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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rangers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Rangers Reacts returns this week, and we want to know, how have the 2026 Texas Rangers fared, compared to your expectations coming into the season?
Cast your vote below…
Now nearly two months into the minor league season, the Mariners have had plenty of young farmhands show off their immense talent across the minor leagues. With midseason reranks rapidly approaching, let’s check in on Lookout Landing’s top ten preseason prospects.
SS Colt Emerson – MLB – .255/.347/.469, 10.1% BB%, 27.2% K% in AAA
Colt will soon be graduating from these ranks and is currently manning the hot corner for the big league ballclub, but the 20 year old shortstop had really started to get things going in Tacoma after a tough start to the year. He’s displaying more pop, commanding the zone at a rate more in line to his career averages, and his stellar defense remained throughout despite his woes at the plate. It’s a fair critique to question if his whiff “problems” should have kept him down in the minors a hair longer, but with that decision already made, it will be trial by fire for Colt as he looks to establish his permanent foothold in the major leagues.
LHP Kade Anderson – AA – 34 IP, 1.85 ERA, 51K, 5BB
It’s tough to poke holes in Kade Anderson’s professional career thus far. He had his first clunker last week and got hit around quite a bit, but his numbers remain pristine due to his utter dominance prior. Still just 21 years old, Anderson’s polish is unmatched across minor league baseball and has already pushed him into a near-consensus top ten prospect in all of baseball. He’ll be ready to roll in the big leagues by the start of next season at the latest.
RHP Ryan Sloan – AA – 27.1 IP, 4.94 ERA, 32K, 10BB
Sloan got off to a rough start at Double-A, losing feel for his arsenal and leaving pitches out where they could get damaged more often than usual. He’s since turned things around and cut his ERA by multiple runs, looking far closer to the version of Sloan we’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the past year and change. Sloan was aggressively sent to Double-A Arkansas as a 20 year old, and despite his numbers looking worse than they did last season, he’s looked like he belongs. Far from flawless, but encouraging nonetheless.
2B/LF Michael Arroyo – AA – .254/.325/.401, 7.5% BB%, 21.9% K%
Arroyo’s numbers haven’t been up to the caliber we’ve come to expect from Arroyo, and interestingly enough, he’s been a rare exception to the usual “Dickey Stephens Park Rule”. Posting significantly better numbers in the “pitcher’s paradise” of DSP than away, Arroyo’s had a weird year thus far and feels like the product of some small sample size nonsense. He’s walking much less than usual, but his strikeouts are right in line with his career norms and the slug has only ticked down just a hair. If he’s able to get his walk rate back to where he usually sits, he’ll be a menace atop this lineup in no time.
CF Jonny Farmelo – A+ – .236/.368/.414, 16.4% BB%, 28.1% K%
Farmelo has had one of the more difficult seasons to pin down so far. With a walk rate north of 16%, Farmelo’s OBP is in a fantastic spot right now, pairing incredibly well with his game-breaking speed on the basepaths. That said, he’s struggled with bat-to-ball, marking a second straight season we’ve seen him with elevated whiff rates. His swing is unorthodox and can get stiff at times, and there is legitimate reason to be concerned about his contact rates moving forward, but we’re still early enough in the season where it’s hard to truly panic about a player posting more than reasonable numbers on the whole. He’s producing, but we’re still in wait-and-see mode for the time being.
RF Lazaro Montes – AA – .243/.362/.529, 14.7% BB%, 30.7% K%
One of the most impressive bats to start the season, Lazaro Montes has been locked in at the plate since returning to the Travs lineup in 2026. Having a solid if unspectacular year offensively at Double-A last season, Montes has left little doubt he’s figured out Texas League pitching, slugging his way to an OPS just south of .900. Better still, when removed from the confines of DSP, Montes’ line improves drastically, raising his season OPS over the 1.100 marker with an unbelievable amount of power. The whiff is still very much present, but with the level of slug he’s able to get to in-game, it truly has not mattered. He’s got a big up arrow next to his name.
C Luke Stevenson – A+ – .265/.447/.449, 24.2% BB%, 26.5% K%
Yet another bat that’s impressed this season, Luke Stevenson has picked up right where he left off in his brief stint of pro ball last season. Currently walking at a gaudy 24.2% clip, Stevenson has been an on-base machine early in his career and owns a career OBP over .450 through ~250 PA’s. His K rate has risen this season after a recent “slump”, but his outstanding eye and impeccable defense gives him an exceptionally high floor for someone with evident bat-to-ball issues. Tapping into more power is the next step for Stevenson; he’s shown he can lay off balls and poses a constant threat to reach base, but damaging mistakes more consistently will take him from an already elite hitter to a truly special offensive threat.
SS Felnin Celesten – A+ – .341/.442/.504, 14.7% BB%, 18.6% K%
The biggest riser of the season so far, Felnin Celesten has revitalized his prospect stock after a disappointing 2025 season and looks like a blue chip prospect right now. On a torrid month-long streak offensively, Celesten is clobbering the ball all over the field and has brought an advanced approach to the plate, walking nearly as often as he’s striking out. With smooth defense on the diamond and some speed on the basepaths, Celesten should be a lock to stick at shortstop and could easily move to any infield spot should he need to. He’ll be ranked significantly higher in midseason prospect reranks.
SS Nick Becker – ACL – .265/.468/.353, 27.1% BB%, 35.4% K%
ACL statlines are weird. Becker is striking out a ton, but he’s getting on base nearly half the time and also has 10 stolen bases through eleven games. Becker was drafted for his raw tools and was always likely to be a slower mover through the system, but the whiff is certainly something to monitor as the sample size grows. Statline scouting in the ACL is immensely difficult due to the varied nature of the talent at the level, but with solid numbers through his first handful of games, Becker remains an exciting player that’s still several years away from debuting.
NOTE: #10 prospect Griffin Hugus is dealing with a major arm injury and has not pitched yet. It sounds as though he’ll make his debut in 2027.
This is going to be something we’ll be keeping an eye on all season, isn’t it? Yesterday, fourteen days after suffering what was hoped to be a minor wrist injury back on May 4, Roman Anthony once again swung a bat. It did not go well, and Anthony’s progression is going to be slowed down. “Obviously, you’re not going to have him swing through soreness and discomfort, so not as good news today,” said Chad Tracy. “But we’ll back off and see what happens after the off day with a few more days of rest.” A young phenom stymied by a wrist injury? If you lived through the Nomar Garciaparra era, you probably don’t want to see a sequel. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
As somnambulant as the Red Sox lineup has been, they can’t afford to lose Anthony for the long-term. As it is, the team’s underperformance is starting to weigh on a lot of the players, like Caleb Durbin. “It’s tougher honestly away from the field and pre-work. It’s all I think about. This is our life. For me, like I know what I’m capable of. And like coming into the year, I had really high expectations. Obviously as a team we did and still a lot of ball left, but obviously the games we’ve played up to this point matter a lot, too. Every game matters.” (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
There’s been a lot of fan debate about whether Durbin should be sent down to AAA while he tries to fight through his struggles. The team hasn’t spoken much about that, but he is going to get less playing time while Nick Sogard is up. “I don’t think it means it’s a permanent Sogie’s taking over at third,” Chad Tracy said. “I think you’ll still see Durbin. I just think that on given days, if we see a matchup we like and Sogie’s part of it, we’ll use him. But we’re searching for runs, trying to get runs.” (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
So the Caleb Durbin deal doesn’t look so hot right now. But Craig Breslow did nail two other offseason trades. As of now, the trades for Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray look like absolute steals. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
And let’s give thanks for the trades not made, like any trade that would’ve sent Payton Tolle elsewhere. The Sox’s “cartoon character” is showing that he’s becoming a complete pitcher. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
But a few nice offseason trades aren’t enough to shield Craig Breslow from the slings and arrows as this Red Sox team continues to flounder. And they’re not just coming from the fans, Jason Varitek’s wife is getting in on the action:
Week: 5 G, 18 AB, .333/.435/.778, 6 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 4 K, 2/2 SB (Double-A)
2026 Season: 32 G, 113 AB, .221/.346/.416, 25 H, 10 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 20 BB, 38 K, 6/8 SB, .292 BABIP (Double-A)
When Jacob Reimer is on, he checks off a lot of offensive boxes: he hits for a solid average, walks a lot, keeps strikeouts to a minimum, and showcases a solid amount of power. When he is off, as he was for virtually all of April, he is a very diminished player. In 20 games in April, he hit .186/.329/.314.
I’m not sure what the correct term would be for it, but I am beginning to think that Reimer is a player who needs to always be optimized in order to be effective. When his upper body and lower body get out of sync, he has trouble with breaking balls and pitches thrown inside. When he is unable to effectively lift the ball, he is grounding into more than his fair share of groundballs. When he is unable to pull the ball, he is hitting for less power than you’d want a corner infielder to be hitting for. When he isn’t feeling confident, he is more passive at the plate.
If Reimer had standout secondary tools, like exceptional speed or sterling defense, it would be easy to look past the occasional prolonged offensive doldrums, because his floor would be higher. But because his speed is minimal and his defensive abilities are negligible, there is more pressure on his bat to come through. Thanks to his strong eye, even when he is struggling offensively at the plate, he isn’t necessarily a black hole and will still draw walks, but when Reimer’s hit tool starts struggling, he really isn’t going to be actively contributing.
Here’s hoping Steve Cohen starts financially supporting my plan to fuse Jacob Reimer and Ryan Clifford into Ryan Reimer sooner rather than later.
Week: 1 G (1 GS), 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (Triple-A)
2026 Season: 5 G (5 GS), 25.0 IP, 24 H, 10 R, 10 ER (3.60 ERA), 9 BB, 27 K, .338 BABIP (Double-A) / 2 G (2 GS), 12.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER (2.25 ERA), 3 BB, 13 K, .241 BABIP (Triple-A)
Calling it a magical season might be a bit hyperbolic, but Zach Thornton had a 2025 that really put him on the map as a player- and got him out of the shadow of the former Pirates/Mets reliever Zach Thornton on the search engine hits. Making 14 starts for the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones and the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the southpaw posted a combined 1.98 ERA in 72.2 innings, allowing 48 hits, walking 11, and striking out 78. Along with Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger, he formed a fearsome threesome of pitchers that batters had to navigate past, a dangerous hydra that few hitters were capable of dealing with. Unfortunately for Thornton, an oblique injury in early July ended his season prematurely and suddenly- and just to highlight how strong the pitching was in the system that year, Jonathan Santucci and R.J. Gordon were promoted to Binghamton at roughly the same time, and the Rumble Ponies didn’t even feel the loss of the injury to the left-hander. When all was said and done, we ranked the left-hander the Mets’ 14 prospect coming into the 2026 season.
Thornton returned to the mound with Binghamton in early April, and while he did not pitch poorly at any point, he looked less crisp and more hittable as compared to 2025. In 25.0 innings over 5 starts, the southpaw posted a 3.60 ERA, allowing 10 earned runs, with 24 hits, 9 walks, and 27 strikeouts. Promoted to Triple-A Syracuse after almost exactly a month, Thornton has actually looked a bit better. Through a pair of starts now, the left-hander has allowed three runs over 12.0 innings, scattering 8 hits, walking 3, and striking out 13.
Thornton relies on a five-pitch mix, working with a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, changeup, slider, and curveball. In his last start, he threw 33 sliders (41%), 20 two-seam fastballs (25%), 16 curveballs (20%), 7 four-seam fastballs (9%), and 5 changeups(6%); in his other Triple-A start, he threw 28 sliders (33%), 21 two-seam fastballs (25%), 16 curveballs (19%), 16 four-seam fastballs (19%), and 3 changeups (4%). This tracks with past data from the 2025 season, where he used his slider and his fastball almost as much as each other.
Thornton’s four-seam fastball has roughly average velocity for a left-hander, averaging 91 MPH and holding it throughout the ballgame. What stood out to me, looking at the data from his past two ballgames, is that he is getting more induced vertical break on the pitch now as compared to ever before. In his two starts with Syracuse, the pitch averaged 19 inches of IVB, an elite number; in the past, the highest IVB the left-hander had ever recorded was 16 inches, an above-average number to be sure but not elite like 19 is. While this is just a theory, the Triple-A ball may be enhancing the backspin that Thornton creates from his four-seam grip. The spin rate on his fastball is roughly average for a four-seam fastball, but the amount of activated spin that he is getting on the ball is enhancing it. Between his ability to locate the pitch and his ability to induce whiffs, Thornton’s four-seamer is currently sporting a 44% CStr+Whiff% in limited usage. His sinker, interestingly, has a higher spin rate than most sinkers. Most sinkers have spin rates between 2000 RPM and 2200 RPM, allowing the magnus effect to have less of an impact on the pitch, causing it to sink as gravity acts upon the ball. With a higher spin rate, Thornton’s fastball is able to resist the force of gravity longer, giving it late sink. Like his four-seam fastball, he currently has a 42% CStr+Whiff% with his sinker. Because of the lack of premium velocity, when batters make contact with the pitch, they are able to do damage.
His slider has always been his bread-and-butter, and the pitch is showing no ill effects from his return to the mound after a lengthy layup or his promotion to Triple-A. The mid-80s offering has so far averaged 35 inches of vertical drop and 5 inches of horizontal movement, resulting in a 34% CStr+Whiff% rate. When he wants to, he can throw it in the zone, and when he throws it outside of the zone, he can spot it there as well to entice batters. His curveball is much of the same, sitting in the high-70s, featuring 44 inches of vertical movement and 14 inches of horizontal break, with the ability to land in or outside of the zone depending on the situation.
Rounding out his arsenal, the left-hander’s changeup is little more than a change of pace offering at present. Its low spin rate gives the pitch a lot of downward drop, but most of its effectiveness comes from the randomness in terms of when it is thrown, not its nastiness.
There is risk in his profile because, as mentioned, his fastball does not have premium velocity and he is relying more on obstruction, sequencing, and finesse with it to prevent hitters from tattooing the pitch rather than pure brute velocity, but I am feeling bullish on Thornton at present and liking what I am seeing more than I did even last season.
Thornton’s transition to Triple-A so far has been seamless, and he has arguably better now than he was over the course of the last month in Binghamton. I wrote the following paragraph on Sunday afternoon, when I started looking up the data for this Player of the Week write-up: “If these trends continue, and Thornton continues putting up similar numbers over the rest of May, the southpaw might leapfrog Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger on my preferred pitching prospect depth chart for the Mets to call-up; Tong has had issues acclimating to Triple-A, and while Wenninger has seen plenty of success like Thornton has, I am a bit unsure how his fastball-changeup combo will work at the MLB level as a right-hander with a decidedly middling fastball to set-up his change”. Prophetic words!
Everyone loves to see the random reliever pop up and turn into something that is highly effective. From a fan’s point of view, the pitcher’s effectiveness can be turned into a weapon that may or may not be used in more leveraged situations to ride that hot streak as long as it will take him. For the team that is contending like the Phillies, they’re getting good work from a pitcher that is making the league minimum, letting them potentially cross something off their trade deadline wishlist.
Chase Shugart has become that pitcher so far this year, taking a minor league deal in spring training and performing well to a spot in the Phillies’ bullpen that includes a climbing trust from the coaching staff in tight spots (0.27 aLI in his first seven appearances, 0.87 aLI in his last six appearances). His name probably didn’t ring many bells when he was brought in this offseason, but there were some interesting things with his profile that gave him some allure to the Phillies, things that he has continued to do this season. The first thing you notice is that sparkling 1.72 ERA since that is the kind of number we like to see in a reliever. Low ERA in the old days meant limiting damage, but we’re enlightened. We know that there is a lot more to it than that, which is why we look at other things.
For me personally, there are two things I look at for relievers: is he allowing inherited runners to score, and is he leaving his outing with the team in a better spot than when he came in? The first question is an easy one to answer. He’s had five inherited runners during his appearances and has only allowed one of them to score. That seems like a good number and it is, but there is a bit more context to it. Managers often time tier their relievers in different ways, but one is which pitchers do they trust with a “dirty inning”, one where there is trouble on the basepaths and in the batter’s box. Seeing that over his 13 games he’s pitched in, he’s only entered with runners on five times, the team may be looking to avoid those dirtier situations with Shugart. They’re also bringing him in when they’re behind, with ten of his thirteen appearances coming when the team is behind.
That’s totally fine since teams need pitchers to do that. There has to be someone, or multiple someones, in a team’s bullpen that come in when the team is down so as not to use higher leverage arms all the time. Shugart thus far has done a nice job of making sure things don’t get out of hand, which brings us to our second question of does he leave the team in a better spot than when he left. This is a bit more difficult to ascertain, but we can look at two things.
One of my more favorite advanced stats is RE24, which can best be explained with Baseball Reference’s definition:
Given the bases occupied/out situation, how many runs did the pitcher save in the resulting play. Compared to average, so 0 is average, and above 0 is better than average.
When the pitcher came in, did he save the team a lot of runs? Shugart has excelled in that thus far, his 5.4 mark ranking 33rd among 200 relievers who qualify here. Another thing to look at are his situational wins, best described as WPA/LI (wins probability added divided by leverage index). Shugart’s 0.3 number for this doesn’t look so great, but considering the leader for the category is Rico Garcia (1.1), Shugart’s number looks a lot better, tied for 43rd out of over 350 pitchers. He’s done a good job of making sure things don’t get out of hand. He’s done with stuff that isn’t overwhelming, but gets the job done. He’s been good at making sure he’s throwing strikes with a good, not great, fastball, keeping the baseball on the ground (though with this defense, that’s a questionable strategy), yet still doing so without generating a ton of whiffs.
That’s where the temptation comes in. While Shugart has done a good job at limiting damage when he’s been in, his stuff doesn’t really show someone who should be a getting higher leverage spots with regularity. As I said before, teams need pitchers to take this middle innings when the game isn’t particularly in question. Shugart has done this with aplomb, performing his job to the best of his capabilities. His stuff that he is using does suggest that maybe he should just stay there in that spot, not really one that can get out of a jam based on his pure arsenal as it is. While it’s not bad, it’s built more pitching to contact as opposed to generating swings and misses. This is evidenced by his ranking in the 34th percentile for hitters chasing and the 17th percentile for hitters swinging and missing.
Shugart has been a good addition to the team, a cheap option to help with middle innings. Let’s just make sure that he stays in that spot.
The Cubs have now dropped seven of nine after opening their recent trip with their 10th straight win. We are allowed, even at a crummy time to pull the camera back and say that the team has won 22 of 32 and that remains an incredible stretch of baseball. And without any parsing of numbers, the team is 29-19. That’s an excellent stretch of baseball. The kind that if prolonged over a whole season leads to division titles frequently. Even right now, the Cubs sit in first place, even if only by an eyelash.
Have I quoted lyrics from Tom Petty in this space before? Because this team is certainly free fallin’. I’m going to go out on a limb with “no” because I’m not much of a Petty fan. But that’s what this team feels like right now. Staring down Brewers phenom the Mis and another excellent opposing pitcher the next day, this is a tough spot. Of course, you look around and there aren’t a lot of NL teams circling the drain. There are just three NL teams with a winning percentage below .450. The Cubs have played just one of those teams and A) the Cubs did take advantage of that matchup and B) that team is 21-23 when not playing the Cubs.
I think we have to focus on part A of that last thought. This team did pounce on teams like the Mets and Phillies while they were playing poorly. They will get back to catching teams more favorably and they will groove again. Right now, everything is a slog and they just have to weather this storm. Again, both parts of that thought are true. They pounced when things were there for them, but they are presently struggling. None of this is permanent and be comforted that they built a real cushion. It’s way too early to fixate on it, but the Cubs have a three-game lead on the Phillies for the last playoff spot. Even if the Brewers leave town in first place, there is still cushion and still a whole lot of baseball to be played.
One of these days, we’ll have a lot more to talk about in this space. But, right now the Cubs rotation is off. The bullpen is erratic. The offense is struggling. They did manage seven hits and three walks and turned that into three runs. But all in all, it just wasn’t good enough. None of it is good enough right now. On this night, the Cubs two hitter, their five hitter and their seven hitter all had good games. But they got almost no contribution from the hitters around those guys. And on a night when the Brewers were pounding Shōta Imanaga, the game was almost entirely non-competitive.
Three Positives:
Game 48, May 18: Brewers 9, Cubs 3 (29-19)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
THREE GOATS:
WPA Play of the Game: With runners on first and third with two outs in the fourth inning, the Brewers up two, Sal Frelick doubled and two runs scored. (.141)
Cubs Play of the Game: With a runner on first and no outs in the bottom of the first, Michael Busch walked. (.054)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 47 Winner: Michael Conforto received 151 of 158 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.
Current Win Pace: 97.88 wins
Up Next: Game two of the three-game series with the Brewers. Ben Brown (1-1, 1.60, 33.2 IP) makes his third start of the season as the Cubs continue to try to stretch him out as a starter. In his two prior starts, he’s thrown eight innings, allowed one hit, two walks and struck out 10. Both of those starts were on the road, so this will be his first Chicago start of the season.
24-year-old Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski (3-2, 2.12, 51 IP) will make his 10th start of the season. He has an amazing 80 strikeouts in those 51 innings. The former second round pick (#63 overall) is coming off of a no decision in his last start against the Padres. That despite allowing only four hits and no walks in seven innings. He struck out 10. This is as big a challenge as the Cubs will face.
Find a way. Get back into the win column.
Go Cubs!
This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”
It was a good week for the Storm Chasers; they took 4 of 6 from the Toledo Mud Hens. At the dish, the big story of the week was Brett Squires, who just recently got promoted from Northwest Arkansas to Omaha. Squires, who can play both corner infield spots, mashed the ball all week. He was 7-for-23, with 3 homers, 2 doubles and 8 runs batted in. In his first ever week in Triple-A, Squires was up to the task. Across the two levels, Squires is slashing .296/.377/.577. Elsewhere, John Rave was 8-for-22 on the week, with a homer and 2 doubles.
On the hill, Eli Morgan, who just got called up for Kris Bubic, appeared three times, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings and striking out 4 batters. At Omaha this season, Morgan hasn’t allowed a run in 11.1 innings. Mason Black tossed 3.1 scoreless innings as well. With the starting pitching injuries adding up, Mitch Spence would probably be the best guess at making a spot start if needed. Spence threw 6 innings of 3 run ball this week against the Mud Hens. On the season, he has made 5 starts for the Storm Chasers, going 26 innings, with a 4.85 ERA, allowing just one homer, walking 10 and striking out 16. Right hander Ben Sears made two appearances, including one start, he totaled 5 innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven.
The Storm Chasers will travel to take on the St. Paul Saints this week. The series runs Tuesday through Sunday.
The Naturals had a very rough week, losing 5 of 6 at home to the Arkansas Travelers. On the mound, Justin Lamkin, who was just promoted from Quad Cities, made his first Double-A start. The 21-year-old lefty went 5.1 innings, allowing 7 hits, 4 runs, walked 3 and struck out 7. It was a mixed bag result for the 2025 draft pick out of Texas A&M. Frank Mozzicato made two starts, giving up 8 hits and 8 runs over 7 total innings, walking 6 and striking out 9. The seventh overall pick in 2021 has had a tough time in Double-A so far this season, with a 7.86 ERA over 26.1 innings pitched. Hunter Patteson threw 4.1 scoreless innings, striking out 4.
At the plate, Carson Roccaforte was 6-for-24 with another homer, he also struck out 11 times, however. Roccaforte is slashing .242/.350/.517 this season. He has struck out 59 times in 149 at bats. Jack Pineda was 9-for-16 on the week. Pineda is a 26-year-old middle infielder, out of Baylor in 2022. He is slashing .349/,397/.508 in 63 at bats this season. Colton Becker hit .429 this week, with a pair of doubles and walks. The utility man was named the Naturals standout of the week at the plate.
The Naturals are on the road this week, taking on the Amarillo Sod Poodles. The series runs Tuesday through Sunday.
The River Bandits had a tough week, losing 5 of 6 to the Lansing Lugnuts. On the mound, Blake Wolters made his first High-A start after being promoted from Columbia last week. The 21-year-old right hander went 3 innings, allowing 3 hits, 4 runs (all unearned), walked 1 and struck out 4. 22-year-old Emmanuel Reyes, a right hander, threw 6 innings of 1 run ball, striking out 8. Reyes was signed out of the Dominican Republic. On the season, Reyes has a 2.18 ERA over 7 starts, amassing 33 innings. He has struck out 29 hitters.
At the plate, infielder Derlin Figueroa was named the standout of the week for the River Bandits after hitting .500 on the week, with two doubles, three homers and 10 runs batted in. On the season, Figueroa is slashing .321/.398/.616. Blake Mitchell had a good week as well, going 7-f0r-23 at the plate with a homer, 4 doubles, 4 walks, and a stolen base. His 8th on the season.
The River Bandits are back home this week for the Beloit Sky Carp. The series runs Tuesday through Sunday.
The Fireflies split their 6-game series against the Hickory Crawdads. Kendry Chourio went 4.1 innings in his one start, allowing 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 4 batters. The 18-year-old out of Venezuela kept his season ERA under 2. Jordan Woods, who threw 6 perfect innings last week, threw 4 innings of 1 run ball this week, striking out 3. 22-year-old righty, Jose Gutierrez threw 5 scoreless innings, in his start, striking out 5 batters. On the season, Gutierrez has a 3.52 ERA over 30.2 innings pitched.
At the plate, 21-year-old catcher Brooks Bryan slashed .462/.563/.615 on the week, including a pair of doubles. The 8th round pick in last year’s draft out of Troy is hitting .308 on the season. Josh Hammond was 6-for-22 at the plate this week, with a homer and a stolen base. Sean Gamble was 3-for-20 with a pair of runs batted in and a walk.
The Fireflies hit the road, to take on the Augusta GreenJackets this week. The series runs Tuesday through Sunday.
The brightest side of a 4:10 pm ET start? Not wallowing in the absolute stinker that was last night’s game for a full day.
The Braves will be looking to play a Normal game of baseball to deny the Fish a guaranteed series split. Here’s hoping the gloves and bats that didn’t make an appearance yesterday actually made it down to Miami for this one.
Martín Pérez (2-2, 2.25 ERA) has been an absolute professional whenever he has been given the ball. Whether it’s stints of different lengths out of the bullpen or as a starter, he has been immensely valuable to the Braves and is making the most of a constantly-fluctuating situation.
He’ll make his sixth appearance as a starting pitcher, which will be his first since going 5.2 innings against Seattle on May 6. He was on the hook for the loss that night after giving up five hits, two earned runs, a homer, one walk, and matching his season-high in strikeouts with five. He tossed a perfect inning in each of his two relief appearances last homestand versus the Cubs and the Red Sox.
Opposing Pérez for the Marlins is the lefty Braxton Garrett, who will be making his second start this season since being recalled from Triple-A on May 14th. Prior to that, you have to go back to June of 2024 to find the last time he pitched on a Major League mound before losing the rest of his season to left forearm flexor strain. He would land on the IL again in February 2025 after needing UCL surgery.
As expected from such a long layoff , he struggled in his season debut versus the Twins. He only recorded four outs before being yanked and allowed four hits, five earned runs, walked five, and struck out three on 64 pitches. He didn’t have a feel for his slider and the command issues were too much to overcome. Garrett will be looking to find his form again and substantially lower that 33.75 ERA.
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, May 19, 4:10 p.m. ET
Location: loanDepot Park, Miami, FL
TV: BravesVision
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
Chase Call – Call was selected by the Astros in the 16th round of the 2025 draft. The outfielder had a monster week for Asheville hitting .556 with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 10 runs batted in and 3 stolen bases in just 4 games. He has a .857 OPS this season.
Jason Schiavone – Another hotlist and another week with Schiavone on the list. This week was another big week for the catcher as he hit .417 with 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 9 runs batted in and 6 walks over 6 games. He also earned a promotion to Double-A.
Zach Daudet – Daudet was a 10th round pick last year and after a solid debut, he got off to a slow start this season. This week he turned it around though batting .381 with 5 doubles, a home run and 3 stolen bases. He also has 22 walks to 22 K in 30 games.
Justin Thomas – Thomas, another selection from the 2025 draft, also put together a big week for Asheville. The 22-year-old hit .333 with 3 doubles, a home run, 5 runs batted in while drawing 7 walks. Overall he is hitting.300 with a .951 OPS this season.
Yamal Encarnacion – Encarnacion has always seemed like a prospect who is flying under the radar but he is making some noise in 2026. The 22-year-old hit .300 with 3 doubles, a home run and 5 stolen bases for the Hooks. He’s hitting .279 in 35 games this season.
Javier Perez – Perez has been one of the best pitchers in the Astros system this season and ends up on this list again. This week the right-hander had a dominant start tossing 8 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts. He has a 2.15 ERA over 37.2 innings this season.
Parker Smith – Smith has been up and down a bit this year but put together a good outing for Asheville this week. In his one start, he went 6 innings allowing 1 unearned run while striking out 3 batters.
Jackson Nezuh – Nezuh, like Smith, has been up and down so far this year. This week he was great tossing 5 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts. Overall he has a 3.86 ERA over 25.2 innings this season.
Kellan Oakes – Oakes was drafted by the Astros in the 9th round of the 2025 draft and turned in his best pro outing this week. In one outing for the Woodpeckers, he tossed 5 scoreless innings while striking out 6 batters.
Jose Serrano – Serrano has had his struggles this year for the Woodpeckers but was really good this week. In one outing, the right-hander tossed 5 no-hit innings while striking out 6 batters. He has 16 K in 13.1 innings this season.
The Yankees (28-20) and the Blue Jays (21-26) continue their four-game series tonight at Yankee Stadium.
New York rallied late and then held on to take Game 1 of the series last night, 7-6. Trailing 5-3 heading to the bottom of the seventh inning, Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each belted two-run homers to put the Yankees in front 7-5. Jesus Sanchez doubled home Ernie Clement in the top of the ninth off of closer David Bednar but was stranded there as New York celebrated the win.
Tonight’s matchup features a couple of right-handers who have enjoyed consistent success this season. Toronto sends Dylan Cease, who enters the game with a 3–1 record, 2.41 ERA, and 75 strikeouts. New York counters with Will Warren, who has quietly put together a strong start of his own. Warren comes in at 5–1 with a 3.42 ERA and 59 strikeouts.
The pitching matchup sets the tone for what should be a fun game. Cease’s high‑octane fastball and sharp breaking pitches give him the ability to dominate any lineup, but the Yankees have several hitters who have handled him well in small samples—most notably Aaron Judge, who owns a .308 average and 1.104 OPS against him. On the other side, Warren’s challenge will be navigating Toronto’s right‑handed power, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has started the season hitting .500 in limited at‑bats against him.
The New York offense averages 5.09 runs per game while the Jays’ bats produce one run less per outing (4.09 runs/gm.).
Lets dive into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.
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The Great Lakes Loons made official on Tuesday what was first reported on Sunday, that infielder Emil Morales was promoted to High-A. He’s batting cleanup and playing shortstop in his Loons debut on Tuesday.
Morales, who turns 20 in September, joins fellow top-100 prospects Josue De Paula (start of 2025) and Eduardo Quintero (last July) as Dodgers teenagers getting promoted to Great Lakes.
Morales hit .323/.385/.570 with a 134 wRC+ and 24 extra-base hits in 36 games for Class-A Ontario, and counting his time with Rancho Cucamonga last season hit .330/.401/.560 with 26 doubles, 11 home runs, and three triples in 66 games in Class-A.
He hit home runs on both Saturday and Sunday, his final two games with the Tower Buzzers.
With Ontario, Morales played 23 games at shortstop and nine at third base this season, with Joendry Vargas splitting time between shortstop and second base. Kellon Lindsey, another shortstop and the Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2024, returned from the injured list last week and played his three games at second base. This frees up time at shortstop in Class-A. Jose Izarra and Eduardo Guerrero covered the innings at shortstop for Great Lakes before Morales’ arrival.
Morales was named to five top-100 prospect lists in the offseason, and has since moved up in a few rankings. He’s now ranked 57th by MLB Pipeline, up from 92nd in January, and at Baseball America Morales went from unranked in the offseason to the No. 61 prospect in baseball now.
From Josh Norris at Baseball America:
Amid a sea of talented outfielders, Morales stands as the Dodgers’ best infielder. After early struggles last year in the Arizona Complex League, he righted the ship and continued his success at Low-A before the close of the season. That success has extended into 2026, which has seen him hit for both average and power. He might not stick at shortstop, but his bat should profile easily at any position on the diamond.
So far this season, Curtis Mead has been the Nats most underrated hitter. The Aussie infielder has put up really impressive numbers to start the season. Mead has an .815 OPS, a 133 wRC+ and has more walks than strikeouts. Entering the season, this was seen as Mead’s last chance to prove himself, and he is taking advantage of the opportunity.
There was a time where Curtis Mead was a big time prospect. Entering 2023, he was the 33rd ranked prospect in all of baseball with a 65 grade hit tool. However, he struggled to translate his minor league production into big league success for the Rays. Eventually, Tampa traded him to the White Sox, who DFA’d Mead and traded him to the Nats for Boston Smith.
At this point, Curtis Mead knew he had to make changes before time ran out. Mead told Federal Baseball that he attributes his early success this season to, “controlling the zone and trying to swing the bat when I think I can do damage”. The numbers bear this out as well. Last season, Mead had a 27.8% chase rate, but has dropped that to 23.2% this season. Mead’s walk rate has also gone from 5.7% to a crazy 15.8%.
For hitters with great bat to ball skills, they can sometimes fall into the trap of swinging at pitches just because they are able to hit it. As Mead is maturing as a hitter, he is learning to key in on pitches he can drive. He also told me that he thinks he is doing a better job digging into opposing pitcher scouting reports and looking at what pitch types are the ones they want hitters to chase.
By finding better pitches to hit, Mead is tapping into his power. His four home runs are already a career high. As a prospect, Mead was seen as having at least average power, but it had not translated because he was not swinging at the right pitches. Now he is, and Mead has hit some clutch home runs, most notably a two run blast against the Giants.
Last season, Mead had just 14 extra base hits in 240 at bats. This year, he has 12 in just 94 AB’s. This has been a crazy breakout, and it is really cool for the Aussie. Over the past couple years, he has been known as the guy that got traded for Cristopher Sanchez. For a while, it looked like the Rays were going to win that swap, but Sanchez blossomed into the best left handed pitcher in the National League, while Mead struggled.
Now, Mead is also having big league success. Part of the reason for that is that there is not as much pressure on him now that he has pretty much been written off. He told me that “It has been nice to just play my game and not worry about my situation as much”.
Part of that is having less pressure on him, but he also has a defined role now. Mead starts just about every game against left handed pitching, and usually comes off the bench when a lefty reliever comes in. While he has been used as a lefty killer, his splits are actually pretty similar, with his OPS being slightly higher against righties.
We saw Mead come up with a huge hit against a right handed pitcher last night. The 25 year old hit a game tying double against Tobias Myers in the 8th inning. It was a great piece of hitting, with the Aussie shooting a line drive into the right-center gap. That is the type of thing scouts expected Mead to be doing all the time when he was coming up through the minors.
It has taken a while, but it really does seem like Mead has found his footing. There are not many guys that can walk more than they strike out in the modern game, but that is exactly what Curtis Mead is doing. Playing for his former minor league manager, Blake Butera, Curtis Mead is coming into his own.
Rick Cerone celebrates his 72nd birthday today.
Cerone was one of the original Blue Jays. Four months and one day before their inaugural game, Toronto traded for Rick and John Lowenstein, sending Rico Carty to Cleveland. The Jays had selected Carty from Cleveland in the expansion draft and reacquired him in March 1978.
Cerone appeared in the Blue Jays’ first-ever game, going 2-for-4 with a double in a snowy victory over the White Sox. He played four games that first week before being sent to AAA. Cerone returned for a game in May and rejoined the team for good in mid-August, finishing the season with a .200/.245/.270 line in 31 games.
In 1978, Cerone played 88 games, hitting .223/.284/.298 with 3 home runs while sharing catching duties with Alan Ashby. After the season, Toronto traded Ashby to the Astros, making Cerone the full-time catcher in 1979.
Cerone improved at the plate in 1979, hitting .239/.294/.358 with 7 home runs over 136 games.
Following the 1979 season, Cerone, along with Tom Underwood and Ted Wilborn, was traded to the Yankees for Chris Chambliss, Damaso Garcia, and Paul Mirabella. The Jays then sent Chambliss to the Braves for Barry Bonnell, Joey McLaughlin, and Pat Rockett. Damaso Garcia went on to play seven seasons with Toronto. Both trades proved beneficial for the Blue Jays.
Yankees catcher Thurman Munson tragically died during the 1979 season when he crashed his plane while taking flying lessons.
Cerone had an outstanding 1980 season, hitting .277/.321/.432 with 14 home runs—by far his best offensive performance—while helping the Yankees finish first in the AL East. He finished 7th in MVP voting. Rick would go on to play five seasons with the Yankees, reaching the World Series once, where they lost to the Dodgers in 1981.
After his time with the Yankees, Cerone played for the Braves, Brewers, Yankees again, Red Sox, Yankees yet again, Mets, and finally the Expos, where he became the backup to my favourite player, Gary Carter.
Cerone enjoyed an 18-year MLB career, hitting .245/.301/.343 with 59 home runs in 1,329 games. While he was never a great hitter—he had only two seasons with an OPS+ over 100—he embodied the hard-nosed catcher. Cerone was sound defensively, possessed a strong arm, and excelled at blocking the plate. My lasting memory of him is his perpetually dirty uniform.
Of all the Blue Jays who played in the team’s first game, Cerone had, by far, the best career.
After retiring, Cerone worked in broadcasting for a few years. It would be fascinating to hear his thoughts on the early days of the Blue Jays and his reaction to the trade to the Yankees. I imagine he was thrilled to join a contending team.
Happy Birthday, Rick—I hope it’s a great one.
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The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to snap a three-game losing streak in their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals today.
Aided by a starting pitching advantage, my Pirates vs. Cardinals predictions see the road team getting back on track.
Let's take a closer look at my MLB picks for Tuesday, May 19.
Matthew Liberatore owns a 4.40 ERA, and that is flattering based on how he has pitched. He ranks in the 10th percentile in xERA (5.83) and the fifth in xBA (.297).
He has started four games against teams ranking in the Top-10 in OBP and Top-16 in walk rate. Liberatore allowed four earned runs in three of them.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are in a good spot to score, and it'll be difficult for the St. Louis Cardinals to keep up. Mitch Keller has allowed two runs or fewer in five of six starts against teams outside of the Top 10 in OBP.
COVERS INTEL: The Pirates rank eighth in line drive rate against left-handed pitching this month.The Pirates lead the majors in hard-hit rate against left-handed pitching, ranking just ahead of the Yankees and Dodgers. That's a sign results should follow – especially facing a vulnerable pitcher like Liberatore.
Konnor Griffin and Bryan Reynolds own wOBAs above .365 vs. lefties, while Oneil Cruz (.237) and Brandon Lowe (.196) have provided power. They have the weapons to score.
Keller has performed much worse against left-handed hitters, and the Cardinals are expected to start five, headlined by JJ Wetherholt and Alec Burleson.
This total should be half a run higher.
Pittsburgh has hit the moneyline in 16 of the last 30 away games (+4.3 units, 13% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Pirates vs. Cardinals.
| Location | Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO |
| Date | Tuesday, May 19, 2026 |
| First pitch | 7:45 p.m. ET |
| TV | SNP, Cardinals.TV |
| Pirates starting pitcher | Mitch Keller (4-2, 3.59 ERA) |
| Cardinals starting pitcher | Matthew Liberatore (2-2, 4.40 ERA) |
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Coming off a 12-0 thumping, their worst loss of the year, the MLB-leading Atlanta Braves look to get back in the win column as they continue their series with the Miami Marlins.
While the books have Atlanta as the road favorite today at loanDepot Park, they’re getting just -133 moneyline odds.
That makes my Braves vs. Marlins prediction and free MLB picks pretty easy: back the visitors on Tuesday, May 19.
The Atlanta Braves have just two losing streaks all year (of two and three games, respectively), so I expect them to bounce back large behind Martin Perez.
In five starts, he’s got a cool 2.25 ERA and 0.94 WHIP across 36 innings, striking out 28.
Shut out for the first time all year, baseball’s second-highest scoring team should tee off on Miami Marlins starter Braxton Garrett.
Against lefties, the Braves rank first in total hits and RBI and lead the NL in homers (20).
Moreover, when you get such a low price for the best team in baseball to win straight up against an opponent it typically handles with ease, I'll take the Atlanta moneyline every time. That's as valuable as any in-game stat to convince me to take the visitors.
COVERS INTEL: Garrett has yet to beat the Braves. In five starts, he’s 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA, giving up 29 hits in 21 innings of work, including four home runs.The Over has been thriving in the recent matchups, going 6-0-1 over the last seven head-to-head meetings.
Miami has seen the Over cash in six straight games, while Atlanta has gone Over the total in back-to-back contests.
Atlanta is baseball’s second-best scoring team on the road, while Miami ranks in the Top 10 at home.
The Marlins also don’t know what they’ll get out of Garrett. In his lone start this season, he was chased after just 1 1/3 innings, giving up four hits and five earned runs, while walking five. That's not a recipe for Unders, especially with baseball's best lineup looming.
Atlanta has won each of their last seven games against the Marlins following a loss. Find more MLB betting trends for Braves vs. Marlins.
| Location | LoanDepot Park, Miami, FL |
| Date | Tuesday, May 19, 2026 |
| First pitch | 4:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | BravesVision, Marlins.TV |
| Braves starting pitcher | Martin Perez (2-2, 2.25 ERA) |
| Marlins starting pitcher | Braxton Garrett (0-1, 33.75 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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