Category: Baseball

It is June 10th and the Washington Nationals are tied for the third Wild Card spot in a competitive National League. Before the season, the thought of that would sound insane, but here we are. I dove into the stats to find some numbers that explain the rise of the Nats, and found four that stood out.

Scoring Early and Often:

At this point even casual baseball fans know the Nationals have scored the most runs in baseball. It is one of those stats that seems to get mentioned on every telecast or MLB Network segment. Given how shocking the stat is, I do not blame the baseball media for beating it into fans’ heads. However, the Nats 362 total runs is not the stat I am highlighting here. 

The first stat of the profile is 53. That is how many first inning runs the Nationals have scored after Luis Garcia Jr’s two run shot last night. This Nats team is setting the tone early and laying down the gauntlet for teams.

With the Nats shaky pitching staff, getting out to early leads is vital. The early action prevents the offense from pressing and chasing the game. A big reason why the lineup is so successful early in games is the construction. James Wood is an on base machine at the top of the lineup. He has an OBP over .400 on the season. Wood also allows his dugout to see plenty of pitches to start the ball game and is always a threat to make it 1-0 very early.

After Wood, the Nats have a fun mix of aggression and patience with Luis Garcia Jr. and Curtis Mead. Then Blake Butera puts his chief run producer CJ Abrams in the cleanup spot where he has been driving in runs for fun. This lineup is just incredibly dangerous, and they get out of the gates hot.

The Advanced Numbers Back the Nats:

It is easy to look at the runs scored number when looking at this offense. However, the lingering question all season has been whether this offense is sustainable. When you look at the advanced data, it will tell you that this Nats offense should remain a strong unit going forward.

The next number I am going to highlight is .331. That is the Nationals xwOBA, which is Baseball Savant’s stat which measures a combination of quality of contact, strikeouts and walks. This link has a deeper description of what the stat measures. Basically, it is trying to measure the hitters true skill level based on things they can control.

The Nats .331 xwOBA is the fourth best in baseball, only behind the Dodgers, Yankees and Braves. What this is telling me is that the Nats offense is not doing anything unsustainable at the moment. Of course, players on the team could slow down, but right now, it is not like the Nats are getting lucky. In fact, their wOBA of .326 is lower than their xwOBA mark, so if anything they are getting unlucky.

A big driver of the Nats xwOBA dominance is James Wood. Among qualified hitters, Wood’s .429 xwOBA is second in baseball behind Yordan Alvarez. Wood’s savant page is bleeding red from all the things he is elite at. He hits the ball harder than anyone, he is barreling everything and his bat speed is also elite. There is a reason James Wood is one of the best hitters in the sport.

While I still doubt the Nats will finish the season with the most runs in baseball, this offense is legit. I would not be that surprised anymore if they finish as a top 5 scoring offense in the sport. That would have been an insane thing to say at the beginning of the season. You have to credit these young hitters for blossoming and Matt Borgschulte for getting the best out of these guys.

The Bullpen is not Great But it is Better:

Last season, the Nationals bullpen was an absolute joke. They had the worst bullpen ERA in the sport with a 5.59 mark. At best, there were a couple guys at any given moment that were not total disasters. To start this season, it seemed like it would be more of the same. There were a number of bullpen implosions in the beginning of April that had fans on edge.

Paul Toboni did not build a bullpen that was filled with big names. Instead, he assembled an island of misfit toys. He made several waiver claims and moved starters into the bullpen. The hope was that some of these guys would stick, and the ones that did not would just be replaced.

The Nationals bullpen is not good by any means, but it is no longer a disaster. As a unit, they have a 4.58 ERA, which is just over a run lower than last year. Instead of being the worst bullpen in baseball, they are now the 8th worst.

For me, Gus Varland is the poster boy of this new bullpen. He was a waiver claim who has bounced around a lot in his career. Heck, he is not even the best reliever in his family, that title would go to his brother Louis who is dominating with the Blue Jays.

Gus has not been amazing by any means, with an ERA of 4.01 and a WHIP of 1.58. However, Varland has been far from a disaster and has come up with some clutch saves. His performance the other night was a good microcosm of his season. Varland came in to protect a one run lead, and while he allowed a couple baserunners, he got the job done. A commenter on here said they did not know if Varland was good but knew he had the dog in him. That is a perfect way to describe him.

Richard Lovelady is another example of a bullpen arm with questionable skill but unquestioned heart. Like Varland, he allows plenty of base runners, but usually finds a way out of jams. The Nats also have guys like Orlando Ribalta and Brad Lord that usually get out of innings with less drama. Sure, the bullpen could use further improvement, but it is no longer a massive liability.

Chicks Dig the Long Ball:

In Darnell Coles’ tenure as hitting coach, the Nats ranked 28th, 29th, 29th and 24th in home runs. This was not a team that hit for power, and the offensive philosophy was not one that prioritized the long ball. Instead, the Nats wanted to put the ball in play, and single teams to death.

This season, the Nats have 87 home runs, which is tied for 5th in baseball. That 87 number is the fourth and final key stat we will explore. Sure, James Wood and CJ Abrams’ continued development is a big part of this. The pair have 17 and 14 homers respectively. 

However, those two are not the biggest reason why the Nats home run totals have shot up. The biggest factor is the power from the supporting cast. Curtis Mead never hit more than 3 homers in a season before this year, and he already has 9. Daylen Lile and Luis Garcia Jr. have 8 homers each.

The biggest surprise comes from the Nats center fielder Jacob Young, who also has 8 bombs. Entering this season, we thought we knew who Jacob Young was. His glove has always been elite, but he was not a guy who gave you any power. Young had been an everyday player the past two seasons, and hit a combined 5 home runs in that time. Now, he already has 8, and seems poised to slug at least 15 bombs.

The Young transformation is the best example of the Nats changing their offensive approach. As Dan Kolko and Kevin Frandsen have said a couple times, Young was told to hit the ball on the ground and use his speed to get hits. However, that was not working.

This offseason, Young went to Driveline to fix his swing. Instead of swinging down on the ball, Young now has a mostly level swing with a slight uppercut. That has led to him trimming his ground ball rate and pulling the ball in the air more. Young is a pretty strong guy, so if he hits the ball at the right angle, he can leave the yard. That is exactly what he has been doing this year.

Players like Young and Mead are a big reason why the Nats are top 5 in homers. They are also a big part of why the Nats currently sit in a Wild Card spot. This team has been an absolute joy to watch, and these numbers explain the Nationals dramatic turnaround.

Into the wee hours of the morning went the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres after their 9:40 PM ET start time on Tuesday evening in southern California, the second game of their three-game series heading to extras after neither team could quite figure out Chase Burns or Lucas Giolito, respectively.

Tied at 2-2, the two clubs reached bonus baseball just before 1 AM ET, with Eugenio Suarez socking an RBI double to score the Manfred Man and give the Reds a 3-2 lead heading into the Bottom of the 10th. Not to be outdone, Samad Taylor responded in the back half of the frame with an RBI single to score a fellow Padres and level the score at 3-3, at which point the game headed into the 11th inning.

It was then that Sal Stewart took matters into his own hands.

Cincinnati’s star rookie sat back on a breaking pitch from San Diego lefty Yuki Matsui and launched it over the wall in the deepest part of Petco Park, a 2-run homer that gave the Reds a 5-3 lead that they would not relinquish.

Zach “Big Sugar” Maxwell came on to nail down the first save of his career right after, a nearly perfect 9-pitch Bottom of the 11th that gave Cincinnati a much needed win to bust up their latest stretch of futility.

A win is a win, and the Reds will take them any way they can these days. Still, it was the kind of game where it felt like Cincinnati should have been ahead by several runs the entire way. Burns, to his credit, was once again pretty electric, allowing just 2 ER in 5.1 IP with 7 K against just 2 BB. The Reds, though, coaxed 8 walks, poked 8 hits, and swiped a season-best 7 bases on the night, yet still found themselves needing Stewart’s 2-run blast late in the game after leaving runners stranded just about everywhere imaginable throughout the course of the night.

In the end, though, it was Mustang Sally who rose to the occasion and claimed the night for the Reds. Maybe, just maybe, it ends up the kind of swing that changes the fortunes of this sputtering club.

Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (27-37) lost 5-4 (BOX SCORE)

Javier made a rehab start for Sugar Land last night and was really good tossing 3 perfect innings with 3 strikeouts. The offense got on the board in the first on a Ferreras walk. Javier was relieved by Alexander who allowed 5 runs over 4 innings. Sugar Land got 2 runs back in the 6th on RBI singles from Ferreras and Perez. In the 9th, they got a run on a Winkler RBI double but the comeback fell short as Sugar Land fell 5-4.

Note: Ferreras is hitting .500 in Triple-A.

• Yainer Diaz, C: 1-for-3, R
• Zach Dezenzo, RF: 1-for-3, R, BB
• Zach Cole, CF: 1-for-3, R
• Pascanel Ferreras, SS: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB
• Carlos Perez, DH: 2-for-4, RBI
• Jack Winkler, 2B: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI

• Cristian Javier, RHP: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Jason Alexander, RHP: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Tom Cosgrove, LHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• J.P. France, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (26-32) won 8-7 (BOX SCORE)

Nezuh started for the Hooks and allowed 4 runs over 4 innings of work. The Hooks got on the board in the 3rd inning on a Spence Rbi groundout. They got another run in the 5th on an Encarnacion RBI single. Santos allowed 3 runs in relief as the Hooks found themselves down 7-2. They picked up 2 runs in the 6th on a Holy RBI single and Sullivan RBI triple. In the 7th, the offense scored 3 runs to tie it on a Brutcher RBI double, Guillemette RBI double and Whitaker RBI double. In the 8th, Austin connected on a solo home run to give the Hooks the lead. McLoughlin and Chirinos closed it out with scoreless outings as the Hooks won 8-7.

Note: Austin has a .902 OPS this season.

• Max Holy, SS: 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, SB
• Joseph Sullivan, DH: 3-for-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, BB
• Trevor Austin, 3B: 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI
• Lucas Spence, CF: 3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI
• Yamal Encarnacion, RF: 2-for-5, R, RBI, 2 SB
• Drew Brutcher, 1B: 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB
• Garret Guillemette, C: 2-for-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB
• Tyler Whitaker, LF: 2-for-5, 2B, RBI

• Jackson Nezuh, RHP: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
• Alex Santos, RHP: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• Trey McLoughlin, RHP: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (WIN)
• Amilcar Chirinos, RHP: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (SAVE)

A+: Asheville Tourists (16-41) won 13-3 (BOX SCORE)

Asheville got on the board in the first inning on a Thomas solo home run. They got 2 more runs in the 2nd inning on a Nunez 2 run home run. Rodriguez started for Asheville and pitched well allowing 2 runs over 6 innings while striking out 4. The offense played add on scoring 4 runs in the 4th on a Moss RBI single, Garcia 2 run double and Powell RBI double. The offense picked up 2 more in the 5th on a groundout and Moss sac fly. The offense would add 4 more runs in the 6th inning on a Powell 2 run single, Ochoa RBI double and Moss sac fly.

Note: Thomas has a .980 OPS this season.

• Justin Thomas, CF: 2-for-5, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB, SB
• Caden Powell, DH: 2-for-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB
• Nehomar Ochoa, RF: 2-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, 2 SB
• Kyle Walker, 2B: 0-for-1, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 SB
• Alejandro Nunez, 3B: 1-for-3, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB
• Jack Moss, 1B: 2-for-3, R, 3 RBI
• John Garcia, C: 1-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI

• Luis Rodriguez, RHP: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (WIN)
• Anthony Cruz, RHP: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 K (SAVE)

A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (26-32) won 7-6 (BOX SCORE)

The Woodpeckers got on the board in the first inning scoring 2 runs on an error. They got 4 runs in the 2nd inning on a Flores solo home run, Lytle RBI double, a run on an error and a run on a balk. Beck got the start and was solid allowing 2 runs over 5.1 innings with 3 strikeouts. The offense got one more in the 4th inning on a Huezo RBI single. Varela allowed 3 runs in relief and didn’t retire a batter. Fraide came on after him and pitched well closing the game out with 6 strikeouts over 3.2 innings allowing just 1 run.

Note: Huezo has a .885 OPS this season.

• Anthony Huezo, RF: 3-for-4, R, 2 2B, RBI, BB, SB
• Kevin Alvarez, CF: 0-for-4, R, BB, 2 SB
• Waner Luciano, DH: 0-for-3, R, BB, SB
• Arturo Flores, C: 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI
• German Ramirez, SS: 2-for-3, R, BB, 2 SB
• Mason Lytle, LF: 2-for-2, R, 2 2B, RBI, SB

• Jagger Beck, RHP: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (WIN)
• Jose Varela, RHP: 0.0 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
• Juan Fraide, RHP: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (SAVE)

Today’s minor league starters:

SL: Colton Gordon – 7:05 CT

CC: Bryce Mayer – 6:30 CT

AV: TBD – 10:05 CT

FV: TBD – 5:35 CT

Also be sure to follow on X, @AstrosFuture, follow me on Instagram, @AstrosFuture and like my Facebook page, facebook.com/AstrosFuture.

Ross Fenstermaker, in his then role as a scout, described Chad Comer as “not a legitimate prospect” but thought he had a future as a coach. That turned out to be a spot-on assessment.

Cole Winn is back from the IL after receiving a Botox injection for thoracic outlet syndrome and is hoping to return to his 2025 form.

Brandon Nimmo has seen his numbers plummet over the last 30 days, though the data suggests that’s largely been a result of bad luck.

Nathan Eovaldi gave up some hard hit balls in the sixth and the offense failed to capitalize on opportunities as the Rangers failed to get back to .500 for the sixth time this season.

The last time the Rangers were at .500 was May 1, when they were 16-16.

On Ezequiel Duran giving himself the nickname The Solution, Skip Schumaker says “sometimes you need a delusional type of player.”

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Brady Singer has been one of the league's worst starting pitchers this season.

With a clear advantage on the bump, my Reds vs. Padres predictions back the home team to take the series Wednesday afternoon.

Let's take a closer look at my MLB picks for June 10.

Who will win Reds vs Padres today: Padres moneyline (-160)

Cincinnati Reds starter Brady Singer is in miserable form, posting a remarkably high 1.80 WHIP and 4.86 HR/9 over the last month.

Lefties Jackson Merrill and Gavin Sheets are prime candidates to shine, and a matchup with Singer should boost the San Diego Padres offense as a whole.

It’ll be tougher for the Reds against Michael King. The Reds rank 23rd in wOBA and 25th in ISO when facing righties on the road, and King has posted a 1.14 WHIP while allowing 0.94 HR/9 at home.

Back the Padres to -170.

COVERS INTEL:Brady Singer ranks in the first percentile in Pitching Run Value.

Reds vs Padres Over/Under pick: Over 8 (-115)

Singer has conceded at least three earned runs in five of his last six starts. He is struggling, and there’s no reason to expect the bullpen to pick him up.

The Reds ‘pen ranks 27th in xFIP over the last 60 days and isn’t overflowing with fresh arms after using six on Tuesday night.

While King has a solid matchup, he sits in the 41st percentile in xERA. He is not untouchable and the bullpen behind him is also taxed.

Four of their relievers — including Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon — pitched in consecutive days and will be unavailable.

Bet to -125.

Reds vs Padres odds

• Moneyline: Reds +140 | Padres -160
• Run line: Reds +1.5 (-140) | Padres -1.5 (+120)
• Over/Under: Over 8 (-115) | Under 8 (-105)

Reds vs Padres trend

Cincinnati has hit the Over in 15 of the last 23 games (+6.25 units, 24% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Reds vs. Padres.

How to watch Reds vs Padres and game info

Reds vs Padres latest injuries

Reds vs Padres weather

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

Worcester: W, 6-5 (F/10) (BOX SCORE)

For the first part of this game in Rochester (Nationals AAA), the WooSox suffered from a common problem the Red Sox deal with on almost a daily basis; great starting pitching, no runs. Jack Anderson was nearly lights out through the sixth, but the WooSox didn’t provide any run support until the seventh inning. By that point Tyler Samaniego had allowed a two-run shot and the WooSox had another hole to dig themselves out of. But, unlike the Major League squad, the offense could not have come at a more clutch time. First baseman Matt Lloyd drilled the game-tying shot in the ninth to drive in three runs and send this game to extras; Braiden Ward, Matt Thaiss and Kristian Campbell would all do their parts to get two insurance runs, in which Noah Song slammed the door in the bottom of the tenth despite walking two.

Portland: L, 5-7 (BOX SCORE)

Is Franklin Arias or Brooks Brannon doing better as a hitting prospect? Who’s to say, it seemingly varies on the night. Though, I rather enjoy it when they’re both hitting well. They each captured three knocks including a double on the night off the Fightin’ Phils in Lehigh Valley. Anthony Eyanson ran into some walks trouble in the third cutting his night very short, but Lehigh Valley wouldn’t break through until Patrick Halligan’s next inning, and the deficit was too much to cut despite the usual suspects and Johanfran Garcia showing up as well as Caden Rose’s first Double-A home run in the ninth.

Greenville: W, 8-7 (BOX SCORE)

By some miracle, Greenville pulled out this game against Winston-Salem (White Sox High-A). A quick glance at Devin Futrell’s line leads to some celebration that he struck out six and didn’t walk anyone but then realization sets in that he allowed two home runs for five runs on eight hits. Tyler Uberstine also wasn’t exactly pristine in his rehab start, allowing four hits of his own. And yet Calvin Bickerstaff righted the ship, because, well, Isaiah Jackson and Ronny Hernandez already helped out enough in the second inning with twin home runs. Not to mention, six Drive batters had multiple total bases. It shouldn’t have had to come to some good late relief pitching. But a win is a win.

Salem: L, 6-7 (BOX SCORE)

Jason Gilman took a rare shelling out of the gate, and the rest of the staff couldn’t really recover from it, though just one Woodpecker (Astros A) run was allowed after the second inning. Adonys Guzman also had a rough night behind the bump, committing three throwing errors. This isn’t to say the RidgeYaks’ offense was absent, just uninspired: the team lacked an extra-base hit on the night, though let’s debunk any claims that the team wasm’t opportunistic, either: three of their five RBI hits came with two outs. Sometimes, that’s juts baseball.

Have a wonderous Wednesday. As in, I wonder how the Red Sox are going to mess up today’s game.

Kyle Harrison got rocked Monday night in Las Vegas in a venue where the dimensions resemble your local Little League park, but the stats count nonetheless. Traded by the Red Sox to the Brewers for Caleb Durbin this offseason, the terrible outing — 8 ER in 2.1 IP — boosted his ERA by more than a full point, from 1.57 to 2.72. For a moment at least, it’s a milestone with respect to the Sox, who finally have a starter with a lower ERA than their former prospect: Peyton Tolle, whose 2.70 mark cleans the clock with Kyle’s. Regression, ramshackle stadium, randomness — whatever the reason, Harrison might be coming back to Earth.

Whatever kind of story it is, it is decidedly otherwise not about the Red Sox. It’s fair to judge trades by the outcomes, especially when it comes to trading prospects, but it’s the longer-term view we’re after. That’s when it’s about us, insofar as it ever is. Chris Sale winning the Cy Young? Sure, but even then, am I gonna say a bad word about the guy? No. But a single bad start does not a Boston story make. Or at least not a good one, because apparently it does make for a story, several times over. MassLive did it. So did NESN, which got picked up by (an automated, but widely viewed) MSN. And folks, I just don’t know what we’re doing here anymore. I sure don’t. It’s tautological. If this is the story, this isn’t the story. The story is the Red Sox sucking. Do not wish bad on Kyle Harrison, do not celebrate his down moments and for dog’s sakes, don’t look away from the disaster before us!

Happy Wednesday A’s fans!

Today marks the midway point of the Athletics’ weeklong Las Vegas residency. After concluding a series against the Milwaukee Brewers tonight, the team gets tomorrow off before wrapping up its Las Vegas showcase with three games against the Colorado Rockies this weekend.

So far, the games at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the A’s Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators, have lived up to expectations. Entering this week, the consensus was that there would be an enormous amount of offense because of the way the ball travels in the warm desert air and the hitter-friendly nature of the ballpark. That proved correct as the A’s lost the opener 15-14 in what was the highest scoring game of the season so far. Last night, the A’s rebounded with a 7-5 victory over the Brewers, hitting five more home runs and receiving herculean relief efforts from Elvis Alvarado and Mason Barnett.

The hitter-friendly conditions complicate evaluations of A’s pitchers at Triple-A, making it harder to determine when they are ready for the major leagues. This week, the stadium has challenged pitchers on both teams as hitters continue to take advantage of the favorable conditions.

Moving to Las Vegas represents a dramatic shift from Oakland, where the A’s played from 1968 through 2024. Because of the marine layer, the Oakland Coliseum was one of the most difficult places in baseball to hit home runs. Their future ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip will likely be more hitter-friendly.

If the new ballpark plays similarly to its Triple-A neighbor, the A’s could face challenges similar to those experienced by the Rockies, whose pitchers have long had to work in arguably MLB’s toughest place to pitch. However, its dome, humidor and air-conditioning system, as well as the Strip’s lower elevation compared with Summerlin, will likely prevent the ball from carrying as much as it does at Las Vegas Ballpark.

With four games remaining, the A’s have an opportunity to make a positive impression on potential future fans in Southern Nevada. Winning certainly wouldn’t hurt as the team continues building its presence in the market.

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Win In Vegas, Beat Brewers 7-5
• Athletics Fall Short in wild 15-14 loss in Las Vegas Opener
• 7 wild facts from a Vegas show for the ages
• A’s interested in Kris Bubic
• Athletics’ Joey Estes: Recalled from Triple-A
• Wednesday Potpourri: What’s Up With Butler, Closer, June Plan?
• Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In June
• Las Vegas is ‘dying for a baseball team.’ Will its locals adopt the A’s?
• The A’s Inability To Play Well At Home Is Embarrassing
• Road, sweet road? A’s ready for reset after rough homestand
• Arnold and Jump are both slinging … anyone else reminded of another A’s duo?
• Braves Acquire Austin Wynns, Adding Another Layer to A’s Catcher Connection
• Ginn’s glow-up: A’s hurler coming into his own at right time
• Three Dark Horse Trade Candidates for Athletics This Summer
• June update: 2026 top 10 prospect rankings for all 30 MLB teams
• Athletics Early MLB Draft Preview
• The A’s may have finally found their new leadoff hitter

MLB News and Interest:

• How could an MLB salary cap work? Lessons from NBA, NHL, NFL
• Brewers, No. 5 prospect Lara agree to 7-year contract
• Orioles place Chris Bassitt on 15-day IL with back discomfort
• Freeman becomes the only active player with 2,500 hits
• White Sox rookie becomes fifth player EVER with walk-off HR in MLB debut
• Astros GM: “Zero Discussions” About Trading Alvarez, Peña
• 8 candidates for a change of scenery at the Trade Deadline
• Tigers’ Tarik Skubal pitches 5 scoreless innings in rehab start
• 2026 MLB All-Star full roster predictions and debates
• Yoán Moncada To Undergo Knee Surgery
• Angels’ Trey Mancini 3-for-4 in 1st major league game since 2023
• 2 U.S. pilots killed in Dominican Republic plane crash en route to pick up former MLB star Yadier Molina
• Mariners place Crawford on 10-day IL; Emerson day to day with back tightness
• Latest Rookie of the Year poll shows big shakeup in both leagues
• 2026-27 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings: June Update
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

More MLB players should emulate what Pittsburgh Pirates’ ace pitcher Paul Skenes did two days ago.

Athletics minor-league transaction update: Nice to see Devin Taylor promoted to Double-A, as that level should provide a tougher test for last year’s second-round draft pick.

The Athletics are continuing to integrate themselves into the Las Vegas community ahead of their planned relocation to Southern Nevada.

Hopefully, what renowned baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal said here will hold true once the Athletics’ new ballpark opens. A 15-14 ballgame at Las Vegas Ballpark shows just how hitter-friendly the environment can be. Ideally, MLB games should feature a more balanced contest between pitchers and hitters.

It’s been a year and a half since Carter Holton last pitched in a GreenJackets uniform, and the long wait for Braves fans was rewarded with a terrific first outing. Holton led the team with his five scoreless innings. Adam Zebrowski had a monster day for Gwinnett by driving in six of their seven runs, and in Augusta it was Luis Guanipa who led the offensive charge with two separate go-ahead RBIs.

(33-31) Gwinnett Stripers 7, (35-29) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 2

Box Score

Statcast

• Jim Jarvis, SS: 2-5, 2B, .296/.390/.426
• Adam Zebrowski: 2-4, HR, 6 RBI, .222/.364/.611
• Anthony Molina, SP: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 4.05 ERA
• Elieser Hernandez, RP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4.88 ERA

The Gwinnett Stripers may have ended this game comfortably out in front, but for most of the evening this played out like a nail-biter led by Anthony Molina and the pitching staff. Molina has been on a nice little stretch run here over his past few starts, and trouble for him in this one was quite scattered with the Jumbo Shrimp only managing to scratch out a run late. Molina had a smidge of trouble throwing strikes in the early innings and walked a couple of batters, but didn’t allow any hard contact and managed to make it through the fourth inning with no trouble at all. To that point Molina had yet to allow a hit, though that and his shutout all came to a crashing halt on the first pitch of the the fifth inning. Molina left a fastball right over the middle of the plate that got smacked for a solo home run, cutting down the lead for the Stripers to 2-1. Molina didn’t waver and retired the next three batters in order, closing out a day that save for the single home run was impeccable. Elieser Hernandez had an outstanding relief appearance and didn’t allow a baserunner over two scoreless innings of work, and it was under his watch that Gwinnett ballooned their lead to 7-1. That made the job easy for Hunter Stratton to close it out, and though he would allow a ninth inning run there was never any real threat to the Stripers margin.

Gwinnett managed seven runs in this game but only had six hits, getting their runs as they were able to take advantage of the mistakes made by the Jumbo Shrimp with timely hitting. Enter: Adam Zebrowski – the man in the middle of the biggest moments of this game. Dax Fulton issued all three of his walks to the Stripers in the fourth inning, and Zebrowski had his first big opportunity of the game with the bases loaded and two outs. Zebrowski didn’t make good contact at all, but his nestled into a gap behind second base for a hit, driving home the first two runs of the game for the Stripers and giving them the lead they would hold throughout the rest of the game. Zebrowski’s next chance came in the eighth inning of this game, when once again he found himself staring down a bases loaded opportunity. Jacksonville reliever Josh Hejka had a terrible time of it prior to this, hitting a batter, seeing one reach on error, and then walking another as the first three he would face, and it got much, much worse with Zebrowski at the dish. Zebrowski got ahead in the count 3-1, and knowing Hejka wouldn’t want to walk a runner home was able to sit on a fastball. He hit a rocket at a 106.3 mph the other way, and even though he didn’t get it in the air much it still had enough carry to get out for a grand slam that broke the game wide open.

Swing and Misses

Anthony Molina – 12

Elieser Hernandez – 6

(26-28) Columbus Clingstones, (28-29) Pensacola Blue Wahoos POSTPONED

(30-27) Rome Emperors 0, (42-15) Bowling Green Hot Rods 11

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, 2B: 1-3, BB, .333/.556/.500
• John Gil, SS: 2-4, .255/.360/.402
• Isaiah Drake, LF: 1-4, .257/.331/.412
• Jeremy Reyes, SP: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 5.44 ERA
• Blake Burkhalter, RP: 1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 2.25 ERA

This was a bad one all around, though the hitting prospects for the Emperors were good enough to give this one a positive spin even with the blowout results. Tate Southisene hasn’t had much trouble adjusting to High-A pitching over his first couple of games, as he reached base twice in this one including a first inning walk. His contact wasn’t that great in his three at bats with his hit being a ball he rolled over and beat out to first, but even with that the process of the at-bats has looked solid and he is comfortable out there. John Gil had the best day of the crew as the only player on the Rome side with multiple hits, and even his outs were hard hit balls. Gil ended last week on an ugly stretch of games so it’s nice to see a quick bounce back with great results in this one. Isaiah Drake added a single to his total as well, though with another strikeout the results of late continue to underwhelm. over his past eight games he has no walks and 16 strikeouts, and after a first month and a half of him being a serious tough out the strikeouts and whiffs have piled up quickly. It was a tough matchup for Eric Hartman facing a left-handed starter and he went 0-4 with two strikeouts. Hartman’s power has kept his numbers against left handed pitching looking good this season, but there is still a clear drop off in his performance against breaking balls against lefties. That’s really to be expected for him or any player at this level, and it’s actually a positive that he has kept his swing-and-miss numbers respectable and still hit for power.

Pitching is not a whole lot of good to run through. Jeremy Reyes had poor command again, actually probably one of his worst performances on that front all season, and against a team that hits as well as Bowling Green he could not get away with those problems. Reyes only last 2 1/3 innings and gave up runs every time he came out of the dugout, building up a huge early deficit for Rome. The bullpen did a rather fine job of holding it together until Blake Burkhalter appeared in the eighth inning, at which point everything quickly spiraled out of control. Burkhalter had trouble keeping his fastballs down in the strike zone which led to loads of trouble, starting with two quick hits to open the inning. He then threw a comebacker into center field for an error before allowing another hit, though he thankfully did settle down to get a couple of outs as he made much better pitches. That was until he threw a pitch right over the plate that got smashed for a grand slam, putting a stamp on a terrible outing for him. He bounced back with a strikeout to end the inning, but that did little to dull the sting of a poor outing.

Swing and Misses 

Jeremy Reyes – 7

Mathieu Curtis – 5

Jacob Kroeger – 5

Blake Burkhalter – 5

(31-27) Augusta GreenJackets 5, (21-35) Myrtle Beach Pelicans 2

Box Score

• Conor Essenburg, RF: 0-2, .239/.365/.437
• Alex Lodise, SS: 2-5, 3B, RBI, .247/.331/.392
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 3-4, 2 RBI, .313/.357/.502
• Carter Holton, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 0.00 ERA
• Aiven Cabral, RP: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2.54 ERA

This was a pretty fun game, but started out with some early drama. Conor Essenburg was rung up on a borderline pitch in the third inning, and did not like the call very much. He was quickly ejected from the game, leaving Augusta without one of their top options for most of the night. Augusta got on the board quickly in the next inning. Alex Lodise went down and got a slider out of the zone but hit it hard, carrying it all the way to the right field wall where it bounced off and skipped away from the defender allowing Lodise to stand in with a leadoff triple. He took the next ninety feet quickly on a Luis Guanipa sacrifice fly, but that was all of the run scoring for Augusta for quite awhile in this game. Guanipa had a good game out there but the GreenJackets still trailed going into the ninth inning, and with two quick outs by the bottom of the order it seemed they may go quietly despite the great pitching they received all night. When the lineup flipped so too did the switch for the GreenJackets with Cody Miller starting a two out rally on a base hit. Michael Martinez, the replacement for Essenburg, shot one the other way for a base hit to put the go-ahead run on, and Lodise came to the plate with another chance to make an impact in the game. Lodise hit a shot out into center field for a base hit, and Miller was able to score without a throw, tying the game with the middle of the order yet to come. Guanipa worked an incredible at bat with a chance to give Augusta the lead, and he did just that by lining a single into right field to score pinch-runner Joe Olsavsky on the fourth straight GreenJackets hit. Juan Mateo kept it going and broke the lead open by ripping a fly ball to right field that sunk down past the right fielder for a double to score Lodise and Guanipa and make it 5-2.

Carter Holton made his return to the GreenJackets, and it was a successful first start for him. Holton held the Pelicans to no runs and struck out six batters over his five innings of work, and looked solid for a guy who hasn’t pitched at this level for such a long time. Holton did a great job of elevating his fastball even if his overall control wasn’t great, and flashed some feel for both his changeup and his slider from the outset of this game. Holton’s mechanics were inconsistent and his velocity (if the broadcast radar is accurate) a bit down, but neither of those issues are out of the norm for a player who is still in the process of building back up. His velocity dipped late in the game — again something to be expect — and his slider was the pitch that seemed to suffer the most command-wise. This was overall a much better game than the last time he pitched with the GreenJackets, especially with his ability to command his fastball, and though he didn’t really answer any questions with this outing he fortunately didn’t create any more concerns. Aiven Cabral came out of the bullpen behind Holton, and thanks to him allowing a couple of runs and then being the pitcher of record following the late comeback he got yet another win on his total.

Swing and Misses

Carter Holton – 8

Aiven Cabral – 3

(8-20) FCL Braves 2, (13-15) FCL Red Sox 13

Box Score

• Diego Tornes, CF: 1-5, .192/.272/.260
• Caden Merritt, RF: 1-4, .238/.389/.429

Another loss for the FCL Braves as they continue to be the worst team and offense in the league, though at least there are some smidges of hope offensively. This is probably not the best example of that for Diego Tornes, given that he struck out twice and only had an infield single to his name, but he has been better this month. So far he has four walks to only four strikeouts after struggling in both categories in May. Caden Merritt, an unsigned free agent from last draft, has been solid for the FCL Braves since being demoted from Augusta, adding another hit to his resume.

(1-6) DSL Braves 0, (3-4) DSL Pirates Gold 13

Box Score

• Starlyn De La Cruz, CF: 0-2, BB, .313/.542/.563
• Edelson Cabral, 2B: 0-2, BB, .167/.348/.278

The DSL Braves have allowed 73 runs in seven games which is not exactly a recipe for success. This game didn’t start out terribly for them. Martires Polanco, an older signee from this winter, had a great run of success in the first three innings, allowing no hits while striking out seven batters. He has had two good outings for the DSL Braves, which is basically the sum total of all of the good outings the team has had this season, and the reason he had a run on his final line was because he got pulled after facing and walking one batter in the third inning. Once you get past Polanco it gets spooky. All 13 runs came in the final four innings of this game.

Tuesday was a rough day on the Pharm, with only one win for a Phils team. Here’s how the games shaped up.

Lehigh Valley 2, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre5

Early scoring gave the Railriders the win in the opening game of this series, with five runs in three innings. Carter Kieboom’s two-out, two-run double in the seventh saved the ‘Pigs from being shut out, but there just wasn’t enough offense to make up for SWB’s early lead. Tucker Davidson got the loss, allowing four runs (three earned).

Reading 7, Portland5

The Fightin Phils snapped a five-game losing streak behind Caleb Ricketts’s career-best six RBI. He hit two homers: a grand slam in the fourth inning and a two-run in the eighth. It was his first game with Reading in 2026. With a 7-3 lead, closer Alex McFarlane gave up his first earned run since mid-April on a solo home run in the ninth inning. Portland narrowed the lead with another run in the inning, but McFarlane pulled it back together for his sixth save of the season. Jean Cabrera got the win giving up three runs on six hits, two walks and three strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

Jersey Shore 0, Hudson Valley 5

The BlueClaws lost their fifth straight game despite a decent start by Sam Highfill, who gave up three runs on seven hits, two home runs, two walks and five strikeouts in six innings. The offense was nearly non-existent in this game, with only three hits (all singles), no walks, and ten strikeouts. Kodey Shojinaga had two of the hits.

Clearwater 5, Lakeland 7

A six-run eighth inning for Lakeland made the difference in this game, which Clearwater had led since the first. Reigning FSL Pitcher of the Week Tanner Gresham was dominant in five scoreless, one-hit innings (4 walks, 5 strikeouts) opposite former Tigers first overall draft pick Casey Mize, who is on a rehab assignment. Peyton Havard took the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks in 0.2 innings. Catcher Will Vierling extended his RBI-streak to four games. With two singles, Griffin Burkholder picked up his twelfth multi-hit game of the season.

Good morning, foLLks, and happy Wednesday! The Mariners somehow, some way, won a wild extra-innings affair against the Orioles 6-5 last night to take the first two of a four-game series in Birdland. Let’s hope for a semi-normal game tonight, huh?

In Mariners news:

• In case you missed it, the Mariners placed RHP Cooper Criswell on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain. Nick Davila was recalled to take his place, and earned his first big league save in yesterday’s contest. The M’s also acquired righty Carson Fulmer in a small deal with the Pirates; Fulmer will not need a 40-man spot.
• Cal Raleigh’s first rehab game with Triple-A Tacoma went swimmingly, as the Big Dumper slugged a pair of homers, including a grand slam.
• Not to be outdone, Lazaro Montes bashed a grand slam of his own in the Travelers’ 11-2 win at Dickey-Stephens Park.

Around the league:

• The Brewers have joined the “extension for top prospects yet to debut” club, signing outfielder Luis Lara to an eight-year, $30 million contract. The deal includes a pair of team options, as well as incentives and escalators.
• Another day, another Angels pitching injury. This time, righty Jack Kochanowicz will undergo Tommy John surgery, keeping him sidelined until at least next summer.
• The Cubs made a small series of roster moves, activating utilityman Matt Shaw from the IL and optioning outfielder Kevin Alcántara. The North Siders also placed RHP Jameson Taillon on the injured list and recalled RHP Ethan Roberts from Triple-A Iowa.
• If it feels like more catchers have been taking painful shots to the nether regions this year, you’d be correct! Zack Meisel at The Athletic examined the cause of the uptick. ($)

There is something in my DNA that makes me prefer certain types of players more than others, which I am sure is true for all of you as well. What my inclinations push me toward are not a single loud skill, but rather the players who are kind of good at everything. I think it is underappreciated to be pretty solid with no major weaknesses because black ink was always a dominant theme of conversation. Fewer fans care about guys who are simply above average in many categories, but don’t excel in any one area. Offensively, Alex Gordon was one of these guys and a favorite of mine. Now, Daniel Lynch IV may have morphed into that style of pitcher. He has no particular standout skill but he has added quality to everything he is doing. And, more importantly, it is working.

Daniel Lynch IV was a heralded prospect at one point, even making some top 100 lists. He is tall and left-handed, though lacking a bit in velocity for modern baseball. His fastballs, especially the four-seamer, have always graded out pretty poorly both from a scouting perspective and from a run value perspective, leading to diminished usage. When he first made the big leagues, the 4-seamer made up over 40% of his pitches, but that has dropped and dropped until this year it is only making up 17.4% of his pitches.

He has adjusted by using the sinker a lot more, although still only about a quarter of the time. His changeup and slider make up nearly half of pitches now with the knuckle curve showing up every now and again to keep batters off balance. That pitch mix evolution has over time taking some pressure off of the four-seam fastball to improve its performance while become more a sinker, slider, change profile. That is not enough to explain how he has significantly i,proved, however.

The change in pitch mix may have helped Lynch become a viable middle-reliever, but it is the changes to the quality of his pitches have taken him to a higher level this year. Last year, pitch modeling metrics graded out his pitches at or below-average with only two minor exceptions – his change up and sinker. PitchingBot had his changeup as a 53 and Stuff+ put the sinker as a 103, both just barely above league-average stuff for those offerings.

This year, the modeling metrics are improved almost across the board. None of his pitches are elite but now PitchingBot has his four-seamer, sinker, and change at 54, 62, and 53 respectively along with a one-point improvement to his slider and knuckle curve. Similarly, Stuff+ now has four pitches above-average, with his sinker over a full standard deviation above-average with an above-average grade for his slider as well. Only the knuckle curve is still not favored sitting below the average 100. Both systems now have his composite stuff overall as above-average, which he has never done before. Beyond stuff, they think his command is around or slightly better than average now too and Stuff+ has his Pitching+ as above-average. Almost everything about what Daniel is doing this season is better than at any other point in his career and he is kind of a bit better than average at most things now. If you are better than the typical pitcher on stuff and command and process, it turns out good things happen.

None of this seems to be velocity-related. Some of it seems to be spin-related. His RPM values for the fastball, sinker, and slider are all higher than in any other season. The sinker, which has the biggest stuff value change, is now averaging 2,215 rpm is the largest difference more than 100 rpm above last year’s spin rate. This does not seem to change the movement a lot, but it might be shifting the shape of the pitch, later break or something along those lines. You can see below that the pitch movements, 2025 on left and 2026 on right, are not all that different. Sorry that the color-coding changes from one year to the next, Fangraphs is not perfect, but it does take a little time to read since the sinker is orange in 2025 and black in 2026 for instance.

There might be some subtle differences there and the clusters might be tighter, but that could just be a sample size effect. Whatever it is, the statistics models are picking up on the change, and the results can be seen on the field. Lynch has a strikeout rate of 9.91 per-nine innings this year, when his previous best mark was 8.34 back in 2022. He also has his lowest walk rate ever. Higher strikeout rates and lower walk rates are generally a good recipe. His average against and WHIP have also come way down, though a bit of this is BABIP luck, which is sitting at .239. I don’t think the 1.71 ERA is his true talent level, but his xERA, FIP, xFIP, and SIERRA are 2.67, 2.54, 3.63, and 3.02 respectively, so the improvement seems to be real. His home run rate is quite low, leading to his xFIP being quite a bit higher. Regardless, those are all much lower than any other season of his career as well.

His exit velocities, barrel rates, and hard-hit rates are all lower too. This does not look like a fluke. His whiff rate on the slider is the other exceptional change statistically. That pitch has gone from a 13.3% swing-and-miss rate to 23.4%, an 80% increase in rate. The slider whiff rate is up even more, nominally at least, going from 29.9% to 48.1%. So far, the knuckle curve is also way up, but since he has only thrown that pitch 32 times I would like to see more before I declare that worth paying attention to. He uses all of his pitches against right-handed batters and then against lefties 93% of his offerings are sinker or slider. This is similar but more extreme than his past mix too.

The Royals bullpen has many problems which has depleted it to the point where Alex Lange is closing games. Carlos Estévez and Nick Mears are hurt. Matt Strahm has missed time too and has not been as reliable as you would like. Lucas Erceg has struggled mightily. Basically, the entire back-end of the pen has not done well.

Luckily, there has been at least one arm step up and into that role to help cover some of the problems, Daniel Lynch IV. He still needs to remain where he is, I know some will want him to close games, but he should not. The splits are real and he needs to be aimed at lefties most of the time. Still, I am very impressed with the steps he has taken, and it is nice to have at least one guy we can depend on while the rest of it hopefully gets sorted out.

Batted ball luck, when going against the team you choose to root for, is the worst thing to watch. The Blue Jays had quite a bit of luck in that final frame against Jhoan Duran, but the guy was simply going to show a crack in the armor at some point.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Brandon Marsh has arrived. Be it against lefties, righties, he is having the season of his life. He’s worked very hard to get there ($).
• Hey, even though we do daily minor league recaps, you can still check out overall recaps on some of the bigger names.
• 6 pitchers in the game, including Aaron Nola, have improved their Stuff this year. Will results be following that improvement ($)?

MLB news:

• What would be the ideal Home Run Derby pool to have at Citizens Bank Park? Two Phillies are on the list.
• Speaking of All-Star Games predictions, how about the first round of predictions about who will be making the team?
• The White Sox are letting the fourth and final piece of the Garrett Crochet trade debut with the team this week.
• The Brewers are signing one of their top prospects to a pre-debut extension by giving Luis Lara seven guaranteed year.

Where would the Yankees be without Cody Bellinger? Even before the Aaron Judge injury, Bellinger was by far the Yankees’ third-most productive and perhaps the most consistent hitter at the plate. Now with Judge on the shelf for at least another month, the Yankees rely on Bellinger’s steady approach perhaps more than ever. On top of that, it is hard to name a hitter who has provided them more clutch hits this season, Monday night’s game-winning single in the 10th inning the latest example.

We join Bellinger with one out in the 10th, the score tied at five apiece. A one-out intentional walk of Ben Rice and an ABS-assisted walk of Max Schuemann have loaded the bases, placing automatic runner Ali Sánchez on third 90 feet away from scoring the go-ahead run. Bellinger lined a single up the middle in his last AB and faces a similar look in the 10th, Shawn Armstrong like Hunter Gaddis a righty reliever who leans on his mid-90s four-seamer.

True to form, Armstrong starts Bellinger with a first-pitch four-seamer at 95.

This is an excellent pitch from Armstrong, over the plate but elevated just above the zone. It’s a pitch that’s too close to take for Bellinger, who also appears to be hunting a first-pitch fastball that he can pull for power, and he fouls it back to the screen. The swing is on time, but just a little under the pitch.

After showing Bellinger a fastball that maintains its vertical plane and gets the chase and foul he was looking for, Armstrong switches to the sinker hoping to fool Bellinger with a pitch that has almost a foot more break down and away than the four-seamer.

Instead, he sails this sinker high and wide. The pitch looks like a ball out of his hand and never looks like a strike on its path toward home, making for a straightforward take from Bellinger.

Armstrong introduces another wrinkle with the 1-1 pitch, throwing his third different fastball in the cutter. The cutter come in about four mph slower than the four-seamer or sinker, but with late diving movement down and in.

Fortunately for Bellinger, the pitcher tugs this pitch badly and he has to maneuver out of the way to avoid being hit.

Given that he exhibited very little feel for the previous sinker and cutter, Armstong shelves those two pitches and sticks with the four-seamer for the rest of the encounter. Patrick Bailey flashes a similar target to the four-seamer Armstrong successfully executed above the zone first pitch.

It’s clear this is the only pitch Armstrong can command, and he nails his target centrally located over the plate but elevated above the hitting zone. Just like with the first pitch of the AB, Bellinger is right on time but can’t lift his barrel to match the four-seamer’s elevation and nicks a foul tip for strike two.

Now we get to see Bellinger’s two-strike approach, where he shortens his swing, lets the ball travel, and stays on his back side looking to shoot a base hit to the opposite side.

Bellinger’s superpower in these situations is his elite bat-to-ball that allows him to foul off pitchers’ pitches and stay alive until a mistake is made that he can jump on. Indeed, we see how he’s somehow able to get wood on this four-seamer that handcuffs him in off the plate and almost keeps it fair down the line in right for what would have plated at least two runs.

Bellinger finally seems to have figured out the movement profile of Armstrong’s four-seamer, getting a fatter piece of the bat to the previous pitch after previously swinging underneath for a foul to the screen and a foul tip. He should have no trouble finding the barrel should Armstrong give him something to hit.

That’s just what happens, Bellinger lining this four-seamer on the outer half through the hole on the left side to plate Sánchez and Rice as the go-ahead runs. Bellinger gets exactly one pitch in the zone in this encounter, and he makes sure he doesn’t miss it, that’s what I call clutch hitting.

Here’s the whole AB:

Bellinger has been an absolute godsend for the Yankees since re-upping over the winter, with Gold Glove defense in left field and a 138 wRC+ that places him in the top-30 qualified hitters league-wide. He put all facets of his offensive profile on display in this AB, including zone awareness, bat-to-ball skills, and two-strike hitting. The Yankees will continue to lean on the possible All-Star’s all-around contributions while awaiting Judge’s return further down the stretch.