Major League Baseball’s midseason recognition arrives amid a scheduling quirk: by the All-Star Game roughly 60% of the schedule is complete, even though the event is called the “Midseason Classic.” Stock Watch uses the break to split season statistics and this July edition identifies a first-half MVP for each club and tallies All-Star-level performers, according to the Stock Watch report.
Los Angeles leads this midseason snapshot. The Dodgers posted a win average of 106.2 (previous Stock Watch: 104.1, second) and are listed as 100% likely to reach the playoffs, with a 36.1% championship probability. Shohei Ohtani was named the Dodgers’ first-half MVP at 156 AXE; Stock Watch notes he is on track to become the first player to record more than 5.0 WAR as both a hitter and a pitcher in the same season and calls him the game’s best player so far. The Dodgers have six All-Star-caliber performances — Ohtani, Max Muncy, Andy Pages, Freddie Freeman, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Justin Wrobleski — and 15 players in the above-average tier (100–109 AXE), tied for the most in the majors, with no one in the bust column (below 90), according to the report.
Milwaukee sits near the top as well with a 99.9 win average (Last: 99.7, third). The Brewers are shown at 99.8% to reach the playoffs and a 18.3% chance to win the title. Jacob Misiorowski is Milwaukee’s first-half MVP at 140 AXE. Stock Watch highlights his velocity and command, noting his strikeout percentage minus walk percentage of 32.5% ranks third all-time among qualifying pitchers (2020 excluded) behind Gerrit Cole (2019) and Pedro Martínez (1999). Milwaukee has two All-Star-caliber performances listed — Misiorowski and Brice Turang — and six players in the 110–119 AXE tier, the most in the National League.
Tampa Bay’s Stock Watch line shows a 93.0 win average (Last: 90.5, fifth), a 98.6% playoff projection and a 9.7% championship probability (Last: 3.7%). The Rays’ first-half MVP is Junior Caminero at 125 AXE; Stock Watch notes Caminero turned 23 this week and has already established himself as one of baseball’s most-feared hitters while remaining very young.
Stock Watch’s July installment ties the All-Star spirit to roster evaluation by naming team-level first-half MVPs and counting All-Star-grade contributors, using AXE tiers and win/championship probabilities to summarize each club’s first-half performance, according to the report.
