Gaslamp Ball Reacts Survey Results: Ty France has been most impressive according to fans
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country.
In the end, it was not close. To be honest, that was to be expected.
Ty France was the overwhelming answer to the Gaslamp Ball Reacts Survey poll question this week. “Who has been more impressive so far this season?” Respondents had the choices of France, Luis Campusano, Walker Buehler or Bradgley Rodriguez. Looking back, it would have been appropriate to add Yuki Matsui to the list of candidates as well, but France would probably remain the top choice.
The right-handed slugger has been stellar defensively for the Padres this season, despite a bobble on a play on Saturday night. The fielders, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth all seem to enjoy having a Gold Glove Award winner manning first base. It allows them to make throws without the pressure of having to make them perfect. France himself is not perfect, but more often than not, if he can get to a throw he does and that results in more outs and less traffic on the bases for San Diego pitchers.
France came into the 2026 season as a minor league invite, but he has taken full advantage of his second opportunity with the Padres. There is no reason to think he would not receive a multi-year contract offer that would start in 2027 if the season is not lost due to a lockout. France added to his season totals with a home run int the second game of the series against the Tampa Bay Rays. He is currently hitting .287 after 355 at-bats. He has 19 home runs with 59 RBI and 47 runs scored. France has also walked 30 times. He has been entrenched as the No. 4 hitter in the San Diego lineup and there have been calls from some fans the the Padres to slide him up to the No. 3 spot in front of Machado who has been struggling as of the late.
If France can continue his level of play he should be rewarded in the offseason, but for now his ability to maintain his level of play could be a key factor in whether or not the Padres make the postseason.
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Mariners calling up slugging OF prospect Lazaro Montes per several reports
Longtime baseball reporter Francys Romero reported Sunday evening that Cuban OF Lazaro Montes will be called up to the Seattle Mariners, with Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reporting that the move is expected ahead of Tuesday’s game in Boston, coinciding with the expansion of rosters to 28 for September call-ups. Montes is in transit to Boston but is not necessarily expected to be activated for Monday’s series opener at the Red Sox.
Montes has been one of the most powerful sluggers in the minor leagues since arriving in pro ball after training in the Dominican Republic as a teenager. Progressing through the same program that produced Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, the comparisons for the titanic lefty have been common. They’re not quite accurate, however. Montes is a huge kid, a 21 year old listed at 6’5, 210 whose frame is as massive as his smile. Like Alvarez, while he moves well for his size, his gait and foot speed are never going to reflect as plus defensively, though Montes has good baseline athleticism that helps him make many 50/50 plays despite middling range. Moreover, his arm is absolutely massive, a profile similar to an early-career Nelson Cruz. Not just that, but Montes is a high-effort player in all phases, occasionally stunning opponents with his pace and hustle.
But that’s not the main thing Lazaro Montes is all about. The reason he’s been a top-100 prospect and one of the most anticipated hitting prospects in years for Seattle is gargantuan power that’s seen him club 21 homers in 2024 across 542 PA at a teenager, then 32 a season ago between High-A and Double-A, and now 38 big flies in 537 PA across Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma. At every level, Montes has been a variation of highly consistent, slugging massively, walking prominently, and whiffing most of the time he’s not doing one of those two options.
It’s made for a fascinating profile, with a .247/.365/.556 line this season that features a 14.3% walk rate and a 30.7% strikeout rate. The in-zone contact rate on Montes’ swings (and contact rate overall) is poor enough that there are plenty of folks who simply don’t think he can be a big leaguer in an effective long-term capacity, despite doing devastating damage most of the time he makes contact. Montes has a 71.1% in-zone contact rate and 64.4% contact overall on swings in his ~200 plate appearances with the Rainiers, where Statcast data is tracked throughout the Pacific Coast League publicly. The only qualified hitter worse than that at the big league level is 1B Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox, who is at 70.5% and 60.7% respectively. Nobody else is below 77% for in-zone contact, and even if you drop the big league split to minimum of 200 PAs, it’s only Murakami lower.
The key for Montes is what he does on contact. His hard hit rate in Tacoma is 56.8% per Statcast, which is again a number in company with only Murakami, James Wood, Oneil Cruz, Nick Kurtz, Pete Alonso, and Aaron Judge. His hardest hit ball in Triple-A this year is 116.3 MPH, which ties Wood, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Elly De La Cruz for 8th-hardest in MLB all year. His average exit velocity would be third-highest in MLB behind just Cruz and Wood, right ahead of Yordan. The more likely outcome than instant stardom is something closer to what we’ve seen from Jordan Walker, Coby Mayo, or Jac Caglianone, all of whom share similar offensive profiles, explosive strength, and risk of whiff in their swing.
The choice of Montes makes sense in terms of production, he’s crushed every level at every age he’s been assigned. His profile, however, is an intriguing one to see, and may be indicative of Seattle’s willingness to hope for a hail mary, looking to Lazaro to bring their season back from the dead with a deluge of big flies. Being called up in September will not impact Montes’ ability to be a rookie in 2027, nor disrupt his eligibility for the Prospect Promotion Incentive picks the have ample value to clubs. Whether Montes posts daily or in a part-time role may depend on what the M’s are valuing in their final month of play.
Northwest division watch: Blazers reloaded with Morant, Lillard
Anybody else in Dub Nation get tired of Portland smacking the Golden State Warriors around last year? The Warriors spent most of last season fighting for their lives in the Western Conference standings, and somehow a Trail Blazers team that wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the top of their list of problems kept showing up and punching them in the mouth.
Welcome to the next stop on our tour through the Northwest Division. Unfortunately for Warriors fans, this is a team in the group that showed a ton of confidence in their matchups with the Dubs last season. Portland dropped 139 on Golden State on opening week, and beat Golden State two more times before the Warriors finally got one back at Chase Center in January. Portland had the Warriors’ number and that was true even in a season where Portland was still figuring itself out.
And then the Blazers went and made the playoffs for the first time since 2022. They clawed into the No. 7 seed by beating the Suns in the play-in, and then this summer they went out and made the biggest move of anybody in this division. Portland traded Jerami Grant, Kris Murray, and cash to Memphis for Ja Morant who still has two years left on his deal.
His trade value has taken real hits from the injuries the last couple years, but this is still a former All-Star walking into a backcourt that already had a healing Damian Lillard back in the fold, Scoot Henderson on the rise, and Jrue Holiday’s tenacious leadership. That’s a lot of guards! But good players are always valuable regardless of position and ESPN applauds the talent:
Portland has seven players who project to be at least slightly positive, which is the fourth most in the league. None of those players projects to be significantly positive, though, and the top two are Lillard and Morant, who both missed a lot of time in recent seasons. The Blazers are built to withstand some injuries and be solid to good but are not built for going deep into the playoffs, at least not without luck restoring Lillard and Morant to their past heights, which were formidable.
They also took care of their own, re-signing Robert Williams III to a three-year, $44 million deal, giving Portland real insurance behind the behemoth Donovan Clingan. The only part of the offseason for Portland that was saddening if you’re a fan was Shaedon Sharpe tearing his meniscus, which is going to keep him out until March at the earliest. Losing a 20-plus-point scorer for basically half the season is no joke, which matters with what the backcourt looks like on paper:
Not many players who averaged over 20 points per game last season are coming off the bench in 2026-27, but Sharpe is an exception. The team is integrating Lillard back into the fold after recovering from his torn Achilles and trading for Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. Sharpe is a better player when he starts, averaging 21.9 points per game last season compared to 15.4 when he came off the bench. He also had that with more minutes in the starting lineup compared to a reserve. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, Sharpe is someone the Blazers will have to rely on this season.
So how good is this team supposed to be? I think you can pencil these cats in for about 45 wins. The Dubs will see them plenty this season. Hopefully the Warriors atone for last year by getting busy and wiping out the Blazers, no matter how any guards they throw at GSW.
32 Days to Opening Night: Claude Lemieux
Over the years, a number of players have worn the number 32 for the San Jose Sharks. This summer though, it seems like a disservice to his legendary career to discuss any player other than the late Claude Lemieux, who tragically passed away in May.
Lemieux was drafted in the 1983 NHL Draft with the 26th overall pick by the Montreal Canadiens. A native of Buckingham, Quebec, Lemieux had to move just two hours away from his hometown to join his new team. He made his NHL debut during the 1984-85 season, appearing in just a single game that year. The following season, he got another short stint in the NHL as he appeared in 10 games but earned his first Stanley Cup at the end of the postseason.
Lemieux truly established himself as an NHL regular during the 1986-87 season, playing in 76 games. That season, he scored 27 goals and had 56 points, but also notably registered 156 penalty minutes as well.
At the end of the decade, Lemieux was traded to the New Jersey Devils after six seasons with the Canadiens. Lemieux spent five seasons with the Devils, winning his second Stanley Cup and his only Conn Smythe Trophy during the 1994-95 season.
Following the Stanley Cup victory, Lemieux was on the move again, this time to Colorado. He joined the Avalanche right after they relocated from Quebec City and lifted the Stanley Cup for the third time in his first season in Denver. After five partial seasons with Colorado, he returned to New Jersey for the second half of the 1999-00 season and won his fourth Stanley Cup.
After his final Stanley Cup, Lemieux spent some time with the Phoenix Coyotes and had a short stint with the Dallas Stars. He then retired from the NHL following the 2002-03 season, notably without playing for the Sharks. So, dear reader, if you're a newer fan, you may be asking how he relates to the Sharks.
After a considerable amount of time away from the NHL, Lemieux made a shocking return to join the Sharks during the 2008-09 season. He only played 18 games at the NHL level, spending the most of his time in the organization in the AHL, but he officially ended his NHL career in San Jose.
Lemieux is remembered as one of the NHL's best agitators, as he loved to get under the skin of his opponents, but he also wasn't afraid to stand up for himself or a teammate, although it was usually the result of his own antics.
Red Sox fume over controversial call that ‘changed the whole game’ in loss to Yankees
It was the non-catch that kicked off a five-run inning and has the Red Sox irate, especially after the Yankees completed a 16-1 win over Boston in The Bronx.
Ceddanne Rafaela was emphatic Sunday that he had indeed made a diving catch that would have led to the Red Sox outfielder turning a double play.
With a runner on first, Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a fly ball into right-center field in the fifth inning that sent Rafaela to try to make the diving catch.
While it appeared that he did, and Rafaela certainly felt like he did, the umpires ruled that he had trapped the ball and therefore the runners were on first and second. A video review also upheld the call on the field.
“I didn’t have to even watch it,” Rafaela told reporters, according to ESPN. “I know I made the catch. I know when a ball drops and a ball don’t drop. And I know I made the catch.”
Rafaela also took to social media to call out the ruling, posting a zoomed-in image of the ball in his glove along with text that stated that “it’s a man above that saw it.”
He told reporters that he was “mad in the moment” because he wanted to help his pitcher.
“I feel that changed the whole game right there,” Rafaela added
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy made it a point to note that the video review did not confirm the original call; rather, it merely upheld it.
“I know when you hear ‘call stands,’ not ‘call confirmed,’ that’s a pretty good indicator that they’re saying it’s very difficult to see anything on video for us to overturn on the field,” he said. “So, if you hear ‘call confirmed,’ that’s different. That’s not what you heard.
“We in the dugout feel like our center fielder caught the ball. But if they don’t have anything that they can definitively overturn it, that’s usually where you end up and obviously it’s frustrating.”
The Yankees went on to add runs in the sixth and seventh innings and then scored nine runs in the bottom of the eighth to cement the win.
Rookie Sal Stewart homers for the 3rd straight game, helping the Reds beat the Cubs 7-5
CHICAGO — Rookie Sal Stewart homered for the third straight game to help offset two more home runs by Pete Crow-Armstrong, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Sunday night after rain delayed the start 25 minutes.
Dane Myers hit a go-ahead homer off Shoto Imanaga (8-10) leading off the fifth inning and Tyler Stephenson followed with a two-run shot after a single by Elly De La Cruz for a 6-3 lead. De La Cruz left after that with left quad tightness.
Stewart homered for the 31st time — off Trent Thornton — for the Reds’ final run in the seventh.
Crow-Armstrong homered leading off the first against Chase Burns (15-3) to give the Cubs the lead. It his fourth in seven at-bats after hitting three Saturday in a 17-5 victory over the Reds. The NL’s MVP front-runner hit his 38th homer — a solo shot off Reds closer Emilio Pagán in the ninth before the right-hander finished off his 19th save.
Burns allowed three runs — two earned — on six hits in 5 2/3 innings as Cincinnati beat the Cubs in the rubber game of the series after losing six of seven matchups previously.
Michael Conforto had an RBI single in the second to put Chicago up 2-0.
Héctor Rodríguez hit his fourth homer — a three-run shot that put the Reds ahead 3-2 in the fourth — but Ian Happ walked and scored an unearned run on a throwing error by Rodríguez in right field to tie it in the bottom half.
Imanaga surrendered six runs on eight hits in five innings on a day the Cubs inducted pitcher Jon Lester, catcher Jody Davis and late broadcaster Vince Lloyd into their Hall of Fame.
Hall of Famer Greg Maddux threw wild on the ceremonial first pitch with more than 20 members of the Cubs’ 150th anniversary team in attendance.
Up next
Reds RHP Brady Singer (5-12, 4.72 ERA) was set to start Monday night in Cincinnati opposite Padres RHP Michael King (8-9, 3.23). The Cubs haven’t announced a starter Monday night against the visiting Brewers and LHP Kyle Harrison (10-3, 2.79).
Reds blast four homers in 7-5 win over Cubs on Sunday Night Baseball
Yes, Pete Crow-Armstrong blasted another pair of homers on Sunday night just 24 hours after he hit a trio of bombs off Cincinnati Reds pitching during Saturday’s 17-5 embarrassment by the Chicago Cubs. Yes, the Chicago Cubs jumped out to an immediate lead in the process, as PCA’s first blast of the night came in the Bottom of the 1st off Reds ace Chase Burns to open the game’s ledger.
From there on, though, the scrappy Cincinnati club took matters into their own hands on the Sunday Night Baseball national stage, and in doing so head home after a long three-city road trip west with as series victory on which they can most definitely hang their hats.
Hector Rodriguez helped turn the tide with a massive left-on-left three-run homer over the RF wall in Wrigley Field, and both Dane Myers and Tyler Stephenson followed in the Top of the 5th with moonshot blasts into the bleachers beyond the LF wall.
Then, Sal Stewart went to work on the Chicago bullpen in the Top of the 7th with a solo shot out to CF that carried some 418 feet. That blast meant the NL Rookie of the Year frontrunner officially homered in each game of the series.
That gave the Reds a 7-spot, and that was enough for their pitching staff to hold onto in the eventual 7-5 win.
Burns, to his credit, shrugged off the rain delay and early poor umpiring to pour in 5.2 IP of 2 ER ball on exactly 100 pitches before being pulled. He had PCA struck out in their first PA against one another in the Bottom of the 1st in a steady rain, but the home plate ump missed the call (and Stephenson opted against challenging in the game’s first PA for his pitcher), and PCA hit his homer on the very next pitch.
The lone real blemish on an otherwise impressive night by the young core of the Reds was that Elly De La Cruz exited early after hustling down the 1B line out of the box. He was pretty clearly in at least a bit of discomfort, and it was later reported that he’s got some quad tightness.
Fortunately, it appears all parties may be mostly OK. Charlie Goldsmith reported after the game that manager Terry Francona has some confidence that Elly may even be right back in the lineup as early as tomorrow.
Reds 7, Cubs 5, and the vibes sit about as good as they can given everything else that’s fallen by the wayside so far in 2026.
Mets’ Carson Benge embracing surge into challenging NL Rookie of the Year race: ‘Definitely do want it’
Over the past month, Carson Benge’s case has strengthened. Over the past 28 games entering play Sunday, the Mets outfielder carved out a place in the National League’s Rookie of the Year race with a .952 OPS and an NL-leading 38 hits.
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Try it freeBenge hasn’t thought about his name continuing to pop up in chatter surrounding the award, but “[I] definitely do want it,” he told The Post before the Mets (61-76) lost 6-3 to the Astros. If he won the honor, it’d make him the first Met to do so since Pete Alonso in 2019 and just the third rookie from the franchise this century to take it, joining Alonso and Jacob deGrom (2014). But he’ll need to surge past the other candidates, including the Cardinals’ JJ Wetherholt, the Reds’ Sal Stewart and the Mets’ Nolan McLean, and extend his own tear across the final month of the season.
“It’d be cool,” Benge said before going 0-for-4 as the Mets capped a six-game homestand at Citi Field. “There’s plenty of good rookies around the NL, with one being in our locker room and the conversation, too, but it’d be pretty cool to win it over all those guys.”
It’ll be challenging for Benge to separate from the field. Wetherholt, the St. Louis infielder who went on the injured list Sunday with right wrist tendinitis, has hit .242 with a .743 OPS and the sixth-best bWAR among NL position players (4.6). Stewart, 22, just became the first Reds rookie in franchise history to record a season with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs, and he entered play Sunday with an MLB-leading 104 RBIs — one of two players in the league to hit the century mark.
And McLean, who stumbled early in the season, has collected a 1.76 ERA across his last 11 starts, with the most recent one unfolding Saturday when he allowed just two hits and an unearned run against the Astros.
But then there’s Benge, who has impressed with both his bat and his arm. He played his way onto the Opening Day roster with a strong spring training and then never lost his spot. He became the first Mets rookie since Darryl Strawberry in 1983 to have 15 homers and 15 stolen bases in the same season, and he sits at 16 homers and 54 RBIs for the year. Benge’s right arm has produced outfield assists clocked at 99.9 mph and 103.9 mph.
“I think [he] definitely belongs in the conversation right now with the guy who pitched last night for us,” interim manager Andy Green said Sunday of Benge and McLean. “I know there’s other good rookies throughout the game. I think Carson, throughout the year, shows the ability to bounce back from tough moments really well. Really talented hitter. Can hit any pitch at any time. Even as he goes through funks, he maintains like the right perspective and the right attitude and the right approach.
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“I think we knew that’s who he was. It’s great to see it play out on a big league field in the first season.”
Benge said he doesn’t think about what might allow him to stand out from others in contention for the award. He’ll let whoever votes judge that. He hasn’t talked to McLean, a teammate at Oklahoma State before their climb through the minors and to the Mets, about it either.
It might be tough to unseat Stewart, who has the numbers. It might be tough to topple Wetherholt, even if he misses chances to add to his stats while injured. But with his recent tear, Benge has at the very least entered the conversation, inching closer to something the 23-year-old said he thought was possible from when he first started working toward cracking the Mets roster back in spring training.
“I think if not,” Benge said of that thought, “I’m selling myself short. If you’re gonna try and come into the league and not do anything, be average to below average, I don’t think you’re doing it right.”
Purple Row After Dark: What are you watching around MLB this September?
For most of the season, my attention stays pretty firmly on the Colorado Rockies.
That will not change down the stretch, but the losses are starting to stack up again. The Rockies are 4-11 over their last 15 games, and that can get frustrating.
Sometimes it is nice to look up and see what else is happening around baseball, and as the calendar nears September, it is a good time to do exactly that.
Fortunately, baseball’s final month looks to hold plenty of intrigue, both in the standings and on individual leaderboards.
While not a particularly good division, the AL West might be the least settled division race of all. Houston sits at 69-68, just one game above .500. Texas is 67-70 and two games back, while Seattle sits at 64-73 and five games out. Houston does not exactly look interested in running away with the division, but Texas and Seattle have not shown much desire to take it from them, either. Personally, I would not mind a Houston-less October.
Then there are the White Sox. Two years removed from losing 121 games, Chicago is 72-64 and leads the 69-68 Guardians by 3.5 games in the AL Central. Can they finish off one of baseball’s more unexpected division titles — or can the Rockies perhaps play spoilers in the final days of the season?
Both Wild Card races still leave room for a late surprise. Cleveland holds the final AL spot, but Baltimore is just one game back, Toronto is 1.5 out and Texas sits two back. In the NL, Arizona holds the final spot by just a half-game over San Diego, while Miami remains 3.5 games out.
Meanwhile, Yordan Alvarez enters the stretch run hitting .320 with 37 home runs and 93 RBI. He leads the American League in all three categories, putting a Triple Crown firmly within reach.
On the mound, Jacob Misiorowski owns a 1.73 ERA with 222 strikeouts in 151 innings. If he can stay below 2.00 and reach 250 strikeouts, he would be the first pitcher to accomplish both since Jacob deGrom in 2018.
And the National League home run race is of particular interest to us Rockies fans. Kyle Schwarber leads the league with 40, Matt Olson has 37, and Hunter Goodman is tied with Pete Crow-Armstrong at 36. Goodman has already produced two three-homer games this season, so we know he can hit them in bunches.
Those are a few things I will be watching.
What about you? What race, milestone, player or team has your attention as we head into September?
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Other DAZN-NBA deals show what a Spurs version could look like
Earlier this summer, sports streaming service DAZN announced a major exclusive streaming deal with New York-based sports teams. In the announcement, Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp, citing NBA sources, mentioned it would not be the only NBA deal for the 2026-2027 season, specifically mentioning the Spurs, among other teams, with deals in the works.
Since the initial story, two more teams have made it official. Washington Wizards and other D.C. sports broadcaster, Monumental Sports, announced a partnership with DAZN, growing upon its pre-existing infrastructure. More interestingly for Spurs fans, though, is the deal with the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers and the NBA made the announcement recently, stating that DAZN will be the exclusive provider of regular-season Pacers games via a team-branded streaming service set to be available on most all devices very soon. That is great for Indiana fans; however, what Spurs fans will be interested to learn, as they await a deal of their own, is the price offerings.
First off, DAZN will be providing 22 regular season games for free on the DAZN app, with 15 of them being simulcasted over-the-air. This was expected, as Sports Business Journal originally reported, to “draw in viewership.”
For the remainder of the games, access beyond the Paywall is priced at $119.99/year with the option of an Early Bird Season Pass carrying a 50 percent discount for those who sign up before October, coming out to $59.99 for the season. Monthly options are also available at $19.99/month. Pacers season ticket holders will be gifted a free season pass as an added perk.
NBA League Pass subscribers should note these prices are only applicable within the Indiana geographical market. Pacers games will still be broadcast nationally via the League Pass app or TV provider subscription.
While it should be reiterated that none of this applies to the San Antonio Spurs, it could be an indicator of what is to come. Indianapolis has notable similarities to San Antonio in terms of market size and cost. That doesn’t make it unfathomable to think a Spurs-flavored offering would look very similar.
Nonetheless, while nothing is confirmed, a deal will need to be done soon as the season is less than two months away.
High stakes Rockets season in three parts: players.
Why is there a picture of James Harden? Read on.
Welcome to Part Two of three covering what I believe is a high stakes season (in terms of sports for entertainment) for the Houston Rockets. One of the reasons to divide the team into the three parts, management, players and coaching, is to look at the relative strengths, weaknesses, and pressures on each. Another is ask the question: can a team be successful without all three elements being strong on their own, and also working at least fairly well? If by success you mean, finish with a decent record, make the playoffs, the yes, that’s very possible. We’ve seen it with these Rockets, and not that long ago we saw LeBron James drag not particularly impressive Cleveland teams to the NBA Finals (albeit in a pretty weak Eastern Conference).
If by success you mean make conference Finals, maybe an NBA Finals, then no, I don’t believe a team can do that, absent a truly generational player like James at his peak. If a team lacks that, and I’d argue, for example, the Knicks who almost swept three rounds of NBA playoffs do lack such a player, then the other elements of coaching and players must be good as well. I think higher level success in the playoffs is won at the margins. Those margins, those fine distinctions are where an inadequate coach, an incoherent roster, or players who are unsuited to their roles, will limit success.
Or sometimes the distinctions and margins are not really a razor’s edge at all. Sometimes they’re a dull axe blade.
The question is this: are the Rockets players suited to run the offense and defense they’re being asked to run? If the players job on the court is to run their coach’s scheme, and in essence it is, rather than it solely being a series of discrete actions that can then be quantified and ranked, are the Rockets players fit for this job?
Well, yes and no. That sounds weasely but it isn’t. Yes on defense, no on offense.
This isn’t the usual question of, (perceived as a bag of stats and measures), is an individual player any good? That’s a good question to ask, of course, but it’s also now the easier one to ask, as we now have a welter of public information, and of course even more is available to teams and other professionals. It can be a way of answering the same question, of course, as well.
What it can’t answer as well is: Is this player any good at what he’s being asked to do, and might he be better asked to do something else, or do things differently?
The Rockets defense is very good. We might perceive it as having slipped from when it was fun, but it’s still good for 6th in the NBA. That’s in a title winning range (title winning teams are almost always top 10 in both offense and defense, and usually around top five in one of those if not both). It’s not a particularly creative scheme of defense, and it doesn’t seem to have a number of go to moves, when it appears an opponent has solved it over the course of playoff games. The go to move is “try harder and maybe let’s try a zone”. This has worked, but in my opinion is exhausting, and costs the team in various ways. Reflexively adding more defense when points are what’s needed is an odd way of looking the world, but the Rockets defense isn’t in need of fixing, particularly.
The Rockets, though, are suited to playing good to great defense in the style they are being asked to play. If Kevin Durant weren’t the defensive equivalent of a coat rack on the court, except when he sniffs a badass block in the air, the rest of it would look better. I think a lot of “glaring mistakes” by other players are a result of him not really guarding anyone on certain possessions, or even attempting to fight through screens.
There’s more to say about other players and issues they have: Sengun isn’t really a rim protector, Sheppard is targeted on defense, Tari Eason makes bizarre choices. That said, those are the kind of things other teams are routinely able to live with. Especially with defenders like Amen Thompson, and let’s be fair, Jabari Smith, on the court. (I think Jabari and Amen were asked to play outfield for Durant a lot.)
So I’d say this group of players is fit to run the defensive scheme they are asked to run. We’ll leave the question of “Is what they’re being asked to do good enough?” for tomorrow.
Now for the “no”. Are the Rockets players suited to run the offense they run? No. Absolutely not. Why?
This one’s easy, because essentially the Rockets under Udoka run a less complex version of the offense the Rockets ran at the peak of James Harden’s and Mike D’Antoni’s tenure. That specific offense typically starts at the top of the three point arc, with an initiator who is capable of breaking down a defender off the dribble and either passing him by or getting him on his hip for a driving finish and maybe a foul. If that doesn’t work, the center (usually) sets a screen that gives him the space to get to the rim, and the screener also rolls to the rim sometimes for easy dunk finishes. Young Clint Capela was a star in this role. If the rim is closed off, and the center covered, the initiator can pass out to the perimeter where shooters are waiting in the left corner, and at other points on the arc. Or it the attack can be reset elsewhere on the court.
In the case of Harden and MDA, the Rockets took a player who wasn’t especially highly valued early in his career, and gave him a crucial role, in PJ Tucker. Tucker was a rugged defender who could defend above his size, and could make corner threes. The other players can also shoot 3pt shots, and hopefully one of them can also initiate (Chris Paul) or get his own shot (Eric Gordon).
That’s how that offensive approach worked (circa 2017) when it was going well. That is, without much exception, what the Rockets attempted to do in 2025-26.
Do any of the current Rockets resemble any of the key parts here much? Are the players fitted for the roles they need to play in this scheme?
No. They aren’t.
First, there’s no James Harden, an offensive player so dangerous in his prime that one team literally doubled him with a player always following behind him, so he couldn’t shoot his step back three point shot. (Hello, Ricky Rubio pic!) Is there anyone even resembling that player on the Rockets roster? Again. No. It certainly wasn’t Kevin Durant. There is no one player who can individually break down the defense and get a good shot from a contested position at the start of the possession. Not one in any quantity anyway, and the Rockets offense generates that problem, and question, nearly every single offensive play, for these Rockets. Without James Harden, or anyone close.
Well, what about other spots? Is there a center that operates off that player the Rockets don’t have? One that gets easy looks off the threat of the initiator and his movement? No. There’s a mobile center, without a lot of vertical ability, who is really better set in space closer to the basket, and allowed to pass to moving teammates, where he can be special, and create and operate fluidly.
Does such a center as the Rockets actually have clash with the Hardenesque Scheme? Yes. Violently. It doesn’t mesh. They’re in the same space by the basket, and surprise, since that almost always happens, you know who else is in that space? You know who else values that same real estate close to the basket? Kevin Durant. So given the scheme, the center, and KD, who else might want to occupy this same court space? That’s right, the defense. NBA defenses can get away with playing a college scheme to beat the Rockets when it really counts. All they really have to do is close the paint, and nothing really works, barring a hot shooting night.
Now, are there fairly reliable shooters in the corner, waiting for a pass? Sometimes there’s Jabari Smith (36%) or Reed Sheppard (39%), but oftentimes there’s Amen Thompson (21%). (PJ Tucker took 74% of his 3pt shots from the corner, where he shot 38% for his career, peaking at 45%.) In this Rockets offense Amen (23%) is in the corner more than Reed (49%). Amen shoots the easiest three pointer in the game at 23% from the corner, where he takes 58% of his threes. Worse, though, because Amen knows he’s such a bad shooter, he often passes up the open shot the offense laboriously generated, often leading to a grenade to someone else. Sheppard shot 49% from the corner, where he shot 14% of his threes, Smith went 37% from the corner and shot 35% of his threes from there. No, I can’t make it make sense.
Once again, players that aren’t suited for a role are put in that role anyway, to fit a certain scheme.
In fact almost the entire Rockets roster, including “fits anywhere” Kevin Durant don’t, haven’t, and won’t, fit this approach. Historically (yes, we can refer to Durant’s career ‘historically’ at this point) Kevin Durant has always been best off ball, and not dribbling unless he’s trying to get to his middie. Which is EXACTLY why you cast him the the James Harden Role. A role that requires, demands, insists upon, an immaculate handle, and coolness under pressure when passing, and an ability to get anywhere on the court to force the defense into problematic positions. If you thought you saw that from Durant last season, welcome KD Burner Account! If you think Fred VanVleet is some sort of James Harden analog at 32, well, it’s nice that you read the Dreamshake, Mrs VanVleet. At least he can dribble, if not get a shot at the rim.
I could go on, and have, but I think that’s enough for now.
So, by my reckoning the players are fine, and even very good at the defense they’re being asked to play, and they’re almost entirely unsuited to the offense they’re asked to play. And yet they still can score. That, to me, is actually a fantastic sign for the future of these players (wherever they end up). Imagine what they could do if they did what they were good at, instead of doing some weird cosplay of the the 2017 Rockets offense?
Next up, ahem, coaching.
Cubs Minor League Wrap: Smokies shell Shuckers, 12-2
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs were thunderstruck by the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals), 3-1.
The I-Cubs got a very good start from Javier Assad, who allowed just one run on three hits over 5.1 innings. Assad struck out five and walked no one.
Jaxon Wiggins gave the I-Cubs 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. Wiggins allowed one hit. He did not walk anyone and struck out one. Since moving to the bullpen, Wiggins has thrown 6.2 scoreless innings and has allowed just two hits.
Antoine Kelly got the loss when he allowed two runs on two hits over two-thirds of an inning in the top of the ninth. Kelly walked three and struck out one.
Iowa’s lone run came on a solo home run by second baseman James Triantos in the fourth inning. It was Triantos’ ninth home run this season. Today, he went 2 for 4.
Catcher Owen Ayers was 1 for 3 and was hit by a pitch.
Assad was helped by some great defense in right field from Chas McCormick.
Then he did it again with Wiggins on the mound.
Triantos’ home run.
Heads up play by Ayers. He also was 1 for 2 throwing out runners trying to steal today.
Knoxville Smokies
The Knoxville Smokies cracked open the Biloxi Shuckers (Brewers), 12-2.
Connor Schultz started and lasted four innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out four and did not walk anyone.
Yenrri Rojas handled the next two innings, didn’t allow a run on one hit, and got the win because Schultz didn’t go five. Rojas walked one and struck out one.
First baseman Edgar Alvarez had a huge night, going 3 for 5 with a double and a solo home run in the second inning. It was Alvarez’s 11th home run this year. Alvarez had four total RBI and scored twice.
DH Miguel Useche was 3 for 4 with a double. He drove in two and scored once.
Alex Madera went 2 for 4 with a two-run triple and a walk. Madera scored one run.
Alvarez’s home run.
Two-run single for Useche.
South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs were bitten by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers), 11-10.
Anhuar Garcia threw the first four innings and surrendered two runs on six hits. Garcia struck out five and walked no one, so that makes a decent line look even better.
JP Wheat gave up three runs in the bottom of the eighth, as well as two inherited runners allowed two score, to take the loss. Wheat’s final line was three runs on four hits over two-thirds of an inning. He did not walk anyone and he struck out one.
Catcher Logan Poteet hit two home runs this afternoon. The first one came with a man on in the fourth inning and the second one was a solo shot in the top of the ninth. Poteet now has 21 home runs this year, seven of which came with South Bend. Poteet was 3 for 4 with a walk and four runs scored.
Right fielder Alexey Lumpuy went back-to-back with Poteet in the ninth as South Bend got a two-out rally going again. Lumpuy also had a bases-loaded triple in the seventh inning and an RBI single in the sixth for five total RBI. Lumpuy went 3 for 5 with the triple, the home run and a stolen base.
Center fielder Leonel Espinoza was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI single. He also scored one run.
DH Kade Snell went 3 for 5 with a steal. He scored three times.
First baseman Josiah Hartshorn was 1 for 2 with two walks, a stolen base and a sac fly. He scored one run.
Poteet’s first home run.
Lumpy’s three-run triple.
Poteet’s second home run and Lumpuy’s back-to-back blast.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans four-putted against the Augusta Green Jackets (Braves), 10-8.
The Pelicans got off to a good start with Freddy Rodriguez, who allowed just one run on two hits over four innings. The one run came on a second-inning home run. Rodriguez walked three and struck out four.
Fenuel James then pitched the next three innings and retired all nine batters he faced. He struck out three.
The wheels came off when the Pelicans held an 8-1 lead going into the bottom of the eighth and they allowed nine runs in the inning to blow the game. Jhon Cabral allowed five runs on three hits and two walks without retiring a batter. The loss then went to John Alkire II who did managed to get three outs, but not before giving up two inherited runners and four runs of his own. Alkire gave up three hits and two walks. He struck out one.
DH Alexis Hernandez hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, his third on the season. Hernandez came a triple shy of the cycle as he was 3 for 4 with a double and the home run. He had two runs batted in and scored twice.
Third baseman Derniche Valdez homered twice with solo shots in the sixth and eighth innings. Valdez went 2 for 4. He now has ten home runs this season.
Valdez’s home run in the eighth came back-to-back with a solo home run by center fielder Darlyn De Leon, who hit his fourth home run with a man on. De Leon went 1 for 4.
Second baseman Juan Cabada was 2 for 5.
Eli Lovich with an RBI double. Lovich was 1 for 4.
Ex-Pelican Cristian Hernandez’s little brother goes deep.
Home run number one for Valdez.
The back-to-black blasts by De Leon and Valdez.
Shohei Ohtani’s slump is killing his MVP chances –– and the Dodgers’ offense
DETROIT — Sunday was set up to be one of those days where Shohei Ohtani changes the narrative:
About the uncertainty surrounding his health; after the ongoing challenges with knee and biceps injuries this weekend threw his pitching plans back into a dubious flux. About his imperiled chances in the National League MVP race — following a three-homer outburst from chief competitor Pete Crow-Armstrong the day before.
And, mostly, about his own underwhelming play over recent weeks, in which his lack of form at the plate has amplified the Dodgers’ teamwide slump.
This time, however, there was no magic from the 32-year-old superstar; no towering swing nor transformational moment to remind the baseball world of his stature as its premier player.
Instead, while the rest of his club enjoyed a sigh of relief in a 6–1 win over the Detroit Tigers, Ohtani suffered an 0-for-5 clunker that dropped him to 5-for-40 over his last 10 games.
“Obviously,” manager Dave Roberts said, “we still got to get Shohei on track.”
Sunday mirrored many of Ohtani’s recently underwhelming performances: There was poor pitch selection, leading to his 11th multi-strikeout game out of 27 this month. There was a flawed approach with his swing even when he did make contact, leading to three batted balls that, despite being hit hard, all failed to escape the infield.
As a result, Ohtani’s numbers aren’t looking as formidable as they once did: His batting average is down to .280 — the lowest it has been since the end of May. His .908 OPS still ranks top-five in the majors, but would mark his worst in a season since 2022.
More importantly, Ohtani’s OPS is also now well behind Crow-Armstrong’s, which rose to .944 following his tour de force Saturday.
Side by side, the stat lines of the two MVP candidates no longer look quite so similar as Ohtani is slashing .280/.379/.529 with 30 home runs and 80 RBIs while Crow-Armstrong is up to .282/.377/.567 with 36 home runs and 89 RBIs.
More than that, Crow-Armstrong also continues to pace Ohtani in value-based advanced metrics like wins-above-replacement (9.1 to 6.9, per Fangraphs), thanks to the surplus value he generates as the game’s top center fielder.
After three consecutive, unanimous MVP honors, and four total in his career, Ohtani has gone this year from frontrunner to next-best.
Ohtani was supposed to begin chipping away at that deficit Sunday, of course, when he was originally expected to return to pitching for the first time since early July. However, continued problems with his knee and biceps scuttled those plans. And now, whether he even returns to the mound this season appears to at least be somewhat in question.
For the Dodgers, the bigger priority is getting his offense back on track first.
“Once we get him going,” Roberts said, “[our offense is] going to be fun to watch.”
As he’s done all year during Ohtani’s return to a full-time two-way role, Roberts downplayed the correlation between his star player’s recent pitching ramp-up and decline in offensive production.
The skipper said Sunday that Ohtani’s problems are isolated to a variety of routine hitting flaws.
“Sometimes he’s taking balls that are good pitches to hit, then expanding. Other times, I think the direction, the intent is a little too much to the pull side,” Roberts said. “So I think with Shohei, it’s a combo.”
Where Ohtani’s pitching plan could impact his hitting, however, is in the way he dedicates his limited time over the rest of the regular season.
Every hour spent playing catch in the outfield, or grinding through a bullpen session, or (if he does get back in the Dodgers’ rotation) preparing for a start is one he can’t spend working on his swing, or getting extra time in the batting cages, or maximizing his potential as the game’s most fearsome slugger.
Team officials are conscious of that balance, and it will be taken into account once they return to Los Angeles this week and decide on next steps for Ohtani as a pitcher.
“Hopefully we can get home, get him in a better spot physically, mentally, whatever it is,” Roberts said, after revealing Saturday that the four-time MVP is still “not 100%” with his multiple injuries.
“Everyone goes through these things,” he added. “But we gotta get him going.”
As much as Ohtani’s MVP chances will depend on it, so too could the Dodgers’ season.
Because regardless of whether he’s pitching or not, their offense will always first and foremost revolve around him.
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Sabres Grades: Third-String Goalie Ellis Shaping Up To Be Crucial Component For Buffalo
The Buffalo Sabres took great steps ahead this past season, finishing in first place in the highly-competitive Atlantic Division, then winning their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Boston Bruins before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2.
That success means that the TheHockeyNews.com’s 2025-26 grades for Sabres players will be largely positive. And in this “Sabres Grades” file, we’re focused on goaltender Colten Ellis.
Ellis didn’t get a ton of playing time playing behind veterans Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, but one of the reasons Buffalo traded young netminder Devon Levi is that Ellis had leaped over Levi in Buffalo’s goaltending depth chart. Ellis is now looking like Buffalo’s goalie-of-the-future, but the beginning of his NHL career has been much to the Sabres’ liking.
Colten Ellis
Position: Goaltender
Grade: B+
The Skinny: Ellis put forth a terrific rookie NHL season, appearing in 16 games and posting an 8-4-2 record, a 2.90 GAA, a .903 save percentage and one shutout. Those numbers weren’t going to get Ellis a Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie, but the 25-year-old showed enough last year to push himself up the Sabres’ organizational depth chart.
Ellis has established himself as a strong netminder at the American League level with the Springfield Thunderbirds, posting strong years in 2023-24 and 2024-25. He needs more opportunity, but given that Luukkonen and Lyon both are under contract next season, more playing time may be hard to come by – at least, so long as the injury bug doesn’t sideline one or both of that goalie tandem.
Ellis is entering the final season of his current two-year contract, so he’s got all the motivation in the world to play more and play well this coming season. Lyon is also in the final year of his contract, and that means Ellis could push Lyon out the door. And if that’s what happens and Buffalo benefits from a step-up season from Ellis, Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen has the option to trade Lyon or Luukkonen and make Buffalo’s goaltending tandem into a 50/50 games split.
That’s a column for another day. This file is about last season, and while Ellis didn’t finish off the 2025-26 season particularly well, he had enough strong stretches to convince Buffalo to retain him.
Ellis is shaping up to be a long-term fixture in Western New York, and if he continues progressing, Ellis could be a significant part of a Sabres team capable of winning a championship.