DETROIT, MI - APRIL 23: Brandon Sproat #23 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning at Comerica Park on April 23, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Fresh off their first road series win since early June, the New York Mets (42-58) travel to American Family Field for a three-game rendezvous with the Milwaukee Brewers (62-37). The Mets were swept in Milwaukee last August but won two of three against the Brewers at Citi Field. The last time New York won a game in this ballpark, it was Game 160 of the 2024 season, and the victory positioned them to clinch a postseason berth on the final day of the regular season.
The Mets entered the second half as losers of three straight following a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox, but they rebounded to take two of three from the Phillies in Citizens Bank Park. It was their first road series win since taking two out of three from the Padres back on June 5-7. In their 4-1 victory on Thursday, they got most of their offense via the home run ball, as Francisco Alvarez contributed his second two-homer game of the year and Brett Baty added a solo shot of his own, which was more than enough for Christian Scott, who was terrific yet again. The win came despite the downright dangerous conditions, including the poor air quality resulting from the Canadian wild fires. They were listless in their 6-1 loss on Saturday, as the Mets mustered just three hits, made three errors, and got ineffective pitching from both Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga in defeat.
They returned the favor with a 6-1 win in the rubber game, as the Mets jumped ahead on a Francisco Lindor two-run home run, got three more runs in the second, and never looked back, while Nolan McLean shoved with ten strikeouts in six shutout frames. The Mets picked up 14 hits and walked seven times, with every member of the starting lineup picking up at least one hit except for Marcus Semien. On the downside, New York left 15 on base and ended up going 3-for-23 with Runners in Scoring Position in the series, with all three hits coming on Sunday.
The team’s solid weekend did nothing to quell the trade chatter, and in fact the organization openly announced to the world before Thursday’s game that they were open to business. This is nothing new but did serve as active confirmation of their plans heading into the deadline, especially the fact that all players minus the youngsters and Juan Soto are being made available for the right deal. This led to a lot of chatter about Lindor, who has struggled this year after enduring an injury-plagued campaign. Worse than the offense, he’s made a number of mental mistakes and made errors in three straight games before putting up a clean defensive performance on Sunday.
He actually put forth one of his best performances of the year in the finale, hitting a homer, contributing three hits, and reaching base five times. Despite that, many fans and many in the media have taken it upon themselves to ask if he should be traded, with many even saying his best days are behind him. It’s led to a lot of takes, and a lot of discourse, but Lindor, for his part, has made it known he’s not happy with his play and is actively going out there trying to figure things out. For the right trade, anyone should be movable, but the Mets would probably have to be blown away to even consider it, as Lindor still remains an integral part of this team, especially if they want to succeed next season.
The Brewers kicked off the second half with a three-game sweep of the Marlins at home, which was a nice rebound performance after getting swept by the Pirates to end the first half. The Brewers, who were once chasing the Cubs in the NL Central, are currently six games clear of their division foe, and own the second-best record in baseball behind the Dodgers. On top of their major league success, the Brewers have the top ranked farm system in Major League Baseball, which is an embarrassment of riches for an organization that has made the postseason in seven of the past eight seasons and is well on their way to making it this year after reaching the NLCS in 2025.
Unsurprisingly, Milwaukee is right near the top of the pack in the NL in offense, ranking fifth in wRC+ (104), fifth in runs scored (502), fourth in OBP (.337), and fourth in stolen bases (98). However, one thing they won’t do is outslug you, as they have hit the fewest home runs (91) among NL squads. Their pitching is where they really shine, however. Their rotation has a 3.38 ERA, which is second-best in the NL behind the Dodgers, while sporting a league-best 3.48 FIP. Their starters also sport the best K% (27.9%), the third-best BB% (7.4%), and the fourth-best HR/9 (1.08). It is worth noting that a lot of it is skewed thanks to Jacob Misiorowski’s Cy Young-worthy campaign. Their bullpen is equally lethal, sporting the second-best ERA (3.54) and FIP (3.68) in the league. So while Milwaukee will not bludgeon you on offense, they are very stingy when it comes to giving up runs.
Aside from Misiorowski, William Contreras was the only other All-Star for Milwaukee. The catcher enters play hitting .280/.346/.405 with 10 homers, a 107 wRC+, and 1.8 fWAR in 92 games. However, their best offensive player is Brice Turang, who is hitting .261/.358/.456 while leading the club in runs scored (67), runs batted in (60), stolen bases (15), and fWAR (3.5). Their biggest power threat is Jake Bauers, who is tops on the team in home runs (18), wRC+ (135), and OPS (.858).
Monday, July 20: Freddy Peralta vs. Brandon Sproat, 7:40 PM EDT on SNY
Peralta will make his long-awaited return to Milwaukee when he faces off with his old club in the series opener. In eight years with the Brewers, he posted a 3.59 ERA and a 3.66 FIP while amassing 1,237 strikeouts in 931 innings. He was a two-time All-Star and finished in the top-5 in NL Cy Young voting with the club in his final season. He’s had considerably less success with the Mets, and is quickly approaching the end of his brief tenure in Queens, as he will almost certainly be moved before the August 3 deadline. Interestingly, with the Brandon Woodruff injury, Milwaukee has emerged as a possible landing spot for the right-hander. His last time out, he suffered his eighth loss of 2026 as he allowed two earned runs on three hits while striking out six and wlaking five over 4 1/3 innings.
Similar to Peralta, Sproat will make his first start against the club that traded him to the Brewers (in exchange for Peralta). The young right-hander was the centerpiece of the deal and has been a steady member of the team’s rotation after making four starts with the Mets and posting a 4.79 ERA and a 2.80 FIP in 20 2/3 innings last year. His numbers are a bit misleading, as he had a really rough start to his tenure in the Brewers before leveling off a bit. After posting a 6.24 ERA and a 5.59 FIP through May 31, he has posted a 3.55 ERA and a 4.40 FIP in seven starts since June 1. He also enjoyed the best start of his career in this stretch, when he hurled six innings of one-hit ball and punched out a career-best ten against the Reds on June 23.
Tuesday, July 21: Zac Thornton vs. Jacob Misiorowski, 7:40 PM EDT on SNY
The artist formerly known as “Zach Thornton” and currently known as “Zac Thornton” is coming off the best start of his young career, and one that should have earned him his first career victory. The young left-hander dominated the Red Sox in the team’s final game before the All-Star break, llimiting Boston to two hits and two walks over seven scoreless frames. He struck out five and needed just 82 pitches to get through his outing. If it wasn’t for a blown save in the ninth, he would have had his victory, but he will certainly get plenty of chances down the stretch to earn that first win. Given the team’s pitching outlook, the upcoming deadline, and his last two starts, Thornton looks to have established himself as a rotation mainstay for the foreseeable future.
Misiorowski made waves after debuting last year and was the center of controversy after being named an NL All-Star after just five career starts and 25 2/3 career innings. There was no controversy this year with his selection, as Misiorowski leads the NL in ERA (1.62), ERA- (39), strikeouts (167), FIP (2.09), WHIP (0.76), and H/9 (4.6). He has established himself as the clear frontrunner for the NL Cy Young award in his second major league season. The 24-year-old flamethrower earned a win in his last start before the break, holding the Cardinals to three runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts over two innings. His best and most eye-opening start came on June 12, when he hurled a complete game one-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts against the Phillies.
Sunday, July 19: Christian Scott vs. Logan Henderson, 2:10 PM EDT on SNY
Dealing with a tough lineup in Philadelphia and the elements (intense heat and bad air quality), Scott was in command in picking up his third career victory. The 27-year-old right-hander held a potent Phillies’ lineup to three hits and did not walk a batter while striking out seven over 5 2/3 innings. Over his last two starts, he ha snow pitched 10 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, scattering six hits and walking one while striking out 12 hitters. Along with Nolan McLean, Scott as emerged as the future of this team’s rotation in 2027 and beyond.
Henderson posted a 1.78 ERA in 25 1/3 innings for Milwaukee last season in his first go-around in the majors, but elbow inflammation cut his solid season short. He started this year in Triple-A but has made a couple of trips up to the majors while also battling a low back strain. Since returning, he’s made two starts, allowing three earned runs on three hits over 5 1/3 innings in a win against the Cardinals, and holding the Marlins to one earned run on three hits over five innings against the Marlins in a no decision. The Brewers have won each of his last five starts dating back to his pre-IL stint.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 14: Hunter Goodman #15 of the Colorado Rockies throws to second base during the seventh inning of the 2026 MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I used to spend each July and August visiting my grandparents in Bristol, Connecticut. On many of those summer nights, my grandfather would take me to watch the New Britain Rock Cats. Being so close to the Trade Deadline, the stands were often filled with scouts. I still remember watching Joba Chamberlain pitch while Reggie Jackson sat in the suite behind us.
Those memories make me long for the days when the hot stove was actually hot. Rumors were not in our faces in March. Instead, they slowly heated up as the dog days of summer arrived.
For the sake of this article, let’s pretend this is breaking news. The Yankees have reportedly been scouting and are interested in Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman.
Many people have found their own ways to describe just how poor the Yankees’ catchers have been offensively this season. My favorite way to put it nicely is that they appear to be actively hostile to the concept of quality at-bats. As a group, Yankees catchers have been among the worst offensive units in baseball. Looking at it optimistically, though, it highlights a glaring need and sets an extremely low bar for what qualifies as a successful upgrade.
Austin Wells has established trust with both the coaching staff and pitching staff, but his offensive performance has become increasingly difficult to defend. I think most fans are past the point of asking for a right-handed platoon partner. The reality is that the Yankees need an everyday catcher, allowing Wells to slide into a backup role that would better suit both his skill set and production. The problem is that everyday catchers are rarely available in July, and it’s hard for traded backstops to learn their pitching staffs in a hurry down the stretch in a pennant race.
Sure, several backups and veteran journeymen are bound to change uniforms before the deadline, but true difference-makers behind the plate almost never hit the market. With the Twins still hovering around .500, the list of impact catchers available may be even shorter with Ryan Jeffers potentially remaining in Minnesota.
That brings us to Goodman. Let’s take a look at some green and red flags for the Rockies’ current backstop. On the green side, Goodman bats right-handed. This season he has posted a .919 OPS against left-handed pitching and an .836 OPS against righties, making him productive regardless of the matchup. Better yet, after this season he still has three years of team control remaining before free agency.
The red flags? The Rockies have publicly stated they do not want to trade him, and Goodman currently carries a strikeout rate north of 30 percent.
The Rockies should not want to trade Goodman. That is exactly how a rebuilding club should view a young, controllable player, and he’s not even arb-eligible yet. Even with forthcoming adjustments to the CBA in negotiations, it’s hard to imagine him becoming a free agent sooner than his currently projected 2029-30 offseason.
However, every player has a value and every owner has a price. It’s not as though new team president Paul DePodesta has any lasting attachment to Goodman either, as he wasn’t involved with his drafting or development. If another organization is willing to meet that price, conversations happen. The Rockies sit at the bottom of the NL West and still have a long climb before they can realistically challenge the Dodgers. Adding multiple years of control from quality young pitchers might be enough to start that conversation.
As for the strikeouts, if there is one position where you can live with a 30-percent strikeout rate, it is catcher. Especially when that catcher is slashing .257/.326/.561 with 30 home runs just after the All-Star break, following his second three-homer game of 2026 on Sunday.
I will put a beige flag out there, too, because Goodman’s defense has graded somewhere between below average and average. To me, that is neither a green nor a red flag. Goodman features a solid pop time and blocks pitches well, two traits the Yankees have traditionally valued that would fit nicely with their sinker/splitter-heavy pitching staff. The biggest area where his defense lags behind is pitch framing. While framing has become somewhat less valuable with the introduction of ABS, it remains an important part of the modern catching position.
For anyone worried Goodman’s numbers are simply a product of Coors Field, those concerns should be put to rest as well. He has actually been a better hitter on the road this season, with 18 of his 30 home runs coming away from Denver. His batting average also jumps to .282 on the road compared to .217 at Coors Field.
Ultimately, the conversation comes down to one question. How much is having an All-Star catcher under team control through the next three seasons worth to the Yankees?
The other elephant in the room is that this team was built around having two big right-handed power towers in the middle of the lineup. Even if Aaron Judge returns healthy, he still needs help because Giancarlo Stanton’s availability remains uncertain.
In this case, the bird in the hand may be worth two in the bush. A trade for Goodman would essentially restore the middle-of-the-order production the Yankees expected from Stanton, only at the weakest position in their lineup by far. Goodman is still only 26 years old and, though he does not yet have Stanton’s résumé, he has shown tremendous power and appears to be a star on the rise.
After dropping a series to the Dodgers and with the Red Sox surging, the urgency for the front office to shore up this roster feels even greater than it did before the weekend began. The Rockies might not want to trade Goodman, but the Yankees probably need to keep making offers until they cannot say no.
A name Cardinals fans who have been in or around social media for the last few years knows our guest this week all too well! thecardinalnation.com prospect writer and co-host of “Wednesdays with Walton and Reis”, Kyle Reis! This week, Gabe and I pepper Kyle with questions about the up-and-coming left-handed pitchers in the Cardinals system, JJ Wetherholt’s contract extension, Jordan Walker’s HR Derby win, and plenty of breakdowns on Cardinals 2026 draft picks!
00:23 Introduction and Guest Introduction 02:22 Exciting Developments in Cardinals’ Pitching Prospects 10:26 Injury Updates and Player Development 14:12 JJ Weatherholt’s Impact and Future Extensions 22:14 Jordan Walker’s Home Run Derby Victory and Future Potential 23:29 Evaluating Jordan Walker’s Performance 28:40 Analyzing the 2026 Draft Picks 36:14 Prospect Comparisons and Future Potential 40:29 Cal Randall’s Development as a Pitcher 42:38 Tegan Kuhns: A Blend of Old and New Scouting 46:30 Final Thoughts on Draft Prospects
Jake Wood (00:23) Welcome into the Viva El Birdos Podcast. My name is Jake wood, and I am your host. I am joined by fellow writer Gabe Simonds here at Viva El Birdos.
If you enjoy this episode, please be sure to like and subscribe to our channel. We are available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all of your favorite audio streaming platforms. Today’s special guest is a man who needs no introduction to Cardinals fans, but because I’m me, we’re gonna give him one anyway. Former writer for Birds on Black and MLB.com, host of the lauded Prospects After Dark show, current contributor to the CardinalNation.com, and co-host of Wednesdays with Walton and Reis, welcome back to the show. My bald brother, Kyle Reis!
Kyle Reis (01:02) Hi fellas, thanks for having me. I’m excited to talk it over. You guys are gonna get the whole dog experience today, because my little Minnie Doxon is two years old today and she is on fire. As long as we’ve been talking for the lead-up to this.
She has been trying to nip at me and grab me. And so she’s gonna be a part of the show whether we like it or not.
Jake Wood (01:37) We are a pro Auggy show here, so Aggie, not Augie, Aggie show here, so but anyway, to make Kyle feel more at home, you know, my name is Jake Wood, and this is Brian’s partner, Kyle Reis. Welcome, Kyle.
Kyle Reis (01:41) Hey guys.
Jake Wood (01:54) An exciting last couple of weeks for the St. Louis Cardinals, JJ Wetherholt signing a long-term extension, Jordan Walker winning the home run derby. The Cardinals took a lot of exciting young talent in the amateur draft, and all things that we’re gonna get into today with Kyle. But before we get into those topics, because Kyle is left-handed, and by old definition means he’s clearly untrustworthy, yesterday was a very exciting day for all left-handers, whenever Quinn Matthews, Cooper Hjerpe, and Brandon Clarke all displayed various reasons why Cardinals fans should be excited about what’s coming up through the system. You know, Kyle, are we inching closer to seeing some of these higher-upside pitching prospects at the big league level? I know that, you know, the Cardinals shifted Quinn Matthews to start yesterday to potentially be in line to start sometime in the next week or so because the Cardinals are now, you know, twenty-three straight days or something like that without an off day. You know, what w what are we about to see, or are we about to see some exciting young pitching come to the big league level?
Kyle Reis (02:56) I suspect that in the very near future, we will be seeing Quinn. Not only because of the realignment, but you know, one way or the other, after the trade deadline, there’s gonna be a gap in the rotation. And I would assume because I think we can all kind of agree that Dustin May is probably going to get traded. But whether that happens or not, it is, you know, as we’re recording this, it’s the 19th of July. Within the next month, there’s going to be an opportunity for somebody, one of these kids, to make an impact. And outside of Hunter Dobbins, because Hunter Dobbins really is, you know, the elephant in the room when it comes to prospect promotions to the major leagues and the pitching staff. But I do think we’ll see Quinn. And then what happens as a backfilling move to that’ll be really fascinating to watch too. You know, I am a Cooper Hjerpe enthusiast. So when I get to watch Cooper Hjerpe any day, I’m really fired up about it. And my interest in Cooper, even though he throws in the low 90s, he’s just filthy, and he throws from a weird slot, and he’s fun to watch. So when that’s happening at the same time that Quinn Matthews, who has now refined his mechanics, is back to pitching with tempo, which he hasn’t done since 2024. So he’s back to pitching with tempo. He’s throwing all of his stuff is moving better than it did all of last year, and even at the beginning of this year, and he’s gotten back to his velocity, not the high-end velocity that we saw in 2024, but that mid-90s, peaking at 96, flashing close to 97 velocity. When that’s going on, and he’s landing that changeup, and he’s not walking people, and he’s bullying righties with a slider, which is what happened last night, while Cooper Hjerpe bullying everybody with his slider and changeup, except for throwing one bad 91 mile an hour fastball right over the middle of the plate that a righty took to the opposite field for a home run. And then all of this was the built-up to, wait, Brandon Clarke is, by the way, throwing 103 miles an hour and a sinker profile that no lefty has ever displayed in the history of tracking sinkers in baseball.
It it’s hard not to just soak in that excitement. You know, all three of these pitchers have their flaws. Along with all of the pitchers in the organization, there is not one near-flawless pitcher. But when that’s just the microcosm of what’s going on in the system on any given night, it’s a really exciting thing. You know, I can’t think of a night all year where there hasn’t been at least one or two pitchers that I’ve made a point to like zone in on. And it’s been years since the Cardinals have had that. Yeah, I, you might say that they probably never had it the way that they’ve had it right now. So it’s just an exciting state for the Cardinals’ pitching staff to be in on the farm.
Gabe (05:29) You think, and this is obviously like up to the Cardinals, even though they’re gonna keep working as a starter, that they’ll try to put Cooper Hjerpe in the bullpen to end this year because he can only throw so many innings anyway, and the Cardinals could certainly use a lefty.
Kyle Reis (05:43) I can’t wait to see how they work with Cooper Hjerpe. You, the thing that I was told is that the situation with Cooper and his future is very fluid. Basically, the success that he has or how he’s flashing what he’s flashing is going to end up determining what role he has. You know, I I would say so far, since coming off of the Tommy John, working through his rehab stint, that’s been a lot of ups and downs where you could definitely see him maintaining that starter role, like getting into the starter role, but it that whole since he was drafted, the projection of it all where he he people have projected him to be a reliever, it definitely seems more and more likely. I do think, and you know, with only including with only when rosters expand in September to only two more people, it kind of makes it a little bit, a little bit more muddled. But I would not be surprised if we get to September. And since he’s already on the 40-man, he’s one of the guys who gets the call or the cap tip. If he continues to pitch this way, you know, he’s up to 60 pitches right now, and we have about a month before we get, you know, a month and a half before we get to September. And I’m anxious to see what his pitch count looks like when we get into September, because my hope is that he’s on the 80- 90 plan that all the other starters are on in the organization. But I would not be surprised if they’re still not letting him get to 80 pitches. And at that point, I think that that is the ultimate tell that he’s going to be a reliever or given a chance to relieve at the major league level, probably without a chance to ever be a starter like Kyle Leahy has.
Jake Wood (07:12) Kyle, you know, with Cooper Hjerpe specifically, and you know my concerns or my fears with him and them potentially pushing him a little bit too hard, obviously coming off of the arm injury, and he’s never even experienced, you know, life at the Triple-A level using the big league ball, and obviously we know that that in itself is a transition. You know, is it is it g would it be asking too much of him to be that, you know, potential reliever in September? Do you think it’d be like smarter long term to kind of just put the brakes on him a little in terms of like this year, because obviously he would, he could very well just impact the team, the major league level next season, but you know, is your opinion that they should be, you know, all systems go forward and try to push him that quickly, or would it be smarter long term for his, you know, development to to kind of pump the brakes and allow him to at least go through some struggles at Triple A and feel that and and get used to pitching with that big league baseball?
Kyle Reis (08:16) Jake, I honestly think both things are right here. I think the latter, you know, in particular, playing it slow with him would make sense, especially coming off of Tommy John, because we know that command is one of those things, takes a little extra time off Tommy John. But at the same time, I don’t think the Cardinals have done, and it’s a different development staff, really, but I don’t think the Cardinals have done Cooper Hjerpe any favors by being extra careful with him over the years. I don’t think that s suits his personality. And quite frankly, again, I believe that he’s a durable young man. I do believe that he’ll he’ll he he’s capable of starting. But quite frankly, like there’s only so many bullets in that arm. I think that’s a fair thing to say. And I do think if you want to reap the benefits of that first-round draft pick, it would behoove you to get him to the majors as soon as possible. So far, I guess you’re right in thinking that you should take it slow with him. And I would imagine that that’s what the Cardinals will do, and that’s probably the smartest thing to do. But if you’re asking me what I would do, I I would I would have him answer Gabe’s question; I would have him ready to participate in September out of the Cardinals’ bullpen just to see what it looks like. Again, you’re not if it’s a matter of building up innings for 2027; you’re not gonna get that. That’s already out the window. So what you’re trying to find out is what kind of role can he supplement for the Cardinals in 2027. At least that’s what I would be doing. I don’t know if that’s what they’re going to be doing. And in that case, yeah, I think that it would behoove them to push him a little harder this year. And honestly, if I know it, I know enough about his personality, and maybe you do need to throttle it back because of his personality, that he wants it and he’s ready for it. And that’s what will probably push him to the next step of his development.
Gabe (09:53) And I assume he’s spending August in Memphis or something like that, right? He’s not just gonna skip straight to the majors.
Kyle Reis (09:59) Yeah, I would think that that would be the case. You know, ideally, the way that my mind works, and it might not go this way, but you see Quinn Matthews make a major league debut whenever that happens, and that Cooper would backfill that role. But you know, it could end up being Braden Davis. It’s not like they don’t have a couple of other arms at Springfield that could backfill, but that’s how I would handle it if these guys continue on their current trajectories.
Jake Wood (10:26) So, like, at double-A, we’ve seen some other guys, like you mentioned, that could backfill. We’ve seen a couple of other guys who’ve already made the transition from Double-A to Triple-A, like a Jurrangelo Cintje and Mason Molina. Obviously, there are names that are starting to filter upwards that are exciting for Cardinals fans. Another lefty who’s working his way back, who should have been in Triple-A for the majority of the season, is Ixan Henderson. What’s the latest with Ixan that you’ve been hearing, and how soon are we from getting a potential return from him as well?
Kyle Reis (10:57) Yeah, you know, it took him a little bit longer to get through his, I guess, rehab after his arm kerfuffle. So he is he’s a little slower. Of course, he’s he is pitching in the FCL, starting a rehab. I would imagine that we will see him at Palm Beach very soon, very similar to how we saw Brandon Clarke. And, you know, my understanding is that they were extra careful with him. You know, again, pull the reins back on him a little bit to get him to a point where they wouldn’t be worried about how he would respond once he got back on a mound in a competitive environment. So I would suspect, and I asked Brian about this on the last podcast with Wednesdays and Walton, Wednesdays with Walton, is I wonder how close to like the Pete Hansen rehab he’ll be, where you know he made a couple he’s in the FCL- makes a couple Palm Beach appearances as a starter, and then is up to Memphis. I think that they’re gonna be a little slower with his rehab because of how long he’s been out. The arm issue was a little bit more serious. I and I I don’t remember what it was. My brain is malted over. So I don’t remember exactly what it was, but it was a little more serious. So they’re gonna be a little bit more purposeful in how they bring him along. But the last I heard is that he was healthy and ready to go, much like Brandon Clarke was the other night. But not like that, because he doesn’t throw 102 miles an hour, he throws like 93, and not quite as as sen sensational as Mr. Clarke does.
Gabe (12:21) Can I ask about a player absolutely nobody’s asking about right now, which is which is Thomas Saggese? And I’m wondering how many games in Memphis you’ve seen. How does he look? His stats aren’t that great, but he’s walking more, striking out less, and his xwOBA is like way better than what his actual wOBA is, but he’s got a little BABIP, and his power’s not quite there. So are you seeing like improved approach and everything from him in Memphis?
Kyle Reis (12:25) Mm.
You know earlier this week I kind of I threw something out there and it’s it’s been really really tough to watch victor scott and thomas Saggese and Nolan Gorman at Triple-A because it’s just like even when even when things go well for them they don’t they don’t have any luck and that’s and really that’s just like a lead in with Saggese where he’s the one of that group where you can actually see that like he’s taking a different at bat it really is you he’s he’s trying as hard as possible to be as purposeful within is that bat as possible. You can see it. It’s not that the veil is not over it. So, Gabe, I think you’re on to it. I think with him, I’m very much trying to make a concerted effort to build this deficiency up into something that can work for me and make it a part of how I take it at bat. And I think that that’s why you’ve seen the home run scale back. I think he’s up there trying to work counts, trying to identify pitches better, and to make it part of who he is instead of what we heard a year ago, where it was. I’m trying to get better, and he did get better, and then he regressed to the mean. I think he’s trying to make that a part of the batter, the hitter he is. So he’s the one. And again, not to go, not to go too far off. You know, to your we’ll stick with Thomas. To your point, like I I do think that there’s real development going on there still with him that could turn him into that utility player similar to what we’ve seen out of Jose Fermin at the major league level. But I do wanna, just since we’re talking about it and since I brought him up.
It is bad for Nolan Gorman, and it is bad for Victor Scott, and it does not seem like there’s any development going on. It just seems like they’re churning; they’re just churning in mud.
Jake Wood (14:22) Hmm. Well, you know, from failed former prospects in essence to one that is taking off like a rocket, the Cardinals appear to have struck gold with JJ Weatherholt and paid for his weight’s worth in it as well, signing JJ to an eight-year extension for $112 million. How symbolic has this season been for JJ and the Cardinals as a whole? You know, you remember back to Opening day, JJ took the first at bat of this, you know, new era of Cardinals baseball, and now four months later he’s signing the first you know, extension with the team of what Bill DeWitt the Third or, you know, “Triple Sticks,” as you refer to him as, the you know, the first of more to come. Can you speak to not only the symbolism in making JJ the first to be extended, but also, you know, who might be next in line in that conversation to be extended?
Kyle Reis (15:02) Mm. Yeah, you know, one of the things that I kind of point to is, you know, I was born and raised in St. Louis City. Up until a year ago, I had lived there my whole life. And in a lot of ways, JJ Weatherhurt Holt kind of personifies that blue-collar St. Louis City, like the way he plays baseball, his personality, it kind of it’s kind of perfectly personifies what goes on in St. Louis and how St. Louisans kind of view themselves. You know, it’s the hockey player mentality in a lot of ways. You know, he’s gonna go out there, and he’s gonna take his thumps. He’s gonna give his best effort every night. You’re never gonna see him, you know, dog a ball down to first, or you know, he’s never gonna take a playoff. And he’s gonna do it as best as he can. And to see him immediately hit the scene and be the best version of himself, and, you know, what you see and what we don’t see, of course- stuff behind the scenes also lends itself to that type of personality. So it’s not just for me; it’s not just for me about how it aligns with the Cardinals and their rebuild and the first at-bat and the first contract extension of this new era of Cardinal baseball. I think it’s also a cap tip to the city itself that this is what we’re trying to build. This is what we’re looking at. It’s not just about first-round talent. It’s about what you do when you get your opportunity and how you run with it and how you work with it, the teammate you can be, the leader you are, both, you know, in every capacity. So I think it’s symbolic in that way. It’s not just, it’s not just about the first extension of the new era. It’s a cap tip to Cardinal fans in general and the city itself, but Cardinal fans in general, that this is the player, this is the attitude, this is the work ethic that we are going to build around. And also I I do think in some capacity it’s a cap tip to the fans that hey, look, we heard you.
We know that you love JJ Weatherholt, and we’re we’re going to buy out a couple of years of his free agency and pay him along the way. And I really do think that that that’s that kind of speaks to it. You know, as far as who’s next, I don’t know. I’m after the home run derby, you know, I was like, hey, let’s just give Jordan Walker a billion dollars. Well, what are we doing? Like 10 years, 25 years, however much he wants, just give it to him. But you know, I really don’t know what’s to come next. I know that there’s been some conversation about
Triple sticks words about who might be next, or it might be the first of many. I I for me, that was more just rhetoric than anything else, just announcing that they’re willing to be open to this stuff, then they’re leaning towards something. But yeah, I, you know, I look at that roster, and for me, even though Ivan Herrera has struggled, I’d like to see what an Ivan Herrera extension would look like. You know, I like a lot of these players, and I’m really open and excited to see what direction they go in with them. I mean, what do you guys think? Would you go, Jordan Walker? What would be your next route?
Gabe (18:05) Well, I’m gonna plant my flag on Masyn Winn. That’s my I wanna sign into an extension ’cause I think his bat will get better at some point. I, despite evidence not necessarily showing it so far. But I just like to see some classic great defenders in the past at shortstop who got to play every game, and then eventually Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Smith, Omar Vizquel, all those guys their bats at some point later in their career, were closer to whatever their peak was. And I think that’s the case with Masyn, and I would love to extend him before that happens, which is likely if it’s going to happen, while he’s still in his team control years. So I’m for Masyn Winn personally. And Jordan Walker, but Masyn Winn seems like he’s more affordable.
Jake Wood (18:52) Well, I guess if I have a flag to plant, I’m gonna go a different direction. I’m going over to first baseman, Big Burley, Alec Burleson. You know, you talk about a guy who is consistent, professional at bat every single time, gives you impact, gives you stability. You know, you look at it like not only with JJ Weatherholdt, I think the Cardinals really like to lean into certainty whenever they’re extending players, whenever they’re handing out big contracts. And I think that you can easily look at Alec Burleson as that 20 to 25 home run guy, probably hits in the 260 to 280 range annually. Like, you know what you’re gonna get. We look we saw Tyler Soderstrom get an extension this past offseason, and you know, when you look at the numbers, comparatively speaking, they’re very similar in their production output. So you can look at maybe a five-by-seventy-five type of extension for an Alec Burleson that will put him right around like age thirty-two, I believe, whenever that would be completed, and you buy out the rest of his arbitration plus a couple of those free agent years. I think it makes all the sense in the world, you know, you have the guy that is, like, along with Jordan Walker, you know, leading the charge offensively. I think that Alec Burleson has, you know, what was it last year, Oli Marmol said after last season that no other player above Alec Burleson took advantage of the runway, the opportunity that he was given. And so I think that rewarding that and, you know, not only J.J. Wetherholt but also Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, these guys who have taken meaningful steps forward in their career and you know, paying those guys as, like also you know, a message to the younger guys, like, hey this is the this is the carrot at the end of the stick. You take your steps forward, you achieve those positive steps forward, we will reward you with, you know, financial commitment and long-term commitment to you. So I think that, you know, there’s some symbolism there would be some symbolism in rewarding an Alec Burleson as well.
Kyle Reis (20:48) Yeah. And I think that’s an interesting one too. I you know, it’s funny because both of those guys, the one thing about Cardinal fans being so smart is sometimes we, and this I’m speaking very much out of like out of my own heart here. This is something that I do. I try to overthink the process, right? So, like people might say, Hey, don’t extend Alec Burleson because you’re kind of still kind of outside your championship window. You could get a haul for him, and like, wouldn’t that benefit your team more?
And for me, I think one of the things I’m trying to backpedal on a little bit more is to just be like, yeah, that’s great. But this is a player that I like to watch, who’s fun to watch, who’s contributing. Like, isn’t that better than in some cases, not in every case, but with Burleson in particular, and with Masyn Winn, because all of a sudden Masyn Winn is getting a lot of blowback from fans about his offensive production. And I for frankly, I don’t think it’s fair, because we’ve seen him put up some good offensive numbers. But with both of those guys, I think that I think that as a fan, instead of trying to be smart, instead of trying to be the GM or the president of baseball operations, I think it behoves us to kind of be like, hey, you know what? I want them to sign these guys. I want them to keep these guys around. And I want them to build around every one of these players that we’ve mentioned: Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson, J.J. Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Masyn Winn. Like, that is the core. I mean, that and that core also fit in your championship window. It could be the catalyst for the explosion that ends up being a championship run. Without sacking you too financially too much into the future. So I I I’m I like all of these guys, and I do hope that especially with Burleson, that that’s how they’re looking at it as opposed to is this an asset that we can just turn into some other assets?
Gabe (22:30) Basically, don’t be the Rays.
Jake Wood (22:32) That yeah.
Kyle Reis (22:32) The Cardinals don’t have to be the Rays here, right? Like they can be if they choose. Like you know, Lars Nootbaar, if they decide to do that, I would understand why they would move Lars Nootbaar. You know, Dustin May, of course, like we talked, like be smart with the assets. I just don’t think Alec Burleson is there yet, where you have to feel like he’s outside of your championship window.
Jake Wood (22:51) Fully agree. Now, to Jordan Walker, you know, winning the home run derby and being the first Cardinal to do so was an incredible feat, you know, and one that was done with a lot of drama and excitement, overcoming eleven home runs in the final round to beat hometown hero Kyle Schwarber in Philadelphia. You know, this is the Jordan Walker we were always promised, but the journey to where he is now was certainly not linear, right? What is your level of confidence, Kyle, that you know his performance has staying power and that his ability to continue evolving his profile can produce a potential perennial MVP candidate?
Kyle Reis (23:29) You know, everybody I know who is smarter than me and associated with major league teams tells me that this is for real. It’s not, it’s not an aberration, it’s not something he’s gonna fall back or regress to the mean. He’s going to go through stints where he is not particularly good, but that’s because every major league baseball player goes through that. You know, when you have conversations maybe associated with the Cardinals, they’ll tell you that they believe, through the coaching staff, that he has kind of reached a point where he knows how to reset. And that’s the key there. So I will say, like, the fan in me that has watched the Cardinals for the last 10 years and watched talent peak and then regress quickly, like I’m not quite there where I feel like this is going to stick, but everybody I know tells me that it is. And I trust them more than I trust myself. And I know that if this continues, it’ll be the most fun we’ve had watching one singular player in years.
Gabe (24:23) Yeah, and that it I with Jordan Walker’s home run derby; literally my attitude was, Jordan, “I’m sorry, I was not familiar with your game” because I had no expectations about him in the home run derby whatsoever. I was like, he’s gonna ’cause he’s a like a line drive hitter more, but somehow he made it a like I’m gonna hit the line drives that just keep going until they so I was like I d I didn’t think that would play in the home run derby. It was like the Pujols problem when he was in the Home Run Derby. He was just too much of a line-drive hitter. He couldn’t like
Jake Wood (24:31) Yeah.
Kyle Reis (24:44) Yeah.
Gabe (24:53) But hey, you know what? I’m all aboard that, and also I think as bad as he looks on some of his at-bats, his strikeout rate actually isn’t that high anymore. I don’t know if like ’cause he looks silly on some plate appearances, but it’s like twenty-five percent, which that’ll play for sure. I’m a lot more optimistic about Jordan Walker since his K rate went from like thirty-one percent to twenty-five percent ’cause that was the problem, like Tyler O’Neill. He’s just inconsistent ’cause he wasn’t making contact enough. But if Walker can
Kyle Reis (25:10) Yeah. Yeah.
Gabe (25:22) Minimize the strikeouts as much as possible, then I think we might, yeah, we might have a star in our hands.
Kyle Reis (25:28) Yeah. You’re right, you’re right. That twenty-five does seem like the magic number for him. You know, twenty-five-twenty-six somewhere around there. And again, that constant adjusting, adjusting to that breaking pitch. You know, because he like you said, sometimes he’s still flailing out at that slider out of the zone. That’s something he’s always going to struggle with. I think we can all agree on that at this point. It’s just a matter of how he adjusts to that struggle. And that’s been the major key this year: still hunting pitches, adjusting better to the fastball, right? Because we saw them start to blow fastballs by him last year, as he was crippled by that outside breaking pitch. He’s adjusted to that. He’s rotating on that better. And he’s also fighting off that pitch that got him all of 2023, 24, and 25. So yeah, look, I think you’re right. I think the strikeout percentage is really the telltale. And we’re also seeing him continue to evolve as a hitter, getting more power, lowering his strikeout rate, and also continuing to drive the ball all over the field. So I’m excited about it. I do think it has staying power. And I know to your point, Gabe.
Watching those line drive missiles and the home run derby from round one until the end with barely any wasted motion. it wasn’t like he was trying to hit it. He was just swinging the bat, was some of the most enjoyable, lighthearted baseball moments I’ve had as a Cardinal fan in years, I think.
Gabe (26:44) Yeah.
Jake Wood (26:44) Well, they don’t ask you how; they ask you how many, right? And that was his ultimate goal: to hit as many as possible. It didn’t matter how far it went, as long as the number was greater than eleven. And kinda to your point, Gabe, about the strikeout rate, yes, Jordan Walker’s gonna have some moments where he swings and misses, and like that, that’s gonna happen. But I wonder if, as fans in general, at what point are we also able to kind of contextualize this conversation and also say that, you know what? That pitcher executed a good pitch and simply got Jordan Walker out. How often are we able are we capable of just being able to, like, you know, to use Kyle’s wording, to tip our just tip your cap to the pitcher, because the opposition is a major leaguer too, and they execute on their pitches, and sometimes they make the best hitters look, you know. They say the best counter to good offense is good pitching. So, like it the good pitching beats good hitting always. So, you know, sometimes it’s just gonna happen. But
Kyle Reis (27:36) Mm-hmm.
Jake Wood (27:41) To be able to lean on and rely on the fact that you know, Jordan Walker, Oli talks about this on the Gashouse Gang, is like they have he he has- the cues to be able to tether himself back to. So if he starts getting outside of, you know, what he is supposed to do mechanically, they can go back and look at what he was doing to give him success, to allow him to, as Kyle said, reset. So I think that has kind of been the major sticking point for him this season. And it’s just been really refreshing to watch him be able to like Kyle said reset and then also show the ability to make adjustments and and improve the pitch selection to be able to do damage on against pitch certain pitches that frankly last year or two years ago he he wasn’t gonna come anywhere close to touching or making contact with
You know, from the current to the future, you know the Cardinals drafted Trevor Condon, Tegan Kuhns, and Rocco Maniscalco with their first three picks. What did you make of their draft, Kyle? It seems that across third-party outlets, they felt that the Cardinals came away with one or maybe if not the best hauls in the twenty twenty-six cycle.
Kyle Reis (28:53) Yeah, it’s just a group of exciting players, you know. I I we were talking about it with Kareem a little bit on Wednesdays with Walton and Reis, but you know, we when you do all this draft prep, when you watch all these highlights and you watch all of you know all of collegiate baseball throughout the year, you you tune in here and there, and there’s so many games and you’re trying to stay up to date and you’re watching draft boards and you’re watching draft rankings and you’re trying to learn about players, you end up picking players and you’re like, Man, I love this guy, man, I love this guy, man, I love this guy. And you know, you become attached to players, and you like players, and then the Cardinals never draft any of those players. And you’re, and you know, it’s not frustrating because that’s not the right way of putting it, but you know, in your heart, you’re like, man, I know that these players are good. And then you watch them perform well on other teams. And sure, the Cardinals’ prospects also perform well, but you have this allegiance to these players because you’ve been following them and watching them and liking them. Well, this year was, and this, of course, influences my bias. This year, they happened to draft guys that I loved, like those that I personally had invested a lot of time and energy into and had highlighted as some of the better prospects in the draft. So to watch this all unfold, the Cardinals drafting players that I personally would have drafted, and I personally would have highlighted, and to watch it was just a really exciting thing to see like, to see the Cardinals. There’s an evolution here in the Cardinals’ draft philosophy. And it aligns with the player development side. And they communicate so well together that you can see their hands shaking each other in the draft. And to watch the Cardinals kind of modernize their draft decisions based on the modernization of player development and what player development is asking for. And that to coincide with what we as fans are starting to really zone in on as an interesting and carrying tools for talent at an amateur level. And to watch it all come together in the 2026 draft.
Because that’s exactly what happened. It was a perfect marriage of all of these things that you want as a as an analyst to come together. That’s exactly what happened. And it was a beautiful, beautiful thing. You know, so anyway, that’s just to say that especially that day one in the beginning of day two, it could not have gone any better for the Cardinals, in my opinion, from both a quality and a quantity standpoint, for the draft as possible. It was it was exciting prospect after exciting prospect with very, very little waste or question mark or interest in there. even the ones that were question marks, as you’ve come to learn more and more about you’re like, I get what they’re doing here. It makes sense for keys to success at the major league level or the minor league level and in modern baseball.
Gabe (31:37) So you since you were a big fan and I read some, I’m mostly positive, but some differing stuff. I wanna ask you to counter a couple of the negatives of two of the players that were highly acclaimed picks. Trevor Condon, I saw this is probably a very minor opinion, but compared to the Pete Kozma pick, a little bit, I would like you to react to that because Pete Kozma was of high floor mostly defense guy whose bat was a question mark. That’s, I know you’re scrunching your eyes there, Jake. But I get the comparison even though I don’t think it’s right. And then with Rocco, I did see some talk where he just did not make enough contact at all in his last year. And what would your counters to that be with people who were against those picks or didn’t think they were as good?
Kyle Reis (32:23) Yeah, I will say Trevor Condon’s an interesting one to me. You know, I know Keith Law had him as like his 41st best draft prospect. And I know nearly every other outlet had him in, like, the, we’ll just say, the 10 to 18 range. And for me, Trevor Condon is somewhere in between those two groups. One thing that I really like is both raw and in-game power. And I think when you’re drafting a first-round draft pick, you have to have, of course, the bat-to-ball skills, bat speed, but you have to have in-game power there to feel really comfortable with your first-round pick, especially if it’s the top 15 pick. And what are people going to do with Trevor Condon, the people who doubt Trevor Condon, and I am one of those people who kind of doubt Trevor Condon a little bit. I I think I think he’s going to be good. I think he has the bat speed and the strength to get to power. But I think most of those people will say, hey, look, this is a kid who could not hit home runs until his senior year in high school, and he only hit nine in Georgia. Again, it was against really good competition. And he was still the Gatorade Player of the Year in Georgia. So that’s worth mentioning as well. But the two things that people are going to say, they’re going to say he he he’s not hitting for power, and he’s not going to be able to hit for power because of the way his hands work within his mechanics. He starts high, and he drops him, and he kind of swings the bat sometimes like it’s a tennis racket on a backhand with two hands. And I think that that’s what we’ve seen out of prospects who swing the bat that way: it’s hard for them to get to real power as they climb the minor league ladder. So when you draft someone like that, you hope that because he has, you know, elite prep-level bat-to-ball skills, his bat-to-ball skills will carry him until he finally gets to power, until they can adjust his mechanics and get to power. But as we found with Ryan Mitchell, who’s also kind of can he get to power? He has really good bat-to-ball skills. How does this all click? Will it all click as you try to implement one without sacrificing the other? So I think that would be like that, my counter to that would be
This kid’s gonna hit one way or the other. I don’t know if the power will come or not, but it’s not ever gonna dip below, like, he’s not ever gonna be like a 220, 300, you know, two twenty batting average, three hundred on base percentage. He makes smarter swing decisions than that. He has better bat-to-ball skills than that. Even though he does have, you know, everybody talks about his motor and his defensive skills and his speed and all that, and his work ethic, all that stuff will play into it. Not to say Pete Kozma didn’t have that, but I think that that would be the complaint.
Why would you say that you would question that? And also, I would say as a counter to that, like the kid’s gonna hit no matter what happens. And that’s something you can’t guarantee with a lot of these picks, especially on the prep level in the first round. And then with Rocco, I don’t know how to counter the Rocco thing, other than to say, watching him is a treat. And you know, I’ve talked to people who scout the prep ranks, and you know, what I will tell people is when you’re talking about somebody who just who reclassified from the 2027 class to the 2026 class, who’s the youngest kid drafted in any draft in the history of drafts? There’s rawness there that you just have to take into account. And you don’t know how the rawness is gonna polish. What you hope is that they can work hard and that they take to the teachings of the organization that drafts him. And by every indication, that’s what Rocco Maniscalco is going to be able to do. But when you talk to these guys who have watched him play, they would have told you that, you know, if he wouldn’t have reclassified, he’d probably be in line to be a top-three pick in the 2027 draft. That he might have been the first overall pick in the 2027 draft. And all it would have taken was just a little adjusting. While his swing can get a little long, it’s not so long, and it’s not so unorthodox for a 17-year-old to overcome it in one season. And I think the Cardinals will allow him; working with the Cardinals will allow him to cut that distance pretty, pretty markedly. So you know, again, I can’t, I cannot say to those people who question Rocco Menescalso. Maniscalco and his bat, how will it perform at the Major League level? I I don’t have the the the I guess the raw data or anything to prove. What I can tell you is that there is real raw power in there. He is a true athlete who’s gonna stick it short and who moves around exceedingly well and has explosive levers and explosive motions. And I believe because of how dedicated he is to the sport, how he’s driven to be as good as he can be, that within a year or two, we’ll start to see those question marks.
That are his batted ball profile and his contact rates start to level out as a 19-year-old at Palm Beach. And he’s taking that step to be a top 100 prospect. But it is a gamble. You know, they’re gonna give him between three point, my guess is between three point seven five and four point one million dollars for a bonus to sign as a 50th overall pick. And it is very much a gamble that will take longer to pay off than.
Mm, probably any other draft pick that the Cardinals made in twenty twenty-six.
Jake Wood (37:13) You know, you show me a person who, you know, doubts a seventeen-year-old’s ability to become something of any type of high-quality or caliber, and I’ll show you a fool. Anybody who’s sitting here telling you they know exactly what a seventeen-year-old is ever gonna become is foolish. And so I just that’s why I squinted my eyes- ’cause it’s like, I don’t know how you can make any definitive determination about a raw seventeen like, as Kyle said, one of the youngest prep players ever drafted. There is so much runway in front of him. And on top of that, like, I had Nate Rasmussen on last week. You know, he does really great work over at Overslot. If you guys haven’t checked that episode out, go check that out because Nate’s fantastic, always great with the information. he compared Maniscalco to Billy Carlson, who was drafted last year by the White Sox. And so, if you- I know they’re a little bit more raw in their hitting ability than what Billy Carlson’s capable of or has already shown capabilities of. But the defensive ability in Acumen, he feels they’re on a similar plane. And to say that you might have potentially gotten a guy at fifty that was a top ten pick the year before would be really great value. You know, same thing with Trevor Condon. He, Comp, and I know Kyle how you are about comps, but I’m just throwing this out there. He compared Trevor Condon to a Max Clark-type player. He didn’t see PCA; he doesn’t really get the Lenny Dykstra of it all, but he saw a lot of Max Clark in Trevor Condon. So like, again, a top five pick you’re getting at thirteen. There’s really good value there if they are comparable players, if they wind up on a similar trajectory. All of that being said, nothing is for sure, nothing is ever like for sure predictive, but to know that the Cardinals targeted players with the same types of potential skill sets as those types of top ten picks, I don’t know how you can be anything but just excited and and enthusiastic about what the future could potentially hold for the Cardinals and this draft class that they brought in. Kyle, I did want to jump to one other player the Cardinals drafted really quickly, one that’s super fascinating to me. Fifth-round pick Cal Randall out of UCLA. This dude has the best fastball in the entire draft. But the Cardinals got him in the fifth round, and again it’s a big, almost 80-grade fastball. I I would be I would be comfortable putting an 80 on that on the fastball. But he has no secondaries whatsoever to speak of. He kind of plays with a changeup. It’s a usable pitch. They’re just gonna sit the fastball and do the best they can with it.
I talked a little bit about this with Nate, and I’ve also been listening to Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, and they kind of firmly believe that this is a reliever-only profile. I still kind of wonder if this is the guy, kind of like Tanner Franklin last year, that they try to at least see what it looks like as a starter and to move forward with it from there. See if they can develop a s a a quality secondary to go along with that big fastball.
You know, what do you see from Cal Randall, and do you think that there is starter potential in there?
Kyle Reis (40:29) Yeah, 100% I do. And I don’t think the Cardinals would have drafted him with their fifth-round pick if they didn’t think that they would at least give it a runway. You know, because of how di dynamic that fastball is, he’s always going to get a chance to be in the bullpen really quickly. That’s that’s it. But one way or the other, to be a bullpen piece at the major league level, he’s going to need something else. The Cardinals are going to develop him as a starter. That is a fact.
It doesn’t mean that when he makes his debut in the organization, it won’t be out of the bullpen or something like that. But the plan is to develop him as a starter. Now, I’ve seen a lot of really smart people that I agree with that say what he needs to do is do the Lance Lynn focus on fastballs, right? Do a sinker, 4-seam, cutter, and start there and see where it goes from there. And I think that that is a great way to start. Personally, I would like to see him develop the changeup as little as possible. I think that it’s not a bad thing to have in his pocket against lefties to continue to work on.
But to me, like you shelf that pitch as much as you feel comfortable doing. Really, his secondary offering that I’m most interested in is this little cut slider that he has. That’s really just a cutter, but sometimes he throws it with a little extra juice, and it moves a little bit more east to west. I think to me, I think that’s where you start. I don’t know if you start with the sinker right away, but you go fastball, cutter, and you continue to augment him, teach him how to throw. How to grip it and rip it so that it’s a traditional gyro slider and can also be a cutter. I think you start there and you s you backpedal from there. You build from there, you know, without knowing how comfortable he is gripping baseballs, you know, or how his arms are going to maintain throwing opposite or throwing these different pitches. I can’t really say for sure. But for me, if I’m building him and I’m building him slow and I’m trying to take it easy and get him in a starter’s repertoire, I’m starting with how do I augment the pitch that he already throws, which is like a cuttery slider and how do I make that work for me and then build on from there because I think that’s the best way to do it. But yeah, look, I think that I do think 100% that, and I know 100% that they’re going to start with the intent of building them up as a starter because that’s there’s more value there. And you know what, if it doesn’t click, then hopefully you’ve developed a secondary pitch that’s as good or at least as manageable as that primary elite fastball so that he can have success at the major league level.
Gabe (42:38) Can you share some thoughts on Tegan Kuhns, who, despite being drafted from Tennessee, is I I from what I understand, not the same as Liam Doyle and Tanner Franklin. Like they’re a different type of prospect.
Kyle Reis (42:50) Yeah, yeah. So if you were to marry old Cardinal Scouting with new Cardinal Scouting, you would have Tegan Kuhns. He’s a strike thrower who throws from that low launch angle that the card the that the Cardinals have highlighted. He has a good like a good fastball that actually I I think I think most scouts that have actually watched him will tell you that the fastball might actually be the question mark here, even though it it plays well and it has traits that you that suggest that it would it it has you know it would be like a 60 grade fastball or something like that. But really, what I’m encouraged by is that all the scouts say that his slider is his best secondary offering. And I don’t think you can argue that. But what he did as he went down, as the season progressed for Tennessee, was he started throwing his curveball more. And that made his slider work better. And his curveball was getting better and better and better and better and better. And sure, sometimes he hangs it, and it gets banged. Sometimes that just happens. But I’ve watched what I’ve watched is I’ve watched these two off-speed pitches develop into actionable, developmental pitches that could help carry him to the major leagues. And he commands it all pretty well. The fastball, what gets in string with the fastball, even though it measures well and it has the potential to be a plus pitch, is that he uses it kind of weird. And I’m anxious to see how the Cardinals supplement this, how they change it. But a lot of times when you watch him in a start, he uses this fastball, which plays really well up in the zone, low in the zone. He kind of peppers it low in the zone, low in the zone, low in zone low in the zone. And then as the game works.
Like works on, he goes higher and higher and higher and higher in the zone, helping it play up as he fatigues out a little bit. So I cannot wait to see how that augments. If the Cardinals just say, hey, look, you gotta use this thing up in the zone from the start of the game until the end, and if that helps it play up, but it is still susceptible to a little bit of damage, more so than fastballs that measure similarly from similar angles. But yeah, again, Tegan Kuhns is fun because, you know, in some ways, this is the Michael Wacha strike-throwing profile with the stuff of the modern ask of the development and scouting side. So this is this is this is not Tanner Franklin. He’s gonna get to the majors quicker than that. He has better command than that. This is not Liam Doyle, where you’re questioning some of the off-speed offerings, but you know his fastball is gonna carry him. He’s some amalgamation of old and new. And that gets me excited as somebody who really appreciates both the old technique and the new technique.
Gabe (45:16) Is he targeted for Peoria, would you say? Or even Springfield, maybe?
Kyle Reis (45:20) So I would suspect that when we see him in twenty twenty seven that he will be in Peoria. That’s that would be my guess, is that will be his first landing spot.
Jake Wood (45:28) To kind of go back to the Cal Randall of it all real quick, you talked about a cutter and a slider, you know, commonly referred to in baseball as a “slutter.” I don’t think there is a more Kyle Reis affectionately titled type of pitch. I also just want to get to Kyle. Thank you so much for being here today. We really appreciate your time. Again, for anybody out there who doesn’t already, like if they’ve been living under a rock, where can they go and find you? Where can they follow your stuff?
Let it let us know that real quick.
Kyle Reis (46:00) Yeah, Jake, you know how I do this. I prefer that you don’t follow me. What I would ask you to do is to respond or support me. Don’t support me. I’m not really interested. But, like Brian Walton, does an amazing job over at the Cardinal Nation. And of course, I’m on the podcast with him on Wednesdays with Walton and Reis. Support that because Brian is a true professional who does amazing work. And then just again, one last little cap tip to our friends over at Birds on the Farm, Kareem and Aiden, Redbird Farmhand, like those guys do amazing work, follow them.
And don’t waste your time on me. Jake, are you trying to end this episode? Can I ask?
Jake Wood (46:35) I I we’re at forty-five minutes, so I’m, yeah. We’ve had a lot of listeners ask us to keep it under forty five minutes, so
Kyle Reis (46:45) No problem. Can I just say one thing before we sign off? As we talk about the draft, I just want to say that my favorite prospect, my favorite of all the draft picks, was Dee Kennedy, the fourth-rounder out of K-State. He is my favorite. He’s a great dude, a fun dude. Of course, much has been made about the LASIK surgery of it all. But I think that I think there’s a chance that when we look back at this draft, he’s the first one to make the majors. And I just think he’s a really special talent. And I don’t know how it’s gonna work because, you know, he has contact issues, even though he makes really great swing decisions. But he’s run into some pop, and I just love the way this infielder plays the game. And I just wanted to give a cap tip to my favorite draft prospect in this draft, Dee Kennedy.
Jake Wood (47:24) And because Kyle deflected there, I’m gonna tell you where you can all go follow him at @kyler416 on Twitter. He thought he was gonna get away with it, but I didn’t allow him to. You can also go listen to all of his great work on Wednesdays with Walton and Reis at the CardinalNation.com. You can find them on YouTube, Spotify, and all your listening platforms. For Gabe Simonds, my name is Jake Wood. Thank you so much for joining us for this episode of the Viva El Birdos podcast. Don’t forget to rate, review, and hit that subscribe button so you’re notified every Monday at 6 a.m. whenever our newest episodes are released. We’ll talk to you all next week and bring you more great Cardinals content. Have a great day, St. Louis, and let’s go Cards.
BALTIMORE, MD - MARCH 31: The Oriole Bird mascot waves a flag on the mound during Opening Day ceremonies before the start of the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on March 31, 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Red Sox have won 13 straight. The Baltimore Orioles are on a 7-game winning streak. The next longest winning streak in MLB is 3 games by the Milwaukee Brewers. These are the hottest teams in baseball – the Peacock broadcast last night called the Red Sox white hot – and they are going to face off for three games. They can’t even split this one: one team will win the series and the other will lose it.
The Orioles start off the series by sending a Shane against Boston. This strategy was just tried by the Tampa Bay Rays and didn’t work. Baz is leading the league in losses with 9 but that’s not because he’s been bad, he’s just been on the Orioles. He faced the Red Sox on June 2 and allowed 2 runs over 7.0 innings. But the early June Sox weren’t the July Sox. He’s facing Payton Tolle, the newlywed. Tolle finished the first half with a short day: 3.2 innings by design) striking out 7 Mets. The Sox would would that game in the 10th in dramatic fashion.
Righty Kyle Bradish, whom the Orioles just extended for 5 years, takes the mound Tuesday. Originally acquired for one-time phenom Dylan Bundy he’s been worth 9 bWAR for the O’s. He faced the Sox way back on April 26, the first game of the Chad Tracy era. He went 5.0 innings and allowed 3 runs in the loss. Bradish has been pretty good over the last few outings with only a 4-run, 4.0 inning outing against the Nationals as a blemish. The Sox are still TBD at the time of this writing but it’s likely that Ranger Suarez will come off the IL to face the Orioles. The other option, provided he doesn’t pitch in Monday’s game is Brayan Bello.
The finale features Dan Kremer. Three righties in a row means the Orioles probably have to face Masa, who has been pretty hot himself. Kremer missed all of May and June and returned in July. This is his fourth start back. In 15 innings he’s allowed 5 home runs, 7 runs, 5 walks, and struck out 14. He’s gone as high as 92 pitches deep. It’s been mixed. The Orioles held the Astros to 2 runs but Kremer allowed both over his 4.0 innings. It’s too soon to know if he’s finding a groove but there could be an opportunity to do some damage. Boston closes it with Jake Bennett. What is there to say? This trade looks outstanding. Scoreless his last 13 innings. Handling good offenses like Tampa, the White Sox, and the Yankees? He’s been worth 1.5 bWAR in 9 starts. Sonny Gray is in the midst of Cy Young consideration and over 17 starts has been about 2.6 bWAR. Bennett is more than hanging around, he’s claimed a rotation spot.
Pete Alonso has hit 21 home runs.
Taylor Ward leads the league in batter walks with 77. His career high had been 75 last season in 157 games.
Gunnar Henderson is slashing just .219/.288/.394
As of Monday morning the O’s are 2.0 games out of the third Wild Card, behind Boston and Seattle.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Monday, July 20: Shane Baz (4.19 ERA / 3.59 FIP) vs. Payton Tolle (3.11 ERA /3.23 FIP)
Tuesday, July 21: Kyle Bradish (3.61 ERA / 4.01 FIP) vs. TBD (— ERA / — FIP)
Wednesday, July 22: Dean Kremer (4.15 ERA / 6.18 FIP) vs. Jake Bennett (2.35 ERA / 3.03 FIP)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 03: Teoscar Hernández #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts to his grand slam home run, to take a 4-3 lead, during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on July 03, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Once again, the Phillies failed to come out of the All-Star break on a high note, dropping a series to the awful Mets. They need to put that unpleasantness behind them quickly, as the schedule becomes much tougher starting with a three-game set against the defending champions. As it happens, it is also the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year, so this would be a good opportunity to show that if they face off again, things might go differently.
Opposition research: Teoscar Hernandez
For many teams, having a high-profile player like Teoscar Hernandez suffer through a poor season would be a death knell for their playoff hopes. Hernandez suffered a hamstring injury in late May which cost him over a month on the Injured List. Since his return, he is batting .118 with one home run. Overall, he has an OPS of .698 which combined with his typically poor defense in the outfield has made him worth 0.1 WAR this season.
This is lining up to be Hernandez’s second straight disappointing season. He hit 25 home runs in 2025, but he also had a sub-.300 on-base percetnage. Unfortunately, that all-or-nothing trend carried into the postseason when he had a poor NLDS, except for one particular at bat.
Has this slowed the Dodgers down? Perhaps slightly, as they’re only 9-7 since his return. Does this preclude him from finding his stride come playoff time where he can deliver yet another big postseason hit? Not at all.
Remembering a guy who used to play for both teams
In theory, Mike Lieberthal had a solid career with the Phillies. In his 13 years with the team, he made two All-Star teams and won a Gold Glove at the catching position. It’s just unfortunate that he was cursed. His tenure with the team spanned from 1994 to 2006 which lined up exactly with a postseason drought. (The team bafflingly put him on their Wall of Fame in 2012 which kicked off another decade long playoff absence.)
I completely forgot Mike Lieberthal was on the Phillies wall of fame. That sums up the mid to late 90’s in Phillies history
After 2006, the team wisely handed the catching job to Carlos Ruiz and Lieberthal signed with the Dodgers as a free agent. He didn’t have much left in the tank by then. He played in 38 games with a meager .540 OPS as the Dodgers unsurprisingly missed the playoffs.
Sadly, he was allowed to leave in free agency after the season, and the Dodgers made it to the playoffs in 2008. (Thankfully, that story has a happy ending for Phillies fans!)
Hating on the Dodgers
It used to be fun that the Dodgers would have great regular seasons only to repeatedly come up short in the playoffs. It’s considerably less fun now that they’ve won two straight World Series and are heavy favorites to win a third this season.
Some people think that baseball is better when there’s a villain team that seems to play by its own financial rules, like the Yankees did in the late ‘90s. But you need to villain to sometimes receive a comeuppance. If the Dodgers win again this season, and it leads to a lengthy lockout in 2027, I don’t see how that is beneficial to the sport at all.
The Dodgers have gotten nothing from their two prized free agent signings, Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz.
Yet they're 61-36.
They're also likely getting Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline.
The Phillies might have punted a little on the Mets series by holding out Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler. Hopefully, the additional rest agreed with Sanchez who hasn’t been at his best in recent appearances. The Phillies will likely have to get past the Dodgers to get to the World Series, and their best shot at that is if their dual aces dominate. This might be a good preview as to whether they’re up to the task.
Jul 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) delivers a pitch in the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images
Jared Jones struggled in his first six starts after coming back from his right elbow injury. However, since the start of July Jones has been dominant for Pittsburgh becoming one of the hotter pitchers in the rotation.
The 24-year-old became the third Pirates pitcher over the past 70 seasons to retire at least 30 consecutive batters. The streak ended Saturday during a 7-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in the first game of a doubleheader. He allowed one run on three hits and struck out a season-high nine in five innings.
Jones looked good on July 2 vs the Philadelphia Phillies. In four innings pitched he allowed just two hits and struck out six batters. Then in Atlanta he threw 6 perfect innings with eight strikeouts.
Jones struggled in his first six outings of the season after coming back from the injury, going 1-1 with a 5.76 ERA. Opponents were seeing him and hitting well, hitting .270 and homered five times in 25 innings.
It has been the opposite in his last three outings, opponents are now just 5 for 50 (.100) at the plate. The right-handed pitcher has given up only two runs in 15 innings with 23 strikeouts and three walks.
Jones starting to pitch well is a good sign that he might be coming back fully after the injury. This is looking like his impressive rookie campaign in 2024. He had 132 strikeouts which was sixth in the majors among rookies that season while he went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA.
The Pirates starting pitching has been solid this season. Paul Skenes and Braxton Ashcraft both making the All-Star game shows how strong they have been. If Jones can continue to pitch well, that would be a scary big threen in their rotation, especially with the Buccos in the middle of the National League Wild Card race.
The New York Yankees (55-44) open a three-game series tonight at Yankee Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates (52-48). The Yankees enter the game second in the AL East, just 1.5 games behind Tampa Bay, while the Pirates are in the Wild Card race and fourth in the NL Central.
New York salvaged their series finale against the Dodgers, 2-1, last night to avoid a sweep coming out of the All-Star break. The Yankees are 3-2 over their last five games. Pittsburgh arrives in the Bronx after taking a weekend series in Cleveland. The Pirates won Sunday’s finale 7-1 and have gone 4-1 over their last five games.
Braxton Ashcraft is on the mound tonight for the Bucs. He has been one of Pittsburgh’s most reliable starters this season. Through 19 starts he owns a 3.49 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, with 128 strikeouts in 113.1 innings. In his most recent start on July 11 against Milwaukee, Ashcraft battled through five innings and earned the win despite allowing five runs on five hits while striking out six. Before that outing, he had allowed just two earned runs across 11.2 innings in road starts against Washington and Philadelphia.
Ryan Weathers takes a 4.15 ERA to the mound tonight for the Yankees. Weathers has struck out 110 batters in 97.2 innings this season. The southpaw was exceptional in his last start, July 10 at Washington, allowing one run on six hits over 5.1 innings. His previous two starts were shakier as he allowed a combined six runs over 5.2 innings.
Ashcraft has to keep the ball in the yard tonight as the Yankees lead baseball with 144 home runs but are hitting a collective .236 (#23 in baseball). The Pirates’ offense is less reliant on the long ball. They lead baseball with a .263 batting average and rank second in runs scored (533). Weathers is just one of a staff full of quality starting pitchers for New York. The Yankees lead baseball with a 3.40 ERA. For reference's sake, the Pirates rank nineteenth with a 4.26 ERA.
Lets dive further into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.
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Game Details and How to Watch: Pirates vs. Yankees
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The Latest Odds: Pirates vs. Yankees
The latest odds as of Monday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Pittsburgh Pirates (-103), New York Yankees (-117)
Spread: Pirates -1.5 (+164), Yankees +1.5 (-200)
Total: 7.5 runs
Probable Starting Pitchers – Pirates vs. Yankees for July 20
Yankees: Ryan Weathers Season Totals: 97.2 IP, 3-7, 4.15 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 110K, 27 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! Pirates vs. Yankees
The Pirates’ offense has been one of the hottest in baseball recently, batting .280 with 17 home runs over the last 10 games.
Ben Rice is hitting .395 average with 5 HR and 12 RBI over his last 10 games
Trent Grisham has homered twice in his last 10 games but is hitting just .189 over those 10 games
Esmerlyn Valdez has 6 home runs and 15 RBI over his last 10 games
Ryan O'Hearn is hitting .286 over his last 10 games with a .395 OBP and .545 slugging percentage
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top Betting Trends & Insights: Pirates vs. Yankees
The Pirates are 52-48 on the Run Line this season
The Yankees are 47-52 on the Run Line this season
The OVER has cashed 58 times in Pittsburgh’s 100 games this season (58-39-3)
The OVER has cashed 43 times in New York’s 99 games this season (43-52-4)
Expert picks & predictions: Pirates vs. Yankees
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Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s game between the Pirates and the Yankees:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Pirates on the Moneyline.
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Coming out of the short week with a weekend series against a talented OKC team, the Rainiers managed to best the Dodger’s affiliate by a score of 2-1, largely led by the young wunderkinds that recently joined the squad. There are going to be some very serious conversations surrounding the likes of Michael Arroyo joining the big league team before the end of the summer; he’s been slept on in part to a slower start this year, but he’s been every bit of his dominant self and looks like a strong candidate to fill in as a much-needed right handed bat.
The final totals on the weekend for Arroyo (5-14) and Montes (4-12, HR, 3 2B) underscored the pair’s strong start to PCL baseball and featured Laz showing off an underrated part of his game: his absolute howitzer of an arm.
Additionally, Brendan Donovan started his rehab work in AAA. Though going hitless, he seems to be an imminent addition that should breathe some life into a rather tepid lineup at present.
Arkansas Travelers
Having been down their pair of aces for the past two weeks thanks to the Future’s Game and down their star tandem that’s tearing up Triple-A, the Travs lineup will be getting a little bit of star power it’s so desperately been looking for. Felnin Celesten, top Mariner prospect and superstar shortstop, got the call up to Double-A and will be manning the six for Arkansas to close out the year. It’s been a tremendous bounceback year for Celesten; after a tumultuous 2025 that lacked much offensive output at all, Celesten has had a monster 2026 that’s put him right back to his “Top 100” status leaguewide. Best of luck, Felnin!
Less fortunate for the Travs, however, were their results on the field. The Travelers got swept by a really poor Wichita team and could not quiet a generally uninspiring offense. The right-side duo of Hunter Fitz-Gerald and Charlie Pagliarini carried their weight, but it was a tough weekend on large.
Everett AquaSox
It was an offensive bonanza for Everett this weekend, with the Frogs taking a 2-1 series victory on the back of 37 runs over three games. Punctuated by Sunday’s 21-3 shellacking of cross-state rival Spokane, the AquaSox managed this kind of run production outside of their smaller home ballpark, instead doing it on the road in the much larger Avista Stadium. If this offense is able to maintain a level anywhere near this (with some recent SEC draftees likely on the way), this is sure to be one exciting summer of Everett baseball.
There’s a lot of cool moments to pick from with so much offense going on, but Luke Stevenson’s grand slam in the rubber match was a really cool sight to see. He had been struggling quite a bit in months past, but he seems to have gotten a bit more aggressive at the plate in the month of July, and it’s paid off in a major way. A hot finish to the season would do wonders in reestablishing people’s confidence in him long-term.
Not to be overlooked, catching partner Josh Caron’s 2026 season has truly been a revelation. Now with an OPS of .934, Caron’s run excellent splits against both lefties and righties, and he’s not been a product of an advantageous home ballpark, either; Caron’s 1.014 road OPS is actually considerably higher than his home mark, sparking confidence his breakout has some legitimate backing. There’s still a lot of whiff in his profile, but a backup catching role with some pop is very much in the cards.
Inland Empire 66ers
The 66ers dropped the weekend series by a score of 2-1, showing their lack of depth on both sides of the ball all weekend. This team desperately needs some of the many Power Four sluggers the M’s recently drafted to join this lineup; the lack of arms is their biggest issue at present, but if they can manage to pull off the “Cal League Special” and out hit their pitching, maybe they can get things back into the “fun to watch” column with the win column proving elusive all year.
Despite the team’s down weekend, Aiden Taurek continues to be a bright spot for this Modesto offense. Last year’s 13th rounder out of Saint Mary’s, Taurek produced seven hits across the three games and knocked his 31st double of the year, a figure that leads minor league baseball by a wide margin. Taurek’s a weak-side corner outfield profile and will have to hit his way to the bigs, but with a bit of speed on the bases and innate feel for the barrel, Taurek could be next in a long line of late-round finds identified by Scott Hunter and Co.
ACL Mariners
Heading into their last week of play, the Baby M’s stand in first within their division and lead the Royals’ team by a game with three to play. The two squads will face off on Wednesday in what will essentially decide this year’s winner, though with no stream, we’ll have to rely on box score watching to provide the drama that will assuredly unfold on the backfields of Arizona.
Whether Nick Becker and Yorger Bautista end up making their way to the California League this season is yet to be seen, but it’s far less of a formality than it’s been for top prospects in year’s past. With some legitimate troubles that need to be sorted out both at the plate and in the field, it would not be much of a surprise to see the pair remain in Arizona and get more direct instruction at the instructional complex. If anything, despite worse overall numbers, Bautista might actually have a better chance at getting the promotion than Becker; whiff problems are unlikely to magically sort themselves out, and unfortunately for Becker, he’s struggled with just that.
DSL Mariners
The DSL team remains a major bright spot in the system. With countless producers up and down the lineup and a handful of interesting pitching prospects, next year’s ACL team is slated to be absolutely stacked. Early returns of this next wave of young talent are looking incredibly promising, and there’s an argument to be made that the tandem of Gregory Pio and Juan Rijo need to be moved up prospect boards significantly.
Monday is filled with pitching props featuring Kyle Freeland, Jameson Taillon, and Payton Tolle, which give us plenty of high-value targets on tonight's betting card.
Typically, an Over 3.5 runs team total would make me a little nervous, unless it was a team like the Dodgers, but the Washington Nationals are a different story.
Washington gets after early runs, ranking second in first five runs scored while averaging Over three runs through the first five innings.
They draw Colorado Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland, who has been awful all season. The veteran left-hander carries one of the worst pitcher ratings on the slate and now has to face a Nationals lineup featuring six elite-rated hitters and one strong-rated hitter based on the current season ratings at Batters-Box.
At home this season, Freeland owns a 6.38 ERA and 1.58 WHIP, while allowing a 40% hard-hit rate and 11% barrel rate.
The Nationals should have a field day in Coors.
I would play this down to -110 at most.
Time: 8:40 p.m. ET
Where to watch: COLR, NATS
Jameson Taillon Over 2.5 earned runs (-135)
It is hard for me to overlook the data here, as Chicago Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon draws six elite-rated Detroit Tigers bats while carrying one of the worst pitcher ratings on the day over at Batters-Box.
Taillon has struggled all season long, posting a 7.77 ERA, 6.92 xERA, and 1.64 WHIP. Over his last five starts, he has allowed a 42.67% hard-hit rate and a 16% barrel rate.
The Tigers have been a little cold offensively over their last six games, but I will always lean toward trusting the advanced data and betting on bad pitching being exposed over bad offense.
The wind is blowing out at Wrigley, which could provide some extra help tonight. I know this prop is juicy, so I would not pay much more than the current price.
If the first five team total is available at a better number, I would rather go that route.
Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
Where to watch: MARQ, DSN
Payton Tolle Over 6.5 strikeouts (+125)
I may just be drinking the "Payton Tolle is awesome" juice, but I absolutely love him to shove against the Baltimore Orioles this evening.
Sure, Baltimore’s offense has been heating up over the last few days, but its strikeout rate has still been hovering around 30%. The O's also have not fared well against southpaws this season, posting a 26% strikeout rate against left-handed pitching.
Over their last 60 at-bats vs. lefties, seven Orioles hitters have posted at least a 21.7% strikeout rate, six are at 25.4% or higher, and three are at least 31%.
There are plenty of strikeouts available in this lineup.
Meanwhile, Tolle has maintained a 30% strikeout rate both at home and over his last three starts.
At +125 for seven strikeouts, I think we are getting excellent value and should be in a great position to cash.
Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: NESN, MASN
Colby Marchio's 2026 Transparency Record
Prop picks: 313-586, -6.6 units
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 6: Cristopher Sánchez #61 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park on April 6, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Dodgers 8-7. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As a whole, despite taking two out of three in one of the toughest places to visit, Yankee Stadium, the Dodgers offense didn’t have the best of times, twice failing to even crack three runs in a game. Well, the post-All-Star break journey doesn’t get any easier with a stop in Philly that begins with a matchup against the best left-handed pitcher in the National League, Cristopher Sánchez.
This particular task gets much more daunting when you account for Sánchez’s drastic splits this season. The Phillies’ ace will host the Dodgers with as many wins at home (7) as he has earned runs (7). While the left-hander is running a near 5.00 ERA on the road, raised significantly after a horrible start against the Royals a couple of weeks ago, Sánchez has a sub-1.00 ERA in a larger sample in front of his home crowd. One of the things that makes facing Sánchez even more difficult is that even when you think you have him, capitalizing on that opportunity is an entirely separate challenge. Take his last start, for instance: the Tigers had 10 hits against the Phillies ace, and yet multiple double plays on too many ground balls bullied them into scoring just two runs in a 4-2 defeat.
Until Blake Snell is back—with Shohei Ohtani taking a break from pitching for an undetermined period to fully recover his knee—the Dodgers will need a bit more from the likes of Emmet Sheehan, who, in turn, needs a bit more from the offense that has let him down in recent starts. Since the start of June, the Dodgers have won only one of Sheehan’s seven starts, even though the young right-hander has allowed more than three runs just once in this period.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 29: Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on April 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After what felt like a never-ending wait, the time to trade is nearly upon Major League Baseball. This year’s trade deadline is August 3 at 6 p.m. ET, giving contending clubs just two weeks to reinforce their rosters for the stretch drive. The Atlanta Braves are one of many teams seeking the missing pieces for their rosters.
The trade deadline is not what it used to be, however.
When the expanded playoff format went into place in 2022, it created more opportunity for clubs on the bubble to ponder their postseason chances. This caused many teams that previously had little or no path to the playoffs to take more time to carefully consider the decision to sell at the trade deadline.
Heading into Monday’s action, 23 of the 30 teams in MLB are within 4-1/2 games of a playoff berth. That creates an incredible amount of intrigue leading up to the deadline.
Atlanta entered the second half in first place, but its hold on the top spot in the National League East diminished greatly over the past two months. The Philadelphia Phillies whittled the Braves’ 10-1/2 game lead down to just two games by the All-Star break. The Miami Marlins also transformed into one of the hottest teams in baseball over the past six weeks, putting the Braves in the middle of a full-blown division race. Atlanta’s lead is currently three games, but in order to hold off these rivals and secure a postseason spot, the time to add pieces is near.
Over the winter, Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos expressed a desire to acquire a proven starter who could bolster the rotation come playoff time. When that did not happen during the offseason, it left Atlanta to depend on its organizational depth and a stable of starters with a litany of durability concerns and questionable availability in some cases.
Given the injuries which began in spring training and persisted throughout the regular season, it goes without saying that the Braves find themselves in a familiar position of needing help in the starting rotation. While it may have been reported that Anthopoulos is prioritizing offense in advance of the August 3 deadline, there is little reason to believe Atlanta will not also be having serious discussions about addressing their many pitching issues.
Just what are those issues? I’m glad you asked.
Potential returns for both Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider remain unclear. Though Schwellenbach is in Florida ramping up his throwing progression, Strider has not picked up a baseball since being placed on the injured list on June 13 with elbow inflammation. Given his lengthy history of elbow issues, both the injury and time remaining may be working against him.
AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep could help but carry their own viability concerns. Smith-Shawver is currently rehabbing with Triple-A Gwinnett and could be closing in his return from Tommy John surgery in just 13 months. Waldrep underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow in Spring Training. Though he returned to the Atlanta rotation a few weeks ago, Waldrep was optioned back to Gwinnett to allow additional time to return to his 2025 form.
Martin Perez patched one of the rotation spots and should return this week after an injury scare when he was struck in the forearm with a line drive. All of these circumstances led to top prospects JR Ritchie and Owen Murphy being pressed into duty to mixed results.
With Reynaldo Lopez and Grant Holmes each essentially being five-inning pitchers and Bryce Elder regressing mightily after a strong start, there are simply more questions than answers for Atlanta’s starting five after Chris Sale takes his turn.
In 38 games since June 1, the Atlanta rotation averaged 4-2/3 innings per start. Only the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, and Chicago White Sox have received fewer innings from their rotation over that stretch. Braves starting pitchers have produced a combined 0.7 fWAR since June 1, a mark that is tied for 25th in Major League Baseball. Considering that Sale accounts for a 1.3 fWAR in his past seven starts, this paints a rather unflattering picture of the other eight Braves to start a game during that time.
Now that you’re up to speed on where the Braves stand, what they need, and why the need it, let’s take a look at some of the candidates. There will certainly be others, but I’ve identified 11 pitchers that could be dealt by the deadline. Since the ideal fit is subjective and is oftentimes price dependent, I’ll leave you to debate the merits and cost of acquiring each.
Tarik Skubal | DET | 29 y/o | 2.2 fWAR
May as well get this one out of the way first, because there’s not a bigger name that could be on the move as we approach the trade deadline. Skubal is the two-time, reigning, defending American League Cy Young Award winner. You don’t need me to tell you what that kind of talent can do for the rotation of any contending club. As such, expect just about every single contender or postseason hopeful to at least inquire with Detroit about Skubal.
That’s the good, but here’s the rest of the story. Skubal has appeared mortal at times this season. After starting 31 games, surpassing both 190 innings and 200 strikeouts while posting 2.39 and 2.21 ERAs in 2024 and 2025 respectively, Skubal is 6-5 with a 2.83 ERA in 14 starts this season. He also underwent surgery to clear loose bodies from his pitching elbow.
That cost him just six weeks because it was a cutting-edge procedure, but Skubal has been more homer-prone – eight in 39-1/3 innings – since returning to the Detroit rotation in mid-June. Of course, he also averaged 12.1 K/9 over that stretch. The first start out of the All-Star break was vintage Skubal – seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts on Saturday, so perhaps the elevated home run rate is not quite the canary in the coal mine after all.
Regardless of the in-season elbow surgery, it’s hard to talk anyone out of the desire to add Skubal. However, the prospect bounty required will be exorbitant, even if there are lingering questions about not only his health but his direct path into whatever free agency looks like with a potential work stoppage awaiting. The last part of that discussion can wait, but it’s worth noting Skubal is due the remainder of a $32 million salary this season. Obviously, that’s unlikely to dissuade many suitors who are in the market for arguably the best pitcher in the game for the stretch drive.
Joe Ryan | MIN | 30 y/o | 3.3 fWAR
While the Minnesota Twins were the busiest team at the trade deadline a year ago, they currently have a legitimate shot at a postseason berth. The Twins find themselves contending for one of the AL Wild Card spots and are also in range in the AL Central race. That could make ace starter Joe Ryan difficult to acquire despite heavy interest.
Ryan is 6-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 20 starts and has struck out 128 batters across 110-1/3 innings while holding opponents to a .218 batting average and just a .614 OPS. Minnesota avoided arbitration by signing Ryan to a contract that calls for $6.1 million for this season and includes a $13 million mutual option with a $100,000 buyout for 2027. He is under team control through arbitration for another year even if that option is not exercised. Given his impressive work again this season, Ryan is likely to be one of the most sought-after starters on the trade market. As a result, he could be one of the most expensive to acquire given he is not just a rental.
Sonny Gray | BOS | 36 y/o | 1.8 fWAR
The 36-year-old veteran is currently fronting the rotation of the surging Red Sox. Gray is 12-1 with a 2. 48 ERA in 18 starts and Boston is riding a 13-game winning streak. The incredible turnaround allowed the Red Sox to claim the third Wild Card spot in the AL. Boston is a case study for why clubs aren’t in a hurry to trade off their pieces and what a well-timed winning streak can do for a team that many gave up on following an abysmal start. All of that winning puts Gray’s availability in serious question unless Boston falls apart in the next two weeks.
While his numbers are solid, Gray is significantly outperforming his both his 3.65 FIP and 3.67 xFIP and a 7.97 K/9 is his lowest since 2016, his fourth season in the big leagues. That does not necessarily set off alarm bells but is worth noting for sustainability’s sake. One of Gray’s best abilities is availability. He’s averaged 31 starts and 177 innings from 2023-2025. If a team is looking for a proven arm to throw competitive innings, then Gray may just be your guy.
Gray has a no-trade clause but could be convinced to waive it to pitch for Atlanta, a team close to his home in the Nashville area. The St. Louis Cardinals are paying $20 million of Gray’s $35 million salary this season, making the financial component more palatable for any team that acquires him. Gray also has a $30 million mutual option for 2027 which carries a $5 million buyout. The big question now is will the Red Sox actually be sellers? Time will tell.
Reid Detmers | LAA | 27 y/o | 3.0 fWAR
One of the youngest arms who could hit the market, Detmers is a talented yet inconsistent lefty starter who comes with several years of team control attached. In parts of six seasons with the Angels, Detmers has yet to really put everything together. He owns a 24-37 record to go along with a 4.64 ERA in 564 innings and moved back to the rotation this season after spending 2025 in the bullpen for Los Angeles.
The strikeout numbers are intriguing. Detmers has posted 10.2 K/9 and has 130 strikeouts in 114-2/3 innings across 19 starts this season. Just 3-6 with a 4.16 ERA, Detmers holds a respectable 3.21 FIP and 3.26 xERA per FanGraphs. Given the Angels are one of the worst fielding teams in baseball, a change of scenery could be just what Detmers needs to level up.
Unlike some of the bigger name starters who could change addresses by the deadline, the price tag on Detmers could be more reasonable. The fact that he’s not eligible for free agency until after the 2028 season only enhances Detmers’ value when parting with prospects.
Casey Mize | DET | 29 y/o | 2.7 fWAR
It took eight years, but the top pick in the 2018 draft is enjoying his best season as Detroit is struggling to stay afloat in the AL Central race. While Skubal is the Tigers starter everyone is talking about, Mize could be the more realistic target. The 4-6 record is deceiving as Mize owns a 2.79 ERA that is backed by a 2.62 FIP and 3.12 xERA. He is also averaging a career-best 9.2 K/9 through 15 starts and 80-1/3 innings this season.
Here’s the bad news, however. Mize was forced out of his most recent start over the weekend after being struck in the left wrist by a comebacker. While the Tigers aren’t overly concerned with that issue, it was revealed that Mize is also dealing with groin tightness. Mize described his early exit as precautionary, but the severity of that issue could impact his availability.
A true rental, Mize will be a free agent following the season. While his résumé is considerably lighter than Skubal’s, plenty of teams would like to add a capable starter who is enjoying his best season just as the pennant race heats up. Mize is an Alabama native who attended Auburn University before being drafted by the Tigers eight years ago. While he may not have produced the career Detroit envisioned, Mize picked a great time to put things together and could command a decent return in trade if he does get moved.
Michael Wacha | KCR | 35 y/o | 1.8 fWAR
One of two veterans the Royals could shop at the deadline, Michael Wacha is a battle-tested starter who provides quality innings on an annual basis. From 2022-2025, Wacha averaged 27 starts and 150 innings while logging a 3.46 ERA – though it does come against a 4.24 xERA. What’s hard to argue with are the innings themselves, which is what the Braves desperately need. An All-Star for the second time in his career – and first time in 11 years – Wacha leads the AL with 119-1/3 innings pitched while posting a 3.77 ERA in 19 starts thus far this season.
Wacha is owed the remainder of an $18 million salary this season and $14 million for 2027. The Royals also hold a $14 million team option with a $1 million buyout for 2028, which would be Wacha’s age-36 season. Given the money attached, Wacha may not be the most expensive trade piece moved at the deadline in terms of prospect return. His consistency, however, should be in demand and thus garner some value heading back to Kansas City.
Robbie Ray | SFG | 34 y/o | 0.7 fWAR
A former Cy Young Award winner who could be on the move as the San Francisco Giants reevaluate just what it is they’re building, Robbie Ray is putting together a solid season in the final year of a five-year, $115 million deal he signed with the Mariners prior to 2022. Ray made just 32 starts for Seattle before being shipped to San Francisco in January of 2024. After fully recovering from Tommy John surgery, he went 11-8 with a 3.65 ERA in 32 starts for the Giants last year, averaging 9.2 K/9 and posting a 2.2 fWAR.
While no longer a frontline starter who can lead the league in strikeouts, Ray still profiles as solid mid-rotation arm. He is 8-6 with a 3.33 ERA in 110-2/3 innings for the Giants so far in 2026 and could bolster the Braves’ depleted ranks and provide them with a second lefty in rotation. Another rental acquisition that will likely command a modest return unless a team is willing to overpay in prospect capital, Ray should draw interest from numerous contenders.
Trevor Rogers | BAL | 28 y/o | 1.9 fWAR
The Orioles entered the season with high hopes and Trevor Rogers was supposed to be part of their success on the mound. Instead, the club stumbled out of the gate and spent the majority of 2026 looking up in the standings at the Rays, Yankees and Blue Jays. Rogers was solid in his first three outings this season before getting absolutely blasted for a 10.01 ERA over the next seven starts and then spending a few weeks on the injured list due to a severe illness.
Rogers returned to form in June and owns a 1.69 ERA over his last eight starts while throwing 48 innings and allowing just two home runs. This looks a lot like the version of Rogers that went 9-3 with a 1.81 ERA in 18 starts for Baltimore last season. He may be outpitching his FIP, but Rogers has a five-pitch mix that can garner good results.
Acquired him from the Marlins at the trade deadline in 2024, he has enjoyed some success in Baltimore. Yet another pending free agent on this list, Rogers is owed just $6.2 million in his final year of arbitration. The Orioles are just two games out of the final Wild Card spot, so they may just hold onto Rogers and ride out the final two months.
Michael Soroka | ARI | 28 y/o | 2.2 fWAR
Here’s a blast from the past. After years of injuries and the subsequent search for consistency, Michael Soroka appears to have his career back on track with Arizona. He signed a one-year, $7.5 million contract over the winter and delivered a strong first half, going 8-3 with a 3.07 ERA (2.93 FIP) in 15 starts. Not only is Soroka boasting a healthy 8.7 K/9, but he finally solved the home run problem that plagued him since returning to the mound in 2023 after two major Achilles injuries with Atlanta. In short, Soroka looks a lot like the All-Star pitcher he was for the Braves at just 21 years old in 2019.
Unfortunately, Soroka is currently on the 15-day IL with a strained left glute. That injury occurred roughly a month ago and he is not expected back until early August. Not only will Arizona not have Soroka’s services at a critical juncture of their season, but they will not be able to showcase him for other teams should they decide to sell.
The Diamondbacks may be buried in the NL West standings, but the remain very much alive in the Wild Card. Arizona enters the week just a half game out of the race, though there is a three-way tie for that final spot. Like many teams, the next two weeks could decide the fate of the Diamondbacks when it comes to buying or selling at the deadline. If Soroka is made available, he would be an attractive piece for any contender to add to its rotation.
Seth Lugo | KCR | 36 y/o | 1.1 fWAR
Aside from Michael Wacha, another veteran starter the Royals could make available is righty Seth Lugo. After seven seasons pitching mostly in relief for the New York Mets, Lugo moved to the rotation with the San Diego Padres in 2023 and parlayed his success into a multi-year deal with Kansas City. The runner-up for the AL Cy Young in 2024 when he posted a career-high 4.7 fWAR and went 16-9 with a 3.00 ERA in 33 starts, regression came calling for Lugo over the past year and a half. He owns a 4.25 ERA over his past 46 starts, but his 5.31 xERA is the worst of the 42 starting pitchers who’ve thrown at least 250 innings since the start of 2025. His strikeout rate has also declined for the seventh consecutive season.
Whether or not the Royals want to cover some or most of his considerable salary in order to improve their prospect return is the major consideration in a Lugo trade. He is owed the remainder of a $21.5 million salary this season along with another $21.5 million next season, plus a $3 million buyout of his $17.5 million team option for 2028. There’s been no indication the Royals want to dump salary, even though they are operating at a club-record $140 million payroll this season. They may be hesitant to subtract veteran starters that could help them next season, cover some of the salary, and then have to find capable replacements.
Freddy Peralta | NYM | 30 y/o | 1.2 fWAR
The Mets acquired Freddy Peralta from the Brewers to help them make a playoff push in 2026, but the season has not played out favorably for New York or its newest starter. In the final season of a five-year contract, Peralta is suffering through his worst season. Just 5-8 with a 4.66 ERA in 20 starts, Peralta’s strikeout rate is a career-low 9.0 K/9 and his stuff has taken a noticeable step back as measured by MLB’s Statcast data.
What you have here is both a rental and a project, which is not exactly a great combination. Though stranger things have happened, the fact that Peralta is pitching for a division rival that seldom trades with Atlanta only raises the level of skepticism that a deal would materialize. This is due to the mutual desire by both clubs not to help one another outweighing any tangible benefit to swapping players. The last trade between the two teams was June 8, 2016, when Atlanta sent infielder Kelly Johnson to New York in exchange for pitching prospect Akeel Morris. Most importantly, this version of Peralta seems a far cry from the one who finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting just last year for Milwaukee.
The All-Star break did little to slow down the resurgent Boston Red Sox.
Now they’ll take on another streaking AL East team as the race for postseason spots begins to simmer.
The Red Sox completed a sweep of division-leading Tampa Bay, extending their run to 13 games without a loss. The franchise record is 15 straight wins in 1946. Boston will have a chance to break that against a Baltimore team that arrives at Fenway Park on a seven-game winning streak of its own.
With the Aug. 3 trade deadline drawing ever closer, teams on the bubble between buying and selling might make their decisions based on what happens over the next week or so. The Red Sox (50-48) have crept above .500 and now occupy the American League’s third wild card. Cleveland, which holds the second wild card, is only a game ahead of Boston.
Seattle is a game behind the Red Sox, and then it’s another game back to the Orioles, who took three in a row in Houston. That sweep knocked the Astros to 4 1/2 games behind a playoff spot.
The good news for Houston is that it has more than one path to the postseason. The Astros actually are closer (four games) to the lead in the AL West than they are to a wild card.
Detroit is in a similar spot, and plenty of teams around the league will be watching how the Tigers approach the deadline with star pitcher Tarik Skubal. Detroit is 4 1/2 games out of a wild card, but also just 6 1/2 behind the AL Central-leading White Sox.
Trivia time
The American League beat the National League 4-0, and Cody Bellinger became the fourth member of the New York Yankees to win All-Star MVP honors. Who were the other three? (Hint: The All-Star MVP debuted in 1962.)
Performance of the week
Hunter Goodman homered three times in Colorado’s 9-6 loss to Cincinnati. It was the second three-homer game for him in under a month. He also did it at Minnesota on June 27.
He’s the first player in Rockies history — which includes plenty of homers — to hit three twice in the same season.
Comeback of the week
Arizona beat St. Louis 8-7 in 10 innings in a game the Diamondbacks trailed 7-0 in the sixth inning.
The Cardinals allowed two bases-loaded walks during Arizona’s three-run sixth. Geraldo Perdomo hit a two-run inside-the-park home run an inning later. A two-run homer by Nolan Arenado tied it in the eighth.
Then St. Louis blundered its way to a scoreless top of the 10th. With men on first and third and nobody out, Jordan Walker hit a broken bat flare to Perdomo at shortstop, who charged the ball and caught it on the fly. Bryan Torres, apparently worried about the ball hitting the ground in front of Walker, was too far off first and got doubled off.
Max Kepler’s hit in the bottom of the 10th won it. Arizona’s win probability in the sixth was as low as 1.5% according to Baseball Savant. That makes the Diamondbacks’ playoff chances — 27.4% according to FanGraphs — seem promising by comparison. Arizona is a half-game behind the Cardinals for the National League’s final wild card.
Trivia answer
Giancarlo Stanton in 2022, Mariano Rivera in 2013 and Derek Jeter in 2000.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 14: Juan Soto #22 of the New York Mets walks on the carpet during the 2026 All-Star Red Carpet Show presented by Mastercard at Independence Mall on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Welcome back to Monday Stat Party, a weekly series showcasing some of the most curious and nostalgia-inducing statistical developments from the past week of Mets baseball. What unites each entry is the sense of intrigue which they aim to spark, and the unbridled love of the game’s anomalies from which they arise. Without further ado, let the stat party begin.
TUESDAY
Juan Soto became the third Met to start the All-Star Gamein right field, along with Dave Kingman (1976) and Darryl Strawberry (1984-1988). Soto also became just the sixth Met since 2000 to get a hit in an All-Star Game, joining Carlos Beltrán (2005-2007, 2011), David Wright (2006-2010, 2013), José Reyes (2007), Michael Conforto (2017), and Pete Alonso (2019, 2025).
The All-Star Game resulted in a shutout for the first time since 2013, when the American League defeated the National League by a final of 3-0 at Citi Field.
THURSDAY
Luke Weaver’s dazzling streak came to an end with Trea Turner’s solo home run. His 25 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run is tied for the second-longest such streak in Mets history with A.J. Minter, behind only Mark Guthrie’s 33 straight in 2002.
SATURDAY
A.J. Ewing became just the 10th Met to record 10 stolen bases before their 60th career game, joining Lee Mazzilli, Mookie Wilson, Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, José Reyes, Carlos Gómez, Luisangel Acuña, Ronny Mauricio, and fellow 2026 rookie outfielder Carson Benge.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 26th homer against the Mets, fourth-most among active players behind teammate Bryce Harper (43), Giancarlo Stanton (38), and Freddie Freeman (31).
SUNDAY
Francisco Lindor reached base five times in a game for the fifth time in his career, having previously done so twice with Cleveland (September 3, 2016, vs. Miami / July 1, 2018, at Oakland) and twice with the Mets (July 6, 2023, at Arizona / September 5, 2025, at Cincinnati — better remembered as the new-cleat game).
Nolan McLean struck out 10+ batters in a game for the second time this season, and the third time in his career. No Met besides McLean has recorded a double-digit strikeout performance since David Peterson on August 19, 2025, in Washington.
McLean has a 0.47 ERA over his first three career starts against the Phillies, by far the best for any Met through their first three outings (min. 5 IP per outing) against the rival Phillies. Frank Viola is second with a 0.87 ERA, while Jon Matlack is third with a 1.01 ERA.
Miscellaneous Mets stat of the week:
Before 2026, the last time the All-Star Game was played in Philadelphia was 1996. Mets center fielder Lance Johnson started and went 3-for-4, marking one of two three-hit performances at an All-Star Game in Mets history (the other was José Reyes in 2007 in San Francisco).
There were only three games played by MLB teams over the past week because of the All-Star break.
I’m not going to let that stop me from doing a “weekly” update. So, here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over those three games.
Three up
Welcome back, Nico Hoerner’s bat
The break seems to have done Nico some good, whether it was rest, or working on things, or both. Hoerner went 8-for-13 (.615) over the three games against the Twins with one extra-base hit (Sunday’s triple) and five RBI.
There was some discussion in Sunday’s recap comment section about whether that should have been scored a single and a two-base error. The thing is, Twins center fielder Luke Keaschall never touched the ball, simply waving at it as it went by. Having actually been an official scorer at some minor league games, I concur with the scoring decision that gave Nico the triple.
In any case, nice to see Nico’s bat back. That will be a huge help to the offense.
Shōta Imanaga threw some shutdown innings
Imanaga threw seven scoreless innings against the Twins Sunday, allowing just six hits and striking out four.
Since an awful five-start stretch in May and June in which he allowed 13 (!) home runs in 28.1 innings, he’s been pretty much lights-out: Seven starts, 2.31 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 1.243 WHIP, only five home runs in 39 innings. He’s now got his season ERA under 4.00 at 3.91. If he keeps this up, he’ll be starting postseason games, something Craig Counsell wouldn’t do with him in Game 5 against the Brewers last year.
Boyd continued his good stretch of starts following his knee injury with a solid outing Saturday against the Twins: Six innings, three hits, one run (a solo homer) and four strikeouts.
Since returning from the knee injury: Five starts, 2.57 ERA, 1.143 WHIP. His season ERA in 10 starts is now down to 4.15, and overall since his rough Opening Day start it’s at 3.35. Like Imanaga, he’s putting together a good run of starts which could serve the team well in October.
H/T to Seiya Suzuki, who went 4-f0r-9 against the Twins with two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored, and to Alex Bregman for his two-run homer that began the festivities on Sunday.
Three down
Pete Crow-Armstrong had a rough weekend at the plate
PCA was 1-for-12 with six strikeouts against the Twins, and at times appeared to be reverting to some bad habits that we thought might be gone.
Every hitter goes through slumps and bad times, and in fact, this goes back to the Cincinnati series before the break. Over the six games in the Reds and Twins series, PCA is 2-for-22 with 11 strikeouts.
Last week, our Rangers Reacts survey asked folks to grade the team’s 2026 draft. This turned out to be one of the rare instances where most everyone was pretty pleased.
Over 90% of respondents gave the draft either an A or a B, with the B’s narrowly edging out the A’s. Most of the rest gave the draft a C, with 1% apiece going with D or F.
As for the national questions, over half of respondents feel that the draft should go back to being held in June.
MLB had a June draft for decades, with the result being that players were being picked while the college season was still going on. The July draft allows for a draft combine to take place once the college season is over, as well as giving the opportunity for less-heralded players to play in the MLB Draft League or other early summer leagues, and potentially improve their draft status.
The other question has to do with the Futures Game, which MLB seems to be giving short shrift.
Having the Futures Game take place on the Sunday before the All Star Break, when major league games are taking place, doesn’t seem to be the best way to promote the game. But what do I know…
Kyle Freeland
Jameson Taillon
Payton Tolle
