Baseball has been as exciting as it has even been so far this season. There are so many teams and players that have made a name for themselves in a very positive way.The Pittsburgh Pirates are good enough to win the World Series, and how long has it been since we could say something like that? The Pirates currently hold the second best record in baseball at 46-30. The only team with a better record is the division rival St. Louis Cardinals who unprecedentedly hold the best the record in baseball at 47-29. Along with that, the Boston Red Sox are leading the American League East.
With all these teams in mind, here are three that are on the rise in Major League Baseball.
St. Louis Cardinals
The reason why I say "unprecedented" earlier about the Cardinals is simply because no one (except actual Cardinals fans) thought at this point into the season, St. Louis would hold the best record in the National League, let alone the entire league.The birds are 25-13 on the road so far this season, and that will be a very important record come October. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and are currently on a three-game losing streak. Sure, they quite possibly bounce back from these short losing streak, but better sooner than later since the Pirates are only one game back in the division.
Yadier Molina has arguably been the Most Valuable Player of the NL in the first-half and recently passed Buster Posey in the All-Star voting for catchers. Carlos Beltran is in line to be voted in as a starting outfielder for the All-Star Game as well. Closer Edward Mujica is 21-for-21 in save opportunities, and not to mention the premature success out of Shelby Miller, Trevor Rosenthal and Lance Lynn.
Pittsburgh Pirates
At 36-20, the Pirates own baseball's second-best record despite having the fourth-lowest payroll. If there's a living, breathing definition of market efficiency, this may be it. Much of the success has come from starting pitcher A.J. Burnett. In two seasons, Burnett has become a mentor for the entire team while going 20-16 with a 3.39 ERA.So what makes these Pirates different from last season's Pirates? Is there any reason to think there won't be another collapse?
For one thing, they may better understand the grind of a pennant race. They also have better players. This team is built around a pitching staff that has the NL's third-best ERA. The Bucs' staff was eighth in 2012 and 11th in 2011.
These Pirates are also a tribute to the player development system general manager Neal Huntington has constructed. He inherited Andrew McCutchen, but drafted third baseman Pedro Alvarez (19 home runs, tops among National League third basemen) and signed amateur free agent Starling Marte (12 doubles, six triples, six home runs) out of the Dominican Republic.
Huntington made under-the-radar deals for outfielder Travis Snider, reliever Mark Melancon and starter Jeff Locke. His signings of free agent pitchers Francisco Liriano and Jason Grilli look better by the day. It is admirable that a man can do so much, with such little to work with. There is no doubt that Huntington has earned a lot of other franchises respect for what he has done with this once dismantled franchise.
Oakland Athletics
The only flaw in this team is their brutal schedule. Sunday concluded a stretch of 30 games in 31 days for the A's, who are now looking forward to three off-days over the next eight days.Oakland will enjoy its first one Monday, and then one more after a two-game series with the visiting Cincinnati Reds. The third will come the following Monday, July 1. The A's are currently one game back in the AL West behind the soaring Texas Rangers with a record of 44-34. The Rangers currently hold the division lead with a record of 44-32.
A's relievers Jerry Blevins and Ryan Cook, who are tied for 22nd in innings pitched (33 1/3) among American League relievers, gave up a combined five runs in Saturday's 7-5 loss to the Mariners. That upped the bullpen's total in the first six games on this road trip to 12 through 16 1/3 innings for a 6.61 ERA and a .324 opponents' average.
The team's hitting has been excitedly phenomenal, to say the least.
Third baseman Josh Donaldson is leading the team in batting average with .305 and RBI's with 46. Yoenis Cespedes is leading the A's in home runs with 15. Stud pitcher Jarrod Parker started the season struggling, but has picked it up as of late and if he continues his recent hot streak, they will be tough to beat in the AL West. Parker is currently 6-6 with a 4.27 E.R.A.
[tps_footer]Written by Dedrick Hendrix[/tps_footer]
