We're right around the halfway point of the MLB season, which means its time to take a look at all the various things going on around the league.

Rookies
It's always fun to take a look around the league and see who the future stars are. With that in mind, here's a list of the top rookies up to this point, and some other guys to look for in the second half. I'm going to exclude Japanese imports since I don't really consider them rookies and they're usually not young enough to qualify as "future stars".

1) Ryan Braun

I've been paying attention since he was called up since I own Braun on my stratomatic team, but I think he's slipped by a lot of people. Hunter Pence has grabbed most of the rookie attention, but Braun has only 3 less HRs and 1 more SB (8 in 9 attempts compared to 7 in 11 attempts) in 100 less ABs, and has a higher OBP and SLG. Now, he's not exactly slick with the glove, but he's easily been the best rookie hitter this year.

2) Hunter Pence

Right behind Braun has to be Pence, who has been tearing up the league since he got called up.  With a .364 AVG, 11 HRs, and .972 OPS, he's been one of the game's best hitters, and probably deserved All-Star consideration. It's too bad he's stuck on the cellar-bound Astros.

3) Dustin Pedroia

Possibly the most amazing thing about Pedroia's statistics is how incredibly horrendous he was to start the year. In the month of April, he wasn't even touching the Mendoza Line with a .182 AVG and .544 OPS. Since then, Perdroia has been red-hot, resulting in a .320 AVG and .402 OBP on the year.

4) Reggie Willits

The prototypical leadoff man in a league where the leadoff man has become a dying art. Willits has an obscene .424 OBP and 18 SB in 20 attempts. This while playing all 3 outfield spots. He's come out of nowhere to interject himself in the ROY race.

5) Troy Tulowitzki

He got pub for pulling off a an unassisted triple play earlier this year, but the slick-fielding SS has gotten progressively better as the year has gone on. With a .285 AVG and .795 OPS, he isn't breaking any records, but he's been above average at a difficult position for an improving Rockies team.

Others:

You'll note a distinct lack of pitching in that list. Well, the young pitchers called up this year have been either disappointing (looking at you Homer Bailey), injured (Phil Hughes), or haven't gotten enough burn yet (Yovani Gallardo, Andrew Miller). Depending on if their teams decide to keep them up, Gallardo and Miller are guys to watch going forward, and Hughes looked brilliant in pitching 6 innings of no-hit ball before getting hurt. If Hughes gets healthy later this year, he's one to watch for. Another young pitcher, Tim Lincecum, has been alternately brilliant and terrible. Maybe his last two games (14 IP, 20 SO, 7 H, 4 BB, 0 ER) are a sign that he's adjusting to the big leagues. If so, the league better watch out for the young ace-in-training. Alex Gordon had the big hype coming into the season, but he got off to a really rough start. He's warmed up lately to the tune of a .327 AVG and .883 OPS in June. Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been excellent when he's been on the field, but the Braves are having trouble getting him playing time behind Brian McCann Other position players to watch include Delmon Young, Chris B. Young, and James Loney.

Race of the Year - NL West

With the exception of the Giants, everyone in this division has a shot at winning it. Even Colorado at 7 games back is a team with tons of talent. It wouldn't surprise me if this one cam right down to the wire. Another interesting sub-plot of this division is that the NL's two best pitchers, Jake Peavy and Brad Penny both reside there. For the record, I'm projecting the Padres to win on both counts (the division and Peavy for the Cy Young).

Milestone Mania

We've already seen an amazing amount of guys hit milestone career marks, and we're still waiting for the big one (Mr. Bonds, of course). Special kudos to Craig Biggio for grabbing 3000 hits as a gritty player and classy guy, and now that you've got it you should retire and stop embarrassing yourself (.258 AVG, .301 OBP).

Time to Worry

Halfway through the season, and the Yankees are 3 games under .500, 12 games behing the Sox, and 8.5 games out of the wild card. It might be time to admit that this team just aint gonna get it done.

A Swing and a Miss

If anyone wants to teach a young player to not swing for the fences all the time, they should tell them all about the decline of Andrew Jones. In 2000, Jones hit .303 with 36 HRs and 21 SBs. Since then, his average has declined, his steals have dropped off precipitously, and his SOs have risen. Jones should be doing better than he is this year, but this slump really shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone, Jones' swing has more holes than Swiss cheese.