Major League Baseball Predictions

New York made significant investments in their team in the offseason and have reaped the rewards on both sides of the ball, ranking in the top six for runs, batting average, and on-base percentage while also being in the top six for earned run average, WHIP, and batting average allowed. Closer Edwin Diaz has also been impressive, with 84 strikeouts and 23 saves, tied for the fifth-most in the majors.

For the Braves, who have excelled with their pitching more so than their bats, Austin Riley has been their stand out hitter. The third baseman tops the team rankings in batting average (.301), home runs (29), and RBIs (68). Of their starters, Max Fried leads the way with a 2.58 ERA and a 10-3 record.

Both of these teams will be desperate to secure the top spot in the NL East and avoid the lottery of the Wild Card games so their head-to-head record could be key when it comes to deciding who tops the section.

The New York Yankees remain the hottest team in baseball this year, with a 69-34 record (at the time of writing) that ranks as the best in the MLB. They roll into St. Louis on Saturday looking to put further distance between themselves and the rest of the AL East.

Aaron Judge has been the standout performer for the Yankees this year, with 42 home runs, some nine homers more than the next best in the MLB. Judge also leads the league in RBIs with 91 and ranks second in OPS with 1.054. He is a large contributor to the fact New York ranks first in runs (551) and slugging percentage (.444).

For the Cardinals, who are 54-48 this season, Paul Goldschmidt has led the way. His .329 batting average ranks second in the majors and his 78 RBIs is fourth in that measure.

However, the Cardinals rank around the middle in most pitching categories and will need to sharpen up that area of their game if they are to chase down the Milwaukee Brewers at the head of the NL Central.

This interleague game should provide a good opportunity for both sides to see how much work needs to be done for them to have a major say in this year’s postseason.

The San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers have battled it out throughout recent years for the NL West title but it looks as though LA may have the upper hand this time around.

The Dodgers have a record of 68-33 at the time of writing and that puts them comfortably ahead of the Padres’ 57-46. Major offseason signing Freddie Freeman has been a top addition, racking up a batting average of .325 and an OPS of .940, good for seventh in the league.

Pitching has been a strength for San Diego in the past, but they rank 15th in runs scored this year and 26th in slugging percentage. That is despite the efforts of Manny Machado, who leads the team in batting average (.293), home runs (18), and RBIs (57).

The rest of the Padres’ line-up will need to step up if they are to have any chance of chasing down the Dodgers at the top of the division. 

For Los Angeles, this represents another chance to further increase their lead at the top of the section.