Preview/Prediction

The international prospect market opens on July 2, and the New York Yankees are gearing up to spend a whole lot of money.

The official non-waiver trade deadline may be July 31, but trade season really kicks into gear once the calendar turns over to July and often stretches well into August, with guys like Jake Peavy and Alex Rios being dealt through waivers last year.

There has already been no shortage of speculation as to who could be on the move this summer, but that second wild-card spot in each league could complicate things once again this year, as more teams will stand pat or be buyers in hopes of making a second-half run.

Sadly, the most exciting portion of the Chicago Cubs' season over the past couple years has been the trade deadline as the team adds to its already-loaded farm system. It's actually become almost as exciting for the Cubby faithful to follow what hot prospects they acquire at the deadline as it is for fans of winning teams to follow what missing piece their front offices will add in late July.

Obviously, Cubs fans would still prefer the latter scenario, but the former will have to do for now. 

The New York Yankees have scored four or fewer runs in 12 of their last 13 games, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Friday, as they prepare to take on the Oakland Athletics at the O.co Coliseum.

Sports bettors will find that the Yankees are plus-170 road underdogs in the pro baseball odds, with the betting total sitting at 7.5 in the market.

Let's take a closer look at this American League matchup from a betting perspective while offering up a prediction along the way.

As long as MLB All-Star Game voting is done by the fans, there will always be cases where popularity wins out over production—and this year is no different.

While the game does mean something these days with home-field advantage in the World Series at stake, it is still very much an exhibition for the fans, and they certainly have the right to elect the starter they want to see play.

Ever the odd creatures of habit, many Major League Baseball players will stick to the weirdest routines before every at-bat.

These odd superstitions obviously hold no bearing over the results. If FiveThirtyEight released a report showing a 56 percent offensive spike in batters who crawl to the batter’s circle, we’d witness a lot of grown men slinking to the plate on all fours.

The Miami Marlins head into Tuesday's game against the Texas Rangers seeking a record-tying 13th consecutive win in interleague play, per ESPN Stats & Info.

The third-round voting results for the 2014 MLB All-Star Game have been released, and while the game is still over a month away, we are already starting to get a good idea of what the rosters could look like on July 15.

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis led everyone with 8,272,243 votes last season, while St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina paced the National League with 6,883,248 votes.

The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline may seem like it's still a ways off, but considering the trade market really starts to heat up when the calendar turns over to July, we're just a couple of weeks from the rumor mill kicking into full swing.

There is still some work to be done as far as teams establishing themselves as buyers or sellers, with a number of clubs hovering around the .500 mark, but a fairly decent picture can already be painted of what teams will be looking to do in July.

For baseball fans, there's nothing quite like the allure of prospects. As every franchise hopes to stockpile young, cheap talent, fans buy into the idea of homegrown players emerging to become the next once-in-a-generation stars.

Over the past few years, emerging talents like Washington's Bryce Harper and Los Angeles' Mike Trout have become the gold standard for minor league standouts with the ability to make a difference at the big league level.