Justin Verlander

We are just a few days away from the All-Star break for the 2011 MLB season.

We've already seen some spectacular performances in the first half from expected names and some newcomers alike.

Like last season, baseball has been largely dominated by incredible pitching performances. Pitchers are going deeper into games than they have in recent memory and leaving most hitters in the dust.

There have been a few exceptions however.

With that in mind, here are the best (and just for fun, the worst) in the AL and NL this season

Remember in high school, the senior class would vote to see who would be the "Most Likely to Succeed," or the "Most Likely to Marry a Millionaire," and so on?

Just before the All-Star break is an appropriate time to present a list of the “Most Likely To...”

It is all for fun and giggles, no pressure, not hard to force the gray matter into coming up with earth shattering news.

Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers leads the way in our group of award winner from the first half of the 2011 Major League Baseball Season.

Baseball has suddenly become dominated by pitching as there are only seven players in the entire league with at least 20 home runs.  

Every sport has their own set of unwritten sins, for instance a left tackle not helping their quarterback up after a blindside sack, or in hockey not giving the goalie your stick after his breaks, but no sport has more unwritten rules than baseball.

What the heck was that? 

It appears Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers just did a one-two step and threw directly at David DeJesus. 

The umpires discussed it and called a balk on Verlander. DeJesus had to head back to the plate and Daric Barton was awarded second base. 

One week down, plenty of panic buttons pushed.

It's been an upside down week for Major League Baseball. The Red Sox look like a slumbering bear just awoken from hibernation. The Twins actually won in the Bronx. And the Reds are quietly keeping busy—not that any of us have noticed...or have we?

Lost amid the drama of the Miguel Cabrera DUI, the decision on the starting second baseman and the battles for the final roster spots is the fact that Justin Verlander had a dominating spring.

Verlander ended the spring 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA and 23 Ks and only three walks in 28 innings. He was utterly dominating and bucked his trend of mediocre springs over the last couple of years. If the Tigers are going to be serious contenders, they need Verlander to move up from a quality ace to a top ace.

A good starting rotation can cure many ills, and with the AL Central up for grabs like it normally is, whoever assembles the strongest rotation could easily take the division come September. There is some real pitching talent in the division, but we've also lost three of the last four AL Cy Young Award winners (CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Zack Greinke).

At the end of the year, whichever rotation fares best will probably get a chance to strut their stuff in the postseason. With that, let's take a look at how the AL Central's rotations stand up to each other.

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

Much like Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander has given us three very different looks in the last three seasons.

Any time you can follow one of the five best starters in the American League (Justin Verlander) with a guy who has averaged more than a strikeout per inning over his career (Max Scherzer), you’ve got the makings of a good rotation.  After that, though, the Tigers need some things to go their way to make it a successful season.