MLB Rankings: Rankings at the Break
12 July 2021
The 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game is set to take place on Tuesday night, and the second half of the season won’t begin until Friday. While most teams are well over the 81-game mark, this is always the time to recap the first half of the season.
There have been many surprises in the first half of the season, but some of the preseason betting favorites are still at the top of the list. The biggest story in the first half of the year has been the San Francisco Giants and they remain at the top of the rankings again this week.
The Giants have built up a slim lead in the NL West Division by going 57-32 to begin the season. They are currently just ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers (56-35) in the division and also on these rankings.
The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox continue to look like the favorites to win the American League and they are 3rd and 4th on the list. Both teams have gone 55-36 and lead their respective divisions at the All-Star Break.
After a rough patch, the Chicago White Sox appear to have figured things back out again. The White Sox have been a popular pick to win the World Series since the season began and they check-in in the number 5 spot this week on the rankings.
The Colorado Rockies and Minnesota Twins are a pair of teams that continue to head in the right direction, even though it’s not going to lead to a postseason berth. Colorado is now in the 23rd spot on the rankings and the Twins are right behind them at 24.
NL East Teams Falling
The National League East Division race continues to be extremely tight, but that’s a product of no team taking control. This could be a division that is won by a team with a record close to the .500 mark.
The New York Mets are number 10 on the latest Dunkel MLB rankings, and that is the highest team from the division. You have to go all the way down to number 17 to find the Philadelphia Phillies as the next team from this division.
The Atlanta Braves (number 18) and the Washington Nationals (number 21) are the other contenders in the NL East.
Brewers, Reds Representing NL Central
The National League Central Division was expected to be extremely competitive this season, but that hasn’t exactly been the case. There are just two teams in the division over the .500 mark, and it’s probably not the two teams you would expect.
The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals both finished the 1st half with a 44-46 record, and they are essentially out of the division race. The Cubs are ranked 19th on the latest rankings, and the Cardinals are right behind them at the 20th position.
It seems that the Milwaukee Brewers (ranked 8th) and the Cincinnati Reds (ranked 11th) will be in a two-way battle for the Central Division crown this season. Milwaukee has built up a big lead, but Cincinnati is still within striking distance.
