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TRANSACTIONS OF Alan Roden is close to returning to Triple-A, as the St. Paul Saints sent him on a rehab assignment with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. The Wichita Turbo Tubs…ahem…Wind Surge were assigned SS Cody Morissette and placed IF Jose Salas on the 7-day injured list. Morissette had played 14 games with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in 2026, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, hitting .216/.293/.360. Down in the Dominican Republic, the DSL Twins were assigned IF Nolwer Barboza. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Toledo 12 Box Score In his last two turns right-hander Ryan Gallagher picked up two wins by putting zeros up in every inning, finishing five frames in each. He was not as fortunate in this one. His first five pitches were called balls, then in his next four he allowed a single and a three-run homer to allow the Mud Hens to jump out to a 3-0 lead. He did recover to retire the next nine hitters in a row, but Toledo got to him again in the fourth. A single, pair of doubles, and another home run put the Mud Hens in front 7-2 and they never looked back. Gallagher did again finish five innings, but was charged with seven earned runs on eight hits and a walk. He struck out three. The Saints closed the Mud Hens early lead to one run after a bases loaded groundout off the bat of Kyler Fedko scored one in the third, and Aaron Sabato delivered a sac fly in the top of the fourth. They added two more in the seventh thanks to Tanner Schobel’s second home run of the season with the Saints, but the Mud Hens immediately answered again in the bottom half to extend their leads. Relievers Andrew Bash (1 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB), Alejandro Hidalgo (2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, K), and Jake Higginbotham (1 1/3 IP, H, K) finished off the rest of the game for St. Paul’s bullpen. The Saints were outhit 14-4 on the night, with Kaelen Culpepper (2-for-4, 2B) and Schobel (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI) the only batters to collect a hit. Gabriel Gonzalez and Ben Ross each scored a run thanks to drawing walks. Tigers top prospect Max Clark led off for the Mud Hens and finished 0-for-3 with a run scored, a pair of walks, and a strikeout. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 0, Tulsa 5 Box Score Wichita’s lineup was unable to buy any hits on Tuesday, and their tubs took a drilling from Tulsa as a result in their series opener. Preston Johnson made his second start for the Wind Surge and was solid over his four frames. He scattered five hits and a walk, allowing only one earned run while striking out six. 42 of his 67 pitches went for strikes (63%), including 11 swinging. Darren Bowen was the first arm summoned from the bullpen to start the fifth, and he delivered a one-two-three inning to keep the game within one. In the bottom of the sixth however, a single, walk, and three-run homer put Tulsa in control at 4-0. Jarret Whorff (1 IP, H) and Hunter Gregory (1 IP, 2 H, ER, K) pitched an inning apiece to finish the game for the Wichita pitching staff. The Wind Surge lineup was never able to put anything together, advancing a runner to third base only one time, and that was thanks to an errant pickoff throw from the catcher trying to back-pick a runner at first base. They went just 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven men on base. Andrew Cossetti led the way by going 2-for-3 with a walk. Kyle DeBarge and Jaime Ferrer collected the other two hits. In statistical oddities that annoy me, the Wind Surge lead the Texas League in home runs with 80 on the season in 56 games, but rank last in batting average at an abysmal .208. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Lansing 5 Box Score Top lefty pitching prospect Dasan Hill was on the mound for the Kernels, looking to turn around his recent fortunes. After a three-start run in early May where he allowed no earned runs in 10 2/3 innings, his last two turns had gone the other way. He allowed four earned runs on six walks on May 28th, then two earned runs on four hits and three walks on June 3rd. He went a bit further in this start finishing three innings, but similar inconsistency reared its head along the way. His six strikeouts were a nice notch in the pitching line, but they came with five runs (four earned on six hits and three walks. Of Hill’s 77 pitches, just 46 went for strikes (60%). In the top of the first the first three hitters loaded the bases, but he was able to recover and strike out the next three for a scoreless inning. The Lugnuts erupted for four runs in the second, and another in the third to end his outing. Before that Cedar Rapids had taken a 2-0 lead thanks to a home run from Khadim Diaw in the top of the first. His blast drove in Brandon Winokur who had drawn a two-out walk in front of him. The Kernels didn’t score again until the sixth, but again it came off the bat of Diaw. His second home run of the game was of the solo variety, and later in the inning Jay Thomason clubbed one of his own to close the score to 5-4 Lansing. In relief of Hill right-hander Cole Peschl kept the Lugnuts off the board for his two innings. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out four. Nolan Santos got the next two frames, setting the opposition down in order in each, striking out two. Nick Trabacchi struck out one in a one-two-three bottom of the eighth. The Kernels threatened in the top of the eighth after Yasser Mercedes reached base on a fielder’s choice, stole second, and advanced to third on an errant throw. But he wasn’t able to make it the final 90 feet. Rayne Doncon led off the top of the ninth with a single to put the tying run on base, but Danny De Andrade popped out and Marek Houston grounded into a doubleplay to end the game. Diaw (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI) and Thomason (2-for-3, R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB, K) provided most of the hits, as the rest of the Kernels offense combined to go 2-for-25. The team went hitless in their four at-bats with runners in scoring position, and left only six men on base. MUSSEL MATTERS Dunedin 6, Fort Myers 5 (10 innings) Box Score Dunedin scored first against Fort Myers starter Jason Reitz in the top of the second inning. A leadoff walk, stolen base, and two-out RBI single made it 1-0. But that was all Reitz would allow. He finished 3 1/3 innings, reaching his pitch count in the fourth. He allowed just one hit and one walk, while striking out two. In the bottom of the fourth the Mighty Mussels lineup finally figured out the Blue Jays starter. Ryan Sprock led off with a single, Graham Brown followed with one of his own, and after a pair of strikeouts Merphy Hernandez tied the game at one with an RBI double. Dameury Pena followed with a two-run single to give them the lead, and an error let another run score to make it 4-1 for the home team. They extended their lead to four in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a sac fly from Pena. Matthew Dalquist relieved Reitz in the middle of the fourth and finished 2 2/3 innings of his own. But back out for the seventh frame he wasn’t able to record another out. Three consecutive singles and a passed ball brought the Blue Jays within two. After a pitching change to Jake Murray an error, double, and single led to a tie game. When the dust settled Dalquist was charged with three earned runs on six hits and a walk, striking out three. Murray completed the seventh allowing two hits, an unearned run, and struck out two. The score remained tied in regulation thanks to two scoreless innings out of Michael Hilker, who walked three and struck out two, so to extra innings this one went. Fort Myers went to right-hander Mike McKenna for the top of the tenth and after a leadoff single put runners on the corners, he struck out the next three hitters to complete the inning. Unfortunately, on the first of those the Blue Jays also executed a double-steal to take a one run lead. In the bottom half Ryan Sprock drew a leadoff walk, but instead of moving the runners up a base the Mighty Mussels opted to let their lineup swing away. Graham Brown and Quentin Young went down swinging before Luis Fragoza broke his bat on a groundout to end the game. Each team had 10 hits on the night, but Dunedin finished 6-for-18 with runners in scoring position while Fort Myers went 2-for-12. Sprock led the way for the offense, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances. He finished 4-for-4 with a run scored and a walk. Brown was 2-for-5 with a run scored. Alan Roden was 2-for-5 with a double in his first rehab game with the Mighty Mussels. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Pirates 6, FCL Twins 10 (7 innings) Box Score The Twins and Pirates got the scoring started early, with each team putting up a crooked number in the first inning, but the Twins came out of it with a two-run lead. Righty Callan Fang got the start and went the first 1 2/3 innings. He allowed two earned runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out two. Cristian Hernandez did the bulk work to pick up the win, finishing the next 4 1/3 innings. He was charged with three runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk, striking out six. Jack Walker took the final frame, giving up one earned run on one hit and two walks. He struck out one. The Twins lineup scored four runs in the first and then again in the fifth to take control of the game. Yovanny Duran (3-for-4, 3 R, 3B, 3 RBI, SB) and Darwin Almanzar (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) led the way with multiple knocks. Almanzar’s triple in the first scored two, and Duran’s in the fifth did the same. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL NYY Yankees 10, DSL Twins 14 Box Score While you might think this one was a slugfest based on the score, there were actually no home runs and most of the scoring was because of the number of walks. The Yankees had just five hits but drew thirteen walks in the game. The Twins had 13 hits and nine walks. In a strange disparity that is attributed to all those walks, the Yankees went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, while the Twins finished 10-for-27. The Yankees scored first against Twins starter Yosangel Braffit, hitting him for four earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. He allowed three hits, walked five, and struck out two. The Twins offense scored at least one run in six of their eight at-bats, including five in the bottom of the sixth that made the score 11-7 at the time. Right-hander Failin Placencio finished off the third inning, striking out one. Other relievers Emmanuel Mena (2 IP, H, ER, BB, K), Jeremy Jimenez (W, BS, 3IP, H, 5 R (4 ER), 5 BB, 3 K), and Juan Germosen (1 IP, 2 BB, 2 K) finished off the rest of the game for the pitching staff. Six of the nine Twins hitters had multiple knocks, led by leadoff man Jendy Martinez who finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a walk, a pair of doubles, four runs batted in, and a stolen base. Enmanuel Merlo (3-for-6, 3 R, 2 RBI, K) and Luis Duarte (3-for-5, R, 2 RBI) each hit three hits. Fabian Ulloa drew three walks, two singles, two runs scored, two RBI, and two stolen bases. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Preston Johnson, Wichita Wind Surge (4 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 6 K) Hitter of the Day – Khadim Diaw, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2B #5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, K #6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids): 3 IP, 6 H 5 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 6 K #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, BB #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 0-for-3, R, BB, 2 K #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul): 0-for-3, BB, K #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Fort Myers): 0-for-5, 3 K #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, R, BB, K #16 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul): L, 5 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, BB, 3 K #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR (4), 3 RBI #20 - 2B/OF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita): 1-for-4 WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Mick Abel (0-0, -.--, rehab assignment. Will face the also rehabbing Justin Verlander) Wichita @ Tulsa (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Jose Olivares (0-4, 5.88 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Michael Ross (4-3, 6.97 ERA) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (0-0, 27.00 ERA, rehab assignment) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View the full article

After splitting six games on what feels like their 75th West Coast swing of the season, the Mets come home to news of their hardy starting catcher being reactivated. With rehabilitating players starting to filter back in, no further games to play out of the Eastern and Central Time Zones, and a bunch of games up ahead against teams they are chasing, things have to be looking up, right? Right? Transactions, 6/6/2026 GOING Released Relief Pitchers Anderson Severino L/L DoB: 1994-09-17 High Level: MLB (2022) As Anderson Severino put up a 1.31 ERA in Syracuse, only to see the Mets, looking to add another lefty reliever to their staff, add Cionel Perez instead, and take away his 40-Player roster spot to do it (ouch!), he could clearly see the writing on the wall. His release comes at his request as his agent has been fielding interest from NPB teams. I don't know if I'd rather be an Orix Buffalo than a Syracuse Met, but the pay is surely better. Should a Japanese contract be in the offing, it will be the sixth country in which a team has employed Anderson. Transactions, 6/9/2026 GOING COMING COMING Demoted to Syracuse Ended Rehab Assignment and Activated from Injured List Signed away from New York (Frontier League) and Assigned to St. Lucie Catchers Hayden Senger Francisco Alvarez Jack Scanlon R/R DoB: 1997-04-03 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 2001-11-01 High Level: MLB (2026) L/R DoB: 2001-05-17 High Level: Frontier League (2026) A special congratulations to Hayden Senger who returns from his latest emergency stint at backup catcher with his first MLB homer under his belt. As the big fly was one of only two hits for Hayden in 15 at-bats, he is still proving to be far from a serviceable bat at the top level. But, hey! He pulled off two sacrifice bunts. The real news in the Catcher Carousel, of course, is the return of Francisco Alvarez, far ahead of schedule, as is his modus operandi. More power to him, with the hope that he continues the other half of that MO, which is returning from absences with a hot bat and a head screwed on straight. He's got MVP ability but as long as he swings from his heels every time, he's barely keeping his head above the liability level — and the Mets already have their share of those. It's probably just a coincidence that the day the Mets swapped out one catcher for another, they additionally signed a backstop out of The Frontier League. Jack Scanlon has been tearing it up (.333 / .423 / .656 // 1.079) for The New York Boulders this season, which says a lot about the benefits of home cooking, as the Boulderinos play in Pomona, NY, only 10 miles or so from Suffern, the Rockland County burg in which Jack went to high school. Jack initially reports to St. Lucie, but after a five-year college career (in both The Pac 12 and The ACC), along with two partial seasons of Indy Ball, the Mets probably have him ticketed for a higher level. Your 2026 New York Mets Starting Pitchers Sean Manaea Nolan McLean Freddy Peralta David Peterson Christian Scott R/L DoB: 1992-02-01 R/R DoB: 2001-07-24 R/R DoB: 2996-06-04 L/L DoB: 1995-09-03 R/R DoB: 1999-06-15 Relief Pitchers Huascar Brazobán Joey Gerber A.J. Minter Cionel Pérez Brooks Raley Austin Warren Luke Weaver R/R DoB: 1989-10-15 R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 L/L DoB: 1993-09-02 R/L DoB: 35176 L/L DoB: 1988-06-29 R/R DoB: 1996-02-05 R/R DoB: 1993-08-21 Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders Devin Williams Francisco Alvarez Luís Torrens Bo Bichette Brett Baty Vidal Brujan Marcus Semien R/R DoB: 1994-09-21 R/R DoB: 2001-11-01 R/R DoB: 1996-05-02 R/R DoB: 1998-03-05 L/R DoB: 1999-11-13 S/R DoB: 1998-02-09 R/R DoB: 1990-09-17 Infielders Outfielders Mark Vientos Eric Wagaman Carson Benge A.J. Ewing MJ Melendez Juan Soto Jared Young R/R DoB: 1993-12-11 R/R DoB: 1997-08-14 L/R DoB: 2003-01-20 L/R DoB: 2004-08-10 L/R DoB: 1993-11-29 L/L DoB: 1998-10-25 L/R DoB: 1995-07-09 Also on 40-Player Roster Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Clay Holmes Tylor Megill Kodai Senga Zach Thornton Jonah Tong Alex Carrillo Daniel Duarte R/R DoB: 1993-03-27 R/R DoB: 1995-07-28 L/R DoB: 1993-01-30 L/L DoB: 2002-01-17 R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 Relief Pitchers Catchers Reed Garrett Justin Hagenman Tobias Myers Dedniel Núñez Jonathan Pintaro Dylan Ross Hayden Senger R/R DoB: 1993-01-02 R/R DoB: 1996-10-07 R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 R/R DoB: 1996-06-05 R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 R/R DoB: 2000-09-01 R/R DoB: 1997-04-03 Infielders Outfielders Francisco Lindor Ronny Mauricio Jorge Polanco Nick Morabito Luis Robert, Jr. Tyrone Taylor S/R DoB: 1993-11-14 S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 R/R DoB: 2003-05-07 R/R DoB: 1997-08-03 R/R DoB: 1994-01-22 Your Mets Coaching Staff Manager Bench Coach Pitching Coach Hitting Coordinator Third Base Coach First Base Coach Bullpen Coach Ass't Pitching Coach Carlos Mendoza Kai Correa Justin Willard Jeff Albert Tim Leiper Gilbert Gomez José Rosado Dan McKinney DoB: 1979-11-27 DoB: 1989-07-14 DoB: 1990-09-09 DoB: 1992-08-16 DoB: 1996-07-19 DoB: 1992-03-08 DoB: 1974-11-09 DoB: 1989-06-06 Hitting Coach Strategy Coach Catching Coach Coaching Assistant Bat'g Practice Pitcher Equipment Manager Bullpen Catchers Bullpen Catchers Troy Snitker Danny Barnes J.P. Arencibia Rafael Fernandez Kevin Mahoney Kevin Kierst Eric Langill Dave Racaniello DoB: 1988-12-05 DoB: 1989-10021 DoB: 1986-01-05 DoB: 1988-08-03 DoB: 1987-05-11 DoB: 1964-07-09 DoB: 1979-04-09 DoB: 1978-06-03 Your Mets Training Staff Director of Player Health Head Athletic Trainer Assistant Athletic Trainer Reconditioning Coordinator Reconditioning Therapist Head Performance Coach Assistant Performance Coach Performance Coordinator Soft Tissue Specialist Brian Chicklo Joseph Golia Bryan Baca Sean Bardanett Josh Bickel Dustin Clarke Tanner Miracle Jeremy Chiang Hiroto Kawamura DoB: 1972-07-17 DoB: 1978-??-?? DoB: Circa 1980 DoB: 1988-06-23 DoB: 1996-??-?? DoB: 1987-??-?? DoB: 1991-??-?? DoB: ????-??-?? DoB: 1962-07-19 View the full article

MIAMI, FL - Otto Lopez is an All-Star. It's as simple as that. The Marlins shortstop tallied his 27th multi-hit performance and ninth three-hit game of the season. He hit the go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Miami Marlins what ended up being a 10-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, the sixth victory in their last seven games. Lopez, who the Marlins acquired off waivers from the San Francisco Giants in 2024, has turned into one of, if not the best acquisition of the Peter Bendix era. Going into Tuesday's game, he has accumulated 9.3 bWAR in 325 games as a member of the organization. Lopez leads all major league shortstops in batting average (.341), hits (89), is second in total bases (128), OPS (.859) and third in on-base percentage (.369). With Cincinnati's Elly De La Cruz currently injured, the only National League shortstop with a similar All-Star case is CJ Abrams of the Washington Nationals. "This has been a hitting machine since day one of the season and he's played a high-level defense," McCullough said when making a case for Lopez to represent the organization in the Midsummer Classic. "There's hard to find someone at that position in our league that's having a better year offensively than he is with the average, the clutch hits and the extra base hits. He's really doing it on both sides of the ball, and he's making a very strong case for himself each and every day." In the top of the eighth inning, with the Marlins leading, 6-3, they summoned Tyler Zuber out of the bullpen. He surrendered a walk, hit by pitch and after recording the first out of the inning, he loaded the bases on another walk. He was taken out in place of Calvin Faucher, who allowed a two-run RBI double from Ketel Marte followed by an RBI groundout from Corbin Carroll. That tied the game, 6-6. The Diamondbacks went with Brandyn Garcia in the bottom of the eighth and Joe Mack knocked in his fourth hit of the ballgame, followed by Connor Norby getting hit by a pitch. After a questionable bunt attempt from the Marlins RBI leader Liam Hicks, Otto Lopez hit a 105.3 mph RBI single up the middle, scoring Mack from second to take a 7-6 lead. That would be the first of four runs in the bottom of the eighth. Javier Sanoja smacked a two-run RBI single and Esteury Ruiz capped the inning off with an RBI double, giving the Marlins a comfortable 10-6 lead which Pete Fairbanks was able to hold. Both Sanoja and Ruiz continue to be strong assets off the bench. Ruiz improved his overall slash line to .212/.311/.500/.811 with three home runs, seven RBI, 11 stolen bases and a 121 wRC+. Sanoja, is now hitting .266/.315/.381/.696 with two home runs, 24 RBI and a 95 wRC+. Joe Mack, who became the youngest catcher in Marlins history (23 years and 164 days) to record four hits in a game, is now slashing .391/.417/.565/.982 with one home run and seven RBI in the month of June. He also threw out his 10th runner on the season. "Some of the takes, getting himself into better counts and just seeing him really slow things down in the batter's box," McCullough said. "He is a talented offensive player, and I think once he got it himself 20-25 plate appearances under his belt, just seeing some of the aggression toned down." Max Meyer got the start for the Marlins and set the franchise record for most starts without a loss to begin a season (14). He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, two walks and struck out five. With the win, the Marlins are now 32-35, three games under .500 and three games out of the third and final National League Wild Card spot. Ryan Gusto is slated to start for the Marlins on Tuesday at 6:40 pm. Ryne Nelson will take the mound for the D-backs. View the full article

The Twins have spent much of the 2026 season searching for answers in the bullpen. On Monday, they added another intriguing arm to the mix, acquiring right-handed reliever Taylor Rashi from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations. Minnesota had room on its 40-man roster after designating outfielder James Outman for assignment over the weekend, making the move relatively simple from a roster-management standpoint. Rashi also has minor league options remaining, giving the Twins flexibility to stash him at Triple-A St. Paul while evaluating whether he can become a contributor at the major league level. The move fits a familiar pattern. Rather than investing heavily in relief pitching, the Twins have spent the season collecting arms with intriguing traits and hoping one or two emerge as reliable options. Earlier additions such as Yoendrys Gómez and Justin Lawrence followed a similar blueprint. Minnesota's front office has taken a quantity-over-certainty approach after dismantling much of its bullpen depth at last year's trade deadline. Rashi is the latest name to join that list. At 30 years old, he isn't a traditional prospect, but he has shown enough flashes to warrant attention. Over parts of the last two seasons, Rashi has appeared in 13 major league games, posting a 5.40 ERA while striking out nearly 30% of opposing hitters across 20 innings. The results have been uneven, but the ability to miss bats has remained consistent. His work at Triple-A Reno this season has been far more impressive. Rashi owns a sparkling 1.03 ERA in 26 1/3 innings while holding opposing hitters in check throughout the year. He has paired that success with a solid 25.5% strikeout rate, though his tendency to issue walks remains a concern after posting a walk rate near 12%. Those command issues, combined with a lack of overpowering velocity, likely explain why Arizona was willing to part ways with him despite dealing with its own bullpen challenges. Rashi's fastball typically sits around 91 mph, well below the league average for modern relievers. Instead of relying on velocity, he attacks hitters with a deep secondary mix that includes a slider, curveball, and splitter. For the Twins, the appeal is easy to understand. Minnesota's bullpen has struggled for much of the season and currently ranks among baseball's least effective groups in ERA. While the relief corps has shown improvement during the past month, the underlying numbers still reveal concerns. The Twins continue to battle one of the highest walk rates in the league, creating frequent traffic on the bases and placing additional stress on the pitching staff. Recent success stories such as Gómez and Anthony Banda have demonstrated that imperfect relievers can still provide value when deployed correctly. The Twins have leaned heavily into matchup-based bullpen management, searching for favorable situations rather than relying on established late-inning options. Rashi now becomes the newest candidate in that experiment. The acquisition is unlikely to generate headlines, and there is no guarantee he ever throws a meaningful inning at Target Field. However, teams rarely build bullpens through blockbuster moves alone. Sometimes a successful relief unit is assembled through a series of small transactions that uncover unexpected contributors. The Twins are hoping Rashi becomes the next name on that list. View the full article

The Twins have enough organizational depth right now to build a strong infield in 2028, potentially containing Kaelen Culpepper at third, Marek Houston at shortstop, and Brooks Lee at second. But how likely is that a reality or more wishcasting based on who the Twins have now within the system? View the full article

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the second June edition of our Fish On First Prospects Report, which includes a full week of Dominican Summer League observations. This report covers the games played from June 2-8. Triple-A Jacksonville You couldn't have asked for a better start to Gage Miller's Triple-A stint. Through his first seven games, Miller is hitting .409/.536/.636/1.172 with one home run, eight RBI and a 215 wRC+. Between Double-A and Triple-A, Miller is slashing .301/.403/.478/.881 with five home runs, 30 RBI and a 140 wRC+. Miller, a third-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, got off to a slow start to his professional career, but has really turned it around this season. Never say never, but if he keeps hitting the way he is and the Marlins cannot solve their short-term issue at third base, maybe he can be a late-season call-up. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp held a bobblehead night for Jacob Berry. So far in 49 games, he is slashing .278/.400/.385/.785 with two home runs, 21 RBI, 16 stolen bases and a 119 wRC+. Defensively, it has been an adventure, but has primarily split time between third base and right field. The Marlins promoted right-handed pitcher and Fish On First No. 10 prospect Karson Milbrandt to Triple-A Jacksonville. His first start with the Jumbo Shrimp came on Saturday, where he tossed six shutout innings, allowing two hits and walking three. His lone strikeout of the night came in the top of the third inning when he got Brock Wilken with a called strike three. Milbrandt's fastball topped out at 96.5 mph and averaged 95.2 mph. He also threw his slider, sweeper and curveball. Where he did struggle was landing first-pitch strikes, only having a 55% success rate. Opposing hitters averaged an exit velocity of 83.0 mph. On the injury front, we now have clearly timelines for the returns of three FOF Top 30 talents Kemp Alderman (left elbow sprain) should be back by the end of June. Maximo Acosta (right thumb UCL sprain) underwent surgery on May 19. He's due to return shortly after the All-Star break. Finally, FOF #1 prospect Thomas White suffered a left shoulder capsular sprain on May 17. The team announced a recovery timeline of 12-16 weeks, but the expectation internally is that he will likely miss the remainder of the regular season. If that is the case, White will finish his 2026 season posting a 4.34 ERA, 4.70 FIP, 12.05 K/9 and 4.34 BB/9 in five AAA starts. Double-A Pensacola Following a good ending to May, the Wahoos got off a sluggish start in June dropping four of six to Chattanooga and squandering an opportunity take over their division lead. The team’s bats were particularly asleep: Pensacola scored just 13 runs in the entire series. In many cases, the initial promotion and significant leap from the lower minors to the upper minors is a rude wake-up call for prospects. That was no such thing this past week for Eliazar Dishmey. The 21-year-old righty came out of the gates firing on all cylinders in his new Blue Wahoos threads, completely shutting down the Lookouts for five innings, disallowing a hit. Ultimately, he worked a quality start, going six innings and allowing one run on just one hit while walking one and striking out nine. Dishmey topped out at 94 and dipped to 74 mph. He recorded strikeouts with three different pitches. The Southern League acknowledged his excellence by honoring him as their Pitcher of the Week. The opportunity to play every day in the FCL appears to be helping his confidence. If he continues performing like this, a return to Jupiter could come sooner rather than later. Edgardo De Leon has become a weekly fixture in these recaps, and for good reason. So far in June, he is hitting .538 (7-for-13) with two home runs. He has also drawn four walks compared to just two strikeouts. On the bases, he has stolen six bags, including a three-steal game. For the season, De Leon is slashing .351 with five doubles and four home runs. Of his 20 hits, nine have gone for extra bases. He has more walks than strikeouts, is 7-for-8 in stolen base attempts, and owns a .649 slugging percentage, the third-highest mark in the FCL. His time in the FCL fittingly has come to an end. He earned a promotion to Jupiter on Tuesday. Through the first week of June, Breyias Dean is hitting .364 (4-for-11) with a pair of home runs. On the season, he owns a .362 batting average with nine extra-base hits, including four doubles, one triple, and four home runs. His .672 slugging percentage ranks second in the FCL. Perhaps most impressively, he has already surpassed his walk total from all of last season. While his .425 BABIP suggests some regression is likely coming, his improved plate discipline gives reason to believe much of the breakout is legitimate. The numbers may come down slightly, but Dean appears to have made real adjustments at the plate. DSL Marlins & DSL Miami Santiago Solarte, Fish On First's No. 18 prospect, wasted little time making an impact, recording two multi-hit games during his first week of professional baseball. The Marlins were thrilled to sign him for $1 million. While the power has yet to show up, Solarte has already stolen five bases. His ability to get on base has been impressive, drawing two walks and getting hit by four pitches. Through his first week, he is hitting .263 with a .440 OBP and .316 SLG. He has struck out nine times in 19 at-bats, but as he continues to acclimate to professional baseball, those numbers should improve. Listed at 6-foot-1 and just 142 pounds, Justin Batista has not let his frame hold him back. Through seven innings, he owns a 1.29 ERA with 11 strikeouts, a 0.71 WHIP, and only two hits allowed. On Monday afternoon, Batista threw four hitless innings while striking out seven and walking two, giving the bullpen plenty of room to finish off the organization's first no-hitter of the season. While the DSL is often considered pitcher-friendly because of inconsistent command and limited offensive environments, Daniel Pire has been one of the league's better hitters early on. Through 20 at-bats, he is hitting .350 with a double and a triple while striking out just once and drawing two walks. One area to monitor is his 2.0 GO/AO ratio, which suggests he is putting the ball on the ground more often than ideal. Like many young hitters, the numbers will likely level out as the sample size grows, but the early plate discipline has been encouraging. This week's schedule Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Gwinnett Double-A Pensacola at Columbus High-A Beloit vs. Quad Cities Low-A Jupiter at Daytona FCL Marlins, DSL Marlins and DSL Miami vs. various opponents View the full article

After making a handful of moves before Tuesday's series opener against the Colorado Rockies, the Chicago Cubs tacked on another in what has been a revolving door in the bullpen. The Cubs placed Trent Thornton on the paternity list and called up fellow right-handed reliever Tyler Ferguson from Triple-A Iowa. Thornton can be away from the club for up to three days for the birth of his child. Thornton has a 5.30 FIP (1.69 ERA) in 12 appearances and 16 innings. He has a rather high 11.3% walk rate and a very below average 9.7% strikeout rate. Ferguson is up for the second time this season with Chicago, but has yet to make his Cubs debut. He was acquired from the A's on May 7 after he had been designated for assignment after giving up four runs in 1⅓ innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. He had been called up last week, but didn't pitch and was optioned back to Iowa. View the full article

It may seem like wishful thinking for the Chicago Cubs to be buyers at this point, but a lot can change between now and the trade deadline on August 3. Pete Crow-Armstrong's bat is starting to heat up since he’s been moved to the leadoff spot. Ian Happ is barreling toward his first 30 home run campaign of his career. Edward Cabrera and Matthew Boyd are (or nearly are) back. Though they have had their struggles this year, they were some of the team’s better projected options coming into the season. Plus, this is a team that made the playoffs a season ago with many of the same key players intact. They’re still over .500, and until they fall well below that mark, you can bet that the front office will not punt on the season. Though the Brewers have once again proved to be the class of the NL Central, the rest of the division is imperfect and could conceivably be steamrolled by this Cubs team... albeit when everything is clicking. The Cubs need to target pitching, some more pitching, and probably an extra pitcher or two just to be safe. Even with the return of Cabrera and Boyd, and the emergence of Ben Brown, they will likely need two dependable starting pitchers. Every contender shops for relievers at the deadline, but the Cubs need about half a bullpen’s worth of them. Southpaws Hoby Milner and Ryan Rolison have been serviceable, but they, combined with the 39-year-old Caleb Thielbar (who has spent time on the IL already), cannot be the top lefty options in the postseason. Daniel Palencia looks great when he pitches, but he has dealt with injuries this year and it looks like Counsell is hesitant to use him too much. Ethan Roberts and Jacob Webb have pitched well from an ERA standpoint, but they aren’t high-leverage guys. The “big” free-agent addition, Phil Maton, has an ERA over seven. If the Cubs intend to make a deep run in the postseason, they probably need another two or even three relievers, with at least one being a bankable high leverage option. On the offensive side, they need to improve internally because there isn’t anywhere to play a new bat unless they want to get really creative. You may see a utility player or a bench bat join the squad, but the Cubs won’t be in on any of the big-name bats on the market. Here are some of the names being mentioned in rumors you won’t see on the list below: Gleyber Torres, Mike Trout, Luis Arraez, C.J. Abrams, Jarren Duran, Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers, or any of the Astros’ bats. Chicago Cubs Top Trade Deadline Targets Without further ado, let's get into the players the front office is most likely to (or should be planning to) target this trade season. The Grand Prize: Tarik Skubal Skubal’s return from his loose bodies procedure is seemingly going to happen sooner rather than later, but the Tigers have been one of baseball’s worst teams and are sitting in the cellar of the AL Central. Even the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner is not going to help this team unless he starts every other game. Skubal is also an impending free agent, and he will certainly test the market to attempt to earn the largest contract for a free-agent pitcher in MLB history. Other teams can easily strong-arm the Tigers into moving him, since they aren’t contending and don’t seem to have much of a shot at re-signing him. It would be in the best interest of the team to move him, but they won’t get anything close to the return they could have gotten if he was moved before the season. If we see the Cubs revert to their April ways on offense, there are no excuses as to why they shouldn’t be right in the middle of the Skubal conversations. The Tigers might ask for Shaw or Ballesteros as the headliner, but that’s just the price of doing business. Again, Skubal is only a feasible target if the Cubs start hitting like one of the best in baseball again and have a clear path to the playoffs. The Big Fish: Starters & Relievers Freddy Peralta While it’s not out of the realm of possibilities for the Mets to gain ground in the wild-card race, they are currently at the bottom of the division and a whopping 15 games behind the Braves. Should Peralta, who is another impending free agent, become available, he would be the number two option on the market after Skubal. The 30-year-old has been more good than great this season with a 3.80 xERA, accumulating 1.0 fWAR over 13 starts. The Cubs should be able to acquire Peralta without moving anyone off their major-league roster, but Jefferson Rojas, or last year’s first-round pick Ethan Conrad, could be on the table. Reid Detmers The Angels have been one of the worst teams in baseball, but they never want to embrace a full rebuild. Their M.O. for the past decade and a half has been to get Mike Trout to the playoffs, but that goal seems as far away as it’s ever been. Detmers is currently in his second year of arbitration while making a modest $2.6 million (and, as a Super Two player, he has two more years of team control remaining). He is now back in the rotation after spending all of last season in the bullpen. His xERA is 2.92 and he’s accumulated 2.2 fWAR. He ranks fifth in the AL in strikeouts with 88 across 74 innings. If the Cubs continue to meddle in mediocrity this season, Detmers is a great addition for the future. If they bounce back, he is a great addition for right now. The Angels should be listening on Detmers, but his contract status gives them a ton of leverage in negotiations. Joe Ryan The Cubs have been a logical landing spot for Ryan for some time now, but Minnesota did not want to waive the white flag yet. After a hot start to 2026, the Twins have faded as anticipated, and should be open for business. Byron Buxton and Ryan are their biggest trade chips, and should both be in high demand this summer. Ryan is having an excellent year where he has firmly taken over the best pitcher in the Twin Cities title with Pablo Lopez out for the year; he has a 3.06 xERA and 84 strikeouts. Eight of his 14 starts have been quality starts, and he has already reached 2.1 fWAR. Ryan would be the right-handed starter the Cubs desperately need, but if the Twins view Ballesteros as a catcher long term, that might be their non-negotiable ask, because their current starting catcher Ryan Jeffers could also be out the door. Antonio Senzatela Senzatela was one of the more consistent Rockies starters since he broke into the league in 2017, but dealt with injuries after signing a five-year extension, completely breaking down last season with a 6.97 xERA in 30 games (23 starts). He’s made the transition to the bullpen this year and is finding success with a 3.05 xERA over 36.1 innings. The right-hander is posting the highest K/9 of his career at 7.43, and will certainly be one of the most available relievers this July. He comes with a club option for next season too, which is an added bonus. Senzatela isn’t going to single-handedly fix the Cubs' bullpen, but would be a perfect secondary move if they take a bigger swing on one of these next names. Aroldis Chapman This would be a real fun move. Ten years after the Cubs acquired Chapman from the Yankees, he once again fits their needs almost perfectly. With the American League in shambles as a whole, it is far from certain that Boston is going to sell, but if they do, Chapman would be their most in-demand trade chip. The 38-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down, and has cemented himself back in the best reliever in baseball conversation. He has a 0.46 ERA in 19.2 innings while striking out 26. Should he reach 40 innings pitched, a mutual option worth $13 million would kick in for 2027. Who knows if a reunion is on the table all these years later, but it would make for a fun storyline to follow. Josh Hader Houston may decide to sell at the deadline, which, like Boston, is far from a certainty; it would be marking their first deadline as sellers since the 2016 season. The hot names on the market are SS Jeremy Pena, 1B Christian Walker, and 3B Isaac Parades (with some light mentioning of MVP candidate Yordan Alvarez). The reason why Hader hasn’t been mentioned as much as those other guys is because he just started the season earlier this month. Left bicep tendinitis caused him to miss April and May, and upon returning, he has thrown two scoreless frames so far. Hader is currently in the third year of a five year, $95 million contract that represents the largest present-day value for a reliever ever. The Cubs will have some money coming off the books after this season with Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ all entering free agency. It's likely they try to bring back either or both of Suzuki and Happ, but the pitchers should be gone. Using some of that money to reunite Hader with his first big-league skipper would be a move for both the present and future. Sandy Alcantara In my opinion, the Cubs should stay far away from Alcantara negotiations unless the Marlins would give him away for a few ballpark hot dogs, but he has been one of the more talked about trade candidates of the last few seasons, so I wouldn’t be doing my job if he didn’t get a mention. The 2022 NL Cy Young winner is on the last season of a five-year extension, but there is a club option for next season worth $21 million. Alcantara has made 14 starts this season and has allowed two or less earned runs in eight of them. He also has four starts where he has given up six or more runs. His xERA on the season is 4.05 and he has been worth 1.3 fWAR, but the Marlins have been reluctant to trade him to this point, and it might not make sense for the Cubs to meet a high asking price for a guy who blows up this frequently. The Role Players: Lesser Pitchers Robbie Ray Buster POBO-sey and the Giants seem to be punting on this season already after they fell flat on their face early on. Starting catcher Patrick Bailey was already moved to Cleveland in a rare May trade. They’ve also announced a willingness to move SS Willy Adames, 3B Matt Chapman and OF Jung-Hoo Lee. Don't doubt that they would be happy to move the 34-year-old Ray as well, as he is in his last year of the five-year deal he signed with the Mariners after the 2021 season. The 2021 AL Cy Young winner is not having a great campaign, but at least he is healthy and making his starts. The 4.12 ERA and 1.40 WHIP is not going to scare teams in the playoffs, but this move would make sense for a team like the Cubs, who have been losing starting pitchers to the IL all season. Michael Wacha The Royals and Tigers were supposed to be right up there with the Guardians in the fight for the AL Central. Baseball is a weird sport, so naturally the White Sox are in second place behind the Guardians, while the Royals and Tigers are hanging out in the cellar. The 34-year-old is having another productive season with a 4.19 xERA and 1.2 fWAR. This is another arm that isn’t going to propel the Cubs to the playoffs, but he should provide quality innings at the back of the rotation. If they add a Joe Ryan, Freddy Peralta, or even a Tarik Skubal, Wacha would be a great secondary move. Pete Fairbanks The Cubs might be wary of taking on another struggling arm, especially with the performance of Phil Maton, who was supposed to be one of their dependable, late-inning options. Fairbanks has a 7.41 ERA, but a 3.59 xERA. He has the highest BB/9 of his career so far, and has the second-highest homer rate trailing only his rookie season. He is on a one-year deal and it shouldn’t take much for the Marlins to move him. This addition would not solve the bullpen crisis, but it would give them another major-league arm to play with. A Mets Reliever or Two If the Mets sell, they could accumulate a real asset or two for some of their relievers. Lefties David Peterson, Brooks Raley, and A.J. Minter should all be available. Righties Huascar Brazoban and Luke Weaver could also find themselves on the trade block. To maximize value, David Stearns likely won’t bundle these pitchers together or package one with Peralta, but there is plenty of value here for the Mets to cash in on. Gus Varland Tier: Gus Varland The Cubs can bring Varland home to Chicago and give him a pretty easy red-line commute to Wrigley Field. After missing the entire 2025 season, Varland is quietly putting together a solid season in the Nationals' pen. His 25 appearances lead the team, and his 3.27 FIP show he is a bit better of a pitcher than his 5.14 xERA indicates. Though the Nationals are flirting with a .500 record, they will certainly be selling off some pieces. After joining the Nats as a waiver claim, he has given them enough value to become an under-the-radar trade chip. Plus, some less knowledgeable fans may think they acquired his brother. View the full article

Just when you think the Chicago Cubs' pitching staff is getting healthier, another injury strikes. Right-handed starter Jameson Taillon was put on the 15-day injured list Tuesday by the Cubs due to a strained left hamstring. In good news, utilityman Matt Shaw was activated from the 10-day IL after battling midback tightness. Right-handed reliever Ethan Roberts was recalled from Triple-A Iowa, while outfielder Kevin Alcantara was optioned to Triple-A. Taillon was injured in his start Sunday in a 2-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants in 10 innings. He threw a pitch for ball four to Matt Chapman in the second inning and immediately waved to the dugout for medical attention. The Cubs currently have seven pitchers in the IL, with five on the 60-day IL. One of those, left-hander Matthew Boyd, could be on the verge of returning to the rotation. Through 13 starts this season, Taillon had struggled his way to a 6.31 FIP (5.19 ERA) in 67⅔ innings. He has given up an MLB-worst 20 homers while posting an 8% walk rate and 20.6% strikeout rate. Shaw returns to the roster after being placed on the IL May 22. In 42 games before then, Shaw was slashing .242/.291/.400, hitting three homers and driving in 12 while bouncing around the diamond defensively. Roberts came off the 15-day IL himself May 8 following a right middle finger laceration that sidelined him for about three weeks. In 14 appearances and 18⅓ innings, Roberts has a 3.76 FIP (1.96 ERA), with a 9.7% walk rate and 19.4% strikeout rate. Alcantara produced a .111/.200/.111 slash line in just 12 games (10 plate appearances) since coming up May 23. View the full article

Throughout the offseason, Trevor Larnach worked to refine his approach at the plate, focusing on making more consistent contact and becoming a more complete offensive contributor. While that adjustment has shown some positive results, it has also coincided with a noticeable shift in his power profile. Manager Derek Shelton pointed to several hard-hit balls during the Twins' recent road trip as evidence that better results could be on the horizon. However, Larnach's underlying metrics suggest a more significant change may be taking place. Since early May, he has increased his contact rate, but it appears to have come at the expense of the impact that made him one of Minnesota's most dangerous left-handed hitters. Beginning with the road series against Washington and Cleveland, Larnach posted a .241/.320/.368 slash line, while averaging just 85.2 mph in exit velocity. His contact point has also moved significantly farther out in front of the plate compared to 2025. Ordinarily, hitting the ball out in front gives a player more power, but that hasn't happened for Larnach. Instead, he's become much less likely to drive the ball. That trend is particularly noteworthy considering the adjustments he has already made to his swing. Twins Daily reported in 2025 that Larnach had flattened his bat path, reducing his swing angle from 40 degrees to 34°. This season, that figure has dipped again, to 33°. The flatter swing has his contact point sliding forward, as you'd expect given that change in bat path. Now, he has to be early to do any damage—and he's managed to be early even on fastballs, at times. The clearest example came during his home run against Pittsburgh. Larnach turned on a 98-mph fastball and made contact approximately 40.5 inches in front of his body—an unusually aggressive contact point against that velocity. The result was a home run, but the swing also raised an important question: Is Larnach intentionally moving his contact point forward, even more than the swing change would predict? And if so, how does that square with his apparent efforts to sacrifice power for contact? The data suggests this may be less about timing and more about approach. In short, Larnach is selling out for the fastball. He's significantly increased the frequency with which he's on time against heaters this year (from 76% in 2025 to 81%), according to new data from Statcast, but because he's working hard to be there, he's also been early more often than ever against both offspeed (67% vs. 53%) and breaking (70% vs. 51%) offerings. His plan gives him a chance to hit fastballs hard, but he hasn't been accurate enough with his barrel to actually produce that result as often as in the past. Here are three images for his 2025 season, showing how often he was horizontally (left) and vertically (right) on or off the barrel for each pitch group type, along with (center) how often he was on time, early or late. Now, here's the same set of images for 2026. You can see that he's more on time against fastballs, but he's less likely to have centered the ball well on his barrel, horizontally. That's led to weaker contact against heaters, even though he's actually hit the ball more often. Despite the decline in power production, there are encouraging signs. Larnach has become considerably more selective at the plate, increasing his walk rate to a career-best 13.7%. He lost that patience for a bit, but has regained it of late. He's also hitting the ball in the air (and, specifically, both more line drives and more balls in the air to the pull field) more than ever. In many ways, Larnach's evolution reflects a hitter continuing to make adjustments. While the power numbers have suffered, the improved discipline has counterbalanced it, and he's staying afloat so far. Whether this shift is the result of an organizational emphasis or simply a hitter searching for a more sustainable approach remains unclear. What is evident, however, is that the version of Larnach the Twins are seeing today looks different from the one who generated much of his power a season ago. Larnach has been open about his struggles, as well as his growth. At the beginning of the season, it was obvious that he was confident in his process and that his commitment to the game was a priority. As he's found out the hard way, that's not enough. Baseball is still gut-wrenchingly hard, and hitting is the hardest part of the game. He's made an adjustment that has sort of worked, but the cost of it has been high. To be a viable, valuable corner outfielder for a team trying to claw its way back into contention in the American League Central, he might need to make another adjustment—another plan, another tweak of the approach that has yielded the results he's achieved so far. View the full article

The Kansas City Royals have gotten back a member of their starting rotation. Right-hander Stephen Kolek was activated from the family medical emergency leave list and will start Tuesday's game against the Texas Rangers. Infielder Josh Rojas was optioned to Triple-A Omaha. Details behind Kolek's placement on the list, which happened Thursday, have not been disclosed. That could be cleared up following the game when the media has a chance to interview Kolek. In six starts covering 38 innings this year, Kolek has a 4.11 FIP (3.32 ERA) to go along with an excellent 5.4% walk rate and subpar 18.1% strikeout rate. He has had an issue giving up homers, with five so far this season. He does have a shutout, blanking the Seattle Mariners 3-0 on May 23. Rojas came up to replace Kolek on Thursday and appeared in two games, going 1-for-5 with two RBIs. View the full article

The return of Dylan Cease is official. The right-handed starter was activated from the 15-day injured list Tuesday by the Toronto Blue Jays, who optioned left-handed reliever Adam Macko to Triple-A Buffalo. Cease, who has been out since March 25 with a strained right hamstring, is scheduled to start Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Cease, who signed a seven-year, $210 million contract as a free agent this offseason, has a 2.59 FIP (3.05 ERA) in 11 starts over 62 innings, with a 10.1% walk rate and a career-best 35.7% strikeout rate before being injured. Macko has made 12 appearances, including his MLB debut, over 12 innings, with a 2.94 FIP (1.50 ERA), posting an excellent 4.2% walk rate to go along with an above-average 25% strikeout rate. His demotion leaves Mason Fluharty as the only left-hander in the bullpen and just one of two lefties on the staff (starter Patrick Corbin is the other). View the full article

A big piece of the Boston Red Sox's bullpen is back. Right-handed reliever Garrett Whitlock was activated off the 15-day injured list Tuesday by the Red Sox, who optioned infielder Anthony Seigler back to Triple-A Worcester. Whitlock had been out since May 28 (retroactive to May 25) with inflammation in his right knee, meaning this was a minimum IL stint. Whitlock, one of the top setup men in MLB, has a 2.80 FIP (3.20 ERA) over 20 appearances and 19⅔ innings with a 7.4% walk rate and 30.9% strikeout rate. Seigler was called up Wednesday and played in two goings, going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a strikeout. At Triple-A, Seigler is slashing .298/.425/.471. View the full article

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (June 6-8) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox): 1-5 Season Record: 28-35 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates): 3-3 Season Record: 29-25 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels): 3-3 Season Record: 23-34 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs Daytona Tortugas (Cincinnati Reds): 5-1 Season Record: 25-32 FCL Blue Jays Week Record: 3-2 Season Record: 20-7 DSL Blue Jays Blue Week Record: 3-2 Season Record: 3-3 DSL Blue Jays Red Week Record: 1-4 Season Record: 1-5 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 28-35 Series vs Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) June 6: Saturday's game against Worcester would feature the third straight major league arm pitching on a rehab assignment for Buffalo. While optimism was high for Buffalo, the results were not as encouraging. Shane Bieber was touched up almost immediately, as he gave up runs in the first and second innings. In the first, back-to-back RBI doubles would give the early lead to Worcester. Bieber left a changeup and fastball over the middle of the plate, and both pitches were hit hard (over 100 mph on the exit velocities). It was another fastball that Bieber left middle-in to Tyler McDonough that he crushed 409 feet to right field for a solo home run in the second inning. For the game, Bieber pitched 2.2 innings, gave up six hits and three runs, while striking out three. He didn't walk anyone, which was the bright spot, but he couldn't locate his 92 mph fastball at all. With the Bisons down three, Jonatan Clase knocked in a run in the fourth, with an RBI double, scoring William Simoneit. In the fifth, Davis Schneider finally got a hit, an RBI single. Clase would again be in the middle of the action in the sixth, scoring the game-tying run on a throwing error. Conor Larkin took over on the mound for Buffalo in the bottom of the sixth, and he was off the mark to say the least. An error by Sean Keys helped Worcester out, but Larkin gave up a two-RBI double, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI single. Buffalo attempted a miracle comeback in the top of the ninth, they loaded the bases up, and Simoneit drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit to three. Unfortunately for Buffalo, Clase flew out to end the game, as the Bisons fell 7-4. June 7: Grant Rogers took the mound on Sunday with one goal in mind: to help end Buffalo's losing streak. The bottom of the first inning was not the start he wanted. He gave up three hits and a walk to open the frame, which would put Buffalo down 1-0. Later in the inning, Matt Lloyd added two more runs to Worcester's lead with a two-RBI single. Willie MacIver cut into the Red Sox's lead in the top of the second inning. He crushed a ball 407 feet for a solo home run. Carlos Mendoza added an RBI single in the inning as well, further decreasing Worcester's lead. Worcester was just too much for Rogers and his pitch-to-contact style; they added a run from a sacrifice fly and an RBI double before he was removed from the game in the fifth. Josh Rivera hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot in the seventh to cut the lead to two. It would be the closest Buffalo would get, as Worcester won again, this time 5-3. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 29-25 Series vs Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) June 6: It was a back-and-forth game on Saturday for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Altoona Curve. In the first inning, Altoona took a one-run lead when Callan Moss doubled in a run. The Fisher Cats answered in the third inning, aided by some wildness from Altoona. Three walks loaded the bases to begin the inning, and then Carter Cunningham cleared them with a three-run double. The top of the fourth saw the reverse, though, with Altoona getting on base via a few walks and a hit-by-pitch. In the inning, they had two RBI singles and an RBI double to bring in six runs total. They added another RBI in the sixth inning before New Hampshire started their comeback. In the bottom of the inning, Jorge Burgos doubled in a run, followed by Nick Goodwin doubling in two more. A wild pitch scored their seventh run, and Aaron Parker doubled in the tying run in the eighth inning. In extras, Eddie Micheletti Jr. came to the plate in the bottom of the 11th inning and walked off the game with another RBI double for New Hampshire, who won 9-8. June 7: The Sunday game between New Hampshire and Altoona was a tough one all around for the Fisher Cats. Gage Stanifer was on the mound facing the Curve for the second time in the week, and his command wasn't there with the fastball or split. In the first, Stanifer walked the first batter and fell behind 3-0 to Titus Dumitru, who hit a fastball over the plate for a home run. After that, he pitched mainly with his slider, which was his best pitch of the day. He got eight straight outs with six of them coming on the ground. In the fourth, though, he hung a split over the middle of the plate again for a home run. He would rebound and finish the inning. On the offensive side, New Hampshire managed just one hit in the game, a double from Jay Harry. New Hampshire lost this one 4-0. High-A Vancouver Season Record: 23-34 Series vs Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels) June 6: Holden Wilkerson had his first start of the season, as previously he’s been piggybacking after Johnny King throughout the season. He tied his season high in innings pitched, but the righty struggled, giving up nine hits, six runs, and two walks, raising his season ERA to 5.14. The offense similarly struggled as well, as although J.R. Freethy got an early run in with a double in the second, the Canadians had a scoring drought until the eighth inning, with Dub Gleed hitting a two-run homer to make it 7-3. Jonathan Todd pitched three solid innings in relief, but Ryan Nicholson hit his second homer of the night in the eighth inning to put the Canadians away for good, as they lost 8-3. June 7: Landen Maroudis seems to have taken a step back after his first few strong starts in Vancouver, as he’s now earned his fifth loss and his fifth start in a row with three or more runs given up. Jacob Sharp hit his sixth homer of the season in the first for the only run of the game for Vancouver, but the rest of the game was all Tri-City. They scored four runs off of Maroudis, and although there were 2.2 innings of reprieve when Jack Eshleman allowed zero runs, Gilberto Batista gave up a two-run homer in the seventh as he also continued to struggle this season, to make it 6-1 for the Dust Devils. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 25-32 Series vs Daytona Tortugas (Cincinnati Reds) June 6: It took Alejandro Kirk rehabbing with the D-Jays and a series against the worst team in the Florida State League, but the D-Jays are on a winning streak. After losing the first game of the series, they have now rattled off four straight wins, thanks to a great pitching performance from Blake Purnell, who earned his first professional win, pitching five innings with six strikeouts, allowing only one run in the second inning. The Jays didn’t score a run until the fourth inning, where Raimundo De Los Santos had his first homer as a D-Jay to even it up. Eric Snow hit an RBI single in the fifth inning on a night he was DHing, to give the Jays the lead, and in the sixth inning, the Tortugas committed two errors, which led to a run scoring, then Yorman Licourt cleared the bases with a three-run homer for a four-run inning, taking advantage of some shoddy defense. The Jays' bullpen pitched well, allowing only a single run, and the D-Jays won 6-2. June 7: The Jays looked to take their win streak to five, and Silvano Hechavarria finally had himself a good start since getting back in Dunedin, going a season-high five innings. He gave up a couple of doubles in the third for the first run of the game, but that was the only run that he let up, striking out five batters on the night. The Jays got that run right back as well, with Jake Cook hitting his first triple of the season before getting driven in by Blaine Bullard. Adam Hackenberg crossed home plate after hitting a single, moving to third after a double from Raimundo De Los Santos, then going home on a wild pitch. Juan Sanchez hit a big double in the fifth inning for an extra insurance run, and Cook had his second extra-base hit of the night in the sixth inning to make it a 4-1 lead. Yimi García had another scoreless inning, and although Bradley Wilson allowed a run, he got his first hold, and Angel Obando pitched a scoreless ninth for the save, allowing the Jays to win their fifth straight. FCL Blue Jays Season Record: 20-7 June 6: Giacomo Taschin was on the mound for the FCL Blue Jays and set the tone against the FCL Phillies team. He went four innings and only allowed one hit. He didn't give up a run or a walk and struck out seven. The offense for the Blue Jays squad was destroying the baseball again. They hit four home runs in the game, one each from Giaconino Lasaracina, Jean Joseph, Hedbert Perez, Owen Gregg, and Renyel Campos. Gregg was 4-for-5 on the day, with three runs and three RBI. The Blue Jays team had 15 hits and 16 runs on their way to a big 16-3 win. June 8: On Monday against the FCL Tigers, the FCL Blue Jays didn't fare as well with the bats. Angel Guzman continued his hot stretch, hitting his fourth home run in a week in the fifth inning. The second run of the game for the Blue Jays came from a double by Franklin Rojas in the third inning. Those two runs were enough, though, as the Tigers team scored six in the first inning, with the big hit coming from Steven Madero on a grand slam. The FCL Blue Jays lost this one 8-2. DSL Blue Jays Blue Season Record: 3-3 June 8: Roberto Castellanos made his second appearance in a game for BJB this season, and he was dialed in. He pitched five innings, only gave up one hit, didn't allow a run to score, and struck out four. For the offense, they were keen to be thieves on the basepaths, swiping five bags, which included two double steals of second and home. BJV scored six runs in the game, two off the steals, two from sacrifice flies (one by Samuel Orellana and the other by Michael Mesa), a run from a wild pitch, and the last when the opposing catcher threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt. BJB won this one 6-0. DSL Blue Jays Red Season Record: 1-5 June 6: BJR was a hot mess on the field Saturday down on the island. They committed three errors, their pitchers walked 11 batters, and their bats only managed six hits in the game. Aneudi Severino was one of the bright spots for BJR; he had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning, a single in the third, and walked in the fifth. Another standout was Luis Nunez, who had a double, a walk, and a run scored for the game. There wasn't much else worthy to note, as BJR was burdened by bad pitching and fielding, losing 9-3. June 8: On Monday, BJR was again inundated with error after error, four in total. The errors led to six unearned runs for the opposing team. Just like on Saturday, Aneudi Severino was the standout player of the game for BJR, and it might have been one of the better days for any player on either Blue Jays team down on the island this year. Severino smacked his second home run of the early season, as well as walked once and stole two bases. The team has shown a propensity to not strike out, only two times on Saturday and just four times on Monday. The pitching just hasn't been able to overcome the errors, with BJR losing again, this time 6-3. View the full article

In a much quicker timeline than anticipated, Francisco Alvarez is back. The New York Mets on Tuesday activated the catcher from the 10-day injured list. He tore his right meniscus May 12. Just less than a month later, he has returned to the active roster. Catcher Hayden Senger was sent back to Triple-A Syracuse. Alvarez, who was expected to be out until the end of the month, had a brief rehab assignment, catching four games last week at Syracuse to make sure his knee was good to go. Before hitting the IL, Alvarez was slashing .241/.317/.393 with four homers and 10 RBIs. Senger saw action in seven games, going 2-for-15 (.133) with a homer and two RBIs. View the full article

The Milwaukee Brewers have locked up another one of their top prospects. Center fielder Luis Lara, Brewer Fanatic's No. 5 prospect, has agreed to an eight-year, $30 million contract, according to Brewer Fanatic's Spencer Michaelis. The deal, which includes two team options as well as incentives, is not official. Once signed, the 21-year-old Lara must be added to the 40-man roster due to the deal being a major-league contract. This also does not mean Lara will be immediately promoted, although that could happen. Brewer Fanatic's own Spencer Michaelis was first to report the news. Lara is the second prospect to receive an extension since the beginning of the season. Shortstop Cooper Pratt, Brewer Fanatic's No. 4 prospect, also signed for eight years, but is receiving $50 million. Lara has taken a big step offensively this season. In his first season at Triple-A Nashville, Lara is slashing .338/.447/.500 with seven homers and 27 RBIs to go along with 18 steals in 22 attempts. Lara is also a standout defender in center field, even at 5-foot-7. His previous best season came in 2023, when he had a slash line of .286/.373/.359 between Low-A Carolina and High-A Wisconsin. His seven home runs this season are already a career high, beating the four he had in a full season at Wisconsin in 2024. View the full article

The San Diego Padres will be without their starting shortstop for the next few days. Xander Bogaerts was placed on the paternity list Tuesday, with the Padres calling up infielder Will Wagner from Triple-A El Paso. The paternity list allows a player to miss up to three days due to the birth of their child. The Padres continue their series against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday and Wednesday, then are off Thursday before beginning a road trip Friday against the Baltimore Orioles. It is likely Bogaerts will rejoin the team Friday. In 63 games, Bogaerts has a slash line of .231/.303/.356 with eight homers, 27 RBIs and nine stolen bases. Wagner, acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays at last year's trade deadline, has slashed .255/.381/.382 for El Paso with three homers and 12 RBIs in 30 games. The start of his season was delayed due to an oblique injury. In 79 MLB games with the Jays and Padres the last two seasons, the son of Hall of Famer Billy Wagner has a .256/.329/.346 slash line with no homers and seven RBIs. Sung-Mun Song is likely to start at shortstop with Bogaerts out. View the full article

Honorable Mentions Brice Turang 111 PA, .231/.355/.363, 21 H, 3 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 18 BB, 2 SB, 107 wRC+ Turang slowed down a bit in the month of May, especially when it came to hitting for power, but his walk rate remained exceptional. His walk rate of 17.0% is exceptional and has helped keep his offensive production afloat even when the power has slipped. Luckily, things began turning around toward the end of the month, and June is off to a great start. He has slugged an impressive .778 in 27 at-bats so far and is doing plenty of damage once again, as noted by our very own Matt Trueblood. Statistical Nugget: Turang’s average exit velocity this season is 91.3 mph, the highest mark in his career so far. His average exit velocity as a rookie was 85.5 mph. William Contreras 106 PA, .302/.358/.365, 29 H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 8 BB, 1 SB, 106 wRC+ Turang isn’t the only person who suffered from an apparent power outage last month. Contreras has been on a steady decline when it comes to his pop, which isn’t unexpected for a catcher who slugged .506 in his final season with his old team. The silver lining is that he has been hitting for a higher average and striking out far less. This has spurred some questions as to whether his power production and bat speed have declined as a result of the physical toll of playing as frequently as he does, given the grueling mental and physical demands of being a big-league catcher. While he hasn’t been able to do it consistently, he has shown occasional glimpses of being able to punish baseballs just as much as he did in his slightly younger days. Statistical Nugget: This season, Contreras is averaging .462 and slugging .731 against cutters. Andrew Vaughn 65 PA, .351/.431/.526, 20 H, 7 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 173 wRC+ Although he started the year on the injured list due to surgery on his left hamate bone, Vaughn wasted no time getting to work after returning to the team. He has been on an absolute tear and was one of the few truly standout bats in the lineup last month. Milwaukee’s ability to hit the ball into the stands is worse than one might assume. The Brewers’ combined 54 home runs are 28th in MLB. They haven’t really needed it, as shown by them being third in MLB for runs scored (344), but having a bat with real power potential like Vaughn will (if nothing else) give fans a few more long balls to admire than they would’ve had otherwise. Statistical Nugget: This season, Vaughn has a .692 OPS with runners in scoring position and a 1.016 OPS with the bases empty. Hitter of the Month – Jake Bauers 85 PA, .307/.388/.533, 23 H, 5 2B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 8 BB, 1 SB, 160 wRC+ When Bauers first joined the team, it was assumed that he would be the latest in a long line of disappointing talent at first base, and there wasn’t much of a reason to believe otherwise. Prior to 2024, he had accumulated -1.4 fWAR and had never posted a wRC+ of 100 or higher. His first year as a Brewer was more of the same, but 2025 seemed to be an inflection point in his career. Now, at 30 years old in his seventh big-league season, Bauers has arguably been the best hitter on the team, and his numbers are in elite territory. In baseball, regression to the norm is always one freezing-cold month away, but the same was said about Vaughn after he was acquired from the White Sox. Vaughn has remained productive ever since. Milwaukee has become known for reviving the careers of pitchers, but they may have cracked the hitter puzzle, too. Bauers is a prime example of what’s now possible. Statistical Nugget: Jake Bauers’s 148 wRC+ this year is fifth among qualified first basemen and is higher than Bryce Harper (141) and Matt Olson (140). View the full article

Yoendrys Gómez was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays in early May, and since arriving in Minnesota, he has been sensational. Through 16 appearances, he owns a 0.64 ERA (2.25 FIP), and eight holds plus saves while allowing just one earned run in 14 innings. Those numbers would be impressive for anyone, but are even more so given the backstory of Gómez, who is now with his fifth organization in just over a year. Before landing with the Twins, he went from the New York Yankees to the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox to the Tampa Bay Rays. Three of those teams have excellent reputations for pitching development and acquisitional acuity, but that's not exactly a trajectory that screams “high-leverage reliever". However, that's what he's become since donning the navy and red. His time in Tampa was rough. He posted a 6.23 ERA across 17 1/3 innings, with a 13:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The command seemed to be the culprit; the "stuff" was always there. This is precisely what the Twins saw when nobody else did—or at least, what the Twins have been able to unlock, partially thanks to the others running out of patience with the project. To understand why Gómez has been baffling hitters, you have to start with his sweeper. The pitch sits at 84 miles per hour and has generated an elite 39.3% whiff rate. The shape and spin rates seem to be pretty similar to previous season. Instead of those characteristics transforming, it's been a change in pitch mix that has unlocked Gómez’s next level. It's become his second-most-leaned-on offering and his go-to pitch in two-strike counts. What makes the pitch especially dangerous is how it pairs with his fastball. Gómez’s four-seamer runs at 95 miles per hour, which on its own would be a solid offering. But when you stack it with a sweeper with glove side-run and a sinker with arm-side run, hitters face a serious problem. He’s able to tunnel the three offerings, meaning opposing batters have a hard time identifying each. By the time the break of the sweeper (or sinker) happens, it's too late to adjust. While the sinker hasn't been nearly as effective, opponents have a combined sub-.200 batting average against the other two offerings. He rounds out his arsenal with a cutter at 91 miles per hour (less glove-side action than the sweeper) and keeps hitters guessing by mixing in a changeup 2.4 percent of the time. That is four distinct weapons, which gives Gómez the ability to attack hitters differently at every count and in every situation. The sweeper is the headliner, but the depth of his arsenal is what makes him a legitimate weapon out of the bullpen. The Twins have leaned on Gómez heavily, and he has been one of the more reliable arms in the bullpen. As much as Twins fans can grumble about the player development on the offensive side of the ball, Minnesota identified the stuff and acquired one of their most valuable bullpen pieces for “cash considerations.” His overall 2026 ERA across both teams has dropped from 6.23 with Tampa to 3.73. In Minnesota alone, the numbers look like those of an elite high-leverage reliever. The question worth asking at this point is whether Gómez can sustain the success over a larger sample. There's no doubt he’ll get that opportunity in 2026, but with five additional years of team control, we could be looking at the Twins' next great closer. Have the Twins found a diamond in the rough? Let us know what you think in the comments. View the full article

A little over a week has passed since Blake Mitchell almost single-handedly pounded Quad Cities, the Kansas City Royals’ High-A affiliate, past Midwest League rival Cedar Rapids. Mitchell slammed two homers and drove in seven runs as the River Bandits won 11-6 on May 29. Just a night later, though, Mitchell went 0-for-4 and struck out three times. He fanned twice in another hitless, four at-bat night in the Bandits’ next game. In a sense, it’s been that kind of season — and career —for Mitchell, an obviously gifted young catcher the Royals hope someday vindicates the big gamble they took on him in the 2023 amateur draft, when they spent the eighth overall pick to get the fresh-out-of-high-school catcher. The risky move defied the conventional wisdom that prep catchers aren’t good high draft choices. Whether Mitchell has, or will, prove the Royals’ dice roll was worth it remains to be seen. His minor league numbers reflect alluring tendencies to get on base and hit home runs, but also striking statistical inconsistencies. The question for Mitchell and the franchise is thus this: Will he make it? Royals Prospect Blake Mitchell is a Statistical Paradox That Mitchell is talented is indisputable. Even the Royals, with their checkered draft history, don't pick obvious clunkers in the first round. Only later, after they fail for reasons often unrelated to talent, are high picks declared sunk costs. And while Mitchell doesn’t seem destined for such a fate, his hasn’t been a trouble-free progression through the Kansas City farm system. One concern is his conspicuously low batting average. Including an ugly .143 in the post-draft 2023 Arizona Complex League, and the .207 he was hitting through Thursday, he entered Friday batting just .220 for his career. Batting average’s importance has diminished, but .220 for a first-rounder in his third full professional season is a red flag. Mitchell also strikes out too much — 34.8% of the time this season (a number probably explained in no small part by a 63.9 Z-Swing%), and 32.9% last year for his first full High-A campaign, although a broken hamate bone sidelined him for all but 48 games. Mitchell’s subpar Whiff rates (44.2% through Thursday this season, 35.5 last year, and 36% in 2024) and this season's third-percentile Z-Contact mark (67%) aren't good at all. But Mitchell’s overall professional performance is far from negative. Take, for example, his 131 wRC+ through Thursday, which compares favorably with his 111 last season and his 131 split between Columbia and Quad Cities the year before. Elite walk rates drive his excellent OBP marks of .419 this year, .390 in 2025, and .368 in 2024. His OPS numbers, which stood at .872 entering Friday, and were .710 for his injury-shortened 2025 campaign and .793 the year before, leave little room for criticism. And power he has. Mitchell homered for the 10th time this season on Wednesday, putting him well on the path to better the career-high 18 he hit in 2024. He’s also a competent baserunner with 50 steals since turning pro. Not bad for a catcher. The unusually strong-armed Mitchell can also be decent behind the plate. He caught 31% of would-be base stealers in High-A last season. Is There a Realistic Path to the Royals for Blake Mitchell? Not this season, and probably not next unless Salvador Perez foregoes the final year of his newest contract and retires. Mitchell has, after all, not faced Triple-A pitching, and won’t until late this year at the earliest. And even then, he’ll likely require a full season at that level before moving up to the majors. What now seems an inevitable arrival in the big leagues won’t be without some uncertainty, though, especially if it comes with the Royals. He may be too gifted to be a part-time backup, which means the Royals might need to prepare Carter Jensen for another position — or do the same with Mitchell. Or is a trade possible? Plenty of teams would be interested in Mitchell, and he might net a nice return. What Kansas City ultimately does with Mitchell is hard to predict. But they and he have plenty of time — he’s only 21, which leaves a lot of room and time for KC's top 2023 draft pick to refine and blossom. View the full article

When the New York Mets brought in Marcus Semien, the expectation was never that he would carry the offense by himself. They also didn't need him to immediately replicate his MVP-caliber seasons. What they wanted was stability: a hitter capable of controlling the strike zone, producing quality contact, and delivering the consistency that has defined much of his career. For the first five weeks of the season, that version of Semien seemed nowhere to be found. His .218/.291/.257 slash line and 64 wRC+ through his first 34 games ranked among the least productive performances from any regular in the Mets' lineup. More concerning was the near-complete disappearance of his power. For a hitter who has built much of his value on a combination of solid contact and extra-base production, a .291 slugging percentage inevitably raised questions about whether age-related decline was beginning to surface. A deeper look at his last 31 games, however, tells a very different story. Marcus Semien's Results Are Finally Catching Up to the Process On the surface, the improvement is easy to spot. Period PA AVG SLG wOBA xBA xSLG xwOBA First 34 games 121 .218 .291 .257 .232 .363 .289 Last 31 games 136 .232 .424 .306 .292 .497 .357 His batting average has increased by only 14 points, which might not seem particularly significant at first glance. The slugging percentage, however, has jumped by more than 130 points, while his expected slugging percentage has risen from .363 to .497. That number matters. Expected metrics are designed to separate contact quality from actual results. In other words, they attempt to answer a simple question: what should have happened based on how the ball came off the bat? During his first 34 games, Semien produced contact quality consistent with a .363 xSlG. Over his last 31 games, that figure has climbed to .497. That's an absurd jump more in line with the superstar he once was rather than the role player he seemed to become in recent years. His current batting average may even be understating the improvement. While he hit .232 during this stretch, his expected batting average reached .292. That 60-point gap suggests there could still be positive regression ahead. Fewer empty swings, more productive contact The most meaningful adjustments don’t necessarily show up in the traditional production numbers. When a veteran struggles early in a season, conversations often focus on dramatic changes in approach. That hasn’t really been the case for Semien. His chase rate has barely moved, increasing from 29.8% to 30.3%. His overall swing rate has actually declined slightly from 51.8% to 50.6%. What has changed is his ability to connect when he swings. Period O-Contact% Z-Contact% Contact% Barrel% Hard Hit% First 34 games 54.2% 88.6% 79.6% 6.8% 34.1% Last 31 games 59.1% 90.2% 81.6% 9.9% 37.6% His contact rate on pitches outside the zone has increased by nearly five percentage points. Contact within the strike zone has improved as well. The result has been fewer whiffs and more balls put in play. But the story doesn't stop there. If a hitter simply makes more contact without increasing the damage, the outcome is usually more weakly hit balls. That's not what's happening here; Semien is making more contact while simultaneously producing better contact. His barrel rate has climbed from 6.8% to 9.9%, an increase of 3.1 percentage points (roughly 46%). His hard-hit rate has risen by more than three percentage points. Even his 90th-percentile exit velocity has improved from 101.7 mph to 102.5 mph. That means his best contact is now more dangerous than it was during the season's opening month. There's also another number that helps explain the transformation: Semien's average launch angle has dropped from 19.2 degrees to 17.7 degrees. That may not sound like a dramatic adjustment, but it is significant. During the first stretch of the season, Semien was frequently lifting balls that weren't struck with enough authority to become extra-base hits. Many of those balls ended up as relatively routine fly-outs. A slightly lower launch angle combined with better contact quality is often a favorable combination. It creates more productive batted-ball trajectories and allows a greater percentage of hard-hit balls to find gaps instead of gloves. The simultaneous increases in Barrel%, Hard-Hit%, and xSLG point directly toward that conclusion. Yes, it's still too early to know how far Semien's resurgence can go. What the last 31 games show, however, is a hitter generating more quality contact and producing the kind of underlying metrics the Mets expected from the beginning. After a difficult first month, that's a trend that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. View the full article

Let's check in on the San Diego Padres prospects who made a mark in the last week (check out Padres Mission's latest Top 20 rankings as well!): Jake Cunningham, OF, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps Season stats: .295/.383/.628, 46 games, 32 R, 10 2B, 0 3B, 14 HR, 32 RBI, 21 BB, 56 K, 5 SB, 2 CS Hit three home runs in a single game and you make a hot list. Cunningham did just that Friday, when he went deep in his first three plate appearances against the Lake County Captains. The right-handed-hitting outfielder mashed a three-run homer in his first-inning at-bat, a two-run blast in the third inning and a solo shot in the fifth. That means he had two more shots at breaking the franchise record for homers in a game and joining the exclusive four-homer club. But he struck out in the seventh with a runner on first, then popped out to first base with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth in an 11-8 loss. In an unusual quirk, another Midwest League player hit three homers in a game that same day (Carlos Sanchez of the Beloit Sky Carp). Both teams lost, the first time in affiliated ball since that info began being tracked in 2005 that two players hit three or more homers on the same day for losing teams, according to a note from the TinCaps. Cunningham, a month shy of turning 24, became the fourth player in franchise history to have a three-homer game. That three-homer game was part of a 6-for-23 week (.261/.320/.826) with four homers (he went deep again Sunday) and eight RBIs. He did strike out nine times in six games, a problem throughout his career. He has a 31.1% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate this year. Not only was Friday a remarkable day for Cunningham, it is a remarkable season. Cunningham, a fifth-round draft in 2023 out of North Carolina-Charlotte by the Baltimore Orioles, was released at the end of January and signed with the Padres a week later. Cunningham was coming off a .206/.295/.303 slash line in 2025 at High-A. In three seasons and 182 games, Cunningham had just eight homers, including only three last year. Now, he has discovered a power tool that has him leading the TinCaps with 14 homers, which is second in the Midwest League. CUNNINGHAM_0608.mp4 Miguel Mendez, RHP, Double-A San Antonio Missions Season stats: 2-1, 3.90 ERA, 9 games (all starts), 27⅔ IP, 25 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 13 BB, 32 K, .243 opponent average Since coming back from a brief stint on the injured list with a neck strain, the right-handed starter has mostly been really good. He had his best start of the season Friday, matching his season high with five innings and allowing just two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He faced the minimum over the first four innings (although he needed some help to make that happen). It was his second straight shutout outing after going three innings and giving up two hits and a walk while punching out four. Mendez, Padres Mission's No. 3 prospect, has been a promising arm for the Padres since signing in 2021 as an 18-year-old. At the time, he had only been pitching six months. Now 23, Mendez had to be added to the 40-man roster this past offseason or be exposed to the Rule 5 draft. Since Mendez was a late signer in terms of international players, he spent all of 2023 and 2024 at Low-A Lake Elsinore before sprinting up three levels in 2025, going from Lake Elsinore to High-A Fort Wayne to Double-A San Antonio. He put together a combined stat line of 3.90 ERA in 21 starts and 95 innings, 45 walks (10.9% rate) and 118 strikeouts (26.9%). His potential was on full display when he made his Double-A debut Aug. 7 as he struck out 11 in six innings. There has been debate on whether Mendez remains a starter as he progresses or whether he is better-suited for the bullpen once he reaches the majors. Regardless, if he continues to perform like he did in his last two starts, he could possibly make his MLB debut this year if injuries peck away further at the Padres' depth. Romeo Sanabria, 1B, Double-A San Antonio Missions Season stats: .244/.345/.385, 54 games, 27 R, 11 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 30 BB, 57 K After finishing 2024 with 32 games at Double-A San Antonio, the left-handed-hitting first baseman played all of 2025 with the Missions. That could have led to a promotion to Triple-A El Paso for 2026, especially considering Sanabria was named MLB Pipeline's Padres Hitter of the Year following his .257/.309/.376 slash line with 12 homers and 56 RBIs last year. But here he is, back in Double-A in 2026. Maybe he needed to work through some feelings after having a decent showing during big-league spring training, In the Cactus League, Sanabria put up a .333/.385/.833 slash line with three homers and a team-leading 15 RBIs in 20 games. His dazzling 1.218 OPS also led the Padres. Last week, Sanabria broke out with a 9-for-28 performance (.321), including two homers and five RBIs. To be fair, it could benefit Sanabria that he is back in San Antonio instead of the hitters' paradise that is the Pacific Coast League. His two homers this week gave him six for the season, which is half of his career high set last year. More importantly, Sanabria is walking more this season. He has a 12.6% walk rate this year after a 7.6% mark in 2025. His strikeouts are up a bit at 23.9% from 21.4%. Sanabria has been an underdog, drafted in the 18th round out of Indian River State College in 2022. A big season this year could land him on the 40-man roster or be exposed to the Rule 5 draft. As strictly a first baseman, he needs to continue to prove himself offensively. SANABRIA_0608.mp4 Andrew Moore, RHP, Double-A San Antonio Missions Season stats: 0-1, 2.29 ERA, 16 games (all in relief), 3 holds, 1 save (2 chances), 19⅔ IP, 9 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 18 BB, 37 K, .141 opponent average The right-handed reliever is on quite a roll. Last week, he appeared in two games and all six outs he recorded were via strikeout, while giving up just one hit and a walk. That came after a May in which 22 of the 29 outs he got were punchouts. He allowed just two hits and also walked 10 in 9⅔ innings in May. Moore has a spectacular 44.6% strikeout rate (Mason Miller's is 49%), but his issue is walks with a 21.7% rate this year. He had a 19.5% walk rate in 2025 after a 16.1% mark in 2024. The MLB average is 8.5%. Originally a 14th-round draft choice of the Seattle Mariners in 2021, Moore was the return the Padres got when they shipped Connor Joe (Poway High School) to the Cincinnati Reds a year ago. He was also included in the trade that sent right-hander Luis Castillo from the Reds to the Mariners in 2022. His second game last week against Wichita was just his second save situation this year and he finished off a three-strikeout performance with a 100 mph heater. Over his last 11⅔ innings, Moore has 28 strikeouts and an .079 opponent batting average. He has especially neutralized left-handed hitters, limiting them to .097 average (3-for-31). He has multiple strikeouts in nine of his last 10 appearances, including a five-K performance May 8 vs. Midland. In those same 10 games, he has allowed five runs (three earned), with those coming in back-to-back games. Jesus Castro, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm Season stats: 0-1, 3.05 ERA, 9 games (all starts), 38⅓ IP, 39 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 14 BB, 41 K, .267 opponent average The end result overshadowed what Castro did last week. The right-handed starter tossed five shutout innings, striking out five and walking two while giving up three hits. Despite the Storm jumping out to a 5-0 lead, they lost the game as Fresno scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off victory. Still, this is about Castro, who has not allowed a run in three of his last four outings (14⅔ innings). In the other, he gave up three runs in four innings. Castro just turned 19 Monday and is the younger brother of Padres prospect right-hander Manuel Castro, who is on Double-A San Antonio's injured list, is turning heads with his outings. He has struck out 32 in his last five starts (24⅓ innings), allowing five runs in that span. He has also shown good command, issuing five walks in those five starts after beginning the year with nine walks in 14 innings. This is his first season in the U.S. after pitching in the Dominican Summer League last year. There, he posted a 2.91 ERA in 11 games (eight starts) and 43⅓ innings, walking 10 and striking out 46. He had a .196 opponent average. View the full article

The Boston Red Sox arrived in the Bronx needing answers. They left with more questions. Following Sunday’s 6–1 loss to the Yankees, the Red Sox now sit at 27–36 and occupy last place in the American League East. They have lost four of five games against New York this season. Still, even in the middle of another difficult afternoon for Boston, one familiar constant stood out: Willson Contreras kept producing. The veteran first baseman lined a 110-mph RBI double to drive in Boston’s only run. It was far from an ordinary hit. Of the six runs the Red Sox scored across the entire series in New York, four were driven in by Contreras. And that small sample tells much of the story of his season. While the Red Sox continue searching for collective solutions, Contreras has become one of the team’s few certainties. More than that, he is putting together the best offensive season of his career and, quietly, has placed himself among the best first basemen in Major League Baseball. When Boston targeted Contreras over the winter, the expectation was stability, experience, and power in the middle of the lineup. What they have gotten is much more than that. Among first basemen with at least 200 plate appearances, Contreras is firmly in every relevant conversation. Metric Value MLB Rank wRC+ 155 4th wOBA .405 T-2nd xwOBA .400 T-2nd OBP .394 2nd SLG .540 4th WAR 2.2 4th The only first basemen ahead of him in WAR entering Sunday were Ben Rice, Matt Olson, and Nick Kurtz. That means Contreras has been more valuable overall than names like Freddie Freeman, Bryce Harper, Pete Alonso, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Christian Walker. On its own, that is striking. But in Boston’s context, it is even more significant. A look at the Red Sox offense makes that reality impossible to ignore: Contreras is operating in a completely different tier than the rest of the roster. Red Sox Offensive Leaders (Entering Week of June 8) Player wRC+ Willson Contreras 155 Ceddanne Rafaela 115 Wilyer Abreu 113 Nick Sogard 102 Mickey Gasper 104 Connor Wong 99 Roman Anthony 93 Jarren Duran 84 The gap between Contreras and Boston’s second-best regular hitter is 40 points of wRC+. That is massive. Even more revealing are the offensive metrics that best capture run creation. Player OBP SLG wOBA Willson Contreras .394 .540 .405 Ceddanne Rafaela .345 .431 .345 Wilyer Abreu .346 .430 .342 Jarren Duran .278 .401 .299 No other Sox hitter is even close to those numbers. While much of the lineup has gone through ups and downs, Contreras has maintained consistent, All-Star level production. That helps explain why he comfortably leads the team in offensive value. Player FanGraphs Offensive Runs (Off) Willson Contreras 15.3 Ceddanne Rafaela 3.9 Wilyer Abreu 3.3 Jarren Duran -2.1 Contreras has generated nearly four times the offensive value of any other Boston hitter. That is not a normal gap — it is the kind that usually exists between a star and the rest of the roster. The most interesting part: it is not about better discipline. When a 34-year-old produces the best offensive season of his career, the usual explanation points to improved pitch selection or better plate discipline. But the numbers tell a different story. Contreras is not chasing fewer pitches outside the strike zone. In fact, he is swinging at more pitches outside the zone than last year. He is also striking out slightly more. On the surface, that should be a negative trend. But what has changed is not how often he swings, it is what happens when he makes contact. Let's look at this graph showing the average exit speeds in different parts of the area: His average exit velocity across different parts of the zone shows real damage: over 102 mph in the inner lower-outside area, and consistently above 92 mph across all in-zone locations. That level of impact explains why his barrel rate has climbed to 15.1%, the best mark of his career. His .242 ISO is also his highest in recent seasons. And perhaps most importantly, the expected metrics fully support the results. Metric Value wOBA .405 xwOBA .400 SLG .540 xSLG .537 Barrel Rate 15.10% ISO .242 Perhaps the most telling number is strike rate. In 2025, Contreras saw strikes on 50.8% of pitches. In 2026, that number has dropped to 44.8%. Pitchers are attacking him differently, giving him fewer opportunities to do damage. He is being shown more respect and he is still producing. That is what happens when a hitter crosses the line between dangerous and unavoidable — someone who forces opposing teams to change their entire approach. Boston’s first two months of the season have been defined by losses, inconsistency, and unanswered questions. Willson Contreras’ season has been the opposite. If anyone is keeping this team afloat, it's him. View the full article

One of the New York Mets' top pitching prospects, Jonathan Santucci, is making serious strides as we hit the middle third of the 2026 minor league baseball season. In this video, we'll break down Santucci's strengths, a wicked slider, and what he needs to do to break into the major leagues before this year's conclusion. View the full article

The gang checks in with Zone Coverage's Theo Tollefson to talk about the last two weeks of Twins baseball, what moves could be coming next, fun behind-the-scenes tidbits from the clubhouse, and more. Listen using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twins-off-daily-podcast/id1741266056 Listen using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tb78XlurcPTYYSsARdbD7 Listen using iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-twins-off-daily-podcas-167548600/ Listen using Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/nvclbt0w Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twinsdaily View the full article