MLB

In a year that has featured a couple of blockbuster deals for pitchers, it appears that Clayton Kershaw may very well be the next pitcher to land a megadeal.

The 2013 MLB All-Star Game is up to the fans...that's not as good as it sounds.

While the fans are excited to vote for their favorite players, I'm afraid they've only voted for their favorite players, and the American League voting update from June 15, via John Schlegel of MLB.com, makes that more apparent than ever.

Mark Teixeira can add another hurdle to his difficult 2013 season. It appears that the New York Yankees slugger may be forced out of the lineup with a wrist injury. 

A little over a month ago, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ took a wicked line drive to the head off the bat of Tampa Bay Rays hitter Desmond Jennings. Fortunately, Happ suffered just a contusion and laceration to his left ear and was released after an overnight stay in the hospital.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb was hit in the head with a line drive off the bat of Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer on Saturday afternoon. 

UPDATE: Saturday, June 15, at 7:33 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

According to CBS' Eye on Baseball, Cobb sustained a mild concussion:

MLB also noted that all tests came back normal:

The 2013 MLB season is nearing its midpoint, and quality pitching is becoming more important week to week.

While some veterans such as Bartolo Colon and Francisco Liriano are having bounce-back seasons, young guns such as Patrick Corbin and Mike Minor are stepping into the limelight.

Teams such as the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland A's have surprised fans with their success this season. This is, in part, thanks to solid contributions from their pitching staffs.

Since the Barry Bonds era came to a close, the San Francisco Giants have been winning games because of top-notch starting pitching.

However, this season, it's been different. San Francisco's rotation has been horrendous, and the bullpen is falling apart. Surprisingly, the Giants are 35-31 and right in the thick of things in the NL West, but if they don't make improvements soon, they'll fall behind.

Yasiel Puig has quickly taken baseball by storm, but if he wants to keep playing at a high level, the Dodgers need to rein him in.

The 22-year-old outfielder is batting .487 with four home runs and 10 RBI in just 12 games.

Over and over last season, baseball fans were told that having a pair of players explode into stardom the way Los Angeles' Mike Trout and Washington's Bryce Harper did doesn't happen all the time and that the duo's accomplishments should be celebrated.

Not to take anything away from those spectacular youngsters, but that's not entirely true.

Every season, a handful of players elevate their games to another level, seemingly becoming stars overnight. Sure, most of those players don't reach the level of superstardom that Trout and Harper have, but they become stars nonetheless.

Whether one is lost in the wild world of Westeros or perusing the latest MLB box scores, parallels can be drawn between the two distinctly different entertainment genres.