Category: Baseball

Here’s the latest on Cade Horton, and it isn’t good (Bluesky link):

Now, here’s the rest of the news about Horton from earlier today.

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This, clearly, is not good news about Cubs right-hander Cade Horton:

**Breaking News** Per @JesseRogersESPN on Kap and JHood on @Espn1000 Cubs star Cade Horton will visit Dr. Keith Meister in Texas today after his MRI was not clean and not good. Trending down a bad path.

— David Kaplan (@thekapman) April 7, 2026

While we don’t hav any definitive information yet, a “not clean and not good” MRI is certainly not positive news. We’ll just have to wait until we get more news after Horton visits Dr. Meister.

Horton has already had one Tommy John surgery. Having a second one isn’t great, but pitchers can and do recover from those and are still productive. If it happens, it would mean Horton would miss the rest of 2026.

Justin Steele went down the same road. He’d had a previous TJS, had another one last year and will be returning soon. The Cubs were able to win 92 games without Steele. Losing Horton would be a big blow, but the Cubs do have some starting pitcher depth. That depth is about to be tested.

Let’s hope for good news instead of bad. As always, we await developments.

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be credentialed for the Nats series against the Dodgers. That gave me a level of access I have not had before. Being in the press box, down on the field for batting practice and in the locker room gives me a new perspective to share with Nats fans.

It was a very cool experience, and was a dream come true. However, I was there to do a job. When you get there, the first real activity is to go into the locker room. Honestly, you spend a lot of the 50 minutes you get just lingering and observing. 

I chatted with some players there, which was awesome. When I went up to talk to Gus Varland, he was almost amused, asking how much he had to pay me for an interview. The conversation I had with him made up the meat of the story we put up a couple days ago. 

After that, there is a pre-game press conference with Blake Butera. One of the questions I asked him during those was why he wanted James Wood in the leadoff spot. Butera responded to that by saying, “James is one of the best hitters on our team and one of the best hitters in the league. When you talk about your best hitters, over the course of the season, you want to get them up to bat as much as possible”. Over the past couple games, Butera’s faith in Wood at the top of the lineup has been rewarded.

I enjoy Butera press conferences. He gives thoughtful answers and really tries to answer the questions. After that loss in the home opener, Butera was clearly pretty disappointed. The first thing he did was thank the fans and almost apologize to them as well. That was in the press conference after the game.

One of the coolest parts of the day is going down on the field for batting practice. You are right there and can even sit in the dugout. Being in the dugout was a bit of a pinch me moment. On the first day, Paul Toboni was available for questions. He held court for a bit over 15 minutes, and answered a variety of questions. There is even a photo from that scrum where you can see me.

Paul Toboni before his 1st Opening Day on the job at #Nationals Park pic.twitter.com/5mvT7ZIBXJ

— Nats Chat Podcast (@Nats_Chat) April 3, 2026

I asked Toboni a couple questions. The first one was about Joey Wiemer, and how he would characterize him as a player and person. Toboni called Wiemer a “high energy guy” and a “great teammate”.  

The other question I asked was about Harry Ford. Despite the Nats having a need behind the plate, Ford, who the Nats traded for this offseason, did not do enough to win a job out of camp. Toboni gave an honest answer, which I appreciated.

He stressed that Ford needed to work on his defense. The Nats new President of Baseball Operations said he wanted Ford to show he can be an average or above average receiver over a decent sample of games. Defense was a question mark for Ford in Seattle, and clearly the Nats new regime still has some questions about it as well.

Toboni also emphasized Ford’s youth as a factor in the decision. Despite the fact he has been on top 100 lists for years at this point, Ford is still just 23 years old. I got the sense that Toboni believes in Ford, but did not quite think he was there yet.

Another exciting thing about this experience is you get to see some of the tools the Nats are using. Before one of the games, the Nats had a pitching machine out at shortstop and it was feeding balls on a hop to the first baseman. It was enlightening to see them actually putting the work in.

The Nats have a machine set up at shortstop that delivers throws on a hop to Nationals first baseman so they can work on their scoops pic.twitter.com/bEouGeIOhS

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) April 4, 2026

This season, I will be going to a good chunk of the home games to cover them. I feel like it is important to have this access to help give you guys the best information I can. Seeing what happens on the inside will help me give you guys a better idea of what is going on.

It is also a lot of fun to be in there and experience what it is like to be inside a locker room. However, as I mentioned, I am there to do a job. This will give me new information and perspective, but I will not allow myself to be soft either. Getting this intel is all about giving you guys a better idea about what is going on with the Washington Nationals.

What’s particularly frustrating about the Red Sox horrific start is that you can’t just point to one aspect of the game that the team is struggling with and hope for some positive regression in the near future. The sad fact of the matter is that the Red Sox are finding all sorts of different ways to lose baseball games. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)

Last night, those different ways included a Manny Ramirez-esque defensive play by Roman Anthony out in left field. Anthony’s arm isn’t injured, but clearly something isn’t right. Alex Cora says the issue is mechanics, while Anthony says “It’s just a mix of everything. But at the end of the day, it’s a simple play. It’s got to be at least competitive. And it wasn’t, again. So it’s terrible.” (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

At least the offense has woken up a little bit lately. Caleb Durbin had his best day at the plate as a Red Soxer last night (that’s right, I’m going with Red Soxer), notching two hits and scoring his first run with Boston. And his old manager in the opposite dugout hasn’t given up on him: “You can get down on him if you want.The fans can boo him. You can do whatever you want to do. But Caleb Durbin is a winner in every sense of the word.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

I thought we left those empty “winning ballplayer” platitudes behind back when David Eckstein retired. I guess I was wrong about that, but whether or not you want to insist that Caleb Durbin has some innately magical winning qualities, you can’t deny that he he hasn’t been helping the Red Sox win in 2026. And while we all know how April baseball works, it’s getting harder and harder to say “it’s early” given the historical record: “ [T]he Red Sox are the 187th team to lose at least eight of their first 10 games [since 1903]. Of the first 186, just 12 (6.5 percent) reached the postseason.” (Alex Speier Boston Globe)

With the playoffs threatening to slip out of sight before we even reach Patriots Day, it’s no wonder that the vibes inside the ballpark are ugly. Alex Cora, though, takes no issue with the boos that have rained down on his team this season: “Right now, we deserve whatever they’re thinking. We’re not playing good baseball, and we know it.” (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

And it’s not just boos that are ringing around Fenway. The last two losses have featured audible chants of “sell the team.” And regardless of what you think about that stance, you have to admit that this is hilarious:

tell me the captions changing "sell the team" to "hello team" isn't the funniest thing in the world pic.twitter.com/k99kzQ2RCo

— Dan Secatore (@DanSecatore) April 7, 2026

Maybe a good old fashioned baseball brawl will wake them up? Willson Contreras certainly seems ready for one: “It’s not just the hit by pitch. That’s the 24th time they’ve hit me in my career — 24th. That’s the sixth time [Woodruff] has hit me. And they always say, ‘I’m not trying to hit you.’ That gets old. So next time they hit me again, I’m going to take one of them out. That’s a message.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

The Detroit Tigers opened up their four-game road series at the Minnesota Twins on Monday night with a 7-3 loss. Casey Mize struggled in the frigid temperatures, while the bats also went cold.

Tuesday night offers an opportunity to knot things up with the Twinkies behind the best left-handed pitcher in the world, Tarik Skubal. So far, the southpaw has been nearly lights out, but unfortunately, that has not prevented him from being saddled with a loss already.

Hopefully, the offense can come alive behind the two-time consecutive Cy Young Award winner. But this is expected to be another cold one, with the high today reaching only 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Twinkies will be sending right-hander Taj Bradley, who has looked just as good as Skubes statistically so far in an extremely limited sample size. Here is how those two match up on Tuesday night.

Detroit Tigers (4-6) vs. Minnesota Twins (4-6)

Time (ET): 7:40 p.m. ET
Place: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota
SB Nation Site:Twinkie Town
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 11: LHP Tarik Skubal (1-1, 0.69 ERA) vs. RHP Taj Bradley (1-0, 0.87 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Skubal	2	13.0	19.1	0.0	47.4	2.80	0.3
Bradley	2	10.1	27.9	9.3	37.0	2.03	0.4

SKUBAL

BRADLEY

Dodgers minor league outfielder James Tibbs III ran roughshod over the Pacific Coast League in his first nine games in Triple-A, and on Monday was named Pacific Coast League player of the week.

In six games against Las Vegas, Tibbs had 10 hits in 25 at-bats with five home runs, a double, four walks, nine runs scored, and five runs bated in (yes, all five home runs were solo shots), hitting .400/.483/1.040.

The highlight for Tibbs came Saturday night, when he hit three home runs, just the 14th such game for Oklahoma City in its current Bricktown Era, dating back to 1998.

JAMES TIBBS III GOES YARD FOR THE THIRD, YES THIRD TIME TONIGHT‼️

We’re not sure what he ate this morning but we're going to make sure he does it again tomorrow 😅 pic.twitter.com/zSvnkOvWoH

— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) April 5, 2026

Adding in the opening weekend for Oklahoma City, Tibbs has been on fire for nine games now, hitting .474/.535/1.184 with a 336 wRC+, seven home runs, four doubles, a triple, five walks, 13 runs batted in, and 15 runs scored for the Oklahoma City Comets.

Tibbs so far this season already has three games with three extra-base hits, and another game with two extra-base hits. If you took away all of Tibbs’ singles, his extra-base hits alone (12 in all) would rank seventh in the minors in hits.

His seven home runs in nine games match his total in 36 games with Double-A Tulsa last season after the Dodgers acquired Tibbs and outfielder Zach Ehrhard from the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline for pitcher Dustin May.

The 23-year-old Tibbs tops the entire minor leagues in runs scored (15), hits (18), extra-base hits (12), total bases (45), and is tied with veteran Patrick Wisdom — now with the Mariners in Triple-A Tacoma — with those seven home runs.

Tibbs on Monday topped Baseball America’s list of hottest prospects to start the season, with Geoff Pontes adding, “Tibbs has been revitalized with the Dodgers and is now on the cusp of the majors. How long can he keep up this burner?”

Tuesday schedule

• 3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes at West Michigan (Tigers)
• 4:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City vs. Round Rock (Rangers)
• 4:35 p.m.: Tulsa at Springfield (Cardinals)
• 6:35 p.m.: Ontario at Inland Empire (Mariners)

Diamondbacks News

First, a PSA that the start times for tonight’s and Wednesday’s games have been moved up to 1pm Arizona time due to expected cold weather.

10 Diamondbacks takeaways from the opening 10 games of the season by Alex Weiner [Arizona Sports]

“Going 5-2 with an offense that’s kind of struggling a little bit. … We got pitching heavy in those wins and that carried us. So, we handed off to one another. When it starts to fire on all cylinders, that’s when we’re gonna really take off,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

Ten games in, and the Diamondbacks are in second place in the National League West with a tough road trip ahead at the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles. Here are 10 early takeaways from 10 games played.

Diamondbacks Veteran Pitcher Elects Free Agency by Alex D’Agostino [SI]

Former Arizona Diamondbacks right-hand reliever Joe Ross has elected free agency, according to the transaction logs on his MLB player page. 

Ross had previously been designated for assignment, but he ultimately cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Reno. He will now test his market.

Taking stock of the D-backs through 10 games by Jesse Borek [DBacks.com]

That was some first week and a half of D-backs baseball, wasn’t it? Manager Torey Lovullo’s club has played five one-run games already, tied for the most in the Majors. Arizona also has had a pair of games decided by two runs, giving its 5-5 record a mixed bag type of feel.

D-backs fans are keenly aware of how imperative every game on the schedule can be when it comes to the chance to participate in October, and that it often takes players beyond the current 26-man group. As the team flies East to embark on a nine-game road trip in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore that opens Tuesday, it’s time to take stock of where things stand after five wins and five losses.

Opposing Hitters Are Watching Michael Soroka, And So Can You! by Michael Baumann [FanGraphs] {Ed. Note: Great article on Soroka worth reading the whole thing, but I want to provide the conclusion of the article here as it provides what may be a factor in the race for the final rotation slot. When looking at batted ball metrics, Soroka has been VERY lucky and Pfaadt has been equally unlucky. Do you think this will impact the race for fifth starter spot?}

Of the 24 batted balls Soroka has allowed through two starts, 11 have come off the bat at 95 mph or higher, and 12 (mostly, but not entirely the same ones) have had an xBA of .400 or higher. But Soroka is either scattering those dangerous batted balls, or his extremely fast outfield is turning them into outs. He has allowed six batted balls with a four-digit xSLG; three of those landed in the glove of either Alek Thomas or Corbin Carroll. There is no substitute for an army of little fast guys.

So we arrive at the disappointing, and yet highly predictable, conclusion to any analysis of a surprising pitcher two starts into the season: We’ll see. Soroka has looked good (and, more rarely and importantly, healthy) so far this year, though the quality of contact allowed and continued lack of swing-and-miss stuff mean we’re probably in for a regression. It’s April; what else did you expect?

Around the League

Hit 24 times by Brewers pitches, Willson Contreras is fed up by Adam McCalvy [MLB]

“We’ve been through this – it’s, what, nine years for me? – it seems like every year,” said Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff. “He’s trying to play a game and he’s trying to get his side fired up. Once I knew what was going on, I wasn’t going to let it affect me on the mound. I knew I had a job to do.”

If the Brewers weren’t backing down, neither was Contreras.

He’s tired of getting buzzed by Brewers pitchers.

“They always say, ‘I’m not trying to hit you.’ That gets old,” Contreras said. “So next time they hit me again, I’m going to take one of them out. That’s the message.”

MLB 2026 watchability index: Ranking most fun teams to watch by David Schoenfield [ESPN]

16. Arizona Diamondbacks (21.5 points)

Star power: 10 | Young talent: 2 | Baseball stuff: 7

Bonus (2.5): +1 for Geraldo Perdomo supplanting Ketel Marte as the most underrated player in baseball, +1 for Corbin Carroll legging out a triple, +0.5 for the “Serpientes” City Connect jerseys

The big three of Carroll, Marte and Perdomo make the Diamondbacks an entertaining watch. They should be a better defensive team this year with Nolan Arenado and Carlos Santana, but the two vets have struggled mightily out of the gate at the plate (one extra-base hit and one RBI through the first 10 games), and that’s not so fun. Zac Gallen has always been one of my favorite pitchers to watch, but his best days might be behind him, as well. Jordan Lawlar is Arizona’s one key young player, but he just fractured his right wrist.

Small Improvements With Big Playoff Implications by Ben Clemens [FanGraphs]. {Ed. Note: Spoiler alert -Diamondbacks stand to add the second-most to their playoff odds in the entire leagueby upgrading their weakest position (1B, of course) to league average.}

Last week, Dan Szymborski looked at how much a team’s fortunes can change in the first month of the season. That old truism – you can’t win the World Series in April, but you can lose it – turns out to, in fact, be true. Dan’s research found that even teams we think are good – those projected to win 90 or more games – had meaningfully worse results after a bad April, even if their actual talent remained the same. 

In other words, those early losses really do count. But I like to look at things from a glass-half-full perspective, so my takeaway was that there’s still plenty of time to fix a bad start, because it’s still early in the season. But how to fix it? That’s a trickier question. Luckily, “that’s a tricky question” is just FanGraphs for “that’s a fun thing to write an article about,” so I’ve got answers for you.

Mets Place Juan Soto on Injured List by Darragh McDonald [MLB Trade Rumors]

The Mets announced that outfielder Juan Soto has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right calf strain. The move is retroactive to April 4th but the club also announced the typical return timeline as two to three weeks. Infielder Ronny Mauricio has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move.

The Margins That Win Or Lose Baseball Games by Michael McDermott [Mike’s Hardball Blueprint]

In my very short time covering the Arizona Diamondbacks as credentialed media, manager Torey Lovullo constantly talked about winning the margins in games. Obviously, when you think of margin, a one-run game will be the first thing that comes to mind since runs are the deciding margins for who wins and loses. 

But that’s not what Lovullo has ever implied when saying as such. It’s less about the score and finding a way to execute in big situations. A common term he uses is “push moments,” situations that will decide the flow of the game.

After balancing a three-game losing streak with a three-game winning streak during their seven-game road trip, the Mets (6-4) return home to face the Diamondbacks (5-5). New York and Arizona split the six games they played in 2025, with the road team taking two out of three in each series.

The Mets visited the Bay Area and escaped with a series win against the Giants, as they dropped the opener but bounced back with three consecutive wins before their flight home. The series opener was not pretty, as David Peterson was roughed up in a 7-2 loss. The offense was listless for a third straight game, going 5-for-30 on the evening while going hitless in three at-bats with RISP. Sean Manaea was able to spare the bullpen, piggy backing off Peterson 4 1/3 innings with 3 2/3 innings of his own. His velocity remained down, but he only allowed one run.

The offense finally showed up and propelled New York to three straight victories, 10-3 on Friday, 9-0 on Saturday, and 5-2 on Sunday. The biggest negative from the weekend was the team losing Juan Soto to a calf strain, which landed him on the injured list—he is expected to miss two to three weeks. His teammates picked up the slack in his absence, as the lineup had 10+ hits in all three games. As a whole, the team went 40-for-117 (.342) while going 17-f0r-40 (.425) with RISP. The highlights from the weekend include Francisco Alvarez’s multi-homer game and Marcus Semien’s first home run as a Met (both on Friday), Tyrone Taylor’s three-run shot on Saturday, and the team’s four-run eighth inning on Sunday to storm back for the victory.

A lot of the team’s success this year will depend on the development of the youngsters, and the Mets got split results on that front during the road trip. First, the good: the Mets saw the return of 2024 Mark Vientos, which is a really welcome development . Entering this season off a rough spring and a tenuous grasp on a roster spot, he has looked terrific at the plate and has even played an acceptable first base. During the team’s road trip, he slashed .450/.500/.700 with one homer, five runs, four runs batted in, and a team-leading 243 wRC+ and 0.4 fWAR. Francisco Alvarez also had a solid road trip, hitting two homers and slashing .278/.316/.667 with a 176 wRC+ and a 0.3 fWAR.

Now the bad: Brett Baty, after a strong opening weekend, posted a 41 wRC+ while hitting .200/.200/.300 in 20 plate appearances. His versatility has still proven to be a huge boost for the team, especially with Soto out of the lineup, but the team will need more production from him going forward to fill the void. Then there’s Carson Benge, who finished the trip with a -8 wRC+ and a -0.2 fWAR as he hit .100/.182/.100 during the road trip. He has really struggled. He had just two hits in his 20 at-bats and really looked overmatched at the plate, and has for much of his time in the majors. With Soto out, however, it’s unlikely that he goes anywhere.

The Diamondbacks have had a weird season so far. They were swept by the Dodgers, turned around and swept the Tigers, then lost their first two to the Braves before winning the next two, making them the quintessential .500 team. Even funnier yet, they were outscored 19-2 in the first two games but then prevailed in two one-run affairs to secure the split.

The Diamondbacks are paced by Corbin Carroll, who has gotten off to a torrid start in 2026. The 2023 NL Rookie of the Year is hitting .313/.410/.656 on the young season, with two homers, nine runs batted in, and seven runs scored. The two-time All-Star also leads Arizona with a 190 wRC+ and a 0.6 fWAR. Ildemaro Vargas, in his third stint with Arizona, has gotten off to a red hot start, hitting .545/.583/1.091 with a 360 wRC+ and a 0.4 fWAR in his four games.

Tuesday, April 7: Freddy Peralta vs. Zac Gallen, 4:10 PM EDT on SNY

Peralta (2026): 10.1 IP, 14 K, 2 BB, 2 HR, 4.35 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 116 ERA-

Peralta fared better in his second Mets’ start than he did in his first one. On the road against the Cardinals, the right-hander limited St. Louis to one earned run over 5 1/3 innings as he settled for a no decision—he left with a lead, but Huascar Brazobán coughed it up by allowing an inherited runner to score. He allowed three hits, walked two, and struck out seven while throwing 92 pitches, 54 of which were strikes.

Gallen (2026): 10.0 IP, 4 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 3.60 ERA, 4.28 FIP, 92 ERA-

Gallen followed up a subpar first outing of 2026 (four innings, four earned runs, five hits against the Dodgers) with a tremendous second start (six shutout innings, four hits against the Tigers. He did not walk a batter, but he only struck out two batters, the same number he punched out in his first start as well. Gallen will look to build upon that start against the Mets, a team against which he’s posted a 3.07 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 44 innings against nine career starts.

Wednesday, April 8: David Peterson vs. TBD, 4:10 PM EDT on SNY

Peterson (2026): 9.2 IP, 8 K, 4 BB, 0 HR, 4.66 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 124 ERA-

After 5 1/3 shutout innings in his season debut, Peterson took a huge step back in his second outing against the Giants. He served up six runs (five earned) on nine hits while lasting just 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five, walked three, and put the team behind early by allowing three in the first innings. Peterson is still an enigma after faltering in the second half of last season following an All-Star first half, and with free agency approaching at year’s end, he’ll need more starts like his debut to show his value both to the Mets and teams around the league.

TBD

The Diamondbacks have not announced a starting pitcher for Wednesday’s game.

Thursday, April 9: Nolan McLean vs. Eduardo Rodriguez, 7:10 PM EDT on SNY

McLean (2026): 10.1 IP, 12 K, 4 BB, 1 HR, 2.61 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 70 ERA-

McLean was terrific in his last outing, storming out of the gate with five perfect innings before tiring out in the sixth and getting chased from the game. He allowed just one hit over 5 1/3 innings and was charged with two runs (one earned). After striking out eight in his debut, he only recorded four strikeouts in this one, and he walked two, matching his number from his first outing of the year.

Rodriguez (2026): 12.0 IP, 8 K, 3 BB, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA, 2.60 FIP, 0 ERA-

Rodriguez has stormed out of the gate this year, not allowing an earned run in either one of his outings. In his debut against the Dodgers, he held L.A. to one unearned run on four hits over five innings. He followed that up with a tremendous effort, shutting out the Braves over seven innings of four-hit ball, though his offense did him no favors as they failed to score a run. He has struggled against the Mets in his career, pitching to a 6.21 ERA in 21 2/3 innings against New York.

The 2026 St. Louis Cardinals season is off and rolling! So far, they have displayed a gritty never-say-die attitude and style of play that Cardinals fans have historically appreciated. Rookie top prospect JJ Wetherholt is leading off (almost) every game and doesn’t look out of place doing it. Alec Burleson is doing Burly things, playing a solid defensive 1B and providing steady, consistent, offensive production. Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Victor Scott have each displayed varying levels of steps forward in their performances thus far! Obvious caveat that it’s still early, and we have much larger previous sample sizes to suggest that Cardinals fans should be rightfully skeptical, but also optimistic, that these improvements can be sustainable.

Ivan Herrera is really starting to lock in offensively. After a 1-13 (.077/.071/.154) -45 wRC+ to start the season in the Tampa Bay Rays series. Since then, Herrera seems to be locking in as that offensive threat once more, going 5-15 (.333/.545/.467) 189 wRC+. Small sample sizes abound! (sorry, Morty)

The other prominent Catcher on the team has once again drawn the ire of Cardinal nation as Pedro Pages is off to a relatively rough start offensively, going 3-16 (.188/.278/.375) 94 wRC+. Which isn’t THAT big of a deal if it weren’t for another young catcher putting up an early-season performance that seems to have Cardinals fans really revved up for a changing of the guard.

Jimmy Crooks is 8-18 (.444/.545/1.000) 285 wRC+ against AAA pitching in a 5-game sample size.

Crooks is off to a really good start, and when he makes contact with the baseball its really exciting. The defensive acumen is big league caliber, and Crooks clearly has a big league future. What still needs work is the quality of the at-bats. As you can see here from Prospect Savant, the swing decisions and the chase rate would only get worse, not better, as he faced the next level of pitching. Which we watched play out at the big level in his cup of coffee at the end of the 2025 season.

As we’ve seen with the likes of Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker. All of these players have exciting traits when they impact the baseball, but controlling the strike zone, getting their pitch to hit, and covering areas of the zone that big league pitchers will pick apart are elements that prevent them from displaying their talents to their fullest potential.

Rebuilds are hard for fans. Especially a fan base that hasn’t experienced one in over 30 years. Patience is important for fans who hope to return to being a perennial force in the National League. I liken Cardinals prospects to a casserole. The likes many of you probably experienced this past Easter Sunday. Cardinals prospects like Jordan Walker once again, for example, have been elevated before they were “fully baked” at the minor league level. As an organization, you don’t want to “pick around the raw parts.” Chances are you’ll be left disappointed with your experience. Cardinals prospects should be viewed in a similar light. Despite your “hunger,” exercising caution and allowing players to fully develop at the minor league level will ultimately pay off long term.

The Cardinals took what I consider to be the right decision in demoting players like Josh Baez, Blaze Jordan, Jimmy Crooks, and Richard Fitts before the season. I also thought Nathan Church was someone who could benefit from more AAA seasoning, and after an electrifying performance on Opening Day, Church’s numbers early aren’t all that great. 3-22 (.136/.174/.136) -7 wRC+ I seem to have been correct (early) about that observation.

As all listed players above display exciting potential but aren’t quite ready to impact the major league level, and while the allure of something new and exciting at the AAA level will be tempting, as a majority of Cardinals fans watch a sub standard product that they’re not accustomed to, the Cardinals front office will exercise discipline and patience to ensure that players are fully ready to make the transition to the major leagues. Which means, barring injury, a lot of what you see is what you get early in 2026!

-Thanks for reading

For the first time this year, all four Yankees full-season affiliates were in action this past week, as Somerset, Hudson Valley, and kicked off their seasons on Friday night while Scranton put in a full week of work. Some bad weather led to several postponements around the system, but we got to see a great deal of the organization’s top prospects on both sides of the ball. With the first full week of the season beginning Tuesday night, let’s recap the appetizer.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

Record: 6-3, 1 GB in the International League East after a 4-2 week against the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)

Run differential: +29

Coming up: Home vs. Durham Bulls (Rays)

The RailRiders got off to a bad start to their first full week of the year after Tuesday’s opener was rained out, and they dropped back-to-back games to open the week. Poor defense doomed a less-sharp Brendan Beck on Wednesday, while the bats fell silent in Elmer Rodriguez’s season debut on Thursday. The right-hander tossed five solid innings, allowing one run with two strikeouts in a losing effort. He spent the first week of the season on the Temporarily Inactive List on paternity leave.

Scranton rebounded in a big way by dominating a Friday twin bill, taking the opener 4-2 before blasting their way to a 17-4 win in the nightcap that required Braden Shewmake (yes, the infielder) to get the final out. Remember Zack Short from spring training? He was the sacrificial lamb for Rochester in the seventh inning of that game. Carlos Lagrange pitched in the matinee and only lasted 3.1 innings, walking five batters in a choppy outing. It’s the first time we’ve really seen those command issues pop up.

Dom Hamel had a second straight mediocre start on Saturday, but was picked up by home runs by Paul DeJong and Seth Brown, who was promoted to Scranton after being in a weird, organizational limbo for a week without an assignment. The offense exploded again on Sunday, putting up 16 runs to secure a series victory, while Luis Gil made his season debut and allowed three runs in 4.2 choppy innings.

There are a lot of standout performers here. Ernesto Martinez Jr. had a very strong week as he makes his case as next-up on the first base depth chart. Yanquiel Fernández absolutely had a case to be the Prospect of the Week, but I’m not sure he counts. Either way, he went 8-for-25 with three home runs, five extra-base hits, and eight RBIs. It makes you wonder why a team like the Rockies gave up on someone who just turned 23, who’s able to put an absolute charge into the ball.

Why did the Rockies give up Yanquiel Fernandez after one poor showing in the bigs? pic.twitter.com/zWVRnXshJZ

— Smith Brickner (@SmithBrickner) April 4, 2026

While other veterans like DeJong and Ali Sánchez had strong weeks, the focus is naturally on the prospects. Jasson Domínguez is hitting the cover off the ball to start the year and went 7-for-16 with two home runs and two doubles in four games this week. He’s only taken four at-bats against lefties this season, but the quality of his at-bats looks significantly better than it did last year. The defense remains an adventure, but he’s on the right track.

As for Spencer Jones… not so much. He came on towards the end of the week with two doubles and a home run, but he struck out a staggering 14 times in 23 plate appearances this week and has 19 in 37 PA on the season. It just has to be better.

On the pitching side, Scranton’s gotten great starts to the season from Yerry De los Santos, Kervin Castro, and Yovanny Cruz, whose longstanding command issues have yet to pop up with seven strikeouts to just one walk in 4.1 innings. With the current volatility of the bullpen, you can’t rule out that a few more sharp weeks will have him in pinstripes sooner than later

Players of Note:

Jasson Domínguez: .379/.455/.655, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 2 SB, 189 wRC+
Spencer Jones: .212, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 51.3 K%, 97 wRC+
Yanquiel Fernández: .270/.325/.757, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 7 XBH, 164 wRC+
Brendan Beck: 9.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 15 K

Double-A Somerset Patriots

Record: 1-1, 0.5 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 1-1 week against the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox)

Run differential: +15

Coming up: Away @ Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets)

Somerset was rained out on Sunday, so we only managed to get a pair of very, very different games in against Portland in the Double-A version of The Rivalry.

Friday’s season opener was a blowout from the very start, with Somerset pouring on 18 runs on 22 hits thanks to big days by George Lombard Jr. (more on him later), Coby Morales, Garrett Martin, Marco Luciano, and Tyler Hardman. Saturday’s game was more of a pitcher’s duel, where Somerset lost 1-0, and the bats were held to just four measly hits.

Ben Hess started his season in unbelievable fashion, striking out the first seven hitters he faced on Friday before starting to struggle with command. The walks came back to bite him, but he settled in to fire five solid innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts in his season debut. Kyle Carr and Xavier Rivas both pitched on Saturday, with Rivas as the piggyback, and walked seven hitters in 6.1 one-run innings, albeit with nine strikeouts. All five natural relievers used delivered scoreless relief.

ꓘ-K-ꓘ-ꓘ-K-K-K@Yankees' No. 5 prospect Ben Hess kicks off 2026 with seven consecutive strikeouts and finishes with nine for the Double-A @SOMPatriots! pic.twitter.com/nl1QY4g9OJ

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 4, 2026

Only two games means there isn’t much to go off of, but Morales drilled two home runs and had six RBIs, Hardman went 4-for-8 with a homer, Luciano went 5-for-9 with two doubles, and former Mexican League MVP Nick Torres went 3-for-5 in his first game of MLB-affiliated ball since 2018. Through all of it, the star of the show was the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect, who you’ll hear about later on.

Players of Note:

Ben Hess: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 9 K
Marco Luciano: 5-for-9, RBI, 2 2B, 5 R
Tyler Hardman: 4-for-8, HR, 4 RBI, 2B
Coby Morales: 3-for-8, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 K

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades

Record: 2-0, 0.5 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 2-0 week against the Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)

Run differential: +9

Coming up: Home vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)

Like Somerset, storms in the Northeast postponed Sunday’s game against Brooklyn, but the Renegades still managed a successful mini-week that featured a plethora of 2025 draftees, including a pair making their professional debuts.

Hudson Valley took Friday’s season opener, 3-1, behind a strong start from Pico Kohn and steady hitting from the middle of the order. Sean Paul Liñan made his organizational debut after being acquired from the Nationals in the Jorbit Vivas trade and didn’t make it out of the third on Saturday, but the offense put up eight runs, and the bullpen did more solid work in relief to finish what turned into a two-game sweep.

Kohn, the team’s fourth-round pick last year out of Mississippi State, tossed 5.2 strong innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts in his pro debut. Statcast is (still) not available for High-A and Double-A, so we don’t have data on what was working for him on a pitch-by-pitch level, but it’s likely he did a lot of his work with the slider, which complements his low-90s fastball. After the success we saw with Cam Schlittler, the Yankees will definitely try to bump up the 6-foot-4 right-hander’s fastball velo as he gets situated.

Elsewhere on the pitching staff, 2025 11th-rounder Ben Grable struck out two and got the save on Friday night in his pro debut, while Tony Rossi and Chris Veach, two intriguing former undrafted free agent relievers, combined for seven strikeouts in 2.1 scoreless innings.

Liñan struck out four in 2.2 innings to start Saturday’s contest and was mostly followed by strong relief. After Tanner Bauman’s rough outing, Hudson Valley got 5.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts from the trio of Hansel Rincon, Baron Stuart, and Jackson Fristoe.

The 2025 draftee trio of Kaeden Kent (3-for-7, 3 BB), Core Jackson (3-for-9, HR, 2B), and Kyle West (3-for-9, RBI) anchored the lineup this week, as did a familiar face looking to get off to a strong start in a new location. Former top prospect Roderick Arias made his High-A debut on Friday after two frustrating years in Single-A, and he looked sharp, going 4-for-8 with a walk and an RBI. Fingers crossed that a guy with his skillset can finally figure it out.

Players of Note:

Roderick Arias: 4-for-8, RBI, BB, K
Core Jackson: 3-for-9, HR, 2 RBI, 2B, 3 BB
Kaeden Kent: 3-for-7, 2B, 3 BB
Pico Kohn: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 K

Single-A Tampa Tarpons

Record: 0-3, 3 GB in the Florida State League West after a 0-3 week against the Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers)

Run differential: -21

Coming up: Away @ Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)

For those who’ve followed Tarpons baseball for the last few years, it usually doesn’t matter who goes through the system; it’ll look like this more often than not. The top 2025 draftees, both pitchers and position players, get aggressively pushed to High-A in their first full season, so Tampa is usually left with late-round finds who need more development, undrafted arms, and international prospects graduating to full-season ball.

Tampa lost 12-7 on Friday, 13-4 on Saturday, and 13-6 on Sunday. They walked 32 batters, which is somehow even more than the Marlins against the Yankees at the same time. There’d be stretches of these games where you’d see good pitching, but more often than not, it was a Single-A classic: guys struggling to find the strike zone.

On the hitting side, it was good to see Brando Mayea make his Single-A debut after a few years of underperformance and injuries had harmed his trajectory. He had multiple singles registering over 105 mph, but also struck out a few times. 2024 seventh-rounder JoJo Jackson and 2025 UDFA Logan Maxwell had good weeks, as did Hans Montero. Rough week for Engelth Urena, who’s 0-for-10 to start the year.

On the pitching side? Oh boy. 2025 18th-rounder Justin West, Danny Flatt, and Henry Lalane got the starts, and none of them opened the 2026 season on a high note. Lalane, in particular, struggled with command as he tries to rebound from an injury-riddled 2025. One bright spot: the velo on his four-seamer is on its way back up.

The bullpen was a trainwreck. 2024 fifth-rounder Greysen Carter, who was sent to the Tampa backfields midseason last year to work on his command, continued to struggle with walks. Jose Ledesma and Jordarlin Mendoza got hit around, the team had to use multiple position player pitchers, and the only relievers who had scoreless innings were 2025 UDFA Matthew Tippie, Pedro Rodriguez, and Josh Tiedemann.

Players of Note:

Brando Mayea: 3-for-14, 3 RBI, 2B, 4 K
JoJo Jackson: 4-for-12, 3 RBI, BB, 2 SB
Henry Lalane: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K

Prospect of the Week: George Lombard Jr.

Weekly Stats: 6-for-9, HR, RBI, BB, 2 2B, SB

The Yankees’ No. 1 prospect got off to a tremendous start to his 2026 season on Friday. After a strong spring training as a non-roster invitee on both sides of the ball, he blasted a home run in his first at-bat of the season and opened the season with a 5-for-6 performance, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

He followed it up with a more modest performance on Saturday, but he still doubled, walked, and stole a base in the shutout loss. It was only two games, but it was a dream start for a prospect whose biggest goal in 2026 is to improve his hit tool after an up-and-down start to his Double-A career last year.

Lombard started 2025 on a torrid hot streak in High-A to get him a promotion in early May, and another hot streak to start 2026 could make his dreams of a promotion to the Show more and more realistic in the near future.

Fans lined up before the game, waiting patiently for the chance to take a selfie with trophies that commemorated the back-to-back World Series championships.

Dodger Stadium is not the only place you can do this. The trophies were from 1992 and 1993, and they honored the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Dodgers matched that back-to-back feat over the past two years, including a classic Game 7 victory in Toronto in last year’s World Series, and returned here Monday to a noise pit packed with fans primed to boo, and to urge their team to exact vengeance on the evil mercenaries from America.

On this night, the mercenaries prevailed, in a pummeling so relentless and a silencing so rapid that a three-peat appeared all but inevitable: Dodgers 14, Blue Jays 2.

“These fans, sadly, didn’t want to see us come to town,” Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing said, “and rightfully so, after what we did tonight.”

Those fans did want to see the Dodgers, but they did not want to see this. On a night the Dodgers fielded a lineup without Mookie Betts and Will Smith, the team hit five home runs — two by Rushing — and scored in every inning but the second and ninth. Of the six Toronto pitchers, the only one to hold the Dodgers scoreless was catcher Tyler Heineman.

To the Dodgers, well, it was another day on the job, if a bit louder than usual at the start. They had a game to win on the long road toward October and, as they often do, they won.

In Toronto, however, pitcher Kevin Gausman said, “It feels like we’re getting ready for Game 8.” The fans mercilessly booed Shohei Ohtani, who turned down $700 million from the Blue Jays to take $700 million from the Dodgers, and outfielder Kyle Tucker, who turned down $350 million (over 10 years) from the Blue Jays to take $240 million (over four years) from the Dodgers.

Read more:No nail-biter this time: Dodgers explode for 14 runs in return to Toronto

They even booed Justin Wrobleski, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher, and Miguel Rojas, usually an infielder but on Monday the Dodgers’ final pitcher. Wrobleski, who won his seventh major league game Monday, said he expected the boos.

“It was fun,” he said. “They care about baseball here. It’s a fun environment. If people weren’t a little upset and a little, I’d say, passionate about what happened last year in the World Series, maybe they’re not real fans.”

The boos could have been a sign of respect, or of a long memory: about the ninth most-memorable part of Game 7 was Wrobleski hitting Toronto infielder Andrés Gimenez, then shouting language so profane Wrobleski later said he apologized to his mother for using it. You cannot be a nobody if you can get the benches to clear in Game 7.

“They wouldn’t boo me,” Wrobleski said, “if they didn’t know who I was.”

The Dodgers led 4-1, then 5-1, then 6-1, then 9-1, and that was before the sixth inning was done.

“When you score a lot of runs, you’re going to take the crowd out of it,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said.

“I think the media and everyone else was more hyped up. It’s a new team, new year. We’ve got different guys on our team too. But we obviously understand it’s a World Series matchup.”

The Blue Jays were different: infielder Bo Bichette is in New York, catcher Alejandro Kirk is on the injured list, infielder-outfielder Addison Barger is hurt, and Toronto is borrowing a page from the Dodgers’ playbook with a rotation full of hurting pitchers: Shane Bieber, José Berrios, Cody Ponce and phenom Trey Yesavage all are on the injured list, and Max Scherzer left after two innings Monday because of tendinitis in his throwing arm.

Read more:Dodgers' Andy Pages scorching start at the plate turning heads. 'I really like his work'

The Dodgers are 8-2. The only defending World Series champion to get off to a better 10-game start in the last 100 years: last year’s Dodgers, at 9-1.

Last year worked out just fine. This is April, and no one is facing elimination any time soon. That explains how Roberts rated his anxiety level on Monday.

“It was probably a 10 in October and probably a one tonight,” he said.

Monday’s game offered yet another example of how the team that supposedly is ruining baseball is fattening the wallets of the league’s other 29 teams. The Dodgers have led the league in road attendance in each of Ohtani’s two previous seasons and almost certainly will do so again this season — and a fair number of those ticket buyers are Dodgers fans following their team here, there and everywhere.

In a 10-minute pregame walk around the main concourse, I saw plenty of fans in Dodgers jerseys: not only with the names of Ohtani, Betts and Freeman but with the names of Rojas, Kiké Hernández and Roki Sasaki.

As soon as the third inning, a “Let’s Go Dodgers” chant echoed through the stadium.

The Blue Jays are off to a 4-6 start, including series losses to the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox. The Jays should be good again, and soon. In the meantime, they are offering 77-cent hot dogs Tuesday.

For all the Dodgers fans here, that’s quite the trip: a rout that silenced a hostile crowd one day, hot dogs valued at 55 cents in U.S. currency the next. The fruits of victory, as Tommy Lasorda might have said, rarely are so cheap and filling.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

Is it dramatic to suggest that last night’s Orioles game against the White Sox was a must-win? Probably. But if the O’s had followed up an ugly sweep in Pittsburgh by losing to the two-time reigning worst team in the American League, even the most level-headed fans among us might have thrown their TVs out the window.

Fortunately, it didn’t happen. The O’s escaped the opener in the Windy City with a 2-1 victory to snap their three-game losing streak. Their record is now 4-6, which isn’t good but somehow ties them for third place in the AL East. Brandon Young, fresh up from the minors for his season debut, played the hero with five shutout innings of work, immediately making him the second-best starter on the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson hit a massive dinger. Ryan Helsley overcame control problems in the ninth to strand the tying and winning runs on base. Check out Stacey’s recap for the full breakdown of the action.

Was it the kind of game that will make anyone feel better about the Orioles? No, not really. The O’s offense again was utterly inept aside from the Henderson homer. Their only other run scored on a routine fly ball that fell in for a single when Austin Hays strained his hamstring on the play. The O’s went hitless with runners in scoring position, grounded into two double plays, and struck out seven times (three by Henderson) with just one walk. Tyler O’Neill failed to hustle on the Hays play, settling in at first base when he should have easily been on second. There was plenty of the typical O’s sloppiness, and you get the feeling that the Birds wouldn’t have been so fortunate to win if they’d been playing against a better team.

Still, a win is a win, and the Orioles will gladly take one however they can get it. They’ve got two more games to try to keep taking advantage of the White Sox. A reminder that today’s game has been moved up to a 3:10 ET start time rather than 7:40 in hopes of avoiding the bitter cold that’s sweeping through Chicago. Trevor Rogers will start for the Orioles against 2025 All-Star Shane Smith.

The O’s have yet to win two games in a row this season. Maybe today is the day that changes.

Links

Young’s solid start just what O’s need with rotation in flux – MLB.com

Kudos again to Young, who delivered in the clutch when many Orioles fans (OK, myself included) were expecting nothing.

Singley on Rutschman: “I think he’s getting to show a little bit of who he truly is” – School of Roch

Based on last night’s game alone, I don’t know who Adley is. He went 0-for-3 and committed a throwing error, but also hustled into a run and threw out two base stealers. The guy is all over the place.

Orioles reliever Dietrich Enns lands on injured list after hospital trip for foot infection – The Baltimore Banner

Craig Albernaz described Enns’ foot as “pretty gnarly.” I believe that’s a medical term.

Would a .500 record on May 1st be a bad sign for the Orioles? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

A bad sign? At this point I’d kill for it.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with two former Orioles: right-hander Ricky Bones (57) and the late Baltimore-born righty Tom Phoebus (b. 1942, d. 2019), who threw a no-hitter for his hometown team in 1968. I’ll also give an honorable mention to fellow Maryland native Josh Hader (32), who isn’t technically a former Oriole but started his pro career in the O’s system before being traded as a prospect for Bud Norris.

On this date in 1977, a 20-year-old designated hitter named Eddie Murray made his major league debut for the Orioles, going 1-for-4. His first career hit was a seventh-inning single off the Rangers’ Bert Blyleven. Murray went on to win AL Rookie of the Year that season on his way to an incredible 21-year MLB career that led him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (where he was later joined by Blyleven). The Orioles’ starting pitcher in Murray’s debut was another Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer. Quite the star-studded affair.

Random Orioles game of the day

Despite popular demand, it’s the return of the Random Orioles Game of the Day feature. I’ll use a random number generator to pick a season from Orioles history and check out how they fared on this date. Today’s random year is: 2023. Ooh, that was a good year.

On April 7, 2023, the Orioles beat the Yankees in a 7-6 barnburner in their home opener at Camden Yards. In front of a sellout crowd of 45,017, the O’s took a 4-0 lead, then fell behind 5-4, then tied the game on an Adley Rutschman RBI single in the sixth and took the lead on a Ramón Urías double in the seventh. Félix Bautista allowed the potential tying run to get to third base in the ninth before nailing down the final out. It was a great start for an Orioles team that ultimately was 17 games above .500 at home that year.

Phillies News:

• Do the Phillies have a good outfield now?
• Phillies sign 17 year old Cuban RHP Cristian Rego
• With all the prospect extensions going around, should the Phillies consider one with Andrew Painter?
• Phillies asking for help to fund to renovate BayCare Ballpark. Why not just more sponsor money?!?!
• Sadly, former Phils catcher Tom Nieto passed away.

MLB News:

• Updated CBS Power Rankings
• MLB.com’s Top 10 Plays of the Week
• Dodgers place All-Star Mookie Betts on the IL with an oblique strain
• Bad news for the Mets! Juan Soto also lands on the IL

The Yankees had an excellent first week and a half of the season, winning three series in a row en route to a 7-2 start. Their pitching was fantastic, their offense was carried by a stellar top-half of the order, and even their two losses came in games in which they led late and only lost by one run. It wasn’t hard to envision a world where the team held on in those games and managed to run the table through the first nine games.

But even when everything’s going right, this is baseball, so there are still things going wrong. Perhaps the biggest spot of consternation among fans and analysts during this opening salvo has been the putrid play of the bottom of the Yankee lineup. The Yankees have gotten a .143 batting average combined from the 6-thru-9 slots of the order, along with a downright ghastly .402 OPS. As a fun (?) little reference point, that’s more than 100 points lower than CC Sabathia’s career OPS as a hitter.

Sure, no team expects the last hitters in their order to dominate, but the Yankees certainly expected something from the final four players on the card, rather than a convincing impression of National League pitchers hitting circa five years ago. So, with the usual caveats about the season being a tiny sample thus far and that we shouldn’t overreact to anything we’ve seen, do you think the bottom of the order will prove to be a major issue going forward?

I think the base answer to this question is still no. The bottom four of the Yankees’ order includes Jazz Chisholm Jr., who perhaps shouldn’t have been predicting 50/50 seasons but still has a 122 OPS+ as a member of the Yankees and projects as a near-All-Star caliber player. The rest of the order does not have the upside of Chisholm, but the expectation should still be that of improvement. Jose Caballero was never going to run the .828 OPS he posted in pinstripes last year, but he also won’t hit .129 all year. Austin Wells may never become a great pure hitter, but the career .717 OPS he carried into the season was pretty great for a plus defensive catcher.

All that said, if you’re inching toward the panic button regarding the bottom of the order, I can’t totally blame you. The most concerning hitter of all has been Ryan McMahon, who’s looked lost at times and is hitting .087 on the year. Chisholm will come around, and Wells provides ample value with his glove, but it’s not hard to wonder if the Yankees are going to be staring at two total blackholes on the left side of their infield sooner rather than later.

What do you think? Will the team’s lower hitters slowly regress to the mean and provide enough value with their bats to allow their generally strong gloves to play up? Or will we look up in a couple of months to see that the Yankees are still running out three or more players at the bottom of the order struggling to breach the Mendoza Line?

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Today on the site, Michael starts us off with a review of the first week of minor league baseball that saw all full-season affiliates in action. We’ll also get a recap of last night’s American League action from Kevin, and a look ahead at the upcoming series with the A’s. Later, Jonathan will remember Oral Hildebrand, and Peter gives us his first At-Bat of the Week for the 2026 season, featuring Ben Rice.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. A’s

Time: 7:05 p.m. EST

Video: YES Network, NBCSCA

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: Over the weekend, the Yankees faced the Marlins, and Miami have been doing something you might not have realized. Starting towards the end of last season, the Marlins have begun calling pitches in the dugout via the coaching staff and relaying them to the catcher and the pitcher. Don’t expect the Yankees to hop on that, as both players and coaches openly said over the weekend that they don’t like the idea.

New York Daily News | Peter Sblendorio: With a 7-2 record, the Yankees’ 2026 season has gone pretty well so far. One aspect of the team that has definitely struggled has been the lower part of the batting order, as the players who have batted in the 6-9 spots have a collective .404 OPS. However, between Jazz Chisholm Jr. hitting a big double on Sunday and just having faith in their players in general, the Yankees aren’t worried about that yet.

ESPN | David Schoenfield: As we’re now over a week into the new season, here’s one way to rank the MLB teams of 2026: watchability. Between how good they are, the young talent they have, and the style they play, Schoenfield tried to rank teams by how interesting they could be to watch this year. The Yankees came in at fifth.

PennLive | Brian Linder: Former Phillies’ player and longtime MLB coach Tom Nieto passed away recently. Nieto spent time in the Yankees’ organization from 1995-2002 and then was a manager of the GCL Yankees in 2012-13. In between then, he also worked with Willie Randolph during his tenure as the Mets’ manager. We send our best wishes to his family and loved ones.