CLEVELAND — In a secret underground lab, there are scientists in white coats working to solve how Austin Hedges, statistically the worst hitter in the league over the last decade, could register a higher OPS in the first half than José Ramírez, who is bound for Cooperstown one day.So it went for the Guardians in a bizarre first half that left them standing beside the White Sox atop an uninspiring division in an even more uninspiring American League. Let’s try to wrap our heads around what we just witnessed and look ahead to the pertinent second-half storylines.The Guardians’ first-half MVP was…… Parker Messick. The guy who didn’t learn he had made the Opening Day roster until a couple days before the club escaped Arizona wound up being its top performer. His 2.73 ERA ranks fifth in the American League. How’s this for consistency? His ERA never climbed north of 2.85. He was a deserving All-Star, and he ought to be receiving more attention in the AL Rookie of the Year race.Fun fact: Jacob Misiorowski, unsurprisingly, wields the top-rated four-seam fastball in the league, per Statcast. That makes sense, since it tops out at a cool 105 mph. Whose four-seamer rates as second-best? That’d be Messick.