Category: MLB

The Dodgers' first two picks in this year’s MLB draft came consecutively at Nos. 40 and 41 overall.

Turns out, their two selections came from the same school, as well, with the team taking left-handed pitcher Zach Root and contact-hitting outfielder Charles Davalan out of the University of Arkansas.

Root, a junior for the Razorbacks this year, went at No. 40. A transfer from East Carolina, he had a 3.62 earned-run average this season with 126 strikeouts in 99⅓ innings. Scouting reports lauded his versatile pitch mix, which includes a slider, curveball and changeup from a funky low arm-slot delivery.

Read more:Dodgers cap uneven, yet ultimately successful first half with win over Giants

Davalan, a sophomore who was draft-eligible, also transferred into Arkansas last year after one season at Florida Gulf Coast. He hit .346 for the Razorbacks with 14 home runs, 60 RBIs and more walks (35) than strikeouts (27).

Both players were part of an Arkansas team that won 50 games and reached the College World Series.

Both figure to be key pieces of the Dodgers’ future, as well.

Though the Dodgers once again were boxed out of a high draft pick — picking outside the top 30 for the third time in the last four years because of competitive balance tax penalties — the team did acquire an extra selection in what is known as “Competitive Balance Round A,” securing the No. 41 overall selection as part of the trade that sent Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds.

That meant, for the first time since 2019, the Dodgers made two top-50 selections.

And when their selections were on the clock, they identified the pair of Southeastern Conference teammates.

Read more:Shaikin: Why it makes sense the Angels picked Tyler Bremner at No. 2 in MLB draft

Root is a Fort Myers, Fla., native who was the No. 31-ranked recruit in the state coming out of high school, according to Perfect Game.

After starting his college career at East Carolina, where he had a 9-5 record and 4.43 ERA in two seasons, he found immediate success upon joining Arkansas, earning first-team All-SEC honors and second- and third-team All-American nods.

Though he grew up in Florida, Root said he was a childhood Dodgers fan — thanks in large part to another certain left-handed pitcher.

"Growing up, my dad always made me watch [Clayton] Kershaw and learn to pitch like him,” Root said. “So I've just been watching Dodger baseball ever since I can remember, because of Kershaw."

Davalan took a decidedly more circuitous route to the Dodgers.

Originally a childhood hockey player from Quebec, Canada, Davalan moved to Florida when he was in high school during the COVID-19 pandemic, enrolling in a specialized high school that allowed him to spend much of his days training as a baseball player.

“With COVID, a lot got shut down in Canada,” Davalan said. “So decided to go live in Florida, where the restrictions [weren't there] and you could play 12 months of the year.”

From there, the undersized Davalan — who is listed at 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds — got one D-I offer from FGCU, impressed enough there to transfer to Arkansas, and then blossomed into “one of the best hitters in the draft class, I think,” Root said of his teammate. “Getting him at pick 41 is just a big steal for the Dodgers."

Davalan offered similar praise about Root, calling him “kind of an old-school pitcher” who “really filled the zones up good, but can still get his punchouts when he needs to get out of the jam.”

“Old-school” was also an adjective Davalan used to describe himself.

Read more:Futures Game MVP Josue De Paula wants to be a Dodger 'for a very long time'

“I like to win. I like to play hard,” he said. “So that's what I'm going to try to do. And I'm sure that knowing the organization, it's filled of players like that, so I'm super excited just to get to meet new people.”

And, of course, be reacquainted with one from his recent past.

“He's one of my best friends because of Arkansas,” Root said. “He's a really great dude.”

“I guess I'm going to have to live with him in a couple more years,” Davalan joked. “He's awesome.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees picked Texas A&M shortstop Kaeden Kent with the 103rd overall selection in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft.

Kent, the son of former big leaguer Jeff, played three seasons with the Aggies. In 56 games last year, he had 13 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, and 49 RBI with a .279/.398/.544 slash for a .943 OPS while going down on strikes 35 times to 37 walks.

“He’s a left-handed hitter, athletic, and can really play shortstop, which he showed us this past year,” Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees vice president of domestic amateur scouting, said in a team release. “Growing up around his father, Kaeden has experienced elite baseball, so he knows what it takes and has seen what his dad had to do to be a successful ballplayer. For us, Kaeden has made a name for himself.”

The six-foot-two infielder has experience all over the diamond. While Kent appeared solely as a shortstop in 2025, he saw time at every infield position during the 2024 season, and played 11 of 28 games in the outfield in 2023.

In limited at-bats during the 2024 season, Kent had 36 hits in 110 times up (.327) with 10 extra-base hits (four home runs) and 28 RBI with a .905 OPS. He batted .265 with a .703 OPS in his first taste of collegiate action over 83 at-bats.

In six games during the 2024 College World Series, Kent went 10-for-24 (.417) with a home run and six RBI and was named to the CWS All-Tournament Team.

Kent spent two summers playing ball in the Cape Cod League, where he was a two-time All-Star and batted .299 with a .763 OPS in 254 at-bats. He had 15 extra-base his (three homers) and 35 RBI while striking out 44 times to 30 walks.

The No. 103 selection carries a slot value of $744,400. The Yanks entered the draft with the smallest bonus pool at just $5,383,600.

The Yanks took infielder Dax Kilby with the No. 39 overall pick in the first round.

The Mets selected Central Florida shortstop Antonio Jimenez with the 102nd overall pick (Round 3) in the 2025 MLB Draft.

Jimenez, 21, played 55 games last season for UCF after transferring from Miami. The 6-foot-1 infielder had 14 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, and 51 RBI while slashing .329/.407/.575 with a .982 OPS in 207 at-bats. He was struck out 46 times to 25 walks and added 11 steals on 14 attempts.

Mets director of amateur scouting Drew Toussaint said the club believes Jimenez has the “chance to be an above-average defender” and liked what they saw from his bat this past season.

“He has a couple of pluses,” Toussaint said in a news conference after the third round on Sunday. “Plus power, raw power, plus arm strength. He really improved offensively this year, made a ton of improvements making contact, and had a really good year overall.”

In his lone season with the Knights, the right-handed swinging shortstop had 18 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games while posting a 24-game on-base streak and a 12-game hitting streak. Jimenez was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team.

The Hialeah native began his college career with the Hurricanes in 2024, appearing in 45 games, but struggled at the plate. Jimenez had just 18 hits in 99 at-bats (.182) with seven doubles and two home runs for a .313 slugging percentage and .613 OPS. That summer, he went to the Cape Cod League and in 39 games had 12 extra-base hits (five home runs) while batting .203 with a .705 OPS while striking out 38 times to 19 walks.

The No. 102 selection carries a slot value of $752,000. The Mets entered the draft with the second-lowest bonus pool in the sport at $5,465,900.

The Mets did not pick between the Competitive Balance Round A and late in the third round due to signing Juan Soto, who was a free agent who received a qualifying offer. (The signing also meant New York forfeited their second-and fifth-highest selections and $1 million from their 2026 international bonus pool.)

Earlier on Sunday, the Mets took another infielder in Michigan second baseman Mitch Voit with their first pick of the draft at No. 38 overall.

The name was a surprise, but the pick should not have been.

The bromide about teams picking the best available player rather than drafting for need does not apply to the Angels, at least not in the Perry Minasian era. The Angels’ front office must try to win now, with an ownership that does not believe in rebuilding, and without huge investments in major league free agency, international scouting or player development.

The Angels needed pitching. They drafted a college pitcher Sunday, in line with their no-margin-for-error strategy of selecting top college players and pushing them into the major leagues.

Their pick: Tyler Bremner of UC Santa Barbara.

Read more:MLB draft: Nationals select Eli Willits with No. 1 pick; Angels surprise at No. 2

It’s been an emotional year for Bremner, who lost his mother to breast cancer in June.

On the day after she died, he saluted her in a long Instagram post that started this way: “Saying goodbye to you has been the hardest thing I have had to go through in my life. Why did this evil disease have to come into the life of such a pure hearted soul. Somehow through all this pain, darkness, and suffering there is light.”

The last four words: “rest easy my angel”

When his name was called Sunday, Bremner thought of his mother.

“I went to the Angels,” he said. “It’s weird how life works.”

The Angels invited him to Anaheim for a private workout last week. In a draft in which the hype around college pitchers focused on three left-handers from the Southeastern Conference, Bremner said his advisers told him about an hour before the draft started that the Angels might pick him.

And, after the Washington Nationals took high school shortstop Eli Willits — the son of former Angels outfielder Reggie Willits — with the No. 1 pick, the Angels were on the clock.

Read more:José Soriano and Angels can't complete the sweep in loss to Diamondbacks

They had their pick of any pitcher in the country. They could have grabbed one of the SEC pitchers, or Corona High phenom Seth Hernandez. They went with the big right-hander from the Big West, with a fastball and a changeup that might already be ready for Anaheim.

The immediate expectation was that the Angels would cut a discount deal with Bremner, enabling him to collect a seven-figure bonus while enabling them to allocate more of their draft pool to swipe talented lower-round players away from college commitments. Bremner and Tim McIlvaine, the Angels’ scouting director, danced around that topic on Sunday.

But, if you’re the Angels, none of that scheming really matters if you don’t hit on the second overall pick of the draft.

McIlvaine said Bremner’s changeup gives him a go-to pitch, with a slider under development and a body that has yet to fill out.

“There’s a lot you can really dream on,” McIlvaine said.

The Angels need him to be right, and they need Bremner as a starter. A two-pitch pitcher would make a fine major league reliever, and don’t be surprised to see the Angels consider launching his major league career in that role later this season, if they stay afloat in the wild-card race. That could give them nine of their first-round picks on their active roster.

But you don’t use a first-round pick on a setup man. The Angels drafted two other pitchers among the top 10 overall picks within the past five years, and Reid Detmers and Sam Bachman now are setup men. Under Minasian, who was hired after the 2020 season, the Angels have drafted one pitcher that has delivered more than 1.0 WAR: Ben Joyce, a potential closer but now an injured setup man.

Read more:Shaikin: The NFL has committed players to the L.A. Olympics. So why hasn't MLB?

And the Angels’ second-round pick Sunday: an actual reliever, from the SEC. He is Chase Shores, who closed the College World Series clincher for Louisiana State and threw 47 pitches clocked at 100 mph or harder during the NCAA tournament.

As Bremner said, life works in weird ways.

“If you look at his second half of the year,” McIlvaine said, “I’d put it up against anybody in the country.”

In the second half of the season, his mother was dying.

“She came out to all the games,” he said, “all the way to the point where her body wouldn’t let her any more.”

In his last two games, weeks before she died, he gave up one run in 13-⅓ innings, walking two and striking out 23. That resilience was not lost on the Angels.

“I think, funny enough, as she got worse, that’s when I got stronger on the field,” Bremner said. “I feel I did a very good job of using that kind of negative energy and challenging it into pitching.

“Pitching angry, or pitching for her, or pitching for something bigger than myself, I feel like, in a way, it helped me on the field. But it’s not easy mentally to wrap my head around what’s going on off the field while trying to compete at a high level.”

Read more:MLB draft: Pitcher Seth Hernandez goes No. 6 to the Pittsburgh Pirates

That made Sunday a very different, and entirely memorable, mother’s day.

“I know she is watching over me,” he said, “and I know she is so proud of me.”

His mother, Jen, was born in Canada. The Canadians already are calling for him to represent her home country in the World Baseball Classic next spring, to honor her memory after losing her to cancer. Another pretty good ballplayer plays for Team Canada for the same reason, so you never know: Bremner could be teammates with Freddie Freeman next spring and Mike Trout next summer.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees selected shortstop Dax Kilby with the No. 39 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft.

Kilby, 18, is No. 62 in MLB.com's prospect rankings after he hit .495 with 11 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 42 RBI as a senior at Newnan High School in Georgia. He led Newman to the Class 5A championship, the school's first since 1991, and was named tournament MVP.

“Dax is a strong-bodied and athletic left-handed hitting shortstop,” Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees vice president of domestic amateur scouting, said in a team release. “We really like his potential and ability to swing the bat, plus, he’s an excellent runner.

"As a high schooler, Dax has already shown an accomplished bat, a great feel to hit, and on top of that, some pop, which is exciting for us.”

At June's MLB Draft Combine, he was clocked at 3.55 in the 30-yard dash, good for the fourth-fastest time.

Kilby signed with Clemson University's 2025 recruiting class before the Yanks took him with their first selection of the draft in the Competitive Balance Round A. The 103rd pick carries a $2,509,500 slot value. New York entered the draft with the smallest bonus pool at $5,383,600.

At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, he was described as one of the more polished high school bats in the draft.

"Kilby has a track record of producing against quality competition on the showcase circuit," said MLB.com's scouting report of Kilby. "There are questions about his long-term defensive home, but his hitting ability could land him as high as the second round if he's signable away from a Clemson commitment.

"... Kilby has a quick and relatively compact left-handed stroke and a mature approach. He doesn't stray from the strike zone too often and makes consistent contact while looking to drive the ball from gap to gap. He has plenty of room to add strength to his projectable 6-foot-2 frame and should grow into at least average power.

"Though Kilby has plus straight-line speed, he plays as more of an average to solid runner. Bothered by shoulder issues early in his high school career, he has a funky arm action and can't make all the throws necessary from shortstop. He'll get a look at second base and also could wind up in left field, though he still may provide enough offense to profile at the less challenging position."

The Yanks later grabbed Texas A&M infielder Kaeden Kent with the 103rd overall pick.

The Mets have selected two-way player Mitch Voit with the 38th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

Voit, 20, pitched and played second base for three years with the Big Ten school, but he didn't pitch last season after undergoing internal brace surgery on his throwing arm in July 2024.

In 56 games last season with the Wolverines, Voit had 17 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs, and 60 RBI with a .346/.471/.668 slash line for a 1.140 OPS. He walked 40 times to 34 strikeouts.

In 2024, his last year pitching and hitting, the right-hander had a 5.49 ERA and 1.412 WHIP in 62.1 innings over 10 starts, with 41 strikeouts to 16 walks. That year at the plate, he had 20 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs with 46 RBI and a .292/.373/.572 slash line with a .945 OPS. He struck out 61 times to 23 walks.

Overall, Voit batted .303 with a .962 OPS in 631 at-bats over 169 games with Michigan with 46 doubles, seven triples, 35 home runs, and 138 RBI. He also spent time all around the diamond during his time in college, playing 51 games at third base in 2023, 33 games at first, and 22 in the outfield in 2024, before appearing in 56 games at second in his final season.

As a pitcher, he posted a 4.67 ERA and 1.332 WHIP over 98.1 innings and 29 games (11 starts) with 66 strikeouts to 28 walks.

There are questions about whether Voit will continue pitching in the big league ranks, but he was announced as a two-way player. Of course, when the Mets selected Carson Benge in last year's draft, he was announced as a two-way player, but the 19th overall pick has been converted to just a position player.

New York's first pick came at No. 38 in the Competitive Balance Round A, as their first selection dropped 10 spots due to exceeding the luxury tax threshold by $40 million or more last season, picking ahead of the Yankees (No. 39) and Dodgers (No. 40), who fell that far for the same reason.

The Mets don't pick again until No. 102 due to signing Juan Soto, who was a free agent who received a qualifying offer. (The signing also meant New York forfeited their second-and fifth-highest selections and $1 million from their 2026 international bonus pool.)

Joe DeMayo's Reaction...

Voit, a former two-way player, is likely to be deployed as just a hitter in pro ball. He has excellent bat speed and in-zone contact rates. His swing is natural at lofting the ball in the air, with a preference to the pull side, where he posts above-average exit velocities.

He is a plus athlete who acclimated himself well to second base, but with a healthy arm after he underwent internal brace surgery as a sophomore, Voit should have enough arm strength for third base if the Mets want to try him there.

I look at Voit as more of a high-floor type of player rather than a big ceiling. As a college junior, he has a chance to be a relatively quick riser through the minors.

They’ve underperformed relative to preseason expectations, but worked around serious roster limitations.

They’ve wowed with an undefeated 8-0 start, a star-studded offense that tops the majors in scoring, and a comfortable division lead in a competitive National League West. And yet, they’ve left so much to still be desired, both on the mound from their injury-plagued pitching staff and at the plate amid uncharacteristic slumps from several veteran stars.

No, the Dodgers have not played like "The Greatest Team Ever" in the first half of the season. Their record-setting $400-million payroll is not bidding for any all-time wins mark.

But, after grinding out a 5-2 extra-innings win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday to enter the All-Star break with a key divisional series victory, their first half has been a quiet success nonetheless, concluding with the Dodgers (58-39) holding a 5 ½-game lead in the NL West, the top record in the NL and still the best odds of being baseball’s first repeat champion in a quarter-century.

Read more:Shaikin: The NFL has committed players to the L.A. Olympics. So why hasn't MLB?

“I think the win-loss, the standings are great,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I think there’s just a lot of improvement that we need to do, we need to be better at.”

Indeed, Sunday epitomized the duality of the Dodgers’ first 97 games.

Their starting pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, completed his stellar start to the season with a seven-inning gem, keeping the Giants (52-45) off the scoreboard while giving up three hits, two walks and striking out seven batters.

If the Dodgers were to pick a first-half MVP, perhaps only Shohei Ohtani would outpace Yamamoto, who enters the break as a first-time All-Star thanks to his 9-7 record, 2.59 earned-run average and six separate outings of six or more scoreless innings (tied for second-most such starts in the majors this year, behind only Tarik Skubal).

“He’s been really good,” Roberts said before the game, wholly convinced the 26-year-old Japanese right-hander would bounce back from his ugly five-run first inning in Milwaukee last week. “He’s just to the point where he knows he’s a really good pitcher, he’s an All-Star and he has high expectations for himself. He’s just been very valuable.”

However, the back end of the bullpen remained a problem, with closer Tanner Scott blowing a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth by giving up a two-run home run to pinch-hitter Luis Matos on a hanging slider at the knees.

Scott, a $72-million signing this offseason, has converted only 19 of his 26 save opportunities this year. He has a 4.09 ERA and eight home runs given up. And his struggles have made the bullpen a prime area of need for the Dodgers entering the trade deadline.

“[He’s] just in-zone too much,” Roberts said, “and getting beat by [the slider] or getting beat by the fastball in similar locations.”

The Dodgers’ offense has been equally quixotic.

Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman both hit the midway point mired in extended slumps — though Freeman made a couple key contributions Sunday, lining an RBI double in the fourth inning before putting the Dodgers back in front in the 11th with a bloop single that dropped in center.

“It's just good to actually hit a couple balls,” Freeman deadpanned postgame. “That's been the hardest thing the last couple months.”

Meanwhile, Ohtani has pitched superbly in his limited action on the mound, but his offense has declined since resuming a two-way role. When he singled in the fifth inning Sunday, it marked his first hit this year to come on the day immediately following one of his pitching starts.

“When you’re starting to try to break it down, I think you can cut it any way you want,” Roberts said when asked about Ohtani’s increasingly noticeable dip in production. “But when he’s in the lineup, he makes the lineup better.”

And though catcher Will Smith has a healthy lead for the NL batting title, earning his third-straight All-Star nod with a .323 mark, others toward the bottom of the lineup have been cold, from Teoscar Hernández (who is hitting barely .200 since returning from an adductor injury in May; though he added an infield single in Sunday’s 11th inning rally) to Andy Pages (whose All-Star candidacy fizzled with a .220 average in his last 16 games, despite also chipping in with an RBI single in the 11th) to Tommy Edman (whose defensive versatility has been valuable, but finished the first half in an 0-for-23 slump).

“I always expect more from our guys,” Roberts said, sounding less than satisfied with the state of his club at the midseason marker. “And they expect the same thing.”

Such struggles, after all, are reminders of how the Dodgers remain fallible in their pursuit of another World Series.

Their banged-up pitching staff remains another wild card in their pressure-packed title defense (though Tyler Glasnow has already returned, Blake Snell and Blake Treinen should be back shortly after the All-Star break, and Roki Sasaki is on track for a late August return after throwing a long-awaited bullpen session this week).

And for large swaths of the first half of the season, it all made the Dodgers look exceedingly mortal; none more so than during the seven-game losing streak that preceded their back-to-back wins against the Giants to close out this weekend’s series.

"I mean, obviously, we didn't want to lose nine in a row going into the break,” Freeman said. “So getting a couple of wins and ending it on a good note after a really good first half that we played, that was big today."

However, their issues have still done little to no damage to the team’s long-term chances, with a frustrating but fruitful opening act to this campaign leaving the Dodgers right where they want to be — even if, as Sunday epitomized, they haven’t gotten there the way they would have hoped.

“First place is first place,” Freeman said. “I think we're OK with where we're at.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Mets left-hander Sean Manaea's 2025 season debut in Sunday's 3-2 loss at the Kansas City Royals featured a strong start and unfortunate finish.

In his first outing of the year, making a return from the 60-day injured list after a late-March oblique strain initially sidelined him, he struck out seven -- including five straight -- while scattering five hits.

The relief outing, which followed starting right-hander Clay Holmes' five innings of two-run ball, saw Manaea toss a scoreless three frames before returning for the ninth after New York's game-tying rally.

"Obviously, it sucks, losing," said Manaea, who threw 44 strikes on 65 pitches in 3.1 IP. "You never want to do that. But for me, personally, it just feels good to be healthy, back on the mound. It's a very weird juxtaposition."

Manaea's ninth inning started by striking out Salvador Perez before back-to-back singles from Tyler Tolbert, who stole second base, and Nick Loftin lifted the Royals (47-50) past the Mets (55-42).

"Not only (was Manaea rolling into the ninth), we needed that fourth up for him and that was his last batter anyway because he was on a pitch count and he was 60, 65 and he got to 65 there," said manager Carlos Mendoza. "So, regardless of the outcome there -- and the way he was throwing the ball, he was pretty, pretty dominant. Couple of singles there at the end, but I thought he was pretty good overall."

Manaea relieved Holmes (8-4, 3.31 ERA) to start the sixth inning and, after Bobby Witt Jr.'s leadoff single, retired the next six batters in a row. The stretch started on Vinnie Pasquantino's ground out to first base and followed with five straight strikeouts.

"Typical Sean Manaea," Mendoza said. "Fastball playing at the top of the zone, he's getting swings and misses, the sweeper was really good -- we saw that the whole year, and it was good to see it today, attacking, throwing strikes and with those pitches are going, pitching from that slot, he's pretty effective and we saw it today."

The second half of the Mets' season starts Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY with New York's three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds, and Manaea figures to be a factor as the stretch run begins.

"I felt great out there," Manaea said. "I feel like, if I can keep doing that, I'll have a successful second half."

Seth Hernandez has imagined his name being announced for years at the MLB amateur draft. It finally happened Sunday. The Gatorade national player of the year and two-time L.A. Times player of the year from Corona High School was chosen No. 6 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates. T

The Pirates have been successful with Southern California pitchers, having drafted Gerrit Cole (Orange Lutheran), Paul Skenes (El Toro) and Jared Jones (La Mirada) in the past. And they took Warren pitcher Angel Cervantes in the second round on Sunday.

It was an historic opening draft for Corona High, because for the first time, a single high school produced three first-round draft picks. Shortstop Billy Carlson went No. 10 to the Chicago White Sox and third baseman Brady Ebel went No. 32 to the Milwaukee Brewers in joining Hernandez.

"It's nuts," said Corona coach Andy Wise, who went to gatherings at the Hernandez and Carlson houses. "It's an absolute honor to have those kids in our program and I couldn't be happier for their families."

Hernandez was considered the best right-handed high school pitcher in the draft after a sensational senior season in which he struck out 105 batters in 53 1/3 innings while walking only seven using a 99-mph fastball. His ERA was 0.39.

Seth Hernandez slow motion. pic.twitter.com/x1IQqsFtY7

— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) March 26, 2025

All signs indicate he'll become the latest from a long list of outstanding pitchers groomed in sunny Southern California to make it to the majors. That includes Cy Young Award winners Jack McDowell (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame), Cole (Orange Lutheran) and Bret Saberhagen (Cleveland) and current standouts Skenes, Hunter Greene (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame) and Max Fried (Harvard-Westlake). He's also a top athlete having hit two three-run home runs in a playoff game this year.

Wise said he has coached no one better. Hernandez missed his first two years of high school being home schooled. The last two seasons his pitching record was 18-1. He has a very good slider and changeup. He's uniquely ready for the pressure and exposure ahead, having been watched closely for years by scouts and interviewed over and over.

Shortstop Gavin Fien from Great Oak was taken No. 12 by the Chicago White Sox.

High school shortstop Eli Willits from Oklahoma was taken No. 1 by the Washington Nationals.

Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The first half of the Mets' 2025 season is in the books. New York lost Sunday's finale at the Kansas City Royals, 3-2, after a ninth-inning comeback fell short and the home team walked it off. The Mets enter the 2025 MLB All-Star break with a series win, however, after Friday's 8-3 comeback and Saturday's 3-1 triumph.

Takeaways

1. At 55-42, the Mets have won seven of their past 11 games. As of this article's publishing, they are tied alongside the Philadelphia Phillies, who entered Sunday afternoon's game at the San Diego Padres with a 54-41 record. (Note: Philly has since beaten San Diego, 2-1, and taken a half-game lead in the NL East.) Despite the loss to the Royals (47-50), New York has won three of its past four series. Ultimately, it has a chance to keep the ball rolling Friday when the second half starts with a three-game set at the Cincinnati Reds.
2. Clay Holmes gave the Mets a chance but got no support. Holmes (8-4, 3.31 ERA) was the tough-luck no-decision pitcher after the right-hander allowed two runs on five hits while striking out two and walking one in five innings. He threw 50 strikes on 81 pitches. His only scoring came via John Rave's RBI double down the right-field line with runners on second and third. It was a groundball that just stayed fair before trickling into the corner.
3. Overall,Sean Manaea showed some serious signs of life in his season debut. He relieved Holmes for the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, striking out seven and scattering five hits in 3.1 IP. Manaea threw 44 strikes on 65 pitches -- the highlight was him striking out the side in the seventh. Unfortunately for Manaea, the ninth saw him allow back-to-back one-out singles -- capped by Nick Loftin's game-winning knock that drove home Tyler Tolbert. The Mets, though, need Manaea to be a key cog in the rotation for the stretch run. The bottom line is that he provided real promise throughout his first outing back from injury.
4. Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Tyrone Taylor notched multi-hit games with two knocks apiece. Among them, Mauricio's leadoff double in the ninth inning set the table for a Jeff McNeil triple that broke the Mets' scoring drought before Jared Young's one-out sacrifice fly to center field brought McNeil home and tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. Mauricio is slashing .237/.311/.409 with four home runs and six RBI in 29 games since his June 3 promotion from Triple-A Syracuse.

Who's the MVP?

Loftin, who got the best of Manaea in the game's biggest spot.

Highlights

Mark Vientos with a first inning triple! pic.twitter.com/3W4JcJXvWC

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 13, 2025

Sean Manaea's first strikeout of 2025! pic.twitter.com/m91aczJuq1

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 13, 2025

Sean Manaea strikes out Salvador Perez to close out a scoreless inning in his return pic.twitter.com/nedDbzb0rC

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 13, 2025

Welcome back, indeed!

Sean Manaea strikes out the side in the 7th! pic.twitter.com/tecBbVUPUw

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 13, 2025

JEFF MCNEIL IN THE CLUTCH!

HIS TRIPLE MAKES THIS A ONE-RUN GAME! pic.twitter.com/NWRHjST346

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 13, 2025

Jared Young gets the job done!

The Mets have drawn even in the 9th! pic.twitter.com/lzSMfUHntH

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 13, 2025

What's next

After Tuesday's All-Star Game, the second half of the Mets' season starts Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY with New York's three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field.

Another day, another home run for Francisco Alvarez.

The Mets' young catcher continued to hit the ball hard at Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday with three extra-base hits as he makes the case to rejoin the big league club after the All-Star Break.

Alvarez socked a home run for the third straight game, giving him six for the month of July, after he smacked two on Saturday afternoon.

In Alvarez's first at-bat on the afternoon with two down in the bottom of the first, he got a 2-2 curveball over the middle of the plate from Andrew Painter (the Phillies' No. 1 prospect and No. 9 in baseball per MLB Pipeline) and smacked it – 108.2 mph off the bat – into the left-center gap for a double.

With a runner on first and nobody out in the fourth, Alvarez was again in a 2-2 count against Paitner. This time, the 22-year-old right-hander went with a fastball, but the 98 mph offering at the top of the zone was clobbered for a 402-foot homer to center (109.6 mph).

In his final time up in a driving rain, Alvarez worked a count full against righty Devin Sweet and got a 77 mph changeup over the plate and roped it 100.6 mph for a double to left.

He came around to score on Joey Meneses' double to right before the umpires halted play. The game would end there with Alvarez going 3-for-3 with eight total bases, two RBI, and two runs scored.

In the 16 games since he was sent down in late June, the 23-year-old has 16 hits in 57 at-bats (.281) with three doubles, eight home runs, 18 RBI for a 1.114 OPS.

Francisco Alvarez has gone deep AGAIN for Triple-A Syracuse! pic.twitter.com/WbKbdU3n7K

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 13, 2025

Speaking before the Mets took on the Royals in Kansas City, manager Carlos Mendoza said he's been getting good reports on the young catcher, praising his work ethic and how positive he has been since arriving in Syracuse.

"Willingness to listen to the feedback in some of the things, where it is defensively or offensively," Mendoza said, adding that he's speaking with the Triple-A manager Dick Scott and the minor league coordinators, "and everything has been phenomenal."

"He's doing everything we're asking him to do," the skipper continued. "He continues to put himself in a position like, 'hey, I'm here.'"

Mendoza, who said he's been watching all of Alvarez's at-bats, said the Mets "want him to do damage."

"Be ready for the fastball, make some good swing decisions, and when he's getting pitches to hit, not missing them. And that's what we're seeing," he said. "We're seeing him pull the ball, we're seeing him go the other way, we're seeing him go dead center. And that's a sign of a good hitter when he's feeling and going well.

"It's not necessary that you have to pull the ball or you have to go the other way. No, you hit the ball where it's pitched."

Mendoza said that when Alvarez is at his best he's capable of doing all that. "Watching the films, he's driving the ball to all fields," he added.

On the defensive side of things, the manager said there has been "a lot of improvement, as well."

"The receiving, the blocking, we know the throwing has been there," he said. "Again, a lot of good things happening from Alvy."

When asked if Alvarez could be back right after the break, when the Mets open up a three-game set with the Cincinnati Reds on Friday at Citi Field, Mendoza said he would have to talk with president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Sanchez pitches a gem to send Phillies to All-Star break on top of NL East originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

SAN DIEGO — Phillies pitcher Christopher Sanchez going out and pitching a gem against the San Diego Padres was about as surprising as the weather being 72 and sunny at Petco Park to begin the game. Both are so expected and neither failed in producing as Sanchez kept his magical season rolling with 7.1 strong innings of work in a 2-1, series finale win for the Phillies.

Sanchez has now allowed just 14 earned runs over his past 10 starts, amounting to 65.2 innings for a 1.92 ERA during that time. He finishes the pre All-Star break at 8-2 with a 2.50 ERA.

While Major League Baseball disrespected Sanchez with an All-Star snub, the Padres showed the lefthander the ultimate respect in the first inning when after Fernando Tatis Jr. led off with a single to right, they had Luis Arraez bunt Tatis Jr. over to second. That’s saying something, as Arraez is a lifetime .318 hitter. Sanchez did struggle through the inning with a pair of walks but got out of the jam by striking out Jose Iglesias with a nasty changeup on his 19th pitch of the frame.  

“All the experience that we’ve gotten and how we’re working out and the preparation we do before games I think is what’s put us in this spot,” said Sanchez. “We’ve been able to perform better in those spots, too. Staying healthy, having those numbers and most important is helping the team win. That’s the most important thing right now.”

A microcosm of the game came about in the eighth inning with the score tied, 1-1. The Phillies sent up their two, three and four hitters (Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos) against Padres’ left handed reliever, and All-Star, Adrian Morejon. The Padres sent their same part of the lineup against the Phils in the bottom of the inning.

After Turner lined out to center, Harper doubled down the leftfield line. David Morgan replaced Morejon and Castellanos struck out on a 3-2 pitch way out of the strike zone. J.T. Realmuto then laced a double to left-center to knock in Harper and take a 2-1 lead.

Sanchez returned in the eighth to face Luis Arraez, whom he got on a liner to first to end his day. Orion Kerkering then came in and allowed a single to Manny Machado, threw a wild pitch to allow him to second before walking Xander Bogaerts. Kerkering recovered nicely by getting both Jackson Merrill and Jose Iglesias to fly out to center.

It was a very small battle among many of late for the Phillies, who struggled mightily in times just like that one, particularly on this six-game road trip. But the Phillies won it and it helped them finish the road trip with their second win in six games, putting them a half-game ahead of the Mets in the East.

“In the last at-bats for both those guys (Machado and Bogaerts) it looked like they were seeing him pretty good,” said Thomson of removing Sanchez after 86 pitches. “I just decided to go to Kerk.

“I’m just so proud of (Sanchez) from where he started and where he’s at right now. Not just stuff, but command, poise and composure. He gets through the first inning there. When we first had him he’s not getting through that first inning, it might affect the rest of his innings. Now he’s learned to slow the game down, able to handle adversity, keep grinding and keep pitching.”

Catcher J.T. Realmuto played a huge part in the team climbing to 55-41 on the season. In the bottom of the seventh he threw an absolute dart to Trea Turner to get Tatis Jr. on a steal attempt to end the inning. Then in the eighth, his double scored Harper from second for the game-winning run. Realmuto finished the day 2-for-4 and is now 11 for his last 25 at the plate.

“I thought I had a chance at him,” Realmuto downplayed his throw. “I knew it would take a quick throw.”

It did and it was. As for his turnaround at the plate, it’s not all that complicated.

“Just trying to get good pitches and put the barrel on the ball,” he said. “Simplify my approach and just do less really. That’s what it comes down to.”

As the music blared in the clubhouse and families waited outside of it so that this mini vacation can begin for them, Thomson had just one rule for his club. “I just think everybody needs a break right now,” he said. “I just think we’ve been grinding. There haven’t been many games where you felt really comfortable. Everything’s been a close game, whether we’re down, we’re up. I think everybody just needs a little break. The only thing I tell them is to move around a little bit. Pitchers play catch, some of the guys I know are going to do bullpens. Just move around a little bit. Just don’t lay around for four days and get stiff.”

Red Sox select Oklahoma pitcher with No. 15 pick in MLB Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox added a promising pitching prospect to their pipeline with their first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

With the 15th overall pick, the Red Sox selected Oklahoma right-hander Kyson Witherspoon.

With the 15th pick in the 2025 #MLBDraft, we have selected RHP Kyson Witherspoon from the University of Oklahoma. pic.twitter.com/6wB5KTtRfM

— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 13, 2025

“Kyson is a guy we valued highly entering the draft, and we believe he is one of the top college arms in the class,” Red Sox director of amateur scouting Devin Pearson said in a statement. “We think he fits in nicely with our development strengths and has the right makeup to pitch at Fenway park. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to Red Sox Nation.”

Witherspoon, 20, was ranked seventh on Baseball America’s draft board and 10th on MLB Pipeline’s board. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder reaches 99 mph with his fastball and also boasts three above-average secondary pitches: a slider, cutter, and curveball:

just nasty 🤧 @kybone904pic.twitter.com/cSxnugM6Nh

— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) May 16, 2025

Last season for the Sooners, Witherspoon posted a 10-4 record with a 2.65 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 124 strikeouts, and 23 walks in 16 starts (95 innings). He is the first pitcher selected by the Red Sox in the first round since Tanner Houck (2017).

Boston selected another college pitcher, Tennessee righty Marcus Phillips, with its No. 33 pick. The club has two more picks on Day 1 of the draft: Nos. 75 and 87.

The Yankees dropped their final game before the All-Star break, losing to the Chicago Cubs by a score of 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

Here are the takeaways...

-There wasn't a lot to like out of New York's offense on Sunday as it got just two hits from the lineup. One of those hits was a home run by Giancarlo Stanton which tied the game at 1-1 in the second, but after that the Yankees were completely shut down by Shota Imanaga who went seven innings.

The only other hit on the day by the Bombers came from Austin Wells who singled to lead off the sixth. He was quickly erased on a double play by Paul Goldschmidt.

-Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first inning against Will Warren on a Michael Busch leadoff home run. The Cubs kept the pressure on Warren and got the next two batters on, but the right-hander got Pete Crow-Armstrong to flyout before Carson Kelly ended the inning with a double play.

Warren had to deal with more traffic in the second and fourth, but managed to get out of each inning unscathed. He went back out for the sixth and Kelly got even with a leadoff double. After a groundout to advance the runner to third, Warren's day was done.

His final line: 5.1 innings, six hits, three walks, two earned runs, one strikeout on 88 pitches (52 strikes).

-Replacing Warren was Ian Hamilton who immediately surrendered a two-run shot to Dansby Swanson that broke the tie and gave Chicago a 3-1 lead.

-The Cubs scored again in the seventh, this time off Tim Hill after Seiya Suzuki doubled and Crow-Armstrong singled him home. They had 10 hits.

Game MVP: Shota Imanaga

After allowing a game-tying home run in the second, Imanaga found his groove and took apart New York's lineup over seven innings.

Highlights

Big G goes yard! pic.twitter.com/uhwhrWswJl

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 13, 2025

What's next

After the All-Star break, the Yankees begin the second half of their season on Friday night when they take on the Atlanta Braves at 7:15 p.m.