1. Cubs: Jake Arrieta is closing in on Hall-Of-Famer Bob Gibson’s record of 26 consecutive quality starts. In his last 119.1 innings pitched, he has only allowed seven earned runs.
2. Nationals: Bryce Harper may be pulling ahead of Mike Trout for best player in the MLB. New manager Dusty Baker has them rolling early.
3. Royals: Despite being doubted every year, the Royals continue to win games. They execute small ball and their bullpen like no team before.
4. Dodgers: Kenta Maeda has filled the void of Zack Greinke nicely. He’s 3-0 and has only given up one run in his first 25.1 Major League innings.
5. White Sox: Jose Quintana, Mat Latos and Carlos Rodon give the White Sox great depth in the rotation behind ace Chris Sale. That rotation could be a wrecking ball in October.
6. Orioles: Manny Machado’s bat is on fire. He’s hitting .380, the best in the American League, with 6 home runs and 27 hits in 17 games. It’s fair to say he’s a top 10 player.
7. Cardinals: They’re 1-5 against the Cubs and Pirates to start the year, but are arguably baseball’s greatest organization since 2000. They are a good ball club, and might finish third in the division.
8. Rangers: Injuries derailed Derek Holland and A.J. Griffin the past two seasons. If they can regain form, the Rangers can have one of baseball’s best rotations with Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish.
9. Blue Jays: In 12 of his last 14 starts, J.A. Happ has allowed two earned runs or less. He’s no David Price, but he helps a somewhat questionable pitching staff.
10. Pirates: For the third-straight season, the Pirates are off to a slow start, but that didn’t stop them from making the playoffs the past two seasons.
11.Diamondbacks: The Shelby Miller trade hasn’t looked good for the Diamondbacks so far, but the trade for Jean Segura has. He’s hitting .329 after hitting .257 last season for the Brewers.
12.Tigers: Miguel Cabrera and newly-acquired Justin Upton are barely hitting .200 to start the season, but once they get going, watch out. The Tigers’ potent lineup may be back with the likes of Victor Martinez, JD Martinez, Nick Castellanos and Ian Kinsler.
13. Astros: With the Astros’ 2015 surprise success, many people picked them to win the AL West and possibly the World Series in 2016. They’re off to a putrid start, and the main reason is their pitching. A team ERA of 4.85 won’t win many games.
14. Mets: Ace Matt Harvey hasn’t looked good in 2016. He owns a 1-3 record with a 5.24 ERA. Noah Syndergaard may be considered the ace soon. He has a 3-0 record, a 0.90 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched.
15. Giants: Newly acquired pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto have combined for a 5-2 record. Other starters Madison Bumgarner, Jake Peavy and Matt Cain have combined for a 2-5 record.
16. Red Sox: Boston’s rotation is filled with question marks after David Price, who allowed eight runs in his last start. The Red Sox season may be highlighted by Big Papi’s farewell tour.
17. Mariners: Felix Hernandez leads a Mariners’ pitching staff that has the fourth-best ERA in the American League. Taijuan Walker looked good in his first three starts of the season, owning a 1.50 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 18 innings.
18. Rockies: Trevor Story wrote a novel in his first week as a Rockie. He’s got everybody in Colorado saying, “Troy Tulowitzki who?”
19. Athletics: After taking two out of three from the Royals and sweeping the Yankees in New York, they dropped two out of three to the Blue Jays.
20. Yankees: Similar to the Royals in 2014, the 2016 Yankees pieced together the best bullpen in baseball. Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller have struck out 37 of the 61 batters they’ve faced this season. Just wait until Aroldis Chapman returns from suspension.
21. Angels: The Angels’ ERA is in the top 10, but where is their offense? They’re ranked last in batting average and 25th in homers.
22. Rays: The Rays’ top prospect Blake Snell, adds another southpaw to a lefty-heavy rotation. They’re a sleeper in the AL East.
23. Marlins: Christian Yelich is tearing it up for the Marlins early on. He holds the fourth best batting average in baseball at .379.
24. Indians: Cleveland is struggling to find its identity, and recently moved slugger Carlos Santana to the lead-off spot. It may be time to trade the pieces they have and start over.
25. Reds: The Reds are a fun early season success story, but trading away players like Johnny Cueto and Todd Frazier makes it unlikely they’ll continue strong.
26. Phillies: The Phillies are stuck in the middle of a rebuilding phase. The only enjoyment Phillies’ fans will get to see this season is star third baseman Maikel Franco hit home runs and the young pitching rotation develop.
27. Brewers: Jimmy Nelson is 3-1 on the season, but the rest of the rotation is a combined 2-9. That record won’t get any better playing in the difficult NL Central.
28. Twins: The Twins just missed making the playoffs in 2015. They started off the 2016 season 0-9 and are currently 5-13. It’s starting to look like 2015 was a fluke season.
29. Padres: They’re on pace to be shutout 30 times this season. The 1908 St. Louis Cardinals were shutout a record 33 times in a 154 game season.
30. Braves: This team possesses little power. They only have three home runs in 16 games. They’re clearly in rebuilding mode and have acquired great prospects over the past two years. You heard it here first; the Braves are going to win the 2021 World Series.