MLB Power Groupings: Behold The Marlin Heat

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

I like the middle, where the center is warm.

Tampa Bay, Toronto, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota, Seattle, Florida, Colorado

Tampa Bay was doing well there for awhile, until they ran into the suddenly-hot Texas Rangers. They managed to take two out of three from the Blue Jays; however, Toronto is still right there with them.

I expect one of them to eventually fade, but Toronto's been very impressive in avoiding that. You have to tip your hat to them and the fight they've shown, despite some damaging injuries. The good news for them is they seem to be getting healthy.

Well well well, look who's finally joining the party. Chicago managed to sweep Cleveland and split with Kansas City, while Minnesota took the same number of games from the Royals, and got the best of the Tigers in a weekend series.

Both weeks have put them right into the thick of it with the Tigers for the AL Central, something we knew was coming.

Or at least something I knew was coming.

Seattle remains the little brother—fighting along, but not making that move in either direction. The other left-coast team is Colorado, and while they've cooled off, it looks like they are here to stay.

And finally, the Florida Marlins are back in the race for the NL East. I told you all!

In it to win it.

New York Yankees, Detroit, Texas, Milwaukee, San Francisco

The Yankees made up some ground on Boston at the expense of Toronto, and are now looking to stay afloat before the All-Star break. They've got a tough week ahead of them with road trips to Minnesota and Los Angeles, while Boston welcomes a pair of division bottom-feeders to Fenway.

I mentioned the Tigers losing to the Twins, which is okay. But dropping two to the Athletics is a big no-no, especially with them losing five straight coming into the series.

They'll get a chance to regain that ground this week against the worst the AL Central has to offer, though.

Now, we get to see if Texas is real—and that they are. They caught fire, and now realize that they are in a division title race with a very good team. They've kicked it back up a notch going into the break, and are managing to stay neck-and-neck with the big brother of the AL West.

The Brewers let the Cubs back in the race this past week, and have now put themselves in a position to let the Cardinals gain some ground. They've got a big three-game series with the Red Birds this weekend that will be a nice shot at momentum for either team.

What more can you say about the San Francisco Giants? Has anyone noticed they are the second best team in the entire National League? It's a shame the team that leads their division has such a big lead, but that isn't stopping them from having fun with the rest of the National League.

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