AL East1 of 6<\/p>\n
The Yankees currently have a plus-101 run differential. At the time of publication, no other team in the American League is above 25. It’s fair to say they are currently the favorites to represent the junior circuit in the World Series. <\/p>\n
That’s not to say there aren’t concerns in the Bronx. Even as Paul Goldschmidt has had a resurgence and Ben Rice has emerged as an All-Star candidate, there are some shortcomings in the lineup. <\/p>\n
Ryan McMahon is currently on the injured list, but he had just a .629 OPS in 69 games as the team’s primary third baseman. Aaron Judge (stress fracture in ribcage), Trent Grisham (right hamstring strain) and Giancarlo Stanton (left calf strain) are all on the injured list as well. <\/p>\n
But with an infield addition and better health, the Yankees should have enough offense to make a deep postseason run, one likely led by their starting pitcher. <\/p>\n
Cam Schlittler could well start the All-Star Game for the AL, Max Fried will return from a bone bruise on his elbow and there’s enough remaining talent in the rotation between Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rod\u00f3n, Ryan Weathers and Will Warren for this team to ride its pitching in October. <\/p>\n
The Rays were kind of the forgotten team in the AL East entering the season, but they’ve shed that label with a first half performance that has them neck-and-neck with the Yankees at the top of the division. <\/p>\n
Yandy Diaz is making a push for his second career batting title, while Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda give manager Kevin Cash a strong big three in the lineup. If the Rays are able to add an impact outfielder before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, they’ll have a really strong lineup when the postseason rolls around. <\/p>\n
Tampa Bay also has an impressive trio at the top of their rotation with Nick Martinez, Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan, which pairs well with a bullpen that includes Bryan Baker, Kevin Kelly and Griffin Jax. <\/p>\n
At 39-44, it’s fair to say the Blue Jays have experienced something of a hangover after losing a crushing World Series Game 7 to the Los Angeles Dodgers last fall. <\/p>\n
There’s too much talent on this roster to think that they won’t begin to heat up, and you’ve already seen some positive signs recently from Jeff Hoffman’s resurgence in the bullpen to Kazuma Okamoto’s .979 OPS in June. <\/p>\n
Still, they need significantly more from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Alejandro Kirk, among other key cogs from a year ago. <\/p>\n
In the unlikely event that the Blue Jays fall out of contention entirely, they would be an interesting seller. Kevin Gausman is an impending free agent, and his 3.79 FIP suggest he’s been better than his 4.36 ERA would lead you to believe. Shane Bieber also will draw interest if he’s able to prove he’s healthy. <\/p>\n
The Orioles had high hopes after an active offseason, but find themselves well under .500 at the halfway point. If there isn’t a second-half turnaround, it will be interesting to see what the future of president of baseball operations Mike Elias is. <\/p>\n
To be fair to Elias, Pete Alonso\u2014the team’s big offseason signing\u2014has homered 18 times and posted an OPS north of .800. Taylor Ward, another offseason pickup, hasn’t hit for as much power, but still has a .389 on-base percentage. Ward will be coveted by just about every contender in baseball if the O’s sell. <\/p>\n
Other offseason moves haven’t played out as well. Closer Ryan Helsley has a 4.11 ERA in just 17 games. RHP Zach Eflin was lost to Tommy John surgery in early April. Veteran righty Chris Bassitt is currently on the injured list with lower back discomfort, and he had a 5.27 ERA over 56.1 innings prior to that. <\/p>\n
Perhaps the most disappointing thing in Baltimore is that players who were viewed as star prospects a few years ago\u2014Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo, among them\u2014haven’t panned out as expected. Maybe they still will, but the Orioles seemed poised to dominate the back half of the 2020s at one point. So far, that’s not happening. <\/p>\n
For as disappointing as the Blue Jays and Orioles have been, the Red Sox take the cake as not only the biggest letdown in the AL East, but the AL as a whole. <\/p>\n
They unceremoniously fired Alex Cora in late April, but haven’t had much success since dismissing him and naming Chad Tracy interim skipper. <\/p>\n
What’s weird is some of president of baseball operations Craig Breslow’s biggest offseason pickups\u2014Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray and Ranger Su\u00e1rez\u2014have been hits. But they’ve had little out of Caleb Durbin at third base, something exasperated by how well Kyle Harrison is pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers. <\/p>\n
Roman Anthony has been limited to 30 games after looking like a superstar as a rookie, while Marcelo Mayer is yet to show the form at the majors that made him one of baseball’s top prospects not long ago. <\/p>\n