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William Contreras played a portion of 2024 and all of 2025 with a fracture in his left middle finger, causing discomfort that affected his game. We know that. He underwent surgery in November to address it, because he and the Brewers felt that the injury had lingered and prevented him from being his best self for the majority of 2025. Because he had that operation, though, the hope was that this year would mark a return to the peak of Contreras's powers—literally. In his first two seasons with the Brewers, Contreras batted .285/.366/.462. In 1,290 plate appearances, he clubbed 75 doubles, 3 triples and 40 home runs. That was an elite offensive profile for a catcher, of course, but more importantly, it made Contreras a productive part of the middle of the Brewers lineup. They could win with pitching, defense and speed, because they had a very good hitter who could generate enough power to cash in the chances other players created, while playing a premium defensive spot. Last year, Contreras was gutting it out. His bat speed was down early in the season, but he rediscovered it by midsummer. Still, his swing wasn't quite the same. He used a well-structured approach to maintain his on-base skills, but the power went missing. For the year, he batted .260/.355/.399, with 28 doubles and 17 home runs in 659 trips to the plate. That's still solid work for a catcher; it's still solid work for anyone. The league averaged an OBP of .319 and a slugging average of .404, and OBP is more important than slugging, so a .355 OBP with roughly average power is hugely valuable, particularly for a player with major defensive responsibilities. Still, the hope was that the power (and perhaps the batting average, by dint of more exit velocity even on non-fly balls) would rebound in 2026, to somewhere near .450. Giving him a reset on that finger injury and then a full offseason to recover and prepare should have positioned him to do that. Instead, this year, the batting average is back—but the power isn't. Contreras is hitting .294/.366/.389 in 202 plate appearances. He has only 11 extra-base hits, and eight of those are doubles. What gives? It's not a problem of batted-ball profile, in the usual sense. He's pulling the ball more than in the past. He's lifting the ball more than he has in the past—and especially, he's hitting fewer ground balls. He's hitting it a little bit less hard, but that should be made up for by more lift and more pull. In fact, in fairness, his expected slugging this year is .430, up from .393 in 2025. But that's almost entirely because his expected batting average is up from .248 to .281; his isolated power hasn't surged along with the rise in average. Instead, Contreras's expected average is up almost entirely because he's making way, way more contact. He's swinging almost exactly as often as he did last year, but he's whiffing on just 18.3% of those swings, down from 24.2% last year and more like 28% in 2023 and 2024. Thus, his strikeout rate is down to an extraordinary 11.2%, so he's going to get more hits. That's happened, but the power hasn't come along for the ride, even though the expected stats say it should have at least halfway done so. Here's why. Since 2024, Contreras has gotten increasingly closed in his setup at the plate. His stance has angled itself more and more toward first base, closing his front shoulder to the pitcher. As we've discussed in the past, that doesn't necessarily set his direction to the baseball. He opens up toward the pitcher more with his stride than most batters. In the past, that allowed him to turn on the ball unexpectedly and generate a ton of power to left field. Here's an example, from 2024. elpZVjBfWGw0TUFRPT1fRGdVRUFGWUZBZ2NBRFZwVVVRQUFVd0pRQUZoUVV3Y0FBRklOQmxKUVZWVmRCMVlD.mp4 Crazy though it might sound, the slight closure of his stance has made that tougher, even though his stride still opens him up relatively well. That's because he's also made another change, perhaps a bit less consciously. His stride is longer than it was last year, by about two inches. That sounds tiny, but for one thing, all the margins that differentiate bad from good and good from great in hitting are tiny; and for another, the magnitude of this change's impact on Contreras's game is boosted by the change in his stance and the directionality of his swing. Here's what it looks like this season. WU9WRDlfWGw0TUFRPT1fVXdjQ0JWTUVBQVFBRGdBQ0FBQUhWUUFFQUFCUUFGa0FVVlFEQkFZTUJRVUVBQXND.mp4 With that initial set of his body to a slightly more closed angle and a slightly longer stride, Contreras ends up a bit less able to get his front hip open and maximize the torque of his torso. He also ends up having to go out a bit farther, around his frame and in front of himself. To wit, Contreras's contact point has moved a bit farther out in front of him this year—another thing we would typically expect to result in more power, not less—but he's also flatter to the ball. His swing has less tilt and is working less uphill when he catches the ball, because of the way his body moves in this new combination of stance orientation and stride length. Here are two telling moments in his swing, from each of the last three years. On the left, from top to bottom, we see what it looks like when Contreras's front foot comes down and he begins his swing, for 2024, 2025 and 2026. On the right, we see the moment when his barrel stops working down into the hitting zone and starts to work upward, through the ball. First, let's talk about his first moves. Last year, cheating a little bit to make up for diminished bat speed, he got his hands a bit farther from his body and a bit lower, with his bat a bit flatter. This season, he's basically back to the set point he used in 2024—but note the angles of his lower half. He's locked a bit more into that position than in the past. Now, look at the images on the right. The differences are a bit more pronounced. For one thing, his weight hasn't shifted forward as much as it had in the past. That gives him more adjustability, which might explain his better contact rate, but it means slightly less energy crashing forward into the ball. The longer stride doesn't let him rotate as well, because it puts him deeper in his legs. Meanwhile, his front shoulder is more closed, and his hands are working differently. He's not hitting underneath his front side. His bat is coming around more than in the last two seasons; his top hand is already getting around and in front of his frame. All of these are small changes, but they add up to a swing with a lower launch-angle sweet spot than his old one and a greater likelihood of his best contact being toward center field. It's possible Contreras is doing it all on purpose, in the name of getting on base as often as possible by putting it in play at the best possible rate. Ideally, though, he'd reorient himself just enough to get back the version of his swing that maximizes his power potential. A small tweak to his setup and stride should have him slugging at somewhere close to his old rate. It's just a matter of time before he finds the right way to make that adjustment. View the full article

After arriving this offseason as an unheralded waiver claim from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ryan Kreidler didn’t exactly enter 2026 with much hype surrounding his name or his game. The 28-year-old utility man came to the Minnesota Twins as organizational depth—a defense-first player capable of moving around the diamond, but someone whose bat had never developed at the major-league level. Yet, eight weeks into the season, it’s becoming fair to ask an interesting question: Does Kreidler deserve more playing time? That question probably would’ve sounded ridiculous a year ago. Entering the 2026 season, Kreidler owned a career .138 batting average in the majors. No matter how strong the defense is, no matter how much versatility a player offers, that level of offensive production is simply disqualifying for an everyday role. But so far this year, things look different. Kreidler pushed hard for an Opening Day roster spot during spring training. While he ultimately didn’t break camp with the big-league club, he continued doing exactly what teams want depth players to do: produce, stay ready, and force the organization to keep noticing him. With both Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis currently spending time at Triple-A, opportunities have opened up around the roster. While the Twins still have several highly-regarded prospects working their way toward the majors, Kreidler has quietly made a compelling case to stick around and see an even larger role in the short term. Through 113 Triple-A plate appearances this season, Kreidler has hit .266 with a .389 on-base percentage and an .889 OPS. He’s also collected 12 extra-base hits in just 26 games, showing far more impact offensively than he had earlier in his professional career. That alone would’ve been encouraging. But what’s happened during his limited major-league opportunities has been even more eye-opening. In just 32 major-league plate appearances this season, Kreidler is hitting .296 with a .406 on-base percentage and three home runs. Even more encouraging than the raw production is how he’s getting there. He’s walking more consistently and striking out less frequently than he did in the minors, which suggests this isn’t purely random batted-ball luck. It sure seems like he's a new player, too, because his swing data is vastly improved. In his limited big-league time in 2024 and 2025, he posted average bat speeds of 68.5 MPH and 71.0 MPH, respectively. This year, that number is 74.4 MPH. That difference is massive. His contact point has moved farther in front of his body. His swing is also flatter. We would expect a player with this kind of swing to be productive, which wasn't really true of the version of Kreidler we saw in the past. He's also made a critical adjustment to maximize the impact of that boost in bat speed: moving deeper in the batter's box. He's giving himself more time to operate a swing that's also much faster. It's not surprising to see that yield big results, except in that they're attached to a player whose name was recently synonymous with helplessness. Now, to be clear, nobody should expect Kreidler to continue hitting near .300 over a full season. Betting on that outcome would be extremely aggressive considering his previous offensive track record. Small samples can create misleading stat lines, especially early in the year, and even a rebuilt swing doesn't automatically mean a player will sustain their newfound success; adjustments loom ahead. But the important point isn’t whether he can maintain superstar production. It’s whether he can be productive enough offensively for the rest of his skill set to become highly valuable, and the answer to that might be a resounding 'yes'. Defensively, he’s exactly the type of player managers love having available. Throughout his professional career, he’s logged time at second base, third base, and shortstop, while also spending significant innings in center field and left field. More importantly, he hasn’t simply survived at those spots; he’s consistently been a strong defender across the board. That kind of flexibility matters over a 162-game season. Injuries happen, rest days become necessary, and matchups change daily. Having a player capable of handling multiple premium positions without sacrificing defensive quality gives a team far more roster flexibility than most fans realize. That defensive value was always the foundation of Kreidler’s game. It’s the reason he was even in the Opening Day conversation, despite his offensive struggles. Teams will always make room for players who can defend at a high level all over the field. The difference now is that he may finally be hitting enough to become more than just a late-inning defensive replacement or occasional spot starter. There’s also another element of his game that still hasn’t fully shown up yet: speed. Kreidler hasn’t had many opportunities to impact games on the bases this season, but the athleticism is absolutely there. Across his minor-league career, he’s posted a 75% success rate on stolen bases, proving he can be an effective runner when given opportunities. That matters, because players like Kreidler don’t necessarily need to be middle-of-the-order hitters to create value. If he provides strong defense across multiple positions, adds quality baserunning, and posts an OPS around .720, that’s a genuinely useful major-league player. Given where his numbers currently sit, he could afford a fairly substantial offensive regression and still remain valuable to the Twins. The Twins don’t necessarily need Kreidler to become a star. They just need him to continue being playable offensively while doing all the other things he already does well, and right now, he’s doing far more than simply surviving at the plate. Of course, there are still long-term questions. The Twins have several highly-touted prospects nearing the majors at positions Kreidler can play, and roster situations can change quickly once players return from injury or regain form. There’s no guarantee he spends the entire season, or even most of it, in the big leagues. But that doesn’t really change the current reality. At the moment, Kreidler has shown he’s capable of helping this team in multiple ways. He’s defending well, providing lineup flexibility, bringing athleticism to the roster, and producing offensively. At some point, players earn more opportunities simply by continuing to perform. Kreidler is getting very close to that point, and until we see evidence that the offensive improvements aren’t real, there’s a strong argument that the Twins need to keep his bat and his glove in the lineup most nights. View the full article

Early Thursday afternoon, the Marlins announced the acquisition of 25-year-old outfielder Rece Hinds from Cincinnati in exchange for right-hander Zach McCambley. Hinds will report to Triple-A Jacksonville and was added to the 40-man roster following the additional transaction transferring Robby Snelling (Tommy John surgery) to the 60-day IL. Hinds has one minor league option remaining. Selected with the 49th overall pick in the 2019 Draft out of IMG Academy, Hinds hit his peak as a prospect in 2020 and 2021, reaching heights as the eighth-best in the Reds system in both years as evaluated by MLB Pipeline. The industry was enamored by Hinds' stellar exit velocities, bat speed and strength, which resulted in a 60-grade for both power and his arm from the corner outfield. Those tools haven't faded yet as his exit velo got up to 115 mph with Triple-A Louisville this season. A lack of bat-to-ball ability continues to plague Hinds. His first campaign at the Triple-A level in 2024 was especially alarming, as the slugger owned the thirteenth-highest strikeout rate in all of Minor League Baseball at 37.9%. Hinds has had brief stints with the Reds in each of the past three years. The vast majority of his highlights were crammed into his first week, when Hinds homered five times and drove in 11 runs from July 8-13, 2024. Three of those long balls came at the Marlins' expense. In 51 total games and 131 plate appearances at the major league level, Hinds is slashing .172/.221/.426 with seven homers, three doubles and a grueling 6/55 BB/K ratio. The 6'3'', 215-pound, Niceville, Florida, native was designated for assignment on Sunday. Adding a right-handed bat became more of a priority for the Marlins recently. Their most promising Triple-A option, Kemp Alderman, just landed on the injured list earlier this week. Infielder Leo Jiménez suffered a concussion on Wednesday while Christopher Morel and Heriberto Hernández continue to provide sub-replacement-level production. With consistent playing time and a more analytical approach from Miami's hitting staff in Jacksonville, it's obvious that the front office believes they can shrink Hinds' swing-and-miss and tap into his trademark pop. It's a move that resembles the acquisition of Joey Wiemer a year ago, and perhaps this time around the project comes to fruition for a team desperately needing the slug that Hinds possesses. As for McCambley, the 27-year-old right-hander leaves the Marlins for the second time in a six-month span. A third-round pick in Miami's infamous all-pitcher 2020 MLB Draft class, McCambley was selected by Philadelphia this past December in the Rule 5 draft, but was returned prior to Opening Day. McCambley was impressive for the Jumbo Shrimp in 2026, utilizing his five-pitch mix effectively to the tune of a 2.36 ERA in 26 ⅔ innings pitched. However, he's walking 15.7% of opposing batters and projects to work in a relief-only role moving forward. View the full article

MIAMI — Prior to Thursday night’s game against Atlanta, the Miami Marlins announced that No. 2 prospect Robby Snelling will undergo Tommy John surgery, ending his rookie campaign after just one start. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Keith Meister on Friday—he has handled several prominent Marlins elbow surgeries, including those for Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Ronny Henriquez, and most recently, Adam Mazur. Snelling made his major league debut on May 8, allowing three runs on five hits against the Washington Nationals. He struck out two and walked four over five innings. Following a bullpen session a few days later, Snelling complained of elbow discomfort, prompting Miami to shut him down and place him on the 15-day injured list. Snelling was acquired at the 2024 trade deadline, along with the aforementioned Mazur, Graham Pauley, and Jay Beshears, in exchange for pitchers Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing. After an uneven 2024 season, the left-hander broke out in 2025, earning a promotion to Triple-A Jacksonville. Between the two levels, Snelling posted a 2.51 ERA with 166 strikeouts across 136 innings. Before getting called up to the big leagues, Snelling was dominating Triple-A once again this season, posting a minuscule 1.86 ERA. The rehab process from Tommy John takes a minimum of 12 months for pitchers to complete, though starters like Snelling need additional time on the back end to build up their pitch count. Using one of his teammates as a reference point, Eury Pérez returned to a major league mound last June, which was 14 months after his procedure. The Marlins transferred Snelling to the 60-day injured list to make room for new trade acquisition Rece Hinds. When Snelling went out, Braxton Garrett took over his Marlins rotation spot, but Garrett has since been optioned back to Jacksonville after consecutive poor outings combined (4.1 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 8 BB and 5 K). There's been no confirmation yet regarding who will start for Miami on Sunday when that spot is due up next. View the full article

A 12-game losing streak in April put the New York Mets’ season in peril. To their credit, they've put together a solid month after stopping that skid. They're 14-12 in their last 26 games, and 6-3 over their last nine. Now, there's hope that this team will be watchable this summer — and maybe good enough to contend for a playoff spot. There’s recent precedent for such optimism, too. Two years ago, the Mets were 21-26 after 47 games — the same as they were at one point in 2026 — and, OMG, did they turn it on after that. They finished with 89 wins and rode the vibes to the NLCS. This year's Mets entered Thursday's action 13th in the National League but just 7.5 games out of a wild-card berth, with more than two-thirds of the season remaining. Still, the team has lots of problems. The roster doesn't have a Jose Iglesias-type veteran who can set the clubhouse alight. Current spark plug A.J. Ewing is a 21-year-old rookie who has yet to totally struggle at the plate. How will a slump affect his energy? The rotation is a minefield. The top bullpen arms are inconsistent. The offense (87 wRC+, 28th in the majors entering the finale of the Nationals series) can't be trusted, even though it averaged 7.6 runs per game during a recent 6-1 streak. Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez and Clay Holmes are out with long-term injuries. Those issues lead to this question: How much time should the front office give this flawed team to complete a turnaround — be at .500 or better, say — before going into sell mode ahead of the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline? Club president David Stearns has shown during his time in New York that he will be patient. Most recently, he stuck with manager Carlos Mendoza while the team was losing and the fans wanted the skipper to join the Red Sox's Alex Cora and the Phillies’ Rob Thomson on the unemployment line. Expect Stearns to give the players similar support even with half the everyday lineup — Lindor, Alvarez, Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. — on the injured list. Some of those players might be available for part of an upcoming stretch that will answer our question. The Mets are early into a difficult part of their schedule. After this week's road trip to D.C. and Miami, they're looking at this group of series through the first week in July: Home vs. the Reds and Marlins At the Mariners and Padres Home vs. the Cardinals and Braves At the Reds and Phillies Home vs. the Cubs and Phillies At the Blue Jays and Braves All of those teams are capable of making it to October. Yes, even the Marlins, the team that killed the Mets’ playoff dreams last year. Once the gauntlet ends in Atlanta on July 6, the Mets will have played 91 games, barring rainouts. That'll be a sufficient sample size for Stearns and his lieutenants. It will also be the time that prices for deadline rentals start to increase. Bottom line: If the club is around..500 and 6.5 back or.closer in the wild-card race a week before.the All-Star break, then the front office can remain patient and maybe do some buying. If the Mets are buried in the standings — say, 10 or more games behind — then the sell-off should probably get underway. View the full article

The Blue Jays have been searching for a defining moment all season. Between injuries, underperformance from key veterans, and their position in the AL East slipping quickly, the club desperately needed a spark. For now, Daulton Varsho’s walk-off grand slam last Wednesday may be just the spark the Blue Jays were looking for. It was the Blue Jays' first grand slam of the season and one of their biggest offensive swings of the year. More importantly, it came against a division rival they are actively trying to catch in the AL East. For Daulton Varsho, this has to have been a relief. Aside from a small stretch earlier in the season when he hit three home runs in four games, his power had virtually disappeared, mirroring the larger offensive issues the Blue Jays have dealt with as a team. Entering games on May 20, Varsho was on pace for 17 home runs, after hitting 20 in an injury-shortened 71-game season the year prior. A lot of the power numbers – including his SLG, ISO, and barrel rate – have all taken a sharp drop through 46 games this season. At first glance, that change may appear to be a step backward for a Blue Jays team desperate for power, but the underlying production suggests Varsho has not necessarily become a worse hitter, just a different one. Firstly, let's flash back to what made him successful in 2025. Varsho sold out for power in a noticeable way. He mashed 20 home runs in 71 games, his pull-air rate (29.5%) had him in the top 15 in baseball, and his bat speed, and most notably his fast swing rate, soared to 56.2%. Particularly, he became elite at doing damage on pitches low in the zone: The approach did come with trade-offs. Varsho posted a career-high swinging strike rate (15.4%) and a five-year low contact rate (71.7%), but the elite damage more than justified the sacrifice. He enjoyed the best offensive season of his career, mashing 20 home runs while posting a career-high .833 OPS. Varsho had a clear plan of attack at the plate, and with it came immediate success. That is what has made his 2026 season so fascinating. Many of the traits that fueled his breakout 2025 campaign have faded, forcing him to find different ways to remain productive offensively. First, pitchers adjust. If Varsho was going to consistently hammer pitches low in the zone, opposing staffs were naturally going to attack him differently, and that has clearly happened early in 2026: On top of that, some of the skills that made Varsho elite have fallen by the wayside, too. His fast swing rate has dropped significantly, as has his pull-air rate: These changes could be connected. League-wide, batters typically swing slower on pitches up in the zone, and balls that get on you quickly are less likely to be hit in the air to the pull side. But even with that, Varsho still isn’t swinging as hard, even on the pitches he does get down in the zone: In today's game, where teams can identify and attack offensive tendencies almost immediately, hitters rarely survive in the long term with just one version of themselves. The league constantly forces adjustments, and the best players in the game are usually the ones who adjust with them. Varsho appears to understand that. Rather than continuing to chase the exact offensive profile that made him successful in 2025, he has started reshaping his approach to counter the way pitchers are now attacking him. His decrease in bat speed has coincided with improved contact, and while not all of it is good, there have been some notable improvements: Stat 2025 2026 Difference K Rate 28.4% 18.4% +10.0% BB Rate 6.3% 8.6% +2.3% OBP .284 .346 +.062 Line Drive Rate 16.9% 24.8% +6.9% Varsho's plate approach has shifted dramatically. He’s gone from a high-torque, pull-side power approach to a more disciplined approach built around contact and on-base ability. It's an offensive identity the Blue Jays have increasingly embraced as a team. The change in approach isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While the Blue Jays could certainly use more power, especially after John Schneider called out his team's need for slug following Tuesday’s loss to the Yankees, Varsho has remained productive despite the change in approach. As a result, his numbers on the season look quite similar to where they were last year. His wOBA is virtually the same (.345 in ‘25 vs .346 in ‘26), his wRC+ is similar (123 vs 120), and he is currently on pace to be the Blue Jays' best position player by bWAR (4.4). In other words, the production hasn’t disappeared; it's arriving in a different form. If anything, Daulton Varsho has added another dimension to his offensive game. He has already proven he can impact the ball with elite pull-side power, and this season he has shown an ability to contribute through patience, contact quality, and on-base ability. Considering Varsho entered professional baseball as a catcher before developing into one of the sport's best defensive outfielders, his ability to reinvent himself offensively should not be underestimated. The next step for Varsho may be learning when to lean into each version of his offensive game. Can he unleash an aggressive, pull-side swing when pitchers make mistakes inside the zone, while also maintaining the more disciplined approach he has developed this season? If he can consistently blend those two identities together, the Blue Jays may unlock an even more complete hitter. Since Varsho’s grand slam last Wednesday, he’s hitting .500 with a 1.272 OPS in a small sample, offering a glimpse of what this newer version of himself can look like when everything clicks. John Schneider appeared to recognize that as well, hitting him third in the lineup against right-handed pitching over the road trip. There is still plenty of baseball left to play, but Varsho’s season may be less about rediscovering his old form and more about refining a new one. If pitchers are eventually forced to adjust again, it may signal that his offensive evolution is beginning to work and that an even more complete version of Varsho may still be emerging. Stats and graphics updated prior to games on May 20. View the full article

It's just three games. Right? Sure, the Brewers came into town and beat the Cubs in both convincing and ominous fashion. They used three pitchers they acquired over the winter through proactive trades and one guy they've developed into the best pitcher in the world to overmatch an ostensibly high-powered, unquestionably expensive Cubs offense. They got crucial home runs from the second baseman who has blossomed into the superstar Cubs fans have longed for Nico Hoerner to be, and from a scrapheap scoop-up who now seems to be a legitimately above-average first baseman, and from the Cubs' gleefully antagonistic long-time nemesis, Christian Yelich. Sure, Pete Crow-Armstrong made embarrassing mistakes. Alex Bregman, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki missed opportunities to turn the tides of two of the three losses. The Brewers clearly have Shota Imanaga's number, and Edward Cabrera left his fourth straight ineffective start with a blister. The Brewers pulled into first place, where they've spent the majority of the past half-decade. But it's just three games. Right? Increasingly, it feels like it's more than that. The Brewers keep resoundingly beating the Cubs when it really matters. They keep frustrating their former manager and proving to be more fundamentally sound and smarter, as well as immensely talented. More importantly, they're never just winning three games. They came to town having won eight of 10 and 13 of 18. They leave town looking like they're back into the groove they found last summer, with 16 wins in 21 games. The Cubs won 20 of 23 at one point this season, of course, but they haven't showed the same capacity for dominance as the Brewers have this year. Chicago has scored 4.9 runs per game and allowed 4.4. Milwaukee has scored 5.0 per game and allowed only 3.4. Were this because Milwaukee was all-in this year, it would be easier to feel ok about it. In reality, though, it's the Cubs who are closer to that end of the spectrum of timeline plans. As we've talked about at length, this team faces the losses of both corner outfielders and several starting pitchers (Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, Imanaga) to free agency this winter. They can spend money to replace those guys, but not without constraints, because they owe a nine-figure sum to a group headlined by Bregman, Crow-Armstrong Hoerner and Dansby Swanson. Justin Steele and Edward Cabrera will be expensive arbitration cases. Michael Busch, Miguel Amaya, Daniel Palencia and Ben Brown will be relatively cheap ones, but they'll get at least $10 million more expensive as a group than they are this year. Bregman, Swanson, and Carson Kelly are likely in the last years of their respective primes. The farm system is not robust. The Cubs need to be good this year; they're very likely to be a bit worse next year and the year after. Meanwhile, the Brewers are a perpetual motion machine. Kyle Harrison became the most salient symbol of that this week at Wrigley Field, but he won't be the most visible one for long. Milwaukee is younger and cheaper than the Cubs, but they're also much deeper, and—this, given the disparity in their payrolls, is the big blow—their stars are better than the Cubs'. On top of all that, with a couple of other top prospects graduating, Milwaukee now has the top overall prospect in baseball, in infielder Jesus Made. They're not necessarily better this year than they were last year, but they're almost certainly going to be better next year than they are right now, and they should even be better the year after that than they are next year. No cavalry is coming for the Cubs. They don't have savior-caliber prospects on either side of the runs ledger, either long-term or short-term. They aren't going to get a front-office overhaul and a creative spark, because Jed Hoyer got an extension to remain the team's president of baseball operations for the balance of the decade. It feels silly to talk about farm systems and long-term concerns around a good team in late May most of the time, but in this case, the long-term concerns are also short-term ones. The Cubs have to win now. Can they do it? Only if they start getting better performances from the guys on the roster, because they have no mechanism by which to add much to the roster this year. That made this week's reminder that the Brewers are better than the Cubs for the eighth full season in a row especially painful. Locking in this core made some sense, but it raised the stakes of the team's efforts to improve its player development. So far, the jury is out on that. Signing Bregman and trading for Cabrera this winter made sense, but it moved forward the team's timeline for geting back to the top of the NL Central at the cost of sustainable excellence. The jury is certainly out on that, too. Signing Hoyer to that extension last summer, meanwhile, remains a head-scratcher. It came at a strange point in the calendar. It seemed to take pressure off a team that needed to embrace the very real pressure it faced. It certainly locked them into the philosophies and capacities of Hoyer, which are not on par with those of some of the top front offices with which Cubs fans hope the team will be fighting for supremacy in the years ahead. It rewarded Hoyer for a job he hadn't actually completed, and still hasn't: reasserting the Cubs' place as the team to beat in the NL Central. Hoyer tried to finish that work over the winter, but this week demonstrated how profoundly he failed. The Cubs can still win the division this year. In a season when no team feels like an unbeatable colossus, they can still dream of a pennant. At the moment, though, it's hard not to feel like the team overcommitted to a bunch of second-tier commodities: a second-tier front office, second-tier big winter moves, and a second-tier homegrown core. Eventually, even in the Second City, the second tier isn't good enough. How the team can get to the first tier from here, though, is hard to say. View the full article

Already sporting a very deep and very versatile bullpen, the San Diego Padres could be looking to strengthen that unit even more. According to a report by Dennis Lin of The Athletic, the Friars are on the lookout to improve the best unit on the team. That could mean strengthening the back end, which already has the best closer in MLB in right-hander Mason Miller. While Miller is coming off his first blown save of the season in a 5-4 loss to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday, the only other reliable end-of-game options are right-hander Jason Adam and left-hander Adrian Morejon. There are also some softer spots in the relief corps in right-hander Ron Marinaccio and left-hander Yuki Matsui. Lin mentioned two possible acquisitions: left-handers Aroldis Chapman of the Boston Red Sox and Josh Hader of the Houston Astros. Due to both teams struggling this year, they could be available for cheap, although the Padres' farm system is not very deep in prospects. Entering Thursday, the Padres rank seventh in MLB in innings pitched by relievers at 200⅓ as well as ERA at 3.32. Miller has already had three appearances where he was called upon to get four outs, which is more than he had last year with the A's. In fact, Miller only went more than three outs twice before the Padres acquired him in a blockbuster at the trade deadline. He went more than one inning five times after joining the Padres. Adding to this possibility is the new ownership that is set to be approved by MLB in the next month in Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones, who could be looking to give president of baseball operations A.J. Preller room to do what he needs to do before the trade deadline. View the full article

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (May 19-May 20) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs Syracuse Mets (New York Mets): 0-2 Season Record: 23-24 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies): 1-1 Season Record: 23-16 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs Spokane Indians (Colorado Rockies): 1-1 Season Record: 17-24 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Minnesota Twins): 0-1 Season Record: 15-25 FCL Blue Jays Week Record: 0-1 Season Record: 11-2 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 23-24 Series vs Syracuse Mets (New York Mets) May 19: On Tuesday, Buffalo opened a new series, this one with the Syracuse Mets. Grant Rogers was on the mound for the Bisons, and he was looking around for the do-over button from the very start. He threw a cutter that hung in the middle of the plate, and Christian Arroyo took him deep for a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the first. Unfortunately, Syracuse was just getting started in the inning. With two outs and down 1-0, Rogers surrendered two singles and then a triple to Ji Hwan Bae, bringing the lead for the Mets to 3-0. Next, Cristian Pache singled home Bae, and Ben Rortvedt smacked the second home run of the inning off of Rogers, a two-run blast. Buffalo was in a big hole early and tried to fight out of it. In the third inning, Je'Von Ward stayed hot at the plate for Buffalo, launching his third home run in his last four games, a two-run shot to right center. Ward kept the comeback going in the fifth inning, hitting a lead-off double and coming around to score on Josh Kasevich's single. The next batter, Charles McAdoo, would bring Buffalo to within one of Syracuse, with his monster two-run home run, 424 feet to center field. The Bisons wouldn't get the chance to tie the game, though. Devereaux Harrison and Michael Plassmeyer combined to give up three runs in the bottom of the seventh, putting the game out of reach. Buffalo fell 9-5 in a game in which they fought hard to come back from a big deficit early on. May 20: Wednesday's day game had the beginnings of a promising bounce-back contest. Buffalo had Chad Dallas on the mound, who has continued to get better as the season has progressed, and some of their bats have been warming up after early struggles. Dallas would not be the savior Buffalo was hoping for, though; he stumbled often in this game. Across three innings, he coughed up eight hits and five runs, only striking out two. The damage from Syracuse started in the bottom of the first inning. After Dallas allowed a single and a walk, Eric Wagaman singled home the first run of the ballgame. William Simoneit quickly tied the game back up in the top of the second, with a 393-foot solo home run. Dallas was in more trouble in the bottom half of the second inning, hitting his second batter of the game, allowing a single, and then Christian Arroyo knocked in both runners with a single of his own. In the bottom of the third, it was an RBI triple and another RBI single from Arroyo that put two more runs on the scoreboard for Syracuse. Carlos Mendoza singled home a run for Buffalo in the next half inning, and Josh Rivera added a run from a sacrifice fly, as Buffalo pulled back to within one run at 5-4. Unfortunately for Buffalo, the bullpen once again imploded, giving up five runs between the fifth and sixth innings. With Buffalo down big again, they only managed to add on an RBI single by Riley Tirotta and lost the game 10-5. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 23-16 Series vs Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies): May 19: Mason Olson got the start on the mound to begin the series between the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Hartford Yard Goats. He went five innings, only allowing four hits and one run. Bryant Betancourt drove in the first run of the game in the fourth inning for Hartford. In the sixth, Eddie Micheletti Jr. launched his seventh home run of the season to tie the game up. A throwing error would give Hartford the lead in the seventh inning, and the score would hold until the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, Adrian Pinto added to his good game by tying things up at two with an RBI double. In the bottom of the 10th, a bases-loaded walk from Aaron Parker tied the game at three, before Jay Harry walked the game off with an RBI groundout to win the game for New Hampshire, 4-3. May 20: The Wednesday game between Hartford and New Hampshire was a wild one. Hartford took the big lead early and kept adding to the scoreboard, bringing at least one run across the plate in the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings. They scored eight runs and took the commanding lead in the game. Benny Montgomery homered, GJ Hill hit an interesting inside-the-park home run, and Bryant Betancourt homered in that span. In the bottom of the eighth inning, things flipped for New Hampshire. Jay Harry came up to the plate with the bases loaded and crushed a ball over the right field fence for a grand slam. Patrick Winkel added a home run in the inning as well, as the Fisher Cats scored eight in the frame. Quickly though, Hartford put another run on the board, this time with another Montgomery home run. New Hampshire lost this one 10-8. High-A Vancouver Season Record: 17-24 Series vs Spokane Indians (Colorado Rockies) May 19: Spokane ruined another great Johnny King start, who pitched five innings for the second time this season, striking out five batters and only allowing one run. The offense for Vancouver had a solid start as well, with Jacob Sharp hitting his third homer of the season to make it 2-0. Those two runs were the only runs scored for Vancouver, and Holden Wilkerson had his first truly bad appearance, giving up five runs in the seventh inning himself. Carson Pierce also gave up a run that same inning. That led to the loss in the first game of the series against Spokane. May 20: The awesome pitching performances for Vancouver continued with Nolan Perry taking the bump once again. This time, he struck out double-digit batters for the third time this season, and he didn’t allow a run in five innings. Perry has begun to establish himself as the next big Jays pitching prospect. The offense didn’t slack either, as Alexis Hernandez and Dub Gleed carried the way. Hernandez had two homers and three walks, while Gleed had a four-hit night with a double and a homer. The Canadians faced a scare when Carson Myers made his Vancouver debut and struggled, giving up five runs to make it a more competitive game, but Jonathan Todd stopped the bleeding with a save. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 15-25 Series vs Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Minnesota Twins) May 19: Postponed May 20: Nathan Lukes finally was able to play on rehab assignment, as the previous game was rained out. Despite finishing with zero at-bats, he was able to walk and hit a sac fly in two plate appearances. Aldo Gaxiola continues to hit, getting the second run of the game with a 100-mph single. This was also the professional debut for Blake Purnell, whom the Jays recently signed out of independent ball. He had a solid start, going five innings and allowing two earned runs while striking out four batters, but unfortunately, he took the loss as a Juan Sanchez error in the fifth led to an unearned run, putting the Jays behind 3-2. The bullpen let the game get out of hand as well, as Jack Eshleman allowed two runs in three innings of work despite striking out six batters, and Lluveres Severino allowed another, making it six runs for the Mighty Mussels. The Jays' offense was able to bring it within two with RBI singles from Raimundo De Los Santos and JoJo Parker, but it was too little too late. FCL Blue Jays Season Record: 11-2 May 19: Tuesday was a big day for a few of the key players on the FCL Blue Jays squad. Carson Messina was on the mound and made easy work of the FCL Phillies. He went three innings and didn't allow a hit, only surrendered one walk, and struck out four batters. On the offensive side, Tim Piasentin launched his first professional home run in the sixth inning and added a double later in the game. Also in the sixth inning, Andres Arias crushed his first home run of the season as well, also in the sixth inning. After tying the game in the ninth on a bases-loaded walk from Arias, the Blue Jays squad couldn't hold on, as they lost the game in the 10th inning; the Phillies scored three, and the Jays could only muster an RBI groundout in their half of extras. The FCL Blue Jays lost this one, 8-6. Transactions 05/20/26 SS Nick Goodwin assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. 05/20/26 RHP Conor Larkin assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. 05/20/26 Dunedin Blue Jays activated SS Raimundo De Los Santos from the 7-day injured list. 05/20/26 New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated OF Jace Bohrofen from the 7-day injured list. 05/20/26 New Hampshire Fisher Cats placed RHP Irv Carter on the 7-day injured list. 05/20/26 RHP Kelena Sauer assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians. 05/19/26 Toronto Blue Jays recalled RHP Chase Lee from Buffalo Bisons. 05/19/26 Toronto Blue Jays sent RF Nathan Lukes on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 05/19/26 RHP Bradley Wilson assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays. 05/19/26 RHP Blake Purnell assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays. 05/19/26 RHP Edgar Gallegos assigned to FCL Blue Jays from Dunedin Blue Jays. 05/19/26 LHP Luis Fonseca assigned to FCL Blue Jays from Dunedin Blue Jays. 05/19/26 New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated RHP Caleb Freeman from the 7-day injured list. 05/19/26 Toronto Blue Jays signed free agent RHP Bradley Wilson to a minor league contract. 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BLOOMINGTON, Minn.—For weeks, Major League Baseball has been dealing with a crisis no one saw coming. Not gambling. Not robot umpires. Not another pace of play debate. Pants. Specifically, umpire pants. Twice in recent weeks, MLB umpiring crews arrived at Target Field without the proper uniform pants after travel complications delayed equipment shipments. Fans laughed. Broadcasters joked. Social media had a field day wondering how a billion-dollar league could not successfully transport polyester slacks across state lines. But according to an exclusive investigation from Twins Daily, this was no accident. This was sabotage. After weeks of investigative journalism, several ignored emails, and one suspicious meeting near a Caribou Coffee inside Terminal 1, Twins Daily tracked down the MSP Airport employee responsible for the disappearances. Twins Daily granted his request for anonymity because, frankly, he still has TSA clearance and access to conveyor belts. “I regret nothing,” the employee said while wearing reflective airport gear and sipping a Cherry Coke. “People think this is about pants. It’s bigger than that. This is about accountability.” The employee claims his hatred of MLB umpires dates back to Game 2 of the 2009 ALDS. “I’ve held onto this anger for years,” he admitted. “Joe Mauer hit a double. Everybody knows it. You can only suppress rage for so long before you start rerouting luggage.” According to the employee, the operation began modestly. “At first, I would just move the bags slightly farther away from the carousel,” he explained. “Little victories. Tiny inconveniences. But then I saw the umpire equipment cases come through MSP, and I realized destiny was calling.” The employee described a sophisticated process involving baggage rerouting tags, fake maintenance delays, and what he repeatedly called “psychological warfare.” “Do you know how vulnerable an umpire feels without matching pants?” he asked. “You can survive without shin guards for a few innings. But pants? That’s civilization.” The plot thickened when Dan Hayes jokingly posted on social media that there “must be an MSP employee with a sense of humor” behind the missing pants situation. As it turns out, he accidentally uncovered the truth. “When I saw Dan tweet that, I almost retired immediately,” the employee said. “I was pacing around the baggage claim, tearing my hair out and smearing on face paint. I thought the walls were closing in.” Hayes later provided Twins Daily with a brief statement. “I was kidding,” Hayes said. “I did not think there was an actual rogue airport employee launching a one-man campaign against umpire slacks. That feels important to clarify, legally.” Fans remain deeply confused by the entire situation. “I just don’t understand why it’s only the pants,” said one Target Field attendee. “Why not the shirts? Why not the hats? Why are the pants the weak link in MLB logistics?” Another fan had a different theory. “I think somebody at Delta lost a bet,” he said. “There’s no way this naturally happens twice. My luggage can disappear for six days in Orlando, but somehow the only thing MLB loses is umpire pants?” The employee insists the answer is simple. “Because pants send a message,” he said, while dramatically pointing toward a moving walkway. “If I take the shirt, they still look official. If I take the hat, they improvise. But if I take the pants?" He paused. He was smiling, but it made me feel cold inside. "Chaos.” Unnamed MLB sources in New York confirmed the league has become increasingly alarmed. “There have been emergency meetings,” one source said. “Do you know how hard it is to find replacement umpire pants on short notice in Minnesota? We had one intern calling Kohl’s locations at midnight.” Another league source reportedly suggested MLB may begin traveling with “backup emergency pants” stored separately from the main equipment bags. The MSP employee laughed at that proposal. “They think I haven’t considered backups?” he asked. “This is the major leagues. I’m scouting tendencies. I’m watching tape. I know their travel schedules better than they do.” He also hinted that the operation may not be over. “There are other garments,” he said cryptically. “People should keep an eye out for belt-related incidents moving forward. These dorks need special shoes to work the plate! You know how easy a target that makes them?” MLB officials reportedly remain determined to catch whoever is responsible. The employee seemed unconcerned. “They’ll never stop me,” he said confidently. “Not unless Angel Hernandez starts working baggage claim.” View the full article

Joey Ortiz still plays defense well enough to justify meaningful innings in Milwaukee’s infield. His hands remain quick, his versatility still carries value, and there are managers who would live for years with a light bat if the glove compensates for it at a premium position. The problem for the Brewers is that Ortiz’s bat is no longer merely light. It's entering an offensive zone where virtually his entire profile depends on flared liners, bloopers, and perfectly-placed ground balls. And in modern baseball, surviving solely on that is like trying to live on pretzels. Pretzels are nice, but as a full diet, they leave much to be desired. Worst of all, perhaps, this isn't new. Ortiz's results have been volatile, but his expected stats—the numbers beneath the numbers—have been persistently brutal for the last year. Here are his actual and expected weighted on-base averages by month for his big-league career. In only one month since the middle of 2024 (last August) has Ortiz put up an expected wOBA above .292; the league average is .316. Since last summer, the Brewers have used him increasingly judiciously. Not since last June has he reached 80 plate appearances in a month, and though he's putting up slightly better numbers this month, that's in only 39 trips to the plate. Ortiz finished April with the worst xwOBA of his career at just .222, surpassing his previous collapse of .224 in August 2024. That pattern matters, because it helps explain something fundamental: Ortiz’s initial collapse did not necessarily begin as a hitter incapable of generating competitive contact. It began as a hitter whose offensive margin became so thin that any combination of mediocre contact, low BABIP, and lack of power ended up sinking his entire offensive line. And over time, that offensive pressure also transformed the quality of his swings. When we dive into the full evolution of his numbers, what emerges is not a conventional slump. There is no single broken indicator explaining the decline. What appears, instead, is the progressive deterioration of nearly every component that supported his offensive production in 2024, the only season in which he truly looked like he had built a stable offensive identity in the major leagues. That year, Ortiz was not an intimidating hitter, but he was a functionally uncomfortable one for opponents. He posted a .159 ISO, a .347 xSLG, hit 16 barrels, and maintained a relatively balanced contact profile. His production did not depend on raw power, but on generating line drives, using the gaps, and creating enough quality contact to force pitchers to respect the strike zone. Today, that aspect has almost completely disappeared. The drop in contact quality is far too consistent to ignore. His average exit velocity fell from 87.8 mph in 2024 to 84.9 in 2025. His Hard-Hit% dropped from 38.4% to 31.7%. His barrel rate fell to just 3.7%, well below league average. And perhaps the statistic that best captures the problem: only three barrels in 82 batted balls this season. That does not describe an unlucky hitter. It describes a hitter whose contact has lost its explosiveness. But there is an even more revealing number, one that probably explains better than any other why the damage disappeared from his offensive game: the collapse of his Sweet Spot%. In 2023, Ortiz placed 40% of his batted balls within the ideal launch-angle window. Even in 2024, he still maintained enough balance in his swing plane to sustain productive rallies and dangerous contact. Today, that number has fallen to just 18.3%. For a hitter with limited power, Sweet Spot% is practically a lifeline. Ortiz does not possess the physical margin to survive while producing mediocre contact. He needs to consistently find the correct angle to be a good hitter. Once that percentage collapses, the entire offensive structure begins falling apart at the same time. That's exactly what his numbers show. In 2024, Ortiz still built healthy offensive at-bats because line drives sat at the center of his profile. He hit .618 on line drives, produced 19 doubles and six triples on that type of contact, and registered an absurd 1.118 slugging percentage whenever he found that swing plane. That was his offense. He did not need to be a 30-home-run hitter, because he created rallies through frequent, clean contact. The problem is that contact has almost completely evaporated. His line-drive rate has fallen from 24% in 2023 to just 13.4% in 2026. And when a hitter with limited natural power stops producing line drives, there is usually not much left behind to sustain the rest of the offensive profile. That explains why his fly balls have turned into harmless outs. In 2024, even though he hit only .150 on fly balls, 10 of his 15 hits on fly balls went for extra bases. There was hidden damage there. Pitchers knew that if the ball carried, there was real danger. Two years later, that threat has disappeared completely. His slugging percentage on fly balls fell from .480 to .230 in 2025 and sits at just .250 this year. His HR/FB% collapsed from 15.5% to 5.9%. The balls that once found the gap or scraped the fence now simply die in the outfield. This is where the metrics become brutal, because the expected numbers do not suggest bad luck. The decline is legitimate. His xwOBA fell from .329 in 2024 to .275 in 2025 and .282 this year. His xSLG dropped from .347 to .279. His xISO cratered to .064. His wOBACON has fallen nearly one hundred points from its peak. There is not much separation between the results and the actual quality of contact. Ortiz is producing exactly the kind of offense his current swings suggest. Perhaps the most revealing detail of the entire transformation appears in the distribution of his contact. At his offensive best, Ortiz used the entire field naturally. There were line drives to the opposite field, firm contact into both gaps, and enough variety to keep defenses uncomfortable. Today, the profile looks far more limited: nearly all of his contact travels toward center field, while his opposite-field usage has dropped to just 12.2%. That does not necessarily describe a hitter who is late on swings, but it does describe one who is less dynamic and far more dependent on simply putting the ball in play. And when that version of the swing also comes with less sweet-spot contact, fewer line drives, and less authority in the air, the result becomes exactly what the numbers show: softer ground balls, harmless fly balls, and far less overall damage. Even so, Milwaukee still finds one small reason not to completely give up on him. The collapse has not come with an explosion in swing-and-miss, and when Ortiz does manage to hit line drives, the production still appears. The real challenge for the Brewers is not recovering elite contact strength, because Joey Ortiz has never been that type of hitter. What they need to recover is the swing that once produced dynamic contact and enough damage to punish mistakes in the strike zone—and make pitchers just a little more uncomfortable. View the full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (May 20) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Season Record: 23-22 Great pitching performances went to waste as Worcester gave up five runs in the 11th inning to lose 7-2 to the Rochester Red Wings (Washington Nationals). Jake Bennett was dominant, striking out 11 batters, tying the WooSox franchise record for the most strikeouts in a game. Bennett tossed five innings of one-run ball, generated 15 whiffs, and a 49% chase rate. The curveball was filthy, creating 10 whiffs, and the velocity on all his pitches was up by +2 mph. 35-year-old Tayron Guerrero lit up the radar gun in his two shutout innings, his fastball maxed out at 102.6 mph while having a 63% whiff rate on the heater, generating five whiffs on eight swings. The bullpen held it down after Bennett for the rest of the game, up until the 11th inning came along. In the meantime, Guerrero, Eduardo Rivera, and Tommy Kahnle combined for four scoreless innings after Bennett. Kyle Keller allowed a run from a sacrifice fly in the sixth to give Rochester a 2-1 lead, but Worcester clawed back afterwards. Wyatt Olds came in for the 11th, and the floodgates opened. The Red Wings had themselves a five-run inning to blow the game open, giving Worcester no chance to come back with the way their bats had looked prior. Offensively, Worcester couldn't get much going, managing seven hits and just two runs across 11 innings. Matt Lloyd's solo homer in the fifth tied it at 1-1, and Nate Eaton drove in Tsung-Che Cheng with a clutch groundout in the bottom of the 9th to force extras at 2-2. Beyond that, the lineup was quiet, no extra-base hits besides Lloyd's blast as the lineup altogether went 0-for-8 with RISP. Key Performances: Jake Bennett: 5 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K Tayron Guerrero: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Season Record: 19-21 On Roman Anthony’s bobble head day, the Sea Dogs jumped on the Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) early and never looked back, defeating them 9-4. Johanfran “The Username” Garcia was the star on offense for Portland. The catcher collected two hits with a walk, scored three runs, and had two RBIs, including a solo homer in the fifth to push the lead to 8-2. Hayden Mullins was impressive in his outing. The 26-year-old lefty only let up one hit while allowing two runs, striking out seven in his five innings of work. Mullins now holds a 3.58 ERA as opponents are batting just .140 off him. Portland got off to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. Will Turner walked, and Nate Baez hit a double to left field to put two runners on. Garcia followed up with an RBI single to bring in Turner. Marvin Alcantara came up to the plate and brought in Baez with a sacrifice fly, then Nelly Taylor roped an RBI double to give the Sea Dogs the early lead. After Reading made it a one-run game in the second, the Sea Dogs exploded with a four-run inning in the bottom half. Raudelis Martinez smacked a lead-off single, and Ahbram Liendo reached base on a throwing error by the pitcher, advancing both runners an extra 90 feet. That set up Franklin Arias to bring in Martinez with a sacrifice fly, making it 4-2. Turner made a productive groundout count to push the lead 5-2. With two outs, Baez hit an infield single, and Garcia worked a walk, then Alcantara capped off the four-run inning with a base-clearing RBI double, giving the Sea Dogs a big 7-2 lead entering the third. Johanfran Garcia launched a solo bomb in the fifth, giving them an 8-2 lead. The Fightin Phils tried to claw back by scoring two runs in the sixth, but it was not enough. Liendo made it a 9-4 game in the eighth with a sacrifice fly, giving Portland a comfortable lead to finish the last inning. Cade Feeney pitched well in the last two innings, tossing two shutout innings, giving up one hit and no runs while striking out three. Key Performances: Hayden Mullins: 5 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K Johanfran Garcia: 2-for-3, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB Nelly Taylor: 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, SB Nate Baez: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R High-A Greenville Drive Season Record: 16-25 The Greenville Drive’s bats were not quite on point, despite a late comeback attempt in the ninth, losing 6-4 to the Frederick Keys (Baltimore Orioles). Justin Gonzales kept his hitting streak alive, now reaching eight games. The 19-year-old phenom still awaits his promotion to Portland, slashing .315/.420/.534 for Greenville this season. The Drive offense was largely silenced through the first six innings by Frederick’s starter. Greenville managed baserunners in the second inning, a hit-by-pitch, a single, and a walk loaded the bases; unfortunately, they could not push anything across the plate. Adonys Guzman broke the shutout in the seventh with a solo homer to right field, his third home run of the year, cutting it 2-1. But the Keys answered emphatically in the bottom half of the seventh, reliever Osvaldo Berrios and Joey Gartrell got roughed up as Frederick scored three runs on an RBI single and a two-run single to blow it open 5-1. Down 5-1, the Drive showed some fight in the eighth, drawing three straight walks to load the bases with no outs, but the Keys got two outs very quickly with no damage, a run was forced in when Yophery Rodriguez walked with the bases loaded to make it 5-2, but Greenville left the bases juiced when a strikeout ended the threat. In the ninth, Yoeilin Cespedes crushed a two-run homer, his eighth of the year, scoring Henry Godbout to pull the game closer 6-4. Sadly, a lineout with a runner on ended the game. Single-A Salem RidgeYaks Season Record: 18-23 Other than a couple of errors, Salem took control of both sides of the ball in the 8-3 victory over the Hill City Howlers (Cleveland Guardians). Enddy Azocar tallied a double, his 15th of the year, to extend his hitting streak to six games, while D’Angelo Ortiz and Luke Heyman each had themselves a multi-hit game. The Howlers scored early in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, but Salem tied it up 1-1 in the second inning when Anderson Fermin roped a one-out triple, then Stanley Tucker put the ball in play and caused an error, scoring Fermin to tie it. A bad-timed error in the bottom half from the RidgeYaks gave up a run, losing the lead 2-1. Salem exploded in the fourth inning, scoring four runs on five extra-base hits. Andrews Opata kicked things off by launching a solo homer to center, his third of the year, to tie it 2-2. From there, the RidgeYaks just kept hammering doubles: Ilan Fernandez lined one to center to score Ortiz, Azocar doubled to right to bring in Fernandez, and Starlyn Nunez roped an RBI double to left field to make it 5-2. In the fifth, Opata reached on a fielder's choice, then stole his 20th base of the season. Fermin drew a walk, and Tucker delivered the knockout blow with a two-run single to right. Ortiz followed with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 8-2. The Howlers managed one more unearned run in the bottom half, but the game was effectively over with how efficient Salem’s pitching staff had looked. Barrett Morgan started on the mound and went 4 ⅓ innings, allowing one earned run, on one hit with one strikeout and three walks. Wuilliams Rodriguez and Harry Blum combined to shut the door over the final innings, keeping the Howlers to just three hits total on the night. Key Performances: D’Angelo Ortiz: 2-for-3, 2 2B, R, RBI Andrews Opata: HR, 2 R, RBI, SB Stanley Tucker: 1-for-4, R, 3 RBI, SB View the full article

There comes a point when an organization stops sending subtle hints and starts using a megaphone. For the Minnesota Twins, their handling of Kyler Fedko feels like the latter. Fedko has done almost everything the organization could reasonably ask for from a 12th-round pick. He's climbed the ladder steadily since being drafted out of the University of Connecticut in 2021, improved his offensive profile every season, added defensive versatility, and developed into one of the more intriguing right-handed bats in the system. Yet, every time the major-league roster opens a lane for him, the Twins find another person to fill it. At some point, it stops being about development and starts looking like a lack of trust. Fedko, now 26, spent all of 2024 at Double-A Wichita and put together a respectable but unspectacular campaign. In 77 games, he hit .227/.327/.319, with three home runs and 14 doubles. Minnesota (unsurprisingly) had him repeat Double-A to begin 2025, and that decision looked too conservative immediately. Fedko exploded offensively at Wichita, posting an .868 OPS with 35 extra base hits in 88 games while becoming one of the hottest hitters in the organization. He also stole 38 bases, giving Minnesota a rare blend of right-handed power and speed. Few players in the organization combined patience, power, and athleticism the way Fedko did in 2025. That breakout season completely changed the conversation around him. He became a regular topic among Twins prospect followers and quickly forced his way into the organizational spotlight. The Twins promoted him to Triple-A on August 1, and he did not slow down. After arriving in St. Paul, he somehow got even hotter, posting an 1.104 OPS with six home runs and seven doubles during his first 22 games. Overall, Fedko posted an .829 OPS in 42 games after the promotion while continuing to show improved power against upper-level pitching. During one stretch with the Saints, Fedko earned Twins Minor League Player of the Week honors after hitting .407 with three home runs and a 1.299 OPS across six games. He also tied a Saints franchise record with five hits in a single game. By the end of the season, he finished runner-up to Gabriel Gonzalez for Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year after smashing 28 home runs and maintaining an on-base percentage near .370. Usually, when a player forces the issue that aggressively, an opportunity follows. Instead, Fedko has remained stuck in Triple-A while the Twins continue patching together solutions at the major league level. Last season felt like the perfect opportunity to see what he could do. Minnesota struggled badly after the trade deadline and desperately needed offensive consistency, especially from the right side. Fedko never got the call. Nor did the team add him to the 40-man roster in November. They left him exposed to the Rule 5 Draft, though he wasn't selected. Now in 2026, he is producing again. Through 37 games, Fedko is hitting .292/.372/.608, with 19 extra-base hits while going 8-for-11 on stolen base attempts. On Wednesday, he went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two homers, four RBIs, and three runs scored. His strikeout rate has climbed from 21.2% to 24.5%, and his walk rate has dipped from 14.0% to 9.1%, but the overall production remains difficult to ignore. More importantly, his profile fits a very obvious organizational need. The Twins' lineup has leaned heavily left-handed for multiple seasons. Fedko hits right-handed, brings legitimate power, and adds athleticism on the bases. Defensively, he has played all three outfield spots while also making starts at first base and second base. That kind of versatility usually earns players at least a short look in Minnesota. Instead, the organization keeps treating him like organizational depth, rather than a legitimate option. That reality becomes harder to justify with every passing week. Fedko is no longer a young prospect who needs years of refinement. He is 26 years old, succeeding against upper-level pitching, and offering skills the major-league roster clearly lacks. If the Twins believed he could help them, there have already been multiple opportunities to prove it. Their actions suggest otherwise. Maybe the organization sees flaws behind the scenes that outsiders cannot fully evaluate. Maybe they believe the swing-and-miss concerns will become more pronounced in the majors. Maybe they simply do not view him as a long-term roster fit. Whatever the reason, the message has become increasingly clear. Fedko keeps producing like someone deserving of an opportunity, while the Twins continue operating like they do not trust him to handle one. Should Fedko get a shot with the Twins? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

Chicago Cubs Transactions No Roster Moves Kevin Alcántara Goes Deep As Iowa Walks Off Memphis Doug Nikhazy delivered five innings of one-hit ball with two walks and five strikeouts, helping set up a tight game at Principal Park. Iowa scratched its first run across in the sixth, when Chas McCormick led off the inning with his sixth double, Eric Yang followed with a single to move McCormick to third, and Brett Bateman lifted a sacrifice fly to left to bring McCormick home. Cleanup hitter Kevin Alcántara made it 2-0 in the seventh with his 15th home run of the season, a solo shot to right-center. Memphis answered in the top of the ninth against Collin Snider, tying the game on a Nelson Velázquez sacrifice fly and a Bligh Madris RBI single. In the bottom half, leadoff hitter Justin Dean drew a walk, BJ Murray reached on a fielding error, Jonathon Long laid down a sacrifice bunt that advanced both runners, and Alcántara plated Dean on a fielder's choice for the winning run. Iowa managed just three hits in the victory, but the bullpen carried the load. Opener Gabe Klobosits worked two scoreless innings with four strikeouts, Christian Roa added a clean inning, and Snider picked up the win despite allowing two runs in the ninth. Iowa stranded just three runners on the night. Player AB R H RBI BB K Justin Dean, DH 3 1 0 0 1 0 BJ Murray, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 Jonathon Long, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 Kevin Alcántara, RF 4 1 1 2 0 1 James Triantos, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 1 Owen Miller, SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 Chas McCormick, LF 3 1 1 0 0 0 Eric Yang, C 3 0 1 0 0 1 Brett Bateman, CF 2 0 0 1 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Gabe Klobosits 2 1 0 0 0 4 0 Doug Nikhazy 5 1 0 0 2 5 0 Christian Roa 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 Collin Snider 1 3 2 2 1 1 0 Owen Ayers Homers But Smokies Fall To Montgomery 6-5 Cleanup hitter Owen Ayers gave Knoxville an early jolt in the first, depositing his fifth home run of the season to right-center to score Carter Trice for a 2-0 lead. Starter Grant Kipp went 4 2/3 innings for the Smokies, allowing one run on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Knoxville pushed across another run in the fourth on an Edgar Alvarez RBI single that brought home Jefferson Rojas, making it 3-1. The game tilted on the seventh. Montgomery struck for two runs off Luis Rujano, including a two-run home run, to grab a 4-3 edge. Knoxville responded in the bottom half. Ariel Armas worked a walk, Ed Howard ripped his third double of the year to score Armas, and Howard came home on a Karson Simas triple to right that put the Smokies back in front 5-4. The lead did not last. Rujano left the bases loaded with two outs in the eighth, and Evan Taylor surrendered a two-run single that gave Montgomery a 6-5 lead. Vince Reilly closed the door with a perfect ninth featuring two strikeouts, but Knoxville could not answer in the bottom half. Ayers finished 1-for-4 with two RBI, Rojas added a double, Howard tallied two hits, and the Smokies stranded just three runners on the night. Player AB R H RBI BB K Karson Simas, CF 4 0 1 1 0 2 Alex Ramírez, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 Carter Trice, LF 3 1 1 0 1 1 Owen Ayers, C 4 1 1 2 0 1 Jefferson Rojas, 3B 3 1 1 0 1 0 Edgar Alvarez, 1B 4 0 1 1 0 2 Ariel Armas, DH 3 1 0 0 1 0 Hayden Cantrelle, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 Ed Howard, SS 3 1 2 1 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Grant Kipp 4 2/3 4 1 1 3 6 0 Frankie Scalzo Jr. 1 1/3 2 1 1 0 1 0 Luis Rujano 1 2/3 5 4 4 1 2 1 Evan Taylor 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 Vince Reilly 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Late Rally Carries South Bend Past West Michigan Alfredo Romero set the tone for South Bend, working 3 2/3 innings on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He surrendered the only West Michigan run in the fourth on an RBI single, but the Cubs bullpen took the game from there. Nate Williams covered 2 1/3 hitless innings with four strikeouts, and Jackson Brockett closed with three scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks, and two strikeouts. Trailing 1-0 entering the eighth, South Bend pieced together a rally. Kade Snell drew a leadoff walk, Leonel Espinoza moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt, and Alex Madera walked to put two runners on. Miguel Useche then drilled a single to left that scored Snell, and Madera came around to score on a fielding error by the left fielder. The 2-1 lead held into the ninth, when leadoff hitter Kane Kepley drew a walk, advanced to second on a groundout, and came home on a Cameron Sisneros RBI single to right taking his on base streak to 17 straight. South Bend managed just four hits and worked four walks but turned them into the runs that mattered. The Cubs struck out seven times, stranded three runners according to the line score, and saw the bullpen post 5 1/3 scoreless innings in relief to wrap up a 3-1 victory. Player AB R H RBI BB K Kane Kepley, CF 3 1 0 0 1 1 Ty Southisene, SS 4 0 0 0 0 1 Cameron Sisneros, 1B 4 0 1 1 0 1 Kade Snell, LF 3 1 1 0 1 0 Leonel Espinoza, RF 3 0 0 0 0 1 Alex Madera, 3B 3 1 1 0 1 2 Miguel Useche, C 2 0 1 1 1 0 Drew Bowser, DH 3 0 0 0 0 1 Christian Olivo, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Alfredo Romero 3 2/3 3 1 1 2 6 0 Nate Williams 2 1/3 2 0 0 0 4 0 Jackson Brockett 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 Pelicans Shut Out By Kannapolis Dominick Reid had a tough start for Myrtle Beach, allowing four runs on eight hits over four innings with two walks, two strikeouts, and a home run. Kannapolis built the lead inning by inning. The hosts scored once in the first on an RBI single, added two more in the second on a solo home run and a sacrifice fly, and tacked on another run in the third on an RBI single to make it 4-0. Braylon Myers followed Reid out of the bullpen with two innings, giving up one run on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts in the sixth that pushed the lead to 5-0. Connor Knox closed out the night with two innings, allowing a two-run home run in the eighth that capped the scoring at 7-0. The Pelicans bats went quiet, mustering just seven hits and drawing no walks. Josiah Hartshorn led the way with a 2-for-4 night that included a double, Yahil Melendez chipped in two hits, and Jose Escobar, Derniche Valdez, and Jairo Diaz each added a single. Leadoff hitter Alexis Hernandez went hitless in four at-bats, and Myrtle Beach struck out nine times and stranded seven runners on the night, never able to push a runner across the plate. Player AB R H RBI BB K Alexis Hernandez, SS 4 0 0 0 0 1 Josiah Hartshorn, CF 4 0 2 0 0 1 Alexey Lumpuy, RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 Jose Escobar, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 Eli Lovich, DH 4 0 0 0 0 1 Derniche Valdez, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 2 Yahil Melendez, 1B 4 0 2 0 0 1 Jairo Diaz, C 3 0 1 0 0 0 Darlyn De Leon, LF 3 0 0 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Dominick Reid 4 8 4 4 2 2 1 Braylon Myers 2 3 1 1 2 3 0 Connor Knox 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 Top-20 Prospect Performance Jefferson Rojas: 1-for-3, 2B, BB Jaxon Wiggins: DNP Pedro Ramirez: DNP Kevin Alcantara: 1-for-4, HR, K Josiah Hartshorn: 2-for-4, 2B, K Ethan Conrad: DNP Kane Kepley: 0-for-3, BB, K Jonathon Long: 0-for-3 James Triantos: 0-for-3, K Cole Mathis: DNP Owen Ayers: 1-for-4, HR, K Brooks Caple: DNP Juan Cabada: DNP Kaleb Wing: DNP Angel Cepeda: DNP Dominick Reid: 4 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K, HR Jostin Florentino: DNP Ty Southisene: 0-for-4, K Will Sanders: DNP Brandon Birdsell: DNP View the full article

Did I ever tell you about my greatest moment writing about the Miami Marlins? It came eleven years ago this past Sunday. The year was 2015. Miami was 16-21 under Mike Redmond. That fateful morning, I wrote an article making the case for why Redmond wouldn't manage another game for Miami if that record hit 16-22. Redmond was fired shortly after that afternoon's loss. Now, my editor at the time referred to my prediction as "pure speculation." Personally, I'd have preferred "astute analysis" of an owner in love with the legacy of his one successful season that was happy to change owners as often as Miguel Rojas changes sneakers. Jeff Torborg was fired at 16-22, and the Marlins went on to win a title. Jeffrey Loria was exactly the kind of owner who would be willing to believe lightning could strike twice. As my four-year old has taken to saying lately, easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy. After a true only in Miami adventure with Dan Jennings recently discussed on Fish Unfiltered, the club hired Don Mattingly next offseason. The Marlins haven't fired a manager since. Which brings us, dear reader, to current Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough and the point of that parable. For beyond the obvious lesson that I should be making ESPN money for that bit of prognostication, there is also a lesson far more useful for today's Marlins devotee. For fan temperature seems to have reached a point where it's worth pointing out how unlikely a manager change is this season, and how little of an impact it would even have on any of the things fans are angry about. Before diving into McCullough specifically, allow me to address anyone sitting there thinking I'm off in my terminated manager count. Sure, you could read between the lines all you want on Miami's "mutual parting of the ways" with Mattingly and Skip Schumaker. However, you can't deny that Bruce Sherman has never fired a manger— capital F, publicly stating you were bad at your job Fired—during his tenure. Manager or general manager, all prominent changes happened in the offseason, with the mask of those mutual differences. He has been far more patient than his predecessor. Partly, that comes down to what is surely just a genuine difference in temperament between Loria and Sherman. Yet it's hard to conclude that just as much of it hasn't been a deliberate commitment to changing Miami's image. Change was needed. In other words, Sherman's track record says no change is coming before October. Period. Everyone the Marlins have moved on from completed their contract. McCullough is extremely unlikely to be an exception. It's also important to stress the difference in circumstances. Every other time a Marlins manager has been fired midseason, there were serious expectations for better play, ones typically backed by aggressive offseason signings and/or front office bluster. The 2026 Marlins expected to better, sure, but drawing a comp between them and the 1996, 2001, 2003, 2010, and 2015 Marlins would be pushing it. Those teams were all much better positioned for success. As I've said before, John Boles is probably the best comparison for Clayton McCullough when it comes to previous Marlins skippers. But if McCullough does go as Boles did, it's more likely to be like when Miami moved on from Boles after 1996 than during 2001. This team was supposed to improve, and still might. That doesn't mean the investment in it happening was high enough to warrant an early firing though if that improvement doesn't happen. There has been no Guillen-esque PR disaster. No clubhouse meeting heard round the world. Nothing off the field to support such a rash decision. Bringing it back to McCullough specifically though, there are two reasons that Marlins fans shouldn't be so quick to wish for him being shown the door. Or at the very least, thinking it will change anything. For one, what would a manager firing do to the identify of those scrappy, in every game to the very last out Miami Marlins you've come to know and love? Obviously, much of that has to do with the players on the field. But a team's identity does tend to be linked to the individual leading it, and that's McCullough. Would a new manager push all those same buttons? Would this clubhouse receive a change well? Again, there's been no evidence that McCullough has lost it. Just evidence that a talent gap remains between the Marlins and more serious contenders. That's not a McCullough problem. It's a front office one. Secondly, let's talk a little bit more about that front office. They aren't going anywhere. Back in the old days of 1993-2023, changing the manager might have had a dramatic impact on how Miami operates. In the brave new world Peter Bendix and company have brought the Marlins into? Waaaay more debatable. That's not a slight against the team's increased reliance on analytics either but merely to say that any new manager Miami brings in is going to be expected to continue to tow the company line. Meaning that any of the things that have upset fans to this point are still going to be there. Platoons. Bullpen decisions. Quick hooks for starting pitchers. All of those decisions have been backed by a massive pile of numbers. The Marlins are going to continue to provide their manager those numbers...and expect their manager to act on them. None of that adds up to a manager change making sense for the Marlins in 2026. View the full article

At least we have an answer. Last September, the Blue Jays placed José Berríos on the injured list with elbow inflammation. I'll admit I was skeptical at the time. I thought it was a phantom IL stint. After all, Berríos was never hurt. Never. All of a sudden, shortly after the team moved him to the bullpen – a move he was openly upset about – a vague injury allowed the Jays to remove the struggling veteran from their active roster while preserving some of his dignity. It just felt a bit too convenient. Then, when Ross Atkins revealed that Berríos chose not to be with the team during the World Series because "he was disappointed that he wasn’t in our rotation," I thought my suspicions were confirmed. This wasn't about an injury. It was personal. I didn't know what any doctors might have seen on the righty's scans, but clearly, Berríos himself thought he was healthy enough to pitch. A couple of months later, we got another update. Berríos explained that he was pitching through discomfort throughout the entire 2025 season. Huh. I had to rethink my phantom IL conspiracy theory. Maybe the truth was somewhere in between an actual injury and my cynical speculation. My new hypothesis? Berríos really was hurt, but the Blue Jays let him pitch through the pain until it became a convenient reason to remove him from the roster. Regardless, it seemed like we were done worrying about Berríos and his elbow. After his first spring start, the veteran told reporters that he felt "pretty healthy, pretty strong." “Last year, at this time, I had doubt in my mind already,” he explained. “Today, I felt like nothing's on my mind. I'm clear.” Unfortunately, while his mind may have been clear, his scans weren't. When Berríos was first denied insurance coverage to pitch in his fourth World Baseball Classic, I was among the outraged. For all we knew at the time – from what the Blue Jays and Berríos had communicated – he was perfectly healthy. However, when he was denied a second time, it came with the news that an MRI had found more inflammation in his elbow. Even so, Berríos maintained that he was "feeling great and throwing the ball well." Both he and the Jays were so unconcerned that he wasn't even shut down from throwing. It was puzzling, but it still didn't seem like a big deal. Or at least, the Blue Jays and Berríos weren't making it seem like a big deal. A week later, the "big deal" alarms finally started to go off in my head. Berríos was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his elbow. He would miss Opening Day. Once again, he claimed he was still pain-free. John Schneider was confident Berríos wouldn't be out for long. My confidence, however, was starting to wane. How did the team miss a fractured elbow? How on earth was Berríos pain-free? Were we getting the full story? To be fair, the stress fracture diagnosis really didn't keep Berríos down for long. He made his first rehab start on April 16. But the mixed messages continued. The Jays maintained that the right-hander was nearing his return, despite his struggles against minor league hitters. Even when he suffered a setback and went for another MRI, the messaging was that this wasn't a soft tissue injury. Until it was. Yesterday, Berríos went under the knife. Afterwards, the team announced that he had undergone a full Tommy John procedure. He will miss the rest of the 2026 season and likely most of 2027 as well. Eight months ago, "La Makina" was the most durable pitcher in baseball. Since then, his elbow has taken him on a roller coaster ride. It's always a gut punch when a pitcher looks dominant one moment, then he exits a start early, and the next day you learn he'll be out for the next 12-18 months recovering from Tommy John. Yet, I think the long, drawn-out Berríos situation was even more frustrating. The only good news is that it's finally over (for now). It may not be the answer anyone wanted, but at least we have an answer. View the full article

To say that Gavin Sheets got off to a poor start here in 2026 might be overstating the situation. After all, he did finish April above the average threshold in wRC+ (110). For a San Diego Padres team starved for consistency on the offensive side, though, it was definitely an output that left something to be desired. Sheets' first month of the season was propped up heavily by his power output. He struck out 22.0 percent of the time against a mere 4.4 percent walk rate. That type of spread doesn't lend itself to regular contribution. As such, the power (.244 ISO) represented the only meaningful production Sheets was able to offer the Friars. That ISO figure trailed only Luis Campusano among Padres hitters in March & April, though Sheets' number came with nearly twice the plate appearances. In terms of total contributions, things have certainly shifted for Sheets here in May. Here is the breakdown of Sheets' performance between the season's first month and his work this month: March/April: .233/.275/.477, 22.0 K%, 4.4 BB%, 110 wRC+ May: .302/.434/.674, 18.9 K%, 18.9 BB%, 209 wRC+ It's not just that Sheets has been better; he's been obscenely good in general. No qualifying hitter in the sport has a better wRC+ than Sheets' 209 and only two have posted a higher ISO over halfway through the month than his .372 mark (Byron Buxton & Kyle Schwarber). How Sheets has managed to drive up his numbers in such an impressive way isn't any sort of mystery. For one, he's become more patient. Sheets' swing rate in April was 46.8 percent before dropping to 38.1 thus far in May. The chase rate has come down along with that overall decline in swings, falling from 37.2 percent to 31.3 percent between the two months. That increased patience has (obviously) allowed him to drop his strikeout rate while driving the walk rate way up, but it's also allowed him to do more with the contact that's being made. More specifically, it's allowing him to find the portions of the zone that are going to yield the most positive outcomes. The below visual is of Sheets' swing rates in and around the strike zone in March & April: It's not a bad trend, mind you, where many of those swings wind up. But there's also a lot of work down in the zone that's going to result in a heavy volume of groundball contact. Meanwhile, this is where Sheets is swinging to this point in May: There's been a much heavier emphasis on not only the inner portion of the zone, but avoiding those lower areas that have caused him trouble in the past. With not a ton of variable change with respect to pitch types, we can attribute the improved patience to his ability to lock in on more impactful portions of the zone. The areas of emphasis in the second visual (middle-middle and middle-in) are where we typically see his power manifest. That trend is present in the elevation of Sheets' contact over these past handful of weeks. After going for a groundball rate over 45 percent in April, he's down to 36 percent in May. His fly-ball rate, meanwhile, has experienced an eleven percent leap up to 30.3 in May. The quality of contact was always there, but his lack of discipline wasn't allowing it to be maximized. By honing in his approach and gaining control of the zone, he's been able to elevate his game to a fairly drastic extent, much to the Padres' benefit. View the full article

JoJo Parker generated plenty of buzz during spring training, resulting in lofty expectations out of the gate. What should we make of his first month and change of pro ball? View the full article

Tyson Hardin is getting some much-deserved attention after turning in a seven-inning shutout performance for his Triple-A debut with the Nashville Sounds. In this video, we will break down the Milwaukee Brewers' 15th-ranked pitching prospect's arsenal, his pro-level command, and one key improvement that could lead to his big league debut. View the full article

Mickey Gasper was recently recalled from the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox. Claimed by Boston in early February, Gasper has been hot in the minors this season; he has flashed better contact with his bat, along with some raw power. Gasper has only played a handful of games with the Red Sox and been has been spark to their recent offensive production.View the full article

After shutting out his opponents in back-to-back starts to begin the season, Edward Cabrera has allowed at least one home run in five consecutive appearances and holds an earned run average north of six in the month of May. What is going wrong for the Chicago Cubs' right-handed pitcher? We break it all down in this video. View the full article

Syracuse pounded out 14 hits in a 10-5 win over Buffalo behind Christian Arroyo's three-RBI afternoon, while Ryan Clifford added a two-run home run. Channing Austin spun 6 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight, to lead Brooklyn past Hudson Valley 5-0. Joe Scarborough earned the win as St. Lucie edged Palm Beach 4-3, with Yohairo Cuevas driving in the go-ahead run. Binghamton dropped a 7-6 walk-off loss in Richmond despite Jacob Reimer's three-run, two-hit afternoon. Mets Transactions LF Nick Morabito changed number to 55. New York Mets optioned RHP Daniel Duarte to Syracuse Mets. New York Mets selected the contract of LHP Zach Thornton from Syracuse Mets. Syracuse Mets Pound Bisons Behind Arroyo's Three-RBI Day The Syracuse Mets pounded out 14 hits in a 10-5 win over the Buffalo Bisons. Christian Arroyo led the charge, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs, a double, a run scored, and a stolen base. Kevin Parada added two hits, two runs scored, and two RBIs, including a triple. Ryan Clifford launched his eighth home run, walked twice, drove in two, and stole a base. Cristian Pache and Eric Wagaman each collected two hits, with Pache plating two and Wagaman driving in another. Syracuse opened the scoring in the first when Wagaman singled home Jared Young. Buffalo answered with a two-run home run in the second, but Syracuse responded in the bottom half on Arroyo's two-RBI single that scored Parada and Jackson Cluff. The Mets stretched the lead in the third on Parada's RBI triple and Arroyo's RBI single, pushing Syracuse ahead 5-2. The sixth inning broke the game open. Clifford crushed a two-run home run that scored Arroyo, and later Pache delivered a two-run single that brought home Wagaman and Jihwan Bae, swelling the lead to 10-4. Buffalo added a run in the seventh, but the Syracuse bullpen closed the door. Starter Matt Turner opened, allowing two runs on two hits over 1 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out two. Ben Simon earned the win with 1 1/3 scoreless frames in relief. Syracuse stole six bases and left ten runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Christian Arroyo 5 1 3 3 0 1 Jared Young 5 1 1 0 0 1 Andy Ibáñez 5 0 1 0 0 1 Ryan Clifford 3 1 1 2 2 0 Eric Wagaman 5 1 2 1 0 0 Ji Hwan Bae 3 2 1 0 1 1 Cristian Pache 5 1 2 2 0 1 Kevin Parada 3 2 2 2 0 0 Jackson Cluff 3 1 1 0 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Matt Turner 1 2/3 2 2 2 1 2 1 Ben Simon 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 Ofreidy Gómez 1 2 2 2 2 1 0 Parker Carlson 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 A.J. Minter 2/3 1 1 1 1 0 0 Cionel Pérez 1 1/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 Alex Carrillo 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Rumble Ponies Fall On Late Richmond Comeback The Binghamton Rumble Ponies dropped a 7-6 walk-off loss to the Richmond Flying Squirrels after surrendering a two-run ninth. Binghamton led 6-5 entering the bottom of the ninth before Richmond tied it on a leadoff home run and walked it off two batters later on an RBI single. Jacob Reimer led the offense with two hits, three runs scored, a double, a walk, and a stolen base. JT Schwartz delivered a three-run home run, his second of the year. Nick Lorusso added two hits and an RBI, Jaylen Palmer collected two hits and a stolen base, and Jose Ramos drew two walks and scored twice. Binghamton struck first in the opening inning, when Lorusso's single brought home Reimer, and Schwartz reached on an error that allowed Ramos to score, making it 2-0. After Richmond tied it in the second, the Rumble Ponies answered in the third on Schwartz's three-run home run that plated Reimer and Ramos, pushing the lead to 5-2. Richmond responded with two in the fourth to make it a one-run game. In the fifth, Reimer scored on a Ramos double play to extend the advantage, but a solo home run in the bottom half trimmed Binghamton's lead to 6-5. Starter Jonathan Santucci struggled, allowing four runs on seven hits over four innings, walking one and striking out four. Saul Garcia took the loss after surrendering a home run in the ninth. Player AB R H RBI BB K Chris Suero 5 0 0 0 0 2 Jacob Reimer 4 3 2 0 1 1 Eli Serrano III 3 0 1 0 1 1 Jose Ramos 2 2 0 0 2 0 Nick Lorusso 4 0 2 1 0 1 JT Schwartz 4 1 1 3 0 2 TT Bowens 4 0 0 0 0 1 Jaylen Palmer 4 0 2 0 0 1 Wyatt Young 4 0 0 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jonathan Santucci 4 7 4 4 1 4 0 Gabriel Rodriguez 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 Guillo Zuñiga 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Dan Hammer 2 1 0 0 0 4 0 Saul Garcia 2/3 2 2 2 1 1 1 Channing Austin, Cyclones Blank Renegades The Brooklyn Cyclones blanked the Hudson Valley Renegades 5-0 behind Channing Austin's dominant quality start. Austin worked 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out eight to earn his second win of the year. Brooklyn's bullpen completed the shutout with 2 1/3 hitless innings of relief. Yonatan Henriquez led off with two hits, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Nick Roselli connected for his first home run, going 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. John Bay drove in three on two hits and added a stolen base. Cleanup hitter Corey Collins doubled, Sam Biller singled and scored, and Trace Willhoite drew a walk. Brooklyn broke the game open in the third. With Sam Biller aboard, Roselli launched a two-run home run to put the Cyclones on top 2-0. Henriquez followed with a base hit, stole second, and scored when Bay singled to right to push the lead to 3-0. The fifth produced two more runs, both driven in by Bay, whose two-run single scored Roselli and Henriquez to make it 5-0. Brooklyn left three runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Yonatan Henriquez 4 2 2 0 0 1 John Bay 4 0 2 3 0 0 Ronald Hernandez 3 0 0 0 1 1 Corey Collins 4 0 1 0 0 0 JT Benson 4 0 0 0 0 3 Colin Houck 3 0 0 0 0 1 Trace Willhoite 2 0 0 0 1 2 Sam Biller 3 1 1 0 0 1 Nick Roselli 3 2 2 2 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Channing Austin 6 2/3 1 0 0 1 8 0 Garrett Stratton 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 Gregori Louis 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 Hunter Hodges 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 St. Lucie Mets Edge Cardinals On Late Rally The St. Lucie Mets rallied to beat the Palm Beach Cardinals 4-3, scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. Joe Scarborough earned the win with 1 1/3 hitless innings, walking three and striking out three. Randy Guzman led the offense with two hits and two runs scored. Branny De Oleo added two hits, a run scored, a double, and a stolen base. Kevin Villavicencio singled in a run. Yohairo Cuevas drove in two on a sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk. Julio Zayas singled and was hit by a pitch that scored a run. Jeremy Rodriguez worked a walk and scored once. Palm Beach plated the first run in the third, but St. Lucie answered in the bottom half when Villavicencio's single brought home De Oleo. Palm Beach took the lead back in the fourth, and St. Lucie countered in the bottom half. With the bases loaded, Zayas was hit by a pitch to bring in Rodriguez, and Cuevas followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Guzman to put the Mets up 3-2. Palm Beach tied it in the fifth. The decisive moment came in the bottom of the eighth, when Cuevas drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Guzman and put St. Lucie ahead 4-3. Starter Daviel Hurtado was sharp, allowing one run on three hits over three innings, walking none and striking out five. The bullpen worked six innings the rest of the way. Palm Beach left 14 runners on base, while St. Lucie stranded seven. Player AB R H RBI BB K Elian Peña 4 0 0 0 0 1 Jeremy Rodriguez 3 1 0 0 1 1 Randy Guzman 4 2 2 0 0 2 AJ Salgado 3 0 0 0 1 1 Julio Zayas 2 0 1 1 0 0 Yohairo Cuevas 2 0 0 2 1 2 Branny De Oleo 4 1 2 0 0 1 Chase Meggers 4 0 0 0 0 3 Kevin Villavicencio 3 0 1 1 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Daviel Hurtado 3 3 1 1 0 5 0 Justin Armbruester 2/3 1 1 0 1 1 0 Elwis Mijares 1 1/3 2 1 1 2 0 0 Christian Rodriguez 2 2/3 2 0 0 2 3 0 Joe Scarborough 1 1/3 0 0 0 3 3 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Nolan McLean: DNP Carson Benge: DNP A.J. Ewing: DNP Jonah Tong: DNP Ryan Clifford: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, R, SB Jacob Reimer: 2-for-4, 2B, BB, 3 R, SB, K Jack Wenninger: DNP Elian Pena: 0-for-4, K Mitch Voit: DNP Nick Morabito: DNP Jonathan Santucci: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, BB, 4 K Chris Suero: 0-for-5, 2 K Zach Thornton: DNP Wandy Asigen: DNP Will Watson: DNP Eli Serrano III: 1-for-3, BB, K Ryan Lambert: DNP Dylan Ross: DNP Antonio Jimenez: DNP R.J. Gordon: DNP View the full article

The Chicago Cubs are going through it with pitching injuries and some underwhelming outings for those who are healthy. Is it time to worry? Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View the full article

Many of the Twins' best pitching prospects are either breaking into the majors or are starting their 2026 season out at High-A Cedar Rapids. Eli Jones is a name flying under the radar that was just promoted to Double-A Wichita, and Jamie and Jeremy explain why he's a name to follow on the Wind Surge. View the full article

By no means have the 2026 Twins gotten lucky. In fact, they can't catch a break. Their run differential (230 runs scored, 231 allowed) implies a 25-25 record, but they're 23-27. They lost their ace to season-ending elbow surgery on the first day of full-squad workouts in the spring, and their in loco Pablosis ace, Joe Ryan, has had multiple disruptions to his preparation and performance. Their star center fielder went off to international duty and found himself benched, slowing his start to the season. They had two strong breakout candidates in their rotation for the first month, but both are currently on the injured list. Now, their primary catcher is shelved for weeks by a broken bone in his hand. Their top two prospects got hurt in Triple-A. Given all that (and especially given the aforementioned 23-27 record), though, things feel oddly hopeful. The Twins are 5.5 games behind the Guardians for first place in the AL Central, but they've already proved they can hang with that team, beating them twice in three games at Progressive Field earlier this month. They're only 1.5 games out of playoff position. According to FanGraphs, they have a 23.8% chance to make the playoffs—down from their highest point during their early-season hot streak, but right in the same range they've been in for the last four weeks or so. While neither Matt Wallner nor Royce Lewis left the team much choice but to demote them to Triple-A, this situation made that decision both easier and more urgent. Ditto for their replacement of Simeon Woods Richardson in the starting rotation. Because of what now seem to be real problems—and not just slow starts—for the Royals, Tigers, Red Sox, Orioles, Mariners, Astros and Blue Jays, the door to the playoffs remains open to this team. To give themselves a chance to push through it, the team needed to make changes. Here's a position-by-position breakdown of all 30 teams' wins above average, courtesy of Baseball Reference. The Twins' totals are highlighted. Rk Total All P SP RP Non-P C 1B 2B 3B SS LF CF RF OF (All) DH PH 1 Atlanta Braves9.5 ATL4.8 ATL3.9 SDP1.4 LAD6.3 BAL0.9 ATL1.9 STL1.7 LAD1.8 KCR2.6 SEA1.5 LAD2.2 STL2.1 BOS3.2 PHI1.0 ATL0.2 2 Los Angeles Dodgers9.3 NYY4.3 MIL3.8 PHI1.2 CHC5.8 CHC0.7 ATH1.3 MIL1.7 CHW1.2 MIA1.7 NYY1.3 CHC1.5 BOS1.8 CHC2.7 LAD1.0 LAD0.2 3 New York Yankees7.3 PHI3.4 NYY3.6 ATL0.9 ATL4.7 ATH0.7 BOS1.1 PIT1.4 CLE1.2 CIN1.4 DET0.9 LAA1.1 ARI1.8 NYY2.7 HOU0.9 CHC0.1 4 Milwaukee Brewers3.5 MIL3.4 TBR2.5 COL0.8 BOS3.6 MIN 0.6 NYY1.1 MIA1.3 ARI1.0 NYY1.3 CHC0.6 BOS1.1 NYY1.4 LAD2.6 TBR0.9 BOS0.0 5 Cleveland Guardians3.4 LAD3.0 CLE2.5 NYY0.7 NYY3.0 DET0.5 CHW1.0 CHC1.3 TEX0.7 WSN1.0 BAL0.5 MIN 0.9 WSN0.8 SEA1.9 ATL0.9 WSN0.0 6 Chicago Cubs3.0 CLE2.7 CHW2.4 LAD0.6 STL2.5 MIL0.3 HOU0.9 SEA1.3 KCR0.5 CLE0.9 TBR0.3 ATL0.8 TEX0.7 TEX1.5 CLE0.3 NYY0.0 7 Tampa Bay Rays1.7 ATH2.6 ATH2.4 ATH0.2 TEX2.2 SDP0.3 STL0.6 SFG1.1 HOU0.4 DET0.7 MIN 0.3 TOR0.7 CHC0.6 WSN1.3 CHC0.3 TBR0.0 8 Texas Rangers1.7 DET1.8 MIN 2.4 MIA0.2 ARI1.7 ATL0.3 PIT0.5 ATL1.1 SFG0.4 PIT0.7 BOS0.3 TEX0.6 LAD0.3 ARI1.1 MIL0.2 MIN -0.1 9 Athletics1.7 CHW1.6 PHI2.2 DET0.2 TBR1.1 LAD0.1 MIL0.4 CHW0.5 TBR0.3 TBR0.7 WSN0.3 SEA0.4 ATL0.2 ATL0.9 STL0.2 PIT-0.1 10 Chicago White Sox1.6 TOR1.6 LAD2.2 SEA0.2 HOU0.9 BOS0.1 SDP0.3 CLE0.3 CHC0.1 LAA0.5 TEX0.2 WSN0.2 CLE0.1 STL0.8 BOS0.1 ARI-0.1 11 Boston Red Sox1.1 SDP1.6 TOR1.8 CLE0.1 WSN0.7 TEX-0.1 TEX0.3 LAD0.3 TOR0.1 ARI0.5 LAD0.1 BAL0.1 KCR0.1 CLE-0.3 BAL0.1 HOU-0.1 12 Seattle Mariners0.7 MIN 0.8 DET1.6 SFG0.0 SEA0.7 KCR-0.1 CHC0.3 LAA0.2 DET0.0 HOU0.5 CIN0.1 PIT0.0 SEA0.0 TOR-0.3 NYY0.0 TEX-0.1 13 Philadelphia Phillies0.5 TBR0.6 PIT1.3 TEX-0.1 CLE0.7 HOU-0.2 BAL0.2 TBR0.2 SEA-0.1 CHW0.3 PHI-0.1 NYY0.0 TBR-0.1 BAL-0.4 WSN-0.1 KCR-0.2 14 Arizona Diamondbacks0.3 COL0.1 KCR0.7 TOR-0.1 PIT0.5 STL-0.2 CIN0.2 ARI0.2 PIT-0.1 CHC0.3 ATL-0.1 ARI-0.1 PIT-0.2 MIN -0.4 CIN-0.1 CIN-0.3 15 Kansas City Royals0.1 SEA0.0 CIN0.7 ARI-0.3 KCR0.4 COL-0.3 LAD0.2 TEX0.0 BOS-0.2 TEX0.2 COL-0.2 CHW-0.1 HOU-0.3 PIT-0.4 NYM-0.1 SDP-0.3 16 Pittsburgh Pirates0.1 KCR-0.3 SDP0.2 CHC-0.4 MIL0.1 PIT-0.3 PHI0.2 BAL0.0 ATL-0.2 SDP0.2 MIL-0.2 NYM-0.1 NYM-0.4 TBR-0.5 COL-0.1 MIA-0.3 17 St. Louis Cardinals-0.3 MIA-0.3 SEA-0.2 MIL-0.4 CHW0.0 MIA-0.4 MIN 0.1 ATH-0.1 LAA-0.3 STL0.2 PIT-0.2 CLE-0.1 CHW-0.4 KCR-0.6 ATH-0.2 CHW-0.3 18 Minnesota Twins -1.1 PIT-0.4 LAA-0.2 NYM-0.4 BAL-0.8 ARI-0.4 TBR0.0 WSN-0.1 COL-0.3 LAD0.1 CHW-0.2 KCR-0.1 ATH-0.4 CHW-0.7 TEX-0.3 ATH-0.3 19 Detroit Tigers-1.4 TEX-0.5 TEX-0.4 BOS-0.5 ATH-0.9 NYM-0.4 WSN-0.2 BOS-0.2 ATH-0.4 MIL0.0 NYM-0.3 HOU-0.2 TOR-0.5 NYM-0.8 DET-0.3 SEA-0.3 20 Toronto Blue Jays-1.6 NYM-0.9 STL-0.4 CHW-0.7 CIN-1.6 SFG-0.4 ARI-0.2 DET-0.2 STL-0.4 SFG-0.1 CLE-0.3 SDP-0.3 LAA-0.6 LAA-0.8 SEA-0.4 BAL-0.3 21 San Diego Padres-2.1 ARI-1.4 MIA-0.5 KCR-1.0 MIN -1.9 TOR-0.5 TOR-0.2 NYY-0.3 WSN-0.5 ATH-0.1 SDP-0.4 MIL-0.3 COL-0.7 HOU-0.9 LAA-0.4 LAA-0.3 22 Miami Marlins-2.4 CIN-1.4 NYM-0.6 WSN-1.0 LAA-1.9 SEA-0.5 COL-0.2 CIN-0.4 CIN-0.6 TOR-0.2 HOU-0.4 PHI-0.3 SFG-0.8 CIN-1.3 ARI-0.4 SFG-0.4 23 Cincinnati Reds-3.0 SFG-2.4 COL-0.7 MIN -1.6 MIA-2.1 CIN-0.5 LAA-0.3 KCR-0.4 PHI-0.6 NYM-0.3 STL-0.4 MIA-0.3 MIL-0.9 PHI-1.3 SDP-0.4 NYM-0.4 24 Washington Nationals-3.2 BOS-2.5 ARI-1.0 PIT-1.7 SFG-2.4 TBR-0.5 MIA-0.4 MIN -0.5 NYM-0.7 BAL-0.3 SFG-0.5 CIN-0.5 CIN-0.9 MIL-1.4 SFG-0.4 MIL-0.4 25 Houston Astros-3.8 CHC-2.8 HOU-1.7 TBR-1.9 PHI-2.9 LAA-0.5 NYM-0.5 TOR-0.5 MIL-0.7 PHI-0.3 ATH-0.5 COL-0.6 PHI-0.9 COL-1.5 MIN -0.5 CLE-0.4 26 New York Mets-4.8 STL-2.8 BOS-2.0 BAL-2.0 DET-3.2 WSN-0.7 SFG-0.6 HOU-0.6 MIN -0.7 ATL-0.4 TOR-0.5 SFG-0.7 BAL-1.0 DET-1.7 KCR-0.5 PHI-0.4 27 San Francisco Giants-4.8 LAA-3.3 CHC-2.4 CIN-2.0 TOR-3.2 CLE-0.7 CLE-0.6 PHI-0.7 SDP-0.8 SEA-0.4 ARI-0.6 TBR-0.7 SDP-1.2 ATH-1.8 MIA-0.6 STL-0.4 28 Colorado Rockies-5.0 WSN-3.9 SFG-2.4 STL-2.4 SDP-3.7 PHI-0.8 SEA-0.8 NYM-0.7 NYY-0.9 MIN -0.4 KCR-0.6 STL-0.9 MIA-1.2 SDP-1.9 CHW-0.9 TOR-0.6 29 Los Angeles Angels-5.2 HOU-4.7 BAL-2.8 HOU-3.0 NYM-3.9 NYY-0.9 KCR-0.9 COL-1.0 BAL-1.0 BOS-0.5 MIA-0.9 ATH-0.9 DET-1.5 SFG-2.0 TOR-1.0 COL-0.7 30 Baltimore Orioles-5.7 BAL-4.9 WSN-2.9 LAA-3.2 COL-5.1 CHW-1.1 DET-1.4 SDP-1.1 MIA-1.0 COL-1.0 LAA-1.3 DET-1.1 MIN -1.6 MIA-2.4 PIT-1.2 DET-0.8 Coming into this season, any hopes for this club to contend were anchored to their starting rotation being good. That hasn't happened in the way fans or the front office hoped and expected, in that Pablo López is out for the year and both Mick Abel and Taj Bradley have been sidelined, but lo, the unit has been a strength, after all. Bailey Ober is settling in as an obviously usable (though, just as obviously, vulnerable) keep-you-in-the-game guy. Woods Richardson was a disaster, but Zebby Matthews has looked just as good as Woods Richardson did bad. Bradley is on the cusp of returning to a rotation that now includes Connor Prielipp as a full and semi-permanent member, with fellow hard-throwing lefty Kendry Rojas as a more provisional piece. With Woods Richardson out of that picture, the team has come round to enjoying both ample upside and enviable depth in their starting corps, by however circuitous a route. Ryan, Ober, Bradley, Prielipp, Matthews, and whichever of Abel and Rojas is the right mix of available and effective can be the starting pitching depth chart of a playoff team. The (relatively) proactive fix of swapping Woods Richardson out for Matthews is echoed throughout the roster, where the team is (as expected) playing an even harder game of Whack-a-Mole. They entered the season with an utterly underpowered bullpen, and that unit still hasn't been good, so far. However, they're starting to cobble together a group that can be good, in the medium term. Already, they've churned through several external additions (Garrett Acton, Luis García, and Yoendrys Gómez), but more telling is what they've done with their internal options. Gone is Justin Topa, a roster casualty whom the team also couldn't trust anymore. Into the mix are Woods Richardson (who has a real chance to be useful in a long relief role, if deployed correctly) and Andrew Morris, who has unceremoniously claimed the mantle of relief ace. Rojas might yet spend some time in the pen, too, as the rotation gets healthier and stabilizes. No team has gotten worse performances from its right fielders than the Twins, thanks to Wallner's all-around atrociousness, but he's now out of the frame. Minnesota is 26th in wins above average from third basemen, but now, Lewis is out of the way, too. The replacements for those players won't put the team in the top echelon at either spot, but they have a real chance to be better than Lewis and Wallner. The outline of a decent team is coming into focus. That invites the question: What's next? What does the team need to do to keep improving, so they can take advantage of this unexpected opportunity to stay relevant all summer? Firstly, as the chart shows, things still aren't good at shortstop. Brooks Lee has responded better to the influence of new hitting coach Keith Beauregard than his fellow last-wave top prospects, Wallner and Lewis, but he's still only batting .248/.299/.388. He's doing a slightly better job of making contact against breaking and offspeed stuff, but that's the only notable change in his profile. Nor has he become a viable defensive shortstop. Lee almost certainly could play a solid third base, and his bat is playable. In the medium term, then, the move is obvious: call up Kaelen Culpepper, test him at short, and slide Lee over. That will be risky at any point this year, though, and Culpepper isn't quite ready for it yet. Right now, the team will stick with Lee at that position, and the first change we're likely to see will be a slow shift toward more matchup play. Tristan Gray, Orlando Arcia and Ryan Kreidler form an underwhelming but extremely intriguing collection of role players on the infield. Gray brings a left-handed bat, with enough bat speed to be dangerous. Kreidler looked like he would never hit in the big leagues, but in a tiny sample this year, he's hitting in the big leagues. Arcia brings the most experience defensively, and while he'd be no more than a minor upgrade on Lee's glove at short, he would be a big step up from Luke Keaschall's glove work at second. That brings us to Keaschall, who has belatedly pulled his OPS to the right side of .600. He's just not going to work as a defensive second baseman, though any real move to another position has to wait, right now. He can hit enough to outpace his defensive woes, though, and the team now has several guys on the roster whom Derek Shelton can use to mitigate the damage Keaschall can do in the field. It won't be easy for the team to sustain the momentum they've built by winning three of their last four series. Ryan Jeffers's absence looms large. There are guys on this roster overperforming, and guys already coming back to Earth after hot starts. (Witness Trevor Larnach's .217/.280/.326 batting line in May.) They have a 10-game road trip to survive, beginning Friday, in which they'll play the Red Sox, White Sox and Pirates. Don't forget, either, that this team is just 23-27. They haven't exactly surged. They've just maintained a decent pace longer than expected. However, the chance before them is real. By staying afloat into (at least) the final third of May, they've checked the box Tom Pohlad put on their to-do list over the winter, when he made the then-improbable claim that the team would contend this year. Pohlad said last month that he would supplement the roster via trade this summer, if new top executive Jeremy Zoll came to him with a chance to do so. Now, that feels less like a pipe dream and more like a possibility. By winning just enough to stay alive, Zoll, Shelton and the team have bought themselves enough time to fix some of their most glaring flaws. View the full article