MLB Projected Standings, Week 8

The Dodger unveil Julio Urias to the masses tonight, one of the more hyped pitching prospects of the past decade. Los Angeles is wise to bring him up now because this is a more pivotal moment in their season than many realize.

You can read about the model here, or keep on reading for the updated standings (change in win total from last week in parentheses).

MLB Projected Standings, Week 8:

AL West	AL Central	AL East
Mariners, 87-75 (+2), 0 GB	Indians, 89-73 (-1), 0 GB	Red Sox, 91-71 (+1), 0 GB
Rangers, 82-80 (+2), 5 GB	White Sox, 85-77 (-1), 4 GB	Orioles, 84-78 (-2), 7 GB
Astros, 81-81 (0), 6 GB	Tigers, 81-81 (+2), 8 GB	Blue Jays, 82-80 (0), 9 GB
Angels, 75-87 (0), 12 GB	Royals, 78-84 (-1), 11 GB	Yankees, 82-80 (0), 9 GB
Athletics, 72-90 (-2), 14 GB	Twins, 65-97 (-1), 24 GB	Rays, 79-83 (-2), 12 GB
.
NL West	NL Central	NL East
Dodgers, 94-68 (+1), 0 GB	Cubs, 103-59 (-2), 0 GB	Mets, 96-66 (+1), 0 GB
Giants, 93-69 (+2), 1 GB	Pirates, 90-72 (+2), 13 GB	Nationals, 94-68 (-1), 2 GB
Rockies, 74-88 (-1), 20 GB	Cardinals, 85-77 (-1), 18 GB	Marlins, 82-80 (+2), 14 GB
Diamondbacks, 73-89 (-1), 21 GB	Brewers, 71-91 (+1), 32 GB	Phillies, 73-89 (0), 23 GB
Padres, 69-93 (-1), 25 GB	Reds, 64-98 (-3), 37 GB	Braves, 57-105 (-1), 39 GB

Wild card play-in games: Orioles at White Sox, Giants at Nationals

ALDS match-ups: play-in vs. Red Sox, Mariners vs. Indians

NLDS match-ups: play-in vs. Cubs, Dodgers vs. Mets

Some musings:

• The Blue Jays project to 82.4 wins, the Yankees 82.37.
• It's fun to point out the dormant Yankees offense and how the team has languished in last place much of the year. However, they are still a solid team. Part of the reason they have been in last is because the AL East has no truly bad teams. New York is only two games out of a wild card spot in this week's projected standings. There is still no reason to believe they won't act like the Yankees as the season unfolds, meaning they will buy someone and gun for a playoff spot.
• The Phillies are currently 26-21 but still project to an awful record. Maybe my projection system is bad but I doubt the Phillies will expose it. They only score 3.3 runs a game and have racked up a -31 run differential thus far. They were expected to be bad to start the season too. There are reasons the projection system has stayed pessimistic.
• The Giants are well ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West currently, but still look like a worse team on paper. However, we are getting awfully close to the point where that will not matter because San Francisco is pretty good and LA faces a bigger hole. Dodgers mega-prospect Julio Urias debuts tonight and he might be more important than anyone is willing to admit right now.