Well, let's take a look at some of those pre-season predictions that yours truly said would happen.
AL Winners: Rays, Twins, Angels, Yankees as WC
Well, If the season ended today, the Angels and Yankees would be in the playoffs. The Rays have struggled a little this season and the Twins are still four back. I still both teams have not played up to their potential and are capable of making a run during the second half. Both have had some pitching problems and when it comes around, they will be tough to beat
AL MVP: Mark Teixiera
Under the radar: Justin Morneau
AL Player to falter: Dustin Pedroia
Both Teixiera and Morneau are MVP canidates and will continue to fight to get the award. Jason Bay is another canidate as is Morneau's teammate, Joe Mauer. This will be a tight race as nobody has really distanced themselves from the others. As for Pedroia, he is having a good year, but it won't compare to last year. He his hitting 20 points lower and only has 4 home runs so far. Again, a very good player, but nowhere near where he was in production from the last year.
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
AL Cy Yuk: AJ Burnett
If Halladay gets to stay in the American League, it will be a two horse race between him and Zack Grienke for the Cy Young. This could be something like Lincecum and Santana did last year in the NL. Burnett hasn't been bad, but he hasn't been great either...he leads the AL in walks, but has an 8-4 record to go along with an ERA under 4.00. If I had to choose a Cy Yuk, it would be Fausto Carmona, who has been demoted.
Five position players that will breakout:
Adam Jones, OF, Baltimore Orioles....umm...Check! All-Star! Absolutely raking!
Kendry Morales, 1B, Los Angeles Angels....he is starting to play everyday and showing he belongs. Has been hitting over .300 since June 1st.
Alexei Ramirez, SS, Chicago White Sox....In the middle of May, he was batting .200. That average is up to .280. Ramirez is really starting to come around, has shown more plate discipline and has the speed and the power. I would say he is on his way!
Shin-Soo Choo, OF, Cleveland Indians....Choo is hitting over .290 with double digits in steals and home runs. He is one of the few bright spots on the roster and looks like he will be in the Indians outfield for years to come.
Alex Gordon, 3B, Kansas City Royals....Injuries have made him worthless this year.
Five pitchers that will breakout:
Joakim Soria, RP, Kansas City Royals....Soria has been dominating has a closer with a brief moment on the DL. You should have heard of him by now
Kevin Slowey, SP, Minnesota Twins....Slowey started off cold and picked it up in May and early June. He is on the DL now, but still has 10 wins and a very solid K:BB ratio
David Price, SP, Tampa Bay Rays....Price finally got the call up and looks like he won't be back down ever again. He has had his ups and downs but you can see why he was a number one pick
Brett Anderson, SP, Oakland A's.... As with all young pitchers, has been good and bad. Remember, he is still only 21 years old...
Rick Porcello, SP, Detroit Tigers...Started off very fast and has cooled off since then. Still has nasty stuff but I would like to see more strikeouts.
NL Winners: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies as WC
The Mets and Cubs have been devastated by injuries. For the Mets, Delgado, Reyes, Beltran have all been on the DL. The bullpen is much better than previous years, but they need to get healthy quickly if they want to make a run. The Cubs have had two, count them, TWO games with their opening day lineup. If Soriano and Bradley ever start hitting, this will be a very dangerous team. The Phillies just signed Pedro and along with the Dodgers are both trying to pry away Halladay from the Blue Jays. Both of those teams should make the playoffs.
NL MVP: Manny Ramirez
Under the radar: Hanley Ramirez
NL Player to falter: Ryan Ludwick
When you get suspended for 50 games, you aren't winning the MVP. The way Hanley has played the first half puts him in the race. Unfortunately for him, he has Albert Pujols in the way. But, unfortunately for Pujols he has Ryan Ludwick and others hitting behind him with a batting average of .240. Pujols should not be thrown to the rest of the year and will be on Ludwick and others to carry the Cardinals.
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana
NL Cy Yuk: Roy Oswalt
Johan started out filthy, but had an ERA over 6.00 in June. He is going to have a tough time to catch either Lincecum or Dan Haren. Oswalt strugged the first two months, but is starting to come around. I don't usually fault guys for being hurt, but Brad Lidge is nowhere close to the form he was last year and would probably get the award at the moment.
Five position players that will breakout:
Andre Ethier, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers....Ethier strugged a little bit with Manny out of the lineup, but has had some huge walk-off hits for the Dodgers. He will be a great player.
Stephen Drew, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks....Drew was injured early in the season, but has been raking since he came off the DL. It looks like he is on his way though.
Elijah Dukes, OF, Washington Nationals....Was given a chance and now is back in the minors.
Justin Upton, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks....An absolute beast in right field with power, speed, and average. He will be a very, very special player.
Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds....Votto has missed a huge portion of the season, but while he has been playing, all has done is hit over .350 with power.
Five pitchers that will breakout:
Ricky Nolasco, SP, Florida Marlins....Sent to the minors, but has been dominant since he has been back.
Chris Volsted, SP, Florida Marlins....Up and down just like the other young pitchers.
Jonathan Sanchez, SP, San Francisco Giants....Also sent to the minors, came back and threw a no-hitter. The stuff is there, can he keep it together?
Sean Marshall, SP, Chicago Cubs....Sent to the bullpen since the Cubs needed a lefty out there. Been a great reliever, might get chance to start in second half.
Yovani Gallardo, SP Milwaukee Brewers....He has been filthy and carried the Brewers pitching staff.
Second half predictions:
AL East: Red Sox. They have the Yankees number this year and have enough pieces to pick up whatever they may need at the deadline.
AL Central: Twins. I think the pitching will come around and they can catch the Tigers and the White sox.
AL West: Angels. The Mariners and especially the Rangers will make things much more interesting than they were last year
AL Wild Card: Rays. I think they can hold off the Yankees...especially with the lack of pitching the Yankees have.
AL MVP: Justin Morneau. Expect a big second half from him.
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay if he stays, Zack Grienke if he doesn't.
NL East: Phillies. The Mets aren't healthy, the Braves & Marlins both have issues. Phillies also could make a move to get Halladay
NL Central: Brewers. If the pitching holds up, they will make the playoffs easily holding off the Cubs and Cardinals.
NL West: Dodgers. With Manny fully back, they will run away with the division. Pitching and hitting is already top notch.
NL Wild Card: Cubs. If this team gets healthy and starts to hit, watch out. The pitching has been there all season, just need some timely hits.
NL MVP: Albert Pujols. Only because of his first half. He shouldn't get pitched too the rest of the year...but he still will for some odd reason. GIVE HIM THE BONDS TREATMENT!
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum. Any questions?
Playoffs:
AL Division: Red Sox over Twins, Angels over Rays
NL Division: Dodgers over Cubs, Phillies over Brewers
AL Championship: Angels over Red Sox
NL Championship: Dodgers over Phillies
World Series: Dodgers over Angels in 6.
