Category: MLB

The Nationals won their first championship in 2019, and after stumbling to a losing record in 2020, they began rebuilding. They traded Trea Turner and Max Scherzer in 2021, and Juan Soto in 2022. That brought several years of bad baseball, as the team struggled to develop good players. But the prospects from those trades are starting to bear fruit – three of them are in the regular starting lineup for this year’s Nationals – and the team is enjoying a winning season.

Kansas City Royals (29-43) vs. Washington Nationals (37-35) at Nationals Park, Washington, DC

Royals: 4.00 runs scored/game (29th in MLB), 4.68 runs allowed/game (20th)

Nationals: 5.44 runs scored/game (1st), 5.26 runs allowed/game (29th)

The Nationals have scored the most runs in baseball, with three games this month where they have scored 10+ runs. Only five teams have hit more home runs, and only the Marlins have stolen more bases. James Wood broke through last year with a 31-home run season and an All-Star appearances. He leads the National League in runs scored (66) and walks (58) this year, and is tied for fourth in MLB in home runs (20). Daylen Lile is hitting .333/.400/.511 in 12 games this month. Catcher Keibert Ruiz is hitting .366/.386/.648 at home. CJ Abrams is hitting .297/.395/.555 against lefties.

Jacob Young is fifth in baseball in taking called strikes at 22.8 percent. Nasim Nuñez leads the National League with 25 steals and has only been caught three times. The Nats lead all of baseball in most outs on the bases. Young grades as one of the best defenders in baseball, by Outs Above Average, while Abrams rates as one of the worst.

The Royals have announced Mitch Spence will be called up to start Monday to replace Seth Lugo, who is on the 7-day IL with a concussion. He’ll face Andrew Alvarez, who has made seven career MLB starts. Alvarez walked five, but allowed just two runs in four innings in his last start against the Giants. He had a 5.29 ERA in seven starts for Triple-A Rochester. He throws mostly breaking balls and has a 54 percent groundball rate.

Former Royals first round pick Foster Griffin went to Japan and has returned to become an effective MLB starter. He has given up just five runs in 22 innings (2.05) over his last four starts. Lefties are hitting .172/.250/.322 against him. He throws his cutter 30 percent of the time, and gets by with a 91 mph fastball, but his sweeper has a 32.5 percent whiff rate.

Zack Littell had a 3.3 rWAR season last year, but found few free agent offers and signed with the Nationals. He retired just 5 of the 10 hitters he faced in his last start, giving up five runs, including a home run to the Mariners. Opponents are hitting .315 against his 91 mph fastball, but he throws his slider 28.6 percent of the time.

Nationals relievers have a 4.69 ERA with the lowest strikeout rate of any bullpen. Gus Varland and Clayton Beeter have each gotten closing duties this year. Nationals relievers allow 43 percent of inherited runners to score, most in baseball. Former Royals reliever Richard Lovelady has a reverse split, with lefties hitting .333/.433/.431 against him.

The National score a lot of runs, but allow a lot of runs. The Royals have won their last two series against the Nationals, including a sweep in DC in 2024. With a decimated roster, they’ll need to raise their game against an improved Nats squad this week.

After getting swept to open the month, it’s been smooth sailing for the Nationals as we hit the halfway mark in June. They won their last 2 games against the Seattle Mariners for a come-from-behind series victory, making that their 3rd in a row. With the gritty Tampa Bay Rays and division rival Philadelphia Phillies on the horizon, they get a chance to extend their winning streak against a Royals team that has been far from elite this season.

Kansas City sits firmly in last place in the AL Central, with a record of just 29-43. Their offense is in the bottom 10 of almost every statistical category, despite the MVP-level season that shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has put together thus far. They have lost their last 2 series, and now head into Washington to attempt to right the ship.

Game 1 – Monday 6:45 PM EST

WSH: LHP Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 3.70 ERA)

KCR: RHP Mitch Spence (0-0, 13.50 ERA)

Alvarez’s two starts as a swingman have been about as advertised, going less than 5.0 innings both times out but limiting opposing offenses to 2 or fewer runs. The lefty is a true “get it done” pitcher, allowing a decent amount of baserunners but having enough putaway stuff to work his way out of jams. Commanding the strike zone remains a work in progress, although he has racked up just over 9 strikeouts per 9 innings, and the coaching staff will definitely be careful with him against the Royals’ top bats.

The right-hander is on his 3rd team in 3 MLB seasons, and his lone appearance with Kansas City was back in mid-April. Spence was hit for 6 runs across 4.0 innings in said outing, and his AAA ERA sat above 6.50 over the course of 10 starts. The Nats have a chance to absolutely feast on a pitcher the Royals are essentially forced to start, and it would be great to see the lineup get off to another hot start.

Game 2 – Tuesday 6:45 PM EST

WSH: LHP Foster Griffin (7-2, 3.46 ERA)

KCR: RHP Michael Wacha (4-5, 3.58 ERA)

The days of calling Griffin a reclamation project have come and gone, and he remains the steadiest pitcher in the Washington rotation entering his 15th start. He battled through another 6.0 strong innings the last time through the rotation, surrendering a single run to the San Francisco Giants and lowering his season ERA to 3.46. It’s hard not to have utmost confidence in the 30-year-old every time he takes the mound, and he faces another stable veteran on Tuesday night.

Wacha is seemingly entering “ageless wonder” territory and has been a lock for an ERA in the mid-3.00s every year since 2021. The Nats are seeing him amidst a rough patch, though, with his ERA rising almost a full point in his last 3 starts, giving up 14 runs in 17.2 innings. His offspeed pitches are where hitters have found the most success against him, making the plan for success fairly clear.

Game 3 – Wednesday 1:05 PM EST

WSH: RHP Zack Littell (6-5, 5.32 ERA)

KCR: RHP Luinder Avila (1-3, 6.19 ERA)

Littell had been cruising in his recent starts, but that run of dominance came to a screeching halt against the Seattle Mariners on June 12th. He was tagged for 5 runs over just 1.2 innings, with the long ball getting him once and forcing him out of the game abruptly. There is something to be said about how he had to deal with an impromptu rain delay before his start, making this next appearance an important watch for Nats coaches and fans alike.

The story for Avila’s 2026 campaign is nearly identical to Littell’s, despite the 6-year age difference. His sophomore season got off to a dreadful start out of the bullpen, but he put together a fine month of May. He was moved to the rotation and had 2 impressive starts to begin June, but got absolutely shelled by the Astros for 8 runs, failing to make it out of the 1st inning. This game will come down to whichever starter can rebound better, and whether or not Littell’s experience can outlast Avila’s youthful energy.

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We nearly swept on Friday, so let's try that again with today's MLB home run predictions. 

I'm backing Junior Caminero, Juan Soto, and Ian Happ to go deep in my favorite MLB player props on Monday, June 15. 

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Junior Caminero	+241
Juan Soto	+294
Ian Happ	+344
💲Today's HR parlay	+5865

Home run pick: Junior Caminero (+241)

I am in love with Tampa Bay Rays slugger Junior Caminero to leave the yard this evening. The budding star draws Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Eric Lauer, who enters today with one of the worst pitcher ratings on the slate. He also grades poorly in matchup ISO, strikeout rate, and ground ball rate.

Lauer has been struggling against right-handed hitters at home this season, allowing a 71% elevation rate. Overall, right-handed bats have posted a .504 xSLG and .349 xwOBA against him, while also producing a 12% barrel rate against the lefty. In addition, 54% of Lauer’s pitch mix is valued below league average, per FanGraphs. Caminero also brings the highest arsenal coverage in this matchup, covering 72.5% of Lauer’s pitch mix.

On top of that, over his last 30 plate appearances against southpaws, Caminero is hitting .304 with a .902 OPS, while generating nearly 60% hard contact and a 12% barrel rate in that span.

• Time: 10:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ESPN

Home run pick: Juan Soto (+294)

New York Mets slugger Juan Soto has finally snapped out of that cold streak he was dealing with over the last few weeks, and I think it is time we can trust him again. 

In his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching, he owns an .868 OPS, with 59% hard contact and a 9.1% barrel rate. Soto also carries the highest arsenal coverage among elite-rated bats this evening, covering 99.3% of Cincinnati Reds starter Chase Burns’ pitch mix.

Burns has been allowing a ton of elevation to left-handed hitters this season. At home, those hitters have been elevating the ball nearly 70% of the time. Over his last 60 lefties faced, he has allowed a 12.9% barrel rate and a 70.9% elevation rate, while also carrying a .347 xBA and .679 xSLG against.

With the cold stretch seemingly behind him, this looks like a spot where Soto can do damage tonight in Great American Small Park.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CINR, SNY

Home run pick: Ian Happ (+344)

Colorado Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen has been getting tormented by left-handed hitters this season, especially on the road. In that split, they are batting .418 with a .716 SLG and a .499 wOBA. On top of that, they are producing 45.5% hard contact and nearly a 70% fly ball rate.

I think it is a must that we back Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ to go yard this evening. Why Happ? Not only does he have an elite rating in this matchup over on Batters-Box, but he also owns the highest arsenal coverage with an elite rating.

He is batting .296 with a 1.054 OPS and .704 SLG, while posting 47.5% hard contact and a 10% barrel rate over his last 60 plate appearances against right-handed pitching.

With Happ sitting at 76.3% arsenal coverage against a pitcher with every single pitch in his mix graded below average, he looks like a must-back to leave the yard this evening on the North Side.

• Time: 8:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Marquee, COLR

Today’s HR parlay

Junior Caminero	Bet Now +5865
Juan Soto
Ian Happ

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The Mets are planning to place Christian Scott on the injured list, according to Will Sammon of the Athletic. Scott’s previous start against the Cardinals was pushed back a day. Jon Heyman adds that he’s heard that Scott has a hip issue that does not seem to be a major setback for Scott, who is returning this year after Tommy John surgery.

Removing Scott from the rotation, though, is yet another blow to the already-fragile group. Tobias Myers was already recalled on Sunday evening to serve as a starter (more likely an opener) for tonight’s game, but the Mets had already been relying more and more on bullpen games due to injury and performance problems.

After losing Clay Holmes to a fractured fibula and Kodai Senga to back and nerve issues, they have been forced to rely on David Peterson for more innings than seems advisable at this point. While Sean Manaea has started to find his best self, losing Scott reduces the starting rotation to two additional pitchers beyond Manaea: Nolan McLean and Freddy Peralta. With luck, Senga will return soon from his rehab assignment.

This season, Scott has posted a 3.10 ERA in nine games started and 40.2 innings pitched. He has been reliable arm for the Mets in the majority of his starts. In his last start against the Cardinals on June 11, he allowed four runs (three home runs) off seven hits, walked one, and struck out six.

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Let's kick off a new week with a collection of MLB picks from our team of baseball experts.

Our headline attraction involves getting the Tampa Bay Rays at +156 to win straight up against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Polymarket.

With Nick Martinez on the bump, you might think L.A. has the edge. But dig a little deeper, and you'll see that's not necessarily the case on Monday, June 15.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Jon Metler: TB ML	+156
Neil Parker: CIN ML	-133
Joe Osborne: LAA ML	+117

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Jon Metler's expert pick: Rays moneyline

Price: 39¢ (+156) at Polymarket

The Tampa Bay Rays are trading at 39 cents on the moneyline, and that's simply too big a number. I make them closer to 45-cent underdogs in this matchup.

At first glance, Nick Martinez appears to be in a difficult spot against a Los Angeles Dodgers lineup loaded with left-handed hitters. However, his elite circle changeup is built to combat left-handed bats and negate a significant on-paper platoon advantage. 

The pitch currently carries a +9 run value and features a sharp fade down and away from lefties, making it difficult for hitters to pull the ball with authority. That movement helps suppress power, generate weak contact, and neutralize one of the Dodgers' biggest strengths.

Because Martinez has the perfect weapon to attack this type of lineup, I believe this matchup is much closer than the market suggests, making the Rays a valuable underdog at the current price.

• Time: 10:10 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ESPN

Neil Parker's expert pick: Reds moneyline

Price: 57¢ (-133) at Polymarket

There’s a sizable pitching edge for the Cincinnati Reds tonight, with Chase Burns establishing himself as an elite righty and sporting a tidy 2.95 xERA and 3.21 xFIP across 13 starts.

He’s held opposing hitters to the fifth-lowest squared-up swing rate among qualified starting pitchers, and the New York Mets rank 28th in wOBA against righties for the season.

Of course, New York is sending Tobias Myers to the bump for just his third start of the year after primarily working as a reliever, so the Mets will rely on a bullpen that’s been tasked with 58 1/3 innings over the past six days.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• How to watch: SNY, Reds.TV

Joe Osborne's expert pick: Angels moneyline

Price: 46¢ (+117) at Polymarket

The Los Angeles Angels look like a rare live road underdog in this matchup.

Walbert Urena has been outstanding to begin his career, allowing one earned run or fewer in six of his last eight starts since the beginning of May. That sets up well against an Arizona Diamondbacks lineup that has struggled versus right-handed pitching lately, ranking near the bottom of the league in OPS over the last two weeks.

The Angels are in much better form offensively and should capitalize against Ryne Nelson, who owns a 5.19 ERA and is coming off a pathetic seven-earned-run outing against Miami.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ABTV, Diamondbacks.TV

More MLB best bets for today

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Looking to start the week with a winner?

Tonight's MLB player props feature a pair of hitters in favorable matchups and one of baseball's premier strikeout artists at plus money.

From a high-upside K prop to two bats poised to make an impact, here are my favorite MLB picks for Monday, June 15.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Zack Wheeler	Over 6.5 Strikeouts	+109
Juan Soto	Over 1.5 Hits, Runs, RBI	-115
Junior Caminero	Over 1.5 Total Bases	-113

Zack Wheeler Over 6.5 Strikeouts (+109)

It has been a minute since a strikeout prop has grabbed my attention enough to back it, but Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler finds himself in a great spot to shove against a struggling Miami Marlins lineup that punched out 10 times on Sunday. Some may view this as a clear bounce back spot for Miami, but I see plenty of reasons to expect another swing-happy performance.

For starters, five Marlins hitters own a strikeout rate of at least 27.9% on the road this season, with four of those bats sitting north of 30.6%. Wheeler's trends are just as enticing. According to Batters-Box, he has recorded 7+ strikeouts in 68.75% of his 32 elite-rated matchups. When carrying an elite strikeout rating, that number jumps to 76% across a 25-game sample.

At home this season, Wheeler owns a 26.6% strikeout rate and a 36.1% chase rate outside the zone. At plus money, this is worth a play. I would take it down to even money, but do not pay juice for it.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBCSP, MIAM

Juan Soto Over 1.5 Hits, Runs, RBI (-115)

An extremely tough price to pass up for one of the most dangerous bats in baseball, a hitter who is always on base, always a threat to score, and always a threat to collect a hit. New York Mets star Juan Soto to go over 1.5 HRR at -115 is a steal in my opinion.

Especially when he clears this prop nearly 60% of the time when sporting an elite rating. That comes across a 220 elite rating sample size. Soto was in a bit of a slump over the last two weeks, but has since turned it around. In his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching, he owns an .868 OPS with a 23.3% walk rate, 59% hard contact, and a 9.1% barrel rate. Not to mention, he has a 99.3% arsenal coverage against Cincinnati Reds starter Chase Burns.

Burns has been allowing a ton of elevation to left-handed hitters this season. At home, those hitters have been elevating the ball nearly 70% of the time. Over his last 60 lefties faced, he has allowed a 12.9% barrel rate and a 70.9% elevation rate, while also carrying a .347 xBA and .679 xSLG against.

Burns does not walk a lot of lefties, but he also is not facing Soto-level hitters every day. I prefer the built-in safety of the HRR prop over the bases market here. Comfortable taking this up to -130.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CINR, SNY

Junior Caminero Over 1.5 Total Bases (-113)

The very first prop I locked in today was for Tampa Bay Rays slugger Junior Caminero to go over 1.5 total bases, as he draws Los Angeles Dodgers left hander Eric Lauer, who enters today with one of the worst pitcher ratings on the slate. He also grades poorly in matchup ISO, strikeout rate, and ground ball rate.

Lauer has been struggling against right handed hitters at home this season, allowing a 71% elevation rate. Overall, right handed bats have posted a .504 xSLG and .349 xwOBA against him, while also producing a 12% barrel rate against the southpaw. In addition to that, 54% of Lauer's pitch mix is valued below league average, per FanGraphs. 

Caminero has been handling left handed pitching well this season, hitting .271 with a .457 SLG and .871 OPS. Over his last 30 plate appearances, he is hitting .304 with a .902 OPS, while generating nearly 60% hard contact and a 12% barrel rate in that span.

I am not the biggest fan of paying juice for bases props, but I would take this down to minus 120 at the most.

• Time: 10:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ESPN

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

It’s going to be 97 degrees where I live on Wednesday. The dog days of summer are officially here.

In the world of baseball, transaction season heats up with the weather. Such is the nature of establishing a trade deadline around the end of July – this season it’s on August 3rd – as teams become forced to classify the first 100 or so games of their season into one of two distinct evaluations.

Is this team good enough to invest in further? Should we give them the best chances to win as many games as possible this year?

Or, is this team the Cincinnati Reds?

Joking aside, that’s not completely true. While teams get lumped into the buyers or sellers categories as the trade deadline approaches, the Reds often don’t even do enough to qualify for either. And just last summer, they pulled off the remarkable feat of being a buyer at the deadline for a player who actively made them so bad in 2026 that it’s been a net negative investment.

This is a different Reds club than last year, obviously. This time around, their April magic has been replaced by hell from the injury gods, their record in close games having now been turned on its head by a threadbare bullpen. Across the entire sport’s highest level, only the Colorado Rockies have a worse run differential than these Reds, who once again reside in the cellar of the National League Central division.

So, it’s unsurprising that when asked at the end of last week whether or not this club should be a buyer, or a seller as trade season heats up this summer, roughly 3 out of 5 of you responded that they needed to start selling off players.

Digging themselves out of this hole is going to be difficult when Hunter Greene is still several weeks away. It’ll be difficult without half their bullpen, without Elly De La Cruz for another week or so.

The problem is, what Cincinnati has on the fringes of its long-term plan is a handful of players who haven’t exactly stacked up a ton of value on the trade market.

Eugenio Suarez is the biggest name of the bunch, but he’s having the single worst season of his career and will turn 35 years old this summer. The veterans signed to anchor the bullpen – Emilio Pagan, Pierce Johnson, Caleb Ferguson – are either injured or have been already this year, limiting the significance of any return if they are moved. Nate Lowe has hit well for most of the year, but there’s a reason why his market this offseason was so poor the Reds got him on a minor league deal in the first place. And pending free agent Brady Singer has the fourth lowest fWAR of the 130 pitchers who have thrown at least 50 IP so far this season.

So, selling at the fringes here doesn’t even do much to improve the future, aside from saving a few million bucks that the owners likely wouldn’t pour back into the team 100% anyway. The question I should probably have asked – and likely will again soon – is whether there are pieces that still have more team control than that group who don’t look like they fit the future of this franchise’s next window to compete who should be marketed this summer. That’s the kind of move that could bring back something of significance, a move that could shake the foundation of a franchise that’s found a way to stumble through this rebuild almost as badly as it stumbled through the last two.

Regardless, it sure looks like this club has no business being a buyer this summer. And if that’s the case, they might as well end up sellers.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some. Or, in the Giants’ case, you mostly lose. It has been a year since the Giants traded for Rafael Devers, and like most of their big swings since allowing Buster Posey to take the reins of the front office, the team has come up empty and looked bad in the attempt. It turns out that the critics of the deal were spot on. Devers’ contract was underwater from the moment the Red Sox signed him to it and the collapse of his skillset came even faster than the projection. Do the Giants inspire failure or does everything they touch turn to garbage by sheer coincidence? In any case, there’s nothing that can be done to improve Devers’ hitting.

He’s hitting .235/.293/.413 on the season while playing every game. He has 9 homers and is tied for the lead league in doubles with 21; so, you know, it’s not all bad. But the underlying metrics affirm what we’ve seen throughout the year: a hitter who’s a mess at the plate. At the end of May, I looked at Matt Chapman’s hitting metrics and came away with the thought that he’s not in an age-related decline but instead a focus or talent disruption. I see a vaguely similar situation for Devers, too.

He still hits the ball hard. That counts for something. His 49.5% Hard Hit rate is 88th percentile and average exit velocity of 91.9 mph is 87th. His 9.5% Barrel rate is the only other category where he measures as above average (61st percentile); but, these are all still big declines from last year, and especially his heyday of 2021-2024 (.279/.354/.519 — 126 HR 384 RBI — +17.0 fWAR).

He’s also whiffing on pitches at the same rate over the past several years. It’s 31.6% this year (10th percentile), but compare that back to 2021:

2021: 27.7% (29th)
2022: 28.2% (25th)
2023: 26.1% (45th)
2024: 30.9% (14th)
2025: 31.6% (10th)
2026: 30.8% (17th)

The big line of demarcation in his career was going from 2023 to 2024 when the big problem cited for why the contract was already underwater first asserted itself: that’s his contact rate in the strike zone. From 21-23 it was 79.2% on average. In 2024, it dropped to 74.9% and last year it fell to 73.9%. This year, it’s at 74.2%. The league average in this stat is between 76-77% every year. Just to give you some more context, going back to 2021, here are the 10 worst zone contact rate guys who got enough at bats to qualify for the batter leaderboards:

10. Luke Raley, 76.8%
9. Patrick Wisdom, 76.8%
8. Zack Gelof, 76.0%
7. Chris Taylor, 75.1%
6. Christopher Morel, 74.7%
5. J.D. Davis, 74.3%
4. Gabriel Arias, 74.0%
3. Matt Wallner, 73.2%
2. Jose Siri, 72.6%
1. Joey Gallo, 72.3%

Because of his outstanding 21-23, Devers winds up ranking just the 13th-lowest; however, if we adjust the years to 2024-present, Devers experiences a dramatic reranking.

10. Kyle Schwarber, 80.3%
9. Ryan McMahon, 80.3%
8. Adolis Garcia, 80.2%
7. Teoscar Hernanez, 79.9%
6. Mark Vientos, 79.9%
5. Jazz Chisholm, 79.1%
4. Randy Arozarena, 78.4%
3. Oneil Cruz, 77.9%
2. Nolan Gorman, 76.6%
1. Rafael Devers, 74.6%

All this to say that Devers’ continued inability to make consistent contact in the strike zone is now crashing into his other declined skill: pitch recognition. From 21-23 he had a called strike percentage of 10.7%. In 2024 it rose to 12.3% and last year it was 13.2%. This year, it’s 15%. Now, this rate has maybe a lot to do with ABS. Called balls have been turned to strikes against Rafael Devers 7 out of 9 times. He’s won just 1 challenge out of 6.

But the increased called strike rate parallels with a trend of him simply swinging less. Prior to 2024, he was swinging at around 53.5% of pitches thrown. That rate has dropped to 50% the past few seasons. His 30.3% strikeout rate is the highest of his career by far — 22% for his career, 25.5% for 2024-2025. So, what’s happening? He’s swinging less often but getting more called strikes (ABS is a partial culprit, of course) and still swinging and missing a lot when he does pull the trigger.

That bat speed doesn’t look good.

Statcast only tracks bat speed back to 2023, but take a look at this decline:

2023: 73.4 mph (68th percentile)
2024: 72.5 mph (61st)
2025: 71.6 mph (42nd)
2026: 71.7 mph (44th)

This is getting down to around LaMonte Wade Jr.’s at the start of last season, when he looked so bad I wondered if it was a portent of doom (it was!). LWJ’s wound up falling all the way down to 70 mph last year, but in a very small sample with the Astros this season (13 PA, where he has a 1.135 OPS) it’s up to 73.2 mph.

So, it’s not impossible that Devers makes some adjustments and optimizes his skills, some of which are working for him this season. But it’s hard to envision him making that turnaround… at least this season.

Luis Arraez was a free agent who set out to prove himself as a second baseman. Yes, Ron Washington has been there to give him some very relevant support, but it started with his tenacity. Jung Hoo Lee’s hitting seems to have improved because he’s been studying Luis Arraez. So, whatever turnaround to his career that might happen will have to come from Rafael Devers himself. Hitting coaches rarely get credit for fixing hitters and the Giants’ current coaching staff seems a lot more hands off or outright bad as any in recent memory.

But before you go thinking that I’m calling Devers’s character into question, let me put it this way: I think he’s taken to first base just fine, and that doesn’t happen if he doesn’t put in the work. When I watch him play the field, I see a goofy guy with a baseball-only body doing his best to field… and he’s okay. Definitely closer to terrible than great, but I wouldn’t characterize the play as outright bad. He’s also playing every day, which I think is a credit to him for having a degree of focus that would keep him interested in doing exactly that.

So, the focus is there, which only leaves buy in. Does he think he needs to make some changes to his swing or approach?

The Giants probably don’t feel like they know him well enough to have that conversation either. The coaching staff turnover being part of that and the green-ness of the current staff the other part. But also, as much as we’d like to think that the data revolution brought Apple Store-level service to every player, where a quant with an iPad just scoots up next to a player and is able to help them with a few graphics and optimized phrasing, I think it still comes down to the player seeking out what they need and doing the important work of actually incorporating changes into their approach. That’s why the headline reads as it does. Athletes aren’t often able to remake themselves on the fly in part because it’s hard to accept that the usual way of doing things has stopped working.

So, I guess in a way, this post is a lot like that Matt Chapman post. Unlike Chapman, though, Devers is definitely experiencing a physical decline of some sort (he’s not hitting the ball as hard), but the decline from a good player to a practically useless one appears to be entirely self-engineered. It’s unlikely that a 29-year old goes out like this based on aging alone. But, as Buster Posey is fond of saying, baseball is hard.

The situation isn’t hopeless, especially since Devers wound up having a good year after a rough time following the trade last year. It’s just that nothing the Giants have done this year and most of the last decade should give anyone hope for a better future.

The Mets are dealing with yet another injury, with right-hander Christian Scott hitting the IL.

The club announced that Scott has been placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to June 12, with right hip impingement. Right-handers Tobias Myers and Jonathan Pintaro have been called up, and righty releiver Daniel Duarte has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Additionally, the Mets claimed infielder Zack Short off waivers from the Detroit Tigers and transferred infielder Jorge Polanco to the 60-day IL.

Scott pitched 4.2 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday in his most recent outing. 

Overall, Scott has made nine starts this season, pitching to a 3.10 ERA over 40.2 innings. 

The Mets already have Kodai Senga on the IL, and with Sean Manaea and David Peterson pitching out of hybrid starter/bulk reliever roles, Scott, Freddy Peralta, and Nolan McLean were the only three definitive starters. 

While Scott’s next start likely would have fallen on Tuesday, the Mets have left things vague with their rotation plans for the upcoming series in Cincinnati. 

Myers will start on Monday night, but the team did not announce starters for the following two games.

There would seem to be a strong possibility that Jonah Tong will eventually get recalled to take Scott’s place in the rotation. Tong made three appearances for the Mets earlier this season, posting a 3.60 ERA. Since being optioned back to Triple-A, Tong has allowed eight earned runs in 9.0 innings over two starts.

Left-hander Zach Thornton is also on the 40-man roster, making him a possibility as well. 

Meanwhile, moving Polanco to the 60-day IL doesn't seem to be any reason for concern, as he hasn't played since April 14, making this more of a paper move than anything else. 

The 31-year-old Short played 10 games with Mets in 2024 and spent this year's spring training with the Yankees. He played 23 games with the Tigers this season, hitting .167.

There’s no place like home and the Atlanta Braves will surely be grateful to have spent some time in their own respective beds instead of what they had to deal during what ended up being a terrible road trip against the White Sox and Mets.

With that being said, it’s not like the Braves are coming home for a cakewalk. The Giants may have a poor record but they’ve been known to spring some upsets this season and the Brewers will be bringing arguably the most talented pitcher in all of baseball to town in the form of Jacob Misiorowski. Atlanta’s going to really have to work to get things back on track, so let’s see what the week ahead has in store for them.

June 16-18: San Francisco Giants

Current Record: 29-43 Projected Record (via FanGraphs): 74-88

On paper, the Braves probably couldn’t have asked for a better opponent to take on upon returning home from a rough road trip. The Giants have been pretty bad this season and outside of Casey Schmitt launching a bunch of dingers, there hasn’t been much for the fans in San Francisco to cheer about — either on or off the field.

San Francisco’s offense has been mostly middle of the road in terms of performance, as they have produced a team wRC+ of 102 off the strength of a team slash line of .257/.307/.416 with a .316 wOBA. As I mentioned before, Schmitt has largely been responsible for the power as he’s currently the only Giants hitter with over 10 homers so far this season. Unless there’s a complete disaster on Atlanta’s part, we aren’t going to be seeing the Giants hitting a ton of balls over the fence during this series.

With that being said, this lineup isn’t full of pushovers, either. Luis Arraez seems determined to continue hitting nothing but singles, Matt Chapman and Jung Hoo Lee have been productive with little-to-no power and Bryce Eldrige has been playing the role of “exciting young player” for the struggling Giants. Atlanta’s pitching staff will have to be on their game to keep this crew quiet and they have to be taken seriously — this same Giants team won a series at Wrigley Field and split a four-game series in Milwaukee against the Brewers (more on them later) so this is not a team to be taken lightly.

Still, the lineup will have to get the job done against a pitching staff that has largely struggled. Considering what ballpark the Giants spend most of their time in, it is honestly kind of shocking that they have the fifth-worst team ERA- in all of baseball (113) along with a bottom-10 FIP- (108). Then you look at what two of their three probable starters for this series have done so far this season and it all makes sense.

Adrian Houser is set to start for San Francisco during the season opener and he’s looked very vunerable on the mound all season. Of the the 13 starts that he’s made so far, he’s given up at least three runs in 10 of those starts. Five of those 10 starts saw him give up at least four runs and he hasn’t had a start of the “three runs or less” variety since May 17 against the Athletics. Meanwhile, Wednesday’s starter Robbie Ray has been a bit better but his stats have been skewed a bit after he got lit up on May 18 against the Diamondbacks for 10 runs on 11 hits. With that being said, the Nationals did get him for five runs on seven hits in his last outing so it’s entirely possible that the Braves might punish him like the Nats did.

Landen Roupp will be a different story, as he’s proven himself to be the top guy in San Francisco’s rotation so far and could really give the Braves some problems during his scheduled start on Thursday. Even if all of San Francisco’s starters do a solid job, the Braves could still turn things around late in the game if San Francisco’s bullpen continues to have issues. JT Brubaker and Keaton Winn have given opposing batters fits but outside of that, nobody else in this bullpen has really stood out as being of the shutdown variety. If the Braves are going to bounce back from that awful road trip, this should hopefully be the series to make it happen.

Tuesday, June 16 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV)
Wednesday, June 17 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Thursday, June 18 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

June 19-21: Milwaukee Brewers

Current Record: 43-26 Projected Record: 92-70

Well, there’s no two ways around it: The Braves will probably have a serious fight on their hands once the Brewers come to town. For starters (for lack of a better term), Jacob Misiorowski will likely be starting the series opener against the Braves. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Misiorowski has essentially been dominating hitters so far this season with his near-overwhelming stuff. His heater is five mph above average, his slider and curve are both seven mph above average, and his cutter and change-up are both six mph above average. No matter what he’s throwing, it’s going to have high velocity and it’s going to be nasty. He’s thrown 54.1 innings since May 1 and has given up a grand total of two runs (only one of which were earned) on nineteen hits with just nine walks and a whopping 80 strikeouts.

Miz’s most recent start was astonishing. He pitched a complete game against the Phillies where he only gave up one hit and struck out fifteen batters on 95 pitches (a Maddux!). He was a Kyle Schwarber hit away from what would’ve been one of the more dominant Perfect Games that you’ll ever see. Assuming Milwaukee sticks to their current rotation plans, the Miz will be coming to town and the Braves are going to have their hands full.

Oh yeah, the rest of the team is still pretty good too. At this point, picking against the Brewers before the season to do well is one of those things where I’ll only believe it where I see it because this team has been a buzzsaw so far. Brice Turang has been productive in all facets of the game, old friend William Contreras has been raking, Jackson Chourio continues to be exciting, Jake Bauers is a true threat at the plate and then guys like Garrett Mitchell and Andrew Vaughn are tough to deal with. Even Christian Yelich and Gary Sanchez have been handing out lumps to opposing pitchers so far.

All that has combined for the Brewers to have one of the best offenses in baseball so far. They’ve hit for 107 wRC+ as a team (for reference’s sake, they’re right behind the Braves who have a team wRC+ of 108) and have collectively delivered a slash line of .255/.341/.392 with a wOBA of .326. Their stats are pretty similar to Atlanta’s except the Brewers are getting on base a bit more while the Braves have done a bit more damage in the slugging department. Still, Milwaukee’s offense has been getting the job done in a major way and Atlanta’s pitching staff will have a real challenge on their hands this weekend.

Friday, June 19 at 7:15 p.m ET (BravesVision)
Saturday, June 20 at 4:10 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Sunday, June 21 at 1:35 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

_{All stats referenced were from FanGraphs before Sunday’s action so they may be slightly different}

I’m almost reluctant to type this onto the page, because I fear it’s a hope so delicate that discussing it in print could endanger its very existence, but alas: the Red Sox may soon receive a boost on offense. Romy Gonzalez, the Platoon Paul Bunyon himself, will begin a rehab assignment tomorrow with AA Portland. He will play second, first, and DH, in hopes that he can return by the start of the Sox’ next homestand ten days from now. “With the power potential and the thump in the bat, we’ve got to get him involved,” said Chad Tracy. “It could be [against] lefties, it could be [at] DH, he could play second base. There could be certain righties where it doesn’t make sense [to start Gonzalez]. But whatever it is, we know the capability of the bat and the power potential that brings. We’re going to certainly get him involved.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

Romy’s return comes at an opportune time for the Sox, who still have no idea when the other Romy, Roman Anthony, will be healthy enough to swing a bat again. The problem for Anthony? His injury is actually kind of groundbreaking. “I’ve been doing this 32 years. I actually have never heard of a ring finger-isolated CMC ligament tear,” said one orthopedist. “The joints in which the ligaments get injured are usually not the CMC level … They’re at the knuckle or joints within the fingers. If you look up ring finger ligament sprain, you’ll find nothing — zero — because it’s not a common injury.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

Romy Gonzalez will immediately step in and give a boost to what has been the Sox’ biggest weakness in 2026: right-handed hitting. But he won’t be the only source of righty power in the lineup. Willson Contreras has been an absolute beast. “I think the approach of making contact, trying to make contact is working,” Contreras said. “I know that I’m in a good stretch right now, but I’m trying not to overthink or think too much. I’m trying to keep my game simple, make contact and let everything happen.” (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Given the offensive struggles, it’s fair to revisit the notorious Rafael Devers trade, which happened one year ago today. (Jen McCaffrey, Andrew Baggarly, The Athletic)

Last night’s loss wasn’t solely the fault of the offense, though. While he’s generally a strong rookie campaign, Connelly Early has been faltering a bit lately and is struggling to keep the ball in the park. “I hope those come back to Earth a little bit,” said Andrew Bailey of the homers he’s been giving up. “But when you look at the grand scheme of things, he does generate some whiff. The batted ball quality is a little bit concerning in that the slug is out of the park.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)

But while last night’s game wasn’t much fun for Sox fans, at least the 5,000 Scottish football fans in attendance got to see some taters. Here’s a closer look at their joyous march to the ballpark. (Justin Turpin, WEEI)

When putting together a team, general managers should have an eye on today, of course, but also on the long-term outlook of the franchise. Some players will be considered key cornerstones several years. Sometimes, teams can get a decade-plus of quality performance from a major leaguer if they are extremely lucky. In the specific case of Andy Pettitte and the Yankees, we are talking about 15 campaigns of steady, reliable play.

Not only did Pettitte post some really solid regular-season numbers over the course of his long career, but he also became a postseason hero who is at or near the top of multiple October leaderboards. A big part of the late-90s dynasty, the left-hander won five World Series with the Yankees, made three All-Star teams, and has a plaque in Monument Park..

For his invaluable contributions in numerous title-winning squads and his incredible consistency over the years, we ranked Pettitte tenth in our Top 100 Yankees list.

Born: June 15, 1972 (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
Yankees Tenure: 1995-2003, 2007-13

Pettitte was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 54 years ago, to parents Tommy and JoAnn Pettitte. His family moved to Texas when he was eight-years-old, which probably played a role in his decision many years later to leave the Yankees for the Houston Astros after the 2003 campaign. He grew up in the Lone Star State, attending Deer Park High School in Deer Park, Texas, where he started showing off his talent on the mound. Like many baseball players who made it to the bigs, he also showed promise in other sports. In Pettitte’s case, football, where he was an offensive and defensive lineman.

With the help and support of his father, Pettitte developed a love for baseball at a young age. He looked up to Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens as a young fan, and the latter would become a teammate and friend of his in the majors.

After graduating from high school, Pettitte went to San Jacinto College North in Houston, instead of a traditional four-year program. He lasted until the 22nd round of the 1990 MLB Draft, where the Yankees scooped him up, in part because everybody thought he would go to college. The left-hander never had top velocity and was considered “chunky,” “lumpy,” and “pudgy” at the time, per the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR).

Before joining the Yankees, he had an excellent year at San Jacinto College and, under the guidance of coach Wayne Graham, became more disciplined, gained strength, lost weight, and developed a sharp focus on the mound.

Pettitte signed with the Yankees a year later, in 1991, and started his journey as a minor league pitcher, throwing a knuckleball that his new battery mate, Jorge Posada, couldn’t consistently catch. He developed in the Yankees’ minor league system until 1995, when he made his MLB debut. That year, he would unofficially become part of the Yankees’ emerging crew of talented homegrown players that would eventually be known as the “Core Four”: himself, Posada, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera. Those four players would be the backbone of New York’s upcoming dynasty.

Between April 29 and May 13, 1995, Pettitte was used as a reliever with mixed results. Then, he got a chance to start in late May and never looked back, finishing third in the AL Rookie of the Year race. Little did he know that he was about to make history.

The following season, 1996, would probably be the most memorable of his career. He led the league in wins with 21, posted a 3.87 ERA, finished second in the AL Cy Young race, and helped the Yankees win the World Series for the first time since 1978, beating John Smoltz in Game Five.

The 1997 campaign was Pettitte’s best in pinstripes from a statistical angle. He posted a 2.88 ERA in the burgeoning steroids era, racked up 7.2 fWAR, and finished fifth in the AL Cy Young voting. The Yankees would exit the postseason against Cleveland, though.

In 1998, however, the Yankees would start a three-year run of winning every World Series with Pettitte as one of their aces. That year, he won the last game of the Fall Classic with 7.1 scoreless frames against the Padres.

In those three years from 1998 to 2000 that resulted in three straight championships, Pettitte posted a rather underwhelming 4.42 ERA, but was always available and raised the team’s floor. He saved his best for October, when the lights shone brightest: his 3.26 postseason ERA over that span was key to every one of the championships that made up the Yankee dynasty.

As you can imagine, the southpaw was a huge part of the late-1990s, early-2000s rivalry with the Boston Red Sox. He earned a win in the unforgettable 2003 AL Championship Series, helping the Yanks advance to the World Series, where he contributed a minuscule 0.57 ERA in a losing effort.

He wasn’t a part of the squad that inexplicably lost four straight games in the 2004 ALCS because he joined Roger Clemens in Houston as both Yankee hurlers signed with the Astros. For Pettitte, it was a homecoming, and it allowed him to play a World Series in front of his people, even though they lost to the Chicago White Sox.

After three seasons with the Astros, Pettitte returned ahead of the 2007 campaign. In 2008, he witnessed the final act of the old Yankee Stadium, as the Yankees missed out on postseason baseball. They would return to the grand stage in 2009, though, as Pettitte helped them win the Fall Classic with a 4.16 regular-season ERA and an even better 3.56 postseason ERA.

Pettitte initially announced his retirement in February 2011, spending a year away from the game before coming back to wrap up his career with a solid 2012 (2.87 ERA) and 2013 (3.74 ERA).

He is, without a doubt, one of the most respected Yankees of all time. Nobody has won more postseason games than him, and he retired with a 3.81 ERA in the playoffs.

Pettitte finished his eighth season on the Hall of Fame ballot with 48.5 percent of votes, needing to reach at least 75 percent in two remaining attempts. Perhaps he doesn’t have the rate stats or individual awards to be a no-doubter member of the Hall, but he does have the legacy and the totals.

After his career, Pettitte has focused on becoming a baseball dad, but he did rejoin the Yankees in the summer of 2023 to be an advisor. He was also the pitching coach of Team USA in the 2023 and 2026 World Baseball Classics (WBC).

Yankees fans who grew up watching the team in the late 1990s and early-2000s certainly enjoyed the sight of Pettitte working from the left side of the mound. He was never rattled and always seemed in control of his emotions and situations. You don’t see that calm demeanor and the look of a silent assassin that he gave opposing batters very often these days.

Happy birthday, legend!

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

Sometimes, prospects end up being better trade chips than actual players. That might be the case with Owen Caissie who has already been part of two prominent trades but has yet to find his footing in the major leagues.

After being selected by the Padres in the second round of the 2020 draft, Owen Caissie was soon shipped to the Cubs as part of their trade for Victor Caratini and Yu Darvish. Once in the Cubs system. he quickly rose the ranks and established himself as a top 50 prospect, being chosen for the Futures Game in both 2024 and 2025.

After dominating AAA in 2025, he was called up to the Cubs in August but struggled in a twelve-game cameo. The Cubs were apparently not overly impressed since they sent him back down and then sent him to the Marlins as part of the deal for Edward Cabrera.

Marlins fans got excited because Maissie played for Team Canada in the WBC and batted .412 with a home run.

The Marlins installed him as their regular right fielder, and his season got off to a promising start when he hit a walk off home run in the third game of the season.

The good times did not continue as he went into a slump shortly after that. After showing some signs of life in May, he’s struggled in June with only two hits in the month so far.

Player development is rarely linear, so Maissie could well turn things around quickly. But as of now, he’s been far more valuable in the transaction column than on the field.

Hating on the Marlins

Would you look at that? The Marlins are at .500 thanks to a group of young players that have showed some promise. Shall we guess how this is ultimately going to end?

That young core might put it together and make the playoffs in the near future. And just as people think the team is ready to be an actual contender, management will start to ship off some of those players because they’ve begun to, or about to get more expensive.

There’s a debate about why the Marlins have been such a failure of a franchise, minus two insanely fluky World Series runs. Does ownership not spend money because the fans don’t support the team, or do the fans not support the team because ownership never spends enough money to sustain success?

It’s likely a little of both, but between the Marlins and Rays, we have a lot of evidence that Florida fans don’t pack the stadium even when the teams are good. The Marlins have had a few owners over the years, and while some of them have been among the worst to ever own a major league team, every one of them has come to the conclusion that its simply not worth spending a ton of money on the team.

Back in 2020, a bunch of their fans got all in my mentions because the Marlins were better than the Phillies in the short season, and they thought they had stolen a future star in Sixto Sanchez. They’ve been quiet ever since.

If MLB ever tried contraction, the Marlins would likely be one of the first teams on the list, and only a handful of people would actually miss them.

Remembering a guy who played for both teams

Billy McMillon

In 1997, the moribund Phillies traded Darren Daulton to the Marlins, so he could finish out his career with a contender. In return, they got outfielder Billy McMillon. I attended “Billy Mac’s” first game with the Phillies, and to my delight, he launched a grand slam in the third inning as the Phillies romped over the Giants.

I was convinced the Phillies had a future star on their hands. They did not.

He would only hit one other home run as a member of the Phillies, but I appreciate the symmetry in that he hit it in his last game with the team.

I don’t know why McMillon spent the entire 1998 and 1999 seasons in the minors – it’s not like those Phillies teams were overflowing with talent – but he never returned to the majors before becoming a free agent after 1999. He spent a few seasons as a quad-A player getting brief stints with the Tigers and A’s before moving on to a minor league coaching career.

Additional thought about the series

The Phillies’ offense had a tough time of it against the Brewers’ top pitchers, but hopefully they can start to hit better against a far less imposing trio of starters in this series:

• Ryan Gusto is a quad-A caliber player with a 6.00 ERA
• Former Phillie Tyler Phillips has recently switched from the bullpen to the rotation with mixed results.
• Sandy Alcantara has improved in his second post-Tommy John season, but he’s far closer to league average than Cy Young winner at this point.

Then again, it isn’t hard to imagine the Phillies’ struggling to score runs against these guys. Apparently, there’s a rule that at least two – if not more – players on the team have to be in a miserable slump at any given time. In the month of June, Trea Turner and Justin Crawford both have sub-.500 OPS while J.T. Realmuto is plodding along with a .167 batting average.

Players are going to go through slumps during a long season, but is too much to ask that the slumps not be so drastic and maybe they could do it one at a time? It’s hard to win games when you’ve got three or four automatic outs in the lineup at any given time.