MLB midseason rankings show Marlins at season high, Padres continue slide

The Marlins made headlines when manager Clayton McCullough removed Eury Perez after seven perfect innings Sunday. Perez had thrown 92 pitches in his third start back from the IL, and he would have needed an incredibly efficient final two innings to avoid throwing 120 pitches or so -- and Miami was never going to let the fragile Perez throw that many pitches so soon after an injury.

Meanwhile, the Marlins continue to play well. But with top pitching prospects Robby Snelling and Thomas White both out for the season, they need to acquire some starting pitching depth.

Seattle team performance Seattle's record stands at 47-46.

The Mariners had five All-Stars last season (Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Bryan Woo, Randy Arozarena and Andres Munoz), but Arozarena was the only Mariner to make the original roster this year. Raleigh's struggles have been well documented, but J-Rod, Woo and Munoz have also seen worse production, with Rodriguez landing on the seven-day IL because of a concussion.

Woo's year has been perplexing. He is 6-0 with a 2.10 ERA at home, throwing 32 consecutive scoreless innings at one point, but he's 1-6 with a 6.28 ERA on the road.

Chicago team performance Chicago's record stands at 47-44.

There is perhaps no bigger surprise in baseball than this year's White Sox, who lost a combined 324 games over the past three years and seemed headed for another last-place finish. Their turnaround began with the emergence of Munetaka Murakami, the power-hitting corner infielder who got little love in free agency and went on a home-run binge immediately after debuting on the South Side.

Several young position players -- Colson Montgomery, Miguel Vargas, Sam Antonacci, Tristan Peters -- subsequently emerged, 29-year-old starting pitcher Davis Martin became a revelation, and suddenly the White Sox, with the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, turned into contenders.

St. Louis team performance St. Louis's record stands at 48-43.

Jordan Walker is 24 years old. That's worth pointing out since it feels as if he has been around forever, after spending the past three seasons failing to live up to the hype surrounding him as a top prospect. Now, in his fourth year, Walker is a well-deserved All-Star for a team exceeding expectations.

889 OPS, leads the majors with 70 RBIs and has a 143 wRC+ that ranks sixth in the NL. The question is are the Cardinals for real? They've stumbled of late, losing four straight games before winning on Wednesday, but they're only two games behind the Marlins for the NL's third wild-card spot -- and that's significantly better than projected for a club that is supposedly in a rebuilding year.

Cleveland team performance Cleveland's record stands at 47-46.

The Guardians remain among the worst slugging teams in the major leagues, but they're also right back in the mix for a division title thanks, in large part, to the emergence of two rookies.