MLB Standings 2021: Astros, Phillies, Reds Are Baseball’s Top Teams Through Opening Week

With the first week of the 2021 MLB season in the books, a few unexpected teams are at the top of the overall standings.

The Houston Astros (5-1), Philadelphia Phillies (5-1) and Cincinnati Reds (5-1) own the best records in baseball. Houston, Philadelphia and Cincinnati are the only teams that have just one loss.

The Los Angeles Dodgers (5-2) are a half-game behind the trio for the sport’s top mark. Coming off a World Series championship, the Dodgers are projected to win over 100 games this season.

The same can’t be said for the aforementioned teams, none of which were even projected to win 90 games, according to the preseason betting odds.

The Astros are no strangers to success as Houston has made the ALCS in four straight years. Free-agent departures, injuries and a cheating scandal were expected to make winning much harder for the team. Alex Bregman is hitting .429 with two home runs, and Zack Greinke has a 1.38 ERA in two starts.

Sitting atop the AL West, the Astros have a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels (4-2). The Cincinnati Reds also have a one-game lead, just ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals (4-2) in the NL Central.

Like Houston, Cincinnati found a way to squeak into last year’s playoffs. The Reds have been powered by MLB’s No. 1 offense, leading all teams with a .316 average and 57 total runs, which is 12 more runs than the Astros’ No. 2 ranked offense has scored. Both Nick Casellanos and Tyler Naquin have hit four home runs for the Reds.

Philadelphia has the largest division lead of any first-place team. The Phillies are 2.5 games ahead of the Washington Nationals (1-2), who had the start of their season delayed because of COVID-19 issues. Every other NL East team is below .500.

The NL’s second-best ERA has powered the Phillies to five wins in six games. A historically bad bullpen kept Philadelphia out of the 2020 postseason. The team’s relievers have been average through one week this year. Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Zach Eflin have pitched to a combined 1.46 ERA in four starts.

The Minnesota Twins (4-2) and Baltimore Orioles (4-2) also lead their respective divisions. The Angels, Cardinals, Kansas City Royals (3-2) and San Diego Padres (4-3) are the very, very early wild-card leaders.

Most MLB teams still have 96% of their 162-game schedule left to be played.