Category: Baseball

Just five games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Tuesday, as AA Richmond had their game postponed due to weather, while the Dominican Summer League squads faced off against each other. We’ll throw in Monday’s rookie ball games into this recap as well, especially since those seasons are wrapping up.

Now, onto the action!

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.

News

A few moves. Most notably and excitingly, there was a rise up the catcher ranks, as Adrián Sugastey was promoted from AA Richmond to AAA Sacramento, while Jancel Villarroel (No. 42 CPL) was promoted from High-A Eugene to Richmond. It’s very exciting for both players, as Sugastey had spent a very long time in Richmond before getting this call, while Villarroel has had a blissful debut season in the Giants organization following a trade right before spring training. Tying up that domino effect is Daniel Rogers, who was promoted from Low-A San Jose to Eugene. Meanwhile, San Jose outfielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL) was activated off the Injured List.

Infielder Zane Zielinski was sent down from Richmond to Eugene, while first baseman Robert Hipwell was demoted from Eugene to San Jose. Richmond RHP Dylan Hecht was released.

Down in the DSL, the Giants had three players selected to the All-Star Game: RHP Omar Calcurian, and infielders Keiberg Camacaro and Albert Jimenez. Manager Ian MacDonald was also selected to the team.

AAA Sacramento (52-42)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Oklahoma City Comets (Dodgers) 7-3
Box score

All the attention in Sacramento right now is on a pair of newcomers, outfielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) and third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL). But it was a different newcomer who stole the spotlight on Tuesday, as the star of the game was catcher Adrián Sugastey, who was making his AAA debut.

It’s been a long journey to the highest rung on the Minor League ladder for Sugastey. It’s been over 7 years since the Giants first signed the righty out of Panama, and he’d spent 3 years in AA trying to earn a promotion to Sacramento. At times, he was one of the top catching prospects in the organization, though that label has dissipated a bit over the years.

Sugastey finally got the call to AAA this week. And while it was largely logistical — San Francisco currently has 3 rookie catchers on their roster, and DFA’d both Eric Haase and Logan Porter, leaving only Zach Morgan and utility player Thomas Gavello to serve as AAA backstops — it’s also deserved. Sugastey has made some gains in AA this year, with a .275 batting average that towers over the last 2 years (.231 and .210). That led to a .715 OPS and a 91 wRC+, and while those aren’t stellar numbers for a 23-year old in AA, it’s worth remembering that Sugastey is a tremendous catcher whose calling card is his defense and leadership. You only need to be able to fake it to have a career as a backup when you can throw out runners the way Sugastey does.

He didn’t throw out any runners in his AAA debut (though he didn’t allow any stolen bases either), but he did catch a fantastic pitching performance, holding a potent Comets offense to 3 runs, all of which came in one rough inning (the 8th) off of one struggling pitcher (LHP Nick Zwack).

And in the batter’s box? Sugastey made his Sacramento introduction by hitting 2-4 with a solo home run. He’s not a big power guy, but that had to feel good! Welcome to AAA!

Also homering was designated hitter Will Brennan, who had an otherwise poor day, hitting 1-5 with 2 strikeouts. Brennan has been on quite a tear since getting designated for assignment, hitting 29-97 with 2 home runs and 9 doubles during that time. Still and all, hard to see him getting another chance in the Majors for the Giants, given how many outfielders they have.

Speaking of which, right fielder Turner Hill and center fielder Scott Bandura both had lovely games in which they hit 2-4 and stole a base. Hill’s game was particularly delightful, as both of his hits went for extra-bases: a triple and a double. The 27-year old lefty has been utterly unfazed by AAA, posting an .890 OPS and a 135 wRC+, while striking out just 8.4% of the time, and swiping 20 bags in 23 attempts. Say what you will about the Giants season, but they’ve had some tremendous developmental successes with relatively unheralded outfield prospects this year!

Hill and Bandura (who now has a .780 OPS, a 108 wRC+, and 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts) are names to watch through the trade deadline … not because they’re likely to be traded, but because they’re possibly next up should the Giants decide to trade some of the many outfielders on the 40-man roster.

As for the aforementioned newcomers, Harber hit 2-4 with a walk and a strikeout, while Davidson had a tough day, going 0-5 with 2 Ks. Oddly, Davidson was in left field again … he’s played the corners in all 4 of his AAA games, despite coming up through the Minors strictly as a center fielder (and earning some pretty good reviews there). San Francisco’s current weakness is in center, so it doesn’t really make sense to think he’s getting prepped for a debut, but maybe this is to make sure he’s comfortable at all 3 outfield positions, so that Tony Vitello can deploy him wherever should that call come? Who knows.

Speaking of things I don’t fully understand, we had a pitcher switcheroo! RHP Trent Harris (No. 29 CPL), who entered the year as one of the organization’s top relief prospects, and LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) who entered as one of the top starting prospects, pitched in reverse roles this year. Harris got the start, and while it wasn’t an earnest starting pitching performance, he was given enough of a workload to make you wonder if the Giants are actually moving him in that direction … in all, Harris threw 37 pitches en route to 3 stellar scoreless innings, giving up just 1 baserunner (a single) while striking out 4. Fantastic!

Despite a brutal start to the year, Harris has brought his ERA down to 3.78 (albeit with a 4.89 FIP), as he’s been quite good lately. The 4.6 walks per 9 innings are still quite high, but the 10.5 strikeouts are a delight to look at.

As for Whitman, it was another relief outing following a surprising, unexplained move to the bullpen 2 weeks ago. He struck out 2 batters in 1.1 scoreless innings, though he did allow 3 singles along the way. I would still assume that the Giants view his future as a starter, given the year he had, but … given the year they’ve had, I won’t pretend to have any idea what the Giants are ever doing.

Nice outings for a pair of veterans, as LHP Reiver Sanmartin gave up just 1 hit and 0 runs in 2.2 innings, with a strikeout, while RHP Michael Fulmer tossed a perfect frame with 2 Ks. Sanmartin has a 3.97 ERA and a 4.45 FIP, while Fulmer is rocking a 3.29 ERA and a 3.26 FIP.

High-A Eugene (55-36)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 13-8
Box score

Baseball is definitely a funny sport. Eugene had an offensive explosion, getting 15 hits on the day, with everyone in the lineup getting a hit except, naturally, the best hitting prospect on the team by a mile, shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL), who went 0-5 with a walk. So it goes. Funny sport.

There were a lot of great days, and that was highlighted by a continued hot streak from third baseman Walker Martin, who hit 1-2 with a solo home run, 3 walks, and 1 strikeout.

On the whole, it’s been a very disappointing year for Walker, the team’s 2nd-round pick in 2022, as he has just a .734 OPS, a 93 wRC+, a 33.1% strikeout rate, and 20 errors (his defense looks a little better than that mark would suggest, but not great). But he’s been a bit better lately, and in his last 4 games is hitting 6-12 with 2 homers, a double, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Here’s hoping he can end the year on a very high note.

And on the note of players who are on heaters, great days for both designated hitter Carlos Gutierrez (No. 18 CPL) and right fielder Jakob Christian (No. 40 CPL). Gutierrez, a lefty, went 2-4 with a double, 2 walks, and a stolen base, bringing him up to an .827 OPS and a 124 wRC+ on the year, with 21 stolen bases in 23 attempts. The soon-to-turn 22-year old’s season has really flown under the radar following his breakout last year, in part because his outstanding contact has come down a little (though his strikeout rate remains under 20%). He’s slowly building the average back up, though (it’s at .268 now) and, excitedly, that’s not coming at the expense of his new-found power or his walks (he’s raised his walk rate year-over-year from 12.6% to 14.6%, while his isolated slugging mark of .180 towers over last year’s Low-A mark of .101). Gutierrez is on quite a hot streak, as he’s hit safely in 11 of the last 12 games, and has gone 17-42 in that span, with 6 doubles, 12 walks, and just 9 strikeouts.

As for Christian, a righty, he went 2-4 with a triple, a walk, a hit by pitch, and a strikeout. The soon-to-turn 24-year old, who was taken in the 5th round of the 2024 draft, is having a bit of a funny season, in line with past ones: he’s drawing a ton of walks (12.5% rate), and showing off absurd power (.239 isolated slugging), which is leading to a very nice line (.865 OPS, 129 wRC+). But he’s also currently repping a 32.9% strikeout rate and … well … yeah. That’s pretty ugly for an A-ball hitter who is older than his peers at the level. Still, a lot of tools are in that shed, and Christian is hitting a blistering .298/.389/.660 so far in July.

A pair of recently-promoted players shined, as second baseman Isaiah Barkett hit 3-6 with a 2-run home run and a strikeout, while left fielder Jose Astudillo went 2-3 with a walk and 2 stolen bases. There weren’t high expectations for either player coming into the year — Barkett was a 10th-round pick in last year’s draft, while Astudillo was a soft-contact outfielder coming off a good, if not emphatic stateside debut. But the 22-year olds have absolutely run with the year, as both have displayed brilliant contact ability, more power than expected, and outstanding speed and defense. They very much earned their promotions, and each has made the most of it so far.

Rounding out the dinger party was first baseman Zander Darby, who hit 2-5 with a 2-run home run, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. Like Christian, Darby, a 12th-round pick in 2024, has shown off some good power but with far too many strikeouts … the overall numbers aren’t quite as compelling for the lefty, though, as he has a .767 OPS and a 104 wRC+ on the year.

That was a lot of words about the hitters, which works out to everyone’s benefit because no one wants to hear about the pitchers in this game. RHPs Cade Vernon and Cole Hillier were not sharp at all, while RHP Liam Simon’s walk woes continued after a very brief hiatus. The best outing belonged to LHP Esmerlin Vinicio, who struck out 3 batters in 3 innings with 0 walks, but did give up 4 hits and a run. Vinicio, a 23-year old, has a 3.11 ERA and a 3.69 FIP on the season.

Low-A San Jose (54-37)

San Jose Giants lost to the Ontario Tower Buzzers (Dodgers) 6-2
Box score

A very uninteristing game. We can breeze through this one quite quickly. The offense only provided 5 hits on the day. The best day belonged to first baseman Robert Hipwell, who was perhaps angry about being sent down to Low-A, and took his aggression out on the baseball, as he went 2-3 with a walk and a strikeout.

There’s no fun way to say this, but things aren’t looking good for the Santa Clara alum, and you have to wonder if his time with the organization is nearing an end. He had some good hype when the Giants drafted him in the 6th round in 2024, and paid him accordingly, and he played well after being drafted, posting a .762 OPS and a 109 wRC+ with San Jose. He began his first full season back in San Jose, and, unfortunately, ended up spending the entire year there. The overall numbers were good (.824 OPS, 126 wRC+), but they came with a concerning strikeout rate (31.2%).

Still, the move for 2026 was obvious: give the lefty a challenge in High-A and see what happens. What happened was, unfortunately, an even more damning strikeout rate (40.9%) that led to an average well below the Mendoza Line (.161), and a very poor overall line (.619 OPS, 79 wRC+). Add in the fact that he’s pretty much exclusively a first baseman these days, after being a third baseman out of college, and it’s hard to see a path forward barring some extreme developmental steps.

Shortstop Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL) continued his hot streak, going 1-4 with a double. He’s up to a stunning 14 extra-base hits in July, with a .417/.493/.833 slash line. A stunning month! And just like that, his full season debut features an .817 OPS and a 101 wRC+ … not great numbers for last year’s 4th-round pick, but far better than they were early in the year, and they’re accompanied by awesome defense.

RHP Trey Seeley had a nice showing while getting the start, as he struck out 5 batters in 4 innings with 0 walks, while giving up just 2 hits and 1 run. It’s been a tough debut season for last year’s 14th-round pick, as he has just an 8.17 ERA and a 7.90 FIP, but this was not only one of his better outings, but his longest outing too (he hadn’t even pitched 3 innings before this start). Seeley really lives in the strike zone, for better and for worse: he has 12.1 strikeouts and just 3.6 walks per 9 innings … but in 25.1 frames has allowed 29 hits and 9 home runs.

Arizona Complex League (34-25)

Monday: ACL Giants lost to the ACL Rockies 12-7 (6 innings) [box score]
Tuesday: ACL Giants beat the ACL Cubs 6-0 (7 innings) [box score]

The ACL season is in its final week, and soon we’ll find out if top prospects Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) and Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) will be headed to Low-A to test their mettle against better pitchers. I think the answer both should be, and will be “yes,” but just in case, that pair put together another audition these last few days.

It was a particularly notable performance for González, as he had been “slumping” (by his standards) lately … so this was a welcome sight, as he hit 2-7 with a home run, a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout. Quite a performance! González, who is widely considered a top-25 prospect now, is sitting on a .975 OPS and a 140 wRC+ in his stateside debut. The 18-year old switch-hitter is doing it all: he’s hitting for average (.344), he’s drawing walks (16.8%), he’s limiting strikeouts (21.0%), he’s showing off power (.177 ISO), and he’s stealing bases (8 in 10 attempts over 29 games). And that’s without mentioning his elite shortstop defense, though he played second base in both of these games.

It was Hernández who handled shortstop, and he hit 3-7 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout. Hernández’s numbers are, understandably, a touch below González’s, as he has a .921 OPS and a 117 wRC+. But if you’re not impressed by a 17-year old shortstop in their debut season, after skipping the DSL, putting up a .297 average with just a 16.7% strikeout rate, then I don’t know what to tell you!!!

Anyway, as much as I’m loving watching Meola put it all together and show off the web in San Jose, I sure hope this duo is headed up there to steal some reps soon.

A great performance from catcher Yohendry Sanchez, who hit 2-3 with 2 doubles and a walk on Monday, but didn’t play on Tuesday. Sanchez, who was a big signing in 2024 but was mediocre in 2 years in the DSL, is hitting way better in the ACL this year than in the DSL a year ago … it’s a season that’s flown under the radar due to Hernández and González, but Sanchez has an .880 OPS and a 134 wRC+ with just a 9.2% strikeout rate in 20 games on the complex, and the 19-year old plays some damn good defense behind the dish, too. Very exciting stuff!

The pitching on Monday was awful, particularly for RHP Luke Mensik, the team’s 17th-round pick a year ago … he only recorded 2 outs, while allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 hit batters, committing 2 errors, and ceding 7 runs. Shake it off, Luke.

It was much better on Tuesday, with RHPs Kendry Castro and Marlon Franco absolutely dealing. Castro, a 19-year old who recently received the very rare international in-season promotion, pitched 2.2 no-hit innings with 2 walks and 1 strikeout in his 2nd appearance in the ACL following 5 games in the DSL this year. Franco, a 23-year old, pitched 3.1 no-hit innings with just 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Dominance! Hopefully there’s more of that in the tank, because this is Franco’s 6th professional season and he has just a 7.15 ERA and a 4.92 FIP on the year.

A pair of rehab appearances: on the mound, AA RHP Ben Peterson kicked off a rehab assignment by striking out 1 in a perfect inning; in the box, Low-A first baseman Hayden Jatczak began a rehab stint by hitting 1-2.

Dominican Summer League Black (21-14)

Monday: DSL Giants Black beat DSL Arizona Red 8-7 [box score]
Tuesday: DSL Giants Black beat DSL Giants Orange 7-2 (7 innings) [box score]

These games were all about the offense for the DSL Giants Black team. And really, they were all about a trio of hitters, who were the stars in both games: shortstop Keiberg Camacaro, center fielder Djean Macares, and left fielder Franco Willias.

Camacaro had the most explosive pair of games, hitting 3-7 with home runs in each contest, while also drawing a walk, getting hit by a pitch, stealing 2 bases, and striking out once. What a performance! The 19-year old is already in his 4th DSL season, but things are finally clicking: his .321 average is nearly .100 points better than his career high, while his .229 isolated slugging is nearly triple what it was last year. He’s cut his strikeout rate year-over-year by nearly 10 percentage points, and he’s stolen 19 bases … after just 22 total in his 3 prior seasons. The result is a 1.011 OPS, a 148 wRC+, and perhaps a plane ticket to Arizona when February rolls around.

Macares went 3-5 with 2 doubles, 3 walks, a hit by pitch, a stolen base, and an outfield assist. A little bit of everything! The 18-year old has made huge strides in his 2nd year, with large statistical improvements in quite literally every category. He was a decent-sized signing last year, so when you add that to his up-the-middle position and, most importantly, his performance (.800 OPS, 117 wRC+, 17 stolen bases), it seems all but guaranteed that he’ll make a stateside debut in 2027.

As for Willias, he didn’t supply the extra-base thunder that Camacaro and Macares did, but he went 3-7 with a walk, a hit by pitch, and 4 stolen bases. The 21-year old was solid in his 1st 2 DSL campaigns, but this year has really taken off, with a .996 OPS, a 144 wRC+, and 21 stolen bases.

One pitcher to highlight: RHP Brayan Cabello, who continued his brilliant run suppression, giving up just 1 hit, 0 walks, and 0 runs in 2.2 innings, with 3 strikeouts. Cabello has only allowed 12 hits in 26.1 innings, which has given him a 1.37 ERA (albeit with a 4.03 FIP, as he’s not striking out too many batters). That said, he’s a 22-year old in his 5th DSL season.

Dominican Summer League Orange (21-15)

Monday: DSL Giants Orange beat DSL Arizona Black 9-4 (7 innings) [box score]
Tuesday: DSL Giants Orange lost to DSL Giants Black 7-2 (7 innings) [box score]

It was mostly the pitching that stood out for the Giants Orange team, especially on Monday when there were a pair of good performances from RHPs Jose Trevizo and Jhon Leon. Trevizo struck out 5 batters in 4 innings, while giving up 2 hits, 1 walk, and 3 unearned runs. The 18-year old, who is in his 2nd season, has a delightful 30 strikeouts against 8 walks this season, en route to a 3.58 ERA and a 3.61 FIP. Leon, a 22-year old pitching in his 3rd season, allowed 2 hits and an unearned run in 2 innings, while striking out 3 batters. He has 26 strikeouts in just 17.2 innings, which is great, but has also walked 14 batters. He has a 5.60 ERA and a 4.09 FIP on the year.

Not too much to talk about with the hitters. Shortstop/third baseman Yeison Oviedo hit quite nicely, going 3-6 with a double, 2 walks, and a stolen base, bringing him up to an .861 OPS and a 125 wRC+, with just a 13.1% strikeout rate. Huge strides for the 18-year old, who really struggled in his debut season a year ago.

Designated hitter Jesus Hernandez played sparingly, but hit 1-2 with a triple, a walk, and a strikeout. The Giants have brought along the debuting catcher, who is just 17, very slowly this year.

Home run tracker

13 — Walker Martin — [High-A]
9 — Zander Darby — [High-A]
6 — Isaiah Barkett — [1 in High-A; 5 in Low-A]
5 — Keiberg Camacaro x2 — [DSL]
4 — Adrián Sugastey — [1 in AAA; 2 in AA; 1 in ACL]
3 — Will Brennan — [AAA]
2 — Josuar González — [ACL]

Wednesday schedule

Sacramento: 12:05 p.m. PT vs. Oklahoma City (SP: TBD)
Richmond: 2:35 p.m. PT doubleheader vs. Hartford (SPs: Greg Farone and Trystan Vrieling)
Eugene: 7:05 p.m. PT at Everett (SP: Luis De La Torre)
San Jose: 1:00 p.m. PT vs. Ontario (SP: TBD)

Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV

There’s been plenty of offense during this homestand at Coors Field, sometimes from one team, sometimes from both teams. Now, the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals face off in the rubber match with a series victory on the line.

Gabriel Hughes (0-1, 3.14 ERA) will make his third start for the Rockies and second of the homestand. Hughes has looked good in his 14.1 innings of work, especially as a starting pitcher. After a quality start on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Hughes looked just as good against the Cincinnati Reds last Friday. In that start, he allowed just two runs on five hits with six strikeouts against two walks in 5.1 innings of work. The cut fastball has proven to be a bread-and-butter pitch for Hughes, but the secondary offspeed pitches have proven a bit more difficult to master. Still, Hughes has worked quickly and effectively through his first two starts, and if he can continue to take a step forward in efficiency, he is lining up to be a reliable big league starter.

The Nationals will send out one of their best starters in Cade Cavalli (6-4, 3.78 ERA). Cavalli has been effective throughout the season, particularly since May 10. Since then, he has a 3.60 ERA in 70 innings over 13 games while registering 79 strikeouts against 15 walks. His last start came on the road against the Athletics, in which he allowed two runs on four hits over six innings with nine strikeouts. This will be the first time Cavalli has faced the Rockies, but his ability to get strikeouts and not give up big hits will be a challenge for the Colorado offense.

First Pitch: 1:10 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

SB Nation site: Federal Baseball

Lineups:

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

Athletics rookie infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer is seemingly in good spirits after taking a brutal hit to the private area after a foul ball.

Kuroda-Grauer suffered a ruptured testicle in the Athletics' 5-2 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on Monday, July 20. He underwent emergency surgery and was placed on the A's 10-day injured list.

The club said the 23-year-old is resting comfortably.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay visited Kuroda-Grauer in the hospital and told MLB.com's Martín Gallegos, who covers the A's, that the rookie is in "great spirits."

"He was joking. His personality is amazing," Kotsay said. "I think he might be the only player in history to (rupture) a testicle, stay in the game, get a hit and play another half inning of defense."

Kuroda-Grauer finished the game 2-for-3, including his first-career home run. His performance increased his average to .417.

Yesterday’s shutout loss to the Mets marked the Brewers’ first defeat since before the All-Star break. While they weren’t able to extend their winning streak to five games, they still have a chance to win the series with a victory in today’s rubber match.

On the mound for Milwaukee is right-hander Logan Henderson. Henderson has made just seven starts this season after missing more than a month with a back issue, but he’s been excellent when healthy. The right-hander has made two starts since returning from the injured list, holding opposing teams to three hits over at least five innings in each outing, though he’s also allowed four total runs. For the season, Henderson owns a 2.97 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.

Pitching for New York is 27-year-old Christian Scott. Scott debuted in 2024 and posted a 4.56 ERA in nine starts before blowing out his elbow and undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned this year and has been one of the few bright spots for a struggling Mets club, putting up a 2.87 ERA, 10.86 K/9, and 1.22 WHIP through 13 starts.

There aren’t many surprises in today’s lineup against the right-handed Scott. Veteran star Christian Yelich, whose .330 OBP is currently the lowest mark of his career, leads off once again. He’s followed by Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras. Garrett Mitchell, who has hit better at home and against right-handed pitching this season, bats fifth. Andrew Vaughn starts at first base and hits sixth, while Jake Bauers is in right field batting seventh. Rounding out the lineup are shortstop Cooper Pratt and third baseman Joey Ortiz.

Today’s rubber match will be broadcast on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620, and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.

The universe is cold and unfeeling, but also apparently has a bit of a twisted sense of humor. How’s that for a paradox? This is my way of saying that once again, I have game coverage for a Martin Perez start… something I’ve enjoyed less than most things the Braves have devised to put on our screens over the last eight years or so.

If you haven’t heard me talk about Perez Pachinko yet but are somehow reading this sentence, I apologize, but here it goes again: Perez starts tend to have a soporific effect on me because they just feel like ubiquitous winds on which game results blow hither and yon — regardless of anything that really happens. Why is this the case?

• Perez doesn’t have good stuff. His pitches all rate from woefully bad to below average in stuff models, both this year and throughout his career. The only exception, and only by one model, is a slider that he no longer throws. This largely comports with my own estimation, where only his sinker is even notable, and it’s notable in the “yeah it sinks and runs a bit more than an average” sinker sense and nothing else.
• Perez doesn’t have good command. The stuff models evaluate location, and yeah, his location is somewhat above-average, but in terms of repeating mechanics and getting the ball where he wants it… well, actually! I’m not sure he generally wants it in any specific place. That’s kind of the issue. His changeup at least appears to have a purpose (low, armside edge), but the cutter? It’s just fire and forget and hope you don’t get punished.
• Perez has no discernible times through the order split (probably because of the two bullets above), so there’s no usage stuff to watch for.

Basically, a Perez start is one where you hope that your offense rolls a die with a higher value than the die that the opposing offense rolls against Perez. Fun! But also not fun.

Anyway, the Braves were without Perez for a while, as he hit the shelf after being beaned by a comebacker on the forearm on July 5. The situation looked worse than it ended up being, as it looks like he avoided anything beyond a few weeks of layoff, and will now be coming back to a rotation spot.

On the season, Perez has 0.6 fWAR and a 83/106/100 line (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-) in 81 1/3 innings. That aggregate line in some ways obscures a bunch of microclimates — but in the spirit of Perez Pachinko, I’m not sure any of those microclimates really matter. He was terrible in his first three starts of the year (7/6 K/BB ratio in 16 innings), but then really picked it up over his next six outings (28/7 K/BB ratio in around 20 innings), which included a few shorter relief stints. Then he struggled for a couple of starts, was good for a couple of starts, and had a really tough time in his last three outings (6/9 K/BB ratio in 13 1/3). One of those poor recent starts came against the Padres, with a 4/4 K/BB ratio in four frames.

Maybe the layoff will be useful and he’ll be refreshed, but I wouldn’t bank on anything like that. It’s just gonna be Perez Pachinko, godspeed, Braves offense.

Speaking of that offense — after a weird and ineffectual game yesterday against a still-struggling Walker Buehler, they’ll now take aim at Michael King for the second time a month. King has had trade rumors swirl around his name and being as a fairly productive starter on a team whose season isn’t playing out particularly well. He has player options for the following seasons, which makes him not-quite-a-bargain, but he’s been decent (1.7 fWAR in 113 1/3, 82/97/106) and the potential for monetary downside could make him relatively cheap, prospect-wise, to acquire.

King dominated the Braves back in San Diego, with a 5/0 K/BB ratio in seven innings, one of his best starts of the year. He hasn’t pitched all that well since — 83/91/126, but he’s kept the homers at bay and the runs haven’t accumulated either. In some ways, the fact that he’s struggled for a few weeks seems especially irrelevant, if you recall that King had an absolutely horrendous 158/153/132 line in the five starts before facing the Braves… then dominated them, and then has gone back to being okay-ish. So, yeah. The Braves will need to hit better, and hope Perez Pachinko works out in their favor. It’s a tall order against a team they haven’t taken a series from in Atlanta since 2018, but what are you gonna do?

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Wednesday, July 22, 7:15 p.m. EDT

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: None

Streaming: BravesVision

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, Los Bravos

The Cubs have played 101 games and have scored 519 runs.

Just what does this have to do with MLB’s Trade Deadline, which comes up in just 12 days?

Let’s look at some numbers from this season and then I’ll explain further.

That run total of 519 ranks fourth in MLB, behind the Dodgers (526) and perhaps a bit surprisingly, the Pirates (538) and Nationals (559).

You did not have “The Nationals will lead MLB in runs in late July” on your 2026 MLB Bingo card, I’m pretty sure.

The 519 runs are probably a larger total than you might have expected from this Cubs team at this juncture of the season, too. The Cubs scored 793 runs in 2025, 4.895 per game. That’s up this year; the current Cubs average per game is at 5.14.

If they were to keep up that pace, they’d score 832 runs, and if they do that, it would be the fifth 800+ run season for the Cubs since 2016 — after doing it just once between 1971 and 2015 (855 in 2008, which is the most for any Cubs team since 1930).

The 519 runs is also nine more than the division rival Brewers have scored, which is a very good thing. The main reason, then, that the Cubs find themselves six games out of first place entering today’s action is pitching.

The Brewers pitching staff has allowed 378 runs, third-fewest in MLB, close behind the Dodgers and Red Sox (both at 373). The Cubs staff ranks 14th in that category with 450 runs allowed. That makes Milwaukee’s expected W/L record based on runs scored and allowed 64-37, one game better than their actual record. The Cubs’ expected W/L record based on runs scored and allowed is exactly what their actual record is at 57-44. The Cubs are also second-worst in most homers allowed (155; the A’s lead with 158). The Brewers rank tied for third-fewest homers allowed: 100.

So it’s clear — the Cubs do have a chance to overtake the Brewers for the division title if they can get the pitching staff improved. That will require one or more of the following to happen in the 61 games remaining:

• Bettr performance by the guys already on the team
• Returns to action from injured pitchers and quality performance from them
• Trades for quality starters and/or relievers

The MLB Trade deadline comes up one week from next Monday. I believe the Cubs will acquire some pitching talent, and the bats will continue to produce. This is what Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer said recently about trades:

“I think you have to go into the deadline thinking about it analytically,” Hoyer said last Friday. “Thinking about OK, getting a bye is effectively winning a series and weakening your opponent in the next series. That’s a really big deal. So if the odds say that you can do that, then that’s a different equation than if not. I think you have to be aware of those things.”

Which tells us… not much, really. And so, as always, we await developments.

Diamondbacks News

Vargas Walks Off Athletics in Extra Innings
The hot streak is well and truly behind him, almost feeling like a season ago, but Ildemaro Vargas still found a bit of magic and salvaged a win for the Diamondbacks after Paul Sewald suffered only his second blown save of the season.

Diamondbacks Move Demetrio Crisantes to AAA Reno
Reno is starting to get stacked with most of the best prospects in the organization. Next spring is going to be awfully interesting, (whether that is in 7 months or 19 months).

Demetrio Crisantes Gets Surprising Promotion
While Crisantes has indeed been raking in the minors, his stint with AA Amarillo was a brief one overall.

Other Baseball News

Ranking the Top 50 Players On the Block By Trade Value
The Diamondbacks feature lightly in here. Eduardo Rodriguez is the only name on the list, with Kevin Ginkel getting an honorable mention and Ketel Marte listed under the No Trace Clause quagmire section.

Five Hitters Who Need a Second-Half Turnaround
As much as we at the Pit like to give the stick to the Arizona offense, none of the members of that unit make this list.

Tigers Ignoring ‘Year of the Bunt’
Twenty different individual players have bunted more than the Tigers, this despite a marked increase in bunting this year.

San Diego Padres Sale Nears Finish Line
The San Diego Padres are on the verge of a historic ownership change.

How Boston’s Streak Impacts the Trade Deadline, Playoff Picture, and More
After Monday’s victory the streak stands at fourteen in a row, one win away from tying the longest winning streak in franchise history set in 1946, a year Ted Williams hit .342 and won MVP honors as the Red Sox won the American League pennant.

MLBPA Calls to Preserve Current Draft System
While owners are trying to shorten the draft and limit entrants, the MLBPA is looking to expand the draft pool substantially, but still only domestically.

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We've got a loaded MLB Wednesday slate, and our experts present their top MLB picks for the evening.

Check out our MLB expert picks for July 22, including Tampa Bay making life a bit more miserable for the Blue Jays.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Jason Wilson: LAD/PHI o9.5	+100
Josh Inglis: TB ML	-104
Colby Marchio: DET/CHI o7.5	-125

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Jason Wilson's expert pick: Dodgers vs. Phillies Over 9.5

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Polymarket

Any hopes of an Aaron Nola rebound season seem dashed thanks to a 5.68 ERA (which, technically, is better than last year) and a career-worst 2.01 HR/9. He's getting barreled far too often (10.1%) as opponents are squaring his fastball up more than ever.

That was his bread-and-butter pitch as recently as 2024. The Los Angeles Dodgers haven't been an overwhelming offense of late, but Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, and others can measure up well against Nola, who has a worse home ERA (6.50) than road one (5.06).

While that has me tempted to take the Dodgers on the run line at +138, SP Eric Lauer gives me pause. He's improved his fortunes since arriving from Toronto, but that 3.12 ERA is a mirage, and he's still giving up way too many home runs while missing zero bats.

Take the Over.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: SNLA, NBCSP

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Rays moneyline

Price: 49¢ (-104) at Polymarket

Go ask any Toronto Blue Jays fan how the season is going, and you'll likely get the same negative response. Toronto can't score coming out of the break, and the offense has been one of the worst in baseball all season, ranking dead last in wOBA, ISO, and runs scored while sitting in the bottom five in nearly every other offensive category not named K%.

Braydon Fisher will open the game before handing things off to Spencer Miles, who is coming off a six-run outing against the White Sox last Friday. This is a defeated Toronto lineup getting nothing from its biggest bats, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Dalton Varsho, and Kazuma Okamotocombining to hit just .186 over the last two weeks.

I can't see how a bullpen game against the Tampa Bay Rays — a team that has won seven of the last eight meetings — makes Toronto the favorite. Griffin Jax already faced the Jays once this season and needed just 66 pitches to throw five shutout innings.

This is a low point for the Blue Jays, and this is an offense worth fading after scoring just eight runs through five games since the All-Star break.

• Time: 7:07 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Rays.TV, SportsNet

Colby Marchio's expert pick: Tigers vs. Cubs Over 7.5

Price: 47¢ (-125) at Polymarket

Typically, a team coming off a ten-plus run outburst suggests a natural offensive regression that favors the Under, but tonight’s matchup presents a prime spot to shatter that.

Standing in the way of a quiet evening is Colin Rea, whose recent outings have featured an alarmingly high WHIP and elevated home run rate. Throwing hittable, middle-middle pitches to a Detroit Tigers lineup primed to bounce back makes a low-scoring affair unlikely.

With Rea vulnerable to hard contact and the bats on Chicago Cubs are already in a groove, expect early offensive fireworks to push this game over the 7.5 total with ease.

• Time: 8:05 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ESPN

More MLB best bets for today

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Mets lineup

A.J. Ewing – CF
Francisco Lindor – SS
Bo Bichette – 3B
Carson Benge – LF
Jorge Polanco – DH
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Brett Baty – RF
Francisco Alvarez – C

Christian Scott – RHP

Brewers lineup

Christian Yelich – DH
Jackson Chourio – LF
Brice Turang – 2B
William Contreras – C
Garrett Mitchell – CF
Andrew Vaughn – 1B
Jake Bauers – RF
Cooper Pratt – SS
Joey Ortiz – 3B

Logan Henderson – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 2:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

The opener of the three-game series between two streaking teams was a disappointment for the Orioles. Now they’ll get two chances today to redeem themselves.

After the Birds’ four-error, one-run loss on Monday snapped their seven-game winning streak — and extended Boston’s to 14 — last night’s rainout has led to a split doubleheader to finish the series. Dean Kremer and Jake Bennett, who were originally slated to start the regularly scheduled 7:10 game, have both been moved up to the afternoon contest. Kyle Bradish will make his second-half debut in the nightcap.

If Kremer hopes to cool down the red-hot Red Sox, he’ll need to work a little further into the game than he has recently. He went just four innings in Houston last Friday and five against the Cubs the week before. He has pitched well in his most recent outings against the Sox, working 5.1 scoreless innings against them last season and 7.1 frames of one-run ball in 2024. Kremer has held Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela in check (1-for-8 each) but has struggled against Masataka Yoshida (5-for-10) and Jarren Duran (5-for-11).

The Orioles will get their first look at Bennett, a 25-year-old who was Boston’s second-round pick in 2022. He’s had a fantastic introduction to the majors, posting a 2.35 ERA in nine starts since debuting May 1. With the O’s facing a lefty for the second straight game, Craig Albernaz is running it back with the same lineup he used against Payton Tolle on Monday, except with Jackson Holliday starting at second instead of Jeremiah Jackson.

Can the Orioles find enough spark to snap Boston’s epic streak? It would help if the O’s could actually play defense today.

Orioles lineup:

LF Taylor Ward
1B Pete Alonso
SS Gunnar Henderson
RF Tyler O’Neill
DH Coby Mayo
CF Leody Taveras
3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
2B Jackson Holliday
C Sam Huff

RHP Dean Kremer

Red Sox lineup:

DH Masataka Yoshida
CF Ceddanne Rafaela
RF Wilyer Abreu
1B Willson Contreras
3B Caleb Durbin
2B Romy Gonzalez
LF Jarren Duran
C Connor Wong
SS Tsung-Che Cheng

LHP Jake Bennett

1928
Hall-of-Famer Red Faber could do it all — and on occasion, he could hit.

Up to bat in the top of the eighth at Yankee Stadium, with two outs and runners at second and third and the game tied, 4-4, Faber was down two strikes. The righty Faber then jumped across the plate to finish the at-bat left-handed — and knocked in the eventual game-winning runs with a single!

The hit raised Faber’s average to .088 on the season, and pushed home his first two runs of the year. Oh, and Faber went the distance for the win.

1954
The only home run Mickey Mantle ever hit as a shortstop in the major leagues was a back-breaker, coming with two outs in the bottom of the 10th off of Don Johnson to beat the White Sox, 4-3.

It was a long shot, down 3-1 in the eighth, when Casey Stengel pinch-hit Enos Slaughter for shortstop Willy Miranda. But Eddie Robinson homered and later in the inning Mantle singled in the tying run. Shortstop Phil Rizzuto then entered the game — to play second base, while Mantle moved in from center field to man shortstop (Mantle came up through the Yankees farm as a shortstop, but had played just one career inning in the majors there.

With Rizzuto and Mantle back at the normal positions, the second-place Yankees won the nightcap, 11-1, to complete the sweep and move six games ahead of the third-place Sox.

1962
White Sox outfielder Floyd Robinson got six singles in six at-bats, with one RBI and one run, in a 7-3 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. He was the third player in franchise history to get six hits in a game.

The game raised Robinson’s average 12 points, to .319. Robinson would end the season at .312, with 11 homers and an impressive 109 RBIs.           

1987
After the Baltimore Orioles struck for three runs in the third inning at Comiskey Park, the White Sox punched back with five. The burst began with a leadoff homer from Ken Williams and continued later on with a two-run shot from Harold Baines and a back-to-back jack from Iván Calderón.

The clout from Baines was his 155th career long ball, moving him past Bill Melton for the all-time franchise lead.

As for the game, Baltimore struck right back with five runs of its own in the top of the third, sending José DeLeón to the showers in an eventual 10-5 loss.

As for the home-run record, Baines would end up as a brief caretaker of the title between longtime holders Melton and Frank Thomas, who passed Baines in 1996 and with 448 in his career remains the all-time round-tripper leader on the South Side. Baines remains fourth all-time (221), also later passed by Paul Konerko (432) and José Abreu (243).

1991
Former White Sox owner Bill Veeck was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Veeck also owned Cleveland and St. Louis Browns. He revolutionized the way baseball marketed its product, and he was decades ahead of his time in his thinking on revenue sharing and baseball’s option clause — which caused other owners, in some cases, to despise him. But he was beloved by fans, especially in Chicago, where he’d often walk around the stands during games interacting with the patrons.

1994
Did you know that three-time Manager of the Year Bob Melvin ended his playing career with the White Sox? On this day, the Angels swapped him to the Sox for pitcher Jeff Schwarz. Melvin got into just 11 games and had three hits, none for extra bases, giving him a -0.3 White Sox WAR. He was granted free agency after the season, and never played in the majors again.

Nine years later, he assumed the stewardship of the Seattle Mariners and guided them to 93 wins. He’s managed in the majors in every year since, taking 2010 off. He’s currently the skipper of the San Francisco Giants.

1995
In a game in Chicago, Brewers manager Phil Garner and White Sox manager Terry Bevington got into a fist-swinging brawl near the third-base bag. The brawl was touched off when Ozzie Guillén shoved Jeff Cirillo on a play at third base.

Garner, who managed Milwaukee from 1992-99, had incidents with the Sox before. Many of those were prompted by some of his acerbic comments, including refusing to refer to the Sox by name, using the moniker “big city.”

The Sox won the game, 4-2.

Kansas City has come out of the All-Star break 4-1 and are going for the sweep today. Unfortunately, everyone is getting hurt and the run differential is still negative over those five games because of the blowout on Sunday. Jac Caglianone is out after hurting his shoulder last night and Bobby Witt Jr. is going to the injured list. The season of attrition continues. Replacing Bobby is Andrew Velazquez who has been bouncing around the majors and minors for a long time and will make his debut for the Royals. He is an okay defensive shortstop with a career wRC+ of 48, so please heal quickly Bobby!

Seth Lugo will take the mound today trying to build off of a strong start against San Diego Last time out. He will face Landen Roupp. Roupp is a 27 year old righty who has been pretty solid for the Giants the last three years. He does have a proclivity for walking some batters and he has struggled with runners on base this season.