Category: MLB

Almost no matter how you slice it, the Detroit Tigers have been pretty bad this year. Their overall record of 37-49 has them 12th in the American League, ahead of only the Kansas City Royals and LA Angels, facing down a likely selling role at the Trade Deadline. But they’re only 6 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the final AL Wild Card slot, which gives a faint glimmer of hope.

In a typical year, that third Wild Card team would post about an 86- to 88-win season. The lowest it has been is the 83-win Cincinnati Reds from 2025. Given the overall weakness in the AL field this year, that lower end seems a reasonable target, which means chasing down something like an 85-win season should keep the Tigers thoroughly in the mix. That would be a .631 win rate for the final 76 games of the season, which is high but hardly impossible.

The big question: how do they get there?

Instead of answering this seriously – trade for a new bullpen, call up every Max in AAA, and reduce playing time for Matt Vierling, Jahmai Jones, and most of their relievers as much as possible, for a start – I decided to have a little fun with the extreme nature of Detroit’s season. Meaning I looked at all their ridiculous splits throughout a ridiculous season and found what situations favor Detroit the most. If they’re going to chase down the Mariners, or even more improbably the Guardians, they’ll have to play to their win conditions.

All stats are taken prior to the victory over the Yankees on July 1, 2026.

Environmental Factors

What time the Tigers play is, unfortunately, out of their control. However, if it were in their power, the Tigers should only play day games. The earlier the start time, the better. With the sun at their backs, the Tigers are a competitive 17-16. At night, they’ve sleepwalked their way to a 20-33 record. That won’t do the trick.

Where Detroit plays is also predetermined, and so is the result, seemingly. In the friendly confines of Comerica Park – not the Friendly Confines themselves, where Detroit has yet to visit – the Tigers are a respectable 23-21. When they pack their bags and travel, though, they’re a woeful 14-28. Ouch.

Opponent’s Factors

When it comes to opponents, the Tigers have a few clear preferences. Whether it’s a bugaboo about the Believeland Guardians or an overall talent issue, the Tigers are a brutal 9-16 against the rest of the AL Central. If you’re looking for a reason the team is at the back of the Central pack, that’s as good a place to start. They’re a slightly better team when you look at the AL as a whole (26-36) or versus their National League foes (11-13). None of those light the world on fire, but they’re at least an improvement.

A weird one for you: the Tigers have been significantly better against good teams than bad ones. No, seriously, this doesn’t make any sense. How are the Tigers 23-21 when they play teams above .500, but 14-28 against everyone else? Do they just imitate whoever they face on any given day, rising to the occasion against the Yankees but floundering against the Twins and Angels? Utterly bizarre. Common sense says a playoff contender needs to take care of business against bad teams. Low-hanging fruit and all that.

There’s one final split here that might actually be meaningful. The starting pitcher the Tigers face seems to greatly impact their odds of winning a game. Shocking, I know. Against a lefty starter, the Tigers are a mere 10-17; versus a righty, they’re a way-less-bad 27-32. Can anyone here figure out why they struggle against left-handed starters? Anyone? I hate to pin it all on one guy, but we’re all thinking about the same guy, right?

Tiger’s Factors

OK, finally, the series of things Detroit can actually control. If Detroit’s going to take their season by the horns and claw their way back, this is a place to start.

For starters: keep Jake Rogers out of as many games as possible. The lineup is not deep enough to hide him at the bottom routinely, because hiding him at the bottom routinely means Outman, McKinstry, and Vierling can’t all hide at the bottom. They’ve got to keep Dillon Dingler healthy, but a 9-18 record with Rogers and a 28-31 record without him speaks volumes. Upgrade the backup catcher role next year if possible, and then Dingler can DH more and stay fresh throughout the season.

Another big one: get Gleyber Torres back in the lineup! He might not be their best hitter, but he sure seems to stabilize their lineup. A grind-it-out, depth-heavy lineup sure looks better when there’s another guy with a .400 OBP in it. Case in point: 23-20 with him, and 14-29 without him. Get healthy, Gleyber. We need you. Although Hao-Yu Lee is doing a really nice job in this second go-around on both sides of the ball. Pretty impressive step in development going on there seemingly.

This last one comes down largely to “play better, win more”, but the sheer volume of games is what I’d like to call attention to. In games in which the Tigers hit multiple home runs, they’re 15-7, a whopping .682 pace that clears the .631 win rate I threw out earlier. In all other games, they’re 22-42. What stands out here is not the conclusion drawn – hitting home runs and winning have a large correlation for a reason – but the fact they’ve only hit multiple home runs 22 times seems problematic to me. Good teams tend to hit home runs in bunches, and the Tigers really haven’t done that. They should probably work on that.

There you have it, folks. If the Tigers want to make the playoffs, they should be sure to face National League playoff contenders, at Comerica, during the day, against right-handed pitchers, and get Gleyber Torres into (and Jake Rogers out of) the lineup as much as possible. Oh, and hit a ton of home runs. And get a new high-leverage relief corps…Keider Montero may be the start of that process, at least for this season.

They’re also 8-5 on Sunday, so maybe shift as many games as possible to Sunday.

Simple enough, right?

If baseball fans plan on watching any of the 15 Major League Baseball games on July 5, they will have to find their way to one of NBCUniversal's television properties.

All 30 MLB teams that day will be in action, and their games will be broadcast on either NBC, Peacock, or NBCSN, the first time a media company has presented all 15 MLB games nationally in a single day.

Two of the games on "Star-Spangled Sunday" (New York Mets at Atlanta Braves, 12:30 pm ET, and San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers, 7 pm ET) will be broadcast on NBC, with the other games on the schedule all streamed on Peacock, with three simulcast on NBCSN. Peacock will also have a multiview four-box presentation.

"There's no better way to enjoy some free time on Fourth of July weekend than with one of the great rivalries in MLB, the Padres and Dodgers. In 2024, the Padres were this close to knocking the Dodgers out in the Division Series," NBC lead play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti told USA TODAY Sports. 

Benetti will call that game with former pitchers and Cy Young winners Orel Hershiser, Jake Peavy and C.C. Sabathia.

More: Happy Bobby Bonilla Day! 'It’s bigger than my birthday' former Met says

In the closing innings of Sunday’s exhilarating and chaotic finale against the Yankees, a surreal series of events events unfolded that one way or another should come to define the rest of the Red Sox season.

It started in the top of the ninth inning when Wilyer Abreu launched this hideous throw to nowhere, directly leading to a blown save:

Then it continued in the top of the tenth with another Abreu mistake, leading to an additional pair of Yankee runs:

I can count on one hand the number of times I felt as bad for a player on a Major League Baseball player within a game as I did for Wilyer Abreu in that moment. Normally a wonderful defender, he made two back to back blunders that looked likely to cost his team the highlight sweep of the season. And of course, this all came against the far more important, and far more devastating backdrop of the back to back earthquakes that rocked his home country, leaving behind a disaster with thousands dead, and tens of thousands more still missing.

As he stood there in the outfield with his “All together for Venezuela” message written on his hat, no player ever needed a hug on a baseball field more than Abreu in that moment:

But then something remarkable happened. The Red Sox offense – This Red Sox offense! – rallied out of nowhere in the bottom of the tenth to to take the game and pick up their despondent teammate. In that moment, it was probably better than any solace a hug could have provided.

Here’s the whole rally because it’s also probably the best half inning of baseball Red Sox fans are going to see all season:

The bottom line is this: One way or another, that tenth inning should become emblematic of the rest of the Red Sox season. Ideally that would involve the Red Sox making a remarkable comeback in the second half to go further than the Yankees by the time the end of fall rolls around, but at the very least, it should be the start of the Red Sox as an organization and fanbase rallying around Venezuela for the rest of the year.

This Red Sox roster is loaded with Venezuelan players (Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu, Ranger Suarez, Andruw Monasterio, Carlos Narvaez), and most of them are key contributors to the few positive things going on with the club. With everything that’s happened, they are now the main characters in our 2026 Red Sox story. Regardless of what happens on the field, the long, arduous process of Venezuela’s recovery should be tied to this baseball team.

And even though it’s just a game and a team thousands of miles away from the disaster, baseball can have that power. One of the biggest threats to Venezuela going forward is to have this tragedy fall out of the news cycle in places that can help. The Red Sox shouldn’t let that happen, and I know the players from Venezuela won’t let that happen. That’s why it’s so encouraging to see not just guys like Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu out on Jersey Street before the games collecting disaster donations, but also folks like John Henry and Sonny Gray.

Recently, the Red Sox started a new celebration when they do something good with their bats, reaching their hands together above their head to emulate the missing Citgo Sign over left field. Appropriately, here’s highlights of Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras doing it last week:

This may sound crazy, but I actually think this is the perfect celebration and symbol for the 2026 Red Sox and Venezuela going forward. Not only is the Citgo Sign a legendary landmark in the heart of Boston itself, but the company has deep ties to Venezuela. Without going into details there (because at the end of the day they’re an oil company that’s obviously up to no good) there’s probably nothing else that so clearly unites Boston and Venezuela as this oddly comforting red triangle, and the deep love for baseball it represents.

After all, the roots of Venezuela’s remarkable baseball history tie back to U.S. oil interests entering the country more than a century ago, and teaching locals the game. Now, all these years later, Venezuela’s returned the favor in a love letter back to us, reminding everyone of the joy and passion you can still bring to this wonderful game. As a group, they do it on a daily basis across all of Major League Baseball as well as anyone, and as an individual, Willson Contreras might do it the best.

So for the rest of the season, every time I see that Citgo sign, I’m now going to think of Venezuela. While it’s gone from the Boston skyline, I’m going to think of the buildings that are gone from the Venezuelan skyline. As it builds back up, I’m going to think of the resiliency of the Venezuelan people, who will also rebuild their country stronger and more beautiful than ever with time. And each time any Red Sox player does something good and celebrates with that Citgo Sign display, I’m going to smile at the ability baseball has to bring us all together, because that might just be the greatest power of this magnificent game.

Here’s where you can make donations to Venezuela via the Red Sox site. Hopefully, it will keep getting visits all year long. And hey, if we’re really lucky, maybe the comeback that’s coming for Venezuela will end up emblematic of both that tenth inning on Sunday, and the rest of the Red Sox season.

As Wilyer wrote: “All together for Venezuela!”

When you keep hearing about how the Yankees need to shop in the relief aisle come the trade deadline, that probably tells you something about the state of their bullpen.

Despite nice numbers in some departments, the pinstriped ‘pen has provided too many agita moments for a team with big-time October aspirations and needs, at the very least, more depth. 

Your move, Brian Cashman. 

Their closer has been nails lately, but had a 5.14 ERA as recently as May 18. Their hoped-for primary setup man has issues with left-handed hitters. Their lefty killer had a 4.02 ERA entering Wednesday (all numbers in this piece are entering Wednesday), nearly a run worse than his final mark last season. They’ve blown 13 save opportunities. 

But the Yankees also have seen some pitchers emerge – Brent Headrick, for one – and have hope that one of their top prospects, Carlos LaGrange, can transition from the rotation to the bullpen to become a hard-throwing intimidator late in games. Fernando Cruz’s splitter is fearsome. 

And the pen as a whole grades out well by several stats – entering Wednesday, the Yanks were sixth-best among bullpens in fWAR. They own the fourth-highest ground-ball rate of any bullpen in the majors and the third-best homers-per-nine-innings rate. 

They are second in pen ERA (3.19) and have the fifth-lowest opponent average. They’ve also thrown the sixth-fewest bullpen innings. In their last 10 games entering Wednesday, Yankee relievers had a 1.13 ERA. In their last 22, it’s 2.12. 

We’ll have to take it all into consideration as we formulate a grade for the relievers for the first half of this season. 

David Bednar, the closer, has had some late adventures, but he’s bloomed recently. He went on the paternity list on Monday carrying a streak of 12 straight scoreless appearances that trimmed his ERA more than two runs, down to 3.09. He’s saved 16 games in 18 chances. And some of his expected numbers suggest his numbers could be even better.

He gets a lot of chase (his chase percentage is in the 100th percentile, according to Statcast) and his ground ball rate is in the 96th percentile. 

Camilo Doval looks the part of a high-leverage reliever with a 98.5-mile-per-hour fastball and an expected ERA of 2.81. But overall this season he owns a 4.55 ERA, allows 8.5 hits per nine innings, and gives up massive hard contact.

Lefties, in particular, are mashing against him with a .350 average and a .941 OPS. To give you an idea of the OPS, there are only four batters in MLB who have an OPS that high this season and it’s a glittering group – Yordan Alvarez, Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.

But Doval has been better lately, recording a 0.96 ERA in 10 games since June 5. But, perhaps indicative of his season, the one earned run he’s allowed in that span came when he inherited a jam and surrendered a grand slam to Andrew Benintendi of the White Sox on June 18.

“Slumps are part of the game as baseball players,” he told MLB.com through an interpreter afterward. “We all go through them. I’m not exactly getting the results that I expect of myself right this moment, but I know they’re coming. I know a good streak is coming.”

Cruz had a nifty 2025 and he’s even better now with a 2.57 ERA in 39 games. He throws his diving splitter half the time and batters are only hitting .130 against the pitch. He’s also finished 41 strikeouts with it, the fourth-most strikeouts on splitters in the majors. The three pitchers with more – Nathan Eovaldi, Shota Imanaga, and Kevin Gausman – are all starters.

Lefty Tim Hill has seen an uptick in ERA, thanks in part to a 7.45 mark in May. But he still gets ground balls as well as anyone, limits walks, and keeps the ball off the barrel while primarily relying on a sinker. If he keeps getting ground balls at his usual rate (63.6 percent), his ERA likely will plunge.

Headrick, in his first extended run in the majors, has proved invaluable as another lefty in the pen. The 28-year-old has a 1.58 ERA in 41 outings and only one pitcher who has pitched in at least that many games has a lower ERA – Toronto’s Louis Varland (0.98).

“He’s been huge down there,” Aaron Boone said recently of Headrick. “He just continues to solidify himself at this level. He’s pitching with a lot of confidence.”

The Yankees have gotten some good innings from Paul Blackburn, who has a 1.17 ERA in June and a 2.50 mark overall. Ryan Yarbrough can offer multi-inning stints, too.

The Yanks haven’t fixed Jake Bird, though. Bird, who came over at the trade deadline last year, has a 4.88 ERA and has been up and down from Triple-A.

GRADE: B-

There’s high-level talent and it’s hard to ignore the numbers. It just feels like the path to Bednar should be smoother. The Yankees have always shown a willingness and an ability to upgrade their bullpen, to say nothing of how they’ve unearthed relief gems others might’ve missed. Here’s betting they do that again. The final grade could be much higher.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies wrap up a series this afternoon, as Philly eyes a sweep.

The P's come into this one as a short -122 home favorite, and it's not difficult for me to understand why. I'll be backing them as they hold a clear pitching advantage in this matchup.

Here are my Pirates vs. Phillies predictions and MLB picks for July 2.

Who will win Pirates vs Phillies today: Phillies moneyline (-126)

COVERS INTEL: Jared Jones' average exit velocity is one of the highest allowed in the league, sitting in the Bottom 19 percent of the sport.

Pirates vs Phillies Over/Under pick: Under 10.5 (-107)

I like the Under with a projection of 9.4. Jones can give up damage, but he still misses enough bats to avoid a complete unraveling, and the Phillies’ offense has been closer to average than elite at 4.52 runs per game. 

Rangel is the bigger reason I’m comfortable below this number. His chase-heavy profile attacks a Pirates lineup with MLB’s highest whiff rate, giving him a path to soft counts and strikeout leverage. This total is priced as if both starters get hit (and hard), and I don’t agree.

I'd play this to -120.

Pirates vs Phillies weather

Pirates vs Phillies odds

• Moneyline: Pirates +114 | Phillies -124
• Run line: Pirates +1.5 | Phillies -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 10.5 | Under 10.5

Pirates vs Phillies trend

The Phillies have cashed the moneyline in 29 of their last 45 games for +10.60 units and a 17% ROI.

How to watch Pirates vs Phillies and game info

Pirates vs Phillies latest injuries

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 more things change, the more they stay the same. Yet again, the Los Angeles Angels boast one of the greatest baseball talents of the generation, Mike Trout. Once again, that same Mike Trout finds himself limited due to injuries, even as he puts together his best season since 2022. Once again, the Angels failed to put together a team capable of winning significant games around Trout, and without him, they are downright terrible. And once again, despite finding themselves far out of playoff contention, their owner Arte Moreno seems disinclined to permit his front office to be true sellers, declaring Reid Detmers, José Soriano, and Jo Adell off-limits.

The only one thing different this year? The team fired general manager Perry Minasian last week, hiring John Mozeliak as the interim for the remainder of the season.

Should the Angels decide to do the smart thing and begin tearing everything down, they do have some pieces that may be of interest to teams throughout the league, including the Yankees. The pitching staff in particular is filled with quality names. A pair of young starters in Detmers and Soriano should be able to bring back sizeable prospect hauls if the front office was able to convince ownership to shop them around, as they are under team control for another two seasons. While Soriano gathered attention with his otherworldly start to the season, posting a 0.84 ERA through his first seven starts, it is Detmers who would be the more highly sought pitcher. His 2.9 fWAR ranks fourth among starters this season, and his metrics suggest that he is underperforming his 3.88 ERA. Soriano, meanwhile, has come down to earth after his meteoric rise, with a 5.34 ERA across his last 11 starts.

With the Angels’ interim general manager inexplicably believing that the team doesn’t need a rebuild, merely a small retool (perhaps influenced by ownership?), it’s much more likely that the team will be more inclined to trade from their bullpen depth. They may not exactly have an elite bullpen — they began the year with Jordan Romano as their closer, after all — there are some arms that may interest the Yankees. Veteran reliever Kirby Yates has rebounded nicely from a disastrous 2025 with the Dodgers, even if he hasn’t recaptured the magic of his 2024 season as the Rangers’ closer. With a 34.2 strikeout percentage that ranks 11th among relievers with at least 10 innings of work (he has pitched 17 innings this season), he would provide some swing-and-miss that the Yankees’ bullpen desperately needs.

On the offensive side, Los Angeles does not really match up with the Yankees. Zach Neto would give the team an offensive boost at the shortstop position, as he has a 114 wRC+ this season; defensively, though, he has taken a step back — instead of Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average disagreeing on his performance (he had 13 DRS and -8 OAA last year), both stats are very low on him this year (-2 DRS, -8 OAA). Jo Adell gives the Yankees something they don’t need more of — an outfielder who can function in center field but is below average there.

It’s unlikely, but a new front office in LA may finally cause Trout to force his way off the Angels. Now in his age-34 season and with an average salary of $37 million per year through 2030, he would still be a help to any team in the league…so long as he would be able to stay healthy. At this stage, he needs considerable DH time, and with Giancarlo Stanton still under contract through next season (with a team option for 2028), the fit is a bit awkward — even if a middle-of-the-order of Rice/Judge/Trout/Bellinger/Stanton would be a dream lineup.

Still, given the Angels’ refusal to trade Shohei Ohtani a few years back despite knowing that they would not even attempt to re-sign him…if you want to see that lineup, turn on MLB The Show. In fact, you might need to do that if you want to see any Angels players donning the pinstripes this season. Blame Moreno.

Meet the Mets

The Mets were blown out in the finale against the Blue Jays to drop the series. Starter Freddy Peralta was awful again putting the Mets behind early. The offense didn’t score until the game was well out of hand and all told it was just another sloppy loss in a season full of them.

Choose your recap:Amazin’ Avenue, Athletic, Daily News, Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB.com, NY Post

One of the only positives coming out of the lopsided loss was Carson Benge’s home run off of a lefty.

Owner Steve Cohen went on a podcast and discussed a variety of topics including the alleged feud between Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, David Stearns’s job, the firing of Carlos Mendoza, the ejection of a fan at Citi Field holding a sign against Stearns, his unhappiness with the season, and the future of the team.

Luke Weaver has been one of the most dominant relievers in all of baseball, but should the Mets trade him at the deadline since he still has another year on his contract?

Jonah Tong’s family helped hand out his bobblehead giveaway to fans in Binghamton.

Around the National League East

The Braves started off July with a 5-1 win over the Cardinals.

The Marlins fell 6-3 to the Rockies in Colorado.

The Phillies defeated Paul Skenes and the Pirates 10-6.

Washington starter Cade Cavalli apologized for yelling a racially charged phrase at Wilson Contreras that caused a benches clearing incident.

The Nationals blew out the Red Sox 10-2.

Around Major League Baseball

The Yankees dropped their seventh in a row with a 6-2 loss against the Tigers.

The MLBPA’s latest CBA proposal included expanded rosters at the start of the season and placement on the 60-day IL in November.

Evidence is mounting that Major League Baseball may have changed the ball again, and that has led to more offense in the game.

Many teams could be interested in acquiring Tarik Skubal at the deadline, but it is still unclear what team will have a good enough package to acquire the Cy Young winner.

MLB has gutted the minor leagues in recent years for various reasons, and the strain is starting to show at the developmental level.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Grace Carbone took a look back at David Peterson’s tenure with the Mets.

This Date in Mets History

Happy birthday, Ángel Pagán!

The David Stearns scorecard isn’t pretty. You knew that already, but if you’ve been following along as I’ve graded different areas of the Mets’ first half this week, you’ve been reminded of how so many of his decisions have turned out badly.

Well, the good news for Stearns and the Mets is that he didn’t go 0-for-2026. The bad news is the one area where he excelled, putting together a dominant bullpen, is the area that matters least on a ballclub that is infrequently leading in the late innings.

Figures, right?

In truth, it’s fair to wonder if this Mets bullpen would have stood quite as tall had it been asked to do more in high-leverage spots.

For example, Devin Williams hasn’t blown a save since April 19, shaking off his early-season struggles to be a lock-down closer, yet he has only 12 saves for the season, miles from the MLB-high total of 26 by Cleveland Guardians’ Cade Smith.

On the other hand, Mets relievers are third in MLB in innings pitched, with 377, but some of that is because of the way they used the now-departed David Peterson, as well as others, as bulk-inning guys who followed openers.

The larger point is that the Mets have been able to keep their high-leverage relievers well-rested -- more so than they’d like, in truth.

That said, as far as grading their first half, it’s not fair to ding the pen for a lack of high-stress opportunities, for what they’ve done has been impressive. Indeed, their current 3.45 bullpen ERA ranks fourth in MLB, and their total of 379 strikeouts is first in the majors.

As such, it’s also only fair to give Stearns his due. 

Most notably, he signed Williams, despite the right-hander’s up-and-down 2025 season with the Yankees, moving quickly in the offseason to guarantee him $51 million over three years.

Whether he wanted Williams ideally to be Edwin Diaz’s set-up man may never be clear, as the Mets proceeded to lose Diaz to the Los Angeles Dodgers in what remains a murky scenario. Mets people were quick to put the word out that they wanted him back and expected to get last licks in the negotiations, while others familiar with the situation insisted Stearns was OK letting Diaz leave.

In any case, it was a wildly unpopular decision with Mets fans, but as it turned out, this one came up roses for Stearns, at least so far. While Williams has flourished, Diaz went down after only seven appearances with an elbow injury that required surgery to remove loose bodies, and he isn’t expected back until August.

As for Williams, he was shaky early but then seemingly found the form that made him one of the best relievers in baseball during his years in Milwaukee with the Brewers.

Most significantly, the right-hander has rediscovered the magic in his signature changeup, the so-called airbender that is a devastating weapon when he’s setting it up by throwing his fastball for strikes.

“You can see the confidence is back,” was the way one MLB scout put it this week. “It’s all about the confidence to throw the fastball with command and conviction and keep hitters from sitting on the changeup. He’s also trusting the changeup and not trying to steer it, as he did at times last year. When he’s just letting it go, it looks like his fastball delivery and then it disappears on hitters.”

Because of a few rough outings, Williams still has an unimpressive 4.13 ERA. But since April 23 he’s been dominant, giving up one earned run in 20 of his 22 appearances, to go with a couple of clunkers in non-save situations.

“I still need to see him close games in high-pressure spots again,” said the scout, “but it doesn’t look like that’s going to be an issue this year the way the Mets are playing.”

In the meantime, Williams is far from the only success story.

Luke Weaver, after some early-season problems as well, is on an all-time heater, having pitched 24 straight scoreless innings. In fact, he went all of May and June without giving up a run, while racking up 31 strikeouts compared to five walks.

Weaver has been so dominant that, even with another year on his contract, the Mets might be tempted to trade him at the deadline, as he’s likely to be highly sought after by contenders.

In addition, left-handers Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter have both been reliable. Minter hasn’t given up an earned run in 14 innings since returning from last year’s elbow surgery.

And then there’s Huascar Brazoban and his 1.93 ERA. The right-hander has been an all-purpose weapon, used as an opener as well as a multi-inning reliever. His 42.1 innings are the most of any of the “A” relievers, if you will, and he’s given up only 22 hits in those innings.

In short, Brazoban has proven to be a steal for Stearns, acquired from the Miami Marlins at the 2024 trade deadline for minor leaguer Wilfredo Lara.

Finally, Austin Warren has emerged as an important bullpen arm as well. A 30-year old journeyman, Warren was picked up on waivers from the Giants in January of 2025, and after appearing in only five games last season, he has made 24 appearances this season, pitching to a 2.45 ERA over 33 innings.

With all of that in mind, the only knock on the Mets’ pen is that Williams and Weaver, in particular, did struggle early, when the Mets were digging themselves the deep hole from which they’ve yet to recover.

But again, to be fair, every bullpen has at least a few ups and downs. For the Mets, it’s pretty much been all pointing up since April.

So Stearns did get something right this year, constructing what has been one of the better bullpens in baseball. Unfortunately for the Mets, poor performance in other areas has minimized its impact.

GRADE: A -

Most baseball fans know that July 1 is colloquially known as Bobby Bonilla Day. In 2000, the New York Mets decided to defer the remaining $5.9 million left on Bonilla’s contract after they released him for batting .160.

Bonilla’s agent used that dismal batting average to his client’s advantage, knowing the team just wanted him gone. He got the team to defer the remaining money for 10 years, but then got 8% interest and those payment spread out over the next 25 years.

As such, the Mets now pay Bonilla $1,193,248.20 every July 1.

Before he was on the Mets, however, Bonilla was on the Dodgers, a part of one of the most shocking trades in Dodgers history. Bonilla and Gary Sheffield and three other players were traded to the Dodgers from the Florida Marlins for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile.

The Dodgers traded Bonilla to the Mets, and that deferred payment idea ended up coming around to benefit the Dodgers 24 years later. In addition to Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers have eight players with deferred payments.

The Mets used that deferred $5.9 million to get Mike Hampton, a starting pitcher who helped them win the 2000 World Series. All of the players on the Dodgers payroll have helped them win World Series, aside from Edwin Diaz who remains to be seen. A running joke that has turned into a viable way to field a championship winning team.

Steve Henson of the L.A. Times has more details and quotes here.

In case you missed it, a fan at the Dodgers game against the A’s on Tuesday night got super excited about Team Mexico scoring a goal in their World Cup game against Ecuador. Justin Wrobleski’s pitch went into the dirt right after the fan yelled, but he then struck out the batter on the next pitch. Mexico went on to win and will play their next game on Sunday.

Chuck Schilkin has all the fun details here.

Whenever I give updates on minor league stats, I’m always conflicted about how many players to include. Some of it is time management-related. Obviously, if I cover every conceivable player, it will take me time I sometimes don’t have. But I also am not particularly interested in writing 5,000 words for one of these either. So I inevitably have to exclude some players. So a couple weeks before the All-Star break and thus when I’m going to start squeezing in the first half updates, I thought I’d get a head start and tackle the rookie leagues, a league I haven’t actually done yet.

These are players you probably won’t need to know for many years and frequently never, but sometimes there’s a Raniel Rodriguez in the mix. Just two short years ago, Rodriguez was on a rookie league update and next year, he might see the major leagues. But most of the time, it’ll be like Ivan Herrera – he would have appeared in the 2017 update (if I was doing them then), he didn’t make his first MLB appearance until 2022, and he wasn’t a regular until 2024. Doesn’t make it not fun when a player makes it and you remember them from the first time you saw their name though.

Dominican Summer League

Hendrick Caña, RHP – 18

Stats: 4 GS, 15 IP, 29.9 K%, 4.5 BB%, 42.1 GB%, .415 BABIP, 3.00 ERA/3.03 FIP/3.74 xFIP

Caña has improved his K rate from 23% last year and his walk rate is a third of what it was last year while his GB rate has remained. While he has pitched fairly well, he has hit three batters – hence the weirdly high xFIP despite a phenomenal K/BB ratio. If you add the walks and HBP, it’s a 9 BB%, which is obviously not quite as impressive. But he has improved a lot nonetheless.

Daniel Gomez, RHP – 18

Stats: 5 GS, 17 IP, 24.6 K%, 5.8 BB%, 42.6 GB%, .319 BABIP, 2.65 ERA/3.96 FIP/4.17 xFIP

Gomez is pitching fairly similar to last year, although he has produced more swing and miss – his swinging strike rate last year was 11.9%, and this year it’s 15.4%. His K% has only marginally rose making me wonder if perhaps if we can expect more strikeouts by the end of the year. Gomez represents the last DSL pitching prospect I will post. Not a prospecty group here. The two 17-year-olds who’ve actually pitched any innings have been not good and I guess it’s different with pitchers, but I generally kind of ignore any 18-year-old in the DSL for prospect purposes.

Sebastian Rojas, C – 17

Stats: 79 PAs, .385/.456/.677, 10.1 BB%, 12.7 K%, .292 ISO, .400 BABIP, 157 wRC+

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: there’s a catcher in the Cardinals system destroying the ball. Is this guy going to get some prospect love over the offseason? I don’t think anybody is writing about the DSL guys yet, but I am just amazed that I blink and there’s another catching prospect.

Luis Estrella, OF – 17

Stats: 83 PAs, .333/.434/.580, 12 BB%, 27.7 K%, .246 ISO, .429 BABIP, 136 wRC+

Oh okay so this league is like that. Got it. That should be much better than a 136 wRC+, or at least it would be at just about any other pro league, but I see that the DSL is on some Coors Field shit. Not to diminish Estrella, but he seems like a probably bad defensive outfielder, because he’s played 11 games in RF, 3 games at 1B, and 3 games at DH. I feel like if you’re getting zero centerfield play at this level, it’s not a good sign. Throw in the strikeouts and proceed with caution.

Yeferson Portolatin, SS – 18

Stats: 79 PAs, .228/.443/.439, 25.3 BB%, 20.3 K%, .211 ISO, .282 BABIP, 123 wRC+

I normally wouldn’t make a point to post an 18-year-old’s stats from the DSL, but Portolatin was actually a better hitter last year. I’m not entirely sure why they didn’t take him to the stats – he had a 145 wRC+. Throw in that he’s a clear shortstop and I thought he was worth mentioning. I don’t know if it’s a difference in run environment or why he stayed in the DSL – but his ISO has improved from .148 to .211. His better line last year was almost entirely BB-related as he had a 29% BB rate, giving him a .483 OBP. But power genuinely seems to be up in this league.

Lucas Takahashi, OF – 17

Stats: 63 PAs, .261/.460/.261, 25.4 BB%, 27 K%, .000 ISO, .414 BABIP, 109 wRC+

Takahashi played last season as a 16-year-old and walked his way to a nearly average line. This time he’s actually got a decent average. That said, he’s yet to hit an extra base hit in 108 PAs at the DSL level. That’s not great. His most played position is CF so that’s the good news.

Michael Cordero, 3B – 17

Stats: 78 PAs, .246/.397/.410, 17.9 BB%, 28.2 K%, .164 ISO, .342 BABIP, 101 wRC+

Cordero also played a significant amount as a 16-year-old last season and I kind of wish he had made more progress from last season. He’s been better, but not by much, and most of his stats are very similar to last year. You hope a 16-year-old with a 95 wRC+ improves more than a 101 wRC+ the next season.

Roberth Castillo, 2B – 17

Stats: 69 PAs, .271/.362/.441, 11.6 BB%, 20.3 K%, .169 ISO, .333 BABIP, 91 wRC+

Yeah the run environment is crazy if that’s a below average hitting line. Castillo has played some games at SS too. I don’t know if he’s limited to 2B right now because of Portolatin, or if he’s more of a 2B who’s just getting reps at SS so he can be a fill-in. But you’d think he’d play more SS if the Cardinals thought he was one. Looking at these other lines makes it crazier that Takahashi can’t hit an extra base hit right now.

Florida Complex League

Xavier Cruz, RHP – 20

Stats (CPX): 5 G (2 GS), 15.1 IP, 43.5 K%, 12.9 BB%, 47.4 GB%, .190 BABIP, 3.52 ERA/5.98 FIP/3.12 xFIP

Low A: 2 G, 5.2 IP, 40.7 K%, 22.2 BB%, 50 GB%, .250 BABIP, 4.76 ERA/5.85 FIP/4.11 xFIP

This is a very strange season for a pitcher who seems to not actually know where the ball is going. It’s either going to be a strikeout, a walk, or a home run. He has struck out 38 guys in 21 innings, and he didn’t really slow down when he arrived in Palm Beach. He hasn’t allowed many flyballs either… it’s just it’s probably a homer if he does allow a flyball.

Gabriel Chinchilla, RHP – 19

Stats: 9 G (4 GS), 33.1 IP, 29.5 K%, 11 BB%, 44.7 GB%, .373 BABIP, 6.48 ERA/4.58 FIP/3.91 xFIP

Gabe, buddy, you’re almost there. We Gabes have to stick together. You have a fan for life. Looks like things just need to bounce his way more often – great K rate, decent amount of groundballs, too many walks, but not too bad. It’s just a very low LOB%, a very high HR/FB%, and a very high BABIP. I choose to believe you’ve been very unlucky.

Jan Cabrera, RHP – 21

Stats: 8 G (6 GS), 30.2 IP, 23.1 K%, 9 BB%, 57.3 GB%, .375 BABIP, 2.93 ERA/4.26 FIP/4.38 xFIP

As a counterpoint to the idea that only 17-year-olds are prospects in the DSL, Jan Cabrera exists. He was good, not great pitcher in the DSL as a 20-year-old. This year, he’s turned into a groundball machine (just 31 GB% last year). Granted, Cabrera still isn’t really a prospect, but he’s at least interesting.

Sebastian Dos Santos, SS – 18

Stats (CPX): 27 G, 112 PAs, .264/.429/.586, 19.6 BB%, 24.1 K%, .322 ISO, .315 BABIP, 143 wRC+

Low A: 11 G, 54 PAs, .200/.407/.300, 20.4 BB%, 27.8 K%, .100 ISO, .292 BABIP, 115 wRC+

Last year, the Cardinals had a few guys in the DSL who hit like the league was way too easy for them. Dos Santos was one of those players, and he made it looked like the complex league was too easy as well. That’s why he’s now in Palm Beach. So far, so good. Probably can’t walk 20% of the time forever, but I appreciate a patient hitter.

Miguel Hernandez, SS – 19

Stats: 36 G, 141 PAs, .259/.390/.500, 15.6 BB%, 24.1 K%, .241 ISO, .316 BABIP, 117 wRC+

I would not necessarily describe Hernandez as someone who made the DSL look too easy, but he had a very good season and he’s picked up exactly where he left off. For what it’s worth, because both he and Dos Santos are sort of shortstops, Hernandez has played a fair number of games at 2B. I’m assuming he became the full-time SS as soon as Dos Santos was promoted. It probably answers why Portolatin was left in the DSL actually.

Cristofer Lebron, 3B – 19

Stats: 37 G, 144 PAs, .280/.371/.488, 11.8 BB%, 24.3 K%, .208 ISO, .353 BABIP, 108 wRC+

Feels absurd to just say Lebron’s last name for obvious reasons, but that’s why he needs to make it. Lebron is having a solid season that if it continues, should put him line to spend next season at Palm Beach.

Kenly Hunter, OF – 18

Stats: 28 G, 109 PAs, .261/.398/.352, 15.6 BB%, 16.5 K%, .091 ISO, .319 BABIP, 99 wRC+

It just feels like the name Kenly Hunter should be a power hitter, so to it’s kind of surprising that he’s the opposite of that. He has played all three outfield positions nearly equally, though CF does top the games played. He also also stolen 11 bases to 1 caught stealing in these 28 games. Feels like he’s a centerfielder!

Juan Pablo Cabrera, C – 19

Stats: 26 G, 96 PAs, .273/.350/.416, 10.4 BB%, 17.4 K%, .143 ISO, .328 BABIP, 96 wRC+

Oh hey a relatively normal catching prospect! They do exist! Even so, this is pretty solid. Good amount of walks, not a lot of strikeouts, some power. He’s not going to be on a top 20 list, but he’s just really continuing to add to the catching depth.

Royelny Strop, OF – 18

Stats: 37 G, 137 PAs, .207/.350/.324, 16.1 BB%, 24.8 K%, .117 ISO, .276 BABIP, 76 wRC+

Pedro’s son struggled for most of his DSL tenure, but surged at the end, leading the Cardinals to bring him to Florida. So it should probably not be a shock to see him struggling to begin his rookie ball tenure in America. He’s not so overmatched though that I think it was the wrong decision. Hopefully, he finishes strong again this season.

Juan Rujano, C – 18

Stats: 21 G, 74 PAs, .227/.311/.348, 6.8 BB%, 29.7 K%, .121 ISO, .310 BABIP, 64 wRC+

Rujano actually had the better season than Cabrera in the DSL, but he’s gotten off to a rougher start. In fact, Rujano was actually ranked 29th on the Cardinals’ team list by Fangraphs entering this season. With that said, he’s also a year younger and it’s no cause for an alarm if an 18-year-old is struggling at this level.

Yaxson Lucena, OF – 18

Stats: 23 G, 88 PAs, .114/.295/.157, 19.3 BB%, 15.9 K%, .043 ISO, .143 BABIP, 33 wRC+

What an interesting line. Given the power and the BABIP, it’s probably safe to say that Lucena has been hitting the ball pretty weakly. But I do find him walking more than he’s struck out encouraging. For what it’s worth, Lucena is one of the hitters who laid waste to the DSL – he had a 141 wRC+. The approach is there, just not the punch.

Definitely covered more names than I would have if I tried to squeeze the rookie leagues into my normal update. And a couple names might end up on the normal update since they are now in Palm Beach. Not as exciting of a year in the DSL as last season (though maybe another Raniel!), but plenty of names to follow in the complex league.

Let’s start with the good news. The Cleveland Guardians beat the Texas Rangers in a classic 9-run punt lineup that featured David Fry leading off and Austin Hedges hitting a home run. Nick has the full recap here.

Ralphy Velazquez has been selected for the All-Star Futures game. Cooper Ingle has also been selected, but will not participate due to his recent MLB promotion.

Now, for some potentially bad news. Justin Campbell was slated to start in Columbus last night for his AAA debut. Campbell was pulled during warmups. Other than the below video showing where Campbell gestured to the training staff, there is no further updates at the time of writing.

Around the League

The White Sox lost to the Baltimore Orioles last night, putting the Guardians just one game back heading into a four game series against the ChiSox.

With the August 3, 2026, trade deadline fast approaching, it will soon be challenging to follow the flurry of rumors and transactions as they unfold across the league.

Inevitably rumors will spread about who from the Colorado Rockies other teams are interested in, and writers will post unrealistic mock trade ideas. Before that all starts to kick off in earnest, it would be useful to ground ourselves in some basic context for what the front office of the Rockies is most likely to be trying to do.

Based on their record, the Rockies will obviously be looking to sell current major leaguers for prospects but which players they are actively looking to move is the key. Remaining years of team control is the simplest thing to sort players by when determining which are most urgent to try and trade now.

The CBA negotiations taking place this offseason could alter the timeline that players reach free agency and/or adjust the arbitration system, but until the two sides of those negotiations start exchanging proposals that look anything remotely similar to one another’s, the best bet is to make transactions as if the same basic structure that currently exists will remain in place.

Given that assumption, here’s what the Rockies Roster Resource page tells us about their likely priorities before August third.

Free agents after this season

• SP Kyle Freeland
• SP Michael Lorenzen
• SP José Quintana
• SP Tomoyuki Sugano
• RP Antonio Senzatela

Technically both Lorenzen and Senzatela have club options for next season, but the Rockies are unlikely to exercise either. Freeland has an option that will vest if he reaches 170 innings this year, which is still possible but highly unlikely.

If the Rockies receive an offer for any of these players, there is almost no reason to hold on to any of them. The question for this group is what, if anything, will be offered. Senzatela is the only one who has performed well enough throughout the season to garner much interest, and even he has been hit by regression recently. The front office will almost certainly take the best deals available (if any), with no questions asked.

If any of these players are still on the roster after the trade deadline, it’s probably safe to assume that no useful returns were offered for them.

Free agents after 2027

• OF Mickey Moniak
• UTL Willi Castro
• RP Jimmy Herget

Unlike the true rentals above, the Rockies don’t technically need to move any of these players. If the Rockies don’t get a decent offer, they could keep them around and see what their value looks like in the offseason. What’s more, each of these players could, theoretically, be slotted into the 2027 Rockies opening day roster without much issue.

Given the Rockies lack of a realistic chance at fielding a competitive team in 2027, however, keeping them is probably not Plan-A. With that in mind, this trio represents the highest combination of both likelihood to be moved and potential to bring back useful prospects.

Castro, Moniak, and Herget have each had torrid stretches of production at points this year that indicate they could meaningfully contribute on a contender. None of them is a star, but none of them are on particularly expensive contracts. Each comes with another year of control that will be appealing to teams considering giving up prospects.

Finding the best deals possible for these three will very likely be near the top of the front office’s priorities over the next month.

Free agents after 2028

• OF Jake McCarthy
• UTL Tyler Freeman
• DH Kris Bryant
• SP Ryan Feltner

If the previous two groupings are defined by the urgency with which the front office is likely moving to find interested buyers, this quartet is the first group that is more likely to be on the team next season than not.

Obviously, Bryant isn’t going anywhere. The Rockies will be paying him until his contract runs out after 2028, regardless of whether he ever steps foot on a baseball field again.

Given the Rockies lack of short-term options in the starting rotation and Feltner’s inconsistent performance, it would be shocking to see him moved.

That leaves Freeman and McCarthy, who are more plausible trade candidates. Both could garner enough interest to warrant moving, especially considering that the outfield may be the one area of the Rockies roster that has decent depth for the foreseeable future.

Neither of them is a priority to move right now (because of the years of control and their flexibility), but if another team came to Paul DePodesta with a good deal for either, he would need to consider it. If these players are moved, it will be because other teams came calling with good offers.

Free agents after 2029

• C Hunter Goodman
• 2B Edouard Julien
• OF Brenton Doyle
• RP Brennan Bernardino
• RP Victor Vodnik

This is an odd group. On one hand is an All-Star catcher that hits a home run seemingly every other day. On the other is a collection of young players that have shown glimpses of promise in the past but have disappointed recently.

Oh, and then there’s Bernardino who is a useful lefty reliever that any team could use, but few will be specifically targeting.

To set expectations: It’s very unlikely any of these players (aside from perhaps Bernardino) is traded before the 2026 deadline.

For Julien, Doyle, and Vodnik their combination of underperformance and years of control means there is little urgency to sell low on them now. It’s probably more likely that one, or more, of this group is designated for assignment in the next 12 months if they continue to struggle than it is that a real trade partner materializes before August.

That brings us to Goodman, who has been the topic of much debate here on Purple Row. Regardless of where you stand on whether the Rockies should be trying to trade him right now, it’s obvious that they have no reason to settle for a deal that they don’t think meaningfully alters the competitive outlook of the organization.

Goodman’s remaining time under control means there will be plenty of opportunities to re-assess the market should no contenders decide to pay a steep price for three and a half seasons of his services.

2030 and beyond

Everyone else on the Rockies roster is not currently set to reach free agency until at least 2030, which is too far in the future to be able to accurately predict what the club’s competitive situation will actually look like. Making decisions on those players at this stage is very far down the priority list.

It is possible some of the players under control for this long end up getting moved (Troy Johnston, Juan Mejia, etc.), but that would be fueled more by the particular buyer’s needs/interest than the Rockies’ own priorities.

Conclusions

With the list above to work from, we can start to see a pretty clear picture of what is likely to happen throughout July. The Rockies will be actively pursuing deals for the first two groups of players and passively considering offers for the latter two.

Expect a flurry of small to mid-size moves while holding your breathe for the slim possibility of a franchise-altering blockbuster if a contender pushes all the chips in for Goodman.

On the Farm

Triple-A:Round Rock Express 6, Albuquerque Isotopes 5

There were a lot of things that went right in this game for the Isotopes. A handful of players had good performances: Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) had a double and a home run, Ryan Miller started the game with two scoreless innings, Conner Capel worked two walks, and Bryant Betancourt hit a solo home run. In the end though, Round Rock (TEX) ended up walking off on a two run shot allowed by TJ Shook in the ninth.

All of that, however, is overshadowed by what Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) was able to do with his three monstrous hits.

Double-A:Somerset Patriots 5, Hartford Yard Goats 3

The Yard Goats were only two for seventeen with runners in scoring position which is what sank their hopes of a win. Otherwise, they played a solid game that had a number of contributors.

On the mound the best performance was from Cade Denton who threw three scoreless innings and only allowed two hits. At the plate though, this game was about Roc Riggio (No. 14 PuRP) and Jack O’Dowd. Riggio had himself a great showing with three hits including a double and a homer while also managing to steal his tenth base of the season. O’Dowd, who hit a home run in his first game at Double-A on Tuesday, smacked another in his second game since being promoted and paired it with a double for good measure.

High-A:Spokane Indians 5, Hillsboro Hops 3

Jordy Vargas (No. 21 PuRP) got the start and managed to get through five innings on 86 pitches. He allowed three runs on four hits which did not look like it was going to be enough for Spokane to win the game as they’d scored only once —on a solo shot by Tommy Hopfe — before Vargas was relieved by Austin Emener in the sixth.

By the time Nathan Blasick took the mound in the bottom of the eighth, however, the Indians found themselves with a two-run lead. That late offensive support came primarily from Ethan Hedges (No. 29 PuRP) and Jacob Hinderleider who combined for six hits including a four doubles. Blasick earned a two inning save while recording four strikeouts.

Low-A:Fresno Grizzlies 9, Ontario Tower Buzzers 5

The Grizzlies lineup was a consistent force throughout this game and managed to score a run in every inning other than the first and seventh. From top to bottom the lineup collected nine hits and nine walks. They didn’t limit their onslaught to weak contact, however, as Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP) collected his eighth triple of the season and all of Wilder Dalis (No. 24 PuRP), Cameron Nelson, and Yeiker Reyes hit home runs.

On the mound, starter Easton Marks struggled, allowing three runs in only two innings, but the arms that came in after him pitched more than well enough to secure the victory. Grif Hughes struck out five over four and a third innings of two run ball before giving way to Seth Clausen who closed down the final two and a third innings.

DSL:DSL Rockies 4, DSL Miami 3

The DSL Rockies were able to get the win based primarily on solid pitching and good baserunning.

Maique Basanta and Emanuel Mejia combined to pitch the full seven inning game and allowed only two hits and two walks between them. At the plate the clear standout was center fielder Gemerson Blanco who led off and managed to score two runs on three hits.

The real story of the game though was the DSL Rockies baserunning. All of Daiel Meza, Hector Barroso, Douglas Veliz, Ishel Comenencia, and Emil Perez stole a base and this aggressive traffic on the basepaths led to three wild pitches from DSL Miami pitchers.

10 MLB Hitting Prospects Who Stood Out In June 2026 | Baseball America ($)

Not one, not two, but three Rockies farm hands made this list from Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes. Both Condon and Zac Veen, who have been crushing balls in Albuquerque all month, somewhat predictably are included. Joining them is less well known nineteen year-old outfielder Cristian Arguelles, who is excelling in his first season stateside in the Arizona Complex League.

Moniak correcting his swing, ‘bad habits’ following return from IL | MLB.com

Before going on the Injured List in mid-May, Moniak was off to the best start to the season of his career. He had struggled a bit at the plate in his first few games since his return. Thomas Harding talks with Moniak about the trouble he’d had and the adjustments he made to regain that early-season form.

MLB sees no link between factory defect and liveliest baseball since year of the homer in ‘19 | The Athletic (Gift Link)

The month of June saw a substantial increase in the distance balls were flying in MLB games. The total sample size of games since the shift has not been large, but the effects have been noticeable enough to raise eyebrows across the league. Eno Sarris and Evan Drellich dig into that shift and MLB’s initial response to it in this piece by The Athletic that is very useful context on the league-wide run environment.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants are off today, but they head to Coors Field to take on the Colorado Rockies starting tomorrow.

Ah, Coors Field. Noted destroyer of baseballs, souls, hopes and dreams. Depending on your outlook, this couldn’t have come at a worse or better time. The two teams are once again scrapping for fifth place in the division. And the Giants are the laughing stock of the baseball world in nearly every aspect.

I don’t have much (if any) goodwill left for this team at the moment after the way they have screwed up…well, everything this year. So personally, I think this is the best possible time for this series. I look forward to the chaos and embarrassment. It’s like the second half of 2016, but without the false hope.

So let’s get our guesses in for how many home runs the Giants pitching staff will allow at Coors Field this weekend. And next week, I’ll take a look back at this post and anyone who got the correct answer will get burned at the stake for being a witch a shoutout for being prophetic!

My guess is that they will allow eight home runs. Because that’s my lucky number, but also it seems like a fairly low guess.

How many home runs do you think the Giants will allow this weekend?

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 9, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees) 5

This was a strong showing from the Tides lineup. Nine of the 10 hitters that appeared in the game had at least one hit. Heston Kjerstad and Christian Encarnacion-Strand both homered and drove in two runs. Enrique Bradfield Jr. had a pair of hits, a stolen base, and a run scored. Jonathan Rodríguez, Ryan Noda, and Bryan Ramos had one double apiece. Creed Willems went 1-for-3 with a single.

Christian Herberholz tossed five solid innings and allowed one run on four hits, two walks, and six strikeouts. His lone earned run came on a solo homer in the first inning. The bullpen was less impressive. Anthony Nunez recorded one out and allowed a run. Chris Kachmar gave up three runs over 1.2 innings. And then Nick Raquet and Andrew Magno both tossed one scoreless inning to wrap up the win.

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

Three Baysox hitters went deep in this win. Ethan Anderson hit his 16th bomb, Thomas Sosa homered for the seventh time, and Wily Vasquez left the yard for the second time. Frederick Bencosme walked once, stole two bases, and scored one run. Anderson De Los Santos doubled, walked, and scored two runs.

Juaron Watts-Brown had another good start to earn the win. He worked 5.1 innings and allowed two runs on six hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. Over his las tthree starts he has lowered his ERA from 8.78 to 6.75. Ben Vespi gave up one run over 2.2 frames in the middle innings. And then Ryan Long allowed one run in the ninth inning to close it out.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 13, Frederick Keys 7

Four of the five Frederick pitchers that worked this game had a bad day. JT Quinn gave up four runs (three earned) over 4.2 innings, though he also struck out five. Cohen Achen served up four runs in his lone inning of work. Chandler Marsh was the only arm that can be satisfied with his outing. He recorded four outs without allowing a baserunner. Todd Kniebbe gave up two runs in his inning, and Raimon Gomez coughed up a trio of runs, including two homers, in the ninth inning.

Yasmil Bucce led the offense for Frederick. The catcher went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBI. Wehiwa Aloy doubled, walked, and drove in a run. Edwin Amparo got his first High-A double, drove in two, and scored a run. Ike Irish went 1-for-5 with a single. It was a nice game for the lineup, just not enough when the pitching staff struggled so badly.

Low-A: Charleston RiverDogs (Rays) 9, Delmarva Shorebirds 4

Dalton Neuschwander started for Delmarva. He got through four innings and allowed just one run, but then things fell apart in the fifth. That inning saw Charleston score six runs and put the game out of reach. The bullpen did well to keep things as close as possible from there. Luis Beltrán, Kenny Leiner, and Zac Lampton combined for the final four frames. None of them were charged with earned runs, but Leiner was on the mound for two unearned runs in a messy eighth inning that included a hit by pitch, three wild pitches, and a throwing error.

Braylon Whitaker did a nice job setting the table for the Shorebirds atop the order He went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, a walk, and a run scored. Stiven Martinez drove in two runs with his seventh home run of the season. DJ Layton had a pair of hits, his 22nd stolen base of the season, and an RBI. Cobb Hightower went 1-for-4 with a single

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

Norfolk: at Scranton Wilkes-Barre, 7:05. Starter: Cade Povich (0-1, 5.06 ERA)

Chesapeake: vs Binghamton, 6:07 pm. Starter: Joseph Dzierwa (2-1, 2.78 ERA)

Frederick: vs Brooklyn, 7:00 pm. Starter: Yeiber Cartaya (1-1, 2.29 ERA)

Delmarva: vs Charleston, 7:05 pm. Starter: Andrew Herbert (2-2, 1.21 ERA)

Today’s Reflections

Something is starting to feel familiar. Familiar, but different.

The Cubs’ bats are starting to come into form once again. That was proven in the games from Monday and Tuesday. Six batters in the Cubs’ starting lineup Monday had hits, with Dansby Swanson, Seiya Suzuki, Alex Bregman and Pete Crow-Armstrong with a pair each, in the 3-2 walk-off win. Suzuki had the game-winning hit.

Then on Tuesday, every hitter in the starting lineup (even Kevin Alcantara!) had at least one hit. Suzuki and Carson Kelly each had a pair. Two of Swanson’s three hits were home runs, two of the five homers on the team.

But Shota Imanaga, who picked up the win Monday with 6.1 strong innings, is the only starter from the Opening Day roster that has not been injured. Matthew Boyd recently returned from the IL and had a bend-but-not-break outing Tuesday. And five of the OD bullpen members are on the IL, plus Colin Rea was an emergency move into the rotation.

While having a patchwork pitching staff, the Cubs have won 10 of their last 12 games. Yes, it’s another streak for the Cubs. But instead of the shocking runs from early in the season, where the feeling was, “Is this real?!!! Who cares — Let’s keep going, whoo!!”, the feeling is, “Is this ….. real?? When is it going to fall apart? When will the pitching injuries take a permanent toll on the team? Well, let’s keep going and see.” Not to be a downer here, but I feel there is definitely a stronger feeling of caution than there was in April and early May. Rightfully so.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

Tuesday’s game stories:

• Scott Held (Chicago Tribune {$}): Dansby Swanson hits 2 of Chicago Cubs’ 5 HRs in 9-7 win over the San Diego Padres. “Alex Bregman, Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong added home runs to help the Cubs win for the 10th time in 12 games.”

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.con): Swanson homers twice as Cubs win slugfest over Padres. “There are nights when Wrigley Field transforms into a hitter’s haven and teams understand that piling up runs is not only the goal, but required to find the win column.”

• Mike McGraw (Daily Herald): Change of strategy: Cubs belt 5 home runs, hang on to beat Padres. “The Cubs were ready to begin a new chapter Tuesday.”

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Chicago Cubs’ Alex Bregman downplays thumbs-down gestures after homering at Wrigley for 1st time since March. “Chicago Cubs’ Alex Bregman didn’t have any interest in providing insight into his post-home run thumbs-down gestures.”

Monday’s game stories:

• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Another Wrigley walk-off: Injuries aren’t keeping Cubs from winning while attempting to weather storm. “Seiya Suzuki delivered the latest game-winning thrill at Wrigley Field, the Cubs’ 10th walk-off win of the season, keeping the victories coming while the team deals with an ever-increasing mountain of injuries.”

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki power the Chicago Cubs to an MLB-leading 10th walk-off victory. “Imanaga held the Padres to two runs on nine hits and four strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings without walking a batter or allowing a home run on a humid, hot night at Wrigley Field.”

Assorted stories:

• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Walk of life: Cubs’ patience at plate paying off as offense heats back up after monthlong slump. “The Cubs are baseball’s walk kings, leading the majors in that category, getting improved on-base numbers all over the lineup and taking to shouting out free passes with as much gusto as complimenting home runs.”
• Evan Sullivan (Cubs Insider): Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Explosive June Puts Him Alongside Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig. “Pete Crow-Armstrong nearly lapped the field in June, posting a 3.1 fWAR mark that left Detroit’s Dillon Dingler (1.8) in the dust. The numbers Crow-Armstrong generated are so outlandish that they’ve only been replicated in four other months by two players.”
• Michael Canter (Cubs Insider): The Rundown: Power Surge Propels Cubs Toward Potential Sweep, Nothing Imminent on Trade Front, Mets Expect to Make Sweeping Changes. “Chicago’s North Side Baseballers have an opportunity to complete the sweep while simultaneously treating us to day baseball on what should be a beautiful summer afternoon.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs News: Ethan Conrad debuts, Vince Velasquez elects free agency, Pete Crow-Armstrong home run derby. “With the 2026 MLB Draft a little over a week away, the Chicago Cubs’ 2025 first-round draft pick has finally made his professional debut.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: Craig Counsell downplays the Chicago Cubs’ many challenges, but he was hired to solve problems. “This might be Counsell’s most challenging season as manager, though he won’t consider the possibility and isn’t interested in comparisons.”
• Jon Greenberg (The Athletic {$}): Cubs are hurting, but they’re also showing their mettle during a challenging time. “The Cubs picked up their 10th walk-off win of the season when Seiya Suzuki drove in Pete Crow-Armstrong with a hit off the ivy.”
• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports.com): Are the Chicago Cubs’ Injuries Becoming Their Greatest Concern in 2026? “At this point, it seems like there is someone new is added every day, as the pitching staff has been destroyed. Now, they must find a way to overcome the injuries if they wish to stay competitive.”

Trade Talk:

• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Jameson Taillon could make injury return before All-Star break, good news for Cubs’ battered pitching staff. “The Cubs are aiming to have Taillon, who’s been out since early June with a hamstring strain, make a rehab start this weekend, potentially setting him up for a return from the IL during the team’s final series of the first half.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): What we’re hearing about Cubs’ pitching plans: Trade expectations, comebacks and more. “Even as they juggle various pitching injuries, the Cubs are trying to focus on internal solutions until the draft and trade deadline.”
• Eddie Lennon (LastWordOnSports.com): 3 Strong Luis Arraez Trade Destinations. “He doesn’t hit for power. He doesn’t rack up elite exit velocity numbers. He doesn’t overwhelm with highlight-reel tools.”
• Tyler Edmunds (OnTapSportsNet): The Cubs Need to Stop Waiting and Go Get Sonny Gray. “The Chicago Cubs adding Sonny Gray from the Boston Red Sox would make a lot of sense for a team desperately needing pitching help.”
• Eddie Lennon (LastWordOnSports.com): 3 Great Landing Spots for Freddy Peralta. “Peralta still brings exactly what contenders want in October: strikeouts, swing-and-miss stuff, and the ability to shorten games when every inning carries postseason weight.”

Food For Thought:

John Lee Hooker (1917–2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist famous for his hypnotic, driving “boogie” rhythm and deep, gravelly voice. Born into a Mississippi sharecropping family, he pioneered an electric-style adaptation of Delta blues in Detroit. Over a career spanning five decades, he recorded over 100 albums, releasing classics like “Boogie Chillen” and “Boom Boom”.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.