DiamondCentric

Last week, we highlighted an article discussing Matt Wallner's green line ticket across the river... and asked if Royce Lewis should take the next train. That answer came early this week. Take a look at this Matthew Trueblood article and add your voice here: First base has been a festering open wound for years for our Twins. Ray Stuedemann takes a look at solutions here. Outstanding comments follow. Anxious to see Kaelen Culpepper? Aren't we all? Did you know there's a whole TD section devoted to the Twins' minor-league system? Take a look here: View the full article

The May 18 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers is indicative of the 2026 Padres. Designated hitter Miguel Andujar hit a first-inning solo home run. Michael King, a potential first-time All-Star, pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits and striking out nine. All-world reliever Jason Adam set up all-world closer Mason Miller and: ballgame. Friars win 1-0. It’s another instance of elite pitching and unsung veterans carrying the team, with the Padres “Big 3” of Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill contributing little. They went a combined 1-9 with one walk. It’s another instance of wondering what’s going on with the Padres trio of stars. As of that win, their combined OPS this season was .592—an OPS lower than .700, let alone .600, is considered below average—and between them they’ve hit all of ten home runs. Tatis accounts for none of them. The explanation of “It’s early” becomes less convincing and satisfactory the closer we get to June, so it’s worth diving into what, exactly, is the problem. Looming over their performances, with nearly $700 million owed to them over the course of their contracts, is a disheartening question. Are they having down seasons, or is this who they are? More importantly, it’s hard to see how the Padres keep pace in a stacked National League without their best players producing a combined -0.1 bWAR. But there's hope. Fernando Tatis JR., RF Of the Padres' underperforming stars, Tatis' case is the most perplexing. How can someone in the top 1% in all of baseball in hard-hit percentage not have a home run? How does someone with elite exit velocity, good barrel rate, and consistent bat speed have only six extra-base hits? How does someone who batted .400 with two home runs and 11 RBI in March’s World Baseball Classic forget how to hit in April and May? The internet abounds with swing and stats analyses, hot takes, and conspiracy theories, with the more incisive commentators pointing to his batted ball profile and his chase rate. The latter is straightforward. He’s chasing more balls out of the zone and he’s hitting those pitches less, meaning his power goes untapped. I’m sure many a San Diegan have yelled at Tatis through their TVs this season to stop swinging at everything. It’s far easier said than done, but for a hitter as talented as Tatis this should be a relatively simple in-season adjustment. His batted ball profile is the true head-scratcher. His pull-air percentage is almost half of what it was last year and nearly a fourth of what it was in 2021, when he hit 42 home runs and was arguably the best young player in baseball. Concomitantly, his groundball rates are way up and his average launch angle is way down. It’s a bizarre profile. This year, Tatis may be the most powerful slap hitter in baseball history. The YouTube channel Made the Cut attributes this to a drastic change in Tatis’ batting stance. Beginning the season, his feet were are wider apart, and he also closed his stance, which made pulling the ball much more difficult. It appears that Tatis used this new, closed stance in the WBC, when he launched a dramatic grand slam to left field against Venezuela, but perhaps the lower quality of pitching in that tournament didn’t expose this weakness. Interestingly and encouragingly, Tatis used his old, open stance against the Dodgers on Monday night. In his first at-bat against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tatis smoked a 111.3-mph line drive to the pull side, albeit right at shortstop Mookie Betts. He was also the only one of the Big 3 with a hit. Tatis remains one of, if not the best defensive right fielder in baseball. With his reverting to a familiar stance, the dynamic and elite Tatis might be right around the corner. Manny Machado, 3B Tatis is in his age-27 season, typically a player’s peak, which makes his fall off so frustrating. Machado, on the other hand, turns 34 this summer and has played in the bigs since he was 19 years old. There are a lot of miles on his odometer, although it’d be unfair to say at this point that Machado is suffering age-related regression. Last year, he played 159 games and produced 4.1 bWAR. It was his best season since 2022. The intervening years weren’t bad, either. The last time Machado produced less than 2.7 bWAR was in 2018. In a piece for Padres Mission last month, N.B. Lindberg pinpointed Machado’s shortcomings this season. "Machado is walking at an incredible clip to start the season. His 15.5% BB% is almost double his career figure of 8.2% and ranks 19th in the league. The spike in walks isn’t a fluke either. He is currently sporting a 22.9% out-of-zone swing rate and a 66.8% in-zone swing rate. For a player whose career figures in those categories are 29.1% and 66.9%, respectively, Machado’s newfound patience suggests an overhaul in approach. In a vacuum, swinging at fewer balls is almost always a good thing. Walks are good. As are favorable counts. And it’s much easier to drive a strike past an outfielder than a pitch a few inches off the plate. However, baseball is not played in a vacuum, and what is usually a good development may be robbing Machado of what made him a special hitter in the first place." Unlike with Tatis, though, Machado’s defensive prowess has degraded, and there aren't many recent glimmers of hope offensively. In the last five games up that 1-0 victory over the Dodgers, Machado recorded just two hits, one of them a double. As Lindberg summarized, “it appears that Machado’s decision to rein in chase has inadvertently reined in his power stroke.” Like Tatis, Machado may want and the Padres may need him to return to a familiar approach. Jackson Merrill, CF Last year, a family filed into the row in front of me at a San Diego Wave game. Even though we were at a women’s soccer game, the little boy in the family wore a Jackson Merrill jersey. I got chatting with his parents, and at some point I asked the boy what he wants to be when he grows up. “Jackson Merrill!” he said, jumping up and down. Such was the effect of Merrill's revelatory 2024 rookie season, when he improbably won down-ballot MVP votes at a demanding position he had never played before. Injuries diminished his sophomore campaign, though his struggles persist this season. On the surface, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why. “The issue with Merrill's early performance this year isn't even in the performance itself,” writes Randy Holt in a recent piece for Padres Mission. “It's the absence of an obvious explanation for why he's underperforming. Generally, one can look at a player's underlying trends and find a catalyst that speaks to the origins of the struggle. Matters of the approach are a particularly notable factor in performance variance. Merrill's case isn't so apparent, however.” Holt goes on to explain that Merrill is both swinging harder and attacking pitches at a steeper angle, which may explain why his quantity and quality contact have diminished. It reminds me of Michael Scott's description of himself as a manager: "I work too hard, I care too much, and sometimes I can be too invested in my job." Merrill is still a good player. After all, he is the most valuable of the Big 3 right now. But there's an even better player waiting to be unlocked with the right adjustments. Following the conclusion of their series with the Dodgers, the Padres now sit 1.5 games back in the NL West. Considering the Big 3's combined performance, that is an astonishing accomplishment, and it shows that the Pads aren't going anywhere in the playoff race. But the Atlanta Braves are on pace for 108 wins, the Philadelphia Phillies have woken up, the NL Central doesn't have a team under .500, and the Dodgers are the Dodgers. In Monday night's win, the Padres batted Miguel Andujar in the two-hole. He's on his fifth team in his career and has accumulated a career 2.8 bWAR. A big chuck of it has come this season. Behind him batted Gavin Sheets and his -1.7 career bWAR. The Padres have excellent pitching, particularly in the bullpen, but that's not the lineup that will get the Padres through the National League and back to the World Series. To do so, they'll need their most recognizable stars to live up their billing. View the full article

Jack returns to the show as he and Spencer break down a 5-1 road trip against the Twins and Cubs, Shane Drohan and Chad Patrick emerging in the bullpen, Jake Bauers' breakout, and more. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View the full article

Owen has a boots on the ground report from his trip to Yankee Stadium, and Jesse brings the analysis on all things Jays vs Yankees, including Dylan Cease's stinker, Yesavage and Miles' gems, and the continued offensive frustrations. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jays-centre-podcast/id1846108462 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bi7SzfpcqMo5xYWnbCeoL Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-jays-centre-podcast-300304824/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/2qk9wqxd Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayscentre View the full article

Simeon Woods Richardson's struggles have been well documented here and elsewhere. His ineffectiveness has only been magnified by the tidal wave of injuries impacting the rest of the starting rotation. While his move to the bullpen last week was the first step in rebuilding him into the effective pitcher he was in 2024 and 2025, there are other plans in motion as well. "Simeon used to pitch good," said a member of the coaching staff who asked to remain anonymous. "In April and May, he pitched bad. That's why we're implementing the 'Stop Pitching Bad' program for him." While specifics on the program are nebulous, sources were able to give Twins Daily the general framework. "What this program does is say, 'Simeon, stop pitching bad. Pitch good instead,'" said the staff member. "'The pitches you've been throwing have been bad. The next time you're on the mound, make good ones. Not bad ones. They hit the bad ones really hard and far.'" Other sources confirmed these points of emphasis. "What this program aims to accomplish is making bad things good," said a front office source. "Stop doing bad things. Start doing good things. The good things make you happy. The bad things make you sad and are also very loud and startling." "The Stop Pitching Bad protocol is designed to make the bad pitches stop," said a source in the team's analytics department. "We dig into what's causing (Woods Richardson)'s problems. Through rigorous statistical analysis and hours of film study, we've determined that bad pitches are the primary driver for his rough start. If we replace those bad pitches with good pitches, it flips the whole thing for him and the rotation." Woods Richardson's most recent appearance was one inning of relief during Monday's 6-3 victory over Houston. Sources say they were happy with the early returns. "He allowed a hit and a walk, but there were less bad pitches than there had been," said the front office source. "One of the best ways to Stop Bad Pitches is to throw fewer of them. One inning instead of five is a remarkably effective way of getting immediate results, and you saw the impact on Monday." View the full article

Andrew Fischer's spring training and WBC performance resulted in plenty of excitement heading into his first full pro season. The power has been on display, but so has the whiff. View the full article

Ryan Kreidler may not be the biggest name on the Twins’ roster, but his defensive versatility, athleticism, and timely production are making him an increasingly important piece of the team. He’s quickly becoming the type of role player every contender needs. View the full article

Sweet Lou and Ol Gregg discuss the last nine games of Twins baseball, the Twins' flurry of roster moves, and answer listener questions with topics including the trade deadline, Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner, Jose Miranda, Taj Bradley, and the post office. Listen using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twins-off-daily-podcast/id1741266056 Listen using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tb78XlurcPTYYSsARdbD7 Listen using iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-twins-off-daily-podcas-167548600/ Listen using Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/nvclbt0w Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twinsdaily View the full article

Transactions: RHP Josh Knoth promoted to High-A Wisconsin from Low-A Wilson (and activated from Maryvale rehab) OF Luis Matos activated from AAA Nashville’s 7-day injured list RHP Griffin Tobias sent on rehab assignment to ACL Brewers RHP Quinn Priester sent on rehab assignment to AAA Nashville RHP Gerson Garabito sent on rehab assignment to ACL Brewers LHP Tate Kuehner placed on AAA Nashville’s 7-day injured list Game Action: Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Durham (Rays) 6, Nashville 0 (in 5 innings) Box Score and Game Log Via the Sounds’ website, game details and we encourage readers to review affiliate write-ups as part of their Link Report routine: Rain-Shortened Shutout Loss Snaps Nashville's Nine Game Win Streak We thank the Sounds’ media team for the detailed game report, which is remarkable considering the team didn’t score and the game was ended after just 4 ½ innings. Rehabbing Major League RHP Quinn Priester (3 IP, 5 R, 5 H, 3 BB, 1 WP, 2 Ks) started well by retiring the first 4 batters, including 2 via strikeout. However, he didn’t fool any of the remaining 11 hitters, topping out at 93.9 mph and throwing 34 balls amongst his 68 pitches. Nashville hitters had their opportunities, putting 2 runners aboard in each of the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings, but unfortunately stranded 6 baserunners in the 5 innings. Sounds’ Extras: Credit to Sounds’ OF Greg Jones for his 2 outfield assists and to the Bulls for not issuing any walks. All 5 Sounds’ hits were singles, as they’re evidently saving up their extra-base hits for the remaining games of the series. Friday’s outlook: Nashville will look to start the next winning streak and push their series lead to 3-1. Biloxi Pre-Game Media Notes Suspended: Birmingham (White Sox) 6, Biloxi 4 (1 out in top of 11th inning) Box Score and Game Log Via the Shuckers’ website, game details: Shuckers and Barons Suspended in 11th Inning C Darrien Miller (2-for-5, 2 homers), who re-signed with the Brewers in the offseason for his 8th minor league campaign, continued his terrific 2026 season with solo shots in the 2nd inning for a 2-0 lead and 7th inning to knot the game 3-3. Starting RHP Brett Wichrowski made strong strides in his 9th appearance, striking out 7 and only allowing 6 baserunners in 5 1/3 innings, though he conceded 3 solo homers. After RHP Edwin Jimenez navigated traffic (1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks), RHPs Cameron Wagoner (1 IP, 0 R, 1 K) and Nick Merkel made quick work of the 8th and 9th innings. Merkel then allowed the first 3 batters to reach in the 10th inning (intentional walk, 2 singles) before escaping via a home force out, K and ground out to keep the game close at 4-3. SS Jesus Made then re-tied the game with a 1-out RBI single in the bottom of the 10th, followed by an international walk of 1B Blake Burke (1-for-4, double, walk, HBP) and singles by OF Mike Boeve (1-for-4, walk) and 3B Eduardo Garcia. Unfortunately, Made was thrown out at home on the Boeve single and the game remained 4-4, forcing an 11th frame. RHP Stiven Cruz has been lights out thus far in 2026, but he allowed a bunt single (run scored on a Burke error) and homer in the 11th inning before play was suspended. We’ll blame the rain and hope the Shuckers can turn around this deficit when play resumes on Friday evening. Shuckers’ Extras: Eight Shuckers collected hits, with 2B Dylan O’Rae (2-for-4, walk, SB) and DH Matt Wood grabbing two each, though the teams combined to strand 20 baserunners. OF Mark Coley exited in the 4th inning after fielding a double in right field, so we’ll have to monitor his availability. Friday’s outlook: Biloxi and Birmingham are set to resume play in the 11th inning at 6:00pm CST, before playing a 9-inning game subsequently. Wisconsin Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Wisconsin 14, Great Lakes (Dodgers) 5 Box Score and Game Log Via the Timber Rattlers’ website, game details: Wisconsin Slams Great Lakes The detailed game report covers the rout which saw Wisconsin score 9 runs in the middle innings, including videos of the grand slams by DH Marco Dinges (2-for-5, HR, walk, 4 RBIs, SB) and C Andrick Nava. The slams more than adequately compensated for the Timber Rattlers going 3-for-23 with runners in scoring position, while the team impressively drew 14 walks, 2 hit-by-pitches and stole 8 bases. OF Josiah Ragsdale (1-for-3, 3 walks, SB) and 2B Daniel Dickinson (1-for-2, 3 walks, 3 SBs) each reached base 4 times, with their 2026 theft totals now at 17 and 10, respectively. RHP Chandler Welch was the standout performer on the mound (0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks), tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings after stranding 2 inherited runners from starting LHP JD Thompson (3 2/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 4 Ks). Timber Rattlers’ Extras: OF Josh Adamczewski’s bat (1-for-5) may not be as hot as it was in April, but he still produced an RBI double, an HBP, stolen base and added 2 outfield assists, the first of which kept the deficit at only 2-0 to end the first inning. Typically the team’s #1 catcher, Dinges instead manned the designated hitter spot for the 9th consecutive time since exiting a game early on May 5. Friday’s outlook: 2024 #33 overall draft pick RHP Josh Knoth makes his High-A debut after missing the 2025 season due to injury and recently rehabbing with the ACL Brewers. Wisconsin aims for a 3-1 series lead. Wilson Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Wilson 13, Delmarva (Orioles) 11 Box Score and Game Log Via the Warbirds’ website, game details: Wilson Mounts Monster Comeback in Win Over Delmarva Wilson put their early-season hitting struggles further behind them with their 13-run, 13-hit effort in Thursday’s victory, led by 2B Juan Ortuno’s 1st inning solo homer to cut the deficit to 2-1 and his game-winning 3-run homer with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th inning. All nine position players collected at least one hit in the Warbirds’ relentless comeback from deficits of 8-2, 9-4 and 11-10. After OF Pedro Ibarguen threw out a baserunner at home to end the top of the 5th inning and keep the deficit at 9-4, C Kevin Garcia started the critical 6-run, 6-hit fifth inning with a leadoff single that included OF Nick Monile’s 2nd hit of 2026 and 3B Luis Lameda’s 2-out, 2-run double for a 10-9 advantage. The lines for starting LHP Andrew Healy (3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 6 H, 1 BB, 0 Ks) and bulk lefty reliever Enderson Mercado (5 1/3 IP, 7 R, 8 H, 4 BB, 1 K) were less favorable. However, Mercado got better the longer he threw (88 pitches, 47 strikes), allowing only 2 hits and no walks to the final 11 batters he faced, before giving way to RHP Jose Meneses for the Save. Warbirds’ Extras: Veterans of the Low-A level, DH Tyler Rodriguez (3-for-5, 2 SBs) and Lameda (2-for-5, 3 RBIs, SB) had solid offensive days, while Monile (1-for-2, 2 walks, HBP, RBI, SB) also reached base 4 times. Wilson hitters went 7-for-20 with runners in scoring position vs. 3-for-11 for Delmarva. Despite 3 errors, the defense did come through for the Warbirds, including 3 double plays, a caught stealing, pick-off and the outfield assist. Friday’s outlook: RHP Jarrette Bonet is the scheduled starter aiming to push Wilson’s series advantage to 3 games to 1. Final: ACL Brewers 13, ACL Cubs 12 Box Score and Game Log The Zona Crew turned around an early 5-2 deficit with a 5-run fourth inning, highlighted by OF Kenny Fenelon’s RBI triple and OF Brailyn Antunez’s 2-out RBI double. Antunez (3-for-4) reached base 4 times (2 doubles, 1 single, HBP) to pace the offense, with C Malachai Halterman also going 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Seven batters contributed the 13 hits. The Brewers also ran the opposition ragged by stealing 8 bases without being caught, led by 2B Juan Martinez (2-for-4, walk, 2 SBs), 3B Moises Polanco (2-for-4, double, walk, RBI, 2 SBs) and OF Engel Paulino (walk, 2 SBs). Our young players also won the defensive battle, with Halterman throwing out 2 baserunners in the 4th inning and the Brewers benefitting from 6 Cubs’ errors. Four 2-out runs scored in the top of the 6th inning pushed the lead to 13-7 as valuable insurance, as the Cubs rallied against RHP Chase Bentley (2 IP, 5 R, 4 Ks) with 5 consecutive hits with 1 out in the final inning to narrow the advantage to 13-12 with the potential tying runner on base. Thankfully, Bentley rallied to end the game with a strikeout and fly out to center field. Rehabbing RHPs Gerson Garabito (1 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 1 K) and Griffin Tobias (1 IP, 0 R, 1 K) made their first appearances of 2026, while RHP Bryan Regalado (3 IP, 4 R, 1 K) covered the middle innings and earned his first career Win. We hope that you enjoy the Minor League Link Report. On Friday, six minor league games are scheduled for completion, starting with Wisconsin at 5:05pm and ending with the ACL Brewers (start time: 8:00pm CST). The Milwaukee Brewers also commence their home series against the Dodgers at 6:40pm. 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

With a team playing as poorly as the Chicago Cubs are right now, shining a light on one individual player's poor performance is akin to blaming a single cloud for a particularly heavy rain. As the club's losses have piled up, so have its frustrations, resulting in a team eager to deliver winning baseball, but laboring mightily to manifest the reality they and countless others desire. On better days, Moisés Ballesteros is a powerful and menacing bat. His impressive stature and skill set at the plate have the potential not only to catalyze his team's offense, but also the overall success of the club. The North Siders currently own a .245 batting average. That's not astonishingly low, but given where the squad was at the end of April and during their pair of 10-game winning streaks, it's more than enough to give one pause. Ballesteros, with his Prince Fielder-like frame, was a major factor in those halcyon days. The 22-year-old set the league ablaze in April with a .338/.392/.620 line. He even ranked in the top three in baseball in total hits through the first full month of the season. The surprising, wild ride made him an early candidate for NL Rookie of the Year. From that point, as it has with so many of his colleagues sporting Cubbie blue, regression set in. Given Ballesteros's rookie status, there is a smaller sample size from which to draw compared to other top-of-the-order batters, such as Ian Happ. Occupying the designated hitter role, Ballesteros comes to the plate with a swing-first mindset. Thus, his approach is reliant on first-pitch swings, which he offers 50.4% of the time. Additionally, he's chasing balls out of the zone at a 37.6% clip. Ballesteros does his damage by putting the ball in play and getting it to either touch grass or fly out of the park. He has close to zero value as a baserunner in late-game situations, due to his lack of speed. He's currently holding a .253 BABIP, leading opposing pitchers to come after him, but not necessarily with the nastiest stuff. Ballesteros feasts on changeups and has seen far fewer of them as his struggles persist. Recently dethroned by the Milwaukee Brewers as the top team in the loaded NL Central, the North Siders' collective bats are quieter than an audience watching a performance of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Several trackable aspects are certainly leading to their shortcomings, though even to the casual observer, the team is pressing—pushing too hard to deliver "the hit" that snaps them out of this funk. Neither Ballesteros nor anyone else can deliver that breakthrough moment, at least not yet. The night is darkest before the dawn, so perhaps the best is yet to come. Facing incessant criticism regarding the lineup card, Craig Counsell must be the one to insert Ballesteros back into the everyday fold. Ballesteros is increasingly omitted from his club's batting order, a move that is not likely to increase his confidence or performance at the dish. When the team was thriving, he spurred on plenty of its success. A "back to basics" reset of this lineup warrants some thought—although, where would this team be without what it's gotten from Michael Conforto so far? The best version of the Chicago Cubs can't be realized without a bopping Ballesteros. Knocked off their perch, the North Siders are now tasked with getting back in the fight. If they want to reclaim the top spot in the division, and maybe even stay there, they have to be the ones to throw the next punches. For the best outcomes, it's time for Ballesteros to step back into the ring and land a few decisive haymakers. View the full article

He has pitched better than his 4.42 ERA suggests, but even from a process standpoint, Abner Uribe hasn’t been the dominant late-inning force he was last season. His 3.60 FIP, 3.37 SIERA, and 92 DRA- look more like the ERA estimators of a solid middle reliever, not a high-leverage arm. His 25.3% strikeout rate is still above average, but his 22% whiff rate only ranks in the 27th percentile of qualified pitchers. All of those marks are far cries from last year, when Uribe posted a 1.67 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 2.89 SIERA, and 77 DRA- with a 30.2% strikeout rate. He induced whiffs on an excellent 32% of swings and ground balls on 54.3% of batted balls. Uribe owed much of that breakout to a more balanced pitch mix. He used his sweeping slider a career-high 46% of the time, even making it his most-used pitch to right-handed batters. According to Baseball Savant, it held opponents to .203 wOBA, yielded a 46.8% whiff rate, and was worth 7 runs. This year, Uribe has slashed his slider usage and reverted to the sinker-heavy mix that was less successful earlier in his career. With its elite velocity and late movement, Uribe’s sinker is a good fastball, but it’s not a great one. Pitch modeling metrics regard his slider as his nastiest pitch. It induces more swings and misses and weak contact than his sinker, making it an important equalizer in Uribe’s arsenal that prevents opponents from sitting on velocity. The slider hasn’t been as useful this year, however, entering the weekend with a -1 run value. That has prompted Uribe to lean more than ever on his sinker this month. Uribe’s slider hasn’t actually become a worse pitch. Last season, it had a 130 Stuff+ and -1.4 StuffPro; this year, it’s at a 127 Stuff+ and -1.3 StuffPro. The difference has been that he’s stopped throwing it competitively. After throwing it for a strike 67.5% of the time last year, Uribe has managed just a 59.4% strike rate with his slider in 2026. He’s falling behind in counts with it and failing to put hitters away, which is why it suddenly has a negative run value despite minimal damage against it. Sweeping breaking balls are useful in-zone pitches against same-handed hitters, who will struggle to stay on the pitch as it breaks away from them. Opposite-handed hitters can square them up more easily as the ball breaks back toward their barrel. Right now, too many of Uribe’s sliders are missing outside the zone to right-handers and inside the zone to lefties. Compared to last season, right-handers have looked just as feeble when swinging at Uribe’s slider, recording zero hits with a 47.6% whiff rate, but its in-zone rate has fallen from 47.1% to 28.6%. The nasty sliders that once started over the plate before sweeping out of reach are now starting on the corner and breaking into the other batter’s box, making them easier for most of those hitters to take. On the flip side, Uribe’s slider neutralized lefties last year because he threw it at or below the knees or near their back foot, where it had more perceived depth and generated more swings over the top of it. This year, he’s thrown a whopping 66.7% of his sliders to lefties in the zone, many of them around the belt. As a result, they’re slugging .615 against it with just an 11.1% whiff rate. The current version of Uribe is still a useful pitcher, but a limited one. His ground ball rate has bounced back this month, largely thanks to that sinker, but his heater does not miss enough bats or force chases outside the zone. For things to truly start clicking again, Uribe’s breaking ball must become a weapon again. His feel for that pitch could have a pronounced ripple effect on the back end of Milwaukee’s bullpen this summer. View the full article

The Minnesota Twins spent a long time trying to avoid this moment. They gave Royce Lewis every opportunity to work through his struggles at the major-league level because, for years, he looked like the type of talent worth waiting on. But eventually, potential stops mattering if the production never returns. Now the former No. 1 overall pick is headed to Triple-A. The move feels shocking on the surface because Lewis has long been viewed as one of the organization’s foundational players. Yet, when you look at the bigger picture, this decision has been in the works for quite some time. Lewis’s offensive struggles have spiraled to the point where the Twins could no longer justify keeping him in the lineup every day. His batting average has cratered to .163 with a .540 OPS, and the overall at-bat quality has become increasingly concerning. Sunday may have been the clearest example yet. Lewis struck out three times in a 0-for-3 performance before eventually being lifted for a pinch-hitter. The Twins have already shown they're willing to send struggling veterans to Triple-A this season, with Matt Wallner’s demotion just a few days before Lewis. Lewis simply reached the point where his name and pedigree could no longer outweigh the results. What makes the situation more troubling is that this is no longer just a rough few weeks. For much of 2024, Lewis still looked like an emerging superstar whenever he was healthy enough to stay on the field. Around mid-August, his OPS remained north of 1.000, and injuries appeared to be the only obstacle standing in his way. Instead of building on that success, however, his performance completely collapsed over the final stretch of last year and never recovered. Since mid-August 2024, Lewis has slashed .214/.268/.339 with a 68 wRC+, while striking out 157 times compared to only 47 walks across 179 games. Those numbers are no longer small-sample noise. They represent nearly a full season of offensive dysfunction. Even the underlying metrics offer little optimism. While some poor luck has contributed to the ugly batting average, Lewis still owns an expected batting average of only .205. The quality of contact simply has not been there. More concerning than the results themselves is how Lewis has looked while producing them. At the plate, he appears caught between mechanics and reaction. His strikeout rate has climbed to a career-high 31.1%, and he is whiffing on 37.3% of his swings. Pitch recognition has become a major issue, particularly against velocity. Far too often, Lewis looks like he is guessing instead of reacting. Fastballs used to be the pitch he punished. During his first two major league seasons, Lewis demolished fastballs to the tune of a .355 average and .711 slugging percentage. That ability helped fuel the belief that he could become one of baseball’s next young stars. Since then, the numbers have completely flipped. During his electric rookie season, Lewis demolished four-seam fastballs to the tune of an .842 slugging percentage. Last season, that number cratered to .332, while his whiff rate against four-seamers climbed to 25.5%. The decline produced an -8 Run Value against fastballs and forced pitchers to attack him differently. The problem has continued into 2026. Lewis currently owns just a .291 slugging percentage against four seamers, with a 34.1% whiff rate. Perhaps even more concerning, his pull percentage has dropped from 31.4% during his rookie campaign to 24.1% this season. The explosive damage on pitches he once turned around with authority has largely vanished. That is a devastating development for any hitter, especially one whose game was built around elite bat speed and the ability to attack velocity. Part of the frustration for Minnesota is that Lewis spent the offseason attempting to fix these exact issues. One of the biggest storylines during spring training involved his work with new hitting coach Jeremy Isenhower, who came highly recommended by stars like Bobby Witt Jr. and former Twins infielder Jorge Polanco. The goal of the mechanical changes centered around Lewis’s setup before the swing even began. The hope was that a more repeatable pre-swing position would improve his timing, pitch recognition, and overall swing decisions. Instead, the changes seem to have had the opposite effect. Lewis frequently looks uncomfortable in the box, late on velocity, and indecisive against secondary pitches. That is why Triple-A matters right now. This demotion is not about punishment. It is about rebuilding a hitter who currently looks broken mechanically and mentally at the plate. The Twins need Lewis to simplify everything again. At Triple-A, the focus has to start with attacking fastballs consistently. Lewis does not need to rediscover superstar production overnight, but he must prove he can get on time against velocity again. The swing decisions also need major improvement. Too often, Lewis expands the zone early in counts and then looks frozen once pitchers get ahead. Minnesota will also likely want to see him establish a more consistent approach from game to game. Right now, every at-bat feels different. Sometimes he sells out for power. Other times, he appears purely defensive. The organization needs him to rediscover a stable offensive identity before bringing him back to the majors. That's why, as fun as his homer in his first game with the St. Paul Saints was, it's far from enough to get anyone actually dreaming of the player's return to Target Field. There is also value in allowing Lewis to play every day without the pressure of carrying a struggling big-league offense. Triple-A gives him room to fail, adjust, and rebuild confidence in a lower-stakes environment. The Twins are not giving up on Lewis. Players with his talent are not easily discarded. But they are finally acknowledging a reality that has become impossible to deny. Lewis has not looked like a productive major league hitter for a long time now. This reset was necessary. The next step is up to Lewis. What does Lewis need to focus on at Triple-A? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

The major league schedule gave the Royals and their fans a much-needed respite from misery Thursday. Sandwiched between a Wednesday loss to Boston that gave the struggling Red Sox a Kauffman Stadium series sweep and Friday night’s Memorial Day weekend series opener with Seattle, Thursday’s built-in off day meant the Royals had no chance to extend their eight-game losing streak and dig themselves deeper into the American League Central cellar they shared with Detroit. Whether the short break leads to anything positive remains to be seen. Clear, however, is that something, or some things, must change before this season becomes an even bigger mess. But while this is a team whose serious flaws include a weak offense, shaky base running, and an unpredictable bullpen, change can’t come recklessly. Here are three moves Kansas City shouldn’t make. The Royals Must Not Send Vinnie Pasquantino Down He has three minor league options left, but demoting Pasquantino, whose two straight 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons prompted the club to present him with a new two-year contract in January, was unthinkable not that long ago. But his miserable start — he was slashing .194/.279/.326 with a 68 wRC+ and -0.4 fWAR when manager Matt Quatraro sat him against Boston Wednesday — has spawned chatter that some time at Triple-A Omaha might help. Perhaps. But proponents of such a big move must remember that Pasquantino is no stranger to slow starts. Through Wednesday, his 22 RBI ranked second on a team starved for runs, and he was tied with Jac Caglianone for the third-most homers (five) on the club. So, despite some disturbing peripherals (his hard-hit and barrel rates, and average exit velocity, are all down), the Royals, who’d scored more runs than only four other teams through Wednesday, shouldn’t risk losing Pasquantino’s production potential. Even platooning him for a while would be better. The Royals Shouldn’t Fire Matt Quatraro (yet) The notion that the Royals’ current distress warrants canning the manager is increasing among fretting fans. And an eight-game losing skid and 20-30 record fuel the fire. But it’s not time. Let’s not forget that in his second campaign at the helm, Quatraro led KC to its remarkable turnaround and playoff berth just a season after the awful club he inherited from Mike Matheny lost a franchise record-tying 106 games. Or that the Royals missed the postseason by only five games last year. Or that the front office failed once again to make the kind of significant offseason roster improvement Quatraro badly needs. No, firing the manager now probably won’t work the kind of dramatic change for which Royals fans yearn. Yes, he makes some questionable moves, his nearly unwavering commitment to platooning can be maddening, and he doesn’t display the kind of fire fans relish. But there’s still time. Wednesday’s loss to the Red Sox came with more than two-thirds of the season left to play. Key injured starter Cole Ragans should return soon. Closer Carlos Estévez will presumably be back this season, hopefully sooner rather than later. Expect Pasquantino to catch fire and Caglianone to show at least some improvement against left-handed pitchers. Simply put, the race isn’t over, and playing in a marginal division won’t hurt the Royals’ chances. And on top of all that, KC isn’t likely to eat the new three-year deal Quatraro received in January. Changes to the hitting staff are more likely … and probably more warranted. The Royals Shouldn’t Rush Anyone to the Majors Potential is scattered throughout Kansas City’s farm system. The franchise boasts such highly-touted prospects as Blake Mitchell, David Shields, Kendry Chourio, and Sean Gamble, but even the best of the bunch are far from being major league-ready. Calling any of them up risks damaging their development. The Royals must also resist the temptation to recall Triple-A players whose major league histories suggest they can’t or won’t help. Outfielder Drew Waters comes immediately to mind — he was slashing .273/.333/.545 with seven homers and 23 RBI in 33 games through Wednesday, but in 208 big league contests over parts of four seasons has an 85 wRC+, is hitting only .234, and has homered just 14 times. Fellow outfielder John Rave’s numbers (.273/.374/.481 with seven homers and 19 RBI at Omaha, but .196/.283/.307 with four homers and 14 RBI in 72 games with KC last year) are similar. With a nice .260/.359/.487 line, seven home runs, and 35 RBI, outfielder Kameron Misner is faring better than Waters and Rave, but his 79-game big league .203 average and .260 OBP suggest he requires more seasoning. He has no big league experience, but Brett Squires looks good — he was slashing .333/.355/.867 with four homers in eight games through Wednesday after his .294 average, .926 OPS, six homers, and 29 RBI in 32 games recently earned him a promotion from Double-A Northwest Arkansas. But it’s simply too early to bump him up to the majors. What Should the Royals Do? For now, try to stay the course, but with a change or two. General manager J.J. Picollo should be probing the market for another bat and a starting pitcher for depth, both of which his club could use well before the trade deadline. Shaking up the hitting staff deserves strong consideration. And Quatraro needs to be more flexible with his lineup. View the full article

One of the more intriguing stories in the Royals' farm system is corner infielder Brett Squires. Squires initially began the season in Double-A Northwest Arkansas. However, he recently received a call-up to Triple-A Omaha, and he's continued to be on fire at the plate. With the Naturals, the former University of Oklahoma product slashed .294/.388/.538 with a .926 OPS in 139 plate appearances. He also hit six home runs, scored 22 runs, collected 29 RBI, and stole nine bases on 10 attempts. He also had a .244 ISO and sported a TJ Bat+ of 141, according to TJ Stats. Below is also a look at his Statcast percentiles from Double-A, which are a bit more limited due to a lack of publicly available pitch-tracking data. As Royals fans can see above, it wasn't a "perfect" profile by any means. Squires whiffed 35.3%, which ranked in the 19th percentile, and he had an O-Swing% of 32.3%, which ranked in the 26th percentile. Thus, he chased and whiffed more than fans would like to see. Still, despite those two traits, he had a walk rate of 12.9%, which ranked in the 61st percentile. So his aggressive approach didn't seem to affect his production in Northwest Arkansas. His performance has been even better in Triple-A Omaha. In eight games and 31 plate appearances, Squires is slashing .333/.355/.867 with 1.222 OPS. He already has four home runs, five runs scored, 11 RBI, and a TJ Bat+ of 189. Additionally, his Statcast percentiles, which are more complete in Triple-A, are pretty eye-popping, especially with more categories available due to pitching tracking in Triple-A. Squires ranks in the 99th percentile in barrel rate (22.7%), hard-hit rate (63.6%), xwOBA (.486), wOBA (.505), and TJ Bat+ (189). He also ranks in the 100th percentile in average EV (96.9) and 97th percentile in 90th% EV (108.7). Safe to say, the batted-ball quality from Squires has been impressive, and he certainly is making his case in Triple-A that he deserves a call-up to the Major Leagues at some point in 2026. And for those who needed to "see" what Squires can do, live or on video, here's an example of Squires' smooth swing doing major damage against Triple-A pitching. Then again, there are some of the same issues in Triple-A that we saw in Double-A. He has a 27.7% whiff rate, a 76.2% Z-Contact%, and he hasn't drawn a walk yet. On Thursday, he went 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts against the St. Paul Saints. Thus, things can get problematic for him when he's not putting the ball in play. Thus, let's determine whether Squires is a sleeper who could have an impact at the Major League level or if he's just a Four-A player who is feasting on mediocre pitching and favorable hitting environments. Squires Has Always Demonstrated This Batted-Ball Ability The one reason fans should be optimistic about Squires' Major League outlook is that he has consistently shown the ability to hit the ball hard. That's a Minor League skill that often translates well to the Big Leagues. Not only has Squires demonstrated excellent exit velocity, hard-hit, and barrel ability with the Storm Chasers, but he also showcased similar skills in his stint in the Cactus League in Spring Training. In 21 plate appearances in Arizona, Squries slashed .263/.286/.842 with a 1.128 OPS. The 26-year-old also had three home runs, four runs scored, and eight RBI. While he was a non-roster invitee and didn't seem to have much of a shot to make the MLB Opening Day roster, he demonstrated skills that could blossom in the Major Leagues. That is further illustrated in his Statcast percentiles from Spring Training, courtesy of TJ Stats. Here's an example of Squires absolutely mashing a ball against the Rockies in a Spring Training game on February 28th. Thus, even though we are just seeing the Statcast data publicly for the first time in Triple-A, this isn't the first time that Squires has demonstrated an ability to hit the ball effectively. His strong Spring Training stats show that there is some legitimate power potential in his profile, though it carries some strikeout and swing-and-miss risk. Is He Too Similar to CJ Alexander? One former prospect Squires profiles similarly to is Alexander, who was also a corner infielder in the Royals system back in 2024. Alexander was acquired from Atlanta in 2022 in a trade that also netted Drew Waters and Andrew Hoffman in exchange for the 35th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft (which eventually became pitcher JR Ritchie). In 2024 with the Storm Chasers, Alexander slashed .303/.352/.554 with a .906 OPS in 350 plate appearances. He hit 16 home runs, scored 56 runs, and collected 54 RBI. That included some big-time bombs like this one that went 437 feet in Rochester that season. Additionally, Alexander also sported a TJ Bat+ of 131 in 82 games, and had a Statcast profile with the Storm Chasers that was similar in composition to what Squires is doing this year with Omaha. Alexander did everything that one wanted to see from a slugger in Triple-A: he hit the ball hard, launched and pulled the ball well, and even though he didn't walk, he didn't strike out a whole lot either (60th percentile K%). Unfortunately, the former Braves draft pick hit a wall when he got called up to the Majors in 2024. In eight plate appearances, he only had one hit and struck out three times. He posted a .250 OPS, and that Statcast percentiles were meager, to put it kindly. While it wasn't a big sample, it was obvious that Alexander looked overwhelmed at the MLB level. Thus, he was not only optioned back to Omaha after only eight plate appearances, but he was also eventually designated for assignment and picked up on waivers by the Athletics. As was the case with the Royals, Alexander put up big numbers with the A's, posting a 131 wRC+ in 2024 and a 96 wRC+ in 2025. He also received a promotion in 2025 with the Athletics, but much like his time in Kansas City, the sample was small (17 PA), and the results were meager, as illustrated by his .352 OPS and lackluster Statcast percentiles. Right now, Alexander is in the Astros organization playing for Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys. Much like 2024 and 2025, he's mashing in Triple-A, slashing .263/.357/.506 with 10 home runs, an .863 OPS, and 115 TJ Bat+. That said, he remains in Triple-A, even though the Astros are 20-31. Perhaps Houston is the place where Alexander puts it together at the MLB level. However, he is the epitome of a Four-A player. Will Squires Follow A Similar Path to Alexander? Right now, it's easy to see the comparisons between Alexander and Squires. Alexander was a 20th-round pick while Squire went undrafted. Neither is really known for their defense or their speed on the basepaths. They also have never been highly-rated prospects in their career, as Squires has never made the Royals' Top-30 on MLB Pipeline since debuting in 2023. Lastly, they have swing-and-miss issues that could prevent them from finding MLB opportunities and success. Still, I am not sure if Squires is Alexander 2.0 just yet. Squires is still 26, and Alexander didn't debut until he was 27. Thus, age is more on Squires' side, though that gap is closing quickly for the former Sooner. If he doesn't debut this year, he'll be the same age as Alexander when he made his MLB debut in 2024. The big question with Squires is where he will fit if promoted. He primarily plays third and first base, and those positions are set with Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino as the regular players, respectively. Thus, for Squires to debut, an injury would have to beset one of those guys, and even then, a call-up is not guaranteed for Squires. Regardless of positional fit, the Royals need hitters who can mash, especially with the club ranking 27th in baseball in runs scored. If Squires continues to mash in Omaha, he'll make some noise for a call-up sooner rather than later. If the Royals continue to sit near the basement at the end of June, Kansas City may have no choice but to call up Squires and give him a chance to prove himself in the big leagues. View the full article

An All-Star for the club in 2022, Garrett Cooper hit 52 home runs over his five-plus seasons as a member of the Miami Marlins. His lone walk-off blast came on this day five years ago. In the middle game of a three-game series against the New York Mets, Cooper played the role of hero. Cooper worked a seven-pitch at-bat before his two-run shot lifted the Marlins to a 3-1 victory. With the score tied 1-1 on May 22, 2021 at loanDepot park, the Mets turned to right-hander Drew Smith in the bottom of the ninth to try to get the game to extra innings. For Smith, the outing couldn’t have started much better. Smith wound up throwing more pitches to Cooper than the three other hitters he faced combined. Smith opened the inning by getting Jesús Aguilar to line out before retiring Adam Duvall on a weak pop-up one pitch later. On the very next pitch, Brian Anderson singled to right field to set the stage for Cooper. After working the count full, Cooper got a fastball up and connected big-time. On a pitch right down the middle, Cooper belted a no-doubter into “AutoNation Alley” in left-center field for the walk-off blast. For six and a half innings, neither team scored. Miami’s Corey Dickerson broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly to score Anderson. The Mets drew even a half-inning later on Dominic Smith’s RBI single. Cooper and Anderson each had three of the Marlins’ seven hits. On the mound, Pablo López allowed just four hits and a walk in seven shutout innings while striking out eight. Yimi García worked a scoreless ninth for Miami to pick up the win. During his time with the Marlins, Cooper had more than his fair share of big hits, including a few timely home runs. His only career walk-off blast, however, came on this day five years ago. View the full article

Justin Gonzales has been something special since signing with the Boston Red Sox. In his first year with the organization, he was named the 2024 Red Sox Minor League Latin Program Position Player of the year after hitting .320/.391/.517 in the Dominican Summer League. Impressed, the front office decided to bring him stateside, having him start in the Florida Complex League. That wasn’t for long, as after just one game, Gonzales was on his way to Salem. Standing at 6-foot-7, the then-18-year-old would go on to hit .298/.381/.423 with 23 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 27 RBIs before earning a late season promotion to Greenville. It's important to remember that Salem plays in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League. In fact, out of all batters with 300 or more plate appearances, Gonzales’ 131 wRC+ ranked sixth and only one player his age had a better one. Gonzales’ stock continued to rise in 2026 as he entered the season as TalkSox’s seventh ranked prospect (and is now the fifth ranked) while also making it into Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list (he’s currently 96th) after a May update to the list. The level of play has helped cement Gonzales’ placement on many top prospect lists as he’s slashed .315/.405/.521 with eight doubles, two triples, six home runs and 25 RBIs in just 34 games with High-A Greenville. His rise was not a surprise, as he had already garnered discussion about being the next Red Sox star prospect at the start of spring training. Defensively he has been just as impressive, mostly playing the outfield, though he has seen limited time at first base. This season, Gonzales has appeared in 29 games in right field, and many teams are starting to learn not to run on one of the strongest arms in High-A. Through 260 innings in the field, Gonzales has thrown out five runners while committing just one error. His range has been average and hasn’t hurt the cause, but his arm is a legitimate run prevention tool from the outfield. His time in Salem showed he had quite impressive raw power to go along with plate discipline skills and consistent production, and his start to the 2026 season has only enforced it. As he’s shown he can handle the pitching in Greenville, fans have clamored for a promotion to Portland to see how he handles a tougher level of competition. However, there are still aspects of his game he needs to work on to fully ensure his promotion to Portland and his overall growth as a player. The first would be on the defensive side of his game. While his arm is above average and has opposing teams fearing it, he needs to improve his overall glove work. As mentioned above, his range is average, but his routes need work, especially seeing as he isn’t the most fluid outfielder. Should the outfield not work out, the team could look to move him to first base where he has limited experience. Since 2025, he’s played just one game there (coming in 2026) after playing first base 32 times in 2024. With the lack of depth at first base in the Red Sox organization, that could be a possible direction they take especially as they have a lot of outfielders, especially in the upper minors. Yet, his biggest issue stems actually from how he hits the ball. Despite having amazing exit velocities that show he crushes pitching when he makes contact, how he attacks the baseball needs to change. Coming into 2026, there was discussion surrounding how Gonzales may hit the ball too often into the ground. For the 2025 season, he had a 57.4% ground ball rate, an increase from his 2024 number of 46.9%. Though 2026 has seen his ground ball rate get closer to his 2024 number as it’s currently at 49.1%, that number is still too high for someone with his power. Realistically, you would like to see Gonzales lifting the ball in the air in well over 50% of his batted ball events. Should he learn to lift the ball consistently, it would only elevate his game by allowing him to be a true power threat in the middle of a lineup. The final thing the 19-year-old needs to work on is his discipline, especially where it pertains to pitches out of the strike zone. While he has a good understanding of the strike zone, he can be very aggressive at times leading to him chasing a pitch that would have been a ball. Thanks to an advanced approach, he’s been able to hit well despite his tendencies to be overly aggressive. So far on the season he’s struck out just 26 times in 168 plate appearances, good for a 15.5% strikeout rate. Gonzales isn’t far from a promotion to Portland, that much is certain. The organization may just be waiting until these minor issues are worked on a bit more against lower-level competition. The last thing the organization would want is to rush Gonzales and have his issues taken advantage of by more advanced pitching. It makes sense to allow Gonzales enough time to prove he’s ready, instead of rushing him and dealing with the fallout of any potential struggles. View the full article

The Blue Jays needed innings, and no one had thrown more of them over the past decade than Patrick Corbin. It was a perfect fit. Indeed, with Shane Bieber, Cody Ponce, José Berríos, and Max Scherzer on the injured list, Corbin has been a key addition for the Blue Jays in 2026. His 38.1 innings pitched rank third on the team, behind only Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease. He has given the Jays a chance to win in all eight games he's started, and he's helped to preserve a bullpen that's been called upon heavily early in the year. The southpaw owns a perfectly respectable 4.23 ERA, and the Blue Jays are 4-4 in his eight appearances. Yet, I can't help but worry that the other shoe is bound to drop. And I don't know what the Blue Jays are going to do when it does. Corbin doesn't look like a pitcher who should have a league-average ERA. His last great season was in 2019. Over the next six years, he pitched to a 5.41 ERA. He struck out his opponents at an 18.2% rate and induced grounders on 44.2% of his batted balls. That's an 18.2% K-rate and a 44.2% groundball rate. Those are the numbers that resulted in a 5.41 ERA. Keep that in mind. So far in 2026, his strikeout rate is down to a career-worst 15.0%. Similarly, his groundball rate is down to a career-low 37.1%. Those aren't the numbers of a pitcher who should be able to maintain an ERA under 5.00. Heck, I'm not sure I'd trust someone with those numbers to post an ERA under 6.00. Baseball Savant and Baseball Prospectus agree with me. Despite his 4.23 ERA, Corbin owns a 6.41 xERA and a 5.97 DRA. Indeed, he is showing all the classic warning signs of a pitcher whose numbers are too good to be true. His home run-to-fly ball ratio from 2020-25 was 15.9%. This year, it's a career-low 9.5%. Meanwhile, his left-on-base rate is currently 77.6%, compared to a 69.0% average over the previous six seasons. And though you may look at his .331 BABIP and think "that's awfully high," it isn't actually anything out of the ordinary. His BABIP from 2020-25 was .327, and considering all the groundballs he's given up this year, I'm honestly surprised his BABIP isn't higher. Soon, Corbin is going to start giving up more home runs. He's going to start allowing more baserunners, and more of those baserunners are going to come around to score. Like I said, the other shoe is bound to drop. If I were going to believe that Corbin could keep giving the Blue Jays league-average innings, I’d need evidence that his stuff was meaningfully better than it has been for the last several years. Instead, it might be worse. Corbin is a stopgap. And to his credit, he’s filled that role with aplomb. Even so, he just isn’t a pitcher that a team with serious playoff aspirations can keep running out there every five days. Maybe he can keep giving the Blue Jays innings, but they won’t be the kind of innings that can help the team win games. Unfortunately, there might not be an end in sight for the Corbin era in Toronto. Ponce is out for at least the rest of the regular season. Berríos just had Tommy John. Eric Lauer is a Dodger. Scherzer and Bieber are supposedly nearing their returns, but they both feel like huge wild cards right now. I wouldn’t count on anything from either of them until we see it. Even if Scherzer and Bieber both come back healthy, I wonder if Toronto would use a six-man rotation – Gausman, Cease, Yesavage, Bieber, Scherzer, and Corbin – at least temporarily. Yesavage could certainly benefit from a lighter workload, as could Scherzer and Bieber. A six-man setup would also allow the Blue Jays to keep Corbin in the mix, in case another injury comes up. I don't love the idea of Corbin starting more games for the Jays, but I'm even more concerned about the alternative. We don't want to end up in a situation where the team is left with no choice but to cross its fingers and hope that Spencer Miles — who has already thrown more innings this season than he has in his minor league career — can handle a proper role in the rotation. So, where does this leave us? Well, it’s still early in the season, but it’s not too early to start thinking about the trade deadline. The Jays don’t need to make a move right away, but this rotation is going to need reinforcements eventually. Patrick Corbin is doing great, but he can’t keep doing this all year. View the full article

Fish On First staffers react to the latest Miami Marlins series and prepare you for what lies ahead. Thursday's show was hosted by Jeremiah Geiger and featured panelists Kevin Barral and Isaac Azout. The following topics were covered: - Losing three of four games to the Atlanta Braves - Rece Hinds acquired from Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Zach McCambley - Robby Snelling set to undergo Tommy John - Previewing and predicting the next series against the New York Mets You can find Fish Unfiltered and Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. Our next FOF LIVE episode will be Sunday at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET following the Marlins-Mets series finale. View the full article

Strong pitching was back on display for the San Diego Padres' affiliates Thursday as Ian Koenig struck out six in seven shutout innings as Double-A San Antonio won. Carson Montgomery continues to stand out as he fanned seven over five innings in High-A Fort Wayne's triumph, while Bryan Balzer and three relievers combined on a three-hitter in Low-A Lake Elsinore's victory, which featured a pair of homers. Samad Taylor had a big day at the plate with four hits for Triple-A El Paso, which lost in extra innings. Padres Minor-League Transactions San Antonio Missions activated C Jake Bold from the Development List. Samad Taylor Notches 4 Hits, But Chihuahuas Fall In 10th A day after giving up 23 runs in a blowout loss, the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas found an excruciating way to lose as the Round Rock Express scored the zombie runner during a rundown to notch a 5-4 win in 10 innings. With the zombie runner at second base to begin the top of the 10th, a single put runners on the corners. The runner at first then took off for second, but got himself into a rundown and the runner from third scored. In the bottom of the 10th, Clay Dungan was the Chihuahuas' zombie runner and went to third on a wild pitch. But he was stranded there as Marcos Castanon grounded back to the pitcher, Anthony Vilar struck out and Samad Taylor grounded out. Taylor finished the day 4-for-6 with a run scored, while Mason McCoy went 2-for-5 with two steals and scored a run. Round Rock scored two in the first and two in the fourth inning off Chihuahuas left-handed starter Jackson Wolf, who was pulled after 3⅔. He gave up six hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Right-handers Logan Gillaspie and Ethan Routzahn combined for 5⅓ scoreless innings before right-hander David Morgan took over in the 10th. The Chihuahuas scored once in the bottom of the first on a Jase Bowen groundout to make it 2-1, then another in the fifth on a Vilar double, a Taylor single, a Pablo Reyes walk to load the bases and a two-out wild pitch to pull within 4-2. They tied it in the sixth as McCoy singled, stole second, Dungan walked and Castanon had an RBI single. Taylor then had a one-out single to reload the bases and Reyes hit a tying sacrifice fly. EP_0521.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Samad Taylor 6 1 4 0 0 1 Pablo Reyes 1 0 0 1 3 0 Will Wagner 4 0 0 0 1 0 Jase Bowen 5 0 1 1 0 1 Nick Solak 3 0 0 0 0 2 Carlos Rodríguez 1 0 1 0 0 0 Mason McCoy 5 1 2 0 0 1 Clay Dungan 2 1 0 0 3 1 Marcos Castañon 5 0 1 1 0 0 Anthony Vilar 5 1 1 0 0 3 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jackson Wolf 3 2/3 6 4 4 2 4 0 Logan Gillaspie 3 1/3 2 0 0 0 4 0 Ethan Routzahn 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 David Morgan (L) 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 Ian Koenig In Control With 7 Shutout Innings For Missions Right-handed starter Ian Koenig's roller-coaster season hit a new high as he threw seven shutout innings in the Double-A San Antonio Missions' 5-1 victory over the host Frisco RoughRiders. Romeo Sanabria had two hits and an RBI, while Ethan Salas and Luis Verdugo also drove in runs for the Missions. Koenig scattered five hits and didn't walk anyone while striking out a season-high six. The seven innings matches his career high, accomplished in back-to-back outings in August for High-A Fort Wayne. Koenig retired the first eight RoughRiders before plunking a batter and giving up a single to the next hitter in the third inning before getting out of the mini-jam. The Missions scored three runs in the top of the fourth and two more in the seventh. In the fourth, Kai Roberts had a leadoff single, went to second on a groundout and third on Braedon Karpathios' single to right. Sanabria drove Roberts in with a ground single to right. After a strikeout, a passed ball scored Karpathios from third, then Verdugo singled to right to make it 3-0. There were two outs in the seventh when Francisco Acuna and Kai Murphy walked, then Salas singled in a run, Roberts walked to load the bases and Ornelas made it 5-0 when the pitcher couldn't catch a toss from the first baseman as he covered the bag. The RoughRiders scored their lone run in the eighth off right-hander Josh Mallitz (two strikeouts) and right-hander Johan Moreno pitched a perfect ninth with a strikeout. SA_0521.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ethan Salas 5 0 1 1 0 0 Kai Roberts 4 1 1 0 1 1 Tirso Ornelas 4 0 0 0 0 0 Braedon Karpathios 4 1 1 0 0 1 Romeo Sanabria 4 1 2 1 0 1 Ryan Jackson 3 0 0 0 1 2 Luis Verdugo 4 0 1 1 0 2 Francisco Acuna 2 1 0 0 2 2 Kai Murphy 2 1 0 0 1 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Ian Koenig (W) 7 5 0 0 0 6 0 Josh Mallitz 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 Johan Moreno 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Carson Montgomery Fans 7, TinCaps Win On Passed Ball Right-hander Carson Montgomery struck out a career-high seven over five innings, Jake Cunningham homered and the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps scored the tiebreaking run on a passed ball in the seventh inning to pull out a 5-4 victory over the Dayton Dragons. Fort Wayne won despite having just four hits as it drew 11 walks. Montgomery entered the game with a 16-inning scoreless streak, but yielded his only run in the top of the first inning. He has pitched exactly five innings in each of his last four starts in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. He allowed three hits and two walks, surpassing his previous career best of six strikeouts set in his final start before surgery in 2024 with Low-A Lake Elsinore. Even with the run allowed, his ERA now stands at 1.41. While the Dragons got three runs (two earned) in the sixth inning against left-hander Igor Gil, the rest of the TinCaps' bullpen—left-hander Braian Salazar,right-hander Tucker Musgrove and right-handed closer Clay Edmondson—didn't allow a hit and struck out four over the final three innings. Edmondson earned his ninth save, which leads the minors, and is unscored upon in 13 of his 15 appearances for a 0.50 ERA. Down 1-0, Fort Wayne tied it in the second after three walks loaded the bases and Zach Evans hit into a double play that brought in the tying run. In the fifth, two walks preceded Justin DeCriscio laying down a very nice bunt that the third baseman threw into the bullpen down the right-field line, scoring one for a 2-1 TinCaps lead. Dayton plated three runs in the top of the sixth, which included a throwing error and a passed ball by TinCaps catcher Lamar King Jr., to take a 4-2 lead. Cunningham launched his seventh homer of the season to lead off the sixth inning that trimmed the TinCaps' deficit to 4-3. In the seventh, Rosman Verdugo drew a leadoff walk and was erased on a King forceout. King then stole second and Alex McCoy hit a tying double on an opposite-field flare down the right-field line. Cunningham had an infield single, moving McCoy to third, then stole second. After an out, McCoy scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball. Cunningham had two hits and drew two walks. FW_0521.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Justin DeCriscio 4 0 1 0 1 2 Rosman Verdugo 2 0 0 0 2 2 Lamar King Jr. 4 1 0 0 0 1 Alex McCoy 3 2 1 1 1 0 Jake Cunningham 2 1 2 1 2 0 Jack Costello 2 0 0 0 2 1 Zach Evans 4 0 0 0 0 2 Jonathan Vastine 2 1 0 0 2 1 Kasen Wells 3 0 0 0 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Carson Montgomery 5 3 1 1 2 7 0 Igor Gil (BS) 1 3 3 2 2 2 0 Braian Salazar (W) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Tucker Musgrove (H) 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 Clay Edmondson (S) 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 Pair Of Homers Fuel Early Outburst, Pitchers Locked In As Storm Roll Yoiber Ocopio and Kerrington Cross hit homers to lead an early blitz by the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm in a 9-3 win over the host Visalia Rawhide. Storm right-handed starter Bryan Balzer allowed all three Rawhide hits in five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) with two walks and six strikeouts. Right-handers Brandon Langley (two innings), Sean Barnett and Will Koger allowed just a walk over the final four innings. But by that time, the Storm offense had already done its damage, scoring twice in the first on a double steal with Bradley Frye swiping home and Truitt Madonna added an RBI single, then two more in the third on Ocopio's second homer of the season, a no-doubt two-run shot for a 4-1 lead. It was the fifth where the Storm blew this one open. Ryan Wideman had a leadoff double and scored on Jose Verdugo's one-out single. Verdugo then stole second and Ty Harvey walked with a wild pitch putting Verdugo on third. Madonna then drove in Verdugo with a single to left and Cross followed with his three-run homer, an opposite-field drive to right for his third blast of the year and a 9-1 lead. Madonna finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored, Verdugo went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, Qrey Lott had three hits and Harvey had a pair of hits and scored once. LE_0521.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ryan Wideman 6 1 1 0 0 2 Bradley Frye 4 1 1 0 1 2 Jose Verdugo 5 2 3 1 0 0 Ty Harvey 4 1 2 0 1 2 Truitt Madonna 5 1 3 2 0 0 Kerrington Cross 3 2 1 3 2 0 Yoiber Ocopio 4 1 1 2 1 2 Qrey Lott 4 0 3 0 0 0 Conner Westenburg 5 0 1 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Bryan Balzer (W) 5 3 3 2 2 6 0 Brandon Langley 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sean Barnett 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 Will Koger 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 1-for-5 Kash Mayfield: DNP Miguel Mendez: DNP Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Ryan Wideman: 1-for-6, 2B, 2 K Jorge Quintana: DNP Ty Harvey: 2-for-4, 2 K Kale Fountain: DNP Braedon Karpathios: 1-for-4, K Lamar King Jr.: 0-for-4, K Jagger Haynes: DNP Alex McCoy: 1-for-3, 2B Truitt Madonna: 3-for-5 Tucker Musgrove: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Garrett Hawkins: DNP Michael Salina: DNP Eric Yost: DNP Rosman Verdugo: 0-for-2, 2 K Bryan Balzer: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Deivid Coronil: DNP View the full article

TRANSACTIONS Henry Kusiak was assigned to the Saints from Fort Myers. LHP Michael Carpenter’s rehab will continue with the Mussels. Catcher Enrique Jimenez was activated from the IL and joined the Mighty Mussels. OF Merphy Hernandez was promoted from the FCL to Fort Myers. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Omaha 11 Box Score Royce Lewis reported to the Saints, and he was right in the middle of the lineup right away. He also contributed offensively right away. Down 1-0 going to the bottom of the first, Kaelen Culpepper led off the first inning with an infield single. With one out, Lewis stepped to the plate and launched a ball 34 degrees and 104 mph. It went 368 feet, well beyond the fencing in left-center field to give the Saints a 2-1 lead. As you might guess based on the score, there weren’t many highlights for the Saints. Hendry Mendez led off the bottom of the sixth inning with his second homer since joining the team recently. He hit the ball 103.5 mph at 27 degrees. It landed 398 feet from home plate. The Saints had just six hits. No one had more than one. Hendry Mendez was 1-for-3 with a walk and a homer. He’s hitting .360 with an OPS of .965. John Klein started for the Saints. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out five batters. C.J. Culpepper was charged with two runs on three hits (including a homer) over 1 2/3 innings. Trent Baker gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in an inning. Kody Funderburk gave up three runs on four hits in his inning. Raul Brito gave up two runs on four hits over the final two innings. He struck out three batters. Ricardo Olivar made his Saints debut. He batted eighth and caught. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Check out one of our sister sites, Royals Keep, for more on the Kansas City Royals organization. Here are their Top 20 Royals prospects. Recent articles on current or recent Saints: Ryan Kreidler Might Be (a Lot?) More Than Just Depth for the Twins. The Twins Simply Don’t Believe in Outfield Prospect Kyler Fedko. Kyler Fedko Goes Nuclear (Again) What Must Matt Wallner Prove at Triple-A Before Returning to Minnesota? Who is Alex Jackson, and What Can He Bring to the Twins? Patience Now Could Pay Off Big for Twins and Kaelen Culpepper. How Zebby Matthews Reworked His Arsenal at Triple-A. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Tulsa 6 Box Score Down 6-1 going to the seventh inning, the Wind Surge attempted to come back but they fell short. Jose Olivares went the first three innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and had four strikeouts. Darren Bowen gave up two runs on three hits over two innings. William Fleming gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in his two innings. He struck out three batters. Luis Quinones gave up a hit and walked two batters but wiggled out of an inning without giving up a run. Kyle Bischoff worked a scoreless ninth frame. The Surge offense was helped by some wild Driller pitching. They had six hits and seven walks in the game. Kyle DeBarge went 3-for-5 with his sixth double and sixth home run. Caleb Roberts went 1-for-2 with two walks. Billy Amick also walked twice. Maddux Houghton added a two-run triple. Recent Twins Daily content on Wichita players: (Video) Eyes on (Eli) Jones KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 9 Box Score Not a good day for the Kernels, but several hitters had strong showings. Jason Doktorczyk started and gave up five runs on three hits. In 3 1/3 innings, he hit two batters, walked four and had four strikeouts. Adam Falinski gave up one run on one hit on four hits over 1 2/3 innings. Brian Zeldin made his High-A debut and was charged with two runs on one hit. In 1 1/3 innings, He walked five batters and had three strikeouts. Sam Rochard gave up one run on one hit (a homer) in 1 2/3 innings. He hit one batter, walked two and had three strikeouts. The Kernels scored six runs. They had 11 hits and walked four batters. They were a solid 4-for-14 (.286) with runners in scoring position and left eight on base. Khadim Diaw went 3-for-4 with a walk and his ninth double. Quinn McDaniel made his Kernels debut and went 3-for-4. Brandon Winokur went 2-for-5. Recent Twins Daily articles on Kernels players: Who are the Twins’ Next Top 100 Prospects? Eduardo Tait’s Early Season Performance and What It Means for his Long-Term Projection. Twins Prospect Hot Sheet: Dasan Hill is En Fuego. (VIDEO) Yasser Mercedes Hot Start Leads to Promotion MIGHTY MATTERS Game 1: Ft. Myers 10, Dunedin 8 (8 innings) Box Score This was a game in which innings included runs scored in crooked numbers or zeroes. The Mussels scored two runs in the first inning on a two-run homer by JP Smith II that drove in Ramiro Dominguez who reached on his ninth double. In the top of the second, Byron Chourio doubled to drive in Ryan Sprock with the third run. One batter later, Dameury Pena singled in Chourio to make it 4-The Jays scored two in the bottom of the second. Fast-forward to the bottom of the fifth when the Jays scored four runs to take a two-run lead. Michael Carpenter started the game for Fort Myers. The southpaw gave up one run on three hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. Reed Moring came on and worked the next three innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and struck out for batters. Jonathan Stevens came in and gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. He entered with a 4-3 lead and left with the team down 6-4 going to the top of the seventh inning. Chourio led off the top of the seventh inning with a single. Dameury Pena came to the plate, but he hit into a double play to end that threat. Down to their final out, Enrique Jimenez walked. Ramiro Dominguez came up and knocked his fifth home run, a two-run blast that tied the game at 6-6. In the top of the eighth inning, JP Smith was the Manfred Man. Jayson Bass walked. After a wild pitch, Ryan Sprock singled to drive in Smith with the go-ahead run. After a pitching change, a groundout and a strikeout left runners on second and third. Chourio picked up his teammates and came through with a two-run single. Dameury Pena followed with a triple to make it 10-6. Brent Francisco, who threw a scoreless seventh, came back out for the eighth inning. He allowed the Manfred Man and one more run to score but held on for the win. Chourio went 3-for-4 with his second double and three RBI. Pena went 3-for-5 with his second triple and two runs.Smith went 2-for-3 with a walk and his fourth homer. Ramiro Dominguez went 2-for-4 with his ninth double and fifth home run. The Dunedin Blue Jays are the Low-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Check out our sister site at Jays Centre. Here are their rankings of the Top 20 Blue Jays prospects. Dunedin’s starter in this game was Silvano Hechavarria, making a rehab start. He ranks 16th. Game 2: Ft. Myers 3, Dunedin 4 Box Score Matthew Dalquist has done a nice job as a starter for the Mussels. On Thursday night, he gave up one run on two hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked none. Dylan Questad worked the sixth inning and gave up one run on one hit. He walked two and had two strikeouts. With one out in the fifth inning, Quentin Young doubled. Murphy Hernandez followed with a single that moved Young to third. Hernandez stole second. Young scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Bryan Acuna to tie the game at 1-1. Hernandez scored on a single by Dameury Pena. In the top of the sixth inning, JP Smith II homered to make it 3-1. It was his second homer of the day and fifth of the season. The Mussels held a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. Xavier Kolhosser came on and gave up two runs on three hits and recorded just one out to take the loss. Fort Myers had just six hits and two walks. Beyond Smith’s homer, Irvin Nunez hit his first double, and Acuna added his third double. Blaine Bullard was the Jays 12th round pick last year. The 19-year-old went 5-for-8 with two doubles in the doubleheader. Recent Twins Daily articles on Fort Myers players: (VIDEO) Quentin Young Turning Corner COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 0, FCL Pirates 6 Box Score Yordi Jose started and went the first four innings. The 19-year-old gave up two runs on four hits. He hit a batter, walked three and had six strikeouts. He had three wild pitches and balked twice. Matthew DesMarets came in and gave up four runs on five hits over the final two innings. He walked none and struck out four batters. He threw two wild pitches. The Twins managed just three hits in the game and added six walks. Jhomnardo Reyes walked twice. Ricardo Paez hit his first triple of the season. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day JP Smith (Fort Myers): 3-for-6, BB, 2 HR(5), 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 K (doubleheader) Pitcher of the Day Matt Dalquist (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 61 pitches, 44 strikes (72.1%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (left shoulder) #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, K (batted first, played SS) #3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (thumb) - Had surgery. #4 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, K (batted third, catcher). #6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K, SB(9) (batted first, played SS) #8 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. #9 - LHP Kendry Rojas (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - Did Not Play. #11 - RHP Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(2), R, RBI (batted second, played LF) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-2, BB, 2B(5), R, K (batted seventh, played SS) #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, CS(3) (batted first, played 3B) #16 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch. #17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 35 pitches, 22 strikes (62.9%) #18 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 Day Injured List (right elbow sprain) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(9), 2 R (batted fifth, DH) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 3-for-5, 2B(6), HR(6), R, RBI (batted first, played SS) UPCOMING PROBABLES Friday, May 22: Omaha @ St. Paul (6:37 pm CT) - RHP Ryan Gallagher (0-1, 7.80 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Sam Armstrong (1-3, 4.40 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 pm CT) - LHP Dasan Hill (1-3, 5.47 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 pm CT) - TBD FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (11:00 am CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 23-27 St. Paul Saints: 24-23 Wichita Wind Surge: 19-22 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 23-19 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 24-18 FCL Twins: 7-7 DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View the full article

Once again in 2026, I will be monitoring Miami Marlins predictions from our valued SuperSubs, Fish On First staffers and livestream guests. Individual article pages like this one will be created prior to every Marlins series and featured prominently on the FOF site. Consistent participation is key if you want to win this annual contest. Submissions only take a few seconds. Scoring system A "perfect" series is worth three points: Earn one point for predicting which team will win the upcoming series Earn one point for predicting the precise number of victories for each team Earn one point for predicting the “Series MVP” who accumulated the highest win probability added (WPA) during the series as calculated by FanGraphs (could pick a player from either team) FOF SuperSub Nicholas Milton and FOF staffer Jeremiah Geiger are currently tied atop the 2026 season leaderboard, which will be updated between every Marlins series. If you are a SuperSub, leave a comment with your Prediction Time picks on this page, or join the Marlins Discord Server and submit there. We'll feature them on the upcoming Fish On First LIVE episode and track your points throughout the season! Any picks submitted prior to the first pitch of the series opener will be counted. If you are not a SuperSub, please consider signing up here to support the FOF staff. Series preview notes Probable starting pitchers: RHP Eury Pérez (MIA) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (NYM) on Friday RHP Max Meyer (MIA) vs. RHP Christian Scott (NYM) on Saturday TBD (MIA) vs. TBD (NYM) on Sunday The Marlins rank 19th in MLB with a 97 wRC+ and 13th in MLB with a 3.94 FIP. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and have a 15-15 record at home this season. The following Marlins players are on the injured list: Griffin Conine (10-day IL), Ronny Henriquez (60-day IL), Leo Jiménez (7-day IL), Adam Mazur (60-day IL) and Robby Snelling (60-day IL). The Mets rank 27th in MLB with a 89 wRC+ and sixth in MLB with a 3.67 FIP. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have a 11-15 record on the road this season. The following Mets players are on the injured list: Francisco Alvarez (10-day IL), Reed Garrett (60-day IL), Justin Hagenman (60-day IL), Clay Holmes (60-day IL), Francisco Lindor (10-day IL), Ronny Mauricio (10-day IL), Tylor Megill (60-day IL), A.J. Minter (60-day IL), Dedniel Núñez (60-day IL), Jorge Polanco (10-day IL), Luis Robert Jr. (10-day IL), Kodai Senga (15-day IL), Jared Young (10-day IL). View the full article

Met Roster Central apologizes for not being available for roster updates the last week or so. Our massive array of computers were in the shop, and maybe our pants were at the cleaners, but our hearts were right there in our chests, beating a Metly beat. As the roster starts getting populated with fewer journeymen and more homegrown rookies, that beat only gets louder. Transactions, 5/15/2026 COMING Signed away from Jalisco (Mexican League) to Minor-League Contract, Assigned to Binghamton Cleared Waivers, Assigned to Syracuse Sent to St. Lucie on Rehab Assignment Relief Pitchers Infielders Outfielders Max Green Andy Ibáñez Jared Young L/L DoB: 1996-05-28 High Level: AA (2021) R/R DoB: 1993-04-03 High Level: MLB (2026) L/R DoB: 1995-07-09 High Level: MLB (2026) Former Tigers prospect Max Green comes the Mets after a few years in indy ball, capped by an impressive start to his Mexican League campaign. He is not the son of Mets farm director Andy Green, but while checking that possibility out, we did learn that he is a fan of surfing, snowboarding, and fellow lefthander Jimi Hendrix. Hang ten, Dude! Jared Young got the lefthanded bat off the bench/fifth outfielder role after an injury to Mike Tauchman coming out of camp. While Young got off to an impressive start (.350 / .391 / .450 // .841 through 23 plate appearances), he was succeeded in his roster spot by MJ Melendez and MJ was the Mets best hitter while things were at their bleakest. So we may have a roster showdown between two guys, each believed to have a single option year. Andy Ibáñez didn't really have a role — he was an infielder used as an outfielder against lefties in lean times that we shall not speak of again — in his short time with the Mets. We're happy to see him stay in the organization following his DFA, as the team always needs Cubano journeymen infielders. Transactions, 5/16/2026 GOING COMING Placed on 15-Day Injured List with Fractured Right Fibula Released Promoted from Syracuse Starting Pitchers Catchers Relief Pitchers Clay Holmes Daniel Silva Joey Gerber R/R DoB: 1993-03-27 High Level: MLB (2026) S/R DoB: 2025-01-21 High Level: Rk (2025) R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 High Level: MLB (2026) Nobody wanted to see Clay Holmes hurt. He had emerged as the ace of a staff that had several qualifiers vying for that title, including big-name import/Opening Day starter Freddy Peralta and Rookie of the Year candidate Nolan McLean. Beyond that, his unlikely level of success after transitioning from relief was one of the dwindling hooks on which to hang the idea that Mets management knows what they are doing. But what is a greater test of management than how good the next soldier (and the next soldier and next) is when the first goes down? It's a game of attrition, more than ever, and if there's anything good to say about a fractured fibula incurred after absorbing a comeback liner, well, it sure beats an exploded UCL or a case of thoracic outlet syndrome or the like. Until the Mets add a replacement starter, the bullpen is expanded (as teams will always seek to do) by one, with Joey Gerber and his awesome set of dimples returning from history's longest assignment for the purpose of rehabbing from blisters. It's a mad world. We at Mets Roster Central cannot control it. We can only describe it in madness. Venezuelan catcher Daniel Silva signed back in 2021 and Mets Roster Central never got a photo of him, as even his signing photo was with several players all masking up, leaving him indistinguishable from his fellow signees. The switch-hitter put up terrific walk rates but could not climb the latter due to trouble staying healthy and, in 2025, a plummeting batting average (.188, but still with a strong OBP). He never got on the field in 2026. Transactions, 5/17/2026 GOING Released Relief Pitchers Luke Jackson R/R DoB: 1991-08-24 High Level: MLB (2026) Cool-Hand Luke Jackson (his actual nicknames are the equally obvious "Fireman" and "Skywalker") was almost impressively wild (seven walks in 4 2/3 innings) in his short stint with Syracuse. This is a problem that has come and gone over his long career. The former Braves closer (for half of 2018 anyhow) may or may not get another call from a seventh organization before the year is out, but cut loose by the Mets six weeks after signing his career does seem to be close to sunsetting. If so, and mind-numbingly gaudy championship ring won with the 2021 Braves, along with this video of Skywalker cuddling his newborn son on the field after pitching in Game Three of that year's World series, has to make for the most impossibly garish and incredibly sweet pair of career keepsakes. Transactions, 5/18/2026 GOING COMING Demoted to Syracuse Transferred from 15- to 60-Day Injured List Added to 40-Player Roster and Promoted from Syracuse Added to 40-Player Roster and Demoted to Syracuse Relief Pitchers Joey Gerber A.J. Minter Daniel Duarte Anderson Severino R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 High Level: MLB (2026) L/L DoB: 1993-09-02 High Level: MLB (2025) R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 High Level: MLB (2024) L/L DoB: 1994-09-17 High Level: MLB (2026) It isn't clear why the Mets would add Anderson Severino to the 40-Player Roster without promoting him to the big leagues, but there is clearly some reason he is part of this flurry of activity. Experience suggests to Mets Roster Central that Anderson had an opt-out if he was not added to the roster by this date, and his terrific 0.98 ERA through 18 1/3 International League innings so far suggests he is not somebody they want to let walk. (A fun Anderson Severino fact is that that 0.98 ERA through 18 1/3 innings in Syracuse is the exact same line he put up in the Mexican Pacific Winter League, leading the Mets to sign him) Nonetheless, given the choice of keeping Joey Gerber (who had not appeared since his return to the team) two days earlier and promoting Sevvy (a man without an ERA), they went a third route and added Mexican-born Daniel Duarte. Daniel is a journeyman at first glance, but he has a lot of non-affiliated big-time, high-pressure experience, appearing for his country in the Olympics, The World Baseball Classic and El Serie del Caribe. So, the Mets bide their time before the launch of The Severino Missile. They also anticipate the return of A.J. Minter in a week or two. His assignment here to the 60-Day Injured List seems to push his return date further back, but in actuality, he had already cleared 60 days and can be activated at any time. The Mets just needed the big fat roster spot that becomes available when a player is added to the 60. Transactions, 5/19/2026 GOING COMING Transferred from 15- to 60-Day Injured List Designated for Assignment Added to 40-Player Roster and Promoted from Syracuse Transferred from St. Lucie to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment Starting Pitchers Outfielders Clay Holmes Austin Slater Nick Morabito Jared Young R/R DoB: 1993-03-27 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 33951 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 2003-05-07 High Level: MLB (2024) L/R DoB: 1995-07-09 High Level: MLB (2026) While the Clay Holmes and Jared Young transactions to the left represent the expected progressions of two players going in two different directions, the real story is the addition of young Nick Morabito. In a year when the Mets are inducting Lee Mazzilli into The Mets Hall of Fame, what could be a more appropriate addition than another exciting athletic Italian-American prospect tearing through the minors with blazing speed and a terrific batting eye. The pride of Gonzaga College High School even got to debut before the denizens of his hometown. Sadly, the Mets screwed up the Morabito launch badly by first assigning him (yay!) and then withdrawing (booooo!) #8, a number that a populist, ill-thought-out and utterly a-historical argument says must be perpetually reserved in honor of Gary Carter. Mets Roster Central has a lot of thoughts on this (as usual, Mets by the Numbers says it better), but let's just say that there are ton of lovely ways for a team to honor the legacy of past figures, and defaulting to number retirement is cliched, uncreative, and terribly shortsighted. Welcome, though, to Nick Morabito. We are so excited to see you kid, that we've outfitted you in ... er, um ... #55. Ugh. Transactions, 5/20/2026 GOING COMING Demoted to Syracuse Added to 40-Player Roster and Promoted from Syracuse Relief Pitchers Starting Pitchers Daniel Duarte Zach Thornton R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 High Level: MLB (2026) L/L DoB: 2002-01-17 High Level: MLB (2026) It is clearly no secret that guys in the front office stay awake at night thinking of ways to get one more relief pitcher, one more relief pitcher ONE MORE relief pitcher onto the roster. It consumes them. It obsesses them. It eats at their health damages their relationships. They are at their kids' dance recitals or staring into a golden sunset, while their minds are a thousand miles away thinking about cycling players with options back and forth to AAA, using an infielder as a backup catcher, using a second-baseman in the outfield, all for that one more guy to pitch two innings of mopup as a human sacrifice in the game you aren't trying to win so you can save your pitchers for the game you aren't. It's all gross, but don't think for a minute that, as hands twisted and hearts stopped over news of Clay Holmes' fractured fibula, more than one person in the front office was at least partially excited that they got to add ONE MORE RELIEVER for several days while Holmes hit the IL but they didn't yet need his replacement. Well, those days are done, and the Mets have come to call on young Zach Thornton. Not to be confused with the Zach Thornton who came to the Mets in the Ike Davis trade, this ZT started the season in Binghamton, but climbed up to Syracuse and beyond and manage to pass and debut in Queens before the more celebrated Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger. Somewhere this will be sold as an indictment of Tong and Wenninger, but progress comes in fits and starts, and Thornton is simply having a moment. The lefty breaking pitch specialist is only just coming into big-league velocity, but his aversion to homers and walks has been approaching a clinical level, and while that package may lead to good days and bad for the time being, he has been lauded for a bulldog mentality and can be expected to pitch deep into games even when his best stuff is lacking. CAN THE SAME BE SAID OF YOU?! Here's to seeing a lot of Zach in the future and maybe a rotation of him along with McLean, Scott, Tong, and Wenninger is a bright future not far off. Your 2026 New York Mets Starting Pitchers Nolan McLean Freddy Peralta David Peterson Christian Scott Zach Thornton R/R DoB: 2001-07-24 R/R DoB: 2996-06-04 L/L DoB: 1995-09-03 R/R DoB: 1999-06-15 L/L DoB: 2002-01-17 Relief Pitchers Huascar Brazobán Craig Kimbrel Sean Manaea Tobias Myers Brooks Raley Austin Warren Luke Weaver R/R DoB: 1989-10-15 R/R DoB: 1988-05-28 R/L DoB: 1992-02-01 R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 L/L DoB: 1988-06-29 R/R DoB: 1996-02-05 R/R DoB: 1993-08-21 Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders Devin Williams Hayden Senger Luís Torrens Bo Bichette Brett Baty Vidal Brujan MJ Melendez R/R DoB: 1994-09-21 R/R DoB: 1997-04-03 R/R DoB: 1996-05-02 R/R DoB: 1998-03-05 L/R DoB: 1999-11-13 S/R DoB: 1998-02-09 L/R DoB: 1993-11-29 Infielders Outfielders Marcus Semien Mark Vientos Carson Benge A.J. Ewing Nick Morabito Juan Soto Tyrone Taylor R/R DoB: 1990-09-17 R/R DoB: 1993-12-11 L/R DoB: 2003-01-20 L/R DoB: 2004-08-10 R/R DoB: 2003-05-07 L/L DoB: 1998-10-25 R/R DoB: 1994-01-22 Also on 40-Player Roster Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Clay Holmes Tylor Megill Kodai Senga Jonah Tong Alex Carrillo Daniel Duarte Reed Garrett R/R DoB: 1993-03-27 R/R DoB: 1995-07-28 L/R DoB: 1993-01-30 R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 R/R DoB: 1993-01-02 Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders Justin Hagenman A.J. Minter Dedniel Núñez Jonathan Pintaro Dylan Ross Francisco Alvarez Francisco Lindor R/R DoB: 1996-10-07 L/L DoB: 1993-09-02 R/R DoB: 1996-06-05 R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 R/R DoB: 2000-09-01 R/R DoB: 2001-11-01 S/R DoB: 1993-11-14 Infielders Outfielders Ronny Mauricio Jorge Polanco Luis Robert, Jr. Jared Young S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 R/R DoB: 1997-08-03 L/R DoB: 1995-07-09 Designagted for Assignment Outfielders Austin Slater R/R DoB: 1992-12-13 View the full article

The Storm Chasers cruised behind Drew Waters' three-hit, three-run game and Mitch Spence's four steady innings, romping past St. Paul 11-3. Drew Beam delivered six strong frames for Northwest Arkansas, supported by home runs from Jorge Alfaro and Justin Johnson, in a 6-4 win. Quad Cities dropped a 13-4 blowout despite Yimi Presinal's two scoreless innings and Derlin Figueroa's three-run homer. Columbia stranded nine runners and fell 5-4 to Augusta despite a Henry Ramos triple. Royals Transactions No Roster Moves Storm Chasers Pile Up 16 Hits In 11-3 Romp At St. Paul The Omaha Storm Chasers banged out 16 hits, grabbed the lead in the fifth, and pulled away with a three-run seventh in an 11-3 win at St. Paul. Waters paced the offense from the cleanup spot with three hits, three runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base. Leadoff man Josh Rojas reached base five times with three hits, a double, a walk, two runs, and an RBI. John Rave matched with three hits, a double, a walk, two runs, and an RBI. Luca Tresh added three hits and two RBI. Abraham Toro drove in three on a two-run double in the ninth, and a sixth-inning sacrifice fly, and Gavin Cross supplied his first home run of the season. Mitch Spence worked four innings, allowing two runs on three hits with one walk, four strikeouts, and one home run surrendered. Ben Sears picked up the win across two innings of one-run ball with one walk and four strikeouts. Jose Cuas tossed two scoreless innings, and Eric Cerantola closed with three strikeouts in the ninth. Cross opened the fifth with his solo homer to make it 3-2, and two outs later, Dustin Dickerson singled and Rojas doubled him home for a 4-2 edge. The seventh padded the lead further. Rojas scored on a wild pitch during Kameron Misner's strikeout, then Waters and Tresh delivered back-to-back RBI singles. Toro's two-run double in the top of the ninth provided the final margin. Player AB R H RBI BB K Josh Rojas (2B) 4 2 3 1 1 0 John Rave (LF) 4 2 3 1 1 0 Kameron Misner (DH) 5 0 1 1 0 3 Drew Waters (CF) 5 3 3 1 0 2 Brett Squires (1B) 4 1 0 0 1 2 Luca Tresh (C) 5 1 3 2 0 0 Gavin Cross (RF) 5 1 1 1 0 0 Abraham Toro (3B) 4 0 1 3 0 2 Dustin Dickerson (SS) 5 1 1 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Mitch Spence 4 3 2 2 1 4 1 Ben Sears (W) 2 1 1 1 1 4 1 Jose Cuas 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 Eric Cerantola 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 Drew Beam And A Three-Run Sixth Lift Naturals Past Sod Poodles Northwest Arkansas erased an early 2-0 deficit with home runs from Johnson and cleanup hitter Alfaro, holding on for a 6-4 win at Amarillo. Leadoff man Carson Roccaforte sparked the lineup with three hits, including a triple. Alfaro went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer and two RBI, while Justin Johnson added a two-run home run and two RBI of his own. Omar Hernandez had two hits, scored twice, and stole a base. Daniel Vazquez added a double, and Connor Scott chipped in an RBI single. Drew Beam turned in a quality start, working six innings and allowing three runs on five hits with one walk, three strikeouts, and one home run allowed. Brandon Johnson gave up a run in an inning of relief. Dennis Colleran Jr. tossed a scoreless inning, and Oscar Rayo struck out three in a scoreless ninth for the save. After falling behind on a two-run homer in the first, the Naturals scratched a run back in the third when Hernandez scored from third on a balk. The bats fully arrived in the fifth, when Justin Johnson's two-run homer scored Hernandez to put NWA ahead 3-2. Three more came in the sixth: Alfaro's two-run shot scored Spencer Nivens, then Vazquez doubled, and Scott followed with an RBI single to make it 6-2. Player AB R H RBI BB K Carson Roccaforte (CF) 4 0 3 0 0 1 Sam Kulasingam (2B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 Spencer Nivens (LF) 4 1 1 0 0 2 Jorge Alfaro (1B) 4 1 1 2 0 1 Daniel Vazquez (SS) 4 1 1 0 0 0 Connor Scott (RF) 4 0 1 1 0 1 Omar Hernandez (C) 4 2 2 0 0 1 Canyon Brown (DH) 3 0 0 0 1 2 Justin Johnson (3B) 3 1 1 2 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Drew Beam (W) 6 5 3 3 1 3 1 Brandon Johnson 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 Dennis Colleran Jr. 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 Oscar Rayo (S) 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 10-Run Sixth Sinks River Bandits In 13-4 Loss A clean Quad Cities deficit turned into a rout when the bullpen surrendered 10 runs in the top of the sixth, sending the River Bandits to a 13-4 loss to Beloit. Figueroa provided the offensive highlight with a three-run home run in the eighth, finishing 1-for-4 with three RBI and a stolen base. Angel Acosta led the way with three hits. Erick Torres added a single and two stolen bases. Cleanup hitter Ramon Ramirez singled and scored. Blake Mitchell drew a walk and scored a run, but struck out four times. The Bandits stranded six runners. Starter Aiden Jimenez worked five innings, allowing three runs on six hits with two walks, five strikeouts, and one home run, and was tagged with the loss. Ryan Ure recorded one out in the sixth while giving up five runs on a hit and three walks. Hunter Alberini followed and was charged with five more runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts across two-thirds of an inning. Presinal then steadied things with two scoreless, hitless innings and four strikeouts. Diego Guzman closed with a scoreless ninth. The sixth featured a steady drumbeat of damage: a single, a triple, another single, a multi-run hit, more singles, and a double turned a 3-0 game into 13-0. Quad Cities got on the board in the seventh when Acosta singled and came around to score on Asbel Gonzalez's groundout. Figueroa's three-run homer in the eighth, scoring Mitchell and Ramirez, accounted for the remaining offense. Player AB R H RBI BB K Luke Pelzer (LF) 3 0 0 0 1 2 Asbel Gonzalez (CF) 5 0 0 0 0 2 Blake Mitchell (C) 4 1 0 0 1 4 Ramon Ramirez (DH) 4 1 1 0 0 0 Derlin Figueroa (3B) 4 1 1 3 0 1 Erick Torres (RF) 4 0 1 0 0 1 Tyriq Kemp (SS) 3 0 1 0 1 1 Trevor Werner (1B) 4 0 0 0 0 2 Angel Acosta (2B) 4 1 3 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Aiden Jimenez (L) 5 6 3 3 2 5 1 Ryan Ure 1/3 1 5 5 3 0 0 Hunter Alberini 2/3 4 5 5 2 2 0 Yimi Presinal 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 Diego Guzman 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Fireflies Strand Nine, Fall 5-4 At Augusta A relentless inability to cash in cost the Columbia Fireflies, who stranded nine runners in a 5-4 loss to the Augusta GreenJackets. Cleanup hitter Hyungchan Um went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Leadoff man Henry Ramos drove in two runs on a triple and a groundout, finishing 1-for-5 with a run scored. Sean Gamble singled, scored, and drove in a run. Daniel Lopez doubled, stole a base, and scored twice. Josh Hammond and Um combined for four of the team's seven hits. Denis Samudio worked four innings, allowing three runs on four hits with one walk, six strikeouts, and one home run, taking the loss. Dash Albus surrendered the decisive blow in the fifth on a two-run home run, finishing with two runs on two hits and a walk in his inning of work. Max Martin tossed two scoreless innings with a strikeout, and Henson Leal closed the eighth with a scoreless frame and two strikeouts. Columbia chased Augusta all night after falling behind 2-0 in the first. They cut it to 2-1 in the third on Ramos' RBI groundout that scored Lopez. The sixth produced one more when Um singled home Gamble to make it 5-2. The seventh accounted for the last two: Ramos tripled to drive in Lopez, then Gamble's groundout brought Ramos around to make it 5-4. From there, every threat ended without another run crossing the plate. Player AB R H RBI BB K Henry Ramos (LF) 5 1 1 2 0 2 Sean Gamble (CF) 5 1 1 1 0 1 Josh Hammond (SS) 5 0 1 0 0 1 Hyungchan Um (C) 4 0 3 1 1 1 Yandel Ricardo (2B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 Stone Russell (3B) 4 0 0 0 0 2 JC Vanek (1B) 4 0 0 0 0 1 Roni Cabrera (DH) 2 0 0 0 1 1 Daniel Lopez (RF) 3 2 1 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Denis Samudio (L) 4 4 3 3 1 6 1 Dash Albus 1 2 2 2 1 0 1 Max Martin 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 Henson Leal 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Kendry Chourio: DNP David Shields: DNP Sean Gamble: 1-for-5, R, RBI, K Blake Mitchell: 0-for-4, R, BB, 4 K Josh Hammond: 1-for-5, K Ramon Ramirez: 1-for-4, R Drew Beam: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, HR Asbel Gonzalez: 0-for-5, 2 K Ben Kudrna: DNP Carson Roccaforte: 3-for-4, 3B, K Yandel Ricardo: 0-for-3 Felix Arronde: DNP Blake Wolters: DNP Michael Lombardi: DNP Luinder Avila: DNP Steven Zobac: DNP Frank Mozzicato: DNP Daniel Vazquez: 1-for-4, R, 2B Warren Colcano: DNP Shane Panzini: DNP View the full article

MIAMI – In what was expected to be a tightly contested pitcher’s duel on Thursday night, the Miami Marlins fell behind immediately and never recovered, dropping their third consecutive game to the Atlanta Braves. With the loss, Miami fell to a season-worst seven games under .500 and now sits alone in last place in the NL East. When asked if the team needs to start doing things differently, manager Clayton McCullough said, “No, we’re going to keep going, continue with what we’re doing and get ourselves ready for a new series. Things will turn. When? I don’t know, but we’ll hang in there and be okay.” The season is still relatively young, but it has reached the point where front offices begin evaluating their clubs to determine what changes need to be made and which direction they should take in the coming months. In Miami’s case, the current stretch is making those decisions increasingly difficult for the front office. The theme of May has been falling behind early and often. In 19 games this month, Marlins starters entered Thursday with a first-inning ERA above 11 — by far the worst mark in Major League Baseball. The next closest team owns a 6.15 ERA in the opening frame. On Thursday, that troubling trend continued, even with Sandy Alcantara on the mound. After Ronald Acuña Jr. reached on an infield single, Michael Harris II launched his 10th home run of the season to dead center field — the first of his two home runs on the night. The homer came on a 1-2 changeup. “Some teams are different,” Alcantara said. “They’re at the top of the division, winning a lot of games because they’re very aggressive and trying to score runs right away.” When asked about the frustration within the pitching staff during this rough stretch, Alcantara admitted it hasn’t been easy. “It’s hard because when I’m out there, I want us to win games consistently, but we’ve gotta stay together. We know what we’re capable of, and sometimes we can compete against anyone, but we’re just not getting the results right now.” Alcantara surrendered another solo home run in the second inning, this time to Mike Yastrzemski, before settling in during the middle innings and keeping Atlanta off the board until the sixth. That’s when Acuña Jr. delivered a two-run single that effectively sealed the game for Atlanta. Alcantara’s final line: 6 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO. He threw 94 pitches, 68 for strikes. “I’m not happy about it,” the Dominican right-hander said of his performance. “I think I could have done better. I left some pitches over the middle early, and they took advantage.” The Marlins were able to keep the game relatively close thanks to a trio of solo home runs — two from Kyle Stowers and one from Owen Caissie. “We’ve gotta keep believing. We know we’ve gotta get through this as a team and keep fighting every day as we continue to move forward,” Miami’s ace said postgame. Following the series loss, Miami will welcome the New York Mets to loanDepot park for a weekend series. Right-hander Eury Pérez will look to get his season on track against Tobias Myers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. View the full article

Quentin Young didn't have a great start to the year. He struck out over 48% of the time in April, and his numbers are now just starting to go down after a lackluster start to the season. What could be ahead for him in Fort Myers? View the full article