MLB Standings: New York Yankees Continue Winning Ways, Extend First Place Lead in AL East Over Baltimore Orioles

By Damon Salvadore First Posted: May 04, 2015 04:30 PM EDT

The 2015 Major League Baseball season may be young, but many teams are standing out above the rest.

The New York Yankees have surprised many baseball fans to start off this MLB season. Despite losing future Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter and hit master Ichiro Suzuki, the Yankees are in first place in the American League East.

After 25 games of play, the Yankees sit stop the AL East division with a 16-9 record. Only the Bronx Bombers and the Baltimore Orioles have a winning record in the division. The Yankees have been far more balanced than most MLB experts predicted. Thus far, the Yankees rank sixth offensively in runs scored and seventh in runs allowed.

On the offensive side, the Yankees have hit the fourth-most home runs and have the eighth-best slugging percentage in the league this season. Mark Teixeira leads the Yankees with nine home runs, the third most in MLB. Only Dominican superstars of Nelson Cruz and Hanley Ramirez have more home runs than Teixeira. Teixeira also leads the Yankees in runs batted in with 20. Jacoby Ellsbury leads the team in hits and a very impressive .351 batting average.

The Yankees have best road record in baseball this season, 10-3.

Even on the defensive side, the Yankees have been performing well. The Yankees rank seventh overall in team earned runs against average, and have had the best pitching in the AL East. Masahiro Tanaka has been battling injuries, and he is currently on the short-term disabled list. However, Michael Pineda is 3-0 this season, and the Yankees relievers have done excellent. Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller have been providing great late game pitches for the Pinstripes this year so far.

The Yankees recently swept the Boston Red Sox in a three-game series, all three games which were played at Fenway Park.

Speaking of the Red Sox, they've been in a slump. The Red Sox jumped out to an early division lead but have lost seven of their 10 games, including their last three. The Red Sox are 6-7 at home this season and will play the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game series next. Newly acquired infielder Pablo Sandoval has been playing great this year with a team-leading 29 hits, while Hanley Ramirez (also newly acquired) leads the Red Sox with 10 home runs.

The Baltimore Orioles, who won the division last season, are presently 12-11. The Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles have won the AL East the last three seasons, respectively. The Orioles have led the American League in home runs hit the last two seasons, but rank seventh this year.

The Toronto Blue Jays haven't won this division since their memorable 1993 World Series championship run. Canada's team currently sits in last place in the AL East, but they are far from out of it with so many games left to be played. The Tampa Bay Rays barely have a winning record, but they sit in third place in the division. The Rays last won the AL East in 2010.