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Transactions: RHP Jake Woodford assigned to Nashville Sounds RHP Jacob Waguespack traded to Detroit Tigers for cash considerations LF Jacob Hurtubise assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from Nashville Sounds C Luis Corobo placed on ACL Brewers’ 7-day injured list Game Action: Nashville 8, Durham (Rays) 5 Box Score and Game Log Seven Unanswered Runs Fuels Brewskis to Victory Over Durham - Baddoo Earns Second Straight 3-RBI Night; Wichrowski Tallies Second Win with Nashville A day after Cooper Pratt hit his sixth home run of the season and first since May 20, Jett Williams hit his sixth home run of the season and his first since May 17! Maybe they’ve heard that the left-side of the Brewers’ infield could use some help. Williams led off the home half of the first inning with the 414-foot shot to left center at 100.5 MPH off the bat. Akil Baddoo stayed hot with a triple and then, insurance runs with his second home run in as many days. Luis Lara and Pratt each had one hit and each stole a base. More video highlights: Luis Lara singles on a ground ball to left, scoring Cooper Pratt Luis Matos with an RBI single on a fly ball to center Brock Wilken singles on a ground ball deflected by third baseman Logan Davidson, scoring Luis Matos Cooper Pratt with an RBI single on a ground ball to third gives the Sounds the lead Brett Wichrowski earned his second win for Nashville but did not have the cleanest outing. Wichrowski had a particularly rough third inning giving up a lot of hard contact, with five batted balls having an exit velocity above 103 MPH, including two home runs and a double. Wichrowski did throw five innings, striking out six batters, while only walking one, to somewhat overcome his rough inning. In his first outing since being optioned back to Nashville, Craig Yoho earned the save, pitching two perfect innings and striking out 4 batters. Biloxi pre-game media notes Game 1: Biloxi 14 - Birmingham (White Sox) 1, seven innings as scheduled Box Score and Game Log Game 2: Birmingham 2, Biloxi 1, eight innings (scheduled for seven) Box Score and Game Log Shuckers Split Twin Bill in Birmingham - Shuckers Score 14 in Game One, Fall Short in 8-Inning Game Two Biloxi scored fifteen runs in fifteen total innings on Wednesday, while only giving up three total runs to Birmingham, but only managed to split the doubleheader and remain 1.5 games behind Birmingham in the standings. Tanner Gillis completed six innings, surrendering only two hits and two walks while striking out four. It was the second consecutive start where Gillis pitched six innings. Jesus Made was one of four Shuckers batters with multiple hits in the first game of the day going 2-5 with an RBI, a run and his 21st steal of the season. Mike Boeve had three hits. Catcher Matthew Wood reached base twice in the first game, extending his on-base streak to a career high 21 games, and then promptly ended his new record there, failing to reach in game two. The Shuckers only managed two total hits in the second game squandering strong outings from pitchers Anthony Flores and Jack Seppings. Flores pitched a season-high three innings and struck out five batters, also a highwater mark for this year. Game Two's lone offensive highlight: Wisconsin pre-game media notes Game 1: Wisconsin 5, Great Lakes (Dodgers) 0, seven innings as scheduled Box Score and Game Log Game 2: Postponed Fischer’s Decisive Blast sinks Loons Josh Knoth had a season high five strikeouts, while surrendering 3 hits and 2 walks over 3.2 innings as he continues to build his way back from Tommy John surgery. Garret Hodges and Yerlin Rodriguez completed the seven-inning shutout. Third baseman Andrew Fischer hit his league leading 19th home run to give the T-Rats the lead. The home run and a walk extended Fischer’s on-base streak to 27 games, and pushed his OBP to .434, however with 79 strikeouts on the season already he is developing quite the Three True Outcomes profile. Highly ranked prospects Josh Adamczewski and Marco Dinges each went 1-3, Juan Baez filling in at shortstop for Luis Pena had two hits, raising his average to just below the Mendoza Line. Wilson pre-game media notes Wilson 8, Hill City (Guardians) 7 Box Score & Game Log Warbirds Use Longball to Bounce Back in Lynchburg - Anderson, Ebel Go Deep in Victory Brady Ebel and Jose Anderson provided the fireworks for the Warbirds. Both batters made their one hit in five at-bats count with a pair of 2-run homers. Anderson hit his league leading fifteenth home run but now has 96 strikeouts in 202 at-bats! Nineteen-year-old catcher Rylan Mils, another late round Brewers’ draft pick and overslot signing last season, had his first multi-hit game in A-ball, going 2-3 with a walk and his first stolen base of the season. Rylan Mills lines an RBI single to left Luis Lameda drives in two on a ground ball single to right The Howlers outhit the Warbirds 12-7 on the night and plated three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning with Joshua Quezeda ending the attempted comeback and earning the save after entering with a two-run lead, runners on the corners and nobody out. There are eight games scheduled on Thursday as the rookie levels return to action. Wisconsin will again attempt to get two games in starting at 5:10 Central, although they will be the "road team" in Appleton for the Game Two makeup contest. Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View the full article

San Diego Padres affiliates went 1-3 Wednesday as the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas lost 4-2 to Round Rock, the Double-A San Antonio Mission were blanked by Frisco 4-0, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps fell again 14-2 to Dayton and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm rolled 6-1. Padres Minor-League Transactions San Diego Padres signed 1B Nick Pratto to a minor-league contract and assigned him to El Paso Chihuahuas. El Paso Chihuahuas transferred 2B Victor Duarte to the Development List. Carlos Rodriguez's Streak Reaches 16, But Chihuahuas Fall Late Right-hander Jhony Brito turned in another nice start in his first Triple-A start since coming off the injured list and Carlos Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games, but the El Paso Chihuahuas gave up a pair of seventh-inning runs to fall 4-2 to the Round Rock Express. Rodriguez went 2-for-5, keeping his streak going with a two-out single in the fourth inning and a leadoff single in the seventh. He has reached base in 20 straight games. His hitting streak is the longest by the Chihuahuas this season and the second-longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League. Brito had six rehab outings while on the Padres' 60-day injured list following an internal brace surgery and flexor tendon repair in April 2025, but was very effective in his four starts for Double-A San Antonio, with a 1.96 ERA. Against the Express, Brito went four innings and allowed just one run on three hits, but he also walked three while striking out four. The only run he gave up was a leadoff homer to Jarred Kelenic in the third inning. The Chihuahuas took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on Blake Hunt's RBI single to left to score Mason McCoy, who had singled and went to second on Clay Dungan's single. Round Rock tied it in the bottom of the third, then the Chihuahuas reclaimed the lead on Rodriguez's run-scoring single to bring in Hunt, who was hit by a pitch and went to second on Nate Mondou's single. It was tied again at 2-2 when the Express scored once in the fifth, then they scored twice in the seventh. EP_0610.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Pablo Reyes 5 0 1 0 0 2 Carlos Rodriguez 5 0 2 1 0 0 Nick Solak 4 0 1 0 0 0 Marcos Castanon 4 0 1 0 0 2 Nick Schnell 3 0 0 0 1 1 Mason McCoy 4 1 1 0 0 2 Clay Dungan 3 0 1 0 0 0 Nick Pratto 1 0 0 0 0 0 Blake Hunt 3 1 1 1 0 0 Nate Mondou 3 0 1 0 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jhony Brito 4 4 1 1 3 4 1 Logan Gillaspie 1 2 1 1 2 0 0 Miguel Cienfuegos 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 Ethan Routzahn 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 Ty Adcock 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Missions Can Only Produce 3 Hits In Shutout Loss Ethan Salas went 2-for-3, but the rest of the host Double-A San Antonio Missions had just one as the Frisco RoughRiders prevailed 5-0. Salas had singles leading off the bottom of the first and with one out in the sixth. Ryan Jackson followed Salas first-inning single with a single of his own. But the RoughRiders retired 15 straight before Salas got the third and final hit for the Missions. Chihuahuas right-handed starter Eric Yost gave up three runs in 3⅓ innings on five hits and two walks while fanning three. Player AB R H RBI BB K Ethan Salas 3 0 2 0 0 0 Ryan Jackson 4 0 1 0 0 0 Romeo Sanabria 3 0 0 0 0 1 Tirso Ornelas 4 0 0 0 0 0 Luis Verdugo 4 0 0 0 0 2 Francisco Acuna 3 0 0 0 0 1 Brendan Durfee 2 0 0 0 1 2 Kai Murphy 3 0 0 0 0 0 Kai Roberts 3 0 0 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Eric Yost 3 1/3 5 3 3 2 3 0 Andrew Thurman 2 2/3 0 0 0 3 3 0 Johan Moreno 1 2/3 2 2 2 1 0 0 Sadrac Franco 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 TinCaps Pounded By Dragons, Drop 7th Straight The High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps gave up a seven-run fifth inning, the seven more runs over the next three innings in suffering a 14-2 loss at the hands of the host Dayton Dragons. The TinCaps had a mere five hits, only one a double. Justin DeCriscio had an RBI single in the third inning and Oswaldo a run-scoring groundout. TinCaps right-handed starter Maikel Miralles gave up three runs in 4-plus innings on five hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts. Left-hander Igo Gil and right-hander Isaiah Lowe each followed with an inning apiece and gave up three runs each. Right-hander Luis German then gave up four runs in 1⅓ innings. FW_0610.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Justin DeCriscio 3 0 1 1 1 1 Rosman Verdugo 4 0 0 0 0 1 Lamar King Jr. 3 0 0 0 1 1 Alex McCoy 4 0 0 0 0 0 Jake Cunningham 4 0 1 0 0 2 Jack Costello 4 1 1 0 0 2 Zach Evans 4 0 1 0 0 1 Oswaldo Linares 3 1 0 1 1 1 Kasen Wells 2 0 1 0 1 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Maikel Miralles 4 5 4 3 2 2 1 Igor Gil 1 3 3 3 1 1 0 Isaiah Lowe 1 1/3 2 3 3 2 1 0 Luis German 1 1/3 4 4 4 2 1 1 Will Varmette 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 Jesus Castro Punches Out Career-High 12 As Storm Prevail Right-hander Jesus Castro struck out a career-high 12 in 4⅔ innings and Kerrington Cross had a two-run double in a four-run seventh inning as the host Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm notched a 6-1 victory over the Ontario Tower Buzzers. Ryan Wideman reached base three times with a pair of hits and a walk, scored a run and also stole two bases to boost his minors-leading total to 39. Luke Cantwell also had a pair of hits and a walk, while Cross walked twice in addition to the double, scoring twice. Castro bettered his previous career high of nine strikeouts that he accomplished in 5⅔ innings May 13 vs. Ranco Cucamonga. It also came a night after Winyer Chourio struck out nine over six innings. Castro didn't allow a run, giving up three hits and two walks while throwing 96 pitches. Castro's ERA dropped to 2.72. He now has 53 strikeouts this season, meaning just over of the total he accrued in 10 starts came in this game. Cantwell, who came off the injured list Sunday, doubled home a run in the first inning and is now 7-for-12 with five RBIs. Jorge Quintana made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. In the seventh, Quintana drew a leadoff walk and went to second on a one-out wild pitch. Conner Westenburg reached after striking out due to a wild pitch, moving Quintana to third. Wideman walked to load the bases, then another wild pitch to plate Quintana. Wideman stole second, then Cross doubled home a pair for a 5-0 lead. Jose Verdugo followed with a sac fly to cap the four-run inning and put the Storm up 6-1. Right-hander Nick Falter went 2⅓ scoreless innings and right-hander Vicarte Domingo allowed a ninth-inning run in his two innings. LE_0610.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ryan Wideman 4 1 2 0 1 1 Kerrington Cross 3 2 1 2 2 2 Jose Verdugo 2 0 0 1 1 2 Luke Cantwell 3 0 2 1 1 0 Truitt Madonna 3 0 0 0 1 2 Bradley Frye 3 1 1 0 1 0 Jorge Quintana 1 1 0 1 2 1 Qrey Lott 4 0 0 0 0 2 Conner Westenburg 4 1 1 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jesus A. Castro 4 2/3 3 0 0 2 12 0 Nick Falter 2 1/3 2 0 0 0 1 0 Vicarte Domingo 2 2 1 1 1 2 0 Padres Mission Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 2-for-3 Kash Mayfield: DNP Miguel Mendez: DNP Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Ryan Wideman: 2-for-4, R, BB, K, 2 SB Jorge Quintana: 0-for-1, R, RBI, 2 BB, K Ty Harvey: On injured list Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season Braedon Karpathios: DNP Lamar King Jr.: 0-for-3, BB, K Jagger Haynes: DNP Alex McCoy: 0-for-4 Truitt Madonna: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K Tucker Musgrove: DNP Garrett Hawkins: DNP Michael Salina: DNP Eric Yost: 3⅓ IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Rosman Verdugo: 0-for-4, K Bryan Balzer: DNP Deivid Coronil: DNP View the full article

TRANSACTIONS RHP Mick Abel sent to AAA St. Paul on rehab RHP Andrew Bash transferred to development list (AAA St. Paul) RHP Taylor Rashi reported to AAA St. Paul Saints Sentinel St. Paul 12, Toledo 1 Box Score Mick Abel: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: Aaron Sabato (12), Kyler Fedko (15), Matt Wallner (6), Gabriel Gonzalez (9) Multi-hit games: Kyler Fedko (2-for-3, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB), Matt Wallner (2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI), Gabriel Gonzalez (3-for-5, HR, 2B, 3 R, RBI), Aaron Sabato (3-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI) The Saints dominated their opponent on Wednesday. Mick Abel vs Justin Verlander. For the price of a AAA ticket? Toledo hadn’t seen such entertainment since Art Tatum’s piano playing in the late 20s and early 30s. The youngster clearly bested the elder in the matchup of generations: Abel pounded the zone and flashed healthy-looking stuff, topping out at 97.9 while punching out five. He tossed three shutout innings. Verlander, on the other hand, couldn’t escape the gopher ball. Aaron Sabato got him in the second off a hanging slider, and Kyler Fedko also pounced on the Hall-of-Famer’s signature strikeout pitch for a homer in the third. Verlander settled in for a time before Matt Wallner and Gabriel Gonzalez went back-to-back in the sixth. That’s four home runs off a pitcher who will one day remain forever alive in the walls of Cooperstown. The Mud Hens weren’t done sending former All-Stars to the mound, as Kenley Jansen entered in the seventh. He, too, didn’t phase the Saints. Three straight baserunners chased the owner of the third-most saves in MLB history, starting an assembly line of runs that concluded with six on the board, and 10 in the game for St. Paul. They tacked on two more for good measure in the eighth. The Mud Hens roster Max Clark, the seventh-ranked prospect in MLB. He singled once in four at-bats. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, Wichita 5 Box Score Jose Olivares: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-3, 2B, R, BB) The Wind Surge came up short on Wednesday. It's possible the game’s opening inning cursed Wichita: Jose Olivares walked the leadoff batter—a sin in the eyes of the baseball gods—and the Olivares/Poncho Ruiz battery allowed the runner to steal second, an insolent act made worse by a throwing error that sent him to third. The baseball gods look unfavorably on poor fundamentals, and the Wind Surge soon learned this. Matters settled into a Cold War stalemate for a few frames before Kyle DeBarge lurched us into modernity with a cracked double to start the fifth. Jaime Ferrer then knocked him home with a single up the middle. The Drillers responded with two runs, and when Wichita scored in the sixth, Tulsa clubbed on two more runs to emphasize their point. It was taken. The Wind Surge didn’t score the rest of the game. DeBarge enjoyed one his best games of the season; the infielder doubled, singled, walked, and stole his 17th base on the year. It was his first multi-hit game since May 26th. That anonymous leadoff man from before was actually Josue De Paula, the eighth-best prospect in baseball according to MLB.com. He doubled and walked twice. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 8, Lansing 9 (10 Innings) Box Score Michael Ross: 3 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: Quinn McDaniel (1), Eduardo Tait (10) Multi-hit games: Yasser Mercedes (2-for-5, 2B, 2R), Quinn McDaniel (2-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI), Danny De Andrade (2-for-5, 3B, 2 R, RBI) The Kernels lost in extras on Wednesday. Quinn McDaniel continues to be a revelation for the Twins organization, as he launched his first A+ ball homer and added a double to give him six total bases in the game. He’s hitting .333/.406/.517 in 16 games with Cedar Rapids. Wichita may be in his near future. Eduardo Tait smashed a three-run shot in the seventh for his tenth home run of the year. Though the catcher endured a slower start to the season, he’s slugging .563 in seven games to start the month of June. That’s more in the line with the production the team expected when they traded for him last year. Every batter for the Kernels reached base at least once, and every batter outside Tait and Khadim Diaw reached base at least twice. No player in the Athletics’ top 30 prospect list played in Wednesday’s game. Mussel Matters The Mighty Mussels met the one thing mightier than them: mother nature. And what a temperamental gal is she. They will attempt to play a doubleheader on Thursday, June 11th. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mick Abel Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Gabriel Gonzalez PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 – Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-5, R, BB #5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, K #7 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, #10 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 3-5, HR, 2B, 3 R, RBI #12 – Andrew Morris (Twins) - 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K #15 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K #19 – Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, K #20 – Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 2-3, 2B, R, BB THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05 PM) - RHP Austin Voth Wichita @ Tulsa (7:00 PM) - RHP Sam Armstrong Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM) - RHP Riley Quick Dunedin @ Fort Myers (3:35 PM) - RHP Eli Jones Dunedin @ Fort Myers (Game Two) - TBD FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (11:00 AM) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL NYY Yankees (10:00 AM) - TBD View the full article

Box Score Starting Pitcher: Mike Paredes, 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4K Home Runs: Royce Lewis (4), Byron Buxton (20) Top 3 WPA: Buxton (0.20), Anthony Banda (0.16), (0.09) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): It was another muggy day at Comerica Park, and the game action fizzled just as it got started. With a passing storm cell sitting just 15 minutes away, the umpires spoke with both managers on whether to press on ahead. The teams agreed to begin the contest, but only got a half inning—where Framber Valdez looked like his Astros self, rather than the brutal showing the Twins took advantage of in April—before the crews decided to ask fans to take shelter and wait for a storm to pass for the next 67 minutes. The game then began in earnest after a half-inch of rain dumped onto the field, with Mike Parades making his second big-league start in a planned bullpen game. The relatively unknown prospect threw a mix of sweepers in the high 70s and a four-seamer in the mid-90s, managing two strikeouts to escape the first inning. Fram(b)e(r) Up To some surprise, Valdez returned to the game. He had obviously kept fresh in between with no reduced velocity, but the humidity may have been too much. Royce Lewis punished the southpaw with a solo home run—50th of his career and first since April—that he crushed a tape-measure 444 feet. Lewis’s home run came on an elevated sweeper that came in at 95.2 mph, for the St Paul velocity bean counters. Valdez continued to look shaky, covered in heavy sweat throughout his five innings. He allowed a couple bloop hits and a walk that loaded the bases, but a foulout by Brooks Lee caught by Spencer Torkelson at the railing ended the rally. The shaky pitcher ran out of luck in the fifth. Valdez managed to plunk both Alex Jackson and Austin Martin in non-competitive pitches before Byron Buxton launched his slider for a 413-foot shot. Derek Shelton’s management played a nice role here, moving Buxton out of the lead-off spot and allowing this to be just his second non-solo home run of the season. Relief Carousel Mike Paredes almost escaped a third-inning jam, before a Gleyber Torres chopper deflected by a diving Buxton resulted in a run. That was enough for Shelton (who perhaps wanted to get Paredes the Pitchergami), who began his parade of bullpen arms, beginning with Taylor Rogers before moving to Andrew Morris. Morris struggled with command once again, but the defense was his real undoing. Luke Keaschall committed two should-be errors in the frame, leading to two should-be-unearned runs. If Shelton hoped to scratch two innings out of Morris, the 41-pitch count ended the conversation. That meant Travis Adams was put on call to do what Morris couldn’t for the sixth inning. But after pulling a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts, Adams had trouble finding the strike zone and put runners on first and second for the seventh. That threw Anthony Banda into commission. Happily, Banda continued his recent dominance with an easy pop-out and a strikeout. Banda allowed a walk to Riley Greene to begin the eighth, but worked a few fly outs to send the game to the ninth. Hit Parade Having used five relievers the night before, AJ Hinch eventually turned to post-hype prospect type Ty Madden to face the top of the order to begin the seventh. Madden showed craft with his diverse pitch mix, but struggled to get swing-and-miss (though Orlando Arcia managed to chase one outside the zone). With switch-hitting Josh Bell up, Hinch turned to Drew Sommers, but the mid-90s fastball left in the zone resulted in a bloop single and another run on the board. Sommers also walked Lewis on four pitches before firing a wide pitch that snuck Brooks Lee home. Keaschall loaded the count, but a harmless flyout to right field ended the rally. The Twins managed multiple base runners in both the eighth and the ninth, but well-hit but poorly positioned swings from Buxton and Bell resulted in double plays that kept the damage limited. Yoendrys Gómez looked shaky in his save situation, putting on a pair with only one out. A launch from Matt Vierling spelled trouble, but the ball died at 408 feet in deep center and fell harmlessly into Buxton's glove. Dillon Dingler smacked a ball between Arcia and Lee to add one to the Tigers' count. but Gómez managed a strikeout of Riley Greene to finally shut the door. Notes Like many teams in the league, Twins.TV sells digitally commissioned ads overlaid onto the physical ones behind the batter's box. For whatever reason, these were particularly egregious tonight in creating digital artifacts, and at points, the ball disappeared from view on its way to the plate. Byron Buxton recorded his sixth stolen base of the season, but only his second in the last month. Lewis continued to look good at first base, making a few nice defensive plays. It was his third consecutive day in the position. Post-Game Interview: What's Next? After some more storms pass over the region overnight, Zebby Matthews will face Keider Montero in a high noon getaway game. The Twins will need serious length to ensure a fresh bullpen for their weekend series against the Cardinals. Bullpen Usage: SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Laweryson 0 36 0 12 0 48 Morris 0 41 0 0 39 80 Orze 17 0 0 23 0 40 Lawrence 0 12 0 26 0 38 Rogers 15 0 0 17 14 46 Adams 0 0 0 0 31 31 Gómez 14 0 0 0 27 41 Banda 0 0 0 0 30 30 Paredes 0 0 0 0 58 58 View the full article

MIAMI—A 7-1 record, top-five OPS and the second-lowest ERA in baseball. Few things go together like the month of June and Marlins baseball. That sentiment was echoed once more Wednesday night in a contest that was decided essentially within an hour and a half of first pitch. A six-run fourth inning and group shutout powered Miami to a dominant 8-0 series-clinching win over the visiting Diamondbacks, their seventh in eight efforts. They climb to just two games under .500 and remain 2.5 games out of a wild-card spot courtesy of the continued surge. "We dug ourselves a bit of a hole, but now we're playing much better here the last ten days or so" said manager Clayton McCullough postgame, "It's always going to go back to our ability to pitch and play and play defense. I think both those areas we can continue to get better, but right now we're doing a really nice job." The southpaw duo of Owen Caissie and Kyle Stowers headlined Miami's mid-game avalanche, blasting their sixth and fifth home runs of the season, respectively. Both shots registered an 110 mph exit velocity, although the latter was more majestic, finding the second deck and resulting in a rare bat flip from the slugger. Like his club, Stowers' stock has risen now a third into the month. 9 RBI and a .740 OPS in eight games have been just what the doctor ordered for a team desperate for the slug their All-Star of a year ago provides. "Kyle's been on the barrel a lot more of late, and what he can bring to our offense is no secret," said McCullough. "He has the ability to carry you with some swings at the right times with people on, and he certainly has shown that. He's certainly a huge part of our lineup in the middle there, and with how much the guys in front are getting on base, and his ability to drive them in is a big thing for us." Additional multi-hit nights from Liam Hicks, Otto Lopez, who tallied two more RBI as he builds his All-Star case, and Heriberto Hernandez tallied behind Caissie in Stowers in Miami's latest high-scoring day. "We've done it offensively in a variety of ways" said McCullough. "Otto again tonight with a couple more big hits, Liam had a really good night swinging the bat, and then you get the home runs. I think offensively, we've done a nice job during this stretch of getting done in a variety of ways." Not to be lost in the offensive explosion was the latest impressive bullpen game for a multitude of Marlins relievers. Ryan Gusto led the way with four innings of three-hit, four-strikeout ball, a solid step forward following two sideways outings in his return to the bigs. "I'm really happy about it," said Gusto of his outing. "I think it's something to build off of. I think they'll let that pitch count, getting comfortable to that starter role is something that's really good for me." "The work with the pitching coaches in between starts was huge," replied Gusto when asked what adjustments he made from his previous appearance. "I think that we were able to do a lot of quality work on my bullpen in between starts, and I mean that comes back to the routine that we're building, right? So, a couple like interesting outings out of the bullpen-shorter ones-and then now that we had like a full five days to line up for start, I feel like it was really helpful in that aspect to get some quality work in between." A three-man effort of Lake Bachar, William Kempner and Cade Gibson rounded out the superb day from Miami's arms. Kempner recorded his first win in the bigs because Gusto was removed to early to be eligible. "Our pitching staff overall, from starters to relievers, is nasty," said Kempner of the 'pen. "When you put our guys out there, we know they have a chance, no matter who it is. The stuff in there is absolutely gross." Making his third appearance as a starter, Tyler Phillips takes the ball for McCullough in Thursday afternoon's 1:10 EST finale opposite Merrill Kelly. A sweep and fifth consecutive victory in the matinee would mark Miami's longest winning streak of the season. View the full article

Another of the reliever swaps triggered by nothing in particular goes down, but it reopens a chapter that one unexpectedly closed. Transactions, 6/10/2026 GOING COMING Demoted to Syracuse Promoted from Syracuse Relief Pitchers Relief Pitchers Joey Gerber Jonathan Pintaro R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 High Level: MLB (2026) Yeah, the relievers getting swapped out at the back end of the bullpen seem indistinguishable, but if you pay attention, they're all telling their own story — albeit stories with long gaps in the middle. Such is the case with Jonathan Pintaro. You may think, "Ho-hum, another righthanded reliever," the there is a difference. This is a righthanded reliever that has allowed no runs and no hits in 3 2/3 innings. So when Jonathan gets announced into a game sometime this week, probably in a less-than-high-leverage situation, and you try to muster the interest to root for him, know that you are rooting for a guy working on a no-hitter. For the season. Go Jonathan Pintaro!! Your 2026 New York Mets Starting Pitchers Sean Manaea Nolan McLean Freddy Peralta David Peterson Christian Scott R/L DoB: 1992-02-01 R/R DoB: 2001-07-24 R/R DoB: 2996-06-04 L/L DoB: 1995-09-03 R/R DoB: 1999-06-15 Relief Pitchers Huascar Brazobán A.J. Minter Cionel Pérez Jonathan Pintaro Brooks Raley Austin Warren Luke Weaver R/R DoB: 1989-10-15 L/L DoB: 1993-09-02 R/L DoB: 35176 R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 L/L DoB: 1988-06-29 R/R DoB: 1996-02-05 R/R DoB: 1993-08-21 Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders Devin Williams Francisco Alvarez Luís Torrens Bo Bichette Brett Baty Vidal Brujan Marcus Semien R/R DoB: 1994-09-21 R/R DoB: 2001-11-01 R/R DoB: 1996-05-02 R/R DoB: 1998-03-05 L/R DoB: 1999-11-13 S/R DoB: 1998-02-09 R/R DoB: 1990-09-17 Infielders Outfielders Mark Vientos Eric Wagaman Carson Benge A.J. Ewing MJ Melendez Juan Soto Jared Young R/R DoB: 1993-12-11 R/R DoB: 1997-08-14 L/R DoB: 2003-01-20 L/R DoB: 2004-08-10 L/R DoB: 1993-11-29 L/L DoB: 1998-10-25 L/R DoB: 1995-07-09 Also on 40-Player Roster Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers #NAME? Clay Holmes Tylor Megill Kodai Senga Zach Thornton Jonah Tong Alex Carrillo Daniel Duarte R/R DoB: 1993-03-27 R/R DoB: 1995-07-28 L/R DoB: 1993-01-30 L/L DoB: 2002-01-17 R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 Relief Pitchers Catchers Reed Garrett Joey Gerber Justin Hagenman Tobias Myers Dedniel Núñez Dylan Ross Hayden Senger R/R DoB: 1993-01-02 R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 R/R DoB: 1996-10-07 R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 R/R DoB: 1996-06-05 R/R DoB: 2000-09-01 R/R DoB: 1997-04-03 Infielders Outfielders Francisco Lindor Ronny Mauricio Jorge Polanco Nick Morabito Luis Robert, Jr. Tyrone Taylor S/R DoB: 1993-11-14 S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 R/R DoB: 2003-05-07 R/R DoB: 1997-08-03 R/R DoB: 1994-01-22 Your Mets Coaching Staff Manager Bench Coach Pitching Coach Hitting Coordinator Third Base Coach First Base Coach Bullpen Coach Ass't Pitching Coach Carlos Mendoza Kai Correa Justin Willard Jeff Albert Tim Leiper Gilbert Gomez José Rosado Dan McKinney DoB: 1979-11-27 DoB: 1989-07-14 DoB: 1990-09-09 DoB: 1992-08-16 DoB: 1996-07-19 DoB: 1992-03-08 DoB: 1974-11-09 DoB: 1989-06-06 Hitting Coach Strategy Coach Catching Coach Coaching Assistant Bat'g Practice Pitcher Equipment Manager Bullpen Catchers Bullpen Catchers Troy Snitker Danny Barnes J.P. Arencibia Rafael Fernandez Kevin Mahoney Kevin Kierst Eric Langill Dave Racaniello DoB: 1988-12-05 DoB: 1989-10021 DoB: 1986-01-05 DoB: 1988-08-03 DoB: 1987-05-11 DoB: 1964-07-09 DoB: 1979-04-09 DoB: 1978-06-03 Your Mets Training Staff Director of Player Health Head Athletic Trainer Assistant Athletic Trainer Reconditioning Coordinator Reconditioning Therapist Head Performance Coach Assistant Performance Coach Performance Coordinator Soft Tissue Specialist Brian Chicklo Joseph Golia Bryan Baca Sean Bardanett Josh Bickel Dustin Clarke Tanner Miracle Jeremy Chiang Hiroto Kawamura DoB: 1972-07-17 DoB: 1978-??-?? DoB: Circa 1980 DoB: 1988-06-23 DoB: 1996-??-?? DoB: 1987-??-?? DoB: 1991-??-?? DoB: ????-??-?? DoB: 1962-07-19 View the full article

Luke Keaschall was one of the Twins' most exciting players entering the 2026 season. After a mini-breakout during his rookie campaign a year ago, it looked like Minnesota had found its long-term answer at second base. Keaschall hit .302 with an .827 OPS last year, showed elite bat-to-ball skills, and looked capable of becoming a fixture near the top of the lineup for years to come. While he certainly still could be, that success has not carried over into this season. Entering Wednesday night's game, Keaschall is hitting just .247 with a .638 OPS. That's a significant drop-off from what he did a year ago, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to chalk it up to nothing more than a slow start. What's especially disappointing is that it looked like he was beginning to turn the corner in May. After struggling through the early portion of the season, Keaschall hit .291 during the month, with seven extra-base hits and three stolen bases. The quality of his at-bats appeared to improve, the results were finally starting to follow, and it seemed like his rough April was simply a temporary bump in the road. Instead, June has brought him right back to where he started. So far this month, Keaschall is hitting just .250 with a .595 OPS. The underlying data doesn’t offer any reassurance, either. His expected batting average sits at just .228, which is notably lower than his already uninspiring .247 mark. Often, struggling hitters can point to bad luck as a reason for optimism. That's not the case here. Additionally, his quality of contact has been absolutely abysmal. His SLGCON, or slugging percentage on contact, sits at just .372. Not only is that comfortably the lowest mark among Twins hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, but it's roughly 180 points below league average. When Keaschall makes contact, there just isn't much damage being done. The rest of the batted-ball profile tells a similar story. His average exit velocity, his barrel and hard-hit rates all sit near the bottom of the league. That's not the profile of someone who is getting unlucky; that's the profile of someone who is consistently getting outmatched. Even the area of his game that has traditionally been his biggest strength has taken a step backward. Keaschall's bat-to-ball data remains solid overall, but it isn't as strong as it was during his rookie season. He's making less quality contact while chasing and striking out more. That's a difficult combination to overcome. All of it has contributed to him finding himself near the bottom of the Twins' lineup more frequently in recent weeks. Could this simply be a sophomore slump? Sure, young players struggle all the time. The league adjusts. Pitchers find weaknesses, and development isn't always a straight line. But we're also more than two-and-a-half months into the season at this point. This is no longer a small sample size, and right now, Keaschall is not helping the Twins at the plate. As someone who was extremely optimistic about Keaschall entering the season, I take no pleasure in saying this, but it's time for the Twins to option him to Triple-A. If he were providing strong defense at second base, perhaps the offensive struggles would be easier to stomach. But that hasn't been the case. Keaschall has been a negative on both sides of the ball, which makes it increasingly difficult to justify keeping him in the lineup every day while the team tries to keep itself afloat in the playoff picture. It's not as if the Twins have shown any hesitation when it comes to optioning players; they've already done it this season with Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner. If the organization believes a player will benefit from a reset, they have shown a willingness to make that move regardless of the player's pedigree. Additionally, I don't think it's a coincidence that the Twins have been giving Lewis opportunities at second base. Part of that undoubtedly relates to Brooks Lee's transition to third base (Lewis’s primary position) and the organization's desire to create defensive flexibility. But if Keaschall were truly succeeding, he wouldn't be losing starts to a hitter carrying a .162 batting average. That tells you something. So who would take Keaschall’s spot if the Twins decide to send him down? Well, there may be an intriguing replacement already waiting. This would be a great opportunity to see where Kaelen Culpepper is at. Promoting Culpepper would require a 40-man roster move, so it wouldn't be a completely simple decision. Somebody would need to come off the roster. Still, there are plenty of reasons why the move makes sense. Culpepper can play second base, shortstop, and third base. He would immediately give Derek Shelton additional flexibility throughout the infield, and defensively, he's been better than Keaschall this season. More importantly, it would allow the Twins to accomplish two goals at the same time. Culpepper would get a chance to experience major-league pitching and begin his transition to the next level. Meanwhile, Keaschall could head to Triple-A, take a step back, work through his struggles in a lower-pressure environment, and rebuild some confidence. That sounds like a win-win scenario. Would optioning Keaschall be popular among fans? Probably not. Nobody likes seeing a young player with this much talent get sent down. But these situations happen all the time. Development is very rarely linear, and sometimes the best thing for a player's long-term future is a temporary step backward. Right now, there isn't a strong argument for keeping Keaschall in the majors when he's struggling offensively, struggling defensively, and still has minor-league options available. Let him get a reset, let him rebuild his confidence, and then let him come back a better player. View the full article

"Why are you worrying about Christian Yelich?" you might be asking, and you'd have a fair point. David Hamilton is only slowly pulling himself out of a career-threatening cold snap to start the season. Sal Frelick is mired in the same depth of trouble. Blake Perkins, Joey Ortiz and Luis Rengifo are holding onto big-league jobs by their fingernails, and that's especially bad news in their cases, because they only really do well when they're working with their glove. Yelich, meanwhile, is batting .287/.354/.434. It's a normal season. Find a new slant. Well, no. Sorry. There's real danger lurking behind Yelich's superficially solid numbers, and we had better talk about it a bit. Thankfully, some new data from Statcast sheds plenty of light on the problem. Yelich is running into some concrete problems with clear explanations, even if not all of those problems are solvable. He's over his skis right now, and uisually, when you get over your skis, you end up crashing. In 158 plate appearances this year, Yelich is striking out 28.5% of the time. Only in the hopelessly bizarre, meaningless 2020 season did he punch out more often. Even that year, he walked at a shockingly high 18.6% rate. This season, that number is less than half as high, at 8.9%. This would be, in short, the worst strikeout rate and the worst walk rate of his career. He's also hitting the ball less hard on average, hitting it hard less often, and hitting it on the ground more. If none of that sounds good, give yourself a gold star; you know ball. Expected stats don't always tell the whole story, but Yelich's stand in unusually stark contrast to his solid surface-level numbers. He's not controlling the zone well, and he's not making up for that by hitting the ball productively in any sense. He's not going to keep being a good hitter for long, if this keeps up. And here's why. This image comes from Baseball Savant's new leaderboards showing swing timing and miss distance. Initially, they might seem inscrutable, but walk through them with me. Here, we've isolated what Yelich is doing on swings against breaking balls, and we're comparing 2025 to 2026. As you can see, last year, he had a fairly normal distribution in his swings against breaking pitches, in terms of where he met (or would have met) the ball on the bat, horizontally (left); whether he was early, late or on time against them (center); and whether he swung above, below or right through the ball, vertically (right). Those are the slightly forest-hued green curves. In 2026, something different is happening. As he tries to adapt to what's happening with his body, Yelich is taking a bifurcated approach, which is producing a bimodal distribution. Sometimes, he's sitting on a breaking ball. Other times, he's gearing up for the heat. When it's the former, he's usually on time, and he centers the ball on his barrel laterally pretty well. When it's the latter, he's usually early, which means he either ends up getting the ball with the end of his bat or running out of bat altogether and whiffing. The right-hand image might be the most interesting, though it contains the least obvious difference from one year to the next: he's swinging over the ball (be it very slightly, leading to contact but downward launch angles, or extremely, leading to whiffs) even when he's otherwise lined things up. This is why Yelich is whiffing on roughly half the breaking balls he sees this year. It's why he's hitting worse against those pitches than he has since he was a pup in Miami: You could chalk this problem up to Yelich sitting on fastballs, but you'd be wrong. For one thing, he hasn't gotten any extra juice out of his swings against fastballs, really. More importantly, though, look at how well he's hitting offspeed pitches. We already saw that he's sometimes sitting on breaking stuff, putting him on time for them more often than in the past. He's doing the same thing with changeups, but succeeding much more often. The reason is simple: Yelich has gotten much more grooved, with his swing. This trend began last year, when his contact rate on pitches outside the zone fell to a career-low (except 2020) 44.2%. This season, that figure has plunged all the way to 36.3%, the lowest of his career even if you want to count that husk of a year in the shadow of COVID. He has one swing plane on which he can succeed. He's unable to adapt the way he used to, without presetting his plan to aim higher or lower than usual. Against changeups, that works. Most (though not all) hitters can spot and intuit the way most changeups will drop en route to the plate. Pitchers with a good combination of ride on the fastball and depth on the change can get whiffs from hitters based on the movement, but most of a changeup's effectiveness comes from the speed differential on it. This is also why flatter swings work best, on average, against offspeed stuff. Breaking balls are different. Even a great hitter who's an expert at spotting the telltale dot on a slider and/or is hunting a breaking ball can struggle to adapt to their movement, which can be extreme and vary widely even from pitch to pitch for a given hurler. As a result, you have to be able to bend and adjust your swing while the ball is in flight. That sounds impossible, and if you're thinking about it up there, it is. Through enough reps and their extraordinary talent, though, many hitters learn to do it. At some points in his career, Yelich has been able to do it, too. A lot of that subtle, even subconscious adjustment happens in your lower half, though. A lot of it happens in your spinal column. At this point in his career, on the other side of major back surgery, Yelich simply doesn't have that adaptability. He's gotten stiffer, as virtually everyone does when they enter their mid-30s and as everyone does after they have back surgery. Thus, even when he sits on breaking balls and ends up on time, he can come up completely empty. In fact, he's often doing so. The league's average whiff rate on breaking pitches for which they're on time is 17.5%. Yelich's mark has hovered just above that all along (as far back as 2023, when bat-tracking data went live), but this year, it's gone through the ceiling. Last year, he whiffed on 22.9% of on-time swings against breaking balls, swinging over the ball 21% of the time and missing by 3.9 inches, on average. This year, he's whiffing on 39.5% of those on-time swings, swinging over it 37% of the time and missing by 4.8 inches. Here's what that often looks like. R0JyenJfWGw0TUFRPT1fQkFaWVVRRUJVUVFBQVZKVFVnQUhBMVVIQUZsV0J3VUFWRmNGQVZBQkJGQUdCd0FE.mp4 "Ok," you might say, "but that's just a bad swing decision. He was sitting on a fastball that time, and chased a pitch down and out of the zone." That's true, to some extent. We'll even ignore the fact that he might be making more of those poor decisions because, as he ages, he's losing bat speed and needs to decide earlier about each pitch. But plenty of his breaking ball whiffs also look like this. TkFOWE9fWGw0TUFRPT1fQVFVQ0JsMVhVZ01BWFFZTFVBQUhWQVJYQUFOV0JsWUFDMUFFVmxZTlYxQmNWUVpT (1).mp4 Or like this: b0d3OWxfWGw0TUFRPT1fVWdSWEIxUlNCMVFBWEZWUlh3QUhCZ1JlQUFBRkJnTUFBbEVGQndGWFZBY0JCZ1JV (1).mp4 Both of those are cases of pitches nipping the corners of the zone, forcing Yelich to swing. He was on time for them, which tells us he was ready to attack them. Still, he swung right over them. Lots of other left-handed batters—and, importantly, past versions of Yelich, too—would have at least fouled off one of these, and perhaps crushed them. Yelich wasn't even especially close to them, given how tight the movement on each was. Is this problem fixable? Maybe, and partially. Yelich isn't going to get younger, and it's unlikely that his health baseline will improve much from here. He might eventually need to change his approach a bit and stop chasing certain pitches. That spot down and in might now be a hole in his swing, if a pitcher executes it well. However, Yelich can also put in work to adjust and improve in this regard. Targeted cage and Trajekt machine work can make it easier for him to recognize and lay off pitches that are breaking out of his hitting zone. He can also change the way he presets his swing path a bit, based on situation and opponent. The erosion of his quality of contact and his plate discipline can be stopped, if not reversed. He can continue to outperform his expected stats, because he's strong and uses the whole field and knows how to outguess opposing pitchers at times. It's not fun to ponder the underlying red flags around Yelich. It's not good that there's a persistent and significant problem causing his problems. However, it's fun to have new insight on the nature of that issue, and since we can be sure the Brewers know everything we do (and then some), it's somewhat comforting. In all likelihood, this is already a project on Daniel Vogelbach's to-do list, and a part of Yelich's routine. View the full article

There's a growing buzz throughout the Twins sphere that Kaelen Culpepper's arrival in the majors is imminent. A promotion would certainly be warranted — the 23-year-old has been on fire in Triple-A, slashing .391/.481/.696 here in June after posting a .947 OPS in May. He's homered five times in his past 14 games while showing improved plate discipline and playing shortstop almost everyday. It's fair to say he looks ready. But Culpepper's success in St. Paul is only one factor driving the sense of urgency to get him up to the big-league club. The other side of it is that Minnesota's infield has been horrible, offensively and defensively. Most troubling: this state of affairs can primarily be tied back to a set of players who not long ago were in the same position as Culpepper: former high draft picks turned top prospects who were being counted on as key parts of the solution for the Twins infield. Brooks Lee's OPS has hovered around mediocrity, which is a relatively good outcome in light of his ugly underlying metrics. His fielding has graded out very poorly, albeit better at third than short, and as a result he's been a borderline replacement-level player. That still puts him ahead of Royce Lewis, who's checking in at a .554 OPS and negative-0.2 fWAR after returning from a brief banishment to the minors. Lee has also outperformed Luke Keaschall, who's been getting on base at a solid rate recently but is slugging .324. Not good enough for a bottom-tier defender at second base. Twins fans are constantly being reminded that the path from top prospect to impact major-leaguer is non-linear if not a dead end. The two biggest talents in the Twins' system aside from Culpepper, Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez, are both injured (again), which only reinforces that sense of wariness. Nothing is promised. In fact, around here, it almost feels like what's promised is disappointment. Still, hope springs eternal, and when you see a touted talent like Culpepper tearing it up at the closest level to the majors, you can't help but shake off past experiences and feel excited. He looks like a good one. The Twins need him to be, and fast. It's not so much about salvaging this season, which feels like a moot point. It's more so about rejuvenating any sense of optimism and confidence within the fanbase. This year has already been a morale beatdown: modest winning stretches followed by deep funks, myriad injuries to the pitching staff, and — as mentioned — the so-called "post-hype prospects" meant to propel a turnaround have flopped almost without exception. Fans need a beacon for a better future they can grasp onto. There's little on the current roster to provide it, and there's little else on the way in the near term. Fair or not, Culpepper carries a heavy weight. Here's hoping he's up to the task. History says he'll let us down. But history is only that. View the full article

It's not fair, really. In baseball, they usually just ask you to hit the ball hard, and Nico Hoerner is doing that—doing it, anyway, as much as can be expected from a player whose game really isn't centered on power. He's the best hitter in baseball at hitting the ball in the middle of his bat, according to new data out this week from Statcast. Your eyes haven't been lying to you; he has a feel for squaring the ball up that no one can top. Unfortunately, because of Hoerner's below- average bat speed, that's not good enough. In fact, it's part of his problem right now. After a hot April, he got really locked in during May, getting on time with his swing more consistently. Instead of improving, though, his numbers got much, much worse. At the end of April, he was batting .291/.370/.449, with eight doubles and four homers. Since the start of May, he's at .206/.292/.250. In 154 plate appearances over the last six weeks, he's managed six doubles and no homers. He's making great swing decisions (at least in a vacuum), leading to 17 walks and just six punchouts in that long span. He's squaring the ball up, at least vertically. What, then, is wrong? The answer lies here. The differences here look tiny, and in a way, they are. After all, Hoerner is making contact at an elite rate, and he's hitting the ball harder lately than he did early in the year. I've isolated the pitches on which he got the barrel lined up with the ball, vertically, so we're throwing out the swings on which he was too high or too low by enough to produce a whiff on that basis. We shouldn't expect to see some glaring difference. This is one of those times when a great hitter and a maddeningly unproductive one are separated by mere millimeters, or milliseconds. It just happens to be the same hitter, this time. Early in the season, Hoerner was, on average, a bit more likely to swing slightly too early when he also caught the ball correctly in a vertical dimension, and to get the ball significantly out on the end of his bat. He was, on average, hitting very slightly higher on the bat (or lower on the ball) than he has since the calendar turned to May. This level of granularity is a great way to show this, because the differences between good and bad for him are so small, but it's not quite necessary, either. Now that we know what happens when he has the ball squared up vertically and should be producing line drives, we can look at where batted balls hit well (88+ MPH, for these purposes) and in a good launch-angle range (8-32°, which Statcast labels the launch angle sweet spot) went for Hoerner through the end of April: And where they've gone since the start of May: All of the balls Hoerner hit out of the park early in the year (and a handful of hard, line-drive singles to left field, too) are gone. In their place lie more frustrating flyouts to center field. Many of these are not only well-struck, but relatively low liners. They're just right at the center fielder. b0d3OWxfWGw0TUFRPT1fVWdSUUJWVldCUWNBVzFZR0F3QUhBQUVFQUFNTUJnTUFCbFVCQTFBQUNBRUJBd1JX.mp4 Hoerner is on time for most of these balls; that's why they're hit hard to center field. He's getting some of them just off the handle or the end of the bat, but the main problem is directional. For Hoerner to produce value with his caliber of power, those hard-hit air balls have to go to the gaps, or down the line. They can't go out to center. He will never have the juice to find grass or clear fences out there, against modern defenses. Being so on time is, in a sense, a curse for Hoerner right now. He has to find a way to be early more often, again. He also has to get the sweet spot on the bat, horizontally, better than he's done lately. The key to that, as it turns out, is probably swing decisions. He'll simply have to learn to let pitchers work the outer edge against him a bit more, and then attack when they try to come back inside at all. Through the end of April, he was living on balls in the heart of the zone: But hurlers have adjusted, slowly asking him to chase pitches on the outer third, where he's more likely to hit that impressive but harmless liner to center. He's obliging. Most of the pitches he's swinging at are still strikes, but he has to have a bit more faith in his contact skills. He has to be willing to wait and work for the pitch with more of the plate, so he can get around it and put the sweet spot of the bat on it. He has to get the bat head out there a little bit more, risk a few more whiffs—those, he can afford more than most hitters—and rediscover the pull field. We could (and did) spot this issue without the new data Statcast offers. Seeing just how fine the margins are and how good he still is at timing pitchers up and hitting it squarely is a beneficial insight, though. Hoerner might need to be even more patient for a bit, and get into a right-field mindset once there are two strikes, so he can drive the ball the other way. He certainly needs to get back to living a little ahead of many pitches, where he can be early in a good way and hammer the ball to left. Until that happens, his slump will continue. Because he's such a gifted hitter (and because we can see just how tiny the adjustments necessary really are), though, you can feel fairly confident that a rebound is coming. View the full article

There is roughly a month remaining before the 2026 MLB Draft, and most of the top amateur prospects have already wrapped up their seasons. With the on-field evaluations largely complete, front offices are entering the most challenging phase of the process. At this point, the draft becomes less about collecting new information and more about determining organizational preferences. Teams must weigh talent against signability, bonus pool strategy, and long-term upside. It is a complicated balancing act, especially near the top of the draft, where every decision can reshape a farm system. In his latest mock draft, Keith Law presented a scenario that would likely have Twins fans sprinting to the podium if it became reality. Law projects the White Sox to select catcher Vahn Lackey with the first overall pick. Lackey's stock has steadily climbed throughout the spring, and he has become one of the hottest names in the draft class. His combination of offensive production and defensive value behind the plate has made him a favorite among evaluators. The connection to Minnesota is notable because there has been industry speculation that the Twins have spent considerable time evaluating Lackey as a potential third-overall pick. The bigger surprise in Law's mock comes with the second selection. He has the Rays taking Tyler Bell, a player Tampa Bay originally drafted out of high school before he chose the college route. Bell is a talented prospect, but most public draft boards have not consistently placed him among the top three players available. The selection would likely indicate that Tampa Bay is prioritizing bonus pool flexibility, potentially saving money at the top of the draft in order to be aggressive later on. If that sequence unfolds, Minnesota would be left with an opportunity that currently feels almost too good to be true. Law has the Twins selecting Roch Cholowsky with the third overall pick. For much of the draft cycle, Cholowsky has been viewed by many evaluators as the favorite to go first overall. He is widely regarded as one of the most complete players in the class, combining a polished offensive profile with the defensive ability to remain at shortstop. Depending on who you ask, he is either the best college shortstop available or the best overall player in the entire draft. That is why this mock stands out. Most projections have Cholowsky off the board before Minnesota is on the clock. If he somehow reaches the third pick, it would be difficult to imagine the Twins passing on the opportunity. Talent tends to win out at the top of the draft, and Cholowsky's combination of floor and upside would make him an ideal addition to the organization's long-term plans. Of course, Minnesota would still have attractive alternatives available if the board unfolds differently. Texas prep standout Grady Emerson remains one of the most exciting hitters in the class and has generated significant buzz throughout the scouting community. Meanwhile, Jackson Flora has emerged as the top college pitching prospect available and could provide the Twins with another premium talent to consider. Both players would represent strong selections at No. 3 overall. Still, if Cholowsky is sitting there when Minnesota is on the clock, the decision could be one of the easiest the organization has made in years. The reality is that mock drafts remain educated guesses, and there is still plenty of time for opinions to change before draft day arrives. Teams continue gathering medical information, conducting final meetings, and refining bonus strategies. One unexpected selection can completely alter the board. That uncertainty is what makes the MLB Draft so fascinating. Today, Law's projection gives the Twins a dream scenario. Whether that scenario survives the next month of rumors, negotiations, and last-minute adjustments remains to be seen. View the full article

The Kansas City Royals will be without their starting center fielder for a bit. Kyle Isbel was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday by the Royals due to a left plantar fasciitis. Outfielder Kameron Misner was called up from Triple-A Omaha to take his place. Lane Thomas was in the starting lineup as the center fielder for Wednesday's game against the Texas Rangers. Isbel was hurt after singling in the seventh inning of Tuesday's game and making a turn as if he was going to go for a double, but changed his mind and dove back into first base. He was removed from the game, with Tyler Tolbert pinch-running. Isbel has a slash line of .244/.298/.354 with three homers, 11 RBIs and five stolen bases in 56 games. Misner was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays after being designated for assignment in November for a player to be named, which wound up being minor-league right-handed reliever Matthew Hoskins. This will be his Royals debut after appearing in 79 games with the Rays over the last two seasons with a .203/.260/.325 slash line with five homers and 22 RBIs. At Triple-A this year, Misner was slashing .276/.373/.547 with 13 homers, 51 RBIs and 11 steals in 59 games. View the full article

MIAMI, FL—Following Tuesday's Miami Marlins win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, catcher Joe Mack sent a message to the entire league: "I want them to steal. I'm hoping that they steal. I'm like, 'Please run.' It's my favorite part of my game and I know my ability to throw people out and get a guy off scoring position." Throughout the 2025 season and continuing through the first month or so of 2026, the Marlins struggled mightily against opposing base-stealers. Mack's call-up immediately flipped that weakness into a strength. The rookie has thrown out 10 runners on 26 attempts, ranking in the 90th percentile of MLB catchers in caught stealing above average, per Baseball Savant. His combination of pop time (1.89 seconds) and accuracy is elite despite his limited experience. Mack claimed another victim on Tuesday against the Diamondbacks when he threw out Geraldo Perdomo in the top of the second inning. On a night when Marlins starter Max Meyer allowed more traffic on the bases than usual, that extra out helped him work into the sixth inning. "It takes a little bit more pressure off the pitcher, and they can pitch a little bit more loosely," Mack told Fish On First. Amongst the runners that Mack has thrown out include Chandler Simpson (96th percentile sprint speed), Nasim Nuñez (97th percentile sprint speed) and Jacob Young (95th percentile sprint speed). Manager Clayton McCullough has leaned heavily on Mack—prior to Wednesday's day off, he had caught seven consecutive complete games. The Marlins won six of those seven, allowing only 3.3 runs per game during that span. "Someone like Joe has the ability to make up for some pitchers that are a little slower...He's thrown out some real runners and come up with some big throws, so I think that part has really helped out on the run prevention side of things." Defense really became a priority for Mack in 2024. Former Marlins catching coordinator Chris Briones, who was with the organization from December 2018 until January 2026, was a big influence on him. "He just had a lot of good things for me to hear," Mack said. "Just really connected with me very well. He would always joke with me, make me feel comfortable and make me feel out of my comfort zone as well. It was just a great experience then, and I take a lot of pride in that." Mack has been Meyer's battery mate in each of his last six starts. "Everyone sees it: he's got a cannon," Meyer said. "Just having him back there is awesome. He's got his feet wet now and he's been challenging well, too. He knows the game. He's able to those runners, so it's awesome having a guy back there that can do that and takes off a lot of pressure to the pitchers too in innings where you know that if they steal, there is a very good chance that they are going to get hosed, so just makes you execute a bit better." Fish On First (@fishonfirst) • Instagram photos and videos WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 2,660 likes, 22 comments - fishonfirst on June 9, 2026: "JOE MACK IS UNREAL BEHIND THE PLATE 😳🔥 Joe Mack has already thrown out 10 runners this season, and his confidence is... Mack has brought a loose and fun personality to the Marlins clubhouse that his teammates appreciate, in particular starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara. Alcantara has called Mack a Gold Glove-caliber catcher and continuously praised him." "Just hearing that from him, especially a Cy Young Award winner and great pitcher through and through, is awesome," Mack said. "Bunch of these guys are also awesome pitchers. I'm just here to help them be their best selves, and if I can do that by catching the ball, blocking the ball, throwing guys out for them, then that's awesome. If I can also do that, helping them by talking with them, making them laugh or making them lock it in a little bit more, whatever it may be, then great." As a bonus, Mack has settled in as a hitter as well following a very slow start in that department. So far in the month of June, he is slashing .391/.417/.565/.982 with one home run and seven RBI. His overall wRC+ is 75. "I think it's lowering my hands a little bit to be more consistent and more short with my load," Mack said. "I think that's something that helps me be more consistent throughout and also just maintaining the backside and opposite part of the field is a big part of my game. When I'm going hot over there, pull-side stuff will happen." Thanks to his defense, Mack is already making a positive impact for the Marlins. If he continues to trend in this direction offensively and hit like an average catcher—MLB average for the position is a 88 wRC+—it would make it clear that the franchise has found its long-term solution behind the plate. View the full article

The Twins received discouraging news this week when right-hander Cole Sands was pulled off his rehab assignment after experiencing continued issues with his strained right forearm. Sands made his first rehab appearance with Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday, and the outing appeared to be a positive first step toward rejoining Minnesota's bullpen. In one inning, he didn’t allow any hits and struck out one batter on 13 pitches. He had two swinging strikes and three strikes looking. However, his arm did not recover quickly enough afterward to allow him to continue pitching. As a result, the Twins have shut down the rehab assignment and will give him additional time to rest and receive treatment before restarting a throwing program. At this point, there is no clear timeline for when Sands could return to the major league roster. Under league rules, the Twins must wait at least a week before he can begin another rehab assignment. Even then, the organization will likely proceed cautiously given the nature of the injury. While Sands' traditional numbers do not jump off the page, his absence has been felt. The right-hander owns a 4.63 ERA across 11 2/3 innings this season, but the underlying metrics suggest he was performing better than the results indicated. He maintained a strong strikeout rate and carried a 3.65 SIERA, pointing toward a pitcher whose effectiveness was better than his ERA suggested. Looking back, there may have been warning signs before Sands landed on the injured list. His final appearance came against Seattle on April 28 when he surrendered two runs in an outing that lacked the crispness typically seen from him. The quality of his stuff appeared diminished, and the radar gun provided additional evidence that something was wrong. Velocity declines are often one of the first indicators of a physical issue. After averaging roughly 95 mph on his fastball during the 2025 season, Sands sat closer to 93.1 mph this year before being sidelined. When forearm discomfort accompanies a noticeable drop in velocity, teams naturally become cautious. That reality makes every step forward in his recovery process meaningful, even if those steps are currently smaller than the Twins had hoped. Sands entered the season expected to be a significant contributor in Minnesota's late-inning mix. Few relievers on the roster possess his combination of experience and ability to handle leverage situations. Although his early-season results were inconsistent, the Twins viewed him as an important piece of a bullpen that has spent much of the year searching for consistency. Minnesota's relief corps has been in near-constant flux throughout the season as injuries and performance fluctuations have forced the club to shuffle roles. The Twins have received strong contributions from several relievers like Yoendrys Gomez and Anthony Banda, but the group still lacks the stability that teams need over the course of 162-games. Getting Sands healthy remains one of the organization's priorities because his return would provide another trusted arm capable of handling meaningful innings. Until then, the Twins will continue looking for answers while hoping one of their most important bullpen reinforcements can eventually make his way back to Target Field. View the full article

Mad Max is back with the Toronto Blue Jays. Right-hander Max Scherzer was activated from the 15-day injured list Wednesday and will start the series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays. Right-handed reliever Connor Seabold was designated for assignment. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion, has been on the Il since April 27 with tendinitis in his right forearm and inflammation in his left ankle. The tendinitis has been the trickier of the two ailments for the 41-year-old. He had struggled to an 8.35 FIP (9.64 ERA) in five starts in which he lasted just 18⅔ innings, posting an abnormally worse walk rate (9.5%) and strikeout rate (11.9%). His career numbers are 6.5% and 29%, while he had rates of 6.4% and 22.9% last season, his first with the Jays. Scherzer made two rehab appearances and went 6⅔ innings, walking three and striking out nine while giving up three runs for a 4.05 ERA. Scherzer is the second starter the Jays have gotten back in the last two days after Dylan Cease returned from injury Tuesday. Seabold was in his second stint with the Jays. He signed a minor-league contract in the offseason, but was released late in spring training. He latched on with the Detroit Tigers, where he made the Opening Day roster and had 11 appearances out of the bullpen, with a 4.12 FIP (3.45 ERA) before being DFA's May 24. The Jays, in need of pitching due to a slew of injuries, traded for Seabold. He pitched in five games with a 4.30 FIP (8.10 ERA) in just 3⅓ innings. View the full article

Before the season, my Jays Centre colleague Jesse Burrill asked all the writers here to make a bold prediction for 2026. At the time, I was very pleased with what I came up with: Two Blue Jays will make their first All-Star Game this summer. I knew it was statistically improbable, but I genuinely thought it was going to come true. That's the perfect bold prediction. Well, in theory. In practice, it's starting to look like my "perfect bold prediction" may not have been bold enough. Dylan Cease was my ace in the hole, and I acknowledged as much. Other names that made me confident in my prediction were Daulton Varsho, Kazuma Okamoto, Cody Ponce, and Louis Varland. With just over a month to go until the All-Star Game, Cease and Varland are strong contenders to earn a spot on the AL squad. But there's a third Blue Jay with a serious All-Star case, and it's one I didn't even consider before the season. Heck, it's one I didn't even consider when voting opened last week. It's Ernie Clement. (Pictured below: Me showing my emphatic support for Ern Dog.) Image courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr. – Imagn Images via Reuters Connect Thanks to a red-hot stretch over the last three weeks, Clement ranks fifth in the AL with a .304 batting average. His 79 hits lead the American League (Jesse will have more to say on that topic tomorrow). The rest of his numbers don't jump off the page, but the competition at his position is so nonexistent that Toronto's second baseman really might be the strongest choice. Clement has 1.4 fWAR and bWAR through 67 games. That's well above average, although it isn't a number that screams 'All-Star' – and certainly not 'All-Star Starter.' Before injury replacements get the call, 20 position players will be named to the AL All-Star team. Clement doesn't even rank among the top 30 by either version of WAR. The thing is, there has to be a starting second baseman. There has to be a reserve second baseman, too, and they both actually have to play second base. Shortstops Kevin McGonigle and Colson Montgomery are more deserving All-Stars than Clement, and I'm sure either one of them could handle the keystone just fine, but that isn't how it works. One of the 15 second basemen on the ballot will get the starting nod, and another will be the backup. Of those 15, I don't see a better choice than Ernie. As you could have guessed, Clement leads AL second basemen in hits and batting average. He doesn't lead in any other major categories, but his .789 OPS and 119 wRC+ both rank second, behind Ezequiel Duran's .802 and 124 marks. Clement also has a 62 PA lead over Duran, which means he has provided more overall value at the plate. His 37 weighted runs created (the counting stat version of wRC+) lead the field. Strangely poor defensive numbers (-1 DRS, -1 FRV) are dragging down Clement's WAR totals, but I don't care about defensive metrics as much at this point in the season, especially when we all know how valuable Ernie can be in the field. I refuse to accept that Duran is a better fielder, even if the metrics give him the edge. [Related: Toronto Blue Jays Defensive Plays of the Month - May 2026] Let me be clear: I'm not saying Clement is far and away the best choice. What I'm saying is that no one else is obviously more deserving, at least right now. A vote for Ernie Clement wouldn't just be Blue Jays homerism; it would be a perfectly justifiable choice. Some fans will argue that star power should matter when it comes to All-Star voting. They might use that argument to justify a vote for star rookie Travis Bazzana or a multi-time All-Star like Gleyber Torres or Jazz Chisholm Jr. These fans would tell you the All-Star Game is about having a good time, and it's more fun when the biggest names are on the field. Personally, I'd respond that baseball is always more fun when Ernie Clement is on the field. Yes, I'm aware that I'm sliding into homerism territory now, but if fans outside of Toronto don't know the joy of watching Clement, it's only because they haven't watched him enough. Electing him to the All-Star Game could help change that. At the risk of sounding like a sponsored post for Major League Baseball, here is the link to the 2026 MLB All-Star ballot. Here it is again. (Remember, you can vote five times a day!) I don't believe in just voting for all the players on my favourite team, but I do believe in doing everything I can to support the ones who deserve it. So, here's that link one more time. If you're so inclined, please join me in voting, and let's get Ernie Clement to the All-Star Game. I couldn't be more excited for my bold prediction to be proven wrong. View the full article

Chicago Cubs Minor League Report - June 10 Affiliate Overview Triple-A Iowa Cubs Series at Louisville Bats (Cincinnati Reds): Cubs lead, 1-0 Season Record: 26–36 Double-A Knoxville Smokies Series at Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays): Biscuits lead, 1-0 Season Record: 30–27 High-A South Bend Cubs Series vs. Peoria Chiefs (St. Louis Cardinals): Cubs lead, 1-0 Season Record: 35–19 Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans Series vs. Augusta GreenJackets (Atlanta Braves): GreenJackets lead, 1-0 Season Record: 21–35 Affiliate Highlights Triple-A: Iowa Cubs Season Record: 26–36 Series Opponent: Louisville Bats (33–30) Series Standing: Lead, 1-0 June 9: The Iowa Cubs opened their series at the Louisville Bats with a 10-2 win on Tuesday at Louisville Slugger Field. The Cubs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first thanks to an RBI-double from Owen Miller (2-for-5) and a two-run shot from BJ Murray (2-for-5). Iowa pushed its lead to 7-0 with a four-spot in the fourth. Christian Bethancourt (1-for-5) launched a three-run homer and Miller picked up his second RBI of the ballgame with a single. James Triantos slugged the I-Cubs’ third home run of the game, a two-run blast in the fifth, to make it 9-0. The Bats finally stopped the scoring run with two runs in the sixth but Iowa got one of those runs back in the seventh thanks to a solo shot from Jonathan Long (1-for-4). Iowa would hold Louisville scoreless over the final three frames to cruise to the 10-2 victory. Doug Nikhazy got the start for the Cubs but did not factor into the decision. Nikhazy worked four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits to go along with two walks and two strikeouts. Christian Roa picked up his first win of the season thanks to 1 1/3 shutout innings, allowing one hit and whiffing two. Double-A: Knoxville Smokies Season Record: 30–27 Series Opponent: Montgomery Biscuits (31–25) Series Standing: Trail, 1-0 June 9: The Knoxville Smokies dropped their series opener to the Montgomery Biscuits, 6-5, on Tuesday at DABOS Park. The Biscuits took a 4-0 lead in the third but the Smokies were able to halve the deficit with runs in the fourth and fifth. Owen Ayers (2-for-4) launched a solo shot, his 10th of the season, and Hayden Cantrelle (0-for-1) would bring home a run on a sacrifice fly. Carter Trice’s (2-for-4) two-run blast in the sixth tied the game at 4-4 and Ariel Armas’ (2-for-4) RBI-single in the seventh gave Knoxville the lead. The advantage would be short lived as Montgomery instantly scored twice after the stretch to take a 6-5 lead. The Smokies would leave the tying run on second in the eighth and go down in order in the ninth to end the ballgame. Grant Kipp got the start for Knoxville and took no decision. Kipp allowed four runs on five hits over four innings of work, whiffing four batters and walking one. Tony Santana turned in two scoreless frames out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit while striking out two. High-A: South Bend Cubs Season Record: 35–19 Series Opponent: Peoria Chiefs (30–28) Series Standing: Lead, 1-0 June 9: The South Bend Cubs continued their winning ways with a 6-3 victory in their series opener vs. the Peoria Chiefs at Four Winds Field. The Cubs took a 4-0 lead in the second thanks to a pair of home runs, first a solo blast from Cole Mathis (1-for-4) and then a three-run shot from Kane Kepley (2-for-2). The Chiefs made it 4-2 with a pair of runs in the fourth but South Bend was able to restore their four-run advantage in the seventh with two runs, thanks to RBI-singles from Matt Halbach (1-for-5) and Leonel Espinoza (1-for-4). Peoria would score once more in the ninth but Alfredo Romero would still go on to earn his fourth save of the season, thanks to three innings of one-run ball, to give the Cubs their 19th win in their last 24 contests. Nazier Mulé got the start for South Bend but took no decision. Mulé allowed two runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings of work, striking out six with just one walk issued. Jackson Brockett picked up the win in relief to improve to 4-1 on the season. Brockett tossed 1 2/3 scoreless frames, allowing just one hit while punching out three. Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans Season Record: 21–35 Series Opponent: Augusta GreenJackets (31–27) Series Standing: Trail, 1-0 June 9: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans dropped their eighth-straight contest as they fell in their series opener to the Augusta GreenJackets, 5-2. Augusta opened the scoring with a run in the fourth and it would take until the seventh for the Pelicans to get on the board. Geuri Lubo (1-for-4) launched a solo-shot to tie the game, his third of the year, and Eli Lovich (1-for-3) gave Myrtle Beach the lead with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Augusta, however, would score four times in the top of the ninth to hand the home team the loss. David Bracho started on the mound for the Pelicans but did not factor into the decision. Bracho tossed four innings on one-run ball, allowing just two hits to go along with six strikeouts and a walk. Daniel Avitia turned in four scoreless frames in relief, allowing five hits while whiffing seven batters and walking two. View the full article

The New York Mets continue to churn the back end of the bullpen. Right-handed reliever Jonathan Pintaro was called up Wednesday from Triple-A Syracuse by the Mets, with right-handed reliever Joey Gerber was sent down to Triple-A. Gerber pitched two innings in Tuesday's 7-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up a run on three hits with a strikeout. It was his second appearance after being called up June 3 and third of the season after an early-April promotion. Pintaro is up for the second time after making two appearances in late May. In 3⅔ innings, he didn't allow a run or a hit with one walk and three strikeouts. In 19 games and 31⅓ innings at Triple-A this year, Pintaro has a 10.6% walk rate and 30.9% strikeout rate. View the full article

As the MLB trade deadline approaches, much of the conversation surrounding the Twins centers on the biggest names on the roster. If Minnesota decides to sell, teams will undoubtedly call about Joe Ryan. Ryan Jeffers could draw interest from clubs looking for help behind the plate, and Byron Buxton's name will continue to generate speculation, even if a deal remains unlikely. However, trade deadlines are often shaped by more than just blockbuster moves. Contending teams are constantly searching for complementary pieces that can improve a roster's depth, strengthen a bullpen, or provide matchup advantages down the stretch. Those players rarely generate headlines, but they can still become valuable trade chips. If the Twins find themselves moving pieces at the deadline, these four under-the-radar players could emerge as realistic trade candidates. UTIL Kody Clemens Few waiver claims (or, as is technically the case, cash deals in lieu of letting a DFA'd player hit waivers) have worked out as well for Minnesota as Clemens. Since joining the organization last season, Clemens has carved out an important role as a versatile bench player capable of contributing on both sides of the ball. In 112 games with the Twins last year, he posted a 96 OPS+ while accumulating 1.2 rWAR. This season, he has taken another step forward with a 118 OPS+ and 0.9 rWAR through 55 games. His value extends beyond the batter's box. Clemens has provided strong defense at first base and has produced some of the best Defensive Runs Saved totals among players at the position. Add in his ability to move around the diamond, and he becomes an attractive option for a contender seeking a left-handed bat with defensive flexibility. The return would likely be modest, but utility players who can fill multiple roles often become valuable deadline additions for playoff contenders. Clemens also has great makeup, which would give an acquiring team extra incentive to target him as a role player on a could-be champion. LHP Taylor Rogers Rogers returned to Minnesota hoping to finish his career where it started, but there is a scenario where he ends the season elsewhere. The veteran left-hander may be in the final season of his career, and contenders are always searching for experienced bullpen help in July. While Rogers has not completely stabilized Minnesota's relief corps, some underlying numbers suggest he has pitched better than his traditional statistics indicate. His 4.97 ERA stands in sharp contrast to a much stronger 3.58 FIP. He has also been more effective against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .684 OPS compared to an .967 OPS allowed against right-handed batters. A team looking for a veteran left-handed specialist or matchup reliever could view Rogers as a worthwhile addition. His postseason experience and long track record may hold more value to a contender than they do to a Twins club focused on the future, though he'd fetch even less in a deal than Clemens. OF Trevor Larnach Larnach spent much of the offseason surrounded by trade speculation. Minnesota reportedly explored moving him during the winter, but ultimately, they held onto the former first-round pick. Instead of seeing his value decline, Larnach has reestablished himself as a productive major-league regular. Through his first 55 games, he owns a 110 OPS+ and 0.6 rWAR. He continues to thrive against right-handed pitching, posting an .801 OPS in those matchups. His struggles against left-handed pitchers remain evident, however, as he has managed just a .427 OPS against southpaws. That profile may actually increase his appeal to contenders. Many playoff teams look for platoon bats capable of maximizing favorable matchups. Larnach's left-handed power and success against righties could make him a valuable piece for a club seeking additional offense from a corner outfield spot or designated hitter role, and at this point, he can't reasonably expect to play every day. That experiment has failed. RHP Yoendrys Gómez Few players have boosted their stock more dramatically over the last couple of months than Gómez. The Twins acquired Gómez from the Rays for cash considerations earlier this season, and the move has quickly paid dividends. Since arriving in Minnesota, he has posted a 0.64 ERA, 2.24 FIP, and 0.86 WHIP while striking out 18 batters and walking only six in 14 innings. Minnesota has utilized a closer-by-committee approach throughout the season, but Gómez became the first Twins reliever to reach three saves. His combination of swing-and-miss stuff and affordable team control could make him attractive to organizations looking for bullpen help. The timing will be important. If Gómez continues pitching at this level throughout June and into July, Minnesota could find itself in a position to sell high on a reliever they acquired for virtually nothing. Even a modest prospect return would represent a strong piece of business for the front office. Trade deadline discussions often focus on stars and headline-grabbing names, but roster depth can be just as valuable for teams chasing a postseason berth. Clemens, Rogers, Larnach, and Gómez each bring a specific skill set that could appeal to contenders looking for affordable upgrades. Whether the Twins ultimately move any of these players remains to be seen. Much will depend on where Minnesota sits in the standings as the deadline approaches. Still, these are the types of players who frequently change uniforms in July and quietly help shape the playoff race. Will the Twins trade any of the players mentioned above? What kind of trade value exists for these lower-tier players? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

There are two things this should be prefaced with. One is that a lot of information on Luis Lara (and other top prospects) can be gleaned from listening to Spencer Michaelis wax lyrical each week on the Brewer Fanatic pod. Secondly, a massive congratulations to the young man for securing his future and defying a lot of stereotypes around his size and player archetype. Now, let's ask: why did the Brewers do this, and what future do they envision for him? Luis Lara is a phenomenal defender. Otherworldly. I'm not saying he's Pete Crow-Armstrong, because Crow-Armstrong is the greatest range monster we've seen in the outfield for a very long time, and possibly ever. That being said, Lara is close to that level of outfield coverage, combining exceptional jumps and reads with speed and great hands to flag down fly balls and line drives. This catch, in particular, shouldn't be marred simply because there's a position player on the mound: He currently holds a Minor League Gold Glove for his outfield prowess from last season, and there aren't really any faults. His arm strength has really improved over the past few years. He recorded 10 outfield assists in 2025 with the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, and has three so far this season with Nashville. In short (a word Lara has been tagged with many times in his young career), this is the kind of defense the Brewers crave in their outfield mix, especially with the fly ball configuration of their pitching staff this season. The other facet of his game in which Lara has greatly excelled is his control of the strike zone—especially his contact rates. Lara has come a long way with his chase rates, which used to be a weakness, and is now above-average in that category, with some of the best bat-to-ball skills in Triple A. TJStats has a nice graphic showing his percentiles this season with the bat: He's a patient hitter who's walked more than he's struck out. He's consistently put the ball in play and has started pulling the ball in the air. All of those are really positive things, and perhaps the biggest is the hard-hit rate, which is now in the 55th percentile. Lara is just 5-foot-7, and while he's been young for nearly every level he's passed through on his journey, the ability to impact the ball has been lacking at those stages. This is the first season in which Lara's isolated power number (or the difference between his batting average and slugging) has been over .090 since he left the DSL. One thing we know from watching Sal Frelick and Luis Rengifo this year is that simply making contact is not enough in the big leagues. So this development is important, but it does come with a caveat: These are Lara's splits hitting as a lefty against right-handed pitching, and vice-versa. It seems like he's been a very different hitter when facing each side of the platoon. Against righties, Lara is battling and grinding his at-bats, taking his walks and getting on base, but he's not providing much—if any—thump. Contrast that with his performance against left-handers, and there's a noticeable difference. He swings more, he's more aggressive, and he's been barrelling up baseballs regularly. His expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) tells the story, and it's important to pay attention to this. What it means is that Lara's everyday opportunity might need to wait a little longer, until he can handle right-handers with a little more panache. The majority of pitchers are right-handed, and simply being patient and hoping to walk or put a weakly hit ball in play against big league-caliber command and stuff won't cut it over the long term. Lara is, at present, an incredibly effective defensive fourth outfielder. He's also a good candidate for that role as a pinch-hitter against left-handers, something Sal Frelick can benefit from. Brandon Lockridge also fills this role well, however, and was beginning to show signs of his own adaptation prior to his calamitous collision with the concrete down the left-field line. He's due back sometime in the next few weeks, should his rehab stint go well. The Brewers will be hoping for big things from Lara. He's a 21-year-old playing in Triple A, and he's already shown some progress in the exit velocity department. This contract was arranged under the premise that they think more is to come, and Lara appears to be a very fast learner. He's shown that in the first half of the season, with improving launch angles. His xwOBA has steadily ticked up this year. He'll need to keep progressing if he wants to become a regular, and like Cooper Pratt, that may mean a little more seasoning for now. If all goes according to plan, he'll be worth the wait. View the full article

Josh Bell wasn't brought to Minnesota to save runs with his glove. The Twins signed the veteran switch-hitter to a one-year, $7-million contract because they believed his bat could deepen the lineup. Through the first 65 games of the season, that investment hasn't paid off. Bell is hitting .228/.286/.367, with 7 home runs. His 80 OPS+ ranks well below league average; he sits 140th among 160 qualified hitters in OPS. For a player who spends most of his time at designated hitter and first base, those numbers are difficult to overlook. Still, Bell's career has followed a familiar pattern. Every season seems to begin with questions about whether his production has disappeared for good, only for him to heat up as the weather does. The challenge for Minnesota is determining whether this is simply another slow start or the beginning of a permanent decline. 3 Reasons Josh Bell Might Be Cooked 1. The Plate Discipline Numbers Are Alarming Despite his imposing 6-foot-3, 261-pound frame, Bell has never fit the profile of an all-or-nothing slugger. Throughout his career, he has generally controlled the strike zone well and avoided excessive strikeout totals. That hasn't been the case this season. His 24.3% strikeout rate would be the second-highest mark of his career, while his 6.9% walk rate would be his lowest. The combination becomes even more concerning when looking at recent trends. During May, Bell posted a 25-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. June hasn't started much better, with a 10-to-1 ratio. Among the 50 months of his career in which he has accumulated at least 75 plate appearances, May 2026 produced his worst walk rate and strikeout-to-walk ratio. For a hitter whose value is tied almost entirely to offensive production, those are major warning signs. 2. Age Is No Longer On His Side At 33 years old, Bell is no longer in the prime years of his career. Slow starts are easier to dismiss when a player is 27 or 28 and has a long runway ahead of them. When veterans begin showing declining plate discipline and diminished production, teams have to consider whether age-related decline is becoming a factor. The Twins signed Bell expecting a bounce-back season, especially after the way he finished the 2025 campaign (see below). Instead, they're watching a veteran whose offensive indicators are trending in the wrong direction. At some point, Bell is not going to have a bounce-back after a cold start, and that might be happening this year. 3. The Defensive Value Isn't There Players can survive offensive slumps when they contribute elsewhere. Bell doesn't have that luxury. He provides limited defensive value and has spent much of the season serving as the designated hitter. If the bat isn't producing, there isn't another aspect of his game offsetting the struggles. That puts extra pressure on every plate appearance and makes prolonged slumps significantly harder for a contending club to tolerate. Minnesota has limited his exposure at first base, but he has still been worth -1 run at the position. 3 Reasons Josh Bell Might Be Ready to Break Out 1. He's Built a Career on Slow Starts If there is one player who deserves the benefit of the doubt in this situation, it's Bell. Over 11 major-league seasons, he has developed a reputation for starting slowly before finding his rhythm later in the year. This doesn't show up in a huge split between first halves and second halves for his whole career, but look at the last three seasons: 2023: 1st Half: .701 OPS - 2nd Half: .793 2024: 1st Half: .644 - 2nd Half: .885 2025: 1st Half: .678 - 2nd Half: .842 This is, broadly speaking, what he does. No stats-savvy fan or front office will be comfortable betting on it, but the pattern here is real. 2. The Swing Data Looks OK Bell has lost some bat speed this year, relative to last season—but last season represented a huge step forward in that regard. He's generating enough bat speed to produce consistent power, and his bat path, contact point and timing are all similar to where they were when he was mashing last summer. He's still hitting the ball hard at an above-average rate. The process is worrisome when it comes to swing decisions, but the swing itself isn't yet breaking down in an obvious way. 3. The Calendar Has Historically Been His Friend Bell's overall career numbers improve dramatically once the season moves beyond the first two months. He owns a career .795 OPS after June 1 and has posted an OPS above .750 after June 1 in each of his nine full major-league seasons. That's an incredibly consistent trend. While past performance doesn't guarantee future results, Bell has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to make adjustments and produce once summer arrives. Few hitters have shown such a clear distinction between their early-season and late-season performance. The sample size is tiny, but Bell has shown some encouraging signs recently. After his homer Tuesday night, he's batting .286/.333/.571 in June, with two home runs. His slugging average this month is higher than his OPS was in May. Those numbers alone don't prove a breakout is imminent, but they represent the kind of gradual improvement that has often preceded his midseason turnarounds in previous years. The evidence supporting both sides of the argument is compelling. Bell's declining walk rate, rising strikeout totals, and age suggest there is legitimate reason for concern. At the same time, nearly every season of his career has featured similar doubts before he eventually found his footing. The Twins signed Bell believing his second-half adjustments from last season were real. Now they must decide how long they're willing to wait for those adjustments to show up again. If history repeats itself, Bell could be one of Minnesota's more productive hitters over the final four months of the season. If it doesn't, the Twins may be left wondering whether they mistook a temporary rebound in 2025 for evidence that there was still plenty left in the tank. For now, the answer remains somewhere between cooked and ready to break out, but the needle is moving in the right direction. What has stood out about Bell so far in 2026? Is he cooked? Is he ready to break out? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

Alex and Maddie sit down and recap the recent drama that’s been surrounding the Red Sox. They break down Brayan Bello’s demotion to Triple-A and Craig Breslow’s out-of-touch comments about the situation. They ponder the state of Breslow and Theo Epstein’s relationship. Are they veering towards a friends-to-betrayal-to-enemies-with-benefits type of relationship? Finally, they discuss how ownership (one of John W. Henry, Tom Werner, Sam Kennedy, or Theo Epstein) is reportedly involved with trade talks. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talk-sox-podcast/id1783204104 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qPrPXEngu0CxgTmlf0ynm Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-talk-sox-podcast-244591331/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4tmd121v Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talksox View the full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Recap (June 9) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Season Record: 33-28 The WooSox pulled out an extra-innings 6-5 victory over the Rochester Red Wings (Washington Nationals). The Worcester Red Sox climbed out of a three-run hole and won it in the tenth inning on the road. The WooSox spent most of the night chasing, but a late power surge and a little help from the bullpen flipped the game. After a scoreless start through the first four innings, Rochester broke through with a solo homer in the fifth. That was the only run Jack Anderson gave up in his solid start, tossing six innings, giving up just one run on three hits with six strikeouts. Worcester answered in the seventh when Kristian Campbell worked a walk, then came around to score on a Jason Delay single to tie it 1-1, but the Red Wings responded immediately in the bottom half with a two-run shot, then tacked on another run with a solo blast in the eighth to extend their lead to 4-1. Then came the turning point. Allan Castro reached base thanks to a throwing error from the pitcher, and Tsung-Che Cheng drew a walk to put two runners on in the top of the ninth with two outs. Matt Lloyd was the next man up and was hitless so far in the game; that hitless game was ended after he crushed a clutch three-run homer to tie the game 4-4. Wyatt Olds came into the game in the bottom half and had a three-up and three-down inning, forcing extras. In the tenth, Worcester pushed across the go-ahead runs: With the bases juiced, Tyler McDonough scored on a Matt Thaiss double play, then Campbell delivered an RBI single to bring home Braiden Ward, putting the WooSox up 6-4. Noah Song came in for the bottom half with the hopes of closing it out, Rochester scratched one back but thankfully, stranded the tying run. Song earned his second save of the season as Worcester escaped with the 6-5 win. Standout Performances: Jack Anderson: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 K Wyatt Olds: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 K Matt Lloyd: 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Season Record: 29-28 The Portland Sea Dogs jumped out early but couldn't hold on, dropping a 7-5 decision at Reading (Philadelphia Phillies). Boston's Double-A club out-hit the Fightin Phils 10 to 7, yet one swing from the other dugout decided the night. Portland struck first with three runs in the top of the first. Franklin Arias led the game off with a single, and Will Turner followed with a walk to put two on with no outs. Arias scored on a Brooks Brannon ground-rule double, then Turner came home on a Johanfran Garcia single, and Brannon scored on a Marvin Alcantara sacrifice fly for an early 3-0 lead. In the bottom half, Arias made a tough throwing error that later led to Reading scoring a run on an RBI single, putting the game at 3-1. The Red Sox star prospect Anthony Eyanson had a very weird outing. He had one unearned run (Arias' error) while throwing five walks and four strikeouts in his 2 ⅔ innings of work. His command was way off compared to usual, especially since he has not walked batters much this season, throwing only 37 of his 68 pitches for strikes. His fastball velocity was down from usual as well, sitting around 91-93 MPH. It was noted that he seemed to focus on throwing his curveball on two strikes; unfortunately, his command was lacking. The game completely flipped in the fourth; the Fightin Phils unloaded a grand slam to right-center, putting them ahead 5-3. Reading struck again in the eighth inning with a two-run homer, stretching the lead to 7- 3. Portland mounted a ninth-inning push: a Caden Rose lead-off solo homer and an RBI groundout from Nate Baez gave the Sea Dogs a little hope, pulling them within two, but that was not enough as they suffered a 7-5 defeat. Outside of Arias, Brannon, and Garcia, who combined for eight of the team's 10 hits, Portland's lineup could not produce many hits when it mattered most. Portland had a ton of chances to put runs on the board with runners in scoring position, but they could not string together hits in the big spots, going 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Another recipe for disaster is the four errors the Sea Dogs committed: one error led to a run, and another to the grand slam that ultimately cost them the game. Standout Performances: Franklin Arias: 3-for-5, 2B, R Brooks Brannon: 3-for-5, 2B, R, RBI Johanfran Garcia: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI Caden Rose: 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI High-A Greenville Drive Season Record: 23-32 The Greenville Drive trailed three separate times but finally grabbed the lead for an 8-7 win over the Winston-Salem Dash (Chicago White Sox). The Dash jumped on the Drive’s starter Devin Futrell early, a two-run single in the first and a two-run homer in the second made it 4-0, putting Greenville in a hole. The Drive struck right back in the bottom of the second with two two-run homers. Luke Heyman drew a walk, setting up Isaiah Jackson to launch his ninth homer of the year. Jack Winnay followed up with a single to keep the line moving. It was Ronny Hernandez's turn at the plate as he clobbered a two-run homer, his fifth in 13 games, tying it up 4-4. From there, both teams scored, but it stayed tight for a few innings. Winston-Salem nudged ahead with a solo homer in the third inning, 5-4. Greenville tied it again, 5-5, in the fourth on a Hernandez RBI single after Mason White hit a double, then the Dash pushed the lead further out in front, 7-5, in the fifth inning with an RBI single and groundout. Greenville owned the seventh: Hernandez and Justin Gonzales led off the inning with back-to-back singles, putting two runners aboard with no outs for Enddy Azocar. Like he has been doing all year (hitting extra-base hits), he roped a double down left field, bringing home two runs to put the Drive one run short of tying it. Yoeilin Cespedes showed he has ice in his veins as he delivered the go-ahead two-run single to make it 8-7. Calvin Bickerstaff was the MVP of the pitching staff, slamming the door with 2 ⅔ scoreless no-hit innings with three strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season. Standout Performances: Calvin Bickerstaff: 2 ⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 IP, 1 BB, 3 K Yoeilin Cespedes: 2-for-3, 2 RBI Ronny Hernandez: 3-for-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI Enddy Azocar: 1-for-4, 2B, R, RBI Isaiah Jackson: 1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI Low-A Salem RidgeYaks Season Record: 24-34 The RidgeYaks almost completed an incredible comeback, falling just short 7-6 to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Houston Astros). Salem dug an early hole, starter Jason Gilman lasted just two innings, surrendering six runs (three earned) on a rough couple of innings that included three costly errors from catcher Adonys Guzman, one of which allowed two runs to score on one play in the first inning, putting the Woodpeckers up 2-0. The second inning was more detrimental: a lead-off homer, an RBI double, and another bad throw from Guzman on a steal attempt led to another run, 5-0. The frustrating second inning got worse when Gilman balked, leading to one more run to cross the plate, extending the Woodpeckers' lead to 6-0. Fayetteville pushed it to 7-0 in the fourth inning with an RBI single, digging Salem in a massive hole to make the game a potential laugher. After tallying just one hit through five innings, the RidgeYaks offense came out of nowhere. Salem drew walk after walk: Louis Andujar, Avinson Pinto, and D'Angelo Ortiz all worked bases-loaded RBI walks. Afterward, Ilan Fernandez lined a two-run single to make it 7-5. They added one more in the ninth when Andrews Opata singled home Stanley Tucker to make it 7-6, but the rally ended there, unfortunately. Knowing that the RidgeYaks came up one run short in a 7-6 game, while the offense finally woke up, but some bad throws helped the other team, makes this defeat even more frustrating. View the full article

St. Lucie was the clear bright spot, riding Cam Tilly's six and one-third hitless, scoreless innings to a 7-0 no-hitter, with Antonio Jimenez and Trey Snyder driving the offense. At Triple-A, Kevin Parada homered in a Syracuse loss, while Jose Ramos knocked in both Binghamton runs. In Brooklyn, Jose Chirinos struck out ten over six innings in a hard-luck Quality Start that ended in a 3-0 defeat. Mets Transactions New York Mets signed free agent C Jack Scanlon to a minor league contract. New York Mets optioned C Hayden Senger to Syracuse Mets. Parada Homers but Syracuse Falls in Buffalo The Syracuse Mets dropped a 7-2 decision to the Buffalo Bisons. Andy Ibáñez and Jihwan Bae each collected two hits, and Kevin Parada added a home run and an RBI. Syracuse struck first in the opening inning when Bae singled, then scored on an Ibáñez line-drive single to left. Buffalo answered in the bottom of the first with two runs and pulled away with two more in the third and three in the fifth. Parada's solo home run in the fifth accounted for the final Syracuse run. The Mets managed six hits, did not draw a walk, and left three runners on base. Jonah Tong took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits and four walks while striking out four over four innings. Daniel Duarte struggled in relief, giving up two runs in one-third of an inning, and Zach Peek allowed one run while striking out two over two-thirds of an inning. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nick Morabito 3 0 0 0 0 1 Ji Hwan Bae 3 1 2 0 0 1 Andy Ibáñez 3 0 2 1 0 0 Ryan Clifford 2 0 0 0 0 0 Yonny Hernández 2 0 0 0 0 0 Grae Kessinger 2 0 0 0 0 0 Cristian Pache 2 0 1 0 0 0 Jackson Cluff 2 0 0 0 0 0 Kevin Parada 2 1 1 1 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jonah Tong 4 5 4 4 4 4 0 Daniel Duarte 1/3 1 2 2 1 0 0 Zach Peek 2/3 2 1 1 0 2 0 Early Lead Slips Away as Binghamton Falls in Somerset The Binghamton Rumble Ponies lost 10-2 to the Somerset Patriots. Jose Ramos drove in both Binghamton runs with a first-inning single, and Jacob Reimer reached base twice with a hit and a walk. Binghamton jumped ahead in the top of the first when Chris Suero and Reimer drew walks and Ramos lined a single to left to score both. The lead did not hold. Somerset answered with a run in the first, then broke the game open with three runs in the fourth and added single runs in the sixth and seventh before a four-run eighth. Binghamton managed just two hits, walked five times, struck out 14 times, and left five runners on base. R.J. Gordon took the loss, surrendering four runs, three earned, on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings. Douglas Orellana provided scoreless relief across 1 2/3 innings, while Dan Hammer and Brian Metoyer each allowed a home run. Player AB R H RBI BB K Chris Suero 3 1 0 0 1 2 Jacob Reimer 3 1 1 0 1 1 Eli Serrano III 4 0 0 0 0 2 Jose Ramos 3 0 1 2 1 2 Nick Lorusso 4 0 0 0 0 2 JT Schwartz 4 0 0 0 0 0 Vincent Perozo 4 0 0 0 0 3 Jaylen Palmer 2 0 0 0 1 1 Wyatt Young 2 0 0 0 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR R.J. Gordon 3 1/3 3 4 3 3 3 0 Douglas Orellana 1 2/3 1 0 0 1 2 0 Dan Hammer 2 3 2 2 0 3 1 Brian Metoyer 1 2 4 0 0 3 1 Chirinos Strikes Out Ten but Brooklyn Blanked at Home The Brooklyn Cyclones were shut out 3-0 by the Frederick Keys despite a strong start from Jose Chirinos. JT Benson doubled, and John Bay singled and stole a base, but the offense never broke through, managing four hits, drawing one walk, striking out nine times, and leaving four runners on base. Brooklyn's best late threat came in the ninth, when Ronald Hernandez and Corey Collins each singled, but the inning ended without a run. Frederick scored all of its runs against Chirinos, taking the lead on a two-run home run in the fourth and adding a run on a double in the sixth. Chirinos turned in a Quality Start in defeat, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out ten over six innings. Danis Correa, Ryan Dollar, and Hoss Brewer combined for three scoreless innings of relief, striking out five. Player AB R H RBI BB K Mitch Voit 4 0 0 0 0 1 John Bay 3 0 1 0 0 1 Ronald Hernandez 4 0 1 0 0 2 Corey Collins 3 0 1 0 1 0 Yonatan Henriquez 4 0 0 0 0 0 Daiverson Gutierrez 3 0 0 0 0 0 JT Benson 3 0 1 0 0 1 Colin Houck 3 0 0 0 0 1 Trace Willhoite 3 0 0 0 0 3 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jose Chirinos 6 4 3 3 3 10 1 Danis Correa 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Ryan Dollar 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 Hoss Brewer 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Cam Tilly Dominates as St. Lucie Cruises to No-Hitter The St. Lucie Mets rolled to a 7-0 win over the Palm Beach Cardinals behind a dominant pitching performance. Antonio Jimenez homered, walked, and scored twice, Trey Snyder tripled and drove in two runs, and Simon Juan added two hits, including a double. St. Lucie built the lead steadily, scratching across a run in the third when Elian Peña scored on a fielder's choice and a throwing error. The Mets added two more in the fifth, capped by a Julio Zayas single that scored Jimenez. The decisive blow came in the sixth, when Juan doubled, and Snyder followed with a two-run triple to make it 5-0. Jimenez tacked on a solo home run in the ninth. St. Lucie collected seven hits, drew three walks, and left eight runners on base. Cam Tilly was overpowering, allowing no hits and no runs while walking three and striking out four over 6 1/3 innings to earn the win. Elwis Mijares finished the shutout with two and two-thirds hitless, scoreless innings, walking one and striking out three. Player AB R H RBI BB K Elian Peña 3 3 0 0 1 1 Trey Snyder 4 1 1 2 1 1 Antonio Jimenez 4 2 1 1 1 1 Yohairo Cuevas 4 0 2 1 0 0 Julio Zayas 5 0 1 1 0 1 Chase Meggers 5 0 0 0 0 3 Branny De Oleo 4 0 0 0 0 0 Jeremy Rodriguez 4 0 0 0 0 2 Simon Juan 4 1 2 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Cam Tilly 6 1/3 0 0 0 3 4 0 Elwis Mijares 2 2/3 0 0 0 1 3 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Nolan McLean: DNP Carson Benge: DNP A.J. Ewing: DNP Jonah Tong: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K Ryan Clifford: 0-for-2 Jacob Reimer: 1-for-3, BB, K Jack Wenninger: DNP Elian Pena: 0-for-3, BB, K, 3 R Mitch Voit: 0-for-4, K Nick Morabito: 0-for-3, K Jonathan Santucci: DNP Chris Suero: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K Zach Thornton: DNP Wandy Asigen: DNP Will Watson: DNP Eli Serrano III: 0-for-4, 2 K Ryan Lambert: DNP Dylan Ross: DNP Antonio Jimenez: 1-for-4, HR, RBI, BB, K, 2 R R.J. Gordon: 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K View the full article

Freddy Fermin was the San Diego Padres’ offense over the weekend. His performance exposed just how low the hitting group has fallen in 2026. The light-hitting catcher drove in five of the club's six runs in a three-game set against the New York Mets. He clubbed a pair of two-run home runs and hit an RBI double — all after being asked to lay down sacrifice bunts each of his first two times up Saturday. Only one other Padre collected an extra-base hit in the series: Fernando Tatis Jr., who doubled in the finale on Sunday. The inability to slug is one of the biggest things killing this team. The Padres entered their series against the Reds last in the majors with a .644 OPS and .355 slugging percentage and tied with the Colorado Rockies for 29th with an 85 wRC+. They were last in total bases by a wide margin — 63 behind the 29th-place Tampa Bay Rays and 64 behind the 28th-place Mets. This is not a raw power issue, even though it might seem that way now that Fermin has twice as many homers as Tatis. The Padres entered this week's play 20th in the league with 65 home runs, but they were also 29th with 83 doubles and tied for 17th with seven triples. That comes out to 155 extra-base hits. Only the Rays (150) had hit fewer. The club's league-worst 6.9 hits per game would be forgivable if more of them did damage. San Diego was 23rd with a .141 ISO. How can this situation be, specifically the lack of doubles and triples, when Petco Park's outfield is spacious in the gaps and the lineup is led by accomplished veterans? The simplest explanation is that the hitters just aren't good enough as a group. Their 40.6 percent hard-hit rate was tied for eighth in MLB entering Monday, but their 18.3 percent line-drive rate was 26th and their 45.3 percent ground-ball rate was tied for the second-worst. Maybe that's a consequence of being bad against all pitches; they rank in the bottom 10 in Statcast's pitch run value (via Fangraphs) against all types of fastballs and breaking balls. Their best ranking is 18th against changeups. On top of that, they’re hitting in some bad luck. According to Baseball Savant, the Padres’ xSLG through 64 games was .392, 19th:-best in the league and almost 40 points better than the real-life production. And luck bit the Friars hard last weekend. Twice on Sunday, Mets outfielders robbed Padres hitters of extra bases. First, left fielder MJ Melendez laid out in to snag a second-inning Miguel Andujar liner that was heading toward the corner. Later, center fielder A.J. Ewing ran down a Xander Bogaerts drive in the eighth that likely would have scored two runs and given the Padres a legitimate chance at a comeback. But, luck or no luck, the fact is the lineup is packing the weakest punch in baseball and is canceling out the team's strong defense and bullpen. The Padres have a huge opportunity this week to muscle up. They have three games each against the Cincinnati Reds (home).and Baltimore Orioles (away), clubs that entered Monday's play ranked in the bottom five in runs allowed. If they get shut down against those staffs, then this group surely will be beyond help. Everything will need to be on the table — benchings, demotions, panic trades. The time for trust and patience will be over. View the full article