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MLB power rankings: Each team’s post-All-Star outlooks

By Sean Sears

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 04: Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a solo home run in the sixth inning off the game against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on July 4, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 04: Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a solo home run in the sixth inning off the game against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on July 4, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OHIO – JULY 09: Whit Merrifield #15 of the Kansas City Royals participates in the 2019 MLB All-Star Game at Progressive Field on July 09, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO – JULY 09: Whit Merrifield #15 of the Kansas City Royals participates in the 2019 MLB All-Star Game at Progressive Field on July 09, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

28. Kansas City Royals, 30-61, 4th in the AL Central

OF/INF Whit Merrifield has drawn the attention of many after having a truly breakout 2019 campaign that saw him make his first All-Star game at 30 years old, but his time in Kansas City could be coming to an end this month. Despite signing a four-year contract extension last season, the versatile All-Star is still an affordable $15.9 over the next three seasons, with a club option in 2023 for $6.5 million.

Teams like the Cubs could make a lot of sense as they’ve had a massive black hole at second this season, rotating a combination of Daniel Descalso, Addison Russell, and David Bote with no success. Merrifield could also make sense for a Royals rebuild, as the team has shown this season they aren’t that far from being competitive, but competition is about to get hard in the AL Central with the White Sox looking like they’re close to competing with the Twins and Indians in the division. At the very least, Merrifield is a nice story for a somewhat disappointing KC season.

27. Miami Marlins, 33-55, last in the NL East

The Marlins have been under the radar recently with their lack of true stars while sitting 19.5 games back from first in the NL East. They aren’t relevant and shouldn’t be, but their pitching staff has quietly turned into one of the more promising groups in baseball. They’re currently ranked seventh in ERA at 3.92 on the season and have done a better job than anyone at keeping the ball inside the park with a 12.3 percent HR/FB rate — a tough thing to do in this day in age. Twenty-three-year-old ace Sandy Alcantara received his first All-Star nod this season and had Caleb Smith not gotten injured he’d likely be joining him on the roster.

Plus, one of their top pitching prospects Jordan Yamamoto was called up in June and has been fantastic on the mound with a 1.24 ERA in five starts this season. Sadly, the offense is still one of the worst groups in baseball with a league worse .655 OPS and only 68 home runs. The Marlins have found a ton of promise with their rotation, and despite all their offensive assets having down years, at least they seemed to have found the nucleus of their rotation of the future.

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