EAST LANSING- Yet another action-packed month of baseball is now in the rearview mirror, with a surplus of excitement including the MLB trade deadline and All Star Break taking center stage in July. 

While trades flurried and home runs were decimated, the 2024 season may have had its most captivating stretch yet. With the home stretch of the season around the corner, the legitimate postseason threats are only just starting to come alive. 

Battle for the (AL West) throne: 

The Houston Astros have been victim to a roller coaster season thus far in 2024, but the tides turned in an extreme manner after going an MLB-best 17-8 in June.

Keeping the momentum alive as the calendar turned to July, the ‘Stros stayed surging with a 14-11 record, catapulting Houston past the Mariners for the American League West lead. 

Down in H-Town, a catalyst for their recent success was all-star slugger Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez hit a blazing .304 in July with a .972 on base plus slugging that saw the Dominican megastar knock three home runs in as many days to open the month against the Blue Jays. 

Two other crucial bats in Space City, Yainer Diaz and José Altuve, also hit over .300 on the month as in the wake of their recent successes, Houston aimed to claim the AL West for the fourth season in a row and the sixth time since 2017. 

In the Astros’ rotation, all star southpaw Framber Valdez was having a down season of his own ahead of his dazzling month. In 31 July innings, Valdez racked up an immaculate 2.90 earned run average with 40 strikeouts that saw the 30-year-old southpaw fan ten batters in three of his five starts in July. 

In order to bolster the injury-depleted starting rotation, the Astros acquired Blue Jays southpaw Yusei Kikuchi at the trade deadline in a deal that saw general manager Dana Brown part with a plethora of top prospects including rising star Joey Luperfido. 

Amidst Houston’s rotation woes, they are primed to land a lot of insurance in that area as both Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia are primed to return from the IL in coming weeks, while the additions among the starting five could set Houston up for postseason success in their weakest area. 

Over in Seattle, general manager Jerry DiPoto has a penchant for wheeling and dealing as the Mariners got busy ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. The M’s added Randy Arozarena, Justin Turner, and Yimi Garcia to an already-stout roster in the Pacific Northwest. 

Arozarena had a pitiful opening three months in 2024, hitting at a feeble.196 clip at the end of June, but quickly got things together in month No. 4. In July, Arozarena slashed .284/.379/.545, going yard five times including his first with the Mariners in the strongest stretch of his age-30 season.

Seattle and Houston are in a tight race for the division, and seeing that unfold across the rest of the regular season is one of the most captivating storylines as the 2024 regular season starts to come to a close. 

Rookie Report: 

Major League Baseball’s rookie revolution has continued to be in full effect, as July has enjoyed some standout rookie performances in order to instill hope about the immense potential of some franchise’s most promising youngsters.

With June struggles come July hustles. Kicking things off locally in Detroit, the Tigers saw significant strides be taken from one of their young bats. 

In the wake of his diasterous June, July saw Colt Keith improved his batting average to .255 on the season, despite hitting .232 as June came to a close.  The 22-year-old infielder cemented himself as Detroit’s long-term second baseman as Keith stayed red-hot from the dish all month long.  

In July, Keith was raking at the dish, hitting for an exceptional slash line of .322/.404/.644 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs, as his 1.048 OPS across that span was tenth in the majors. Keith made impeccable contact throughout the month, racking up eight multi-hit games in 25 games played in July for a dazzling showcase from the Tigers rookie. 

The former fifth-round-pick must have been feeling patriotic this month, as Keith’s standout summer saw him leave the yard three times in two games on the Fourth and Fifth of July. 

In the Motor City, Keith established himself as another key piece of the puzzle in Detroit, aiding a promising, youthful core of Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, and Kerry Carpenter with a squad that could do damage in the weak AL Central over the next few seasons.

Making way to the Big Apple, the New York Yankees have an up-and-coming rookie of their own in catcher Austin Wells. While the top of the Bronx Bombers lineup is as star-studded as they come being led by two of the top AL MVP candidates in Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, Wells managed to cement himself as a true fixture in the middle of Aaron Boone’s lineup. 

While the 25-year-old has boasted the most success of his young career as of late, the mustachioed masher is home to one of the best mustaches in the major leagues. Across 22 games in July, Wells hit .277 with five home runs and a .942 OPS, with almost as many walks (12) as strikeouts (13). 

Wells’ impact on a contending Yankees team did not extend to just the dish though. With his exceptional defensive metrics and phenomenal stretch at the plate, the Bronx Bombers’ newest rising star was in the midst of a serious breakout campaign

Wells ranked second among all major league catchers with 12.2 run above replacement (RAR) and tied with Seattle’s Cal Raleigh for the MLB lead in wins above replacement (WAR) with 1.3. 

While a lot of intrigue surrounding the Yankees is in regards to New York’s attempts to keep Soto in pinstripes long-term, Wells will undoubtedly be a fixture in the Bronx for years to come. 

Staying in the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles are home to one of the strongest farm systems in baseball, but one particular young stud made his presence felt in July. 

In the midst of a heated division race between the Orioles and Yankees, the Orioles needed all hands on deck to pull away and reaffirm themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the American League. 

Following a sizzling first month of the season, outfielder Colton Cowser fell back to Earth a bit in recent weeks ahead of a significant bounce back before the break. The 24-year-old phenom hit .188 in May and .182 in June before his average soared up to an astute .329 across the 31 days of July. 

In the wake of Austin Hays being shipped to Philadelphia at the deadline, Cowser was tasked with stepping into an everyday role for the O’s, meaning his prowess in the batters box would become all the more important as the Orioles aim to contend for a World Series. 

Cowser, the No. 5 pick in the 2021 MLB Entry Draft, slashed .329/.390/.921 across the last month in an ever-strengthening case to be Baltimore’s franchise left fielder. The former top prospect also went yard four times to increase his home run total to 16 on the season, as Cowser seems like a lock to eclipse the 20-homer plateau in his rookie campaign. 

Quick Hits:

• There is a reason the New York Yankees are known as the Bronx Bombers. Soon after being traded from the Marlins to the Yankees at the trade deadline, star utilityman Jazz Chisholm Jr quickly made his presence felt in pinstripes. Chisholm hit four home runs in his first three games as a Yankee, and the left-hander seems primed for further success while playing at Yankee Stadium’s “short porch”. 
• After a dramatic deadline that saw young stars Luis Robert Jr and Garrett Crochet not be moved, the Chicago White Sox found themselves in the midst of a 17-game losing streak, one of the worst stretches in the White Sox’ storied history. The Sox sit at 27-84 in 2024, as better days are not expected to be on the horizon in the Windy City. 
• The Oakland Athletics may be sitting in last place in the AL West, but that doesn’t mean bats aren’t coming alive for the A’s. Both Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler enjoyed dazzling months of July that saw the duo combine for 21 home runs and 57 RBIs, while both hit over .360 with an OPS above 1.200 on the month. 
• Colorado Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle was tied with Rooker the MLB lead with bombs in July, as Doyle slashed .333/.394/.800 for a struggling Rockies team. The 26-year-old outfielder also had more RBIs (27) than strikeouts (24) throughout his string of exceptional performances. 
• As Cowser’s bats heated up, other bats began to cool down in Baltimore. All-star catcher Adley Rutschman hit .132 with a .488 OPS and Jordan Westburg’s batting average took a dip before being placed on the Injured List.