MLB Division Leaders: Who's Contending...and Who's Just Pretending?

As Sunday's games ended, the Major League Baseball Playoffs would be set as follows:

Boston from the AL East, Minnesota from the AL Central, and both Oakland and the Angels from the West.

In the NL, it would be Florida, Arizona, St. Louis, and the Cubs.

Surprises?  For sure.  But who will actually be around come September, and which of these teams are major pretenders?

In the AL East, we have seen what we mostly expected at the start of the season.  Most thought Boston would run away with this division, and so far they sit 1.5 games ahead of the surprise Rays.  I am still expecting the Yankees to turn it on midway through the year like they always do, but I feel the future champs in this division already sit in first.

The Yankees will make a run and could very likely win the division or the AL Wild Card.  Expect the Rays to battle .500 all season and possibly even finish above it. 

However, expect the Orioles' start to the year to be a fluke and don't expect much out of Toronto.  I am buying Boston as a real contender, as they have fought their way into first already.

The AL Central is the biggest joke of them all.  I have felt the Twins were going to be a very bad baseball team this year, and I still do.  They have played outside themselves so far this season. Don't expect that to last. 

The Indians are finally turning things on and playing well.  The White Sox have too many questions at this point for me to believe they can avoid a major slump this summer like we saw last year. 

I have been disappointed in the Tigers along with the rest of this country, but with that lineup they can get away with staying close because they will run off a major winning streak before the season ends.  For now I am selling the Twins and White Sox, the Tribe's coming around and the division title here will go through the Mistake by the Lake.

The AL West is such a bad division I do not know what to think.  We are 35 games in and the Oakland Athletics have the second most wins in the AL?  That has to be a mistake, right? 

This team is getting good pitching, the biggest indicator of success to me in baseball.  However the lineup is still weak. Don't expect to see the A's keep this start up. They will trail off sooner than later.

Los Angeles is the most talented team in this division and is starting to show it.  Seattle has been a major bust, and their lineup will come around, but it won't be enough.  This division will see the Angels win it once again. I'm selling Oakland this moment.

In the NL, I am torn.  From what I have seen this year, this league will be between the Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Cubs.  Obviously, I am buying the division leaders in both the Central and West and I like LA to win the Wild Card. 

Any one of these three teams could promptly win the National League and I feel they are the three most complete teams in the league today.  Barring injury, expect to see these three in the playoffs.

Why no Cardinal love?  The pitching won't hold up.  They are off to a quick start, but they have played a total of three games against above-.500 baseball teams.  Sure, they are 2-1 against the Cubs this year but the second half for St. Louis is brutal.  They'll quickly begin to fade and won't be a contender come September.

The East is where all my questions lie with the National League.  The New York Mets seem to have the most talent but they also own the worst bullpen in the division.  No lead is safe with this team, and I have real problems picking them to win this division, based solely on their bullpen. 

Every team has question marks but I feel Philly is the most complete team in the division.  They have a good, not great, starting pitching and a very deadly lineup. 

I am selling the Marlins. They will act like the Milwaukee Brewers of 2007.  They may contend into the second half of the year but do not expect them to be able to make a late run towards the playoffs.

Obviously much can change during the course of a long baseball season but from what I have seen, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.