victory over Texas. He has been all over fastballs lately, hitting .292 on the season against them. His bat has helped push the Rays past .500 and back into the AL playoff race. — Rogers

Record: 27-33
Previous ranking: 15

Ronald Acuña Jr. has been terrific in his return from knee surgery, hitting .341/.413/.610 with three home runs in his first 11 games back. But the Braves also need a lift from Spencer Strider — and he hasn’t delivered it just yet. Strider made one start in April in his return from Tommy John surgery, but a hamstring injury caused him to miss a month. In three starts since coming off the IL, he has allowed 10 runs in 14 innings while walking seven batters and hitting three. He also served up three home runs in a loss to Arizona on Tuesday. It hasn’t helped that the lineup continues to scuffle, scoring just one run in each of two losses to the Red Sox. — Schoenfield

Record: 32-29
Previous ranking: 17

After tearing through Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .322 with 15 home runs in 50 games, Jac Caglianone made his highly anticipated MLB debut on Tuesday, going 0-for-5 in a 10-7 win over St. Louis. He hit sixth and served as the DH (after beginning to see some outfield reps in the minors). Despite the hitless outing, Caglianone showed off his potential, as he had four hard-hit balls of 95-plus mph. Three of those were groundouts, and one was a drive into right-center in his first at-bat that Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II made a fine running catch on. — Schoenfield

Record: 32-29
Previous ranking: 22

Toronto’s offense came to play against the A’s during a four-game sweep last week. The Blue Jays totaled 39 runs, led by Addison Barger, Bo Bichette and George Springer. Each had three home runs during Toronto’s five-game win streak, which ended on Tuesday in a loss to the Phillies. Thanks to the series against the pitching-challenged A’s, Toronto boasted the highest OPS of any team last week. The question is whether it can continue against better opponents. That hasn’t always been the case this season for the Jays; see Tuesday’s 8-3 loss to the Phillies as evidence. — Rogers

Record: 30-31
Previous ranking: 13

The Diamondbacks appeared to be most likely to challenge the Dodgers in the NL West. That could still happen. But for now, Arizona might challenge L.A. for the title of most disappointing starting rotation, at least among expected contenders. Arizona’s 23rd-ranked rotation ERA is bad enough. Then came this zinger: Ace Corbin Burnes, he of the $210 million contract, is on the IL with an elbow problem, the specific diagnosis of which has initially proved to be elusive. Not great. — Doolittle

Record: 29-33
Previous ranking: 21

The Rangers’ up-and-down start to the season has left them almost precisely mediocre, which isn’t exactly what they were shooting for. It has felt like every positive development that’s happened for Texas since Opening Day has been accompanied by an equivalent gut punch. The pattern continued last week, when Marcus Semien showed signs of catching fire after foundering the first two months as one of baseball’s least productive hitters. Alas, ace Nathan Eovaldi hit the IL with triceps fatigue, weakening a rotation big three (Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle) that has kept Texas in the realm of contention. And so on it goes. — Doolittle

Record: 30-33
Previous ranking: 19

TJ Friedl has given the Reds a needed boost at the plate, collecting 10 multihit games since May 19. The 29-year-old outfielder is having a resurgent season after seeing his OPS drop below .700 last year. This year, he has hit more in line with his 2023 campaign, when he smacked 18 home runs and compiled a .352 on-base percentage. He is showing a little less power than two years ago, but his on-base has shot up over .380, and he is hitting over .360 off fastballs. — Rogers

Record: 30-34
Previous ranking: 18

The Red Sox’s offense looks pedestrian without Alex Bregman, who’s been out with a right quad injury since late last month. The team ranks in the bottom third in run scoring during that time frame. Wilyer Abreu and Trevor Story have struggled the most, striking out about six times more than they’ve walked over the past half-month. That’s a recipe for some ugly at-bats. Fortunately, Rafael Devers has picked up the slack, averaging more than an RBI per game during Bregman’s absence. But Boston needs someone else to step up, as Bregman is going to be out for a while. Boston’s record as of late reflects its struggles. — Rogers

Record: 29-32
Previous ranking: 24

The Nationals had a nice road trip, winning two of three in Seattle and in Phoenix as the offense exploded for at least nine runs in four consecutive games. The highlights included a seven-run 10th inning against the Mariners and a 10-run first inning against the Diamondbacks in which the first 11 batters all reached base and five doubles were tallied. During the latter contest, the Nats scored nine runs before an out was recorded, the second most in a first inning since 1961. (The Red Sox scored 10 against the Marlins in 2003.) Luis Garcia had eight hits and six RBIs over the four outings, while the red-hot James Wood homered twice and drove in seven runs. — Schoenfield

Record: 28-33
Previous ranking: 23

The Angels have played the most road games in the majors, which has made their roller-coaster (but encouraging) start that much more impressive. Even better, they’ve played well away from Anaheim, generally remaining on the happy side of .500. The upside of such a road-heavy slate is that, by definition, the rest of their schedule will be MLB’s most home-heavy. For the Angels to take advantage, though, they need to actually start holding down the fort at the Big A, where they’ve gone 10-15. The hitters rank 5th in scoring on the road but 30th at home. That needs to change — Doolittle

Record: 24-36
Previous ranking: 27

Could a weekend sweep of an AL opponent mean the Orioles are back? Not likely, when you consider it was the lowly White Sox who failed to win a game in Baltimore. Even in taking the trio of games, the O’s only scored nine runs; but at least they pitched well, something that has eluded them for most of the season. That carried over to a 5-1 win at Seattle on Tuesday. Charlie Morton also has had a couple of good outings in a row that have led to wins. Perhaps he can right the ship enough to get traded, since it’s still a huge long shot for Baltimore to get back into the playoff race. — Rogers

Record: 23-39
Previous ranking: 28

OK, time for that annual exercise: Who on the Pirates can be unloaded to help other teams come trade season? Veteran infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa comes to mind. Andrew McCutchen, Tommy Pham, Adam Frazier and Andrew Heaney too. In other words, just about anyone this side of Paul Skenes can be had. If the Pirates can acquire even one hitting prospect to pair with Oneil Cruz, it would help. Cruz is their top hitter right now, ranking 40th in OPS in MLB. The next Pirate on the list is the 38-year-old McCutchen, at 81st. — Rogers

Record: 23-37
Previous ranking: 26

The Marlins became the first team to lose a series against the Rockies this season — and then the first to be swept by Colorado after dropping the final game in Miami. Monday’s announced home attendance was 5,894, which was a generous assessment of the actual in-game crowd. Pictures of a nearly empty stadium at first pitch filled social media. The game ended with a 6-4 loss. The Marlins had plenty of scoring opportunities but went just 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position. — Schoenfield

Record: 23-40
Previous ranking: 25

After showing some early signs of respectability and even a possible fringe run at a wild-card slot, the Athletics collapsed like the construct of a Jenga player who’s had one too many. The culprit has been pitching, particularly in the rotation, an area the A’s had hoped would be solid. Since the A’s topped out at four games over .500 (20-16), the starters have gone 3-24 with an ERA around 7.00, which is, unsurprisingly, the worst mark in the majors over that span. Double-digit outputs by the opposition have become the norm — as in 10 times over the Athletics’ past 25 games. — Doolittle

Record: 19-43
Previous ranking: 29

Down on the farm, there have been mixed reviews of Chicago’s highly regarded top five prospects. Hagen Smith had pitched just 25 innings in seven starts with 20 walks (although 42 strikeouts) in Double-A before going on the IL with elbow soreness. Colson Montgomery is hitting .191 in Triple-A. Noah Schultz has a high WHIP in Double-A (47 hits and 28 walks in 46 IP). Kyle Teel has hit well in Triple-A (.287/.389/.483) but has 54 strikeouts in 49 games. Braden Montgomery did earn a promotion to High-A but is hitting .246 there after hitting .304 in Single-A. Teel is most likely to make his MLB debut this year, although there’s little need to rush him with Edgar Quero and Matt Thaiss sharing catching duties. — Schoenfield

Record: 12-50
Previous ranking: 30

When a team is on pace to shatter the all-time loss record, you don’t generally expect any facet of that team to actually be good. However, the Colorado bullpen — despite having precious few leads to protect — has been positively not entirely terrible. (It’s all relative, of course.) For the Rockies, this could be more than a moral victory during a tortuously lost season. As the trade deadline approaches, Colorado might be able to capitalize on the always-busy derby for in-season bullpen help. Sure to attract calls are Seth Halvorsen and Jake Bird. — Doolittle

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