The 96th All-Star Game came and went in Philadelphia this week, and with the second half now underway, the picture across baseball is getting sharper. A handful of contenders are pulling away, a few preseason afterthoughts are forcing their way into the conversation, and the trade deadline buzz is starting to feel real. Here’s what our team is watching as the stretch run begins.
The Pace-Setters
The Dodgers (61-33) head into the second half as the sport’s clear top seed, and their pitching depth is a big reason why. Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Blake Snell already give Los Angeles one of the more imposing rotations in the league, and it’s part of why they’ve been connected to Detroit’s Tarik Skubal in deadline chatter.
Right behind them, the Brewers (58-34) keep doing what they’ve done all year: win without much fanfare. Milwaukee’s rotation, with Jacob Misiorowski emerging as a real difference-maker, has been the foundation, and the offense has been efficient rather than flashy. The Rays (54-36) round out the group of teams building real separation, and they’ve done it in an unusual way for this era of baseball — an MLB-best 33-13 record at Tropicana Field has them positioned for the AL’s No. 1 seed.
Two Surprise Turnarounds
Two of the more interesting stories of the first half are still writing themselves. The White Sox (47-44) are one of the bigger surprises in the sport after three straight 100-loss-caliber seasons — Munetaka Murakami’s power surge and a young core finding its footing have Chicago playing meaningfully better baseball. The Marlins (51-42) are right there with them, sitting at their highest power ranking of the season even after losing pitching prospects Robby Snelling and Thomas White to injury. Neither club was drawing much attention in spring training. Both are worth tracking now, especially for anyone paying attention to line movement in games that don’t get much national coverage.
Teams Cooling Off
On the other side, a few clubs have hit real turbulence. The Padres (46-46) are the most dramatic example — after a hot start, San Diego has gone 14-26 in its last 40 games, and injuries to Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta haven’t helped a pitching staff trying to hold things together. The Reds (42-49) have been similarly rough, going 12-21 since June 1 despite playing in one of the more hitter-friendly parks in baseball. The Red Sox (42-48) round out the group, ranking dead last in home runs with Roman Anthony’s extended injury absence taking a bite out of the lineup.
The Yankees (50-42) deserve a mention of their own. New York has been without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Max Fried at the same time, and it showed — the club struck out 17 times in consecutive games for the first time in franchise history. The catching situation has been just as rough, with Yankees backstops hitting a combined .175/.252/.254 on the year, which explains why Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers keeps coming up in trade rumors. Atlanta’s slide is worth watching too — the Braves have won only one of their last eight series, and Philadelphia has used that stretch to close the gap in the NL East.
Individual Standouts
Amid all the team-level movement, a few individual performances stand out. Cardinals rookie Jordan Walker leads the majors with 21 home runs, a .889 OPS, and 70 RBIs — numbers that would be a career year for most established hitters, let alone a young player. Yordan Alvarez has quietly put himself in position for a run at the Triple Crown, leading in batting average, home runs, and RBIs for Houston. And in Queens, Juan Soto’s 171 OPS+ would stand as a franchise record if the season ended today, even as the Mets have struggled to turn that production into wins.
Injury Watch and Deadline Buzz
On the health front, Ronald Acuña Jr. has begun a rehab assignment for Atlanta, a meaningful development for a Braves team trying to right the ship. Nick Kurtz is dealing with a thumb strain, and Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was voted in as an All-Star starter but didn’t play in Philadelphia due to a lingering issue of his own.
With the deadline approaching, the rumor mill is heating up around the contenders. Beyond the Dodgers’ reported interest in Skubal, the Brewers are looking at rotation help from the Mets (Clay Holmes) or a bigger swing at Minnesota’s Joe Ryan. The Braves have been tied to Freddy Peralta as they try to shore up their own rotation, and the Phillies are exploring outfield options, with San Francisco’s Jung Hoo Lee viewed as the more realistic fit over a name like Byron Buxton.
All of it adds up to a second half with real stakes — tightening division races, a deadline that could reshape several rosters, and individual seasons worth following on their own merits. Our team will keep breaking down how these storylines translate into matchups and value as the schedule rolls on.