It’s been a great week in baseball. Every team has at least a few wins and it’s starting to become visible which teams are actually surpassing expectations as opposed to the teams that just had surprising starts. Unfortunately for some, it’s also becoming clear which teams with high expectations are falling apart. Luckily for some, the season lasts until October and there should be time to recover.
The records are as of April 13.
1. Texas Rangers (9-3): The Rangers are a full three games ahead of their nearest competition in their division. With the most wins and only three losses, the Rangers edged out the Phillies for the top spot this week.
2. Philadelphia Phillies (8-3): Each Phillies loss has come from a different rival in the National League (NL) East. A loss to the Braves is understandable but the Phillies cannot afford to lose to their own division.
3. Cincinnati Reds (8-4): The Reds are staying in great shape with the only winning record in their division. Other than losing a series against the Diamondbacks, the Reds have nothing to complain about.
4. Cleveland Indians (8-4): The Indians are joining the Reds in the top five for the first time in a long time.
5. Colorado Rockies (8-2): Last week they swept the Red Sox and continued the trend by sweeping the Mariners. Their eight-game win streak was finally capped with a 2-0 loss to the Angels on Tuesday
6. New York Yankees (6-4): The Yankees may be a little high for a 5-4 team. They keep alternating between winning and losing and surprising the critics who thought the Yankees were out of the running from the start.
7. Chicago White Sox (7-5): The White Sox may have handed the Rays their first win but, with second place in the American League (AL) Central, a single loss can make all the difference.
8. Atlanta Braves (5-7): The Braves are the only team in the top 10 because many of their losses have come against other great teams. Last weekend they lost two games to the Phillies after losing three of a four game series to the Brewers.
9. Baltimore Orioles (6-4): The Orioles have the best record in what is often called the most competitive division in the major leagues. With only six wins, and most of them against the struggling Rays and Tigers, the Orioles potential remains unknown.
10. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (7-5): Unlike the Dodgers, the Angels have not yet played a division rival. Additionally, they handed the Royals three of their current wins.
11. Los Angeles Dodgers (6-6): The Dodgers and their AL counterparts the Angels are practically the same rank. The biggest difference for the Dodgers is that they have so far only been playing division rivals.
12. Kansas City Royals (7-4): The Royals have quickly fallen to third in their division after starting the season 4-0. They can currently be proud to have wins against every opponent they’ve faced.
13. San Francisco Giants (6-6): The Giants have yet to sweep a single opponent. Additionally, their only winning series has come against the struggling Cardinals.
14. Minnesota Twins (4-7): The Twins may seem a little high but, after looking at their last week of games, every loss has been by two runs or less. Additionally, the Twins tend to start the season slowly before rising through their division later in the season.
15. Toronto Blue Jays (6-6): The Blue Jays travel to the west coast has been less than successful with a four-game losing streak. The Jays need to get back to winning series as they prepare to visit the Red Sox and host the Yankees.
16. Milwaukee Brewers (6-5): After starting 0-4, the Brewers are on the rise. They nearly swept the Braves and the Cubs to bounce back to a split record.
17. Chicago Cubs (6-6): Sure, the Cubs have wins, but they’ve played against three of last year’s worst teams.
18. Oakland Athletics (6-6): The Athletics finally won their first series in three close games against the Twins. Sitting in third place, they are a full four games behind the division-leading Rangers
19. Washington Nationals (5-6): The Nationals, so far, have only lost one series. Managing wins against tough foes such as the Phillies edges them above their division rival: the Marlins.
20. Florida Marlins (6-5): The Marlins are doing decently considering they’ve mainly been facing their division rivals. Unfortunately, they are in the middle of a trip to Atlanta and Philadelphia to face the two best teams in their division.
21. San Diego Padres (5-6): They started off strong with two wins against the Cardinals, but have been slumping in the last week with losses at home to the Giants, Dodgers and Reds.
22. Detroit Tigers (5-7): The Tigers wins have been few and far between. In every series so far, they’ve had a disappointing 2-1 record.
23. Pittsburgh Pirates (5-6): The Pirates are on the rise with only one lost series. Losing to the Rockies isn’t good but it’s more understandable than losing to, for instance, the Astros.
24. Arizona Diamondbacks (5-6): Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the past week, the Diamondbacks upset the Reds and delivered them two of their losses.
25. New York Mets (4-7): The Mets may have had a good start, but losing to the Phillies, Nationals and Rockies has more than undone their early successes.
26. St. Louis Cardinals (5-7): Albert Pujols should have gotten a contract before the season started. With the way the Cardinals are struggling, he may have a harder time getting the terms he wanted.
27. Seattle Mariners (4-8): The Mariners started off greatly with two wins against the Athletics. Unfortunately, getting swept by Cleveland after a bad series in Texas further deepened the hole they need to climb out of.
28. Boston Red Sox (2-9): The Red Sox finally won in their home opener against none other than the Yankees. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been enough to turn around the disappointing start to the season.
29. Tampa Bay Rays (3-8): The Rays also got to win last Friday with a close match against the White Sox. A trip to Boston hasn’t hurt; they’ve lately been winning against their division foes as well.
30. Houston Astros (3-9): With the exception of their first win, when the Astros win, it’s usually a blowout. If they could start winning more frequently, they’d become a legitimate threat in their division.