Category: Sports News

Round 1

The Mets ended the 2024 season with an 89-73 record, making them eligible to make the 28th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Because their 2024 payroll exceeded the competitive balance tax threshold by more than $40 million dollars, their first selection dropped by 10 picks, meaning that their first selection instead was the 38th overall pick, which came in Competitive Balance Round A. With the 38th overall pick, the Mets selected Mitch Voit, a two-way player from the University of Michigan. He signed for $1,750,000, below the MLB-assigned slot value of $2,569,400, and was assigned to the St. Lucie Mets for the remainder of the season, hitting .235/.343/.294 in 22 games with 1 home run, 20 stolen bases in 21 attempts, and 13 walks to 24 strikeouts. Over the winter, he was ranked the Mets’ 9th top prospect by Amazin’ Avenue. He began the 2026 season with High-A Brooklyn and through July 1 hit .250/.356/.417 with 11 doubles, 9 home runs, 26 stolen bases in 30 attempts, and 28 walks to 57 strikeouts.

Rounds 2-10

Due to their signing of Juan Soto, the Mets were not eligible to make a second-round draft selection.

With their third-round pick, the 102nd overall selection, the Mets selected Antonio Jimenez, a shortstop from the University of Central Florida. He signed for $564,000, under the MLB-assigned slot value of $752,000 and was assigned to Single-A St. Lucie. Appearing in 26 games, he hit .263/.345/.274 with 0 home runs, 8 stolen bases in 11 attempts, and drew 12 walks to 15 strikeouts. Over the winter, he was ranked 18 on the 2026 Amazin’ Avenue Top 25 Mets Prospect list. He began the 2026 season with the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones and hit .124/.181/.206 with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 3 stolen bases in 4 attempts, and 5 walks to 30 strikeouts. In mid-May, because of his poor performance, he was placed on the Developmental List for roughly a week, and then was assigned to Single-A St. Lucie, where he hit .194/.344/.333 though July 1 with 4 doubles, 2 home runs, 8 stolen bases in 13 attempts, and 13 walks to 29 strikeouts.

With their fourth-round pick, the 133rd overall selection, the Mets selected Peter Kussow, a right-handed pitcher from Arrowhead Union High School in Hartland, Wisconsin. He signed for $897,500, above the MLB-assigned slot value of $555,800, and was assigned to the FCL Mets, but did not appear in a game. Over the winter, he was ranked 25 on the 2026 Amazin’ Avenue Top 25 Mets Prospect list. He underwent season-ending labrum surgery on his right shoulder just prior to the start of the year.

With their fifth-round pick, the 163rd overall selection, the Mets selected Peyton Prescott, a right-handed pitcher from Florida State University. He signed for $197,500, below the MLB-assigned slot value for the 163 overall pick, $415,100. He was assigned to the FCL Mets but did not appear in a game, because he underwent Tommy John surgery after injuring his elbow while playing in the NCAA Super Regionals against Oregon State. He remains recovering from the procedure and has not yet pitched as a professional.

With their sixth-round pick, the 193rd overall selection, the Mets selected Nathan Hall, a right-handed pitcher from the University of Central Missouri. He signed for $297,500, below the MLB-assigned slot value of $322,300. He was assigned to the FCL Mets but did not appear in a single game. He was placed on the FCL Mets 7-Day Injured List on May 1, when their season began, and recently came off of it, appearing in a pair of games through July 1, throwing two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, walking none, and striking out 1.

With their seventh-round pick, the 223rd overall section, the Mets selected Cam Tilly, a right-handed pitcher from Auburn University. He signed for $397,500, above the MLB-assigned slot value of $254,000. He was assigned to the FCL Mets but did not appear in a single game. He was promoted to the Single-A St. Lucie Mets when the 2026 season began and though July 1 has a 4.64 ERA in 54.1 innings over 12 starts with 51 hits allowed, 22 walks, and 52 strikeouts.

With their eighth-round pick, the 253rd overall selection, the Mets selected Camden Lohman, a right-handed pitcher from Fort Zumwalt North High School in O’Fallon, Missouri. He signed for $797,500, above the MLB-assigned slot value of $213,200. He was assigned to the FCL Mets but did not appear in a single game. He remained with the FCL Mets when the 2026 season began and though July 1 has a 5.79 ERA in 28.0 innings over 9 appearances- 7 starts- with 25 hits allowed, 23 walks, and 34 strikeouts.

With their ninth-round pick, the 283rd overall pick, the Mets selected Anthony Frobose, a shortstop from Lakeland High School in Westchester. He signed for $3990,000, above the MLB-assigned slot value of $196,800. He was assigned to the FCL Mets but did not appear in a single game. He remained with the FCL Mets when the 2026 season began and through July 1 hit .228/.352/.406 in 34 games with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 10 stolen bases in 13 attempts, and 17 walks to 44 strikeouts.

With their tenth-round pick, the 343rd overall pick, the Mets selected Tyler McLoughlin, a right-handed pitcher from the University of Georgia. He signed for $7,500, below the MLB-assigned slot value of $196,800. He was assigned to the Single-A St. Lucie Mets and appeared in 2 games, allowing 2 runs in 2.1 innings, giving up 1 hit and walking 2 while striking out 4. He remained with the St. Lucie Mets when the 2026 season began and though July 1 has a 8.10 ERA in 23.1 innings over 19 appearances with 26 hits allowed, 23 walks, and 33 strikeouts.

Rounds 11-20

With their eleventh-round pick, the 343 overall selection, the Mets selected Wyatt Vincent, an outfielder from Nixa High School in Nixa, Missouri. He signed for $272,500, above the $150,000 cut-off for selections made after the 10th round, meaning that $122,500 of his bonus counted against the 2025 bonus pool. He was assigned to the FCL Mets but did not appear in a single game. He remained with the FCL Mets when the 2026 season began and though July 1 hit in .256/.358/.511 29 games with 5 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs, 5 stolen bases in 10 attempts, and 14 walks to 30 strikeouts.

With their twelfth-round pick, the 373 overall selection, the Mets selected Truman Pauley, a right-handed pitcher from Harvard. He signed for $400,000, above the $150,000 cut-off for selections made after the 10th round, meaning that $250,000 of his bonus counted against the 2025 bonus pool. He was assigned to the FSL Mets and appeared in 3 games, allowing 1 run in 4.1 innings, giving up 0 hits, walking 4, and striking out 3. On January 20, 2026, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox, along with Luisangel Acuna, in exchange for Luis Robert Jr.

With their thirteenth-round pick, the 403rd overall selection, the Mets selected Frank Camarillo, a right-handed pitcher from the University of California: Santa Barbara. He signed for a sum below the $150,000 bonus threshold and was assigned to the FCL Mets but did not get into game action in 2025. He began the 2026 season with Single-A St. Lucie and appeared in 7 games for them, all starts, posting a 4.35 ERA in 31.0 innings with 27 hits allowed, 11 walks, and 28 strikeouts. He was promoted to High-A Brooklyn in late May made three starts for the Cyclones before having his season paused due to injury; in those three starts, he allowed 7 earned runs in 17.2 innings, good for a 3.57 ERA, allowing 17 hits, walking 4, and striking out 8.

With their fourteenth-round pick, the 433rdoverall selection, Mets selected James Smith IV, a two-way player from the University of Memphis. He elected to not sign with the Mets and returned to Memphis.

With their fifteenth-round pick, the 463rd overall selection, the Mets selected Conner Ware, a left-handed pitcher from Louisiana State University. He signed for a sum below the $150,000 bonus threshold and was assigned to the FCL Mets but did not appear in a single game. He was promoted to Single-A St. Lucie for the 2026 season and though July 1 has appeared in 13 games, making 9 starts, posting a 5.36 ERA in 47.0 innings with 41 hits allowed, 24 walks, and 54 strikeouts.

With their sixteenth-round pick, the 493rd overall selection, the Mets selected Zack Mack, a right-handed pitcher from Loyola Marymount University. He signed for a sum below the $150,000 bonus threshold and was assigned to the Single-A St. Lucie Mets, where he appeared in two games, pitching 1.1 scoreless innings, walking one batter. He remained with the St. Lucie Mets when the 2026 season began and though July 1 has appeared in 15 games, posting a 2.08 ERA in 21.2 innings with 20 hits allowed, 8 walks, and 24 strikeouts.

With their seventeenth-round pick, the 523rd overall selection, the Mets selected Sam Robertson, a shortstop from Northwest Shoals Community College. He signed for a sum below the $150,000 bonus threshold and was assigned to the Single-A St. Lucie Mets, where he hit .172/.294/.172 in 20 games with 9 stolen bases in 10 attempts, 9 walks, and 27 strikeouts. He remained with the St. Lucie Mets when the 2026 season began and prior to being placed on the 7-Day Injured List in early June hit .246/.390/.297 in 43 games with 5 doubles, 1 triple, 24 stolen bases in 30 attempts, and 30 walks to 49 strikeouts.

With their eighteenth-round pick, the 553rd overall selection, the Mets selected Dillon Stiltner, a right-handed pitcher from Trinity Christian High School in Sharpsburg, Georgia. He signed for $222,690, above the $150,000 cut-off for selections made after the 10th round, meaning that $72,690 of his bonus counted against the 2025 bonus pool. He was assigned to the FCL Mets but did not appear in a game. He remained with the FCL Mets when the 2026 season began and though July 1 has appeared in 7 games, making 3 starts, with a 12.06 ERA in 15.2 innings, allowing 21 hits, walking 11, and striking out 7.

With their nineteenth-round pick, the 583rd overall selection, the Mets selected Joe Scarborough, a right-handed pitcher from Jacksonville State University. He signed for a sum below the $150,000 bonus threshold and was assigned to the Single-A St. Lucie Mets, where he appeared in a single game and pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing 2 runs on 1 hit and 3 walks. He remained with the St. Lucie Mets to begin the 2026 season and through July 1 has appeared in 22 games, posting a 5.47 ERA in 24.2 innings with 28 hits allowed, 23 walks, and 23 strikeouts.

With their twentieth-round pick, the 613th overall selection, the Mets selected Garrett Stratton, a right-handed pitcher from Rice University. He signed for a sum below the $150,000 bonus threshold and was assigned to the Single-A St. Lucie Mets, where he appeared in a single game and pitched a single inning, allowing 2 hits. He was assigned to the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones for the 2026 season and appeared in 21 games, posting a 2.73 ERA in 29.2 innings with 25 hits allowed, 15 walks, and 44 strikeouts. He was promoted to Double-A Binghamton in mid-July and has appeared in 4 games with the Rumble Ponies since, allowing 2 earned runs in 6.1 innings, good for a 2.84 ERA, with 5 hits allowed, 0 walks, and 6 strikeouts.

Congratulations to Caden Scarborough, who has been named the #3 prospect in the 2026 LSB Midseason Community Prospect Rankings, receiving over 60% of the vote.

Our list so far:

1 — Sebastian Walcott

2 — Caden Scarborough

Moving on…

Because there has been a history of vote-spamming shenanigans in the rankings, I used Google Forms for the last several of community rankings, and it worked out well, so we will use it again. You will need to include your LSB user name when you vote. If you don’t have an LSB user name, you need to use some sort of identifier. While this won’t eliminate the possibility of vote spamming, it will make it harder.

So who is the #3 prospect in the Rangers system right now?

Cast your vote below…

Trea Turner’s issues at shortstop have officially become too troubling to put off any longer.

In Monday’s get-away game in Kansas City, another Turner error, his 12th of the season, opened the floodgates to a 6-run Royals outburst in the first inning of what would eventually become a 15-1 boat-racing of the Phillies.

To be fair, Turner’s error prevented the inning from ending, but Sanchez was every bit as responsible for the deluge of runs scored by a heretofore anemic Kansas City offense. The Phils’ ace left-hander clearly didn’t have it on Monday, and the Royals took advantage.

It was additionally damaging to Sanchez in that all the runs were earned, despite the throwing error. Scoring rules dictate one cannot “assume a double play.” The runner was safe at first not on an error, but on a fielder’s choice. The error allowed the runners already on base to move up. So when those runners came in to score, they were all earned, as the scorers could never assume the third out would have been recorded.

I’m here to tell you, you CAN assume a double play. But let’s move on.

One year after having a rennassiance defensive season at short, Turner is once again one of the worst defenders in baseball. His -9 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) is last and in terms of Outs Above Average (OAA), his mark of -6 is 4th-worst among 17 qualified shortstops in MLB.

The time has come. However they want to go about it, the Phillies’ brass must sit Turner down and tell him a transition to the outfield is beginning now.

Turner is as fast as ever and should be able to make the transition, but it won’t be easy. It may be impossible for them to make the switch mid-season, although Bryce Harper worked out at first base once Rhys Hoskins got hurt and made the transition in the middle of the year. Why can’t Trea?

And it’s not just that Turner is committing errors. He’s failing to finish routine plays. His 22 ground ball double plays turned this year is tied for last among MLB shortstops, despite the Phillies leading the league in ground ball rate (45.2%). His 196 assists are tied for 6th-most, and yet, only 22 double plays.

A temporary double play combination of Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott would be an improvement, and Turner’s addition to the outfield would negate the need for the Phillies to trade for one over the next few weeks. As has been noted repeatedly, there is a dearth of quality right-handed hitting outfielders available.

On our latest Hittin’ Season podcast, we discussed the Turner situation and whether the transition can take place now, or must wait until later.

The great fear is that we will gaze in horror this October as Turner commits an error in a key situation in the postseason. Imagine Game 3 of the NLCS and Turner boots a grounder with runners on base that leads to a big inning and costs the Phils a playoff game. It’s a real worry.

Can the Phillies make the switch over the next few weeks? Can they re-make the roster on the fly with Turner in the outfield? How much better would the pitching staff be with the speedy Turner in the outfield and a solid double play combo of Sosa and Stott in the middle of the diamond? While Sosa is not built to play every day, one would think a platoon situation with Stott and some mixing and matching at second base could improve the Phils’ run prevention.

Either way, it’s time for these conversations to begin taking place. If it doesn’t happen this year, the Phillies almost certainly can’t go into 2027 with Turner penciled in as the starting shortstop.

So, why wait? Don’t wait to make an improvement if it can be made sooner rather than later.

Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (41-46) won 6-5 (BOX SCORE)

McCullers started for Sugar Land and went 4 innings allowing 4 runs, 2 earned, while walking 3 and striking out 4. The offense got on the board in the 2nd inning on a Meyers 2 run home run. After Rodriguez allowed a run in the 5th, Sugar Land rallied in the 6th for 3 runs to tie it on a Whitcomb RBI single, Meyers walk and Spence hit by pitch. In the 7th, Sugar Land took the lead on a Pena RBI double. Blanco tossed 2 scoreless innings in relief before the game was called due to lightning as Sugar Land won 6-5.

Note: Spence is hitting .300 in Triple-A.

• Jeremy Pena, SS: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
• Joey Loperfido, LF: 1-for-4, R
• Shay Whitcomb, 3B: 1-for-3, R, RBI, BB
• Trenton Brooks, DH: 1-for-3, R, BB
• Jake Meyers, CF: 1-for-2, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB
• Lucas Spence, RF: 1-for-3, RBI
• Cesar Salazar, C: 2-for-3, 2 R

• Lance McCullers Jr., RHP: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
• Julio Rodriguez, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• Ronel Blanco, RHP: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (WIN)

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (37-44) lost 3-2 (BOX SCORE)

The Hooks got on the board in the first inning on a Bush 2 run home run. Nezuh got the start and pitched really well striking out 11 over 5.1 innings allowing just 1 run. Swanson came on for the 8th but allowed 2 runs as the RoughRiders took the lead. The offense was unable to score again as the Hooks fell 3-2.

Note: Nezuh has 80 K over 65.2 innings this season.

• Jason Schiavone, C: 1-for-4, SB
• Trevor Austin, 3B: 1-for-3, R, 2B, BB, SB
• Will Bush, 1B: 1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• Yamal Encarnacion, 2B: 1-for-4, 2B, SB

• Jackson Nezuh, RHP: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K
• Railin Perez, RHP: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Nic Swanson, RHP: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Amilcar Chirinos, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

A+: Asheville Tourists (28-53) won 11-3 (BOX SCORE)

Rodriguez started for Asheville and allowed a 1 run before getting out of the first. Asheville got the offense going early scoring 3 runs in the 2nd inning on a Nunez RBI single, Garcia groundout and Nigh RBI double. In the third, Moss added a solo home run. The offense got 2 more runs on a Garcia solo home run and Ochoa sac fly. In the 5th, Nigh added 2 more runs on a 2 run single. The offense got another in the 6th on a wild pitch and another in the 7th on a Powell RBI single. The pen allowed a couple of runs but the offense did more than enough as Asheville won 11-3.

Note: Moss is hitting .404 for Asheville.

• Justin Thomas, CF: 0-for-4, R, BB
• Caden Powell, DH: 2-for-3, R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB
• Nehomar Ochoa, RF: 0-for-4, RBI
• Jack Moss, 1B: 3-for-4, 3 R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB
• Zach Daudet, SS: 0-for-1, 3 R, 4 BB
• Alejandro Nunez, 2B: 2-for-5, R, RBI
• John Garcia, C: 1-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI
• Brandon Nigh, 3B: 3-for-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI

• Luis Rodriguez, RHP: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Garrett Apker, RHP: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Jordan Carr, LHP: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (WIN)
• Conor Steinbaugh, RHP: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Colby Langford, LHP: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Frias, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (41-40) lost 10-9 (BOX SCORE)

Forcucci started for Fayetteville but struggled allowing 4 runs while retiring just 2 batters. The offense got on the board in the 2nd inning on a Flores solo home run. The offense got a run in the 5th on a wild pitch and a run in the 6th on a Salas RBI single. After the Warbirds took a 5-3 lead, Wakefield tied the game in the 7th on a 2 run triple. The Warbirds took the lead in the bottom of the inning but in the 9th, the Woodpeckers rallied for 3 runs on a Luciano sac fly and Flores 2 run single. Fraide allowed 3 runs over 6 innings in relief. The game went to extra innings and in the 11th, the Woodpeckers got a run on a Wakefield RBI groundout. Saunier got the bottom of the inning but allowed 2 runs as the Woodpeckers fell 10-9.

Note: Neyens has a .460 OBP this season.

• Anthony Huezo, LF: 1-for-5, 2 R, BB
• Xavier Neyens, 3B: 1-for-2, 2 R, 4 BB
• Kevin Alvarez, CF: 0-for-4, 2 R, 2 BB
• Waner Luciano, DH: 1-for-4, RBI, BB
• Josh Wakefield, RF: 1-for-3, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 BB
• Arturo Flores, C: 2-for-6, R, HR, 3 RBI
• Carlos Cauro, 1B: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB
• Hector Salas, 2B: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB
• German Ramirez, SS: 0-for-3, R, BB

• Ryan Forcucci, RHP: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
• Jose Varela, RHP: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
• Juan Fraide, RHP: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
• Leomar Rosario, RHP: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Grayson Saunier, RHP: 0.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Today’s minor league starters:

SL: Josh Hendrickson – 7:05 CT

CC: Bryce Mayer – 6:35 CT

AV: Yeriel Santos – 5:35 CT

FV: TBD – 10:05 CT

In Blake Butera’s pre-game press conference yesterday, there were two big topics of conversation. One was his decision to use Cole Henry for a second inning and the other was discussing the ongoing player planning meetings, which take place a few times a season. Honestly, the way Butera discussed both really impressed me. He showed his hands-on approach, as well as his ability to be accountable.

After Cole Henry imploded in his second inning of work, and allowed four runs, Butera took full blame for the situation. Henry had not thrown more than one inning in any of his AAA outings since being sent down. Butera said that he and the team did Henry a “disservice” for not properly preparing him for this situation.

He also said he would 100% wear Henry’s bad outing. All managers make mistakes, but I appreciate the fact that Butera is willing to take it on the chin. It is hard to manage a bullpen without a whole lot of proven options. Sure, Butera has made some big mistakes along the way, but it is no easy task. When Butera feels he has made a mistake, he is willing to hold himself accountable.

By holding himself accountable, it is easier to hold players accountable as well. After all, trust is a two way street. If you call out the players, but never acknowledge your own mistakes, why would the players trust you? It felt like that was going on at times towards the end of the Davey Martinez era.

Martinez openly said it was never on coaching, which in turn shifted all of the blame on the players. If it is never about coaching, why are the coaches even there? For Blake Butera, he spends every day trying to make himself and his players better.

One of the things he talked about during the presser was the player planning meetings. Butera, the coaching staff and members of the front office meet one on one with every player about three or four times a season. Right now, they are in the second round of these player planning meetings.

In these meetings, the players and coaches openly talk about what they are doing well and how they need to improve. This is the kind of one on one teaching that is so important to this new regime. After the last round, Keibert Ruiz exploded offensively after further embracing pulling the ball in the air. I wonder who the breakout for this round will be.

Blake mentioned that he met with James Wood yesterday. He said that the meeting was fairly short because Wood does not have a ton to work on at the moment. Some of the meetings can go a bit longer like Ruiz’s last time.

These player planning meetings really seem like an integral part of the new regime’s philosophy. Everyone in the player development space talks about individualizing and tailoring things to the player, but that is hard to do in practice and is very time consuming. There is a reason many teams just have overarching models. The Nats want to tailor things to the individual as much as they can though.

While Blake Butera has a warm exterior, and truly wants what is best for the player, he is not always Mr. Nice Guy. Last night he was clearly upset with Andrew Alvarez’s performance and his inability to find the zone. He did not like how Alvarez was nibbling and really did not like the fact that he threw a 3-0 breaking ball. Butera said he pitched scared, which is not the first time he has used that line.

This is a lot of Butera praise, but it is deserved. He is very good at controlling the clubhouse and fostering an environment that helps players get better. Do his bullpen decisions and insistence on pinch hitting Andres Chaparro for Luis Garcia Jr. frustrate me? Absolutely, but he is still a first year manager who has a near impossible task on the bullpen side of things.

The most important part of being a manager is leading and setting the culture. Right now, I feel like Butera is doing a great job of that. Hopefully the in game decision making sharpens up as he gains experience. Overall, I have been a fan of the Blake Butera experience.

His hands-on style and willingness to hold himself and his coaching staff accountable is a breath of fresh air. Butera and his coaching staff have been a massive upgrade and have helped make this team better. There is simply no way this team would lead baseball in runs with Darnell Coles as the hitting coach. It is not perfect, but Blake Butera has brought new life to this Nationals team.

Morning, all!

Josh Jung expects to return to the lineup today, saying his knee feels fine and that the fluid that accumulated has gone down.

Jacob deGrom had some hip soreness during his start yesterday but doesn’t think it will interfere with his next scheduled start.

The hip issue is something that has bothered deGrom between starts before.

Corey Seager, on the other hand, has no idea when he will return to the lineup but he hasn’t swung a bat so it will likely be after the All Star break.

Jordan Montgomery threw 40 pitches in his latest rehab start as his return from Tommy John surgery continues apace.

It is time to make hay while the sun shines, as the Rangers are in the midst of a stretch where they will be playing 16 of 19 games at home.

This year’s draft class includes a couple of DFW high schoolers that are expected to go in the first round.

The DMN is reranking their top 30 prospects midway through the season.

Jacob Latz lost out on the fifth starter role but turned that into an opportunity to earn another high profile role.

Justin Foscue had his first pinch hit home run in last night’s win over the Angels.

Perspective check: Just four teams with more wins than the Cubs, 91-win pace. For now, I’m just going to keep reminding us. This team has its flaws. We know them intimately because we follow them every day. The rest of the teams, with maybe one or two exceptions, have flaws as well. We don’t know them quite as well because we don’t follow those teams as in depth. Do I think this a top 5 (or even 6) team? Probably not. Though I do believe that their performance to date is fair at about top 5. Even with the slumps in the equation, this team overall has played very well.

Last year the Cubs were fifth in baseball at 92 wins. That was good for the top Wild Card spot. They are on pace for 91 wins. That would get them the top Wild Card spot if everything stayed the same as it is now. So regardless if there are some smoke and mirrors in the results to date, the results are quite good. We all suspect that the team tails off somewhat in the second half due to the large number of injuries. Or if we don’t think they will tail, we at least recognize that there is a distinct possibility of a tail off. So far this team has treaded water through all of the injuries. There is always the chance that they could do so.

As blasphemous as it is to say, Tuesday night was one of my favorite wins of the year. Yeah, 10 walk-offs. Yeah, almost as many games with double digit runs scored, including one with 23. There’s Pete Crow-Armstrong’s cycle game and several other really fun wins. But for me? I’ll take this one. Some timely hitting against a pretty decent pitcher. There was a strong outing by the starter. Hand in hand, that turned a lead over to the bullpen. The pen struggled early, letting the Orioles sneak back into the game. And then the bullpen came together, stacked outs and closed out a win.

There haven’t been a ton of these for the Cubs. A lead handed to the bullpen for the final three innings to protect. To be sure, the pen allowed two runs in three innings. If the starting 10 turned a lot of leads over to the pen and the pen consistently allowed two runs, there wouldn’t be a metric ton of wins. Two runs blows a lot of leads. But they had five to protect and after two early runs out of the pen’s work, they came together and locked it down. Dare I say, the team managed to make a competitive game look a little like an easy win. A good, clean hard fought win. The kind you need to have some of. A win against a good pitcher on a bad team on the road. Check.

What this team hasn’t had a ton of this year are wins based around key contributions from Alex Bregman. Or from Matthew Boyd. Two players with the words All-Star on their resume. They are paid well to be good. One has been healthy and under producing and the other spent time hurt but has under produced when healthy. Tuesday night, the team got strong contributions from both. With Monday’s off day, this week feels a little like it belongs to the second half, rather than being the last week of the first half. This felt like the start of the race to the finish. The kind of win you stack to get into the top spots of the playoffs.

Mission accomplished in the first of the final 72. One might not break it up that way. If you prefer, you could look at it as the 17th win in the last 23 games. Or just plain old 51st win in the 91st game. That’s why I enjoyed this win. At the end of the day, it is a mundane, forgettable win in what is a long season. There won’t be anything particular that stands out down the road looking backwards. They just took care of business. A good day as another day falls off of the calendar.

Go Cubs.

Three Positives:

• I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with Matthew Boyd. While the Cubs scored first, they didn’t score right out of the gate. Boyd held the line while they settled in offensively. Six scoreless innings. Very solid.
• Alex Bregman had two hits and two runs batted in. The two runs batted in came in two separate plate appearances. He came through twice with runners in scoring position.
• Miguel Amaya was the table setter supreme. He got the offense going with a two out walk in the third, leading to a run scoring rally that gave the Cubs some momentum. He would score two more times.
• Obligatory Pete Crow-Armstrong update: A pair of singles, one continuing the above mention rally and another driving in a run later. .293/.383/.525 (wRC+ 150) on the year. This was a subpar game. He’s been that good, a two hit, one RBI game is below average (though a tiny positive bump to batting average on the season, it wasn’t enough to raise his on base and his slug actually dropped).

Game 91, July 7: Cubs 5, Baltimore 2 (51-40)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Matthew Boyd (.331). 6 IP, 23 BF, 3 H, 2 BB, 0 R, 7 K, HBP (W 4-1)
• Hero: Alex Bregman (.155). 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
• Sidekick: Miguel Amaya (.127). 2-3, 2B, BB, 3 R

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Seiya Suzuki (-.147). 0-4, DP
• Goat: Ian Happ (-.062). 0-4
• Kid: Michael Conforto (-.047). 1-4

WPA Notes: Neither Ryan Rolison nor Jacob Webb appears on the goat podium because Rolison dug the hole but Webb allowed the runs, splitting the negative between them. Webb’s is mitigated by getting the third out and preserving the lead. That out was worth .107 and was one of the biggest plays of the night. The Cubs had an 87 percent chance of winning once they escaped that inning. To be fair, it was 93.5% before that seventh inning.

WPA Play of the Game: Adley Rutschman’s two-run single with two outs in the seventh cut the Cubs four run lead to two. (.141)

Cubs Play of the Game: Alex Bregman had an RBI-single with two outs and runners on first and second in the third, for the first run of the game. (.124)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 90 Winner: Javier Assad received 63 percent of the 67 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong +21
• Carson Kelly +14.5
• Michael Busch +14
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Trent Thornton +12.5
• Dansby Swanson -9
• Edward Cabrera -9.5
• Phil Maton -10
• Caleb Thielbar -13
• Seiya Suzuki -16.5

Up Next: Game two of the three-game set Wednesday night in Baltimore. Colin Rea (6-5, 4.74) vs. Dean Kremer (1-1, 3.18). Rea is in a bit of a good groove lately, just three earned runs over his last three starts (15.1 IP). That’s what Craig Counsell is looking for from him. Keep the team in the game through five innings. Kremer has made only three starts, two of those were back in April when he was 0-1 with five runs allowed in 11 innings. He made four minor league starts with a 1.83 ERA before coming back to the team. In his return, he won while allowing one run on four hits and a walk in six innings against the White Sox in Baltimore. The time away was due to a right quad strain.

Kremer has been a pretty solid starter for the Orioles for a number of years. He’s 1-1 in his career against the Cubs with a 6.00 ERA in nine innings of work. The most recent of those games was in 2024. Almost two years to the day. Michael Busch and Ian Happ each homered against him that day. For Busch, it was part of a four hit day.

This is another one that is not a gimme. Hopefully, Rea keeps them in it and the team can find a way to win another one and keep this rolling.