Category: MLB

Bello demoted to Triple-A Worcester after latest abysmal start originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox have made their decision with struggling starter Brayan Bello.

Bello, whose woes continued in Thursday’s 8-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, was sent down to Triple-A Worcester after his start, per WBZ’s Dan Roche. He allowed eight earned runs, six of them in the first inning.

After the game, Bello didn’t respond well when asked about a potential demotion.

“I’m not thinking about that. I’m thinking about making my adjustments in the big leagues,” he said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “I have a big league contract. That doesn’t mean that the bosses will not take that into consideration, but I’m a big leaguer. I’m a big league starting pitcher, and I’ll make my adjustments here.”

Bello has a 10.35 ERA as a starter this season (16.88 in the first inning). Oddly enough, entering the game in the second inning after an opener seemed to solve his issues. The 27-year-old has a 0.71 ERA in four games out of the bullpen (two earned runs in 25.1 innings).

Despite that trend, Bello defiantly shut down talks about shifting to a relief role.

“Just stop talking about bullpen and starting games,” Bello said. “I’ve always been a starter. And when I’ve been successful as a starter, nobody has questioned whether I have to be in the bullpen or starting games.

“Just stop that talk because I’m just having a bad season. That’s it. It’s not whether I’m a starter or I’m a reliever. I’m just having a bad season. But I know I can turn it around. I always have. And I think I will.”

Bello will have to make his adjustments in Worcester, and there’s no guarantee he’ll have a spot in the starting rotation when he returns to the majors. If and when Garrett Crochet returns from his shoulder and lat injuries, the projected rotation will consist of him, Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray, Payton Tolle, and Connelly Early.

Wade will wear number 31 and is active for tonight’s game.

The Houston Astros announced that they have signed OF LaMonte Wade Jr. to a Major League contract. Wade will be active for tonight’s series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Wade, 32, was most recently in the Chicago White Sox system, playing at their Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights. In Charlotte, Wade was batting .250 with a .420 OBP and .861 OPS. The left-handed hitter has experience playing both corner outfield spots as well as 1B.

Across 7 major league seasons, Wade Jr. is a lifetime .236 hitter, with a .341 OBP and .731 OPS across 1,617 AB. He last played in the majors in 2025, splitting time between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels.

Wade exercised an opt-out clause on Monday to secure his release with the White Sox in hopes of catching on with another team with a better path to the majors.

Astros Add Price, DFA Salazar

The team announced it was recalling C Collin Price from Triple-A Sugar Land. Price, 26, is a righthanded hitting C/1B. Price was hitting .235 with a .360 OBP and an .836 OPS for the Space Cowboys this season, with 10 HR and 26 RBI over 166 AB.

Last season, Price batted .235 with a .323 OBP and .757 OPS, with 18 HR and 60 RBI over 392 AB.

Price will replace Cesar Salazar on the active roster. Salazar was designated for assignment.

Astros Make OF Moves

Houston announced it was reinstating OF Joey Loperfido from the IL and optioned him to Triple-A Sugar Land.

The Astros also optioned OF Zach Cole to Triple-A Sugar Land.

OF Rhylan Thomas was designated for assignment.

Braves shortstop Ha-Seong Kim is back out of the lineup for Thursday night’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays after a one-hit, one-RBI performance in Wednesday’s 7-3 win.

It’ll be the fifth time in the last seven games Kim has been out of the lineup. While Atlanta has largely ridden Jorge Mateo’s heat wave as Kim continues to struggle to generate momentum after his delayed start to the season, it’ll be Mauricio Dubon this time, starting at short and hitting second in the lineup.

While Toronto is using a left-handed opener in Mason Fluharty (3-0, 3.97 ERA), it’s expected that righty Chad Dallas (4.50 ERA over 36 innings at Triple-A Buffalo this season), called up ahead of Thursday’s game, will be the bulk pitcher for his major league debut.

Due to this expectation, the Braves aren’t taking the opener bait and will start Dominic Smith as designated hitter (sixth in lineup) and Mike Yastrzemski in left (eighth).

Ronald Acuña Jr. is back in right after a DH day and Sandy León is catching and will hit ninth, preventing new addition Austin Wynns from starting after he was acquired via trade and selected to the major league roster earlier in the day.

Chris Sale, who spent time in the same division as Toronto when with the Red Sox, is 8-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 18 career games (15 starts) against the Blue Jays. He’s faced them just twice since 2019, though, meaning a number of current Toronto players haven’t faced him.

George Springer (.267 with one double, one homer and four RBIs) accounts for 30 of the current Blue Jays’ 48 career at-bats against him. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2-for-11, one homer, three RBIs) is the only other Blue Jay who has faced him more than three times.

Speaking of Springer, he’s back atop the lineup after getting an off day against a righty starter Wednesday night. Nathan Lukes and Yohendrick Piñango, who were in the top two spots of the lineup against Grant Holmes, fall into the sixth and ninth spots respectively against Sale.

Myles Straw also gets his first start of the series in Toronto (seventh) while Tyler Heineman gets his first start behind the dish (eighth).

I ju— I just don’t understand…

Brayan Bello made his return to the starting rotation on Thursday. If you know anything about how this season has gone for the right-hander, you won’t be surprised to learn that it led to an atrocious first inning in which the Baltimore Orioles scored six runs in what would eventually become a 8-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

STUDS

Don’t piss me off.

DUDS

Brayan Bello: It’s quite literally impossible to explain what is happening with this guy — who was the last guy to have a 0.71 ERA as a reliever and a 10.35 ERA as a starter?

Chad Tracy/Mike Brenly: Tracy had an opportunity to at least try to stop the bleeding in the first inning, as Wilyer Abreu made an impressive would-be-inning-ending throw to Caleb Durbin. The Red Sox passed up on the chance to challenge the close play at third base, with the score eventually ballooning from 2-0 to 6-0. NESN’s broadcast claims they wanted to challenge, but couldn’t make a decision in time.

“OH, HE HASN’T FIXED A THING” MOMENT OF THE GAME

One pitch.

The Orioles immediately started with a man on second base, as Taylor Ward smoked a ball over the head of Ceddanne Rafaela.

For the first time since May 17, the Philadelphia Phillies scored six runs in a game. It last came when Paul Skenes faced Zack Wheeler on a Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh as the Phillies looked to sweep the Pirates.

As the Phillies look to sweep another mediocre National League team, Wheeler once again takes the mound during a day game with an offense looking for answers.

Wheeler looked fully back, sitting 95.8 mph on his four-seam fastball over 104 pitches in his seven-inning start. Of the nine pitches he threw in the first inning, seven of them were four-seams including three that Manny Machado stared at to end the frame.

In the bottom of the first, Kyle Schwarber hit his 18th single of the year (update the Bluesky thread, Joe) and Trea Turner grounded into a fielder’s choice right after. Bryce Harper then took a changeup to shallow right field but Turner made up his mind, rounding second base as the ball was already caught and was doubled up.

Skipping to the fourth, Wheeler once again met Machado at the plate and once again offered a three-fastball sequence. Machado once again looked at the first one for a strike, looking like a hitter who wants to get a sweeper instead. He was late on the second fastball and looked at a third one right down the middle for strike three.

In the bottom half of the inning, the offense finally scratched and clawed. Bryce Harper worked a leadoff walk to start the inning, followed by Brandon Marsh taking a fastball to right field to put runners on first and second. Alec Bohm struck out looking and took a challenge with him to the dugout. Bryson Stott then beat the shift with about as soft of a RBI single that went into the outfield grass as there can be.

The offense kept it going in the following inning with Adolis García, who entered today 8 for his last 75 but has hit a few balls hard in the prior two games. He got a hanging get-me-over breaking ball and did not miss it.

After a Justin Crawford double, Schwarber walk, and Turner forceout, Padres left handed reliever Yuki Matsui made a pickoff throw to first base that wasn’t particularly close, allowing Crawford to walk home and Turner to go to third base.

After a Gavin Sheets walk to open the seventh, Wheeler and Machado met for their third and final time of the day. Once again, Wheeler started him off with a fastball for a strike that Machado didn’t look very interested in swinging at. He once again swung through a second one and the sequence was matching exactly as it did in the fourth.

Unlike the fourth inning, Machado geared up for a fastball and Wheeler threw one right down Broad Street.

In the bottom half of the seventh, the Phillies must’ve morphed into a different team during the stretch. Adrian Morejon entered the inning to try and keep the game at one. He threw two pitches in the strike zone to fall behind 2-0 and then eventually walked Crawford on five pitches. Crawford then stole second base and took third on a bad Freddy Fermin throw that went into the outfield.

After a Schwarber ground ball that forced Crawford to stay put, Trea Turner got a 2-2 fastball that he laced into right field for their fourth run of the game. He took second base and went to third after Harper hit a line drive right at Morejon’s ankle. With first and third with one out, Brandon Marsh grounded a ball to Ty France but Turner’s excellent slide beat the throw home that made it 5-2. Alec Bohm capped the inning off with a single to center field for their sixth run of the game as everyone was still wondering if they were really watching the 2026 Phillies on that diamond.

José Alvarado entered the ninth to try and protect their four-run lead but things got a little hairy quickly. He walked France and then allowed a two run homer off a two-strike sinker that caught too much of the plate.

After a Xander Bogaerts groundout to short and a Miguel Andujar flyout to center, Jase Bowen replaced Freddy Fermin to try and give the Padres one more base runner to put the tying run at the plate. With a 2-2 count and the game on the line, Bowen chased a cutter for strike three.

The Phillies played the Padres six times in less than two weeks and won all of them. They did not see Michael King or Nick Pivetta but they also never allowed the Padres to use Mason Miller. Every advantage counts when these teams cannot muster consistent offense.

It’s very hard to go from relying on the consistent presence of a three-time MVP in your lineup every day to going cold turkey without him, but with Aaron Judge sidelined for the time being with some sort of rib issue, the Yankees’ offense has had to make do without him.

They didn’t get the starts they hoped for out of Cam Schlittler or Gerrit Cole to start the series, and that put them behind the eight-ball as the offense struggled for the most part. They needed somebody to step up and get the big hit as the game entered the late innings tied on Thursday, not wanting to suffer a home sweep against the AL Central-leading Guardians.

Well, sometimes that big hit comes from an unlikely source. Ryan McMahon came through late, as he’s done a couple times already this season, plating Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a single through the right side in the seventh to give the Yankees a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in a 2-1 win. Carlos Rodón tossed a quality start, and the bullpen held things down from there.

Rodón started things off with a pair of quick, efficient strikeouts of David Fry and José Ramírez before falling behind 3-0 on Rhys Hoskins. After homering last night, Hoskins got a bit aggressive and got under a 3-0 fastball for an inning-ending flyout. Trent Grisham led off the bottom half with a bloop single, but was stranded on second base.

Cleveland got its first baserunner with two outs in the second on a walk to Stuart Fairchild, but Rodón worked around it before tossing another 1-2-3 inning in the third. Cecconi retired eight in a row after Grisham’s leadoff single before the Yankees’ center fielder ripped a double to left field with two out in the third, but Ben Rice flied out to end the inning.

J-Ram continued to kill the Yankees in the fourth with a leadoff single and stolen base, jumpstarting a rally that would open the scoring. It could’ve been worse, as Rodón was one pitch from walking the bases loaded after walking Hoskins and getting to 3-2 on Travis Bazzana, but he still did surrender a run on a seeing-eye RBI single by Fairchild with two out.

The Yanks punched back in the bottom half, but left meat on the bone. Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger led off the inning with a pair of singles before an expertly timed double steal put two in scoring position with nobody out. A long sac fly by Jazz Chisholm Jr. tied the game, but Bellinger badly overslid third base trying to tag and go to third and get around an off-line throw by Steven Kwan.

Both Cecconi and Rodón threw perfect fifth innings and mirrored each other in the sixth. Rodón once again walked Hoskins, but worked through it. Cecconi walked Rice and erased him with a 5-4-3 double play. That did it for Rodón, who had his third consecutive strong outing with six one-run innings while displaying better command for the most part. After subpar outings by Cole and Schlittler this series, it was good to see a winning effort from him.

Brent Headrick came on for his 30th appearance of the season, making him the seventh reliever in baseball to hit that mark. Who would’ve thought? After getting two quick outs, he inexplicably walked Austin Hedges on five pitches. In his career, Hedges has walked 10 times in 57 plate appearances against the Yankees, a walk rate nearly three times higher than his career average of 6.4 percent. With the inning extended, Brayan Rocchio nearly snuck one out over the porch, but Max Schuemann made the grab at the wall to send us to the seventh-inning stretch.

Codi Heuer replaced Cecconi and got into trouble after walking Chisholm with one out. Despite plenty of chances to steal, Chisholm waited to run until Caballero flew out, leaving it up to Ryan McMahon. A stolen base and wild pitch put the go-ahead run on third, and McMahon finally found a hole with a grounder through the right side for an RBI single to make it 2-1 Yankees.

Fernando Cruz, who also made his 30th appearance, got the eighth against the top of the Guardians’ order. Facing a trio of Yankee tormentors, he bounced back after falling behind the pinch-hitting Kyle Manzardo before getting weak pop-outs out of Ramírez and Hoskins for another strong inning.

It would be David Bednar who would come out for his first save opportunity since Memorial Day, facing 4-5-6 in the Guardians’ order. Bazzana chopped one back to the pitcher for the first out, Angel Martínez rolled over an 0-2 splitter for the second out, and the pinch-hitting Chase DeLauter did the same to end the ballgame, securing Bednar’s 13th save of the season.

The Rivalry is renewed this weekend for the first time since Alex Cora was fired in late April, as the Red Sox come to town for a three-game set, beginning tomorrow at 7:05 pm on YES. It’s Ryan Weathers against former Yankee Sonny Gray.

Box Score

The Royals announce they have called up utility player Josh Rojas, and that pitcher Stephen Kolek has gone on family emergency leave. To make room on the 40-man roster, Jonathan India was officially placed on the 60-day Injured List. India is out for the year, following shoulder surgery.

Rojas is a six-year MLB veteran who has appeared in 638 games with the Diamondbacks, Mariners, and White Sox. His best season came in 2022, when he was a 3.1 rWAR player for Arizona, hitting .269/.349/.391 with nine home runs in 125 games. His numbers fell off last year in Chicago, where he hit.180 in 69 games, worth just -1.5 rWAR. The Royals signed the 31-year-old left-handed hitter to a minor league deal this off-season. He was hitting .246/.309/.433 with six home runs in 48 games for Triple-A Omaha. He is a very versatile player, with MLB experience at every position except center field and catcher.

Kolek started on Wednesday against the Reds, allowing just two runs in seven innings for the win. The move gives the Royals 14 position players and 12 pitchers.

Welcome to today’s Mets Mailbag, where we once again try to determine whether the 2026 Mets can somehow pull themselves back into contention…and what happens if they don’t. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions.

What date (even if approximately) do you expect the Mets to make as their demarcation line for buying/selling? Another month? Month and a half? – @maclgm12345 (and others)

Many people asked a version of this question, which makes sense. David  Stearns even acknowledged last homestand that a moment will come when the Mets will have to make that call. At the time, he emphasized they are not close to that decision point yet.

The insight I can offer is as follows: the Mets are going to wait this out as long as possible. The feeling from the owner’s box to the dugout is that they are where they are because of injuries, not existential roster flaws. So they want to give themselves as much time as possible to let key players like Jorge Polanco, Francisco Alvarez, and Francisco Lindor return from injury – then give themselves enough time to see if those players can make a difference.

Knowing that, my next question (and I’m sure yours, too) is when will everyone be back and how long will they give them to turn things around once they return? The answers are slightly more encouraging than they might feel: Polanco could return as soon as this weekend in San Diego. Alvarez – and one can debate the extent to which he is a meaningful offensive upgrade over Luis Torrens at this point in his development – is already playing in rehab games, too. Let’s say he returns next week at some point (though no one has said so officially).

Luis Robert Jr. has not even begun baseball activities, so write him off for now. That leaves Lindor as the last big piece, and he was running, throwing, and taking ground balls for several days even before this road trip. Considering he will likely need a substantial ramp-up period on a rehab assignment before returning, a conservative estimate for his return would be two-to-three weeks – or mid- to late-June, barring a setback.

In other words, the Mets could have most of their intended starting lineup back and healthy by the last week of June. That gives them five weeks before the trade deadline. I would expect them to give this team as many of those weeks as possible to play their way back into contention. Plus, most teams are completely consumed by draft preparation until the All-Star Break, anyway. I see no reason why they would not take a week or two after that to let the market fully materialize as other teams emerge from draft machinations and take time to decide whether they are buyers and sellers, too.

So, barring a major collapse over the next few weeks that leaves no doubt about their status, I don’t know why the Mets would decide their fate before the week after the All-Star Break. Everyone involved has every incentive to give this team the chance to turn things around.

What happens to Baty when Lindor returns? Would they possibly trade Bo Bichette to keep Brett Baty at 3B if they’re not in good enough position by then? @jjc927_

I am answering this version of the "who stays, who goes" question because most of them were a little, let’s say…critical… of young Mark Vientos, and he probably doesn’t need me piling on. But I do think everyone’s point is a good one: when Lindor returns – particularly if Polanco proves himself healthy enough to play first base now and then in the meantime – the Mets will have a logjam in the infield. So it is fair to wonder who will be pushed out of a spot.

I do not see them trading Bichette. I guess if they totally swoon between now and then and are totally, completely, irrevocably out of it, that could maybe be on the table. But with his salary and the fact that he has yet to produce anywhere near where he normally does, that seems highly unlikely.

Assuming he stays, the two sure things in the infield would be Bichette and Lindor. Given the way Baty seems to produce better when playing third regularly, one could argue the Mets should move Bichette to second and keep Baty at third, forcing a decision on Marcus Semien’s big contract. But Semien has hit better and for more power lately, has played better defense than the metrics indicate, and has been one of the Mets’ most crucial hitters with runners in scoring position. 

Plus, Baty certainly has not blown him away in terms of production this year. So any major decision on Semien at this point would seem several steps away, if on the table at all.

So maybe the move then becomes moving Baty to first base, where he looked better defensively than Vientos. If Jared Young continues hitting, he could play there, too, leaving Polanco in the designated hitter spot. Either way, there is no obvious place for Vientos to play regularly, and since he has been so inconsistent at the plate and in the field, and so consistently prone to mental errors, I think his roster spot is more fragile than Baty’s at this point. But the emergence of Young certainly is not helping either of them.

If Kodai Senga doesn’t turn it around when he returns, do you think the Mets are prepared to eat the rest of his contract and DFA him? – davidsheridan.bsky.social

Short answer: yes. Doing so now would cost them whatever is left of the $14 million he is owed this year and the $14 million he is owed next year, so it would not be cheap. But the Mets can afford that financially, while they might not be able to afford to keep him emotionally.

In talking to people around the Mets, as well as Senga himself through his interpreter over the last few months, I have gained a picture of someone who reminds me a lot of Stephen Strasburg.

Strasburg was so hyperaware of things that were off in his body and his mechanics that he struggled to pitch when he knew those things were not in line. He gained a reputation for being soft when I think he was more accurately a perfectionist: he could pitch through pain if he felt his mechanics were in place. If they weren’t, or something didn’t feel right, he could think about little else, which made executing pitches in those situations much more difficult. 

Even Yankees rookie ace Cam Schlittler said something along those lines after his worst start of the year the other day: he knew something was off with his four-seamer, so he spent the whole outing worrying about getting that right and not focused on competing. That never goes well.

So I think Senga is largely an extreme version of that: he seems to struggle when everything is not exactly where he thinks it should be physically, and he has struggled to pitch well with whatever he has while searching for the stuff he wants. And ever since that play on the Pete Alonso throw last year, it seems that something has been off. 

Even when his stuff looked good in spring training, he was not certain he would pitch well as a result. Through his interpreter, Senga said something along the lines of "I hope so." My takeaway was that he has not been comfortable with where he is for quite some time, and that even comfortable stretches have felt fragile for him lately.

I also think that Senga and the Mets have sometimes missed each other in terms of working with and around that perfectionist tendency. But I also think the Mets did everything they could this winter to align themselves with what Senga feels he needs, starting with Justin Willard visiting him at his training facility and opening the lines of communication. The result was a promising spring training in which the power stuff that made him so promising in the first place returned. But that has not translated into the regular season. All that combines to make Senga a frustrating case for the Mets, who could certainly use the best version of him, but no longer seem certain they will ever get it. 

I think it is clear their patience is running out as a result. Carlos Mendoza is often polite but stern when he talks about the righty, and he said recently that the decision to bring Senga back from the minors will soon have to focus less on where he is physically than where his results are. In other words, if he is healthy enough to pitch in the minors, but is not pitching well, then performance will dictate whether he gets another start, not merely whether he is technically well enough to do so.

Senga had another rough outing this week, pushing his ERA on this rehab assignment to 5.25 in 12 innings. Whether he is still figuring things out physically with the back discomfort that sent him to the injured list initially, or whether he is just struggling to find his command and best stuff, he is struggling again. And the Mets cannot afford to have any more starting pitchers figuring things out at the major league level. 

It’s possible the Mets' sheer lack of starting pitching will mean they give Senga one more chance in the big leagues. But I would not expect him to get many chances after that.

 The Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians by a score of 2-1 on Thursday afternoon in the Bronx, avoiding a sweep.

Here are the takeaways…

--The Yankees were once again without Aaron Judge. Prior to the game, Aaron Boone said he had no update on Judge, but that the star outfielder underwent an MRI on Wednesday night and an X-ray and CT scan on Thursday morning.

--Carlos Rodon looked good early, but got into a bit of a jam in the fourth, when a single, a steal and a single put men on the corners with two outs. The Guardians then broke through for the first run of the game on a Stuart Fairchild single to left. 

Rodon had an excellent afternoon, going 6.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits while striking out seven and walking three. The lefty's season ERA is down to 2.88 on the season.

--With Judge out of the lineup, Paul Goldschmidt hit third on Thursday, and he singled and came around to score the first run of the game for the Yankees on a fourth- inning Jazz Chisholm Jr. sac fly, but Cody Bellinger was thrown out trying to advance to third on the play, and the Yankees wouldn't score again in the frame.

Cleveland starter Slade Cecconi went 6.0 innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk. 

-- Ryan McMahon has had a tough year at the plate, but he came up clutch in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs and a runner on third, McMahon came through with a single to give the Yankees a late 2-1 lead. Chisholm, who walked and stole second, game around the score the go-ahead run.

-- It was a great afternoon for the Yankees bullpen behind Rodon, as Brent Headrick, Fernando Cruz, and David Bednar all pitched scoreless innings to secure the win. The Guardians had just two hits on the afternoon. 

Game MVP

Chisholm, who had an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base despite not recording a hit.

Highlights

Jazz Chisholm ties the game with a sac fly but then Bellinger overslides third trying to tag and gets tagged out pic.twitter.com/Ey1cebTlGX

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 4, 2026

The Yankees take the lead!pic.twitter.com/aKTtQXMPnC

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) June 4, 2026

Upcoming schedule

The Yankees stay home to host the rival Boston Red Sox over the weekend, starting on Friday night at 7:05 p.m.

Ryan Weathers will face Sonny Gray.

The Seattle Mariners are blasting from and/or into the past. On Friday, August 7th, the Mariners have announced they will be hosting a home run derby following their game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

While the structure is not entirely clear or perhaps even fully solidified, the list of participants appears to be an entertaining medley of recent Mariners retirees. At the helm in… some capacity, are three M’s legends with ample home run hitting qualifications. Commissioner of the event will be Ken Griffey Jr., a man be beloved enough to be forgiven blatant title inflation. Captains of what presumably will be a draft structure are Jay Buhner and Nelson Cruz.

The commissioner and team captains will sadly not be hitting. They’ll be selecting from a list of sundry and various Mariners whose careers in the bigs range from a single season to 19 years in the U.S..

• OF Mike Cameron – 278 career home runs
• OF Ichiro Suzuki – 117 career home runs
• 1B/3B Ryon Healy – 69 career home runs
• C/1B/2B Austin Nola – 24 career home runs
• 1B Bucky Jacobsen – 9 career home runs
• OF Stefen Romero – 4 career home runs
• LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith – 0 career home runs

It’s a delight to see several of these players take swings again, with the obvious draw being a chance to watch Ichiro attempt to slug the baseball. It will be, conversely, quite something to watch Hyphen take on his broadcast compatriot Healy, who must be the active favorite alongside Nola, both having the most recent big league plate appearances. Don’t sleep on Romero, though, who was playing in Mexico up through 2023 and hit 96 big flies from 2017-2021 in Japan. Cameron, Ichiro, Healy, Nola, and RRS are all active Mariners employees of some sort, making their participation easier to bank on, and Jacobsen recently announced an “extended leave” from the Chuck & Buck morning show on KJR radio in Seattle to focus on his health. Hopefully this bodes well for his health.

Adjectives that come to mind about Dave Roberts in the media are measured, reasoned, and thoughtful. Maybe a bit verbose or circular, especially when it comes to injury updates.

The point is that it’s rare when Roberts calls out a player, and it’s usually a doozy when it happens. The anger of the quiet person often booms the loudest. When Bob Nightengale of USA Today dropped “’Couldn’t be more lazy.’ Dodgers fire back at MLB payroll crybabies,” one could be forgiven for wondering if the headline was merely clickbait for diplomatic double-talk that did not say anything.

Those fears were dispelled instantly, immediately, and thoroughly. On Wednesday, Dave Roberts was there to take names and chew bubblegum; unfortunately for the targets of his vitriol, he was out of bubblegum:

“My honest opinion is the majority of takes about the Dodgers couldn’t be more lazy…that it’s just about the payroll. It’s about the draft. It’s about layering on where we pick in the draft annually. The player development. How we acquire international talent. How we perform consistently at the major-league level.

“I actually think it’s a competitive advantage in the sense that people feel that way, and not look at themselves in the mirror and see how they can operate things better. So that’s beneficial for us.”

As if to dispel the notion that Roberts had made an accidental remark, he kept talking:

“Having the payroll and the depth that gives you [is] certainly is a benefit. No one’s debating that. But I do think that the players we acquire, how we play the game every night, getting younger players to assimilate in a star-studded clubhouse, that’s important. That’s hard to quantify, but that’s of value.

“If you look at the World Series the last couple of years, there’s a lot of home-grown guys making league minimum that have been on postseason rosters.”

Then, for good measure, Roberts floated the idea of the Dodgers acquiring Detroit Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal at the deadline.

“They would go ballistic,” Roberts said laughing. “But we would have the prospect capital to do [acquire Skubal]. We are one of the teams that could do that with the Tigers.”

One wonders who “they” are. Whether it’s the rest of the league or the critics of the Dodgers, Dave Roberts was not having it on June 3.

The players aren’t having it either

And lest anyone think it was just Roberts blowing off steam, Miguel Rojas added some justified rhetorical heat, stating it’s not just spending fueling the Dodgers’ success, and the organization’s roster construction is often overlooked:

“At the end of the day,” 2025 World Series hero Miguel Rojas said, “it’s not about wasting money or spending money to buy the best players because that’s not going to guarantee you anything. You can see it. There are another five or six clubs close to us in payroll, and they haven’t accomplished it. That’s why people aren’t talking about them, because they haven’t won. People just talk about us…

…The way they constructed the roster in this organization deserves a lot of credit,” Rojas said. “It’s not just buying the players and spending money on players, it’s having Plan B’s and C’s behind them, and that’s where I feel the organization is not getting enough credit for building a full team that is capable of sustaining so many injuries throughout the season and having guys ready when they get called up.”

Emmet Sheehan also went on the record, praising the Dodgers’ development system:

“Our development system is what gets overlooked,” Sheehan says, “how much time and money they put into finding the right people in the minor leagues to make people better. When I got drafted, I didn’t realize how lucky I was coming to an organization like this. Obviously, they put a lot of money into the team here, which is awesome, but there are a lot of guys that contribute way more than people realize, guys stepping up when we’ve had injuries.”

Even Jack Dreyer chimed in, praising how the Dodgers helped him develop as a bullpen stalwart:

“One of the things that the Dodgers do better than anybody else,” Dreyer said, “is that as soon as you get into that organization, they’re doing everything they can to develop you to maximize your potential. When I first got to the Dodgers organization, I had a long way to go before I had a chance at anything. I think they saw something that even I didn’t see in myself, but they kept fine-tuning, and tweaking, and revamping different things until I got to this point. Every single guy who’s in the Dodger organization is very lucky with all of the resources the Dodgers provide, so I’m very thankful I signed here.”

For regulars at True Blue LA, Roberts and the other quoted players are merely parroting arguments that have been expertly and diligently proffered in these parts for years.

Is it nice to have the indirect inference that various Dodgers players and staff read True Blue LA? Sure. Are we going to belabor what we have previously argued in a bit of self-congratulatory puffery? A little. Pride counts for something around these parts.

After all, the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants are seemingly hellbent on disproving the notion that spending necessarily equates to winning. The Mets look like an unexpected rebuild that has gone horribly wrong, whereas the Giants have somehow doubled down on a posture of masterly inactivity, resulting in one of the worst records in the league with a gaggle of immovable contracts.

The incompetence is almost impressive in its depth and scope.

The Commissioner’s Changing Tune

Contrast the fire coming out of the Dodgers with Commissioner Rob Manfred’s first public remarks since labor talks started, and one has quite the contrast. Watching the Commissioner act as a sock puppet for the owners is not particularly new or generally interesting. But occasionally the act has unintended consequences for those who have been paying attention.

On June 3, the Commissioner held his first press conference since MLBPA and MLB began their labor negotiations. ESPN’s Jorge Castillo reported that once again, the Commissioner repeated the talking point that the Dodgers were to blame for the perceived inequity in the sport:

“I think that the Dodgers understand there is a need to update the overall economic model in the industry and that the upside associated with that, in terms of growing the industry, growing the popularity of the sport, is big for large markets, small markets, owners and players in every way,” Manfred said. “That upside is bigger than any issue that separates us in the bargaining table.”

The Commissioner had previously praised the league’s parity, even as recently as October 2024, during the Dodgers/Yankees World Series:

Naturally, some fans in smaller markets will in turn complain that those teams, and their large payrolls, are the last two standing. But Manfred defended the state of competition and parity across the sport.

“Our record on competitive balance is darn good,” Manfred said. “I just don’t think you can scream about the Yankees and the Dodgers given the matchups that we’ve had in recent years.”

On Wednesday, he flip-flopped faster on that position than a fry cook at the International House of Pancakes during the Sunday brunch rush:

“We have tried mightily over several rounds of bargaining to use a competitive balance tax to address competitive concerns, and sometimes, you got to admit you failed…

…We want to make an agreement. We made a proposal on one set of topics at the outset of negotiations.

I went and said myself: Look, we’re open to whatever ideas people have. But we need a realistic framework that addresses the fans’ concerns about competitive balance, and you just can’t ignore that financial penalties have not gotten it done for us.”

Mockery aside, even if entirely well-deserved for trying to use the Dodgers to distract and enrage the fans of baseball, the Commissioner did say something accidentally revealing, as if accidentally almost having an epiphany before fleeing from it as fast as humanly possible:

“In the context, particularly of the postseason, where you’re trying to generate interest and maximize viewership, I think it’s important to emphasize competitiveness,” Manfred said. “And there are aspects of competitiveness: we haven’t had repeat winners (recently) until the Dodgers.

“When we think about it from a labor perspective, we’re focused on an entirely different part of the calendar. And that’s the offseason, when you’re trying to sell season tickets, and the perception among our fans that’s really strong that we have a lack of competitiveness.”

Fan perceptions do not always motivate major change — not unless they’re having major impacts. Considering MLB’s ratings and ticket sales figures have generally improved in recent years, has MLB identified quantifiable ways that this perception is harming them?

“We actually have spent a lot of time on this topic, and teams that go through periods, particularly longer periods, of non-competitiveness, not only have lower revenues, but they are slower to recover once they become competitive,” Manfred said Wednesday.

He didn’t offer specific figures.

(Emphasis added.)

Teams that are bad tend to make less money and are slower to recover once they actually do something productive? You don’t say. Whether the Commissioner meant to say the quiet, obvious part out loud is an open question; however, a broken clock is right twice a day.

The unspoken conclusion that the Commissioner failed to reach, even though it was right there, is that maybe teams should try more. You know, like San Diego, which just sold for a record amount.

However, that admission would be telling, and a puppet can’t leave its strings, not with the collective puppeteer holding on for dear life.

While there’s no guarantee that the Tigers will trade ace Tarik Skubal, they would be wise to entertain offers for him heading into the trade deadline. Set to become a free agent in 2027 with a potential lockout on the horizon, Skubal is a tantalizing trade chip — despite an injury* — thanks to Detroit sitting six games out of a postseason spot at the time of writing this. Although the American League has been surprisingly weak this year, the Tigers are just 4-13 against their own division, with all four of their wins coming against the Royals. If the arbitration case between the Tigers and Skubal were any indicator of future negotiations between the two parties, signing him to a free agent deal (and potentially the largest one ever for a pitcher) doesn’t appear to be likely.

The Rays, on the other hand, currently have the best record in the American League and fourth best record in baseball despite their recent minor skid. Not having Ryan Pepiot in the middle of their rotation hasn’t hurt them too much, but relatively strict innings limits to Shane McClanahan, Steven Matz, Griffin Jax, and to a lesser extent Drew Rasmussen should put them in the market for some rotation help as we approach the trade deadline.

Of course any team would benefit from trading for an ace like Skubal, but the Rays would be an exceptionally strong fit given their current place in the standings and their need to supplement the rotation with quality — not just an innings eater.

*Skubal claims he is “symptom free” following a NanoScope procedure to remove a loose body from his elbow, and is building back up to a starter’s workload, even throwing a 70-pitch simulated game at the Trop this week

What could a potential trade package for Skubal look like?

I think it’ll take one higher tier prospect plus an additional mid-tier guy, and I think just about everyone is available. The market may ultimately prove me wrong, but I think the combination of injury uncertainty and limited remaining control keeps the price below the blockbuster packages often associated with frontline starters.

Given the Rays’ necessity to clear space for their Rule 5 crunch this winter, it’s more likely they consolidate prospects in a package for Skubal rather than trading away current Major League talent, and less likely they would deal from deep in the minors. Accordingly, I’d be surprised to see the Rays entertaining moving Theo Gillen in a package for such a short term rental like Skubal. Few prospects in baseball have seen their stock rise more over the past year than Gillen.

That next tier of Rays prospects contains two guys: Nathan Flewelling and Brody Hopkins. They both have high upside to be above average regulars with several impact tools. I think a trade conversation starts with one of them, but not both, and leans toward Hopkins, who will demand a roster slot next year.

Why not both? Remember, the Rays would be acquiring only a partial season of Skubal, not multiple years of control. Giving up 6+ years of control of both Flewelling and Hopkins would be a significant overpay. That’s not to say that a team won’t have to overpay to get Skubal; starting pitching is usually the most expensive commodity at the deadline. I think it’ll take a mild to moderate overpay to land Skubal, and a Rays’ trade package starts with a player in their top tier of prospects behind Gillen.

After one of Flewelling or Hopkins, the Rays would likely need to add some additional prospect capital. The next tier contains guys who could be solid big leaguers but have bigger question marks in their profiles compared to the previous three guys mentioned. This tier consists of prospects with legitimate major-league upside but either less projection, less certainty, or less positional value than Flewelling and Hopkins. Players in this tier would be:

• SS Daniel Pierce
• C Caden Bodine
• RHP Michael Forret
• INF Cooper Flemming
• RHP Anderson Brito
• RHP Santiago Suarez
• RHP TJ Nichols

These guys have varying levels of track record and projection that could help the Rays land Skubal when coupled with one of Flewelling or Hopkins. The Rays may even need to add an additional prospect to their package depending on how the market for starting pitching shapes up this summer. If contenders start losing their frontline starters to injury, Skubal’s price could climb, although probably not as high as what it was heading into this season.

A good rule of thumb for making a trade is that if it doesn’t hurt at least a little, it’s probably not a fair trade. No “Clint Frazier + Miguel Andujar” scenarios here. Giving up Flewelling or Hopkins plus another prospect listed above would absolutely hurt, but that’s usually the cost of acquiring frontline starting pitching in July.

For a Rays team with World Series aspirations and a looming Rule 5 crunch, this is exactly the type of aggressive consolidation move that makes sense to explore.

I often wonder about the value of hitting coaches.

I mean, I understand they have a value, and even when things are going poorly, I get that hitters need someone to talk to about their craft. And, nowadays, I feel that they pretty much tell guys the same thing. They, of course, all have their own way of putting it across, but there isn’t any magic anymore.

You won’t find a batting coach like Cito anymore. Someone who teaches pull pull pull to everyone. It just won’t happen. Guys will tell players to turn on inside pitches, but no one will refuse to let batters hit to all fields in batting practice.

Two years ago, we blamed hitting coaches and Don Mattingly for the lack of hitting. Last year, they were hitting better and winning and we gave credit to the new hitting coaches. They were great. This year? Well, the team isn’t hitting, is it the coaches?

I don’t know, I hate blaming coaches for how players are preforming.

Maybe teams should hire a new batting coach every year?

Pitching coaches? I feel safe in saying that Pete Walker is a good pitching coach. Sure things aren’t always going to go well. I think he’s helped enough pitchers that I have faith that he’s good at the job. It isn’t always going to work. And sometimes guys won’t do well with him and then go somewhere else and be great. I don’t think coaching is a one guy fits all thing. I’ve had enough teachers/coaches that i know that some I’ve clicked with and some I haven’t. I have a tennis pro, who every 3 months or so, will send me a note saying ‘do you want a lesson?’. I always take it for granted that he’s been watching me and thinks ‘he needs help’. One time I got the email while I was playing tennis. Anyway, he’s great. He knows I like baseball and soccer and he relates things to those sports. And, I think, for a guy who has taken up the sport at a, let’s say, advanced age, he’s turned me into a decent player.

Anyway, let’s have a poll.

Yesterday voting opened for the All-Star game. It is insane that we are already this far into the season, but here we are. The Nationals have two players who deserve to start in Philly next month. Through the first two months and change, CJ Abrams and James Wood have done enough to earn a starting nod.

With the Nats on the upswing, our fans need to have their voices heard. We need to stuff the ballot box to make sure our guys get in. In the past, we have seen Nats players get robbed of starting this event due to players from bigger market teams. This year we need to vote! Here is where you can go vote. 

Even after the sweep against the Marlins, the Nats have still scored the most runs in all of baseball. Abrams and Wood have been the drivers of this well oiled machine. Interestingly, Wood has been the man at the top of the order, while Abrams has been the run producer in the middle. Abrams is more of your traditional leadoff type, while Wood is your prototypical middle of the order bat. However, with their roles reversed, both have excelled. Wood is first in baseball in runs scored, while Abrams is second in RBI’s. 

I actually made a ballot myself, which had Wood and Abrams starting. Curtis Mead also made my lineup, but if I put my bias aside, Max Muncy probably deserves it over him. If I had a re-do, Matt Olson would also be at first base over Bryce Harper. With the game being in Philly, I wanted to put someone on the Phillies in there, but Olson is the more deserving candidate.

When you look at the offensive metrics, it is clear that Wood and Abrams are deserving. Wood is 8th in baseball with a 158 wRC+, while Abrams is 11th, with a 152 mark. While Abrams is behind Elly De La Cruz and Otto Lopez in WAR, I still think he deserves a starting nod for a couple reasons. The first is that De La Cruz is going to miss time with an injury, which should help Abrams. In the case of Lopez, Abrams is just 0.1 wins behind him, and I prefer the explosiveness Abrams provides at the plate. 

For Wood, the case is very straightforward. He is third among outfielders in WAR, and has been one of the best hitters in all of baseball. I also believe that Wood can be a star attraction in the game. His freakish size, power and athleticism is breathtaking at his best. He is the kind of player you want in an All-Star game. Who doesn’t love to see a giant hit balls 115 MPH.

Wood and Abrams are not the only candidates the Nats have, but they are the only ones who I think will end up getting in. Curtis Mead has had an incredible breakout season, and he is certainly a name who should receive some consideration. However, his lack of name brand value and the fact he was not playing every day until recently is likely to hold him back.

A couple other players who deserve shoutouts are Brad Lord, Keibert Ruiz and Cade Cavalli. All three are long shots, but have been excellent this season. Ruiz had a monster month of May, and if he has another great month, his name could be in consideration. Lord does not have a flashy job in the Nats pitching staff, but he has been amazing in his multi-inning relief role. Cavalli is certainly a long shot, but if he catches fire in June, he could have a chance due to his strikeout numbers and low FIP.

At the end of the day, I think Wood and Abrams get in, and at least one will start. Both have put up ridiculous numbers, and have put the league on notice. Abrams has taken his game to another level this season. He is on pace for 32 home runs and 125 RBI’s as the Nats cleanup man. That is an All-Star shortstop if I have ever seen one.

Outside of this past series against the Marlins, the Nats have provided fans with more joy than anticipated. We need to repay them for their hot start. James Wood and CJ Abrams should not be overshadowed by players from bigger markets that are not as deserving. Make sure to make your voices heard and vote!

The rookie ball teams were off on Wednesday, but the San Francisco Giants quartet of A-ball teams were all in action. So let’s dive into the Minor League baseball results!

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.

News

Just a tiny bit of news. AA Richmond activated LHP Jack Choate (No. 37 CPL) off the Injured List, while placing recently-signed RHP Christian Alvarado on the Development List.

AAA Sacramento (33-24)

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) 5-1
Box score

Not a very good game for the River Cats, who are scuffling through their roster churn. They’ve lost 4 of their last 5 games, and have opened this series by getting held to 1 run in each of the 2 games thus far.

The big news for Sacramento is that LHP Matt Wilkinson made his AAA debut. Wilkinson, a burly 23-year old who was taken in the 10th round of the 2023 draft, came to the Giants in the Patrick Bailey trade, and was promoted to AAA after just 9 starts in AA (and just 3 in the Giants’ system).

Unfortunately, Wilkinson, as happens with most Sacramento prospects, reminded the Giants that there is a cavernous gap in talent between AA and AAA, which makes it all the more confounding that they opted to have Jonah Cox skip the level entirely (but that’s a rant for another day).

After thoroughly dominating the Eastern League, Tugboat ran into some issues with the hitters in the Pacific Coast League. More specifically, he ran into some issues with the strike zone in the Pacific Coast League, and with the hitters’ ability to stay within it.

Wilkinson threw just 26 of 49 pitches for strikes, and had as many walks (4) as outs recorded. He wasn’t particularly hittable — he gave up just a single, while striking out 2 — but walking 4 of the 9 batters you face is no way to make a living, and so he gave up 2 runs while getting pulled after just 1.1 innings. That will be an adjustment for the southpaw, who only had 4 walks in 15 innings with AA Richmond. But adjustments are why AAA exists … except, again, for Cox apparently.

Rehabbing RHP Jason Foley also pitched, which was a big deal because it was his 1st time pitching in back-to-back games. That’s a critical part of the rehab process for a reliever, and while he didn’t pitch particularly well (he gave up 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 unearned run in an inning of work, without a strikeout), it’s a big milestone to reach. Foley is now 9 games into his rehab assignment, and about a week away from maxing out his 30-day rehab window. He should be making his Giants debut very soon.

RHP Braxton Roxby pitched well, tossing 2.2 shutout innings with just 1 hit allowed, while striking out 3. Those numbers are good as is, but underscore his performance, as he replaced Wilkinson in the 2nd inning and inherited a bases loaded, 1-out situation. Tugboat’s ERA could have been disastrously ugly, but Roxby didn’t allow any of the inherited runners to score, which included striking out MLB veteran Miles Mastrobuoni with just 1 out.

Roxby, who came to the Giants in the Taylor Rogers trade, is starting to settle in following a tough beginning to his 1st full season in AAA. Through his 1st 9 appearances of the year, Roxby allowed 11 earned runs in just 9 innings; in 7 games since, he’s given up just 1 earned run in 11.2 innings.

The hitters did very little. Second baseman Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL) had a nice game, hitting 2-4 with a pair of doubles and a strikeout. Furman’s really been hitting the ball lately, and the 24-year old lefty has an 11-game hitting streak going on. Over his last 14 games, the 2022 4th-round pick (by the Guardians) is 22-61 with 3 home runs, 1 triple, 5 doubles, 4 walks, and 9 strikeouts. He’s up to an .802 OPS and a 116 wRC+, with just a 12.3% strikeout rate … assuming the Giants trade Luis Arráez this summer, I expect we’ll see Furman in the Majors at some point this year.

Designated hitter Jared Oliva continued his rehab assignment, and hit 1-4 with a stolen base. Recently-optioned Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) hit 0-4 with 2 strikeouts, but made his season debut at third base, the position he played most when he 1st came up through the Minors. The Giants still view him primarily as a catcher, but it seems they’re happy to let him develop into a super-utility player, which would have a ton of value (not many utility players can catch!).

AA Richmond (35-17)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 4-2
Box score

This game was all about the starting pitcher, LHP Cesar Perdomo. With Matt Wilkinson and Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) promoted to AAA, Perdomo takes over the title of staff ace. And he did a damn good impression of that pair of more well-known prospects on Wednesday, with one of the top pitching performances on the farm this year.

Perdomo, a 24-year old who signed in 2021 out of Venezuela, was nearly unhittable against Erie. He threw 6 scoreless innings, and gave up just 2 hits (both singles) and 2 walks. And best of all? He struck out 9 batters.

That’s been the story of his season so far, which is always exciting. You expect players to lose some strikeouts as they climb the Minor League ranks, but Perdomo — who has some nasty pitches — has done the opposite. He had a strong 2025 with High-A Eugene, but it featured just 8.3 strikeouts per 9 innings … this year, at a higher level? 10.6!

And while you expect an increase in strikeouts to be accompanied by an increase in walks, it hasn’t been a huge raise for Perdomo, whose BB/9 number has gone from 2.7 to 3.5. Room for improvement, to be sure, but not exactly a concerning figure.

In all, the strikeouts — and the fact that he’s ceded just 1 home run in 46.2 innings — have given Perdomo a nice ERA (3.86) and a stellar FIP (2.86). That latter figure is 2nd among the 49 Eastern League pitchers with at least 30 innings thrown this year, trailing only his (now former) teammate Whitman. All of that is to say: we should probably be talking about Perdomo more!

No one else on the team, however, really deserves to be talked about in this game. RHP Ryan Vanderhei made his AA debut and struggled, giving up 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 1.2 innings, with 1 strikeout. RHP Manuel Mercedes struck out the side in a scoreless inning, but also allowed a hit and a walk.

Second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL) and catcher Ty Hanchey both hit 2-4 with a double. Velasquez has been quietly chugging along in his 3rd year in AA, where he has a .764 OPS and a 108 wRC+. Critically for the 22-year old switch-hitter, who has always been a all-contact, no-power hitter, his isolated slugging mark of .133 is higher than it was in his 1st 2 AA stints combined. He probably deserves to be in AA, but with Nate Furman there, it doesn’t really work logistically.

Hanchey has been a player that the Giants send wherever they need a roster hole filled this year, as he’s seen time with Eugene, Richmond, and Sacramento. The 26-year old UDFA has done quite well with the Squirrels, posting a .987 OPS and a 163 wRC+ in 50 plate appearances.

Center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) had his 2nd consecutive multi-hit game, as he went 2-4 with a strikeout, while also showing off his tremendous athleticisim.

High-A Eugene (37-16)

Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 5-3
Box score

Eugene is the most talent-stacked team in the Giants system right now, but all eyes are on one player: Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL). The just-turned 19-year old switch-hitter earned a quick promotion from Low-A to High-A, and now he’s even more of a must-watch and must-follow prospect, as we all want to see how he’ll handle higher competition.

So far, so good. After going 2-5 in his High-A debut on Tuesday, Level one-upped himself on Wednesday, hitting 2-4, getting hit by a pitch, and stealing a base, though he struck out twice. We’ll have to wait to see the power play — he had 26 extra-base hits in 44 Low-A games this year — but reaching base 5 times in 2 games, with a stolen base, is quite an introduction to the Northwest League. So far it sure doesn’t seem like he’s fazed by the better pitching at the level.

Interestingly, Level has now played second base in both of these games, with Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) playing shortstop. I still think that they’re likely to fairly evenly split time between the 2 positions, but it’s something to keep an eye on. Maybe instead of having them rotate game by game, they give the pair a few games at each position before making the switch. Or maybe they’ll just keep Level at second for a while. Stay tuned to find out!

Kilen, on that note, went 0-5, and he’s in a bit of a slump at the moment. In his last 9 games, the 2025 1st-rounder is 4-36 with 2 doubles and 4 walks, though he only has 4 strikeouts in that time. I’m guessing the Giants were hoping that Kilen would be ready for a promotion at the same time as Level, but with just a .762 OPS and a 109 wRC+, they’ll probably keep him in Eugene for a while.

Left fielder Carlos Gutierrez (No. 18 CPL) had the team’s only extra-base hit, as he went 2-4 with a double. The 21-year old lefty continues to show a massive power improvement, as he’s boosted his year-over-year isolated slugging from .101 in Low-A to .186 in High-A. The quality of contact is way up, though the rate of contact is way down: his average has dropped from .351 to .256, while his strikeout rate has risen from 13.7% to 18.0%, and his swinging strike rate from 6.9% to 10.4%. Still, a fabulous year for Gutierrez, who has an .803 OPS and a 121 wRC+, with 13 stolen bases in as many attempts and some strong defense. And a reminder that he’s only played 127 games in his professional career!

Eugene’s other top hitting prospects had pretty nice days, as designated hitter Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) went 1-3 with a walk, while center fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL) hit 2-5 with a stolen base and 2 strikeouts. Jordan now has an .806 OPS and a 119 wRC+, while Cohen has a .766 OPS and a 115 wRC+, with 17 stolen bases in 21 attempts.

But a day to forget for third baseman Walker Martin, who struck out in all 4 plate appearances, while committing his 14th error of the year. Martin has shown some flashes this year on both sides of the ball, but ultimately is hitting below league average (.696 OPS, 92 wRC+), striking out a ton (31.1% rate), and committing a lot of errors.

Unfortunately, it was also a day to forget for Eugene’s starting pitcher, LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL). Like Wilkinson in AAA, Bresnahan struggled to find the strike zone, with just 33 of 59 pitches going for strikes. The soon-to-turn 21-year old issued 5 walks on the day (and hit a batter), while recording just 6 outs.

That said, Bresnahan was utterly dominant for 2 innings, before falling apart in a 3rd inning in which he failed to record an out. He hit the 1st batter he faced in the game, but that batter was then thrown out by catcher Jancel Villarroel (No. 42 CPL), and Bresnahan responded by striking out the next 2 batters. He issued a leadoff walk in the 2nd, then struck out the next 3 batters. Elite!

But he walked 4 consecutive batters to open the 3rd inning, and then gave up a grand slam, ending his night and tattooing him for 5 earned runs in just 2 innings. It’s a brutal part of being a pitcher: sometimes everything is going great, until it all goes awful.

Bresnahan, who missed the start of the season with an injury, is still trying to find his rhythm in High-A, and his numbers (4.97 ERA, 5.53 FIP) don’t resemble the guy who won Pitcher of the Year honors in his league in each of the last 2 seasons. But there sure are some reminders as to his talent, most notably the 11.4 strikeouts per 9 innings.

LHP Esmerlin Vinicio had an awesome game, pitching 3 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. Vinicio didn’t allow a hit or a walk, with Martin’s error being the only thing that kept him from perfecting in his 3 innings. It’s go time for the 23-year old, who is in his 3rd High-A season, and so far he’s going all right: he has a staggering 0.35 ERA on the year, and a very nice 2.58 FIP. Vinicio remains one of the best groundball pitchers in system, with a 53.8% rate this year. That, combined with his 10.5 strikeouts per 9 innings, has resulted in allowing only 10 hits all year, in 25.2 innings pitched. What a great season he’s having!

Low-A San Jose (31-22)

San Jose Giants beat the Inland Empire 66ers (Mariners) 10-3
Box score

Finally, a win!

This was a hitfest for the Baby Giants, who had 13 knocks and 4 walks on the day, en route to 10 runs. The biggest day belonged to third baseman Dario Reynoso, who just refuses to slow down. A day after bopping a pair of home runs, Reynoso was back at it on Wednesday, hitting 2-4 with a 2-run blast and a strikeout.

Yesterday I wrote about Reynoso’s power surge, so let’s update it: after hitting 0 home runs in his 1st 30 games with San Jose (spanning the end of last year and the start of this year), Reynoso has bopped 9 dingers in just 26 games. He’s figuring it out, folks!

If you read this space often, you probably know the scouting report on Reynoso, a recently-turned 21-year old from the Dominican Republic who signed with the Giants almost 3 years ago to the day. He gets a ton of hits, a lot of extra-base knocks, and a kajillion walks … and also strikes out like it’s going out of style. To wit: of the 84 California League hitters with at least 100 plate appearances this year, Reynoso is 14th in batting average (.306), 4th in isolated slugging percentage (.272), 18th in walk rate (16.0%), and 66th in strikeout rate (29.8%).

At higher levels he’ll probably have to improve the swing-and-miss to have success, but in Low-A it’s a mighty fine equation, as he has a 1.006 OPS and a 147 wRC+. Just an awesome season for the right-hander.

Also putting a ball over the fence was catcher Fernando Gonzalez, who hit 2-4 and smashed a solo home run, his 1st big fly of the year. We haven’t talked much about Gonzalez, a 24-year old righty who was taken in the 20th (and final) round of the 2024 draft. The Giants are using him fairly sparingly, as this was just his 16th game of the year. He has a .704 OPS and a 75 wRC+, a year after having a .726 OPS and a 104 wRC+ in his debut season at the same level. He doesn’t do a lot of damage with the bat, but he has just a 6.5% strikeout rate this season.

More nice games for second baseman Isaiah Barkett, who hit 2-5 with a double and was caught stealing, and first baseman Hayden Jatczak, who went 2-3 with a double and a walk. Barkett, a 22-year old taken in the 10th round last year, has a .901 OPS and a 131 wRC+; Jatczak, a 24-year old UDFA, has a .947 OPS and a 135 wRC+. It’s the 1st season of pro ball for both players.

A strong, if unconventional, outing for LHP Jordan Gottesman, who started the game. The team’s 6th-round pick in 2025 tossed 5 shutout innings, and struck out 5 batters, while allowing just 3 hits. That’s excellent! He also walked 3 batters and hit another, which is less excellent. It’s been a very solid debut season for Gottesman, and it’s only been getting better: he’s tossed 5 shutout innings with at least 5 strikeouts in 4 of his last 5 starts, and that’s phenomenal. The primary stain on Gottesman’s debut resume is that he’s allowed 5 home runs, but we can give him a little bit of a pass there, as 4 of those 5 occurred in April as he was getting his feet wet. Those dingers are the primary reason why his FIP is a not-very-good 5.23, but his 2.45 ERA sure is glistening. He’s allowed just 32 hits in 44 innings, with 46 strikeouts, and the Giants are surely pleased with those numbers.

RHP Alix Hernandez pitched well in relief, with 3 strikeouts in 2.1 no-hit innings, with 1 walk allowed. I’ve always been a fan of Hernandez’s stuff, and he’s shown it off this year with 29 strikeouts in just 23.2 innings … though 11 walks and 3 homers allowed have given the 21-year old a 3.80 ERA and a 5.52 FIP.

Home run tracker

9 — Dario Reynoso — [Low-A]
1 — Fernando Gonzalez — [Low-A]

Thursday schedule

Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Tacoma (SP: Carson Seymour)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs. Erie (SP: Greg Farone)
Eugene: 7:05 p.m. PT at Everett (SP: Niko Mazza)
San Jose: 6:30 p.m. PT vs. Inland Empire (SP: TBD)

Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV.