World Series Favorites Following the All-Star Break

As the American League is coming off of a 8-6 victory over the National League - the AL's 18th victory in the last 22 years - the baseball world is gearing up for what is going to be a thrilling end to the 2018 season. As it stands right now, five of the best teams in baseball all reside in the American League with the Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, Mariners and A's boasting the best records in baseball. That can certainly change, however, as the Dodgers acquisition of Manny Machado from Baltimore could catapult the Dodgers into the top of the MLB's standings and the Cubs have started on a recent hot streak.

With baseball set to resume shortly we decided to take a look at the possibility of each team to reach the World Series and present our Top Five favorites to win the World Series.

1. Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have the potential to be the greatest regular season team in MLB history. Sitting at 68 wins at the time of the All-Star break, the Sox have more wins at an All-Star break than any other team in MLB history. More than the 1906 Chicago Cubs and more than the 2001 Seattle Mariners, the two winningest teams in the history of the MLB. The biggest reason for Boston's success is their seemingly unstoppable offense led by the leading home run hitter JD Martinez - who is having a season comparable to Manny Ramirez - along with MVP candidate Mookie Betts. While Betts and Martinez have undoubtedly been the backbone of this Red Sox team, the supporting cast around these All-Stars has been tremendous all season long. Chris Sale is the favorite to take home the Cy Young Award while Jackie Bradley Jr has become one of the premier fielders in the Majors. On top of that, the Red Sox are loaded with young talent. Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi are two of the best young players in baseball, and I haven't even begun to mention guys like Xander Bogarts, David Price, Craig Kimbrell, Brock Holt or All-Star Mitch Moreland. From top to bottom this Red Sox team is the best in baseball and they have certainly been playing like it.

2. Houston Astros

The defending World Series Champions haven't missed a step this season. The phrase 'championship hangover' must not be in Jose Altuve's vocabulary as the defending AL MVP has picked up right where he left off, batting .332 and driving in 44 runs for Houston. Much like the Red Sox, Houston is loaded with talent from top to bottom. In fact, the last three MVP awards given out have been given to members of the Astros. AL MVP award winner Jose Altuve, World Series MVP George Springer and All-Star game MVP Alex Bregman all appear in Manager AJ Hinch's lineup. Houston boats the second best record in baseball, behind only Boston, despite playing in one of the tougher divisions in the MLB. If Justin Verlander can continue to play like a Cy Young candidate and the aforementioned MVPs, along with Carlos Correa and Dallas Keuchel, can continue to play at a high level a return to the World Series for Houston wouldn't be out of the question.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

Unlike the Houston Astros, 'championship hangover' must be in the Dodgers vocabulary as LA struggled out the gate, finding themselves trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West for a large part of the season. But a recent resurgence by the Dodgers has LA leading Arizona by 0.5 games at the All-Star break. That lead should increase, however, after the Dodgers added shortstop Manny Machado in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. For those who are unfamiliar with baseball or Manny Machado, the addition of Machado to the Dodgers lineup is the equivalent of the Golden State Warriors adding Kevin Durant. Okay, so it's not exactly the same, but last season's World Series runner ups just added one of the best players in baseball, and if that doesn't make Los Angeles the favorites to come out of the NL then I don't know what would be.

4. New York Yankees

This was supposed to be the Yankees year. Coming off of a surprising appearance in the American League Championship Series where they fell to the eventual champion Houston Astros, the Yankees added one of the best power hitters in the Majors, Giancarlo Stanton. This was supposed to be the return of the Bronx Bombers. New York was going to the World Series. But then the Red Sox happened and Boston became one of the greatest regular season teams baseball has ever seen. Don't get me wrong, the Yankees are a fantastic team. New York is 29 games over .500 and has the third best record in baseball. There's only one problem, the two teams with better records both play in the American League along with New York and one of them is in their division. New York certainly has the talent to bring home a championship. Led by Aaron Judge, the Yankees lead the MLB in home runs hit but unfortunately for New York, Houston and Boston have been the more consistent and complete teams this season.

5. Chicago Cubs

We're two years removed from the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series for the first time in 100 years. The 2016 World Series was a feel good story for the ages as Chicago was finally able to break the curse of the billy goat. Since then the Cubs have seemingly taken a step back. It's not that the Cubs have gotten worse but rather, teams around them have gotten better. Boston added JD Martinez and Chris Sale, New York added Giancarlo Stanton, Los Angeles added Manny Machado Max Muncy and Corey Seager and the Astros added Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander. Even the Brewers and Braves have emerged as contenders in the National League. The reason the Cubs are ahead of both the Braves and Brewers as World Series contenders is because of their proven talent. The Cubs are loaded with All-Star level talent. Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant and Jason Hayward are some of the best players in baseball. The issue with Chicago is that, other than Jon Lester, the Cubs pitching rotation has been sub-par all season long. If Chicago can add an Ace before the deadline or can improve the pitchers they have in-house, then Chicago could make noise in the playoffs.