Landscape of the AL at the All Star break

[25 Nuggets]

Hi guys,

This all-around off day in baseball, let's take a look at where the Orioles stand as a playoff contender. Enough of the season is past us that our focus now shifts beyond the AL East to the postseason, where five spots are up for grabs between eleven teams. Four teams (Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Oakland and LA) appear to have shaken out.

Cleveland Indians

Record: 52-36

Run Differential: +81

Runs/game: 4.95 (3rd)

RA/game: 4.03 (1st)

Strengths: Starting Rotation, Team Speed/Baserunning

Weaknesses: C, 3B, Bullpen

This team has emerged as the current favorite to win the AL Pennant. The primary reason is simple: they are the only team in the AL with a full, quality rotation. They have the previous AL Cy Young winner (Corey Kluber) and the leading candidate for this year's Cy Young (Danny Salazar). Behind them they have Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin and Carlos Carrasco. The highest WHIP among them is 1.198; the lowest ERA+, 130. Cleveland is therefore likely only looking to bolster their lackluster bullpen, something that is quite feasible, as well as round out their lineup. The Indians have some major holes including catcher where Yan Gomes has a 30 OPS+ and 3B where Juan Uribe is finally showing his age. Cleveland has assets to aqcuire more talent and they still get Michael Brantley back at some point.

Baltimore Orioles

Record: 51-36

Run Differential: +41

Runs/game: 5.08 (2nd)

RA/game: 4.61 (8th)

Strengths: Team Power, Bullpen

Weaknesses: Starting Rotation

Yeah - right now I have the Orioles #2 in the AL come playoff time. There is one team that can chase them down soon as you'll see below, but I've got the three division leaders listed first. We all know what the deal is with the Orioles, this is the Orioles board and there are plenty of threads. My vote is to find a lefty to compliment the bullpen and pretty much go forward with what we've got in house.

Texas Rangers

Record: 54-36

Run Differential: +16

Runs/game: 4.92 (4th)

RA/game: 4.74 (9th)

Strengths: CF, middle infield/3B

Weaknesses: Back-end rotation

Texas was sitting pretty earlier in the season, and then half their rotation got hurt. They aren't left devoid of a good staff, but it is not the same, and their team WHIP of 1.408 is pretty high. Yu Darvish can still come back but he needs to stay healthy. Texas is also scoring more runs than they should; there is nothing overall about their offense that stands out. They are hurting big time at catcher as well as traditional power spots 1B and DH. In fact they have the worst DH performance in the AL with Prince Fielder. If they want to move forward and contend, they may need to move on from Fielder.

Toronto Blue Jays

Record: 51-40

Run Differential: +75

Runs/game: 4.91 (5th)

RA/game: 4.09 (2nd)

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

This is the team that can catch the Orioles and contend with Cleveland as is. More to follow.

Boston Red Sox

Record: 49-38

Run Differential: +66

Runs/game: 5.63 (1st)

RA/game: 4.87 (13th)

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Best offense in baseball, horrid pitching. Lots of assets, will make a move or two at the deadline, so still dangerous. More to follow.

Houston Astros

Record: 48-41

Run Differential: +30

Runs/game: 4.51 (9th)

RA/game: 4.17 (3rd)

Strengths: the big three (Altuve, Correa, Springer)

Weaknesses: team average, strikeouts, CF

Remember when the Astros had the worst pitching in the AL? Those days are long gone. They have five healthy starting pitchers and their team ERA+ is all the way up to 108. That they have done this with many ERAs in the 4s is a reflection of how many runs are being scored across the league this year. They have 112 team home runs in 89 games, that's on pace for 203 on the season, and it's only 7th in the AL. Their weakness right now is actually that - they are trying too hard to hit home runs, to the tune of 825 team strikeouts, worst in the AL, and a .244 batting average to boot. Houston needs an upgrade at CF where Carlos Gomez has been terrible, and probably at DH where Evan Gattis is having a poor season. But they are on the rise and could take the West as predicted if the Rangers don't get healthy.

Seattle Mariners

Record: 45-44

Run Differential: +51

Runs/game: 4.92 (4th)

RA/game: 4.74 (9th)

Strengths: team power, 2B, 3B, DH

Weaknesses: starting rotation, bullpen depth, bench

Seattle, like Texas, is suffering from the injury bug, namely in the form of their ace Felix Hernandez, though young stud Taijuan Walker also went to the DL recently. Their offense has the staying power to last though they could use a bit more depth. It's hard to see what the future of this team is - their stars, Cano/Seager/Cruz, are performing as advertised, they have a healthy run differential and yet they're in 3rd place in the division. Will be watching them with interest.

THE REST - Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City & New York

Run Differential: negative

These guys still have a chance but there are major problems with them. Chicago, Kansas City and New York cannot score enough in this interestingly-offensive-powered season. Detroit cannot score enough to match their miserable pitching. If Cleveland continues on their path, I don't see any of these clubs in the playoffs without a significant summer trade.

[25 Nuggets]

Crud. My computer is dying here at the hot spot. I'll try to have Boston and Toronto finished ASAP.

[Crabcakes]

Crud. My computer is dying here at the hot spot. I'll try to have Boston and Toronto finished ASAP.

uh huh .... such a tease .....