By William Robinson
Today marks the halfway point in the regular season and the close of the first half of baseball. I thought that it would be an interesting prospect to go back and look at what has transpired so far and to look ahead as well. It’s going to be a fun ride the rest of the way home.
In the NL East the Yankees have to feel good about themselves. They have lost their main stars (Stanton, and Judge) for most of the season to this point and still find themselves 7.5 games ahead in their division. Most of this has been secondary to the amazing play of some of their non regular starters. DJ LeMahieu leads the team with a batting average of .339, and Gary Sanchez leads them with 24 home runs. The Rays are in second place which shouldn’t surprise anyone. This team is very talented and look to be a Wild Card team in this postseason. Boston started the season off dreadfully but have clawed their way back to a respectable 46-41 as they look to probably be another of the Wild Card teams. That being said so far, I’m really liking my prediction of a Yankees World Series title this year.
The AL Central has the surprising Twins in the lead by 6 games. They are led on offense by Jorge Polanco and his .313 batting average and Max Kepler leads them with 21 home runs. I wouldn’t count out the Indians though as they still boast a very talented roster and have an underperforming Jose Ramirez who if he could get it going could ignite them to some wins. That being said both of these teams could be post season teams. The White Sox are a respectable 41-43 to this point and must feel good about their young nucleus who have been very impressive to this point.
The AL West is Houston’s to lose. They are 7.5 games ahead of the A’s and 8 ahead of the surprising Rangers. Michael Brantley has been an amazing pick up for them as he leads the team with a batting average of .310 and Alex Bregman leads them with 23 home runs. This team is a juggernaut that will be a difficult out when it comes to the postseason. The A’s started off the season slowly but have since come to life. The Rangers are also looking to compete for a Wild Card spot with the resurgent Joey Gallo leading the way.
In the NL East the Braves are up 6 games on the Nationals. The Braves have been buoyed by the powerful hitting of Austin Riley, Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna. Dansby Swanson is in the midst of a breakout performance as well. The Nationals started the season off dreadfully but have made a comeback and now figure to be in the hunt for a playoff spot when everything shakes out in October and the Phillies have been underperforming for much of the season.
The NL Central is wide open with only 3.5 games separating the first place Cubs and the last place Reds. So far it looks like nobody wants to win this division as each team within it has serious flaws. The Cubs picked up Craig Kimbrel in an attempt to shore up their bullpen, but he has been less than stellar so far. The Brewers just can’t put it all together and the Cardinals, Reds and Pirates all are mediocre at best.
The NL West is already over as the Dodgers sit on a 14.5 game lead at the All-Star Break. This Dodgers team looks like a team on a mission having lost the last two World Series. If MVP voting was held today Cody Bellinger would definitely win. He has been amazing with 30 HR and an OPS over 1.100. This team truly looks like it will be representing the NL for the third year in a row at the World Series.
Storylines heading into the second half:
- Who will win the home run race in the NL, Bellinger or Yelich? Can either get to 62?
- Where will Madison Bumgardner be dealt?
- Will the Mets part ways with Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom?