ATLANTA, GA - JULY 19: Tate Southisene meets Walt Weiss #4 and Tim Hyers #80 of the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on July 19, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The offensive deluge of the first two months of the baseball calendar has been replaced with a dribble in June. Through May, the Braves were second in home runs, third in batting average, slugging, wRC+ and xwOBA. And they were way out in front. In June, they are 27th in batting average, 28th in slugging, 29th in xwOBA, tied for last in home runs and last in wRC+. A team that was attacking pitches in the heart of the plate are taking many of those now.
On the other hand, the number of injuries is more than you can count on one hand. Ronald Acuña Jr is away until the All-Star Break. Michael Harris II has fought back issues. Sean Murphy has played four games. Drake Baldwin hurt his oblique and hasn’t looked the same since. Eli White visited the concussion list. And Ha-Seong Kim’s season has yet to get off the ground after cutting his hand open during the offseason.
I’ve honestly heard worse ideas than adding a new hitting coach. I think it’s interesting that Mauricio Dubon has a 145 wRC+ in June before last night’s game. We know he spent time with Chipper Jones in the offseason. But I don’t know that you can ignore the injuries either. I’m not convinced that Ha-Seong Kim is fully healthy. He has no power right now and I don’t think it’s fully an approach issue.
Does Tim Hyers need to go? I’ve seen that suggested here and various places. Let’s talk about it then.
TORONTO, ON - JUNE 08: Adolis García #53 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 8, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Just over half way through the season, the Phillies are sitting comfortably in second place in the NL East with a shot at still catching the Braves before the All Star break. It’s maybe not the position anyone expected them to be in before the season started, but considering they began the season 9-19, it’s a wonder they’re still in it at all.
There have already been significant changes to the makeup of the team – most notably Rob Thomson’s firing in April. They’ve gained an unexpected boon in the early return of Zack Wheeler and have recently benefitted a lot from acquiring Derick Hill from the White Sox. But they’ve also lost Adolis Garcia to a season-ending injury, released Taijuan Walker, optioned both Tanner Banks and Andrew Painter, significantly reduced Justin Crawford’s playing time, and had Jhoan Duran, JT Realmuto, and Brad Keller all miss time due to injury.
In the winter, there were three distinct priorities for off-season moves that the Phillies needed to address: Retaining Kyle Schwarber, stabilizing the outfield, and bolstering the pitching staff. In theory, they did all three by re-signing Schwarber, committing to Crawford, and signing Garcia and Keller. But we’re now half way through the season and only one of those actions has so far been fruitful. The outfield is a rotation based on the opposing pitcher, there’s no clear fifth starter, and as mentioned many times in Friday’s discussion the bullpen after Duran is questionable.
And yet… they’re not only in a playoff position, but still reasonably within striking distance of claiming their third consecutive division title.
So, did the Phillies do enough this off season to be contenders? If not, what more should they have done? What more could they reasonably have done?
David Peterson’s first pitch as a Cub was deposited into the seats at American Family Field for a home run.
You could have been forgiven if you thought, “Here we go again,” after seeing that.
But Peterson settled down and had a solid 5.2 inning, two-run outing and the Cubs rode home runs by Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ to an 8-2 win over the Brewers, evening up this series with their first win over their diviion rivals this year.
About that home run, from BCB’s JohnW53:
David Peterson is the fourth Cubs pitcher this season to surrender a home run in his first game with the team. His was to the first batter he faced. Tyler Ferguson served up a homer to his second batter; Jacob Webb, to his fourth; and Jayden Murray, to his fifth.
Last year, Michael Soroka was victimized by his seventh batter and Cade Horton by his 16th.
Peterson is the 296th pitcher to give up a homer during his first two games as a Cub. (Baseball-reference no longer permits a search for a one-game span!) Hoby Milner this season and Aaron Civale last year allowed homers in their second game.
The 1-0 Milwaukee lead held for the first three innings, as Kyle Harrison set down the first 10 Cubs in order. During those three innings, Peterson had some help from his defense.
Chourio was faked out by Swanson there. Chourio thought the ball had gone through into center field, but Swanson caught it and easily threw Chourio out at third.
This is exactly what many of us were talking about when we said Peterson would be helped out by the Cubs’ elite defense. Right there are good plays by every one of the Cubs infielders. Let’s just say that Peterson didn’t get that sort of defensive help in New York.
Ian Happ’s home run was his 190th as a Cub, tying him for 11th most in team history with Hack Wilson. Wilson’s came in 850 games. This was Happ’s 1,218th.
Hank Sauer is next, with 198 in 862 games.
Twenty-six Cubs have hit at least 100 homers.
Peterson was removed with two out in the sixth. He allowed just the two runs, didn’t walk anyone and threw an efficient 69 pitches. He probably could have gone longer, but I imagine Craig Counsell didn’t want to push him in his first Cub start.
Tyler Ferguson finished off the sixth without incident and then Jacob Webb, Trent Thornton and Vince Velasquez each threw a scoreless inning to wrap things up. For the first time in a while, I can say the Cubs pen really did its job – 3.1 innings, no hits, no runs, one walk, three strikeouts.
Michael Conforto has hit three pinch-hit home runs since May 4. The last Cub with three pinch-hit homers in a season was Julio Zuleta, with three in 2001, between May 1 and June 5. Conforto’s third was the Cubs’ 127th pinch homer since then.
This was a satisfying win in every way. The Cubs bats came alive against a pretty good pitcher. Their new pitching acquisition threw well. The team played solid defense. Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].
The Cubs will go for a series win Sunday afternoon. They’ll have to do it with a bullpen game. Ryan Rolison will be the opener. Rolison last threw on Wednesday, when he threw 18 pitches in the first game of the doubleheader against the Mets. I suppose he might be able to go two innings and after that… who knows? Brandon Woodruff will start for the Brewers. Game time is 1:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
Jun 15, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Blaze Jordan (33) celebrates with first baseman Alec Burleson (41) after the Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
The second half of June has not been kind to the St. Louis Cardinals and their postseason standings, but there are still personal bright spots to pick from during these tough times. My player to watch this season Blaze Jordan could no longer be ignored and has been the everyday third baseman upon his promotion, while Alec Burleson continues to cement himself among the league’s top-10 first basemen. How long they remain in those spots, however, remains to be seen.
As the offense continue to be… offensive to our eyes, Burleson has not slumped along with everyone else still putting up an OPS nearing .900 but without the run production thanks to the top of the lineup. That RBI lead over the last seven days actually belongs to Jordan who’s five RBIs top the lineup. This could also be a talking point for the team’s overall struggle since the offense has scored less than four runs per game over the last week. With that production coming from the corner infield, it keeps me wondering what the long-term plan Chaim continues to mention has laid out for those spots.
Blaze Jordan and Alec Burleson are either cornerstones or placeholders for the future
After debuting with a blast, Blaze has slowed down outside of his three RBI game. Over the past week, he is hitting .200 with a .478 OPS but he continues to be slotted into the lower-third of the order. To me, Jordan is an “eye test” player as the numbers do not usually tell the whole story, especially for his defense. Right before his promotion, the word on the street was that he was not viewed as a third baseman, and lo and behold, here he is playing the position with some first sprinkled in.
While the average is nothing to be excited about, he has been able to put the ball in play, only striking out three times in 15 at-bats after concerns about his chase rate popped up. He has also performed well at the hot corner, making the routine plays look routine while also making a couple of plus plays in his short time in the bigs. Jordan has one total error in over 120 defensive innings and the advanced statistics are actually bullish on his performance thus far. With light tower power, the ability to make contact, and decent defense, Blaze could have played his way from organizational depth to a long(er) term big league piece.
Jordan finally got his chance thanks to Nolan Gorman’s inability to hit anything and Gorm is just starting his re-development process down in Memphis. With the Cardinals unlikely to rush Gorman back to the majors and ensuring he gets necessary playing time, Jordan’s leash in St. Louis is extending further. This is not just because of Gorm, though, as there is next to nobody in the minor league system with top prospect pedigree at the hot corner. Not that prospect rankings mean everything, but behind Gorman sits the FanGraphs unranked Ramon Mendoza and Deniel Ortiz seeing time at third base.
This leads me to the conclusion that the future of the position is not currently in the organization, even when looking further down to players like Jesus Baez or Yairo Padilla who have third as a fallback if their primary spots don’t work out. With the timeline back to perennial contention unclear, it is hard to determine if this is a position that Chaim will actively target at this year’s deadline or if he will acquire who is deemed the best prospect available regardless of position.
Moving across the diamond sits the sixth-best first baseman in all of baseball according to fWAR. His 1.9 value sits fourth in the NL despite still measuring as a slightly below-average fielder while passing the eye test with flying colors. Second-oldest on the team behind Lars Nootbaar, Burleson has become a steady presence in the middle of the order and now sits tied for fifth in baseball with 57 RBIs. With an .832 OPS and 2.5 seasons of team control remaining, the conversation should be about who to surround Burly with in the order for the future.
The lefty has continued to improve every season since debuting back in 2022 and is well on pace for his most productive season, coming a year after winning the Silver Slugger award as a utility player. While Burleson does not have the same pop as the typical first baseman, his batting average and doubles total is near the top of the leaderboard, putting his OPS in a spot to be in the conversation for the award as a one position player.
This type of profile, and eventual expiring contract, could make Burleson someone who is on the way out rather than here for the long haul a la Brendan Donovan. Burly’s price could arguably be higher than Donnie’s as he has been a more productive hitter but without the defensive versatility of the former Cardinal. The return from Seattle is nothing to scoff at, but Burleson is two years younger and $2.5 million cheaper than the traded utility man, so an acquiring team would have to give up a lot to convince Chaim Bloom to separate from one of the few “sure things” on the major league roster.
Similar to Jordan’s situation, Burleson has little behind him that could fill his major league spot if a trade were to happen. Blaze has played a couple games at first this season when Burly has been out of the lineup with 30-year-old Bligh Madris taking over for Jordan down in Memphis. Catcher Leonardo Bernal has seen some time at first, but with Jimmy Crooks in the bigs, Bernal has been able to spend more time behind the dish. Springfield has had Deniel Ortiz and Trey Paige split time at first, but High-A one bagger Jack Gurevitch has had the most success this year. The 22-year-old has taken a great step forward in his second season of professional baseball and has found a way to improve both his power and average.
Like Donovan, Burleson might just be the best player on the St. Louis Cardinals at the wrong time. With the team going through another summer struggle, it is continuing the be clear that the best strategy for this season is to sell the valuable pieces, which could expand beyond those on expiring deals. I would personally be surprised if Burleson were to be dangled on the trade block this season, but it is always necessary for team’s to do their due diligence, especially with a piece as potentially valuable as Burleson.
Let me know what you think the Cardinals should do with the corner infield. On Cardinals on My Time this week, Royce Lewis was mentioned as a potential target while trading Burleson was deemed “idiotic”. What do you see Burleson’s future is with the organization and is Blaze more than just a placeholder?
Side note: I looked at Doc’s poll results for what the readers want and MILB content was near the top. I plan to get a minor league update pod recorded within the next week, so if you have certain questions about the minors, drop them below as well.
Some are born to sweet delight/Some are born to endless night. | (Utha Emerging From the Sea, from 'The Book of Urizen' by William Blake, 1794.)
William Blake probably wasn’t a baseball fan. The Romantic poet of mystical prophecy, of beautiful and terrible visions, died in 1827, well before he could write about a magnificent dinger, and probably couldn’t even in his wildest fire-breathing fantasies conceive of Shohei Ohtani (though given that he believed all of the human species was essentially god, would have understood his power).
Regardless though, I was thinking about baseball while leafing through a collection of his the other night, right after the Sox walloped Kansas City, 22-1. A short early poem titled (almost as a placeholder) “Song,” begins like this:
How sweet I roam’d from field to field And tasted all the summer’s pride ‘Till I the prince of love beheld Who in the sunny beams did glide He shew’d me lilies for my hair And blushing roses for my brow; He led me through his gardens fair, Where all his golden pleasures grow
It’s nice, right? It feels like summer. And this summer feels different. It feels like there are possibilities inherent in the season. That games aren’t lost until they are over. And there are games like the 81st game of the season, the halfway point, where the Sox walked off Kansas City, 2-1. Probably closer than you’d like against Kansas City, but what the hell. Some games are easier than others, and a win is a win. It brought the White Sox record to 43-38, near a season high for over .500.
A win is a win. That would not be the case the last couple of years. In 2025, the Sox won Game 81, a 7-3 victory of Arizona. It was the team’s third win over a 14-game streak, and brought the record up to 26-55. The 81st game in 2024 was a respectable 4-3 loss to the Dodgers, during a mild, four-game losing streak. The record after that was 21-60.
So, if my math is correct, after 162 combined games, the 2024-25 Sox had 47 wins.
The 2026 Sox have 43. After 81 games. This is a beautiful and terrible state of affairs.
It’s beautiful to believe. It’s beautiful to have a summer of hope. It’s beautiful to feel confident that the boys are going to pull out a close game, that the crowd will roar, that they’ll run after each other with youthful exuberance, tongues wagging, excited for whomever is the hero of the moment. It feels like baseball. It feels like summer.
So why is it terrible? Well, as the poem goes on — and I’ll do you a favor and skip the third stanza — the prince of love captures the narrator and puts her in a cage.
He loves to laugh and hear me sing Then, laughing, sports and plays with me; Then stretches out my golden wing And mocks my loss of liberty
And, hell, that’s where we are now, isn’t it? The season is halfway over and the Sox are in first place. We’ve gone through 81 games with ups and downs, but as fans we are locked in. It’s impossible to look away. Every game matters.
That’s how baseball traps your summer and moves you into fall. When the season doesn’t matter — when it is over by the end of April — you pay attention, but don’t care. Now each bad move feels like agony. Now each loss resounds far more than anything during a lengthy losing streak. Even though we know we’re playing with house money, and the season is already a success, it doesn’t feel like it.
It feels important. It feels dangerous. It feels nauseating to think about a losing streak. We’re watching the Cleveland scores. We’re worried about Detroit (note: future column using Blake’s “Tyger, Tyger”). Anything short of the playoffs will feel like a letdown, a sentence that would have been ridiculous at the beginning of the season.
Baseball has its claws in us again. It’s a loss of liberty. We’re hooked, heavy as lead.
There will be slumps and streaks; there will be moves we love and moves we hate. There are important bullpen decisions, as David James deftly analyzed on Saturday. There is the minutiae and the sticky everyday of July and August through which we’ll sweat. But that sweat, as uncomfortable as it may be, matters.
We’re halfway home, and the season fireworks with possibilities. Which way will it go? Well, as Blake said in “Auguries of Innocence”:
Every night and every morn Some to misery are born. Every morn and every night Some are born to sweet delight. Some are born to sweet delight, Some are born to endless night.
Sweet delight? Endless night? It could go anywhere. And after 81 games, not knowing how this season will end is far beyond what anyone prophesied.
Jun 27, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; General view of a rainbow over Citi Field during the seventh inning between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Meet the Mets
The Mets rallied with four runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to pick up a 6-2 victory over the Phillies. In the process, they ended a seven-game skid and got Andy Green his first win as the interim manager.
Before the game, the team activated Christian Scott to make the start and sent Zach Thornton back to Syracuse after his solid performance in Friday night’s loss.
Chelsea Janes broke down how the Mets and David Stearns are navigating an uncertain present and future at the moment.
Will Sammon brought us inside the turmoil of the Mets’ clubhouse, which showed that Carlos Mendoza may be far from the team’s biggest problem.
Brad Ausmus and Luis Rojas, both currently on the Yankees, know exactly how Mendoza is feeling.
Bill Madden identified three baseball guys Steve Cohen should look at to fix this mess.
Roger Rubin lamented the Mets wasting another year of Juan Soto’s prime, which isn’t the vision that was promised.
Given his recent success, Jared Young is expected to receive a ‘lion’s share’ of the playing time at first base from here on out.
The Mets outrighted Zack Short to Triple-A after he was DFA’ed.
Jorge Polanco went 0-for-3 in a rehab game for Syracuse last night. He batted second and served as Syracuse’s DH in his first rehab game since June 5.
The Cubs are banking on a change of scenery being exactly what David Peterson needs to succeed. It seemed to work well for the former Met’ left-hander last night.
Around the National League East
The Phillies signed Tommy Pham to a minor league deal. Pham has a July 25 opt out with his new deal.
The Braves signed veteran first baseman Carlos Santana to a minor league deal after he was released by Arizona. Santana hopes to make a smooth transition to Atlanta as he reports to Triple-A.
The Nationals beat the Orioles 4-3 in ten innings.
The Marlins defeated the Cardinals 5-1 for their fourth straight win and eighth in ten games.
The Braves were blanked 5-0 by the Giants.
Around Major League Baseball
Brent Maguire looked at the playoff picture at the halfway point of the regular season.
Jared Greenspan examined how close the Dodgers’ big stars are to returning to the field.
Mark Feinsand explained why the Tigers could have the biggest impact on the upcoming trade deadline.
Ron Kittle and his now-wife Barbara were married by Jerry Reinsdorf during last night’s 22-1 White Sox win. Better yet? They were married during the 10-run third inning.
Gunnar Henderson surprised some local kids with specialized cleats.
Orioles’ President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias made it clear that he wants Adley Rutschman to remain in Baltimore ‘forever’.
The Blue Jays are calling up Sean Keys, their slugging prospect, to help with their struggling offense.
Trent Grisham is expected back on the Yankees’ upcoming homestand, and Ryan McMahon will soon follow.
Jake Bennet was dealing, helping the Red Sox handle the Yankees 4-1. As a result, the Red Sox are on the verge of a four-game sweep against their bitter rivals. Gerrit Cole was tagged early and could not complete six innings.
The Astros scored three in the eighth to come back and beat the Tigers 8-6.
White Sox rookie Carlos Gonzalez hit a walk-off single to help Chicago rally for a 2-1 win over the Royals.
The Rangers put up a five-spot in the fifth and held on to beat the Blue Jays 7-4.
Down to their last strike, Eugenio Suarez hit a three-run home run to lift the Reds over the Pirates 9-7 in a rainy rollercoaster.
The Rays doubled up the Diamondbacks 4-2. The win, combined with the Yankees’ loss to Boston, helped the Rays climb back into first place in the AL East.
The Dodgers annihilated the Padres 15-3 behind a nine-run sixth, their biggest offensive inning in San Diego in nearly six decades.
The Cubs beat up the Brewers 8-2 behind David Peterson’s strong debut for his new club (5 2/3 innings, two earned runs). For the ailing Cubs, it was everything they could have hoped for.
The Rockies held off the Twins 8-5. Hunter Goodman hit three home runs and became the first NL backstop since Johnny Bench to hit 25 homers in the team’s first 83 games.
The Guardians held on to beat the Mariners 4-3.
The Angels toppled the Athletics 5-2.
This Date in Mets History
On this date in 2024, the Mets beat the Astros 7-2 behind home runs from Tyrone Taylor, Jeff McNeil, and Pete Alonso. After the game, international pop star Candelita serenaded the team and the crowd with a live version of “OMG” in a postgame performance.
TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 27: Josh Jung #6 of the Texas Rangers reacts on second base in front of Andrés Giménez #0 of the Toronto Blue Jays as he hits a double in the eighth inning of their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 27, 2026 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rangers 7, Blue Jays 4
And that’s a series win.
This win was much like the first two wins in the series. Texas got up early by a good amount then held on to win despite some bullpen shenanigans.
Cal Quantrill, pressed into rotational duty due to Jack Leiter going on the injured list, gave the Rangers four shutout innings. Cal Quantrill, of all people!
Robby Ahlstrom and Joe Ross then tried to make Quantrill’s work for naught, though they were unsuccessful in that regard.
Ahlstrom was asked to pitch two days in a row, and in neither of the two days did he have success, retiring just one of three batters in the previous game and just one of four batters in this game. He was replaced by Joe Ross, who fared a little better, retiring four of eight batters faced.
Two runs got put on Ahlstrom’s ledger and two on Ross’s ledger before Peyton Gray rode to the rescue.
Gray had to give up a single first, to worry us, then retired the next seven batters he faced. That ended up being good enough to get credit for the win in the game, with Tyler Alexander recording the save.
I would prefer it if the Rangers would not give up a bunch of runs in the middle or late innings to turn a big lead into a smaller lead. However, the fact that the offense is scoring enough runs that the team is still winning makes it something that is not as angst-producing as it might otherwise be.
After putting up a singleton in the first, Texas had a big five run inning in the fifth, then capped off the scoring with a Corey Seager homer in the sixth.
It was Seager’s first hit since coming off the concussion injured list. He had a Three True Outcomes game, walking once and striking out in his other three plate appearances.
Wyatt Langford was a late scratch because of hamstring tightness, with Skip Schumaker opting not to risk making the hamstring issue worse with Langford having already missed a good chunk of the season due to injury. It turned out he wasn’t needed.
Jake Burger had three hits. Alejandro Osuna, facing a likely trip back to Round Rock next week when Evan Carter returns, had a couple of hits.
I am happy to report to you that the Mariners lost, so the Rangers are just a half game back of Seattle in the American League West.
Unfortunately, the Rangers are also a game under .500 now, and being a game under .500 has almost always meant a loss as of late.
But surely that won’t continue, right? Right?
The Rangers are also in sole possession of WC3 as a result of this win.
Cal Quantrill hit 96.1 mph with his fastball. Robby Ahlstrom touched 94.6 mph with his sinker. Joe Ross maxed out at 96.7 mph with his fastball. Peyton Gray’s fastball topped out at 94.4 mph. Tyler Alexander’s fastball hit 93.1 mph.
Jake Burger had a 107.7 mph single. Brandon Nimmo had a 104.3 mph fly out. Joc Pederson had a 100.9 mph fly out. Ezequiel Duran had a 100.7 mph single.
Boston, MA - June 25: Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman pitches in the ninth inning. The Boston Red Sox played the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on June 25, 2026. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
For the next few weeks we’ll be doing some theorizing on optimal returns at the trade deadline as the Red Sox look to do another tear down amidst a hopeless season. This week, we kick things off with the flamethrowing closer Aroldis Chapman.
Ah, rumors. Chris Cotillo heard it from a veteran scout this week: two prospects back for Aroldis Chapman, one of them a top-100 type. That’s only the floor. Bob Nightengale—though we can trust him as much as any bizzaro world character we can—has him rated as the top reliever on every contender’s board. With a 2.08 ERA and 14 saves (not surprising considering how many losses this squad has)— but still 378 in his long career (closing in on the all-time record), the market isn’t treating him like a rental. It’s treating him like the best available. For a 38 year old?! Ok.
The teams making headlines for Chapman are the Dodgers, Mariners, Phillies. In my opinion, there are five realistic suitors. Here’s what Breslow shudder should be targeting from each one.
Dodgers
River Ryan (RHP) + Chase Harlan (3B)
Of course the team that has all the money and continues to assemble super teams in the 2020s wants to add a flamethrower to their bullpen. The problem with the Dodgers is their best stuff is the stuff Boston doesn’t need. De Paula (#8), Hope (#17), Quintero (#34) land as their top three prospects…they’re all outfielders. The Red Sox have an outfield logjam that isn’t getting cleared any time soon between Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran, the list goes on and on.
The package I’d push for snakes past all of that: River Ryan (#75, RHP) as the top-100 piece, plus Chase Harlan, an unranked third baseman quietly posting a 1.025 OPS with ten home runs through the first half. Ryan adds projectable front-end rotation depth the organization can actually use, especially in a right-hander. Harlan is the kind of raw power bat you stockpile when you don’t know who your future third baseman is (yes, I know we have Caleb Durbin, but keeping him at third feels like a giant mistake; I see him at second and slotting Mayer back to SS but that’s another piece). Do you hate trading with the new evil empire, the team that makes EVERYONE ELSE look bad? Yeah. Still, having one of the best farm systems in baseball to root from—and Boston still gets what it actually needs out of it? Fine.
The most specific package out there has Luke Stevenson at the center. I’d flip it. Make Ryan Sloan (#33 Pipeline, #7 BA) the headliner and let Stevenson come with him. Sloan is a top-35 arm, one of the better pitching prospects in the AL right now. Stevenson fills a specific gap—a left-handed bat behind the plate at a position the Sox are thin at long-term behind Carlos Narváez. Do you really trust Connor Wong and Micky Gaspar long term? I don’t think so. This package does real work: pitching depth plus positional coverage at a premium spot. If Seattle is serious about October, they know the price. They have the system to pay it. Adding in Chapman to Andres Muñoz would be a scary punch.
The Phillies puzzle me. They always seem to be one or two pieces away and never hit their marks at the deadline. Is that a Dombo issue? Who knows. What Philadelphia does have is Gage Wood—70-grade fastball, tied with Andrew Painter (who isn’t moving), power curve that gives him mid-rotation upside or a high-leverage floor depending on how he develops. Baseball Prospectus has him at 66. He’s at Single-A, so he’s a few years away but a lot of room to rise. Aroon Escobar (2B, Double-A, 21) rounds out the package. Of the five teams in this conversation, the Phillies return is the thinnest and Breslow knows that going in. They can close this deal—just at a discount. I do remember the last time the Red Sox sent pitching pieces to the Phillies at the deadline…I think it worked out better for Boston, eh? (Nick Pivetta for Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree)
Nobody’s writing about Atlanta, and they should be. The bullpen has been inconsistent all year—even with Raisel Iglesias dominating as closer—and Chapman is the kind of arm contenders acquire when they want an answer at the back of a postseason roster—not depth, a second closer who can step in at any time. Cam Caminiti (#44) is the top-100 piece: 2024 first-rounder, touched 98, six-pitch mix, front-of-the-rotation ceiling. His breaking stuff kinda blurs together but the Red Sox pitching lab might be the best place to find that differentiation point. JR Ritchie debuted in April and would have been a piece I wanted: seven pitches, 93-95 mph with two fastball shapes, control refined enough to handle high-leverage innings. Tantalizing. But off the list. Boston already has Early and Tolle as elite lefties, so Caminiti is a depth add rather than a direct need-fill. That’s fine. You can say yes to depth packages like this one.
This is the one to watch. Ethan Salas was the eighth-best prospect in baseball before a back injury wiped out his 2025. He’s at Double-A San Antonio this year slashing .320/.396/.546 with five home runs through 28 games, climbing 90 spots in the rankings since the season started. Elite defensive catcher, left-handed bat, real pop. If Boston was drawing up their ideal long-term power piece behind Contreras, this is the profile. Pair him with Kruz Schoolcraft—6-foot-8 lefty, taken 25th overall in 2025, fastball already in the high 90s—and San Diego has assembled the most compelling package in this conversation. A rebounding top-10 talent at a premium position, plus a recent first-round arm who’s going to be very good. I know I just said having a lefty in this package seems redundant with Caminiti, but Schoolcraft intrigues the hell out of me. Only way I would take him out is if the Red Sox draft Brody Bumila in this year’s draft. I also know the Padres have Mason Miller closing, but again, you need all the scary you get come October.
If Breslow is doing this to win, San Diego’s scenario is the one worth chasing hardest to me, followed by Seattle. Salas is a potential cornerstone. The Mariners package is the most balanced return—Sloan is a top-35 arm and Stevenson fills a real gap.
Breslow has the leverage here having the asset everyone seems to want. Is he smart enough to part with it and get the right value back? Less sold on that. Still, this is absolutely worth tracking in the weeks ahead in this lost season.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 27: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a three-run home run against the San Diego Padres during the sixth inning at Petco Park on June 27, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Two months into the season, Mookie Betts had missed over a month of time due to an oblique issue and was posting by far the worst offensive numbers of his entire career.
While sluggers at the top of the lineup like Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages have mired in a funk over the last two weeks, Mookie Betts has ascended into the same hitter that fans were used to seeing in 2022 and 2023. Betts added his third home run in as many games during the Dodgers’ nine-run sixth inning on Saturday against the San Diego Padres, and over his last 13 games he is slashing .358/.407/.698 with five home runs and nine RBI.
Betts had primarily been the no. 2 hitter in the Dodgers lineup until he was slotted to cleanup on May 26 against the Colorado Rockies and has since remained there. That spot in the Dodgers lineup has been one of the weakest so far, notes Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, and with Betts and Pages headed in opposite trajectories, another mixup could be in store.
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Kyle Tucker was an instrumental part of the Dodgers nine-run sixth inning on Saturday, crushing a two-run home run against Randy Vásquez and finishing the game 3-5 with four RBI.
Year 1 as a Dodger has not been kind for the All-Star outfielder, who entered Saturday’s contest with just a .700 OPS on the season, but he proved himself as a viable piece in the lineup and he spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA about the three-hit game.
“I didn’t love my swing tonight. The homer, I caught the ball at the right point of contact. The other ones, I got inside the ball a little bit and I got them over to left [field] over the infielder, so it just kind of works out sometimes.”
As soon as Roki Sasaki looked like he was starting to find his stride at the big league level, the ugly habits returned, as the right-hander has posted a combined 8.36 ERA over his last three starts, most recently allowing three runs and five walks against the Padres on Friday.
Sasaki acknowledged that he wasn’t able to execute his pitches in his preferred manner, and with his next start also coming against San Diego, he’ll attempt to create a more effective game plan, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
“I’m not going to have it every time out, so that’s something I have to improve. And also the gameplan,” Sasaki said. “I was able to execute some of the pitches, but some of the pitches I couldn’t, so that’s something I have to go through before next start.”
Jun 26, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman (15) celebrates hitting a two run home run against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Hunter Goodman is having a fairly different season than he did when he was an All-Star in 2025. He’s chasing and striking out more and hitting less for average. The trade-off is that the 26-year-old catcher is obliterating baseballs at an alarming pace.
Between Friday and Saturday, Goodman hit four home runs. He hit home runs in three straight at-bats, and hit three home runs on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins. He became the 21st player in Rockies history to hit three home runs in a game.
What’s more wild about Goodman’s season is that the bulk of the damage is coming away from the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field. After Saturday, his 18 home runs on the road prior to the All-Star Game are the most in franchise history. This sets him above Larry Walker, who hit 16 home runs before the break in his 1997 MVP campaign.
Goodman now has 25 home runs this season. He is the fourth catcher in Major League history to have 25 or more home runs before the All-Star Game, and the first to do it since Hall of Famer Johnny Bench in 1970 with 28. There are 15 games left for the Rockies to play before the break, and Goodman will have the chance to pass catchers Iván Rodríguez (26) and Bench for their pre-break home run totals. He can also become the first Rockies player in franchise history to hit 30 or more home runs before the break.
Recently we explored the idea of trading Hunter Goodman as part of the Rockies’ rebuild. However, fans were in agreement that Goodman is one to keep and build around for the future. With him proving his 31 home run season in 2025 wasn’t a fluke and performing more than adequately behind the plate–and getting excellent results from ABS challenges while doing so–Hunter Goodman might be proving a perfect piece to build around.
With that being said, here’s what our staff here at Purple Row had to say this week:
Back near the end of 2022, I praised Hunter Goodman as an unsung prospect who could even stick around as a catcher if the Rockies didn’t choose to move him to first base or the outfield. Nearly four years later, Goodman is one of the Rockies’ most valuable players and appears to be on track to become a franchise great.
Who is a prospect you ended up being right about–for better or for worse–in Rockies history? Let us know in the comments!
Jacob Misiorowski. Sheesh. Why can’t the Cubs find and develops guys with just 80 percent of his ability (because there’s no possibility of hitting 100 percent because he’s a freak (respectively)).
Kudos to Seiya Suzuki for picking out a 90 mile per hour slider and sending it over the wall. And for Colin Rea’s yeoman performance by finishing five innings of work, allowing just one run out of eight baserunners and striking out four.
But – the bullpen. Ethan Roberts blew a save (in the sixth) and Jayden Murray allowed a home run to blow the game open. These men would be used in mop-up duty in a normal Cubs bullpen, but it is what it is. They need help here as much as starting pitching.
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Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Hoby Milner to IL, Tyler Ferguson Recalled. “The Cubs have placed reliever Hoby Milner on the IL with appendicitis, which was probably caused by pitching way too often.”
Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Try to Laugh Before You Cry: Hoby Milner to the Injured List. “I know there’s an instinct to blame the Cubs training staff for the, at this point, HISTORIC volume and rate of pitching injuries this staff has sustained, but most of these things aren’t even close to something within their control.”
Albert Collins (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. He was noted for his powerful playing and his use of altered tunings and a capo. His long association with the Fender Telecaster led to the title “The Master of the Telecaster”.
Robert Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. By the age of 20, Cray had seen his heroes Albert Collins, Freddie King and Muddy Waters in concert and decided to form his own band. Two albums on HighTone Records in the mid-1980s, Bad Influence and False Accusations, were moderately successful in the United States and in Europe, where he was building a reputation as a live artist.[4] In 1985, he released the album Showdown! with his hero Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland.
John Copeland (March 27, 1937 – July 3, 1997) was an American Texas blues guitarist and singer. In 1983, he was named Blues Entertainer of the Year by the Blues Foundation. He is the father of blues singer Shemekia Copeland. In 2017, Copeland was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
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.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 16: Tanner Banks #58 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch during a game against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on June 16, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 8-2. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Let’s dive into the action!
Lehigh Valley 8, Syracuse 6
The IronPigs score six runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to take the 8-6 lead that would go onto be the final score. Kolby Allard threw 5.1 innings of 6-hit, 3-run ball. Old friend Tanner Banks struggles in his 1.1 innings of ball with 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks. The offense had the long ball working with Dylan Moore (3), Bryan De La Cruz (12), Dylan Carlsson (5), and Rene Pinto (1) all mashing one. Shockingly Felix Reyes DID NOT hit one tonight, go figure.
Reading 14, Altoona 5
In one of Jean Cabrera’s best outings of the season, he goes 4 innings giving up only 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks. Progress! Like the IronPigs, the ball was flying out of the park up in Altoona with Luke Ritter (1,2), Bryan Rincon (11), Raylin Heredia (14), Alex Binelas (18) and Bryson Ware (13) all sharing in the glory.
Brooklyn 9, Jersey Shore 1
A rough one all-around for the BlueClaws as Tanner Gresham and Titan Kennedy-Hayes combine giving up 8 runs (6 earned) over 6.1 innings. Devin Saltiban was 2 for 4 on the night and Tyler Pettorini had the only extra-base hit for Jersey Shore.
Clearwater 17, Jupiter 6
Somehow the Threshers scored 17 runs and only had one homer (a two-run shot from Griffin Burkholder, his 7th). They had 7 run first inning and a 6 run 7th innings. Ryan Degges started the game on rehab, giving up 1 run in 2 innings of work. Zuher Yousuf pitched the bulk of the game with 4 innings of work, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 22: Luis Lara #89 of the Milwaukee Brewers bats during the third inning of the spring training game against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch on February 22, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Luis Lara looked like he had solved the biggest question surrounding his prospect profile.
Through May 6, the recently extended outfield prospect had already hit seven home runs, shattering his previous career-high of four. It looked like he’d finally unlocked his power.
Nearly two months later, he still has exactly seven home runs.
March 27–May 6: 7 HR, 4 2B, 1 3B
May 7–June 27: 0 HR, 5 2B, 1 3B
The initial surge vaulted Lara up prospect rankings. Baseball America now ranks him No. 52 in all of baseball, while MLB Pipeline has him No. 89. Yet Pipeline still grades his power as just a 40 on the 20–80 scouting scale, well behind his 70-grade defense and 60-grade arm and speed.
So which version of Lara should Brewers fans believe? Was his early-season power surge real? To answer that question, we need to look beyond the home run totals and into Lara’s underlying Statcast data.
As the Brewers saw during their recent series in Las Vegas, Triple-A environments can be considerably more favorable for hitters than major league parks. Home run totals alone don’t necessarily tell the whole story. To determine whether Lara’s early power surge represented a legitimate change in skill, we need to look beneath the results.
Thanks to the recent expansion of Statcast to Triple-A, we can do exactly that. Lara’s batted-ball data provides four useful indicators of raw power: average exit velocity, maximum exit velocity, 90th-percentile exit velocity, and hard-hit rate.
Average Exit Velocity: 80.68 mph
90th Percentile Exit Velocity: 99.4 mph
Maximum Exit Velocity: 109 mph
Hard-hit Rate: 20.72%
At first glance, Lara’s Statcast profile doesn’t scream plus raw power. His average exit velocity is below average, and his 90th-percentile exit velocity is solid rather than elite. On the other hand, his 109-mph maximum exit velocity shows the raw strength is there when he squares the ball up.
The disconnect is consistency. Lara’s 20.7% hard-hit rate is well below the roughly 33% major league average, suggesting he currently doesn’t produce loud contact often enough to project as a true power hitter.
Statcast defines a hard-hit ball as one struck at least 95 mph because that’s where offensive production begins to spike. Leaguewide, balls hit at least 95 mph produce dramatically better results than those hit below that threshold. In 2023, hitters batted .506 on hard-hit balls compared to just .221 on all other balls, which is why hard-hit rate has become one of the most useful indicators of a hitter’s ability to consistently drive the baseball.
Lara’s hard-hit rate sits at just 20.7%, well below the roughly 33% mark that represents a typical major league average. In other words, while Lara has demonstrated that he can hit the ball exceptionally hard, he simply hasn’t done so often enough for the data to suggest a meaningful change in his underlying power profile.
The ideal comparison would be Lara’s Statcast profile this season versus last season. Unfortunately, he spent all of last year in Double-A, and Statcast data from that level isn’t publicly available.
Instead, we can compare the two very different halves of Lara’s 2026 season: the six-week stretch in which he hit seven home runs and the seven-week drought that followed. That split offers the clearest window into whether anything actually changed beneath the surface.
March 27 – May 6:
Average Exit Velocity: 83 mph
90th Percentile Exit Velocity: 100.2 mph
Maximum Exit Velocity: 109 mph
Hard-hit Rate: 28.25%
May 7 – June 27:
Average Exit Velocity: 80.05 mph
90th Percentile Exit Velocity: 98.9 mph
Maximum Exit Velocity: 108.5 mph
Hard-hit Rate: 18.34%
Lara’s average, 90th-percentile, and maximum exit velocities didn’t change drastically.
What jumps out is his hard-hit rate, which dropped by roughly one-third. Combined with his average exit velocity falling nearly three mph, it suggests that while the shape of Lara’s contact remained largely unchanged, the quality of that contact declined. But why?
My first thought was that perhaps Lara’s launch angle had changed. It hadn’t. His average launch angle fell from 19 degrees before May 7 to just 18 degrees afterward — a negligible difference.
Next, I wondered whether Lara had changed his approach at the plate, sacrificing power for contact. The numbers don’t support that idea either. Through May 6, he struck out 18 times in 123 plate appearances (14.6%). Since then, he’s struck out 25 times in 172 plate appearances (14.5%). His batting average also remained remarkably consistent, dropping only from .333 to .324.
Finally, I considered whether the power outage could simply be the product of bad luck. If that were the case, one would expect fewer balls in play to fall for hits. Instead, the opposite happened. Lara’s BABIP actually increased from .347 before May 7 to .391 afterward, suggesting that balls in play were becoming hits more often, not less.
The biggest change appears to be in Lara’s approach at the plate. His first-pitch strike rate — the percentage of plate appearances that began with an 0-1 count — rose from 38.9% to 44.8%, almost exactly mirroring the increase in his overall swing rate (38.3% to 43.2%). His chase rate climbed slightly, his contact rate dipped slightly, and his in-zone swing rate jumped from 57.6% to 63.9%.
All things considered, those numbers suggest Lara became more aggressive after his power surge. Pitchers weren’t attacking the strike zone any more frequently, and aside from a modest decrease in fastballs, they weren’t pitching him that differently. Instead, Lara appears to have expanded his swing decisions. Because he’s such a good contact hitter, that added aggression didn’t translate into more strikeouts or a lower batting average. It may, however, have led him to swing at pitches he was less likely to drive.
If that’s the case, the issue isn’t that Lara’s raw power disappeared. It’s that he stopped getting to it as consistently. The underlying strength is still there; the challenge now is being selective enough to access it more often.
As I wrote about last week, even if Lara never develops into a 20-home-run hitter, extending him was still a good idea. A plus defender in center field with elite speed, excellent bat-to-ball skills, and an above-average on-base profile has plenty of value on his own.
The encouraging part is that the raw power doesn’t appear to be missing — it simply isn’t showing up consistently. Lara has already demonstrated that he can drive the baseball at 109 mph, an exit velocity that few players reach by accident. The challenge isn’t adding strength; it’s learning to produce that kind of contact more often by continuing to make quality swing decisions.
That’s one reason the extension makes sense. Milwaukee has built one of baseball’s strongest player-development systems by helping talented hitters maximize the tools they already possess. Lara already has the bat speed to produce 109-mph exit velocities. If the Brewers can help him pair that raw power with more consistent swing decisions, there’s another level for his offensive game to reach. And if they can’t, his defense, speed, and contact ability still give him the profile of an everyday major leaguer.
DETROIT, MI - JUNE 7: Pitcher Jack Flaherty #9 of the Detroit Tigers during the second inning of a game against the Seattle Mariners at Comerica Park on June 7, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Detroit Tigers fell short in their quest to take the lead in a four-game home series against the Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon, coughing up a late lead en route to an 8-6 defeat.
Framber Valdez struggled against his old team, but the offense looked strong for the second straight game. Unfortunately, Will Vest was unable to hold on, surrendering three runs in the eighth to doom the Olde English D.
Toeing the rubber in the series finale on Sunday afternoon is right-hander Jack Flaherty, who makes his return to the mound after missing time on the injured list with abductor inflammation. The 30-year-old made one rehab start in Double-A Erie, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts across 5⅔ innings on 83 pitches.
Flaherty was on the IL when the Tigers faced the Astros in Houston last week. In his two games before being shelved, he posted a bloated 5.63 ERA but a tidy 1.85 FIP, allowing nine hits and two walks while striking out eight over eight frames of work.
For the visitors, fellow righty Hunter Brown will be making his fifth start of the season. The 27-year-old has allowed one run or less in his four appearances so far, but only made it through three innings his last time out against the Toronto Blue Jays, surrendering a solo home run along with three other hits and two walks while striking out four and hitting a pair of batters for a no-decision in a 4-2 team loss.
Brown looked sharp against the Tigers in Houston last week, throwing 5 2/3 frames of one-run ball on three hits and three walks while striking out seven for a no-decision in a 4-2 team win.
Here is a quick look at how the two match up on Sunday afternoon inside Comerica Park.
Detroit Tigers (35-48) vs. Houston Astros (41-44)
Time (ET): 1:40 p.m. Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan SB Nation Site:The Crawfish Boxes Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 84: RHP Jack Flaherty (1-8, 5.35 ERA) vs. RHP Hunter Brown (1-0, 1.40 ERA)
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L, 3-4 at Indianapolis Indians
2B Marco Luciano 2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB, K throwing error — produced half the hits and all the ribbies, but the rest of the offense didn’t do much DH Yanquiel Fernández 0-4, 2 K, GIDP C Garrett Martin 0-4, K 3B Tyler Hardman 0-3, BB, K 1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. 1-4, K SS Jonathan Ornelas 0-3, K C Payton Henry 0-3, K LF Duke Ellis 0-3, K, picked off RF Kenedy Corona 1-3, 2B
Brendan Beck 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 5 K Angel Chivilli 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Eric Reyzelman 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 1 K — hooboy, tough birthday for Reyzelman; the first two hits were infield singles, but he then walked a guy another hit before getting pulled Dylan Coleman 0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K — allowed a single and a walk-off walk to seal the rough loss
Marco Luciano Night ⚡️💣
The leadoff batter goes oppo 402 ft. and 105.3 mph off the bat with his SECOND homer of the game to put SWB back on top!#RepBXpic.twitter.com/TdIWiLqjEo
Double-A Somerset Patriots:L, 5-6 (7) and W, 5-1 (7) at New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Game 1
RF Jackson Castillo 0-2, 2 BB, K CF Jace Avina 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI — double put Somerset ahead in the third DH DJ Gladney 0-3, BB, K 1B Nicholas Torres 1-3, BB, RBI, K 3B Coby Morales 2-3, 2B, RBI, GIDP C Tomas Frick 1-3 LF Josh Moylan 0-3, 2 K SS Kevin Verde 0-2, K PH Miguel Palma 1-1, RBI — tied game with pinch-hit single in the sixth 2B Santiago Gomez 0-0 2B-SS Connor McGinnis 1-2, 2B, BB, GIDP
Chase Hampton 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R (4 ER), 4 BB, 4 K, 2 pickoff errors — not his day Chris Kean 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 3 K Trent Sellers 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K (loss) — allowed walk-off double to Hedbert Perez
RF Jackson Castillo 1-4, 2B, RBI DH Jace Avina 1-4, 2 K CF DJ Gladney 0-4, 2 K 1B Nicholas Torres 0-3, K 3B Coby Morales 0-1, 2 BB C Manny Palencia 0-3, 2 K LF Josh Moylan 1-2, 2B, BB, K SS Kevin Verde 1-2, RBI — tied it up in the fifth with an RBI single PH Miguel Palma 1-1, RBI — drove in go-ahead run in the seventh, second big pinch-hit of the day 2B Santiago Gomez 0-0 2B-SS Connor McGinnis 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI — two-run double added in four-run seventh
Ben Hess 4.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, HR — only hit allowed was a solo shot in the third, now up to 65 pitches in gradual buildup Tony Rossi 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (win) Harrison Cohen 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Ben Hess (@Yankees No. 5 Prospect) worked into the fifth inning for the first time since coming off the 7-day IL. 🤩
3B Jackson Lovich 2-4, 2B, BB, RBI, K — doubled in three-run second CF Brando Mayea 1-4, BB, 2 K, SB LF Luis Puello 2-5, RBI, CS 1B Hans Montero 0-3, 2 BB, SB — scored a run after swiping third on a strikeout and bad throw SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 1-5, 2B, RBI, 2 K — doubled in three-run first DH Engelth Urena 0-4, RBI, 2 K 2B Luis Escudero 0-2, 2 BB, K C Ediel Rivera 0-2, BB, K, HBP RF Gabriel Lara 1-4
Tyler Boudreau 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, HBP (win) — shutout effort from 2025 UFA out of Texas Tech, 10 swings and misses Brian Hendry 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K — no-hit relief to close it out
Florida Complex League Yankees:W, 3-2 (7) vs. FCL Blue Jays
3B Richard Matic 0-4, 3 K LF Wilberson De Pena 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI — put Yanks up with two-run double in the fifth C Queni Pineda 1-3, K — opposing catcher committed an error to allow walk-off run to score in final frame 2B Leni Done 1-2, SB, HBP CF Jose Castro 0-3, K DH Francisco Vilorio 1-3, SB SS Dexters Peralta 0-2, IBB, 2 K RF Estivenzon Montero 0-3, GIDP 1B Christofer Reyes 1-2, BB, K, SB — walked, stole second, and moved to third on a fliner in last inning
Dominican Summer League Yankees:W, 7-2 at DSL Miami
CF Isaias Castillo 1-3, 2 BB, 2 K SS Stiven Marinez 1-3, BB, 2 K, SB, CS, HBP RF Yostin Pena 1-2, 3 BB, 2 RBI — drew game-tying walk, which turned out to score two because of a throwing error by the other catcher; ah, the DSL 2B Juan Torres 0-4, BB, 2 K DH Juan Martinez 0-5, RBI C Cesar Lopez 0-4, BB, SB LF Manuel Aguilar 1-5, 2B, K, SB 3B Abrahan Pichardo 1-3, BB, 2 K, SB 1B Edgar Jimenez 2-4, 2B, K, fielding error
Jhon Beltre 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, HBP Yunior Jerez 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (win) — dynamic relief, great work in essentially his fourth piggyback start Breidy Adames 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 3 K — pro debut for June 16th IFA signee
Dominican Summer League Bombers:W, 11-6 vs. DSL Nationals
CF Alfiery Matos 1-3, 2 BB, RBI, 3 SB — both of the top two hitters in the lineup had three steals, nine on the day for Bombers despite one pickoff 2B Carlos Bello 0-4, BB, K, 3 SB C Alessandro Rodriguez 0-4, BB, K RF David Carrera 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, SF, SB — double broke it open a bit for the final Bomber runs SS Germayhoni Beltre 1-4, HR, BB, RBI, fielding error — first pro homer gave Bombers lead in the fifth DH Poly Ojeda 1-3, BB, K 1B Stalen Ramirez 1-3, HR, BB, 3 RBI, K, fielding error — first pro homer tied game at 5-5 in the fourth 3B Adrian Feliz 1-4, K, GIDP, SB, throwing error, picked off LF Eddison Charles 2-4, 3B, K, SB
Brandy Luis 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 0 K — pro debut for June 19th IFA signee Sebastian Castillo 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, HR, WP — oddly got the only K’s of the day for Bombers Ronald Tejada 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K (win) Chaury Gomez 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K Oscar Vasquez 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
