Though it’s only mid-May, it’s once again, fairly obvious who the teams that will be involved with the playoffs are. Of course, their may be an underdog lying in the weeds out there. Who would have thought that after going 18-28 and firing manager Clint Hurdle, that the Rockies would be in the playoffs last year? The answer is not many.

Welcome to installment one of an in-depth six-part piece regarding where teams will be looking to go in the next few months. Who will be buyers, and who will be sellers? Who will get stuck with their expiring and contracts, and who could potentially wind up with no compensation for their big name free agents.

Preseason in the AL East, it was once again a three-horse race between the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees, and the Boston Red Sox. With the Toronto Blue Jays shipping off Roy Halladay to Philadelphia, it was obvious that they were content with not competing this year. And as for the Orioles, at a dismal 11-24, they seem to be unfortunately destined for the cellar.

The Tampa Bay Rays have arguably the best lineup one through nine in the majors. Along with efficient bench players in Reid Brignac and Willy Aybar, barring injury, the Rays should be fine down the stretch in the offensive categories. In fact, the Rays could look to pick up a decent prospect for Hank Blalock, who is currently in their Triple-A system.

The Rays starting rotation isn’t hurting for options either. Matt Garza and James Shields have been as advertised, and David Price (2.03 ERA, 48.2 IP) is having a breakout year. Add in Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann, and you have five starting pitchers with ERAs under 3.18.

The only weakness that can really be found on the Rays may be the bullpen, though it’s not nearly as bad as could be. Though they have closer Rafael Soriano and Dan Wheeler with ERAs under 2.00, but the team’s left-handed specialist Randy Choate has struggled thus far. Post All-Star break I could see the Rays looking to add bullpen help, however, if they chose to not to deal prospects, they could just as easily promote Jeremy Hellickson, similar to the way they brought up Price two years ago.

The New York Yankees sit in second place behind the Rays, and really could go a few different ways. I think that for now they will see where they are in July. Mark Teixeira is just starting to get hot and offense is never something the Yankees usually need to worry about.

The starting rotation may be the weakness for the Yankees with Javier Vazquez struggling, but Phil Hughes looks healthy and has been spectacular in the five spot. He’s been throwing like the No. 1 prospect he’s been expected to be over the last few years.

However, the Yankees have proven that they will not shy away from acquiring talent to help them in the playoffs. In the last few years, they have acquired Damaso Marte, Xavier Nady, Eric Hinske, and Jerry Hairston Jr. Though the Yanks won last year, with the big four of Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera all getting older, they are still going to be in win-now mode.

Look for the Yankees to make a move, possibly for a starting pitcher, and maybe even a leftfielder if Curtis Granderson experiences a setback in his rehab.

The biggest question mark in the AL East has to be the Boston Red Sox. Jason Varitek has so far been the team’s best offensive players, second on the team with six home runs but with a third of the at-bats. Other than Tek, Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis have been their usual selves; 300 BA, with homers and RBI. Jacoby Ellsbury is out for an extended amount of time which means the Sox acquisition of Jeremy Hermida looks even better now.

But it’s not the Boston line-up that has fans worried, it’s the rotation. Josh Beckett, who is coming off a huge extension, is being skipped in the rotation due to his struggles. Most recently Beckett gave up nine runs over 5.1 innings. John Lackey leads the team in wins with four, but has a 4.60 ERA and his K/9 rate has decreased greatly. Tim Wakefield has been sub-par in his starts and Daisuke Matsuzaka has shown mixed results since his return. All-in-all I think the Sox are going to have to invest in a starting pitcher at some point during the season.

One interesting proposition would be to trade Victor Martinez. That’s right, I said trade Victor Martinez. I’m sure Varitek has the fortitude to get through the season, and Martinez could be a great trade chip to shore up their rotation.

Joe Mauer’s eight-year, $184 million contract set the bar high for elite catchers in the league, and though I’m sure their have been extension discussions, I’m not sold on the Red Sox paying up $16-$20 million a year for their catcher.

I highly doubt the Sox will end up trading Martinez, but I do expect them to find a new solution to their starting pitching woes. They may have to do it quick if they want to keep up with the Yankees and Rays.

The Blue Jays are an intriguing team to look at. They have some young talent in Shaun Marcum, Travis Snider, and Aaron Hill, but I don’t see them keeping up the with the top teams in the East. Though I think they will be getting plenty of phone calls about their roster come July.

The Jays bullpen may be their biggest strength when it comes to trades. Solid bullpen arms are often the most sought after players when it comes to playoff teams, and with Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor and Scott Downs in the pen, they should be able to get a decent return for either one of them, especially if Gregg is able to keep closing out games with success.

After dealing Halladay, I don’t think that the Jays will be dealing any more of their young arsenal of starting pitchers but with a few offseason additions, they could easily be a dark horse candidate for the playoffs in 2011, though as always the Yanks, Red Sox and Rays will be lurking.

It’s off to the cellar we go with the Baltimore Orioles. Presdient of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail has shown how disappointed he has been with the team’s offense calling up Corey Patterson, Rhyne Hughes and Lou Montanez, and sending down budding star Nolan Reimold.

Any number of current Orioles will most likely not be with Baltimore when August comes around. Among the most popular names that will be thrown around are Miguel Tejada and Kevin Millwood, who are both in the last years of their contracts. Millwood is yet to get his first win of the season, but has pitched efficiently 3.69 ERA over eight games.

Patterson, depending on his play could be a waiver wire trade candidate, and if Garrett Atkins ever starts hitting, I would expect him to be dealt as well. The Orioles will continue to do whatever it takes to bolster their farm system and continue the rebuilding process, but you have to wonder how much longer fans can take the losing.

Check out PRO Rumors in the next couple days when I’ll discuss the happenings of the AL Central division.