The 10 MLB trends that ruled the first half -- and whether they'll continue

The archetypal fractional of the MLB play is successful the books. Well actually, we've played astir 60% of the schedule, but everyone inactive denotes the archetypal and 2nd halves of the play astir the All-Star break.

So, present that the All-Star festivities are down us, let's look backmost astatine the storylines that dominated the archetypal fractional and however they mightiness play retired the remainder of the season.

Before we begin, let's manus retired immoderate honorable mentions that didn't marque our database of the apical 10 storylines: the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves' disappointing seasons; the Houston Astros rolling to a pb successful the AL West contempt Yordan Alvarez's injury, losing Alex Bregman and trading Kyle Tucker; Jacob Wilson's .332 mean arsenic a rookie; Matthew Boyd's unthinkable twelvemonth for the Chicago Cubs; Jacob deGrom's comeback; Eugenio Suarez's four-homer game; and Denzel Clarke's dazzling catches successful halfway tract for the Athletics.

OK, present let's excavation into the apical 10 storylines of the 2025 play truthful far.

1. Chaos successful the American League East

The AL East has gone done capable crippled twists this play to capable a full bid of David Baldacci novels -- and we haven't adjacent reached August.

The New York Yankees looked arsenic if they would tally distant with the part early, gathering a seven-game pb successful precocious May, but they've gone 11-18 since June 13 and person dropped to 2nd place, creating a panic among their fans. The Toronto Blue Jays, connected the different hand, won 10 successful a enactment successful precocious June and aboriginal July to surge into first. The Tampa Bay Rays, playing successful a outpouring grooming facility, went 33-22 successful May and June -- a play successful which they were 2nd successful the majors successful runs scored -- but person gone 3-9 successful July to autumn into 4th place. The Baltimore Orioles? They fired their manager and mightiness commercialized fractional the squad astatine the commercialized deadline.

But the Boston Red Sox person been the biggest melodrama of all. The Rafael Devers saga, which began successful outpouring training, included complaints astir his DH role, a terrible commencement astatine the plate, immoderate blistery hitting, a refusal to play archetypal base and past concluded with the shocking trade to the San Francisco Giants, which came hours aft Boston had conscionable completed a three-game expanse of the Yankees. A six-game losing streak soon followed arsenic the Red Sox enactment was dripping with atrocious karma.

But this is baseball, wherever the communicative tin flip successful a hurry: The Red Sox won their last 10 games heading into the All-Star break, person climbed into a wild-card position, are lone 3 games retired of archetypal spot and conscionable got Bregman backmost from the injured list.

"I bash deliberation there's a existent accidental that astatine the extremity of the season, we're looking backmost and we've won much games than we different would've," main shot serviceman Craig Breslow told reporters aft the Devers trade. He mightiness beryllium close -- astatine slightest if the pitching tin present the mode it did successful that 10-game triumph streak, erstwhile the unit had a 1.90 ERA.

Will it stay a storyline? Absolutely. Sure, the expanded wild-card contention makes part races little important than they erstwhile were, but teams inactive privation to triumph the part and debar that best-of-three wild-card round. Plus, the imaginable of a four-team contention makes the AL East the astir breathtaking contention to travel successful the 2nd half. Though each 4 teams could inactive marque the playoffs, that's nary warrant arsenic the Seattle Mariners presently clasp 1 of the wild-card spots up of the Rays.

2. The abruptly precise absorbing NL Central

The Cubs person a powerhouse lineup with MVP campaigner Pete Crow-Armstrong, chap All-Star starter Tucker, the scorching-hot Michael Busch, who is 5th successful the majors successful OPS, and Seiya Suzuki, who has 25 location runs and 77 RBIs. They person an All-Star pitcher successful Boyd, Shota Imanaga has a 2.65 ERA and the bullpen has been precise good. And that's not adjacent mentioning their catchers, who person 20 location runs, 65 RBIs and the second-highest OPS successful the majors.

Despite each of that, the Milwaukee Brewers are lone 1 crippled back.

How is that possible? They find ways to people runs without relying connected the agelong ball; they're 23rd successful the majors successful location runs but seventh successful runs scored, with their velocity and aggressiveness connected the bases helping there. As always, they someway find capable pitching, and the anonymous-but-hard-throwing bullpen threesome of Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe and Jared Koenig has turned into 1 of the astir imposing late-game trios.

Will it stay a storyline? Yes, the Brewers are perfectly the existent deal, moving disconnected 7 wins successful a enactment earlier the All-Star break. They bash statesman the 2nd fractional with a pugnacious travel against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mariners, with a location bid against the Cubs aft that to adjacent retired July, but there's a crushed the Brewers person made the playoffs successful six of the past 7 seasons: This squad knows however to win.

They've besides precocious added 2 cardinal players successful Brandon Woodruff, yet backmost from enarthrosis surgery, and rookie flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski, who is 4-1 with a 2.65 ERA successful 5 starts, dominating with his fastball that averages 99.3 mph. Indeed, Misiorowski looms arsenic 1 of the astir important players the remainder of the way: If helium keeps this going and with Woodruff looking similar his pre-injury signifier -- 18 strikeouts and nary walks successful his 2 starts -- the trio of Freddy Peralta, Woodruff and Misiorowski volition beryllium a scary rotation to look successful October.

3. The epic American League MVP race

We each cognize the details of this one:

• Behind curtain No. 1: Cal Raleigh, connected gait for an AL-record 64 location runs (he presently has 38) and putting unneurotic possibly the top violative play ever for a catcher.

• Behind curtain No. 2: Aaron Judge, connected gait for 11.8 WAR and putting unneurotic 1 of the top violative seasons successful the sport's history.

It's hard to judge a catcher mightiness deed 50-something location runs -- oregon much -- and not triumph the MVP award, but that's what mightiness happen. Voters are WAR-focused these days, and Judge has a accidental for lone the sixth 12-WAR play by a presumption subordinate (three of the erstwhile 5 are by Babe Ruth). That astir apt makes Judge the favorite, particularly since he's not acold down Raleigh with 35 location runs and is astir apt 1 of his patented blistery streaks distant from getting backmost connected gait for different 60-homer season.

Will it stay a storyline? Let's anticipation so. Remember, we were successful a akin concern a twelvemonth agone with an epic three-player contention betwixt Judge, Bobby Witt Jr. and Gunnar Henderson, lone to spot Judge propulsion distant to an eventual unanimous enactment implicit Witt. It's hard to ideate Raleigh keeping it going astatine this rate, particularly fixed his dense workload down the sheet (he's 3rd successful the majors successful innings caught), and helium has been a small 1 dimensional successful July (he has lone 5 hits, each of them location runs). Judge is the dense betting favourite astatine -600 to +325 for Raleigh, according to ESPN Bet.

4. Pete Crow-Armstrong leads the National League MVP race

As a rookie successful 2024, Crow-Armstrong deed .237/.286/.384 with 10 location runs successful 123 games -- not precisely numbers that would person projected him arsenic an MVP campaigner the pursuing year. But helium has emerged arsenic not lone 1 of the astir breathtaking players successful the majors, but 1 of the astir invaluable arsenic well. With 25 location runs and 27 stolen bases, he's connected gait for a 40/40 season, and with assistance from immoderate superlative antiaircraft metrics, helium leads the NL successful some Baseball-Reference WAR (5.2) and FanGraphs WAR. (4.9), beating James Wood (4.4) successful the erstwhile and Shohei Ohtani (4.3) successful the latter.

Crow-Armstrong would surely beryllium 1 of the astir astonishing MVP winners ever, and 1 of the astir distinctive. His .302 OBP would beryllium the lowest for an MVP presumption player, beating Zoilo Versalles' .319 people from 1965. Only 10 MVP winners person had an OBP beneath .350. He'd besides beryllium the archetypal halfway fielder to triumph NL MVP since Andrew McCutchen successful 2013.

Will it stay a storyline? Yes. With Crow-Armstrong's ultra-aggressive attack astatine the sheet (he has the highest pursuit complaint successful the majors among qualified batters), it figured pitchers would yet fig retired however to exploit that. But they haven't truthful acold and PCA, portion not possessing immense earthy power, continues to tube up baseballs. Looming successful his rearview reflector successful the MVP race: Ohtani, who has present added pitching to his repertoire and is dilatory moving up to a starter's workload. He leads the NL successful location runs, slugging, runs scored, OPS and full bases. ESPN Bet has made him the favourite astatine -700, with Crow-Armstrong astatine +750. Keep your oculus connected Juan Soto and Kyle Tucker arsenic well.

5. The Dodgers are unbeatable ... no, they're conscionable precise bully ... actually, they're mediocre

That 8-0 start, pursuing the offseason additions of Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki and Tanner Scott, created speech that the Dodgers might beryllium 1 of the top teams of each time. Well, they aren't.

Despite an inconsistent archetypal half, 1 afloat of much pitching injuries and immoderate subpar performances from the likes of Mookie Betts and Michael Conforto, the Dodgers are inactive connected gait for 97 wins. A 2-7 slump heading into the interruption highlighted immoderate of their issues: Betts has a sub-.700 OPS, Freddie Freeman is hitting .197 with 1 location tally implicit his past 32 games, Scott has 7 blown saves, the rotation ranks conscionable 20th successful the majors successful ERA (and past successful innings pitched) and the bullpen ranks 24th successful ERA. Oh, and the Dodgers person churned done 35 antithetic pitchers this season.

Will it stay a storyline? Check backmost successful October, erstwhile the Dodgers volition effort to go the archetypal squad since the 2000 Yankees to repetition arsenic World Series champs.

6. The Detroit Tigers person the champion grounds successful baseball

As bully arsenic the Tigers person looked, having the champion grounds (59-38) successful the majors astatine the All-Star interruption was inactive unexpected: They were 18th successful our preseason Power Rankings, with a projected grounds of 83-79, and lone 11 of our 28 voters picked Detroit to triumph the division. Tarik Skubal has been great, arsenic expected, but cipher had Javier Baez and Zach McKinstry making the All-Star squad connected their bingo card. Gleyber Torres, with a .387 OBP, has been 1 of the champion offseason signings, and erstwhile No. 1 picks Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize are having their champion seasons.

Will it stay a storyline? The Tigers should stay successful the contention for champion grounds the remainder of the way. But their last bid earlier the interruption exposed a imaginable weakness. The Mariners swept the three-game bid successful Detroit, scoring 35 runs -- 23 of which came against the bullpen. Tommy Kahnle, portion of the late-game duo with Will Vest, gave up 4 runs Saturday and 3 Sunday. Vest blew a 4-3 pb successful the eighth Sunday, earlier Kahnle gave up back-to-back homers successful the ninth. The Tigers volition nary uncertainty beryllium looking for immoderate alleviation assistance astatine the commercialized deadline.

7. Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes and an unthinkable play for pitchers

Skubal and Skenes started the All-Star Game -- and that brace has been starring the mode successful what has been a stellar play for starting pitchers. At the break, we had 19 qualified pitchers with an ERA nether 3.00, which would lucifer 2022 arsenic the astir since 2014 (when determination were 21). There are different 5 pitchers, who aren't presently qualified, with astatine slightest 80 innings and an ERA nether 3.00, truthful the full could ascent by the extremity of the season. Four of those pitchers besides had an imposing strikeout complaint supra 30%: Skubal (33.4%), Zack Wheeler (33.0%), Garrett Crochet (31.2%) and Hunter Brown (31.1%). MacKenzie Gore, with a 3.02 ERA, is besides supra the 30% mark.

Skenes has been the bad-luck pitcher of the season, possibly of the century: He's 4-8 contempt an MLB-best 2.01 ERA, but helium mightiness inactive beryllium the Cy Young favorite. He could go the archetypal Cy Young victor with a losing grounds (Jacob deGrom went 10-9 with the Mets successful 2018 and Felix Hernandez went 13-12 with the Mariners successful 2010).

Will it stay a storyline? Sure. With truthful galore pitchers having large seasons, Skubal and Skenes hardly person the Cy Young Awards wrapped up, with Crochet and Wheeler fundamentally successful a statistical deadlock with them close now. Brown was successful the AL premix earlier giving up 10 runs successful his last 2 starts earlier the break. Keep an oculus connected deGrom, who is 9-2 with a 2.32 ERA and has already pitched his astir innings since 2019.

8. Juan Soto's topsy-turvy tenure with the New York Mets

In his archetypal period with the Mets, Soto deed .241/.368/.384 with lone 3 location runs. Then helium deed .219 successful May. But the Mets were winning, and the statistical grounds showed that Soto was hitting the shot hard and taking his walks -- meaning, it was truly the aforesaid aged Soto, but the hits conscionable weren't falling. Since June 1, helium has deed .311/.455/.659 with 14 location runs and present ranks among the league leaders successful galore categories. Despite the dilatory start, he's connected gait for 6.5 WAR, which isn't rather what helium did with the Yankees past play (7.9) but is close successful enactment with his vocation mean per 162 games (6.3). In different words, he's the aforesaid Juan Soto, but his champion hitting has travel arsenic the Mets person scuffled aft their blistery start.

Will it stay a storyline? With the Mets battling for the NL East rubric with the Philadelphia Phillies, you bet. One happening to watch: While the wide violative numbers are creeping backmost into emblematic Soto territory, helium has deed lone .183/.330/.390 with runners successful scoring presumption and .176/.337/.340 with men connected base. According to Baseball-Reference, helium has a .783 OPS successful high-leverage situations, .773 successful mean leverage and 1.053 successful debased leverage. The Mets are paying Soto a batch of wealth to nutrient successful those high-leverage moments, truthful if they are to bushed retired the Phillies, helium volition request to prime it up successful those situations.

9. Young sluggers burst onto the scene

We saw James Wood and Junior Caminero successful the Home Run Derby, and some are having outstanding archetypal afloat seasons successful the majors. Wood has 24 location runs and ranks eighth successful the majors successful OPS. Caminero has 23 location runs, but not the wide violative numbers that Wood has. A twelvemonth ago, Nick Kurtz had conscionable been drafted successful the archetypal circular by the Athletics retired of Wake Forest and present helium has mashed 17 location runs successful 58 games aft opening the play successful Triple-A. Over his past 26 games, helium has deed .295/.385/.737 with 12 location runs and looks arsenic if he's processing into 1 of the champion powerfulness hitters successful the game.

Still looking to get connected way is Jac Caglianone, besides successful his archetypal twelvemonth retired of college. He reached the majors with much hype than Kurtz but has struggled with a .140 mean and 4 location runs done 35 games, though helium flashed his light-tower powerfulness with 1 blast of 466 feet. These players are each 22 years old. The crippled is successful bully hands.

Will it stay a storyline? Yes and no. Caminero's Rays are the lone squad successful the playoff hunt close now, though Caglianone's Kansas City Royals are adjacent capable to perchance get backmost into the wild-card chase. Wood's play has benignant of flown nether the radar playing for the Washington Nationals, but helium has an OPS+ of 160. In the wild-card epoch since 1995, lone 5 players successful their age-22 play person reached that mark: Mike Trout (2014), Bryce Harper (2015), and Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. each successful 2021. That's not atrocious institution to beryllium portion of.

10. How galore games volition the Colorado Rockies lose?

After a 9-50 commencement near them connected gait to suffer 137 games, it looked arsenic if the Rockies mightiness shatter the Chicago White Sox's modern grounds of 121 losses from past season. The Rockies won 3 successful a enactment astatine that constituent and had different four-game winning streak aboriginal successful June, but past went 4-14 successful their last 18 games earlier the break. That near them with a 22-74 record, inactive connected gait to decorativeness 37-125. They have played a small better: They had a minus-77 tally differential successful March/April and minus-106 successful May but were minus-38 successful June. They're backmost to minus-32 truthful acold successful July, with losses of 10-2, 10-2, 10-3 and 9-3 truthful acold this month. It's intolerable to cognize which absorption this volition spell the remainder of the way.

Will it stay a storyline? It appears so. It mightiness travel down to the wire, and the Rockies decorativeness the play with trips to Seattle and San Francisco.