Welcome to a new column I’m doing this season, where I take a bi-weekly look around Major League Baseball to fill you in on the league-wide trends, surging teams, and top individual performances. There will be some highlight clips, some criticisms, and some personal analysis of where I think the game is at and/or going. I hope that, if you’ve had a busy week or haven’t been able to watch as many games as you’d like, this article can be a great way to keep up with what’s happening in Major League Baseball.
So, let’s stop wasting time and dive right in.
⚾️ Baseball is back on NBC: MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026! In addition to becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC Sports will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, the entire Wild Card round of the postseason, and much more.
A new surgery has changed pitcher recovery timelines
Tarik Skubal seems on track to pitch for the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. That may not seem like major news, except for the fact that the left-hander had surgery on May 6th to remove a bone chip in his left elbow. A return this weekend would mean Skubal would have missed only five weeks due to the injury and procedure. For comparison's sake, just this season, Reds' starting pitcher Hunter Greene had surgery to remove bone chips and loose bodies from his right elbow and was given a 14-16 week timeline for his return, Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz had the same procedure and was also given a 3-4 month timeline, while Braves' starter Spencer Schwellenbach had bone chips and bone spurs removed in March and still has not begun throwing.
So why was Skubal back so quickly? Well, he's the first pitcher to have the surgery using a brand new NanoNeedle technology. The surgery, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, was done using "a device about 1.9 millimeters in diameter, with a tiny camera lens on the end." A typical scope used in these types of procedures has a diameter of around four millimeters. The smaller instrument means a smaller incision, which leads to more precise dissection and less tissue disruption. That, in turn, leads to a faster recovery time.
With a high-profile athlete like Skubal having this new procedure and seeing quick and effective results, it's only a matter of time before it becomes the norm. Dodgers' starting pitcher Blake Snell had the same procedure just a few weeks after Skubal. Obviously, we never want players to get injured, but this particular injury happened to lead us to a groundbreaking new procedure that could change arthroscopic surgeries in high-level athletes forever.
Freddie Freeman collects a milestone hit
The Dodgers' 12-2 win over the Pirates on Tuesday may have seemed like a non-event, but it contained an important milestone as Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman ripped an RBI single to center field in the seventh inning, giving him 2,500 career hits. The 36-year-old became just the 102nd player in baseball history with that many hits, and he remains the active leader in hits. Jose Altuve is behind him with 2,430 hits, and then Andrew McCutchen has 2,280, and Paul Goldschmidt has 2,229. "It does mean a lot," Freeman said after the game."There's always another to get to, but to step back and realize how long you have to play, it does mean a lot."
Some other recent players to surpass 2,500 hits are Manny Ramirez, who finished with 2,574; Robinson Cano, who finished with 2,639; Johnny Damon, who had 2,769; and Alex Rodriguez, who finished with 3,115. That 3,000 career hit mark is next up for Freeman and would help strengthen the nine-time All-Star and 2020 NL MVP's case for the Hall of Fame. Only 33 players have recorded 3,000 hits, but Freeman does have a chance. Coming into this season, he needed to average 150 hits over four seasons to surpass that mark. In fact, exactly 150 hits over four seasons would put him at 3,031 hits, so there is some wiggle room. Freeman's hit on Tuesday gave him 69 for the season and put him on pace for 160 this year. So far, he's right on track.
Jacob Misiorowski leaps into the top-tier ace territory
Coming into the 2026 MLB season, there was a large handful of talented young pitchers who seemed poised to emerge as household names. Guys like Cam Schlittler of the Yankees, Chase Burns of the Reds, Eury Perez of the Marlins, Nolan McLean of the Mets, Bubba Chandler of the Pirates, Trey Yesavage of the Blue Jays, and Jacob Misiorowski had shown flashes of elite potential in the 2025 season and looked like a rising crop of stars who would replace aging veterans like Gerrit Cole, Jacob deGrom, and Chris Sale as appointment-viewing starting pitchers. While many people expected these young starters to find success in 2026, few expected Misiorowski to be the one leading the way or pitching nearly as well as he has been.
The 6'7" right-hander always threw hard, but walks were a major issue for him. He posted a 14.4% walk rate in the minor leagues in 2024 and had a 12.3% walk rate in Triple-A last year before getting called up. Even though his 11.4% walk rate in 66 MLB innings last year was better than what he had done in the minors, it was actually the 12th-highest walk rate in baseball among starting pitchers who had thrown at least 60 innings. It tied him with Tylor Megill and Jose Soriano and put him barely ahead of Walker Buehler and Griffin Canning. Those are not really names we associate with dominance in 2026, and so it made sense that Misiorowski posted a 4.38 ERA last season.
This season has been a completely different story. Misiorowski has lowered his walk rate to 7.3% this year while increasing his strike rate to 66.6%, which is 87th-percentile among starting pitchers. He's been getting ahead of batters far more regularly, with an 8% increase in first-pitch strike rate, and has also seen his swinging strike rate explode up to 18.2%. The results have been even better of late, posting a 0.20 ERA in his last seven starts. That's just one earned run in 45.1 innings while striking out 65 batters. That's good for the third-lowest ERA in a 7-start span since earned runs became official in 1913. The only two pitchers better than him were Bob Gibson in 1968, with a 0.14 ERA, and Don Drysdale in that same year with a 0.15 mark.
However, what makes Misiorowski even more special is that he's doing this with velocity we've never seen before. In his last three starts, his four-seam fastball has AVERAGED over 100 mph. According to Sarah Langs, Misiorowski has the second-most strikeouts on pitches over 100 mph since 2008. Hunter Greene leads the way with 96, and Misiorowski is behind him with 77. Being in second may not seem impressive until you remember that Misiorowski made his MLB debut last season, and Greene has been pitching in the big leagues since 2022. If you up the stakes to strikeouts on pitches 102 mph or higher, Misiorowski has no peers.
There may still be lingering questions about his health or walk rates, given how hard he throws, but, for now, we should just sit back and enjoy the emergence of a truly dominant ace.
Games in Las Vegas are going to be an offensive explosion
So far, we have seen two games in Las Vegas, and both have been extremely high scoring. In those two games, the Brewers and Athletics have combined for 41 runs on 52 hits, with 17 of them being home runs. Now, we should note that this is a Triple-A stadium for the A's organization, and a new stadium will be built before the A's officially move to Las Vegas, but it does make you wonder what offensive production will be like in those games. Las Vegas is 2,000 feet above sea level, which would make it the second-highest elevation among all MLB parks. Coors Field will remain number one, and is 3,200 feet higher than Las Vegas, but Vegas will be 900 feet higher than Chase Field, which is currently number two.
The temperatures in Las Vegas, particularly in the summer months, are going to be much hotter than in Denver, and there are three games in this current homestand for the A's that are scheduled to have first-pitch temperatures in the triple digits. Not only will that fatigue pitchers quicker, but the ball is going to carry far more in those kinds of temperatures and altitudes, as we saw with Jonah Heim's home run on Monday (below). All of which makes it pretty clear that, whenever Las Vegas becomes a regular home park for Major League Baseball, it could quickly become the best offensive environment in the league, particularly during the summer months.
Team Trends
We are now close to 70 games into the season, which means we're inching closer to the halfway mark. That's a pretty good time to check in on FanGraph's projected playoff odds for some teams that we had high hopes for coming into the season. Of course, the Angels, Rockies, Nationals, Giants, and Marlins are all but eliminated from playoff contention if you went by odds to make the playoffs, but the Reds could not be far behind with just a 5% chance to make the postseason. Cincinnati got off to such a hot start, but extended absences for Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo have hurt the rotation, and the bullpen has been a disaster even before they lost closer Emilio Pagan to injury.
Injuries are also a big reason that the Red Sox have just an 18.5% chance to make the postseason, the fourth-worst odds in the American League. Garrett Crochet has suffered a setback in his return from a shoulder injury, and Roman Anthony is still not picking up a bat after tearing a ligament in his thumb. Trevor Story is now on the 60-day injured list after sports hernia surgery, and new additions like Caleb Durbin have not been able to help carry the offensive burden. Yet, the Red Sox have better postseason odds than the Royals, who are sitting at just an 8.8% chance after they've had to deal with an injury to their ace, Cole Ragans, as well as poor seasons from key hitters, like Vinny Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone.
On the other hand, despite currently having the fourth-best record in the American League, the White Sox have just an 18.1% chance to make the playoffs, according to FanGraphs. While that's a higher number than people expected them to have in the middle of June, it might not be indicative of how well this team is playing. The Tigers are seven games behind the White Sox right now, but feature better playoff odds at 23.7%. Of course, they do get their ace back this weekend, as we mentioned.
In the National League, it may be a surprise to see the Padres with just a 19.2% chance to make the playoffs, the sixth-worst odds in the NL. However, their offense has really foundered this season, and they lack starting pitching depth. It might also surprise people that the Mets still have a 22% chance to make the postseason despite being 29-36, but FanGraphs is likely banking on the return of Francisco Lindor from his calf injury and the overall talent on their roster.
However, perhaps the biggest surprise is that every team in the NL Central, other than the Reds, has at least a 39.7% chance to make the playoffs. We expected this to be a bit of a rebuilding year for the Cardinals, but they're 35-28 and have a 39.7% chance to make the postseason, while the Pirates have merged their young talent with strong free agent signings and put together a 34-32 record, with a 48.3% chance to make the postseason, perhaps because they have more star power and better projections than the Cardinals (what a wild sentence to write).
According to these projections, two divisions seem all but locked up, with the Braves and Dodgers having better than 90% odds to win their division. The Brewers are next up at 78%, but things get murkier in the American League. The Yankees have the best odds to win their division at 72.7%, but they are tied with the Rays and could be without Aaron Judge for two months, so that makes them a risky bet. The Guardians have a 62% chance to win the AL Central while holding a 1.5 game lead on the White Sox, and the Mariners, who are the only AL West team over .500, have a 66.7% chance to win the division.
Individual Player Spotlights
Hitter Spotlight: Jung Hoo Lee - OF, Giants
Jung Hoo Lee is not a big name in baseball. He doesn't have a cannon for an arm, or blazing speed, or light tower power. What he does have is a 17-game hitting streak that has seen him hit .508 with 15 runs scored, 10 RBI, one home run, two steals, and a 1.161 OPS. That hitting streak encompasses 11 days he missed on the injured list with back spasms. Since coming off the IL on May 29th, he’s gone 29-for-51 in 12 games (.569) with 12 runs scored, seven RBI, and two steals. He's second in baseball in OPS over that stretch and fourth in runs scored. Not only has that put him near the top of current leaderboards, but it's put him in rarified air historically as well, since Lee is one of three Giants players since 1900 to ever have 29 hits in a 12-game span, and the first since 1932. Not bad.
Starting Pitcher Spotlight: Cristopher Sanchez - Phillies
If it weren't for Jacob Misiorowski, far more attention would be paid to what Cristopher Sanchez is doing right now. The left-hander has a 1.54 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 30.1% strikeout rate in 93.1 innings this season. He is the only pitcher in the National League who has thrown at least 80 innings with a sub-2.50 ERA this season. He has a 1.54 ERA. Cam Schlittler of the Yankees has a 1.87 ERA in 82 innings pitched, and all of Chris Sale, Chase Burns, and Misiorowski have ERAs under 2.50, but have not thrown 80 innings yet.
This season, Sanchez has his best swinging strike rate ever (15.3%), his best CSW ever (32.7%), and his lowest walk rate (4.8%) since he threw 99 innings in 2023. That was his first season as a starter for the Phillies since he had been more of a multi-inning reliever before that. I'm not sure many people who have expected this meteoric rise for Sanchez back then. In fact, in 2019, the Phillies acquired Sanchez in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for Curtis Mead. Mead was a top prospect at the time, and Sanchez had thrown 74.1 innings that year at Low-A and High-A. Sometimes, gambles on young pitchers do pay off.
Relief Pitcher Spotlight: Louis Varland - Blue Jays
Varland is another pitcher gamble that paid off. Last season, Varland entered the year as a seemingly failed starting pitcher prospect for the Minnesota Twins. He had a strong 2023 season, which allowed him to get 68 MLB innings that season in Minnesota. It didn't go great, with just a 4.63 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, but he missed bats and showed some good pitch movement that a team could dream about harnessing. Yet, in 2024, he posted a 4.75 ERA in Triple-A and just a 7.61 ERA in 49.2 MLB innings, which prompted the Twins to see if he might be a better fit in the bullpen. He started off the season with a 2.02 ERA with a 47/13 K/BB ratio in 49 innings out of the bullpen for the Twins. Yet, when the trade deadline rolled around, the Twins felt like it was time to look to the future and moved Varland and Ty France to the Blue Jays for outfield prospect Alan Roden and left-handed pitching prospect Kendry Rojas.
It was a curious move at the time, but Varland went on to pitch to a 4.94 ERA in 23.2 innings with the Blue Jays, and people stopped thinking much about the trade. Well, they're certainly thinking about it now. Varland pitched so well early in the season that he moved into a crucial late-inning role in the bullpen and then was given a chance to close when Jeff Hoffman struggled. He has not looked back. Since May 13th, Varland has led all relievers in Win Probability Added. On the year, he has a 0.50 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 46/10 K/BB ratio in 35.2 innings. He looks like one of the top closers in all of baseball, and he's just 28 years old and under contract through two more arbitration years. Not a bad trade for Toronto.
Individual Stat Leaders (5/13 - 6/10)
Hits
- Luis Arraez - 2B, Giants: 37 hits (.359 batting average)
- Shohei Ohtani - DH, Dodgers: 35 hits (.407 batting average)
- Otto Lopez - SS, Marlins: 34 hits (.347 batting average)
- Carson Benge - OF, NYM: 34 hits (.321 batting average)
- Fernando Tatis Jr. -OF, SD: 33 hits (.327 batting average)
Home Runs
- Nick Kurtz - 1B, Athletics: 10 home runs
- Yordan Alvarez - OF, Astros: 9 home runs
- Juan Soto - OF, Mets: 9 home runs
- Casey Schmitt - 1B/OF, Giants: 9 home runs
- Dillon Dingler - C, DET: 9 home runs
Steals
- Bobby Witt Jr. - SS, Royals: 11 steals
- Trea Turner - SS, Phillies: 10 steals
- Ronald Acuna Jr. - OF, Braves: 8 steals
- Randy Arozarena - OF, Mariners: 8 steals
- Jose Ramirez - 3B, Guardians: 8 steals
Strikeouts (K-BB%) - Starting Pitchers
- Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers: 32.8% K-BB%
- Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies: 30.2% K-BB%
- Chase Burns, Reds: 29.2% K-BB%
- Kyle Harrison, Brewers: 29.2% K-BB%
- Joe Ryan, Twins: 28.3% K-BB%
Saves
- Jhoan Duran, Phillies: 10 saves
- Cade Smith, Guardians: 9 saves
- Bryan Baker, Rays: 7 saves
- Paul Sewald, Diamondbacks: 6 saves
- Louis Varland, Blue Jays: 6 saves
- Mason Miller, Padres: 6 saves
- Raisel Iglesias, Braves: 6 saves
COVERS INTEL: The Brewers own a 
Bryce Harper
Ezequiel Tovar
