1) National League West
This division is my strongest division. This is the only division that every team is a legitimate strong team. Arizona’s bats have been on fire with Gerardo Parra, Paul Goldschmidt, and Jason Kubel doing well at the plate. The pitching staff has been struggling blowing saves, but don’t count these snakes short. They’re a strong team. Colorado has been hot (not hot enough to melt the snow) with a 17-11 record, and will only get better. San Francisco is stacked with strong hitting in Buster Posey (11 hits, nine RBI’s, .324 batting average) and Hunter Pence, hopefully their pitching improves, especially Matt Cain, so we can see the team go back to normal. The San Diego Padres may have an 11-17 record, however, they did sweep the Giants, and having Chase Headley and Yonder Alonso (12 hits, nine RBI’s, .324 average) on your team is never a bad thing. Also, Jedd Gyorko is a guy to watch this season, he will definitely give the Padres some wins. Finally, that expensive team who has a guy that has the eyes you tend to get lost in; Los Angeles Dodgers. A 13-14 record doesn’t exactly scream “Playoffs,” but Matt Kemp is one of the best players in the MLB (ridiculous .351 average) and another hitter who is often overlooked is Mark Ellis, who matches Kemp in batting average. With Zack Greinke on the DL (and throwing like the dad from the Volkswagen commercial) and Josh Beckett throwing like crap, safe to say the bats are what’s holding this team together. Still, a very strong team in a strong division.
2) National League Central
This division (if we pretend for a moment the Cubbies are not in it) is one of my top picks. Mat Latos has been strong on the hill with a 1.83 ERA and with “Dat Dude” himself Brandon Phillips and Shin Soo-Choo making way in the batter’s box, the Reds are a force to be reckoned with. A favorite in this league is the St. Louis Cardinals who have a strong 16-11 record thanks in big part to Carlos Beltran (.361 batting average 6 bombs) and Pete Kozma. Pittsburgh not only has Andrew McCutchen (.247 batting average, 24 hits, 16 RBI's), but their pitching staff has been so dominate this season. A.J. Burnett (2.83 ERA) is an elite pitcher, but let’s not forget about the strong bullpen they have under them as well; another ingredient that makes this division a strong one.
3) American League East
The Blue Jays were a team to look out for since spring training when acquiring knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and strong hitter Melky Cabrera(26 hits), however they have a 10-18 record right now which is quite surprising for a team of this caliber. In contrast, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, don’t suck as bad as we all anticipated. With the Yankees roster full of injuries and old timers, they still managed to have a 17-10 record, and Boston is just as good with their 19-8 record. Tampa Bay’s record does not reflect how great of a team they are, they are pretty solid, and Baltimore has so much talent on the team it seems almost unfair. With Chris Davis (nine homeruns, .348 batting average) and the pitching staff, the AL East is one of the top divisions in the MLB.
4) National League East
Coming into this season everyone was excited to see how Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg (1.21 WHIP) were to perform. We barely unfolded out lawn chairs when Harper went yard twice in his first game of the season, so naturally the sports world thought the Nationals would dominate. Not so fast kids. Atlanta had the dynamite duo in Justin Upton(12 homeruns, 16 RBI's) and his brother B.J. Upton who are dominating in the batter’s box. The Phillies have Michael Young, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley (five homeruns, 19 RBIs, .296 batting average) to help give them runs, though they are not “Upton-esque,” they are definitely a trio that aren’t worth messing with. And there is good news everyone, the Mets still have a baseball team.
5) American League West
Well it’s safe to say the Angels are a big surprise this season. When glancing at the roster, you would probably put your tail between your legs, but that’s not necessarily the case. Josh Hamilton recently went 0-8 in the extremely long loss to the Athletics, Jered Weaver is still out with an injury, and the team just all around kind of sucks. Mike Trout (.261 batting average) hasn't been doing too terribly, but he alone cannot carry this team to the playoffs. They are also in the same division as the tough competing Oakland Athletics with Jed Lowrie (.333 average and 34 hits) and Josh Donaldson, the recent AL West Player of the Week, who have been phenomenal at the plate and Seattle Mariners have giant Michael Morse, who makes it look easy to hit a homerun and Felix Hernandez gluing that team together. This division is in a strong one, but the Houston Astros don’t make this division a top contender.
6) American League Central
Two words: Justin Verlander. You need to respect a pitcher who throws over 95 mph towards the end of his start. You also need to respect a pitcher who does this in some of the tightest pants I have ever seen. He has reigning Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder helping him offensively at the plate. The Royals have a pretty solid record thus far in the season with slugger Billy Butler (who is already sporting a .361 batting average) and pitcher Ervin Santana has been strong with his 2.0 ERA. The boys in blue should not be ignored. Minnesota’s record matches their name as the Twins with 15-15. With Justin Morneau and Josh Willingham having solid bats, this team will stay even with the rest of the division, they just need Joe Mauer to start hitting.