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If the Triple-A season were a round of golf, Kaelen Culpepper might be two under par through the first five holes. It’s not been a scorching start, but he’s within touching distance of a great front nine. Botched metaphor aside, Culpepper has surpassed 30 games at St. Paul, so it’s time to dig into his numbers and make some initial assessments of his performance. Upon first glance, it’s a solid start. Through 34 games, Culpepper is hitting .250/.335/.465, with 8 home runs among 15 extra-base hits. He’s walking a healthy 10.4% of the time, and striking out just 20.1% of the time, good for a 103 wRC+ through the first month-plus of games. Not bad. Let’s start with Culpepper’s bat-to-ball skills. Is he making enough contact? Definitely. Culpepper is running an overall contact rate of 79.2% (on the high end of average for a big leaguer). His in-zone contact rate is 89.5% (an average big-leaguer hovers around 85%). Why is this significant? Well, Culpepper’s data hasn’t been widely publicly available since he debuted in 2024. Additionally, before 2026, he hadn’t played a game at the Triple-A level. This is his first month at the doorstep of the majors, which makes what we've seen so far really encouraging stuff. Coming out of college, scouting reports had mixed reviews on Culpepper’s ability to hit for power. He wasn’t a prolific power hitter in college, maxing out at 11 home runs in his junior season in an environment that maximizes offensive production. Conversely, it was a pretty right-handed swing with good bat speed that looked geared towards maximizing pull-side loft. How is all that playing out in Lowertown? Pretty well, so far. After clubbing 20 home runs in 113 MiLB games in 2025, Culpepper has 8 more through 31 in 2026, with those 15 extra-base hits overall. His exit velocity numbers look solid, too. He’s currently running an average EV of 91 mph, with a MaxEV of 110.2 mph. We can shoehorn those numbers confidently into a 50-55 power grade, good for somewhere in the range of 20-26 home runs in a given season. Culpepper is hitting the ball hard with regularity, running a hard-hit rate of 48.2%, well above the major-league average of around 38%. Ok, so far, so good. What about that pesky ground ball rate though? Culpepper ran a ground ball percentage of 50% in 2025—problematically high, no matter how hard you hit the ball or how solid your bat-to-ball skills are. He’s cut that significantly in the early going in 2026. It’s currently sitting at 43.2%, in the region of where it should be, with an average launch angle of 12.4°. Far too rosy a picture so far, right? There has to be a bugaboo in this increasingly solid-looking offensive profile? Well, there is. Culpepper chases a lot. His current rate sits at 31.1%, which is high enough that it could expose him a bit in the majors. It’s not crippling, though. For context, there are around 100 big-league hitters who currently have a higher chase rate. Culpepper has always chased. He was an aggressive swinger in college. That’s a trait the Twins aren’t afraid of drafting. It’ll likely always be part of his game. How he’s chased has changed, though, which is a development worth spending a moment on. The scouting report is out on Culpepper. Breaking and off-speed stuff, down and away. Here’s the simplest visual possible, the number of pitches he’s been thrown at Triple-A to date, by zone location. That’s a lot down and away. Here’s the good news, though. While Culpepper is still chasing a lot, he’s chasing less down and away, and more inside. Why is that helpful? Inside is Culpepper’s nitro zone. Peep the visual below, which shows Culpepper’s slugging percentage by zone location. If you’re going to chase, chase where you can do damage, and show that it's a result of having honed your focus on one productive part of the strike zone, rather than a result of being defensive or deceived. Through the end of the week-long series in Vegas, Culpepper was running a .269 BABIP. There’s not much about his contact skills, quality of contact, or batted-ball profile to suggest there’s some underlying issue here. In short, despite his solid 103 wRC+, I think Culpepper is about to heat up and produce more. The Twins are encouraged by Culpepper’s play at shortstop. He’d easily be the Twins' best defensive infielder right now. I feel relatively confident calling him likely to be an average big-league shortstop (complimentary), if not slightly better. His arm will allow the skill set to work excellently at third base, too (don’t tell Royce, anyone). If his first 34 games at Triple-A can be relied on, Culpepper can soon fill several voids the Twins desperately need him to. An above-average defensive infielder, and at the very least, a solid, two-win, everyday player. In another 30 games or so, I expect him to be knocking on the door a little more loudly. View the full article

We have finished the first month of play, and it is time to update the Royals Top 20 Prospects List over at Royals Keep. Both staff and readers voted, and after the results were calculated, the list is now ready to be revealed. The Royals' Top 20 Prospects List saw some notable changes from the preseason, including the addition of two new prospects, which we will break down. Let’s jump into it below. Kansas City Royals Top 20 Prospect List Kendry Chourio RHP A (Previously #4) David Shields LHP A+ (Previously #3) Sean Gamble OF/2B A (Previously #6) Blake Mitchell C A+ (Previously #2) Josh Hammond SS A (Previously #7) Ramon Ramirez C A+ (Previously #8) Drew Beam RHP AA (Previously #9) Asbel Gonzalez CF A+ (Previously #10) Ben Kudrna RHP AAA (40-Man) (Previously #5) Carson Roccaforte CF AA (Previously #16) Yandel Ricardo SS A (Previously #11) Felix Arronde RHP AA (Previously #12) Blake Wolters RHP A+ (Previously #17) Michael Lombardi RHP A (Previously #18) Luinder Avila RHP MLB (40-Man) (Previously #12) Steven Zobac RHP AA (40-Man) (Previously #15) Frank Mozzicato LHP AA (Previously #20) Daniel Vazquez SS AA (Previously #14) Warren Calcaño SS DSL (Previously #19) Shane Panzini RHP AAA (Previously Unranked) In this new list, 19 of our 20 from our preseason rankings remain, with former top prospect Carter Jensen being the only one graduating from the list after starting the 2026 season on the MLB roster. Pitcher Panzini joins the list after pitching primarily in Triple-A Omaha. The biggest risers in the farm system were pitchers. Chourio ascended to the No. 1 prospect in the Royals system while Shields rose to No. 2. Wolters and Lombardi had the biggest rises in terms of rankings, as they both ascended four spots each to No. 13 and No. 14, respectively. Lombardi has been one of the best strikeout pitchers in the Fireflies rotation, while Wolters recently earned a promotion from Low-A to High-A Quad Cities this past week. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Mozzicato rose from No. 20 in the preseason rankings to No. 17 in our latest update. The ERA is brutal at 6.65, but he has a 21.7% K% and has shown some intriguing stuff on his pitches, though control and command have been less than stellar to begin the year. The sooner Kansas City moves Mozzicato to the bullpen full-time (he's made six starts), the better his outlook (and current statline in Double-A) will be. Also in Double-A, Beam rose from No. 9 to No. 7, despite sporting a 4.88 ERA and 6.63 FIP in 27.2 IP. The strikeouts haven't been there for Beam to begin the year, as illustrated by a 13.6% K%. However, he could be due for a positive bounce-back when the weather heats up, and he gets more settled against Texas League hitting. Roccaforte saw the biggest rise of position players, going from No. 16 to No. 10 in our updated rankings. The former University of Louisiana-Lafayette product is hitting only .240 and has a 31.4% strikeout rate. However, he has an .889 OPS and nine home runs for the year, putting him on pace for 20+ home runs this season. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== The first two selections of the 2025 MLB Draft also saw rises in the rankings, with Gamble moving from No. 6 to No. 3 and Hammond moving from No. 7 to No. 5. Quad Cities prospects Ramirez and Gonzalez also moved up to No. 6 and No. 8, respectively, two spots up from their preseason rankings. Gonzalez is hitting .287 with a .772 OPS and has three home runs, while Ramirez is hitting .305 with a .916 OPS and six home runs. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== While the Royals' farm system rankings saw some rises from pitchers in the lower levels, it seemed like arms in the upper levels saw drops in the rankings in this latest edition. Kudrna, who made the 40-man roster this offseason and started in Triple-A, dropped from No. 5 to No. 9, and he could see an even bigger drop in our next rankings, especially with him likely out for the year due to elbow surgery. Avila dropped from No. 12 to No. 15, mostly due to an uneven start in the Majors this year. Furthermore, it seems the Royals are committed to him as a reliever for now, which lowers his ceiling and, thus, his prospect ranking. Zobac hasn't pitched this year due to injury, and that explains why he dropped one spot in this updated edition. The biggest position player drop was Mitchell, who went from No. 2 to No. 4 in the updated rankings. The former first-round pick has six home runs and a walk rate of 30.6% in 121 plate appearances. However, he has a strikeout rate of 32.2% and is hitting just .200. It seems hard to believe that the 30% K rate in High-A will decline in Double-A and beyond. Vazquez also saw a dip, going from No. 14 to No. 18 in these latest rankings. Hopes were high with Vazquez going into the year after a strong Arizona Fall League campaign, and he is hitting .273 with a .360 OPS in 128 plate appearances. However, he has not shown much power, as evidenced by a .696 OPS. Ricardo and Arronde stayed pat after up-and-down campaigns in Columbia and Northwest Arkansas, though they have been playing better recently. Calcano hasn't played in the States yet, which explains why he's remained stagnant in the rankings. He is still 19 years old and should matriculate to the Arizona Complex League at some point. New Addition: Shane Panzini, RHP, Triple-A Omaha, No. 20 Panzini joins the list after missing out on the preseason list. The numbers haven't been great for Panzini in Omaha so far. The former Northeast prep pitcher is posting an ERA of 11.42 and a WHIP of 2.25 in 17.1 IP. His FIP isn't much better at 8.45, and he is also sporting a 4.5% K-BB%. Thus, there's some argument to be made that Panzini isn't a Top-30 prospect in the Royals system, let alone a Top-20 one. However, with some proper tweaks, Panzini could develop into a pretty good reliever at the Major League level, especially if he can get through the rough park factors of Werner Park in Omaha and Triple-A in general. According to TJ Stats, his four-seamer (57.1% usage) and curveball (25.7% usage) are his most utilized pitches. That said, they are also his weakest pitches in terms of TJ Stuff+, with marks of 91 and 96, respectively. On the other hand, his secondary pitches, including his slider (7.5% usage), cutter (5.1% usage), and changeup (4.6% usage), all have a TJ Stuff+ mark of 100 or better, as seen below via his TJ Stuff+ Season Summary. Panzini isn't generating much chase (19.5%) or whiff (20.8%) and is getting hit hard, as evidenced by his .451 xwOBACON. However, some modifications in pitch mix could do wonders for his results. A higher usage of the cutter and slider and a lower usage of the four-seamer and curveball could help make all four of those pitches more effective and his line better overall. I do think Panzini pitches better when the weather improves, as his stuff has been a bit stunted by the rough weather in Omaha and other Midwestern cities where the Storm Chasers have played this year. Despite those velocity issues with the conditions, he has produced some intriguing movement, especially on his four-seamer, which has a 17.6 iVB. Jared Perkins of Just Baseball and Royals Pipeline Podcast (on KC Sports Network) pointed out the iVB on Panzini during an early Omaha outing this year. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== The numbers aren't good, and Panzini is trending toward being another Chandler Champlain, who is no longer in the Royals organization after two rough seasons in Omaha. However, I think Panzini deserves some patience and time to work through things on the mound in Omaha. The seeds are there to be a successful MLB reliever. He just needs to adjust his pitch mix and try to get more on his four-seamer, which has a great foundation for vertical movement (velocity is the issue). View the full article

After his struggles reached their apex in a blown save on April 14, Trevor Megill’s results have flipped for the better. Megill has allowed just one earned run in his last nine outings, picking up four holds and an extra-innings save while settling in as a productive setup man ahead of Abner Uribe. It hasn’t been a run of favorable luck, either. Megill has been legitimately dominant during this stretch, missing barrels and posting excellent strikeout and walk rates. Most of his major ERA estimators since April 16 are below 2.50. {C}%3C!%2D%2Dtd%20%7Bborder%3A%201px%20solid%20%23cccccc%3B%7Dbr%20%7Bmso-data-placement%3Asame-cell%3B%7D%2D%2D%3E--> Date BF ERA xERA FIP SIERA Hard Hit K% BB% K-BB% Through 4/14 29 14.40 7.90 4.12 5.00 52.6% 17.2% 13.8% 3.4% Since 4/16 33 1.00 1.75 1.34 2.21 35.0% 33.3% 6.1% 27.3% The turnaround has not come from Megill rediscovering the lost fastball velocity that plagued him in his first several outings. In fact, his velocity has continued to decrease ever so slightly, even at the time of year when he starts rounding into form. His heater averaged 99 mph last May, but it’s at just 96.9 mph this month. Sitting 96-to-98 now looks even more like his new normal than an early-season blip on the radar. At that velocity, Megill’s fastball remains a magnet for loud contact instead of the overpowering pitch it was when it regularly touched triple digits. It’s performed more reliably during this stretch, though, largely because Megill has used it more strategically. {C}%3C!%2D%2Dtd%20%7Bborder%3A%201px%20solid%20%23cccccc%3B%7Dbr%20%7Bmso-data-placement%3Asame-cell%3B%7D%2D%2D%3E--> Date FB MPH FB Exit Velo FB Hard Hit FB wOBA FB xwOBA FB Whiff% Through 4/14 97.5 98.7 77.8% .520 .595 16.7% Since 4/16 97.2 91.0 57.1% .299 .402 22.9% For starters, Megill has made his pitch mix far less predictable. Here’s how he attacked hitters through that blown save: Since that outing, Megill has not only decreased his overall fastball usage and thrown more curveballs, but also mixed those pitches more evenly in most count situations. It’s become harder for hitters to pick up on patterns and sit on a certain pitch. As a fireballing late-inning reliever, Megill has never needed to be a command pitcher. His breakout with the Brewers stemmed mostly from throwing more pitches in the strike zone, not locating them in perfect spots. With reduced velocity, his old approach of trying to throw every pitch down the middle—knowing his fastball would stay true through the zone, while his curveball would drop below the knees—is no longer viable. Instead, Megill appears to be targeting more specific locations when playing his fastball and curve (which is essentially a short, tight gyrospin slider at this point) off one another. In those early weeks of the season, his command was sporadic, but the middle of the zone still looked like his focal point. Lately, his location has looked more deliberate. Megill is keeping his fastball around the top of the zone to righties, allowing him to land more in-zone curveballs out of the same tunnel for takes and weak contact. Against lefties, he’s setting up chases on back-foot breaking balls with low fastballs shaded inside. In addition to throwing more high fastballs, Megill is also backspinning them a bit more, and his release height is slightly higher. Those changes have increased the carry on his heater, improving its induced vertical break from 19.1 inches to 20 inches during this stretch. Small improvements like that can be the difference between a barreled ball and a swing slightly underneath his fastball. Without its best velocity, Megill needed new strategies to keep hitters from timing it up. He’s made some impressive progress on the fly in response to his struggles, allowing him to remain a key piece in the Brewers’ bullpen—for now. View the full article

Christopher Morel just had his best moment as a Miami Marlin. Frankly, there aren't any other nominees. Sunday afternoon against the Washington Nationals, with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning and the game tied 2-2, Morel stepped up to the plate. His task: drive the ball deep enough to score Esteury Ruiz from third base. Morel delivered, getting just enough of Gus Varland's 0-2 slider to bloop a single into center field. His first RBI of the 2026 season was a game-winner. The 26-year-old free agent acquisition has been limited to nine games thus far due to an oblique strain that he suffered on Opening Day. It's unreasonable to hold that against him—oblique injuries have become increasingly prevalent in baseball, impacting even the best-conditioned athletes. That being said, Morel has blatantly failed the eye test both before and after his absence, with discouraging results to boot. In the meantime, other internal options have emerged as better candidates to fill the role that was originally envisioned for him. How much more of this are the Marlins willing to tolerate? There are several different tiers of major league free agent signings. Morel is an example from the lowest tier—talented enough to receive guaranteed money, but so unproductive that the team had all the leverage. On the heels of back-to-back sub-replacement-level seasons, the burden of proof has been on him from the beginning to demonstrate that things would be different this time. The only consistent aspect of Morel's game through the years has been elite bat speed. That remains intact. Since comprehensive tracking began in 2023, his career average has been approximately 76 mph; in 2026, he's averaging 75.7 mph (second-highest among Marlins players). However, Morel is not generating any in-game power whatsoever. During spring training, he registered one measly extra-base hit in 46 plate appearances. In 47 additional opportunities across minor league rehab and MLB regular season action, he hasn't increased that total. Combining all of those reps, he is slugging .195 in 2026. If Morel is not bringing the threat of homering to the table, he doesn't belong at the table. He has always and will always strike out in abundance, perennially ranking below the 10th percentile in whiff rate. And he is the epitome of the word "positionless." The Marlins have prepared him primarily at first base since signing him because he has proven to be a liability at every other infield and outfield spot during his career. By all accounts, that transition has gone poorly. Half of his starts since being reinstated from the IL have come as Miami's designated hitter. Morel was supposed to have an outsized importance to the Marlins at the beginning of the season while some of their top hitting prospects incubated at Triple-A Jacksonville. But now, Joe Mack has joined the big league club. The Marlins have (appropriately) thrown him in the deep end, starting him behind the plate in six of his first seven games on the active roster. That has freed up their leading run producer, Liam Hicks, to primarily play first base. Connor Norby, who entered this year in a similar situation as Morel, has looked far more adept at his new position while tightening up his plate discipline. There is no case for either of them to sacrifice playing time in favor of Morel. Plus, reinforcements are on the way. Griffin Conine on track to return from the injured list by month's end and Kemp Alderman is learning the position with Triple-A Jacksonville, starting at 1B three times in his last eight games View the full article

The New York Mets entered the week of May 11 as the worst team in the league with a 15-25 record and a .375 winning percentage. That’s certainly not where owner Steven Cohen, president of baseball operations David Stearns, and manager Carlos Mendoza wanted to be after almost a month and a half into the season. The offense has been the main culprit of the mediocre Mets season, as they are dead last in wRC+ with an 81 mark. It’s baffling how a team with such a talented collection of hitters manages to underperform almost on a daily basis. In fact, things have been so bad that MJ Melendez leads the Mets in wRC+ among hitters with at least 50 plate appearances, with a 143 mark. He has played almost exclusively against right-handers, which is why he isn’t quite an everyday guy, but who knows where New York would be without him? Understanding MJ Melendez's Jekyll-and-Hyde Season Melendez is slashing a solid .271/.352/.500 with two home runs in 55 trips to the plate. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it doesn’t look all that sustainable if we look at his plate discipline profile. An accurate way to put Melendez’s current stat line would be a savage fight between his quality of contact and his plate discipline metrics. The former is aided by a 63.3 percent hard-hit rate, a 95.7 mph average exit velocity, and a 16.7 percent barrel rate. The latter, however, paints a grim picture. Melendez’s 30.8 percent chase rate is below-average, but it’s not nearly as problematic as his horrible 37.1 percent whiff rate, which would be among the league’s worst if he were a qualified hitter. The situation results in a 34.5 percent strikeout rate, which certainly doesn’t portend a continuation of his .271 batting average. You can tell that Melendez has been getting away with some luck, judging by his .407 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) and his .290 xwOBA, which pales in comparison to his .374 wOBA. Expected stats say that the lefty-hitting slugger should have a .191 batting average and a .372 slugging percentage. So, yes, Melendez is punishing the ball when he hits it, but in reality, that hasn’t happened that often. In fact, he hasn’t swung that often, with his 47.9 percent swing rate qualifying as his lowest mark since 2023. He is trying to be ‘patient’ at the plate, as his 27.3 percent first-pitch swing rate is the lowest of his career. In the process, he has been letting a lot of hittable balls go by, as his 69.2 percent meatball swing rate is considerably lower than the league average of 76.2 percent and his career mark of 82.7 percent. Melendez’s 33.3 pull air percentage, however, is one of the highest in the league. To sum up, he often takes pitches, trying to find the right one, and when he does, his intention is to put up a powerful swing to his pull side. It seems that, in the process, he has lost a lot of his contact skills, which weren’t great to begin with. Of course, these are all conclusions based on a limited sample, so it might as well just be some unfiltered noise. But it will be interesting to see where Melendez’s 2026 tendencies take him, and if he can keep thriving with such a selective approach at the plate. View the full article

Facing Hunter Feduccia to lead off the fourth inning and throwing a four-seam fastball on a 2-2 pitch, Kevin Gausman notched the 2000th strikeout of his career. Of those 2000, 510 have come in that count. It also marked the 468th time that Gausman had sat down the leadoff hitter of an inning on strikes. Since joining the Blue Jays in 2022, Gausman has recorded 839 of his strikeouts. That total has him sitting seventh all-time with the Jays. Another 105 this season and he’ll catch Jimmy Key for sixth place. Gausman is a free agent at the end of this season, so if he has plans on cracking the top five, he’ll likely need to sign an extension. In 2023, Gausman notched 237 strikeouts, leading the AL and marking the fourth-highest single-season total ever for a Blue Jays pitcher. It was most by a Jays pitcher who didn’t go on to win the Cy Young Award. His 205 Ks in 2022 and 189 Ks in 2025 sit as the eighth and 13th best seasons in franchise history. Gausman was the Opening Day starter for Toronto this season and came out of the gates flying, chalking up 11 strikeouts against a free-swinging Athletics team and setting his high-water mark for the season (so far). He had 10 Ks in his next start, making it the 21st time Gausman notched double-digit strikeouts in a game with Toronto. His career best mark is 13 strikeouts in a game, a feat he achieved twice in Toronto, both in 2023. In one of those games, against Seattle, Gausman struck out Cal Raleigh and Teoscar Hernández three times each (Jordan Romano would face them later in the game and secure golden sombreros for both hitters). After those two starts, Gausman has cooled off some and hasn’t had more than five strikeouts in a game since (he would leave the milestone game with five Ks). In fact, in his last three starts going into the milestone game, he’d had three or fewer Ks, his lowest for a three-game stretch in Toronto. Not since 2014 in Baltimore has Gausman had a three-start stretch with so few strikeouts (he went 3-2-3 then too). Having spent the bulk of his career in the AL East, it should be no surprise that each of the three active players Gausman has struck out the most also spent a chunk of time here. Xander Bogaerts has gone down on strikes against him 13 times, while Trevor Story represents 15 of Gausman’s career Ks. No one is close to Aaron Judge’s 20, though. Just over 1.4% of the time when Judge has struck out in his career, he’s looked at the mound and seen Gausman standing there. Ahead of this season, we had Gausman as the 25th best Blue Jay of all time and the only active pitcher to make the Top 50. If we made a list of the Top 50 Contracts in Blue Jays History, there’s a fair shot that Gausman would have placed even higher. His five-year, $110 million deal was notably $5 million less than the deal Robbie Ray would get on his way out of Toronto. Gausman stepped into that ace role and earned a spot as one of the franchise’s greats. Here’s to 2000 more! View the full article

“Just be ready.” Those were the words former Worcester manager Chad Tracy kept telling Payton Tolle as he waited to step on the mound again. The last time the young left-hander had pitched was April 12 when he tossed five shutout innings against the Columbus Clippers. In that game Tolle was dominant, tossing five shutout innings while striking out six. The left-hander being a force in Triple-A was nothing new, but how he’s handled his secondary pitches showed he was a different pitcher from 2025. “He landed his off-speed for strikes and when he lands his off-speed for strikes and then runs it up to 98 with that big extension, he’s very difficult to deal with. That was the biggest focus with Dan and Noah [pitching and bullpen coaches]. Let’s not get too fine about it, let’s land it, it’s like we need the breaking ball over the plate for a strike. We need the changeup in the zone for a strike. And then it plays even more and they can’t just sit on a fastball,” Tracy explained when asked on April 21 about when asked by the media what Tolle had shown to begin the season for a call-up to make sense. Tolle would indeed be recalled on April 23 to pitch against the New York Yankees and showed he was ready. While the Red Sox would ultimately lose the game 4-2, Tolle gave the team everything he had by pitching six innings and allowing just one earned run on three hits and a walk. He also struck out 11 batters including five straight to begin his outing. His fastball topped out at 99.5 mph during the outing, and he managed to generate 18 whiffs. The Yankees as a team have handled fastballs extremely well in 2026 with Ben Rice, Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Austin Wells all having a run value of three or greater. Run Value is a metric that helps measure the impact a hitter has on run scoring with a positive value indicating runs created. Rice, who leads the team against fastballs with a Run Value of nine, has a .400 batting average and a 1.240 slugging percentage against fastballs in 2026. Against Tolle he went 1-for-3, his lone hit coming off of the sinker while being struck out on a fastball. And just as Tracy had stated about what made Tolle ready for the major leagues, the left-hander went out and did just that. Leading with his fastball for 49% of his pitches, his best weapon was supplemented by mainly his sinker and curveball as the latter generated seven whiffs and was a strike 80% of the time it was thrown. Thanks to that, Tolle was able to get eight whiffs with his fastball, the pitch being put in play just five times while only one ended up as a hit. The sinker was just as useful despite not generating any whiffs. Instead, Tolle was able to land it for a strike 61% of the time including for five first pitch strikes. His cutter was just as effective, using it 12% of the time and getting two whiffs on it while landing it for a strike 73% of the time. The pitch was used against both right-handed and left-handed batters. Overall, he tossed 93 pitches on the evening with 68% of them going for strikes. But unlike in 2025 where his first start was his best performance, Tolle continued to pitch well and in his third start against the Detroit Tigers, the left-hander dominated even when mother nature looked to create chaos. Tossing seven innings, Tolle cruised against the Tigers’ lineup as he allowed just one hit and one walk to the Tigers offense while striking out eight. He also allowed two unearned runs to score during a very wet sixth inning. Tolle’s night began by retiring the first 12 batters he faced until Riley Greene led off the fifth inning with a double. Then the sixth inning came. As the weather worsened and fans were told to take shelter, Tolle remained on the mound throughout the downpour. The weather situation played a role in a rough sixth inning as Tolle hit the first batter and with one out allowed his lone walk of the evening. With two on and one out, Carlos Narváez attempted to pick off the runner on first base only to throw the baseball into right field and allow both runners to advance. Then Matt Vierling stepped to the plate and hit a ground ball at Andruw Monasterio at third base who attempted to throw home. It was offline and got past Narváez, allowing both runners to score. Despite that, Tolle remained poised on the mound, striking out the next two batters and getting the team out of the inning without any more damage being done. When looking at the pitch usage, it was very similar to the Yankees outing where he led with his four-seam fastball with a 36% usage rate while the sinker and curveball both supplemented it as they were used 23% and 18%, respectively. His cutter and changeup saw a tick in increased usage at 16% and 7%. Overall Tolle managed to generate nine whiffs, with eight of them coming between the fastball and curveball. Just like with the Yankees, Tolle was often in the strike zone, getting a strike with his fastball 77% of the time including six first-pitch strikes. And just like the Yankees, the Tigers are also a good fastball hitting team with seven players having a Run Value of at least one, with three of them having a value of three. Of those seven players, only Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, and Dillon Dingler were in the lineup. The three of them went a combined 1-for-9 against Tolle and the only hit was off a sinker. Since returning to the majors, Tolle has been throwing strikes and utilizing the strike zone with all of his pitches. His fastball has mostly been in the upper-two-thirds of the strike zone or in the bottom left of the strike zone from the catcher’s perspective. Compared to 2025 where it was mainly located on the upper half of the strike zone and towards the left-handed batter’s box, the pitch has been located better. The curveball has also seen an improvement, not just in pitch usage but where he’s landing it. During his time in the majors last season, Tolle used it just 18 times with it mostly landing on the upper inside portion of the plate if you were a left-handed batter. Now, the pitch has a more varied location. Most of the time Tolle seems to be landing it in the upper third of the strike zone or at the bottom of the zone with it occasionally hitting the inside corner of the left-handed batter’s box. It has seen a vast improvement in missing bats, being whiffed on 52.4% of the time. His sinker on the other hand has the most varied locations when you look at his pitch contour. The pitch has had a few locations he frequents with it, being mostly the inside portion of the plate to left-handed hitters. The pitch has mostly been up and in or down and in with the occasional down and away from the left-handed batter’s box (though if you’re to look at it from the right-handed box it would be the opposite). With his sinker and curveball able to change the vertical eye level of a hitter, Tolle has been able to make hitters guess with his cutter. When thrown up in the zone, the pitch has been in a similar location to the curveball only a bit more inside if you’re a right-handed hitter. The pitch has also been thrown down and away from left-handed hitters (or down and inside to a right-handed hitter), helping him to generate a chase rate of 29.7% All of this has allowed his fastball to be even better. So far in 2026, the pitch has been thrown 113 times and batters are hitting .063 against it and slugging just .156 and whiffing on it 30.5% of the time. Batters are just 2-for-32 against the pitch this season, having struck out 15 times against it. Prior to his most recent start against the Tampa Bay Rays, Tolle had yet to give up a hit with his cutter, curveball and changeup as batters are a combined 0-for-16 against them. In 2025 batters, went 4-for-11 against those same three pitches. The Red Sox will now be faced with a difficult decision once the rotation returns to full strength: Do they option Tolle back to Triple-A to gain an extra year of control, or do they keep him in the rotation? Should the team want to win every night and get back into playoff contention, the answer should be obvious after Tolle’s display of dominance during his time in the majors. Since being recalled, he’s looked like the ace many envisioned, having allowed just seven earned runs across his 22 2/3 innings. View the full article

Linescores are underrated. You know, the top part of those box scores we scour listing the inning-by-inning tallies. Alone, linescores let our imaginations picture the flow of a contest, and depending on our rooting interest, the unmitigated highs and deflating lows. We glance at the hit and error totals on the far right and determine if those figures make sense. Linescores allow us to ever so briefly ask questions like "what?", "how?", and "really?" before we lower our eyes and dig into all the minutia within the actual box. Here's to you, Mr. Linescore. Thanks for all your daily contributions to our baseball fandom. Transaction: SS Tyler Rodriguez assigned to Wilson Warbirds from ACL Brewers. Rodriguez, now in his age 20 season, is a Dominican native who was part of the January 2023 international class. So, he's already in his 4th season. This isn't the RH-hitting utilityman's first Carolina League rodeo. Rodriguez, who has seen action at every position but the pitcher-catcher battery and has managed a .400 OBP in his career despite light batting average and slugging figures, is a bit of a manager's secret weapon. Rodriguez spent all of 2025 with the Mudcats and had to exit the September 3rd game at the season's tail end. He left after grounding out in the 2nd inning and was placed on the 60-day injured list the very next day. To open 2026, Rodriguez was placed on the seven-day IL and has appeared in three rehab games with Maryvale. He's ready for a return to action in Wilson despite an 0-for-10 mark (one BB, five K's). Thanks to the magic of what yours truly saw and then typed last September, well, you'll see: "19-year-old Tyler Rodriguez, in an attempt to reach for the first base bag on an infield grounder, went tumbling in the worst way. He was lifted onto a cart and taken off the field in what would be a miracle if it's not a devastating long-term lower body injury." Thus, in some ways, Rodriguez playing eight months later should be deemed very much a positive. Best wishes, Tyler! NOTE: Many of us picture an overflowing, even bloated roster at the rookie level. Heck, you have two Dominican Summer League teams feeding graduates each spring, plus prior year's high school draft picks yet to debut, and players repeating the level needing to show more before entering full-season ball. But to be honest, on the position player side, the current Maryvale squad is relatively lean at 14 active players (15 if you count catcher Luis Corobo, who was sent to Maryvale from Wilson after his own early exit from a game on April 24th and has yet to play since). You may wish to bookmark this sortable page for position players for the Maryvale club, this one for pitchers; the pages will give you a sense of who is getting the most action on a daily basis, and of course, their bottom-line stats. Final: ACL Reds 8, ACL Brewers 7 Box Score and Game Log Well, lo and behold, it's an actual nine-inning game, it's been over a week since we could say that. That being said, we've seen rather moderate and reasonable temperatures at first pitch during these early-season Arizona contests, while on Monday night we read: Weather: 105 degrees, Clear. Wind: 6 mph, Varies. So sure, let's now decide to play nine! Five of the seven Arizona Complex League games Monday were scheduled for nine innings, the most we've seen in a while. It's a guess that the two organizations facing off have discussions earlier in the day to determine the status of their squads, the need to have pitchers work innings (or not), etc. If this had been a seven-inning game, as our afore-mentioned friend Mr. Linescore tells us, this affair would have been much less exciting. As the game was about to begin, my Link Report co-worker Daniel provided these insights: "19-year-old RHP Ma’Kale Holden gets the start for the ACL Brewers (3-3), who play at the ACL Reds (3-2). Holden was dominant in his professional debut a week ago (5 IP, 0 R, 6 Ks). The position player pattern has the squad prioritizing 8 players (Acosta, Antunez, Fenelon, Frias, Mills, Hughes, Martinez, Rangel), 1 of whom rests per game (Martinez tonight), thus allowing 2 other players to get periodic starts (C Malachai Halterman, 2B Moises Polanco tonight)." Oh my, hasn't the guaranteed Statcast data at all complex league level games created quite the buzz. If you didn't already know, you can click on the game log "event oval" via the link above for any batted ball in play, and get info on exit velocity, launch angle and more. For a BrewerFanatic Link Reporter, it's valuable but just adds to the analysis workload to get these reports to you, with most nights featuring five games (soon to be seven with the Dominican League in a few weeks). A series of social media posts led to this summary via our own @Spencer Michaelis (by the way, consider membership options at his "Backfield Brew" Patreon): Incredible, but accurate? I was also monitoring early in this game, and it all just seemed to be too off-the-charts. I was tempted to dig into other games played by Reds and Guardians teams in that ballpark this spring, but that can be tasked to others for now. Later in the evening we learn that yes indeed, we can be skeptical, thanks to our dedicated Brewers fan in Taiwan, Terry. For that matter, was it really 105 degrees outside? C'mon, Goodyear. There's no reason to believe that these top two power prospects in Frias and Antunez didn't hit the ball hard Monday, very hard, in fact. Let's just be careful to read too much into those figures. Mr. Linescore told us each team made three errors (throw in a passed ball for the Crew). Ms. Box Score (yes, Ms., as she's more thorough) indicates that Cleveland arms did a better job at working around those miscues: Guardians - Zero unearned runs allowed Brewers - Seven unearned runs allowed The Maryvale five-run 9th inning rally was: Walk Cristopher Acosta double (he really needed that) Antunez HBP Kenny Fenelon double Frias double Ryan Mills groundout (an unusually quiet 0-for-5 evening) CJ Hughes strikeout (oh no, one out left and still one run short) Walk Walk Balk (tie game, thank you, Guardians!) Walk to reload the bases Acosta strikeout (on to the fateful bottom of the frame) The game ended unceremoniously with no outs after RHP Argenis Aparicio, who has been in a bit of a closer's role, walked the leadoff man. An error by first baseman Jonathan Rangel followed, then a wild pitch, and subsequently a game-ending single. With it being the lone game of the evening, I'll allow you to dig any deeper into Ma'Kale Holden's start, LHP Joey Broughton's second appearance of the young season, and more via your box score review. Tuesday the 3-4 A-Crew continues a road trip to Mesa (thankfully not Goodyear) to face the 2-4 Athletics' youngsters. As for the full-season clubs, Nashville, Wisconsin and Wilson all return to their home ballparks (with the Warbirds beginning a sweet two-week homestand), while Biloxi hits the road, all in evening starts. Have a fine Tuesday, everyone! Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View the full article

In nearly three and a half decades as a franchise, the Florida/Miami Marlins have had six different pitchers throw a no-hitter. Perhaps the most bizarre came on this day 25 years ago. For the Florida Marlins at Qualcomm Park on May 12, 2001, pitcher A.J. Burnett walked nine batters, hit another and barely threw more strikes than balls. In the end, however, he became the third pitcher in Marlins history to toss a no-no in a 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres. For the night, Burnett threw 129 pitches—65 strikes and 64 balls. After Burnett pitched around a two-out walk in the first inning, the Padres had perhaps their best scoring chance in the second. Ben Davis and Bubba Trammell drew back-to-back walks to open the frame. A flyout by Damian Jackson moved Davis to third with one out, but two pitches later, Burnett was able to get Donaldo Méndez to ground into a double play to end the threat. In the top of the third, Florida gave Burnett all the offense he would need. Charles Johnson’s two-run double scored Eric Owens and Preston Wilson to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead. In the third, San Diego threatened again. Two walks and a wild pitch put a pair of runners in scoring position with one out, but Burnett again hunkered down. Burnett struck out Ryan Klesko swinging before getting Dave Magadan to fly out to centerfield. The fourth required another Houdini act from Burnett. After a second walk to Trammell and hitting Jackson, Burnett again got out of the inning unscathed following consecutive strikeouts of Méndez and opposing pitcher Wascar Serrano. Florida added to its lead with a run in the top of the fifth. Burnett followed with consecutive 1-2-3 innings. The right-hander worked around a one-out walk in the seventh. After a pair of walks brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the eighth, Burnett inducted consecutive pop-outs from Davis and Trammell. The bottom of the ninth would be one of Burnett’s most economical innings of the evening. After getting Alex Arias to fly out, Burnett fanned pinch hitter Santiago Pérez for his seventh and final strikeout of the night. Three pitches later, Phil Nevin popped out to Florida shortstop Álex González to complete the wild no-hitter. While Burnett kept San Diego without a hit, the Marlins finished with seven. Wilson had three of those knocks. Serrano took the loss for the Padres despite allowing just one earned run in seven innings. Burnett’s no-hitter served as the first for the Marlins since Kevin Brown no-hit the San Francisco Giants in June 1997. In baseball history, only Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds in 1965 had more walks in a no-hitter than Burnett’s nine. Burnett’s lone career no-no came on this day a quarter-century ago. View the full article

Fish On First staffers react to the latest Miami Marlins series and prepare you for what lies ahead. Monday's show was hosted by Alex Carver and featured panelists Ely Sussman, Kevin Barral, Jeremiah Geiger and Nate Karzmer. The following topics were covered: Marlins releasing (rather than outrighting) Chris Paddack Unusual pitch usage for Sandy Alcantara Esteury Ruiz thriving in his role What Joe Mack and Robby Snelling have shown us so far First-inning pitching struggles for the whole staff Eury Pérez underperforming his immense talent Who gets sent down to make room for Pete Fairbanks? Previewing and predicting the next series against the Minnesota Twins You can find Fish Unfiltered and Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. Our next FOF LIVE episode will be Thursday at approximately 6:00 p.m. ET the day after the Marlins-Twins series finale. View the full article

The Omaha Storm Chasers cruised to a 9-0 win behind Kameron Misner's three-hit, three-RBI night, Drew Waters' five-RBI effort that included a home run, and 3 2/3 hitless innings from starter Ethan Bosacker. Jordan Woods struck out 14 across six no-hit innings of work, but the Columbia Fireflies lost 3-2 after the bullpen surrendered a three-run homer. Quad Cities rallied from a 5-0 deficit but ultimately fell 10-5 to Cedar Rapids. Northwest Arkansas was postponed. Royals Transactions No Roster Moves Storm Chasers Cruise Past Indianapolis Behind Misner And Waters The Omaha Storm Chasers blanked the Indianapolis Indians 9-0, racking up 13 hits and nine scoreless innings of pitching. Kameron Misner went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, three runs scored, three RBI, a walk, and a stolen base. Drew Waters added a 3-for-4 night with a double, a home run, five RBI, and a walk. Gavin Cross collected two hits, stole a base, and scored a run. John Rave chipped in two hits and an RBI. Starter Ethan Bosacker tossed 3 2/3 hitless innings, walking two and striking out four. Bailey Falter took over and earned the win, working 2 1/3 innings of two-hit ball without a walk and striking out five. Helcris Olivárez, Anthony Gose, and Jose Cuas combined for the final three frames without allowing a run. Omaha jumped ahead in the first when Waters singled in Misner. The lineup blew it open in the fifth: Colton Becker and Rave singled, Abraham Toro reached on a fielder's choice, Misner laced a two-run double to push the lead to 3-0, and Waters followed with an RBI double for a 4-0 cushion. The Storm Chasers tacked on two more in the sixth on bases-loaded walks by Misner and Waters, another in the seventh on a Rave single that scored Cross, and two more in the eighth on Waters' two-run home run. Omaha stranded 10 baserunners but never allowed the Indians to threaten the shutout. Player AB R H RBI BB K John Rave 5 0 2 1 0 2 Abraham Toro 4 1 0 0 1 2 Kameron Misner 4 3 3 3 1 0 Drew Waters 4 1 3 5 1 0 Josh Rojas 5 0 0 0 0 0 Gavin Cross 5 1 2 0 0 0 Dustin Dickerson 5 1 1 0 0 3 Luke Maile 3 1 1 0 2 2 Colton Becker 4 1 1 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Ethan Bosacker 3.2 0 0 0 2 4 0 Bailey Falter (W, 1-0) 2.1 2 0 0 0 5 0 Helcris Olivárez 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Anthony Gose 1.0 0 0 0 2 2 0 Jose Cuas 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Naturals Game Postponed The Northwest Arkansas Naturals' scheduled game was postponed. River Bandits' Late Rally Falls Short Against Cedar Rapids The Quad Cities River Bandits rallied to tie Cedar Rapids in the sixth inning but allowed five unanswered runs late and dropped a 10-5 decision. Ramon Ramirez powered the home offense with a three-run homer in the fifth, finishing 1-for-4 with a run scored, a walk, and a strikeout. Luke Pelzer went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and two stolen bases. Leadoff hitter Nolan Sailors collected two hits, scored a run, and swiped two bases. Erick Torres added two hits, a double, a walk, and scored a run. Blake Mitchell drew a walk, scored a run, and drove in another with a sacrifice fly. Starter Aiden Jimenez was tagged for five earned runs on five hits across 3 2/3 innings, surrendering three home runs while walking two and striking out one. Kamden Edge recorded a strikeout in 1/3 of an inning. Mason Miller followed with 2 2/3 hitless, scoreless innings, walking three and striking out three. Nick Conte was charged with the loss (0-1) after allowing two earned runs across 1 1/3 innings, and Yimi Presinal surrendered three runs on one hit, two walks, and a home run in one inning. Down 5-0 after three innings, Quad Cities answered in the fifth when Ramirez's blast scored Sailors and Mitchell to make it 5-3, then Austin Charles brought Pelzer home on a sacrifice fly. Mitchell's sixth-inning sacrifice fly to score Torres tied the game at 5-5. Cedar Rapids regained the lead with two runs in the eighth and pulled away with three more in the ninth. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nolan Sailors 5 1 2 0 0 0 Blake Mitchell 3 1 0 1 1 3 Ramon Ramirez 4 1 1 3 1 1 Luke Pelzer 4 1 2 0 0 0 Jose Cerice 4 0 1 0 0 1 Austin Charles 3 0 0 1 0 1 Derlin Figueroa 2 0 0 0 2 0 Erick Torres 3 1 2 0 1 1 Tyriq Kemp 4 0 1 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Aiden Jimenez 3.2 5 5 5 2 1 3 Kamden Edge 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Mason Miller 2.2 1 0 0 3 3 0 Nick Conte (L, 0-1) 1.1 1 2 2 2 1 1 Yimi Presinal 1.0 1 3 3 2 2 1 Jordan Woods Strikes Out 14, but Fireflies Fall To Kannapolis The Columbia Fireflies dropped a 3-2 decision to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers despite a dominant performance from starter Jordan Woods, who struck out 14 over six no-hit innings on 76 pitches without issuing a walk. The quality start was not enough as Columbia's offense managed just six hits. Josh Hammond led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and a strikeout. Roni Cabrera added two hits and a run scored. Brooks Bryan collected a hit and an RBI on a sixth-inning double. Jhosmmel Zue went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Yandel Ricardo finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. The bullpen could not preserve the lead. Dash Albus was charged with the loss (0-1) and a blown save after allowing three earned runs on three hits, including a home run, with three strikeouts in one inning of work. Andy Basora followed with a scoreless eighth, surrendering one hit while striking out one. Columbia broke through in the sixth when Hammond doubled and came around to score on Bryan's two-out RBI double, putting the Fireflies on top 1-0. In the seventh, Cabrera singled and scored on Zue's run-scoring double for a 2-0 cushion. Kannapolis answered in the bottom of the inning with a three-run home run off Albus, providing the difference. The Fireflies left six runners on base, and Woods' no-hit bid through six was the night's defining performance, even in defeat. Player AB R H RBI BB K Henry Ramos 3 0 0 0 1 1 Yandel Ricardo 4 0 0 0 0 2 Josh Hammond 4 1 2 0 0 1 Brooks Bryan 4 0 1 1 0 0 Sean Gamble 4 0 0 0 0 0 Stone Russell 3 0 0 0 0 1 Roni Cabrera 4 1 2 0 0 2 Daniel Lopez 4 0 0 0 0 2 Jhosmmel Zue 3 0 1 1 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Jordan Woods 6.0 0 0 0 0 14 0 Dash Albus (L, 0-1)(BS, 1) 1.0 3 3 3 0 3 1 Andy Basora 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Carter Jensen: DNP Blake Mitchell: 0-for-3, R, RBI, BB, 3 K David Shields: DNP Kendry Chourio: DNP Ben Kudrna: DNP Sean Gamble: 0-for-4 Josh Hammond: 2-for-4, R, 2B, K Ramon Ramirez: 1-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K Drew Beam: DNP Asbel Gonzalez: DNP Yandel Ricardo: 0-for-4, 2 K Felix Arronde: DNP Luinder Avila: DNP Daniel Vázquez: DNP Steven Zobac: DNP Carson Roccaforte: DNP Blake Wolters: DNP Michael Lombardi: DNP Warren Calcaño: DNP Frank Mozzicato: DNP View the full article

The desperation is real, which is why the New York Mets are turning to a player with a grand total of 12 games above the Double-A level. Outfielder A.J. Ewing, Grand Central Mets' No. 3 prospect, will be promoted by the Mets to make his MLB debut, according to a report Monday by Will Sammon of The Athletic. The 21-year-old Ewing has played 12 games at Triple-A Syracuse this year after starting the season at Double-A Binghamton. Even at Binghamton, Ewing had played just 48 games—28 last year and 18 this year. The Mets entered play Monday with the worst record in MLB at 15-25, already 12½ games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East. At least one move will need to be made to get Ewing on the 40-man and 26-man rosters before Tuesday's series opener vs. the Detroit Tigers at Citi Field. One possibility is outfielder Austin Slater being designated for assignment. Still, Ewing, a fourth-round draft choice in 2023 out of Springboro (Ohio) High School, has been tearing the cover off the ball the last two years regardless of the level. In his dozen games at Syracuse, the left-handed-hitting Ewing had a slash line of .326/.392/.435 with no homers, four RBIs and five stolen bases. That came after posting a .339/.447/.514 slash line at Binghamton with two homers, 11 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He also has shown patience at the plate, drawing 17 walks in those 18 games at Binghamton. In 2025, between the rookie-level Florida Complex League, High-A St. Lucie and Double-A, Ewing had a combined slash line of .315/.401/.429 with three homers, 55 RBIs and 70 stolen bases in 124 games. Ewing is a contact-minded hitter with superb defense in center field. He has also played left field and a little second base. View the full article

Once again in 2026, I will be monitoring Miami Marlins predictions from our valued SuperSubs, Fish On First staffers and livestream guests. Individual article pages like this one will be created prior to every Marlins series and featured prominently on the FOF site. Consistent participation is key if you want to win this annual contest. Submissions only take a few seconds. Scoring system A "perfect" series is worth three points: Earn one point for predicting which team will win the upcoming series Earn one point for predicting the precise number of victories for each team Earn one point for predicting the “Series MVP” who accumulated the highest win probability added (WPA) during the series as calculated by FanGraphs (could pick a player from either team) FOF staffer Sean McCormack currently sits atop the 2026 season leaderboard, which will be updated between every Marlins series. If you are a SuperSub, leave a comment with your Prediction Time picks on this page, or join the Marlins Discord Server and submit there. We'll feature them on the upcoming Fish On First LIVE episode and track your points throughout the season! Any picks submitted prior to the first pitch of the series opener will be counted. If you are not a SuperSub, please consider signing up here to support the FOF staff. Series preview notes Probable starting pitchers: RHP Eury Pérez (MIA) vs. RHP Bailey Ober (MIN) on Tuesday RHP Max Meyer (MIA) vs. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (MIN) on Wednesday LHP Robby Snelling (MIA) vs. TBD (MIN) on Thursday The Marlins rank 13th in MLB with a 100 wRC+ and 10th in MLB with a 3.82 FIP. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and have a 5-10 record on the road this season. The following Marlins players are on the injured list: Griffin Conine (10-day IL), Pete Fairbanks (15-day IL), Ronny Henriquez (60-day IL) and Adam Mazur (60-day IL). Fairbanks is expected to be reinstated during this series. The Twins rank 15th in MLB with a 100 wRC+ and 20th in MLB with a 4.31 FIP. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and have a 10-10 record at home this season. The following Twins players are on the injured list: Mick Abel (15-day IL), Garrett Acton (15-day IL), Taj Bradley (15-day IL), David Festa (60-day IL), Cody Laweryson (15-day IL), Pablo López (60-day IL) and Cole Sands (15-day IL). View the full article

Weekly Snapshot: Record Last Week: 4-1 (Overall: 22-16) Run Scored Last Week: 23 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 14 Standing: 2nd in NL Central *** Game 34 (5/4) | Cardinals 6, Brewers 3 Game 35* (5/5) | Game Postponed, Makeup scheduled for 7/7 Game 35 (5/6) | Brewers 6, Cardinals 2 Game 36 (5/8) | Brewers 6, Yankees 0 Game 37 (5/9) | Brewers 4, Yankees 3 Game 38 (5/10) | Brewers 4, Yankees 3 *** Game 34 | Cardinals 6, Brewers 3 MIL Starter: Chad Patrick (3.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) Top Performers: Jackson Chourio (4 H, 2 2B, BB) Brice Turang (3 H, HR, 2 RBI) DL Hall (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 2 K) The Brewers were in St. Louis on Monday to face off against the red-hot Cardinals, with Chad Patrick taking the ball for the first game of the series. It was Patrick’s weakest start of the season, allowing 10 baserunners and four runs over his 3.1 innings of work. On the other side, the Redbird Kyle Leahy turned in his best start of the season, quieting the Brewer offense despite multi-hit days from Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang. Brice Turang’s 2-run home run (+0.8 WP%) Game 35 | Brewers 6, Cardinals 2 MIL Starter: Brandon Sproat (4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) Top Performers: Aaron Ashby (2.0 IP, 0 H, BB, 0 ER, K) Andrew Vaughn (2 H, HR, 3 RBI) Jake Bauers (2 H, BB, RBI) A rainout shortened the Brewers' trip to Missouri to just two games, and in that second game, the Brewers would get the split. That was on the back of Brandon Sproat’s strong outing, twirling four scoreless. With the bats, it was Andrew Vaughn announcing his return to the lineup, blasting a 3-run home run in the first inning en route to a 6-2 Brewer victory. Andrew Vaughn goes deep (+21.8 WP%) Game 36 | Brewers 6, Yankees 0 MIL Starter: Jacob Misiorowski (6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 11 K) Top Performers: Brandon Lockridge (2 H, 2 RBI) Shane Drohan (3.0 IP, H, 0 ER, 3 K, SV) Andrew Vaughn (H, 2 B, BB) The series opener against the Yankees may have appeared as a marquee pitching matchup, but the actual events on Friday were nothing but the Jacob Misiorowski show. In just his 22nd major league start, The Miz threw his first 10 pitches of the ball game all over 102 mph, and never looked back. Things fell apart for Max Fried on the other side, as a brief loss of command in the 2nd inning plated four Brewers, and with his opposing hurler pitching lights out of the other side, the Brewers would waltz away with a dominant 6-0 win. Jacob Misiorowski’s dominant outing Game 37 | Brewers 4, Yankees 3 MIL Starter: Kyle Harrison (4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 2 ER, 6 K) Top Performers: William Contreras (2 H, 2 RBI) Chad Patrick (3.0 IP, 2 H, BB, 0 ER, 5 K) Aaron Ashby (2.0 IP, H, R, BB, 3 K) It was the Yankees' turn to send out their young phenom for game 2, with Cam Schlittler outdueling Kyle Harrison, where he proved why he’s the league-wide leader in ERA, tossing six scoreless innings in his American Family Field debut. Still, Harrison and then Chad Patrick, behind him, fought through the potent Yankees offense before a solo homerun from Jake Bauers in the 7th, and a game-tying single from William Contreras knotted the game. Then, in extras, a game-tying single from Jackson Chourio and a walk-off Wild Bill sac fly gave the Brewers the series. William Contreras sends ‘em home happy (+16.3 WP%) Game 38 | Brewers 4, Yankees 3 MIL Starter: Logan Henderson (5.0 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 ER, 5 K) Top Performers: Brice Turang (2 H, HR, RBI) Blake Perkins (H, 2 RBI) Aaron Ashby (1.0 IP, 0 H, BB, 3 K) The Brewers, a historically dominant team on Mother's Day, did it again. It looked as if the Yankees had gotten to Logan Henderson early in the contest, but he settled in to get through five, while on the other side, a big 2-run single from Blake Perkins gave the Brewers the lead. New York did eventually battle back to tie the game after an RBI double from Jazz Chisholm, but that just set the table for a dramatic, 2-out walk-off home run ala Brice Turang, in the 9th. Happy Mother's Day! Brice Turang walks it off (+46.4 WP%) WERaMGFfWGw0TUFRPT1fQVZkU0JsZFFBMUVBRGxWUkJBQUhDQUlDQUZnR1VGUUFBZ01CQ1FJRVVnUlVWQXBS.mp4 Transactions: 05/09/26 - Placed LF Brandon Lockridge on the 10-day injured list with a right knee laceration and contusion. 05/09/26 - Recalled LF Blake Perkins from AAA Nashville. 05/08/26 - Sent LF Greg Jones outright to AAA Nashville. 05/04/26 - Activated CF Jackson Chourio from the 10-day injured list. 05/04/26 - Designated LF Greg Jones for assignment. 05/04/26 - Activated 1B Andrew Vaughn from the 10-day injured list. 05/04/26 - Optioned LF Blake Perkins to AAA Nashville. Notes Brandon Lockridge’s knee injury stemming from Friday's game is believed to keep him out of action for at least 4 weeks. Blake Perkins took Lockridge’s spot on the roster. While there is no tentative date for a return, Christian Yelich has been taking BP and running the bases, signalling a return could be close Looking Ahead: Tuesday, 5/12 - Padres @ Brewers - 6:40 PM CDT Wednesday, 5/13 - Padres @ Brewers - 6:40 PM CDT Thursday, 5/14 - Padres @ Brewers - 12:40 PM CDT Friday, 5/15 - Brewers @ Twins - 7:10 PM CDT Saturday, 5/16 - Brewers @ Twins - 6:10 PM CDT Sunday, 5/17 - Brewers @ Twins - 1:10 PM CDT View the full article

As they begin a new week, the Chicago Cubs sit at 27-14, leading the NL Central by 3.5 games. Only the team from the suburbs northwest of Atlanta has a better record. The devastating pitching injury news keeps on coming—last week, 2025 All-Star Matthew Boyd hit the injured list for the second time this season. Despite that, the Cubs are in the midst of a 15-game winning streak at home, and are 8-2 in their last 10 games. This season marks the first time since 2016 that the Cubs are at least 10 games over .500 this early in the season. That's not to say that the 2026 Cubs are on the path to a similar destiny; these are different rosters with varying strengths and weaknesses. Nonetheless, fans are feeling good about this team that finds ways to win while starring down injuries. Here we are going to go position by position, comparing how the starters have fared through the first quarter of the season. (For what it's worth, those Cubs were 29-12 at this same juncture.) Catcher 2016: Miguel Montero/David Ross 2026: Carson Kelly/ Miguel Amaya Before (and after) Willson Contreras held down the position from 2017-2022, the Cubs favored the tandem catcher approach. Montero was penciled in as the starter, but the 39-year-old Ross found himself starting over a third of the team’s games due to his chemistry with the veteran starters and Montero's brutal follow-up to what had been a very strong 2015 campaign. Although Montero hit the team’s first home run of the season, he was largely a non-factor at the plate, hitting .208 with four extra base hits through May 6. Ross was hitting a little bit better, but the two of them together had a combined FanGraphs WAR of 0.7. Ten years later, Carson Kelly’s breakout 2025 is carrying over tolerably well into 2026. Even after going 0-for-Arlington, he's hitting .283/.377/.384 on the campaign. Amaya got off to s slower start, but he's thrived in lighter duty and is now hitting .228/.371/.351. This year's group is certainly out-hitting the 2016 duo, though Ross and Montero were better behind the plate. First Base 2016: Anthony Rizzo 2026: Michael Busch Anthony Rizzo loved life in the middle of a high-octane lineup to start 2016. Through 41 games (a point that came 10 days later that year than this year), he was batting .245/.382/.536, with 11 home runs, 34 RBIs and more walks than strikeouts. This was Peak Rizzo: a Gold Glover, a Silver Slugger, a multi-time All-Star and the heartbeat of the team. Fast-forward to today, and the Cubs have their most prolific first baseman since Rizzo in Michael Busch, but he has not yet found his footing completely. The rust is shaking off nicely as the weather warms, and Busch is now batting .238/.349/.367, but Rizzo was obviously a better player that year than Busch is, at least right now. Second Base 2016: Ben Zobrist 2026: Nico Hoerner Fresh off a 2015 World Series MVP award with the Royals, Zobrist signed a four-year deal as a veteran complement to the Cubs' young offensive core. He was the primary second baseman early in the 2016 season, although he did log nearly 190 innings in the outfield, as needs arose. He hit the ground running for his new team, and the 40-game mark found him flirting with a 1.000 OPS. He wasn't a dazzling defender, but he was good enough. When the first pitch of 2026 was thrown, Nico Hoerner was entering a contract year. By the time the second game of the season started, he had agreed to a six-year extension. Through May 10, Hoerner is showing why he was deserving of this deal. His defense is exceptional, and even mired in a 3-for-22 slump, he's currently hitting .278/.351/.426, with plus baserunning, to boot. This is the first position where one can make a strong case for the 2026 Cubs to top the 2016 crew, so let's give them the nod. Third Base 2016: Kris Bryant 2026: Alex Bregman Here's a question that can sound fun or cursed, depending on your mood: When Bregman's time in Chicago is over, whose impact will have been greater? Bryant ascended from being a top draft choice to the status of the sport's top prospect. He won a Rookie of the Year Award and an MVP Award for the Cubs, and was instrumental in their winning the World Series. Thereafter, though, his career was often disrupted by injuries. Bregman is already past his peak, but is he past his prime—or is this just a standard-issue slow start from a veteran whom you can trust to get untracked any minute? Either way, Bryant then was a much better player than Bregman now, but the skills and the gravitas of the veteran at this moment give him a chance to carve a legacy just as rich as Bryant's before he's done as a Cub. Shortstop 2016: Addison Russell 2026: Dansby Swanson I am tempted to just call this for Swanson and move on, but Russell was another bright spot for the 2016 Cubs. He would end up having an All-Star season and some huge playoff moments, but he started off slowly in April. His .225/.352/.337 slash line does not jump off the page, but as a staple in the bottom of the lineup, he was not counted on to carry much of the offense. His defense was dazzling, though a bit unconventional at times. What he did off the field forever stains his place in the team's history, but he was a linchpin of (arguably) the best defense in baseball history. Swanson is off to a peculiar start to 2026. He's only batting .201, but he's shown power, and he's walking enough to keep his OBP respectable, at .313. Russell was a better defender, but on intangibles on and off the field, it's fair to say Swanson is a better contributor to wins right now than Russell was even then. Left Field 2016: Various 2026: Ian Happ When Kyle Schwarber collided with Dexter Fowler in the first week of the season, the 2016 Cubs' plans for left field were scuppered. That was the Cade Horton injury of the 2016 club. Jorge Soler started 51 games at the position, which led the team, but Bryant made 36 starts there as well, with Willson Contreras and Chris Coghlan also starting over 20 games each. Bryant was the best player who played left in 2016, but none of the players mentioned got off to as hot a start as Ian Happ is having right now. He leads the Cubs with nine homers, and is on pace to surpass his career high of 25. He's also walking at a very high rate, adjusting as well as anyone to the ABS system and the smaller zone that comes with it. The 31-year-old is entering a contract year, and is certainly performing well enough to earn a multi-year deal, but it remains to be seen if the Cubs will be the ones offering it to him. The longest-tenured Chicago athlete gives the 2026 Cubs the advantage in left over the rotation of solid players that Joe Maddon used in 2016, though to be fair, Maddon was scrambling a bit—and he got to backfill a lot of the playing time he gave to others in left by slotting Javier Báez into the lineup. Center Field 2016: Dexter Fowler 2026: Pete Crow-Armstrong Fowler had been a dynamic leadoff man for the 2015 Cubs, but looked poised to leave via free agency—until, suddenly, he showed up at Cubs camp after all. He then got off to a much better start than he'd enjoyed in his first year on the North Side; mid-May found him batting .324/.445/.547. Maddon rightly dubbed him the catalyst of the offense, and he kept their engine firing until more of the sparks caught and his teammates heated up come summer. In the present, Crow-Armstrong is the most exciting center fielder in baseball, but the jury is still out on what kind of hitter he will be. He has one of the lowest walk percentages on the team, and he's pairing it with one of the highest strikeout percentages. He still has the speed to steal bases and stretch hits into extra bases, but he hasn't put that on full display this year. After a Reds series in which he was the game-breaking force the Cubs so often benefited from last season, maybe his bat is warming up in its own right. Either way, his elite defense makes him valuable—but that 2016 version of Fowler was a more complete player. Right Field 2016: Jason Heyward 2026: Seiya Suzuki The top outfielder on the market joined the Cubs on an eight-year prior to 2016, famously taking less money than he was offered by the Nationals. The recipient of the largest free-agent contract in Cubs history struggled to hit throughout the seven seasons he played in Chicago, and was granted his release before the eighth year. If you want to believe the players, it was Heyward’s rally cry during the Game 7 rain delay that ignited the Cubs offense en route to the World Series win, but there sadly isn’t a “speeches given” section on the back of his baseball card. Heyward struggled immediately in 2016, posting a .581 OPS through early May, redeemed only by the respect of his teammates and his sparkling play in right field. Heyward will always have the defensive chops that Suzuki lacks, but Suzuki is a middle of the order hitter who has done nothing but hit since his return from the IL. In 27 games, he’s slashing .293/.403/.535 with 7 homers, anchoring the middle of a lineup that has not gotten much from Crow-Armstrong, Busch, or Bregman yet. Suzuki turned into one of the better hitters in baseball last season, after being more good than great in his first three MLB seasons. Like Happ, the 31-year-old is in a contract year, and could see another large payday if he continues to be a dependable middle-of-the-order bat. The Suzuki over Heyward choice is one of the easiest on this list. Utility 2016: Javier Báez 2026: Matt Shaw Since there was no DH in the NL 10 years ago (and Báez had to make this list somewhere), let's compare him to Shaw as a utility player. Before taking the everyday shortstop job, Báez bounced around the infield in 2016. He played over 300 innings at second and third base, nearly 200 at shortstop, and a few more innings in left field and first base. The 23-year-old had a walkoff home run on Mothers Day, although he fell into a slump thereafter and had just a .277 OBP through 41 Cubs games. He was already showing the ability to make a huge impact defensively. This isn’t a dig on Shaw, as he has seemed to turn a corner with the bat this season while handling multiple positions. After a mixed bag of results in 2025, he is hitting .271 with a .755 OPS this season. The underlying metrics suggest Shaw has made improvements to his hit tool and that should become more apparent as the season goes on, but at this point, the edge is still going to Baez. Starting Rotation 2016: Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey, Kyle Hendricks, Jason Hammel 2026: Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabrera, Colin Rea, Jameson Taillon, Ben Brown/Javier Assad The aspect that sets the 2016 team apart from the 2026 team is the starting pitching. Currently, the rotation has some bright spots and some not-so-bright spots. A healthy Imanaga is leading the bunch, with a 2.28 ERA over eight starts and a high strikeout rate to go with restored velocity. Imanaga always seems to start the season hot, so right now, he is the Cubs’ best starter. Trade addition Edward Cabrera has been as good as advertised, at times—but we've also seen what it looks like when his strange changeup-first arsenal isn't in sync. Colin Rea is back in the rotation due to the Cade Horton injury and has been a solid back-end contributor. Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd (who is now hurt again) have not been as sharp as they were last season, though. It’s really unfair to compare the current bunch to their 2016 counterparts, who were one of the most dominant single-season Cubs rotations ever. Lester and Hendricks finished second and third in the NL Cy Young Award voting, with Arrieta also getting support after winning the prize the previous year. Arrieta had already thrown a no-hitter by this time that year. The magnitude of difference here is much larger than between, say, Fowler and Crow-Armstrong or the respective catcher tandems. Closer/Bullpen 2016: Héctor Rondón 2026: Daniel Palencia Led by Rondón and fellow righty Pedro Strop, the 2016 Cubs pen got off to a hot start. Like any contender, they sought to reinforce that group as the summer wore on, but they had depth and high-velocity strikeout options in that group even in April and May. The 2026 bullpen needs reinforcements now, as all of their high-leverage arms outside of Hoby Milner and Brown have spent time on the IL. Current closer and WBC champion Daniel Palencia is a more electric arm than Rondón, but at least Rondón was healthy. There are glimpses of hope for breakout years from just enough guys, but right now, it's easy to pick this part of the 2016 pitching staff over the 2026 version, too. The Verdict C; Carson Kelly/Miguel Amaya 1B: Anthony Rizzo 2B: Nico Hoerner 3B: Kris Bryant SS: Dansby Swanson LF: Ian Happ CF: Dexter Fowler RF: Seiya Suzuki UTL: Javier Báez Rotation: 2016 Bullpen: 2016 In 11 categories, the 2016 Cubs have the advantage in six of them, making this a bit closer of a race than some might have thought. On the other hand, some of the 2016 group's advantages are much greater than those for the 2026 team. This group also doesn't have a farm system likely to yield either a Contreras-caliber midseason boost or a trade package like the one that brought the team Aroldis Chapman in 2016. These are two very different teams, and the game has changed immensely over the past decade, so this is not to say the 2026 team can’t experience the same fate. They are the hottest team in baseball right now, and are still finding ways to win despite their injuries. It will be a fun summer in Chicago, but there probably won’t ever be a Cubs team like the one we saw 10 years ago. View the full article

Most attention to prospects' progress is focused on the familiar names at the top of prospect rankings, but every year, there are less-discussed players who start forcing their way into conversations. Whether it is a former top pick trying to revive his trajectory, an overlooked organizational player breaking through, or a new arm flashing intriguing traits early in pro ball, these are the types of performances that can quickly change internal evaluations. This week’s hot sheet focuses on three under-the-radar names who have been putting together impressive stretches across the organization. 1B/DH Aaron Sabato, St. Paul Saints How He Got Here: The shortened 2020 draft created one of the strangest scouting environments in recent memory. Clubs were forced to rely heavily on prior evaluations after college seasons abruptly ended, and the Twins used the 27th overall selection on Sabato because of the offensive upside he showed at North Carolina. Minnesota signed him for a slot value bonus north of $2.5 million and hoped his bat would carry him quickly through the system. That has not happened consistently enough. Sabato’s profile has always depended almost entirely on power production, and the overall offensive numbers never fully matched expectations. From 2022 through 2024, he failed to post an OPS above .775 while splitting time between Double- and Triple-A. Last season, he showed minor improvements with an .809 OPS. Entering his age-26 season, the Twins sent him back to St. Paul looking for more consistency at the plate. Hitting the Hot Button: Sabato may no longer carry the prospect shine he once had, but he is producing as well as anyone in the organization right now. He recorded three multi-hit games during the week, highlighted by a four-hit, three-homer performance on Tuesday against Las Vegas. Over the last seven days, Sabato has slashed .455/.500/1.227 with five home runs and two doubles for a staggering 1.727 OPS. His last 28 days have been just as impressive, with a 1.264 OPS during that stretch. The defensive limitations still cap the ceiling, but left-handed power always earns opportunities. If Sabato continues driving the baseball like this, he could finally work himself into consideration for a major league debut sometime during the 2026 season. OF Garrett Spain, Wichita Wind Surge How He Got Here: Spain has quietly become one of the more traveled players in the upper minors. Toronto originally selected him in the 15th round of the 2021 draft, and he spent several seasons climbing through the Blue Jays system without much offensive impact. By 2024, he had reached both Double A and Triple A, though the production lagged behind with a .550 OPS across 105 games. Milwaukee selected him during the minor league phase of the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, hoping a change of scenery could unlock something offensively. While the results improved slightly with an 88 wRC+ and a .644 OPS, Spain found himself changing organizations again when the Twins grabbed him in the minor league phase of the 2025 Rule 5 Draft. Hitting the Hot Button: Spain put together one of the loudest offensive weeks in the organization. He doubled and tripled on Tuesday before exploding on Thursday with a 3-for-6 performance that included three home runs and six RBI. Across the last seven days, the 25-year-old has gone 7-for-22 with five extra base hits and a 1.264 OPS. There are still legitimate questions about age relative to level since he is older than the average Texas League player, but production matters, and Spain is finally giving the Twins something to notice. Organizational depth pieces rarely receive much attention until they force the issue. Spain is starting to do exactly that. RHP Justin Mitrovich, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels How He Got Here: The Twins selected Mitrovich in the ninth round of the 2025 MLB Draft after an accomplished collegiate career at Elon University. The New Jersey native served as a dependable weekend starter for three seasons and held down the Friday night role during both 2024 and 2025. Mitrovich logged a career high 89 1/3 innings during his final season while striking out 81 hitters across 15 starts. He wrapped up his Elon career with 243 strikeouts, which ranks fifth in school history, and earned multiple CAA Pitcher of the Week honors along the way. Minnesota viewed him as a polished college arm capable of moving quickly if the stuff translated into professional baseball. Hitting the Hot Button: Mitrovich made his professional debut on May 3 against Daytona and fired four shutout innings while allowing just three hits and striking out five. He followed that outing Saturday with three more innings and only one unearned run allowed while punching out four of the 11 hitters he faced. The most impressive number may be the swing-and-miss profile. Through his first two appearances, Mitrovich has generated 17 swinging strikes for a 16.3 percent swinging strike rate. That is an eye-opening figure for a pitcher making the jump into professional baseball. It is still an extremely small sample, but the Twins have shown a strong track record of identifying college arms who outperform their draft position. Mitrovich is off to a strong start in trying to become the next name on that list. Not every prospect story begins with national rankings and top 100 hype. Sometimes development takes longer than expected. Sometimes players need multiple organizations before things click. Sometimes, a recent draft pick immediately shows traits that stand out. Sabato, Spain, and Mitrovich all arrive at this point through very different paths, but each has given the Twins something worth monitoring closely. In a system searching for the next wave of contributors, under-the-radar names have a way of becoming important faster than anyone expects. What stands out about this trio? Will Sabato make his big-league debut in 2026? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

Chicago Cubs Minor League Report - May 10 Affiliate Overview Triple-A Iowa Cubs Series vs. Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Guardians): Tie, 3–3 Season Record: 18–20 Double-A Knoxville Smokies Series vs. Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox): Smokies win, 5-1 Season Record: 18–15 High-A South Bend Cubs Series vs. Lansing Lugnuts (Athletics): Cubs win, 4-2 Season Record: 16–14 Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans Series at Hickory Crawdads (Texas Rangers): Pelicans win, 3-1 Season Record: 16–15 Affiliate Highlights Triple-A: Iowa Cubs Season Record: 18–20 Series Opponent: Columbus Clippers (20–19) Series Standing: Tie, 3-3 May 10: The Iowa Cubs split their series with the Columbus Clippers following a 9-4 defeat on Sunday at Principal Park. The Clippers took a 3-0 lead by putting up a three-spot in the third and pushed their advantage to 5-0 with two more runs in the fifth. Casey Opitz’s (1-for-4) got the Cubs on the board with an RBI-single in the home half of the inning to break the scoring run. Columbus got that run back in the sixth and scored once in the eighth to go ahead 7-1. Pedro Ramírez (2-for-4) launched a two-run shot in the bottom of the frame, his ninth, but the Clippers answered again with two runs in the ninth to make it 9-3. Jonathan Long (1-for-4) brought home a run with a double but Iowa could not rally further, falling 9-4. Ty Blach was saddled with the loss in the start, allowing three runs, all unearned, on four hits over three innings of work, striking out two. Tyler Ferguson, making his organizational debut, worked a perfect seventh inning, firing two strikeouts. Double-A: Knoxville Smokies Season Record: 18–15 Series Opponent: Birmingham Barons (14–19) Series Standing: Win, 5-1 May 10: The Knoxville Smokies capped off their dominant series win over the Birmingham Barons with a 7-2 victory on Sunday at Covenant Health Park. The two teams traded zeroes through the first five innings of the contest, with Smokies starter Jace Beck working three of those innings. Beck allowed just three hits to go along with two strikeouts and no walks issued. The Barons found the breakthrough in the sixth with a run and kept Knoxville off the board in the home half of the frame for the shutdown inning. The Smokie offense erupted for seven runs after the stretch, with Carter Trice (1-for-4) crushing a grand slam to start the scoring. Alex Ramírez (1-for-4) and Jefferson Rojas (1-for-4) each turned in RBI-singles and Andy Garriola (1-for-3) capped the outburst with an RBI-double. Evan Taylor worked the final two innings of the ballgame, allowing no runs to go along with four strikeouts, keeping Birmingham off the board and helping Knoxville to the 7-2 win. Nick Dean picked up the win in relief to improve to 4-1 on the season, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits over four innings of work, totalling six strikeouts. High-A: South Bend Cubs Season Record: 16–14 Series Opponent: Lansing Lugnuts (13–20) Series Standing: Win, 4-2 May 10: The South Bend Cubs fell to the Lansing Lugnuts, 8-3, on Sunday at Four Winds Field. Despite the setback, the Cubs still took the series, 4-2, for their first series win since April 14-19. The Lugnuts struck first in the contest, scoring four times in the fourth. The visitors added a run in the seventh before Ty Southisene’s (0-for-4) RBI-groundout in the eighth halted the scoring run. Lansing hit back with three runs in the ninth to make it 8-1. Drew Bowser (1-for-3) and Christian Olivo (1-for-3) drew walks with the bases loaded in the bottom half of the frame but South Bend would leave them loaded to end the game, falling 8-3. Jostin Florentino suffered the loss in the start, allowing four runs on three hits over 3 2/3 innings of work, walking two and striking out four. Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans Season Record: 16–15 Series Opponent: Hickory Crawdads (17–14) Series Standing: Win, 3-1 May 10: Due to a fire in the visiting clubhouse at L.P. Frans Stadium, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans had both of their games on Saturday and Sunday canceled. View the full article

The return of Addison Barger was unfortunately short. The Toronto Blue Jays' right fielder went back on the 10-day injured list, this time with inflammation in his right elbow. Outfielder Yohendrick Pinango was called up from Triple-A Buffalo. Also, the Jays officially brought up right-handed reliever Yariel Rodriguez, a move reported Sunday, and designated left-hander Eric Lauer for assignment. The Blue Jays still have one opening on their 40-man roster. Barger, who was activated off the IL Saturday following a sprained left ankle, was scratched from Sunday's lineup vs. the Los Angeles Angels. This followed a terrific throw in Saturday's game, a 101.2 mph outfield assist that was the fastest in MLB this season. Barger went 0-for-3 with a run scored Saturday against the Angels. Pinanago had been sent down when Barger was activated. This came despite a slash line of .423/.444/.462 with four RBIs in 10 games. Lauer was the casualty for the Jays calling up Rodriguez. In eight games, including six starts, Lauer had a 6.69 ERA in 36⅓ innings. He had walked 16 and struck out 26. His struggles this season were a stark contrast to the 3.18 ERA he posted in 28 appearances, including 15 starts, in 2025, his first season with the Jays. Lauer is being paid $4.4 million this season. If no one claims him off waivers, the Jays will be responsible for his salary, minus a prorated portion of the MLB minimum should he eventually sign elsewhere. In his last appearance Sunday vs. the Angels, Lauer came on after an opener and pitched five innings, allowing six runs and three homers in five innings of a 6-1 loss. View the full article

Boston Red Sox Minor League Recap (May 10) Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Series vs Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (New York Yankees): 3-2 Season Record: 21-16 Worcester fell short in the series finale losing 3-2 despite a solid outing from Alec Gamboa. Gamboa started the afternoon for Worcester and turned in five frames of work. He allowed four hits, one being a solo homer, the only run he let up. It was Gamboa’s first appearance since making his big league debut earlier in the week, and he put in some steady work. Jack Anderson, another pitcher who made his majors debut earlier in the season, took the next inning and ⅓ in relief. The Rule 5 draft pick couldn’t find his rhythm on Sunday however, giving up two runs on two hits and allowing three walks. To relieve Anderson, Tayron Guerrero pitched the final two and ⅔ innings, allowing a single hit and lowering his season ERA to 1.15. Despite amassing 10 hits, the WooSox went just 3-for-14 with RISP as they struggled to come up clutch. Down one run in the third inning, Mikey Romero doubled, driving in Braiden Ward to even the score. In the ninth, Ward drove in the WooSox another run with a double of his own, driving in Jason Delay. Anthony Seigler went 2/3 with a walk as he raised his batting average to a team-leading .309. He also leads the team with a .914 OPS. Despite eight of Worcester’s nine hitters getting a knock, they failed to capitalize in key moments. Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Series vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays): 1-4 Season Record: 14-18 Portland avoided the series sweep, winning 11-4 as Brooks Brannon led a red-hot offense. In Anthony Eyanson’s Double-A debut he looked just as good as he did in High-A. That is to say that he was downright excellent. Over four innings, Eyanson allowed one run, a solo homer following a seven-pitch battle of an at-bat. He gave up three hits and struck out four as he proved that he could handle the heat in Portland. Jedixson Paez pitched the next three frames and earned the win. He let up four hits and three runs, striking out two. Finally, Michael Sansone returned to Portland after three appearances in Worcester. He threw two one-hit innings and struck out four of the seven batters he faced, landing on his feet after being sent down. After a 13-run performance on Friday, the Sea Dogs kept up their momentum into Sunday as they put up 11 runs in a win. They got started early in the bottom of the first with the bases loaded, Brooks Brannon drew a walk, scoring Arias. One batter later, Miguel Bleis reached on a fielder's choice, driving in Will Turner. With men on the corners and one out, Tyler McDonough grounded out to second, allowing Nate Baez to score. In the third, Brannon drove a ball to center field for a two-run homer, extending the lead. In the sixth, Franklin Arias singled with Nelly Taylor on third, tacking on another run. Baez then stepped up with bases loaded, doubling on a sharp line drive to add two more. Who else but Brooks Brannon would step up next. The 22-year-old doubled, scoring Arias and Turner for his fourth and fifth RBIs of the game. He has 11 in his past two games. One inning later, Franklin Arias singled, driving in Nelly Taylor, bringing the Sea Dogs’ total to 10. Then, Arias crossed home on a double from Turner, tacking on Portland’s 11th and final run. Brannon and Arias combined for seven of Portland’s 11 RBIs as they continued to try and turn around their season. High-A Greenville Drive Series @ Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pittsburgh Pirates): 1-5 Season Record: 14-19 Greenville lost for the third consecutive day, this time 14-11. Luis Cohen’s season has been less than ideal, through six games he has an 11.02 ERA and a 0-4 record. This downward spiral continued on Sunday through ⅔ innings of work. Cohen was shelled, giving up five runs on two homers and six hits. Steven Brooks attempted to right the ship, but struggled to do so. He gave up another three runs on only one hit, giving up four walks. On the other hand, he struck out five but it wasn’t enough to minimize the damage. Joey Gartrell took the next three and ⅔ innings and strung together the best outing of the day for Greenville. Still, he wasn’t in his best form. He gave up two runs on four hits, including two homers. Jay Allmer took the last two, attempting to keep it within reach for the Drive. Unfortunately he could not, giving up four runs on four hits and allowing another pair of home runs. At the plate, the Drive almost made up for the shaky pitching. Facing a five run deficit in the second, Jack Winnay put the Drive on the board with a solo homer, his second of the season. They wouldn't strike again until the fifth inning, in a nine-run hole. Yophery Rodriguez launched his eighth homer of the season on a deep fly ball to right field. Later in the inning, Isaiah Jackson drove in Justin Gonzales on a sac fly. In the sixth, Rodriguez would hit another sac fly, this time to bring Mason White home with the bases loaded. With two runners in scoring position, Justin Gonzales hit a soft single to right field, scoring Ronny Hernandez. Yoeilin Cespedes would then drive in Freili Encarnacion on a bases-loaded sac fly. Down by eight in the ninth, the Drive mounted a comeback effort. Jackson hit a two-run homer with Cespedes aboard, and Jack Winnay scored on a wild pitch. Finally, Encarnacion hit a two run homer to shorten the lead to three. However, it wasn’t enough to take down the Grasshoppers as the Drive lost in spite of an excellent offensive showing. Low-A Salem RidgeYaks Series vs. Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles): 3-3 Season Record: 15-18 Salem scored ten runs as they prevailed in the series finale, splitting the series. Leighton Finley earned his second win of the year for his five-frame outing. He allowed two runs (one unearned) on four hits and two walks while striking out four. Finley’s been remarkable throughout the season, and hasn’t allowed more than one earned run in any appearance. Nicolas De La Cruz came in after Finley, pitching the next one and ⅓ innings. He allowed one hit and one walk but effectively stalled the Shorebirds offense. Griffin Kilander took the final two and ⅔ innings, allowing one more run on three hits. Kilander struck out five batters in his appearance. Andrews Opata kickstarted the RidgeYaks offense in the first inning, driving in Enddy Azocar and advancing to second on a throwing error. One batter later, Luke Heyman drove in Opata on a line drive single. One night after hitting a walk-off blast, Starlyn Nunez hit another homer. This time it was a two-run shot that gave Salem a three run lead. Opata then drove in his second RBI of the afternoon on a single, scoring Azocar once again. And just like in the first inning, Luke Heyman drove in Opata, this time on a two-run homer. In the fourth inning, with four men aboard and two outs, Kleyver Salazar worked a 2-1 count. Then, he absolutely demolished a high pitch deep to left field and over the wall. With a ten run lead in the eighth, Skylar King doubled to drive in Opata and tack on the RidgeYaks 13th and final run of the contest, capping off an incredible offensive showing. View the full article

The Twins are approaching an uncomfortable point with two veteran relievers stashed at Triple-A St. Paul. According to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson, Saints relievers John Brebbia and Matt Bowman both have opt-out clauses in their contracts on Sunday, May 17. If the Twins do not add them to the major league roster, either pitcher could elect free agency. That creates an interesting decision for a bullpen that has largely stabilized after a rocky start but still lacks proven depth behind its core group. Brebbia entered the season as a relatively intriguing non-roster addition because of his extensive major league track record. The 35-year-old has appeared in parts of eight MLB seasons and, not long ago, was one of the most heavily used relievers in baseball. Back in 2022, he led the National League with 76 appearances while posting a 124 ERA+. The recent results, however, have been more uneven. Last season with the Tigers and Braves, Brebbia allowed 20 earned runs across 23 1/3 innings in 22 appearances. The Twins were betting that some underlying traits still pointed toward a useful bullpen arm. There are at least a few signs supporting that idea in St. Paul. Brebbia has made 13 appearances for the Saints and struck out 24 of the 81 batters he has faced. His 29.6% strikeout rate is his highest mark in multiple seasons, and he has issued only seven walks in 18 1/3 innings. The run prevention numbers have not been particularly attractive. Brebbia owns a 5.40 ERA after allowing 11 earned runs, but his 4.91 FIP suggests the performance may not be quite as poor as the surface stats indicate. The swing-and-miss ability is still there, even though the overall results have remained inconsistent. Bowman’s case is different because Twins fans already saw him contribute during the 2024 season. The veteran right-hander appeared in five games for Minnesota in 2024 and posted a 2.35 ERA across 7 2/3 innings. That came during a season in which he bounced between four organizations as a classic waiver-wire journeyman. Last season with Baltimore, Bowman struggled to a 6.20 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 24 2/3 innings, but he has looked significantly sharper with St. Paul this year. In 20 1/3 innings, Bowman owns a 1.77 ERA with a 3.20 FIP while striking out 25.9% of opposing hitters. He has also limited walks with a 7.1% walk rate. Perhaps most importantly for a Twins bullpen that has leaned heavily on certain arms, Bowman has provided real flexibility. He has thrown more than one inning in nine of his 13 appearances. His recent stretch has been especially impressive. Over the last 28 days, Bowman owns a 1.46 ERA and 0.89 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings. At some point, performance has to matter, especially for a major league bullpen that can never have enough dependable depth options. The Twins may ultimately decide roster flexibility is more valuable than protecting either veteran from free agency. That is often the reality with opt-out clauses attached to veteran minor league contracts. Still, Bowman has made a compelling case to get another opportunity. He has already shown he can survive in the majors, he is throwing multiple innings consistently, and his production at Triple-A has been difficult to ignore. If the Twins are going to lose one of these relievers anyway, Bowman feels like the pitcher worth betting on before another organization does. View the full article

Last Wednesday, the Minnesota Twins traded for Yoendrys Gómez from the Tampa Bay Rays, for cash considerations. Bouncing between the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay, and now Minnesota since the beginning of the 2025 season, Gómez has embodied the nomadic reliever trope, being vaguely desired by many clubs but rostered long-term by none. Despite hopping between clubs, the 26-year-old finished his 2025 campaign relatively strongly, netting a 4.84 ERA, 4.85 FIP, and 22.6% strikeout rate over 48 1/3 innings pitched for the White Sox. Chicago flipped Gómez to the Rays this offseason alongside fellow right-handed reliever Steven Wilson, for outfielder Everson Pereira and utility prospect Tanner Murray. Unfortunately, he struggled to begin his 2026 campaign with Tampa Bay, posting a 6.23 ERA, 7.28 FIP, and a less impressive 15.9% strikeout rate over 17 1/3 innings. Tampa Bay had Gómez using a five-pitch mix, which isn’t unique for a right-handed reliever. The righty primarily utilized his four-seam fastball and sweeper, both of which graded out as true plus pitches. Yet, he also often used his sinker, cutter, and changeup, all of which graded out below average. Opposing hitters generated a 142 wRC+ against his sinker this season and a 303 wRC+ against his cutter while Gómez was with Tampa Bay. To preface, hitters also excelled against Gómez’s four-seamer when he pitched for Tampa Bay, with a 186 wRC+. As noted earlier, the pitch graded out well above average (121 Stuff+ at FanGraphs), suggesting his struggles were the product of bad luck rather than a low-quality pitch, but there are things to clean up. Command will be crucial. Gómez did, however, excel at throwing his sweeper with Tampa Bay, netting an elite -100 wRC+ and 125 Stuff+ at FanGraphs with the pitch. So far, albeit in a sample so small as to be almost meaningless, Minnesota has effectively cut his sinker, cutter, and changeup from his repertoire entirely, with him using his four-seamer and sweeper in 14 of his 17 pitches thrown with the Twins. Again, I am analyzing a 17-pitch sample. Still, Gómez has excelled with a two-pitch mix for the Twins, posting a 0.00 ERA, 3.13 FIP, and plus grades on both pitches through 1 2/3 innings. Gómez also earned his first save with the club on Sunday, mowing through Daniel Schneeman, Angel Martínez, and Travis Bazzana on 10 pitches. The newly acquired relief arm has been stellar in his first three appearances for Minnesota, functioning as a breath of fresh air for what has been the fourth-worst bullpen in baseball, according to Wins Above Replacement at FanGraphs (fWAR). dnZ3REtfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X1VnWllBUUlBVUZFQURGSUtWZ0FIQmdGUUFBTlJWbFVBVTFJTkJBb0JVMVVEVlZBQw==.mp4 Given that Cody Laweryson, Garrett Acton, and Cole Sands are on the 15-day IL; Kody Funderburk was surprisingly demoted to Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday; and Justin Topa, Taylor Rogers, and Anthony Banda have struggled mightily to begin their respective 2026 campaigns. Minnesota’s bullpen is arguably the most volatile in the sport. Yet, with volatility comes opportunity. Andrew Morris has capitalized on his opportunities in various roles. Eric Orze has impressed despite blowing a save against the Seattle Mariners in late April. And 39-year-old Luis García has been thrust into high-leverage situations despite joining the club on Apr. 28. Given that Minnesota targeted Gómez from Tampa Bay and that he has immediately succeeded in high-leverage situations, the 26-year-old could quickly become Minnesota’s preferred high-leverage arm. View the full article

The New York Mets offense has been struggling all of the 2026 season, as they rank near the bottom of the league in most major categories. Despite high preseason expectations following the acquisitions of Jorge Polanco, Bo Bichette, and Luis Robert Jr., the team has been plagued by inconsistent run production & injuries. View the full article

This might sound a bit joyless, at first, but lately, I find myself trying to catch Pete Crow-Armstrong lacking. It's become a pet project for me. I watch any single to center field against the Cubs several times. Each morning, I refresh Crow-Armstrong's page on Baseball Savant to see what new points have been added to the peculiar pointillist masterpiece that is Statcast's chart of balls hit toward him, with catch probability estimated based on the hang time of the ball and the distance Crow-Armstrong would have had to cover to get to the ball. I want to know: is it possible to hit a ball that any other center fielder could catch, but which Crow-Armstrong can't? It sounds a little silly, because (as we've already documented) Crow-Armstrong has made a couple of misplays this season. He misplayed a sinking liner during the first week of the season. He misplayed a ball at the wall during the Cubs' trip to Dodger Stadium. But we know those were just hiccups. As if to neatly confirm that, he's made the play on near-identical balls hit his way on other occasions this year. It's possible to be (very slightly) more reliable than Crow-Armstrong in catching routine fly balls, but it's his incredible range extension and the jumps he's using to beat every ball to its spot that make him special. I'm trying to figure out whether there is, in effect, any weak point in the phalanx he forms in the Cubs outfield. You've probably heard it said, by some broadcaster or other, that if a certain outfielder didn't make a play, it was impossible to make. Andruw Jones had that reputation. So did Willie Mays. Like the apocryphal story of an umpire telling a whiny pitcher that if he'd thrown a strike, Ted Williams would have swung at it, there are a handful of center fielders in the game's history of whom it's been said that if they didn't get there, it was an ironclad, unquestionable hit. In addition to Jones and Mays, Tris Speaker and Devon Whyte enjoyed that reputation. Broadly speaking, it was earned, in all cases. That doesn't mean it wasn't exaggerated, though. It almost certainly was. The halo effect often leads us to imagine that someone doing 97% of what's humanly possible is really touching or busting that 100% threshold. Jones, for sure, would sometimes be caught flat-footed on sinking line drives in front of him, and at other times, he'd be victimized by balls hit over his head. (He played way too shallow, even for his era.) Great defenders end up being remembered for their highlights, rather than their foibles, and anyway, the balls that separate a superb player from a nigh-supernatural one don't look like mistakes. They look like innocuous hits—balls they couldn't have done anything about. We can quantify defense much better than we used to, though. We can find those hang times and distances to cover on every ball hit toward a fielder, and Statcast can feed that into their model and tell us where the boundaries of possibility lie. Last summer, Crow-Armstrong made one catch the system thought had a 0% Catch Probability, so we already know he pushes that limit. But how consistent is he? Aren't there some balls falling in at the edges of his range that he could, theoretically, have gotten to? Don't get mad, but the answer is: yes, and no. Already, though, I think that means Crow-Armstrong is doing something extraordinary and historic. Here's a ball that caught my eye and raised my suspicions. TzA0bm9fWGw0TUFRPT1fRHdrSFZsTURWMU1BWFFSUVV3QUhCd0pYQUFNTVZWZ0FVRlJRQ0FCVUJBRlNBbFFB.mp4 Yes, that's a line drive, and yes, Crow-Armstrong was shaded toward left-center, but we've seen him run down balls at least a bit like this one. Was his jump even a half a second slow? Did he fail to accelerate all the way through the catchpoint? Was there a chance missed? Well, Statcast says no. This hit didn't register as having any catch probability assigned to Crow-Armstrong, and on a closer watch, I'm forced to admit that if there was a failure here, it was one of location: either Shota Imanaga throwing a ball there to Nolan Arenado, or Crow-Armstrong being set up where he was before the pitch. Besides, the elements were against him. Here's the first frame after the switch from the center-field camera to the one high and behind home plate on the play. I've put a square around the ball's position at that moment and a dot where it will land. This is a hard-hit ball, but it's both knocked down and pushed toward right field by the wind, in addition to slicing that direction because of its spin. Crow-Armstrong got a great jump, really, but he's 10 feet from the ball when it lands, which was the responsible way to play it, given the only read he could have gotten off the bat. He probably could have gotten much closer to catching it, but I don't think he could have caught it, and the truth of the art of outfield defense is that you occasionally have to play the angles, rather than trying to catch every single ball hit your way. For great outfielders, those plays are rare, but they do happen—especially outdoors, on windy days. Here's the other play from the first 10 days of this month that had me checking things. a0R2Tm5fWGw0TUFRPT1fVjFVRUFGd0JYMUFBWGdFQ1VRQUhVZ0FDQUZrTlVGUUFCVklBVlFzRkFGVURCd1lD.mp4 This one feels more like a limitation, right? You can see Crow-Armstrong balk just a bit off the bat. First, then, I checked whether he was caught unprepared when the pitch was thrown. Not so, though. Here's the Gameday 3D animation of Crow-Armstrong and Bleday at (essentially) the instant of contact. The center fielder timed his hop correctly; he was slightly in the air (and on his way down) as the ball passed through the hitting zone. (By the way, how cool is it that we can do this now?!) Crow-Armstrong does take a false turn, though. When Bleday makes contact, he initially turns his left shoulder back and takes a half-dropstep with his left leg. All weekend, it seemed, Bleday hit the ball hard to that very part of the park, and Crow-Armstrong might have been caught anticipating solid contact that didn't come. It takes him a split-second to get his momentum moving forward, instead. By the time the ball falls, you can certainly convince yourself that he should have been able to get there, with a better jump. He's much closer to this one than to the Arenado ball, and his jump was clearly worse. So the question becomes: was a better jump possible? Could any other outfielder have made this play better? Here's one piece of what looks, at first, like damning evidence. It's from a Marlins-White Sox game on the other side of Chicago, last season. b0daOERfWGw0TUFRPT1fVUFCU0JsWlZWd0lBWGxFTFZnQUhDUVVDQUZrQVUxY0FCRkJYQlZCVUFsVUJBd3RW.mp4 That's a heck of a catch, by Dane Myers—now of the Reds, as it happens. But Statcast didn't even rate it as overwhelmingly impressive. It gave a 95% catch probability on the ball. Yet, it didn't ding Crow-Armstrong at all for not catching the Bleday bloop. His catch probability on it was 0%, as far as the model is concerned. First, let me explain that briefly. I picked the above catch by Myers because it was the only ball since the start of 2025 that fit the same contact constraints as Bleday's (a 77-79 MPH exit velocity, a 33-35° launch angle) and was hit to center field, but which was hit as shallow or shallower than Bleday's. It's not hard to see that the wind played with both balls. Without wind (and with truer batted-ball spin), most balls hit like this travel an extra 10-20 feet, which makes them relatively easy to catch. These two are good foils for each other. They were hit relatively high, but they weren't really pop-ups, and they weren't hit hard enough to go a long way, but they were clearly over the infield. Conditions kept each from flying very far, though. Already, these are extreme plays, in terms of where the ball ended up relative to what the outfielder could reasonably have hoped to read off the bat. Two things separate the two plays in important ways. First, Tim Elko's flyout to Myers hung in the air a hair longer. Its hang time was 5.0 seconds, which is a lot of time to run under a ball. Bleday's wasn't much less, but slightly so. That left Crow-Armstrong with less time to make up for that misstep off the bat. Secondly, though, Crow-Armstrong was playing deeper than he usually does on his play. With two outs in the ninth inning of a game that wasn't especially close, and with a batter in the box who'd showed good power in the series, he was 326 feet from home plate when the pitch was thrown. Myers was only 318 feet from home when Edward Cabrera threw his pitch to Elko last year. One could pick nits with the Cubs' positioning, perhaps, but it seems like Crow-Armstrong was in a smart spot, in general. On this particular ball, it just left him with zero margin for error. The combination of these two factors means Myers had a good 15 feet on Crow-Armstrong, before accounting for Crow-Armstrong not getting a clean first step on the ball. It's not such a wonder, then, that two similar balls produced Statcast estimates at extreme ends of the catch probability spectrum. Here's the crazy takeaway: Crow-Armstrong could have caught this ball. That's true, even though Statcast absolutely would have regarded it as uncatchable, anyway. He could have drawn an earlier bead on the ball, but misreading the contact is almost a necessary part of this unusual piece of contact. Were the stakes higher, however, he probably would have dived for it—and he might have had a play. It's getting very, very hard to find balls Crow-Armstrong can't catch that are (in any realistic sense) catchable. That doesn't mean he's perfect. But as we've discussed before, he's pushing the boundaries of defensive possibilities. Hitting the ball to center field just isn't a viable option for Cubs opponents. Crow-Armstrong is, in some sense, a fulfillment of the hype attached to so many generational center fielders before him. He might force us to reconsider what the position can be. View the full article

New York Mets Weekly Snapshot Record Last Week: 3-3 Runs Scored Last Week: 21 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 21 Standings: 5th in NL East (15-25) 8.0 GB of 1st Place Transactions: 5/1 New York Mets activated 2B Andy Ibáñez. 5/1 New York Mets optioned 1B Eric Wagaman to Syracuse Mets. 5/3 New York Mets designated 1B Eric Wagaman for assignment. 5/3 New York Mets placed SS Ronny Mauricio on the 10-day injured list. Left thumb fracture. 5/3 New York Mets sent RHP Carl Edwards Jr. outright to Syracuse Mets. 5/3 New York Mets selected the contract of 3B Vidal Bruján from Syracuse Mets. 5/10 New York Mets sent 1B Eric Wagaman outright to Syracuse Mets. 5/10 New York Mets activated RHP Joey Gerber from the 15-day injured list and optioned him to Syracuse Mets. Scores: Game 34 (5/4): NYM 4, COL 2 Game 35 (5/6): NYM 10, COL 5 Game 36 (5/7): NYM 2, COL 6 Game 37 (5/8): NYM 3, ARI 1 (10) Game 38 (5/9): NYM 1, ARI 2 Game 39 (5/10): NYM 1, ARI 5 Series Breakdown/Highlights Rockies Series: Coming off of a series win against the Angels, the Mets rolled into Coors Field with the vibes as high as the altitude for the first time in a long time. In game one, the Mets used the opener method to get to David Peterson, and it worked. They scored four runs in the outing, the big blow being a two-run single by Mark Vientos in the sixth inning, proving to be the difference in the game. In his four innings out of the bullpen, Peterson surrendered just two earned runs, on back-to-back-to-back two-out hits in the seventh inning. Devin Williams slammed the door in the ninth inning. In game two, the Mets bats woke up for the first and only time on this road trip. They scored 10 runs, with the biggest blow arguably not coming till the ninth inning two-run blast off the bat of Marcus Semien. Freddy Peralta went five scoreless innings as the Mets held a 8-0 lead with him on the mound. The Mets bullpen proceeded to give up five runs, and load the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth, getting closer Devin Williams in the game for the second time this series. He was able to slam the door for a series win. In game three, the Mets jumped out to an early 2-0 lead looking for the sweep. It was not meant to be, though, as the Rockies came back and tied the game, and against Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning, Jake McCarthy hit a grand slam, though it might have been a foul ball and the MLB replay room did not overturn the call. The Mets did not score in the ninth and dropped the series finale. Diamondbacks Series: The Mets next went to Arizona looking to cap their roadtrip off on a high note. Nolan McLean shut down the D-Backs offense over six innings giving up only one run. The Mets offense was likewise shut down by Ryne Nelson, scoring just one run against him in 6.2 innings of work. The sides took the 1-1 tie to extras where back-to-back doubles by the Mets gave them two runs and a lead. A dominant bottom of the tenth by Tobias Myers gave the Mets a series-opening win. In the second game of the series, the Mets offense mustered up just one run, coming in the second inning on a Brett Baty RBI double. The Mets did not have a baserunner after the fifth inning as Merrill Kelly shut them down completely. Clay Holmes gave up two runs over 5.2 innings, but that was too much for the Mets offense to overcome, as they lost 2-1. In the rubber match, Huascar Brazoban was the opener for Peterson. Remember in the Rockies series where that strategy worked? Not so much against the D-Backs, as rookie Ryan Waldschmidt recorded his first career double off Tobias Myers, scoring the inherited runners. The Mets got a run back in the sixth on an RBI double by Luis Torrens, their only run of the game. An RBI single and two-run triple off Peterson for the D-Backs made it 5-1 and that would be your final scpre as the Mets dropped the series, plunging back to MLB’s worst record. Website Highlights Devin Williams’ Changeup Is Not As Effective As It Once Was, Resulting in Unfamiliar Numbers Vote For Your Top Mets Prospects! Sean Manaea Might Be Salvageable, If Mets Can Live With Being Boring Looking Ahead May 11th: OFF May 12th: vs. DET (7:10pm) May 13th: vs. DET (7:10pm) May 14th: vs. DET (1:10pm) May 15th: vs. NYY (7:15pm) May 16th: vs. NYY (7:15pm) May 17th: vs. NYY (1:40pm) View the full article

Boston Red Sox Weekly Snapshot Record Last Week: 4-2 Runs Scored Last Week: 26 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 19 Standings: 5th in AL East 9.5 GB First Place Transactions: 05/06/26: Red Sox optioned LHP Alec Gamboa to Worcester Red Sox. 05/06/26: Red Sox activated RHP Sonny Gray from the 15-day injured listed. 05/06/26: Red Sox sent RHP Justin Slaten on a rehab assignment to Worcester Red Sox. 05/07/26: Red Sox recalled C Mickey Gasper from Worcester Red Sox. 05/07/26: Red Sox signed free agent RHP Raymond Burgos to a minor league contract. 05/07/26: Red Sox placed LF Roman Anthony on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 5, 2026. Right wrist sprain. 05/08/26: Red Sox recalled RHP Jack Anderson from Worcester Red Sox. 05/08/26: Red Sox optioned LHP Jake Bennett to Worcester Red Sox. 05/09.26: Red Sox optioned RHP Jack Anderson to Worcester Red Sox. 05/09/26: Red Sox activated RHP Justin Slaten from the 15-day injured list. 05/09/26: Red Sox signed free agent RHP Leonel Figuera to a minor league contract. 05/09/26: Red Sox signed free agent RHP Juan Verdus to a minor league contract. Scores: Game 34 (05/04): BOS 5, DET 4 Game 35 (05/05): BOS 10, DET 3 Game 36 (05/06): BOS 4, DET 0 Game 37 (05/07): BOS 4, TB 8 Game 38 (05/08): BOS 2, TB 0 Game 39 (05/10): BOS 1, TB 4 Series Breakdown/Highlights Tigers Series: The beginning of the week saw three straight games of the best baseball the Red Sox have played all season. Granted, they lucked out by two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal going on the injured list before game one, but they took advantage of a gifted situation and won a game that shouldn’t have been a one-run victory. Garrett Whitlock allowed two runs in the eighth inning to give everyone a bit of an uneasy feeling, but Payton Tolle was able to lock up his first major-league win after pitching through a torrential downpour for two innings by turning in the best start of his career. He threw seven innings of two-run baseball, neither earned, while striking out eight. Game two is where we saw the fireworks, in more ways than one. The Red Sox have always had a propensity for picking up pitcher tells and pitch grips when they are on second and Tuesday was no exception. The Red Sox tagged starter Framber Valdez for seven earned runs, four of those being home runs. Valdez gave up back-to-back moonshots to Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu, then promptly threw at Trevor Story. Benches cleared, Valdez was ejected, and the Red Sox kept rolling. Overshadowed by the offense was just how good Brayan Bello was coming in after an opener for game two. He tossed seven innings with seven strikeouts, one walk, and one earned run. The finale of the series saw Sonny Gray return from the injured list and pitched decently against the Tigers. The team secured their first series sweep of the season against a team that is penciled in to win their division, even if their ace wasn’t able to pitch during it. Rays Series: We had our first reschedule due to rain during the series against the Rays. The Saturday game will be made up on July 17. Game one saw rookie Jake Bennett get tagged for four runs, but the Red Sox fought to stay in the game. Unfortunately for them, Greg Weissert and Ryan Watson had other plans. They allowed four more Rays to score and the late game push to even things up came up short. In game two, the Sox kept the Fenway Green magic rolling by shutting out the Rays behind seven innings and eight strikeouts from Connelly Early. The rookie southpaw showed he was the correct option to take Johan Oviedo’s rotation spot at the end of spring training and is mostly trending up with each start. The reschedule gave Payton Tolle another day of rest but he couldn’t score runs on his own. He gave up three earned, but the eye test looked far better than what the line showed. Unfortunately, Willson Contreras was hit on the hand early in the game and was replaced by Andruw Monasterio. Scans on Willson’s hand came back negative, but manager Chad Tracy said he was very sore. They’ll reevaluate him on the Monday off day and move forward with that information. If there’s one player the Red Sox can’t afford to lose right now, it’s Contreras. Website Highlights Red Sox Minor League Recap: Anthony Eyanson’s Dominance Continues Despite Shaky Red Sox Affiliates by Ben Lofy Boston Red Sox Minor League Pitchers of the Month: April 2026 by Nick John Red Sox Report Cards: Grading Every Boston Pitcher for March/April by Ryan Salvaggio Justin Slaten is More Than Ready For His Return to Boston by Nick John Looking Ahead May 12: Phillies (Zack Wheeler) @ Red Sox (TBD): 6:45 PM EDT May 13: Phillies (Andrew Painter) @ Red Sox (Sonny Gray): 6:45 PM EDT May 14: Phillies (Jesus Luzardo) @ Red Sox (Ranger Suarez): 6:45 PM EDT May 15: Red Sox @ Braves: 7:15 PM EDT May 16: Red Sox @ Braves: 7:15 PM EDT May 17: Red Sox @ Braves: 1:35 PM EDT View the full article