ATLANTA, GA - MAY 17: Drake Baldwin #30 of the Atlanta Braves makes contact with the baseball during the MLB game between the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves on May 17, 2026 at TRUIST Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
I was writing up the biweekly update last night, and Baldwin’s absence in the hitter tables and charts was a glaring omission. The other times, I’d write something like, “Oh yeah, Drake Baldwin is otherworldly, again.” But for the first half of June, no Drake Baldwin.
At the moment, Baldwin has an insane .403 wOBA / .418 xwOBA in 216 PAs. He played as the DH enough to drop his overall defensive value into the marginally-negative, but still managed 2.1 fWAR in those 216 PAs, which is an fWAR/600 pace of close to 6. Since he’ll be playing catcher more (a lot more) going forward, he could easily push that threshold… if he keeps hitting.
But, will he? A wRC+ above 150 is a tall order. He was already a revelation with a 125 wRC+ last year, and didn’t just hit the ground running in 2026, but rather pulverized the terrain and all opposing pitching on it. Here’s a crazy stat: his lowest wRC+ in any calendar week was 101, while he had three weeks above 200.
All that said, he did miss some time with an oblique injury, and had just one rehab start due to a rainout (in which, of course, he homered).
So, is he going to return and do the same crazy stuff he was doing before the injury? Or, is there going to be an adjustment period and/or regression to something perhaps resembling 2025 rather than 2026?
Jun 15, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford (36) looks on from second base as his stolen base play is under review during the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Good morning.
Shawn McFarland checks out what we’ve learned about the Texas Rangers in recent days as they continue on a demanding stretch in June.
MLB dot com’s Jared Greenspan breaks down the first phase of All-Star voting and I guess here is where I admit that I don’t know how the All-Star voting works anymore.
Grant notes that apparently Ezequiel Duran is just about Texas’ best hope in the voting unless I guess like 900,000 of you want to start writing in Nicky Lopez.
Kennedi Landry writes that the Rangers are hosting rehabbing top prospect Sebastian Walcott in Arlington to let him hang out in a big league environment.
Grant writes that Walcott is on target to make his season debut sometime in late July as the young shortstop begins to ramp up baseball activities.
Jeff Wilson notes that Corey Seager landed on the seven-day concussion IL but could return after the series against Minnesota if he’s feeling better.
And, Grant writes that the Rangers could see a couple of World Series-winning lefties return this summer with Jordan Montgomery and Cody Bradford showing progress in their rehab.
Landen Roupp wrote ‘Gen 9:12-16’ on his Pride cap. Photograph: Scott Marshall/AP
Major League Baseball has issued a statement critical of players who wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night hats after an incident at a San Francisco Giants game last week.
MLB celebrates Pride month during June and most teams choose a home game to acknowledge the LGBTQ community and its baseball fans. The Giants, who are based in a city with a large LGBTQ population, often make an extra effort.
However, those efforts often clash with the league’s players, many of whom come from conservative, religious backgrounds. During Friday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, Giants pitchers Landen Roupp and JT Brubaker wrote Bible verses on their Pride caps. Another Giants pitcher, Sam Hentges, chose not to wear the cap at all.
On Monday, MLB issued a statement on the subject. “The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations,” said MLB chief communications officer Pat Courtney.
Roupp wrote “Gen 9:12-16” on his cap. The verse contains a reference to a rainbow, one of the symbols of Pride. The verse reads in part: “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the Earth.”
He denied that his decision to write on his cap was malicious.
“There’s no hate at all. It’s just what I stand for, and what I stand on: I believe in God,” he said. “It’s just about God’s covenant and a promise that he makes to us that, you know, his faithfulness and his mercy. That’s just kind of something I believe in, and I stand firm in that. And I’m thankful we live in a country where, you know, we have the freedom to believe what we want, and express what we want.”
Hentges said he did not appreciate being told to wear the cap.
“It’s just something that I feel like I was forced to support when I don’t morally support it. There wasn’t hatred behind it. I think that’s kind of something that’s misinterpreted,” he said. “I don’t hate the LGBTQ community. It’s just something I believed and talked with teammates and family, and they supported it.”
Giants manager Tony Vitello said his players “have the freedom to do what they think is best.” However, he added that: “it’s pretty impressive how the Giants, as an organization, try and embrace the entire community. We don’t want to be divided, but you can divide it up into certain sections, if you know what I mean.”
The Giants have said they remain committed to Pride Night.
“The San Francisco Giants are proud to support Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community. Baseball should be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued. We also respect that individuals may make personal choices about participating in team activations,” the team said in a statement on Saturday.
“We understand that the choices by individual players have caused pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community and we are sorry for that. Those choices do not change our organization’s commitment to inclusion, belonging, and creating a welcoming environment for all. We remain grateful to our fans, partners, employees, players, and coaches who help make Pride Night a meaningful celebration.”
Sometime next week, assuming all goes well, Francisco Lindor will finally return to the Mets' lineup.
Few teams in baseball can assume all will go well less confidently than these Mets, who watched Juan Sotoreturn from the injured list one inning only to see Lindor join it the next. But barring more painful cosmic intervention, the Mets' franchise shortstop is playing simulated games this week in New York. A short rehab assignment could follow. By even the most cautiously optimistic measures, he is close.
The Mets have patched things together in the infield without him, thanks in large part to Bo Bichette’s recent history at shortstop and Brett Baty’s obvious comfort at third. Still, Lindor’s return will not cause any quarterback controversy: he will play shortstop when he returns and Bichette will go back to third base, according to people familiar with the Mets’ plans. In that way, the left side of their infield will finally look as they intended.
Now, Lindor will likely need more days off when he first returns than he would ever take normally. In those cases, Bichette can slide back to shortstop. But what his return will do, besides adding one more All-Star quality bat to a slowly coalescing lineup, is offer the infield more options.
The man most affected by Lindor’s return will probably be Baty, who will likely find himself at third base only on days Bichette or Lindor are serving as the designated hitter. But while Baty did not find much offensive success as he was moving around the field defensively earlier this year, the Mets did prepare him for that.
So he can spell Marcus Semien at second base when the 36-year-old needs a day off, or split time at first base with fellow lefty Jared Young, allowing Carlos Mendoza to play the hot hand and keep an added, credible lefty on his bench each night.
The ideal result would seem to be something of a five-man rotation through the four spots, one that keeps veterans rested while allowing Mendoza and Co. to maximize offensive matchups nightly. With an infielder available to serve as a designated hitter on a daily basis, MJ Melendez will likely be used more as a lefty off the bench. Mark Vientos’ path to infield innings and at-bats, meanwhile, will get even steeper.
All of that should help a Mets lineup that, while far more competitive in recent weeks than it was in the beginning of the season, has reason to expect its best days are arriving soon.
Bichette is finally hitting. Soto has not stopped. Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have navigated slumps but also continue to work counts. Young has been a revelation. One more quality at-bat each time through the lineup will almost certainly help, and the Mets could use it: they have six weeks until the trade deadline, when David Stearns and/or Steve Cohen will have to decide whether this team is worth adding to or at least, not subtracting from. Lindor’s return should give them a better sense.
Because while the Mets have suffered injuries to projected starters all year, Lindor is the only one of those players who still seems certain to contribute in some form soon. Stearns admitted that Jorge Polanco will almost certainly be limited to DH duties when he returns from the IL, though when that will be and how compromised he will be by his ankle bursitis when it happens remains to be seen. Luis Robert Jr. has finally started baseball activities, but he seems a long way from playing in actual baseball games – not to mention the Mets’ outfield of Soto, Benge, and Ewing has emerged as a bright spot without him.
So Lindor’s return effectively signifies the arrival of the long-awaited calvary, such as it is. Maybe Polanco will return in some capacity, and that will help, but it seems the Mets cannot count on that now. Maybe Clay Holmes will be back from his broken leg sometime in late August, but by then the Mets’ fate might be sealed. So Lindor’s return is their best hope. It is possible they have never needed him more.
Jun 15, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Kody Clemens (2) puts out Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford (36) at first base during the sixth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Twins 4, Rangers 2
The Rangers did not get back to .500 on Monday.
It was one of those games.
A winnable game.
That was not won.
Particularly frustrating, as MacKenzie Gore pitched well, but had the misfortune of allowing the most momentum-shifting play in baseball in the first inning, an inning where he allowed half of the six baserunners he gave up in the game.
Rangers hitters made some good contact, had some hard hit balls that were caught, and ended up with just five hits.
When Joc Pederson hit the two run homer in the third to get the game back to 3-2, I thought, okay, things are headed in the right direction, the Rangers are going to come back.
The Rangers did not, in fact, come back.
The three run homer Josh Bell hit off of Gore in the first ended up being all the runs the Twins would need.
Gore, as I said, pitched well. You may wish to differ, saying that he gave up four runs, including two homers, and that is not pitching well. I get that.
But you allow just six baserunners, you strike out 10 batters in seven innings while walking two, you throw 70 strikes out of 102 pitches and get 17 swinging strikes…
That’s pretty good.
Its a reminder of how fine the margins in this game can be, how slight the difference between a win and a loss.
Gore, incidentally, got 11 swings and misses on his fastball. That’s a lot.
I decided to go look it up, and that’s tied for the 16th most swings and misses on a fastball (the four seam variety, to be clear — two seam fastballs are sinkers, and cut fastballs are cutters) by a pitcher in a game this season.
The top five are all Jacob Misiorowski games, ranging from 14 to 20 whiffs.
Four pitchers have 13 whiffs on their fastball in a game this year — Justin Wrobleski, Cam Schlittler, and Kyle Harrison (twice).
The six pitchers with 12 whiff fastball games are Jacob deGrom, Cole Ragans, Matthew Boy,d Schlittler, and Harrison (twice).
It was the 10th time that a pitcher has gotten 11 whiffs on their fastball in a game.
I’ve mentioned before that there’s a Derek Holland quality to MacKenzie Gore. There are instances where you watch him and think, he’s a legitimate TORP. And there’s instances where you watch him and think, he shouldn’t be in a major league rotation.
Let’s just hope Gore isn’t a hockey fan.
Joe Ross made his Rangers debut, with a scoreless, five pitch ninth inning, after Peyton Gray pitched the eighth.
That means that the Rangers have had both Ross brothers, Joe and Tyson, play in the majors for them.
I should go and see what other pairs of brothers have played for the Rangers.
MacKenzie Gore’s fastball topped out at 97.4 mph, averaging 95.9 mph. Peyton Gray touched 94.6 mph with his fastball. Joe Ross threw a fastball at 96.7 mph.
Jake Burger had a 104.9 mph single. Joc Pederson’s homer was 104.3 mph. Brandon Nimmo had a 103.9 mph fly out. Alejandro Osuna had a 103.2 mph GIDP. Elias Diaz had a single that was 101.2 mph.
New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) is substituted as the Reds change pitchers in the seventh inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Monday, June 15, 2026. The Reds won the series opener, 12-0. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Meet the Mets
The Mets fell behind 9-0 in the first two innings and never recovered as they were bludgeoned by the Reds 12-0 in the first game of their three-day set at Great American Ball Park. The less we say about this one, the better.
The Mets congratulated the Knicks on their championship and looked to draw inspiration from their magical run to the NBA title, though they certainly didn’t do that last night.
The Mets made a few roster moves before the series began, including calling up Tobias Myers, who got rocked in 1 1/3 innings of work last night, and Jonathan Pintaro, who pitched in relief following Myers’ ineffective start. The club also sent Daniel Duarte down to Triple-A and placed Christian Scott on the IL with a right hip impingement.
The Mets announced that Kodai Senga would be starting tonight’s game for the team after the news of Scott’s injury.
Ronny Mauricio could start a rehab assignment towards the end of the week as he continues his recovery from a fractured left thumb.
The Mets claimed Zack Short off waivers from the Tigers and transferred Jorge Polanco to the 60-day IL.
Juan Soto is ninth in All-Star voting among NL outfielders, while Bo Bichette is eighth among third basemen.
Soto is taking pieces from his past as he mentors the team’s young outfielders, explains Laura Albanese.
Around the National League East
The Braves have shut down Spencer Strider for four weeks, and Strider says he is eyeing a late season return.
Atlanta’s JR Ritchie is ready to make the most of his second stint as a major league starter.
The Phillies blanked the Marlins 7-0. In the win, Philadelphia’s Number 6 prospect, Gabriel Rincones Jr., got his first hit, a home run, in his Citizens Bank Park debut.
The Nationals scored five in the fifth to top the Royals 7-3.
Around Major League Baseball
The MLB Power Rankings feature Atlanta retaining their top spot and the White Sox jumping 20 spots from where they were ranked on Opening Day.
The first update on MLB All-Star balloting was released, with Shohei Ohtani and Yordan Alvarez cruising atop their respective leagues.
Jared Greenspan broke down the closest races in Phase 1 of the ballots.
The MLB.com staff picked the biggest surprise for each team this season.
Sam Blum identified some cases of potential nepotism in baseball which are now standing out.
Adam McCalvy profiled two high school friends: Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby, who leads the NL in wins, and Landry Shamet, who just won an NBA Title with the New York Knicks.
The Giants are starting to test the waters on the trade market, according to Ken Rosenthal.
Padres reliever Ron Marinaccio was suspended for three games after hitting Gunnar Henderson with a pitch in their win against the Orioles last Saturday. San Diego skipper Craig Stammen received a one-game suspension.
San Diego placed closer Mason Miller on the bereavement list and recalled reliever Kyle Hart to take his place.
Corey Seager is heading to the concussion IL after a collision at the plate.
Texas Longhorns sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez hit for the cycle in the team’s 14-2 victory. In the process, he became the third player to hit for the cycle in the Men’s College World Series.
The Cardinals blanked the Padres 3-0, as Dustin May hurled a complete game one-hit shutout.
The Cubs scored one in the eighth and two in the ninth to earn a 5-4 comeback win over the Rockies. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit for the cycle in the victory.
The Twins defeated the Rangers 4-2.
The Tigers beat up the Astros 9-3. Colt Keith hit three homers in the win, becoming the youngest Tiger to accomplish the feat since Al Kaline in 1955.
The Diamondbacks held off the Angels 4-3.
The surging Athletics broke out yet again for an 11-2 win over the Pirates, proving their offensive display in Vegas was hardly a fluke.
On this date in 2024, the Mets topped the Padres 11-6 to complete a 5-1 homestand and make it five straight wins after Grimace threw the first pitch heard round the world. Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, and Luis Torrens each contributed a home run in the team’s victory.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 09: Braden Montgomery #24 of the Chicago White Sox celebrates his walk-off, two-run home run in the 10th inning against the Atlanta Braves in his MLB debut at Rate Field on June 09, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jayden Mack/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Over the weekend, the Yankees went into Toronto and picked up a very nice series victory. Despite still missing Aaron Judge, they took two out of three over the Blue Jays, using big ninth inning homers from Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice to take both games. Now, they’re set to return home for another series that, unexpectedly, features a battle of division leaders.
Starting tonight, the Chicago White Sox are in town for a three-game series. The White Sox have been notoriously bad over the last couple seasons, including a record-setting awful 2024. Yet, they’ve gotten off to a winning start to 2026, coming in at 38-32, tied with the Guardians for the AL Central lead. Offseason signing, Munetaka Murakami — who is on the injured list and will be absent for this series — has lived up to the hype, while they’ve gotten impressive performances out of a bunch of their young and upcoming talent, including last week when Braden Montgomery hit a walk-off homer in his MLB debut.
Can the White Sox continue their winning run to the season this week against the Yankees? Let’s take a look at what the pitching matchups have in store over the next couple days.
Tuesday: Gerrit Cole vs. Davis Martin (7:05 pm ET)
Cole is coming off the first meh start of his return so far. Against the Guardians last week, he was knocked out after just four innings. He only gave up two runs, it just came on five hits and two walks, driving up his pitch count for a guy still early in his return from Tommy John surgery. Between said surgery and just schedule luck, this will be the first time he’s faced the White Sox since August 2023, when Chicago actually got to him for four runs in seven innings.
Martin has been the ace of Chicago’s unexpected run, coming into this game with a 2.41 ERA and a 2.39 FIP in 13 starts. He also has a league-leading nine pitching wins, which no one would’ve guessed coming into the season. Those numbers are actually a little bit up from where he had been at the end of May, as he gave up six runs in 4.2 innings against the Twins in his first start of June. However, Martin responded by shutting out the Braves for six innings in his most recent appearance.
Wednesday: Carlos Rodón vs. Anthony Kay (7:05 pm ET)
In the second game of the series, Rodón will face off against his former team. His return from injury a couple weeks ago saw him get off to a rocky start, but he’s settled into somewhat of a groove of late. In his last four starts, Rodón has a 2.35 ERA in 23 innings. He’s still been walking a bit more batters than you would like, but he’s generally been able to work around them.
Kay is a former Mets first round pick who they traded to the Blue Jays for Marcus Stroman all the way back in 2019. Since then, he’s been around the majors a bit and in Japan for two years, before landing with the White Sox this past winter. With a 100 ERA+, he’s been about perfectly league average so far this season, although a 5.23 FIP suggests that he could be gettable.
Thursday: Ryan Weathers vs. Sean Burke (7:05 pm ET)
He’s still in the rotation for now, but recent starts suggest that Weathers will be headed for the bullpen whenever the Yankees get Max Fried back. Weathers has given up seven home runs over his last three starts, allowing a total of 16 runs in 17 innings across them.
Burke is another White Sox starter that has been right around league average so far this year. However, his numbers have come about with a bit of a slump following a good start to the year. Dating back to May 8th, Burke has a 5.82 ERA in seven starts. He’s been especially walk prone of late, issuing 10 free passes over his last two games.
On this day 118 years ago, Patsy Dougherty led a mild offensive attack that helped stretch a White Sox win streak to 13 games. | (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)
1908 The number 13 proved lucky for the White Sox, as a 3-2 win over the New York Highlanders ran their winning streak to 13 games. Ed Walsh went the distance to improve to 14-3 on the season, while the Sox offense buffeted just five singles in the game with eight walks and five stolen bases. Patsy Dougherty and Jiggs Donahue had nearly identical starring turns, both going 1-for-2 with an RBI, two walks and a strikeout; the only difference came from Dougherty swiping two bases to Donahue’s one, plus a hit-by-pitch.
1969 By all accounts, during a horrible summer of baseball on the South Side, the White Sox found some relief — north of the Illinois-Wisconsin border. With an 8-3 win over the Seattle Pilots as one of 11 games played that season at Milwaukee County Stadium, the White Sox stretched their “Milwaukee White Sox” winning streak to five games (not consecutive wins, however, as each game at Milwaukee was a single contest, with the White Sox opposing every other AL team up north once during the season).
Chicago struck early and often, going up, 8-1, through three. Future Dodgers relief ace Mike Marshall took the brunt of the damage as Seattle’s starter, while the White Sox took advantage of three Pilots errors in the early going, and four total in the game.
The five wins equaled what would become the team’s longest outright winning streak (later that year, in September) and was not an indication of how good the team was; while this win improved the White Sox to 24-32, they still sat two games behind the expansion Pilots. In the end, the White Sox finished 1969 with a 68-94 record that was good for sixth place in the AL West and just four games better than Seattle.
1989 At 37, former Tigers farmhand Rick Wolff (drafted out of Harvard in 1972) makes a one-series comeback with the South Bend White Sox of the Midwest League (Single-A) for the purposes of a Sports Illustrated article. Wolff pinch-hit at the end of his first game, then starts the next two, batting ninth and then creeping up to eighth — and finishes the series 4-for-7 with a ground-rule double, three RBIs and a .571/.556/.714 slash line. His one error at second base comes when a pickoff throw travels through the pocket of his 20-year-old glove. Wolff himself was 15.1 years older than league average.
This was no end-of-season stunt in a lost season, a la Minnie Miñoso two decades earlier. South Bend won its division in 1989 with an 85-47 record, and featured such future White Sox as Scott Radinsky and Roberto Hernández, along with four other future major leaguers.
1997 After numerous charity and exhibition games, the White Sox and Cubs played for real for the first time in the regular season. The Cubs crushed their former starter, Jaime Navarro, jumping to a 6-0 lead and hanging seven earned on him in an 8-3 win. Lyle Mouton had a solo blast with the game out of hand in the sixth for the first Sox-Cubs interleague homer for the White Sox, while the Cubs went roundtripper-free in their first Crosstown interleague game. This was also the first interleague game ever played at Sox Park, and thus Mouton’s was the first home four-bagger in interleague play for the White Sox.
2023 The White Sox struck out 16 times in a 3-2 loss in Seattle against the Mariners. This came on the heels of striking out 16 times the night before in a 5-4 loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles. That tied the club mark first set in 2018.
Another oddity was the Sox hit six home runs in the two games but because they couldn’t get runners on base, every single home run was a solo shot!
Luis Robert Jr. and Jake Burger both homered once over the two games — and struck out seven times apiece!
It was an off day for the Atlanta Braves but also a positive one in terms of injury updates on Monday. Drake Baldwin is back, returning from a 4-week absence due to an oblique strain. Spencer Strider will not need surgery, but instead will be shut down for four weeks and then will be on a rehab plan to hopefully return later in the year. It seems wise for the Braves to add him to the list of pitchers they hope to get some value from this season but are not relying on.
Braves News
Austin Wynns was outrighted to AAA in the corresponding move for Baldwin.
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 07: The Toronto Blue Jays mascot waves a flag during the MLB baseball postseason Wild Card game 1 between the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays on October 7, 2022, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Red Sox did the near-unthinkable: they won 2 games in a row at home! A whole series! And it was against a team right in the playoff mix and just 1.0 game back for the lead in the AL West. At 35-36 the Rangers just left Boston under .500.
Also under .500 are the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays are sitting at 34-38, which isn’t great. They were down to the final outs of a World Series and are now sitting on the outside looking in, hoping they can turn things around in the remaining 90 games. Boston is 3.0 games back of Toronto and Baltimore. Despite a better run differential and expected winning percentage than those teams, the Red Sox are in last place in the AL East. This is a very important series for the bottom three AL East teams. Unfortunately, the Jays, decimated by injuries, are bringing some good pitchers.
Dylan Cease was their big acquisition last winter and he’s pitched like an ace. An ERA under 3.00, 103 strikeouts in 68 innings. But the Red Sox got to him in April. Over 5.2 innings, Cease allowed 4 runs, all earned. His second highest runs allowed of the year after a 5-run outing against the Yankees in May. He spent a couple weeks on the IL before his last outing: 6.0 innings, 1 run against the Phillies. Hopefully the Sox offense is prepared.
Payton Tolle is coming off maybe his most disappointing start of the season. And it was still a 6-inning outing where he allowed just 4 runs against Tampa Bay. He faced the Jays on April 28 and allowed 3 runs over 4.2 innings. That was his lone start on 4 days rest. He’ll have 6 days this time. In a very small sample size discussion, the two teams he’s faced twice – Atlanta and Tampa – have had more success the second time. Considering the first time was Tolle on shorter rest, there probably isn’t much to read into even that limited data point.
Max Scherzer is probably not long for MLB at this point. He started the season with 6.0 innings against the Rockies and tossed 6.0 against the Diamondbacks on April 18 but around those starts has tossed 10 total innings across 4 starts with a lengthy IL stint that cost him all of May. He hasn’t faced Boston this year. In 2025 he made one start in September against the Sox going 5.0 innings while allowing 4 runs in an eventual 7-1 loss. He’ll face Jake Bennett, who is at the other end of his career: the beginning. In three major league starts he’s gone 5.0 innings twice and 5.1 once. With Brayan Bello in the minors, Bennett has time to prove himself. And even 4 runs is better than some of the Bello starts (not his solid relief outings).
Trey Yesavage burst onto the scene in September 2025 and pitched in the World Series. Expectations were sky high. Injuries kept him out for most of April, but he’s been pretty good until recently. In his season debut he shut down the Sox for 5.1 innings, striking out 3, walking none, and not allowing a run. His most recent two starts haven’t gone well: 11 runs in 10.2 innings against the Orioles and Yankees with 8 of each Ks and BBs. Sonny Gray was excellent against the Texas Rangers, holding the club to a single run in 6.0 innings. He struck out 7, which has become more of a weapon again since his return from the IL. Gray was on the IL during the first series against the Blue Jays so he hasn’t faced them this season.
The Jays have a franchise record of 3889-3894 so a winning season for them could flip them into positive over their history.
Vlad Jr. has just 3 homers on the season.
Ernie Clement leads the league with 20 doubles.
New third baseman Kazuma Okamoto has slugged 15 homers.
George Springer had a bounceback 2025 but is hitting just .208/.303/.354 on the season.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Tuesday, June 16: Dylan Cease (2.91 ERA / 2.36 FIP) vs. Payton Tolle (2.70 ERA / 2.71 FIP)
Wednesday, June 17: Max Scherzer (10.23 ERA / 8.79 FIP) vs. Jake Bennett (5.28 ERA / 3.89 FIP)
Thursday, June 18: Trey Yesavage (3.78 ERA / 3.59 FIP) vs. Sonny Gray (3.03 ERA / — FIP)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 27, 2026: Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández (37) gingerly walks back to the dugout after injuring a hamstring running to first base in the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on May 27, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
After Miguel Rojas hit the second pinch-hit home run of his career to win Monday night’s game in the seventh inning, here are a few Dodgers news and notes for a Tuesday morning.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a series on its website called Card Corner, in which they use a baseball card as a jumping off point to explore a player’s career. The latest such card is a 1970 Topps Bill Russell, and Craig Muder wrote about the career about the first member of the famed Dodgers infield from 1973-81, and who played 18 seasons with the Dodgers, tied for the most in franchise history.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 11: An exterior view of the stadium with Pride colors before the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park on June 11, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
As most of you know, multiple members of the San Francisco Giants decided to deface their uniforms on Friday in protest of the team’s Pride Night. I wrote my initial thoughts for Sunday’s BP post, but now it’s time for us to move forward and take action.
I’ve seen accounts from many fans who have decided to not renew their season tickets. And that’s an extremely powerful statement! But that’s not something that’s feasible for everyone, so I wanted to share an additional action item for those in the community who are upset.
This was inspired by a post on Bluesky from ToasterPosey. Fans can reach out to the team’s Chief Diversity Officer Roscoe Mapps via email at RMapps@sfgiants.com to express their disappointment with how the team is handling this issue.
And if you feel comfortable doing so, please share your messages down below in the comments to help folks who might not have the words, but still want to help.
I’m going to be doing some research for additional ways we can take action as well. So keep an eye out for that in the coming days.
What time do the Giants play today?
They do not. They are headed east to begin a series against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA - MARCH 20, 2026: Joseph Dzierwa #67 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches during the seventh inning of a Spring Breakout game against the Boston Red Sox at Ed Smith Stadium on March 20, 2026 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
We are into the middle of June and the Orioles are still playing a confusing season where they seem to be teetering on the edge of making it a lost season where there’s no consolation but what is happening on the farm. They also are managing to avoid falling over the edge, at least so far. That’s a good thing because there hasn’t been much consolation from the farm.
These weekly updates focus on the team’s top prospects, particularly those on Camden Chat’s composite top 20 Orioles prospect list from before the season. They also include other guys who interest me who might develop into prospects over time. I do not tend to spend much time on non-prospect journeymen.
Here’s how things went this week:
Triple-A Norfolk Tides
Last week’s record: 1-5 vs. Memphis (Cardinals)
This week’s opponent: at Syracuse (Mets)
Season record: 26-43, last place (17 GB) in International League East
Veteran major leaguer Tommy Pham opted out of his minor league deal this week. My standard advice is: Don’t freak out about minor league deals until they become major league deals.
Enrique Bradfield is back with Norfolk after about six weeks on the injured list. Did he play well? No, he had four hitless games before getting two hits in his last game of the week. Okay, what about Creed Willems? Just 3-15, all singles, though he did walk five times, so that’s something. Then there’s Heston Kjerstad, not a prospect but still someone we want to see playing well. 7-20, all singles, with no walks for a “OBP lower than both BA and SLG” line that you don’t see every day. Jud Fabian managed just one hit in 12 at-bats.
Two guys who did hit well for Norfolk over the past week are 40-man players who are retreads from other organizations. Christian Encarnacion-Strand had six hits, including a pair of homers, and outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez had a 5-14 week with two doubles. I suspect that I do not want to experience the set of circumstances resulting in these guys getting an extended MLB look by the O’s.
Not much excitement among the pitching prospects either. With Trey Gibson in MLB and Levi Wells on the injured list due to core surgery, the only guy here is Nestor German. He was blitzed for five runs in only 1.2 innings this week. This team has earned its record.
Others of interest
LHP Andrew Magno – Not sure if this 28-year-old lefty is anything but he’s added three more scoreless innings and now has a 0.64 ERA in 24 relief outings
RHP Yaqui Rivera – Notched a three-inning save. He’s walked too many guys across six outings (10 BB in 17 IP) but for now the 0.53 ERA looks pretty good
Season record: 25-37, last place (16 GB) in Eastern League Southwest
It’s all about Joseph Dzierwa until such time as he pitches well enough that the team deems it’s time to get him up to Triple-A. Two outings for Dzierwa this week, totaling ten innings, with ten strikeouts across those innings. That’s not going to dampen the enthusiasm. Batters did hit him a bit, with 11 hits, and between two walks and three hit batters that’s a lot of traffic. Have to like that 2.70 ERA and 1.050 WHIP through five games.
Even better than Dzierwa this week, though, was fellow lefty Luis De León, whose one start this week saw him throw five hitless innings with seven strikeouts. That’ll do! Command problems remain evident with a hit batter and two walks. He’s struggled at this level, with a 6.09 ERA on the year after this outing. It would be nice to see progress from him through the summer.
Some less than optimal batting lines this week from a number of the players I’ve been following here. My guy Aron Estrada was 5-22 at the plate with a double and a homer, but with only one walk, the OBP is rough. Still, he’s OPSing .779 for the season and for an age 21 guy here, that’s interesting. Catcher/first baseman/whatever Ethan Anderson scuffled to the tune of just two hits in 18 tries.
One guy who didn’t struggle is infielder Griff O’Ferrall. He’s not beating the “this guy can’t hit for power” charges with all singles. Still, 7-21 is 7-21, and he stole two bases. O’Ferrall remains under the Mendoza Line for the season, so he needs more good weeks. And maybe he could get some extra-base hits too? That’s what outfielder Douglas Hodo did. Hodo is 25 at this point, old for the level, but if he can play well here he could still earn a promotion and be at least sort of vaguely interesting. Hodo had a pair of homers and two doubles this week and may tempt me to put him on the player of the week poll even though I don’t usually mention non-prospects.
Also of interest
RHP Juaron Watts-Brown – My honorary hyphenated cousin had another rough one, with five runs (four earned) in three innings. 8.78 ERA in eight starts.
Season record: 38-22, second place (0.5 GB) in South Atlantic League North
This has been the most exciting team on the Orioles farm all season long, a trend that continued over this past week thanks to the 2025 draft duo of Ike Irish and Wehiwa Aloy. Although Irish only had five hits in 24 at-bats, all went for extra bases: three doubles and two homers. He also drew three walks. Aloy’s 6-24 included two doubles, a triple, and a homer. Aloy’s season OPS is .835; Irish’s is .801. These guys just keep on doing the thing. It’s fun to see.
On the topic of high Orioles draft picks last year, although he’s no longer in the organization, catcher Caden Bodine has a combined .967 OPS between Low-A and High-A this year. This draft class is like the opposite of the cursed 2024 one.
One of the other standouts for Frederick this year has been the big man, Victor Figueroa, from last year’s Padres swap. His season OPS remains .945, which is great, but this wasn’t a good week overall. Though he did hit two homers, he was just 4-23 at the plate and struck out 13 times.
Keys pitching prospects could not match the excitement, as they generally have not been able to ever since Dzierwa was quickly promoted up from this level. One guy who did do well is Twine Palmer, from last year’s Urías trade with the Astros. In two relief outings that totaled eight innings, Palmer did not allow an earned run and he allowed just eight runners in total. The 21-year-old Palmer has a 3.28 ERA and 1.136 WHIP through 12 games. Something might have clicked here over the offseason.
Also of interest
OF Vance Honeycutt – Five strikeouts in eight at-bats this week. I feel mean to continue this bit and may abandon it.
LHP Boston Bateman – Excellent May has not continued into June; he went just 7.2 innings across two starts and gave up five runs.
Season record: 23-40, last place (21 GB) in Carolina League North
Although it’s not showing up in the win-loss column yet, this roster has gotten a lot more interesting with the recent arrival of 19-year-old infielder Jaiden Lo Re, the Orioles fifth round pick a year ago. Lo Re got promoted out of the Florida Complex League after just 20 games and has been on fire in his first couple of handfuls of Low-A games. In five games for the Shorebirds this week, Lo Re went 7-17 with three doubles, drew six walks, and stole six bases. That’s good.
Other prospects here had a good several games, including fellow 19-year-old infielder DJ Layton, the Orioles sixth round pick from 2024. Layton’s been with Delmarva all year long and keeps hitting well. He added a 5-21 week with a double and a homer, plus four walks and three stolen bases. This could be a dynamic pair of guys. Let’s see whether the Orioles decide they want to try to develop these guys or trade one of them. Not that they’re looking like trade deadline buyers right now.
When this season began, the one real pitching prospect of note on this team was 19-year-old Esteban Mejia. The notable thing about him at this point is that he just keeps walking dudes. Mejia made two starts this week and walked seven guys in 6.2 innings, of a piece with his 11.3 BB/9 for the season. The Mike Elias international effort still waits for its first pitching success story.
Also of interest
OF Braylon Whitaker – 19th rounder from 2024 is still just 20 and he batted 9-23 this past week. .395 OBP for the season, though only slugging .316.
The FCL Orioles team is 15-15. The guy I’m keeping an eye on down here is 18-year-old infielder Wilfri De La Cruz, who arrived from the Cubs when the Orioles traded Andrew Kittredge last year – only to reacquire Kittredge after the season for cash. Not a bad bit of pilfering. In 26 games, De La Cruz is hitting .232/.411/.391. We may need to see him face pitchers who actually throw him strikes to get a better sense of who he is.
Your choice in the minor league player of the week poll for last week was Victor Figueroa, who had about a 60/40 edge over his competition. Margins continue to be slim, so if you have feelings about them, vote in the poll below.
Figueroa joins the following other winners: Payton Eeles, Braylin Tavera, Caden Hunter, Ike Irish, and Wehiwa Aloy. We haven’t had a repeat winner yet. Will that change this week? The choice is yours.
The Royals traded for Toronto Blue Jays reliever Connor Seabold.
Seabold, 30, was designated for assignment on June 10. The Royals will offer him a fresh start and chance to carve out a role in the bullpen.
This season, Seabold owns a 4.26 ERA in 16 relief appearances. He appeared in five games with the Blue Jays after beginning the 2026 campaign with the Detroit Tigers.
“Another guy with some experience to be able to fit in the middle of the game,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Give us some length at times. He’s been pretty much one inning lately, but we’re not going to designate a role for him.”
Anne Rogers writes about Mitch Spence’s spot start amid the injuries to the rotation.
The Royals’ depth is stretched thin with three starters sidelined right now. Despite Lugo’s placement on the 7-day concussion IL due to the line drive that hit him last week, the hope is that he’ll be able to slot back in by this weekend as long as his health stays on track over the next few days. But Cole Ragans (left elbow impingement) and Kris Bubic (left elbow soreness) have both suffered setbacks in their recoveries, extending their time on the IL.
Ragans was awaiting MRI results Monday to see what is going on with the latest soreness that crept in over the weekend, so his timeline has yet to be determined. Bubic pressed pause on his rehab assignment with shoulder discomfort, although an MRI showed that nothing was structurally wrong, so his throwing progression has continued. It’s unclear when he’ll get back on the mound.
Bobby Witt Jr leads AL shortstops in All-Star voting.
SHORTSTOP
1. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals: 890,575 2. Andrés Giménez, Blue Jays: 354,651 3. Kevin McGonigle, Tigers: 266,239 4. Colson Montgomery, White Sox: 176,673 5. Jeremy Peña, Astros: 162,537
One of the best all-around players in MLB, Witt advanced to Phase 2 in each of the past two years but lost out both times, with Gunnar Henderson earning the AL’s starting shortstop spot in 2024 and Jacob Wilson prevailing last season. Witt is still searching for his first All-Star starting nod. McGonigle is the AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner, but he has some ground to make up if he’s going to usurp Giménez as one of the AL shortstop finalists.
David Lesky believes it’s time for all of us to shift our priorities for the rest of the season.
So now the successes shift to evaluation, which nobody likes, and with the injuries they now have, they’ll get that chance. I mentioned in the newsletter about priorities shifting that I’d like to see them get a look at Kameron Misner and maybe get John Rave one more shot. Well, now it’s happening because of the injuries to Kyle Isbel and Vinnie Pasquantino. We’ll see Jac Caglianone at first base a lot and probably hitting in a more prominent spot in the lineup. We’ll see much more of Luinder Avila starting, which has produced a couple of fun starts and one that wasn’t quite so fun. I hope they get Matthew Lugo to the big leagues and ship off Starling Marte soon. I’ve heard there’s a market for Marte, so let’s see that happen, too. We’ve watched a team make the playoffs two years ago and contend in September last year, so we have to re-learn how to watch a bad team, but it’s in our blood. It shouldn’t be too hard to remember.
There is a petition regarding the new Royals stadium ($). It looks like a low-wage worker group is trying to force a vote on the matter.
If at least 2,068 petition signatures are certified, Kansas City voters could see two ballot measures over the next 10 months. The first would ask whether stadium subsidies should require a public vote. If that’s approved, a second ballot question will appear at the next election asking whether the city should contribute public dollars to the proposed Royals stadium.
But timing is everything, and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas believes the petition may be too late.
“I think the deal is likely to get done before we even have some of these discussions,” Lucas said, “if we ever get to the point of a public vote.”
Royals top prospect Kendry Chourio was promoted to High-A Quad Cities.
Andrew Banks at Kings of Kauffman talks about Jac Caglianone’s recent hot streak.
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit the first cycle of the 2026 season.
There are good reasons to be down about the Cubs’ 3-3 road trip against a pair of weak opponents, but one needs to look at the positives. PCA and Michael Busch extending their on-base game streaks. PCA finally, consistently, pairing his power and speed. Seiya Suzuki finding his power bat, and has raised his defensive game (hopefully that will continue when he’s 100%). Javier Assad continuing his strong pitching of late.
Yes, a 6-0 trip out west would have been spectacular. But a three-game win streak and increased contributions on offense have the Cubs going in the right direction. At least for now.
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Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Cubs’ bid for SF sweep disrupted by Giants ace Webb. “Stretching a brief hot streak into the weekend — a run of wins that felt more like the baseball displayed early in the season — was important for the Cubs.”
Matt Ostrowski (North Side Baseball): Anatomy of an At-Bat: Revisiting Alex Bregman’s Bizarre Home Run Against the Rockies. “Alex Bregman isn’t known for his ability to handle pitches low in the zone, though he successfully pulled the nine iron out of his bag against the Rockies last week. Is that feat repeatable for the Cubs’ slugger?”
Mighty Mo Rodgers (real name Maurice Rodgers) was born in Indiana in 1942 where his father owned a club that featured blues performers. When Rodgers wasn’t studying classical piano he was checking out the blues artists that played there. Growing up, Rodgers was deeply affected by the mid-’60s soul music from the Memphis-based Stax label. He finally decided to quit college, move to L.A., and give music his full-time attention. There he played gigs and recorded with many blues and R&B legends.“
After growing tired of tedious session work, he continued to write songs and became a house songwriter for Motown and Chappel Publishing. Rodgers also continued to produce sessions for other artists and decided to go back to school where he received a degree in philosophy. In 1999 he released his first solo effort, Blues Is My Wailin’ Wall, on Blue Thumb. The recording contained all original material, mixing his philosophical views with blues/soul musical roots.
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