Predicting Every MLB Team's Win/Loss Record for Week of May 15

Save for the Los Angeles Dodgers catching fire and the Pittsburgh Pirates fizzling out over the past two weeks, it feels like every MLB team has just been treading water lately.

At the start of play Sunday, 22 of the 30 teams were either 4-6, 5-5 or 6-4 in their last 10 games. The only streak of more than four in either direction was Philadelphia's five-game winning streak—which came directly on the heels of a six-game losing streak.

Are we headed for more of the same in the week of May 15, or might a couple of teams take advantage of their schedules and go on a tear?

We've got predicted records for all 30 teams for the next seven days of action on the diamond.

For each division, we'll take a look at who (player or team) has been hot, who has not and one of the biggest things to keep an eye for the week ahead before offering up a W-L prediction for each team. And after discussing each of the six divisions, we'll also highlight our picks for the best pitching matchup on each day of the upcoming week. (Weather permitting, of course.)

Statistics current through the start of play Sunday. Records current through the start of play Monday.

Who's Hot: Anthony Rizzo, 1B, New York Yankees

Rizzo has been solid all season, but especially dating back to May 2. During that 11-game span, he has gone 18-for-45 (.400) at the dish with seven multi-hit performances, including a two-homer game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, followed by a three-hit outing Saturday. His eighth-inning home run Friday against Tampa Bay flipped the outcome of that game and maybe, just maybe, finally flipped the switch for New York to start living up to the preseason hype.

Who's Not: Kenley Jansen, RHP, Boston Red Sox

In Boston's Wednesday win over Atlanta, Jansen became just the seventh member of MLB's 400-save club. But he proceeded to implode in back-to-back losses to the Cardinals with a line of 1.0 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, blowing the save and taking the loss in each game. With any luck, though, he'll bounce back from this like the last time he had two straight disastrous outings. That came in July 2021, and over the course of the rest of that season, he had a 1.17 ERA with three wins, 17 saves and no blown saves.

What to Watch: Toronto's Homestand

Save for maybe New York's three-game series in Cincinnati, it's a tough week for the entire AL East, featuring interdivisional matchups with the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners.

But it's in Toronto where things could get shaken up in what has been, without argument, the best division in baseball.

The Blue Jays—who are 12-3 at home this season—host the Yankees for four games and the Orioles for three. They could make a spirited push toward the first-place Rays if Alek Manoah (with projected starts on Monday and Saturday) can snap out of what has been a rough start to the year.

Schedule/Predictions

Tampa Bay Rays (31-11): 3 at Mets, 3 vs. Brewers; Projected Record: 4-2Baltimore Orioles (26-14): 4 vs. Angels, 3 at Blue Jays; Projected Record: 4-3Toronto Blue Jays (24-16): 4 vs. Yankees, 3 vs. Orioles; Projected Record: 4-3New York Yankees (23-19): 4 at Blue Jays, 3 at Reds; Projected Record: 5-2Boston Red Sox (22-19): 3 vs. Mariners, 3 at Padres; Projected Record: 3-3

Who's Hot: Luis Robert Jr., CF, Chicago White Sox

Some lot of good it's doing the White Sox—who lost three out of four games in Kansas City last week and remain arguably the most disappointing team in the majors—but "Lu Bob" has been on fire since getting benched for his gingerly stroll down the first base line on a groundout in late April. Robert is hitting 17-of-41 (.415) with five home runs thus far in May. He did manage to wear the golden sombrero (four strikeouts) in one of the aforementioned losses to the Royals, but he has gotten at least one hit in every other game this month.

Who's Not: Carlos Correa, SS, Minnesota Twins

Correa got off the schneid a bit with a home run in Saturday's blowout win over the Cubs, but it has been boo-inducing tough sledding for Minnesota's $200 million man. Prior to that game, Correa was hitting .171 in May. Granted, all seven of his hits during that time at least went for extra bases, but he's still below the Mendoza Line for the season. And a few innings before hitting that home run, he struck out via a pitch clock violation in what felt like a rock-bottom moment.

What to Watch: Big opportunity for Detroit

The Tigers made a bit of an unexpected surge up the standings in recent weeks, sweeping the Mets before winning consecutive series away from home against the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Guardians. They lost this past weekend's series at home against the Seattle Mariners, but this is a huge chance to get back on the right track.

Not only does Detroit have a favorable schedule against the slumping Pirates and the offensively inept Washington Nationals, but the Tigers also stand to potentially gain a lot of ground on the Twins if they sputter through their road trip against the two Los Angeles teams.

We've long assumed Detroit would be a seller at this year's trade deadline, but the Tigers could flip the script and perhaps even finish this week within a game of first place in this weak division.

Schedule/Predictions

Minnesota Twins (23-18): 3 at Dodgers, 3 at Angels; Projected Record: 2-4Cleveland Guardians (19-21): 3 at White Sox, 3 at Mets; Projected Record: 3-3Detroit Tigers (18-21): 2 vs. Pirates, 3 at Nationals; Projected Record: 4-1Chicago White Sox (14-28): 3 vs. Guardians, 3 vs. Royals; Projected Record: 3-3Kansas City Royals (12-30): 3 at Padres, 3 at White Sox; Projected Record: 1-5

Who's Hot: Seattle Mariners

The M's couldn't buy a win for the first month of the season, starting out 11-16 overall with a 3-9 record in one-run games. But they've been faring much better as of late, entering Sunday's series finale against the Tigers with a 9-3 record in their last 12 games.

Here's the part that makes no sense about that resurgence: Julio Rodríguez, Eugenio Suárez and Cal Raleigh have gone a combined 16-for-111 (.144) at the dish thus far in May. Rather, rookie pitcher Bryce Miller has been the catalyst, spinning three consecutive gems for a 0.47 ERA and 0.42 WHIP since getting called up. Might need those three batters to wake up this week, though, otherwise the three games in Boston and three in Atlanta could be mighty problematic.

Who's Not: José Abreu, 1B, Houston Astros

Chances are you've heard that Abreu has yet to homer in 2023. But did you know he also homered just once in the final 55 games of last season? We're talking about one home run in his last 394 trips to the plate. For the 2020 AL MVP. Incredulously, Abreu is now almost less of a power hitter than Ben Revere was (7 HR in 3,343 career PA).

At least until recently, he was still getting on base at a good clip. Not anymore, though. Abreu has gone 5-for-39 (.128) since April 30 and hasn't had a two-hit game since April 19.

What to Watch: Framber Valdez's Quality Starts Streak

Slightly lost in the shuffle of Justin Verlander's AL Cy Young campaign, Valdez led the majors with 26 quality starts in 2022—25 of those coming in consecutive fashion. And since falling short of a quality start with five scoreless innings on Opening Day, Valdez has gone at least six innings and allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his last seven starts.

If that QS streak continues, it should be a huge week for Houston. Valdez is lined up to start Monday at home against the Cubs and Sunday at home against the A's, possibly book-ending a 6-0 week for the reigning champs.

Schedule/Predictions

Texas Rangers (25-15): 3 vs. Atlanta, 3 vs. Rockies; Projected Record: 5-1Houston Astros (21-19): 3 vs. Cubs, 3 vs. A's; Projected Record: 5-1Los Angeles Angels (21-20): 4 at Orioles, 3 vs. Twins; Projected Record: 3-4 Seattle Mariners (20-20): 3 at Red Sox, 3 at Atlanta; Projected Record: 2-4Oakland Athletics (9-33): 3 vs. Diamondbacks, 3 at Astros; Projected Record: 1-5

Who's Hot: Bryce Harper, DH, Philadelphia Phillies

In Harper's first game back just 160 days after Tommy John surgery, he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Seemed like the decision to return as quickly as he did without any rehab assignment might have been overly ambitious. Since that initial dud, however, Harper has been tearing the cover off the ball, batting .406 with five extra-base hits (two homers) in his last eight games. And the Phils have surged into second place in the NL East in the process.

Who's Not: Brett Baty, 3B, New York Mets

After getting the call midway through April, New York's highly touted rookie got out to an impressive start, hitting .333 with a pair of home runs in his first 13 games. But since the first half of that May 3 double-header against the Tigers, Baty has gone just 2-for-25 (.080). He's far from the only Met struggling these days, and we're certainly not trying to pin their sub-.500 record on his shoulders. But any hope of challenging James Outman and Corbin Carroll for NL ROY is quickly fading.

What to Watch: Atlanta's Pitching Predicament

The Braves had both Monday and Thursday off this past week to ease their way into life without both Kyle Wright (shoulder) and Max Fried (forearm) in the starting rotation for the foreseeable future. But let's see where they go from here. Collin McHugh served as the opener for a bullpen game against Toronto Sunday. They might also be looking at bullpen games Tuesday against Texas and Saturday against Seattle.

Atlanta recently signed Justus Sheffield (33 career MLB starts) to a minor league deal and remain optimistic that Mike Soroka will be able to make his LONG-awaited return to a big league mound soon. But the team is grasping at straws a bit at the moment in advance of a week against solid AL West squads. Here's hoping Charlie Morton can effectively go deep in both of his starts against Texas and Seattle.

Schedule/Predictions

Atlanta Braves (25-15): 3 at Rangers, 3 vs. Mariners; Projected Record: 3-3Philadelphia Phillies (20-20): 3 at Giants, 3 vs. Cubs; Projected Record: 4-2New York Mets (20-21): 1 at Nationals, 3 vs. Rays, 3 vs. Guardians; Projected Record: 4-3Miami Marlins (20-21): 3 vs. Nationals, 3 at Giants; Projected Record: 2-4Washington Nationals (17-23): 1 vs. Mets, 3 at Marlins, 3 vs. Tigers; Projected Record: 3-4

Who's Hot: Jake Fraley, OF, Cincinnati Reds

Fraley had one heck of a weekend in Miami, homering three times in the span of six plate appearances. He also stole a base to set up the go-ahead-for-good run in the eighth inning Saturday. But it's been more than just a couple of good games for the breakout outfielder. Dating back to April 25, Fraley is batting .385 and leading the majors with 18 RBI—despite making just 44 trips to the plate.

Who's Not: Pittsburgh Pirates

It always felt inevitable that Pittsburgh would come back to earth from that 20-8 start to the year. But, man, we didn't realize the Pirates would go from "best record in the NL" to "worse than the Oakland A's" practically overnight. Dating back to April 30, the Pirates have gone 1-11 with a run differential of minus-48. The entire offense has been mired in a slump, and the pitching that surprisingly anchored that hot start has fallen apart at the seams—except for Dauri Moreta, who has a line of 9.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K during what has otherwise been a team-wide mess.

What to Watch: Will Anyone Post a Winning Record?

Both the Brewers (at St. Louis, at Tampa Bay) and the Cubs (at Houston, at Philadelphia) have a brutal road trip on tap for this week. The Cardinals are at home for seven games, but hosting the Brewers and Dodgers will be no picnic. The Pirates (at Detroit, vs. Arizona) have the most favorable slate of the five teams, but they haven't been able to beat anyone lately. And while the Reds won series against the Mets and Marlins this past week, we'll see if they can double down against the Rockies and Yankees.

Could be a big moving week if any team can catch fire.

That's especially true for St. Louis, who could storm right back into the NL Central mix if it can pull off a sweep of Milwaukee. Suffice it to say, no one expected this team to have the worst record in the National League 40 games into the season. But the Cards won back-to-back road series against the Cubs and Red Sox this past week and might finally be turning a corner. Both Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery are lined up for two-start weeks. Need those arms to be big.

Schedule/Predictions

Milwaukee Brewers (23-17): 3 at Cardinals, 3 at Rays; Projected Record: 2-4Pittsburgh Pirates (22-19): 2 at Detroit, 3 vs. Diamondbacks; Projected Record: 1-4Chicago Cubs (19-21): 3 at Astros, 3 at Phillies; Projected Record: 2-4Cincinnati Reds (18-22): 3 at Rockies, 3 vs. Yankees; Projected Record: 2-4St. Louis Cardinals (16-25): 3 vs. Brewers, 4 vs. Dodgers; Projected Record: 3-4

Who's Hot: Casey Schmitt, SS, San Francisco Giants

Arizona's Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (.482, 4 HR) has also been on fire over his last eight games, but we've got to shout out the Giants rookie who has had a sensational initial stint in the majors. Schmitt homered in the second at-bat of his MLB career in Wednesday's win over the Nationals. It was the start of a five-game stretch in which he went 11-for-20 with a pair of home runs. We'll see what San Francisco elects to do with the red-hot 24-year-old, considering it activated Brandon Crawford from the IL Sunday.

Who's Not: Max Muncy, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers

Prior to taking paternity leave in late April, Max Muncy was looking more like "Mash" Muncy, hitting 11 home runs in 22 games. But he has not been the same since his return to the dugout, batting .128 with just one home run over his last 13 games. Hasn't much bothered the Dodgers, though, who have won each and every series since getting Muncy back. But getting more out of their star third baseman will be key if they want to keep playing that well.

What to Watch: Bounce-Back Week for the Padres?

San Diego's high-priced bats were silenced in losing three straight series against the Dodgers, the Twins and the Dodgers again, held to three runs or fewer in each of those losses.

But we could see a great awakening of those bats at home this week against the Royals and Red Sox—two of the most generous pitching staffs in the majors.

Juan Soto (.422/.527/.756) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (.302/.327/.528) have done all they can to keep the offense afloat over their last 12 games, but Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth need to get it together if this team is ever going to live up to the hype.

Schedule/Predictions

Los Angeles Dodgers (26-15): 3 vs. Twins, 4 at Cardinals; Projected Record: 5-2Arizona Diamondbacks (23-18): 3 at A's, 3 at Pirates; Projected Record: 4-2San Diego Padres (19-22): 3 vs. Royals, 3 vs. Red Sox; Projected Record: 5-1San Francisco Giants (17-23): 3 vs. Phillies, 3 vs. Marlins; Projected Record: 3-3Colorado Rockies (17-24): 3 vs. Reds, 3 at Rangers; Projected Record: 1-5

All of these are subject to change, but based on current projections/rotations, these are our picks for the best pitching matchups for each day of the upcoming week.

Friday is the night you're going to want to block out your calendar for tentative pitching duels. In addition to the Bryce vs. Bryce selection below, we should be getting Sandy Alcantara vs. Anthony DeSclafani, Zac Gallen vs. Johan Oviedo and James Paxton vs. Blake Snell, among others.

Set your viewing schedules accordingly. (All times ET.)

Monday: Los Angeles Angels (Shohei Ohtani) at Baltimore Orioles (Grayson Rodriguez) [6:35 p.m.]

Tuesday: Chicago Cubs (Justin Steele) at Houston Astros (Cristian Javier) [8:10 p.m.]

Wednesday: New York Yankees (Gerrit Cole) at Toronto Blue Jays (Chris Bassitt) [7:10 p.m.]

Thursday: Los Angeles Dodgers (Julio Urias) at St. Louis Cardinals (Steven Matz) [7:45 p.m.]

Friday: Seattle Mariners (Bryce Miller) at Atlanta Braves (Bryce Elder) [7:20 p.m.]

Saturday: Cleveland Guardians (Tanner Bibee) at New York Mets (Max Scherzer) [4:10 p.m.]

Sunday: Cleveland Guardians (Shane Bieber) at New York Mets (Justin Verlander) [7:00 p.m.]