Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

A lot has changed in a week! The Cardinals were longshots to sneak into the postseason but after getting swept by the San Francisco Giants, they’re effectively eliminated (just 5 games, per MLB.com). The Giants looked certain to be 100-game losers, but after the sweep, they need just 1 more win to avoid triple digit losses. They’re sure to win that game at some point over these final 12, but they’ll need to do it without their best player(s). Meanwhile, the Cardinals are trying to avoid back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1994 & 1995.

Losing Rafael Devers will surely make it difficult to win on the road, where the Giants have gone just 26-49 (.347). That 3-game sweep in San Francisco was the first time the Giants had done that to the Cardinals since 2001; however, the last time the Giants swept the Cardinals in St. Louis in a 3-game series was just in 2023. Still, I don’t think a case could be made that the 2023 & 2026 squads have many similarities.

So, what is there to care about with this series? Oh, I know, I know, we’re all clinging to the 1-for-4s of a lot of guys with options or are just warm bodies, but there are a few small things that tie back to the rest of the season:

• Alec Burleson leads the majors with 109 RBI and is tied with Rafael Devers for the MLB lead in doubles (36). Wilyer Abreu and Bryan Reynolds also have 36, so, it was going to be a battle down the stretch with a healthy Devers, but for now, it’d be enough to hold Burleson double-less in the series (won’t happen lol).
• The Giants are at least considering shutting down Logan Webb, in which case they might continue their history-making roster size this season with a 68th player, possibly in this series!
• Landen Roupp is the 19th Giants starting pitcher in the last decade to hit the 150 IP mark (150.2). If he can make it through 2 innings, he’ll surpass Justin Verlander’s 152 IP last season. He also might be able to surpass Logan Webb’s 160.2 IP this season. Roupp, a famous bigot, is about average relative to the other pitchers on this list in terms of mound performance. His hits per 9 and homers per 9 are right near the top. His strikeout rate is fine. But the walks (4.3 BB/9) separates him from the pack.
• Drew Gilbert has 3 triples this season and has never had more than 4 in a season (once in college, and last season in the minors). The Cardinals haven’t allowed many triples this year (14 — 5th in MLB). Also worth point out: since June 14th — so, the past 3 months — he’s slashed .239/.338/.391 (70 G, 216 PA). A very useful player.
• With three games this week in the toughest place for a left-handed batter to homer this season (seriously. Busch Stadium’s 73 Park Factor is lower than the Giants’ 77), Bryce Eldridge might not get to 20 home runs this year, but he’s just 4 away and is already just 1 of 8 Giants in the history of the franchise to hit at least 15 home runs at age 21 or younger. What a list:
  • Mel Ott, 1929 (age 20) — 42 HR
  • Orlando Cepeda, 1959 (age 21) — 27 HR
  • Orlando Cepeda, 1958 (age 20) — 25 HR
  • Mel Ott, 1930 (age 21) — 25 HR
  • Willie Mays, 1951 (age 20) — 20 HR
  • Whitey Lockman, 1948 (age 21) — 18 HR
  • Mel Ott, 1928 (age 19) — 18 HR
  • Bryce Eldridge, 2026 (age 21) — 16 HR
• Although Jung Hoo Lee — who has now completed exactly 2 years of MLB service time as of yesterday, according to Baseball Reference — has settled into being a platoon/fourth outfielder type, he went 3-for-9 in San Francisco against the Cardinals with an extra base hit — a double, which he does have 29 of already. He’s 11-for-30 in his career at Busch Stadium (.367/.387/.500 in 31 PA). One more double and he’d have 30+ doubles in consecutive seasons and would be the 50th Giant to hit at least 30 doubles in a season in the Oracle Park era. The most recent 10 years is an interesting list:
  • Rafael Devers, 2026 (36)
  • Jung Hoo Lee, 2025 (31)
  • Matt Chapman, 2024 (39)
  • Mike Yastrzemski, 2022 (31)
  • Brandon Crawford, 2021 (30)
  • Kevin Pillar, 2019 (37)
  • Brandon Belt, 2019 (32)
  • Brandon Crawford, 2017 (34)
  • Buster Posey, 2017 (34)
  • Denard Span, 2017 (31)

The Giants have won just 4 road series all year and they were all before June 18th. And, keep in mind, it’s only been a week, and all that stuff I wrote last week about the young players on the St. Louis side still applies. They’re a dangerous team even if they have a losing record at home in 2026.

Series Overview

Who: San Francisco Giants (62-88) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (74-76)
Where: Oracle Park | San Francisco, California
When: Monday & Tuesday at 4:45pm PT, Wednesday at 10:15am PT
National broadcasts: None

Projected starters
Monday: Landen Roupp (RHP 9-13, 4.00 ERA) vs. Quinn Mathews (LHP 1-3, 4.11 ERA)
Tuesday: Blade Tidwell (RHP 0-2, 4.82 ERA) vs. Andre Pallante (RHP 12-6, 3.45 ERA)
Wednesday: TBD vs. Matthew Liberatore (LHP 5-14, 5.53 ERA)

Prediction time

Christian Koss has slashed .281/.337/.438 over his last 30 games (108 PA) with 4 homers, 3 doubles, and 4 stolen bases. The prediction is that he will have a multi-hit game in this series.

The Jays start a three-game series with the Tigers tonight.

The Jays are one game back of the Guardians for the last Wild Card spot. The Tigers are eight games back, not officially eliminated, but effectively eliminated.

Starting pitchers:

• Tonight, 7:00 Eastern: Troy Melton (8-4, 2.42) vs. José Soriano (12-7, 3.48).
• Tuesday, 7:00 Eastern: Drew Anderson (4-6, 3.80) vs. TBD.
• Wednesday, 3:00 Eastern: TBD vs. Max Scherzer (2-8, 6.38).

I try not to be an ‘old man’, but I’m tired of bullpen days. I know we are going to see a few more this year, but I’d love it if, next year, we could roll out real starting pitches every game, every series. I know we are doing well in those games, but without any way to prove it, I think it adds a lot of strain on the arms of the bullpen guys.

On offence, the Tigers are sixth in the AL with 4.47 Runs per game (the Jays are tied for last with 4.05).

On the pitching side, the Tigers are third best at 4.00 runs per game (the Jays are sixth at 4.26). So, ummmm, why are the Tigers so far back in the race?

The Tigers have scored 70 more runs than they have given up (the Jays have allowed 31 more runs than they have scored). Detroit’s Pythagorean record is 81-68 (their real record is 12 games worse); the Jays 72-78 (their real record is 3 games better). So the Tigers have been very unlucky?

The Tigers are on a four-game win streak and are 7-5 in September. This won’t be an easy series.

The Tigers have some excellent offensive players:

• SS Kevin McGonigle is hitting .272/.373/.425, with 17 home runs, 88 walks and 89 strikeouts, with 12 steals and a 6.3 bWAR.
• C Dillon Dingler is hitting .244/.304/.456 with 27 home runs, 32 walks and 131 strikeouts for a 3.9 bWAR. He’s also thrown out 27.3% of base stealers.
• LF Riley Greene is hitting .283/.370/.484 with 20 home runs, 64 walks and 145 strikeouts with a 2.8 bWAR.
• 2B Gleyber Torres is hitting .268/.370/.381 with 8 home runs, 51 walks and 74 strikeouts, with a 2.4 bWAR in 88 games.

In the bullpen:

• Kenley Jansen is their closer. He has a 3.51 ERA, with 19 saves and 6 blown saves. Batters are hitting .168/.280/.329 against him.
• Drew Anderson has a 3.80 ERA with 7 holds and 6 blown saves. Batters are hitting .239/.323/.407. He spent the last four years pitching in Japan and then Korea.
• Tyler Holton is a lefty; he has a 2.74 ERA, with 14 holds and 2 blown saves. Batters are hitting .259/.318/.395 against him.
• Kyle Finnegan has a 3.79 ERA with 14 holds and 9 blown saves. Batters are hitting .275/.372/.450 against him.

We still aren’t in ‘must rule the table’ territory, but we have to win one more than the Guardians. That would be easier to do if we keep winning each series.

The youth movement is continuing to progress, with Emmanuel “Dinamita” Rodriguez making his major league debut this past weekend, hitting a homer in his first big-league at-bat. Unfortunately for Rodriguez, he’s joining the team just as they are all but mathematically eliminated from making it to the playoffs. There’s a chance, but with the way the Twins played against the division the past two weeks, it seems unlikely the team could make a miracle push in the last couple of weeks of the season, especially since they no longer face any in-division opponents for the rest of the season.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
• Game threads and recaps are back! Commiserate with your fellow fans as we experience the season together.
• This past weekend was the 25th anniversary of September 11th, and Zach Koenig recaps the last Twins game before that fateful day.
• Aidan O’Brien checks in on the Twins’ 2026 draft class in their first taste of professional baseball.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Dan Hayes at The Athletic checks in with Emmanuel Rodriguez after his major-league debut.
• The Twins have a second Culpepper in their farm system, and Theo Tollefson at Zone Coverage recaps how CJ was finally able to have a complete season.
• Bobby Nightengale at the Star Tribune revealed the Twins’ all-star prospect team for 2026.
• Cody Christie at Twins Daily documents how one Michael Cuddyer homer saved the life of one of his teammates on 9/11.

In the World of Baseball:

• We have our first playoff spot clinched! The Tampa Bay Rays are locked into a playoff spot and have a 4.0-game lead over the Yankees for the AL East and the AL #1 seed. Meanwhile, the White Sox and Guardians are only half a game apart. In the West, it’s just as close, with the Astros and Rangers separated by only one game. And in the wild card race, the Guardians, Blue Jays, and Rangers are all within two games of each other for the final spot.
• The Brewers have joined the Rays as a lock for the playoffs, and currently hold a 2.5-game lead over the Dodgers. They have also almost clinched their division as well. It’s not much of a race in the other divisions either, with Atlanta holding a 5.0-game lead over the Phillies, and the Dodgers holding a 9.0-game lead over the Padres. The Wild Card race has also settled a bit, with the Diamondbacks now 2.5 games back from the Padres in the race for the final spot. It’s not insurmountable, but with less than 15 games left in the season, Arizona needs to pick up the pace.
• Jeff Passan at ESPN shares some early intel on the offseason, and the questions facing teams and players with a lockout looming.
• Jared Greenspan at MLB.com looks at how Ichiro is continuing to stay loose in retirement.
• David Laurila at Fangraphs checks in with current major league starters and how they feel about the collective decline in workloads.

It's once again clinching season in Major League Baseball.

The postseason is rapidly approaching, and the field for this year's World Series race is starting to take shape. While much of the National League picture appears close to being settled, several American League races remain wide open, with division titles, wild-card spots and postseason seeding still up for grabs.

Here's a look at every team that has clinched a playoff berth, which clubs are closing in and what the postseason bracket would look like if the season ended today.

MLB POWER RANKINGS: Can Vlad Jr., Blue Jays wake up in time for playoffs?

This was the 23rd week of full minor league play (stats are entering play on Monday, September 14th).

According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), prospect Theo Gillen tops the system and might just find himself in the running for Minor League Player of the Year. Gillen ranks 4th among all minor leaguers while Caden Bodine ranks 11th.

Meanwhile, Aidan Cremarosa is the top hurler in the system. Over his first professional season, Cremarosa has a 2.82 ERA | 3.02 FIP with a 29.8 K% & 6.0 BB% over 76.2 IP in Single-A. FanGraphs slotted the 22-year old as the 30th top prospect in the Rays system during their midseason rankings.

RUMBLINGS

• The Bowling Green Hot Rods lost to the Winston-Salem Dash in the South Division portion of the South Atlantic League playoffs.
• Grady Emerson returned to action to pinch run for the Charleston River Dogs a few days after leaving a game early after being hit by a pitch
• The Charleston River Dogs are currently down 1 game in a best of 3 series with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers in the Single-A Carolina League Championship Series
• The Montgomery Biscuits season is over.
• Jacob Melton has been placed on the Injured List
• Jackson Baumeister was featured on Baseball America’s Hot Sheet.
• Xavier Isaac was featured on Baseball America’s Statcast Standouts. Since being promoted to Triple-A, Isaac is hitting .286/.417/.571 with 3 HR over 60 PA.

TEAM LEADERS

• Must currently be assigned to that team
• Baseball America’s top ten prospects are featured below each team they’re currently assigned to.

Tampa Bay Rays

Top 10 Prospects

• #3 Brody Hopkins
  • AAA: 5.17 ERA | 4.80 FIP | 27.9 K% | 21.0 BB% | .205 AVG | 12.7 WHIFF% | 94 IP
  • MLB: 18.00 ERA | 17.10 FIP | 20.0 K% | 20.0 BB% | .250 AVG | 9.1 WHIFF% | 1 IP
    • 9/12: Promoted to MLB

Durham Bulls

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .248, Blake Sabol
OBP: .346, Tatem Levins
SLG: .409, Tre’ Morgan
HR: 15, Logan Davidson
wRC+: 92, Tatem Levins
SB: 37, Homer Bush Jr

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.44, Evan Reifert
FIP: 4.09, Mason Englert
K%: 32.6%, Evan Reifert
BB%: 4.0%, Mason Englert
WHIP: 1.16, Evan Reifert
AVG: .174, Evan Reifert
WHIFF%: 14.8%, Evan Reifert

Top 10 Prospects

• #5 Caden Bodine
  • AAA: .311/.377/.533 | 11.3 K% | 11.3 BB% | 2 HR | 2 SB | 129 wRC+ | 53 PA
  • AA: .316/.397/.447 | 6.7 K% | 11.2 BB% | 5 HR | 4 SB | 127 wRC+ | 179 PA
  • A+: .341/.411/.477 | 6.6 K% | 7.3 BB% | 4 HR | 3 SB | 133 wRC+ | 151 PA
  • A: .379/.433/.614 | 3.9 K% | 9.2 BB% | 5 HR | 1 SB | 176 wRC+ | 152 PA
    • 8/25: Promoted to Triple-A
    • 6/30: Promoted to Double-A
    • 5/19: Promoted to High-A

Montgomery Biscuits

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .309, Austin Overn
OBP: .395, Austin Overn
SLG: .565, Austin Overn
HR: 26, Will Simpson
wRC+: 151, Austin Overn
SB: 50, Mac Horvath

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 3.21, Hayden Snelsire
FIP: 4.43, Hayden Snelsire
K%: 27.9%, Hayden Snelsire
BB%:  4.0%, Santiago Suarez
WHIP 1.05, Hayden Snelsire
AVG: .213, Hayden Snelsire
WHIFF%: 15.1%, Hayden Snelsire

Top 10 Prospects

• #1 Theo Gillen
  • AA: .288/.390/.504 | 19.8 K% | 13.4 BB% | 10 HR | 16 SB | 136 wRC+ | 268 PA
  • A+: .342/.449/.589 | 23.8 K% | 14.3 BB% | 12 HR | 28 SB | 166 wRC+ | 265 PA
    • 6/23: Promoted to Double-A
• #10 Santiago Suarez
  • AA: 4.50 ERA | 4.85 FIP | 19.0 K% | 4.0 BB% | .260 AVG | 11.4 WHIFF% | 126 IP

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .291, Tony Santa Maria
OBP: .414, Ryan McCoy
SLG: .541, Ryan McCoy
HR: 21, Nathan Flewelling
wRC+: 145, Ryan McCoy
SB: 55, Tony Santa Maria

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 3.76, Noah Beal
FIP: 4.13, Noah Beal
K%: 29.3%, Trevor Harrison
BB%: 5.2%, Dominic Niman
WHIP: 1.27, Dominic Niman
AVG: .230, Noah Beal
WHIFF%: 17.7%, Noah Beal

Top 10 Prospects

• #4 Nathan Flewelling
  • A+: .243/.364/.452 | 27.2 K% | 14.6 BB% | 21 HR | 8 SB | 112 wRC+ | 486 PA
• #9 Anderson Brito
  • A+: 3.34 ERA | 4.50 FIP | 28.8 K% | 14.4 BB% | .240 AVG | 13.4 WHIFF% | 32.1 IP
    • 5/23: Placed on 7-day Injured List

Charleston River Dogs

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .298, Cooper Flemming
OBP: .389, Taitn Gray
SLG: .462, Taitn Gray
HR: 11, Cooper Flemming
wRC+: 131, Taitn Gray
SB: 41, Alberth Palma

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.52, Jacob Kuhn
FIP: 3.02, Aidan Cremarosa
K%: 29.8%, Aidan Cremarosa
BB%: 5.5%, Aidan Haugh
WHIP: 0.90, Aidan Cremarosa
AVG: .182, Aidan Cremarosa
WHIFF%: 15.3%, Aidan Cremarosa

Top 10 Prospects

• #2 Grady Emerson
  • A: .176/.283/.216 | 21.7 K% | 13.3 BB% | 0 HR | 2 SB | 48 wRC+ | 60 PA
• #6 Cooper Flemming
  • A: .298/.379/.450 | 17.2 K% | 9.8 BB% | 11 HR | 16 SB | 126 wRC+ | 518 PA
• #7 Taitn Gray
  • A: .296/.389/.462 | 21.8 K% | 12.8 BB% | 8 HR | 13 SB | 131 wRC+ | 312 PA
  • CPX: .333/.400/.611 | 20.0 K% | 5.0 BB% | 1 HR | 0 SB | 140 wRC+ | 20 PA
    • 6/1: Placed on the 7-day IL
    • 7/14: Began rehab assignment
    • 7/28: Activated from the IL
• #9 Daniel Pierce
  • A: .252/.336/.390 | 28.6 K% | 7.9 BB% | 4 HR | 6 SB | 101 wRC+ | 140 PA
    • 4/22: Placed on the 7-day IL
    • 5/2: Activated from the IL
    • Hasn’t played since May 30th. Underwent shoulder surgery. Likely out for the year

When Kevin McGonigle was promoted to the Detroit Tigers Opening Day roster late in spring training, there was plenty of excitement, and despite a failure of a season from a team perspective, the rookie has been as good as advertised and still leads AL Rookie of the Year polling. The follow up question from many was when would Max Clark, the Tigers second best prospect, join his buddy in the big leagues. It took time, but the Tigers decision to give Clark plenty of Triple-A time this season has been vindicated by his all-around strong showing since his promotion back on July 31.

The Clark situation was a bit tricky to explain in May when the Tigers were busy getting their faces rubbed into the mud by just about anyone they faced. Apart from McGonigle himself, Clark was the best pure hitting prospect the Tigers have had in decades. His swinging strike rates of 6.3 percent at Double-A Erie and 5.4 in Triple-A were even a bit better than McGonigle’s numbers. On the other hand, Clark was still working on improving against left-handed pitching, and his route running and base stealing abilities were still predicated more on pure speed rather than technique. These were the areas the Tigers wanted him to improve on with manager Gary Jones and the Mud Hens’ staff, and he certainly did so. The time to refine his game got the 21-year-old well prepared for the major leagues, and the proof is in the numbers already.

Clark has played 39 games and now has 154 plate appearances, so he’s got a quarter of a regular season under his belt. He’s already been worth 1.2 fWAR, putting him pretty close to a 5 WAR pace. He’s hitting .274/.355/.444 with a 124 wRC+, meaning he’s been 24 percent better than a league average hitter’s run production. Along with three homers, three triples, and eight doubles, Clark also has five stolen bases now, and as he’s gotten more comfortable, the level of aggression on the basepaths is increasing. He’s also dropped some good bunts down, showing the versatility in his game, and has had really good success against left-handed pitching, all elements the Tigers wanted to see him develop this season.

Here are Clark’s slash lines in his splits.

RHP: .230/.316/.368 for a .684 OPS

LHP: .356/.420/.600 for a 1.020 OPS

This isn’t going to last. The wide disparity in splits and some struggles against right-handed pitching are going to even out. Clark is unlikely to buck the heavy weight of platoon splits and actually be better against left-handed pitching, but this is something he focused on improving this season, and he’s being rewarded right now.

Results based hitting statistics are treacherous at this early stage. There will likely be some ups and downs in his age 22 season next year. Still, evidence that Clark is already thriving at the major league level is found a little deeper. His 93.4 percent in-zone contact rate is outstanding, as is his 6.8 percent swinging strike rate. He is chasing more, with a 29.6 outside the zone swing percentage compared with 20.7 percent at Triple-A, but that’s still a decent mark and should improve. Generally hitters chase more in the bigs, but not quite to this degree, especially in a player who doesn’t swing and miss much, so the odds are very good that as Clark gets acclimated, he’ll do an even better job being selective.

Physically, the tools are as advertised. Clark has good bat speed at 73.4 mph average and basically average swing length, placing him just inside the top 75 qualified hitters in baseball in that regard. His average sprint speed to first is 28.6 feet per second, which is good though not great. However, his top line marks this season have been just outside of elite territory just shy of 30 feet per second. He’s hit one ball 111.3 mph for his top exit velocity of the year in Triple-A, putting him into plus raw power territory, although he doesn’t sell out for big swings often enough for that to matter too much. As with McGonigle, it’s more just about barrelling up more balls in the air, especially to the pull side, but 20 home run seasons in his prime still seem like a reasonable expectation even if we don’t see that for another 2-3 years.

Defensively, Clark has already been worth four Outs Above Average, with only 16 players this season collecting more OAA in center field. That’s despite the fact that Clark has only played a quarter of a season. This is a center fielder who should eventually challenge top dogs like Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ceddane Rafaela for the title of best in baseball.

Perhaps the element of Max Clark that is most important to his future success, and finally getting its due, is his baseball intelligence and absolute love for the game, in contrast to the accusations of hot doggery and immaturity leveled against him briefly after dropping a pair of high fly balls in the notorious spring skies down in Lakeland.

As anyone who followed Clark closely in high school and through the minor league knows, Clark is one of the most baseball obsessed players around, ready to give you a detailed scouting report on every notable player he’s competed against from memory. He breaks down at-bats, the finer details of defense and base stealing, like a successful 10-year veteran with an eye toward a future managerial career, and he has the communication skills to match. His teammates are happy to let him do the talking, because he’s very good at it, and as a result, they don’t have to say anything. A team leader is under development.

You can see him calculating his way through at-bats, learning when to use his time out to recalibrate, and when to use it to freeze a pitcher who is fighting his control. As he’s settled in, the mind games Clark is capable of playing, like feigning bunt to draw in the infield, or setting up one way in the box for the opposing catcher to see, and then adjusting slightly just as a pitcher goes into his delivery, or simply being a pest at first base to draw attention and throws from the pitcher, have become more prominent. He’s only going to get more comfortable and able to put his speed to work as he gets to know the league and settle in further as a bona vide big leaguer next year.

It was clear early on in his pro career that Clark was going to be a valuable player just on the basis of his speed, defense, and pure contact hitter abilities. That gave him a strong floor as a prospect, but just about everything else we hoped for is coming to fruition. His refinements defensively and in his base running have been impressive to watch unfold, but he’s also added strength and bat speed and now represents a fairly significant power threat to go with the ability to put the ball in play a lot and run. All the tools are in place for Max Clark to be an All-Star caliber player for years to come.

However, the real kicker always comes back to his competitive intensity and baseball intelligence. For all the flash, and his nickname is “Spark” after all, Clark is a true team player and leader, who just wants to win baseball games by any legal means necessary.

One series of moments in the weekend series sweep of the Colorado Rockies really brought this home. In the bottom of the fifth inning in Friday’s 6-2 victory, Clark fouled off a first pitch cutter from right-hander Mason Adams, and then watched as Adams fished for the outer edge of the plate away with the next three pitches. Clark might have expected a fastball up or a breaking ball down in a 1-2 count, but instead, Adams came back in under his hands with a 93 mph fastball, and Clark was not surprised. Instead he got to it and launched a game tying solo shot over the right field wall.

An inning later, he was on first base after getting hit by a pitch after Riley Greene and Dillon Dingler had powered the Tigers to a 4-1 lead. Recognizing that pitcher Nick Frasso was really struggling to locate and wasn’t paying much attention to anything else, Clark quickly stole second base, and then took third and then home on two more wild pitches from Frasso. The young rookie could’ve been forgiven if he bounced exuberantly into the dugout, feeling himself and enjoying the moment. Instead, he scored, gave thanks for a brief moment, and then went directly to Zach McKinstry in the on-deck circle to pass on some intel on Frasso.

A small moment, but an instructive one. Clark is always alert and thinking out there, trying to find those extra edges that lead to victory. This is why it’s so easy to believe that, whatever struggles may come, and they come for every player, Max Clark is going to survive them and thrive. He has all the baseball ability you could ask for in a player physically, speed, power, insane hand-eye coordination, agility, but the asset that will ensure he gets everything out of his raw ability is that intelligence and obsessive love for the game in all its detail and nuance.

Clark continues to move up in A.J. Hinch’s lineup hierarchy, now batting sixth quite a bit, but we all know what we’re looking at here. Max Clark is perfectly suited to be the Tigers’ leadoff hitter in 2027, and it would be nice to see Hinch turn the job over to him over the final two weeks and just let him run with it.

Either way, Max Clark is here to stay and is off to a very fine start to his major league career. His buddy Kevin may always outshine him a bit, but the Tigers now have an extremely dynamic duo to lead this team over the next decade. Hopefully an extension offer is in the works. As frustrating and miserable as the 2026 season has been at times, the arrival of the best prospect duo since Tram and Lou makes it a lot easier to bear. This season marks the end of a decent little run for the franchise, but it’s just the beginning for a young, athletic Tigers team now taking shape.

Good morning, Purple Rowers!

As a reminder, we are doing some experimenting with our morning article lineups over the next few days. Earlier this morning, you read Scaling the Rocks, which features news and links from both the Rockies as well as around baseball.

This is the Rockpile, which will continue to be our daily feature story.

And finally, in two hours you will be able to read the daily Pebble Report, featuring all of the minor league action from the previous day.

You’ll still get the same information, but it’ll be broken into smaller chunks instead of one long thread.

This is not something we’ll run regularly at this time, as we’re still in the experimentation phase, but we just wanted to make you aware.

Troy Johnston made his long-awaited MLB debut last season on July 29 for the Miami Marlins at age 29. He was drafted in the 17th round of the 2019 draft (501st overall) after playing three years at Gonzaga University, and journeyed through the Marlins’ minor league system, including 3.5 seasons in Triple-A Jacksonville from 2022-2025.

Johnston played 44 games with the Marlins in 2025 before being placed on waivers at the end of the season and claimed by the Rockies. Despite a torrid spring training that saw him hit .375/.438/.589 through 23 games, Johnston almost didn’t make the Opening Day roster. An injury to Tyler Freeman opened up the spot, and he has not looked back. But Johnston is enjoying his first full MLB season, and finding success as a ‘veteran rookie.’

“It’s a dream come true,” Johnston said.

“It’s hard to complain when you’re in the big leagues. I think about all the times I wanted to quit and I’m sitting in Triple-A or Double-A and I’m like, ‘This sucks. I hate hit. I’m just going to keep grinding it out.‘ But to be here in this locker room and get to live my dream everyday, it’s all worth it.”

He is also finding the balance of being a 29-year-old player who only has one year of service time — both leaning on his veteran baseball experiences and his new MLB player experiences.

“It’s a weird, slippery slope,” he said.

“Sometimes, I’ll take things too far, and then I won’t take things far enough, and I’ll step in when I need to and then I’ll stay back when I don’t. It’s kind of a part of knowing where my role is and trying to do my best to kind of read the room.

“And whatever the team needs me to do, I’m willing to do,” he continued, “whether that’s take control and do certain things (or if) they want me to stay back. (If) they want me to enforce certain things. I’m willing to do whatever they want. And for me, yeah I’m older and yeah I do have a year of service time but I’ve been around baseball enough. I kind of know how people work and how this game works.”

Johnston has found some success in Colorado, hitting .280/.350/.395 with 29 doubles, one triple, four homers and 48 RBI in 121 games. Up until the All-Star break, he was hitting .301, but a challenging July dipped his average from .313 on July 1st to .283 on July 31st. He had a hot August, though, slashing .319/.407/.511 through 17 games, but has had a cold start to September. In just six games in September, Johnston has gone 3-for-18 (.167) with one double, one RBI, one walk and seven strikeouts.

But he credits his overall success to hitting coach Brett Pill, and his unique approach to coaching.

“Pill and I talk about (a lot). A lot of the way that my brain works is that I don’t like to live, breathe, eat and, like, be baseball. Baseball is what I do, it’s not who I am,” he said. “I have a lot of (heavy) interests outside of baseball, and I really focus on those, and that helps me be a better baseball player because I’m not overindulging in the sport and overindulging what’s going on. I try to leave baseball at the field. I never bring it home, even in the mornings. That’s been a real key to the success that I’ve had in the past.”

Specifically, Johnston and Pill talk about golf and the similarities between a golf swing and a baseball swing.

“We talk about the way that long drivers work and the way that golfers use their bodies,” he continued, “because if you look at professional golfers, it’s very similar to the way that baseball players use their bodies. The only difference is that we use a little bit of momentum, or a little bit of a timing mechanism, and we have a moving target. They don’t, but at impact and at swing, they’re very, very similar, and I understand that very well. So Pill will talk to me quite a bit about golf swings and different things like that, and that really helps me click.”

He also credits his success to the team’s to manager Warren Schaeffer.

“He’s unbelievable. What a leader!” Johnston exclaimed. “I have nothing but good things to say about him. What an absolute leader! He cares so much about his players and so much about winning. It’s fresh, it’s new, I love it.

“It’s one of the special things you get in this game because there’s so many people that really, honestly, are there to progress in their own career and progress as a coach and they’re going to do what they need to (in order) to do that,” he continued. “But Schaeffer’s at the highest level, and all he wants to do is win and make sure that (we) as players have as much success as possible. And so to have a manager like that and have a coach like that, it’s just absolutely fantastic to have him as a leader.”

Johnston had some really early success, hitting .318 through 24 games in April. That also included his favorite play of the season.

“I had the go-ahead two-run double against the Dodgers (on April 18) and we ended up winning,” Johnston said. “It was off Will Klein. I think that’s one of my favorite memories from this year.”

His other favorite moment was his first homer as a Rockie, which came on March 30th in Toronto.

“I was 0-for-2 and looking for a certain pitch,” he recalled. “[The Blue Jays] brought in another guy, and I was like, ‘Alright, I”m going to look for a curveball here and do my best. And all of a sudden, [Spencer Miles] threw me a curveball!

“I hit it out, we took the lead, and after that we scored, like, 10. So it was awesome to be a part of that and cement myself in at least that win that day. But to help the team and do what they need me to do and have so much fun, that’s awesome.”

But Johnston has had success on the pitcher’s mound in 2026, as well.

“One of my favorite things was that I did get to pitch a little bit, and it was so much fun because I throw this little ‘air cutter’ that just kind of goes across the plate,” he laughed. “I don’t throw it very hard — I don’t throw hard in general — and so it’s fun to be able to kind of mess around and do that.”

And the experience taught him a valuable lesson.

“I didn’t realize how hard it is,” he said. “The strike zone is very, very small. And credit to every pitcher out there that can throw strikes like that. It’s absolutely incredible because when you’re at the plate, everything looks like a strike. And there’s some thing that never look like a strike. But when you’re up on the mound and you’re looking down, you’re like, ‘I don’t even know where the strike zone is.’ And I’m throwing it and I’m not getting calls and I’m like, ‘That looks like a strike from up here!’

“But it’s very difficult,” he said. “So all the kudos to all the pitchers out there that can throw strikes like that. It’s very impressive.”

But the biggest adjustment Johnston made in 2026 that he’s most proud of is taking care of his mental health.

“My mental approach to the game has been better this year than it has in years past, and I think that’s allowed me to play very free. I think that’s the thing I’m most proud of,” he said. “Numbers are going to come, numbers are going to go. Successes and failures are all part of the game. But I think I’ve stayed pretty level-headed and I’ve tried my best to know my mental capacity can only take so much. And so trying to out there and just be an actual human being and then come to the field and be a baseball player. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

There are only 13 games left in the season, and Johnston will be a free agent at the end of it. It’s hard to say what the future holds for him, but if nothing else, we’ll miss Johnston’s personality and knack for keeping things light in the clubhouse. Who knows — maybe we’ll see him in the broadcast booth in the near future.

But for now, enjoy some of this year’s Troy Johnston personality highlights:

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The Cubs took two of three from the Pirates after getting swept in Milwaukee and entering Monday’s action hold the top wild card spot by virtue of their tiebreaker over the Phillies. The Cubs’ magic number to clinch any postseason spot is now 8.

Here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.

Three up

Alex Bregman continues his hot second half

The Cubs third baseman batted .400/.520/.700 (8-for-20) over the six games with three doubles, a home run, three walks and only one strikeout. He began getting hot two games before the All-Star break and over that 55-game span is batting .312/.391/.638 (68-for-218) with 17 doubles, 18 home runs, 49 RBI and 45 runs scored.

And he continues to play outstanding defense [VIDEO].

Michael Busch is getting hot at the right time

Busch didn’t start the first game at Milwaukee and pinch-hit, going 0-for-1. In the five games since then: .353/.429/.588 (6-for-17) with a double, a home run, three walks, six RBI and five runs scored.

It would be great to have Busch’s bat in the postseason as hot as it was last October, when he hit four home runs in eight games.

Pedro Ramirez broke out of his slump

In last week’s edition of this feature I noted that Ramirez was in an 0-for-18 slump.

He broke out of that this week by batting .250/.286/.650 (5-for-20). Not much of a batting average — but two of the five hits were home runs. He added two doubles and seven runs scored.

And played solid defense [VIDEO].

I’m going to give a cautious hat tip to Daniel Palencia, whose outing on Sunday was his best since returning from the injured list. He hit 100 miles per hour for the first time and got five whiffs among 18 pitches thrown. A healthy, productive Palencia would be a huge boost to the bullpen.

Three down

Ian Happ is slumping again

After hitting pretty well most of August, Happ is in a September slide.

Over the six games, he batted .083/.389/.083 (1-for-12). The OBP looks good due to seven walks drawn over the week. But Happ also left one game early due to what was reported as a foot issue and didn’t start the first game of the week in Milwaukee.

As is the case for many Cubs, a healthy and productive Happ would be a huge help in October.

Kevin Gausman, woof

Gausman has had several very good starts for the Cubs. His last one, last Wednesday against the Brewers, was not one of those. He allowed seven runs (six earned) in four innings and got taken deep three times. It was a bit surprising, as he had held the same Brewers to one run in seven innings just six days earlier at Wrigley Field.

His next start comes up Tuesday against the Braves. He’s made three starts at Wrigley since joining the Cubs. The other two (against the White Sox and Diamondbacks) were shaky. Hopefully, this upcoming start will be better than that.

Pete Crow-Armstrong had a quiet week

The presumptive National League MVP hit his 41st home run last Monday in Milwaukee.

In the five games since then PCA is batting just .150/.227/.150 (3-for-20) with seven strikeouts.

He does seem to go through stretches like this from time to time. It would be good for him and the team if he’d come out of it starting Monday against Atlanta. He’s four stolen bases away from a 40/40 season, which would be the seventh such year ever and first for a Cub.

Welcome back to Monday Stat Party, a weekly series showcasing some of the most curious and nostalgia-inducing statistical developments from the past week of Mets baseball. What unites each entry is the sense of intrigue which they aim to spark, and the unbridled love of the game’s anomalies from which they arise. Without further ado, let the stat party begin.

MONDAY

Jonah Tong recorded 12 whiffs through two innings, tying for the most whiffs in the first two innings of a game by a Mets pitcher in the Statcast era (since 2015). The record was set by Noah Syndergaard on April 15, 2018, against the Brewers, and matched by Jacob deGrom on July 14, 2019, in Miami.

TUESDAY

Nate Lavender recorded a 14th straight scoreless appearance to begin his career, marking the second-most for a Mets pitcher behind Joe Smith (17 in 2007). Lavender’s streak would come to an end on Wednesday night.

Brett Baty recorded an extra-base hit in five straight games for the first time in his career, and became the first Met to do so since Francisco Lindor from August 13-19, 2025.

WEDNESDAY

With his 23rd stolen baseof the season, A.J. Ewing broke a tie with Lee Mazzilli and teammate Carson Benge for the second-most stolen bases by a rookie in franchise history, trailing only Mookie Wilson (24 in 1981).

The Mets won despite allowing 14 runs for the first time in franchise history. They were previously 0-86 in games in which they allowed 14+ runs. The Mets also won despite allowing 20 hits for the first time in franchise history. They were previously 0-24 in games in which they allowed 20+ hits. It was the first time a team won despite allowing 20+ hits since…exactly three years earlier, when the Orioles beat the Red Sox 13-12 on September 9, 2023.

The Mets posted multiple six-run innings in the same game for the first time since August 29, 2025, in Jonah Tong’s debut at Citi Field (also against the Marlins).

For the first time in franchise history, the Mets won a game in which they allowed three or more runs in three different innings.

FRIDAY

Carson Benge recorded his 10th outfield assist, tied with Cleon Jones for the fourth-most by a Mets rookie behind Juan Lagares (15 in 2013), Rod Gaspar (12 in 1969), and Tsuyoshi Shinjo (12 in 2001). (source: Anthony DiComo on X)

Cody Bellinger’s homer marked the first home run hit off Nolan McLean’s curveball since the right-hander debuted in the big leagues. It was just the fourth extra-base hit, along with an Ian Happ double on June 24, an Ozzie Albies double on July 5, and a Trea Turner double on July 19.

SATURDAY

The Mets hit six home runs in a Subway Series game for the first time in franchise history. The Yankees had done it once before against the Mets on July 10, 1999, in a 9-8 Mets win at Shea Stadium thanks to Matt Franco’s walk-off single off Mariano Rivera.

Carson Benge’s fifth-inning RBI single marked his 147th hit of the season, moving him past Ty Wigginton and into second place on the Mets’ rookie hits leaderboard, trailing only Pete Alonso (155 in 2019).

Francisco Lindor reached 20 home runs for the 9th time in his career. He is only the second primary shortstop to reach 20+ homers in 9+ seasons, joining Cal Ripken Jr. (12 seasons of 20+ homers).

Lindor hit his first grand slam since Game 4 of the 2024 NLDS at Citi Field against the Phillies. Lindor now has seven grand slams with the Mets including postseason games, passing Mike Piazza for the most in franchise history.

Lindor became the eighth player in MLB history to hit a leadoff home run and grand slam in the same game, joining: Bobby Doerr (August 1, 1939), Von Hayes (June 11, 1985), Darrin Jackson (August 25, 1991), Kenny Lofton (August 20, 2000), Charlie Blackmon (May 31, 2016), George Springer (October 3, 2021), and Jake McCarthy (July 3, 2026). (source: Sarah Langs on X)

Lindor hit his 291st homer while playing shortstop in a game, tying Miguel Tejada for third-most behind Cal Ripken Jr. (345) and Alex Rodriguez (344). (source: Sarah Langs on X)

Lindor recorded his 24th multi-homer game while playing shortstop, tying Ernie Banks for second-most behind Alex Rodriguez (33). (source: Sarah Langs on X)

Lindor recorded his 3rd multi-homer Subway Series game, breaking a tie with Pete Alonso and Jorge Posada for the most in Subway Series history. Lindor previously hit three homers exactly five years earlier on September 12, 2021, at Citi Field, and hit two homers on July 24, 2024, at Yankee Stadium.  (credit: Sarah Langs on X)

Lindor recorded five RBI in a game for the ninth time as a Met. Three of those games have come against the Yankees.

Zac Thornton became the first Mets pitcher to complete seven innings in a Subway Series game since Max Scherzer on July 27, 2022, at Citi Field. He became the first left-hander to do it since Jon Niese on May 27, 2013, at Citi Field.

Thornton recorded his seventh quality start through 13 career games, tied for third-most by a Mets left-hander behind Steven Matz (9) and Sid Fernandez (8).

The Mets won a Subway Series game by 10 or more runs for the third time in franchise history. All three have ended with a score of 12-2 (June 9, 2000, at Yankee Stadium, and June 26, 2024, at Citi Field, were the previous two).

The Mets scored 10+ runs for the 17th time this season, tied with 1990 for the fourth-most such games in a season in franchise history. The 2000 (24), 1999 (20), and 1997 (18) teams are the only ones in franchise history with more double-digit scoring games. The Mets this season are tied with the Nationals for the second-most double-digit scoring games behind the Cubs (21).

SUNDAY

The Mets and Yankees held each other to three hits or fewer for the second time in Subway Series history. The first time was June 28, 1998, in a 2-1 Mets win at Shea Stadium.

The Mets suffered their 14th shutout loss of the season, tying them with the Mariners for the fourth-most of any team in the majors behind the Reds (16), Guardians (15), and Pirates (15).

Miscellaneous Mets stat of the week:

Only eight homegrown Mets have put up 30-homer seasons in orange and blue:

Dave Kingman (1975, 1976, 1982)
Darryl Strawberry (1987, 1988, 1990)
Todd Hundley (1996, 1997)
David Wright (2007, 2008)
Ike Davis (2012)
Lucas Duda (2014)
Michael Conforto (2019)
Pete Alonso (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

(Yes, this is a Pete Alonso stat.)

It was a real week of ups and downs for the Dodgers, who ran their season-best win streak to eight games before dropping two games in Miami, with a brutal Sunday loss that prevented what would have been a stellar week.

The Dodgers finally pulled the plug on Shohei Ohtani, placing the superstar on the injured list Friday after he aggravated his right biceps in his lone game on Monday. They played Freddie Freeman and designated hitter on Tuesday, then sat on Wednesday and Friday while dealing with a right knee injury. On the field, Freeman is hitless in his last 16 at-bats and has one hit in his last 26 at-bats, and was moving gingerly at first base on Sunday before a bad toss to covering pitcher Tanner Scott in the fateful ninth inning.

But the Dodgers also saw top prospect Josue De Paula not only make his major league debut, but thrive in doing so, reaching base six times in 11 at-bats, including his first major league home run and a double on Sunday.

In all, the Dodgers won four out of six games, and can clinch a postseason berth as early as Monday.

Batter of the week

Teoscar Hernández continued his stellar September with seven hits in 16 at-bats, tied for the team lead with six RBI, hit a home run and a triple, and even stole a base.

The offense was for the most part humming this week, with De Paula, Hernández, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Will Smith, and Kyle Tucker all posting an OPS over 1.000.

Pitcher of the week

Emmet Sheehan bookended the week with stellar starts. He allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts to beat the Reds on Monday after getting called back up from Triple-A. Then Sheehan on Sunday pitched six scoreless innings on Sunday.

Week 25 results

4-2 record
36 runs scored (6.00 per game)
18 runs allowed (3.00 per game)
.780 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

90-59 record
741 runs scored (4.97 per game)
571 runs allowed (3.83 per game)
.617 pythagorean win percentage (92-57)

Miscellany

Ten grand: Mookie Betts on Saturday homered in the second inning, the 10,000th home run for the Dodgers since moving to Los Angeles in 1958. Max Muncy followed with a home run, then Josue De Paula homered Sunday, upping the count to 10,002.

Welcome aboard: Top prospect Josue De Paula was called up directly from Double-A on Friday, and started all three games in Miami — two at designated hitter, then Sunday in left field. In his first game, De Paula reached base once in his four trips to the plate in his first game with a walk, the third Dodgers player to make their major league debut in 2026. De Paula joined first baseman/outfielder Ryan Ward (2 for 5, RBI on April 19 at Colorado) and catcher Eliezer Alfonzo (0 for 2 on July 5 vs. San Diego) in the Dodgers’ first-timer club this season.

Go90: Friday’s victory in Miami gave the Dodgers 90 wins on the season, something they’ve done every full season since 2013, excepting only the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign in which the team was 43-17. The Dodgers are the first team in MLB history to win 90 games for 13 full seasons in a row.

Mookie on the run: Mookie Betts did not score on Sunday, the first time he failed to touch home plate since August 29. His 11 straight games scoring at least once is tied for the second-longest streak in the majors this season, and is one game shy of the longest run-scoring streak in Los Angeles Dodgers history, held by Betts in 2022 and Rafael Furcal in 2010.

Transactions

Monday: Emmet Sheehan was recalled from Triple-A, with Bobby Miller optioned the day after pitching three innings in relief.

Tuesday: Center fielder Alek Thomas cleared waivers and was sent outright to Oklahoma City.

Friday: Shohei Ohtani was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Tuesday, which opened up a lane of playing time for Josue De Paula’s first major league call-up. Left-hander Eric Lauer was moved to the 60-day IL, ending his season.

Game results

• Monday: Dodgers 6, Reds 3
• Tuesday: Dodgers 3, Reds 2
• Wednesday: Dodgers 14, Reds 1
• Friday: Dodgers 6, Marlins 2
• Saturday: Marlins 4, Dodgers 3
• Sunday: Marlins 6, Dodgers 4

Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11| Week 12 | Week 13 | no reviews for Weeks 14-15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | Week 23 | Week 24

Up next

The Dodgers run the Eddie Milner gauntlet, finishing up the road trip with a series against the Cincinnati Reds for the second week in a row, followed by the San Francisco Giants in Los Angeles next weekend. The pitching matchups for the latter half of the week are a guess, as the Dodgers have TBA listed for the final two games in Cincinnati.

“Jerry Coleman, who was banging out base hits all over the green sod at Yankee Stadium last spring, helped today to knock out a rail bridge about twenty-five miles south of Sariwon in his first combat mission in Korea as a Marine air captain.” – The New York Times, February 1, 1953.

I’m highly skeptical that any ball player has had a cooler one-paragraph article in the NYT about them. But Coleman was a pretty fascinating guy with a rather cool history. When he wasn’t racking up World Series titles with the Yankees, he was flying combat in Korea. When his playing days ended, he ended up becoming one of the most famous and beloved broadcasters in the sport. Oh, doctor!

Name: Jerry Coleman
Born: September 14, 1924 (San Jose, CA)
Died: January 5, 2014 (La Jolla, CA)
Yankees Tenure: 1949-1957

Two things happened in early 1942 that changed Jerry Coleman’s life. First, he attended a presentation about the US Navy’s flight training program and instantly decided he wanted to become a fighter pilot. Second, the Yankees offered him $2,800 to sign with the organization. Not yet 18 and therefore unable to join the Navy, Coleman signed on the dotted line and joined the Yankees.

Coleman eventually ended up flying in the Pacific theater, transferring stateside in summer of 1945 to train for an invasion of the Japanese islands. Japan, however, surrendered shortly after and Coleman was discharged in early 1946, allowing him to play baseball.

He made the Yankees out of spring training in 1949 and quickly inherited the second base job due to injury. From there, he was a mainstay in the Yankee lineup. And on the final day of the season, with the Red Sox and Yankees tied and playing for the pennant, the diminutive Coleman had a signature Yankee moment.

With New York up 2-0 on Boston in the home eighth, Coleman came to the plate with the bases loaded, facing Red Sox hurler Tex Hughson. Coleman swung at the first pitch and muscled a pop fly where neither the second baseman nor the right fielder could get it. He couldn’t have run the ball out there and placed it any better. All three runners scored, extending the Yankee lead to five. And those runs were huge, as the Red Sox scored three in the ninth before the Yanks put them away to clinch the pennant.

In that year’s World Series, the Yankees knocked off the Dodgers in five. Coleman, for his part, drove in four runs on the five hits, picking up the first of four World Series rings he’d win as a player. It was the first of three consecutive titles for Coleman, and the first of five straight for the ‘50s Yankees dynasty. Coleman was also recognized as the Associated Press choice for American League Rookie of the Year.

The next season was Coleman’s finest. He made the All-Star Game, the lone time he did that in his career. And in the World Series against Philadelphia, he drove in three of the Yankees’ 11 total runs, reached base six times in four games, and was named winner of the Babe Ruth Award, a still-active honor but the only such award in the days before the World Series MVP. Coleman walked off Game 3 with a single against Russ Meyer, plating Gene Woodling with the run that put the Yankees ahead 3-0 in a series they’d sweep.

The Korean War interrupted Coleman’s playing days as he was off to serve his country again. During that conflict, he flew 63 combat missions, in the process becoming the only major leaguer to have experienced aerial combat in two different wars. Coleman provided close air support and flew interdiction/strike missions. Though he returned to the Yankees for the 1955 season, he remained with the Marine Corps reserves until 1964, when he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Back in baseball, Coleman played three more seasons, ultimately retiring after the 1957 campaign. The effects of his wartime service, and injuries on the diamond, took their toll and Coleman was never the same player he’d been before heading to Korea.

But baseball was not done with him. The third and final act of his baseball career would be the longest, and the one for which he is best known. In 1960, he started broadcasting baseball games. From 1963-1970, he called Yankee games, though that ended when his wife expressed a desire to move to the West Coast. Coleman was, however, on the call when old friend Mickey Mantle clubbed the 500th homer of his Hall of Fame career.

From 1972 until his death in 2014 (with the exception of 1980 when he served as the Padres’ manager), Coleman broadcast San Diego games, where his signature lines “Hang a star on that one, baby!” and “Oh, doctor!” became well-known to baseball fans.

In the process, Coleman became one of the most beloved figures in baseball. In 2005, he was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for his achievements in broadcasting.

Coleman died in January 2014 at the age of 89, after suffering a fall. I’ll leave summing up his extraordinary life and career to C. Paul Rogers III, Coleman’s SABR biographer:

“He became a bona-fide war hero in two wars, had a baseball playing career that earned him Rookie of the Year and World Series MVP honors, and then transitioned into a Hall of Fame broadcasting career. Through it all, he remained a very humble man with a great sense of humor and an appreciation for his good fortune in surviving two wars and for his ability to play Major League Baseball. Jerry Coleman was not only a San Diego treasure, but an American treasure.”

Happy birthday, Jerry Coleman.

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

Worcester: W, 8-7 (BOX SCORE)

I’ve used the word “penultimate” seemingly endless times in the last month or so, so here’s one more. The WooSox capped off their finale in Lehigh Valley (Phillies AAA), finishing the PENULTIMATE series of 2026 in dramatic fashion despite outplaying the IronPigs for most of the game. Gage Ziehl had a gritty if not spectacular performance, pitching into the sixth and coming back from being taken yard in the fourth without his confidence shaken. All told, the 23-year-old righty struck out eight to bring his total to 126 in 116 innings pitched (96/85, respectively, of those being in Portland) and is really shaping up into someone to watch in 2027. The pitching staff as a whole issued zero walks despite being taken for nine hits, but the game never looked out of control save for when Noah Song came in to let two runs up in the sixth.

Luckily, though, the WooSox offense had a home run derby, sending five over the fence, including two from Allan Castro. That second one hoisted the WooSox from a deficit to a lead that Sam McWilliams wouldn’t give up. Arias also hit his 24th home run of the season (and his 5th in Triple-A.)

Portland: Cancelled (rain), end of season

Rain cancelled the last game of the season against Binghamton (Mets AA) in an anticlimactic fashion. But what a season it was for the Sea Dogs.

The season began with interested eyes watching Franklin Arias become an absolute hitting machine in the spring, along with Anthony Eyannson dealing, only for the former to be promoted to Triple-A and the latter dealt to Baltimore (or rather, Chesapeake) in the Adley Rutschman deal. Still, Brooks Brannon raked, the team had 8 walk-off wins and generally found ways to come up on top. The pitching staff headed by Hayden Mullins, in his own right a guy to watch, pitched a combined no hitter in April (but not a shutout). And Justin Gonzales looks formidable as an everyday outfielder a few years in the future. Overall, the cupboard is not as fully stocked as some teams, but there’s some players to feel good about starting to make their mark in the mid-levels of the farm.

39 Years Ago

The Blue Jays defeated the Orioles 18-3, powered by an incredible ten home runs. Ernie Whitt accounted for three of those blasts. I was always a fan of Whitt—his left-handed, all-out pull swing was a thing of beauty. He often finished with his left knee on the ground, a move I tried to imitate without success. I still wonder how he managed to track the ball with his head dropping like that, but somehow, Ernie made it work.

The Jays scored:

Five runs in the second inning: Whitt led off with a home run. Jesse Barfield doubled, and Rance Mulliniks followed with another homer. After Fred McGriff struck out and Willie Upshaw grounded out, Nelson Liriano walked, and Lloyd Moseby capped the inning with a two-run homer.

Two more came in the third when George Bell and Rance Mulliniks each hit solo home runs.

In the fourth, Liriano walked, advanced to second on a Moseby groundout, and scored on a Tony Fernandez single.

In the fifth, Whitt led off with another home run.

In the sixth, Bell hit his 45th home run of the season—he would finish the year with 47 homers, 134 RBI, and the AL MVP award.

The Jays exploded for seven runs in the seventh: Barfield singled but was erased on a Kelly Gruber double play. McGriff walked, Upshaw singled, and Liriano drove in a run with an RBI single. Rob Ducey followed with a three-run homer—one of just 31 in his career. Manuel Lee and Lou Thornton each singled, with Thornton collecting one of his 22 career hits. Whitt then capped the inning with his third home run of the game, another three-run blast (his 17th of the season).

In the eighth, McGriff led off with a solo home run.

That team featured plenty of great players, including a future Hall of Famer.

The New York Mets (69-80) welcome the Baltimore Orioles (72-78) to Citi Field for a three-game series starting this evening. The Mets are coming off a 1-2 Subway Series with the Yankees, which saw two relatively competitive games go the Yankees’ way, and an absolute rout of a dub for the Mets.

The Yankees are a playoff team and they have the likely American League Cy Young winner as their ace, so it isn’t exactly a shocker that the Mets dropped two of three, but it was the way they dropped them that was bothersome. On Friday night, Nolan McLean had a tough outing, Juan Soto let what should’ve been a fairly easy fly ball drop in front of him leading to a run scoring, and the entire game was a frustrating mix of mini-comebacks and poor moments that seemed avoidable.

Losing 2-0 to Cam Schlittler isn’t anything to be ashamed of, but it was the absolute lack of any offense against the Yankees bullpen that was so frustrating, especially because the Mets had done so well against them in the first two games. I know their bullpen overall has been excellent this year, but for a team that has been clicking offensively to get three hit with no real scoring opportunities was frustrating.

Speaking of frustrating, get ready for three straight days of arguments about Pete Alonso. It’s hard to have an Alonso take that is unique at this point, and it seems just as rare to have one that doesn’t get shouted at folks who disagree with you. My take is fairly simple: while I do think his skillset ages more poorly than others, he meant enough for the Mets that they should’ve tried harder to retain him. I miss rooting for Alonso each night, and his bat would certainly have helped during the offensively challenged periods earlier this season.

Alonso and Francisco Lindor are both one home run away from career #300, and it would very cool to see them do it in the same game, and it would be nice for Pete to be able to celebrate the milestone with the fans who were there for the majority of those home runs.

As for the rest of his Orioles teammates, they’re in a bit of a rough spot. They’re in last place in the AL East, but only four games out of a Wild Card spot, but there are two teams between them and the final spot, currently occupied by the Guardians. They’re 3-7 over their last ten games, and every team ahead of them in the WC standings has been at least .500 over that stretch. They simply need to be playing better to have any chance at a playoff push, and while they’re not exactly running into a juggernaut, the Mets have been solid in the second half and might not be the pushovers that Baltimore hopes they’ll be.

Monday, September 14: Jonah Tong vs Brandon Young,  7:10pm EDT on SNY

Tong (2026): 15.0 IP, 14 K, 8 BB, 2 HR, 4.80 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 117 ERA-

In Tong’s sole start since his most recent call up, he went five innings, giving up four earned runs on four hits and one walk, while striking out seven. He had a very rough second inning where he gave up a a single, a walk, a triple, and a home run, but in every other inning he gave up just one hit and generally kept Miami off-balance. While his stock has fallen since his debut last season, Tong is starting to look more like a pitcher who can work around some adversity and keep his team in the game.

Young(2026): 140.2 IP, 112 K, 50 BB, 20 HR, 3.71 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 91 ERA-

This season is going much, much better for Young than his rookie campaign did. He’s been hovering around a 3.5 ERA for the better part of the year, and he’s averaging decent length in his starts. However, his last start was a really messy one; he didn’t make it out of the fourht inning, gave up six runs on eight hits and two walks in a loss to Cleveland.

Tuesday, September 15: Sean Manaea vs Shane Baz, 7:10pm EDT on SNY

Manaea (2026): 133.1 IP, 146 K, 41 BB, 21 HR, 4.79 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 116 ERA-

It has been a weird year for Manaea, who started the year looking like a candidate to be designated for assignment, then looked like he belonged here, and is now maybe looking like a DFA candidate again. Over his last five starts, he’s given up at least four earned runs and he only made it into the seventh inning once. It’s hard to tell exactly what is left in Manaea’s tank at this point in the season, and this point in his career.

Baz (2026): 169.0 IP, 150 K, 58 BB, 14 HR, 4.05 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 99 ERA-

Baz had his worst start of the second half last week against the Guardians, where he couldn’t finish the sixth inning, gave up two home runs en route to giving up five earned runs. But overall, he’s been solid, if unspectacular, for Baltimore this season. He’s had just three starts where he hasn’t gone five innings and his walk and home run rates are both down from his career norms. He’s striking out fewer batters than you’d like, but with the other metrics in consideration, it’s hard to be too upset about his performance.

Wednesday, September 16: Robert Stock vs Chris Bassitt, 7:10pm EDT on SNY

Stock (2026): 30.1 IP, 29 K, 15 BB, 2 HR, 5.93 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 144 ERA-

The Bob Stock feel-good story is still going, despite all evidence suggesting that this was never a good idea. Aside from his one disaster appearance against the Brewers, Stock has been reliably solid, even if he’s not going deep or doing a ton to impress in terms of actual stuff. But he’s making the absolute most of what he’s left with at this point in his career, and what more could we ask for?

Bassitt(2026): 90.1 IP, 66 K, 36 BB, 10 HR, 4.88 ERA, 4.58 FIP, 120 ERA-

Old friend Chris Bassitt had one of his best ever seasons with the Mets in 2022, but he’s coming back to Queens a very different pitcher. Bassitt is older, wilder, less effective, and generally just not the player he was last season, let alone four years ago. It is hard to say because I really enjoyed watching Bassitt pitch, but this might be a very, very ugly game to watch on both sides.

Eli Willits has made his primary goal crystal clear ever since he joined the Nationals organization. He wants to be a big leaguer by the time he is 20 years old. For most players, that is a pipe dream. However, Eli Willits is not most players and he made that very obvious this season.

The 18 year old just finished his first professional season in style. Willits got promoted to Double-A for the last week of the season. While he only got to play three games, the last one was legendary. Willits had a four hit game which included his first AA home run and two stolen bases. It was an amazing final act to a wonderful season.

With Willits finishing the season in AA, he is putting himself in position to make a debut late in 2027. Despite being such a young player, Willits is remarkably polished. This comes from being the son of a big leaguer and being obsessed with the game ever since he could walk. 

When I talked to Willits earlier this season, it was very clear that three things truly mattered to him. Eli Willits is all about family, faith and baseball. You will be hard pressed to find a more business-like 18 year old out there. As Willits put it, he grew up in an MLB clubhouse and it is easy to see that.

That baseball IQ manifests itself on the field. When I watched Willits for the first time in Low-A, the thing that stuck out to me most was how natural he looked. Willits looked like a big league caliber defender at shortstop already. While many young shortstops, even the defensively gifted ones make a lot of errors, Willits is already so secure. He only made 8 errors all season as an 18 year old. 

Those instincts also show up on the bases, where Willits is an absolute mad man. He absolutely loves to steal bases and creates havoc out there. For the season, Willits stole a jaw dropping 62 bases across three levels. He did get caught 15 times, but with a success rate around 80%, his aggressiveness was worth it.

When the Nats drafted Willits first overall, we knew that speed and defense were part of his game. Those have been there and are even better than expected. We also expected Willits to have a great hit tool, and that has mostly been the case as well. His contact rates were more solid than spectacular, but you have to account for just how young he is. 

With his hit tool being good rather than elite, Willits needed to show more power and plate discipline. This season, the plate discipline has been absolutely elite. Even when he was facing big league arms in Spring Training, you could see how outstanding his approach was. That held up throughout the season.

In 114 games, Willits walked 95 times. His walk rate of 17.7% is absolutely phenomenal, especially for such a young hitter. Willits rarely chased while also swinging at pitches in the zone when he saw them. Plate discipline will be Willits’ best offensive trait in my opinion.

Entering the season, Willits’ biggest concern was his power. He was not known for his pop as an amateur and he did not show much thump in his brief 2025 debut. However, he looked noticeably stronger this year and that showed up with a big power surge. Willits hit 14 homers on the season, including a no-doubter in his last game of the season.

Seeing power develop this quickly for Willits is a great sign. If he can be a 15-20 home run guy at the big league level, he will be one of the most well-rounded players in the sport. The glove at shortstop is elite, his speed is outstanding and he knows how to hit. Power was supposed to be the final piece, but it is coming.

It is worth noting that power was way up across the board in the minors this year and folks are theorizing that the ball was juiced. That may have turned a 10 homer season into a 14 homer campaign. However, even a 10 homer season would be a big step in the right direction for Willits. He also had 27 doubles and 8 triples. In the long run, I think Willits will be a player who racks up a ton of those.

For the season, Eli Willits hit .265 with a .406 OBP and .869 OPS across three levels. He looked like a number 1 pick and has established himself as a top 10 prospect in the sport. At the time, some suggested that Willits was a reach and a money saver as a first overall pick. This season he sure looked like a blue chip prospect.

The way he ended his season was also special. With a 4 hit game in AA, he joined some special company. Fernando Tatis Jr., Jesus Made and Bryce Harper are among the exclusive group of 18 year olds to have a 4 hit game in AA. You have to be a special talent to be successful in Double-A at such a young age.

It is even more special for an American born player to do this because of how the draft works. Willits and Harper are the only Americans to do this. Latin American players sign at 16, so you will see some of the elite ones get to AA at 18. However, it is much more rare to see a US born player accomplish this.

Harper and Willits were both special talents who reclassified and were drafted as 17 year olds. That combination of rare talent and circumstance puts Willits in this group. You just don’t see many 18 year olds in AA, especially ones who are in their first full year as a pro.

Eli Willits is different though. You can see that when watching him play and I got to experience it when talking to him in Wilmington. This is just a gifted and driven individual who is obsessed with baseball. He is a quiet young man, but he is supremely confident. 

He said he wanted to be in the big leagues by the time he turned 20 because he knew it was possible. For most professional baseball players that is not a realistic goal. However, Eli Willits is not most professional baseball players and we saw that in his first full year as a pro.