AL West

The Texas Rangers made a splash in the pool of foreign players today, inking 16-year-old shortstop Yeyson Yrizarri to a $1.375 million deal.  At 16-years old, Yrizarri will have plenty of time to develop in the minors before getting sent to the majors.  So what exactly did Texas get in signing Yrizarri?

Mark Appel will make his professional debut Friday for the Houston Astros Class-A short-season affiliate the Tri-City ValleyCats, according to Ken Schott of The Daily Gazette.

It's not even July and already we've seen some prominent players sent down in the Seattle Mariners system. A season that was supposed be one of contention and progress has, thus far, been yet another year of rebuilding and disappointment.

The Mariners are currently 35-45, 12 games back in the American League West. Barring a drastic turnaround, they'll be sellers at the trade deadline, allowing for some young prospects to get a taste of major league action, a process all too familiar among the club and its fans by now.

No, it's not quite the second half of the baseball season just yet, but it's safe to say the first half is just about over.  Texas has had several players put up remarkable numbers this season, helping the team to a 47-33 record, good for first in the AL West.

Entering the second half of the 2013 season, the Oakland A's sit at a very respectable 47-34, good for second place in the American League West. The A's are on pace to match 2012's 94-win total in spite of some very key components either being injured (Brett Anderson) or flat out underwhelming (Josh Reddick). 

As of June 27, the Seattle Mariners are 12 games out of first place. In this case, 12 is not a particularly good number. One could argue that 12 is a number that is too high to realistically overcome, even with months to go in the season.

Is the 2013 season on the brink of disaster? Will fans already be forced to start looking forward to 2014?

Well, that was about as short lived as humanly possible.

Just two days after returning from the 60-day designated list, Franklin Gutierrez' is officially back on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring injury. The initial diagnosis does not look good:

MLB players involved in the Biogenesis scandal may not be suspended in 2013, according to an ESPN Dallas report.

In a rematch of the dramatic World Series from only a couple of seasons ago, the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals face off in what is sure to be a terrific matchup.

In the first game of the series on Friday night, the Rangers came out on top thanks to a go-ahead single in the ninth by Nelson Cruz. Saturday's contest has the potential to be equally as thrilling.

It's likely that at the beginning of the 2013 season, no one would have assumed that starting pitchers Bartolo Colon of the Oakland Athletics and Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners would be anchoring their pitching staffs.