American League Division Favorites Leading the Way
The futures odds given are at one of the leading sportsbooks.
AL East
Many predicted that the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox would battle it out for the AL East division title. That is exactly want is happening and the Red Sox are currently winning the battle, as they are at -160 to win the division and they currently are in 1st place in the division with a 3.5 game lead over the Yankees. Pitching wins and the Red Sox have a staff that is 6 deep since John Smoltz recently came off the DL. The Yankees (+160) have a tough start to the season, but now they are in 2nd place in the AL East and have won 5 games in a row. If A-Rod can snap out of his massive slump the Yankees may catch the Red Sox. Even if they do not it is likely they will snag the Wild Card. The defending champion Rays (+1000) struggled at the start of the season, but they are on fire and have won 6 in a row, are 8-2 in their last 10 games, and trail the Red Sox by 5 games in the division. The Blue Jays (+1600) started the season on fire and led the division for a while, but they cooled off and are now in 4th place trailing the Red Sox by 7 games.
AL Central
The Detroit Tigers (-200) have been playing steady for a while now and they lead the AL Central by 4 games. Their pitching staff is legit and they have the 2nd best home record in the AL (23-11). Miguel Cabrera (.331 16 HR 47 RBI) leads a potent offense and pitching wins, so the Tigers are in good shape. The Minnesota Twins (+375) are 4 games back of the Tigers and they are at .500 and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Twins are great at home (24-15), but they have to start winning on the road (15-25). Even though they are 4 games back they have the best run differential in the AL Central (+25). The Chicago White Sox (+550) have been up and down all season and they are currently at .500, they have won 7 of their last 10 games, and they are 4 games back of the White Sox. Their offense has struggled, as they have a run differential of -11. The Kansas City Royals (+1400) began the season on fire, but they have cooled off, big time, and are 8.5 games back on the Tigers and are 9 games under .500.
AL West
The Angles (-175) stumbled out of the gates, but they are healthy and their pitching staff is starting to deliver. They have won 6 in a row, are 7-3 in the last 10 games, and have a 2.5 lead over the Texas Rangers. If the Angels can stay healthy they will be tough to beat, as they have a much better team then anyone in the AL West. The Rangers (+140) led the AL West for most of the season, but they have struggled lately losing 3 in a row and 7 of their last 10. Their pitching has fallen apart and if they do not score a ton of runs they are in trouble. The Mariners (+900) have quietly crept back in the division race, as they are 7-3 in their last 10 games and they only trail the Angels by 3.5 games. Their pitching has been awesome, but their offense has scored the fewest runs in the AL. If they can get some run production or make a big trade to bring a big bat to the Great Northwest the Mariners may challenge the Angles.
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