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Francisco Lindor has been at the center of reported teammate conflicts during his time with the New York Mets, most notably with Jeff McNeil and Juan Soto. Lindor and his teammates have consistently downplayed them as minor disagreements fueled by the stresses of losing seasons. During the 2026 off-season, the Mets cleaned house with hopes these issues were gone and the team would excel, but so far the Mets have not met expectations, which leads to the question of whether Lindor is the leader the Mets clubhouse needs? View the full article

Asbel Gonzalez homered in a 3-for-4 night with three RBI as Quad Cities pounded Wisconsin 14-7, with Blake Mitchell adding a homer and Emmanuel Reyes earning the win over five innings. Columbia fell 7-6 in a walk-off, with Josh Hammond's two-run double building a lead the bullpen could not hold. Omaha lost 5-1 to Louisville despite Aaron Sanchez's five strong innings, with Kameron Misner's RBI double providing the lone run. Northwest Arkansas was postponed. Royals Transactions Kansas City Royals signed free agent LHP Anthony Gose to a minor league contract. Kansas City Royals recalled RHP Luinder Avila from Omaha Storm Chasers. Kansas City Royals optioned RHP Eli Morgan to Omaha Storm Chasers. Misner Double Provides Omaha's Only Run In 5-1 Loss Aaron Sanchez gave the Storm Chasers five innings on the mound, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out four and walking one in a 5-1 loss to Louisville. Two hits with two outs in the third inning, an RBI single and an RBI double, gave the Bats a 2-1 lead they never relinquished. Omaha had jumped on top in the bottom of the first. Tyler Tolbert led off with a single, advanced on a groundout, and scored on Kameron Misner's RBI double for a 1-0 lead. The lineup never threatened again, finishing with four hits and stranding only four runners. Out of the bullpen, Jose Cuas covered two innings and gave up only a solo home run while striking out three. Steven Cruz worked one inning and allowed three hits and two earned runs. Helcris Olivárez closed the night with a scoreless inning, two walks, and a strikeout. Misner went 1-for-4 with the run-scoring double. Drew Waters and Luca Tresh added singles, while Tolbert reached and scored from the leadoff spot. Gavin Cross drew a walk. Beyond Misner's first-inning extra-base hit, Omaha could not move another runner into scoring position. Louisville padded the lead with a sixth-inning solo home run and a two-run single in the eighth to push the margin to four. Player AB R H RBI BB K Tyler Tolbert (2B) 4 1 1 0 0 0 John Rave (CF) 4 0 0 0 0 1 Kameron Misner (DH) 4 0 1 1 0 0 Drew Waters (RF) 4 0 1 0 0 1 Luca Tresh (C) 4 0 1 0 0 2 Josh Rojas (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 Abraham Toro (1B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 Gavin Cross (LF) 2 0 0 0 1 1 Dustin Dickerson (SS) 3 0 0 0 0 3 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Aaron Sanchez (L) 5 5 2 2 1 4 0 Jose Cuas 2 1 1 1 1 3 1 Steven Cruz 1 3 2 2 0 0 0 Helcris Olivárez 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 Northwest Arkansas: Postponed The Naturals' game was postponed. Gonzalez Homer And Three RBI Power Bandits' 14-7 Romp At Wisconsin Asbel Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI as the Quad Cities River Bandits ran past the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 14-7. Gonzalez delivered run-scoring singles in the fourth and fifth innings, then capped his night with a solo home run to left center in the seventh. Blake Mitchell added a two-run home run in the fifth and finished 1-for-4 with two RBI, three runs scored, and a walk. Emmanuel Reyes earned the win with five innings of work, surrendering two hits and one earned run while striking out three and walking two. Jacob Widener walked four and gave up two earned runs without finishing the sixth. L.P. Langevin steadied things with 1 2/3 innings of no-hit relief, four strikeouts, and one walk. Ryan Ure was charged with four runs without recording an out in the eighth, allowing four hits and a walk. Dash Albus closed with two scoreless innings, three strikeouts, and one walk. The Bandits broke the game open in the fifth, scoring four runs to take a 10-1 lead. Gonzalez's two-run single put it at 8-1, and Mitchell followed with a two-run home run. Luke Pelzer drove in four on an RBI groundout in the third, a two-run single in the fourth, and a ninth-inning sacrifice fly. Nolan Sailors reached four times from the leadoff spot with a triple and three walks. Derlin Figueroa added a double, two hits, two runs scored, and an RBI. Quad Cities collected 13 hits and stranded 10 runners. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nolan Sailors (RF) 3 2 1 0 3 2 Asbel Gonzalez (CF) 4 3 3 3 1 1 Blake Mitchell (DH) 4 3 1 2 1 3 Ramon Ramirez (C) 4 1 2 0 2 0 Luke Pelzer (LF) 4 1 1 4 1 1 Austin Charles (SS) 6 1 1 0 0 1 Derlin Figueroa (3B) 4 2 2 1 1 1 Jose Cerice (1B) 5 0 1 1 0 1 Tyriq Kemp (2B) 4 1 1 1 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Emmanuel Reyes (W) 5 2 1 1 2 3 0 Jacob Widener 0 1/3 0 2 2 4 1 0 L.P. Langevin 1 2/3 0 0 0 1 4 0 Ryan Ure 0 4 4 4 1 0 0 Dash Albus 2 0 0 0 1 3 0 Hammond Double Wasted As Fireflies Fall 7-6 In Walk-Off The Columbia Fireflies took a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning, but a four-run rally over the next two frames sent Myrtle Beach to a 7-6 walk-off victory. Columbia had pushed across four runs in the top of the seventh, two on a Pelicans throwing error and two more on Josh Hammond's run-scoring double, to overturn a one-run deficit and take command. The lead did not last. In the home seventh, Jhon Reyes gave up two hits, walked three, and allowed three earned runs as the Pelicans tied the game at six on a two-run single. Brandon Herbold yielded the eventual winner an inning later on a one-out double that scored a runner from first. Jordan Woods opened with four innings of three-hit work, surrendering two earned runs on a pair of solo home runs in the second and striking out six. Randy Ramnarace allowed one earned run on a fifth-inning solo home run across two innings, walking four. Reyes was charged with three earned runs over his one inning. Herbold took the loss with one inning, two hits, two walks, two strikeouts, and one earned run. Hammond finished 1-for-4 with two RBI and a walk. Henry Ramos went 1-for-5 from the leadoff spot, scoring twice. Hyungchan Um drove in a run with a third-inning single. Daniel Lopez reached three times with a double, a walk, and a stolen base. Roni Cabrera added a double. Columbia stranded eight runners. Player AB R H RBI BB K Henry Ramos (LF) 5 2 1 0 0 1 Sean Gamble (CF) 4 1 0 0 0 2 Josh Hammond (SS) 4 0 1 2 1 1 Hyungchan Um (C) 4 0 1 1 0 3 Yandel Ricardo (2B) 5 0 0 0 0 1 JC Vanek (1B) 3 0 1 0 1 1 Stone Russell (3B) 4 0 1 0 0 1 Roni Cabrera (DH) 3 1 1 0 1 0 Daniel Lopez (RF) 3 2 2 0 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jordan Woods 4 3 2 2 0 6 2 Randy Ramnarace 2 1 1 1 4 3 1 Jhon Reyes 1 2 3 3 3 1 0 Brandon Herbold (L) 1 2 1 1 2 2 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Carter Jensen: DNP Blake Mitchell: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 3 R David Shields: DNP Kendry Chourio: DNP Ben Kudrna: DNP Sean Gamble: 0-for-4, 2 K, 1 R Josh Hammond: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K Ramon Ramirez: 2-for-4, 2 BB, 1 R Drew Beam: DNP Asbel Gonzalez: 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 R Yandel Ricardo: 0-for-5, 1 K Felix Arronde: DNP Luinder Avila: DNP Daniel Vazquez: DNP Steven Zobac: DNP Carson Roccaforte: DNP Blake Wolters: DNP Michael Lombardi: DNP Warren Calcaño: DNP Frank Mozzicato: DNP View the full article

Stats in this article were updated prior to games on April 27. The question being asked by the Blue Jays as April turns to May isn’t whether Brendon Little can find the strike zone, it’s whether the organization realistically has a place for him anymore. Buffalo has done exactly what a Triple-A assignment is supposed to do for a broken reliever: It slowed the world down and stripped away the daily urgency of the major league bullpen carousel. Through eight games and 8.0 innings with the Bisons, Little has been statistically perfect where it counts most, posting a 4-0 record and a 0.00 ERA with 13 strikeouts. On paper, it is the "come and get me" performance fans expected. But the front office isn't just looking at the zeroes on the scoreboard. They’re looking at why those numbers didn't materialize with the big league squad. Little isn't a prospect anymore. At 29, the book on him is a manual on how to hit him. The Blue Jays did not option him lightly on April 5. They did it because the same problems that began in 2025 recreated themselves almost immediately in 2026. In his brief major league stint this year, the sinker didn't sink. It leaked back toward the middle of the plate. Statcast data from the Chicago series wasn’t great. His hard-hit rate was north of 50 percent, and his expected ERA over 7.00. When batters don’t bite on the knuckle curve, Little is forced to challenge with a fastball that, currently, is a magnet for barrels. Thirteen strikeouts in eight innings is dominant, sure, but the 1.25 WHIP in Buffalo tells a different story. He is still playing with fire. In Triple A, you can get away with a curveball that starts in the zone and tumbles out. Minor league hitters tend to flail. At the major league level, batters simply won’t offer at it. To understand why the Jays aren't rushing to call Little back, you just have to check fellow southpaw Joe Mantiply’s stat line so far. While Little dominates Triple-A hitters, Mantiply is providing the predictability the Jays need and crave. In 9 games at the MLB level this season, Mantiply has posted a 3.38 ERA over 10.2 innings with 15 strikeouts and a 1.22 WHIP. Mantiply’s two most recent outings, 1.2 scoreless innings against Cleveland on April 24 and another scoreless frame against Boston on April 27, are exactly the kind of stabilizing performances Little failed to provide during his difficult first week in Toronto, in which he allowed 10 earned runs in 3.2 innings. The path back for Little will get even narrower as more pitchers return from the injured list. Trey Yesavage’s return on Tuesday was initially set to push Eric Lauer back to the bullpen, until the Jays placed Max Scherzer on the IL. Lauer's rotation spot seems safe for now, but likely not forever. Lauer has been struggling a bit as a starter this season, posting a 6.75 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over five games. However, the club is banking on his 2025 success. He excelled as a reliever last season, particularly in September. His ERA over that final month was 3.00. If Lauer can be Toronto's left-handed innings eater in the 'pen, the structural need for Little will vanish. The roster math is even colder. Little has one minor league option year left. With the bullpen getting healthy and teams starting to contemplate the trade deadline, the Jays need predictability. His remaining years of team control make him an asset (he's eligible for arbitration through 2030), but it also makes him the path of least resistance when a roster spot is needed for a fresh arm. For Little to force his way back, he needs to do more than post zeroes against Triple-A hitters. He needs to prove he can finish righties without relying on a sinker they have already timed. Until the quality of contact metrics catch up to the strikeout totals, he remains a depth piece, valuable for an injury crisis, but no longer a pillar of the late-inning plan. He doesn't just need to be successful in Buffalo, he needs to be different. The internal debate regarding Little is not merely about a singular performance or a single missed location, but the makeup of the Jays’ bullpen. For a team that struggled with consistency in the early weeks of 2026, the arrival of stability is a welcome shift. Little’s performance in Buffalo is a testament to his resilience and stuff, yet it simultaneously highlights the ceiling he faces within the team's current roster setup. The team has clearly prioritized the reliability of Mantiply. His game is less about eye-popping strikeout numbers and more about pitch efficiency and tactical command. The Jays also have Mason Fluharty if they’re looking for someone to strike out the side every time they take the mound. Little is no longer a work in progress. At this stage, he is expected to be a finished product. Every pitch thrown, whether in the International League or the American League, is a data point in the ongoing assessment of his viability as a big league contributor. The Blue Jays' front office must be evaluating whether they can trust him to execute his game plan, or if they are simply hoping that he might defy the evidence of his own recent track record. There are just as many examples of pitchers who have lost their “stuff” to never find it as there are pitchers who found it again. Ultimately, the decision to keep Little in Triple A is not about his potential, but a reflection of the team’s current reality. His path back is not paved with pure statistical dominance against competition that is less equipped to punish his mistakes. Instead, it is a path that requires him to demonstrate an understanding of why his previous attempts failed and to make the necessary adjustments to prevent those same patterns from recurring. Until such time that the "eye test" matches the "stat sheet" in a way that suggests a return to his former confident self, he will continue to serve as the organization's high-ceiling depth piece. It is simply the business of baseball, where teams are constantly asking, what have you done for me lately? As May approaches, the spotlight on Little will intensify within the organization. His results and performance will need to speak for themselves. He needs to find the necessary adjustments to get back to the pitcher he was. Otherwise, his future might not be in a Jays uniform. View the full article

Syracuse pounded out 11 hits in a 10-4 rout of Lehigh Valley, with Cristian Pache and A.J. Ewing each going 3-for-4 and Christian Arroyo crushing a three-run homer in the first. Carlos Guzman earned the win with two and two-thirds scoreless innings. Binghamton was held hitless in a 6-0 shutout at New Hampshire. Brooklyn fell 6-2 at home to Frederick, with Antonio Jimenez stealing a base and Gregori Louis fanning one in a scoreless ninth. Mets Transactions New York Mets sent RHP Joey Gerber on a rehab assignment to Syracuse Mets. New York Mets placed RHP Kodai Senga on the 15-day injured list retroactive to April 27, 2026. Lumbar spine inflammation. New York Mets recalled RHP Christian Scott from Syracuse Mets. Arroyo's First-Inning Blast Powers Syracuse Past Lehigh Valley Syracuse jumped on Lehigh Valley early and never looked back, rolling to a 10-4 win behind an attack that produced 11 hits and three home runs. The Mets set the tone in the bottom of the first, when A.J. Ewing tripled to lead off, Nick Morabito reached on a hit-by-pitch, and Christian Arroyo drove a three-run homer to center field that staked Syracuse to a 3-0 lead. The IronPigs answered with a pair in the second and chipped away in the third and fourth, but Syracuse responded with single tallies in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to keep the lead. Starter Carlos Guzman set the tone on the mound, working two and two-thirds innings in which he allowed one hit, no runs, and one walk while striking out two to earn the win. Brandon Waddell took the longest turn but was tagged for three earned runs on five hits over three and one-third innings, surrendering a solo home run, walking one, and striking out three. Anderson Severino and Daniel Duarte finished the job with a clean inning apiece, fanning two between them. Cristian Pache stamped the night with a 3-for-4, three-run, one-RBI line that included a solo home run, while Ewing finished 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, two RBI, two runs scored, and a walk. Ryan Clifford added a solo homer and two RBI. Syracuse blew it open in the eighth on a two-run double by Ewing that scored Pache and Ben Rortvedt. Syracuse Hitting Player AB R H RBI BB K A.J. Ewing 4 2 3 2 1 0 Nick Morabito 2 1 0 0 2 0 Ryan Clifford 5 1 1 2 0 2 Christian Arroyo 4 1 2 3 0 1 Ji Hwan Bae 4 0 0 0 0 1 Vidal Bruján 4 0 1 0 0 0 Cristian Pache 4 3 3 1 0 0 Ben Rortvedt 3 1 1 0 1 0 Yonny Hernández 2 1 0 1 0 1 Syracuse Pitching Player IP H R ER BB K HR Carlos Guzman (W) 2 2/3 1 0 0 1 2 0 Joey Gerber 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 Brandon Waddell 3 1/3 5 4 3 1 3 1 Anderson Severino 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Daniel Duarte 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Binghamton Held Hitless In Loss At New Hampshire Binghamton's bats were silenced in a 6-0 no-hitter at New Hampshire, with the Rumble Ponies failing to record a single hit while drawing six walks and stranding 10 runners. The Fisher Cats broke a scoreless game open in the bottom of the fourth, when starter Zach Thornton surrendered five hits and a walk that produced four runs, including a two-run double that put the home club ahead for good. Binghamton's best chance to that point had come in the top of the fourth, when Eli Serrano III, Jacob Reimer, and Chris Suero drew consecutive walks to load the bases with one out, only for Jose Ramos to fly out and Kevin Parada to strike out swinging. Thornton was tagged with the loss after four and two-thirds innings, allowing seven hits, five earned runs, three walks, and one home run while striking out four. He surrendered a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth before being lifted. Gabriel Rodriguez followed with a clean one and one-third innings, walking one and striking out two. Kevin Gowdy was charged with an unearned run in the seventh on a fielding error of his own, and Ben Simon worked a clean eighth with a strikeout. Binghamton Hitting Player AB R H RBI BB K Eli Serrano III 4 0 0 0 1 1 Jacob Reimer 2 0 0 0 2 0 Chris Suero 2 0 0 0 2 2 Jose Ramos 3 0 0 0 1 0 Kevin Parada 3 0 0 0 1 2 JT Schwartz 3 0 0 0 1 2 Nick Lorusso 3 0 0 0 1 1 Matt Rudick 4 0 0 0 0 1 Wyatt Young 3 0 0 0 1 0 Binghamton Pitching Player IP H R ER BB K HR Zach Thornton (L) 4 2/3 7 5 5 3 4 1 Gabriel Rodriguez 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 2 0 Kevin Gowdy 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 Ben Simon 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Brooklyn Falters In Fifth As Frederick Pulls Away Brooklyn jumped ahead in the bottom of the first when Mitch Voit was hit by a pitch, advanced on a Corey Collins single to right, and scored on a Ronald Hernandez sacrifice fly. Frederick answered with a run in the third before breaking the game open in the fifth, when starter Noah Hall surrendered an RBI single, walked a batter, and was lifted with runners on first and second. Reliever Garrett Stratton entered and immediately gave up a three-run home run, ballooning the deficit to 5-1 and effectively ending the Cyclones' chances. Hall finished his outing with four and two-thirds innings, seven hits, four earned runs, two walks, and four strikeouts. Stratton went one and one-third innings, walking one, fanning three, and surrendering the lone homer charged to him. Nate Lavender allowed a run on two hits while striking out three in his inning, Parker Carlson tossed a clean frame, and Gregori Louis closed it out with a scoreless ninth that included a strikeout. Brooklyn's only response after the first came in the bottom of the eighth, when Antonio Jimenez led off with a single, swiped second base on a strikeout, and scored on a Daiverson Gutierrez single up the middle. Jimenez paced the offense at 1-for-4 with a stolen base, while Collins, Gutierrez, and Colin Houck added the team's other base hits in a four-hit, 6-2 loss. Houck's double in the seventh was the only Cyclones extra-base knock of the night. Brooklyn Hitting Player AB R H RBI BB K Antonio Jimenez 4 1 1 0 0 0 Mitch Voit 3 1 0 0 0 2 Corey Collins 4 0 1 0 0 2 Daiverson Gutierrez 3 0 1 1 0 0 Ronald Hernandez 3 0 0 1 0 1 John Bay 3 0 0 0 1 2 Colin Houck 3 0 1 0 1 1 Sam Biller 4 0 0 0 0 2 Vincent Perozo 4 0 0 0 0 0 Brooklyn Pitching Player IP H R ER BB K HR Noah Hall (L) 4 2/3 7 4 4 2 4 0 Garrett Stratton 1 1/3 1 1 1 1 3 1 Nate Lavender 1 2 1 1 0 3 0 Parker Carlson 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Gregori Louis 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Nolan McLean: DNP Carson Benge: DNP A.J. Ewing: 3-for-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, BB Jonah Tong: DNP Ryan Clifford: 1-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K Jacob Reimer: 0-for-2, 2 BB Jack Wenninger: DNP Elian Pena: DNP Mitch Voit: 0-for-3, 2 K Nick Morabito: 0-for-2, 2 BB, SB Jonathan Santucci: DNP Chris Suero: 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K Zach Thornton: 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HR Wandy Asigen: DNP Will Watson: DNP Eli Serrano III: 0-for-4, BB, K Ryan Lambert: DNP Dylan Ross: DNP Antonio Jimenez: 1-for-4, SB R.J. Gordon: DNP View the full article

Kansas City Royals rookie Carter Jensen is among a myriad of talented rookies vying for the AL Rookie of the Year award. What has contributed to Jensen's strong start to the season? In this video, we take a peek at his exit velocity, barrel percentage, and how he is hitting against each pitch selection. View the full article

Luis Lara is the Brewers' 11th-ranked prospect per our rankings. In this video, we will go over his speed, promising power spike, and what he needs to do to take the next step in his professional baseball career. Enjoy! View the full article

Trades involving teenage pitching prospects rarely feel significant in the moment. They exist more as footnotes than headlines, small transactions made to solve immediate roster problems. But every so often, one of those deals circles back years later and demands a second look. That is exactly what happened when the Minnesota Twins acquired Jake Cave from the New York Yankees in March 2018, for a 19-year-old pitcher named Luis Gil. At the time, it felt like a classic roster crunch move. New York had more big league-capable players than available spots on its 40-man roster, while Minnesota was searching for outfield depth. The cost was a teenage arm in the minors' lowest levels, a profile that represents one of the biggest wild cards any organization can trade. These players are years away from the majors, often volatile in both performance and health, and just as likely to disappear as they are to develop. For the Twins, that risk was worth taking. Cave: A Useful Role Player in Minnesota Cave quickly justified Minnesota’s interest by carving out a role as a capable fourth outfielder. Across parts of five seasons, he accumulated over 1,000 plate appearances and posted a .235 average with a .297 on-base percentage and a .411 slugging percentage, good for a 93 OPS+. Early in his Twins tenure, Cave looked like more than just depth. From 2018 through 2019, he produced a 112 OPS+ while showing legitimate pop, with double-digit home runs and doubles. He became a frequent fill-in when injuries sidelined Byron Buxton, offering a left-handed bat that could take advantage of right-handed pitching. That platoon advantage defined much of his value. Cave’s OPS was significantly higher against righties, which made him a natural fit in a complementary role. Defensively, he moved around all three outfield spots. While center field often pushed his range to its limits, he provided steady play in the corners. There were stretches where the production dipped, especially from 2020 through 2022, when his offensive numbers declined, and he shuttled between Triple-A and the majors. Still, the Twins received what they initially sought. Cave delivered multiple seasons of usable depth and finished his time in Minnesota with 2.1 rWAR. For a team seeking stability at the margins, the Twins’ evaluation of Cave proved accurate. He helped them win the AL Central in 2019 and 2020. Gil: The High Variance Path While Cave provided immediate value, Gil represented the long game for New York. At the time of the trade, he was a teenage arm in rookie ball who had already dealt with injuries. His profile fit the definition of volatility. Big arm, limited experience, and years away from contributing. That volatility showed up throughout his development. Gil’s career has been shaped as much by injuries as by flashes of top-end talent. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022, delaying his progress and forcing the Yankees to remain patient. When he returned, the upside was still there, and in 2024, it all came together. Gil emerged as one of the Yankees’ best starters that season, posting a 3.50 ERA with 171 strikeouts across 151 2/3 innings. He accumulated 2.9 rWAR and captured the American League Rookie of the Year Award, seemingly turning the trade into a clear win for New York. But the story did not end there. Injuries again interrupted his momentum, as a right lat strain limited him for much of 2025. Since then, his performance has been less consistent. A declining strikeout rate and persistent control issues have raised questions about sustainability. Even at his peak, walks have been a major concern, highlighted by an MLB-leading 77 free passes in 2024. Through 261 1/3 career innings, Gil has issued 142 walks. That lack of command has prevented him from fully stabilizing as a frontline starter. After a rough start to 2026, the Yankees demoted him to Triple-A. There is still time for him to adjust. At 27, the raw ability remains, and his past success shows what he can be when everything clicks. But the combination of injuries, declining strikeouts, and control problems suggests that his 2024 breakout may represent his peak rather than a new baseline. A Trade That Refuses to Settle Looking back, this trade resists a simple winner-or-loser label. The Twins acquired exactly what they needed at the time. Cave provided multiple seasons of competent outfield depth and helped bridge gaps during injury absences. For a team trying to stay competitive, that kind of reliability has value. The Yankees, meanwhile, captured the upside play. Gil reached heights that Cave never approached, including an award-winning season that briefly made the deal look lopsided. Yet, his inconsistency and health concerns have complicated that narrative. This is the reality of trading teenage pitching. The outcomes stretch across years, often shifting with each season. What once looked like a decisive victory can soften over time, just as a seemingly minor move can quietly deliver steady returns. In the end, the Cave for Gil trade stands as a reminder that player development is rarely linear and that even the smallest deals can leave a lasting imprint on both organizations. Who won the trade between the Twins and Yankees? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

Sean Keys is the Toronto Blue Jays' no. 17 prospect, per our rankings. After breaking the High-A Vancouver Canadians' home run record with 19, Keys is outdoing himself. The 2024 fourth-round draft pick currently has 9 home runs in just 17 games, the highest tally of any Double-A prospect through the first three weeks of the season. View the full article

Twins System Recap: Both Kaelen Culpepper and Emmanuel Rodriguez slugged a pair of homers today for the Saints. Rodriguez has quite the feather in his cap now, hitting the hardest tracked ball in the minor leagues this season. Also tonight, Danny De Andrade hit a walk-off homer for the Kernels after Dasan Hill turned in an impressive start for Cedar Rapids. View the full article

Craig Counsell had bad news for fans hoping Justin Steele could return soon and bolster the beleaguered pitching staff on 104.3 The Score. Brutal news all around. Steele, eligible to come off the 60-day injured list at the end of May, has a flexor strain in his left arm. He will be shut down for at least two weeks while the Cubs and his medical team determine the injury severity and next steps. Realistically, this takes Steele out of the rotation mix for most of this season, and at least the majority of the first half. Even a best-case scenario at this point would mean he starts a lengthy rehab assignment toward the end of June, which could maybe position him for a post-All-Star-Break season debut. View the full article

The San Diego Padres have gotten off to a hot start, owning a 19-9 record and sitting second in the National League standings. While the narrative surrounding their offseason focused on them losing key arms with Dylan Cease and Robert Suárez both leaving the team in free agency, their pitchers have actually been the catalyst for their early season success. As a unit, San Diego’s pitchers have produced the second-best 3.56 FIP in the league, anchored by closer Mason Miller, who has only allowed two runs in 14.1 innings. While the pitching staff has delivered, the Padres are still waiting for their offense to catch up. Despite their strong record, they rank below league average in both batting average (.240) and OPS (.693), due in large part to slow starts from key contributors. Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill hold three of the four largest contracts in the lineup, yet Tatis has been the most productive of the group with only a .257 batting average and no home runs. While Machado has struggled, batting .232, Merrill has experienced the steepest drop-off, posting the fourth-lowest wRC+ on the team at 79 and showing significant regression in this third season. Merrill has consistently hit in the heart of the Padres lineup, batting third or fourth, yet has produced a -4 batting run value while slashing .213/.280/.352 with a .632 OPS. However, despite the slow start, his underlying metrics suggest his raw ability remains intact. Merrill still produces a 11.3% barrel rate and 45.0% hard-hit rate that both rank well above average. The power hasn't disappeared; the difference lies in his approach. Merrill has always been aggressive at the plate. Last season, he led the team with a 45% first-pitch swing rate and that has carried over to this year at 47.4%. A slight increase, but it is notable when looking at the balls he's swinging at. While his in-zone swing rate has increased to 82.9%, the highest on the team, his chase rate also sits at 37.9%, the second-highest on the roster. While this aggression isn’t anything new, his lack of contact is. This season, Merrill ranks near the bottom of the team with a 78.3% in-zone contact rate and owns a 28.5% whiff rate, placing him in the bottom-third of all qualified MLB hitters. The significance of the drop-off becomes even clearer in the context of the pitches he's seeing. Four-seam fastballs account for 36.1% of the pitches he faces, and they'e starting to eat him up. After posting a +7 run value against four-seamers last season, he has dropped to a -3 mark, a sharp decline that points to timing issues and may explain why his aggressive approach has been so inefficient. However, Merrill isn’t completely broken. While he has struggled against four-seamers, he has fixed a big gray area in his game and that is his production against sinkers. After posting a -3 run value against sinkers last season, he has turned it into one of his strengths, improving to a +2 mark. Perhaps, then, even more than a velocity issue, this comes down to where he's being attacked. Four-seamers have more perceived rise, hence why they're so effective up the in zone; sinkers, meanwhile, are often used to target hitters low. That's a lot of high fastballs. Even with a faster swing speed this year, it'll be hard for Merrill to do damage on those pitches if his timing is off. I'll repeat: Merrill isn’t broken. In many ways, he isn’t far off from the hitter he’s been in recent seasons. The power remains, and the underlying metrics suggest a correction is possible. But a change in his approach will be needed, lest he continue to get eaten alive by fastballs. View the full article

Justin Steele suffers a setback. The Chicago Cubs' offense has been taking off, and two players, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch, are starting to heat up after slow starts! Let's talk about it all! Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View the full article

Pete Crow-Armstrong had, arguably, the two biggest at-bats of the night in the Cubs' 8-3 win over the Padres Tuesday. The impact of one was obvious: he slammed a three-run homer that broke open the game in the top of the seventh inning. The other was a subtler achievement, but a vital one in itself—for the team, in that moment; for Crow-Armstrong, individually; and for the team, again, because of just how important Crow-Armstrong is to them. Let's start at the end, for once. In the seventh inning, the Cubs were clinging to a 4-3 lead. 'Clinging' is the cliche word for such a game state, but for the current Cubs, it's no exaggeration. A one-run lead, for this team at this time, is no lead at all—especially in San Diego, where the hosts have made a habit of revealing the Cubs' frailties each time they visit over the past few years. However, with runners on the corners and two outs, Craig Counsell pinch-hit Alex Bregman (who'd had the night off, to that point) and got the payoff he needed: an opposite-field single to double the team's cushion. That also gave Crow-Armstrong a chance to do bigger damage. Wandy Peralta started Crow-Armstrong with a slider below the zone. Crow-Armstrong took it for ball one. That, alone, was noteworthy. Crow-Armstrong is, famously, the league's most swing-happy star, and sometimes its most swing-happy player of any quality. For his career, he's offered at the first pitch over half the time (51.6%); the league averages about 30%. This year, though—to his credit, though not (yet) to his consistent actual benefit—he's swinging a little bit less. On the first pitch, it's down to 48.6%. Overall, it's down from 60% to 58%, which doesn't sound like much. It's not much, in a vacuum. For Crow-Armstrong, though, maybe it could be enough. At any rate, he's making an adjustment, which is important and valuable. The strike zone is smaller. Most players are swinging less. Certainly, the guy who swings more than anyone should be following that particular trend. He is. Anyway (and it might seem like this nullifies some of the above; I think it just reminds us to place it in context), Peralta came back with a changeup below the zone, and this time, Crow-Armstrong obliged him with a chase. That drew the count level at 1-1, and it gave Peralta and Padres catcher Luis Campusano the confidence to try the left-on-left changeup again. Big mistake. The pitch wasn't nearly as well-executed as its older sibling, and Crow-Armstrong punished it. Fool a hitter once, and you can reasonably hope to fool them again with the same trick, the data says. They don't tell you that if you throw a meatball the second time, the success rate of running it back goes through the floor, while the ball tends to go over the wall. That home run was crucial for the Cubs. It took much of the pressure and worry out of the final nine outs of the game. Hoby Milner had come on in the bottom of the sixth (more on that later); he pitched a smooth seventh. Lefty Ryan Rolison closed out the Padres with two strong, scoreless innings. That's the formula for this team to win games right now: blow teams out, so whoever's available in relief that night can pitch with as little pressure as possible. When Cade Horton was lost for the season to elbow surgery in early April, Cubs fans had little with which to console themselves. Horton was one of the joys of last season's run back to the playoffs, but his fragility was always at issue. The team handled him very carefully in the second half, but he still broke and missed the tail end of the regular season, plus the team's brief appearance in the playoffs. Injuries have never been far from the center of the discussion around Horton, and in the wake of this latest major one, his career prospects are somewhat muddied. It's bad, bad news. One of the ways the team hoped to weather the loss of Horton, though, was the impending return of fellow two-time elbow surgery survivor Justin Steele. For a long period from mid-January through the time of Horton's injury, Steele appeared to be ahead of schedule and sailing toward a return to the rotation around Memorial Day. If he could be back around then, the team might just be able to swat away the injury bugs, despite all the bites they were inflicting. Several relievers hit the injured list throughout the first half of the month, making everything harder, but Steele's return would ease some of that trouble, too. Getting him back could push Colin Rea back into a relief role, lightening the burden on the rest of the pen. On Tuesday, the Cubs announced that they've shut down Steele's throwing program, just when a rehab assignment should have been coming into view on the horizon. This isn't some galloping surprise; setbacks are normal for pitchers trying to return from a second elbow reconstruction. Then again, failing to return at all is also normal for pitchers in that situation. It's impossible to know, now, when the team might get Steele back, but it would be foolish to assume he'll pitch for the major-league team any time before the Fourth of July. Meanwhile, the hits keep coming in the bullpen. The team was just beginning to feel they'd found something nice in homegrown lefty Riley Martin, when he had to return to Chicago in the early part of this road trip and was shelved by elbow inflammation. For a long while, this team will have to survive with a patchwork pen, because they won't be back to full strength for some time—if ever. Daniel Palencia's return is on the horizon, and Phil Maton is already back, but Hunter Harvey and Caleb Thielbar are not as close. Nor will it feel safe to say Palencia has dodged a bigger problem until he actually returns and strings together some healthy outings; lat injuries can be very tricky. Thus, the team needs the likes of Corbin Martin (who earned a save Friday against the Dodgers) and Rolison (who got the win in that same game over the weekend and now has six scoreless innings across three appearances) to keep delivering solid outings. We talked about the good reasons for optimism about Martin when he signed a minor-league deal late in the offseason, and about how good Rolison looked early in spring training, but still, these are little-known journeymen. As Maton gets his legs back under him (literally) and Palencia once again shoulders the load (literally) in the ninth inning, the roles of these spare pieces will become less vital, but right now, this is how Counsell has to live. That makes every insurance run count double, for the foreseeable future. It also made the sixth inning Tuesday night an exhilarating, painful sequence. The Cubs took the lead in the top half of the frame, 4-2 (more on that, again, later), and Edward Cabrera got the first two Padres batters of the bottom half with no trouble at all. It looked like Cabrera, who had only thrown 85 pitches and was past the dangerous top four in the San Diego lineup for the third time already, should be able to get them through the sixth, and maybe even start the seventh. Then, Ty France happened. France is not a great overall hitter or a good defender anywhere but first base, but he's beloved by every team he joins. Part of that is his personality, which is jocular and energetic and good for the dugout vibes. Another part, though, is the fact that he's a great clutch hitter. With two outs, the Padres needed a baserunner and a tone change, and France delivered. On a 2-2 count, he fouled off a sinker that was running way in on him. France is an expert at getting hit by pitches, and he probably should have withheld his swing and let that pitch do so, but he'd already committed—and besides, the thing came in at 98 MPH. Cabrera had been trying to end the inning with an exclamation point. Feeling (perhaps rightly) that they now had France set up for a breaking ball away, Cabrera and Carson Kelly chose to go with the big righty's slider on the second 2-2 offering. That pitch takes on some extra importance for Cabrera this season, especially against righties; more on that another time. But he missed with this one, leaving it in the middle of the zone. France scalded a single to left field, extending the inning—and the frustration of that at-bat got into Cabrera's head. He threw three straight non-competitive pitches to Gavin Sheets, the third of which hit him. He got Campusano into a 2-2 count, too, but left a changeup up and in. The Padres catcher expertly scooped a liner into left field to score France, and the inning had officially gotten away from the Cubs. It looked like the game would surely follow. Cabrera, furious with himself, went down the tunnel behind the dugout and slammed his glove after Counsel removed him from the game. Milner came on to clean up the mess, but the Cubs were into their bullpen before they'd wanted to be—and you can see, now, why that's going to be a bigger problem for this team than for most good ones, over the next few months. Now, let's complete our journey backward in time, because I still have one more promise to fulfill. We said we would talk about two Crow-Armstrong at-bats, and all of the above informs the importance of this second (well, first, in that it came before the one we talked about first; third, in that it came after two other at-bats in the game; are you having fun with this game of non-sequential storytelling?) one. If the Cubs are going to win during this stretch in which their pitching is thin, they'll have to get more from Crow-Armstrong than they got from (give or take) the start of last August through the beginning of last week. Crow-Armstrong's offensive struggles got a lot of media attention early this year—probably too much, given that most of his value will always reside in his incredible defensive work, but you can understand why he came under some scrutiny. The Cubs, after all, bet $115 million on him this spring, and he had a long stretch there in which his OPS was well under .600. Although he's hit near the bottom of the order for some time now and isn't the linchpin of the offense, Crow-Armstrong has to give them some offensive value, too, because they're going to have to win some games 8-6, in addition to the ones they win 8-3. They need to score a lot, to make up for the fact that their injury-depleted staff will inevitably give up runs in bunches at times over the coming weeks and months. That means getting something substantial from every player who has a regular job—even their defensive ace. Crow-Armstrong is actually trending the right way, and again, the concerns might have been exaggerated a bit, all along. He's digging himself out of an early hole a bit later than he did last year, but he did have to do it last year, too. He might not be a hitter who can find his swing and hit his stride on Opening Day; he might be one of those who warms with the weather. At any rate, Crow-Armstrong is already coming out of his early funk, and mere competence from him will do. When he delivers in clutch moments, the team will win, because they're built to need just one or two such unexpected contributions to win on a given day. On Tuesday, the first such contribution he made came not with the decisive homer, but in setting up the scoreboard-flipping rally the inning before. Kelly had led off the frame with a single, but Nicky Lopez (in for Dansby Swanson, who was removed with glute tightness) laid down a dreadful would-be sacrifice bunt, allowing the Padres to easily take down the lead runner, instead. That brought up Crow-Armstrong with a runner on first and one out. Padres starter Walker Buehler had abused him earlier in the game, working him into deep counts and then getting hopeless-looking chases with curveballs in the dirt for a pair of strikeouts. It looked like another bad night in the annals of Crow-Armstrong's spring, especially because he now had to face his kryptonite: any left-handed pitcher. Reliever Kyle Hart might have thought his job would be easy. He might just have failed to execute. Whatever the case, though, he didn't get the same obliging chases from Crow-Armstrong. On five pitches, he got just one swing, on a sweeper. The other four missed the zone, and Crow-Armstrong took his hase. That seems like a small moment, in which the pitcher did most of the work. In truth, though, there have been plenty of times over the last several months when pitchers' plans were clearly to keep throwing junk below the zone and let Crow-Armstrong get himself out. This time, he didn't do it, and that's becoming a bit of a pattern. He's walked and gotten a hit in three straight games, and four out of five on this tough West Coast swing. Since April 7, he's batting .257/.337/.392; that's all the Cubs really need from him. His walk in the sixth forced the Padres to go to their third pitcher of the night, David Morgan. With two outs, Nico Hoerner laced a hustle double to right-center, scoring both Lopez and Crow-Armstrong to give the Cubs the lead, 4-2. It was a huge hit by Hoerner, who has been the team's offensive hero all year, but it was made possible by a good at-bat from Crow-Armstrong. The Cubs are trying to prove they're robust enough to withstand all these pitching injuries. They've done so admirably so far. Tuesday night was a great win for them, not just because they needed to snap a sudden three-game losing skein, but because of the way they won. If this team is going to achieve its goals for the year, it needs Crow-Armstrong to string together good at-bats. Not all of them have to be as electrifying as the homer in the seventh, though. The quieter wins matter, too. View the full article

On Friday, Royals manager Matt Quatraro submitted an extreme platoon lineup that included resting regulars Vinnie Pasquantino, Jac Caglianone, and Kyle Isbel against left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. While Pasquantino is off to a slow start this season, Caglianone has been around league average, and Isbel boasts the team’s second-highest wRC+ at 125. However, all three have had significant trouble hitting against left-handed pitching. Given that the Royals held the worst record in the American League entering that game, Quatraro turned to a platoon approach in an effort to spark a turnaround. When examining their splits against lefties, all three players exhibit significant drops in wRC+. Even Carter Jensen and Michael Massey (who probably wouldn’t have started at second base if Maikel Garcia or Jonathan India were fully healthy) both see significant drops in wRC+ when facing lefties. With the exception of Pasquantino, all of these players have performed well against right-handed pitchers. Against lefties, only Jensen is producing near league average, with the median wRC+ for left-handed hitters facing left-handed pitching sitting at 85. Massey stands out in particular, posting an extremely poor -33 wRC+ against lefties despite his success against right-handers. Given this level of production, it makes sense that Quatraro would lean toward a more right-handed lineup. Unfortunately, the Royals as a team have struggled against left-handed pitching regardless of who is batting. Following Saturday’s games, the Royals ranked fifth-worst in baseball against left-handed pitching with a 69 wRC+. If you look at just right-handed hitters, their rank is 17th overall with a 95 wRC+. This lack of run production has impacted the standings, with the Royals winning only two of their eight games against left-handed starters, the Friday and Sunday matchups against the Angels this weekend. Considering the Royals had not defeated a left-handed starter prior to this weekend, Quatraro’s extreme platoon usage is understandable. However, a less aggressive version of the platoon was deployed in Sunday’s lineup against left-hander Reid Detmers with Pasquantino keeping his place at first base. Extreme platoons come with drawbacks. Some players thrive on the consistency of everyday playing time. Pasquantino, for example, appeared in 160 games last season and is not accustomed to frequent rest. Then there’s Caglianone, who is in his first full major-league season, and gaining experience against left-handed pitching will be critical to his long-term development. There is also the question of keeping your best players in the lineup. Pasquantino and Caglianone are foundational pieces of the roster, and ideally, they would be producing across a full 162-game season. Giving them rest definitely signals that struggling players are not fully guaranteed to start every day, even if they represent the foundation of the lineup. In the offseason, the Royals’ front office attempted to address this issue, particularly in the outfield. The Royals specifically targeted an everyday outfielder and someone who could platoon in right field. Isaac Collins, a switch-hitter, was brought in to be the everyday left fielder, and Starling Marte and Lane Thomas were signed to provide right-handed depth behind Isbel and Caglianone. How have those players fared so far against lefties? Of the acquired players, only Thomas is providing above-average run creation against left-handed pitching. Collins, despite being a switch hitter, has had more success in his career batting from the left-handed side of the plate. Marte, meanwhile, has done better against right-handed pitching (though only nine PAs against righties). If Marte’s performance against lefties continues to lag, the Royals might consider starting Caglianone full-time if he continues to outpace his platoon partner in wRC+. Caglianone also showed his potential against left-handed pitching with a game-tying home run against Drew Pomeranz in the ninth inning. On April 19th, the Royals called up veteran catcher Elías to help bolster the production against lefties. This move allows Salvador Perez to shift to first base and adds another right-handed bat to the lineup. Díaz has started strong, going 3-for-6 with a walk and two doubles in his first two starts against left-handed pitching. Ideally, this platoon option serves as a short-term solution while Pasquantino works through his struggles. If Díaz continues to produce, he could provide valuable roster flexibility. Nick Loftin has also been a welcome addition to the lineup after Jonathan India was placed on the injured list on April 20. In his 10 plate appearances against lefties so far this season, his 136 wRC+ is outpacing India’s 67. Going forward, how should the Royals proceed? Quatraro has certainly signaled that he will continue to platoon his lineup. As long as the left-handed hitters continue to struggle offensively, he might feel like there are few alternatives. However, he will need to balance short-term optimization with long-term development and lineup consistency. After a sweep of the Angels last weekend, the offense might finally be starting to turn a corner. Even at 11–17, the Royals sit just three games out of a Wild Card spot and 3.5 games back in the division. The season is far from over, but if this surge is temporary, the Royals may need to explore additional, potentially external, solutions to remain in the playoff picture. View the full article

Pat Murphy has not been one to quickly trust unproven relievers. That made it notable when Shane Drohan, with two big-league appearances with mixed results to his name, warmed up for the sixth inning with the Brewers leading 3-2 on Tuesday night. Milwaukee added a few more runs to give him some breathing room, but Drohan was still tasked with protecting a three-run lead in the middle innings in his third MLB appearance. He worked a perfect inning, striking out one and generating three whiffs out of his 10 pitches. “I really like him, man,” Murphy said. “He was locked in. I don’t know how many pitches he threw in that inning, but it was 1-2-3, and it was crisp.” Drohan’s second stint with the team this month has been more successful than the first, but that doesn’t mean much in two small sample sizes. What matters is that the 27-year-old left-hander, who already learned plenty about himself throughout the past couple of seasons, has continued tinkering and polishing his game. That work has shown up in improved stuff and execution his past two times out. When Drohan debuted in Boston on April 8, he was using the full wind-up he reintroduced last season, which he felt improved the tempo and explosiveness of his delivery. drohan1.mp4 After that outing, Drohan reverted to a hybrid wind-up. In his last two outings, he’s been starting with his back leg parallel to and against the rubber, eliminating the extra movement of stepping back and repositioning his body as he begins his delivery. drohan2.mp4 “I just kind of went back to that preset back leg,” Drohan said. “It just felt like it synced everything up a lot better.” Because it’s closer to pitching fully out of the stretch with runners on, a reduced wind-up would always be best for Drohan to repeat his delivery consistently. Now that he feels it’s his best starting position, it should serve him well. The early results have been encouraging: more strikes and improved velocity, with his four-seamer averaging nearly 96 mph in that shortened outing on Tuesday. {C}%3C!%2D%2Dtd%20%7Bborder%3A%201px%20solid%20%23cccccc%3B%7Dbr%20%7Bmso-data-placement%3Asame-cell%3B%7D%2D%2D%3E--> Game Date Pitches 4FB Velo Zone% 4/8 63 93.4 46.0% 4/24 71 94.6 46.5% 4/28 10 95.9 60.0% “It just allows me to really step on the gas at the right time in my delivery,” he said. “Sometimes, it can be a little early, so I feel like that preset foot just allows me to get into the back leg and go down the mound and then really finish the throw at the right time.” With a six-pitch arsenal that includes two great breaking balls and a solid changeup, Drohan has the tools to start. That’s been his role in Triple-A, and the Brewers figure to keep him stretched out as depth for as long as possible. He could be optioned back down in the coming days for a fresher long relief arm. “We’re always trying to get as many starters as we can,” Murphy said. “I think there’s a length role there for him, for sure. He’s built up already.” However, Drohan flashed his upside as a reliever on Tuesday by letting his two best pitches – his four-seamer and slider – play at a higher speed in a shortened stint. That might be his more immediate path to impacting the big-league club in 2026. “It’s a cool, nice adrenaline rush when the phone rings and they say your name,” Drohan said of pitching in relief. “But other than that, it’s not much different. Just get guys out, whether it’s the beginning of the game or whenever they call you.” Whatever role he fills, the Brewers acquired him to contribute at times throughout the season. He hasn’t gotten the same opportunities as Kyle Harrison, whom they acquired alongside him from the Boston Red Sox a few months ago, but Drohan is showing glimpses of how effective he can be. “I think he can help us,” Murphy said. View the full article

It's not always a well-received observation. When the fact that Byron Buxton's defensive metrics have gotten steadily worse over the years—indeed, that he's now roughly an average center fielder, and maybe not even that—came up on the Twins TV broadcast on Opening Day, Cory Provus, Glen Perkins and Justin Morneau practically rolled their eyes out loud. For many people who watch Buxton play every day, it's nigh unfathomable that he's no longer an elite defender. The very notion does more to dent their confidence in the endeavor of quantifying defensive performance than to diminish their faith in Buxton. I think some of that is simple allegiance, and an unwillingness to see what's really going on. Some of it, too, lies in the fact that even at his best, Buxton was not the same kind of great center fielder as (say) Pete Crow-Armstrong or Kevin Kiermaier. Those two are exemplars of a version of center field defense that relies on an extraordinarily good first step and read of the baseball. Crow-Armstrong sometimes makes near-miraculous catches, but they don't look like the ones Buxton made at his peak. They tend to look a lot like this one. NHlLcTZfWGw0TUFRPT1fVlFGV0JRVlhBd01BQUZKV1ZnQUhCUUpTQUFNQ1ZBQUFBVlVBQ0FkVUExQlJDRlFF.mp4 That line drive was only in the air for 3.5 seconds. Getting to it required anticipation, exceptionally quick acceleration, and the ability to keep moving fast all the way through the point where his arrow-straight route intercepted the ball. At his very best, Buxton sometimes made that kind of play, but his highlights have always tended to look more like this. QlhSTzlfWGw0TUFRPT1fVWdFQUFBSU5WRmNBQ1ZzTFZRQUFWd1JVQUFNRFZWUUFCMTBOQXdJSEF3Y0dVUWRW.mp4 This play is from June 30, 2019, when Buxton was 25 years old. He played, back then, like a man furious at any barrier that might dare impede him. He had the speed and the strength and the skills to make plays like this one; it seemed arbitrary and capricious to erect walls and permit hamstring strains. He played defense like a man fighting for his very way of life, because he sort of was. Buxton's ethos, back then, was that you have to be willing to run through a wall to earn your place on a big-league field. Being unable to do that is one thing; being unwilling to is another. It wasn't all that uncommon to see Buxton take on a wall at full speed. He did it a few times a year. Here's an especially bone-crunching instance, from 2017. Vk0wWHZfWGw0TUFRPT1fQkFCWFUxY0hWQVVBWEZvRlhnQUFBZ05VQUFOVFdsVUFBMU1GVVZCUkJ3c0FDQUlD.mp4 It didn't always end that happily, of course. Here's another ball Buxton chased fearlessly into a fence in 2017, but in vain. eDkxWktfWGw0TUFRPT1fVWdRQ0FWTUVVUUlBQ0FZTEJ3QUFCQUZTQUFBTlV3VUFWd1lBQmdBTkFsSldDVkVE.mp4 As we all know, collisions like that one also contributed to Buxton's major injury issues throughout those early years of his career. Yet, he kept doing it. As late as 2022, he would still tear across the ground like the Road Runner, leaving clouds of dust and throwing himself into walls when needed. dnpBRFdfWGw0TUFRPT1fVXdCWVhBY0JCRmNBV1ZGUUF3QUFBQVVGQUZsWFVBSUFCd2RUQVFOUlV3dFFWZ2NI (1).mp4 Since a nagging knee injury forced him to spend all of 2023 as a designated hitter, though, that version of Buxton has been gone. Since the start of 2024, Buxton has only caught one (1) of the 40 batted balls on which Statcast estimated the catch probability between 0% and 25%. Here's that one catch, from last May. ZU44NmJfWGw0TUFRPT1fQTFOWFZsWUZWRmNBQVZkUkJ3QUhCZ01FQUFNTldnTUFWRlFFQkFvRUIxSlZBQU5W.mp4 That's in the spirit of his old specialties, but it came with a bit less risk—and, again, it was in the air forever. It rated so well because Buxton ran nearly 120 feet to intercept it, rather than because he was extraordinarily quick in breaking for it or showed superhuman acceleration. Buxton has, in fact, never gotten especially good jumps, by Statcast's measurement. Even in 2017, at the peak of his elite athleticism and in what remained the most complete season of his career for a long time, he covered 0.4 feet less than an average center fielder in the first 1.5 seconds after contact. That's a difference so small as to be nearly meaningless, so we can call him average, but bsck then, that was the only average thing about Buxton's defensive game, so it's notable, anyway. He had the speed, explosiveness and acceleration ability to cover a foot or two more than a typical cetner fielder, even in such a short amount of time. He didn't do it, though. Instead, strategically, Buxton has always been a read-and-react fielder. Knowing that he has some of the best pure speed in the game, he prefers to wait a hair longer before embarking on his pursuit of the ball than most fielders would. He only graded out as essentially average, at his peak, because he made up for that partial beat of assessment within that teeny window. That's how quick and long his strides were. That's no longer true, though. Buxton can still get up to nearly an elite spring speed, but it takes longer than it used to. Both his knee and his hip have taken enough damage over the years that he now gets underway a bit more slowly, and turns a bit less easily. Last season, Buxton lost 1.6 feet relative to an average center fielder in that first 1.5 seconds of a ball's flight. This year, it's 1.9 feet. He's become one of the slowest center fielders in baseball off the metaphorical block. In fact, only two outfielders have lost more ground in that crucial first instant: Phillies rookie Justin Crawford, and Buxton's teammate, Twins right fielder Matt Wallner. Crucially, this doesn't mean Buxton is actually a bad center fielder. Part of his defensive decline is a conscious choice. He's been less daring, but another way to say that is, he's been less reckless. He's still presented with the occasional opportunity to plow into the wall; he still has the speed and the sense of how to adjust his body to secure a catch like that if he needs to. He just doesn't do it. bmJsMTlfWGw0TUFRPT1fQVZJRVUxd0hBRkFBREZjRVZ3QUhCMUpXQUZoVUFnTUFVQUJUQkZZRkExWmNBUVFG.mp4 That was a relatively important play in the game, back on the first weekend of the season. The Orioles already led, but catching that ball would have significantly reduced the likelihood of an extra insurance run scoring in the frame. Buston pulled up near the wall, though, choosing to position himself to play the ricochet. He's done this several times over the last two-plus seasons, and make no mistake: it's a matter of self-preservation. However, that doesn't mean it's selfish. Buxton has recognized that he's more valuable to the team on the field than on the injured list, and he's adjusting his risk management accordingly when he gets close to the wall. Here's another instance of the same calculation at work. He used to hurl himself into the wall on such plays; those days are gone. WU9rdzlfWGw0TUFRPT1fQmxBSFVnQUdWbEVBWGxFSFVBQUhBRlJmQUZnQVcxSUFCd01GQjFBRENBZFhCVkVI.mp4 Some of Buxton's lost value as a fly chaser, then, is a result of a conscious choice that helps the team in one way, even as it costs them in another. That makes it easy to forgive those non-catches. Even if you're predisposed to demand that a player leave it all on the field, we spent a solid half-decade watching Buxton actually break himself on the ground and against the fenses, and at a certain point, he's earned the right to stop doing so—especially because the team needs him on the field, and he can be on the field more often if he eschews those headlong collisions. What's left is to understand what makes Buxton good, in some ways, even at this relatively late stage of his career—and, in the same moment, to grapple with the real ways in which he's now much less than an elite defender. No one in baseball is better than Buxton at catching everything within the range he can reach. He's been above-average in getting to balls with a Catch Probability of 90% or lower in every season of his career, save 2025, in which he was exactly average. Meanwhile, he hasn't failed to come up with a ball that had a catch probability over 90% in almost exactly NINE YEARS, since getting turned around on this ball on May 4, 2017. ZHpiR0tfWGw0TUFRPT1fRGdCVFVnRU5VMU1BQVFCUUF3QUFWRkJYQUZnR0J3VUFVVndHVkZFQVZ3QlFBbEJU.mp4 However, there are balls elite defenders can get to in center that Buxton simply doesn't. Often, they look utterly innocuous. Even the seasoned eyes of ex-players in the broadcast booth don't see them as opportunities, because they (depending on the nature of their experience in the game, or on their relationship with Buxton, or some of each) forgive the slightly late breaks he gets toward the ball, and don't see that if he'd gotten a better one, he could have turned what looks like an inevitable single into a spectacular out. Here, for instance, is a standard-issue hit to center from last April. It looks like nothign could possibly have been done. M3k0b3ZfWGw0TUFRPT1fVWdSVUJ3VURVbFlBQ1ZSV1VRQUhWRmRmQUZnQldsQUFCd2NBVlFZQkNBZFFVUVZX.mp4 However, that play was essentially identical—in terms of the hang time on the ball and the distance Buxton needed to cover, and even in terms of the angle he would have had to diagnose and take—to this play by Crow-Armstrong over the weekend. WnhxWkRfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0J3TUVCUUlCVTFFQUNGWUJVZ0FIQ0FCV0FGZ0hWMU1BQlZFRkJGQUVCVmRUVmdNRg==.mp4 There are wrinkles Statcast doesn't perfectly account for, like wind and field conditions and whether the ball left the hitter's bat with funky spin or was hit much harder or softer than it looked based on the swing, and they might explain the differences between any two given plays. However, there are lots of examples like there. Here's Buxton not quite flagging down a sinking liner in the gap in Kansas City. WU9rM0RfWGw0TUFRPT1fRGxSVUFRVU5CQXNBV1FaVFhnQUhCZ0FIQUFNQ1cxSUFDZ2RSVVFaVFZRWlNVbEZR.mp4 Here's Kyle Isbel making (as nearly as you'll ever replicate such a thing) the same catch in the same stadium. Both even came off the bat of a left-handed hitter. RDFBMnlfWGw0TUFRPT1fQlZRRlZWTlhCVkFBWGxvRUJBQUhBUVZUQUFNQlZnY0FBMVVHQUZVRlV3ZFNWQWNE.mp4 The difference is the same in almost any pair of examples you can pull for study: Buxton doesn't get the elite jump off the bat that Crow-Armstrong, Isbel, and several other outfielders do. In fact, he's about as slow to break for the ball as anyone in the league. His routes are better; his body control is better; and he's more sure-handed. Those guys are all, however infinitesimally, more likely to botch a routine play or drop a ball even after they flag it down than Buxton is. It turns out, though, that what they do well is more valuable than what Buxton does well, and when their respective strengths and weaknesses are weighed, the game's top center fielders all come out ahead of Buxton. One reason, I think, why this has proved hard to accept is that it practically inverts our instinctive experience of Buxton as a defender. When we think of him in the outfield, we see in our minds the grace and the surety and the intelligence in his eyes, his gait and his glove. We see the blazing speed. We think, then, that he must be able to stretch the boundaries of a center fielder's range as well as anyone—that whatever he can't get to was ungettable. But it isn't so. As it turns out, Buxton—the guy who got famous by plastering himself on walls and flying like Super-Man to spear liners in alleys throughout the league—is an average-plus defender, but he derives all of his fielding value from his incredibly sound fundamentals. He's gone nearly a decade without missing a must-have ball, but it's been almost that long since he consistently demonstrated excellent range. He shores up his area gorgeously, but he doesn't extend it. He doesn't turn near-certain hits into outs; he just never turns near-certain outs into hits. Things might be different if this older, wiser Buxton were a bit less bruised. He might be better at flipping his hips to chase the ball laterally, especially to his right. He might be more willing to run into a wall now and then, and thus take away one or two doubles per year that he's allowed to fall since coming back to the spot in 2024. Because he's doing everything he can to keep his superb bat in the lineup and be there for his teammates more consistently, though, he lets that bit of value leak away, and because he's aging and was never great at off-the-bat reaction, anyway, he can't make up for that value as well as he might like. This revelation (some of which is new to me, too; I sat a long time with numbers and watched dozens upon dozens of clips to get a sense of how the data and reality interacted) does change some things. I've advocated moving Buxton to a corner spot, in the past. Barring the arrival of a player who shows that remarkable knack for stretching the range of the spot, I no longer feel that's necessary, or even prudent. There's much to be said for a generationally sure-handed center fielder who almost never even takes a shaky route. There's also some reason to doubt that a player who does his best work under high-arcing flies hit a long distance from him will be as good if moved to the corners, where the plays that separate good fielders from bad ones are more often sharp liners. It's a joy to watch Buxton in center field. He's no longer elite, or even close to it, but he's an extremely dignified presence in the center of the Twins outfield. At this and all times, dignity counts for something. So do all of those plays between the routine and the spectacular, where Buxton still does great work and finds his own joy in the game. View the full article

In perhaps the most shocking bit of news since his tenure in Boston began, Alex Cora has been fired as the manager of the Red Sox. While it was clear there were some divisions between him and the front office, very few expected the team to part ways with almost the entire coaching staff a mere 27 games into the season. The front office, correctly, promoted Triple-A manager Chad Tracy to interim manager of the Red Sox to help guide the young team, many of whom he has coached as recently as last season, through this brand-new chapter in their lives. What remains to be seen, though, is what happens after the final pitch of the 2026 season has been thrown. With that in mind, let’s look at three potential names who could be next in line to lead the Red Sox from the dugout. 3 Alex Cora Replacement Options for Red Sox Chad Tracy Current Role: Red Sox Interim Manager We’ll start with the most obvious one first. Tracy has already been promoted to the big-league club and in his first game in Baltimore, he showed some new wrinkles to an offense that struggled to get going throughout the start of the season. They were far more active on the basepaths, something he indicated in the post-game presser that he wants to continue, and he allowed youngest Marcelo Mayer to stay in the game against left-handed pitching. Mayer rewarded Tracy’s faith in him with an RBI single to put the team up 5-1. Tracy will likely get the rest of the season as an extended audition for the full-time manager role in 2027. If the team responds well to him, and there’s evidence that may be the case, then he should have the inside track for the position over anyone else. Make no mistake, Tracy has been viewed as the manager in waiting by some for quite some time. There will be a lot of people behind the scenes hoping he succeeds. He likely has his future in his own hands right now. No pressure or anything. David Ross Current Role: ESPN Analyst Rossy is going to be a very popular name fans think of most when they start to ponder who will replace Cora in a full-time role next season. He’s a World Series champion, fan-favorite, and semi-recent MLB manager who was only relieved of his duties because the Cubs' dream candidate became available. Ross also has a couple of different connections to President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow. The two played for the Red Sox together and Ross was the manager of the Cubs when Breslow was brought into Chicago to head up their pitching department. He went 262-284 overall in Chicago, good for a .480 winning percentage. That won’t inspire a ton of confidence right away, but he’s likely to get an interview simply because of the good PR and his history with Breslow. Rocco Baldelli Current Role: Working in the Dodgers’ Front Office Would Baldelli consider leaving the cushy L.A. lifestyle and make the move to Beantown as the manager of the Red Sox? It’s possible. Baldelli’s tenure in Minnesota ended with a whimper — he was relieved of his duties after posting a 70-92 record in 2025 that can largely be attributed to the Twins having a fire sale at the trade deadline. He posted a 527-505 managerial record during his seven-year tenure with the Twins and for all intents and purposes, his teams apparently enjoyed playing for him. He has one 100+ win season under his belt and likely would be a solid bridge between the front office and the players. He’s seen his way through semi-rebuilds and coached teams that have won their division. While Sox fans likely will look to his last season with the Twins as a sign that he’s maybe not the right man for the job, he’s going to land a job back in the dugout sooner than later. While we likely won’t have any kind of answers until the offseason about who will lead the charge in 2027 for the Boston Red Sox, the three names above likely will garner the most interest early in the process. There has been some speculation that Dustin Pedroia could be viewed as a candidate, especially if the front office is trying to soothe troubled waters with the fans at the end of the season, but that just feels too far-fetched with the current state of the front office. There will likely be other managers who move on from their teams and vice versa as the season unfolds, so expect the potential list of candidates to grow as we march on to the dog days of summer. View the full article

The New York Mets are turning back to David Peterson in their starting rotation, and just like their season, success hinges on razor-thin margins. When everything is clicking for Peterson, he throws enough strikes to limit walks, get ahead in the count, and generate ground balls to keep the game within reach. It isn’t an overwhelming or dominant game plan, but it will get guys out, keep the bullpen from being overtaxed, and get you a start closer to the guys you really trust. For the first four months of the 2025 season, Mets fans were treated to the best possible outcome of this profile. Over 21 starts, through August 1, Peterson posted a 2.83 ERA, with the Mets going 12-9 in his starts. Unfortunately, his final nine starts saw his ERA balloon to 8.42, during which the Mets went 3-6 and fell out of the playoff race. But here’s the thing: Peterson didn’t actually pitch all that much worse. His FIP was 3.36 over his first 21 starts, and 3.88 over his final nine. The reality is that Peterson’s effectiveness is somewhat left to chance. He doesn’t possess overwhelming stuff, and, paradoxically, he isn’t particularly adept at generating soft contact. What he does do is direct contact towards the ground, which limits damage and allows him to weather a lineup multiple times. Adding more variance into the equation is that Peterson is one of the most difficult players to project. This is anecdotal analysis, but few players have a larger divergence between their ERA estimators. For his career, he has a FIP of 3.91, an xERA of 4.65, and a SIERA of 4.14, against a career ERA of 4.16. While that makes SIERA look like the golden goose, when you look at all of this data season over season, the relationship cracks. What does this all mean? In effect, prognosticating Peterson’s future performance based on generally reliable ERA estimators isn’t quite so simple. SIERA has done a good job mirroring his career ERA, but xERA, which has the largest difference between his career ERA, has the smallest season-to-season standard deviation. This dynamic is interesting in its own right, but it makes talking about Peterson’s future performance a bit murky. However, we can talk about how Peterson, and his admittedly limited profile, can prosper. One of my personal sports analysis idioms is, “the main thing has to be the main thing.” The basic conceit is that every professional athlete has some singular core skill that is the foundation of their game. Remember Matt Harvey? His main thing was that he could throw four-seam fastballs down Main Street and prosper. When he stopped being able to do that, he was out of the league in short order. For David Peterson, the main thing is that he’ll throw his sinker and then hope for the best. The bread and butter of Peterson’s approach is that he can coax favorable launch angles. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how hard you hit the ball if you hit it on the ground. For a pitcher who doesn’t rack up strikeouts, limit hard contact, or own a microscopic walk rate, it’s basically the only way you can survive in the majors. The problem that Peterson has run into this season is that his sinker has gone from a worm burner to a low-flying hazard. Last season, batters tagged Peterson’s sinker for an average exit velocity of 90.4 MPH and an average launch angle of -2 degrees. It led to a wOBA of .350, an xwOBA of .351, and a slugging percentage of .391. All told, the pitch was worth six runs of value or 0.7 runs per 100 pitches. Peterson’s sinker was by no means an elite pitch, but it was a solid enough base to get disadvantaged hitters to chase his off-speed pitches off the plate. This season, Peterson’s sinker has become an indescribable liability. Batters are hitting it for an average exit velocity of 95.7 MPH and at an average launch angle of 7 degrees. Unsurprisingly, that’s led to a wOBA of .487, an xwOBA of .517, and a slugging percentage of .594. That may not be the worst individual pitch in the majors, but it’s certainly in the running. So, what exactly caused his sinker to sink into the abyss? The first noticeable change is that Peterson is getting far less horizontal movement on the pitch. Last season, he generated 14.6 inches of arm-side movement, but that has decreased to 12.1 inches in 2026. For a sinker that averages 91.3 MPH, that loss of movement might have completely nuked the pitch's viability. On top of the loss of movement, Peterson hasn’t been locating it in nearly as advantageous locations. The first image shows Peterson’s sinker locations in 2025, while the second shows 2026. What stands out? The volume of pitches he has left in the middle-outer third of the plate has exploded, and hitters are absolutely teeing off on it, posting an .846 slugging on balls in play. It’s likely that with the sinker’s slightly diminished movement profile, it’s catching more of the plate and running away from fewer barrels than before. In many respects, it’s the worst of both worlds. So, what’s the best path forward for Peterson? I’d suggest throwing fewer sinkers for one. He has always had a junkerballer profile, but has consistently thrown his mediocre-at-best fastballs over 50% of the time. His slider has been a highly effective pitch this season and could keep hitters off his sinker a bit. However, I think the most likely outcome is that either he starts throwing his sinker more effectively by hitting better spots and/or generating more movement, or he finds himself out of the rotation again. The margins are razor-thin, and it’s sink or sinker for David Peterson. View the full article

Stats in this article were updated prior to games on April 28. Daulton Varsho has been known over his career for his exceptional defense in the outfield. In 2024, he won a Gold Glove Award for center field because he led all MLB players with a +16 Fielding Run Value and +28 Defensive Runs Saved. He also finished with +15 Outs Above Average, which put him in the 99th percentile among MLB fielders. Varsho's outstanding 2024 season was cut short by a shoulder strain, which forced him to miss the last 14 games. Despite the shoulder injury, he ranked in the 88th percentile in arm value and 40th percentile in arm strength. The Blue Jays center fielder missed the first 28 games of the 2025 season, recovering from offseason rotator cuff surgery. The surgery and other injuries would force Varsho to miss a total of 91 games that season. It was the first time since 2022 that he did not play in more than 135 games, and it was obvious he wasn't himself when he was on the field. The range was still there last season. His +9 Outs Above Average ranked him in the 95th percentile. However, his arm value and strength were markedly lower following his rotator cuff surgery, ranking at the 21st and 5th percentiles, respectively. His average throw velocity dropped from 83.7 mph in 2024 to 73.7 mph in 2025. With the decline, runners weren't afraid to take an extra base when baseballs were hit in Varsho's direction. His arm velocity has improved this season (79.7 mph), but it still isn't back to 100 percent. Varsho's right arm health isn't the only issue affecting his defense. A knee injury on April 17 this season has noticeably decreased his speed. He exited the game early on April 17 and only missed the next two games, but it's not clear whether something else is contributing to the speed decline, since it began before the injury was announced. His sprint speed has slipped from 28.4 mph in 2025 to 26.7 mph, putting him in the 37th percentile. The lack of speed has worsened his range, leaving him with just +1 Outs Above Average (71st percentile) a month into the season. His reaction times have also declined, with his outfielder jump on contact at a career low. This metric measures how many feet a defender travels in the correct direction within the first three seconds after a ball is hit. Varho's feet covered versus the average this season is -2.1. It's the first time in his career that this stat has been negative. In each of the last two seasons, Varsho had a +3.2 feet vs. average rating, which further proves there's a lingering issue. He's only averaging a total of 31.7 feet covered, nearly six feet fewer than in each of the last two seasons. Despite physical setbacks from injuries, the Blue Jays center fielder is still posting respectable defensive numbers and remains a key part of the team's defense. Varsho is only 29, so he still has time to heal up and return to his former elite defensive skills. View the full article

After a ninth-inning implosion on Monday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Miami Marlins came back the next day and won by a final score of 2-1, primarily thanks to their pitching staff. They were without the services of Pete Fairbanks, and they will continue to be for at least 15 days. Fairbanks was placed on the injured list prior to Tuesday's game with nerve irritation. Tyler Phillips entered in relief of the struggling closer in the series opener, allowing the game-winning hit to outfielder Kyle Tucker with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Phillips again entered in the ninth again on Tuesday and this time got the job done to pick up the save. "I was fired up," Phillips told the Marlins Radio Network following the game. "I was thinking about the outing from last night. If you saw me down in the bullpen, you probably would've thought that there was something wrong...just very excited to get back out there." After inducing a fly ball to Teoscar Hernández, Phillips surrendered a base hit to outfielder Andy Pages. After that, Hyeseong Kim flew out and Alex Freeland grounded out to end the game. "Tyler can go to a different place when he is on the mound," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "You couldn't find a nicer person, great dad. But when the gates open, Tyler has a switch that he has found and he is going to go out there and be incredibly aggressive and is a great competitor. For me, there was no hesitation to put him in that spot and we've seen him get so many big outs over the last couple of years, so he got right back out there tonight and did a great job." While Fairbanks is out, the plan is for the Marlins to go closer by committee, which we saw plenty of in 2025. However, Phillips has gotten off to an amazing start this season and now has a 1.47 ERA with two saves in 18 ⅓ innings pitched, suggesting he should be the leading candidate to pitch the ninth in these situations. It all started with Janson Junk, who had never faced the Dodgers in his career. On Tuesday, he turned in another strong start, going six shutout innings, striking out four in the process. Through six starts this season, the Marlins' fifth starter has a 3.00 ERA (best mark in Miami's rotation), 3.46 FIP, 5.73 K/9 and 2.18 BB/9. It was Junk's fastball that made a difference on Tuesday night. Three of his four strikeouts came on that pitch and he landed it for six first pitch strikes. His fastball topped out at 96.3 mph and averaged 94.7 mph. He also generated two whiffs with that pitch. Just like his last start, Junk was extremely efficient, averaging about 12 pitches per inning. "He set the tone on the mound," McCullough said. "They came out aggressive, and he really mixed things up. Moved the ball around, executed and was able to get through six innings very efficiently. After the first, he was able to settle in and threw well." The Marlins bullpen followed Junk and for the most part, kept things at bay. As a group, they allowed one run on four hits. They did not walk anyone, but also did not strike anybody out either. The Dodgers grounded out and flew out three times each after the Marlins turned to their bullpen. Thankfully, Junk and the pitching staff had just enough run support to win it. In the top of the second inning, facing Shohei Ohtani the pitcher, Owen Caissie drove in the games first run on a sacrifice fly. Agustin Ramirez, who was hit by a pitch in his at-bat, scored the run. In the top of the fifth inning, outfielder Kyle Stowers drove in what ended up being the winning run, an RBI single that scored Christopher Morel from second base. It gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead. Morel was making his Marlins debut, hitting eighth and playing first base. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and run scored. He was activated off the injured list on Monday before the first game of the series and Heriberto Hernández was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. Ohtani, who only participated in this game as a pitcher, went six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits, three walks and a season-high nine strikeouts. Before the start of the game, the Marlins made a lineup change, scratching Liam Hicks, who was set to catch Junk due to an illness, moving Agustin Ramirez behind the plate and Connor Norby into the designated hitter spot in the lineup. "He's feeling better," McCullough said. "It was right as he was getting ready for the game. His stomach was bothering him wasn't going to be able to go." Tuesday's win snapped the Marlins' nine-game losing streak at Dodger Stadium, which dated back to 2023. They improve to 14-16 on the season and are in search of the series win on Wednesday with Sandy Alcantara taking the mound. For LA, it'll be Tyler Glasnow. First pitch is at 3:10 pm ET. View the full article

Mason McCoy went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, and Griffin Canning fired five innings of one-run ball, as Triple-A El Paso routed the Albuquerque 16-2. Ethan Salas crushed a three-run homer, his third in as many games, in Double-A San Antonio's 17-7 loss. Alex McCoy homered for Fort Wayne in a 6-4 defeat at South Bend. Winyer Chourio struck out eight over five innings, but Lake Elsinore's bullpen succumbed late in a 4-3, 10-inning loss to Ontario. Padres Minor-League Transactions El Paso Chihuahuas transferred C Colton Vincent to the Development List. San Diego Padres transferred RHP Jeremiah Estrada's rehab assignment to El Paso Chihuahuas. Mason McCoy Homers, Chihuahuas Erupt In Rout Of Isotopes The El Paso Chihuahuas needed only one inning to take command in Albuquerque, then kept stomping the gas in a 16-2 victory over the Isotopes. The Chihuahuas set a season high for runs. Mason McCoy finished 4-for-4 with a homer, four RBIs, three runs scored, and a walk, while Nick Solak went 3-for-5 with four runs scored, two RBIs, a double, and a stolen base. Marcos Castañon added two hits, and Samad Taylor had a bases-loaded triple. Trailing 1-0, El Paso opened the second when Solak singled and moved up on a Pablo Reyes sacrifice bunt, before McCoy launched a two-run homer, his fifth of the season and fourth in the last five road games, to flip the lead. Castañon followed with a double, and the Chihuahuas were off. The decisive blow came in a six-run fourth as El Pason scored all of its runs with two outs. Solak and Rodolfo Durán were each hit by a pitch, McCoy walked, and Carlos Rodríguez drew a one-out bases-loaded walk to plate Solak. Jase Bowen poked an RBI single, and Taylor cleared the bases with a three-run triple. El Paso piled on five more in the ninth, capped by a Solak two-run double and a Reyes RBI triple. Griffin Canning, on a rehab assignment from the San Diego Padres following last year's Achilles injury, was sharp across five innings, allowing three hits and one unearned run while striking out four and walking one to earn the win. Jeremiah Estrada, who had his first rehab outing Friday for Low-A Lake Elsinore, made his second appearance with one walk and one strikeout in his lone inning. EP_0428.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Jase Bowen 5 1 1 2 0 2 Samad Taylor 4 2 1 3 2 0 Sung-Mun Song 6 1 1 1 0 2 Nick Solak 5 4 3 2 0 1 Pablo Reyes 3 2 1 1 2 1 Rodolfo Durán 4 1 0 0 1 0 Mason McCoy 4 3 4 4 1 0 Marcos Castañon 4 0 2 0 1 1 Carlos Rodríguez 3 2 0 1 2 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Griffin Canning 5 3 1 0 1 4 0 Garrett Hawkins 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 Jeremiah Estrada 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 Ethan Routzahn 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 Justin Yeager 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 Ethan Salas Hits HR In Third Straight Game, But Missions Fall Ethan Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, continued his power surge by homering in his third consecutive game, but the San Antonio Missions dropped a 17-7 decision to the Tulsa Drillers. Missions pitchers surrendered seven homers. Tulsa scored in the bottom of the first, then San Antonio answered in the second. Tirso Ornelas walked, Ryan Jackson singled him to second, and Luis Verdugo singled to load the bases before a wild pitch plated Ornelas and Francisco Acuna lifted a sacrifice fly that brought Jackson home. Tulsa countered with three in the bottom of the third to retake the lead 4-2. San Antonio's biggest swing came in the fourth as it scored four times. Braedon Karpathios singled to start the frame, Acuna singled one out later to put two on, and Kai Roberts doubled home Karpathios. Salas, batting leadoff, then crushed his third home run of the year, all in the last three games he has played, a three-run shot to right-center, to push the Missions in front 6-4. The lead held until Tulsa scored once in the fifth and four in the sixth to move ahead for good at 9-6. Each team scored once in the seventh, but the Driller put the game away with a seven-run eighth inning. Salas finished 2-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs, and a stolen base, while Karpathios went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored. The Missions left eight on base and struck out 14 times. Eric Yost, the starter, was tagged for five runs on four hits in 4⅓ innings with four walks and four strikeouts. Andrew Dalquist took the loss after allowing four runs in 1⅔ innings. SA_0428.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ethan Salas 5 1 2 3 0 2 Romeo Sanabria 4 1 0 0 1 1 Leandro Cedeño 5 0 2 0 0 2 Tirso Ornelas 2 1 0 0 3 0 Ryan Jackson 4 1 1 0 1 1 Braedon Karpathios 5 1 2 0 0 2 Luis Verdugo 4 0 2 0 0 1 Francisco Acuna 3 1 1 1 0 1 Kai Roberts 4 1 1 2 0 3 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Eric Yost 4 1/3 4 5 5 4 4 2 Andrew Dalquist 1 2/3 4 4 3 2 1 2 Josh Mallitz 1 2/3 5 7 7 3 1 2 Andrew Thurman 1/3 2 1 1 0 1 1 Alex McCoy Homers, But Fort Wayne Falls Late In South Bend The Fort Wayne TinCaps got a long ball from Alex McCoy and made a late charge, yet still dropped a 6-4 decision to South Bend. McCoy connected for his fifth homer of the year, a leadoff blast in the fourth that tied the game, 1-1. South Bend pulled back ahead with a run in the bottom of the fourth and added two more in the fifth to push the gap to 4-1. McCoy ended 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and two RBIs. Carlos Rodriguez had an RBI triple and Kasen Wells reached three times with a hit, two walks, scored a run, and had an RBI. Fort Wayne's most productive frame came in the eighth. Trailing 4-1, Wells walked with one out and Carlos Rodriguez drilled a two-out triple to right that brought Wells home. McCoy followed with a sharp double, his Midwest League-leading ninth two-bagger, to center, scoring Rodriguez to cut the deficit to 4-3. But South Bend tacked on two in the bottom half. In the ninth, Jake Cunningham was hit by a pitch, Jack Costello walked, and Lamar King Jr. was hit by a pitch to load the bases, before Wells worked a one-out bases-loaded walk to force home Cunningham, but the rally died on a strikeout and a groundout. Starter Maikel Miralles took the loss across four innings, allowing two runs on five hits with five walks and one strikeout. FW_0428.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Kasen Wells 3 1 1 1 2 1 Zach Evans 5 0 1 0 0 2 Carlos Rodriguez 5 1 1 1 0 0 Alex McCoy 4 1 2 2 0 0 Kavares Tears 4 0 0 0 0 2 Jake Cunningham 3 1 1 0 0 0 Jack Costello 2 0 1 0 2 0 Jonathan Vastine 3 0 0 0 0 1 Lamar King Jr. 0 0 0 0 0 0 Oswaldo Linares 4 0 0 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Maikel Miralles 4 5 2 2 5 1 0 Will Varmette 1 2 2 2 0 1 1 Matthew Watson 3 4 2 2 1 4 0 Winyer Chourio Dominates, But Lake Elsinore Falls In Extras Winyer Chourio carved up the Ontario lineup, yet the Lake Elsinore Storm came up short in a 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Tower Buzzers. Chourio worked five innings and allowed just one run on one hit, walking two and striking out eight to set the tone. After being held in check thanks in large part to rehabbing Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell, who struck out six and allowed one hit over three innings. The Storm finally broke through in the eighth. Trailing 2-1, pinch-hitter Luke Cantwell drew a walk, Qrey Lott entered to pinch-run, and Conner Westenburg reached on catcher's interference to put two aboard. Ryan Wideman grounded into a force out that pushed Lott to third, with Wideman then stealing second. Bradley Frye singled up the middle to plate Lott and Wideman, giving Lake Elsinore a 3-2 lead. The Storm threatened to add on after a Justin DeCriscio walk and a Victor Duarte hit by pitch, but Jorge Quintana flied out to strand the bases full. Ontario tied the game on a leadoff homer in the ninth and won it with two outs in the 10th. Joseph Herrera tossed two scoreless innings of relief with four strikeouts. Westenburg led the offense with a 2-for-3 night, a double, two stolen bases, including a steal of home, while Frye drove in two. LE_0428.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ryan Wideman 5 1 0 0 0 2 Bradley Frye 4 0 1 2 1 2 Truitt Madonna 5 0 0 0 0 5 Justin DeCriscio 4 0 1 0 1 0 Victor Duarte 3 0 0 0 0 1 Jorge Quintana 4 0 1 0 0 2 Jose Verdugo 4 0 1 0 0 1 Kerrington Cross 2 0 0 0 0 1 Luke Cantwell 0 0 0 0 1 0 Qrey Lott 0 1 0 0 0 0 Yoiber Ocopio 0 0 0 0 1 0 Conner Westenburg 3 1 2 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Winyer Chourio 5 1 1 1 2 8 0 Brandon Langley 1 1 1 1 2 1 0 Joseph Herrera 2 1 0 0 0 4 0 Will Koger 1 2/3 2 2 1 0 3 1 Top-20 Prospect Performance Kash Mayfield: DNP Ethan Salas: 2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, SB, 2 K Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Bradgley Rodriguez: DNP Humberto Cruz: DNP Miguel Mendez: DNP Ty Harvey: DNP Jorge Quintana: 1-for-4, 2 K Kale Fountain: DNP Ryan Wideman: 0-for-5, SB, 2 K Jagger Haynes: DNP Lamar King Jr.: 0-for-0, HBP Romeo Sanabria: 0-for-4, BB, K Truitt Madonna: 0-for-5, 5 K Michael Salina: DNP Garrett Hawkins: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K Kavares Tears: 0-for-4, 2 K Deivid Coronil: DNP Francis Pena: DNP Bryan Balzer: DNP View the full article

Transactions: Milwaukee Brewers sent OF Jackson Chourio on a rehab assignment to Nashville Sounds. Milwaukee Brewers sent 1B Andrew Vaughn on a rehab assignment to Nashville Sounds. RHP Cameron Wagoner assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from ACL Brewers. Biloxi Shuckers activated RHP Nick Merkel from the 7-day injured list. Biloxi Shuckers placed RHP Patricio Aquino on the 7-day injured list retroactive to April 25, 2026 LHP J.D. Thompson assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from ACL Brewers. SS Luiyin Alastre assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from Wilson Warbirds. RHP Jacob Morrison assigned to Wilson Warbirds from ACL Brewers. Wilson Warbirds released OF Demetrio Nadal. C Luis Corobo assigned to ACL Brewers from Wilson Warbirds. C Kevin Garcia assigned to Wilson Warbirds from ACL Brewers. RHP Ayendy Bravo assigned to ACL Brewers from Wilson Warbirds. A lot of players assigned to the ACL Brewers as Complex League is set to begin on Saturday. 2025 2nd and 3rd round picks Thompson and Morrison have been given their first professional assignments. Game Action: Nashville vs Norfolk (Orioles) was postponed and will be replayed as part of a double header on Thursday. It sounds like we will see the rehabbing Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn for five innings each on Wednesday as they look to get game ready this week. Biloxi Pre-game media notes Biloxi 7, Pensacola (Marlins) 2 Box Score As always, you are encouraged to read the official round-up from the team’s site: Five Unanswered Runs Aid Shuckers in Beatdown of Blue Wahoos The Shuckers beat the Blue Wahoos for the fifth time in seven games in April behind Bishop Letson’s best start of the season. Letson (5IP 3H 1R 1ER 1BB 6K) set season highs for innings and strikeouts, while issuing a season low one free pass. Letson’s performance set the tone for the Shuckers staff that struck out 14 Wahoos while walking just two. Check out one Leston’s strikeout and sword via the Biloxi X account: The teams swapped runs in the third inning, with an RBI ground out by Blake Burke opening the scoring. Burke then put the Shuckers ahead in the sixth with his eighth home run of the season: Pensacola tied the game with a home run off reliverJesus Broca (2IP 1H 1R 1ER 0BB 4K), which was the only blemish on his ledger en route to earning the win. In the eighth inning, the Shuckers broke the game open. First, Damon Keith blasted his third homer of the season: Keith, who only came to Brewers’ system via trade on March 27, has been impressive with a .348/.444/.674 line in 52 plate appearances this month. The Shuckers then added to the lead via a pair of walks, a pair of singles, and a pair of wild pitches. Jheremy Vargas, in his first action in four days, drove in a run on one of his two singles to make it 6-2. Eduardo Garcia added an RBI single in the 9th to close the scoring for the night. Dasan Brown was on base three times and Dylan O’Rae added a double and walk for the Shuckers, who improved to 12-10 on the season. Top prospect Jesus Made was 0 for 5 and now has just one hit in his last 19 at-bats. Tyson Hardin (0-1 6.19ERA) will look to follow Letson and post a strong start in game two of the series on Wednesday. Wisconsin pre-game media notes Quad Cities (Royals) 14, Wisconsin 7 Box Score Tuesday night’s series opener in Appleton was perhaps even uglier than the score suggests. The Rattlers’ run prevention unit did not work a solitary 1-2-3 inning, allowing runs in seven frames. In total, the Wisconsin pitchers issued 10 walks, 13 hits, and one HBP. The defense also committed three errors. A lot of crooked numbers in the Rattlers' pitching box score, so no need to recap them all here. Ethan Dorchies (3.1IP 6H 4R 4ER 3BB 3K) started and took his third loss of the season. The Rattlers' offense had been red hot with 26 home runs in the month of April. However, the big bats were held in check and the rest of the offense managed just six hits despite scoring seven runs. Quad Cities was able to quiet the top four batters in the order. Reigning Midwest League Player of the Week Braylon Payne was hitless in five at-bats. Marco Dinges, Josh Adamczewski and Eric Bitonti also were held hitless in 12 at-bats with a combined six strikeouts. Before the game got out of hand, Juan Baez produced an RBI double. Luis Castillo drove in two runs on the night, including this chopper down the left field line. The newly promoted Luiyin Alastre drove in his first two runs at the level on this play that was generously ruled a double. All in all you know it was a pretty tough night when the lone highlight (lowlight?) on the official Rattlers X account was a beer cup pyramid that was built during the Rattlers’ late game rally: Stop me if you heard this before, but there looks to be some inclement weather in store for the Rattlers the next couple of days. Weather permitting, Wande Torres (1-0, 5.14 ERA) will take the mound on Wednesday. The first place Rattlers will look to improve on their home record, as they are just 4-4 at Neuroscience Group Field. Wilson pre-game media notes Salem (Red Sox) 6, Wilson 0 Box Score Wilson Shutout by Salem in Series Opener A tough night in Wilson as the Warbirds were shutout 6-0 and managed just three hits (all singles) on offense. Second baseman Luis Lameda was on base twice with a single and a walk. Lameda’s .342 average and .878 OPS really stick out among the Wilson lineup that regularly features seven or eight hitters with sub .200 averages. Right hander Enderson Mercado started on the mound for Wilson and continued his tough start to the season. Mercado (4.2IP 4H 4R 4ER 3BB 4K) has allowed four or more runs in four of his five appearances this season. Peyton Niksch (2.1IP 1H 0R 0BB 1K) worked clean for his fifth consecutive appearance without an earned run allowed. Garrett Hodges struck out two in his one inning of relief. Wilson has the early first pitch on Wednesday (10AM CT) when RHP Jarette Bonet (1-1, 4.15 ERA) will toe the rubber in game two of the series. 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

TRANSACTIONS In advance of their series with the Iowa Cubs, there were multiple moves in St. Paul RHP Ryan Gallagher was promoted from Wichita and will make his triple-A debut with the Saints on Wednesday. Gallagher was 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA and 20 K’s in 18 total innings in four starts with the Wind Surge. LHP Aaron Rozek was sent down to Wichita in a one-for-one swap and also started Tuesday’s game for the Wind Surge. The Minnesota Twins also selected the contract of RHP Luis Garcia from the Saints. To make room for Garcia on the 40-man roster, Zak Kent was DFAd. Wichita was also assigned RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto from the Cedar Rapids Kernels to fill out their pitching staff. With the Kernels, RHP Nick McAuliffe was assigned to the FCL Twins and RHP Brent Francisco was sent down to Fort Myers. Taking their places was exciting RHP Riley Quick, who will make his first start in the Midwest League on Wednesday. Quick made three starts with the Mighty Mussels pitching eight total innings, allowing just one hit, no runs, walking three, and striking out 13. Not to be left out of the week’s transactions, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels placed OF Eduardo Beltre on the 7-day injured list with a right knee contusion. RHP Matthew Becker was assigned from the FCL Twins to take Quick’s place, and SS Bruin Agbayani was activated from the injured list. SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 5, St. Paul 9 Box Score The Saints offense wasted little time getting this one going. After a one-two-three top of the first from starting pitcher John Klein, the offense sent every batter in the lineup to the plate in the bottom half. Kaelen Culpepper led off with a 106.7 MPH home run to center field. Walker Jenkins followed with a 107.2 MPH double to center. Gabriel Gonzalez drove him in for their second run with a single into center. Ryan Kreidler followed with a single of his own before Emmanuel Rodriguez grounded out for the first out of the inning but moved both runners up. Kyler Fedko then blasted his sixth home run of the season; a 105.4 MPH shot to left center over the bullpen to make it 5-0 Saints. Orlando Arcia joined the 100+ MPH hit parade with a sharp single to left, but the next two batters went down to end the inning. In the bottom of the second Gonzalez joined the Conga line with a 104 MPH, 402-foot home run to center to make it 6-0. Klein kept the Cubs off the scoreboard for the first two innings but ran into some trouble in the top of the third. A pair of home runs around a single closed the lead to 6-3, but that’s as close as the Cubs would get. Klein went on to finish four innings and was charged with three earned runs on those three hits while striking out five. In the bottom of the fourth Culpepper hit his second home run of the game, a 103 MPH blast the other way. Not to be outdone by all of his teammates, Emmanuel Rodriguez decided to hit the second hardest ball in all of professional baseball in the bottom of the fifth. His 118.3 MPH laser to right was his fifth blast of the season. His next time up, Rodriguez ho-hummed a 110.2 MPH shot to right-center for his second of the game, making it 9-4 Saints. In relief of Klein, Andrew Bash (W, 2 IP, H, ER, BB, 2 K), Christian Roa (1 IP, K), Trent Baker (1 IP, BB, K), and Zak Kent (1 IP, H, ER, 3 K) finished off the final five innings. Culpepper (3-for-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI), Gonzalez (2-for-5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K), and Rodriguez (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI) had multiple hits. Fedko led the way with three RBI. Jenkins finished 1-for-3 with a double and two walks. WIND SURGE WISDOM Arkansas 4, Wichita 3 Box Score A later power surge from Wichita got them close, but the home team wasn’t able to complete a comeback on Tuesday as baserunners were hard to find all game. Taking the bump in Wichita was right-hander Jose Olivares, and he was able to complete the first three innings. He was charged with just one earned run on two hits, striking out four, but also issued three free passes. Of his 50 pitches, 31 went for strikes (62%). Ricky Castro started the fourth inning and recorded five outs, giving up a single run in each of the fourth and fifth for a 3-0 Travelers lead. He gave up four hits, walked one, and struck out one. Jaylen Nowlin went 2 1/3 innings, allowing a single run on a solo homer and striking out one. Sam Ryan went the final two innings, keeping Arkansas off the board by surrendering just one hit and striking out two. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth the Wind Surge had managed just one hit so far in the game, a single from Billy Amick to lead off the fifth inning. Garrett Spain got them their second, and first run, with his sixth home run of the season to right field. In the bottom of the seventh Kala’i Rosario led off with a walk, and Amick followed with his sixth home run of the year, an opposite field shot into the bullpen in right. Rosario got on base as the tying runner in the bottom of the ninth with a single but would be left stranded to end the game. Amick finished 2-for-4 with the home run and two RBI to lead the way. As a team they finished just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left only three men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS West Michigan 2, Cedar Rapids 3 Box Score Much like their friends in Kansas, the Kernels had trouble producing baserunners at home in Iowa. Would they follow suit and be unable to make anything happen by finishing the game 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position? Top pitching prospect Dasan Hill made the start and worked around a walk and a single in the first by striking out three. He retired them in order in the second including a strikeout, before escaping another jam in the third by inducing a double play ball and picking up his fifth K of the night. Finally in the fourth a pair of singles and a walk led to the first run of the game for the Visiting team and put an end to Hill’s start after four frames. He allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks but struck out seven. 42 of his 72 pitches went for strikes (58%) and he notched 10 whiffs in the outing. The Kernels took the lead in the bottom of the fifth thanks in part to an error to put a man on base, but it was Jaime Ferrer’s third home run of the season that put them up 2-1. Reliever Jason Doktorczyk gave that run back in the top of the sixth after a leadoff triple but otherwise held the Whitecaps in check for the next three innings. He allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out three. Jacob Wosinski finished off the final two innings, allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out two. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, Danny De Andrade had an eight-pitch battle as the leadoff man. He won. De Andrade sent that eighth pitch over the wall in left to walk it off for the Kernels. Despite just three hits and four walks in the game, both those homers were enough to overcome seven hits and five walks from the Whitecaps. The Kernels struck out just five times, while their opponents racked up 12. I guess it doesn’t matter if your batting-average-on-balls-in-play for the game is .050 compared to .350 if pitches end up over the fence for you instead of into the catcher's mitt. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 11, Daytona 10 Box Score The Mighty Mussels blew this one open in the top of the fourth inning, scoring seven runs to take a 8-1 lead at the time. Bruin Agbayani got the game’s scoring started in the top of the third with an RBI double. The Tortugas matched that in the bottom half before Fort Myers went off in the fourth. JP Smith led off with a solo homer. Quentin Young added a one-out single. After a strikeout, their next six runs were scored with two outs. Two more singles, four walks, and a two-run double from Yasser Mercedes put the Mighty Mussels out front 8-1. In the top of the fifth they stretched that lead to 10-1 thanks to a sacrifice fly from Dameury Pena and bases-loaded walk from Smith. They would end up needing all of those runs to maintain their lead. Right-hander Kolten Smith made the start and was excellent through his three innings. He gave up just one earned run on three hits and a walk, while striking out six. A leadoff single in the fourth put an end to his outing, bringing on Matthew DesMarets from the bullpen. He escaped the fourth with no damage but got bludgeoned by the Tortugas in the fifth. They scored eight runs to make 10-9 before the inning was over, including a pair of home runs. DesMarets was only charged with two earned runs (out of seven total) thanks to a pair of errors, but he also allowed five total hits and a walk. Brian Zeldin did his best to stabilize the game, going the next 2 1/3 innings. He was charged with two unearned runs on five hits but racked up six strikeouts or it could have gone the other way. Michael Hilker (1 IP, 3 BB, 2 K), and Mike McKenna (1 IP, BB, 2 K) also made it a little interesting in the eighth and ninth frames but locked it down when it mattered. The Mighty Mussels got the final run they needed in the top of the sixth when Young led off with a walk and scored on a double from Jayson Bass. Smith (2-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K) and Young (2-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 K) each had multiple hits. Mercedes drove in two and drew a walk. Harry Genth drew three free passes and scored three runs from the nine-spot in the lineup. This was the Mighty Mussels sixth win in a row. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Dasan Hill, Cedar Rapids Kernels (4 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day – Kaelen Culpepper, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Kyler Fedko; St. Paul Saints (8-for-18, 7 R, 6 HR, 9 RBI, some ridiculous average exit velocity) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they performed on Tuesday. #1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 1-for-3, R, 2B (3), 2 BB #2 – Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR (5), 2 RBI WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - RHP Ryan Gallagher (0-0, -.-- ERA, Triple-A debut) Arkansas @ Wichita (11:05AM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (2-0, 3.86 ERA) West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-0, -.-- ERA, High-A debut) Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM CDT) - RHP Eric Hammond (0-0, 3.38 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View the full article

Box Score Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan - 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (88 pitches, 62 strikes (70.5% strikes)) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (7) Lowest WPA: Cole Sands (-0.21), Tristan Gray (-0.16), Victor Caratini (-0.13) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Coming off a win in game one of the series, the Twins turned to Joe Ryan to face off with Logan Gilbert and the Mariners. Ryan was dominant early. He got into a little trouble in the third inning, giving up two hits and having runners on first and third with one out, but then struck Cal Raleigh out before getting Julio Rodríguez to ground out to end the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, the Twins got singles from Royce Lewis and Byron Buxton, but were unable to push a run across. The game remained scoreless until Byron Buxton led off the bottom of the fifth inning with his seventh home run of the season—and second of the series. Alas, the third turned out to be a better microcosm of the night than the fifth was. The Twins were only able to get one run while Logan Gilbert was in the game, but they did force him to throw more pitches than he would have liked. Gilbert lasted five innings and threw 92 pitches. That got the Twins into the Seattle bullpen, but the bullpen turned out to be up to that lengthy task. The Mariners got a couple of two-out hits in the top of the sixth, tying the game on a Josh Naylor single. They broke the tie after a leadoff double from Randy Arozarena in the top of the seventh, which chased Ryan from the game. Mariners second baseman Cole Young got the two-out single off Kody Funderburk that, as it turned out, opened the floodgates. The Twins bullpen had an unfortunate eighth inning, giving up three hits and three runs. Josh Naylor got his third hit of the night (a three-run home run off Cole Sands), giving the Mariners a four-run lead. Check out the bat flip. Meanwhole, the Twins offense was virtually lifeless against the Mariners bullpen, mustering one hit over four innings against four separate Mariners relievers. Eduard Bazardo, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Cooper Criswell all threw a scoreless frame, without the traffic and sense of danger Gilbert seemed to deal with all night. Added to the roster before the game, righty Luis García made his Twins debut and gave up two runs in the top half of the ninth inning, on a two-out double by Rodríguez. Garrett Acton hit the injured list just minutes before the first pitch, with a shoulder strain, so García might be needed for a while. On the other hand, the team might swap him out for another fresh arm after his underwhelming team debut. What’s Next? The Twins will look to bounce back and win game three on Wednesday afternoon against the Mariners. Taj Bradley (3-1, 2.91 ERA) will face off against George Kirby (4-2, 2.97 ERA). Bradley has been a bright spot for the Twins this year and will look to get back on track after giving up six runs against the Tampa Bay Rays in his last start. Kirby will look to continue his very good start to the year, most recently giving up two runs over six innings versus the St. Louis Cardinals. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 PM CT. FRI SAT SUN MON TUES TOT Morris 0 0 0 40 0 40 Orze 10 9 0 0 0 19 Topa 0 0 10 0 0 10 Rogers 0 15 0 14 0 29 Banda 7 0 9 0 0 16 Funderburk 0 0 20 0 15 35 Garcia 0 0 0 0 23 23 Sands 0 0 7 0 13 20 View the full article

Despite another steep drop in velocity this season, Bailey Ober's numbers look significantly better than in 2025. A closer look at how the 6-foot-9 righty has been more effective with an 88-MPH fastball. View the full article