9 action lines to see how MLBS second half begins: Aaron Judge vs. Cal Raleigh, Zack Wheeler for Cy Young, Mets Vs. Phillies and more

In the first half of the 2025 MLB season there were many large plot lines. Regardless of whether it was the trade with Rafael, Clayton Kershaws 3,000. Strikeout or even Eugenio Suarez 'four-Homer game, there was a lot to speak.

With the all-star break, which is shortly before the end, nine plot lines can be seen here how the second half of the baseball starts on Friday.

Aaron Richter against Cal Raleigh for Al MVP

At the beginning of this season it looked as if nobody could catch Aaron Judge in his search for his second Al -MVP price in a row. Richter put together historically the first two months and met almost 0.400 together with his usual epic power in June.

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But in the northwest of the Pacific, the Mariners Catcher Cal Raleigh has put together its own historical season, the 38 home runs crushed-the second most frequently captivated before the all-star break in the MLB history and the entire baseball.

Judge still has the advantage of Raleigh when the second half begins, and when he reaches a robust 0.355 with 35 Homern and 81 RBI, it will be difficult to avert the price from the Yanke's captain. But Raleigh won serious impetus, and between his monster in the first half and his victory in the Home Run Derby on Monday, he walks in his way.

When Judge Captain takes a step back in the second half and Raleigh continues his hot pace, the race for Al MVP will be an unforgettable.

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Can the Dodgers pitching make it until October?

The Dodgers won the World Series in 2024 with very little start pitching. Then they made priority priority in the past offseason and acquired the two-time cyung winner Blake Snell and the international phenomenon of Roki Sasaki to expand their rotation.

But Los Angeles' Pitching plans still didn't go as they hoped. In what has become an issue for you in the past seasons, a large part of your rotation has reached the injured list.

Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw, Snell and Sasaki have all spent the time on the IL. Shohei Ohtani only started in the big leagues in June. The only success story for La was the right -handed Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was one of the best jugs in baseball this season and gave them the ASS that they need at the top of the rotation.

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At this point, the Dodgers are slowly getting healthy, with Glasnow again in the rotation, Snell on a rehab order and ohtani up to three innings on his excursions with a large division. On paper, the Dodgers have more than enough start pitching to be on the wayside the elite team of the NL. However, health will be a critical variable for you in the last two months of the season.

Are the Red SOX accumulates the Al East?

It looked bleak for the Boston Red Sox almost a month ago. Her squad was beaten and fought, and after a monthly struggle between superstar Rafael Devers and the team, the Red Sox sent him to the giants in one step that shocked baseball. On June 27, Boston was 40-43 and was looking for a sign of life to ward off another lost season.

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It looks like they have found it.

Boston comes out of the break and drives a winning streak of 10 games and only three games in Al East. After the Red Sox looked like a team that was determined as a seller, he instead holds the second game card and is able to add to the deadline.

The questions for the future Red Sox are 1) How long can you always play at this level and 2) After you have come back to the post -season in conversation after the season, can you chase the Blue Jays and Yankees down to make this division a race with three teams?

Zack Wheeler's chase for his first cy Young Award

Since Zack Wheeler arrived in Philadelphia five years ago, the right -handed man of the Phillies has turned into one of the best pitchers in the game. Regardless of whether it is dominated in the regular season or is a starter with a standstill of game 7 in the post -season, Wheeler did everything you can ask for your ass.

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And after years of consistent dominance, Wheeler puts together his best season so far. The right-handed man of the Phillies is 9-3 with an ERA of 2.36 in 19 starts. He heads the National League in strikes, strikes pro nine, average of and whip, and he is second for Paul Slenes in the era.

Wheeler became a second place in the NL Cy Young Award vote in 2022 and 2024. But this season he seems to be the leader for the award, and if he can stay healthy, he will finally get the hardware that has escaped him throughout his career.

Can the 2025 Rockies Baseball shame avoid?

It was a miserable summer in Denver because the Colorado Rockies' follow the shadow of the 2024 White Sox while moving into the worst plate in MLB history. Colorado has already released long -time manager Bud Black, and the team only won nine games in the first two months of the season.

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Things have not improved exactly, but the Rockies doubled their victory in June in June with 10 to 16, and when the second half begins, the Rockies have a 22-74 record that only brings them a few games where the White Sox were at the same point last season (27-71).

Colorado will definitely be a talent deficit in the last two months of the season in the last two months of the season, and they are faced with a hard fight, especially in the NL vest. At the same time, they showed points this season that they can still win a few games and even a series, as the Marlins and Nationales found out.

But can the Rockies win enough games to stay out of the record books? Only time will show it.

Will the Cubs hold in the NL Central?

The Chicago Cubs are back. They were over a role throughout the season, with a large part of their success thanks to a criminal offense with a high octane, which is the top 5 in MLB in almost every big offensive category. On an individual basis you get big seasons from Kyle Tucker, Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki and probably NL MVP finalist Pete Crow-Armstrong.

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But for the Cubs (57-39) that played in the first half, the Milwaukee Brewers did not go anywhere. In fact, the Brewers have had the best record in baseball since May 1st, and they are just a game behind the Cubs in the center. The cardinals and red wines are also not far behind, so this department is anything but complete.

Chicagos A weak point is the starting trotation. Even with Shoto Imanaga and Matthew Boyd, who pitch at a high level, the CUBs urgently need a further rotation low for a criminal offense of the World Series caliber. And with this division, with this division, the CUBs still guaranteed that the Cubs have even more incentive to be aggressive at the closing of the trade.

Which trading period -will baseball shock?

Speaking of MLB, the MLB trading period is only two weeks on July 31, but this year it could be slow. There are many more buyers than sellers with 10 teams within 5.5 games of a playoff spots, in addition to the 12, which are currently in Playoff position.

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The big question in this period: Which team will deal with the need to start the best? Almost every post -season requires a starting jug, some of which actually need more than one. But in contrast to other seasons, a starter or ACE type that can wear a team for two months is not available this year.

The next is Sandy Alcántara, who is a few years away from being the best pitcher in the world and the NL Cy Young winner in 2022. The first half was not the most beautiful for Alcántara, but his numbers have been taken with in the past few weeks. The fact that he is under club control for the next three seasons could make him the crown jewel of a weaker commercial market.

This probably takes a year in which the teams have to pay a premium for weapons of medium rotation due to the lack of available elite starters. It will be interesting to see who does it anyway.

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Can the tigers get seeds No. 1 of the AL?

The Detroit Tigers were the best team in the American League almost in the first half. With a combination of strong pitching and a timely hit, you showed that the last season was not a coincidence by circling around the rest of the AL. When the second half begins, it seems like they have blocked Al Central so that the next question for the Tigers can secure number 1 in the playoffs of the American League?

At the beginning of this season, it looked as if the Yankees were the top runners for the top seeds this year, but the Houston Astros was lurking in the background, and in the past few weeks they crawled in three games for the top position of the AL. Now on the Alwest it is clear that the Astros are again under the elite of the American League without Slugger Yordan Álvarez.

The tiger are still well positioned to drive to the home advantage to the home advantage in the post -season, but Houston has shown that after significant changes in the off -season are still right there. Expect a fight between Detroit and Houston the rest of the path.

Mets against Phillies in the NL Ost

Everything went on the way to the New York Mets in the first half. The Slugger Pete Alonso carried the offensive and looked as good as in a METS uniform, and the team's start pitch was the best baseball.

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But when the calendar turned into June, things changed. The elite of the Mets start pitching was beaten, including Breakout star Griffin Canning, who opened his Achilles tendon after it was a large part of the team's pitching success, and the offensive cooled off.

In the meantime, the Phillies slowly came back to one of the best in the National League, and with the June Swoon of the Mets, Phils jumped as the leader of the division on New York. As mentioned above, Wheeler is the rotation at the height of his forces, and both Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez have beaten at all-star level. With the double MVP Bryce Harper, the mets will fight for a wild card, unless you can get back on the track and keep pace with the Phillies.

If the METs need a silver strip for their youngest, then it has recently returned to his MVP caliber paths. We know that Soto can wear a team for weeks, and when the Mets start their second half in XX, it looks like they need it.