It's a getaway slate today, but home run props are still popping.
Alec Burleson has had Brady Singer's number, and Great American Ball Park is the best setting on the board, while right-handed bats get a boost vs. Robert Gasser, and Julio Rodriguez is answering the call.
Plus, Cam Smith is the bat that stands out vs. the gift of Grayson Rodriguez.
The big lefty bat has a plus-plus matchup today in the early game, and the price is still on the good side of three dollars.
Alec Burleson has taken Brady Singer deep twice in nine career plate appearances, and lefties have hit Singer hard this year. Left-handed hitters are batting .304 against Singer with 18 homers, compared to just six allowed to right-handed batters.
With the small slate today, it’s also a good time to pivot to the best HR setting on the board. Great American Ball Park is the best HR park in MLB and plays 17% better than the average park in terms of HR factors. The Reds’ bullpen also has the sixth-worst ERA in August, so the HR potential remains after Singer hits the showers.
Burleson has a great matchup and is 45 points above the fair price. He’s also swinging a great stick, with six homers and a 1.102 OPS in August.
Time: 12:40 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Reds.TV, Cardinals.TV
Home run pick: Julio Rodriguez (+442)
I have a need today for a right-handed bat against Milwaukee starter Robert Gasser, and Julio Rodríguez at +400 or better fits that need.
Gasser is coming off a career-high 102 pitches but averages 87 pitches per start, and he’s already at 100 innings this year after throwing just 90 innings combined in 2024 and 2025. After Shane Bieber, Gasser has the highest HR/9 over the last two seasons among all starters today.
Right-handed hitters are batting .290 against Gasser this year and account for 85% of the homers he’s allowed. That’s where J-Rod comes in. He leads the team in xwOBA this month, has gone deep three times, and leads all Seattle batters in WAR this month despite a negative defensive rating.
All the right-handed bats, including Taylor Ward and Randy Arozarena, are projecting +EV today.
Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Brewers.TV, Mariners.TV
Home run pick: Cam Smith (+575)
Grayson Rodriguez is always a great pitcher fade. He ranks in the bottom 50 among MLB starters in HR/9 and HR/FB rate, but those numbers could be even worse considering he’s been a little lucky.
Only three other starters have a worse HardHit% than G-Rod’s 48.6%, while his 35% ground-ball rate is also one of the worst in baseball.
Rodriguez is a 7.00 ERA pitcher who gets barreled and gives up plenty of fly balls. Lefties have hit him at a better rate, but right-handed hitters have done just as much damage when it comes to home runs.
Cam Smith at +575 stands out as the best play on the Houston side. He’s been the team’s best hitter this month, pacing the Astros in homers (4), slugging (.600) and wOBA (.427), while ranking second in HardHit% behind Yordan Alvarez.
Most bats in this Houston lineup are good bets at +475 or better.
Time: 8:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: ABTV, SCHN
Josh Inglis' 2026 Transparency Record
HR picks: 32-157, -4.07 units
Today’s HR combo
Alec Burleson
Trade Now +13440
Julio Rodriguez
Cam Smith
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 14: Pitching coach Mark Prior #99 of the Los Angeles Dodgers meets on the mound with Hunter Feduccia #46 and Edwin Díaz #3 during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium on August 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers just completed their third stretch this season playing 13 days in a row, going 8-5 in a stretch that was particularly taxing on a pitching staff in flux.
Getting Blake Snell back was a huge boon, and he pitched six innings and allowed just one run in each of hisfirst two starts back, totaling 15 strikeouts and looking very much like one of the starting pitchers the Dodgers will count on in October.
The other relievers needed the rest. Edwin Díaz and Tanner Scott each pitched five times in an eight-day stretch, as did Evan Phillips in a span that started just before the 13 game days in a row. Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer each pitched four times in six days. All five of those relievers pitched three times in four days during the 13-day stretch, Vesia doing so twice and Dreyer doing so three times if we count overlapping stretches.
“That’s the hard part, that a lot of people don’t have the information on availability and workload, and redlining guys, trying to keep guys healthy. I don’t have everyone available every single night, and what’s the cost of that night versus the next two or three games and looking also at the rest of the season,” manager Dave Roberts said last Friday. “Those things I gotta think through, and when you peel that layer back, then your options get a little bit smaller. Then you’re talking about lanes and what’s the best for a particular pitcher. All those things matter.”
In all, 17 different pitchers were used over the past 13 days. Vesia and Dreyer each pitched seven times in the 13 days, including three times in the last four days. Scott also pitched seven times in 13 days, including a season-high 27 pitches in a four-out save on Tuesday in Colorado followed by another save with a perfect 10th inning on Wednesday.
Charlie Barnes was not on the 40-man roster to start this 13-day stretch and he’s not on the 40-man roster now. But he was active for one game during the 13-day stretch, called up on August 10 only to be optioned the next day. It was the fourth time Barnes has been called up to the Dodgers this season, and the third time he’s been sent outright to the minors.
Even with the turnover, Dodgers pitching for the most part was pretty good during the 13-day stretch, going 8-5 with a collective 3.35 ERA.
Díaz is the exception, as he was terrible after returning from elbow surgery. He allowed nine runs in five innings during his six six games over the last 13 days, and blew three saves. The Dodgers were working on his mechanics to try to salvage what has otherwise been a lost season, but even that was derailed on Tuesday when he landed back on the injured list with neck inflammation.
Now the pitching staff can rest not only on Thursday, but the Dodgers have another off day on Monday as well, plus the following Monday, August 31.
The Dodgers won’t play 13 days in a row the rest of the season, though they do follow up playing the first nine days of September with a 10-day stretch, making for 19 games in 20 days to open the regular season’s final month. But active rosters expand to 28 players and 14 pitchers on September 1, so they will have one more arrow in the quiver at their disposal.
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Josh Inglis' expert pick: Giants vs Guardians Under 7.5
Price: 52¢ (-108) at Polymarket
There's still room for this fall from 52 cents, as some books are already as short as 55 cents. It’s a perfect getaway spot in an interleague afternoon game between two teams that combined for just one run yesterday.
The Giants have the tougher task with Gavin Williams on the mound, and San Francisco has scored just two runs in the series. The Giants have also scored one or fewer runs in five of their last 10 games and now head to Boston tonight after the game.
Cleveland’s offense has been shut out in three of its last six and has to travel to altitude tonight to open a series against the Rockies that they need to sweep. Landen Roupp isn’t a top-end pitcher, but he has handled sub-.500 teams well, with the Under not losing in his last seven starts against losing teams.
There is a chance this moves to a flat 7 today if the afternoon lineups are weak.
Time: 1:10 p.m. ET
How to watch: NBCSBA, CleGuardians.TV
Jon Metler's expert pick: Braves moneyline
Price: 52¢ (-108) at Polymarket
The Atlanta Braves are trading at 52 cents on Polymarket, but I make them closer to a 57-cent favorite, giving us a sizable edge at the current price.
The White Sox are expected to stack seven left-handed bats against righty Grant Holmes, but many of those hitters have long swings geared toward pull-side power. Holmes has an ideal counter, as he is comfortable attacking lefties with his four-seam fastball at the top of the zone to change their eye level before going to his best pitch, a sharp slider down and in, to finish the at-bat.
If Holmes can execute those two pitches, he should be able to generate plenty of swings and misses, allowing him to keep the White Sox offense in check.
Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
How to watch: BravesVision, CHSN
Dustin Saracini's expert pick: Blue Jays moneyline
Price: 41¢ (+145) at Polymarket
This is a good spot to take a shot. The Toronto Blue Jays have all the momentum after coming just a run short of completing a seemingly insurmountable comeback following a couple of mind-numbing errors from Jesus Sanchez in left field.
This type of resiliency should carry over against Tampa Bay Rays' Ian Seymour, who the Jays own a .325 average and .439 xSLG against across 40 at-bats.
On the other side is Shane Bieber, who's rocking a much more respectable 3.63 ERA in August after two strong starts against the New York Yankees and Houston Astros. With the Rays owning just a .290 xwOBA over 52 plate appearances against the right-hander, I'm riding the Jays to win their seventh straight series.
I'd play this up to 45 cents at Polymarket.
Time: 1:10 p.m. ET
How to watch: Rays.TV, SN
Joe Osborne's expert pick: Yankees vs Orioles Under 7.5
Price: 51¢ (-104) at Polymarket
Under 7.5 runs is the play in Baltimore, where Gerrit Cole should lead another strong Yankees pitching performance.
Cole has allowed only four earned runs across his last four starts, while nine of his last 10 starts have gone Under. He’s also backed by a bullpen that ranks second in ERA over the past two weeks.
New York’s offense has been awful during that same stretch, ranking 25th in OPS with MLB’s highest strikeout rate. That sets up well for Kyle Bradish, who has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his last six starts.
We could also get a boost from 11.4 mph winds blowing in at Camden Yards.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 4: Gabriel Hughes #43 of the Colorado Rockies throws to first after fielding a ball in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Coors Field on August 4, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We’re now in the top ten of the mid-season 2025 Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs) list. Previously we had PuRPs 30-26, 25-21, 20-16 and 15-11. As a reminder, in this edition of the PuRPs poll, 29 qualifying ballots were cast, with 30 points granted for a first place vote, 29 for second, etc.
For each player on the PuRPs list, I’ll include a link to individual stats and contract status (via Baseball-Reference), PuRPs voting stats, a note on the 2026 season to date, and a scouting report from a national prospect writer where possible. I’ll also include where I put each player on my personal ballot. All ages are as of the date the article is posted.
10. Wilder Dalis (586 points, 29 ballots) — Preseason Ranking: 24 — High Ballot 4; Mode Ballot 11
How did he enter the organization?
2023 International Free Agent, Venezuela
Why did he make the PuRPs list?
Dalis had an impressive stateside debut last year and has hit well again this year. The 20-year-old Venezuelan switch-hitting third baseman and shortstop was signed as an older 16-year-old in May 2023 (most of the highly touted prospects sign in January) to a $70k bonus. Dalis went straight to the Dominican Summer League and though he struggled in 2023 there (69 wRC+), he was much improved when he repeated the DSL in 2024 (144 wRC+, 21 SB, more walks than strikeouts).
Dalis was a key player for a very good Rockies ACL team in 2025. In 219 plate appearances, Dalis hit .352/.440/.525 with three homers, five triples, and 12 doubles along with 10 steals while walking in 13% of PA — good for a 149 wRC+ and a top 10 ranking in many offensive categories. He was even named the organizational player of the month for July. After the ACL season ended, Dalis got a late-July promotion to full-season ball with Low-A Fresno. In 31 games at the level, Dalis hit .241/.333/.379 (100 wRC+) in 137 plate appearances, including three homers and seven doubles. In the field, Dalis played mostly third base for the Complex team but saw nearly half of his action in Fresno at shortstop with some second base sprinkled in. He committed 10 errors in 58 games at third, four in 22 games at shortstop, and another two in six games at second base.
This year, Dalis went back to Fresno, where he was about two years younger than league average. It wasn’t a smooth start for him there, as he hit .194 in 87 April plate appearances. The Rockies removed Dalis from the roster in early May (likely an injury), sending him back to the Complex League in early June for a week of games before he returned to Fresno in mid-June. That stint proved far more successful and Dalis saw his bat come alive, hitting for a .900 OPS in June and then a scorching .374/.444/.727 July that included eight homers and ten steals, earning him the player of the month award for the California League in July. Purple Row’s Samantha Bradfield was also able to interview Dalis during his time in the Complex.
Dalis got a bump up to High-A Spokane last week, where he is 3.5 years younger than league average. In six games there so far, he’s 4-for-18 (including a double and triple) with five walks and five strikeouts. Between the ACL, Low-A, and High-A this year, Dalis has a .296/.396/.545 line with 16 homers among his 39 extra-base-hits along with 25 steals in 28 attempts, good for a 135 wRC+. Dalis is walking in 13% of plate appearances while striking out in 24% of them and he’s been much more potent from the left side of the plate with a .996 OPS against a .735 OPS from the right. In the field, Dalis has split his time roughly evenly between second, shortstop, and third — committing 12 errors to date across those positions.
Here’s some video of Dalis in Fresno this past season, including some slo-mo looks at his swing:
What do the scouts say?
FanGraphs ranks Dalis as a 45+ FV prospect, sixth in the system with a 50 future hit tool to go along with future 55 grades on his raw power, speed, and defense:
[Dalis is] an athletic kid with quick hands and a whippy swing, and he has a puncher’s chance to turn into a low-end five tool player.
Dalis is a switch-hitter with similar swings from both sides of the plate. He has a lofted cut and direct path, with some ability to flatten the barrel on balls up. As it is for many his age, spin is a problem, and the way he pulls off the plate limits his ability to cover the outer half slightly. These are relatively minor quibbles for a teenager with above-average bat speed and bat-to-ball skills, though.
Defensively, Dalis has bounced all over the infield as a pro, and a future at shortstop isn’t out of the question. He has the actions and range of a middle infielder and just enough arm for the left side of the diamond. The safest guess is that he winds up at second, but if given 10 chips and an assignment to place bets on his ultimate home, I’d have tokens on all three spots.
Dalis was a standout this spring. In our looks, he took good at-bats, showed the capacity to make adjustments, and demonstrated that he can square up a good fastball above the belt. More tangibly, after posting a max exit velo of 108 mph last year, he hit a few balls that hard or close to it in the handful of at-bats we observed. It’s early, and caveats about going nuts on spring training looks apply to minor leaguers too, but the arrow sure looks like it’s up here.
Dalis is a Venezuelan infielder who hit extremely well in the ACL last year as an 18-year-old and then struggled with offspeed recognition in a brief stint in Low A to end the year. He played mostly third base with a little second and short, probably a utility profile but young enough that he could still have more upside and end up a regular if he tightens the approach.
Dalis gets some high praise from those who have been around the Rockies a while, earning comps to Ezequiel Tovar at a similar age in terms of how he plays the game. The switch-hitter has shown the ability to swing it from both sides of the plate, though he was stronger as a left-handed hitter in 2025, with a hit-over-power profile. He has gap power now with doubles-type pop, but he also isn’t close to being physically mature, so there could be more power to come in the future.
Hopefully, that doesn’t come at the expense of his speed and athleticism. He can steal a base and he has the agility to stay up the middle defensively, with an ease of operation defensively that’s fun to watch. He’ll keep seeing time at three infield positions and while he played he’s played mostly on the left side of the infield, some think second base might be his best shot as a long-term home if he turns into a table-setting every day type of player.
When’s he going to get to the Rockies and how good will he be once he’s there?
Dalis is an arrow up prospect with his performance and his scouting reports as well, forcing his way to High-A. He offers tremendous defensive utility while showing good power, patience, and is a switch-hitter to boot. That’s why I ranked him as a 45+ FV player, sixth on my ballot. Dalis will probably be back at High-A next year (where he’ll again be among the youngest players in the league), after which he’ll be Rule 5 eligible, so it’s possible the Rockies will want to get him a look at Double-A pitching by then.
9. Logan Reddemann (590 points, 28 ballots) — Preseason Ranking: NR — High Ballot 6; Mode Ballot 9
How did he enter the organization?
2026 Second Round, UCLA
Why did he make the PuRPs list?
Reddemann was the first pick in the second round this year, 38th overall, out of UCLA. The 21-year-old 6’2” right-handed pitcher was picked one slot behind fellow PuRP Daniel Jackson but received a $2.63 million bonus that was just below slot for the pick but was $333k higher than Jackson’s. As a prospect, Reddemann has mid to upper-90s heat paired with three different decent breaking balls as well as a cutter and good command. It’s a starter’s profile with some polish and good upside.
Reddemann began his college career with two years at the University of San Diego, then saw his prospect stock take off after transferring to UCLA for this season. Reddemann got some buzz as a top-15 draftee earlier this spring but that backed up a bit due to a flexor strain that limited him to just ten starts and 59.2 innings. The righty made good use of those innings though, posting a 2.87 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 12.7 K/9 rate, and 1.7 BB/9 rate. In other words Reddemann struck out nearly 36% of batters he faced while walking less than 5% of them. To wit, in one April start against Rutgers, Reddemann struck out 18 hitters in eight innings while walking just one in just 104 pitches.
Reddemann hasn’t made any professional appearances yet, but he will likely be ticketed for High-A Spokane next year given his advanced arsenal.
In mid-April, Reddemann was a lock to go in the top half of the first round, likely to go in the top 10, and maybe even approaching Jackson Flora as the top pitcher in the class. Then he got hurt and all bets have been off. A transfer from the University of San Diego, Reddemann showed plus control of a three-pitch arsenal with a 93-96 mph fastball that has late life up in the zone, a power slider, and changeup that can at least flash plus, and his command was among the best anywhere in the draft class. He has plus control — maybe plus command, too — of a 93-96-mph fastball with late life up, a power slider and a changeup that shows plus. He barely threw his cutter during the first month of the season, but was using it more in his last five-to-six starts and it missed nearly 50 percent of bats when hitters swung. He could be a real four-pitch pitcher with command and control, which, as you might guess, would have made him one of the very best pitchers in the class.
UCLA right-hander Logan Reddemann (2) was headed for a top 10 pick before the injury bug bit him. The Bruins called it arm fatigue, then called it a flexor injury, but never said the word “elbow” that I can tell. Before the injury, he was 93-96 with excellent command, working with a hard slider and a 55-60 changeup. He’d started using his cutter more as the spring went on before he got hurt. He returned to throw at the MLB Draft Combine, with his stuff down slightly. He has No. 2 starter upside when healthy.
Reddemann added strength and velocity, while all of his repertoire improved. His fastball now sits around 95-96 mph, and he’s touched as high as 99 mph, getting plenty of swings-and-misses with the pitch. In the past, his best secondary offering had been his changeup, and the 84-85 mph pitch still has the chance to be a plus offering in the future. But his go-to this year was a hard 87-91 mph cutter, a pitch he’s shown he can throw to both sides of the plate against both lefties and righties, with an ability to bury it on the corners. He also unveiled a newer, sweepier low-80s slider, and he’ll use an 80-82 mph curve to get ahead early in counts.
Even with the uptick in velocity, Reddemann continued to fill up the strike zone with all of his offerings, and deception in his delivery helps all of it play up. He’s super-competitive on the mound, and scouts who saw him in San Diego have been impressed in the way he changed his breaking-ball profile and stepped up his game in his Draft year.
Reddemann has a funky, high-tempo delivery, but he repeats it well, the arm circle is relatively short, and he has no problem pounding the zone with his entire arsenal. He leans on his fastball and throws fairly hard, if without bat-missing shape. The heat sets up his secondaries, which are mature more than they are nasty. The change in particular stands out. It can be hard for guys with this kind of delivery to sell the cambio, but Reddemann maintains arm speed well and reliably misses bats when he locates competitively (he’s prone to spiking it). He’s also got a slider and a curve, the former of which he executes well enough to miss bats, while the latter works as a change-of-pace strike pitch. No one pitch or trait stands out on its own, but everything here is pretty good. He has the upside of a no. 3/4 starter.
When’s he going to get to the Rockies and how good will he be once he’s there?
Thanks to his advanced command and four pitch mix, Reddemann is a safer bet to remain a starter than others in the system. The arsenal was potent this year, but soon it will be time to test it against professional hitters. I’m optimistic about Reddemann’s ability to move quickly through the system given the profile and ranked him 7th on my ballot as a 45 FV player.
8. Jared Thomas (598 points, 29 ballots) — Preseason Ranking: 5 — High Ballot 2, Mode Ballot 14
How did he enter the organization?
2024 Second Round, University of Texas
Why did he make the PuRPs list?
Thomas went 42nd-overall to the Rockies as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2024, signing for an under-slot $2 million. He got that bonus due to excellent bat-to-ball skills, some emerging power, and above-average speed that gives him a high floor offensively. The 23-year-old, 6’2” lefty spent most of his time defensively at Texas (where he played alongside fellow PuRP Max Belyeu) playing first base, but he has split his time in center and left field as a professional, with slightly more time in left.
A strong 2024 cameo in Low-A Fresno (146 wRC+) was cut to only eight games when Thomas went down with a quad injury, but the Rockies saw enough to bump Thomas up to High-A Spokane to begin 2025. In Spokane, Thomas absolutely raked, hitting .330/.427/.495 with 11 homers among his 25 extra-base hits and going 22/24 on steals in 342 plate appearances (147 wRC+). His batting average led the Northwest League while his OBP was third and his OPS was fourth. The Rockies promoted Thomas on July 1st to Double-A Hartford, where he was 2.5 years younger than league average.
Facing upper-minors pitching, Thomas cooled down a bit, hitting a still respectable .245/.347/.374 with three homers among his 14 extra-base hits and 11 steals in 191 plate appearances, which is a 113 wRC+. Thomas struck out in 35% of his Double-A PA and had a decently large platoon split, producing a .726 OPS against lefties vs. a .874 OPS against righties (with a large home/road OPS split of .989/.696 as well). In the field, Thomas committed all six of his errors in left field but had four of his seven outfield assists from center field.
Thomas ended 2025 with a stint in the Arizona Fall League, during which he hit .302/.343/.524 with two homers (including a grand slam) among his nine extra-base hits with eight steals in just 67 plate appearances, but unfortunately a broken hamate bone ended his time in the AFL prematurely.
As Purple Row’s Eli Whitney noted earlier this week in his interview with Thomas (I highly recommend checking it out for much more on Thomas), that hamate injury was the beginning of a tough off-season and 2026 season for Thomas. The hamate surgery didn’t take, so a doctor identified and cleared out a bone spur on Thomas’s metacarpal during or just after spring training. Thomas began his 2026 in the Complex League to build up for the season and was along for the ride as the team won the ACL title last month. Thomas made his way back to Hartford in late July, where he is 1.7 years younger than league average. In nine games so far, Thomas is hitting .270/.342/.351 with a homer and three steals in 41 plate appearances while playing both center and left.
Here’s some video of Thomas in the 2025 Arizona Fall League:
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Thomas is an average athlete who moves well for his size. He began his pro career playing primarily center field, but when he moved to Hartford, he slid to left field, which is a better long-term fit. Thomas’ move to Double-A also exposed the key area of concern: swing-and-miss issues, particularly against better sequencing and breaking stuff. Still, when he makes contact, it is often loud contact—supported by consistently high exit velocities and quality barrel rates.
Thomas can show you easy plus power — he hit a ball in the Arizona Fall League that probably hasn’t come down yet, putting it in the Charro Lodge in right field at Scottsdale Stadium, with an EV of 111 mph — but he doesn’t hold it through the year, wearing down in the second half before he got a break between the regular season and the AFL. He needs to keep that strength and muscle, and needs to really tighten up his approach; he misses a little too much in zone and swings a little too much at stuff out of zone, enough to add up to a 34.5 percent strikeout rate in Double A last year. He broke a hamate bone in the AFL, so his power may not be there when he returns this spring. There’s an everyday center fielder package here, somewhere, but he’s got to hit enough to get to it and show he can maintain that power through a whole season.
When 100 percent, [Thomas is] very hitterish from the left side of the plate with a smooth swing that helps him typically barrel up baseballs consistently with sneaky power. When he got to Double-A, he did have more trouble recognizing spin, leading to high miss rates against breaking stuff. He’s dug into his swing decisions with the Rockies’ new hitting team to re-establish his approach.
An above-average runner who swiped 33 bags in 2025, Thomas has enough defensive chops to play center field, though he might be best in a corner, and has seen more time in left field than anywhere else. A post-hamate injury Thomas who sticks to his game plan at the plate could be mashing balls at Coors Field in the near future.
FanGraphs ranks Thomas 12th in the system as a 40+ FV player, highlighted by a 55 future raw power grade to go with 50 speed and fielding future grades:
[Thomas] has the skill set of a power-hitting fourth outfielder, with above-average raw and a little defensive versatility but a shaky hit tool. Thomas has a big move in his swing, with a high leg kick, a big hand load, and a long path. The combination of that and average bat speed makes it hard to direct the barrel and adjust off the fastball. We got a glimpse of the challenge ahead when he was promoted to Double-A midway through last year. After dominating High-A, he struck out in 34.6% of his plate appearances in Hartford and his slugging percentage tumbled more than 100 points.
Defensively, Thomas is average in a corner and stretched in center field. He’s an average runner with underbaked reads and tracking skills, and in Coors specifically, you’d much rather have him in left or right. One other thing to note: Thomas broke his hamate in the Arizona Fall League last year and saw limited game action this spring. The effects of this particular injury can linger, and so it behooves all parties to be patient if Thomas starts slowly in 2026. Regardless, he’s tracking like a low-variance fourth outfielder.
When’s he going to get to the Rockies and how good will he be once he’s there?
Thomas progressed beyond my expectations for him in 2025, producing at an above-average level in Double-A just a year after getting drafted. Even with a mostly lost year in 2026, Thomas is knocking at the door to the big leagues if he can work his way through the outfield logjam above him. Thomas’s ability to at least fake it in center field could be useful in setting him apart, but of course it’s going to be the bat that carries him to big league success.
I was encouraged by how Thomas performed in his first professional season and ranked him 10th on my list as a 45 FV player. I expect he’ll begin 2027 back in Hartford but will be a big league candidate by the end of the season.
7. Gabriel Hughes (654 points, 29 ballots) — Preseason Ranking: 12 — High Ballot 2; Mode Ballot 7
How did he enter the organization?
2022 First Round, Gonzaga University
Why did he make the PuRPs list?
This is the final PuRPs appearance for Hughes, who went 10th overall in 2022 and signed for an under-slot $4 million bonus out of Gonzaga, because he has recently exhausted his rookie eligibility. The 24-year-old (he’ll turn 25 this Saturday) 6’4” right-hander was ranked more as a late-first rounder than a top-10 pick by national prospect watchers at the time, but the Rockies obviously liked the starter’s frame, feel for pitching and the three-pitch mix. The former two-way player has a fastball that sits in the low-mid 90s and a bulldog mentality that has been compared to Max Scherzer (you can see some of that in the video below).
Hughes is now over three years removed from a Tommy John surgery that cut a promising first full professional season short and delayed his climb to the big leagues. Hughes pitched well in High-A in his first full professional season in 2023 and mostly held his own in Double-A Hartford as one of the younger players in the league before the injury that necessitated Tommy John surgery in July. Hughes rehabbed the injury throughout the 2024 season but was able to make Colorado’s Arizona Fall League roster, during which time scouts reported his stuff had largely returned post-surgery and he was working on developing his breaking balls.
In 2025, Hughes returned to Hartford — in nine starts there, Hughes got good results in short bursts (he was limited to five innings per start), throwing 41 innings with a 3.07 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 7.7 K/9 rate, and 1.8 BB/9 rate — earning him a late-May promotion to Triple-A Albuquerque. In the tough Pacific Coast League, Hughes faced an uphill climb. In 14 starts there, Hughes (as expected) posted worse run prevention numbers across the board (5.11 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 7.0 K/9 rate, 4.2 BB/9 rate) in 61.2 innings. These starts were interrupted by a month-long IL stint between mid June and late July (and a brief rehab start in the ACL). After returning, Hughes ramped up his pitch count (the highest was 96) and pitched into the sixth inning in three straight starts.
Though Hughes didn’t blow upper minors hitting away in 2025 or go super deep into games, his blended 4.19 ERA in 105.1 innings in 24 starts was an encouraging sign in his first full season post-Tommy John. It was enough for the Rockies to add Hughes to the 40-man roster this offseason.
This year, Hughes was back in Albuquerque. He made six appearances in March/April and got roughed up before landing on the IL for over a month. Hughes made two rehab starts in High-A near his college stomping grounds in Spokane, then returned to Albuquerque in mid-June. Hughes made three starts and was nearly unhittable, allowing zero runs on four hits and five walks with 16 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. That was enough for Hughes to get the call up to the Show on July 1st, where he’s remained ever since.
Hughes started his big league career off with a three inning save in a blowout win, but all his subsequent seven appearances have been starts, including a quality start in his first start. Hughes has been knocked around over his last three starts, but he’s now accumulated 37.2 innings in the big leagues with a 6.69 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 7.9 K/9 rate, and 3.1 BB/9 rate. Hughes has strong peripherals, which is why his 4.22 xFIP is so much lower than his ERA and why his 0.8 fWAR (based on FIP) is so different than the results-oriented -0.1 rWAR total.
Here’s some video on Hughes from 2024 instructs and the AFL courtesy of FanGraphs:
Hughes went 10th overall in the 2022 draft, which was a surprise, as most evaluators had him ranked at least a dozen picks lower. He’s occasionally looked like that kind of pitching prospect — including in a lights-out look against the Dodgers’ big leaguers the following spring — but for the most part, Hughes has tracked like a backend arm. His long and deep arm stroke limits his ability to hit spots, which isn’t ideal for a guy with no plus pitch on the ledger, particularly since Hughes’ stuff was also down in his return from Tommy John last year. He was sitting just 90-93 and with correspondingly less bite on each of his breaking balls than he had at his pre-surgery peak. He didn’t miss many bats at either Double- or Triple-A, and barring a significant bounce back in the quality of his repertoire, he’s now tracking like a no. 5 with middle relief fallback.
Hughes’ stuff is down from pre-surgery, as he was sitting 90-92 in Triple A last year with fringe-average breaking stuff, bearing in mind that Albuquerque is about a mile high (with help from Walter White) and that may be contributing to Hughes’ problems. It was Hughes’ first year back post-surgery, so I want to believe the stuff will tick up with another year; as is, he’s a reliever, and probably would be better off in the majors than going back to pitch on the surface of a small Jovian moon again.
MLB Pipeline ranked Hughes 14th on the system list last year as a 45 FV player with a 55 slider grade to pair with 50 grades on the fastball, curveball, and control:
Hughes was able to use his 17 1/3 innings in the AFL to shake some of the rust off and the good news is that his stuff looked pretty much back to where it was pre-injury. His fastball averaged 93 mph and touched 96, thrown with good sink to frequently get ground-ball contact. His cutter-like slider was regularly in the mid 80s, a hard breaker that flashed plus in the past, and he has some feel to spin a slower 80-82 mph curve, though it’s behind the harder breaking ball. His upper-80s changeup is starting to improve as well.
Throw out Hughes’ surface numbers in the AFL given they came from his first post-surgery innings. He generally was around the zone previously, though his up-tempo delivery could get out of sync and cause timing issues, which in turn would lead to control problems. His ceiling might be somewhat limited, but once he really puts TJ behind him, he could be a big league back-end starter soon.
When’s he going to get to the Rockies and how good will he be once he’s there?
Hughes is now a Major League starting pitcher, full stop, which puts him above what many in this list so far will ever achieve. He’s got some pedigree and polish, though he probably won’t be a star, which is why I ranked him as a 40+ FV player, 13th on my list. Colorado’s starter depth entering 2027 is pretty dire, so Hughes is auditioning for a longer-term gig in the rotation down the stretch this year.
Tomorrow, it’s time to enter the upper echelon of the mid-season 2026 PuRPs list!
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 09: Brady Singer #51 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches in the first inning during the baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park on August 9, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds hold just a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs as of writing on Thursday morning, that coming from the fine folks at FanGraphs. The St. Louis Cardinals, though, are still clinging to a much more realistic miracle scenario with a 9.5% chance.
So, if the Reds are going to get anything tangible out of this dismal 2026 season, perhaps it needs to come in the form of playing spoiler for their most bitter of rivals.
The Reds can claim victory in this endless five-game series against their National League Central rivals with a win on Thursday afternoon. Sal Stewart’s late heroics on Wednesday night means the two teams have split the four games they have played so far this week, and Brady Singer will lead Cincinnati into the series finale in Great American Ball Park beginning at 12:40 PM ET Thursday.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: Gage Jump #79 of the Athletics throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning of a spring training game at Las Vegas Ballpark on March 07, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Angels defeated the Athletics 3-0. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Okay, it’s not funny anymore. The A’s have blown two late leads and now find themselves staring down the barrel of another series loss. No, a series sweep. To the Royals, who like us are in the cellar of their division. Where did the fight go?
It’s Gage Jump on the bump this afternoon. He’s slowly come out of his first real rough patch, pitching into the sixth and allowing just three runs to the Texas Rangers. He brings an overall 4.50 ERA into this contest, a number he’d like to get down by the end of the day.
No major surprises today. Bolte atop the lineup again, and our double play duo today will be Darell Hernaiz and Donovan Walton.
Meanwhile the Royals have right-hander Randy Dobnak going for them today. Dobnak, a longtime Twin, has bounced around for the past couple years but it making the most of his chance with Kansas City. In eight games the righty has tossed 41 2/3 innings and is sporting a pristine 1.73 ERA. He’s coming into this one on a high note as well after firing nearly six full shutout innings against the Angels last time out.
MILWAUKEE — Pat Murphy doesn’t sound like the manager of a team with the best record in the major leagues as he discusses what the Milwaukee Brewers have accomplished thus far.
“I don’t think we’ve played great,” the two-time reigning NL manager of the year said. “We haven’t really jelled. We haven’t really come together.”
The Brewers’ results tell a different story.
Milwaukee appears well on its way to earning its eighth playoff berth in the last nine seasons as it chases a fourth consecutive NL Central title. The Brewers won three of four from the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers and trounced Seattle 22-0 before their four-game winning streak ended with a 7-5 loss to the Mariners.
“There’s so much that I see that needs to improve, yet you look up and everybody’s saying, ‘Wow, I love the way you play,’ “ Murphy said. “And I look funny and I look behind me, and I see if they’re talking to someone else. Really? Maybe I’m too critical. Maybe I’m missing something. I don’t know. I do trust the team.”
They’ve been rewarding that trust.
Surviving a 17-day grind
The Brewers just completed a 17-day run that included no days off, one complete West Coast trip and part of another. They went 10-7 during that stretch.
After losing three straight games at San Diego, the Brewers responded by winning a series with the Dodgers, who swept them out of the NL Championship Series last year. After finally getting a day off, the Brewers delivered their 22-0 blowout of Seattle that matched the most one-sided shutout in modern MLB history.
“I think it says we’re a good baseball team,” first baseman Jake Bauers said. “I think in tough times it can be easy to lose sight of that, but we have the right people around to bounce back when things get tough, and we have the right people around to continue to play winning baseball.”
Milwaukee has needed to stay hot to remain ahead of the Chicago Cubs, who have won 11 of their last 16 games and are 4 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the NL Central standings. The Brewers and Cubs face off in a four-game series Aug. 31-Sept. 3 at Wrigley Field before meeting again for three games in Milwaukee from Sept. 7-9.
During that grueling 17-day run, the Brewers encountered some criticism for their inability to acquire two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. The Brewers made a strong push to land Skubal, only to see the Detroit Tigers send him to the Dodgers instead.
Having NL Cy Young Award front-runner Jacob Misiorowski and Skubal fronting a starting rotation in a playoff series would have given the Brewers perhaps their best shot at making the postseason breakthrough that has eluded them during the franchise’s longest run of sustained success. The Brewers haven’t reached a World Series since 1982 and have never won it all.
Continuing to win without adding Skubal
Logan Henderson, an outstanding rookie pitcher the Brewers chose to keep rather than including in a trade, outdueled Skubal in the series finale at Los Angeles. The 6-2 victory improved Henderson’s record to 7-2 with a 2.70 ERA.
The Brewers pivoted after the Skubal trade by acquiring former St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Dustin May, who is seeking to become the latest in a growing list of starting pitchers to improve after joining the Brewers. Left-hander Kyle Harrison, who also is thriving in his first year in Milwaukee, attributes that trend to Milwaukee’s pitching coaching staff of Chris Hook, Jim Henderson and Juan Sandoval.
“They’re so good at just knowing who you are as an individual and knowing what you need,” Harrison said. “Shoot, yeah, they’ve been doing it for a while now, too, so it’s pretty cool to have those guys you can trust and rely on.”
The Brewers believe they have the makings of a quality playoff rotation with Misiorowski, Henderson, Harrison and May. Milwaukee has withstood injuries that knocked two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff out for the season and prevented Quinn Priester from pitching at all this year.
Milwaukee’s lineup has produced the fewest homers in the big leagues, yet the Brewers remain among the top five teams in scoring. Bauers’ breakthrough season has helped the Brewers overcome down years from 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich and three-time All-Star William Contreras.
Without naming names, Murphy said: “I watch some of our leaders that might not be getting the results, but the way they handle everybody else is pretty impressive.” Murphy added that might be one of the keys to this team’s success.
Another simply is the ability to continue competing even when things aren’t going smoothly.
“Maybe that’s the secret,” Murphy said. “Maybe this team still plays well enough to be close when they’re not at their best.”
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 12: Sean Murphy #12 of the Atlanta Braves returns to the dugout during the second inning against the New York Mets at Truist Park on August 12, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Before we get to the Pokemon card collector battle that is Sale vs. Misiorowski tomorrow afternoon, there’s one left to play in Chicago.
Returning to Rate Field, the Braves will be trying to salvage a series against Anthony Kay and the Chicago White Sox starting at 2:10 pm ET.
With the lefty Kay set to start, Ronald Acuña Jr. is back in the leadoff spot. Sean Murphy will take over the catching duties today so Drake Baldwin gets a bit of a break as today’s designated hitter. Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies are in their usual places and bases. Lane Thomas is the most experienced against Kay with a .444 average in 10 plate appearances and is hitting fifth above Michael Harris II. We might be in our Mauricio-Dubón-everyday-shortstop era as he’s slotted in at seventh (and hopefully mostly cooled down from yesterday’s yelling match with umpire Carlos Torres). Austin Riley will hit eighth, and Murph will follow.
Left fielder Sam Antonacci will lead off for the White Sox. As noted in the preview, the Braves will see Munetaka Murakami for the first time this afternoon, where he’ll be hitting second and manning first base. Miguel Vargas will be in the other hot corner and batting third. Andrew Benintendi will serve as DH in the cleanup spot, followed by right fielder Braden Montgomery, who had a storybook debut at the Braves’ expense in June. Shortstop Colson Montgomery and second baseman Chase Meidroth will hit sixth and seventh followed by center fielder Tristan Peters. Drew Romo rounds out the batting order and will be behind the plate to catch Kay.
It's been a solid 5-1 SU run this week, and my MLB player props are once again trying to smash this short-slate Thursday.
Gerrit Cole doesn’t have the leash to pass up his Under 6.5 strikeouts at plus money, Kyle Bradish hasn’t hit this Over in eight straight starts and is somehow plus money for the Under, and Robert Gasser is coming off a career-high in pitches, which sets up the Under on his inflated outs total.
These are my favorite pitcher and strikeout props for Thursday, Aug. 20.
Best MLB strikeout props and starting pitcher picks today
Player
Pick
Odds
Gerrit Cole
Under 6.5 strikeouts
+102
Kyle Bradish
Under 5.5 strikeouts
+117
Robert Gasser
Under 17.5 outs
-110
Strikeout prop: Gerrit Cole Under 6.5 strikeouts (+102)
Gerrit Cole has pitched more than six innings just twice over his 15 starts, as the Yankees are still a little cautious with him and will likely pull him after 18 outs even if he’s sitting under 90 pitches. He’s also more of a K-per-inning pitcher, and is 2-6 O/U on this total on the road this year.
Getting six or fewer Ks on 18 outs at plus money was my first pitcher bet of the day.
THE BAT is projecting 6.0 strikeouts on 88 pitches, which still leaves plenty of room if he does get to 95 pitches, something he’s done in just 40% of his last 10 starts. The fair price on this prop with those projections is -150, making this one of the best +EV pitcher props on the board today.
There’s also some rain risk, which can only help the Under.
Time: 6:35 p.m. ET
Where to watch: MASN, YES
Strikeout prop: Kyle Bradish Under 5.5 strikeouts (+117)
The last time Kyle Bradish topped this number was June 22. Since then, he's gone eight straight starts with five or fewer Ks, totaling just 30 punchouts over 44 innings.
He is not a K-per-inning pitcher this year and had failed to reach 40 innings in back-to-back seasons heading into 2026 because of injuries. He returned from Tommy John surgery in 2025 and has already thrown 133 innings this year, so the workload is getting heavy and could be scaled back.
Bradish hasn’t gone beyond six innings in five straight starts, and the possible rain in Baltimore isn’t going to help. He had a rain-shortened start earlier this month in which he threw just three innings and didn’t come back out.
The Yankees are a good K matchup, but that’s already priced in. I want this plus-money Under on a pitcher who hasn’t touched this total in eight straight starts and could be seeing his workload scaled back.
I’d play this to even money and have this at better than a coin-flip.
Time: 6:35 p.m. ET
Where to watch: MASN, YES
Pitcher out prop: Robert Gasser Under 17.5 outs (-110)
Robert Gasser is coming off a career-high 102 pitches last game, where he went beyond 18 outs for just the second time in 14 games. He’s already at 100 innings this year after throwing just 80 combined innings over the previous two seasons.
The leash could be shorter and the efficiency could be down — a perfect setup for an Under 17.5 outs at a great price.
In his five games before that 102-pitch outing five days ago, Gasser threw 94, 76, 77, 86, and 58 pitches. The Brewers burned some arms last night, but they still have their top four high-leverage arms available, and their top three big arms haven’t been used since Sunday.
Gasser is 4-10 O/U on this total this season and struggles against right-handed bats, with a handful of them in the Seattle lineup capable of making a difference today.
The projection is 84 pitches and 15.56 outs, making this a five-star prop at this total.
Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Brewers.TV, Mariners.TV
Josh Inglis' 2026 Transparency Record
Prop picks: 19-16, +4.92 units
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The Seattle Mariners (60-67) bounced back with a 7-5 win on Wednesday night over the Milwaukee Brewers (78-49) following the historic 22-0 throttling on Tuesday.
Seattle sits 2.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot in the American League after Wednesday's win. The Mariners are 3-1 in the last four games and 4-2 over the past six. The Mariners are hitting .276 in the past week (7th) with 27 runs scored over five games (T-13th). However, due to allowing 22 runs, Seattle ranks last in ERA (7.86) and OBA (.308) in that span, plus bottom three in all of August.
Milwaukee is also 3-1 in the last four games and 4-2 over the previous six. The Brewers sit atop of the NL Central by 4.5 games and are 1.5 games ahead of the Dodgers for the best record in the NL. Milwaukee's pitching staff has the fifth-best ERA in August (3.19), plus the second-best OBA (.210). Robert Gasser takes the mound and Milwaukee is 8-2 in his last 10 starts and 4-1 over the past five.
Let’s dive into today's matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Mariners at Brewers
Date: Thursday, August 20, 2026
Time: 2:10 PM EST
Site: American Family Field
City: Milwaukee, WI
Network/Streaming: MLB TV
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Cal Raleigh is hitting .104 in August (5/48) with two home runs and 18 strikeouts
Julio Rodriguez is hitting .267 in August (16/60) with three home runs and 18 strikeouts
Randy Arozarena is hitting .234 in August (15/64) with four home runs and five RBI
Christian Yelich is hitting .173 in August (9/52) with seven RBI and 17 strikeouts
Jake Bauers is hitting .308 in August (16/52) with 13 walks and 15 strikeouts
Brice Turang is hitting .200 in August (11/55) with 19 strikeouts to eight walks
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Mariners at Brewers
Seattle is an MLB-worst 48-79 ATS
Milwaukee is 66-61 ATS
Seattle is 63-57-7 to the Over, ranking eighth-best
Milwaukee is 69-55-3 to the Under, ranking fourth-best
Seattle is an MLB-worst 25-40 ATS on the road
Milwaukee is 36-29 ATS at home, ranking fifth-best
Expert picks & predictions for today's game between the Mariners and the Brewers
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday's game between the Mariners and the Brewers:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Brewers on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Brewers at -1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Under on the Game Total of 8.0
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Jacob deGrom is set for another chance to become the second-fastest pitcher to 2,000 career strikeouts when he is scheduled to start for the Texas Rangers a week after only pitching two innings in his previous game because of triceps fatigue.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said deGrom recovered well after a bullpen session the previous day, and will start the series finale against Washington.
“Feels good, so good to go,” Schumaker said, adding that deGrom won’t be on any specific limitations. “We’ll watch it and just kind of talk to him in between innings to make sure everything’s good.”
The two-time Cy Young Award winner has 1,998 strikeouts in 1,660 1/3 innings over 271 starts since his big league debut in 2014. DeGrom has 147 strikeouts in 120 2/3 innings this season.
Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson got his 2,000th strikeout in his 262nd game for the quickest by games, ahead of Clayton Kershaw’s 277. Chris Sale holds the record by innings at 1,626, with Yu Davish’s 1,697 1/3 currently second.
At 38, DeGrom (8-8, 3.95 ERA) is trying to become the ninth active player and 94th all-time to reach the milestone. He would be the fourth this season, following Kevin Gausman, Sonny Gray and Aaron Nola.
DeGrom struck out three in the two innings he pitched in a 7-0 loss at the Los Angeles Angels, when he gave up two runs and five hits in a 32-pitch second inning. He has also been dealing with left hip and glute issues over the past month or so.
“He’s got a lot going on ... so any extra days right now at this time of the year for our pitchers are huge,” Schumaker said. “But for DeGrom to get the extra rest, I know he didn’t want it, but for everything going on, hopefully it’s beneficial.”
After his Cy Young Awards with the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019, and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season when he led the National League in strikeouts for the second year in a row, deGrom made only 35 starts total from 2021-24 because of a series of injuries. He missed most of 2023 and 2024 because of elbow surgery after making only six starts in his first season with Texas.
The active leader with 3,554 strikeouts is Justin Verlander, who at 43 is the oldest player in the majors and is retiring after this season. He has made only one start this year for Detroit, on March 30 before going on the injured list because of left hip inflammation. He then sustained a left hamstring strain during a bullpen session in mid-June.
Verlander is eighth on the career list, 20 behind Hall of Famer Don Sutton for seventh. The strikeout king is Nolan Ryan with 5,714 over 27 seasons before he retired in 1993 at age 46.
In the history of any franchise, you can pick out a handful of keystone signings that help usher in a new chapter in the annals of the team. A decade of mismanagement under CBS ownership left the Yankees in the wilderness, contributing to a 14-year World Series drought, the longest in the franchise’s history since the nascent years as the Highlanders.
With George Steinbrenner’s purchase of the team and promise to return the once-proud franchise to their glory years, changes were on the horizon. Fading into the review mirror were the days of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, meaning a new slate of stars had to be assembled in the Bronx. Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Goose Gossage, Willie Randolph, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry, Lou Piniella, Chris Chambliss, Mickey Rivers, Ed Figueroa, and Bucky Dent all arrived in the first half of the 1970s via the Draft, trade, or free agency to form the core of the eventual back-to-back World Series winning Bronx Zoo. However, it was the 1973 trade for Graig Nettles that truly signaled the sea change in the franchise’s fortunes.
Graig Nettles Born: August 20, 1944 (San Diego, CA) Yankees Tenure: 1973-83
Graig Nettles was born on August 20, 1944, in San Diego, CA, the second of three sons to Wayne — a former police officer and high school teacher — and Florence Nettles. He was a star dual athlete for San Diego High School, earning a scholarship to play college basketball before switching to baseball as an upperclassman. He was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round of the inaugural 1965 amateur draft after starring over the summers for the semi-professional Alaska Goldpanners in Fairbanks.
Under the tutelage of his future manager with the Yankees, Billy Martin, then managing in the Twins minor league system, Nettles rose quickly though the levels. He was handed a pair of September cups of coffee in 1967 and 1968 before Martin’s promotion as the big league manager in 1969 earned Nettles a permanent role in the majors. Blocked at third by Harmon Killebrew, Nettles was dealt to Cleveland the following season, for whom he would play two seasons before being granted a trade by GM Gabe Paul — later his GM in New York — to the Yankees alongside Jerry Moses for Charlie Spikes, John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, and Rusty Torres following the conclusion of the 1972 season.
“If I could have picked the spot I wanted to go, it would have been the Yankees. I always wanted to play for New York and for Ralph Houk. I hope I’ll satisfy the team and be here for ten years or so.”
In his debut season in the Bronx, Nettles batted .234/.334/.386 with 22 home runs and 81 RBI in 160 games. Notably, he crushed the team that traded him away, with four home runs and seven RBIs during a doubleheader in Cleveland on April 14th and his first six home runs of the year coming against his former employers as part of an eleven homer spree in his first 22 games. His production looked pretty similar in 1974, slashing .246/.316/.403 with another 22 homers and 75 RBIs. The Yankees would miss out on the playoffs by two games, and Nettles was ejected from a game on September 7th after six superballs bounced out of a broken bat he maintained he received from a fan in Chicago.
1975 saw Nettles slash .267/.322/.430 with 21 home runs and 91 RBIs to earn the first of his six All-Star appearances. It also was the birth of the free agent era, and Jackson, Hunter, Gossage, Randolph, Rivers, Figueroa, and Dent all signed to join Nettles, Thurman Munson, Guidry, Lyle, and Nettles’ fellow trade acquisitions Piniella and Chambliss. In the span of just a couple years, the Yankees had transformed from a rudderless franchise just starting to find its direction to a veritable juggernaut truly ready to compete for titles.
The following season, Nettles led the AL with 32 bombs, slashing .254/.327/.475 with a career-high 136 wRC+. His 8.1 fWAR remained the high water mark for a Yankees third baseman until Alex Rodriguez put up 9.1 in 2005. The season culminated in the Yankees’ first World Series appearance since 1964 — a humbling sweep at the hands of the Reds.
The fruits of this franchise renaissance finally arrived in 1977, Nettles setting career highs in home runs (37) and RBIs (107) while earning his second All-Star nod, first Gold Glove, and finishing fifth in the AL MVP race. Though he would bat just .171 with no home runs and three RBIs in 43 plate appearances that postseason, the Yankees would squeeze past the Royals in a finely poised ALCS three games to two before securing their first title in 15 years, winning in six games over the Dodgers thanks to Jackson’s Mr. October heroics.
However, Nettles would take center stage the following October. After another strong regular season in which he slashed .276/.343/.460 with 27 home runs and 93 RBI to earn consecutive All-Star and Gold Glove nods and a sixth-place AL MVP finish, Nettles caught the popup from Carl Yastrzemski to end Game 163 between the Yankees and Red Sox, and went yard in another ALCS vanquishing of the Royals. Trailing the Dodgers two games to none in the Fall Classic, Nettles’ defense almost singlehandedly won them the game in Game 3. Nettles made a diving stop in the third and erased a pair of bases-loaded jams in the fifth and sixth with some quick-twitch glove work.
The Yankees would go on to win the next three games to secure back-to-back crowns, Dodgers outfielder Reggie Smith saying of Nettles’ defensive heroics in Game 3, “It’s Dodgers 2, Nettles 1. If we hadn’t been losing, I may have applauded myself.”
Over these years, Nettles gained a reputation for his acerbic wit, earning the nickname “Puff” for his habit of disappearing after a practical joke. He also stood out as one of the Yankees’ most combative players, getting involved in several brawls. On May 20, 1976, Nettles tackled Bill “Spaceman” Lee and broke the pitcher’s collarbone during a brawl against the Red Sox.
In Game 5 of the 1977 ALCS against the Royals, Nettles ignited perhaps the most famous brawl in postseason history. After a hard slide at third by George Brett, Nettles kicked his fellow third baseman in the face and sparked a melee that somehow didn’t result in any ejections.
With the tragic passing of Thurman Munson in a plane crash in 1979, Nettles was never the same player. He also missed significant time to a hepatitis diagnosis in 1980 and the strike in 1981, the latter season representing Nettles’ final hurrah in pinstripes. He was named the ALCS MVP after batting .500 with nine RBIs in a sweep of the A’s. However, he broke his thumb on a diving attempt in Game 2 of the World Series against the Dodgers and missed the next three games, going 2-for-3 with a double in his final postseason game for the Yankees as they fell to LA in six.
Nettles always had a contentious relationship with Steinbrenner, and things really soured in his final two years thanks to stalled contract talks and a diminished platoon role at third. Things reached a head upon the publishing of Nettles’ infamous book Balls, and like Sparky Lyle after the release of The Bronx Zoo, Nettles found himself shipped out of town on the next train, sent to the Padres for Dennis Rasmussen and a PTBNL.
“I was happy to get away from New York. The owner said things about me being a destructive force on the club, so why play for a guy who keeps sniping at you? I finally had enough of him. I’ll always be a Yankee. I love those guys. I love the team, and I’ll always root for them.”
Nettles helped lead the Padres to their first World Series appearance in his first season, and would later play for the Braves and Expos before retiring in 1988 at the age of 43. He remains one of the most notable Hall of Fame snubs in the live ball era, his 67.9 rWAR the highest mark for a third baseman not enshrined in Cooperstown. His 390 home runs trailed only Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews, and Darrell Evans among regular third basemen at the time of retirement. He was removed from the BBWAA ballot in 1996 after falling below the requisite five percent threshold and never garnered enough support from multiple Veterans Committees.
He is one of just 11 Yankees to hit at least 250 homers with the team and is top-15 all time in WAR in franchise history, yet somehow has still not been honored in Monument Park. Nonetheless, his immaculate glove work at the hot corner, power bat, and fiery competitiveness cemented Nettles as a favorite among fans from the Bronx Zoo era, his appearances at Old-Timers’ Day—including as recently as 2025—always acknowledged with a thunderous reception.
We wish Puff a happy, healthy, and hearty 81st birthday!
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - AUGUST 19: Josh Smith #9 of the Toronto Blue Jays falls after scoring against the Tampa Bay Rays during the sixth inning of the baseball game at Tropicana Field on August 19, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There isn’t much for news this morning. They are telling us that Brett Bateman’s injury isn’t serious, he likely won’t go on the IL. I feel like ‘not serious’ tends to mean ‘season ending’ but I’m not going to jump to that.
The problem with having a guy on the active roster who can’t play is that the size of bullpens teams use these days, you don’t have many options on the bench. Yesterday it was Clement who couldn’t play, so it made pinch hitting tougher, and when a player might have to come out of the game, I started thinking about which pitcher they should put in the outfield. Insert your own Sanchez joke here.
The old man in me can’t believe you need 8 guys in the bullpen. And they are all overworked. When I was young, there was 5 guys in the bullpen. The closer, a setup man, a third decent reliever and two guys who were really starters and were there just in case that day’s start gets ejected early in the game. The fifth guy would pitch in 10-15 games a year. He was really there so they could still play cards when one of the others had to warm up.
But the game has changed. And I get it. Pitchers throw at 100% every pitch. They didn’t in the old days.
Anyway, today’s lineup. No Sanchez:
Today’s Lineups
BLUE JAYS
RAYS
Charles McAdoo – 3B
Chandler Simpson – LF
Daz Cameron – LF
Junior Caminero – 3B
Alejandro Kirk – C
Jonathan Aranda – 1B
George Springer – DH
Yandy Diaz – DH
Kazuma Okamoto – 1B
Cedric Mullins – CF
Andres Gimenez – SS
Jonny DeLuca – RF
Ernie Clement – 2B
Richie Palacios – 2B
Myles Straw – CF
Jorge Mateo – SS
Nathan Lukes – RF
Nick Fortes – C
Shane Bieber – RHP
Ian Seymour – LHP
Yesterday’s umpire was pretty good:
The Jays starts at 1:00 Eastern, which makes it 11:00 my time, which really works well with my laziness. I can’t go workout, because I have to get a post up, and get the game thread ready. All I can do is sit and watch comedy clips all morning.
PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes insists he has had stretches during his still-burgeoning career when he has had to grit his teeth and grind through it.
The problem is, it rarely seemed like it.
Spending two seasons doing things few pitchers in the history of the game have done — as Skenes did while winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2024 and the NL Cy Young in 2025 with a dazzling arsenal that frequently was unhittable — has a way of raising expectations. Maybe unfairly so to someone only a few months removed from his 24th birthday.
The towering and remarkably mature right-hander is well aware of the standard he has set while becoming one of the faces of the game. There is a weight that comes with it, one he is intent on shouldering even when it’s not easy.
And it’s not easy at the moment. At least not as easy as Skenes has made it look so often since his electrifying arrival.
So while he feels there are things to be upbeat about during a 4 1/3 inning stint in a 4-3 victory over Detroit — particularly a fastball that clicked back into the upper 90s after hovering at 95 mph in a loss to Miami — he knows there remains plenty to work on after another outing where the results just were a little off.
“I’ve been learning a lot and I’ll continue to learn a lot,” he said after his ERA ticked up to 3.95, more than double his career mark of 1.96 when the season began. “Just got to keep going.”
Skenes allowed three runs on four hits with a season-high tying four walks and five strikeouts while throwing just 46 of his 81 pitches for strikes. While he credited the extended break he received when the Pirates adjusted their rotation over the weekend for the uptick in velocity, the fact that the ball isn’t bending to his will remains baffling.
The pitcher who allowed just four or more walks five times in his first 77 appearances now has done it in three of his last four starts.
“I think the walks, it’s frustrating,” he said. “Nobody wants to go out there and walk anybody. Nobody is trying to.”
And yet it is happening. Detroit’s Colt Keith and Gleyber Torres both worked free passes in the first inning, and while Skenes emerged from the frame unscathed, he needed 24 pitches to get three outs.
It’s one of the reasons manager Don Kelly came to get him following an RBI single by Torres with one out in the fifth gave the Tigers the lead. Skenes was on the hook for the loss — which would have been his 10th in 13 decisions since May 17, a stretch in which his ERA is 5.05 — until Rafael Flores Jr. and Brandon Lowe homered in the ninth to give the Pirates just their second win this season when trailing after eight innings.
A creature of habit like most others who do what he does for a living, Skenes hasn’t changed much about his meticulous preparation and is trying to “remember what’s real and what’s not.”
And what’s real?
“Just objective numbers, watching the game, execution, all that stuff,” he said. “Not anything from the outside.”
It’s what’s happening on “the outside” that leaves his teammates at a loss. While he received a typically warm ovation when he was introduced at PNC Park, criticism of his play — and, in one picture of Skenes walking alongside girlfriend Livvy Dunne on a Miami beach that went viral, his physique — has grown as his funk has extended to late summer.
“I think the world’s been spoiled on who Paul Skenes really is,” Lowe said. “He had probably the best starting stretch to a career ever. And now he’s not the greatest pitcher on the face of the planet for a few months, and people were worried and freaking out a bit.”
Lowe is one of the many Pirates who do not count themselves in that group. The veteran second baseman believes what’s happening with Skenes simply is the nature of baseball taking its course.
“There’s a reason why there’s not going to be a guy that pitches for 10 years and wins 10 Cy Youngs,” he said. “People adapt, people adjust.”
Skenes spent two seasons overwhelming opponents with a mix of power and precision. The power has dipped a bit. So has the precision. Batters have taken advantage. Now it’s up to Skenes to punch back.
The walks are a problem, but one Skenes is confident he can fix. And for as rocky as it feels, the reality is he’s still in the top 10 in the majors in strikeouts (171) and his current ERA still ranks in the top 40.
“He’s at 3 point whatever instead of his normal one (something),” Lowe said. “That’s still pretty good.”
Just not really good. Yet with a nine-game road trip that could define Pittsburgh’s season looming, Skenes hopes he’s hit his version of rock bottom and is on the way back up.
“I think it’s good just having my body in a really good spot (for) the last month or so of the regular season,” he said. “And hopefully a substantial number of innings after that.”
The Bronx Bombers walk at a 9.8% clip, fourth-best in MLB. For me, this is one of the most undervalued stats in baseball, but it matters more here because of the current form Baltimore Orioles armKyle Bradish.
He grades in the 25th percentile in walk rate at 10.3%, and the underlying numbers are worse: a 43.8% zone rate and a 55.3% first-strike rate, both career lows. A patient lineup does not need to hit him to score.
Gerrit Cole is the other half of the equation. He's looking closer to vintage form with a 1.93 ERA across three August starts and a 2.15 mark since the All-Star break.
COVERS INTEL:Kyle Bradish's four-seamer has become a giveaway pitch. He throws it 17.4% of the time, and hitters are batting .330 with a .481 xSLG against it.
Yankees vs Orioles Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-108)
Both offenses score in bursts or not at all.
New York sits at a .273 BABIP, the lowest in MLB, and Baltimore is fourth-worst in contact rate at 72.3%. That is a profile built for two three-run innings rather than sustained ones. The multi-run homer is likely what beats me, but it's reduced with both pitchers having an approximate 5% barrel rate reduction over the last week.
Bradish grades in the 79th percentile in ground-ball rate at 48.5% against a Yankees club that hits 40.9% fly balls, a mismatch of intent that turns damage swings into outs on the ground. Cole sits in the 77th percentile in xERA at 3.37 and has allowed just five earned runs across 18 2/3 August innings.
I made this total 7.1 and would play it to -120.
Yankees vs Orioles home run prediction: Jazz Chisholm (+562)
Bradish's chief skill is keeping the ball on the ground. Beating him means getting lift on breaking stuff.
Jazz Chisholm is the Yankee who does it best, posting a .413 average and .609 slugging with a .504 xSLG against sinkers this season, a plus-5 run value and the best mark on the roster. Chisholm also pulls 53.9% of his contact, the highest rate in the lineup, into a right field porch that rewards it.
Play to +350.
Chris Hatfield's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 44-44, +0.90 units
Over/Under bets: 50-38, +13.49 units
Yankees vs Orioles weather
There's a 70% chance of rain with high near 80F. Though the weather may not have a direct impact on the game, a delay could limit either pitcher's workload. Check the radar before first pitch if considering such props.
Yankees vs Orioles odds
Moneyline: Yankees -118 | Orioles +108
Run line: Yankees -1.5 | Orioles +1.5
Over/Under: Over 8 | Under 8
Yankees vs Orioles trend
Yankees are 6-1 in their last seven games as a favorite. Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Orioles.
How to watch Yankees vs Orioles and game info
Location
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD
Date
Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026
First pitch
6:35 p.m. ET
TV
MASN, YES
Yankees starting pitcher
Gerrit Cole (6-6, 3.22 ERA)
Orioles starting pitcher
Kyle Bradish (7-11, 3.65 ERA)
Yankees vs Orioles latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
Alec Burleson
Julio Rodriguez
Cam Smith
Gerrit Cole
Kyle Bradish
Robert Gasser
COVERS INTEL: