1. St. Louis Cardinals (56-33, Last Week-1): Even after injuries to their best players, they will have the best record at the break, which goes to show how strong of an organization they have.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates (53-35, Last Week-2): Won a crazy game against the Cardinals after being down 3-1, 4-3, and 5-4. It is a shame that either them or the Cardinals will have to go through the Wild Card game.
3. Kansas City Royals (52-34, Last Week-4): After being swept by Houston, they have gone 9-2 and are clearly the American League’s best team.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (51-39, Last Week-6): Have an intriguing series coming up against the Nationals after the break that could be a potential playoff matchup in October. Should be looking for a starting pitcher over the next two weeks, with Yasiel Puig on the market.
5. Washington Nationals (48-39, Last Week-5): Even through all the injuries, they are still in first place. If Desmond can just be a decent player, they should run away with the NL East.
6. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (48-40, Last Week-9): A hot streak coinciding with an Astros losing streak has got them in first place at the All-Star Break. A resurgent Albert Pujols has been a big part of that.
7. Houston Astros (49-42, Last Week-3): Tough way to end a great first half by losing six straight, but they have still greatly exceeded expectations. Will need to acquire a starting pitcher (Cueto or Kazmir) and first base help if they want to win the division.
8. New York Yankees (48-40, Last Week-8): They have taken advantage of cold streaks by the Orioles, Rays, and Blue Jays and are now leading the division by 3.5 games. What may help them extend their lead is sending Sabathia to the bullpen.
9. Minnesota Twins (49-40, Last Week-15): Great home stand this week, going 6-1, including a game where they were down 6-1 in the ninth and won.
10. Chicago Cubs (47-40, Last Week-7): Going to be tough to hold onto a wild card spot with the Mets and Giants breathing down their necks. Adding an outfielder at the deadline would be a big help for them.
11. New York Mets (47-42, Last Week-14): Incredibly stupid by the front office to let their pitcher Steven Matz pitch while injured. It is honestly unbelievable that it happened with all these young pitchers going down with injuries.
12. San Francisco Giants (46-43, Last Week-13): Went to AT&T Park twice this past week and it is one of the best places to watch a game in baseball. Great atmosphere (373 straight sellouts) and good food (garlic fries).
13. Tampa Bay Rays (46-45, Last Week-11): Gained some good momentum heading into the break as they swept Houston after losing 13 of 15.
14. Toronto Blue Jays (45-46, Last Week-12): Truly amazing that they are below .500 with a positive run differential of 82. If they can get some decent pitching, they would be one the best teams in the American League.
15. Baltimore Orioles (44-44, Last Week-10): Just as I had commended them on keeping Kevin Gausman in the rotation, they send him down. How they have handled his development baffles me as he is considered their best pitching prospect.
16. Boston Red Sox (42-47, Last Week-21): They have jumped back into the race, but will need a reliever or two if they want to play in October.
17. Cleveland Indians (42-46, Last Week-17): Only 5.5 games out of a wild card spot, and, with that rotation, they could gain a lot of ground in a short amount of time.
18. Detroit Tigers (44-44, Last Week-16): It may not be such a bad idea to sell at the deadline because the division is much improved. Their lineup should get them back on track in due time.
19. Texas Rangers (42-46, Last Week-18): Ended a decent first half with a 2-8 record that dropped them below .500 and closer to last place than first place in the AL West.
20. Arizona Diamondbacks (42-45, Last Week-19): Brad Ziegler has been great for them as a closer with an ERA of 1.18 and 14 saves.
21. Seattle Mariners (41-48, Last Week-24): Cannot seem to get a winning streak together, but a strong start last Saturday night by Hisashi Iwakuma is a positive.
22. Atlanta Braves (42-47, Last Week-20): A losing streak of five games seems to have put away any hopes of making the playoffs, but they have exceeded expectations this year and Braves fans should not be upset with their play.
23. Oakland A’s (41-50, Last Week-22): If they played .500 in one-run games, which is the league average for those games, they would be 1.5 games out of first place. What an unlucky season for the A’s.
24. Chicago White Sox (41-45, Last Week-26): Even with their recent hot streak, they are still one of the worst teams in the AL; but, they are within 5.5 games of a playoff spot.
25. San Diego Padres (41-49, Last Week-23): Disappointing first half as the offense has not produced like it was supposed to and the pitching has taken a step back.
26. Cincinnati Reds (39-47, Last Week-25): The All-Star festivities are being held in Cincinnati this week and it will the last good baseball they will see for a few years.
27. Milwaukee Brewers (38-52, Last Week-27): 2011 first-round draft pick Taylor Jungmann has been great so far with a 4-1 record and an ERA of 2.15.
28. Colorado Rockies (39-49, Last Week-29): Personally think not trading Tulo will be a mistake because he is still hitting for a high average despite his lack of power.
29.Miami Marlins (38-51, Last Week-28): Going to be without Dee Gordon for a few weeks after he dislocated his thumb. They just cannot get all of their stars healthy at the same time.
30. Philadelphia Phillies (29-62, Last Week-30): A run differential of -160 is horrendous and they are on pace for 110 losses. Yikes.
Home Run Derby Prediction:
Round 1: Pujols over Bryant, Pederson over Machado, Rizzo over Donaldson, Fielder over Frazier.
Round 2: Pederson over Pujols, Fielder over Rizzo
Championship: Fielder over Pujols
Sources
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/09/9-awesome-things-about-nl-mvp-favorite-andrew-mccutchen
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/index.jsp
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable.jsp