We're roughly 1/4 of the way through the season, who's contenders and who's pretenders?

[Chewbaccer]

Braves- Contenders. Don't know if I think they'll see postseason play, but I don't think they'll fall out of contention
Phillies- Contenders. I see them as in pretty much the same boat as the Braves.
Nationals- Contenders. Still the heavy favorites to win the NL East
Mets- Pretenders. Old lineup, two man rotation with one of them banged up. Shaky at best bullpen.
Marlins- Pretenders. Worst roster in the Majors.

Cardinals- Contenders. I'll always buy the Cardinals.
Cubs- Contenders. Still my pick to win it all.
Pirates- Pretenders. They've been on a nice run, but I expect a falling back down to earth.
Brewers- Contenders. They're a good team, but the Cubs are in their heads big time.
Reds- Pretenders. Playing better lately, but not a good team.

Diamondbacks- Contenders. It's looking more and more likely they win the division
Rockies- Pretenders. Wasn't sold last season, not sold this season
Giants- Pretenders. They go on runs, but they also go in big time slumps, and they need to get healthy
Dodgers- Contenders. They're playing terrible right now, but I've seen this team go on ridiculous runs before, and I can't rule that out
Padres- Pretenders. Might end up being better than we think, they have some good young players, but they're gonna finish at the bottom

Yankees- Contenders. Might be the World Series favorites right now
Red Sox- Contenders. Gonna be a fun race to watch
Blue Jays- Pretenders. Had a nice start to the season, coming back down now, and will be out of it completely before July
Rays- Pretenders. Might be the second worst roster in baseball.
Orioles- Pretenders. They have talent on this team, but they played themselves out of it with a horrible start

Indians- Contenders. Not playing well, but still lead the division, and I expect them to get hot.
Twins- Contenders. If the Indians continue to be mediocre, they're right there, and have bounced back from that losing streak.
Tigers- Pretenders. Rebuilding is a bitch. Trust me, I know.
Royals- Pretenders. They're gonna be at or near the bottom for a while.
White Sox- Pretenders. They suck, but given the young talent on the team, they might be the most fun bad team to watch

Astros- Contenders. They really haven't even started hitting yet
Angels- Contenders. They're pretty damn good when they don't play the Yankees or Red Sox
Mariners- Pretenders. They're playing good, but this is a team that's gonna have to prove it before I ever buy it.
A's- Pretenders. Been better than I expected, and I could see them being close to .500, but I could also see them trading away every good piece they have.
Rangers- Pretenders. Not a whole lot to say really.

 

[navamind]

Braves- Contenders. Don't know if I think they'll see postseason play, but I don't think they'll fall out of contention
Phillies- Contenders. I see them as in pretty much the same boat as the Braves.
Nationals- Contenders. Still the heavy favorites to win the NL East
Mets- Pretenders. Old lineup, two man rotation with one of them banged up. Shaky at best bullpen.
Marlins- Pretenders. Worst roster in the Majors.

Cardinals- Contenders. I'll always buy the Cardinals.
Cubs- Contenders. Still my pick to win it all.
Pirates- Pretenders. They've been on a nice run, but I expect a falling back down to earth.
Brewers- Contenders. They're a good team, but the Cubs are in their heads big time.
Reds- Pretenders. Playing better lately, but not a good team.

Diamondbacks- Contenders. It's looking more and more likely they win the division
Rockies- Pretenders. Wasn't sold last season, not sold this season
Giants- Pretenders. They go on runs, but they also go in big time slumps, and they need to get healthy
Dodgers- Contenders. They're playing terrible right now, but I've seen this team go on ridiculous runs before, and I can't rule that out
Padres- Pretenders. Might end up being better than we think, they have some good young players, but they're gonna finish at the bottom

Yankees- Contenders. Might be the World Series favorites right now
Red Sox- Contenders. Gonna be a fun race to watch
Blue Jays- Pretenders. Had a nice start to the season, coming back down now, and will be out of it completely before July
Rays- Pretenders. Might be the second worst roster in baseball.
Orioles- Pretenders. They have talent on this team, but they played themselves out of it with a horrible start

Indians- Contenders. Not playing well, but still lead the division, and I expect them to get hot.
Twins- Contenders. If the Indians continue to be mediocre, they're right there, and have bounced back from that losing streak.
Tigers- Pretenders. Rebuilding is a bitch. Trust me, I know.
Royals- Pretenders. They're gonna be at or near the bottom for a while.
White Sox- Pretenders. They suck, but given the young talent on the team, they might be the most fun bad team to watch

Astros- Contenders. They really haven't even started hitting yet
Angels- Contenders. They're pretty damn good when they don't play the Yankees or Red Sox
Mariners- Pretenders. They're playing good, but this is a team that's gonna have to prove it before I ever buy it.
A's- Pretenders. Been better than I expected, and I could see them being close to .500, but I could also see them trading away every good piece they have.
Rangers- Pretenders. Not a whole lot to say really.

They might trade the likes of Khris Davis and Jed Lowrie (who might fetch a decent return given how well he's hit over the last 1 1/4 seasons), but they have potential pieces in Chapman/Olson/Manaea. They've also got some intriguing prospects on the verge of being promoted (Barreto, Mateo, Fowler, Sheldon Neuse to name a few). They'll probably be sellers near the deadline, but they should be adding to what's already a pretty solid farm system. It might not be this year, but I think they're close to being pretty good again.

 

[SteelersPride]

screw you the pirates arent for real and we all know it, dont rub it in

 

[SU Nittany Tide]

I'm not sure calling teams like the marlins pretenders is accurate. They are very serious about being as good as their record.

 

[Sportsguy9695]

love how the yankees are playing thus far. but its a long way to go

 

[molsaniceman]

AL
contenders
Bos
Nyy
Tor
Cle-by default
Hou
Laa

pretenders -the rest

Nl contenders
Was
Chc
Stl
Mlk
Ari
SF
pretenders-the rest

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

Think thats a pretty fair assessment of things

Mariners- Pretenders. They're playing good, but this is a team that's gonna have to prove it before I ever buy it.


This is a team I was really loving before this Cano injury, thats a huge blow
That lineup was legit, they probably would have needed to add a starter

 

[PolarVortex]

Think thats a pretty fair assessment of things

Mariners- Pretenders. They're playing good, but this is a team that's gonna have to prove it before I ever buy it.


This is a team I was really loving before this Cano injury, thats a huge blow
That lineup was legit, they probably would have needed to add a starter

The little train that could....

 

[PolarVortex]

Think thats a pretty fair assessment of things

Mariners- Pretenders. They're playing good, but this is a team that's gonna have to prove it before I ever buy it.


This is a team I was really loving before this Cano injury, thats a huge blow
That lineup was legit, they probably would have needed to add a starter

They should trade for Starlin Castro and then stick him in left field when Cano returns. I'm sure Jeter wants to dump Castro's contract.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

They should trade for Starlin Castro and then stick him in left field when Cano returns. I'm sure Jeter wants to dump Castro's contract.

Good idea, I heard Gordon Beckham has been great in the minors and will get the first crack

But he sucks, we know that

 

[PolarVortex]

Good idea, I heard Gordon Beckham has been great in the minors and will get the first crack

But he sucks, we know that

Word. Good clubhouse guy, shitty lineup guy. Chase Headley just got DFAed. I guess he is an option too but he isn't much better than Beckham.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

love how the yankees are playing thus far. but its a long way to go

The Yankees were one of the top-3 teams in baseball last year, and they improved during the offseason. Pretty safe bet that they'll be playing in October.

Baseball Prospectus gives them a 67% chance to win the division and a 98% to make the playoffs.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Good idea, I heard Gordon Beckham has been great in the minors and will get the first crack

But he sucks, we know that

That's funny. You remember when he was supposed to be the savior of the White Sox? They had marketing campaigns featuring him before his first cup of coffee. lolz. Fuck the White Sox.

 

[tducey]

Long season yet, I like the Blue Jays and think if all goes well they should contend for a wild card spot.

 

[thedddd]

Good list.

NL East I see the Nats and the Nats only. The Phillies/Braves will come back to earth but will stick around longer than expected due to the rest of the division.
NL Central - Cubs/Cards. I don't buy the Brewers and their lack of pitching.
NL West - Dbacks/Dodgers and maybe the Giants.
AL East - Typical...
AL Central Indians can the Twins pitching hold up?
AL West - Astros/Angels and the Mariners might be in trouble with Cano out.

 

[JohnU]

I think the Twins are pretenders, and if the Dodgers get back into the race, they will still be 10 games back. Milwaukee is a pretender. But they aren't terrible. The Mets will make things messy for the NL-E, but they won't finish .500. I think the Phils are a year away. The Nats had better win now. The Mariners are going to hang around, but that's all. Cubs will walk away and hide in the NL-C. Atlanta, better than advertised.

 

[Mondo Jay]

Braves playing great (best record in NL). Ozzie Albies has the most HR by a second baseman in 40 games in ML history. Holy shit.

Braves best pitcher is still in the minors (Allard) IMO. He is dominating lately. The young talent is starting to show. The rebuild was long and painful at times. I fucking love enjoying Braves baseball again.

 

[Mondo Jay]

Braves road record and strength of schedule has been amazing. They finally play 26 of the next 42 at home.

A lot of reason for optimism in Atlanta.

 

[Voltaire26]

I am offended by anyone calling the Tigers pretenders ... we ain’t that good and we ain’t pretending. It ain’t a forever thing ... I like the direction the team is moving.

 

[navamind]

Tigers aren't pretending to be bad.