As Major League Baseball nears the kick off of its second half, there is no shortage of disappointments in the MLB All-Star Break Power Rankings at The Wife Hates Sports.

The Baltimore Orioles have the worst record in Major League Baseball and land in last place.  This one comes as no surprise, as Baltimore is in the early stages of its rebuilding mode.  It is one that to this point, has a lot of promise, with Mike Elias running the show and Adley Rutschman recently selected with the first pick in the MLB Draft.  Grayson Rodriguez is making noise in the minors, while rookie John Means made the All-Star team.

There are also minimal expectations with the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals, the two teams just ahead of the Orioles. 

The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels, meanwhile, have talent and expectations.  Each sits at the top of this pack of teams, with a chance to still make a run at the playoffs. 

But each team’s struggles – while obviously a team effort – is often the result of one or two sub-par performances.  With this thought in mind – as TWHS has done in recent seasons – here is the Least Valuable Player for each team that landed in the BOTTOM 15 of the All-Star Break Power Rankings. 

Here is hoping each player can turn his season around.

2019 MLB All-Star Break Power Rankings – The BOTTOM HALF

Note: Statistics and point totals as of Wednesday July 10, 2019

Looking for the TOP 15 teams?  Look no further!

16. St. Louis Cardinals (23 points)

His numbers are not all that bad, but considering his talent and overall track record, expectations are higher for Paul Goldschmidt in St. Louis (.254 average, 16 HR, 37 RBI).

17. Los Angeles Angels (21 points)

The biggest issue has been the overall performance of the starting rotation, most notably Matt Harvey (7.50 ERA), now on the DL.

18. Pittsburgh Pirates (17 points)

The talented Chris Archer has just three quality starts and a 5.49 ERA this season.

19. Colorado Rockies (15 points)

With a career 3.92 ERA, Kyle Freeland (7.13 ERA in 12 starts) has really struggled.

20. Milwaukee Brewers (11 points)

While Christian Yelich is threatening to take the Triple Crown, Lorenzo Cain is struggling to find consistency at the plate.  His .246 average is more than 40 points below his career mark.

21. San Diego Padres (6 points)

Wil Myers (.217 average) is well below his career average.  His power numbers are also down.  Newcomer Manny Machado and rookie Fernando Tatis Jr. need more support on offense.

22. Chicago White Sox (-19 points)

Yonder Alonso (cut loose by the team) would earn some votes, but Ivan Nova is the biggest disappointment.  Each season in Pittsburgh, Nova posted an ERA below 4.20.  This season, he has given up 19 HR’s in 18 starts while posting a 5.58 ERA.

23. San Francisco Giants (-24 points)

The entire offense is batting .230 as a team.  Can we just include all of them here?

24. New York Mets (-33 points)

A quad injury shelved Robinson Cano for a while and his numbers (.240 average, 4 HR, 18 RBI) are not what the Mets were hoping for.

25. Seattle Mariners (-66 points)

Injuries and underachievement have been prevalent.  Kyle Seager is one of them.  He’s back from injury, but his .203 mark is more than fifty points below his career average.

26. Miami Marlins (-69 points)

This is a young team, but it’s nearly impossible not to notice veteran Curtis Granderson’s stat line (.189/.272/.358) through 76 games.

27. Toronto Blue Jays (-79 points)

Watching Vlad Jr. in the HR derby, you know the future of this team.  But looking at the present, it has been ugly for Aaron Sanchez (3-12, 6.16 ERA).

28. Kansas City Royals (-109 points)

There were some high hopes for Billy Hamilton (.217/.284/.271) to add speed and havoc on the base paths.  But you have to get on base to make that happen.

29. Detroit Tigers (-133 points)

Jordan Zimmermann (0-6, 6.29 ERA) landed on the injured list earlier in the season and has yet to get anything going because of that.  He is currently more than two and a half runs above his career mark.

30. Baltimore Orioles (-148 points)

With all the home runs leaving the ballpark, one could add the entire Orioles pitching staff to this list, with exception of John Means.  Then again, with the monstrous contract Chris Davis (.189 average, 82 K’s in 190 AB’s) still has, meshed with the lack of production, he could easily top this list again.  There’s also that record hitless streak.  He’s loved in the clubhouse, but the numbers are not there (and may never return).

* All stats per MLB.com

The Wife Hates Sports MLB Power Rankings system has a method to its madness, attempting to be different and not just rank by popularity and record.  It mixes a secret formula of six completely different categories, meshed into a points system.  The categories don’t just include team results regarding record, but how each team has performed recently, as well as incorporating some statistics on both a team’s offense and pitching staff, too.