Category: MLB

Juan Soto is an All-Star for the first time as a Met.

Selected by the fans, the Mets' 27-year-old outfielder was named to his fifth career All-Star Game and will make his second Midsummer Classic start.

"It's great," Soto said of joining the National League for the July 14 game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. "This is a great feeling. It's really fun to be in the summer with so many talented players in the All-Star Game. It's going to be fun."

Soto entered Saturday's game at the Atlanta Braves leading the NL with a .971 OPS and .406 on-base percentage.

"I mean, it's always a new day," he said of his focus level despite the Mets' 2026 season not going according to plan. "It's always a new day. Forget about what is going on, what happened for the past month and focus on today. That's one of the things that's helped me most to stay consistent. Come every day to win a ballgame. It doesn't matter if you win or lose last night. We focus on what we can do today."

Before the Mets faced the Braves, Soto ranked second in the NL in slugging (.565), eighth in batting average (.297) and tied for ninth in home runs (18).

"I think that's what makes him really special," interim manager Andy Green said of Soto. "Certainly, everybody's numbers tend to be better when your team is performing well. I think that's contagious. I think everybody feeds off one another. I think we help each other by playing really well and doing our jobs well. He hasn't had that and he's still leading the National League in OPS right now, so not much more you can ask of a guy like that. It's been special."

This is Soto's first All-Star nod since 2024 when he was with the Yankees.

"I mean, it's always a lot of gratitude for me," Soto said. "But I would say it's the same. I just fell short last year. Definitely, it just kind of motivated me. I've got to be better, I've got to be better to be with the best of the best in the league. And, definitely, this year, I came in with a different mentality and thank God I made it."

Soto, who was previously an All-Star from 2021-23 with the Washington Nationals, added that he has "been thinking about" the July 13 Home Run Derby but "will see."

"I don't know," Soto said. "I've definitely been thinking about it. We're still thinking. Philadelphia, it seems like it's going to be fun. I will see. I will see."

What will go into his decision?

"I mean, I've got to check where my body's at, how much I need to recover and be ready for the second half and definitely, we've got to think on everything," he said. "We've got to think on every situation and we go from there."

Soto is slashing .297/.406/.565 with 18 home runs and 41 RBI through 69 games.

"He loves baseball," Green said. "He's set out to be one of the best players in the history of the game, and the best players in the game are at the All-Star Game every year. So, it's a place he deserves to be. It's a place he belongs, and I don't have the depth of a personal relationship at this point in time to say this but I certainly believe he relishes the opportunity to be around other great players."

The Yankees had four players selected to the 2026 MLB All-Star Game: Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger and Cam Schlittler.

"I'm really excited about it," Rice said about his first career All-Star nod. "I can't wait to enjoy the weekend."

This is Bellinger's third career All-Star selection, and his first as a Yankee.

When asked whether he hopes to pitch in the game, Schlittler replied "We'll see. ... The team comes first. If it lines up, it lines up, but if not, that's fine as well. ... I've got bigger things to worry about here."

Meanwhile, Bellinger reflected that it has "been a while" since he appeared in an All-Star game, and he is "gonna enjoy it."

"Last time, I didn't have kids ... I'm excited to have them on the field, that's what it's all about," Bellinger said.

 This is Judge's eighth career All-Star selection, but he will not participate at All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia as he continues to recover from a fractured rib.

Late this afternoon, Major League Baseball announced the rosters for the 2026 All-Star Game in Philadelphia. This year, catcher Hunter Goodman will be representing in Colorado Rockies in what will be a repeat performance after he awarded the accolade in 2025.

It is an award the catcher has earned, a case Sam Bradfield made earlier this week: “In 2026, it’s quite possible he will break his own records from 2025 (if he hasn’t already), and he could be the Rockies’ first back-to-back All-Star since Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story all went in 2018 and 2019.”

As it turns out, Goodman has joined an elite corps of Rockies alumni. Goodman and Elias Díaz are the only Rockies catchers that have attended the All-Star Game.

Goodman’s 27 home runs on the season are tied for the second-most in the Majors and tied with Larry Walker (2001) for the most home runs by a Rockies player before the All-Star break. He is also the third primary catcher to log at least 27 homers pre-All-Star break (since 1933), alongside Cal Raleigh (38, 2025), and Johnny Bench (28, 1970). Fittingly, both of those catchers played in that year’s All-Star Game.

His 11.59 AB/HR is the second-best in the Majors among qualified hitters behind Kyle Schwarber’s 10.53 AB/HR.

For those ready to cry “COORS!” 18 of Goodman’s 27 long balls have been on the road, the most road homers pre-All-Star in franchise history (previous high: Larry Walker, 16 in 1997). He is tied for the ninth-most road home runs by a Rockie in a single season, one shy of tying Vinny Castilla (19, 1997) for eighth.

In June, Goodman’s 13 home runs were the most in the Majors. Moreover, he is the second player in franchise history to have at least 13 home runs in a single month along with Troy Tulowitzki (15 HR, Sept. 2010). He became the fourth career primary catcher with at least 13 home runs in a calendar month, joining Atlanta’s Ozzie Virgil (13 HR, May 1987), New York Mets’ Gary Carter (13 HR, Sept. 1985), and New York Giants’ Walker Cooper (13 HR, June 1947).

TLDR: Goodman earned this accolade.

Now fans will wait to see if Goodman is selected for the Home Run Derby, a challenge Goodman has indicated he would like to try.

Over the last two days, he has been spotted taking batting practice from his father, Robert.

Purple Row readers have been clear on this subject: Hunter Goodman should absolutely be in the Home Run Derby.

But regardless, congrats to Hunter on being selected to his second All-Star Game!

On his last start on the Fourth of July, against the Giants in 2023, Logan Gilbert pitched a complete-game shutout, holding the Giants to just five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Gilbert wouldn’t quite match that mark today – he couldn’t quite go the distance, but still collected seven strikeouts while not issuing a walk over 7.1 innings of work, and held the Blue Jays to just one (fake) hit – but it was nonetheless another star performance from Gilbert, who seems to have fully turned the corner from his early-season struggles.

Logan Gilbert came into today’s game needing nine strikeouts to reach a career mark of 1,000, and fell just two short of doing it in front of the home crowd. Strikeout Number 992 came in the first inning, on a three-pitch dismantling of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a fastball-fastball-slider sequence. Classic. Elegant. Number 993 came right on its heels, again on the slider, with Gilbert staying stubborn to the pitch despite missing on it the pitch before and getting Kazuma Okamoto to eventually swing over it.

994 was his lone strikeout in the second inning, freezing Yohendrick Piñango with a perfectly-spotted 97.1 mph four-seamer after Piñango had declined to swing at the splitter and slider the pitch before. Similarly, 995 was his only strikeout in the third, again after going splitter-slider to Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela; once again, Gilbert froze him on 97, this time right in the middle of the plate. 996 came in the fourth and was Guerrero again, a near carbon-copy of the first at-bat except this time ending on a strikeout on the curveball.

The strikeouts dried up some after that, with the Blue Jays making some quick weak-contact outs in the fifth, and annoyingly one hit from Piñango that fell, breaking up Gilbert’s perfect game. Logan looked pretty annoyed about this little 70something bloop hit finding grass:

997 came in the sixth inning, this time victimizing Andrés Giménez, the contact-forward infielder. Gilbert put him away with a changeup, a wrinkle he introduced in the back half of his outing. But while the strikeout pace slowed, Gilbert continued to get outs: he was at 71 pitches at the end of the sixth, and although the seventh inning cost him another 17 pitches, he did collect strikeout 998, getting former Mariner Jonatan Clase swinging after a four-seamer at 97.

“The velo on the fastball – it didn’t seem like he lost it at all,” said manager Dan Wilson postgame. “He just kept locating it and commanding it where he wanted.”

Gilbert wasn’t the only one chasing a personal milestone today. In the second, the Mariners got their first run scored on a hit in 22 innings when Victor Robles collected his 500th career hit, a sharp single into left field that scored Cole Young, who had hit a line-drive double to the gap in a full count – a lovely little piece of hitting from the youngster. Speaking of nice hits from youngsters, Colt Emerson broke a rough stretch with a line drive single up the middle to keep the inning going with two outs. J.P. Crawford walked to load the bases, taking advantage of some shaky command from Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber, making just his third start after missing the first part of the season with elbow inflammation. That brought up Randy Arozarena – the Mariners’ lone All-Star in 2026, at least for now – who already had a double on the day on a four-seamer that was a foot off the plate. This time, Bieber tried to sneak a slider past Randy, who emphatically Did Not Miss It:

Despite an inflated pitch count, Bieber hung in until the fifth, when he issued a leadoff walk to Randy – at that point, understandable – but then left a cutter dead read for Dominic Canzone, who absolutely obliterated it to right-center for a no-doubt home run that Canzone knew was gone the instant it came off the bat.

The Mariners continued to add on even after Bieber departed the game, touching up former Mariner farmhand Adam Macko for a run: Colt Emerson reached on a bunt base hit, and Randy pushed him to third on the rare infield single/throwing error combo. Canzone then picked up his third RBI of the day on a tidy ground ball single to make it 8-0 Mariners. That was enough for Jays manager and current holder of the Mike Scioscia Memorial Trophy for Reddest Man in Baseball, John Schneider, who lifted Macko for Tommy Nance, and the Mariners quickly made Nancemeat out of him: Cal Raleigh joined the hit parade with a deep blast to right to push this game squarely into “laugher” territory.

“That’s what our offense does. We can wear you down, and then we get a big hit and things go our way,” said Wilson postgame. They certainly went the Mariners’ way today.

After that the only question was whether Gilbert could reach the 1000 K mark here at home. Wilson gave Gilbert the start of the eighth, when he retired Ernie Clement on a lineout on a curveball, but lifted him after that so he could enjoy an ovation at home.

“Every pitch he threw today had serious conviction behind it. He just made good pitches all day long, and never really gave them a chance to settle in…I think he deserved quite an ovation today, and he got a chance to go out there and face the crowd and let them show their appreciation. A great moment for him,” said Wilson.

Cole Wilcox took over for Gilbert to close the eighth and got the next two outs; after the Jays sent out a sacrificial Myles Straw as the position player to pitch the bottom of the eighth (scoreless!), he had a soft landing in the ninth with the 11-run cushion, but was still able to spin a 1-2-3 inning to keep the shutout intact and close out the Mariners’ biggest win by margin of victory – their previous high was eight runs, a number they’ve matched four times – this season. It also felt like the Mariners’ largest margin of victory spiritually, spurred by a Logan Gilbert who seems to have finally found his groove, a redemptive homer from a struggling Cal Raleigh, and contributions from up and down the lineup – every starter but Luke Raley had a hit or at least a walk (J.P.) – even while Julio Rodríguez misses time with a concussion. Lucy has pulled the football away far too many times this season for Mariners fans to feel like this team has turned a corner, but on today of all days, we can enjoy the offensive fireworks no matter how long they burn.

PHOENIX — It was a year ago when Bryce Harper screamed and cursed at MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in a heated argument, telling him to get out of the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse if he wanted to talk about a salary cap in baseball.

"If you want to speak about that," Harper told Manfred, "you can get the [expletive] out of our clubhouse."

Manfred certainly showed there are no ill feelings, offering Harper an olive branch Saturday, July 4, naming Harper as his "Legend Pick," to represent the Phillies at the 96^th All-Star Game on July 14 at his home ballpark at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Harper, who’s having his finest first half since 2021, hitting .274 with 20 homers and 57 RBI, might have been the biggest All-Star snub without Manfred stepping in and selecting him. Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, one of four Dodgers starting players, won the fan balloting while Atlanta’s Matt Olson won the player balloting.

Harper, a nine-time All-Star, joins four of his Phillies teammates: DH Kyle Schwarber, who actually received more player votes than the Dodgers' two-way star Shohei Ohtani; outfielder Brandon Marsh; closer Jhoan Duran and starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez. Sanchez is expected to be the National League’s starting pitcher with Ohtani scheduled to be strictly a DH and Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Jacob Misiorowski scheduled to start on the last day before the break, making him ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game.

The Dodgers, the two-time defending World Series champions, will have five players in the All-Star Game, including four starting players for the first time since 1980. Ohtani, who won the fan balloting as the DH, will start along with Freeman, third baseman Max Muncy and first-time All-Star center fielder Andy Pages. World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto also was selected. Muncy becomes the first Dodgers third baseman to win the fan balloting since Ron Cey in 1977.

It’s about dang time, but MLB announced today that Bobby Witt Jr. will finally start an All-Star Game.

This will be Bobby’s first All-Star start, but third All-Star appearance. He was the runner-up at shortstop in each of the past two seasons. He was first prevented from starting by Gunnar Henderson in 2024 because he had not yet had his nuclear July, but Henderson was among the league leaders in home runs. That didn’t prevent Bobby from becoming the runner-up in the Home Run Derby, while Henderson had the fewest home runs in the first round and was eliminated.

Last year, he was bested in voting by rookie Jacob Wilson of the Athletics, who was leading the league in batting average. Jacob Wilson almost certainly won’t be an All-Star at all this year, as he is only slashing .277/.310/.386/.696.

Michael Wacha was also named an American League All-Star, his second appearance, but the first since 2015. Wacha has truly been fantastic this year. If you were holding out hope that Carter Jensen or Jac Caglianone would be selected, there is still a chance they could be chosen as injury replacements as Carlos Estévez and Maikel Garcia were last year.

Also, if you were wondering if Jac or Bobby might be in the home run derby, we’re still waiting for any participants other than Junior Caminero – who hit his 11th home run in 11 games earlier tonight. So we’ll just have to wait and see.

ATLANTA — One of the few Mets players who has performed to his level of expectations this season is headed to the All-Star Game.

Juan Soto was voted a National League starter for the July 14 game in Philadelphia.

He was the only Mets player selected. Soto learned of the honor Saturday before the Mets faced the Braves.

His selection was hardly a surprise.

Soto began play with MLB’s second-highest OPS (.971) and has carried an underwhelming Mets lineup with 18 homers and 41 RBIs in 69 games, though he missed nearly three weeks in April rehabbing a calf strain.

Soto expressed disappointment last summer when he wasn’t selected to the All-Star Game in his first season with the Mets.

“I just fell short last year, and it kind of motivated me that I have got to be better,” Soto said. “I have got to be better to be with the best of the best in the league, and this year I came in with a different mentality, and thank God that I made it.”

Soto said he’s considered participating in the Home Run Derby but will wait on that decision.

“I have got to check where my body’s at,” he said. “How much I need to recover and be ready for the second half. We have got to think about every situation, and we’ll go from there.”

Luke Weaver and Huascar Brazobán are the only other Mets players who could have been considered for the All-Star roster based on performance.

But both are setup relievers — traditionally a difficult road to selection given the emphasis on starting pitchers and closers.

Weaver and Brazobán remain in play as potential replacements on the NL roster.

Last season, the Mets sent Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz and David Peterson to the All-Star Game.

Soto’s selection was his fifth.

He’s also represented the Nationals, Padres and Yankees in the Midsummer Classic.

“It’s always an unbelievable experience, and I expect to have the same thing here,” Soto said.

“I have got to thank all the fans in the Dominican Republic; they made it possible. Thanks to the people of New York, too. They really voted a lot. Mets fans are really unbelievable, and I appreciate everything they have done for me these past two years.”

The 2026 All-Star Game is in Philadelphia. You know this. What you don’t know is what players will be representing the Phillies. Now, we know.

As for the subs, the Phillies will have two position players as reserves

For the pitchers:

DENVER — Manager Tony Vitello gathered the Giants in the visitors’ clubhouse of Coors Field about two hours before first pitch Saturday and relished the chance to deliver a rare bit of good news.

The third-worst team in the National League will have two representatives at next week’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia. Logan Webb and Luis Arraez were both selected by their peers.

“I didn’t want to mess it up,” the rookie manager said. “It’s my first go-around.”

Vitello called it an “honor” to inform Webb that he would be an All-Star for the third straight season and that Arraez had earned his fourth nod following a one-year hiatus.

In both cases, it would have been hard to see coming just a few months ago.

Webb had planned to spend his All-Star break on a wildlife ranch, and it sure looked like he would have his schedule available when he landed on the injured list after his eighth start.

At the time, he was sporting a 5.06 ERA.

But he turned around his season so dramatically, allowing three total earned runs over five June starts, that he was named an All-Star a day after earning his first National League Pitcher of the Month honors.

“To be honest, I didn’t really expect this,” Webb said. “But it’s always nice to be recognized by your peers and teammates, coaches around baseball. Obviously it’s a cool honor. I’ll take as many as I can get.”

Webb had improved his ERA to 3.09 by the time selections were finalized, before he was shelled for seven runs on 11 hits in Friday night’s 15-3 loss, raising the mark back to 3.66.

“Obviously after yesterday,” Webb said, “I don’t really feel like an All-Star today.”

By receiving his third straight nod, Webb joined an exclusive club of Giants pitchers. Only Juan Marichal, Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner had previously been selected to three All-Star Games in a row.

Because he is lined up to make his final start of the first half on Wednesday, Webb should be an option for National League manager Dave Roberts.

“I’ve faced him a lot, and I know he competes a lot, too,” Arraez said of Webb. “Facing him has made me [feel like] I need to compete. Logan is one of those guys you want to be with on a team.”

Nobody was happier to learn that Arraez had regained his All-Star status than Ron Washington, who the second baseman said was “like my grandfather right now. … He was very excited.”

It’s Arraez’s daily drills with the infield coach that have transformed him from one of the league’s worst defenders into one of the best at his position. When he signed with the Giants, he didn’t have any other offers from teams willing to give him the chance to play second base.

“It means a lot,” Arraez said, “when you put in a lot of work.”

Webb has taken notice. As Arraez’s name swirls in trade rumors ahead of the Giants’ anticipated selloff, their ace said, “[I] hope I’m his teammate for a long time.”

“Luis is probably one of the hardest workers I’ve been around, and I’ve been around a lot of them,” Webb said. “Just getting around Wash and really just putting his nose into it, it’s been really fun to watch.”

Arraez was previously an All-Star in 2022 with the Twins, in 2023 with the Marlins and 2024 with the Padres, but he missed out last season amid health issues and a down year at the plate. Those numbers are back to normal this year, with his highest batting average (.326), on-base percentage (.361) and slugging percentage (.465) since the best season of his career in 2023.

“What he’s done in the past is nothing to slouch at,” Vitello said. “But the dedication that he and Wash have hooked up to prove that he’s not just in contention for a batting title, as he always is, but a Gold Glove as well. You combine those two things and you’ve got an exciting player sprinkled on top of it, you definitely have an All-Star.”

Despite its underwhelming first half, 15 games below .500 when MLB revealed the All-Star rosters Saturday afternoon, San Francisco will be strongly represented at the sure-to-be patriotic 96th Midsummer Classic on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park.

The game coincides with the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding in the same city.

The last time the Giants were limited to the minimum one All-Star was in 2019, even though that team had three fewer losses at the All-Star break than this one has with another week to go.

The last time the Giants had started a season this poorly, entering the break at 34-56 in 2017, Buster Posey was their lone representative, voted a starter by the fans for the fourth time.

And yet, even on this dreadful team, Webb and Arraez had competition as its most deserving players. Casey Schmitt has arguably been their best hitter while playing five different positions, and it’s a tad surprising the Commissioner’s Office — which has a hand in selecting the reserves — declined to tip the scales for Jung Hoo Lee given his breakout season and global appeal.

Both players would have been first-time All-Stars. There remains a possibility that they could be selected as replacements if players pull out for injuries or other reasons.

“Obviously it’s not a secret we’re not playing very good here,” Webb said. “But there’s probably about three other guys that should be an All-Star. Probably more deserving than me.”

The starters for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game have officially been revealed ahead of tonight’s nationally-televised game on FOX between out Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets. As it turns out, the locals in Philadelphia will, in fact, get a chance to boo their divisional rivals as Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin have both been selected as starters for this season’s All-Star Game.

This will be Ozzie’s fourth time getting selected to the All-Star team while Drake Baldwin will be participating in the Midsummer Classic for his first time. Despite the recent struggles, that doesn’t take away from the plate production that both of them have put up during the first half of the season.

Ozzie has had a bounce-back season here in 2026 as he’s hit .273/.322/.445 with a .330 wOBA and a 107 wRC+ for 1.8 fWAR so far this season. Meanwhile, Baldwin has been slashing .251/.333/.445 with a .341 wOBA, 114 wRC+ and 1.2 fWAR.

Shortly after the starters were announced, it was revealed that Matt Olson will be joining Ozzie and Drake in Philadelphia as an All-Star reserve.

Olson will be entering tonight’s game with a slash line of .273/ .345/.538 with a wRC+ of 138, a wOBA of .376 and 2.8 fWAR. He also put a flourish on his All-Star campaign with two dingers last night in the series opener against the Mets.

Once the pitchers were revealed, we ended up finding out that the Braves will actually have five representatives at this season’s All-Star Game. Chris Sale will now be heading to his 10th All-Star Game and Raisel Iglesias will be joining Drake Baldwin in the All-Star Deubtant Club as this will be his first career ASG selection.

As mentioned earlier, Chris Sale is no stranger to the All-Star Game and his performance this season as Atlanta’s most consistent starter has justified his selection. Sale has a 2.10 ERA (50 ERA-) and a 2.56 FIP (61 FIP-) so far this season and Iglesias has been carrying an ERA of 1.53 (36 ERA-) and a FIP of 1.99 (48 FIP-).

Both pitchers have been tough to deal with all aeason so it’s not particularly shocking to see both of them make it. It’s certainly a feel-good story for both of them, as Chris Sale continues to defy Father Time and Iglesias has finally done enough to make it to his first All-Star Game.

It appears that Michael Harris II came up just short of making it in but if there are any outfielders who can’t make it for any reason, Money Mike figures to be one of the first names in mind as a replacement.

For now, the Braves will have three players representing them in Philadelphia for the All-Star Game and the surrounding festivities. Even with the recent struggles, it’s nice to know that there will be multiple players repping the “A” once the crown jewel event of the Summer rolls around.

The Yankees may be leaking oil as the club approached the All-Star break but the club will be well-represented at the Midsummer Classic with a trio of position players and the presumptive favorite for the AL Cy Young Award playing for the Junior Circuit this summer.

The fans voted injured slugger Aaron Judge into the contest, as he was one of the top three among outfielders in Phase 2 of the voting. As an aside, I can’t even imagine what his last five seasons would look like statistically if not for Dodger Stadium and a fractured rib. Ah well. He isn’t the first all-timer to have fans saying “what if” (heck, he’s joined in the voted-in outfield by another, Mike Trout, and to a lesser extent Byron Buxton). Meanwhile, Cam Schlittler headlines the group of Yankees selected by the players and league, along with Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger.

Aaron Judge – 59 G, 17 HR, 38 RBI, 43 R, .248/.375/.533, 150 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR

Aaron Judge has been healthy for three of the past five seasons. Aaron Judge has been the AL MVP for three of the past five seasons. Put simply, he is one of the greatest hitters baseball fans have ever seen. It tracks that fans are sending him to the ASG, though there is zero chance he will play in the contest.

Even when he was healthy, this has been a down year for Judge — neaning he was merely one of the best, most terrifying hitters in all of baseball instead of a superhuman force of nature. After hitting .331 and winning his first career batting title in ’25, Judge’s average did not reach north of .250 until April 27th. Coming off three 50-home run seasons in the past four, he hit one long ball in his last 18 games before hitting the IL. And still. The Captain is 50 percent better than league average at the dish in ’26 and is eminently deserving of another All-Star nod. Despite missing all that time, he remains one of the best AL outfielders by fWAR (even though it’s a counting stat).

Cam Schlittler – 18 GS, 104 IP, 8-5, 2.08 ERA, 123 K, 3.2 fWAR

If you told me 12 months ago that Schlittler, an unheralded prospect and seventh-round draft pick, would have this kind of first calendar year in the majors, I would have laughed and laughed and laughed. But I am not going to complain. It’s hard to describe how amazing it has been to watch Cam develop into a stone-cold ace, especially after the heartbreak over the year of the Killer B’s, and Joba, IPK, and Phil Franchise, Deivi García, and even an award-winner like Luis Gil. TINSTAAPP is a cruel law of nature.

An awful recent start “inflated” Schlittler’s ERA, obscuring to some extent how dominant he’s been. Opponents are hitting .206/.251/.336 against him this season. That .587 OPS is pretty darn close to Zack Greinke’s career OPS (.598). Cam has rendered the best hitters in the world helpless at the plate. If you prefer visual evidence over the written word, watch his June 19^th start against Cincinnati.

Ben Rice – 82 G, 24 HR, 56 RBI, 58 R, .270/.362/.569, 155 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR

Speaking of unheralded, you’d be forgiven for never imagining this career arc for Ben Rice, considering that he was a 12th-round pick out of an Ivy League school and due to the pandemic, he hadn’t actually played college ball in 16 months prior to being drafted in July 2021. But here we are with the lefty slugger manning first base and, for a great deal of the first half, carrying the offense on his back. Impressive as the back of his baseball card looks this year, as recently as June 21^st, his slash line was a Judgian .293/.388/.616.

Rice has been everything the Yankees could have hoped for, especially with Judge and Giancarlo Stanton out, Trent Grisham missing a chunk of time, and inconsistent, sometimes awful, stretches at the plate from other Yankee hitters. Dominant against right-handed pitching (1.026 OPS), Rice has even held his own against southpaws, with a .755 OPS when facing lefties.

Cody Bellinger – 85 G, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 46 R, .252/.351/.429, 120 wRC+, 2.6 fWAR

It is important in life to admit when you are wrong. I wanted nothing to do with a Cody Bellinger reunion in the offseason. I was on the King Tuck hype train. I was wrong. Belli has been fantastic. Baseball-Reference, which likes his defense more than FanGraphs, has him at a lofty 3.6 rWAR already, a number that would be higher if not for a prolonged cold spell at the dish (at the end of the day on June 17^th, that OPS was .860 instead of .780).

Meanwhile, he’s been elite patrolling the outfield. In the 91^st percentile with 5 Outs Above Average, Bellinger also boasts one of the strongest outfield arms in the game, with an arm strength in the 94^th percentile.

If Bellinger ever figures out how to hit away from Yankee Stadium this season, watch out.

It’s possible we could see more Yankees join the aforementioned due to injuries and/or players withdrawing from the All-Star Game. In an ideal world, I’d love to see Paul Goldschmidt get another All-Star nod, considering what Goldy is doing for the Yanks at the age of 38, with the lineup ravaged by injury around him. But it might be a long shot.

Congrats to the four Yankees All-Stars, and we’ll look forward to watching some of them in Philadelphia on July 14th.

The St. Louis Cardinals will continue a very enjoyable stay in the Windy City so far as they’ll do battle with the Chicago Cubs Saturday night. The Cardinals will send Kyle Leahy to the mound for a 4th of July national broadcast while the Cubs give Shota Imanaga the ball. First pitch is set for 7:08 central time as this will be a TV broadcast handled by Fox.

I don’t know about you, but whenever I think of Independence Day, I think about Independence Day, the 1996 film. And I always first remember President Whitmore’s grand speech ahead of the climactic battle against the aliens.

What a speech. We used to be a gorram country with gorram movies.

Anyway. The other thing I always remember from that – let’s face it, excellent – film is Will Smith’s first encounter with an alien

It’s the latter clip I hope to see the Royals replicate against the Philadelphia Phillies this evening. “Welcome to Kansas City, please enjoy this jab to the jaw.”

The Royals will, much like Will Smith and the rest of Earth in this movie, be the underdogs in today’s contest. They simply don’t have the firepower that their opponents can boast. They don’t have the speed, and they don’t have the technology. But maybe with some grit they can pull off a win.

OK, now that I’ve gone on about that for way too long, let’s talk about the matchups.

Jesús Luzardo, a very tough left-hander, is going for the Phillies today. The Royals have had their problems against lefties this year. They’ve beaten a few in recent weeks, including torching Shane McClanahan in Tampa Bay just last week. But Luzardo would be a challenge even if they were consistently good against lefties. He was a 5.3 fWAR pitcher last year, and he’s been almost exactly the same guy this year after signing a nice, long extension with Philadelphia.

Luzardo is a true four-pitch pitcher; he throws none of them more often than 36.2% or less than 17.5%. His sweeper leads the way, and it’s an absolutely filthy pitch. He gets chase and whiffs on his three best pitches, but uses his sinker to try to keep lefties honest to mixed effect. Honestly, that might be his one weakness this year. It’s not much of a weakness, though, as he’s still significantly better against lefties overall than righties.

The Royals will counter with Michael Wacha. Wacha has been fantastic for KC this year, a true anchor in the stormy seas of their lost season. He’s also probably their most valuable trade chip as the deadline looms in less than a month. It’s unclear if the Royals will trade him, but either way, it would be nice to see him have more success, if only because it’s more fun to watch the Royals in competitive games than otherwise.

Lineups

Interestingly, after years of being the leadoff guy for the Phillies, Kyle Schwarber has spent most of his time batting second this year. He’ll be there again, even though that makes the Phillies’ middle of the order potentially vulnerable to a left-handed reliever. I guess Matt Strahm and Daniel Lynch IV are the only ones the Royals have, and they’re not particularly frightening.

Despite the lefty on the mound, Carter Jensen will still lead off tonight. Jac Caglianone has been demoted to the four spot, though, as he’s been a bit cold since the two-home run game against the Rays last week. Salvador Perez is still out of the lineup and Tyler Tolbert gets another start in right field over Kameron Misner, who had a couple of adventures out there last time.

It’s time for some holiday baseball, with the San Francisco Giants playing another game in Home Run Derby Park, as they visit the Colorado Rockies for Game 2 of their three-game series.

Taking the mound for the Giants is lefty Robbie Ray, who makes his 18th appearance of the year. The former Cy Young Award winner is 7-6 on the year, with a 3.39 ERA, a 4.65 FIP, and 82 strikeouts to 43 walks in 95.2 innings. He’s been spectacular lately, with back-to-back starts in which he pitched eight innings and gave up just one unearned run.

On the other side is righty Tomoyuki Sugano, a 36-year old in his second Major League season and first with the Rockies. In 16 starts this year, Sugano is 8-4 with a 4.80 ERA, a 5.33 FIP, and just 48 strikeouts to 23 walks in 84.1 innings. He got rocked in his last start, giving up seven runs to the Minnesota Twins in five innings.

Enjoy the baseball, everyone.

Game #88

Who: San Francisco Giants Colorado Rockies

Where: Coors Field, Denver, Colorado

When: 5:10 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Jays 0 Mariners 11

The trouble with signing a pitcher coming off of Tommy John Surgery is that they might not be the same pitcher they were before the surgery.

Today, at least, Shane Bieber was not the pitcher he used to be. He pitched a nice first inning and go the first two outs of the second and then? Well…double, single, single, walk, grand slam, walk and finally the third out. we were down 5-0

Shane threw a scoreless third and forth innings but the fifth started off walk, home run and that was the end of his day. 4.0, 6 hits, 7 earned, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts.

Adam Macko gave up 3 more runs in his 1.2 innings. Tommy Nance gave up 1 more getting just 1 out. Braydon Fisher struck out the side in his inning and Myles Straw “pitched” a 1, 2, 3 ninth.

And on offense, we had 1 hit. Yohendrick Piñango had a single. Logan Gilbert looked terrific. He came out after 7.1 innings and looked bemused to be taken out. He struck out 7.

Yesterday it looked that we had finally started hitting. Maybe things were turning around. Today? Nah, yesterday was a one-off.

Being far….I did fall asleep at one point, which I highly recommend when watching your team get blown out. And, it is Stampede here and it sounded like the church close by was having a Stampede breakfast, or at least a band, because at seven this morning there was a loud drum beat and bass that woke me up.

Tomorrow we have a 5:00 Eastern start time. Trey Yesavage (4-3, 3.34) vs. Emerson Hancock (5-4, 3.47). Good news is that it should be our turn to hand them a crushing defeat.

No JoD’s today. The Other Award goes to Bieber (-0.34 WPA). And let’s give one to the starting lineup, for their inability to, you know, hit.