It’s time for my yearly rail against the timing of the All-Star Game, which now takes place well past the halfway point of the season.
Let’s look at three random teams. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays have already played 97 games, meaning they have just 65 left to play.
And while I know it’s been going on for close to 20 years, when did MLB conspire to gain more and more fan data by cajoling them to vote for their hometown players regardless of whether they truly deserve to be All-Stars or not?
And while I know it’s wildly popular — it is, isn’t it? — I am frankly kind of bored by the Home Run Derby by now. It’s become overhyped water-cooler talk fodder. So who do you think you’ll bet on in this year’s Derby? My money is on Rays slugger Junior Caminero.
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The first night of 2025 MLB Draft saw the Orioles take seven players in the first 93 picks. Longtime draft analyst Jim Callis was impressed with the value Mike Elias got with the first three picks. Former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd said that the Orioles GM killed it.
But I was pleasantly surprised to see Elias and his gang pick two pitchers on the first night: Michigan State lefty Joseph Dzierwa and Georgia right-hander JT Quinn. I am expecting more significant picks to be used to get some real pitching prospects into the development pipeline.
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While I tried to stay as positive as I could for as long as I could that the Orioles would truly get some momentum, losing those last two games to the Marlins was about as big a downer as I can think of to close out the first half.
Elias’ direction is now clear as day. He will work to separate the Orioles from all of their expiring contracts for as much pitching as he can get.
Seranthony Domínguez, Andrew Kittredge, Ramón Laureano, Cedric Mullins, Charlie Morton, Ryan O’Hearn, Gregory Soto and Tomoyuki Sugano could find themselves in pennant races soon enough.
On to my latest power rankings:
1. Detroit Tigers (59-38, No. 1 last week): The Tigers are 11.5 games in front of the second-place Twins. Thirty-one of the Tigers’ next 41 games are against teams that are currently under .500. Unless Houston gets healthier or Boston’s latest winning streak is for real, the Tigers seem to have one hell of a chance to make it to the World Series for the first time since 2012, when they lost to St. Louis.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (58-39, No. 2): The Dodgers can play without a lot of pressure since the Giants, Padres and D-Backs all faded from contention to win the division. If they can get a healthy half-season from Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers will be fine. They do miss Max Muncy.
3. Chicago Cubs (57-39, No. 4): The Cubs’ offense gets so much attention that the job Jed Hoyer has done in piecing together a dominant back end is often overlooked. Ryan Brasier, Chris Flexen, Daniel Palencia, Drew Pomeranz and Caleb Thielbar have been terrific.
4. Houston Astros (56-40, No. 3): The two Jakes — Melton and Meyers — are both down with injuries. Spencer Arrighetti should be back at some point in the next month.
5. New York Mets (55-42, No. 6): The Mets’ rotation got a big boost with the returns of Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea. Senga tossed four innings on July 11 and Manaea 3.1 innings of relief on July 13. Though he was the losing pitcher, Manaea struck out 7 of the 10 batters he faced. They need a couple better arms to help Edwin Díaz.
6. Toronto Blue Jays (55-41, No. 7): The real wild card for them is Max Scherzer. In four starts (20 innings) since returning from the injured list, he has struck out 23 and walked seven. He has a 4.50 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in these four starts, but the stuff is building. If he can stay healthy, he still may be able to make an impact.
7. Milwaukee Brewers (56-40, No. 8): The Brewers are on a 20-7 run that has seen them pull within a game of the Cubs. The irony, of course, is that they could be the thorn in Craig Counsell’s side.
8. Philadelphia Phillies (55-41, No. 5): It’s no secret that the Phillies need bullpen help. There’s buzz that 2025 first-round pick Gage Wood could help the Phillies in relief this year. I could also see Orioles right-hander Andrew Kittredge helping out in the City of Brotherly Love.
9. New York Yankees (53-43, No. 10): With Devin Williams pitching well again, look for the Yankees to focus on upgrade at third base with Jazz Chisholm Jr. shifting to second base full time. I see Eugenio Suárez as a target as the D-Backs work to get back in play in 2026.
10. San Francisco Giants (52-45, No. 12): The Giants are just 11-13 since the big trade that brought Rafael Devers in from Boston. Devers has been part of the slide (.202/.330/.326 with two homers as a Giant), and now comes word that he has a disc issue in his back. Meanwhile, the Sox have won 11 of 12.
11. Boston Red Sox (53-45, No. 15)
12. Seattle Mariners (51-45, No. 11)
13. San Diego Padres (52-44, No. 13)
14. Cincinnati Reds (50-47, No. 14)
15. Tampa Bay Rays (50-47, No. 9)
16. St. Louis Cardinals (51-46, No. 16)
17. Minnesota Twins (47-49, No. 18)
18. Los Angeles Angels (47-49, No. 20)
19. Texas Rangers (48-49, No. 17)
20. Cleveland Guardians (46-49, No. 25)
21. Kansas City Royals (47-50, No. 21)
22. Arizona Diamondbacks (47-50, No. 19)
23. Miami Marlins (44-51, No. 23)
24. Baltimore Orioles (43-52, No. 22)
25. Atlanta Braves (42-53, No. 24)
26. Athletics (41-57, No. 27)
27. Washington Nationals (38-58, No. 28)
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (39-58, No. 26)
29. Chicago White Sox (32-65, No. 29)
30. Colorado Rockies (22-74, No. 30)