One Month Into The 2017 MLB Season

American League East – The Yankees are still 15/1 to win it all, but they will start to attract some action after their 15-7 start. They’re starting to compare Aaron Judge to Giancarlo Stanton, and the kid appears to be the real deal. Pre-season division favorite Boston is having trouble scoring runs and seems to miss David Ortiz in the middle of the lineup.

American League Central – The Indians are just hanging around and waiting for the division to sort itself out. The Tigers are the only real threat to Cleveland, which is 13/2 to win the World Series. Jason Kipnis has returned from the DL and should give the offense a boost. The Indians just need to take care of business against the Tigers, and should be in the control of the division by the All-Star break.

American League West – Houston is the only team in the division to have gained any traction while everyone else hovers around the .500 mark. Dallas Keuchel is making an early run at the Cy Young award with four wins in April and a 1.22 earned run average. The Astros are now a solid 8/1 to be celebrating in late October.

National League East – Just when the Nationals thought they might run away and hide, the Mets played them tough in D.C. this past weekend, beating aces Steve Strasburg and Max Scherzer in the process. The Nats are 10/1 and Mets 16/1, and if New York plays to its potential the division might have two playoff teams come the fall.

National League Central – The Cubs (4/1) just have way too much talent to not eventually get everything together and pull away from the division, though through the first month of play everything is jammed tight. Right now Joe Maddon just needs to keep the Cubs near the top of the division and wait for the big bats to get rolling.

National League West – The Rockies and Diamondbacks (both now 25/1) have taken advantage of slow starts by the Dodgers and Giants, and sit in control of the division as the calendar gets ready to turn to May. Arizona is getting by despite bad defense and just OK pitching, while Colorado in hanging tough despite giving up 41 runs to Washington in a four-game set.

For more of Art Aronson click here.