Predicted AL Division Winners

Photo Credit: John Rieger/ USA TODAY Sports

It’s not quite October yet, but it’s never too early to make predictions on who will be in the running for the World Series. Some of the underdogs from last year are suddenly some of the best and some of the best from last year are well, not good. Here are my way-too-early American League Division winners!

AL East: While my gut feeling is to hand this one to the Orioles, right now it’s looking like the Boston Red Sox could be the AL East Champs. With Big Papi playing like he hasn’t in years, the Sox seem like a brand new team. Ortiz isn’t the only one making an impact on the field. 23-year old Mookie Betts just had a career day against the Baltimore Orioles, hitting three home runs. Let me repeat that; he hit 3 home runs in one game. Right now, the Orioles are in a slump, the Blue Jays can’t get away from the punch heard round the world, A-Rod is playing like a dud right now and the Rays are ten games back. My money’s on the Boston Red Sox as the AL East Champions.

AL Central: History does repeat itself sometimes. That’s why I’m giving the AL Central crown to the Kansas City Royals. As the reigning World Series Champs, the Royals are the obvious choice here. While many have discounted them early, the Royals are playing like they’re in the World Series again. They get a ton of doubters before they turn up the heat. They jumped into first place in the AL Central, scored 7 runs in the 9th inning on Sunday against the White Sox and completed a sweep. The Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians are the main competition for the Royals since they’re only a game and a half back while the Tigers are under .500 and five games back. The Minnesota Twins are already 13 games back, so there’s really no turning back.  Sorry Twins fans!

AL West: Last but not least is the AL West. This division is very similar to the Central because there’s no clear front-runner. The Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners are currently tied for the lead in the division. On Tuesday, the Mariners were able to overtake the San Diego Padres by hitting five home runs and gaining a 12-run lead. The Rangers were on a 4-game winning streak before losing to Cleveland tomorrow. The Mariners and Rangers will start a series on Friday which will more than likely be the deciding factor for the temporary division leader, while the other three teams: the Astros, the Angels and the Athletics are all in a slump. However, I’ll have to give the AL West to the Rangers at least for today.