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Aníbal Sánchez was the last Florida Marlins pitcher to throw a no-hitter at what was originally called Joe Robbie Stadium. Although he threw just one no-no as a member of the Fish, he was three outs away from a second on this day 15 years ago. Through eight innings, Sánchez had held Colorado without a hit at Sun Life Stadium on April 22, 2011. Despite being without a hit, the Rockies did get a first-inning run and trailed 4-1 as they came to bat in the top of the ninth. On the very first pitch of the ninth inning, Colorado’s Dexter Fowler put an end to the no-hit bid with a single through the right side. Although the no-hitter was no longer a possibility, Sánchez did face the minimum in the ninth. Fowler would be doubled off on a flyout by Jonathan Herrera before Carlos González grounded out to end the game. Sánchez finished the night with a one-hitter on 123 pitches with three walks and nine strikeouts. After the Rockies took advantage of a walk, passed ball and error to score the game’s first run, the Marlins drew even in the bottom of the first on a lead-off home run by Chris Coghlan. Florida manufactured a pair of runs an inning later to go ahead for good. Gaby Sánchez capped the scoring with a homer to lead off the third off Colorado starter Jhoulys Chacín. While Colorado managed just one hit, Coghlan, Omar Infante, Gaby Sánchez and Emilio Bonifácio each had two of the nine for Florida. As a member of the Detroit Tigers in 2013, Sánchez again lost a no-hitter in the ninth against the Minnesota Twins. After tossing a no-hitter for the Marlins against the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006, the victory over Colorado would be Sánchez’s second of three one-hitters as a member of the club. It came on this day 15 years ago. View the full article

The Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm routed Visalia 17-7, with Ryan Wideman going 4-for-6 with two home runs and Truitt Madonna adding three doubles and a triple. Winyer Chourio fanned six over four innings for the Storm. The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas rallied past Reno 13-6 on a seven-run eighth. High-A Fort Wayne fell 8-2 in a rain-shortened loss to Wisconsin despite Dylan Grego's two-run homer. Double-A San Antonio was postponed by rain. Padres Minor-League Transactions El Paso Chihuahuas activated C Rodolfo Durán. El Paso Chihuahuas transferred C Colton Vincent to the Development List. Fort Wayne TinCaps placed RHP Jeferson Villabona on the 7-day injured list. RHP Carson Swilling assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres. Chihuahuas Use 7-Run Eighth To Surge Past Aces The El Paso Chihuahuas rallied from a four-run deficit, using a seven-run eighth inning to beat the Reno Aces 13-6. Samad Taylor led the 16-hit parade by going 3-for-3 with a triple, a walk, and a run scored. Jose Miranda launched a two-run homer, his second blast in as many games and third of season, in the second and finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Mason McCoy delivered the signature blow of the eighth, lacing a two-run double to put El Paso ahead for good. Trailing 6-2 after the top of the fourth, El Paso chipped away on Marcos Castañon's two-run homer, his fourth of the year, in the fourth, a Nick Solak RBI single in the fifth and an unearned run in the sixth that tied the game. In the eighth, McCoy's tiebreaking double plated Anthony Vilar and Clay Dungan, and RBI singles from Jase Bowen, Sung-Mun Song, Solak, Pablo Reyes, and Vilar put the game away. El Paso left seven runners on base. Starter Jackson Wolf lasted 2⅔ innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits, walking four, and striking out two. The bullpen combined for more than six innings of work, and Eli Villalobos picked up the victory with 1⅓ scoreless frames. EP_0421.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Jase Bowen, CF 5 2 2 1 0 1 Samad Taylor, LF 3 1 3 0 1 0 Sung-Mun Song, 3B 5 1 1 1 0 1 Nick Solak, RF 5 1 2 2 0 0 Pablo Reyes, DH 4 2 2 1 1 0 Rodolfo Durán, C 2 1 0 0 0 1 Anthony Vilar, C 2 1 2 1 0 0 Jose Miranda, 1B 4 1 2 2 0 0 Clay Dungan, 2B 1 1 0 0 0 0 Marcos Castañon, 1B 5 1 1 2 0 2 Mason McCoy, SS 3 1 1 2 1 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jackson Wolf 2 2/3 2 2 2 4 2 0 Omar Cruz 2/3 3 4 4 3 0 0 Miguel Cienfuegos 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 Garrett Hawkins 1 2/3 0 0 0 2 1 0 Eli Villalobos (W, 2-1) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 Ethan Routzahn 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Missions Postponed, Will Play Doubleheader Wednesday The San Antonio Missions-Amarillo Sod Poodles game was postponed due to rain and will be made up Wednesday as part of a doubleheader. Right-handers Victor Lizarraga and Eric Yost are expected to start for the Missions. Grego's 2-Run Homer Only Bright Spot As TinCaps Fall The Fort Wayne TinCaps managed just four hits in a rain-shortened 8-2 loss to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The game was called for wet grounds with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Starter Maikel Miralles took the loss, going 3⅔ innings while allowing eight runs, five earned, on eight hits. He walked three, struck out one, and surrendered two home runs. Matthew Watson followed with 2⅓ scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out one. Dylan Grego provided the TinCaps' only offensive spark, going 2-for-2 with a double and a two-run home run, his first of the season, in the bottom of the third that trimmed the deficit to 5-2. Alex McCoy singled to extend his Midwest League-best hitting streak to 12 games, one shy of the team record as a High-A franchise. FW_0421.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Kasen Wells, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 Zach Evans, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 2 Carlos Rodriguez, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 Alex McCoy, LF 3 0 1 0 0 1 Lamar King Jr., DH 2 0 0 0 1 1 Kavares Tears, RF 3 0 1 0 0 1 Rosman Verdugo, 2B 1 0 0 0 1 1 Jack Costello, 1B 1 1 0 0 1 0 Dylan Grego, SS 2 1 2 2 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Maikel Miralles (L, 0-2) 3 2/3 8 8 5 3 1 2 Matthew Watson 2 1/3 1 0 0 2 1 0 Wideman, Madonna Power Storm To Rout Of Rawhide The Lake Elsinore Storm pounded out 17 hits, including three home runs, in a 17-7 rout of the Visalia Rawhide. The Storm scored in seven of their eight innings they batted and put up crooked numbers five times. Leadoff man Ryan Wideman went 4-for-6 with a double, two home runs, and four RBI, highlighted by an inside-the-park home run in the third and a two-run shot that capped the scoring in the eighth. Truitt Madonna also had a huge night, going 4-for-5 with three doubles, a triple, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Bradley Frye chipped in a 3-for-6 effort with a run-scoring single, three runs scored, and two stolen bases. Starter Winyer Chourio turned in the strongest pitching performance, working four innings and allowing two earned runs on three hits. He walked none and struck out six. Lake Elsinore struck first in the first on Madonna's RBI double. The third inning produced three runs on Wideman's inside-the-park homer, Madonna's RBI triple, and a Jose Verdugo sacrifice bunt that plated Madonna. Victor Duarte added a two-run homer in the fifth and the Storm broke the game open in the eighth with six runs, including a two-run Conner Westenburg single and Wideman's two-run homer. The Storm stole six bases. LE_0421.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ryan Wideman, CF 6 3 4 4 0 0 Bradley Frye, 3B 6 3 3 1 0 1 Truitt Madonna, C 5 3 4 3 0 0 Kale Fountain, RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 George Bilecki, RF 2 0 0 0 0 1 Jose Verdugo, 2B 4 1 1 2 0 2 Jorge Quintana, SS 4 2 2 1 1 0 Victor Duarte, DH 2 2 1 2 3 0 Kerrington Cross, 1B 4 1 0 0 1 2 Conner Westenburg, LF 5 2 2 2 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Winyer Chourio 4 3 2 2 0 6 0 Joseph Herrera (W, 2-0) 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 Carson Swilling (H, 1) 1 2/3 0 0 0 3 1 0 Daichi Moriki 2/3 0 2 1 3 0 0 Brandon Langley 1 2/3 0 1 0 1 1 0 Padres Top-20 Prospect Performance Kash Mayfield: DNP Ethan Salas: DNP Kruz Schoolcraft: DNP Bradgley Rodriguez: DNP Humberto Cruz: DNP Miguel Mendez: DNP Ty Harvey: DNP Jorge Quintana: 2-for-4, BB Kale Fountain: 0-for-3 Ryan Wideman: 4-for-6, 2B, 2 HR Jagger Haynes: DNP Lamar King Jr.: 0-for-2, BB, K Romeo Sanabria: DNP Truitt Madonna: 4-for-5, 3 2B, 3B Michael Salina: DNP Garrett Hawkins: 1⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, K Kavares Tears: 1-for-3, K Deivid Coronil: DNP Francis Pena: DNP Bryan Balzer: DNP View the full article

Transactions: Nashville Sounds activated RHP Junior Fernández. RHP Joe Corbett assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from Nashville Sounds. SS Jheremy Vargas assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from Nashville Sounds. C Tayden Hall assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from Biloxi Shuckers. Nashville 5, Charlotte (White Sox) 1 Box Score Nashville and Charlotte were locked in a pitcher’s duel for the first six innings on Tuesday morning, as the teams combined to play the first six innings scoreless. The Sounds continue to Bring starter Logan Henderosn along slowly, as the 24 year-old righty worked only 3.1IP scoreless before being lifted after 65 pitches (42 strikes). In the seventh inning, Luis Lara opened the scoring with his third homerun of the season. Lara bounced back after a mini slump (0/10 4K 1BB) over the weekend, reaching base three times. Lara is now one off his career-high homerun total (4 in 2024 at Wisconsin) while raising his OPS back over 1.000 on the season. Here’s the blast, courtesy of Sounds’ X account: Following Lara’s blast, the Sounds collected three straight singles before Jett Williams forced in a run on a bases loaded walk to make it 2-0. The next inning, catcher Jeferson Quero broke the game open with his second extra-base hit of the game, a three-run homerun: The Sounds used five relivers to close the game after Henderson departed. Jacob Waguespack (1.2IP 0R 0H 1BB 4K) was the only pitcher to record more than three outs. Reiss Knehr earned the win in relief with a scoreless appearance and Brian Fitzpatrick ran his scoreless innings streak to 9.1 to start the season at AAA. Nashville (12-9) now sits tied for the third-best record in the 20 team international league after three weeks of play. Biloxi Pre-game media notes Biloxi 7, Rocket City (Angels) 3 Box Score As always, you are encouraged to read the official round-up from the team’s site: 3-RBI Day for Jordyn Adams Headlines 7-3 Shuckers Victory Bolstered by a solid start from Ryan Birchard (3IP 0R 0H 5BB 5K) and a relentless attack on offense (ten hits, four for extra bases), the Shuckers cruised to series-opening victory over Rocket City on Tuesday night. Jordyn Adams got the Shuckers on the board with an RBI single in the second, then extended the lead to four when he crushed this one out to deep center, courtesy of the Bilxoi X account: After bulk man Brett Wichrowski was again victimized by a long ball (7 HRs allowed in 18.2IP) to cut the lead to two, Blake Burke roped a single to score Jesus Made to give the Shuckers some insurance. Dylan O’Rae extended the lead when he dropped a double just inside the left field foul line in the bottom of the eighth to score two more. It was O’Rae’s sixth multi-hit game of the year, and he’s now second in the Southern League with a .362 batting average. With the win, Biloxi evened its’ record at 8-8. Bishop Letson (0-3 14.29 ERA) will look to turn in his first good outing of the season on Wednesday morning (11:00AM CT start). Wisconsin pre-game media notes Wisconsin 8, Fort Wayne (Padres) 2, (F/6 innings) Box Score Wisconsin Beats Fort Wayne and the Weather The Timber Rattlers are here to do two things: have their game shortened by weather, and hit bombs. Wisconsin once again bludgeoned an opponent via the longball in their 8-2 victory on Tuesday. Homers from Braylon Payne (2 for 4, 3 runs, 2 RBI) and Eric Bitonti (2 for 3, 3 RBI) gave the Rattlers a Midwest League-best 17 homeruns on the season. Check out the two mammoth shots here, via Wisconsin’s X account: Wisconsin tallied runs in each of the first four innings, on the way to collecting nine hits and five walks in the rain-shortened affair. Wisconsin also leads the Midwest League with a .846 team OPS, with four players (Payne, Luis Pena, Marco Dinges and Josh Adamczewski) finishing the day with an OPS over 1.000 on the season. Dinges 2 RBI Single Bitonti RBI Single Wisconsin starter Travis Smith (5IP 3H 2R 2ER 2BB 6K) set a season high in innings and strikeouts to earn the win. Ethan Dorchies (0-2 9.58 ERA) will look to lead two of every position player to the ark… err lead the Rattlers (9-5) to consecutive victories on Wednesday, so long as the weather cooperates. Wilson pre-game media notes Wilson 3, Delmarva (Orioles) 2 Box Score Warbirds Hold On to Down Delmarva In Series Lidlifter Wilson put only two balls in play in the first four innings against Delmarva starter Kiefer Lord (4IP 11K), but they made the most of their batted balls when they scratched a run across in the fourth. After a walk and a single, Jadyn Fielder just beat out an inning-ending double play ball to make it Warbirds 1, Shorebirds 0. That would be the lone run of the game until Fielder would manufacture a rally on the basepaths in the top of the eighth. With runners on the corners, Fielder stole second, but the throw trickled into center, allowing Yannic Walther to score and Fielder to advance to third. Fielder would then score on 2025 #32 overall pick Brady Ebel’s single, his first multi-hit game of the season. Delmarva rallied for two in the bottom of the 8th, including a run on a double steal of second and home. (Side note: can anyone defend this play in the lower levels? I feel I have seen this work no less than 10 times already this season. Just hold onto the ball!) Delmarva put the tying run on in the ninth, but the runner was erased by Walther. After Walther saved a wild pitch with a diving grab, he got up and fired a strike to gun down the runner, who had a late break for second. Walther was 2/9 on the day in caught stealing attempts. Garrett Hodges earned the save, ending the game on a play I am not sure I ever seen before. The third (swinging) strike bounced in front of home, but Walther turned to run to the backstop. Hodges bounded off the mound and secured his own strikeout, with a comically clunky lob to first to end the game. Miqueas Mercedes (3IP 2H 0R 5BB 6K) started, but struggled with control all night, throwing 40 of 75 pitches for strikes. Thomas Conrad (3.2IP 0H 0R 4BB 4K) turned in his best professional outing to earn his first ever professional win in relief. Delmarva went just 1/15 with RISP on the night. Enderson Mercado (0-0, 6.00 ERA) is slated to take the mound on Wednesday, as Wilson (6-9) will look to draw closer to .500 on the season. Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View the full article

TRANSACTIONS The Minnesota Twins officially recalled LHP Kendry Rojas to the big leagues ahead of their series with the New York Mets. When he takes the mound, he will be making his MLB debut. With the St. Paul Saints so far this season he’s made two appearances, including one start, throwing six scoreless innings with 5 K’s and 2 BB’s. The Saints also were assigned RHP Mike Paredes and LHP Aaron Rozek from the Wichita Wind Surge to take the places of Rojas and LHP Connor Prielipp who was brought along to the Twins as their “taxi” player in New York. Prielipp will start for the Twins on Wednesday. In Double-A, the Wind Surge activated RHP Jose Olivares from the 7-day injured list. Yesterday the Cedar Rapids Kernels placed RHP Adrian Bohorquez on the 7-day injured list, activated OF Caden Kendle from the temporary inactive list, and were assigned SS Harry Genth from Fort Myers. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Indianapolis 7 Box Score With left-handers Kendry Rojas and Connor Prielipp joining the major league club, Mike Paredes joined the Saints from Wichita and made the start. He went the first 3 1/3 innings, but would end up charged with six earned runs on eight hits and a pair of walks. He struck out three, but also surrendered three home runs. The Saints got on the board in the top of the fourth thanks to the first home run of the season from Walker Jenkins. Despite the unimpressive numbers to begin the 2026 season (.649 OPS), the stat above shows Jenkins has been making plenty of loud contact as well as drawing walks (11) nearly as often as he has struck out (12). Perhaps this will be the start of a heater! In the top of the fifth Kyler Fedko and Gabriel Gonzalez joined him with two-run shots of their own to close the lead to 6-5. Relievers Raul Brito (2 2/3 IP, 4 H, R, BB, 3 K), Matt Bowman (1 IP, K), and Dan Altavilla (1 IP, 2 K) did their best to keep the Saints in striking distance for the last half of the game, but it wasn’t meant to be. In the top of the ninth Aaron Sabato mashed a double to give Jenkins a chance as the tying run, but his fly out to center field ended the game. Jenkins was the only hitter with multiple knocks, finishing 2-for-5 with the home run and a strike out. Emmanuel Rodriguez drew two walks. As a team the Saints were just 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position, and left only five men on base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, NW Arkansas 7 Box Score Right-hander Ryan Gallagher made the start for the Wind Surge on the road against the Naturals and kept the home team off the scoreboard for the first three innings, including three strikeouts in the first. A pair of doubles in the fourth put the first run of the game on the board for the Travelers, and they added four more in the fifth to chase Gallagher. He finished 4 1/3 innings and was charged with three earned runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out six. He threw 77 pitches, with 52 going for strikes (68%). Spencer Bengard came on in the middle of the fifth and gave up two earned runs of his own. He allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out three in his 1 2/3 innings. Wichita’s offense finally put something together in the top of the sixth thanks to a Hendry Mendez single, and Ricardo Olivar’s first home run of the season. Garrett Spain added their third run of the game in the top of the seventh with his fourth home run of the season. Jaylin Nowlin gave that run back in the bottom half after a leadoff walk, a stolen base, and a wild-pitch to score a run without a ball leaving the infield. Kyle Bischoff had the same thing happen to him in the eighth to put the Travelers up 7-3. Nowlin walked two and struck out one in his inning, Bischoff walked one and struck out two in his. Down four in the top of the ninth, the Wind Surge put together a rally. Andrew Cossetti led off with a single. The next three hitters drew walks before Kyle DeBarge added an RBI single. With the bases loaded and still nobody out, the Travelers made a pitching change to slow down that momentum. Hendry Mendez got them within one with an RBI groundout. Kala’i Rosario went down looking for the second out before Olivar drew another walk to reload the bases. Jorel Ortega put a good swing on a 1-2 pitch, sending a liner deep to right that would have put them out front, but it was tracked down in front of the warning track to end the game. The offense was led by Spain (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 BB, K), DeBarge (2-for-5, RBI, 2 K), and Cossetti (2-for-4, R, 2B, K). Ben Ross wasn’t able to start a new hit streak, but did draw three walks, including one with the bases loaded. In addition to his home run Olivar also drew two walks, as did Jake Rucker from the nine-hole. Despite the comeback effort, the Wind Surge still finished with just one hit in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position, leaving 10 men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 7 Box Score The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead after one against Kernels starter Eli Jones but he worked around some traffic in the second and third innings to keep that score intact. Cedar Rapids tied it up at one in the top of the fourth when Jacob McCombs led off the inning with his first home run of the year. Things went off the rails for Jones in the bottom of the fourth, however. Three straight singles to start the inning loaded the bases, and after a fly out, they were cleared with a grand slam to put the Chiefs comfortable in front. After a pitching change a walk and double led to the fifth run of the inning, and the Kernels were down 6-1. Jones finished 3 2/3 innings and was charged with those six earned runs on eight hits and one walk. He struck out five. Christian Becerra got the final out of the fourth, allowing one hit and one walk. Michael Ross came on to begin the bottom of the fifth and went the next three innings. He allowed one earned run on three hits and a walk, while striking out two. Jacob Wosinski struck out the side in the eighth to finish the game for Cedar Rapids. The Kernels scored their second run in the top of the seventh when Andy Lugo drew a one-out walk. Jaime Ferrer followed with a single into center field that advanced Lugo toward third. Ferrer then got caught in a game of pickle between first and second base, allowing Lugo to scamper home. Marek Houston (2-for-4) and Ferrer (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) had multiple hits. As a team the Kernels went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. MUSSEL MATTERS Dunedin 3, Fort Myers 2 Box Score Taking the mound for the Mighty Mussels was right-hander Jonathan Stevens, the Twins 16th round pick of the 2025 draft out of Alabama. This was his first start of the season, as he had come out of the bullpen in his prior three appearances. In his three innings he was charged with two runs, but both were unearned thanks to a pair of errors from his defense in the top of the third. He allowed two hits, walked three, and struck out three. You could say he was a bit “effectively wild,” as 26 of his 52 pitches went for strikes (50%). Fort Myers made the score 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Yasser Mercedes singled, stole second base, and scored on a two-out double from JP Smith. Mercedes also scored their second run of the game in the sixth after he, Eduardo Beltre, and Quentin Young strung together singles. Mitch Mueller was the first reliever summoned from the bullpen to start the fourth and he retired the next seven hitters. A one-out error and a walk in the sixth put an end to his appearance, but he finished 2 1/3 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out three. Brian Zeldin finished off the sixth and pitched into the eighth, but a one-out double would come around to score and give the Blue Jays a one-run lead. He was charged with one earned run on three hits in his two innings. He struck out one. Michael Hilker finished off the final 1 2/3 innings, and allowed one hit and walked three, but was not charged with a run while striking out two. While it’s not a big hit or amazingly athletic defensive play, you still won’t see something like happen very often: In the bottom of the ninth Jayson Bass reached as the tying runner with a two-out single, but pinch runner Yilber Herrera was picked off attempting to steal second base to end the game. Mercedes (2-for-4, 2 R, K, SB) and Smith (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K) each had two hits to lead the offense. Smith’s double was their only extra-base hit among their seven, which was more than the six from the Blue Jays, but half of theirs went for doubles. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jacob Wosinski, Cedar Rapids Kernels (1 IP, 3 K) Hitter of the Day – Garrett Spain, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they performed on Tuesday. #1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 2-for-5, R, HR (1), RBI, K #3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K #4 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, K #7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-3, R, HR (4), 2 RBI, BB #9 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4 #13 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4 #14 – Quentin Young (Fort Myers): 1-for-4, RBI, K #16 – Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 1-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K #17 – Kyle DeBarge (Wichita): 2-for-5, RBI, 2 K #19 – Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Indianapolis (5:05 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Bash (0-1, 4.41 ERA) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (0-1, 2.16 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (11:05 AM CDT) - LHP Dasan Hill (0-2, 12.38 ERA) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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MIAMI, FL — Jakob Marsee entered Tuesday's game struggling at the plate. He came into the game slashing .149/.279/.207/.486 for the season, but has remained in the Miami Marlins everyday lineup. The team's patience with him paid off with a three-hit game despite their 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. There had been positive signs in Marsee's underlying stats. Despite the bad production, the center fielder was walking 14.4% of the time. He ranked in the 90th percentile among MLB hitters in chase rate and 96th percentile in whiff rate. He still has had a good approach, so eventually, the hits were going to fall for him. "It's not like we were waiting on it, but we expect that," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Marsee is going to string together a good run. He's just too talented offensively. He does too many things well with how he controls the strike zone and I think it was just a matter of time. Hope he can take a night like tonight, where you get three knocks, and be able to build a little steam and move forward. Really good sign again to see him get to some heaters tonight for base hits." Marsee hit his first home run of the season in leadoff fashion. It was also an unorthodox home run trot because he had to start running the bases when the ball was originally ruled to have bounced off the right field wall and stayed in play. He was thrown out at third base by Jordan Walker...until the umpires discussed it and correctly signaled a home run. "Thought it was a home run off the bat," Marsee said. "I saw it hit the wall, but they didn't say anything, so I just kept running. Might as well get a triple, I guess." It's the first leadoff homer for a Marlin since Xavier Edwards on Aug. 13, 2025 at Cleveland. Marsee was previously 1-for-20 when leading off a game. The 110.9 mph exit velocity was a new season-high for Marsee and very close to the best mark from his rookie season (111.1 mph). Marsee had singles in both the bottom of the fifth and ninth, but he was never driven in as the Marlins were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position (Heriberto Hernández was responsible for that only hit). "We had our chances, we did," McCullough said. "We ran a couple trail runners, ran ourselves into some outs there that you never know what may transpire after that. You're looking to try to give yourselves as many chances you can and we didn't, and we had some guys out there, but we didn't quite cash in." Paddack, who through his last three appearances posted a 2.35 ERA, struggled against the Cardinals, allowing five runs on eight hits, one walk and struck out a season-high seven. The positive from Paddack's start is that six of the seven strikeouts came on his changeup. He mentioned that it was "probably the best it's been all year." His changeup generated seven total whiffs and landed four times for a first-pitch strike. However, things went wrong right away in the top of the first inning. Alec Burleson drove in JJ Wetherholt to take an early 1-0 lead. In the top of the third, Burleson reached on a fielder's choice because Connor Norby aggressively went for the play at home and was unsuccessful, giving St. Louis a 2-1 lead. In the top of the fourth inning, Nathan Church hit his second home run of the season. It was a two-run homer that went 370 feet to right field. A Nolan Gorman base hit drove in the fifth run. "I tip my cap to that offense," Paddack said. "I feel like they put together some really good swings on some tough pitches. I was looking in between pitches with Rob (Marcello) and (Daniel Moskos) there just like, 'Man, that pitch is out of the zone,' or 'That pitch is exactly where we wanted it and they put a good swing on it,' especially Burleson and (Masyn) Winn. That was my game plan, and they were able to beat us to it." Paddack surrendered nine hard-hit balls and the Cardinals combined for a 89.4 mph average exit velocity. Through five appearances (four starts), he has a 6.37 ERA, though his 4.63 FIP, 3.52 xFIP, 9.37 K/9 and 2.25 BB/9 suggest that he has been a little bit unlucky. The Marlins fall to 11-13 on the season and now go into a rubber match with Janson Junk on the mound at 12:10 pm. View the full article

Just last weekend, my colleague Alex Carver detailed why Braxton Garrett should and would be the first man up from Triple-A Jacksonville whenever the Miami Marlins need starting rotation reinforcements. The veteran left-hander further augmented his case Tuesday night with an eight-inning no-hitter in a road start against the Gwinnett Stripers. The Jumbo Shrimp themselves mustered one measly hit and failed to score, while Gwinnett manufactured a pair of runs thanks to Garrett's messy sixth inning, which included two hit-by-pitches, a wild pitch and an errant pickoff attempt. That contributed to this ultra-rare final pitching line: 8.0 IP, 0 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 6 K (98 pitches/65 strikes). Devin Smeltzer threw a seven-inning no-no for Jacksonville in 2023 (doubleheader games in the minor leagues are only seven innings apiece). According to the team, Garrett authored their first solo no-no of at least eight innings since Detroit Tigers farmhand Kevin Mobley in 2000. Optioned to Triple-A at the end of spring training, Garrett is making a mockery of the International League. He was arguably even better in his previous outing, and dating back to the one before that, he has tossed 15 ⅔ consecutive hitless innings. This season overall, opponents have combined for a .056 batting average. In 86 plate appearances, nobody has recorded an extra-base hit. Obviously, Garrett is the beneficiary of favorable batted ball luck—for example, he got away with allowing four hard-hit balls against Gwinnett. Still, he's earning plenty of his success versus left-handed batters in particular, with a strikeout rate of 43.3% this season when he has the platoon advantage. Meanwhile down in Miami, Chris Paddack struggled against the St. Louis Cardinals (4.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). The Marlins have lost all four of Paddack's starts in 2026. He only participated in a victory on April 5, serving as the bulk guy that day. Nearly a month into the regular season, the free agent signing is beginning to separate himself as the weakest link of the Marlins rotation with a 6.37 ERA and 4.63 FIP, but his ability to fill up the strike zone remains alluring. Also, his guaranteed salary of $4 million ensures he'll get a relatively long leash. Paddack is projected to pitch next on Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Garrett the following day against Triple-A Durham (Tampa Bay Rays affiliate). View the full article

Connor Prielipp has had much of his early pitching career marred by injury questions marks. Calling into question for most of his career whether he would be durable enough to make it to the majors. In a great turn of events, the left-hander has been on a path in which both his health and performance have made him the Twins' top pitching prospect and given him a much better chance to stick as a starter. Struggle with Injuries The native of Tomah, WI, in the heart of cranberry country, took his pitching talents to the University of Alabama out of high school. While his performance in college was phenomenal in his debut, it ended prematurely with the need to go under the knife and undergo Tommy John surgery. Even though the actual gameplay at the college level was limited, Prielipp showed enough potential with his stuff and talent level to be the pick for the Twins in the second round of the 2019 MLB draft. As Prielipp started his professional career, the injury issue continued to linger, with the need for an internal brace procedure in 2023. But in 2025, he was finally healthy, and all of baseball could see what his stuff and potential looked like over a full season of work. Spending most of the season at Wichita and ending the season in St. Paul, Prielipp logged 82 2/3 innings with a 4.03 ERA and 98 strikeouts (10.7 K/9). Healthy and Hitting His Stride His 2025 performance was enough to create even more buzz around Prielipp; not only did the 25-year-old solidify himself as the Twins' top pitching prospect, but he also garnered a fair amount of national attention. Here at Twins Daily, he is ranked as the fifth prospect in the organization. ESPN had Prielipp ranked the highest amongst the national experts at 54th. Those accolades have only seemed to catapult Prielipp into this season, as he has been impressive in St. Paul. In 2026, Prielipp has appeared in four games for St. Paul and started three. Over 15 ⅔ innings, he has allowed four runs, striking out 22 and upping his strikeout per nine to 12.6 strikeouts. That performance was accentuated in his most recent start, in which Prielipp went five innings with eight strikeouts, one walk, and one earned run to collect his first win of the season. Prielipp’s 2025 success was largely predicated on his use of his slider, 4-seam fastball, and changeup. In 2026, each of those pitches is still an important part of his arsenal, but Prielipp has also employed an effective curveball to the mix, which has sat at an incredible spin rate of 3154 RPMs. Adding that to an already incredible slider-changeup combination has fueled the great numbers early from Prielipp. With health currently on his side, Prielipp is getting the chance to prove he can turn into a quality major league starter as he joins the Twins in New York. The Twins willingness to stick with the left-hander as a starter only echoes the confidence that the national prospect experts have shown in him. Almost every pitcher, as they enter the professional ranks, just wants a chance to prove they are a starter before being relegated to a bullpen role. At one point this offseason, it looked like Prielipp was going to have to be a backend bullpen arm. Due to a likely self-imposed innings limit to protect the prospect from injury, the Twins may turn him that way if he is effective in the majors. To start with, Prielipp will have a chance to prove that he has the durability to pair with the stuff to be a major league starter. A development that would be the best for both Prielipp the individual and the Twins as an organization. View the full article

Box Score Starting Pitchers: Simeon Woods Richardson - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (95 pitches, 56 strikes (59%)) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (4) Top 3 WPA (via FanGraphs): Luke Keaschall (0.28), Kody Clemens (0.19), Cole Sands (0.19) Win Probability Chart (via BaseballSavant) The Twins needed a win as they arrived in New York, having lost four in a row and finding themselves back at the .500 mark—with another starting pitcher on the injured list, to boot. The New York Mets wish it was only a week ago that their misery started, but instead, they entered this contest searching for their first win in a fortnight. Something had to give on a chilly night at Citi Field. The Twins turned to a lineup restocked with Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner, and a starter in Simeon Woods Richardson who was looking to regain his form. The Mets countered with phenom Nolan McLean, who was making only the 13th start of his career but who sports a 2.11 career ERA. An Old Foe Strikes First After the hurlers traded goose eggs over the first two innings, it was the Mets who struck first. Woods Richardson gave up a leadoff single to his old Mets minor-league pal Mark Vientos. After inducing a ground ball that Brooks Lee couldn't turn into a double play, Woods Richardson walked Marcus Semien on a full count to bring up Twins nemesis Francisco Lindor. Lindor got ahead 3-0, fell back into a full count, and then beat a fastball to its spot. At almost 108 MPH off the bat, he caught ever stitch of the ball, which found the upper deck in right field. As Lindor jumped and danced and screamed like the Mets just won the World Series, Twins Territory realized that they just saw the end of the ballgame at 3-0. Why? His name is Nolan McLean. Perfection Brewing... McLean had already struck out seven Twins before Lindor crushed his homer, and through five innings, he had garnered eight and was over halfway through a perfect game. McLean clearly had the Twins' number, mixing all six of his pitches with pinpoint precision, ranging from his 98-MPH fastball to his 84.5-MPH sweeper. Woods Richardson settled in and kept the game within reach through his five innings, but somehow, the Twins bats were going to need to get to McLean. In the top of the sixth, Wallner led off by avoiding a low changeup, and then lacing a perfect game-breaking single to left on a center-cut sinker. It looked like that was all of the damage that the Twins would muster, but then Byron Buxton got the count into his favor at 3-1. One pitch later, it was 3-2—the score, that is. Keep the Rally Going The attack of McLean kept rolling into the top of the seventh. After Anthony Banda took out the Mets in order in the bottom of the sixth, the Twins kept on swinging. Kody Clemens had seen all of McLean's pitches by his third plate appearance, and on a 2-2 count, he found a sinker to his liking and drilled a one-out double into the right-field corner. Two pitches later, Luke Keaschall took a sweeper straight into center field to tie the game; it was an aggressive send to the plate, but Clemens made it without a play. Keaschall later stole second base, but a Wallner shot up the middle was snagged by Lindor, and we headed into the bottom of the seventh still knotted 3-3. To the Ninth We Go! Justin Topa and Cole Sands got the Twins to the top of the ninth, where much-maligned Mets closer Devin WIlliams was waiting for Josh Bell and a potential Twins rally. Williams brought the boo birds out at Citi Field by walking Bell on four pitches. James Outman got the call to stand in and to steal second for Bell, and that he did. It didn't matter, because Ryan Jeffers also walked. Clemens laid down a would-be sacrifice bunt toward first base. Luckily for Twins Territory, Vientos tried to nab Outman at third instead of taking the sure out. Outman beat the throw, and the Twins had the bases loaded with nobody out. Keaschall was next man up, and nothing says hero like a slow, high chopper over the third baseman's head! 4-3 Twins. With the boo birds now at a fever pitch, Wallner fought his way into a full count, and laid off a changeup way outside of the zone to make it 5-3. Williams gave way to righty Austin Warren, who struck out Lewis, Lee and Buxton to keep the Mets' deficit manageable—in theory. In practice, Sands finished them off with relative ease. What’s Next? With the upper hand in the series, the Twins turn next to their youth movement. Mick Abel is on the shelf with elbow inflammation, so lefty Connor Prielipp is expected to get the ball for his big-league debut. The Mets will counter with veteran righty closer-turned-starter Clay Holmes (2-2, 1.96 ERA), First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Sands 20 12 0 0 23 55 Morris 0 0 47 0 0 47 Topa 11 10 0 0 17 38 Acton 0 0 29 0 0 29 Banda 0 0 0 0 18 18 Orze 0 15 0 0 0 15 Rogers 0 0 8 0 0 8 Rojas 0 0 0 0 0 0 View the full article

So far in 2026, Austin Martin has mostly been used as a true platoon option. He's started 14 of the team's first 22 games, but that's because the Twins have faced left-handed starters 13 times. Martin has only gotten the nod once in nine games against righties, and he's not in the lineup Tuesday against Mets righthander Nolan McLean. Even with that limited role, you could easily argue Martin has been the Twins’ best hitter. At a certain point, when the production looks like this, it’s fair to start questioning whether that platoon-focused role still fits the player. Entering Tuesday night, Martin is hitting .311 with a .484 on-base percentage, both of which lead the team. More importantly, he hasn’t just been quietly productive. He’s come through in big spots, consistently putting together quality at-bats when the lineup has needed it most. For a player who’s largely been penciled in based on matchups, he’s been far more impactful than that role would suggest. Obviously, the huge caveat must be stated. Martin has had the platoon advantage in 45 of his 62 plate appearances, pushing 73%. That's a ratio more typical of a lefty batter being shielded from southpaws than of a righty; everyday right-handed batters enjoy the platoon edge more like 28% of the time. So far, though, Martin has held his own just fine when he's encountered righties, too. Is it time to let him prove himself against them in more playing time? For his career, Martin is a .257 hitter against righties. On the surface, that number might not jump off the page. But when you zoom out and look at his full offensive profile, it becomes a lot more valuable than it initially appears. His career on-base percentage against right-handers sits at .343, driven largely by an advanced approach and a willingness to take pitches. That approach has been on full display so far this season. Martin leads the Twins with 14 walks, and it’s not the result of a lucky stretch or a handful of passive at-bats. He’s been one of the most disciplined hitters in the league to start the year. His chase rate, whiff rate, and walk rate all sit in the 95th percentile or higher among major-league hitters, and his zone contact rate is up at 94%. That, too, is driven by having the platoon advantage most of the time. It's a lot easier to make good swing decisions when you can pick up the ball sooner, which is one of the crucial advantages for a batter facing an opposite-handed pitcher. Facing more righties would put more pressure on that approach, and with breaking balls moving away from him much more often (the other key to the platoon dynamic), his contact rate would surely fall, too. Up to this point, his role has been pretty clearly defined. He’s been splitting time in left field with Trevor Larnach, with the decision largely dictated by the opposing starting pitcher. If it’s a right-hander on the mound, Larnach gets the nod. If it’s a lefty, Martin’s in the lineup. But what if that doesn’t need to be an either-or situation? There’s a case to be made that both bats should be in the lineup on a daily basis. Coming into the season, Forest Lake native Matt Wallner was expected to handle right field on an everyday basis. His power is real, and when he’s right, it adds a different dimension to the lineup. But through the early part of 2026, it’s getting increasingly difficult to argue that he’s earned that role. The swing-and-miss issues have been extreme. Wallner currently sits near the bottom of the league in both whiff rate and strikeout rate. He’s swinging through just under half of the pitches he offers at, and striking out in 42% of his plate appearances. That’s incredibly difficult to carry in a regular role. It, too, is colored by the distortion of the early season, because a whopping 38 of Wallner's 81 plate appearances have come against lefties. His track record is checkered enough, though, that the cold start still mutes any optimism about him. Defensively, Wallner has been ghastly. He's slow, he takes bad routes, and he did this. OHliS2JfWGw0TUFRPT1fVlFVSEJWRUVBQVVBV1ZFRUF3QUhVZ0VFQUZnTlZsZ0FVRmNIVWxJRFVsQUFDUXBT.mp4 Taking Wallner out of the lineup more often and putting either Larnach or Martin in right field (with the other in left) would improve the team's defense, for certain, and it might be the best way to optimize their run production, too. The Twins are in the middle of a four-game losing streak and about to start a week-long road trip. This is the kind of moment where small adjustments can make a real difference, and the lineup feels like an obvious place to start. Martin has shown that he deserves more than a platoon role. Wallner, at least for the time being, looks like someone in need of a reset. That doesn’t mean Martin is going to step in and start launching balls into the seats every night; that’s not his game. What he will do is give the Twins competitive at-bats, work counts, get on base, and play solid defense in the outfield. You can put him near the top of the order and let him set the table, somewhere in the middle, or even drop him into the nine spot and essentially create a second leadoff hitter. But regardless, he lengthens the lineup and will challenge opposing pitchers. At a certain point, roles have to adjust to production. Right now, Martin's production is making a pretty clear case. The platoon weirdness of this March and April muddies our evaluations, but to the extent that one is possible, it seems like Larnach and Martin should get more playing time, at Wallner's expense. View the full article

Twenty-one games into the season, key relievers Aaron Ashby, Ángel Zerpa and Abner Uribe are all on pace for 85 or more innings. As all three are hurlers the Brewers expect to rely on heavily as the year develops, their early usage raises some concerns. Ashby was the most-used reliever in baseball this time last week, while Uribe and Zerpa have each pitched 10 times already. The first month of the season traditionally sees a more varied use of the bullpen arms. In one sense, the Brewers have this, with five different pitchers already at 10 innings or more. However, while DL Hall and Grant Anderson have been innings sponges, too much work is being left to the guys the team needs to be fresh come October. Because of a few short starts and a lack of trust in Jake Woodford, the Brewers haven't been able to stay away from their 'A' relievers even on days when they tried to do so. As a perfect example, over the weekend, Woodford forced Pat Murphy to use Uribe after the Brewers gave him a five-run lead with six outs to go. Woodford managed just four outs and left a bases-loaded mess for Uribe to clean up, with the winning run at the plate. What constitutes bullpen overuse? One of the best ways to limit bullpen mismanagement is to provide a variety of capable, reliable arms who can get outs in almost any situation. With a cap of 13 pitchers on a roster (unless you have Shohei Ohtani, in which case you can have 14), the Brewers are limited to eight relievers. Using spot starters and pushing back starters in the rotation can bring this down to seven options; that's when things get especially tenuous. With a rubber arm whom you trust to go multiple innings on either side of a blowout, you can get away with this. Since Woodford has been untrustworthy and Hall has been inefficient, though, Murphy has been compelled to go with more back-to-backs from key pitchers. Putting this in perspective, Milwaukee threw 634 2/3 innings out of the pen last year, a number dropping to 600 when you exclude the innings pitched by a starter following an opener (mostly Quinn Priester). That means that the average game requires 11 outs from the bullpen; getting them out of six or even seven guys consistently quickly gets thorny. Looking at last year's collection of guys who cycled through (Tobias Myers, Connor Thomas, Bryan Hudson, Erick Fedde, Rob Zastryzny, et al), there are probably 120 innings of work picked up from relievers covering short-term injuries. For the other 480 innings, things can get dicey; if you have just six relievers splitting the load, that would be 80 innings per arm, whereas with a full trusted cohort of eight relievers, you average a far more acceptable 60 innings per reliever. Here's how Uribe's swinging strike rate trended throughout 2025; pay attention to what happened after he surpassed 65 appearances: That range—60-65 games—is the benchmark the Brewers should strive for, noting how Uribe struggled after that point. We saw similar declines with Ashby and Jared Koenig after a heavy workload. How Do The Brewers Limit Such Innings? There is one very obvious solution. The Brewers will want someone capable of going multiple innings, especially in the middle of games, who can be trusted to prevent the floodgates opening either with a big lead or a larger deficit. It would need to be someone who is stretched out, with solid stuff and command to get outs consistently. Properly conceptualized, this is the perfect place in which to give a young hurler some time and space to develop in the big leagues. The Brewers have a number of such arms, being absolutely blessed with rotation depth. Priester is on the mend and building back up with Nashville now, targeting a return around the middle of May. When he returns, Chad Patrick or Brandon Sproat could be pushed to the bullpen. In the meantime, Robert Gasser, Logan Henderson and Shane Drohan could all fill this role with aplomb. Each of them are on the 40-man roster; has appeared for the Brewers; and is stretched out enough to take on the workload. At the front of the list might be Drohan, who notably entered his last "start" behind an opener. He'd seem to be the best situated for that kind of role, based on a number of factors. Logan Henderson's unique, effective fastball and deadly changeup would be another option, coming from the right side with the type of stuff that can mow hitters down. It limits his exposure the third time through an order, but can give him space to test his slurve in the big leagues while leaning on his bread-and-butter offerings. The Brewers' plethora of young, talented arms need some big-league experience to continue their development. Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes filled similar long-relief roles when they were called up and did so with aplomb, allowing them to develop and assimilate while priming them to break out the following season. More importantly, they ate innings and provided results. Murphy's circle of trust is a small, closed circle. Breaking into it isn't easy. Woodford is almost certainly not getting in there now, and the last man in the bullpen is more important than one would think. Having a viable, high-quality arm for multi-inning relief alongside Ashby might be the best solution for all involved, and each of Henderson, Drohan and Gasser could provide that. How do you assess the Brewers early bullpen usage? Can you see them using one of their younger arms to fill a need, or would they prefer to keep them stretched out in Nashville? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 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The Toronto Blue Jays did a thing. They brought in Lenyn Sosa. The trade was a low-risk move aimed at injecting some flexibility and a little spark into an offense that has spent far too much of this season sputtering, searching, stalling. In a vacuum, that kind of move makes sense. The lineup just isn’t consistently doing what it did for most of last season. Until very recently, this offense looked broken. Sure, injuries have played a role. But even when George Springer, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger were in the lineup, each was nowhere near his 2025 numbers. Barger struggled to start the 2026 season, posting a .053 batting average and a .279 OPS in limited action prior to his injury. Kirk was batting .150 with a .577 OPS over his first 22 plate appearances, and Springer posted a .661 OPS through his first 14 games. Before Sunday's 10-run outburst against Arizona, Toronto was averaging 3.65 runs per game, ranking 25th of 30 teams in MLB. The offense still ranks among the bottom half of teams in most categories. Their .253 team batting average sits seventh, but that number is misleading because it masks the real issue: impact. The Blue Jays rank near the bottom of the league in isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) at .129. They have just 19 home runs and own one of the lowest average exit velocities in baseball. When your home run leaders are three players (Andrés Giménez, Kazuma Okamoto, and Daulton Varsho) tied with just three homers each, you know that power deficiency is a problem. It feels like a mountain in front of the Jays. They have lost too many close games as a result of simply not having enough firepower. Their two one-run losses against a Brewers squad that had lost five in a row heading into the series were yet another example. All things considered, the rotation has done its job. Kevin Gausman, in particular, has been exceptional. Through four starts, he owns a 2.42 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts against just five walks in 22.1 innings. The Jays are getting roughly six competitive innings almost every time Gausman takes the ball, which is exactly what a contending team needs. Dylan Cease has been equally dominant, while Patrick Corbin was fantastic against Milwaukee. So, the lineup's inability to score means the front office can wait and hope, or Ross Atkins and company can do something more drastic right now. What if… the Jays consider Mike Trout? Maybe this is the Angels’ year, as they sit just 1.5 games out of the top spot in the American League West, but who really believes that? The Astros and Mariners should be able to outpace the A’s and Rangers, and one would expect the standings to flip in the next month or two, but I digress. Trout seems to have found his old self. At least in a recent four‑game series against the Yankees, in which he went 6‑for‑16 with five home runs, nine RBIs, and a 1.786 OPS. Five home runs in four games in Yankee Stadium is not too shabby for anyone. By the end of that series, Trout’s season OPS had climbed back above 1.000, his average exit velocity sat near 94 mph, and his barrel rate was once again elite. The underlying indicators say this isn’t smoke. Now compare that to Toronto’s current production. The Jays rank 22nd in runs per game, 25th in average exit velocity, and have scored 88 total runs while allowing 111, producing the worst run differential in the American League East. Replace even a fraction of that sputtering offense with Trout’s bat, and the plot would definitely thicken. One elite power bat would not fix everything, but it could dramatically alter how opposing pitchers navigate innings around Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and others. It would also take some of the pressure off many in the Jays’ lineup that are starting to feel the weight increasing on their shoulders. Trout won’t come cheap, but that’s part of the fun of this pie-in-the-sky proposal. Any Trout discussion begins with pitching, because the Angels are not trading a franchise cornerstone for marginal upgrades. Trey Yesavage would almost certainly be central to any serious framework. On paper, that looks terrifying. You are trading a potential long-term, franchise star for a 34‑year‑old outfielder with injury history and a massive contract. Yesavage’s current value is enormous because, in a small sample size, he has shown he can pitch at an elite level. Trout’s value, while discounted from his peak, still dwarfs almost any bat on the trade market when healthy. Maybe you throw in Myles Straw to help with the finances and address the outfield-heavy roster. From a pure roster‑construction standpoint, Toronto is better positioned to absorb pitching loss than offensive stagnation. Losing Trey Yesavage would be a blow, but with Shane Bieber and José Berríos apparently making progress, the team has a surplus of starters on the horizon. The Jays clearly can’t survive scoring under four runs per game consistently, no matter how good their starters are. They are currently asking their pitchers to be perfect, and that is not sustainable over six months. The financial side matters, of course, but the Jays are already operating as a high‑payroll contender. Trout’s contract is heavy (his 12-year, $426.5 million contract runs through 2030), but it also brings certainty in a league where elite offensive production rarely comes without risk. Toronto’s alternative is waiting, and the numbers suggest waiting comes with diminishing returns every week this offense looks the same. Sosa is doing his job. He has taken at-bats, filled defensive holes and made the team slightly better, but marginal improvement is not enough. This offense needs a real boost. Whether that is Trout or someone else of similar consequence, the math is clear: A team scoring four runs per game isn't going to win enough, no matter how good the pitching might be. At some point, the question stops being whether a blockbuster is risky and starts being whether failing to act could waste the best pitching this team has had in years. The numbers do not lie, and they are pointing in only one direction. View the full article

While awaiting word on the severity of the injury, the Boston Red Sox placed right-handed starter Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a strained right hamstring. Gray was injured in Monday's Patriots Day game against the Detroit Tigers, leaving in the third inning of an 8-6 victory. He was set to undergo imaging Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury. Left-handed reliever Tyler Samaniego was called up from Triple-A Worcester. This is Samaniego's second stint with the Red Sox this season. He came up April 8 and made his MLB debut that day against the Milwaukee Brewers, pitching a scoreless inning with three strikeouts and a walk. He pitched 3⅔ innings in three games, without allowing a run, walking three and striking out four. Gray, acquired in the offseason via trade from the St. Louis Cardinals as a rotation stabilizer, had a 4.30 ERA in five starts, walking five and striking out 13 in 23 innings. The Red Sox will need to find a replacement in the rotation for Gray, perhaps left-hander Payton Tolle. The Red Sox open a three-game series at Fenway Park today against the rival New York Yankees. View the full article

With the early-season spiraling, the New York Mets are set to have Juan Soto in the lineup Wednesday. The superstar left fielder will be activated from the 10-day injured list before Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins, MLB.com's Anthony reported Tuesday. Soto has been out since straining his right calf April 3 and going on the IL three days later. With the offense struggling and the Mets taking an 11-game losing streak into Tuesday's series opening vs. the Twins, Soto will be a much-needed bat in the lineup. He was slashing .355/.412/.516 with one homer and five RBIs in eight games. Soto hit safely in each of the eight games in which he appeared. The Mets will have to make a move to create room on the 26-man roster for Soto. View the full article

The Minnesota Twins are adding another experienced arm to the organization, agreeing to a minor league deal with veteran right-hander Luis García. The 39-year-old reliever is expected to report to Triple-A St. Paul, giving the Twins a no-risk opportunity to evaluate whether he still has something left in the tank. García opened the season with the New York Mets after signing a one-year deal worth $1.75 million over the winter. That partnership didn’t last long. After just six appearances, the Mets decided to move on, cutting ties following a brief stretch where García struggled to find consistency. In 6 1/3 innings, he allowed five earned runs on 11 hits while walking two and striking out four. It’s an ugly line on the surface, but it also represents a very small sample size. For a pitcher with García’s track record, six outings are hardly enough to draw a definitive conclusion. Still, the Mets saw enough to pivot quickly, eating the remainder of his salary rather than attempting to stash him in the minors. That decision opens the door for Minnesota. Even at 39, García isn’t far removed from being a useful bullpen piece. Just last season, he logged over 50 innings across multiple teams while posting a 3.42 ERA. He leaned on a heavy sinker that generated ground balls at an impressive clip, helping him work around less-than-elite strikeout and walk numbers. It wasn’t dominant, but it was effective, and that’s exactly the type of profile the Twins have targeted in the past when building bullpen depth. The concern now is whether that version of García still exists. Early returns this season showed a noticeable dip in velocity. His sinker, which sat in the upper 90s a year ago, has backed off by a couple of miles per hour. His secondary pitches have followed a similar trend. For a pitcher who relies on movement and weak contact, even a slight drop in stuff can make a meaningful difference. That’s where this signing becomes interesting. Minnesota doesn’t need García to be a high-leverage weapon. They don’t even need him in the majors right away. What they do need is depth, especially with the unpredictable nature of modern bullpens. By bringing him in on a minor league deal, the Twins can give him time to work in St. Paul, evaluate his stuff in a lower-stakes environment, and determine if any adjustments can help him regain effectiveness. There’s also a financial advantage built into the move. Because the Mets released him, they remain responsible for the bulk of his salary. If García works his way onto Minnesota’s roster, the Twins would only owe him the prorated league minimum. For a team always mindful of payroll flexibility, that’s about as low-risk as it gets. If it clicks, the Twins could uncover a steady veteran capable of soaking up innings and generating ground balls in the middle innings. If it doesn’t, they can move on without consequence. Moves like this rarely grab headlines, but they often matter over the course of a long season. Bullpen attrition is inevitable, and organizations that can cycle through experienced options tend to weather that storm better than most. For now, García is simply the latest name added to that mix. Whether he becomes anything more will depend on what he shows in St. Paul and whether the Twins can help him turn back the clock, even just a little. View the full article

After 22 games, the Minnesota Twins have six batters with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. Catcher Ryan Jeffers and fourth outfielder Austin Martin are just off that pace, with 65 and 62 plate appearances, respectively. Just below those eight players, there's a tier of three guys who have been part-timers this season, with between 40 and 50 plate appearances despite being active all year. For Kody Clemens and Tristan Gray, that's to be expected; these are the roles they're meant to play. For Trevor Larnach, though, 47 trips to the plate in 22 healthy games reflects the strangeness of the team's early schedule. Through a series of matchup coincidences, the Twins have faced left-handed starting pitchers 13 times in their 22 games. Larnach, a lefty batter who's had little luck against southpaws during his career, has therefore started only half of the 22. He's been in there all nine times against righties, but only twice in the 13 games against lefties—and then, partially because of injuries to other players. Normally, players hate having the routine of playing every day disrupted. Only good players get the privilege of assuming they'll be in the lineup for each game, and those clinging to the fringes of the majors are happy to fill in wherever and whenever they're needed, but Larnach has long been able to plan on playing at least five times a week, at least when he's been healthy enough to do so. This pattern of (dis)use is extremely unfamiliar to him, and it's begotten a very weird version of Larnach so far in 2026—but weird in a good way. Larnach is batting .265/.468/.412. In his 47 trips to the plate, he's drawn an eye-popping 13 walks, to go with three extra-base hits and just seven strikeouts. He's still whiffing at a catastrophic rate against everything but fastballs, and by now, fans know better than to expect anything else. Against fastballs, though, he's only whiffed once, and more importantly, he's been extremely patient. His swing rate was around 41% in both 2022 and 2023. It rose to 44% or so in 2024 and 2025. So far this season, he's swung at 33.8% of the pitches he's seen. Thence come all those walks—though also lots of questions. Generally, that low a swing rate isn't viable in the big leagues. That goes double for someone who swings and misses as much as Larnach does against anything offspeed or breaking. It's a recipe for too many strikeouts, even if it does come with a fair number of walks. It's also, certainly, not what Larnach is trying to do. The Twins are a slightly more patient team than they were last year. New hitting coach Keith Beauregard has them trying to wait for the right pitch a bit more. The difference isn't huge, though, and no one is telling Larnach to swing barely a third of the time. He's just not in enough of a rhythm to swing any more often. He can't get off his 'A' swing consistently enough to justify swinging at all, given not only the plan he's taking to the plate but the years of practice and programming that have gotten him this far. It doesn't help that, after being strictly a platoon guy in 2023 and 2024 and getting only partial exposure to lefties last year, he's seen them in 11 of his 47 trips so far this season. In this small sample, though, Larnach has benefited from being forced to behave bizarrely at the plate. Swinging much, much less is working for him, not only because he's not getting himself out, but because the strike zone is smaller this year and pitchers aren't throwing as many strikes. A more patient approach might suit him, after all. This level of selectivity will probably never profit such a whiff-prone slugger, but unless and until Larnach can get his swing ranged and start producing the power he only intermittently accessed last year, waiting hurlers out is a good plan. He might have tried a bit more of this, no matter what. Because he's not playing especially regularly and is seeing some tough matchups, though, he's had to lean into it—and the results are as peculiar as this stretch of lefties on the schedule was. View the full article

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the third edition of our Fish On First Prospects Report, which includes several important injury updates near the bottom of the page. This report covers the games played from April 14-19. Triple-A Jacksonville Although as a team the Jumbo Shrimp are struggling offensively, catcher Joe Mack has begun to heat up, slashing .235/.391/.451/.842 with three home runs and six RBI. He finishes the week as the Fish On First Prospect of the Week. In the series against Charlotte Knights, he hit two of his three jacks. Defensively, Mack continues to impress, throwing out seven base-stealers (30% caught stealing rate) and the Jacksonville pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.17 following Sunday's series finale. Mack has not only established himself as the best catcher in the Marlins organization, but in Minor League Baseball. He is making the case to receive the call-up soon. Fish On First Prospects (@fofprospects) • Instagram photos and videos WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 58 likes, 1 comments - fofprospects on April 20, 2026: "Mack attack! 🔥 With a standout week at the plate, including two home runs in three games, catcher Joe Mack is our Prospect of the... On the mound, Robby Snelling continues to show why he shouldn't throw another pitch in Jacksonville. In his most recent start, he worked six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and one walk. He struck out nine and lowered his season ERA to 1.89. He is up to 31 strikeouts against just nine walk in 19 innings this season. Snelling's fastball topped out at 96.8 mph and generated six whiffs. Although it has been an inconsistent season for former top pitching prospect Dax Fulton, in his most recent start, he looked like his vintage self, striking out 10 in six shutout innings. He generated five whiffs each on both his curveball and four-seam fastball (12 total between all his pitches). He topped out at 96.6 mph and averaged 94.4 mph with his fastball. Thomas White made his Triple-A season debut. In four innings of work, he allowed two runs on two hits (one home run), no walks and eight strikeouts. His fastball topped out at 96.3 mph, averaged 95.9 mph and he generated two whiffs on the pitch. After some early concerns about his command/control, he put those to rest, at least in this start against a solid Chicago White Sox AAA lineup. Bradley Blalock has impressed with a 2.25 ERA, but also a 4.99 FIP (3.73 xFIP). He has posted a 7.65 K/9 and 2.25 BB/9 in 20 innings pitched. Opposing hitters are elevating the ball quite a bit against the former Colorado Rockies pitcher and there is some clear luck involved. Maybe within time things balance out a bit, but Blalock has shown that he is some solid depth. The one Jumbo Shrimp reliever to highlight from this past week of games is No. 27 prospect Josh Ekness, who through five appearances, has a 1.00 ERA, 1.38 FIP, 15.00 K/9 and 4.00 BB/9. In his most recent appearance, his fastball topped out at 99.1 mph and averaged 97.9 mph. His sweeper also continues to be a good pitch, which generated one whiff in his lone inning of work. Double-A Pensacola Pensacola started to fully find their offensive stride in their series against Knoxville. They won the first game of the series before dropping three straight, including a very close game on Thursday night, then exploded for 20 total runs in the final two games to split the series. They bested Knoxville in run differential, 34-32. After a sluggish 3-for-35 start, Fenwick Trimble’s bat came alive in a big way against the Smokies. In five games, he went 7-for-20 with two doubles, three walks and three strikeouts. Trimble had been struggling with whiffs, his second at the Double-A level after spending 54 games there last season, but that has begun to improve. He’s more of a gap-to-gap type bat, but he owns plus speed that has already allotted him six stolen bases. Historically, he has also been a very patient hitter, having walked at a 16% rate in 2025. If Trimble is starting to get back to those good habits, he profiles as a speedy outfielder capable of playing all three spots and being a catalytic table-setter, or at the very least, a fourth outfielder with value off the bench. A more extended look in the upper minors will tell us more. It’s hard for Dillon Lewis not to make his presence felt when he enters a game, both figuratively and literally. The 6’3”, 205 pound specimen had another impressive series against the Smokies, going 4-for-17 with three extra base hits, including two home runs. He’s currently riding a nine-game on-base streak. As with many power hitters, Lewis has been a bit susceptible to the strikeout, but the whiff rate isn’t egregious, currently sitting at 27%. What’s more is that Lewis has also shown a pretty good eye at the plate, having walked at a 12% clip. His approach entails working counts, forcing pitchers into the zone, and letting natural tools do the rest. When Lewis makes contact, the ball travels very far. Monitoring the consistency of those contact rates as he continues in the upper minors will be our M.O. as we determine how close to his very high ceiling he can get. My opinion? Bet the over. High-A Beloit After a tough start to their series against South Bend, the Sky Carp ended their series in exciting fashion, throwing a combined no-hitter, the team’s first since being affiliated with Miami and their first overall since 2017. They still lost the series four games to two, though, and head to Lake County still looking for their first series victory of the season. Pitching has struggled mightily as a whole for Beloit. Even after their no-no, the club owns a 5.81 ERA, third-highest in the Midwest League. Their 82 walks are second most on the circuit. Aiden May started the Sky Carp’s no-no on Sunday and worked six complete frames on two walks, a hit batter and five strikeouts. This outing came after he worked into the sixth in his last start and came within one out of posting a quality start. This outing, the best of his career, had to feel good for May, who missed the entire first half last season due to an elbow procedure. He also did not throw after being drafted in 2024. Behind schedule due to that missed time, May is starting to show what he is capable of when he has everything working. He isn’t going to light up scoresheets with strikeouts, but he pitches to contact well with a 93-95 mph sinker. His best pitch is a sweeper, which has divebombing action. His changeup, which is his work-in-progress pitch, also looked good in this start, flashing good fade in to same-side hitters. There’s reliever risk with May because he throws with effort and hasn't demonstrated that he can handle a substantial workload, but if he can build off his last two outings and continue to throw well, he still has the ceiling of a back-end rotational piece. One pitcher that stood out for Beloit in this series due to a plus raw stuff profile and due to starting to show better control was lefty reliever Justin Storm. He pitched a total of five scoreless innings in the series, including the final three of Sunday’s no-hitter. He put control woes in his first two outings of the season behind him and recorded five strikeouts to just one walk while allowing just one hit. At 6’7”, 232, Storm has a lot of moving parts and a large frame to control, but when he is doing so, these are the exports. His best pitch is a wipeout slider which he combines with a fastball that sits 94 and can touch 96. He experienced a velo bump last year, helping his cause en route to saving nine games in 12 chances for the Sky Carp. If Storm can stay repeatable, he has the ceiling of a high-leverage reliever. He’s also proving that he’s capable of tossing multiple innings effectively. Low-A Jupiter Carter Johnson hit his second home run of the season this weekend, improving his season slash line to .224/.361/.429/.790 with two home runs and eight RBI. The biggest concern remains his 35.1% strikeout rate that he had going into Sunday. Johnson may not amount to much, but his start to the season is encouraging given his struggles last season. Jake McCutcheon, a 10th-round pick from Missouri State in the 2025 MLB Draft, wrapped up the week with a two-homer performance and is now slashing .231/.404/.436/.840. With High-A Beloit lacking outfield depth right now due to injuries, McCutcheon could be promoted soon if this hot streak continues. On the mound, Keyner Benitez made his second start of the season against the Palm Beach Cardinals, going five innings, allowing two runs on one hit (home run) and struck out eight. His fastball topped out at 97.1 mph and averaged 94.8 mph. He generated six whiffs on his changeup and three of his eight K's came on that pitch. Walin Castillo tossed five innings of shutout baseball, allowing three hits, no walks and struck out four. Castillo's fastball topped out at 96.4 mph, averaged 94.5 mph and generated four whiffs. Castillo's performance is worth taking with a grain of salt because he had 135 ⅔ innings of Low-A experience prior to this season. Nate Payne, who the Marlins selected in the 18th round of the 2024 draft, is off to a great start. Through three appearances (two starts), Payne has a 1.50 ERA, 1.76 FIP, 18.75 K/9 and 5.25 BB/9 in 12 innings pitched. Most recently, Payne went four innings, allowing one run (unearned) on two hits, walked four and struck out a career-high 11 hitters. Payne's fastball continues to be a dominant pitch, generating 14 whiffs and accounting for 10 of his 11 strikeouts (all swinging). Injuries/Rehab Maximo Acosta (oblique strain) was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Jacksonville on Monday after a three-game rehab assignment. Esteury Ruiz (oblique strain) will continue his own assignment for at least two more games, while Christopher Morel (yet another oblique strain) plays his first game with the Jumbo Shrimp on Tuesday. Dillon Head remains active for Beloit, but has not played since April 11. For complete Marlins MiLB injury updates, bookmark this page. This week's MiLB schedule Triple-A Jacksonville at Gwinnett Double-A Pensacola at Montgomery High-A Beloit vs. Great Lakes Low-A Jupiter vs. Daytona View the full article

Some of the moves speculated over the last two days are now official. Third baseman Royce Lewis was activated from the 10-day injured list, left-hander Kody Funderburk was placed on the paternity list and prospect left-hander Kendry Rojas was promoted from Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday. The moves also fill the gap from Monday's transaction of placing right-handed starter Mick Abel on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his right elbow. Rojas, the No. 8 prospect by Twins Daily who was already on the 40-man roster, will be making his MLB debut. The Twins have 12 pitchers and 14 position players on their roster. Lewis' return from a sprained right knee after a minimal IL stint will be a boost to the Twins' offense. He hit a pair of home runs in his two-game rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints over the weekend. That matched the total he hit in 12 MLB games this season while producing a .222/.378/.444 slash line. Rojas was part of the return from the Toronto Blue Jays in the trade last year for right-handed reliever Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France. Rojas has appeared in three games, including two starts, in the minors this season with four walks and seven strikeouts in 7⅓ innings. Funderburk is expected to rejoin the team by this weekend. View the full article

Pete Crow-Armstrong is the best defensive center fielder in baseball. As recently as last season, there was at least a modicum of debate about that—Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox won the prestigious Fielding Bible Award for center field, and might even have deserved it. Now, though, Crow-Armstrong is leaving even Rafaela behind, and doing things in outfield defense that are barely even possible. On plays Statcast rates as 2 Stars or higher on its difficulty scale (i.e., plays where the chance of the ball being caught was under 90% but higher than 0%, based on the model's estimates using fielder location data and the hang time of the batted ball), Crow-Armstrong is 9-for-12 so far. That's a sensational 75% success rate, close to the 77.5% rate he put up on such plays last year. No other player was higher than 73.5% last season, so if he keeps this up, he's got a good chance to pace the league in that regard again. For one thing, though, that underrates him. Crow-Armstrong has one actual missed opportunity to make a catch this season. You probably remember it. In the Angels series in the first week of the campaign, Crow-Armstrong misplayed a sinking liner by Jeimer Candelario into a double. At worst, he should have stopped it and held Candelario to a single, but the ball was catchable. That was a mistake; even the best of us make one. Here's one of the other two balls rated as catchable (although the Catch Probability was just 5%) by Statcast. UHY2YTlfWGw0TUFRPT1fQmxCWlhRRUVCUWNBV1ZaVVVRQUhVRk5mQUFNRUJRSUFCVkVNQlFZQkNRUlFCZ1ZW.mp4 The model does try to account for the presence of the outfield wall, which is why the Catch Probability on this one was so low, but let's be real: the chance of making that catch is 0.0%, for anyone. Crow-Armstrong got a good jump and a fine read, but if he'd kept running fast enough to catch that ball, he'd have dislodged his shoulder (and perhaps an internal organ or two) in the subsequent collision with the wall. It's fine; other players are also having 5% plays counted against them when the real chance was none. But it's important to me that you know about this dynamic in defensive metrics. Here's the other play the system says he had a 5% chance to make, but missed. R0JyUVlfWGw0TUFRPT1fQkFGUlZWVUJVUVVBQ1ZvRFh3QUhWUU5YQUZrR1ZBY0FBMUlCQVZJR0FRWlFVZ29B.mp4 Once again, Crow-Armstrong slows—even stops—shy of the wall to play this ball. It looks less makeable than it might have looked if he'd been chasing down a would-be walkoff hit with two outs; maybe there's a universe in which a player never breaks stride, gets the right footing as they plant their foot in the wall (no time to flatten the angle of body to wall and glide up unassisted) and snares this ball, but it would be the catch of the century. It'd also risk a broken wrist, or ribs. The real catch probability (lower-case letters, since my model is not official) on this is 0.001%. Meanwhile, on several plays since the start of 2025, Crow-Armstrong has seemed to do the scarcely possible. He runs underneath high flies very well, but lots of fast players can do that. Byron Buxton, of the Twins, is excellent at using his speed to make up for slow breaks and at adjusting his body when needed to make a tough catch. Crow-Armstrong, though, takes away a stunning number of singles and doubles on line drives, by breaking exceptionally quickly and accelerating both faster and more relentlessly than any other outfielder in pursuit of a ball daring to seek purchase on the outfield grass. It's not the 120-foot runs on high drives that make Crow-Armstrong extraordinary; it's the plays like this one. NHlLcTZfWGw0TUFRPT1fVlFGV0JRVlhBd01BQUZKV1ZnQUhCUUpTQUFNQ1ZBQUFBVlVBQ0FkVUExQlJDRlFF (1).mp4 Statcast's Outfield Jump leaderboard tells a fascinating story about Crow-Armstrong's excellence. It grades players on the amount of ground they cover (in any direction) in the first 1.5 seconds after contact (Reaction); and in the next 1.5 seconds (Burst); and on the ground they gain or lose, relative to average fielders, via the efficiency of their routes to the ball (Route). It gives each of these in feet above average, and then gives a total—both relative to average, and raw. This season, Crow-Armstrong sits atop that Jump leaderboard. He gains 5.2 feet of ground across the three components, relative to the average outfielder, with a good (+1.8 feet) initial reaction but an otherworldly (+3.2 feet) burst in that secondary moment of pursuit. He's also more efficient in his routes than the average outfielder—and, again, here we risk underrating him. The more a player moves in that 3-second window, the more likely they are to waste at least a little bit of that movement. That's not a new idea, or even a bad thing; it's part of the conscious tradeoff outfielders make all the time. However, Crow-Armstrong doesn't lose efficiency to his remarkably quick response on fly balls. He shoots himself at the ball's landing spot like he's a missile-defense system, and he never misses. That 5.2 feet of ground covered relative to the average is impressive, but barely beats out Chandler Simpson and Jacob Young (the dots breaking the scale, off the right and lower edges of the graph above, respectively, with their incredibly fast but noisy starts after balls) to top the leaderboard. The raw number of territory Crow-Armstrong covers in that 3-second window, though, is the more astonishing one: 40.1 feet. That's not a number anyone else in the league is terribly close to. Second on the list is Simpson, who plays left field instead of center and only covers 38.6 feet. In fact, going back to the dawn of this tracking of outfielders in 2016, no one has covered 40 feet in those 3 seconds over a full season, or even done so in a partial campaign as an overzealous rookie. Crow-Armstrong is stretching the boundaries of the possible. He's a seaplane, in this way, flying just above a rising tide. In 2016, the median figure for ground covered in that window was 32.5 feet, and it stayed fairly flat through 2021 (32.6 feet). Since then, though, teams have accelerated their move toward younger, faster, better-instructed outfielders. The median ground covered in those 3 seconds over the last four seasons (and so far this year) go like this: 2022: 33.0 ft. 2023: 33.0 2024: 33.4 2025: 33.4 2026: 34.1 The sample for this year is still small, and the number is likely to come down a bit. Even so, the trend is clear. It's harder than ever to be 5 feet better at chasing after a fly ball than your peers in the big leagues, because those peers are getting better by the minute. Last summer, Isaac Collins of the Brewers became an Outfield Jump star by taking the practice of timing a hop to put oneself in the air when a pitch passed through the hitting zone from the infield dirt to his place in the outfield. A handful of players around the league now emulate Collins, making the outfield a more explosive, reactive area of the field than it was even a few years ago. To be a plus center fielder, you have to be able to cover at least 12 yards in 3 seconds, and (of course) you have to move in the right direction to flag down the ball every time. Crow-Armstrong is breaking the scale. He might not keep his average ground covered over 40 feet all season, and even if he does, someone else might come along and do it soon, too. The tide is rising. Somehow, though, even at a moment when outfield defense is getting much better, Crow-Armstrong is widening the gap between himself and the rest of the group. He catches everything; he catches some things that don't even register at remotely catchable. He's also brilliant at playing balls off the wall, charging ground-ball singles, and setting up under fly balls to get off the best possible throw. He can change a game with his defense in center field in a way no other player in the league can, because he's taken his game to a new level over the last year. It's not a matter of raw talent, though he's always had the tools he needed out there. It's about the way he's shaved all the rough edges off his game, until he stands well clear of a pack that leaves much less room for clearance than it used to. View the full article

If the baseball season was compressed into the NFL’s, then it would be Week 3 in MLB. That’s plenty of time to get excited (Cincinnati Reds fans), panic (New York Mets fans), and look to next year (every AL West fan). How, then, should San Diego Padres fans feel about their team? Well, not to sound hyperbolic, but they should be lighting candles in their shrines to president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. At 15-7, the Pads possess the third-best record in baseball, behind only the surprising Atlanta Braves and the familiar Los Angeles Dodgers. In fact, the Padres sit just one game behind the Dodgers, MLB’s best team, in the National League West standings. That’s because the Padres have had little interest in losing lately. They’re 9-1 in their last ten games, and have lost just three times in April. You can thank an elite pitching staff for that. The Padres are fifth in MLB in team earned run average, and Mason Miller alone gives them arguably the best bullpen in baseball. His ERA is 0.00, which, if you round down to the nearest whole number, comes out to being pretty good. The Friars’ staff is outside the top-five in strikeouts, walks, and WHIP, but they’re tied for the fewest home runs allowed. They let runners on base, but deny the big hit. The rotation, especially, has been a revelation, given that, among Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta, and Yu Darvish, $52 million in starting pitching is either injured or mulling retirement. Consequently, the Padres are not only demolishing their preseason ZiPS projection of 83 wins, but they are also on pace to win 110 games, which would far exceed the franchise record of 98, set in the magical 1998 World Series year. That almost certainly won’t happen. Teams have won 110 games just six times in the modern era, and the Padres' middling offense is why five teams in the National League have a better run differential so far this season. Their current performance indicates a team that should be two losses worse. Baseball Reference gives the Pads an 85% chance at making the playoffs, which would likely come through a Wild Card spot, given the Dodgers’ NL West dominance. Wasn’t that always the realistic goal for this team? The Padres’ payroll has regressed every year since late owner Peter Seidler’s death in 2023, and Preller has had to balance expensive, high-end talent with inexpensive young players and journeymen. He’s seemed to crack that code yet again this season. The advanced statistics indicate that San Diego will come down to earth, but Preller's roster machinations have established a high floor for the team. The problem, if there is one, is that they play in the wrong league. The Dodgers are the Dodgers, the NL Central doesn’t have a losing team, and surely, the Philadelphia Phillies and Mets can’t be bad as they have been playing. (They’re a combined 2-18 in their last twenty. Oof.) The competition for the NL’s three Wild Card spots will be vicious. Just to fill out the roster, let alone to compete, the Padres need a starting pitcher or two. They also need their best, most expensive hitters—Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, et al.—to hit a little more frequently. But other teams have their own issues, no other team has lost fewer games this month, and, as the trade deadline gets closer and closer, no other team has the mad scientist that is A.J. Preller. View the full article

Kendry Rojas was originally signed by the Toronto Blue Jays in October 2020, for $215,000. At the time, he was viewed as a projectable arm with a lean frame, intriguing athleticism, and the foundation of a three-pitch mix that could grow into something more. His career since then has been marked by flashes of upside, interrupted development, and one very rocky introduction to his new organization. Rojas made his debut in the Florida Complex League in 2021, getting his first taste of professional competition in the United States. In 23 2/3 innings, he posted a 2.28 ERA with a 0.80 WHIP and 14.8 K/9. The results were less important than the foundation. He showed a loose arm, the ability to spin a breaking ball, and enough feel for a changeup to project as a starter. It was a developmental year in every sense, focused on acclimation and building a baseline. The Blue Jays assigned Rojas to Single-A Dunedin in 2022, where he began to face more advanced hitters. He combined for a 3.98 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP in 40 2/3 innings. He held his own, flashing bat-missing ability (10.2 K/9) while continuing to refine his command. His fastball velocity began to tick up, and his slider started to emerge as his most consistent weapon. There were still bouts of wildness (4.2 BB/9), but the overall trajectory pointed up. Rojas returned to Dunedin for much of the 2023 season, continuing to build innings and experience. He pitched a career-high 84 innings, while still being over two years younger than the average age of the competition in the Florida State League. The numbers didn't jump off the page (3.75 ERA, 8.8 K/9), but evaluators remained encouraged by the underlying traits. The strike-throwing still came and went, but the ingredients of a legitimate prospect were becoming clearer. Just as it looked like Rojas might take another step forward in 2024, injuries got in the way. A shoulder issue limited him to under 65 innings, disrupting his development and costing him valuable innings. In limited action, he posted a 2.59 ERA with a 1.12 WHIP and increased his strikeout rate to 9.9 K/9. For a pitcher who already had a relatively light workload, the missed time was significant. It created more pressure on him to make up for lost reps upon his eventual return. Rojas returned to the mound in 2025, but missed the first two months with an abdominal strain. Once healthy, he worked his way back and pitched well enough to earn a promotion to Triple-A Buffalo. Some around the league viewed the jump as aggressive, potentially a move by Toronto to boost his profile ahead of the trade deadline. Shortly after that promotion, Rojas was dealt to the Minnesota Twins (alongside Alan Roden) in exchange for Louis Varland and Ty France. The Twins were intrigued by the upside and quickly plugged him into the Triple-A St. Paul rotation. The results were rough. Rojas posted a 6.59 ERA over 27 1/3 innings, striking out 28 but walking 23. His inability to consistently find the strike zone put him behind hitters and forced him into unfavorable counts. He also pointed to difficulties adjusting to the Triple-A baseball, noting changes in feel that impacted his grip and pitch characteristics. It was a frustrating stretch, but not one that erased his long-term outlook. Now entering his age-23 season, Rojas is getting a chance to reset. He got the benefit of a full offseason to settle in with his new organization. He missed time to start the year with a minor hamstring injury, and the Twins have been slowly building him back up. He’s only pitched 7 1/3 innings in 2026, but now, it looks like his next work will come in the big leagues. Updated Scouting Report Rojas remains a high-upside arm built around a lively fastball and two legitimate secondary pitches. His fastball has taken a step forward, now sitting in the 96 MPH range and touching 98. The added velocity gives him a larger margin for error, though there are still questions about the pitch’s shape. At times, it plays flatter than ideal, which can limit its effectiveness at the top of the zone. His slider is still his best pitch. Thrown in the upper 80s, it generates a high rate of swings and misses against both right- and left-handed hitters. It has the potential to be a true out pitch. The changeup has also taken a step forward, coming in at a similar velocity band with late movement that allows it to play well off the fastball. It gives him a weapon to neutralize right-handed hitters and adds to his overall versatility. The biggest question remains command. His walk rates have been elevated throughout his career, and his struggles in Triple-A highlighted how quickly things can unravel when he falls behind in counts. There have been signs of improvement in small samples this spring, but sustaining that progress will be key. Because of his frame and command profile, there is some reliever risk. However, the combination of three quality pitches and improving velocity gives him a legitimate chance to stick in a starting role if everything comes together. What Comes Next with the Twins The Twins sent Rojas back to Triple-A St. Paul to open the 2026 season, where he continued to develop as a starter. The focus will be on refining his fastball shape, maintaining his velocity gains, and throwing more consistent strikes. However, there was a need for a lefty in the bullpen with Kody Funderburk stepping away from the team on paternity leave. There are multiple paths here. In a best-case scenario, Rojas develops into a mid-rotation starter capable of missing bats and providing value over multiple innings. If the command does not reach that level, his arsenal could still make him a valuable late-inning bullpen option where his stuff might play up. He's likely to be a reliever, but a multi-inning arm, in his first taste of the majors, and because he's had such a hard time compiling innings amid injury issues, he might be best situated there. His ascent to this point has been fascinating, but fraught with disruptions. Hopefully, his promotion will mark an end of that, rather than becoming the next in a line of them. What stands out about his minor-league journey? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

Health has been the biggest obstacle for Walker Jenkins in his pro career, but if healthy, how high is his ceiling? View the full article

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (April 18-April 19) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs. Rochester Red Wings (Washington Nationals): 3-3 Season Record: 10-11 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs. Chesapeake Baysox (Baltimore Orioles): 4-1 Season Record: 8-5 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs. Spokane (Colorado Rockies): 4-2 Season Record: 6-9 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs. Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia Phillies): 3-3 Season Record: 8-7 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 10-11 Series Opponent: Rochester Red Wings (Washington Nationals) April 18: Saturday saw the bats for Buffalo come alive, and all at once it seemed. The team collected 11 hits in the game, and everyone in the lineup had at least one, except Josh Kasevich and Josh Rivera. In the top of the second inning, William Simoneit and Carlos Mendoza had RBI singles to give the Bisons the lead. In the third inning, Riley Tirotta finally got the first extra-base hit of the game for Buffalo, a big two-run home run that went 404 feet and 104.3 mph off the bat. Simoneit had himself a good game at the plate, adding an RBI double in the sixth inning. However, he wasn't done, notching another RBI double in the eighth. It capped off his 3-for-4 game, with three RBI, and brought his batting average up to .300 for the season. CJ Van Eyk worked hard on the mound to keep Buffalo in the lead. He worked around seven hits, giving up a run in the second and fifth innings. It would be the bullpen that saved the lead for Buffalo, going 4.2 innings and only surrendering one run. Hayden Juenger brought it home for Buffalo, pitching a solid ninth inning, striking out two, and earning the save. The win brought Buffalo back to .500, where they seem to continue to hover, though they cannot break the mark on the season. April 19: Sunday's finale against Rochester was a mixed bag of sorts. The teams combined for 20 hits, 28 strikeouts, and 10 runs scored. Lots of hits, lots of whiffs, and lots of fun. Carlos Mendoza led the offense for Buffalo, going 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. His two RBI came on a double in the seventh and a single in the ninth. Buffalo was still in a hole after that, and Rafael Lantigua knocked in Mendoza on a double to center. It brought the score to 4-6. Unfortunately, RJ Schreck grounded out to end the game. On the pitching side, things were good and bad. The Bisons struck out 14 Rochester hitters on the day, but gave up six runs, three of which were unearned due to three errors. Josh Rivera had the worst of it in the field, committing two of the errors on back-to-back plays in the sixth, allowing the winning runs to score. Brendon Little pitched out of the bullpen again and looked relatively good, despite allowing two unearned runs to cross the plate thanks to those errors. He would strike out three and only allow one hit. Buffalo again couldn't crack the .500 mark, as they fell 6-4. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 8-5 Series vs. Chesapeake Baysox (Baltimore Orioles) April 18: New Hampshire started the Saturday contest with the Baysox quickly in the hole, down one run in the top of the first by way of a Brandon Butterworth solo home run. The Fisher Cats quickly answered with a run of their own, this time from hot-hitting Sean Keys, who drove in the run with a single to the shortstop. New Hampshire took the lead in the second inning, when Alex Stone drove in Jackson Hornung with an RBI single. Frederick Bencosme changed things in the fourth, as he launched a grand slam into the right field seats. The Baysox would score three more runs, one each in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. New Hampshire made a comeback attempt in the eighth on the back of another Keys long home run, his fifth of the year. Keys added an RBI groundout in the ninth as well, but it wasn't enough this time, with New Hampshire losing 8-9. Hitter note: Keys and Hornung had five hits combined in this one, and both rank near the top of all Double-A hitters so far this season. Keys is hitting .356 with five home runs, while Hornung is hitting .397. April 19: Postponed High-A Vancouver Season Record: 6-9 Series vs. Spokane (Colorado Rockies) April 18: After homering in his first at-bat of the season, Arjun Nimmala slowed down quite a bit, but he turned it around in this one, as he once again homered on his first at-bat of the game. Johnny King’s strikeout stuff was also on display, and despite an unearned run in the first inning that resulted in a tie game, King cruised after that. He struck out seven batters in 3.1 innings, only allowing a single hit and two walks. The Canadians scored three more runs in the second off of two RBI knocks from Manuel Beltre and Brennan Orf, and Carter Cunningham hit his sixth homer of the season in the fourth to make it 5-1. Holden Wilkerson came on in the fifth inning and pitched just as well as King, as he went four innings with six strikeouts and only allowed two baserunners. The Canadians' offense continued to pile it on, and Tucker Toman hit his second homer of the season, as the former switch-hitter has started off hot after switching to just hitting left-handed. The Canadians ran away with this one, scoring 11 runs to Spokane’s one. April 19: The Canadians were positioned to win their first series of the season, and it took a strong performance from Arjun Nimmala to get it done. Austin Cates went five strong innings to start the game, and despite allowing the first run of the game in the fifth inning on a solo shot, he earned the win. Toman and Alexis Hernandez doubled up on RBI doubles to take the lead back in the bottom half of that inning, and one of Nimmala's three hits doubled the lead. Strong relief efforts from Carson Pierce, Jay Schueler and Eminen Flores kept Spokane to only one run, and Nimmala put the cherry on top with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to seal the series win. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 8-7 Series vs. Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia Phillies) April 18: JoJo Parker has arrived, as after the Threshers got ahead early, Dariel Ramon and Parker went back to back to claim the lead. Dayne Pengelly, who graduated from New Mexico with a mechanical engineering degree, took the mound and despite walking four, allowed one run a little over three innings pitched. The Threshers brought it within one off of Carson Myers, but the Jays pulled ahead off of an Aldo Gaxiola single in the sixth. Jaxson West continued his scorching start with a three hit day, and Gaxiola went deep again with a 106.9-mph, 407-foot shot to center field to make it 8-3 for the Jays. The Threshers brought in a couple of unearned runs in the eighth, but Jack Eshleman got the save in the ninth to give the Jays the win. April 19: Brandon Barriera still isn’t finding his command, and although he only allowed one run, he walked four batters in only 2.1 innings. Juan Sanchez got his first RBI for Dunedin to tie it up in the bottom of the third inning, and a David Beckles sac fly gave the Jays the lead. The game remained in the Jays’ favour, as Luis Victorino made his first appearance of the year and pitched well. However, once he was replaced by Brayden Heidel, the lead was given up in the seventh, and in the eighth the Threshers took the lead on a solo shot from Nathan Humphreys. In the bottom of the ninth, the Jays threatened after Beckles walked. He was immediately pinch ran for with Dariel Ramon, who then stole second. An Eric Snow single put runners on the corners, with no outs, and it looked like the Jays would at least tie it up. However, after Snow stole second, Gaxiola, Yorman Licourt, and Will Cresswell left them stranded as all three struck out swinging, leading to a series draw. Transactions 04/19/26 Dunedin Blue Jays placed RHP Karson Ligon on the 7-day injured list. 04/19/26 LF David Beckles assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 04/19/26 C Juan Rosas assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 04/18/26 RHP Luis Victorino assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Red. 04/18/26 Dunedin Blue Jays placed C Charlie Saum on the 7-day injured list. 04/18/26 RHP Aiden Taggart assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 04/18/26 1B Peyton Williams assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays. View the full article

With roughly a week and change left in April, and roughly 90% of the MLB regular season left to go, it’s time to check in on how the rest of the NL Central is doing. As of 4/21, here are the current standings: Reds: 15-8 Pirates: 13-9 Cubs: 13-9 Cardinals: 13-9 Brewers: 12-9 The Cubs were middling to begin the season, but with the bats propelling them to a series win in Philadelphia, and a sweep of the spiraling Mets over the weekend, they are right back in the thick of things. The only caveat now is the state of the rest of the division, which does not have a team below .500. Even the Cardinals, who were thought to be the bottom dweller this season, have gotten off to a nice start. The technically third-place Cubs are still favorites to win the division, but this season is going to be much more of a gauntlet than originally anticipated, even after Milwaukee and St. Louis made some major subtractions from their rosters over the offseason. Here is a brief look at how the Cubs’ divisional rivals have fared so far. Cubs' NL Central Opponent Check-In Cincinnati Reds The Reds, who made the playoffs last season, are leading the division despite a -3 run differential. Coming off a sweep of the formerly red-hot Minnesota Twins, the team still sits dead last in baseball in wRC+ and batting average. The pitching staff as a whole has a 4.54 xERA, which ranks 24th in the league. Their top two starting pitchers, Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, have not thrown a pitch yet, and both have ambiguous injury outlooks at this point. Both should be in the rotation at some point this season, but it is unclear when that will be. Still, the Reds are winning games, although they have not played a team with a current record over .500 besides the Pirates. What’s working: The Reds have exactly two things going right for them on offense: Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart. De La Cruz has already reached 1.0 WAR on the young season, with an .859 OPS, six home runs, and five stolen bases. Stewart is doing even better, with a team-leading .978 OPS, seven home runs, and 19 RBI. The 22-year-old is looking like an early frontrunner for the NL ROY award up to this point in the season. After a few seasons with a revolving door at first base, the Reds look like they have another star at the position, their first since Joey Votto retired. Christian Encarnacion-Strand was traded to Baltimore last week, leaving Stewart with little to no competition for playing time, especially with new/old friend Eugenio Suarez taking over the primary DH role. De La Cruz is one of the most exciting young players in the game, but he needed a dependable bat in the lineup to take some weight off his shoulders, and now it looks like he has that. On the pitching side, they’ve gotten quality work out of former first-round pick Rhett Lowder as well as Chase Burns. In the bullpen, Brock Burke, Conor Phillips, Graham Ashcraft and Sam Moll all have ERAs under 3.00, with Tony Santillan yet to give up a run in his 10 innings pitched. Their number 10 organizational prospect Jose Franco has made his debut in the bullpen, and No. 7 prospect Chase Petty is waiting in the wings. If this group can hold things together on the mound until Lodolo and Greene return, the Reds will suddenly have a deep pitching staff going into the second half of the season. What’s not working: The Reds’ offense and pitching rank toward the bottom of MLB in many statistics, and this is because any player I have not mentioned by name yet is off to a rough start. Here is a list of all the players on the Reds with at least 30 plate appearances that are hitting under .200: Tyler Stephenson, Matt McClain, KeBryan Hayes (hitting .058), T.J. Friedl, Noelvi Marte and Will Benson. Another mind blowing offensive stat for this team so far is that outside of the aforementioned Stewart, De La Cruz, Suarez, and Stephenson (due to fielding), not a single player has a positive WAR. The Reds have hitters who have been exciting before in McClain, Spencer Steer and Nathaniel Lowe, but there is definitely something in the water at Great American Ballpark that is causing such an offensive funk for most of the roster. Granted, there is no way this lineup should be this bad the rest of the season, since it is almost identical to the lineup that got them to the post season a year ago. Pitchers Andrew Abbott and Brady Singer are due for some positive regression at some point as well, since both have proven they are better than an ERA over five. The scary thing here for Cubs fans is that this Reds club has had serious problems on both sides of the ball, and is still 15-8. Once they get going, they might be viewed as the biggest threat to the Cubs in the division. Pittsburgh Pirates: We’ve seen this happen in recent memory, but how real is it this time? The Buccos finished April of 2023 with a 13-9 record before the wheels fell off. This team does have a different vibe to it, however. They have the best pitcher in the world in Paul Skenes. 20-year-old phenom Konnor Griffin has made his debut right after signing an extension. Oneil Cruz finally looks like a key offensive piece, and newly acquired Brandon Lowe is mashing with seven home runs. Last season, Pirates starters finished sixth in ERA, and this season, they are currently second at 2.81. Pitching will be a strength as long as Skenes is healthy, but the question once again will be the perennially suspect offense. What’s working: As previously mentioned, the Pirates have one of the highest-upside, young starting staffs in the game. Interestingly enough, Skenes’ 3.27 ERA is the highest of their five starters. 2025 top prospect Bubba Chandler is the only other starter sporting an ERA above 3.00, as Mitch Keller and Braxton Ashcraft are below 3.00. Cameron Mlodzinski, who has quietly been one of the more consistent arms around since 2023, has a dazzling 1.77 ERA through four starts. Jared Jones threw a live bullpen last week and should be joining the rotation sometime in June. The bullpen quartet of Dennis Santana, Yohan Ramirez, Isaac Mattson, and Gregory Soto have been the bright spots in a bullpen that is more good than great to this point. Hunter Barco, who has pitched briefly in the majors this season before being optioned, is one of their higher ranked prospects and should be up again soon. If the offense, which ranks top 10 in runs scored, batting average, home runs, wRC+, and most other categories, is able to stay consistent enough through 162 games, this team could easily win the division. Outside of Cruz and Lowe, free-agent addition Ryan O’Hearn is hitting .329 with a .960 OPS. With Andrew McCutchen in Texas after his somewhat controversial exit, Bryan Reynolds, having been with the team since 2019, is the veteran leader and is enjoying a nice .809 OPS after his substandard 2025. They’re also getting solid contributions from role players Jake Mangum, Spencer Horwitz, and the Nicks: Gonzales and Yorke. Konnor Griffin is not off to the hottest start at the plate, but he has five hits in his last four games, and could be turning a corner. New veteran DH Marcell Ozuna is also seeing the ball better with a pair of homers in the last week, after starting the season ice cold. What’s not working: This is a hard question for this team, because nearly everything seems to be working. Yes, Griffin hasn’t been great through his first few weeks, but the rest of the lineup is getting the job done. They do need a catcher, as 2021 number one overall pick Henry Davis is looking more and more like a bust. Last season, Davis was usurped by another former top prospect Joey Bart, but now they are hitting both under .200. Their No. 9 prospect Rafael Flores made his debut last season, and could fit into the equation this season, but he is hitting .208 with Triple-A Indianapolis. In fact, none of their top prospects in Triple-A are hitting at all, as Jhostynxon Garcia and Termarr Johnson have averages under .160. The Buccos better hope their group at the MLB level can continue to hit, because there doesn’t seem to be a lot of hope in the upper minors right now. There were questions defensively after Cruz had a terrible opening weekend in center field, and O’Hearn was signed to be a makeshift outfielder, but they have been okay, if not better than anticipated. Overall, the vibes are as good as they’ve been in over a decade at PNC Park, so let’s check back later to see how they’re holding up. St. Louis Cardinals The Cardinals were never supposed to be a main character for the 2026 season. They sold veterans Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras and were set on rebuilding, as their only “significant” addition was RHP Dustin May. Yet, here they are, tied with the Cubs, albeit with a -10 run differential. Cubs fans know the Redbirds have always found a way to remain competitive, and while this is the weakest roster in the division on paper, that could change quickly if some of the early results prove to be no fluke. What’s working: Former top prospect Jordan Walker leads the NL in home runs with eight and all of baseball in WAR with 1.8. He is hitting .305 with a 1.013 OPS and is finally looking like the offensive force he was projected to be. Still only 24 years old, this looks like the breakout Cardinals fans have been waiting for, and if he ends up being the new offensive face of the team for the next half decade, St. Louis will yet again hold one of the best hitters in baseball. Alec Burleson has seemingly found his home at first base after bouncing around from the infield to outfield over his first few seasons. He is hitting .280 with an .820 OPS with more walks than strikeouts. Former seventh overall pick J.J. Wetherholt made his debut on Opening Day and has a .750 OPS, which is third on the team. The pitching has been a bigger question mark, but they have a few young arms off to hot starts, who are auditioning for their role on the present and future Cardinals staffs. Although he is not striking hitters out, righty Michael McGreevy leads the team with a 2.49 ERA in four starts. Andre Pallante and Matthew Liberatore have been solid contributors as well, and should improve as the season progresses. The real treasure here on the Cards’ pitching staff is closer Riley O’Brien. The 31-year-old righty is building off a breakout 2025, where he pitched to a 2.06 ERA in 48 innings. He hasn’t given up a run this season in 12 1/3 innings and has a K/9 over ten. JoJo Romero has also been serviceable in the back end of the bullpen, with a 2.25 ERA. Likewise, 2021 fifth-round draft pick Gordon Graceffo has an ERA under 1.00 in his 10 2/3 innings pitched. Breakout rookie Matt Svanson was their best reliever last season, but has struggled so far in 2026. If he can reign in the walks (7.6/9), he would go a long way toward improving on their 25th-ranked bullpen xERA. In terms of reinforcements on the prospect lists, slugging outfielder Joshua Baez and pitchers Jurrangelo Cijntje and Quinn Mathews should see regular playing time before the season ends. Outfielder Lars Nootbaar should be back by late May or early June, which will certainly improve the offense as well. What’s not working: The underlying stats for the offense (sixth in WAR, 13th in wRC+, 15th in batting average) show that the Redbirds could produce at least league-average offense throughout the whole year, but the pitching is a different story. They have the worst team K/9 in the game at 6.38, and they’re also in the bottom third in the league in BB/9. Free-agent addition Dustin May has given up 15 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings but has an FIP under four, signaling some positive regression could be looming. Kyle Leahy, on the other hand, has an FIP close to six, and does not at all resemble the guy who was one of their most important starters last season. They’ve also gotten lucky, being 5-0 in extra innings, and 5-0 in one run games. O’Brien deserves credit where it's due, but he is not exactly a proven big league arm. The Cards will need a quick turnaround from veteran Ryne Stanek in order to continue winning close contests. Milwaukee Brewers: The defending NL Central champs started the season hot; they swept the White Sox to open the season and followed that up with series victories against the Rays and Royals. Then, they hit a skid on a road trip to the East, where they lost the second and third games of their series in Boston, and were swept by the Nationals. They had a nice rebound last week, winning both series against the spiraling AL champion Blue Jays and the scrappy, but still meh, Marlins. The offense that carried them last season has been middle of the pack in nearly any category you can name, and the pitching is very average as well. The Brewers started slower last year, and came roaring back, much to the dismay of Cubs fans everywhere. With reigning Manager of the Year Pat Murphy at the controls, and young ace Jacob Misiorowski leading the starting staff, there are still many reasons to bet on the Crew again. What’s working: Misiorowski is leading baseball with 42 strikeouts, which is helping fans forget that former ace Freddy Peralta is on the Mets. Brandon Woodruff is having a nice start to the year as well, in what he is surely hoping is going to be his first fully healthy season in a few years. The veteran pitching on the qualifying offer has a 3.42 ERA in his four starts. Speaking of ERA, Chad Patrick’s is under 1.00 in 19 innings pitched. Kyle Harrison, a former top-100 prospect, seems comfortable in his third organization in under a year. The bullpen hasn’t been nearly as effective, but DL Hall, Aaron Ashby and Grant Anderson have kept the group afloat. Offensively, William Contreras and Bryce Turang are each hitting over .300, with Turang’s .437 OBP leading the NL. Garrett Mitchell has an OPS exceeding .800, and Gary Sanchez is tied with Jake Bauers for the team lead in home runs with five. Jackson Chourio is expected back sometime in May, which will be a much-needed boost to this lineup. What’s not working: The Brewers have a few key contributors not working right now. Christian Yelich just hit the IL and is expected to miss about a month. Andrew Vaughn has been out since Opening Day, and pitchers Quinn Priester, Craig Yoho, and Jared Koenig are all out as well. Injuries are a part of the game, and the Brewers are good at finding replacements, but they need Chourio, Yelich, and Vaughn in the lineup as much as possible because they have some guys who are not hitting. Joey Ortiz is hitting below the Mendoza line, along with Sal Frelick, but with Ortiz, it's looking more and more evident that his ceiling is that of a weak hitter. The Luis Rengifo third baseman strategy is flat out not working, as he is currently worth -0.3 WAR while hitting .167. Too bad their other newly acquired infielder, David Hamilton, is also hitting sub-.200, while top prospects Jett Williams and extension recipient Cooper Pratt are struggling in Triple, so it looks like Rengifo is the answer for the foreseeable future. They’re in need of their bullpen reinforcements too, as prospect Brandon Sproat has given up 13 earned runs and already been moved out of the rotation. The biggest issue in their pen is closer Trevor Megill, who has been brutal to start the season. He has an ERA over 10.00 while giving up eight earned runs, while last season, he gave up 13 earned runs in total. With an offense that is not nearly as potent as it was a season ago, the Brewers can’t afford to be coughing up leads late in games. View the full article

In this video, we break down quick riser Miguel Mendez, recent big league call-up Bradgley Rodriguez, Kruz Schoolcraft, Kash Mayfield, and blue-chip international signee Ethan Salas. View the full article

A rare talent, Jesus Made continues to look the part of a potentially franchise-altering player. What makes him so special, and what are his areas of improvement to get to his exorbitant ceiling? View the full article