Hot and Not Heading to the All-Star Break

With the All-Star Break in Major League Baseball looming near, some of the usual suspects are where they are supposed to be while a few surprises have emerged giving their fans a summer to look forward to. The Yankees, Rangers, and Angels are playing the best baseball in the American League. The National League has seen the surprising Washington Nationals post the best record, with the Giants now flexing their muscle in the NL West.

Going into the break, the American League is playing out as most experts predicted with one exception. When will Detroit get it turned around? Or will they? The Tigers were expected to run away with the Central, but have fallen well short of expectations. With the addition of Prince Fielder to go with an already potent lineup featuring Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers were banking on Fielder as the missing piece to get them past the AL championship series, where they fell to Texas last season. Justin Verlander has been the victim of little run support and some bad luck and Doug Fister has not matched the second half spark he provided Detroit coming over from Seattle.

Meanwhile, the White Sox can score and have enough pitching to be around the top of the division throughout the summer. Cleveland has been solid, but can they keep up the pace for three more months.

The Yankees have been playing exceptionally well in the tough AL East. Baltimore and Tampa Bay have taken their turns on top, but now New York is showing signs as the team to beat. Baltimore has slowed down since their great start. Tampa Bay has been tough to figure out. Pitching has kept them in the race, but their offense has taken the first three months off. Boston is hanging in there while waiting for key players to get healthy.

Texas owns the best record in the AL, but don't look now, the Angels are not far behind. Texas has been knocking on the door of a World Series title the past couple years and have the goods to make it back for a third consecutive year. Unlike the Tigers, the Angels did turn it around after a horrendous start. Although Albert Pujols has been better lately, he has not lived up to the numbers on the back of his baseball card. The key to the Angels' turn-around is rookie Mike Trout. Trout has not only been exciting since being called up, he has been dominant. Trout can do it all, and is showing up on every highlight reel nightly.

The Washington Nationals have been the surprise team of this 2012 season and, like the Angels, have a phenom of their own in Bryce Harper. The Nationals are doing it with pitching and hitting, which leads one to believe they might have enough to actually win the NL East. The Phillies are sinking fast and do not look to repeat as division winners. Although Chase Utley is back, without Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay, they don't have much hope. The Mets have given their fans reason to believe playing their best baseball in recent years. The Braves, along with the Mets, are right there if the Nationals fall.

It should not come as any surprise that the Reds are on top in the NL Central. They have a bonafide lineup with Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and Brandon Phillips. The starting rotation has been solid, led by Johnny Cueto. What is surprising is that they share the top with the Pirates. Yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates! Pittsburgh has been doing it with solid starting pitching, a better than average bullpen, and clutch hitting, led by Andrew McCutcheon. The Cardinals are just a few games back and could make some noise if their rotation can hold up and the offense continues to put up crooked numbers.

The Dodgers seemed to be on their way to running away with the NL West, but then they lost arguably the best player in April and May to injury. With Matt Kemp out, the offense has struggled to score runs. Andre Ethier has seen his production suffer since Kemp went down. The Dodgers most recently lost their lead to the Giants and hope that Kemp will back soon to get their offense back on track. San Francisco has the pieces to win the West and if Tim Lincecum ever returns to form, they should have no problem taking the West.

Since we are now at the half-way point in the 2012 season, it is time to make some playoff predictions. I like the Yankees, White Sox, and Rangers to win their divisions. The Angels and Red Sox snag wild cards, with the Angels advancing to the World Series. In the National League, I like the Nationals, Reds, and Giants winning their divisions. The Cardinals and Dodgers get wild cards, with Cincinnati to face the Angels in the World Series and the Angels winning.