Rankings/List

Conventional wisdom might say that the heart of the order comprises the 3-4-5 spots in a lineup. Pssshhh. Recent statistical evidence has shown that teams are better off batting their best hitter—or at least better, more well-rounded hitters—in the No. 2 spot.

Wins and losses are the currency of sports, and the standings are the trump card. They have ultimate say in which teams move beyond the regular season to compete for a championship.

That is why former NFL coach Bill Parcells was mostly correct when he said, “You are what your record says you are.” 

Mostly.

In an age of advanced measuring tools for players and teams in every sport, Major League Baseball—and more so the people dedicated to its evolving metrics—leads the way.

It feels like the 2015 MLB season just started, but we're already halfway through May, with the blurry picture we were handed in April beginning to clear up and take shape.

It's far too early to tell for certain where each team will finish. Injuries lurk, prospects emerge and trades will be secretively talked about for months.

But we have an idea of who our favorites are, and a clearer idea of what October might look like.

While certain figures around Major League Baseball carry more name recognition on the national stage than others, every MLB team has its own face of the franchise.

What exactly does it mean to be the face of the franchise?

To put it simply, it's the first person that jumps to mind when thinking about that respective team, whether it be a player, coach or front office figure.

Often that means the best player on a team, but it does not necessarily have to be.

For the likes of Clayton Kershaw and Andrew McCutchen, it's still much too early to hit the panic button.

Then again, as the 2015 season reaches the one-quarter mark, two of the game's most dominant superstars have yet to get on track. While Kershaw and McCutchen are the most prominent players to tumble into a slump, there are also starting rotations, batting orders and even entire squads that have yet to find their way.

The start of the 2015 MLB season definitely hasn't gone to script. Just look at the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins.

While the American League East heavyweights can't seem to get on track, the Twins, who were left for dead before Opening Day even arrived, have been rolling right along. The Red Sox and the Twins represent the two types of contenders who crack a spot on this list.

While the Atlanta Braves got off to a sizzling 5-0 start, they have since cooled and now sit under .500 at 14-17. It's been disappointing for the Braves to have fallen under .500 so quickly after that great start.

However, this is about what we expected in 2015.

While the record may not show it, there are signs of the Braves' improvement as a team. If not for some recent bullpen struggles, that record would be significantly better.

Each week of baseball's regular season brings any number of fascinating news, noteworthy developments and/or curious behavior.

The week that is about to conclude, Week 5, has been no different—and there's still part of the weekend left for something else to happen.

In the meantime, here are a handful of the biggest takeaways from the goings-on of the past seven days.

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Struggles are always magnified at the beginning of the season and there are a handful of MLB sluggers who have been slow to get out of the gates in 2015.

But not to fear—plenty of those players should return to their usual levels of production as the season progresses.

Some of those stars, like Brian McCann, have a history of slow starts. Others like Ryan Braun and Robinson Cano have impressive batted ball data that proves their numbers will ultimately come around.

The Chicago Cubs have hit a rough patch over the past week or so, but they're still right around the .500 mark. That's better than they've been in the past seven years or so, and it's thanks to several improvements the team has already made in 2015.

While they still have plenty to work on if they want to be playing long into October this year, here are five things the Cubs have already managed to improve in 2015.