Every day, Pinstripe Alley offers updates on what the Yankees’ top American League opponents are up to through the Rivalry Roundup . The AL East is well-trodden ground there, but with the end of the month upon us, we’re going to take a peek around MLB as a whole and check in with each of the other five divisions. Who’s surprising? Who’s underwhelming? Who’s simply mediocre at the moment? Read on and find out.
First Place: Seattle Mariners (31-29)
Top Position Player: Randy Arozarena (2.1 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Bryan Woo (1.5 fWAR)
The top
spot in the American League West has been a bit of a merry-go-round this season, with the reigning division champs, the Seattle Mariners, emerging as the team on top at the end of the month. Despite a disappointing start to the season from Cal Raleigh, plus injuries to Raleigh and Brendan Donovan, Seattle boasts one of the more prolific offenses in the American League, thanks to strong performances from Randy Arozarena (147 wRC+) and Luke Raley (155 wRC+), plus a strong month of May from Julio Rodríguez (.278/.316/.583 slash line with nine home runs). And yet, this offense still has another level it can reach, as they’ve gotten little production out of first base due to Josh Naylor’s lackluster production (98 wRC+, though he’s heated up since his frigid start), and southpaw-killer Rob Refsnyder has just a .115/.197/.262 slash line against lefties this season.
On the mound, the Mariners boast one of the few rotations in the American League that can challenge the Yankees in terms of depth. Bryan Woo (1.5 fWAR), George Kirby (1.3 fWAR), Emerson Hancock (1.1 fWAR), and Logan Gilbert (0.9 fWAR) each rank within the top 21 of AL starters in fWAR, a number matched only by the aforementioned Bombers. Only Luis Castillo, the pitcher with the longest track record, has struggled. Overall, the bullpen has been solid, although Andrés Muñoz has been uncharacteristically prone to meltdowns.
Second Place: The Athletics (28-31)
Top Position Player: Shea Langeliers (2.3 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Jackson Perkins (0.7 fWAR)
Hovering within two to three games of .500 on each side, the Athletics have spent much of the season at or near the top of a weak American League West. While they have had some big series wins, however, their success in the division to date has less to do with the Athletics themselves, and more to do with how flawed their division has been. The offense has been slightly below league average, despite fantastic performances from Shea Langeliers (147 wRC+), Nick Kurtz (152 wRC+), and Carlos Cortes (165 wRC+), because outside of this trio, the A’s lack a true offensive threat. Brent Rooker has been a real disappointment, accruing -0.3 fWAR with a 71 wRC+ out of the DH spot.
On the flip side, the pitching staff has been slightly better than league average. Jeffrey Springs and J.T. Ginn have been solid (as were Aaron Civale and Luis Severino before they hit the shelf), while the bullpen has seen their roles shuffle (Hogan Harris, Joel Kuhnel, and Mark Leiter Jr. all have four saves, highlighting the team’s search for a consistent closer at the back end). Although they have solid pieces, however, they lack a true ace or a dominant bullpen arm — possibly the result of playing in a minor-league ballpark.
Third Place: Texas Rangers (28-31)
Top Position Player: Josh Jung (1.5 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: MacKenzie Gore (1.2 fWAR)
Heading into the season, the narrative around the Texas Rangers was that they would go as far as their pitching staff would take them, and in my heart, I still believe that to be the case. But as it currently stands, the offense has been their (mild) calling card. Thanks to a large number of platoons — the FanGraphs Depth Chart lists them as running four righty/lefty platoons, they have managed a 104 wRC+, good for fourth in the American League. Josh Jung, Brandon Nimmo, Joc Pederson, and Ezequiel Durán each have wRC+ of 129 and above. Should the struggling Corey Seager (80 wRC+) begin to find his stroke whenever he returns from the lower back inflammation that has kept him on the shelf since mid-May, this lineup may finally become truly dangerous.
The starting rotation, on the other hand, has been…less than stellar. Nathan Eovaldi (3.93 ERA) and Jacob deGrom (3.77 ERA) have been inconsistent, sometimes turning the clock back and dominating opposing lineups, at other times looking like their 36- and 38-year-old selves. Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, meanwhile, have yet to live up to the lofty expectations that their status as top draft picks placed upon them. A dominant bullpen, led by Jacob Latz, Tyler Alexander, and Jakob Junis, has held their pitching staff afloat, and allowed them to have a perfectly league average 100 ERA+.
Fourth Place: Houston Astros (27-34)
Top Position Player: Yordan Álvarez (2.7 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Peter Lambert (0.8 fWAR)
What happens when you put together one of the league’s best offenses with the league’s worst pitching staff? You get the Houston Astros, a team that in most divisions would already be in dire straits, but who (unfortunately for Yankees fans) exist in a division that cannot get out of its own way, and are thus still right in the thick of the division race.
Second baseman Jose Altuve has finally begun to look his age, and Carlos Correa is out for the season with an ankle injury suffered during batting practice, but the Houston offense has not missed a beat. Yordan Álvarez looks truly healthy for the first time in years, and looks to be one of the early frontrunners for the American League MVP with a 187 wRC+ and an AL-leading 20 home runs. Between Yordan, first baseman Christian Walker, and a returned-to-health Jeremy Peña, the Astros offense will not be the thing holding this team back.
On the other hand, though, the pitching staff has largely been a disappointment, the combined no-hitter notwithstanding. Thanks to injuries to ace Hunter Brown as well as Ronel Blanco, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr., Brandon Walter, and Hayden Wesneski, Houston has been forced to use 12 different starting pitchers this season. Spencer Arrighetti has been electric, and Tatsuya Imai may (emphasis: may) be starting to settle in after a disastrous transition to America, but the depth has been challenged. The bullpen hasn’t been any better, either, with Yankee reject Enyel De Los Santos one of their best relievers, somehow. The only light at the end of the tunnel is that Josh Hader should finally be activated for his season debut on Tuesday, following biceps tendinitis.
The Astros being the Astros, though, they have somehow managed to crawl out of the cellar, and string together enough wins in May to make contention in the division at least plausible.
Last Place: Los Angeles Angels (23-37)
Top Position Player: Mike Trout (2.1 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Reid Detmers (1.9 fWAR)
After years of absolute disasters, the Angels have recaptured their mid-to-late 2010s form, which is to say, they’ve been a disaster, but at least Mike Trout has looked good — and more importantly, remained healthy.
Anaheim’s favorite fish has looked vintage so far this season, posting a .241/.412/.498 slash line with 14 home runs and five stolen bases in his return to center field. Unfortunately for him, help has been rather lacking, as offseason acquisition Josh Lowe was optioned to Triple-A, Jo Adell is proving that last year’s 37-homer campaign was an aberration, and Jorge Soler looks every bit the 34-year-old unable to play the field. Besides Trout, in fact, the only two players contributing offensively on a consistent basis have been shortstop Zack Neto (121 wRC+) and second baseman Oswald Peraza (122 wRC+).
On the mound, the Angels have been, well, just like the offense. After his dominant start to the season, José Soriano has crashed down to earth, posting a 5.34 ERA in the month of May, thanks in part to two awful performances against the White Sox and Dodgers, respectively. Behind him, Walbert Ureña has been in the midst of a breakout, having allowed two runs or fewer in all six of his May starts. Reid Detmers, however, is a reliever cosplaying as a starter, Jack Kochanowicz leads the league in walks, and Yusei Kikuchi wasn’t exactly good before going on the IL. The bullpen hasn’t been any better, with only Chase Silseth and Sam Bachman the only thing resesmbling high-leverage arms.
