25 second-half MLB storylines to watch in 2017

Winning the AL Rookie of the Year seems like a foregone conclusion for Judge at this, but he's also in a position to compete for the Triple Crown and AL MVP. At the All-Star break, he ranks third in batting average (.329), first in home runs (30) and second in RBI (66).

A surefire Hall of Famer in his 20th MLB season, Beltre is just 22 hits away from 3,000. His quest was delayed earlier in the season by injury, but he could be just weeks away from the milestone.

This year hasn't gone as planned for the Blue Jays, culminating with a 19-1 loss vs. Houston to end the first half. They stand at the bottom of the AL East and are five games out of the Wild Card at 41-47. If the Blue Jays decide to have a fire sale, Jose Bautista, J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada, Francisco Liriano and even Josh Donaldson could be on the block.

When asked recently about trade rumors, Verlander said, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." He's struggled this season, but many believe he deserved to win his second Cy Young Award last year. Verlander also has valuable playoff experience.

At age 44, Colon was an outright disaster for the Braves in the first half and released despite a one-year, $12.5 million contract. The Twins added him on a minor league deal, but we might have seen the last of everyone's favorite stout pitcher — and home run hitter.

This is how it was supposed to be. Kershaw and Scherzer are neck-and-neck in the NL Cy Young race going into the second half. Kershaw leads the NL in wins (14) and is second in ERA (2.18) and strikeouts (159). Scherzer, the defending NL Cy Young winner, only has 10 wins but is first in ERA (2.10) and strikeouts (173). It should be a fun second half for the aces of the NL's two best teams.

The big-market Dodgers built a team on elite talent and depth. They've been well-served by both during the first half, going into the All-Star break with a league-leading 61-29 record and plus-163 run differential. Arizona has the second best record in the NL but is still 7.5 games back in the NL West.

What a bargain Murphy is turning out to be for the Nationals. After signing a sizable three-year, $37.5 million contract last offseason, Murphy hit .347 with a league-best .985 OPS last season. This year he's at it again, hitting .342 with a .966 OPS. It's been an incredible improvement to elite status in Murphy's early 30s.

Ramirez was very good in a breakout 2016 season for the Indians, but he's taken his game to another level this year. After hitting .312-11-76 with an .825 OPS last season, Ramirez is hitting .332-17-48 with a .988 OPS. He's one of the biggest challengers for the AL MVP against Aaron Judge.

Vargas is one of the softest tossers in baseball with a fastball that averages the mid-80s, yet the veteran lefty leads the AL in wins (12) and ERA (2.62). It's been an incredible first half for a starting pitcher who never posting an ERA below 3.71 over a full season before 2017.

Kansas City was just 22-30 through May, showing a horrendous offense. The Royals have turned around their hitting since then, sitting one game above .500 and three games out of first place at the break. The team faces huge challenges following the season with key pending free agents like Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas and Jason Vargas. It would be an incredible turnaround if the 2015 World Series champs can make the playoffs.

There will be plenty of highly anticipated call-ups during the second half, potentially including Yoan Moncada (White Sox), Rhys Hoskins (Phillies), Dominic Smith (Mets) and Ozzie Albies (Braves). Of course, none of those top prospects are on competitive teams in 2017, but they could provide hope for their teams' fans.

There weren't many bigger disappointments in the first half than the defending World Series champs. Chicago is two games below .500 at the All-Star break and has struggled to find starting pitching. The Cubs hope the pending return of Kyle Hendricks will provide a boost, but they might need to look outside the organization to fix their issues.

It's unclear if back issues are to blame for Cabrera's mediocre first half, hitting just .264-11-41 with a pedestrian .796 OPS. His struggles go a long way in explaining why the Tigers are eight games out in the AL Central. He wouldn't be the first hitter to start a steep decline at age 34.

Who would have thought the Brewers would lead the NL Central at the All-Star break? New acquisitions Travis Shaw and Eric Thames have held up a spectacular offense that ranks third in the NL, while Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson and Corey Knebel have made huge contributions on the pitching side. Anderson's oblique injury created a giant hole in the rotation, but Milwaukee has some leeway at 50-41, 5.5 games ahead of the Cubs and Cardinals in the division.

It's been a nightmarish year for both the Athletics and Giants. Oakland is 21 games out in the AL West and has already started its rebuild. Sonny Gray and Jed Lowrie are the most common names in trade rumors, but the organization could go further. San Francisco gets Madison Bumgarner back from a dirt bike accident, but it's too little, too late at 34-56. Johnny Cueto will be an extremely attractive trade chip as the team looks toward 2018.

Trout is set to return immediately following the All-Star break after missing about six weeks with a thumb injury. The two-time AL MVP is probably out of the running for the award after missing so much time, but he was well on pace before getting hurt with a staggering 1.203 OPS. The Angels' pitching staff has major injury issues of its own, but the team remains just three games out in the Wild Card race at 45-47. 

The hype was staggering when the Red Sox added Chris Sale to former Cy Young winners Rick Porcello and David Price during the offseason. Price missed the start of the year due to an elbow injury and Porcello hasn't been effective, but Sale is well in line to win his first Cy Young award. Boston leads the AL East by 3.5 games due in large part to his contribution.

Another NL East title seems like a foregone conclusion for Washington, 9.5 games ahead in the division at the All-Star break. However, the back end of the bullpen has been a revolving door, and the entire bullpen has a league-worst ERA of 5.20. It's been a dire situation, one that the team will almost certainly need to address at the trade deadline.

Some prognosticators had the Rockies as sleepers with the hiring of manager Bud Black, but improvement was far from certain after winning just 75 games last season. Likewise, the Diamondbacks had a long way to go from the 69-win total of 2016. Now at the halfway mark, the teams are well-positioned for the two NL Wild Card spots due in large part to improved starting pitching. They'll try to hold on over the last two-and-a-half months.

The White Sox announced their rebuilding effort by trading Chris Sale and Adam Eaton during the offseason, but they surprisingly retained other key pieces like Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, Jose Abreu and Melky Cabrera. Now with the worst record in the AL at the All-Star break, the time to completely sell could be now. At the very least, Frazier and Cabrera are likely to be traded as pending free agents.

Houston is on a 109-win pace, which isn't far off the record of 116 held by the 1906 Cubs and 2001 Mariners. The pace is even more remarkable considering the injuries the Astros have overcome in their starting rotation, including Dallas Keuchel, Collin McHugh, Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers. The rotation is close to being at full strength with Keuchel and McHugh on the comeback trail, so the thought of reaching 116 wins isn't crazy.

While Aaron Judge is the clear AL MVP front-runner, the NL looks wide open. Top candidates include Paul Goldschmidt, Bryce Harper, Corey Seager, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer. Even the emergence of someone else in the second half shouldn't be considered shocking.

After a very slow start, it looked like the playoffs might be out of reach for the Cardinals. The team did get hot right before the All-Star break due in large part to the hitting of Paul DeJong, Luke Voit and Randal Grichuk. Still 5.5 games out of first place in the NL Central, the Cardinals need a lot to go right. If they fail, manager Mike Matheny could take the blame.

The results for Miami on the field haven't been good, now 10.5 games behind Washington in the NL East. However, the Marlins did get to host the All-Star Game. They've made even more news off the field, as owner Jeffrey Loria tries to complete a sale of the team for a sum greater than $1 billion.