We’ve hit the MLB All-Star break, so let’s take a quick look at the first half of the season.
The Orioles are proving that last season’s 101 wins was not a fluke. After the Yankees’ recent slide, they are back on top of the AL East, and looking great. The acquisition of Corbin Burnes solidified their rotation, and the offense leads the league in most home runs. Remember in 2021 when they lost 110 games? Yeah, me neither. The Orioles are a great story, and I look forward to a long playoff run.
The Mariners are doing exactly what I told you they would do in the team previews. They are at the top in the American League in ERA, and lead the AL West by a game over the Astros. This race will go down to the wire, because we all know that the Astros will make moves at the deadline. Look out if the Mariners make the playoffs; they can make a run if they can line up their staff the right way.
In the National League, the Phillies and Dodgers are the favorites. The Phillies just swept Los Angeles at the Bank; so we’ll see what happens when the teams meet at the Ravine in August. They have been crushing it all season, even with the injuries to Realmuto, Walker, Turnbull, Suarez, and Wheeler. Look for everybody except Turnbull to be back before August 1; Turnbull will be back in late August with the lateral strain.
Is there any player who has done a better job of betting on himself than Teoscar Hernandez of the Dodgers? He signed a one-year deal in the off-season, and is hitting in the lineup behind Ohtani, Smith, and Freeman. Hernandez is on pace for career highs in home runs and RBI. The Dodgers are going to the playoffs, and they’re going to win the division. Hernandez is going to have the numbers that will help him cash next offseason; the question will be if the Dodgers can do enough to keep him (as in defer enough salary – he already has $8 million deferred to be paid from 2030 through 2039).
The Dodgers will win the NL West – there’s no question about that. The question for the Dodgers in 2024 – as it has been in every postseason since this run started – is whether or not the pitching will hold up. Clayton Kershaw is still working to come back and has not pitched in the majors this year. Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have no timetable to return, Dustin May is out for the year, Shohei Ohtani is a DH only this season, and Bobby Miller has been sent to AAA. It’s one thing to beat up on the Marlins, Nationals, and Rockies, but It’s another to face the top teams in the league for a five- or seven-game series.
Look out for the Royals and the Reds in the second half of the season. I have a feeling that they are going to put it together and make a run at a Wild Card spot.
The A’s are still trying to get to Vegas – John Fisher is still an asshat.
