The baseball season is now one month old. As always, there are plenty of positive and negative surprises already this year. Which teams are being overrated by the books and which teams are being underrated by the books? Keep in mind the baseball season is 162 games long, so most teams have only played about 15 to 17 percent of their games at this point in the season. Here are my top five overrated and underrated teams at the one month point.

Top Five Overrated Teams

1. Seattle Mariners- I know the Mariners are only 12-15 at this point in the season, but I still think that makes them very overrated. They swept the Tigers on the road and won the first in Boston on Friday night, but that doesn’t mean this team is good. Other than Ichiro, is there really anyone in this lineup that scares opposing pitchers? I think Seattle could easily finish with the worst record in the American League.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates- This is almost exactly the same story as the Seattle Mariners. The Pirates are playing decent right now, but this is a bad team and that will eventually show in the form of some long losing streaks.

3. Cleveland Indians- I like the job Manny Acta is doing in Cleveland, but they aren’t going to be able to keep winning at the rate they have thus far this season. If Sizemore stays healthy they may compete for the division, but this is probably the weakest division in baseball.

4. Florida Marlins- This is a similar story to Cleveland. The Marlins are a much improved team, and they do have a solid pitching staff. I don’t think Florida can continue to win this way though with the offense they have.

5. Kansas City Royals- The Royals have already started to backslide a bit, and I think it will continue. They get the luxury of playing in an easy division, but this team just doesn’t have any real strength that stands out.

Top Five Underrated Teams

1. Cincinnati Reds- The Reds started the year hot, but they have cooled off of late. I still think Cincinnati has the most complete team in the NL Central. They should get Bailey and Cueto back in the rotation soon. Joey Votto continues to tear it up. I think the Reds are undervalued right now.

2. Chicago White Sox- The White Sox simply have too much talent to keep playing as badly as they have been. The bullpen issues have been confusing, but the lack of offensive production has been their worst problem of late. I think this is a team that will get hot at some point.

3. Boston Red Sox- Based on their record the Red Sox are probably the most underrated team, but the books know this team is going to bounceback, so they aren’t undervalued on a daily basis.

4. Minnesota Twins- I don’t think the Twins are a good team right now, but the books have gotten so low on them I think they are undervalued. Once they get Mauer back in the lineup it should make a big difference.

5. Baltimore Orioles- The Orioles offense has been terrible so far this year, but I really do think they’ll pick it up. Expect Baltimore to start scoring runs in bunches at some point this year. The books are undervaluing this improving team.
 

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