MLB Top 10 Teams Entering Week 14

The MLB All-Star festivities are less than three weeks away at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Some teams have crawled themselves out of a hole the past couple of weeks and they are starting to hit their stride. Baseball is a marathon and not a sprint. Who are this week's top 10 teams in the MLB?

10. Chicago Cubs: Javier Baez continues to rake pitching this season and it won't be a surprise when he goes to the All-Star game in a couple of weeks. He went 4-for-5 with five RBI's, in a 9-4 win on the road on Tuesday Night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Baez has a .276 batting average with 16 home runs and 56 RBI's, along with 13 stolen bases. The Chicago Cubs still have two more crucial on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers before they return home for a weekend series against the Minnesota Twins. Chicago's record so far this season is 43-34.

They are in first in the NL Wild Card standings and the Cubs are 2.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers for first in the National League Central standings. Last week's ranking: 7.

9. Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers are starting to find their summertime groove again. Los Angeles has been trying to climb the standings for the past month. The Dodgers have a 42-36 record and they are 6-4 in their last 10 games.

They are just 2.5 games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the National League West standings. The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently in the second wild-card spot in the NL. Last week's ranking: not ranked.

8. Arizona Diamondbacks: Arizona is feeling the heat of the Dodgers right now in the National League West. The Diamondbacks are holding their ground for now.

They continue to have very good pitching, but they need to upgrade their lineup. Arizona's record so far this season is 45-34. Last week's ranking: 9.

7. Cleveland Indians: The Indians are two different type of baseball teams when they play at home and when they play on the road. Cleveland is one of the best teams in baseball when they play at home. The Indians home record is 27-13 so far in 2018. When the Indians play on the road, they play like a below .500 team.

Cleveland's record on the road is 16-22. Their overall record is 43-35. They currently sit in first place in the AL Central. The Indians have lost two straight road games against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Cleveland hopes to avoid the sweep on Wednesday Night. Jose Rameriz continues to rake for the Cleveland Indians.

His batting average is .292 with 23 home runs and 52 RBI's, along with 12 stolen bases. Edwin Encarncion also has a .235 batting average with 18 home runs and 53 RBI's. Last week's ranking: 8.

6. Seattle Mariners: The Mariners seem to have a power struggle against the upper echelon of the American League. They were swept on the road against the New York Yankees and lost two-out-of-three on the road against the Boston Red Sox.

Seattle still has a very good baseball team however. Their record is 49-31. The Mariners sit comfortably in the second wild-card spot in the American League. Seattle is 3.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West standings.

Kyle Seager drove in all three runs for the Seattle Mariners in Tuesday Night's 3-2 win on the road against the Baltimore Orioles. He has a .225 batting average with 14 home runs and 47 RBI's, along with one stolen base.

Mitch Haniger continues to his breakout season for Seattle. He has a .267 batting average with 16 home runs and 59 RBI's, along with four stolen bases. Last week's ranking: 4.

5. Atlanta Braves: The Braves continue to be a fun, young, athletic, and energetic team led by manager Brian Snitker. Ozzie Abies continues to be the heart and soul of this Atlanta Braves team.

He has a .271 batting average with 17 home runs and 46 RBI's, along with seven stolen bases. Albies didn't play in Atlanta's 6-5 loss on Wednesday Afternoon at home against the Cincinnati Reds because of a sore left foot.

Freddie Freeman could be one of the favorites to win the NL MVP Award right now. He has a .321 batting average with 15 home runs and 54 RBI's, along with six stolen bases. His on-base percentage is .410.

The Atlanta Braves currently shit atop of the NL East with a 45-34 record. They have a three-game lead on the Philadelphia Phillies. Last week's ranking: 5.

4. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers might be the most balanced team in the National League right now. They also have the best record in the National League at the moment at 46-32. Milwaukee leads the NL Central division by 2.5 games over the Chicago Cubs.

The Brewers hit the road for four games this weekend against the Cincinnati Reds. Milwaukee's pitching has been underrated for the most part in 2018. Jhoulys Chacin has been the Brewers best starter in 2018. He has a 6-3 record with a 3.82 ERA. In 92 innings pitched, Chacin has given up 83 hits and 42 runs.

He has walked 40 batters and has struck out 71. Jeremy Jeffress and Josh Hader have been Milwaukee's top two bullpen pitchers so far in 2018. Jeffress's record is 5-1 with a 1.18 ERA. In 38 innings, he has given up 20 hits and six runs.

Jeffress has walked 12 batters and has struck out 38. He has recorded three saves in six tries. Hader's record is 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA. In 40.2 innings pitched, he has given up 15 hits and seven runs. Hader has walked 16 batters and has struck out 80. He has seven saves in nine tries. Last week's ranking: 6.

3. Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox have been fortunate that the Yankees slipped up over the weekend and they are just 0.5 games back of them in the AL East. Boston has a 53-27 record so far to start the 2018 season.

The Red Sox took two-out-of-three at home this weekend against the Seattle Mariners, including exploding for 14 runs on Friday Night. J.D. Martinez had five RBI's in that game. His batting average so far this season is .326 with 24 home runs and 61 RBI's, along with two stolen bases.

He has been of the reasons why the Boston Red Sox are able to keep pace in the AL East with the New York Yankees. Chris Sale also continues to be one of the best pitchers in the American League. He struck out 13 batters in seven innings in a 5-0 win on Sunday Afternoon at home against the Seattle Mariners.

His record is 7-4 with a 2.56 ERA. In 109 innings pitched, Sale has given up 73 hits and 33 runs. He has only walked 28 batters and has struck out 153. The Boston Red Sox have a huge three-game set on the road this weekend against their biggest rivals, the New York Yankees. Last week's ranking: 3.

2. New York Yankees: If Justin Verlander wasn't having the year he was having in Houston, Luis Severino would be the favorite to bring home the American League CY Young award home right now. He struck out nine batters in seven innings in New York's 6-0 win on the road on Tuesday Night against the Philadelphia Phillies.

His record is 12-2 with a 2.10 ERA. Severino has pitched in 111.2 innings and he has given up 81 hits and 27 runs. Severino has walked 26 batters and has struck out 132 batters. Jonathan Loaisgia got called up recently to the MLB and he made his MLB debut on Monday Night on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Loaisgia pitched 5.2 innings and only gave up one hit. He walked two batters and struck out eight, in a 4-2 win. Catcher Gary Sanchez will be on the disabled list with a groin injury. His batting average is .190 with 14 homeruns and 41 RBI's. Austin Romine will be the starting catcher in the meantime and he is better defensively. Romine has a .289 batting average with four homeruns and 20 RBI's.

The Yankees suffered there first sweep of the regular season over the weekend on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays. New York's record so far this season is 52-25 and they have a haf game lead over Boston.

The New York Yankees have a huge three-game set at home this weekend against their biggest rivals, the Boston Red Sox. Last week's ranking: 2.

1.Houston Astros: I know the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees have over 50 wins and some people think either of those two teams are better than the Houston Astros, but the true of the matter is, they are simply not.

The Astros have a very deep lineup and pitching rotation. They are one of only a few teams in a long time that they can beat opponents in so many different ways. Houston is on a mission to win their second straight World Series title.

Alex Bregman hit a walk-off two-run homer on Wednesday Afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays in a 7-6 win. He has a .272 batting average with 13 homeruns and 47 RBI's, along with seven stolen bases. Bregman has a .376 on-base percentage. Evan Gattis and George Springer each have 15 homeruns.

Springer has 42 RBI's and a .260 batting average, along with three stolen bases. Gattis has 54 RBI's (leads team) and a .252 batting average, along with one stolen base. Collin McHugh has been very good in the Astros bullpen.

He has a 3-0 record with a 1.25 ERA. McHugh has pitched in 35 innings and has given up 21 hits and six runs. He has walked eight batters and has struck out 43. The Houston Astros record so far in 2018 is 54-28. They lead the American League West by 3.5 games over the Seattle Mariners.

Houston will start a six-game road trip starting tomorrow night against the Tampa Bay Rays and then they will have a two-game set against in state rivals the Texas Rangers. Last week's ranking: 1.

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