The halfway point in the 2019 MLB season has come and gone, and as teams gear up for the dog days of summer, there are some organizations that may have more to play for than others.

Heading into Spring Training, there were plenty of exciting storylines. Whether fans chose to follow the retooled teams in the NL Central and the NL East or turned their attention to the beasts of the AL East, 2019 was sure to be a season full of intrigue.

But while teams like the New York Yankees have overcome a host of injuries to head into the All-Star break with the best record in the AL, clubs such as the New York Mets are wondering how a season that had looked so promising has already been squandered.

Expectations are a natural phenomenon in professional sports, but they also make for crushing disappointment when teams fail to live up to preseason hype.

With this in mind, here are the most disappointing teams in the MLB thus far:

New York Mets

There is no question that the Mets are the most disappointing team in 2019. After a plentiful offseason in which they added Edwin Diaz, Robinson Cano, Wilson Ramos and Jed Lowrie, the Mets were supposed to have just the right balance of veteran leadership and young talent.

Part of that sentence has actually turned out to be true. Rookie first baseman Pete Alonso is the leading candidate for the NL MVP and has been one of the most prolific sluggers in the bigs this year. Outfielder Jeff McNeil leads the bigs in batting average in just his second season, and made the All-Star team alongside Alonso.

On the flip side of the coin, the veteran additions have been (mostly terrible). While Ramos has rebounded a tough April to be one of the more valuable catchers in baseball, Cano has officially cinched the notion that he has the worst contract in baseball. The 36-year-old is slashing .240/.287/.360 with just four homers and 18 RBIs, and has been chastised for his apparent lack of hustle.

Meanwhile, manager Mickey Callaway totally recanted on his promise not to use Diaz for any more than three-out saves, and he had an atrocious June after a bad May. For his part, Lowrie has yet to play a single game, and it is looking unlikely that he will be able to suit up at all this year.

Callaway's mismanagement of a bullpen that leads the majors in blown saves has doomed this team, and the defense has been far worse than anticipated. New York ranks 27th in the MLB in Defensive Runs Saved, according to FanGraphs.

The Mets have been a soap opera. From Callaway's media antics and Jason Vargas chewing out local reporters to Yoenis Cespedes suffering a season-ending injury after an accident at a ranch, this team has imploded.

It really is too bad, because with guys like Alonso, McNeil and Michael Conforto leading the way and the potential of their starting pitchers, the Mets should be far more competitive.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox are hardly in bad shape as they come out of the All-Star break. They went 5-1 in their first six games in July, and at 49-41 they are just two games out of the second Wild Card spot.

Still, this is anything but the 108-win juggernaut that ran over the rest of the MLB en route to a World Series title last season.

Although the offense is still quite productive (the Red Sox are tied with the Twins for the most runs scored), table-setters like Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi have struggled to recapture their 2018 form.

That said, there is no question that the brunt of Boston's frustrations stem from the pitching staff. In the first half, Red Sox starters posted a collective ERA of 4.70 and SIERA of 4.19, and the relievers posted a 4.44 ERA and 3.91 SIERA, both markedly worse numbers when compared to the first half of 2018.

David Price has been a workhorse, but other guys in the rotation have struggled. It looked like Chris Sale had turned things around after three consecutive dominant starts in May and another trio of good performances at the start of June.  But in his last three starts, Sale has a 7.22 ERA.

Eduardo Rodriguez has struggled as well despite his stuff, and Rick Porcello is likely in the twilight of his career. Although Nathan Eovaldi is set to return from injury, the Red Sox might move him to the closing role, given their situation at the back end of the bullpen.

The Red Sox are second only to the Mets in blown saves, and are tied with New York for the worst save percentage in the MLB. Matt Barnes was awful in June, but even Ryan Brasier–who has been more effective on the whole–has not had much success in the ninth inning.

Will the Red Sox elect to chase an impact reliever at the deadline, or will they add another starter? They could use both, but their weak farm system might demand that they satisfy just one need.

Colorado Rockies

This Rockies team was supposed to pose a serious threat to the Los Angeles Dodgers' dominance over the rest of the NL West. Instead, Colorado has been undone by a pitching staff that has simply underperformed.

Kyle Freeland was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball last season, but he was demoted to the minor leagues after posting a 7.13 ERA in his first 12 starts. German Marquez has stumbled after an excellent April, and still cannot pitch at Coors Field. Antonio Senzatela has not been very good either.

Then again, Colorado's relievers have hardly offered much comfort. Even Scott Oberg–who has a 1.24 ERA in 43 2/3 innings of work–has blown three saves. The Rockies rank 27th in save percentage, and they are last in the National League in terms of staff ERA.

These pitching woes are a shame, because the Rockies rank second in the NL in runs scored and first in homers. Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon are all having excellent seasons, and Ian Desmond has recovered from a poor 2018. David Dahl has finally been healthy, and even made the All-Star team as a result.

Still, the Rockies find themselves in fourth place in the NL West as the Dodgers have begun to run away with the division. Colorado can only hope to claim one of the Wild Card spots.

Los Angeles Angels

This is not so much “disappointing” as it is “frustrating” or “woe-begotten.” For starters, it is simply a shame that Mike Trout–the best player in the game and the best player of this generation–is once again unlikely to get the opportunity to play in the postseason.

Especially given the fact that guys like Tommy La Stella broke out to make the All-Star team while the Angels also rank fourth in the AL in both hits and OBP, it just seems like they should be producing more. Unfortunately, Justin Bour and Jonathan Lucroy have been extremely disappointing, and Albert Pujols is really over the hill.

But, like the Rockies, the real disappointment lies with the starting pitching. Angels starters rank 28th in the MLB in terms of fWAR, and they have the 26th-worst ERA in the league. The most frustrating part in this whole context is the death of Tyler Skaggs.

Irrespective of baseball, Skaggs' death marks a third tragedy in the last decade for this Angels organization. This one in particular hit home, because Skaggs was recognized around the league as one of the finest young men in the game, and touched everyone with his joyous spirit.

From that standpoint, this has been a tremendously upsetting season for an Angels team that headed into 2019 with so much positivity.

Chicago Cubs

When you have a fan base that is disappointed with a 95-win season, you know that you have set a high bar. Fail to reach that bar, and you are susceptible to being labeled as underwhelming.

The Cubs certainly began the season in underwhelming fashion, going 2-7 through their first nine games. But Chicago responded in spectacular fashion, going 27-11 over the course of their next 38 contests.

However, June would prove to be an extremely frustrating months, as the Cubs finished with a losing record (14-15) for the first time in any month since May of 2017.

Chicago had a pair of All-Star starters in Javier Baez and Willson Contreras. Kris Bryant ranks seventh in the majors in terms of fWAR. The Cubs rank third in the NL in OPS. What is the deal?

One of the issues, offensively, has been a failure to produce with runners in scoring position. The Cubs rank 24th in batting average with runners in scoring position, and even guys like Bryant and especially Kyle Schwarber have really struggled in these situations.

In terms of the staff, it has mostly been about inconsistency. Yu Darvish has been better as of late, but he still gives up a ton of home runs and his walk rate is up as well. Jose Quintana started the season well, but he has been getting hit hard in recent outings.

The Cubs went out and got Craig Kimbrel to address their issue at closer, but the middle innings and long relief are still a concern, especially how bad Brad Brach and Mike Montgomery have been lately.

But arguably the most frustrating aspect of Chicago's 47-43 record is that they are failing to capitalize on the struggles of the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Plenty of speculation surrounds Joe Maddon as a lame-duck manager, especially after Theo Epstein said there may be changes coming in a press conference last week. But Chicago has traditionally been a second-half team under Maddon.

Can they respond once again?