Rankings/List

2014 has been a turbulent year for the Toronto Blue Jays up to this point. Ironically, it has also been an up-and-down season for several of the team’s top prospects in the minor leagues.

While some players in Toronto's farm system that were on the fringe previously have emerged as bona fide prospects this year, other players have regressed and seen their stocks significantly drop.

The second half of Major League Baseball's season is just getting underway. For a batch of teams who either went to the playoffs last year or had such aspirations this October, that's good news.

With a little more than two-fifths of the year, not to mention the July 31 trade deadline, still to go, both time and opportunity remain for such teams to try to turn it around by getting better performances, better health or even better players via trade.

You've got the MLB All-Star teams, celebrating the best that the American League and National League have to offer, and there's no shortage of fictional midseason awards that have been handed out to some very deserving players.

But none of those things identify the best of the best at each individual position. 

Stats, obviously, do most of the work in helping to answer that question, but inclusion on Bleacher Report's All-MLB Team isn't earned by numbers alone.

Despite their disappointing 2014 season, the Boston Red Sox are one of baseball's better-positioned franchises when it comes to immediate future success. They have a wealth of talent in the minor leagues, several established stars in the majors who should continue to perform and young studs who are just cutting their teeth at the MLB level.

Baseball's All-Star Game has many quirks to its credit. The so-called Midsummer Classic actually takes place near the start of summer, which begins only three weeks prior in late June. And despite some pegging it as the midway point of the regular season, most teams will have already played about 60 percent of their schedule.

The Reds roll into the All-Star break just 1.5 games back of first-place Milwaukee and seven games above the .500 mark. Two weeks ago, the Reds were flirting with .500 and anywhere from seven-to-eight games back of first.

A lot has changed in so little time. The Reds went 6-2 last week alone. 

It's no secret that the Chicago Cubs possess more exciting players in the minor leagues than they do in the major leagues. As sad as it is, most of the core of the team's future hasn't played a major league game yet.

While the Cubs have gotten mixed results from their top prospects, there are a select few who deserve a shot at the big leagues this season. 

The Futures Game has always been a big part of MLB’s annual All-Star Weekend festivities. The game—which features a matchup of the United States team vs. the World team—allows fans to catch a glimpse of baseball’s next generation of stars in action.

The Toronto Blue Jays will have left-hander Daniel Norris and outfielder Dalton Pompey represent the organization at the Futures Game this year.

With the 2014 Home Run Derby coming Monday, July 14—that's less than a week away!—and most of the players participating having just been picked, it's time to evaluate and grade the jobs done by Troy Tulowitzki and Jose Bautista, the captains who did said picking for the Nation

Playing for a stuffy, conservative, monolithic franchise like the New York Yankees carries certain advantages. Not only does the team set the goal of a championship each season, but if you're married to a Yankee—like the wife of recently acquired starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy—you may benefit from your husband having to shave off his beard.