AL East Contender or Pretender

New York Yankees (48-40) First Place

Obviously I am going to go with contender here. They may be a flawed team but they are the least flawed team in a division full of flawed teams. The bullpen is a plus and the offense will win you a ton of games. The pitching has the potential to be great, not just good, which is something a lot of teams in the division cannot boast.

Tampa Bay Rays (46-45) Second Place

The Rays have done more with less than any other team in the division. The team has been right in the thick of things for the entire 2015 season despite losing a large chunk of their players to offseason trades and even twice as many to injuries. The team is getting healthy at just the right time and has a ton of depth to move in trades if need be. Tampa should be there until the final day of the season.

Baltimore Orioles (44-44) Third Place

I personally think the Baltimore Orioles have played above their heads this season and will not contend for much of the second half. The team’s top prospects are hurt and the pitching staff is only getting quality starts out of Wei-Yin Chen for the most part which may bring the team’s demise before the season is done and over with.

Toronto Blue Jays (45-46) Fourth Place

This team due to its inability to pitch either in the rotation or the bullpen is a pretender in my book. The team may buy at this year’s July 31^st trading deadline but a barren farm system full on under-performing or injured prospects can’t help a team that has no real depth to trade from on the major league roster.

Boston Red Sox (42-47) Last Place

Believe it or not I am going contender. Sure the pitching has been mediocre and has taken a step back with the loss of Clay Buchholz but the thing about the Red Sox is they are never truly out of it. There is a ton of talent on that team and twice as much talent down on the farm that could help either on the field or in trades. Until Boston is mathematically eliminated I am not counting them out.