The Forgotten – The MLB’s Top Teams Not In New York

This  MLB season has pretty much been all New York. The New York Mets and New York Yankees have both run through the Majors with ease.

Bedsides the two New York clubs, there have been other teams that have been having great seasons. Those teams should not be overlooked…the Mets and Yankees should actually be looking over their shoulders.

 

Atlanta Braves

The Braves are one of those teams that you always want more from and they seem to deliver.

The highlight of the season is the 14 game win streak, the longest by a defending World Series champion. What’s even more impressive is that the Braves were sub .500 heading into the month of June and are now nine games over at 37-29.

The Braves are doing the best impression of a Rocky Balboa comeback and walking down the New York Mets. They were 10.5 games back and are now 6.5 games back for the NL East lead. We saw them go on a streak en route to winning the World Series last season and this could be a glimpse of that.

 

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers have been one of the best teams in the league for over a decade. This season they have been quietly leading the charge out in the NL West.

Boasting one of the best home records at 20-11 is great, but to match that success on the road is more admirable: they currently are 20-13 in away games. They are doing this is one of the most competitive divisions in baseball with a myriad of injuries at a pivotal part of the season.

The Dodgers are always one those teams that you fear no matter what the circumstances are. Even though they currently sit a half game up in the NL West just ahead of a hot San Diego Padres team, the season doesn’t seem in jeopardy. That’s the kind of confidence you want in a possible World Series contender.

 

Minnesota Twins

The Twins have been consistently good all year. They are one of few teams that are balanced on both sides of the diamond. They have a top 15 bullpen as well as a top 10 batting rotation.

One of their best qualities is their batting and it has shown up against teams like the New York Yankees. The group is led by players like 2B Luis Arraez, CF Byron Buxton and 2B Jorge Polanco, who have been nothing short of amazing at the plate. You need to be able to get on base and score when you play in the same league as the best offensive team in baseball.

Minnesota is in the lead in the AL Central with a two game lead on the Cleveland Guardians. As long as they can continue their trend of showing up at the plate they will make noise in the 2022 Playoffs.

 

Houston Astros

There are not many teams that can say they have had constantly been good, but the Astros can. Though they are decent at home, what makes them scary is they play like mad men on the road. They boast the second best road record behind the blazing San Diego Padres at 23-14.

Part of the road success is how well their bullpen plays. Justin Verlander is an ace and has shown up this year with a 2.30 ERA as well as an 8-3 record. They are top five in multiple pitching categories as a team, which has been Houston’s calling card.

What Houston has been able to accomplish doesn’t get much hype but they are having a stellar season to say the least. They lead the AL West by nine games and are sitting pretty as the rest of the division doesn’t look competitive.

 

This year the MLB has looked like a two team show but there are threats lurking. These teams could be road blocks in what looks like a collision course of the Yankees and Mets in the World Series. Only time will tell.