Both teams have started the season 1-0-0 after the Penguins demolished the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 on Wednesday and the Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Tuesday.
This will be a great test for the Penguins since the Canadiens are expected to be one of the best teams in the NHL this year. They got to the Eastern Conference Final last year and are primed for more.
Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki lead the way up front and are spectacular players. Caufield can score from anywhere in the offensive zone and finished last season with 51 goals and 88 points.
Suzuki is a two-way force and can do it all. He has excellent vision, a great shot, and can take away an opposing team's best player.
Don't forget about forward Ivan Demidov and defenseman Lane Hutson, either. Demidov is a ton of fun to watch, and Hutson's skating is breathtaking.
Jakub Dobes will start in goal for the Canadiens. He was great in their season opener on Tuesday after a fantastic year in 2025-26, stopping 26 of 28 shots.
As for the Penguins, multiple forwards look poised to return to the lineup. Andrei Kuzmenko will make his season debut, while Ben Kindel was activated off injured reserve on Saturday afternoon. Blake Lizotte also told reporters after the morning skate that he's good to go.
Goaltender Arturs Silovs will make his second straight start after earning a shutout on Wednesday.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. You can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
That's the Atlanta Braves' reality as they trot out Dylan Dodd against Tarik Skubal in the opener of their best-of-five Saturday, Oct. 3 at Dodger Stadium.
Skubal, 29, will give up his reign as the AL's top pitcher - his August trade to the Dodgers instead installed him atop the two-time defending champions' pitching pyramid. He unseats World Series hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto as their first ace out of the chute.
Skubal also has a shot to help neutralize Atlanta's lefty hitters, such as leadoff man Drake Baldwin, slugging first baseman Matt Olson and left fielder Mike Yastrzemski.
Dodd's task is even more focused: Shut down Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in the first couple innings.
A third-round pick in 2021, Dodd had a pair of three-inning outings in April and May but has been used in much shorter bursts since then. Yet Atlanta comes into this series with its starting pitching compromised, as ace Chris Sale's turn doesn't come up until Sunday - and, he closed out their Game 3 clincher in the wild card series against Philadelphia, recording the final four outs Thursday.
So the Braves will attempt to patch together nine innings of a bullpen game, with either Sale or No. 2 starter Tyler Mahle ready to roll in Game 2 Sunday.
Where to watch Dodgers vs Braves: TV channel, streaming
The Chicago Blackhawks are 0-2-0 coming into their third game of the season. This is the third and final game of the road trip that opens their 2026-27 season, and it is against the Buffalo Sabres.
The first two games were not just losses. The Blackhawks were blown out in both, with a combined score of 11-2. Both the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Mammoth are good and will be playoff contenders, but they shouldn’t be able to toy with the Blackhawks the way that they did. Now, the Hawks have another opportunity to bounce back.
Scouting Buffalo
The Buffalo Sabres are coming off their most exciting year in decades. They ended a 14-year-long playoff drought, which is the longest in the history of the NHL. They didn’t just squeak into the playoffs, either. Buffalo went 50-23-9 for 109 points and won the loaded Atlantic Division.
Buffalo did lose some pieces, including Alex Tuch, who was one of the top free-agent forwards this past off-season. They also lost Bowen Byram, whom they traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in a deal that included the 4th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and Louis Crevier.
Still, after ending the drought, Buffalo has more hype coming into the season than they’ve had in years. They had a tough road loss to a motivated Columbus Blue Jackets team to open their season, but now they will host the Blackhawks, hoping for their first win.
Norris-Thompson-Doan
Benson-Ostlund-Quinn
Krebs-McLeod-Helenius
Kulich-Carrick-Malenstyn
Samuelsson-Dahlin
Power-Crevier
Metsa-Gilbert/Grzelcyk
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is going to be Buffalo's starting goaltender. The third pair will be two of the three who rotated in and out during practice.
Buffalo has three outstanding defensemen in Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, and Owen Power. Louis Crevier adds another layer of strength in place of Bowen Byram, who was expendable because of the talent they have at the top.
At forward, Tage Thompson drives the bus. He gets plenty of help from Josh Doan, Jack Quinn, Josh Norris, and Zach Benson, among others, throughout the lineup. For the Blackhawks, they have to use their speed to overcome a group like this and get to a much better forecheck with traffic in front of Luukkonen.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks are off to a rough start. It is a situation where they had higher expectations than in previous years and somehow managed to look worse over two games. Even without Connor Bedard, it has been disappointing. It’s one thing to lose; it’s another to be blown out.
Bowen Byram is going to miss the game against his former team as he addresses a family matter. Sam Rinzel is going to be a scratch as well. This means that both Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro will be called up.
With that, it is unclear how the pairs will line up. However, the forward group is projected to look like this:
Kantserov-Nazar-Kane
Bertuzzi-Frondell-Teravainen
Donato-Moore-Lardis
Smith-Greene-Greenway
These are the lines that the Blackhawks had going during training camp, but then went away from them a day before the season started. Spencer Knight will start in goal.
Frank Nazar, Anton Frondell, Oliver Moore, and Ryan Greene have been projected to play center ever since Connor Bedard went down. One of them will move to the wing when he returns, but this is a bright young group in the meantime.
Greene’s 4th line with Cole Smith and Jordan Greenway has been the team’s best through 2 tough games. The top 9 are hoping to match that energy in Buffalo.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. For the first time this season, the Blackhawks can be seen locally on CHSN. Nationally, it can be streamed on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 6:00 PM CT.
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Los Angeles, CA - October 02, 2026: Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Josue De Paula (95) sits in the infield during a team practice ahead of Game 1 of the NLDS at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) | 21-year-old De Paula makes roster as lefty bat off the bench, Hyeseong Kim adds speed and defense in specialized role
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers will carry 12 pitchers and 14 position players on their National League Division Series roster against the Atlanta Braves, including 21-year-old rookie Josue De Paula active after impressing in his first 11 games in the majors in September.
Down from the usual split of 13 pitchers and 13 position players during the pre-September regular season, manager Dave Roberts has intimated multiple times over the last two weeks that a short series like the best-of-5 NLDS makes it less likely to carry an extra arm. It gives them more room for more specialized players, like De Paula in what is essentially a left-handed pinch-hitting role, plus Hyeseong Kim also active as a speedster to potentially pinch-run and play defense up the middle in the late innings if needed.
Kim hit .259/.323/.328 in 43 games for the Dodgers this season, and stole five bases in six attempts. But he spent most of his season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, having last played for the Dodgers on May 27.
Left-handed relievers (3): Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Kris Bubic
Designated hitter (1): Shohei Ohtani
Catchers (2): Will Smith, Hunter Feduccia
Infielders (5): Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas, Hyeseong Kim
Outfielders (4): Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker, Josue De Paula
Infielder/outfielders (2): Tommy Edman, Kiké Hernández
Kris Bubic, acquired at the trade deadline from the Kansas City Royals while on the 60-day injured list, rehabbed in Triple-A in September before joining the Dodgers. He made the bullpen as the third left-handed reliever, over Jack Dreyer and Justin Wrobleski.
“Our first two starters are going to be left-handed, you’re talking about a lot of innings being covered by left-handed pitching in a series,” Roberts said Saturday, referring to Tarik Skubal starting Game 1 and Blake Snell starting Game 2.
Roberts was asked Friday which relievers he felt might close games for the team in October.
“I think the one guy I feel that it’s easy to say I see finishing games is Tanner [Scott], but if it’s a different lane that I feel that he’s the best option in the eighth inning, then we’re going to use him,” Roberts said. “But as far as Evan, Roki, Diaz, I feel very comfortable with any of those guys closing out the game.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 03: A detailed view of MLB postseason signage prior to game one of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on October 03, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — The Atlanta Braves set their roster for the National League Division Series against the Dodgers on Saturday, carrying 13 position players and 13 pitchers for the best-of-5 series.
Atlanta is carrying one more pitcher than the Dodgers, which makes sense given that the Braves are deploying a bullpen game for Game 1 on Saturday.
The Braves haven’t yet made a decision on whether ace Chris Sale would start in Game 2 on Sunday. That would be five days after his start in Game 1 of the wild card series, but the veteran left-hander also got the final four outs in relief to close out the wild card round on Thursday. Braves manager Walt Weiss they won’t decide on whether Sale starts Game 2 until Sunday morning.
“When we came in the other night, the first words out of his mouth were ‘I feel amazing,’” Weiss said Saturday. “If he were to come in tomorrow morning and say ‘I feel amazing,’ there’s a chance he pitches tomorrow.”
Among the pitchers added for Atlanta who weren’t active during the wild card round are AJ Smith-Shawver and JR Ritchie, who have both started and pitched in relief for the Braves this season. Demetrius Bell at Battery Power has more on the Braves roster.
Braves NLDS roster
Potential starting pitchers (4): Chris Sale, Tyler Mahle, JR Ritchie, AJ Smith-Shawver
Right-handed relievers (5): Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suárez, Didier Fuentes, Grant Holmes, Victor Mederos
Los Angeles, CA - October 02, 2026: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal speaks during a press conference ahead of Game 1 of the NLDS at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Join us as all four divisional series get underway on Saturday. Each best-of-five playoff series in the divisional round will have a 2-2-1 home field structure, where the higher seeded team hosts Game 1, Game 2, and if necessary the deciding Game 5, while the lower seed hosts Game 3 and Game 4.
Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians -1:00 p.m. ET – TBS
Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers – 4:00 p.m. ET – FOX
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays – 6:30 p.m. ET – TBS
San Diego Padres at Milwaukee Brewers – 8:30 p.m. ET – FOX
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 29: JR Ritchie #92 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Truist Park on April 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Another round, another roster update.
The Atlanta Braves are set to do baseball battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers in just a few short hours and as such, the team has taken this chance to update the roster a bit. There are three changes, which we’ll get into below:
Lane Thomas has been healthy and Walt Weiss expressed confidence that Thomas would be involved for this series, and sure enough, he’s on the roster. His right-handed bat should come in handy against the litany of left-handers that the Dodgers will be sure to throw out there over the next few games.
Meanwhile, the pitching situation (particularly when it came to starters and bulk guys) had to be addressed and it has been, as both JR Ritchie and AJ Smith-Shawver have been added to the roster. It’s safe to assume that one (or possibly both) of those guys will be making starts at some point during this series or they’ll be covering as many innings and outs as they can.
Rowdy Tellez gets to stick around for another round, while Dominic Smith, Luke Williams and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. have all been dropped for the NLDS.
Here’s the full roster:
26-Man Roster:
PITCHERS (13): LH Dylan Dodd, RH Didier Fuentes, RH Grant Holmes, RH Raisel Iglesias, LH Ray Kerr, LH Dylan Lee, RH Tyler Mahle, RH Víctor Mederos, RH JR Ritchie, LH Chris Sale, RH AJ Smith-Shawver, RH Robert Suarez, LH Brent Suter
CATCHERS (2): Drake Baldwin, Sean Murphy
INFIELDERS (6): Ozzie Albies, Mauricio Dubón, Ha-Seong Kim, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Rowdy Tellez
OUTFIELDERS (5): Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, Brewer Hicklen, Lane Thomas, Mike Yastrzemski
So, what do y’all make of the NLDS roster? Like it? Love it? Want some more of it? Hate it? Let’s hear it.
PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 31: Arizona Diamondbacks principal owner Ken Kendrick and president Derrick Hall talk on the field prior to Game 4 of the 2023 World Series between the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Tuesday, October 31, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Diamondbacks News
Ken Kendrick Announces Cuts to 2027 Payroll In entirely predictable fashion, Ken LKendrick is unhappy with the results of his investment in the 2026 team. The result of the situation is that the team should be expecting reduced investment in 2027. Some of that will come organically from contracts dropping off. Some of it will have to come from parting ways with some contracts, a task easier said than done.
Diamondbacks Executives Speak About Relationship with Ketel Marte The Ketel Marte saga just keeps going. This story simply will not go away until a year after he either comes correct regarding his behaviours or the team is a year moved on from having found a viable trade.
What is Marte’s Future with the Diamondbacks At the end of the day, Marte’s particular situation means he is almost entirely in control of the entire affair. HIs future is in his hands. Now it is time to see what he will do with it, since it is clear he no longer has people rushing to defend him.
NLDS Preview: Dodgers Versus Braves What ends up getting more coverage, Ohtani continuing to have work restricted in the playoffs, or the brutal heat expected to descend on the game?
Projected Arbitration Salaries for 2027 MLBTR has one of the very best arbitration estimators in the entire business. Here are their estimates for next season. Notably, the Diamondbacks have four arbitration eligible players. Only three are likely to be tendered. Player (service time): projected salary Lars Nootbaar (5.076): $6.3MM Pavin Smith (4.144): $2.5MM *(non-tender candidate) Gabriel Moreno (4.061): $6.1MM Ryne Nelson (4.020): $3.4MM
Boston, MA - September 22: Boston Red Sox designated hitter Mickey Gasper is congratulated in the dugout after his solo home run in the eighth inning. The Boston Red Sox played the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park on September 22, 2026. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
The Red Sox season is over. But Red Sox injury news never stops! At least this is good-ish news: Mickey Gasper underwent successful “distal biceps tendon repair” surgery yesterday to fix his gnarly looking arm:
Mickey Gasper’s biceps tore off his tendon. He will have surgery in Boston Friday pic.twitter.com/0dPknfy3y4
It’s expected that it will take 4-6 months for Gasper to get back into game action, so it’s unclear whether he’ll be ready for Opening Day 2027. Of course it’s also unclear if baseball itself will be ready for Opening Day 2027… (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
But before we can look to the future, we must reckon with the past. In this case, we’re still done talking about the fact that Sonny Gray sure did seem pissed about being taken out of Game 2 after only 70 pitches. Is this something that’s going to cause long-term issues between players and management? According to one scribe, there were “traces of betrayal” in the visitor’s clubhouse following the game. “The failure to recognize and honor [Sonny Gray’s] ability in the middle of the biggest game of the year had to feel like a show of disrespect — not just to Gray, but also, many of his teammates.” (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
McAdam’s story is more unsourced speculation than anything else — I mean, what exactly does he mean by “traces of betrayal?” But he’s not the only one making similar insinuations. “I think a lot of their leadership stuff got masked because they went on that massive run,” former player and current broadcaster/podcaster Anthony Rizzo said. “I just feel like there’s so much kind of [expletive] that happened in Boston this year… and now that you don’t win, this is when it all comes out under the hood.” (Kayley Brown, Boston.com)
But these supposed issues don’t seem to be making ownership second-guess the decision to extend Craig Breslow. “Something we’ve been striving for is baseball operations continuity and stability. I know that sounds a little odd, given that we made a change with the manager and coaching staff. The hallmark of a good baseball organization is continuity, No. 1, at the ownership level. But with your baseball operation, we haven’t had that for some time. So we wanted to do that, we were proactive with that, and we informed him midseason that we were picking up the option. There was no contractual need to do it, no mechanism. There was nothing that had to be done. We wanted to do that as a demonstration of commitment to stability and continuity.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
The executives in the commissioner’s office are probably pretty happy about things right now, too. That’s because the Red Sox-Yankees series did some pretty good numbers. “Tuesday’s Game 1 averaged 7.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched opener of an MLB Wild Card or Division Series since 2006,.” (Chris Spiering, ClutchPoints)
Tampa Tarpons shortstop Dax Kilby (3) stands on second base after hitting a double in the game between the Tampa Tarpons and the Lakeland Flying Tigers at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, on July 28, 2026. (Photo by Carl Rizzo/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
The minor league season has officially concluded league-wide, with the Triple-A Championship Game on September 26th officially serving as the conclusion of the final game in Minor League Baseball in 2026. As thousands of players across all levels prepare for their offseason, there exists a handful in every organization who aren’t quite done with organized ball yet.
That is where we find the Arizona Fall League, which will be running for the 34th season since its founding in 1992 as an opportunity for an assortment of prospects to gain additional in-game experience. It’s often used by organizations to compensate for lost time due to injury, give experience to lower-minor prospects against stiffer competition, or to use it as an extra opportunity to tweak or introduce something in a low-stakes environment.
The Yankees have sent players of all shapes and sizes to this, from non-prospects deep into the organizational depth chart to highly touted prospects like Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Jasson Domínguez, and Alfonso Soriano. Two years ago, current Boston rival Caleb Durbin got himself on the map with a huge performance, proving that this stage can positively impact prospect buzz.
For those unfamiliar with the format, the league’s 30 teams are divided into six AFL clubs, which have a 35-man roster and contain the contingents from five different organizations. It changes every year, so the one that the eight Yankees representatives will be going to is the Salt River Rafters, alongside prospects from the Twins, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Nationals.
With the AFL officially kicking off today at 3:30 p.m. EDT in Glendale, let’s meet the eight-man Yankees contingent:
INF Dax Kilby
The prized prospect of the bunch, Dax Kilby will headline the group. The 2025 first-round pick stole headlines with an incredible 19-game cup of coffee in Single-A Tampa last August that vaulted him onto Top 100 lists and raised high expectations for his first full professional season at age 19, but such a season was doomed from the start.
A hamstring injury suffered early in spring held him out of the Spring Breakout game in March and delayed his season debut until May 28th, but there was still plenty of runway from there. Unfortunately, after taking just two at-bats, he suffered a setback that held him out an additional six weeks. He finally returned for good on July 17th, but was limited to just 36 total games in what was supposed to be a big season for him. It comes as no surprise, then, that he’s getting extra reps here in Arizona.
In his extremely limited time at Tampa this season, Kilby was effective, slashing .261/.448/.435 with a 143 wRC+ in 154 plate appearances. He boasts an extremely mature approach at the plate, walking in a quarter of his plate appearances, but has yet to really tap into the power. He’s above-average at pretty much everything, something you love to see from a 19-year-old, but you’re looking for the standout trait.
Dax Kilby with his 3rd HR on the season!
105.6 mph / 18 deg, pulled on a 3-0 cutter over the RF fences.
AVG: .281 OPS: .882
Dax has been swinging with a lot more intention since coming back from injury, appearing to sell some contact for some more power and the results have… pic.twitter.com/ueKBXSEiWg
Something to monitor in this, aside from how he performs against older pitching, will be his defense. He’s never been considered likely to stick at shortstop, but is a good enough athlete to feasibly play second base, third base, or even center field. We’ll see if he’s moved around or if one of the best prospects in all of the AFL will just get to man shortstop the entire time.
RHP Mack Estrada
Every year, you’ll see the Yankees send one or two guys to the AFL who don’t have much of a pro sample to go off of. This year’s version of that is Mack Estrada, the team’s 11th-round pick in 2024, who has just 4.1 professional innings through the first 2.5 seasons of his professional career.
Estrada is a guy that the Yanks invested a lot in, giving him a massive overslot of $640,340, the fifth-highest in the class, to get him out of a commit to go to Florida State out of junior college. He, like the rest of the team’s draft-year pitchers, was shut down to end the 2024 season, but went under the knife early in 2025 and missed the next season and a half due to Tommy John surgery.
He only got back to pitch in four games this summer with the FCL Yankees, where he struggled in a bunch of small, choppy outings. He’s spent the last two months in the complex, so we’ll see if he’s being utilized as a multi-inning guy in the AFL.
What can we expect from him? We don’t have data on how his stuff has looked post-TJS, but he’s more of a fastball/slider guy who was capable of getting it up to 96 on the heater in college. The Yankees love to tinker with young pitcher’s arsenals, so we’ll see if he has another offering or two.
FSU baseball picked up a JUCO commitment from RHP Mack Estrada. Estrada has a 2.66 ERA/1.25 WHIP in 44 IP at Northwest Florida State College. 57 K-20 BB. 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame. 91-94 MPH FB, nasty slider to pair it with.
A handful of the players in this year’s AFL contingent missed time in the last two years due to injury, but few were able to get back from those injuries with enough time to be as impactful as J.T. Etheridge was.
An undrafted free agent out of Louisiana in 2024, Etheridge started his pro career strong in the FCL in May 2025, but struggled after a promotion to Tampa late in the season. His 2026 started as more of the same, pitching to a 6.51 ERA deep into August. As a prospect without much invested in you, it’s a dangerous game to play going into an offseason with zero production above rookie ball at 25, which he’ll be in January.
The fact he’s here in Arizona, though, shows that he did make some progress. Something seemed to click in mid-August, when he suddenly became the unlikely ace of a Tampa team that came within a game of a Florida State League championship. In his last six starts, he allowed just one run in 27 innings with 38 strikeouts, including a pair of scoreless playoff outings. The decision to send him came before a few of these outings, so the belief might’ve been there even longer.
Allow me to introduce you to 2024 UDFA JT Etheridge, who is being sent to the AFL this season.
He made his game 1 playoff start tonight in Tampa and it was a beauty.
5.0 IP 1 H 0 ER 7 K – 0 BB
If you look purely results, you'd be confused why the Yankees would send Etheridge… pic.twitter.com/azWQ6b2sH6
He boasted an impressive 32.9 strikeout rate with great whiff rates. He sits at 94 on his four-seam fastball and has both a sweeper and a slider that grade well above average. The damage off him primarily comes from the curveball and sinker, which he throws a combined 23 percent of the time. Expect him to tinker with those this fall.
RHP Antonio Gomez
While Kilby is the much more important prospect for Yankees fans to monitor this fall, I’d argue that the guy I’m most excited to see get extra reps here is Antonio Gomez. You may remember that name from a couple of years ago as a defense-first catcher whose bat never quite caught up with him. Yes, that is that same kid.
Gomez was floundering at Double-A Somerset in June 2025 when he was placed on the Development List. While that is usually a death sentence for any prospect, Gomez was different. Instead of being in organizational limbo, he was switching professions, going from a catcher with an 80-grade arm to a flamethrowing reliever. He made his pitching debut a month later and lit up the radar guns, but underwent elbow surgery after just four outings.
He returned this August and has just been trying to get into a rhythm as a pitcher. He’s only tossed 8.1 total innings across 10 career outings, so any experience he can get here in Arizona is extremely valuable. The thing that tickles your fancy about him is his alien fastball, which sits in the upper 90s with over 20 inches of induced vertical break, something you pretty much never see in the bigs:
A late addition to the roster, Anthony Mena signed as an older international signing in 2024 at the age of 19 and didn’t make his stateside debut until 2026 after two solid years in the DSL. In 2025, he struck out 57 in 45.2 innings with a 3.11 ERA.
The results were pretty rough in his 16.2 innings in the FCL early this summer, but he got an aggressive promotion to Tampa midway through the season after a mountain of injuries completely destroyed their pitching depth. His stuff hasn’t quite caught up yet, but he did pretty well after the promotion, allowing just three runs in 16.1 innings across five multi-inning outings.
He leans on his low-90s sinker, throwing it 44 percent of the time, while supplementing it with a changeup, slider, and curveball, with the latter two generating the best results.
RHP Chris Veach
Our last pitcher of the bunch, Chris Veach, is the only one who isn’t extremely early in their development as a Single-A pitcher. A 2024 undrafted free agent out of South Carolina, Veach graduated from Tampa in 2025 after a terrific season, pitching to a 2.53 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 57 innings.
Among qualified MiLB pitchers that haven’t allowed a home run this year, Chris Veach leads the pack in K-BB% at 41.3%.
This year has been a much more difficult season for him, but not because of anything on the field. The 25-year-old missed nine weeks with an undisclosed injury in the summer, shortly after earning a promotion to Double-A Somerset in June. He was only able to get into 25 games and throw 29 innings, but he excelled while doing so, pitching to a 1.86 ERA with 39 strikeouts to 10 walks. He’ll be 26 in a month and a half, so the extra development will be very helpful for him.
We don’t have arsenal stats for High-A and Double-A, but a look at Veach’s repertoire shows he utilizes a heavy diet of changeups that is backed up by a trio of fastballs. Things might’ve changed in the last year, but he threw a breaking ball just 0.8 percent of the time last season. Could that be something they ask him to work on in the desert?
INF Core Jackson
Finally, to the position players. Core Jackson is the second-biggest name value prospect they’re sending to Arizona this fall. The 2025 fifth-round pick had a strong debut season in the system, splitting time between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset.
Jackson, who turns 23 in eight days, slashed .262/.360/.459 with 41 stolen bases in 101 games across the two levels. He’s played an adequate shortstop, but has also gotten run at both second and third base. With Kilby on the roster, I can’t imagine he plays much shortstop this fall, even if both likely project as third basemen.
He was limited to just 101 games this year due to three very short stints on the injured list for minor ailments, which might be why he’s here. It could also be a big vote of confidence for an upper-minors infielder, who could be a good 2027 away from knocking on the door of the majors.
Core Jackson is a Yankees prospect to follow through the rest of the year.
Above-avg power (12 HR & .212 ISO) Solid K-avoidance (20.7% K%) .914 OPS vs. LHP 27 SB
Our last Yankee heading to the desert is another 2025 draftee, and someone who managed to be one of the more unlikely 20/20 players you’ll ever see. Drafted in the 13th round out of West Virginia last year, it was a difficult debut season for West, who exclusively plays first base.
He slashed .226/.300/.394 with 20 home runs, 76 RBI, and 20 stolen bases in 124 games with Hudson Valley and suffered from a consistency issue. He’d have strong weeks, but immediately trade it with rough weeks. This is a guy who slugged .600 in the Big 12 just 18 months ago and was drafted for his slugging ability. The conditions in the AFL usually benefit offense, especially with the altitude. This guy could hit some moonshots if he gets a hold of one.
The Memphis Grizzlies, facing a roster crunch with too many guaranteed contracts than they can carry into the season, have waived former lottery pick Jordan Hawkins, the team announced.
Both the Grizzlies and ESPN’s Shams Charania described this as a mutual parting of the ways. Memphis will eat (and Hawkins will get paid) his full $7 million contract for this season.
Hawkins likely will land with another NBA team this season, although likely on a minimum contract.
Hawkins is entering his fourth NBA season, his first three with the Pelicans before being traded to Memphis less than a month ago. The 6'5" two guard was projected as a shooter coming out of UConn and in his second season averaged 10.8 points per game but only shot 33.1% from beyond the arc for the Pelicans. Last season, with a new front office in New Orleans that didn't draft him and didn't feel the same loyalty, his minutes and opportunities dropped considerably. Across his three seasons, he has shot 34.8% from 3-point range.
Expect a few teams to consider taking a shot on Hawkins this season to see if a fresh start in a new situation gets him back to his lottery-pick form.
Memphis still isn't done. It has 16 guaranteed contracts on the roster, plus partially guaranteed Jaylen Wells, who likely sticks around, so a couple more players need to be traded or waived (Memphis has the cap space to eat those contracts if it needs to).
Sep 29, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (13) is introduced before game one of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Division Series begins today for both the American and National Leagues, which once again means all-day baseball. The AL has tomorrow off to start the staggering of schedules/avoid competing too much with the NFL, so get your fix today. This gives the AL teams three days off if a series goes five games, which is ridiculous.
The ALDS is a best-of-five series with games with the first two games at home for the higher seed, followed by two games at the lower seed, and game five back home for the higher seed.
Chicago White Sox @ Cleveland Guardians, 1:00
Where to watch: TBS / HBO Max
The AL Central matchup pits Hagen Smith of the White Sox against Parker Messick of the Guardians. Messick was an All-Star this year with a 2.56 ERA over 32 starts. Smith is a rookie who had a 1.29 ERA this season in 18 games. 17 of them, however, were out of the bullpen. Smith started against Houston in the Wild Card round and pitched three innings with two hits and no runs. He’s like a jumbo opener, I suppose.
I don’t have a strong rooting interest in this one. I’d be happy with the Guardians moving on, as they haven’t won the World Series since 1948. And I really like José Ramírez. As for the White Sox, they have two things going for them. One, they are coming off of a string of horrendous seasons and kind of came out of nowhere this year. And they play second fiddle to another team in their own city. That other team was already eliminated, of course.
Atlanta Braves @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 4:00
Where to watch: FOX / FOX One
As I write this, we are about 3.5 hours from game time and the Braves have not announced a starting pitcher. Bold. It’ll be Tarik Skubal for the Dodgers.
Obviously we are all rooting against the Dodgers in this one, right? They’ve won three World Series since 2020 including the last two seasons. Pass. The Braves are my rooting interest by default.
New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays, 6:30
Where to watch: TBS / HBO Max
The Rays were the best team in the American League this year and also the Orioles had an 8-5 record against them. That doesn’t mean anything, but it’s all I have. The pitching matchup is Gerrit Cole vs Drew Rasmussen.
Gotta root for the Rays here for several reasons. First, obviously you know why. Also, they’ve never won the World Series. And they have a handful of former Orioles including the delightful Cedric Mullins. Go get a ring, Ced!
San Diego Padres @ Milwaukee Brewers, 8:30
Where to watch: FS1 / FOX One
It’s a real shame this matchup isn’t a possibility for the NLCS, although at least we know one of them will be there. Neither of these teams has ever won the World Series. San Diego has Manny Machado, who is now an old man with 399 career home runs. Milwaukee has one of the most exciting young pitchers in baseball, who has thrown over 1,100 pitches over 100 mph this season.
That guy, Jacob Misiorowski, is starting tonight for the Brew Crew. It’ll be old friend Robbie Ray for the Padres. I haven’t seen Ray pitch lately; I assume his pants are still very tight.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill ruled out top defenseman Bowen Byram from playing at Buffalo on Saturday night because of a family matter.
Byram’s absence comes as he was preparing to face his former team for the first time since the Sabres traded him to Chicago in a multiplayer deal in June. The 25-year-old Byram subsequently signed a six-year, $75 million contract with the Blackhawks in becoming the team’s top-paid defenseman.
The offensive-minded player had 21 goals and 89 points in 182 games with Buffalo.
He’s yet to register a point this season, with Chicago opening with two straight losses. After playing Buffalo, the Blackhawks open their home schedule hosting St. Louis on Tuesday.
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Minnesota Wild will play its home opener Friday night against the Boston Bruins, and if history is any indication, Kirill Kaprizov is a player to keep a close eye on.
Kaprizov has had remarkable success against Boston throughout his NHL career. In seven games against the Bruins, the Wild superstar has recorded nine goals and 10 points.
Even more impressive is how efficiently Kaprizov has produced those goals. He has scored nine times on just 23 shots against Boston, good for a 39.1 percent shooting percentage.
Kaprizov has also scored two power-play goals against the Bruins and has one game-winning goal and one overtime winner.
The 29-year-old opened the season with a goal in Minnesota’s season opener against Nashville, continuing his streak of recording at least one point in every season-opening game of his NHL career.
Now, Kaprizov gets a matchup that has treated him exceptionally well.
Boston has plenty of offensive weapons of its own, but Kaprizov’s history against the Bruins makes him Minnesota’s player to watch as the Wild return to Grand Casino Arena for their home opener.
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It’s time to begin the Division Series round of the 2026 postseason. There will be two threads for the four games today. This one is for the two afternoon games. The night game thread will post at 5 p.m. CT.
At the time of this post, the Braves had not yet listed a starting pitcher.
12 noon CT: White Sox at Guardians
TV: TBS, truTV, HBO Max. Announcers: Alex Faust, Ron Darling and Lauren Jbara.
