Rankings/List

Much like kids rushing downstairs Christmas morning, some of the top prospects in baseball will head to their respective ballparks on Sept. 1 wondering what lies in store for them when they arrive.

Will they be in the day's lineup, or will their manager call them into his office to give them the news they're heading to the major leagues, making their lifelong dreams a reality?

There haven't been any blockbuster deals via waiver trade over the last month, but there have still been a handful of notable deals worth analyzing. Over the next few slides, that's exactly what we'll do with our 2015 MLB waiver trade deadline grades. 

Teams can only do so much after the July 31 trade deadline. It's much more difficult to get a deal done in August, which is a big reason why most of the trades made are smaller, need-based moves. 

With the calendar set to turn over to September, the stretch run of the 2015 MLB season has arrived, and it promises to be an exciting final month.

The Kansas City Royals are currently the only team with a division lead larger than 5.5 games, and 19 of the 30 teams around the league are currently within eight games of a playoff spot.

That being said, let's take an updated look at how all 30 clubs currently stack up.

When putting together this list, we considered the following factors:

Putting together our weekly All-Dud team doesn't involve highly scientific formulas or a room full of statisticians crunching numbers. It's all about the eye test. I look at a player's numbers on the week, and if they make me cringe or begin to feel physically ill, then he's a candidate for inclusion.

OK, maybe that's a stretch—but the numbers don't lie, and for those unlucky enough to make the cut on this week's squad, their stats are downright ugly.

The 2015 MLB season has had no shortage of breakout stars.

Whether it's Kyle Schwarber mashing home runs, Carlos Martinez and Hector Santiago developing into dependable starters or Joe Panik and Matt Duffy solidifying the San Francisco Giants lineup, plenty of players have become important contributors out of relative obscurity. 

Though impact trades are generally few and far between after the July 31 non-waiver deadline passes, teams are by no means done adding pieces when the calendar turns over to August.

Teams can continue to make trades the rest of the season, but a player must be acquired before Sept. 1 in order to be eligible for inclusion on the postseason roster.

This season has now cranked right through the dog days of August, and per usual, they were more doggish for some than others.

The Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs have loved this month. The Washington Nationals and Jack Zduriencik have hated it. All baseball fans should have been joyed when Vin Scully decided to come back as an 88-year-old broadcaster. Nothing that might happen in the last days of the month will change any of that.

The dog days have not been kind to Max Scherzer and Alex Rodriguez.

While the Washington Nationals ace can't stop serving up bombs, the New York Yankees designated hitter can't buy a hit—much less a home run. Digging through the numbers, Scherzer and Rodriguez are far from the only prominent big leaguers who have turned into duds at the worst possible moment.

There figures to be more than a few waiver trades in MLB before the August 31 cutoff date next week. Over the next few slides, we'll take a look at some underrated players who could be steals for prospective teams.

Now, obviously the following players have their flaws—they wouldn't be available for trade if they didn't. But each selection has specific traits that will still interest contenders trying to qualify for the postseason. 

The story of the 2015 MLB season, or one of them anyway, has been the tremendous influx of young talent in what may wind up being the deepest rookie class of all time.

With a second wild-card spot up for grabs and the playing field in both leagues as level as we've seen in recent memory, teams have opted to aggressively promote their top prospects as opposed to playing it safe and letting them spend extra time in the minors.