1. New York Yankees
The Yankees already had a batting lineup that no pitcher wanted to face, but adding OF Andrew Benintendi from the Royals for his defense and high on base percentage and OF Harrison Bader from the Cardinals for defense and depth, the Yankees have enough veteran bats and pitching to go on a deep run. Aaron Judge is having a MVP season and removing OF Joey Gallo helps keep the noise from the fan base down. Adding Frankie Montas from the Athletics gives them another solid starter to sure up the rotation led by Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes who is having a great season.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are a team with no real weaknesses but people wonder if the pitching will be as good when the games really matter. The Dodgers didn’t make any moves to move the needle and the trade for Joey Gallo was a head scratcher, but he is a veteran power hitter who has been good before this season. The team is deep pitching and batting wise with a good balance of left and right handers, along with depth allowing them to win many ways. OF Mookie Betts continues to be a star and the addition of 1B Freddie Freeman has been a great one so far, while OF/1B Cody Bellinger has shown signs of getting his old form back.
3. New York Mets
The Mets big spending is finally paying off with the team in contention for a championship. The addition of Pitcher Max Scherzer proved to be smart one as Scherzer and DeGrom have returned from injury at the right time to give this team a 1-2 punch even top teams don’t have with two of the best in the game. The bats have been consistent and the addition of Starling Marte has been a game changer for the lineup, as well as Mark Canha. While the deadline additions were mostly depth moves and weren’t big names, 1B Daniel Vogelbach from Pirates is a good lefty power hitter, 1B/OF Darin Ruf from Giants has been very consistent this season, and OF Tyler Naquin from the Reds can be a good hitter and plays any outfield spot.
4. San Diego Padres
The Padres were very active during the trade deadline with one of, if not the biggest, trades in MLB history trading for OF Juan Soto and 1B Josh Bell from the Nationals. With Soto as the main prize as a young star rarely available on the market with championship experience and Bell a consistent, veteran bat who brings a lot of talent as well. The Padres also traded for 3B Brandon Drury from the Reds who was also having a great season at bat and the ability to play multiple infield positions. They also added to their bullpen mostly adding Closer Josh Hader from the Brewers considered one of the best in the game which should help them close out close games. While the team did clear out most of their farm system, they have a nice window to make a championship run starting now and were able to trade 1B Eric Hosmer’s contract to the Red Sox.
5. Atlanta Braves
The Braves have a dangerous batting lineup that even the best pitchers would have a tough time getting past led by OF Ronald Acuna Jr., the strong play of 3B Austin Riley who just signed a big extension, and SS Dansby Swanson who is due for a big payday. The defending champs have a great batting lineup and good pitching to put them in the top 5 of teams, however veteran Charlie Morton needs to continue to play better, but Spencer Strider has been having a surprisingly great season for a young pitcher. The trade for Jake Odorizzi from the Astros was a depth move for a decent veteran pitcher, OF Robbie Grossman from the Tigers was another depth move for a decent hitter, and P Raisel Iglesias from the Angels will be the new setup man. When 2B Ozzie Albies returns from injury, the lineup will be even more dangerous for the defending champs to make a run .
