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The Minnesota Twins were active at the 2026 trade deadline, adding four arms to their pitching staff in an effort to strengthen a group that needed reinforcements for the stretch run. One of those additions was Dean Kremer. Of the four pitchers Minnesota brought in, Kremer may have been the easiest to overlook. He arrived in Minnesota with a 6.50 ERA across 36 innings with the Baltimore Orioles, hardly the kind of surface-level production you’re looking for from a deadline addition. Clearly, though, the Twins believed there was more to unlock. So far, they most certainly have. Through his first two starts in a Twins uniform, Kremer has allowed just two runs across 12 innings of work. He's surrendered only four hits and three walks while striking out nine, and he is coming off a dominant seven-inning performance against his former team. It would be easy to chalk that up to a small-sample-size hot streak, and there's certainly an element of that here. Two starts aren't enough to suddenly declare that Kremer has transformed into a frontline starter. But there are some legitimate changes behind the early success, and they offer a pretty good explanation for why the Twins have been able to get more out of him than the Orioles did. For one, Kremer's pitch usage has changed noticeably. Before coming to Minnesota, Kremer leaned heavily on his splitter. It accounted for roughly 30% of his arsenal with Baltimore, and it was the pitch he went to the most. That hasn't been the case through his first two starts with the Twins. Instead, Kremer has leaned on his four-seam fastball, which has accounted for roughly 37% of his pitches. Meanwhile, his splitter usage has dropped to about 21%. That might seem like a relatively minor adjustment, but it’s changed the way the rest of his arsenal plays. Kremer has also significantly reduced his usage of his sinker. He was throwing it roughly 15% of the time with the Orioles, but that number has dropped to just 6% across his two starts with Minnesota. In its place, the four-seam has become much more prominent, and it's not difficult to understand why the Twins would want him throwing it more. His four-seam is a quality pitch, particularly when he’s able to get the kind of life he's shown in these first two starts. By using it more frequently, Kremer’s giving hitters a different look while creating better opportunities for his secondary pitches to play off of it. There has also been another noticeable change, particularly in Monday night's start: Kremer's arm angle appeared to be higher than it typically has been. That may not sound like a major adjustment, but it has had a meaningful impact on the movement of his pitches. Kremer's induced vertical break was up by roughly an inch on average across his arsenal over these two starts. An extra inch doesn't sound like much, but when you're talking about a baseball and the width of a major league bat, that inch can be the difference between a hitter squaring up a pitch and swinging underneath it. And there are already some tangible results. The quality of contact Kremer has allowed in his two starts with the Twins has been extremely impressive. Opposing hitters have produced just a 34% hard-hit rate against him during that span, a strong indication that hitters haven't been consistently squaring up what he's throwing. That's especially important for a pitcher like Kremer, who isn't going to overpower hitters very often. His success is going to come from changing speeds, manipulating movement and keeping hitters from getting comfortable in the batter's box. The early results suggest he's doing exactly that. In addition to his pitch usage and arm angle, there’s been an increase in swings outside the strike zone. Kremer's chase rate for the season is around 31%, but that number has climbed to roughly 36% across his two starts with Minnesota. Much of that increase has come against his splitter and cutter, which is where the changes to his fastball become particularly important. If Kremer can consistently get his four-seam to rise through the zone, hitters have to account for that pitch when they see it. When he follows it with a cutter or splitter that works down, he can create the kind of vertical separation that leads to awkward swings. The result has been a pitcher who is getting more swings outside the zone and weaker contact when hitters do make contact. That's exactly the kind of formula the Twins were hoping they could find when they acquired him. Should anyone expect Kremer to continue throwing six innings of one-run ball every fifth day for the rest of the season? No, two starts are still just two starts, and opposing teams will eventually adjust. Kremer will have outings where his fastball doesn’t play as well, and his splitter and cutter don’t get as many chases or hitters find a way to square him up. But that doesn't mean the early results should be dismissed. The Twins didn't acquire Kremer because they expected him to suddenly become an ace. They acquired him because they saw a pitcher whose underlying traits could potentially be improved, and they've already made some adjustments that appear to be working. That's a pretty encouraging development for a team that needs as much from its pitching staff as it can get. With roughly a month and a half remaining in the regular season, Minnesota doesn't necessarily need Kremer to be perfect. They need him to be useful. If these changes allow him to consistently give the Twins quality innings while keeping hitters off balance, that could be incredibly valuable down the stretch. And for a team trying to make a playoff push, getting that kind of production from one of its more under-the-radar trade deadline additions could end up being a much bigger deal than it initially appeared. View the full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Season Record: 61-50 Worcester’s pitching staff scuffled over the last two games, but they locked in for their 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays). The Sox were outhit in this matchup, collecting four hits to Buffalo’s eight, but they still came away with a win. The Bisons jumped on top early in the first inning with an RBI double that made it 1-0. Kristian Campbell continues to crush baseballs as of late. The former top prospect took an inside fastball for a ride, hammering it on a line at 107 MPH off the left field wall for a double. Franklin Arias went hitless but was still productive, reaching base twice with two walks and tying the game up 1-1 in the third with an RBI groundout. Not much happened for Worcester until the seventh came; Vinny Capra and Tsung-Che Cheng drew back-to-back walks, setting up Jason Delay to bring in a run with an RBI double, putting the Sox ahead 2-1. Wyatt Olds and Angel Bastardo threw shutout innings in the eighth and ninth to win it for Worcester. Journeyman pitcher John Brebbia started on the mound and held his own, not letting the game get out of hand where it easily could have in the first inning. Hobie Harris was dominant out of the bullpen, setting the tone for the rest of his teammates with three shutout one-hit innings with four strikeouts. Tyler Samaniego was awesome as well, despite him giving up three hits; every out he recorded ended with a strikeout in 1 ⅓ innings. Standout Performances: Jason Delay: 1-for-2, 2B, R, RBI, BB Hobie Harris: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 K Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Season Record: 57-52 This time using a bullpen game, Portland’s pitching staff scuffled once again, getting blown out 13-5 by the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets). Out of the Sea Dogs' nine hits as a team, Ronald Rosario, Yoeilin Cespedes, Nate Baez, and Max Ferguson combined for eight of them, all recording two-hit games. Cespedes, who has been struggling through his first seven games of Double-A while also entering the game with an 0-for-20 slump, finally broke out with a multi-hit day and a solo homer in the fifth. Nelly Taylor made the game a little interesting in the fifth inning, crushing a three-run bomb to cut the deficit to 8-4, but the Rumble Ponies exploded with a massive five-run inning in the sixth to put the game away. Portland sent out five pitchers on the mound, with two of them having shutout appearances. Steven Brooks threw two shutout innings out of the bullpen, followed by Erik Rivera striking out three batters in his shutout ninth inning. High-A Greenville Drive Season Record: 48-59 Greenville completed two games on Wednesday, finishing off a suspended game due to lightning, then playing another contest right after against the Hub City Spartanburgers (Texas Rangers). Game 1 (suspended on August 11, finished on August 12) Greenville’s bats started off hot and held on just enough with a 7-6 victory against the Spartanburgers. The Drive’s runs came fast in the first inning; Luke Heyman’s single brought in two runs, and Isaiah Jackson’s three-run blast put Greenville on top 5-0. Now, the runs carried over to the following day. Justin Gonzales lined an RBI single to left field in the fourth while Antonio Anderson stayed extremely hot, roping an RBI double to left field as well, making it a 7-0 game. Hub City responded in the best way possible in the sixth, stringing together a six-run inning to put them within striking distance, 7-6. Luckily, Greenville’s bullpen locked it down the rest of the way to end it. Alex Bouchard was solid through two shutout innings with two strikeouts. Matt McShane was the lifesaver out of the bullpen for the Drive, putting the game away with two shutout innings of his own with one strikeout. Standout Performances: Antonio Anderson: 2-for-4, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB, SB Isaiah Jackson: 1-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI Game 2 After combining for 13 hits, Greenville cooled down heavily, tallying just two hits in a 3-2 seven-inning loss to Hub City. The Spartanburgers jumped on top early in the first inning with a 1-0 lead, then Greenville responded with an Isaiah Jackson solo shot in the second, followed by Yophery Rodriguez’s RBI groundout that brought in Maximus Martin, 2-1. Things looked bright for the Drive, but that was not the case, unfortunately. A single by Gerardo Rodriguez in the third was the last hit Greenville recorded, as Hub City walked it off in the end to take a 3-2 victory. Marcus Phillips had one of his best starts of the season. Although he gave up three walks, the former Tennessee Volunteer pounded the strike zone, throwing 45 of his 63 pitches for strikes through four innings with six strikeouts and just one run allowed. Brandon Neely gave up one run in his two innings of work. Aaron Nixon was one strike away from bringing the game to extra innings, but an infield single sealed the game for Hub City. Low-A Salem RidgeYaks Season Record: 48-60 Salem bounced back from a loss and earned themselves a 10-3 victory after a late surge against the Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles). After Adonys Guzman scored on a wild pitch in the third, Delmarva responded with a three-run fourth inning to make it a 3-1 game. Then came Salem’s huge inning. Colton Coates led the sixth off with a walk, then Franklin Primera continued to stay on fire, roping an RBI hit down the left field line that should have been a double, but a throw to home plate forced Primera to go to third, which went down as a triple. A fielder's choice from Starlyn Nunez brought in Primera, and a pair of RBI knocks from Skylar King and Guzman put Salem on top 6-3. The RidgeYaks followed up with a four-run seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Another Coates walk and a Primera hit put two runners aboard, then Kleyver Salazar brought in a run with an RBI single. With two runners on base, Andrews Opata blasted a three-run shot to give Salem a massive 10-3 lead. The game was smooth sailing for them with the RidgeYaks taking home a victory. Christian Fouch made the start for Salem and struggled to find the strike zone, but he still made it work, giving up just one run on four walks and one hit with five strikeouts through four innings. Nicholas Justice made his season debut, allowing two runs in 1 ⅔ innings but also earning the win. Ethan Walker was dominant in his 3 ⅓ appearance out of the bullpen, punching out four batters with just one hit and one walk allowed. Standout Performances: Franklin Primera: 4-for-5, 3B, 2 R, RBI Andrews Opata: 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI View the full article

It may have only been in a mid-August minor-league game, but Christopher Morel and Eric Wagaman stuck it to one of their former organizations Wednesday night. The Miami Marlins castoffs hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the ninth inning to rally Syracuse to a 10-9 victory over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Fish’s Triple-A affiliate. The jacks rescued the Mets after they blew a four-run lead in the bottom of the eighth. The Marlins signed Morel as a free agent last Dec. 18 with the idea of trying him at first base. They released him from Jacksonville’s roster on June 26. The Mets signed him to a minor-league contract five days later, and he has responded with 11 home runs in 28 games while filling a super utility role. He has now started at five different positions for them after playing right field Wednesday, adding to first base, second base, third base and left field. Miami traded Wagaman to the Minnesota Twins on Jan. 2. The Mets claimed him off waivers from Minnesota on April 27. He has appeared in 23 games with New York, seeing time at all four corners. Elsewhere in the organization: Binghamton made it nine wins in a row with a 13-5 rout of Portland. Jefferson Rojas drove in three runs, Émilien Pitre and D’Andre Smith each drove in two, and Chris Suero and Billy Amick homered. Brooklyn lost 4-3 in 11 innings at home to Jersey Shore. The Cyclones tied the game in the ninth and 10th. Daiverson Gutierrez had three hits and two RBIs. Starter Emilio Obispo threw five scoreless innings. St. Lucie lost 16-8 to Jupiter after leading 8-7. The Hammerheads scored two runs in the sixth and seven in the eighth. Aiden Robbins, the Mets’ third-round selection in this year’s MLB Draft, had two hits and drove in three runs. New York Mets Transactions No Roster Moves Syracuse Captures Wild Win In Jacksonville The Mets were down 8-7 in the ninth when Ronny Mauricio doubled with one out and Morel followed with a two-run blast to left. The next batter, Wagaman, hit a solo shot to stretch the lead to 10-8. That long ball proved to be vital. Zach Franklin gave up a home run in the bottom half to cut the advantage to 10-9. He later stranded the potential winning run at second base to record his first save with Syracuse. Wagaman had two doubles in addition to his home run. MJ Melendez and Zack Short also homered for the Mets. Joe Jacques was credited with the win despite allowing two runs (both earned), a hit and three walks in the eighth. Starter Jack Wenninger allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits, walked four and struck out eight over five innings. Chris Devenski marked his return to the Mets' organization by pitching a scoreless seventh. He signed a minor-league contract Tuesday, Player AB R H RBI BB K Nick Morabito 4 0 0 0 1 0 Ronny Mauricio 5 1 1 0 0 0 Christopher Morel 4 2 2 2 1 0 Eric Wagaman 4 3 3 2 1 0 MJ Melendez 5 1 2 3 0 1 Nick Lorusso 5 0 0 0 0 1 Jose Ramos 3 1 2 0 1 1 Shawn Ross 4 1 1 0 0 3 Zack Short 3 1 1 3 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jack Wenninger 5 2 3 2 4 8 1 Austin Warren 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Chris Devenski 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Dylan Ross 1/3 2 3 3 1 1 1 Joe Jacques 2/3 1 2 2 3 2 0 Zach Franklin 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 Binghamton Keeps Scoring In Bunches The Rumble Ponies scored five times each in the second and sixth as it buried the Sea Dogs. Binghamton was already up 1-0 when Suero led off the second with a homer. The other runs in the inning came on a sacrifice fly by Smith, a double by Yohairo Cuevas, a single by Pitre and a sac fly by Rojas. Portland cut the deficit to 8-4 in the fifth, but Binghamton answered in the sixth with a second five-spot. Pitre and Rojas had RBI singles, and then Amick belted a three-run homer to make it 13-4. Starter Gary Gill Hill improved to 2-0 with Binghamton thanks to that run support. He didn't need to be great, and he wasn't. He was charged with five runs (four earned) and five hits, including two home runs, over six innings. Player AB R H RBI BB K Mitch Voit 5 2 2 0 1 0 Émilien Pitre 4 1 3 2 0 0 JT Benson 2 0 1 0 0 1 Jefferson Rojas 3 2 1 3 0 0 Jacob Reimer 4 1 2 1 0 1 Chris Suero 5 1 1 1 0 3 Billy Amick 3 3 1 3 1 1 John Bay 4 1 0 0 1 2 D'Andre Smith 4 0 3 2 0 0 Yohairo Cuevas 5 2 2 1 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Gary Gill Hill 6 5 5 4 1 5 2 Carlos Guzman 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 Brendan Girton 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 Justin Armbruester 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 Misplays Hurt Brooklyn In Extra-Inning Loss A passed ball and two errors in the late innings led to three of Jersey Shore's runs, including the decisive run in the 11th. The Cyclones committed three errors overall. Brooklyn led 1-0 after seven. Gutierrez's single in the fifth produced the run. He drove in Ronald Hernandez, who led off the inning with a double. Jersey Shore tied the game in the eighth with the aid of a passed ball by Gutierrez. The misplay moved the runner up to second base with two out. A balk moved him to third, and then a single brought him in. The Blue Claws took the lead in the ninth on a two-out error by first baseman Chase Meggers. Brooklyn forced extras in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly by Yonatan Henriquez, scoring Aidan Smith. After the teams traded runs in the 10th --- Gutierrez doubled home Colin Houck for Brooklyn's tally --- Jersey Shore went ahead when Houck couldn't come up with a grounder with two out. Obispo, Elwis Mijares and Ryan Dollar combined for seven scoreless innings. Josh Blum, Juan Arnaud and losing pitcher Joe Scarborough were all charged with unearned runs. Player AB R H RBI BB K Sammy Stafura 5 0 0 0 0 2 Aidan Smith 4 1 1 0 1 2 John Spikerman 4 0 1 0 1 1 Ronald Hernandez 5 1 1 0 0 2 Yonatan Henriquez 4 0 0 1 0 1 Colin Houck 3 1 1 0 1 0 Daiverson Gutierrez 4 0 3 2 0 0 Eddinson Paulino 4 0 1 0 0 1 Chase Meggers 4 0 0 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Emilio Obispo 5 4 0 0 2 3 0 Elwis Mijares 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 Ryan Dollar 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 Josh Blum 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 Juan Arnaud 2 2 2 0 1 3 0 Joe Scarborough 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 Error Helps To Negate Big St. Lucie Rally St. Lucie wiped out a 6-0 deficit with two runs in the third, one run in the fifth, and then five runs in the sixth to take a short-lived lead. Robbins capped the outburst in the sixth with a two-out, two-run single. A bases-loaded walk to Bohan Adderley and a two-run single by Dylan Carey preceded it. But the Mets gave the lead right back in the bottom half with the aid of an error. Left fielder Kuhio Aloy dropped a fly ball with two out, and the next batter hit a two-run home run off Jose Lopez to put Jupiter ahead 9-8. The Hammerheads roughed up Brett Banks and Caden Wooster in the eighth to pull away. The Mets stole seven bases in the game. Adderley had three of the thefts, including one of home on the front end of a double steal in the fifth. Carey had two, including one on the back end of that double steal. Player AB R H RBI BB K Elian Peña 4 1 1 1 1 2 Aiden Robbins 5 0 2 3 0 2 Julio Zayas 5 0 0 0 0 2 Kuhio Aloy 4 1 0 0 1 2 Yovanny Rodriguez 3 0 0 0 1 2 Wyatt Vincent 4 1 1 0 0 1 Vladi Gomez 3 1 0 0 1 1 Bohan Adderley 3 3 1 1 1 1 Dylan Carey 4 1 2 2 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Owen Woodward 1 4 4 4 1 0 1 Jose Lopez 4 2/3 4 5 2 2 3 2 Ernesto Mercedes 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jose Guevara 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Brett Banks 1/3 5 6 6 1 0 2 Caden Wooster 2/3 2 1 1 1 1 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Jonah Tong: DNP Jack Wenninger: 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K Ryan Clifford: DNP Elian Peña: 1-for-4, R, RBI, BB, SB, 2 K Nick Morabito: 0-for-4, BB, SB Jacob Reimer: 2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, HBP, K Mitch Voit: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, BB Jonathan Santucci: DNP Zac Thornton: MLB Chris Suero: 1-for-5, HR, R, RBI, 3 K Will Watson: DNP Wandy Asigen: DNP Eli Serrano III: DNP Randy Guzman: DNP Dylan Ross: 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR Ryan Lambert: DNP Antonio Jimenez: DNP R.J. Gordon: DNP Jonathan Pintaro: MLB Marco Vargas: DNP View the full article

Chicago Cubs Transactions No Roster Moves Iowa Cubs Score Seven Over Two Innings To Edge St. Paul The Iowa Cubs trailed 3-0 through five innings, then scored seven runs over the next two and held on for a 7-6 win over St. Paul. Kevin Alcantara started the comeback with a two run homer, his 19th of the season, that brought home Owen Miller. The seventh inning delivered the rest. Justin Dean opened with a double, Greg Jones singled him home, and Ben Cowles doubled to put runners at second and third. Jordan Nwogu singled to score both Jones and Cowles, and BJ Murray followed with a two run homer, his 14th, that scored Nwogu and pushed the lead to 7-3. Alcantara added a double later in the frame and finished 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and two RBI. Nwogu went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI, Miller went 2-for-4 with a double, and Murray drove in two. Iowa totaled 10 hits, four doubles, two home runs, and three walks, and left six runners on base. Braxton Garrett started and allowed one run on one hit with six walks and one strikeout over two innings. Luis Peralta allowed two runs on one hit with one walk and two strikeouts across two innings, and Hoby Milner allowed one hit and one walk over one inning without a run. Connor Noland earned the win, allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and no walks over 3 2/3 innings. Tyler Ferguson closed it out for his second save after St. Paul cut the deficit to one run Iowa Cubs Hitting Player AB R H RBI BB K BJ Murray 5 1 1 2 0 2 Owen Miller 4 1 2 0 0 0 Owen Ayers 3 0 0 0 1 2 Kevin Alcantara 4 1 2 2 0 1 Chas McCormick 4 0 0 0 0 1 Justin Dean 4 1 1 0 0 1 Greg Jones 3 1 1 1 1 2 Ben Cowles 4 1 1 0 0 0 Jordan Nwogu 3 1 2 2 1 1 Iowa Cubs Pitching Player IP H R ER BB K HR Braxton Garrett 2 1 1 1 6 1 0 Luis Peralta 2 1 2 2 1 2 0 Hoby Milner 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 Connor Noland 3 2/3 7 3 3 0 3 1 Tyler Ferguson 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Knoxville Smokies Break Through With Four Run Seventh Against Rocket City The Knoxville Smokies collected 13 hits and pulled away late for a 7-1 win over Rocket City. Knoxville tied the game in the second inning when Dom Krupinski walked, Ariel Armas singled, and Drew Bowser singled to bring Krupinski home. Carter Trice scored on a Krupinski groundout in the fourth, and Armas singled home Trice in the sixth for a 3-1 lead. The seventh inning turned it into a rout. Bowser opened with a single and was forced at second on a Karson Simas grounder. Kane Kepley singled to move Simas to third, and Alex Ramirez doubled to score both Simas and Kepley. Miguel Useche followed with a double that scored Ramirez, and Andy Garriola singled home Useche for the fourth run of the inning. Armas led the offense with a 3-for-4 night and one RBI. Ramirez went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI, Useche went 2-for-5 with two doubles and one RBI, and Bowser went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Trice scored twice, and Kepley, leading off, singled and scored. Knoxville left eight runners on base. Connor Schultz earned the win after allowing one run on five hits with one walk and one strikeout over five innings. Shelby Miller struck out all three batters he faced over one inning. Tyler Schlaffer allowed two hits with two strikeouts over two innings and did not allow a run, and Vince Reilly struck out one over a hitless inning. The staff issued just one walk. Knoxville Smokies Hitting Player AB R H RBI BB K Kane Kepley 4 1 1 0 0 1 Alex Ramirez 5 1 2 2 0 2 Miguel Useche 5 1 2 1 0 0 Andy Garriola 4 0 1 1 0 2 Carter Trice 4 2 1 0 0 0 Dom Krupinski 3 1 1 0 1 1 Ariel Armas 4 0 3 1 0 0 Drew Bowser 4 0 2 1 0 0 Karson Simas 4 1 0 0 0 0 Knoxville Smokies Pitching Player IP H R ER BB K HR Connor Schultz 5 5 1 1 1 1 0 Shelby Miller 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 Tyler Schlaffer 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 Vince Reilly 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 South Bend Cubs Fall At Great Lakes After Six Run Sixth The South Bend Cubs managed three hits and dropped an 11-3 decision at Great Lakes. South Bend fell behind 3-0 in the first inning and did not answer until the fourth. Alexey Lumpuy was hit by a pitch, Logan Poteet doubled him to third, and Michael Hallquist walked to load the bases. Justin Stransky was hit by a pitch to force in the first run, and Kade Snell, batting leadoff, lifted a sacrifice fly to score Poteet and cut the deficit to 3-2. The sixth inning ended the competitive portion of the night. Great Lakes sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs on five hits, two triples among them, plus two walks, and South Bend never recovered. The last South Bend run came in the eighth, when Lumpuy walked, Stransky walked, Snell reached on catcher interference, and Angel Cepeda was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Poteet went 1-for-3 with a double, Cepeda went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, and Jose Escobar went 1-for-4 with a walk. Josiah Hartshorn went 0-for-4. South Bend drew seven walks and struck out nine times, and left 12 runners on base. Braylon Myers started and took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits with three walks and one strikeout over 2 1/3 innings. Jose Romero allowed two runs on two hits with two walks over one inning. Noah Edders was charged with six runs on five hits over 2/3 of an inning. Nate Williams retired all five batters he faced with two strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings, and Luis Rujano did not allow a hit over 2 1/3 innings. South Bend Cubs Hitting Player AB R H RBI BB K Kade Snell 3 0 0 1 0 1 Angel Cepeda 3 0 1 1 1 1 Josiah Hartshorn 4 0 0 0 0 0 Jose Escobar 4 0 1 0 1 1 Matt Halbach 5 0 0 0 0 1 Alexey Lumpuy 2 2 0 0 2 1 Logan Poteet 3 1 1 0 0 1 Geuri Lubo 1 0 0 0 0 1 Michael Hallquist 3 0 0 0 1 2 Justin Stransky 1 0 0 1 2 0 South Bend Cubs Pitching Player IP H R ER BB K HR Braylon Myers 2 1/3 3 3 3 3 1 0 Jose Romero 1 2 2 2 2 0 0 Nate Williams 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 Noah Edders 2/3 5 6 6 2 2 0 Luis Rujano 2 1/3 0 0 0 2 0 0 Myrtle Beach Pelicans Ride Two-Hitter Past Hill City The Myrtle Beach Pelicans held Hill City to two hits and won 3-1. Myrtle Beach scored in the first inning when Alexis Hernandez walked and came around on an Ethan Conrad double, his fifth of the season. The Pelicans added a run in the second. Eli Lovich walked, Corey Nunez singled him to second, and Ivan Cespedes singled to bring Lovich home for a 2-0 lead. The winning margin came in the fourth. Jhoander Irigoyen reached on a throwing error and took second, Lovich singled him to third, and Nunez grounded into a force out that scored Irigoyen for a 3-1 lead. Conrad went 1-for-4 with a double. Lovich went 1-for-2 with a walk, and Nunez, Cespedes, Jhoander Irigoyen, and Caden Sorrell each had a hit. The Pelicans totaled six hits, two walks, and one double, and left five runners on base. Juan Cabada, batting leadoff, went 0-for-4. Jubrayker Salaya started and allowed one unearned run on one hit with one walk and two strikeouts over three innings. Victor Zarraga earned the win after allowing no hits and no walks with two strikeouts over three innings. Julio Valdez recorded his first save, allowing one hit and one walk with two strikeouts over three innings, and no run scored against him. The staff walked two, struck out six, and did not allow an earned run. Myrtle Beach Pelicans Hitting Player AB R H RBI BB K Juan Cabada 4 0 0 0 0 1 Alexis Hernandez 3 1 0 0 1 0 Caden Sorrell 4 0 1 0 0 0 Ethan Conrad 4 0 1 0 0 1 Jhoander Irigoyen 4 1 1 0 0 0 Eli Lovich 2 1 1 0 1 1 Corey Nunez 3 0 1 1 0 0 Derniche Valdez 3 0 0 0 0 3 Ivan Cespedes 3 0 1 1 0 1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans Pitching Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jubrayker Salaya 3 1 1 0 1 2 0 Victor Zarraga 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 Julio Valdez 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 Top 20 Prospect Performances 1. Jefferson Rojas: DNP 2. Pedro Ramirez: DNP 3. Jaxon Wiggins: DNP 4. Josiah Hartshorn: 0-for-4 5. Kevin Alcantara: 2-for-4, 2B, HR, 1 K 6. Ethan Conrad: 1-for-4, 2B, 1 K 7. Kane Kepley: 1-for-4, 1 K 8. Owen Ayers: 0-for-3, 2 K 9. Jonathon Long: DNP 10. Kaleb Wing: DNP 11. James Triantos: DNP 12. Brooks Caple: DNP 13. Mason McGwire: DNP 14. Ty Southisene: DNP 15. Will Sanders: DNP 16. Juan Cabada: 0-for-4, 1 K 17. Eli Lovich: 1-for-2, 1 K 18. Ariel Armas: 3-for-4 19. Jostin Florentino: DNP 20. Grant Kipp: DNP View the full article

Let’s be clear: Jackson Merrill did not rescue his season through luck or a sudden burst of bat speed. In fact, his first-half bat speed was 71.3 mph, the same figure he's posting during his subsequent breakout. What has changed is a decision about space and timing; Merrill understood that the problem was not how fast he moved the bat, but where on the plate he was delivering the barrel. To understand the adjustment, we have to look at how the league tried to neutralize him from the start. Opposing pitchers identified a pattern and threw him a clear combination of velocity and horizontal movement. The plan was straightforward: consistently fill the middle and outer portion of the hitting zone. This first Baseball Savant heat map shows that strategy perfectly. Pitch density clustered in the heart of the plate and along the outer half. Merrill entered the zone with an average attack angle of just 6°, an overly flat swing plane. Against pitches over the middle or away from his body, that lack of lift left him with almost no margin for impact. When he made contact, the ball came off softly toward the infield or died without elevation. Against the primary five pitches he saw (sweeper, fastball, cutter, slider and sinker), the result was a costly 26.4% whiff rate, a 25.8% strikeout rate and an average exit velocity of 89.6 mph. Pitchers did not need to hide the ball from him; they simply needed to throw over the plate, knowing his mechanics would not generate much damage. With a diagnosis like that, the solution at the major-league level is not to make the swing more violent in an attempt to pull the ball. It is about syncing up. Merrill kept the structure of his swing intact but moved his contact point a few inches farther out in front of him. By getting to the ball before it traveled deeper into the zone, his rate of ideal attack angle against that same pitch combination jumped from 43.4% to 51.4%. That allowed the barrel to work on an upward path at precisely the moment of impact. This will sound like ninth grade all over again, but it really did just require a change in geometry. Merrill's new attack has dismantled the opposition’s plan. As the second graphic shows, the league has tried to respond. Pitchers began targeting the upper and outer part of the zone, trying to get the ball above his new contact plane. But those elevated pitches along the far edge were no longer finding the late bat that had defined the beginning of his season. By reaching the contact point on time and with the right amount of lift, Merrill turned pitches in that area into his primary source of extra-base damage. Against the same group of pitches that had handcuffed him early, his average exit velocity jumped to 95.1 mph, his barrel rate went from 11.2% to 23.6%, and his expected slugging percentage reached a devastating .739. Against 263 pitches of those types during the second half, he has hit six home runs, nearly matching the nine he needed more than 1,100 pitches to produce at the beginning of the season. At the highest level of baseball, an adjustment is never permanent; it is simply a window of time in which the hitter gains the upper hand. By moving his contact point farther out in the second half, Jackson Merrill neutralized the plan the league had used to contain him. Now, the pressure is back on the pitchers, who have to find a new answer. View the full article

Fangraphs loves the Minnesota Twins farm system! After the midseason update, seven Twins feature, including Walker Jenkins, Vahn Lackey, and debutants Marek Houston and Riley Quick. Is the Twins farm system in the best shape it's ever been? View the full article

Yoendrys Gómez has been one of the best additions the Minnesota Twins have made this season, and it's hard to argue with the results. Since the Twins acquired him in early May, Gómez has been nothing short of excellent. In 35 innings with Minnesota, the right-hander has posted a sparkling 1.80 ERA while becoming the team's most trusted option in the highest-leverage situations. He leads all Twins players with a 1.88 Win Probability Added (WPA) and has appeared in more high-leverage situations than any other reliever on the roster. Gómez has firmly established himself as the Twins' closer, too. Even after Minnesota added Jeff Hoffman at the trade deadline, there has been no indication that the Twins intend to move Gómez out of the ninth inning. When the Twins have a lead to protect in the ninth, Gómez is still the guy, and considering how well he has pitched, it's easy to understand why. But there are some reasons to pump the brakes on expecting Gómez to continue pitching at this level for the remainder of the season. Despite that 1.80 ERA with the Twins, Gómez's season-long ERA sits at 3.27, and his underlying numbers suggest that even that mark may be flattering. Gómez has a 5.05 expected ERA, and the enormous gap between his actual ERA and expected ERA is the 13th-largest difference in baseball, making him one of the luckiest pitchers in the majors by that measure. One of the reasons for that discrepancy is that Gómez has been remarkably effective at getting outs despite allowing some solid contact. Gómez ranks in the bottom third of the league in both hard-hit percentage and barrel percentage, which isn't exactly the profile you want to see from a pitcher who is being relied upon to consistently shut down the best hitters in the biggest moments of games. His xFIP reflects that, as it is the sixth highest in all of baseball among relievers at 5.01, suggesting that his true skill level has been significantly worse than his results would indicate. xFIP attempts to strip away some of the luck involved in a pitcher's results by removing the impact of defense and normalizing home-run rates based on fly balls allowed. When a pitcher has a 1.80 ERA but an xFIP that ranks among the worst in baseball, it's probably worth paying attention. Then there's the control, which might be the biggest concern. Gómez ranks in just the 11th percentile in walk percentage, and those free passes have gotten him into plenty of precarious situations. To his credit, he has been remarkably good at escaping them, stranding 79% of the runners who have reached base against him. The problem is that the Twins can't reasonably expect him to keep escaping those situations at that rate forever, especially with a strikeout rate that is solid, but nowhere near elite. Eventually, those walks are going to come back to bite him. There have already been some cracks, too. Gómez took the loss in extra innings against the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend, and struggled again on Wednesday as he surrendered a home run against the Baltimore Orioles. More concerning is the recent walk problem, as Gómez has issued 10 walks over his last 12 innings. That's a lot of traffic for a pitcher who is being asked to navigate the highest-leverage situations on the roster. None of this is meant to suggest that Gómez has been a bad acquisition. Quite the opposite. He has been a slam-dunk addition for the Twins and has provided tremendous value since arriving in Minnesota. But there's a difference between appreciating what Gómez has done and expecting him to continue doing it indefinitely, especially when so many of his underlying numbers suggest that a correction is coming. The Twins should be prepared for that regression, and the good news is that they have given themselves a much better chance to withstand it. Minnesota was aggressive about adding bullpen help at the trade deadline, and the Twins now have multiple legitimate alternatives if Gómez's underlying numbers eventually catch up with his results. A.J. Minter, Jeff Hoffman and Andrew Morris are all capable of handling important innings, giving Minnesota options if Gómez needs to be moved out of the ninth inning at some point. For now, though, the Twins have been firm about keeping Gómez in the closer role, and there's no reason to change that simply because his underlying numbers aren't pretty. He's earned the opportunity to keep pitching in those situations, but the Twins also shouldn't be surprised if things get a little bumpy down the stretch. Gómez has done an outstanding job getting himself out of trouble all season, but eventually the walks, hard contact and other underlying indicators are likely to catch up with him. What do you think? Is Yoendrys Gómez due for a significant regression, or has he earned the benefit of the doubt and proven that he can continue to thrive as the Twins' closer down the stretch? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View the full article

Jaxon Wiggins has long been a polarizing name within the Chicago Cubs organization, and that was true even before he ever threw a professional pitch. The Cubs selected Wiggins with the 68th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, taking a chance on a pitcher who had missed the entire season at the University of Arkansas while recovering from Tommy John surgery. There was plenty to like about the selection, though. Wiggins’ raw stuff was — and still is — extremely impressive, and the Cubs were betting that his upside would ultimately outweigh the risk that came with his injury history and inconsistent command. Since making his professional debut in 2024, there have been plenty of highs and plenty of lows. Unfortunately, the lows have become increasingly difficult to ignore. The pure stuff with Wiggins is electric. Standing at 6-foot-6, the right-hander has an upper-90s fastball with elite life, giving hitters an extremely difficult pitch to square up when he’s able to locate it. He also has a hard slider that generates plenty of swings and misses, particularly when he gets it out of the strike zone. Those two pitches are a big reason why Wiggins is currently ranked as the Cubs’ top pitching prospect, according to North Side Baseball. There’s a legitimate major-league starter hiding somewhere in that arsenal. The problem is finding him consistently. Through 23 innings at Triple-A Iowa this season, Wiggins owns an ugly 9.39 ERA and a 2.09 WHIP. He has allowed more than a hit per inning while also averaging more than a walk per inning, which paints a pretty clear picture of the biggest issue holding him back. Wiggins simply isn't throwing enough strikes, and this isn't exactly a new problem. Even going back to his college career at Arkansas, Wiggins struggled to consistently command the strike zone. Across 89 innings over two collegiate seasons, he walked 57 batters. That spotty control has followed him into professional baseball. His walk rate at Triple-A this season has skyrocketed to 20.4%. That’s comfortably higher than where he’s been throughout the rest of his professional career, but it’s worth noting that Wiggins has generally hovered around an 11-14% walk rate. Young pitchers obviously can struggle with command as they work their way through the minor leagues. Learning how to consistently locate a fastball, especially while also developing secondary pitches, is one of the more difficult parts of becoming a successful major-league starter. But Wiggins isn't a 20-year-old trying to figure everything out in his first professional season. He's 24 years old and will turn 25 during the postseason. That changes the conversation quite a bit. I think a lot of people, myself included, went into this season assuming Wiggins would make his MLB debut at some point during the summer. The stuff has always been good enough to make that possibility enticing, and his development had reached the point where the Cubs could reasonably have been expected to give him an opportunity if he showed he was ready. At this point, though, the odds of that happening are considerably slimmer. The Cubs made that pretty clear at the trade deadline. They added added three starting pitchers in Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes and Braxton Garrett. Injuries to the rotation obviously played a major role in those decisions, and it would be unfair to suggest that the Cubs simply went out and acquired three starters because they had no faith in Wiggins. But it’s difficult to believe they would have been quite that aggressive if they felt confident that their top prospect could step into the rotation and provide meaningful innings down the stretch. The timing is particularly notable because Wiggins was already close enough to the majors that this was supposed to be a potential opportunity for him. Instead, the Cubs looked elsewhere for reinforcements. There’s still a possibility that Wiggins could be brought up as a bullpen option at some point. His stuff would certainly play in a relief role, and moving to shorter outings could potentially allow him to attack hitters more aggressively without worrying as much about pacing himself through five or six innings. Even that path, however, isn't particularly straightforward. The Cubs currently have six right-handed relievers on their roster, and Daniel Palencia isn't far away from returning to the bullpen. Adding another right-handed arm to that mix would make an already crowded situation even tighter. None of these additions necessarily change Wiggins' long-term outlook. The Cubs still have plenty of reasons to believe in what he can become. A 6-foot-6 right-hander who can throw an upper-90s fastball with elite movement and pair it with a nasty slider is going to get plenty of opportunities. But the moves made at the deadline do say something about where the organization believes Wiggins is right now. Clearly they don't think he's ready yet, and frankly, it's hard to blame them. View the full article

The Kansas City Royals are stuck in the muck of a season lost. Monday’s 6-5 loss to the Dodgers marked their 71st loss of a campaign that began with realistic playoff hopes five months ago. But bad play hit this club even before a striking series of key injuries decimated its once-promising roster — the Royals were last above .500 on April 1, haven’t finished a single month with a winning record, and have occupied last place in the American League Central since June 21. Losing 100 games may seem unlikely, but doing so is far from impossible. So, what’s left to look forward to as this season winds down? Is there anything left to interest Royals fans? Yes. Here are three things to watch down the stretch. Will Salvador Perez Prove He Has Enough Left For One More Royals Season? Perez will conclude the first year of the two-season contract extension he signed last November when KC winds up its disappointing season against Cleveland Sept. 27. Expect him back for his 16th major league season next year. Probably, that is. Perez, the best catcher the Royals have ever had and one of the best the game has ever seen, shows signs of slowing down. Decline can come fast and hit hard; retirement can end careers before contracts do. And some can’t be blamed for suspecting that Perez, a nine-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glover, and five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, might be at retirement’s doorstep. Only for the first two days of this season has his average been at least .250; he’s hit no higher than .216 since. With 49 RBI through Monday, he won’t drive in at least 100 runs for the first time since 2023. His 16 home runs put him in danger of posting his lowest full-season homer total since 2013. He went into the All-Star Break with a .593 OPS and a .209/.249/.343 line. Numbers, in other words, concerning enough to trigger talk of serious decline and even the end of the line. But things change … and so has Perez’s performance at the plate. Since the break, he’s improving nicely. Through Sunday (21 games), he was slashing a much better .247/.322/.507, his five homers and 12 RBI compare favorably with the 11 and 37 he managed in 89 first-half appearances, and his 123 wRC+ was strikingly better than the 59 he’d posted before the Break. Fortunately, he’s in the midst of demonstrating he has another decent year left. Can Daniel Lynch IV Secure A Spot In The Royals’ Rotation? This question wasn’t on many radar screens when the season began — Kansas City’s rotation seemed set and strong with Michael Wacha, Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Kris Bubic, and Noah Cameron. Then came the injuries. An elbow issue forced Ragans to the Injured List May 8, where Bubic joined him 10 days later with an elbow problem of his own; neither has thrown a major league pitch since. Now, Ragans is out for the season after undergoing surgery in June, and the Royals shipped Bubic to the Dodgers, where he remains on the IL, at the trade deadline. And while Cameron has been excellent lately, Tommy John surgery ended increasingly promising seasons for rotation substitutes Stephen Kolek and Luinder Avila earlier this month. Enter Lynch, a starter the club began transitioning to relief work in 2024 and whose solid performance this season had moved him to the front of the bullpen class until the Royals decided to move him to the rotation last week. At the time, Lynch was 4-2 with an eye-catching 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 46 games and 46 innings out of the pen. How he fared in his first start wasn’t remarkable. Working against the Cubs at Kauffman Stadium Friday night, he gave up four runs (three earned), walked two, and struck out two in 1 2/3 innings. All his trouble came in the second as KC lost 6-4. One start won’t determine Lynch’s fate as a starter. He’ll get several more if the Royals stick to their new plan, so he’ll have opportunities to stretch out and prove the club is making the right call. But history may be against him. Lynch is an unimpressive 11-24 with a 5.26 ERA in 57 career starts (he lost 13 times in 2022, albeit for a bad Kansas City team); as a reliever, though, he’s 12-4 with a 2.47 ERA in 114 appearances. Only time will tell if this experiment works. If it does, look for the Royals to pencil Lynch into the 2027 rotation; if it doesn’t, look for him in the bullpen instead. Will A Closer Emerge From The Royals’ Bullpen? Unlikely. In fact, the prospects of finding a diamond in the rough that is Kansas City’s 2027 relief corps are probably worse than those for the club to escape the AL Central dungeon — through Monday, the Royals' 5.37 bullpen was the second-worst in the majors, their critical ninth-inning ERA, a horrendous 6.96, was the worst, and their 29 blown saves tied them with the A’s for the big leagues’ most. Put bluntly, KC’s current closer candidates are suspect or unproven. Despite sparkling down the 2024 stretch with 11 saves and a 2.88 ERA after KC grabbed him at the trade deadline, Erceg found himself displaced by newcomer Carlos Estévez when last season began and hasn’t regained his form. Yes, he leads the Royals in saves with 12, but he’s blown six save opportunities, his 6.07 ERA is bad, and he appears to have exhausted the club’s patience in save and other high-leverage situations. Estévez’s only 2026 appearance came on Opening Day. He’s been on the IL since April 1, and it’s conceivable he won’t pitch again this year. He’ll be a free agent after the season if the team doesn’t exercise the club option it holds on him for 2027. John Schreiber’s been serviceable and might be worth a try, but because he’s eligible for free agency after the World Series and may not be in KC’s plans, the Royals should take a long look at someone else. Alex Lange has 10 saves but is 1-7 with a 6.17 ERA. Some have called for Lynch to close, but trying him in the rotation removes that option. What about recent acquisition Craig Kimbrel, the once-stellar closer whose 440 career saves rank fifth all-time? No. He’s 38 and turns 39 next May, hasn’t saved a game and has had only one save opportunity since 2024, and across stints with the Mets and Rays this season allowed five of seven inherited runners to score. KC should use him as something other than a closer. The best of the present bunch may be Steven Cruz, who’s posted his first three big league saves, two holds, and a 3.00 ERA in his last nine appearances. But a two-month tryout may not be enough to convince the Royals he’s their closer for 2027. View the full article

The Brewers' farm system continues to impress, despite several big-time graduations over the last few years. International signings continue to make names for themselves, which accounts for one of the new additions to our top 20 prospects list this month. Meanwhile, the other was a college draft pick who signed for $25,000 in 2024. The organization continues to find talent through all possible avenues. You can find the full list here! New Additions #19 SS Ricki Moneys Moneys signed for $1,100,000 as part of the Brewers' 2026 international class, out of the Dominican Republic. He has plus power, with potential for it to be plus-plus. He's already posted exit velocities of up to 111 MPH in the DSL this season, and has a 90th percentile exit velocity over 106 MPH. According to a Brewers Player Development social media post, Moneys ranks highest among all Brewers DSL players since 2017 in 90th percentile exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and barrel rate. He also has shown solid speed, successfully stealing 27 of 31 bases to this point in 2026. He's likely to be an average runner long-term. He has limited strikeouts pretty well in his debut season, at an 18.6% clip, while walking in 19% of his plate appearances. Despite that, there are some concerns about his ability to make contact long-term, and that will be something to monitor as he makes his way to the United States, likely in 2027. Defensively, Moneys has pretty good hands and has spent about 75% of his time in 2026 at shortstop. However, due to a lack of range expected from most shortstops, most scouts expect him to wind up at third base long-term, where his strong arm should have no issues holding up. Overall, when you have as much power as Moneys does, there's a really high ceiling offensively. If he can make enough contact, he could find himself moving quickly toward the top of this list next year. #20 SS Diego Frontado Prior to signing this past January for $1,600,000, Frontado had been tied to the Brewers for years now, and Baseball America viewed him as a player "trending up" heading into this signing period. Referring to an international signing as having a "high floor" is often disingenuous, but Frontado fits that bill more than most. The right-handed hitter has a mature approach, an impressive ability to put the ball in play, and the potential for his hit tool to be above-average or better overall. He combines that feel for hitting with impressive bat speed, which leads evaluators to believe he has the potential for 20+ home run seasons in the future as well. He doesn't have standout exit velocities, though they are better than average for his age. He's gotten to a lot of power in games this season, though, mainly due to his impressive ability to lift the ball in the air to his pull side. To add to his offensive profile, he is said to have above-average speed and had run a 60-yard dash in 6.5 seconds prior to signing. He has missed some time this season, but he is 14-for-17 on stolen bases. Defensively, he has good actions and hands in the field, and his arm has been a bit stronger than expected in pro ball. Right now, he looks like he has a pretty good chance of sticking at shortstop for a while. Overall, Frontado might not have quite the same ceiling as some of the other recent DSL prospects to make this list, but he has a higher floor than almost all of them. Biggest Risers #8 SS Brady Ebel -- Up five spots from #13 Ebel has been on the rise on national lists as well as here on Brewer Fanatic. He's even been ranked 63rd by Fangraphs on their most recent Top 100 list. After a really slow start in April (66 wRC+), Ebel has been tremendous. Since May 1st, he's posted a 147 wRC+ and has shown an extremely well-rounded game on offense and defense. He's walked almost as much as he's struck out, and has an ISO of almost .200 in that time. He is also 29-of-32 on stolen-base attempts since then (34-of-37 for the season). His glove at shortstop has looked the part as well, and the arm strength is top-tier too. He looks the part of a player who could continue rising up this list. #14 RHP Josh Knoth -- Up five spots from #19 Knoth's results don't jump off the page, with an ERA of 4.85 in High-A, but he has shown flashes of being the most talented pitcher in the system since returning from Tommy John surgery. His breaking balls spin at 3000 RPMs, including a curve that spun at 3500 RPMs in the ACL earlier in the year. He sits in the mid-90s on his fastball with a cut-ride shape that is a bit different than any other fastball in the Brewers' system. There is really high-level pure stuff in his repertoire. The command is a work in progress, and he's still building up his pitch counts and stamina coming off of surgery. Biggest Faller #13 3B Jett Williams -- Down three spots from #10 Williams has been steadily falling down these rankings over the course of the season. He has run into some tough injury luck, twice getting injured the same day a big league infielder got hurt, meaning he would likely have gotten called up for his MLB debut if he had stayed healthy throughout either game. The production has been below average for the season, with a 94 wRC+. He is Rule 5 eligible this offseason, and while he will likely be protected, this could be a more interesting decision than originally expected. Thank you to all of you who voted! View the full article

Just over a month ago, on July 11th, the Twins selected Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey with the third overall pick in the MLB Draft. It was a momentous occasion, marking the seventh time in Twins history — third in the last 25 years — that they've had a top-three draft pick. Lackey instantly became one of the stars in the system and one of the most compelling prospects in the minors. Here's a (very) early look at how his professional career has unfolded since the Twins called his name. A Historic Signing Bonus After selecting him third overall, behind Roch Cholowsky and Grady Emerson, the Twins wasted little time getting Lackey signed and into the organization. Within 10 days of the draft, the club had signed its entire class, including Lackey who received a $9,497,500 bonus. While slightly below slot ($9.7M), it was briefly the second-largest in MLB history (behind Cholowsky) before Emerson signed and pushed him to third. This isn't all that noteworthy because, as the sentence above indicates, these records are basically reset at the top of the draft every year. Still, a fun factoid. Signing Lackey slightly under-slot helped the Twins spread their draft pool around — combined with the under-slot deal they struck with second-rounder Carson Tinney, it helped enabled Minnesota to reel in third-round pitcher Ethan Wachmann for more than double his slot value at $2.25 million. “Just a great fit for our organization, on every front. Fantastic player, fantastic human being, great character.” - Twins scouting director Sean Johnson on Lackey (via MLB) An Emphatic Arrival in Prospect Rankings In Twins Daily's top prospect tracker (voted on by our creator community), Lackey immediately jumped in at No. 2, behind only Walker Jenkins. In a high-caliber farm system like this one — ranked sixth in baseball by FanGraphs — that's a strong place to debut. In Baseball America's latest prospect rankings, Lackey is also behind only Jenkins among Twins prospects, ranking 23rd overall (three spots ahead of recently-promoted Kaelen Culpepper). Jenkins ranks 10th, putting him at the elite prospect tier, while Lackey is right on the borderline. Keith Law of The Athletic is slightly more bullish on Lackey, ranking him 20th — one spot behind Jenkins, and one spot ahead of Cholowsky. MLB Pipeline has yet to release their post-draft update, but for context, last year they ranked third overall pick Kade Anderson 22nd overall in mid-August, nearly identical to where Lackey initially finds himself on the BA and Athletic boards. Anderson, a left-handed pitcher in the Seattle system, has been a quick riser and is now up to fifth overall in MLB Pipeline's current rankings. On the flip side, the No. 3 pick in 2024, Charlie Condon, debuted at 12th in those rankings (ahead of even first overall pick Travis Bazzana) but has struggled enough since to fall to 69th. Despite being drafted as a college star, Condon is the only player from the top nine of the class who's yet to reach the majors. Just a reminder that pre-draft hype is what it is, and that's really all we have to go on so far for Lackey, who has barely played in the minors yet. But there is a small sample's worth of performance to analyze. "Lackey might end up a plus defensive catcher with plus power and a plus hit tool, which may as well be a jackalope given how rare that profile is." - Keith Law, The Athletic Early Results in the Minors Shortly after signing, Lackey was assigned to Low-A Fort Myers, where he made his pro debut on July 30th. In his first game, the 21-year-old flashed a couple of his highly touted tools, drawing two walks and stealing a base. Since then he's played nine more games, and in that short time, it's been his defense more than his offense making highlight reels. Through 46 plate appearances, Lackey is batting .206 with only three extra-base hits, the first of which was a grounder chopped down the third-base line for a double. He's holding his own mainly thanks to a disciplined approach yielding an 11-to-8 K/BB ratio and .391 on-base percentage. What's really been eye-catching about Lackey in his initial action is the defense, and specifically his throws from behind the plate. Opponents have attempted eight steals against Lackey and he's gunned down five of them (38%), backing up his rep as a cannon-armed controller of the run game. The dude pops up and throws absolute peas. Much like on the offensive side, the sample is far too small to be worthy of drawing any serious conclusions, but it's a good reminder of Lackey's legit defensive skill set, which makes him nearly a lock to remain at catcher with Gold Glove potential. That element of his game is hugely important, because it will keep Lackey high on prospect lists even if his bat is a little slower to develop. What's Next for Lackey I would consider it unlikely that Lackey remains at the Low-A level much longer. Fort Myers is a fine place to get his feet wet, especially given it's the location of the organization's minor-league complex, but it's also a fairly conservative assignment for a top-three draft pick out of college. He could move up to High-A Cedar Rapids in the near future. The seasons for both Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids run only through the first week of September. Double-A Wichita goes through the second week, and Triple-A St. Paul the third. Is it possible the Twins could give Lackey a late-season taste of the high minors, as they did with Brooks Lee when he played a couple of games in Double-A in 2022? Either way, he'll be set to open up his first full professional season at Wichita, as Lee did. From there, the major leagues is really only a step away, making a 2027 MLB debut plausible. A more likely scenario is that comes up in his second full season, as Lee did, but either way, Lackey's advanced talent and polished will enable him to hop on the fast track if he's up to it. View the full article

Lots of contact was enough to push ghost runners across in the 10th and 11th innings in Wilson’s win. Nashville and Wisconsin both dropped one-run games, but Sal Frelick’s rehab is looking good. Biloxi was blown out. Transactions: N/A Game Action: Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Indianapolis (Pirates) 4, Nashville 3 Box Score Via a Sounds’ press release, game details: Sounds Drop Game Two to Indianapolis on Wednesday Night In their second one-run game of this week’s series, Nashville ended up on the wrong side this time, despite only allowing five hits and two walks (vs. five hits, 11 walks and three HBPs earned by Sounds’ batters). That can happen when three of the hits allowed are home runs, all unfortunately against starting LHP Colton Gordon (6 1/3 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks). As a Brewers’ fan, I’ve a sudden appreciation for how quickly Gordon covered first base for the final out of the 4th inning. This is a terrific flip by 1B Blake Burke as well: Two-out hits by Sal Frelick (1-for-2, double, 2 walks, HBP – fourth game of rehab, all as the DH) and C Bo Naylor brought the Sounds to within a run in the 4th inning, but that’s as close as they’d get. Burke’s first hit in AAA ball gave the team a chance while trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th inning, but a ground ball double play and strike out ended the game. Sounds’ Extras: Gordon exited after 96 pitches (62 strikes), yielding to RHPs Gerson Garabito and Grant Anderson, who were solid in relief (combined 2 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 K). Garabito did, however, allow the Indians’ only hit with a runner in scoring position after inheriting a baserunner from Gordon. Nashville stranded 11 baserunners (vs. five for the opposition), including two in the 4th inning and the bases loaded in the 8th inning. Outfielders Tyler Black (1-for-2, walk, HBP) and Akil Baddoo (1-for-3, 2 walks) each reached base three times in the close loss. Thursday’s outlook: The Sounds have yet to name a starter, as they seek to claim a 2-1 series lead. Biloxi Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Pensacola (Marlins) 13, Biloxi 4 Box Score Via the Shuckers’ website, game details and we encourage readers to review affiliate write-ups as part of their Link Report routine: Shuckers Set Single-Season Franchise Stolen Base Record in Loss to Blue Wahoos If it feels like Biloxi’s games are the highest scoring in the Southern League, it’s because they are – the team leads the league by scoring 5.83 runs/game, but also concedes the second-most: 5.69 runs/game. Starting 22-year old LHP JD Thompson (3 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks) worked around traffic in his AA debut, exiting after 73 pitches while trailing 2-1, but RHP Garrett Hodges (2/3 IP, 6 R, 0 Ks) was rudely greeted with a first pitch homer to open a six-run fourth inning. Despite their immense talent, the Shuckers have now dropped seven consecutive contests, though the positive offensive numbers continue to pile up. SS Jesus Made (1-for-3, 2 walks) and 2B Daniel Guilarte (2-for-3, walk, SB) both reached base three times, while 1B Andrew Fischer delivered an early RBI single and OF Damon Keith smacked his first home run since early May after recently returning from a two+ month injury. Shuckers’ Extras: 3B Mike Boeve (2-for-4, SB) and C Matt Wood (1-for-3, double, walk) also had solid offensive days, despite the loss. Each of Biloxi’s five pitchers (including position player Jheremy Vargas) conceded at least one earned run and multiple hits, but RHP Ryan Birchard (2 IP, 1 R, 4 Ks) did manage to strike out half the batters he faced. After being quite effective much of the season, RHP Stiven Cruz has hit a rough patch: 2 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 4 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks last night; 20 earned runs over last 15 2/3 innings pitched. Thursday’s outlook: RHP Braylon Owens was terrific in his last outing (6 IP, 1 R, 7 Ks) and Biloxi needs him at his best again to halt their skid. Wisconsin Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Cedar Rapids (Twins) 6, Wisconsin 5 (in 13 innings) Box Score Via the Timber Rattlers’ website, game details: Win Slips Away from Wisconsin - Cedar Rapids scores two runs in thirteenth for 6-5 win From the linked game report: “Fowler got a grounder near second off the bat of McCombs. Daniel Dickinson flipped to Alastre for the forceout on pinch-runner Byron Chourio. However, Alastre’s throw to first was wild to allow the placed runner to score the tying run.” That’s how close Wisconsin was to closing out a hard-fought 4-3 victory in 12 innings, including three straight scoreless extra frames in spite of the ghost runner starting at second base. But alas, the squad will have to take the moral victory and come right back at them on Thursday. Largely emulating their big league brethren, the Timber Rattlers battled into extra innings on the road, drove the ghost runner home (twice in Wisconsin’s case) but ultimately fell short. Solid pitching by High-A debutant LHP Andrew Healy (5 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks), RHP Jacob Morrison (5 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks) and RHP Michael Fowler positioned the team for a potential gritty win. SS Luiyin Alastre drove home the team’s first run with this solid single into center field. After his injury-plagued 2025 campaign, OF Luis Castillo (1-for-4, walk) is playing with renewed confidence and success in 2026. His leadoff walk in the 7th inning sparked Wisconsin’s three-run outburst. DH Luis Pena (2-for-5, walk, RBI, 2 SBs) is also producing, driving in the game-tying run in that frame and reaching base three times. Fowler (2 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 1 K) did an amazing job to work around a walk to open the bottom of the 10th inning with the game tied 3-3: pop out, ground ball force out, ground out. By contrast, RHP Jose Nova’s nightmare 2026 season continued, as he conceded a first pitch single to tie the game 5-5, then the game-winning double in an 0-2 count. Timber Rattlers’ Extras: OF Sawyer Strosnider is fitting right in, collecting two hits, stealing a base and driving home runs in the 7th and 13th innings. C Blayberg Diaz also got the job done with his RBI double with two outs in the 12th inning. Credit to Cedar Rapids for getting the 8th inning run they needed against tough Morrison, earned by their leadoff batter coming back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk, steal second and score on a single. OF Braylon Payne has been a massive contributor all season, but unfortunately went 0-for-5 this time out (but did draw a walk). As the ghost runner in the 11th inning, he was thrown out on a ground ball to the shortstop, then hit into a double play in the top of the 13th inning while trying to tack on an insurance run. Thursday’s outlook: Now 21 years old after a Monday birthday, RHP Josh Knoth (5 IP, 3 R, 8 Ks last outing) is Wisconsin’s scheduled starter, with the team needing a win to avoid an 0-3 series hole which would put them further behind in the second half playoff chase. Wilson Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Wilson 5, Columbia (Royals) 4 (in 11 innings) Box Score Via the Warbirds’ website, game details: Warbirds Come From Behind Four Times in Walk-Off Win - Espinal Picks Up First Win The headline tells the major story in Wilson’s victory, which keeps them 1.5 games behind division-leading Fayetteville. 18-year old, 5’11” LHP Joan Pena also made his Low-A debut, allowing just one run in 3 2/3 innings of relief (5 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks), with assists from C Rylan Mills (caught stealing third) and RHP Joshua Quezada to get out of the 8th inning still down only 3-2. OF Kyle Jones’ two-out RBI single tied the game in the bottom of the 8th inning, then Quezada (2 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 4 Ks) stranded two baserunners for himself in the top of the 9th. This was long after Mills had homered and 1B Carsten Sabathia III delivered an RBI single for the team’s first two runs. A chaotic play (yet another ground ball to the right side of the infield) saw Columbia grab the lead in the top of the 10th inning and also led to Wilson Manager Eddy Morgan’s early exit (joining the Fireflies’ manager who’d been ejected six innings earlier), but Quezada (strikeout) and RHP Cesar Espinal (1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 K) combined to strand baserunners at 2nd and 3rd to keep it a one-run game. Two ground balls were enough for Wilson to bring the ghost runner home to send the game to an 11th inning, when C Kevin Garcia (who entered in the 10th inning) threw out another Columbia baserunner trying for third base. Once again, the Warbirds didn’t need any walks or hits to bring the Manfred Man home, this time via 2B Juan Ortuno’s game-winning fielder’s choice. Kudos to 19-year-old starting LHP Enderson Mercado for one of his best outings of 2026: 4 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks. Hopefully that’s a performance that he can build upon. Warbirds’ Extras: Leadoff batter Jones (2-for-5, walk, RBI, SB), Sabathia (1-for-3, 2 walks, RBI) and #9 hitting DH Pedro Ibarguen (2-for-4, double, walk, RBI, SB) led the Wilson offense by reaching base three times each. Every Wilson batter reached base via hit or walk in their well-earned team victory. SS Brady Ebel also stole his 35th base, while Ortuno had a double and grabbed his 29th theft. Both staffs deserve credit for escaping tough situations, as the Warbirds went 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position (stranding 15 baserunners) and the Fireflies went 2-for-12 (with 11 LOB). Thursday’s outlook: RHP Jarrette Bonet (5.06 ERA in 94 1/3 IP) is set for his 16th start (21st appearance), seeking to lead Wilson to a 3-0 home series lead. Final: DSL Brewers Blue 9, DSL Padres Brown 5 (in 7 innings) Box Score Facing an early 4-2 deficit and knowing they likely need to win their final six games if they’re going to sneak into the DSL playoffs as a wild card, the Blue Men (28-22) battled back to claim a victory against the woeful Padres (10-40). C Johanderson Tarazona (0-for-2, two walks) drew the first of five walks in the team’s two-run fourth inning to grab a 5-4 lead, then gunned down a steal attempt at second base to end the top of the fifth inning and strand a baserunner at third in support of RHP Lukas Gonzalez (3 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 3 Ks). The Blue Group kept up the patient approach, benefitting from three walks, a hit-by-pitch and two wild pitches to re-take the lead 7-5 in the sixth inning before SS Diego Frontado (1-for-2, double, walk, 3 RBIs, SB) delivered a two-run double for the final margin. The good guys were victorious despite being out-hit 5-4, thanks to the 11 walks and two HBPs drawn. Reliable RHP Lonell Downs (1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 Ks) closed out the victory by retiring the final four batters in order. Outfielders Manny De Los Santos (1-for-3, walk, RBI, 2 SBs) and Enrique Lovera (1-for-3, walk, 2 RBIs) had solid games at the plate, while RHP Yancarlos Vasquez (2 1/3 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 5 BB, 3 Ks) struggled as the starting pitcher. We hope that you enjoy the Minor League Link Report. On Thursday, six games are scheduled for affiliates, starting with the Dominican Summer League games at 10:00am CST and followed by the full season affiliates from 6:05pm onward. The Milwaukee Brewers also commence their series at the Dodgers at 9:10pm CST. Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View the full article

Sean Manaea has never been one to blow you away with his stuff, but his craftiness has allowed him to have a successful career thus far. He’s never been named to an All-Star roster, but Manaea did successfully complete a no-hitter on April 21, 2018 against the Boston Red Sox when he was still with the Oakland Athletics. He’s been a steady workhorse over his career and teams always value players who can show to be consistent with their performance. After a solid first season with the New York Mets in 2024 where he pitched to a 3.47 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, the organization signed him to a three-year, $75 million contract extension which will keep him in Queens through the 2027 season. Manaea’s 2024 season with the Mets was his best thus far with the club, as he missed time in 2025 due to an injury, leading to worse results upon his return. Thankfully, he has turned his performance around in 2026 and is in the midst of a nice bounce-back season. Breaking Down Sean Manaea's Excellent Second-Half Showing Since the Mets returned to action after the All-Star Break, Manaea has looked really good for the most part over five second-half starts thus far. Aside from his July 18 start against the Philadelphia Phillies where he allowed four earned runs across 4.2 innings, Manaea has allowed two or fewer runs in his next four starts while completing at least six innings of work. That performance translates to a superb 3.03 ERA. If you remove that ugly start in Philadelphia, Manaea owns a 2.16 ERA over his last four start, having allowed just four earned runs across 25 innings. In a span of three straight starts against three highly-talented lineups including the Dodgers, Braves, and Guardians, Manaea tossed six innings each time out while allowing two runs or fewer. He didn’t strike out many batters but was certainly effective. During his recent road start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 9, Manaea was really good through his seven innings of work, only recording 91 pitches in the process. He showed really good command as 69 of those pitches landed for strikes which translates to an excellent 75.8% mark. Overall, he allowed just one earned run off of just three hits. The best part is that he didn’t issue a single walk and struck out a season-high 11 batters. After a rough 2025 campaign where Manaea posted a 5.64 ERA, the Mets decided that it would be best for the southpaw to pitch out of the bullpen this year, where he served as a long-reliever until mid-June. Over 43 innings spanning 14 appearances out of the bullpen, Manaea owned a 5.02 ERA and 1.44 WHIP before transitioning back to the rotation. His move back to a starting role has been very successful thus far as he’s pitched to a much-better 3.50 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. Manaea’s pitch-mix has evolved over time and it has been interesting to see how he’s still been effective even with the oddities in his arsenal of pitches. He only used three pitches from 2016 to 2019, but now he has the option of five different offerings. Even though his fastballs only average around 91 mph, his excellent seven feet of his extension helps create a faster deceived velocity for hitters. As previously mentioned, Manaea’s pure stuff isn’t very overwhelming and it hasn’t generated a lot of swing as miss as a whole, but he’s still managing to strikeout a respectable 23.3% of opponents. This is in part to him being able to produce an above-average amount of swings out of the zone (chase rate), which is also why he's been generating lots of soft contact this summer. The Mets are currently in evaluation mode after selling at the trade deadline. Nolan McLean, Zac Thornton, and Christian Scott are all making a case to be a part of the 2027 rotation, while top prospect Jonah Tong will be under consideration as well. If Manaea can carry forward his success through the end of this season, he should have an inside track on that final spot, serving as the veteran leader of a young and talented group. View the full article

There is a visual trick in baseball that is often mistaken for luck or a hot streak: when a pitcher suddenly looks unhittable, it is rarely because his pitches are moving more. Often, it's because he has taken away the fractions of a second a hitter needs to process the pitch. For weeks, Payton Tolle was the definition of talent tied to his own sequencing mistakes. The towering left-hander had the arm and the imposing presence on the mound, but he kept giving away the initiative within the at-bat; he was falling behind in the count, getting himself into trouble and eventually having to rely on his sinker—a pitch opponents have punished to a .400 wOBA allowed this season—to try to get back into the zone. On August 7 against the Athletics, that self-destructive pattern was eliminated. Tolle faced 20 batters and threw 84 pitches. Over the entire game, he threw only eight pitches with the hitter ahead in the count. The impact of that aggression obviously alters a hitter's approach. When a starter does not give you a 1-0 or 2-0 count, he takes away the ability to patiently wait for a favorable offering. The instruction from the dugout to “wait for the fastball over the middle” becomes unworkable; the hitter stops selecting his zone and starts defending the plate from the very first pitch. By taking control of at-bats early, Tolle’s arsenal takes on a devastating dimension, especially against right-handed hitters, who make up the bulk of opposing lineups. As a left-handed pitcher, Tolle’s accumulated numbers against righties border on absurd: he owns a 32.7% K% (96th percentile in MLB), a 15.9% whiff rate (92nd percentile) and a .242 xwOBA (95th percentile). It is not a coincidence. His arsenal is built to tie up right-handed hitters through a combination of movement and velocity. That strategy begins with his release point. Tolle gets 7.4 feet of extension off the mound, putting him in the 98th percentile in the major leagues. When he fell behind in the count during his previous starts, hitters could tolerate that proximity, because the advantage created by his extension lost some of its effect when they could better anticipate the sequence. But once he got ahead in the count, Tolle increased the velocity of his four-seam fastball from his usual 95.5 mph average to a consistent peak of 98.2 mph. Two extra miles per hour, combined with a release point almost on top of the hitter, reduces the recognition window to a point where the swing comes purely out of self-preservation. And if they do make contact, the ball comes off harmlessly: in his last start, the average exit velocity on Tolle’s four-seamer with two strikes was just 77.4 mph. This is where the pièce de résistance comes into play, with a little something I like to call the "vertical finisher." With the hitter rushed in the box to keep up with 98 mph, Tolle introduces his curveball at 84.2 mph (2,502 RPM) from the same release window. The hitter recognizes the arm path, processes the fastball velocity and starts the bat through the zone. By the time the ball loses its lift and drops toward the ground, the swing is already irreversible. With two strikes against the Athletics, Tolle increased his curveball usage to 24.2% (eight pitches), and the result was absolute: a 100% whiff rate, producing five outright strikeouts (62.5% PutAway%). Add a 90.2 mph cutter that recorded a 75% whiff rate in that same situation, and the map of the at-bat is complete. Of the 14 strikeouts he recorded that day, 13 came through that three-level combination (98-mph high fastball / 90-mph cutter in on the hands / 84-mph curveball down). Baseball often looks for complicated explanations in biomechanics or revolutionary grips when a starter takes a leap forward. Payton Tolle’s reality is simpler and more direct: he shelved the inefficient sinker when he was behind, attacked the zone from pitch one, and used his extension to force hitters into committing early. Once you get a hitter swinging on reaction rather than a pre-planned approach, good results are sure to follow. View the full article

While this season's stretch run isn't shaping up to be as exciting as we all hoped, let's ride the 50th season nostalgia and re-live the stretch run from the Blue Jays' first World Championship year, 1992. Monday, July 27 – off-day The workload of the regular season was catching up to Juan Guzmán. After a dazzling debut in ‘91, Guzmán was following up with a masterful season. He was chosen to the American League All-Star team and went into the break having pitched at least seven innings in eight of his last 10 starts. He entered the All-Star Game in the third inning and quickly struck out Ryne Sandberg and Benito Santiago before loading the bases. After falling behind the count, Guzmán got Barry Bonds to pop up on the third base side for the final out of the inning. Guzmán’s next start with the Blue Jays came four days later in Seattle, where he moved to 12-2 with seven scoreless innings of work. After winning three of four from the Mariners, Toronto would drop two of three against the Angels before sending Guzmán to the mound to open up a series in Oakland. It was a chilly night in the Bay Area, and Guzmán never felt quite right. He left the game in the third inning due to shoulder stiffness and then admitted to having felt “twinges” in the area during his previous two starts. The diagnosis was two separate strains around his shoulder, bumping him from his scheduled start on Wednesday against Kansas City, for which the Blue Jays potentially needed him in the stopper role again. Despite Guzmán’s early departure, Toronto beat the A’s before losing the final three games of the series. Going 5-6 on the road trip, Toronto maintained a four-game lead over Baltimore and Milwaukee but was then facing some concerns around the All-Star pitcher. Down in action in the minor leagues, Carlos Delgado set a Class-A Dunedin record with his 25th home run of the season. His .326 average would have him in the Triple Crown discussion if not for his teammate Rob Butler, who led the Florida State League with a .359 mark. Tuesday, July 28 – 6-4 win vs. Kansas City Kelly Gruber was nervous before the start of Toronto’s week-long homestand. For Gruber, it was his first game back at SkyDome in a month. Having not hit a home run since May, Gruber’s play had gotten him booed before he landed on the injured list. Now? After rumours of him water skiing in Muskoka while he was hurt? Jeff Kent had filled in just fine at the hot corner. “Gruber for rent, keep Kent” read an overhanging sign in the outfield. However, the crowd was still slightly abuzz as Gruber made his way into the batter’s box for the first time. Candy Maldonado had just homered to give Toronto a 2-1 lead, and on the second pitch of his at-bat, Gruber hit a hanging change-up off recent Triple-A call-up Dennis Moeller over the sign calling for his replacement in left field. Gruber called it an “ice-breaker” with the fans. With that home run, along with a couple of stellar defensive plays, he helped Toronto to victory. “Even if Kelly doesn’t hit, he’ll do a lot for this team,” said manager Cito Gaston. The injury diagnosis for Pat Tabler would be a painful one. Over the weekend, Tabler slipped on the grass near the dugout in Oakland. He underwent imaging tests upon returning to Toronto, and they revealed torn cartilage and arthritis in his left knee. It was something Tabler would play through in the final months of his major league career. Wednesday, July 29 – 5-2 loss vs. Kansas City Guzmán had replaced an injured Dave Stieb in the rotation last season, and it would be Stieb taking the ball to replace the now-injured Guzmán. Toronto’s ace of the previous decade was winding down in a number of ways. After back-to-back abbreviated outings had ballooned his ERA to 5.79 in 12 starts through June, Gaston removed Stieb from the Toronto rotation. Pitching out of the bullpen, talk swirled that Stieb may get released. He was far away from his ‘80s dominance, but with an opening, Gaston opted to give Stieb the start instead of bumping up the rest of his rotation to cover Guzmán’s absence. Stieb held down the fort with six solid innings, but Kansas City would bat around on an erratic Mike Timlin in the eighth inning. The Royals scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch (that was scored a passed ball), and Timlin would later walk Brent Mayne with the bases loaded. The four-run inning left the Blue Jays down 5-1. Toronto loaded the bases in the ninth with one out, but Manuel Lee grounded into a run-scoring fielders’ choice before Devon Whyte ended the game by popping out. The blown lead wasted the final quality start of Dave Stieb’s Blue Jays’ career, and Pat Gillick was going to do something about it. Thursday, July 30 – 3-0 win vs. Kansas City All month, the Blue Jays general manager had been talking to other teams about adding pitching ahead of the trade deadline. It was 50-50 the team made a deal before then, Gillick said, but the availability of a familiar face flipped the coin deal-side up. Late ‘80s sensation Mark Eichhorn had rediscovered his stuff in the Angels’ bullpen, and he was headed back to Toronto for Greg Myers and Rob Ducey. Eichhorn was to pitch ahead of Duane Ward and Tom Henke, relief innings the Blue Jays were wanting to shore up with some better pitching. As excited as Eichhorn was to rejoin the team, it was crushing for the homegrown Ducey. “Right now I can’t really believe I won’t be wearing a Blue Jays uniform,” he said. “Nobody wants to leave a team that has a chance to be in the World Series.” With an extra day of rest, David Wells was as sharp as a starter could be in the shutout of Kansas City. Boomer threw 70 of his 94 pitches for strikes in seven shutout innings that were nailed down by Ward and Henke in the series-clinching victory. At the plate, Maldonado stayed red hot with three more hits. Since the All-Star break, last summer’s stretch-run acquisition was slashing .392/.492/.647. Friday, July 31 – 13-2 win vs. New York Breaking from spring training, the Blue Jays looked to the waiver wire to cover a spot in the bullpen. Toronto claimed 27-year-old Shawn Hillegas from Cleveland, where he had pitched 83 innings the year prior. Hillegas never showed. Toronto suspected the pitcher had a secret deal done with another club, and as soon as Hillegas waited out the five-day deadline to report to the Blue Jays, he signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees. The cost of not wanting to be a Blue Jay was $60,000 in withheld severance pay. Now, here was a chance to show it was worth it. Or, maybe not. Toronto knocked Hillegas out of the game after three innings, having scored six runs. It was the same number they would put up on the second New York pitcher. Joe Carter snapped a 0-for-20 slump with a long home run, and Pat Borders knocked in five, including a round-tripper off Hillegas. The 13-run outburst rendered a seven-inning gem from Todd Stottlemyre just nice to have, and Gaston used the blowout to get to the end of his bench, including the first appearance of Ed Sprague on the season. Saturday, August 1 – 3-1 win vs. New York It’s a good thing the inning didn’t play out the way Joe Carter had first planned. With the score 1-1 in the eighth, the Blue Jays had runners on the corners with two away and Carter up. On the first pitch, Carter attempted a surprise bunt, but he fouled it off. On the very next offering, Carter drilled a ball to left field. He thought it was out off the bat, but the ball bounced between Mel Hall and the fence for a two-run double. The base hit put Jack Morris in line for the win after he pitched eight solid innings, and the third straight victory was locked down by Henke in the ninth. Sunday, August 2 – 7-6 win vs. New York It had turned into an adventurous weekend defensively for Hall. In the seventh, Hall hit a pinch-hit two-run single to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead. With two on and two out in the bottom half of the frame, it was Roberto Alomar’s turn for the Blue Jays at the plate. Much like he did on Carter’s game-deciding double the day before, Hall had Alomar shaded towards the line in left field. When Alomar hit a ball into the gap, Hall barely caught up to it but had the ball bounce off his glove and onto the turf for a game-tying double. There was nowhere to be positioned for the next hitter. Unlike yesterday, this one was gone for Carter, who became a hero yet again, hitting the ball well over Hall’s head and the left field fence to give the Blue Jays a 7-5 lead. Making his first Blue Jay appearance since 1988, Eichhorn inherited runners and gave up the go-ahead hit to Hall before watching the offence rally to put him in line for the win. “Definitely not the prettiest win, but coming back to score runs like this team can, I might be able to vulture a few,” Ike said. “The last two, three years (with the Angels), this is something I haven’t been used to.” Despite the sweep, Toronto's lead was kept to 4.5 games by Baltimore, who kept pace with their own sweep in Boston, where the Blue Jays would head next. View the full article

Wednesday saw the San Diego Padres' four full-season affiliates go 1-2 with a postponement. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas pulled out a 5-2 win over Salt Lake, the Double-A San Antonio Missions suffered a 7-3 walk-off loss to Frisco, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps were postponed due to a power outage and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm were stopped by Inland Empire 3-1. Padres Minor-League Transactions San Diego Padres activated RHP David Morgan from the 15-day injured list and optioned him to El Paso Chihuahuas. Mason McCoy's HR In Seventh Sends Chihuahuas Past Bees Mason McCoy went 2-for-3 with a tiebreaking solo home run in the seventh inning and left-handed starter Jagger Haynes didn't allow an earned run over five innings as the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas beat the Salt Lake Bees 5-2. Haynes did allow two runs in the third inning, but they were unearned due to a fielding error by first baseman Blake Hunt, a throwing error by catcher Ethan Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, and a balk. But it was a good outing for Haynes as he gave up four hits and two walks while striking out five. Right-hander Logan Gillaspie went two shutout innings, with right-handers Ty Adcock and Hans Crouse going a shutout inning each. For Crouse, it was his first save since joining the organization Aug. 2 after being released by the Baltimore Orioles and third of the season. Crouse hasn't allowed a run in his four appearances with the Chihuahuas and his last six overall. The Chihuahuas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning as Rodolfo Duran doubled home Salas, who had walked, with one out, then scored on the back end of a double steal with McCoy, who had singled. It was Duran's second steal of the season. The Bees tied it in the third and it stayed 2-2 until McCoy barely cleared the center-field wall with his ninth homer of the season. The Chihuahuas added two more in the eighth as Clay Dungan doubled, was bunted to second by Bryce Johnson and scored on Carlos Rodriguez's single to left. Rodriguez stole second and Solak notched his 20th double of the season to drive him in. Salas went 1-for-3 with a walk. McCoy also had two steals, giving him a team-high 27, which also is his career high after having 25 in 2023 and 2024. EP_0812.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Bryce Johnson, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 Carlos Rodríguez, LF 4 1 1 1 0 0 Nick Solak, RF 4 0 1 1 0 0 Dustin Harris, RF 0 0 0 0 0 0 Marcos Castañon, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 1 Ethan Salas, C 3 1 1 0 1 0 Rodolfo Durán, DH 3 1 1 1 0 1 Mason McCoy, SS 3 1 2 1 0 0 Blake Hunt, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 2 Nick Pratto, 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 Clay Dungan, 3B 3 1 1 0 0 1 Totals 29 5 7 4 2 6 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jagger Haynes 5 4 2 0 2 5 0 Logan Gillaspie 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 Ty Adcock 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 Hans Crouse 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 9 7 2 0 3 7 0 Missions Stunned By Walk-Off Grand Slam A nice first seven innings on the mound devolved into a disastrous finish as the Double-A San Antonio Missions gave up two runs in the eighth and then a walk-off grand slam in the ninth as the Frisco RoughRiders rallied for a 7-3 victory. Missions left-handed starter Francisco Sanchez bounced back for a tough return to the mound last week after being hit in the head with a line drive in early June by allowing just a hit in five shutout innings, striking out seven and walking three. Right-hander Tucker Musgrove, Padres Mission's No. 12 prospect, gave up a run in two-thirds of an innning while striking out two, then right-hander Sadrac Franco went 1⅓ scoreless, also fanning two. But right-hander Garrett Hawkins gave up a pair of runs in the eighth to tie it 3-3. MLB veteran right-hander Jose Leclerc came on for the ninth and gave up a single, a forceout grounder, a wild pitch and back-to-back walks to load the bases. Max Wagner then hit a 3-2 pitch out to left-center field for the walk-off slam. The Missions took a 3-0 lead. Carson Tucker had a two-out RBI triple in the third inning, Albert Fabian a sacrifice fly in the fourth and Fabian a run-scoring single in the top of the sixth. SA_0812.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Carson Tucker, SS 4 0 1 1 0 1 Tirso Ornelas, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 Romeo Sanabria, 1B 4 1 1 0 0 2 Braedon Karpathios, RF 4 0 1 0 0 1 Ryan Jackson, 2B 3 1 1 0 1 0 Albert Fabian, DH 3 0 1 2 0 1 Luis Verdugo, 3B 3 1 1 0 1 2 Kai Roberts, CF 2 0 0 0 0 1 Brendan Durfee, C 3 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 30 3 6 3 2 10 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Fernando Sanchez 5 1 0 0 0 4 0 Tucker Musgrove 2/3 1 1 1 1 2 0 Sadrac Franco 1 1/3 2 0 0 1 2 0 Garrett Hawkins 1 3 2 2 1 0 0 José Leclerc 1/3 2 4 4 2 0 1 Totals 8 1/3 9 7 7 5 8 1 TinCaps-River Bandits Postponed By Power Outage Following a severe storm that hit much of the Midwest led to a power outage in Davenport, Iowa, causing the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps' game against the Quad Cities River Bandits to be postponed. The game will be made up Saturday as part of a doubleheader. Cameron Nohos Fans 9, But Storm Can't Hang On Against 66ers Right-handed starter Cameron Nohos struck out nine over 5⅔ innings, but the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm were doomed by a three-run sixth inning as the host Inland Empire 66ers won 3-1. Chris McHugh, the Padres' 11th-round draft choice, followed up a 3-for-4 pro debut Tuesday with a 2-for-4 game, while Jesmaylin Arias also had a pair of hits. The Storm scored its lone run in the third inning. Dawson Willis drew a two-out walk and went to third on Yimy Tovar's single. As Tovar stole second, a throwing error by the catcher allowed Willis to score. Nohos allowed three hits, but walked four in matching his career high of nine punchouts, set in a four-inning outing May 28 in the Arizona Complex League. He has 16 strikeouts in his last two starts and 26 in his last four. Right-hander Rordy Mejia relieved Nohos after a two-out walk. The next batter hit an 0-2 homer that put the 66ers up 2-1. A single and a double made it 3-1. Mejia did strike out three in 2⅓ innings. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nu'u Contrades, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 1 Joe Tiroly, DH 3 0 0 0 1 1 Chris McHugh, 1B 4 0 2 0 0 2 Dawson Willis, CF 3 1 1 0 1 1 Yimy Tovar, 2B 3 0 1 0 1 0 Truitt Madonna, C 4 0 0 0 0 1 Jose Verdugo, SS 4 0 0 0 0 1 Jesmaylin Arias, RF 4 0 2 0 0 1 Qrey Lott, LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 33 1 7 0 3 8 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Cameron Nohos 5 2/3 3 1 1 4 9 0 Rordy Mejia 2 1/3 4 2 2 0 3 1 Totals 8 7 3 3 4 12 1 Padres Mission's Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 1-for-3, BB, R Ryan Wideman: DNP Coleman Borthwick: In Arizona Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Ty Harvey: DNP Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season Jorge Quintana: DNP Alex McCoy: DNP Braedon Karpathios: 1-for-4, K Lamar King Jr.: DNP Elliot Lascelles: In Arizona Tucker Musgrove: ⅔ IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Jagger Haynes: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Jake Cunningham: DNP Truitt Madonna: 0-for-4, K Eric Yost: DNP Winyer Chourio: DNP Jesus Castro: DNP Michael Salina: DNP Rosman Verdugo: DNP View the full article

TRANSACTIONS OF Kyler Fedko moved to full-season IL (St. Paul) C Irvin Nunez promoted to A+ Cedar Rapids C Luis Hernandez promoted to AA Wichita RHP Joel Garcia transferred from 7-day IL to 60-day IL (A Fort Myers) C Hideki Prather promoted to A Fort Myers LHP Jake Murray placed on 7-day IL (A Fort Myers) LHP Matthew Becker promoted to A Fort Myers Saints Sentinel St. Paul 6, Iowa 7 Box Score Ryan Gallagher: 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K HR: Noah Cardenas (10) Multi-hit games: Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB), Emmanuel Rodriguez (2-for-5, R), Noah Cardenas (2-for-2, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB) A Saints rally fell short on Wednesday. Has Ryan Gallagher figured it out? The righty followed up a modestly positive 4.13 ERA in July with two marvelous August outings, allowing two earned runs across 11 2/3 innings with 16 strikeouts, six hits, and two walks. His Saints season ERA remains impossibly high at 5.67, yet his tepid improvements may have morphed into a full-blown evolution as a pitcher. Hopefully, he can keep the momentum going in the right direction. St. Paul faced off against Braxton Garrett, one of the shiny new toys acquired by the Cubs at the trade deadline. He appeared more mildew-covered and dilapidated than the other arms, as he walked six in an outing where his relationship with the strike zone was cool and distant. Those free passes gave the Saints a first inning run, and they added on with two in the fourth on a slicing Walker Jenkins double to left. The 3-0 good times were soiled with a nightmare outing by Woo-Suk Go, as the righty surrendered a two-run shot in the sixth, then returned for a five-run clubbing in the seventh. Still, the Saints nearly made the comeback. Down 7-3, Noah Cardenas homered to trim the deficit. With the bases full in the ninth, Tristan Gray singled to score two, drawing the game to an agonizing one-run difference. Cody Morissette had a chance. Men were on the corners. He could only ground out to conclude what nearly became an impressive game-winning rally. Iowa catcher Owen Ayers ranks as the second-best prospect in the Cubs system. He walked once in four plate appearances. According to North Side Baseball, Ayers ranks as the Cubs #4 prospect. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 9, Corpus Christi 3 Box Score Ty Langenberg: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K HR: Garrett Spain 2 (19, 20), Brandon Winokur (5) Multi-hit games: Marek Houston (2-for-5, 2 R, RBI), Brandon Winokur (2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI), Caden Kendle (2-for-5), Garrett Spain (3-for-3, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB) The Wind Surge bludgeoned their way to victory on Wednesday. Garrett Spain set a season-high in long balls some time ago; he’s now just padding his stats, imparting pain with a left-handed stroke capable of more thump than his 5’9” body would imply. His first souvenir of the night was dug out of the ground and launched out to right, and his second was thunderously launched into the atmosphere as every player, fan, and usher understood the ball was gone the second Spain hit it. Brandon Winokur was in the mood for leaving the yard, too, though he displayed a relative restraint, as he cleared the fence just once. And he sure made it count. Every batter in the Wind Surge lineup reached base at least once. Ty Langenberg hasn’t allowed a run across 13 innings in August. Houston’s third-ranked prospect Jason Schiavone played first and went 0-4, with a pair of strikeouts on Wednesday. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 6, Wisconsin 5 (13 Innings) Box Score Reed Moring: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Eduardo Tait (2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI, BB), JP Smith II (2-for-5), Jose Salas (2-for-6, 2B, RBI) The Kernels reached deep into extra innings to win on Wednesday. The match began with a two-hour rain delay, pushing what was already the longest Kernels game since 2016 to likely be the longest (time-wise) game anyone could remember. Reed Moring spearheaded pitching matters with his finest start as a Kernel. For the second game in a row, he totaled six innings; this time, he held the opposing team scoreless, a feat he hadn’t accomplished since July 11th. The UC-Santa Barbara product struck out five. He walked two. Perhaps he, Cory Lewis, and Ryan Gallagher will grab a celebratory drink and wax poetic about how awesome Barry Zito and Michael Young were. Cedar Rapids started their scoring with two runs in the third, turning an Andy Lugo walk and stolen base into a run on a Jacob McCombs single. Eduardo Tait doubled home a second run. Wisconsin took the lead, yet—once again—Tait drove in McCombs, this time with an eighth inning single. The teams explored what lay beyond the ninth inning. Free runners abounded—a temptation and tantalizing state-allowed opportunity that resulted in zilch for two full frames. Evidently, you can bring a batter to a run-scoring situation, but you cannot make him come through in the clutch. Runs exchanged in the 12th, which necessitated a 13th, which started in the Timber Rattlers’ favor, as they immediately cashed in their free runner, then hit into a double play, effectively neutering their rally. Who cares? The lead was theirs once more. Cedar Rapids started their half of the frame with a lineout and a single, with the latter knotting the game for the umpteenth time of the day. Then, a breakthrough. A lunge too little. Jose Salas stroked a flyball to right field that fell just beyond the outfielder’s grasp. Quinn McDaniel saw the whole thing with perfect clarity. He lurched towards second and bolted the second he saw the ball fall safely, starting a race around the bases that ended in him easily, safely reaching home plate. Wisconsin DH Luis Peña is the 18th-best prospect in MLB, according to Pipeline. He collected two hits and walked once in six plate appearances. According to Brewer Fanatic, Pena ranks #2 in an absolutely loaded Brewers farm system. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 5 Box Score Eric Hammond: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: Carson Tinney 2 (2, 3) Multi-hit games: Carson Tinney (2-for-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI), Ramiro Dominguez (2-for-4, R), Bryce Fowler (2-for-4, RBI), Merphy Hernandez (2-for-4) The Mighty Mussels won on a walk off on Wednesday. It started with a Carson Tinney blast; and so, it eventually would end. The first homer gave Fort Myers two runs in the third. It sailed with a majesty common amongst right-handed shots, though the sight will never grow old. Three Clearwater runs in the second meant the home run didn’t give Fort Myers a lead; a fifth inning Bryce Fowler single would knot things, however. Starter Eric Hammond’s early sins gave way to a six-inning shutout streak, with Hammond, Melvin Rodriguez, and Nick McAuliffe combining to keep the Threshers at bay. McAuliffe was the best of the bunch with two empty frames and three strikeouts. Eventually, the pitching performance was rewarded with an offensive breakthrough, as Bryan Acuña gave the Mighty Mussels a short lead on an RBI infield single in eighth. Michael Hilker was summoned for the save. He was unaware of what was waiting for him. A walk and a flurry of singles flipped the script, scoring two in a reversal of fates as the Threshers now commanded a ninth inning advantage. A Yovanny Duran flyout started the rally on a sour note, and a Vahn Lackey triple quickly sweetened the deal. Tinney stepped up to the plate with a simple way to at least tie the game in any way he chose. Presented with this Gordian knot, he decided to cut through the situation, sending a ball soaring through the Fort Myers night for a walk-off. Philadelphia’s 23rd-ranked prospect Matthew Ferrara was the best youngster on the field for Clearwater; he singled and walked in four trips to the plate. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Reed Moring Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Carson Tinney or Garrett Spain, whichever one you think is cooler PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB #2 – Vahn Lackey (Fort Myers) - 1-4, 3B, 2 R, BB, K #4 – Marek Houston (Wichita) - 2-5, 2 R, RBI, K #6 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 2-5, R, K #7 – Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-3, RBI, 2 BB #8 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB, K #9 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-4, K #11 – Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - 2-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, #12 – Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, K #15 – Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K #18 – Quentin Young (Fort Myers) - 1-4, 2B, 3 K #19 – Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 0-1 THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38 PM) - RHP Ricky Castro Corpus Christi @ Wichita (6:35 PM) - RHP Riley Quick Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Adrian Bohorquez Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM) - RHP Matt Barr DSL Twins @ DSL Phillies (10:00 AM) - TBD View the full article

Wednesday night reminded Marlins fans why they originally fell in love with Agustin Ramirez . The 24-year-old slugger went 2-for-5 in Miami’s 8-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, including an RBI double in the third inning that gave the Marlins the permanent lead. With his usual violent swing with a follow-through that looks like he’s twirling the bat backwards, the ball came off his bat at 110.6 miles per hour, past third baseman Nick Gonzales, and rolled to the left field wall. It was part of an inning that saw the Marlins put up four runs on just two hits, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch. Their eight total walks drawn on Wednesday tied a season high, with the other instance coming at the Washington Nationals in June. Ramirez’s single in the second inning left the bat at 107.8 miles per hour. “We still certainly believe in Augustin,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “He's a good player. He's another one who swings fast and hits the ball hard. We've seen him do things like tonight. So he's certainly very capable, and I think right now we just need contributions from him in as many places as we can get it.” Ramirez, who was brought over as a catcher in a trade with the New York Yankees in 2024 and made his Major League debut in 2025, was sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville in May of this year when his defense was a detriment to the team. To make matters worse, his offense, which was lauded as a plus-plus tool coming up through the minors and his first big league season, was merely average. He only had two home runs in 31 games, and his OPS was just .663. Ramirez was the designated hitter on Wednesday, which has been the norm since being recalled. His only start at catcher in his current Major League stint came on Sunday, and he was pulled after four innings in favor of Joe Mack. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix said after the trade deadline on August 3rd that Ramirez could also see time at first base. Since being called up on August 4th, Ramirez is 5-for-14. The hard-hitting right-hander wasn’t the only one with pop on Wednesday. Already up, 5-2 in the fourth, Griffin Conine hit a solo home run to center field off former Marlin Lake Bachar. It was Conine’s third home run in three games. The 29-year-old was robbed of a home run against Paul Skenes the night prior with a jump at the wall by Bryan Reynolds. He came into Wednesday with a slugging percentage of .577 and a .919 OPS with seven home runs since the All-Star break. Conine said the key lately has been avoiding chasing pitches out of the zone. “I think it's being selective, knowing exactly what I'm looking for,” Conine said. “I think the more time I spend, the more at bats I get, it's like the plan becomes clear of what (the opponent) is trying to do.” Heriberto Hernandez hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning for his team-leading 17th home run of the season. View the full article

Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez are both making strong cases for a major league promotion. Which highly touted outfielder will the Twins call up first? View the full article

Ethan Conrad is the Chicago Cubs’ first-round pick from the 2025 MLB Draft, and we finally have a decent sample size of professional baseball to work with. Now that he’s healthy and back on the diamond, let’s dive into the early impressions of Conrad, who joined the team just over a year ago. Ethan Conrad's Updated Cubs Scouting Report Conrad is Chicago’s No. 4 prospect, per our updated prospect rankings. The 22-year-old Wake Forest alum was the 17th overall pick in last year’s draft, and he brings a well-rounded skillset to the table. Standing at 6-foot-2 and weighing 220 pounds, his hit and run tools hold the highest grades at 55 apiece. While he has a larger frame, the left-handed hitting outfielder can move, capturing headlines for leading NCAA Division I with 13 triples in his days with Marist. Injuries & Cubs' First-Round History It’s been a little over a year since the former Demon Deacon joined the organization, but a few injuries kept him off the field until he made his debut in June. The outfield prospect had both a torn left labrum and a shoulder dislocation that sidelined him for the majority of his final collegiate season, and a lower-back injury pushed his debut time back as well. The Cubs haven’t had the best luck with first rounders over the past few years. Jordan Wicks (2021) has floated back and forth between the big leagues and Triple-A Iowa, as the southpaw now possesses a 5.72 career ERA in the majors. As for their 2022 first round pick, Cade Horton made a case for National League Rookie of the Year last season. However, the Oklahoma alum is down with a UCL injury that took him out for the year. Matt Shaw was the team’s first round selection in 2023, and he has shown promise on both sides of the baseball through his first two MLB seasons. Cam Smith (2024) is now with the Astros, as the Cubs dealt him in the Kyle Tucker trade last season. This is all to say that there’s pressure on the North Siders to hit with a first round selection. Progress Up To Myrtle Beach Conrad is 30 games into his professional baseball career, and he’s slashing .257/.328/.451 (.779 OPS) over between rookie ball and Low-A Myrtle Beach. The outfielder has five homers, 22 runs batted and 11 extra-base hits, showing the potential to be a potent power bat. He's only managed to steal one base thus far, but he does also have a triple on the season. As he fills out his frame, it’ll be interesting to keep an eye on whether he prioritizes power, speed or can have the best of both worlds. Attacking Early It’s important not to gather too many conclusions from a 30-game sample size, but here are some early takeaways from Conrad’s first real look at Minor League Baseball. For one, he’s jumping on pitches in the zone. Not only does Conrad swing at 75.1% of pitches thrown in the zone (89th percentile), but he’s only whiffing 16.2 percent of the time (92nd percentile). MLB Pipeline describes him as an aggressive hitter who can make up for it with remarkable hand-eye coordination, and so far that has translated to the Low-A level. The Cubs’ rising star also doesn’t strike out a ton, just 20.8 percent of the time. The more he can put the ball in play, the easier it’ll be to justify an attack-oriented approach. Being Picky, Finding Speed Conrad has a long way to go, but seeing him be a little more selective would likely give him more pitches that he can do damage with. The first-year professional walks just 8.9 percent of the time (27th percentile). The more hitters counts he can get into, the greater likelihood he’ll either earn a free pass or see a more appetizing option over the plate. View the full article

On Monday, the Blue Jays fell victim to a bizarre ruling. Because the Jays failed to record a fourth out, Red Sox baserunner Anthony Seigler scored successfully from third base on a fly ball, even though he never tagged up. Most of the players on the field had no idea what was going on. Even John Schneider – who had seen the same ruling 10 years earlier – was confused. I spent 20 minutes explaining it to my wife, and she said she understood, but I wouldn't blame her if she were lying just to make me stop talking. I think part of the confusion stems from the term "fourth out." The actual wording in the Official Baseball Rules is "apparent fourth out," with scare quotes around the latter two words. If the Blue Jays had made the necessary appeal to third base, they wouldn't have been credited with a fourth out. The original third out would no longer count, and the so-called "fourth out" would replace the preceding out as the official third out of the inning. An inning can't have more than three outs. Ever. But it can have more than three strikeouts. Thanks to another quirky entry in the baseball rulebook, a strikeout isn't always an out. If the catcher doesn't catch strike three (and a double play isn't in order), the pitcher is still awarded a K, but the batter isn't necessarily out. He can take off for first, and the base is his if he makes it there safely. So, hearing the words "fourth out" over and over again made me think back to Opening Day, when Jeff Hoffman put on the most Jeff Hoffman performance imaginable. He blew the save. He earned the win. He gave up a home run. And he struck out four batters in one inning of work. Jeff Hoffman Pitches in 4K Hoffman entered in the top of the ninth. The Blue Jays had a 2-1 lead. The top of the A's order was due up. Nick Kurtz, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, led off. Hoffman and Alejandro Kirk caught him looking on Toronto's first challenge of the ABS era. Then Shea Langeliers tied the game with a shot to straightaway center. The next three batters all struck out swinging. Tyler Soderstrom swung over a slider, missing by nearly a foot, but the ball bounced past Kirk, allowing Soderstrom to reach first. Thankfully, Brent Rooker and Jacob Wilson embarrassed themselves just as badly, and the Blue Jays walked it off in the bottom of the ninth. Hoffman is one of only two pitchers to throw a four-strikeout inning this season. The other, unsurprisingly, is Mason Miller. The Padres closer leads NL relievers in strikeouts, while Hoffman, now with the Twins, leads relievers in the AL. Before Hoffman, the last Blue Jay to strike out four batters in an inning was Mike Bolsinger. Don't feel bad, I had to Google him too. The soft-tossing righty pitched 11 games for a mediocre Blue Jays team in 2017. On July 18, Bolsinger threw the final 3.1 frames of a 15-inning loss to the Red Sox. Until he gave up a walk-off home run to Hanley Ramirez, his work was impeccable. He retired the first 11 batters he saw. That included four swinging strikeouts in inning 13: Take away that performance, and Bolsinger only struck out 18% of opponents in his brief tenure with the Jays. Hoffman was striking out batters nearly twice as often. Yet, in these two outings, they were very much alike. They're two of just three pitchers to throw a 4K inning in 50 seasons of Blue Jays baseball. The very first Blue Jay to accomplish the feat was Steve Delabar in 2012. (As one would expect, four-strikeout innings are more common these days than they were in the early years of the Blue Jays' existence.) Delabar would pitch 143 games for Toronto from 2012-15, and his 4K inning came just two weeks into his Blue Jays tenure. On August 13, 2012, Delabar threw the final two frames of an extra-innings win over the White Sox. In the first of those innings, he struck out all four batters he faced: Delabar was excellent in his first two years with the Blue Jays. He earned an All-Star nod in 2013, and later that summer, he threw the first immaculate inning (nine pitches, three strikeouts) in franchise history. From the trade deadline in 2012 through the end of the 2013 campaign, his 128 strikeouts ranked second among AL relievers. Unfortunately, he lost his strikeout stuff in 2014 and struggled through his latter seasons in Toronto. Fittingly, the Blue Jays have only had three pitchers throw a 4K inning, but they have had four such seasons in their history. On September 17, 2024, Luis Frías and Erik Swanson combined to pull off the feat. In what would turn out to be his final big league appearance (to this point), Frías struck out three Rangers batters in the bottom of the eighth... but he also gave up a double, a home run, and three walks. With the bases loaded, Swanson came in to record the final out. The Blue Jays have also been on the receiving end of a trio of 4K innings. The most recent was on April 23, 2021, with Tyler Glasnow on the mound. It took Glasnow nine batters to get those four strikeouts (Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Danny Jansen), and the Blue Jays brought four runs across the plate. Several years earlier, Phil Hughes struck out J.P. Arencibia, Adeiny Hechavarria, Anthony Gose, and Brett Lawrie back-to-back-to-back-to-back on September 20, 2012: On September 3, 1996, the Blue Jays' batters were dealt their very first 4K inning. The Royals' Kevin Appier struck out Ed Sprague, Carlos Delgado, Charlie O'Brien, and Alex Gonzalez in a dominant complete-game victory. Four-strikeout innings aren't as rare (or confusing) as fourth-out situations, but they're one of my favourite statistical quirks. I also think it's pretty darn cool that the Blue Jays have now had one of each in the same season. Now all they need is the ultra-rare four-strike at-bat to complete the "four of something that's usually three" challenge. (Unless that challenge really needs four components...?) View the full article

Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews - 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K (94 pitches, 60 strikes (64% strikes)) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Alan Roden (0.28), Josh Bell (0.17), Victor Caratini (0.12) Win Probability Chart The Twins entered Wednesday afternoon's series finale against the Orioles needing a win in the worst way. After dropping three straight series, Minnesota had to win the finale to avoid another series loss, and an early deficit against Baltimore made that task even more difficult. For a while, it looked like the Orioles were going to make things even more uncomfortable. Zebby Matthews struggled to find his rhythm early, allowing Baltimore to build a 4-1 lead by the third inning while forcing the Twins to work from behind once again. But Minnesota responded immediately, putting together a four-run third inning and shutting down any Orioles’ momentum. The Twins' offense finished with 14 hits, the pitching staff settled down after the early struggles, and Yoendrys Gómez worked out of a ninth-inning jam to secure a 7-5 victory. After another difficult stretch, this was exactly the type of win Minnesota needed. THE TWINS ANSWERED EVERY TIME BALTIMORE SCORED The biggest takeaway from Wednesday's game might’ve been how quickly the Twins responded whenever the Orioles grabbed control. Baltimore opened the scoring in the first inning after Gunnar Henderson walked, Pete Alonso singled and Jackson Holliday reached on a fielder's choice. Minnesota answered immediately in the bottom half, with Trevor Larnach's smart baserunning helping him advance to second on Royce Lewis' deep flyout before Josh Bell brought him home with an RBI single. Then the Orioles struck again. Dylan Beavers launched a three-run homer in the third inning, turning a 1-1 game into a 4-1 Baltimore lead. The pitch was a two-strike curveball that caught too much of the plate, and Beavers didn't miss it. But the Twins didn't let the deficit linger. Lewis started the bottom of the third with a double before Bell singled to put runners on the corners. Kody Clemens followed with an RBI single, Brooks Lee kept the rally going with another hit, and Luke Keaschall brought home Bell with a sacrifice fly. Victor Caratini then tied the game with an RBI single before Alan Roden smoked a ball off the wall in dead-center field, bringing home Lee and giving Minnesota a 5-4 lead. It was a four-run response to Baltimore's three-run inning, and it completely changed the game. THE OFFENSE KEPT POURING IT ON Once the Twins finally grabbed the lead, their offense didn't let up. Minnesota entered the fifth inning with a one-run advantage, but Caratini and Roden quickly put pressure on Baltimore's bullpen. Caratini opened the inning with a long single off the wall in right before Roden followed with a double, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Trevor Larnach eventually grounded out, but Caratini scored on the play to extend Minnesota's lead to 6-4. Then Lewis came through again. The Twins' shortstop ripped a splitter down the left-field line for his second double of the afternoon, driving in Roden and pushing the lead to 7-4. Bell finished with three hits, while Roden reached base four times and collected two hits. Lee added multiple hits of his own, and the Twins' lineup finished with 14 hits overall. After a tough night at the plate on Tuesday, Minnesota's offense broke out in a major way when it mattered most. ZEBBY MATTHEWS BATTLED THROUGH A ROUGH START Matthews certainly didn't have his best afternoon, but he deserves credit for settling down after a difficult start. The right-hander issued a leadoff walk to Henderson before Alonso singled, immediately putting runners on the corners. Baltimore took the lead on Holliday's fielder's choice, and Matthews needed 22 pitches just to get through the first inning. Things didn't get much easier in the second. Matthews allowed a pair of two-out singles before finally escaping the inning, pushing his pitch count to 43 through two frames. Then came the three-run homer from Beavers in the third, which put Baltimore ahead 4-1 and brought Matthews to 67 pitches. At that point, Minnesota desperately needed him to find a way to settle down. Luckily, he did. Matthews retired Baltimore in order in the fourth after allowing a leadoff walk, inducing a 6-4-3 double play in the process. He then worked a quick 1-2-3 fifth inning, exiting after 94 pitches with the Twins still holding a three-run lead. It wasn't the most efficient outing, and the early command issues put the Twins in a difficult position. But Matthews kept the Orioles from doing any further damage after the third inning, allowing Minnesota's offense to take over. THE BULLPEN SHUT THE DOOR Once the Twins built their three-run lead, their bullpen did exactly what it needed to do. Andrew Morris entered in the sixth and immediately delivered a clean inning, striking out Dylan Beavers and Leody Taveras while getting Christian Encarnacion-Strand on a groundout. Jeff Hoffman followed in the seventh. After striking out Christian Franklin and getting Carlos Narváez to fly out, Hoffman allowed consecutive two-out walks to Henderson and Alonso, bringing Holliday to the plate as the potential tying run. That's when Kody Clemens made one of the biggest plays of the game. Clemens made a spectacular jumping catch at second base, preventing at least one run from scoring and allowing Hoffman to escape the inning without surrendering the lead. AJ Minter then delivered a dominant eighth inning, needing only nine pitches to retire the Orioles. All nine pitches were strikes, and he struck out Encarnacion-Strand to finish the frame. That left the ninth to Gómez. Things got interesting quickly. Taveras launched a leadoff solo homer to right field on the first pitch he saw from Gómez, cutting Minnesota's lead to 7-5. Franklin then worked a walk, putting the tying run on base with nobody out. But Gómez responded. Pinch-hitter Colton Cowser lined a ball directly back at the right-hander, who caught it before doubling Franklin off first base. Henderson then grounded back to Gómez for the final out, securing the win. After allowing Baltimore to repeatedly put pressure on them early, the Twins eventually settled in and took control. Their offense provided the big response every time the Orioles threatened, while the bullpen made sure the late lead held up. It won't erase the frustration of three straight series losses, but Minnesota avoided another series defeat and moved to 60-62 on the season. More importantly, the Twins showed some of the fight that has been missing during their recent struggles. Baltimore landed the first punch, but Minnesota answered every time, and ultimately walked away with a much-needed series-clinching victory. What’s Next? The Twins will travel to Dyersville, Iowa to take on the Phillies in the 2026 Field of Dreams game tomorrow night. Taj Bradley will toe the rubber for the good guys, and he’ll face off against veteran right-hander Aaron Nola. First pitch is set for 6:30 PM on Netflix. Postgame Interviews Coming soon! Bullpen Availability Chart View the full article

Chicago Cubs Minor League Report Affiliate Overview Triple-A Iowa Cubs Series vs. St. Paul Saints (Minnesota Twins): Cubs lead, 1-0 Season Record: 46–66-1 Double-A Knoxville Smokies Series vs. Rocket City Trash Pandas (Los Angeles Angels): Trash Pandas lead, 1-0 Season Record: 58–51 High-A South Bend Cubs Series at Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers): Loons lead, 1-0 Season Record: 63–42 Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans Series vs. Hill City Howlers (Cleveland Guardians): Howlers lead, 1-0 Season Record: 42–65 Triple-A: Iowa Cubs Season Record: 46–66-1 Series Opponent: St. Paul Saints (66-48) Series Standing: Lead, 1-0 Aug. 11: The Iowa Cubs slugged their way to a 6-3 victory over the St. Paul Saints on Tuesday night at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. The Saints took a 1-0 lead in the first before Greg Jones (1-for-3) evened the contest with a solo shot in the third. St. Paul back in front in the fifth but the Cubs took the lead for good with a five-spot in the home half of the inning. Ben Cowles (1-for-3) and Jordan Nwogu (1-for-3) crushed back-to-back solo shots and BJ Murray (1-for-4) launched a three-run blast to make it 6-2. For Nwogu, it was his first-career home run at the Triple-A level. The I-Cubs got five strong innings from starter Jordan Wicks, who allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits to go along with one walk and two strikeouts. Wicks would pick up the win to improve to 2-9 on the season. The Saints added one more run in the seventh but Ethan Roberts and Gabe Klobosits worked scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to give Iowa the series-opening victory, with Klobosits earning his third save of the season. Jaxon Wiggins worked a scoreless sixth out of the bullpen, walking one and striking out two. Double-A: Knoxville Smokies Season Record: 58–51 Series Opponent: Rocket City Trash Pandas (57–51) Series Standing: Trail, 1-0 Aug. 11: The Knoxville Smokies fell in their series opener to the Rocket City Trash Pandas, 6-1, on Monday night at Covenant Health Park. Ariel Armas (1-for-4) gave the Smokies the lead with an RBI-double in the second but that would be the only offense in the game for the hosts. The Trash Pandas would take the lead with four runs in the sixth before adding two more in the seventh to go up 6-1, which would go on to be the final score of the ballgame. Knoxville would be held to just five hits on the night, with just one going for extras bases. The Smokies would also go 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, leaving six runners on base. Edward Cabrera, making his first rehab appearance at Knoxville, tossed five no-hit innings, walked just one batter and struck out seven. Daniel Palencia, also making his first rehab appearance with the Smokies, was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs over six batters faced without recording an out. Palencia walked three batters and struck out one. High-A: South Bend Cubs Season Record: 63–42 Series Opponent: Great Lakes Loons (60–45) Series Standing: Trail, 1-0 Aug. 11: The South Bend Cubs dropped their series opener at the Great Lakes Loons, 6-3, on Tuesday night at Dow Diamond. Logan Poteet (1-for-4) gave the Cubs the lead in the second with a two-run double and Matt Halbach (2-for-4) made it 3-0 with a solo shot in the third, his ninth of the season. The Loons made it a one-run game with two in the fourth and later made it 3-3 with a run in the sixth. Great Lakes took the lead for good with three runs in the seventh and would keep South Bend off the board the rest of the way. Jostin Florentino got the start on the mound for the Cubs and took no decision. Florentino allowed two runs on four hits over four innings of work, walked three and struck out five. Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans Season Record: 42–65 Series Opponent: Hill City Howlers (47–62) Series Standing: Trail, 1-0 Aug. 11: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans opened their series vs. the Hill City Howlers with a 9-4 defeat on Tuesday night at Pelicans Ballpark. Both teams traded runs in the second, with the Pelicans getting their tally via an RBI-single from Corey Nunez (2-for-4). The Howlers broke the contest open with two in the fourth and four more in the fifth to go up 7-1. Hill City added another run in the sixth before Myrtle Beach put three on the board in the eighth. Ethan Conrad (2-for-4) tripled home a pair of runs and Jhoander Irigoyen (2-for-4) singled in another. The visitors would go on to add one more in the ninth to make it 9-4. Edwardo Melendez got the start on the mound for the Pelicans and took no decision. Melendez allowed one run on two hits over three innings of work, walked two and struck out three. Conrad’s two-hit performance extended his career-high hitting streak to five games and now has four-straight multi-hit performances. View the full article

The Toronto Blue Jays have claimed right-handed pitcher Paul Sewald, who was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks earlier in the week. Sewald, a veteran of 10 MLB seasons, has a 6.23 ERA this season. He has 110 major league saves in his career. The righty will join a Blue Jays bullpen that has thrown more innings as a unit than any team in baseball since August 1 and is in need of reinforcements. Sewald is primarily a fastball-slider pitcher. He had a 3.18 ERA entering June 23rd but has allowed 17 earned runs in 14 innings since then. He now gives John Schneider another veteran option with major league experience in the back end of the bullpen. View the full article

Jaxon Wiggins has some of the most electric stuff in the Cubs’ farm system. But is his long-standing command issue finally becoming too big to ignore? View the full article