Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and his teammates have been dominant.
While the New York Yankees have risen to the head of the class in the American League, the National League still is in search of a definitive World Series favorite at the midway point of the 2022 Major League Baseball season.
The Yankees (+180 AL champ/+400 World Series at DraftKings) are a beast with a top starting pitching staff, a mind-boggling homer-to-strikeout ratio and a clutch gear that never has them out of games in the late innings. Now comes the task of maintaining that form into October.
In the NL, the Los Angeles Dodgers (+200 NL champ/+400 World Series) and Atlanta Braves (+475/+1000) have merely shown glimpses of their true potential yet still show World Series potential thanks to plenty of talent and an abundance of playoff experience.
American League
The AL East has risen to the occasion, becoming the juggernaut that was expected when the season began. The Yankees have easily been baseball’s best team, while operating out of baseball’s best division, which is far from easy considering the head-to-head grind among top teams.
Aaron Judge has been a nightmare for opposing pitchers to put a charge in one of baseball’s best offenses that leads MLB in home runs with 133 (through July 4 games). The pitching has been just as impressive with an MLB-best 2.90 ERA.
The Boston Red Sox (+1200/+3000), Toronto Blue Jays (+600/+1200) and Tampa Bay Rays (+1400/+3500) all stand out as potential playoff teams despite double-digit game deficits to the Yankees in the standings. Will any of those teams’ familiarity with the Yankees help them come playoff time? The Red Sox and Blue Jays have offenses that might be able to match the Yankees’ over the course of a series.
The Minnesota Twins (+1900/+4500) have been atop the AL Central for most of the first half, but they have proven to be no match for the Cleveland Guardians (+3500/+9000) in head-to-head matchups. The Chicago White Sox (+1300/+3000) have been a disappointment, with another three months left to reach their potential. Teams with less disappointing starts to the season than the White Sox already have fired their manager.
The Houston Astros (+220/+550) own the AL West and appear destined to meet the Yankees in the AL Championship Series. If that matchup is anything like the four games those two teams played in June at New York, a memorable playoff series awaits. Houston’s hitting/pitching combo also is top notch, sitting third in the AL with a .744 OPS and second in baseball with a 2.93 staff ERA.
Projected ALCS: Astros vs. Yankees
Projected AL World Series participant: Yankees.
National League
The Braves are finding out just why repeating as champion is something that has yet to happen since 2000, playing well this season but not quite setting themselves apart in the NL. Atlanta’s pitching staff was merely fifth in the NL in ERA (3.82) and sixth in WHIP (1.25) when the calendar flipped to July, but has been trending upward.
Instead, it has been the New York Mets (+360/+750), that have risen to the top of the NL East despite a pitching staff that has not had Jacob deGrom and just got Max Scherzer back after two months away. They become top midseason reinforcements for a first-place club that will need them to hold off the Braves, who went 24-7 from June 1-July 4.
The Milwaukee Brewers (+700/+1500) and St. Louis Cardinals (+1600/+4000) will fight it out in the NL Central, but is either team World Series worthy? Read more on the Cardinals at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Despite injuries to their top position player (Mookie Betts) and top pitcher (Walker Buehler), the Dodgers have managed to run with the leaders in the NL. Yet it is the bullpen that figures to get the attention it needs at the trade deadline. Like the Mets, the San Diego Padres (+750/+1600) are set to add an All-Star level addition to a promising club when shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. makes his return at some point.
Too much has gone on in the City of Brotherly Love – on defense, the manager’s seat and with Bryce Harper’s thumb – for the Philadelphia Phillies (+1700/+3500) to be considered a top contender. Without the retired Buster Posey, as well as right-hander Kevin Gausman, the San Francisco Giants (+1900/+4500) have lost their 2021 magic.
Projected NLCS: Braves vs. Dodgers
Projected World Series participant: Dodgers
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