Category: MLB

Go Rays!

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The Chicago White Sox (-107) will look to fend off a sweep as they host the Houston Astros in the final game of their weekend series.

With a favorable pitching matchup, my Astros vs. White Sox predictions back the home side to pull off the win.

Find out more in my MLB picks for July 26.

Who will win Astros vs White Sox today: White Sox (-107)

The Chicago White Sox offense hasn’t clicked in the first two games of the series, but this pitching matchup will help get their bats humming.

Houston Astros' hurler Ronel Blanco is making just his second start of the season, and his first outing saw him give up two homers and issue three walks.

After throwing the slider 32% of the time last season, he essentially abandoned it, opting for a changeup instead.

Chicago’s Munetaka Murakami is hitting .375 with .750 slugging against the change this year, while Miguel Vargas is .333, .576 against it. 

With those bats going, they'll produce enough run support for Erick Fedde.

COVERS INTEL:  The White Sox have a team SLG% of .406, not something Blanco wants to deal with after getting taken yard twice last time out.

Astros vs White Sox Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (+105)

Despite losing, Houston will do its part to eclipse this total. The Astros have won five straight, with Saturday’s 4-1 win the only game in that streak in which they didn’t score at least five runs. 

Chicago starts Erick Fedde, who is benefiting from starting for a first-place team. His five wins top last season’s total, and his ERA is a full run lower than his FIP (5.15), which is actually higher than last season’s performance. 

Both bullpens have also been taxed in this series, combining for 30 innings in the last three games. 

Astros vs White Sox weather

Astros vs White Sox odds

• Moneyline: Astros -104 | White Sox -107
• Run line: Astros -1.5 (+156) | White Sox +1.5 (-163)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+133) | Under 9.5 (-117)

Astros vs White Sox trend

The Houston Astros have hit the game total Over in seven of their last 10 away games (+4.80 Units / 43% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Astros vs. White Sox.

How to watch Astros vs White Sox and game info

Astros vs White Sox latest injuries

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Sunday notes…

• WHAT A RELIEF: Cubs bullpen, last three games: 10 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 12 K, 0.91 ERA, 0.500 WHIP.
• WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY? Since June 10, the Cubs are 25-11, the best record in the NL and half a game behind the Red Sox (26-11) for the best record in MLB over that span.
• LOTS AND LOTS OF RUNS: The Cubs’ 11-run outburst Saturday gave them 534 runs for the season, or 5.13 per game. That is a pace for 832 runs, which would be their second-most since 1970 (855 in 2008 is their most in the last 56 years).
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: The Cubs smash five home runs (Brian McRae, Sammy Sosa, Tyler Houston, Leo Gomez and Jose Hernandez) and crush the Rockies 17-4 at Coors Field. It happened 30 years ago today, Friday, July 26, 1996. (NOTE: The 17-4 score was identical to the Cubs winning score that I cited in yesterday’s “Today in Cubs history” item, though many years apart.)

Once again, neither team had a lineup available at the time this preview posted. Please check BCB social media for the lineups.

Jameson Taillon, RHP vs. Braxton Crawford, RHP

Jameson Taillon has not had a good year. This, you know.

His last start at PNC Park was kind of the epitome of his year — four runs in five innings, including two home runs, on May 27. (The Cubs won the game anyway, 10-4.)

All we can do is hope for better. He’s been slightly better in day games (six starts, 4.63 ERA, nine HR in 35 innings) than night games (eight starts, 6.08 ERA, 13 HR in 37 innings), for whatever that’s worth. Not that either of those sets of numbers is actually good, though.

Do better, Jamo.

Braxton Ashcraft has started twice against the Cubs this year and done pretty well — 1.59 ERA, 1.147 WHIP, 14 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.

Since June 1, though, he’s had a rough time of it: 6.05 ERA, 1.416 WHIP, nine home runs in 41.2 innings. He got absolutely pounded in his last start, July 20 vs. the Yankees, for eight runs (seven earned) in three innings, including a pair of homers.

Go get him, Cubs hitters.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around PNC Park.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout. If you do go there to interact with Pirates fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

The first Yankees’ dynasty, which began with the 1923 championship, was helped out quite a bit by the Red Sox and various bad trades they made with the Yankees. Babe Ruth is obviously the most famous of those, but the Yankees picked up several key players from them, including pitchers Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock, Carl Mays, and Bullet Joe Bush.

Another name on that list is Sad Sam Jones, whose acquisition ended up being anything but for the Yankees.

Samuel Pond “Sad Sam” Jones
Born: July 26, 1892 (Woodsfield, OH)
Died: July 6, 1966 (Barnesville, OH)
Yankees Tenure: 1922-26

Samuel Jones was born in Ohio in a town near the West Virginia border. In a story that’s so delightfully old-timey, Jones was said to have developed his pitching arm by playing catch with potatoes with his brother on his grandfather’s farm.

Jones had a bit of a stop-start beginning to his baseball career. A 1913 stint with the Zanesville Flood Sufferers — yes, really — ended after he requested his release due to homesickeness. The following year, he joined the Portsmouth (OH) Cobblers, and there he impressed scouts from the then Cleveland Naps. They signed him and by the end of the year he was making a brief cameo in the big leagues.

In 1915, Jones became a regular for Cleveland, appearing in 48 games, including nine starts. However that offseason, he ended up moving in a fairly notable trade. The Red Sox were, to use a more modern term, salary dumping future Hall of Famer Tris Speaker. Jones was included in the deal, but was seen as the secondary piece to infielder Fred Thomas. As it turned out, Jones would be immensely more successful than Thomas.

Jones’ first two seasons in Boston were a little iffy, but he broke out in 1918. Prior to the season, the Red Sox actually forgot to send him a new contract, as they had accidentally placed him on the retired list, thinking he had enlisted in the army. Jones himself had to get in touch with the team, and they quickly got him sorted out, which was good for them. With a 16-5 record, Jones led the league with a .725 winning percentage, while also posting a 2.25 ERA/120 ERA+. He would go on to start Game 5 of the World Series and throw a complete game in a losing effort. The Red Sox did win the series, although it would famously be their last for nearly a century.

Over the next couple seasons, Jones remained an average to very good pitcher for the Red Sox, although the championship team slowly began to be dismantled. A number of the players from Boston ended up getting trade to the Yankees, most notable of all was Ruth. In December 1921, Jones became another name on that list, as he, Bush, and shortstop Everett Scott were traded to Boston for Rip Collins, Roger Peckinpaugh, Bill Piercy, Jack Quinn and $100,000. Peckinpaugh had been a good player for the Yankees, although would be traded to the Washington Senators a month later, and Quinn ended up having a few good years after that, but the traded ended up lopsided towards the Yankees, as all three players would end up being championship contributors.

He also gained his “Sad Sam” nickname while in New York. Jones was dubbed that by reported Bill McGeehan, who thought he always looked downcast on the field. Jones himself just attributed that to wearing his hat lower on his head while pitching as opposed to any actual melancholy.

Jones was a solid contributor to the AL-winning 1922 Yankees. His only appearance of the World Series ended up being two scoreless innings out of the bullpen as the Giants swept the Yankees. The following year, Jones went 21-8, as the Yankees repeated as AL winners. That included a start on September 4th, where he threw a no-hitter against the Athletics, allowing just one walk all game, with only one other runner reaching on an error — though amusingly, he didn’t strike out a single batter (only three no-hitters in MLB history have featured zero K’s, and none since Ken Holtzman in 1973).

It was the second no-no in franchise history, following George Mogridge’s effort in 1917. September 4th would prove to be a special day in Yankees no-hit history, as exactly 70 years after Jones’ gem, Jim Abbott no-hit Cleveland for the 1993 Yankees.

In that year’s World Series, Jones got the start in Game 3, allowing just one run in eight innings. However, the Yankees lost that game as the offense got shutout. Jones came back in Game 6 and came out of the bullpen. Saves didn’t exist then, but in modern definitions, he gets credit for one, as he threw two scoreless innings and was on the mound as the Yankees won the game to clinch their first ever World Series championship.

Following that triumph, Jones remained with the Yankees for three more seasons. He was very good again in 1924, but dipped in 1925-26. He and the Yankees made it back to the Fall Classic in ‘26, but the Yankees fell in seven games, with Jones making just one appearance out of the bullpen.

Jones ended up missing the rest of that Yankees’ dynasty. Ahead of the 1927 season, he was traded to the St. Louis Browns. Jones played nine more big league seasons with St. Louis, the Washington Senators, and the Chicago White Sox. He remained a pretty solid pitcher for a lot of those years. While he definitely never had a Hall of Fame-type peak, Jones put up a very impressive 39.0 fWAR and 42.6 rWAR over his 22 big league seasons. After his playing career, Jones briefly returned as a player-coach for the baseball version of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1940, who were managed by fellow former Yankee Tony Lazzeri.

Following his time in baseball, Jones returned to his native Woodsfield, Ohio. He remained in the area until he passed away in 1966, a few weeks short of his 74th birthday.

The Yankees can thank the Red Sox for gifting them a decent chunk of the core of their first championship team, and Jones was an important member of that core.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers will be sidelined for an extended period of time with a knee injury that will likely require surgery.

Langeliers is planning to undergo surgery, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity since the decision has not yet been finalized. ESPN first reported the injury is a torn meniscus.

However, it's possible the 2026 All-Star could return in September if the recovery process goes well, the person said.

The A's put Langeliers on the IL, retroactive to Saturday, July 25.

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No Sunday scaries for us this afternoon, as we find a way to keep the weekend vibes rolling by backing a few guys to hit some nukes!

These are my top looks to leave the yard, featuring Yordan Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong in today's MLB player props. 

Here are my favorite MLB picks and home run predictions for Sunday, July 26.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Muneataka Murakami	+244
Yordan Alvarez	+205
Pete Crow-Armstrong	+379
💲Today's HR parlay	+4241

Home run pick: Munetaka Murakami (+244)

Boots will be grounded for Munetaka Murakami bobblehead day, as the entire city will be flocking to the South Side to get their hands on the newest slugger's bobblehead.

Murakami enters Sunday with not only the top rating on Batters-Box, but also nearly 92% arsenal coverage against Houston Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco. Today marks his 40th elite rating of the season.

Through his previous 39 elite-rated games, the Chicago White Sox slugger has left the yard 30.77% of the time. He has yet to homer since returning from his injury before the All-Star break, but today feels like the day.

Blanco is coming off a rough first start of the season and currently owns a 7.71 ERA. Looking at the last three seasons, Batters-Box gives him the third-worst pitcher rating, while also grading him poorly in both ground ball rate and matchup ISO.

Murakami has been seeing the ball well, already racking up multiple doubles since returning. The nuke feels overdue.

• Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CHSN, SCHN

Home run pick: Yordan Alvarez (+205)

Yup, I found two guys I like to leave the yard in today's Astros/White Sox matchup. Yordan Alvarez has not cooled off all season, and now he gets Eric Fedde, a pitcher he has 100% arsenal coverage against.

Through 31 elite-rated games this season, the Astros slugger has homered over 35% of the time. Looking at the last three seasons, he has also gone deep in 26.26% of his 99 elite-rated road games.

Over his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching, Alvarez owns a .520 batting average, 1.040 SLG, 1.640 OPS, and .520 ISO. During that stretch, he has generated nearly a 60% hard hit rate and a 22.7% barrel rate.

On the other side, Fedde has allowed over a 51% hard hit rate across his last three starts. The last 30 left-handed hitters he has faced own a .613 xSLG, .352 xwOBA, and a 55.3% hard hit rate against him.

I'm very confident at least one of these two sluggers leaves the yard this afternoon on the South Side.

• Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CHSN, SCHN

Home run pick: Pete Crow-Armstrong (+379)

Chicago heavy, unintentionally, I promise, but Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong finds himself in a mouthwatering matchup against Pittsburgh Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft.

Similar to Yordan Alvarez, Crow-Armstrong owns an elite rating on Batters-Box's current season dataset while covering 100% of Ashcraft's pitch mix. However, in the default ratings that span the last three seasons, he earns a strong rating.

Through 45 strongly rated games, he has left the yard 33.33% of the time. This season, despite posting an elite rating, that number sits at just 20%.

Across his last 60 at-bats against right-handed pitching, Crow-Armstrong owns a .660 SLG, 1.127 OPS, .341 ISO, and a 10.3% barrel rate. As for Ashcraft, the last 60 left-handed hitters he has faced have generated a 58% hard hit rate, 18.4% barrel rate, and just a 31.6% ground ball rate. Those lefties also own a .996 xSLG, .425 xwOBA, and .364 ISO against him.

Crow-Armstrong might have my favorite home run matchup on the entire slate.

• Time:1:35 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MARQ, SNP

Today’s HR parlay

Munetaka Murakami	Bet Now +strong4241/strong
Yordan Alvarez
Pete Crow-Armstrong

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The bats have come alive, as the San Diego Padres look to complete the three-game sweep against the Miami Marlins this morning. It is a feat that has occurred only three times in 2026.

The last was against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park on June 22-24. The Padres’ other two sweeps came against the Seattle Mariners, once in San Diego on April 14-16 and the other in the Great Northwest on May 15-17.

Saturday’s results 

For the Friars, it all came together, as the offense and pitching worked in unison for a 7-2 win over the Marlins. The hitting star was Ty France, who drove in three runs, and JP Sears was the bulk pitcher yesterday afternoon. He threw 3.1 scoreless innings to earn his third win of the season. 

The Padres began the scoring with France’s two-run single in the third inning. Later, he knocked in another run with an RBI single in the eighth. The Friars added a sacrifice fly from Gavin Sheets in the seventh, Jase Bowen drove in two runs in the eighth, and Jake Cronenworth closed out the scoring with an RBI single in the ninth. 

Jackson Merrill is swinging a hot bat. Saturday was his third multi-hit game over the last five starts. 

The Marlins scored the first of their two runs on a sacrifice fly by Otto Lopez in the third inning. Kyle Stowers closed out the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth inning. Starting pitcher Eury Perez had issues avoiding contact, as he surrendered three runs on seven hits in seven innings pitched. He could only muster two strikeouts on the afternoon.

Miami tied a franchise record with its 11th consecutive loss following the All-Star break.

Taking the mound: Walker Buehler (SD) vs Janson Junk (MIA)

The Padres will send out Walker Buehler to complete the sweep in South Beach. The veteran right-hander is making his 20th start this season. He enters with a 6-5 record and 5.23 ERA. Buehler has allowed 95 hits in 94.2 innings pitched. 

The hope is for him to build some momentum from his last start, as Buehler gave up two runs over 5.2 innings against the Atlanta Braves. Historically, he has been successful against the Marlins with a 2-1 record and 3.86 ERA in seven career starts.

Buehler made his major league debut against Miami and tossed five shutout innings. Let’s fast-forward to last season with the Philadelphia Phillies; he threw five scoreless innings against the Fish. 

The Marlins will send out Janson Junk (4-6, 5.09 ERA) to hopefully end their 11-game losing streak. He will be making his third start since coming off the injured list on July 9.

Junk has missed six weeks with right shin inflammation and returned to the starting rotation with an outstanding effort. The right-hander gave up one run in five innings of work against the Mariners. However, the Houston Astros hit Junk hard in his next start, as he gave up six runs in four innings.

Today’s lineup

And now, here they are! The most daredevil group of baffling baseballers to ever whirl their wheels in the Wacky Baserunning Races! Competing for the title of the world’s wackiest baserunner! The competitors are approaching the baseline… The first is Jumbled-Up J.T., who dashes back to second when staying at third would do just fine…

You get the point. I could go on with the comparison, but it would feel a little mean, and also, there’s no Phillies who really make a reasonable match for Dick Dastardly and Muttley. Plus, it’s not at all accurate. Despite all the frustration with the Phillies baserunning errors against the Dodgers on Tuesday night, the Phillies are one of the best baserunning teams in all of baseball.

Statcast tracks Baserunning Run Value, which sums up the value of bases taken via the steal, and extra bases taken on non-steal plays. By that metric (all stats prior to Saturday’s games), the Phillies rank third in all of baseball, with six runs added via the basepaths. They also rank third in the National League East, thanks to the baserunning excellence of the Marlins and Nationals. It’s a speedy division; except for the Mets, who are tied for dead last with Toronto (those birds really can’t fly). Granted, it’s pretty bunched up at the top; the Phillies are tied with four other clubs, and they’re only two runs behind the Fish for first. But the point is that the Phillies are quite good at adding to their offense with baserunning. It certainly isn’t a weakness for the club.

But that’s at the big-picture level. When you break Baserunning Run Value into its components of Runs via Extra Bases Taken and Runs via Stolen Bases, a somewhat more complex narrative emerges. The Phillies are best in baseball in runs taken via stolen bases, with five (tied with Washington and Pittsburgh, and being as good at thievery as a team named for piracy is a real feather to put in your cap). But they’re not exceptional at taking extra bases on non-steal plays. The Phils have added just a single run with their baserunning on such plays, ranking 14th. They’re not bad at it, contra the appearance from Tuesday night; twelve teams have lost runs with their baserunning decisions on non-steals. But their overall strength at baserunning is heavily tilted by their excellence at stealing.

Speaking of that excellence, let’s take a deeper look at it. The Phillies are just about average at attempting steals, with their 72 attempts ranking 14th league-wide. But they rank fourth for stolen base advances to second above average (and tenth for advances to third). In other words, they’re not unusually likely to attempt steals, but they are unusually likely to succeed when they do. That excellence is largely the result of the speed of Bryson Stott and Trea Turner; who are two of the three Phillies with double digit steal attempts. The third is Justin Crawford, who’s attempted a fair number of steals, but whose run value on them is zero (which is to say he’s neither really hurt or helped the team with those steals). Only two other Phillies have more than five steal attempts: Brandon Marsh, whose nine attempts have positively contributed to the team’s baserunning run value, and Bryce Harper, who has tried to steal seven times, and who’s underperformed on those attempts.

When it comes to taking extra bases on non-steal plays, most of the Phillies who have played enough to reach qualified status have contributed positively. Stott, Marsh, Turner, Crawford, and yes, J.T. Realmuto have all contributed positive run value on extra bases taken. Harper and Kyle Schwarber grade out as negative in that regard. Harper is eager to try to take the extra base, having done so 38 times, more than any other Phillie. But that eagerness takes as much from the team as it gives: he’s added two runs via his basepath ambition, and lost two runs on plays where it resulted in him being thrown out (and ends up in the negative overall because he lost a run’s worth of value on plays where he should’ve tried to take the extra base but didn’t). Conversely, Stott, who’s the second-most likely Phillie to try for the extra base, has added three runs of value on attempts, and lost none on being thrown out; he’s better than Harper at balancing ambition and prudence. If you’re wondering about Realmuto, he’s added one run’s worth of value with his attempts to take extra bases, and lost none on being thrown out. That game-ending play on Tuesday night was ugly, but it really does seem to be more of an aberration than an accurate reflection of how he performs.

Taking overall baserunning run value into account, all but two qualified Phillies grade out positively: only Harper and Schwarber are in the negatives. For Schwarber, that’s likely just a reflection of his lack of speed, and for this he can surely be forgiven. For Harper, it’s a combination of his somewhat subpar speed (47th percentile) and his overzealousness on the base paths. The biggest problem the Phillies have with baserunning, then, is that Schwarber isn’t fast, and that Harper is a little reckless. That can lead to the occasional moment of frustration as Harper rounds first on a play where he really ought to be satisfied with a single, and I wouldn’t wag my finger at any member of the Phlock that groans upon seeing it.

I would, however, note, that if your biggest problem on the basepaths is a superstar who’s a little too eager to throw caution to the wind, you’re doing pretty well. The poor, sluggish Blue Jays, playing on clipped wings, have just a single player who’s added a run via taking the extra base. They’d surely trade places with the Phillies. The Marlins rank first in baserunning run value, but they’d be doing even better if it weren’t for Liam Hicks, who ranks dead last in baseball with -5 runs in that metric. They’d surely prefer Harper’s baserunning style over his. If you’re really frustrated about Harper’s overweening confidence as a runner, you could take a page from the Dick Dastardly playbook and wrap a chain around his leg as he tries to leave first. But probably better not to. It never seems to work out for that double-dealing do-badder, anyways.

Christmas in July continues as we roll into one of our favorite series of the year – our Top 30, midseason addition. After a strong draft in 2025, followed by adding a lot of good talent from the international free agency period, we now take a look at the state of the franchise following the 2026 MLB draft. As I’m sure you are all aware of the Braves selected 9th overall in this draft and had 21 overall picks thanks to Drake Baldwin winning Rookie of the Year in 2025, garnering a PPI pick for the Braves. To go along with those 21 picks the Braves bonus pool was valued all the way at $15.8M giving them a lot of ammo to work with.

To kick things off we have our honorable mentions, five players that just missed the cut. These five are especially important this season as we are releasing our list a week before the trade deadline in a year where the Braves are expected to make some moves so these are some names that can find themselves on the list.

C, Jorwin Pulido

Signed out Maracay, Venezuela, Jorwin received the fifth biggest signing bonus that the Braves gave out during the 2026 International Free Agency period value around $350,000. Not too much was known about the catcher, but his impact on the organization would be quite loud, quite quickly. At 17, he’s one of the youngest in the organization and won’t turn 18 until after the season ends. Behind the plate, Jorwin has impressed coaches with his 1.8 pop time, and accurate throws to both second and third base. Jorwin has received praise for his ability to receive pitches, as well as block pitches in the dirt – though there is still room for improvement. Offensively, he has had enormous success this season. He appeared in 22 games for the DSL Braves and hit .324/.402/.437 while walking 11.5% of the time and striking out a paltry 5.7%. With that combination of defense and offense, the Braves made the aggressive decision to promote him to the FCL where he has put up even more impressive numbers slashing .389/.542/.556 in 6 games. While his strikeout rate has risen to 16.7%, which is still fantastic, his walk rate has also increased to 12.5%. In an organization that is looking for catching help, Jorwin looks like a real bright spot and someone to follow.

2B, Dixon Williams

After starting off the season sizzling hot Dixon Williams was hit hard by the regression monster as his contact rate dropped significantly during the bulk months of the season. Still, on the season Dixon is hitting .210/.322/.405 so while the hit tool has fallen off a bit, the walk rate is still there (12.2%), as well as the slugging as he’s hit 12 home runs, and 14 doubles, to go along with 20 stolen bases. The issue has been the hit tool as he is swinging and missing far too much with a strikeout rate that approaches 30%. He has gotten slightly unlucky shown by his .266 BABIP, but the issue really points to the swing and miss that his profile currently exhibits. That being said, there is still tremendous upside with Dixon as long as the swing and miss declines because of his ability to get on base, and hit for power.

SS, Jose Perdomo

After a bit of a disaster in 2025 where he hit just .223/.275/.270, Jose showed up in great shape looking to change the narrative of his career. Jose was rewarded with a promotion to Augusta to start the season, despite the subpar numbers in the FCL, but his 2026 ended extremely quickly as he found himself on the full season IL after just two games in the season. It’s crazy to think but Jose will be entering what is technically his fourth season of professional baseball in 2027, but has played a total of 64 games. Expectations will be significant next season as Jose must not only show health, but mammoth improvements across the board, to stay on the list.

SS, Juan Mateo

An international free agent signing from 2024, Juan Mateo has had a very solid 2026 campaign. A contact first player, Juan has shown improvements from his 2025 campaign – including hitting two home runs this season. There is still reason to believe he will add more power because his frame is still light, but as is he possesses the skills to be a utility type of player that can play across the entire field. On the season Juan is hitting .250/.323/.336 with a 9.7% walk rate to go with a strikeout rate of 19.1% along with 17 stolen bases. While he hasn’t quite had the 2026 we expected, he has exceeded nearly all of his numbers from 2025 which is a huge positive.

RHP, Cole Dennis

Drafted in the fourth round of this years MLB draft, Cole Dennis debuts in our honorable mentions despite not having thrown a single pitch – thanks to a very intriguing pitching profile. As is, Cole has a big arm – having hit 96 MPH at the combine however he will definitely need make that a lot more consistent. His curveball/slider has the makings of being a plus pitch, and as you can see in the post below he has an extremely low spinning changeup that he will need to get more comfortable throwing, but has serious possibilities. Cole will take some time to develop but with his size, and arm potential, there is a lot to like about the fourth round pick and what he can do on the mound.

Sometimes you’ve just got to show faith in the youngsters, right? Indeed, it appears as if former Braves shortstop and current Braves manager Walt Weiss has decided to stick with current rookie Braves shortstop Jim Jarvis the day after he made a couple of crucial errors in the field during Saturday night’s walk-off loss to the Orioles.

Here’s the lineup for Atlanta:

Indeed, Jim Jarvis is in there and batting ninth — just like he did on Saturday. Hopefully we’ll see Jarvis bounce back from the rough outing with the glove and we’ll see him contribute to what will hopefully be a series win for the Braves today. That’s the most notable news about Atlanta’s lineup today as the lineup is actually identical to what they put out there for Saturday night. There’s still no news about Eli White following his exit from last night’s game, so there’s that.

Here’s how the Orioles are looking for today’s contest:

Old friend Chadwick Tromp will end up starting all three games during this series against the Braves, so this really has been a bit of a reunion with a player who spent a lot of time in Atlanta’s organization over the past couple of years. Colton Cowser also returns to the lineup in center field after Leody Taveras got the start for Saturday’s contest.

Today’s game is scheduled for a 1:35 p.m. ET first pitch, so make sure to join us in the chat and discussion thread later on!

The Nats made a major move last night that will have some serious ripple effects. I wanted to take a look at three big things to come out of the Connelly Early trade. We will look at what it means for the likes of Foster Griffin, Brady House and of course Early himself.

First, I want to talk about what it means for the man actually getting traded. For Connelly Early, he will now be a staple in the Nats rotation. That was probably going to be the case in Boston, but it was becoming less certain. With Payton Tolle, Ranger Suarez, Jake Bennett and the injured Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox rotation was very left-handed.

There was a chance that Early could have been lost in the shuffle. However, he will be allowed to shine in DC. He will be able to attack with his deep mix of pitches with no fear. Early won’t be a free agent until 2032, so he will be with the Nats for the long haul.

Paul Toboni is clearly a believer in Early, having drafted him back in 2023 and now trading for him. There is a good reason for this as well. Despite being drafted in the fifth round, Early raced through the minor leagues, only throwing 206 innings before reaching the bigs. He is such a polished and refined arm who should be a quality starter for a long time.

We also saw last year that Early is not afraid of the moment. He made a playoff start last year in a winner take all game. While the Red Sox did not win that game, Early pitched well, and got quite unfortunate in that outing, with his defense letting him down.

However, I want to talk about what this means for some other guys. One player this is very important for is Brady House, who will be replacing Curtis Mead at third base. House came into the season as the starting third baseman, but got his job taken by Mead. While House did make some strides offensively, he still had his flaws and the defense regressed.

Since being sent down, House has performed well, hitting over .300 with an .842 OPS. He continued his dominance against left handed pitching and is actually making more contact. House’s 23.9% K rate in AAA is lower than what it was last year when he struck out 26.5% of the time. His profile in AAA is very Brady House like, but that average zone contact rate is something that could elevate the profile.

House only turned 23 last month, but his future is still up in the air. He will need to prove he is good enough to lock down that starting third base role and will have a golden opportunity to do that. This is such a huge moment in House’s career and hopefully he can take advantage of it.

Throughout House’s career, he has constantly improved, albeit at a pretty slow, methodical pace. Every year House gets a little bit better, but still has the same issues in his profile. I think House has the potential to be an everyday player, but he will have to prove himself.

Lastly, I think this move impacts Foster Griffin. In my opinion, a trade is more likely now. While Early is hurt right now, he will be back this season. On paper, Early can slide into Griffin’s spot in the rotation. Early may not be Griffin caliber right now, but he is a similar profile and has that sort of upside. He can be a Foster Griffin caliber arm who is controllable for the next half decade.

That is not to say Griffin will not be missed. The lefty has been an absolute horse for this team. Foster Griffin starts have become close to a scheduled win for the Nats. The team is 17-4 when he starts, which is just bonkers. Blake Butera has a ton of trust in him, regularly pushing him very deep into ballgames. Early is talented, but he is not quite there yet.

However, Early can do a decent enough Griffin impression. He gets pretty deep into games for a young pitcher, averaging 5.39 innings per start, which is higher than Cade Cavalli. With Early sliding into the Griffin spot, it eases the blow of losing Foster. That makes it easier for Toboni to get all the assets he can for Griffin, who is a free agent after the season.

I think this deal is a good indication of what the Nats will do at the deadline. They will sell pieces, but they are still on the prowl for pitching. The likes of Griffin and Garcia could be traded, but I think we will see more arms come through the door. A reliever or two coming to DC feels likely at this point.

This only adds to my intrigue for the deadline. It will be different from previous deadlines because the Nats are threading a needle here. They are simultaneously looking to add for the future while staying relatively competitive in the present. This Mead for Early trade is the perfect example of this idea.

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The Toronto Blue Jays go for the series win at Fenway Park this afternoon, sending Kevin Gausman to the mound against Boston Red Sox left-hander Ranger Suarez.

Toronto’s pitching has been overpowering all weekend, and I’m backing Gausman to keep the strikeouts coming in my top play.

Read on for my Blue Jays vs. Red Sox predictions and MLB picks for this Sunday, July 26 matchup.

Blue Jays vs Red Sox predictions

Blue Jays vs Red Sox best bet: Kevin Gausman Over 5.5 strikeouts (-110)

I’ve had some luck with pitcher props lately, and the Toronto Blue Jays staff is on a roll with strikeouts. Toronto racked up 13 strikeouts against the Boston Red Sox on Friday, then Dylan Cease delivered a one-hit shutout with 12 more on Saturday. I expect Kevin Gausman to keep it going in the finale.

Gausman hasn’t been himself this year, but if you toss out his last disastrous start (3 1/3 innings, four earned, one strikeout), he had punched out at least seven in each of the three starts before it.

His splitter has been much sharper in July, up to a 45% whiff rate, with hitters slugging just .182 on it and no extra-base hits. 

Boston just faced Cease, who lives with high fastballs and low offspeed, and Gausman works the same way. Anecdotally, I also believe he’ll be dialed in with a potential trade looming. I’d play his strikeout prop until -120.

COVERS INTEL: Kevin Gausman has recorded seven and 10 strikeouts, respectively, in his last two starts against the Red Sox.

Blue Jays vs Red Sox same-game parlay (SGP)

I’ll start with Blue Jays moneyline at plus money, where the value is real. The Jays have still won six of eight meetings with Boston this year, and Ranger Suarez is on a workload limit in his return from the injured list. 

I’ll pair the moneyline with Gausman Over 5.5 strikeouts from my best bet, then add Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases, leaning on his massive history at Fenway Park and his platoon edge against the left-hander.

Blue Jays vs Red Sox SGP

• Blue Jays moneyline
• Kevin Gausman Over 5.5 strikeouts
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases

Blue Jays vs Red Sox home run pick: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+675)

It would be unwise to let the Blue Jays leave Fenway Park without a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. home run bet. As every Jays fan knows, you’d be in the hole backing Vladdy to homer every day, but the venue changes the math. 

He owns the best hitting numbers at Fenway among active players, with a 1.017 OPS, 12 home runs, and 51 RBI in just 58 games.

I’ll keep this to a quarter unit, since Guerrero has a tall task against Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez and his career 0.8 HR/9. Still, Vladdy has been far better against lefties this year, with an .806 OPS against southpaws compared to .679 against righties. I’d play down to +600.

Blue Jays vs Red Sox odds

• Moneyline: Toronto +115 | Boston -135
• Run line: Toronto +1.5 (-175) | Boston -1.5 (+150)
• Over/Under: Over 8 | Under 8

Blue Jays vs Red Sox trend

The Blue Jays have won six of their eight meetings with the Red Sox this season, including a June sweep and Saturday’s shutout. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Red Sox.

How to watch Blue Jays vs Red Sox and game info

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The Boston Red Sox are real buyers. No, like legitimately.

Going from one of the worst teams in the AL to the hottest in baseball and into a Wild Card slot changed hearts and minds—in the front office and across Red Sox Nation. The conversation has flipped from theorizing about selling to being a team that would be remiss not to add before August 3rd at 6pm. Craig Breslow has a little over a week and prospect capital to spend. The question isn’t whether to buy. It’s what each move actually costs.

Here’s where Boston can add, and what it’ll take.

The Catcher

Combined catcher line in 2026: .233/.318/.320, four home runs in 359 plate appearances. Four. Connor Wong is a plus defender who earns his roster spot. Carlos Narváez is better offensively and has a cannon of an arm. Neither is consistently the bat you want crouching behind the plate when October arrives.

Ryan Jeffers, Minnesota Twins

Red Sox get: Ryan Jeffers Twins get: Nick Sogard, Allan Castro

The achievable option. Jeffers is hitting .287 with a .950 OPS on an expiring deal—free agent after the season, which keeps the return price manageable. Sogard is slashing .304/.429/.435 since his call-up and is a real MLB contributor, not filler. Castro is a #14 prospect at Triple-A witTh switch-hitting upside. For a rental catcher putting up those numbers, this is a credible offer. The Yankees are also calling, so this one doesn’t sit on the table for long.

The Middle Infield

This is one they’ve already done! Maybe, depending on how the positions shake out and Franklin Arias’ timeline.

It started as “we could use an upgrade.” Then Trevor Story had sports hernia surgery and went on the 60-day IL, even with him progressing with baseball activities recently. Then Marcelo Mayer landed on the 10-day IL with a forearm bone stress reaction and is still a ways away from coming back—weeks most likely. Now you’re running a prospect-and-utility-heavy rotation with Romy Gonzalez, Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, and Tsung-Che Cheng as your starting middle infield in a pennant race. Those guys have been good. That is not a postseason middle infield and everyone knows it.

So is Curtis Mead the answer? We’ll find out.

The Reliever

Luke Weaver, New York Mets

Red Sox get: Luke Weaver

Mets get: Enddy Azocar, Anthony Eyanson

The Mets have pieces available and Weaver keeps coming up. The problem: you’d have to overpay to get him out of New York, and this team needs starting pitching more than a hit-or-miss setup man. Eyanson in a Weaver deal is too much—a top-3 system arm for a reliever who has good stretches and rough ones. If a cheaper Mets piece falls into place at a lower cost, fine. But if it’s Weaver or a real rotation arm, the rotation wins every time.

Why not Mason Miller? That arms race isn’t worth touching. The price is more eye-watering than you can imagine.

The Starting Pitcher

Jake Bennett has been outstanding. Payton Tolle has stepped up. Patrick Sandoval is healthy and serviceable. None of that means you run them into the ground in a pennant race without cover. This rotation needs a veteran arm who takes real pressure off the young guys.

Foster Griffin, Washington Nationals

Red Sox get: Foster Griffin

Nationals get: Allan Castro, Harold Rivas

Griffin is 11-2 with a 2.68 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 117.1 innings on a $5.5 million expiring deal. Rival executives around the league are calling this trade “inevitable.” The Nationals are a developing team who understand the rental market—they know Griffin isn’t bringing back a top-5 prospect because he doesn’t have years of control. Castro is a #14 prospect at Triple-A, a switch-hitting outfielder with legitimate upside. Rivas is the lottery ticket at 17. The package is light for an arm having this kind of year, but expiring deals have a return ceiling and if Washington wants to move fast, this gets the conversation very real, very quickly. The one wrinkle worth noting: Griffin is a lefty, which puts him in a rotation that already has Rivera, Sandoval, Tolle and potentially Crochet as southpaws. It gets repetitive unless one of those names moves in a bigger deal.

José Soriano, Los Angeles Angels

If the Sox are already deep in an Angels conversation about Neto, Soriano is worth asking about in the same breath. Heyman reported the Angels are making him available alongside Detmers. He’s 97 mph, under team control through 2028, and an actual rotation upgrade with years of staying power—not a rental. And a righty, which solves the rotation handedness problem entirely. The price reflects that control. But if LA is clearing house and the Sox are already on the phone, it costs nothing to ask.

Brady Singer, Cincinnati Reds

Lower cost, expiring deal, legitimate innings-eater. Not an ace—a #3/#4 arm who takes the ball every fifth day and doesn’t give the game away. The Reds are selling. The price shouldn’t crack the top of the system. This is the right-sized option if the bigger names don’t materialize, and there’s no shame in that.

Michael Wacha, Kansas City Royals

Red Sox get: Michael Wacha

Royals get: Yoelin Cespedes, Nick Sogard

We’ve talked about Wacha before in this space. He’s 5-7 with a 3.66 ERA in Kansas City and is having the best sustained run of his last few years. He’s always available. He’s always fine. And “always fine” has real value as rotation depth when things go sideways in September. Cespedes is a former top-10 prospect in the system working through contact issues at High-A. Sogard is a current MLB contributor. This isn’t a blockbuster—it’s the sensible fallback if the bigger targets don’t come through.

The Bottom Line

Breslow doesn’t have to do all of these. But the priorities are clear: shore up the catcher situation, get a shortstop, find a starting pitcher who can take real load off the young arms. The windows that close fastest are the ones where the front office watches the right moment arrive and spends three years explaining why they held back.

Eleven days. Go spend some of that capital.

The Mets conclude a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on SNY on Sunday afternoon at 1:40 p.m.

Mets Notes

• Freddy Peralta has a 5.01 ERA on the season and is coming off a start in which he allowed seven earned runs in 5.1 innings against the Brewers
• Francisco Lindor is hitting .308 with a .500 slugging percentage over his last seven games
• The Mets are 21-30 at Citi Field this season

Today's Lineups

It came up in the comments yesterday as to why there is so much talk around a 17-game stretch like this. Every team has at least one and often a couple of these every year. This one grew to 17 when the Toronto game in Chicago in June got rained out and had to be rescheduled. I laughed, because that happened the weekend I was in New Hampshire to see Banana Ball. That’s going on this weekend in Wrigley. I’ve seen two Banana games and find them very much different in a jarring way for a serious baseball fan. But also fun.

I’d have not gone back to see them a second time, but the second time my daughter was working the game. I don’t think I’ve talked about it here and I know a few of you will recall that I had talked about her while she was at Bradley studying sports communication with a hope of getting a job in baseball. She made it. She’s working for the Blue Jays Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire. She is the director of the stadium experience. Basically, she oversees the broadcast, social media and the stuff that ends up on the scoreboard. It was the first time I’ve gotten to see her working there. Though obviously, the Banana people handle a lot of their own production and she was kind of a bystander for that.

Anyway, what about this stretch of games? More than anything, 162 games is a lot to take in. It doesn’t break down easily the way football does, with one week being a significant chunk of the season. For baseball, that’s like 9 or 10 games. So you need these subsections. In this instance, this chunk is really readily identifiable. To the commenter’s credit, he noted that the Cubs were pretty rested coming off the long break, then just six games before another off day. That’s about as well as one of these stretches could land. As much as the beginning of the season, your pitchers aren’t worn out, you always want extra time early in the year. You are trying to figure out roles for everyone and building endurance. So if you told me I HAD to take one of these stretches, this is just about perfect.

The thing about these stretches is that they absolutely can bury your season. You get one of these and start slip and sliding it away and you could lose 12-15 games in less than three weeks and really dig a hole. To be fair, if either Matthew Boyd Friday or Shōta Imanaga Saturday had gotten hit hard, you could get sideways. Instead, they posted 13 innings between them (out of 19 total innings). Three Cub relievers each threw once. You have a whole handful of guys who go into Sunday actually actively looking to get an inning in and stay in rhythm. So still on the ideal side of the curve.

I find this stretch curious because we’ve seen this team have some pretty high highs, some pretty low lows and now get grooved in again pretty good. I don’t try to BS anyone here. I think the Cubs have a reasonable chance at winning one playoff series, an uphill battle to win two and a monumental task to win three. But I believe you do what you can. So how can this team do when it is tested? We’re going to see them tested with quality opposition and pitchers that are generally on the wrong side of the matchup pushed to be competitive. Imanaga is not going to be overmatched really by anyone as he was in this one and he came out a winner.

This is all good to see and a lot of fun. Your mileage may vary, but this is the second straight Cub season that I will describe as a lot of fun. Have I wanted to throw things at times? Absolutely. But to have three stretches of time where the team was rolling is pretty awesome (fair if you call it two, with the two 10-game winning streaks defining one longer stretch). It’s fun when you are celebrating a win almost every day. This mishmosh of a team is somehow 14 games over .500. A win on Sunday and the team will match its high point of the season. Yeah, that one’s a tough matchup too, so maybe they don’t reach the plateau again. But even driving through this neighborhood is fun. Fun for some anyway. I’m not sitting around waiting for the sky to fall.

I’m enjoying the summer of Pete Crow-Armstrong staring down Shohei Ohtani and saying “yeah, you are a once in a century type talent and all, but I think I can win this MVP.” I still kind of fail to believe he’ll win it. But it’s fun to think that if the season ended today that it should be a legit conversation. And it’s fun that if the season stays on the current trajectory, he probably should be the MVP. But Ohtani is certainly capable of getting back on an out of this world trajectory of his own and we’ve certainly see PCA slump. But man, he’s made it more of a conversation than I think anyone would ever believe.

I’m going to keep doing the perspective check. I make no secret of some of it being me talking to myself. Don’t get too high or too low. Four teams have more wins than the Cubs. One team has as many wins as the Cubs. The Cubs presently have a 3.5 game lead for the first Wild Card position in the NL. The Cubs are on a 92-win pace. They’ve booked two wins beginning this 17-game stretch. If they can go 8-7 the rest of the way through this stretch, they will emerge at 15 games over .500 which would match their highest point this year. Obviously, there are sequences where that wouldn’t be their high point including that stretch. But really, that would equate to 10 of 17 and I’d mark myself as very happy with that result. And again, I hope I’m underselling them.

Three Positives and Pete:

• One of the things I liked best about Joe Maddon was the way he liked to get a guy into a game right away after he was called up. I know I heard him say something about you never know if you’re going to have one of those weird games where you need the guy to succeed in a difficult situation and you don’t want that to be their first taste. So I always hate when the Cubs bring up minor leaguers to sit. The nature of the 26th player is a lot that way and so it kind of is what it is. But I was glad to see the lopsided game allow James Triantos to get a chance to hit and delighted that he came through with a single and then to score from first, flashing some speed. Kudos, kid. Hope there are many more fun times.
• Shōta Imanaga threw six shutout innings, allowing only four hits and a walk.
• Michael Busch had three singles and two runs batted in.
• I love the days where Pete would belong here even if I wasn’t tracking him like an obsessive ESPN bit. He had four hits, two of them doubles and one of them a homer. He drove in three, scored three and stole a base. His line climbs to .291/.390/.544 (wRC+ 156). As a side note, I can not even begin to express how cool it is that the top 11 in wRC+ as I’m looking at it includes two of my favorite ex-Cubs, a current Cub and a Ray. I’m a little sad that Willson Contreras is having an under the radar standout season. Or at least under my radar.

Game 104, July 25: Cubs 11, Pirates 0 (59-45)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Shōta Imanaga (.280). 6 IP, 23 BF, 4 H, BB, 0 R, 4 K (W 7-8)
• Hero: Dansby Swanson (.197). 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
• Sidekick: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.184). 4-5, HR, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, SB

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Michael Busch (-.087). 3-6, 2 RBI
• Goat: Alex Bregman (-.073). 0-5, BB
• Kid: Ian Happ (-.055). 0-3, BB

WPA Play of the Game: Pete Crow-Armstrong’s RBI double in the fifth drove in the first run of the game. (.178)

Pirates Play of the Game: Paul Skenes’ strikeout of Seiya Suzuki with runners on first and third with one out in the third. (.073)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 103 Winner: Matthew Boyd received 63 of 87 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong +22
• Carson Kelly +15.5
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Shōta Imanaga +12
• Trent Thornton +11.5
• Jameson Taillon/Phil Maton -10
• Nico Hoerner/Dansby Swanson -13
• Caleb Thielbar -14

Up Next: The third and final game of the weekend series. Jameson Taillon (2-5, 5.38) makes another attempt to get his season back on track. It’s been a nightmare. In his first game back, he allowed four runs in 4.1 innings of work. He hasn’t won since April though he did have one quality start against the A’s in early June. He returns to the place where he started his career.

Braxton Ashcraft (9-4, 3.95) is just another talented Pirate starter. The second round pick (No. 51 overall) for the Pirates in 2018 is thriving in his first full season as a major league starter. But he is maybe showing a little wear for his first long season at the MLB level. He has a 4-1 record but a 5.40 ERA over his last seven starts (36.2) innings. As can happen, one game is influencing that a lot. He allowed seven runs in three innings against the Yankees on Monday. His last start before the break, the Brewers scored five in five innings. So he’s been human. Hopefully the Cub bats can stay hot and the Pirate bullpen cold.