A recap at the halfway mark of the MLB season | Lucas

We have come to the halfway point of Major League Baseball’s regular season, so it’s time to see how my predictions have panned out so far. At the beginning of the year, I predicted that the New York Yankees would win the World Series. Although they trail the Red Sox by 4 ½ games for the American League East…

We have come to the halfway point of Major League Baseball’s regular season, so it’s time to see how my predictions have panned out so far.

At the beginning of the year, I predicted that the New York Yankees would win the World Series. Although they trail the Red Sox by 4 ½ games for the American League East lead coming out of the All-Star break, they still hold a 62-33 record, third best in baseball and are five games ahead of the Seattle Mariners for the first Wild Card spot.

The next closest team is the Oakland Athletics at eight games back, and it’s a very crowded cellar beyond that. With over two months remaining in the regular season, the race for the division crown will surely heat up down the stretch.

Aaron Boone has done a solid job in his first year at the helm of the Yankees, and he has seemingly helped in the areas where fans were most concerned with Joe Girardi: working with young players and bullpen management. The Yankees’ youth-oriented roster seems to appreciate this season as much as the little leaguers inside them and, despite the struggles of Chasen Shreve, relievers have not exited the ballgame within one or two batters of work, and the Yankees have had probably the best bullpen in baseball.

Luis Severino has emerged as one of the game’s top starters, and C.C. Sabathia has been very reliable. Masahiro Tanaka has been brilliant at times, but his 4.54 ERA is simply too high. The loss of Jordan Montgomery for the season has been a big blow, as he held a 3.62 ERA prior to his injury. Domingo German looks promising if he can find some control, and Jonathan Loasaiga has been good in his few starts. However, the Yankees will likely need to find a middle-to-back end starter to prepare for a run.

The Yankees lineup has reached expectations and will likely get back Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres within the next week. Giancarlo Stanton struggled early, but his numbers at the break are similar to those of his MVP campaign last year.

As for the New York Metropolitans, you can talk about a season that went down the drain quickly. I picked the Mets to claim the first Wild Card in the National League this year, but after an 11-1 start, they’re tied with the Miami Marlins for the worst record in their division. Injuries to Noah Syndergaard, Todd Frazier, Yoenis Cespedes, Travis d’Arnaud, Juan Lagares and many more have completely derailed the team.

The poor performance and attitude of Matt Harvey certainly did not help clubhouse morale. The signing of Jose Bautista and re-signing of Asdrubal Cabrera seem to have paid off, but Cabrera will likely be gone before the trade deadline, and the team has struggled offensively without Cespedes in the heart of the lineup. Brandon Nimmo emerged as possibly worthy of an All-Star appearance, but Jose Reyes is likely at the end of his career. The team also released Adrian Gonzalez, and Dominic Smith has not performed at all. On the other hand, the front end of the rotation, particularly Cy Young candidate and ERA leader Jacob deGrom, has been excellent. Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and deGrom have been wonderful, and Zack Wheeler has even shown promise as of late, but the Jason Vargas signing went horribly wrong, and Jerry Blevins, Anthony Swarzak and A.J. Ramos have completely derailed a bullpen that can’t hold a lead.

The Red Sox and Yankees should both make the playoffs, though the division is still up for grabs. The Astros and Indians should both easily play in October. However, the Minnesota Twins, my expected second Wild Card, have faltered. They haven’t taken advantage of Cleveland’s weak bullpen, or a weak AL Central, and the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A’s have become the biggest contenders for the second Wild Card.

In the National League, many spots are still there for the taking. I have already said the Mets have faltered, but the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals all look like big contenders in their division. The Brewers exceeded my expectations by leading the NL Central rather than the Wild Card for most of the first half, although the Cubs brought us back to Earth by retaking the division lead before the break. Lastly, the Dodgers have recovered from an early decline to retake their lead in the NL West, though the Rockies, Diamondbacks and Giants are all close behind them.

My playoff predictions remain mostly the same in the American League, but the National League is a bigger playing field than I imagined. We will now just have to wait and see.