All-Star Game: Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander take different paths to historic dominance  —  WASHINGTON - They have everything you'd possibly want in life.  —  They've got more than $400 million in guaranteed contracts, the kind of money that will take care of generations of their families long after they're gone.

Success on the road lifts A's into contention  —  The Oakland Athletics have played their way into contention by beating up on teams that are far from it.  —  Oakland enters the All-Star break having won 21 of its last 27, and the A's are only three games behind the second wild card.

Who's ready to bash?  Meet the eight Home Run Derby competitors  —  Youth is served in this year's Home Run Derby, as the average age of the eight participants is 26.39 years old, the youngest field ever.  None of the eight players was born when the first Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game was held in 1985.

Futures Game a showcase of potential Manny Machado trade chips  —  WASHINGTON — Touki Toussaint was about to settle down for his pregame nap when Atlanta Braves director of player development Dom Chiti called.  —  “When I saw his name pop up, I did kind of get nervous,” Toussaint said.

High-tech approach led Cardinals to sign Mikolas without seeing him in person  —  Almost all of what the Cardinals saw of Miles Mikolas' reinvention as a pitcher in Japan was the byte-sized view offered by video clips they played and replayed again on a laptop or tablet.

Jacob deGrom hoping to get second chance to wow crowd at All-Star Game  —  Greg Tartaglia, Staff Writer, @NJTags13  —  NEW YORK — Jacob deGrom caused Dave Eiland to break from his routine.  —  When Eiland's team is up to bat, the Mets pitching coach prefers to sit on the bench.  He gets out of the way.

Detroit trying to move past breakup with Justin Verlander  —  Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press Columnist  —  Sometimes it hurts more when they say they still think about you.  —  Detroiters knew this was going to be a hard weekend.  Seeing your ex for the first time after the breakup is never easy.

Mike Trout's incredible start elevates him into the class of MLB's all-time elites  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Former Angels scouting director Eddie Bane cringed after soliciting help from one of his evaluators in 2009.  —  “Around the time of the draft, I asked our scouts to give some comps …

Phillies minor leagues: JoJo Romero is turning things around at double-A Reading  —  READING — Seven of the Phillies' top 12 prospects are pitchers, with Sixto Sanchez and his blazing triple-digit fastball leading the way in single A and Enyel De Los Santos becoming the first young hurler …

Gary Sanchez takes positive step in rehab; Yankees set rotation for Subway Series against Mets  —  CLEVELAND - Gary Sanchez's minor-league rehab stint got off to a great start.  —  Sanchez homered while also striking out twice in three at-bats for Triple-A Scranton on Sunday.

Hard work made Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suárez into an MLB All-Star  —  When the Cincinnati Reds got Eugenio Suárez in December of 2015 from the Detroit Tigers, they hoped they were getting a good player.  Suárez was known as a glove-first shortstop.

Rest arrives for Cubs reliever Steve Cishek: 'We'll go to a theme park'  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Cubs followers can relax, for now.  —  Reliever Steve Cishek, arguably their best free-agent signing, won't pick up a baseball until Wednesday at the earliest in an effort to rest his taxed right arm.

Trevor Story's walk-off home run lifts Rockies past Mariners … DENVER — Trevor Story tuned up for the All-Star Game with one memorable swing.  —  Story led off the ninth inning with his 20th homer, and the Colorado Rockies completed a series sweep of the Seattle Mariners with a 4-3 victory on Sunday.

Cubs' Albert Almora Jr. says wife Krystal ‘is doing much better’  —  Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr., who was placed on Family Medical Emergency leave Sunday, tweeted Monday that his wife, Krystal, “is doing much better and baby #2 is kicking all over the place!”

Top 10 Prospects: July 16  —  Follow @Rotoworld_BB and @Crawford_Milb on Twitter.  —  A reminder that this is strictly a list for 2018.  Several of these prospects are among the best in baseball, but for the purpose of this series, it's just measuring potential impact for the coming season.