Category: MLB

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It’s time for the Freeway Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers begin a battle with the Los Angeles Angels tonight. 

The Angels are reeling, dropping five of their last six games, while the Dodgers have won two straight to snap a cold stretch of their own.

I’m backing Blake Snell and the Boys in Blue with my Dodgers vs. Angels predictions and MLB picks for Friday, May 15.

Who will win Dodgers vs Angels today: Dodgers -1.5 (-134)

Blake Snell is a dominant force when healthy, so don’t fret over his 2026 debut in which he was quite unfortunate (.545 BABIP, 37.5% left-on-base percentage).

The two-time Cy Young winner’s stuff looked elite, as his 119 Stuff+ would rank second among starters. Expect him to overpower an ice-cold Los Angeles Angels lineup that has a 78 wRC+ in May. 

Jack Kochanowicz’s 4.99 xERA calls for immediate regression to his 3.97 ERA, and his 3.5% K-BB% simply won’t cut it against a strong lineup.

COVERS INTEL: Kochanowicz has a 10th percentile chase rate, and he won’t succeed in fooling a disciplined Dodgers lineup with the sixth-lowest chase rate.

Dodgers vs Angels Over/Under pick: Under 9 (-108)

This is a high number in a game where two teams are trending toward the Under. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers have cashed the Under in 10 of their last 15 games on the road, and send out Snell, who has held an ERA of 2.35 or lower in two of the last three seasons.

Meanwhile, the Angels have played to the Under in 11 of their last 14 games. The offense has gone dry, plating two runs or fewer in five of their last six contests. 

Their bullpen ranks 12th in SIERA in May after a rough start to the year, while the Dodgers have a 2.45 FIP in relief. 

Dodgers vs Angels odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers -230 | Angels +190
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 | Angels +1.5
• Over/Under: Over 9 | Under 9

Dodgers vs Angels trend

The Angels are 0-5 in Jack Kochanowicz’s last five starts. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Angels.

How to watch Dodgers vs Angels and game info

Dodgers vs Angels latest injuries

Dodgers vs Angels weather

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The Cubs might have looked worse in this series than they have in any series since the one at Cleveland in early April. There were series losses to the Pirates (cumulative score 12-10 Pirates advantage), the Dodgers (22-10) and Rangers (10-7) in the interim. So maybe that Dodgers one was worse than the Cleveland series (10-7 Guardians). So if we say the two series where they have looked worst were the Dodgers (back-to-back championships) and the Braves (best record in baseball so far this year), those two series don’t look particularly embarrassing.

You certainly hate to lose four in a row. I don’t really follow other teams, so I can’t say how representative historical Cub results are, but I’m guessing somewhat typical. As we saw yesterday, every Cub team going back to at least 2003 had at least one losing streak of four or more games. Excepting those 2003 Cubs, every other team had at least a five-game losing streak. These things can and do happen. The losses to the Rangers feel pretty lousy, though one of them was a superstar effort out of Jacob deGrom who has done that throughout his career when healthy.

I’m not losing any sleep at all over this stretch. I don’t think it’s likely to even be a footnote in my memory of this season. Instead, I’m dreaming on the two Ben Brown starts that have bookended the four losses. His first two starts of the year have come on the road. He’s thrown eight innings, allowed two hits, one walk and no runs. He has a 1.60 ERA on the season. IF he can build on this, that potentially fills an enormous hole on this team. Moving him to the rotation has weakened a bullpen that was the already the weakness of this team. But, at the end of the day, I’m going to prioritize better starting over better relief every single time.

The Cub bats were still pretty well stifled in this game. But six hits and three walks were just enough for them to put two runs on the board and combined with a strong outing from the pitching staff, that was enough to salvage a win heading back to Chicago. Coupling a “road” series on the South Side with two home series and a day off means the team will now get 10 nights in their own beds. The early Fangraphs projections favor the Cubs in seven of these nine games. I like to think the team can grab six over this stretch. If they can grab two from each series, they would be 34-19 heading to Pittsburgh for the holiday. I’ll take it.

Three Positives:

• Ian Happ had a homer, single, walk and scored both runs.
• Ben Brown threw four scoreless on one hit and one walk. He struck out seven.
• Daniel Palencia had maybe his best outing of the year, despite allowing a single. He struck out two in picking up his second save.

Hat tip to Phil Maton who bounced back with an inning that matched Palencia’s and Hoby Milner who faced seven, retiring six.

Game 44, May 14: Cubs 2, Braves 0 (28-16)

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

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Ben Brown (.215). 4 IP, 15 BF, H, BB, 0 ER, 7 K
• Hero: Ian Happ (.215). 2-3, HR, BB, RBI, 2 R
• Sidekick: Hoby Milner (.155). 2 IP, 7 BF, H, K (W 1-0)

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.104). 1-4
• Goat: Dansby Swanson (-.097). 0-4
• Kid: Matt Shaw (-.094). 0-4, RBI, SB

WPA Play of the Game: Seiya Suzuki batted with a runner on first and no outs, the game scoreless in the sixth inning. He hit a ground ball and Ha-Seong Kim had a throwing error allowing Happ to end up on third. (.132)

Braves Play of the Game: With runners on first and third and one out in the fourth, Chris Sale struck out Seiya Suzuki. (.065)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 43 Winner: Shōta Imanaga received 149 of 151 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.

• Michael Busch/Shōta Imanaga +13
• Michael Conforto +12
• Ian Happ +7
• Ben Brown +6
• Caleb Thielbar -6
• Phil Maton -7
• Dansby Swanson/Matt Shaw -11
• Seiya Suzuki -17

Current Win Pace: 103.1 wins

Up Next: On to Chicago to face the White Sox on the South Side. The White Sox also won Thursday, moving to 22-21. This is the latest the White Sox have been over .500 in a while now. They’ve won five straight to get here. They are 12-9 at home. They would have the second Wild Card spot if the season ended right now. They are one game ahead of the Mariners and Rangers for that last spot. Only one team in the whole AL is more than five games back of that spot and that is the Angels at only 5.5 back.

Edward Cabrera (3-1, 3.88, 46.1 IP) makes his ninth start as a Cub. He’ll be looking to bounce back from his worst start of the year, allowing five earned runs in five innings of work. He’s been better at home and during the day so far this year, so that’s something to keep an eye on. The White Sox offense has been pesky, sitting ninth in OPS.

26-year-old Sean Burke (2-3, 3.68, 44 IP) makes his ninth appearance and seventh start of the year. Last time out, he was a loser after allowing six runs on six hits and two walks in 4.1 innings against the Mariners in Chicago. Burke was the 94th overall pick, the third round pick of the White Sox in the 2021 draft. Burke also has pitched better on the road and during the day. So neither of these pitchers is throwing in their sweet spot.

I like Cabrera to bounce back and the Cubs to win their second straight.

Go Cubs!

Monday afternoon, Baseball America published their Mock Draft 3.0, featuring the latest intel and scouting reports for each team. The Tigers, who will pick 22nd this year, were linked to high school outfielder Trevor Condon in the first round. Condon hails from the state of Georgia and is a well known player in this high school class among draft analysts. 

With three drafts under their belt, Scott Harris and his scouting team have developed something of a reputation for falling in love with athletic, up the middle defenders with strong contact skills, and high school pitchers with promising traits and plenty of projection. The selection of Condon would fit right into that mold. A center fielder with plus speed and a portfolio of well-balanced skills, he’s a name that I’ve had speculatively circled for about a month now.

Condon is on the small side — he measures at just 5-foot-9, 175 pounds and doesn’t have a ton of present power as a result — and evaluators note that he has something of an unorthodox swing. Despite that, Baseball America calls him “one of the most popular” players in the second tier of high school draft prospects thanks to a strong spring showing and good track record. It’s difficult to read too much into high school stats, but he’s been racking up extra base hits like it’s going out of style. More importantly, he makes consistent left-handed contact and shoots the ball to all fields, tempting scouts to dream of a future leadoff type hitter. 

Contributing to the rise in his draft stock is the physicality he’s begun to demonstrate over the past six months. According to a December article from Prep Baseball Report, his arm strength is already above average, as he’s been clocked at 95 mph from the outfield. He’s also upped his max recorded exit velocity from sub-100 mph to 106.2. That’s pretty good from a teenager who wasn’t viewed as much a future power hitter until recently.

The Tigers evidently have quite a bit of faith in their ability to help underpowered players get the best of their physicality and tap into unforeseen power projections. They gambled big on Jordan Yost last year and have already been rewarded this year with tangible power gains. They picked up local product Zach MacDonald in the 15th round, and while he has significant flaws, we have seen him quickly blossom into a slugging center fielder. And lest we forget, none of the public-facing prospect outlets saw Kevin McGonigle as a power hitter on draft day 2023, but he graduated with plus grades on his power to go with his elite hit tool.

The Baseball America blurb concluded by saying that their sources have linked Detroit to an abundance of high school hitters. This shouldn’t come as a surprise based on their preferences over the last few years, and, if true, could help us get a read on who they may be interested in taking with their first pick. There aren’t a ton of high school hitters in the range where Detroit’s pick lays, so we can zoom in on Condon as a probable option.

Other potential selections include a pair of shortstops in Tyler Spangler, a big bodied player with a decent bat, and Aiden Ruiz, whose slick fielding is offset by questions about his offense. Two-way player Jared Gridlinger is ranked more lowly by MLB Pipeline, but is reported to be popular among MLB teams for his excellent traits and projectable pitch mix. Outfielder Blake Bowen seems less likely, as he doesn’t fit the sweet-swinging mold that the Tigers seem to prefer, but he has every physical tool in spades and will almost certainly entice some team to draft him highly if he can be bought out of his commitment to Oregon State.

The Cleveland Guardians had a day off at home yesterday and now they will play a weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds, led by Tito Francona and former Guardian Will Benson. Because we all know he is going to make our lives miserable soon.

The Reds beat the Nationals 15-1 yesterday. Hopefully, that was them getting all of their run-scoring out of the way before this weekend.

Jeff M. and I talked about the Guardians on the Disgusting Baseball Podcast last night. Check it out here.

Rumors swirl that Peyton Pallette’s partner is about to have a baby any second, so I wonder if Franco Aleman gets the paternity leave recall tonight.

Connor Brogdon made it through waivers and is in Columbus again.

AROUND MLB:

The White Sox beat the Royals, the Tigers got swept by the Mets, and the Twins destroyed the Marlins.

The Columbus Clippers game against St. Paul was postponed.

Akron RubberDucks 3, Chesapeake Baysox 2

RubberDucks improve to 20-16

Nick Mitchell was an on-base machine, going 1-for-2 with three walks and two stolen bases, yet he somehow didn’t score any of Akron’s three runs.

Ralphy Velazquez went 1-for-3 with a walk and Guy Lipscomb went 1-for-3 with a walk. Alex Mooney and Conor Barstad both doubled.

Starting pitcher Justin Campbell still has the baby gloves on, but he didn’t allow a hit or a run in his 2.2 innings of work while striking out three and walking three.

Carter Rustad followed with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief and Magnus Ellerts and Jack Jasiak both allowed a run in their inning-plus of work each. Jack Carey picked up the easiest win of his life, striking out the only batter he faced.

Lake County Captains 4, Dayton Dragons 8

Captains fall to 17-18

Aaron Walton stayed consistent, going 1-for-3 with a walk while Ryan Cesarini and Luke Hill both walked twice, with Cesarini also stealing a base.

Esteban Gonzalez accounted for almost all of Lake County’s offense, blasting a two-run home run while Jeffrey Mercedes went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Starting pitcher Braylon Doughty pitched well, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 4.2 innings. Cam Walty came in and got tattooed for five runs in his 2.1 innings pitched to take the loss.

Hill City Howlers 3, Wilson Warbirds 7

Howlers fall to 20-16

Cannon Peebles had a strong game, going 2-for-4 with a home run and Dauri Fernandez followed suit, going 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk.

Robert Arias continued to do Robert Arias things, going 2-for-4 with a double while catcher Victor Izturis went 1-for-2 with a walk.

Starting pitcher Joey Oakie had a rough day at the office, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 3.1 innings pitched to take the loss. His ERA on the season has risen to 5.09.

ACL Guardians 5, ACL Dodgers 1

Guardians improve to 6-3

The ACL Guardians used their patience, scoring five runs despite just three hits because they walked a whopping 13 times.

Catcher Gustavo Baptista had the best game, going perfect at the plate, 1-for-1 with a triple, a hit by pitch, two walks and a stolen base.

Ricardo Romero also continued his hot stretch, going 1-for-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch and two stolen bases.

A rehabbing Welbyn Francisca walked twice while Randy Martinez walked twice and stole three bases and Carlos Garces went 1-for-2 with two walks.

Starting pitcher Edelvis Perez was sensational, tossing 4.0 shutout innings with seven strikeouts, one hit allowed and one walk. The bullpen allowed one run the rest of the way to preserve the victory.

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The Chicago White Sox are playing their best ball heading into a series with their crosstown rivals, winning five in a row by an aggregate score of 26-14.

My Cubs vs. White Sox predictions expect the home team to give the Cubs all they can handle in Game 1.

Let's take a closer look at my MLB picks for Friday, May 15.

Who will win Cubs vs White Sox today: White Sox +1.5 (-135)

All arrows are pointing upwards for the Chicago White Sox, who have won five consecutive games and posted strong indicators in May.

The White Sox rank fourth in wOBA, second in ISO, and second in hard hit rate against right-handed pitching this month – ahead of their North Side counterparts in each category.

Pitching has also been a strength. Sean Burke will be backed by a bullpen that owns a clean 1.00 WHIP and sits seventh in xFIP in May.

With everything coming together, it's easy to see how the ChiSox have covered +1.5 in 14 of 16. Expect that trend to continue.

COVERS INTEL:The White Sox lead the league in HR/FB against righties in May.

Cubs vs White Sox Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-115)

Burke has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his past six starts. He's walking few batters and limiting hard contact, which is a good recipe for success. 

With a strong, in-form bullpen backing him up, the White Sox should limit a Chicago Cubs offense that has scored five runs over the past five games.

Edward Cabrera is sporting a 33.1 FB% this season. His ability to keep the ball on the ground equips him to slow down a White Sox team that sits fifth in homers and is more reliant on the longball than stringing together hits.

Cubs vs White Sox odds

• Moneyline: Cubs -145 | White Sox +125
• Run line: Cubs -1.5 (+115) | White Sox +1.5 (-135)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-105) | Under 8.5 (-115)

Cubs vs White Sox trend

The Cubs have hit the Under in six straight games. Find more MLB betting trends for Cubs vs. White Sox.

How to watch Cubs vs White Sox and game info

Cubs vs White Sox latest injuries

Cubs vs White Sox weather

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.

If you’re visiting Over the Monster this morning, it’s because you care about the Boston Red Sox. Every day, most of us read, write, and talk about a baseball team that is, at the very least, background noise for our summers. Whether at the game, on the television, or on the radio, the Red Sox are the soundtrack to my life. Shoutout, Kid Cudi.

I went to Fenway Park last night (not a humble brag), and I had serious concerns upon leaving. Not just about the team, but about what it sounded like in the stadium. We all know that opposing fans have been slowly increasing their presence at Fenway in recent years, but it’s not even summer vacation season yet and it’s getting ugly.

When Kyle Schwarber hit his nightly home run, it genuinely sounded like a home game for the Phillies. I had a perfect view from behind the Phillies’ on-deck circle, seats that were certainly not the ones that I paid for, as it was plenty easy to move up thanks to the weather and the product on the field these days. As an Always Sunny episode unfolded around me, there was very little that Red Sox fans in attendance could yell back. I wasn’t even mad about the home run, as Schwarber is my favorite non-Red Sox player, and he should still be playing in Boston in my opinion. Dave Dombrowski should also still be the GM of this team. And there should be star power still residing on the Boston bench, as it did on the other side of the infield this week.

Unfortunately, we’re stuck with this team. As someone with very few hobbies, I want to be at the ballfield all summer. It’s just a matter of whether it’s this ballfield. Even when the team is ordinary, Fenway is usually a sellout during the summer months, but this year just feels different. People are pissed.

So, do you want to go to Fenway Park this summer? Will you go less often than you usually do? Talk about this or whatever else you want in thus space and, as always, be good to each other.

After losing five of six on their road trip so far, the Yankees are set to come back to New York this weekend, albeit to Queens for the Subway Series against the Mets. However before they do that, the Yankees got Thursday off as they try to lick their wounds and get back on track.

While they might’ve had an idle day, there was other action around baseball that impacted the Yankees and their position in the standings. Let’s look back on Thursday’s action in the Rivalry Roundup.

New York Mets (18-25) 9, Detroit Tigers (19-25) 4

The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, but after that, it was almost all Mets, as they eventually pulled away from Detroit in the finale of that series.

Facing the Mets’ Nolan McLean, the Tigers struck very quickly. Gage Workman took McLean deep for a three-run homer, giving Detroit a decent lead with only one out on the board. However, those would be the only runs McLean allowed, and the Mets’ offense eventually got going themselves.

Detroit’s Keider Montero worked around a couple runners in the opening two innings, before allowing rookie A.J. Ewing’s first career homer in the third. Then, a Brent Baty two-run homer tied the game the following inning, and one from Mark Vientos helped the Mets to a three-spot in the fifth. In total, the Mets would score eight unanswered runs off Montero and the Tigers’ bullpen. Detroit got one run back in the eighth, but that was answered back as the Mets sealed the win. The victory actually gave the Mets their first series sweep of 2026. Congrats?

Seattle Mariners (22-23) 8, Houston Astros (17-28) 3

Meanwhile in Houston, the Mariners also jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, but they never let up, downing the Astros.

Despite missing Cal Raleigh, who was placed on the injured list prior to the game, Seattle’s offense jumped on Houston quickly. With Brendan Donovan and Randy Arozarena on after a double and a walk respectively, Luke Raley took Astros’ starter Mike Burrows deep to give the M’s the early edge.

While the next run of the game came via a Yordan Alvarez home run (his 14th), the Mariners then bounced back and put the pressure back on Houston. Mitch Garver, playing in place of Raleigh, did his part, adding a two-run shot in the fourth, while Cole Young added a two-RBI double in the sixth.

Seattle starter Luis Castillo was okay but not excellent, allowing three runs in 5.2 innings, but his offense did more than enough. The M’s finished the day with eight runs on 11 hits, which was plenty good enough for the victory. The Astros have the second-worst record in baseball, leading only the Angels.

Philadelphia Phillies (21-23) 3, Boston Red Sox (18-25) 1

Facing his former Phillies teammates for the first time since signing with the Red Sox, Ranger Suarez struck out eight and didn’t allow a run. Unfortunately for him, old friend Jesus Luzardo didn’t give anything up for the Phils, and they eventually won the battle of the bullpens to take the game.

Neither team managed a run until the eighth inning. For Boston, Suarez went 5.1 frames, allowing just four hits and a walk, with Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock following him with a couple zeroes. Over on the other side, Luzardo went six innings, also giving up no runs on four hits and a walk. That left the game still poised going into the eighth, where the Phillies took control.

Boston’s Tyler Samaniego has had a pretty good season out of the ‘pen for them so far, but he allowed a single to Trea Turner and a home run to Kyle Schwarber, breaking the deadlock. Philadelphia added another run later in the inning after the won a challenge on a play at first that otherwise would’ve ended the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Red Sox got one run back with Wilyer Abreu hitting an RBI single. However, Boston ended up leaving two runners on base in that inning, and that ended up being their best chance at coming back.

Jerry Mumphrey spent 15 seasons patrolling various outfields across the majors, including a stop with the Astros in the 80’s which saw him earn his first and only All-Star selection.  The pride of Tyler, Texas joins us today for our 15th installment of our continuing Legends Series.

Q:  So many great athletes have come through Tyler, Texas; you, Earl Campbell, Patrick Mahomes, Johnny Manziel among others.  What’s with Tyler, Texas?  Is there something in the water out there?  

A:  (laughs)  You know Tyler has put out a lot of good athletes throughout the years.  Most of those guys are football guys but I was able to make it professionally too.  It’s a special place.

Q:  On August 10th, 1983, you were dealt to Houston and made an immediate impact.   What was it like going from the Yankees and playing for Billy Martin, to the Astros and being managed by Bob Lillis?  That had to have been night and day.

A:  It was one extreme to the other.  That was a good trade for me.  I got to play for my home team and playing in the Astrodome was special.  It really worked out well for me.   

Q:  It really did and in 1984, you made the All-Star Team.  How special was that?

A:  That was always one of my goals in baseball.  The other was to win the World Series.  

To make the All-Star was a happy experience for me.  Unfortunately, I only got into the game as a pinch hitter and I struck out, but at least we won the game.   

Q:  Toughest pitcher you faced in your career?

A:  There were a lot of tough guys.  Nolan Ryan, even Fernando Valenzuela, heck even when Don Sutton was with the A’s, he was still good at his craft.  They all had different stuff and styles but were all tough.    

Q:  Favorite opposing ballpark/city?

A:  I loved playing in all of them, but you know this might surprise you, but I always hit really good in Philadelphia.  I don’t know why, but playing at the old Vet, I had some big games there and that would be on the top of my list.  

Fresh off a series win against the Tigers, the New York Mets (18-25) welcome the crosstown rival New York Yankees (27-17) to Citi Field for a Subway Series showdown. The two teams split their six games last year, with the road team taking two out of three in each instance. The Mets are 69-83 all-time in regular season play against the Yankees.

The Mets won their third series in four tries by sweeping the Tigers at Citi Field. They accomplished this feat by coming back to win each game, 10-2 on Tuesday, 3-2 on Wednesday, and 9-4 on Thursday. New York got a spark on Tuesday thanks to the promotion of top prospect A.J. Ewing, who had an incredibly fun debut with a triple, three walks, two runs batted in, and a stolen bases. After falling behind 2-0, the Mets poured it on, taking advantage of a ton of mistakes by the hapless Detroit defense, which bailed the Mets out with a few key errors and misplays that resulted in runs.

The offense returned to its lifeless state on Wednesday night, and trailed 2-0 from the first thanks to a Carson Benge misplay in right. The Mets finally evened things up in the seventh on a Bo Bichette run-scoring hit. Benge made up for his earlier mistake by driving Ewing home in the tenth to give the Mets a walk-off win and give Benge the first walk-off hit of his career.

The Mets completed the sweep with another comeback after falling in a 3-0 hole. After surrendering a three-run homer in the first, Nolan McLean settled down to give the Mets another solid start, and the bats, led by the young Mets, mounted the comeback. New York used the long ball to their advantage, as Ewing hit the first home run of his career, and Brett Baty tied it up with a two-run shot. After Juan Soto gave the Mets the lead with a run-scoring hit in the fifth, Mark Vientos provided some insurance with a two-run home run, and the Mets cruised from there. Detroit came in as the worst road team in all of baseball and left with an eight-game losing skid.

Despite the very impressive performance, the Mets have found themselves enduring even more injuries. For a team that has a small army on the injured list already, they learned they would be without Francisco Alvarez for about eight weeks after he tore his meniscus on a swing and had to undergo surgery. On top of that, Francisco Lindor is no closer to returning after the latest update, and Kodai Senga, despite throwing a bullpen, still seems quite a ways away from a return. On the bright side, Soto remained in the lineup after fouling a ball off his foot. Additionally, A.J. Minter continues to rehab, while Jared Young is slated to begin his own rehab assignment fairly soon.

The Mets are catching the Yankees at a bit of an opportune time. The Bronx Bombers began May on a five-gave winning streak but have hit a rough patch as of late, losing six of eight since then to fall into second place int he American League East. They also lost ace Max Fried to an injury this week, though it’s unclear if he’ll miss time as he recovers from elbow soreness.

It should surprise no one that the Yankees are led on offense by three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge, who leads the sport with 16 home runs. He got off to a bit of a slow start this year—slow by his standards—but he has come roaring back. The defending AL batting champion is hitting .268/.404/.618 (1.022 OPS) on the year with an AL-best 36 runs scored. His OPS currently ranks third in baseball, while his 179 wRC+ is tied with Yordan Alvarez for second. What may be a bit more surprising is who he trails—teammate Ben Rice, who has had an incredible start to his third season with the Yankees. On top of OPS and wRC+, he leads the AL in slugging as he enters play with a .303/.413/.667 slash line—all well above his career norms to date. He is also half-way to the 26 home runs he hit last year, entering play tonight with 13. That gives the Yankees a fearsome power duo in the middle of their lineup, though the rest of the lineup has not quite been able to match their prowess.

The Yankees rotation, more than anything has put them in the position they are today. As they await the return of Gerrit Cole, the rest of the rotation has been spectacular, posting a 3.14 ERA, which is good for third in baseball and second in the Al. Their 3.30 FIP, meanwhile, is best in the sport. They have also been better than any club at limiting home runs, as their rotation sports an MLB-best 0.75 HR/9. The bullpen has also been good, albeit not quite as good, with a 3.34 ERA and a 3.71 FIP, both top-1o in MLB.

Friday, May 15: Clay Holmes vs. Cam Schlittler, 7:15 PM EDT on Apple TV

Holmes (2026): 48.1 IP, 37 K, 16 BB, 3 HR, 1.86 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 48 ERA-

Holmes pitched well enough to win, but by his standards as he had one of his weakest starts of the as he battled through 5 2/3 innings while throwing a season-high 103 pitches. He endured a lot of high pitch count at-bats, which prevented him from completing six innings for the first time since his April 15 start against the Dodgers. Still, his final line was solid: two earned runs allowed on five hits, with six strikeouts and two walks. He saw his ERA tick up a bit from 1.69 to 1.86, but he still finds himself seventh in MLB and third in the NL in starter ERA.

Schlittler (2026): 53.1 IP, 59 K, 9 BB, 1 HR, 1.35 ERA, 1.64 FIP, 33 ERA-

Schlittler has established himself as an early AL Cy Young favorite with his incredible performance. He leads all AL starters in ERA and all MLB starters in FIP, and also has the best bWAR (2.5) among starting pitchers. He doesn’t walk a lot of batters, doesn’t surrender many homers, and strikes out a bunch of hitters, so he’s an all-around tough pitcher to face. His last performance was a prime example, as he shut out the Brewers over six innings of two-hit ball while striking out six and not issuing a single walk. Over his past five starts, he’s allowed just four runs (two earned) in 31 2/3 innings.

Saturday, May 16: TBD vs. Carlos Rodón, 7:15 PM EDT on FOX

TBD

The Mets have not announced their plans for Saturday’s game, but it’ll likely be another David Peterson bulk day with an opener. This has worked fairly well for Peterson, as he’s allowed five runs (two earned) on seven hits over his last nine innings as a bulk guy. More importantly, he hasn’t walked a batter in either start.

Rodón (2026): 4.1 IP, 4 K, 5 BB, 0 HR, 6.23 ERA, 5.41 FIP, 152 ERA-

Rodón made his first start of the season after recovering from elbow surgery. The left-hander, who finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting last year, was not sharp in his returning walking five over 4 1/3 innings. He allowed three earned runs on just two hits and settled for a no decision.

Sunday, April 26: Freddy Peralta vs. Ryan Weathers, 1:40 PM EDT on SNY

Peralta (2026): 49.1 IP, 50 K, 19 BB, 5 HR, 3.10 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 79 ERA-

Peralta navigated an early deficit in his last start against the Tigers and ended up completing six innings of work for the third time this season. He allowed just the two runs on seven hits, while striking out seven and walking one. As a result, he earned his third win as a Met and his second in as many starts. He will look to continue building on that positive momentum after struggling to go deep into starts in the early part of the year.

Weathers (2026): 45.0 IP, 54 K, 13 BB, 6 HR, 3.00 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 73 ERA-

Weathers spent the last three years with the Marlins before heading over to New York in a big offseason trade. He’s had a solid first few weeks with the Yankees and has been especially scintillating in his last four starts, where he’s posted a 1.88 ERA and a 2.77 FIP in 24 innings pitched. His last time out, he carried a no-hitter into the seventh and left with the lead, but ended up settling for a no decision as the Yankees’ bullpen surrendered the lead in the seventh.

The San Diego Padres have had 23 catchers since 2016 (thanks to Clark Fahrenthold on The Brown and Gold Standard podcast). Austin Hedges (2015-2019) was supposed to be the organization’s stalwart for years to come; that didn’t work out. Since then, the front office has put all its eggs in the Luis Campusano basket. That plan has been thwarted by a combination of development issues with the player and the attitudes of the previous two managers.

In 2026, manager Craig Stammen made it clear in the offseason, as soon as he was hired, that Campusano had a role on the team. It seems clear that Stammen, after pitching to Campusano while a Padres bullpen arm, was willing to follow general manager A.J. Preller’s desire to give Campusano a legitimate chance. There appeared to be no effort to acquire a backup catcher for starter Freddy Fermin before Spring Training began.

With that said, it isn’t clear that the Padres want Campusano to be their front-line starter either. The defense of Fermin, rated significantly better than Campusano, is preferred. He is a veteran catcher who caught behind a probable future Hall of Famer in Salvador Perez with Kansas City. 

Fermin has never been a primary catcher, and since coming into the league in 2022, Fermin has not played more than 111 games (2024) and has a .257 batting average. His defensive metrics are above average, with his pop times and caught stealing rates above 75 percentile.

As the Baseball Savant graph shows, all his offensive metrics rate below average, and that has been consistent since his debut in the big leagues.

So far in 2026, Fermin has started in 24 of the 41 games played, with eight appearances off the bench. He is hitting .169/.265/.490 with no home runs and three RBI. This is par for the course on this team currently, with most of the hitters under their expected performance numbers. 

Fermin’s performance is similar to the catchers on the roster in 2025, and Fermin was acquired at the trade deadline last season for that reason. The tandem of Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado ended up hitting .204 for the Padres in 2025.

About Luis Campusano

Campusano would be a downgrade defensively; his framing skills have always been subpar, though his ABS skills are excellent (64%). While on the injured list with a broken toe, Campusano has been temporarily replaced on the roster by career minor league catcher Rodolfo Durán. 

Getting a few days in the major leagues, after toiling in the minors for 11 seasons, is a great highlight for him, but his tenure will not be long-term. 

When Campusano returns, Fermin would be well served with more time off. Starter Lucas Giolito is joining the rotation soon and could be a good match for Campusano. 

Michael King has commented on how well Campusano has caught him this season. A veteran pitcher like Walker Buehler has also complimented his work. Giolito could be another good choice, and that would make Campusano the primary catcher for three of the five starters. Fermin continuing to catch Randy Vasquez and Griffin Canning, as well as being a defensive replacement in games, could be the best strategy going forward.

Could we see Ethan Salas?

In the back of Padres fans’ minds should be the thought that we could see Ethan Salas this season. When the year began, the idea of Salas coming to the Padres in 2026 was highly unlikely. He missed an entire season due to injury in 2025 and he had not been advancing as hoped before the injury occurred. 

The first quarter of the season has shown that Salas is the player many hoped he would be; at least he is showing he is capable of being that player. If he can keep up a consistent pace and show the power that has appeared in his game this year, there is no reason to think that a second-half call-up is out of the question.

Salas is 19 years old and will be 20 on June 1. In San Antonio, the Padres Double-A affiliate, he has been catching, and serving as DH when not catching. He has a .314 average, a .388 OBP, and a .653 slug. He leads all Double-A catchers in batting average and is sixth in the Texas League in average, OPS, and slug. In 29 games, he has six homers and 20 RBI.

The 2025 season was not lost for Salas, despite being on the IL for most of the year. He worked on his size and strength while studying video and working with the hitting coaches to evaluate and adjust his swing. It appears he took all that work onto the field with him in 2026.

Assuming Preller is as determined to promote Salas as he was with Campusano, the organization should have two homegrown catchers with the team going forward. 

Freddy Fermin needs to be better, but if he struggles deep into the season, there might be an option that will give the Friar Faithful a glimpse into the future.

It was a tough Thursday evening for the Atlanta Braves affiliates. They all took losses and none of them looked particularly good doing it. There were still some good things going on, especially down in Augusta, but it was overall a disappointing evening for the starting pitching.

(25-17) Gwinnett Stripers 4, (17-25) Durham Bulls 5

Box Score

Statcast

• Jim Jarvis, SS: 1-5, .310/.413/.437
• Nacho Alvarez Jr., 3B: 1-5, .238/.324/.333
• Rowdy Tellez, 1B: 3-5, RBI, .250/.349/.516
• Owen Murphy, SP: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 6.59 ERA

It’s the third start in a Stripers uniform for Owen Murphy, and he has gone down, up, and now back down again as high walks rates continue to be a startling problem for him this year. Across both levels Murphy is already only five walks short of his career high for walks in a season, and a big problem has just been his inability to keep anything down in the strike zone. While his high carry fastball can play well in the upper parts of the strike zone and higher the same is not true of the slider and curveball, and both pitches have not been effective and have forced Murphy to be nearly completely reliant on fastballs to succeed. Pitchers who throw a lot of fastballs but don’t have elite velocity tend to get hit around for home runs at the upper levels and with one more today Murphy is up to four home runs allowed in three Triple-A starts and nine allowed in 34 1/3 innings this season. Some of this is due to him just overall not commanding the ball well, but finding reliable command on his secondaries to take pressure off of his fastball is imperative.

Murphy also struggled to maintain velocity in this game, averaging 93.9 mph on his fastball but watching that dip inning-over-inning until it bottomed at 90.6 mph in the fourth. Murphy has to have more stamina than running out of gas at only 72 pitches, though to be fair Murphy’s fastball was by far his best weapon this game. A home run taints the final line of the pitch overall, but it was the one he could get strikes with most consistently and wasn’t hit all that well outside of the home run. Murphy’s fastball has the ability to be effective even without elite velocity, but to hit the next level and crack into MLB conversations his slider has to be much more consistent because it is his best pitch when he can bury it. The offense lacked a standout performer and scored most of their runs in one clutch of hits in the 7th inning, putting up a three spot that brought them within a run. However there wasn’t much impact contact to match the two Bulls home runs and that made the difference in the final line. Nacho Alvarez was able to record a hit but it was not a great outing for him. His hit came on a medium contact ball that snuck through the infield and his other four at bats all looked rough including two strikeouts.

Swing and Misses

Owen Murphy – 7

Dylan Dodd – 6

(17-18) Columbus Clingstones 1, (20-16) Knoxville Smokies 5

Box Score

• Patrick Clohisy, CF: 1-3, BB, .234/.308/.372
• Jordan Groshans, 3B: 2-4, .246/.308/.516
• Shay Schanaman, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 5.49 ERA
• Jhancarlos Lara, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 9.28 ERA

The Columbus pitching staff got battered, allowing three home runs that accounted for four of Knoxville’s runs, and without David McCabe and Lizandro Espinoza in the lineup the offense did not have the firepower to answer back. The offense as a whole only managed to record four hits in the game, though Jordan Groshans at least kept his hot play from yesterday rolling just a bit. He had half of the teams hits in the game, though both were singles, and so far this month has been hitting .308/.357/.718. Patrick Clohisy also had a hit and a walk, extending what has been a really solid week of play for him. Clohisy has struggled mightily this season and still isn’t producing his performance from his time in Columbus last season, but he is getting back to drawing a bunch of walks and getting on base. During his recent five game on base streak he is 4-15 with six walks and only three strikeouts, and much of the batted ball inputs are better than the numbers might suggest. Despite a low BABIP he is hitting plenty of line drives, and though his lack of raw power does cap his results he should be able to reproduce more of the results he has put up thus far in his career.

Pitching has been the achilles heel for the Clingstones this season, as in addition to leading the Southern League in home runs on offense they have also given up the most home runs and the worst ERA in the league. Shay Schanaman did a solid job for four innings, producing a ton of ground ball contact that went for outs, but the fly balls he did allow found a way to hurt him. He allowed two solo home runs in the game to account for both of the runs he did allow before departing. Schanaman has already allowed a career-high six long balls in just 19 2/3 innings of work. The Clingstones have also allowed the highest walks per nine of any Southern League team, and with guys like Elison Joseph and Jhancarlos Lara getting big innings in the bullpen it’s not hard to guess why. After a great outing two days ago Lara couldn’t get the ball around the zone in this one, though fortunately he’s so overpowering that teams often struggle to make good contact against him. The bag was a bit more mixed for Elison Joseph. His control was not good, but it was at least fringe, and he produced a ton of whiffs which has always been the case for him when he is anywhere near the zone. Unfortunately the last two seasons he hasn’t been and the two walks he allowed this game didn’t do much to improve the 29.5% walk rate he’s posted this season. The whiffs should come back based on the contact rates he is allowing so far, but that can’t make up for the fact that he has been very lucky to only have a 3.38 ERA this season.

Swing and Misses

Elison Joseph – 10

Shay Schanaman – 7

(20-16) Rome Emperors 0, (9-26) Brooklyn Cyclones 7

Box Score

• Isaiah Drake, CF: 1-4, .293/.369/.500
• John Gil, SS: 0-3, .281/.385/.469
• Jeremy Reyes, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 4.83 ERA

The Emperors looked quite dreadful against a really bad Brooklyn team, and it’s probably best to motor past this one pretty quickly. Now, the Cyclones did run out as good of a combination of pitchers as they can muster, but it was still an ugly day for the offense. John Gil had a couple of strikeouts, and after a marvelous week in Asheville he has yet to record a hit with only one walk this series. Gil has shown a strong pattern of up-and-down play this entire season and he may be on a bit of a down swing at the moment, though there isn’t anything he is putting on the field that is worth getting concerned over. Isaiah Drake had an okay showing with a hard line drive for a single in the third inning, though nothing overly spectacular especially not compared to the crazy finish in Asheville. He broke his streak of six straight games with a stolen base by not swiping a bag today, but so far he is on a nine game on base streak and has been successful in his last nine stolen base attempts.

Every time health has been on Jeremy Reyes’s side he has shown something worth watching, and he used his fastball and slider to great effect in this game to get a bunch of whiffs. However, his command was no better than it has been this entire season and even a very free-swinging Brooklyn team learned to let him make mistakes the second time through the order. He dominated the first go around but couldn’t delivery that success consistently and allowed runs in each inning he pitches the second and third times through the order. Reyes is a bit of a tough evaluation because of how much time he has missed due to injury, but after an exciting look a couple of seasons ago it’s quickly trended towards a bullpen future for him. The injuries don’t help that at all, and neither does the lack of any progression with his command. Reyes doesn’t show the sort of athleticism or ability to repeat his arm path that would give much confidence to MLB-quality command projections, though the raw stuff is plenty good enough to succeed in a bullpen role if he does eventually make that switch. Given that he is 20 years old and doesn’t have as much competition behind him after the Braves last draft he will keep getting opportunities, but the lack of a clear line upwards is a bit frustrating for a guy who has so much room to grow.

Swing and Misses 

Jeremy Reyes – 17

Mathieu Curtis – 6

(19-17) Augusta GreenJackets 1, (17-17) Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, DH: 1-4, .261/.469/.391
• Alex Lodise, SS: 1-4, .321/.387/.393
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 1-4, .348/.400/.435
• Landon Beidelschies, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 11.00 ERA
• Luis Arestigueta, RP: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 6.87 ERA

Tate Southisene, Alex Lodise, and Luis Guanipa all had singles in this game, and that’s the point it’s best to stop talking about the offense. It was mostly a mess, though those three looked really good out there and perhaps a bit better than the lines might indicate. Southisene wasn’t really getting the ball in the air this game, but had a couple of hard hits on the ground and is putting up some good deep at-bats. I really like where Alex Lodise was in this game, at least on fastballs, and there is some improvement for him against breaking balls. He is still a bit late at recognizing and adjusting to spin but has looked better this week, and his contact has been awesome. You have the home run yesterday, but also a couple of hard hit fly balls that he was right on and hit to center field and some missiles that landed foul. Guanipa was the one that has put up great swings the past two games and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get right back to where he was next week in the coming games. He has done a great job of controlling the inner half of the strike zone, and it’s led to hard contact and in this particular game some loud foul balls. He needs to be less aggressive up, but has a rare blend of bat speed and barrel control to be able to get to those pitches and not strike out even if it would serve him to wait for lower offerings. We know the approach is an issue and aggression is going to be the scariest part of his profile for the rest of his career, but he’s been smashing the ball when he makes contact and as he’s started to lift more the home runs should keep coming in for him. It’s a great turn around after a bad couple of seasons and now I only hope he can just stay on the field for a full season.

Landon Beidelschies didn’t have the worst of outings on Thursday, but he really couldn’t land a secondary pitch for a swing and miss. Beidelschies was heavy on his fastball usage against the Pelicans, and it led to him throwing a ton of strikes but also letting up a ton of contact that turned into runs. His home run allowed came on a curveball that looped right over the middle of the plate, but many of his hits came on well-placed fastballs that Myrtle Beach was just able to hit. That’s going to happen sometimes, especially for a guy who doesn’t have the velocity to get it past hitters, but it’s unfortunately a bit magnified when it comes from a pitcher who hasn’t managed a good outing yet this season. Beidelschies has just got to be better about landing his secondary offerings consistently or it’s going to be a continued struggle even when he is commanding his fastball well. Big time positives came from Luis Arestigueta, who carried over a good ending to his last outing to put up a phenomenal performance this Thursday. It didn’t start out so great, though. He walked the first batter he faced and was falling into the tendency of flying open early and dragging his arm behind. He was missing glove side over and over, but did well enough to reign it in and get some fly outs to end the inning. He came out again in the second inning and immediately threw three balls the exact same way, but was able to dial his mechanics in and put up his best outing since his second of the season. A missed location on a fastball turned into a two run bomb, but otherwise both his fastball and slider were missing bats. He was doing well to land the fastball up and bury the slider, and especially in the final inning he was making the Pelicans look foolish with his slider. He even mixed in a swinging strike on a changeup, a pitch that is too firm to be an effective pitch at high usage but is nice to see him at least developing.

Swing and Misses

Luis Arestigueta – 14

Landon Beidelschies – 5

Good day folks and happy Friday!

The Mariners bounced back in a big way yesterday, rolling past the Astros in an 8-3 series finale victory.

Despite a lofty 36.1% strikeout rate, Luke Raley’s hot season with the stick continues. Do you believe in his performance so far, or do you expect him to come crashing back to earth?

In Mariners news…

• In case you missed it, Cal Raliegh was placed on the injured list for the first time in his career with an oblique issue.
• The Mariners dealt recently DFA’d left-hander José Suarez to the A’s for cash considerations.
• The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Live Nation to build a new concert venue near T-Mobile Park. The venue will take over the site of the old Pyramid Brewery and is expected to open in 2029.
• New Padres right-hander Lucas Giolito appears poised to make his season debut this weekend against the M’s.
• Nate Schwartz at Pitcher List wrote about the evolution of George Kirby in 2026.
• On the latest episode of The Enni Way, Sarah Enni talked to Shannon Drayer about Cal’s slump, Bryce Miller’s return, and other topics.

Around the league…

• The City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, and the Rays have drawn up a deal for a public-private partnership that will enable them to build a new stadium for the franchise.
• MLB Pipeline updated its list of the top 100 prospects in baseball.

Anders’ pick…

• Over at GQ, friend of the site Matthew Roberson interviewed Saturday Night Live comedian Marcelo Hernández (for the second time!) to talk about his recent comedy special and what’s next for the rising star.

A matchup that was once known as the MASN Cup takes on a new identity this summer. The Nationals are now one of the many teams that works directly with MLB to broadcast their games locally. Meanwhile, the Orioles are back out on their own channel for the first since 2004, when they were still on Comcast SportsNet. Everything old is new again.

As for the on-field play, these two teams are in frustratingly similar places. The Nationals are 21-23, nine games back of first place in the NL East and 4.5 games back of the final wild card spot in the NL. The Orioles are 20-24, nine games back of first place in the AL East but only 1.5 games back of the final wild card spot in the AL.

Washington has one of the most productive lineups in baseball. The 236 runs they have scored is just one fewer than the league-leading Atlanta Braves. Other stats where they rank within the top five in MLB: doubles, slugging percentage, and stolen bases.

CJ Abrams and James Wood lead the attack. Abrams’ 158 wRC+ is the best on the team, as is his .292 batting average, .390 on-base, and .532 slug. Wood is the masher of the group. He has hit 12 home runs on the year and scored 36 runs, both team highs. The Rockville native is a “three true outcomes” type, as he has a 17.0% walk rate and a 31.9% strikeout rate.

Joey Wiemer (154 wRC+), Curtis Mead (126 wRC+), José Tena (122 wRC+), Daylen Lile (113 wRC+), and Luis García Jr (108 wRC+) have all done well at the plate too. Nasim Nuńez isn’t much of a threat in the box (62 wRC+), but be careful if he gets on base. His 18 steals are tied for the most in Major League Baseball, and he has only been caught twice.

Run prevention is where Washington has struggled. No one has allowed more than the 256 runs that they have, and only the Astros (5.59) have a worse ERA than the D.C.’s 5.01. The bullpen has been a bit better than the rotation. Their ERA is just 4.81, and it has come across 204 innings, the biggest workload of any bullpen in the league.

Six different Nationals pitchers have recorded saves on the year, but the team doesn’t really have a lockdown arm. Gus Varland leads the squad with four saves. He also has a 4.50 ERA and only strikes out 9.56 per nine innings. Outside of that, it’s an anonymous crew that is still figuring out roles. Old friend Cionel Pérez has tossed 16 innings for them this season, but he elected free agency earlier this month and is now in the Mets organization.

The Washington IL is full of pitchers. Noteable inclusions are Josiah Gray (right flexor strain) and Trevor Williams (right elbow sprain). Neither one will play this weekend.

Game 1: Friday, May 15th, 6:45 p.m., MASN

RHP Shane Baz (1-4, 5.48 ERA) vs. RHP Zack Littell (1-4, 6.94 ERA)

It feels fair to say that Baz has had one genuinely good start in an Orioles uniform. That came against the Astros in late April. Over his two starts since, the power righty has allowed 10 earned runs over 10.1 total innings. Walks have been an issue for him. If he can avoid the free passes, things should work out alright. That’s easier said than done, of course.

Littell was brought in to be a dependable veteran arm in a Washington rotation that needed the structure. Instead, he has struggled mightily. He is walking (3.22 BB/9) and striking out (4.21 K/9) batters at nearly an identical rate. His 8.26 FIP is even worse than his 6.94 ERA.

Game 2: Saturday, May 16th, 4:05 p.m., MASN, FS1

RHP Chris Bassitt (3-2, 5.21 ERA) vs. RHP Cade Cavalli (1-2, 4.02 ERA)

Two of the last three starts that Bassitt has made have gone well! He gave up just one run in six innings against the Athletics earlier in the week, and allowed one run over 6.2 frames against the Astros at the end of April. In between the two was a poor outing in Miami. But overall, it is improvement! The Orioles do not need perfection from Bassit. They need innings and solid quality. More recently, he has provided exactly that.

Cavalli has been a bright spot in the Nationals rotation, though he has waned recently. The 27-year-old is a hard thrower, but it’s his off-speed stuff that gets the best marks. Even still, it’s a fastball-heavy arsenal that should give the Orioles a chance to score some runs.

Game 3: Sunday, May 17th, 1:35 p.m., MASN

RHP Brandon Young (3-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. RHP Miles Mikolas (1-3, 7.00 ERA)

It’s tough to complain about what Young has come in and provided this Orioles rotation. He’s had one bad start in five attempts, and even in that one he was able to provide a little bit of length (four innings) despite an early meltdown. The Texas native has done nothing to change the perspective that he is simply a placeholder until Dean Kremer is back, but it feels like he has edged ahead of several others in the organizational depth chart when it comes to being the go-to spot starter when needed.

Mikolas allowed 11 earned runs in his second start of the year and has been fighting that in his ERA ever since. Overall, the veteran has been OK, I guess. The team doesn’t ask him for much, usually three to five innings without allowing the game to slip away. Usually he is able to accomplish that. You can expect a lot of ground balls. Mikolas is among the league leaders in that department (54.4% ground ball rate).

How many games do you think the Orioles will win in this series? Let us know in the comments.

Another week in the books! Welcome to Friday A’s fans.

Yesterday morning the A’s announced the addition of some outside bullpen help, acquiring left-hander Jose Suarez from the Seattle Mariners for cash considerations:

In order to make room on the 40-man roster for Suarez, the team designated outfielder Junior Perez for assignment, meaning any of the other 29 teams in the league can claim him. The A’s will be immediately adding Suarez to the bullpen today so there will be another corresponding roster move to make immediate room on the 26-man roster.

Suarez should be a name plenty familiar to A’s fans after he spent 2019-2024 seasons down south with the division-rival Angels. The left-hander then spent a year on the other side of the country with the Braves and began this season with them before finding his way to Seattle. Split between the Braves and Mariners this year the 28-year-old has pitched in just nine games, allowing 13 runs in 18 1/3 innings of work which comes out to a 6.38 ERA. Not a great season to date.

That said, the former starting pitcher has been better in the ‘pen as a left-handed relief option and the numbers back that up. He’s got strikeout potential but also has major control issues. As of now the only lefty in Mark Kotsay’s bullpen is Hogan Harris so the need to add another lefty was clear. With Suarez getting DFA’d the A’s are taking a chance that the team can fix him and get him back to the point he was just a few years ago, when he looked like a budding backend starter for the Angels.

To bring in Suarez, the A’s needed roster space so they made the decision to designate outfield prospect Junior Perez for assignment. Widely considered a top-20 prospect in the Athletics’ organization, Perez was added to the 40-man roster this offseason to prevent him getting selected in the Rule 5 Draft. The logic was sound as he was coming off a fantastic .231/.348/.478 slash line with 26 homers and 27 steals split between Double and Triple-A. Add in the fact that many believed he was nearly as good a defender in center field as Denzel Clarke, it was clear the A’s front office liked what they were seeing from the then-23-year-old.

Things unfortunately have not gone nearly as smoothly for Perez here in 2026 as he’s limped to a .210/.273/.384 line while striking out more and walking less. He’s looked outmatched at the minor leagues’ highest level so far this season and even though he ranked as the team’s 20th-best prospect, the decision has been made to remove him off the 40-man roster and risk him getting claimed. The team will surely be hoping he slips through and remains in Las Vegas but his awesome year last season could entice another club to bring Perez aboard. Stay tuned to see how his situation unfolds.

Turning to the big league squad, we got the San Francisco Giants coming to town this weekend for a three-game set. The former Bay Area rivals have gotten off to a horrendous start this year as they sit fourth in the NL West with a 18-25 record, tied for fourth-worst in the entire sport. Almost nothing has gone right for new manager Tony Vitello in his first year as a manager in the professional ranks and many Giants fans are already beginning to wonder if he was the right pick to lead a veteran-laded squad.

Speaking of the Giants’ vets, they’ve been absolutely hamstrung by horrid seasons to date from the likes of Willy Adames, Rafael Devers and former A’s All-Star Matt Chapman. None of them have been living up to the massive contracts they are tied to and that’s been a huge reason why the Giants rank last or near last in most offensive categories. They’re last in runs scored, with the team ahead of them having scored a full 15 runs more than SF. They’ve gotten above-average production out of fourth-year infielder Casey Schmitt, and left fielder Heliot Ramos and longtime veteran Luis Arraez have provided production, but they’re big bats have slumped and are a big reason why the Giants are on track to be sellers this summer.

The pitching schedule for this weekend looks like mostly veteran-on-veteran matchups, and the A’s might be getting lucky avoiding seeing any of the Giants’ top starters in Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. Tonight’s series opener will pit Aaron Civale against Tyler Mahle. While both signed one-year deals this offseason, Civale has been far and away better as the 31-year-old Mahle has struggled in his first season in SF. Civale has been on an absolute roll as well while Mahle has surrendered nine runs in his last three starts (though one of those was a scoreless appearance).

Saturday will be the only day we see a young arm take the mound as the Giants will hope rookie right-hander Trevor McDonald can go toe-to-toe with Luis Severino. McDonald, considered a top-15 prospect in the Giants’ farm system, has gotten off to a quick start to his season as he’s made two solid starts for SF since being recalled a couple weeks ago. Not much of a track record for him to show off but the Giants are getting desperate for pitching help and he’s provided some so far. Severino, the grizzled veteran on the other hand, has had an up-and-down season so far but is on the up and up right now. Sevy has made four consecutive solid starts, allowing just five runs over his past four starts spanning 24 innings of work. With a 4.07 ERA he’ll have an excellent chance to get that number under 4 facing a struggling Giants offense.

And Sunday we wrap the series and home stand with Jeffrey Springs going up against Adrian Houser. Like Mahle, Houser was an offseason addition meant to stabilize the SF rotation while providing some possible upside. Things have gone south for him however as he got hit hard in April. Things have begun to turn around for Houser as the calendar has shifted to May though. Springs meanwhile has been the team’s best pitcher overall this year but is coming off a starting appearance that saw him allow four runs in the first inning. He grinded though and provided five full innings without allowing another run so the hope is that he can just pick up where he left off and keep up his great season against the Giants on Sunday afternoon in Sacramento.

That’s all we got this morning. First pitch tonight is at 6:40 everyone so set your alarms. And have a great weekend everyone.

A’s Coverage:

• A’s get lefty reliever Suarez in trade with Mariners
• Bolte Flashes In Athletics’ Win Over Cardinals
• Kurtz shakes off pain, crushes massive grand slam to lift A’s
• Langeliers crushes 100th career HR (448 ft!) as breakout season continues
• The A’s drop series opener to the Cards 6-4
• A’s roster moves: Bolte, Stefanic recalled; Wilson to IL; Harris optioned, Nuñez DFA’d
• There’s Forcing Your Way Up And There’s Bolte — Is There A Spot For Him?
• May Roster Shuffle Could Help The A’s — But They’d Have To Want It
• Athletics’ Wei-En Lin Continues Rising The Ranks
• Now that we’ve seen a two-way player, what about a three-way player?
• A Walk In The Park Is Nice…To A Point
• Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In May

MLB News and Interest:

• Mariners’ Cal Raleigh (oblique) lands on IL for first time
• Francisco Alvarez Undergoes Surgery For Meniscus Tear
• Injuries: Raleigh, Fried, Mets, Buxton, Red Sox, Brewers
• Twins send scuffling outfielder Matt Wallner to Triple-A
• Latest On Blue Jays’ Rotation
• The Top 100 Prospects list has been updated, and there’s a new No. 1
• Well-rounded Braves rally past Cubs, move to MLB-best 30-13
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Tough break for one of the A’s top pitching prospects. On the bright side doesn’t sound too serious:

Any guesses how far Kurtz can take this streak? Is McGuire in trouble?

Bummer that Perez’s best performance at the plate came just one day before his DFA:

ICYMI: