Less than a month into the Major League Baseball season and there has been a lot of action so far most notably a no hitter by the A's Sean Manaea last night over the best offensive team in baseball so far the Boston Red Sox. There is a lot of baseball left to be played but after getting a descent sample size so far fans are prone to overreact to their teams performances so we take a look at if you should be freaking out or if you need to sit back and relax. We took a look at the National League teams last week which you can find here, today we will look at the American League. As we did for the National League list we will use a 1-10 scale with 1 being all is good and 10 being time to freak out.
AL East
Boston: 2
The Red Sox have been the best team in baseball so far in almost every aspect, well up until they were no hit last night. Besides that they have been 17-3 in their first 20 games and have had the best offense in baseball. The only reason I give them a 2 instead of a 1 is because I am always cautious of teams that are this good this early because they are due to hit a slump. The Yankees are also very good and will sure to challenge them as the season goes on.
New York Yankees: 5
The Yankees are sitting at 10-9 which isn't great but not a bad start either. The Yankees have a lot of power in their offense with Stanton, Judge, and Sanchez but the rest of the line up has questions and the rotation is not one of the top 5 rotations in the league. The Yankees may not be as good as people thought but still have the potential to win the division as they have a lot of upside.
Tampa Bay: 6
Tampa Bay is still in rebuilding phase. They are 7-13 and really nobody expected them to make a run at the division this year. A good goal to hit would be .500 but that looks like it may be a stretch at least so far.
Toronto: 4
The Blue Jays have been off to a surprising start sitting at 13-7 and only 4 games back of the nearly perfect Red Sox. The Blue Jays still have a lot of talent but just had a lot of players having off years a year ago. If some of those players can get back to their potential they could compete with the Sox and Yankees. The Blue Jays may need another piece or two but they aren't far off from being a competitor and making a run at the playoffs.
Baltimore: 7
The Orioles are off to a rough start to say the least. They sit at 6-15 in a tough division and really don't have anyone on their team worth noting besides Manny Machado. After there were off season rumors that he would be traded to rebuild that could become a possibility at the trade deadline as the Orioles will likely be out of contention.
AL Central
Cleveland: 4
Cleveland hasn't been great so far but luckily the rest of the division is so bad they should have an easy path to the playoffs. The Twins could give them some competition but Cleveland still has a lot of competition. Their biggest challenge will be in the playoffs from teams outside of the division.
Minnesota: 4
After sneaking into the playoffs last year the Twins look to make a run at it again. They are 8-7 so far and should be able to pick up a lot of wins in the division from the three teams not names Cleveland. Even if they don't win the division they should have a good shot at the wild card game again.
Chicago White Sox:7
A lot of people thought the White Sox could take a step forward this year with some young talent. So far that does not look like it will happen as the south-siders have gotten off to a rough 4-13 start. There is still a lot of room for improvement but white sox fans want to see some of this young talent lead to wins.
Kansas City: 8
It was just three seasons ago that the Royals won the World Series and people thought they would have a run at a few more in the coming years. The Royals have pretty much emptied their roster to rebuild and this year will be rough as the Royals look to be one of the worst teams in baseball this year.
Detroit: 5
Detroit is off to a surprising start sitting at 9-10 with some young talent hopefully turning into wins with future hall of famer Miguel Cabrera leading the way. With little expectations in Detroit the Tigers could do better than most people think.
AL West
Houston: 3
The Astros have been very good so far sitting at 15-7. The Pitching has been unstoppable so far and the bats have started to heat up. The only thing the Astros fans should be worried about is that they may have competition in the division.
Texas: 6
Texas was not expected to do much this year and the biggest highlight of the year has been watching Bartolo Colon on the mound. The Rangers are in last place and will probably finish there or near there by the end of the year. The only thing to be worried about is making sure their in state rivals don't win another World Series.
Los Angeles Angels: 3
Mike Trout is being Mike Trout again and Ohenti has exceeded everyones expectations. He did have a blister on his hand after his last start which could be in issue but won't be a major thing to worry about. There is a lot of talent in this line up and adding another strong arm in the rotation could make the Angels a playoff team if they an keep it up.
Seattle: 5
The Mariners are off to a good start at 11-8 but the upside for this team is limited. The Mariners could be a good team but they are still missing a few things to be a playoff team. I am not sure the Mariners are going to make that move and will probably finish somewhere around .500
Oakland: 5
The A's had the magical night after Sean Manaea no hit the Red Sox and while they have a few pieces they probably aren't going to make a playoff run. The only thing the A's should be worried about is making the right moves for the future.