Well, it has certainly been a crazy start to this MLB season. With the unlikely emergence of teams like the Red Sox and the Reds, and the terrible starts from teams like the Cubs and Yankees, we should be in for a wild 162 game ride. With that being said, this is who I think will win each division in the MLB.
AL East: Yankees
Yes, it has been a rough start for the New York Yankees. But I do not use these early season struggles to dictate that the Yankees still are not the best team in this division. The Red Sox have looked great, no question. I think that Boston will be in the Wild Card game though, because the Yankees will find their stride at some point. The offense will start clicking, and Gerrit Cole and Corey Kluber will start pitching lights out midway through the season. Aaron Judge will keep pounding the ball, and DJ LeMahieu will keep getting on base. Giancarlo Stanton has not panned out like the Yankees thought he would, but he has decent power to keep mashing through. Same with Gleyber Torres, he will find his stride. With all of these, I believe the Yankees will come back strong and win this powerful division, and that is coming from someone who has never been fond of them my whole life.
AL Central: White Sox
Here is another firepower team that is struggling early. Going through a managerial change, the White Sox have been rebuilding this team for 12 years. After going through the terrible James Shields trade that involved them trading away future superstar Fernando Tatis Jr., but also getting some great trades that landed them Lucas Giolito, Eloy Jimenez, and Dylan Cease, the White Sox group is now ready to compete for an AL crown. Even with Eloy being out for nearly the whole year, he will be ready to go if the White Sox will make the playoffs. With a lineup including reigning AL MVP Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson, and Luis Robert, this team still has the pieces to win this otherwise weak division. The Royals are leading the division right now for crying out loud. There is no way that they maintain that lead.
AL West: Angels
This one could be a pretty bold pick. Yes, the Angels may not have the pitching to get them deep in the postseason, but it will be enough to get them to win the AL West. I think with a lineup containing Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, David Fletcher, and Shohei Ohtani. The Astros could make it close, but all in all I think the Angels take this division by 2 or 3 games.\
NL East: Braves
This was a very tough decision to make. All 5 of the teams in this division can definitely compete for this title, but I just see the Braves’ offense being too elite. When you have a 1, 2, 3 of Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, and Freddie Freeman, that is just dangerous. And then you have Marcell Ozuna cleaning up. The pitching is definitely iffy, but with Max Fried as the ace, even though he is injured, and Charlie Morton, the Braves should win this tough division.
NL Central: Cardinals
This is another hot take with a lot of baseball fans. With the Reds hot start, and you cannot forget about the Brewers, this will be yet another tough call. The pitching has definitely struggled badly, and that is putting it mildly. But when the Cards finally get Kwan Hyun Kim back, and Jack Flaherty starts to hit his stride, the pitching will start to improve. They definitely need more out of Ponce de Leon though. The offense has struggled too. Nolan Arenado has been the expected best hitter in the lineup, and even Yadier Molina is having a great start in terms of hitting. But Paul DeJong definitely needs to be better. I expect the Cardinals to make a couple of moves at the deadline to improve their weak spots and win this division. Because its the Cardinals, when do they not compete?
NL West: Dodgers
This one should not come as a surprise to anyone. Yes, the Padres also have firepower in their offense and pitching, but the Dodgers are just better at everything. The reigning World Series champions kept basically everybody from their winning team except Joc Pederson, who is struggling mightily on the Cubs right now. They also went out and got the best pitcher on the free agent market, Trevor Bauer. The expectation is for the Dodgers to surpass 105 wins this year, and I would not put that past them.
Hayden's Blog 