Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today's games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Today's edition is brought to you by David Adler.

We've made it to the second half, and we're already starting to dream about blockbuster trades and riveting playoff races. But first things first. 

The second half kicks off tonight with a Mets-Phillies rivalry showdown at Citizens Bank Park (6:10 p.m. ET on ESPN). It's the only game of the day. 

The All-Star Game might be over, but we're not ready to leave Philadelphia just yet. For the second-half opener, we get to see two of the best hitters in the National League go head-to-head -- the Mets' Juan Soto and the Phillies' Kyle Schwarber -- just two days after they were hitting back-to-back as teammates at the top of the NL's starting lineup in the Midsummer Classic. 

Schwarber leads the Major Leagues with 32 home runs -- the most ever by a Phillies player at the All-Star break, ahead of Mike Schmidt's 31 in 1979. 

And Soto? He's his typical all-around superstar self at the plate. Soto's batting .290 with 21 home runs and a .967 OPS, with a dozen more walks (55) than strikeouts (43).

But these two teams are going in opposite directions. The Phillies enter the second half at 54-43, in the second NL Wild Card spot and just two games back of the Braves in the NL East. They're tied with the Brewers for the best record in baseball (45-24) since Don Mattingly took over as manager on April 28. Philadelphia is a top-five team in our Power Rankings entering the second half.

The Mets, on the other hand, are in last place at 40-57 and well out of the playoff picture. They're likely to be sellers at the Trade Deadline as they look toward 2027.

See our full preview of the Mets-Phillies second-half opener here >>

Yet another up-and-coming young star is landing a long-term contract extension. 

Chase Burns and the Reds agreed to a seven-year, $105 million contract today, as sources told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. 

Burns was drafted just two years ago, going No. 2 overall in 2024, but he's already an All-Star, a rising ace and one of the most promising young pitchers in baseball. 

The 23-year-old made his first career All-Star Game after going 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings in the first half. Burns' upper-90s rising fastball and low-90s wipeout slider make for one of the nastiest pitch combos in baseball.

Burns' new deal is tied for the largest guarantee given to a pitcher in Reds history and tied for the third largest the franchise has given to any player. In total dollars, it equals the six-year, $105 million contract pitcher Homer Bailey signed in 2014. The biggest commitment the club has ever made was the 10-year, $225 million extension given to first baseman Joey Votto in 2012. In 2000, upon his trade from the Mariners, Ken Griffey Jr. was given a nine-year, $116.5 million contract.

Burns joins the ever-growing list of young players who've gotten extensions this season -- which includes one of Burns' fellow All-Stars (the Tigers' Kevin McGonigle), a trio of rookies on division rival squads (the Pirates' Konnor Griffin, the Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt and the Brewers' Cooper Pratt) and more. 

Reds beat reporter Mark Sheldon has more on Burns' extension here >>

Now that the first half is wrapped up, we can take a look at some of the players who are having the biggest breakouts. 

There are 21 qualifying hitters who hit more home runs in the first half of 2026 than they did in the entire 2025 season. Our Max Ralph took a look at those hitters to see if there were any common themes. 

The one that emerged: Bat speed. 

Most of the power surges have been driven by gains in bat speed. Sixteen of the 21 hitters are swinging the bat faster this season than they did last season. Nine of those hitters have increased their bat speed by at least one full mph -- which is a lot. 

Here are some of the most interesting bat speed gainers to watch as the second half gets underway:

Jordan Walker, Cardinals 

The first-time All-Star and Home Run Derby champion already had elite bat speed, but it's gotten even more elite. Walker has increased his bat speed from 78.1 mph in 2025 to 79.2 mph in 2026 (second highest in MLB), as his home run total has skyrocketed from six to 22.

Miguel Vargas, White Sox 

Vargas, who crushed the only home run of the All-Star Game, has gained more bat speed than any other qualifying hitter. He's up from 70.6 mph in 2025 to 74.1 mph in 2026 -- an increase of 3.5 mph -- and hit 21 homers in the first half after hitting 16 last season. 

Liam Hicks, Marlins 

Hicks is one of the many breakout players for one of baseball's biggest breakout teams. With a bat speed increase of over a mph (67.4 mph to 68.5 mph), he's more than doubled last year's home run total (six to 13), and has just been a much better hitter all around as the Marlins fight for a playoff spot.

Luis García Jr., Nationals 

García has been red-hot since the start of June -- one of the best hitters in the entire league, in fact. If you look under the hood, you see that the bat speed is up from 72.4 mph to 73.6 mph, allowing him to reach the 20-homer mark for the first time this year after totaling 16 in 2025.    

See the rest of the biggest 2026 power surgers here >>

The 2026 ESPYs were last night, and baseball had two big award winners. 

First, former pitcher Jim Abbott received the prestigious Jimmy V Award for Perseverance. 

Abbott, who was born without a right hand, still pitched 10 seasons in the Major Leagues -- including, memorably, throwing a no-hitter for the Yankees on Sept. 4, 1993.

"To be here, to be included, to be in this room means the world to me," Abbott said as he accepted the award. "To be included."

Shohei Ohtani also won a pair of ESPYs: Best MLB Player, and Best Single-Game Performance. 

It's no surprise that Ohtani won the former, as he took home his third consecutive MVP trophy and led the Dodgers to a second straight World Series title. 

And he earned the Best Single-Game Performance ESPY for his jaw-dropping two-way performance in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS, when he threw six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts as a pitcher and crushed three home runs as a hitter.

You've got to be a real big shot for Juan Soto to want a selfie with you. But even the Mets superstar is starstruck by Spider-Man. 

In a recently released promo for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," Spidey visits Citi Field as Soto takes batting practice. 

Soto spots the masked web-slinger -- who's sitting in the stands with Mr. Met -- and exclaims: "No way! Hey Spidey! You the greatest, man!" before asking for a selfie. 

Spider-Man is excited too, turning to Mr. Met and saying, "That never happens!"

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" hits theatres on July 31.

Watch Soto meet Spider-Man >>

Food, friends, and summer baseball.

No summer is complete without hitting up your favorite ballpark. Head to mlb.com/tickets and grab your seat to finish the summer off right.

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