Worldwide Sports News

Meet the Mets

The Mets return to action tonight and will turn to young Nolan McLean to halt their slide.

Juan Soto should be back in uniform for the Mets soon, but Max Ralph pondered the question that’s on everybody’s mind: When exactly will Soto be back on the field?

Jared Greenspan explored the history of teams that have endured long losing streaks like the Mets, and what it means for their playoff hopes.

The team is backing Carlos Mendoza amid the losing streak, which isn’t sitting right with everybody. Still, it is clear that there’s enough blame to go around here.

On This Week In Mets, Tim Britton discussed the Mets having 10 days to save their season.

Jon Heyman examined the 11 possible miscalculations that have sent the Mets’ season awry.

Pat Ragazzo looked at three possible options to replace Carlos Mendoza should the Mets choose to fire their manager.

Writing for Defector, Lauren Theisen encouraged us to “Delete the Mets”.

Around the National League East

“Ain’t no rule that says a goose can’t play baseball!” or whatever they said in Air Bud.

Despite the help of their goose friend, the Phillies lost 5-1 to the Cubs.

The Marlins held off the Cardinals 5-3.

The Braves put up a five-spot in the sixth to beat the Nationals 9-4.

Around Major League Baseball

The Pirates surged into the Top 5 in the latest MLB Power Rankings.

Did you have the NL Central as baseball’s best division? Be honest. Of course you didn’t, but it is.

Ken Rosenthal analyzed the deep problems the Mets, Phillies, and Astros face beyond their managers, who are not safe despite this not being entirely their faults.

The Yankees’ rotation might be this generation’s Murderers’ Row, explains Mike Lupica.

Cam Schlittler, who grew up a Red Sox fan in Massachucetts, says he and his family have received threats ahead of his start against the Red Sox in Fenway, but is nevertheless excited to pitch in the series.

The Royals released former first round pick Asa Lacy after six injury-riddled seasons.

Old friend Edwin Díaz will miss three month as he is set to undergo surgery to remove loose bodies in his right elbow.

The Twins placed right-hander Mick Abel on the injured list with right elbow inflammation. Abel was slated to face the Mets tonight.

Sonny Gray exited his start on Patriots’ Day with right hamstring tightness.

The Red Sox used some late-game small ball to secure an 8-6 victory over the Tigers on Patriots’ Day.

Colin Rea and a plethora of defensive gems helped Chicago top Philadelphia yesterday for their sixth straight win.

The first-place Reds won again, defeating the Rays 6-1 for their fourth straight victory. After some friendly pre-game trash talk, Elly De La Cruz robbed Junior Caminero with an incredible catch.

The Blue Jays had to take three buses from Phoenix to Anaheim, but they shook off the rust and prevailed 5-2 over the Angels for a series-opening win.

The Astros beat up the Guardians 9-2.

The Orioles edged the lowly Royals 7-5 in 12 innings.

The Mariners fell 6-4 to the Athletics, but Julio Rodríguez made a catch that people are talking about in the loss.

The Dodgers trounced the Rockies 12-3. In the win, Dave Roberts went with his gut and flipped Max Muncy and Miguel Rojas in the lineup, resulting in three homers between the two. Shohei Ohtani also extended his on-base streak to 52.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

I wrote about the decision the Mets face with Carlos Mendoza

Linus Lawrence provided a Monday Stat Party.

This Date in Mets History

Happy 69th birthday Jesse Orosco! (Nice)

After a really unfortunate shoulder injury that short-circuited a hot start to his pro career, the Detroit Tigers third ranked prospect, shortstop Bryce Rainer, has had a sluggish return to action in 2026. However, it’s only been 11 games, and he’s returning after 10 months away from game action, so it’s no surprise that he needed some time to get his bearings. The Tigers are unconcerned, and the 20-year-old Rainer was promoted to the High-A West Michigan Whitecaps on Monday. In his place, the Tigers have activated their 2025 first round pick in the draft, prep shortstop Jordan Yost, assigning him to Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers for his full season debut.

Rainer was the 11th round pick out of Harvard-Westlake HS in the 2024 MLB draft. He hit the ground running in 2025 in Lakeland, showing off 70 grade raw power and a big arm that had made him more of a pitching prospect in high school until he broke out with the bat during his senior season. He immediately turned heads by hammering fastballs and going the opposite way with authority, showing good zone judgement, and displaying good defensive chops and speed on the basepaths. The left-hander hitter showed some early weakness against breaking balls, but was well on his way to a great pro debut and a rapid promotion to West Michigan when he tore his right rotator cuff diving back to first base on a pickoff attempt. So he’s really picking up about where he left off last May.

Some struggles as he faces some more advanced pitching should be expected, as with only 46 games worth of experience against pro pitching out of high school, there is bound to be some catching up to do. There’s no rush, and as long as he’s handling the level well by year’s end that’s very good progress, setting him up to tackle Double-A in his age 21 season in 2027.

Rainer missed the rest of the 25 season after the injury, and the Tigers eased him back into action throughout minor league camp in March. Since the Florida State League got underway, the Tigers have played him at shortstop in 8 of his 11 games and worked out of the DH slot in the rest. Rainer hasn’t hit the ground running offensively, but he’s continued to post some eye-popping exit velocity numbers that surpass anything a current Detroit Tigers hitter has managed, Riley Greene included.

A 477 foot blast last week that left the bat at over 116 mph made a statement that Rainer was stronger and swinging the bat even faster than last year. On the other hand, he’s been taking an awful lot of called strikes so far, and seems a little tight in the batters box. This early on it’s hard to say if the passivity is an issue here or just Rainer reacclimating himself. I would bet the latter.

As for Yost, he’s so far followed a familiar pattern since draft day. Lauded for his elite bat to ball skills and strike zone judgement, as well as the potential for Gold Glove defense at the shortstop position, the shortcoming scouts pointed to around draft day was his slender frame and low level of present power. There was some thought that Yost might never even develop good gap power. The Tigers obviously begged to differ, and they’re developing a track record of being correct on these matters. The slender, six-foot tall left-handed hitter built 13 pounds of good muscle between draft day and spring training, and immediately debuted in major league camp with a grand slam this spring in his first place appearance outside of the back fields. It wasn’t a cheap home run either.

So, some concerns about Yost’s future power potential were immediately alleviated. The 19-year-old will probably never be a big time power threat, but he’s got all the tools to develop into a really good hitting shortstop who plays high end defense, steals bases, and gives the Tigers 15 home runs a year with plenty of extra base hits. At the same time, he’s just getting started, and there’s a very long way to go.

So far, the Harris/Greenberg strategy of favoring athletic prep players with high end contact ability and worrying about power potential later is paying off already in the form of Kevin McGonigle thanks to the work of scouting chiefs Rob Metzler and Mark Conner. The long-term future of the Tigers’ infield could be really exciting. The heavy emphasis on locking up good prep pitchers in the draft, on the other hand, is not working out well at all, but there’s time for that to turn around.

It’s a positive, if not surprising, sign that Ryan Garko and Shane Ferrell decided Yost didn’t need extended spring training or work in the Complex League, which opens on May 2, to help prepare him for Florida State League action. Rainer moving up made this the move, but the timing makes sense as well, as the Flying Tigers will start a homestand against the New York Yankees affiliate, the Tampa Bay Tarpons on Tuesday evening. Fellow 2025 first rounder Michael Oliveto will probably need a little more time to refine his work at the catcher position comign out of high school, but his bat is also advanced enough that the two should unite with the Flying Tigers before too long.

As for Rainer, the Tigers wanted to give him some time to get his feet under him before what is still a pretty rapid promotion. At the same time, he’ll be 21 in July and is ready to be pushed even if he struggles along the way. The psuedo rehab assignment in Lakeland allowed him to play in decent weather as he got up to speed. With a homestand starting on Tuesday night versus the Lake County Captains and the weather turning back to spring, it’s a good week to get out to LMCU Park and catch the Whitecaps if you’re in the area. Rainer will probably need some time to adapt to more consistent breaking stuff in the Midwest League, but his defense and the crazy raw power on display are comfortably worth the price of admission alone. He’s a riskier prospect than McGonigle or Max Clark, but the upside here is tremendous.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has a message for anyone who thinks his team is bending MLB's rules regarding two-way players: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

The Dodgers came under fire recently from Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell, who took issue with a recent game in which Shohei Ohtani served as a starting pitcher, but wasn't also in the lineup as designated hitter.

Under MLB rules, two-way players don't count against the 13-pitcher roster limit. So Ohtani effectively gives the Dodgers one more pitcher than any other team.

Before the Brewers' game on Monday, April 20, Counsell called the rule "bizarre" and suggested it gives the Dodgers an unfair advantage. "There’s not another player like that," Counsell said, "but one team gets different rules for that player."

Monday was another fun day for the Braves offense as they won their sixth straight game in a 9-4 victory over the Nationals. Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson had big games, while the offense as a whole once again delivered. However, the story of the game was a stretch of concern after Ronald Acuna Jr. left the game after being hit by a pitch two different times. Fortunately, x-rays were negative and he is day-to-day. Despite the brief scare, it was another highly successful night for the Braves.

Braves News

The week ahead provides plenty of opportunity for the Braves to increase their lead in the NL East.

The sweep of the Phillies provided real proof of how special this team can be.

Matt Powers dives deep in the Braves International Signings over the past decade, highlighted by some notable misses along the way.

One recent international signing who is starting to deliver on his promise is Luis Guanipa.

Mark Bowman looks at how some looming roster decisions are fast approaching for the Braves as players get healthy.

MLB News

The NL Central is proving to be the best division in baseball so far.

Another tough loss for the Phillies to start the week.

Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz will have surgery on his right elbow to remove loose bodies. He could be out three months.

Mariners added Brendan Donovan to the IL.

Sonny Gray of the Red Sox is headed to the IL with a hamstring issue.

The Feed

One development to watch this week is the potential for Didier Fuentes to start Thursday’s game vs. the Nats. Walt Weiss commented that Chris Sale could be a candidate to move back on the schedule due to having a pretty thorough previous outing. If the Braves take care of business over the next few days, Fuentes could be be an option to start Thursday it seems.

The 2025 American League Cy Young runner-up, Garrett Crochet, ranks 72nd of 73 qualified pitchers in ERA this season. Through five starts, he’s registered a 7.88 ERA in 24 innings. Over his last two starts, he’s allowed more earned runs than strikeouts, and more home runs than scoreless innings. After the worst start of his career against the Minnesota Twins, he came out and surrendered a first-inning run against the Detroit Tigers, making Red Sox Nation hold its collective breath. After cruising through the second, third, and fourth innings and allowing Red Sox fans to exhale, the Tigers jumped on him for four more runs in the fifth inning so fast that any breath would have been a gasp.

So, is it time to worry? I touched on this briefly in my game recap, but I say no. The velocity dipped in his start against Minnesota, and he paid the price for it, but it was following a 100+ pitch performance, and consistent with an early-season outing last season after a long outing, when he also temporarily lost some velo. It was back up on Sunday, and the stuff looked as sharp as it normally does. His sinkers on the armside earned strikes, while his fastballs above the zone flew by hitters in two-strike counts. He didn’t get as many strikes with his cutter, but it wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t use the pitch at all.

But there are two problems worth keeping an eye on.

The first is that he’s falling behind hitters. In 2025, Crochet threw 31.5% of his pitches ahead in the count. So far in 2026, that number is down to 25.2%. The league average is down to about 28% from 29%, potentially in part due to ABS, but Crochet went from above average to below. He’s also getting to two-strike counts against fewer hitters. In 2025, according to my janky Excel work, he got two strikes against 57% of the hitters he faced. In 2026, he’s getting to put away counts against 46% of opponents.

The second problem is his execution with two strikes, particularly with his sweeper. I’m going to focus on righties because Crochet isn’t going to see many lefties. Lefties are 4 for 13 against Crochet this season, but his sinker is still incredibly effective, and opponents will start as many righties as possible against him.

In two-strike counts against righties, his sweeper accounts for almost 35% of his offerings. That makes it his most used pitch in those counts, a year after his four-seam dominated in two-strike counts. While he’s throwing it more, it’s been less effective. The putaway rate is down from 30% to 19%, despite a nearly identical shape. When the shape is the same, and the way a pitch is deployed is the same, but the results are different, it typically comes down to location. That’s the case here.

Simply put, he’s not getting the ball to the glove side as frequently. A left-handed sweeper to a right-handed hitter will play best at the back foot, and Crochet hasn’t thrown to that spot as often this season. When it’s over the middle or up, righties can get around it and pull it to left field for hits. The good news is the stuff is still there. Maybe it’s feel, maybe it’s a mechanical issue. Let’s look at it in practice.

Here’s Spencer Torkelson in the fourth inning. His first time up, we walked on five pitches, three of them nowhere close to the strike zone.

The at-bat starts with a fastball for a called strike. It looks like he wanted it up and in, but misses on the arm side, but it’s a strike nonetheless. Good start.

At 0-1, Crochet goes to his sweeper and locates it low in the zone. It’s hard to say if Narvaez’s target is meant to be where the ball is supposed to start or finish, so he might have been looking to backdoor it for a called strike. If it is a miss, it’s not a bad one. It’s low in the zone, and Torkelson’s early swing fouls it off. Now at 0-2, Crochet can throw whatever he wants. I’d probably elevate a four-seam, or double up on the sweeper, and try to get it to the back foot.

He goes with a sinker that’s supposed to be away from Torkelson, but he spikes it for ball one. It’s a non-competitive pitch and a hard sequence off. At 1-2, I’d again look for an elevated four-seam or sweeper.

It’s the sweeper, and it’s a really good one. It doesn’t get a swing, but it’s located in an area where he will get swings if he throws it consistently. It’s maybe a little bit low, but that’s nitpicking. After spitting on a good breaking ball, hitters often look for a fastball because they feel as if they showed the pitcher they have the breaking ball covered. He also knows that Crochet doesn’t want to get to 3-2 with a runner on base and two outs. With that in mind, Crochet can double up on the sweeper in the same location to get a chase from Torkelson.

See what I mean? Torkelson is clearly looking for something hard, and he’s way out in front of this one. That’s basically it for Crochet. When he locates the sweeper, he’s going to carve up lineups. When he doesn’t, and hitters can look for one of his fastballs, things get more difficult. The ability to drop changeups in for called strikes to keep hitters honest would go a long way, but he’s never shown the willingness to commit to the pitch or the ability to throw it in the strike zone.

So that’s what it looks like when it’s going good, but what about when it’s going poorly? Here’s a look at some two-strike offerings against Matt Vierling in the first inning.

The first 0-2 pitch is a sweeper that’s fouled off. Notice the location? It’s in the zone, neither inside nor low enough to get a whiff.

He doubles up on it after the foul ball, this one misses on the arm side, where it’s never close to being a strike. Here are all the whiffs he got on the sweeper against righties last season.

There are a few away from righties, but the vast majority came down and in. Moving on.

At 1-2, Crochet goes to the cutter, and it again catches too much of the plate. Vierling fouls it down the line, and we do it again.

He tries to elevate a four-seam for his fourth two-strike pitch of the at-bat, but it’s down in the zone and fouled straight back. A straight-back foul ball typically means the hitter just missed it, so I’d avoid doubling up on that one.

He goes back to the sweeper, and it’s up in the zone. Vierling gets around it and pulls it into left field for a double. As an aside, sweepers typically benefit from velocity. This one was only 80 mph, a few ticks below his average. I know this is the forum where I’m supposed to dive into this stuff, but it’s late, and I have a deadline, so keep an eye on my Twitter for more on how his sweeper velocity could be impacting his performance.

That’s an example of Crochet not being able to put guys away, one of the issues I mentioned. The other is falling behind hitters. I won’t bore you with videos of Crochet missing with his fastball over and over again, only for the fastballs in the zone to get hit because hitters are ready for it. That’s what happened with Dillon Dingler, who blew the game wide open with his fifth-inning home run.

Long story short, I’d bet on a bounce-back from Crochet. The stuff is still there, and it’s just a matter of execution. Why he hasn’t been able to locate with two strikes, I can’t tell you. Fortunately, it likely isn’t a months-long fix. It could be as simple as throwing on the side between starts and making a tweak to get right. It’s not as if he was totally lost on Sunday, either. It’s easy to think about the run he allowed in the first inning and think that he struggled all day, but in reality, he dominated for the better part of 4.2 innings. His next start will likely come against the Orioles this weekend. I’m backing the pig to get back on track when that time comes.

The Dodgers are without closer Edwin Díaz for at least a few months, with arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow coming on Wednesday in Los Angeles that will sideline him until the second half of the season.

Sunday’s four-batter, no-out outing set off alarm bells for the Dodgers. From Mirjam Swanson in the Los Angeles Times:

“Obviously, we all saw the stuff [Sunday], and it sent up red flags,” Roberts said. “And so, after the game, he had a conversation with our training staff, and felt that he had some elbow discomfort. So we just wanted to be proactive, and felt that it was smart to get an MRI, get imaging, which we did do, and it showed loose bodies.”

Jack Harris at the California Post wrote about the various veteran options with closing experience the Dodgers have for the back end of games, including Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, and Blake Treinen:

“I think we have a lot of guys capable of pitching in the ninth inning,” Gomes said. “It is a different three outs, but we also have multiple guys that have done it at a high level in the past.”

Not among those closing candidates is Roki Sasaki, which was to be expected. From Fabian Ardaya and Katie Woo at The Athletic:

Sasaki turned in sharp results, and his velocity played up in his short stint as a reliever during last year’s playoff run. But his role in the bullpen was strictly situational. The plan was always for him to return to the rotation. Gomes doubled down on that once more Monday afternoon. When he was asked if Sasaki was a candidate to move to the bullpen, the executive responded with a one-word answer: “No.”

Dodgers minor league shortstop Emil Morales, who was named to several top-100 prospect lists this offseason, is off to a solid start thus far, hitting .377/.443/.639 with a 172 wRC+ and 11 extra-base hits in 13 games for the Class-A Ontario Buzzers. The 19-year-old was among a group of prospects whose early performance stood out to Baseball America.

“He’s also making more contact this year, and his 20% strikeout rate is the lowest of his career. That’s encouraging, given the biggest question about Morales’ offensive profile is his hit tool,” wrote Ian Cundall at Baseball America. “The Dodgers have a stable of intriguing prospects on the Ontario team, but Morales might have the most upside of them all. He’s already showing present ability at the plate, and his bat could be ready for a new test soon.”

It is time for Parker Messick to pitch.

The Guardians lost a bad game, yesterday, 9-2, to the Astros. Slade Cecconi looked pretty lousy again, but at least he said the right things after the game:

Steven Kwan, Kyle Manzardo, David Fry, Bo Naylor and Juan Brito are providing next to nothing at the plate. Connor Brogdon, Shawn Armstrong and Matt Festa continue to get hit hard every time out. So, if we solve those eight issues, we’ll win a World Series. Nice to know.

AROUND MLB:

The Tigers and Royals both lost. The Mets lost their 11th straight, which is quite funny.

I spent the weekend covering the Colorado Rockies from Coors Field. Generally, I come away from events like these with ideas for stories or player profiles, but I wanted to do something a bit different this time. I found manager Warren Schaeffer’s media availabilities interesting in that I think they might answer some of the questions we’ve seen on the Purple Row board.

So, I thought I would turn today’s Rockpile over to him:

On the value of one-run games:

Winning is a skill, and we’re learning how to win right now. Little things in the game, early-approach tendencies that we have right now, flipping them. I mean, it’s a difference of a couple pitches in terms of wins and losses, and it’s very valuable that we’re playing one-run games. It’s way better than playing blowout games, that’s for sure. So we’re learning from them. We’re going to get better from them. I know the boys are grinding through it. They’re right in the fight every night, taking them one day at a time, which is what we want.

On the Rockies final game against the Houston Astros, which ended a six-game losing streak:

It was a collective team approach. There’s no doubt about it. It was discussed before the game, and I think it was a commitment to each other — at least that’s what it looked like to me. It was a commitment to each other to move the line. That’s what it looks like. It’s taking balls, not trying to be the man that drives everybody in, letting the next guy do it [and] just taking what they’re giving you. I thought we did it exceptionally well last night. It may be the best of the season. It’s something to build on. Now, the challenge is to repeat it today and to repeat it the next day, and that becomes who we are.

On Chase Dollander’s progress:

I’m more than comfortable with where he’s at because he’s having a lot of success doing it. He’s settled into a routine. The routines are very, very different from being in the bullpen and starting. I mean, obviously, we want him to be a starter long term. That’s the goal, and especially with the innings that he’s throwing right now, that’s basically what he’s doing. It’s just bulk out of the pen. But I think at the moment, we don’t want to mess with the routine because it’s going really well.

On Dollander’s timeline to return to the rotation:

[There’s] no timeline because he’s helping us win. He’s pitching big innings. He’s pitching important innings for us.

On the benefits of Dollander following an opener:

Well, the routine is huge, and the third time through the lineup, he’s not facing the top four hitters, which is a big deal. That’s the main reason why you open, in general, with anybody, is that you can potentially extend your starter longer into the game without the downside of facing the top of the order, which is a huge, huge number advantage to the offense always.

On using bulk relievers:

It is by design in terms of in April at Coors Field, specifically with us, you have a tendency — we have in the past — to absolutely overuse and destroy your one-inning relievers and pitch them in tight games, down tight games, and then by August and September, they’re fried. So I think this definitely extends our short-inning relievers for a longer time in the year. It’s helped, so far, tremendously.

On facing the Dodgers:

[We’re] very eager — no more eager than going to face the Blue Jays in their park, facing Houston at their place. I mean, respect every opponent, fear none. You’re going to hear me say that a lot. This is a team that, for a long time, has had our number, and for that reason alone, we look forward to tonight. No matter what happens tonight, we’re going to look forward to tomorrow, too.

On developing problem solvers:

This is a game where you fail more than any other game. We fail all the time in this game. So if you’re not dedicated and completely committed to solving problems that arise every single day over a 162-game season, you’re in the wrong business. There is a tendency — I get it — to have this thing be monotonous and to overlook things, but we’re not looking to do that. We can’t afford to do that. That’s not the direction we want to go in. So we all want to be problem solvers and to empower players to be problem solvers and be collaborative in the process is the way that I think work gets done the best.

On empowering players:

So when you empower players, you don’t just say, “Hey, we’re the coach. You do this because this is right.” They might be feeling something different. Each player is an individual. We want to get to the solution. It’s about being right and not who’s right. . . . But the collaborative process is the way everything always gets done the best. So I guess, the best way to put it is it’s not a one-way street. You’re empowering them to think, and you’re telling them, “We want you to come up with solutions as well, and we’ll work together to get to the best place possible.”

On overthinking:

That’s where we come in. A lot. If players are overthinkers — which there’s a lot of them out there — it’s just keeping them on track, keeping them in the lane of where we need to go, instead of going way over here or way over here if it’s detrimental. Believe it or not, sometimes, when you go over here, it leads to a solution. So it’s just a matter of knowing your person and who you’re dealing with and their tendency to go that direction, and the ability to keep them straight.

On lineup construction:

The reason Eddie [Julien] is in the top spot — and he’s staying there — is because he gets on base, and that’s his skill set. And we need guys on base at the top of the order. Tyler Freeman, when he plays, will be right up there with Eddie. We just have to be careful with Tyler at the moment. But those two guys at the top because they get on base and they take good at bats. Rumfield towards the top because he does the same thing. He takes really good at-bats, solid at-bats. [Goodman] up there because he drives in runs. We want to get to a point where our one through nine is taking quality at bats, and that’s what we’re looking for, getting those guys more at-bats than the other ones.

. . .

A lot of the time with [Tovar], it’s the matter of lineup construction, in terms of strategy, what they have in the bullpen, where we think some matchups are going to take place later in the game. Today’s lineup is based on that. Getting pockets for left-handers, pockets for right-handers in what we’re trying to do, knowing where we’re going to pinch hit in games to get the best matchups. So there’s a lot of in-game thinking to it — match up against the starter who you want. Maybe some days you want to get the most runs off of that starter. So you stack your lefties on the top of the lineup.

Schaeffer’s comments gave me a much better sense of the Rockies thinking on Chase Dollander, and I also appreciated getting to see him explain how their system works. I’ll be eager to hear your takeaways.

This week on the internet

Please enjoy these GIFs of various Rockies players fishing:

The Colorado Rockies’ Early Feedback on the ABS Challenge System | Just Baseball

Patrick Lyons explores what the Rockies are learning about ABS.

Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing tells reporters Rockies’ first-pitch swings are ‘fishy’ |Awful Announcing

The folks over at Awful Announcing did their homework, which revealed — zero surprises here — that the Rockies swing at first pitches a lot, no matter the team they’re facing.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Triple-A Nashville Sounds (11-9)

Record this week: 5-1

Standout performances:

Luis Lara (No. 11): 7-for-22, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K, 3 SB

Jett Williams (No. 3): 7-for-22, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 6 K

Jeferson Quero (No. 8): 4-for-19, 6 RBI, 7 K

Brock Wilken (No. 21): 4-for-15, 4 RBI, 9 BB

Eddys Leonard: 6-for-16, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 5 K

Shane Drohan (No. 24): 10.1 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 11 K, 3 BB

Logan Henderson (No. 7): 3 IP, 2 H 1 ER, 3 BBs, 4 Ks

Tate Kuehner: 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hs, 1 BB, 5 Ks

Luis Lara has continued to produce for the Sounds, hitting .318 with an .832 OPS over 22 at-bats this week. The Brewers’ top outfield prospect (aside from Jett Williams) is now slashing .352/.446/.507 in his first 71 at-bats with Nashville. Injuries and ineffectiveness have plagued Milwaukee’s outfield early in the season — if Lara keeps this up for even a couple more weeks, he might see himself in a Brewers uniform this summer.

Another player that probably won’t spend the whole season in Triple-A is Williams, who had three extra base hits while walking almost exactly as much as he struck out. Williams is still only hitting .219 (.653 OPS), but this week’s performance served as a reminder why he’s considered one of the best prospects in the organization. Jeferson Quero didn’t hit for a high average this week, but came through in the clutch with more RBIs (6) than hits (4).

Brock Wilken has had a rough start to the season (7-for-60 with 24 K). Wilken hit 18 home runs in 79 games last year, but only has one through 19 games in 2026. Still, four of those seven hits came this week, which — along with his nine walks — is a sign that he’s figuring things out at the plate.

Shane Drohan served as the staff’s workhorse, giving up more than a hit per inning but limiting Worcester to 3 earned runs over 10 1/3 innings. Logan Henderson and Tate Kuehner also put together solid outings this week.

Next week’s opponent: @ Charlotte Knights (Chicago White Sox)

Double-A Biloxi Shuckers (7-8)

Record this week: 2-4

Standout performances:

Dylan O’Rae: 8-for-23, 3 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K

Jesús Made (No. 1): 7-for-24, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBIs, 5 BB, 2 K

Eduardo Garcia: 7-for-25, 2B, HR

Jaron DeBerry: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

Tyson Hardin (No. 18): 6 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

One of Biloxi’s standout players early in the season has been shortstop Dylan O’Rae, the Brewers’ 2022 third-round pick. He raked at the lower levels of the minors before being promoted to Double-A midway through the 2024 season, where he struggled. O’Rae ended up missing the entire 2025 season to a wrist injury, but he’s back and has been seeing the ball well — hitting over .300 in back-to-back weeks. He’s worth keeping an eye on as he gets his feet under him.

Jesús Made continues to do Jesús Made things, drawing Jose Ramirez comparisons with a monster week that included five extra base hits. He now has a 1.019 OPS, making him a candidate for a Triple-A call-up — although that probably wouldn’t happen until Jett Williams debuts with the Brewers.

DeBerry and Hardin were the only Biloxi pitchers to go more than three innings and record an ERA of 3 or under. Blake Burke (4-for-24, HR) and Mike Boeve (5-for-20, 10 K) both had down weeks.

Next week’s opponent: vs. Rocket City Trash Pandas (Los Angeles Angels)

High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (8-5)

Record this week: 4-2

Standout performances:

Josh Adamczewski (No. 10): 6-for-16, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K

Daniel Dickinson (No. 29): 7-for-16, 1 BB, 3 K

Josiah Ragsdale: 5-for-16, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 6 K

Andrew Fischer (No. 5): 5-for-15, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K

Luis Peña (No. 2): 4-for-15, HR, 1 BB, 2 K

Braylon Payne (No. 13): 5-for-12, 1 HR, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 K

Braylon Owens: 7 1/3 IP, 3 ERs, 6 Hs, 3 BBs, 13 Ks

Bryce Meccage (No. 21): 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

Pretty much every highly-ranked position player prospect on the Timber Rattlers has showed up to start the season. Josh Adamczewski (1.302), Luis Peña (1.059), and Braylon Payne (1.011) all have OPSes over 1.000 through the first thirteen games of the season. Marco Dinges (.955) isn’t far off of Peña and Payne.

Andrew Fischer is slashing .256/.375/.419 with 11 RBI, tied with Adamczewski for the team lead. The 20 strikeouts in 43 at-bats stand out, but there’s little reason for concern at this stage.

For one, Fischer was able to significantly reduce his strikeout rate during his final college season, showing an ability to adjust his approach while maintaining success at the plate. This is also his first full year in pro ball, so some week-to-week volatility is expected as he gets used to higher-level pitching. The strikeouts are worth monitoring, but the overall profile remains encouraging — especially if his K rate begins to stabilize over the next few weeks. Even while striking out so often, he’s still producing an OPS near .800.

Luis Peña needed some time to adjust to High-A last season, but whatever he did this offseason is already paying off. Peña is now slashing .400/.488/.571 with just six strikeouts on the year. He’s totaled three extra-base hits so far, but he’s only 19 — the power should show up in games sooner rather than later. Hard to nitpick a teenager who’s hitting .400 while making this much contact.

It’s been a tougher introduction to High-A for Eric Bitonti (No. 25), who has struck out in 18 of his first 37 at-bats (48.6%). The raw power is still very real — arguably among the best in the system — but it hasn’t translated yet, with just one home run to this point.

Next week’s opponent: @ Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres)

Single-A Wilson Warbirds (6-9)

Record this week: 3-3

Standout performances:

José Anderson: 5-for-20, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1 BB, 12 K

Luiyin Alastre: 5-for-19, 2 2B, 1 BB, 6 K

Juan Ortuno: 5-for-19, 3 BB, 6 K

Tyler Renz: 2 GS, 9 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 6 BB, 7 K

The Warbirds’ offense struggled again this week, as no player with 10 or more at-bats hit above .263. Jose Anderson, who now leads Wilson with three home runs on the season, put together another solid week despite striking out 12 times in 20 at-bats. Brady Ebel went 3-for-19, although he walked more than he struck out. Jadyn Fielder went 1-for-8 with a double, three walks, and four strikeouts.

Tyler Renz started two games for Wilson and pitched well in both, ending the week with a 2.00 ERA. Renz, a 2024 18th round pick, is still just 19 years old and had a 3.19 ERA last year between rookie ball and High-A. His ERA is down to 1.93 through 14 innings this season despite walking twice as many batters per nine innings (6.43) as he did last year (3.04)

Next week’s opponent: @ Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles)

Player of the Week

As always, there were a few strong candidates, but Josh Adamczewski clearly separated himself this week.

Adamczewski slashed .375/.524/1.125 with four home runs over the past seven days alone. He wasn’t ranked among the MLB Pipeline top-30 Brewers prospects entering last season, but with the graduation of Brandon Sproat he’s now inside the top 10. If you throw out the seven at-bats he logged in 2023, he’s posted an OPS of .900 or better in every season since joining the organization.

Adamczewski’s overall line this season borders on absurd: .310/.474/.828 (yes, that’s his slugging percentage, not his OPS) with five home runs in just 29 at-bats.

As of now, he’s still listed as an infielder, but he’s not a standout defender there — especially compared to players like Cooper Pratt, Made, and Peña. The Brewers are clearly prioritizing finding ways to get Adamczewski’s bat in the lineup, so they’ve been giving him most of his reps in the outfield dating back to the Arizona Fall League. That’s carried over into the regular season. Adamczewski has started every game this year in left field, with just one appearance at second base (coming as a late-game defensive substitution).

Play of the Week

Here’s Luis Lara getting up to rob Nick Sogard of a home run. I hope Pat Murphy saw this.

The Royals released Asa Lacy yesterday.

Lacy, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 Draft, came to the Kansas City organization as a highly touted left-handed pitcher from Texas A&M who, on stuff alone, showed the potential of a frontline starter. The Royals gave him a $6.67 million signing bonus, a franchise record for a drafted pitcher. He was ranked as high as No. 30 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list in 2021, his first full season in professional baseball.

But Lacy never found the command to allow him to take a step forward in his early seasons, and then injuries took over, including a lat/shoulder injury in 2021, a back injury in ‘22 and ‘23 and two Tommy John surgeries — one in the offseason after the ‘23 season and one in ‘25. He’s still rehabbing from the second one.

Jaylon Thompson writes about Jonathan India hitting the Injured List.

The Royals are hopeful India isn’t sidelined long-term. For now, he will meet with team doctors to determine the severity of the injury. “It’s a chronic shoulder issue that he’s had,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You know, it just wasn’t getting better this year. He aggravated it a few times on dives. And it’s loose. It’s something he’s gonna have to get checked out and see if we can help him get through it.”

Sam McDowell writes about the examples the Royals are looking to in these dark times. (Woof)

The 1914 World Series champion sat 14 games under .500 in early July. The Braves — and this is so long ago that they played their home games in Boston — were baseball’s laughingstock, 11 straight losing seasons and barreling toward another before they suddenly and stunningly won 68 of their final 87 games to earn a spot in the World Series.

Caleb Moody at Kings of Kauffman writes about Nick Loftin’s role as he was called up to take India’s spot.

As someone who can play all around the infield and the corner outfield, there’s no shortage of places Loftin could make his mark in this lineup. In fact, as it stands right now, there’s plenty of places he can occupy that the Royals don’t fair well in in comparison to the rest of the league.

We’ve established that Loftin could make a difference at second base, but he could make his mark in the outfield, with Caglianone, Isaac Collins, Lane Thomas and Starling Marte all performing under par.

The Blue Jays had to take a bus from Phoenix to SoCal after mechanical issues with their plane prevented air travel.

Brendan Donovan hits the injured list.

Edwin Díaz will be out several months with loose bodies in his elbow.

Could Mason Miller win the Cy Young?

FanGraphs put out a simulator.

The NFL Draft is this week. Here’s one of many mock drafts. Thursday night is the draft.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid talks about establishing the run.

Free agent QB Jimmy Garoppolo is considering retirement.

The Dallas Cowboys gave kicker Brandon Aubrey a boatload of money.

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama won the defensive player of the year award unanimously, which was a first.

AppleTV show Schmigadoon! is now a Broadway musical also called Schmigadoon!. My wife loved the TV show.

Your song of the day is the cast of Ragtime with New Music.