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1The Astros don't look to be undergoing a World Series hangover, as they have come out on fire to start the season. Their pitching staff looks as good as ever, with new addition Gerrit Cole returning to his Cy Young-level form. Not only have Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve started the season hot, Josh Reddick has been lights out through ten games.
2While many picked the division rival Yankees to win the division, the Red Sox look like the best team in the division so far. Rafael Devers looks like the real deal at third base so far, and Xander Bogaerts is having a fantastic season. However, Bogaerts may be out an extended period of time for the BoSox, which could bring disaster.
3To the surprise of almost everyone, the Diamondbacks look like the best team in the NL so far, despite Paul Goldschmidt struggling. A.J. Pollock looks to be recapturing his 2015 form, and Arizona has only allowed more than three runs twice so far this season.
4Shohei Ohtani is the real deal. Despite Mike Trout struggling, the Angels have won seven games so far, much on the back of their Japanese phenom. Ohtani has two wins on the mound and three home runs so far, including a perfect game bid he took into the seventh inning against the A's on Sunday.
5While the Nationals have come out of the gates slower than expected, they are still among the NL's elite. Bryce Harper is the MLB's early home run leader (six), and is proving once and for all he really wants that $400 million contract this winter. The Nationals have finally looked to fix their bullpen woes, and the catcher spot is their only real weakness right now.
6The Cubs looked pretty bad in their series in Miami, only managing a split. However, they came to life when they got to Miller Park, taking three of four from the Brewers. The Cubs have the best bullpen in the MLB so far this season, and despite Anthony Rizzo dealing with a back injury, are above .500 following a nine-game road trip.
7The Yankees have been very hit or miss all season so far. One one hand, Didi Gregorius doesn't look to have been a one-year wonder last season. However, on the other hand, Giancarlo Stanton has two games this season with no hits and five strikeouts. No one else has ever done that in the live ball era. Stanton managed it in 10 games.
8The Mets have found a way to scrape together seven victories to start the new season, all against quality competition. Luckily, their pitching staff hasn't yet had any injury troubles, and Noah Syndegaard and Matt Harvey look to again be all-star caliber players. Yoenis Cespedes and Asdrubal Cabrera both look to be better versions of themselves from last season, and even Adrian Gonzalez has gotten in on the act this season, hitting a grand slam Sunday against the Nationals.
9Pardon me if I'm not absolutely beside myself about the Dodgers start, but I'm not freaking out about it. They haven't looked good, but this roster still undoubtedly has the firepower to compete this season. Justin Turner still isn't back yet, and when he does come back, the Dodgers will be back to their dangerous selves.
10What's going on with the Braves offense? Freddie Freeman has been the best player in baseball so far, hitting at a 240 wRC+ clip. Ryan Flaherty, Nick Markakis and Dansby Swanson have all started the season scorching hot for Atlanta. The only disappointment in the lineup has been Ender Inciarte, and when he inevitably picks it up the Braves lineup looks like it could be dangerous.
11Much like the Dodgers, the Indians have gotten off to an unexpectedly slow start. Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor haven't looked like themselves to start the season, and new addition Yonder Alonso hasn't lit the world on fire either. However, much like the Dodgers, I have full faith the Indians will not be the sub-.500 team they have shown through nine games.
12The Pirates are the only offense that has come out rivaling that of the Braves. Gregory Polanco has gotten off to a searing hot start, hitting at a 213 wRC+ clip. Pittsburgh has 8 players with a wRC+ of 130 or better, an unprecedented mark. It won't sustain itself, but the Pirates may not be a laughingstock this year.
13Toronto has been able to stay in the conversation with the Red Sox and Yankees so far this season, and have looked good doing it. Both Justin Smoak and Yangervis Solarte have been raking to begin the year, and Josh Donaldson and Kevin Pillar have been really solid as well. If Randal Grichuk can get to form, the Blue Jays are serious wild card contenders.
14While the Twins have looked solid to start the year, I'm still skeptical to say they are a great team. Brian Dozier and Miguel Sano have looked incredible, but Byron Buxton, probably the most important member of the lineup, has looked horrid to start the season. Joe Mauer has been able to supplement that so far, but he can no longer be trusted to put up an insane offensive season. It isn't 2013 anymore.
15Milwaukee's offense has struggled much more than expected to start the season. While Christian Yelich hasn't been healthy, the Brewers have still gotten shutout three times on the young season. Lorenzo Cain has been a bright spot for the Brewers, who also now have to go over a month without closer Corey Knebel.
16Paul DeJong has been the only true bright spot in the Cardinals lineup so far this year, one that has still managed to put up a ton of runs. The Cardinals pitching has also been promising, with highly touted prospect Jack Flaherty pitching really well in his first start. They haven't pieced together wins so far, but those will come.
17The season has gone as expected so far for the Rockies, who are hoping to once again compete off the backs of Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon. D.J. LaMahieu has been a solid surprise so far this season, but Gerardo Parra and Trevor Story are going to have to step it up for the Rockies.
18How good is Rhys Hoskins? After his historic rookie campaign last year, he has picked off where he left off, slugging an unfathomable 249 wRC+ early in the season. Their lineup isn't the problem, as the Phillies have three guys outside of Hoskins performing at a high level early in the season. If it wasn't for Gabe Kapler, this team likely has more than three wins.
19The Dee Gordon experiment looks to be working for Seattle, as he is so far having one of the best seasons of his career. Despite many of his teammates doing the same, the Mariners have been very streaky, having 3 games out of their seven with two runs or less. Even though they are 4-3, that just isn't sustainable over 162 games.
20The Giants offense has been whatever the exact opposite of "great" is to start the season, and they have scored one or fewer runs in five of their eight games played. Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, and Joe Panik are the only qualified players with an above-average wRC+, and the pitching staff has been depleted due to injuries. It may be a long couple months in the bay.
21The Orioles have managed four wins this season, and there isn't an obvious reason as to why. Their offense has been horrid so far, with a team wRC+ of only 80. Their pitching hasn't been lights out either. While Manny Machado and Adam Jones have been great, the Orioles need at least one more impact bat if they want any chance to not be sellers at the deadline.
22The A's have had a couple of standout players, including one of the game's brightest stars, Matt Chapman. Chad Pinder has also looked good so far this season for a team who, if everything goes right, could climb this list as the season goes on.
23Despite a horrid series against Detroit, there have been a plethora of bright spots for the White Sox. Matt Davidson looks to have developed into a real slugging threat, and both Tim Anderson and Yolmer Sanchez have come out to hotter starts than expected. If the pitching staff rounds into shape, the Sox could be better than people expected this season.
24The Rangers constant flirtation with playoff baseball looks to finally be over. Adrian Beltre hasn't started off great, and Joey Gallo hasn't changed his three true outcomes ways. The Rangers can not expect to compete if Shin-Soo Choo and Elvis Andrus are leading the charge, which they currently are.
25The Padres have had a rough schedule to start the season, facing the Brewers, Rockies, and Astros to start the year. When he isn't missing pop flies to lose game, big-name signing Eric Hosmer actually hasn't been bad, but the rest of the Padres roster is somewhat devoid of big league talent.
26The Tigers are currently only a half a game back of the division lead (because of a sweep over the White Sox), though that is absolutely not holding true. Nick Castellanos has looked really good so far this season, and Miguel Cabrera doesn't look horrible. That being said, this Tigers team still isn't good. At all.
27Look, the Marlins aren't the worst team in the league. They just aren't. Not only did they split a series against the Cubs, but they also beat a stud starter in Jake Arrieta on Sunday. Sure, they aren't good, but with Starlin Castro swinging the bat well, and Brian Anderson looking really good at third base, the Marlins will not be the worst team in the league this year.
28The Reds only have two wins this season, which is bound to happen when your only great player struggles to start the year. Joey Votto, like Mike Trout, hasn't started the season out hot, which isn't a good sign for Cincinnati. Eugenio Suarez, the only other good hitter in that lineup, is going to be out for an extended period of time, so it's going to be a long season in Cincinnati.
29Not only did the Rays DFA Corey Dickerson this offseason, but he may be the best player in this current Tampa lineup. Daniel Robertson has looked really good, but other than that, there isn't anything exciting about the Rays this season. They've mangled their rebuild even worse than Miami, and they better hope Chris Archer can get a huge trade return.
30This team is horrible. Jon Jay has been the only hitter pulling his weight so far for the Royals this year, and while the starting pitching hasn't looked abysmal, it isn't elite. If this trend continues, Kansas City is going to be lucky to lose less than 100 games.
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