All-Star Game shows Cubs first-half plight, Aaron Judge, Home Run Derby power rankings

The All-Star Game shows Cubs plight; Astros, Dodgers on World Series pace, MLB expansion, Aaron Judge, Home Run Derby power rankings and much more. 

All eyes were on the All-Star Game in Miami Tuesday night, and one couldn’t help but notice that nothing has gone right for the Chicago Cubs this year.

After entering the All-Star Break 53-35, dominating the regular season and eventually winning the World Series in 2016, the Cubs limped into the All-Star break 43-45 and 7.5 games back in the NL Central. The Wild Card is similarly out of reach. Last season, the Cubs entire starting infield started the All-Star Game and a total of seven  players made the trip from Chicago to San Diego for the Midsummer Classic.

This year, closer Wade Davis, an offseason acquisition, was the only player represented in manager Joe Maddon’s National League squad. Davis entered the game in the 10^th inning Tuesday and despite surrendering just one home run in 30 innings thus far, promptly gave up the game-winning home run to Robinson Cano – the first batter he faced. Oh, and Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina provided the only offense of the game for the NL, launching an opposite field home run in the sixth.

It was a fitting end to a first half many on the north side of Chicago would rather forget.

On a brighter note, the Houston Astros spent a large portion of the first half of the season with the best record in baseball, and cruised into the All-Star break with a 60-29 record, which is good for a massive 16.5-game lead in the AL West. Five ‘Stros were selected as All-Stars, including starters Jose Altuve, George Springer and Carlos Correa. That tied the defending AL champion Cleveland Indians for the most in the junior circuit.

The Los Angeles Dodgers spent a lot of time in third place in the first half, behind the surprising Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks, but surged for 26 wins in their final 30 games to build a 9.5-game lead in the NL West and finished the first half 61-29 – percentage points better than the Astros.

Though no Dodgers were selected to start, an NL best six players made the team and all but Clayton Kershaw (who tossed a complete game Sunday for win No. 61), saw action. Alex Wood allowed the first run of the game on a bloop single by Twins slugger Miguel Sano, but Molina’s bomb helped Wood (who has a 10-0 record and 1.67 ERA) avoid the loss.

It’s worth mentioning the last time two teams reached the All-Star break with 60 or more wins was 1969, when the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets each did it on the way to at least 100 wins and a spot in the Fall Classic. The Miracle Mets won in five games.

Three things we learned this week

1. MLB isn’t ready for expansion. Yet.

Four members of the Washington Nationals started the All-Star Game Tuesday night. Among them was first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the resurgent slugger who was drafted No. 4 overall by the club in the 2005 MLB Draft, making him the first Nationals player selected by the franchise after its move from Montreal. It’s been more than a decade since Montreal lost its major league club, but fans of the Expos would be forgiven if they didn’t stand up and cheer for the Nats’ All-Star quartet.

Will MLB ever return to Montreal full time? It’s one of three cities Commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned the city as a possible expansion candidate this week, along with Charlotte and Mexico City (or somewhere else in Mexico). However, MLB isn’t ready to expand just yet. According to the commissioner, the league still must find solutions to the stadium issues the Tampa Bay Rays (one of the two most recent expansion franchises, along with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998) and the Oakland Athletics face before moving on to any serious talk of expansion.

There’s renewed hope for the A’s, who are expected to announce the site of a new privately-funded stadium in the city later this year. Also, Manfred expressed his belief in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area as a “viable market,” but with the lease at Tropicana Field running through 2027, there’s concern the franchise will be stuck in its poor warehouse-like facility for another decade.

The A’s and Rays are both commonly mentioned as candidates for relocation, though MLB would prefer both clubs get new stadiums instead, then concentrate on expanding the league to 32 teams with an eye on continually growing the game internationally.

2. Bryce Harper’s All-Star idea is something the NHL and NFL already tried

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper spoke with reporters ahead of the MLB All-Star Game, and proposed an idea to mix things up. Instead of splitting the teams into the traditional National League and American League sides, Harper floated the idea of a draft.

In Harper’s version of the draft, the top two vote-getters (Harper and Aaron Judge this year) would be captains and select the two teams. Harper pointed to the possibility of him facing teammate Max Scherzer in the game as a selling point.

While the idea isn’t brand new, and both the NHL and NFL have tried similar concepts, it’s not hard to imagine the All-Star Game changing up its format in the future. After all, the All-Star Game once added, and after 14 years recently changed, the concept of the game determining home-field advantage for the World Series.

Harper’s idea could gain momentum, or as baseball itself continues to grow worldwide, the commissioner might opt for a U.S. versus the World concept like we currently see in the Futures Game.

3. Mike Trout, Madison Bumgarner are ready to return

It’s like Opening Day, Part 2. Or, at least, opening weekend.

Angels outfielder Mike Trout finished a minor league rehab stint last week and is ready to rejoin the big league club in Anaheim Friday when the second half kicks off with a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

It’s a big series for both clubs. Los Angeles is three games behind the Rays in the AL Wild Card standings, and fortunately for the Angels, Trout’s surgically repaired thumb has healed well enough for the reigning AL MVP to help with the postseason push.

Upstate, Madison Bumgarner is expected to rejoin the San Francisco Giants rotation after making two minor league rehab starts. Bumgarner is expected to start Saturday in San Diego, where the Giants hope to begin the second half on a positive note following a disastrous first three months of the season.

San Francisco ended the first half 17.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race, and would need a series of miracles to get back into postseason contention. But, at least the club has its Opening Day starter back.

Quotable

"“What if Aaron Judge just becomes the Joey Chestnut of the Home Run Derby and we don’t see another winner for 10 years.”"

–Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) on Aaron Judge’s performance in the Home Run Derby Monday.

Aaron Judge went 0-for-3 at the plate during the All-Star Game, though perhaps that was because he was tired from hitting so many dingers the night before. Judge hit a total of 47 home runs – four of which travelled farther than 500 feet – in the Home Run Derby Monday to win the title.

The Yankees rookie slugger has become a Statcast god in his first major league season, leading the majors in average exit velocity (101.5 mph), max exit velocity (121.1 mph), and barrels (37). He’s also a giant. Therefore, as the Cespedes Family BBQ duo pointed out, he’s capable of dominating the Home Run Derby like Joey Chestnut dominates hot dog eating contests.

Play of the Week

Steven Souza, Jr. has been one of the most underrated players in baseball this season. Souza hit .271/.369/.500 with 17 home runs and 56 RBI through the All-Star break, helping the Rays position themselves for a legitimate run at winning a Wild Card bid.

In the non All-Star Game or Home Run Derby portion of the Play of the Week, we see Souza can also flash the letter on occasion, as he did here July 9.

Of course, everyone would probably rather watch a massive human being hit dingers:

Random MLB Power Rankings: Top 10 Home Run Derby Performances

1. Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers, 2008 (Yankee Stadium)
2. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins, 2016 (Petco Park)
3. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees, 2017 (Marlins Park)
4. Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia Phillies, 2005 (Comerica Park)
5. Yoenis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics, 2013 (Citi Field)
6. Ken Griffey, Jr., Seattle Mariners, 1993 (Camden Yards)
7. Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds, 2015 (Great American Ball Park)
8. Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs, 2000 (Turner Field)
9. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins, 2008 (Yankee Stadium)
10. Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox, 1995 (Three Rivers Stadium)

Josh Hamilton didn’t win the Home Run Derby in 2008, but his first round performance at Yankee Stadium was legendary. The 28 homers Hamilton hit are still a single-round record in the competition, and most of them were jaw-dropping moonshots. Justin Morneau eventually won out, which is noteworthy, but Hamilton was the star of the show an put on the single most impressive performance in the history of the event.

That said, we’ve seen some great Home Run Derby moments over the last few seasons, with Giancarlo Stanton lighting up the scoreboard in 2016, hitting 20-plus home runs in two separate rounds before winning the title, and of course Monday’s performance by Judge.

On a personal note, I saw Sosa’s win in person in Atlanta. He hit 26 home runs in the event – 14 more than the next closest competitor. Steroids are a hell of a drug.

League Leaders

The All-Star break is the perfect time to look at Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs, which remains the best tool at our disposal to measure a player’s overall value over the course of a season.

WAR (Position Players)

• Aaron Judge, New York Yankees (5.5)
• Jose Altuve, Houston Astros (4.4)
• Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals (4.1)
• Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks (4.0)
• Carlos Correa, Houston Astros (4.0)
• Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds (3.8)
• Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians (3.8)
• Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals (3.8)
• George Springer, Houston Astros (3.7)
• Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers (3.6)

Judge has been best of the best this season, and it hasn’t been close. Not only has Judge hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break – setting a New York Yankees record for home runs in a season by a rookie – he has hit .329/.448/.691 with a .466 wOBA and 197wRC+, and played pretty well defensively. All that adds up to 5.5 fWAR, and a huge, gaping lead over everyone else in baseball.

However, it’s interesting to note that three Houston Astros rank among the top nine players in the majors in fWAR, and the Dodgers have only one of the top 10, No. 10 Corey Seager.

WAR (Pitchers)

• Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox (5.3)
• Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals (4.4)
• Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers (3.7)
• Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians (3.4)
• Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays (3.2)
• Alex Wood, Los Angeles Dodgers (3.2)
• Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks (3.1)
• Michael Fulmer, Detroit Tigers (3.1)
• Luis Severino, New York Yankees (3.1)
• Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals (2.9)
• Jimmy Nelson, Milwaukee Brewers (2.9)

The All-Star Game matchup between Chris Sale and Max Scherzer featured literally the two best pitchers in baseball. It doesn’t get more perfect than that.

Next: Ranking the 10 best ballparks in Major League Baseball

Useless Info

Aaron Judge became the fourth Yankee to win the Home Run Derby, joining Tino Martinez (1997), Jason Giambi (2002) and Robinson Cano (2011). No other franchise has produced more Derby winners since the event started in 1985.

Joe DiMaggio set the Yankee rookie home run record with 29 in 1936, doing so in 138 games. Aaron Judge needed just 82 games to hit 30. Judge’s 30 home runs are the second most ever for a rookie by the All-Star break. Mark McGwire hit 33 home runs in the first half of 1987 and finished with 49.

Jon Weisman pointed out that Clayton Kershaw’s complete game victory July 9 was the first time in major league history a pitcher finished a game with 13 strikeouts and fewer than 100 pitches. It was the sixth time in his career Kershaw had 13 or more strikeouts without issuing a walk, which tied him with Pedro Martinez for hthe most by a pitcher under the age of 30.

Red Sox outfielder and AL All-Star Mookie Betts hit his 11^th leadoff home run July 9, passing Jacoby Ellsbury and setting a new franchise record.

Carlos Carrasco’s immaculate inning July 7 was the 86^th in history, according to Ryan M. Spaeder. The first occurred in 1889.

Pirates announcer Joe Block reported that reliever Felipe Rivero, who leads the majors with 44 appearances this season, is the first pitcher in MLB history to post an ERA of 0.76 or better through 44 appearances.

MLB Stat of the Day pointed out that three Reds hitters (Joey Votto, Schott Schebler and Adam Duvall) and three Marlins sluggers (Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Justin Bour) give the two clubs the first trio of 20-plus home run hitters before the All-Star break since Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez did it for the Phillies in 2009, when the club won the World Series.