Category: MLB

Ryan Clifford

Week: 6 G, 23 AB, .391/.440/.783, 9 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 4 K, 1/1 SB (Triple-A)

2026 Season: 37 G, 131 AB, .252/.327/.473, 33 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 15 BB, 53 K, 3/5 SB, .361 BABIP (Triple-A)

Ryan Clifford logged 9 hits this past week, over 25% of his total on the season. The slugger is one of the streakiest minor league hitters the Mets have had in years, maybe even decades. When he is cold, he can be a black hole in the lineup, incapable of even having productive at-bats like moving runners over or plating sac flies. When he is hot, he can single-handedly win games, or entire series’; Syracuse lost this week’s series against Rochester 4 games to 2, so maybe next week.

Given how moribund the Mets currently are and how poorly David Stearns handled the first base situation over the off-season, now would be the perfect opportunity for Clifford to make his case and force his name into the conversation. Unfortunately, Clifford is not having that kind of season, and truthfully, may simply not be a player who has the necessary tools and abilities to play in the majors. There have been plenty of players in baseball history who had light tower power, blazing speed, a cannon for an arm, or an elite glove, or some combination of some or all of those tools, but if you can’t hit, you can’t hit.

Generously, Ryan Clifford has a below-average hit tool, if not something considered below that; he has not hit above .240 since 2023, when he hit .271 in 58 games in the late spring/early summer for the High-A Ashville Tourists just prior to being traded to the Mets. Since then, he hit .201 in 63 games with the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2023-2024, .237 in 203 with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in 2024-2025, and, interestingly enough, .237 in 71 games with the Syracuse Mets from his promotion there in late 2025 until Sunday night, all while striking out roughly around 30% of the time.

If transcribed 1:1 at the major league level, a .240 batting average with Clifford’s strong walk rate and his obvious power would be more than palatable, but there’s the rub: these things do not get transcribed 1:1 from the upper levels of the minor league to the majors.

Mark Vientos, the most successful of the most recent group of Mets prospects to make it to the majors, hit .281 during his 72 games in Double-A and .285 in his 210 games in Triple-A; he is currently a .239 hitter in 345 MLB games/1199 at-bats. Brett Baty hit .299 in 129 Double-A games and .273 in 97 Triple-A games; he is currently a .229 hitter in 336 MLB games/1048 at-bats. Ronny Mauricio hit .259 in 136 Double-A games and .305 in 140 Triple-A games; he is a .233 hitter in 97 MLB games/301 at-bats at present.

I’m not really sure what kind of baseball future Ryan Clifford is going to have, and maybe I’m being unfairly pessimistic as I’ve been accused of being by others in the past, but I don’t really know if I see it, even when I squint. Here’s hoping I’m wrong.

Jonathan Santucci

Week: 1 G (1 GS), 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K (Double-A)

2026 Season: 6 G (6 GS), 27.1 IP, 18 H, 15 R, 14 ER (4.61 ERA), 17 BB, 38 K, .278 BABIP (High-A)

We are a month-plus into the season now, and this was Jonathan Santucci’s first real actually good game. I wouldn’t say that the former Blue Devil has been bad, but he certainly hasn’t been good, either. Coming into his start this past week, the left-hander had a 5.57 ERA in 21.0 innings over five starts, with 14 hits allowed, 17 walks, and 31 strikeouts.

Given the strong strikeout rate and BAA, Santucci’s stuff has not backed up, but he is not as sharp as he was last season, when he posted a 2.52 ERA in 50.0 innings with the Rumble Ponies. Command has been Santucci’s biggest problem going back to his college days, and that has been his biggest issue so far this season, an issue that he largely avoided last year; with 17 walks, he has virtually reached the same total he had last season while pitching for Binghamton (18), but in roughly 20 fewer innings. The left-hander generally has not looked as sharp the second or third time through the order, wearing himself out and/or giving batters a look at all of his pitches because of his inability to put himself in favorable counts early, and his stat splits for the fourth inning and beyond bear this out- his hit rate increases, his walk rate increases, and his strikeout rate shrinks.

With that said, coincidentally or perhaps not, like Jonah Tong, Santucci has been quite unlucky in that the relievers who are coming in to replace him are allowing the baserunners he put on base to score at astronomically high rates. Over the course of those above-mentioned six starts prior to his start this past week, Santucci has an abysmal 60.3% LOB%, roughly 10-15% below the major league average; with his most recent start last week included, that number climbs to 64.9%, roughly 5-10% below the major league average. Having allowed 14 earned runs so far this season in 27.1 innings, if the left-hander’s LOB% was adjusted to be the MLB average, he would currently have a 3.95 to 4.28 ERA.

Players of the Week 2026

Week One/Two (March 27-April 5): Hayden Senger/Cam Tilly

Week Three (April 7-April 12): A.J. Ewing/Christian Scott

Week Four (April 14-April 18): Randy Guzman/Jose Chirinos

Week Five (April 21-April 26): A.J. Ewing/Channing Austin

Week Six (April 30-May 3): A.J. Ewing/Jonah Tong

When the final out is recorded following Game No. 162 of the 2026 MLB season, when the records are finalized and the statistical ledgers are put to bed, we will be comforted in knowing exactly what saved Alec Bohm’s year.

After starting April in the most dreadful slump imaginable on the field while dealing with what one can only assume is a nightmarish legal dispute with his parents off the field, interim manager Don Mattingly gave Bohm two nights off.

No baseball on Thursday. No baseball on Friday.

Entering Saturday, Bohm dragged a .159 batting average, .227 on-base percentage and .433 OPS around his neck like an anchor. The Phillies were running out of options. He was in danger of losing his starting spot to Edmundo Sosa or some combination of minor leaguers who would be called up to replace him.

Then, Elmo entered the picture.

After declaring “Elmo wants to see a home run,” to Tom McCarthy and John Kruk on the Phillies’ broadcast, Bohm stepped up to the plate and swatted a solo homer to left field, his first since Opening Day. He followed it up with a second dinger in his second at-bat and finished the day 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs in the Phils’ 9-3 victory.

On Sunday, Bohm didn’t exactly repeat those heroics, but did got 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in Sunday’s 6-0 whitewashing of Colorado.

Sometimes, a player needs a little something, even if it’s not real. For Bohm, who has seen nothing go right for him in 2026, why not attribute a turnaround to a furry little red muppet?

Clearly, Bohm is entering the Elmo Stage of this current iteration of the Phillies.

Whatever it takes, dude. Whatever it takes.

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers at least had a lead on Monday, which counts as progress for the funk they are in at the moment. It was their first lead since Friday, when they scratched together three runs against Chris Sale in what felt like one of their best wins of the season so far. But they’ve laid three legs in a row since.

After losing 7-2 on consecutive days to finish out the series against the Atlanta Braves, the Dodgers fell 9-3 on Monday night to the San Francisco Giants, a game that was tied 3-3 after six frames.

Alex Vesia gave up three hits and a walk while recording only one out in a three-run seventh, and then Wyatt Mills walked four and hit a batter in a three-run ninth that made the score more lopsided.

The 6-3 deficit would have been enough, shocking as it was facing the worst offense in Major League Baseball. But the Dodgers offense can’t seem to get much going, and were held to no more than three runs for the ninth time in their last 12 games.

“The effort, the focus is there, I thought the fight was there. You know, we’re going to come out of it,” manager Dave Roberts said Monday night. “It’s frustrating while you’re in it, but we just have too much talent and too much desire to keep doing this for much longer.”

Three straight blowout losses — by five runs or more — ties a Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record, last done on June 12-14, 2008.

The Dodgers have their two best starting pitchers going in the next two games, trying to lower the threshold of victory for an offense that hasn’t been consistently good for several weeks. Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets the ball on Tuesday, and Shohei Ohtani pitches on Wednesday. Ohtani the hitter is having his worst stretch in a while, his .404 slugging percentage on the season is his worst 38-game stretch within any season since 2021 with the Angels. Ohtani won’t hit in one of the final two games of the series, Roberts said Monday night.

Ohtani’s not alone in struggling at the plate. Teoscar Hernández has been fighting it for some time and didn’t have an extra-base hit for three weeks before Roberts moved him down to eighth in the lineup on Monday night, the first time Hernández hit that low since August 7, 2020 while with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“I think he’s missing pitches that he should hit, whether it’s fastballs or spin. I think that he’s patient at sometimes the wrong time,” Roberts said before Monday’s game. “He’s working through his mechanics, that the hitting guys are trying to work through diligently. He hasn’t been successful, he hasn’t really hit left-handed pitching in quite some time, which is kind of a surprise for me.”

Hernández is hitting just .233/.410/.300 with a 113 wRC+ against southpaws this season, well below his career .273/.331/.542, 135 wRC+ line against left-handers. He didn’t face any lefties on Monday, but did double, single, and walk, his best game in a while.

The Dodgers can’t simply hit everyone eighth or ninth to try to get them going. At some point, the big hitters are going to have to hit big.

Some of the biggest stars in baseball make up the early favorites for the National League’s Cy Young Award. 

In FanDuel Sportsbook’s National League Cy Young 2026 market, the list is headed by Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Paul Skenes (+210) — who is hoping to win back-to-back seasons after claiming his first in 2025. 

Skenes is off to another solid start with a 5-2 record, 2.36 ERA, 46 strikeouts and a league-leading 0.71 WHIP. But there are concerns about Skenes’ limited innings to start the season, with many outings ending before five innings.  

After Skenes comes an avalanche of elite arms still in the mix after a strong opening stretch. Philadelphia Phillies lefty Cristopher Sanchez (+390) is behind Skenes on the heels of two dominant starts. Sanchez allowed zero runs and only nine hits over 15 innings in his last two outings — moving to 4-2 on the season in the process. His 67 strikeouts are second in baseball and Sanchez’s 2.11 ERA — eighth in baseball — is notable as well. After signing a six-year contract extension before the season, Sanchez is delivering so far for the Phillies.  

Winning the NL Cy Young in 2024, Atlanta Braves veteran left-hander Chris Sale (+500) is off to another hot start with a 6-2 record. Sale leads baseball with seven quality starts while staying close to the top in ERA (11th at 2.20), strikeouts (10th at 57) and WHIP (4th at 0.88). Sale’s durability is a concern in his age-37 season; he’s only pitched more than 158 innings in a season once since 2018. But the season Sale did, he took home Cy Young honors. So if he stays healthy, Sale should be a strong contender once again. 

Shohei Ohtani (+700) is used to racking up hardware as a reigning three-time MVP. Thanks to a solid start on the mound, the Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star is also entrenched in the early Cy Young race. In six starts, Ohtani has a 0.97 ERA and 42 strikeouts over 37 innings — looking dominant at times. 

Similar to Sale’s candidacy, Ohtani’s usage on the mound will play a major factor. Ohtani has never been a full-time two-way player since signing with the Dodgers as the organization brings him along slowly as a pitcher following a right elbow UCL tear in 2023. 

Ohtani’s teammate in Los Angeles, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+850), is also still worth watching in the Cy Young race. Yamamoto finished third in Cy Young voting behind Skenes and Sanchez in 2025 and is off to another strong start. 

After the core group of candidates, the secondary list of Cy Young candidates includes some of baseball’s best young power arms. Milwaukee Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski (+1500), New York Mets rookie Nolan McLean (+1600) and Cincinnati Reds starter Chase Burns (+1900) are all worth monitoring over the summer. 

Bryan Woo pitched the worst game of his career on April 25th and followed it up with another bottom-10 performance his next time out against the Royals. Combining the two outings, he struck out just three batters while surrendering 16 hits and six home runs. Six! So a lot of Mariners fans breathed a sigh of relief when Woo completed his turn against Atlanta on Wednesday with a line of 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 9 K. But personally, I’m still holding my breath.

Here’s what’s bothering me:

Even for Bryan Woo, 66% is a lot of four-seamers. To be sure, he always throws a lot of fastballs, but he usually balances those four-seamers with a hefty dose of two-seamers. The seven sinkers Woo threw on Wednesday is the second-fewest he’s thrown in a game, ever.

Has his sinker become a stinker? Run value would sure tell you so. After running solidly positive numbers on the pitch over his first three seasons, this year, his sinker has collapsed to being worth -2.2 runs per 100 pitches.

And my concern has been magnified by the fact that the Mariners clearly see this issue too. Why else would they call for so few on Wednesday? I mentioned that game featured his second-fewest sinkers ever. Well, the third-fewest came in Woo’s prior game, when he threw seven in his first two innings, but just three over the entire rest of his outing. The team sees the bad results too, and they don’t think the problem is just going to go away.

To be sure, the plan to simply dial the sinker way back did work on Wednesday. Once. But scripture reminds us that band-aids don’t fix bullet holes.

So what’s up with the sinker? Sinkers aren’t really meant to induce whiffs, but Woo’s is generating the lowest swing-and-miss rate of his career. Rather, pitchers tend to use sinkers to induce weak contact. And by that score, it’s been a bit of a fiasco. Combining his first three seasons, Woo allowed an xwOBAcon (expected damage on contact) of .322, whereas this year, that’s up to .419. It’s like he turned Gleyber Torres into Bobby Witt Jr.

It’s hard to say why. The pitch shape really hasn’t changed that much. The velo’s the same, and he’s only getting the teensy-weensiest less run on it. The biggest difference is that he’s getting about an inch more drop, but that’s still a change of less than 5%. If you can spot the difference between the two pitches in this video, you’ve got a sharper eye than I do.

While the shape has stayed pretty consistent, his command has faltered. His sinker works best when he throws it toward the bottom rail, but he’s been leaving a lot of them belt-high this season, which is consistent with guys getting the barrel to it more often.

Maybe the issue is that he’s lost conviction in throwing the pitch. That’d help square the circle between the fact that he made a meaningful change in his pitch mix and his comments after the game that zeroed in on the mental game. “It felt like the last two starts, just trying to do too much, think too much, dive into scouting reports too much,” he said. “My best brand of baseball is . . . when it’s time to go on the mound, just go be. And I feel like I kind of got away from that the last two starts.”

Whatever the reason, the deterioration of his sinker is a big deal because arsenals are complementary. His four-seamer is a great pitch, but it needs something to play off of to keep hitters from sitting on it. Even the truly exceptional pitchers who only really needed one pitch to thrive were relievers who didn’t have to face guys more than once. Woo’s arsenal has really needed that sinker to contrast with his four-seamer.

Solutions are hard to come by. 

Despite how the Mariners brass talks about it, his breaking balls aren’t that good. He’s often gotten decent results with them, as he did against the Braves, but I think that’s an effect of using them sparingly. Hitters aren’t ready for those breaking balls. It’s not that the pitches themselves are all that good.

One flag to plant here is that his changeup has looked better than ever, and maybe that can be the answer. But I’ve been saying that developing a better changeup is a good idea for Woo for years, and it’s just 34 changeups so far, so I don’t want to get over my skis on that.

Another possible answer is that the issue really is what Woo hinted at: that it’s a question of throwing with conviction. That seems eminently fixable.

And even if there is no answer, I can’t dismiss the possibility that this just doesn’t matter at all. He did just fine against the Braves—one of the best lineups in baseball—while throwing four-seamers two-thirds of the time. And I’ve long since learned not to doubt how Bryan Woo butters his bread. All this time it’s felt like it shouldn’t work, but it still did. Wombats poop in perfect cubes; some things are weird as hell and true anyway. That’s kind of Bryan Woo’s whole deal.

But I can’t help but worry that the one start against the Braves was a magic trick. The Braves weren’t sitting on the four-seamer yet. Why would they when it was the first time Woo had committed to that pitch so strongly? If that becomes the norm, the scouting report will get out in a hurry and who knows what happens next. Tonight’s test against Houston will tell us a lot. But until it’s over, I’m still holding my breath.

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The New York Yankees have lost four straight games and five of their last six as they face the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of a three-game series.

Strikeout-heavy pitchers like New York’s Will Warren have troubled the O’s this season, and my Yankees vs. Orioles predictions expect him to find similar success.

Find out why in my MLB picks for Tuesday, May 12.

Who will win Yankees vs Orioles today: Yankees -1.5 (+100)

If not for a questionable decision by Aaron Boone last night, we likely would have cashed on the New York Yankees run line. Maybe we wouldn’t get the value of this number today, though. 

Will Warren’s profile against this Baltimore Orioles team gives the Yankees run line value, and I’d play to -115.

His 91st percentile strikeout rate should play well against a team with the seventh-highest whiff rate in the sport. He had one of his best performances of the season earlier this year against Baltimore, pitching 6 1/3 innings and striking out nine, while allowing just one earned run.

I see similar dominance today. 

COVERS INTEL:Warren has just over a 4.8 walk-to-strikeout ratio this season, which is a big deal against a free-swinging Baltimore lineup.

Yankees vs Orioles Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-110)

While not officially confirmed, Trevor Rogers is expected to get the call for Baltimore tonight.

Rogers’ 83rd percentile hard-hit rate is a significant factor against New York. Simply put, when you’re able to limit the power swings of the Yankees, then the offense is much more pedestrian.

Even though I think they’ll score enough to win by multiple runs, Rogers should be able to keep their offense in check.

On the other side, Warren’s elite strikeout rate should navigate the Baltimore lineup effectively as we’ve noted above. I’d play this down to 8.0, with a projected run total of 7.9.

Yankees vs Orioles odds

• Moneyline: Yankees -165 | Orioles +139
• Run line: Yankees -1.5 (+105) | Orioles +1.5 (-120)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-110) | Under 8.5 (-110)

Yankees vs Orioles trend

The New York Yankees have hit the run line in 15 of their last 25 games (+7.05 Units / 26% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Orioles.

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In an apt metaphor for just how upside-down this season has been for the New York Mets, the team with MLB's highest payroll is hoping a minor-league prospect will help turn things around.

The Mets are set to promote outfielder A.J. Ewing to the roster after just 12 games at the Class AAA level, according to multiple media reports.

The 21-year-old Ewing, a fourth-round draft pick in 2024, is the team's No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

He began the 2026 season at Class AA Binghampton (New York), where he hit .349/.481/.571 over 18 games. That earned him a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse in late April. Now, he's set to join fellow rookie Carson Benge in the Mets outfield for Tuesday's game against the Detroit Tigers.

Josh Phelps turns 48 today.

Phelps was once considered one of the Blue Jays’ catchers of the future—except, as it turned out, he wasn’t a catcher for long. Before the 2002 season, Josh was ranked #36 on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects.

He tore up the minors. In 2001, he hit .292/.406/.562 with 31 home runs over 136 games for Double-A Tennessee. In 2002, he put up a .292/.380/.658 line with 24 homers in just 70 games at Triple-A Syracuse. We thought he could be a middle-of-the-order slugger, joining another former “catcher of the future,” Carlos Delgado.

After brief MLB cameos in 2000 (one at-bat) and 2001 (12 hitless at-bats), the Jays called him up in June 2002. He hit his first home run in his 14th game and finished that year with 15 homers and a .309/.352/.562 line in 83 games, mostly as a DH. On August 29th, he hit two home runs off Roger Clemens—a personal highlight, as it’s always nice to see the Jays beat Clemens. The next day, he drove in four runs against the Yankees, though Pete Walker’s rough outing cost us the win.

In 2003, Josh posted a .268/.358/.470 line with 20 home runs in 119 games, but injuries began to take their toll.

By 2004, he was hitting .237/.296/.417 with 12 homers in 79 games when, on August 4th, we traded him to Cleveland for Eric Crozier. It was a like-for-like swap—Crozier was also a power-hitting DH/first baseman—but it didn’t pan out for the Jays. Crozier played just 14 games for Toronto (his entire MLB career), hitting .152/.282/.39

Phelps, meanwhile, finished 2004 strong for Cleveland, batting .303/.338/.579 in 24 games. After the season, he signed with Tampa Bay. From there, he bounced around: Tigers, Orioles, Yankees, Pirates, Cardinals, Giants, Rockies, and back to Cleveland. When you’re a former top prospect, teams keep giving you chances, but he saw little major league action with most of those clubs.

His final MLB stint came in 2008, getting 36 at-bats with the Cardinals. For his career, he played 465 games, hitting .273/.343/.472 with 64 home runs.

Why didn’t he become the player we hoped for? In 2005, Baseball Prospectus wrote:

He had more power than your local utility but had no clue what to do with it, swinging indiscriminately at pitches, relay throws from the outfield, and low-hanging clouds. As his time in Toronto continued, Phelps crossed the line dividing productive aggression and diminishing returns, so this positionless player was sent south for nothing more than Eric Crozier. Working with Eddie Murray, he cut his strikeouts just slightly, but that sample is so tiny as to be nearly meaningless. Signed by Tampa, Phelps will meet Lou Piniella at the same age that the somewhat similar Jay Buhner did. Buhner blossomed at that point; Phelps will need to follow instructions a lot better than he did with the Jays to have a chance to do the same.

Baseball Prospectus was mean in those days.

Not having a true position hurt, and his career 25.6% strikeout rate—worsening over time—didn’t help either. If he’d been able to stick at catcher, things might have been different, but as a DH, you have to hit or lose your job. There’s no time for slow development at that spot.

Still, happy birthday, Josh. Hope it’s a good one.

Felipe Lopez turns 46 today.

The Blue Jays took Felipe in the first round of the 1998 draft, sixth overall. CC Sabathia, taken 20th, was the best of that round. Lopez didn’t set the minors on fire, but the Jays called him up in August 2001. In 49 games, he hit .260/.304/.418.

He started 2002 with the Jays but returned to the minors in mid-June, finishing his Toronto stint with a .227/.287/.387 line in 134 games.

After the season, he was dealt in a complicated four-team trade, ending up with the Reds. The Jays received Jason Arnold from the A’s—who never reached the majors.

Lopez, for his part, played 11 MLB seasons, hitting .264/.333/.391 with 90 home runs in 1,185 games.

Happy birthday, Felipe. Hope it’s a good one.

Jonathan Davis turns 34 today.

Davis played 122 games for the Jays over four seasons, hitting .180/.285/.263 with four home runs and 11 steals. He was about as good as a .180-hitting outfielder can be, which, admittedly, isn’t saying much.

The Yankees claimed him off waivers in August 2021; he played 12 games for them. In 2022, he appeared in 37 games with the Brewers; last year, he played 34 with the Marlins.

It looks like he retired after the 2024 season.

Happy birthday, Jonathan.

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Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw is quietly putting together a very respectable 2026 campaign, and I expect his bat to stay hot tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays. 

Read on to see why with my Blue Jays vs. Rays predictions and MLB Picks on Tuesday, May 12. 

Rays vs Blue Jays predictions

Rays vs Blue Jays best bet: Myles Straw Over 0.5 hits (-145)

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw has been surprisingly consistent this season.

He’s up to a .303 batting average and has recorded at least one hit in seven of his last 10 games. 

Additionally, he’s one of a few Blue Jays batters with success against Tampa Bay Rays starter Shane McClanahan. Straw is 3-for-7 with a double and two RBI against the Rays southpaw throughout his career. 

McClanahan handled the Jays' lineup with ease last week at the Trop; however, Straw was one of just two batters to get a hit off of him that night, and I’m expecting a similar story today. 

COVERS INTEL: Straw owns a 109 WRC+ against LHP this season.

Rays vs Blue Jays same-game parlay (SGP)

Kazuma Okamoto is riding a 10-game hitting streak, which includes a double off McClanahan. He’s gone Over his 1.5 total in six of those, but is averaging three bases per game in this stretch with a 1.178 OPS. 

I’m going to continue fading Junior Caminero’s bat tonight. His hits line is set at 1.5, and he’s gone Under this number in 14 of his last 15 games. He's also 0-for-3 lifetime against Patrick Corbin. 

Rays vs Blue Jays SGP

• Myles Straw Over 0.5 hits
• Kazuma Okamoto Over 1.5 total bases
• Junior Caminero Under 1.5 hits

Rays vs Blue Jays home run pick: George Springer (+450)

I’m making this a half-unit wager.

McClanahan doesn’t let the ball leave the yard too often, surrendering just one home run in seven starts this season. 

However, there is one batter in the lineup who has taken McClanahan deep — three times to be more precise. 

George Springer. 

It’s been a tough year for the Jays outfielder, but he’s starting to come around with three hits in his last three games. 

Last season, Springer owned a .746 xSLG against the four-seamer, which is McClanahan’s most-used pitch. I’m banking on Springer laying into one tonight

Rays vs Blue Jays odds

• Moneyline: Rays -1.5 (+140) | Blue Jays +1.5 (-100)
• Run line: Rays -125 | Blue Jays +105
• Over/Under: Over 8 (-105) | Under 8 (-115)

Rays vs Blue Jays trend

The Toronto Blue Jays have hit the Team Total Under in 22 of their last 35 games (+7.35 Units / 18% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Blue Jays.

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The New York Mets (15-25) return home to welcome the Detroit Tigers (19-22) for a three-game series, beginning tonight. The nightmare that has been the 2026 season got a brief respite when the Mets took two series in a row from the Angels and Rockies, but the mirage faded when the Diamondbacks took two of three over the weekend, where the Mets’ bats continued their shy, bashful nature.

If there is a positive for the club, it is that their starting pitching has, more or less, straightened itself out. Clay Holmes and Nolan McLean have been excellent, Freddy Peralta has been exactly as advertised, Christian Scott is looking good, and David Peterson, for some reason, operates better after an opener. With the bullpen being more or less cromulent, the pitching side of their game is looking fine.

But the offense. Woof.

Juan Soto will be fine, but he’s been making poor contact on pitches that the ‘old’ Soto would’ve spit on or taken the other way. Instead, he’s popping up bad pitches left and right. Bo Bichette still looks totally lost at the plate, collecting just seven extra base hits in 175 plate appearances. I don’t believed that he’s washed, but he’s not playing anything like the clutch Bo of old.

If we’re looking for any sort of offensive bright spots, they’re all with qualifiers. Carson Benge is starting to look like a big league player at the plate, but it’s taken awhile. Marcus Semien has flashed moments of looking better than his 2025 stat line would indicated, but those have been fleeting. Mark Vientos has had a few games that flash his 2024 power, but they’ve been followed up with games that flash his 2025 struggles. MJ Melendez has done well in limited playing time, but how long can that last?

The injuries are clearly an issue; this is undoubtedly a better team with Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, and Luis Robert Jr. on the roster rather than Austin Slater, Vidal Brujan, and Andy Ibáñez. But the limited offense can’t just be blamed on who isn’t there; there needs to be some fingers pointed at who is there.

If nothing else, this season is an opportunity to really stress test their young players. This looks to be the end of the line for both Vientos and Brett Baty as everyday contributors, and the Mets are doing all in their power to see just what sort of a hitter Francisco Alvarez really is over a full season. Benge is getting his shot and, as of tonight, so is A.J. Ewing. McLean and Scott are going to pitch a lot of innings, and they may be joined by Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger before season’s end. Tobias Myers is going to get to pitch in just about every type of role out there, and Austin Warren will be given every shot to prove himself a useful reliever.

None of this really does much for the win column right now, and none of it really gives any hope for the series with the Tigers, especially when two of the three games are full of “TBD” starters (although Fangraphs lists those Mets starters as Scott and McLean and the Tigers as throwing Framber Valdez and Keider Montero). If the Mets can wake up their bats, they’re still in a position where the season isn’t totally lost just yet; plenty of teams have been ten games under .500 in mid-May and made a playoff push, but I truly can’t remember a team this offensively inept top to bottom most games.

If there’s a glimmer of hope for this series, it is that the Tigers are losers of six of their last ten and are also sporting a losing record, though they’re not nearly as in the hole as the Mets are. They’re similarly injured, but their injuries are more on the starting pitching side, with Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, and old friend Justin Verlander all on the shelf with a variety of issues. Skubal is the biggest loss, obviously, but the team is struggling to find effective starting performances across the board.

The recently suspended Valdez has been just alright, ditto 2024 trade deadline darling Jack Flaherty. Their biggest surprise has been Montero, in his third season starting for the Tigers, really putting it together thus far. An ERA just over three and a 3.63 K/BB ratio have been a godsend for Detroit, and has stabilized at least one spot in the rotation.

Offensively, rookie Kevin McGonigle has been the story. An American League Rookie of the Year hopeful, McGonigle is hitting .293/.395/.435 in his first 39 games as a big leaguer. Riley Green and Dillon Dingler have also been good for the Tigers thus far, but injuries haven’t avoided the lineup either. Old friend Javier Báez, Gleyber Torres, and Kerry Carpenter are all missing time right now as well.

In some ways, these two teams are both dealing with similar issues, but while the Tigers’ offense is only 23rd best in baseball, the Mets’ is dead last by fWAR. To put that into some context, the Mets, as a team, are work 0.5 fWAR right now. The Tigers are worth 3.5 fWAR.

Tuesday, May 12: Freddy Peralta vs Jack Flaherty, 7:10pm EDT on SNY

Peralta (2026): 43.1IP, 43 K, 18 BB, 4 HR, 3.12 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 79 ERA-

Many folks were hoping that Peralta would take another step forward in 2026 after a very good 2025 campaign, but thus far, Freddy is being Freddy. That’s not a bad thing, but it is a limited thing. Peralta typically throws 5 innings of competitive ball, and that’s what we’re getting thus far. He’s not looking like an ace; in fact, he’s looking more like the Mets’ third starter behind Holmes and McLean, but that’s fine. It’s just not a 7-8 year extension fine, that’s all.

Flaherty (2026): 34.0 IP, 42 K, 26 BB, 5 HR, 5.56 ERA, 5.29 FIP, 133 ERA-

Flaherty is having a rough go of it as of late, not seeing the sixth inning since April 15 and only getting out of the fourth once since then. Even the games he’s looked reasonably good, like when he gave up no earned runs against the Red Sox, he walked six batters and only got ten outs in the game. He’s also been tagged with five unearned runs in his last four starts, which suggests some bad luck, but not enough to account for his performance.

Wednesday, May 13: TBD (likely Christian Scott) vs TBD (likely Framber Valdez), 7:10pm EDT on SNY

Scott (2026): 11.0 IP, 15 K, 7 BB, 1 HR, 3.27 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 83 ERA-

The Mets are being very cautious with Scott coming off of Tommy John Surgery, pulling him early in two of his three starts. Aside from his very bad first start, Scott has looked very good. He walked five in his first start, and has only walked two in the subsequent games. He’s struck out 14 in those two starts as well.

Valdez (2026): 43.1 IP, 35 K, 15 BB, 5 HR, 4.57 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 110 ERA-

A potential Mets’ target this offseason, Valdez is coming off a five-game suspension for throwing at Trevor Story last week in Boston. This is the latest in what could generously be described as colorful incidents involving Valdez, and it is clear that the Mets did not need this added layer of distraction on their team this season. Additionally, Valdez just hasn’t been pitching like a guy whose contract is potentially worth $110 million.

Thursday, May 14: TBD (likely Nolan McLean) vs TBD (likely Keider Montero), 1:10pm EDT on SNY

McLean (2026): 45.1 IP, 57 K, 12 BB, 3 HR, 2.78 ERA, 2.39 FIP, 71 ERA-

Owner of the rare ‘FIP lower than ERA’ stat line, McLean is looking like every bit the prospect that the Mets hoped he would. In his last start, he allowed just one run on three hits, striking out six and walking just one. In four of his eight starts, he’s given up just one earned run, and hasn’t had a truly ‘great’ start yet this year. It’s coming.

Montero (2026): 39.2 IP, 29 K, 8 BB, 3 HR, 3.18 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 76 ERA-

The cornerstone of their current rotation, Montero isn’t strikingt out a ton of batters, but he’s been limiting runs and getting results. In his last two starts, he’s allowed just one earned run, gone six plus innings, and walked just three batters. This should be a very fun matinee matchup.

We are just past one-quarter of the way through the 2026 season.

And the Cubs are off to one of the best 41-game starts in franchise history. Since 1945 — an arbitrary cut-off, granted — only two other Cubs teams have gone 27-14 to start the season. Those were the 1969 and 1977 Cubs and, well, you know how those seasons ended.

From 1945 through this year, though, 56 other teams in that span have begun with a 27-14 record, including the 2026 Cubs. Here’s the complete list.

As you can see on that list, starting the season with a .659 winning percentage is somewhat predictive of success for that year. Of the 57 previous teams to do this, 26 made the postseason, 14 won league pennants and six were World Series champions. Thirty-four of the teams won at least 90 games and 10 won 100 or more.

Let’s look at the six World Series champions who went 27-14 to start the season, in chronological order.

1951 Yankees

The Yankees dominated MLB from 1947-64, winning 15 AL pennants and 10 World Series in that 18-year span. The 1951 club’s WS title was the third of five in a row. They went 98-56 and won the AL pennant by five games over Cleveland. They were second in their league in runs and runs allowed.

1960 Pirates

The team that won the World Series on Bill Mazeroski’s famous homer was a bit lucky during that Series — they lost three blowouts and won four close games and were outscored 55-27.

After their 27-14 start they were in first place by 1.5 games and kept winning. From Aug. 1 through the end of the season they went 38-20, eventually winning the NL pennant by seven games, with 95 wins.

1989 Athletics

This was the second of three straight AL pennants and World Series titles won by the A’s, though they had to wait through a 10-day earthquake delay before sweeping the Giants in the WS.

The race for the AL West title was close until September, when they won 11 of their last 14 to win the division by seven games, with 99 overall wins. Then they won the ALCS by four games over the Blue Jays and took the WS.

2015 Royals

The defending AL champions won their second straight league title, taking over first place in the AL Central for good in early June, eventually winning the division by 12 games with a 95-67 record. They won the last six games of the regular season, won a close division series (3-2) over the Astros, beat the Blue Jays 4-2 in the ALCS and won the World Series four games to one over the Mets.

2024 Dodgers

This Dodgers team went wire-to-wire in first place. At the time they were 27-14 they led the division by 6.5 games and eventually won it by five games, finishing 98-64.

They took the Padres three games to two in a division series, beat the Mets 4-2 in the NLCS and won the World Series over the Yankees four games to one.

2025 Dodgers

The supposed juggernaut Dodgers team from last year won the fewest games — 93 — of any of these six teams, taking the NL West by three games. Thus they were forced into a wild-card series against the Reds, which they won two games to none. They lost one game in a division series win over the Phillies, swept the Brewers in the NLCS, then won an extremely close World Series over the Blue Jays four games to three.

These six teams averaged 98 wins. Of all the 58 teams that started the season 27-14 since 1945, just two finished with losing records — the 2009 Blue Jays (75-87) and 1995 Phillies (69-75 in a strike-shortened 144-game season). Two others (1966 Indians, 1977 Cubs) finished exactly at .500.

While you can’t necessarily predict the result of a full season based on a 25 percent sample size, it would seem that the Cubs have a very good chance of at least a 90-win season, possibly a 100-win season, and that they are very likely to make the postseason. In addition to good baseball, the six teams that started 27-14 and won the World Series all had a little bit of luck involved.

Mostly, I just did this exercise for fun as we await the Cubs beginning their series in Atlanta. Where do you think the Cubs will finish 2026?

Good morning! A satisfying 3-1 win last night featured the Mariners’ eighth straight victory over the Houston Astros dating back to last season. A season-high seven strikeouts for starter George Kirby was supported by a few strong bullpen outings, and a solo home run from Julio Rodriguez highlighted the Mariners’ scoring.

Bryan Woo gets the start tonight against Astros RHP Tatsuya Imai at 5:10 PM.

In Mariners news…

• The Mariners have placed Jose A. Ferrer on the paternity list and recalled RHP Domingo Gonzalez in a corresponding move.
• A six-man rotation will be tested out this week as Bryce Miller returns from injury and will be slotted in behind Luis Castillo.
• Julio Rodriguez (briefly) scored some new footwear in a challenge with a fan during batting practice yesterday.

Around the league…

• The New York Mets are planning to call up No. 2 prospect A.J. Ewing in hopes of an offensive spark amid their recent struggles.
• Texas Rangers RHP Nathan Eovaldi was scratched from his start yesterday due to left side tightness and is considered day-to-day.
• The San Francisco Giants are faced with some difficult decisions as many of their players signed to long-term contracts are struggling at the plate this season.
• Toronto Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman has become the sixth active pitcher to record 2,000 strikeouts.
• Atlanta Braves shortstop Ha-Seong Kim has been activated from the injured list and will make his season debut today against the Chicago Cubs.
• New York Yankees shortstop Jose Caballero will undergo an MRI for a sore finger on his right hand after injuring it while diving back in to first base.
• San Francisco Giants veteran outfielder Harrison Bader is returning to the team’s starting lineup after missing 23 games with a left hamstring injury.

This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”

Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers (17-21, 7.5 games back)

The Storm Chasers split their series against the Indianapolis Indians, including playing two doubleheaders. Mitch Spence had a really good start in Thursday’s contest, he went 6.2 innings, allowing 1 hit, 2 runs, 2 walks and striking out 4 batters. Spence has started in all four of his appearances in Omaha.

With Cole Ragans out, and Stephen Kolek already filling in for him, Spence would probably be the answer if you wanted Noah Cameron to go down and work on some mechanical things, during his sophomore slump for a fifth starter.

Aaron Sanchez looked good in his start, throwing 6 innings of 1 hit ball, striking out 8 batters. Bailey Falter, who’s still on rehab assignment threw 3.1 more scoreless innings, striking out 7 batters as well.

At the dish, nobody had a good series for the Storm Chasers, Josh Rojas hit a pair of homers but was 3-for-15 overall at the plate. Drew Waters was 7-for-17, the only Storm Chaser with more than 5 hits during the series. Waters hit his 6th homer on the season.

The Storm Chasers are back home this week, as they take on the Toledo Mud Hens. The series runs Tuesday through Sunday.

Northwest Arkansas Naturals (18-14, 1.5 games back)

The Naturals won 3 of their 5 games against Frisco this last week. Sunday’s contest was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Felix Arronde had another good start this week, he went 6 innings, allowing 6 hits and 1 unearned run, while striking out 5. The 23-year-old right hander has had back-to-back good starts. Dennis Colleran, who had some Spring Training hype, but struggled out of the gates, posted a solid week, throwing 4 innings, allowing 1 run and striking out 5.

At the plate, Jorge Alfaro had a nice week, he went 4-for-11 at the plate, blasting 3 homers. Alfaro is a 32-year-old catcher and not a prospect, but he is important to helping mentor younger pitchers and catchers. Carson Roccaforte was just 4-for-25 at the plate this week, but he hit 3 more homers this week as well. Sam Kulasingam, a 24-year-old switch hitting third baseman was 7-for-19, with a double. Kulasingam, is a 13th round pick by the Royals in 2024 out of Air Force. He is hitting .313 this season, his first chance at being in Double-A as well.

The Naturals return home to take on the Arkansas Travelers; the series runs Tuesday through Sunday.

Quad Cities River Bandits (16-14, 2.5 games back)

The River Bandits lost 4 of 6 to Cedar Rapids this past week. David Shields had another good start, going 5.2 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 run, while striking out 8. Shields lowered his season ERA to 2.70. 21-year-old right hander, Justin Lamkin went 5 innings, allowing 2 hits and no runs, while striking out 6. Lamkin, who was taken 71st overall last season by the Royals, out of Texas A&M, has been unreal this season. He has 6 starts, with a 1.27 ERA over 28.1 innings, while striking out 38.

At the plate, Ramon Ramirez, went 10-for-24, smacking 3 homers. The 20-year-old catcher is hitting .305 on the season, with 6 homers and 29 runs batted in. Tyriq Kemp was 4-for-20, which cools off the 23-year-old shortstop, who’s hitting .286 on the season. Kemp was a 6th round pick last summer by the Royals, taken out of Baylor.

The River Bandits hit the road to take on the Lansing Lugnuts. The series runs Tuesday through Sunday.

Columbia Fireflies (15-18, 5 games back)

The Fireflies dropped 4 of 6 to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. Blake Wolters went 5.2 innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 run, while striking out 9 batters. Wolters was then promoted to Quad Cities, so congratulations to Blake Wolters, who has dominated in Columbia this season!

Hiro Wyatt went 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, no runs, while striking out 6. Wyatt’s season ERA sits at 2.16 over 25 innings. Kendry Chourio went 4 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 runs, while striking out 3 batters. Jordan Woods was the highlight of the week however, going 6 perfect innings, striking out 14 batters! Woods has a 1.73 ERA over 26 innings. Columbia has a pitching factory.

At the plate, Josh Hammond went just 5-for-23 on the week. Yandel Ricardo was 8-for-26, the 19-year-old shortstop is hitting .243 on the season. Ricardo hails from Cuba. Sean Gamble was just 3-for-21, as he continues to struggle, he is hitting just .111 on the season.

The Fireflies return home to take on the Hickory Crawdads, the series runs Tuesday through Sunday.

Today we unveil our 13th installment of the Legends Series, featuring pitcher Wade Miller.  Prior to tearing his rotator cuff, Wade was one of the brightest pitchers in the major leagues.    

Q:  There was that three-year stretch with the Astros in which you won 45 games, fueled at one point by a 12-game winning streak, but the number could’ve been higher.  Were you actually hurt in 2003 and just kept playing?  

A:  I wasn’t 100% but I don’t want to make excuses or anything.  I wasn’t hurt enough to not be out there pitching.   

Q:  You look back at all of those starts and your overall durability in that span, 91 starts over three years, that durability and taking the ball every fifth day.  That has to still mean something all these years later?

A:  That was one of the most important things, was to be out there.    Honestly, that’s why I was there.  When I was hurt, it hurt me not to be out there with the guys, that was the worst thing.  When healthy to take the ball every five days, that was a privilege.  

Q:  The backend of your Astros career, Roger Clemens came to town.  I think it’s an injustice that he has to wait until 2031 to reappear on the ballot.  What are your thoughts on Roger and the career he had?

A:  I don’t think he was doing anything in the early part of his career.  He was just amazing.  I don’t think there should be an asterisk or anything.  I think one day he will get into the Hall of Fame.  He was one of the very best that I ever played with and for him not to be in there, it’s a shame, it really is.    

Q:  Toughest hitter you ever faced?

A:  By far Barry Bonds, by a landslide (laughs) You couldn’t throw stuff over the plate to that guy.  I would always throw hard inside stuff to him and I did strike him out in my career, but he hit some balls off of me that are still going.

One time, I threw him a really good change up and he hit it off the end of his bat and I thought it would be a fly out to center field, but it wound up going ten rows into the seats.   

Q:  Favorite Jimi Williams story?

A:  Jimi was great!  One day, I’m in the dugout with Roy Oswalt and we’re flicking pumpkin seeds.  I couldn’t really flick seeds to save my life, but Roy is flicking these things and hitting the first base chalk over and over.    

Dave Mlicki is on the mound and is in a tough spot in the 6th inning with runners on base in a tight game.  He’s in a tough spot and he’s getting his pitch selection from the catcher and Roy flips one and it travels and lands literally right next to Dave’s foot on the mound.   

Mlicki sees it and steps up off the rubber.  Everyone in the dugout sees this, I’m like oh my god and Jimi looks over at me because Roy says, “Wade what did you do?”    (laughs)    

 I was caught in the crossfire between Roy and Jimi.  After the game, Jimi didn’t say anything to me about it but it was incredible because that seed easily traveled over 50 yards and it almost got my ass in trouble.