Now that we’re getting into the second week of August, things are tightening up in all six of the division races. Some teams are solidifying their leads (hello St. Louis and Kansas City), while other teams are wondering if they will win their divisions after all (yes, Washington and Houston, we’re talking to you). Let’s look at the latest MLB betting rankings of all 30 teams in the major leagues.
#30 Miami Marlins
Jose Fernandez has an impressive record (4-0, 2.30 ERA, 53 K, 43 IP) in his seven starts since he came back from Tommy John surgery. However, his shoulder stiffness is a problem now.
#29 Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are an amazing 16-5 since the All-Star break and are finally out of the NL East cellar.
#28 Milwaukee Brewers
Tyler Cravy is emerging as a potential quality starter for the Brew Crew, and Khris Davis is raking at the plate.
#27 Colorado Rockies
The Rockies can only play the spoiler role now, but Carlos Gonzalez didn’t let that stop him from slugging two home runs against Max Scherzer last Sunday.
#26 Boston Red Sox
Henry Owens made a terrific debut in the Red Sox rotation, but it’s knuckleballer Steven Wright getting the most praise, with 17 K over 15 innings in his last two starts.
#25 Oakland A’s
That three-year, $30 million deal the Athletics gave Billy Butler is a big stinker, as he is only hitting .239 as the DH. His Wins Above Replacement is -1.1, the 11th worst in all of baseball for position players.
#24 Cincinnati Reds
Yes, Todd Frazier dominated the All-Star Game, but he is only hitting .157 with two round-trippers since the break.
#23 San Diego Padres
The Padres have permitted 120 home runs through 110 games. In 2014, they only gave up 117 over the whole season.
#22 Seattle Mariners
The offense is finally waking up, as Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager and Robinson Cano are all in the top 35 position players in August.
#21 Atlanta Braves
The rebuilding program has taken an odd turn, with the team picking up Jason Bourn, Nick Swisher, A.J. Pierzynski and some other veterans.
#20 Cleveland Indians
The Tribe loves Abraham Almonte, who went 4 for 5 with two RBI in his major league debut – the best first performance for Cleveland in more than a century.
#19 Chicago White Sox
The White Sox decided not to trade starter Jeff Samardzija before the deadline even though his stock was soaring. Since August 1, he has two starts – 9.1 IP and a gargantuan 15.43 ERA.
#18 Detroit Tigers
The general manager has been sent packing, and the dugout has turned into an MMA octagon. Oh, and they did win 2 of 3 from Kansas City.
#17 Arizona Diamondbacks
Randy Johnson had his number 51 retired this week. Rubby De La Rosa only needs to strike out 1,964 more batters to catch Johnson for the franchise lead.
#16 Minnesota Twins
The Twins have gone 6-16 since the All-Star break and have an ugly 6.17 team ERA during that time, worst in all of baseball.
#15 Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays are one of the teams sniffing that second wild card. Evan Longoria and the rest of the offense are starting to perk up a bit.
#14 Baltimore Orioles
Chris Davis has been leading the way with a big bat, followed by Manny Machado, Caleb Joseph and Jonathan Schoop.
#13 Texas Rangers
The Rangers are only four games out of the second wild card, and they just added a much-needed right-handed bat in Mike Napoli.
#12 Los Angeles Angels
The team brought in Shane Victorino, David DeJesus and David Murphy to spice up the offense, but they are only combining to hit .178 with 21 K so far.
#11 Washington Nationals
Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth hit home runs in the same game for the first time since July 2014 this past week.
#10 Houston Astros
The Astros only lead the Angels by 1/2 game – and the Rangers by 4 1/2. They have lost six of seven, including a particularly tough setback in the ninth against Oakland this past Sunday.
#9 San Francisco Giants
The Giants are in the middle of a 26-game swing against eight teams with winning records. They started by dropping four in a row to the Cubs.
#8 New York Mets
The Mets have scored 77 runs since July 24, third most in the National League. They’ve hit 19 home runs – most in the National League – since July 28.
#7 New York Yankees
The Yankees need to find an answer for the Blue Jays if they don’t want to end up falling out of the division lead – and possibly the wild card.
#6 Chicago Cubs
The Cubs are about to play 13 straight against teams under .500. It’s time to make up some ground in the NL Central and the wild card.
#5 Toronto Blue Jays
Since the All-Star Game, the Blue Jays have the best ERA in the American League. They are only 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the East and closing fast.
#4 Los Angeles Dodgers
Yasiel Puig is only batting .167 in August – and only hit .198 in July.
#3 Pittsburgh Pirates
Over the past four games, the Pirates have permitted 20 runs, but they scored 31 to beat Chicago and sweep the L.A. Dodgers.
#2 Kansas City Royals
The team is on pace to win 97 games, which would put them only behind the 1977 team that won 102 games while going 24-1 in September that year.
#1 St. Louis Cardinals
Pitching and rookies at the plate (Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty especially) are the stories behind this team’s strong season.
Sources
ESPN.com (http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13419308/jose-fernandez-miami-marlins-placed-dl-biceps-strain)
Rotoworld.com (http://www.rotoworld.com/player/mlb/7172/yasiel-puig)