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Tied for last in the Central, the Milwaukee Brewers have clear flaws. Sal Frelick, Joey Ortiz, and others aren't hitting, and most of their lineup isn't hitting for power. Jackson Chourio, Andrew Vaughn, and Christian Yelich will be back in the next couple of weeks to a month to fix that. Jacob Misiorowski, Brandon Woodruff, and the rest of the rotation have dominated, but most of the bullpen haven't gotten the job done. View the full article

The Royals' offense seemed to take a turn in this most recent homestand. In the last seven days, Kansas City scored 41 runs, the most among MLB teams over that span. They also ranked first in OPS (.971), batting average (.310), and OBP (.396), and also had 26 walks to 35 strikeouts, good for a BB/K ratio of 0.74. Even though they went 4-2 against the Orioles and Angels this past week, the Royals looked like the team they were projected to be in the offseason. They also demonstrated a strong ability to come back and hit in the clutch in this homestand, something that had evaded them all season until this most recent series against the Angels. However, the Royals will hit the road to start a six-game West Coast road trip against the Sacramento Athletics and the Seattle Mariners. While Kansas City is 9-7 this year at Kauffman Stadium, they are 2-10 on the road and, most recently, winless on their road trips to Detroit and the Bronx. So what has been the difference for the Royals at home and on the road? The offense has been good at Kauffman and atrocious away from Kansas City. Thus, let's take a look at what the Royals have done as a team and individually at home and on the road, and what will be some key things for fans to pay attention to as Kansas City goes up against the Athletics and Mariners this week. The Royals Have Been Excellent at Home Offensively Kansas City has gotten a lot of grief for its offensive performance this season. While they haven't been bad, they've struggled to be consistent. That is evidenced by ranking 15th in average, 17th in OBP, 16th in OPS, 20th in home runs, and 23rd in runs scored. That's not as bad as their 11-17 record indicates, but it's certainly not up to the standard that they are capable of. How do we know that the Royals are capable of more? Well, at home, Kansas City has been a Top-10 offense, at least according to wRC+. Below is a list of MLB teams and their performance in some important hitting categories, which include the following: BB% K% ISO wOBA wRC+ Here's a look at that table of data, as organized by team wRC+. At home, the Royals have been surprisingly led by the bottom of their lineup. Kyle Isbel, Kansas City's No. 9 hitter, leads in home wRC+ at 178.8. Isaac Collins, who usually hits between 6 and 8, is second with a 164.1 wRC+. Maikel Garcia leads off for the Royals, but he's been their third-best hitter at home on a wRC+ end with a 157.3 mark. At home, the Royals have 12 hitters with a wRC+ over 100. The only regular hitters who do not have such wRC+ marks are Vinnie Pasquantino (54.5) and Salvador Perez (70.4). Tyler Tolbert has a -100 wRC+, but that is a skewed sample (he only has one plate appearance at home). Thus, despite all the naysays, Kansas City has been a good offensive team, and the numbers back it up. It's just that it's only been at Kauffman Stadium so far this year. The Road Numbers Have Been Bleak (Though Competition Has Been Tougher) So, we know that the Royals' offense has been awesome at the K. Unfortunately, it's been the polar opposite for this hitting group on the road through 12 games. Here's a look at MLB team metrics, as organized by wRC+, utilizing the same metrics as the table in the section above. Notice where the Royals rank in this one. As fans can see, the Royals rank dead last in road wRC+. And not just last, but last by a considerable margin. Their 57.5 wRC+ is not only 61.1 points worse than their home wRC+ but also 17.6 points worse than the second-worst team's road wRC+ (the Mariners, whom they play this weekend). Let's take a look at how the Royals hitters have fared so far this year away from Kauffman on an individual basis. While the Royals had 12 hitters who had wRC+ marks of 100 or better at home, they only have four hitters in that range. That includes Caglianone (107.3), Bobby Witt Jr. (124.3), Jensen (131.1), and Elias Diaz (370.9). That said, Diaz's numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, as he only has three plate appearances. Conversely, some Royals who have performed well at home have been brutal on the road. Collins, who has the second-best home wRC+, has the worst road wRC+ with a -75 mark (he hasn't gotten a single hit this year away from the K). Perez joins Collins in the negative wRC+ club with a -2.2 mark. Furthermore, Jonathan India (38.2), Starling Marte (35.7), Garcia (31.9), Isbel (19.8), and Michael Massey (14.1) all have wRC+ marks under 40. That's a sizeable number, and a big reason why they have performed so poorly on the road so far this year. Some have held their own on the road, much to the Royals' surprise. Cags has been just as good on the road as he is at home, based on wRC+. Loftin has a wRC+ under 100, but not by much. Vinnie's 61 wRC+ on the road isn't good, but it's better than what he's been doing at Kauffman this year. A big difference is that the road schedule has been harder for the Royals than their home slate in April. On the road this year, they've played the Braves, Guardians, Tigers, and Yankees. All four teams are at or near the top of their respective divisions. Conversely, at home this year, they've played the Twins, Brewers, White Sox, Orioles, and Angels. Of that group, only the Brewers have a winning record, and it's just 14-13. Hence, some of that context has to be taken into account given the Royals' road woes. Still, even with the boost in competition, the gap between their home and road hitting performance has been stark and needs to be addressed on this upcoming road trip. What Should We Be Looking For in This Road Trip? The Royals will face an Athletics team that is first in the AL West with a 15-13 record but a -8 run differential. The Mariners have a 14-16 record and a -1 run differential. Thus, these road opponents will be much easier than those they faced in the previous four series away from Kauffman. Still, it will be important for Kansas City to demonstrate that they can hit away from the K, especially with the pitching, especially the bullpen, regressing a bit this season. Collins, Isbel, and Massey will be key secondary hitters who need to show that they can hit well, not just at the K, but in other ballparks as well. In terms of primary hitters, Salvy and Maikel need to show that they can be much better on the road, as their struggles have weighed down the Royals at the top of the batting order. My hope is that the confidence from this past homestand will carry over to this road trip, especially in their first series at Sutter Health Park, which is the second-most hitter-friendly ballpark in baseball over the past two seasons, according to Statcast Park Factors. Thus, this is the kind of ballpark, as well as the opposing pitching staff (the Athletics rotation ranks 26th in ERA), that can help the Royals get out of their offensive funk on the road. Of course, the Royals need to actually hit and produce runs on the road in this upcoming trip, especially in Sacramento. A solid series against the Athletics could help build some much-needed momentum for a Mariners series against a Seattle team that's 6-4 in their last 10 games. A poor hitting series in the State Capital of California? Well, the Royals will have a tougher time scoring runs at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, which has the second-lowest scoring Park Factor in baseball over the past two years (only Texas' Globe Life Field is worse). Seeing Collins, Garcia, Isbel, Massey, and Salvy turning it around on the road in this upcoming series against the Athletics would not just be a good start for the Royals on this trip, but also for future trips on the road for the remainder of the 2026 season. 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To talk about Michael Massey’s trajectory over the past few years requires us to look for a moment at the story we’ve been telling about Jonathan India. The Jonathan India for Brady Singer trade in November 2024 was made to fill a very specific need: The Royals, at the time, were desperate for a leadoff hitter. In a 2024 when many things went right, the leadoff spot included a rotating cast of characters with below-average cumulative production. They tried Maikel Garcia, Garrett Hampson, Massey, Nick Loftin, and Tommy Pham there. They even slotted Freddy Fermin into leadoff for a couple of games. While the 2025 rallying cry for improvement was “No offense from our outfield! No offense from our outfield,” the 2024 cry was frequently “No offense leading off!” The slashline for the leadoff spot was .228/.270/.334 in 2024 and ranked dead-last across MLB in OBP. So, coming off a 2024 season when starting pitching was a bright spot, the Royals dealt a homegrown starting pitcher in Singer to bring in a leadoff hitter in India. Defensively? Kansas City didn’t need a second baseman; they needed a leadoff hitter. And the philosophy on defensive positioning was, “We’ll try guys in different spots. We’ll figure it out.” And as we all know now, the 2025 season chugged along, and Jonathan India didn’t shine on either offense or defense. He wasn’t the leadoff hitter fans hoped to see, and he wasn’t even leading off anymore by the end of the season. He hit a career-low .233/.323/.346. But one thing that stands out about this entire scenario is how much grace India was granted following a poor season. Everyone was quick to offer excuses for why he didn’t have a great first year as a Royal: He was joining a new team, he was learning new positions as the club tried him out at third base and in left field, and he was dealing with a host of minor injuries. He was out of sync. He wasn’t himself. He didn’t have the stability he needed. That was the narrative. The thinking to start 2026 was that with the stability of moving back consistently to second base, he’d find himself again. What’s so interesting about this story we’ve told about Jonathan India is that it feels very different from the story we’ve told about Michael Massey, even though, I’d argue, their circumstances aren’t all that dissimilar. Massey had a good 2024. Yes, he was out quite a bit with injuries. And, yes, one of those was his recurring lower back injury that might flare up again at any moment. But in a year when the Royals made the playoffs, Massey was a solid member of the team when healthy, offensively and defensively. Across 100 games, he accumulated 1.5 fWAR, was an above-average fielder, and slashed .259/.449/.743 with an OPS+ of 108. It was only because the front office brought India into the fold that Massey’s role on the team went through a big shake-up. While trying the new “leadoff hitter” in various spots on the field, Massey too was moved around between second, left field, and the bench. And then? He didn’t have a great year. He didn’t contribute nearly as much as he did in 2024. And the narrative seemed to be: Massey’s just not very good. But one thing I haven’t been able to shake in watching this play out and reading/hearing about Massey’s role is that no one seems to grant him the same grace as India. But let’s think about what really happened: Just like India, Massey was asked to learn new positions. He was, by some accounts, demoted away from his natural position at second to make way for a new guy, and that was after he’d had a good year. He was thrown out of sync, too, and essentially lost his job as the everyday second baseman. What I want to argue here is that perhaps India has been extended a little too much grace for his lackluster performance and that Massey hasn’t been given enough. Had India never entered the picture, what might Massey have done as the everyday second baseman last year? We’ll never know. But the moment we find ourselves in presently is that India is dealing with another minor injury, we have a very solid leadoff man now in Garcia, following his breakout season last year, and Massey is, at least for now, the everyday starting second baseman once again. As has been widely reported, he worked a lot on his swing mechanics in the offseason. (I’d posit he was working on his confidence as much as his swing.) He’s a thoughtful player who seems grounded and ready to go. And he’s showing flashes of what made him good in the past. As Mike Gillespie wrote about earlier this week, it’s Massey’s time to seize the moment. Plus, India becomes a free agent after the 2026 season, while Massey is under team control through 2028. I hope he sticks as the everyday guy at second. Just like everyone said to start this year — that India just needs that consistent stability of his natural position to turn things on — maybe that’s what Massey needs, too. That, and a little grace. View the full article

It's only been two starts, but it's not too early to get deeply intrigued by Connor Prielipp's slider. Hell, it's practically too late. Where have you been? Why hasn't this fascination been gripping you for weeks, months, or years already? For now, though, we'll let you slide on that part. Let's focus on the present, and savor what has been an encouraging pair of starts by the young southpaw since his promotion to the majors earlier this month. Though he's run into a couple of rocky spots and given up four runs in his first nine big-league innings, it's felt more like Prielipp might have held his opponents to less than like they might have produced more. On Monday night in Minneapolis, he gave up just two runs in five frames against the Marinersne of them came home when Tristan Gray, struggling to read a foul fly ball not far behind third base but twisting toward the stands, had to accelerate slightly as he ran into the tarp, leaving him unable to get off a throw quickly and strongly enough to retire J.P. Crawford on what became a very shallow sacrifice fly. As it happens, though, that very pitch is a good place to start our discussion of what has made Prielipp stand out so much in these two outings. It was 3-1 on Mariners second baseman Cole Young, but Prielipp went to his slider—because that's what Prielipp does. Of the 166 pitches he's thrown in his first two appearances in the majors, Prielipp has selected the slider 78 times (47%). He is, above all, a slider monster. In the past, that profile—a slider-first lefty—wouldn't work in the starting rotation. Right now, though, it looks like Prielipp can make it work. For one thing, the pitch is really, really good, in a vacuum. Some context might help us see just how good that is. Here are the pitch movement and velocity profiles of three lefty pitchers. Two of them have made the American League All-Star team and drawn serious Cy Young Award consideration within the last half-decade. Prielipp doesn't have the run on the fastball or the consistent depth on the curve that Cole Ragans can boast. He doesn't have the velocity or carry on the heater that Shane McClanahan had at his best, before going through an elbow surgery wringer similar to the one Prielipp went through during an overlapping span. Of these three lefties with similar size, stuff, command and arm slots, though, Prielipp's is the standout slider. The similarities to the best of Ragans's version of the pitch are almost eerie. Here's Prielipp putting away a batter with his sharp breaker. WU8yQTlfVjBZQUhRPT1fQmxVRUFnVldVUUlBREFCVVhnQUhVMU5RQUZoUkFWTUFWQUZVVWdRQ0J3RmRVUXNG.mp4 Here's Prielipp looking very similar in shape, but throwing the pitch harder, with the same result. TzA0VmxfWGw0TUFRPT1fVndGU1VWQUdYZ3NBQ0ZGVUJBQUhBbFZTQUZnR0JsUUFCVklHQWdjQUFBQUJCVkZX.mp4 Prielipp's slider even has a similar spin profile to those of Ragans and McClanahan, but he can achieve a bit more velocity—or, at other times, more movement, at the expense of velocity. That's where he branches off from these two encouraging comparators, but also (perhaps) how he can eventually meet up with them on the high road among junior-circuit lefties. Notice that the distribution of Prielipp's shapes on the slider was a bit wider—the yellow blob a bit bigger—for Prielipp than for Ragans or McClanahan. Now, consider this, too: The above only shows his first start's slider movements. Here's another look at it, with a line drawn through the slider blob to show the orientation along which he manipulated the shape of the pitch against the Mets. Compare that to this chart, which corresponds to the above but for his start Monday against Seattle. The feel he showed for the slider on Monday has a chance to make him special. On a chilly, rainy night, Prielipp didn't throw quite as hard or get quite as much sheer spin as he did in his amped-up debut in New York. He showed the ability to shift the offering east and west, though, which proved important. In the game in New York, Prielipp got seven whiffs on 24 swings on the slider, but he also allowed eight batted balls in play with the pitch. Five of those were hit at least 95 miles per hour; four of them went for hits. On Monday night, he got six whiffs on 16 slider swings. The Mariners put six balls in play on the pitch, but only one was hit hard, and none went for hits. Prielipp's slider is, in truth, two or three different pitches. Pitchers say there are three ways for a good breaking ball to get outs: Strike-to-ball: the good, old-fashioned chase-inducer, aimed at getting a whiff; Ball-to-strike: the one that should freeze a batter, usually with a noticeable early break and more velocity difference from the fastball, prompting them to give up on a pitch that lands in the zone; and The in-zone: a pitch nasty enough to miss bats or induce weak, useless contact even when it both starts and ends inside the zone, with a blend of power and spin that a hitter can't outmuscle. Prielipp has shown all three of these, though it's not yet clear how consistently he can execute each. One thing is clear, though: there's no count in which he won't go to the slider. We saw him use it for a key out on a 3-1 pitch, above. Here are 10 instances of him starting right-handed batters with a slider on an 0-0 count, just in these two games. It's not as simple as one version of the pitch being confined to a given count or to a given matchup. Prielipp will throw a sharp, biting strike-to-ball slider on the first pitch in one at-bat against a given hitter, then take advantage of the fact that they're looking for that pitch by going ball-to-strike the next time. Indeed, he did just that to Julio Rodríguez Monday night. He's eager to get ahead, but doesn't feel any need to use his fastball to do so. That the in-zone slider—the one that slashes across the whole zone but never really threatens not to be within in—works so well to righties is a testament to its viciousness. Now, here are 10 of the whopping 36 times Prielipp has already thrown a slider with two strikes, trying (in various ways) to put hitters away. It's actually not an exceptional out pitch yet. Prielipp has seven strikeouts with it, but a pitch with this much potential can eventually put batters away at a better rate than 19.4%. Hitters are sitting on that pitch in those two-strike counts, though, which has allowed Prielipp to put them away with other stuff at times. He got two strikeouts with his fledgling curveball Monday night, and another with his changeup. Meanwhile, he's showing the capacity to use that slider in multiple forms even within similar counts and situations. The ball-to-strike slider isn't a great option with two strikes, but Prielipp certainly made some hay with the version that stays in the zone the whole time. Even when he leaves the pitch up, its firmness and sidespin make it deceptive. Neither Prielipp nor the slider are finished products. Hitters will adjust; they'll punish his mistakes more often. He needs to find ways to make them respect his fastball a bit more, but the four-seamer lives in the movement dead zone and his sinker doesn't really play to righties. He hasn't stepped into the majors and overwhelmed the best hitters in the world, the way some slightly higher-caliber pitching prospects have over the last few years. However, Prielipp's slider should have your full attention now. It's the best individual pitch in the Twins rotation, and it could become the engine of the rookie's drive for a long-term home in the starting group. View the full article

At times, pitchers have appeared aware of the hole in Garrett Mitchell's swing. Knowing his struggles against high fastballs and his excellence against breaking pitches around the bottom of the zone, they've consistently thrown him more hard pitches and fewer spinning ones than the average hitter. Right-handers have tried to beat him with the north-south game, pairing high fastballs with changeups below the zone. For the most part, though, opponents have yet to match the extreme nature of Mitchell's swing with a commensurate extremity of approach. In fact, many pitchers this year have dialed things back to a more standard mix. It's part of the reason why Mitchell has posted a career 116 wRC+ despite a 34.5% strikeout rate, including a 126 wRC+ (with a 37.9% strikeout rate) to begin the 2026 season. He still gets enough low fastballs and mistake breaking balls, which he obliterates thanks to his elite strength and bat speed. Mitchell has been pitched more like a normal hitter this year, but he's anything but that. Normal hitters have weaknesses, and many of them have one at the top of the zone, but Mitchell's bat is nearly guaranteed to miss anything elevated. For his career, he has put the ball in play on just 9.5% of swings against fastballs in or above the upper third of the zone (the league average during that span is 27.3%, nearly three times higher). He's whiffed on 54% of those swings and managed just four hits in 76 at-bats, a .053 batting average. With such a low success rate, there's an argument for throwing traditional pitch sequencing out the window, and that there's no need to show Mitchell anything but high fastballs until he proves he can touch them. Repeatedly executing that pitch is easier said than done, though, especially with the knowledge that the moment a pitcher misses below the letters, Mitchell will make them pay. That, along with disjointed playing time throughout his injury-riddled career, may be why no team had attempted such an approach. As Matt Trueblood laid out last week, a lower top line of the strike zone has also made it harder for pitchers to put the ball in places that force Mitchell to lean into his own weaknesses. Throwing it where he can't handle it often means throwing it where he can afford to lay off it and get ahead in the count, under the new, ABS-tailored zone. That changed over the weekend, when the Pittsburgh Pirates came to Milwaukee and peppered Mitchell with an onslaught of high fastballs. In three games, 37 of the 44 pitches he saw were fastballs, and 24—a whopping 54.5% of all pitches and nearly two-thirds of the heaters—were high. The approach worked. Mitchell pieced up a couple of mistake pitches, hitting a 108-mph lineout and a 100-mph double on fastballs around his belt line, but he went just 1-for-10 in the series, with three strikeouts. If there was a silver lining, it's that two of those strikeouts came against Paul Skenes in the series opener. As the weekend progressed, Mitchell began fouling off most of those high fastballs, instead of missing them entirely. That's an expected improvement after seeing the same pitch so many times, but Mitchell still looked thoroughly overmatched, swinging late and underneath those balls to softly clip them foul. Even knowing with near certainty that those high fastballs were coming, he still put those pitches in play on just two of 14 swings (14.3%) and whiffed on 35.7% of them. Here are all of those swings compiled on video: Mitchell high FBs.mp4 While most teams may not execute elevated fastballs as consistently as the Pirates did, their success could embolden more pitchers to take that extreme approach against Mitchell. Earlier in the week, the Detroit Tigers threw him high heaters 34.8% of the time. He tripled off one of those pitches but whiffed on 71.4% of swings against them, going 2-for-9 in the series. By being selective and capitalizing on pitches in his hot zones, Mitchell has produced despite having one of the sport's most extreme cold zones. To his credit, he has also spent significant time trying to close that hole in his swing path. None of that work has yielded improvement, though, and teams could start targeting that weakness more aggressively. In his fifth season, Mitchell may finally be staring down the ultimate test of whether his swing path will work against big-league pitching. View the full article

Even though it’s very early in the year and Clay Holmes has only made five starts, if you leave out the one game he pitched in 2020, he’s currently sporting his lowest ERA of his career. You’d think that a guy with a 2.10 ERA and 1.03 WHIP would be dominant, but has Holmes really been as good as his surface numbers suggest? Holmes’ underlying data suggests that he’s been outperforming his expected stats, hence his 4.28 FIP and 4.35 SIERA. Even his expected earned run average is double his ERA, sitting at 4.20. There are a couple of different factors that are playing into Holmes’ situation. So far through 30 innings of work, Holmes has only struck out 19 batters, which is a 15.8% clip. It’s a below-average mark putting him in the 18th percentile. He hasn’t allowed an unhealthy amount of walks, but he is currently giving out free passes at a near-league-average 8.3% rate, good for the 59th percentile among all qualified pitchers. He’s done a respectable job of keeping balls in the yard, only giving up three home runs thus far. That equals a 0.9 HR/9 IP ratio, which is more than workable; him allowing home runs at a league-average clip isn’t what’s really blowing up his FIP and SIERA. Clay Holmes' Change of Role and Results Since Joining Mets Since Holmes joined the Mets last season, his FIP sits at 4.17, whereas it had previously been in the threes and twos dating back to the 2021 season with the Yankees. This is as a result of him striking out less batters causing his FIP to rise, while maintaining around the same walk rate. Since his early campaigns in Pittsburgh, each year since 2021 he’s been walking around 8% of batters. Holmes has never lacked the ability to compensate for that with strikeouts. He averaged around a 26% strikeout rate between 2021 and 2024, while with the Pirates and Yankees. During this stretch of four seasons, his FIP sat between 2.65 (his best) and 3.28 (his worst). Remember that Holmes was primarily a reliever his whole career until joining the Mets. When he worked out of the bullpen, he worked with three pitches; a sinker, slider, and sweeper. Since converting to a starter, he’s worked with at least five different pitches each of the last two seasons, including a cutter that's getting bashed to the tune of a .500 slugging percentage. This is the difficult of converting relievers. They often don't have deep-enough arsenals to power past lineups multiple times through. Better command will go a long way, but Holmes' underlying numbers will remain terrifying until and unless he can find a mix of more than two or three pitches that works. View the full article

It may have been a long wait for the Toronto Blue Jays and their fans. But that wait is finally over now, as rookie phenom Trey Yesavage is set to make his 2026 debut for the Blue Jays tonight against the Boston Red Sox. Yesavage has been sidelined since spring training due to a shoulder impingement. As a result, the young 22-year-old right-hander needed some time to ramp up his activity and build up his arm strength before getting into any major league game action. He managed to get into four rehab games in the Jays’ minor league system, posting an 0-1 record with a 7.50 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP over 12 innings of work. More importantly, however, he looked strong and confident while doling out 16 strikeouts in the process. The Blue Jays will look to Yesavage to help stabilize their starting rotation going forward, as it has been significantly hit with injuries and inconsistency to start the year. The 22-year-old top pitching prospect took the world by storm last year when he ascended the Jays’ entire minor league system to make his major league debut towards the end of the 2025 season. Not only did Yesavage impress, but he played a major role in the Blue Jays' run to an AL pennant and near-World Series victory. He would finish with a 1-0 record, 0.3 bWAR, a 3.21 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 14 innings of work during the regular season, along with a 3-1 record, a 3.58 ERA, and a 1.05 WHIP, together with a whopping 39 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings during the playoffs. The Steamer projections at FanGraphs currently have Yesavage making 27 appearances for Toronto this season, including 20 starts, registering an 8-7 record with a 3.90 ERA, 1.6 fWAR, and 9.7 K/9 across 124 total innings. If he can simply meet those expectations, he will make a huge impact on the Blue Jays this year. If he surpasses expectations, he could be the ultimate difference-maker in Toronto making the postseason once again. With Yesavage entering the Jays’ starting five, Eric Lauer was set to move to the bullpen going forward. After a promising first start to 2026, Lauer has struggled mightily, resulting in a 1-3 record, a 6.75 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP and -0.3 bWAR in five outings. A relief role might have given him the opportunity to turn his game around after excelling in the role last season for the Blue Jays. However, with Max Scherzer joining many of his teammates on the IL, it seems as if Lauer will remain in the rotation for at least a little longer. As for Yesavage and his start today, he will be going head-to-head against another top prospect, Payton Tolle of the Red Sox, in a battle for young pitching supremacy. He will likely be on a pitch limit as he eases back into action. That is because the goal is sustainable success. The Blue Jays want to ensure that their prized piece will be effective for them in the long run, both this year and beyond. View the full article

How does one grade 620 wins, eight years, three postseason appearances, and one World Series? The Alex Cora era in Boston is over, and with it, the end of a tumultuous tenure. In 2018, Cora stepped into the managerial role left vacant by John Farrell, who was fired after five seasons with the club. Cora was the bench coach of the Houston Astros for two seasons, winning a World Series with the club in 2017. During the ALCS in the same year, Cora interviewed for the open position in Boston, and was announced as the franchise’s newest manager in late October. He was initially signed to a three-year deal from 2018 to 2020, with an option for 2021. It was a storybook first season for the new manager. He was supported by a star-studded roster featuring Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and Chris Sale. The Red Sox were dominant, finishing with a league-best 108 wins and cruising through the playoffs. They dispatched the New York Yankees and Houston Astros with ease in four and five games, respectively. Facing off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, Cora became just the fifth rookie manager to win the championship as the Red Sox won their fourth ring of the 21st century. The triumphant season led to a one-year contract extension as Cora seemed well-suited to serve as the Red Sox's manager of the future. He was beloved by his players, communicating with them in both English and Spanish, often seen sitting atop the dugout steps chatting with his coaching staff. Despite that early success and his positive relationships with his players, his scandal rocked the Red Sox. In November 2019, Cora was accused of playing a major role in the Astros' sign stealing affair. Cora was spared punishment for the time being so a separate investigation into the 2018 Red Sox could take place. In January 2020, a report published by The Athletic accused Cora and the Red Sox of using a replay room during the regular season in order to steal opposing catcher's signs. After the scandal came to light, Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to part ways. It was a dramatic turnaround for Cora, falling from the peak of the baseball world to the depths in just over a year's time. In April, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred issued a suspension through the 2020 playoffs for Cora, based solely on his role in the Astros scandal. Manfred didn’t impose any punishment in relation to the Red Sox replay scandal because the investigation didn’t conclude that Cora was aware of its occurrence. Manfred did, however, note that Cora didn’t “effectively communicate to Red Sox players the sign-stealing rules that were in place for the 2018 season.” Cora was welcomed back to Fenway with open arms following the 2020 season. He signed to a two-year contract with a club option for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The following season, Cora led the club to its first playoff berth since the 2018 championship season. The Red Sox qualified as a wild card, facing the Yankees in a one-game series. After beating New York in a game for the ages, Boston beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS to advance to the league championship series. The storybook run would end here, as the Red Sox fell in six games. Following the playoffs, it was announced that the Red Sox exercised their option to extend Cora’s contract through the 2024 season. Boston struggled through the 2022 and 2023 seasons, finishing with 78 wins in each and placing fifth out of five teams in the American League East. Despite the unsavory results from those years, players backed up his leadership at every turn. From 2018 on, the roster was stripped from its peak. With the front office trading away Mookie Betts and letting Xander Bogaerts walk in free agency, many felt like Cora wasn’t given competitive rosters. He emphasized the importance of a consistent offensive approach throughout his tenure, though he wasn’t always supplied with offense-focused rosters. Following the 2023 season, the Red Sox hired Craig Breslow to be the newest Chief Baseball Officer. The 2024 season showed signs of improvement, the Sox finished third in the East but ended the season 81-81. Following a rocky start to the 2025 season, Breslow made a blockbuster trade, sending Rafael Devers to San Francisco for a slew of prospects. Despite having a close relationship with Devers, Cora backed up the trade, at least publicly aligning with a front office that had inherited his services. The Red Sox made the playoffs for the third time in Cora’s eight-year tenure, but lost to the Yankees in a three-game wild card series. While Cora’s commitment to the Red Sox never faltered, it seemed as if Boston’s front office had other ideas. Just four weeks into the 2026 season, Cora and many key members of his staff were fired in a stunning front office shakeup after disappointing early results. In a press conference the morning after the firing, Red Sox President Sam Kennedy made it clear that there was no ill-will towards Cora. “AC's impact on Boston and our city will be felt forever. The memories that we all shared from 2018 are gonna last a lifetime." Cora leaves behind a mixed legacy and one that is tainted by questionable decisions from the Red Sox ownership group. He led the club to its most dominant championship and is the third-winningest manager in franchise history, but he also dealt with embarrassment and never-ending frustration from the fanbase. Cora leaves behind a complex legacy, but his leadership during the 2018 championship season set a standard that will define Red Sox baseball until the team's next title. View the full article

In defense of Matthew Boyd and Moisés Ballesteros, neither was put in a position to succeed on Monday night. Craig Counsell tried to force-fit his young designated hitter into the extremely valuable defensive position he played in the minors, but Ballesteros is a poor receiver—a poor defender behind the plate, in general. He's still young enough to dream on him eventually developing as a catcher, if that's what the team wanted to most, but what the team wants most is to win in 2026, so they have him in the majors, where he can be a key cog in their lineup. Ballesteros is a star-caliber hitter, so the team decided it would be an untenable waste to send him to Triple-A Iowa to start the season. That was a right and reasonable choice, but it came with a cost. Ballesteros isn't a big-league catcher right now, and has no business catching for a team that wants to win games. He doesn't inspire confidence in his pitchers with the way he receives pitches, calls the game, blocks pitches in the dirt or handles the running game. The team is trying to find reps for him behind the plate so that they don't have to entirely let go of the glimmer, but each time they do so, it hurts the team. Pairing Ballesteros with Boyd to form the battery Monday night was especially peculiar. Boyd lives at the edges of the zone and succeeds with contrasts in movement and speed. He's not strictly reliant on piling up called strikes, but he needs opposing batters to be antsy in the box. He needs them to feel defensive about the zone, and he needs them to be off-balance. Putting a rookie who struggles with every aspect of the defensive art of catching made it unlikely that Boyd would have a good night; putting Ballesteros behind the plate made it unlikely that he would have a good one. The trouble began in the bottom of the first. Boyd missed inside with his fourth pitch of the day, to the Padres' Ramón Laureano, and immediately, he tapped the bill of his cap to challenge it. He knew he was wrong almost right away, but you can't take back a challenge once you issue one. Boyd's regret was obvious. He was flustered by an inability to locate the way he wanted to in the first at-bat of the game, and any pitcher is still burning off some pent-up adrenaline for the first handful of pitches in a game. Further frustrated by his folly, Boyd lost Laureano on the next pitch. One batter later, he laid a 1-0 fastball so nicely in the middle of the zone to Jackson Merrill that he was lucky only to surrender an RBI single. He never really settled in. With a chance to escape a major jam having surrendered just that one run, he made a mistake to Ty France (an excellent clutch hitter), and it became a 3-0 game. Ballesteros did what he does best in the top of the third, though, changing the game with one fell stroke. The bases were loaded, and Padres starter Randy Vásquez tried to crowd Ballesteros with his a cutterish slider. He failed, because Ballesteros is a short guy with short levers who stands way off the plate. Come to think of it, trying to attack him there was foolish, anyway. Ballesteros launched a grand slam to right field to thrust the Cubs into the lead. But he was quickly put back into his place, and the Cubs with him. Boyd allowed a double by Manny Machado and a single by Xander Bogaerts with one out in the third. Machado had to hold at third on the Bogaerts hit, so there was hope to avoid giving up a run, but on a 1-1 pitch to Miguel Andujar, Boyd missed with a backdoor curveball. It wasn't that close a miss, just as the pitch in the first hadn't been that close. Because he felt like his pitcher had executed his pitch (and perhaps misjudged his own position when he caught the ball), though, Ballesteros challenged again. The Cubs were thwarted, and that left them out of challenges for the rest of the game. Ballesteros's bad decision—the pitch wasn't high-leverage enough to challenge unless Ballesteros were about 69% confident of an overturn. Given the location of the pitch, it was a coin flip. In trying to bail out his struggling starter, he put the team behind the 8-ball, instead. The Padres would score just once in the third, but in the fifth, they chased Boyd immediately, with a Machado double. Ben Brown came on and collected two quick, harmless outs—and he should have had the third, with the lead intact. Unfortunately, home plate umpire Dan Merzel missed on what should clearly have been strike three to France. It's not Merzel's fault. Brown missed his spot badly, and Ballesteros (too small to reach subtly on a ball like this) made it look like a bad pitch. More importantly, though, the Cubs had questioned him on two previous occasions on which he was right, so they'd lost the right to challenge. That's not on him; it's on Boyd and Ballesteros. Brown, coming in for his share of blame, then walked France on a non-competitive pitch. On a 1-2 count to Nick Castellanos, he lost focus on France, who stole second—a process made much easier by Ballesteros choosing to appeal for a check-swing strike instead of throwing through against one of the slowest players in baseball. (Castellanos didn't go around.) On a two-run Castellanos single, the Padres retook the lead, for good. Along the way, they had one more real chance to flip the script again. In the top of the seventh, Pete Crow-Armstrong drew a leadoff walk. He stole second and advanced on a convoluted fielder's choice, so he carried the tying run at third base with one out. Michael Busch went down on strikes, though, which left it up to Alex Bregman. Here's a visual look at that showdown, between Bregman and Padres reliever Jason Adam. Each of the first two pitches of the showdown were sliders just off the outer edge of the plate. Merzel called the first one a strike. It was pretty clear Bregman knew it wasn't one, but he had no recourse. When Adam repeated his pitch type and location, Bregman had no choice but to swing, but he came up empty. He battled from there, a little, but the Cubs' best chance to level things went by the wayside because they couldn't challenge a call. Ballesteros is a bad framer, but he did well with the ABS system last year at Iowa. Boyd is a savvy veteran who knows better than to challenge a pitch himself, especially in that early situation. Because each slipped just a little bit, though, a game got away from the team Monday night. It was a brutal way to lose a game, not least because Ballesteros being installed behind the plate in the first place seemed to set all the wheels of it in motion. The Cubs got too cute in a game against a good team. They'll have to be smarter, as well as better, to rebound and take the series. View the full article

Just like in game one at Chavez Ravine last season, the Miami Marlins were walked off by the Los Angeles Dodgers, this time by a final score of 5-4. In the ninth inning, the Marlins led 4-2 and went to their $13M man, Pete Fairbanks. The veteran closer walked both Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing to begin the inning. Shohei Ohtani knocked in a ground-rule double that drove Pages in. With runners on second and third with one out, Fairbanks fell behind 3-0 to Freddie Freeman before intentionally walking him. Manager Clayton McCullough and pitching coach Daniel Moskos made a mound visit together along with head athletic trainer L.J. Petra. After a couple seconds of examination and no throws from Fairbanks, he came out of the game. Miami went to Tyler Phillips, who was given as much time as he needed to warm up. With the bases loaded, he struck out Will Smith swinging. The Dodgers' final hope was their big ticket free agent signing, Kyle Tucker. Tucker shook off his tough start to this season by smacking a base hit to center field on the second pitch of the at-bat, walking it off for the Dodgers. Fairbanks landed only nine of his 23 pitches for strikes. Following the game, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough told reporters in LA that he exited the game with an "unusual sensation" in his right thumb. "He was shaking his hand a little bit and somebody mentioned it's worth to go out there and just take a look and see if there was anything to it," McCullough said. "He did mention something about his thumb, and so at that point definitely you lean on the side of caution and just come in and get him evaluated and see what comes." Going into Monday night's series opener, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto had five consecutive quality starts, but the Marlins offense broke that streak, and the aforementioned Yamamoto turned in his worst start of the season. "We took some really, really close pitches and tough pitches," McCullough said. "(Yamamoto) is going to get some strikeouts, and it's high caliber stuff. For us to get four walks, really make him work, and get his pitch count up and on top of that, to come through with a big hit by Liam, you want to be able to create traffic and stress pitchers, but to be able to come through when guys are on there is what it's all about. As a whole, against one of the best starting pitchers in this league, our guys just grinded out at-bats and gave ourselves some chances. We knew that we got a big hit from Liam, and so they did a nice job against him." Yamamoto, in five innings of work, surrendered four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks (season-high). In the top of the fourth inning with the bases loaded, Javier Sanoja reached first base on an E6 from Dodgers shortstop Hyeseong Kim, allowing the runner on third, Otto Lopez, to score. In the ensuing inning, Marlins catcher Liam Hicks, who was going into his third at-bat against Yamamoto, took him deep for his team-leading sixth home run of the season. Hicks was able to time up Yamamoto's splitter just right, taking him 348 feet deep to right field at 101.1 mph. Hicks, the former Rule 5 draft pick, is now slashing .311/.350/.544/.894 with six home runs, 27 RBI and a 143 wRC+. Hicks is now second amongst MLB players in RBI and ranked 10th in the National League in slugging percentage. A Dodgers bullpen that entered the series opener with a 4.26 ERA, which is towards the middle of the pack in MLB this season, allowed one hit, which came off former Fish Jake Eder in the top of the ninth inning. Overall, the Marlins went 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base. Chris Paddack, who made his sixth start of the season, allowed two runs on four hits, one walk and struck out one. Both runs came in the bottom of the first inning. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman knocked in back-to-back hits, and Teoscar Hernández drove both in on an RBI single. From that point on, he allowed just one more hit in three innings of shutout baseball. In the first, Paddack threw 19 pitches, but overall, averaged about 17 pitches per inning. His fastball was his best pitch on the night, topping out at 95.5 mph and averaged 93.4 mph. He also generated three whiffs with the pitch. The lone strikeout for Paddack came in the bottom of the third inning, when he got Shohei Ohtani to swing on his curveball. "Some tough luck runs in the first, but to hang in there and looking at the way it went, for him to go four innings tonight and to leave with us leading the game, I thought he threw the ball very well again," McCullough said. " He filled it up, mixed speeds very well. That's what I asked of him tonight and he did his part." Paddack, who was set to face the Dodgers lineup for a third time through, was taken out before he had the chance to do so. The Marlins had to use six relievers, with two of them throwing on back-to-back days in Andrew Nardi and Calvin Faucher. With Paddack having only thrown 67 pitches, this is the third recent example of McCullough taking out his starter with a low pitch count despite solid results. He did it with Janson Junk on Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals and again on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants with Max Meyer throwing a season-low 77 pitches through five innings of work. "The third time through certainly factored in," McCullough said regarding the quick hook with Paddack. "Chris is a real pro and competitor. He wanted to go back out there and just explained my rationale for why I felt our best path tonight was to turn it over and pass it along...I think each day, I look at what's the best way to win that game." The Marlins are now 13-16 on the season and are tasked with facing Shohei Ohtani the pitcher on Tuesday night at 10:10 pm ET. Janson Junk will take the mound for the Marlins for his sixth start of the season. View the full article

Box Score Starting Pitcher: Connor Prielipp 5 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 3 BB (84 pitches, 49 strikes) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (6), Kody Clemens (3) Top 3 WPA: Connor Prielipp 0.16, Kody Clemens 0.11, Luke Keaschall 0.11 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): After a day filled with rain and cold that kept most fans at home, the Minnesota Twins returned to Target Field looking to stop the bleeding. A surprising 11-7 run to open the season quickly turned into the version of the Twins many expected. Entering this one, they had dropped 9 of their last 10, including a five-game losing streak and a sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays. The failures feel more real than the successes did, and the tone around the team and fanbase had shifted in a hurry. Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners came to town with their own issues. Despite high expectations, they entered the night at 14-15, still searching for consistency. With a small, bundled-up crowd and morale already trending down, the Twins could not afford another slow start, especially against multi-time All-Star Luis Castillo. They did not wait around. The Twins got on the board in the second inning, when Luke Keaschall lined an RBI double to give them an early lead. That carried into the third. Ryan Jeffers knocked in a run with a single before Kody Clemens broke things open with a three-run homer to right field, his third of the season, pushing the lead to 4-0. An inning later, Byron Buxton added a two-run shot of his own. Just like that, the Twins had the early cushion that had been missing during their skid. They kept applying pressure. By the time Castillo exited after five innings, the Twins had tagged him for seven earned runs while striking out only three times, a sharp contrast from the swing and miss issues that defined the past week. And maybe the biggest shift came in the spots that had been killing them. After a stretch where runners in scoring position felt like a dead end, the Twins flipped it, finishing 5-for-12 in those situations. Timely hitting showed up when they needed it. On the mound, Connor Prielipp made his Target Field debut and backed up the promise he showed in his first outing, during the Mets series on the road trip. He allowed just one hit over five innings. His command wavered at times, with three walks including back-to-back in the fifth, but he limited damage, allowing two runs while striking out five and generating 11 swings and misses. It was another very strong step for a young arm showing a lot of promise. When the game turned over to Andrew Morris in long relief, the Mariners made things a bit more interesting. Cal Raleigh connected on a two-run homer in the eighth to cut the lead to 8-4. Still, Morris did enough. Over three innings, he allowed four hits and two runs, limiting damage and keeping the game under control. The offense answered right back. In the bottom of the eighth, Jeffers and Clemens each delivered RBI singles, both with runners in scoring position, pushing the lead back out and putting the game away. It was the same theme all night. When chances were there, the Twins cashed in. The Twins closed out an 11-4 win, their first since April 21, earning Prielipp his first major-league win. It moves them to 13-16 as they try to work their way back toward .500 and steady a season that started to slip. What’s Next The Twins will look for their first series win since taking two of three from the Boston Red Sox on April 14. Joe Ryan is set to take the ball for a 6:40 p.m. first pitch, facing Logan Gilbert in a matchup of frontline starters. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Chart THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Morris 37 0 0 0 40 77 Orze 0 10 9 0 0 19 Topa 0 0 0 10 0 10 Rogers 0 0 15 0 14 29 Banda 9 7 0 9 0 25 Funderburk 0 0 0 20 0 20 Acton 0 0 18 0 0 18 Sands 0 0 0 7 0 7 View the full article

The early portion of the minor-league season is often more noise than signal, but that doesn't mean there aren't meaningful trends worth tracking. For the Twins, a handful of hitters are beginning to separate themselves, not just with strong box-score lines, but also with underlying indicators that point to real development. Two of those names arrived in recent trade-deadline deals that reshaped the organization’s roster, and their early success is starting to shift the conversation around those moves. Another is a longtime system piece who has steadily worked his way back into relevance. Together, they offer a snapshot of a farm system that blends upside, patience, and timely acquisitions into tangible production. C Eduardo Tait – Cedar Rapids Kernels How He Got Here: Tait began his professional career quietly, signing out of Panama with the Phillies for just $90,000 in January 2023. It didn't take long for that modest investment to look like a bargain. He posted a .917 OPS in the Dominican Summer League during his pro debut, drawing early projections of a steady, offense-first backstop. That momentum carried into 2024, when he hit .302 with an .842 OPS and climbed from Single-A to High-A before his 19th birthday. His performance earned him a Futures Game selection and elevated his prospect status significantly. At the trade deadline, the Twins made him a key return piece in the deal that sent Jhoan Duran to Philadelphia. Tait finished the year in Cedar Rapids and gained valuable postseason experience in the Midwest League. Hitting the Hot Button: Tait is holding his own against older competition and thriving. Over five games this week, he went 6-for-21 with two doubles, two home runs, and six runs driven in. Across 18 games this season, he owns a .924 OPS with four homers and five doubles. What makes this production even more impressive is his age relative to the rest of the league. Tait is more than three years younger than the average Midwest League player and has faced almost exclusively older pitching. His ability to generate impact contact in those conditions speaks to an advanced offensive profile that continues to trend upward. OF Hendry Mendez – Wichita Wind Surge How He Got Here: Mendez has long been known for his feel at the plate. After signing with the Brewers for $800,000 in January 2021, he wasted little time proving he could hit, posting a combined .316 average between the Dominican Summer League and the Arizona Complex League in his first professional season. He reached High-A as a teenager in 2023, then became part of a trade package to Philadelphia that offseason. While his bat-to-ball skills remained consistent through 2024 and 2025, questions lingered about his power output. That narrative began to shift late last season, when he finished strong in Double-A after a deadline deal sent Harrison Bader to Philadelphia and brought Mendez to the Twins. Hitting the Hot Button: Mendez is showing a more complete offensive game early this season. Over the past week, he recorded four hits in 17 at-bats, including two doubles and a home run, while walking five times compared to just three strikeouts. That approach has helped him post a .409 on-base percentage during that stretch. For the season, Mendez is slugging above .550 and carrying a .935 OPS in Double-A, all while being more than two years younger than the average player at the level. The added power, paired with his natural plate discipline, is turning him into a far more dynamic offensive threat. C/OF Ricardo Olivar – Wichita Wind Surge How He Got Here: Olivar has taken a longer and less linear path through the organization. Signed as an international free agent in July 2019, his development was delayed by the pandemic, and he did not make his professional debut until 2021 in the Florida Complex League. That introduction proved challenging, but a return to the level in 2022 changed everything. He dominated that season, earning MVP honors while posting an OPS north of 1.000. From there, Olivar steadily climbed the ladder, producing solid numbers at Single-A in 2023 and continuing that success into 2024, when he reached Double-A. Last season, he hit .264 with a .768 OPS, adding 13 home runs and 13 doubles in 93 games. Hitting the Hot Button: Now in his third stint at Double-A, Olivar may be finding another gear. In five games this week, he went 7-for-17 with a double, four home runs, and seven runs batted in. The highlight came during a two-homer performance against Northwest Arkansas. At 24, Olivar is no longer one of the youngest players on the field, but his recent surge looks like that of a hitter beginning to fully translate his tools into production. If his power continues to show up consistently, he could quickly move into a more prominent role in the system. The common thread among this trio is impact. Tait is proving he belongs despite his age, Mendez is adding power to an already polished approach, and Olivar is showing signs of a breakthrough after years of steady progression. What stands out about this group is how differently they have arrived at this point Yet, all three are producing in ways that demand attention. What stands out about this trio of prospects? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

After a rough medical start to the season, the Chicago Cubs are starting to get some of their arms back. The latest is right-handed reliever Phil Maton, who was activated Monday off the 15-day injured list. Left-handed reliever Charlie Barnes, who was called up Sunday, was sent back to Triple-A Iowa. Maton is a welcome veteran addition to the Cubs' bullpen. He has been on the IL since April 10 with tendinitis in his right knee and threw one scoreless inning Friday for Iowa. He was not off to a great start after signing as a free agent in November. In four innings over five appearances before going on the IL, Maton had a 13.50 ERA, allowing six runs on six hits, including a homer, with four walks and five strikeouts and two hit batters. Maton made his MLB debut in 2017 and has a 4.06 ERA. He started 2025 with the St. Louis Cardinals, then was dealt to the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline. He had a combined 2.79 ERA in 63 games and 61⅓ innings. Barnes did not pitch Sunday and has one three-inning appearance in his two call-ups this season. View the full article

Back in mid-March, it was announced that Quinn Priester would be starting the season on the injured list due to thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve issue that caused him to experience pain in his wrist starting last August. It was estimated that he would miss at least the first month of the season. He began his rehab assignment on April 22, making his first start with Triple-A Nashville. Unfortunately, he looks like a work in progress. He failed to get out of the first inning that day, recording just two outs, and gave up four earned runs, three walks, and a hit by pitch. He made his second start on April 26, and while it was a step in the right direction, he’s not close to where he needs to be, pitching 2 ⅓ scoreless innings with three walks and just two strikeouts. The most glaring concern is his velocity. Priester has never been a power pitcher, by any means, but both his sinker and his cutter have consistently sat between 92 and 93 mph over his career. In his first start, he averaged just 91.2 mph on his sinker and 88.9 mph on his cutter. In his second start, he only managed to top out at 92 mph. To be fair, this isn’t totally unexpected, given how little time he has had to ramp up. In addition to the injury, he still has to build up his arm normally because he missed all of spring training. He’s slowly working on building his pitch count and finding the zone, something he has struggled with immensely in Nashville so far. But it also means that he’s quite a ways away from returning to big-league action. It’s not a fatal flaw, but Milwaukee would love to have more starters capable of pitching more than four to five innings per start, reducing the load on their already overburdened bullpen. For Priester to be worth a roster spot at this time, he needs to be capable of getting through at least five innings. Aside from having to restore his stamina, his control has deteriorated considerably. Of the 74 pitches he has thrown for the Sounds, just 30 have been for strikes. Conceding free passes is the obvious downside of missing the zone, but getting behind in counts also leads to more hitter-friendly pitches and more damage. Pitchers with elite velocity can get away with this by simply blowing down the doors of opposing hitters, but Priester’s profile simply doesn’t fit the bill for that to work. For the time being, it doesn’t seem like there’s a huge rush for him to return. The Brewers are willing to be patient as he works his way back. Pat Murphy said as much when stating that Priester will likely need more than the original target of three rehab outings. Luckily for the Brewers, the rotation has held its own in Priester’s absence Some of the younger arms, like Kyle Harrison, have already shown flashes of their incredible upside. A possible silver lining to this delay is that it should give Milwaukee more data to decide whose spot in the rotation will be taken over by Priester when he’s finally back to full strength. Currently, it seems like Brandon Sproat, a young arm with options remaining and a few underwhelming outings this season, is the favorite to cede his place, but he’s not the only candidate. Chad Patrick is another pitcher who could be headed in the wrong direction this season. His 2.35 ERA over 23 innings looks great, but his 4.34 FIP and 11.7% strikeout rate are warning signs of an upcoming downturn. We got a glimpse of what might be to come in his most recent start against the Tigers, in which he gave up four earned runs and a walk with just two strikeouts. There’s still plenty of baseball left to be played this year, and the Brewers are doing what they do best: staying patient, taking their time, and laying the groundwork to be successful. They’ve consistently treated the season as a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s still early in the race. Whether Priester joins them in one mile or 10, what matters is that when he does make his return, it’ll only be when he’s fully ready to give his best. By then, odds are that the team will have a place waiting for him—though it's more likely to be created by another injury than by shoving aside a healthy hurler. View the full article

As reported on Monday by Fish On First's own Alex Carver and Isaac Azout, first baseman Christopher Morel has completed his rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville and is meeting the team in Los Angeles ahead of their three-game series against the Dodgers. In a corresponding roster move, the Marlins are optioning outfielder Heriberto Hernández to AAA. The club has not yet made the move official. Morel, 26, signed a one-year, $2M deal this offseason. With the 2025 Tampa Bay Rays, he slashed .219/.289/.396/.684 with 11 home runs, 33 RBI and a 90 wRC+. He was designated for assignment at the end of the season and elected free agency. In 16 spring training games, Morel slashed .150/.239/.200/.439 with five RBI. The club's plan was to have him break camp as their primary first baseman, but during batting practice on Opening Day, he suffered a left oblique strain and was scratched from the lineup. He was placed on the 10-day IL a day later. On April 21, the Marlins sent Morel on a rehab assignment with Jacksonville. In four games (including three starts at first base), he went 3-for-14 at the plate. During Morel's absence, Connor Norby has gotten most of the reps at first base. He has a solid 105 wRC+ with mixed results defensively (like Morel, he's brand new to the position). Norby's playing time will likely be reduced moving forward. Heriberto Hernández was the best right-handed hitter on the 2025 Marlins. Splitting time between left field and designated hitter, he was pretty much an everyday player during the second half of his rookie season. However, it has been a completely different story this year. In 22 games before the demotion, he slashed .159/.284/.190/.474 with no home runs, nine RBI and a 44 wRC+. Hernández has improved both his strikeout rate (18.9%) and walk rate (13.5%), but he's been putting more balls on the ground and making weaker contact overall. His production has been equally poor against right-handers (.480 OPS) and left-handers (.467 OPS). The Marlins will be facing three right-handed starting pitchers during the Dodgers series: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow. Game one is on Monday at 10:15 pm. View the full article

Boston Red Sox Affiliate Overview (Apr 24-Apr 26) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Series vs. Syracuse: 4-2 Season Record: 14-11 Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Series vs. Hartford: 3-3 Season Record: 11-9 High-A Greenville Drive Series at Asheville: 5-1 Season Record: 11-10 Low-A Salem RidgeYaks Series vs. Fredericksburg: 2-4 Season Record: 10-11 Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Season Record: 14-11 Series Opponent: Syracuse Mets (New York Mets) Series Standing: 4-2 April 24: The WooSox lost 3-0, only generating two hits in a poor performance. After throwing six scoreless innings in his last appearance, Michael Sansone only turned in four and ⅓ innings of sub-par work. He allowed five hits and three runs, walking two while only striking out four. Through 20 innings of work this season, Sansone has registered a 2.61 ERA and Friday marked his worst start of the season as he got the loss. Seth Martinez entered in the fifth, putting in one and ⅔ innings of excellent work, striking out one. Noah Song got the next two, allowing one hit and walking two as he kept the ball rolling. Wyatt Olds finished out the game, throwing one inning of one-hit ball and striking out two. The pitching staff recovered well from Sansone’s outing and gave the offense plenty of time to get something going. Unfortunately for Martinez & Co., Worcester's bats were all but non-existent. Only two hitters recorded a hit, and the WooSox only drew three walks. The only hitters to get a knock were Mikey Romero and Anthony Seigler, both of whom recorded a single. It was a sharp contrast to Thursday, when they generated 10 runs in a six-run victory. It was a night the WooSox were eager to forget as Syracuse tied the series 2-2. April 25: The WooSox rebounded from a poor performance on Friday with a seven-run victory on Saturday. It was a combined effort on the mound from Worcester, in which Isaac Coffey got the start. He went three innings and only gave up one hit, K’ing five and walking one. Angel Bastardo took the next two innings, walking one and striking out two in his second game of the season, earning the win. Devin Sweet earned a hold for his performance, allowing one baserunner via walk in an inning of work. Kyle Keller also earned a hold for his two innings of work. He gave up the only two runs for Worcester but limited the damage. Tommy Kahnle threw the final inning for the WooSox, allowing a hit and striking out one. The most eye-catching stat from Saturday’s contest came at the plate, where the WooSox drew an incredible 13 walks. Nick Sogard, Tsu-Che Cheng and Vinny Capra all drew three walks apiece as they maintained their plate discipline. All but two of the WooSox batters also recorded a hit, with Nate Eaton getting three knocks. In 34 total at bats, Worcester reached base 25 times. The offense got going in the fourth, when Capra scored on a Mickey Gasper groundout. In the sixth, Kristian Campbell drove in Sogard on a single, and Gasper scored on an Anthony Seigler groundout. One inning later, Cheng scored via a Jason Delay infield single, and Sogard drove in two on a double. The runs kept piling up in the eighth for Worcester. Cheng scored yet again on a Delay sac fly, Capra scored on a Gasper single, and, Sogard scored on an Eaton infield single to cap off a successful day at the plate. April 26: It was another successful offensive campaign for Worcester, who defeated Syracuse 6-2 to win the series. Jack Anderson started the afternoon contest for the WooSox, allowing three hits over four innings as he struck out four. After returning from the big leagues earlier in the week, Anderson didn’t miss a beat in Triple-A. Eduardo Rivera also returned to Worcester after making his big league debut last week. The 22-year-old made the jump from Double-A to the Majors without making an appearance for the WooSox, but made his debut on Sunday. He earned the win for his three innings of work. He allowed two runs on two hits, but K’d six. Jacob Webb took the next inning, striking out two and not allowing a baserunner. Finally, Tommy Kahnle made his second appearance in two days, allowing one hit, but sealing the game with his inning. Worcester was successful yet again at the plate, starting in the third inning when Nate Eaton cranked a three run home run to left field. In the sixth, Matt Thaiss stepped to the plate and lined into a double play, but drove in Vinny Capra. One inning later, Kristian Campbell hit a sac fly to drive in Braiden Ward and extend the lead. Then, Capra singled to left field to drive in Mickey Gasper and put the game out of reach. The WooSox totaled ten hits and six walks, with both Ward and Capra recording two hits. Nate Eaton continued his case for a call-up as well with three hits, three RBIs and a walk in three plate appearances. Nathaniel Hickey was the only player to struggle, going 0-for-4 as he continued to try and break out of a long slump. Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Season Record: 11-9 Series Opponent: Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies) Series Standing: 3-3 April 24: Portland fell 5-1 as they fall to one game above .500 John Holobetz got the nod, marking his fourth start of the season. He put in six innings and gave up four runs on eight hits, only striking out three after punching out 11 in his previous start. He let up a pair of two-run bombs in the first and fifth in his worst appearance on the season so far, earning the loss. Cade Feeney pitched three solid innings of relief as Hartford tacked on one more run. He gave up the lone run on a double play in the ninth. The rough day on the mound could have been rectified by a solid performance at the dish, but unfortunately for Holobetz and Feeney, the bats were silent. Despite hitting six bombs in the last seven games, Franklin Arias didn’t record a single hit, striking out once in an uncommonly weak performance. As a team, the Sea Dogs only recorded three total hits, coming from Marvin Alcantara, Max Ferguson, and Ronald Rosario. Rosario recorded the only RBI for Portland, driving in Miguel Bleis on a single in the second. Ferguson bumped his average to .371 and drew two walks. Aside from the measly hitting performance, the Sea Dogs recorded four walks and struck out eight times as they just couldn’t get their bats hot. April 25: The Sea Dogs won 4-3 on a pinch-hit walk-off home run by none other than Franklin Arias. It was a bullpen game for the Sea Dogs, whose staff put together a solid afternoon. Jedixson Paez got the game started, giving up one hit in his one-inning appearance. Joe Vogatsky got the next three innings, limiting the Yard Goats to one hit as well. He struck out four in one of the best appearances of the season. Erik Rivera took the next three and ⅔ but got rocked. He gave up 5 hits and three runs (two unearned) while punching out four. He got the blown save as he failed to curb the Hartford comeback. However, P.J. Labriola settled the ship, earning the win with his one and ⅓ innings of work in which he allowed two hits but no runs on one strikeout. Franklin. Alexander. Arias. The young stud continued to establish his dominance despite not getting the start, hitting his seventh homer in his last eighth games. He pinch-hit for Ahbram Liendo in the bottom of the ninth, launching a two-run walk-off homer and bumping his average to .420. Aside from Arias, Portland’s offensive success was a collective effort. Tyler McDonough scored in the third on a pick-off attempt that ended up being an error on the pitcher. Then in the sixth inning, Brooks Brannon hit a solo shot in his second game of the season after being activated from the IL. Max Ferguson also recorded a single, bringing his average to .359 on the season as he continues his quietly successful season. April 26: Portland sealed the series tie with a 3-2 no-hit victory on Sunday. The Portland pitching staff achieved an incredible feat on Sunday as they combined for the ninth no-hitter in Sea Dogs history. Hayden Mullins started the game for Portland and turned in a solid five innings of no-hit ball as he struck out five. He did, however, allow five walks and two unearned runs on a fielding error by Ronald Rosario in the third inning. Caleb Bolden took the next two innings and was excellent. He punched out two and didn’t allow a runner. It was by far his best appearance of the season and one he will look to replicate. Reidis Sena earned the win for his outing, one-upping Bolden. It was almost identical, two innings of perfect pitching, but Sena struck out four, giving him the edge as he shut out Hartford. Despite going home with the win, it was a sleepy day at the plate for the Sea Dogs. Ronald Rosario accounted for two of Portland’s four hits, driving in the go-ahead run in the eighth on an RBI single. The only other runs came on a Nate Baez two-run shot that scored Franklin Arias in the sixth. Arias generated one hit on the game. Aside from the trio of Baez, Arias, and Rosario, the roster struggled, striking out ten times and drawing four walks. Despite the subpar offense, Portland eked out the win to avoid the series loss. High-A Greenville Drive Season Record: 11-10 Series Opponent: Asheville Tourists (Houston Astros) Series Standing: 5-1 April 24: The Drive won 9-6, fueled by an excellent offensive performance. It’s certainly been a rough going for Kyson Witherspoon so far in his first professional season. It didn’t get much better in his fourth start on Friday. He gave up five runs (three unearned) and five hits through three and ⅓ innings. He walked four and only K’d three as his season ERA rests at 6.00. Devin Futrell rebounded quite well from Witherspoon’s outing, putting in four and ⅔ innings of solid pitching. Futrell has adjusted nicely since being called up from Single-A Salem. He gave up four hits and one run on a solo shot in the seventh, but retired five batters on strikes, earning the win. Matt McShane got the ninth inning and was nails. He struck out two as he sealed the game for Greenville. In addition to an excellent bullpen performance, Greenville's bats were hot as could be. Collectively the Drive recorded 11 hits and drew seven walks, totaling 18 baserunners. Henry Godbout was outstanding, getting on base in all five plate appearances. He scored once and recorded three hits and two walks. Yoeilin Cespedes, Gerardo Rodriguez, and Yophery Rodriguez each recorded two RBIs as the trio made up the bulk of the Drive’s offense. Mason White added another RBI with a fourth inning solo homer to give Greenville a 3-1 lead. The Drive rallied in the fifth, entering the inning down two. After a Cespedes double and a G. Rodriguez single, the Drive left the inning with a one run lead. The Drive put the game out of reach with a Yophery Rodriguez two-run shot in the eighth, and a sac fly by G. Rodriguez. April 25: The Drive prevailed again, behind a near perfect performance from Anthony Eyanson. While one of the Red Sox 2025 draft picks has struggled, another has flourished. Anthony Eyanson has produced a 0.54 ERA through four starts, and was the epitome of excellence on Saturday. Through four and ⅓ innings, Eyanson was nearly perfect and only allowed one runner on a single. He struck out nine batters, including the side in the third inning. Danny Kirwin made his first appearance of the season, but it wasn’t a good one. He only lasted ⅓ innings and walked three batters. He allowed two runs and a hit as he will surely look to rebound from a rough season debut. Brandon Neely made his first appearance in High-A, allowing another three runs on two hits and four walks over one and ⅔ innings. Just as it looked like Greenville would waste a superb outing from Eyanson, Steven Brooks locked down the last two and ⅔ innings, shutting the door on a comeback and earning the win. The Drive’s offense continued to stay hot Saturday, amassing 16 baserunners and driving in 11 runs. It didn’t take long for Greenville to get on the board. Henry Godbout smashed a home run to center in the top of the first, his second of the season. Isaiah Jackson added to the lead with a two-run shot in the fourth, giving the Drive a 3-0 lead. In the seventh, Yophery Rodriguez hit his fifth blast of the year, tacking on another run. Down 4-5 in the eighth, Greenville put it out of reach. Jackson drew a walk with the bases loaded to tie it. Then, Rodriguez took the lead with a RBI single. Just one batter later, Antonio Anderson did the same, driving in Jack Winnay. Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch, and Justin Gonzales drove in two on a single to cap off a six-run inning. Then, just for good measure, Yoeilin Cespedes hit a solo shot in the ninth to seal Greenville’s sixth win in seven games. April 26: The Drive won again on Sunday behind absolute dominance from Justin Gonzales. Marcus Philips struck out five through three and ⅓ frames of work. He allowed four walks, but otherwise looked good in one of his best appearances thus far. Joey Gartrell took the next inning, but gave up five runs on only two hits. Gartrell had a hard time locating the strike zone, resulting in five walks as Asheville had no difficulty getting runs on the board. Jay Allmer got the nod in the fourth, but also had a rough outing. He allowed two runs on six hits, limiting the damage. Despite three strikeouts it was a far cry from a superb performance. Luckily for Greenville, they got that performance from Harry Blum. Blum struck out five in three innings to close out the game in extra innings and give the Drive the series win. He allowed just one baserunner on a walk but was excellent otherwise. Red Sox fans better learn the name Justin Gonzales, because he is a force to be reckoned with. Standing 6’5’’ and weighing in at 210 lbs, the 19-year-old is batting .276 on the season with 21 RBIs and three homers. On Sunday he put the Drive on his back. Up two runs in the fifth, following a second inning two-RBI double by Freili Encarnacion, Gonzales recorded his first RBI of the afternoon, singling and driving in Stanley Tucker. Then, down by four runs with two outs in the eighth, Gonzales stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. After working a 2-1 count, he proceeded to smash a grand slam past the wall in center field, tying the game. In the top of the tenth, Stanley Tucker built on Gonzales' performance with a two run homer in his second game since being promoted from Low-A. Then, to seal the comeback victory, Gerardo Rodriguez singled on a line drive, scoring Justin Gonzales one more time. Gonzales went 3-5 with five RBIs and two runs as he helped the Drive to a comeback win. Low-A Salem RidgeYaks Season Record: 10-11 Series Opponent: Fredericksburg Nationals (Washington Nationals) Series Standing: 2-4 April 24: The RidgeYaks were pummeled on Friday, losing 14-4. Madison Frias started the game for Salem and was shelled. He gave up six runs on seven hits through four innings, allowing three home runs. His ERA ballooned to 11.08 as his first month has been less than ideal. Salem’s bullpen just couldn’t get on its feet, Ethan Walker took the next three and ⅔ innings didn’t give up a hit. However he did give up an eye-popping seven walks, allowing five runs as the Nationals pulled way ahead. Wuilliams Rodriguez gave up another three runs in just ⅔ inning, allowing one more home run. Lastly, to cap off a terrible day on the mound for Salem, Griffin Kilander went ⅔ innings of no-hit ball. The RidgeYaks bats simply couldn’t compete with Fredericksburg, generating five hits and four runs. Two of their runs came early as they struck first. In the first inning, Andrews Opata crossed home on a Skylar King groundout. In the second, Avinson Pinto scored on a Frederik Jimenez sac fly. Salem’s final two runs came in the fifth and sixth, on an Ilan Fernandez ground out that drove in Jimenez, and a wild pitch on which Opata scored. Aside from that, the RidgeYaks went down quietly striking out 10 times as they were crushed. April 25: It was more of the same on Saturday when Salem fell again, this time 11-4. Despite the loss, Jose Bello continued his solid season. He posted three innings of one-run work and punched out four. His ERA rests at 2.70 as he looks to be called up to Greenville. The wheels came off for Salem when Christian Foutch entered the game. In two and ⅓ innings of work, he walked four and allowed four runs as the Nationals took control of the game. If Foutch was bad, Adam Bates was worse. Over one and ⅓ innings he gave up six runs as Salem fell way behind. On the bright side for Salem, Jason Gilman looked great in his first appearance of the season. Through two innings he allowed one baserunner via a walk, and struck out five in his debut. The RidgeYaks were quiet at the dish as they couldn’t get the offense going. They got on base ten times, and only converted those baserunners into runs four times. In the second, Anderson Fermin drove in Ty Hodge on a single, but the bats went silent until the sixth. Enddy Azocar drove in Starlyn Nunez to cut the deficit to six, but it wasn’t until the ninth that Salem would drive in another run. Avinson Pinto drove in Luke Heyman on a sac fly, and D’Angelo Ortiz drove in Andrews Opata on a line drive single. It was too little too late as the RidgeYaks fell by a large margin for the second game in a row. April 26: The RidgeYaks fell yet again, this time by a score of 7-0. Dalvinson Reyes got the nod to start Sunday’s game, but was pulled after just two and ⅓ innings. He walked five of the 12 batters he faced, allowing three runs on a singular hit. In quick relief, Barrett Morgan went two and ⅓ innings. He amassed a solid outing, allowing two runs (one unearned) on four hits and a walk. He struck out four but failed to keep Fredericksburg at bay. Nicolas De La Cruz took the next two and ⅓, allowing two runs as well. He struck out three but allowed three runs and a homer. Finally, Griffin Kilander had the best performance of the afternoon for Salem. He went two perfect innings and struck out one, but his efforts were in vain as the offense didn’t provide any run support. In fact, the offense was downright awful. The RidgeYaks only totaled three hits on the afternoon, and didn’t drive in any baserunners. Anderson Fermin accounted for two of the hits, hitting two singles. Enddy Azocar had the third hit for Salem with a single. The only highlight on the box score for the RidgeYaks was in the walk column, where they drew seven bases on balls. Aside from the exceptional plate discipline it was a day to forget as they fell for the third consecutive game View the full article

Despite dropping two of three games to the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend, things look much better for the Chicago Cubs now than they did a couple of weeks ago. The offense has experienced positive regression, and the pitching staff has held together in the wake of an abnormal number of injuries to the bullpen. What we shouldn't do, however, is underrate the role of defense in this early season turnaround. Defense has been a sort of hallmark of the current front office regime. In 2023, the Cubs ranked eighth as a team in Outs Above Average (16) and ninth in Defensive Runs Saved (33). They followed that up in 2024 with the seventh-ranked OAA (21) and ninth-ranked DRS (37) before shooting up the leaderboard last season, largely courtesy of the addition of Pete Crow-Armstrong to the everyday lineup. Their OAA ranked fourth (29) and their 84 DRS trailed only the Texas Rangers for the top spot. When you consider the roster configuration this season, it's not a surprise that they're on their way to replicating last season's results in 2026. By Outs Above Average, no team has a higher mark than the Cubs' 14 thus far. Their Defensive Runs Saved figure, at 16, reads as the fourth-best. The best way to support a pitching staff navigating as much attrition as the Cubs' is by playing sound defense behind them. Of course, the fact that this is happening isn't something that should ring as too much of a surprise given the names on the roster. Two of the top three spots for individual players in Outs Above Average are occupied by members of the Cubs. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner each have an OAA of seven to date, a figure which trails only Bobby Witt Jr.'s eight. Crow-Armstrong has a 95 percent success rate against an 87 percent estimated success rate, with the leftover eight percent also trailing only Witt as the league's best. Hoerner isn't far behind there, with a seven percent success rate added. Of the two, Crow-Armstrong has made things look characteristically simple given his first-by-a-mile outfield jump (5.5 feet vs. average). Hoerner, meanwhile, has been a human highlight reel, contributing things like this: And this: And that was just in a single weekend. Those two serving as the linchpins of the Cubs' defensive game certainly tracks. What's somewhat more remarkable about the defense the team is providing, though, is the fact that five other regulars feature, at worst, average OAA numbers. Michael Busch has an OAA of three. Only Willson Contreras has been better at a position that defensive metrics don't particularly love. Likewise, Matt Shaw is at two, with each of Ian Happ, Alex Bregman, and Seiya Suzuki coming in at average (zero OAA). Of the team's regular starting nine, the only member of the group to check in below average defensively (by OAA) is Dansby Swanson. His -1 OAA currently sits at the bottom, which feels somewhat surprising when you consider that he was able to unlock something like this in LA this weekend: It's important to remember that Swanson got off to a bit of a slow start defensively last season. He ended up posting an OAA of four before year's end. Even if the defense has regressed a bit from his peak, it's not as if he's serving as some weak link here. There's been the odd misplay or difficult read pinning his production down a bit to date, but things should even out to be more in line with his defensive counterparts. That Swanson is even at the bottom of the leaderboard for the Cubs speaks to how strong this group has been. Even if we wanted to throw catchers in the mix, the Cubs have a tandem in Miguel Amaya & Carson Kelly that rank 32nd and 34th, respectively, in Catching Runs. The ranking itself isn't favorable given that only 45 catchers qualify for that leaderboard, but the only area where the two check in even slightly below average (-1) is framing. They're otherwise exactly average in the other components of the position (throwing & blocking). When you're able to supplement steady offensive production and a pitching staff that is hanging in there despite a myriad of injuries with defense at this level, you get things like a 10-game winning streak in April. While those other phases of the game have the tendency to wax and wane as a season progresses, defense is one thing that has the ability to remain consistent. So, while we're operating within a small sample for a collection of metrics that notoriously need larger ones, it feels like the defense is as dependable a unit as exists in the league. Even as the lineup and pitching staff regress and rebound according to their nature, the collective defensive effort of the Cubs should help to stabilize things regularly as we approach the summer months. View the full article

Max Scherzer's mysterious arm issues have landed him on the injured list. Scherzer, who has struggled in the early portion of the season, was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday by the Toronto Blue Jays with right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. Right-handed reliever Chase Lee was brought up from Triple-A Buffalo. Scherzer had been slated to start Wednesday vs. the Boston Red Sox at the Rogers Centre, so they will need to find a replacement for that game or have a bullpen game. The 41-year-old Scherzer has made five starts and allowed 20 runs on 22 hits with eight walks and 10 strikeouts in 18⅔ innings, resulting in a 9.64 ERA. His injury is the latest blow to a beleaguered Blue Jays pitching staff with eight pitchers currently in the IL, including three on the 60-day IL. Rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage (right shoulder impingement) is set to be activated from the 15-day IL and start Tuesday. Lee was acquired in December from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for left-hander Johan Simon. Lee didn't make the Opening Day roster, so this will be his Blue Jays debut. He made 32 appearances for the Tigers in 2025, with a 4.10 ERA in 37⅓ innings, walking nine and striking out 36. In nine games at Buffalo this year, Lee has a 1.32 ERA with nine walks and 12 strikeouts in 13⅔ innings. View the full article

He's not going to make the All-Star team or anything. Victor Caratini has come back to Earth with a much less gentle splash than the Artemis II crew made earlier this spring. He batted a sturdy .271/.373/.354 through his first 14 games and 59 plate appearances of the season, and came up with a couple of big hits along the way. Since then, though, he's been awful: 3-for-24, with six strikeouts and a double-play grounder. Three times in the last seven games he's played, he's reduced the Twins' win probability by over 10% in his turns at bat. His OPS for the season is now .596. Behind the plate, though, he's turned out to be a genius—or, he's playing pretty well and getting a little lucky, to boot. The choice is (partially) yours. Caratini has been the better of the two Twins catchers at pitch framing, worth 1 run already, according to Statcast. He's also been better in the ABS challenge aspect, though—not just better than Ryan Jeffers, or better than average, but better than all but one other catcher in the big leagues. Taken together, those two skills (or is it three? One? Two and a half?) have made up for most of Caratini's shortcomings as a hitter. When the umpire calls a pitch Caratini catches a ball, he's very good at knowing whether or not to challenge. In 13 tries, he's won nine appeals, nudging his team toward the black by ensuring that the zone is the size it ought to be. Just as importantly, though, Caratini is still getting slightly more calls along the edges of the zone than most catchers do, and when opponents challenge those strikes, they lose. Batters are just 4-for-11 when challenging called strikes caught by Caratini this year. Pitch framing, as we've discussed many times, is a many-layered skill. There's some politicking in it. There's a bit of pitch-calling in it—knowing when to test the edges of the zone, and which edges each umpire is most likely to accommodate. Mostly, it's a physical skill, but the mechanics of good framing have evolved over time. When this part of the game was first quantified (around 2010), the best framers were guys with big, strong bodies, who held very quiet positions and caught the ball with minimal movement after setting their targets. Now, in the era of one-knee-down catching, catchers have changed the way they hunt calls. They stick out their mitts to present a target (which might be the real one, or not), then drop it toward the ground and try to catch the ball with the mitt in motion. It's not about being quiet. It's about making it look like the ball was right in the fat of the zone, whether that's remotely true or not. It makes fans howl a bit more about calls than they should, at times, but when you're on the field, it makes sense. This is how catchers have come to avail themselves of the rising baseline of athleticism throughout the league, which reaches down even into their squats. If you're Caratini, then, the goal is to catch the ball with a movement that anticipates the movement and location of the pitch and smoothly steer it toward the center of the zone, all in one movement. Umpires don't always fall for this, anymore. They've gotten steadily more accurate over the last two decades; the implementation of the ABS system is more about the technology finally being ready to boost the accuracy of the zone than about some pressing need to amend umpires failing at their jobs. They do fall for it sometimes, though, and they rarely punish catchers for being noisy when the pitch really is in the zone. After all, every catcher does this, now. Caratini has succeeded at that very often this year. To get a good look at how, let's focus on one corner of the zone: his glove-hand side, down. These are pitches low and in to righties, low and away from lefties. They look like this. cU93MFFfWGw0TUFRPT1fQndSU1ZsSURWZ2NBWFZWV0J3QUhCQWRSQUZsUVZnTUFBVndIQmxFR1UxRlhDVlFG.mp4 That's a good, solid catch on a pitch from Taylor Rogers that nailed its spot. It was a strike, and it was probably going to be called one, anyway. Caratini was actually a hair late, here, jerking the ball upward—ah, but maybe that was a good thing, rather than a bad one. As you can see at the tail end of the clip, Reds hitter Dane Myers challenged this call. He wrong to do so, and the choice to challenge was a dubious one, given the count and the location of the pitch, but Caratini's slightly late move might have fooled him (even if Caratini didn't really mean to do so) into costing his team a challenge for later in the game. Here's another instance of the same thing, only different. TzA0VmxfWGw0TUFRPT1fVTFOU0FRRlhWZ2NBRGdaVVZ3QUhDQTVTQUFBRVYxTUFVQVpSQXdGUVZWSmNBZ05m.mp4 This is a picture-perfect modern frame job by Caratini. The orientation of his body gives the umpire a good look at the pitch as it slants across the zone. His catch anticipates the ball trying to work its way off the corner, and he brings it up and holds it on the edge of the zone nicely. However, because the matchup here was left-on-left and the pitch was a slider, Juan Soto was fooled. Lefty batters make very bad decisions about challenging against lefty pitchers and on pitches along the outer edge; they do especially badly when both things are true. Soto's head turned slightly to follow the ball to the mitt, and maybe he saw the move from Caratini out of the corner of his eye. Maybe he just thought that pitch had to be a ball, given the angle of its movement away from him. Either way, he challenged this call, too, and was wrong again. Caratini isn't always as clean when catching the ball in that spot, but unlike Soto and Myers, he sees the ball exceptionally well when it's thrown there. He knows, for instance, when he's let a Taj Bradley fastball beat him to its spot and lost a call on a pitch that really nipped the zone. In the past, there would have been nothing to do but rue that loss, but now, he has a recourse—and he takes it. ckR3NW9fWGw0TUFRPT1fQVFaWkJnRlJCUUFBWEFRREFBQUhCUUpVQUZrQ1dsSUFWMUJRQWxZRVZBTUhCUVlE.mp4 In fact, this exact thing has happened with Bradley's heater three times this year: the pitch zips in on the high side of 97 MPH; Caratini can't quite catch it with a good enough frame to earn the call; but he challenges the call and earns the strike, anyway. Something slightly different happened here, with Mick Abel throwing a changeup. ZU53T0FfWGw0TUFRPT1fVUFBQVhRRUFVQVFBQUZCWEJ3QUhVbFZUQUFNQ1ZRUUFCUUFEVlZVSEFRdFZCd29B.mp4 This pitch tailed a bit more than Caratini thought it would, and he stabbed out toward the edge of the plate more than he'd expected to need to. However, even as he did that (and then brought the ball back to the zone), he knew it had been a strike, so when the call didn't come, he had the confidence to challenge it—even though it was the first inning. All told, relative to the expected challenges for and against him and the success rates of each, Caratini has earned the Twins 11.6 extra calls via the ABS system this year, according to Statcast. Only Cal Raleigh has earned more, mostly by fooling batters with his own noisy catching style: hitters are 2-for-18 when challenging Raleigh's calls. Put together framing and ABS-related value (which are distinct; Statcast's model grades framers based on the initial call to keep the two separate), and Caratini is one of the most valuable catchers in baseball. He often gets the calls on the edges, and when he doesn't, he's good at knowing whether he should have. In that low, mitt-hand corner of the zone, alone, he's earning a called strike rate of 38.3%, relative to the league's average of 30%—and he's added four more calls to that by challenging, while hurting the other team by prompting misbegotten challenges three times. That's a lot of value in a small amount of real estate. Statcast estimates that Caratini has been worth 3.1 runs relative to an average catcher, combining these two skills. He's on pace to be worth over 15 runs in that department, despite playing less than half the time behind the dish. That pace probably won't hold, but Caratini is a genius of the modern art of catching—of both crafting the zone and enforcing it, and tricking some opponents into self-defeating behavior. To whatever extent this skill proves real, it's enormously useful, especially for a Twins pitching staff that won't miss many bats and needs to steal strikes to survive their poor defense. View the full article

Worcester, MA — Following a 17-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox organization shockingly relieved Alex Cora and several members of his coaching staff of their duties. Among the changes in the coaching staff, Worcester manager Chad Tracy was promoted to interim manager of the Boston Red Sox. While Tracy was managing the Red Sox to a 5-3 victory on Sunday that clinched not just his first major-league win but also his 500th career managerial win, players both past and present gave their thoughts about the newest Red Sox manager. “He’s more than ready to be a big-league manager. I think those guys are gonna be pumped to have him and ready to play their asses off for him,” former Red Sox pitcher David Sandlin stated when asked about his former manager getting the promotion to Boston. “Trace is the man. He’s a player’s manager, just a guy that doesn’t have an ego and knows how to get the most out of his players. For me, he was a really calming voice when all the alarm bells were going off during the relieving experiment last year.” Sandlin, who only played for Tracy and Worcester for the final two months of the 2025 season, is hardly the only former Sox player with fond things to say of Tracy. “[He] holds guys accountable and knows how to encourage the guys to put in the work,” former Red Sox pitcher Hunter Dobbins explained. Dobbins spent parts of two seasons in Worcester, getting to spend plenty of time with Tracy, especially in 2025 when he bounced between Worcester and Boston. “Couldn’t be happier for him to get this shot and [Chad] Epperson as well.” Tracy is no stranger to the Boston organization, having managed their Triple-A team since the 2022 season. A former ball player himself, the new Red Sox manager spent eight years playing in the Rockies, Rangers and Royals organizations where he hit .265/.336/453 in 857 games. After being let go by the Royals organization in 2013, he spent the remainder of 2013 and all of 2014 with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League before retiring. Following his retirement as a player, Tracy began his coaching career in the Los Angeles Angels' system. First as the manager of the Class-A Burlington Bees in 2015 before managing the High-A Inland Empire 66ers from 2016 to 2017. Following the 2017 season, Tracy was the minor-league field coordinator for four seasons before being named Worcester's manager for 2022. Since joining the Red Sox organization, Tracy had been a consistent figure in Triple-A, as he led the WooSox to a winning season every year, including back-to-back 79-win seasons in 2023 and 2024. And just as Tracy is no stranger to the organization, the players in Boston are no strangers to him either. Of the active roster, half of them have spent time developing under him. Including rehab assignments, 16 of the players currently in Boston at the time of his promotion have played for him. And that’s not even taking into account his presence during spring training and being an important member of the staff in major-league camp. “He’s the ultimate professional. I think he commands the respect of everyone in the room and he’s a really smart baseball mind,” Nick Sogard explained Sunday while talking to the media. Sogard has ample experience with Tracy, having played 387 games under him. “I had a lot of good relationships with the guys that got fired, so that was a bummer for me personally. But I’m really happy for Trace.” For someone like Tracy, a former third-round pick who made it to Triple-A as a player, this has been a call he’s been waiting for. An experience that even the players knew was special. “I’ve seen over the course of the years here, so many players get called up. They pack all their stuff in the cart, so it’s kind of unique to see that with the manager and hitting coach. That felt like a unique experience and was cool to see someone I care about a lot fulfilling a lifelong dream,” Sogard told the media when asked about the emotions of seeing Tracy off after Saturday’s victory in Worcester. In the moment of it all, the players knew they had a game to play, but the outside noise was creeping into the back of their minds. They couldn’t help but wonder what was going on, especially after Tracy left the dugout. Instead, he never returned for the remainder of the game. Defensive and third base coach Iggy Suarez instead handled the remainder of the game, and he'll now serve as the interim replacement in Worcester. “We didn’t know if a trade was happening, but we just tried to win the game it was all we could worry about. So, we were focused on that. Then we got back in, he was in street clothes already. So, then it was like, oh, all right. He was like ‘hey guys, you know, stuff happened and they asked me to go up and be an interim manager’. We were all like, dude you deserve it,” Nathan Hickey explained. Hickey had spent parts of three seasons under Tracy, playing a total of 224 games for him. Boston will be in good hands with Tracy at the helm, a baseball lifer that has a track record of holding the respect of all within a room. He’s the right man to replace Cora following a disastrous start to the season. With the season looking grim and a roster filled with young talent and veterans alike, Tracy will now be tasked with continuing what he managed to do in Worcester for so long: help develop players while holding the team to a respectable standard of winning. View the full article

Syracuse fell 6-2 at Worcester, where Jonah Tong struck out six over 4 2/3 innings in the loss. Binghamton split a doubleheader with Erie, as Jonathan Santucci struck out eight in the 5-1 opener loss before a five-pitcher relay produced a 5-2 win in the nightcap. Brooklyn beat Hudson Valley 6-2 on a Mitch Voit homer, then dropped the nightcap 7-2. St. Lucie cruised to a 12-2 win over Palm Beach behind three home runs. Mets Transactions New York Mets recalled RHP Austin Warren from Syracuse Mets. Tong Solid But Three-Run Blast Beats Syracuse 6-2 At Worcester Syracuse fell 6-2 at Worcester behind a middling start from Jonah Tong. The right-hander worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, three earned runs, three walks, and six strikeouts. Worcester broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the third inning when a three-run home run cleared the left-field fence to put the Red Sox up 3-0. Syracuse pulled within one in the top of the fifth when Yonny Hernández singled to start the rally, Trace Willhoite doubled him in, and Ben Rortvedt scored two batters later on leadoff hitter Nick Morabito's run-scoring groundout to make it 3-2. The Mets could not draw any closer. Worcester added a run in the bottom of the sixth on a run-scoring single off Jonathan Pintaro, and the Red Sox tacked on two more in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single. Pintaro was charged with three earned runs in two innings, allowing four hits and three walks. Anderson Severino tossed a clean inning of relief, and Mike Baumann recorded a strikeout in his 1/3 of an inning. Hernández finished 2-for-4 with a run, Willhoite doubled and drove in a run, and Morabito doubled and drove in a run. Syracuse collected seven hits, struck out 14 times, and left four runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nick Morabito 4 0 1 1 0 1 Vidal Bruján 4 0 0 0 0 2 Ryan Clifford 4 0 1 0 0 3 Christian Arroyo 4 0 1 0 0 2 Cristian Pache 4 0 0 0 0 3 Yonny Hernández 4 1 2 0 0 0 Hayden Senger 3 0 0 0 0 1 Ben Rortvedt 3 1 1 0 0 1 Trace Willhoite 3 0 1 1 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jonah Tong 4.2 5 3 3 3 6 1 Jonathan Pintaro 2.0 4 3 3 3 1 0 Mike Baumann 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Anderson Severino 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Santucci Strikes Out Eight In Binghamton's 5-1 Doubleheader Opener Loss Binghamton dropped the doubleheader opener 5-1 to Erie. Starter Jonathan Santucci took the loss after 5 1/3 innings in which he allowed four hits, four earned runs, three walks, and eight strikeouts. Erie struck for three runs in the top of the first inning on a run-scoring double and a run-scoring single. Leadoff hitter A.J. Ewing got the Rumble Ponies on the board in the bottom of the first by drawing a walk, stealing second base, and scoring on Jacob Reimer's run-scoring single. Santucci settled in and held Erie scoreless from the second through the fifth innings while striking out the side twice. Erie added two more runs in the top of the sixth on a two-out, two-run double after Santucci was lifted with a runner already on base. Matt Turner inherited Santucci's runner, who scored, and was charged with one earned run in 2/3 of an inning. Felipe De La Cruz worked a clean seventh, walking two and striking out one. Reimer led the offense with a 1-for-3 night, an RBI, and the run-scoring single. Wyatt Young added a single, and Ewing reached three times with two walks, a stolen base, and a run scored. Binghamton finished with two hits, five walks, struck out seven times, and left eight runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K A.J. Ewing 2 1 0 0 2 1 Marco Vargas 3 0 0 0 1 1 Jacob Reimer 3 0 1 1 0 0 Chris Suero 2 0 0 0 1 1 Jose Ramos 2 0 0 0 0 0 JT Schwartz 2 0 0 0 1 1 Nick Lorusso 2 0 0 0 0 1 Matt Rudick 3 0 0 0 0 2 Wyatt Young 3 0 1 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jonathan Santucci 5.1 4 4 4 3 8 0 Matt Turner 0.2 1 1 1 1 2 0 Felipe De La Cruz 1.0 0 0 0 2 1 0 Vargas Drives In Three As Binghamton Takes Nightcap 5-2 Binghamton bounced back to take the nightcap 5-2 over Erie behind a 3-for-3 game from Marco Vargas, who tripled, doubled, singled, and drove in three runs. Bulk pitcher Jordan Geber worked three innings, allowing five hits, one earned run, four strikeouts, and a solo home run. The Rumble Ponies set the tone in the bottom of the first when leadoff hitter A.J. Ewing tripled, and Vargas tripled him home, and Vincent Perozo scored on a passed ball during Jacob Reimer's walk to make it 2-0. Erie tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the second, but Vargas struck again in the bottom half with a run-scoring single that scored Perozo and put Binghamton ahead 3-1. The Rumble Ponies broke things open in the bottom of the fifth on Vargas's run-scoring double that brought home Ewing and Kevin Parada's run-scoring single that plated Vargas for a 5-1 lead. Erie scratched out a run in the top of the sixth on a run-scoring double. Saul Garcia, Jefry Yan, Zach Peek, and Kevin Gowdy each notched a hold, Douglas Orellana picked up the win with a clean inning of two strikeouts, and Brian Metoyer recorded the save. Eli Serrano III added a double, Wyatt Young singled, Perozo singled and scored, and Ewing finished 2-for-3 with the triple, a walk, and a stolen base. Player AB R H RBI BB K A.J. Ewing 3 2 2 0 1 1 Marco Vargas 3 2 3 3 1 0 Jacob Reimer 2 0 0 0 2 1 Eli Serrano III 3 0 1 0 0 0 Jose Ramos 3 0 0 0 0 2 Kevin Parada 3 0 1 1 0 1 Matt Rudick 3 0 0 0 0 0 Vincent Perozo 3 1 1 0 0 0 Wyatt Young 3 0 1 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jordan Geber 3.0 5 1 1 0 4 1 Douglas Orellana 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Jefry Yan 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 Zach Peek 0.1 1 1 1 1 1 0 Saul Garcia 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 Kevin Gowdy 0.1 1 0 0 2 0 0 Brian Metoyer 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 Voit's Two-Run Homer And Stout Pitching Power Brooklyn Past Hudson Valley 6-2 Brooklyn opened the doubleheader with a 6-2 win at Hudson Valley behind a balanced offense and 4 1/3 innings of two-hit work from Channing Austin, who walked three and struck out three. Hoss Brewer picked up the win with 1 2/3 hitless innings. The Cyclones broke through in the top of the second when Kevin Villavicencio singled in Colin Houck, and leadoff hitter Mitch Voit followed two batters later with a two-run home run that brought home Villavicencio for a 3-0 lead. Ronald Hernandez pushed the margin to 4-0 in the top of the fifth with a run-scoring double that scored Antonio Jimenez, and Villavicencio added a two-run single in the top of the sixth that scored John Bay and Houck for a 6-0 advantage. Hudson Valley pulled within four in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run home run charged to Juan Arnaud, who took over for Danis Correa with one out. Houck went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and a stolen base. Hernandez added a double and a stolen base, and Villavicencio finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a stolen base. Voit went 1-for-3 with the home run, two RBIs, and a stolen base. Brooklyn collected nine hits, drew two walks, struck out 11 times, swiped five bases, and left eight runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Mitch Voit 3 1 1 2 0 0 Antonio Jimenez 3 1 0 0 1 1 Corey Collins 4 0 1 0 0 3 Ronald Hernandez 4 0 2 1 0 0 Daiverson Gutierrez 4 0 0 0 0 2 John Bay 2 1 1 0 1 0 Colin Houck 4 2 2 0 0 1 Yohairo Cuevas 4 0 0 0 0 4 Kevin Villavicencio 3 1 2 3 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Channing Austin 4.1 2 0 0 3 3 0 Hoss Brewer 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 Danis Correa 0.2 0 1 1 1 1 0 Juan Arnaud 0.1 1 1 1 0 1 1 Five-Run Fourth Sinks Brooklyn In 7-2 Nightcap Loss Brooklyn dropped the nightcap 7-2 at Hudson Valley as a five-run fourth inning broke open a tight game. Cleanup hitter Corey Collins gave the Cyclones an early lead with a solo home run to right-center field in the top of the first inning. Opener Dylan Ross worked a clean first, allowing no hits and striking out one. Jonathan Jimenez took the loss after three innings, allowing five hits, six earned runs, three walks, two strikeouts, and a home run. Hudson Valley tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on a ground-rule double, then took the lead on a three-run home run to make it 4-1. The Renegades added two more in the bottom of the fifth on a run-scoring single deflected by Mitch Voit and a run-scoring groundout to push the deficit to 7-2. Brooklyn cut a run back in the top of the fifth when Voit walked, stole second base, stole third, and scored on an error during Antonio Jimenez's strikeout. Cristofer Gomez worked a clean inning of relief with two strikeouts, and Bryce Jenkins followed with a hitless seventh. Voit finished 1-for-3 with a walk, a run, and two stolen bases. Collins went 1-for-2 with the home run, a walk, and an RBI. Ronald Hernandez added a single. Brooklyn collected three hits, drew five walks, struck out seven times, and left six runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Mitch Voit 3 1 1 0 1 0 Antonio Jimenez 4 0 0 0 0 2 Corey Collins 2 1 1 1 1 0 John Bay 1 0 0 0 2 0 Ronald Hernandez 3 0 1 0 0 1 Yohairo Cuevas 3 0 0 0 0 0 Kevin Villavicencio 2 0 0 0 0 2 Diego Mosquera 3 0 0 0 0 1 Heriberto Rincon 2 0 0 0 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Dylan Ross 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Jonathan Jimenez 3.0 5 7 6 3 2 1 Bryce Jenkins 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Cristofer Gomez 1.0 0 0 0 2 2 0 Three Home Runs And A Big Day From Guzman Lift St. Lucie 12-2 Past Palm Beach St. Lucie pounded out 14 hits and three home runs in a 12-2 rout of Palm Beach. Starter Nicolas Carreno worked four innings of one-hit ball, walking two and striking out five. Emilio Obispo earned the win with four innings of two-hit work, allowing one earned run with one walk and four strikeouts. The home offense broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second on Simon Juan's three-run inside-the-park home run that scored Randy Guzman and AJ Salgado. Guzman struck again in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run to left field that brought home Sam Robertson for a 5-0 lead. The Mets pushed the margin to 7-0 in the bottom of the fourth on a run-scoring fielder's choice and Sam Robertson's run-scoring single. Palm Beach pulled two back with a run in the top of the fifth on a run-scoring single off Luke Jackson and a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth. St. Lucie answered immediately in the bottom of the sixth on JT Benson's two-run double that scored Branny De Oleo and leadoff hitter Sam Biller. Francisco Toledo capped the scoring with a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth that scored Guzman and Chase Meggers. Guzman finished 3-for-4 with the home run, two doubles, three runs, and two RBIs. De Oleo went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, and Biller, Robertson, Benson, Salgado, Juan, Meggers, and Toledo each contributed at least one hit. St. Lucie drew six walks, struck out 10 times, swiped five bases, and left seven runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Sam Biller 4 2 1 1 1 1 Sam Robertson 4 1 2 1 1 1 JT Benson 5 0 1 2 0 3 Randy Guzman 4 3 3 2 1 1 AJ Salgado 5 1 1 0 0 2 Simon Juan 5 1 1 3 0 0 Chase Meggers 3 2 1 0 2 1 Francisco Toledo 5 1 1 3 0 1 Branny De Oleo 4 1 3 0 1 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Nicolas Carreno 4.0 1 0 0 2 5 0 Luke Jackson 1.0 3 1 0 0 0 0 Emilio Obispo 4.0 2 1 1 1 4 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Nolan McLean: DNP Carson Benge: DNP A.J. Ewing: G1 0-for-2, 2 BB, K, R, SB; G2 2-for-3, 3B, BB, K, 2 R, SB Jonah Tong: 4 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR Ryan Clifford: 1-for-4, 3 K Jacob Reimer: G1 1-for-3, RBI; G2 0-for-2, 2 BB, K Jack Wenninger: DNP Elian Pena: DNP Mitch Voit: G1 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, R, SB; G2 1-for-3, BB, R, 2 SB Nick Morabito: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, K Jonathan Santucci: 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 8 K Chris Suero: 0-for-2, BB, K Zach Thornton: DNP Wandy Asigen: DNP Will Watson: DNP Eli Serrano III: 1-for-3, 2B Ryan Lambert: DNP Dylan Ross: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Antonio Jimenez: G1 0-for-3, BB, K, R; G2 0-for-4, 2 K R.J. Gordon: DNP View the full article

New York Mets Weekly Snapshot Record Last Week: 2-4 Runs Scored Last Week: 20 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 28 Standings: 5th in NL East 10.5 GB of 1st Place Transactions: 4/16 New York Mets sent LHP A.J. Minter on a rehab assignment to Brooklyn Cyclones. 4/16 New York Mets traded LHP Richard Lovelady to Washington Nationals for cash. 4/18 New York Mets placed 2B Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list retroactive to April 15, 2026. Right wrist contusion. 4/18 New York Mets recalled C Hayden Senger from Syracuse Mets. 4/22 New York Mets sent LHP A.J. Minter on a rehab assignment to Syracuse Mets. 4/22 New York Mets activated RF Juan Soto from the 10-day injured list. 4/22 New York Mets optioned C Hayden Senger to Syracuse Mets. 4/23 New York Mets placed SS Francisco Lindor on the 10-day injured list. Left calf strain. 4/23 New York Mets recalled 3B Ronny Mauricio from Syracuse Mets. 4/23 New York Mets optioned RHP Austin Warren to Syracuse Mets. 4/23 New York Mets recalled RHP Christian Scott from Syracuse Mets. 4/24 New York Mets selected the contract of RHP Carl Edwards Jr. from Syracuse Mets. 4/24 New York Mets optioned RHP Christian Scott to Syracuse Mets. 4/25 New York Mets sent RHP Joey Gerber on a rehab assignment to St. Lucie Mets. 4/26 New York Mets recalled RHP Austin Warren from Syracuse Mets. Scores: Game 22 (4/21): NYM 3, MIN 5 Game 23 (4/22): NYM 3, MIN 2 Game 24 (4/23): NYM 10, MIN 8 Game 25 (4/24): NYM 3, COL 4 Game 26 (4/26 G1): NYM 1, COL 3 Game 27 (4/26 G2): NYM 0, COL 3 Series Breakdown/Highlights Twins Series The Mets welcomed the Twins to Citi Field after their disastrous six-game West Coast trip. The first game wound up being an extension of that road trip. Nolan McLean was perfect through five innings, and had a 3-0 lead after a Francisco Lindor three-run shot. A two-run homer off the bat of Byron Buxton in the sixth inning and an RBI single by Luke Keaschall tied the game. In the ninth inning, the Mets brought in their closer, Devin Williams, who imploded. He walked two to lead off the inning before a defensive misplay on a bunt loaded the bases with no outs. An RBI single and an RBI walk gave the Twins a 5-3 lead, and that was all she wrote. The Mets bounced back in game two, getting their first win in over two weeks. The Mets and Twins were tied going into the late innings when a ball that could have been caught off the bat of Vientos fell for an RBI single. Luke Weaver, another former Yankees closer who earned the win, slammed the door in a much-needed bullpen reprieve. In game three, it was mostly a bullpen game with starter Christian Scott walking five batters in 1.1 innings. The Mets jumped out to a five-run lead at the end of the second inning and healed that. The Twins were chipping away, dragging things down to four-run lead going into the eighth inning. Then, the Twins loaded the bases with two outs. Ryan Jeffers would hit a game-tying grand slam, deflating every Mets fan out there. Then, the Mets fought back to load the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning and Bo Bichette hit a three-run double to give the Mets a 10-7 lead. After Huascar Brazoban got the first out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Devin Williams came in to get the final two outs. It did not come easy as with two outs he allowed a run and put the go-ahead run at the plate. He was able to strike out Trevor Larnach to end the game and secure a series win. Rockies Series The Mets were looking to build off of their series win against the Twins earlier in the week. So much for that idea. They failed to do so in game one of the series. as their eighth-inning comeback fell short, ultimately losing to the Rockies 4-3. They had a 1-0 lead early before Freddy Peralta gave up an RBI groundout in the fifth inning to tie it up. He then gave up the game on an RBI double by Jake McCarthy. The Rockies would pad their lead on a two-run single by Troy Johnston. A two-run single by Brett Baty would bring the Mets within a run, but it was not meant to be. Due to rain, there was no game Saturday; instead a doubleheader was played Sunday. Game one was not great for the Mets. Nolan McLean had solid stuff in the outing, but in the fifth and sixth innings he got in trouble allowing a total of two runs. An RBI single off Brazoban gave the Rockies all they needed. The lone run the Mets scored was on a solo home run off the bat of Tyrone Taylor. Game three saw Kodai Senga give up three runs in 2.2 innings. It was a single by Troy Johnston and a two-run homer by Hunter Goodman that did him in. Carl Edwards Jr. gave the Mets 3.1 innings of hitless relief after coming in for Senga. Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, and perhaps most importantly, Devin Williams, all pitched scoreless innings. The Mets did not score a run in game two of the double header. Getting swept by the Rockies isn't exactly a path toward success. Website Highlights Mets Bright Spots: Breaking Down the Numbers Behind Huascar Brazobán's Breakout Season Juan Soto Has Never Had A Better Chance to Win MVP Nolan McLean Is Really Good At Throwing A Baseball, But You Knew That Already Looking Ahead April 27th: OFF April 28th (vs. WAS, 7:10pm EST): RHP Zack Littell (0-3, 7.56) vs. RHP Clay Holmes (2-2, 2.10) April 29th (vs. WAS, 7:10pm EST): RHP Cade Cavalli (0-1, 4.01) vs. TBD April 30th (vs. WAS, 1:10pm EST): RHP Miles Mikolas (0-3, 8.49) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (1-3, 3.90) May 1st: at LAA (9:38pm EST) May 2nd: at LAA (9:38pm EST) May 3rd: at LAA (4:07pm EST) View the full article

Walker Jenkins has been slow out of the gate to start 2026. Is there reason for concern long term, or is the 21-year-old just battling through the coldest weather he's ever played in? View the full article

San Diego Padres Weekly Snapshot Record last week: 3-2 Runs scored last week: 27 Runs allowed last week: 32 Random Stats Eight of Randy Vasquez's 51 starts as a Padre have come against the Rockies. He hasn't made more than four against any other team. Since their expansion season of 1969, the Friars have 115 1-0 victories, which ranks third in MLB during that span. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers (143) and New York Mets (120) have more. The Padres have outscored their opponents 25-1 in the ninth inning this season. Their 25 runs in the ninth lead MLB. After Thursday's rally, the Padres were the only team in MLB this season to come back from three runs down in the ninth inning or later and won. They have done so twice this year. Saturday was the fifth time already this season the Friars have come back from a four-run deficit at any point of the game to win, two more than any other team. The Padres had a grand total of two last year. The Padres are 18-9 for the third-best record in MLB and half a game behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers (19-9). Atlanta leads MLB at 20-9. Transactions Wednesday: Signed free-agent RHP Lucas Giolito and assigned him to Low-A Lake Elsinore. Wednesday: Transferred RHP Bryan Hoeing (torn right flexor tendon) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Friday: Sent RHP Jeremiah Estrada on a rehab assignment to Lake Elsinore. Saturday: Recalled 3B Sung-Mun Song from El Paso as extra player for Mexico City Series. Website Highlights Giolito is the best answer the Padres could have come up with — Randy Holt Padres are winning in spite of their offense — Randy Holt How the Seidler family revamped the Padres — Andy Johnson How the 2026 Padres stack up in a deep NL — Brendan Dentino Looking Ahead Monday: Cubs (Matthew Boyd) at Padres (Randy Vasquez), 6:40 p.m. Tuesday: Cubs at (Edward Cabrera) Padres (Walker Buehler), 6:40 p.m. Wednesday: Cubs at (Jameson Taillon) Padres (Matt Waldron), 1:10 p.m. Thursday: Off Friday: White Sox (Noah Schultz) at Padres (German Marquez), 6:40 p.m. Saturday: White Sox (Sean Burke) at Padres (Michael King), 5:40 p.m. Sunday: White Sox (Anthony Kay) at Padres (Randy Vasquez), 1:10 p.m. View the full article

The pitch-tracking era dates back to the installation of PITCHf/x cameras in every big-league stadium in 2008. It covers less than 20 years of baseball's long history, then, but given all we've learned about sports medicine and performance and all the changes in the game we've seen over that relatively brief span, you can pretty safely say that a velocity record for the pitch-tracking era is a velocity record for all of baseball history. No, Nolan Ryan didn't throw harder than Jacob deGrom. No, Bob Feller's fastball wasn't measured incorrectly. Everyone throws harder now than they did before. When I tell you, then, that Jacob Misiorowski's 21 pitches with a perceived velocity of 102 miles per hour or higher that resulted in non-contact strikes on Saturday is a record, there's no reasonable argument against it. Sure, we can't measure the speed of Ryan's or Kerry Wood's or even Robb Nen's best heaters precisely, but we can be sure they didn't throw as hard as Misiorowski does—and, in the case of Nen and similarly hard-throwing relievers, the sheer volume of Misiorowski's dominance this weekend is out of reach. If I stopped at telling you that that number is a record, though, I'd be underselling what Misiorowski really did to the Pirates. He threw 21 pitches with that perceived speed that went for either called strikes or whiffs; we're not even including foul balls here. The second-highest number of such pitches by any pitcher in a game for which we have the requisite data was by Jordan Hicks, three years ago, almost to the day. Hicks was working in long relief on Apr. 26, 2023, against the Rockies. He got three more called and swinging strikes at 102+ than anyone else had ever had, to that point—with nine. He had nine (9). Later that year, Ben Joyce of the Angels twice got as high as seven (7) such offerings. In 2025, Misiorowski had seven (7) in one start just after the All-Star break, against the Mariners, and he became the first person other than Hicks to get to eight (8) in September, also against the Pirates. Saturday was a whole other thing. Saturday was a massive achievement in power and endurance. Misiorowski blew Oneil Cruz away with a pitch at 102.7 MPH (which, given his near-elite extension, means the perceived speed was north of 104) in the first inning. TUFYMjFfWGw0TUFRPT1fQkZOVFV3QlZWMVFBWGxFS1ZBQUhCMVZRQUZoUkJnTUFVUUZSQ0ZGUUFGVURVd2RV (1).mp4 But we've seen him do that before. Often, especially early this year, Misiorowski would flash extraordinary velocity at the front end of starts, but see that speed tick down after the first inning and never tick back up. On Saturday, it was a very different story. Of the 21 pitches we're talking about, he had: 9 in the 1st inning (tying the previous record in one frame) 3 in the 2nd 2 in the 3rd 1 in the 5th 6 in the 6th He departed the mound by completing his ninth strikeout of the day with a 101.4-MPH (perceived speed: roughly 103.5) heater past Konnor Griffin, his second similarly ferocious pitch of the at-bat. TUFYMjFfWGw0TUFRPT1fRGdRREJRSUVWd01BV2dNRlZBQUhDQU5WQUZnSFZRTUFCUU1DQVFWUVVnSlFBVkVB.mp4 He'd already beaten Jake Mangum, earlier in the inning, with three straight high heaters, each faster than the last. You never, ever see this much velocity from a pitcher pacing themselves for a full-fledged start—except from Misiorowski. There have been 13 appearances in which a pitcher threw at least 50 pitches and had at least five of these non-contact strikes at 102+. deGrom had one, in 2021—cheating a little bit, because he just barely got to five such pitches and one of them came against opposing pitcher Merrill Kelly. The other 12 belong to Misiorowski. Ten of those 12 came last season, and he just barely got to five in his start against the Red Sox early in April. This was a transcendent moment. It was a pitcher already ahead of the pack by a great distance, pushing himself to a new level. Admittedly, part of this story is the Pirates. They're an extremely whiff-prone offense, especially when you take one of their best contact hitters (Mangum) and turn him into a whiff machine. That's part of the point, though. Misiorowski's sheer power was so great that Mangum, who has a delightful knack for opposite-field contact but one of the slowest swings in baseball, turned from a great contact hitter to a hopeless case. Seven of the nine hitters in the Pirates' order suffered at least one of these moments of total overwhelm. There are still rough edges Misiorowski needs to sand off, as he pursues the National League Cy Young Award. He can put his team in better positions to win games by being more consistent within a start. It's notable that the one truly bad inning he had on Saturday (the two-run top of the 4th) was the one wherein he failed to overpower any Pittsburgh batter the way he did in every other inning of the start. The Brewers need to continue working with him to find the best way to utilize his arsenal, especially to survive those innings when some weak contact produces hits or when his command wobbles. The stuff he showed Saturday, though, puts things neatly into perspective. Who is Misiorowski's comp? By whose yardstick can he measured? No one, and no one's. He's broken the scale. He's breaking the game. He just has to ensure that he can get all the way from the first pitch of outings to the last, without breaking in his own right. View the full article