Sep 27, 20192 min read

MLB: Astros remain the favorites

1. Houston Astros (107-55, +0): The Astros finished the season with the best record in the entire league and should be considered favorites to reach the World Series along with the Los Angeles Dodgers (although, the Yankees will have something to say about it). Houston also had the best run-differential in the league with an incredible +280 on the year. The Astros will play the winner of the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays in their first series.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (106-56, +0): The Dodgers remain in the second spot after starting the season with a 29-16 record and only getting better from there. Los Angeles has talent at nearly every spot on the roster and the team looks like they're bound to reach their third consecutive World Series. However, this team will look to do what the other two haven't been able to and win it all. They were 59-22 at home and finished the year with seven straight wins.

3. New York Yankees (103-59, +4): The Yankees don't have a lot of weak spots on their roster and I think they're going to handle the Minnesota Twins in the opening round to face the Astros in the ALCS. With that said, though, the Yankees still have to continue playing good baseball until then. New York was one of only three teams that finished the year with a +200 run differential as they were +204 at the end of the season.

4. Minnesota Twins (101-61, +1): The Twins got off to a quick start at the beginning of the season with a 28-15 record through their first 43 games and they kept playing at a high level for the rest of the year, despite some people expecting them to slow down when the Cleveland Indians put some pressure on them in the AL Central. Minnesota finished 8-2 in their last 10 games and have a lot of momentum heading into the postseason versus the Yankees.

5. Atlanta Braves (97-65, +6): The Braves didn't jump out to a quick start, but they played really well in the last two months of the season. Atlanta was 50-31 at home this year and will go up against the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, with an eye on getting further than they did in the 2018 postseason. The Braves had an impressive +112 run differential but they ended with three straight losses. Atlanta also had 855 runs scored.

Next Up:

6. Athletics (97-65, +6)

7. Rays (96-66, -1)

8. Nationals (93-69, +5)

9. Cardinals (91-71, +5)

10. Brewers (89-73, -2)

MVP Rankings:

1. Cody Bellinger (.305, 47 HR)

2. Nelson Cruz (.311, 41 HR)

3. Alex Bregman (.296, 41 HR)

4. DJ LeMahieu (.327, 26 HR)

5. Freddie Freeman (.295, 38 HR)