2018 MLB Midseason Review

Now that we’re emerging from the All-Star break, it’s time to look at where teams are going into the second half of the regular season in Major League Baseball. The Boston Red Sox have opened up a 4 ½-game lead over the New York Yankees, thanks to a streak in which they have won nine of 10. Cleveland has stumbled a bit, dropping six of ten, but they still lead Minnesota by 7 ½ games — and they start the second half with a series against the Texas Rangers, who are in dead last in the American League West. Houston leads that division, with a five-game cushion over Seattle. In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers have completed a big comeback to take the lead in the West, where Arizona sits a half-game back. The Chicago Cubs have passed Milwaukee in the Central, winning seven of 10 to take a three-game lead. Philadelphia has stormed back to pass Atlanta and take a half-game lead in the East, with the favorite Nationals 5 ½ games out of first. Be sure to check out the latest 2018 World Series odds, as we head into the MLB midseason.

2018 MLB Midseason Review

Power Rankings don’t take breaks. https://t.co/Gvzsun0OIJ pic.twitter.com/nkp5r8lEOL

— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2018

The Boston Red Sox have won 12 of 14 during the month of July and have started to create separation in a race that was already making the New York Yankees win at a high clip. With their pitching and the bat of J.D. Martinez, the Baby Bombers are going to have to find a new gear if they want to win this division. Winning six of 10 is nice, but it caused the Pinstripes to slide three games back. The Houston Astros have added to their lead over the Seattle Mariners despite the loss of Carlos Correa since June 25. They still have Jose Altuve raking, but losing their other star has been hard — but they have the depth to do it. Of course, the Mariners also lost Robinson Cano to a lengthy suspension. Marco Gonzales has been a nice surprise, putting up a 3.41 ERA in 19 starts. But the Mariners will have to hustle just to get a wild card. The Chicago Cubs have gone 7-3 into the break, while the Milwaukee Brewers have gone 2-8 — and 19-22 since June 1. The Brewers may need to turn into buyers if they want to contend — or they could wait and see if it’s time to sell, but the non-waiver trade deadline is approaching. We knew the Cubs had the talent to win the Central, but it’s taking them a long time to wake up this season. The Los Angeles Dodgers fought hard to get to the top of the NL West, going 10-4 so far in July — and they added shortstop Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles (in a historic funk this season that will now only get worse with the departure of their last star), so they are only going to get stronger as the season wears on — assuming that Clayton Kershaw doesn’t go to the disabled list for a third time this season. Speaking of that American League wild card, the Oakland A’s are just three games out of the second wild card position despite having the lowest payroll in the major leagues. How great would that be, if the bargain-basement A’s happened to knock off the high-dollar Yankees in a one-game wild-card play-in? Oakland is 9-4 in July and has the mental strength to keep pushing Seattle in the AL West. The Cleveland Indians need help in their bullpen — and they may have gotten it with a key trade during the All-Star break. They swapped catching prospect Francisco Mejia to San Diego for relievers Adam Cimber and Brad Hand, and they had to do it, as their bullpen ERA is second-worst in the major leagues. That won’t do in the postseason. The Philadelphia Phillies have a pitcher who is ahead of Washington’s Max Scherzer in ERA and fWAR — and it’s not Jake Arrieta. It’s Aaron Nola. That wouldn’t be a bad one-two punch in a postseason series. Can the Phillies hold on in the second half?