With another NPB All-Star Series in the books, Japanese baseball shifts its attention back to the pennant races in the Central and Pacific Leagues.

That also means there's just half the season left for individual players to stake their claim for one of the NPB's major postseason awards.

While the All-Star break is really just beyond the halfway point, it's as good a place as any to stop and take stock of the first few months of the year in terms of who's in the running for the major awards.