DiamondCentric

MIAMI, FL — On Tuesday, Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix announced that the club will be retaining manager Clayton McCullough, making the 2027 season his third with the organization. "I think Clayton showed a lot of growth and improvement in the way that a lot of people do in their second year," Bendix said. "Clayton and I are very aligned. Clayton is an excellent representative of the organization and an excellent voice of the organization. He has helped establish a fantastic culture in our clubhouse, he's an excellent communicator and very good at a very difficult job. I'm excited to continue to grow with him." The Marlins did not comment on whether his contract includes any guarantees beyond next season. McCullough was hired as the 17th manager in franchise history on November 11, 2024, fresh off winning a World Series title as first base coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Through two seasons, he has compiled a 159-165 record. His predecessor, Skip Schumaker, parted ways with the Fish after only two seasons, so McCullough will be their longest-tenured skipper since Don Mattingly. In McCullough's first year on the job, the 2025 Marlins posted a 79-83 record, staying in the postseason race up until the final week of the season. After a 44-51 record in the first half of that season, the team went 35-32 the rest of the way. Their midsummer hot streak was highlighted by a sweep of the New York Yankees following the MLB trade deadline, but they were never able to get over the hump with one of the league's most inexperienced rosters. Year two of the McCullough experience was even streakier. In June, the Marlins had their best month in franchise history and held a National League wild-card spot at the All-Star break with a 52-45 record. However, a 12-game losing streak that wrapped around the break was too much to overcome. McCullough's record was nearly identical at 80-82, though the Marlins had a positive run differential for the first time since 2010. The Marlins struggled on the road (33-48) and against teams over .500 (33-50). A couple of McCullough's in-game pitching decisions stood out for the wrong reasons. The first was against the Cincinnati Reds on April 7, when Sandy Alcantara was removed with one out in the ninth inning and the Marlins leading 2-0. Anthony Bender allowed both of the runners he inherited from Alcantara to score, sending the game to extra innings where the Reds ultimately won. Then there was the July 5 game against the Athletics. Starting pitcher Eury Pérez had thrown seven perfect innings and the Marlins held a comfortable 8-0 lead. Instead of letting him go out for the eighth, the Marlins deployed Lake Bachar, who was not able to record an out, allowing five runs on four hits and one home run. Closer Pete Fairbanks allowed three more runs in the ninth the Marlins narrowly beat the Athletics, 9-8, narrowly avoiding a historically embarrassing collapse. On the other hand, McCullough also got his starters to buy into the bold strategy of making high-leverage relief appearances in between starts. Alcantara, Pérez and Janson Junk combined for five such outings late in the season and pitched effectively every time. "I've been able to get in front of things sooner than I could last year," McCullough told Fish On First. "More relaxed in the position, the rhythm of the day, the expectations of the job and familiarity with our entire group. It's allowed me to shift focus at times more to other areas. I think I can always get better at messaging to our players and staff. That's not something that will be different each year...I still realized that I had some shortcomings. I did okay, and I just know that I need to be better next year than I was this year." View the full article

The San Diego Padres are getting two key reinforcements for the postseason. Right-hander Joe Musgrove and designated hitter Miguel Andujar were activated from the injured list Tuesday and included on the Padres' roster for the NL Wild Card Series against the Chicago Cubs. To make room on the 40-man roster for Musgrove, who was on the 60-day IL, Triple-A catcher Rodolfo Duran was placed on the 60-day IL. The minor-league season is over. Game 1 of the series is Tuesday at 7 p.m. Ethan Salas, the Padres' top prospect, is among the three catchers on the roster and will become the youngest catcher in a postseason game in MLB history. He is 20 years, 93 days old today. For the 33-year-old Musgrove, it marks the end of a long recovery period. It was nearly two years ago to the day that Musgrove pitched in his last MLB game. That was Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series vs. Atlanta on Oct. 2. He would have Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2025 season. Musgrove was on track to return early this season, but following an exhibition game against Great Britain, his first game appearance of spring training, his arm did not bounce back as expected. That led him to starting the season on the IL. It wasn't until August that Musgrove began a rehab assignment, alongside fellow right-handed starter Nick Pivetta. While Musgrove's initial outings went well and appeared set to rejoin the Padres' rotation, Pivetta's did not. But Musgrove again experienced a bounce-back issue with his right arm that paused his comeback, while Pivetta recovered from a brief scare and is now expected to start Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. Musgrove has been working out in Arizona and conditioning himself for a relief role. His arm has apparently been bouncing back well from the shorter outings. For Andujar, he was on the 15-day IL following a fractured right wrist that happened on a swing. He went on a two-week rehab assignment at Triple-A El Paso to conclude the minor-league season and then went to Arizona to get more swings. He did not participate in an MLB game since the injury. He is the second key bat to return to the Padres in the last week. First baseman Gavin Sheets came off the IL for the final regular-season series. Another late-season addition was right-handed reliever Jason Adam, who had been on the IL with a strained right shoulder. The fallout from those two is that right-hander Randy Vasquez and infielder Sung-Mun Song were not included on the postseason roster. Vasquez pitched six innings Sunday to save the bullpen, a plan that was likely contingent on knowing Musgrove would be ready for the postseason. Rosters can be adjusted between series. Injury replacements can also be made during a series, but with the injured player having to miss the next season. View the full article

The San Diego Padres are sending out their best starting pitcher from the 2026 season to begin the NL Wild Card Series against the Chicago Cubs in a rematch of last year's postseason clash won by the Cubs. Right-hander Michael King is the biggest lock from the Padres' rotation entering the postseason. He has a 4.13 FIP (3.21 ERA) in 32 starts and 185 innings, both career highs. The 31-year-old has had a terrific rebound season after two injuries disrupted his 2025. King's walk rate of 9.2% and strikeout rate of 21% are down from his career averages (8.6%, 25.4%), but he has made up for that by limiting hard contact and inducing more groundballs. His groundball rate of 44% is his highest since 2022 when he was a reliever with the New York Yankees, while his hard-hit percentage is down to 32.9% and line drives at 20.6%, both also below career norms (34%, 24%). King had a streak of eight quality starts snapped in his final start of the regular season. His big second half, in addition to his 18 quality starts for the season, provided stability in a starting rotation that had been unstable up until the trade deadline. King did not face the Cubs in either of the two series between the clubs this year, with the Padres going 1-5. The Padres' bullpen is in tremendous shape after using right-handers Randy Vasquez and Griffin Canning in Sunday's regular-season finale. Superstar closer Mason Miller, who finished tied for third in MLB in saves with 38, got an inning Saturday, as did left-hander Adrian Morejon. Those two will be relied upon heavily to get the Padres through any tight games and in the biggest situations. Right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez proved himself a valuable arm and entered a late-inning role when another right-hander, Jason Adam, went down with an injury. With Adam coming back last week, that just deepens the arsenal that manager Craig Stammen has to work with. Those weapons will be necessary against a Cubs offense that led MLB in runs (5.25 per game) and were third in home runs. Leading that group is probable NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong, who posted a .280/.372/.570 slash line and an MLB-best 45 homers and 119 RBIs. Batting out of the leadoff spot, Crow-Armstrong can get the Cubs off to a quick start. He hit nine leadoff homers this season to lead MLB. He has hit 38 of his homers since the beginning of June, producing a 1.065 OPS (.302/.397/.668). Alex Bregman and Seiya Suzuki are the other top bats for the Padres to be cautious with. Bregman, a two-time World Series champion with the Houston Astros, famously took a foul ball off his face a week ago, resulting in multiple facial fractures, then stunningly returned to play in Friday's doubleheader and went 4-for-4 with two homers in Sunday's regular-season finale. For the season, Bregman is slashing .265/.355/.464 with 28 homers and 93 RBIs in his first season with the Cubs, while Suzuki has produced a .270/.368/.473 slash line with 26 homers and 86 RBIs in the best season of his MLB career. Michael King vs. Chicago Cubs: Current Batters Table Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP 1 Michael Conforto L 14 11 1 0 0 1 1 3 2 .091 .286 .364 .649 0 0 0 0 0 2 Alex Bregman R 10 8 7 2 0 0 0 2 1 .875 .900 1.125 2.025 0 0 0 0 0 3 Gabriel Arias R 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .333 .667 0 0 0 0 0 4 Ian Happ B 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 5 Tyrone Taylor R 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 6 Nico Hoerner R 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 7 Carson Kelly R 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 0 0 0 0 0 8 Seiya Suzuki R 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 9/28/2026. The Cubs will counter with left-hander Matthew Boyd. The 35-year-old had a tough start to his season with a pair of injuries, first a strained left biceps and then a torn meniscus in his left knee from a mishap at home. Once he returned in late June, Boyd had a 3.42 ERA in 17 starts. The Cubs' pitching staff in general has been decimated by injuries this year. Eight pitchers are currently on the 60-day injured list. Boyd's walk rate (7.5%) is right about where his career rate (7.3%), while his strikeout is notably down from 22.2% to 18.5%. It was 21.4% last year and 27.7% in 2024. Like King, Boyd has leaned into his defense this season with an increased groundball rate, up from 37.6% to 42.1% this year. Boyd faced the Padres once this season, a 9-7 Chicago victory June 30 at Wrigley Field. Boyd allowed three runs over five innings on eight hits and three walks with four strikeouts. The Padres' offense has been on fire in September. Fernando Tatis Jr. has slashed .337/.413/.652 with eight of his 25 homers. Manny Machado has belted six homers while the Padres have a team slash line of .281/.346/.469 and are averaging 5.6 runs per game. Six players have driven in 10 runs or more this month, led by Machado and Jackson Merrill. The running game has also been a key to the Friars' success. Tatis and Merrill are two of only six players with 25-homer, 25-steal seasons and are the only teammates on the list. The Padres have only four hitters who qualify for MLB batting leaders, but that is also part of their success. Other players such as Ty France (.295/.363/.502, 21 HRs), Dustin Harris (.322/.364/.422), Samad Taylor (.316/.390/.408) and what is now a three-headed catching situation—top prospect Ethan Salas joining Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin—have been major contributors. Salas will make history as the youngest catcher in MLB history to appear in a postseason game. He will be 20 years, 94 days old for Game 1. Matthew Boyd vs. San Diego Padres: Current Batters Table Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP 1 Xander Bogaerts R 22 20 4 0 0 1 3 2 3 .200 .273 .350 .623 0 0 0 0 1 2 Manny Machado R 20 19 9 4 0 1 5 0 3 .474 .450 .842 1.292 0 1 0 0 0 3 Ty France R 13 10 4 1 0 0 3 1 1 .400 .538 .500 1.038 0 0 0 2 0 4 Fernando Tatis Jr. R 12 12 3 0 0 1 2 0 2 .250 .250 .500 .750 0 0 0 0 0 5 Freddy Fermin R 11 11 3 2 0 0 2 0 4 .273 .273 .455 .727 0 0 0 0 0 6 Jackson Merrill L 9 9 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .222 .222 .222 .444 0 0 0 0 0 7 Austin Hays R 6 6 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 .500 .500 .833 1.333 0 0 0 0 0 8 Samad Taylor R 5 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .400 .400 .400 .800 0 0 0 0 0 9 Jase Bowen R 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jake Cronenworth L 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 9/28/2026. View the full article

Maybe, if Kevin Gausman had been fully healthy and there were no questions surrounding him, you could have made a case for him to start Game 1 of the Cubs' Wild Card Series in San Diego this week. When Gausman sprawled to make a tag in his final regular-season start and ended up with a balky left shoulder, though, the writing was on the wall—and it probably should have been, anyway. Matthew Boyd was the right choice, and when Gausman suffered even a minor malady, the veteran lefty became the only choice. Boyd made two starts against the Padres this year. One came at Petco Park, in April, and it went poorly, but much of the trouble was caused by circumstances we're unlikely to see repeated Tuesday night. Boyd himself made a bad first-inning ABS challenge, and in the middle innings, catcher Moisés Ballesteros (yep) made another. Ballesteros struggled as a receiver all day, and being out of challenges for half the day ultimately cost the Cubs that game. Boyd also gave up key hits to Jackson Merrill and Ty France, against whom he'll have to execute much better Tuesday night, but he pitched better than his final line: 4 innings, 8 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts. By the time he faced San Diego again at Wrigley Field during a scorching midsummer series, Boyd was finally getting untracked. He emerged, around then, as the Cubs' ace, and there have only been rare moments since in which anyone else seized that title. That day, Boyd gave up another 8 hits over 5 innings, but San Diego only scored 3 runs, thanks to two homers. One of those only left the park because, that day, everything was leaving the park. It was hot, and the wind was blowing out, and the teams combined for nine dingers. Even some of the hits on balls that stayed in the park didn't need to be; the Cubs' exceptional defense cracked a bit in the heat and with the ball jumping off bats the way it was. That series came at a weather and ball-liveliness nexus that won't be repeated this week. The ball was flying very well, with reduced drag, for a stretch in the middle of the season, but it's been much more like the early season at the end. It'll be pleasant in San Diego Tuesday night, but not hot, by any means. That should give Boyd some margin for error. He won't have to be quite as fine as he would have needed to be to hold the Padres down better than he did at the end of June, and anyway, replicating those results would be fine; the Cubs will need to win starts in which they get five innings of three-run ball in order to go anywhere this postseason. Boyd has pitched better of late than any other Cubs starter (save, arguably, David Peterson), but there's another reason why he was the obvious choice for this outing. The Padres' one weakness, even during their hot September, is that you can put them in the rocking chair a bit, particularly as a lefty. San Diego led the majors in OPS for the final month of the regular season. They're dangerous, and as Boyd learned right away on Opening Day this year, sometimes, hitters like these can guess right against him often enough to ruin his day. On the whole, though, the Padres' lineup is the kind you expect Boyd to thrive against. He should be able to induce them to swing early, earning some weak contact off the end of the bat and some whiffs. It's a tall order he faces. The hottest offense in the game awaits him, and the Cubs need length from him. The ABS-influenced smaller strike zone is unfriendly to pitchers who thrive on finesse, as Boyd does. The matchup is right, though, and throughout his two-year tenure in Chicago, Boyd has been as reliable as any pitcher on the team. He just has to execute; that's what playoff basebal is nearly always about. View the full article

The Blue Jays spent last winter believing in the team that nearly won the World Series. The greater mistake may have been continuing to believe after the team sputtered out of the gate. Toronto finished 79-83, a rough reversal for a club that spent aggressively over the winter and entered the season expecting to contend. The problem wasn't one decision. It was a pattern. The front office and coaching staff repeatedly chose patience over disruption, trusting that established players, clubhouse chemistry and the memories of 2025 would eventually pull the club back into contention. The Jays are just the 10th MLB team in history to bookend a World Series appearance with losing seasons. The Rangers did it most recently in 2023. Sure, Toronto eventually traded Kevin Gausman, Daulton Varsho and Jeff Hoffman, but not until the trade deadline. George Springer and Ernie Clement remained. So did Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer. There were moments when it looked like the Jays would sneak into the playoffs, but they frequently acted as though the 2025 version of the team would rematerialize. It never did. Now, Springer will walk with nothing in return. Clement looked more like a journeyman than an All-Star during the second half. Trading him (and his team control) at his peak value ahead of the trade deadline might have provided a strong prospect haul. The Jays may have finished second in 2025, but they were not the second-best team in baseball from a talent and performance perspective. They managed to play mistake-free baseball for the most part while peaking at the right time. Toronto's 2025 position players led baseball with 44 Fielding Runs Above Average, and the Jays finished second in the American League in runs. Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Alejandro Kirk all produced a wRC+ of at least 115 and more than 3.0 fWAR, while Ernie Clement also topped three wins largely through his defensive value. It was almost magical how it came together. The team chemistry was out of this world. Every front office tries to replicate chemistry and the good vibes that come with winning, but the formula isn’t easy to unlock. The Jays didn’t take anything for granted in the offseason. Toronto committed hundreds of millions in new guaranteed money over the winter, more than any of their AL East rivals. They added Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto and Tyler Rogers. Cease was supposed to offset Chris Bassitt. On the field, there is no question he eclipsed Bassitt. Whether he filled Bassitt's leadership role in the clubhouse is harder to determine. Okamoto had a fantastic rookie season, but he didn’t completely fill the void left by Bichette’s departure. In fact, the absence of Bichette in the lineup might have negatively impacted the types of pitches that Guerrero saw in 2026. Few expected Springer to repeat his 2025 performance. His line last season was .309/.399/.560 with 32 home runs and a .959 OPS. In 2026, he came back to earth: roughly .249/.321/.405 with 15 home runs in 517 plate appearances. There was still value there if the Jays could find a buyer. On July 30, the Jays were in last place in the AL East, 5.5 games from the final Wild Card and sitting at approximately a seven percent chance of reaching the postseason. Springer was a pending free agent, exactly the type of veteran a selling team normally attempts to convert into future value. General manager Ross Atkins provided a revealing explanation afterwards: "It was important for him to be here. We wanted him here as we continue to push forward." Some suggested that he stayed to keep advertisers happy. Perhaps both explanations can be true. Springer did possess 10-and-5 rights, giving him the ability to veto a trade. The franchise did a good job sending off Springer and Scherzer appropriately during the final game of the regular season, but one or both might have returned pieces capable of providing immediate or long-term help. Would an analytically disciplined organization have recognized that Clement's underlying offensive profile made his first-half production an opportunity to sell high? At the end of July, Clement was having a genuinely good season. Through 103 games, he was hitting .297 with eight home runs, 25 doubles and a 109 wRC+. He had also made his first All-Star team. Who would have guessed he’d hit .150 in September? He finished around .261/.286/.366, but underneath those numbers sat a .258 xwOBA, .241 xBA and .318 xSLG. His average exit velocity was just 84.3 mph, his hard-hit rate was 20.7 per cent and his barrel rate was 2.1 per cent. Was it realistic, given the start of the 2026 season, that either Springer or Clement would return to 2025 form? Good organizations aren't disloyal. They are ruthless about recognizing when the market values one of their players more highly than their own projections do. Tyler Heineman didn’t play all that much, but he was far from the backup who flirted with a .400 average early in 2025. Instead of bringing up Brandon Valenzuela early or finding another option, the Jays elected to give Heineman some space to rediscover his form. By May 3, with Kirk injured, Heineman was batting .176 with a .398 OPS and still had not collected an extra-base hit. Meanwhile, Valenzuela had been called up and had already homered in two of his previous three starts. Veteran leadership, pitcher preparation, game planning, communication and clubhouse influence largely go unseen by fans, but did the Jays wait too long to replace him out of loyalty? Teams know much more about those things internally than outsiders do, but there comes a point where respect for invisible value becomes an excuse for ignoring visible performance. The organization's preference for patience wasn't limited to personnel decisions. It showed up in the lineup, too. Cito Gaston found success putting out largely the same lineup, day after day. The rosters he had might have been a bit more consistent than the 2025 squad, but maybe not. John Schneider’s refusal to drop Guerrero in the lineup seemed at odds with his willingness to move everyone else around. Through late September, the first baseman carried a .260/.332/.356 line and only nine home runs across 609 plate appearances, good for a .688 OPS. His Statcast batting run value was minus-6. If he had been anyone else, he might have been batting sixth or seventh in the order. Schneider is a player’s manager, and he seems to have a good sense of what his players need, but his loyalty to the idea that Vladdy would return to form seemed overly optimistic and misguided. Guerrero's .331 xwOBA was considerably stronger than his actual results. His .280 xBA ranked in the 90th percentile. His 44.3 per cent hard-hit rate was in the 72nd percentile, his average bat speed in the 92nd percentile and his strikeout rate in the 92nd percentile. Dropping Guerrero in the order might not have fixed him, but it would have acknowledged that a different strategy was at play. It wasn’t just Guerrero's problem, either. As a team, the Jays grounded into the second-most double plays in baseball, with 129. The Athletics grounded into 130 double plays, while the Dodgers finished the regular season with 127. The difference between those teams and the Jays is that they consistently scored more runs. Even in 2025, the Jays had periods when they didn’t score. Atkins has always structured his rosters with pitching and defence at the centre. An offence built on contact but without much slugging either finds other ways to generate runs or it doesn't. In 2026, Toronto didn't. The Jays started the season with seven or eight viable starting pitchers and limped to the finish line with three or four at best. The bullpen was fantastic but overworked. A manager cannot rest his bullpen if his starters do not provide innings. Loyalty can help build a clubhouse. Sentimentality can prevent a front office from changing it when necessary. Being a franchise that values its players makes a difference when it comes to culture, but retaining players for that same rationale is a recipe for inconsistency. Do the Jays tear it all down and start over? Uncertainty surrounding next season because of labour negotiations won’t help. Do they try to re-sign Gausman? Do they pick up Myles Straw’s option? What do they decide to do with Anthony Santander? Can they get anything for Andrés Giménez in a trade? A championship-calibre organization should celebrate its heroes. It just can't let those memories fill out tomorrow's lineup card or dictate today’s strategy. View the full article

Walker Jenkins' first trip to the big leagues was never going to answer every question about his future. The former No. 5 overall pick arrived in Minnesota with enormous expectations, and his first 26 games offered a little bit of everything. There were stretches where Jenkins looked overwhelmed by the speed and quality of major-league pitching. There were also stretches where the talent that made him one of baseball's top prospects started to shine through. For a young player who has dealt with injuries throughout his professional career, simply getting to the majors and finishing the season healthy enough to contribute was important. His final 10 games were especially encouraging, while some of his underlying numbers point toward areas where he will need to improve. Here are three positives and three negatives from Jenkins' first taste of the big leagues. Up 1: A Strong Finish Jenkins' start to his big-league career was rough. In his first 16 games, he went just 4-for-45, good for a .085 batting average. He struck out 16 times while drawing six walks. Then something started to click. Over his final 10 games, Jenkins hit .385/.400/.615 for a 1.015 OPS. He added three home runs while striking out only three times and drawing one walk. That is a dramatic change in production and plate discipline in a very small sample, but it's exactly the kind of finish the Twins needed to see from him. Major-league baseball is faster. The breaking pitches are sharper. Mistakes are much thinner on the ground. Jenkins's early struggles can be viewed as part of the adjustment process, especially for a 21-year-old getting his first extended look against the best pitchers in the world. The hope is that the player who showed up late in the season is a better representation of what Jenkins can become. Up 2: Meteoric Rise Injuries have been a recurring obstacle for Jenkins throughout his professional career. He missed significant time again this season after hurting his shoulder while running into an outfield wall, and he has yet to play more than 100 games in a professional season. What makes this season encouraging is what Jenkins did once he returned. He did not allow another difficult stretch to derail his development. He got back on the field, worked his way into the lineup and eventually reached the major leagues. More importantly, Jenkins appeared to adjust quickly once he got there. His first 16 games were a major learning experience, but his final 10 games looked like a completely different hitter. That kind of improvement over such a short period is encouraging for a player seeing major-league pitching for the first time. Jenkins is still working toward the consistency and durability needed for a full major-league season, but his ability to make adjustments on the fly may ultimately prove to be one of his biggest strengths. Up 3: Fastball Power Jenkins showed a clear ability to do damage against fastballs. He posted a .289 batting average and a .500 slugging percentage against fastballs, accounting for nearly all of his damage at the plate. That's encouraging, because fastballs are the foundation of major-league pitching. If a hitter can consistently punish velocity, there's a path toward becoming a dangerous offensive player. Jenkins's swing has always had the potential to produce power, and seeing that power translate against major-league fastballs is an important piece of his development. The next step will be proving he can force pitchers away from their fastballs by handling everything else they throw at him. Down 1: The Walk Rate Dropped Patience was supposed to be one of Jenkins' calling cards. At Triple-A St. Paul this season, he posted a 13.7% walk rate. That number dropped to 7.5% in the majors. Some of that is understandable. Major-league pitchers are better equipped to attack hitters and are less likely to give away easy opportunities. Still, Jenkins' approach will be an important part of his development. When pitchers were ahead in the count, Jenkins went just 4-for-26, a .154 batting average, while striking out 10 times. That is an area where better pitch recognition and a more consistent approach could make a major difference. The Twins do not need Jenkins to walk at an elite rate every season, but they do need the disciplined hitter who appeared in the minors to carry over to the majors. Down 2: The Strikeout Rate Jumped Jenkins had a 15.6% strikeout rate with St. Paul. That climbed to 20.4% in the majors. Again, some increase should be expected when a young hitter takes the biggest jump in competition possible. But the increase is still worth monitoring. His 23.9% whiff rate also suggests there was more swing-and-miss in his game than many expected coming into the season. Jenkins' prospect profile was built in part around his ability to combine power with a quality approach. There will be growing pains, but limiting the strikeouts will be critical if he is going to become the middle-of-the-order hitter the Twins envision. The encouraging part is that his final 10 games featured only three strikeouts. That late-season improvement could be a sign that he was beginning to adjust. Down 3: Trouble With the Curve Breaking pitches gave Jenkins the most trouble during his time in the majors. He hit just .148 against breaking pitches while slugging .259. That is a significant weakness for any young hitter because opposing pitchers will continue to test him with sliders, curveballs and other breaking offerings if they discover he cannot consistently handle them. His success against fastballs makes the contrast even more noticeable. Pitchers may eventually try to exploit that difference by getting ahead with velocity before finishing at-bats with breaking stuff. Jenkins will need to show he can recognize and drive those pitches before they become a predictable part of the game plan against him. Jenkins' first taste of the big leagues was exactly that: a taste. There were plenty of questions left unanswered, but there were also signs of why the Twins remain so excited about his future. His hot finish, ability to handle fastballs and continued progress through another injury setback all provide reasons for optimism. At the same time, his walk rate fell, his strikeout rate climbed and breaking pitches gave him significant problems. That is a reasonable collection of strengths and weaknesses for a young player getting his first exposure to the majors. Jenkins does not need to have everything figured out yet. What matters most is whether he can take what he learned in these 26 games and carry it into 2027. If the player who finished the season is the player the Twins get next year, there could be some very exciting baseball ahead. What stood out about Jenkins in his first taste of the big leagues? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

In the 56-year history of Milwaukee Brewers baseball, three players have been honored as the league's Rookie of the Year. In 1992, shortstop Pat Listach beat out Cleveland’s Kenny Lofton for the American League honor, on the strength of a .290 average with 54 steals. Fifteen seasons later, third baseman Ryan Braun was named the National League winner, barely edging Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki. Braun led the league in slugging at .634 and slammed 34 home runs in just 115 games. In the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, reliever Devin Williams outpolled Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm and San Diego’s Jake Cronenworth on the basis of his impressive 0.33 ERA, 1375 ERA+, and 17.7 strikeouts per nine innings. This year, the Brewers have two rookies who have performed exceedingly well and could garner some votes, though neither will claim the prize. Shortstop Cooper Pratt was called up to Milwaukee in mid-June. After going 7-for-16 in a five-game stretch early on, crashed back to Earth, looking like another scared rookie as his OPS tumbled below .500. Then, around Independence Day, he heated up as the weather got hotter, and other than a stint on the IL, he never looked back. He finished with a slash line of .281/.350/.368 in 266 trips to the dish. His in-game power hasn’t arrived yet, as he had only three homers, but his speed (19 steals in 22 tries) and defense (2 Defensive Runs Saved) have shone brightly. Outfielder Luis Lara made his major-league debut on July 7, going 1-for-4 with two RBIs in a 10-2 blowout at St. Louis. He’s had his growing pains, but it was a solid freshman campaign. He batted .246/.311/.325 over 212 plate appearances. He’ll never be a big power hitter, and the Brewers are waiting to see his base-stealing prowess, as he had only three steals in five attempts. However, his forte has been his ability to make electrifying, leaping catches at the fence, forever reprising his Spider-Man impersonation. In just a fraction of a season, he was worth 11 DRS in the outfield. It's unlikely that Pratt or Lara will get first-place votes, as they placed 16th (Pratt) and 21st (Lara) according to bWAR for first-year players. JJ Wetherholt, Sal Stewart and Carson Benge are the top three candidates for the NL honors. Depending on how things shake out, Pratt should get some down-ballot points, while Lara is a dark horse. But we can hope! Brewers Rookie of the Year History (Ranking in parentheses) 2025: Caleb Durbin (3), Isaac Collins (4), Chad Patrick (7), Jacob Misiorowski (11) 2024: Jackson Chourio (3) 2020: Devin Williams (1) 2012: Nori Aoki (5) 2009: Casey McGehee (5) 2007: Ryan Braun (1) 2006: Prince Fielder (7) 2005: Rickie Weeks (6) 2003: Scott Podsednik (2) 2002: Alex Sánchez (9) 1996: Jeff D’Amico (7) 1995: Steve Sparks (9) 1994: José Valentín (9) 1992: Pat Listach (1), Cal Eldred (4) 1991: Doug Henry (8) 1988: Don August (4) 1985: Teddy Higuera (2), Ernest Riles (3) 1978: Paul Molitor (2) 1973: Pedro García (2), Darrell Porter (3) 1971: Bill Parsons (2) View the full article

Some 162 games ago, we were all anxious and downright curious as to what the Chicago Cubs 2026 season would look like. Well, the regular season has now concluded, and despite what occasionally felt like a disappointing season, Chicago managed to get into the postseason with a record of 89-73. That earned them the No. 5 seed in the National League, meaning they're on the road in the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres, in a rematch of the set last year at Wrigley Field. Chicago defeated San Diego 2-1 in the best-of-three series last season and will be looking to do the same again this season, to advance to the NLDS for a second consecutive season. Game 1 will feature left-hander Matthew Boyd taking the mound for the visitors. Boyd will be opposed by right-hander Michael King, in his first postseason start since the 2024 NLDS. Most Cubs hitters don't have a massive sample size to dig into, but there's one player in particular who's feasted against King, and there are other season-long trends to keep in mind when gearing up for Game 1. Here are three Cubs hitters that could play a major role. Alex Bregman Bregman has the second-most at-bats (eight) against King of any player likely to be on the roster. He's done quite well for himself in those eight at-bats. Bregman is 7-for-8 with an RBI, two doubles and two walks against King in his career. King did not face Chicago this season, so Bregman's last two at-bats against him came in August of last season. Both of those resulted in doubles to left field. If Bregman's 4-for-4 performance in Game 162 was any indication of how locked-in he is at the plate, then his performance in Game 1 has a chance to be game-changing. Pete Crow-Armstrong Of course, the favorite for NL MVP makes the list. Crow-Armstrong has just one at-bat (0-for-1, K) against King, but this matchup is more about King's pitch selection and Crow-Armstrong's ability to recognize pitches and lay off of them. King's best weapon, against lefties, is his changeup. Opponents hit just .204 on his changeup during the regular season, and they only hit four homers on it. Crow-Armstrong feasted on non-fastballs during the season. He slugged .531 with seven doubles and 14 home runs against breaking balls, and those figures were .621 with 10 doubles and eight homers against offspeed pitches. Knowing that, it's likely that King will try to attack him with fastballs up in the zone, as that's one spot where he's shown both the tendency to chase and a vulnerability to whiffs. The first at-bat of the game should tell a lot about San Diego's plan, and that will set the tone for what to expect the second time around. It's worth noting that King struck Crow-Armstrong out on an elevated fastball in Game 3 of last year's Wild Card Series, but that was not the same creature who'll step into the batter's box Tuesday night. Michael Conforto Conforto's inclusion in the lineup depends on Bregman's ability to play third base. If Bregman is able to return to his normal position, the DH spot would open up, and it would probably be Conforto who fills that role: he's put up gaudy numbers against pitches that match King's profile this year. On sinkers, sweepers and changeups from right-handed pitchers throwing from low arm slots in the vertical movement band King generates on his offerings, Conforto has been worth 5.6 runs above average per 100 pitches seen this year. Next-best on the team against that suite of traits is Crow-Armstrong, at 2.3. When an at-bat ends on one of those offerings, Conforto is hitting .476/.542/.952. The sample is small, and King is better than the average pitcher in this class, and there are a couple of other wrinkles in King's arsenal, but Conforto is an excellent matchup for the San Diego righty. He could strike a huge blow in this game, if Bregman's health makes room for him on the lineup card. cU93QTFfWGw0TUFRPT1fQVFOU0FWUUhCMWNBQzFjRkJ3QUhBd05VQUZsVUJWQUFVVjBGVVZFQ0ExVlJWUU1G.mp4 So, there it is, a look at three players that could define the game offensively for Chicago. If none of those three players are able to get good swings off against King, then it may have to be an unlikely hero stepping up and being the productive bat in what will a crucial Game 1 of the series. View the full article

The 2026 season didn’t end the way Twins fans had hoped, but now that the season is officially in the books, there’s still plenty to look back on and remember fondly. There were big wins, breakout performances, unexpected contributors, and, of course, plenty of home runs. Everyone loves a good home run, but there’s something especially fun about watching one absolutely disappear. The Twins had one of the better offenses in the American League this season, finishing third in runs scored. They didn’t rank quite as highly in home runs, but they still finished 12th in baseball with 187 long balls. So, as we put a bow on the 2026 season, let’s take a look back at some of the biggest blasts of the year. Here are the five (technically six) longest home runs hit by a Twins player in 2026, based on projected distance. 5. Ryan Kreidler, 438 feet April 13 vs. Boston Red Sox When the Twins claimed Ryan Kreidler off waivers over the offseason, they did so primarily for his glove, not his bat. While that assessment turned out to be mostly accurate, Kreidler still managed to hit a career-high eight home runs during the season. None traveled farther than his solo blast against the Boston Red Sox on April 13. Kreidler came to the plate in the second inning with the Twins already holding a commanding 10-0 lead. He added to it in a hurry, launching a ball 438 feet for his third home run of the season and pushing the lead to 11-0. The Twins went on to win the game 13-6. It wasn't exactly a high-leverage home run, but it showcased what Kreidler is capable of, including some things he wasn't capable of before. He swung the bat at a lightning-fast 77.6 miles per hour, and the ball jumped off it at 109 MPH, with a 29° launch angle. 5. Byron Buxton, 438 feet April 14 vs. Boston Red Sox Kreidler wasn't the only Twin to hit a 438-foot home run in 2026—or even in that series. Byron Buxton did it one day later, also against the Red Sox. Buxton had the third-highest home run total of his career this season, and none traveled farther than his third home run of the season. Facing Boston's Jack Anderson (who later became a teammate), Buxton took a 2-0 slider that was well below the strike zone and somehow turned it into a 108-MPH, 438-foot blast. It was as close to a carbon copy of Kreidler's dinger as any ball can be of another, down to the launch angle and bat speed. It was part of arguably Buxton's best game of the season. He went 4-for-5 with two home runs and scored four runs as the Twins rolled the Red Sox. Unfortunately, injuries once again derailed Buxton's season, but when he was healthy, he remained one of the most impactful players in baseball. 4. Josh Bell, 442 feet June 7 vs. Kansas City Royals Josh Bell had a knack for hitting the ball a long way in 2026, and his first appearance on this list came during a ninth-inning rally against the Kansas City Royals on June 7. The Twins entered the ninth trailing 6-1, but after a walk and a single to open the inning, Bell stepped to the plate with an opportunity to bring the Twins back into the game. He did exactly that, launching a 442-foot blast into the right-field concourse at Target Field. Suddenly, the Twins were within two runs, and what had looked like a blowout was turning into a potentially dramatic comeback. It was a missile, launched such a long distance because it wasted no time rising or falling. A 78-MPH swing produced a 112-MPH exit velocity, at a frozen-rope 25° launch angle. The Twins scored another run later in the inning, but couldn't quite finish the job and fell 6-5. 3. Royce Lewis, 444 feet June 10 vs. Detroit Tigers Royce Lewis's 2026 season was a roller coaster, with a demotion to the minors, a red-hot return to Minnesota and a difficult finish to the season. Along the way, there were plenty of reminders of why the Twins have been so excited about Lewis throughout his young career. One of those came on June 10 against the Detroit Tigers. Lewis took left-hander Framber Valdez deep in the second inning, sending a solo shot 444 feet into the left-center-field seats. It was an impressive display of power against a typically stud pitcher. Lewis's bat speed fluctuated as he worked through mechanical issues, but on this offering, he got off an 81-MPH 'A' swing and connected cleanly enough to hit it 108 MPH at a 32° launch angle. Lewis finished the year with 15 home runs, the second-highest total of his Twins career. While the season didn't go exactly as he or the Twins would have hoped, blasts like this one showed the offensive upside that remains in his bat. 2. Josh Bell, 452 feet July 1 vs. Houston Astros Bell makes another appearance near the top of the list, this time with a 452-foot blast against the Houston Astros on July 1. He hit his 11th home run of the season that night, launching a ball over the batter's eye in center field at Daikin Park. It was another example of Bell, who's just a huge guy with a great feel for hitting, really, getting just enough air under one to send it soaring. He swished the stick at 78 MPH, launched it at 26°, and got a whopping 113 MPH of exit velocity behind it. Bell would finish the season with 21 home runs, fourth-most on the Twins in 2026. Three of those home runs ended up among the five longest blasts of the season. Wait, three? But that means... 1. Josh Bell, 460 feet September 4 vs. Chicago White Sox And finally, we have the longest home run hit by a Twin in 2026, and fittingly, it's another one from Bell. He launched a ball 460 feet into the right-center-field concourse, giving the Twins their longest home run of the season by a considerable margin. MLB's Statcast data measured the blast at 114 MPH off the bat. He swung the bat a little slower than on his other ferocious blasts (76 MPH), but connected more cleanly, and putting just a little more air under it (30°) let it carry farther than any of his other shots this year. And there you have it. Bell accounted for three of the five longest blasts, while Lewis, Buxton and Kreidler each contributed impressive ones of their own. The season may be over, but these are some of the moments that are fun to look back on. Which of these home runs was your favorite? View the full article

The San Diego Padres are hosting the Chicago Cubs in the NL Wild Card Series at Petco Park. Randy Holt and Steve Drumwright break down how the Padres got to this point with a strong second half, look into who should be the starting pitcher beyond Michael King, and what decisions need to be made about the roster before Game 1. They also offer their keys to the Padres winning the series and offer their predictions on who will win and how many games it will take. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/padres-mission-podcast/id1896922834 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033xclmydmbLmEp0exYuYz Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-padres-mission-podcast-336930560 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@padresmission View the full article

If Ramón Laureano stays healthy, we might never even see Samad Taylor get a legitimate chance to play for the Padres. As of early June, he was what he's been for his entire decade of professional experience: a fringe guy, barely catching anyone's notice and barely hanging onto Triple-A rosters. He signed a minor-league deal with the Padres in late January, after being outrighted for the second time in a year by the offense-needy Mariners and electing free agency, but he didn't crack San Diego's roster until the beginning of June. He's a former 10th-round pick who didn't debut in the big leagues until six years after being selected, and he's still never batted more than 175 times in the majors in any season. When Laureano suffered what's turned out to be a season-ending hip injury, though, Taylor was suddenly thrust into the fray. If Luis Rengifo stays healthy, we might never even see Dustin Harris get a legitimate chance to play for the Padres. When he signed his first minor-league deal for the team, they became his third organization of the season. That was in early July, though, and a month later, he'd yet to crack the big-league roster. The team released him just after the trade deadline, but the opportunities for him were so sparse that Harris turned right around and signed a new minor-league deal. This is the life he's used to, too. He was an 11th-round pick in 2019 and didn't debut until 2024. and then only excruciatingly briefly. He's belonged to the Oakland, Texas, Houston and White Sox organizations, but never found much of a foothold in any of them. He got the call to the majors on August 24, though, and when Rengifo hit the injured list for good a few days later, Harris became an emergency platoon starter in left field. Neither guy offers upside the way the game likes it served, these days. Each has 30-grade bat speed, by big-league standards. Neither is exceptional defensively, though both are fast and athletic enough to make up for the occasional misread. Since Harris made his Padres debut, though, this duo is hitting an aggregate .312/.363/.422. They're far from the sexiest part of the Padres' dramatic late-season offensive upswing, but they've been superb at the plate. They keep the line moving. They make things happen. And they do it in interesting, unusual ways. Taylor's is capable of filling up the big part of the field, with a swing geared for line drives back through the box. His signature move, though, is the bunt hit—and not even a typical one. Of his seven bunt singles this season, Taylor has pushed almost all of them toward first base. Normally, a righty trying to bunt for a hit will drag the ball up the third-base line, forcing the pitcher to pounce and make a play moving away from his target or a third baseman to charge quickly and make a clean pick and throw. That maneuver requires some skill, but it's as much about maximizing the space the defense has to cover and the length of the throw as anything else; the runner's speed is the most important element of the tactic. Not so with Taylor. He's developed a devilish skill of pushing the ball almost straight down, but managing the spin of it with his lumber. The ball hits the dirt in front of the plate and bounces high (but not far) toward first base, making a hard read for a pitcher coming off the mound and for a first baseman who might need to charge. Meanwhile. Taylor himself screens the catcher momentarily as he breaks from the box, and he drops his bat right in the path the catcher might take to the ball. It's difficult to do, but even harder to defend—and Taylor seems to have mastered getting it down. NnlNQXZfWGw0TUFRPT1fQkFkVlVRY0NWQW9BV1ZNQ0JRQUhCZ2RXQUFBRVcxRUFCMVpUVlZJTVZGVlZBd05Y.mp4 This skill is especially valuable when Taylor is in a platoon role, too. A lefty pitcher who falls off the mound toward third base is in even worse position to field that dribbler up the first-base line than a righty would be; the spatial puzzle becomes almost unsolvable for the defense. TDY1bG5fWGw0TUFRPT1fQmdaUlVBWlFYd01BQVZwWEJRQUhBMUpmQUZnTVd3QUFDbEJVVTFjRVZRY0VCRllF.mp4 Taylor's speed and bunting skills create chaos. So does Harris's management of space, in a different way. Like Taylor, he has a slow but short and direct swing. Unlike Taylor, he also stands as close to the front of the batter's box as just about any hitter in the league. His swing is not geared to generate any meaningful chance of extra-base hits. It's no coincidence that Harris has no home runs this year. However, he's also striking out at a 13.2% clip, and a healthy share of the balls he puts in play so relentlessly are line drives that feel indefensible, even if they never have a hope of being more than a single. WU9WeXJfWGw0TUFRPT1fVXdoVFVBQldVUWNBQ2dRQVVRQUhWUTVWQUZnR1YxVUFDbFpVQWdSUVV3TmNBZ2RR.mp4 For a pretty big guy to have so little power feels wrong. Again, Harris doesn't play great defense, despite his speed. It's easy to see why teams have been reluctant to give either Harris or Taylor significant playing time. As a tandem, though, they're part of a dynamic team that can beat you in a wide variety of ways. They're not just hitting for average. They move runners over. They've stolen 19 bases in 23 combined tries. It's tempting to say that a team like the Padres will go as far as its stars take it. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado are the heart of the lineup and the roster, and Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and the rest of that game-shortening bullpen make this team intimidating in a short series. October is beguiling, though. The game's history is chock-full of unlikely postseason heroes. Entering this postseason, it feels just possible that the X-factor for the Padres will be a left-field platoon cobbled together in response to injuries, comprising two guys several other teams didn't want and who have ridden a lot more buses than first-class flights. View the full article

The first round of the postseason is set, and the Cubs head to San Diego to take on the Padres. Let's preview the series at Petco Park!View the full article

It's certainly been a wild few months for South Florida sports. Unremarkable on the field—the Heat, Marlins, and Panthers all missed the playoffs, while the Dolphins spent the summer projected to make a real run at going 0-17. However, there has been borderline cataclysmic change to the way sports is covered in this market. The Miami Herald was gutted in recent weeks, with Greg Cote and Michelle Kauffman headlining the layoffs. Three months prior, the Sun Sentinel fired Dave Hyde. Voices that shaped the way sports were understood in Miami for decades abruptly cast aside. It's been tough, and every writer let go this summer deserved better. At the same time all of this is going on, a Miami Marlins legend has also called it a career. Fortunately, he has gotten the opportunity to do so entirely on his own terms, featuring a full-season retirement tour and special pregame ceremony at loanDepot park. I'm speaking, of course, of Tommy Hutton. Aside from what we'll call the Wilderness Period of 2016 through early 2018, Hutton was a part of the Marlins broadcast crew since 1997. If you care about this team, follow them on any kind of a regular basis, then it's a safe bet that the way you know and love the game of baseball was shaped by his insight and passion. Back when the news first broke that this season would be Hutton's swan song, I made the case on another platform for him needing to be a lock for the 2027 Marlins Hall of Fame class. Suffice it to say, you can expect a refresh of that for this site this spring. Historically, it has been rare for anyone associated with this franchise to get a storybook ending to their tenure. Hutton's longtime broadcast partner Rich Waltz didn't get it, at least not until Sunday when the team helped facilitate his return to the booth for one last inning with Tommy. That emotional reunion coincided with a Griffin Conine home run; the moment would have only been more perfect for Marlins fans if the two had taken a moment to let us know his name wasn't DAN UGGLA. Sunday afternoon went a long way towards righting last decade's wrong of splitting up Waltz and Hutton. Everyone involved deserves a ton of credit for that. It was just great seeing a man so involved with so much of this team's history go out because he chose to do so at 80 years young, rather than having that choice forced on him. It was a moment that meant a lot on the Marlins fan front and quite a bit just in terms of the local sports coverage front as well. Congrats, Tommy, and thank you. View the full article

Boston will hand the ball to left-hander Payton Tolle for Tuesday's 8:00 p.m. Eastern start to the Wild Card round. New York counters with right-hander Cam Schlittler, an AL Cy Young favorite and the man who started the game that closed out the Red Sox season last year. The Yankees (93-68) took the regular-season series 7-6 over the Red Sox (87-75), and they will be without Aaron Judge, who is not expected to be available after straining his right calf. Tolle enters on six days of rest after finishing his regular season on Sept. 22 against Cleveland. He posted a 3.03 ERA and 1.10 WHIP across 26 starts, with 171 strikeouts against 40 walks in 148 2/3 innings. His September was the best stretch of his year: 17 2/3 innings, three earned runs, 24 strikeouts and three walks. He has also handled New York well. In two starts against the Yankees, Tolle allowed one earned run on four hits over 13 innings, with 18 strikeouts. That included seven one-hit, scoreless innings on June 26. Without Judge, the Yankees lineup is quite a bit thinner. Ben Rice was one of the few who finished the season strong. He hit .333/.450/.605 in 100 September plate appearances, with six home runs and 17 walks against 21 strikeouts, to cap a 41-homer season. He is 1-for-3 against Tolle, and his numbers against lefties are more modest: .246/.321/.452 on the year. Cody Bellinger posted .287/.308/.494 with five home runs in 91 plate appearances but is hitless in three trips against Tolle. Heliot Ramos is expected to handle most of the right-field work with Judge out and hasn't faced Tolle. He hit .255/.323/.491 in September and has a .297/.383/.525 line against lefties across his two stops this year. Paul Goldschmidt hit .299/.393/.573 with 11 home runs in 183 plate appearances against left-handers. Payton Tolle vs. New York Yankees: Current Batters Table Payton Tolle vs. New York Yankees: Current Batters Table Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP 1 Amed Rosario R 6 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .167 .167 .167 .333 0 0 0 0 0 2 José Caballero R 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 .200 .000 .200 0 0 0 0 0 3 Jazz Chisholm Jr. L 5 5 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 .200 .200 .800 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 4 Cody Bellinger L 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 5 Paul Goldschmidt R 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 6 Ben Rice L 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .333 .667 0 0 0 0 0 7 Spencer Jones L 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 8 Ali Sánchez R 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 9 Anthony Volpe R 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 10 Austin Wells L 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 9/28/2026. Schlittler finished the regular season with a 1.95 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 239 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings. He was even better down the stretch: 30 September innings, four earned runs, 38 strikeouts and seven walks. Boston has had no answer for him. In four starts against the Red Sox, he went 2-1 with a 0.74 ERA, allowing 15 hits over 24 1/3 innings while striking out 27. The hitters on Boston's current roster are a combined 12-for-64 (.188) against him, with four walks and 19 strikeouts in 71 plate appearances. His one wobble against the Sox came on Aug. 28, when he walked five in 5 2/3 innings, but he still didn't allow a run. His final regular-season start on Sept. 24 lasted only three innings and 70 pitches. Cam Schlittler vs. Boston Red Sox: Current Batters Table Cam Schlittler vs. Boston Red Sox: Current Batters Table Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP 1 Wilyer Abreu L 12 9 2 1 0 0 0 1 3 .222 .300 .333 .633 0 0 0 0 0 2 Willson Contreras R 12 12 1 1 0 0 1 0 5 .083 .083 .167 .250 0 0 0 0 0 3 Jarren Duran L 12 11 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .182 .167 .182 .348 0 1 0 0 0 4 Ceddanne Rafaela R 12 11 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .364 .417 .364 .780 0 0 0 0 0 5 Caleb Durbin R 11 9 2 0 0 1 2 2 2 .222 .364 .556 .919 0 0 0 0 0 6 Adley Rutschman B 6 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .167 .167 .167 .333 0 0 0 0 1 7 Nick Sogard B 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 8 Trevor Story R 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 1 Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 9/28/2026. This will serve as our game thread for the game, so log in and join the conversation! View the full article

The Milwaukee Brewers' farm system continued to produce plenty of intriguing offensive talent throughout the 2026 season. Several young hitters took significant steps forward and established themselves as pieces of the organization's future. There were breakout performances throughout the system, anywhere from Triple-A Nashville to Single-A Wilson, and now that the minor-league seasons have wrapped up, it's time to see who had the best season among the Brewers’ future stars. So, which hitters stood out the most in 2026? Here are the top five candidates for the Milwaukee Brewers Minor League Hitter of the Year, along with some honorable mentions. HONORABLE MENTIONS Jesus Made – 122 G, .271./.344/.430 (.774), 24 2B, 6 3B, 14 HR, 103 wRC+, 10.2 BB%, 14.3 K%, 37 SB Brady Ebel – 115 G, .252/.413/.406 (.819), 26 2B, 4 3B, 10 HR, 124 wRC+, 19.5 BB%, 21.1 K%, 40 SB Daniel Dickinson – 120 G, .283/.428/.438 (.866), 26 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, 131 wRC+, 17.4 BB%, 20.1 K%, 61 SB Eric Bitonti – 117 G, .262/.378/.507 (.885), 27 2B, 1 3B, 25 HR, 122 wRC+, 15.9 BB%, 33.3 K%, 24 SB Pay special attention to Made's line. He had a terrific season, for a teenager taking on Double-A. He's the No. 1 prospect in baseball. It's extremely telling that, in this organization, that doesn't even get you automatic admittance to the top five. 5. OF Luis Lara – Nashville Sounds, Milwaukee Brewers 78 G, .321/.432/.470 (.902), 10 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 144 wRC+, 15.6 BB%, 13.9 K%, 24 SB Made was considered for this spot, but Luis Lara deserved to get his flowers. Lara’s unexpected power surge was one of the big stories of the early season, and it eventually led to a long-term extension with the club. The 21-year-old may not have showcased that kind of power at the big-league level so far, but his speed, on-base skills, and defense have been valuable for the Brewers ever since he was called up. Had he played more in the minors this season, he’d be higher on the list, but Lara is one of the primary success stories for the Brewers' farm system this year and a key part of the future of the outfield. 4. 1B Blake Burke – Biloxi Shuckers, Nashville Sounds 127 G, .263/.350/.538 (.889), 28 2B, 3 3B, 34 HR, 127 wRC+, 10.2 BB%, 25.7 K%, 29 SB Burke, a first-round pick by the Brewers in 2024, reached Biloxi in his first full minor-league season in 2025 and built on that success this year, slugging over .600 at Double-A before earning a promotion to Nashville for the end of the season. While Burke struggled to a slash line of .193/.299/.336 in 137 plate appearances with the Sounds, the 23-year-old should be able to build on this season and start knocking on the big-league door in 2027. 3. CF Braylon Payne – Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Biloxi Shuckers 102 G, .277/.358/.552 (.910), 21 2B, 4 3B, 28 HR, 127 wRC+, 10.5 BB%, 29.1 K%, 25 SB Payne is currently the Brewers’ 6th-ranked prospect according to MLB.com, and he's 4th according to Brewer Fanatic’s rankings. Another first-round pick from 2024, the 20-year-old showcased a great power-speed combination for the Timber Rattlers, hitting 23 homers and stealing 22 bases before earning a promotion to Biloxi. Payne more then held his own as a very young player at Double-A, slashing .277/.321/.525 in 110 plate appearances with the Shuckers. Payne unlocked something this season, upgrading from his 2025 OPS of .736 and his wRC+ of 114, and he’ll look to continue climbing the system in 2027,—probably starting back in Biloxi with the Shuckers. 2. LF Josh Adamczewski – Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Biloxi Shuckers 116 G, .300/.417/.509 (.926), 27 2B, 2 3B, 18 HR, 142 wRC+, 15.8 BB%, 19.2 K%, 18 SB A 15th-round pick in 2023, Adamczewski has rocketed up to become the 3rd-ranked prospect in the Brewers system. Adamczewski showcased a strong, balanced offensive profile in 2025, finishing with a .320/.420/.490 line while splitting time between rookie ball, Single-A, and High-A. The 21-year-old built on that success in 2026, posting a 1.037 OPS through 211 plate appearances before earning the call-up to Biloxi. His numbers weren’t as amazing there, but they were still very good, slashing .278/.382/.465 in 283 plate appearances with the Shuckers. Adamczewski would’ve been the clear choice for the No. 1 spot on this list in a regular year, but make no mistake: he's an offensive threat moving forward, and hopefully a more permanent defensive home can be found for him in 2027. Brewers Minor League Hitter of the Year: 3B/1B Andrew Fischer – Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Biloxi Shuckers 126 G, .273/.413/.654 (1.066), 17 2B, 3 3B, 48 HR, 162 wRC+,18.2 BB%, 33.0 K%, 9 SB There truly was no other choice but Fischer. The 22-year-old showcased his elite power throughout the season, starting with a strong performance in the World Baseball Classic with Team Italy, helping them reach the semifinals of the tournament before losing to the eventual champions, Team Venezuela. Since then, Fischer hit 50 total home runs: 48 in the regular season and 2 more in the playoffs with the Shuckers. He now has the most dingers in a single minor-league season this century, surpassing Ryan Howard’s season in 2004. The high strikeout and whiff rates will always be issues, but if he hits this many bombs, it certainly makes up for that. This is a type of player the Brewers usually aren’t accustomed to with their style of play, and if Fischer continues this production to the big-league level, he could be one of the best power bats in the league—and a jolt of electricity for an already high-voltage lineup. View the full article

The 2025 Royals had clear issues in the lineup that needed to be addressed. Their main goals were to find an everyday left fielder, right-handed outfield options to platoon with Kyle Isbel and Jac Caglianone, and solidify second base. How did J.J. Picollo, with the benefit of hindsight, fare in addressing these needs? These grades are based on a mixture of the decision at the time it was made combined with how the season eventually panned out. Trading For Isaac Collins Collins was acquired from the Brewers along with Nick Mears in exchange for Angel Zerpa. Left field was a position of difficulty for the Royals in 2025. All 13 players who played in left combined for a 75 wRC+ and -0.7 fWAR, which ranked 29th and 28th, respectively, in the majors in 2025. Collins was brought in to solidify that position. In one respect, Collins succeeded in solidifying left field. Collins accounted for 78% of the plate appearances from Royals left fielders in 2026. He also provided a noticeable improvement in offensive production with a slash line of .214/.321/.324 with an 84 wRC+ and 0.2 fWAR. However, his wRC+ and fWAR rank second-to-last and last among qualified primary left fielders. Collins was brought in for his on-base skills and plate discipline, but he saw a noticeable decline in his xwOBA from .322 in 2025 to .294 in 2026, which places him in the 15th percentile in the majors. Collins still has four years of team control remaining, so his story in Kansas City is far from over. However, in order for the Royals to push for an improved 2027, they might consider moving on from Collins or relegating him to the bench as a fourth outfielder. Grade: B- Signing Lane Thomas Thomas was signed to a one-year deal, worth $5.25 million. He was signed for a relatively low salary after an injury-plagued 2025, in which he played only 39 games. He was signed to be a right-handed platoon bat, but ultimately saw more playing time in center field as Isbel spent an extended period on the IL. Thomas slashed .232/.326/.393 with a 102 wRC+ and 0.8 fWAR. All of those marks represent an improvement over Isbel, at least offensively. With the Royals being sellers at the trade deadline, Thomas’s versatility and offensive improvement made him a natural trade candidate. Thomas was sent to the Braves with Bailey Falter in exchange for a couple of minor-league starting pitchers in Lucas Braun and Carter Holton. While neither pitcher made the Royals Keep top prospects list, Braun is ranked the 16th-best prospect in the Royals’ system according to MLB.com and 27th according to FanGraphs. Holton is ranked 28th according to FanGraphs. Ultimately, Thomas offered improved offensive output in center field and was able to net the Royals a couple of prospects in a trade before he was set to re-enter free agency. Time will tell if either prospect is able to make an impression for the Royals in the future, but not all impending free agents are able to be traded. Grade: A Signing Starling Marte Marte was also brought in on a cheap one-year contract worth $1 million. His main role was to be a platoon option for Caglianone in right field and provide an additional option at designated hitter. Marte’s time in Kansas City was not a success. He slashed .242/.298/.314 with a 71 wRC+ and -0.5 fWAR. Despite being brought in to be a right-handed platoon bat, his wRC+ only improved to 79, worse than his platoon partner Caglianone, who has posted a 92 wRC+ against lefties. Marte’s regression ultimately opened the door for Caglianone to start against lefties and take on his role as an everyday player. Unlike Thomas, Marte’s performance was not good enough to entice possible trade partners at the deadline. He was released on August 19th and has remained a free agent since then. While his time in Kansas City was not successful, the low contract prevents this from tanking his grade. Grade: D Retaining Jonathan India Not a new signing, but there was a decision to be made for India's future in Kansas City. India was brought in the previous year to be the Royals’ leadoff man. After an underwhelming 2025 season where he slashed .233/.323/.346 with an 89 wRC+ and -0.2 fWAR, he was a non-tender candidate. Letting India go would have allowed the Royals extra salary budget to spread across improving the team while keeping Michael Massey, Nick Loftin, and Tyler Tolbert on the 40-man roster to play second base. The Royals decided to pay India, and they agreed to an $8 million contract in his last year before hitting free agency. The contract did not go well for the Royals since, after only 17 games played and 58 plate appearances, his season ended to undergo labral repair on his left shoulder. While the injury itself should not be held against the Royals, it highlights the downside of committing $8 million to a player who already had legitimate questions surrounding his ability to contribute. The questionable decision resulted in a disastrous outcome. Grade: F Minor-League Deals Josh Rojas Rojas was signed to a minor league contract in the offseason. Rojas was looking for a bounce-back season after slashing .180/.252/.259 with a 43 wRC+ last season with the White Sox. Rojas was never meant to be an everyday player for the Royals, but he offered major-league experience and was available to be called up when Maikel Garcia hit the injured list. His slash line of .238/.278/.337 with a 68 wRC+ was not flashy, but certainly an improvement from last season. Grade: C Elias Diaz Diaz was signed as the third catcher on a minor league contract. The former All-Star catcher offered insurance in case Jensen had a slow start to his first full season in the majors. With a slash line of .227/.261/.591 with a 127 wRC+, Diaz made the most of his small sample of 23 plate appearances in Kansas City before being released in June. Grade: C Kameron Misner Misner was acquired in a trade for a player to be named later (Matthew Hoskins). Misner showed promising signs in Triple-A Omaha, slashing .286/.378/.563 with a 137 wRC+ that earned him a call-up to the majors on June 10. He failed to carry that strong start to Kansas City, where he slashed .220/.256/.244 with a 37 wRC+ before being designated for assignment on July 22. A few days later, he was traded to the Phillies for cash considerations. Misner was a low-risk player for whom they gave up very little and were ultimately able to get some (albeit small) return when he left. Grade: D Overall, the Royals offense improved in 2026. The team as a whole went from a 93 wRC+ to a 97 wRC+. However, with the exception of Collins, all offseason acquisitions are either already out of the organization or set to hit free agency. Most of the improvements in offense can be attributed to the emergence of Caglianone and Carter Jensen. To take the next step offensively in 2027, the Royals will need to add more production to this lineup that still has room for improvement. View the full article

The regular season is over. The good news is that the Chicago Cubs are in the playoffs for the second consecutive season. In a season in which the pitching staff was ravaged by injury and ineffectiveness, the offense (which led baseball in OPS and runs scored) was enough to keep the team firmly in the Wild Card picture. September was a rollercoaster in itself, as the Cubs went 11-13, moving from likely hosting the Phillies for the NL Wild Card Series to a set in San Diego. The Padres went 18-6 in September, only losing one series in the entire month. There's no question who the hotter team is right now, with the Cubs ending the season on a weird series loss against Boston that featured a game played at Tropicana Field, and the Friars winning a home series versus the Diamondbacks, ending their playoff hopes in game 162. If the Cubs want another rematch with Milwaukee in the divisional round, they will need to go through the hottest team in baseball, who own a 51-30 record at home. Here's a look at some statistics that will loom large during this best-of-three set. First under the microscope is the Padres’ offense, which has been a tale of two halves. Before the All-Star break, their .673 team OPS and 379 runs scored were last in the majors. Fernando Tatis Jr.’s power outage was still ongoing, as he came into the break with only five homers. Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill each had an OPS closer to .600 than .700, and the 33-year-old Manny Machado seemed to be turning into a one-dimensional slugger with a rising strikeout rate and a .708 OPS that was propped up by 19 bombs. The offense was “carried” by Gavin Sheets, and aged castoff Nick Castellanos was still getting regular playing time. The Cubs are 5-1 against San Diego this season, including taking two of three in April at Petco Park, but that might as well be a season ago, as the Padres have seemingly forgotten all about that first half offensive slump. The bats woke up, to say the least. Their .781 team OPS trails only the Cubs, and their 5.2 runs per game is tied with Milwaukee for the second-highest, once again behind only the Cubs. Tatis’s power came back, as he launched 20 second-half home runs, while posting a batting average above .300. Since hitting his first homer of the year at the absurdly late date of May 30, he has a .914 OPS. Jackson Merrill and Ty France each hit over .300 with an OPS north of .900 in over 270 plate appearances. This second-half surge certainly would not have been possible without the contributions from role players and bench bats like Samad Taylor, Austin Hays and Dustin Harris, proving hitting to be contagious. Jake Cronenworth was the only regular with an OPS under .700 in the second half, but the rest of the lineup was able to mask the veteran infielder’s worst statistical season yet. In September alone, the swingin’ Friars led baseball in OPS and slugging, while smashing 33 homers, which was tied for the sixth most. The Cubs pitching staff needs to hope old trends die slowly: the Padres have slashed only .230/.287/.371 in eight home playoff games since 2021. Speaking of the Cubs pitching, the key to win is to avoid the bullpen for as long as possible. The bullpen has been pitching better during the last month of regular season play, as their relief corps has a 3.95 collective xERA, 13th-best in baseball. Ryan Zeferjahn has looked like the guy they thought they traded for, posting a 2.14 xERA with a strong strikeout rate. Ryan Rolison has cemented himself as the club’s most trusted lefty over Caleb Thielbar, and Daniel Palencia is finally appearing healthy and closer to the force we saw last season. As a whole, the Cubs’ 2026 bullpen has been worth -0.6 fWAR, which was only higher than the Nationals and Royals. Craig Counsell will roll with Matthew Boyd in Game 1. The wily southpaw is the hot hand, having allowed only two earned runs in his last two starts. After that, it will be one of the trade deadline acquisitions; either Kevin Gausman or Clay Holmes. Gausman has the postseason experience, which may give him the edge for Game 2, but Holmes is having the stronger season—although each of them have an ERA over 4.00 on the road. Another important stat to note is that the Cubs pitching staff is pretty damn good when not allowing homers. Thanks to a good defense and their ability to avoid walks, they get more value than everyone but the Dodgers and Rays from all outcomes other than the long ball. The problem, of course, is that only the A's allowed more homers this year. The Padres are bottom-third in the league in home runs at home, so with any luck, they'll be forced to generate traffic on the bases to score runs, which is easier said than done against the Cubs’ elite defense. The Padres will counter Boyd with Michael King in Game 1. King has been their best starter this season, and owns a 2.74 ERA at home, although he was touched for five runs against the Dodgers in his last start of the regular season. After him, it should be Nick Pivetta, who has only made eight starts this season due to injury but has allowed only three earned runs in four starts since his return from the IL. Should the series go to three games, the Padres could turn to Randy Vasquez, but he did start the final game of the season on Sunday, wherein he went six innings against Arizona. The other options are veterans Robbie Ray and Walker Buehler, but each of them have been shaky of late, and Buehler was the starter when the Cubs scored 23 runs on July 1. Should the series go to three games, the Cubs should have an advantage with their starting pitching. The Cubs will need to score early and often against the starters, because if they falter, rookie manager Craig Stammen can turn to the best bullpen in baseball, anchored by closer Mason Miller and his 47.4% strikeout rate. The bullpen as a whole has been worth 8.9 fWAR, and has the lowest xERA in the game. After Miller, they can lean on Adrian Morejon, Bradgley Rodriguez and Yuki Matsui, who have a combined 4.6 fWAR. Southpaws Morejon and Matsui will each play a major role this series to deal with Pete Crow-Armstrong, as well as Michael Busch, and Ian Happ, who has been a non-factor against left-handed pitching this season. Matt Shaw and Tyrone Taylor will probably pinch-hit in key situations against a lefty, with the Padres going with a right-handed starter for at least two out of the three games. Speaking of right-handed hitters, Seiya Suzuki collected four hits in the two games he started back in the April series at Petco, but this was so long ago that Crow-Armstrong was still hitting ninth most games. The Cubs still have the league’s highest-scoring offense on the road, so there should be some optimism for the lineup to continue to rake at Petco Park. For the Cubs to win this series against the team they bounced from the playoffs last fall, they'll to need to hit early and build a significant lead for their bullpen, which should be able to hold a lead under limited exposure. In the 2025 Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field, the Cubs didn't have a starter pitch more than 4 1/3 innings, but this year’s team has a (hoefully) more reliable rotation—and they need to get five or six innings from someone. If the Padres get to their bullpen with a comfortable lead, they can shorten the game to seven innings with the back end of their bullpen. This is not the same Padres team the Cubs hosted last year. They're the hottest team in baseball, with the best bullpen and a lineup where nearly everyone is hitting. The Cubs are here to show how far the bats can take them, but the Padres are out looking for revenge after an early dismissal last season. Forget about the Yankees and Red Sox or the Atlantas and Phillies. This is shaping up to be the most exciting Wild Card Series of the week. View the full article

Twenty-four different position players made at least one appearance for the Minnesota Twins in 2026. That includes seven rookies who made their MLB debuts, several long-tenured veterans who might have been reaching the end of the road in this organization, and everything in between. The sum result was a losing season, but the offense took meaningful steps forward, and so did the defense over the course of the year. Many faces played a role in helping shaping this year's story, and here we're going to evaluate each one. Read on to find my grades for all 24 hitters who appeared for the Twins this year, in order of plate appearances. Josh Bell (631 PA): B- Did what he was signed to do, driving in the most runs (96) of any Twins hitter in the past five years. Lack of fielding value and unspectacular overall production mitigated his impact, but Bell mostly delivered as promised on the one-year deal. Brooks Lee (631 PA): B After a brutal run at shortstop, he found his defensive home at third base and popped 24 home runs to emerge as one of the Minnesota's steadiest players. Underlying metrics are not promising (.281 xwOBA) and his inability to draw walks remains an issue, but this was undeniably a big step forward for Lee. Luke Keaschall (620 PA): B+ Poor defense and a slow start are the only factors keeping him out of the A-grade range. Keaschall was an on-base machine from May 1st forward, slashing .301/.402/.446. Increased power output in the second half was highly encouraging. Also stole 17 bases. Kody Clemens (583 PA): A- He was what the Twins needed him to be, and then some. Led the team with 27 home runs while also leading the American League with seven triples. Proved highly versatile defensively, making 20+ starts at four different positions (1B, 2B, LF, RF) and nine in center field. Authored the greatest moment of the season (walk-off grand slam). Lack of OBP (.298) his only real drawback. Royce Lewis (509 PA): D+ It feels like the promise of his early days is gone. We saw a flash of dominance during his brief demotion to the minors, and for a brief spell following his return, but Lewis never could harness anything sustainably in the majors, finishing with mediocre production that played worse at first than at third. Trevor Larnach (433 PA): B- One of the Twins' best hitters early on, he faded in the second half. Still finished with a very good 120 OPS+ that ranked third on the team, but that figure overstates his value as a platooned corner outfielder with a bad glove. Byron Buxton (408 PA): B A similar story to Larnach except that Buxton was even better in the first half with an even bigger (injury-driven) drop-off in the second half. Buxton's All-Star performance in center field before the hip issues surfaced are enough to earn him a strong grade despite providing almost no value in the last two months. Victor Caratini (382 PA): D+ Generally very unimpressive. He had one spectacular month (June) but was otherwise close to a zero offensively, with so-so glovework behind the plate. It's telling that when they were fighting to keep their season alive in September, the Twins buried Caratini on the bench. Hopefully better things ahead in Year 2 of the contract as the (gulp) likely starting catcher. Ryan Jeffers (369 PA): A- Missed two months with a fractured hamate and struggled to control the running game defensively. Slumped to the finish line. Outside of that, Jeffers was phenomenal. He was one of the best hitters on the team and among the best-hitting catchers in baseball. Replacing his impact will be a top challenge for the front office this offseason. Austin Martin (358 PA): C- Got off to an outstanding start with a .466 OBP and .889 OPS through 35 games, but it was all downhill from there — Martin batted .181 the rest of the way and his role shrunk significantly. Still reasonably effective overall as a platoon player with a .379 OBP against LHP, but limitation to outfield corners holds back his utility. Ryan Kreidler (267 PA): C+ Pretty much as advertised. Good glove all over the field, not much bat, although he did surpass offensive expectations by popping seven homers and keeping his OPS in the mid-600s. Tristan Gray (188 PA): F The Twins inexplicably stuck with him for way too long. Exhibited zero standout tools: poor hitting, poor fielding and minimal running speed. Matt Wallner (135 PA): F Banished to the minors permanently after slashing .167/.259/.292 with terrible defense and a team-worst WPA in 34 games. It is all but certain that Wallner has reached the end of the line in Minnesota. Kaelen Culpepper (128 PA): B Very solid debut with talent that was plain to see. Showed some real pop including a home run in his first big-league game. Had good and bad moments at shortstop but flashed a big arm. Plate approach needs some work. Alan Roden (94 PA): B Much better showing than last year, with a .291/.376/.392 slash line better reflecting the ability shown in his minor-league performance. Still he struggled to find opportunities, which speaks to his conundrum in the Twins outfield as younger and better options pass him by. Walker Jenkins (89 PA): B- Shook off a 4-for-45 start to slash .385/.400/.615 with three homers in his last 10 games. Still finished with a sub-.700 OPS but the adjustments were awesome to see, and Jenkins does look like a legitimate center fielder. Alex Jackson (73 PA): B Banked a .309 average and 114 OPS+ despite a very ugly 24-to-2 K/BB ratio. Good defense behind the plate when he had the chance to play. As a third catcher his main function was bench-warming but he's in line for a bigger role next year. James Outman (70 PA): F Batted .146 with a .479 OPS before being waived in June. Orlando Arcia (50 PA): C Perfectly adequate when given chances to play, batting .271 with minimal power and patience in 50 plate appearances. Emmanuel Rodriguez (48 PA): C+ Showed huge raw power, with a home run in his first MLB at-bat and five extra-base hits in 13 games. Crushed almost everything he made contact with. But the well-established contact concerns are real: 16 strikeouts and surprisingly only three walks. Ben Ross (21 PA): D Batted .190 with 11 strikeouts and no walks in 21 plate appearances during a late-season audition. He did rip a few extra-base hits and ran the bases well while playing all around the infield. Has a chance to carve out an MLB bench role. Kyler Fedko (19 PA): F Barely played during his call-up, going 1-for-16 with eight strikeouts. He was released from the minors in September and quickly signed with Pittsburgh. Gabriel Gonzalez (11 PA): C Made only 11 plate appearances with the Twins, contributing a couple singles and a couple walks. Needs to show he can be trusted defensively, either at first or in an outfield corner. Aaron Sabato (6 PA): F It was very cool to see him get an opportunity in September, but not sure how we can give him a passing grade when he we went 0-for-6 with three strikeouts in his handful of MLB at-bats. For a losing team, there’s a surprising amount to feel good about here. Keaschall established himself as a foundational piece, Clemens authored a career year, and late arrivals like Culpepper, Jenkins and Rodriguez gave the Twins a tantalizing glimpse of what their next core could look like. Now comes the hard part. With Buxton coming off major surgery and Lewis potentially on the way out while several young players push for bigger opportunities, the Twins enter the offseason with more offensive talent — but also plenty of decisions about how it all fits together. Check back tomorrow for my grades on all 32 pitchers who appeared for the Twins this season. View the full article

After breaking down the Royals' position-player prospects who earned organizational awards in a post over the weekend, we are moving on to the pitchers. The Royals have two awards for pitchers in the farm system: the Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year award and the Dan Quisenberry Reliever of the Year award. The latter is a new award this season. In addition to those two awards, I want to highlight one pitcher named Baseball America's Royals Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He didn't earn an organizational award because he played between two levels and pitched fewer innings than the Splittorff Award winner. However, this pitcher was every bit as dominant, perhaps slightly more so when looking at particular metrics. Let's look at three Royals pitching prospects who had excellent Minor League campaigns in 2026. Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year: David Shields, LHP, Quad Cities After winning Carolina League Pitcher of the Year last season in Columbia, Shields had a solid first season in High-A Quad Cities, including Midwest League Pitcher of the Year honors. As a 19-year-old, Shields posted a 4.01 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 116.1 IP. His FIP was solid at 2.78, and he posted a 29.7% K% and a 23.7% K-BB%. He was hurt a little more this year by the long ball, as his 11.6% HR/FB% was 4.6% higher than his rate in the Carolina League a season ago. And yet, despite that increase in HR/FB% and ERA, Shields managed a second straight Splittorff Award. Shields may be the most pure strikeout artist in the Royals organization. He posted a 28.5% K% last year and a 23.5% K-BB% with the Fireflies in 2025. The lefty out of the Pittsburgh area is a strike machine, as evidenced by his 64.7% strike% and 29.9% CSW with the River Bandits this year. Lastly, he does a good job of generating ground balls for outs, as illustrated by his 44.7% GB%. The 2024 second-round pick will likely matriculate to Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2027 and could matriculate to the Major Leagues quickly if he continues to perform as he did in High-A and Low-A ball. Shields doesn't have an elite fastball by any means (it averages 92-94 MPH), but his solid breaking ball and excellent command have helped him generate a lot of swinging strikes (82nd percentile) and a ton of chase as well (95th percentile O-Swing%). With the Royals needing top-of-the-rotation pitching in the long term, Shields could compete for a roster spot in Spring Training. While it's unlikely he will make the Opening Day roster out of camp in Arizona, he should get some exposure to MLB hitters in Surprise, which should help prep him for the upcoming Double-A campaign. Dan Quisenberry Reliever of the Year: L.P. Langevin, RHP, Quad Cities A fourth-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Louisiana Lafayette, Langevin has long been known for having one of the best fastballs in the Royals' farm system. However, in 2026, it seemed like Langevin not only put it all together control-wise, but he also stayed healthy, something that has prevented him from generating more attention as a prospect. After only pitching 21.1 innings in High-A and Rookie ball in 2025 (5.91 ERA and 3.99 FIP), the Quebec-born righty accumulated 55.1 IP in 40 appearances. In that sample, he generated an insane 44.9% K% and 28.4% K-BB%. Yes, the walks were high (16.5% BB%), but he seemed to harness his control a bit, especially in the Midwest League playoffs. In four games, he collected two saves and allowed no runs or walks, allowed one hit, and struck out eight. He flat-out dominated South Bend and Dayton hitters, especially in clinching games. When Jared Perkins and I talked with Royals Scouting Director Brian Bridges, he basically felt that, stuff-wise, Langevin was good enough to pitch in the Royals bullpen today. Of course, the control and command need slight tweaking, but the stuff, especially the fastball, is Major League ready. Langevin ranking in the 100th percentile in Whiff% and CSW% this year shows fans the upside he could provide to the Royals bullpen soon. What makes Langevin even more impressive is that his mindset is perfect for the bullpen, especially in high-leverage situations. Growing up as a hockey player in Quebec, Canada, has rubbed off on him. In our interview, Langevin talked about his "attacking" mindset and trusting his stuff to blow hitters away. Like Shields, Langevin will move up to Double-A in 2027. However, he could move up even quicker than Shields. If Langevin dominates Texas League hitters and his control continues to develop (as it did in 2026), it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to see him make his Royals debut after the All-Star Break next season. Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year: Kendry Chourio While he didn't win an official award from the Royals, Chourio was one of the best pitchers in the Royals' farm system this past year. In 90.2 IP between High-A and Low-A ball, the 18-year-old posted a 2.48 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 3.11 FIP, a 25.7% K%, and 20.9% K-BB%. Surprisingly, Chourio was MORE effective as a strikeout pitcher in High-A. His 28.3% K% and 23.5% K-BB% with the River Bandits were much better than his 23.4% K% and 18.6% K-BB% with the Fireflies. That shows Chourio is maturing as a pitcher at each level, and his stuff (85th percentile SwStr%) and control (93rd percentile Strike%) are as good as advertised. As a result, Baseball America not only recognized Chourio as the Royals' best pitching prospect, but the best player in the system, period. Seeing Chourio on this list with other decorated prospects like the Dodgers' Josue De Paula, Mariners' Kade Anderson, and Padres' Ethan Salas is impressive, especially since all three made their MLB debuts this season. Even though he's still a teenager, Chourio shows incredible poise on the mound, especially in big spots. In a clinching road game against the South Bend Cubs, he absolutely shoved with 4 1/3 scoreless innings and six strikeouts. The Cubs were one of the best teams in the Midwest League this year, and the Venezuelan teenager made them look foolish. Chourio will likely move through the Royals' system at a slower pace, mostly because of his age. However, Chourio's stuff is legitimate, and he showed in High-A ball that he can adjust to tougher competition, even midseason. Because he had fewer innings, it wouldn't be surprising to see Chourio start the 2027 season in High-A Quad Cities again. That said, just like last year, he won't be there for long if he dominates (again). So Royals fans should look forward to Chourio's Double-A debut at some point next season and a possible MLB ETA by 2028, especially if all goes to plan. View the full article

The Boston Red Sox's pitching staff was among the best in the American League in the second half of the season, leading the Junior Circuit in fWAR (11.5) between the rotation and bullpen, behind only the Dodgers in MLB. While the team has spent most of September with offensive problems, averaging 3.0 runs per game, the pitching has maintained the competitive pace. Although pitching will not be the Red Sox’ biggest problem heading into the Wild Card Series against the Yankees, here are some interesting trends from the second half of the season that we should keep in perspective. Brayan Bello Closed the Season On A Heater Brayan Bello is one of the pitchers who has closed the season best on the Red Sox's staff, especially since he returned from Triple-A and began pitching on July 12. In 12 of his 14 appearances during that span, opponents have scored one run or fewer against him. During this stretch, only Payton Tolle (2.3) and Sonny Gray (1.6) have recorded a better fWAR than Bello (1.2). In fact, he has been much more dominant in his last four appearances, pitching to a 0.48 ERA and 2.08 FIP with 22 strikeouts and only three walks in 18 1/3 innings. The only run he has allowed came on a home run by Jonathan Aranda on September 19 in his best outing of the entire campaign, featuring eight innings and 11 strikeouts. The key point of the dominance has been the effect of his breaking balls, which have generated more whiffs, raising their rate from 40% to 45.8%, between August and September. In addition, his opponents’ Perfect Contact rate went from 10% to 0%. His fastball is also starting to shape up; part of the process has been in the improvements to his vertical movement. After falling to 10.2 IVB in June, his worst mark, he is at 12.6 so far in September. However, although he has had a small sample, hitters are still batting .350 (7-for-20) against his fastball, including the only home run he allowed during the month. Jake Bennett’s Breaking Balls Have Stopped Fooling Hitters Jake Bennett found a better version of the sinker in this second half of the season, reducing his batting average allowed from .235 to .210 and improved his strikeout rate from 17.6% to 26.6%. But the rest of the arsenal does not show the same progression in dominance. The whiff rate of the changeup, his main weapon, fell slightly from 33.8% to 27%, while on the breaking balls, competitive swings rose to 100%. That is a signal to follow, since Bennett has gone through many innings this season surviving because of hitters’ problems identifying his pitches. His Flawed Swing rates of 18% with the cutter and 13% when he throws the curveball carry the great weight of his repertoire. Now, a key point about the contact he is allowing in this second half of the season is that opponents raised their over contact rate, increasing from 28% to 42% (i.e., how often they swung over the top of the ball). In part, other metrics show that they are getting to his breaking ball, but they are often hitting ground balls. Ranger Suárez's Fastballs Became Too Hittable The main signal with Suárez is in his fastball. Competitive swings increased from 80.9% to 94.1% in the second half, his whiffs decreased (from 12.7% to 11.8%), while his perfect contact rates practically did not change. The result has been a jump from opposing hitters against the pitch, from a .223/.255/.320 slash line to .361/.623/.412 during this second half of the season. Suárez will have to work on his command and find the corners again, since hitters of both profiles are destroying his command mistakes when the pitch hangs in the upper part of the zone. Tyron Guerrero Needs To Trust His Stuff Against Right-Handed Batters Tyron’s season has been a great story of overcoming adversity as one of the key pitchers in the Red Sox's bullpen. However, he has not been able to control his problems against right-handed hitters, allowing a .318 average after limiting them to just .205 in the first half of the season. Guerrero’s K% has also fallen dangerously from 21.4% to 13%. He has only two pitches against righties, featuring his sinker 82.2% of the time and sometimes tossing his slider in the mix. Throughout the season, the vulnerable point has been his battle to limit contact, as righties have hit .299 with a .358 slugging percentage against his sinker. The exit velocity of the 58 balls put in play is 81.9 mph. With that exit velocity, his opponents are averaging a .260 xBA, so I don’t need to tell you that they have had a little bit of luck. In contrast, Guerrero’s slider remains sharp, limiting righties to just a .125 average and .188 slugging percentage. Perhaps a better mix of his two primary offerings will yield better results (or at least combat some of that poor fortune). View the full article

It was undoubtedly a year to forget for most of the position players on this roster. The monster innings, big hits with runners in scoring position, and ferocious comebacks that the fanbase had grown accustomed to over the previous year all vanished to the detriment of the Blue Jays' chances of defending their American League title, but that's not to say there weren't bright spots. Kazuma Okamoto set a home run record for a Japanese rookie. Alejandro Kirk looked like his best self for most of the second half. Brett Bateman hit for a 151 wRC+ in September. Here were the most pivotal swings of the season for an offense that's hoping to bounce back in 2027. 5. Nathan Lukes: 2-Run HR, Bot 8, 6/28 (+39.3% WPA) At this point, the Jays were in the midst of an extended late-June swoon, succumbing to a losing streak that would become the first signal they were letting the season slip away. Just about the only life they showed at any instance in their series against Texas was this blast by Nathan Lukes, putting them on the board in the eighth and tying the game in the process. Lukes got a slider from Cole Winn that stayed on the corner down and in, a spot that so many lefties seem to love when it comes to breaking balls. 4. Alejandro Kirk: Solo HR, Bot 9, 3/28 (+47.7% WPA) Opening weekend was filled with so many memorable moments for this team, and Captain Kirk's game-tying missile in the bottom of the ninth of the middle game of that series sat near the top of the WPA leaderboard all year. Michael Kelly left a slider right over the middle of the plate, and Kirk drilled it over the wall, over the Toronto bullpen, and into the seats in left field, tying the score in a game the Jays trailed 6-2 in the seventh. Ernie Clement would win it with a single in the 11th. 3. Nathan Lukes: 2-Run HR, Top 11, 8/8 (+48.5% WPA) Between this go-ahead homer with two outs in the 11th, his game-saving outfield assist a day later, and his home run against the Rangers, Nathan Lukes had a flair for the dramatic in 2026. In fact, August 8 may well have been the Nathan Lukes Game. In the ninth, he made an impressive running grab in foul territory, avoiding a collision with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to record a huge out. Earlier in the evening, he had laid out for a sensational diving catch to end the fifth inning. Safe to say that Phillies fans were happy to not have to see him anymore after that weekend. 2. Kazuma Okamoto: 3-Run HR, Bot 8, 9/14 (+57.1% WPA) This home run elicits such conflicting emotions. On one hand, blowing the game after such a monumental swing in the middle of a playoff race is the type of misstep most teams don't recover from, and the Blue Jays certainly didn't. On the other, what a moment for Kazuma Okamoto. It felt like the first homer that truly had the potential to change the season for this team, a true no-doubter that electrified the crowd right away. Had Detroit lost, Kyle Finnegan would've wondered why he put an 0-2 fastball in that spot for a long time to come. Okamoto deserved to play in the postseason this year. Hopefully we'll see that in 2027. 1. Daulton Varsho: Walk-Off Grand Slam, Bot 10, 5/13 (+68.4% WPA) Ultimately, the now-departed Daulton Varsho's offensive struggles this year eventually overshadowed this moment, but in any discussion about clutch plays, it's hard to beat a walk-off slam. I mentioned this when I first wrote about this homer, but baseball can be an eerily symmetric sport sometimes. As it happens, Varsho also had the Jays' biggest regular season hit in 2025. That one was also a go-ahead multi-run homer against the Rays in the late innings at the Rogers Centre. That one also came with two outs and was similarly impactful in terms of win probability added (67.9%). Craziest of all: It also happened on May 13, exactly one year before this grand slam! How about that? View the full article

If things go according to plan Tuesday, nearly 45,000 San Diego Padres fans will rise from their seats in the top of the ninth inning during Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series to watch Mason Miller trot in from the bullpen to Korn’s “Blind.” It is part of his Reaper mentality that the Padres introduced to the superstar right-hander in spring training. The atmosphere, as it usually is at Petco Park, will be of pure celebration as Miller throws his warmup pitches, knowing the Friars are just three outs away from taking a 1-0 series lead against the Chicago Cubs. It is intimidating enough to face Miller, much less with 45,000 spectators whipped up by a postseason frenzy getting more intense with every strike. In baseball, home-field advantage is generally not a thing. But it can be in short spurts, like the best-of-three Wild Card Series. The Padres of all teams certainly know that. Since the best-of-three series was added for the 2022 season as the playoff field went from eight to 12 teams, the Friars have played in a Wild Card Series three of four years, missing the postseason in 2023. In each of those instances, they have been in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 series, the one between the top two wild-card teams in each league. The Padres have advanced twice, with the Cubs sending the Padres home a year ago when this same matchup happened at Wrigley Field, where things can get just as crazy as Petco Park. Only one of those 4-5 series happened at Petco Park. That was in 2024, when the Friars swept Atlanta 2-0. The other two saw the Padres on the road as the No. 5 seed, beating the New York Mets in three games in 2022 and losing last year in three games. The Wild Card Series still has a small sample size when it comes to history. In the four years it has been around, the 4-5 matchup has seen the home team win twice and lose twice. That echoes how the higher seed has performed in the Wild Card Series, going 4-4. (We will also note that the Wild Card Series existed in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when 16 teams played in the postseason and the Padres won their series over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park.) Having that raucous crowd behind them will be beneficial for the Padres for a few reasons. First, the Cubs might have trouble figuring out where they are. Since leaving Wrigley Field on Thursday, they flew to Boston for a doubleheader against the Red Sox that was necessary with a huge storm hitting the East Coast. After losing both games of that doubleheader, they flew to Florida to play the final game vs. the Red Sox at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. After the Cubs won that game, they then headed to San Diego. Petco Park has also produced the fourth-best home record this season at 51-30, tied with none other than the Dodgers. But after a slow start, the Friars posted a 26-6 record to finish the season. It gets a little complicated how that comes about. The Padres have the third-best ERA (3.48) and tied for third-best opponent batting average (.223). Surprisingly, the offensive numbers are on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Padres rank 21st in average (.240), 23rd in OPS (.704) and 19th in runs (4.26). It also helps that the franchise had the second-best attendance in MLB, only behind you know who. The Padres have done better at home in the postseason during this most sustained span of success in franchise history. They have made the playoffs a franchise best three straight seasons and five of the past seven. During that stretch, which began in 2020, the Friars are 8-3 at Petco Park, 4-7 on the road and 0-3 at a neutral site (2020). The home-field edge will be important as the Cubs are good on the road, posting a 43-38 record. In the season series against the Cubs, the Friars did not fare well. They went 1-5, with the only win coming in the first game of the series at Petco Park to conclude April. That was a 9-7 win on April 27. Famously, the Cubs slaughtered the Padres to conclude the series at Wrigley Field 23-3 when the Friars were in the midst of their season-worst eight-game losing streak, the low point of the year. Yes, this series will come down to how the Padres handle probable NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong and the rest of the Cubs’ offense. It will also be up to the Friars’ hitters try to take advantage of a compromised Cubs pitching staff. But it sure can’t hurt to have 45,000 screaming members of the Friar Faithful on your side. View the full article

A 20-home run, 20-stolen base season is not necessarily a guarantee that a prospect will become a big-league star. Baseball is rarely that simple. Still, reaching both benchmarks in the same season tells us something important about a player's development. First, there has to be a level of health. A player can't accumulate 20 homers and 20 steals without getting enough opportunities on the field. There also has to be production. Twenty home runs require some legitimate power, while 20 stolen bases require speed, athleticism and enough offensive success to consistently get on base. The Twins had three prospects accomplish that feat in 2026, with another coming within two home runs of joining them. Just Missed: Yasser Mercedes 18 Home Runs, 52 Stolen Bases Mercedes might have the most interesting statistical profile of the group despite falling short of the 20-homer mark. The 21-year-old outfielder put together a strong 2026 campaign, combining his developing power with game-changing speed. His 52 stolen bases were by far the most among this group, showing just how much athleticism he brings to the organization. Mercedes' season earned him a trip to the Arizona Fall League, where he'll have another opportunity to face some of the organization's top competition alongside other highly regarded prospects. The 18 home runs also represent an important part of his development. Mercedes doesn't need to become a 30-homer hitter to have significant value. If the Twins can continue to see his power develop while he maintains his ability to impact games with his legs, there is a compelling offensive foundation. Garrett Spain - Wichita Wind Surge 20-20 Season: 22 Home Runs, 23 Stolen Bases Spain's path to a 20-20 season is unlike the others on this list. Minnesota selected Spain in the Triple-A Phase of the Rule 5 Draft last December. Originally drafted by Toronto in the 15th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, Spain had already bounced between organizations before arriving in the Twins system. The Brewers selected him from Toronto in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft before the 2025 season. He spent time at Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .203/.280/.364 with 16 home runs, 19 doubles and an 88 wRC+. The Twins kept him at Wichita for the entirety of the 2026 season. Spain was more than a year older than the average player in the Texas League, but he took advantage of the opportunity. He slashed .244/.341/.463 with an .804 OPS and a 102 wRC+, adding 22 home runs and 23 stolen bases. Spain is the lowest-ranked prospect of the three players discussed here, but his 2026 season still matters. After bouncing through multiple organizations, he finally found a home where he could play every day and produce. A 20-20 season at Double-A doesn't suddenly turn Spain into a top prospect, especially given his age relative to the competition. It does, however, provide some evidence that the Twins made a worthwhile gamble on a player who had already been passed over by multiple organizations. Brandon Winokur - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge 20-20 Season: 21 Home Runs, 30 Stolen Bases Winokur has been in the Twins organization long enough that he might have a little freezer burn. Minnesota selected him in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and his development has taken a little longer than the organization might have hoped. Last season, he spent the entire year at High-A Cedar Rapids despite being more than two years younger than the average Midwest League player. He hit .226/.304/.388 with 17 home runs, 26 stolen bases and a 98 wRC+. The Twins then sent him to the Arizona Fall League, where he struggled, posting a .592 OPS in 83 plate appearances. Minnesota sent Winokur back to Cedar Rapids to begin 2026, and he responded with one of the better offensive stretches of his professional career. In 74 games, he hit .252/.362/.421 with 10 home runs, 13 doubles and a 106 wRC+. That earned the 21-year-old a promotion to Double-A Wichita, where he was nearly three years younger than the average player in the Texas League. The results were more mixed. Winokur posted a .738 OPS with 11 home runs and an 82 wRC+ in 53 games. Even with the uneven offensive performance, the 20-20 season is significant. He finished with 21 home runs and 30 stolen bases, once again showing why his athleticism has made him an intriguing prospect throughout his professional career. The next step is turning that athleticism into more consistent offensive production against older competition. Ben Ross– Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints 20-20 Season: 20 Home Runs, 20 Stolen Bases Ross' 20-20 season might be the most encouraging development of the group because of where his offensive game appeared to be heading a year ago. In 2025, Ross hit .219/.308/.363 with 14 home runs, 17 doubles, an 85 wRC+ and 18 stolen bases over 120 games. His OPS improved from .626 to .671, but he was still searching for consistency at the plate. Then came 2026. Ross started the season back at Double-A Wichita and immediately looked like a completely different hitter. In 16 games, he hit .424/.528/.797 with five home runs, seven doubles and eight stolen bases. The Twins promoted him to Triple-A St. Paul on April 24. Ross has continued producing at the higher level. Combined between the two stops, he has hit .275/.380/.510 with 20 home runs, 71 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 2026. The biggest development may not even be the 20-20 season. Ross has shown improved plate discipline, posting a 13.4% walk rate, while also producing more impactful contact. Baseball America recently noted that Ross' average exit velocity increased from 85.1 mph in 2025 to 88.5 mph this season. His 90th-percentile exit velocity also jumped from 100.9 mph to 103 mph. That's meaningful progress for a player whose offensive value once appeared to be driven more by speed and defensive versatility. What Does It Mean? The Twins don't suddenly have three future stars because three prospects reached 20-20 seasons. Prospect development doesn't work that way. But these seasons do provide useful information. Mercedes showed an intriguing combination of developing power and elite speed. Spain found some stability after bouncing between organizations. Winokur continued to display the athleticism that has made him interesting while facing increasingly difficult competition. Ross took the biggest offensive step of the group, particularly with his improved contact quality and plate discipline. The 20-20 benchmark is ultimately just that, a benchmark. The more important question is what comes next. For these four players, 2026 provided plenty of reasons for the Twins to keep watching. What stands out about this group? What prospects can reach the 20-20 club in 2027? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

The Brewers' pitching pipeline continued to produce some intriguing arms in 2026, with several pitchers taking important steps forward across the organization. From young starters making their way through the lower levels to more advanced arms reaching Triple-A, there were plenty of candidates worth considering for this year's award. Before getting into this year's top vote-getters, let's take a look at a couple of names whonarrowly missed the cut for the top three. Honorable Mentions SP/RP Wande Torres: 4.41 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 24.4% K, 10.6% BB, 4.63 FIP, 122 1/3 IP (26 G, 18 GS) SP Jaron DeBerry: 4.69 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 24.8% K, 11.5% BB, 5.31 FIP, 128 2/3 IP (26 G, 26 GS) 3. SP Manuel Rodriguez 2026 Stats: 4.74 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 20.9% K, 5.6% BB, 5.62 FIP, 133 IP (27 G, 26 GS) Rodriguez had an interesting season, especially considering he was just 20 years old for the majority of the year. While he didn't put up the kind of strikeout numbers that immediately jump off the page, there was plenty to like about his ability to control the baseball and work deep into games. The biggest positive was his command. Rodriguez walked just 5.6% of the hitters he faced, which is an impressive number for any minor league pitcher, let alone one that young. He also worked into the sixth inning or later in eight of his 26 starts, another encouraging sign for a pitcher who could ultimately stick as a starter. The biggest thing Rodriguez will need to clean up is the long ball. He allowed 31 home runs this season, which works out to 2.1 homers per nine innings and helps explain why his FIP was considerably higher than his ERA. If he can find a way to limit that damage over the next couple of seasons, there's a lot to like about his profile. As far as his performance itself, Rodriguez probably falls more into the honorable mention category. But age does factor into these votes, and his numbers were close enough to Torres and DeBerry that he gets the edge for the No. 3 spot. 2. SP Tyson Hardin 2026 Stats: 5.34 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 26.9% K, 7.2% BB, 3.33 FIP, 119 2/3 IP (26 G, 25 GS) Hardin's numbers on the surface don't necessarily stand out compared to either of the honorable mentions, but some context is needed. Of his 119 2/3 innings this season, 90 came with Triple-A Nashville, and his performance there was significantly better than what he showed during his brief stint with Double-A Biloxi. His ERA was more than three full runs lower in Nashville, while he allowed far fewer baserunners and still struck out more than a batter per inning. That feels much more representative of who Hardin is than his Double-A numbers, and his 3.33 season-long FIP suggests his results should have been even better. His quality of contact numbers were outstanding in Nashville as well. Hardin allowed just an 86.9 MPH average exit velocity and a 30.7% hard-hit rate, showing that he wasn't simply relying on strikeouts to get through opposing lineups. Hardin is currently Brewer Fanatic's No. 8 prospect, and after the success he had at Triple-A this season, he has a chance to make an impact in the majors at some point in 2027. The numbers don't tell the entire story with Hardin, but his performance in Nashville gives plenty of reason for optimism. Brewers' Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Coleman Crow 2026 Stats: 3.59 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 23.3% K, 8% BB, 3.89 FIP, 105 1/3 IP (20 G, 19 GS) It wasn't necessarily a flashy season for Crow, but he consistently got the job done. He made his major league debut in May, but between injuries and performance, he spent the vast majority of the season with Triple-A Nashville, where he continued to show why he's one of the more intriguing pitching options in the Brewers' system. Crow's strikeout numbers took a step backward after he returned from the injured list with a flexor strain, but he continued to pound the zone and work deep into games. At the end of the day, that's what you're looking for out of a starting pitcher, especially one who could be competing for a larger role at the major league level. He also showed impressive command while limiting hard contact. Crow's average exit velocity in Nashville was just 87 MPH, which is more than good enough, and he allowed only 10 home runs across his 105 1/3 innings. Crow isn't going to jump off the page because of his strikeout numbers or velocity, but he doesn't need to. He'll give you length, attack the zone and keep hitters from consistently making hard contact, which gives him a chance to be a useful starting pitcher at the major league level. After making his debut in 2026, Crow could have a much more prominent role with the Brewers in 2027, health permitting. Several Brewers pitchers had strong seasons across the minor leagues, but Crow's combination of performance, durability and ability to pitch deep into games made him stand out from the rest.His season wasn't perfect, but there was more than enough there to make Coleman Crow the Brewers' 2026 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. This group represents just a small piece of the pitching talent continuing to develop throughout the Brewers' system. There are plenty of other arms to keep an eye on as well, making the organization's pitching depth one of the more interesting storylines heading into 2027. View the full article

A whopping 503 days. That was the time frame between Tanner Houck’s last start in the major leagues and his start in game 162 of this season. The right-hander missed significant time after an attempted rehab assignment in 2025 ultimately led to Tommy John surgery back in August of 2025. Despite the timeline for Tommy John surgery typically taking close to a full season before a pitcher can begin throwing seriously in a rehab assignment, Houck had a plan in place for being back on a mound and throwing meaningful innings by the end of September of this season. To get there, he worked extremely hard, getting into rehab assignments with Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester before their respective seasons concluded. And after just over 12 months of rehab and recovery, Houck kept to his word. The right-hander was given the start for the Boston Red Sox's final game before the playoffs and showed flashes of his past dominance. Tossing three innings, Houck took the loss as he allowed three runs (all of them on two Alex Bregman home runs) on four hits while not walking a batter and getting one strikeout. In the outing, he tossed exactly 50 pitches, roughly what he threw during his rehab appearances. Despite the positive stat line for a pitcher making his first start in over a year and a half, there were some concerns for Houck, namely that his velocity was down from even 2025, a sign that the right-hander is still working on ramping back up. His sinker, which he threw 15 times yesterday, averaged just 92.4 mph compared to its 94.5 mph from the 2025 season. Even his four-seam fastball saw a decline of almost two mph as it averaged 93.3 mph compared to 95 mph in 2025. The right-hander also struggled to miss bats, getting just one whiff out of 24 swings by the Chicago Cubs. Despite that, he still showcased some positives that could help his chance of being on the playoff roster. Despite giving up a home run early in the game to Bregman, Houck didn’t fall apart. Instead, the right-hander followed that up by retiring seven of the next eight batters he faced, giving the offense a chance to get back into the game. That string of retired batters was then broken up with one out in the third inning as Bregman took a sweeper that caught too much of the plate and deposited it into left field to put the Cubs back ahead 3-2. Houck then finished his outing by getting the next two batters out before giving way to the bullpen for the fourth inning. Despite taking the loss in what would eventually be a 6-2 Cubs win, Houck was around where he should be in his return from injury. Not completely dominant, but good enough to give the team a chance to win with his outing. Outside of his two mistakes to Bregman, Houck only allowed two hits, both of them singles. In a relief role, that would be a welcomed performance if he can limit the long balls, especially with the Red Sox having lost Tyron Guerrero right before the playoffs. While it might not seem likely for Houck to make the playoff roster, the sudden loss of Guerrero opens a path for the right-hander. While his velocity is nothing in comparison to the flamethrower, Houck has experience out of the bullpen as he served as closer briefly in 2022, earning eight saves before an injury ended his season. That’s not even talking about how in the 2021 playoffs he came out of the bullpen five times. Despite the struggles he had that season, the experience would be appreciated for a bullpen that, outside of Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock, has very minimal playoff experience. He may not look like a high-leverage reliever at the moment, but he could help shorten the game and bridge the gap to the back-end of the bullpen. As a bulk reliever, he could be relied upon to take the ball from one of the starting pitchers and hand it to an arm like Whitlock or even Erik Miller who will be asked to step up with the loss of Guerrero. In his lone outing this year, Houck surrendered six hard hit balls, though two of them were the home runs he surrendered. Of the remaining four, only one (the first hit he allowed all game) turned into a hit. With the defense Boston has lined up behind him, Houck could be able to allow a hard hit ball here or there and still mitigate the damage. The biggest concern, however, is the velocity, which will limit his ability to get swings and misses. Everyone knows the age-old thought that velocity plays in the postseason—just look back at the 2018 Red Sox roster that had a bullpen containing Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Heath Hembree. With Houck being in the low to mid-90s at the moment, the team could decide to turn their attention to a harder thrower. Whatever decision the Red Sox make with Houck, it’s a positive sign that he stepped back onto a major-league mound as quickly as he did. His future is a lot less murky with his return officially in the books. View the full article