The start of the second half on Friday did not mark the beginning of a whole new season in Major League Baseball, but let's pretend just for a moment like it did.
Because this way, it's that much easier to be optimistic about all 30 teams as they head into the stretch run.
We went looking for reasons why good and bad teams alike might get better. Or, in the case of the latter, how they might at least get hope for the future in some way, shape or form.
We'll go division by division, starting in the American League East and ending in the National League West.
American League East
1. Tampa Bay Rays (60-36): Shane McClanahan to the Rescue!
The Rays have lost eight out of 11 since they put McClanahan on the injured list with back tightness on June 30, resulting in their lead in the AL East getting trimmed from 6.5 games to just one game. Mercifully, he's due back Monday. If he can live up to the league-best 2.53 ERA he had before his IL stint, he'll once again be an important stabilizing force.
2. Baltimore Orioles (57-35): Their Offense Should Have Even More in the Tank
The league average OPS this year is .730, and we bring that up because the Orioles offense has yet to go below that mark at any point this season. And there may yet be more where that came from. Ryan Mountcastle was only recently activated off the IL, and the O's haven't seen the best of the recently promoted Colton Cowser yet.
3. Toronto Blue Jays (53-41): Alek Manoah Might Be Back
"Disaster" doesn't even come close to describing what Manoah, a receiver of Cy Young Award and MVP votes in 2022, experienced in the first three months of this season. It was huge, then, when he returned from a stint in the low minors to fire six one-run innings on July 7. More of that would be huge for a Blue Jays team that hasn't yet peaked.
