BROOKLYN, NY - MARCH 1: Keon Ellis #14 of the Cleveland Cavaliers plays defense during the game against the Brooklyn Nets on March 1, 2026 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Keon Ellis, the newest member in the Nets guard corps, is different the others. He’s not 20 or 21 years old, not here to run the offense so much as to run the defense. And he can shoot. At 26, he’s near the top of the list of 3-and-D operators. If you don’t know, take a look at what he did two years ago; he was the only player in the NBA to rank in the top 10 in both steals (1.5) and 3-point percentage (43.3%). If those two numbers are not what defines a 3-and-D, what does?
There were comments from some in the fan base about the two-year, $18 million contract. They argued that the Nets don’t need yet another guard, defensive qualifications or not and if Sean Marks & co. wanted to improve the team’s defense, why not find a replacement for or an enhancement of Nic Claxton, now of the Chicago Bulls.
But Ellis has that resume’ all head coaches want, consistent, reliable D. Brian Lewis listed them:
Per 100 possessions last season — split between the Kings and Cavaliers — Ellis ranked in the 93rd percentile in steals (2.7), in the 95th percentile in blocks (1.5) and the 96th percentile in both turnovers forced (1.6) and deflections (6.4). His stop percentile of 4.4 ranked in the 98th percentile.
And according to Ellis comments to the media Saturday, one head coach in particular liked his resume’.
“From what I heard, he was pulling for me really hard,” said Ellis of Jordi Fernandez. “And I know the way he coaches. He’s very passionate. He’s about the right things. He wants to win. So, the familiarity right there was definitely good.”
There is a connection. Ellis played two seasons in Sacramento when Fernández was associate head coach there and defensive guru. The native of Florida said the Nets head coach who’s about to enter his third year on the Brooklyn bench has a good reputation around the league.
”That familiarity was definitely good. Dennis [Schroder] was saying he loved Jordi as a coach, too,“ said Ellis of the Nets lead guard two years ago and was a teammate of Ellis last year for the Kings. ”So for other guys to be saying the same things, you just know he’s about the right things.”
He also hinted the Nets offer was the most generous. Ellis just finished a three-year, $5.1 million contract that he signed with the Kings. In essence, he’s quadrupling his previous annual paycheck.
“With how much they were offering, that just speaks to how much the team wants you as well. So, that. And then obviously, you’ve got some guys on the staff that you’ve been with before, so you know the ropes a little,” Ellis told reporters. “And then the opportunity here as well. When you combine all those things, they just lined up.”
It all suggests that even with so many guards, Ellis will get minutes. None of his backcourt colleagues is a point-of-attack defender. The young guys may ultimately become that (and maybe with mentoring from Ellis), but expect him to lead the Nets defense when he’s on the court.
He also explained that his slight dropoff in numbers last season, particularly after he was sent from Sacramento to Cleveland, should not be seen as who he is. He compared what he was looking forward to seeing to in Brooklyn with his tenure with the Cavaliers.
“Just the consistency and an established role,” said Ellis. He said that wasn’t necessarily case with the Cavs. “A lot of things were up and down and moving parts, and you just never really knew what was going on.”
Arkansas Razorbacks' Ethan McElvain (33) and Ryder Helfrick (27) celebrate victory as Auburn Tigers take on Arkansas Razorbacks during the SEC baseball tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala. on Saturday, May 23, 2026. Arkansas Razorbacks defeated Arkansas Razorbacks 2-1. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
While the big names in the MLB draft are all gone after the first day (or essentially committed to going to or back to college next year), there are future big leaguers every year in the second or third day of the draft. Recent Royals draft picks outside of the first 150 picks in the last decade to make it to the big leagues include David Sandlin, Noah Cameron, Anthony Veneziano, Noah Murdock, Vinnie Pasquantino, Tyler Tolbert, Austin Cox, Jonathan Heasley, Nate Eaton, Tyler Zuber, Brewer Hicklen, Nicky Lopez, and Richard Lovelady.
Can anyone from today join them? Only time will tell, but let’s not forget: being drafted at all is an incredible achievement. Only 5% of the roughly 10,000 draft-eligible NCAA baseball players every year are selected by an MLB team.
151st pick: Ethan McElvain, left-handed pitcher from the University of Arkansas
McElvain transferred from Vanderbilt and moved completely to the bullpen, where he threw 38.1 innings, struck out 34.4% of batters, and had a 1.88 ERA. He stands at a hefty 6’ 4”, 250 lbs. Rated by MLB as the 144th-best prospect in the draft.
180th pick: Justin LeGuernic, left-handed pitcher from Clemson University
Another bullpen arm, LeGuernic is young to be drafted as a junior—he doesn’t turn 21 until October—and had a 4.69 ERA in 19 games. Rated by MLB as the 220th-best player in the draft.
Pick 209: Dylan Vigue, right-handed pitcher from the University of Georgia
A starting pitcher, Vigue started 16 games for the Bulldogs with a 4.43 ERA against tough SEC competition. Rated by MLB as the 201st-best player in the draft.
Pick 239: Hunter Possehl, left-handed pitcher from Florida Gulf Coast University
Kansas City’s first position player selected on day two, Johnson transferred from Witchita State to Oklahoma this year and slashed .298/.403/.478 with 31 stolen bases. Rated by MLB as the 116th-best player in the draft.
Pick 299: Grant Fontenot, right-handed pitcher from Louisiana State University
Another reliever, Fontenot has battled with injuries and only has 48.1 total college innings over the last three years. When healthy, he’s been able to strike out 26.9% of batters.
Pick 329: Tanner Griffith, outfielder from St. Mary’s College
At 5’ 9”, the small Tanner Griffith nevertheless swung a big bat this year for St. Mary’s, hitting .342/.477/.545 with 22 doubles in 303 plate appearances.
Pick 359: Lance Hartley, right-handed pitcher from the College of Central Florida
Clement and his very nice mustache have pitched out of the bullpen as a starter. Clement is another guy coming back from injury, only tossing 3.1 innings last year.
Pick 479: Dylan Alonso, right-handed pitcher from Troy University
Rated by MLB as the 138th best player in the draft and by Baseball America at 111, DeVaughan is the type of guy who could get some signing bonus overage to try to lure him away from the University of Alabama.
Pick 599: Riley McDonald, two-way player from State College of Florida
With their final pick today, the Royals selected McDonald, interestingly calling him an infielder and right-handed pitcher out of a junior college in Florida.
But on Saturday night, while the Lakers’ Summer League team was taking on the Dallas Mavericks at the Thomas & Mack Center, Mamukelashvili took other kinds of shots for his new team.
Sandro Mamukelashvili joined the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency on a 4-year, $52 million contract. NBAE via Getty Images
Mamukelashvili became the latest NBA player to trade in his jersey for a photographer’s camera, shooting the first half of Saturday’s game from the first row of the courtside media section inside of the arena.
“I love doing extra stuff,” Mamukelashvili told The California Post. “They call me Side Quest King. So I definitely love it. I’m enjoying it. I’m learning a lot.”
Harboring an interest in photography, Mamukelashvili (“Sometimes I try to take artsy pictures that don’t make [any] sense,” he said. “But I’ve got to explain to people why they’re good.”) quickly found out the challenges of the craft.
He exclaimed “Ahh, I missed it!” after Arthur Kaluma’s pump-and-drive layup four-and-a-half minutes into the game.
Mamukelashvili joined the Lakers at Summer League to serve as team photographer during a game. Khobi Price for the CA Post
He talked about how much he liked to zoom in, but realized he had to find the balance of how far to zoom in and how much space to give his subject.
By the second quarter, he started stretching out his wrists as the weight of the camera started to set in.
“Oh my god, it’s crazy how hard is it to hold the camera steady at the same time, make sure you zoom in correctly, zoom out,” Mamukelashvili told The Post. “Definitely need some strength on your wrist, it’s tough.”
During a Lakers fastbreak in the first quarter, he said out loud to himself: “Run run run … give me action.” Later, he added, “I’m ready … I’m ready.”
Eager to show off his work, Mamukelashvili sat in the press row to share it with reporters. Khobi Price for the CA Post
Mamukelashvili got so into the side quest that he found himself cheering for a Mavericks player to dunk. And when jokingly asked by The Post who he was cheering for, he quipped, “I need a statement!”
“The challenging part is, I would say, making sure you are catching the right moment,” Mamukelashvili said.
At one point in the first quarter, Mamukelashvili gave his photography skills a grade of B+.
“Still got a little bit of action to go,” he said. “So, let’s see what I can cook up here.”
And then, Mamukelashvili met the moment, capturing William Kyle III’s two-handed dunk late in the opening quarter, which bumped Mamukelashvili’s self-assessed grade up to an A-.
By the time the second quarter rolled around, Mamukelashvili found his flow.
“I’m creating art right now, man,” he said as a Laker social media employee gave him Meta Glasses to capture more content.
What was his best shot of the game?
“It’s too many of them,” he responded.
Arguably the best photo of Mamukelashvili’s day was this two-handed dunk by William Kyle III. Khobi Price for the CA Post
Soon, Mamukelashvili will find himself back in a familiar position on the other side of the camera.
But it’ll be in the Lakers’ Purple and Gold after playing for the Toronto Raptors (2025-26), San Antonio Spurs (2023-25) and Milwaukee Bucks (2021-23) since being the No. 54 pick in the 2021 draft.
“Just the name itself — all of the legends play for the Lakers,” Mamukelashvili told The Post of why he signed with the famed team. “The organization is a very high-level organization. They’re starting a new page, and it’s just unbelievable to be part of it.”
Mamukelashvili, who got a “Mamba Mentality” tattoo while he was in college at Seton Hall, grew up a fan of late Lakers icon Kobe Bryant.
“I could only imagine this really in 2K, that I would be playing for this team,” Mamukelashvili said. “I’m so excited, so happy. The coaching staff is amazing, and I can’t wait to just put the jersey on, go out there and just play my heart out every night. You gotta have a chip on your shoulder when you play for the Lakers.”
Mamukelashvili is expected to bring size, physicality and an ability to stretch the floor, which should pair well with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Getty Images
Mamukelashvili (four years, $52 million), along with Reaves, Kessler and Grimes, were among the players who signed long-term deals with a player option for the 2029-30 season.
This deal signified the belief president of basketball operations/general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick have in Mamukelashvili and in the team’s long-term vision.
The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Mamukelashvili is coming off of a career-year with the Raptors, receiving three third-place votes for Sixth Man of the Year. His scoring average (11.2 points), field goal percentage (52.3%), rebounds average (4.9), assists average (1.9), steals average (.8) and blocks average (.5) with Toronto in 2025-26 were all career-best marks.
“They just see me as a basketball player who can go out there, play multiple positions, bring the rhythm,” Mamukelashvili told The Post. “They know I’m gonna play hard; I won’t take possessions off and they understand that I really want to win. That’s where I fit.
“Having players like Luka, Austin Reaves — all those guys who are such amazing creators — that’s gonna help me so much offensively, just flow in it and hopefully get a lot of open corner 3s and then just knock them down.”
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 12: J.T. Ginn #35 of the Athletics exits the game the fifth inning of the a game between the Athletics and the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on July 12, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Griffin Quinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The A’s couldn’t manage to escape the South Side with a win, getting swept by the White Sox 9-1 to wrap up the first half.
Righty J.T. Ginn was off today. After the A’s gave him a quick lead in the first he coughed that right back, allowing six runs in the first inning to put the squad in an early hole they wouldn’t come out of.
The tough part about today was all of the offense came in the first inning off the bat of Shea Langeliers. Other than that, nothing. The offense continues to run silent during this critical stretch.
Now the team has a little less than a week off, Hopefully they can take the time off and figure things out.
Australian loses boys’ final to Jordan Lee of US 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Two-hour match will likely be 17-year-old’s last as a junior
Cruz Hewitt has vowed to blossom again at Wimbledon as he brushed off the heartbreak of just failing to follow in the celebrated footsteps of his father, 24 years after Lleyton won the men’s title.
With his dad watching on and cajoling him from the players’ box on No 1 Court, the 17-year-old Sydney prospect Hewitt fell agonisingly short in the boys’ final on Sunday after he had led 4-2 in the final set against talented young American prospect Jordan Lee.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 12: Dillon Mitchell #20 of the Boston Celtics dunks the ball during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on July 12, 2026 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Mike Kirschbaum/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Boston Celtics returned to the court in game 2 of Las Vegas summer league to take on the Charlotte Hornets. The Summer C’s played a great game with plenty of good performances spearheaded by 2nd round rookie Dillon Mitchell who led the team with 24 points, 6 steals and 8 rebounds. They now move to 2-0 in Las Vegas with a 87-75 victory.
Charlotte came into the game with a win and a loss and a stacked squad with 3 picks from last year’s draft: Liam McNeely, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Sion James; their 2024 6th overall pick, Tidjane Salaun; and Christain Anderson. Boston started the same five as game one: Hugo Gonzalez, Amari Williams, Dillon Mitchell, John Tonje, and Curtis Jones. The Hornets came out of the gates strong with a quick 2-9 lead as they looked extremely poised early.
Chris Cenac Jr. and Milos Uzan were first off the bench for Boston, and Cenac Jr. jumped straight into the fray, matching Ryan Kalkbrenner at the summit and blocking his dunk attempt. Hugo Gonzalez made up for his poor shooting in game one and connected from the corner with a three-pointer off a neat Cenac Jr. skip pass. Milos Uzan nailed a triple on his first shot attempt of the game, putting Boston back in it with scores tied at eight.
Hugo Gonzalez drove and dished to Dillon Mitchell for the easy layup as Derrick White looked on from the coaching bench wearing the pink Boston Summer League polo shirt. Rookie Dillon Mitchell followed that up with a steal and uncontested fast break dunk that rattled the Vegas rim, scores tied at 12. Charlotte went on a 7-0 run at the end of the first quarter before Tucker DeVries’s first triple of the game broke the C’s scoring drought, Hornets up 17-21 after one.
Milos Uzan hit a step-back three-pointer to start the second quarter, the Las Vegas native and former Houston Cougar impressing in his first few Summer League games. John Tonje continued to fill up the summer scoreboards, hitting a quick catch-and-shoot triple and then converting a layup. Boston was down by 1 point, 25-26.
LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 12: Milos Uzan #29 of the Boston Celtics dribbles the ball during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on July 12, 2026 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Mike Kirschbaum/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Dillon Mitchell converted his second three-pointer attempt after airballing an earlier attempt. Amari Wilaims swished home a hook shot from the low block, the game remaining tight with the Hornets still up by one point, 30-31. Boston went scoreless for 3 minutes, missing 5 straight three-point attempts; Chris Cenac Jr. drove past Hannes Steinbach at the top of the key and threw down a one-handed jam for his first bucket to make it 32-38.
Milos Uzan drove and dished to John Tonje, who swished home his eighth point of the game. Tonje was feeling it hitting on another three-pointer with the shot clock expiring. Boston got back into the game behind the great play of Tonje, the 2025-26 second-round pick proving his worth with Brad Stevens in attendance. Boston is up by 2 points at the half in a far more polished team performance, 42-40.
Milos Uzan hit a layup to open the second half scoring for Boston. John Tonje stole the ball at mid court to take the ball to the rack with a dunk. It was all one way traffic for Boston as the Summer C’s went on a 14-2 run. Amari Williams was not having a great game for the Celtics, he had 4 turnovers in just 15 minute of action to start the game.
Dillon Mitchell was impressive on the defensive end for Boston, he was touted highly before the draft, but his long arms and positioning were a standout. Mitchell was doing it on both ends, as he was the team’s leading scorer through three quarters with 16 points as Boston opened up a ten point lead, 59-49.
Charlotte managed just nine points in 6 minutes of play in the third. They picked up their play late as Boston held on 63-56 after three quarters. Hugo Gonzalez laced home a rainbow triple to start the fourth quarter. Dillon Mitchell tried to dunk it over Kalkbrenner, but was fouled on the play. The broadcast crew noting Mitchell’s 38-inch vertical on the telecast.
Mitchell chased down a long rebound skipping it to DeVries in the corner who drained the triple, Boston up by 11 points, 71-59. Uzan hit his second three of the game with a crafty behind the back move and a step back jumper. The Summer Celtics in control, and on track to win a second straight game. Mitchell and Gonzalez made a ton of defensive plays on the night, the pair combining for 9 steals.
Boston hold on to win the game 87-75 and register two wins from 2 games. The Summer C’s back in action tomorrow against the Atlanta Hawks at 6pm.
Jul 12, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Daulton Varsho (5) steals second base ahead of the tag of San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) during the fifth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Blue Jays 4 Padres 3
A rough eight cost them.
Hoffman in. Xander Bogaerts, leading off, ground one softly (63.4 mph) up the middle, but between second and short. Ernie Clement got to it too deep to make a play. Bogaerts stole second. Manny Machado lined a single to center, scoring the run. Gavin Sheets ground one at Andrés Giménez, but Clements was slow getting to second so they couldn’t get the lead runner. The out at first wasn’t enough. I didn’t understand why Clements couldn’t get to the bag before the base runner. They had a shot at a double play. After that, a steal of third and a sac fly brought in the go ahead run. That was the game.
Barker talked about it after and watching it, again, I still don’t get what Ernie was doing.
And the bottom of the ninth went too quick. Ground out, pop out, strikeout.
Kevin Gausman had one bad inning. In the second he gave up a Machado single, Sheets walk, Ty France singled (scoring one). Jake Cronemworth singled to load the bases. A pop out got us one out. A walk scored run number two. Fernando Tatis struckout, but there was a rather weird balk in there. Gausman threw out of the stretch, instead of the windup with the bases loaded. Earlier he had told the plate umpire that’s what he was going to do, but not that time. I’m always unclear on balk rules, but I don’t think that I’ve seen that one before.
He got out of the inning after that, and went 6.0. Three hits and a walk that inning, one hit, two walks in the other five, with eight strikeouts total.
Tyler Rogers pitched a quick seventh.
Offensively:
One in the first: Nathan Lukes homered.
Two in the fourth: With two out, Andrés Giménez doubled and Ernie Clement homered.
One in the eighth: Kazuma Okamonto led off with a single. Two outs later, Alejandro Kirk (pinch hitting for Sean Keys) was intentionally walked. Jonatan Clase singled the run in.
We should have scored more. We had nine hits (two home runs) and three walks.
Clase and Okamoto had two hits each. Vladimir Guerrero (with a walk) and Sean Keys had 0 fors.
We had two on in the second, two on in the third, one on in the fifth. We were two for nine with RISP.
Jays of the Day: Clase (0.26 WPA), Okamoto (0.11
Other Award: Hoffman (-0.55, some of that belongs to Clement), Varsho (-0.11) and Valenzuela (-0.09) anad Keys (-0.09).
Tennessee's Tegan Kuhns (21) throws a pitch during a baseball game between Tennessee and Wright State in Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, March 6, 2026. | Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The 2026 Major Legue Baseball Draft is now in our rearview mirror. While it wasn’t a 2024 or 2025-esque firestorm of Tennessee Volunteers flying off the board, Tennessee still had a solid six players selected over the two-day event.
Let’s take a closer look at who went where.
CB-A, No. 32: Tegan Kuhns, St. Louis Cardinals
The headliner was, of course, Tennessee ace Tegan Kuhns. He had been projected from anywhere as high as 24 to Seattle down to below where he was taken, which was at No. 32 overall by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Yes, the Cardinals. For the second straight year, St. Louis tabbed the top of Tennessee’s pitching rotation early in the draft. Last year, St. Louis took Liam Doyle with the No. 5 overall pick.
Kuhns was the second player taken by the Cardinals in the top 32 this year. With pick No. 13, St. Louis also tabbed Tennessee commit OF Trevor Condon out of Etowah High School in Woodstock Georgia.
So, Tennessee fans should have a keen eye on St. Louis to see where the progam’s ace pitchers from 2025-26 end up, as well as who could have been their freshman superstar in 2027.
Rd 6, No. 191: Henry Ford, Seattle Mariners
Tennessee’s biggest bat from 2026 finds his new home, and he’ll be joining a team that certainly has the pitching, but still needs to find some answers at the plate.
Ford slugged a team-high 20 home runs last year, which put his total at 48 for his three collegiate years. Without question, he showed he has high upside at the plate from a power perspective at the MLB level. But his batting average dropped off pretty heavily in 2026 from his previous two seasons at Virginia. He posted a .293 average after hitting .362 in 2024 for the Cavaliers.
Opportunity is there for Ford, and he’ll hit his fair share of long home runs with a path to move up — if he can continue to make contact.
Rd 7, No. 219: Bo Rhudy, Philadelphia Phillies
Not a bad franchise to land with as far as being a consistent winner. Rhudy ended up putting together a very nice stat line in his one year at Tennessee: 3.38 ERA, 41 Ks, six walks.
His unorthodox delivery and arm slot should help him out at the big-league level and continue to give him a slight edge by deceiving hitters.
Rd 8, No. 229: Garrett Wright, Los Angeles Angels
Another Vol is headed to Orange County, California. Wright joins Christian Moore and Ben Joyce in the Angels organization. He was a crucial part of Tennessee’s offense last year, hitting an impressive .348 with nine homers and 17 RBIs. A catcher and outfielder, he has some added benefit with positional flexibility.
Rd 12, No. 367: Brandon Arvidson, Chicago Cubs
Arvidson was certainly an important part of the Vols’ pen last year, appearing in 16 games with one start and logging 37.1 innings. He doesn’t have overwhelming stuff, but the 6-5, 210-pound lefty has the frame and delivery to be a problem for hitters with proper development.
Rd 13, No. 381: Evan Blanco, Athletics
Last but not least, one third of the Vols’ weekend rotation gets the nod in Round 13 by the (future Las Vegas) Athletics. He doesn’t have the Kuhns-type stuff, but he wasn’t all that far behind the Vols’ ace in strikeouts (101 in 89 IP vs. Kuhns’ 106 in 81). However, he gave up a team-high 17 home runs. He’ll have to learn how to avoid mistakes to get by with his arsenal at the next level.
Emmet Sheehan (80) battled through 5⅓ strong innings, and Shohei Ohtani belted his ninth leadoff homer, but the Dodgers were swept for the first time this season. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers needed to turn things around Sunday to wrap up the first half on a high note. Manager Dave Roberts said as much the night before.
“When you give teams free bases, extra outs, it’s hard to win a game, regardless of the opponent,” he said. “Emmet [Sheehan] needs to go out there and throw the baseball well tomorrow. We’ve got to find a way to win a game tomorrow to feel somewhat better about going into the break.”
Instead, the Dodgers fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3, swept for the first time this season. It was Arizona’s first sweep at Dodger Stadium since September 2017.
“I guess,” Roberts said. “Gives guys a reset. ... We’ve got some good teams coming up and we’ve got to play good baseball.”
Sheehan at least did his job, holding the Diamondbacks to three runs in 5⅓ innings. It was clear from the first at-bat that his pitch count could limit how deep he pitched into the game. Sheehan won a 14-pitch battle to strike out Ketel Marte.
The right-hander then struck out the side and was efficient enough to pitch into the sixth. He exited after his pitch count reached 101.
Max Muncy swings at a pitch in the seventh inning. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Shohei Ohtani sparked the offense with his ninth leadoff home run of the season — and 22nd overall — on a two-hit day. But he’ll get treatment this week instead of playing in the All-Star Game.
It wasn’t a clean defensive game for the Dodgers. In the midst of the Diamondbacks’ two-run fifth, All-Star center fielder Andy Pages tracked a long fly back to the wall but missed the catch as the ball bounced off his glove for an error.
In the sixth, the tying run scored when All-Star third baseman Max Muncy’s throw to the plate hit Geraldo Perdomo in the back as he ran home for another error.
“Just a slump,” Muncy said. “You go through slumps both offensively and defensively, mentally. It’s just one of those stretches for us right now, and I think everyone’s ready for the break.”
Regardless of some sloppiness, the Dodgers have had a successful season going into the break.
“Just flush it,” Roberts said. “We’re still in a really good spot. Don’t let it carry over to the second half.”
They have the best record in the majors (61-36) and an 11½-game lead in the National League West. They also had six players selected as All-Stars.
So, as Major League Baseball pauses play and honors some of the best performers in each league, now’s a good time to hand out our first-half awards.
MVP: Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani follows through on a double in the third inning. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Who else? Ohtani’s the frontrunner for the NL most valuable player — not just these unofficial first-half awards — for his two-way performance.
He’s been a top performer both on the mound and in the batter’s box. He entered Sunday among the top three in the league in offensive fWAR (26.6) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.940). And his 1.79 earned-run average ranked second among NL pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings. He remains in the Cy Young conversation, despite pitching only 85 ⅔ innings in the first half because of the Dodgers’ six-man rotation and a missed start stemming from an irritated left knee.
Honorable mention: Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy
Cy Young: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers against the Diamondbacks on Saturday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Yamamoto has carried this rotation through both performance (2.85 ERA) and workload, leading the team with 110⅔ innings.
Last month, he carried a perfect game into the eighth inning and no-hitter into the ninth against the Chicago White Sox. That was one of two starts of at least eight innings that he’s authored. He’s thrown six or more innings in all but two starts.
Pitcher Justin Wrobleski holds an All-Star jersey during a pregame ceremony honoring the Dodgers' All-Stars. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
This time last year, Wrobleski was moving back and forth between triple A and the majors, providing length out of the bullpen after making changes to his delivery.
Coming into this season, a regular rotation spot was not guaranteed. Now, he’s an All-Star. And in a star-powered rotation, he has the second-best ERA (2.69) and has pitched the second-most innings (100⅓).
Honorable mention: Tanner Scott, Dalton Rushing, Andy Pages
Second-half breakout candidate: Kiké Hernández
Dodgers infielder Kiké Hernández high-fives his daughter, Penelope, after she threw out the ceremonial first pitch Sunday at Dodger Stadium. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Hernández has been on the field for only four plate appearances, exiting because of a strained left oblique in just his second game back from offseason surgery on his left elbow. But he recorded a hit in each of those plate appearances, including a pair of doubles.
Hernández, on the verge of a rehab assignment, is on a faster track to return than Roberts initially expected.
Others to watch: Edwin Díaz, Edgardo Henriquez, Alex Freeland, Kyle Tucker
Jul 12, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Colorado Rockies center fielder Cole Carrigg (16) loses his helmet on a swing during the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
The Colorado Rockies fell to the San Francisco Giants in yet another close, low-scoring game in the Bay Area. This afternoon’s series finale was the last of 17 straight games the Rockies had to play before the All-Star Break. After a hard fought close series in Los Angeles, the Rockies lost four of their final five games of the half.
“It’s disappointing,” said manager Warren Schaeffer after the game. “We come expecting to win every night, but the season isn’t over yet.”
The season so far has been full of ups and downs, but has also been infinitely more watchable. The Rockies finish the first half with a 39-59 record, a full 17 games better than they were at the All-Star break in last year’s 119-loss campaign.
Now the Rockies will take a well deserved rest in preparation for the true dog days of summer: the second half of the MLB season.
“We’ll come back and get after it on Friday,” said Schaeffer.
Lorenzen gets the job done
Rockies starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen wasn’t necessarily sharp, but he gutted his way through five innings while only giving up one earned run to Giants hitters. Lorenzen entered today’s game having given up more than two earned runs in just one of his last six starts while going at least five innings in all but one outing during that same stretch.
Lorenzen struck out just one batter while giving up five hits and issuing three walks. That one strikeout came in the first inning against Rafael Devers, who came to the plate with runners on first and second with just one out. The Giants would fail to score that inning. Lorenzen worked just two 1-2-3 innings–the second and fifth–and dealt with frequent traffic, but really only had one truly bad inning where the Giants were able to capitalize. In the fourth inning, Lorenzen gave up a walk and back-to-back singles with two outs, allowing the Giants to score their first run of the game. He then issued a walk, but was able to navigate out of the inning with no further damage.
Jake McCarthy—who has been an electric acquisition for the Rockies this season—kicked off the game with a leadoff inside-the-park home run. It was his second such feat of the season and put the Rockies ahead early.
McCarthy becomes the just the third Rockies player in franchise history to hit two inside-the-park home runs in a single season–joining Brandon Barnes in 2014 and Charlie Blackmon in 2017–and is also the first player to hit two leadoff inside-the-park home runs since 1929.
“If anybody’s going to do it, it’s going to be Jake,” Schaeffer said of the accomplishment when informed after the game.
In addition, Hunter Goodman went 2-for-2 and the Rockies lineup as a whole struck out just six times.
That sadly does it for the positives, as the Rockies’ offense was whisper quiet for most of their final game of the first half. Outside of those two Goodman hits and the McCarthy home run, the Rockies had just one other hit. It came off the bat of Tyler Freeman in the fifth inning.
With the Rockies down to their final out in the ninth inning, rookie center fielder Cole Carrigg fought valiantly to keep the game alive. He worked an 11-pitch at-bat with a full count and fouled the ball off six times. Unfortunately, a sliding catch by Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee in shallow right field cemented the Rockies’ loss.
Relievers Brennan Bernardino and Jimmy Herget combined to give up just one hit and one walk over their two innings of relief for Lorenzen. Each pitcher recorded a strikeout.
Where things fell apart was when Antonio Senzatela entered the game in the eighth inning.
Senzatela issued a leadoff walk to Devers and a single to Bryce Eldridge to put a runner in scoring position. The pinch runner for Eldridge stole second base and an errant throw from Goodman ended up in the outfield allowing Devers to score the go-ahead run for San Francisco. A Willy Adames single plated another run to put the Rockies behind 3-1 in what would be the final score of the game.
After an incredibly strong start to the season, Senzatela has faltered as the months wear on. Since the start of June, he had a 6.60 ERA over his last 13 appearances, although his 3.17 FIP in that stretch indicates he’s also gotten unlucky.
Coming Up Next
The Rockies are off until Friday for the Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia, where Hunter Goodman will be their sole representative. After the break, they will start a three game series against the Cincinnati Reds at home.
The first game of that series will start at 6:40 PM MDT with right-handed pitcher Brady Singer on the bump for the Redlegs. The Rockies have yet to announce who will start for them.
The Mets closed out their disappointing first half on Sunday afternoon with a heartbreaking loss against the Boston Red Sox, wasting rookie Zach Thornton’s incredible performance in just his third major league start.
The left-hander pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks while striking out five and throwing just 82 pitches (56 strikes). It was the best outing of Thornton’s young career which has seen him only make sporadic starts for New York – one in May, one in June and one in July.
But after his dominant outing, Thornton, at least for now, has earned a spot in the rotation and will make his next start for the Mets at some point after the All-Star break.
“We’ve been mostly floating with four starters for a while, so to have him step up and throw the baseball the way he did we’ll take a lot of encouragement from that because we’ve been needing that from someone and you can see he’s unafraid and you can see he’s on the attack,” interim manager Andy Green said. “So as painful as this moment is, those are good signs for our future to see a young guy step on the mound and pitch like that.”
Through three starts, Thornton owns a 2.60 ERA (0.92 WHIP) in 17.1 innings. His last start against the Philadelphia Phillies, which came on June 26, was also a good one. He pitched six innings while giving up one earned run on five hits and a walk. He also struck out seven and kept his pitch count to 78 pitches, 54 of them being strikes.
The back-to-back solid outings by the left-hander is a great sign, considering his struggles during his MLB debut against the Washington Nationals on May 20, in which he allowed four earned runs in 4.1 innings.
“[Thornton is] just a guy who can mix and attack with aggression and he just needs to continue to repeat that and step on the mound,” Green said. “Not every time is it gonna be seven scoreless… but for us that is what we want to see out of him. There’s days that he’ll pop it up to 95 [mph] and he can use that to punch guys late in counts. Didn’t see a lot of that today, didn’t need a lot of that today so just encouraged three starts in. We know he's unafraid.”
After the game Thornton was asked about his performance and what it is he needs to do to continue pitching like he did on Sunday.
“Just get back to what I do best and throwing strikes with all five pitches,” the rookie southpaw said. “I'm super excited to be here and just keep contributing to getting wins around here.”
The 24-year-old also mentioned that his teammates giving him words of encouragement has helped too.
“I think I belong anywhere,” Thornton said.
After all, Thornton earned his right for the call-up earlier this season after owning a 3.32 ERA in 48 games (39 starts) in his career in the minor leagues, making him the next highly touted Mets pitching prospect.
Thornton joins fellow rookie starters Nolan McLean and Christian Scott in the team's starting rotation, both of whom have shined as well. Meanwhile other pitching prospects are waiting in the wings for their opportunity to take the mound.
“Thornton was really good in his third major league start against a lineup that has hit left-handed pitching all season long, and Luis Torrens called a great game for him,” Green said. “They kept hitters off balance the entire game, he missed barrels the entire game, he got some punchouts, and it was fun to see. Encouraging for us as we look to round out the rotation.”
In a season where very little has gone right for New York, perhaps Thornton is a bright spot worth keeping an eye on as the Mets look to the future.
Ole Miss' Austin Fawley (24) strikes out against Mississippi State in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, March 28, 2026. | Bruce Newman/Special to the Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Day two of the 2026 MLB Draft is now complete and five more Rebels will now have a choice to make between signing with the clubs that drafted them or returning to Ole Miss and attempting to improve their draft position.
Interestingly enough none of Judd Utermark, Will Furniss or Tristan Bissetta were selected in the 20 round draft. It was also announced that Hunter Elliott was returning to Oxford and withdrawing from the draft.
Wil Libbert was the first off the board on Sunday, going to the Atlanta Braves in the 5th round (144th overall). Libbert is an interesting one regarding his decision to stay or sign. He could become a weekend guy for the Rebels or opt to start his pro career in a $500,000 signing slot.
The New York Mets took another Rebel hurler in the eighth round, selecting Landon Koenig 240th overall.
Bullpen arm Landon Waters was taken in the 17th round by the Toronto Blue Jays and is likely to return to Oxford.
The Atlanta Braves double dipped and took Austin Fawley in the 19th round. With Drake Baldwin set to be the Braves catcher for the next decade plus, Fawley would be wise to return to Ole Miss and have a more consistent year at the plate.
Rounding out the Rebel draft picks is JP Robertson, taken by the San Francisco Giants 598th overall (out of 613 total).
If any of the three big bats sign free agent deals to with a minor league team, the Cup will be here to update you.
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 12: Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) scores a run during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 12, 2026 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. (Photo by David Dennis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The silver lining for the Dodgers on Sunday is that they did not lose in lopsided fashion. But they did fall to the Diamondbacks for a third consecutive day, this time a more conventional 5-3 win for Arizona that capped off a series sweep and a deflating final week before the All-Star break.
Fielding miscues plagued the Dodgers this week, as nine errors in the last five games is no way to make a living. Two errors cropped up Sunday. Andy Pages dropped a fly ball during the two-run fifth inning, then Max Muncy’s throw home hit a smartly-positioned Geraldo Perdomo, facilitating the two-run sixth inning that gave the Diamondbacks the lead for good.
That spoiled a promising start by Emmet Sheehan, who struck out seven against only one walk in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed three runs but only one of them were earned.
Shohei Ohtani hit the first pitch of the game for a solo home run, his fourth in six games, and also doubled. Ohtani had two home runs in the series against Arizona, which matched Diamondbacks first baseman Tim Tawa for the weekend.
Tawa drove in seven runs in the series, one fewer than the Dodgers scored as a team. It was that kind of a weekend for Los Angeles.
The All-Star break is here. But first, several Dodgers will be in Philadelphia for the All-Star Game on Tuesday (5 p.m. PT, Fox). Next real game is Friday in The Bronx against the New York Yankees (4:05 p.m. PT; SportsNet LA, MLB Network).
KNOXVILLE, TN - MAY 31: Wake Forest Demon Deacons infielder Dalton Wentz (1) throws to first base during the NCAA Division I Regional Tournament baseball game between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Miami (OH) RedHawks on May 31, 2025, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, TN. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
After two days, 20 rounds, and more than 600 names announced (some even with correct pronunciations!), the 2026 MLB Draft has come to a close. It was a very fun one for the Giants … after a few years of losing picks due to the Qualifying Offer, the Giants had their full slate this time around … and then added an extra pick in the top 30 when they traded Patrick Bailey, all while getting lucky in the lottery and landing the No. 4 overall pick.
What follows is a breakdown of the final 10 selections that the Giants made on draft day.
If you want to read about the earlier picks, here are the links:
The Giants kicked off the second half of the draft with a player who posted comical numbers this year: first baseman Charlie Bussey III, a right-handed hitter out of Francis Marion, taken with the No. 328 pick. Obviously players are drafted first and foremost based on scouting their live mechanics, which is good because it’s hard to know how much stock to put into smaller school stats. Bussey is Example A: in the Division II Conference Carolinas, playing against competition such as Ferrum College and Shorter University, Bussey hit a truly laughable .489/.604/.866 with 21 home runs and 40 stolen bases in 60 games, while walking well over twice as frequently as he struck out.
I think I speak for everyone when I say that he’ll be a good Major Leaguer if he can keep those numbers up at the next level.
Perhaps more importantly, Bussey, who turns 23 in December and is listed at 6’2, 205, played in the Cape Cod League this summer, where he hit 6-27 with one double, nine walks, seven strikeouts, and three stolen bases. He was the D2 National Player of the Year this season, which is a great honor … remember that not all great players and prospects come from big name schools, as Bo Davidson frequently reminds us.
In the 12th round, with the No. 358 pick, the Giants took their fourth player who has some serious MLB bloodlines: prep outfielder Josiah Kemp, from Choctaw High School in Oklahoma. Kemp, a right-handed hitter, is the nephew of three-time All-Star Matt Kemp, whom the Giants were all too familiar with given his excellent run with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kemp, who has a commitment to Oklahoma that the Giants will have to buy him out of, is an exceptionally athletic and twitchy outfielder. He’s fairly lean, but projects to fill out as he grows. If he can maintain his speed and agility as he adds strength, he could become a very intriguing two-way player. He has good speed with both his bat and legs. The Giants need more athletes, and they just got one. Kemp was the No. 311 prospect on Baseball America’s big board.
With their 13th-round selection, No. 388 overall, San Francisco turned to Arkansas left-handed pitcher Colin Fisher. The soon-to-turn 22-year old saw his stock drop a little bit in his third year with the Razorbacks, and he finished the season with a 5.59 ERA and a 4.80 FIP while getting moved to the bullpen after 10 starts. That rough start probably cost him a few rounds in the draft, but there’s still a lot to like, as evidenced by the fact that Fisher still was listed as the No. 268 draft prospect on Baseball America’s big board.
Fisher has a good frame, with a listed height of 6’3 and 225 pounds. His curveball is his best pitch, but to this point he has struggled to put together a competitive fastball. Needless to say, that will be something he needs to address in the Minor Leagues if he wants to have success at the next level. He did have good command though, as he only walked 17 batters in 56.1 innings this year. With three years at Arkansas on his ledger, he’s someone that Tony Vitello will have had some experience watching and playing against. Like so many prospects, Fisher also pitched in the Cape Cod League this year, where he had a 4.70 ERA in 15.1 innings, with nine strikeouts and six walks.
San Francisco continued the pitching theme in the 14th round, taking Houston right-hander Alex Solis with the No. 418 pick. Solis, who is listed at 6’1, 190, and turns 22 in December, doesn’t have very good college stats, but that’s not unusual at this part of the draft. This past year, which was his junior season, was his best year, as he posted a 5.50 ERA and a 4.05 FIP while working almost entirely in relief. Solis cut his walk rate nearly in half this year, issuing just 11 bases on balls in 37.2 innings, with 37 strikeouts.
While his numbers aren’t great, he certainly has experience playing against decent competition, as he spent all three of his collegiate years at Houston in the Big 12. Given his role in college, it seems likely that the Giants will jump straight to using Solis as a reliever in the Minor Leagues.
In the 15th round, with the 448 selection, the Giants chose third baseman Drew Smith from Oregon. Smith had a spectacular year in the Big 10, hitting .342/.425/.622 for a 1.047 OPS and a 139 wRC+. He showed off some serious power gains, with 16 home runs in 272 plate appearances … after just 12 homers in 496 prior plate appearances.
So why was he available in the 15th round, when he finished 15th in a quality conference in OPS, just a few percentage points behind No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky? A few reasons. For starters, Smith was a four-year college player, so he’s on the older side. Having turned 23 last month, Smith is only nine months younger than the other Oregon third baseman in the Giants system, Sabin Ceballos … who has already logged more than 700 plate appearances in AA. The other primary reason is that, despite his .342 batting average, Smith had a 25.0% strikeout rate in his senior year at Oregon, which is incredibly high for a college player, especially a four-year player.
Still and all, late in the draft the Giants got a guy with good power, who hits the ball incredibly hard, and has a track record of success at a good baseball school, while playing a defensively important position (he also has some defensive versatility, as he’s played second base and the outfield). That’s always a win in my book! And when he makes it to High-A, he’ll have plenty of experience at the ballpark, as the Eugene Emeralds share a field with the Oregon Ducks, where Smith played all four of his collegiate seasons.
After a pause, the draft resumed for the 16th round, where the Giants got a very exciting player: Wake Forest third baseman Dalton Wentz. A powerful switch-hitter, Wentz was projected to be drafted at the start of the day, if not at the end of Saturday … he was ranked as the No. 165 prospect by MLB Pipeline, No. 170 by Baseball America, and No. 188 by ESPN. As such, the Giants will surely have to use some of their savings from earlier underslot signings to facilitate a Wentz signing, as he’ll likely command something like a sixth-round bonus … perhaps higher given that he was a draft-eligible sophomore, so he can head back to school.
Wentz, who was a Freshman All-American, had a spectacular 2026 in his second season of college ball. He slashed .306/.414/.629 on the year, with 18 home runs in 60 games, which was tied for fifth in the ACC. He’s a serious power hitter, for better and for worse — his .323 isolated slugging was an outrageously good number, while his 22.7% strikeout rate surely gave scouts pause. He’s a very aggressive hitter, also for better or for worse, with strikeouts driven more by swing decisions than contact ability (although, despite that, he had a 15.1% walk rate).
Despite his size (he’s listed at 6’2, 215), Wentz also plays second base, though his future is almost certainly at a corner, be it in the infield or the outfield. His biggest strength on defense is, fittingly, his arm strength. Ultimately, the Giants got an extremely-powerful switch-hitter who will turn 21 later this month, about 10 rounds later than he was projected to go. That’s extremely exciting, though whether or not they can sign him now becomes one of the biggest questions of their 2026 draft class.
In the 17th round, with the No. 508 pick, the Giants got an extremely Giantsy player: Western Michigan outfielder Tanner Mally. A right-handed hitter who is about to turn 22, Mally has a whole lot of Wade Meckler in his game. His contact ability is truly absurd: this year he posted an almost unbelievable .446 batting average, with a .554 on-base percentage (and while the Mid-American Conference isn’t the best baseball in the world, it is D1). And he did all of that while striking out just 13 times in 243 plate appearances.
The downside? He ends his college career without having recorded a single home run, in nearly 500 plate appearances. So not a lot of power in that bat. But my goodness can he hit, and he’s got some speed as well, and used it to steal 19 bases this season. That speed has allowed him to become a quality defensive player in the outfield, and I would expect the Giants to develop him in the center of the grass.
Mally also played summer ball last year in the Coastal Plain League, where he hit .316/.446/.393, with only eight strikeouts in 148 plate appearances (funnily enough, despite the donut in college, he hit two homers in summer ball). He’ll be a fun player to follow, and we know the Giants will be enamored with his skillset.
The Giants returned to pitchers in the 18th round, selecting UC Irvine southpaw Ryder Brooks with the No. 538 pick. After having subpar results as a starter in 2025, Brooks returned to the bullpen this past year for his junior season. The overall results were mixed — he posted a 4.86 ERA and a 3.59 FIP — but the move to the pen helped Brooks decrease his walk rate, while his strikeouts took off. In all, he struck out 41 batters in 33.1 innings, while only walking 11 (though he did hit seven batters).
A three-year Anteater, Brooks pitched in the Cape Cod League last summer and struck out 12 batters in nine innings, though he walked seven. Brooks has an incredibly smooth and repeatable motion, with a highish release that induces a lot of ground balls. He lives in the low-90s currently, so his fastball has a lot of room for improvement, but his sweeper is a very nice pitch.
With their penultimate pick of the draft, No. 568 overall, the Giants picked another third baseman, Mikey Bell from Gonzaga. A right-handed hitter who grew up in Fresno, Bell has a lot of power, and in 2026 hit .379/.456/.607 with nine home runs in 54 games, en route to West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors (he won the award in both of his seasons with Gonzaga, after transferring from a community college). He also showed off some considerable contact improvements, lowering his strikeout rate from 20.4% in 2025 to 14.2% this past season.
Despite lowering that strikeout rate, Bell, who is 22, has a good amount of chase in his game, and will likely strike out a lot in the Minors unless he makes some adjustments. But his power plays to all parts of the field, and that led to him sneaking into the Baseball America top 500 draft prospects list, at No. 444. There’s also a lot left to untap there: Bell posted better exit velocities than his power numbers would suggest. He’s spent some time in the outfield, and could end up at a corner there, or at first base.
While Bell won’t be as hard to sign as Wentz, he’ll likely command a decent bonus, as he was scheduled to transfer from Gonzaga to Georgia. An SEC school offers a lot more NIL money and a better chance to showcase himself against top talent before potentially entering the draft as a fifth-year senior, so the Giants will have to compete with that.
And finally we arrive at the team’s 20th-round pick … their 21st and final selection of the draft. With the No. 598 pick in the draft, the Giants returned to the defining position of their draft by selecting right-handed pitcher JP Robertson from Mississippi.
Robertson spent just one year at Mississippi after transferring from a community college, and ended the season with a 4.34 ERA and a 4.25 FIP. He worked almost exclusively as a reliever, and had some serious punchout stuff, as he recorded 49 strikeouts in 37.1 innings, which is very impressive in the SEC. He has some notable command issues to work through, though, as he also issued 21 walks.
But there’s a lot to work with there, as Robertson has some serious power. He lives in the mid-upper 90s, and has tickled triple digits on the radar gun. His cutter has a lot of movement, and he also has an intriguing slider. Despite his command issues, he has a compact delivery that should be fairly repeatable. Robertson will likely be used as a pure power reliever, and that’s something the system has been awfully short on this year.
And that’s the 2026 draft for the Giants! For stats and videos on all 21 picks, go check out our draft tracker.
A huge thanks to all the great publications and prospectors who help provide so much information pertaining to the draft. A special thanks to Bluesky users EB and Giant Futures, whose posts helped me fill out my understanding of these 10 players. Give them a follow.
The Calgary Flames are adjusting their roster, moving out veteran players to provide spots for the youngsters, the future of the franchise. In 2026 alone, they traded Rasmus Andersson and Olli Määttä and moved on from one of their core leaders, Blake Coleman.
Going into the 2026-27 season, the only player in the current Flames lineup with a Stanley Cup title is 29-year-old Zach Whitecloud, who won a championship with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023. He came to Calgary in the deal that sent Andersson to the desert, where he helped the team advance to the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.
Now, in a recent post on Sportsnet, author Rory Boylen asks whether the Flames will move Whitecloud.
Whitecloud's Experience Could Net Flames a Decent Trade Return
Based on his NHL statistics, Whitecloud will not be a team's most offensive defenseman, with a career-high of 19 points in 2021-22. But based on averages, his totals include five goals and 18 points; in 31 games with Calgary last season, he had no goals and 10 assists.
As a right-shot defenseman who averaged more than 18 minutes a night on one occasion with the Golden Knights in seven and a half seasons, Whitecloud had a chance to play more with the Flames, averaging more than four minutes per night at 22:40.
Right now, he's on Calgary's top pairing with Kevin Bahl, a 26-year-old, who is one of the few core skaters in the organization signed until the next decade. Moreover, Whitecloud is on the team's top penalty killing unit, along with veterans Mikael Backlund, Joel Farabee, and recently acquired Jacob Middleton.
When Whitecloud steps onto the ice for the Flames' season-opener, it will be his 400th NHL game. He's scored only 23 goals and 88 points with 188 penalty minutes.
Meanwhile, he's changing his on-ice role a bit, having recently set a career high of 140 blocked shots in 2025-26, surpassing his previous high of 115. Also, Whitecloud finished last year with 124 hits, the third consecutive season with at least 117 hits.
In a limited time with the Flames, Whitecloud assumed a leadership role, sporting the alternate captain letter for some games. Despite not being in the same class as Cale Makar or Zach Werenski, there's a market for Whitecloud to land with a contender, who needs a top-four defenseman that can play a variety of roles and brings 78 games of Stanley Cup playoff experience.
With two years remaining on his current deal at a modest $2.75 million, someone may come knocking on Craig Conroy's door to check on the defender's availability before opening night, sometime in the middle of winter, or in the hours leading up to the trade deadline. Whenever that call comes, it will be up to Conroy to have the answer on where Whitecloud fits into the organization's long-term plans and rebuild.
