1. White Sox- When your 6th starter (B. McCarthy) can battle Mark Prior, you have some kind of depth. Posednik's OBP is .394, while Carlos Lee's is .307.
2. Orioles- Most impressive feature of their start is 16-6 record against AL East rivals.
3. Red Sox- When you have a team ERA of 4.65 and you're still 7 games over .500, the future looks bright.
4. Marlins- With a team ERA of 3.21 and a WHIP of 1.14, this is the team no one wants to face in the playoffs.
5. Twins- The most balanced team in baseball. If Silva keeps pitching this way, they could be sitting on top of this list by August.
6. Cardinals- Take away it's 16-4 versus its weak divisional foes and the Redbirds are 9-11.
7. Angels- How this team has an OPS of .673 is pretty amazing. What is more amazing is their ERA is 3.63. Expect these 2 stats to start flip-flopping.
8. Yankees- It should turn out to be an interesting race for the four AL playoff spots, as the White Sox and Orioles much improved.
9. Padres- If they could just play better in div. (11-12), they could walk away with the West.
10. Diamondbacks- An 18-8 record against West foes has been the key to their surprising start.
11. Braves- Bullpen problems are starting to drag them down the list.
12. Rangers- 40 year-old Kenny Rogers has never pitched better, while Delucci and Mensch are carrying the offense, with OPS of 1.127 and 9.19, respectively.
13. Mets- Similar to the Braves, the end of games is their biggest weakness.
14. Blue Jays- Under the radar, Roy Halladay is pitching like a Cy Young candidate, again, with 7 wins, pitching in 8 more innings than any other MLB starter.
15. Dodgers- A road ERA of 5.55 has to improve, but a solid OBP (.345) will keep them close.
16. Nationals- An early season vote for pitching coach of the year to Randy St.Clarie, who has this staff competitive.
17. Tigers- Have played decently, but with the strength of the White Sox and Twins, they sit 10 games out of first.
18. Giants- Considering how much has went wrong, they should feel pretty good about their position.
19. Indians- Remember when the hip pick was to take the Tribe to win the Central?
20. Phillies- As bad as things have seemed, they are only 5 games out of first.
21. Cubs- Another team that still has playoff hopes in a weak National League.
22. Pirates- If Perez starts pitching to his potential, this is one of the best staffs in the NL.
23. Brewers- Wait a minute on the NL Pitching coach honors, Mike Maddux is the winner, as Sheets and his group of no-names have an overall ERA of .374.
The rest of these teams STINK. Here are their ranking numbers.
24. A's
25. Mariners
26. Astros
27. Reds
28. Devil Rays
29. Rockies
30. Royals