Trent Reinsmith
In 2021, the Tampa Bay Rays were the only American League team to win more than 100 games. The Rays, with a record of 100-62, finished at the top of the American League East standings. The Boston Red Sox (92-70), New York Yankees (92-70), Toronto Blue Jays (91-71) and Baltimore Orioles (52-110) followed the Rays in the standings.
With more than 50 games played in the 2022 MLB season, the only team in the same position are the cellar-dwelling Orioles. Meanwhile, the Yankees are far and away the best team in MLB right now with a 39-15 record and a .722 winning percentage.
Before we look at how the American League East will play out in 2022, check out our guide on World Series Betting, as well as the best sites for betting on MLB in 2022.
2022 American League East picks
| To Win 2022 American League East |  |  |  |  |  |
| New York Yankees | -260 | -300 | -227 | -210 | -227 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | +250 | +300 | +330 | +250 | +330 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | +1000 | +1100 | +610 | +800 | +610 |
| Boston Red Sox | +3300 | +4500 | +3300 | +3000 | +3300 |
| Baltimore Orioles | +100000 | +100000 | +125000 | +50000 | +125000 |
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees look like a team that could dominate MLB in 2022. New York is on a six-game winning streak as of this writing. The club is crushing it at the plate and on the mound. Jameson Taillon lost his bid for a perfect game against the Angels on June 2 in the eighth inning. Gerrit Cole followed that performance by throwing a perfect game into the seventh inning the next night against the Tigers. Not to be outdone, Luis Severino and two relievers held the Tigers to a one-hitter on June 4.
As for the bats of the Yankees, Aaron Judge leads the majors with 21 home runs — five more than the three players tied for second. Judge is second in the American League in RBIs with 42. He is also tied for fourth in the AL in hits with 62.
As of this writing, the Yankees are 7.5 games ahead of the Blue Jays, who are the second-place team in the AL East.
Toronto Blue Jays
Entering the 2022 MLB season, there was a lot of talk that this year would be the year for the Blue Jays. The team did not start out as hot as expected. However, Toronto went on an eight-game winning streak between May 24 and June 2. The club has an 8-2 record in their past 10 games, which is the same record the Yankees have over that stretch. The noticeable difference between the Blue Jays and the Yankees is their run differential. Where the Yankees are a whopping +102, Toronto is a much more pedestrian +10.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays can’t seem to keep momentum once they start to win. Since May 8, when the club saw a six-game winning streak end, the Rays have gone 13-13. The team hasn’t won more than three straight. On the positive side of that, they haven’t lost more than the three in a row either.
The next nine games could give us all a good idea about where the Rays are headed in 2022. They play the Cardinals, Twins and Yankees in those upcoming contests. Each of those teams has a better record than Tampa.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are at .500 right now and that’s a positive. The team hasn’t been over that number since it opened the season at 6-5. Now at 27-27 and with a 13-5 record in their past 18 games, Boston is on a west coast swing. The team opened that run with a sweep Oakland in their three-game series. The Red Sox could pick up some steam on this trip as they face the Angels (27-28), who are on an 11-game losing skid. The Sox also face the Seattle Mariners, who are 24-30 on the season.
Boston has some good hitters this year. J. D. Martinez is third in batting average at .353. Rafael Devers leads the majors in hits with 77 and Xander Bogaerts is fifth in hits with 64.
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles might be in last place, but they do have a better winning percentage (.411) than they did at the end of last season (.321). The team also has Trey Mancini. Mancini has 19 multi-hit games this year. The only players with more multi-hit games in 2022 are Mookie Betts, Paul Goldschmidt, Rafael Devers, Tim Anderson and Ty France.
Our pick
The Yankees are dominating the league right now and it’s almost impossible to pick against them when it comes to the American League East in 2022.
Pick: New York Yankees to win 2022 American League East.
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