Category: Baseball

Welcome to week 13 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!

1. Milwaukee Brewers (46-29); 3-3 this week; 95.6% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)

The Brewers played .500 baseball this week, taking two of three against the Guardians in Milwaukee before dropping two of three in Atlanta over the weekend.

William Contreras led the offense with seven hits this week, including a four-hit day on Sunday. For the week, he batted .350/.435/.500. Cooper Pratt also had a nice start to his MLB career, going 7-for-19 with three steals as he has a five-game hit streak through just six games played. Christian Yelich, Brice Turang, Garrett Mitchell, and Jackson Chourio all homered.

Robert Gasser led the pitching staff with 12 strikeouts over 11 2/3 innings in his two starts this week, allowing two runs (1.54 ERA). Chad Patrick picked up a save and a win in two appearances to bounce back from a rough week, while Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison both turned in quality starts, though the Crew had no wins to show for it. Trevor Megill, Drew Rom, and Craig Yoho all had scoreless weeks for the bullpen.

The Crew is now headed to Cincinnati for three games with the Reds before an off day on Thursday. They’ll then return home to host the Cubs for the weekend.

2. St. Louis Cardinals (41-34); 3-3 this week; 47.2% chance to make postseason

The Cardinals took two of three at home against the Padres before dropping two of three to the Royals over the weekend for a 3-3 week.

JJ Wetherholt led the offense with 10 hits this week, including a pair of homers and a double. Masyn Winn also had 10 hits, including a homer and two doubles. Alec Burleson and Lars Nootbaar each added seven hits, and Jordan Walker picked up six hits, with Iván Herrera adding the only other homer for the Redbirds.

Dustin May made a pair of strats, and they could not have been more different. He tossed a complete-game shutout against the Padres on Monday, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out nine, but he was roughed up for six runs in just two-plus innings in Sunday’s series finale against the Royals, though his offense backed him to pull out the win. Andre Pallante went seven quality innings with two runs allowed and six strikeouts, while Ryne Stanek and Matt Svanson both had scoreless weeks for the bullpen.

St. Louis doesn’t have to travel far from Kansas City, as they’ll now play host to the D-backs and Marlins this week.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates (39-39); 3-3 this week; 37.9% chance to make postseason

The Pirates took two of three in Sacramento against the A’s but dropped two of three against the Rockies in Denver this weekend for a .500 week.

Bryan Reynolds turned in a huge week offensively, leading the team with 11 hits, including three homers and two doubles, driving in nine. Six other players added a homer apiece, including Spencer Horwitz, Brandon Lowe, and Ryan O’Hearn, who tied with Jake Mangum for second on the team with seven hits each.

Mitch Keller had a bit of an odd line in his appearance, as five runs scored over 5 1/3 innings, but just one of those was earned. He also struck out seven. Paul Skenes took the loss but had a quality start, allowing two runs over six innings with eight strikeouts. Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler also had quality starts, while Yohan Ramírez led the bullpen with four scoreless innings over three appearances.

After an off day on Monday, Pittsburgh will host the Mariners and Reds over the next week.

4. Chicago Cubs (40-37); 3-2 this week; 45.8% chance to make postseason

The Cubs took two of three against the Rockies at home before splitting two games with the Blue Jays, with Sunday’s series finale rained out and rescheduled for early August.

Pete Crow-Armstrong went off with four homers as part of an 11-hit week, including hitting for the cycle. Carson Kelly went 4-for-8 in limited chances, adding a homer and seven RBIs. Matt Shaw and Dansby Swanson also homered, while Ian Happ added six hits and Seiya Suzuki added eight, including three doubles.

Ben Brown went six innings with two runs allowed and four strikeouts, and Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad also turned in solid starts, going 5 2/3 innings with Imanaga allowing one run and Assad allowing two. Colin Rea went 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his start, and Ryan Rolison, Daniel Palencia, Hoby Milner, Phil Maton, and Gavin Hollowell combined for 8 2/3 scoreless innings for the bullpen.

The Cubs now head back on the road to face the Mets for four games before a visit to the Brewers over the weekend.

5. Cincinnati Reds (37-39); 4-2 this week; 7.6% chance to make postseason

The Reds had a nice week after a disappointing stretch, as they took two of three against the Mets at home before winning two of three against the Yankees in the Bronx over the weekend.

Spencer Steer and Eugenio Suárez each had two homers this week, while JJ Bleday, Tyler Stephenson, and Sal Stewart added a homer each. Stewart drove in a whopping 11 runs this week as part of a seven-hit week, including three doubles. Blake Dunn led the Reds with eight hits, and Edwin Arroyo added six hits.

Brady Singer turned in a solid five-inning outing with one run allowed and five strikeouts, while Chase Burns got a pair of wins, totaling 10 innings with just one run allowed and 14 strikeouts. Andrew Abbott also picked up the win, going five innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts. Tony Santillan went 2-for-2 in save opportunities with no runs allowed over three innings, and Chase Petty, Caleb Ferguson, and Tejay Antone combined for 9 2/3 scoreless innings for the bullpen.

Cincinnati now plays host to the Brewers for three games before an off day on Thursday. They’ll then take a road trip that begins in Pittsburgh for three games over the weekend.

Meet the Mets

Loser! You’re a loser! Are you feeling sorry for yourself? Well, you should be, cause you’re dirt! You make me sick! You big baby! Baby want a bottle? A big dirt bottle?

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post

Francisco Lindor played his second rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse and should be back this week, but probably not before Wednesday.

It’s hard to win baseball games, but it becomes almost impossible when your starting pitching is consistently, let’s say, rubbish.

Kodai Senga still believes that he can dominate and return to his past form, so there’s at least one person who does.

Around the National League East

Bryce Elder’s ERA went up 56 points in one game as he gave up eight runs in his second inning of work to the Milwaukee Brewers in the Braves’ weekend-ending 9-4 loss.

Johnny DeLuca hit the decisive home run against the Nationals as Tampa Bay eked out a 4-3 win over the Nationals on Sunday.

Logan Webb pitched an eight-inning complete game, but five Marlins pitchers combined to do a slightly better job, giving Miami a 2-1 win.

Going into the new week, the Phillies are designating Bryse Wilson for assignment, demoting Max Lazar, and promoting Kyle Backhus and Alan Rangel in their places.

Sandy Leon cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Braves days after designating him for assignment in favor of newly-acquired Joey Bart.

Around Major League Baseball

For Father’s Day, the Tampa Bay Rays surprised the fathers on the team by having their children decorate their locker room name plates.

An ankle impingement has sent Jack Leiter to the injured list for the Rangers, putting a pause on what has been a disappointing season for the Mets-adjacent righty.

The face of home run robberies for the 2026 season, Jo Adell suddenly ended up on the wrong side of the highlight reel, losing a homer of his own to the Athletics’ Colby Thomas.

Jared Jones left Sunday’s game after taking a liner to the elbow, but X-rays were negative and outside of some personal annoyance, Jones should be fine.

I can’t tell you who will be in the Home Run Derby, but I can tell you that Yordan Alvarez won’t be.

Just in case you thought things were going too well for the Giants, Rafael Devers was reluctant to leave Sunday’s game for a pinch runner and avoided handshakes and rump smacks in the dugout after submitting.

Teoscar Hernandez is starting his rehab assignment tomorrow and it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to return to the big league Dodgers lineup by the end of the month.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1987, Tom Seaver abandoned his comeback attempt and retired as a member of the New York Mets.

We continue our series on possible areas where the Astros could add at the deadline. As a reminder, I am not recommending any addition at this point. This is more devil’s advocate. The Astros have been playing better of late and the race in the AL West is tightening. So, there will be more pressure to try to make that one key addition to get the team over the top. The problem is that there is probably only room for one addition given their proximity to the tax threshold and depleted minor league farm system.

Last Friday, we looked at the starting pitcher market. However, more important than the market itself is the expressed need for additions in that area. We can’t put the cart before the horse. We have to first look at the current roster and establish a need. Certainly you want to get good players to add to your roster, but it is that much better if those good players can actually be in a position of need. The question for Dana Brown and the Astros is which of those positions is the most acute need.

Anyone that has watched the offense knows that it is improved overall based on what we saw in 2025. However, Brown kept talking about adding to outfield offense all season in addition to adding left handed bats in general. Obviously, he failed to do that in general. So, you could really make a compelling argument that an outfielder is the most pressing need.

These are all standard numbers except for bases per out. As we saw earlier in the year, the league average for bases per out is .663. That is an entire league average, so it actually is worse than it appears. That league average includes catchers, shortstops, and second basemen who typically bring that overall average. In particular, when you look at the corner outfield positions, first base, and third base the league average is closer to .700.

The league average slash line at all positions is .243/.320/.400. So, when we compare the overall outfield production across the board we notice that the average hitter is considerably better than all of the Astros outfielders. If you take Yordan Alvarez out of the equation it gets particularly anemic. When you remove Alvarez from the totals, this is the worst Astros outfield offensively in franchise history. That is particularly true when you compare them with the league average.

So, when we look at the landscape, there are a number of outfielders that spotrac.com have listed as being available in trade. Again, I’m not necessarily advocating any of these and I have no idea whether the Astros are interested or not. We will look at two sets of numbers. We will look at the current slash statistics (AVG/OBP/SLG) and the Statcast estimates of where the player should be based on the level of contact (xAVG/xOBP/xSLG).

Jarren Durran

This is what we would call a buy low candidate. Durran was long rumored to be coming to Houston for Isaac Paredes but the deal never quite worked out. I’d have to imagine that some reasonable version of the deal is still on the table. The upside is clear on him as he was a nine win player just a couple of years ago. A large part of that comes on the defensive end. He is a Gold Glove level defender in both center field and left field, so the Astros could continue to play Cam Smith in right field and have at least two Gold Glove level defenders there. The bad news is that he might not be an offensive upgrade.

Byron Buxton

When you look at the Statcast numbers it feels like you are looking at Christian Walker. So, imagine adding a Walker level bat to a lineup that already features Alvarez and Walker. Of course, he is about the best asset the Twins have, so they will make you pay dearly for him. Assuming he can stay healthy he might be the best impact bat on the trade market. Like most of these guys, he is ready for free agency, so it would be a pure rental.

Bryan Reynolds

I’m down with OBP (yeah you know me), I’m down with OBP (yeah you know me). I’ve been a Reynolds fan for awhile, but there are some issues that come with getting him. He is signed through 2030 with an option for 2031. Second, this is his best season in awhile, so you will tied down to a guy that will be in his mid thirties that is likely to decline. A bet on Reynolds is a bet on a guy you want to play well now for this season and will just live with the contract from here on out.

Oneil Cruz

Spotrac lists him as a trade candidate. I am a little skeptical of that considering that he can’t become a free agent until 2029. Cruz came up as a shortstop and was converted to center field. It has been a troubling adjustment. He is sitting on -9 defensive runs saved as I write this. So, maybe you try him in left field if you acquire him. He adds 21 steals to these numbers and led the National League in stolen bases. A bet on Cruz is a bet on the awesome athleticism that is obviously present.

Taylor Ward

The Orioles season is in the crapper. Ward hasn’t been exactly what the Orioles had hoped, but he hasn’t been bad. His .737 OPS would be considerably better than anything the Astros are putting out there and Statcast shows he might be somewhat unlucky. Camden Yards has become a difficult place to hit home runs, so maybe he would be luckier in Daikan Park. Like Buxton, he will be a free agent at the end of the season, so hopefully would be cheaper in terms of player capital.

Putting it all together

The general idea would be to upgrade either center field or left field for the stretch drive. The Astros offense is generally average once you leave the warm embrace of March and April. So, you could make an argument that an upgrade in the outfield would be more meaningful than any other addition the Astros could make. Keep in mind that this is just the second article in a series. I’m not arguing for making any deal. It is just a glimpse into what might be possible if the Astros want to move in that direction.

Three out of four Dodgers minor league affiliates won on Sunday.

Player of the day

Chris Newell had two singles in his last 30 at-bats before hitting two home runs to deliver a win on Saturday. Then the Tulsa outfielder hit two more home runs on Sunday, part of a three-hit day that also included a walk.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Comets played catch-up all day, then scored twice in the ninth inning but left the tying run on second base in a loss to the Sacramento River Cats (Giants).

Austin Gathier had three hits. Noah Miller tripled and singled.

Jackson Ferris allowed three runs (two earned) in his 3 2/3 innings, and had more walks (four) than strikeouts (three) for the fourth time in 11 starts this season.

Double-A Tulsa

Down two runs in the ninth inning, the Drillers rallied for three runs for a road win over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals). Newell hit the first of five singles in the ninth-inning rally. Elijah Hainline’s single scored the winning run.

High-A Great Lakes

Two games after coming off the injured list, third baseman Logan Wagner hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning that provided just enough insurance for the Loons to hold for a one-run win over the Lake County Captains (Guardians).

Brooks Auger struck out a career-high nine in his four-inning start, and allowed just one run. He has 52 strikeouts against 15 walks to go with his 2.30 ERA in 31 1/3 innings, and a 39.7-percent strikeout rate.

Shortstop Emil Morales also homered for Great Lakes.

Class-A Ontario

Ching-Hsien Ko hit a two-run home run in the second inning that held up in the Tower Buzzers’ win over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Angels).

Tyler Gough allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings in his start for Ontario, and Will Gagnon followed with three scoreless innings to keep the Quakes at bay.

Transaction

No actual roster moves on Sunday, but pitcher Christian Zazueta is getting promoted from Great Lakes to Double-A Tulsa, per Kiley McDaniel at ESPN and Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic. Zazueta, the reigning Branch Rickey Award winner as the Dodgers minor league pitcher of the year in 2025, has a 3.88 ERA in 11 appearances this year with 66 strikeouts against only 12 walks in 48 2/3 innings. The 21-year-old’s 28.4-percent strikeout-minus-walk rate ranks fifth-best among all minor league pitchers with at least 40 innings this season.

Sunday scores

• Sacramento 6, Oklahoma City 5
• Tulsa 5, NW Arkansas 4
• Great Lakes 5, Lake County 4
• Ontario 3, Rancho Cucamonga 1

The week ahead

• Oklahoma City at Reno (D-backs)
• Tulsa vs. Corpus Christi (Astros)
• Great Lakes at Lansing (A’s)
• Ontario at Visalia (D-backs)

Overall, it was another somewhat tough week for the Braves. However, despite another Sunday loss, the Braves did win the weekend in a pretty important series against the Brewers. That is certainly a needed positive. The Braves remain in a fine position, it now just needs to win another series to get back full momentum.

Braves News

While the Braves had a good weekend, there are legitimate concerns for Bryce Elder after another struggle on Sunday.
Eric Hartman once again went deep over the weekend.

MLB News

Bryce Harper once again helped the Philles get another victory.

RHP Jared Jones of the Padres was struck in the elbow by a line drive and had to be removed from his start on Sunday. Jones returned to action earlier this year from elbow surgery.

Johan Rojas of the Phillies will be out until next season due to elbow surgery. He was already out for the first part of the season due to PED suspension.

Stephen Kolek struggled from the start in his outing Sunday against the Cardinals.

“Those days are going to happen,” Kolek said. “Ideally, they’re definitely not as bad as they were today.”

The Cardinals sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning. In total, Kolek faced 15 batters, allowing nine hits and a walk. He didn’t record a strikeout.

“It’s definitely tough to pitch when you don’t have command over stuff like that,” Kolek said. “So we’re going to clean it up and get right back to it.”

Anne Rogers writes that Bobby Witt Jr. was kept out on Sunday as a precaution.

While an injured list stint is still a possibility, Kansas City will continue to evaluate Witt throughout Sunday and even through Monday, when the team begins a four-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Manager Matt Quatraro said on Sunday that Witt feels better and is moving around better than he was two days ago.

“We’re going to reevaluate as the day goes on, get him a bunch of treatments and see how he’s feeling before we take off [for St. Petersburg],” Quatraro said.

Jaylon Thompson talks to Royals players about fatherhood.

The Royals honor this tradition in quiet ways. For example, they allow kids in the clubhouse to celebrate with their dads after home wins.

“I think that’s one of the coolest things,” Wacha said. “My dad wasn’t a big leaguer, so I didn’t get to be able to do that type of stuff. But I think it will be something cool. I think it’s cool being in a big-league clubhouse, for sure.

“And hopefully, whenever they are older, we get a lot of pics of them in here. You know, something they can look back on and they’ll think is pretty cool, as well.”

Anne also writes about what Father’s Day means to Royals players.

Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone used the off day Saturday to toss footballs with Tom Brady at a World Cup celebration, writes Pete Grathoff.

Salvador Perez attended the Ecuador/Curaçao matchup.

Kyle Schwarber hits two home runs in an inning and three overall and Bryce Harper hits for the cycle in a Phillies blowout win.

The Marlins designate slugger Christopher Morel for assignment.

The A’s designate former Royals reliever Scott Barlow for assignment.

The Angels release pitcher Taijuan Walker.

Rafael Devers balks at being replaced by a pinch-runner.

A’s outfielder Colby Thomas makes a sensational catch to rob a home run.

Who are the greatest father/son combinations in MLB history?

The Pirates are open to trading their competitive balance pick.

The Angels may not want to trade some of their top assets.

The Astros want to be buyers despite their place in the standings.

Is the 1951 Giants/Dodgers “Shot Heard Round the World” the greatest game in baseball history?

North Carolina defeats Oklahoma to set up a deciding Game 3 in the Men’s College World Series.

Wyndham Clark holds on to win his second U.S. Open title.

Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room sets a record with 15 saves in a 90-minute World Cup match against Ecuador.

Does it make sense to have data centers in space?

Comedian Carlos Mencia faces 12 felony charges for tax evasion.

Theodore Roosevelt will finally have his own presidential library opening in North Dakota.

Your song of the day is The Beatles with I’ve Just Seen a Face.

Folks, I don’t think I got it today. I spent all of Thursday getting ready for a weekend trip, of course not giving myself enough time to do everything I wanted to do, so the entire day was hectic. I arrived at my destination that night, and then drank heavily for three straight nights. I am unfortunately saddled with the inability to sleep when I drink – I am a near guarantee to wake up at 5 or 6 in the morning and then struggle to go back to sleep. There is a bonus: I have avoided many a hangover because it hasn’t kicked in yet when I wake up. The downside is becoming a walking zombie.

Anyway, I drove home Sunday morning, but not to my house. It was Father’s Day after all. I drove straight to my parents house on something like a combined 15 hours sleep over the past three days. Actually 15 is probably optimistic. My dad got a JJ Wetherholt jersey and Masyn Winn bobblehead, so it was incredibly exciting when both hit homers in the 1st. I’m not kidding, we just finished giving him gifts and then the Cardinal game started not even five minutes later. I finally got home at 7 pm. And here we are.

So a quick article it is. But I don’t want to leave you with nothing so, some random observations for you

JJ Wetherholt’s ridiculous season

JJ Wetherholt is answer to the question: what if you just maxed out everything a baseball player does? JJ Wetherholt, at least in his first three months of professional baseball, has been an elite baserunner and elite fielder. It doesn’t matter what stat you use. He is +13 outs above average, which is quite literally 100 percentile among defenders according to Statcast. He is 95th percentile by baserunning value. He has 1.2 dWAR if you prefer Baseball-Reference. And his hitting isn’t bad either.

Wetherholt, now with 3.3 fWAR on the year, is on pace to have the best rookie season by a Cardinals player since Albert Pujols. And it’s pretty much equal to Pujols’ season. He’s on pace for 7.1 fWAR, Pujols had 7.2 fWAR. That’s a rounding error. I have comped him to Chase Utley before in sort of a pie-in-the-sky outcome – that is not a crazy comp. Utley was not a Hall of Famer caliber player because of his offense – well he sort of was – but he maxed out his baserunning and fielding value.

Ignore the power aspect – Citizen Banks Park is a much better park for homers than Busch Stadium, but even accepting that, Utley most likely has more power than Wetherholt ever will – if you look at the season by season wRC+ Utley had, it doesn’t feel THAT crazy anymore. Utley’s peak began with a 134 wRC+, which he followed with a 130 wRC+, and then a 150, then 134, 141, and 128 wRC+. Wetherholt still has work to do, since he’s “only” at a 127 wRC+ right now.

However, he is arguably getting unlucky. Maybe yesterday’s game fixes that. I don’t know. But he entered yesterday’s game with a .360 xwOBA and a .343 wOBA. His 3-5 day with two homers and a HBP rose his actual wOBA to .354. But you know, it probably raised his xwOBA too. Somewhat inexplicably his second homer carried an expected batting average of .030 while simultaneously being a homer in 19 parks. His single carried a .930 xBA and there’s no data on his first homer, but that was more of a no doubter. Point being, I think his xwOBA will still paint him as unlucky.

So that 130-140 wRC+ range doesn’t feel crazy, and we’re talking about a 23-year-old with 71 career games. While his baserunning and fielding really has nowhere to go but down, his hitting may not be a finished product. We really have a special player here.

Have faith in Masyn Winn

Even if I accepted that Masyn Winn was now an 80-85 wRC+ hitter carried by his defense, I have not really understood the discourse about replacing him. Let’s tackle positions that are actually a problem first. I don’t care if there are a lot of 3 win shortstops, that doesn’t make replacing him automatically easy. Wetherholt could most likely handle SS, but his greatest weakness is his arm, so he is very much not a guarantee that it would work and there’s very little chance he’s a better defender at SS than Winn.

I have also been very vocal in thinking he has more in the tank offensively. He’s still just 24-years-old. I don’t think his best offensive days are behind him. I also look at like this: we don’t need Masyn Winn’s bat to better. It’s almost a bonus. I think it can be better, but we’re not dependent on it being better. Winn will still be a valuable player and a worthy starter on a playoff caliber team even if his bat is what it is. Despite a slow start with the bat and with defensive numbers that I think will get better, he’s still nearly on pace for a 3 WAR season.

Is anybody else worried about Gordon Graceffo?

Graceffo is really working on a razor’s edge right now. He is not missing bats, he is walking too many, and he’s not really getting a lot of groundballs either. ERA is the only stat that makes him look good, the rest make him look… unplayable honestly. Every single one of them. His bad game on Thursday was a long time coming, and he has 4 walks to zero strikeouts in his last 3.1 innings of work. I had kind of assumed his advanced stats would start creeping towards his ERA at some point, and they really haven’t.

It’s interesting how much even the analytical fans will trust a good ERA, because I just haven’t seen a lot of talk about Graceffo. By literally any advanced stat and I genuinely think I’m using literally correctly here, we should trust Ryne Stanek more than Graceffo. We should trust Justin Bruhl more! Why can’t he miss any bats???

And that’s all I got for you.

Whenever Colorado Rockies pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) pitches or speaks to the media, you may notice the man who flanks him. This is Yuto Sakurai, who has served as Sugano’s interpreter for the last two years. 

However, before Sakuari worked for Sugano, he had other roles that shaped how he approaches his current work.

Early Life

Sakurai was born in Tokyo, Japan, but moved to the United States at a young age. 

“I was probably four or five,” he said. “I remember going to kindergarten in LA, so it was just a short stint in LA that I had.”

And after a few years, his family moved back to Japan where he completed elementary and junior high school. But when he was a teenager, he moved to Vancouver, Canada.

“I wanted to play baseball in the States, but with visa complications, Canada or Australia was my second option,” he recalled. “And I thought ‘Well, the United States is right next door, so close enough.’ And that’s why I chose Canada.”

Sakurai also attended university in Canada, where he initially studied psychology and business but ultimately finished his degree in marketing.

“My friends were all taking business classes, and I thought, ‘Why not take business?’” he said. “And then while doing my business major, I took one of the marketing courses and just fell in love with it. It was a course called ‘Personal Selling’ or something like that. I really enjoyed the negotiation tactics and the communication aspect of marketing, so I think that’s when I kind of shifted.

“Studying wasn’t really my thing,” he laughed. “But in terms of acquiring language, it was one of the good things I was able to do so I guess it all worked out in the end.”

And even though Sakurai isn’t currently working in marketing, he credits the skills he learned with “absolutely” helping him land his roles in Major League Baseball.

“Being in this role, I’ve had to communicate with various people from different departments,” he said, “someone like you from the media or the PR from our team, business and baseball ops people, and then, of course, players. So it has definitely helped me out.”

Pivoting to Major League Baseball

Before Sakurai was hired by Sugano, he worked for another Japanese pitcher, Shun Yamaguchi (山口 俊). Yamaguchi and Sugano played together on the Yomiuri Giants in the NPB, and Yamaguchi was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays in December 2019. Unfortunately, his MLB career never quite took off, in part because of the COVID-shortened 2020 season. 

Yamaguchi made his MLB debut on July 26, 2020 and made 17 appearances that year. He went 2-4 with a 8.06 ERA across 25.2 innings. He was designated for assignment in February 2021 and signed by the San Francisco Giants, but was eventually released in July after not making another appearance in the majors.

“He was supposed to be a starter, but he ended up becoming a middle reliever,” Sakurai recalled. “It was during the 2020 shortened season – the COVID year – so he didn’t really have a chance to play that year. The Giants picked him up, but he never got to the major leagues. I think we played half the season in Sacramento.

“When he signed with the [San Francisco] Giants, I was like, ‘I have a background in Vancouver,’” he continued, “so I thought I could help him out with making the adjustments – coming over here, but also playing. And when I saw the news, I applied, and luckily they saw my email, and that’s how things started.”

After his role with Yamaguchi, Sakurai took a sabbatical from being an MLB interpreter. 

But then another opportunity presented itself in 2025.

Connecting with Tomoyuki Sugano

After spending 12 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, Tomoyuki Sugano signed a one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles as he fulfilled a longtime goal of playing Major League Baseball. However, he needed an interpreter to help him navigate life in the United States. 

That’s when Sakurai decided to shoot his shot again.

“I saw Tomo sign with the Orioles last year, and I thought, ‘Why not shoot the GM an email and see what the response will be like?’ And luckily, I got a response, and that’s how the thing started rolling,” he said.

“I had an interview with his agent, Shawn Novak, who speaks both English and Japanese fluently,” Sakurai continued. “And I had two different interviews with him and his agency, and then I was one of the final candidates and then got to speak with Tomo next on Zoom. He asked me a bunch of questions, but it seemed like he was looking for someone who is willing to help not only on the field, but off the field and have a relationship with and hang out with. So I was like, ‘Sure, why not?’”

Sakurai was based in Japan at that time, but moved back to the US when he was hired by Sugano. And part of his role is to help Sugano communicate with coaches, media, etc., but also to help him adjust to life in the US.

“I guess it’s helped – in a good way – that he’s single and didn’t have any family to be with over here,” Sakurai said. “I’m basically kind of replacing the family component there, so we just hang out every day – go out for lunch, go out for dinner, go golf together. Whichever city we go to, we try to find something to do. He likes to go to amusement parks, so we’ve been to a couple different Six Flags in the last year. And just seeing each other every other day kind of helped with the bonding process.”

And the two are pretty much inseparable at this point.

“I’m pretty much with Tomo 24 hours everywhere except for the time I fall asleep,” Sakurai said. 

“I wake up and usually he tells me, ‘Let’s meet up downstairs’ or [we’ll] go have lunch or coffee. That’s how my day usually starts. We go grab lunch, and then on a road trip, we come back, take the bus to the stadium, and from there on, you see what’s going on. I’m always with him on the field, and once the game is over, we take the same bus back. And if we don’t end too late, we usually go grab dinner together or have dinner at the stadium and go our separate ways afterwards.”

Perks of being an interpreter

On top of being connected to a legendary pitcher like Sugano, Sakurai has been enjoying being an MLB interpreter.

One of the most surprising things, though, was how ‘normal’ most of these guys are.

“You used to think of all these guys as your childhood heroes,” he said. “I mean, they still are, but how they interact with myself and Tomo, they’re just regular people, too. I was surprised about how a lot of them are very humble. They have respect for each other. No matter who you are, they will treat you with respect.”

And specifically with guys like Mike Trout, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, he has made sure to stay the same and not get too caught up in the moment.

But the biggest lesson he’s learned so far?

“Maybe try not to stand out too much,” he said, “because I am a staff member. I’m not a player, so essentially I have to hide in the shadows, per se, and do my job discreetly and try not to get too ahead of myself.”

Having worked for four organizations, Sakurai has noticed a few differences, but noticed one thing in particular that the Rockies excel at doing.

“I feel like we have a family-like team, per se. Like, the first day of spring training, everybody was welcoming from top to bottom,” he said. “Not all the teams have that, so I really appreciate that component. And even still now, we have a good thing going on. Everybody says hi to each other every single day coming in, and I really like that. It’s a long season to battle, so you want to get along with everybody as much as possible, and I think this organization has the best of it.”

However, Sakurai has one favorite part of the job that’s unique to his particular role.

“When I get to go on the mound with Alon [Leichman],” he said, “talking about what to do with the next hitter and stuff like that in front of 30,000 or 40,000 fans.”

“That’s something that not everybody gets to do – even as players,” he emphasized. “Position players wouldn’t really go up to the mound during the game unless they’re on the field already. So I think that’s my favorite part about this job. But otherwise, pretty much everything you get to do, like talk to the players that you typically see on TV on a daily basis. I get to do what I like to do – play catch with the guys. And last but not least, I like to travel. If it wasn’t for this job, I probably wouldn’t go to places like Cincinnati or Kansas City.”

But at the end of the day, Sakurai feels the same as most players about what he’s looking most forward to for the rest of the 2026 season.

“I think it’s the same with all the players and all the staff for all 30 organizations,” he said. “I think everybody’s ultimate goal is to get that championship ring, and I would love to accomplish that dream with these guys.”

And any advice to anyone who wants to get into this field?

“I think it’s just like any other job or any other dreams that people have,” Sakurai said. “If you put in the work for it, or you have the desire – like, for me, I wanted to work in Major League Baseball, and of course I had to put some effort in – anything is achievable.”

On the Farm

Triple-A:Sugar Land Space Cowboys 7, Albuquerque Isotopes 6

It was a back-and-forth affair in Albuquerque, but unfortunately, the Space Cowboys (HOU) came out on top. DH Nick Kent, second baseman Chad Stevens and catcher Jose Cordova all recorded two hits.

First baseman CJ Alexander got things started for the Space Cowboys in the first with a two-run homer, but Kent answered back in the bottom half with a solo shot of his own. Catcher César Salazar singled to put the Cowboys up 3-1, then Alexander walked with the bases loaded to score another run.

Kent doubled again in the third to score Dew Avans, and then Stevens singled to score Kent. Second baseman Pascanel Ferreras tripled to score left fielder Cavan Biggio in the sixth, and then Mike Antico hit a sac fly to score Stevens. A wild pitch by RHP Ryan Weiss then scored Cordova. Another triple, this time by third baseman Vimael Machín, scored first baseman Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) to give the Topes the lead, but it was quickly erased by a Biggio two-run homer in the eighth to end the scoring.

Double-A:Hartford Yard Goats 7, Reading Fightin Phils 4

It was homer-fest in Hartford as the Yard Goats defeated the Fightin Phils (PHI) 7-4. DH Cole Messina (No. 26 PuRP) got things started in the first, scoring catcher Bryant Betancourt on a two-run homer to jump out to an early lead. Unfortunately, the Phils plated four runs in the third — all off RHP Fisher Jameson. Jameson ended up pitching three innings, but only allowed damage in his first inning. The Phils started off the third with a left fielder Bryson Ware homer, then center fielder Pedro León hit a three-run homer to put them on top. Goats’ first baseman Jimmy Obertop hit a homer in the fourth to cut into the lead, and then right fielder GJ Hill homered in the fifth to tie the game.

The first (and only) non-homer score came later in the fifth, when center fielder Conner Capel doubled to score shortstop Andy Perez. Betancourt wanted in on the homer parade, hitting a two-run shot as the final scoring hit.

High-A:Vancouver Canadians 9, Spokane Indians 5

DH Tommy Hopfe and right fielder Max Belyeu (No. 15 PuRP) each recorded multiple hits in the Indians’ 9-5 loss to the Canadians (TOR). Belyeu went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, one RBI, one walk and two strikeouts. Hopfe went 3-for-4 with three RBI.

Belyeu got things started with a leadoff homer to put the Indians’ up 1-0. Hopfe then hit a sac fly to score second baseman Roynier Hernandez later in the inning to put them up 2-0. In the third inning, DH Eric Snow hit a three-run homer to put the Canadians over the top. In the fourth, left fielder J.R. Freethy scored catcher Edward Duran on another sac fly, and then Hopfe doubled in the fourth to score Belyeu and Hernandez.

In the sixth and seventh, the Canadians blew things open with a double and two, two-run homers to put them up 9-4. Left fielder Jacob Hinderleider doubled in the seventh to score catcher Alan Espinal, but that ended the scoring and the comeback.

Low-A:Fresno Grizzlies 2, Inland Empire 66ers 1

It was a pitchers’ duel for most of the game in Fresno, as the scoring didn’t start until the seventh inning and ended with a walk-off. DH Luis Mendez led the way, going 3-for-4. Rehabbing second baseman Adael Amador and center fielder Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP) each went 2-for-4, and Brito also struck out once.

66ers (SEA) second baseman Dervy Ventura broke through the brick wall that was RHP Austin Newton when he hit a sac fly to score left fielder Ricardo Cova. It was the only run allowed by Newton, who also allowed three hits and struck out two batters in 6.1 innings of work.

In the Grizzlies half of the inning, catcher Jesus Freitez hit a sac bunt, and then right fielder Carlos Renzullo scored on a fielding error by pitcher Ray Cebulski. The walk-off also came off the bat of Freitez, who singled to score shortstop Ashly Andujar (No. 20 PuRP).

Patrick Saunders is hanging it up after 28 years at The Denver Post. A baseball writer looks back with gratitude. | The Denver Post ($)

Patrick Saunders has covered the Rockies since 1998 and his final game will be this Wednesday, June 24th against the Boston Red Sox at Coors Field. He shares some of his favorite stories from his career as he bids goodbye to the Rockies beat. Thank you, Patrick, for your excellent coverage of Denver sports over the years. You will be missed!

What just happened?! Explaining rare call that ended Pirates-Rockies thriller | MLB.com

Saturday night’s game ended with a rare 5U out due to an interference call. Kyle Karros fielded a ground ball from Jake Mangum with the bases loaded, and immediately started to look around without throwing anything. Turns out, the foot of Billy Crook grazed his glove while he was running from second to third, triggering runner interference. Crew chief Todd Tichenor explained it as such: “The runner failed to avoid the defender in the act of fielding the baseball; therefore, he’s called out. It’s very simple.” Luckily, the Rockies were on the winning side of the bizarre ending!

Rumfield is one of MLB’s top rookies thanks to Minor League lessons | MLB.com

TJ Rumfield has been setting toe world league on fire, slashing .279/.359/.483 with 28 extra-base hits in his first 75 games as a Major League Baseball player. He’s making a case for NL Rookie of the Year, and Thomas Harding talked to him about the lessons he learned in the minor leagues that prepared him for this moment.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

These clubs have appeared in 5 of the last 9 World Series.   Each have run into various road blocks in 2026, but the winner of this upcoming series could potentially springboard to new life in the second half of the season.   

Blue Jays Play By Play Man Dan Shulman joins us to discuss the Astros upcoming series at the Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto.   

Q: Let’s start with George Springer.  Could he be turning the corner?  

A: George has looked better lately.  He fouled a ball off his toe earlier this season, fractured it, missed 17 games, and it seemed to take him a while to get his timing back when he returned.  But lately there have been signs that he is turning it around.  He is drawing a lot of walks lately, and if the power stroke returns too, that would really help the Jays. 

Q: For the Astros, injuries have drastically hindered their season thus far.   What have been the biggest hurdles for the Blue Jays?

A: They have been decimated by injuries too.  Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk both suffered injuries very early in the season.  Barger sprained his ankle, returned for one game, and suffered an elbow injury on a throw. He has only appeared in 9 games.  Kirk fractured his thumb in early April and just returned last week. 

As mentioned, Springer was on the IL and so was Nathan Lukes.  Daulton Varsho is on the IL now with a wrist issue. 

On the pitching side, Jose Berrios underwent Tommy John surgery, Cody Ponce tore his ACL, Dylan Cease was on the IL for 15 days, Max Scherzer missed more than a month and Shane Bieber is just now nearing a return after some arm fatigue following his Tommy John surgery.  So they have had more than their fair share of bullpen games as they try to find 5 starters.  They’re getting healthier now but it’s been a huge part of their struggles. 

Q: If you had to predict, which Jays “will” or “should” make the All Star Game next month in Philadelphia?

A: I think Ernie Clement should and will.  He’s had a very good season, and in my mind, deserves to be the starter at 2nd base for the American League.

Louis Varland has been one of the best relievers in the majors, he should be there and I think he will be.  I think Dylan Cease should as well, and likely will.  Even with a brief stint on the IL, he’s been one of the better starting pitchers in the AL. 

Even though he’s not having an All-Star caliber season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. could get voted in. 

Q: Lastly, it’s been a roller coaster with the pitching rotation which Astros fans can relate to.    What’s the latest?

A: They need to find 5 healthy, effective starters.  Cease and Gausman are a great 1-2 punch. Trey Yesavage has had his ups and downs this year but still gives them a quality starting pitcher.  A healthy Bieber would be a great addition.  The bullpen has been worked hard, Fluharty and Fisher are among MLB leaders in appearances.  But for the most part, it is a strong bullpen.

Happy Monday, everyone! We hope you had a restful weekend and are ready to take on the week ahead. We’ve got lots of fun little news bites from over the weekend to ease you into your Monday grind. On the good news side of things, Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka welcomed their second child and announced the birth over the weekend. In true Ohtani fashion, he then his a massive home run on Father’s Day Eve to help the Dodgers win.

The Phillies continue to have an unprecedented resurgence that should honestly make any team that has struggled in recent months (not naming names…) realize that there is room to turn things around still. This time, they did it with crazy performances from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. On the less cheerful side of things, Justin Verlander was scratched from his scheduled Sunday start due to a hamstring injury and will be heading right back to the injured list.

We’ve got all that and more below, so let’s get right into it!

• Michael Baumann looks at the Tigers’ strange and perhaps misguided use of their bench players when it comes to pinch-hitting.
• Matt Martell weighs the ins and outs of whether or not to use the ABS challenge.
• Rafael Devers tried to wave away a pinch-runner and the Giants were forced to respond after the fact. Story by Perla Paredes.
• Making some bold trade deadline predications. (SI)
• Justin Verlander was meant to make his return to the majors this weekend, but his start was scratched after a hamstring issue appeared during a bullpen session. It now appears he’ll be out several more weeks. (ESPN)
• Oh what a night! Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs in an inning and Bryce Harper hit for the cycle. Remember when the Phillies were struggling? Because they don’t. (AP)
• Matt Gelb looks at whether it was a heavier bat that helped Harper pull off that cycle. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Some sweet Father’s Day insights from MLB dads.

• Dan Szymborski looks at some interesting potential call-up candidates.
• Shohei Ohtani just became a dad for the second time, and wasted no time at all celebrating that fact with a massive home run. On Father’s Day Eve no less. (MLB)
• Kenley Jansen may be the MLB active saves leader, but that doesn’t mean he was chill when it came to his best friend setting a saves record for the World Cup. Story by Jason Beck.
• Robert Gasser is feeling great after his first win since 2024. (AP)
• Eric Koreen has a touching post about what his father’s love of the White Sox taught him about baseball and life. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Weird stats gonna do their weird stat thing.

• Michael Baumann assesses whether the end has finally arrived for Salvador Perez.
• Martin Gallegos offers a contender for the catch of the year.
• Got beef? Tarik Skubal and Mike Vasil got into a verbal altercation this weekend, now we have more details on what went down. Story by Tim Capurso.
• The Marlins have DFA’d the struggling Christopher Morel. They also moved Liam Hicks to the IL. (AP)
• Ken Rosenthal looks at what all the suitors for Tarik Skubal have in common. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• I don’t care if we shared this in a million posts, it’s the best thing ever and I’m subjecting you to it again.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.

This was the 11th week of full minor league play (stats are entering play on Sunday, June 21st).

According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), the Rays top overall prospect Theo Gillen has taken over at the top performer in the system. His full season stat line is further below.

Meanwhile, Aidan Cremarods is back as the top performing pitcher system. The 22-year old Cremarosa is having a solid debut season within the Rays system. The 2025 8th round pick is currently in Single-A and holds a 2.56 ERA | 2.52 FIP with a 32.0 K% & 4.9 BB% over 52.2 IP.

RUMBLINGS

• Kamren James, the Rays 16th round pick in 2022, had a career day on Sunday as he launched three homeruns in a single game. The 26-year old was hitting .209/.294/.341 with 2 HR over 103 PA entering play on Sunday.
• Luke Jackson, the Rays 11th round pick from 2025, made his organization debut. Jackson was among Baseball America’s top 500 prospects entering the draft and signed a $497,500 deal with Tampa Bay. The 22-year old is currently in Single-A.
• Leonardo Pineda, one of the Rays top international signings from 2024, has been placed on the 60-day Injured List
• Daniel Pierce, the Rays top draft pick in 2025, hasn’t played since May 3oth.
• Carson Williams since being optioned at the end of May is hitting .288/.358/.507 with a 24.7 K% and 9.9 BB% over 81 PA
• FanGraphs should be releasing their list of the Rays top prospects at some point this week.

TEAM LEADERS

• Must currently be assigned to that team
• Baseball America’s top ten prospects are featured below each team they’re currently assigned to.
• (minimum of 120 TBF & PA)

Tampa Bay Rays

Top 10 Prospects

• None currently on active roster

Durham Bulls

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .256, Carson Williams
OBP: .342, Carson Williams
SLG: .451, Carson Williams
HR: 9, Tatem Levins
wRC+: 104, Carson Williams
SB: 24, Raynel Delgado (Traded to the Astros on 6/10)

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.27, Evan Reifert
FIP: 4.03, Ty Johnson
K%: 29.6% Ty Johnson
BB%: 8.7%, Chase Solesky
WHIP: 1.04, Ty Johnson
AVG: .182, Evan Reifert
WHIFF%: 14.4%, Ty Johnson

Top 10 Prospects

• #2 Brody Hopkins
  • AAA: 4.91 ERA | 5.25 FIP | 25.6 K% | 20.7 BB% | .202 AVG | 12.5 WHIFF% | 58.2 IP

Montgomery Biscuits

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .309, Austin Overn (placed on the IL on 5/27)
OBP: .379, Xavier Isaac
SLG: .533, Austin Overn (placed on the IL on 5/27)
HR: 13, Will Simpson
wRC+: 141, Austin Overn (Placed on IL on 5/27)
SB: 28, Austin Overn (placed on the IL on 5/27)

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.94, Chris Clark
FIP: 3.14, Chris Clark
K%: 26.5%, Michael Forret (Promoted to Triple-A)
BB%:  4.3%, Gary Gill Hill & Santiago Suarez
WHIP 0.97, Chris Clark
AVG: .186, Michael Forret
WHIFF%: 15.4%, Jackson Baumeister

Top 10 Prospects

• #9 T.J. Nichols
  • AA: 7.11 ERA | 4.03 FIP | 17.2 K% | 9.2 BB% | .329 AVG | 10.1 WHIFF% | 19 IP
  • CPX: 1.80 ERA | 2.53 FIP | 20.0 K% | 0.0 BB% | .300 AVG | 9.2 WHIFF% | 5 IP
    • 4/7: Placed on Injured List
    • 5/9: Began rehab assignment in Complex League
    • 5/19: Activated from Injured List
• #10 Santiago Suarez
  • AA: 5.93 ERA | 5.28 FIP | 23.4 K% | 4.3 BB% | .249 AVG | 13.0 WHIFF% | 50 IP
    • 4/25: Placed on Injured List
    • 5/5: Activated from Injured List

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .340, Theo Gillen
OBP: .449, Tony Santa Maria
SLG: .591, Theo Gillen
HR: 15, Connor Hujsak (Promoted to Triple-A)
wRC+: 165, Theo Gillen
SB: 28, Theo Gillen

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.90, Jacob Kisting
FIP: 2.47, Jacob Kisting
K%: 30.4%, Jacob Kisting
BB%: 5.2%, Jacob Kisting
WHIP: 0.95, Jacob Kisting
AVG: .196, Jacob Kisting
WHIFF%: 15.0%, Jacob Kisting

Top 10 Prospects

• #1 Theo Gillen
  • A+: .340/.446/.591 | 24.2 K% | 14.2 BB% | 12 HR | 28 SB | 165 wRC+ | 260 PA
• #3 Nathan Flewelling
  • A+: .255/.387/.477 | 25.3 K% | 15.6 BB% | 12 HR | 3 SB | 125 wRC+ | 269 PA
• #4 Caden Bodine
  • A+: .330/.411/.472 | 7.3 K% | 8.1 BB% | 4 HR | 2 SB | 132 wRC+ | 124 PA
  • A: .379/.433/.614 | 3.9 K% | 9.2 BB% | 5 HR | 1 SB | 181 wRC+ | 152 PA
• #6 Anderson Brito
  • A+: 3.34 ERA | 4.53 FIP | 28.8 K% | 14.4 BB% | .240 AVG | 13.4 WHIFF% | 32.1 IP
    • 5/23: Placed on 7-day Injured List

Charleston River Dogs

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .379, Caden Bodine (Promoted to A+ on 5/19)
OBP: .433, Caden Bodine (Promoted to A+ on 5/19)
SLG: .614, Caden Bodine (Promoted to A+ on 5/19)
HR: 6, Taitn Gray & Cooper Flemming
wRC+: 177, Caden Bodine (Promoted to A+ on 5/19)
SB: 19, Alberth Palma

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.97, Trey Pooser
FIP: 2.68, Aidan Cremarosa
K%: 31.7%, Mason Nichols
BB%: 3.6%, Aidan Haugh
WHIP: 0.84, Aidan Cremarosa
AVG: .175, Aidan Cremarosa
WHIFF%: 16.3%, Aidan Cremarosa

Top 10 Prospects

• #5 Cooper Flemming
  • A: .281/.369/.433 | 15.7 K% | 10.4 BB% | 6 HR | 8 SB | 121 wRC+ | 268 PA
• #7 Daniel Pierce
  • A: .252/.336/.390 | 28.6 K% | 7.9 BB% | 4 HR | 6 SB | 103 wRC+ | 140 PA
    • 4/22: Placed on the 7-day IL
    • 5/2: Activated from the IL
    • Hasn’t played since May 30th
• #8 Taitn Gray
  • A: .286/.406/.474 | 21.9 K% | 16.1 BB% | 6 HR | 4 SB | 144 wRC+ | 192 PA
    • 6/1: Placed on the 7-day IL

Good morning, baseball fans!

A new week of San Francisco Giants baseball is upon us, so it’s time to take a look ahead and see what’s on deck for this week.

After today’s off-day, the Giants return to Oracle Park to begin a three-game series against the Athletics. After that, they will welcome the Atlanta Braves to town for a rematch of last week’s series.

I don’t know who is doing the schedule this year, but man they sure do love to have the Giants play the same team two weeks in a row.

Anyway, of course I’m most interested in the A’s series. Nothing against the Braves, I just really love the vibes of Giants vs. A’s games, and it’s nice that A’s fans won’t have to travel for this one. Be nice to them if you’re going to a game during this series. Their organization has put them through enough.

Which series are you most interested in this week?

The Pittsburgh Pirates and their ace Paul Skenes are in the midst of an all-time bad string of losses as after Saturday’s contest against the Colorado Rockies the club dropped their seventh straight with Skenes on the mound.

Skenes has been the center of criticism in this stretch with many questioning if he’s slipping in his third big league season. Many have cited his velocity being down, as his four-seamer averaged 98.8 mph as a rookie and 98.2 last season. This season Skenes is averaging 97 mph on his fastball. So there certainly has been a downtick, but the third year pitcher believes that he’s pitching better overall than he has in years past.

“I don’t think I’m necessarily the same pitcher I was my rookie year and last year,” Skenes said. “I do think I’m throwing better. I’m very happy with how I’ve been throwing. I think I’ve evolved. If you’re not getting better in this game, you’re getting worse. I feel I’m better than I was last year. I think there are some numbers that show that; others don’t. But the gut feeling is I’m better.”

In this stretch of losses Skenes certainly has not been dominating opposing hitters the way that fans have grown accustomed to, especially the third time through a lineup where his efficiency starts to slip severely. The commentary team during Skenes’ outing against the Houston Astros suggested that team’s game plans for trying to hit against Skenes could also be why the righty has struggled lately. When Skenes is on the mound, no matter what the count may be, batters are instantly going into protect mode. By taking this approach at the plate the opposing offense is effectively playing a game of attrition. In a batter’s first and sometimes even second time at the plate they’re not necessarily looking for base hits first as much as they’re looking to wear Skenes down by making it longer at bats, where they’re getting six or more pitches.

Skenes stylistically already racks up a lot of pitches because of the swing and miss work that he implements into his game. That aggressive style compounded with batters looking to draw out long at bats has Skenes getting into high pitch counts early and often. In his last five starts Skenes has thrown 103+ pitches in each contest and gave up two earned runs in each but one of those last five outings. Aside from his games against Philadelphia and Toronto in the last seven starts, Skenes has been fairly efficient in not giving up a lot of runs, but he is certainly being pushed to his limits on the mound.

The team as a whole has largely not been great at supporting Skenes when he’s on the mound. The team’s offense is often dormant in these matchups, and the lack of run support has not helped. Against Philly on May, 17 the Pirates scored zero runs. Against Toronto on May, 23 the Pirates scored two runs and repeated the same low on May, 28 against the Cubs. In Skenes’ start against the Astros the Pirates did a decent job on offense by scoring nine runs, but lost the lead once Skenes came out of the game. Against Houston Skenes gave up one earned run, and three runs were scored during his time on the mound, but the Pirates lost 11-9, so that one is on the bullpen which is it’s own disaster zone right now. This trend of no offense continued in Skenes’ starts against the Dodgers, Marlins and Rockies.

Don Kelly seems to always field the worst possible lineup on nights that Skenes pitches, which isn’t helping matters either. Ryan O’Hearn is regularly missing from the lineup, while poor performers like Marcell Ozuna and Jared Triolo are consistently getting at bats. Henry Davis always catches for Skenes and he is mostly an offensive liability as well. The amount of prospects and random call ups that are on the field for Skenes starts is laughable too. While Skenes has had his own fair share of struggles this season, it’s fair to say that the best product is not always being put on the field to support him either.

Defensively the Pirates are not nearly as sound this year as they were last year either. O’Hearn is being asked to play mostly outside of his natural position, and there have been some shortcomings with him in right field. Oneil Cruz is still not a great defender in center field and to this point has not been able to make the out of the ordinary plays that a Gold Glove defender is capable of. The rotating cast in the outfield has not helped either, and the right side of the infield is average at best but certainly not great.

All things considered it could be a lot worst, as Skenes is still statistically right up there with the best pitchers in baseball, but there’s definitely a different feel around him and his most recent starts. Still though his Pirates’ teammates are confident in his abilities with Brandon Lowe saying he’s still pitching incredibly.

“That’s one of the things that everybody in baseball has been clouded by: how great Paul has been in his first two years,” Lowe said. “When you can look at a guy who has a (2.85) ERA, and the media says he’s having a down year … it’s pretty incredible, the numbers he’s been able to put up and what he’s been able to do, for people to question his ability at this point in the season.”

Some have also pointed to Skenes’ involvement in the World Baseball Classic and the hangover period that many players from the tournament have experienced, but Skenes stands by his conditioning and the work he continues to put in, and is not concerned by a perceived slip or downtick in velocity on his pitches.

“I mean, you can still blow it by them with 97 compared to 98,” Skenes said. “I’m feeling better after starts compared to the last couple years. If it weren’t for a couple short outings, I’d have more innings under my belt. I’m conditioned to throw more innings than I have been throwing.”

Kelly echoes his confidence in the work that Skenes does to keep his body in top shape during the season.

“I think we are trying to keep it in perspective,” Kelly said. “I think Paul has still done that, given us a chance to win, even though he hasn’t been maybe at the exceptional level he has been all of his career. He’s had stretches where he hasn’t been like that throughout the last two years. I think the one thing that we do know: The preparation, the work ethic, the man and how he goes about it, he’s always going to give everything he’s got.”

Skenes is scheduled to start against the Cincinnati Reds in a three game home stand following the team’s next series against the Seattle Mariners.

Hello, friends.

The confusing Orioles have done it again. They wrapped up their weekend series against the MLB-best Los Angeles Dodgers, who also happen to be two-time defending champions, by putting a 12-1 thumping on their opponent. They head to a different part of the metro area to face the AL-worst Angels with a series victory under their belts. They blew Friday’s game while looking like a team that could surely lose 100 games and battled back from that, staving off another almost-morale-draining loss on Saturday before delivering the Sunday beatdown for the series win.

As I listened to the Orioles radio broadcast wrapping up the win, Brett Hollander commented that the Orioles have been on the verge of grasping momentum a number of times this season and they have never quite managed to actually do it. Here they are again, with a real chance to do it. They can feel good about themselves after what they did against the Dodgers overall, even if we still feel bad about them losing that Friday game, and they only have to keep their foot on the gas against the Angels to keep the momentum going.

One thing I keep coming back to is that they’ve yet to win more than three games in a row. Five different times this year, they’ve won three straight and failed to stack a fourth. Right now, they haven’t even won three in a row! They just won the last two against the Dodgers. Maybe they’ll play well tonight against the Angels – it’s another late night game, a 9:38 start, hopefully a better version of Kyle Bradish shows up. If they do that, maybe they’ll make it three in a row. Then they’d still have to win Tuesday to get four.

The Dodgers had not lost consecutive games in more than a month before the Orioles did this to them over the weekend! It is not a meaningless thing that the Orioles managed to win the last two games of the series over this weekend.

A frustrating thing about the 2026 Orioles is this never quite grasping momentum. Another way I’ve seen it put stands out to me from The Baltimore Banner’s Jon Meoli, who remarked that the team keeps getting back up after it gets knocked down, but they’d be a lot better off if they stopped getting knocked down in the first place. They sure would! They are just good enough and resilient enough to battle back after disappointment. They aren’t good enough to avoid the disappointment. This year, that keeps you in the AL Wild Card race, at least up til now.

I still think they need to find a strong run later to make it. The only thing stopping them from being in the middle of doing that right now is… them. Perhaps most likely the bullpen, though there are also questionable parts of the rotation, and the offense remains enigmatic in the aggregate. It is nice to see so many players surging who struggled early on. We are going to need to see a couple more guys join that club to really solidify the possibility of a strong stretch of play.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

The Orioles outplayed the best team in baseball. Now what? (The Baltimore Sun)
This is the roughly $160 million question.

Dean Kremer and Cade Povich start rehab assignments (Baltimore Baseball)
These guys have been out for long enough that they should probably get the full length allowed for rehab assignments. It’s easier to imagine Kremer reclaiming his spot than Povich right now.

Father’s Day ‘very special’ for Alby – O’s manager, son and dad of 3 (Orioles.com)
Easier to post a feel-good Father’s Day story after the Orioles won their game on Father’s Day.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2022, Austin Hays hit for the cycle against the Nationals, managing to do so in a game that was called off in the sixth inning due to rain. The most recent cycle for the Orioles came when Cedric Mullins got his on May 12, 2023.

One current Oriole has a birthday today. Happy 31st to Tyler O’Neill. There are also former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2018 infielder Engelb Vielma, 2001 outfielder Willie Harris, 1996 pitcher Brian Sackinsky, 1978 outfielder Mike Anderson, and 1961-67 outfielder Russ Snyder. Today is Snyder’s 92nd birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you as well! Your birthday buddies for today include: explorer George Vancouver (1757), soldier and author Erich Maria Remarque (1898), author Octavia Butler (1947), actress Meryl Streep (1949), singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper (1953), basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler (1962), and pro football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner (1971).

On this day in history…

In 1633, Galileo Galilei was forced by the Catholic Church to recant his accurate statement that the Earth orbits the sun, rather than the other way around.

In 1812, Napoleon’s France declared war on Russia. This did not turn out to be a good idea for him.

In 1941, Nazi Germany initiated Operation Barbarossa, a surprise attack and invasion against Russia, with whom it had a non-aggression pact. Over a longer timeframe than Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, this did not turn out to be a good idea for the invaders.

In 1969, a section of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire, with one factor being the amount of pollution in the water. This is one of the substantial stories that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 22. Have a safe Monday. Go O’s1