Worldwide Sports News

Go Rays!

Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:

Here’s the Marlins’ lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

The Texas Rangers have placed righthanded pitcher Chris Martin on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement, the team announced today. To take his place on the active roster, the Rangers have recalled righthanded reliever Emiliano Teodo.

This is the third trip to the injured list this season for the 40 year old Martin, and its possible he will not be activated again. Martin, who planned to retire after 2025 but opted to return for one more season, has a 9.00 ERA in 14 innings over 16 appearances this season, and has battled a shoulder issue throughout. It would be great if rest and rehab can get him back to being a semblance of the pitcher he was previously, the reality is that he may simply be done.

To replace him the Rangers are turning to righthanded flame thrower Emiliano Teodo. Teodo can reach 100 mph on the radar gun, but has had a challenging relationship with the strike zone in his career. It was hoped that he would be able to step up in 2025 and be a meaningful part of the Rangers’ bullpen, but he instead had an awful year plagued by injury and ineffectiveness.

Teodo is up now less because he’s shown he’s ready and more because the Rangers need arms and their options are limited. He has a 3.76 ERA in 40.2 innings over 35 games, with 35 walks, 8 hit batters, and 10 wild pitches to go with 52 strikeouts. He’s allowed just 4 earned runs in 15.2 IP since the beginning of June, but has walked 16 batters in those 15.2 innings. He’s also struck out 16 batters in those 15.2 innings, but having a 1:1 K:BB ratio isn’t generally a good thing for a pitcher.

It was a back-to-back, strong-armed outfielders move from the White Sox in the seventh round, nabbing Clay Burdette from Xavier University with the No. 195 pick in the 2026 MLB draft.

Just three years ago, Burdette was regarded as one of the three best shortstops in Ohio, but blossomed as a right fielder after a transfer from Ohio State to Xavier. Ranked No. 248 on MLB’s board, the White Sox had fears that Burdette would be gone by their eighth-round pick and nabbed him despite his lower overall rank.

It’s not immediately apparent why Burdette was so slightly regarded in the MLB rankings. He boasts a strong arm for right field and the speed to see time in center. Burdette also has a proven combination of raw power and top-notch bat speed, with exit velocities among the best in Division I.

Playing in a more minor conference, as the Big East is regarded in baseball, Burdette doesn’t have a big track record of plate appearances against top-notch pitching. He also has some selectivity and swing-and-miss issues that could rear up, with 50 Ks in 2026 against just 23 walks.

For you Xavier fans, Burdette’s selection in the seventh round makes him the highest-drafted Musketeers position player ever.

On the surface, Burdette kills it with his scouting ratings, particularly for an seventh-rounder, with his running ability leading the way at 60. But a hit tool of 40 drags his overall evaluation down to 40. Seems like a chip Burdette needs to put on his shoulder.

Expect Burdette to hit the ground running and get some time in a Kannapolis later this summer, as a player who’s been overlooked of late trying to prove his mettle.

The 2026 White Sox draft storystream contains all of our draft content.

The Mariners will play today to try to avoid going 0-6 on this road trip and being swept into the All-Star Break. Honestly? Things don’t feel great.

Lineups:

Dear Rays, you are in first place, I know things are tight around there with the stadium and all but surely you can make a gameday lineup graphic.

News:

Can you tell from the tone here Shannon is over it?

Today’s game information:

Game time: 10:40 PT

TV: Mariners TV

Radio: Old Reliable

Programming note: It’s also the MLB Draft and ALSO the Futures Game today, because MLB remain unable to market their product nor its future. You can find separate threads for those events on the site.

The Yankees’ fight back in the first two games of this series has been nothing short of admirable. They overturned late two-run deficits on both days, scoring three runs in the ninth in the opener and four in the eighth yesterday. The home runs are starting to fly again against a Nats bullpen that is seriously holding the rest of its team back. The Yankees are hoping to close out their first half in the best way possible: with a sweep.

Will Warren will have to be miles better than his last time out against the Rays, when he coughed up six runs on three home runs in four innings. The league is starting to figure out his fastball and he needs to find a way to vary his pitch mix more. I am surprised he has barely thrown the changeup and curveball given the above-average raw characteristics of each pitch — perhaps they can help him become less predictable. In 18 starts, Warren in 7-4 with a 4.15 ERA (101 ERA+), 3.96 FIP, and 94 strikeouts in 93.1 innings.

Cade Cavalli was the hot-head pitcher involved in the bases-clearing brawl with Willson Contreras and the Red Sox last week, making his first start after serving his five-game suspension for his inflammatory remarks. The former top pitching prospect for the Nationals, Cavalli missed all of the 2023 and 2024 seasons to Tommy John surgery. He has faced the Yankees once and it was by far the worst start of his major league career — eight runs on eight hits including four home runs in 2.1 innings at the end of last August. He’s a different pitcher this year with a four-seamer that averages 97 and tops out at 100 and a knuckle curve that’s gotten whiffs on almost 40-percent of swings. In 19 starts, Cavalli is 5-4 with a 3.88 ERA (110 ERA+), 3.35 FIP, and 105 strikeouts in 92.2 innings.

The Yankees make several changes to the lineups that have faced lefty openers in the last two games. Austin Wells celebrates his 27th birthday with a return to the lineup after homering in two of his last three appearances. Ryan McMahon’s bat is heating up and his glove at third is a welcome return following Amed Rosario’s mishaps. José Caballero replaces Anthony Vople at shortstop. Max Schuemann comes in to play right, moving Jasson Domínguez to DH to give Paul Goldschmidt a day off.

The Yankees haven’t shown they can handle superstar James Wood — 3-for-5 with a home run in each of the first two games — so it’s a matter of silencing the rest of the Nationals lineup. They also make a handful of changes from the starting nine yesterday. Abimelec Ortiz plays DH, moving Luis García Jr. to first and Curtis Mead to the bench. Keibert Ruiz starts over Drew Millas behind the plate while José Tena replaces Nasim Nuñez at second.

How to watch

Location: Nationals Park – Washington, DC

First pitch: 1:35 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, Nationals.TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | WJFK 106.7 The Fan (WSN)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Day two of the 2026 MLB Draft: The Texas Rangers will be selecting sixteen players today, in Rounds 5 through 20. We will be updating through the day as each selection is made.

As a reminder, if a team selects a player in the first ten rounds, but doesn’t sign the player, they lose the bonus pool money referable to that pick. Thus, the players in the first ten rounds are almost certainly going to sign, and players taken in the back half of the first round are often less-heralded players who will sign for less than the slot value, which allows teams to apply the savings elsewhere (such as, in the case of the Rangers, Brody Bumila, their third round pick who has indicated he’s been offered first round money).

Players taken after the tenth round are less likely to be signed, since a team doesn’t lose any of their bonus pool money if they don’t sign those players. A player taken after the tenth round can sign for up to $150,000 without it counting towards the bonus pool.

5th Round— Michael Anderson Jr., DH/RHP, Penn State.

Ranked #263 on the Baseball America top 500, Anderson is a 6’3”, 230 lb. righthanded hitting and throwing senior who spent two years playing for Rhode Island, then transferred to Arkansas, where he went 0 for 8 in four games. He transferred from Arkansas to Penn State for his senior season, slashing .358/.470/.742 in 232 plate appearances with 20 homers, 23 walks and 30 Ks. He has big power and bat speed, but there are concerns about his ability to make contact and his tendency to chase. Anderson is slow and while he’s played first base in the past, he was just a DH for Penn State this year.

Anderson was announced as a two way player, and pitched in 8 games (8.2 IP) as a freshman for Rhode Island, as well as appearing in two games for Penn State. He’s hit 97 mph on the mound, and when he was in the transfer portal there were some who thought he had more potential on the mound than as a hitter. He presumably will get a chance to work out of the bullpen as well as hitting.

6th Round — Aidan Brainard, RHP, University of Nevada

Brainard is a 6’3”, 210 lb. righthanded senior who played for Northeast Community College in Nebraska and then Regis University in Denver before spending his senior season at Nevada-Reno. Between his junior year at Regis and his senior year at Nevada he put up a 6.77 ERA in 115.2 IP, striking out 125, walking 71, and hitting 22. It would appear that control is something he needs to work on.

Here’s an article about Brainard from Nevada Sports Net. I also noticed he went to high school at Columbine High in Colorado, giving him something in common with Rangers first rounder Gio Rojas.

7th Round — Caden Aoki, RHP, University of Georgia

Aoki is a 6’0”, 185 lb. righthanded throwing pitcher for the University of Georgia. He just finished his fifth year of college ball, having appeared in four games for Notre Dame as a freshman, then been part of the USC starting rotation for three years before transferring to Georgia for his fifth season. In 9 starts and 11 relief appearances for the Bulldogs he logged 86 innings, striking out 110 and walking 27, though also allowing 14 homers.

Here’s a “three things to know” piece from the Athens Banner-Herald about Aoki, who turns 24 later this year. It would appear he has no eligibility remaining, which means he’s almost certainly signing for somewhere in the $10-25K range. He also has a sweet mustache:

8th Round — Kolby Branch, SS, University of Georgia

Branch is a 23 year old, 5’11”, 202 lb. righthanded hitting infielder born in Allen, Texas, who graduated from Lovejoy High School and spent his freshman year at Baylor before transferring to Georgia, where he just finished his senior year. I guess the Rangers are buying Bulldogs in bulk. Branch was #43 on the BA top 100 senior sign list. 5th round pick Anderson, as a point of reference, was #4.

As a senior he slashed .291/.394/.628 in 234 plate appearances, with a whopping 72 Ks and 40 walks. For his college career, he has a .296/.397/.555 slash line.

9th Round — Kaden Carpenter, OF, Utah Valley State

Carpenter is a 6’4”, 225 lb. left handed hitting and throwing outfielder from Provo, Utah, who spent his first three years as a starter for Utah before transferring to Utah Valley State for his senior season. He’s #48 on the BA list of the top senior signs. I’m a big fan of his song “Rainy Days and Mondays.”

Carpenter had his best season as a senior, slashing .338/.467/.706 with 17 homers, 44 walks and 58 Ks in 255 plate appearances. Of course, he also was playing in the WAC, rather than the Pac 12 and then Big 12. His career slash line in college was .308/.421/.554.

10th Round — Evan Morrison, SS, Grand Valley State

Morrison is a 5’11”, 200 lb. lefthanded hitting shortstop who turned 23 in April. He’s from Ontario and was at the University of Waterloo, then McPherson College in Kansas, and then, for the past two seasons, at Grand Valley State, part of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which includes such powerhouses as Davenport, Wayne State, and Wisconsin-Parkside.

As a senior, Morrison slashed .410/.476/.590 with, according to B-R, 28 walks against 7 strikeouts in 288 plate appearances, and was 27 for 35 on stolen base attempts. He’s also pitched in the past. He did not make the B-R top 100 senior sign list, and is probably a guy getting a $10K signing bonus and who will be plugged in to play whatever position is needed wherever they need somebody.

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The MLB All-Star Game festivities kick off at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, on Monday, July 13 with the 2026 Home Run Derby.

Kyle Schwarber (+378) tops the field of eight in the MLB odds, but he has company in the form of Junior Caminero (+426). 

Let's dive deeper into the 2026 Home Run Derby odds.

Odds to win the 2026 Home Run Derby

Player	2026 HRs
Kyle Schwarber	32	+378
Junior Caminero	28	+426
Munataka Murakami	20	+525
Jordan Walker	22	+641
Jac Caglianone	15	+669
Bryce Harper	20	+817
Ben Rice	29	+1011
Willson Contreras	20	+1415

Odds as of 7-12.

2026 MLB Home Run Derby field and favorites

Kyle Schwarber currently holds the lead in the season-long home-run race, so it makes sense that he's favored in this competition, especially in his home stadium. Ben Rice is his next-closest competitor, yet he sits second from the bottom in this market.

Junior Caminero is in close pursuit following a recent power surge that saw him hit 11 dingers between June 23 and July 4. He was the Home Run Derby runner-up to Cal Raleigh in 2025.

Munataka Murakami would probably have more homers by now but for a multi-week injury. He is one to watch for on Monday night.

2026 MLB Home Run Derby rules

The Home Run Derby timer that's been in place since 2015 has been abolished, and a new format has been put in place. Here's a quick breakdown of how it works:

• Round 1: 20 swings for each batter.
• Round 2 & Finals: 15 swings for each batter.
• Each swing, homer or not, counts. There are no "outs."
• If a player homers on his final swing in any round, he may keep going until he does not homer.
• No bonus rounds.
• No "bracket" for the first round.
• Tiebreakers: home run distance in Round 1, three-swing "swing-offs" in Rounds 2 & Finals.

Recent Home Run Derby winners

Year	Winner
2025	Cal Raleigh
2024	Teoscar Hernandez
2023	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2022	Juan Soto
2021	Pete Alonso
2020	Canceled - COVID-19
2019	Pete Alonso
2018	Bryce Harper
2017	Aaron Judge
2016	Giancarlo Stanton

Popular MLB futures markets

• MLB World Series odds
• MLB Cy Young odds
• MLB Rookie of the Year odds
• MLB playoff odds
• MLB HR title odds

Home Run Derby trends

• Only six players have won the Home Run Derby and recorded the most home runs in the regular season in the same year.
• The Home Run Derby title has been shared by two players twice in the event’s history (1986, 1989).
• Ken Griffey Jr., Yoenis Cespedes, and Pete Alonso are the only players to defend their Home Run Derby title in back-to-back years successfully.

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.

After back to back bullpen meltdowns, the Nats look to get off the mat yet again and try to avoid the sweep. Staying above .500 going into the All-Star Break feels big for the morale of this team. On paper, this pitching matchup should be favorable as well.

The Nats are going with a lefty heavy lineup against righty Will Warren who historically has lefty issues. Dylan Crews is the only true righty in the lineup. Abimelec Ortiz will be making his MLB debut and hitting third. Jose Tena will be in the field today at second base. Jorbit Vivas will get the start over Curtis Mead and Keibert Ruiz will be behind the plate. Cade Cavalli is back from suspension and gets the start today.

The Yankees are making a couple changes as well. Trent Grisham will move up to the leadoff spot with a righty on the mound. Ryan McMahon will start at third base and Jose Caballaro will be at short. Max Schuemann will start in right field and Austin Wells is back behind the plate. As mentioned, Will Warren is on the mound.

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 1:35 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

This is a big game as we enter the break. The difference between being over and under .500 is massive. To prevent a sell off, this team needs to get off the mat and perform. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.

With the 112th pick in the 2026 MLB Draft the Atlanta Braves have selected Wisconsin prep right hander Tyson Grulkowski. Grulkowski is a cold weather arm with a mix of frame and stuff where he is an intriguing add for the Braves system.

Bio

Name: Tyson Grulkowski

Position: Right Handed Pitcher

Hometown: Muskego, WI (Muskego HS)

School: South Florida

Height: 6’5

Weight: 225

Bats/Throws: R/R

Rankings

Baseball America: 217

Perfect Game: 206

Pipeline: N/R

ESPN: 222

Overslot: 333

My Own: 263

Consensus: 227

Fastball 50/55

It’s presently an average to above average pitch up to 95 MPH but he sits more low 90’s. Grulkowski will have a chance to grow into more strength on his large frame and add to that velocity.

Slider 60

His best pitch is a slurvy breaking ball that is a legit plus offering for him.

Changeup 45

The change is very lightly used, but he has shown enough that it’s not hard to project it to at least become a fringy pitch for him with continued work.

Command 50

The command will need to continue to be refined but I believe it could get to future average grade for him.

Overall Thoughts

This feels like another arm like Cole Dennis, a possibly overslot prep arm with traits for growth that won’t break the bank as the Braves continue to fill the system. Grulkowski is years away and may need to start out in the FCL, but he will have middle of the rotation ceiling if things really work out, and will have a chance for backend starter/reliever otherwise.