The Blue Jays face a tough battle in the second half

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. put on a show in last night's Home Run Derby in Seattle, bashing nearly 30,000 feet worth of dingers to make himself and Vladimir Sr. (2007) the first father-son duo to win the annual All-Star competition.

Vladdy's victory was a bright spot in a mixed bag of a season for his Toronto Blue Jays. With the unofficial second half of the season set to begin after tonight's All-Star Game, here's a casual fan's update on some of the storylines surrounding Canada's only Major League Baseball club:

The AL East is a beast.

Life in this division is never easy. This year, it's downright unfair. In a sport where all six divisions have at least one bottom-feeder, each of the five AL East clubs is at least five games over .500. Division-leading Tampa Bay (58-35) has the second-best record in all of baseball and the top run differential. Even last-place Boston ranks a respectable 15th overall in the majors.

But the Blue Jays are making headway. Since late May, when they were last in the division, the Jays have clawed their way past the Red Sox and the big-spending Yankees, who won the AL East last year. Toronto (50-41) is still a distant seven games behind Tampa Bay and trails second-place Baltimore (the AL wild card leader) by five. But the Jays currently occupy one of the three AL wild-card spots, putting them on track to reach the post-season for the third time in four years.

There's not much room for error over the second half, though. World Series champion Houston is tied with Toronto for the second wild card, while the Yankees and Boston are just one and two