MLB Top 10 Teams Entering Week 9

It is crazy to believe it's almost Memorial Day weekend. The middle of baseball season is almost here and the All-Star Game will be here before we know it. Seventeen teams have at least a .500 record or better Here are this week's top 10 teams:

10. Colorado Rockies: The Rockies are just 5-5 in their last 10 games but because the Arizona Diamondbacks are 1-9 in their last 10 games, Colorado has temporarily taken control of the National League West. The Rockies have a 26-23 record to start the 2018 season. They play much better baseball on the road (19-12) then they do at home (7-11). Nolan Arenado's batting average is .323 with eight home runs and 26 RBI's. Charlie Blackmon leads the team in home runs with 12 and Trevor Story leads the team in RBI's with 35. Colorado's starting pitching in is inconsistent. Chad Bettis has been Colorado's best starter in 2018. He has a 4-1 record with a 3.30 ERA. Bettis has pitched in 60 innings and has given up 50 hits and 22 runs. He has walked 22 batters and struck out 39. Adam Ottavino has been a beast in the bullpen. He has a 3-0 record with a 1.04 ERA. In 26 innings pitched, Ottavino has given up seven hits and three runs. He has walked 10 batters and struck out 45. Last week's ranking: not ranked.

9. Los Angeles Angels: The Angels are going through a rough patch right now. They are just 3-7 in their last 10 games, but Los Angeles is off to a 26-22 start. They are 4.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the division and 2.5 games back of the Seattle Mariners for the second wild card spot. Mike Trout has a .294 batting average with 14 home runs and 28 RBI's, along with 10 stolen bases. Last week's ranking: 6.

8. Washington Nationals: The Nationals are three games back of the Atlanta Braves for first in the National League East, 0.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild card spot in the NL, and 1.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the first wild card spot in the NL. Washington is off to a 26-21 start. Michael Taylor hit a walk-off double in Washington's 2-1 win at home on Tuesday Night against the San Diego Padres. They have a chance to sweep that series on Wednesday Afternoon. Bryce Harper has a .238 batting average with 15 home runs and 34 RBI's, along with four stolen bases. He also has a .394 on-base percentage.Max Scherzer continues to make his case as the best pitcher in the MLB. He has a 7-1 record with a 1.78 ERA. In 65.2 innings pitched, Scherzer has given up 40 hits and 16 runs. He has walked 16 batters and struck out 104. Last week's ranking: not ranked.

7. Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies are off to a 27-19 start and they are currently in the first wild card spot in the National League. Nick Pivetta pitched seven strong innings and struck out seven in Philadelphia's 3-0 win on Monday Night at home against the Atlanta Braves. They lost 3-1 on Tuesday Night but they can salvage the series with a win at home on Wednesday Night. Pivetta has a 4-2 record with a 3.23 ERA. In 53 innings pitched, he has given up 45 hits and 19 runs. Pivetta has only walked 12 batters and struck out 60. The Phillies don't hit for a lot of power, but they hit for contact. Last week's ranking: 7.

6. Seattle Mariners: The Mariners currently hold the second wild card spot in the American League with an 28-19 record. They don't seem to be missing a beat without Robinson Cano right now, but Dee Gordon just landed on the 10-day disabled list with a broken toe. Seattle is 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Mariners are just two games back of the Houston Astros in American League West. If Seattle continues to win games, they could possibly make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Last week's ranking: 8.

5. Atlanta Braves: Ozzie Albies scored three runs in Atlanta's 3-1 win on Tuesday Night on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies. He also hit another home run. Albies now has 14 homeruns on the season. He also has a .286 batting average and 34 RBI's. The Braves have a 29-18 record and they lead the NL East by 1.5 games over the Philadelphia Phillies. Atlanta is continues to be one of the most surprising stories in the National League this season. The Braves have a big three-game set on the road this weekend in Boston. Last week's ranking: 4.

4. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers are the first team in the National League this season to reach the 30-win mark. They lead the National League Central with a 30-19 record. Milwaukee is up 2.5 games on the St. Louis Cardinals. The offseason acquisitions the Brewers made are paying off. Christian Yelich has a .281 batting average with five home runs and 19 RBI's, along with three stolen bases. Lorenzo Cain has a .283 batting average with six home runs and 15 RBI's, along with 10 stolen bases. Travis Shaw leads the Brewers in home runs with 11 and RBI's with 28. He has a .243 batting average as well. Chase Anderson also came off the DL with a strained oblique. Anderson pitched six innings in his return and gave up three hits and two runs. He also walked three batters and struck out three in a 4-2 win on Monday Night at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks. They all beat Arizona 1-0 on Tuesday Night. Milwaukee has a chance to sweep the series on Wednesday Afternoon and the Brewers have a big four-game set at home this weekend against the New York Mets. Last week's ranking: 10.

3. New York Yankees: The Yankees pitching is starting to hit a wall again. New York did score 10 runs in consecutive games on Sunday Afternoon on the road against the Kansas City Royals in a 10-1 win and on Monday Night on the road against the Texas Rangers 10-5. New York has hit 75 home runs as a team so far in 2018. Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez has 12, Giancarlo Stanton has 11, and Didi Gregorius has 10. New York has a 31-14 record to start the 2018 season. Sonny Gray pitched eight strong innings and struck out six in Sunday's win. Luis Severino pitched six innings and struck out six in Saturday Night's 8-3 win against the Kansas City Royals on the road. He improved to 7-1 on the season with a 2.35 ERA. In 65 innings pitched, Severino has given up 47 hits and 17 runs. He has walked 16 batters and struck out 76. Last week's ranking: 1.

2. Boston Red Sox: The Boston Red Sox have the best record in the American League at 33-15, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are the best team in the American League. They are neck-and-neck in the standings with the New York Yankees. Boston leads New York by 0.5 games in the American League East. The Red Sox have one of the best offenses in the MLB. Mookie Betts is leading the charge for the Boston Red Sox and he is having an MVP caliber season. Betts has a .368 batting average with 16 home runs and 35 RBI's, along with 11 stolen bases. The J.D. Martinez signing is paying off for Boston. His batting average is .343 with 15 home runs and 41 RBI's. Brock Holt (.329) and Mitch Moreland (.313) are also batting over .300. Andrew Benintendi and Hanley Rameriz each have 29 RBI's. Benintendi has a .278 batting average and five homeruns and Rameriz has a .266 batting average and six homeruns. Chris Sale has a 5-1 record with a 2.17 ERA. In 70.2 innings pitched, he has given up 47 hits and 19 runs. Sale has walked 17 batters and struck out 96. Boston has had a solid bullpen so far this season. Bobby Poyner (1-1, 1.86 ERA), Joe Kelly (2-0, 2.08 ERA), and Craig Kimbrel (1-1, 2.21 ERA, 14-for-16 saves) are a huge part of the Red Sox's bullpen. Boston has a huge three-game set at home this weekend against the Atlanta Braves. Last week's ranking: 3.

1.Houston Astros: For the first time in a month, the Houston Astros are back in the number one spot. They have the best pitching rotation in the MLB. Justin Verlander (5-2, 1.05 ERA), Gerrit Cole (5-1, 1.86 ERA), and Charlie Morton (6-0, 1.94 ERA). They are 1,2,3 in the American League in ERA when it comes to starting pitchers. Jose Altuve has a .322 batting average with two homeruns and 22 RBI's, along with three stolen bases. George Springer has a .289 batting average with nine homeruns and 29 RBI's, along with one stolen base. Carlos Correa has a .268 batting average with eight homeruns and 31 RBI's, along with two stolen bases. The Astros are the best team in baseball because they can beat teams in so many different ways. They can win games 2-1 or win games 9-8. Houston has a 31-18 record to start the 2018 season and they play in a tough American League West division. The Houston Astros have a huge seven-game road trip coming up. They have four games this weekend against the Cleveland Indians and they have three games early next week against the New York Yankees. Last week's ranking: 2.