AL West

After taking two of three against the Baltimore Orioles to open up the second half of the season, the Oakland Athletics host a three-game set against the Houston Astros, starting Tuesday. Houston visits the American League West leaders a mere 20.5 games back—however, the Astros proudly only sport the league’s second-worst record (41-58).

When handicapping baseball, most bettors start the process with starting pitching.

A great starting pitcher can completely take over a game and leave opposing offenses stymied. While a pitcher can do his part on the mound to hold back the opposing team's offense, there isn't much that he can do to get his own team's offense going.

With the 2014 MLB trade deadline rapidly approaching, it should be safe to say the Texas Rangers are going to be spectators while any sort of madness unfolds.

During the All-Star break, Huston Street told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times he'd "love to" play for the Los Angeles Angels.

Wish granted.

The signing deadline for 2014 draft picks officially passed Friday at 5 p.m. ET, and the Houston Astros were not able to sign No. 1 overall pick Brady Aiken, according Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). He also reports that the Astros failed to sign fifth-rounder Jacob Nix and 21st-rounder Mac Marshall.

The Seattle Mariners enter the All-Star break with a 2.5-game lead in the race for the second American League wild-card spot but still have some clear needs to address at the MLB trading deadline.

It has become redundant to say, but the Oakland A’s made the biggest assault on a possible 2014 World Series title when they added Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to their already-dominant pitching staff on the Fourth of July.

Not that the Oakland Athletics needed more good vibes in 2014, ending the first half with the best record in Major League Baseball and acquiring Jeff Samardzija before the All-Star break, but

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• Yoenis Cespedes