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The Alex Verdugo era with the San Diego Padres never had a chance to take off. The Padres on Monday released the outfielder. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune said the left shoulder injury that Verdugo had sustained about a month ago will require surgery, which would sideline him the entire season. Verdugo signed a minor-league contract with the Padres at the beginning of March, perhaps with a chance to eventually contribute to the major-league roster. But that never materialized. The 29-year-old was released by Atlanta in July after posting a slash line of .239/.296/.289 with no homers and 12 RBIs. He didn't play in a minor-league game with the Padres. View the full article

There’s been a noticeable shift in the narrative around Twins pitching prospect (Twins Daily’s No. 8 prospect) Kendry Rojas. At this time last year, Rojas looked like the type of pitcher you could realistically envision slotting into the middle of a major-league rotation in a couple years. The 6-foot-2 left-hander has the frame and swing-and-miss ability teams covet in modern starters, and we saw plenty of that during the first half of 2025. But there’s also some fine-tuning that needs to happen first, and right now, that part of the equation is becoming harder to ignore. Before being acquired from Toronto at last year’s trade deadline, Rojas was carving up minor-league hitters like he was a butcher at a meat shop. Hitters simply had no answers for him. Across 31 2/3 innings between Single-A and Double-A in the Blue Jays organization, Rojas allowed just eight earned runs while striking out 58 batters and walking only five. That works out to an absurd 11.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, with a walk rate sitting just north of 4%. He looked like a man amongst boys. Because of that success, Rojas quickly emerged as one of Toronto’s top pitching prospects. Then, at last year’s trade deadline, he was dealt to Minnesota alongside Alan Roden in the package for Louis Varland and Ty France. That acquisition looked like exactly the kind of upside swing the Twins needed to take at the time. But things changed once Rojas reached Triple-A. After a three-month stretch of dominance to begin the year, he very much struggled in St. Paul. In 27 1/3 innings with the Saints last season, his ERA ballooned to 6.59, but more concerning than the run prevention (or lack thereof) was his command (or lack thereof). For the first time in his professional career, there were legitimate concerns surrounding Rojas’s ability to consistently throw strikes. His walk rate climbed all the way to 16%, and suddenly, his profile looked a lot different than the one we had seen earlier in the year. Instead of a polished strike-thrower with electric stuff, Rojas began to look more like a talented arm still searching for consistency. Now, to be fair, there were a lot of moving parts involved. A midseason trade and a jump to Triple-A. New coaches, new catchers, a new organization: it was a different environment entirely. Heading into 2026, the hope was that a fresh start (along with some sharper command) would quickly put a lot of those concerns to bed. While his walk numbers in the minors have improved this year, injuries and an inconsistent bullpen opened the door for Rojas to make his debut earlier than the Twins probably envisioned. Through his first 5 1/3 innings with the Twins—which, of course, is an extremely small sample—the results have been pretty concerning. Rojas has walked six batters, giving him a frightening 24% walk rate at the major-league level. To make matters worse, hitters are punishing the mistakes he does leave over the plate. Opposing hitters already have seven hits against him, along with a 50% hard-hit rate. Technically, he's allowed just one earned run, but the expected metrics paint a far uglier picture. His 7.06 expected ERA feels significantly more representative of how he’s actually pitched than the traditional ERA does. When Rojas misses out of the zone, it’s often not even close, and major-league hitters simply are not chasing those pitches. But when he does come back into the zone, the contact quality against him has been loud. That’s not exactly a sustainable formula for success. It’s fair to wonder if there’s a velocity component playing a role here. Rojas’s fastball and slider, his two primary pitches, are both sitting roughly 1.5 MPH harder than they did a season ago. Added velocity is usually a positive in the bigger picture, but it can sometimes create temporary command issues while pitchers learn how to repeat their mechanics at that new level of effort. That’s not uncommon at all. But at the same time, that explanation only goes so far when you factor in the command problems we already saw during his Triple-A stint last season. The concerns aren’t brand new anymore, and that’s what makes the rest of this year so important for him. Rojas absolutely still has the size and raw stuff to become an effective major-league pitcher. Left-handers with this kind of talent don’t grow on trees, and there’s still very real upside here if he can harness everything consistently. But a 24% walk rate is simply unplayable at the major league level. Even if that number were cut in half, that would still be considered quite high for a starting pitcher. Can pitchers survive with elevated walk rates? Sure. But if that’s going to happen, everything else in their profile has to play up. The strikeout numbers need to be elite; the contact suppression needs to be elite; and the stuff needs to completely overpower hitters. More often than not, that skill set tends to align more naturally with a reliever working shorter outings, rather than a starter trying to turn a lineup over multiple times. The rest of 2026 could be the year we learn what his long-term role is. His upside is undeniable, but if the command never takes the step forward the Twins need it to, there’s arguably just as much downside attached to his profile. It’s far too early to say with certainty, but right now we’re seeing a lot more of the downside scenario. View the full article

It is the habit of teams calling up a top prospect to try to take the heat off the rookie by declaring he is "NOT HERE TO BE A SAVIOR." Expect a lot of that tonight — from the announcers manager, coaches, fellow players, maybe the owner ... maybe even from brand-new Met A.J. Ewing himself. It'll probably even be true, but none of it will lift the reality that the Mets need saving, and the only thing that is going to take that off Ewing's shoulders is a couple of teammates doing the heavy lifting themselves. Transactions, 5/12/2026 GOING NEUTRAL COMING Designated for Assignment Transferred from Outfield Re-Signed to Minor League Contract, Assigned to Brooklyn Added to Roster and Promoted from Syracuse Infielders Outfielders Andy Ibáñez Brett Baty Nick Roselli A.J. Ewing R/R DoB: 1993-04-03 High Level: MLB (2026) L/R DoB: 1999-11-13 High Level: MLB (2026) L/R DoB: 2003-03-31 High Level: A+ (2025) L/R DoB: 2004-08-10 High Level: AAA (2026) A.J. Ewing came hard in 2025. His .830 OPS over three levels was underscored by a .401 OBP and 70 stolen bases. Mets Roster Central suspects it was his performance in 2025 that turned Jett Williams into a tradeable commodity for the Mets. A Ty Cobbian start (not to put any pressure on a guy) to 2026 (.339 / .447 / .514 // .961 with 17 steals in 18 attempts in 30 games across two levels) and he's here with the Mets. And that's his game — getting on base and running wild. Pray that the Mets don't turn him into one more guy who flies out to the warning track and gets slaps on the back for almost getting a hold of one. That show is getting real old. Putting Brett Baty back in the infield contingent is some housekeeping here, but it really is a fait accompli. He's seen most of his time over there since the Ronny Mauricio injury, and Andy Ibáñez' two error game at the hot corner sealed his fate perhaps more than his bat did. Nick Roselli had been released at the end of Spring Training after a lousy 2025. (He did well enough at St. Lucie but hit a wall in Brooklyn.) But with the way the Mets season is going, a .455 OPS doesn't seem as hopelessly disqualifying as it might have back on April 1. His return probably represents the organization backfilling in anticipation of losing Ibáñez. That smart looking Bingho uniform he's wearing in his thumbnail pic isn't a Rumble Ponies alternate, by the way. Nick played his NCAA ball for SUNY-Binghamton. Go Bearcats!! Your 2026 New York Mets Starting Pitchers Clay Holmes Nolan McLean Freddy Peralta David Peterson Christian Scott R/R DoB: 1993-03-27 R/R DoB: 2001-07-24 R/R DoB: 2996-06-04 L/L DoB: 1995-09-03 R/R DoB: 1999-06-15 Relief Pitchers Huascar Brazobán Craig Kimbrel Sean Manaea Tobias Myers Brooks Raley Austin Warren Luke Weaver R/R DoB: 1989-10-15 R/R DoB: 32291 R/L DoB: 1992-02-01 R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 L/L DoB: 1988-06-29 R/R DoB: 1996-02-05 R/R DoB: 1993-08-21 Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders Devin Williams Francisco Alvarez Luís Torrens Bo Bichette Brett Baty Vidal Brujan MJ Melendez R/R DoB: 1994-09-21 R/R DoB: 2001-11-01 R/R DoB: 1996-05-02 R/R DoB: 1998-03-05 L/R DoB: 1999-11-13 S/R DoB: 1998-02-09 L/R DoB: 1993-11-29 Infielders Outfielders Marcus Semien Mark Vientos Carson Benge A.J. Ewing Austin Slater Juan Soto Tyrone Taylor R/R DoB: 1990-09-17 R/R DoB: 1993-12-11 L/R DoB: 2003-01-20 L/R DoB: 38209 R/R DoB: 33951 L/L DoB: 1998-10-25 R/R DoB: 34356 Also on 40-Player Roster Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Tylor Megill Kodai Senga Jonah Tong Alex Carrillo Reed Garrett Joey Gerber Justin Hagenman R/R DoB: 1995-07-28 L/R DoB: 1993-01-30 R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 R/R DoB: 1993-01-02 R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 R/R DoB: 1996-10-07 On 60-Day Injured List with torn right UCL. On 15-Day Injured List with Lumbar Spine Inflammation With Syracuse With Syracuse On 60-Day Injured List — right UCL surgery and nerve relocation surgery. With St. Lucie on Rehab Assignment On 60 Day Injured List with fractured rib. Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders A.J. Minter Dedniel Núñez Jonathan Pintaro Dylan Ross Hayden Senger Francisco Lindor Ronny Mauricio L/L DoB: 1993-09-02 R/R DoB: 1996-06-05 R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 R/R DoB: 2000-09-01 R/R DoB: 1997-04-03 S/R DoB: 1993-11-14 S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 With Syracuse on Rehab Assignment On 60-Day Injured List — right UCL surgery. With Syracuse With Syracuse With Syracuse On 10-Day Injured List with Strained Left Calf On 10-Day Injured List with fractured right thumb. Infielders Outfielders Jorge Polanco Nick Morabito Luis Robert, Jr. Jared Young S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 R/R DoB: 2003-05-07 R/R DoB: 1997-08-03 L/R DoB: 1995-07-09 On 10-Day Injured List with right wrist contusion. With Syracuse On 10-Day Injured List with Lumbar Spine Disc Hernitaion On 10-Day Injured List with torn left meniscus. Designagted for Assignment Infielders Andy Ibáñez R/R DoB: 1993-04-03 DFA'd, 2026-05-12. Your Mets Coaching Staff Manager Bench Coach Pitching Coach Hitting Coordinator Third Base Coach First Base Coach Bullpen Coach Ass't Pitching Coach Carlos Mendoza Kai Correa Justin Willard Jeff Albert Tim Leiper Gilbert Gomez José Rosado Dan McKinney DoB: 1979-11-27 DoB: 1989-07-14 DoB: 1990-09-09 DoB: 1992-08-16 DoB: 1996-07-19 DoB: 1992-03-08 DoB: 1974-11-09 DoB: 1989-06-06 Hitting Coach Strategy Coach Catching Coach Coaching Assistant Bat'g Practice Pitcher Equipment Manager Bullpen Catchers Bullpen Catchers Troy Snitker Danny Barnes J.P. Arencibia Rafael Fernandez Kevin Mahoney Kevin Kierst Eric Langill Dave Racaniello DoB: 1988-12-05 DoB: 1989-10021 DoB: 1986-01-05 DoB: 1988-08-03 DoB: 1987-05-11 DoB: 1964-07-09 DoB: 1979-04-09 DoB: 1978-06-03 Your Mets Training Staff Director of Player Health Head Athletic Trainer Assistant Athletic Trainer Reconditioning Coordinator Reconditioning Therapist Head Performance Coach Assistant Performance Coach Performance Coordinator Soft Tissue Specialist Brian Chicklo Joseph Golia Bryan Baca Sean Bardanett Josh Bickel Dustin Clarke Tanner Miracle Jeremy Chiang Hiroto Kawamura DoB: 1972-07-17 DoB: 1978-??-?? DoB: Circa 1980 DoB: 1988-06-23 DoB: 1996-??-?? DoB: 1987-??-?? DoB: 1991-??-?? DoB: ????-??-?? DoB: 22846 View the full article

Matt Arnold’s tenure with the Brewers has been highlighted by some brilliant moves. The strategy of buying low and selling high has brought some intriguing talent to the team, like Caleb Durbin (acquired from the Yankees in the Devin Williams trade), Joey Ortiz (acquired from the Orioles in the Corbin Burnes trade), and most recently, Kyle Harrison (acquired from the Red Sox in the great infield culling of 2026). That said, not all of his deals have been as successful. Sure, some of the smaller trades were duds on both ends, and any depth pieces that ultimately fail to exceed expectations can’t necessarily be deemed failures. However, one recent trade this offseason is looking like one of the tougher sells in hindsight. On Dec. 14, 2025, the Brewers acquired left-handed reliever Ángel Zerpa in exchange for Nick Mears and Isaac Collins. It came as a surprise to some, since both Collins and Mears were solid contributors in 2025, while Zerpa’s abilities were less obvious. Collins posted a 122 wRC+ over 441 plate appearances and placed fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting, while Mears made 63 appearances for Milwaukee and pitched to a 3.49 ERA. On the other hand, Zerpa had pitched a total of 177 innings over five seasons for the Royals and managed an ERA of 3.97, with a 4.13 FIP. By all estimates, that's a satisfactory big-league resume, but it's hardly worth giving up two players. Nonetheless, our very own Jack Stern had his thoughts on why the implicit upside of Zerpa and impending regressions of Mears and Collins could still swing the deal in Milwaukee’s favor. Even when Zerpa hit a snag and struggled to find his footing to start the year, Stern remained optimistic on what he could accomplish down the stretch. Unfortunately, now that Zerpa’s season will draw to a premature close as a result of UCL surgery, the statistics of his debut season with the Brewers will remain as they are: underwhelming. Across his 12 ⅔ innings pitched, he posted a 6.39 ERA with a 5.33 FIP and -0.2 fWAR. Over in Kansas City, the two former Brewers are faring just a bit better. Collins has seen some defensive regression but has remained solid at the plate so far, posting a 102 wRC+ with a nifty 13.3% walk rate. Mears has pitched 14 innings to a 3.07 ERA and 3.93 FIP, sacrificing chase rate for more ground balls. As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20, and at the time, the thesis behind the trade was probably sound. Although Collins had strong numbers over the entirety of last season, his offensive production took a tumble in the fall, posting a .664 OPS in the final month of the regular season and managing just one walk with seven strikeouts in ten postseason plate appearances. Similarly, Mears had a second-half ERA of 5.59 and pitched just 1 ⅔ innings in the playoffs. Zerpa, a hard-throwing southpaw with some potential left to unlock, seemed like a natural project for the organization’s pitching staff. His showing in the WBC helped his case quite a bit. The tournament that took his hype to all-time highs for Brewers fans may have also been the very thing that led to his brutal start to the season and eventual addition to the injured list. It’s possible that getting ramped up too early and quickly may have been too much of a workload for his body to handle, but while it’s easy to blame the WBC, it’s far from the definite cause of his worries. Pitching injuries are more common than ever, and with teams making endless demands for more velocity and spin, injuries such as Zerpa’s are typically caused by a slew of different factors, rather than having a single smoking gun. Zerpa will now be sidelined until next spring or summer, which (assuming there’s no labor stoppage in 2027) means that Milwaukee will have, at most, just over a season more of club control over him. Meanwhile, the Royals will have Mears until 2028 and Collins until 2031. Unless Zerpa goes on a ridiculous run to conclude his time with the Brewers and/or Collins and Mears become negative contributors to the Royals, it’s likely the result of this trade will be disappointing. But misses can’t always be avoided, and for an organization as galaxy-brained as the Brewers, not all bets will pay off. View the full article

The Brewers offense rediscovered its stride after just a short wobble. They missed Christian Yelich, but they've done fine without him lately. He returns to the team's lineup Tuesday night against the Padres, joining a team that's currently fifth in MLB in runs per game and 10th in Baseball Prospectus's DRC+. The team survived the long absences of Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn, the pressure of which was compounded when Yelich, too, went down. He returns without having embarked on a rehab assignment—a rare thing, after four weeks away, but understandable in this case. Yelich is the veteran leader of the team and has never felt he gets much from rehab games. With the Trajekt system available to him at Uecker Field, he was able to get simulated reps without leaving the team or risking injury in game action. Slotting Yelich back into the top part of the Brewers batting order makes it quite fearsome. Brice Turang's emergence as a superstar with burgeoning power has made it easier to see the upside of this time, and with Chourio, Yelich, William Contreras and Jake Bauers behind him, pitchers don't get a break until they get all the way to the bottom third of the lineup card. In some other matchups, the team might also elect to slide Chourio to center field and move Bauers to left, getting Vaughn into the mix with the aforementioned top five. Garrett Mitchell's recent slump makes that seem like a pretty good idea; so does the utter lack of punch delivered by David Hamilton and Joey Ortiz at the bottom end of the order. Yelich takes the place of Tyler Black on the roster, sending Black back to Triple-A Nashville after his most encouraging taste of the majors to date. Black still has no defensive home and doesn't add anything Bauers and Yelich don't do already, so his path to playing time remains murky. When he rejoins the Sounda, though, he'll be alongside a few players who could soon be in play to take this lineup from whole to truly complete. Cooper Pratt, Jett Williams and Luis Lara are all showing varying signs of readiness to have an impact in the major leagues. Meanwhile, Mitchell, Ortiz and Hamilton are struggling. It doesn't seem that a swap of any of the three prospects for one of the current big-leaguers is imminent, but another week or two of things trending the same way would force a more serious conversation. If the Brewers can find even one more solid bat among Williams, Pratt and Lara, they could turn the corner and become an elite offense, even before the arrival of Jesus Made in the bigs some time in the next 12 months. It's strange that Yelich's return occasions this vision of the future, since he's very much a part of the team's present but is slowly moving toward being part of its past. However, his return is a symbol of what's possible for this team, and increasingly, what seems possible is a future in which a team long built around pitching and defense will have the league's most formidable offense, too. View the full article

The picture at the top of the MLB Draft is becoming clearer, and all signs point toward the Minnesota Twins focusing heavily on Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey with the third overall pick. According to Baseball America, “Minnesota has had a lot of high-level decision makers scouting Vahn Lackey this spring.” That report lines up with how the draft board appears to be developing. UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky has looked like the favorite to land with the Chicago White Sox at first overall for much of the year. He entered the spring as a strong candidate for the top pick and has only strengthened that case with his performance this season. The second pick belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays, and they have consistently been connected to prep shortstop Grady Emerson throughout the draft cycle. There is still a chance Tampa Bay pivots to Lackey if he remains available, but many recent mock drafts have Emerson heading to the Rays at number two overall. If the board falls that way, Lackey could slide directly into Minnesota’s lap. The appeal is easy to understand. At Georgia Tech, Lackey is continuing a strong tradition of first-round catching talent, including Jason Varitek, Matt Wieters, Joey Bart, and Kevin Parada. He has been one of the best offensive catchers in college baseball this spring while also showing the athleticism teams covet behind the plate. Through his first 47 games, Lackey is slashing .371/.491/.682 with a 1.173 OPS, 12 home runs, and nine stolen bases. That combination of impact offense and athletic ability has helped push him into the upper tier of this draft class. His rise has not been a traditional one. Lackey was a late bloomer in high school and did not receive Division I offers until his senior year. Even in college, his development trajectory has continued to trend upward as he has added polish to both sides of his game. Defensively, scouts believe there is still more room for growth. Lackey is agile behind the plate and moves well for the position, giving evaluators confidence that he can become a dependable receiver and blocker as he improves his consistency and focus. His arm strength and accuracy already stand out as major assets. For the Twins, that profile makes plenty of sense. The organization has leaned toward polished college talent in recent drafts, especially players with a blend of upside and relatively high floors, including Brooks Lee, Kaelen Culpepper, and Marek Houston. Catchers with Lackey’s offensive ceiling and athletic traits are difficult to find, and Minnesota may view him as one of the safer premium bats near the top of the board. If the Twins ultimately go in another direction, college pitcher Jackson Flora and prep shortstop Jacob Lombard appear to be among the other realistic options tied to the third pick. Still, as the draft draws closer, the momentum around Lackey continues to build. Unless something changes in the first two selections, the Twins may soon find themselves adding another cornerstone talent to the organization, and one who could eventually become the long-term answer behind the plate. View the full article

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the second May edition of our Fish On First Prospects Report and the first with a section dedicated to the Florida Complex League. This report covers the games played from May 5-11. Triple-A Jacksonville Robby Snelling and Joe Mack were just promoted from the Jumbo Shrimp. The top-ranked prospect remaining on their roster is Kemp Alderman, who continues to play first base on a part-time basis. He had another strong week of play against the Charlotte Knights, with a hit in five of the six games he played in, hitting a home run in the last game. Overall, Alderman is slashing .287/.370/.473/.843 with six home runs, 17 RBI and a 125 wRC+. It is unclear how long of a leash the Marlins will give Christopher Morel at first base, but with Alderman getting first base reps everyday, it does bring up the possibility that the Marlins could call him up soon if Morel struggles continue. Jacob Berry struggled this series against Charlotte, only knocking in two hits during the season, but overall he is slashing .280/.403/.410/.813 with two home runs, 16 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a 125 wRC+. Defensively, he has recently been splitting time between third base and right field. Although Deyvison De Los Santos is repeating Triple-A, he is showing improvements from struggles we saw in 2025. Going into the final game of the Charlotte series, De Los Santos was riding a six-game hit streak, which was snapped after an 0-for-3 day in the series finale. He is now slashing .260/.339/.450/.789 with four home runs, 19 RBI and a 109 wRC+. He is only striking out a career-low 17.4% of the time. On the pitching side, Bradley Blalock struggled for the first time this season, allowing seven runs on seven hits (one home run), walking five and striking out four in 4 ⅔ innings pitched. Overall, Blalock now has a 4.42 ERA, 5.45 FIP, 8.59 K/9 and 2.70 BB/9 in 36 ⅔ innings pitched. Blalock, who's FIP was a lot higher than his ERA going into this start against Charlotte, showed that he was getting a bit lucky. Zach Bryzkcy continues to absolutely dominate, posting a 0.66 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 9.88 K/9 and 4.61 BB/9 in 13 ⅔ innings pitched. Although the walks are an issue, he keeps inducing ground balls and striking out guys. The Marlins have already given other under-the-radar guys an opportunity this season. Bryzkcy is doing everything in his power to give himself a chance. Double-A Pensacola It was a good week for Wahoos starting pitching, but their offense lagged behind, paving the way to a 4-2 series loss at the hands of Rocket City. Pensacola scored just 17 runs over the six game slate. As a team, the Wahoos are now hitting .220, last in the Southern League. Brandon White, the Marlins’ 2021 12th-round pick, is a name that has not often been talked about over the years. It’s not hard to imagine why; shortly after being drafted, White underwent Tommy John surgery and didn’t return until 2023. Well behind schedule to start his pro career, White was finally able to pitch close to a full season’s sample of innings in 2024. Amidst the jump to High-A last season, he posted solid results including a 3.64 FIP and 6.7% walk rate. This season with Pensacola, White is pitching himself further into relevance by showcasing swing-and-miss stuff. That was especially on display this week when White struck out a career high 11 Trash Pandas and allowed just one hit in 6 ⅔ innings. His solid control and command has not only persisted but improved against Double-A batters as he’s walked a minuscule four batters in 26 innings. At 6’8”, 230, White is a massive physical specimen, though he’s always thrown from a pretty graceful windup and release and kept his long levers well under control. Working to his advantage is his ability to shorten the distance to the plate and throw from a high downhill arm slot, keeping opposing hitters well off balance. As a collegiate arm, White was clocked as high as 97 mph with his fastball. He hit that on a few occasions in his start this week and sat 95-96 showcasing a velo bump from last season when he sat 93-94. White's main breaking ball has morphed into a gyro slider, continuing a trend that we've observed with multiple Marlins pitchers in recent years. It features sharp downward break and plays well on both sides of the plate. He is also adding a sweeper to his arsenal and making strides with his changeup as a weapon he can run in to same-side hitters for front-door strikes and weak contact. Altogether, White is a repeatable arm from a huge frame that is beginning to look dominant as the velo ticks up and his third pitch becomes more usable. Despite being behind schedule, he’s a candidate to move to Triple-A this season and maybe even an option to get a look at the MLB level if the Marlins fall out of contention. White will once again be Rule 5-eligible this winter. Karson Milbrandt just keeps mowing down Double-A batters. This week, he threw a third straight quality start and came within two of tying his career high in strikeouts. Stuff was always present for the 22-year-old righty; his crux was figuring out his spotty command and control. Armed with mid-90s stuff that can tick up into the upper 90s and which he is garnering the comfort to elevate and a best-pitch slider, Milbrandt’s stuff and development mimics that of Max Meyer who, after some growing pains, has arguably grown into the Marlins’ most effective starter this year. Scrapping the changeup as his third pitch in place of a cutter has proved advantageous. Milbrandt also tosses from a funky, deceptive windup. If Milbrandt’s control and command persists, a promotion to Triple-A should happen once organizational pitching depth allows. High-A Beloit Low-scoring affairs were the theme for the Carp and Tin Caps this week, with Beloit coming up on the wrong side of the equation more often than not. With just 36 total runs scored over the course of the week, Beloit salvaged two games, including the only contest where more than six tallies were plated on Sunday night. Beloit fell to 14-18 on the season. Starlyn Caba continues his power surge at the plate, proving his early season success was no fluke and that it can be sustained. This is all happening while Caba is playing in significantly cool climates in the Midwest League. During this series, the infielder went 5-for-20 with a double, his third homer of the season and a 6/4 K/BB. The long ball came in extra innings and propelled Beloit to a victory. He’s now already amassed his career high in homers. While still showing off good discipline and vision that has led to a 16% walk rate, Caba is showing an enhanced ability to shorten his swing on pitches inside and over the plate. He’s also swinging with noticeably more aggression and effort behind his pull-side, which is leading to more strikeouts but at 21%, the K rate is still manageable. His always quick bat speed is still present. These traits are leading to usual gap power turning into over the fence power in the previously mentioned hard to hit in environments. Adding more pop without sacrificing his great approach is the cherry on top of what is becoming an all-around potentially elite skill set for Caba and he’s still just 20 years old. Along with great defense and plus speed that allotted him 50 steals in 2024, we are looking at a potential five-tool talent. If the power sticks, he will be an unquestioned Top 100 prospect in baseball. Because Aiva Arquette is older and may quickly prove to be ready for the challenge to Double-A, Caba is also playing himself into that conversation. With continued success, it is plausible we will see him at Pensacola sooner than we thought. Speaking of promotions to Pensacola, Justin Storm is begging for one. With inning coverage in high demand across the entirety of the Marlins’ system, the 24-year-old has been lights out in High-A. He’s currently riding a scoreless innings streak of 6 ⅓ across his last five games. During that span he has a 10/2 K/BB. After a bit of a rocky start in the frigid Midwest League, Storm has adjusted well. His size-and-stuff profile including a sitting 93-94 mph fastball that can ramp to 96, a staple slider that moves on both planes and now also mixing in a high-70s curveball, Storm boasts potential high leverage inning coverage with the capacity to work multiple innings if needed. He’s a bit old for High-A and needs the challenge to Double-A to see if his stuff can stand up against upper minors competition. That would advantageously come as soon as Beloit is able to spare some arms. Eliazar Dishmey had been on a positive upswing, having gone at least five frames in each of his last two starts, the latter of which was a nine strikeout performance. He parlayed that into five shutout frames against the Tincaps. Perhaps most encouraging for Dishmey was that for a second straight outing, he limited walks to two while allowing just two hits. Both historically and currently, it’s always been all about control for Dishmey. When the 6’1”, 175-pounder has it, his solid stuff including mid-90s velo and a standout changeup on top of a sharp power curveball. He mixes his pitches well and shows good velo separation. When controlling, he has th swing-and-miss potential to rack up whiffs. When not controlling though, Dishmey drives his pitch counts up early, becomes reliant on the fastball and can become a bit one-dimensional for opposing hitters to wait out and riddle out. On Dishmey’s side is his age: he is still just 21, so there is plenty of time for him to fully iron out his control consistency. Limited size, a high-effort release and mechanics that can look stiff at times are working against him. Dishmey’s plus velo that he could ramp up more if asked to go shorter stints and plus secondaries give him a pretty high floor but there is reliever risk attached to him. Low-A Jupiter Emilio Barreras continues to hit, now slashing .300/.488/.467/.954 with two home runs, 13 RBI and a 173 wRC+. After a slow start to the season, Barreras had a hit in three of the four games in their most recent series against the Palm Beach Cardinals. A 2025 draftee who told Fish On First that he models his game after Luis Arraez, Barreras is now walking 23.2% of the time while striking out 14.6% of the time and slapping the ball to all parts of the field. Catcher Carlos Sánchez continues to succeed in his second stint at the Low-A level, slashing .235/.371/.529/.900 with five home runs, 12 RBI and a 143 wRC+. After posting high strikeout numbers in previous seasons, Sanchez is striking out at a career-low 14.5% rate compared to a 16.1 BB%. A promotion to High-A Beloit should be coming soon. After a bad first run in Low-A, first baseman Julio Henriquez is slashing .286/.368/.408/.777 with seven RBI and a 118 wRC+. At 21 years old, Henriquez repeating the level isn't the worst thing to happen. Esmil Valencia, who missed a good chunk of the season already due to a finger injury, is slashing .261/.333/.391/.725 with five RBI and a 100 wRC+. The only downside has been his 29.6% strikeout rate, which at the moment is a career-high. Although a high FIP continues to be a concern for righty Walin Castillo, he has a 1.37 ERA and 54.9% ground ball rate. That's up more than 10% from last year's performance with the Hammerheads. FCL Marlins It has been a rollercoaster of a week for the FCL Marlins, who had three off days, a rainout, and a doubleheader. Three players in particular who impressed in the Dominican Summer League last season are already beginning to make names for themselves in the FCL. Eiver Mosquera spent the entirety of his 2025 campaign in the DSL, where he posted a 2.45 ERA across 29 ⅓ innings pitched while striking out 33 batters compared to just eight walks. His ability to consistently throw strikes and limit damage made him one of the more intriguing young arms in the lower levels of the system. The right-hander made his first stateside appearance on May 5 and looked comfortable immediately. Across four innings, Mosquera allowed four hits and one earned run while walking none and striking out two. Luis Arana was one of the more productive hitters in the DSL last season after hitting .297 with five homers, 35 RBIs, and 30 walks compared to only 18 strikeouts. Along with his advanced approach at the plate, he also added 28 stolen bases and consistently found ways to impact games offensively. So far, he's done well with the transition to the FCL. Through his first 20 at-bats, Arana is hitting .400 with six stolen bases and has yet to strike out. His contact ability and discipline at the plate have immediately translated, while his speed has continued to be a major factor on the bases. Luis Cova also entered the season with plenty of attention after a strong DSL campaign last year. Ranked as Fish On First’s No. 12 prospect entering 2026, Cova has been viewed as one of the more talented young bats in the system. While the start to his season has been slower offensively, there are signs that things may be starting to turn around. On Monday afternoon, he went 2-for-3 with three walks in one of his best games of the season so far. After a disastrous season in the FCL last year, Luis Leon is off to the kind of start he needed in 2026. Through his first 16 at-bats, Leon is hitting .313 with three doubles after recording just four doubles during the entirety of the 2025 season. Strikeouts are still an issue, but the early extra-base production has been encouraging. The raw talent has always been there, and the improved offensive start is a positive sign for the young outfielder. He has also made four starts at second base early on. This week's MiLB schedule Triple-A Jacksonville at Memphis Double-A Pensacola at Chattanooga High-A Beloit vs. Peoria Low-A Jupiter at St. Lucie FCL Marlins vs. FCL Nationals, FCL Mets and FCL Astros View the full article

Twins Daily recently held a public vote on our top 20 prospects ranking, and the newest addition, coming in ranked 16th overall, is right-handed pitcher Ryan Gallagher. Who is Gallagher, and why is he climbing prospect lists? Bats: L / Throws: R Age: 23 Stats in 2025: (High-A, Double-A) 121.2 IP 133 SO 4.07 ERA 1.21 WHIP Rule 5 Eligible: After 2028 Season ETA: 2027 Ranking to Start 2026: NR What’s to Like It’s interesting to look at Gallagher’s raw stuff because he doesn’t overpower hitters, throwing his fastball at approximately 91 mph. While he doesn’t throw super hard, he is still intriguing due to his command and his changeup and slider, which he uses both to get swing and misses. He was acquired at the 2025 trade deadline from the Chicago Cubs along with Sam Armstrong for utility player Willi Castro. In 2025, he pitched with the Cubs High-A and Double-A teams before finishing the year with the Twins Double-A team in Wichita. Across those three stops, he threw 121.2 innings, racking up 133 strikeouts, and having a 4.07 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. At 23 years old, he is still being used as a starter but could end up as a multi-inning reliever, similar to how the Twins have used other prospects in recent years. Gallagher offers a bit more upside and is someone to keep an eye on if he can remain a starter throughout his time in the minors. What’s Left to Work On Gallagher will need to continue to be a strike thrower if he hopes to have success. He has walked six batters over his first seven innings in Triple-A, but his history of throwing strikes suggests it will not be a big problem going forward. Gallagher has a repeatable delivery and is someone who could be used in multiple roles, either as a starter or a multi-inning reliever. Proving his worth as a starter at Triple-A will be key in him not moving into a role that others like Pierson Ohl or Travis Adams have slid into, which isn’t a bad role, but not one he is likely to want to take if he, or the Twins, had the choice. What’s Next? Gallagher is currently at Triple-A St. Paul, so he is on the doorstep of the major leagues. He will continue to develop as a starter, but the key will be to keep throwing strikes and gain more experience against higher-level competition. He will likely spend the majority of the year at Triple-A with a chance to make his major league debut, depending on team need and his own personal development over the next few months. Gallagher still has upside and will look to prove that he was worth betting on at the 2025 trade deadline in his first full year in the Twins organization. View the full article

Twins Daily recently held a public vote on our top 20 prospects ranking, and the newest addition, coming in ranked 16th overall, is right-handed pitcher Ryan Gallagher. Who is Gallagher, and why is he climbing prospect lists? Bats: L / Throws: R Age: 23 Stats in 2025: (High-A, Double-A) 121.2 IP 133 SO 4.07 ERA 1.21 WHIP Rule 5 Eligible: After 2028 Season ETA: 2027 Ranking to Start 2026: NR What’s to Like It’s interesting to look at Gallagher’s raw stuff because he doesn’t overpower hitters, throwing his fastball at approximately 91 mph. While he doesn’t throw super hard, he is still intriguing due to his command and his changeup and slider, which he uses both to get swing and misses. He was acquired at the 2025 trade deadline from the Chicago Cubs along with Sam Armstrong for utility player Willi Castro. In 2025, he pitched with the Cubs High-A and Double-A teams before finishing the year with the Twins Double-A team in Wichita. Across those three stops, he threw 121.2 innings, racking up 133 strikeouts, and having a 4.07 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. At 23 years old, he is still being used as a starter but could end up as a multi-inning reliever, similar to how the Twins have used other prospects in recent years. Gallagher offers a bit more upside and is someone to keep an eye on if he can remain a starter throughout his time in the minors. What’s Left to Work On Gallagher will need to continue to be a strike thrower if he hopes to have success. He has walked six batters over his first seven innings in Triple-A, but his history of throwing strikes suggests it will not be a big problem going forward. Gallagher has a repeatable delivery and is someone who could be used in multiple roles, either as a starter or a multi-inning reliever. Proving his worth as a starter at Triple-A will be key in him not moving into a role that others like Pierson Ohl or Travis Adams have slid into, which isn’t a bad role, but not one he is likely to want to take if he, or the Twins, had the choice. What’s Next? Gallagher is currently at Triple-A St. Paul, so he is on the doorstep of the major leagues. He will continue to develop as a starter, but the key will be to keep throwing strikes and gain more experience against higher-level competition. He will likely spend the majority of the year at Triple-A with a chance to make his major league debut, depending on team need and his own personal development over the next few months. Gallagher still has upside and will look to prove that he was worth betting on at the 2025 trade deadline in his first full year in the Twins organization. View the full article

In every start he's had against right-handed opposing pitchers this year, Alex Bregman has slotted in between two left-handed hitters, or between one lefty and one switch-hitter. In theory, that should punish whichever manager is trying to outguess Craig Counsell that day for any effort to get a left-on-left matchup with the likes of Michael Busch or Moisés Ballesteros, or to turn around Ian Happ to what has historically been his weaker side. Bregman, sitting in the middle, should get an advantageous matchup. Reality was never that well-suited to theory in this regard. Bregman has very narrow platoon splits for his career, and though he hammered them last year, he'd been pedestrian against lefties for the previous few seasons. This year, he's getting on base against them at a .400 clip, but he's only slugging .325—hardly the kind of punishment one is looking to dole out when a team wants to turn to a matchup guy for lefties on either side. Of the nine walks he's drawn, two have been intentional, when the other team decided they were fine with him being on base and elected not to risk having him beat them. More troubling, though, is the fact that Bregman has struggled mightily against right-handed pitching so far. He's batting just .227/.301/.336 in those same-handed platoon showdowns, which is most of the reason for an ugly .661 OPS in the first 5% of his five-year deal with the Cubs. He's not hitting for power. He's not hitting much, at all. Admittedly, there's a little bit of real cause for concern beneath the surface. Bregman's bat speed is down about 1 MPH this year. That's not a glaring issue, in a vacuum, because it's still at a level where many hitters succeed, and he's never been dependent on bat speed, anyway. He's also much slower afoot, with a sprint speed starting to reach positively plodding levels, and it's not fun to watch when Ballesteros and Bregman end up on the bases at the same time. On balance, though, Cubs fans would be fine with that—if only they (and especially Bregman) were on a bit more often. Most of the numbers would tell you not to worry, and if you're taking a far-sighted perspective, you shouldn't. What makes Bregman special at the plate is his command of the strike zone, and he's still chasing at an exceptionally low rate. What makes him special is his ability to hit the ball squarely and cleanly, on a line, and he's still doing that at a healthily above-average clip, too. So, why has he been so unproductive? Bregman is hitting a few more ground balls. He's whiffing a bit more. And his swing isn't producing the pulled fly balls that made him just dangerous enough to force pitchers to throw him lots of slightly less bangable balls, which he would then deposit into the outfield for singles and doubles. The cause of all these symptoms is the same: he's seeing a crazy number of breaking balls. This is the breakdown of pitch percentage by pitch type group and season for Bregman's whole career, but you can subdivide it in any of several ways and end up in the same place. Last month, he saw more breaking balls than he had in all but two or three previous months of his career. This month, it's much higher: he's seeing more breaking pitches than fastballs. It's true if you break things down by handedness. It's true if you break them down by count. Bregman is simply getting a steady diet of breaking stuff, and it's affecting his profile. As good as Bregman is, even he can't consistently square up sliders, without being unready for the fastball. As he always has, he's running great batted-ball numbers and an exceptionally low whiff rate on heaters, but much worse numbers on breaking balls. It's just that breaking balls suddenly make up a much larger share of the pitches he sees, so the bad things that happen when he goes to pitch his signature swing on a fastball and gets a breaking ball instead are piling up, while fewer of the good things that happen when he gets what he's looking for are there to counterbalance it. The dynamic of hitting between lefties so often could be part of the issue. For most of his career, Bregman has batted in lineups loaded with righty bats, so maybe pitchers are trying some new things against him in the rhythm of a different kind of order. It's more likely, though, that they're seeing his slightly reduced bat speed and attacking it. While your first instinct might be to guess that bat speed helps one hit fast pitches, what it really does is to let one make later decisions. Bregman is still making good ball-strike decisions, but as his bat slows down, it gets harder for him to wait long enough to deliver the barrel to stuff that bends, without being too late on the stuff that's hard and straight. That doesn't mean any of this is permanent. The rate at which the league has thrown him breaking balls over the last two weeks is surely unsustainable. It has something to do with the teams the Cubs have happened to face; it has something to do with what he's looked like on those pitches. He'll make an adjustment in the cage, and the team will face some pitchers who don't like their breaking ball as much, and it will level out. For now, though, Bregman has a real challenge on his hands. The league is assailing him with pitches that aren't his preferred targets. He'll have to figure out how to make them stop, or to profit from their refusal to do so. View the full article

José Miranda might not have been the biggest name the San Diego Padres moved for this winter, but he could be the most important. As a former top prospect with a knack for making contact, he offers the kind of infield depth and offensive stability a lineup like the Friars' desperately needs. The Minnesota Twins signed Miranda in the second round back in 2016, but it took a few years for everything to click. When it did, it was loud. His 2021 breakout saw him tear through the minors with a .344 average and a massive .973 OPS. That performance forced Minnesota’s hand, leading to a 2022 debut where he proved he belonged, putting up a solid .751 OPS over 125 games as a rookie. This winter, Miranda landed in San Diego on a minor-league deal, putting an end to a four-year run with the Twins that had its fair share of highs and lows. For the 27-year-old, it’s about more than just a change of scenery, it’s a chance to prove he’s still the same hitter who looked like a cornerstone just a few years ago. After a shoulder injury derailed his 2023 season and left him with a career-low .211 average, he showed real life in 2024, bouncing back with a solid .763 OPS and proving that his bat is still capable of starter-caliber production. Last season, he spent the majority of the year back in the minors after losing himself at the plate. If there was any doubt about his health, Miranda silenced it early this spring. He tore through the Cactus League with a .304 average, even putting together an impressive 5-for-6 stretch with six RBIs in his first two games. It was the kind of 'torrid' start that nearly forced him onto the Opening Day roster and proved that the talent Minnesota gave up on is very much alive. At his peak, Miranda is a contact-first machine. While half the league is swinging for the fences and living with high strikeout rates, he lives on making contact and forcing the defense to make plays. It’s a profile that fits like a glove in this Padres order, especially when you consider how often the offense has gone cold the moment you get past the 'Big Three' at the top of the card. If San Diego can help him find the rhythm that injuries stole from him over the last two years, they might have found the steal of the 2026 offseason. Right now, Miranda is doing exactly what he needs to do in El Paso, making a significant impact on the team. He’s already knocked four balls out of the park this season in Triple-A, hence his robust .196 ISO. With a solid .774 OPS and several months of the season left to play, he’s making it harder and harder for the Padres to keep him in the minors if the big-league offense hits a snag. At 27, Miranda is entering his prime, and his ability to plug holes at first, third, or DH gives Craig Stammen the kind of tactical flexibility the Padres crave. In a 162-game grind where rest days and 'tweaked' hamstrings are inevitable, having a guy who can provide a professional at-bat while moving around the diamond is a massive luxury. Slotting Miranda into a lineup that already features Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Xander Bogaerts takes the pressure off. He wouldn't be expected to carry the team on his back; he just needs to be a 'link in the chain' doing his job and keeping the line moving when the stars need a lift. The Padres have built a reputation for finding overlooked talent and giving careers a second act. José Miranda may not be the flashiest name in the system right now, but as the summer heat hits and the NL West race tightens, he could quietly become the depth piece that keeps San Diego’s October dreams on track. View the full article

The month of April was certainly one to forget for the Royals. The team finished the month with a 12-19 record, good for last place in the AL Central. While lackluster pitching didn’t help, it was the offense that caused most of the struggles. However, that all has mostly changed when the calendar flipped to May. The Royals so far have gone 7-3 to open the month and are now only two games back in the weak American League Central division. Much of the recent success has come from the offense stepping up. But can the Royals sustain this level throughout the rest of the season? Let’s find out. At first glance, the Royals had a pretty mediocre month, boasting a team batting average of .247 and an on-base percentage of .331. However, a deeper look into the numbers shows that the Royals’ real struggle on offense was scoring runs, especially in high-leverage situations. The Royals thrived in low-leverage situations in April, with the team leading all of MLB in batting average (.303), OBP (.386), and OPS (.869). On the other hand, the Royals had a batting average of .231 with runners in scoring position and .219 in high leverage situations, meaning that the Royals were not producing hits when it really mattered. They also were not patient when it mattered, as the team produced a 7.3% walk rate and a 23.6% K rate. How have things changed? To put it simply, the Royals are finally driving in runs when it matters most. While their batting average of .242 is worse than last month, the Royals now have a batting average of .331 with runners in scoring position. In terms of leverage, the team has almost flipped their averages: the Royals have a batting average of .154 in low-leverage situations compared to their high-leverage batting average of .294. The team has also shown patience as their walk rate has dropped to 8.6%, but they are still striking out at a 22% clip. So, can the offense continue to produce when it matters? The answer to the question remains to be seen. While it is promising to see the Royals hitting better when it matters, there is still a long season ahead. It is not guaranteed that the team will hit this well throughout the year, but hopefully the Royals will learn from April and continue to build upon their recent success in May and beyond. View the full article

Offense has been an issue at times for the major-league club, and for the various affiliates. However, despite an arduous April, some Brewers farmhands did very well, indeed. Let’s look over these players who have delivered amazing Aprils for the organization. C Darrien Miller, Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A) .257/.552/.429 in 35 ABs with 1 HR and 5 RBIs I’ve been high on Miller as a below-the-radar prospect before, but there was nothing below the radar about his April. Miller drew 17 walks and was plunked six times, while striking out only 15 times. Miller didn’t just get on base more than half the time. He displayed some potency at the plate, too, with three doubles and a solo homer. Miller could force his way to Nashville if he keeps this performance up, though at 25 years old and after needing so much time to achieve competence in Double-A, the majors still seem far away. 1B Blake Burke, Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A) .242/.342/.586 in 99 ABs with 8 home runs and 20 RBIs Burke is arguably the best power prospect in the Brewers system, and arguably the team’s first baseman of the future. His April was about power, with a total of 17 extra-base hits. Burke, though, isn’t a one-dimensional three-true-outcomes player. When he gets on base, he is a threat to run, going 9-for-10 in stolen bases. Like Miller, he could be forcing his way to Nashville before long, and he's younger and toolsier. SS Jesus Made, Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A) .290/.385/.460 in 100 ABs with 2 home runs and 16 RBIs Made, the top prospect in the Milwaukee organization, had an excellent April for the Shuckers, providing an all-around offensive package of power, speed, hitting for average, and getting on base. While it is an open question whether he or recently-extended Cooper Pratt will be the Brewers’ Shortstop of the Future, Made’s offense could make him viable at multiple positions on the diamond. He may not be long for Biloxi if he keeps this up. LF/2B Josh Adamczewski, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Advanced-A) .305/.446/.593 in 59 ABs with 5 homers and 14 RBIs Adamczewski has erupted as a pure hitter in 2025, and it’s included a power surge that could send him up the ladder. Like current Brewer Tyler Black, Adamczewski could always hit; the question was finding him a defensive home that could keep him in the lineup. However, his amazing April stats could see him flying south to Biloxi before summer. CF Luis Lara, Nashville Sounds (Triple-A) .324/.416/.519 in 108 ABs with 5 homers and 13 RBIs Lara has had a breakout year with the Sounds. Too early to say that? Well, his five home runs in March and April already set a career high for the 21-year-old, who’s already established excellent hit-for-contact skills, defense, and speed. His OBP skills are up a notch, too, as he’s walked more than he struck out. This is a quantum leap in the power department, and Lara is making a case to head to American Family Field sooner, rather than later. Overview While Burke and Made have been adding to their top prospect resumes, and Adamczewski and Miller are showing some real signs of having offensive breakouts, it’s really impossible to argue against the leveling up that Luis Lara’s shown while playing as a 21-year-old in Nashville. Already having a floor as a reliable fourth outfielder in the Blake Perkins mold, Lara’s now making the case as a potential future regular. Congratulations to Luis Lara, Brewer Fanatic’s Minor League Hitter of the Month for April 2026. Offense has been an issue at times for the major-league club, and for the various affiliates. However, despite an arduous April, some Brewers farmhands did very well, indeed. Let’s look over these players who have delivered amazing Aprils for the organization. C Darrien Miller, Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A) .257/.552/.429 in 35 ABs with 1 HR and 5 RBIs I’ve been high on Miller as a below-the-radar prospect before, but there was nothing below the radar about his April. Miller drew 17 walks and was plunked six times, while striking out only 15 times. Miller didn’t just get on base more than half the time. He displayed some potency at the plate, too, with three doubles and a solo homer. Miller could force his way to Nashville if he keeps this performance up, though at 25 years old and after needing so much time to achieve competence in Double-A, the majors still seem far away. 1B Blake Burke, Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A) .242/.342/.586 in 99 ABs with 8 home runs and 20 RBIs Burke is arguably the best power prospect in the Brewers system, and arguably the team’s first baseman of the future. His April was about power, with a total of 17 extra-base hits. Burke, though, isn’t a one-dimensional three-true-outcomes player. When he gets on base, he is a threat to run, going 9-for-10 in stolen bases. Like Miller, he could be forcing his way to Nashville before long, and he's younger and toolsier. SS Jesus Made, Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A) .290/.385/.460 in 100 ABs with 2 home runs and 16 RBIs Made, the top prospect in the Milwaukee organization, had an excellent April for the Shuckers, providing an all-around offensive package of power, speed, hitting for average, and getting on base. While it is an open question whether he or recently-extended Cooper Pratt will be the Brewers’ Shortstop of the Future, Made’s offense could make him viable at multiple positions on the diamond. He may not be long for Biloxi if he keeps this up. LF/2B Josh Adamczewski, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Advanced-A) .305/.446/.593 in 59 ABs with 5 homers and 14 RBIs Adamczewski has erupted as a pure hitter in 2025, and it’s included a power surge that could send him up the ladder. Like current Brewer Tyler Black, Adamczewski could always hit; the question was finding him a defensive home that could keep him in the lineup. However, his amazing April stats could see him flying south to Biloxi before summer. CF Luis Lara, Nashville Sounds (Triple-A) .324/.416/.519 in 108 ABs with 5 homers and 13 RBIs Lara has had a breakout year with the Sounds. Too early to say that? Well, his five home runs in March and April already set a career high for the 21-year-old, who’s already established excellent hit-for-contact skills, defense, and speed. His OBP skills are up a notch, too, as he’s walked more than he struck out. This is a quantum leap in the power department, and Lara is making a case to head to American Family Field sooner, rather than later. Overview While Burke and Made have been adding to their top prospect resumes, and Adamczewski and Miller are showing some real signs of having offensive breakouts, it’s really impossible to argue against the leveling up that Luis Lara’s shown while playing as a 21-year-old in Nashville. Already having a floor as a reliable fourth outfielder in the Blake Perkins mold, Lara’s now making the case as a potential future regular. Congratulations to Luis Lara, Brewer Fanatic’s Minor League Hitter of the Month for April 2026. View the full article

The 2025 Blue Jays had a season so magical we’re likely to talk about it for a generation. The home stretch and finish of the season is what will stick the most in our memories, while the start of the season might have been mostly forgotten if not for the team seeming to play the same song again this year. Through 36 games in 2025, the Jays were 16-20, a record identical to that of this year’s team six weeks into the season. Last year, they started May with a pair of wins and then dropped four in a row – again, identical to this season. The 2026 Jays have since dug themselves into an even deeper hole. The 2025 team returned to .500 on May 12; right now, Toronto sits at 18-23 heading into play on Tuesday night. The game and the at-bat many credited with turning the team around last season happened towards the end of May. Going into their game on May 28, 2025, the Blue Jays held a 26-28 record and sat third in the AL East. Through eight innings, Toronto had left eight runners on base and was mired in a 0-0 draw with Texas (five Jays pitchers on a bullpen day combined to one-hit the Rangers and keep the game within reach). Ernie Clement led off the ninth inning with a single and was standing on second base with two outs in what looked like a carbon copy of so many failed innings before it. That was, of course, until Bo Bichette, called on as a pinch-hitter for the first time in his career, took an 0-1 pitch, sent it into the front row of the left field bleachers and single-handedly turned the Jays' season around. That might seem like hyperbole, but Jesse Burrill wrote, “You could argue this was the point where everything started for this team.” Manager John Schneider touted that game as the one that flipped the switch and put the Jays on the path they ended up on. They would win nine of their next 10, get above .500 and put themselves in position to take over the division by July. Now, with Bichette gone, where might we find that spark? Cory Sparks looked at how Ernie Clement is doing so far as a Bichette replacement, and while the power profiles are certainly different, Clement has had enough clutch hits that he could come up with the spark that ignites the season. Sam Charles talked about the roster ramifications of Addison Barger’s return, but with that return short-lived, maybe the season will turn around as quickly as Yohendrick Piñango did on his way to Buffalo, and maybe it will be one of the guys that keeps a roster spot that comes up with the magic. It’s early May, and it’s a long season, but if Toronto is going to turn the ship around, that work needs to start this month. Of course, for the flip side, we don’t have to go any further back than the season before the magical ‘25. Through 36 games in 2024, the Jays sported a record of, you guessed it, 16-20. The turning point we’re looking for now never came for that team, and they never got above .500 and would sit fifth in the division from mid-June until game 162. Through some combination of parity, luck and schedule oddities, this year’s Jays team is only one game out of a Wild Card spot. On May 12, 2025, they were two back, and it was five games on the same date in 2024. We seem to be at a crossroads, and the path that is taken from here will make all the difference. View the full article

There was a time when covering a baseball team online felt almost limitless. Traffic climbed every year. Social media rewarded links. Search engines sent readers directly to articles. Digital advertising money flowed more freely, and national outlets aggressively expanded local coverage. For a market like Minnesota, that meant more writers, more perspectives, and more opportunities for Twins fans to engage with the team on a deeper level. That version of the internet is disappearing. The latest reminder came when Aaron Gleeman announced he was leaving The Athletic after the company asked him to move away from Twins coverage and focus more broadly on Major League Baseball from a national perspective. Gleeman declined and instead relaunched his independent subscription platform, AaronGleeman.com. His decision says a lot about the current state of sports media. For years, national outlets viewed local team coverage as a major growth area. Hiring respected beat writers created loyal audiences and helped establish credibility in regional markets. But the economics have shifted. Large companies increasingly want scale, national conversations, and content that can appeal to the widest possible audience. The Twins still matter deeply to Minnesota fans, but local coverage no longer fits as neatly into the business model many national companies are chasing. That doesn't mean interest in the Twins is disappearing. In many ways, the opposite is true. Fans still crave daily coverage, analysis, prospect discussions, podcasts, and community interaction. The challenge is that the systems that once supported independent publishing are being squeezed from multiple directions at the same time. Social media platforms increasingly suppress links that send users away from their apps. Years ago, a well-timed article could spread organically across Twitter or Facebook and bring in thousands of readers. Now, algorithms prioritize native content that keeps users scrolling instead of clicking away to outside websites. Search behavior is also changing rapidly. Artificial intelligence tools increasingly answer questions directly inside search engines or chat interfaces, reducing the number of clicks users make to actual articles. Someone searching for Twins statistics, trade rumors, or prospect reports may receive a summarized answer without ever visiting the source material that produced the information in the first place. For publishers, those changes are impossible to ignore. The digital media industry has spent the last few years navigating constant instability, and sites covering teams like the Twins are feeling pressure from every direction. Social media companies increasingly bury outbound links, AI-generated summaries are cutting into traditional search traffic, and advertising revenue has softened as businesses grow more cautious with spending during an uncertain economy. That combination creates a difficult environment even for established brands. Smaller independent outlets feel the pressure even more because they rely heavily on loyal readers, direct traffic, subscriptions, and advertising revenue to survive. Is that something Twins fans should worry about? A little. But the impact on communities like Twins Daily is somewhat muted compared to many corners of online publishing, because the foundation has always been different. Twins Daily was not built around viral social media moments or disposable clickbait headlines. It was built around a community that consistently values thoughtful discussion, prospect coverage, and independent reporting. That distinction matters now more than ever. Sites that depended heavily on algorithm-driven traffic are discovering how fragile those systems can be once platforms change priorities. Independent communities with loyal readers are better positioned to adapt because the audience intentionally chooses to return every day. That relationship is far more stable than chasing temporary engagement spikes through social media outrage or manufactured controversy. Twins Daily has already survived storms that wiped out other outlets. COVID disrupted advertising markets across sports media. MLB labor stoppages froze traffic during critical parts of the offseason. Economic uncertainty repeatedly forced publishers to scale back coverage or shut down entirely. Through all of it, the site continued operating, because readers treated it like more than content. They treated it like a community. That does not make the current environment easy. Independent publishing remains difficult, especially as technology reshapes how information is distributed and consumed. But it does reinforce why local coverage still matters. Fans want people who understand the history of the organization, the farm system, the personalities in the clubhouse, and the emotional swings that define a baseball season in Minnesota. National coverage can provide breadth. Independent local coverage provides connection. Gleeman’s decision to bet on that connection instead of accepting a broader national role may end up being one of the defining sports media stories in Minnesota this year. It reflects a growing realization that sustainable coverage may increasingly come from direct relationships between writers and readers rather than giant media companies chasing scale. The media landscape around the Twins is changing quickly. Some outlets will shrink. Others may disappear entirely. More writers may eventually choose subscription models or independent platforms over traditional media structures. But the core audience is still here. People still care about the Twins. They still want smart analysis. They still want prospect breakdowns, game reactions, and long form stories that go deeper than surface level takes. As long as that remains true, independent coverage still has a future. The platforms may change. The business models may evolve. The internet itself may look completely different five years from now. But the demand for authentic voices and communities built around shared passion is not going anywhere. View the full article

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (May 9-May 11) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies): 4-2 Season Record: 19-20 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox): 4-1 Season Record: 19-11 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants): 2-4 Season Record: 13-20 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh Pirates): 2-4 Season Record: 13-20 FCL Blue Jays Week Record: 5-0 Season Record: 7-0 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 19-20 Series Opponent: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies) May 9: RJ Schreck continued his torrid stretch in May, collecting four more hits on his way to leading Buffalo to a victory Saturday. He smashed his second home run of the series with Lehigh Valley and hit another double, bringing that total to five for the week as well. Buffalo kicked the scoring off with two bases-loaded walks in the second inning, one each by Carlos Mendoza and William Simoneit. In the third inning, Josh Kasevich added a run with an RBI single, scoring Jonatan Clase. Then, after a Charles McAdoo walk, Riley Tirotta smoked a ball 108.1 mph over the left field fence for a three-run home run. The lead didn't last long, as CJ Van Eyk coughed up four unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning and Devereaux Harrison surrendered three more runs in the fifth. With Buffalo now trailing by a run, Josh Rivera squeaked a ball over the left field fence at just 93.1 mph for a solo shot. The next inning, Schreck came to the plate and pummeled a ball 104.1 mph for a two-run home run and gave Buffalo the lead for good. Tanner Andrews pitched the ninth and struck out two. Earning the save and the win for Buffalo, 9-7. May 10: On Sunday, Buffalo put an exclamation point on the week-long series with Lehigh Valley, as the bats were sizzling hot. Four players had multiple hits, and three of them had at least three hits, including RJ Schreck. He will surely be disappointed when Buffalo leaves Lehigh. He tallied 15 hits in the series, six doubles, two home runs, and 16 RBI. In the game Sunday, he had four of the RBI, one on an RBI single in the first inning, two from a two-RBI double in the fifth, and the last one on an RBI single in the eighth. While Schreck was a big performer in the game, Willie MacIver had an even bigger day. He had himself a 4-for-5 day, with four RBI, a double, and a home run. The home run was a three-run blast that went just over 400 feet to right-center field. Ismael Munguia stayed hot at the plate as well, collecting three hits in the game and raising his batting average at Triple-A to .359. On the mound, Josh Fleming pitched five innings of one-run ball and handed it over to the bullpen with a big lead. The bullpen did its job and finished the game, only allowing one unearned run. Brendon Little continues to push for a promotion back to the big league club. He pitched another scoreless inning and struck out one. Buffalo ran away with this game and won 11-2, pulling to within one game of their kryptonite .500 record. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 19-11 Series vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) May 9: Postponed May 10: In the Sunday finale between New Hampshire and Portland, the Fisher Cats got to see one of the top breakout starting pitchers in the minor leagues, Anthony Eyanson. New Hampshire struggled with him in his Double-A debut, only managing four hits off of him in four innings. Victor Arias did launch a home run in the second inning. Jace Bohrofen added a two-run home run in the sixth, and Jorge Burgos brought in a run with a groundout in the seventh. Franklin Arias and Brooks Brannon carried the Portland offense to a big day, as the Fisher Cats lost 12-4. High-A Vancouver Season Record: 13-20 Series vs Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants) May 9, Game 1: The Canadians had a doubleheader against the Emeralds, and Dub Gleed got them on the board in the first at-bat of the game with a homer off of Yunior Marte. Landen Maroudis was the starter for this game and dealt with shaky command, walking four batters in four innings. He allowed the Emeralds to tie it up in the second inning, but in the fourth inning, the Canadians pulled ahead with a J.R. Freethy two-RBI single. Maroudis had a scoreless fourth inning, but in the fifth inning walked the leadoff batter and was pulled for Eminen Flores. Flores walked the next batter, then gave up a three-run homer to give the lead back to the Emeralds. Trace Baker struggled as well, as after a Maddox Latta error, he allowed three more runs to score, putting the Canadians down four. In the seventh inning, Peyton Williams walked and Alexis Hernandez hit his first homer of the season to bring it back within two runs, but the Canadians couldn’t capitalize, losing the first game of the doubleheader. May 9, Game 2: The offense sputtered for the Canadians after a relatively high-scoring first game, as Vancouver only had four hits against the Emeralds. On the other hand, Gilberto Batista gave up five runs, with four of them coming in the second inning, as his ERA climbed to 8.46 on the season and he earned his second loss of the season. The Canadians got one run after Carter Cunningham tripled and Manuel Beltre then drove him in with a single, but that was all they could do against the domineering Emeralds. May 10: The Canadians put up a fight in the last game of the series. Although Daniel Guerra struggled for the first time this season, giving up seven runs in just over three innings, Vancouver didn’t give up. The Canadians were able to get a couple of runs in on a Hayden Gilliland double, but were down 12-2 after Juanmi Vasquez gave up five more runs once Guerra was taken out. Carter Cunningham started the comeback with his seventh homer of the year, scoring Williams and himself, and after a Gleed sac fly in the ninth, Alexis Hernandez hit his second homer in two games to bring it within four runs. Sadly, the lead was insurmountable, and the Canadians fell short once again against Eugene. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 13-20 Series vs Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh Pirates) May 9: After a dominating start in his first rehab game, Silvano Hechavarria could not get out of the first inning. He got two quick outs immediately, but then allowed a hit, walk and another hit for the first run of the game. Juan Sanchez then committed a fielding error, and Hechavarria lost all control, with three wild pitches in a row leading to four runs scored in the first. Diego Dominguez replaced him and got out of the first inning, but in the second inning, disaster struck once again for Dunedin. Dominguez allowed the first four hitters on base, and after an RBI groundout, allowed a three-run homer for another big inning for Bradenton. The Jays got on board with a Dariel Ramon double leading to a JoJo Parker RBI single, but the Marauders got that run back the inning after. Yorman Licourt hit a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth, but it was much too little and too late. May 10: Dylan Watts took the bump for the last game of the series and didn’t have his best stuff or command. He allowed two hits and a walk right away in the first inning, with the Jays going down early. Yorman Licourt answered back in the second inning, however, as the Cuban outfielder hit a 102.1 mph homer to left center to take the lead. Watts allowed his second run of the game right after in the third inning, as he walked three more batters and allowed a game-tying single. Once again, the Jays got the run back; this time, Owen Gregg and Blaine Bullard got on base, and after Eric Snow moved the runners over, JoJo Parker hit a sac fly. Franly Urena and Carson Myers pitched well in relief for the Jays after the lead was taken back, as they combined for five scoreless innings while striking out five batters. The Jays also got some insurance runs, as they hit three doubles in a row from Bullard, Snow, and Parker to make it 5-2. Jack Eshleman got his fifth save of the season despite allowing another run, but the Jays ended the series on a high note after struggling against Bradenton. FCL Blue Jays Season Record: 7-0 May 9: The FCL Blue Jays faced off against the FCL Yankees on Saturday. It was the minor league debut on the mound for Toronto Blue Jays prospect Seojun Moon. He had a shaky first inning, giving up a single and a walk, but gathered himself and finished the inning with three groundouts between the baserunners. In the second inning, Moon started strong, getting two strikeouts, one swinging and one looking, before a popout ended the inning and his debut. Next up was Miguel Pantoja, who fired off four innings and struck out six, only allowing two hits. On the offensive side of the ball, the Blue Jays took an early lead in the second inning on a Pascual Archila two-run single. A sacrifice fly from Sam White, a wild pitch, and a bases-loaded walk scored three more the next inning. A groundout and an error allowed two more to score for the Blue Jays in the seventh, as they went on to win 7-4. They had only managed four hits, but 10 walks (three by Tim Piasentin) carried them to victory. May 11: It was another banner day for the Toronto Blue Jays' FCL pitching on Monday. Four pitchers combined for nine innings of one-run ball, which was unearned. Giacomo Taschin went three innings with five strikeouts, and Deiker Pineda matched the five strikeouts and went two innings. On offense, the second innings saw the Blue Jays score three runs: one on a Kennew Blanco groundout, and then one each on RBI singles from Rafael Flores and Angel Guzman. Later in the game, Tim Piasentin added an RBI single, and so did Pascual Archila. The FCL Blue Jays would beat the FCL Phillies 7-1. View the full article

After two inconsistent seasons, plenty of people were starting to question whether Brooks Lee would ever live up to the hype. Now in year three, the former first-round pick is beginning to prove a lot of doubters wrong. View the full article

Alex and Maddie sit down to recap the Tigers and Rays series. They dive into why Payton Tolle and Connelly Early both deserve to stay in the rotation even as other starters get healthy. Next, they preview the upcoming Phillies series and talk through why the Red Sox have a good chance to win the series, especially if Wilyer Abreu keeps hitting against left-handed pitching. They talk through Jarren Duran’s decision to delete his Instagram account and why his immaturity is likely the biggest thing holding him back. Finally, they discuss the likely upcoming Giants fire sale to see if there are any possible targets on that roster, besides Rafael Devers, before wrapping up with a discussion about what a possible Trevor Story trade to the Mets could look like. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talk-sox-podcast/id1783204104 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qPrPXEngu0CxgTmlf0ynm Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-talk-sox-podcast-244591331/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4tmd121v Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talksox View the full article

The Blue Jays have placed an emphasis on defense when it comes to roster building for years now. They’ve gone out of their way to trade for notoriously good defenders like Matt Chapman, Daulton Varsho, Myles Straw, and Andrés Giménez. They’ve found value in defensive-minded free agents like Kevin Kiermaier and even turned fringe roster pickups like Ernie Clement, Tyler Heineman, and Nathan Lukes into important pieces on winning teams, each of them with high defensive floors as essential skills. The Jays have long understood that preventing the other team from scoring a run is just as good as scoring one of your own. This philosophy has paid off, because the Jays have been one of baseball’s best defensive organizations in recent seasons. Baseball Savant explains Fielding Run Value (FRV) as, “Statcast’s metric for capturing a player’s measurable defensive performance by converting all of Statcast’s individual defensive metrics from different scales onto the same run-based scale, which can then be read as a player being worth X runs above or Y runs below average.” That’s baseball nerd for “Fielding Run Value is a statistic that takes into account a bunch of different defensive stats and combines them into one number.” Similar to WAR, players accumulate FRV throughout a season, they can gain both positive and negative fielding runs, and the larger the sample we’re working with, the more we can read into it. Blue Jays players accumulated more FRV than any other team in both 2024 and ‘25. And if you’re more of a traditionalist, and analytics aren’t for you, just take the fact that the Jays also won back-to-back American League Team Gold Glove awards in 2023 and ‘24 and enjoy the rest of the article. Defense is obviously something the organization has taken a lot of pride in, which is why the errors piling up early in 2026 feels so uncharacteristic. Errors are back-breaking plays. Best case scenario, they allow a runner to advance a base, and at their worst, they allow a runner that should have been out to reach base, or score a run. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the Jays have been one of the worst defending teams in baseball this season when it comes to errors, yet they remain near the top of the leaderboard when it comes to total FRV. There could be a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, errors are as subjective as they’ve ever been. An official scorer watches the game and determines how to “score” each play. If you’re a long-time fan, you may have heard or noticed that fewer and fewer plays are being scored as errors, and you’d be right. In the 2000 season, players accumulated 3447 errors, compared to 2451 in 2025. That’s almost 1000 more errors over the same number of games, or a 29% decrease in the number of errors just 25 years later. Without having gone through all of the plays, there’s a chance that official scorers have been particularly tough on the Jays' fielders compared to those on other teams when it comes to determining what’s an error and what isn’t. Errors, as we understand them, also don’t tell the full story. For example, it’s more than possible that a good defender with great range gets to a ball and then makes an error that a slower defender wouldn’t have even had the chance to make a play on. The other, much more concrete explanation is that the Blue Jays have remained close to the top of the FRV leaderboard because their catchers are elite. It’s well known that Alejandro Kirk is one of the best defensive catchers in the sport. Since 2022, he’s accumulated the second most fielding run value of any player in baseball, behind only Patrick Bailey of the Giants. But he’s been hurt since early April! This year, the Jays’ backstops – Tyler Heineman, Brandon Valenzuela, and Kirk (before his injury) – have combined to lead catching groups in fielding run value. Catchers are unique when it comes to FRV because they have way more opportunities to collect it. Blocking, framing, and throwing are weighed heavily in the formula, which is why we often see catchers separated from the other positions when it comes to tracking their defensive value. If we sort FRV by infielders and outfielders, excluding catchers, we can see that the Jays are still good, with a top 10 ranking, but not nearly as elite on the whole. So, what can we take away from this when it comes to the Jays and their defense? Well, if you’re a Jays fan, feel comforted that during the years they were considered one of the best defensive teams in baseball, total errors and fielding percentage saw them more as an average team anyway. There’s a lot more to baseball defense than these traditional stats take into account. You can also feel comforted that defensive statistics are among those that take the longest to normalize. Small samples can throw them out of whack very quickly. Fielders have far fewer opportunities than hitters or pitchers, so one or two weird or unlucky plays can make a great defender look average when it comes to advanced defensive metrics, especially this early in the season. At the same time, what has happened on the field has had consequences for the Blue Jays’ actual record. Ernie Clement, who was elite as a defender in 2025, with +10 fielding runs as a utility infielder, has been worth -2 as a defender so far in 2026. Daulton Varsho and Andrés Giménez are regarded as two of the game’s best up-the-middle defenders, but they’ve also fallen behind the pace, having been worth just +1 and +2 defensive runs, respectively, after being worth +6 apiece in injury-shortened 2025 seasons. The Jays are off to a disappointing start to a season that they entered with very high expectations, so keep an eye on their defensive statistics going forward. Once they start to improve, expect their record to improve along with it. View the full article

If Colin Rea pitches six innings Tuesday night in the northwest suburbs of Atlanta, he'll reach 650 for his career. That's not exactly a significant milestone, in the historical context of the big leagues. It's remarkable, however, because Rea is less than two months shy of his 36th birthday, and almost exactly half of his career frames have come in the last two years. On May 13, 2024, Rea threw an unremarkable quality start: 6 innings, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts against the Pirates. To that point in his career, 'unremarkable' had been a pretty good encapsulation of Rea. He'd finally gotten some traction in the majors the previous year, with the Brewers, but before that, injuries had slowed his long ascent to the majors—so much so that he spent time pitching in Japan before coming back and finding a new toehold Stateside. He finished the night with 323 1/3 innings pitched in the majors, over the nearly 13 full years since he was drafted in June 2011, and a 4.56 ERA. Since then, though, Rea has spent almost all his time in the starting rotation of either Milwaukee or the Cubs. No, that wasn't quite the plan, in either place, but one way or another, Rea keeps being needed—and he keeps meeting the need. Over the last two years, 'quality' has been the word that best defines him, and there's nothing unremarkable about his career, anymore. In addition to doubling his career volume in his mid-30s, he's posted a 4.21 ERA in the last 320-plus frames. Born Jul. 1, 1990, Rea is the oldest possible person who could be listed at age 35 for this season at Baseball Reference; the baseball age convention is to give the player's age on June 30 of the season in question. If he were born one day earlier, he'd be listed as 36, instead. Nonetheless, he has more innings pitched since the start of his age-33 season (365, since 2024) than he had before that. More importantly, he's become so established that it's relatively easy to see him pitching another 350 innings or more—something that would have been almost unthinkable when he turned 33, in the middle of a 2023 season in which he was an up-and-down swing man for the Brewers. Among pitchers whose age-33 season came in 2005 or later, 34 have pitched at least 700 innings from that point to the end of their career. Mostly, though, those are long-time stars and potential Hall of Famers. Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke and Roy Halladay are on the list. So are slightly lesser workhorses like Adam Wainwright, Tim Hudson and Mark Buehrle. There are several guys who pitched that much because that's just what you did back then—soak up innings at the back of a rotation throughout your mid-30s: Aaron Harang, Kyle Lohse, Ryan Dempster, Jeremy Guthrie. Only six of those hurlers actually pitched more after the start of their age-33 campaign than they did before it. Two guys (Jose Contreras and Hiroki Kuroda) pitched more in MLB after 33 than before, but they'd had long careers in Cuba and Japan, respectively, before coming to the United States. The main six—the six pitchers of this century whom we might call real comps for Rea, if he can turn in another couple of seasons like his last three—are: Chris Bassitt Rich Hill Derek Lowe Miles Mikolas Charlie Morton Ryan Vogelsong Two of these guys (Hill and Morton) are heroes of the player development revolution; they became stars late in careers that started out seemingly doomed by injury trouble or extreme hittability. Unlike them, though, Rea has no high-spin curveball story, and no multi-year, eight-figure contracts await him. Bassitt was in the same draft class as Rea, but is 16 months his senior, which means he's listed as two years older than Rea. Like Rea, he was a late-round pick, but unlike Rea, he gained a modicum of prospect buzz and reached the bigs on a normal trajectory; he was waylaid almost solely by injuries. Morton and Lowe each pitched fairly big numbers of innings before turning 33; they just stuck around long enough to be more voluminous in their old age than in their younger days. Bassitt and Mikolas had each thrown more than 500 innings before their age-33 seasons, so even though Bassitt shares that draft history with Rea and Mikolas went overseas like Rea did, each was much more established much earlier than Rea was. Remember, at the beginning of his age-33 campaign, Rea had only amassed 279 innings in the bigs. That really only leaves Ryan Vogelsong as a true match for what Rea went through, and what he might hope to achieve. Vogelsong is a fascinating case, too. He had some injuries—you really can't end up on this kind of list without some—but that wasn't his main problem. His main problem was that he was bad. After being a fifth-round pick in 1998, Vogelsong pretty quickly proved he was too good for the minors, but he wasn't good enough for the majors in any of his first seven seasons there. At almost the same age Rea did, though, he went to Japan, and he came back as something a whole lot like what Rea is now. Vogelsong came back from NPB to the team who had initially drafted him: the Giants. With them, from ages 33-37, he had a 3.89 ERA and pitched almost 800 innings. He was even useful (and occasionally heroic) in the postseason, en route to the team's 2012 and 2014 World Series rings. Baseball Prospectus still runs a regular feature called the Vogelsong Awards, honoring players who weren't in their annual preview book but end up having a significant impact in the majors. Rea hasn't ever been quite as good as Vogelsong was in 2011 and 2012, but he's already showing more staying power than Vogelsong did. At age 35, Vogelsong went over a cliff. His velocity dipped from 91-92 MPH to 89-90, and the rest of his stuff couldn't make up for the loss. Rea, by contrast, is sitting just under 94 MPH in average velocity, virtually exactly where he was last year and harder than he'd ever thrown before that. He's also using seven different pitches, including a slider and a splitter that each miss bats at above-average rates. In a perfect world, the Cubs would have Rea working in long relief. We know that for sure, because they came into the season planning on that. It was never all that likely to stay that way for long, though, and now, it looks like Rea will be in their rotation all season. He should be. He's earned it. And if he keeps doing this much longer, he'll be the best virtually anonymous late-blooming pitcher in recent memory. It's not enough to earn him a chapter in the next book about tech in baseball or to make his grandkids ultra-rich, but Rea is a shining example of persistence, resiliency, and having your best years just when everyone else is hanging them up. View the full article

When Ethan Salas burst onto the Single-A scene as a 17-year-old back in 2023, it might’ve been easy to expect to see him playing home games at the top level for the San Diego Padres by now. Especially when he was up a level with Double-A San Antonio at the same age. Between injuries and subsequent uneven performance in the years since, however, he remains a catcher for… Double-A San Antonio. Perhaps not for long, however. Clear of a 2025 back injury that limited him to only 10 games, Salas has come out of the gates scorching for the Missions. As of mid-May, he’s slashing .320/.396/.546 with a 151 wRC+. His 23.4 percent strikeout rate sits around his career norm in the minor leagues, while his 11.7 percent walk rate is indicative of the improved discipline he demonstrated in his minuscule sample last season. What’s more impressive is the rate at which he’s performed over this last stretch of games. Salas has recorded hits in 11 of his last 15 contests. Eight of those outings have featured multiple hits. All of his home runs have come in that stretch, with nine total walks against 12 total strikeouts. It’s resulted in a percentile distribution that looks rather visually appealing: This isn’t a matter of a hitter finding a random hot stretch. He’s making a ton of contact and elevating the ball to the pull side. When those two things are working in conjunction with one another, good things tend to happen. Hence, the gaudy line you see before you through his first 110-ish plate appearances of 2026. The question is whether any of this will actually matter to A.J. Preller. Last year, we saw Preller trade his No. 1 prospect in Leo De Vries for a relief pitcher. Of course, Mason Miller isn’t just any relief pitcher (especially not thus far in 2026), but moving a middle infield prospect of his caliber amid the context of an aging group of veterans on the major-league roster still raises questions about how much value is placed on prospects for this organization and its leader. As Salas now begins to recoup his value, both in trade and in future projection for the Padres, is there a chance he’s the next marquee prospect to land with a new organization? This one is a bit more difficult to envision than the trade of De Vries. Don’t get it twisted. De Vries’ upside is massive. The Padres also have Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Jake Cronenworth around the infield in the long-term. Only Cronenworth is a viable trade candidate among that group, and the organization has been inclined to hold onto him through multiple bouts of trade rumors. On paper, there is personnel in place at a position which De Vries would be likely to occupy (with the “on paper” phrasing doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence). Salas faces much softer obstacles on his path to the big leagues. Sure, the Padres have two catchers with multiple years of team control in place; Freddy Fermin is arbitration-eligible through 2029 and Luis Campusano carries his through 2028. Fermin is a defensive-forward backstop without much to speak of in the bat. Campusano represents the inverse, with the organization demonstrating a prior reluctance to even allow him to catch given what some of his defensive metrics looked like. There are no established veterans on long-term deals standing in Ethan Salas’ way. And if he’s going to continue to look like he has this year, his promotion to the next level could be aggressive. It wouldn’t be entirely unreasonable to expect to see him in San Diego before year’s end if the current trajectory is even remotely maintained. When one factors in the positional context, trading Salas in the same way that De Vries was shipped out would be a really tough sell for Preller. Luckily, it’s one that he may not feel as inclined to make now that Salas has trended back toward ascent rather than spending time in Stagnation City. View the full article

Sweet Lou, Comrade Cody, and Ol Gregg discuss a rare series win in Cleveland and a series loss against the Nationals. I'm sure Victor Wembanyama will also be mentioned. Listen using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twins-off-daily-podcast/id1741266056 Listen using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4tb78XlurcPTYYSsARdbD7 Listen using iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-twins-off-daily-podcas-167548600/ Listen using Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/nvclbt0w Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twinsdaily View the full article

The early returns on the Minnesota Twins bullpen have been exactly what everyone expected and somehow still worse. After shipping out reliable arms at last year’s deadline and following it up with an offseason spending plan best described as aggressively nonexistent, the front office entered the season with a relief corps held together by hope, minor league options, and a few guys who threw hard in a previous life. Through the first stretch of games, that theory has been put to the test. Leads have vanished quickly. Tie games have turned into deficits before the broadcast team can finish reading the pitching change graphic. Somewhere, a whiteboard labeled “Bullpen Plan” has simply been erased and replaced with a shrug emoji. For one Minnesota family, those late-inning adventures have become a weekly concern. “He just sits there in his chair and starts whispering things like ‘just throw a strike’ over and over,” said his daughter, Shannon. “At first, we thought he was talking to us. Then we realized he was addressing someone named Eric, who definitely could not hear him.” George Williams, the grandfather and a lifelong Twins fan, has reportedly developed a routine. When the starter exits the game, he leans forward. When the first reliever allows a baserunner, he exhales sharply. When the inherited runners score, he begins what family members have described as “low volume negotiations with the universe.” “It’s not yelling,” said his grandson, Tyler. “It’s worse. It’s like he’s trying to reason with the bullpen. Like if he explains it calmly enough, they’ll stop giving up doubles.” Concern reached a new level last Tuesday when the grandchildren attempted an intervention. With their grandfather briefly stepping away, they quickly inserted a DVD of the 1991 World Series, hoping to redirect the evening toward a happier memory. “We thought if he came back and saw Kirby Puckett rounding the bases, it might reset things,” said granddaughter Emma. “Instead, he looked at the TV, looked at us, and said ‘nice try’ before switching it back just in time to watch another walk.” Family members have begun discussing long-term solutions. “We’ve talked about limiting his exposure to innings seven through nine,” Shannon said. “Maybe just telling him games end after six now. He doesn’t check the standings as much as he used to. It might work.” There have also been attempts to reframe the experience. “I told him it’s about the journey, not the result,” said his son-in-law Mark. “He asked me to leave.” Neighbors have taken notice as well. One reported hearing faint commentary drifting through an open window. “It sounded like someone calmly listing every available bullpen arm in Triple A,” the neighbor said. “Then there was a long pause and a sigh. I’ve never heard a sigh like that.” Despite everything, the grandfather remains committed. “He won’t turn it off,” Emma said. “We’ve tried. He says if he’s watched this long, he’s going to see how it ends.” For now, the family has adjusted. They keep the remote nearby. The 1991 DVD remains on standby. And when the bullpen door opens, they give him space, knowing that what follows is less a baseball game and more a test of endurance. “He’ll be back tomorrow,” Shannon said. “He always is. He says maybe this time will be different.” No one in the room has the heart to argue. View the full article

Drafted in the seventh round in 2019 out of UCLA, Jack Ralston has spent his entire professional career as a reliever. After signing with the Miami Marlins as a minor league free agent this offseason, he is quickly becoming the latest example of the organization finding value in overlooked arms. Through 13 appearances this season with Triple-A Jacksonville, he owns a 1.27 ERA with a 0.98 WHIP and 31 strikeouts in just 21 ⅓ innings. The walks are still a little high at 4.64 BB/9, but compared to last season’s 6.75 BB/9, that's a significant improvement. The Marlins bullpen has been pretty effective overall in 2026, but Ralston can help them reach even greater heights. One adjustment has changed everything With the AAA data we have from last season, it is easy to see what has changed for Ralston this year. In 2025, he threw all three of his pitches over 29% of the time (fastball 37.8%, splitter 32.3%, slider 29.8%). In 2026, everything has changed tremendously. His splitter usage has jumped all the way to 52.1% while his fastball usage has dropped to just 21.5%. His slider usage has stayed relatively similar at 26.3%. Everything has followed with this adjustment. Ralston has done a tremendous job limiting damage this season, allowing just 0.42 home runs per nine while opponents are averaging only 4.22 hits per nine compared to 8.16 last year. The swing-and-miss has taken a huge step forward as well as he is now striking hitters out at a 13.08 K/9 clip, up from last season's 11.30. Additionally, the quality of contact against him has dropped as opponents are slugging just .173 after posting a .376 SLG last season. While Ralston's walk rate is still a little high, hitters still have not been able to consistently reach base against him as opponents own just a .244 OBP against Ralston this season compared to a .371 OBP last year. Overall, hitters own just a .417 OPS against him this year. Compared to a .747 OPS last season, it's clear just how effective the adjustments to his pitch mix have been. When could we see him? It is always tougher to determine sustainability with relievers as their results can fluctuate heavily from year to year, but through a 13-game sample, it is clear the adjustments Ralston and the Marlins made over the offseason have paid off. The 28-year-old doesn't need to be waiting by his phone quite yet. The Marlins 40-man roster is currently full and Ralston isn't on it. However, this team has shown a willingness to demote struggling players and cycle through fresh arms when needed. During this current stretch of 26 games in 27 days, pitching depth will inevitably be leaned on. Ralston could be next in line to debut. View the full article

Today's video is a roundup of all this weekend's action across the system. Among the top performers were Zebby Matthews, Brandon Winokur, Dasan Hill, Matthew Dalquist, and Jaime Ferrer. View the full article