The All-Star break has arrived, and with it baseball season’s unofficial midway point. With MLB’s top stars set to gather in Philadelphia this week, now is as good a time as any to take a step back and assess the lay of the land.
Who have been the game’s top performers? Who are in pole position for the sport’s top awards? And which teams have been the biggest surprises, for better or worse?
Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has been having a massive season at the plate. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
MVP: Yordan Alvarez, HOU; Shohei Ohtani, LAD
So far the American League MVP race is looking like a runaway. Yordan Alvarez has been by far the best hitter in the league and barring injury or a big drop off he should be in prime position to win his first MVP honor.
As of this writing the Houston Astros slugger is in the mix for the triple crown, leading the AL in home runs (30) and RBI (68) while ranking second in batting average (.312). He also tops the league in OPS (1.038), clearing the next closest player by nearly 100 points, and ranks first in offensive Wins Above Replacement (4.3).
In a season where almost everything else has gone from for the Astros, Alvarez has done everything he can to keep his club in the hunt.
The National League MVP race is a little more interesting.
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani should be considered the favorite, because as long as he’s producing at an elite level at the plate and on the mound he’ll probably always be in the driver’s seat for MVP. This year his offensive numbers are as good as ever with a .290 batting average, 21 home runs, 57 RBI and .943 OPS, but his pitching has really stood out. Entering the weekend, Ohtani is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts over 85 2/3 innings, making the two-way star a possible contender for the Cy Young Award as well.
But Ohtani has real competition this year. Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is also in the middle of a career season, and rising Washington Nationals star James Wood is also enjoying a breakout campaign.
Crow-Armstrong is batting (.293) and is neck and neck with Ohtani in home runs (21), RBI (52) and OPS (.920). Though he doesn’t pitch, he makes a tremendous impact defensively, and combining their offensive contributions with their pitching or defense, Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong both have an MLB-high 5.7 WAR.
Wood doesn’t have the run prevention element, but he has arguably been the superior offensive performer with 26 homers, 62 RBI and a .963 OPS.
Ohtani will probably still win his fifth MVP fairly convincingly, but he’ll definitely have to earn it.
Cy Young: Cam Schlittler, NYY; Jake Misiorowski, MIL
This season has marked the arrival of two young pitchers who look poised to dominate the league for years to come.
Coming off his brilliant rookie year, New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler has made the leap and now stands as the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award. The 25-year-old leads the AL in ERA (2.01) and WAR (3.9) while ranking top three in almost every other major category.
It’s been quite a rise for the former Walpole High star, who is now on a trajectory that could make him among the greatest pitchers the Bay Area has ever produced.
“Obviously I take pride from being (from) here,” Schlittler told the Herald when the Yankees visited Fenway Park last month. “Feel like a lot has changed since being back at Walpole. I’m still young, I still got a lot to learn and it’s been a good experience to recognize who I was as a pitcher when I was 15 years old and where I’m at 10 years later.”
Jacob Misiorowski has been even more dominant on the NL side.
The Milwaukee Brewers right-hander has staked his claim for being the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in MLB history, routinely hitting 104 mph, and opposing hitters have been completely overmatched. Misiorowski owns a microscopic 1.62 ERA with 167 strikeouts over 111 innings, and his 0.757 Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched is the lowest in MLB by a huge margin.
Dylan Cease has made a case in the AL and Cristopher Sanchez has been brilliant in the NL, but right now this shouldn’t be much of a debate.
Detroit Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle has been spectacular since making his debut earlier this season. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Rookie of the Year: Kevin McGonigle, DET; JJ Wetherholt, STL
Kevin McGonigle has been a revelation for the Detroit Tigers, and a case could be made he deserves MVP consideration. The 21-year-old leads all AL position players in WAR (5.1) and ranks top-10 in batting average (.286), on-base percentage (.395), hits (98) and runs scored (58).
McGonigle is the betting favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, though Cleveland Guardians left-hander Parker Messick is making a strong case of his own with a 2.73 ERA over 112 innings.
It’s a similar story in the NL, where one position player and pitcher have separated themselves from the pack.
Right now Cardinals shortstop JJ Wetherholt has a narrow edge over Nationals right-hander Foster Griffin, posting a 4.1 WAR with a .265 average, .772 OPS and some excellent defense. The 23-year-old has been the best player on a surprising Cardinals team that is still in the postseason hunt despite expectations that 2026 would be a rebuilding year.
Griffin has certainly been one of MLB’s coolest stories. The 30-year-old actually made his MLB debut back in 2020 but is still considered a rookie after he threw just eight MLB innings between 2020-22. He went on to enjoy a successful three-year run in Japan and is now seeing those gains translate in the big leagues.
Biggest surprise: Chicago White Sox
These past few years have been tough on the south side of Chicago. The White Sox lost 102 games last season, and the year before that they finished 41-121, setting a modern day MLB record for most losses in a season.
This season wasn’t expected to be much better, yet going into the All-Star Break the White Sox are leading the AL Central.
Chicago has been arguably the biggest surprise in MLB this season, a turnaround driven largely by the collective improvement of the club’s burgeoning young core. Seven of the White Sox’s regulars have posted average or better offensive production, and outside of Andrew Benintendi, all of those players are age 26 or younger.
The White Sox also made two of the best signings of the offseason, bringing aboard Munetaka Murakami and Anthony Kay from Japan. Murakami has lived up to the bill as one of the most promising young power hitters in the world, and Kay, a former UConn standout from Long Island, has helped bolster the White Sox rotation after two productive seasons overseas.
This has been a long season for the New York Mets, who have fallen into last place despite boasting one of the largest payrolls in MLB. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Biggest disappointment: New York Mets
Even at their lowest depths before their recent turnaround, the Red Sox could always take solace in knowing things could still be worse.
They could always be the Mets.
Despite employing Juan Soto and boasting a payroll well in excess of $300 million, the Mets have crashed into the basement of the NL East and rank among the worst teams in all of baseball. The offense has been disjointed, the pitching has disappointed and several of the club’s premium offseason acquisitions have fallen far short of expectations.
The Mets already fired manager Carlos Mendoza and will likely try to sell everything that isn’t nailed down at the trade deadline. With owner Steve Cohen’s resources the Mets should be able to shake things up and get back off the mat before long, but this is shaping up to be another lost season in Queens.
Second half storylines to watch
Will Tarik Skubal be traded? That’s the big question looming over the trade deadline. With Skubal set to become the biggest free agent on the market this coming winter and the Tigers currently well below the playoff cutline, the two-time reigning AL Cy Young Award winner stands as the biggest difference-maker available for a contender looking to make a championship push.
Could the Red Sox actually buy at the trade deadline? After sinking as low as 14 games under .500 on June 24, the Red Sox have caught fire and will head into the All-Star Break on an extended run for the second consecutive season. Boston still has some ground to make up before it is actually in playoff position, but the question of whether or not to sell looks a lot less obvious than it did a couple of weeks ago.
Justin Verlander’s illustrious career is coming to an end. The future Hall of Famer recently announced that he will retire at the end of the season. The 43-year-old has only appeared in one game for the Tigers this season, allowing five runs over 3 2/3 innings, and has otherwise been sidelined with hip and hamstring issues. He will be honored at the All-Star Game in Philadelphia and afterward hopes to return to the mound for one last run before calling it a career.