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Eighteen years ago, the New York Yankees were a broken team. The clubhouse was divided into factions, ace Mike Mussina had just retired, a young generation of arms had floundered, and for the first time in more than a decade, the team spent October on the couch. It was, for fans who had grown up during the dynasty years, the franchise’s lowest point that they could remember.

Enter Carsten Charles “CC” Sabathia. Despite knowing the southpaw’s preference for the West Coast, the Bronx Bombers put on a full-court press to bring him aboard, ultimately inking him to a seven-year, $161-million contract. The rest, as they say, is history.

Carsten Charles “CC” Sabathia
Born: July 21, 1980 (Vallejo, CA)
Yankees Tenure: 2009-2019

Like many Hall of Famers, CC Sabathia was a dominant multi-sport athlete in his youth, helping lead his high school basketball team to a deep run for the California state championship, soliciting offers as a pass rusher and tight end from UCLA and the University of Hawaii, and earning second team all-American honors for his performance on the mound and at the plate. During his senior year, he signed a letter of intent to play baseball and football for Hawaii, but never made it to campus.

Selected with the 20th overall pick of the 1998 draft, Sabathia entered the Cleveland organization at just 17 years old, making him one of the youngest players in professional baseball. He never let that hold him back, however: he stormed through three levels of the minors in his age-18 season, and despite never tossing a single inning above Double-A, cracked the Opening Day roster in 2001. CC rewarded the Cleveland’s faith in him by finishing seventh in the AL in strikeouts (171), fourth in K/9 (8.53), and first in H/9 (7.44). More importantly, he established himself a reputation for coming up big in big spots, with manager Charlie Manuel saying at the time, “It seems like every time we need a big win, C.C. [sic] is standing on the mound and he gives it to us” — a reputation reinforced by his Game 3 victory in the ALDS. Unfortunately for him, he only finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year vote, behind future Yankees teammate Ichiro Suzuki, something Sabathia still jokes about today.

Sabathia spent the next five and a half seasons in Cleveland, winning the 2007 AL Cy Young Award and establishing himself as one of the game’s premier pitchers. Unfortunately for him, he was one of the team’s few bright spots in the period, and after failing to put together a winning team around him yet again, Cleveland ultimately traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers at the 2008 deadline for Matt LaPorta, Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson, and a player-to-be-named-later that would eventually become Michael Brantley.

While CC would only spend half a season in Milwaukee, he had such an impact that he earned a place in the Brewers’ Wall of Honor. In 17 starts — including three straight on short rest in September — he gave them 130.2 innings (more than seven innings per start), allowing just 24 runs. His seven complete games and three shutouts led the National League (and since his two Cleveland shutouts led the AL, he became the first pitcher in history to accomplish the feat) and earned him down-ballot votes for Cy Young. He was a major reason that the organization notched its first postseason berth since 1982, and even though he walked that winter, his time in Milwaukee has never been forgotten.

That winter, Brian Cashman and the Yankees pushed hard to bring Sabathia to the Bronx, leaving the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas to visit the lefty at his home in California. That show of commitment, plus a record-breaking contract, convinced Sabathia to abandon the West Coast and take his talents to 161st Street in the Bronx.

After a slow start to the 2009 season, Sabathia settled down to become the ace he was brought in to be. Most importantly, he put together one of the most dominant stretches of his career that October. The lead man of the Yankees’ three-man rotation (alongside A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte), Sabathia allowed just two runs in 6.2 innings in Game 1 of the ALDS, went eight innings in Games 1 and 4 of the ALCS to earn MVP honors, and shut down the Phillies lineup in Games 1 and 4 (even if Cliff Lee outdueled him in the first) as the Yankees won their 27th championship in franchise history.

While that ring did not spark another dynasty, that was no fault of Sabathia’s. Over the next few years, he was one of the most dependable arms in the sport, to such an extent that the Yankees negotiated a two-year extension with him in order to void his opt-out after the 2011 season — an extension announced, rather humorously, by Sabathia himself on Twitter.

Unfortunately, after the Yankees were crushed by the Detroit Tigers in the 2012 ALCS, the window of contention slammed shut. While Sabathia wasn’t the main reason the 2013 and 2014 teams were not good — that blame predominantly belongs to the collection of has-beens and never-weres filling out the lineup — he certainly did not help. After crash dieting in the winter of 2012-2013 after a cousin died from heart disease, Sabathia saw his fastball velocity drop to 91 mph, and in 2014, he underwent season-ending knee surgery to repair damage that was so bad it required multiple follow up surgeries.

When Sabathia returned to the mound the following year, it looked like more of the same, as he allowed opposing hitters to slash .297/.342/.484 in his first 24 starts. One knee brace later, though, and he suddenly became the CC of old: across his final five starts of the year, his ERA dropped to 2.17, and hitters slashed just .224/.320/.327. So long as the Yankees made it past the Astros in the Wild Card (alas, they did not), the combination of a hot Sabathia, a young Luis Severino, and an ace in Masahiro Tanaka gave the team the best postseason rotation they had in years.

Unfortunately, Sabathia had a more important battle to fight. On October 5, 2015, CC Sabathia issued the following statement through the Yankees:

I am looking forward to being out on the field with my team next season playing the game that brings me so much happiness.

“Today I am checking myself into an alcohol rehabilitation center to receive the professional care and assistance needed to treat my disease.

I love baseball and I love my teammates like brothers, and I am also fully aware that I am leaving at a time when we should all be coming together for one last push toward the World Series. It hurts me deeply to do this now, but I owe it to myself and to my family to get myself right. I want to take control of my disease, and I want to be a better man, father and player.

I want to thank the New York Yankees organization for their encouragement and understanding. Their support gives me great strength and has allowed me to move forward with this decision with a clear mind.

As difficult as this decision is to share publicly, I don’t want to run and hide. But for now please respect family’s need for privacy as we work through this challenge together.

Being an adult means being accountable. Being a baseball player means that others look up to you. I want my kids — and others who may have become fans of mine over the years — to know that I am not too big of a man to ask for help. I want to hold my head up high, have a full heart and be the type of person again that I can be proud of. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Since this day, Sabathia has spoken time and time again about his battle with alcoholism, emphasizing that admitting to himself that he had a drinking problem and needed help was a scarier proposition than pitching in the World Series, undergoing surgery, or anything else he had done in his life. He had battled with alcohol addiction for years, initially recognizing that it was a problem in 2012, but not truly understanding the need for help to get sober until he spent the weekend in Baltimore binge drinking in his hotel during the final series of the 2015 season.

Fresh out of rehab, Sabathia reinvented himself as a command pitcher who sought to generate soft contact rather than overpower pitchers with velocity. From 2016 to 2019, he was a reliable “five and fly” guy, who served as both a mentor to the young pitchers on the Yankees staff and as an enforcer (just ask the Tampa Bay Rays!). During that time, he was honored by Cleveland with a special invitation to the 2019 All-Star Game — the inspiration, I believe, for the commissioner’s Special Selections — and etched himself into baseball history by becoming the third southpaw to record 3000 strikeouts.

Every professional athlete talks about wanting to leave it all out on the field. For Sabathia, that was quite literally the case. Working out of the bullpen in Game 4 of the ALCS, Sabathia suffered a subluxation of the left shoulder. Unable to continue pitching and with tears in his eyes, CC walked off the mound one final time. As Aaron Judge would say after the game, “He got everything out of that arm.” At long last, his body — balking for years — had finally given out on him.

Since his retirement, Sabathia has not left the baseball world. He continued the podcast R2C2 with the YES Network’s Ryan Ruocco through 2023, joined the Commissioner’s Office in 2022, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame last July. Later this year, the Yankees faithful will get to see him immortalized in Monument Park, as his No. 52 will be officially retired. And as of last week, he is once again part of the Milwaukee Brewers family, as his son was selected by them in this year’s MLB Draft.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

When the Boston Red Sox fired Alex Cora back on April 25, the franchise looked to be on its way to being a seller at the MLB trade deadline.

Instead, in the blink of an eye, the Red Sox have turned around their season under interim manager Chad Tracy and look to be in a position to be buyers by the 6 p.m. ET deadline on Aug. 3.

That turnaround has been catalyzed by a historic and out-of-the-blue 14-game win streak.

MLB trade deadline predictions: Will these 12 players on the bubble stay or go?

Caleb Durbin hit a go-ahead home run over the Green Monster in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles on July 20 to give the Red Sox their second-longest win streak in franchise history.

The Red Sox are 22-5 in their last 27 games — which equals their best 27-game stretch achieved in 2018, the season that they won the World Series — and enter their Tuesday, July 22 game against the Orioles three games above .500 and six games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East standings.

So, with the Red Sox scorching hot, how far are Durbin, Wilson Contreras and Co. away from setting a new record for the longest win streak in franchise history? And how far away are they from tying (and breaking) the MLB record?

Here's what to know:

What the Guardians need, as we all know, is another left-handed hitter who lacks slugging. So, let’s talk about Luis Arraez.

You can view our larger trade deadline piece here as we discuss a wider pool of options the Guardians may consider. To make my position clear, I expect the Guardians to make smaller moves, like trading Bo Naylor and getting a castoff/undervalued reliever. But, in the interest of exploring potential larger moves, we are doing a series looking at some of those bigger names. So far, we have discussed Spencer Steer. Today, we look at San Francisco Giants’ All-Star Luis Arraez.

First, Arraez the player. He has a career 118 wRC+ and has a 125 wRC+ this season. Under Ron Washington’s tutelage, he has become a good defensive second baseman by OAA at +10, while remaining at -2 DRS. He has a career 93 wRC+ vs LHP and 126 wRC+ vs RHP. He puts the ball in play all the time as his 4.3% strikeout rate is an anachronism in today’s game as is his career .318 batting average. He is on a rental contract with the flailing Giants Who seem destined to trade him by August 3rd.

So how would Luis Arraez fit here? The Guardians are not likely to move Travis Bazzana off second base for Arraez, so he would likely come here to play first and DH. Arraez has a career 128 wRC+ in high leverage situations, and a 135 wRC+ with Men on Base, and a 125 wRC+ with Runners in Scoring Position. He has been an average first baseman by DRS at +2 and a poor one by OAA at -13, both career numbers. With Arraez only under control through the end of this season, the concept behind this trade would be to move away for at least the rest of this season from Kyle Manzardo and substitute a high batting average hitter who has performed well in the circumstances in which Manzardo has failed.

I do think there is potential that Cleveland may be salivating over the possibility of stacking a lineup with players like Arraez, Bazzana, Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter and Steven Kwan at the top of the order. All are effective at putting up lengthy at-bats. All make a lot of contact. The slugging issues on the team will remain, but they can hope to gain some slugging as their young players continue to gain comfort and Jose’s hand continues to strengthen after surgery.

Arraez is definitely not my top choice for a trade acquisition and I doubt he is Cleveland’s number one option. I suspect someone will pay more than the Guardians are willing to pay to get Arraez as a second baseman for the stretch run. But, I can imagine a scenario where the Guardians make a play for this throwback player. Again, I would not touch Angel Genao, Ralphy Velazquez, Braylon Doughty, Juneiker Caceres out of the prospects in the minor leagues. Perhaps San Francisco would be interested in fixing Manzardo, who would still be quite the overpay for two-three months of Arraez. But, I suspect some combination of Guardians prospects could make this work if Cleveland and San Francisco, who have connected a lot recently, are mutually interested.

A resulting lineup could be;

1. Kwan CF
2. Jose 3B
3. Arraez 1B
4. DeLauter RF
5. Hoskins DH
6. Bazzana 2B
7. Rocchio SS
8. Bailey C
9. Martinez LF

That is definitely an uncomfortable lineup for pitchers to face, even if still lacking thump. Let me know what you think in the comments below about a potential trade for Luis Arraez!

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A big slate Tuesday brings a ton of opportunities to the table, and tonight's MLB moneyline predictions are no exception. 

I believe the Nationals and Reds are both longer than they should be on the road this evening.

Let's dive into the full slate with my MLB picks for July 21!

MLB moneyline picks for July 21

Matchup	Pick
Twins vs Guardians	-135
Dodgers vs Phillies	+120
Pirates vs Yankees	+135
Rays vs Blue Jays	+104
Orioles vs Red Sox	-130
Padres vs Braves	-130
Giants vs Royals	+102
Mets vs Brewers	-133
Tigers vs Cubs	+106
White Sox vs Rangers	-120
Marlins vs Astros	-115
Nationals vs Rockies	-102
Cardinals vs Angels	-102
Athletics vs Diamondbacks	-130
Reds vs Mariners	+102

Prices courtesy of Polymarket as of 7-21.

Expert MLB moneyline picks for July 21

Twins vs Guardians: Guardians (-135)

Guardians win probability: 57%

One of the biggest bright spots in the Guardians' rotation has been left-hander Parker Messick, who owns a 1.50 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over his last three outings. Overall, he has posted a 3.09 ERA at home.

Minnesota's offense has been hot lately, but it has not fared well against left-handed pitching this season, posting just a 96 wRC+ and .131 ISO.

Death. Taxes. Messick masterclass incoming.

Dodgers vs Phillies: Dodgers (+120)

Dodgers win probability: 46%

I said it yesterday, and I'll say it again today: When is the next time you'll be able to get the Dodgers at this price as an underdog?

After the Phillies hung a 10-spot on them last night, I fully expect the Monstars of L.A. to bounce back and get the win in Game 2.

Pirates vs Yankees: Pirates (+135)

Pirates win probability: 42%

Sure, Bubba Chandler has struggled over his last few starts, but the Pirates offense has been on fire lately, posting a 145 wRC+, .374 wOBA, and .223 ISO over its last six games.

The Yankees offense has finally woken up over its last few outings, but I still do not trust it, and I have no interest in laying juice with such an inconsistent lineup.

No Judge, no trust.

Rays vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays (+104)

Blue Jays win probability: 49%

I am not able to ignore Drew Rasmussen's 12.38 ERA and 1.88 WHIP over his last three starts. I like the Blue Jays at home tonight.

With both offenses being pretty cold over the last week or so, I think this game is up for grabs. Plus, with Rasmussen allowing hitters to do whatever they want lately, the Blue Jays' bats should come alive.

Orioles vs Red Sox: Red Sox (-130)

Red Sox win probability: 56%

I want to see 15 straight wins. We all do.

I also want no part of stepping in front of this freight train. Boston has been the hottest team in baseball all month long, so why would I get in the way of it?

Ranger Suarez is on the bump, taking on an Orioles team that has struggled against left-handed pitching. We saw it again last night against Payton Tolle.

Padres vs Braves: Braves (-130)

Braves win probability: 56%

It is the Braves or nothing for me. Walker Buehler owns a 16.36 ERA and 2.36 WHIP over his last three starts.

The Braves have started to heat up over their last 21 games, and with how bad Buehler has been lately, I want no part of backing the Padres.

Giants vs Royals: Royals (+102)

Royals win probability: 50%

Just give me the underdog.

Both offenses have been brutal, and both starters have been struggling lately. In a game that feels like a coin-flip, I'll gladly take the plus money.

Mets vs Brewers: Brewers (-133)

Brewers win probability: 57%

The Mets have posted just a 90 wRC+, .296 wOBA, .660 OPS, and .145 ISO over their last six games, while the Brewers have been the much better offense.

Brewers right-hander Brandon Sproat has hit a few speed bumps over his last couple of outings, but I still think he is good enough to keep this cold Mets offense in check.

Tigers vs Cubs: Tigers (+106)

Tigers win probability: 48%

We are letting David Peterson be a favorite?

He owns an 8.44 ERA, 6.16 xERA, and 1.64 WHIP over his last five starts. After how hot the Tigers' bats were against Jameson Taillon, I think it carries over against yet another awful arm.

White Sox vs Rangers: Rangers (-120)

Rangers win probability: 55%

After any team puts up double-digit runs, I want to fade them in their very next game. It is hard to replicate that much success on back-to-back days.

Plus, Noah Schultz has posted a 6.46 ERA over his last five outings.

Marlins vs Astros: Astros (-115)

Astros win probability: 54%

After a red-hot June and part of July, the Marlins have gone cold. Over their last six games, they own a 65 wRC+, .117 ISO, and .578 OPS.

Tyler Phillips has been no better, posting a 7.07 xERA and 1.93 WHIP over his last three starts.

Sure, Tatsuya Imai has been hit-or-miss, but he has maintained a 27% strikeout rate all year, and the Marlins are a swing-happy offense right now.

Nationals vs Rockies: Nationals (-102)

Nationals win probability: 50%

Sure, Miles Mikolas is horrible, but so is Michael Lorenzen.

The Nationals' bats have been on fire all month long, and I want no part of getting in the way of this explosive lineup. Over their last 21 games, they own a 138 wRC+, .367 wOBA, and .841 OPS.

Cardinals vs Angels: Cardinals (-102)

Cardinals win probability: 51%

With Matthew Liberatore shoving in his last three starts, I want to ride that wagon until it collapses.

Plus, I think he will continue to roll, as the Angels have posted just an 88 wRC+, .293 wOBA, and .081 ISO over their last six games. The Angels are frozen solid.

Athletics vs Diamondbacks: Diamondbacks (-130)

Diamondbacks win probability: 56%

The Diamondbacks' offense is finally starting to heat up. Over their last six games, they own a 113 wRC+, .336 wOBA, and .202 ISO.

The Athletics are still dealing with their offensive struggles while sending Jack Perkins to the bump this evening, who owns a 9.26 ERA over his last three starts.

Reds vs Mariners: Reds (+102)

Reds win probability: 50%

Getting the Reds at plus money when they are on fire, while the Mariners have been one of the coldest offenses in baseball over the last month, is exactly where I want the value.

Chase Burns has hit a cold streak, but with how swing-happy the Mariners can be, I think he will be able to settle in and be very sustainable this evening.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

His go-to coffee order is a vanilla latte. He prefers to stick close to the team hotel during road trips rather than exploring the city. His walk-in outfit, as captured by team photographers, is usually joggers and a plain t-shirt. You could, fairly, call it boring; Cole Young prefers to call it keeping things simple.

It’s that simple mindset that’s driving a successful season for the second-year Mariner. After carrying his spring training success into a strong first month of the season (126 wRC+), May was a tough month for Young, who saw his wRC+ crater to 66. Looking at the numbers, nothing really jumps out to explain why May was such a slog for the sophomore. He was walking a little less (8.8% down to 7.2%), but still striking out at about the same rate (20-21%). His hit distribution remained almost equal: half to the pull side, a third up the middle, and the rest oppo, so he wasn’t changing his approach drastically or selling out for power, despite a slight (2%) uptick in pull hits. The opposite, actually: the biggest difference was a spike in him putting the ball on the ground more (30% to 45%) and a subsequent loss in hard contact and line drives. In May, an awful lot of Cole Young at-bats ended like this:

But in June, Young’s line drive contact rebounded to where it was in March/April, and his hard contact along with it – back to the exact same mark, 32.6%. He stopped pulling the ball as much, but more importantly, stopped pulling the ball on the ground so much, leading to more hits and fewer 4-3 ground ball putouts. Even more interestingly, he basically stopped striking out. His K% fell to 9%, and in turn, his average jumped by a hundred points from where it was in May – from sub-Mendoza-line to All-Star.

What changed? According to Young, not much other than simplifying his approach even more. During the nadir of his struggles in May and well into June, Young was frequently spotted working with hitting coordinator Edgar Martinez. Edgar helped Young work extensively on his setup, making sure his hands were ready to fire so he could be on time for the fastball and do the damage we’ve seen lately. Around late June, you can see a clear change where he streamlines his approach, synchronizing lifting the bat off his shoulder with lifting his front foot. From June 23 on – the start of the roadtrip to Pittsburgh/Cleveland, where Young was often a lone bright spot in a rough sea – he’s been running a 140 wRC+, slashing .257/.297/.557.

Maybe it’s fitting that Young has found such a mentor in Edgar, who built a Hall of Fame career out of not overcomplicating things: see the ball, hit the ball.

“It’s huge to have him,” said Young about working with Edgar. “He’s so knowledgeable, and I’m so grateful that he’s in the cages every single day. He’s been through everything that you can think of in the game of baseball, so it’s great to have him every single day and just pick his brain. When times are going tough, it’s always nice to have someone to talk to, to help you get through those, and he’s been such a great help. It’s awesome.”

“I feel like struggles in a season are inevitable. Like, it’s going to happen, and the biggest thing is just learning from the struggles, and not trying to let the struggles keep going on and on, really just learning from those and making adjustments on the fly.”

Appropriately enough for someone who values the gift of simplicity, that change might have made a significant difference. Here’s Young’s setup back in late April. Pre-pitch, he goes from bat on shoulder, to bat straight up, to bat back on shoulder before the pitcher has even released the ball, at which point he goes through the sequence again, this time cocking his bat back in sync with his leg kick. (You can also see this “busy bat” in the clip above.)

And here’s his homer from Sunday. The setup is much simpler: the bat is on his shoulder, goes up when the pitcher is about to release the ball, cocks back in sync with his leg kick, and then he swings through.

To isolate it down to a moment, you can clearly see the difference in Young’s setup at the point where the pitch arrives. Earlier in the season, his foot is already down from his leg kick, already transferring energy and firing his hips, which are more closed off at the point of impact. Recently, though, by syncing up his leg kick and where he starts his swing path, he’s slightly more open and in a better position to attack the pitch and do damage. Most importantly, he still has all that potential energy in his front leg to put down and drive through his swing. That slight change allows him to get a little more loft on his swing while still driving the ball with authority.

He still got a really good swing on the pitch on the left – a four-seamer at 98 mph that he hit hard, 102 mph – that went for a deep double that would have been out at three parks. The homer he hit on Sunday, by contrast, came on a first-pitch changeup, but Young absolutely crushed the pitch, at 104 mph. It was his second hit of the day and he crushed the other one as well, a single at 101.3 mph, and his second homer of the series.

Quietly, Cole Young has been one of the Mariners’ steadiest producers, maybe a 1A to Randy Arozarena’s turn as first-half MVP given his defensive contributions and his ability to contribute every day. Young is one of six players to have played all 101 games so far this season, and the names he shares the list with are impressive: Bryce Harper, Pete Alonso, Bryan Reynolds, James Wood, and Xavier Edwards, all integral face-of-the-franchise types for their respective teams.

Manager Dan Wilson attributes Young’s success – in the box, in the field, and in his ability to post every day – to the work Cole put in during the off-season, work that started showing up immediately during spring training and hasn’t dipped since. Even when Young was struggling offensively in May, his glove carried him, the anchor of an infield that’s gone through injuries and inconsistencies.

“I know we’re 100 games into this, but if you go back to the off-season and talk about the preparation that he put into this season, he’s ready for this. He’s ready to be that guy,” said Wilson. “He’s ready to be there as much as we put him in there. And there may come a day where he needs a break. There may come a day where he needs a mental day. There may come a day where he needs a physical day. But right now what he has done, his consistency, is all due to the fact that he put the work in. He took advantage of the off-season, and he’s turned himself into a great player, and a very consistent player. That’s all due to his hard work.”

In 1995, the French chef Jacques Pépin taught America how to make an omelette on San Francisco public television in a now-foodie-famous segment and casually let slip that the humble omelette was the way he assessed the technical skill of a chef. Eggs, butter, some fresh herbs: basic ingredients alchemized into something greater than the sum of its parts in the hands of an expert. The perfect omelette, the most perfect foods, Pépin says, is not about fancy ingredients, but about perfect technique: consistent, controlled, classic. Simple. Not boring.

After struggling through April, Gabe Speier took a trip to the Injured List to let a little inflammation in his shoulder subside. What’s happened since then is a puzzle: His stuff looks better than ever, but while his ERA is a gorgeous 2.05, his xERA, FIP, and SIERA are at all-time highs for his Mariners career.

Despite having a down year overall, the April part is easy to dismiss as having been affected by his injury. Those who are obsessed with a single idea will try to blame this on Speier’s time in the World Baseball Classic this spring, but he dismisses that, saying, “I felt really good in spring. I felt really good in the WBC.”

Personally, I was more concerned by the “impulsive” haircut he got just before the season started. His traditional look calls to mind a Waffle House line cook, holding the whole restaurant together, punching every ticket, desperate to get his ten so he can smoke a cigarette. It’s the perfect lefty reliever energy.

The haircut cleaned him up, like someone who’d recently joined the military. It clashed, and I think the bad April results were downstream of that.

Since coming back from the IL, as his hair has grown out, his power’s coming back with it. It’s just not leading to as good of results as you’d expect.

Over parts of seven seasons, Speier had never had a month in which his average fastball topped 96 mph. Until now. In his first game back from the IL, on May 26, he was at 94.4, which is in line with his career norms. But then the next game was up to 95.3. Then 95.8. It kept climbing so that by June 21, he was at 97.8 mph, including throwing the two fastest pitches of his career. Nine of his ten fastest pitches ever have come in the past four weeks. His sinker hasn’t gotten quite that obscene, but it too is coming in hotter than it ever has.

While velo’s always a paramount goal, Speier says this wasn’t something he was working on specifically and seemed as surprised as anyone: “Mostly just feeling good, I’d say.”

Velo matters for everyone, but we’ve seen the difference it can make for Speier in particular. The difference between his breakout 2023 and his stepback 2024 was the difference between 95 and 93. The primary cause there was health. But the velo was the first step down the causal chain, and then the results. Seeing him at 96 tantalizes, even if the results haven’t shown up yet.

But it’s odd that he hasn’t been able to harness his new velocity into better results. Despite the extra tick, he hasn’t been as dominant as you’d expect, striking out just 16.7% of batters while walking 9.3% since returning from the IL.

One possibility is that the Mariners aren’t taking the best advantage of that velocity, dialing his four-seamer usage back from last year when it worked so well despite being slower.

Making a change isn’t that odd for Speier. For a three-pitch pitcher, he’s evolved more than you’d think. In his first conversation with the Mariners after getting picked up in November 2022, Pete Woodworth immediately suggested throwing his sinker to lefties more. It was a major change that fueled his breakout season. In 2025, his plan shifted, increasing his four-seamer usage to (successfully) try to detonate the platoon disadvantage against righties.

He’s always used both fastballs, which he knows is important since each is better for playing off the other. But at this point, he’s less involved in the strategy and happy just to trust his catchers. “I honestly rely on my catcher and what they’re calling,” he said. “I don’t really second-guess what they’re putting down.” Watch him on the mound, and try to count how many times he shakes off catcher. It’s one of the benefits of the high-leverage role he’s worked himself into: “They’ve run through the lineup a few times by the time I get out there.”

What they’re calling these days is close to an equal distribution. Each of his four-seamer, sinker, and slider are coming in between 29% and 39% of the time. Perhaps pushing the four-seamer button a little more will help.

But maybe the pitch mix they’re calling for suggests that the team isn’t worried. There’s reason to think they’re right. The two keys I’m always watching for Gabe, his chase rate and first-pitch-strike rate are worse this year too, but not by as much as his strikeouts and walks. They’re about halfway between his bad 2024 and his excellent 2025. So maybe the team is betting that his success is lurking underneath the surface and keeping his pitches in equal balance will help tip hitters off balance.

I’m betting he’s going to get better regardless of the pitch mix. The velo is the first-order change, so the results should follow, but I’d definitely put more money on that bet if they started calling for the four-seamer more too. It’s not a sure thing, but I’m buoyed by the fact that his hair continues to grow as well.

MJ Melendez

Week: 3 G, 13 AB, .538/.571/1.231, 7 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 1 BB, 2 K, 0/0 SB (Triple-A)

2026 Season: 27 G, 97 AB, .278/.358/.660, 5 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 12 BB, 26 K, 1/3 SB, .279 (Triple-A) / 56 G, 120 AB, .192/.315/.350, 23 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 17 BB, 50 K, 0/1 SB, .284 BABIP (MLB)

It was an abbreviated week this past week because of the all-star break, but MJ Melendez had a week that would have been a candidate for Player of the Week over the course of a normal six-game week, logging two consecutive three-hit games and launching three home runs.

In 12 games with Syracuse in July, MJ Melendez is hitting .341/.431/.864 with 7 home runs. On one hand, that shows how out of whack the International League hitting environment is, but that aside, it also highlights that Melendez is a solid player to have around. Sure, in 56 games/120 at-bats with the Mets, he hit .192/.315/.350, but in the coming weeks, as the Mets begin trading the handful of assets that they do have, a theoretical opening for playing time at the major league level could open for, among others, Melendez.

Should the former Royals top prospect find himself in Queens once again, however that gets finagled, do I think that he’d all of a sudden become a world beater? While all things are possible, probably not. I don’t even know if he’d be viable at all, as he wasn’t in the 120 at-bats he had earlier in the season. With the rest of the 2026 season highly unlikely to be relevant and compelling baseball- especially if the Mets complete trades such that a player like Melendez begins seeing more regular playing time- it would be as fine a time as ever to take stock in the assets the team already has and the assets it could use in 2027 (and beyond).

Noah Hall

Week: 1 G (1 GS), 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (High-A)

2026 Season: 18 G (15 GS), 82.1 IP, 74 H, 48 R, 44 ER (4.81 ERA), 59 BB, 86 K, .307 BABIP (High-A)

Noah Hall was a college senior drafted in the 7th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of South Carolina, where he pitched for his junior and senior seasons to fair results after transferring from Appalachian State University; in both years combined, he had a cumulative 3.99 ERA in 117.2 innings, allowing 113 hits, walking 40, and striking out 121. He appeared in a handful of games for the St. Lucie Mets and the Brooklyn Cyclones at the end of that summer, and then appeared in a few more in the Arizona Fall League, but his career began in earnest in 2025. He spent the entire year in Coney Island and posted a 2.72 ERA in 112.2 innings over 21 starts and 4 additional appearances. He allowed 80 hits, walked 63, and struck out 115. A bit surprisingly, when the 2026 season began, the 25-year-old was not given a promotion and began the season with the Cyclones for a second straight season. He has been pitching there ever since, and unfortunately has been much less effective, posting a 4.81 ERA in 82.1 innings with 74 hits allowed, 44 walks, and 86 punch outs.

The 6’0”, 195-pound right-hander has a unique pre-delivery delivery quirk that he performs only when bases are empty, lifting his lead foot up and tapping the ground with his toe before transitioning into his windup’s leg lift. He drops and drives off the mound with good extension, throwing from a low-three-quarters, virtually sidearm, arm slot with a long arm action through the back. It is partially because of this slingy delivery that Hall does not have the best control and command, with a cumulative 14.4% BB%, but the tough angle also helps with his groundout rate and strikeout rate.

Hall is primarily a fastball-changeup pitcher, occasionally mixing in a slider. His fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s, sitting in the lower spectrum of that range and topping out at the higher end. The pitch has a bit of arm-side life to it, partially thanks to Hall’s arm slot and partially because of the pitch’s active spin and seam orientation.

He complements it with a changeup, one of the best in the Mets minor league system currently. The pitch sits in the low-to-mid-80s, giving it roughly 10 MPH of velocity separation between it and his fastball. Like his fastball, thanks to a combination of his arm slot and the pitch’s active spin and seam orientation, the pitch has heavy arm-side fade and sharp vertical tumble.

Rounding out his arsenal is his slider. The pitch is far less refined than his changeup, but is a fringe-average offering in its own right. It is at its best when he throws it a bit harder, with more spin, tightening it up more and giving it sharper horizontal slice and harder vertical break. When the pitch is thrown slower, it gets slurvier and looser and features loopier horizontal and vertical break.

The right-hander is experiencing a sharp increase in flyballs this season. In 2025, he had a 49.3% groundball rate, 23.6 line drive rate, and 27.1% flyball rate, but this season, he currently has a 41.7% groundball rate, 20.4% line drive rate, and a 38% flyball rate. His groundball rate has decreased by roughly 10% while his flyball rate has increased roughly 10%. His HR/FB% has only slightly increased at this point, likely helped by home-run dampening stadiums in the South Atlantic League, but as evidenced by a BABIP nearly .40 points higher as compared to 2025 and an opponent batting average nearly .40 points higher, more balls are landing for hits.

Players of the Week 2026

Week One/Two (March 27-April 5): Hayden Senger/Cam Tilly

Week Three (April 7-April 12): A.J. Ewing/Christian Scott

Week Four (April 14-April 18): Randy Guzman/Jose Chirinos

Week Five (April 21-April 26): A.J. Ewing/Channing Austin

Week Six (April 30-May 3): A.J. Ewing/Jonah Tong

Week Seven (May 5-May 10): Ryan Clifford/Jonathan Santucci

Week Eight: (May 12-May 17): Jacob Reimer/Zach Thornton

Week Nine: (May 19-May 24): Ryan Clifford/Channing Austin

Week Ten: (May 26-May 31): Ryan Clifford/Jose Chirinos

Week Eleven: (June 2-June 7): Vincent Perozo/Frank Camarillo

Week Twelve: (June 9-June 14): JT Benson/Nick Carreno

Week Thirteen (June 16-June 21): Nick Morabito/Jonathan Santucci

Week Fourteen (June 23-June 28): JT Benson/Daviel Hurtado

Week Fifteen: (June 30-July 5): MJ Melendez/Daviel Hurtado

Week Sixteen: (July 7-July 12): Daiverson Gutierrez/Jonathan Santucci