Momentum and cold, hard standings go a long way in showcasing which MLB teams are the best of the bunch, but in this day and age where strikeouts reign supreme, it's never a bad idea to prioritize an offense with both balance and production.
As the regular season careens toward July, we all know that some of the top contenders are fueled by more than just hot bats. Four of baseball's six best clubs in terms of outright winning percentage, in fact, rank among MLB's top six in team earned run average. In other words, the league's most formidable contenders aren't just hitting well; they're pitching well, too.
But unless you're touting a super rotation like that of the Houston Astros, there's an argument to be made that you're almost better off banking on production across a nine-man lineup than you are the full-season durability of ace arms. And the numbers show, unsurprisingly, that some of baseball's best entering the summer have more than one, two or even three everyday starters with above-average plate production.
As of June 19, the top 60 MLB players in terms of home runs and RBI all have at least 11 homers and 37 RBI.
There are only three teams in all of baseball who have at least four different players with those totals:
- Boston Red Sox (4)
- Cleveland Indians (5)
- New York Yankees (4)
Being the absurd front-runners that they are, the Red Sox and Yankees are an unsurprising part of this exclusive trio. What the Indians' inclusion should tell you is that, well, they have even better bats than you think. A month into the year, muddled amid a horrendous AL Central, only pitching redeemed what some called an "unwatchable" Cleveland offense. But now, with a middle-of-the-road ERA, their sluggers are leading a quiet resurgence.
Lower the bar a bit -- to nine-plus HRs, 35-plus RBI -- and you'll see two more teams join the crowd of those with at least four players who own that stat line:
- Boston Red Sox (5)
- Cleveland Indians (5)
- Houston Astros (4)
- New York Yankees (4)
- Philadelphia Phillies (4)
This is more a glimpse at basic run production than it is an exact science, and the Seattle Mariners are a case in point, since they have five players who eclipse the nine-HR mark but only three who have both nine homers and more than 35 RBI. In general, though, this reaffirms the importance of balanced offense -- a concept that drives contenders' obvious Yankee-style offseason goal of supplementing one star with another star, and so forth. (Who knew that having more than one good player was key?)
It's at least in part why you'll see guys like Mike Trout (23 homers, 46 RBI), Trevor Story (15 homers, 54 RBI), Manny Machado (18 homers, 53 RBI) and Khris Davis (20 homers, 49 RBI) top the leaderboards while their respective teams -- the Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics -- either toil in rebuild mode or struggle to stay afloat alongside MLB's best. These guys might be driving home runs left and right, but few -- or none -- of their teammates are coming close to replicating their numbers.
So if you're looking to identify MLB's most serious teams and you've already ruled out an All-Star rotation, look no further than the teams that are manufacturing runs more than a couple players at a time -- a novel idea but one that often gets lost in an era of hyper-analysis.