Category: Baseball

Gabriel Hughes and TJ Rumfield are two very different players.

Hughes was drafted by the Rockies in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft and has worked his way up through their minor league system. Rumfield was acquired from the Yankees in an offseason trade.

Rumfield made the Opening Day roster; Hughes debuted mid-season.

And, of course, Hughes is a pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery while Rumfield is a position player.

But both have made an impact for the Rockies this year in different ways.

TJ Rumfield

TJ Rumfield is making a case for NL Rookie of the Year. Through Saturday, he is slashing .302/.392/.454 with a 23-game on-base streak, the longest in the Majors and the longest single-season on-base streak by a rookie in franchise history.

But how would Rumfield sum up his rookie season?

“A lot of learning experiences,” he said. “I think a lot of the team stuff – trying to gel together with guys and make conversations with new people, and even when you have new faces in here, trying to make them feel comfortable because I know how I felt when I first got in the locker room. It’s just small things like that, and ultimately just learning every day.”

And those learning experiences have paid dividends for the rookie, as he ranks among all qualified rookie leaders in average (.302, 1st), OBP (.392, 1st), OPS (.846, 1st), hits (159, 3rd), and multi-hit games (41, T-2nd). Rumfield ranks among NL qualified rookies in doubles (29, 1st), RBI (70, 2nd), extra-base hits (47, 2nd) and total bases (239, 2nd). And he ranks among Major League leaders in OBP (.392, 3rd) and average (.302, 5th).

He and Yordan Alvarez (.312/.429) are the only qualified players in all of MLB with a batting average of at least .300 and an OBP of at least .309.

Not too shabby.

Rumfield has also been a defensive stalwart for the Rockies at first base — something they’ve been sorely lacking since Todd Helton retired in 2013. He’s made plenty of jaw-dropping plays, but one stood out to him in particular on May 18 against the Texas Rangers at Coors Field.

“I just remember the ball going up in the air and like, ‘Okay, this is one where I can maybe go over the dugout. Like this could be cool,’” he recalled. “And you get closer and closer, and you’re like, ‘Uh oh, it’s about to happen!’ And the momentum taking me over – it was just everything you dream of. Nobody caught me, but it was fine. It’s baseball. You dream of making plays like that and just trying to make a little difference in the game.”

He’s also been leaning on his teammates, especially Troy Johnston.

“(He’s given me) more golf advice,” Rumfield chuckled. “But the boy’s a great teammate. I would actually go to him when I’m feeling down. And he can attest to this – I’ll go to him and I’ll be like, ‘Troy, you’ve got to give me something. Tell me something good about myself.’ And he always does. We’re currently 3-for-3 on that one.”

Manager Warren Schaeffer has also helped his fellow Virginia Tech alum get settled from day one.

“Schaeff was unbelievably welcoming on the first day in spring training,” Rumfield recalled, “calling me into his office and letting me know, ‘Hey, you’re welcome here. I just want you to come and compete.’ It didn’t feel like anything was given to me. I just had to go out and earn it, and I’ve wanted to do that. That’s what I’ve done my whole entire career. It was nice to have the front office be so welcoming – Schaeffer be so welcoming – and just everything kind of working out.”

Gabriel Hughes

Gabriel Hughes (No. 7 PuRP) has been a different story.

The former 10th-overall pick had a long way to the majors that included Tommy John surgery in 2023. But he didn’t let that slow him down, making his long-awaited MLB debut on July 3.

Hughes made his last start on September 18 — his 13th of the year — and took yet another no decision. In 14 appearances (13 starts), Hughes is 0-8 with a 6.33 ERA. The only other Rockies pitcher in franchise history to begin their career with zero wins through their first 13 starts was Jon Gray in 2015-16.

But like Rumfield, Hughes said his rookie year has been “a learning experience.”

“It’s been very different from every level I’ve played at so far, and I think learning how to manage that schedule is part of being a professional,” he said. “But it’s been wonderful, too, being able to travel to so many different places, play so many different places, experience so many different things. It’s been really special being able to see so much of the country in such a short amount of time.”

For example, Hughes was able to pitch at Yankee Stadium — somewhere he’d always dreamed about as he grew up as a huge fan of Mariano Rivera. And he had to navigate the New York City Subway System to get there:

But like all of the other pitchers, Hughes noticed a difference pitching at Coors Field versus the road. But not necessarily in the way one would think.

“I think it’s an experience that Albuquerque has prepared me for, where you go from elevation to non-elevation every week,” he said. “I think here, the biggest difference is that you do it every three to four days instead of every week.”

In addition to his body preparation, though, Hughes has made some adjustments to his pitching.

“I think one of the things I’ve really learned is that I have to have different starting points for a lot of my pitches when I’m here versus on the road,” he said. “It’s not something I’ve thought about too much in the past when I was in Albuquerque. But here, where the margin for error is so low, I think it’s extremely important. So that’s something I’ve continued to work on. But that’s probably the biggest thing I’ve noticed because the margin for error is so low, so you have to be sharp here and on the road.”

And the coaching staff have given Hughes a lot of good advice and a lot of good ideas, which he has enjoyed.

“It’s been awesome. They’re all young and full of ideas,” he said.

“And working with Alon (Leichman) and Gabe Ribas and Matt Buschmann has been really cool because there’s always some new idea, and it’s always, ‘Hey, take it or leave it. If it works for you, great. If not, no worries.’ There’s no ego there. But I think it’s really cool because if I have ideas, I can bounce them off them. They have great ideas that they bounce off me, too.”

He also had high praise for his manager.

“I think Schaeff’s been really cool, too,” he continued. “He’s been a great manager so far because he’s been willing to give praise when you need it and to give you tough words when you need it. And I have no doubt that all the coaches would go to war for us.”

There have been a lot of up-and-down moments for Hughes during his rookie season, but one stands out in particular:

“Striking out Shohei (Ohtani) on three pitches at Dodger Stadium was pretty cool,” he said. “I think it was to lead off an inning, and it was a fastball up, a curveball that he fouled off, and a fastball above the zone for a swing and miss. That was a pretty cool feeling.”

Hughes was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque on September 19 to finish his rookie year, but still finished with 1.1 fWAR — leading the Rockies’ rotation.

Looking to the future

Rumfield and Hughes represent the Rockies future. Both have been bright spots in different ways, and it will be exciting to see what they are able to do in their sophomore campaigns.

In the meantime, there are six games left in the Rockies 2026 campaign and hopefully they are able to finish strong.

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All the way back in March, there were still plenty of questions about this Atlanta Braves ballclub as the curtain was being raised on the 2026 season. Would the squad as a whole be able to get over the injury bug that hampered their 2024 season and then wrecked their 2025 season? Would the rotation have enough to get through the long season? Would they be able to fend off two contenders in particular from the Northeast? Would they be able to get over losing one of their starters for an entire season du Would this team respond positively to having a new manager in charge?

There were plenty of questions heading into the 2026 season and as far as the regular season goes, the answers were all positive. It’s September 21 and the Atlanta Braves are NL East champions once again. For the seventh time in nine years, the Braves are the top dogs in their division and their two years in the wilderness when it comes to the East have come to an end.

While it may not be a massive shock to see this particular Braves team make it back to the top of the divisional mountain, it is a pleasant surprise that the Braves ended up basically going wire-to-wire. From Opening Day on March 27 until now, the Braves went into every game this season either tied for first place or by themselves at the top. There was no need for a late-season surge or an extremely dramatic race going down to the very last week of the season where they flip-flopped in the standings — the Braves got their surge done early on in the season and maintained from that point forward and now they’ve clinched the divisional title with a week to spare.

That’s not to say that this was easy — as Walt Weiss mentioned in the away clubhouse in Houston before the champagne started flowing, winning a division is never easy since you’ve got to be on top of things for a solid six months. It’s a massive challenge and as it turns out, the Braves were up to the challenge. They took advantage of both the Phillies and the Mets stumbling out of the gate to start the season, they survived a serious run of malaise in June and halfway through July that saw the lead fall down to just two games by the All-Star break. The lead got back as high as nine-and-a-half games on August 12 but again dipped down to being as low as three games on September 9.

If the pressure that the Phillies was putting on them was clear in the standings, it wasn’t apparent by the way that the Braves responded to that pressure. When the lead fell down to just two games on July 18, Atlanta responded by rattling off 14 wins out of 18. When it was down to three on August 22, the Braves went on a seven-game run that included a sweep of the Dodgers. When the Phillies were within striking distance with a stretch looming that saw the Braves face Philadelphia seven times over ten games, the Braves responded by going winning five of those seven games. Dusting off the divisional title with a sweep in Houston (their first sweep on the road since May, mind you) was just another example of how when the circumstances called for it, the Braves were usually able to rise up to moment and take care of business when they needed to.

The much-maligned rotation also deserves plenty of praise for how they performed over the course of this season. There were real questions for everybody in this rotation — including the ace of the rotation, Chris Sale. Thanks to some reportedly impressive preseason workout regimens, Sale was able to not just ward off Father Time but deliver one of the best seasons of his career so far — at age 37!

Meanwhile, Martín Pérez admitted early on that this was the first time that he had felt healthy since 2023 and he responded to the faith that the Braves organization placed in him by delivering his most productive season since 2022. The questions concerning Atlanta’s action (or lack therof) at the trade deadline were answered by Tyler Mahle arriving and immediately stepping his game up once he entered Atlanta’s rotation. Bryce Elder was able to be productive more-often-than-not, himself and Grant Holmes has shown flashes of being an incredible effective option in the rotation all season. It’s a group that’s proven to be greater than the sum of its parts, and that’s even with guys like Spencer Strider being injured for the most part and Spencer Schwellenbach being gone for the entire season.

Outside of Chris Sale, however, the biggest star on this pitching staff has collectively been the bullpen. Raisel Iglesias has had his ups and downs but as you can imagine by the fact that he’s still closing, there have been more “ups” than “downs.” With that being said, this bullpen is certainly more than just its closer and that’s been proven with the way that Didier Fuentes, Dylan Lee, Dylan Dodd and everybody else who’s been called upon in big spots has usually managed to go in and get the job done in very effective fashion. With Robert Suarez potentially returning, that just makes this bullpen even tougher to deal with down the road and for all we know, this could very well be the successor group to the Night Shift from 2021 that we’ve all been waiting for.

The bullpen keeping teams in games has been crucial since Atlanta’s offense has proven all season that they can get it done late in games against the other team’s bullpen. Heading into Sunday’s action, the Braves had the second-best wRC+ in the National League when it came to production from the seventh inning through the ninth inning, with a wRC+ of 109 in that situation. It’s only gotten better for Atlanta recently, as they’ve been hitting at a clip of 130 wRC+ as a team in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings since August 1. That’s still tied for second in the NL (in both scenarios behind the Cubs) but it’s proof that this is a team that can make a run late in games if they need to.

We saw a perfect example of it this past weekend in Houston. Ronald Acuña Jr.’s grand slam broke the game open for Atlanta in the seventh inning. They’ve won games late and they know how to pull off comeback victories as well, as a whopping 41 of their 92 wins so far have been of the comeback variety. The comeback victories are actually a trend from last season, when the Braves pulled off comeback victories in 41 of the 76 games that they won in 2025. They also did it 43 times when they won 104 games in 2023 and then picked up 38 comeback victories when they won it all back in 2021. Fighting for 27 outs has been akey factor in Atlanta’s success in this current era and it’s something that Walt Weiss has carried over from the Snitker Era to his current time as manager so far.

So while Atlanta’s offense hasn’t been nearly as potent as it was in those 2022 and 2023 seasons, they’ve been doing enough to get the job done and keep the line moving. Having Acuña continue to perform at a high level entering the Postseason would be crucial and it would also be huge to see Matt Olson continue to hit balls far and deep like he’s done all season. Michael Harris II’s consistency would be greatly appreciated in October and then having a hitter like Mauricio Dubón who has consistently come through in big moments for the Braves will also be huge going forward as well. Drake Baldwin has star potential, himself and then both Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley should be able to provide the experience to not be blinded by the bright lights of October since they’ve been there, done that, and have plenty of celebratory t-shirts to prove it when it comes to Postseason experience.

All in all, you have to like where this Braves team is at as they head into the Postseason as NL East champions. The rotation will be shortened during the Postseason so that makes things a bit easier for Walt Weiss to keep track of going forward. The bullpen is a strength and it’s especially important for the relievers to come up big during this time of year. It’s also important for the timely hitting to be there as well and the Braves have shown that they’re capable of getting that timely offensive production in late game situations and in high-leverage situations as well.

As long as they can stay healthy, the Braves have got all the ingredients to get a deep Postseason run cooking and in a NL bracket that appears to be extremely competitive, it’s not like there’s a going to be a clear-cut favorite this October. The Dodgers look as vulnerable as ever, the Brewers are definitely in a position where they need to finally prove that they can do something in the offseason, the Cubs offense is dangerous but they’ve also been prone to running extremely cold at times, the Phillies have struggled against the Braves all season and the Padres could very well run out of gas by the time the Postseason runs around (though admittedly, that is a scary team to face with the way that they’ve been playing lately). It’s a wide open bracket and it’s a wide open Postseason as well since the American League hasn’t been as good when compared to the National League.

So there’s plenty of reason to feel optimistic. The Braves are back on top of the division, they’ve proven to be resilient whenever the situation has called for it, they’ve bounced back from adversity on plenty of different occasions during this season and they’ll be entering the Postseason after playing a whole bunch of games against contenders for weeks on end. Here’s hoping that there’s a fun Postseason ahead for us fans and one that could potentially end with a parade in Atlanta (hopefully a slower one if it does happen) and Cobb County to start off November. That sure would be fun, right? Let’s see what happens!

With one week to go in the regular season, the Cubs’ magic number to clinch a postseason berth has dropped to one, and their magic number to get home field in a Wild Card series is now six. This means that the Cubs control their own destiny. Win out — six games — and they will be home a week from Tuesday against either the Padres or Phillies. (Easy? No, but it is possible.)

In the meantime, here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.

Three up

Pete Crow-Armstrong had a very weird, but productive, week

PCA batted .345/.367/.897 (10-for-29) with two doubles, a triple, four home runs, nine RBI, seven runs scored and two stolen bases. That’s a 1.264 OPS for the six games, which might actually be good enough to get him another Player of the Week award.

But here’s the thing. He put up those numbers while going 0-for-15 with five strikeouts in three of the six games!

That means that in the other three games, he was 10-for-14 (.714) with all those other peripheral numbers.

That’s just crazy. Here’s his 3-for-4 day against the Braves last Wednesday [VIDEO].

I keep saying this but I have to say it one more time: Savor this PCA season, we have not seen anything like it from a Cubs player — or most MLB players! — in most of our lifetimes. I hope he can steal two bases against the Marlins this week so he’d join the 40/40 club at Wrigley Field.

And remember, PCA is only 24. Who knows? He might do this again next year!

David Peterson is getting hot at just the right time

In his two starts over the week ending Sunday, Peterson threw 12 innings, allowed six hits and two runs, walked four and struck out 14. For his last three starts, which include two against postseason teams (Braves and Brewers), Peterson has a 1.65 ERA and 1.163 WHIP and 18 strikeouts in 16.1 innings. (And the run charged to him against Atlanta scored after he left the game.)

I think the Cubs might have to consider Peterson for a Wild Card series start.

Here are his seven K’s last Tuesday against the Braves [VIDEO].

Daniel Palencia appears to be back

Palencia pitched just twice over the week, but the second outing was two scoreless innings against the Reds Saturday, the first time he’d thrown two full innings in a game since April 2025. The best news is that in that two-inning outing, Palencia threw eight of his 20 pitches at 100 miles per hour, a level he had trouble hitting in his first few outings back.

Then he struck out JJ Bleday on this excellent slider to end the outing [VIDEO].

I don’t think I have to tell you how much having a productive Palencia would mean for the Cubs in the postseason.

Three down

Nico Hoerner is still struggling

Remember when Nico was hitting at MVP level in April?

He’s had a rough time since then. Over the six games he batted just .250/.280/.292 (6-for-24) with one double.

Nico’s offensive numbers are down this year and he’s only going to post a bit more than 2 bWAR after a 6.2 bWAR season in 2025.

Hopefully he can turn it on in October, and continue playing solid defense at second base.

Clay Holmes got roughed up by the Reds

Holmes has had a couple of clunkers since joining the Cubs — this week against the Reds and the previous week against the Marlins.

The good news is that both of those starts were on the road. In four Wrigley Field starts since joining the Cubs, Holmes has a 1.14 ERA and 1.014 WHIP in 23.2 innings, with 18 strikeouts and only one home run allowed.

He’ll likely start Thursday against the Marlins (though currently that game is listed as TBD for the Cubs starter), which would set him up for a start in the Wild Card series the following week. If that series winds up at Wrigley, I’d seriously consider Holmes for one of the starts.

Edward Cabrera had a rough transition to relieving, but maybe there’s hope

Cabrera’s first relief outing for the Cubs probably went an inning too long, as he was left in for a third inning of work after finishing the seventh and throwing a scoreless eighth against the Braves last Wednesday. Craig Counsell left him out there in a 4-3 game and he served up a two-run homer to Drake Baldwin in the ninth.

Things were better for Cabrera in a scoreless inning against the Reds in a low-leverage situation on Sunday. He allowed a hit and a walk, but got out of the inning with a double play. He threw only nine pitches, two of which hit 99. Perhaps shorter outings would be better for Cabrera.

Worcester: Cancelled (rain), end of season

Remember when Portland’s last game of the season was cancelled due to rain? Oh, that was just last week.

Well, as we’re stuck in a cycle of weekend storms, the last game of the season was cancelled for the WooSox. A factor in this decision was Worcester being eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday night. Still, for the season to end so unceremoniously calls for at least some commemoration, and so I’d like to shout out some names on the roster. I originally intended on going down the line on the website and speculate on future contributions to the team, but, by my estimation, especially since the trade for Adley Rutschman that had a ripple effect through the organization, a good portion of Worcester’s roster are either one-year placeholders until the farm gets replenished with the next couple of drafts or guys that are dealing with significant injuries. So, here’s to the guys that may not be that:

Allan Castrofinished the season with 77 RBIs, two behind Bobby Dalbec for the team record since they relocated to Worcester five years ago… and saying that relocation happened six seasons ago is crazy for someone who went to the first home stand under pandemic crowd protocols. Castro really was a constant for the offense amidst a handful of platoon guys cycling through the team and that can’t be understated. He batted doubtful games back into contention and sealed close games away. If I pick a workhorse/general player of the year, it’s him orBraiden Ward, but only because Franklin Arias started the year in Portland.

Speaking of Braiden Ward, I personally was sad to see Brennan Bernardino go this offseason but loved the return from Colorado. And he performed fantastically, particularly near the end of the season. He ended up swiping 61 total bags and ther’s some clamor around a potential call-up to the Sox who, despite being a generally quick team in terms of baserunning, lack a real Dave Roberts-esque “when you see him, you know he’s going to steal” threat. Ward provides that, is defensively versatile, playing second as well as center field, and is pretty reliable with the bat in a pinch.

Franklin Arias is banging on the door and he will definitively be getting the call either in 2027 or Opening Day 2028, depending entirely on the length of the lockout. Either way, though, keeping him off the 40-man roster for now means, even with a lockout, he’ll get valuable time to improve his exceptional swing even more, though not against Major League arms. His totals across Portland and Worcester read like an All-Star caliber player: 28 home runs, .323/.400/.557 slash line, a 14% strikeout rate, and a plus glove in the infield to boot. Arias may or may not live up to his sky high prospect status, but pencil him in to the next iteration of this Red Sox team, whenever that comes.

John Holobetz will also likely be given the call in 2027. He’s still just 24. The 6’3” righty struck out 132 in 119 innings, walked just 36, had a WIP of a hair under 1.25, but even more comforting is he outperformed his Portland numbers in Worcester, signaling quick growth. While it’s sad that Quinn Priester missed 2026 with an injury, he was a world-beater in 2025, and the value of having steady presence in the rotation can’t be understated Depending how he bounces back in 2027, especially with the Brewers emerging as an NL front runner, expect that trade to go down in the history books as a win-win.

Hayden Mullinsalso put in his best work in 2026, and more specifically, directly before his promotion to Triple-A right before the end of the season. He celebrated his 26th birthday last Monday and so, in his age-25 season, Mullins was exactly what Portland needed in a rotation guy, especially following Anthony Eyannson’s departure. He struck out 132 in 92 innings, walked 49, lacked the longevity that Holobetz and others in the rotation had but did not give up long balls, getting taken yard just seven times all season (and even one of those was in his only Worcester appearance.) The 6’0” lefty will continue his development in 2027 before likely a late season call-up; it’s possible the team explores some multi-inning reliever roles depending on how this development goes.

Of course, too, the team’s former first-round draft pick Mikey Romeroand current millionaire Kristian Campbellare still kicking around Wrocester, and the latter wants a redemption arc after a rough 2025. Neither saw any Major League time due to a cluttered roster and a multitude of other reasons, but don’t count either out for a platoon role next year, pending a lengthy lockout. You want guys looking better in September than they did in April, and while Campbell swung somewhat of a hot bat in the spring, I think that notion is true for both of these guys. The same is even true with Jedixson Paez (who saw Major League action, but don’t mention this to him) Blake Wehunt and Gage Ziehl. These are all guys to watch in 2027, provided some trade for a hole on the roster doesn’t call for dealing one of them (I think Campbell is pretty set on this roster given his price tag.) But, depth is a good problem to have.

And so ends my fourth full season providing Minor Lines for Over The Monster. You’ll see me kicking around during the playoff push and the offseason providing input on pieces that can make this 2027 team – and farm – even better than the 2026 version. Thanks so much for reading all season, and Go Sox!

My wife and I recently spent 12 days in France, and it was fascinating to note the differences between the two countries. I felt the food in France was overrated, as was the Louvre. Don’t get me wrong, both were fine, but based on their reputation, I was expecting more. As for museums, the Musée d’Orsay was much better than the Louvre and far less crowded.

As for the surprises, I felt the French are better drivers than their American counterparts. This is hard for me to admit since I love to drive. In France, you don’t see people sitting at a stoplight texting. I also noticed that slower drivers do not clog up the passing lane, which is close to an epidemic in the U.S. Plus, the French are much more generous in allowing other cars to merge into heavy traffic. Horn honking is rare, and I never witnessed a single event of road rage. Impressive.

Watching cars, delivery trucks, motorcycles, motorized scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians seamlessly navigate Parisian intersections was a sight to behold. We didn’t see one accident the entire time in France. In comparison, we landed in Minneapolis, got on the interstate, and within three miles came upon a semi overturned in the median. Welcome home, podner.

The other thing I was looking for was signs of baseball in France. Granted, France has never been known as an international baseball power. In fact, the country isn’t even a bit player. They do seem to be making improvements, with former major league player and manager Bruce Bochy (who was born in Landes De Bussac) now managing the French national team.

There have been a handful of former major leaguers from France, the most successful being Charlie Lea, who had some good years with the Montreal Expos. Former KU and Royal shortstop Steve Jeltz was born in Paris. And no, current Royal killer Ty France has no connections to the country.

Touring the country, I didn’t see a single baseball field. I didn’t see any children or adults playing catch. That was a bit surprising. A little research shows that there are only 87 baseball fields in the entire country. France is similar in size to the state of Texas. Texas has thousands of baseball diamonds spread across the state. Even a small-population state like Kansas sports well over a thousand ball diamonds. My small hometown of 1,000 souls has two. We used to have three.

I did see several soccer pitches, including the spectacular Stade de France. I’ve always had a thing for stadiums, and this one did not disappoint. Soccer, or as Europeans call it, football, is immensely popular in France, and they’re good at it, as witnessed by their fourth-place finish in this summer’s World Cup. There were many, including me, who thought they might win the whole thing.

I did see a few tennis courts, a couple of track ovals, and even what appeared to be an American football field, but which might have been a rugby pitch. I looked in schoolyards and city parks (which were spectacular, by the way), but no baseball fields. None. Nada. Zilch. Non.

My next social experiment was to start counting the baseball caps I saw on people. Granted, some of these people, probably most, are wearing the caps as a fashion statement and not necessarily as a shoutout to their favorite team. The cap most seen in France, and it hurts me to even type it, was the damn Yankees. And it was the Yankees by a very wide margin. The second most-seen cap was for the Dodgers, but even at that I saw probably 20 Yankee hats for every Dodger cap. I saw so many damn Yankee hats that I had to suppress my urge to blurt out “Yankees suck” every time I saw one.

I did see a Phillies cap, and one Padre cap, plus another that had an M on it, which I couldn’t decide was for Miami, Milwaukee, or Minnesota. Milwaukee should always stick with the MB, which looks like a glove. That cap is a classic. Same for the Twins. They should always go with the TC cap. Looking at caps on the internet, it was Minnesota’s ugly M hat, which is a crime against humanity. And that was it. So, the Yankees either have a lot of fans across the world, or the NY hat is some kind of perverted fashion statement.

People in France don’t seem to be as obsessed with sports as their American cousins. I did read Royals Review every day, and even though we were seven hours ahead, I appreciated the game recaps, so good work, guys. Much appreciated.

I wore a Chiefs shirt one day, which went unnoticed. I was a little disappointed to not even get a single snide comment about the refs helping them out.

I wore an Avalanche shirt another day, and there were several people who shouted out support for the Avs. An older Frenchman stopped me and asked what the AV stood for. “American hockey team,” I said. He nodded and went about his way.

France is a beautiful country with incredibly generous and friendly people. The country is starting to produce some world-class basketball players, but their baseball production is lagging the rest of the world. Sounds like the kind of place the Royals would put some scouts, looking for an “inefficiency.” Note to JJ: Don’t. Keep concentrating on where the ballplayers are: Venezuela. Mexico. Latin America. The good old U.S. of A. Japan. Even Korea is an up-and-coming baseball nation.

The Royals are finishing up their 58th season, and this summer marks the 50th anniversary of their first division championship and playoff appearance. The majority of that 1976 team was put together by their brilliant General Manager, Cedric Tallis, who was finally elected to the Royals Hall of Fame last year. That honor was long overdue, and a tip of the cap to John Sherman and the Royals for righting a wrong.

When we evaluate Tallis’ record, much has been written about his trading prowess and his excellent 1968 expansion draft. Prior to those two events, Tallis had started to sign an assortment of free agents and players from the 1968 draft to fill the Royals’ minor league teams and hopefully uncover a major league player or two. One of those players was Paul Splittorff, who was selected in the 25th round of the 1968 draft out of tiny Morningside College in Iowa and became the Royals’ first draft choice to make the majors.

Who was the first player ever signed by the Royals? That would be pitcher Jerry Lyscio, who was signed by Tallis on April 25, 1968. Lyscio, a Brainard, Minnesota, native, had originally been signed by his home-state Twins in 1964.

After being released by the Twins, Tallis scooped him up and sent him to Dubuque, the Royals’ Class A team. Lyscio won his first three starts for the Packers, which earned him the Midwest League Player of the Month award for May 1968.

For the season, Lyscio appeared in 28 games with 26 starts, threw 195 innings, and put up a 10-10 record with a respectable 3.42 ERA for a team that finished at 54 and 61.

That earned Lyscio a promotion to AA Elmira for the 1969 season. Unfortunately, Lyscio suffered a shoulder injury and never appeared in a game for Elmira. The injury also spelled an end to his baseball career.

That was as close as Jerry Lyscio made it to the show. Baseball is a tough game of survival, and arm injuries, especially in those days, were the death knell for a pitcher.

Despite that, Lyscio will always remain a footnote to history, the first player to ever sign a contract with the Kansas City Royals.

Bloodied but unbowed, Alex Bregman had a three-word message for Chicago Cubs fans:

"I'll be back."

Bregman, struck in the left eye by a foul ball while standing in the on-deck circle Sunday, Sept. 21, posted a pair of photos to his Instagram story after undergoing tests.

The grim news: Bregman looks like hell, a nasty shiner that's rendered his left eye practically shut after Michael Busch's foul ball on a check swing took one hop and clocked Bregman standing nearby.

The good news: He's returned to Chicago, his eye appears intact and he seems insistent that he'll return to play.

The Twins’ owner called season ticketholders in the offseason basically begging for them to stick around. Their fans had become so disillusioned with their team losing that the negativity had started to get to Tom Pohlad. And early in the season, he had a public incident with a fan wearing a SELL THE TEAM hat. Are billionaires sensitive? Between this and Arte Moreno selling the Angels because he got big emotions from fans demanding he sell the team, too, it’s enough to make you wonder where the Giants would be if they had fewer owners.

But the Twins, who had finished 70-92 this season, started off the year in surprisingly great fashion, to the point that by the end of July, they were 56-55 and just 3 games out of the AL Central lead.

They’ve gone 17-28 since.

So, it’s another failed season for the Twins. Giants fans can relate. Well, not really. The Twins have had five winning seasons and four playoff appearances in the past decade. The Giants have had 1 and 1. As of this writing, the two teams are 12th and 13th in wins over the last 10 years… but with a significant split.

• Minnesota: 763-749
• San Francisco: 735-777

In this 45-game that spiraled them out of the playoffs, the pitching has been mediocre but the offense has fallen to below league average (99 wRC+). They’ve lost Byron Buxton to injury once again. Taj Bradley has emerged to mitigate the pre-season loss of Pablo Lopez, but Joe Ryan’s prime seems to have been betrayed by their small window of contention. Their defense has been atrocious: -38.4 Defensive Runs Above Average, 25th in MLB. Don’t get too smug, though. The Giant are 23rd (-34.5). They’re the team the Giants could become if all the prospect excitement fails to pan out and the front office’s grand design busts.

On the other hand, the Giants have sort of gone through this already. Their last rebuild was supposed to usher in a window of contention. It did, but for, like, two seasons (2020 & 2021), and during that time, the San Diego Padres (and, to a lesser extent, the Arizona Diamondbacks) zoomed past them. The Twins were supposed to be NL Central contenders, challenging the Dodgers of that division (the Guardians), only to have the Tigers and now the White Sox (!) zoom past them.

Anyway, the Twins have been bad on the road this year (33-45) while the Giants have been okay (36-39); however, they’ve lost 7 of 9 overall. The roster is a shambles. Bryce Eldridge is in the concussion protocol. It’s all very gloomy here in the final week of the season. Then again, that’s been the status quo for six months.

Series Overview

Who: San Francisco Giants (64-92) vs. Minnesota Twins (73-83)
Where: Oracle Park | San Francisco, California
When: Monday & Tuesday at 6:45pm PT, Wednesday at 12:45pm PT
National broadcasts: None

Projected starters
Monday: Blade Tidwell (RHP 1-2, 4.56 ERA) vs. Zebby Matthews (RHP 9-10, 4.74 ERA)
Tuesday: Anthony Molina (RHP 3-1, 4.18 ERA) vs. Taj Bradley (RHP 11-6, 3.81 ERA)
Wednesday: Cesar Perdomo (LHP 0-1, 3.72 ERA) vs. TBD

Prediction time

Roger Clemens’ son, Kody, has 26 home runs on the season. He’s hit 14 of those on the road. With an outside shot at getting to 30 home runs, I’ll predict that this 30-year old will whack at least one homer in the series. Meanwhile, Jung Hoo Lee is 6 extra base hits away from matching last year’s season total (51). He hit 31 doubles last and has hit 31 this year, too. I predict he’ll pickup a few in this series giving faint hope that he can match last year’s total by having a nice final series when the Giants host the Dodgers.

Multiple reports confirm that the Yankees are finalizing a $2.6 billion deal with private equity firm Apollo Global Management to sell up to a 16-percent stake in the franchise. The firm will have the Yankees’ largest ownership percentage, only behind the Steinbrenner family, once the deal goes through.

The deal involves both a debt and private equity investment, and incoming funding is expected to refinance existing obligations and fund future expansion projects. This move would mark Apollo’s largest capital injection into the US sports market to date, according to the New York Post. The news of the firm’s interest in acquiring a stake in the Yankees dates back to July and more specifics were revealed last month.

It also allows the Yankees’ value to surpass that of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who’ve recently dominated the market when it comes to giving out larger contracts. The club most notably signed MLB star Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal and, more recently, signed Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract that included a $64 million signing bonus with $30 million deferred.

The additional ownership stake can result in a variety of outcomes, but it could eventually work out well for the Yankees as they look to add more talent in the coming years. Details of the deal have yet to be confirmed, but it comes at a time when private equity is gaining more of a spotlight in the sports world, with firms engaging in hefty investments in a variety of teams and leagues in hopes of bolstering profits.

The Yankees aren’t a stranger to the private equity game that continues to raise concerns throughout the sports world. Yankees president Randy Levine joined the executive board of AC Milan nearly five months after the New York franchise engaged in a minority stake in the club and RedBird Capital Partners acquired a $1.3 billion controlling interest.

Notably, Major League Baseball regulations have a 15-percent cap in place for private equity ownership per fund, so it’s unclear how the logistics of this will all work considering the report of a 16-percent stake for Apollo. With this deal expected to come through, I’d anticipate more firms will soon follow with investments in Major League clubs that will continue to raise more questions.

1901
The White Sox won the first major-league American League pennant despite losing to the Philadelphia A’s, 10-4. The Sox would end up winning the pennant by five games over the Boston Americans, with a record of 83-53. Interestingly, this loss was the start of a five-game losing streak that took the White Sox nearly to the end of the season — a streak that included a sweep at Boston (too late, Americans).

Unfortunately, the World Series didn’t start until 1903, so an AL pennant was the best that the Sox could do. 

However, the White Sox did play a postgame series, against the “AL All-Stars” in what was dubbed the “All-American Series,” splitting the four-game set. In a telling statistic for an upstart team and league in its first season in the majors, the White Sox nearly doubled the attendance of the established Orphans (Cubs), 354,350-205,071.

The White Sox had a very balanced lineup, led by outfielders Billy Hoy and Fielder Jones, and scored the most runs in the league. The team relied primarily on speed, as Frank Isbell, Sam Mertes and Jonesfinished 1–2–3 in the AL in stolen bases, swiping 136 among them. The pitching staff was anchored by player-manager Clark Griffith, who went 24–7 with a 2.67 ERA.

1917
The White Sox clinched their third pennant, beating the Red Sox, 2-1 in 10 innings behind Red Faber. Shano Collins singled after Ray Schalk led off the top of the 10th with a double, providing the eventual game-winner. The final outs came when pinch-hitter Babe Ruth rapped into a double play in the bottom of the 10th.

The White Sox would outdistance Boston by eight games in 1917, with a mark of 100-54, and then defeat the New York Giants four games to two in the World Series.

The 100 wins in a season have never been equaled in team history — and that includes, of course, 162-game seasons beginning in 1961. The Sox offense led the league in runs scored that season while the pitching staff, led by Eddie Cicotte, had a season ERA of 2.16

1955
Frank “Trader” Lane, one of the best GMs in team history, resigned. During his seven-season tenure, Lane made 241 trades involving 353 players. He was one of the architects of the club that would win the 1959 American League pennant. Among the players Lane acquired for the Sox were Minnie Miñoso, Nellie Fox, Dick Donovan, Jim Rivera, Billy Pierce, Chico Carrasquel and Sherm Lollar.

1960
For just the second time among White Sox players, and eighth overall, there was a home run hit over the Comiskey Park roof. In a 7-2 victory over the Kansas City A’s, Minnie Miñoso clobbered a two-out, two-run homer to left that opened scoring.

Just seven White Sox homers and 21 total went over the roof in the 72 years of Comiskey Park history before home plate was moved forward, before the 1983 season.

1970
For the first time in 69 seasons, the White Sox finally had a 30-home run man. Bill Melton got an upper-deck shot off of Kansas City’s Aurelio Monteagudo (who was Melton’s teammate on the Sox the year before) to set the record for the most White Sox home runs in a season.

That same day, Luis Aparicio got his final hit in a Sox uniform. He had 1,576 of them for the White Sox. Just 672 fans were on hand to see the doubleheader at Comiskey Park, as the White Sox were in the process of setting their all-time losses mark.

1975
The White Sox traded Deron Johnson to the Red Sox in a post-deadline waiver deal, in exchange for a player to be named later. The slugger had a poor season in Chicago after being signed as a free agent for 1975, but found an extra gear in his few games for Boston, hitting a key homer down the stretch while going 3-for-4 in his Bosox debut on September 22 and 6-for-10 in his three games overall.

The White Sox acquired afterthought prospect Chuck Erickson on November 7 to complete the deal, a catcher who would play just 18 games in Triple-A in 1976 before ending his playing career.

1998
Jim Abbott’s amazing comeback with the White Sox continued, as he threw six innings of a 7-1 win over Minnesota to improve to 4-0.

It was Abbott’s second stint on the South Side, the first coming in 1995, where he compiled 2.6 rWAR in 17 starts before being dealt at the trade deadline to the Angels. After re-signing with the Angels and suffering an awful 1996 (2-18, 7.48 ERA), Abbott was flushed out of the majors and took a year off.

In 1998, the White Sox gave the southpaw another shot, and he swallowed his pride and made 18 starts across all four minors levels, from Low-A up to Triple-A. He was called up to the majors during roster expansion, making his season debut with the White Sox on September 5. He won all five of his starts for Chicago, racking up a 4.55 ERA and 4.31 FIP.

He signed with Milwaukee in the offseason and would play one more year in the majors, before retiring with a career 19.6 WAR and 87 wins.

2015
Jeff Samardzija was acquired from the A’s with the hope that the Chicago native (who grew up a White Sox fan) could be the difference in getting the team to the postseason. His campaign, though, was something to forget; he struggled all year, particularly in the first inning of games, and after the trade deadline.

On this day, however, he pitched the finest game in his career; in the opener of a doubleheader against the Tigers, he tossed a one-hitter in a 2-0 shutout. The only hit he allowed was a bloop single off the bat of Victor Martinez in the fifth inning. Samardzija struck out six and only faced one hitter over the minimum. Erik Johnson won the nightcap, completing a White Sox sweep.

2024
A 6-2 loss at San Diego gave the White Sox 119 losses, tying them with the 2003 Detroit Tigers with an AL most-ever 119 defeats. Chris Flexen, quite naturally, took the defeat to fall to 2-15 (although he would win one more, in a matter of days).

The White Sox remained a season-high 53 1/2 games out of first place.

We have a few birthdays today.

Cecil Fielder turns 63rd today.

Is Prince sending him a card? I’ve read that they aren’t exactly close, and there are some troubles because of Cecil’s treatment of Prince’s mother. Cecil was a similar player to Prince, both big slugger types. Prince was the better player, but Cecil wasn’t bad himself.

The Jays acquired Cecil in a trade with the Royals for Leon Roberts, but unfortunately for Cecil, he came up around the same time as Fred McGriff, and Fred was the better player. The Jays also had many DH types, so Cecil got in a few games in 85 and 86 and then was the platoon DH in 87 and 88.

He had his best year with the Jays in 1987, batting .269/.345/.560 in 175 at-bats over 82 games. He hit 14 home runs that season. Then in 1988, in about the same number of at-bats, he hit .230/.289/.431 with 9 homers. Seeing that he wasn’t going to get playing time with the Jays, Cecil signed with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan and played there for a year before signing as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.

He had his best seasons with the Tigers, hitting 284 home runs over the next seven seasons. 1990, his first season with the Tigers, he hit 51 home runs and came in second in the MVP vote. He also came in second the following season when he hit 44 homers.

Next, he went to the Yankees from Detroit, then the Angels and Cleveland for his last season at 34. Saying he was a big man doesn’t do him justice. He was pretty round, more or less the same build as Prince.

He was never a high-average hitter, topping out at .277 in 1990. His career average was .255, but when he did hit, he hit the ball a mile. He finished with 319 homers in his career. He would take a walk when offered one and had a decent on-base numbers, but his job was to drive in runs, and he did that well. He had five seasons of over 100 RBIs and, from 1990 to 1993, drove in 132, 133, 124, and 117.

For the Jays, well, he came up at the wrong time. He wasn’t the player Fred McGriff was, and his size and lack of conditioning didn’t endear him to the team. But the Tigers could overlook that and got a heck of a player for seven years.

It is Danny Cox’s 67th birthday today.

Danny came into the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals, playing for them for the first six years of his career. He had a couple of terrific seasons as a starting pitcher for them, going 18-9 with a 2.88 ERA in 1985 and then 12-13 with a 2.90 ERA in 1986, but he threw 461 innings between the two seasons. Unsurprisingly, that number of innings led to elbow troubles later. As a result, he ended up missing the entire 1989 and 1990 seasons. He returned to the majors in 1991 with the Phillies but wasn’t the same pitcher he had been before his arm troubles.

The Jays signed him as a free agent and made him a reliever in 1993. In our second World Series season, Danny was an essential part of our bullpen, going 7-6 with a 3.12 ERA in 44 games. He pitched 5 shutout innings in our ALCS win over the White Sox. He did have a rough outing in Game 6 of the World Series against the Phillies, being part of a 5-run Phillies 7th inning that put the Phillies up 6-5. But that just set things up for Joe Carter to hit the biggest home run in Jays’ history, so we can forgive him.

Danny’s arm troubles reappeared the next two seasons, and he wasn’t as good. So 1995 was his last season in the majors. He has worked as a minor league manager and pitching coach after his retirement.

Happy Birthday, Danny.

Brian Tallet turns 49 today.

This one makes me feel old.

Tallet played in the majors for nine seasons. Well, parts of nine. Three or four of them were full seasons in the majors. Six of the nine seasons were with the Jays.

As a Blue Jay, he pitched in 215 games, with 31 starts. He had a 4.75 ERA.

We traded for Tallet in January 2006 from Cleveland for Bubbie Buzachero (an ‘80s baseball name, but unfortunately, he never made the majors; I’d love to hear Buck say his name).

In 2006 we used him as a lefty out of the bullpen. Manager John Gibbons didn’t use him as just a LOOGY. He pitched 2 innings or more in 10 games and more than an inning in 16 games. He was quite valuable, appearing in 44 games with a 3.81 ERA, including 3 wins and 4 holds. Gibby used him mostly in losing efforts.

He had much the same role in 2007, putting up a 3.47 ERA in 48 games. Again, pitching multiple innings was often used, mainly when we were behind. In 2008, he had a 2.88 ERA in 51 games.

He was the third or fourth lefty in our pen. We had B.J. Ryan, Scott Downs, and Jesse Carlson (a favourite of mine), so he rarely got into high-leverage spots.

In 2009 he started the season in the bullpen, but he was in the rotation by the end of April. We tried many guys in the rotation that year. Roy Halladay and Ricky Romero headed the rotation. Beyond those two, we had several pitchers with ERAs over 5 who made multiple starts. Tallet made 25 starts and 12 relief appearances. As a starter, he had a 5.41 ERA with a 7-8 record.

He was back in the pen the following year, pitching in 34 games, with 5 starts and a 5.32 ERA.

Brian became a free agent after the 2010 season and signed with the Cardinals. He played there for half a season and then came back to us in a multi-player trade. The big-name player coming to Toronto was Colby Rasmus, while those heading to St. Louis included Octavio Dotel, Edwin Jackson, Corey Patterson, and Marc Rzepczynski. The Cardinals were on their way to the playoffs and needed bullpen help. The Jays were on their way to a fourth-place finish and wanted a player with offensive upside. Tallet and another pitcher, P.J. Walters, were throw-ins to fill out our pitching staff.

The Jays released Tallet in September. He’d go to the Padres and Pirates but didn’t pitch in the majors again.

We think of him as an innings eater, but he was pretty good for his first three seasons with the team. We had a stacked bullpen, and he couldn’t work his way into a high leverage spot.

Happy Birthday, Brian.

Jeremy Jeffress turns 39 today.

Jeffress has played 11 seasons in the MLB. He’s had some good years (27 saves for the Brewers in 2016, and he had a 1.29 ERA in 73 appearances for the Brewers in 2018, and some less good seasons, where his excellent ‘stuff’ couldn’t overcome his inability to find the strike zone.

He was a Blue Jay for a short time. We picked him up before the 2013 season and DFAed him a few days into the 2014 season (the team DFAed him for Chad Jenkins, which, looking at their careers, was a huge mistake). He cleared waivers but chose free agency and did well for himself. The Jays gave up on him too quickly, but then I’m impressed by guys who can throw 100 mph.

He pitched in 13 games, with a 3.29 ERA, 13.2 innings, 16 hits, 8 walks, and 16 strikeouts.

Career Jeffress has a 3.08 ERA in 414 games. In 424.1 innings, he’s allowed 377 hits, 163 walks, and 370 strikeouts.

Before this season, he signed with the Nationals but was released before the season started.

We interviewed Jeremy back here, and we talked to his agent Joshua Kusnickhere. His agent has been a friend to the site.

Happy Birthday, Jeremy.

A 3-3 week that felt like they lost every game is not exactly how I thought it would go. Playing the Mets in New York always felt daunting, especially if they knew they could damage the Phillies’ playoff hopes in any way they could, but splitting two games in Washington just can’t happen this time of year.

Three up

Alec Bohm – It’s striking how well Bohm has been doing with runners in scoring position since the All-Star break. Since July 14, Bohm has come to the plate 73 times with runners in scoring position. He has posted a 185 wRC+ in those situations, driving in 35 runs, which is tops among all players with at least 25 plate appearances with runners in scoring position. This week was another week where he seemed to continue piling up the RBI opportunities and delivering. This bodes well for the playoffs.

Luis Arraez – Listen, Arraez has been a disappointment since his trade from the Giants. There was an initial injection of energy when he arrived, which happened to coincide with the offense taking a new approach at the plate of patience, something he is not known for. The defense has not been this massive butcher show it was expected to be with all of the switching around of positions, but generally, he has not been that good. Yet he had a good week this week, hitting .300/.407/.450, bringing in five from the cleanup position. He’ll move on to yet another team once the season is over, but this week was at least one example of why the team brought him in in the first place.

Jose Urquidy – This will likely be the last time Urquidy’s name is mentioned on these here pages. There will be an end of season report card of course, but as far as game action is concerned, there won’t be much more to tell. However, signed off the street and thrown into the bullpen game fire, Urquidy gave the Phillies exactly what was needed on Friday night against the Mets: bulk innings where he was effective and kept the team in the game. The offense’ recent allergy to scoring more than three runs did not help him, but it was at least nice that he kept it close.

Three down

Orion Kerkering – Listen, I know in these past couple of days, I’ve been rough on Kerkering. He has deserved it. There is no real reason for Kerkering to remain with the organization beyond the 2026 season. His demotion, in a time when they need really any reliever that possesses a pulse to throw critical innings, to a team in Lehigh Valley that actually won’t suit up again this year should tell you all you need to know about what the organization thinks of him. The merciful thing to do would probably have been to move on from him once the 2025 playoffs were concluded, but the Phillies possessed an “I can fix her!” mentality when it came to his career. The stuff he has warranted such action, so the plan to have him remain was sound, at least on paper. There was even a decent argument to be made that he should have been dealt at this past trade deadline. However, at this point, even the stuff isn’t really that great and his headspace is clearly not where one would want it to be. He just needs to be somewhere else.

J.T. Realmuto – It’s a good thing he’s beloved by the pitching staff because his offense is doo-doo. Zero for eighteen this week, but hey! Three walks! This is getting to the point where he’ll be the highest paid backup catcher in the league in 2028, if he isn’t released before that.

Kyle Schwarber – Hey, uh, Kyle? Anytime you want to start hitting the ball would be nice. I know the strikeout record is about to be placed in your personal trophy case any day, but some offensive production would be helpful. Walks are cool, of course, but you know what is cooler? Home runs. They’re cool. You should try hitting those again.

Entering the 2025 season, the pitcher I was most excited about was DJ Herz. He was coming off a rookie season where he flashed immense upside and looked like a key cog in the Nats rotation. One of the first articles I wrote for this site was about how high DJ Herz’s ceiling was. 

However, things have not gone according to plan since then. After showing diminished stuff in Spring Training, it turned out that Herz needed Tommy John Surgery. He missed all of the 2025 season and was on the sidelines to start 2026. Following three rehab starts in June, Herz had to hit the shelf again due to a flexor strain. After building back up, Herz is back and will make his return to the big leagues tonight against the Tigers.

This is a start that I am really looking forward to. Despite posting a 4.16 ERA in 88.2 innings as a rookie, his underlying numbers were much more promising. Herz posted a 3.71 FIP, a 3.85 xFIP and 3.30 xERA. The lefty was also a strikeout machine back in 2024.

Herz’s bread and butter is his fastball/changeup combination. As a prospect, he was known for his changeup but his fastball really stood out in the big leagues. It does not have crazy velocity, but the pitch generated a 30.5% whiff rate due to shape and deception. Against righties, Herz paired the heater with a nasty changeup. When he faces lefties, he relies more on his slider.

Command was a major question mark for Herz in the minors, but his 9.4% walk rate in the big leagues was much better than expected. There were starts where he battled command issues, but there were also nights where he was pinpoint. When Herz was locating, he tore through lineups. His 13 strikeout performance against the Marlins was insanely dominant.

After major surgery and a set-back, we will see if Herz has the same sort of crispness. Even if he does not, it would not be a reason to panic. The real test for Herz will come next year. This is just a good way to get his feet wet.

When Herz was on rehab, his stuff was not quite as loud as it was in 2024. In AAA, his fastball has been sitting around 92 instead of the 93-94 range we saw in the past. Early in his rehab assignment, he would be around 90-91 early in games before finding some extra velocity later in his outings.

However, he has been trending in the right direction. Herz averaged 92.7 MPH in his last rehab start where he threw 65 pitches. It looks like he is starting to find his best stuff. That is part of the reason he is getting this opportunity down the stretch.

Hopefully this outing can be a springboard for Herz as we enter 2027. I will also be intrigued to see how deep into the game he will go. As stated, he threw 65 pitches in his last rehab start. With that in mind, I would imagine he will go about 70-75 pitches. 

Regardless, it will be amazing to see the southpaw back on the mound. Ever since the Nats acquired him in the Jeimer Candelario trade, Herz has been a pitcher who has really intrigued me. Between his unique fastball, his nasty changeup and his deception, I have always thought there was something there.

Now we will get to see him back on a big league mound for the first time in two years. Just as it was for Josiah Gray, this was a culmination of a long process and an exciting day.

The final day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below. Check out the previous day’s recap here.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (74-75) lost 3-1 (BOX SCORE)

Hendrickson started for Sugar Land and went 3 innings allowing 2 runs. He was relieved by Alexander who went 5 innings allowing 1 run. The offense got on the board in the 7th on a Delgado RBI double. The offense was unable to score again as Sugar Land dropped the season finale 3-1.

• Zach Cole, CF: 1-for-3, R, 2B
• Ray Delgado, 3B: 1-for-2, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, SB

• Josh Hendrickson, LHP: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
• Jason Alexander, RHP: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• Alimber Santa, RHP: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (62-76) SEASON OVER

A+: Asheville Tourists (43-87) SEASON OVER

A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers – CAROLINA LEAGUE CHAMPS

Today’s minor league starters:

SL: SEASON OVER

CC: SEASON OVER

AV: SEASON OVER

FV: SEASON OVER

The Oklahoma City Comets closed out their regular season with a 2-1 win over the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres).

Center fielder Alek Thomas had two of Oklahoma City’s eight hits, and his triple drove in the winning run in the eighth inning, allowing the Comets to finish at 89-50, the best record in the Pacific Coast League.

Player of the day

Outfielder Zach Ehrhard hit his 30th double of the season and walked. He scored both runs for Oklahoma City on Sunday, padding his PCL-leading total to 120 runs scored on the season. Ehrhard finished his season hitting .291/.400/.472 with 20 home runs, 28 steals, and 94 walks.

Erhard’s 120 runs scored are the most by a Dodgers minor leaguer since Albuquerque Dukes outfielder Lemmie Miller scored 122 runs in 1983.

League leaders

James Tibbs III led the PCL in walks (108), extra-base hits (65, tied with Rockies prospect Zac Veen), and total bases (278), and was second in home runs (30), RBI (107), and runs scored (109).

Ryan Fitzgerald led the PCL in hits (172), including one on Sunday, and doubles (35), and was third in RBI (102). Ehrhard (155) and Tibbs (150) were second and third in hits.

Cole Irvin, who pitched Saturday, led the PCL in ERA (3.33) and wins (12), and his 137 2/3 innings ranked second, two outs shy of the league leader.

Keeping options open

Hyeseong Kim was hitless in four at-bats on Sunday, and finished his regular season hitting just .262/.330/.345 in Triple-A. That was good for only a 79 wRC+ before his 0-for-4 Sunday, after hitting just .259/.323/.328 with an 83 wRC+ in 43 games with the Dodgers this season.

Still, the Dodgers aren’t yet ruling out Kim as a potential speedster off the bench, with the ability to play both middle infield spots well in addition to time in center field and even at third base in Triple-A this season.

“My expectation is he will be here in the off week, and potentially be in the conversation for the postseason because he has the ability to run, play defense, and steal a base,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “I don’t think his offense has been consistent. For us, the at-bat quality that Alex Freeland has been giving us has been very good, he gets on base. For Hyeseong, just trying to find something consistent and to perform consistently. To be quite honest, he just hasn’t been as consistent as he can be, but if he can get more consistent with the bat, he can be a big piece.”

Transactions

Emmet Sheehan was called up to the Dodgers, as was reliever Kyle Hurt. Right-hander Seth Halvorsen was optioned to Oklahoma City.

Sunday score

Oklahoma City 2, El Paso 1

The week ahead

Pacific Coast League championship

Game 1, Tuesday: Oklahoma City at Las Vegas
Game 2, Wednesday: Oklahoma City at Las Vegas
Game 3*, Thursday: Oklahoma City at Las Vegas
*if necessary

If the Comets win the PCL title, they would advance to play in the Triple-A championship next Saturday, September 26 on MLB Network, playing the International League champion, a battle between Rochester and Memphis.

The 2026 Kansas City Royals have a lot of good things going for them. Bobby Witt Jr. is great. Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone are two of the most exciting young talents in the league. Only injuries could dim Maikel Garcia’s budding stardom. Noah Cameron is the best Royals starting pitcher the Royals have developed in a decade and a half. Michael Massey and Nick Loftin made big steps forward.

But the Royals are going to lose at least 90 games this season because that core can’t compensate for the rest of the team being bad. Yes, the Royals need to have some difficult conversations that I don’t really have faith they’ll approach with an open mind—namely, that the team is better when Salvador Perez doesn’t play, and that Vinnie Pasquantino is not part of the core anymore. However, we can all agree on one thing, which is that the bullpen is terrible and it needs an overhaul.

And when I say it needs an overhaul, it needs a total, complete overhaul. Kansas City needs to be buying in bulk in the offseason.

If you haven’t been paying attention because the NFL has started, you’re not the only one, but suffice to say that the Royals have been on a skid, losing 14 of their last 19 games. While it hasn’t all been because of the bullpen, the bullpen has borne the brunt of the responsibility.

Yesterday, it was Nate Pearson giving up a single on a four-seam fastball up in the zone and not quite getting a slider low enough, a pitch which was tagged for a two-run home run.

On Saturday, it was Steven Cruz tossing a middle-middle cutter to a guy with a career .233 isolated slugging percentage.

On Friday, it was Pearson leaving a four-seam fastball up in the zone after also being responsible for the other two batters on base and a previous run in the inning:

The previous Sunday, it was Craig Kimbrel walking two and then Connor Thomas not quite getting a sweeper down enough in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox.

One day earlier, it was Anthony Gose throwing a middle-middle fastball to guy with a career .206 ISO.

And the triumvirate of bullpen awfulness happened on Tuesday, September 8. In the eighth inning, Thomas gave up consecutive singles to kick off the inning and then allowed a sacrifice fly on a mediocre cutter…

…and then Cruz left up a cutter to allow the Diamondbacks to go ahead in the 10th…

…and then Gose left up a slider to allow the Diamondbacks to grab the lead in the 11th.

Just in the last two weeks, that’s eight times the bullpen gave up a go-ahead run or go-ahead runs in the sixth inning or later. The Royals lost all six of those games. And in none of those cases was the bullpen trying to clean up a mess of the starting pitching’s making—it was all them.

I can only imagine what it feels like to be a Royals hitter or starting pitcher with the bullpen the way that it is. The amount of pressure that puts on the rest of the team must be intense. Yes, Jac Caglianone said that punching something in the dugout and cutting his hand was because he was frustrated at his own performance. While that might be true, I can’t help but wonder how much better of a headspace he and the other hitters would be in if they didn’t have to try and play hero ball every game. Since August 29th, the Royals have won a game where they scored fewer than five runs once.

And the biggest problem here is that there is no one person responsible. Five different guys—Pearson, Kruz, Kimbrel, Thomas, and Gose—were involved in the above examples. As a unit, 23 different guys have thrown at least five innings for the bullpen; 14 of them have been tagged with at least one loss, 10 have an ERA of 5.00 or higher, nine have had at least one blown save, and only one has struck out a quarter or more batters faced.

You could look at the Royals and say, “Man, if it’s just the bullpen, that’s fixable!” Unfortunately, the issue is that the Royals probably need to go out and find 10-15 new bullpen arms next year if they want to find a few that aren’t bad.

Seriously; look at the list of pitchers the Royals have used in the bullpen this year and tell me who can be relied on moving forward. Do you want Alex Lange and his sky high career walk rate back? Trust a 32-year-old Lucas Erceg after posting a K-BB% of 1.4% next year? Any interest in Mason Black (career 5.53 ERA) or Connor Seaboldt (career 7.36 ERA)? Think a 39-year-old Craig Kimbrel can hold down a big league job?

There are, genuinely, only two guys who you can mark down as probably being able to contribute semi-competent innings next year. Daniel Lynch IV is one, and one of the only genuinely good bullpen arms on the team. Steven Cruz is another, though not in a closer role.

Outside of that, you cannot convince me that any one of those other 21 guys would be a net benefit to Kansas City if they pitched a single inning for the team in 2027 (non-injured division). So here’s hoping Costco has a sale on arms, because the Royals need to be shopping the aisles hard.