We are three full weeks through the 2017 season. Most teams have played around 18 games, about 1/9th of the season. Honestly you can't evaluate much from that small of a sample, but it's fun to try. In this post, I'm going to use run differential to categorize teams under a fast food chain. First, though, let's take a look at the 2016 standings through this point in the season.
2016 standings at this point
The first thing I noticed is the White Sox and Royals had the two highest run differentials in the AL at this point. They both went on to miss the playoffs pretty easily. The 2016 playoff teams had the following run differentials: +14, +9, +1, 0, +9, +68 (#Cubs), +34, +23, +22, +10. So, you can't really make the playoffs in April, but you can make it very hard on yourself (Astros). The dominant teams also revealed themselves early on, especially in the NL.
Using current run differential numbers, these are how I see teams standing right now. Forgive my lack of explanations, but I'm also editing episode 90 of our podcast that comes out tomorrow. You should subscribe.
Chick-fil-A: Simply the best
Nationals (+17): 13-5
Astros (+14): 13-6
Indians (+9): 10-8
Yankees (+30): 11-7
Cubs (+9): 10-8
Wendy's: A very solid choice
Dodgers (+12): 9-10
Orioles (+7): 12-5
Red Sox (+3): 11-8
Culver's: I'm intrigued
Diamondbacks (+22): 12-8
Rockies (+10): 13-6
Marlins (+12): 10-8
McDonald's: It's good sometimes
Rangers (+8): 9-10
Mets (-3): 8-11
Rays (+6): 10-10
Cardinals (-13): 9-10
Mariners (+5): 8-12
Brewers (-1): 9-11
Twins (+3): 8-10
Phillies (+7): 9-9
Reds (+15): 10-9
Burger King: They still have cheap nuggs
Pirates (-16): 8-10
Athletics (-12): 10-9
Tigers (-14): 10-8
Royals (-14): 7-11
White Sox (-6): 8-9
Hardee's: Is it still open?
Blue Jays (-17): 5-13
Angels (-20): 8-12
Braves (-20): 6-12
Giants (-20): 6-13
Padres (-33): 8-12
Baseball is here! And more importantly, that means the over/under game is back. It seems as though everyone is an expert this time of year. Somehow we convince ourselves that we are better at predicting baseball outcomes than everyone else. Well, AFITB is putting that to the test for the third year in a row. Think you know more about baseball than us? You probably do. But go ahead and prove it anyway.