The Five Most Fascinating Teams to Monitor Between Now and July 31st

Continuing on with our Trade Deadline preview series, we'll focus on the most fascinating teams to monitor between now and July 31st. You could easily make the argument that all 30 teams are fascinating to watch in some regard when it comes to trade deadline activity, but these fives clubs are extra fascinating because of where they sit in the standings.

For these five teams, they head into play today sort of in that area of land where they are in a position to potentially make some noise within a Wild Card race, but not playing poorly enough to justify a full-scale rebuild or selloff. Depending on the moves that these five clubs make over the next 6 weeks, will determine the overall success of this season for each specific club and the overall happiness or disappointment of their respective fanbase.

With that being said, here are the five most fascinating teams to monitor between now and July 31st.

* All standings and records current prior to play on Tuesday. *

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - The Angels are one of the most fascinating teams in baseball and it's not because of Mike Trout. Well, Trout makes them a fascinating team to watch because you never know what he is capable of when it's his turn to bat, but in this case, the Angels make the list because they are a team that could make a push to sneak into the playoffs and really cause some havoc down the stretch for other American League teams. Heading into play on Tuesday, the Angels had a 36-37 record on the season and sat 3 and 1/2 games back of the second spot in the American League Wild Card race. While the American League West is far out of reach because of the dominance of the Houston Astros, a Wild Card berth is something that should be celebrated for the Angels and a goal for them because it would get Mike Trout back to the postseason. The only potential challenge for the Angels will be: who and what are they trading exactly and what is the return going to be? However, if Billy Eppler & Company see an opportunity to make their club significantly better over the next six weeks, they should be all over that opportunity.

2. San Diego Padres - San Diego is another fascinating team because their window is beginning to open up and the dream of the team getting back to the postseason, for the first time since 2006, could become a reality. As is the case with the Angels, the National League West is too far out of reach for the Padres, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost because going into play today, the team was 4 games back of the second National League Wild Card. Ever since the start of this season, there really hasn't been a dominate period for the Padres, where they have gone on an extended win-streak and there have certainly been plenty of hot and cold moments, but that's to be expected with a club that is only beginning to find it's identity and a team that relies heavily on a very young, unproven starting rotation. However, there are also some intriguing names on their roster that have veteran leadership and have been to the postseason before including: Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado. Both Hosmer and Machado are staples for the organization moving forward and could be key role players in not only helping the Padres down the stretch, but showing all of the youngsters what it's like to shine on the big stage come October.

3. Arizona Diamondbacks - If any team has been a surprise in the National League to this point, it is the Arizona Diamondbacks who many expected to not be anywhere near contention or holding the record that they currently do. However, heading into play on Tuesday evening, the Diamondbacks held a 38-35 record and while they currently sit 10 games out of first place in the National League West because of the dominance of the Los Angeles Dodgers, they still have a shot at a Wild Card spot. For that to happen, Arizona would need to surpass both the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals, while unseeding the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies - both of whom would be the two National League Wild Card teams if the postseason started today. That certainly isn't an impossible task and if Mike Hazen & Company make the right moves, they could just find that player or two that comes in and has an immediate impact ala J.D. Martinez from two years ago that the team acquired from the Detroit Tigers. After all, Mike Hazen and his entire front office staff are always focused on fielding a competitive team on a daily basis so who knows what they have up their sleeve over the next six weeks.

4. Texas Rangers - Among all of the preseason predictions that were done, almost no one would have likely predicted the Texas Rangers to have such a powerful offense or to be performing at the level they have. In fact, Texas has yet to lose a series dating back to Memorial Day and have played against some tough teams including Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox, dating back to Opening Day. While some of their schedule has certainly been against easy teams, that weren't expected to be competitive this season like the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles, it seems as though rookie manager, Chris Woodward and his entire staff, are having quite the impact on the Rangers squad. As previously discussed on here, the power has been the most surprising thing about the Rangers lineup and Shin-Soo Choo, as well as the recently injured Hunter Pence, have been picture proof of that. While the lineup is good to go, the Rangers would have to address their pitching staff in some fashion before July 31st, if they plan on trying to land a Wild Card spot this season, and that's where things could get fascinating. It's highly doubtful that they will be all-in to making the playoffs this year and sacrifice the future for now, but stranger things have happened before in this game.

5. St. Louis Cardinals - As the July 31st Trade Deadline approaches, the St. Louis Cardinals have the tough task of looking at themselves in the mirror, stepping back, and asking themselves the question, "Who are we really?" Heading into the season, many expected this team to be a contender all year long. In fact, they were picked to win the National League Central on here by yours truly! So far, that has definitely not been the case and that's where the intrigue comes into play because they will have some major decisions to make over the next 6 weeks. Should they go all-in and attempt to overtake both the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers in their pursuit of the NL Central or should they take a more reserved approach and sell off assets, while keeping an eye to the future? Both of those are scenarios that the St. Louis Cardinals are going to have to answer between now and July 31st and it will be fascinating to see what the final blueprint looks like. If the Cardinals buy, their biggest need is going to be starting pitching and adding another bat to a lineup that has been lousy, to say the least. If they're going to sell, Marcell Ozuna looks like an intriguing trade chip that could bring back a nice haul.

The five teams mentioned above are the main teams to focus on between now and July 31st, but here are three more runner-ups: the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays. All three teams have needs of their own and stand in varying positions of overall competitiveness, but each one could decide to be buyers, sellers, or hold tight at the July 31st Trade Deadline.