Who is Hot heading into June MLB?

Written by: Shane M. Dayton

The great thing about MLB is that every month can bring something new.  One of my favorite teams, the Brewers, went from red hot to skidding on the edge of a precipice.  The Yankees have not recovered, and A-Rod has cooled, but some of the strongest remain strong. 

While there are about five teams that can legitimately claim to be among the hottest heading into June, I’m going to go with three: Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, and San Diego Padres. There’s no arguing with the Boston Red Sox.  Even if the Yankees were the normal Yankees, no one would be catching them this year.  Even with Dice-K more up and down than a roller coaster (see what $25 million can buy you?), Boston went 20-8 in the month of May, best in baseball, have a huge lead in their division, as well as baseball’s best record.  Boston is tied for the third best home record in baseball, and they are playing great as a team.  They have the swagger, and along with Cleveland, are one of the two best teams in MLB right now.

Cleveland has rebounded nicely from last season’s anomaly of a season.  They are 19-9 at home, second best in baseball, behind only the Brewers.  Cleveland went 18-11 in May, which is tied with fifth best, but look at the teams Cleveland played: Angels, Blue Jays, Athletics, Tigers, Red Sox—any team who goes 18-11 against that month is doing fine.  They are one of the scariest teams in baseball, and even against the best they’re winning 60% of their games.

The San Diego Padres may be a surprise team on this list.  They are third in their division, and not many games over .500, but the month of May was good to San Diego.  The Padres went 17-9 in the month of May, and they also know how to defend their home turf, being 18-9 at home so far this year.  Pitcher Jake Peavy is absolutely incredible, and almost a lock for a win every time he takes the mound, and barring injury, is almost a lock to win the NL Cy Young Award.  The Padres may or may not keep it up, but right now you don’t want to play them.  As cold as they were in April, they have been hot in May.

The other two teams that almost made the list were the Angels and the Tigers.  Both are playing well, both have tough schedules, but Cleveland’s win total through such a barrage of good teams gives them the edge.  These are the three hot teams right now, and there is certainly no reason to expect Cleveland and the Red Sox to slow down.  As for predictions, only time will tell, but I’m not buying the Yankees with Clemens until I see it for myself.