7/21/25
With the All-Star break now in the rearview mirror, teams across Major League Baseball now face a season defining two weeks as we approach the Trade Deadline. Deciding to go for hit and sell pieces of your future for the present or investing in your future by trading some of your best players now is always such a difficult decision to make. Everyone got their first series out of the way as we sprint towards the deadline so let’s take a look at what happened this past week.
National League Defeats American League in Unprecedented All-Star Game
For the 95th time in history, the best players in both the American League and National League would battle it out for supremacy in the MLB All-Star Game. With the American League winning 10 of the last 11 games, the National League would try to put an end to the reign of dominance as the game was played in a National League park for the first time since 2022.
While a lot has happened over the course of All-Star Game history, we saw something this year that had never happened before. The National League dominated most of the game but a three-run home run by Brent Rooker gave the American League some late hope. The AL would complete the comeback, erasing a 6-0 deficit on doubles by Byron Buxton and Bobby Witt Jr. Steven Kwan drove in the tying run with a swinging bunt, infield single to make it 6-6. Aroldis Chapman pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th but the National League was out of pitchers so the game had to go to a swing-off.
Now most of the starters for both teams had already left so choosing three players to each take three swings was not an easy decision for either Aaron Boone or Dave Roberts. The AL would end up going with Brent Rooker, Randy Arozarena, and Jonathan Aranda while the NL used Kyle Stowers, Kyle Schwarber, and Pete Alonso. Rooker would hit two homers in his three swings while Stowers got just one. Arozarena hit another to give the AL a 3-1 lead before Kyle Schwarber put on a show with three home runs in three swings to give the NL a 4-3 lead. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t see Pete Alonso swing as Aranda could not hit a homer which gave the National League the win. With an outstanding performance in the swing-off, Kyle Schwarber would take home the All-Star Game MVP.
Cal Raleigh’s Dream Season Continues with Home Run Derby Crown
Before the history making All-Star Game, the world got to witness a historic Home Run Derby as well. While there weren’t many familiar names to casual baseball fans, it was still a very entertaining derby and the ratings showcased that as well.
In the opening round, Junior Caminero and Oneil Cruz put on a show, safely advancing to the semifinals with 21 homers each. Byron Buxton’s 20 was also more than enough to move the underrated star into the semis. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was safely eliminated with an abysmal three homers while James Wood just missed the cut with 16. Cal Raleigh and Brent Rooker tied for the last spot in the semifinals with 17, but in a controversial decision, Cal Raleigh advanced do to his longest home run beating Rooker’s by less than an inch.
In the semifinals, the format switched to a head-to-head matchup with Byron Buxton taking on Junior Caminero while Cal Raleigh faced off with Oneil Cruz. Buxton began the round with a tough performance, only putting up seven homers. Caminero didn’t need his full time as he put up a quick eight to advance to the finals. Cal Raleigh would start the other matchup and went all lefty after struggling right handed in the opening round. It was a smart change as Raleigh put up 19 which Oneil Cruz could not beat. While Cruz hit one homer 513-feet, he would only hit 13 which eliminated him from the contest.
In the finals, Cal Raleigh would swing first against Junior Caminero. Raleigh put on a show despite not having as long of a rest as Caminero. The Big Dumper put up 18 homers before Caminero came to the plate. The 22-year old was looking to make it four consecutive Dominican Republic born players to win the derby and he put himself in a great spot with 15 with his three bonus outs left. However, Caminero could not hit anymore in his bonus round, which made Cal Raleigh the first catcher to ever win the Home Run Derby. After narrowly avoiding elimination by less than an inch, the sport’s home run leader took home the crown to continue his breakout season.
AL West, NL Central Races Tighten
Coming out of the All-Star break, two of the best teams in baseball saw their division leads dwindle as division races have tightened up mightily.
In the AL West, the Houston Astros entered the break losing five of their last six games. The Seattle Mariners weren’t too much better, but a sweep of the Detroit Tigers made the series between Houston and Seattle extremely interesting in the race out West. While Seattle dominated the opener 6-1, game two was a wild, extra inning affair that saw Seattle tie it on a wild pitch and a ball hitting the knob of a bat instead of the hitter. Cole Young would walk it off to give the M’s a 7-6 win. Houston avoided the sweep with an 11-3 blowout in the finale to get their division lead back up to four games, but with the injuries continuing to pile up, it isn’t a comfortable lead. The two teams are even in head-to-head meetings this season 5-5 with three games left in September.
No team in baseball is hotter than the Milwaukee Brewers. Another sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers made it 10 consecutive wins for the Brew Crew. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs are 6-4 in their last 10, but that four-game swing has resulted in a tie atop the NL Central. Chicago holds a 3-2 lead in head-to-head matchups but all the momentum in the world belongs to the Brewers. Pitching and timely hitting have fueled a team that was in a bad spot to begin the season. While the talk has been about Jacob Misiorowski, the rest of the rotation has been dominant as well which could result in some massive games between the two teams later this summer.
Dodgers, Tigers Skids Continue
From the good to the bad. The popular World Series prediction a couple of weeks ago would have been the Los Angeles Dodgers taking on the Detroit Tigers in a true David vs. Goliath battle. Those two squads held the best record in their respective leagues and neither looked to be slowing down or have anyone to really contend with them for the #1 seed in their league.
Then July came around and neither team has found much success this month. The Dodgers are 5-10 this month with three of those wins coming against the lowly Chicago White Sox. Being swept twice by the Milwaukee Brewers doesn’t help and the Dodgers pitching staff continues to be plagued by injuries. While the lineup is still one of the very best in baseball, it too is being hit by the injury bug with Max Muncy out and Freddie Freeman leaving Sunday’s game after being hit on the wrist. The Dodgers will be there in October, so the important thing for them is to be as healthy as possible for the postseason.
Nobody predicted the Detroit Tigers to be dominating the American League like they have been this season. They own the biggest division lead in the sport and should comfortably win the AL Central and get to the playoffs for the second year in a row. However, they need to play a lot better than they have in July to make a deep run in the postseason. After dropping two of three to Washington to start the month, the Tigers won five straight against Cleveland and Tampa Bay to get back on track. However, they were swept in dominant fashion by Seattle to end the first half and then dropped two of three to Texas to begin the second half. The pitching will be fine, but Detroit needs to find some consistency at the plate to be viewed as a true World Series contender.
Kyle Stowers, Hottest Hitter You Don’t Know About
When you take a look at the league leaders in OPS, you see plenty of names that you would expect to see. Aaron Judge at the top of the list, followed by Shohei Ohtani and Cal Raleigh. In 4th and 5th are Will Smith who is having an absurd season and Byron Buxton who is finally enjoying a healthy season.
In 6th place is when you raise your eyebrows. No it isn’t Eugenio Suarez or Kyle Schwarber. It isn’t the up-and-coming James Wood or the established Juan Soto. It is…Kyle Stowers. Yes the same guy that was packaged with Connor Norby in a trade that sent Trevor Rogers to Baltimore last season. Now, Miami is actually two games ahead of Baltimore and Kyle Stowers is a huge reason why.
The lefty is getting consistent playing time and has surpassed his career totals in everything in just this season alone. 22 home runs and 60 runs batted in earned Stowers an All-Star Game nod. His month of July is out of this world and his 1.324 OPS this month is higher than anyone else’s in the game of baseball. Maybe he got a chip on his shoulder after being dealt out of Baltimore who looked like contenders for the next decade, but whatever it is, Kyle Stowers is currently the hottest hitter in baseball and deserves the recognition as such.
Three Series to Watch Next Week
New York @ Toronto (7/21-7/23, Three Games)
Well things have gotten quite interesting in the American League East. After leading the division for most of 2025, the Yankees have watched Toronto use a red-hot summer to fly by them and take over the division lead. The All-Star break helped Toronto who lost three of the final four games before the break and came back into play with a sweep of the San Francisco Giants. For New York, they would snap a three-game skid to take two out of three in Atlanta over the weekend. Toronto holds a three-game lead over New York and has a 5-2 head-to-head advantage over the Yankees. With six games remaining, the pressure is on the Yankees north of the border as they try to make a move before they look to make a splash at the deadline.
Milwaukee @ Seattle (7/21-7/23, Three Games)
There is no hotter team in baseball than the Milwaukee Brewers. Ten consecutive wins for the Brew Crew have moved them into a tie with the Chicago Cubs atop the NL Central. Included in that winning streak are a couple of sweeps of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now Milwaukee travels to face one of the hottest teams in the American League in the Seattle Mariners. The M’s have won five of their last six over Detroit and Houston and have a record of 7-2 against the NL Central. Expect some incredible pitching matchups in the series as well with the highlight being game two on Tuesday when rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski takes on Logan Gilbert as two dark horses in their respective leagues battle it out.
San Diego @ St. Louis (7/24-7/27, Four Games)
Time is ticking for teams to decide if they want to buy or sell at the Trade Deadline. Two intriguing teams when it comes to the deadline will meet in a big four-game series this weekend. San Diego currently holds the final Wild Card spot in the National League with a 2.5 game lead over both the Giants and Reds. They are expected to be buyers while things are more foggy for the St. Louis Cardinals. After getting into a playoff position, the Cards have been sliding and are 4-11 in their last 15 and were just swept by Arizona. The next week and a half could completely turn the Cardinals into sellers in which names like Nolan Arenado, Phil Maton, and Ryan Helsley could all become highly coveted pieces.
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