Category: Baseball

The Detroit Tigers bullpen destroyed their 2026 season. That much is clear. It was clear in May when, racked with injuries and badly needing to win some games without having to put up 5-6 runs, the bullpen coughed up lead after lead. Things were a little better in June and July, but by mid-August, just as they’d fought their way back into the divisional race, the offense sputtered again and the bullpen just could not win even an average amount of games in which they held slim leads in the eighth and ninth innings. Losing the majority of close games is a pretty terrible recipe for success.

The Tigers held the second worst record in baseball in one-run games. They had 31 blown saves, second most in the major leagues behind the Washington Nationals. Their Jekyll and Hyde offensive nature is another issue to be confronted, but at the same time streakiness is natural for all but a truly elite offense. Top teams still manage to win their share of those low scoring games with clutch relief work and some timely run scoring. Will the Tigers start to bunt and run more next year as they showed in September? We’ll see. At least they finally are starting to build up the type of players who can successfully play multiple styles of offense. A more versatile offense would certainly help as well, but it’s the disastrous high leverage relief work that really did them in this season.

So while yes, the Tigers have needed another good, low strikeout bat the past two seasons (hey Alex Bregman), and have got to a better job putting the ball in play in high leverage spots, the overwhelming issue this season is the lack of good high leverage relievers. Somewhat ironically considering the, AJ Hinch as slave to analytics, complaints, this is the least sabermetric-minded roster construction possible. A terrible bullpen mocks WAR numbers and run differential, and yet the Tigers have seemed much more focused on their starting rotation rather than emphasizing winning the high leverage battles that generally go to the team with the better pen.

How the plan went awry

Will Vest should have been the guy again this year, but he was pretty clearly never right and eventually succumbed to his injuries. That’s par for the course for relievers even more so than starting pitchers. It’s hard to get elite production out of any reliever year after year, and that’s why consistently great closers are so pricey in free agency in WAR terms. Drew Sommers could be a guy like that next year, but he’s only recently figured out how to command his fastball-slider combination and is just getting his first exposure to high leverage situations over the past six weeks.

Beyond those two it’s just been a mix of low strikeout middle relievers, veteran Swiss Army knife Tyler Holton, and another group of Scott Harris and Jeff Greenberg failures in free agency like Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, and Drew Anderson, who were downright terrible at holding leads. Anderson at least redeemed himself by performing better as a starter when he had the opportunity, but in relief he was a mess in a setup role when tasked with holding leads, and never really worked his way into the circle of trust for high leverage work late in games.

One of the strangest moments of Harris and Hinch’s end of the season presser was hearing Harris say that they used Kenley Jansen in high leverage situations too often. This seemed a bit rich, and by the look on his face Hinch agreed, considering that Harris signed him to close games and didn’t really provide any other options beyond Vest. The problem wasn’t using Jensen too often. The problem was doing a poor job at developing relief options over his first three years here, leaving Harris little choice but to try and sign a bunch of free agent relievers last offseason just to hold things together. And, instead of prioritizing a top arm to go with Vest, they took the bulk approach, hoping someone in the group would solve the problem. Just like their grab bag of arms including Chris Paddack, Charlie Morton, Rafael Montero, and Kyle Finnegan at the 2025 trade deadline, they never did.

The question is how to fix this. With Harris showing minimal interest in the trade market, and unlikely to pursue top relievers in free agency, most of this is going to have to be accomplished internally. The lockout and CBA fight coming this offseason make it very hard to see the Tigers doing much until we see how everything shakes out. Even then there are only a few high end relievers headed to free agency, and competition will be fierce for them.

The problem is that they still don’t have that much to offer internally either. Drew Sommers has shown he’s good enough to handle high leverage work. He posted one of the highest strikeout rates in baseball in the second half, and we can hope that in year two he’ll settle in and play a major role in the late innings. The Tigers might get a healthy Will Vest back next year, which would help. Beyond that there isn’t much of note in the upper levels in the system to help them. We’re not just talking about triple digit flamethrowers here either. Just guys that by whatever means, strike out a lot of hitters and can smother a lineup for an inning when the pressure is at its highest.

Harris opined in that press conference that eventually the Tigers will have so much starting pitching that they’ll spill over good arms into the bullpen. That’s certainly part of how successful teams build their bullpens, but that’s pretty cold comfort considering Harris has had four years to address the issue already and still doesn’t have a top 100 pitching prospect of his own in the upper minor leagues.

Down on the Farm

The flaw in the program is partly tied to the emphasis on high school arms. Just about all the Tigers big pitching draft picks from 2023-2025 were high schoolers, with a smattering of college/JUCO arms in the mix. Every single one of these guys has seen the beginning of their pro careers seriously derailed by injury. If we play the long game here this might all work out with a huge flow of pitching talent to the major leagues eventually, but it certainly isn’t imminent in 2027.

We finally saw progress on this front in the summer months as former top picks like Owen Hall, Michael Massey, Cale Wetwiska, and Paul Wilson returned to action over the course of the season. They were rusty, but the velocity and raw stuff was pretty much as advertised. Massey in particular looks like an ideal relief prospect with a really impressive riding fastball and breaking stuff. Wetwiska is another sleeper pick with a really good heater and quality breaking pitches. 20-year-old Australian RHP Alistair Tanner might be another in time, although he’s further away and ended the season on the injured list. If the Tigers choose to move Massey and Wetwiska pretty quickly into the Double-A Erie SeaWolves bullpen next year, they might move very quickly to the Show despite limited experience in pro ball so far. Both are college arms, in contrast to Hall and Wilson, but for now they’re still some distance from the major leagues.

At this point, the Tigers actually do have a really nice crop of pitching prospects developing, but top arms like 2026 breakout LHP Ben Jacobs, 2026 RHP first rounder Cameron Flukey, and nasty young right-hander Kelvis Salcedo, and I can name several more, will just be looking to break into the Double-A level next year with Jacobs leading the way and probably starting the season there. He has a chance to reach the major leagues sometime later in the 2027 season if all goes well, though the Tigers are fairly flush in southpaws already and Jacobs isn’t really an obvious comversion candidate.

In the upper minors, things come down to lefty Andrew Sears, who we saw briefly late in the season, and right-hander Lucas Elissalt, who reached Double-A this year. Neither profiles as a high leverage, closer type of arm. Still, those two starters may end up converted to relief if the Tigers don’t need them stashed in Triple-A Toledo as starting depth. We’re still waiting on a sustained velocity bump from Elissalt.

In terms of pure relievers in the upper minors? The only homegrown name of interest is Moises Rodriguez, who does feature a great sinker that touches 100 mph. He’s 24 now, and didn’t really make any tangible progress with his breaking stuff and command in 2026, but he does have potential at least. Beyond him, the Tigers have tried to take advantage of other teams’ 40-man roster crunches, which sometimes force international pitching prospects off rosters prematurely.

They claimed 26-year-old RHP Yilber Diaz, who we saw in Detroit, from the Diamondbacks back in July. They claimed 23-year-old right-hander Yoniel Curet from the Phillies back in April. They signed 30-year-old RHP Wandisson Charles to a minor league deal last offseason as well. All three have the stuff to be late innings relievers, but have not been able to refine their control enough to be reliable at the major league level. Charles at least finally cut his walks this year, but again, he’s 30 and has been stalled just short of the major league level for years. There’s nothing at all to count on here, just some lottery ticket arms to hope on. The unfortunate truth is that relief prospects are a complete crapshoot outside of the rare high end pure relief talent. The Tigers have been waiting on RHP Tyler Mattison, for example, for years now.

There are some issues in player development that need work to build their own killer bullpen eventually. The Tigers went the whole year without a dedicated director of pitching in the farm system after Gabe Ribas left to join the Colorado Rockies last offseason. They continue to struggle to develop velocity, while other teams’ bullpens are stacked up with guys throwing 98+, and their track record at keeping pitchers healthy has been pretty abysmal, though some of that may be related to the heavily prep oriented draft classes they’ve produced.

The point is, the arm talent is present in the system now beyond the names already mentioned. Kash Mayfield, Brady Smith, Charlie Christensen, Jhonan Coba, Carlos Rodriguez…we could go on, but they’re all still in A-ball. The Tigers may have a lot of talent to draw on in 2028-2029, but there still just isn’t much coming down the pipeline next year.

How to build a better bullpen in 2027

First of all let’s hope the owners don’t tank the season trying to force a salary cap in the next CBA. Assuming we have a normal season, there are things the Tigers can do to get a better relief corp together in 2027.

Harris is correct that a surplus of starting pitchers is one of the fastest ways to build up a bullpen. With Framber Valdez, Jackson Jobe, Keider Montero, Troy Melton, River Ryan, Reese Olson, Drew Anderson, and Andrew Sears all as options for the 2027 starting rotation, they may be able to draw on an arm or two to help out. Of course, we’re talking pitching here so assuming that we aren’t going to lose 1-3 of these guys to injury for a significant part of the 2027 season would be unwise.

Were the Tigers to add another starter, particularly a right-hander like Anderson with the stuff to get strikeouts, that would certainly help by allowing them to use one of their hard-throwing starters, like Troy Melton or River Ryan, in the bullpen. The issue is that the Tigers have shown no sign of prioritizing the bullpen in the Harris years. It’s always been an afterthought, and they seem dead set on using both of those pitchers in the rotation. That’s understandable, they have the deep pitch mix to be top shelf starting pitchers, but the argument for getting “more WAR value” out of a guy because he’s racking up a big volume of innings, is undercut by the crucial importance of having dominant arms who can get the last nine outs of a game with a lead. Having two Drew Anderson caliber guys in the bullpen instead just doesn’t move the needle the same way at all, even if it allows you to have a somewhat better rotation.

Another option, which is hard to discuss in any depth right now because of impending lockout and CBA fight, is to hunt for teams with a need to trim payroll, or who have top relievers whose team control is down to one year and try to trade for them. Are the Phillies staying all in next year or do they finally have to take a step back? Jhoan Duran is a free agent after the 2027 season. Could the Tigers go trade for him? Not until the Phillies see how the CBA shakes out first, if even then. Dombrowski, Harper, and company aren’t very likely to throw in the towel just yet. And of course this would require Harris to part with precious prospects and aggressively trade for upgrades, which he’s shown zero willingness to do.

Finally, there’s free agency. Padres hard-throwing lefty Adrian Morejon and Yankees closer RHP David Bednar lead the list of free agent relievers. Morejon was banged up to end the year, and the Yankees are rumored to be considering making Bednar the qualifying offer, so it’s possible neither are appealing for those reasons, but there are some other talented arms available.

It would be nice to see the Tigers not settle for the trick pitch types like Tommy Kahnle and Kenley Jansen, and really go get a killer arm in free agency. They’ll have money to work with, but it’s certainly fair to be skeptical of free agent relievers, and of the Tigers ability to do what the Rays, Brewers, and others routinely do, which is find an undervalued, underperforming pitcher that they have solutions for. That’s the way this is best accomplished, and it doesn’t bode well for Scott Harris and the Tigers long-term that his front office has shown minimal ability to compete with smarter teams in acquiring and fixing up flawed pitchers from less skilled teams. Hopefully, Sommers is the start of a trend and they figure this out.

Hope for 2027

I’m sure none of this sounds terribly promising. The Tigers will be bringing back a pretty good roster in all other regards but the bullpen. They should be right back in the thick of contention in the AL Central. If the bullpen costs them a ton of games again, then heads are going to have to roll in the organization.

From year to year, bullpens are pretty fungible. It’s very likely the Tigers could run it back with the same guys and still blow a lot fewer leads. Outside of Vest, they really haven’t had much in the way of top high leverage relievers the past three years, and yet the bullpens in 2024 and 2025 did a far better job avoiding blown saves. They only blew 21 in 2025, and in 2024 they blew 26. Neither mark is good, but blowing 31 games is hard to do without bad luck playing a role. By ERA and FIP, the Tigers had a middle of the pack bullpen this season, and they shouldn’t have much trouble doing that again. Better high leverage work should follow, but there’s no guarantee and they need to aim a lot higher than than just hoping to put an average bullpen out there.

Even those happy thoughts and statistical norms only get the Tigers back to having a middle to low tier bullpen. That might be enough to get back to the postseason, but you just don’t see many teams go deep in the postseason without a crew of pretty talented relief arms.

The Detroit Tigers really need to make this their number one priority. Sure, we’d love a good right-handed bat added to the mix, but the offense scored plenty of runs as they are in 2026. From player development and pro scouting, to the analysts, to the training staff, coaches, manager, and front office, they’ve got to take a very cold, sober assessment as to why they aren’t developing pitching as well as top teams, nor landing the right free agent targets in free agency or trades.

They should be able to do better than they did in 2026 with relative ease, but they have to set their sights a lot higher if they’re going to avoid wasting more seasons. Tarik Skubal is gone, and players like Riley Greene and Dillon Dingler aren’t going to be around, or at least playing at this caliber, forever. They need to stop shooting themselves in the foot through bullpen neglect, and get it together now, not a year or two down the road when hopefully they’ll start producing a steady supply of good homegrown arms.

With the start of another week, it’s time for an update on the Cubs’ Boys of Autumn playing in the Arizona Fall League.

If you haven’t been following along or if you just need a refresher on what is going on in Arizona, check out the introduction and the recap of the first full week.

The Mesa Solar Sox, the Cubs affiliate in the AFL along with the A’s, Blue Jays, Angels and Red Sox, had an abbreviated week with only four games. Monday’s home game was rained out and made up on Wednesday, but Tuesday’s game at Surprise was postponed because of a power failure. I’m not sure if that game will be made up. In any case, the Solar Sox didn’t take the field until Wednesday.

The Solar Sox went 2-2 over the week, putting their overall record at 4-6. Here’s how they did in those four games. The home team is listed second.

Wednesday, October 14: Salt River Rafters 3, SOLAR SOX 7

Thursday, October 15: SOLAR SOX 14, Rafters 9 in ten innings.

Friday, October 16: SOLAR SOX 5, Surprise Saguaros 12

Saturday, October 17: Rafters 5, SOLAR SOX 0

Here’s how the eight Cubs prospects on the Solar Sox did.

Infielder Juan Cabada: The second-youngest player in the AFL this year played two games this past week. He was the third baseman for Mesa on Thursday and the second baseman on Friday.

Cabada went 2 for 6 on Thursday with an RBI single in the first inning and an RBI single in Mesa’s five-run top of the tenth. In Friday’s loss, Cabada went 0 for 3 with a walk.

For the season, Cabada has played seven games and is hitting .167/.286/.167 with one stolen base. He has scored twice and has driven in three.

Outfielder Harrison Feinberg: Feinberg only played in Thursday’s extra-inning win over Salt River. He was the left fielder in that game and went 2 for 4 wth a walk.

In four games for the Solar Sox, Feinberg is hitting .385/.529/.385 with two steals. He has scored twice and has one run batted in.

Outfielder Kade Snell: There were some high hopes for Snell coming into the AFL and this past week, he played like the sleeper prospect he is. Snell played left field on Wednesday and went 2 for 3 with a walk. On Thursday Snell played right field and he was 1 for 3 with three walks and a stolen base. After an off-day on Friday, Snell returned to DH on Saturday and was 1 for 3 as the Solar Sox were shut out. That’s 4 for 9 with four walks and a steal on the week.

For the AFL campaign, Snell is hitting .286/.459/.321 wth two steals over eight games. He has four runs batted in and has scored six times.

Right-hander Jhon Cabral: Cabral pitched the ninth inning on Wednesday in a non-save situation. He walked the first batter he faced, but then retired the next three in order. Cabral struck out one.

Over 2.1 innings and three appearances, Cabral has yet to allow a run or a hit in the AFL. He has walked three while striking out two.

Right-hander Anhuar Garcia: Garcia has had a rough AFL campaign because he’s had trouble throwing strikes. That continued this week after he threw 1.2 innings of relief on Friday. Garcia allowed three runs on one it and four walks. He also balked twice. In his defense only one of the three runs was earned. Garcia struck out two.

In three appearances, Garcia has an ERA of 6.75 over 6.2 innings. However, he’s allowed five unearned runs on top of the five he’s given up that were earned. Garcia has walked eight and has struck out four.

Right-hander Yohendris Gonzalez: Gonzalez did not pitch this past week. He has a 40.50 ERA after allowing six runs over just 1.1 innings in two appearances so far.

Right-hander Dominick Reid: With the shortened week and Reid having pitched on Saturday the previous week, Reid did not get a start this week. Reid is still 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA over two starts.

Right-hander Luis Rujano: Rujano threw 1.1 innings in Saturday’s shutout loss. He allowed one run on one hit, but the run was unearned. Rujano walked two and struck out one.

For the season, Rujano has pitched four innings in three relief appearances. He has an ERA of 2.25 with four walks and four strikeouts.

Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

No. 40, Tanner Gordon (-0.2 rWAR)

Tanner Gordon appeared in 24 games for the Colorado Rockies in 2026, making 12 starts and finishing with a 1-6 record, 6.68 ERA, and 1.66 WHIP across 103.2 innings. His season was worth -0.2 rWAR.

For the second consecutive season, Gordon struggled to find consistent success at the major-league level. In fact, his 2026 numbers looked remarkably similar to those from 2025.

Despite the similar results, Gordon did make some adjustments.

Gordon reduced his four-seam usage from 52.8% to 43.1%, incorporated his curveball more frequently, and added 2.6 mph to his slider. His chase rate climbed from 27.1% to 31.3%, while his whiff rate improved from 18.0% to 21.7%. His expected ERA also dropped from 5.88 to 5.16.

Those numbers moved in the right direction, but the improvements weren’t enough to substantially change Gordon’s overall effectiveness. Gordon continued to struggle with strikeouts, hard contact, and keeping the ball on the ground. Despite the adjustments, his actual ERA increased.

One thing that hadn’t changed was Gordon’s ability to avoid walks. Unfortunately, getting the baseball into the strike zone and keeping hitters from doing damage against it proved to be two very different things.

A season of changing roles

Gordon opened the season in long relief.

His April 15 debut against Houston was encouraging: four scoreless innings, two hits, one walk, and four strikeouts.

Five days later, against the Dodgers, Gordon surrendered six earned runs over four innings, including three home runs. He also committed a fielding error, threw a wild pitch, and walked three hitters in a 12-3 loss.

On May 19 against Texas, Gordon replaced starter Sammy Peralta with two outs and the bases loaded in the first inning. With help from Willi Castro’s defense, he escaped the jam without allowing another run.

That reprieve didn’t last long. Texas scored three runs against Gordon in the second inning, all with two outs, as Brandon Nimmo, Ezequiel Duran, and Jake Burger delivered RBI singles. Nimmo added a two-run homer in the fourth, and Gordon eventually worked 6.1 innings, allowing seven earned runs on 12 hits while walking just one batter.

Six days later, Gordon joined the rotation, making his first start of the year against the Dodgers. He allowed just one run over five innings, although it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing.

The Dodgers put their leadoff hitter aboard in four of Gordon’s five innings. In the third, he allowed the first three hitters to reach, including an RBI double by Kiké Hernández and a walk to Shohei Ohtani.

With runners at first and second, nobody out, and Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman coming to the plate, Gordon was in serious trouble.

Instead, he retired Betts on a flyout and induced an inning-ending double play from Freeman.

Gordon escaped another jam in the fourth and retired the final five hitters he faced. The Rockies eventually lost 5-3, but Gordon had given them a chance to win.

He remained in the rotation until a right hip impingement interrupted his season in early June. Gordon returned June 30 and continued starting through July 10.

His July 5 outing against San Francisco was particularly ugly. Gordon allowed four home runs and five earned runs in five innings despite striking out seven hitters. Rafael Devers accounted for two of those home runs, both against Gordon’s four-seamer, including a 463-foot blast.

Five days later, Gordon faced the Giants again, this time in San Francisco. Devers homered off him for the third time in less than a week, but Gordon escaped with just one run allowed over five innings despite surrendering eight hits.

Gordon then returned to long relief, providing 5.2 innings of one-run baseball against Cincinnati on July 19. After a rougher appearance against Tampa Bay on August 3, he tossed four scoreless innings against San Francisco on August 15.

The Rockies returned him to the rotation on August 21, but his first outing back wasn’t encouraging. Cleveland collected nine hits and five earned runs over 5.1 innings, with Gordon issuing two walks.

Five days later, Gordon delivered his best start of the season against Washington. Dylan Crews tripled with two outs in the first, but Gordon retired Daylen Lile to strand him. Andrés Chaparro led off the second with a solo homer, and the Nationals threatened again in the fourth.

With runners at second and third and two outs, Gordon got Harry Ford to ground out, escaping without another run.

He settled in from there, retiring 10 of his final 12 hitters and completing seven innings with six hits, one earned run, five strikeouts, and no walks.

Gordon followed that performance with another strong outing, holding Baltimore to one run over five innings on August 31.

He finished August with a 3.82 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 30.2 innings, walking just three batters. It was his most productive month, although his struggles against Tampa Bay and Cleveland showed that the improvement wasn’t entirely consistent.

September was a different story. Gordon allowed 26 earned runs on 40 hits in just 15.0 innings, producing a 15.60 ERA and 3.20 WHIP. His final two starts were particularly brutal, beginning with seven earned runs on 10 hits over three innings against San Diego on September 17.

A week later, Arizona opened the game with seven consecutive baserunners, scoring six runs before Gordon recorded an out. Gabriel Moreno launched a three-run homer, Geraldo Perdomo tripled, and Nolan Arenado capped the barrage with a two-run shot.

Arizona added two runs in the second and two more charged to Gordon in the fourth. He finished with 10 earned runs on 12 hits and four walks in just 3.1 innings.

After allowing two earned runs over 12 innings in his final two August starts, Gordon surrendered 17 in 6.1 innings to close the season.

Command is more than avoiding walks

Gordon was exceptionally good at one thing in 2026: avoiding walks. His 5.1% walk rate ranked in the 96th percentile among MLB pitchers.

When the walks did come, however, so did the damage.

He issued multiple walks in just five of his 24 appearances. Every one of those outings resulted in at least five earned runs, and together they accounted for 33 of his 77 earned runs, nearly 43% of his season total.

Limiting walks didn’t guarantee a good outing. Gordon was knocked around several times while issuing one or fewer free passes, including May 19 against Texas.

Of course, command involves more than avoiding walks. Getting the baseball into the strike zone is one thing. Consistently locating pitches where hitters have difficulty doing damage is another.

Gordon’s results illustrate that distinction. His 18.0% strikeout rate ranked in the 18th percentile, while his 21.7% whiff rate placed him in the 22nd. His 43.1% hard-hit rate ranked in the 14th percentile, and his 11.0% barrel rate fell in the fourth.

Opponents hit .368 and slugged .637 against his four-seamer, which accounted for 10 of the 21 home runs he allowed. His Baseball Savant zone chart shows where hitters were particularly productive.

Opponents produced a .600 wOBA against pitches in the middle-middle portion of the strike zone and .546 against those in the upper-middle portion.

Gordon’s September 24 start against Arizona showed just how quickly poor fastball location could become a problem.

Facing Arenado in the first inning, Gordon opened with a 90.2 mph four-seamer that missed above the strike zone.

His second four-seamer missed even higher, putting Gordon behind 2-0 without challenging Arenado in the strike zone.

Now behind in the count, Gordon threw a third consecutive four-seamer, this one at 93.7 mph in the upper half of the zone. Arenado turned on it for a 419-foot, two-run home run.

Compare that sequence with Gordon’s August 26 start against Washington, when he faced Jacob Young in the third inning. Once again, Gordon threw three consecutive four-seam fastballs. This time, however, he consistently located them down and toward the edges of the strike zone.

His first fastball, at 90.9 mph, caught the lower portion of the zone for strike one.

The second was even lower, a 91.0 mph four-seamer featuring 19.2 inches of induced vertical break that put Gordon ahead 0-2.

Gordon finished with a 93.4 mph four-seamer toward the outer edge. Initially called a ball, the pitch became strike three after catcher Hunter Goodman successfully challenged the ruling.

All three fastballs against Young featured greater induced vertical break and horizontal movement than Gordon’s season averages. But the most noticeable difference between the two sequences was location.

Against Arenado, Gordon missed the zone with his first two fastballs, fell behind, and watched his third leave the ballpark. Against Young, he established the strike zone immediately, stayed around its edges, and recorded a three-pitch strikeout without the batter taking a swing.

These are just two plate appearances, but they highlight a larger issue that followed Gordon throughout the season.

Gordon could throw strikes. Too often, he threw strikes hitters could punish.

A better fit in the bullpen?

Gordon’s results varied considerably depending on his role.

He was more effective in relief, although his 5.21 ERA was hardly outstanding.

Gordon also wasn’t working as a conventional one-inning reliever. He averaged roughly four innings per relief appearance, and his average start wasn’t much longer.

The relief appearances came under different circumstances, often with Colorado already trailing, so the split doesn’t establish that he would succeed in a permanent bullpen role. It does, however, suggest that bulk relief may be a more practical role than a regular rotation assignment.

His performance also differed dramatically by ballpark.

Gordon posted a 9.25 ERA at Coors Field, allowing 17 home runs in 59.1 innings. On the road, his ERA fell to 3.25, with four home runs allowed in 44.1 innings.

Even away from Colorado, however, opponents hit .302 against him.

Final thoughts

Gordon enters his age-29 season in 2027 with three years of major-league experience and many of the same limitations that have defined his career.

His ability to limit walks and cover multiple innings provides some utility, but his results have remained largely unchanged despite adjustments to his repertoire. His performance in relief was better than as a starter, although neither role produced particularly encouraging results.

At No. 40 in our rankings, Gordon sits on the fringes of two areas the Rockies desperately need to improve: their starting rotation and bullpen.

How many innings Gordon pitches in 2027, and in which role, might ultimately say as much about Colorado’s progress in addressing those weaknesses as it does about Gordon himself.

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

This week, Jake and Scott are joined by MLB.com writer and host of the Dealin’ The Cards Podcast, Josh Jacobs! In this episode, we talk about several topics, including how Josh was able to grind his way to a writing role with MLB.com, and how he, along with Sandy and Andrew, built the Dealin’ The Cards podcast up into the juggernaut competitor that it is today. We also hit on everyone’s favorite areas of the roster to debate this offseason: third base, center field, and the pitching staff.

Tomorrow, I will be posting my conversation with Cardinals Assistant General Manager and Head of International Scouting Moises Rodriguez and special guest host Tyler Gettinger, AKA Redbird Farmhands, to discuss all the exciting things that are happening from an international scouting perspective in the organization! We will also be joined by Cardinals Pitching Prospect Jacob Odle and Kyle Reis, Bernie Miklasz the following week, and then we’re kicking off the offseason in November with Cardinals beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Derrick Goold! It may be the offseason, but I’m committed to bringing you guys mid-season form content!

Chapters List:
00:23 Introduction and Guest Introduction
01:41 Josh’s Journey to MLB.com
04:15 Building a Successful Podcast
10:11 Cardinals Offseason Strategies
10:48 Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Goals
15:26 Fan Expectations and Team Performance
20:07 Addressing the Bullpen Concerns
26:18 Exploring Center Field Options
37:19 Trade Talks: Evaluating Jimmy Crooks’ Value
39:50 Prospects vs. Rentals: The Case for Brandon Marsh
43:07 Long-Term Planning: The Future of the Cardinals’ Roster
46:58 Pitching Depth: Exploring Trade Opportunities
52:19 Building a Competitive Bullpen: Free Agent Strategies

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No Transcript today; there will be one tomorrow for Moises Rodriguez to serve as my “Tuesday Article.”

-Thanks for listening

Be honest with me.

If I told you on September 1, of this year that the Blueshirts secret weapon would be a lad named Eeli Tolvanen, it says here that you wouldn't even know how to pronounce his first name.

In case you're interested it's pronounced "Elee" and, furthermore all the good citizens of Vihi, Finland happen to know it by heart, so there! 

Plus, you're gonna know a helluva lot more in the months to come about "Trolleycar Tolvanen.

BECAUSE The Maven is here to tell you that this non-finicky Finn already is and will continue to be a producive Ranger.

Before You, I and Manny Malhotra realize it, Energizer Eeli will be sooooooooo good that even I will be able to correctly spell his first name on the third try; give or take one,

Write it down and paste it on your fridge and see me on this during the Rangers first playoff round.

As for now and Anaheim tonight, if Tolvanen The Terrific gets one measly assist it will be a milestone 100th career helper. 

Mark my words, the Rangers "Secret Weapon" will – by the Thanksgiving Day Parade – be a secret no more. And. by Christmas, all will be in high glee over "El-ee."

It’s that time again. Everybody loves home runs and now (thanks to Statcast) it’s time to take a look back at 10 of the longest home runs of the season for the Atlanta Braves during the 2026 regular season. As you can imagine by Atlanta’s return to the Postseason, the homers flew early and often for the Braves in 2026. They hit 204 homers, which put them in a three-way tie seventh-place in all of baseball (with the Dodgers and Mets). In all but one of the Postseason seasons for the Braves since 2018, they’ve hit at least 200 dingers so maybe that appears to be a magic number for this team as currently constructed?

Either way, the home run stroke returned for Atlanta in a major way this season and now it’s time to look back at the 10 longest dingers of the season for the Braves.

No. 10 – Austin Riley, August 4 vs. Marlins, 433 feet

Get ready to see a lot of Austin Riley on this list. Despite the fact that Riley had a pretty underwhelming year as a whole when it came to plate production, he did so “despite” finishing the season in the 91st percentile in Bat Speed, the 82nd percentile in Barrel percentage and the 81st percentile in Hard-Hit percentage. He can still hit a ball pretty hard — it’s just a matter of actually hitting it.

No. 9 – Austin Riley, September 11 vs. Phillies, 434 feet

In fact, we didn’t have to wait long to see Austin Riley’s second appearance on this list. That September 11 classic against the Phillies was a fun night at the ballpark and it provided us with moments like this one where the Braves continued to fight and claw against Philadelphia in a crucial moment in the NL East race. Truist Park wasn’t particularly kind to Aaron Nola during the month of September (whether it was the regular season or the Postseason) and this was another example of it.

No. 8 – Matt Olson, August 16 vs. Diamondbacks, 437 feet

This was a majestic way to help give the Braves the win in what was a frustrating weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, as Matt Olson crushed one out to dead center for a three-run shot that gave the Braves the lead and ultimately the victory. I’d say that this is the most aesthetically-pleasing dinger on this list so far, as there’s just something satisfying about seeing that ball land, bounce and eventually (I’m assuming) roll out of the stadium and into the loading bay out there beyond center field. Plus, we got the usual mix of admiration and disgust that we see from Matt Olson whenever he demolishes a ball. You love to see it.

T-No. 4 – Austin Riley, May 2 at Rockies, 438 feet

Coors.

In all seriousness though, you knew a Colorado shot was going to make it onto the list and here it is. It may not look super spectacular but due to the large dimensions at Coors Field, you’ve got to hit ‘em a long way to get no-doubters in that ballpark. That was the case for Riley, who makes yet another appearance on this list. It’s also bittersweet to hear Brandon Gaudin on the call claim that “Austin Riley might be back,” because we all wanted that to happen a ton and it felt like there were plenty of moments that felt like the turning point. Ah well.

T-No. 4 – Ronald Acuña Jr., May 31 at Reds, 438 feet

Speaking of guys who looked like they were “back” but didn’t quite get there, Ronald Acuña Jr. definitely fits that bill. His flashes of brilliance lasted much longer, though — this series in Cincinnati being a prime example of it as we got to see an extended glimpse of Acuña at his most brilliant at the plate. Acuña went on an absolute tear during this series and this moonshot was proof of how locked in he was at the moment. Also, get ready to see “438” feet a lot because that was a distance that this team enjoyed, apparently.

T-No. 4 – Austin Riley, August 12 vs. Mets, 438 feet

Another bomb for Austin Riley during another one of those games where it looked like he was getting set to put it all together and go on a real run. You’re really doing something if you reach the middle rows in the left-center outfield seats.

T-No. 4 – Drake Baldwin, April 21 at Nationals, 438 feet

This is probably the wildest entry on the list basically because of where the pitch was located in the first place. Foster Griffin probably figured that the worst that could happen in this situation against Drake Baldwin was a ball or maybe even a pop fly. Instead, Baldwin put a huge swing on it and ended up sending it deep into the seats. Baseball is a wild sport, y’all.

No. 3 – Matt Olson, April 10 vs. Guardians, 441 feet

Another incredibly aesthetically-pleasing dinger from Matt Olson. We all love to see Chop House shots and we especially love seeing them hit the roof out there (at least if it’s a Braves batter. No points for you, Kyle Schwarber) and this was another one that Olson could add to his personal list. Hoo boy, that was majestic.

No. 2 – Ronald Acuña Jr., September 5 at Phillies, 450 feet

Here’s the dinger that set off the home run trot that set off Philadelphia fans and their media for nearly a full week. Acuña got every stitch of this one (against Zack Wheeler, to boot) on a pitch that landed right in the part of the strike zone where you don’t want to leave a pitch to Acuña. If it’s low and in the middle of the zone, that is Nitro Time for Acuña and he lifted off in fine fashion on this particular pitch.

No. 1 – Drake Baldwin, June 16 vs. Giants, 473 feet

Drake Baldwin’s first swing after an IL stint ended up resulting in the longest home run that any Braves player hit this season. That fact alone is absolutely wild but it’s also crazier when you consider the conditions. This was a game that ended up getting postponed due to rain and the conditions were absolutely appalling for baseball on that particular Summer evening. Yet, Baldwin still sent this ball on a fantastic voyage and hit it deep into the greenery in dead center field. This was such an impressive home run on so many levels and it’s worthy of being the most majestic dinger on this particular list.

BONUS – 2026 Short Boy Award: Ronald Acuña Jr., August 6 vs. Marlins, 337 feet

Acuña popped two dingers in this game and I’m including both of them because they were both bizarre. The first one is that one where two Marlins outfielders collided near the fence and none of them came up with the ball — it bounced off of them and into the seats for a dinger. The second one is what got Acuña the _{Short Boy Award} for 2026, as he bounced it off of the concrete lining the brick wall in right field and into the nearby concourse in order to cap off one of the weirdest multi-homer games that you’ll ever see a Braves player have.

As the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline came and went, the Tampa Bay Rays finally became full fledged buyers. Erik Neander went out and brought the Rays an excellent catcher in Liam Hicks, a decent option in the bullpen with Tyler Wells, and then a possible top of the rotation arm in Freddy Peralta.

Of course, Peralta had his struggles while with the New York Mets but was just a half season removed from being a Cy Young contender with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Now, with the Rays on the cusp of reaching the World Series, it will be Freddy Peralta taking the mound for Tampa Bay.

A few days ago, this series was all but wrapped up for the Cleveland Guardians as they held a 2-1 advantage with two more games remaining at home. Then the rains came and washed out what would have been game four on Friday. With the schedule pushed back and extra day to recombobulate, the dormant Rays offense awoke while the pitching continued its excellence and all of a sudden, the Rays have a 3-2 advantage as the ALCS returns back to Tropicana Field where the Rays held one of the best home records in all of baseball.

The Guardians will have to try and piece together a pitching strategy as manager Stephen Vogt has heavily relied on his top relievers all series, making them questionable for tonight’s game. It has been announced that Cleveland will be starting former Ray, Shawn Armstrong, once again. Armstrong started Saturday’s game, providing the Guardians with four outs as an opener. This will mark his 4th appearance of the ALCS and thus far he has recorded 4 innings, allowing 0 runs on 2 hits.

After Armstrong, it’s anyone’s guess as to who Vogt will turn to in a must win game.

Vogt does have options with Tanner Bibee being the most likely. The 27-year old right-handed pitcher has yet to pitch in the ALCS and made one appearance during the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox. Bibee had a solid regular season for Cleveland and was a modern day workhorse as he compiled a 4.36 ERA | 4.52 FIP with a 19.0 K% & 7.1 BB% over 188 IP. Other options for Vogt tonight include Joey Cantillo, Matt Festa, and Slade Cecconi.

The rest of Vogt’s staff has seen plenty of action this ALCS, but it has been reported that game three starter Gavin Williams will be the only pitcher not available to pitch in tonight’s game. However, Vogt called upon Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski, and Tim Herrin in yesterday’s game as well as Shawn Armstrong, making them questionable for action tonight.

Tampa Bay meanwhile benefited from an exceptional outing by Drew Rasmussen in which the ace of the staff logged seven innings, yielding just one run, en route to the Rays 3-1 game five victory. Still, Kevin Cash had to call upon Bryan Baker, Cam Booser, and Tyler Wells to finish out the game; Wells threw just five pitches and was well rested prior to the game. Bryan Baker and Cam Booser pitched consecutive games so they may not be available tonight either; Baker also had had a noticeable dip in his velocity. Still, Kevin Cash has plenty of options should he need to use them in Kevin Kelly, Tyler Wells, Cole Sulser, Steven Matz, and Brody Hopkins; Hopkins has yet to appear in an ALCS game, the lone player on the roster who has yet to make an appearance.

It’s game six of the 2026 American League Division Series. The Rays are up three games to two. The series is back at Tropicana Field. BJ Upton is throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. The game begins at 8:00pm.

There is just something different about those no doubters, when a slugger digs into the box and really gets a hold of a pitch unleashing that wooden thunderclap like the legend of Thor. Watching the ball arch towards the sky and then seeing gravity finally win the fight and bring it back down to earth still sends a childlike joy through my bones.

Despite only getting 327 at-bats from biggest sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees still had their fair share of no doubters in 2026. Before we dive into the top ten home runs, I want to clarify this list ranks each long ball by distance. 

There is one honorable mention I want to give out before we get started. On April 21st, Stanton launched a 368-foot home run with a 41-degree launch angle. This moonshot in Boston was the Yankees’ highest-arching home run of the season. It did not go far, but it was a fun one to watch as it had hang time like Vince Carter!

10. Ben Rice: 431 feet (August 8th vs. Atlanta)

I hope you are not hungry, because this top ten list contains as much Rice as your favorite takeout place’s menu! There is your dinner plan, as Rice keeps serving us even after the season ends. This early-August blast came off the bat at just over 105 miles per hour (mph) and had the highest launch angle of the top ten at 35 degrees.

9. Ben Rice: 433 feet (June 19th vs. Cincinnati)

The team leader in home runs stakes his second claim on the list quickly, also claiming the nine-hole. This bullet traveled 109.1 mph off Benny’s barrel and had a 26-degree launch angle. The three-run job was one of those long home runs that reminds you center field at Yankee Stadium is no joke.

8. Ben Rice: 438 feet (August 16th @ Toronto)

Starting the list off with a turkey, Rice keeps cooking. Unlike his first two appearances, this one came in Toronto. Number 33 on the season for Rice came off Braydon Fisher in the top of the 10th inning, making it the latest inning long ball on the list. What would prove to be the game-winner jumped off the bat at 108.5 mph and launched at a 27-degree angle.

7. Spencer Jones: 443 feet (June 9th @ Cleveland)

The rookie’s first home run in the show was an absolute missile. Jones jumped all over this pitch from Slade Cecconi and produced the second-highest exit velocity on the list at 112.2 mph, with the lowest launch angle of the top ten at just 25 degrees. Do not blink, or you will miss this straight-line shot that got out of play in a hurry.

6. Ben Rice: 444 feet (September 4th @ San Diego)

Despite a lower exit velocity of 108.6 mph, the one-degree difference in launch angle, at 26 degrees, was enough for this Rice home run to travel one foot farther than the previous entry. This ball ran away from the camera operator as it decided it would rather check out the San Diego Zoo than stick around for peanuts and Cracker Jacks.

5. Giancarlo Stanton: 446 feet (April 16th vs. LA Angels)

Big G gets more than just his honorable mention with this home run that landed 446 feet from home plate in the Bronx, earning him a spot in our top five. Stanton muscled this ball at 111.1 mph off the bat and into the air at a 27-degree angle. This was a frustrating season for Stanton, and at this stage of his career, there might not be many more of these moments left for us to enjoy.

4. Ben Rice: 447 feet (August 19th @ Baltimore)

Making his fifth and final appearance is Rice with this home run down at Camden Yards. This one got a few extra shakes of Old Bay seasoning as it traveled at 110.2 mph and lollipopped toward the harbor at a 33-degree angle. All hail the Yankees’ home run king of 2026!

3. Spencer Jones: 448 feet (September 20th @ Arizona)

With a build similar to Judge and a left-handed swing, Jones is sure to send a few moonshots each season that will be impressive enough to land him on this list for years to come. This home run claims the title of highest launch angle on the list at 34 degrees. The towering drive traveled at 109.8 mph before falling like a meteor out in the desert.

2. Amed Rosario: 450 feet (July 31st @ Chicago Cubs)

Imposter alert! Surprise, surprise, surprise. Who would have believed it at the start of the season, but at 6-foot-1 and 227 pounds, Rosario hit a home run good enough for second-furthest of the season. Perhaps aided by the Chicago wind, this home run tried its best to make it to the rooftop seats, coming off the bat at 108 mph with a 30-degree launch angle. Another whacky surprise, it was off a lefty!

1. Aaron Judge: 456 feet (April 13th vs. LA Angels)

Almost as surprising as Rosario, Judge finally makes his first appearance on the list, and of course, the best power hitter since the steroid era takes the top spot. Why waste swings, right? This home run by Judge is truly a piece of art. At 116.2 mph, it was the hardest-hit Yankees home run of the season in addition to being the furthest. Its 26-degree launch angle helped it get over the fence quicker than a little leaguer retrieving a home run ball in the sandlot. Please be healthy next season, Captain. We missed you this year.

That concludes the top ten longest Yankees home runs of 2026. Did anyone see any of these in person? What was the biggest surprise in your eyes? I was most surprised that Bellinger didn’t crack the top ten, or even the top 20 longest home runs in 2026!

Just make sure you get to keep playing baseball, boys.

The Guardians continue to have somewhat of a snake-bitten season at home this season, dropping two games against the Rays to head back to Tampa Bay down 3-2 in a 7-game series. They now face Freddy Peralta for a second time, who threw six scoreless against Cleveland in game 2 (after also dominating the Yankees in the ALDS). Meanwhile, the Guardians will open with the “reliable vet” option of Shawn Armstrong and the rest of their pitching plan for the game being, essentially, a shaken 8-ball reading “Reply hazy, try again.”

Keys to Game Six for the Guardians:

1. Hit Freddy Peralta’s Fastball: Peralta is a three-pitch pitcher with a four-seamer, a changeup, and a curveball. Peralta threw a season-high 71% four-seamer mix against the Guardians in game two of the ALCS. It worked. So, does that mean he goes back to the same plan in an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy, or does he make an adjustment to mix in more changeups? Peralta’s average velocity on his fastball was up 2.6 mph from his season average, so I suspect he is simply going to let this pitch ride and dare the Guardians to hit it. We have seen enough of the Rays’ pen to know that there is a reason they haven’t lost a game this season when leading after eight innings. They are very good, so they need to find a way to get to Peralta to have a chance tonight. So… there you go, Guardians. Gird your loins, hit the fastball, and this has a good shot of going to a winner-take-all. For what it’s worth, during the season, Chase DeLauter was 15 runs above average against the fastball, Steven Kwan 5.2 runs above average, Travis Bazzana 4.5 runs above average, and Brayan Rocchio 2.1 runs above average.

2. Adjust to Playing on Turf: There were a couple rough plays on the Tampa Bay turf in games one and two and the Guardians’ defense has been shaky the past two nights. If the Guardians win tonight, they will need to play clean defense and adjust to the various quirks of the turf at Tropicana Field.

3. Strategically Deploy Your Pitchers: After Armstrong, I think we will be set to see Daniel Espino, Joey Cantillo and Tanner Bibee in some capacity. Foster Griffin threw 44 pitches on Saturday… so he could also get an inning, given the elimination game dynamic. Stephen Vogt will need to leverage these arms in the right moments to have a chance at turning the game over to his high leverage arms (who also all threw yesterday, of course). The one thing I definitely would like to see is Espino facing a different part of the order than Diaz and Caminero who have seen him quite a bit.

You know, I feel so good about this Guardians’ season. I will be disappointed in a loss because you can never guarantee yourself this kind of opportunity again, but I also feel proud of what these guys have done to get to this point. I would be so sad because there is a good chance I will not see any more Guardians’ baseball until at least Memorial Day, but I have a lot of happy memories from 2026 to keep me warm. I also would be happy to watch the Brewers-Rays World Series because I like both teams and would enjoy seeing either get a title. But, hey, neither of them deserve to see one as much as Cleveland baseball fans do. None of their players deserve a ring like Jose Ramirez does. So, let’s see our guys really fight to keep this ride going another day.

Intermittent Dodgers catcher Ben Rortvedt is a free agent again, opting for free agency on Saturday after getting sent outright to the minors and off the 40-man roster in September.

Rortvedt was acquired by the Dodgers while off the 40-man roster at each of the last two trade deadlines, and filled in while both Will Smith and Dalton Rushing were injured in both seasons. Rortvedt even started four postseason games behind the plate in 2025 before Smith was fully ready to return from a broken hand.

This year, Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia took over catching duties in August after getting acquired at the trade deadline, holding down the fort with Smith and Rushing injured again. Rortvedt caught 16 games and started nine games behind the plate, and five hits in 27 at-bats during his time on the active roster. He was designated for assignment when Smith returned on September 1, then sent outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City two days later.

Rortvedt was with the Dodgers during workouts and through their postseason run, but was not active for either the National League Division Series or NL Championship Series.

“Ben’s a great teammate, he’s a major league player,” manager Dave Roberts said when Rortvedt was designated for assignment. “And I’ll always be grateful because he helped us win a championship last year. Great guy.”

Rortvedt was active with the Dodgers for four weeks, and ended the season nine days shy of four full years of major league service time. But as someone with at least three years of major league service time who was sent outright to the minors during the season and optioned to stick around, they can elect free agency at the end of the season, per Article XX(D)(1) of the collective bargaining agreement:

Any Player who has at least 3 years of Major League service, or who qualified as a “Super Two” Player under Article VI(E)(1)(b) as of the conclusion of the prior championship season, and whose contract is assigned outright to a Minor League club may elect, in lieu of accepting such assignment, to become a free agent. In the event that such a Player with at least 3 years of Major League service does not elect free agency in lieu of accepting such assignment, he may elect free agency during the period between (i) the end of the then current Major League season and (ii) the next following October 15, or 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time on the second day after the date the Player’s Club plays in its final post-season game that season (whichever occurs later) (the “Election Period”), unless such Player is returned to a Major League roster prior to making such election.

Saturday was the second day after the Dodgers played their last postseason game. Another player who elected free agency at the beginning of that period was outfielder Alek Thomas, who opted for free agency on September 29.

Thomas was designated for assignment on September 5, was sent outright to Triple-A three days later, and finished out the season with Oklahoma City, and hit the game-winning three-run double in the Triple-A championship game on September 26.

Acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league outfielder Jose Requena on May 12, Thomas spent most of his season in Triple-A, but was called up to man center field on August 22 after Andy Pages had his left hand broken by an errant fastball.

Thomas played in seven games for the Dodgers, including six starts in center field. He delivered run-scoring singles in each of his first three games, and totaled four hits in 19 at-bats plus a walk with the Dodgers. Thomas has somewhere in the neighborhood of three years, 156 days of major league service time, 16 days shy of four full years, but with at least three years he had the right to elect free agency after getting sent outright, off the 40-man roster, to the minors during the season.

Coming into 2026, the last season of his six-year, $150 million contract with the Jays, we really didn’t know what to expect. He had a couple of very good seasons, a couple of fairly average season and a poor season. In 2026, coming off his best season of the five, who knew what would happen at age 36?

Well….

With the offseason underway, we are taking a look at every player who appeared for the Texas Rangers in the 2026 season.

Today we are looking at pitcher Nolan Kingham.

One of the difficulties in doing this series is deciding who to write up in any given post. Early on, one can be overwhelmed by all the choices available — there’s a phenomenon known as “choice overload,” where a whole lot of things to choose from can overwhelm a person and make it harder for them to pick anything at all. Folks who are especially vulnerable to this, I have to think, stay away from the Cheesecake Factory.

There’s also the question as to who should be the first player to be written up. In previous seasons, when the Rangers were eliminated before the regular season was over, and I started the write-ups in the last week or two of the season, that was easier, because I could pick someone who was on the injured list or who had been traded or released. If I’m doing seasons in review with a week and a half left in the season, guys still on the active roster, or who could be activated or called up, are excluded, simplifying the issue.

The Rangers weren’t eliminated until the final day of the 2026 season, however, so that isn’t an option here.

So what to do? Pick someone prominent? Someone who had a really good season? Someone who disappointed? Someone who I have lots to say about? Someone I’m indifferent to? Do I jump immediately in the deep end with someone controversial who there’s going to be a lot to say about?

Ultimately, the decision was to ease into things. Start off with a write-up that isn’t going to get people mad or worked up or cause controversy, to better whet the appetites of the LSB faithful for the previews to come.

Do you remember Nolan Kingham? I’m willing to bet that, a few years from now, he’ll be one of the least-guessed answers on the 2026 Texas Rangers Sporcle quiz. Hell, I am betting that some of you read the headline and said, who? Is AJM making up players now? Did he stroke out at the keyboard? AJM, do you smell burnt toast?

Nolan Kingham was one of 34 Texas Rangers players who pitched for the team in 2026. Three of the players who pitched were actually position players, though, so we can say Kingham was one of 31 pitchers who the team rostered and who appeared in a game for the Rangers in 2026.

The Rangers, as a team, had 1419.1 innings pitched in 2026. Nolan Kingham threw one of those innings, representing .07% of the total innings thrown for Texas on the season. The Rangers allowed 719 runs in 2026. Kingham allowed one of those runs, meaning he allowed .13% of the total runs allowed by Texas in 2026.

Kingham was the #223 prospect on the Baseball America board in 2015, coming out of Desert Oasis High School in Enterprise, Nevada. I had never heard of Enterprise, Nevada before now. It is, per Wikipedia, an unincorporated town that is part of the Greater Las Vegas metropolitan area. It had 14,676 residents in 2000, per the U.S. Census, and 221,831 in 2020, which is kind of remarkable. That’s, like, Collin County on steroids levels of population growth.

The “Notable People” section of Wikipedia has a surprisingly lengthy and eclectic list of residents, including, among the athletes, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Baron Davis, Reggie Jackson, the Big Hurt, and Chris Carter. I had assumed that Chris Carter had been retired for years, but he’s actually been playing in the Mexican League since 2019. He slashed .237/.370/.486 in 219 plate appearances for Saltillo in 2026, at the age of 39. Nick Carter is listed, as is Toni Braxton, and seeing her name reflexively makes me think back on, and lament, the Three J’s.

Someone named Terry Fator is also listed in the “Notable People” category. It says “Terry Fator, ventriloquist.” He’s from Dallas, incidentally — was born there, anyway — but I take issue with his being listed there. The only ventriloquists who are Notable People are Edgar Bergen and Jeff Dunham.

Also, I can’t think of ventriloquists without thinking of this. Fun fact — Choo Choo, the Herky Jerky Dancer, is played by Jay Johnston, who was convicted of a felony in connection with the January 6 Capitol attack. Less fun fact — Professor Murder is played by Sam Sarpong, who took his own life in October, 2015, by jumping off a bridge in Pasadena.

Anyway, back to Kingham…Kingham was by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 39th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. As was the case with most 39th rounders, he didn’t sign, opting to go the college route, and pitched for the University of Texas for three seasons. BA had him as the #100 prospect in the 2018 draft, with a disappointing junior season dropping his stock, and the Atlanta Braves selected him in the 12th round, giving him a $150,000 bonus, $25,000 more than the $125K amount that you can sign a player in the 11th and later rounds without dipping into your bonus pool.

Kingham made it to AA in 2019, his first full season as a pro. 2020 happened, and we won’t talk about all that. 2021, 2022 and 2023 saw him shuffle between AA and AAA in the Braves’ system, providing organizational depth but not missing enough bats to have any sort of real success. He was released late in spring training in 2024 by the Braves, and was not picked up by a major league team.

Another fun fact — Nolan’s brother, Nick, was also a major league pitcher. A former consensus top 100 prospect in the Pirates’ organization, Nick appeared in 43 games for the Pirates and Blue Jays in the 2018-19 seasons, then pitched in Korea from 2020-22, then briefly in China and Mexico in 2023. Nolan, having seen his brother’s path, opted to do something similar, spending the next two-plus years pitching in the Mexican League and in the Mexican Winter League.

The minor league roster limits that were implemented in the last CBA mean that teams aren’t able to sign and roster random depth arms like Kingham like they used to, which means that, when injuries strike in the minors, teams are now having to turn much more often to the independent leagues to find someone to fill in. And so Kingham, who was sporting a 1.82 ERA in 6 starts for Monterrey to start the 2026 season, was snagged by the Rangers when they needed an available arm for the rotation at Round Rock in late May.

Back where he played college ball, Kingham did what was asked of him, going out every fifth or sixth day for the Express and giving them some innings. The innings were not necessarily good innings — after eight starts he had an 8.41 ERA and was allowing opposing hitters a whopping 1023 OPS — but, you know, they didn’t have to be good innings at that point for the Express.

A relief appearance, where he threw a scoreless inning, was followed by a pair of five inning starts where Kingham allowed three runs total. In the second of those starts, he struck out nine batters, the most he’d fanned in an affiliated game since pre-COVID. Whether because he impressed in that outing, or previous outings, or just because the Rangers needed an arm, he was brought up to the big leagues on August 1, replacing Luis Curvelo, who had given up four runs in two innings the day before in what would turn out to be Curvelo’s final appearance in the majors for the Rangers.

Kingham — who I keep wanting to call Kingman, a problem I have had since the Rangers signed him four and a half months ago — made one appearance for the Rangers. The game, against the Giants, was a memorable one, due to clownball by the Rangers resulting in five errors, and Texas scoring just one run despite Ezequiel Duran going 4 for 4 and coming a triple short of the cycle.

Kingham loaded the bases with one out on a pair of walks sandwiched by a single. Jung Hoo Lee hit a sac fly before Kingham got Willy Adames to strike out swinging to end the inning.

The Rangers won the following game, which featured several relievers, by one run, and so one can argue that Kingham being able to come in and pitch an inning in a game the Rangers lost contributed, in a small way, to a Rangers win.

Kingham was designated for assignment a few days later, and was claimed by the Seattle Mariners, who optioned him to AAA. By my count Kingham got 10 days of major league service time, which is 10 days more than most baseball players get. Kingham was DFA’d by Seattle at the start of September, waived and outrighted, so he will be a free agent in a couple of weeks once the season ends. At that point, he might sign a minor league deal with another team — maybe Texas! — or he may return to toiling in one of the independent leagues, waiting for a major league team to need an innings sponge at their AAA affiliate.

Kingham is 30 years old, and so he will have the opportunity, should he choose, to continue his professional baseball career in one form or another. He could make it back to the majors, in a similar situation to this year, when a team needs a fungible arm in the bullpen who can give them innings in a lost cause and be designated for assignment soon thereafter. Or he could continue to toil in AAA, or one of the indy leagues here, or in Mexico, or overseas.

But Nolan Kingham made it, even if he never makes it back. He will forever have an entry in the major league records. He will forever get to say he faced a guy making $182 million and struck him out swinging.

That’s pretty cool.

Sean Sullivan (No. 21 PuRP) had an up-and-down season.

He made his MLB debut on June 12th in the Las Vegas heat (while battling illness) and shined. But that was about the high point for Sullivan, as he bounced between Triple-A and the majors, and also battled an elbow injury.

“It was originally my elbow. It was just, like, some posterior impingement – just some inflammation and stuff like that. Nothing really too serious,” he said. “I got it obviously MRI’d and everything, and it came back fairly clean. So I just got a cortisone shot and just rehabbed it and took some rest and was able to come back for those last two weeks of the season.”

Sullivan made 14 total starts in Albuquerque, posting a 5-3 record and 5.31 ERA. He was on the injured list from August 3-September 16. In three starts at the end of the year — including one rehab start — Sullivan pitched 6.1 innings across three starts and posted a 2.84 ERA and 1.58 WHIP.

In five big league starts between June 12-July 4, Sullivan went 0-3 with an 8.87 ERA. But he learned a lot during the 2026 season.

“I feel like there were a lot of ups and downs throughout the year,” Sullivan said.

“This year for me was definitely a year of growth and learning. Obviously, the debut day was a pretty special day in my life. But … I think just every day I was up there [was a highlight] — just being able to live that experience. And even when I got sent back down, just knowing what I need to get back to and what I’m missing out on.”

He continued, “It was a great learning experience, but I take it all for granted, and I’m very blessed to be in the position I am.”

His favorite moment? Facing his hometown Boston Red Sox at Coors Field on June 23rd.

“That was pretty cool for me, just being from the Boston area,” he recalled. “I grew up loving that team and seeing a lot of those names and facing that lineup was pretty cool for me. So I would say that was probably a special day for me.”

But of all the lessons Sullivan learned, he said many of them stemmed from his injury.

“I felt like my body just wasn’t in a position where it needed to be physically,” he said. “I felt like I was running on fumes almost when I was up there, and I think you could kind of see that with some of my velocity and just my stuff overall wasn’t performing as well as it usually does.

“And that ended up showing when I got injured and stuff like that. So I think just getting my body in a better position to where I can go out there for 30 starts and be able to pitch for a full season.”

But that also gave him the opportunity to spend some time in Arizona, and now he’s back with a plan in place.

He has made two starts so far with the Salt River Rafters, allowing five runs on 10 hits across 5.2 innings with one home run, one hit batter and eight strikeouts.

“I think the idea was to get me innings, but obviously while I’m pitching, I’m always working on something,” Sullivan said. “Right now, me and Owen Cuffe have been working on my slider, just kind of changing the shapes a little bit from more of, like, a sweeper to more of a traditional slider, and working and kind of tinkering with different grips and stuff like that with my changeup, as well.

“But I’ve definitely seen some great progress so far,” he continued. “I think taking some of these adjustments into the game has been kind of nice in a less-intense environment rather than in the big leagues where it’s hard to make those adjustments.”

That was something that senior director of player development, Chris Forbes, said before the AFL season started.

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

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

And Cuffe shed some light on Sullivan’s new pitch.

“We decided to use this time during the Fall League to work on adding a pitch to his arsenal,” Cuffe said via text message. “The goal is give him another pitch to make hitter decision making tougher and have another tool to help him platoon hitters. We wanted to keep the cutter and sweeper in his arsenal and to add a more traditional gyro slider that’s more in that 80+ mph range to give him another breaking ball.

“So far, he’s had some success with throwing it in our pitching lab, so we will see how it performs to hitters. He’s also been working on his movement quality on the mound, which has allowed him to get about 92 mph for the first time in a game this year. Overall, Sean has been working hard and seeing some of the payoffs, so I’m excited for him!”

In the midst of executing his new pitch and overall plan, Sullivan is also enjoying the opportunities afforded to him in the AFL, such as playing with players and coaches from other teams.

“It’s really special,” he said.

“I think that’s one of the coolest parts of this is just being able to kind of pick everyone’s brain. And other teams have coordinators in town, and obviously just talking in the dugout and on the bench and stuff, just trying to hear how other teammates do it in their processes and organizations, and I think it’s a great way to learn and stuff.”

Planning ahead, Sullivan is looking forward to continuing to get better and compete.

“I missed some decent chunks of time this year, and it’s never fun,” he said. “So I think continuing to get to play – potentially before a lockout, too – is exciting. Whenever I get to take the mound is awesome.”

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