Jul 9, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) reacts after hitting an RBI single against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning at Citi Field. Benge ended up on third base after a Royals error on the play. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The Mets played a rather complete game against the Royals; arguably one of the more complete wins on the season.
Sean Manaea was the standard bearer for the team, throwing seven excellent innings. He was, however, treated quite rudely to start, as Lane Thomas took the very first pitch of the game and deposited it into the seats. The Mets did not let that 1-0 deficit stand for long, as Birthday Boy Jared Young doubled home Carson Benge to tie the game in the second inning. The Royals took the lead back in the fourth, when Bobby Witt hit a no-doubter to make it 2-1.
The 2-1 deficit held until the fifth inning, where the Mets took control of the game for good. Tyrone Taylor, who entered the game as a Mark Vientos replacement, after Vientos took a painful looking hit by pitch off the hand and was forced to exit, led off the fifth with a homer to tie the game at two. Brett Baty followed that up with a single, stole second, and was pushed to third on an A.J. Ewing single (Ewing, by the way, saw his first professional innings at second base in this one, as he moved from center field to second following the Vientos’s exit). Juan Soto worked a walk, which loaded the bases for Bo Bichette. Bichette flew out to center in a sacrificial fashion, chasing Ewing home and giving the Mets a 3-2 lead. Back to back singles by Benge and Francisco Alvarez pushed the lead to 6-2.
The game was mostly in cruise control from there. Manaea did not surrender an earned run after the Witt homer, going seven innings in the process. The third Royals run was largely due to an two out error by Soto in the seventh, as he overran a single and allowed Nick Loftin to get into scoring position. Jac Caglianone doubled him home, which put Manaea in a bit of a pickle. He walked Isaac Collins, putting the tying run at the plate, but a bizarre bunt attempt by Tyler Tobert gifted the Mets a reprieve from the jam.
Soto made up for his gaffe in left field, leading off the seventh inning with an absolutely mammoth home run (435 ft. to be exact). The rest of the game was elementary. Huascar Brazobán and Devin Williams threw a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively, striking out three and allowing one hit (a two out single in the ninth) combined, giving the Mets a series win over the Royals.
Big Mets winner: Carson Benge, +19% WPA Big Mets loser: Luis Torrens, -9% WPA Mets pitchers: +7%WPA Mets hitters: +43% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: Carson Benge’s RBI single in the fifth, +18.1% WPA Teh sux0rest play: Bobby Witt Jr.’s solo home run, -13.0% WPA
Detroit Tigers Jahmai Jones (18) looks out at the scoreboard during his game against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, June 21, 2026. | David Rodriguez-Munoz / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Well, the day was bound to come. Pinch-hit specialist Jahmai Jones has struggled mightily all season long, and while the Detroit Tigers were more patient than most liked, he just hasn’t been able to turn things around. Dillon Dingler’s hand contusion isn’t going to put him on the injured list, but it did precipitate a move to make sure the Tigers have the catching depth and another right-handed power bat on hand. As a result, catcher and first baseman Eduardo Valencia has been promoted from Triple-A Toledo to make his major league debut.
Manager A.J Hinch told reporters on Thursday that his All-Star catcher was day-to-day, with hopes that he’d be able to play in the Philadelphia Phillies series at Comerica Park this weekend. Dingler was clipped by a foul tip that struck his hand between the base of his right thumb and forefinger on Wednesday against the Athletics. The area swelled up on him, but x-rays revealed that there was no underlying damage. That will coax a sigh of relief out of Tigers fans as Dingler is currently playing like one of the top handful of players in baseball. Hopefully he can get right and pick up where he left off.
As for Jones, well you can’t say the Tigers weren’t patient. For a veteran with a long track record, three months to try and get jump-started would be a fairly long leash but not unusual. For a limited player with one specific role and only a partial season’s worth of success in the major leagues in his late 20’s, the Tigers weren pretty generous here, but the issue has mainly been a lack of an obvious replacement. The club already promoted right-handed hitting outfielder Ben Malgeri to help carry some of the load in the outfield, and Dingler and Spencer Torkelson have been the designated destroyers of left-handed pitching instead over the past five weeks.
Maybe Jones will catch on somewhere else for a brief look, but probably the best move for him is to just accept a Triple-A assignment with the Tigers and give himself some time to try and get it going at the plate again.
The 26-year-old Valencia was added to the 40-man roster last fall to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The right-handed hitter broke out in a big way last year, hitting 24 home runs between the Double-A Erie SeaWolves and the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens in 2025. After years of injuries and stagnant development in the farm system, it all finally started to come together for him. He got out to a slow start this season, but heated up into May and June. He now holds a 122 wRC+ with 16 home runs, a 10 percent walk rate, and a solid 20.8 percent strikeout rate. Much of that production came in June where he posted a 1.078 OPS with five home runs, six doubles, and a declining strikeout rate on the month.
The Venezuelan born Valencia has a balanced enough approach that he’s pretty good against right-handed pitching, but he does thrive against lefties. He holds an .892 OPS against southpaws this season, with a strikeout rate below 20 percent. He’s hit six home runs in 89 plate appearances, whereas he has 10 homers against right-handed pitching in 242 plate appearances.
The slow playing of Valencia was likely as much about his defensive role as his bat. The Tigers continue to work hard with him on his defensive progression, while mixing him in at first base more and more to open up another possibility for him positionally. He’s caught 47 games and played first base 23 times this season to date. That work was required before the Tigers were going to be comfortable with him in the field at the major league level. Valencia is decently capable behind the plate, but just doesn’t have the advanced framing, blocking, and throwing the Tigers demand from their catchers at the major league level. Learning first base has been a challenge for him too, and right now he’s mostly, like Jones, a bat without a home. However, he’s a much better bet than Jones to actually do some damage and give the Tigers some consistent at-bats. At the same time he’ll get to work with the major league staff on his defense and he has been improving at the first base position this spring.
With Jones DFA’d, however, it does mean that there’s at least a temporary role available for Valencia here if he’s productive at the plate. It’s not necessarily a quick stay until the Tigers are sure Dingler is good to go. Congratulations to Eduardo Valencia on his major league debut.
Jul 9, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) follows through on a solo home run against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The Royals failed to capitalize on the chance to take two straight series as they fell to the Mets, 7-3, Thursday afternoon.
Kansas City led the game going into the bottom of the fifth, but for the third straight game, they allowed New York to score at least four runs in an inning, this time giving up five in the fifth. When the offense is plating 16 runs, that may not matter, but it certainly does when the lineup slumbers through an afternoon, like it did today.
The Royals led at two different points. Lane Thomas led off the game with a home run, his seventh of the season. After the Mets tied it in the bottom of the second, the Royals regained the lead in the top of the fourth when Bobby Witt Jr. hit his 13th home run. Not so lucky, that odd number.
Michael Wacha started for the Royals, yet couldn’t make it out of that forsaken fifth inning. Over 4-and-2/3 innings pitched, he allowed six hits, walked three, struck out five, and allowed one homer. In all, he surrendered six runs, all earned. He took the loss, dropping to 5-7.
The Mets took their first lead of the game in the fifth, then padded it, and never gave it up. Tyrone Taylor led off the inning with his sixth home run of the year, tying the game at 2-2. The Mets soon loaded the bases with just one out before Bo Bichette hit a sacrifice fly to give them the 3-2 lead. Carson Benge followed with a two-run bloop single. Before Wacha exited, he allowed one final hit, this time an RBI single by Francisco Alvarez that made it 6-2.
In the top of the seventh, the Royals thought about coming back, but ultimately reversed course. After the first two batters went down, Nick Loftin singled before scoring on Jac Caglianone’s RBI double. 6-3, Mets. Isaac Collins followed with a walk to bring up the potential tying run in the form of Tyler 12-for-12 Tolbert.
Naturally, with two outs, Tolbert bunted. The ball didn’t go all that far before Luis Torrens, the Mets catcher, scooped it up and fired to first for the third and final out of the inning. Once again, a bunt kills the comeback. I’m starting to think that bunts, not home runs, are the true rally killers.
The Mets almost immediately got that run back when Juan Soto uncorked his 21st home of the year in the bottom half of the frame to make it 7-3, Mets. And that ended up being the final score.
Loftin added a single in the ninth, so he ended the day as the only Royal with a multi-hit game. Congrats, Nick. Outside of Soto’s home run off reliever Beck Way, the bullpen didn’t allow any damage. Of course, Wacha had already taken care of that issue.
Sean Manaea, the Mets starting pitcher, finished the day with seven innings pitched, allowing six hits and a single walk while striking out six. He allowed two home runs.
With the loss, the Royals fall to 38-56. They continue their East Coast trip tomorrow as they travel to Baltimore to take on the Orioles. I’ll have that series preview for everyone early tomorrow afternoon.
It appears the Mets are going to be without Mark Vientos for quite some time.
While interim manager Andy Green didn't want to go into specifics, he did confirm that Vientos fractured a bone in his right hand on the HBP that forced him out of Thursday's game in the bottom of the second.
Vientos immediately turned and went down in a heap of pain after the Michael Wacha offering struck him on the hand, but he was able to make his way down to first after being checked out by trainers.
He remained in the game to run the bases, but was pulled when the Mets took the field in the top half.
It's unclear exactly how much time Vientos will miss, but he'll certainly require a lengthy IL stint.
"Disappointed for what he's going through," Green said. "I popped in in the middle of the game to check on him when I had a quick minute, and it's just really disappointing."
Disappointing is the perfect way to sum up Vientos' season to this point.
The 26-year-old brought over his struggles from last season into spring training and the beginning of this year, as he's been unable to regain his 2024 breakout form on both sides of the ball.
Vientos was hitting just .211 with nine doubles, 11 homers, and a .641 OPS entering play on Thursday.
He also slumped mightily with the glove as he made the transition over to first base full-time this year, sitting among the league's worst at the position in errors (7) and OAA (-9).
Jared Young ultimately took over the bulk of the playing time over the past few weeks.
With Vientos sidelined, the Mets will likely continue to lean on Young as their everyday 1B until Jorge Polanco is eventually ready to work his way back into the field following his return from injury.
Important context that chase rate alone is not bad. "I think that goes back to knowing who you are," said Jake Burger. "For me, if I get passive and my chase rate goes down, I'm also probably not doing as much damage. I think a big thing is just knowing thyself. You know, there are certain guys in here who have an elite eye and disciplined approach, and certain guys in here who are like, "Hey, I'm getting mine off, and if it's out of the zone, it's out of the zone, but eventually [the pitcher is] gonna make a mistake. So I think it's definitely knowing thyself." - Burger
"That's probably true. In my experience, chasing pitches outside the zone has to do with a failure of being prepared for that at-bat and understanding what the pitcher is going to do. If you're fully bought into what your approach should be off of a certain guy when he throws certain pitches, you should be checking down on them anyways, regardless of where they're at, even if they're in the zone. So, for me and my experience, you know that doesn't change. It only changes if you're unprepared." - Max Muncy
"If I'm going off my career, like nothing's changed. I've critiqued some things, but I'm not up there thinking about if I'm gonna swing at a bad pitch. I'm swinging a good pitch, like, starts in my window that I want to swing. I'm swinging like, It's simple for me. I'm not trying to go up there and make sure it's a strike. It's too late for that. You know, like, pitchers are too good now, balls move way more." - Buxton
"If I chase, I chase. It's as simple as that."
"Early my career, I was chasing sliders like crazy, and it was like, All right, how are we gonna stop chasing? I was actually with James Ralston, the hidden coach for the Yankees. I was trying to find my foundation. Because growing up, I was good, but we didn't have no hitting coaches in my area. We didn't have all this technology like you played to figure it out. And when I got to the big leagues, I knew a little bit, but it wasn't nothing that I knew I needed to stay here. So it was like finding my foundation. And once I found a foundation, which is my base of my swing, and that changed my whole career, because now it was like, Oh, I can sit back on a breaking ball. Now I can sit back on a change up."
"That switches your mind to I'm a dangerous hitter. That's literally how I think when I go up there. I'm not worried about chasing; I'm worried about doing damage to you. For us in here, that's what we focus on."
"How you supposed to cover both [sides of the plate]? That's the hard part of the game. Like you pick a side, and when they start in that tunnel, you go for it. For me, it ain't no such thing as like, oh, you swung at a bad pitch. Yeah, but you got to throw me two more of them things for me to swing at."
Thanks to Kyle Bland
Kyle Bland of Pitcher List
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Kyle Bland of Pitcher List
Statistically, hitters can't really improve their chase rate.
We know that home runs tend to increase in the summer months.A 2025 article by Garrett Heyd pointed out that warm air means the air molecules are farther apart, which makes the air less dense and allows the ball to travel farther. The article has far more scientific detail, but, for our purposes, warm and more humid weather means the ball travels farther, which is why we tend to see more home runs in the summer.
However, there's another element here as well. As I covered in my MLB notebook last week, the baseball has changed since the start of the season (because of a manufacturing issue), and that has led to less drag on the baseball, which means batted balls are now flying about five feet farther than they were in the early months of the season. So with warmer weather and a baseball that gets less drag, we should see far more home runs hit over the next couple of months. But which hitters would that impact the most?
In the hopes of trying to get the best sense of current batted ball quality, I limited my search to hitters' performances from May 20th on. That gave us about a 40-game sample size for most of the hitters, but I set the minimum plate appearances at 40. I then looked at hitters who had been barreling the ball more than league average, pulling the ball in the air around league average, and producing a lower HR/FB rate than average. The thought being that these hitters will naturally run into some more home run luck, but could also see an even bigger spike with the humid weather and the change in the ball.
Hitters Who Are Due to Hit More Home Runs
THE LEAGUE AVERAGE FROM MAY 20TH TO JULY 8TH IS A 7.6% BARREL RATE, 18,7% PULL AIR RATE, AND A 12.6% HR/FB RATE
Name
Barrel%
HR
HR/FB
Pull Air%
Jackson Merrill
0.10084
6
0.125
21
Max Muncy
0.08
5
0.125
29
Corbin Carroll
0.085938
6
0.122449
22.7
Jorge Soler
0.111111
3
0.12
31.7
Tyler Stephenson
0.085714
3
0.12
32.9
Dylan Crews
0.092437
6
0.12
15.1
Royce Lewis
0.126582
5
0.119048
38
Luke Raley
0.098592
4
0.117647
29.6
Jesús Sánchez
0.207547
2
0.111111
22.6
Dalton Rushing
0.121622
3
0.103448
28.4
Matt McLain
0.135593
3
0.103448
20.3
Cal Raleigh
0.102564
2
0.1
33.3
Mookie Betts
0.081633
7
0.094595
21.1
Bobby Witt Jr.
0.125
5
0.09434
18.3
Logan O'Hoppe
0.12987
3
0.085714
19.5
Trevor Larnach
0.07767
4
0.085106
26.2
Salvador Perez
0.107438
4
0.083333
25.6
A few of these guys may see slight increases in home run production in the second half, but have already hit a decent amount since May 20th and have league average (or close to it) HR/FB numbers. Guys like Jackson Merrill, Bobby Witt Jr., Max Muncy, Corbin Carroll, and Dylan Crews aren't likely to increase their home run pace, but it is worth noting that Merrill and Crews each have six home runs in 42 games since May 20th. That's about a 22 home run pace over a full season (assuming they don't play a full 162 games). Those aren't exceptional numbers, but I think they're better numbers than most people assume you're getting from those two. In fact, Crews also has a 47.1% hard-hit rate over that stretch, which is 36th out of 163 qualified hitters. His .262 xBA and .461 xSLG are also much higher than what he has actually produced, and I think Crews could be in for a really nice second half.
Jorge Soler and Luke Raley are also power hitters who we know hit big flys in spurts. They both have been continuing to pull the ball in the air far more than average and barrel the ball well above league average as well. Hot stretches are going to come for both of them at some point. Dalton Rushing may also not play enough games when Will Smith is back, so I'm not going to go into detail on him, bu the does have a 12.2% barrel rate since May 20th and is getting the ball to the pull side in the air, so he likely should not have a below-average HR/FB ratio.
Cal Raleigh - Mariners
It's probably not a shock that I think Raleigh will hit more than the nine home runs he has through 61 games so far this season. Not just because he had 60 home runs last season, but because he has proven himself to be a consistent 30-plus home run hitter. Now, Raleigh's 61.5% pull rate since May 20th could be a touch too high. He was at 55.5% last season, so he has always been incredibly pull-focused but is perhaps a bit more so now as he tries to hit his way out of the slump. The injuries could also be taking a toll on his quality of contact, but he has a 10.2% barrel rate in this timeframe, and while that's low for him, it should amount to more than two home runs, especially when he is getting the ball to the pull side in the air so often.
Mookie Betts - Dodgers
Your buy-low window on Mookie Betts has slammed closed. The veteran was limited by injury early in the season and hit .194/.259/.408 in 25 games by the end of May. From June 1st on, he's hit .269/.326/.446 with five home runs and 14 RBI. His barrel rate is just above league average, and he's pulling the ball less than average; however, he is still getting it in the air to the pull side more than most. His exit velocities are not elite, but they're good enough that he should have a better than 9.4% HR/FB rate over this stretch. The only time he's been below 9.8% was in his injury-plagued season last year, and he's up at 10.9% this season, so more home runs should be coming.
Tyler Stephenson - Reds
Stephenson is an interesting name on here. His 8.5% barrel rate and 42.8% pull rate since May 20th are just above league average, but he's pulling the ball less than normal. Yet, his nearly 33% Pull Air Rate is far above the league average, so even if he's not pull-centric overall, he is doing a good job of elevating to the pull side. He's perhaps just elevating too much. His 19.7 degree launch angle this season is well above his 11 degree career mark, and his HR/FB rate is the lowest it's ever been. I like that he's trying to elevate the ball to the pull side more than before, and we clearly like his home park, so if he can get his launch angle back just a bit closer to his career norms, we could see a nice power stretch.
Royce Lewis - Twins
Since Royce Lewis came back to the big leagues on June 6th, he's hitting .255/.320/.455 with five home runs, 13 RBI, and a 12% barrel rate. He's also pulling the ball over 50% of the time and has the highest Pull Air% on this list at 38%. Now, we know that a high Pull Air% doesn't automatically mean more home runs, but we also know that more pulled fly balls leave the yard than any other type of contact. With Lewis hitting the ball hard and elevating it to the pull side, it's a bit surprising to see his HR/FB rate come in at a below-average mark. I'd expect that to change in the hot summer months.
Matt McLain - Reds
Matt McLain could lose his playing time when Ke'Bryan Hayes comes back, so we need to keep that in mind. From May 20th on, he's hitting .147/.250/.284 with three home runs and a 34% strikeout rate. That's not very good. He also has a 13.6% barrel rate and has a 17.5% blast rate per contact. Blasts are a Statcast metric that measures when a batter squares up a ball and does so at a high bat speed. According to Statcast research, blasts lead to a .563 batting average, 1.182 slugging percentage, and a +34 Run Value. Non-blasted batted balls average out to a .231 batting average, .295 slugging percentage, and -5 Run Value. So, pretty clearly, Blasts are usually balls that result in impactful contact. Well, McLain has 17.5% blasts/contact since May 20th, which is 52nd among 214 qualified hitters. That type of batted ball quality should not lead to such poor results, which is probably why his .397 xSLG since May 20th is well above his .284 actual slugging percentage. I know McLain is tough to hold onto right now, but there are some encouraging signs in his batted ball data.
Logan O’Hoppe - Angels
O'Hoppe is another fringe one-catcher league catcher that we were hoping to get more production from in drafts. Since May 20th, he's hitting .243/.264/.383 with three home runs and 15 RBI. That comes with a 24% strikeout rate, which is actually pretty good for O'Hoppe, and a 13.6% barrel rate. He's pulling the ball in the air just 19.5% of the time over that stretch, but that's still above league average, and his pull rate and fly ball rate individually suggest that he should be getting to the pull side in the air a bit more often. His 18.1% blasts per contact rate is also well above the 13.3% league average and puts him 47th out of 214 qualified hitters. His 8.6% HR/FB rate just feels too low for a guy with a 15% career rate. The big flys should be coming.
Trevor Larnach - Twins
Larnach is flying a bit under the radar this year because the Twins aren't particularly good, and Larnach doesn't really play against lefties, but he has been good. Since May 20th, he's hitting .310/.378/.481 with four home runs. He does have just a 7.6% barrel rate and 38% hard-hit rate, so he's not knocking the cover off of the ball, but he has a 26.2% Pull Air rate, so he is getting the ball in the air to the pull side far more often than league average. He also has a 17.4% blast per contact rate, so he's making damaging contact despite the average barrel rates. Given that and his pull air rate, I think he's likely deserving of better than an 8.5% HR/FB rate. He's still going to be more valuable in daily moves leagues, but he can be rostered in more formats.
Hitters Who Need to Pull More to See a Power Spike
THE LEAGUE AVERAGE PULL RATE FROM MAY 20TH TO JULY 8TH IS 41.2%
Name
Barrel%
HR
HR/FB
Pull Air%
Pull%
Fernando Tatis Jr.
0.110345
5
0.113636
10.3
0.344828
Blaze Alexander
0.106383
3
0.111111
14
0.354839
Lars Nootbaar
0.101449
2
0.090909
11.6
0.405797
Kahlil Watson
0.105263
1
0.0625
15.8
0.342105
Wilyer Abreu
0.117647
4
0.061538
18.6
0.338983
Jo Adell
0.084615
5
0.09434
14.6
0.376923
Andy Pages
0.091549
6
0.084507
18.3
0.352113
Austin Riley
0.10989
2
0.046512
15.4
0.32967
All of these are hitters who are barreling the ball enough to hit for more power but might need to pull the ball more often. Now, we should note that hitters don't NEED to pull the ball to hit home runs. Many hitters have enough power to drive the ball out of the park no matter where they hit it. However, we do know that pulled fly balls leave the yard more regularly than any other type of contact, so these hitters looking to pull the ball a bit more often would likely help them to rack up more home runs. Andy Pages may be one of those guys, since he has six home runs in this stretch despite posting a 35.2% pull rate and a league-average Pull Air%. However, his 8.4% HR/FB rate suggests that there is some positive regression coming his way, and there could be more if he looked to get the ball in the air to the pull side more often.
I've been a big Blaze Alexander fan for much of the year, and I still think he should be used in many fantasy formats, but I'm not sure we're going to see a major power bump. He's hitting the ball harder than he has in years, but his barrel rate is down to 6.7%, and he's using the whole field more often, so he's not pulling the ball in the air that often. His approach works for his overall stat line, but not really for home run production. Similarly, Khalil Watson has become a full-time player for the Guardians of late and has a 10.3% barrel rate and above-average blasts per contact. That said, he doesn't really pull the ball much and has a 16% swinging strike rate, which means he may not make enough contact to really hit enough home runs. Lars Nootbaar also has the second-lowest Pull Air% of anybody on this list at 11.6%. His blast per contact rate is an elite 19.8%, and he has a 10.1% barrel rate, but we're going to need to see him elevate the ball in the air more often if power is going to come.
Fernando Tatis Jr. - Padres
We knew Tatis was going to see a bit of a power surge after it took him so long to hit his first home run, but I think his pace should continue to increase as the summer goes on. Since May 20th, he has an 11% barrel rate and has 25% blasts per contact, which is the 3rd-best mark in all of baseball. Yet, he has just a 30.5% flyball rate and a 34.5% pull rate, both of which are well below average. That has also led to a below-average 10.3% Pull Air rate; yet, despite that, he still has only a slightly below-average HR/FB rate. So he doesn't NEED to pull the ball to hit more home runs because he hits the ball so hard, but even a slight uptick in pull rate, with the warm weather supporting him, should lead to plenty more power production.
Wilyer Abreu - Red Sox
Wilyer hit 22 home runs for the Red Sox last season with a 15.2% HR/FB rate, so it's a bit surprising to see him sitting at just 10 home runs and an 8.1% HR/FB rate on the season despite still posting an above-average barrel rate and hard-hit rate. Since May 20th, he's actually 11th among qualified hitters in barrel rate and has a 55.6% fly ball rate. Yet, he's not pulling the ball enough or pulling the ball in the air enough. That's been a bit of an issue for him all season, with his pull rate down 9% from last year. He's not making more contact in the zone, so we can't point to an approach shift that is prioritizing contact over power. I have to think that Wilyer will get back to pulling the ball at his career-norm levels, which should see that HR/FB rate rise back up.
Jo Adell - Angels
You won't believe me when I say this article was drafted before Wednesday night's two-homer barrage, but you can see that the stats above don't reflect Adell's numbers after Wednesday. Now, I could just say "See what he did on Wednesday" and close the argument for why Adell should hit for more power in the second half, but I should probably give you the spiel I had drafted. Adell has an 8.4% barrel rate since May 20th, which is above average but not great for him. His bat speed remains elite, but I think his swing is a bit steeper than normal, which has led to fewer fly balls and more infield pop-ups when he does elevate the ball. A 14.6% Pull Air rate is not a great mark, but Adell hits the ball hard enough that a 9.4% HR/FB rate just feels wholly unsustainable for a hitter who has a 16.1% career rate.
Austin Riley - Braves
I know, you don't trust Austin Riley. I get it, but hear me out. Since May 20th, he has a 10.9% barrel rate and is lifting the ball 47% of the time. The issue is that he's still battling that indecision that led to less contact and just a 32.9% pull rate and 15.4% Pull Air rate over this timeframe. That's not the Riley we know. It's also part of the reason he has just a 4.7% HR/FB rate since May 20th. I can't tell you that Riley will definitely start pulling the ball more, but I can tell you that he's still hitting the ball hard and trying to elevate it. I can tell you that, on the season, his pull rates aren't that much different from what we've seen from him during his career. An 8.9% HR/FB rate from a career 17.5% hitter just doesn't seem like something that will withstand the warmer months.
The Mets beat the Royals, 7-3, on Thursday afternoon at Citi Field in the finale of a three-game series.
Here are the takeaways...
- With the Mets trailing, 2-1, in the bottom of the fifth inning, their offense erupted against Royals starter Michael Wacha.
After Tyrone Taylor led things off with a homer to left field, Brett Baty singled. Following a line out by Luis Torrens, A.J. Ewing singled to bring in Baty (who had stolen second base), Juan Soto walked after working the count full, Bo Bichette delivered a sacrifice fly, and Carson Benge lofted a single to center field to bring home a pair -- on the play, an error on Royals center fielder Lane Thomas allowed Soto to come all the way around from first base.
New York didn't stop there, with Francisco Alvarez ripping a single to left field to drive in another and Jared Young doubling as the Mets batted around.
All told, the Mets scored five runs on six hits in the frame to take a 6-2 lead.
After the Royals scratched out an unearned run in the top of the seventh, the Mets added on in the bottom half when Soto walloped a 435-foot homer to right center to increase New York's advantage to 7-3.
- On the first pitch of the game, Sean Manaea tried to sneak a 90.6 mph fastball past Thomas, but the pitch caught too much plate and Thomas blasted it over the left field fence for a leadoff homer and immediate Royals lead.
After retiring seven of the next eight batters (a Starling Marte infield single was the only blip during the stretch), Manaea was victimized again by the long ball to open the fourth inning, with Bobby Witt Jr. drilling a leadoff homer to left field to give Kansas City a 2-1 lead.
Manaea was economical, with his pitch count at 63 to start the sixth inning, and was able to make it through seven innings for the first time this season.
Overall, he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits while walking one and striking out six.
- The Mets made Wacha work hard early, including a nine-pitch at-bat by Bichette that resulted in a groundout to end the first inning. In the second,Benge led off with a walk and stole second base, eventually coming around to score on a Jared Young double into the right field corner that tied things, 1-1.
After all the traffic on the bases in the second inning (on a double, walk, and hit by pitch), the Mets went down meekly for a while, with Wacha retiring eight straight batters.
- Devin Williams pitched a scoreless ninth inning to nail down the game, working around a two-out single.
- Mark Vientos exited the game ahead of the third inning after being hit by a pitch in the hand. With the Mets shuffling things around to deal with Vientos' absence at third base, A.J. Ewing slid from center field to second base -- getting his first taste at the position since making his big league debut in May. Ewing has plenty of minor league experience at second base, making 52 starts there over four seasons.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JUNE 27: Foster Griffin #22 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 27, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When the Nationals signed Foster Griffin in December of 2025, he was labeled as a low-upside reclamation project. The southpaw hadn’t thrown an MLB pitch since September of 2022, a season in which he posted an 8.33 ERA across 6.1 innings with the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays. His prestige as a 2014 1st-round MLB Draft selection had long worn off, and he was forced to play in Japan for 3 seasons before earning another chance at the big leagues.
In need of pitching, Washington’s front office gave him that chance, likely hoping that the lefty, who had thrown only 8.0 MLB innings in his career, would be an arm who could provide some innings at the back end of the rotation. 110.1 innings and 19 starts later, Griffin has become the most effective pitcher in the Nats’ rotation and has picked up 10 wins before the All-Star break.
Nats southpaw Foster Griffin should probably be an All-Star. Dude came over from Japan last winter and has been nails for a resurgent Nats team.
Doesn't walk guys, limits hard contact, fun eight-pitch mix. Has a 2.77 ERA right now in 110.1 innings. Carved up HOU last night. pic.twitter.com/KUMxzHzdR7
Looking even further ahead, the entire MLB media saw Washington as nothing more than a rebuilding team, with aspirations of a playoff berth multiple years away at best. 94 games into the 2026 season, the Nats remain above .500 as a team and are still very much in the mix for a Wild Card spot.
A high-end outcome for Griffin when he signed his 1-year, $5.5 million contract was seen as him becoming a decent trade candidate who could potentially net a prospect or two at the trade deadline. Now, the conversation surrounding the 30-year-old has grown increasingly complicated. There still isn’t a definitive answer as to how the Washington brass will approach the deadline, with the decision of whether to sell and stick to the rebuild or buy and believe in the youth movement far from a simple one.
If they were to go with the former, the reasons why he would be an attractive trade candidate are plentiful. His ERA ranks in the top 20 lowest marks in baseball, he continues to generate whiffs and work deeper into games, and his contract is incredibly cheap, especially compared to his production thus far. Griffin’s status as a 1-year rental and his lack of extended MLB success will give teams at least some level of pause, so moving him would bring back a good return but nothing overwhelmingly substantial.
Choosing to keep him and buy at the deadline in hopes of making a “Cinderella-esque” run in October is the aggressive, high-risk, high-reward move, and his pitching style has proven to be valuable in the postseason. The downside there, however, is obvious. Keeping your best trade piece could prove costly if the team fades in the second half, with deciding to pass on receiving possibly rebuild-accelerating prospects an occurrence that could hurt the club’s long-term outlook.
There are some saving graces in that scenario, though, with the main one being the option to begin extension talks with Griffin’s camp to lock him up for the foreseeable future. If nothing can get done on that front, extending the Qualifying Offer to him in free agency could give the Nats another draft pick if he signs elsewhere.
A final decision on Griffin’s future with Washington doesn’t have to come for a couple more weeks and will likely be heavily influenced by how the team performs after the All-Star break. Whichever way the front office goes, the Nats will have either a reliable starter for a playoff push or one of the most sought-after arms at the deadline.
CHICAGO — Boston Red Sox pitcher Ranger Suarez will miss the All-Star Game after he was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left groin strain.
The IL stint for Suarez was made retroactive a day after he left with two outs in the third inning in Boston’s 7-5 victory at the Los Angeles Angels. The left-hander is 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA in 17 starts in his first season after signing a five-year, $130 million contract with the Red Sox in free agency.
The 30-year-old Suarez was scheduled to pitch again at the New York Mets.
“He is showing some improvement, but not enough to where, if there’s still some soreness and tightness in there, not enough to where we’re feeling comfortable he’s going to be able to go Saturday,” interim manager Chad Tracy said.
Tracy said the team is considering several options for the start at New York, including Brayan Bello, who was optioned to Triple-A Worcester in June. With the All-Star break coming up, the Red Sox also could go with a bullpen game.
Suarez also was an All-Star in 2024, but he missed the game because of back stiffness. This year’s Midsummer Classic is in Philadelphia, where Suarez spent his first eight big league seasons.
“Obviously sad. I wanted to be able to go there, represent my team and also enjoy the moment,” Suarez said through a translator. “But I think the best thing for me is to take care of my body and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Suarez could be replaced on the AL team by Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray, who is 10-1 with a 2.61 ERA in 16 starts. Suarez said he is hopeful about coming off the IL as soon as he is eligible after the break.
“The four days that we have break, I’m going to do treatment and I hope I’m not going to lose any (starts), but we’ll see how it goes,” he said.
The Red Sox had won five in a row and 10 of 12 overall going into their series finale at the Chicago White Sox.
All-Star slugger Willson Contreras was out of the starting lineup after he fouled a ball off his left foot during a 5-0 victory. But second baseman Anthony Seigler was leading off a day after a collision with catcher Kyle Teel at the plate.
“Just sore,” Tracy said of Contreras. “So we’ll let him rest today, get a bunch of treatment, see where we’re at.”
Infielder Brett Harris was recalled from Worcester, and he started in Contreras’ place at first base. The 28-year-old Harris was acquired in a trade with the Athletics on July 1 after he was designated for assignment.
Harris hit a grand slam during a minor league doubleheader and then received word he was going up to the Red Sox.
“I just got to know most of the guys in Triple-A and now I got to restart the process here. But I’m excited,” Harris said.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aaron Judge will have his injured rib tested during the All-Star break and the New York Yankees are hopeful the results show the three-time AL MVP is healing.
Judge has not played since May 31 and went on the injured list June 5 with a stress fracture of his right rib after a CT scan, an MRI and a meeting with a specialist.
“I don’t think we want to put him at risk of coming back while still injured,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters. “He should be asymptomatic before we turn him loose. If he’s asymptomatic and not feeling anything and (medical images) are showing healing, then it’s probably appropriate to get him going again. But we don’t want to, because the schedule is what it is, put him in a position where we’re putting him in jeopardy where it somehow gets worse.”
The Yankees were 14-19 without Judge entering their series finale against the AL-East leading Tampa Bay Rays.
Cashman said the injury has restricted Judge’s ability to work out his upper body because he can’t put stress on his rib cage. The new images will give a better understanding of where he stands in his rehab process.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 28: Alex Call #12 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on in the dugout during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on June 28, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Meg McLaughlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We have arrived at the final off day before the All-Star Break.
Just in the past week, the Dodgers have completed a four-game set with the San Diego Padres, whose season looks as cooked as a well-done steak made for a timid geriatric, and a sloppy three-game set against the Colorado Rockies.
It’s worth repeating after this recent holiday: if you want well-done steak, just have chicken. Or turkey, which is an apt description of the Dodgers’ play over the past week.
Speaking of which, the Dodgers will not see the Padres again until the final home series of the regular season in September. The Dodgers have one last trip to Colorado in mid-August, but otherwise are finished with the Rockies in 2026.
The Dodgers currently have a 14-game lead over the second-place Padres, which is a 105-win pace for the regular season. This essay was originally supposed to drop earlier this week, but the urge to play Paul Harvey was too irresistible…and now you know…the rest of the story.
Before getting to the kernel of the idea that originally prompted this essay, it is time to address something that been in my craw since Game 3 of the 2025 World Series.
“Steven Kwan was right there!”
As you may recall, the Dodgers famously did not trade for Cleveland Guardians outfield Steven Kwan last trade, even though the entire league expected the move.
Instead, the Dodgers got Alex Call from the Washington Nationals in a move that felt reminisicent of having “Steven Kwan at home.” For the rest of the year, I used a shorthand whenever Alex Call failed to deliver: “Steven Kwan was right there!”
I admit it’s unfair to Call, but sometimes the right response to annoyance is a well-timed barb. Jump forward from the trade deadline to Game 3 of the 2025 World Series. The consensus is that the game was an all-time classic. I politely and firmly disagree. The game was entertaining sure, but to me a classic game is one that is played well.
There were far too many boners and gaffes that night for me to call the game a classic. The vast majority of which are a subject for another day as the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays careened from glory to disaster and back again, while I tried to keep the site from slowing to a crawl.
While things worked out how they did, including the legend of Will Klein, the game should have ended far sooner. In the bottom of the 13th inning, Alex Call is facing Eric Lauer with Tommy Edman on third with only one out.
All Call needs is a fly ball and the speedy Edman will propel the Dodgers to a 2-1 series lead. Call has a 2-0 count and gets a hittable pitch that catches plenty of the plate.
Alex Call is about to etch his name into Dodgers postseason history…never mind.
Five stressful innings later and the Dodgers had victory by the skin of their teeth. While Call’s pop up hurt my soul, it’s important to remember that Ernie Clement gifted the gift horse right back in the ninth inning of Game 6.
Yes, baseball is hard and yes, Kwan has been an offensive liability since the trade deadline, but Steven Kwan was right there!
If anyone wants to know the source of my general indifference, at best, towards Call, the above-play is my Exhibit A, which brings us to last night.
Alex “Blown” Call
Alex Call’s playing time has been scarce since the return of Teoscar Hernandez. Granted, Hernandez has not been tearing the cover off the ball, with one cinematic exception.
In the first inning of last night’s game, Alex Call somehow spectacularly burned through both of the team’s ABS challenges on successive pitches.
To add insult to injury, Call struck out while smiling during the entire ordeal.
The first challenge was defensible. The second challenge on the very next pitch was both somehow moronic and arrogant at the same time. Doubling down at the earliest opportunity at the blackjack table when you’re losing is a quick way to lose money even faster.
Or, if I am being too subtle:
Call’s behavior would have been unacceptable for just about anyone on the roster. For a role player with dwindling playing time with reinforcements on the way and promising prospects waiting in the wings to do so is borderline insane.
As much as some sectors of baseball media have been trying to get me to care about Dalton Rushing this year (I don’t), if there was a “hold my beer” moment that did not need to occur, it was last night.
Would Alek Thomas or Ryan Ward or any other promising outfielders currently toiling away in Oklahoma City be so glib and cavalier as Call? Probably not? We are afield of my expertise, lest my idea be blown.
Alex “Blown” Call, everybody.
What is even more striking is that Call is not the first person this week to unsuccessfully use their team’s ABS challenges as quickly as possible, which is not the goal.
Case in point, Randy Arozarena of the Mariners burned both of the Mariners’ challenges two batters into the game on July 4th with actual consequences to the Mariners in that game. One would think Call would think before depriving the rest of the offense and Roki Sasaki one of the tools of the arsenal.
Colorman Eric Karros called Call’s second challenge “a BS challenge” in one of the better puns one will hear during a broadcast this year.
If one held out hope that Manager Dave Roberts would have read Call the riot act after the game, or at least openly wondered why Call had failed to respond to the moment or why he had blown the challenges, that person would be out of luck.
"I know that this team is battle-tested… We still got to keep getting better."
That’s an outlier of a situation. [Call’s] been really dependable and trustworthy.
I wouldn’t call the situation an outlier, but we must move on. The entire episode does serve as the perfect segway to one of my bigger fears for the rest of the season.
The Summer Swoon arrives?
One might be tempted to think the division is all wrapped up. I am not one of those people.
Didn’t you predict the Dodgers would only win 92 games this year? Is this article your “I’m going to eat duck” mea culpa?
The meat of my position is the stretch of games happening right now. I can’t help but think back to last year, give or take a day or two.
One Piece Night came and went in 2025, as the Dodgers dispatched the Chicago White Sox. The team was 56-32 with a season-high nine-game lead over the Padres, which was just a 104-win regular-season pace.
Back then, people thought the division was all sewn up.
40 days later, on August 12, the lead was literally gone after a walk-off loss to the Anaheim Angels in Anaheim. The Dodgers did not permanently regain the division lead until August 25, when they kept a modest lead they would never relinquish.
Needless to say, the Dodgers didn’t win 104 games last season. Technically, they won 106 games (regular season and postseason combined). They only won 93 games during the last campaign.
Okay, 95%-team meeting, 5%-the joke and “trauma” was right there.
It helps that the Dodgers went 15-5 to close out the campaign, looking nothing like the dreary imposters that had appeared in July and August.
Different years, different teams
It is worth stating, in Eric Stephen-like terms, that each season is unique and that what happened before is not grounds for panic or even stress now. But as One Piece Night returned to somehow garner even more coverage than last year, the Dodgers have started looking a bit sloppy again. For those wondering if Dodger Stadium was indeed that busy that night, per Sam Blum and Brooks Peck of The Athletic:
The trading card, portraying the protagonist Monkey D. Luffy in a batting stance, was projected to carry significant financial value. The get-in price for the 56,000-seat stadium hovered around $300. A StubHub spokesperson said it was “the most in-demand Dodgers home game this year, after Opening Day.”
Yes, the Dodgers had a stinker in a sparsely attended game against a team most would rather be out of sight, out of mind to close out the Padres series. One would likely expect changes in the management of the Padres after the team sale, considering the dearth of lasting success in AJ Preller’s tenure.
Unless the Padres’ final goal was to beat the Dodgers that one time in 2022, with zero follow-up, in which case, mission accomplished. The Padres have a lot in common with the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team: big talk, no results.
Yes, the Dodgers had some terrible at-bats and let a plucky Rockies team hang around a lot longer than it probably should have. Yes, the bullpen and defense creaked a bit more than we have come to expect over the past couple of days.
Should you panic? No, but unlike what Roberts thinks an outlier is a unique situation. When you see echoes of what came before at the same time of year, it’s fair to wonder aloud when the moment calls for it.
It is literally impossible to maintain Game 7 level focus for the entire season without a mental breakdown. And yes, things worked out last year. While these two teams are different, there is a lot of overlap in personnel.
Eric Karros mentioned that the Dodgers had a rough night a couple of nights ago. That’s how swoons start. A bad at-bat begets a bad inning, which begets a bad game, which begets a bad series, which begets a bad week, and so on and so on and before you know, you sleptwalked through a month or six weeks and what was a comfortable division lead is a but a memory.
It’s probably best to wait and see right now. If the Dodgers struggle against Arizona as mightily as they did with the Rockies, then it might be time for everyone to take a break.
Are the Dodgers ready for the All-Star Break? Probably. It doesn’t help the questions of shifting focus that the second half starts with an East Coast odyssey with two teams that serve as a nice barometer for how the season is going: the New York Yankees and the suddenly resurgent-Philadelphia Phillies.
Sometimes annoyance is like gas; it’s better to just let it out in a free moment than let it fester until it is too late to call anyone, much less get an unpleasant response.
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Favorites to be picked Top 10 in the MLB Draft
Grady Emerson is trading at an overwhelming 99.7 cents, or -32333 in American odds (feel free to use our handy odds converter tool) to be drafted in the Top 10 of the 2026 MLB Draft. The 18-year-old shortstop from Fort Worth Christian (TX) will be drafted No. 1 overall in all likelihood by the Chicago White Sox, as he's the top-ranked prospect at MLB.com.
The top pitcher in the market is Jackson Flora, a 21-year-old righty out of UC Santa Barbara, ranked No. 4 overall.
PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 27: The tarp is seen on the infield during a rain delay in the Opening Day game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on July 27, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 2020 season had been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Dylan Dodd just got the Atlanta Braves out of the fifth inning with a 6-4 lead against the Pittsburgh Pirates. As it turns out, the Braves will have to wait to either hold on to or add to their two-run lead in the rubber match as the tarp has been put on the field at Pittsburgh.
According to local forecasts, this may not be a long one but we’re still in for a bit of a pause to see the conclusion to this game and series. Keep it right here for updates as we will provide them as they come.
We have entered a weather delay here in Pittsburgh. We'll keep you posted when we have a time for play to resume.
UPDATE [3:05 p.m. ET]: Both teams are now back in their dugouts and it appears that they figured to be better safe than sorry rather than playing through a drizzle. Play should resume shortly, so come join us in the chat and discussion thread!
The 2026 MLB Futures Game takes place this Sunday, July 12, at 12:00 PM ET on NBC and Peacock. MLB's top rising stars will go head-to-head in a seven-inning National League vs American League format at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
The Futures Game, which made its debut at Fenway Park in 1999, has been a stepping stone for some of the biggest names in the sport over the past 25 years, including Clayton Kershaw, Gerrit Cole, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Ronald Acuña Jr., Fernando Tatís Jr., Pete Alonso, Aaron Judge, and many more.
This year's rosters include No. 1 prospect Jesús Made of the Brewers, top pitching prospect Kade Anderson, Athletics prospect Leo De Vries, Pirates right-hander Seth Hernandez, and many more. See below for everything you need to know about the 2026 MLB Futures Game, including live stream information and full rosters.
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St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker will take part in the Home Run Derby in Philadelphia.
The 24-year-old is the fifth player announced for the competition, joining Boston’s Willson Contreras, Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero and the New York Yankees’ Ben Rice. The other three participants haven’t been announced.
Walker is a first-time All-Star who is having a breakout season and his 21 homers rank fifth in the National League. The 2020 first-round draft pick is batting .294, has an .889 OPS and leads the big leagues with 70 RBIs.
He’ll be the eighth Cardinals player to compete in the competition, joining Jack Clark (1985), Ray Lankford (1997), Mark McGwire (1998-99), Jim Edmonds (2003), Albert Pujols (2003, 2007, 2009, 2022), Matt Holliday (2010-11) and Carlos Beltran (2012).
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D.J. Short
