While October is still several months away, the MLB season is already hot with questions from fans. After last week’s trade deadline and the waiver claim beginning, fans want answers from their teams. From the Texas Rangers, who gave up the farm for Cole Hamels, to teams like the Chicago Cubs, who few believed their young talent would emerge so quickly, teams are slowly figuring out how their seasons will come to an end. While there are dozens upon dozens of stories, here are my Top 8 questions heading into the home stretch of the MLB regular season:

1. Will the Cubs' young crew stay hot?

Make no mistake, this is all the work of Manager Joe Maddon. While the Cubbies are on pace for an 80-plus winning season, and possibly a playoff spot, Maddon has done this before with another team: the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays. With a group of young and rising players, Maddon took Tampa to their first ever World Series appearance in franchise history. While the Cubs have made it to a World Series, it’s been 100 years since they have even come close to winning.

Regardless of Chicago having veterans like Anthony Rizzo and Dexter Fowler playing in the lineup, it’s the talented younger kids who are the reason the Cubs are still in playoff contention. From defensive wiz Addison Russell, to big power bats like Kyle Schwarber and Kris Bryant, these three rookies are basically fighting with each other for rookie of the year in the NL. Still, everyone has to ask if experience will catch up to them come September. While the Cubbies are fun to watch, teams like the Pirates and Cardinals have players who have been to the playoffs and know the pressure. Time will only tell if the rookies stay hot or crawl back in their den and hibernate till April.

Many analysts and fans speculated and became confident in one fact: Cole Hamels, the former Phillies southpaw, was on the move. Last week, the Rangers traded six top-30 prospects for Hamels, including future Gold-Glove caliber shortstop, Jorge Alfaro. Overall, the trade may work in the Rangers favor, because Hamels has three years left on his contract – was he worth all that talent for now?

After sweeping the Houston Astros this past week, the Rangers still sit in 3^rd place in the AL West, slowly inching closer to the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels. With the bats of Prince Fielder and Rougned Odor staying hot, the Rangers are slowly moving up in the ranks. However, pitching is the main concern in Arlington. Although Colby Lewis has been a nice surprise, and Yovani Gallardo has settled into the rotation, Hamels did not impress in his Rangers debut. With a 5.87 ERA to begin his career with the Rangers, Hamels has to settle down and throw like the strikeout king he is if the Rangers want to catch Houston or the Halo’s.

3. Speaking of Chicago, time to throw in the towel, Sox?

Right before the trade deadline, Chicago White Sox’s GM Rick Hahn had to make a decision: re-group or go for it all. At the start it looked like the White Sox were smartly going for it all, winning 8 of the last 10, including two major wins over the Red Sox. But things quickly turned south again with a beat down by the Yankees and a wishy-washy series against Tampa.

Now the White Sox sit at 51-55, 5 ½ games out of the 2^nd wild card slot and 11 ½ back out of the division. While it seems probable that Kansas City will hold onto the AL Central, the White Sox still technically have a chance to take the 2^nd Wild Card spot from Minnesota or Detroit. There are a lot of issues, however, with that theory. Since Jeff Samardzija ended up staying on the South Side, he has gone 1-1 with an ERA of over 11.50. Samardziazija’s inconsistency isn’t the only thing plaguing the White Sox; flame thrower Chris Sale is playing subpar baseball as well. The team’s overall batting average is .249 and their OBP is under.400. If Chicago can’t get their act together soon, it’s time to really think about scrapping and rebuilding the South Side.

4. Did the Blue Jays finally cement themselves as a threat to the American League?

All Season, the Toronto Blue Jays have looked like a team that was good enough to make the playoffs but just probably won’t. Well, now they might be the favorite to win the AL East after the Trade Deadline. Not only did the Blue Jays trade away 1/2 of their farm system for left hander David Price, but also gained Silver Slugging Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

The Blue Jays might be one of the top offensive teams in the AL, if not the entire MLB. With a team batting average sitting .264 and over 500 RBIs this season, the Jays are in the right place to be the team to finally break out. However, the Jays' biggest issue is pitching. Ever since Marcus Stroman’s injury, none of the Blue Jays' pitchers have thrived this season. With a team ERA sitting almost at 4, the Blue Jays' pitching staff will have to play as strong as the offense if they seriously want to contend with the Yankees.

5. Can the Astros pull the impossible?

Over the past few season, the Astros have heard nicknames such as “The Dis’Astros” or “The La’Astros,” but not anymore. Believe it or not, the Houston Astros are sitting with a comfortable lead in 1st in the AL West. When it comes to Houston, one must sit and actually think about how they are so good. They only have a .242 team batting average and lead the majors in strikeouts with 987 with still a month left to go.

While they also lead the league in home runs (153), the Astros as a team have played well defensively. Besides solid defense and a revamped bullpen, the Astros are still not a complete lock for the postseason. Led by Jose Altuve, Dallas Keuchel and rookie phenom Carlos Correa, the Astros will have to strikeout less and hit for average if they want to hold the lead in the AL West.

6. Are the Royals the best team in baseball?

While the Houston Astros are the biggest surprise this season, the Kansas City Royals success in the 2015 campaign has been an eyeopener, to say the least. Sure, many believed that the 2014 AL Champions would be a solid team, but many still banked on the Tigers or the fully revamped White Sox to emerge as AL Central champions heading into the season. Not so fast, people, this is truly the Royals' season.

The Royals are the best team in the AL - after the trade deadline - in all positions. They have a .270 team batting average, as well as solid numbers in home runs and RBIs. Not only that, but the AL champs from a year ago sport a team ERA of 3.50, and might also have the strongest defensive team in all of baseball. The Royals will probably go down the stretch with the St. Louis Cardinals for the best record in baseball, but only one will finish on top. Who will it be? Kansas City’s stellar D? Or, St. Louis’ fantastic offense? Only time will tell.

7. Will anyone catch Bryce Harper or Mike Trout in MVP race?

When both these players were drafted, many believed they had MVP-caliber talent. While Mike Trout is a proven MVP-type player, Bryce Harper has seemed to figure it out in his fourth season. Although both these star athletes find themselves in the top 10 in home runs, RBIs, and have high defensive stats, neither has officially locked up the MVP award.

With American League players like Prince Fielder, Mark Teixeria, and Josh Donaldson competing with Trout, and NL superstars like Anthony Rizzo, Andrew McCutchen and Paul Goldschmidt competing with Harper, the race for MVP might be closer than expected. Still, both these players continue to dominate and have made huge strides for their teams. In the end, both Trout and Harper should hold their ground until the committee asks where their hardware needs to be shipped to.

8. Is Carlos Correa the next Alex Rodriguez (minus the steroids)?

Earlier this season, we as fans got to witness the promotions of some of baseball’s rising stars. From players such as Cubs slugger Kris Bryant to future Dodgers Gold Glove outfielder Joc Pederson, Major League Baseball is slowly passing the torch from old timers to bright young flames. However, there is only one rookie who has gone above and beyond this season.

In just 57 games, Houston Astros rookie, Kevin Correa, has hit .290 with 14 home runs and 36 RBIs. Not even Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Alex Rodriguez were able to do that in their first 50 games of their rookie seasons. The “Puerto Rican Power Cap” is putting up insane numbers as a rookie and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Many scouts have already begun comparing him to the next Alex Rodriguez. Not only does he showcase the potential to be a solid defender, but is a guy who can hit the long ball. Ladies and gentlemen … we could be looking at the next great baseball player of our generation.