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Whoa, last night was fun, no? This playoff series win was at least five years in the making, which is exactly the last time the Braves won a playoff series. The Phillies have excelled at beating the Braves in October in recent years, but didn’t have a lot of luck with anyone else. I felt very confident in the 50-50 nature of this particular encounter, and felt Atlanta could pull this off if they don’t blow it. However that’s been the rub, nay a calloused blister formed over 35 years of (mostly) playoff disappointment. But Michael Harris and crew pushed through years of angst and pain into the next playoff round.

The Braves will have to refocus on the red-eye flight this morning and prepare for a much different encounter tomorrow. The Dodgers will be rested and preparing to kick off their run toward a third World Series title. This is not a team like the Phillies, who needed to scratch and claw to advance and brought a jumbled and rest-deprived starting rotation. Let’s have a look at that Dodgers rotation and what will greet the Braves.

Starting Rotation

The Dodgers healthy starting pitching options look like this: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Justin Wrobleski, and Emmet Sheehan. Is that all they have and no Shohei Ohtani, huh Dodgers? They aren’t the Evil Empire 2.0 for nothing, folks. The best option to start Game 1 will be Yoshinobu Yamamoto. After him the Dodgers can run three left-hand starting pitchers at Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson and Michael Harris II. Let’s walk through Yamamoto first.

Those are some menacing red bars there. The other menacing part is the arsenal, which includes a 96 MPH fastball, split-finger, cutter, curveball, sinker, and slider. The four-season fastball usage has gone down season, and so have the strikeouts. But he has back-to-back 4.6+ WAR seasons, so it’s a pick-your-poison type of encounter.

I would expect the Yoshinobu to dial up the fastball some more in Game 1. There’s no reason to ration the fastballs or the MPH. He will enter Game 1 after 10 days of rest. The rested bullpen will be able to pick him up later in the game. If you’re looking for green shoots, Michael Harris is 2-6 lifetime versus Yamamoto. Drake Baldwin has a home in 3 plate appearances. All of NLWCS starters have hits off him except Matt Olson and Mauricio Dubon. But combined they’re 8-44 with 1 home run and a .182/.250/.333 line.

Next up will be the two lefties: Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell. Let’s grudgingly look at these lefty options.

If you don’t know Tarik Skubal, you may wish that you haven’t. He was the prize trade deadline target this July, and of course the Dodgers with their army of talent were able to get his services. He’s a back-to-back Cy Young award winner. He’s accumulated 1075 strikeouts in his age 29 season and 24.7 WAR. There’s no telling what it would take to sign him in the offseason. But right now, he’s bearing down on the Braves.

His fastball touches 100, works a devastating changeup off it, a sinker, slider, and why not a curveball as well. He’s also never faced the Braves as a team. Neat. For Game 3, Blake Snell has 28.3 career WAR, but has been limited to 104 innings over the last few years. He exited a game on September 16th after 1 inning with a groin issue. But it’s apparently okay now.

Tyler Glasnow might be waiting in Game 4. He’s been back after a back injury that warranted a 60-day Injured List stint. He’s put up a 4.46/2.14/2.88 line since. He struck out 7 Braves in five innings in a game that the Braves would eventually win on August 25th.

Dodgers Heavy Hitters

The Dodgers are second in position player WAR at 26.9 WAR and feature nine hitters with at least 10 home runs. Shohei Ohtani will not be pitching, but he brings a team-high 30 HRs and 139 wRC+. Mookie Betts has a .780 OPS at short. Max Muncy has 29 home runs and a .830 OPS. Old friend Freddie Freeman has been merely pretty good with a 120 wRC+. Then there’s Andy Pages and Will Smith as well, and Teoscar Hernandez with his torture devices. It’s a deep lineup, everybody.

Dodgers bullpen

Lefty Tanner Scott brings a 100 MPH fastball and 25 saves into this series. However the Braves victimize him for two losses to August. Those would be the Ha-Seong Kim game and another featuring Ozzie Alibes with an 8th-inning RBI single.

I’m deeply concerned about Game 1

Yesterday these guys were dumping champaign on each other deep into the night. Since June, the Braves are 5-10 in the first game of a road series when they don’t get a travel day. They appear to arrive in new cities rather flat. This time they will have Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Tarik Skubal waiting on them. Now, they do get a travel day this time. But they will also arrive with their starting rotation in a mess.

Chris Sale bookended the previous series. Starting him on Sunday for Game 2 would keep him in line to pitch Game 5, or perhaps be the fireman in a Game 4. But what does Walt Weiss do for Game 1? It’s too early for Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes just pitched almost 1 turn through the order. No one knows yet if Bryce Elder will be available (at time of writing, at least). Martin Perez won’t be eligible to return until Game 3. And hero Ray Kerr just picked up 10 outs. So what can Walt Weiss do?

There’s Didier Fuentes, Brent Suter, Dylan Dodd and Robert Suarez as multi-inning options. JR Ritchie and AJ Smith-Shawver are also available. Weiss has limited options here. They might not have a starter and they may not score.

Are the Dodgers going to pitch to Ronald?

Ronald Acuña Jr went 1 for 9 in the NL Wild Card Series. However, he needed to be super patient. There were 4 walks, with one of those intentional in a Game 2 big spot. Overall, he had a very good .385 OBP versus the top end of the Philadelphia pitching staff. But it won’t fit The Narrative^TM and only the 1 for 9 will be remembered. However, look what he was served.

This is a classic Don Mattingly approach, especially as the Marlins manager. A heavy dose of inside pitches, and no fastballs in the healthy part of the zone. They dotted the upper inside corner, which is thankfully better than in his ear as in previous seasons. The walks definitely hurt the Phillies last night, mainly because of what Michael Harris would contribute. I’m not sure how the Dodgers will approach Ronald. But with some strong left handed pitching, they may not have to challenge him. Postseason games hinge on home runs, and they may elect to not give him that opportunity.

What happened to the outfield defense?

This was funny, but the play in right field overall in the Wild Card Series was bad, shambolic even. Even Michael Harris had trouble in the first inning of the series. But there’s a throughline between Ronald Acuña Jr and Bryce. Both have had numerous lower body injuries. Harper has been ailing since June. When Ronald would finally get comfortable at the plate this season, an injury would knock him off track.

While Harper has the offseason now to rest and perhaps consider options for his knee. The Braves will play again on Saturday afternoon. Designated hitter is an option for Acuña, but it’s also a position that Drake Baldwin needs while not behind the plate. Lane Thomas is returning, but I don’t know if this helps this particular situation. The Dodger Stadium’s right field has some nuance, so Ronnie will have to be on his toes.

So now, Ronald will be in a position where he may not have as many opportunities for power. And he may be hobbled in right field. Atlanta media is going to Atlanta media, and the national ones may pile on as well. So it’s essential for the Braves that Ronald make the most of this series. And it will save us a full offseason of hot takes.

Ray Kerr is not a playoff one-off

Kerr was acquired by the Atlanta Braves in exchange for the Braves assuming 4 million of Matt Carpenter’s contract over the 2023 offseason. I remember being very excited about this move. I saw a lefty with a 96 MPH fastball, 3 option years, and a 38/13 K/BB ratio. I thought at the very least that the Braves would have a bullpen arm in the prime of his playing years that they could bring up and down as needed. So upside would be 2024 Dylan Lee, and baseline a helpful arm. With Bryce Elder and Martin Perez possibly unavailable, he may be employed as a multiple inning option again this series.

Projected Pitching Matchups

Fangraphs is guessing Didier Fuentes versus Tarik Skubal in Game 1. They give the Dodgers a 62% chance to win. I think Brent Suter is more likely, though we may see both. And we may see Yamamoto first, because Suter versus Skubal feels like overkill.

Game 2 will feature Chris Sale versus Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Again, the Dodgers might flip the first too. But Fangraphs gives the Dodgers a 56% chance in this matchup.

Game 3 will be a battle of Tylers. Glasnow for the Dodgers will meet Mahle for the Braves. Fangraphs puts 56% Dodgers again.

I don’t feel comfortable guessing any deeper for this series. And I would argue with Fangraphs’ odds, but honestly those numbers feel slightly favorable. The Braves did win 5 of 6 matchups this season. So maybe these are okay.

Dodgers in 4?

In any other regular season scenario, I wouldn’t be worried about Los Angeles. The Braves tended to play up for good teams this year more than any other year. They have the second best winning percentage versus over-.500 teams. However, they will enter this round with depleted starting pitching, a sagging offense, and perhaps a metaphorical (not physical, please) hangover. But we might as well win now that we’re past the first round.

Well, that was not the Wild Card round we wanted. This Cubs team provided the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in 2026. We’ll think of this as the year of the walkoff, brought to you in no small part by a pitching staff that was decimated by injuries. Pete Crow-Armstrong notching the first 40-40 season in the history of the franchise is clearly the defining highlight of the season, and we’ll all celebrate his MVP award when it’s official. But at the end of the day this team hit one of their down stretches towards the end of September and really just never turned it around. It’s disappointing, but baseball is gonna baseball.

Without the Cubs cheering interest in the Division Series this guide will return to its original vibe: a slightly snarky, but hopefully informative, look at all of the divisional action that kicks off tomorrow in Cleveland. Most of the former Cubs in the field were eliminated in the Wild Card round. So unless you’re really pulling for Cody Bellinger and the Yankees for some unfathomable reason, might I propose jumping on the bandwagon of the world’s most famous Chicagoan: Pope Leo XIV and cheering for the White Sox?

White Sox vs. Guardians: The choices of Master Samwise

To cheer for Chicago or to cheer against Chicago? That is a deep question many Cubs fans face today. As a Cubs fan who grew up far away and moved to Chicago in 2015, I’ve just really never had the animosity for the Sox that many native Chicagoans profess. Cheering for Cleveland, Tampa Bay or San Diego over the Sox really just feels ridiculous. There is no world where I’m taking Atlanta or Milwaukee over a team from Chicago and don’t make me laugh by suggesting I cheer for either coastal Death Star, have we met?

The Sox won their first playoff series since 2005 taking out the Astros in Houston. They’ll return to Chicago with a flawed, but scrappy team. Manager Will Venable will send Hagen Smith, the Game 1 opener from the Wild Card round, to the mound for Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series. Hey, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it [VIDEO].

To advance to the American League Championship Series, the Sox will need to thwart the Guardians. The Guardians have won the AL Central for the last three seasons, although they’ve only posted 90+ wins one time in that period. They’ll send Parker Messick, Gavin Williams and (likely) Foster Griffin to the mound.

On the position side Cleveland is still led by José Ramírez, although the future Hall of Famer had a down year this season only slashing .235/.320/.368 with 12 home runs with a wRC+ of 92 in 544 plate appearances. To put that in perspective, his 2025 slashline was .283/.360/.503 with 30 home runs and a wRC+ of 133 in 673 plate appearances. Savvy readers will note that 130 plate appearance difference, it seems pretty clear J-Ram was dealing with injuries this year. It’s worth keeping an eye on whether the drive all players destined for Cooperstown have will kick in in October transcending whatever issues hamstrung him in 2026. It’s worth noting he seemed to tap into that for his 1,000th RBI, which came on this solo home run in September [VIDEO].

The bullpens are closer in raw talent than you might think, with the Guardians rostering one of the best closers in the game in Cade Smith and the White Sox countering with Grant Taylor (who I discussed at length in the Wild Card Series guide). The Guardians relievers put up a 3.54 ERA off a 3.70 FIP with 46 saves in 63 opportunities this season. By fWAR their bullpen ranked second in the American League behind Boston. Meanwhile the White Sox relievers put up a 3.70 ERA off a 4.10 FIP with 41 saves in 71 opportunities. They ranked fifth by fWAR in the AL.

The regular season between these two teams was about as even as it gets with the White Sox holding a 7-6 edge over the course of the season.

Braves vs. Dodgers: Out of the frying pan into the fryer

The Phillies gave the Braves a real run for their money coming back to win Game 2 of the Wild Card round before ultimately succumbing in Game 3. The Braves won handily, and probably feel a bit of swagger heading to LA. They’ll need every ounce of that swagger to take on the defending World Series Champion Dodgers.

There are not probable pitchers announced for either team beyond the Dodgers Game 1 hurler, Tarik Skubal. FanGraphs Roster Resource currently projects Game 1 as a bullpen game for the Braves followed by Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow following Skubal for the Dodgers [VIDEO].

Starting pitching seems like a definitive edge to the Dodgers, if only because L.A. will line up three aces and Atlanta will counter with a future Hall of Fame ace, a solid guy and their bullpen. It’s a similar story on the offensive side of the equation where the Braves are led by first baseman Matt Olson who hit 41 home runs in 2026 plus catcher Drake Baldwin, former MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. and Cubs killer Ozzie Albies. But the Dodgers are sporting the second best offense in MLB behind the Chicago Cubs. It turns out even relatively down years from guys like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman is still utterly dominant relative to the rest of the league [VIDEO].

Even the bullpen, which had given the Dodgers some trouble down the stretch, shows a large edge for LA. While some of their relievers struggled at times this season, they righted the ship in the final two weeks of the season. Closer Tanner Scott had a 2.69 ERA off a 2.10 FIP with 26 saves in 63.2 innings. Braves closer Raisel Iglesias compares favorably to Scott head-to-head with a 2.55 ERA off a 3.17 FIP and 34 saves in 60 innings, however the remainder of Atlanta’s pen just isn’t in the same league as the Dodgers [VIDEO].

For what it’s worth, despite all of the statistical indicators pointing in the direction of the Dodgers, Atlanta won this series handily in 2026 taking five of six meetings between the two teams.

Yankees vs. Rays: The steward and the king

All due apologies to the Tampa Bay Rays with the title here, but until the sabermetrically inclined little front office who could can hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy they are going to have to live with looking like the underdog against the Yankees. Yes, that’s even true when the Rays won 98 games to their division rival’s 93. Yes, even when you’ve narrowly beaten the Yankees head-to-head in seven of 13 games.

Admittedly, the Rays will likely get a shot at the king playing without their best hitter. Aaron Judge was left off the Wild Card roster due to a calf strain that has kept him from fulling engaging in baseball activities. As of Friday afternoon, it seems probable he’ll be left off the Division Series roster as well. Ben Rice did an excellent job filling Judge’s size 17 shoes. The Yankees first baseman went five for ten with two home runs and six RBI in the Wild Card round. Meanwhile, the Rays best hitter is absolutely 23-year-old Junior Caminero who hit .276/.360/.524 with 42 home runs and a wRC+ of 142 in 702 plate appearances. Caminero is in the PCA tier of outstanding young MLB talent as evidenced by the fact that it was the second 40-home run campaign of his young career [VIDEO].

The Rays were actually ahead of the Yankees offensively this season, pacing the American League in position player fWAR with the Yankees 2.6 fWAR behind (admittedly, in one fewer game).

The Yankees hold the edge in pitching, however, and you don’t need to look further than Cam Schlittler’s performance against the Red Sox to see why. While both the Rays and the Yankees have excellent starting and relief pitching the Yankees just edge out the Rays in both categories. While the Rays will send Drew Rasmussen and his 2.67 ERA off a 2.82 FIP in 172 innings to the mound in Game 1 followed by Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez, the Yankees will counter with Gerrit Cole, followed by Wild Card hero Schlittler and (probably) Max Fried. You can marvel over what a weapon Schlittler can be reliving his 10 strikeouts against the Red Sox below [VIDEO].

Padres vs. Brewers: Fire and water

The day before the Cubs began their unceremonial march to being swept out of the Wild Card round by the Padres I wrote about my concerns regarding the way they were limping into the Postseason on the back of a difficult schedule. Part of my concern was also how hot the Padres were finishing the season with a 16-2 mark in their last 18 games. Well, now make that an 18-2 mark in their last 20 games as they head into Milwaukee to take on the team who posted the best record in baseball this season: The Brewers.

To be clear, the Brewers aren’t exactly limping into the playoffs. They won their last five games and went 15-5 in their last 20. This is truly two teams at their peak colliding. It should be an incredible series for baseball fans.

The Brewers will hand the baseball to likely NL Cy Young award winner Jacob Misiorowski while the Padres will counter with veteran Robbie Ray. Baseball is prone to the strangest outcomes, so it is entirely possible that Ray will outduel Misiorowski just because, however it’s hard to fathom they guy who’s thrown more than 1,000 pitches over 100 MPH as a starter flopping in early October [VIDEO]:

In game two, Logan Henderson will take on Michael King in a matchup that is sure to give Cubs fans flashbacks to unhittability, and while things are unannounced for Game 3, it certainly seems like a Brewers bullpen situation led by some combination of Dustin May, Shane Drohan and Robert Gasser going toe-to-toe with Nick Pivetta.

The Padres should hold the advantage offensively if they can figure out the Brewers elite pitching. Fair warning, Cubs fans may not like the next video, but I really don’t know a better way to show how much damage Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado can do early in the game with the bat than this [VIDEO].

The bullpens are probably comparable with maybe a slight edge to the Padres? The question mark is deliberate, it’s hard to know how it will play out in reality but the San Diego bullpen can basically shut a game down after the sixth inning with some combination of Mason Miller, Bradgley Rodriguez, Adrian Morejon, Yuki Matsui and Jason Adam. Frankly, that list is deep enough you can imagine it shutting down two games played on back-to-back nights with that crew [VIDEO].

That’s no shade to an excellent bullpen in Milwaukee. Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby are a fierce trio at the end of games, but you’d absolutely rather be the team wielding the five-headed monster than the three-headed monster to close out games in October.

It’s probably more important that both of these teams are the hottest versions of themselves than anything that came before. That said, it is worth noting that the Padres won the season series four games to two.

The Yankees made headlines with an unusual roster construction in the Wild Card. Confident in their starting rotation and recognizing the team’s extreme lefty/right splits, New York carried a Major League record 16 position players, carrying just ten pitchers for the three-game set with the Boston Red Sox. While the team did not, in the end, need that entire bench — only 14 players actually got in the games, with Giancarlo Stanton and Ali Sánchez riding the bench — the decision drew quite a bit of attention: the NBC broadcast routinely stressed the wide variety of buttons that Aaron Boone had at his disposal, while Michael Baumann of FanGraphs published an article on Wednesday titled, “Everybody Except the Yankees Is Doing Wild Card Roster Construction Wrong.”

The historic move worked out pretty much perfectly. The Bombers sent out two very different lineups in each of the two games against Boston, with only five position players — designated hitter Ben Rice, left fielder Cody Bellinger, shortstop George Lombard Jr., outfielder Spencer Jones, and catcher Austin Wells — slotted into the lineup both nights; furthermore, in each game, the team went to the bench early and often: Luis García Jr. and Paul Goldschmidt pinch hit in the games they didn’t start, and Ryan McMahon, Trent Grisham, and José Caballero came in for defense. While these moves were not, obviously, the reason the Yankees won the series (holding the Boston lineup to just two runs on seven hits across 18 innings gets top billing), this flexibility off the bench was a weapon that Boston manager Chad Tracy had to contend with.

Despite its success, though, conventional wisdom dictates that the Yankees surrender this advantage against the Rays in the ALDS. They carried 12 pitchers last year, 11 in 2024, and 12 in 2022: fewer than the standard 13 they carry during the regular season, but nonetheless more than the 10 they carried this week. The thing is, though…how often do teams actually need more than 10 pitchers in the Divisional Series? Can the Bombers avoid the position player roster crunch — or rather, even more of one than they’re going to have when Aaron Judge returns from injury?

To see just how far the Yankees can realistically push the oversized bench in the ALDS, I went back to every Divisional Series from 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 (i.e., every year since the most recent CBA, when the Wild Card Game was expanded into the Wild Card Series) and counted how many pitchers each team actually used over the course of the series. I also documented how many different pitchers got the start, to see if that had any effect on the total (I did not record how many starting pitchers were used out of the bullpen, at least in this preliminary analysis).

Of these 32 teams, seven teams only used 10 pitchers, while one team — the 2022 Yankees, whose series went five games against Cleveland — used just nine. A full quarter of the time, teams were able to get away with the number of pitchers the Yankees had in the Wild Card Series, and while that’s much smaller than the 42 percent who used 12 or 13 pitchers, it suggests that entering the series with a skeleton bullpen is not exactly an impossible ask.

Since eight pitching staffs are a much more reasonable sample size, I then decided to take a deep dive into these staffs, looking into how many starting pitchers they used in relief.

The raw numbers don’t tell the whole story, of course — one of the five relievers on the 2022 Yankees was Clarke Schmidt, who did make a handful of starts that year between Triple-A and the Majors, and one on the 2024 Kansas City Royals was Kris Bubic, a starting pitcher who worked out of the bullpen while recovering from Tommy John surgery; both pitchers were capable of going multiple innings if needed. Even so, though, these numbers give some reasons both for and against the Yankees’ ability to carry just 10 pitchers.

The biggest reason not to carry a short bullpen is the fact that the Yankees are lined up to use four starters during the ALDS, with Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole, and Carlos Rodón likely to get the ball against Tampa Bay. Of these eight squads, only two were able to get by with 10 pitchers while using four starters — and in truth, only one had a “traditional” pitching staff, as the 2024 Detroit Tigers employed “pitching chaos” behind ace Tarik Skubal. In a five-game set, it’s already harder to keep the circle of trust completely closed without burning out the bullpen, and even more so when you’re only squeaking by with the bare minimum number of starting pitchers to begin with.

The Bombers, though, do have one trick up their sleeve: the number of starting pitchers and multi-inning relievers available out of the bullpen. Will Warren has already made his first postseason appearance of the season, coming on in relief of Fried on Wednesday night. Paul Blackburn has gone more than one inning in 32 of his 62 appearances. Long reliever Ryan Yarbrough and starter Ryan Weathers should be able to provide multiple innings, and it’s likely at least one (if not both) will make the roster. Brent Headrick, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to need much rest at all, having pitched in 81 games this season — a full half the season. And, if the rotation is lined up as I expect it will, with Schlittler getting Games 2 and 5, and Fried Game 3, either Cole or Rodón will get the ball in Game 4; given the amount of rest they’ve had, it wouldn’t surprise me to see whoever doesn’t get the Game 1 start come out of the bullpen in that game if the situation arises.

It might be theoretically possible, then, for the Yankees to get by with just 10 pitchers. In all likelihood, though, I doubt it’s going to be something they’re actually going to try: even with the extensive amount of rest built into the schedule (the Yankees have off-days scheduled between Games 1 and 2, 2 and 3, and 4 and 5, only playing on back-to-back days once — and at home), the fact that the team lines up best with four starters makes it unlikely we’ll see them risk rolling with just a six-man ‘pen. Even so, I’d expect Aaron Boone to keep the circle of trust small and keep only 11 pitchers; assuming Judge doesn’t return from the IL (I will personally be surprised if he returns before the ALCS), that would mean the Yankees would only need to drop one position player, and thus can employ the deep and flexible bench they used so well against Boston.

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers will have a familiar face and voice on the field before Saturday’s opener of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium, as Keith Williams Jr. is slated to sing the national anthem before Game 1 against the Atlanta Braves.

It’s the 14th postseason national anthem at Dodger Stadium dating back to 2016 for Williams, who also sang before Game 1 of the 2025 wild card round and for Game 3 of the 2025 NLCS. Williams also performed the national anthem before opening day this regular season on March 26.

Saxophonist Mike Phillips will perform the national anthem ahead of Game 2 on Sunday evening.

For other pregame ceremonies, Adrián González will throw out the first pitch before Game 1 and Reggie Smith will do the honors before Game 2. Both will also say “It’s time for Dodger baseball” ahead of their games.

González played in four NL Division Series with the Dodgers (2013-16), and hit .260/.299/.438 with four home runs and 14 RBI in 18 games. Smith played in one NLDS with the Dodgers, after the strike-shortened 1981 season, and had one hit in two at-bats plus a sacrifice fly and two RBI in three games against the Houston Astros. Smith was inducted into the Legends of Dodger Baseball in August.

If the NLDS goes the distance, the Dodgers will have Manny Mota and José Mota involved in the ceremonial first pitch before Game 5 next Friday, October 9, with Amber Blue singing the anthem.

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

The idiot that said, “Harper is coming” asks:Was that fun or what? Share some of your feelings about the absolute destruction of the Boston Red Sox in historic fashion.

The Wild Card Series ended up being a rout, and while I definitely favored the Yankees over the Red Sox I wouldn’t have guessed the final tally would see New York put up 18 runs to Boston’s two. The games were definitely tense for a good bit before they became stomps, as Boston’s starters were doing well to keep pace with the Yankees’ until they were both pulled to disastrous effects. I think that the gap in managerial experience in this series was abundant, as now-no-longer-interim manager Chad Tracy didn’t have much of a feel for when he should’ve trusted his starters. The more egregious case was Sonny Gray, who was only at 70 pitches and as he stated his own case in the post-game was an extremely effective pitcher going through the order a third time, whereas Payton Tolle was at least a little deeper into his pitch count. Meanwhile, Boone and company were ahead of the game in constructing their Wild Card Series roster and the Yankee skipper got to pull out all the stops in playing to his matchups with great success. I imagine the ALDS roster will be a little more balanced in the number of pitchers versus position players making Boone’s choices in this regard a little more difficult to make going forward, but this team has had to make the most of their platoons throughout the year and I think that can be a real strength for them now in the Postseason.

As for the damage they did once they got to that Boston bullpen… my goodness. It felt like an entire summer’s worth of frustration unleashed into near-perfect execution. We’ll get into the specifics of their turnaround in a minute, but a Ben Rice masterpiece followed by a team-wide throttling was absolutely thrilling to watch. Everybody got involved, from the most downtrodden names in the middle of the year to the stars they were counting on, and it felt like a resounding answer to the question looming over everyone’s head about how far this team could go if Aaron Judge isn’t going to be available.

The absolute cherry on top of this performance was watching the pitching staff pour it on as the tide started to turn in the Yankees’ favor. Cam Schlittler continues to haunt the Red Sox, turning in another fantastic outing and showing that he’s got plenty in the tank should the team need it, tossing 117 pitches in a 10 strikeout performance going 6.1 strong without a single run allowed. When the Yankees saw Luis Severino break out in 2017 and lead into 2018, I thought I wouldn’t witness a homegrown Yankee pitcher deal like that for a long time, but Schlittler has managed to go above and beyond even the best of Sevy’s reign. He’s the full-fledged ace of the best staff this franchise has formed in decades, and even though there are some incredibly strong teams in the field having a staff like that gives me the confidence that the Yankees could truly go out and compete with anyone. Max Fried’s efforts can’t be ignored, as he’s been an underrated Red Sox killer now in his career as well. His outing wasn’t as flashy as Schlittler’s, but he was extremely effective in preventing the Sox from ever getting a rally going and served as an elite 1B to Schlittler’s 1A. Their efforts combined with the later run support also made it a light series for the bullpen, who will now be nice and rested heading into St. Pete with all hands on deck. They truly couldn’t have drawn this series up any better, and now it’s onto the real test against the Rays.

BetweenThePinstripes asks:The Yankee offense has picked up the pace for well over a month now. What do you attribute this uptick to?

There’s a number of names in the lineup that have quietly turned in significantly better performances in the second half of the season that led them to where they could demolish Boston like they did. It starts with the bottom of the order, which was an absolute black hole for the Yankees for a good stretch. Austin Wells’ job security was hanging on by a thread, his excellent management of the pitching staff from behind the plate being his only saving grace as he couldn’t string together a pair of hits for his life. His 41 wRC+ through the first half of the season was truly dreadful, but he was also dealing with a cervical headache issue that eventually saw him hit the IL in early June. Ever since he returned he’s been a different man at the plate, and over the second half the numbers agree: he posted a 124 wRC+ to close out the year.

Wells has been the biggest turnaround, but it doesn’t stop there. Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a much-maligned season, but he found his groove in August and rode that into September, posting a 122 wRC+ in the final month. Jazz’s slow start was mostly fueled by a complete lack of power, but his dip in the summer was the product of him losing the strike zone completely, walking at just a 7.1 percent rate compared to a 38.1 percent strikeout rate in July. With that smoothed out, he’s once again a solid contributor down in the lineup, and then you throw in Spencer Jones finding himself after a couple of stints with the Major League team. Jones ran a trial by fire in his first couple of stays, getting called up as the team couldn’t keep a set of three outfielders healthy for any extended period of time. His strikeout rates may still be a bit gruesome, but they’re nowhere near the stratospheric 41.5 percent Jones was striking out at in the first half, and he’s displayed a surprising burst of speed to go along with his prodigious power. His strikeout converted into a free base was a crucial turning point in Game 2 of the ALWCS, and he’s provided some flexibility now as they work Trent Grisham back into the fold.

Of course, the table setters for this offense still have to make their mark, and the Yankees’ top two hitters are entering this Postseason at their hottest points in months. Cody Bellinger’s season was rapidly declining from an elite May into a downright bad summer, but after a stay on the IL he’s back to looking like his old self at just the right time. Ben Rice struggled for a good portion of this season after the weight of being The Guy in the lineup was thrust upon him with Judge’s injury, but after the Captain’s return became only a brief cameo it was imperative that he could be the big threat in a playoff game and he proved that he’s up to the task with a godly 195 wRC+ in September before going ballistic in Game 1. With just a little bit of protection around him Rice can be a nightmare for opposing pitchers, and now that the rest of the ensemble has gotten their act together he might just have a very special run in him.

All in all, the season stat lines on the Yankees’ offense may not wow you but they’ve got a significant portion of their lineup peaking exactly when you want them to. Would I have liked to see some of them be more consistent throughout the year considering their talent on paper and the fact that their lethargic offense was what held them back from running down the Rays for the division? Sure, but the season is defined by what you do in October and I can easily forgive the frustrations of the summer if it’s met with champagne bottles popping throughout the fall.

As the instructional leagues wrap up and the MLB moves closer to the World Series, it’s time to turn our attention to the next event on the minor league calendar: the Arizona Fall League.

According to the AFL website, “The roots of the Arizona Fall League go back three decades, when the Major Leagues wanted to create an easily accessed offseason league. With the Arizona Fall League, managers, coaches, scouts and league officials can be under direct guidance of league and club personnel in league-affiliated ballparks and premier training facilities. The AFL is designed to serve as the ‘finishing school’ of the minor leagues for players, coaches, umpires and aspiring employees.”

Prospects from all 30 teams are split up into six “super teams” across the Phoenix metro area and play games from October 3-November 14. You can see the full schedule here.

The Colorado Rockies will be represented by eight prospects and two pitching coaches this season, alongside prospects and coaches from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals and New York Yankees.

Here is a preview of each player, as well as comments from Rockies director of player development Chris Forbes.

LHP Konner Eaton

Eaton (No. 28 PuRP) was drafted in the sixth round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of George Mason University. The left-hander made nine appearances out of the bullpen during his first season — eight in Low-A Fresno and one in High-A Spokane. He returned to Spokane in 2025, starting 23 games and posting a 5-8 record with a 3.56 ERA. Eaton was promoted to Double-A Hartford, where he made four starts and posted a 1-1 record with a 5.30 ERA.

He repeated in Hartford in 2026, making 23 starts once again and posting a 5-3 record with a 4.46 ERA.

“There’s a command plan for him,” Forbes said. “We need just a little bit more time with him.”

LHP Stu Flesland III

Stu Flesland III was drafted in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Washington. He’s rocketed up the system, making appearances in Spokane, Hartford and Albuquerque this year. He started the year by repeating in Spokane, but was promoted after five appearances (one start) where he posted a 2-1 record and 3.63 ERA. Flesland made 18 appearances for the Yard Goats (12 starts) and posted a 5-1 record and 1.88 ERA before a late-season, four-inning cameo with the Isotopes. On August 10, he was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week.

Across all three levels in 2026, Flesland posted a 7-2 record, a 2.85 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.

“They’ve got this velocity thing they’re trying to do with him,” Forbes said of Flesland’s AFL plan, “and they’re going to do that and then try to get him to try it in a game.”

RHP Hunter Mann

Hunter Mann was drafted in a few rounds after Flesland in the 14th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Tennessee Tech. Forbes described him as a player “who’s emerged this year as a two-plus guy.”

Mann was promoted to Low-A Fresno halfway through the 2024 season, and then spent all of 2025 at High-A Spokane. In 38 appearances in 2025, Mann posted a 6.61 ERA and 1.71 WHIP across 49 innings. He began 2026 back in Spokane, but was promoted to Hartford towards the end of the season.

In 31 appearances in Spokane, he posted a 4.06 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 57.2 innings. While in Hartford, Mann made 10 appearances with a 5.54 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.

LHP Sean Sullivan

Sean Sullivan (No. 21 PuRP) made his MLB debut in 2026, three years after being drafted 46th overall in the 2023 . The Wake Forest product made five starts in the bigs, earning an 0-3 record and 8.87 ERA. In Albuquerque, Sullivan only made 14 starts after spending two separate stints on the injured list.

“He missed quite a few starts, so I think we’re hoping to get his innings up, and I’m hoping this ends up being a blessing in the sense that once we got him down here, as were kind of letting that calm down, he was able to kind of get to, ‘OK, we’re going to focus on strength. Let’s get the strength back up,’” Forbes said.

He also shed light on the Rockies’ plans for Sullivan in the Fall League.

“He’s one of those guys that, during the year, just has trouble maintaining weight. He can come in at 205 (pounds), and now he’s pitching at 187 or something at some point. So you’re hoping with him that he’s able to get some innings back in and get some feel back, and then ultimately make a better decision on how does he play in next year’s club. Does he come out of the bullpen as a length guy? Is he doing a spot start? I don’t know. But that’s the plan with Sean. I’m just looking at five healthy starts and going into the offseason feeling really good about it.”

RHP Fidel Ulloa

Fidel Ulloa was drafted in the seventh round of the 2024 Draft out of LSU. He started immediately in Fresno where he posted a 4.50 ERA across 11 appearances (12 innings). In 2025, he split time between Fresno and Spokane (with a brief rehab stint in the ACL after an injury in June). Across all levels, Ulloa posted a 1.46 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across 41 appearances.

“It’s a good reward for a kid that’s been pretty steady,” said Forbes.

C Jack O’Dowd

Jack O’Dowd (HM PuRP) was signed as an undrafted free agent ahead of the 2026 season, and took the Rockies farm system by storm. The former Texas Longhorn started in Fresno, but was promoted after slashing .345/.385/.702 with seven home runs in 22 games. In Spokane, he kept going, slashing .359/.451/.664 with nine home runs in 34 games. O’Dowd finished the season in Hartford, where he hit a cool .254/.333/.434 with seven home runs in 51 games.

“They needed another catcher,” Forbes said, “and it was great to be able to give [Cole] Messina a blow and reward Jack O’Dowd, and then also play some first and then be able to hit a little bit more.”

INF Andy Perez

Andy Perez (No. 25 PuRP) was signed by the Rockies during the 2021 International Signing Period. He spent two years in the Dominical Summer League before making his stateside debut in 2023. In 119 games in 2023, Perez hit .245/.280/.316 with 24 extra-base hits. He repeated Fresno to start 2024, and was promoted right at the end for 16 games in Spokane. Jump ahead to 2026, and Perez hit .285/.321/.403 with 41 extra-base hits across 128 games in Double-A Hartford.

“Andy Perez is a guy that I don’t think people talk about near enough,” Forbes said. “He’s got a real shot at this thing, and he’s Cuban, so I can’t just send him to the Dominican to play in winter ball. So I think it’s an opportunity for him and his wife to just be steady and safe. Plus he’s a really good player.”

OF Jared Thomas

Jared Thomas (No. 8 PuRP) was one of the headlining prospects of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Texas. He absolutely tore through Spokane in 2025, hitting .330/.427/.495 in 73 games. He also had 25 extra-base hits (11 homers) and 22 stolen bases. He cooled off a little in Hartford, but still had a good enough season to be selected to last year’s Fall League.

However, it turned out he was playing through a hamate injury that set him back six months. Thomas didn’t play in 2026 until July 6th — five days after his 23rd birthday. He played just 32 games in 2026, which led to him getting a repeat call to the desert.

“Jared Thomas needs the at-bats desperately,” Forbes said, “and I know it’s kind of a relapse back into that league, but we just asked him, ‘Do you want to go to Puerto Rico? Do you want to go to the DR or Mexico? Or do you want to stay here?’ Because he really wants to lock in with our strength coaches, too, and we’re hosting on our side, so I think that’s huge.”

Closing Thoughts

AFL games start tomorrow! Which Rockies prospect are you most excited to watch? Are there any other prospects from other teams you’re excited to watch?

Let us know in the comments!

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

Two young Pirates pitchers closed out the season better than anyone in the National League.

Jared Jones and Mason Montgomery entered the season on different paths, but ended with the same recognition.

Jones was awarded National League Pitcher of the Month for September earlier this week. Montgomery earned NL Reliever of the Month after a dominant stretch as Pirates closer. 

In five starts, Jones delivered a 3-0 record with a 0.93 ERA and 40 strikeouts over 29 innings. Jones only allowed three earned runs and opponents hit .133 off the 25-year-old righty.

He recovered well from internal brace surgery to post the best month of his career. 

Montgomery further solidified himself as the Pirates’ closer of the future with an impressive close to the season.

The flamethrowing righty recorded 16 strikeouts in 13 games. Montgomery earned a 2.08 ERA, allowing three runs in one outing against the Tigers on September 26 but not allowing any runs in his other 12.1 innings pitched. 

Pittsburgh won 11 games with Montgomery earning the save. Opponents hit .174 off him in September and it equated to a 0.92 WHIP. 

The 26-year-old finished with a 2.88 ERA in 68.2 innings during his first season with the Pirates. Montgomery struck out 105 batters, a rarity for relievers to exceed 100 strikeouts in the modern game. 

Jones and Montgomery will be anchors of the Pirates’ rotation and bullpen in 2027. Ben Cherington and Don Kelly’s coaching staff are likely to return.

Pittsburgh finished the season 82-80 for its first winning campaign since 2018. 

Ten years ago today, we said goodbye to Vin Scully, who gave his swan song at what was then known as AT&T Park. From children’s letters to reflecting on the lodestar of our fandom who was always going to leave, but the magnitude of that loss would not be truly felt until much later, we remember here at True Blue LA.

There will be far grander farewells and remembrances from those on the scene that day. I will happily defer to those folks who worked with, loved, and knew Scully for those. As for me, back then, I wasn’t a writer or even a lawyer yet.

Ten Years Ago

I will always remember this game, because thanks to user Scully’s Tie, it was my first visit to the Giants’ home ballpark ever. I am not one for carrying signs, but Scully’s group had one, and I played along, back in the days when I would wear khaki pants to the ballpark.

I am not sure what I was expecting. As we have previously covered, Oracle Park, as it is now known, is pretty good. Part of Scully’s call was simulcast on both home and away feeds, as well as ESPN. The Giants dedicated a plaque in the visiting broadcasting booth.

The Giants also handed out dual-sided cheer cards before the game, with the contents of the plaque on one side and a message thanking Vin on the other. I made a point to save multiples of the card for later. They have been framed in my apartment for going on ten years now.

For those of us at the ballpark, we had to wait a bit to hear Scully’s final send-off, which still manages to bring a tear to my eye every time I hear it.

The game itself was nothing special. LA lost 7-1, as Kenta Maeda was figuratively slapped around early and often.

Needless to say, there is an interesting bit of symmetry with the recent retirement of longtime Giants’ announcer Mike Krukow, as the Dodgers won an otherwise forgettable game that will fade into history.

Ten Years Later

It is impossible to replace a legend, so you do what you can. Joe Davis has charted his own course with Orel Hershiser over this past decade. The initial anecdote that Davis inadvertently screened Scully twice upon getting the Dodgers’ job is a story worth listening to.

While it is tempting to try and use artificial intelligence to graft Scully’s voice onto the highlights of this era, while well-meaning, it misses the point and arguably lessens Scully’s legacy. If nothing else, one can honor the past while not being beholden to it. If the Dodgers have done anything right in this past decade, apart from signing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it’s embracing this mindset in their broadcasting team.

Each era should have its own soundtrack, its own voice. Scully was not one for ego or monument. At some point, one must turn the page to this new era, which has lasted for ten years now.

Yes, Scully was a legend and an institution. Cracking wise with Stephen Nelson and Dontrelle Willis by definition cannot measure up, but in that same vein, it doesn’t have to. Time marches on, and the way we consume baseball has changed accordingly.

Scully enjoyed his retirement with his family for six years, popping up on occasion, most notably Game 2 of the 2017 World Series, as the age and era moved on.

On August 2, 2022, while the Dodgers were playing the Giants at Oracle Park, Scully passed away at the age of 94. Tributes poured in, as the baseball world joined Dodger fans in both grief and honoring Scully’s memory. While a lot has changed in baseball and in our lives in these past ten years, I often go back to the words from Scully’s Swan Song when I need hope and encouragement.

“Don’t be sad that it’s over,” he said. “Smile because it happened.”

Here’s to ten years gone, Mr. Scully, wherever you may be.