Category: MLB

Flashback to 2023.

The Rockies lost over 100 games for the first time in franchise history, and the future was bleak.

One of the lone bright spots was Ezequiel Tovar. The 21-year-old shortstop was fresh off a breakout rookie season. Hoping to capitalize on the promising prospect from Venezuela, the Rockies — a team in need of an anchor — locked Tovar in for the long term with a seven-year, $63.5 million deal in March of 2024.

The Rockies would have had team control of Tovar through 2028, but this seemed like a good way to show their appreciation for the young star and possibly avoid a splashy free agency departure down the line. It looked like a win-win and a boost to a team that needed it.

The Tovar investment paid off immediately as his sophomore campaign was even more impressive than his first. His power at the plate exploded. He won the National League Gold Glove and finished No. 19 in NL MVP voting.

Then came the injury-filled 2025 that included a left hip injury and a left oblique strain that only allowed Tovar to play 95 games compared to the 157 he played in 2024. His numbers weren’t bad, but it was mostly his absences that hurt.

Enter 2026 and the promise of a healthy, productive season for the 24-year-old, including his outstanding performance in the World Baseball Classic. In seven games, Tovar went 8-for-17 at the plate with three doubles and two stolen bases in helping Venezuela to an underdog championship.

Season	Age	bWAR	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2022	20	-0.3	9	35	33	2	7	1	0	1	2	0	0	2	9	.212	.257	.333	.590	58
2023	21	2.5	153	615	581	79	147	37	4	15	73	11	5	25	166	.253	.287	.408	.695	79
2024	22	3.6	157	695	655	83	176	45	4	26	78	6	5	23	200	.269	.295	.469	.763	100
2025	23	0.6	95	390	360	44	91	18	4	9	33	5	3	21	98	.253	.294	.400	.694	84
2026	24	-0.4	81	305	283	27	58	16	0	6	27	5	0	16	84	.205	.249	.325	.574	51

But when the regular season arrived, that 2024 Tovar or the WBC Tovar was nowhere to be found. He’s still a solid defender with range and a great arm, but he often looks lost at the plate. He’s always been a high-risk, high-reward batter who will strike out a lot and walk infrequently, but the power and clutch potential were worth it. Now, Tovar is barely hovering above a .200 batting average.

He’s maintained his aggressive approach at the plate, but it isn’t resulting in hits. Instead, he has posted a 27.5% strikeout rate, a 2.4% jump from last year. His slugging and OPS have dropped .075 and .120, respectively, since 2025. His batting average is a dismal .205 and his OBP is .249, the lowest by far for the Rockies starters. The OBP is second-worst among qualified players in MLB, while the .205 batting average is the sixth-worst.

Tovar has shown promise this season. His May was improved, but in June, he reverted back to his slumping April numbers.

Month	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
March	5	22	3	7	2	0	1	5	0	6	1	0	.318	.318	.545	.863
April	27	92	6	16	6	0	0	3	5	29	1	0	.174	.232	.239	.471
May	26	85	8	21	3	0	3	12	8	20	2	0	.247	.305	.388	.693
June	21	81	9	14	5	0	2	7	3	29	1	0	.173	.198	.309	.507

Outside of being heartbreaking, Tovar’s long-lasting slump is becoming a significant problem. Rockies fans know “The Climb” is going to take a while as Colorado dreams of avoiding 100 losses this season. With a .500 record and competing for the postseason still in the distant future, the Rockies can afford to be patient with Tovar.

But as he drops farther and farther down the lineup and feels more and more like a guaranteed out, how long can the Rockies wait for Tovar to be the star we all saw in 2024? His defense remains top-tier, but his offensive numbers don’t make Tovar a very valuable trade token.

In a darker query, what if the 2024 Tovar is the anomaly? With the evolution of the game, and especially with the pendulum swinging to favor pitchers right now, perhaps Tovar’s beginner’s luck has worn off. MLB is a tough league, and Tovar wouldn’t be the first or last bright star to quickly fade out.

I don’t want that to be true. The Rockies and their fans need Tovar to be the star we believe he is. I am hopeful that with his innate talent, a new coaching staff and more analytics, there is still time to turn it around.

The Rockies are better, but they aren’t vying for a Wild Card anytime soon. When they do, they will need Tovar to be a part of it.

If he’s not, the Rockies might not be able to keep him around.

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On the Farm

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 4, Round Rock Express 3

Vimael Machín hit a two-run triple in the first inning, Adael Amador hit an RBI single and Sterlin Thompson and Zac Veen each recorded two hits as the Isotopes beat the Express on Thursday night. Thompson also scored a run, coming in on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. Jake Brooks had a solid start, giving up three runs on six hits in five innings. Parker Muschinski threw two scoreless innings and Andrew Baker added two more to get his first win of the season.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 10, Somerset Patriots 8

The first clutch performance came from Aidan Longwell, who doubled in Braylen Wimmer to tie the game in the ninth and send it to extra innings. In the 10th, it was a team effort — with some luck — when Jose Torres started on second, Mike Antico singled to move Torres to third and both were then joined by Roc Riggio, who intentionally walked. Torres and Antico both came around to score when the Patriots threw a wild pitch. That was enough to win it. Zach Kokoska doubled and homered to drive in three runs. Fidel Ulloa earned the win by throwing 2.2 scoreless innings.

High-A: Spokane Indians 5, Hillsboro Hops 4

Trailing 4-3 heading to the ninth inning, Kelvin Hidalgo and Tommy Hopfe hit back-to-back solo homers to put Spokane on top and  Justin Loer struck out two Hops in the scoreless bottom of the ninth for the save. The win was the sixth in a row for Spokane. The Indians rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the third when Tanner Thach hit an RBI double and Jacob Humphrey followed with a run-scoring single. Humphrey added another RBI with a sac fly in the fifth. Spokane outhit Hillsboro 12-8 and three of those belonged to Roynier Hernandez.

Low-A: Ontario Tower Buzzers 12, Fresno Grizzlies 10

Aidan Redahan drove in five runs and scored three on a three-hit night, but the Grizzlies comeback bid came up short on Thursday night. Aidan Redahan and Carlos Renzullo each hit RBI singles and Wilder Dalis hit a sac fly to help the Grizzlies jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but Ontario bounced back with 10 unanswered runs to take a 10-3 lead by the sixth inning. But Fresno didn’t give up, getting one run back when Redahan hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh, Redahan struck again, this time with a three-run double and then he came around to score on a Dalis double to make it 10-8 Ontario. After the Tower Buzzers added a run in the eighth, so did the Grizzlies when Roldy Brito hit an RBI single. Fresno had the bases loaded in the eighth for a chance to add more, but came up empty. Kyle Fossum hit a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth, but the Grizzlies couldn’t manage anymore with the bases loaded.

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How Colorado pitcher Julian Garcia broke through to MLB at 31 after a decade in minors, independent league | Denver Post ($)

While not related to the Rockies, Kyle Newman wrote a feature about Julian Garcia, the Fossil Ridge grad, who also played for Metro State, and recently made his debut for the Cincinnati Reds. Making history as the first MSU player to make it to MLB, he never gave up on his dream.

Breaking down MLB’s special July 4 uniforms and caps | ESPN.com

All MLB teams will be decked out in festive gear for Independence Day on Saturday. The Rockies, playing at home to host the San Francisco Giants, will have their traditional white pinstripes, but with players’ last names in red and the numbers in stars and stripes. The hats will be white with blue bills and the CR filled with stars and stripes and outlined in gold. A special patch noting the 250th anniversary of independence is on the side.

The next phase of the Colorado Rockies rebuild starts now | Mile High Sports

Drew Ceasman contrasts the 2026 Rockies with the 2025 squad, highlighting the improvement, noting the areas where the team still struggles and emphasizing the need for the next phase of getting back on track to begin: better pitching.

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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans if they’d like the Brewers to continue their “bites of the apple” approach or make a splashy move in a push for a deep postseason run. Here are the results:

As you can see, it was a pretty split result, with 56% of fans in favor of a splashy move and 44% of fans voting for sticking to the status quo.

If the Brewers do opt to go for a big name at the deadline, there’s one obvious candidate that would fit for both sides: Tarik Skubal.

In fact, ESPN released an article on Thursday morning arguing why the Brewers should trade for Skubal. Here’s what David Schoenfield had to say:

The franchise has never won a World Series, hasn’t been in one since 1982 and has been on the edge of getting there for years now. If there’s ever a year to go all-in, this is it. Skubal could be that final piece for the Brewers, and he not only adds another ace to go with Jacob Misiorowski but also gives them another lefty starter alongside Kyle Harrison to combat Shohei Ohtani and a lefty-heavy Dodgers lineup. The Brewers have the prospects to make any deal they want, but does owner Mark Attanasio have the resolve to take on the rest of Skubal’s salary.

What do you think of that take? Should the Brewers go for Skubal in the next month? If they do, who (more importantly, how much) would you be willing to part with for a rental arm?

Be sure to check out the FanDuel Sportsbook for all your betting needs.

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Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

Meet the Mets

The Mets mercifully had the day off yesterday, and they’re set to begin a four-game series in Atlanta tonight. The heat there will be slightly less excruciating over the next couple of days, but it’ll remain hot and very humid in Atlanta on Sunday and Monday, while temperatures will drop substantially in New York City.

During the off day, the Mets selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Jefry Yan and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse.

The 2026 Mets might be terrible, but David Stearns put together one of the team’s better bullpens in recent memory.

Speaking of Stearns, Joel Sherman writes that Steve Cohen’s decision to stick with him is the right call.

Laura Albanese also writes that retaining Stearns is the right move, as it could be better to let him see his long-term plan through rather than hand someone new the responsibility of fixing this mess.

Jon Heyman wrote about the Mets’ attempt to bridge the gap between Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.

The FDNY and NYPD will play their annual charity baseball game at Citi Field on August 19.

Around the National League East

The Marlins were obliterated by the Rockies, who scored 14 runs in an easy win over the fish.

The Phillies fell to the Pirates by a 6-1 score.

The Braves lost, too, as the Cardinals put up a whopping 11 runs against them.

Will Bryce Haper participate in another hometown home run derby?

Around Major League Baseball

The Reds did something that most teams haven’t been able to do this year, scoring five runs off Jacob Misiorowski in what turned out to be a 7-2 win over the Brewers.

Bryan Rocchio hit a walk-off two-run home run to give the Guardians a win over the rival White Sox.

The Rays extended their winning streak to eight games as they completed a sweep of the Royals.

It’s been a tough couple of days for the Padres, who saw a 6-0 lead over the rival Dodgers turn into a 12-6 loss last night after giving up 23 runs to the Cubs the day before.

Bryce Miller carried a no-hitter into the seventh innings as he and the Mariners blanked the Angels and won 1-0.

The Rangers improved to 45-43 on the season with a 10-4 win over the Tigers.

Cade Cavalli shouted “sit down, boy,” a phrase with a history of racism behind it, at Willson Contreras, and both players have received 7-game suspensions after both teams’ benches cleared.

Players in other sports have purchased ownership stakes in teams outside of their own leagues, but why haven’t baseball players done the same?

If Ken Rosenthal could set the All-Star Game rosters, these would be the 64 players at the game.

Here’s how the All-Star teams are actually selected now that voting is over.

How will the logjam in the American League playoff race affect the trade deadline?

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

The latest episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series came out yesterday.

This Date in Mets History

Alex Ochoa’s cycle led the Mets to victory over the Phillies on this date in 1996.

Good morning.

• Tuesday night there was a bench-clearing “incident” in the Nationals — Red Sox game after pitcher Cade Cavalli told Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras to “Sit down, boy.” Last night, suspensions were handed out. Cavalli and Contreras both got seven-game suspensions. Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas got a five-game suspension and Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton got three games. All four players are appealing the suspensions.
• Cavalli did issue a public apology to Contreras and anyone else for the use of the word “boy” in this context.
• Steve Buckley writes that Cavalli’s apology seemed sincere to him, but MLB needed to punish him anyway. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The MLB Draft starts next Saturday. Jake Mintz looks at the White Sox big three options for the first pick.
• Thomas Harrington profiles UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, who might be the Pale Hose pick.
• Former Braves general manager John Coppolella explains why ending the drafting of high school players is a bad idea.
• The MLB Pipeline crew give brief scouting reports on every player going to the All-Star Weekend Futures Game.
• Ken Rosenthal makes his picks for the All-Star Game. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Gabe Lacques has seven players who should make the All-Star Game.
• Sarah Langs explains what it means to be in first place on July 1.
• Will Leitch has seven storylines for July.
• One storyline is going to be the Trade Deadline, which is August 3. Mark Feinsand breaks down the trade market in the American League.
• Mike Axisa explains where all 30 teams stand going into trade season.
• David Schoenfield has one trade that every team should make. The Cubs need starting pitching, but no, they should not trade for Freddy Peralta.
• Russell Dorsey advises the teams on the fringes of playoff contention on whether they should buy or sell.
• Julian McWilliams breaks down the disappointing Mets and Red Sox and situation with their best two trade chips.
• There was one minor trade, but it was a historic one. For the first time since they moved to Washington, the Nationals and Orioles made a deal, with the Orioles sending right-hander Kyle Nicolas to the Nats for minor league infielder Randal Diaz.
• July 1 is Bobby Bonilla Day. If you don’t know what that is, Jack Baer explains the whole thing to you and why the Mets really weren’t as stupid as some portray them to be. Although they were pretty stupid to trust Bernie Madoff. I think even Baer has to admit that.
• The MLB Players Association released their proposals in the collective bargaining talks, which include larger roster sizes and more protection for players who get sent down tot he minors.
• Michael McCann breaks down all the legal issues surrounding the CBA talks. Or at least he does in Part I linked to here. Part II comes next week.
• Stephen J. Nesbitt and Zack Meisel wonder why MLB players don’t try to get shares of team ownership like athletes in other sports get. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Eno Sarris and Evan Drellich look at how baseballs aren’t quite as much of a drag as they used to be. Or to put it another why, why the current batch of baseballs flying farther? (The Athletic sub. req.) MLB continues to insist that all balls are within industry standards.
• Anthony Gharib has all the Fourth-of-July-themed uniforms that players will wear this weekend.
• Mets owner Steve Cohen said that team president David Stearns’ job is safe through 2028.
• Mark Bowman has four reasons the Braves will recover from a poor June.
• Rangers shortstop Corey Seager went on the injured list for the third time this season.
• The Athletics got bad news as designated hitter Brent Rooker had season-ending knee surgery.
• And more bad news for Sacramento as minor league outfield prospect Ryan Lasko is in stable condition after a scary collision that resulted in spinal decompression and stabilization surgery. Currently Lasko has no feeling in his lower extremities, although doctors have some hope that he will regain feeling in his legs.
• Mike Petriello looks at the mystery of Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s terrible, no-good month of June.
• Jay Jaffe looks at which contenders have the worst team defense. I don’t need to tell you which contender currently has the best team defense.
• The worst team, among the contenders, is the Phillies. Davy Andrews looks how bad first baseman Bryce Harper has gotten and what he might do to improve his defense.
• Guardians rookie outfielder Cooper Ingle did the old “throw the ball into the stands when there are only two outs” trick. That never seems to turn out well for the player who does it.
• David Adler explains how Giants pitcher Logan Webb found his old groove by calling all his own pitches.
• Michael Clair has the most “iconic” baseball card from every era of collecting.
• And finally, top Twins prospect Walker Jenkins played the hero this week when he caught a fainting kid during the National Anthem in St. Paul and carried him off the field. Happy the report the kid is fine.

My first foray into this “contract year” between MLB and the MLBPA looked at how franchise values continue to grow at wildly unequal—if steadily upward—rates.

This time around, the focus is on geography. So, get out that green folder (don’t fight me on this) from eighth grade and let’s find the section on “population density”.

First, a thought experiment:

Imagine three lemonade stands run by the same proprietor operating on three different streets.

The first one operates on a street where 1,000 people walk by every hour.

The second sees 500 people/hour stroll by.

The third only draws 100 passersby in the same period.

Every single day, these three lemonade stands are in competition with each other for sales that can be poured (pardon the pun) back into the business. For product-saturation reasons, the less-trafficked stands cannot simply horn in on the busier stands’ territory.

One can imagine the inequity this setup might produce between the rival-but-all-in-the-same-gang stands. Stand 3 could have the highest-quality lemonade and service in the business, but never win the competition simply because the volume of potentially thirsty patrons is so low. Stand 1 could dominate in sales by pairing a strong product with high traffic—or put out watered-down lemonade and probably still come out on top because, well, there are just so many potential consumers on that hourly basis.

This is what is happening in MLB geographically right now.

Using this U.S. Census Data (no guarantees on if any fava beans or Chianti were consumed in the process), here is a basic tiered layout of MLB markets by population density/size…

Tier 1: 19 Million

• New York

Tier 2: 12 Million

• Los Angeles

Tier 3: 7-10 Million

• Chicago, Arlington, & Houston

Tier 4: 5-7 Million

• Toronto, Washington, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, Boston

Tier 5: 3-5 Million

• Oakland, San Francisco, Detroit, Seattle, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Tampa Bay, San Diego, Denver, Baltimore, St. Louis

Tier 6: 2-3 Million

• Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Cleveland

Tier 7: <2 Million

• Milwaukee

Something else to remember: though often hard for us “die hards” to comprehend, most daily ballpark attendance comes from folks simply “looking for something to do”. Yes, the competitiveness of the on-field product can and will certainly tip the scales in one direction or the other. But the access to larger numbers of individuals who may decide to go—and take their family/friends with them—to one or more of 81 yearly contests is also an enormous profit consideration.

It isn’t just “butts in seats”, either. TV deals are largely valued on advertising. The more potential eyes on the glowing box (or device), the more $$$ clubs can get for their media wares. While perhaps more prominent in the bygone age of cable TV, it still stands to reason that larger markets = larger potential advertising profits, especially with MLB mostly being a regional-over-national success media-wise.

This takes us back to our lemonade stand. Except now, replace the citrusy stop with a MLB ballpark but keep the varying street traffics. No matter how good or bad the product is, high volume is going to have an inherent advantage over its opposite. The Dodgers can build an empire by consistently winning, while the Mets can still rake in the dough as lovable losers. Meanwhile, the Twins or Pirates can turtle up and not compete at all, or clubs like the Brewers & Tigers can continue trying to swing with the big boys and never quite reach that level but for an extraordinary run of development/injury good fortune.

To be clear, I’m not at all saying that player dev and smart personnel decisions don’t matter. The Rockies have failed that exam for years and look where they are, while the Rays seemingly ace the test every term. I simply think it is important to remember that certain MLB franchises have significant built-in advantages over others by population density alone.

Advantages that could be leveled at least somewhat by a salary cap/floor structure in the upcoming collective bargaining agreement.

Royals captain Salvador Perez was out of Thursday night’s lineup with elbow soreness, causing a flurry of roster moves

Catcher Luke Maile was selected to the 40-man roster and called up from Triple-A Omaha, offering a reinforcement behind the plate if something were to happen to Carter Jensen and the Royals needed another catcher during the game.

In corresponding moves, outfielder John Rave was optioned to Triple-A Omaha, and reliever Eric Cerantola was designated for assignment to create room on the 40-man for Maile. The Royals also activated Stephen Kolek from the family medical emergency list to make Thursday’s start against the Rays and optioned reliever Jose Cuas to Omaha.

In other injury news, Cole Ragans has UCL surgery and is out for the next 10-12 months

Cole Ragans underwent an ulnar collateral ligament repair on his left elbow on Wednesday, with the surgery performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.

The Royals’ lefty now faces 10-12 months of recovery. The club expects his return midseason in 2027.

The extent of Ragans’ elbow surgery was not known until he actually had the operation done, with several different options based on what the surgeon found once he could assess the elbow fully. But the Royals were operating under the assumption that it was going to be something related to Ragans’ UCL, and that they were not going to get Ragans back on the mound in 2026.

Kendry Chourio and Blake Mitchell will play in the Futures Game this season

Chourio has been on a rocket ship since signing for the Royals last year, and after a promotion to Quad Cities last month, he’s the only age-18 pitcher to appear at High-A this season and the first since Eury Pérez in 2021. His fastball sits around 96 mph (that stands out more for his command of it than its shape), and he plays off that with an upper-70s, good-spin curveball and an upper-80s changeup. Mitchell is a Three True Outcome King with 13 homers, a 24.5 percent walk rate and 35.2 percent strikeout rate in 68 games at High-A Quad Cities this season. The 2023 eighth overall pick also has a strong arm from behind the plate that he could show off in Philly.

Here are some former Royals who are playing well this year.

Michael Wacha and Jac Caglianone were named Royals player and pitcher of the month for June

Congratulations to Michael Wacha and Jac Caglianone, our June Pitcher and Player of the Month award winners! pic.twitter.com/mQFQkvVG0d

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 2, 2026

Brayan Rocchio hit a walk-off two run homer against the White Sox in a battle of for the lead in the AL Central

Julio Rodriguez left the game for Seattle after taking a throw off the helmet on a double play ball

ESPN analyst Matt Miller is now being investigated by Missouri attorney general after car crash last month

Here is your song of the day Africa by Toto

Triple-A: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees) 7, Norfolk Tides 3

Cade Povich allowed a pair of early homers but settled down to pitch into the fifth inning. The lefty allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out five. Povich tossed a clean third, danced around a two-out double in the fourth, and exited after allowing a walk and a double in the fifth. He threw 56 of 81 pitches for strikes.

Heston Kjerstad went deep for the second consecutive night to mark his fifth homer of the season. Enrique Bradfield Jr. stole a pair of bags and scored twice while going 1-for-4 with a walk. Jeremiah Jackson finished 2-for-5, and Ryan Noda went 2-for-3 with a base on balls.

Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 8, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets) 4

Chesapeake trailed 4-2 before erupting for six runs in the top of the ninth. Aron Estrada launched a go-ahead grand slam to flip a two-run deficit into a two-run lead. Ethan Anderson followed with a solo shot, and Douglas Hodo III drove in the eighth run of the evening. The grand slam capped a massive day for Estrada at the plate. The 21-year-old finished 4-for-5 and a triple shy of the cycle. Frederick Bencosme doubled twice while going 4-for-5 as well.

Lost in the fireworks was a nice outing from Joseph Dzierwa. Dzierwa limited the Rumble Ponies to only two hits over 4.2 scoreless innings. He struck out seven and walked two. Alex Pham tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless ball. Richard Guasch allowed all four runs in just one inning but received a fortuitous win.

High-A: Frederick Keys 9, Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 4

Ike Irish smacked solo shots in the first and sixth innings while going 3-for-5 in the victory. The blasts marked his 11th and 12th homers this season. Wehiwa Aloy finished 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs, and Vance Honeycutt walked and scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Yeiber Cartaya limited Brooklyn to one run over 4.2 frames. He allowed three hits, struck out two, and walked a pair. Tyson Neighbors earned the win with a scoreless eighth. He struck out a pair and did not allow a baserunner.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 3, Charleston RiverDogs (Rays) 2

Delmarva scored all three of its runs in the second inning. The Shorebirds struck first on a wild pitch, and Raylin Ramos drove in two more with a base hit up the middle. Charleston outhit Delmarva 7-to-5, but the pitchers kept the RiverDogs off the board.

Andrew Herbert delivered a quality start for Delmarva. Herbert allowed five hits, but only one of his two runs were earned. Trent Turzenski, J.D. Hennen, and Jack Crowder combined for three scoreless innings of relief.

Box scores

Friday’s Schedule

Norfolk: at Scranton Wilkes-Barre, 7:05. Starter: Yaqui Rivera (1-2, 1.75 ERA)

Chesapeake: vs Binghamton, 7:00 pm. Starter: Evan Yates (4-4, 5.37 ERA)

Frederick: vs Brooklyn, 7:00 pm. Starter: Twine Palmer (3-3, 3.62 ERA)

Delmarva: vs Charleston, 6:35 pm. Starter: Brayan Orrantia (0-4, 4.97 ERA)

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (42-42)

WORCESTER 7, SYRACUSE 5 (BOX)

Syracuse took a 5-3 lead into the top of the seventh, but their bullpen gave up four runs over the final three innings of the game without any response from their lineup. If you’re looking for a silver lining, Jorge Polanco hit a home run and drew a walk as the Mets’ designated hitter in this one. It’s worth pointing out that he’s had one or more days off between each of his rehab appearances since starting his second attempt at a rehab assignment on June 27.

• REHAB ALERT: CF Luis Robert Jr.: 0-4, 2 K
• REHAB ALERT: DH Jorge Polanco: 1-2, R, HR, RBI, BB
• PH-DH Christopher Morel: 0-1, K
• 2B Ji Hwan Bae: 0-3, BB, K
• LF MJ Melendez: 1-3, R, HR, RBI, BB, 2 K
• 1B Ryan Clifford: 0-4, 3 K
• RF Jared Oliva: 1-4, R, K, SB
• 3B Vidal Bruján: 0-3, R, BB
• C Hayden Senger: 1-3, R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K
• SS Zack Short: 0-4
• P Jonah Tong: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• P Matt Turner: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• P Nate Lavender: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
• P Ryan Lambert: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (29-49)

BOWIE 8, BINGHAMTON 4 (BOX)

Binghamton trailed 2-0 when the eighth inning got underway, but they put up a four spot to take a two-run lead in the bottom of that inning. Douglas Orellana proceeded to have about as bad a night as a reliever can have, though, as he didn’t record a single out while giving up five runs—all earned—on four hits and a walk. Bowie tacked on a sixth run that was charged to fellow reliever Saul Garcia in the top of the ninth, and that was that.

Lost amid all of that was a very good outing from Max Green, whose story about overcoming the yips to pursue his dream is a good one.

• DH Chris Suero: 0-4, R, K
• 1B Nick Lorusso: 0-3, R, BB, 2 K, SB
• C Kevin Parada: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, K, SB
• LF Vincent Perozo: 1-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, K
• 2B Wyatt Young: 0-4, 2 K
• CF Jaylen Palmer: 0-4, 4 K
• SS Kevin Villavicencio: 0-4, 2 K
• RF Nick Lucky: 1-4, K, SB
• 3B Nick Roselli: 0-2, BB
• P Channing Austin: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• P Garrett Stratton: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• REHAB ALERT: P Dedniel Núñez: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• P Max Green: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
• P Douglas Orellana: 0.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• P Saul Garcia: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (32-45)

FREDERICK 9, BROOKLYN 4 (BOX)

Cyclones pitchers gave up at least one run in seven of the eight innings they pitched in this one, and Brooklyn’s four-run innings in the top of the fifth accounted for all of their runs while merely pulling them within one run of Frederick at the time.

• 2B Yonatan Henriquez: 2-5, 2B
• CF John Bay: 0-2, R, 2 BB, K
• DH Corey Collins: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, K
• C Daiverson Gutierrez: 0-2, R, 2 BB, K
• 3B Jamari Baylor: 1-4, R, RBI, K, SB
• RF Yohairo Cuevas: 1-3, 2 RBI, BB, E
• SS Colin Houck: 0-4, K, E
• 1B Trace Willhoite: 0-4, K
• LF Sam Biller: 0-4, K, E
• P Jose Chirinos: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
• P Cristofer Gomez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• P Hunter Hodges: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• P Bryce Jenkins: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• P Hoss Brewer: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (35-41)

TAMPA 7, ST. LUCIE 5 (BOX)

With a 5-4 lead heading into the top of the ninth, St. Lucie saw relief pitcher Zack Mack give up three runs to swing the game in Tampa’s favor. This was not the best night for the Mets’ non-rookie-ball minor league teams.

• SS Elian Peña: 1-4, R, 2 K, SB, E
• DH Trey Snyder: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, K
• 3B Antonio Jimenez: 1-4, 2B, RBI, K
• 1B Julio Zayas: 2-4, R, 3B, K
• LF Branny De Oleo: 0-4, 2 K
• CF Simon Juan: 2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, K
• C Chase Meggers: 0-4, K, E
• 2B Jeremy Rodriguez: 1-3, R, BB, E
• RF Taylor Darden: 0-4, K
• P Luis R. Rodriguez: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• P Joe Scarborough: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• P Joel Lara: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
• P Miguel Mejias: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
• P Zack Mack: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Rookie: FCL Mets (XX-XX)

FCL METS 3, FCL NATIONALS 2/ 8 (BOX)

• CF Bohan Adderley: 0-2, 2 BB, SB
• LF Vladi Gomez: 1-3, R, RBI, SB
• RF Wyatt Vincent: 0-3, R, BB
• C Yovanny Rodriguez: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K
• DH Josmir Reyes: 0-2, BB
• SS Anthony Frobose: 0-2, BB, K
• 3B Diover De Aza: 0-2, BB, 2 K, SB
• 1B Yeider Mindiola: 0-3, K
• 2B Yorber Semprun: 2-3, R, 2B, K
• P Camden Lohman: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
• P Austin Brown: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• P Wilmer Lugo: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• P Yoralbert Cadiz: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Rookie: DSL Mets Orange (14-10)

DSL METS ORANGE 11, DSL MARLINS 2 / 5 (BOX)

• DH Cleiner Ramirez: 1-3, R, K, SB
• SS Sebastian Toro: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, K, SB
• C Cesar Acosta: 2-3, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB
• RF Ryan Rudas: 0-2, 2 R, K
• CF Jhonael Cuello: 0-2, R, 2 BB, SB
• 2B Oscar Pena: 2-3, R, 2B, 4 RBI, BB, SB
• 1B Anthony Delgado: 1-4, RBI
• LF Elvis Teran: 1-3, R, 2B, 2 K
• 3B Jose Padilla: 0-1, R, 2 BB
• P Christopher Rochin: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• P Jodarlin Perez: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Rookie: DSL Mets Blue (9-13)

DSL COLORADO 5, DSL METS BLUE 3 (BOX)

• SS Johnderis Sanchez: 0-1, RBI, BB
• 2B Dayron Oramas: 1-2, 3B
• PR-2B Jesus Minaya: 0-1, R
• LF Henry Manrique: 0-2, RBI, K
• DH Jonnhan Sanchez: 0-2, BB, 2 K
• C Frank Moreno: 0-2
• RF Royner Bravo: 2-2, R, SB
• 3B Michalle Mercedes: 2-2, RBI, 2 E
• 1B Jose Serracin: 0-2, 2 K
• CF Aiberson Blanco: 1-2, R, 3B, K
• P Leyvi Rodriguez: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
• P Jhony Osoria: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Max Green

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Douglas Orellana

The Atlanta Braves have reportedly agreed to a minor league deal with outfielder/designated hitter Andrew McCutchen. The 39-year-old has spent the 2026 season with the Texas Rangers, where he appeared in 37 games and averaged a subpar .192 at the plate. He was released at the end of May and according to the transaction log, was picked up by Atlanta on Thursday.

The move is a low-risk depth addition for an Atlanta club that has been searching for offensive consistency during a wave of injuries. While McCutchen is well past his prime, the former MVP brings plenty of veteran experience and could provide organizational depth as he aims for another opportunity in the majors.

More Braves News:

The Braves announced a roster move Thursday morning that recalled INF Jim Jarvis and designated INF Rowdy Tellez for assignment. 

Atlanta suffered another series loss after dropping Thursday’s contest to the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-5.

Eric Hartman joined the 20/30 club after Wednesday’s contest. More in the minor league recap.

MLB News:

The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Jason Adam on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain. The move is retroactive to June 30.

From the Feed:

How many All-Stars do you think the Braves will have this season? Cast your vote here.

Intro

Today’s article will do a bit of a deep dive on George Soriano. This guy has seemingly come from nowhere to become a stalwart in the Cardinal bullpen. Not dissimilar to Ryan Fernandez in 2024 or Matt Svanson in 2025, a guy who could reasonably be considered unheralded, but still becomes a key member of the cadre.

Authors Note: I’m travelling over the 4th, so I had to do this article a fair bit in advance. The stats I cite are going to be over a week old by the time you read this. I’m not sure if the VEB hex applies when I write the article or when I publish, but George could crater in between and foul up the data. Such is life.

How unheralded? He came into 2026 with a career fWAR of -1.0, backed by career ERA and FIP figures exceeding 5.00. Across 3 years with Miami, he progressed from bad to worse, ending last year with an 8.35 ERA. He found himself on the Nationals roster and ultimately dealt to St. Louis for Andre Granillo. What did the Cardinals see that prompted them to swap out a low-grade prospect for him?

Here in St. Louis, he has filled a variety of roles all the way from chase reliever to high leverage. It hasn’t been perfect, but he is outperforming his career norms by a fair bit. Interestingly, he is not far off his Zips projection, which projected a 4.19 FIP with a 21.3% K rate and a 9.5% BB rate. So, I’m curious. What gives?

We’ll start with back of the baseball card stuff. George is carrying a 3.16 ERA with a relatively pedestrian 20.8% K rate. His 8.5% walk rate is a marked improvement from his career 10% rate. He has accumulated .1 fWAR. Further down, he has qualified for 11 shutdown (SD) appearances, which is 70th percentile among relievers with 30 or more IP (George has 30.1 IP). He has 4 meltdown (MD) appearances which is tied with a bunch of guys right at average for the league. For comparison, Justin Bruihl and JoJo Romero pace the league with 10 and 9 MD appearances. Thus, why he is rising up the trust scale.

Sidebar: Riley O’Brien is second overall in baseball with 20 SD appearances, behind only Cade Smith of Cleveland.

What is underneath this improved performance?

If we wander on over to Statcast/Baseball Savant, some interesting details emerge. Morsels to chew on, as it were.

Pitch Mix

Note his pitch mix vs. left and right-handed batters. This will come up later. In general, he is more FF and CH heavy against LH hitters and more SL and SI heavy against RH hitters.

Since joining StL, they’ve had him de-emphasize his SI and ST (sweeper). He has cut the sweeper use from 16% to 10%, and sinker use from almost 20 to 12%. The SL usage has increase from 16% to nearly 25% and he has upped his four-seamer (FF) usage from 18% to more than 25%. Subtle changes, but they appear to have had some success. Pitch mix is one of the places the Cardinals tinkered, but not the only.

Pitch effectiveness

To the left you see the current run values for his entire pitch mix. Looking at the blue, you can see why the Cardinals wanted to de-emphasize the Sinker (SI) and Sweeper (ST).

Mechanics

One of the things I found striking was now much the Cardinals influenced his arm angle. That 34 degree angle is new this year, up from 29 degrees in 2025. That is pitching lab stuff. In ways, given how late in the off-season they acquired him, I am surprised they were able to implement what is a fairly radical change, and be successful doing it.

It’s not clear how the arm angle has affected his pitch metrics, which have not really changed a lot even though the arm angle did.

Pitch Movement

That mechanical changes have produced a pitch movement profile that leaves me scratching my head a bit.

His 4-Seam Fastball (FF) is pretty average in terms of movement, although it does have 87th percentile velo, averaging 96.7 mph. The four-seam grades at 87 Stuff+, but the Sinker grades out at a nice 108+.

That ChangeUp? It has somewhat below average arm-side run, but well above average drop. That pitch could almost be called devastating. That Whiff% has climbed for 19.6% in 2025 to 41.8% this season. That change is particularly effective against LH hitters, allowing him to navigate the left-right lanes. It grades out as a 116 on Stuff+. Impressive.

The Slider (SL) is an odd one. Used mostly against RH hitters, it produces a near 40% whiff rate, but that is in line with career norms. The arm angle change seems to have produced less arm-side run and a bit more drop. It grades out as a 96 by Stuff+.

I can’t figure his Sweeper. It doesn’t sweep, but still gets a 40%+ whiff rate. How? No Stuff+ grade. I think because the sample size is too small.

His very average Sinker (SI) gets clobbered at an xwOBA of .622. Seems contradictory to a Stuff+ of 108.

Spin

George seems to tunnel his pitches well, which can improve the effectiveness of the mix. The fastballs and the change come out of a pitcher’s hand looking the same from a spin standpoint but act quite a bit differently as they approach the hitter.

Oddly, his sinker comes out with all different spins, almost all around the watch face. I don’t know if he is still tinkering with it or what, but that is a lot of inconsistency and probably helps explain why it is a mostly straight pitch, yet oddly effective.

Overall

Putting it all together, we can look at his overall performance against the rest of the league.

His fastballs (4-seam, sinker) perform at an average rate in terms of run value. Neither good nor bad, as do the breaking pitches. The Offspeed pitches (Sweeper, Change) provide most of his positive value, ranking in the 85th percentile. I’d opine here is where pitch mix is key … an average fastball combined with near-elite offspeed can make an effective pitcher if deployed properly.

Note the 81st percentile FB velocity, but also note that much of his very poor 8th percentile exit velo comes … off his fastballs.

He gets excellent chase and whiff, as noted above. Oddly, for all the excellent whiff numbers his K% rate is pretty pedestrian a 20.8%, probably not enough for a leverage reliever.

Concerns

Beyond the hard hit data just above, a few other concerns pop out in his profile.

His 2026 BABIP is running an extremely low .241. Now, in 3 of his 4 seasons, he has run really low BABIPs, so that may be normal for him, but the number itself suggests some luck is smiling on him in 2026 and regression could bite him, particularly since he doesn’t strike a lot of guys out.

On that vein, his 21% strike out rate and 9% walk rate result in a ~12% K-BB%, which really isn’t good enough for a leverage reliever. 15% is the number I use as a floor for a pitcher expected to pitch well reliably.

Summary

We like to say relievers are volatile. Well, every player is volatile to an extent, relievers just seem to be moreso. George may be the archetype of one form of reliever volatility.

A pitcher equipped with largely average stuff, with some above average offerings and some below. Nets to a Stuff+ of 101. Some years, such a pitcher will have good luck in sequencing or random and others years it will horrid luck. 2025 appears to have been his horrid year and 2026 appears to be the year the GOB are smiling upon him.

Free of charge for the discerning reader.

Happy birthday to Codi Heuer, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1966 – Pitcher Tony Cloninger hits two grand slams and drives in nine runs, as the Braves rout the Giants at Candlestick Park, 17-3. Cloninger is the first National League player to slam two in a game, and the first pitcher ever, and his nine RBIs are a major-league record for pitchers, breaking Vic Raschi‘s mark of seven, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1911 – At Philadelphia, the A’s Frank Baker hits for the cycle in a 5-1 win over the Yankees in the second game of a doubleheader.
• 1947 – The Indians purchase Larry Doby from the Newark Eagles. In two days, the 22-year-old will become the first African-American to play in the American League.
• 1951 – Giants rookie Willie Mays blasts a 13th-inning solo homer off the Phillies’ Jocko Thompson to give New York a win. It is Willie’s second extra-inning homer in two weeks.
• 1968 – Luis Tiant registers 19 K’s in ten innings, as Cleveland beats Minnesota, 1-0. Tiant sets two modern major league records – most strikeouts in a ten-inning game; and 32 strikeouts in consecutive games – and ties the modern major-league record of 41 strikeouts in three successive appearances. 
• 1977 – In an 11 – 7 win over the Padres, Phillies 3B Mike Schmidt hits an inside-the-park homer, the second of his career. He’ll hit one more, in 1982.
• 2009 – Albert Pujols, the major league home run leader, hits his fourth grand slam of the year, a team record, as the Cardinals dispose of the Reds, 7-4. He now has 350 career dingers, becoming the third-youngest to reach the mark, after Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.
• 2021 – Harmon Killebrew falls off the top ten home run list as Jim Thome goes deep twice for the Twins to give Thome 574 dingers in the big leagues.

Today in Cubs history:

• 1929 – The Cubs and Reds turn nine double plays, tying the Detroit–Washington 1925 mark. The 7-5 Chicago win is their seventh in a row, giving them a half-game lead over the Pirates.
• 1960 – A day after his wedding in Chicago, Jim O’Toole pitches and loses, as the Cubs pound him for seven runs and nine hits in less than five innings. Chicago wins, 7-5. An unsympathetic manager Fred Hutchinson deadpans: “It was his turn to pitch. I didn’t tell him to get married.”
• 1967 – At the launching pad in Atlanta, Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Randy Hundley homer for Chicago, and Rico Carty and Felipe Alou answer for the Braves – all in the 1st inning, a major league record. Carty adds another homer later, but Glenn Beckert‘s three-run shot helps put the game out of reach. Ray Culp emerges the winner, 12-6.
• 1970 – At Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Gene Alley and Roberto Clemente each hit two homers to help the visiting Bucs outlast their hosts, 16-14. This slugfest also numbers a game-tying, 2nd-inning grand slam by Chicago’s Billy Williams among its eight homers and 70 total bases. Mother Nature, however, has to get a good deal of credit for the day’s offensive production; clearly, the “Windy City” has earned its sobriquet today. “It blew fourteen miles per hour toward center,” reports the Chicago Tribune, “prompting Clemente to all but apologize for his first homer.” “I just tapped the ball,” Clemente tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “There was no way that ball should have gone out of here. The wind was blowing to left, to center, to right. Everywhere it was blowing, it was for the hitter.”

Cubs Birthdays:Codi Heuer*, Casey Coleman, Zach Putnam, Tommy Hunter, John Koronka, Moisés Alou, Matt Keough, Cliff Curtis.

Today in history:

• 1775 – George Washington takes command of Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• 1861 – Pony Express arrives in San Francisco with overland letters from NY.
• 1863 – Battle of Gettysburg, the largest battle ever fought on the American continent, ends in a major victory for the Union during the US Civil War.
• 1886 – In Germany, Karl Benz first drives the first automobile in Mannheim at a top speed of 16 km/h (10 mph).
• 1928 – John Logie Baird demonstrates the first color television transmission in London.
• 1931 – German boxer Max Schmeling beats American Young Stribling by TKO in 15 in Cleveland in his first heavyweight title defense; first major fight broadcast live on national radio.
• 2004 – Official opening of Bangkok’s subway system.
• 2025 – Archaeologists announce the discovery of a 3,500-year-old ancient city in Peru named Peñico.

*pictured.

Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. Happy Fourth of July weekend! We’re now beyond the midpoint of the season, and just over a week away from the MLB Draft & All-Star break. The Brewers have weathered the first half of their gauntlet, but they still have the D-backs, Cardinals, and Pirates on deck for 11 games in the next 10 days.

Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-baseball sports, the Brewers, you name it. As long as it’s appropriate and is allowed by our moderators, it’s fair game here.

You know the drill.

This is now an open thread:

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

If you’re one of the many fans who have found the Orioles exhausting to watch for most of the season, at least we’re getting ample breaks from the team this month. The O’s weekend series with the Reds is bookended with off days yesterday and Monday — because traveling to Cincinnati is particularly arduous, apparently? — and after a six-game homestand, the Birds will take four days off for the All-Star break.

We’re just over a week until the unofficial end to the first half, and not a moment too soon. The Orioles, unless they go a perfect 9-0 in their next three series, are guaranteed to have a losing record entering the break. It’s not the kind of season that any of us hoped we’d be seeing, so close on the heels of an equally disappointing 2025 campaign. This year was supposed to be different. It hasn’t been, and that stinks. We’ve written plenty about that already and will have to do so for a while longer if the Orioles’ freefall continues.

But for now let’s focus on the future — specifically, the MLB Draft, which begins next Saturday, July 11. The Orioles hold the seventh pick, and MLB.com’s latest mock draft projects them to select outfielder Drew Burress from Georgia Tech. Wait, you’re telling me the Orioles might select a college outfielder? Imagine that! Other possible candidates for that spot, according to MLB’s Jonathan Mayo, are Justin Lebron, Tyler Bell, Ryder Helfrick, Chris Hacopian, and Derek Curiel. I’m not convinced that all of those are real names.

As for Burress, he’s a 5-foot-9 center fielder who’s ranked as the #6 draft prospect by The Athletic’s Keith Law. Burress “swings hard, with excellent bat speed,” according to Law, who notes that his average exit velocity was in the 90th percentile of college hitters. Burress has “easy plus power” that belies his small frame, and Law projects him as a 20+ homer a year player who could stick in center field but might have to move to a corner spot. Yep, sounds like the Orioles’ type.

Of course, it’s much too early to write down Burress in pen as the Orioles’ pick. There’s just over a week until the draft and six teams picking ahead of them, so there’s plenty of different directions the O’s could go with their selection. I just wish the draft weren’t the only thing that qualifies as excitement in Birdland these days.

Links

With the No. 7 draft pick, will O’s take a pitcher? It doesn’t seem likely – Steve Melewski

Yup, that also tracks.

Will Orioles ever see Gunnar Henderson return to ‘superstar’ numbers? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

Superstar? First let’s see him at least return to league-average numbers, and go from there.

Beltway rivals O’s, Nats complete trade for 1st time ever – MLB.com

History in the making. I, for one, will never forget what I was doing when the Kyle Nicolas-for-Randal Diaz went down. I don’t know which player was the one the O’s traded and which one they acquired, but still.

Checking with Robertson on upcoming draft, and tossing out a few names – School of Roch

Shortstop Roch Cholowsky is so highly regarded that he won’t drop to the #7 pick, ruining the possibility of having two Rochs on the Orioles circuit. Alas.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Three former Orioles were born on this day: right-hander Tommy Hunter (40), lefty Jeff Rineer (71), and the late outfielder Al Pilarcik (b. 1930, d. 2010).

July 3 used to be a pretty good day for the Orioles. At one point the O’s won 15 consecutive games on this date from 1961 to 1974, including three doubleheader sweeps. Through 1974, they had a 19-3 record all-time on July 3. But since then they’re 18-30 on this date, and have lost five of their last seven.

Random Orioles game of the day

On July 3, 1992, the Orioles beat the Twins, 6-1, at the Metrodome. Hall of Famer Mike Mussina, then in his second season, came within two outs of a complete game, somehow holding the Twins to just one run despite giving up 12 (!) hits. He made big pitches when he needed to, I suppose. The Orioles broke a scoreless tie in the fifth on back-to-back sacrifice flies, then removed all doubt with a four-run seventh inning that included RBI singles by Glenn Davis, Randy Milligan, and Joe Orsulak, and a run-scoring double from Mark McLemore.

After that game, the O’s and Twins had identical 46-32 records, with the Twins sitting in first place and the Orioles one game out, but neither would end up making the playoffs.

I don’t have a clever heat-related pun to use here. Did you know that the home run rate rises as the temperature does? You did? Well, that’s all I had. Onto the links.

Phillies news

Zack Wheeler was not happy that Don Mattingly pulled him in the fifth inning of his last start. The skipper lays out his case.

Will Bryce Harper join the Home Run Derby? Maybe!

Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs examines the worst defenses among baseball’s championship contenders. The fact that I’m putting it under “Phillies news” is something of a giveaway. ($)

MLB news

Even if you don’t like the Braves, you’ll like this charming story of English football fans throwing their support behind Michael Harris II.

Courtesy of ESPN, one player that every team should rate for (or trade away) at this year’s deadline.

The future is NOW. Well, not now. But the Futures Game is now. Well, not now. Next Sunday. Anyway, here’s a look at who’s playing in it.

The suspensions from the Nationals-Red Sox incident from earlier in the week have been handed down.

They’ve been scouted and scrutinized for months and years on end, and now you can add some pokes, prods and productive interviews to the list for the top prospects entering Major League Baseball’s draft.

The draft scouting combine was, for almost all draftees, the last major step leading up to the July 14 selection soiree in Philadelphia. While many prospects put on a measurables show – including an old friend of ours – the greater value from the days in Phoenix are the interviews and get-to-knows exchanged between front offices and draftees.

As clubs tweak their big boards and draft day arrives in less than two weeks, USA TODAY Sports takes a fourth crack at forecasting the first round:

1. Chicago White Sox: SS Roch Cholowsky, UCLA

All indications are the White Sox are still deliberating this pick, and due diligence and bonus pool gymnastics – they have the third-highest lump to distribute, $17.592 million - will always transpire up until go time. In the end, the virtually minimal risk drafting a shovel-ready college shortstop instead of a catcher or prep shortstop should prevail.

2. Tampa Bay Rays: SS Grady Emerson, Fort Worth Christian HS

The first real fork in the road. Yet the Rays may not draft this high for many years and the window to grab such a tooled-up, high-ceiling talent like Emerson will be too difficult to pass up.

3.  Minnesota Twins: C Vahn Lackey, Georgia Tech

Seemingly another coin flip, but we’re ready to move off college righty Jackson Flora, though it would be little surprise if the Twins stayed that course. The franchise knows about elite-hitting catchers as franchise cornerstones.

4. San Francisco Giants: SS Jacob Lombard, Gulliver Prep (Florida) HS

Flora would make sense here as well but Buster Posey opts for the other potential franchise prep shortstop at the top of the round. It’d seem the last thing the Giants need is more risk with the high-ceiling Lombard, but the Miami-bound shortstop also represents opportunity.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates: RHP Jackson Flora, UC Santa Barbara

They love their high-ceiling prep arms, but in this scenario, it’s too hard to pass on Flora after he slips past the Twins and Giants. Flora’s profile suggests a quick-to-the-majors path, not the worst thing for a club with three years left of Paul Skenes and a future rotation that could be built around last year’s top pick, Seth Hernandez.

6. Kansas City Royals: OF Eric Booth, Oak Grove (Mississippi)

A snug fit for both, as Booth’s skill set translates nicely to Kauffman Stadium, and he figures to be the last of the big half-dozen on the board when the Royals are on the clock.

7. Baltimore Orioles: OF Drew Burress, Georgia Tech

The college player from the Sun Belt type has defined Orioles first rounds and there are so many to choose from as they determine the direction the first-round river flows from here. Burress’ career 1.204 OPS with the Yellow Jackets – he tied Jason Varitek’s career home run mark with 57 – and ability to man any outfield position stand out.

8. Athletics: SS Justin Lebron, Alabama

Still a passel of college hitters to sift through and the A’s roll the dice on Lebron, weighing the fallen stock against the physical tools that may fully develop in Yolo County and then Las Vegas.

9. Atlanta Braves: LHP Gio Rojas, Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Florida) HS

There are scenarios where a team upsets the expected Big 6 and snags Rojas earlier, but he should slip through to become the next big young arm added to Atlanta’s stable of pitchers.

10. Colorado Rockies: C Ryder Helfrick, Arkansas

Pitching has been the focus of the Rockies’ bottom-up rebuild, but it will be too hard to bypass a thunderous bat like Helfrick, who finished up in Fayetteville with 18 homers and as many walks as strikeouts.

11. Washington Nationals: OF Derek Curiel, LSU

They’d prefer a higher-ceiling player here but go with an advanced pure hitter who raked (.349, .353 in two seasons in Baton Rouge) against SEC pitching.

12. Los Angeles Angels: RHP Cameron Flukey, Coastal Carolina

Perry Minasian is gone, but does his ghost linger? Arte Moreno certainly does and the marching orders, surely, would be to assemble quick-to-the-majors talent since they’re just that close to contending.

13. St. Louis Cardinals: INF Chris Hacopian, Texas A&M

Already mature in his development and possesses enough versatility and an excellent hit tool to transition smoothly to St. Louis.

14. Miami Marlins: INF Ace Reese, Mississippi State

We’ve matched Reese and the Marlins before and we bring ‘em back together after the combine. The Marlins do like pitching but there’s not a consistent enough arm here to bypass a solid collegiate bat.

15. Arizona Diamondbacks: LHP/OF Jared Grindlinger, Huntington Beach (California) HS

Might as well take a big swing here. Grindlinger just turned 17 and while he figures to land on the hitting side of the equation, the youth and upside affords Arizona the time to find out.

16. Texas Rangers: OF AJ Gracia, Virginia

Mature college bat fits the Rangers snugly and Gracia, who could go much higher if a club wants to save a few bucks, could move quickly toward Arlington.

17. Houston Astros: SS Tyler Bell, Kentucky

Like Gracia, Bell might hear his name sooner, but the Astros jump on the draft-eligible sophomore whose final season was slowed by a shoulder injury.

18. Cincinnati Reds: RHP Liam Peterson, Florida

They love their big right-handers and the Reds could have their choice of Flukey or Peterson, whose platform season did not match his significant stuff.

19. Cleveland Guardians: LHP Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan (Massachusetts) HS

Elite athleticism and a 6-9 frame with a 100-mph fastball? Kind of surprised Bumila would last this long, but the Guardians should do wonderful work with the erstwhile prep basketball star.

20. Boston Red Sox: C Daniel Jackson, Georgia

Jackson’s provided his own helium with a 32-homer, 26-steal season that ended in the men's College World Series finals and he simply looks better the longer you regard him.

21. San Diego Padres: OF Trevor Condon, Etowah (Georgia) HS

They love their athletic high schoolers and in this simulation, Condon is available. Check back in a few years if he ends up more AJ Preller trade fodder.

22. Detroit Tigers: 3B Bo Lowrance, Christ Church Episcopal (South Carolina) HS

Plenty to dream on here: A 6-5 corner infielder with big power potential and a smooth lefty swing.

23. Chicago Cubs: LHP Mason Edwards, Southern Cal

No need to overthink grabbing a big lefty who strikes out 16 batters per nine innings with plenty of deception.

24. Seattle Mariners: RHP Cade Townsend, Ole Miss

A draft-eligible sophomore with a powerful repertoire, Townsend – or whomever the Mariners grab here – is in the right system to max out his skills.

25. Milwaukee Brewers: OF Aiden Robbins, Texas

He slashed .333/.426/.696 for the Longhorns, increasing his home runs from six to 24 in moving from Seton Hall to Austin.

26. Atlanta Braves: SS Tyler Spangler, De La Salle (California) HS

Armed with a nearly $16 million bonus pool and two picks in the top 26, the Braves can afford a bold venture. Spangler, who missed his senior year due to injury, certainly qualifies. A top 10 consensus pick preseason, he performed at the draft combine, though his numbers reflected the rust. How far above slot would it take to lure him from Stanford?

27. New York Mets: RHP Tegan Kuhns, Tennessee

The 10-slot penalty for luxury tax indiscretions are seen in real time here, but a good player will still tumble to the Mets. In this case, it’s Kuhns, who rode a mid-90s fastball and sharp curve into the first round.

28. Houston Astros: OF Zion Rose, Louisville

We’ll stick with the Rose-to-Houston narrative and, in this scenario, the Astros walk away with a pair of advanced collegiate bats from the state of Kentucky.

29. San Francisco Giants: LHP Logan Schmidt, Ganesha (California) HS

No way the Giants don’t come away with pitching in either of their two picks. Having opted for Lombard over Flora earlier, they play the long game with Schmidt, who reclassified from 2027 and holds a commitment to LSU.

30. Kansas City Royals: RHP Jensen Hirschkorn, Kingsburg (California) HS

Like Schmidt, Hirschkorn is an LSU commit. Like Burmila, he’s also a standout hoops player with a 6-7 frame that already produces a mid-90s fastball.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB mock draft 2026: Will White Sox Roch steady at No. 1 with star shortstop?