Category: MLB

After promoting Yeremy Cabrera to High-A last week, the Nats made another noteworthy and overdue promotion. Paul Toboni and the Nats front office decided the time was right to promote Seaver King to Triple-A. After a rough first full season as a pro last year, King has come back with a vengeance, hitting .336 with a .989 OPS in 35 games.

The Nationals are promoting shortstop Seaver King to Triple-A Rochester, per multiple sources.

The 2024 first-round pick (No. 94 in Keith Law’s Top 100) has reached base in all 35 games he’s played this year.

Hit .336 with a .989 OPS in Double A.

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) May 18, 2026

My favorite Seaver King stat is that he has gotten on base in all 35 games he has played this season. A big part of that is a much improved approach. Last season, King walked just 5.8% of the time. This season, that number has more than doubled, with the 23 year old walking 13.3% of the time. King is looking like the top of the lineup table setter that the Nats envisioned when they drafted him 10th overall out of Wake Forest.

In some ways, this breakout was a surprise. His overall numbers last season were not pretty. King hit just .244 with a .631 OPS in 125 games in High-A and Double-A. Once he reached Double-A, King really hit a wall. The athletic shortstop posted a .600 OPS in 80 games at Harrisburg last year. With players picked behind him like Cam Smith and Trey Yesavage thriving, it was not a great look.

However, this breakout was not a total surprise either. As some pointed out, he was starting to turn things around down the stretch last year. In September of 2025, King hit .341 with an .817 OPS. That was just an 11 game sample, and King was still overly aggressive and not hitting for much power though.

Seaver King went 3-for-3 with a double, a stolen base and a walk last night for the @HbgSenators. He has multi-hit performances in two of his last three games. pic.twitter.com/zP3Q7eIbCJ

— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) September 6, 2025

King also had a famously strong Arizona Fall League last year. Top prospect Kevin McGonigle gave him some hitting pointers, and those ideas seemed to click for King. Despite the strong finish to the season, King still had a lot to prove heading into 2026. He needed to have a big year to quiet the critics and get his pro career back on track.

That is exactly what he has done. He is showing the electric toolset that got him drafted so high. The raw talent has never been in question for King. He is a freak athlete with an intriguing blend of quality bat to ball skills and underrated raw power. However, he had not been able to tap into his raw power due to his overly aggressive approach and ground ball heavy spray chart.

We have talked about the improvements to his approach, but King is also elevating the ball consistently. His ground ball rate has gone from 52.4% last year to 40.6% this season. That is a big reason why King has 5 homers this year, almost matching his total from all of last season, which was six.

seaver king is on FIRE 🔥

he's reach safely IN EVERY GAME THIS SEASON (25 games) pic.twitter.com/MvxDoXyrcL

— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) May 3, 2026

King still has an opposite field heavy approach, so that may tap into his home run totals. However, that approach will lead to a lot of doubles and triples thanks to his speed. King’s athleticism gives him a lot of versatility as well. He can play all over the infield, and can even play some outfield if needed. His defense at shortstop has been hit or miss this year, but he has the tools to play there.

I wonder if King’s promotion could start a promotion domino effect over the next couple of weeks. There are promotion candidates all across the organization, especially in the infield. This move could clear up a spot for Devin Fitz-Gerald in Double-A. If Fitz-Gerald leaves, one of Luke Dickerson or even Eli Willits could take his place in High-A. That would leave a spot in Low-A that could be filled by intriguing youngster Marconi German, who is performing well in the Florida Complex League.

King is one of the best stories in the system this year. He is a true success story for the new regime, who have played a part in turning around a distressed asset. Sure, you cannot give the new regime all the credit for this, but they do deserve a shout out. King looks like a different player, even from the one who had a strong finish late in the season.

He is finding pitches to hit and driving them with authority. King is also taking his walks, which is a massive step in his development. I am very excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for the 23 year old. If he plays well in Rochester, he has a path to big league playing time. 

There is still a chance that CJ Abrams gets traded at the deadline, which opens up an obvious spot for him. Even if Abrams stays though, I think King can break down the big league door. The Nats have been a great offensive team, but they have not gotten much from their second baseman with the bat. Nasim Nunez is the primary option at the position, but with his offensive limitations, a bench role might make more sense.

If King continues to hit in AAA, he can go from a distressed asset to a big leaguer in the blink of an eye. Sometimes, you have to bet on the tools, especially when there are people in the organization that can develop those tools. Seaver King is a perfect example of that, and I am rooting for him to make the big leagues this season.

The Mets’ offense continued to struggle during the beginning of this meter period on their West Coast road trip with the notable exception of the one ten-run game the Mets put together at Coors Field. But the Mets righted the ship at Citi Field last week, taking series from both the Tigers and their crosstown rival Yankees. There is still a lot of red on this meter to be sure; the Mets are very banged up (and have a new injury to add to the tally this week) and there are a few players on the roster who are depth guys who shouldn’t be seeing regular big league at-bats. However, with the notable exception of Bo Bichette, the regulars that remain in the lineup have mostly turned things around and Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing are providing a much-needed injection of youth and energy.

Player	Last week	This week
Francisco Alvarez, C
Brett Baty, UTIL
Carson Benge, OF
Bo Bichette, 3B
Vidal Bruján, INF	—
A.J. Ewing, OF	—
Andy Ibáñez, INF
MJ Melendez, OF
Marcus Semien, 2B
Hayden Senger, C	—
Austin Slater, OF
Juan Soto, OF
Tyrone Taylor, OF
Luis Torrens, C
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B

We’ll start with the new injury since it seems like we can’t have a meter without an injury report these days. Francisco Alvarez became the third Met this season to tear his meniscus and he will be out for quite awhile. He was replaced on the roster with Hayden Senger who is hitless in his first six plate appearances but does have an RBI. Luis Torrens, fresh off a brand new contract extension with the Mets, now finds himself assuming the role of starting catcher once again and has done better with the bat lately, putting up a 95 wRC+ in 31 plate appearances over the past two weeks, which is a number you certainly put up with given his defense. He’s been getting most of his hitting done with men on base and has six RBIs, which is the same number as Juan Soto over this stretch despite far fewer at-bats.

We’ll also peel Band Aid off early and address the glaring poop emoji next to Bo Bichette’s name. For awhile when the whole offense was struggling, his shortcomings did not stick out as much. But with so many regulars sidelined with injuries, especially the starting shortstop Francisco Lindor, the Mets need Bichette’s bat to heat up and it just…hasn’t. He has just five hits—all singles—in 52 plate appearances over the past two weeks, good for an abysmal 2 wRC+, which is the lowest on the team among players with double-digit plate appearances. The one thing you can say about Bichette is that he is taking his walks. His six walks are tied with Juan Soto for the second-most on the team. But walks and the occasional single is not good enough from Bichette, who was brought here to be one of the commanding presences in the Mets lineup and has thus far failed to be that.

The team leader in walks is rookie A.J. Ewing, who has been a revelation. With the bats floundering, Ewing was the one card the Mets had left to pull. They did so and he has rewarded them for it with a 1.088 OPS in his first six games. Because he came up in the middle of this meter period, he has far fewer plate appearances than the other regulars and yet leads the team in walks, as I mentioned, with seven, and has already racked up five hits, five runs scored, and three RBIs. He has also been solid in center field and shown off his speed on the base paths to boot, with two stolen bases in three attempts.

When Ewing was promoted, Andy Ibáñez was designated for assignment. Ibáñez was hitless with an RBI and a couple of errors in five plate appearances across two games. Ibáñez’s departure leaves Vidal Bruján as the sole backup infielder, retaining his roster spot because of his ability to play shortstop with both Francisco Lindor and Ronny Mauricio still out. Bruján is hitless in four plate appearances since joining the team and is mostly a “break glass in case of emergency” player who is serving as a pinch runner and potential defensive replacement.

The reason for this turnaround over the past week is that the rookies are getting it done. Carson Benge has been great of late as well, putting up a 157 wRC+ in 50 plate appearances over the past 12 games. He’s also had a walk-off hit and a walk-off fielder’s choice in the past five days alone. He leads the team in hits with 17 and is tied for the team lead in runs scored with nine. Of course, despite being Mr. Pulchritudinous, he has made a couple of miscues in the field, but has made up for them with his bat.

Marcus Semien is second to Benge in the hits department with 12 hits in the past 12 games and also matches Benge’s team-leading nine runs scored over that span. Semien isn’t hitting for much power; eight of the 12 hits were singles, though he did go deep twice in the past two weeks. But the Mets will certainly take a 130 wRC+ from Semien, who had been struggling mightily at the plate and is now contributing consistently of late. In addition to the nine runs scored, Semien drove in four runs, walked five times, and stole a base in the past two weeks.

Brett Baty has quietly turned his season around as well, posting a 131 wRC+ over his last 44 plate appearances and keeping himself in the green for the second meter in a row. Baty, now playing third base pretty much every day, racked up 11 hits—7 singles, 3 doubles, and a home run—five runs scored, five walks, and five RBIs. Unfortunately, Baty also leads the team in strikeouts with 11 in the past 12 games.

Unfortunately MJ Melendez struck out as many times as Baty did in 15 fewer plate appearances and it seems like the lightning in a bottle the Mets captured with Melendez is finally running out with a little overexposure. In 29 plate appearances since our last meter, Melendez holds a 51 wRC+ with just three hits. With Jared Young the only injured Met due back any time soon, Melendez is likely the first in line to lose his roster spot when he returns, especially given the fact that he has options. Austin Slater isn’t doing much better with his two singles in 12 plate appearances over the past 12 games, but Slater is right-handed and Young, like Melendez, is a lefty.

Juan Soto is back to playing the outfield despite his various minor ailments he is playing through. He had been struggling at the plate, but has gotten hot just in the past week or so, pushing his wRC+ up to 116 for this two-week period, which isn’t normal Soto production, but still positive. Soto has gone deep three times over the past 12 games, including against his former team. Those long balls were three of his ten total hits. He also walked six times, drove in six runs, and scored eight runs. It looks like the three hole has been kind to him.

Mark Vientos has been hitting behind Soto most days and the RBIs have been pouring in; he leads the team with ten runs batted in over the past 12 games, despite a mediocre 81 wRC+. Of his 11 hits, four went for extra bases, including two home runs. He also walked once and scored five runs.

Tyrone Taylor was heading straight for a poop emoji, but then he logged the single biggest hit the Mets have had all season yesterday in the form of a game-tying three-run homer against the Yankees in the ninth that helped break the Mets’ long streak of losses when losing after eight innings. Still, I couldn’t in good conscience give him a good grade for a 33 wRC+ overall over the past two weeks. But with Luis Robert lacking a timetable for his return and Juan Soto needing regular DH at-bats to keep him healthy, Taylor should continue to see plenty of playing time in the outfield.

Texas Rangers catcher Malcolm Moore has been named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week of May 11-17, 2026. Moore, who is repeating at high-A Hub City after his injury-shortened 2025 campaign, slashed .520/.571/1.160 with four homers.

Moore, the Rangers’ first round pick out of Stanford in 2024, is currently on an interesting trajectory. Drafted 30th overall as a bat-first catcher with questions about whether he would stick behind the plate, Moore slashed just .209/.298/.374 in 25 games at Hickory in 2024 after signing. He played just 62 games in 2025 between Hub City and (while rehabbing) the ACL due to a broken finger, and was not impressive either offensively (slashing .195/300/.276) or defensively. Sent to the Arizona Fall League to help make up for some of his lost playing time, Moore slashing .213/.275/.328 in 17 games there.

Moore didn’t seem to turn any heads in spring training, and he appeared to be one of those late first rounders who fizzles out early on, especially after starting 2 for 22 to begin 2026 in his return to high-A. Moore’s offense picked up after that, though, and he finished the month of April with a .231/.324/.400 slash line, and 7 walks against 15 Ks in 74 plate appearances in the month. Nothing spectacular, but a decent month, especially given the slow start.

Moore has been on fire in May, though. He has a 9 game hitting streak, has hits in 10 of 11 games he’s played in this month, and has at least two hits in each of his last seven games. For the month he’s slashing .444/.528/.822 in 53 plate appearances, with six walks and nine Ks.

All of which means we may need to be re-evaluating Moore’s prospect status.

Now, on the one hand, Moore put up those insane numbers last week in Asheville, an extremely hitter-friendly park. On the other hand, he went 6 for 14 in four games at Wilmington prior to the Asheville series.

Also on the one hand, Moore is a college player taken in the first round three years ago, and is still at high-A, a level he is repeating. Also on the other hand, he did miss substantial time in 2025 due to the broken finger, catchers due tend to take longer to develop than other positions.

Moore obviously isn’t going to continue putting up a 1351 OPS, but if he continues to hit well, one would expect to see him at Frisco sometime towards the end of June. His 2023 draft classmate, Dylan Dreiling, taken in the second round, is currently having a solid season with the Roughriders, slashing .299/.417/.486 while playing center field.

After taking just one game against the Atlanta Braves (boy that missed opportunity Friday hurts) the Boston Red Sox head to Kansas City at 19-27. The Royals, winning a game to snap a six-game losing streak, enter at 20-27. Most would agree the Royals are struggling. So whatever the Red Sox are doing…yikes.

The Royals entered the season in the large group of teams hoping to be in the hunt for a Wild Card. The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians were the division favorites, the White Sox and Twins were taking steps back, but the Royals could dream. As it would happen, Bobby Witt Jr. wouldn’t homer until April 26 (though he’s done it six more times since!), Jac Caglianone and Vinnie Pasquantino couldn’t recapture the Team Italy magic. The ageless catcher Salvador Perez would start slow. And the pitching would be a bit of a mess. Wouldn’t the Sox know it though, the strong part of the rotation is ready and waiting to take on the league’s weakest offense.

Sonny Gray kicks things off on Monday. Gray, likely second after Chapman in trade interest as the deadline approaches, is coming off a fine start. His second outing since an IL stint, the veteran tossed six one-run innings while striking out six, a season high. The Red Sox have won five of his seven starts this year. In his third year with the Royals, Seth Lugo has settled in for them as a contact guy with fewer Ks (20.8%) and a higher walk rate (8.6%) than his reliever days. But if they can get 200 innings out of him like in 2024 the Royals won’t complain. He’s been hit hard twice – by the Angels and White Sox – in his last 5 starts yielding 7 and 5 runs, respectively. He also had a four-inning, four-run outing against the Guardians. Over his first five starts, Lugo had a 1.15 ERA / 2.27 FIP and over the next four it’s a 7.59 ERA / 3.28 FIP. So maybe he’s working through a little something right now.

2026 ace, non-Tolle division, Ranger Suárez takes the second game of the series. He was absolutely cruising last time out against the Phillies until a disaster inning got him off track. But he didn’t allow any runs and struck out 8 over 5.1 in his first start since leaving after four innings against the Astros on May 3rd. Southpaw Kris Bubic has made 9 starts this season. Seven have been at least 5.0 innings. And he’s given up more than 3 runs just three times. Those were against the Detroit Tigers on April 21 and the Chicago White Sox last time out. He’s really struggles with walks this year. After three years of single percentage walks his BB% has ballooned to 12.6% against a 24.6% strikeout rate, which is comparable to 2025’s 24.4% mark.

Connelly Early finishes things up on Wednesday. The Red Sox most consistent starter, Early has allowed 3 runs or fewer in seven of his nine starts. He held the Braves offense to two runs on two hits in game the Red Sox would lose. Old friend Michael Wacha finishes the series for the Royals. He’s reach the seventh innings four times in nine tries this year, really giving the Royals innings. Pitching with reverse splits, righties have hit .231/.294/.462 against Wacha while southpaws are struggling: .169/.254/.274. Although as perspective, Caleb Durbin is slashing .165/.247/.245, so Wacha can’t turn lefties into the worst hitter in baseball.

Bobby Witt Jr has 7 home runs and is hitting .309/.383/.503 after a slow start.

The Pasquatch is at just .201/.286/.341 while his Italian-American copatriot Jac Caglianone is at .246/.318/.425 with 5 dingers.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Monday, May 18: Sonny Gray (3.18 ERA / 4.18 FIP) vs. Seth Lugo (3.76 ERA / 2.68 FIP)

Tuesday, May 19: Ranger Suárez (2.44 ERA / 2.83 FIP) vs. Kris Bubic (4.11 ERA / 3.71 FIP)

Wednesday, May 20: Connelly Early (3.21 ERA / 4.56 FIP), vs. Michael Wacha (2.83 ERA / 4.14 FIP)

When/Where to Watch

Monday, May 18: 7:40 PM ET on NESN

Tuesday, May 19: 7:40 PM on NESN

Wednesday, May 20: 7:40 PM ET on NESN

The Braves had a solid 4-2 homestand, winning both series and will now take a quick 4 game road trip to Miami before returning home. This would be a nice time to get greedy and take 3 or 4 from this series against the offensively challenged Marlins.

For game 1 today, they will send JR Ritchie to the mound, facing Max Meyer from the Marlins. JR has gotten pretty lucky to have not been crushed so far this season, as he’s struggled with walks. He has been a bit caught up with the Braves’ bullpen depth issue and been left in too long a few times. He hasn’t really done much impressive on the whole over his four starts, although he has done decently to prevent hard contact. For Ritchie to be viable longer term, the strikeouts will have to increase and the walks will have to dramatically decrease. He has a sub-par offense to deal with today, so hopefully he can build on a decent 4.1 inning outing last time out and give the Braves a solid start with some length.

Max Meyer on the other side is a former #3 overall pick from 2020, but has yet to make much of that talent at the major league level, posting three replacement-level seasons before having the beginning of what may be a breakout this year. Meyer has also struggled to remain healthy, but that shouldn’t mean anything to us today. Meyer has made things work with a 78th percentile K% and a 55th percentile BB%, despite somewhat below average contact metrics. He has a mid-90s fastball that is diminished by poor extension, but pitches primarily off of his slider and sweeper, which have been devastating this season. He’ll also mix in a changeup and sinker to fill out his five pitch mix. The sweeper has been a major development for him this season, only really introducing it last year and seeing a big jump in effectiveness this year. Braves hitters would do well to take advantage of his fastballs when he throws them, because those breaking balls are no joke. His sweeper in particular is thrown pretty hard and is a bit slurvy, but has impressive movement, while his hard slider is a fairly flat pitch, but an effective one.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, May 18, 6:40 p.m. EDT

Location: loanDepot Park, Miami, FL

TV: BravesVision, Gray TV

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

This was the 6th week of full minor league play (stats are entering play on Monday, May 18th).

According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), 19-year old Caden Bodine has regained his spot as the top hitter spot in the Rays system. The backstop was recently added to Baseball America’s top 100 prospect rankings and is up to 4th in the Rays system.

Meanwhile, Aidan Cremarosa is still the team’s top minor league pitcher and among the top performers in all of minor league baseball and is also now ranked 27th in the Rays system by Baseball America. The 22-year old was taken by the Rays in the 8th round of the 2025 draft out of Fresno State. Thus far over seven starts in Single-A, Cremarosa has a 2.54 ERA | 2.33 FIP with a 37.7 K% & 4.1 BB% over 39 IP.

RUMBLINGS

• Baseball America has updated their top 30 prospect rankings, I will feature the statlines of the updated top 10 going forward.
• Three Rays prospects were featured on Baseball America’s Hot Sheet: Theo Gillen, Austin Overn, and Emilien Pitre
• OF Brailer Gurrero has been placed on the Injured List
• 1B Tre’ Morgan began a rehab assignment

TEAM LEADERS

• Must currently be assigned to that team
• Baseball America’s top ten prospects are featured below each team they’re currently assigned to.
• (minimum of 70 TBF & PA)

Tampa Bay Rays

Top 10 Prospects

• None currently on active roster

Durham Bulls

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .323, Victor Mesa Jr (hasn’t played since 4/15)
OBP: .417, Victor Mesa Jr (hasn’t played since 4/15)
SLG: .565, Victor Mesa Jr (hasn’t played since 4/15)
HR: 6,Blake Sabol
wRC+: 152, Victor Mesa Jr (hasn’t played since 4/15)
SB: 17, Jacob Melton (Placed on the IL on 4/23)

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.37, Evan Reifert
FIP: 2.99, Trevor Martin (promoted to MLB on 5/15)
K%: 34.6%, Joe Rock
BB%: 6.4%, Jonathan Heasley
WHIP: 1.21, Evan Reifert
AVG: .164, Evan Reifert
WHIFF%: 14.4%, Jonny Cuevas

Top 10 Prospects

• #2 Brody Hopkins
  • AAA: 3.35 ERA | 5.23 FIP | 24.9 K% | 19.9 BB% | .206 AVG | 13.3 WHIFF% | 40.1 IP
• #3 Jacob Melton
  • AAA: .231/.346/.431 | 40.2 K% | 15.9 BB% | 1 HR | 17 SB | 98 wRC+ | 82 PA
    • 4/23: Suffered sprained ankle. Expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Montgomery Biscuits

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .341, Cooper Kinney (promoted to AAA on 5/5)
OBP: .432, Cooper Kinney (promoted to AAA on 5/5)
SLG: .612, Xavier Isaac
HR: 11, Xavier Isaac
wRC+: 168, Cooper Kinney (promoted to AAA on 5/5)
SB: 27, Austin Overn

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.67, Michael Forret
FIP: 2.70, Alexander Alberto
K%: 33.3%, Alexander Alberto
BB%:  1.4%, Gary Gill Hill
WHIP 0.93, Michael Forret
AVG: .156, Michael Forret
WHIFF%: 15.6%, Michael Forret

Top 10 Prospects

• #9 T.J. Nichols
  • AA: 1.80 ERA | 1.74 FIP | 25.0 K% | 0.0 BB% | .300 AVG | 12.3 WHIFF% | 5 IP
  • CPX: 1.80 ERA | 2.63 FIP | 20.0 K% | 0.0 BB% | .300 AVG | 9.2 WHIFF% | 5 IP
    • 4/7: Placed on Injured List
    • 5/9: Began rehab assignment in Complex League
• #10 Santiago Suarez
  • AA: 5.93 ERA | 5.46 FIP | 28.8 K% | 5.1 BB% | .245 AVG | 13.7 WHIFF% | 27.1 IP
    • 4/25: Placed on Injured List
    • 5/5: Activated from Injured List

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .327, Theo Gillen
OBP: .454, Tony Santa Maria
SLG: .645, Theo Gillen
HR: 9, Connor Hujsak
wRC+: 168, Theo Gillen
SB: 15, Tony Santa Maria

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 3.49, Anderson Brito
FIP: 4.42, Anderson Brito
K%: 30.2%, Jacob Kmatz
BB%: 6.4%, Garrett Gainey
WHIP: 1.33, Garrett Gainey
AVG: .217, Trevor Harrison
WHIFF%: 13.6%, Anderson Brito

Top 10 Prospects

• #1 Theo Gillen
  • A+: .327/.427/.645 | 25.2 K% | 13.7 BB% | 8 HR | 14 SB | 168 wRC+ | 131 PA
• #3 Nathan Flewelling
  • A+: .290/.378/.532 | 25.2 K% | 11.9 BB% | 8 HR | 3 SB | 131 wRC+ | 143 PA
• #6 Anderson Brito
  • A+: 3.49 ERA | 4.42 FIP | 30.2 K% | 12.4 BB% | .248 AVG | 13.6 WHIFF% | 28.1 IP

Charleston River Dogs

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .379, Caden Bodine
OBP: .433, Caden Bodine
SLG: .614, Caden Bodine
HR: 5, Taitn Gray & Caden Bodine
wRC+: 179, Caden Bodine
SB: 13, Alberth Palma

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.00, Trey Pooser
FIP: 2.33, Aidan Cremarosa
K%: 37.7%, Aidan Cremarosa
BB%: 3.8%, Aidan Cremarosa
WHIP: 0.77, Aidan Cremarosa
AVG: .171, Aidan Cremarosa
WHIFF%: 18.2%, Aidan Cremarosa

Top 10 Prospects

• #4 Caden Bodine
  • A: .379/.433/.614 | 3.9 K% | 9.2 BB% | 5 HR | 1 SB | 179 wRC+ | 152 PA
• #5 Cooper Flemming
  • A: .308/.405/.469 | 16.3 K% | 11.8 BB% | 3 HR | 5 SB | 143 wRC+ | 153 PA
• #7 Daniel Pierce
  • A: .250/.318/.417 | 29.0 K% | 5.6 BB% | 4 HR | 5 SB | 102 wRC+ | 107 PA
    • 4/22: Placed on the 7-day IL
    • 5/2: Activated from the IL
• #8 Taitn Gray
  • A: .270/.387/.451| 22.0 K% | 15.3 BB% | 5 HR | 3 SB | 131 wRC+ | 150 PA

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There is a 14-game slate across MLB tonight, and that means lots of opportunities for baseballs to leave the yard. 

Shohei Ohtani will start seeing better results for his efforts as he steps in against San Diego Padres starter Michael King. He joins Corbin Carroll and Drake Baldwin to round out our MLB home run predictions.

Keep reading for my MLB picks for Monday, May 18. 

Best MLB home run props today

Home run pick: Corbin Carroll (+620)

Corbin Carroll has been red-hot lately. He's batting .421 over the last seven days, and he just smoked two home runs in the series finale against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. While Carroll only has seven bombs overall this season, he's clubbed three this month, and tonight's matchup is an intriguing one for the outfielder.

The San Francisco Giants send Robbie Ray to the hill, who is HR-prone at times. He's already given up 10 long balls in 2026. Although he only has one homer versus southpaws, Carroll is batting .414 vs left-handed hurlers. 

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBCSBA, DBACKS.TV

Home run pick: Drake Baldwin (+434)

Drake Baldwin is emerging as one of the top power-hitting catchers in the big leagues. The 25-year-old is hitting .301 with 13 home runs, which ranks eighth overall across the Majors. Baldwin has smacked three bombs across his previous five games, and he also has four hits in his last three appearances. 

The Atlanta Braves are on the road tonight to take on the Miami Marlins, and Baldwin has cracked seven HRs away from home. He's just 1-for-5 lifetime against Max Meyer, but the righty just gave up two long balls in his last outing. 

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Braves.Vision, Marlins.TV

Home run pick: Shohei Ohtani (+304)

Shohei Ohtani is off to a bit of a slow start at the plate, hitting only .258 with seven home runs. But there are signs of him heating up. Ohtani has five hits and seven RBI across his last two games, finishing 3-for-5 on Sunday, and 2-for-4 on Saturday with a double and a triple. He's jumping on everything at the moment. 

Ohtani will be licking his chops ahead of tonight's matchup. The Los Angeles Dodgers take on the San Diego Padres, who hand Michael King the ball. That's a welcome sight for Ohtani, who is 6-for-14 lifetime against him with three bombs. 

And in spite of the underwhelming results (for him), Ohtani ranks in the 90th percentile or better in barrel rate, average exit velocity, and expected slugging.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SportsNet LA, PadresTV

Today’s HR parlay

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In the last eight days, three different pitchers made their Dodgers debut.

On May 10, Wyatt Mills appeared in his first major league game since 2022, and pitched thrice more since. Charlie Barnes was called up Friday, pitched in two games in his two days, then was optioned to Triple-A on Sunday. Chayce McDermott closed out the ninth inning of Sunday’s blowout win in Anaheim in his first game wearing Dodgers blue.

The Dodgers are up to 23 pitchers used this year, and that’s before newcomer Eric Lauer, who was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday and will be activated at some point in the next couple of days.

Twenty-three pitchers is a lot through 47 games, but it’s part of a trend in baseball in recent years, with roster churn at an all-time high. Five major league teams have used more than the Dodgers this year, for instance.

The Dodgers in 2021 set a franchise record with 39 different pitchers used, then matched it two years later. They got to 40 pitchers in 2024, and used exactly 40 pitchers in 2025 as well. Here’s how many pitchers those teams used through 47 games:

• 2021: 22 pitchers (remember Mike Kickham?)
• 2022: 26 pitchers (en route to using only 31 pitchers for the year)
• 2023: 22 pitchers (Tyler Cyr, hello)
• 2024: 25 pitchers (Connor Brogdon, anyone?)
• 2025: 27 pitchers (Lou Trivino had only just begun)
• 2026: 23 pitchers

With over 70 percent of the season remaining, let’s get some predictions: How many pitchers will the Dodgers use during the 2026 season?

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The Detroit Tigers look for just their third win in 13 games when they host the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night.

Cleveland leads the AL Central thanks to picking up five wins in a six-game span. However, my Guardians vs. Tigers predictions are fading the visitors withSlade Cecconi taking the bump.

Here are my MLB picks for May 18.

Who will win Guardians vs Tigers today: Tigers moneyline (-145)

Slade Cecconi is getting pummeled by opposing hitters. His 5.60 ERA and 5.05 FIP rank among the worst in the majors for pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched.

Opponents have posted a .595 xSLG vs. Cecconi's fastball this year. He’s also performed far worse on the road, with a 6.60 ERA vs. a 3.60 home ERA. 

Framber Valdez has put up quality numbers in seven of nine starts. He’s facing a Cleveland Guardians lineup ranked 21st in hard-hit rate and eighth in ground-ball rate vs. RHP over the past two weeks.   

Guardians vs Tigers Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-128)

Once the starters give way to the bullpens, scoring will get much more difficult. 

Over the past two weeks, the Detroit Tigers rank 29th in hard-hit rate, and dead last in HR/FB rate and wRC+. Cleveland’s pen ranks second in K-rate in that span.

Detroit’s pen has forced a league-high 55.2% GB rate during that timeframe. That’ll come in handy, seeing as the Guardians have posted the fourth-highest GB/FB rate while ranking 25th in BABIP. 

Cleveland punished the poor-pitching Reds this weekend, but will regress to the mean today for another Under. 

Guardians vs Tigers odds

• Moneyline: Guardians +138 | Tigers -144
• Run line: Guardians +1.5 (-156) | Tigers -1.5 (+150)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+117) | Under 8.5 (-122)

Guardians vs Tigers trend

The Tigers have hit the Under in 7 of their last 10 games (+3.70 Units / 34% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Guardians vs. Tigers.

How to watch Guardians vs Tigers and game info

Guardians vs Tigers latest injuries

Guardians vs Tigers weather

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At the start of the 1929 season, the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians innovated baseball, starting the season with numbers on the back of their players jerseys for easy identification. While numbers had been experimented with prior to the season, they were mostly smaller and located on the arms, meant primarily for umpires and the official scorers. The numbers on the back of the jersey were for fans in the stands to clearly tell who each player was, a move that scorecard salesmen had been pushing for years.

Some current baseball traditions remain from that era. The Yankees famously assigned numbers based on the lineup, with the backup catchers taking 9-10 respectively. Pitchers and bench players wore higher numbers, which is why pitchers generally don’t take single digit numbers. Blake Snell (no.4) became the first pitcher to play in the All-Star game and win a Cy Young award while wearing a single digit number in MLB history in 2018. Higher numbers were long assigned to fringe invitees to Spring Training or marginal players, although that tradition has declined sharply over the last twenty years.

0 and 00 is the least assigned player number below 50 in the history of the MLB. To date, no team has ever retired 0 or 00. The reasons are relatively simple. Youth baseball is loathe to give out 0 or 00 because it is easy to apply a derogatory connotation to it, and many MLB players chose their number based on earlier team numbers from their youth. However, that seems to be changing recently. In 2026, 10 players wore 0 or 00 at the major league level, down from 13 in 2025. In fact, more players have worn 0 or 00 since 2020 than in other 91 seasons combined.

Who is the most successful player to wear 0 or 00 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays?

WWIB: Andrés Giménez 2025-2026 (1.3 bWAR)

Giménez was a former Mets top prospect who was traded to Cleveland as part of a package for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco in 2021. He had a breakout season in 2022, hitting .297/.371/.466 while earning a Gold Glove at second. It prompted the Guardians to sign him to a backloaded 7 yr/$106.5M contract in the offseason. He won two more Gold Gloves, but his offense significantly declined. The Jays acquired him and Nick Sandlin in December 2024 for Spencer Horwitz and Nick Mitchell. The move was highly questioned at the time, especially considering that the main issue the 2024 last place Jays suffered from was a lack of offense. Giménez’ offensive woes continued in 2025 but his defense was as good as advertised. When Bo Bichette was injured following a collision at home plate against the Yankees on Sept 6, Giménez became the primary shortstop for the remainder of the regular season and the post-season. Many Jays commentators saw the Giménez trade as a harbinger that the club was ready to move on from Bichette, and with the emergence of Ernie Clement as an elite defender and everyday starter, the Jays were able to deploy elite defense up the middle. Giménez has three more years and a club option remaining on his contract.   

Other notable Jays to wear 0 or 00 were Taijuan Walker in 2020 (1.0 bWAR), Al Oliver in 1985 (-0.6 bWAR) and Cliff Johnson also in 1985 (-0.1 bWAR).

Great news: Gavin Sheets is not (any longer) on the White Sox. He can’t hurt you anymore. 

Bad news: If you’re reading this, you’re probably going to be watching some more Mariners baseball.

If you told me in January that the Mariners would be one game out of the Wild Card and just two games back of the division in mid-May, I would have been a little disappointed but still feeling pretty decent. It has, instead, been a remarkable case of horrific process and exceptionally weird results. There has been very little pleasure in this season and the most consistent thing they have to offer is their baffling inconsistency. Fresh off a truly brutal sweep at the hands of their most fearsome rivals, Seattle welcomes the plucky White Sox into T-Mobile Park. The chance to rise to .500 will have to wait, but as we’ve learned over these past 50 years, there is always the possibility of new horrors. 

Game	Time	Mariners Starter	White Sox Starter	Mariners Win%	White Sox Win%
Game 1	Monday, May 18 | 6:40 pm	RHP Bryan Woo	LHP Noah Schultz	65.1%	34.9%
Game 2	Tuesday, May 19 | 6:40 pm	RHP Luis Castillo / RHP Bryce Miller	LHP Anthony Kay	61.3%	38.7%
Game 3	Wednesday, May 20 | 1:10 pm	RHP Emerson Hancock	RHP Sean Burke	59.7%	40.3%

Overview	White Sox	Mariners	Edge
Batting (wRC+)	107 (3rd in AL)	104 (4th in AL)	White Sox
Fielding (FRV)	3 (5th)	-13 (14th)	White Sox
Starting Pitching (FIP-)	102 (11th)	98 (9th)	Mariners
Bullpen (FIP-)	107 (12th)	87 (2nd)	Mariners

These are not your 2025 White Sox. Nor your 2024 White Sox. Nor your 2023 White Sox. Would you call them “good”? Well, that’s entirely up to you. But they do have higher upside and much more interest than they have for the vast majority of this decade. You saw that when they wriggled their way into a series win against the M’s barely a week and a half ago. They’re coming off of a walk-off win against the Cubs to secure the Windy Winsome Cup or whatever they pitched the Chicago rivalry to be called (it’s the Crosstown Classic), are one game back in their division and would be leading in the West. Something, something, no religion. 

Player	Position	Bats	PA	K%	BB%	ISO	wRC+
Sam Antonacci	LF	L	109	12.8%	6.4%	0.132	130
Munetaka Murakami	1B	L	199	33.2%	18.1%	0.327	155
Miguel Vargas	3B	R	198	16.2%	15.2%	0.259	146
Colson Montgomery	SS	L	188	28.7%	9.0%	0.287	136
Chase Meidroth	2B	R	189	23.3%	10.1%	0.110	101
Andrew Benintendi	DH	L	146	28.8%	7.5%	0.153	92
Jarred Kelenic	RF	L	44	27.3%	11.4%	0.103	88
Tristan Peters	CF	L	118	22.0%	7.6%	0.086	90
Drew Romo	C	S	47	21.3%	17.0%	0.368	147

There’s Munetaka Murakami, of course. Transcendent Surf’s Up penguin that he is. Their 2021 first rounder, Colson Montgomery has been playing like how you’d hope a first rounder would. Miguel Vargas has found his stride and may be the platonic ideal of the White Sox aesthetic. Sam Antonacci is running with that Team Italy energy and is on base constantamente. Tristan Peters is having a career year (it’s all relative), Andrew Benintendi is there for a millennial jump scare, and I will not address Chase Meidroth, because it’s important to have a for-no-good-reason nemesis. 

As you’ll see below, it’s the offense that continues to be a primary driver, and drive they will. I’m just hoping they don’t run over Seattle’s bedraggled pitching corps. 

Probable Pitchers

Updated Stuff+ Explainer 

• Stuff+ scores for Mariners starters

Pitcher	IP	K%	BB%	HR/FB%	GB%	ERA	FIP
Noah Schultz	29.1	20.8%	16.8%	5.9%	35.1%	4.91	4.36
Bryan Woo	53	22.3%	4.7%	7.5%	30.3%	3.91	3.47

Pitch	Usage vRHB	Usage vLHB	Velocity	Stuff+	Whiff+	BIP+	xwOBA
Four-seam	38.7%	21.7%	95.4	96	122	132	0.317
Sinker	28.7%	52.2%	95.3	82	68	121	0.351
Cutter	21.0%	26.1%	89.5	101
Changeup	11.6%	0.0%	89.7	82
Sweeper	26.8%	63.0%	82.9	116	98	94	0.341

Noah Schultz entered the season as the White Sox top pitching prospect. The organization had handled him pretty carefully after drafting him out of high school in the first round of the 2022 draft. He’s also dealt with shoulder, forearm, and knee injuries over the last few years that have stunted his development a bit. The scouting report is impressive, however. He throws from a low slot and gets a ton of horizontal movement on all of his pitches. That doesn’t help his fastball, which grades out merely average, but his sweeper has flashed plus plus potential. All those injuries have taken a toll on his ability to command his repertoire, but the raw stuff looks promising and he’s got a very high ceiling if he can put everything together.

Pitcher	IP	K%	BB%	HR/FB%	GB%	ERA	FIP
Anthony Kay	41	15.3%	10.0%	12.5%	41.4%	4.61	5.49
Luis Castillo	44	21.3%	7.9%	12.3%	34.1%	6.34	4.57

Pitch	Usage vRHB	Usage vLHB	Velocity	Stuff+	Whiff+	BIP+	xwOBA
Four-seam	35.3%	29.4%	95.7	91	64	87	0.467
Sinker	14.9%	47.9%	95.0	112	137	142	0.377
Cutter	23.7%	21.0%	91.0	99	77	142	0.425
Changeup	23.7%	0.0%	85.8	111	85	104	0.248
Slider	2.4%	1.7%	84.4	109
Sweeper	19.8%	52.1%	82.6	109	84	86	0.330

From a previous series preview:

After a few years of riding the Triple-A shuttle for the Blue Jays, Anthony Kay signed a two-year deal with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of NBP. He excelled in Japan and returned to the US this offseason, signing a two-year deal with Chicago. He developed a sinker and a sweeper overseas, giving him a much deeper repertoire to keep batters off balance. Unfortunately, that revamped arsenal hasn’t helped him find much success against batters this year. The stuff models really like his sinker and a few of his secondary pitches, but he’s throwing a thoroughly mediocre four-seam fastball 30% of the time right now. That pitch is getting absolutely crushed. He simply isn’t working deep enough into counts to properly utilize his secondary pitches, his strike out rate has cratered to just 14.0%, and his ERA and FIP are both approaching six.

The Mariners haven’t officially announced their starter for Tuesday’s game, but it’s expected that Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller will combine to pitch the majority of the game in piggyback fashion. I suspect Castillo will be given the “start” and work through the lineup once before handing things off to Miller.

Pitcher	IP	K%	BB%	HR/FB%	GB%	ERA	FIP
Sean Burke	48.1	20.3%	5.4%	8.3%	36.8%	4.10	3.61
Emerson Hancock	53.2	27.1%	4.8%	14.5%	44.6%	3.02	3.62

Pitch	Usage vRHB	Usage vLHB	Velocity	Stuff+	Whiff+	BIP+	xwOBA
Four-seam	29.9%	43.1%	94.2	112	83	101	0.322
Sinker	21.6%	9.3%	94.3	89	48	170	0.315
Cutter	2.1%	6.9%	90.0	86
Changeup	0.3%	5.8%	85.8	87
Curveball	14.9%	29.4%	79.4	87	67	108	0.298
Slider	31.1%	5.4%	86.8	90	96	105	0.299

From a previous series preview:

Sean Burke showed some flashes of promise in his first full season in the big leagues last year. His 4.22 ERA was perfectly acceptable for a rebuilding Chicago club, though his 4.92 FIP wasn’t nearly as encouraging. Still, there was a stretch in May and June where he ran a 3.33 ERA and a 4.06 FIP across nine starts. Things are looking up for Burke this year. He’s dramatically improved his command and cut his walk rate by more than half, down to 5.1%. He doesn’t strike out that many guys, but simply reducing the amount of traffic on the bases has helped him dramatically improve his topline results.

---

The Big Picture:

Team	W-L	W%	Games Behind	Run Diff	Recent Form
Athletics	23-23	0.500	—	-13	W-L-W-L-L
Rangers	22-24	0.478	1.0	+3	W-W-L-L-W
Mariners	22-26	0.458	2.0	+6	L-W-L-L-L
Astros	19-29	0.396	5.0	-51	W-L-W-W-L
Angels	16-31	0.340	7.5	-60	L-L-L-L-L

The Mariners didn’t fall too far behind the A’s and the Rangers because those two teams lost their rivalry weekend series too. Nothing really changed in the AL West standings beyond Texas gaining a single game to jump over the Mariners into second place. The Athletics will head to Anaheim to face the miserable Angels this week while the Rangers head to Colorado to face the Rockies. The Astros will look to build off their series win against their cross-state rival in a series against the Twins in Minnesota this week.

After winning the first 2 games of the series against the Orioles, the Nationals squandered their opportunity to push above the .500 mark in a 7-3 loss in the series finale. They now have another chance to accomplish that, as they’re set to square off against the New York Mets in a 4-game series.

The Nats took the last 2 games of their 3-game series against New York to end April, and will now look to replicate that result this week. Facing a Mets team that still sits 6 games below .500, Washington undoubtedly enters as the premier squad. The Mets have, however, won 5 of their last 6 games, and there’s more than enough talent on their roster to make for an intriguing mid-week matchup in the Nation’s capital.

Game 1 – Monday 6:45 PM EST

WSH: RHP Jake Irvin (1-4, 5.91 ERA)

NYM: RHP Christian Scott (0-0, 3.45 ERA)

Irvin’s subpar month of May continued in his last start, surrendering 5 earned runs over 3.0 innings against the Cincinnati Reds. His ERA has crept back up close to 6.00, and well-timed offensive explosions have been the only thing keeping him from having a worse record than 1-4. It’s odd to call this a “get-right game” when looking at the Mets’ lineup on paper, but their struggles could give him a chance to get him going in a good direction.

The young Scott hasn’t worked deep into games, with just one start eclipsing 5.0 innings so far in 2026. Run prevention has been a strength so far, however, with the most runs he’s allowed in a start being just 2 against the Tigers and Angels. He’s found a solid blend of missing bats and working around hitters’ sweet spot, with his 93rd percentile Barrel% and 84th percentile K% two pillars the Nats will have to overcome.

Game 2 – Tuesday 6:45 PM EST

WSH: LHP Foster Griffin (4-2, 3.53 ERA)

NYM: RHP Nolan McLean (2-2, 2.92 ERA)

Griffin now faces the first bounce-back chance of his MLB return after getting shelled by the Reds, in his first outing where he failed to reach 5.0 innings and gave up 9 runs. The advanced metrics certainly don’t support the southpaw, but the results have been there outside of his last start. Overall inconsistency with the Washington rotation makes his return to form even more important, making this a must-see appearance for the 30-year-old.

One of MLB’s top prospects has lived up to the hype and then some, replicating the success he showed after his call-up in late 2025. He’s racked up strikeouts, has only allowed 3 runs 3 times, and maintains an ERA below the 3.00 mark. He’s emerged as one of the best starters in baseball with a disgustingly good arsenal, and the Nats’ lineup will need to get to him early if they want a legitimate chance of winning.

Game 3 – Wednesday 6:45 PM EST

WSH: RHP Zack Littell (2-4, 6.10 ERA)

NYM: TBD

Littell was stellar against Baltimore, delivering a much-needed scoreless outing for the first time in his 2026 campaign. He let just 4 batters reach base, cruising to 5.0 shutout innings en route to his second win of May. He’s now coming off 3 consecutive starts where he’s been at least serviceable, and extending that streak to 4 would be a phenomenal sign for the rotation.

An unfortunate injury to starter Clay Holmes has the Mets’ standard rotation fully off-schedule, and they currently have no projected starter for either of the last 2 games of this series. Whether they call someone up, utilize an opener, or go to a full-on bullpen game remains to be seen, but it will be a patchwork solution for New York no matter how they approach it.

Game 4 – Thursday 4:05 PM EST

WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli (2-2, 4.05 ERA)

NYM: TBD

Cavalli’s frustrating season continued with a mixed bag against Baltimore, where he continued to flash swing-and-miss stuff but dealt with some ill-timed hits that saw his line finish with 3 earned runs in 6.0 innings. Searching for consistency has been the theme of his season, and it’s not something he has found on a regular basis. Finding results no matter how he goes about it should be the goal for Cavalli and the Nats’ coaching staff, and Thursday will be another test of his mettle.

Sal Stewart was drafted by the wrong team. He was taken by the Cincinnati Reds with the 32nd overall pick of the 2022 draft and has now graduated to become their starting first baseman

But this guy would have been an instant fan favorite in Philadelphia. First off, I have a feeling Phillies fan would love to root for a guy named Sal, even if he is of Cuban descent, and not Italian. If you recall, former backup catcher Sal Fasano had his own fan club and that was based on nothing more than his name and mustache:

Happy 51st birthday to longtime catcher and prodigious mustache owner Sal Fasano, who I saw play for the Columbus Clippers as a kid. Phillies fans started a cult following for him called "Sal's Pals." He probably wins the award for "baseball player most likely to be a Mob boss." pic.twitter.com/Vd4NvyXtRh

— Ben Blotner (@BrainofBennyB) August 10, 2022

And look at this guy:

There’s a face a lot of Phillies fans could get behind.

Prior to this season, he was rated as the 26th best prospect in baseball and got off to a strong start, with a .373 on-base percentage and nine home runs in April, earning him NL Rookie of the Month honors.

Sal Stewart is crushing it this season! This rookie is making a serious case for Rookie of the Year with his standout performance. #MLB#RookieOfTheYearpic.twitter.com/b6AszdDCA9

— The Skippers View Podcast (@SkippsviewPod) April 30, 2026

But May has been a different story. He’s batting .175 with just one home run so far this month. He seemed to break out of the slump a bit on Sunday with two hits, except he also helped kill a Reds rally by getting picked off second base.

Sal Stewart man… you can't get picked off there screwing around.

This isn't weekend travel baseball. Dancing around off 2nd base is just stupid.

— Lewis, William… William (@WillLewis_1976) May 17, 2026

Player development in baseball is rarely linear, but the Reds have to be hoping that Stewart’s line starts pointing upward again soon.

Pennant year song battle

It’s a Mistake by Men at Work wins yet another week, taking down You and I.

To celebrate the Phillies getting back to the right side of the .500 mark, this week’s contender is Right Round by Flo Rida from 2009.

Vote for the winner:

Additional thought about the series

The Reds are two games above .500, but that’s due to a blistering month of April in which they went 17-9. Since then, they’ve cooled off considerably and appear to be playing down to the level of talent on the roster.

Elly De La Cruz might have the easiest path to the All-Star Game of any player in baseball because he seems to be much better than every other offensive player on the team. JJ Bleday is hitting well after starting the season in the minor leagues, but on the other hand, it’s JJ Bleday. Maybe the former top prospect is finally putting it together, but two organizations have already given up on him.

Wasn’t sure about the signing at first, but he has quickly grown on me and I’m impressed by his growth with the Reds https://t.co/J6Id3JaBq2

— Ricky Logan (@ItsRickyLogan) May 17, 2026

Some Phillies fans wanted the team to sign Eugenio Suarez in the offseason, but he was underwhelming (.663 OPS) even before he went on the IL in late April.

Joe Giglio on the Phillies missing out on Free Agent 3B Eugenio Suarez: “This was the final nail in the coffin for this is the team entering spring training.” pic.twitter.com/6JUjUoVLzX

— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) February 2, 2026

The pitching staff has been a weakness, and the team ERA is second highest in baseball behind only the Rockies. Every starter save rookie Chase Burns has disappointed to some degree, and the bullpen has been bad. They had optimism about the relief corps headed into the season, but it’s been a complete disaster since closer Emilio Pagan went on the IL with a hamstring injury.

The Reds bullpen in the series versus Cleveland:

11 IP, 13 H, 15 R (14 ER), 14 BB, 4 HR

Good for a 11.45 ERA and a 2.45 WHIP. pic.twitter.com/ekJKyfuxQn

— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) May 17, 2026

The Phillies took advantage of a bad Pirates bullpen in their last series, and if they find themselves down again, they should have an opportunity to make another comeback. (Although it would be preferable that they do not find themselves trailing by multiple runs to begin with.)