If you had told me exactly two months ago that the race for play-offs in the Atlantic (AL) East would be a 4-way tie, I would have called you crazy. The Orioles were comfortably leading the division by half a dozen games as last year’s division champ, the Blue Jays had a rocky start to the season, the Red Sox’s pitching was inconsistent, the Yankees (understandably in a rebuilding process) were alarmingly a couple of games under .500 while the Rays were never in contention to begin with. Fast forward to now, and we have quite a pennant race on our hands: the Orioles have started to slump since the All-Star break, while the other 3 squads have all picked up pace and racked up crucial wins. This makes AL East the most fun to watch division in the MLB and other divisions are not even close: the AL East is the only division with 4/5 teams possessing win-loss record of over .500! So who will take the division champ and (possibly) the coveted wild card spot?

It is no secret to baseball fans that pitching is arguably the most crucial ingredient of a champion. The AL East, however, does not have a plethora of starting aces like Clayton Kershaw or Kyle Hendricks. The Red Sox seem to have the most impressive starting rotation though, with multi-million signing David Price leading the charge, followed by Rick Porcello (who currently leads the League in number of Wins) and an equally impressive Steven Wright. However, Boston’s relief pitchers have been found guilty of blowing Saves and being lit up in high leverage situations. The Blue Jays’ rotation is relatively reliable, with top prospect Aaron Sanchez and J.A. Happs with his impressive win-loss record. However, over-reliance on recently promoted Sanchez and Happs could be fatal as the remaining 3 starters are all spotting 4+ ERA. The Orioles’ pitching is probably their biggest downfall: ace starter Chris Tillman is too injury-prone, Ubaldo Jimenez blows hot and cold, Kevin Gausman, despite recent quality starts, has not yet reached his full potential while Dylan Bundy is still very raw. However, they do have an ace closer up their sleeves in Zach Britton (who is 100% in save opportunities so far). The Yankees’ only reliable pitcher is Masahiro Tanaka while their once quality bullpen is severely damaged with the trades of fastball expert Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller to the Cubs and the Indians respectively. In terms of pitching, I think the Red Sox’s rotation has the most value and can carry them through the remaining crucial series.

Continued in next week’s issue…