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Before a default reaction to bring back Blake Perkins (don't be out too long, Brandon Lockridge), with an open spot on the 40-man roster, is it time for Eddys Leonard's overdue big-league debut? Transactions: Milwaukee Brewers sent LF Greg Jones outright to Nashville Sounds. Nashville Sounds activated C Andrick Nava from the Development List. Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes (unavailable) Final: Louisville (Reds) 9, Nashville 6 Box Score and Game Log Via the Sounds, game details, and we encourage readers to always review affiliate write-ups as part of their Link Report routine: Sounds Unable to Overcome Big Third Inning for Louisville Following up my initial thought from the Transaction section above, copying a key section of the Nashville write-up you just read: "Eddys Leonard recorded his ninth multi-hit game over his last 16 games played dating back to April 17th with a 2-for-4 day at the plate Friday night that included his sixth home run of the season. He's hitting .436 over his last 16 games with four homers, three doubles, and 16 RBI. His .436 AVG ranks second in all Triple-A over the span, and he ranks second in OBP (.516), third in OPS (1.225), and seventh in SLG (.709). His 15 XBH on the season lead all Nashville hitters in 2026 and are tied for the most XBH through his first 30 games of a season in his professional career. He also had 15 XBH through 30 games with Triple-A Gwinnett last season. Since the start of the 2021 season, he ranks eighth in hits (609), sixth in doubles (135), and fifth in XBH (244) across all full-season minor leaguers." But the Brewers ivory tower might say, "oh, Perkins has four singles in his two games back in Nashville". Do the bold thing, ivory tower. Hopefully Manager Rick Sweet gave Leonard good news after the game. Sleeping in his own Louisville bed this week has been a most-likely pleasure for southpaw starter Tate Kuehner, though it didn't pay dividends in this start. Yes, this grounder was drilled to Jett Williams at 100.2 MPH, but it seems to me that whenever an announcer uses the phrase "right between the wickets", it shouldn't be ruled a base hit, as this was: One batter later, Kuehner didn't leave this pitch in a favorable spot and the last of the seven runs in the frame had come across: But wait, this is the BrewerFanatic Link Report, dang it! Emphasizing the positive since 2001! Thankfully the Sounds "X" feed did that for us tonight with five clips, including this one: Likely just a one-game night off, but any box score minus a Luis Lara appearance gets a sad-face automatically . Speaking of the Nashville bench, rarely does Rick Sweet have this flexibility - five extra position bodies on his bench, none an MLB rehabber. It appears Greg Jones didn't truly go live on the roster until postgame, so expect 3rd catcher Andrick Nava to yo-yo back to Development List-land Saturday. Stop the presses, Cooper Pratt committed his very first error of 2026, a fielding error in the 2nd, though we don't believe it without visual evidence. Since it did not involve a score, there's no reply video, and as it was in the 2nd inning when Kuehner was rightfully off to a fine start and easily pitched around it, we have difficulty believing the miscue actually happened. Pratt singled in five trips but also K'd twice and grounded into a double play. Postponed, Columbus (Braves) at Biloxi, rain The teams play twice on Saturday, beginning at 4:35 Central. Catch up with the latest Biloxi pre-game audio interview archives Actually, that archive page doesn't include the latest individual chat, found here for catcher Matthew Wood. Plus, even though these notes ended up getting soggy, you can still read your way through multiple updates. By the way, does that sentence look familiar? I used it in this exact spot last Saturday AM as well after a rainout. Copy and paste, baby! Wisconsin Pre-Game Media Notes (download link) Final: Wisconsin 12, Peoria (Cardinals) 7 Box Score and Game Log Via the Timber Rattlers, game details, and enjoy the four embedded video highlights within: Big Inning Propels Rattlers to Victory in Peoria - Rattlers rally with three in tenth inning to beat Quad Cities Is sending 14 men to the plate in an inning good? That seems good. Our Spencer Michaelis provided additional commentary on the Josh Adamczewski double you just saw. We want to thank Josh for being outstanding throughout his brief pro career. We've typed his name so often now we don't have to think twice about spelling, it just flows off the keyboard like water. Well, a wet keyboard would not be good, but you get the idea. LHP J.D. Thompson's 2nd pro start opened walk, wild pitch, walk, home run. Ouch. After a very strong 2nd inning for Thompson, he was in the dugout for that very long Timber Rattler offensive onslaught. Thompson opened the 3rd inning, allowed a line drive single, and was lifted. Seems a bit of an odd choice to bring Thompson out for one batter there, but it may have been about making sure RHP Travis Smith was warmed up fully. And my, do we like Travis Smith right now. Check out his 2026 game log, with five of his six outings strong and his most recent three bulk relief appearances in particular providing Manager Nick Stanley quite the bullpen luxury. One Smith oddity, however - 2025: 102.1 IP, 1 HR allowed (wow!) 2026: 28.2 IP, 5 HR allowed Shoutout to LHP Bjorn Johnson for combining with Smith on seven innings of three-run ball to otherwise spare the pen. This Wisconsin season has been all about the top of the order, and indeed there were good moments there Friday (two singles, no K's for Andrew Fischer among them), how about the bottom four - Tayden Hall, Juan Baez, David Garcia, Luiyin Alastre - reaching base nine times with Baez adding a sacrifice fly. It sure seems at this point the next Luis Pena update from the organization will come next week - maybe we'll get a surprise appearance this weekend, no IL stint at this time. If you need to activate your ears as well as your eyes this AM, enjoy the full pod, but Spencer's "Minor League Sandbox" commences approximately at the 01:21:00 hour/minute mark. Wilson Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Wilson 10, Fayetteville (Astros) 4 Box Score and Game Log Warbirds Slug Way Past Fayetteville - Four Extra Base Hits Lift Wilson Hey, this Warbirds squad may provide us with more entertainment than we thought! Looked rough there for a couple of weeks, didn't it? Not only have the boys won five of seven, but they have also scored double digits in three of those wins. Well, at the plate, it's still a strikeout factory, 17 times in this contest. But the slug as of late has been consistent (four XBH's here, as the game summary noted), and Wilson stole ten bases in 11 tries here with some double-steal fun along the way. How many box scores do you see where four players had multiple stolen bases? When it comes to defensive catcher statistics, it's so inherently unfair that catchers get charged with allowing two stolen bases on plays like that above, skewing their season-long throwing percentages. At least the good guys were on the proper side of justice for this game. More bottom-of-the-order production! Filippo Di Turi, Luis Lameda, Pedro Ibarguen and Jadyn Fielder were on base a combined 12 times, with Fielder (thrice) and Ibarguen (once) playing the roles of pincushion or magnet, whichever HBP-related term you prefer. This box score had it all - pitch timer violations, three errors for each squad, three outfield assists (Fielder being on each end once), three wild pitches, a balk, and a partridge in a pear tree. 2025 6'8" Coastal Carolina 3rd rounder Jacob Morrison has towered over seven scoreless two-hit innings in his two starts to date (3 BB, 6 K). You know it means a lot to a struggling reliever when they can aid the cause by closing out the game with three one-hit scoreless innings while facing the minimum. Thanks to Quezada, the Clayton Andrews trade tree lives! One final Spencer appearance: Nice job, Warbirds media team, grabbing road game video for these blasts: Final: ACL Brewers 6, ACL Cubs 5, seven innings as scheduled Box Score and Game Log My fellow Link Reporter Daniel ("Ro") provided coverage for us (THANK YOU!), and I lied, yet more Michaelis contributions: That’s a jam-packed box score for the ACL Brewers in their victory over the ACL Cubs, all in just 7 innings. In his first opportunity in the leadoff spot, OF Kenny Fenelon ambushed the first pitch of the game for a solo homer (99mph exit velocity, 394 feet). RHP Josh Knoth made his second start (2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K), as he builds up strength after missing the 2025 campaign. His velocity peaked at 97.8mph, tossing 33 pitches (22 strikes). 2B Juan Martinez (1-for-2, walk, 2 SB) singled and scored on an error to grab a 2-1 lead in the top of the 5th inning, followed by DH Malachai Halterman’s 105.7mph RBI single to center. 1B Jonathan Rangel (1-for-2, HR, walk, 3 RBIs) clubbed a 2-out, 3-run shot the next inning to extend the advantage to 6-1. The game featured a professional debut (and win) for 2025 eighth round pick, 18-year old RHP Hayden Vucinovich, who didn’t allow a hit against 11 batters faced (2 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks), as well as stateside debuts for RHPs Jhosep Ospino (1/3 IP, 1 K) and Bryan Regalado (2/3 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks). Regalado’s struggles allowed the Cubs to cut the deficit to 6-5 with 2 baserunners on in the penultimate frame, but Manager Rafael Neda called on RHP Cesar Espinal to escape the inning (ground out) and ultimately deliver a 4-out Save (3 straight Ks). The 20-year-old Espinal is already on his 3rd MLB team in his 5th MILB season, so Promotion Watch definitely applies to him. As with life, the team balanced the good (4 stolen bases, 2-for-5 with RISP) with the not-so-good (2 errors, 12 strikeouts). C Freider Rojas (1-for-2, walk) made his 2026 debut and is the fourth catcher the squad has used in 5 games played. The team (3-2) is right back in action at 1:00pm CST on Saturday, hosting the ACL Guardians (3-2). Bonus from Thursday's game: Six games on tap Saturday with the lone early start in Maryvale for you rookie league box score breaker-downers (is that a word?), although the Biloxi twinbill gets underway at 4:35 Central. Enjoy your spring day, 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

Any time you unload three or four controllable, high-leverage relievers, it’s safe to assume that the bullpen being bad will transcend multiple seasons, as Twins fans did following last year’s trade deadline. Despite their choice to do so, the Twins insisted 2026 was a continued push to contend. We all know they didn’t do enough to address the bullpen in the offseason, but it’s the way they operated in-season following the deadline, and how they continue to operate, that is the real problem. When the Twins unloaded their controllable bullpen at the trade deadline, a big talking point from the front office was how many of the names they traded away had been developed internally, and how they would look to do so again. This was a fair point, as Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Louie Varland were all developed internally after coming up through the system as starting pitchers. This strategy became even more important when they invested less than $5M in the bullpen in the offseason. Unfortunately for all of their talk of rebuilding the bullpen internally, their actions haven’t backed it up. It was far from an infusion of youth following the trade deadline as many had hoped. The team looked like they were running out the clock on the season rather than using that valuable time to evaluate for the following year. Innings were allocated to pitchers like 35-year-old Erasmo Ramirez and Michael Tonkin. Waiver claims were made on players like 31-year-old Brooks Kriske. A few younger names, like Travis Adams, were called up, but many bullpen spots were dedicated to veterans who had no chance to stick on the roster for 2026. This, paired with a quiet winter, led to an underwhelming Opening Day bullpen, and they’ve performed as expected. As the team has continued to lose games on the backs of their relievers, they’ve made a few moves and call-ups to shake things up, but a lot of their behavior remains the same. Thursday, the Twins demoted John Klein to make room for waiver claim Yoendrys Gómez (who, to their credit, could have some multi-year upside at 26 years old). The right-hander may not have had a good season thus far, but at 24 years old with a mid to high 90s fastball and intriguing offspeed pitches, Klein is the exact type of arm the Twins should want around if they’re serious about internally rebuilding the bullpen. Instead, he was sent back to St. Paul, while several veterans who look like they have nothing to offer now or in the future remain on the roster. The Twins' continued deferral to veterans is one problem, but the way they’re preparing some of their arms in Triple-A is another. Klein was on the growingly common pitching plan of throwing around 65 pitches every four days in Triple-A, in a sort of hybrid bulk-inning role. In theory, this is meant to keep pitchers ready to pitch 3-4 innings if they are called upon to start, while also limiting exposure to opposing lineups. The problem is that this plan leaves many pitchers ill-prepared for whatever role they may be needed in if they get called up to the Twins. Klein is unable to pitch back-to-back days, just as Andrew Morris is after he was on a similar plan. As a result, the Twins can’t afford to hamstring themselves by carrying both after Klein pitched yesterday. It’s been difficult to foresee Klein finding himself in the MLB rotation for some time now, but because the Twins have kept him in the “just in case” role, he’s now headed back to St. Paul despite being one of the prime candidates to help them achieve their self-stated goal of internally rebuilding the bullpen. This hybrid plan makes sense in some cases, such as limiting innings and exposure for arms like Connor Prielipp. For pitchers like Klein or Travis Adams, who was one of the first in this role last season, it just doesn’t make much sense. Unless they’re called up to be a long reliever, they aren’t prepared to enter the rotation or serve as a traditional reliever. They’re essentially only prepared to be long relievers who are likely to be sent back down after they pitch. The result is that interesting arms like Klein can’t stick at the MLB level for an extended period because he can’t pitch on back-to-back days like someone such as Luis Garcia, even if the latter is allowing runs in both outings. If the Twins send Klein back to his hybrid role in Triple-A to keep him stretched out but unable to pitch on back-to-back days, they’re doing him and themselves a disservice. For high-pedigree arms such as Kendry Rojas, this role can be justified. For pitchers like Klein, who have little chance of being even a back-end starter, they’re simply failing to prepare him for any role at the MLB level other than fungible long reliever. It’ll keep interesting young arms in limbo while keeping veteran arms with no upside in the bullpen. It’s a lose-lose situation. The Twins have failed to back up their talk over the last year. It’s time to start doing so when it comes to internally rebuilding the bullpen. Give the young guys a shot so we don’t wind up with this situation again in 2027. View the full article

The Toronto Blue Jays are around the middle of the pack in terms of farm system rankings. As a result, they don't have many players expected to make their MLB debuts soon. Fans know the names of the team's top prospects, including Trey Yesavage, who is thriving early in his MLB career, JoJo Parker, and Arjun Nimmala, but a few lesser-known prospects are starting to make a name for themselves. One of those players is Sean Keys, the No. 17 prospect in the Blue Jays organization. Keys is a left-handed power hitter who plays third base, but his 6-foot-2, 232-pound frame may be better suited for first base, due to his limited range. The Blue Jays selected him in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft. In his first minor league season, he debuted at Single-A Dunedin, where the left-handed hitter displayed excellent plate vision and contact skills. He slashed .293/.378/.451 over 98 plate appearances with 11 runs, one home run, and 20 knocked in. His next year didn't go as smoothly, but he still showed promising skills. Keys was promoted to High-A Vancouver, where we got a glimpse of the power he possessed; he hit 19 home runs over 529 plate appearances. However, his slash dropped across the board to .217/.365/.408. Still, the slugger posted a 119 wRC+. Vancouver isn't known as a hitters' park, so it was encouraging to see him impact the ball solidly, even though they didn't always drop for hits. This season, Keys received an invitation to major league spring training, but he was never considered a serious contender to make the Opening Day roster. The 22-year-old was sent to Double-A New Hampshire, where he has been crushing the ball. It is a small sample, with him playing in only 27 games (entering play on May 8), but Keys has slashed .309/.427/.629 over 117 plate appearances. He has added 29 runs, 23 RBIs, and nine home runs to his totals, as well as a 167 wRC+. The fast start to his season has definitely helped this underrated player become a household name among Blue Jays fans. It's likely a long shot that Keys can make his MLB debut this season. The Blue Jays would want to see how he performs in Triple A before calling him up, as he is only 22. However, if he gets promoted to Buffalo sometime this summer, it increases the chances that the prospect could be a September call-up. Blue Jays fans, keep an eye on Keys. If he keeps tearing the hide off the ball, he may be one of the next promising prospects to make an MLB appearance. With the Blue Jays' power numbers down this season (they're tied for 23rd in home runs), the team could use more sluggers on its roster. We may not see Keys in the big leagues this season, but it will be sooner rather than later if he keeps performing the way he has. View the full article

Kash Mayfield held Beloit to one hit over five innings as Fort Wayne edged the SkyCarp 1-0. Kruz Schoolcraft worked four innings of one-run ball as Lake Elsinore beat Inland Empire 4-1, with Ryan Wideman driving in three. Ian Koenig spun a quality start as San Antonio rolled past Midland 8-4 behind three hits each from Ethan Salas and Tirso Ornelas. El Paso fell 17-2 to Tacoma despite Jase Bowen's two homers. Padres Minor-League Transactions No moves made. Chihuahuas Routed By Rainiers; Jase Bowen Homers Twice Jase Bowen hit a pair of solo homers, but the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas couldn't muster any other offense in a 17-2 loss to the Tacoma Rainiers. Bowen, who homered Thursday to give him three in two games, also had a leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning to account for three of the Chihuahuas' nine hits. El Paso right-handed starter Sean Boyle was tagged for six runs on seven hits and two walks in 3⅓ innings. It didn't get much better after that as left-hander Miguel Ciengfuegos (three runs in 2⅔ innings) and right-hander Misael Tamarez (two runs in 1⅓ innings) couldn't keep it semi-close before Justin Yeager opened the floodgates by surrendering six runs on seven hits and two walks in 1⅓ innings). Carlos Rodriguez had two hits for El Paso. EP_0508.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Jase Bowen 4 2 3 2 0 0 Carlos Rodríguez 4 0 2 0 0 0 Will Wagner 4 0 0 0 0 3 Pablo Reyes 4 0 1 0 0 2 Nick Solak 4 0 1 0 0 1 Mason McCoy 3 0 0 0 1 1 Nick Schnell 3 0 1 0 1 2 Marcos Castañon 3 0 0 0 0 1 Anthony Vilar 3 0 1 0 0 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Sean Boyle (L, 2-4) 3 1/3 7 6 6 2 3 0 Miguel Cienfuegos 2 2/3 5 3 2 0 3 2 Misael Tamarez 1 1/3 3 2 2 1 1 0 Justin Yeager 1 1/3 7 6 6 2 0 2 Clay Dungan 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Missions Launch 18-Hit Attack To Dispatch RockHounds Francisco Acuna and Kai Roberts each drove in a pair of runs early as the Double-A San Antonio Missions jumped out to a 5-0 lead and pulled out an 8-4 victory over the Midland RockHounds. Ethan Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, went 3-for-6 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI and Tirso Ornelas also had three hits as the Missions pounded out a season-best 18 hits. Five other players, including Acuna and Roberts, had a pair of hits for the Missions. Acuna had a two-run double just inside the left-field line in the second and Roberts a two-run single in the third. Braedon Karpathios also had an RBI single in the third as the Missions went up 5-0. But the RockHounds scored one in the fourth and three in the fifth to pull within 5-4. But the Missions got two of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth. Acuna had a leadoff single and Salas a one-out RBI double. After two walks sandwiched a forceout at second, Ryan Jackson hit a grounder that was knocked down in shallow center by the shortstop for a run-scoring single and a 7-4 advantage. In the seventh, Salas had a leadoff single and went to third on Leandro Cedeno's one-out hit before scoring on Ornelas' single to right. Cedeno extended his on-base streak to 20 games. Missions right-handed starter Ian Koenig allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits with no walks and five strikeouts in a season-high six innings. Right-hander Andrew Moore struck out five in two hitless innings with a walk, while right-hander Michael Flynn pitched a perfect ninth. SA_0508.mp4 Player AB R H RBI BB K Ethan Salas 6 2 3 1 0 1 Romeo Sanabria 4 0 1 0 1 0 Leandro Cedeño 5 0 2 0 0 1 Tirso Ornelas 4 1 3 1 1 0 Ryan Jackson 4 1 2 1 1 1 Braedon Karpathios 5 1 1 1 0 2 Luis Verdugo 4 2 2 0 1 0 Francisco Acuna 5 1 2 2 0 1 Kai Roberts 4 0 2 2 1 1 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Ian Koenig (W, 1-3) 6 5 4 3 0 5 0 Andrew Moore (H, 1) 2 0 0 0 1 5 0 Michael Flynn 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Kash Mayfield's Goes 5 Shutout, Zach Evans Steals Home For TinCaps The Kash Mayfield shutout streak is back on. The left-handed starter allowed just one hit in five shutout innings and Zach Evans stole home for the game's only run as the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps edged the Beloit SkyCarp 1-0. Four Fort Wayne pitchers combined on a three-hitter. Mayfield, Padres Mission's No. 2 prospect, began the season with a 15-inning scoreless streak, then gave up five runs over three innings bridging two games. His outing Friday, which included retiring the first 10 batters of the game, gives him a new streak of seven straight innings without allowing a run. Mayfield walked one and struck out three. The only hit he allowed was a one-out double in the fourth inning. Mayfield now has 1.82 ERA. FW1_0508.mp4 The only run of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning. Evans had a leadoff single and went to third on Jonathan Vastine's double to right. After a groundout and a popout, Evans stole home, leading to the ejection of Beloit's manager. Evans had two hits and is 5-for-13, including his first homer of the year, in the first four games of the series. FW2_0508.mp4 Right-hander Clark Candiotti struck out four in two hitless innings, left-hander C.J. Widger pitched a hitless eighth and right-hander Tucker Musgrove allowed two hits but struck out two to finish with his first career save. Lamar King Jr., Padres Mission's No. 13 prospect, walked and doubled, extending his on-base streak to 21 consecutive games, matching the longest of the season for the TinCaps by Alex McCoy. Kavares Tears went 2-for-3. Player AB R H RBI BB K Jake Cunningham 2 0 0 0 2 0 Rosman Verdugo 4 0 0 0 0 2 Carlos Rodriguez 4 0 0 0 0 2 Alex McCoy 3 0 0 0 1 2 Kasen Wells 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lamar King Jr. 3 0 1 0 1 0 Jack Costello 3 0 1 0 0 0 Kavares Tears 3 0 2 0 0 0 Zach Evans 3 1 2 0 0 0 Jonathan Vastine 2 0 1 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Kash Mayfield (W, 2-1) 5 1 0 0 1 3 0 Clark Candiotti (H, 1) 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 C.J. Widger (H, 2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tucker Musgrove (S, 1) 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 Ryan Wideman Has 3 RBIs As Storm Topple 66ers Ryan Wideman had three hits and drove in three runs, including a go-ahead double in the fifth inning, as the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm beat the Inland Empire 66ers 4-1. Leadoff hitter Bradley Frye also had three of the Storm's 10 hits and drove in the other run. Storm left-handed starter Kruz Schoolcraft, Padres Mission's No. 3 prospect, allowed one unearned run on three hits and two walks while striking out a pair in four innings. Right-hander Rordy Mejia followed Schoolcraft with two shutout innings, right-hander Vicarte Domingo struck out five in two innings and right-hander Will Koger struck out a pair in the ninth for his second professional save. Frye's single in the top of the third drove in the first run of the game after Qrey Lott singled and was bunted to second. Inland Empire tied it in the bottom of the third. In the fifth, there were two outs when Frye singled and went to third on Justin DeCriscio's 13th double of the season. Wideman then doubled to left-center to snap the tie for a 3-1 lead. Wideman made it a three-RBI night in the seventh. Lott had a leadoff single and stole second with one out. Frye's single moved Lott to third and Wideman hit a slow chopper to third that he used his speed to beat out without a play, scoring Lott. Player AB R H RBI BB K Bradley Frye 5 1 3 1 0 2 Justin DeCriscio 5 1 1 0 0 0 Ryan Wideman 4 0 3 3 1 1 Truitt Madonna 5 0 0 0 0 4 Victor Duarte 3 0 0 0 1 0 Jorge Quintana 4 0 1 0 0 2 George Bilecki 3 0 0 0 1 1 Qrey Lott 4 2 2 0 0 2 Conner Westenburg 3 0 0 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Kruz Schoolcraft 4 3 1 0 2 2 0 Rordy Mejia (W, 2-1) 2 1 0 0 3 1 0 Vicarte Domingo (H, 1) 2 2 0 0 1 5 0 Will Koger (S, 2) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Ethan Salas: 3-for-6, 2B, RBI, K Kash Mayfield: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (W) Kruz Schoolcraft: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K Bradgley Rodriguez: DNP Miguel Mendez: DNP Humberto Cruz: DNP Jagger Haynes: DNP Ty Harvey: DNP Ryan Wideman: 3-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K, 3 SB Kale Fountain: DNP Romeo Sanabria: 1-for-4, BB Jorge Quintana: 1-for-4, 2 K Lamar King Jr.: 1-for-3, 2B, BB Garrett Hawkins: DNP Tirso Ornelas: 3-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, BB Kavares Tears: 2-for-3 Truitt Madonna: 0-for-5, 4 K Deivid Coronil: DNP Eric Yost: DNP Francis Pena: DNP LE_0508.mp4 View the full article

TRANSACTIONS Fort Myers placed RHP Eric Hammond on the 7-Day Injured List with a right eye contusion. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Las Vegas 7 Box Score Zebby Matthews was strong and efficient on Friday night. Orlando Arcia led the offense. Overall, this was a very nice win for the Saints. For the Aviators, lefty Gage Jump (a Top 60 overall prospect in baseball) started. He went 4 2/3 innings and gave up six runs (5 earned) on six hits and five walks. He had eight strikeouts. The Saints got ahead in the top of the first inning. With one out, Gabriel Gonzalez and Kyler Fedko walked. Arcia singled to right to drive in Gonzalez and give the team the 1-0 lead. The third inning began with Tanner Schobel reaching on a two-base error. Kaelen Culpepper singled to left with Schobel advancing to third base. Gonzalez drove in the second run with a sacrifice fly. Kyler Fedko just missed a home run and had to settle for an RBI triple. Arcia followed with his seventh homer of the season to give the Saints a 5-0 lead. Let’s jump to the top of the fifth inning. Arcia led off the inning by crushing a ball well beyond the fencing in left field. It was his second homer of the game and eighth of the season. It also gave the Saints a 6-2 lead. With two outs in the eighth inning, Fedko singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Arcia followed with an RBI single to left giving him four RBI in the game. Zebby Matthews was really good, and he was very efficient. Overall, he tossed eight innings. He was charged with three runs on 10 hits and two walks. He had five strikeouts including getting two strikeouts to end a threat in the bottom of the eighth inning, both on 96+ mph fastballs. Through six innings, he had thrown just 65 pitches. Through seven innings, he had thrown 74 pitches. Through eight innings, he threw 95 pitches, and 69.5% of them were strikes. Drew Smith gave up one run on two hits in the ninth inning. Not a Twins guy, but I have to write about the game that A’s top ten prospect Henry Bolte had. Leading off for the Aviators, he went 5-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, and two home runs. He played in 34 games for Las Vegas last season and hit .300/.404/.433 (.837) with six doubles, two triples and two homers. He was also 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts. Friday night was Bolte’s 35th game with the Aviators in 2026. He is hitting .329/.401/.604 (1.005) with five doubles, three triples, and 10 homers. He is also 16-for-17 in stolen base attempts. He was the A’s second round pick in 2022 out of Palo Alto High School in northern California. Bolte and Blue Jays prospect Josh Kasevich (currently with Triple-A Buffalo) are racing to become the high school’s fifth major-league player. Brothers Mike Brewer (Royals) and Tony Brewer (Dodgers) and Stu Pederson (Dodgers) combined to play in 44 MLB games between 1984 and 1986. The fourth player from the high school to play in the big leagues is Joc Pederson who is playing in his 13th MLB season in 2026. He is the son of the aforementioned Stu Pederson. Based on his Triple-A numbers, it looks like the Bolte family might be the third Palo Alto High School family to have big-league service time. The Kasevich’s may just need to accept being fourth. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Amarillo 4 Box Score A night after the offense set several franchise records for runs scored, hits, homers, and more. On Friday night, they showed they can slowly and methodically come back from a deficit to win a close game. As was generally the theme of the night, there was some really solid pitching throughout the system on Friday. Lefty Aaron Rozek started and tossed four scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one, hit one, and struck out five batters. He’s been terrific since rejoining the Twins organization. His ERA with the Surge is down to 2.45. Wichita got on the board in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Kyle Debarge singled. He stole second and then third base. And then Billy Amick drove him in with his fourth double of the year. In the top of the sixth, the Wind Surge added on. Garrett Spain led off with a walk. With two outs, he had moved to second base. Amick came to the plate and hit his ninth home run of the season to give his team a 3-0 lead. Jarret Whorff came in and pitched a scoreless fifth inning. However, he was charged with four runs on three hits and two walks, and he recorded just one out in the bottom of the sixth. He left the game with the bases loaded and a 3-2 lead. William Fleming came on and allowed two of the three inherited runners to score and give the Sod Poodles a 4-3 lead. The tying run scored when he hit a batter. The second scored on a soft ground out. Fleming’s pitching line doesn’t look bad. He tossed 1 2/3 scoreless, hitless innings. With two outs in the top of the eighth, Ricardo Olivar notched his seventh double of the season. Guess who followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 4-4? Of course, it was Billy Amick. With one out in the top of the ninth inning, Andrew Cossetti homered to center, his first homer of the season. It couldn’t have come at a better time! Sam Ryan struck out three batters over the final two innings. He faced the minimum. Amick went 3-for-4 with his fourth double and ninth homer and the team’s first four RBI of the game. He has seven homers in his past 13 games. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 2 Box Score The Kernels were shoutout in Quad Cities on Thursday night, and they didn’t exactly start Friday night on fire. However, some late runs were not only good for their psyche but led them to a win. The Kernels got on the scoreboard first in this game. With two outs in the top of the third inning, Jacob McCombs singled. He went to second on a balk and scored when Brandon Winokur reached on an errant throw. The Kernels have pitched well and did so again on Friday. Ivran Romero got the start and worked three scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, but he didn’t hurt himself with any walks. He had four strikeouts. Yehizon Sanchez came in and had three strikeouts over two scoreless, one-hit innings. Cole Peschl threw the sixth inning. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk. The game was tied 1-1 through seven innings. Jump to the top of the eighth inning, and the first two Kernels batters struck out. McCombs was hit by a pitch, and he scored from first on Winokur’s seventh double of the season. Nick Trabacchi put zeroes on the board in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings. He walked one, but he gave up no hits and struck out four batters. The top of the ninth started out well. Khadim Diaw led off with his fourth double. Jaime Ferrer followed with his seventh home run of the season. That gave the Kernels a little cushion, a 4-1 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth. Paulshawn Pasqualotto gave up one run on one hit in the ninth to record a relatively stress-free fourth save of the year thanks to the insurance runs. Winokur went 2-for-4 with a double. Cedar Rapids had just five hits in the game and no walks. They were helped by three hit batters. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Tampa 6 Box Score This was a really well pitched game for both teams, especially through five innings. Tampa took the lead in the sixth. They put together a big inning and held on to win game four of this series. Again, we will start with the pitching. Ramiro Villanueva is back and healthy and pitching like he wants to move into Twins Top 40 rankings! After missing the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery, he has impressed in his first few Mighty Mussels starts. That held true on Friday night. The right-hander tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked three and had four strikeouts. Of course, it’s no surprise what his one issue has been in his return so far. It’s common for control to come back a little slower for some. In 10 innings so far though, he’s given up one earned run on six hits. He has walked nine and struck out 12 batters. Not bad for a 19-year-old with three professional innings pitched (in the DSL in 2024) under his belt. Kolten Smith came in and worked the middle three innings. He started with two scoreless innings (two hits, four strikeouts), but he was charged with the four runs in the sixth inning (four runs, four hits, two walks, two strikeouts). It likely won’t surprise you to see how the Mussels scored their two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Bruin Agbayani led off with a double. He came around to score on Yasser Mercedes' sixth home run of the season. It cut the deficit in half, but Fort Myers was unable to complete a comeback. Xavier Kolhosser pitched the final three innings. He gave up two unearned runs on two hits and no walks. He struck out four batters. Five Mussels hitters had one hit. Agbayani’s double and Mercedes’ home run were the only extra base hits. Ramiro Dominguez had both a single and a walk, and he stole his second base of the season. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 3, FCL Red Sox 0 Box Score The FCL Twins jumped ahead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. They added one more run in the fourth. Three pitching prospects combined for the seven-inning shutout. Let’s start with the pitching, as I really think all three pitchers are legitimate prospects (each ranks in my current Top 65 Twins prospects.). Melvin Rodriguez started and gave up two hits and a walk over two scoreless innings. He had one strikeout. Geromy Villoria came on and gave up two hits and a walk over two scoreless innings. He struck out two batters. Hendry Chivilli finished the game with three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one, and had two strikeouts to earn the save. Yovanny Duran led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple. After two strikeouts, Joyner Perez singled to center to drive him in. After a wild pitch, Daiber De Los Santos singled to right to make it 2-0. Perez and De Los Santos each finished their day 1-for-2 with a walk. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Ricardo Paez knocked his first home run of the season to make it 3-0. It marked his first home run in the States. Last year in 39 games in the FCL, he hit .242 and got on nearly 40% of the time, but he had no home runs. In 2024, he had two home runs in 36 games for the DSL Twins. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Orlando Arcia (St. Paul): 4-for-5, 2 HR(8), 2 R, 5 RBI. Billy Amick (Wichita): 3-for-4, 2B(4), HR(9), R, 4 RBI. Pitcher of the Day Aaron Rozek (Wichita): 4 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 5 K, 63 pitches, 38 strikes (60.3%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (left shoulder) #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R, 2 K (batted first, played 2B) #3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (thumb) #4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4 (batted third, DH). #5 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota) - 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, HBP, 6 K. 93 pitches, 61 strikes (65.6%) #6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. Scheduled to start Sunday. #7 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, SF RBI, K (batted second, played 1B) #8 - LHP Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch. #9 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Play. Missed third straight game. #10 - RHP Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #11 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch #12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch #13 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2B(7), RBI, CS(2) (batted second, played SS) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-4, 3 K, E(13) (batted sixth, played 3B). #15 - RHP Marco Raya (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch. #16 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, BB, 3 K (batted fifth, played LF) #17 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, K, 2 SB(9) (batted second, played SS) #18 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch. #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2B(4), R, HBP (batted first, played Catcher) #20 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 Day Injured List (right elbow sprain) UPCOMING PROBABLES Saturday, May 9: St. Paul @ Las Vegas (9:05 pm ET) - RHP Trent Baker (2-2, 9.42 ERA) Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Ricky Castro (1-0, 4.63 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (5:30 pm CT) - RHP Eli Jones (1-1, 4.70 ERA) Tampa @ Ft. Myers (5:05 pm CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (0-0, 0.00 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (9:00 am CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 16-23 St. Paul Saints: 18-18 Wichita Wind Surge: 16-15 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 16-15 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 17-14 FCL Twins: 3-2 DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View the full article

MIAMI, FL - Friday's series opener against the Washington Nationals marked one of the most highly anticipated major league debuts in a long time, as Fish On First's No. 2 prospect Robby Snelling took the mound. Unfortunately, the Marlins offense went ice cold, including going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, falling by a final score of 3-2. "He's made really tremendous strides since we've acquired him," said president of baseball operations Peter Bendix before the game. "It's a testament to Robby, how hard he works, the kind of competitor that he is. It's also a testament to our pitching group from top to bottom, Bill Hezel, our director of pitching, and everybody who's been involved in Robby's development. The great thing about Robby is he's really good right now. We're really excited about tonight, and he still has a lot of improvements that he can make. He has true top-of-the-rotation upside." Usually, a starting pitcher keeps to himself before an outing and is not spoken to, but Snelling took a different approach, and has throughout his whole career. During Marlins batting practice, Snelling was hanging out, chatting up teammates and staff just outside the Marlins dugout. Part of his reasoning is to keep things "super light" and doesn't want his start day to feel different from any other day. "Come in, try and chop it up with the guys," Snelling said. "My thing is kind of going out, and I was joking about the roof being closed today. I try and go out and roam around the outfield barefoot and walk around, and usually BP is not going on. There was no sun out today, so it's kind of like being able to just be outside of the clubhouse and interact with people. I don't want to feel isolated on any day. I want to treat it just like a normal day. Kind of gets my mind right." In five innings of work, Snelling allowed three runs on five hits, four walks and only two strikeouts. All three runs he allowed came in the top of the first inning with two outs. An RBI single from CJ Abrams and then a two-run homer from Jacob Young. He finished the game throwing 86 pitches, with 54 landing for strikes. He averaged about 17 pitches per inning. "For him to really navigate himself through five, maybe not the cleanest innings, but he really grinded well, showed a lot of moxie today," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. Snelling's fastball topped out at 97.2 mph and averaged 95.3 mph. Although the velocity of the fastball was up, the usage was down. Snelling threw his fastball 51.4% of the time in Triple-A, and on Friday, he threw it 33% of the time, his second most used pitch. "Everybody's geared up for 100 miles an hour up here," Snelling said. "I used my fastball in good spots where I needed to, and utilized my sinking fastball in really good spots to left-handed hitters. That got me a couple of groundouts tonight that I really needed." Some of the positives to take away from a start like this was his curveball playing well, generating five whiffs, including All-Star James Wood for his first career strikeout. Snelling suspected that Wood would be sitting on his fastball in that situation. "That guy is going to be geared up, expecting me to come out firing. and I was able to execute three really good pitches." The curveball was Snelling's most-used pitch on the night (34% usage). Another plus was landing 16 of 22 pitches for first-pitch strikes (73%), which he had told the media the day before he had been trying to work on at Triple-A. Although Snelling had a lot of traffic on the bases, the defense behind him helped him, turning two double plays (one in the second and another in the fifth). In total, Snelling had six groundouts. "Obviously, having runners on base as much as I did tonight, that's not what starting pitchers want," Snelling said. "Being able to continue to attack the zone, attack each hitter that stepped into the box, proud of myself about." Catching Snelling was Joe Mack, who spent a lot of time with him in the minor league after being traded from the Padres. When asked what he will remember the most from his debut, immediately went to "throwing to Joe." "Being able to go up through the minor leagues with him after I got traded, and create that dialogue with him and the relationship that I have, it's pretty cool." The Marlins scored twice off former KBO pitcher Foster Griffin in the bottom of the first inning. Xavier Edwards, who was leading off, took Griffin deep to left-center. It marked his first home run as a right-handed hitter and his third career leadoff homer. Kyle Stowers reached first on a fielder's choice and Otto Lopez, who was at second, scored on a throwing error. Unfortunately for the Marlins, Griffin was dominant after that. In seven innings of work, he allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, one walk and struck out nine. His cutter generated nine whiffs, with four of his nine strikeouts coming on that pitch. "We just didn't put a whole lot of good passes on (the cutter) and he was able to crowd a lot of guys there," McCullough said. "He's having a really nice season, been throwing the ball well. I think just that combo of trying to bully guys in with action running into 'em and then go play the changeup off of it has been successful. Dump enough curveballs early in count to steal some strikes. He pitched a good game." With the loss, the Marlins drop to 17-22. Janson Junk gets the start on Saturday with a 4:10 pm first pitch. View the full article

The dream of pitching in MLB is on hold, if not over, for San Diego Padres pitching prospect Humberto Cruz. The 19-year-old right-hander pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge related to transporting undocumented immigrants within the U.S. for money, according to a report Friday by the San Diego Union-Tribune. That report said the Padres believe Cruz has lost his work visa for 10 years, although he can reapply after five years by showing good behavior. Cruz is Padres Mission's No. 6 prospect. Cruz was arrested near the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona in October after picking up a two individuals in exchange for money, $1,000 each. He had been working out at the team's complex in Peoria, Ariz., after having Tommy John surgery in late August. Cruz was signed out of Mexico in February 2024. The Padres placed Cruz on the restricted list in March. He was originally charged with a felony, but Cruz agreed to plead guilty in exchange for the more serious charge being dropped. In November, a judge sentenced him to 30 days in prison with credit for time served. View the full article

Box Score Connor Prielipp: 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Home Runs: Byron Buxton (12) Bottom 3 WPA: Connor Prielipp (-.240), Ryan Jeffers (-.190), Matt Wallner (-.160) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Ah, the first Apple TV game of the year. How well did you do in finding a way to watch the game? This author—who is 27 years old, by the way—struggled to use their fiancé’s email to sign up for a free trial solely for this game. The process took ten minutes. We needed her face ID three times. The dinosaurs feel more relatable with each passing day. At least we were rewarded with baseball played by the 2026 Twins. Byron Buxton doubled to lead off the game—a false hope, as he remained at the base, cursed to watch his teammates fail to even advance him to third. In poetic juxtaposition, the Guardians scored their first baserunner—and many more (man, two em dashes so early seem a little aggressive, but we’ll work with it). Steven Kwan singled, and Connor Prielipp doinked a slider off Angel Martínez’s foot. José Ramírez chopped a grounder that should have netted at least one out, yet Luke Keaschall positioned himself too close to the dashing Martínez, who blinded the young second baseman, allowing the ball to escape him entirely and roll softly, harmlessly into the outfield, scoring one. Rhys Hoskins added on with a sacrifice fly. The damage would have been rationalized if Travis Bazzana didn’t soon clobber a hanging Prielipp slider to make the first an Officially Disastrous frame™. Cleveland led 4-0. And Cleveland starter Parker Messick was in no mood to relinquish that advantage. The 25-year-old Mark Buehrle impersonator tore through the Twins lineup. No runner again reached second base until the sixth; he simply didn’t allow it. Rather, the lefty worked at his accelerated pace, changed speeds, and kept Minnesota’s batters guessing, often incorrectly. But fortune changed in the sixth. Austin Martin “doubled” on a 56-degree chip shot over the first baseman’s head, enabling Ryan Jeffers to shoot an RBI single to right field. Impossibly, the Twins totaled three more consecutive hits without scoring another run; the lethargic Jeffers was thrown out at home following a Keaschall knock. “You know how to avoid getting thrown out at home? By blasting one out of the park?” -Byron Buxton, probably. The homer brought the game within one. Which was as close as things would get. Cleveland added on in the seventh and eighth to stretch things to a 6-3 advantage over the Twins. Minnesota put men on the corners with no one out in the ninth to spice matters up late, but a Jeffers double play neutered the rally. They fell one batter later. Notes: Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Guardians will meet on standard TV for an early-evening Saturday affair. Joe Ryan is scheduled to start opposite Tanner Bibbee. First pitch is at 5:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Banda 0 19 0 20 22 61 Funderburk 0 0 17 0 22 39 Orze 0 16 0 0 16 32 Topa 0 0 32 0 0 32 Klein 0 0 0 31 0 31 Garcia 0 13 14 0 0 27 Rogers 0 0 0 26 0 26 Morris 0 0 14 0 0 14 Gómez 0 0 0 0 2 2 View the full article

MIAMI, FL — On Friday, just under two hours before Robby Snelling made his major league debut, Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix spoke to local media for about 10 minutes, discussing a variety of topics. His most notable responses are featured below, along with some additional context and statistics. What are you seeing with Owen Caissie, and how much longer of a leash do you give in at the big league level? "Adjusting to major league pitching is the hardest thing a player is ever going to do. With guys like Owen (Caissie), he has never failed at any point in his career. So what happens when you get punched? What happens when you get knocked down? You have to figure out a way to get back up and adjust. Players do that at different points in their career. It takes them different amounts of time. We saw Kyle Stowers get punched in the face every single night at the end of 2024 and then he was able to use that to make an adjustment. I'm optimistic that Owen can do the same thing." Through 34 games this season, Caissie is slashing .202/.261/.323/.584 with two home runs, 16 RBI and a 60 wRC+. The biggest issue for Caissie has been his strikeout rate, which is at 41.4%, highest in baseball (min. 100 PA). His last home run was hit on April 1 against the New York Yankees. Starting pitching leash and bullpen management. Does Clayton McCullough make all the moves? "Before every game, there is a meeting that involves a lot of different people that is run by Clayton to talk through as many different scenarios as we can imagine coming up in that game. I think the best decisions are the decisions that are made ahead of time, in the sense that you don't want to be caught off guard. You want to be prepared for anything that might happen. What's option A, option B and option C. That's not to say it's scripted a predetermined, it's just thought about ahead of time. There's a lot of time spent on that. A lot of it is managing both to win today and to get through 162 games." What are you seeing with Eury Pérez? "Eury is still one of the youngest pitchers in baseball. He's got as good stuff as anybody, and he's still learning how to utilize it and best deploy it. The path to being a superstar is not always linear, and so I think that's what we're seeing." In eight starts, Pérez is sporting a 5.01 ERA, 4.90 FIP, 9.80 K/9 and 4.57 BB/9. In his most recent start, Pérez went five innings, allowing five runs on four hits (one home run), five walks and struck out six. At the moment, there is no plan to send Pérez down to Triple-A. How do you navigate that type of situation where you want Agustin Ramírez to develop up here, but you also don't want to take reps away from guys that are contributing? "I will sign up for the scenario in which we have three really good catchers. I think that very well could happen. If it does, then we'll deal with it. But that's the kind of problem we want to have." Since being sent down to Jacksonville, Ramírez is slashing .250/.333/.250/.583. The Marlins called up Joe Mack ahead of Monday's series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies, and since then, he is slashing .300/.300/.400/.700 with one RBI and a 92 wRC+. Liam Hicks is slashing .319/.372/.584/.956 with a team-leading nine home runs and MLB leading 34 RBI. "What Liam is doing is incredible. The fact that he set out this offseason to add power and improve his bat speed. He clearly did that and somehow also lowered his strikeout rate to be one of the best strikeout rates in all of baseball. He's hitting lefties, hitting guys who throw hard. He's hitting guys who throw breaking balls. He's hitting for power. He's hitting for average. Like, absolutely incredible." Why was Ramírez sent down? "He was called up after several other guys back here went down. He was called up relatively early in the year, and to his credit, he hit the ground running and took advantage of that, but didn't have the level of development, especially defensively in the minor leagues with us that we may have been planning for him. I think getting him down to Triple-A where he can really worry about getting better without all of the noise that comes with being at the major league level, I think is really going to do him a lot of things." Thoughts on Braxton Garrett and when we can see him back up at the big league level? "He's been great. I think the fact that Braxton is in Triple-A really speaks to the depth of pitching that we have. There will be an opportunity for him. I'm sure of it. He will be ready for it. I'm sure of that, too. The fact that he's healthy and throwing the ball well, that's what's important." View the full article

In need of a bit of good news on the pitching front, Ethan Roberts is back in the Chicago Cubs' bullpen. The Cubs activated the right-handed reliever off the 15-day injured list Friday. To make room, right-handed reliever Gavin Hollowell was sent back to Triple-A Iowa. Roberts has been out since going on the IL April 15 with a laceration on his middle finger on his right hand. The laceration occurred just a few days after his second call-up of the season. Between those two stints, Roberts has appeared in three games covering 2⅔ innings, allowing no runs on one hit and no walks with two strikeouts. He has made a total of eight relief appearances at Triple-A, posting a 1.93 ERA with five walks and nine strikeouts in 9⅓ innings. Hollowell was just called up Thursday to patch the bullpen if needed. He did not pitch in Thursday's 8-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Hollowell did pitch in two games previously this season, allowing two runs in 1⅔ innings. View the full article

Leading up to the 2026 MLB Draft, Fish On First brings you a series of scouting reports on top prospects in this draft class who could realistically wind up in Miami. Overview Position: OF Height: 6’0″ Weight: 205 pounds School: Oak Grove HS (MS) Commitment: Vanderbilt Eric Booth Jr. is a 6’0”, 205-pound outfielder who plays at Oak Grove School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Booth has been rising on the board since the beginning of his senior season. He is now viewed as arguably the best outfield prospect in this draft class. On Perfect Game, Booth is the fourth-ranked prospect and the top-ranked outfielder in the Class of 2026. He’s also the #1 overall prospect in the Magnolia State. Booth is signed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University. Booth is one of the best athletes in this draft class. He’s arguably the fastest prospect and has already started to fill out his frame. At the plate, Booth has an unorthodox batting stance and tends to swing down on the ball. While Booth is not the biggest prospect, he has plus bat speed and can already generate power with his frame. He won the Home Run Derby at the Perfect Game All-American Classic last summer. Defensively, Booth is projected to be a center fielder due to his excellent range. He has improved his arm strength from average to above-average. According to Perfect Game, Booth has been clocked running a 6.27 60-yard dash. He also has good instincts and tracks the ball well in the outfield. While Booth's tools are exciting, there’s still work to be done when it comes to his overall development. Strengths Elite speed Plus bat speed Good bat-to-ball skills Good feel for the strike zone Excellent athlete Weaknesses Needs to improve at lifting the ball Needs to improve on swing mechanics Pro Comparison: Cedric Mullins Projection: Top 10 pick Bottom Line Eric Booth Jr. is certainly has the raw talent to develop into a very productive big leaguer. Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America have Booth ranked as the sixth-ranked prospect in this draft class. The Marlins will have the 14th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft and should be able to grab one of the top prospects in this draft class. Selecting Booth would come with high risk. However, that might be a risk worth taking. More 2026 MLB draft profiles 3B Ace Reese LHP Carson Bolemon RHP Jackson Flora INF Jacob Lombard OF AJ Gracia View the full article

Addison Barger will have to wait at least one more day before he's back in the Blue Jays' lineup. The team originally planned to activate him from the 10-day injured list ahead of tonight's game against the Angels, but John Schneider told Sportsnet's Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker today that Barger is still in transit. He is not expected to rejoin the Blue Jays until Saturday. This gives the team a bit more time to decide how to make room for Barger on the active roster. For what it's worth, the Angels are sending the left-handed Reid Detmers to the mound this evening, which might explain why the Jays aren't rushing the lefty-batting Barger to town. Barger has been on the IL since April 6 with a sprained ankle. Prior to his injury, he was 1-for-19 with a double and six strikeouts. Only two of his 23 plate appearances came against left-handed pitching. He has hit .193 with a 55 wRC+ and just one home run in 128 career PA against southpaws. View the full article

OG member Riverbrian, who, fortunately for us, has apparently way too much time on his hands, is tracking youth on each team. Specifically, pre-arb players. Interesting stuff...read all about it and let us know what you think here: Nick Nelson, one of the site's founders, gives us another well-crafted weekly review. I'm starting to think he might not be totally sold on the bullpen. What do you think? Let us know here: Fortunately, it appears Joe Ryan and the Twins may have dodged a bullet with his sore elbow. Fingers crossed. Assuming he's healthy, should he be dealt? If so, when? Cody Christie weighs in, so should you, here: Till next week, Chief signing off. See you in the forums! View the full article

The Chicago Cubs could be ready to take advantage of the New York Mets' miserable start to the season. According to a report, the Cubs are interested in acquiring ace right-hander Freddy Peralta from the Mets. Peralta, a free agent after the season, has already been traded once this year, going from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Mets in a four-player trade in which New York gave up a pair of top-five prospects in infielder-outfielder Jett Williams and right-handed starter Brandon Sproat. This time, Peralta's price would be lower as the acquiring team would not be able to get draft-pick compensation through the qualifying offer. A qualifying offer can only be extended to a player who is with a team for the full season. The report mentioned that the Mets are holding on to Peralta until at least June 1, at which time the team will reevaluate its position on Peralta and other tradeable assets. The Cubs are in the market for at least one starting pitcher as they currently have three of their projected four Opening Day starters on the injured list, including Cade Horton being out for the season. Peralta has ties to both teams from his Brewers days. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns led Milwaukee's front office while Peralta was on the roster and Cubs manager Craig Counsell was Peralta's manager in Milwaukee. Peralta will be one of the top free agents available this offseason. View the full article

The Chicago Cubs could be ready to take advantage of the New York Mets' miserable start to the season. According to a report, the Cubs are interested in acquiring ace right-hander Freddy Peralta from the Mets. Peralta, a free agent after the season, has already been traded once this year, going from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Mets in a four-player trade in which New York gave up a pair of top-five prospects in infielder-outfielder Jett Williams and right-handed starter Brandon Sproat. This time, Peralta's price would be lower as the acquiring team would not be able to get draft-pick compensation through the qualifying offer. A qualifying offer can only be extended to a player who is with a team for the full season. The report mentioned that the Mets are holding on to Peralta until at least June 1, at which time the team will reevaluate its position on Peralta and other tradeable assets. The Cubs are in the market for at least one starting pitcher as they currently have three of their projected four Opening Day starters on the injured list, including Cade Horton being out for the season. Peralta has ties to both teams from his Brewers days. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns led Milwaukee's front office while Peralta was on the roster and Cubs manager Craig Counsell was Peralta's manager in Milwaukee. Peralta will be one of the top free agents available this offseason. View the full article

The expected became official in regards to Cole Ragans. The Kansas City Royals placed their ace left-hander on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow impingement. Right-handed starter Stephen Kolek, who made his season debut Tuesday before being sent to Triple-A, was recalled from Omaha. Also, left-hander Eric Cerantola, who made his MLB debut this week, was optioned to Triple-A and right-handed reliever Steven Cruz was called up. Additionally, right-handed closer Carlos Estevez was officially pulled from his rehab assignment after experiencing discomfort in his right shoulder following his first rehab appearance Wednesday. Ragans was pulled from Wednesday's start vs. the Cleveland Guardians after just three innings. On Thursday, it was revealed that Ragans was dealing with pitcher's elbow, with the more technical term of valgus extension overload. The loss of Ragans is a significant blow to the Royals, who are still trying to string some wins together. Kolek came off the 15-day IL and went six innings in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Guardians. He allowed all three runs on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Cruz, in his second stint with the Royals, made five appearances after an April 1 call-up. In five innings, he allowed eight runs on seven hits, including four homers, with four walks and seven strikeouts for a 14.40 ERA. At Omaha, he had a 6.43 ERA in eight appearances, giving up eight runs on 10 hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts. Cerantola made two relief appearances, pitching Wednesday and Thursday. He went a combined three innings, allowing three runs, including a homer, in two innings in his second appearance. He walked four and struck out five. View the full article

Unlike other publications, Grand Central Mets enables all users to contribute to our top prospect rankings. Anyone with a DiamondCentric account can participate and give their input on who they think should be in the Mets' top prospects list. Before you vote, you can hit our top prospects page for the latest stats and news on Mets prospects, while on the voting page, every name is a clickable link that brings up their current stat card. Voting is simple, just follow the instructions below! Here's the rundown on how to participate: 1. You must have an account and be logged in to vote. If you don't have an account, click here. It requires only 60 seconds to create an account. 2. Review our current top 20 prospect list, catch up on stats, rankings, etc. (you can do so from the voting page link below) 3. Have your prospect list in your filthy little paws? Then flip on over to the new prospect voting page (after reading the rest of this, please). https://grandcentralmets.com/prospect-voting 4. Voting is super simple; you drag and drop players in the order you wish them to be. After you move a prospect, the list automatically renumbers so you don't lose track of the order. This works on mobile devices, but it's a *vastly* better experience on desktop. Sorry, that's just how this kind of thing works. There's no excellent way to make something like this as awesome on a phone screen. 5. Each prospect has a comment section where you can add any commentary you have on that player. At the bottom of the list, there is a general comment section to explain over-arching things you'd like to mention. 6. Don't see a prospect you want to put on the list? Just pop back here and give me a mention (in a comment, start typing @Brock Beauchamp and select my name after it appears). Please mention the prospect you would like added, and I will do so as soon as possible. 7. Once you're done with all of it, click Save. You've now voted! 8. When the voting closes, a new thread will automatically generate in this forum with all of your rankings and comments for everyone to read and talk about. 9. You can only vote once. If you have voted in error, pop back here and tag Brock to ask to have your vote deleted. It will be removed, and you can vote again. Voting closes Wednesday, May 13. View the full article

Unlike other publications, Padres Mission enables all users to contribute to our top prospect rankings. Anyone with a DiamondCentric account can participate and give their input on who they think should be in the Padres' top prospects list. Before you vote, you can hit our top prospects page for the latest stats and news on Padres prospects, while on the voting page, every name is a clickable link that brings up their current stat card. Voting is simple, just follow the instructions below! Here's the rundown on how to participate: 1. You must have an account and be logged in to vote. If you don't have an account, click here. It requires only 60 seconds to create an account. 2. Review our current top 20 prospect list, catch up on stats, rankings, etc. (you can do so from the voting page link below) 3. Have your prospect list in your filthy little paws? Then flip on over to the new prospect voting page (after reading the rest of this, please). https://padresmission.com/prospect-voting 4. Voting is super simple; you drag and drop players in the order you wish them to be. After you move a prospect, the list automatically renumbers so you don't lose track of the order. This works on mobile devices, but it's a *vastly* better experience on desktop. Sorry, that's just how this kind of thing works. There's no excellent way to make something like this as awesome on a phone screen. 5. Each prospect has a comment section where you can add any commentary you have on that player. At the bottom of the list, there is a general comment section to explain over-arching things you'd like to mention. 6. Don't see a prospect you want to put on the list? Just pop back here and give me a mention (in a comment, start typing @Brock Beauchamp and select my name after it appears). Please mention the prospect you would like added, and I will do so as soon as possible. 7. Once you're done with all of it, click Save. You've now voted! 8. When the voting closes, a new thread will automatically generate in this forum with all of your rankings and comments for everyone to read and talk about. 9. You can only vote once. If you have voted in error, pop back here and tag Brock to ask to have your vote deleted. It will be removed, and you can vote again. Voting closes Wednesday, May 13. View the full article

Unlike other publications, North Side Baseball enables all users to contribute to our top prospect rankings. Anyone with a DiamondCentric account can participate and give their input on who they think should be in the Cubs' top prospects list. Before you vote, you can hit our top prospects page for the latest stats and news on Cubs prospects, while on the voting page, every name is a clickable link that brings up their current stat card. Voting is simple, just follow the instructions below! Here's the rundown on how to participate: 1. You must have an account and be logged in to vote. If you don't have an account, click here. It requires only 60 seconds to create an account. 2. Review our current top 20 prospect list, catch up on stats, rankings, etc. (you can do so from the voting page link below) 3. Have your prospect list in your filthy little paws? Then flip on over to the new prospect voting page (after reading the rest of this, please). https://northsidebaseball.com/prospect-voting 4. Voting is super simple; you drag and drop players in the order you wish them to be. After you move a prospect, the list automatically renumbers so you don't lose track of the order. This works on mobile devices, but it's a *vastly* better experience on desktop. Sorry, that's just how this kind of thing works. There's no excellent way to make something like this as awesome on a phone screen. 5. Each prospect has a comment section where you can add any commentary you have on that player. At the bottom of the list, there is a general comment section to explain over-arching things you'd like to mention. 6. Don't see a prospect you want to put on the list? Just pop back here and give me a mention (in a comment, start typing @Brock Beauchamp and select my name after it appears). Please mention the prospect you would like added, and I will do so as soon as possible. 7. Once you're done with all of it, click Save. You've now voted! 8. When the voting closes, a new thread will automatically generate in this forum with all of your rankings and comments for everyone to read and talk about. 9. You can only vote once. If you have voted in error, pop back here and tag Brock to ask to have your vote deleted. It will be removed, and you can vote again. Voting closes Wednesday, May 13. View the full article

The Boston Red Sox continue to shuffle their pitching staff. Right-hander Jack Anderson was called up by the Red Sox from Triple-A Worcester on Friday, with left-handed starter Jake Bennett being sent back to Triple-A. Anderson, who is in his second stint this season with the Red Sox, has started three of his five appearances at Worcester, but all three of his games in the majors have been in a relief role, including his MLB debut. The Red Sox have not officially named a starter for Saturday or Sunday, the final two games of the series vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. It is possible Anderson appears in either role Saturday and is sent back down for a fresh arm for Sunday. Anderson has allowed three runs on eight hits with two walks and six strikeouts with the Red Sox. At Triple-A, he allowed nine runs on 21 hits, including four homers, with three walks and 17 strikeouts in 18 innings. Bennett made two starts as he also had his MLB debut. He gave up five runs on 11 hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 10⅓ innings. View the full article

Unlike other publications, Brewer Fanatic enables all users to contribute to our top prospect rankings. Anyone with a DiamondCentric account can participate and give their input on who they think should be in the Brewers' top prospects list. Before you vote, you can hit our top prospects page for the latest stats and news on Brewers prospects, while on the voting page, every name is a clickable link that brings up their current stat card. Voting is simple, just follow the instructions below! Here's the rundown on how to participate: 1. You must have an account and be logged in to vote. If you don't have an account, click here. It requires only 60 seconds to create an account. 2. Review our current top 20 prospect list, catch up on stats, rankings, etc. (you can do so from the voting page link below) 3. Have your prospect list in your filthy little paws? Then flip on over to the new prospect voting page (after reading the rest of this, please). https://brewerfanatic.com/prospect-voting 4. Voting is super simple; you drag and drop players in the order you wish them to be. After you move a prospect, the list automatically renumbers so you don't lose track of the order. This works on mobile devices, but it's a *vastly* better experience on desktop. Sorry, that's just how this kind of thing works. There's no excellent way to make something like this as awesome on a phone screen. 5. Each prospect has a comment section where you can add any commentary you have on that player. At the bottom of the list, there is a general comment section to explain over-arching things you'd like to mention. 6. Don't see a prospect you want to put on the list? Just pop back here and give me a mention (in a comment, start typing @Brock Beauchamp and select my name after it appears). Please mention the prospect you would like added, and I will do so as soon as possible. 7. Once you're done with all of it, click Save. You've now voted! 8. When the voting closes, a new thread will automatically generate in this forum with all of your rankings and comments for everyone to read and talk about. 9. You can only vote once. If you have voted in error, pop back here and tag Brock to ask to have your vote deleted. It will be removed, and you can vote again. Voting closes Wednesday, May 13. View the full article

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Worcester gutted out a wild extra-inning win, walking it off with a two-run homer in the 12th inning, 10-8 against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. Worcester and Scranton battled back and forth in the first couple of innings. The WooSox got on the board early when Nick Sogard singled in a run in the first inning, but the RailRiders answered back with a three-run homer in the top of the second to take a 3-1 lead. Worcester clawed right back, tying it 3-3 in the bottom of the frame on a pair of productive RBI groundouts by Tsung-Che Cheng and Matt Lloyd. After Scranton retook the lead 4-3 in the 4th, Anthony Seigler crushed a solo homer to tie it once again, and Cheng added a sacrifice fly to put Worcester up 5-4. Worcester stretched the lead to 6-4 in the 7th as Sogard scored on an error, then 7-4 in the 8th when Matt Lloyd launched a solo shot. Cade Feeney ran into trouble at the top of the 9th, surrendering an RBI triple and a two-run single that knotted the score at 7-7. Both teams went scoreless in the 10th. In the 11th, Scranton pushed across a run with a sacrifice fly to go up 8-7, but Worcester answered immediately. Kristian Campbell delivered a sacrifice fly of his own to tie it again at 8-8. In the bottom of the 12th, Allan Castro, who already singled, doubled, and stole a base on the night, jumped on a pitch and launched a two-run homer to end it, 10-8. Eduardo Rivera gave Worcester 2 ⅔ solid innings of middle relief (1 ER, 4 K), and Kyle Keller was dominant over 1.1 hitless frames with 3 strikeouts. Catcher Nathan Hickey picked up his first career win with a scoreless 12th. Key Performances: Allan Castro: 2-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB Anthony Seigler: 2-for-4, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Portland played two seven-inning games for their doubleheader, and it was a frustrating 4-2 loss for the Sea Dogs in the first game as their bats couldn't solve New Hampshire’s pitching staff, going 0-for-9 with RISP. Portland managed just six hits on the night, and none of them produced a run through the first six innings. Blake Wehunt gave the Sea Dogs a clean first two frames on the mound, but the third inning unraveled as the Fisher Cats smacked a two-run double to put them up 2-0. New Hampshire followed up with another RBI, this time coming from a forceout. Max Carlson came on and had an excellent four innings of relief, allowing just two hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Although he gave up an unearned run in the 5th when a Fisher Cats runner scored on an error to make it 4-0, Carlson kept the game within reach. A promising start slipped away from the Sea Dogs in the second game of the doubleheader as they lost 7-5 Portland came out swinging in the bottom of the 1st. Franklin Arias reached base with a single, and Will Turner launched a two-run homer to right field to make it 2-0. Max Ferguson added on with an RBI single to push it to 3-0. The Fisher Cats answered back immediately in the second inning, scoring off of a fielder's choice and an RBI groundout, 3-2. New Hampshire tied the game up 3-3 in the fifth with an RBI single. Both teams traded blows in the eighth and ninth to force extra innings. New Hampshire broke through in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly to go up 4-3, but Portland scored right back, Miguel Bleis singled in a run to knot the score 4-4. In the 9th, the Fisher Cats ripped a ground-rule double to put them up 5-4, and once again Portland responded: Tyler McDonough laid down a sacrifice bunt, and a throwing error by former Red Sox second round pick Cutter Coffey allowed Marvin Alcantara to score and tie it 5-5. The Sea Dogs unfortunately hit a dry spell in the tenth, giving up two runs and failing to score any runs with two runners on base to end it 7-5. Caleb Bolden was very sharp in the 3 ⅓ innings he pitched for Portland, giving up one run and striking out eight batters. High-A Greenville Drive The Drive's bats came alive early and never let up, defeating the Greensboro Grasshoppers on the road 6-4. Greenville made their intentions clear in the first inning, Justin Gonzales led things off with a solo homer to left-center and Henry Godbout launched one of his own to left, back-to-back long balls that made it 2-0. Yoeilin Cespedes hit a single and moved to second base on a wild pitch, which would then set up Yophery Rodriguez to single him home to push the lead to 3-0. The Grasshoppers chipped away with two runs in the second to make it 3-2. In the third, Rodriguez earned his second hit of the game as Jack Winnay followed up with an RBI single. Greensboro scored another two runs in the bottom of the third to tie it at 4-4, taking advantage of some early mistakes from starter Brandon Neely. But Neely steadied himself and worked through 3 ⅔ innings. It was not flashy, but the Drive retook the lead for good at the top of the fourth when Godbout drove in Freili Encarnacion with a groundout to make it 5-4. A passed ball in the ninth brought in a run and added a little cushion for the Drive, 6-4. Greenville’s bullpen slammed the door shut in the last four innings, Danny Kirwin threw three scoreless innings, striking out six, and Matt McShane pitched the ninth, striking out two batters to earn a save. Key Performances: Danny Kirwin: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 6 K Justin Gonzales: HR, 2B, R, RBI Henry Godbout: 2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB Yophery Rodriguez: 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB Jack Winnay: 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB Single-A Salem RidgeYaks A walk-filled, error-plagued night doomed the RidgeYaks at home, as Salem could not capitalize on 11 walks drawn and fell to the Delmarva Shorebirds 6-2. Salem struck first, as Kleyver Salazar (who reached base in four of his five plate appearances) worked a walk in the first inning, and Skylar King singled him home to put the RidgeYaks up 1-0. Delmarva tied it up quickly in the second with an RBI double to make it 1-1. The fourth inning is where it all fell apart. The Shorebirds led off the inning with a solo homer to put Delmarva up 2-1. Two walks and a throwing error by first baseman Frederik Jimenez led to two runs scored. The Shorebirds followed up with an RBI single, and suddenly it was 5-1. Salem’s bats were still quiet for the rest of the game, other than their last run scoring from a throwing error. Griffin Kilander was solid in his relief outing, throwing two innings, one earned run, and striking out five. The frustrating part for Salem was their inability to cash in runs with runners on base. The RidgeYaks drew 11 walks with five hits and were 2-for-13 with RISP. View the full article

South Bend and Myrtle Beach claimed wins while Iowa and Knoxville suffered narrow defeats. Cole Mathis launched a two-run homer in the sixth as South Bend topped Lansing 3-1, with Koen Moreno tossing four scoreless innings. Grant Kipp struck out eight over five frames in Knoxville's 4-1 loss. Myrtle Beach rallied for six runs in the eighth to top Hickory 9-7. Connor Noland fanned five over five innings in Iowa's 4-2 loss. Cubs Transactions Chicago Cubs designated RHP Corbin Martin for assignment. Chicago Cubs recalled RHP Gavin Hollowell from Iowa Cubs. Athletics traded RHP Tyler Ferguson to Chicago Cubs. Chicago Cubs optioned RHP Tyler Ferguson to Iowa Cubs. Iowa Cubs Drop Close Decision To Columbus On Late Home Runs The Iowa Cubs fell 4-2 to the Columbus Clippers, dropping a tight game decided by back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning. Iowa managed five hits and stranded four runners. The Cubs pushed both of their runs across in the bottom of the third. Ben Cowles drew a leadoff walk, Scott Kingery followed with a single, and Owen Miller singled to load the bases. Justin Dean grounded into a double play that scored Cowles for the tying run. After BJ Murray walked, Kingery scampered home on a wild pitch during Pedro Ramirez's strikeout to give Iowa a 2-1 edge. The game was at a tie until the eighth thanks to great defensive plays, particularly from Kingery at second. In the eighth, Paul Campbell allowed solo home runs to two consecutive Columbus batters that flipped the score for good. Connor Noland started for Iowa, working five innings while allowing two runs on four hits with five walks and five strikeouts. Campbell took the loss, surrendering two runs on three hits over four innings with four strikeouts. BJ Murray, Kevin Alcantara, James Triantos, Scott Kingery, and Owen Miller each collected a base hit. Iowa drew three walks but did not record an RBI as a team. Player AB R H RBI BB K Justin Dean 3 0 0 0 1 0 BJ Murray 3 0 1 0 1 0 Pedro Ramírez 4 0 0 0 0 1 Kevin Alcántara 4 0 1 0 0 1 Christian Bethancourt 3 0 0 0 0 1 James Triantos 4 0 1 0 0 2 Ben Cowles 2 1 0 0 1 0 Scott Kingery 3 1 1 0 0 0 Owen Miller 3 0 1 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Connor Noland 5 4 2 2 5 5 0 Paul Campbell 4 3 2 2 0 4 2 Owen Ayers' Solo Shot Not Enough In Knoxville Loss Owen Ayers' second-inning home run gave the Knoxville Smokies an early lead, but the offense could not add to it as the Birmingham Barons rallied for a 4-1 win. Knoxville committed three errors and stranded six. Ayers connected on a solo shot to left center in the bottom of the second for Knoxville's lone run. The Smokies finished with five hits and went silent over the final seven innings. Birmingham tied the game in the third on a triple. An error by Ayers in the sixth allowed an unearned run to score, putting the Barons ahead. Birmingham added insurance in the ninth on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single. Grant Kipp turned in a strong start, allowing one run on three hits over five innings while striking out eight without walking a batter. Jace Beck took the loss with two innings of relief, surrendering one unearned run on one hit with one walk and four strikeouts. Evan Taylor worked a clean inning, while Luis Rujano gave up two runs on two hits with two walks in the ninth. Ayers' homer was Knoxville's only extra-base hit. Jordan Nwogu, Ariel Armas, Hayden Cantrelle, and Karson Simas each added a single. Jefferson Rojas, Nwogu, and Cantrelle drew walks for the Smokies. Player AB R H RBI BB K Carter Trice 4 0 0 0 0 0 Jordan Nwogu 3 0 1 0 1 0 Jefferson Rojas 3 0 0 0 1 1 Andy Garriola 3 0 0 0 0 0 Owen Ayers 4 1 1 1 0 1 Ariel Armas 4 0 1 0 0 2 Alex Ramírez 4 0 0 0 0 0 Hayden Cantrelle 2 0 1 0 1 1 Karson Simas 3 0 1 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Grant Kipp 5 3 1 1 0 8 0 Jace Beck 2 1 1 0 1 4 0 Evan Taylor 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Luis Rujano 1 2 2 2 2 1 0 Cole Mathis' Three-Run Sixth Powers South Bend Past Lansing The South Bend Cubs broke open a scoreless game with a three-run sixth inning, holding on to defeat the Lansing Lugnuts 3-1. Cole Mathis' two-run homer was the centerpiece of the rally, and Koen Moreno led a strong pitching effort. Lansing scratched out their only run in the eighth on a wild pitch, but the Cubs held on. Moreno started and tossed four scoreless innings on two hits, walking two and striking out five. Jackson Brockett earned the win with two scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out five. JP Wheat was charged with the run on one hit over 1 1/3 innings, fanning two. Ethan Bell recorded the save across 1 2/3 innings, allowing two hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Mathis finished with the homer, two RBI, a walk, and a run scored. Bowser had two hits, including a double, and an RBI. Snell added two singles, a stolen base, and a run scored. Kane Kepley and Alex Madera each had a hit, while Sisneros walked twice and scored. Player AB R H RBI BB K Kane Kepley 4 0 1 0 0 0 Ty Southisene 4 0 0 0 0 0 Cameron Sisneros 2 1 0 0 2 1 Cole Mathis 3 1 1 2 1 1 Kade Snell 4 1 2 0 0 0 Leonel Espinoza 4 0 0 0 0 1 Drew Bowser 4 0 2 1 0 1 Justin Stransky 3 0 0 0 0 2 Alex Madera 3 0 1 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Koen Moreno 4 2 0 0 2 5 0 Jackson Brockett 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 JP Wheat 1 1/3 1 1 1 0 2 0 Ethan Bell 1 2/3 2 0 0 1 4 0 Pelicans Rally For Six In Eighth To Top Hickory The Myrtle Beach Pelicans erased a four-run deficit with a six-run eighth inning to beat the Hickory Crawdads 9-7. The rally featured five walks, an error, and an RBI single by Alexis Hernandez. Myrtle Beach trailed 7-3 entering the eighth. After two quick outs, the Pelicans loaded the bases on consecutive walks from Michael Carico, Logan Poteet, and Jose Escobar. Yahil Melendez reached on a missed catch error that allowed Carico and Poteet to score, cutting the lead to 7-5. Eli Lovich walked, and Darlyn De Leon drew a bases-loaded walk to bring home Escobar. Hernandez then singled to center to plate Melendez and Lovich for the go-ahead runs. De Leon scored on a wild pitch during Josiah Hartshorn's at-bat, and Hartshorn walked before Alexey Lumpuy struck out to end the frame. Earlier, Logan Poteet homered in the fourth for the team's first run, and Lumpuy's two-run homer to right center in the sixth had pulled the Pelicans within 4-3. Mason McGwire started and allowed three runs, one earned, on six hits over four innings, walking one and striking out seven. Braylon Myers earned the win despite a rough outing, allowing four runs on four hits across three innings with one walk and four strikeouts. Riely Hunsaker closed the door with two scoreless innings, recording one strikeout and earning the save. Hernandez led the offense with two hits, two RBI, and a stolen base. Lumpuy added a hit and two RBI on his homer. Poteet went 2-for-3 with the homer and a walk. Jose Escobar collected two hits and two walks. Player AB R H RBI BB K Alexis Hernandez 5 0 2 2 0 1 Josiah Hartshorn 4 1 0 0 1 1 Alexey Lumpuy 5 1 1 2 0 1 Michael Carico 3 1 0 0 2 2 Logan Poteet 3 2 2 1 1 0 Jose Escobar 3 1 2 0 2 0 Yahil Melendez 5 1 0 0 0 2 Eli Lovich 3 1 0 0 1 2 Darlyn De Leon 3 1 1 1 1 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Mason McGwire 4 6 3 1 1 7 0 Braylon Myers 3 4 4 4 1 4 0 Riely Hunsaker 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Moises Ballesteros: DNP Jaxon Wiggins: DNP Jefferson Rojas: 0-for-3, BB, K Kevin Alcantara: 1-for-4, K Jonathon Long: DNP Ethan Conrad: DNP Pedro Ramirez: 0-for-4, K Kane Kepley: 1-for-4 Josiah Hartshorn: 0-for-4, R, BB, K James Triantos: 1-for-4, 2 K Brandon Birdsell: DNP Cole Mathis: 1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K Angel Cepeda: DNP Kaleb Wing: DNP Will Sanders: DNP Juan Cabada: DNP Jostin Florentino: DNP Dominick Reid: DNP Ty Southisene: 0-for-4 Erian Rodriguez: DNP ``` View the full article

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox Series vs. Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders: 4-1 Season Record: 21-15 Worcester won 8-3 behind a well-rounded offensive effort. Isaac Coffey started the evening for Worcester and allowed one run on three hits across four innings. The righty struck out five while allowing four walks. Angel Bastardo had a rocky appearance as he let up two runs on five hits. He K’d three and didn’t allow a walk. Noah Song earned the win for his efforts; he put in one and ⅓ innings of no-hit pitching. Wyatt Olds followed up Song with an excellent outing of his own. He went one inning without a hit before turning the ball over to Tommy Kahnle, who was solid as he closed out the game. The veteran allowed a hit and a walk but shut down the RailRiders with two strikeouts. Worcester’s offense put in more than enough effort on Friday, scoring eight runs on twelve hits. Tsung-Che Cheng got the party started with a solo homer in the second, his fourth of the year. In the fourth, Matt Thaiss doubled with men at the corners. Cheng scored as Worcester took the lead. Then, Nick Sogard drove a home run to center field to drive in Jason Delay and Thaiss. One inning later, Delay drove in Nate Eaton on a single to extend the lead to three. Finally, in the sixth, Kristian Campbell continued his hot streak as he drove in Eaton and Vinny Capra with his sixth double of the year. Double-A Portland Sea Dogs Series vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 0-4 Season Record: 13-18 Portland fell in a high-scoring extra-innings affair 15-13. John Holobetz looked to right the ship after a disastrous outing his last time around. Unfortunately for Holobetz, Friday wasn’t his night. Over just one inning, he allowed five runs (one unearned) on five hits. Holobetz posted a 2.45 ERA through April, but has struggled heavily in May. Patrick Halligan got the ball in the second and threw three innings. He surrendered five hits and three runs, as well as one walk. Cooper Adams posted a very similar stat line across the next three innings. Akin to Holobetz and Halligan, Adams allowed five hits and a walk. New Hampshire tacked on three more runs during Adams’ outing before he turned the ball over to Reidis Sena. Sena had the most successful night against the red-hot Fisher Cats offense; he allowed just one run and two hits while punching out three. In extras and facing a depleted bullpen, Portland turned to second baseman Tyler McDonough to try to work some magic. It was a lost cause, however, as McDonough allowed a two-run homer that gave New Hampshire the lead in the tenth. In contrast to the poor pitching, Portland’s bats were hot on Friday. Down 7-0 in the second, Brooks Brannon belted a homer to right field to get the Sea Dogs on the board. He followed this up with a one-run single with the bases loaded in the fourth. Later in the innings, Miguel Bleis grounded into a force out, scoring Nate Baez. One inning later, Nelly Taylor pulled a solo homer to right field. This was followed up by a two-run shot by Nate Baez that scored Will Turner. Facing a 12-6 deficit in the seventh, Turner doubled, scoring Taylor. Just a few batters later, Brannon crushed his second home run of the night. This one was a three-run blast scoring Turner and Max Ferguson. In the bottom of the ninth and down three runs, Brannon stepped up to the plate again. He hit a sac fly for his sixth RBI of the night as Baez crossed the plate. Then, Marvin Alcantara played the hero. He shot a two-run homer to center field to tie the ballgame and send it to extras. Unfortunately, the Sea Dogs couldn’t come up with the win in the tenth, but it was a hotly contested effort. High-A Greenville Drive Series @ Greensboro Grasshoppers: 1-3 Season Record: 14-17 The Drive struggled to accrue offense as they fell 7-1 on Friday evening. Friday’s contest featured just two pitching appearances for Greenville. Dylan Brown took the first four innings for the Drive. He allowed three runs on seven hits, but sat down six on strikes. It was a valiant effort from Brown in his first appearance since being called up from Low-A Salem, but he still got the loss. Devin Futrell backed Brown up with a similar line. Across another four innings, he allowed four runs on six hits and two home runs. He did punch out five, but failed to minimize the damage. The Drive were nearly silent from the dish, totaling a measly four hits. Their solo run came on a Mason White solo home run with two outs in the ninth. It was too little, too late as White was one of only four players to record a hit. Gerardo Rodriguez and Ronny Hernandez each doubled, and Yoeilin Cespedes singled. It was an all-around poor showing as the Drive succumbed without much protest. Low-A Salem RidgeYaks Series vs Delmarva Shorebirds: 1-3 Season Record: 13-18 The RidgeYaks fell in a close game on Friday, 3-2. Barrett Morgan got the nod and threw three and ⅔ innings. He punched out five but allowed three runs on three hits and three walks. Dalvinson Reyes had the best performance by far for Salem on Friday. He pitched four and ⅓ innings of no-hit work, sending five batters packing by way of strikes. Adam Bates took the last inning, allowing two hits and a walk but staving off any offense from Delmarva. It was a solid day on the bump for Salem, who gave the offense plenty of opportunities to win the game. Despite only having two runs on the box score, it was a semi-successful night for Salem at the plate. The RidgeYaks recorded 10 hits, as Andrews Opata, Andruw Musett, and Ilan Fernandez had two hits each. Despite the copious hitting, Salem struggled heavily to drive runners in. Nine runners were left on base as the team went 2-for-8 with RISP. The only runs came on a single by Opata that scored Enddy Azocar in the third, and when D’Angelo Ortiz scored on a throwing error in the ninth. 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Royals farmhands had a rough night across the system. Mitch Spence delivered a quality start in Triple-A, but Omaha fell in extras after Gavin Cross's two-run double in the ninth tied it. Carson Roccaforte and Connor Scott homered for the Naturals in a 10-9 walk-off loss. Justin Lamkin spun five scoreless innings, and Ramon Ramirez homered as Quad Cities blanked Cedar Rapids, 2-0. Michael Lombardi struck out nine over five hitless innings in Columbia's extra-inning defeat. Royals Transactions No Roster Moves Storm Chasers Fall In Walk-Off After Cross Doubles In Two To Force Extras Omaha lost 5-4 in 10 innings to the Indianapolis Indians, undone by a walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth. The Storm Chasers struck first in the third when Josh Rojas drove a two-run home run to right field, his third of the season. Indianapolis cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third on an RBI double. Cleanup hitter Luca Tresh went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base. With two outs in the ninth and Omaha trailing 4-2, Tresh singled, Elih Marrero walked, and Gavin Cross laced a two-run double to right that scored both runners and tied the game at 4-4. Cross finished 1-for-3 with a walk and the two-RBI double. Mitch Spence delivered a quality start of 6 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, two runs, two earned, two walks, and four strikeouts. Chazz Martinez followed and surrendered three hits, two earned runs, and a walk while recording one out, taking the blown save. Steven Cruz worked one inning of one-hit relief, walking one and striking out two. Jose Cuas was charged with the loss after 1 2/3 innings, allowing two hits, an unearned run, two intentional walks, and a strikeout. The zombie runner scored on a soft single to right to end it. Omaha left six runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Tyler Tolbert 5 0 0 0 0 3 Josh Rojas 5 1 1 1 0 2 Kameron Misner 5 0 0 0 0 2 Luca Tresh 4 2 2 0 0 2 Abraham Toro 4 0 0 0 0 1 Elih Marrero 3 1 1 0 1 0 Gavin Cross 3 0 1 2 1 1 Dustin Dickerson 2 0 0 0 2 0 Colton Becker 4 0 0 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Mitch Spence 6 2/3 1 2 2 2 4 0 Chazz Martinez 1/3 3 2 2 1 0 0 Steven Cruz 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 Jose Cuas 1 2/3 2 1 0 2 1 0 Naturals Drop Slugfest As Frisco Walks Off In The Tenth Northwest Arkansas lost a 10-9 thriller to the Frisco RoughRiders in 10 innings despite a four-hit night from Jack Pineda and home runs from Carson Roccaforte and Connor Scott. Leadoff hitter Roccaforte opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first, his eighth of the season. The Naturals built a 5-2 lead in the fourth when Jorge Alfaro was hit by a pitch, Pineda doubled to put runners on the corners, and Scott launched a three-run home run to right field. Pineda went 4-for-5 with a double, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Scott finished 2-for-5 with two runs, three RBI, a stolen base, and the homer. Rudy Martin Jr. went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, and two runs scored. The decisive sixth brought three more runs. Pineda singled, Scott singled to put runners on the corners, and with two outs Martin doubled to score Pineda before Sam Kulasingam singled to plate Scott and Martin, pushing the lead to 8-4. Drew Beam allowed seven hits, four runs all earned, three walks, and two strikeouts across five innings, surrendering one home run. Caden Monke followed with a clean inning, retiring the side in order with two strikeouts. Christian Chamberlain was charged with two earned runs on a hit and a walk while recording one out. Brandon Johnson worked 1 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out three, picking up a hold. Zachary Cawyer took the loss after one inning, allowing two hits, three runs, one earned, and four walks, two of them intentional, while striking out two. Northwest Arkansas left six runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Carson Roccaforte 5 1 1 1 0 2 Rudy Martin Jr. 4 2 2 1 1 1 Sam Kulasingam 4 0 1 2 1 1 Brett Squires 4 1 1 1 0 0 Daniel Vazquez 5 0 1 0 0 1 Jorge Alfaro 3 1 0 1 0 2 Jack Pineda 5 2 4 0 0 0 Connor Scott 5 2 2 3 0 2 Canyon Brown 4 0 0 0 0 3 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Drew Beam 5 7 4 4 3 2 1 Caden Monke 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Christian Chamberlain 1/3 1 2 2 1 0 0 Brandon Johnson 1 2/3 3 1 1 0 3 0 Zachary Cawyer 1 2 3 1 4 2 0 River Bandits Blank Kernels Behind Lamkin's Six-Strikeout Start Quad Cities won 2-0 over the Cedar Rapids Kernels behind a strong start from Justin Lamkin and a hitless bullpen finish. The River Bandits scored both runs early. In the second, cleanup hitter Ramon Ramirez crushed a solo home run to left field, his fourth of the year. In the third, Angel Acosta singled and reached second on a sacrifice bunt by Nolan Sailors that was misplayed at first, then scored when Blake Mitchell ripped a ground-rule double to shallow right. Ramirez finished 3-for-4 with the home run, an RBI, a run scored, and a strikeout. Mitchell went 1-for-4 with the RBI double, while Erick Torres added a single and a stolen base. Asbel Gonzalez drew a walk and struck out twice. The rest of the lineup combined for two more hits, but the Bandits stranded 11 runners on base. Justin Lamkin earned the win with five scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks, and striking out six. Ryan Ure followed with a scoreless inning, surrendering one hit and two walks while striking out one, picking up a hold. L.P. Langevin worked two scoreless innings of hitless relief, walking two and striking out two, also recording a hold. Kamden Edge closed it out with a scoreless inning, walking two and striking out one, earning his first save of the season. The bottom of the ninth was not played. Player AB R H RBI BB K Nolan Sailors 3 0 0 0 0 1 Asbel Gonzalez 3 0 0 0 1 2 Blake Mitchell 4 0 1 1 0 2 Ramon Ramirez 4 1 3 1 0 1 Derlin Figueroa 4 0 0 0 0 1 Jose Cerice 4 0 0 0 0 2 Tyriq Kemp 2 0 0 0 1 1 Erick Torres 3 0 1 0 0 1 Angel Acosta 3 1 1 0 0 0 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Justin Lamkin 5 2 0 0 2 6 0 Ryan Ure 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 L.P. Langevin 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 Kamden Edge 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 Lombardi Strikes Out Nine In Fireflies' Extra-Inning Loss Columbia fell 3-2 in 10 innings to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers despite a dominant start from Michael Lombardi. The Fireflies' two runs both came in the fourth. Leadoff hitter Henry Ramos singled, Yandel Ricardo doubled to put runners on second and third, and Josh Hammond grounded out to score Ramos. Brooks Bryan walked, Sean Gamble singled to load the bases, and Hyungchan Um followed with an RBI single that scored Bryan, with Gamble thrown out at third to end the inning. Cleanup hitter Brooks Bryan went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored. Ricardo finished 1-for-4 with a double. Hammond added a double of his own and an RBI. Ramos, Gamble, Um, and JC Vanek each contributed a single. Michael Lombardi turned in five scoreless, hitless innings, walking two and striking out nine. Darwin Rodriguez was charged with the loss, going 4 1/3 innings while allowing four hits, three runs, two earned, one walk, and four strikeouts, also taking the blown save. Rodriguez surrendered the tying run in the bottom of the ninth on a Marcelo Alcala double, then yielded the walk-off run in the tenth on a wild pitch that scored the zombie runner from third. The Fireflies left four runners on base. Player AB R H RBI BB K Henry Ramos 4 1 1 0 0 2 Yandel Ricardo 4 0 1 0 0 1 Josh Hammond 4 0 1 1 0 1 Brooks Bryan 3 1 1 0 1 0 Sean Gamble 4 0 1 0 0 1 Hyungchan Um 4 0 1 1 0 2 Stone Russell 4 0 0 0 0 4 JC Vanek 4 0 1 0 0 2 Daniel Lopez 3 0 0 0 0 2 Player IP H R ER BB K HR Michael Lombardi 5 0 0 0 2 9 0 Darwin Rodriguez 4 1/3 4 3 2 1 4 0 Top-20 Prospect Performance Carter Jensen: DNP Blake Mitchell: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K David Shields: DNP Kendry Chourio: DNP Ben Kudrna: DNP Sean Gamble: 1-for-4, K Josh Hammond: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, K Ramon Ramirez: 3-for-4, HR, R, RBI, K Drew Beam: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, HR Asbel Gonzalez: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K Yandel Ricardo: 1-for-4, 2B, K Felix Arronde: DNP Luinder Avila: DNP Daniel Vazquez: 1-for-5, K Steven Zobac: DNP Carson Roccaforte: 1-for-5, HR, R, RBI, 2 K Blake Wolters: DNP Michael Lombardi: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K Warren Calcaño: DNP Frank Mozzicato: DNP View the full article