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Abner Uribe is an electric, high-leverage reliever for the Milwaukee Brewers. A season removed from a run where he logged 75 appearances and a sub-2 earned run average in 2025, his sinker/slider combo makes up one of the deadliest arsenals in MLB. In this video, we'll break down what truly makes Uribe so lethal. View the full article

Connor Prielipp’s last three starts have not been encouraging. Before taking the mound on May 22, the Twins' rookie looked like one of the biggest bright spots in their rotation. Through his first handful of major league starts, he carried an ERA below 3.00, was striking out more than a batter per inning, and looked every bit like a pitcher capable of settling into the top half of a big-league rotation. Since then, however, the results have gone in the opposite direction. Over his last three outings, Prielipp has allowed 15 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings while posting a 13-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The dominance that was present during the first month of his major league career simply has not been there. As a result, his season ERA has climbed to 5.26, his WHIP now sits at 1.35, and he’s averaging less than five innings per start. That naturally leads to a pretty straightforward question: Is it time to worry about Connor Prielipp? There are reasonable arguments on both sides. On one hand, it’s hard to ignore how impressive he looked during his first several starts. His stuff was electric, hitters struggled to square him up, and he consistently generated swings and misses. On the other hand, the recent stat lines are impossible to completely dismiss. More earned runs than innings pitched is ugly no matter how you slice it. The strikeout numbers have come down, the walks have increased and opposing offenses have found far more success against him than they did earlier in the season. Still, after digging a little deeper into the numbers, it’s hard to come away believing that Prielipp is pitching nearly as poorly as his recent results suggest. In fact, there’s a strong case that bad luck has played a significant role in his struggles. To be fair, everything hasn’t been perfect. His swing-and-miss numbers have dipped, and the command hasn’t been quite as sharp as it was during his first month in the majors. You’d certainly like to see fewer walks, and there are areas of his game that need to improve. But overall, the underlying indicators paint a much more encouraging picture than the surface-level statistics. The biggest reason for that optimism is the quality of contact he has allowed. Earlier in the season, hard contact was arguably Prielipp’s biggest issue. While he was still producing strong results, hitters were barreling baseballs at a relatively high rate when they did make contact. Through his first 24 innings, he surrendered four home runs, and those long balls accounted for much of the damage against him. Ironically, the exact opposite has happened during his recent rough stretch. Over his last three starts, Prielipp has allowed 21 hits, yet none of them have left the ballpark. Even more telling is the quality of those hits. His hard-hit rate during that span sits below 30 percent, which is an extremely impressive number. Generally speaking, pitchers who are limiting hard contact at that level should not be giving up hits in bunches. While not every softly hit ball turns into an out, a hard-hit rate that low suggests hitters have not been consistently squaring him up. That’s what makes the recent results somewhat misleading. When a pitcher is allowing weak contact but still getting burned by a high volume of hits, there’s often an element of poor fortune involved. Ground balls find holes, soft line drives fall between defenders, and bloopers drop into shallow outfield grass. Those things happen over the course of a season. The problem is that when several of them happen in a short period of time, the box scores can look much worse than the actual performance. But there’s another factor worth monitoring as well. Prielipp has started relying less on his breaking balls. Earlier in the year, his slider and curveball combined for over 60 percent of his pitch usage. More recently, that number has dropped to around 48 percent. To some extent, the reasoning would be understandable. Prielipp has dealt with more than his share of arm injuries throughout his career, and breaking balls are known for being taxing on an elbow. If the Twins are attempting to reduce stress on his arm by slightly altering his pitch mix, there could be logic behind the decision. At the same time, those breaking pitches are his bread and butter. They’re his best swing-and-miss offerings and help make the rest of his arsenal more effective. When hitters have to respect both the slider and curveball, his fastball plays up considerably. It would be interesting to see the Twins gradually increase that usage again. Not enough to create durability concerns, but even a small bump back toward where it was earlier in the season could help him regain some of the whiffs that have disappeared over the last few weeks. At the end of the day, Prielipp hasn’t been flawless. The command could be better, the strikeout numbers could be higher, and the walks need to come down. Those are legitimate concerns. But the overall picture is far less alarming than a glance at his ERA might suggest. The underlying metrics indicate a pitcher who is still limiting hard contact at an impressive rate. The recent hit totals appear somewhat inflated by factors outside of his control, and there are still plenty of signs that the talent that made him so successful earlier in the year remains intact. Because of that, it feels premature to sound the alarm. Connor Prielipp’s last three starts have undoubtedly been frustrating, but they look much more like a temporary bump in the road than the beginning of a larger problem. The Twins still appear to have a talented major league starter on their hands. And if the quality of contact remains this strong, there’s a good chance the results will start reflecting that again sooner rather than later. View the full article

On May 30th, the Kansas City Royals experienced an injury scare, as Maikel Garcia pulled his hamstring rounding second base against the Texas Rangers. Tests revealed a grade 1 hamstring strain for Garcia, which was relatively good news. Anything more than that would've resulted in a lengthy IL stint and some recovery time in Omaha. However, a grade 1 strain meant the Royals could choose between keeping him on the roster and easing him back in or placing him on the IL for a quicker 10-Day IL stint. The Royals opted for the former option, and it seemed like Garcia was progressing positively day by day, according to reports from MLB.com Royals beat writer Anne Rogers. Rogers reported that he was not just taking infield and batting practice but was available off the bench to pinch-hit as soon as Thursday's game against Minnesota. Garcia ended up pinch-hitting in the Royals' 8-5 win over the Twins on Thursday evening, drawing a walk in his lone plate appearance. However, while he initially started on the bases, he was pulled after moving to second base on Josh Rojas' two-RBI single. Royals manager Matt Quatraro said they were being cautious, especially with questionable field conditions after a rain delay. Conversely, Garcia didn't exactly look "100 percent" on the basepaths. Unsurprisingly, Garcia didn't start again on Friday in game two of the Royals' four-game series against the Twins in Minneapolis. It was his sixth-straight game out of the starting lineup. After six straight games out of the lineup, one has to wonder if the Royals made the right decision by not adding Garcia to the IL right away. Why the Royals Didn't Add Garcia to the IL It does seem like Kansas City can be hesitant when adding players to the IL, especially key ones. Earlier in the season, the Royals opted not to add Salvador Perez to the IL after he suffered a hip injury. Rather, Kansas City opted to keep Salvy on the active roster, limit him to DH and first-base duties, and call up Elias Diaz to be the third catcher who could split duties with Carter Jensen as Perez recovered. The strategy seemed to work somewhat. Salvy recovered and eventually reached full strength. Diaz only had 23 plate appearances and hit just .227. However, the 35-year-old veteran did hit two home runs and posted an .852 OPS. Thus, Diaz was able to hold things down behind the plate and in the lineup until Perez returned to more regular innings at catcher. It seemed like the Royals were hoping to do something similar with Garcia. Since going on the IL, Nick Loftin has gotten regular starts at third base. Though he's struggled overall defensively this season (-9 OAA), he profiles much better at third base than second base and the outfield. It hasn't been a great year for Loftin offensively so far. He's hitting .214 with a .657 OPS in 103 plate appearances. However, he did hit his first home run of the year on Wednesday in the series finale against the Reds. While Loftin can hold down the hot corner in Garcia's absence, much like Diaz held down the catcher position when Salvy was out, Garcia isn't even getting starts at designated hitter. The hamstring injury is affecting not just his baserunning but his hitting as well, which explains why Garcia has only gotten two pinch-hit at-bats since May 30th (he's 0-for-1 with a walk and an RBI). That makes Garcia's situation not just dissimilar to Salvy's but ultimately, much more frustrating as well. Garcia Would've Been Better Served on the IL Watching Garcia's two pinch-hit appearances in this Twins series has been brutal. Not only did he not make much hard contact, but he just looked like he was still nursing his hamstring injury, whether in the batter's box or running up the first base line. It's been a down season for the WBC MVP, who made his first All-Star team a year ago. In 248 plate appearances this year, Garcia is slashing .267/.327/.382 with a .709 OPS. He has three home runs, 28 runs scored, 22 RBI, and just four stolen bases on seven attempts. After posting a .769 OPS in March and a .785 OPS in April, he only had a .632 OPS in May. Furthermore, while his chase and whiff rate metrics have been solid, the rest of his Statcast profile, especially when it comes to barrel rate, hard-hit rate, and LA Sweet-Spot%, has been middling to mediocre, via TJ Stats. The Royals want to stay competitive, and they are obviously more competitive when they have Garcia than when they have Josh Rojas, Abraham Toro, or Kevin Newman from Omaha. That said, it's obvious that Garcia's not fully healed from his hamstring injury, and they would be better off with a 100 percent Rojas or another Storm Chasers veteran infielder than a 70-75% Garcia (and that's putting it nicely). The Reds were in a similar situation before their series with the Royals, with Elly De La Cruz, who also suffered a hamstring injury in their series against the Atlanta Braves. However, Cincinnati put him on the IL right away, and he should be ready to go in 2-4 weeks. If the Royals had put Garcia on the IL right away, he would already be six games in and be eligible to return by the start of Kansas City's homestand against the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros. He would have had more time to fully rest and recover, and probably in Kansas City, where he would have had more access to medical resources through the team. Instead, manager Matt Quatraro has to go day to day, hoping that Garcia's hamstring will improve sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, Garcia is not looking great, and that doesn't bode well for the Venezuelan infielder's outlook in the Saturday and Sunday games against Minnesota. Right now, the Royals are 25-39, 14 games under .500. Their odds to make the postseason are 5.7%, the lowest of any team in the AL Central division, according to Fangraphs. When it comes to decision-making with this team, GM JJ Picollo and Quatraro need to make decisions in the team's best long-term interest, not short-term ones. That said, it seems the Royals have focused too much on the short term with Garcia, and that's compromising his rest-of-the-season outlook, as trying to gut it out day by day isn't helping his confidence or performance at the plate. It may be too late to rectify this situation with Garcia, as putting him on the IL now would only set him back even further. Conversely, they need to learn from this mistake and place players on the IL right away rather than waiting. In a season like this, it's okay for the Royals to give chances to players in Triple-A and maybe even Double-A. Royals fans saw tonight what Beck Way could do long-term, as he struck out two batters in an inning of work and posted some gaudy chase and whiff rate metrics. The Royals have to give guys chances. And to do so, they need to be cautious and on the safe side with players when they suffer injury, no matter how minor. Hopefully, Picollo and Quatraro learned their lesson with Garcia and will move much more quickly on IL moves in the near future. In a season like this, Garcia won't be the last key Royals player to suffer an injury. View the full article

Luke Pelzer drove in five runs as Quad Cities outslugged South Bend 13-8 in the High-A opener, and the River Bandits split the doubleheader with a 4-3 loss in the nightcap. Omaha cruised to an 11-2 win behind Kameron Misner, Matthew Lugo, and Luke Maile, who each homered. Northwest Arkansas fell 8-4 to Midland, and Columbia dropped a 3-2 decision to Fayetteville despite a ninth-inning rally led by Yandel Ricardo. Royals Transactions Kansas City Royals signed free agent IF Juan Batista to a minor league contract. Kansas City Royals transferred 2B Jonathan India from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Left shoulder subluxation. RHP Stephen Kolek's roster status was changed by the Kansas City Royals. Kansas City Royals selected the contract of 3B Josh Rojas from Omaha Storm Chasers. Misner, Lugo, and Maile Power Omaha Past Columbus The Omaha Storm Chasers broke open a close game with a six-run fifth inning and rolled to an 11-2 victory over the Columbus Clippers. The Storm Chasers led 1-0 before the fifth, when Drew Waters walked with the bases loaded to score Misner, Abraham Toro doubled in three runs, and Maile capped the rally with a two-run home run. Misner finished 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI, while Lugo went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, three runs, and an RBI. Maile added two hits, two runs, and two RBI, and Toro drove in three. Starter Mitch Spence set the tone with three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out five. Helcris Olivárez followed with two innings, surrendering one run on one hit with three strikeouts and two walks. Omaha added insurance in the eighth on home runs from Misner and Lugo, and Kevin Newman singled home a run in the ninth. The Storm Chasers left eight runners on base but collected 12 hits on the night. Five pitchers combined to hold Columbus to two runs, both on solo home runs. Player AB R H RBI BB K John Rave 5 0 1 0 1 1 Peyton Wilson 4 1 1 0 1 2 Kameron Misner 5 2 2 2 0 1 Matthew Lugo 4 3 2 1 1 0 Brett Squires 4 1 0 0 1 1 Drew Waters 3 1 1 2 1 1 Abraham Toro 4 1 1 3 1 1 Luke Maile 4 2 2 2 0 1 Kevin Newman 4 0 2 1 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Mitch Spence 3 1 0 0 0 5 0 Helcris Olivárez 2 1 1 1 2 3 0 Dan Altavilla 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 Andrew Pérez 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 Génesis Cabrera 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 Naturals Stumble Late in 8-4 Loss to Midland The Northwest Arkansas Naturals jumped ahead early but could not hold the lead in an 8-4 loss to the Midland RockHounds. Northwest Arkansas scored three runs in the second inning, getting an RBI single from Connor Scott and a two-run single from Alberto Rodriguez to take a 3-1 lead. Midland answered with three runs in the fifth, keyed by a bases-clearing triple, and pulled away with single runs in the seventh and a three-run ninth. Starter Ethan Bosacker turned in a solid outing, allowing one run on four hits over 3 2/3 innings with two strikeouts and two walks. The bullpen could not preserve the deficit, as Zachary Cawyer allowed three runs in one inning and Tommy Molsky gave up three runs in the ninth. Scott led the offense with two hits and an RBI, Rodriguez added two RBIs, and Omar Hernandez reached base twice with a hit and two runs scored. The Naturals managed just six hits and left four runners on base. Daniel Vazquez struck out three times in a hitless afternoon, and Carson Roccaforte went hitless with a walk atop the order. Player AB R H RBI BB K Carson Roccaforte 3 0 0 0 1 2 Colton Becker 4 0 1 0 0 2 Jack Pineda 3 0 1 0 1 0 Spencer Nivens 3 1 0 0 1 1 Daniel Vazquez 4 0 0 0 0 3 Omar Hernandez 3 2 1 0 1 0 Connor Scott 4 1 2 1 0 2 Alberto Rodriguez 4 0 1 2 0 0 Justin Johnson 3 0 0 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Ethan Bosacker 3 2/3 4 1 1 2 2 0 Zachary Cawyer 1 2 3 2 1 1 0 Andrew Morones 3 1 1 1 1 2 0 Tommy Molsky 1 2 3 3 3 1 0 Pelzer Drives In Five as River Bandits Win Slugfest 13-8 Pelzer had the night of the series, going 4-for-4 with three doubles and five RBI to lead the Quad Cities River Bandits past the South Bend Cubs 13-8. The River Bandits scored four times in the first inning, with Blake Mitchell, Luke Pelzer, Derlin Figueroa, and Tyriq Kemp each driving in a run. Quad Cities added five more in the second, sending the lead to 9-0, as Asbel Gonzalez, Pelzer, and Kemp delivered run-scoring hits, and Figueroa walked in a run. South Bend answered with an eight-run third inning, aided by three Quad Cities errors, to climb within 9-8, but the River Bandits responded with four runs in the fifth, three of them on a Pelzer double. Gonzalez finished 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, and Mitchell reached base four times with a hit, two walks, and three runs scored. Starter David Shields struggled, allowing eight runs, four earned, on three hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings with no strikeouts. Max Martin steadied things with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, and Yimi Presinal closed with two scoreless frames, allowing no baserunners. The River Bandits left seven runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nolan Sailors 4 2 2 0 0 0 Asbel Gonzalez 4 2 3 1 0 0 Blake Mitchell 2 3 1 1 2 1 Ramon Ramirez 2 2 1 0 1 0 Luke Pelzer 4 2 4 5 0 0 Derlin Figueroa 3 1 1 2 1 1 Jose Cerice 4 0 1 1 0 1 Tyriq Kemp 4 0 2 2 0 0 Angel Acosta 4 1 0 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR David Shields 2 2/3 3 8 4 2 0 0 Max Martin 2 1/3 2 0 0 2 1 0 Yimi Presinal 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 River Bandits Drop Nightcap 4-3 to South Bend The Quad Cities River Bandits took an early lead but fell 4-3 to the South Bend Cubs in the second game of the doubleheader. Quad Cities scored twice in the second inning, as Erick Torres singled home a run and Acosta added a run on a sacrifice bunt for a 2-0 lead. The River Bandits pushed across another run in the third on a Pelzer fly out to take a 3-2 edge. South Bend tied the game in the second on a two-run home run and a double, then won it with single runs in the fifth. Starter Cory Ronan absorbed the loss, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits and two walks over 1 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and a home run. Coleman Picard followed with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out one, and Josh Hansell pitched two innings, giving up one run on three hits. Pelzer and Derlin Figueroa each collected a hit, while Torres drove in a run. The River Bandits managed three hits and left three runners on base and went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position. This second game was a makeup of their April 5th game in South Bend, and thus, the Cubs were the home team in the nightcap of the doubleheader. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nolan Sailors 3 0 0 0 0 3 Blake Mitchell 2 1 0 0 1 1 Ramon Ramirez 2 0 0 0 1 0 Luke Pelzer 3 1 1 0 0 1 Derlin Figueroa 3 1 1 0 0 0 Jose Cerice 1 0 0 0 0 0 Erick Torres 3 0 1 1 0 1 Angel Acosta 2 0 0 1 0 1 Diego Guzman 2 0 0 0 0 1 Tyriq Kemp 1 0 0 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Cory Ronan 1 2/3 4 3 3 2 3 1 Coleman Picard 2 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 Josh Hansell 2 3 1 1 0 1 0 Fireflies Rally Comes Up Short in 3-2 Loss The Columbia Fireflies nearly erased a three-run deficit in the ninth inning but fell 3-2 to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Fayetteville scored all of its runs in the third inning on a three-run home run. Columbia was held without a run until the ninth, when Daniel Lopez and Henry Ramos reached, and Stone Russell singled home a run to make it 3-1. Ricardo followed with a run-scoring double to pull within 3-2, but the rally ended there. Starter Darwin Rodriguez delivered a strong outing, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings while striking out nine. Luis Valdez followed with 1 1/3 scoreless innings and a strikeout, and Randy Ramnarace tossed a scoreless ninth despite two walks. Ricardo led the offense with a double and an RBI, and Russell drove in the other run. Columbia managed six hits and left four runners on base, with Sean Gamble, Roni Cabrera, and Gabriel Silva combining for seven strikeouts. Player AB R H RBI BB K Henry Ramos 4 1 1 0 0 0 Sean Gamble 4 0 0 0 0 2 Josh Hammond 4 0 1 0 0 1 Stone Russell 4 0 1 1 0 0 Josi Novas 0 0 0 0 0 0 Yandel Ricardo 4 0 1 1 0 2 Roni Cabrera 4 0 0 0 0 2 Connor Rasmussen 3 0 1 0 0 2 Gabriel Silva 3 0 0 0 0 3 Daniel Lopez 3 1 1 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Darwin Rodriguez 5 2/3 5 3 3 2 9 1 Luis Valdez 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 Randy Ramnarace 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Kendry Chourio: DNP David Shields: 2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K Sean Gamble: 0-for-4, 2 K Blake Mitchell: 1-for-2, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB, K (Game 1); 0-for-2, R, BB, K (Game 2) Josh Hammond: 1-for-4, K Ramon Ramirez: 1-for-2, 2 R, BB (Game 1); 0-for-2, BB (Game 2) Drew Beam: DNP Asbel Gonzalez: 3-for-4, 2 R, RBI Ben Kudrna: DNP Carson Roccaforte: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K Yandel Ricardo: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K Felix Arronde: DNP Blake Wolters: DNP Michael Lombardi: DNP Luinder Avila: DNP Steven Zobac: DNP Frank Mozzicato: DNP Daniel Vazquez: 0-for-4, 3 K Warren Colcano: DNP Shane Panzini: DNP View the full article

Charles McAdoo is one of the newest members of the Toronto Blue Jays. Now remember, this is an offense that found itself near the top of the MLB leaderboards in almost every category last year, so there’s quite the lofty expectation that they continue to produce like that this year (even without Bo Bichette). So far, they haven't. In this article, I'll dive into who McAdoo is, what he can provide for this offense and his overall outlook with the team. McAdoo's Background McAdoo is listed as the No. 14 prospect in the Blue Jays’ system, per Jays Centre's rankings. The Pittsburgh Pirates originally selected him in the 13th round in the 2023 MLB Draft. Three years later, the 377th overall pick in that year’s draft is a big leaguer. This is someone who was a part of the Bucs’ pipeline for all of 2023, when he hit over .300 and flashed the power (five home runs in 28 games) in his professional debut with the Bradenton Marauders (Low-A). Halfway through the 2024 season, the Pirates dealt him to the Jays in a trade for Isiah Kiner-Falefa. He took his lumps with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, but eventually worked his way to a Triple-A spot to start this year, where he smacked eight home runs and registered a .789 OPS over the course of 50 games. A 'Big' League Debut Fast forward to just recently, and the 24-year-old slugger made his big league debut. He didn’t just show up either. McAdoo smacked a two-run home run in his first MLB game to make quite the first impression: After 323 minor league games and over 1,100 at-bats at various affiliated levels, the corner infielder wasted no time making his statement on the most prominent stage. Strengths and Weaknesses The former late-round pick’s strength lies in his pop. Standing at six feet and 210 pounds, he sports 55-grade power. Over the last couple of years, the Jays’ development staff has been working on getting his fundamentals down and aligning two key metrics. One is exit velocity, while the other is elevating the ball at an ideal launch angle. The more that somebody with McAdoo’s stature can elevate the baseball, the better. The power has already shown up, as he’s smacked 46 long balls over 323 MiLB games. This is also somebody with a walk rate of over 10%, meaning opposing pitchers have plenty of respect for what he brings to the table. McAdoo isn’t a perfect prospect by any means, and while his raw athletic ability and strength give him power, he’s had trouble fitting in on the defensive end. The Blue Jays have him listed as a corner infielder (with the ability to play second), but his 45-grade fielding tool implies that there’s still work to be done with his glove. There’s a possibility that he finds a long-term home as a corner outfielder, but his main strength is the elite bat speed and sheer power that he can generate at the plate. Charles McAdoo's Outlook While McAdoo may not have a solidified spot on defense, he could one day hit his way into being an everyday starter for a Blue Jays team that poured on the runs en route to a World Series appearance in 2025. For now, he’ll likely plug into the lineup from time to time until either his bat motivates Toronto to keep him there or his glove improves enough to make his appearances come on a more consistent basis. Overall, this is still a remarkable story of a late-round draft pick who has climbed the minor league ladder and overcome a change in scenery via the trade market, who has now managed to earn a big league debut in just three years. View the full article

The San Diego Padres' affiliates went 2-2 on Friday. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas dropped a 9-6 decision to Sugar Land, while the Double-A San Antonio Missions blanked Wichita 2-0, the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps fell to Lake County 11-8 and the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm rolled past Fresno 9-4. Padres Minor-League Transactions Padres recalled RHP David Morgan from El Paso Chihuahuas. Padres activated RHP Jhony Brito from the 60-day IL and optioned him to El Paso Chihuahuas. Chihuahuas Can't Keep Pace With Space Cowboys In a game in which all the scoring happened in the first five innings, the host Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas didn't have enough to overcome the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, who won 9-6. Nick Schnell and Carlos Rodriguez each had two RBIs, while Nick Solak and Clay Dungan each had a pair of hits for the Chihuahuas. Each team scored three times in the third inning, with Schnell squeezing home Will Wagner and Rodriguez drove in a pair with a single. Sugar Land put up a run in the third and three in the fourth and two in the fifth for a 9-3 advantage. Solak led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, then Castanon drove him in with a double. Two outs later, Dungan singled him home, then stole second and scored on Schnell's double. Chihuahuas left-handed starter JP Sears was tagged for seven runs in 3⅔ innings, giving up seven hits and two runs while fanning five. Right-hander Ty Adcock gave up the other two runs while only getting one out. But right-handers Garrett Hawkins (1⅔ innings), Alek Jacob (one inning) and Logan Gillaspie (two innings) didn't allow a hit the rest of the way. EP_0605.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Pablo Reyes 3 0 1 0 2 1 Carlos Rodríguez 5 0 1 2 0 1 Nick Solak 5 1 2 0 0 1 Marcos Castañon 5 1 1 1 0 1 Will Wagner 3 1 0 0 2 1 Mason McCoy 5 0 0 0 0 2 Clay Dungan 4 2 2 1 1 0 Nick Schnell 3 1 1 2 1 0 Anthony Vilar 4 0 1 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR JP Sears 3 2/3 7 7 7 2 5 1 Michael Flynn 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 Ty Adcock 1/3 1 2 2 3 1 1 Garrett Hawkins 1 2/3 0 0 0 2 1 0 Alek Jacob 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Logan Gillaspie 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 Miguel Mendez Spearheads Missions' 3-Hit Shutout Right-handed starter Miguel Mendez and two relievers combined on a three-hit shutout as the Double-A San Antonio Missions edged the host Wichita Wind Surge 2-0. Mendez, Padres Mission's No. 3 prospect, allowed two hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts over those five innings, lowering his ERA to 3.90. He faced the minimum through four innings, but allowed a baserunner each of the first three. In the first, the leadoff hitter tried stretching a single into a double, but right fielder Braedon Karpathios threw him out. In the second, a leadoff walk was erased when the next batter hit into a double play. In the third, a one-out double by Jose Salas, Ethan Salas' brother, was eliminated when Mendez picked him off second. Mendez, who went three scoreless innings in his previous start, then retired the side in order in the fourth. Right-hander Eric Yost struck out two in two hitless innings, but he did walk five while matching his season best for innings. Right-hander Johan Moreno finished off the shutout with two innings and three punchouts. It was the third shutout for the Missions this year. Karpathios and Francisco Acuna each had a pair of hits, while Romeo Sanabria drove in one run and a balk brought in another. That came in the fourth inning when Tirso Ornelas doubled, Karpathios singled him to third and, after Karpathios stole second, a balk brought in Ornelas. It stayed 1-0 until the eighth. Carson Tucker drew a leadoff walk, stole second and went to third on an Ethan Salas groundout before Sanabria grounded an RBI single up the middle for a 2-0 lead. SA_0605.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Carson Tucker 3 1 1 0 2 2 Ethan Salas 5 0 0 0 0 0 Romeo Sanabria 4 0 1 1 0 1 Kai Roberts 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tirso Ornelas 4 1 1 0 0 0 Braedon Karpathios 4 0 2 0 0 1 Ryan Jackson 4 0 1 0 0 2 Francisco Acuna 3 0 2 0 1 0 Albert Fabian 3 0 1 0 1 0 Luis Verdugo 4 0 1 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Miguel Mendez 5 2 0 0 2 4 0 Eric Yost 2 0 0 0 5 2 0 Johan Moreno 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 Jake Cunningham Blasts 3 Homers, But TinCaps Let Lead Slip Away Jake Cunningham had a three-homer game and drove in six, but for the second night in a row, the host High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps' bullpen couldn't protect a lead, giving up eight runs over the final three innings in an 11-8 loss to the Lake County Captains. Cunningham is the fourth player in TinCaps history to hit three homers in a single game. TinCaps left-handed starter Kash Mayfield, Padres Mission's No. 2 prospect, had a solid five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts. This came after he only got two outs and allowed six runs last week against South Bend. Cunningham hit a three-run homer in the first inning, a two-run homer in the third inning and a solo shot in the fifth for his third multi-homer game of the year. He took over sole possession of the team lead with 13 homers and moved into second place in the Midwest League. Justin DeCriscio also had three hits, all singles, with an RBI and a run scored, while Kavares Tears Cunningham's solo homer put the TinCaps up 6-2, but the Captains scored three in the seventh, four in the eighth to take the lead and another in the ninth. Cunningham had a chance at a fourth homer in the ninth inning. Kasen Wells was hit by a pitch with one out and went to third on DeCriscio's single. Rosman Verdugo singled home Wells to pull within 11-8. After a flyout, Cunningham came up with a chance to make it a one-run game, but he popped out to the first baseman to end the game. TinCaps right-hander Clay Edmondson, who had given up four earned runs all season in 22 innings, was touched for three runs in the eighth and ninth while getting just two outs. He leads the minors with 10 saves and had a 0.41 ERA entering the game, which rose to 1.59. FW_0605.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Justin DeCriscio 5 1 3 1 0 1 Rosman Verdugo 4 1 1 1 1 0 Carlos Rodriguez 4 1 1 0 1 0 Jake Cunningham 5 3 3 6 0 1 Jack Costello 4 0 1 0 0 1 Kavares Tears 4 0 0 0 0 3 Zach Evans 4 0 0 0 0 3 Jonathan Vastine 3 1 1 0 0 2 Lamar King Jr. 1 0 0 0 0 1 Kasen Wells 3 1 0 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Kash Mayfield 5 7 3 3 2 4 3 Ryan Och 1 1/3 2 3 1 1 0 0 Jeferson Villabona 2/3 0 0 0 2 0 0 Igor Gil 2/3 1 2 2 1 1 0 Clay Edmondson 2/3 3 3 3 2 0 2 C.J. Widger 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 Top Of The Order, 7-Run Fifth Fuel Storm Triumph Ryan Wideman, Kerrington Cross and Luis Verdugo, the top three hitters in the lineup, combined for seven hits and six RBIs as the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm used a seven-run fifth inning to topple the host Fresno Grizzlies 9-4. Wideman, Padres Mission's No. 5 prospect, went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Cross and Verdugo each went 2-for-4 with a homer, a pair of RBIs and a run scored. Both homers scored Wideman. Yoiber Ocopio, hitting cleanup, and Jorge Quintana each added two hits, while Dylan Grego drove in two runs. Verdugo hit a two-run homer in the third for a 2-1 lead, then the Storm opened it up in the fifth with seven runs. Cross hit a two-run homer, another run scored on Quintana's infield single and a throwing error, Grego had a two-run double and Wideman capped the outburst by tripling home a pair of runs. Storm left-handed starter Kruz Schoolcraft, Padres Mission's No. 4 prospect, allowed just one run on four hits with no walks and three punchouts. The five innings were a career high for Schoolcraft, who didn't allow a walk for the first time in his 10 starts this year. LE_0605.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ryan Wideman 5 2 3 2 0 0 Kerrington Cross 4 1 2 2 1 1 Jose Verdugo 4 1 2 2 1 1 Yoiber Ocopio 5 0 2 0 0 1 Truitt Madonna 5 1 1 0 0 1 George Bilecki 3 1 1 0 1 0 Qrey Lott 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jorge Quintana 5 1 2 0 0 1 Dylan Grego 3 1 1 2 1 0 Bradley Frye 0 0 0 0 0 0 Conner Westenburg 3 1 0 0 1 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Kruz Schoolcraft 5 4 1 1 0 3 0 Cal Riehl 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 Rordy Mejia 2 2 2 0 0 2 0 Carson Swilling 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Top 20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 0-for-5 Kash Mayfield: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 3 HR Miguel Mendez: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Kruz Schoolcraft: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Ryan Wideman: 3-for-5, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI Jorge Quintana: 2-for-5, K Ty Harvey: On injured list Kale Fountain: Injured, out for season Braedon Karpathios: 2-for-4, K Lamar King Jr.: 0-for-1, K Jagger Haynes: DNP Alex McCoy: DNP Truitt Madonna: 1-for-5, K Tucker Musgrove: DNP Garrett Hawkins: 1⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K Michael Salina: DNP Eric Yost: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 2 K Rosman Verdugo: 1-for-4, RBI, BB Bryan Balzer: DNP Deivid Coronil: DNP View the full article

Box Score SP: ............Zebby Matthews: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K Home Runs: Brooks Lee (9) Top 3 WPA: Zebby Matthews (.130), Brooks Lee (.120), Orlando Arcia (.120) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) There was rain. Or maybe there wasn’t. Well, there was supposed to be rain. Those who should know told us, anyways. And it might be back there in the distance somewhere. We’ll push this game back an hour and a half. It’ll build character. And then we’ll make them get an Apple TV subscription again. That’ll also build character. Are you tired of all the character? Nestled in Minneapolis—on the outskirts of the skyscrapers and man-made institutions that inspire awe and assert dominance—sits the stadium that contains the baseball played on Friday. The field, a beautiful arrangement of limestone, greenery, and screens, gave way to a classic back-and-forther on Thursday, the kind of game that could entertain even the most arduous baseball hater, though it ended in a loss for the protagonist Twins. And this is where we find our heroes: lauded and mired in the common traps and pitfalls of a team that simply may not be good. Not bad. Just not good. The Lord would spit them from his mouth if given the opportunity. Zebby Matthews certainly didn’t begin his start well. Fresh off the vague, esoteric rain delay, the square-jawed hurler found the terrain unfamiliar and rude. Kansas City crushed his offerings. A Bobby Witt Jr. walk portended a stolen base, placing the dynamic speedster in scoring position for any hitter. Vinnie Pasquantino made the point moot with a double cracked into right field. Jac Caglianone brought home his Italian-American brethren with a double off the Jericho wall in right-center. The instant offense paralyzed the Twins. Their offense remained dormant for two innings. The clever finesse veteran Michael Wacha knew which buttons to press and selected them with the acumen of a hurler 14 years into his major league career. Finally, matters turned in favor of Minnesota—ironically after they lost their best player, Byron Buxton, who exited following a failed encounter with the center field wall. Alex Jackson singled, and pinch-hitter Tristan Gray reached first on a bunt, sending the leading runner to third in the process. Brooks Lee grounded out to conclude the manufactured run. At this point, Matthews was settled in, comfortable. The Royals found him more troublesome than before—though thanks in part to Austin Martin throwing out a would-be runner at home in the fourth. A pitcher can sometimes only be as good as his defense, after all. Sitting at a 2-1 stalemate in the sixth, the Twins trudged to the batter’s box draped in the common misfortune of an offense that couldn’t get going. They needed a hit to fuel things, yet the only fuel for such an endeavors is a hit. Quite the pickle. So, Lee simplified the situation by blasting a solo home run. “Homers kill rallies,” say some. In this case, they ignite them. Minnesota's bats became a flurry. Doubles by Kody Clemens and Josh Bell shot the Twins into the lead, and Orlando Arcia added on with an RBI knock into right field. Back-to-back wild pitches coaxed the scampering Arcia home safely. Suddenly, it was 5-2 Twins, and the Royals were no longer the aggressors in the game; they hadn’t flashed teeth since the first; they still couldn’t stop running into outs at home; Martin remained an armed terror manning right field with a vigor unseen since the cathedral was raised (outside of Max Kepler, but he never threw runners out quite like this. Matthews ended his night after seven innings, ushering in the bullpen to end what the youngster had brilliantly started. Anthony Banda did so drama-less. Travis Adams did so with a soft tepid feeling of uneasiness, but he never devolved into worse territory, eventually closing the game with a soft pop-up off Kyle Isbel's bat. Notes: Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Royals return to the Target Field confines Saturday for an early afternoon melee, sparring Joe Ryan against Luinder Avila. First pitch is at 1:10 PM. Maybe. An estimation of rain could soil the start time. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Morris 0 18 0 48 0 66 Paredes 0 0 0 50 0 50 Gómez 15 15 0 18 0 48 Lawrence 0 0 19 24 0 43 Orze 0 0 26 16 0 42 Banda 0 20 0 8 14 42 Adams 19 0 0 0 16 35 Laweryson 0 0 26 0 0 26 Rogers 0 0 12 11 0 23 View the full article

A left coast trip and a long layover between series have given the Mets a few days without any dire needs for transaction, but in the meantime, the status of Anderson Severino remains a mystery, draft speculation heats up (the Mets' first pick is 27th overall), the Mets are still shopping for Latin American teenagers. Transactions, 6/2/2026 COMING Signed as International Amateur Free Agent out of The Dominican Republic, Not Yet Assigned Relief Pitchers Esteban Mejia R/R DoB: 2009-05-20 High Level: Academy (2026) There is little that has been revealed about Esteban Mejia. Just know that there are already two active players bearing that name in the stateside minor leagues. There is the infielder in the Texas system and the Baltimore starting pitcher prospect who has been cursed with a 1-11 record by the short workdays that young starters get these days. When the Mets' Esteban was born the ill-advised Angels & Demons was the top US film, "Boom Boom Pow" was at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and ... ... and we're gonna quit right there before we curse this young man any further. Your 2026 New York Mets Starting Pitchers Sean Manaea Nolan McLean Freddy Peralta David Peterson Christian Scott R/L DoB: 1992-02-01 R/R DoB: 2001-07-24 R/R DoB: 2996-06-04 L/L DoB: 1995-09-03 R/R DoB: 1999-06-15 Relief Pitchers Huascar Brazobán Joey Gerber A.J. Minter Cionel Pérez Brooks Raley Austin Warren Luke Weaver R/R DoB: 1989-10-15 R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 L/L DoB: 1993-09-02 R/L DoB: 35176 L/L DoB: 1988-06-29 R/R DoB: 1996-02-05 R/R DoB: 1993-08-21 Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders Devin Williams Hayden Senger Luís Torrens Bo Bichette Brett Baty Vidal Brujan Marcus Semien R/R DoB: 1994-09-21 R/R DoB: 1997-04-03 R/R DoB: 1996-05-02 R/R DoB: 1998-03-05 L/R DoB: 1999-11-13 S/R DoB: 1998-02-09 R/R DoB: 1990-09-17 Infielders Outfielders Mark Vientos Eric Wagaman Carson Benge A.J. Ewing MJ Melendez Juan Soto Jared Young R/R DoB: 1993-12-11 R/R DoB: 1997-08-14 L/R DoB: 2003-01-20 L/R DoB: 2004-08-10 L/R DoB: 1993-11-29 L/L DoB: 1998-10-25 L/R DoB: 1995-07-09 Also on 40-Player Roster Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Clay Holmes Tylor Megill Kodai Senga Zach Thornton Jonah Tong Alex Carrillo Daniel Duarte R/R DoB: 1993-03-27 R/R DoB: 1995-07-28 L/R DoB: 1993-01-30 L/L DoB: 2002-01-17 R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 Relief Pitchers Catchers Reed Garrett Justin Hagenman Tobias Myers Dedniel Núñez Jonathan Pintaro Dylan Ross Francisco Alvarez R/R DoB: 1993-01-02 R/R DoB: 1996-10-07 R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 R/R DoB: 1996-06-05 R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 R/R DoB: 2000-09-01 R/R DoB: 2001-11-01 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 Designated for Assignment Relief Pitchers "Anderson Severino " L/L DoB: 1994-09-17 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

Are the San Diego Padres suddenly in more trouble than they were in? It would seem so. Outfielder Ramon Laureano had surgery on his right hip and labrum and his return to the Padres this season is in question. Laureano was transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL to accommodate other moves. Those included right-handed reliever Jeremiah Estrada going on the 15-day IL with inflammation in his right knee. Right-hander Jhony Brito, out since spring training of last year after having right UCL and flexor tendon surgery, was activated off the 60-day IL and right-handed reliever David Morgan was called up from Triple-A El Paso. And finally, as a formality, outfielder Nick Castellanos, who had been designated for assignment Wednesday, cleared waivers and was released. Laureano, set to be a free agent this offseason, missed Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals and went on the 15-day IL Tuesday with what was called right hip inflammation. He got off to a quick start offensively, peaking at a .292/.352/.569 slash line with four homers and 10 RBIs April 15, often batting leadoff. But his production went down from there and is currently at .203/.286/.374 with seven homers and 21 RBIs. Estrada, a key part of the Friars' bullpen, has a 3.59 FIP (3.58 ERA) in 21 appearances and 20⅔ innings, with a 12.2% walk rate and 28% strikeout rate. He last appeared in a game Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies, getting one out but allowing a run on a hit and a walk before being taken out. Brito made his final rehab start Thursday for the Double-A San Antonio Missions, going five innings and throwing 58 pitches, giving up one run on three hits with no walks and two strikeouts. He had a 1.96 ERA in his four starts at Double-A, including throwing just 110 pitches over his last 11 innings. He walked six and struck out 17 in 24⅓ innings with a 3.33 ERA when factoring in his two rehab starts in the Arizona Complex League. Brito was injured in spring training last year and had surgery in April. His UCL procedure was an internal brace, allowing for a faster return to action than Tommy John surgery. He was in a relief role in 2024, appearing in 26 games and 43⅔ innings, with a 5.4% walk rate and 15.7% strikeout rate. Morgan was on the Opening Day roster, but has struggled to repeat the success of his rookie year of 2025. Morgan compiled a 6.08 ERA in 11 appearances before being sent down to Triple-A on April 30. He walked 11 and struck out 15 in 13⅓ innings before his demotion. While the ERA was worse in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Morgan walked just two and struck out 11 in his 10⅓ innings over 10 appearances. The Padres called up outfielder Jase Bowen and infielder-outfielder Samad Taylor this week as replacements for Laureano and Castellanos. The Padres entered Friday's action with the worst batting average (.216) and worst OPS (.651) in MLB. Their batting average is 12 points worse than the next two teams, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. View the full article

The Twins have some decisions to make, and relatively soon. A big one: what to do with Ryan Jeffers, who isn't signed past the end of this season. What do you think is the path forward? Austin Martin started 2026 on fire, carrying a .400 OBP for weeks. Not so much lately. Who do you think this guy is, really? The existing Collective Bargaining Agreement expires at the crowning of the Twins as World Champions at the conclusion of the 2016 World Series. Even given the long history of peaceful and cooperative labor negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA....some feel there may be labor strife this upcoming offseason. First shots have been fired, with both sides offering up initial proposals. What's your take? Weigh in here. As always, thanks for checking in, and get out there in the forums and let us hear from you! View the full article

Thomas White, the top prospect in the Miami Marlins organization, will likely miss the remainder of the 2026 season due to a left capsular shoulder sprain, the club announced on Friday. This deflating news comes three weeks after White's most recent start. He has been on Triple-A Jacksonville's injured list ever since. Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix previously acknowledged the injury, but downplayed its severity in an interview with MLB Network Radio. However, the updated timeline for his return is 12-16 weeks, so even in a best-case scenario, he won't make it back to AAA until September. Fish On First's No. 1 prospect, While is almost universally regarded as a top-25 overall MLB prospect. Across parts of four minor league seasons, he has posted a 2.81 ERA and 3.06 FIP in 214 ⅔ innings pitched while facing much older competition every step of the way. Between this and a season-opening oblique strain, White made only five starts for the Jumbo Shrimp and wasn't able to complete five innings in any of them. Had White been injury-free this season, the 21-year-old could have plausibly reached the majors by now. Miami's rotation is in complete disarray aside from Sandy Alcantara and Max Meyer. On Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays, Ryan Gusto will start the game with Tyler Phillips scheduled to piggyback him. Gusto will be the 12th different starter used by the Marlins; among MLB teams, only the Houston Astros have used more (13). White's rehab process will be closely monitored in our FOF injury tracker. View the full article

A couple of scary pitching injuries from Thursday's game resulted in one player going on the injured list. Left-handed reliever DL Hall was placed on the 15-day injured list by the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday with a left pectoral strain. Right-handed reliever Jake Woodford was designated for assignment. Coming up from Triple-A Nashville are right-handed reliever Craig Yoho and left-handed reliever Brian Fitzpatrick. The Brewers' 40-man roster now stands at 39. Apparently escaping anything serious was right-handed reliever Grant Anderson, who took a line drive off the bat of San Francisco Giants rookie slugger Bryce Eldridge off his right forearm that left seam marks on his skin. Hall left the game in the fifth inning after throwing a pitch. He had found a nice role in the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever, throwing 31 innings across 24 games with a 2.03 ERA. Hall has had issues with walks this season, sporting an unsightly 19% walk rate, while striking out 25.4%, his best mark since joining the Brewers before the 2024 season. Woodford was acquired by the Brewers from the Tampa Bay Rays the day before Opening Day. After signing a minor-league deal in the offseason, he had an upward mobility clause that would have forced the Rays to put him on their 40-man roster or be offered to other teams for the same purpose. The Brewers took a gamble on the veteran, who was mainly used in a mopup role over his 16 appearances, putting up a 6.94 ERA in 23⅓ innings. He had a 6.3% walk rate and 17.9% strikeout rate this year. Yoho is back in the majors after making his MLB debut last year with seven appearances. The changeup specialist had one blowup outing in his brief time up, covering four call-ups. That was allowing five runs in a game against the Chicago White Sox. In his other 7⅔ innings, he allowed two runs. Yoho had nine walks and seven strikeouts overall, with four walks coming against the White Sox. Fitzpatrick is up for the second time this season. He appeared in four games, including making his MLB debut April 29 vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. Fitzpatrick pitched a total of 5⅔ innings and had a 1.59 ERA with three walks and four strikeouts. View the full article

It's time to check back in with another New York Mets mock. The MLB Draft is just five weeks away. This class is as muddled as any I've covered, though it's plenty deep in talent. You can find our mock consensus board here. Let's check in on some player profiles it's currently mocking to the Mets with their first few picks in July. Mets Mock Draft: No. 27, Coleman Borthwick, RHP, South Walton HS, FL Borthwick is a physical monster out of South Carolina, built more like an NFL linebacker than a high school baseball player. Standing at 6'6, 255 pounds, he's an exciting two-way prospect, but most believe his future is on the mound. It's a slightly crossfire delivery which helps to create a more unusual angle for hitters as he strides down the mound. However it looks, there's a ton of quality in the stuff. Borthwick recently ran his fastball up to 100mph for the first time. It's a pitch that will sit 94-96 mph with plenty of run. It's paired with a quality slider, a pitch that might already be plus. It sits in the mid-80s with some sharp, late tilt. Borthwick has a changeup in the bank too, but it's been used sparingly to date. Borthwick has been a more effective strike thrower to date than you might expect from a frame his size and such an explosive arsenal. He's committed to Auburn but has T30 pick upside. Mets Mock Draft: No. 92, Will Gasparino, OF, UCLA If you want to lean into raw tools on the college side of the 2026 draft, there's no better place to look than Will Gasparino, who is finishing his collegiate career at UCLA (close to home) after a mixed two years at Texas. This is double plus raw power from the right side from a 6'6 frame. The problem for Gasparino is there wasn't enough of a hit tool to go with it in his first two collegiate seasons. It's a longer swing, but the staff at UCLA have him on plane earlier and have quieted down his lower half, work that has unlocked a much better version of Gasparino in 2026. He's hit over .300 through in his junior season (a 40-50 point increase from his first two seasons), with 20 home runs and a reduced strikeout rate. There's strong supplementary tools here, too. Gasparino has an above-average arm and once he gets going, has above-average speed too. It's a power-reliant corner outfield profile who could be a monster if he hits enough at the next level. View the full article

Welcome to Shape of the Blue Jays, my column where I dig into Statcast numbers to analyze recent pitch shape and swing shape trends for Toronto Blue Jays players and discuss how they have impacted their performance. Click here to read the last edition. Quick Hits: Welcome Back Desperate for anyone who can cover innings, the Blue Jays got the recently-DFA'd Simeon Woods Richardson from the Twins for cash considerations earlier this week. The Jays first acquired Woods Richardson from the Mets in the Marcus Stroman trade and later sent him to Minnesota in the José Berríos trade. He was a serviceable back-end starter in 2025, but 2026 has been an utter disaster for him so far (7.74 ERA, 5.86 xERA, 5.90 xFIP, 0.4% K-BB). SWR returns to the Blue Jays with an over-the-top delivery, a high-carry mid-90s fastball, a mid-to-high 80s splitter, a mid-80s gyro slider, and a show-me two-plane curveball. I wonder if we're going to see Pete Walker and company help him experiment with some things. None of his pitches grade out well according to stuff models, he hasn't missed any bats this year, and his command has faltered lately too. He's only 25, so it's an interesting reclamation project, but opponents are slugging over .600 against the splitter, which he first introduced last year after coming up with a changeup. Neither the slider nor the splitter seems to tunnel well with the fastball, and his old changeup had virtually no separation from the heater in the first place. Whether it's a change in arm angle or repertoire, or he can discover a new pitch grip, here's hoping he can get back on track with Toronto because they need healthy pitchers urgently. Nathan Lukes The beat goes on for Nathan Lukes, whose late-April momentum was not disrupted by the hamstring pull that sent him to the IL. He's slashing .455/.526/.606 since his return, and he hit his first homer of the season on Wednesday in Atlanta. This season, he has shifted his attack direction a couple degrees toward the pull side and moved a touch farther back in the box, and he's catching the ball just a little farther out front in front of his body. This is having a positive effect on his batted ball profile, as he's trading groundballs for line drives and pulling more, especially in the air. Nathan Lukes Batted Ball Profile, 2025-26 Year GB% FB% Pull% Pull Air% 2025 46.7% 23.4% 31.7% 14.2% 2026 41.3% 20.0% 37.3% 22.7% For a guy with elite bat-to-ball and without threatening bat speed or exit velocities, it's imperative to optimize the distribution of batted balls. Lukes's power numbers should see a slight bump with this series of minor adjustments, which makes his sparkling contact and strikeout rates play up even more. In a season where everybody from the Blue Jays' logjam of lefty-hitting outfielders has struggled to truly rise head-and-shoulders above the pack, Lukes is continuing to get it done. Chad Dallas Chad Dallas earned the win in a successful big-league debut during the series finale against the Braves (3.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 K, 2 BB). His unique ability to spin the ball was on full display, as 93% of the pitches he threw were cutters, sweepers, and curveballs. The sweeper returned a beautiful 44% swing-and-miss rate, and it was also in the zone more than any of his other pitch types. It averaged 84 mph, 1.8" of drop, and 14.9" of glove-side movement, slightly less cut than we saw with the minor league ball. Still, this combination of drop and glove-side action is hard to find. It's little wonder he threw it 50% of the time to righties. per Baseball Savant To lefties, he leaned on the cutter-curveball combination. He struggled with his cutter command, as its 33% zone rate is more typical for secondary pitches with tons of movement, but it did generate plenty of weak contact. Overall, Dallas induced 11 batted balls, only four of which were hard-hit. An outlier movement profile like this might give him a little more margin for error in terms of location, even though he lacks velocity. Note: The Blue Jays optioned Dallas this afternoon to activate Woods Richardson. Charles McAdoo Charles McAdoo is 3-for-11 with two singles and a homer in his first taste of big league action. Baseball America gave McAdoo 55-grade raw power and 50-grade running, but only a 30-grade hit tool, in their preseason report. As I discussed on the Jays Centre podcast, however, he crept up the Jays' prospect rankings after a strong start to the season that saw him sacrifice some power for a more well-rounded offensive profile. This tradeoff isn't always worth it, but for someone like McAdoo, who had substantial swing-and-miss issues in the minors, it seems like the right move. Charles McAdoo Swing Mechanics, 2026 Bat Speed Swing Length Contact Point vs Center of Mass Stance Angle Attack Angle Attack Direction 71.8 7' 22.7" 14° close 4° 6° oppo His combination of average bat speed with a shorter-than-average swing makes for a more explosive bat than bat speed alone might indicate. By closing himself off and letting the ball travel more than most hitters (league-average contact point is about 6" farther out front than this), he gives himself a better chance to make contact (92.3% zone contact so far). It'll make him more prone to grounders, but more than half of his batted balls have been hard-hit. So far, the adjustment has been worth making. All stats entering June 5, 2026. View the full article

The return of Simeon Woods Richardson to the Toronto Blue Jays is official. The Jays on Friday added Woods Richardson to the 26-man roster and demoted right-handed starter Chad Dallas to Triple-A Buffalo after a nice MLB debut the day before. Woods Richardson was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the second round in 2018, then dealt to the Jays at the 2019 trade deadline in the Marcus Stroman deal. Two years later, Woods Richardson was on the move again as the Jays shipped him to the Minnesota Twins in a trade-deadline move to acquire right-hander Jose Berrios. Just a few days ago, after being designated for assignment by the Twins, Woods Richardson was reacquired by the Jays in a cash transaction. While he has the tools to be a good piece in a starting rotation, he has struggled in 2026. In 10 starts and two relief appearances with the Twins, Woods Richardson had a 6.17 FIP (7.74 ERA) over 47⅔ innings with a .330 opponent batting average. His walk rate is up (11% this year, 9.5% career), while his strikeouts have been down remarkably (11.5%, 19.7%). How Woods Richardson eventually fits into the Jays' pitching staff is yet to be determined, but he figures to initially begin in a relief role. Dallas, meanwhile, was only expected to get the one appearance after being called up Thursday to make his MLB debut. And it went very well for the 25-year-old, who was the bulk guy behind opener Mason Fluharty in Thursday's 7-2 win over Atlanta. Dallas went 3⅔ innings, allowing one run on two hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts. View the full article

There might not be much in the way of immediate help in the pitching pipeline for the San Diego Padres, but a little bit further down the ladder, there are a handful of arms who could one day be playing big roles for the Friars. In May, a few took their games to another level. Ranking Padres' Best Minor-League Pitchers In May Honorable Mention: Carson Montgomery, RHP, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps May stats: 1-1, 1.86 ERA, 4 games (all starts), 19⅓ IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 HR, 11 BB, 20 K, .152 opponent average The 23-year-old right-handed starter could have easily made the top three a sweep by the TinCaps' pitching staff. Montgomery is the Thursday starter and opened the month with two five-inning starts in which he didn't allow a run and a combined five hits. That followed his last start in April of another five scoreless innings. A 16-inning scoreless streak came to an end in the first inning of his May 21 start, but he allowed just that run over five innings. His final outing of May was a little rockier, giving up three runs on just two hits in 4⅓ innings as he issued five walks. For the season, Montgomery has a 1.98 ERA with a 12.2% walk rate and 22.4% strikeout rate. Honorable Mention: Andrew Moore, RHP, Double-A San Antonio Missions May stats: 0-0, 2.79 ERA, 8 games (all relief), 9⅔ IP, 2 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 10 BB, 22 K, 0.65 opponent average The 26-year-old right-hander was a rock in the Missions' bullpen in May. In six of his eight appearances, Moore didn't allow a run and in another, the two runs he surrendered were unearned. His only blip was three runs in one-third of an inning May 22 vs. Frisco in which he issued four of his nine walks for the month, giving him seven in back-to-back outings. He was acquired when the Padres dealt infielder-outfielder Connor Joe to the Cincinnati Reds on May 9, 2025. No. 3: Jesus Castro, RHP, Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm May stats: 0-1, 2.33 ERA, 4 games (all starts), 19⅓ IP, 21 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 27 K, .284 opponent average The 18-year-old right-handed starter was a strikeout machine in May, fanning 27 in 19⅓ innings over four appearances with the Storm. That included a career-high nine on May 13 against Rancho Cucamonga and came after a seven-strikeout performance to open the month. He went 5⅔ innings in each of those games. He had an eight-strikeout game in 2025 in the Dominican Summer League, where he recorded 46 in 43⅓ innings. The younger brother of Padres prospect right-hander Manuel Castro, currently on the 60-day injured list with Double-A San Antonio, Castro had back-to-back shutout starts, one of 5⅔ in that nine-strikeout showing vs. Rancho Cucamonga and then four innings against Visalia on May 20. He walked three in those two games, but didn't issue a walk in his other two starts, in which he gave up a combined five runs. Signed as international free agent out of Mexico in January 2025, Castro's walk and strikeout rates with the Storm are just a notch worse than they were in his debut season in the DSL. In 2025, he had a walk rate of 5.9% and a strikeout rate of 27.1%. This year, those marks are 8.2% and 24.7%. He does allow a few too many hits, though; his opponent batting average for May was .284, which included giving up a season-high seven hits against Rancho Cucamonga, and that number is .281 for the season. It was .194 last year. No. 2: Clay Edmondson, RHP, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps May stats: 1-1, 0.00 ERA, 9 games (all relief), 7 saves, 8 chances, 11⅓ IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 20 K The 22-year-old right-handed closer has been one of the most efficient relievers in the minors this season. Of his eight May appearances, he didn't allow a run in seven outings, with the other being two unearned runs for a 0.00 ERA. He had two four-out saves in which all four outs were recorded via strikeouts. This came after an April in which he allowed one earned run (two runs total) in eight appearances. For the season, Edmondson's ERA sits at a dazzling 0.43 with a .120 opponent batting average and 0.76 WHIP. In addition to his 20 strikeouts over 11⅓ innings in May, he walked four. For the month, he not only had a pristine ERA, but a .094 opponent average and 0.64 WHIP. Edmondson's lone May game in which he allowed a run came May 13 vs. Cedar Rapids thanks to a leadoff grounder that was booted. He then gave up a one-out double and struck out the next batter, but a passed ball allowed him to reach and put runners on the corners. That set up a walk-off sacrifice fly. That was his only blown save in eight chances in May. He is 10-for-11 for the season in saves. He picked up his first win of the season in Friday's 9-8 win over South Bend, going two innings for the third time this season and striking out three. A 14th-round draft choice last year out of North Carolina-Asheville, Edmondson made just seven relief appearances at Low-A Lake Elsinore in his pro debut, walking five and striking out 11 over 12⅔ innings for a 4.26 ERA. No. 1: Kash Mayfield, LHP, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps May stats: 2-0, 3.79 ERA, 5 games (all starts), 19 IP, 8 R, 8 ER, 9 BB, 24 K It says a lot about your month when you can cough up six earned runs in one-third of an inning and the numbers still look really good. Mayfield had a rough outing in a 9-8 win over South Bend, giving up those six runs one three hits and two walks while just getting one out, the first batter he faced in his start. Three of those runs came in when the next batter after he left the game smacked a grand slam, but Mayfield had thrown 32 pitches, a high number for any single inning. That was by far Padres Mission's No. 2 prospect's worst outing of his brief pro career. He had allowed three runs in three of his first five career outings, then in his final start of 2025 and just once this year on April 24. That outing was just one of three in nine starts this year that Mayfield has allowed an earned run, so chalking this one up as an anomaly is pretty easy to do. MAYFIELD_VIDEO_0531.mp4 His previous three outings were all five shutout innings after beginning the month with two runs in 3⅔ innings. This month also included matching his career high with nine strikeouts in a game and the highest two-game total in his 28 career starts. On May 15 on the road against Cedar Rapids, he fanned nine to match his best total. He followed that up May 22 at home vs. Dayton when he punched out exactly eight for the second time this season and third time in his career. Mayfield represents the future for Padres pitching (unless the front office decides to empty the farm system before the trade deadline) and is looking like the front-end starter they imagined when they took him in the first round in 2024. View the full article

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Despite being nine games under .500, the Boston Red Sox are looking to improve their lineup for a second-half push to the postseason. Although they currently sit 11 games out of the division lead, they are just 3.5 games out of a playoff spot in the Wild Card race. Buster Olney of ESPN is reporting that the Red Sox "are looking to add a right-handed bat and willing to spend money to do it." The Red Sox have had one of the worst lineups this year in large part due to some of their right-handed bats, such as Caleb Durbin, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Connor Wong (albeit the sample is small), and Trevor Story. Of course, it's not likely that they will find a solution to their woes at this juncture in the season. The hot stove has its pilot light on, but it has yet to ignite. Moreover, since the Wild Card expanded to three teams, it takes longer for teams to determine their path and buyers and sellers, and there are typically fewer teams willing to sell. Who do you think the Red Sox should pursue? Join the conversation in the comments! View the full article

It was indeed a minimum stay on the injured list for Edward Cabrera. The Chicago Cubs activated the right-hander in time to start Friday's series opener against the San Francisco Giants. Cabrera had been on the 15-day injured list due to a blister in his right middle finger. Right-handed reliever Tyler Ferguson was sent down to Triple-A Iowa. Cabrera developed the blister in his May 20 start vs. the Milwaukee Brewers in which he lasted just three innings and allowed four runs (one earned) in a 5-0 loss. Cabrera has a 4.00 ERA in 10 starts and 54 innings, with an 8.8% walk rate and 20.7% strikeout rate. While his walk rate is about 3 percentage points better than his career number (11.4%), his strikeouts are down to 20.7% from 25.4 for his career. Ferguson was called up Tuesday, but didn't appear in a game in his brief stay with the Cubs. He did appear in one game in the majors this year, May 5 with the A's, who then designated him for assignment and was scooped up by the Cubs. View the full article

As he does multiple times each year, Miami Marlins insider Craig Mish joins Fish Unfiltered to analyze the current state of the organization. Mish, AJ Ramos and Isaac Azout discuss the Marlins' chances of staying in National League postseason contention and potential approach to the MLB trade deadline, Joe Mack's superb defense, Max Meyer's breakout year, the clock ticking on Christopher Morel, the recent additions of two families to Bruce Sherman's ownership group, and how social media has empowered fans to constantly complain about managerial moves. You can find Fish Unfiltered and Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. During Mish's first season with Marlins.TV, he has been utilized as both a studio host and in-game reporter. A Marlins.TV subscription costs $19.99 per month or $74.99 total for the remainder of the 2026 season. View the full article

The top of the 2026 Draft Class is heavy with position player prospects. Jackson Flora out of UC Santa Barbara leads the way among pitchers in this year's class, but is he good enough for the Twins to take a flyer on with the third overall pick when the position players provide much more upside? View the full article

On Thursday at Fenway Park, Brayan Bello threw five innings, allowed seven hits, eight earned runs, walked three and struck out four. He was optioned to Triple-A Worcester later that same night. It was not the first time Baltimore had done this to him: back in April, the Orioles tagged him for 13 hits and five home runs in a single start. Thursday’s nightmare began in the first inning. Taylor Ward opened the game with a double on the very first pitch and scored on Adley Rutschman’s first-inning single. Leody Taveras drove in the second run with another base hit. Then came Coby Mayo, whose bases-clearing double broke the game open in one swing: three runs, a 5-0 score. Ward capped the inning with a single that brought Mayo home for the sixth run. Six runs. Twelve batters. Forty pitches. An inning that said everything. Bello managed to get through four more innings, but the damage had already been done. In the fifth, Baltimore added two more runs — a Samuel Basallo double and a Colton Cowser sacrifice fly — extending the lead to 8-0, which proved more than enough. Afterward, Bello said he felt healthy, that his mentality was the same whether he was starting or relieving, and that he was simply going through a bad season. That was all. And while the frustration in his voice was genuine, the numbers tell a much more specific story than simply “a bad season.” Through eight starts in 2026, Bello owns a 16.88 ERA in the first inning. As a bulk reliever in May (entering after an opener, with the game already underway) he posted a 0.71 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP across 25⅓ innings. Yet his overall ERA sits at 5.63. His xERA is 5.96. This is not bad luck. The quality of contact he is allowing explains nearly all of the damage. The biggest change, and the most obvious place to start, is the cutter. The Whiff Rate by Zone maps from 2025 and 2026 tell the story with brutal clarity. In 2025, Bello dominated the inner part of the strike zone with that pitch. He generated a 21.7% whiff rate in the lower-middle portion of the zone, 15.6% in the heart of the plate and 14.3% on the inner-middle edge. Outside the zone, toward the left-handed batter’s side, the numbers climbed to 66.7% up and 65.0% down. It was a pitch with teeth everywhere. The 2026 map is an entirely different world. The top row inside the strike zone shows 0.0%, 0.0% and 0.0%. Three consecutive zones at zero. It is not that Bello is throwing fewer cutters there — it is that when he throws them, hitters simply do not miss. They know exactly what to do with them. The area that belonged to him in 2025 is now no-man’s land. And the contact generated there has been devastating: opponents are slugging .833 against the cutter with a .480 wOBA so far this season. What makes the picture even more frustrating is that the 2026 chart still shows hot zones, but they are outside the strike zone. Off the plate against left-handed hitters, the cutter is generating whiff rates of 50.0%, 100.0% and 62.5%. The pitch still dominates in those areas. Bello already has the answer within the same offering; he is simply looking for it in the wrong place. Pitch BA SLG wOBA Whiff% Uso% Sweeper .130 .130 .117 19.2% 11.4% Sinker .314 .410 .366 16.9% 43.0% Changeup .263 .368 .274 30.7% 15.5% Cutter .361 .833 .480 45.5% 16.9% Four Seamer .600 .867 .646 14.3% 6.3% The table says everything Bello does not want to hear. His most dominant pitch is the one he throws the least. The pitch allowing the most damage is his second-most-used offering. And the four-seam fastball, despite an .867 slugging percentage against it, continues to appear in 6.3% of his pitches for no obvious reason. The league adjusted. He still has not. Opponents’ Pull% against Bello jumped from 39.9% in 2025 to 51.3% in 2026. More than half of all contact is now being hit to the batter’s pull side. Pull AIR% (the rate of pulled fly balls allowed) rose from 15.7% to 23.1%. When a pitcher reaches a 51% pull rate, the signal is unmistakable: hitters know where the ball is headed before it leaves his hand. They are anticipating locations, getting the barrel out earlier and lifting the baseball with intent. That directly explains why Bello’s HR/FB% nearly doubled in a single year, rising from 10.3% to 18.5%. If all of that isn't enough to understand his demotion back to the minors, then we need to discuss the paradox that may best summarize his season. His SwStr% climbed from 8.6% in 2025 to 11.4% in 2026. More swings and misses. On paper, that should be an improvement. But when opponents make contact, they are making harder contact. His Barrel% increased from 7.1% to 9.7%. His solid-contact rate rose from 5.0% to 7.2%. His Topped% and Weak% both declined. Bello is generating less weak contact than at any point in recent seasons. His profile has become binary: either the hitter misses completely, or he drives the ball with authority. The middle ground — the soft ground ball, the harmless pop-up — has virtually disappeared. And in baseball, that middle ground is precisely what separates a solid pitcher from one living on the edge of disaster in every count. He is 27 years old, the age when pitchers are supposed to establish themselves. Instead, he is heading in the opposite direction, toward Worcester, searching for something he lost or trying to understand something he never realized was changing. View the full article

It's time to check back in with another Twins mock. The MLB Draft is just five weeks away. This class is as muddled as any I've covered, though it's plenty deep in talent. You can find our consensus board here. Let's check in on some player profiles it's currently mocking to the Twins with their first few picks in July At #3, the Twins Select Vahn Lackey, Catcher, Georgia Tech Every draft cycle seems to produce 2-3 first-round catchers, most of whom have warts offensively, defensively, or both. Georgia Tech's Vahn Lackey may be the most complete college catcher in recent seasons and has been the name with the most helium associated with it in the early going in 2026. Lackey entered 2026 viewed as an excellent defensive catcher, with athleticism uncommon for the position, in addition to having strong bat-to-ball skills. He continues to look excellent behind the plate, with good receiving and blocking skills, an excellent arm and strong pop and transfer times. Offensively, his power has taken a step forward. After hitting 6 home runs in 60 games in 2025, he has 9 in his first 25 in 2026, with more walks than strikeouts, adding a high on-base floor to his profile. He'll need to continue to prove it in conference play, but a continuation of his early-season improvements will push Lackey into top-5 consideration due to the completeness of his skill sets on both sides of the ball. At #43, the Twins Select Archer Horn, SS/RHP, St. Ignatius College Prep, CA Horn is a two-way prospect out of Northern California, currently committed to Stanford. He's a talented pitcher who has been up to 95 mph with his fastball, also mixing in a good changeup and a solid curveball that has strong spin traits. Most evaluators think his future is as a hitter, however. In the box, Horn has good bat speed, barrel feel, and demonstrates the ability to consistently generate loft in his left-handed swing. I think he'll eventually be a power over hit profile, but he currently has the potential to be at least solid average in both tools. Defensively, it's likely he moves off shortstop eventually, but he has a future on the first at second or third base. His commitment to Stanford, and his placement on the board in the 40-60 range generate some skepticism around his signability. Riojas pitched for two seasons at UTSA prior to transferring to Texas. He's continued to take steps forward in his two seasons with the Longhorns, capped by an excellent 2026 season. At #74, the Twins Select Ruger Riojas, RHP, Texas Riojas is undersized for a starter at 6'0, 195 pounds. He'll also be 23 on draft day, one of the older prospects selected in the entire class. His fastball sits 94-96 mph with good carry and will peak at 97-98 mph. It's backed up by a splitter that sits in the mid 80s, a cutter, a sweeper and a curveball to round out a well-developed arsenal. Riojas has a strikeout rate north of 35% heading into the end of the regular season, combined with an impressive 5.2% walk rate. He'll be drafted in the first 3 rounds as a priority senior sign that will allow an organization some financial flexibility with other early picks. At #79, the Twins Select Taylor Rabe, RHP, Ole Miss Taylor Rabe is a 6’5, right-handed pitcher for Ole’ Miss, who has been a significant late riser on draft boards down the stretch of the 2026 season. After blowing out his elbow in his senior year of high school, he made it to campus and spent his 2024 season recovering from TJ surgery. Rabe transitioned into a starting role in 2026, after functioning primarily as a reliever his sophomore season. Entering Super Regional play, he’s logged a career high 63.1 innings, posting a strikeout rate north of 34%, while managing a 3.82 FIP, an excellent mark given the quality of the competition he’s facing regularly. Rabe has an excellent fastball that sits 95-97 mph but has touched triple digits. It’s primarily complemented by a cutter (86 mph), a slider (82 mph), and a changeup (87 mph), giving Rabe a solid four pitch mix with which to transition into pro ball. There’s excellent strike throwing here. Rabe has walked just 3.8% of hitters in 2026. That’s actually up from 2025 (2.5%) and he gets good extension down the mound. There’s a ton of starter traits here, and I like Rabe a ton to polish up his arsenal and optimize his approach with an offseason in a pro system under his belt. The arrow is firmly up here. View the full article

According to The Athletic's Mitch Bannon, Sean Keys has earned a promotion. Thanks to his hot start for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Jays Centre's No. 10 prospect will soon join the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Keys, 23, leads all Blue Jays minor leaguers with 14 home runs and 43 runs scored in 2026. He's hitting .285 with 23 extra-base hits, a 13.4% walk rate, a .993 OPS, and a 158 wRC+. No Double-A batter (min. 200 PA) has a higher OPS or wRC+. The corner infielder has also stolen six bases through 49 games; he only stole eight in 119 contests last season. Jays Centre chose Keys as our Minor League Hitter of the Month in April. He slowed down a bit in mid-May, but over the past two weeks, he's hit .317 with a 1.111 OPS and 185 wRC+. While he's only been with New Hampshire for two months, it already looks like he's ready to face the next level of competition. The Blue Jays selected Keys in the fourth round of the 2024 draft. You can read more about him on Jays Centre's top prospects page. View the full article

Chicago Cubs Transactions No Roster Moves Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs game was postponed. Garriola's Grand Slam Powers Smokies Past Barons The Knoxville Smokies jumped on the Birmingham Barons early and never trailed in a 6-2 win. Knoxville scored five times in the bottom of the first. Andy Garriola provided the blow, a grand slam to left field that drove in four runs and scored Alex Ramirez, Jefferson Rojas, and Owen Ayers. Ed Howard added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to score Carter Trice. Knoxville tacked on in the third when Howard doubled to left to bring home Trice again. Connor Schultz turned in the start, working four innings and allowing one run on three hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. Evan Taylor followed with two scoreless innings, allowing no hits with one walk and three strikeouts to pick up the win and improve to 2-0. Jefferson Rojas collected two hits and stole two bases, and Carter Trice added two hits and scored twice along with a key defensive play in the 7th: Player AB R H RBI BB K Alex Ramirez 4 1 1 0 0 1 Jefferson Rojas 4 1 2 0 0 0 Owen Ayers 3 1 1 0 1 1 Andy Garriola 4 1 1 4 0 1 Ethan Hearn 4 0 0 0 0 2 Carter Trice 4 2 2 0 0 2 Cameron Sisneros 4 0 1 0 0 2 Ed Howard 3 0 1 2 0 2 Hayden Cantrelle 4 0 1 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Connor Schultz 4 3 1 1 0 7 1 Evan Taylor 2 0 0 0 1 3 0 Vince Reilly 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 Frankie Scalzo Jr. 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 South Bend Lets Lead Slip Away in Loss to River Bandits The South Bend Cubs took an early lead but could not hold it in a 4-3 loss at Quad Cities. After falling behind 2-0 in the second, South Bend answered in the third. Christian Olivo doubled to left to score Alex Madera, and Ty Southisene followed by grounding into a force out that brought home Olivo, with a throwing error on the play keeping the inning alive. South Bend took the lead in the fourth when Madera singled to score Jose Escobar. The River Bandits rallied back, tying the game in the sixth and pushing across the go-ahead run in the seventh. Cole Reynolds worked four innings in the start, allowing two runs, both earned, on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Ben Johnson followed with three innings, charged with two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one, and took the loss to fall to 1-1. Kenten Egbert closed with a scoreless inning. Madera and Olivo each had multi-hit days, and Olivo drove in the lone South Bend RBI. South Bend left three runners on base. Escobar made an impressive fielding playing in the 4th to add some positivity toe the recap. Player AB R H RBI BB K Kane Kepley 2 0 0 0 2 1 Ty Southisene 4 0 0 0 0 0 Josiah Hartshorn 4 0 1 0 0 2 Matt Halbach 4 0 0 0 0 3 Jose Escobar 4 1 1 0 0 1 Drew Bowser 4 0 0 0 0 1 Alex Madera 3 1 2 0 0 1 Dilan Granadillo 3 0 0 0 0 1 Christian Olivo 3 1 1 1 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Cole Reynolds 4 3 2 2 3 4 0 Ben Johnson 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 Kenten Egbert 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Melendez Drives In Three, but Pelicans Fall at Charleston The Myrtle Beach Pelicans collected 11 hits but could not overcome Charleston in a 9-5 loss. Myrtle Beach led early, scoring in the first when Yahil Melendez walked with the bases loaded to bring home Eli Lovich, and again in the third when Melendez doubled to left to score Logan Poteet. The RiverDogs answered with a three-run third and a four-run sixth to pull away. Myrtle Beach kept battling, adding a run in the seventh on Poteet's double and two more in the ninth on Michael Carico's home run and another Melendez double. Hayden Frank made the start and took the loss, dropping to 2-3 after allowing three runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts over three innings. David Bracho was tagged for five runs, two earned, on five hits across two innings. Poteet had three hits, and Melendez added two hits and three RBI. Myrtle Beach left 11 runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Darlyn De Leon 5 0 0 0 0 1 Eli Lovich 3 2 1 0 2 0 Logan Poteet 5 1 3 1 0 2 Michael Carico 5 1 2 1 0 1 Derniche Valdez 4 1 2 0 1 2 Yahil Melendez 4 0 2 3 1 0 Geuri Lubo 3 0 0 0 1 1 Jairo Diaz 4 0 1 0 0 2 Edward Vargas 3 0 0 0 1 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Hayden Frank 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 Henry Cone 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 David Bracho 2 5 5 2 3 2 0 Riely Hunsaker 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Jefferson Rojas: 2-for-4, 2 SB Jaxon Wiggins: DNP Pedro Ramirez: DNP Kevin Alcantara: DNP Josiah Hartshorn: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 K Ethan Conrad: DNP Kane Kepley: 0-for-2, 2 BB, K Jonathon Long: DNP James Triantos: DNP Cole Mathis: DNP Owen Ayers: 1-for-3, BB, K Brooks Caple: DNP Juan Cabada: DNP Kaleb Wing: DNP Angel Cepeda: DNP Dominick Reid: DNP Jostin Florentino: DNP Ty Southisene: 0-for-4 Will Sanders: DNP Brandon Birdsell: DNP View the full article