The Mariners (32-29) outlasted the Mets (26-34) in extra innings of the series opener, 3-2 on a Cole Young walk off. The win preserved the MLB's longest current winning streak for the Mariners.
Seattle has won seven straight with two consecutive coming in extra innings and three of the past four. The Mariners have outscored its opponents, 40-15 during the seven-game winning streak.
In the last five games, Seattle has a 1.88 ERA, ranking first in the MLB, while New York has the second-best ERA (1.94). The Mets are sporting a 4-1 record in that span as the extra innings loss snapped their longest winning streak of the season.
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
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Game details & how to watch Mets at Mariners
Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Time: 9:40 PM EST
Site: T-Mobile Park
City: Seattle, WA
Network/Streaming: MLB TV
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Odds for the Mets at the Mariners
The latest odds as of Tuesday:
Moneyline: Seattle Mariners (-149), New York Mets (+123)
Spread: Mariners -1.5 (+142), Mets +1.5 (-172)
Total: 7.5
Probable starting pitchers for Mets at Mariners
Tuesday's pitching matchup (June 2): Logan Gilbert vs. Jonah Tong
The Mets’ Juan Soto is hitting .297 with 47 hits and 92 total bases over 158 at-bats
The Mets’ Bo Bichette is hitting .216 with 52 hits and 43 strikeouts over 241 at-bats
The Mariners’ Randy Arozarena is hitting .286 with 64 hits and 100 total bases over 224 at-bats
The Mariners’ J.P. Crawford is hitting .215 with 40 hits and 42 strikeouts over 186 at-bats
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Mets at Mariners
Seattle is 23-38 ATS, ranking second-worst
New York is 25-35 ATS, ranking seventh-worst
Seattle is 32-27-2 to the Under, ranking eighth-best
New York is 30-25-5 to the Under, ranking seventh-best
Seattle is 11-22 ATS, ranking second-worst
New York is 12-18 ATS, ranking seventh-worst
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Mariners and the Mets
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Tuesday's game between the Mariners and the Mets:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Mariners on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Mariners at -1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Over on the Game Total of 7.5
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Toronto Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement is positioned for another productive day at the plate with sinker-baller Bryce Elder on the mound for the Atlanta Braves.
That makes Clement Over 1.5 total bases my favorite play for my Blue Jays vs. Braves predictions and MLB picks for Tuesday, June 2.
Blue Jays vs Braves predictions
Blue Jays vs Braves best bet: Ernie Clement Over 1.5 bases (+155)
Ernie Clement enters Tuesday's matchup leading the American League with 68 hits while recording a hit in 13 of his last 14 games, including nine extra-base hits.
His hitting profile matches up well against Atlanta Braves starter Bryce Elder, who pitches to contact with an 88.1% zone-contact rating, while primarily relying on a sinker/slider combination with an 85% usage rate against right-handed hitters to get outs.
His 23.2% whiff rate also ranks him in the 23rd percentile.
That all plays directly into the Toronto Blue Jays sluggers' strengths.
Clement is a contact hitter, owning a 92.6% zone-contact rate, while crushing the sinker/slider combo with a .358 average and a .444 slug against those pitches. I’d play Clement Over 1.5 bases to +130.
COVERS INTEL:Clement’s consistency at the plate has resulted in a 176 WRC+ over his last 14 outings, averaging 2.4 total bases per game.
Blue Jays vs Braves same-game parlay (SGP)
Nathan Lukes owns a .429 batting average and a 195 WRC+ in his last 25 at-bats since returning from the IL for Toronto and has cleared his 0.5 hits total in six straight outings.
I’ll play the strong matchup game between Jays starter Kevin Gausman and Braves’ Sandy Leon, who is 0-for-14 against Toronto’s ace with a 43% strikeout rate. He also owns a 50% whiff rate against the splitter this season. Add Leon Over 0.5 K’s to the SGP.
Blue Jays vs Braves SGP
Ernie Clement Over 1.5 total bases
Nathan Lukes Over 0.5 hits
Sandy Leon Over 0.5 strikeouts
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Get the best Jays ML odds at BET99 — every game.
Blue Jays vs Braves home run pick: George Springer (+540)
Elder has allowed just five home runs all season, making this more of a half-unit sprinkle than a full-sized play.
Still, George Springer has shown encouraging signs lately, recording a hit in 10 of his last 13 games. Last season, he excelled against sinker-heavy pitchers, batting .371 with a .661 expected slugging percentage against the pitch type.
With his recent approach at the plate trending in the right direction, Springer is my home run pick for Tuesday afternoon.
2026 Transparency record
Best bets: 28-30, +2.35 units
SGPs: 11-47, +1.60 units
HR picks: 9-49, +1.80 units
Blue Jays vs Braves odds
Moneyline: Toronto +113 | Atlanta -125
Run line: Toronto +1.5 (-195) | Atlanta -1.5 (+170)
Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-105) | Under 7.5 (-115)
Blue Jays vs Braves trend
The Toronto Blue Jays have covered the Run Line in 25 of their last 40 games (+10.80 Units / 21% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Braves.
How to watch Blue Jays vs Braves and game info
Location
Truist Park, Cumberland, GA
Date
Tuesday, 6-2-2026
First pitch
7:15 p.m. ET
TV
BravesVision, SN1
Blue Jays starting pitcher
Kevin Gausman (4-3, 3.13 ERA)
Braves starting pitcher
Bryce Elder (4-3, 2.50 ERA)
Blue Jays vs Braves latest injuries
Blue Jays vs Braves weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 25: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers has a laugh with a teammate in the dugout during a game against the Minnesota Twins at Globe Life Field on September 25, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford will both be with the Frisco Roughriders on a rehab assignment today. The Roughriders players will be eating well tonight.
Seager last played on May 13. The Rangers had an off day on May 14, and then Seager had a planned day off on May 15. On May 16, Seager reported back spasms which ultimately landed him on the injured list.
Langford, meanwhile, last played in the majors on April 21. He left that game due to forearm soreness, and ended up on the injured list with a forearm strain. He was with Round Rock on a rehab assignment over the weekend, DHing on Saturday and playing left field on Sunday.
With the Rangers off on Thursday, my guess is that Langford and Seager play for Frisco today and tomorrow and, if everything goes well, would be activated on Friday when the team returns home.
The Rangers will have some decisions to make once Langford and Seager return, as well as Sam Haggerty, who is currently on bereavement leave. Alejandro Osuna has been playing left field against righthanded pitchers in Langford’s absence, and with Langford returning to full time left field duties, Osuna would seem likely to be sent back to AAA.
With Seager back at shortstop, Ezequiel Duran would go back to being the regular second baseman, as well as playing some outfield. If the Rangers were to keep Haggerty once he returns from bereavement leave, that would allow the team to send Michael Helman back to AAA, as Haggerty would be the fourth outfielder. Should they decide they want to keep Freeman and let Haggerty go, Helman would probably need to stay up as the fourth outfielder, and either Nicky Lopez would be cut loose or Justin Foscue would get sent back down. Alternatively, they could send Freeman down when Seager is activated, waive Haggerty, and keep Helman up as the fourth outfielder.
NEW YORK — The head of the baseball players’ association insisted his union will fight management’s salary cap proposal as long as it takes as negotiations proceed with the threat of a lockout that could cancel games next season.
Major League Baseball proposed a salary cap and appears set to start a lockout after the current labor contract expires Dec. 1.
“Our union has never been broken and never will be,” interim executive director Bruce Meyer said during an online news question-and-answer session with reporters. “Our players have what they have, including being the only sport that doesn’t have this ultimate restriction, the salary cap, because our players have always been the most unified and that’s going to continue.”
Baseball has had nine work stoppages since 1972, the last a 99-day lockout that slightly delayed the 2022 season. Regular-season games have not been lost since a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95, the last time MLB proposed a cap.
The NFL has had a cap since 1994, the NBA since 1984-85 and the NHL since 2005-06.
“The unions in the other sports didn’t agree to salary-cap systems because they thought it was a good thing for players. That’s not what happened,” Meyer said. “In one way or the other, they were not able to fight the way that our union has and, not criticizing anybody, it’s just a fact. Our union has always been the most solid, and that’s why our union has the best system.”
Negotiators have not scheduled the next bargaining session. The union last week proposed expanded free agency and salary arbitration rights along with almost doubling the major league minimum and increasing revenue sharing.
MLB’s proposal would cap team spending in 2027 at $245.3 million, using figures for luxury tax payrolls that include $20.1 million for benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. It also would establish a payroll floor of $171.2 million, forcing some teams to spend more. The Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball’s biggest spenders, had a $415.2 million payroll on opening day this year — around $170 million over the proposed cap.
“Our salary cap and floor proposal addresses our fans’ concerns by leveling the playing field while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50 like the other leagues,” MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement. “Under our proposal, major league players will receive more compensation in year one of the system than in 2026.”
Los Angeles shattered MLB’s spending record with a combined $515 million in payroll and luxury tax last year en route to its second straight World Series title. Los Angeles’ total was seven times the $68.7 million payroll of Miami, the lowest-spending team, and more than the payrolls of the bottom six clubs combined.
Meyer likened a cap to “Big Brother” telling a team it can’t sign a player it wants to.
“At a time of exploding popularity, growth and interest, the owners’ goal is more money in the pockets of owners,” he said. “Don’t blame them for that, but that’s what it is. Whether it’s more in profits because they’re holding down labor costs or growing their franchise values.”
Meyer dismissed MLB’s contention that payroll disparity causes fans of lower-spending teams to lose hope. No small-market team has won the World Series since the 2015 Kansas City Royals.
“We do not accept the premise that there’s some existential crisis going on,” he said. “People are still lining up to buy these teams, to get in whether as a minority investor or otherwise, and that’s because the sport is extremely healthy.”
He pointed out lower-payroll teams do reach the 12-team playoffs and Cincinnati got in last year while the New York Mets did not. Six postseason teams had payrolls above $200 million last year, and MLB emphasizes high-spending teams usually dominate the later rounds.
“We don’t want money to be taken away from teams that want to spend it and give it to teams that don’t want to spend it,” Meyer said. “We want to encourage more San Diegos. San Diego is a small-market team that went out, decided to compete, signed a lot of players, turned around their franchise.”
MLB’s proposal calls for a 50-50 split with players of defined revenue, including for player spending on signing bonuses for players from high school and college, and international amateurs agreeing to initial contracts.
“It’s not even a real 50%. It’s taking billions of dollars off the top before they’re proposing to even share any of that,” Meyer said. “Players’ share under their proposal would go down. Players’ share for this season, 2026, is projected to be well over 50%. ... Had MLB’s proposal been in place in 2026, players would, we estimate — would lose over half a billion dollars.”
He faulted MLB for how it defined revenue and spending.
“Their proposal of course excludes things like expansion fees, franchise values, the place where they make their most money,” he said. “Their proposal deducts billions of dollars in expenses ... so it’s not even a real 50%.”
“They’ve effectively managed to cobble together the worst system for players in any of the major sports, and not even close,” Meyer added.
Player contracts this year, using average annual values and including benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool, total $6.14 billion, according to MLB’s opening-day figures. Slot values for signing bonuses in this year’s amateur draft come to about $359 million and international signing bonus pools to $208 million.
Under MLB’s proposal, there would be an escrow system in which players would have money withheld in the event their share of revenue rises above the specified amount. They would get more money if their share falls short.
“If revenues are soft or they go down, then that means players at the end of the day won’t get the guaranteed money,” he said.
Meyer also said some teams heighten disparity by not spending on players.
“Every team now has the ability to put a competitive team on the field, every single team,” he said. “One of the things that I find kind of ironic in a perverse way, if team X decides we’re not going to spend money on players, well that increases the disparity in payroll.”
May 30, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Raisel Iglesias (26) shakes hands with catcher Chadwick Tromp (39) after the victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
The Jays finally got a day off after finishing 17 straight games with a 10-7 record. But back at it tonight, they are facing the team with the best record in all of baseball: Atlanta Braves. The Braves have gone 40-20 so far this season, burying their closest competitors at 9.5 games back out of first. This has been powered by an offense that leads baseball in RBIs, is second in home runs, and sports a top five rotation and bullpen. They’ve managed this despite injuries that have benched 2025 RoY Drake Baldwin and starter Spencer Schwellenbach.
I reached out to Battery Power’s Ivan the Great to answer a few questions about the Braves team and how their fans view the 2026 season.
Atlanta has a commanding lead at the top of the NLE right now, clicking on all cylinders. What are the key elements that are driving their winning ways so far? Comprehensively answering this question would probably take 3,000 words, so I’ll focus on a few. First, the team was already supposed to be pretty good; last year was the outlier driven by a completely unforced error of a top-down change to team offensive approach, and then intensified by an absurdly bad run of injuries. Second, it looks like last year has finally spurred some changes in how the team approaches individual games, with new skipper Walt Weiss implementing a much more “let’s try to win most games we’re in” mentality that was absent from about 2023-onward when the team’s projections were really good. Third, they’re back to focusing on what many hitters were acquired for and initially coached to do: hit homers. Even as MLB continues to “experiment” with increased drag on the ball, that still remains the dominant strategy where you have the personnel to achieve it. Lastly, the defense has been really good, with Mauricio Dubon and a hopefully-it’s-not-just-a-small-sample defensive resurgence from Ozzie Albies really making the pitching look more effective than it has been
Baldwin looked like he was recreating his rookie season before the injury. How soon are the Braves hoping to get him back and why do you think he’s been able to successfully build on last season so far this season?
It looks like the timeline for Drake Baldwin is about mid-June, but the Braves generally slow-play injury returns, and there’s little reason to rush him back given the standings. Baldwin has an almost-ideal profile in that he doesn’t have a particular long swing, nor is he jumping out to pull the ball, but he’s able to generate a fast, hard swing that can cover the zone and then some even though he doesn’t need to cheat or rely on a longer swing through the zone to do it. This year, a huge difference has been simply hitting the ball in the air more, letting that hard swing turn what used to be lasers through the infield into things that go a lot further than the infield. Combine his ability to cover non-strikes and hit them pretty hard with a teamwide approach that’s tilted back towards aggression and damage on contact, and you’ve basically got a monster at the plate at this point.
Matt Olson continues to rake for the Braves. Anyone still missing Freeman or regretting that deal?
I’m sure lots of folks are still missing Freddie Freeman, but I hope that Olson continues to take the sting out of those proceedings. It’s worth noting that post-trade, through May 2026, Freeman still has a sizable fWAR advantage (23.7 to 19.3) and a large xwOBA lead (about .020) as well. That said, I don’t think the Braves would’ve been able to get out of Freeman what the Dodgers did in his 30s, as the Dodgers re-oriented him towards something he probably enjoys more (spraying liners) than what the Braves were morphing into (hitting bombs and scowling disgustedly at the punishment meted out, something Olson excels at).
Which prospect are Braves fans most excited for that debuted or might debut this year?
I think this was probably JR Ritchie, and folks got their wish as he was ultimately called up and did… okay for a call-up but not so great for an MLB pitcher. That excitement only grew after Ritchie’s very fun MLB debut, but he never really got back to that level of performance and has some stuff to figure out in the minors.
Who is your favourite member of the team to watch right now?
Well, Baldwin’s on the shelf, so I’d probably have to go with Chris Sale, because it’s just such a confident form of dominance. He’s not necessarily outsmarting you (guys, it’s two pitches) and it’s not like he can’t be squared up at all such that he never even has to work out of a jam or anything. But, when it comes down to it, the combination of his delivery and arm angle just makes trying to face his slider comical… and then you remember that he can blow it by you in the zone, too. At this point, everyone pretty much knows how Chris Sale is going to pitch against them, but it doesn’t help them much, not even when they stand in the box against him multiple times a game. In a league where many pitchers kind of feel like cookie cutter-esque fastball/slider guys that are nonetheless effective if interchangeable, Chris Sale stands out as a completely different fastball/slider guy who might look similar-if-better on paper, but looks like he’s from a completely different league when he gets up there and gets guys to swing and miss by a foot on a slider that sweeps all the way across the center field camera view.
And just a fun little exercise, if you could make a guaranteed trade for one player from a division rival, who would it be and what would you consider a fair return to acquire them?
The Braves don’t have too much that they could, and would want to, offer to improve what already looks like one of MLB’s best rosters. So, I’ll focus on plugging a hole in this one. The Braves could use another lefty reliever, as Aaron Bummer’s shoulder cratered his effectiveness and he was sent packing a few weeks ago. Brooks Raley is a boring older lefty veteran type who isn’t making much this year, and wouldn’t cost much of anything that the Braves would likely miss, either. While the Braves probably won’t actually get Raley given general Braves-Mets animosity, I expect them to add one or maybe two Raley analogues before the summer ends.
The Arizona Diamondbacks (32-27) stole the series opener versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (38-22), 4-1.
Arizona's win snapped a three-game losing streak and a five-game losing streak against the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks hammered three home runs in the win over Los Angeles and allowed one run on five hits. Arizona had one home run in the last four games. Over the last five contests, the Diamondbacks are hitting .182 (29th) as a team.
Los Angeles is now 1-2 in the last three games, but 7-2 in the previous nine following Monday's loss. The Dodgers are hitting .263 (11th) with 10 home runs (T-3rd) over the past five games with a 2.45 ERA (T-4th). The Dodgers are 12-9 in the 21 games following a loss this season.
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Dodgers at Diamondbacks
Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Time: 9:40 PM EST
Site: Chase Field
City: Phoenix, AZ
Network/Streaming: ESPN / MLB TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Dodgers at the Diamondbacks
The latest odds as of Tuesday:
Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers (-120), Arizona Diamondbacks (-101)
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is hitting .289 with 61 hits and 106 total bases over 211 at-bats
The Dodgers’ Kyle Tucker is hitting .238 with 50 hits and 45 strikeouts over 210 at-bats
The Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll is hitting .286 with 59 hits and 110 total bases over 206 at-bats
The Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo is hitting .221 with 43 hits and 30 strikeouts over 195 at-bats
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Dodgers at Diamondbacks
The Dodgers are 32-28 ATS
The Diamondbacks are 36-23 ATS, ranking third-best
The Dodgers are 35-25 to the Under, ranking first-best
The Diamondbacks are 28-28-3 to the Over
The Dodgers are 17-12 ATS as the road team, ranking fourth-best
The Diamondbacks are 17-10 ATS as the home team, ranking fifth-best
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Tuesday's game between the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Dodgers on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Dodgers at -1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Under on the Game Total of 9.5
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Texas’ Aiden Robbins (43) celebrates with teammates after hitting his second home run of the game against Vanderbilt during the fourth inning of a NCAA baseball game at Hawkins Field on Friday, April 24, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. | MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
It was quite a bloodletting for seeded teams in the tournament this weekend. Seven of the sixteen seeded were wiped away in the first weekend, including the top two seeds in UCLA and Georgia Tech. There were some great performances in the tournament though. It’s possible some of these players that we’re tracking were able to move up the board.
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 1, 2026
Well, that’s some opposite field power. Per Baseball America, he’s not a player that puts the ball in the air a lot and has a “hit-over-power” profile. He appears to have made an exception today. If he keeps trending in this direction, he might not stay in the middle of the first round very long. Aiden continues play next weekend versus Oregon.
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 31, 2026
Justin Lebron looks like a solid five-tool guy. Here he is showing off the power, pulling a ball on the outside corner into the scoreboard area. He displayed some speed as well with two stolen bases. He plays solid defense as shortstop as well. The only knock is his contact skills, but it’s a smal knock. Justin will play against St. John’s this weekend.
Oklahoma took out the number two seed in the tournament with two wins over Georgia Tech. Brendan Brock helped lead the way with two home runs and 8/15 overall at the plate. He can play catcher and center field, which might make him an unique one in this year’s draft. Brendan will be at Kansas this weekend.
Daniel Jackson crushes his 29th homer of the year — his second in as many NCAA Regional games 💪
Here’s another catcher with pop. Daniel Jackson had two home runs and a double and went 5/10 overall. The power is there with above average speed. The defense is a bit of a question mark despite his good arm. Daniel will play Mississippi State this weekend.
UIC took a quick 2-0 lead, but then Alex Hernandez hit this ball 407 feet to tie it. He's batting 6th and will likely hear his name called in the top five rounds.
Georgia Tech will likely have at least 7(!) hitters from their lineup drafted in July.pic.twitter.com/dGUXetL5zg
Alex Hernandez went ham over the weekend in a losing effort for Georgia Tech. He grabbed 4 home runs and 3 other hits. There is a lot of swing-and-miss in his profile, but hoo boy the power is there. He has some work to do with zone recognition, but it’s nothing that a summer in High A ball wouldn’t cure. Georgia Tech’s season is over, but that just allows some of their players more prep time for the draft.
Another day, another Drew Burress bomb. 113 mph off the bat, that’s career home run No. 60 for the Georgia Tech star.
— The Prospect Porch (@prospect_porch) June 1, 2026
Speaking of Georgia Tech players getting ready for the draft, I present Drew Burress. If you can call 4/16 and 2 home runs as a quiet weekend, it’s because there were some ridiculous lines put up this week. Burress is listed at number 4 to 10 depending on what publication you are reading. A lot of mock draft have him going to the Braves. The hit, power, and speed tools are there, and most observers think he can stick in center field. 60 home runs in a college career for a 5-9 180 guy seems like a ton.
Hunter Dietz delivers a career-high 14-strikeout performance for @RazorbackBSB, allowing 4 runs over 6 1/3 frames.
The 6-foot-6 southpaw with four above-average pitches checks in at No. 15 on the Top 200 Draft Prospects list. pic.twitter.com/KvpEfCCczA
Want to see a late first round pitching prospect? Hunter Dietz punched out 14 Jayhawks in a loss to Kansas. Dietz is a big lefty at 6-6 230. He sits 95 on the fastball and touches 98. He features a pretty good slider/cutter and a curveball. He’s a guy with a lot of bullets left, as he dealt with a stress fracture early in his college career. I’m not saying he’s not going to the Braves. He’s too big to say that to him. We can say his college season has ended.
Gavin Grahovac gets the Aggies on the board with a solo shot 💣
He has some of the best raw power + contact quality in the 2026 draft class.
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 31, 2026
Gavin Grahovac had three home runs, three walks, and a single in a regional loss over the weekend. There were some questions about his contact skills, but he seems to have dealt with those. He has overcome shoulder surgery in 2025 to hit 47 home runs in his college career. The observers love his physicality, but it’s unclear if he will play corner outfield in the pros. Texas A&M’s season is over.
AJ Gracia has 5 hits and 5 RBIs on the day with the season on the line for the Virginia Cavaliers.
— The Prospect Porch (@prospect_porch) May 30, 2026
AJ Gracia displayed all of his skills over the weekend, reaching base 10 times. He was spraying the ball around the park and had this super catch to rob Jacksonville State of a home run. AJ put up a .354/.489/.632 line with 24 home runs for Virginia. Baseball America likes him in the 10-15 range. Virginia’s season is over.
I didn’t watch college baseball at all, but I did get to see some late Sunday and Monday. There are more 95+ MPH pitchers in college than I realized. These hitters are using he aluminum bats, but their contact skills are no joke. Their defense collectively looks to be a work in progress, but these guys will play two or three seasons in the minor leagues anyway. There appears to be a ton of hitting talent in the draft, and the Braves could even grab a catcher or center fielder.
BRONX, NY - APRIL 17: Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro looks at the scoreboard before the MLB professional baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York, NY. (Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Royals have lost 16 of 20 games, and are now just a half game from having the worst record in baseball in early June. The season has been a huge disappointment for a team that largely returned a roster coming off back-to-back winning seasons and was expecting to contend for a post-season spot.
When teams fail to live up to expectations in such dramatic fashion, fans and media begin to call for people to be fired. Royals manager Matt Quatraro was hired in 2023, and the next season he was praised for one of the biggest improvements in recent baseball history, winning 30 more games and reaching the playoffs. The team took a step back in 2025, but still finished with a winning record.
But now, as the team stumbles to a 23-37 start, the calls for a change in the dugout grow louder. Quatraro signed a three-year contract extension in January, which would seem to make a change unlikely. J.J. Picollo has expressed confidence in his skipper, telling reporters last week that the data doesn’t suggest a change would matter.
“You can go back and look at all the historical research on changing coaching staffs. There’s not a lot of strong data on changing coaching staffs mid-season leading to what you need to do. It appeases the fanbase because you’ve made a change, but we have to be logical in our thinking.”
Does firing a manager make a difference in team performance? Studies suggest a manager only has a net impact of a few wins or losses per year. Some moves backfire and blow the game, but other moves help win games and counteract those moves. Ultimately, a win/loss record is dependent largely on the level of talent.
But baseball is a results-oriented business, and a manager’s job is to win games. Aside from in-game tactical decisions, there is the question on how effective a manager is at getting the most out of his roster, or even getting it to overachieve. Leadership does matter, and if players are underperforming their expected talent level, questions will be pointed at the manager for what he is doing or not doing to get a better performance out of his players. Sometimes, a leadership style gets stale, a clubhouse vibe turns sour, and a clubhouse shake-up is needed.
Dan Syzmborski at Fangraphs took a look at this earlier this year after the Red Sox and Phillies each dismissed their respective skippers back in April. The Phillies have taken off since Don Mattingly took over for Rob Thomson, and are now over .500. The Red Sox have played near .500 baseball under Chad Tracy, a slight improvement over how they played under Alex Cora, but not enough to get them out of the cellar.
Syzmborski examined 40 managerial firings since the start of the 2004 season and found:
On a fundamental level, the teams did play better ball after firing their manager. The teams had a .414 winning percentage when their managers were fired, and the replacements accumulated a .467 winning percentage the rest of the way. Thirty two of the 40 teams saw their record improve.
So teams do generally improve in the win/loss column. But how much of this is the manager’s doing, and how much of this is underperforming teams simply regressing toward the mean? The Phillies and Red Sox were projected to be talented teams that could contend for postseason spots. Did they improve because the new manager made a difference? Or was it the team reverting to their true talent level? Or perhaps even a “dead cat bounce” where no team can play that poorly for that long?
Syzmborski compared how the team projected to do based on “rest of the season projections” at the time of the managerial change, and compared them to how the manager actually fared. The result was that “across 3,061 games managed, the new managers won 1.5 fewer games than expected…..a statistically insignificant difference.” The Red Sox were on pace to lose 102 games when Cora was fired – the team may be playing better under Tracy mostly because the roster talent level isn’t that bad. Don Mattingly has fared well for the Phillies, but it also helps that he took over when the Giants, Marlins, and Rockies were on the schedule.
That doesn’t necessarily mean a managerial firing is the wrong move. Teams do not operate in a vacuum of projections and probability. When a club is careening toward a disappointing season, ownership and the front office are often compelled to show that someone is being held accountable. A managerial change can signal that the organization recognizes the failure and is unwilling to accept it, even if the move itself is unlikely to produce a dramatic turnaround. The problem is that accountability and improvement are not always the same thing. Royals history offers several examples of that distinction.
Here are some of the recent mid-season managerial firings in Royals history.
1991 John Wathan fired, Bob Schaefer named interim manager, Hal McRae hired
The Royals went on a free agent splurge in 1990, signing Mark and Storm Davis (no relation), only to see those moves backfire. The team lost 86 games, at the time tying for the third-worst season in club history, and the low-key approach of manager John Wathan drew scrutiny. The next year, the team got off to a 15-22 (.405) start when new GM Herk Robinson fired Wathan in May, replacing him with Expos hitting coach and former Royals star Hal McRae. McRae wanted a much more aggressive style on the bases, – their stolen bases per game went from 0.54 under Wathan to 0.79 under McRae. He may have light a fire under the team, as they went 66-58 (.532) under him and finished with a winning record.
1997 Bob Boone fired, Tony Muser hired
The Royals wanted a youth movement after the work stoppage in 1995, and they brought in the academically-minded Bob Boone to oversee the effort. His first season was near .500, but the team lost 86 games his second year, and once again had a losing record of 36-46 (.439) going into the 1997 All-Star break. The Royals canned Boone and replaced him with Cubs hitting coach Tony Muser, but the team fared much worse, going just 31-48 (.392) down the stretch.
2002 Tony Muser fired, John Mizerock named interim manager, Tony Peña hired
Muser had a dour attitude, seemed to dig at one of his best hitters (Mike Sweeney), and was criticized for overusing his few good pitchers. He had four full losing seasons – at the time, some of the worst in club history – and yet the team seemed to stick with him. They finally fired him in 2002, after an 8-15 (.347) start, replacing him with bullpen coach John Mizerock on an interim basis. They lost their first six games with Mizerock in the dugout, but after they swept Cleveland, some fans wanted Mizerock to get the job on a full-time basis. Instead, they hired Astros bench coach Tony Peña, at the time a hot managerial prospect who had success in the minors and had been a widely respected player. The team did not play much better, going 49-77 (.389), and suffering two eight-game losing streaks and a 7-19 September.
2005 Tony Peña resigns, Bob Schaefer named interim manager, Buddy Bell hired
After a surprising run in 2003, Peña’s Royals fell back to earth with a thud in 2004. In 2005, he resigned in May with the team 8-25 (.242), the worst record in baseball. At the time, it seemed as if the stress of having the worst team in baseball had caused the resignation, but later reports indicated Peña may have been distracted by his involvement in a contentious divorce case in which he was alleged to have had an affair with the wife. After going 5-12 with interim manager Bob Schafer (.294), the team hired former Tigers and Rockies manager Buddy Bell who was Cleveland’s bench coach. The Royals went just 43-69 (.384) with Bell, a preview of the losing to come under his helm.
2010 Trey Hillman fired, Ned Yost hired
The Royals made an unconventional hire in Trey Hillman, who had become a candidate based on his experience managing in Japan. He won 75 games his first season, and the team got off to a good start in 2009 (18-11!) only to see the bottom drop out in a 97-loss season. The Royals brought in former Brewers manager Ned Yost as a special adviser in the front office, and the writing seemed to be on the wall for Hillman. His team got off to a 12-23 (.343) start, and a week after Dayton Moore said the team was not planning any moves, Hillman was let go. The Royals played much better under Yost until a September swoon, but they still finished with a 55-72 (.433) record on his watch.
With a .301/.416/.634 slash line through his first 60 games of the season, it’s not a question of whether Yordan Alvarez will be selected to his fourth American League All-Star team. The question is whether he’ll be traveling to Philadelphia alone.
It’s been 12 years since the Astros were limited to a single All-Star, and only once during that span have they had fewer than three representatives. So who could join Alvarez at next month’s Midsummer Classic?
Spencer Arrighetti
Arrighetti has been historically good since beginning the season in Sugar Land. His 1.34 ERA is the eighth-best mark in Astros history through a pitcher’s first eight starts of a season, and it would lead the majors if he had enough innings to qualify.
The Astros are 7-1 in Arrighetti’s starts, and he’s completed at least five innings in every outing while allowing two or fewer earned runs each time.
Arrighetti’s 3.97 FIP indicates he’s been a little fortunate, and his strikeout rate is below league average while his walk rate is above it. However, he’s been elite at limiting hard contact and has surrendered just two home runs.
The biggest strike against Arrighetti’s All-Star candidacy is his lack of innings, the result of making three or four fewer starts than the other pitchers competing for a spot. He won’t be able to make up all of that ground over the next month, but he’ll have a chance to narrow the gap. If he pitches anywhere close to the level he has through his first eight starts, he’ll likely join Alvarez in Philadelphia.
Christian Walker
What a difference a year makes for the 35-year-old first baseman, whom the Astros appeared ready to salary dump over the offseason. Walker finished May with 16 homers, 43 RBIs, and an .835 OPS after ending last May with seven homers, 25 RBIs, and a .630 OPS.
Walker leads the Astros in RBIs and trails only Alvarez in home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense at first base. This is the production the Astros thought they were getting when they signed Walker to a three-year, $60 million contract after the 2024 season.
The biggest hurdle standing between Walker and his first All-Star bid is that first base in the American League is stacked.
Ben Rice, Nick Kurtz, Munetaka Murakami, Willson Contreras, and Jonathan Aranda are AL first basemen with higher OPS marks than Walker. Murakami is currently on the injured list with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, which could create a slight opening, but an All-Star selection still feels unlikely unless Walker goes on a tear in June.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JUNE 01: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers gets ready in the batters box against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Chase Field on June 01, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In those 18 games, Ohtani is hitting .415/.506/.723 with 11 extra-base hits. That includes a ringing double to left center field that bounced off the warning track on Monday night.
This wasn’t necessarily a near home run — Baseball Savant says the 102.8-mph drive hit 375 feet with a 22-degree launch angle would have been a home run only in Wrigley Field among the 30 MLB parks — but it was a sign that Ohtani is locked in at the plate. Orel Hershiser commented on it on the SportsNet LA broadcast, and manager Dave Roberts likes to say Ohtani is at his best when he’s using all parts of the field.
Ohtani has 10 home runs through the Dodgers’ first 60 games, which puts him on pace for 27 home runs this year. It’s hard to be disappointed in a hitter with a 153 wRC+ — even before considering that player is alsoone of the best pitchers in baseball — but Ohtani’s first two seasons with the Dodgers broke the scale for proper calibration. That’s what happens when you set a franchise home run record in each of your first two seasons, hitting 54 home runs in 2024 and 55 in 2025.
Ohtani hit six home runs in March/April, and four in May. Those are his two lowest home run months with the Dodgers, with April tied with July 2024 as his previous home run nadir in Los Angeles. In every other month with the Dodgers, Ohtani hit between seven and 15 home runs.
In his career, June is Ohtani’s best power month, with 62 home runs and a .723 slugging percentage in 163 career games during the month.
Ohtani career splits
March/April: 43 HR (one per 18.3 PA), .559 SLG
May: 53 HR (one per 16.1 PA), .546 SLG
June: 62 HR (one per 11.3 PA), .723 SLG
July: 46 HR (one per 15.6 PA), .543 SLG
August: 47 HR (one per 18.2 PA), .537 SLG
September: 39 HR (one per 17.4 PA), .582 SLG
Whether you think Ohtani has another June to remember brings us to today’s question: How many home runs with Shohei Ohtani hit this June? He hit 12 home runs in June 2024, and seven in June 2025, for reference.
Gene Michael (1938 - 2017), the New York Yankees'coach, pictured February 24th 1981. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) | Getty Images
One of the more challenging problems in professional sports is that of determining who will make a proper coach or manager. Some of those who are the greatest to play the game aren’t good coaches, and some who are below average just so turn out to be constructors or leaders of the best teams to ever grace a diamond, field, or other playing surfaces.
While Gene Michael didn’t finish his playing career with anything close to Hall of Fame numbers, “Stick” is known as a constructor of not just the best MLB team to play a full season (record-wise), but the creator of arguably the greatest dynasty in baseball history.
Born in Ohio just outside of Akron, Michael stayed local through his upbringing, playing baseball throughout his childhood and attending school at Akron East High School, where he also played basketball. In fact, he excelled so much in both sports that he played both when he attended Kent State University in his college days, receiving a scholarship from the same school where future teammate Thurman Munson would star in a few years. While playing for the Golden Flashes, he was selected as their outstanding sophomore basketball player in 1958 when he led the team in scoring and field goal percentage. And while he did play one season of professional basketball in 1966-67 with the Columbus Comets of North American Basketball League, baseball was the route he chose for his future.
Michael’s best season on the college hardwood coincided with an excellent season on the diamond, and because of his work on the field, the Pittsburgh Pirates took an interest in the 6-foot-3 athlete. After being invited to Forbes Field in Pittsburgh to tryout in front of Pirates general manager Joe L. Brown, manager Danny Murtaugh, and coach/Hall of Famer George Sisler, Michael showcased his defensive skills in the middle infield and enough of what he could do at the plate to warrant a contract offer that brought in a $25,000 signing bonus as well.
After signing the contract early in September of 1958, Michael began what would be an eight-year journey through the minor leagues. He played two seasons with the Grand Forks Chiefs of the Northern League, three games with the Savannah Pirates in Single-A, the Class-D Hobbs Pirates, the Class-B and Class-A Kinston Eagles, and the three seasons with the Triple-A Columbus Jets of the International League.
Following his long stint in the minors, Michael finally made his debut as a pinch-hitter in 1966 with the Pirates against the Chicago Cubs, and that trend continued through his first season. In 30 games played, Michael had 33 at-bats and had only five hits with zero walks for a batting average and on-base percentage of .152 each. He then requested a trade from the Pirates, which was granted despite concerns that Pittsburgh wouldn’t get anything worth much value in the trade, the Pirates sending him to the Dodgers in December of ‘66.
And while Michael received more playing time in Los Angeles, he was benched for a significant period of time, which made him unhappy. In 98 games, the 29-year-old batted .202 and finished with an OPS under .500 for an OPS+ of 41. Following his one season with the Dodgers, the Yankees purchased his contract, and he would call New York home for the next seven seasons.
Michael’s seven seasons with the Yankees were uneventful at the plate, with an average of a 72 OPS+ through the course of them. His best OPS+ came in 1969, when he posted a 101 OPS+, along with a slashline of .272/.341/.364 and a career-high 2.5 bWAR. His career high in RBI’s in 1973 came at 35 years old. However, considering his age (36) and his overall production at the plate (an 81 OPS as a backup first baseman and shortstop) under new owner George Steinbrenner, a person who Michael became very familiar with following his playing days, the Yankees gave him an unconditional release, granting him the opportunity to be signed as a backup for the Tigers. Michael played 56 games at age-37 there before eventually hanging up the spikes.
It wasn’t long after his retirement that the Yankees picked up Michael. Hired initially as a coach and instructor, he bounced around many different staff positions, including scout, manager, vice president, and general manager as well. Stick did it all in the Bronx.
Michael was a rising star in the organization after managing the Triple-A team to a title in 1979. Steinbrenner named him GM of the 1980 club, which saw Dick Howser lead the Yanks to 103 wins and a division title. Following an ALCS sweep at the hands of the Royals though, Howser refused to fire coaches who Steinbrenner wanted to let go, so he left his post. Rather than picking a new skipper, the Boss simply told Michael that the job was his for 1981, no small feat given the expectations and the addition of star free-agent Dave Winfield.
The 1981 campaign was full of ups and downs, as the player’s strike lasted for over a month from June 12th to July 31st, and Steinbrenner continued to interfere with the day-to-day decisions of the team. That would’ve frustrated Michael regardless, but he had also already clinched a playoff spot by virtue of the Yankees leading the AL East at the beginning of the strike. Michael stood his ground, challenging Steinbrenner in September to fire him. He did, and instead of Michael, it was Bob Lemon managing the team to an AL pennant and World Series defeat at the hands of the Dodgers.
In 1982, Steinbrenner’s managerial carousel continued, canning Lemon after a 6-8 start and re-hiring Michael. The “Bronx Burners” that the Boss promoted flopped, and though Michael still had them over .500 under his watch, he was dismissed as well near the beginning of August in favor of Clyde King. Stick had publicly criticized Steinbrenner and his interference with the team, once again showing his mettle. This was not a man who was ever going to be intimated by the owner’s tactics. Michael’s final record as manager during his separate stints in 1981 and ’82 was 92-76.
After coaching on Yogi Berra, Billy Martin, and Lou Piniella’s staffs from 1984-86, another team gave Michael a shot as skipper. Hired as the Cubs’ manager, he went 114-124 from 1986-87 before being let go. The Yankees made sure he wasn’t unemployed for long, as he rejoined the organization as a scout.
When Steinbrenner was on the verge of being suspended from baseball in 1990, he picked Michael to lead the time once more as GM — and an especially powerful one since his owner would be mostly unable to overrule him from the sidelines. That’s when Stick began constructing the roster that made the late ’90s excellent for Yankees fans around the nation. And he did that not just by scouting and drafting extremely well, but he did it with his approach to building a roster, as Buster Olney says in his piece titled “Gene ‘Stick’ Michael’s stubbornness was the heart of Yankees’ Core Four”. More than a decade before “Moneyball” highlighted the Oakland A’s focus on on-base percentage, Michael rebuilt the Yankees by emphasizing OBP and acquiring left-handed power hitters to take advantage of Yankee Stadium’s dimensions.“
Michael approached his building of his Yankees teams with an analytical mind, just as he approached his coaching and scouting careers. He would take physical notes on players and games as a manager, and he used that in every aspect of his baseball life. He also found a good partner-in-crime on the field in manager Buck Showalter, who he hired at age-35 in 1992 and worked with closely to get the Yankees back on track.
While Michael found the Core Four via the draft and amateur free agency, he also made trades for capable, hard-nosed players like Paul O’Neill and David Cone, signed productive veterans like Jimmy Key and Wade Boggs, and—arguably biggest of all—he outright refused to trade Bernie Williams early in the center fielder’s career. Steinbrenner was reinstated in 1993, and he often pushed for Michael to trade Bernie due to the up-and-comer’s occasionally slow development at the plate and in the field. In fact, according to Olney and a Forbes article, Michael made calls to teams, didn’t talk about Williams at all, and then went to Steinbrenner saying no one made an offer for him.
Michael’s Yankees were the best team in the American League in 1994, when a strike again interfered with his promising team’s momentum. The World Series was cancelled, and the Yankees had to make a furious run in September the following year to at last snap their 14-year playoff drought.
Michael’s general managing career with the Yankees came to an end in the wake of the heartbreaking 1995 ALDS loss to Seattle, as he was burned out by years of butting heads with Steinbrenner. He stayed on with the organization but stuck with his roots and led big-league scouting as director and vice president. So, he was not the GM for the dynasty years, but those who followed the team knew he was largely responsible for assembling the core that would lead the Yankees back to glory. Longtime GM Brian Cashman—an assistant general manager under Michael—has always credited Michael as his mentor and someone whose philosophies he still values. As Michael reached his later years, he was named vice president and a senior advisor, a role he would fill until his death at the age of 79 in 2017. Whenever he had a tip on anything during that time, the Yankees all knew to listen. Few have ever understood the subtleties of this game as well as Stick.
Michael was known as an impressive athlete during his playing days. He had the chance to go pro in either baseball or basketball. Stick recalled later in his life that sometimes he wished he went the basketball route. But baseball was his calling, and while his playing days were not as fruitful as his days behind the scenes, he still left a lasting legacy on the game, constructing a dynasty and shaping the way the baseball teams scout and manage their rosters. If we’re being frank, that near-lifetime of service and longstanding impact on a truly outstanding era of Yankees baseball is a legacy worthy of Monument Park.
Happy birthday, Stick. You were one of a kind.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Yankees manager Aaron Boone just had finished a successful road series but still felt a bit exasperated after New York took two of three games against the Athletics in the minor league stadium that torments pitchers and fielders alike.
“I didn’t play in the PCL. But I feel like I’ve experienced it a couple times here when it gets hot like this,” Boone said following a 13-8 win against the A’s. “You’re never feeling safe. ... Just glad to escape here and get on the bird. It’s a challenging place to play. You have to figure it out.”
Less than halfway through their second season at their temporary home at Sutter Health Park in the Sacramento area, the A’s still are trying to deal with the challenges of a ballpark that inflates offensive numbers.
The heat and jet stream can turn what might seem like normal fly balls into home runs. The high sky and unpredictable winds make catching fly balls an adventure. It combines to make the ballpark one of the friendliest in the league for hitters and has appeared to have taken a toll on the A’s pitchers.
The A’s went 1-5 on their most recent homestand, allowing 47 runs against Seattle and New York — including 13 in one inning against New York — in what has become a pattern in the team’s waystation before moving to Las Vegas.
The A’s have shown promise this season and have spent plenty of time in first place in the AL West before this recent slump. They rank 10th best in the majors with a 17-14 mark on the road, while their 11-17 record at home is the second worst.
Pitching is the major reason why.
The A’s are allowing 3.01 more runs per game at home than on the road. That would be the biggest discrepancy ever for a full season in the majors, according to Sportradar, beating the previous mark of 2.82 by the Phillies in 1923 and even topping any season played in the mile-high altitude in Denver.
“You watch games here,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said when asked about the challenge of pitching at the A’s ballpark. “You got to keep the ball down the zone and get the ball on the ground. We’ve paid for our mistakes probably more than what we’ve paid for mistakes on the road. That being said, we’ve got to play better defense at home. … That’s a combination of what it takes to pitch better. It’s also to play better.”
While the A’s try to downplay the impact knowing they can’t change it, the evidence is stark. The ease with how the ball carries takes a toll on pitchers, who can become reluctant to challenge hitters.
The A’s have walked batters at the second-highest rate in the majors at home, compared to 18th highest on the road. The A’s walked 16 batters in the three-game series against the Yankees, including four with the bases loaded.
“We’re not going to overfocus on home-road splits right now but obviously we’re well aware that we haven’t played well in this ballpark,” Kotsay said.
But the pitchers say they try to do their best to avoid letting it play with their heads.
“You can try and pitch to it, and if you do that, it might work one time, but you might also do something that you don’t want to do, or try and do something you’re not good at,” A’s starter Aaron Civale said. “Sometimes the wind’s blowing out here, sometimes the wind is blowing out in another stadium or different place. So there’s factors everywhere, rain, weather, cold, hot. It’s all conditions that we can’t control. Unless you have a roof over your head, then surely there’s nothing you can do about it.”
While the A’s pitchers have been hurt more by the environment than their counterparts, the conditions are a challenge for everyone. Yankees starter Ryan Weathers had the kind of stuff that should have produced a strong outing.
Weathers had 10 strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings and generated swings and misses on more than 40% of swings for just the third time in his career. But three home runs — including two on what he considered to be good pitches — proved costly in a 6-4 loss.
But he said he couldn’t change his approach even knowing the risks of any flyball.
“I did my time in the PCL, so I know how these parks work,” he said. “But obviously, that can’t go into your decision-making, can’t go into your pitching.”
MESA, AZ - NOVEMBER 04: Ethan Petry #28 of the Scottsdale Scorpions bats during the game between the Scottsdale Scorpions and the Mesa Solar Sox at Sloan Park on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
With the success of the big league club, we have not talked a ton about the farm system lately. Having things to be happy about at the big league level is always a good thing, but I wanted to shine a light on three prospects who absolutely crushed the ball in May. Abimelec Ortiz, Ethan Petry and Devin Fitz-Gerald all showed their impressive combination of hitting ability and power this month.
The first player I want to discuss is Ethan Petry. In previous years, I feel like we would be talking way more about Petry. The slugger has put up massive numbers in Wilmington, which is a tough place to hit. However, he has been overshadowed by some other prospects with more well rounded skillsets.
Despite being a bat first prospect, Petry is still someone we need to pay attention to. He is hitting .310 with a .962 OPS and 9 home runs in 38 games this season. Interestingly, Petry posted nearly identical OPS numbers in April and May, with a .960 OPS in April and a .961 mark in May. However, he went about it in very different ways. In April, he relied on getting on base, while this month, he has been a true slugger. I prefer the slugger version of Petry.
In April, he only hit 3 homers, but that number doubled to 6 in May. Power will be the carrying tool for Petry, so I prefer him getting to his numbers with home runs and impact, rather than BABIP luck and walks. He has shown power to all fields, and has also been more than a power hitter, as you can see with his batting average.
Ethan Petry was a dawg this week vs Winston-Salem.
Today’s homerun he worked a 5-pitch at-bat and then crushed it to left-center field.
Overall, he’s hitting to a .310 AVG with 9 homeruns, collecting 32 RBI’s and has a .983 OPS.
— Nationals Advisory (@nats_advisory) May 18, 2026
The second round pick from South Carolina has split time between the outfield and first base. Most project him to be a first baseman long term, but Keith Law has mentioned that Petry has been better than expected as a defensive outfielder. Law had Petry as one of his honorable mentions for his top 50 prospect list, which shows how much his stock has risen. We knew Petry had power, but I am most impressed with how the rest of his game is rounding out.
Petry’s teammate Devin Fitz-Gerald is not known as a power hitter, but has been hitting a ton of home runs this year. Fitz-Gerald is one of those bats who is a contact hitter, who also happens to have power. His exit velocities don’t pop off the page like Petry’s, but he has a knack for pulling the ball in the air.
At 5’10 185 pounds, Fitz-Gerald does not look like a power hitter, but already has 12 homers on the season, including 9 in May. There was a stretch in the middle of the month where it felt like DFG was hitting a homer every game. From May 5th to May 16th, Fitz-Gerald hit 8 homers.
Devin Fitz-Gerald with his 11th bomb of the year and his 5th of the week. Let’s get nuts; this is a top 20 prospect in the sport pic.twitter.com/RD94I1s3eA
That crazy run helped him become a consensus top 100 prospect across the industry. I think Fitz-Gerald’s stock will get even higher as he gets closer to the majors. The bat is special, and it will carry him to the big leagues. He projects as a second baseman with the ability to hit for average and power.
Fitz-Gerald has been compared to Kevin McGonigle on multiple occasions, and it is hard to not see the similarities. Both are smaller guys with a natural ability to hit. McGonigle is slightly more contact oriented, while Fitz-Gerald may have more power. However, they have similar body types and approaches at the plate.
The last player to discuss here has been doing his damage recently. Abimelec Ortiz’s insane finish to the month has been a joy to watch. In May, Ortiz hit .313 with a 1.132 OPS and 9 homers. This past week, he hit 3 homers and almost hit .500 to earn himself International League player of the week honors.
Congratulations to Abimelec Ortiz on being named International League Player of the Week! 🏆🔥
In April, Ortiz showed a strong approach, and took plenty of walks. However, the big slugger only hit 1 homer. This month he has been more aggressive, and it has led to a power frenzy. From May 20th to May 27th, Ortiz hit 7 homers in 6 games. Like Petry and Fitz-Gerald, Ortiz is not just a home run or strike out player.
This season, Ortiz’s strikeout rate is below 20%. He also does a nice job pulling the ball in the air as well. That is why I think Ortiz will need less of an adaptation period to the MLB compared to his teammate Yohandy Morales, whose raw numbers are slightly better.
The Nats farm is in such a great spot, especially offensively. They have added so much offensive talent in the past 12 months. None of the guys I wrote about today were in the organization a year ago. Petry was selected in the draft, while Ortiz and Fitz-Gerald came over in the MacKenzie Gore trade.
Now, they are part of a loaded position player group. Between those three, Eli Willits, Ronny Cruz, Seaver King, Coy James and more, the Nats farm has incredible hitting depth. The Nats lineup is already elite, but they have more talent coming through the system. This Nationals offense should be electric for years to come.
NEWTON, Mass. — Hall of Famer David Ortiz said Boston Red Sox owner John Henry is concerned about the direction of his last-place team.
Speaking at his celebrity golf tournament — the “David Ortiz Soiree of Hearts” — the former Red Sox great said he’s talked to Henry recently about the club’s struggles.
“He’s worried. We had a conversation. I can see. I’ve known John a long time, him and the whole team — him and (chairman) Tom Werner, the whole group, they’re working on figuring things out to get this ride better,” Ortiz said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Boston is 25-33, trailing the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays by 12 games.
“He knows the direction of this team and he’s worried about the team’s situation more than what people think he is,” he said.
The 76-year-old Henry, along with his partners, bought the club in 2002. He’s had limited interviews the past few years and hasn’t been part of a team news conference since the club traded star Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
Ortiz said it’s hard for fans to understand that Henry still cares about the team’s direction because of his public demeanor.
“The thing is, that you see John, and John is someone that he manages his emotions really well,” he said. “He’s very professional at everything he does. Sometimes, for people, it’s hard for them to understand that part of (him), but he’s worried.”
The 50-year-old Ortiz, who retired following the 2016 season and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022, said Henry wants the club to return to its success from 2004 to 2018 when it captured four World Series titles.
“I sat down to talk to John, and he wants to figure it out. He wants to have the formula to go back to the old days,” he said. “It’s not like he just gives up. Sometimes people don’t understand that the way that this game goes, that it’s hard to stay up there.”
Henry also owns English soccer team Liverpool, which fired its manager, Arne Slot.
The Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and five coaches in April.
Recently, a small plane flew over Fenway Park towing a banner imploring ownership to sell the team.
Asked if Henry was worried about the fans, too, Ortiz said the owner thinks about everything.
“When you worry, you worry about everything in general. You worry about the team, you worry about the fans and you worry about how everything is moving around,” he said. “I tell you, the boss is, he’s working, he’s working. He’s working on putting the pieces that moving forward things get better around here.”
Ortiz’s golf tourney supports the David Ortiz Children’s Fund, which has provided lifesaving heart surgeries for more than 1,900 children in New England and his native country, the Dominican Republic, and nearly helped 19,000 with cardiac care.
Hall of Famer and former Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera was among the celebrities on hand.
The excitement of the day was seeing Cooper Ingle playing left field for the first time in a professional game. Ingle homered, going 1 for 5 and not embarrassing himself in the field. CJ Kayfus went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. Bo Naylor went 2 for 4 with a double. Logan Allen pitched poorly again, and Andrew Walters gave up a hit and a walk but struck out two in a scoreless inning. Ralphy Velazquez struck out three times, darn.
Jaison Chourio and Zack Cozart both went 2 for 4, Chourio hitting a double and Cozart a homer. Justin Campbell had the worst start of his young career giving up five walks and four runs… but still struck out five.
COVERS INTEL:
