Category: Baseball

In need of a starter following Clay Holmes’ fibula fracture, the Mets are calling up left-hander Zach Thornton from Triple-A Syracuse.

According to manager Carlos Mendoza, Thornton could start on Wednesday against the Nationals, but there also could be an opener in front of him.

The 24-year-old Thornton is ranked by Joe DeMayo as the No. 13 overall prospect in the Mets’ system, with DeMayo writing that Thornton “has the best control and command in the system and is among the best in all of minor league baseball.”

After making five starts with Double-A Binghamton to start the 2026 season, Thornton moved up to Triple-A Syracuse, where he’s made two starts and pitched to a 2.25 ERA.

"He earned it," Mendoza said. "The way he’s been throwing the ball, especially at the Triple-A level. We like him as a lefty against this lineup. His ability to throw strikes, his pitchability.

"There were a lot of names, Jonah [Tong]was one of them obviously, but in the end we decided to go with Zach."

With Kodai Senga and Holmes on the IL, the Mets needed to fill a spot in the rotation. For now, the five-man group includes Freddy Peralta, McLean, Christian Scott, Thornton [potentially with an opener], and David Peterson, who has been pitching in a bulk reliever role with an opener in front of him.

Mendoza said that the Mets will take things "one outing at a time" with Thornton before deciding whether or not he stays in the majors.

Two days after calling right-handed pitcher Joey Gerber up from Triple-A Syracuse, the Mets have optioned him back to Syracuse and called up fellow right-handed reliever Daniel Duarte to replace him on the team’s active roster. Gerber did not get into either of the two games for which he was with the big league club, and Duarte exercised an upward mobility clause in his contract that forced the Mets to either call him up or risk losing him to another organization.

To make room for Duarte on the 40-man roster, the Mets transferred left-handed reliever A.J. Minter to the 60-day injured list, a distinction that won’t have any effect on the veteran’s ability to return to the team if and when he proves to be healthy and effective.

Duarte last pitched in the big leagues in 2024 with the Twins, and he’s thrown a total of 38.1 innings as a major league player, the vast majority of which came with the Reds in 2023. In total, he has a 3.99 ERA and a 6.11 FIP as a major league pitcher, as he’s walked nearly as many batters as he’s struck out while surrendering too many home runs.

In 17.1 innings with Syracuse so far this year, Duarte has a 2.60 ERA and a 4.21 FIP with a 19.7 percent strikeout rate and a 12.7 percent walk rate. Given the Mets’ reluctance to remove Craig Kimbrel or Sean Manaea from their active roster to this point, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see Duarte removed from the roster within the next day or two as the Mets continue to churn fringe pitchers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers (29-18) meet the San Diego Padres( 28-18) to start a three-game series between the NL West rivals. The Dodgers have won five in a row, including a three-game weekend sweep of the Angels. Starting pitchers are expected to be Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the Dodgers, with a 3.60 ERA, and Michael King for the Padres, with a 2.63 ERA.

How to watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres

• Date: Monday, May 18

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET / 6:40 p.m. PT

• Where: PETCO Park, San Diego, CA

• TV Channels: Padres.TV Presented by UC San Diego Health, SportsNet LA

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Los Angeles Dodgers: 29-18 (No. 1 in NL West)

• San Diego Padres: 28-18 (No. 2 in NL West)

Odds

• Spread: San Diego Padres +1.5

• Moneyline: San Diego Padres +130 (41.7%) / Los Angeles Dodgers -155 (58.3%)

• Over/Under: 7.5

Starting pitchers

Los Angeles Dodgers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-3, ERA: 3.60, K: 48, WHIP: 1.00)
San Diego Padres: Michael King (3-2, ERA: 2.63, K: 50, WHIP: 1.09)

Weather: 67°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 40,222 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

The Milwaukee Brewers (26-18) take on the Chicago Cubs (29-18) to start a three-game series between the teams with the two best NL Central records. The Cubs have lost four of their past six games, including two in a row to the Chicago White Sox. record. Starting pitchers are expected to be Brandon Sproat for Milwaukee, with a 5.75 ERA, and Shota Imanaga for Chicago, with a 2.32 ERA.

How to watch Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs

• Date: Monday, May 18

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET / 4:40 p.m. PT

• Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

• TV Channels: Marquee Sports Network, Brewers.TV

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Milwaukee Brewers: 26-18 (No. 2 in NL Central)

• Chicago Cubs: 29-18 (No. 1 in NL Central)

Odds

• Spread: Chicago Cubs -1.5

• Moneyline: Chicago Cubs -166 (59.8%) / Milwaukee Brewers +138 (40.2%)

• Over/Under: 10.5

Starting pitchers

Milwaukee Brewers: Brandon Sproat (1-2, ERA: 5.75, K: 36, WHIP: 1.53)
Chicago Cubs: Shota Imanaga (4-3, ERA: 2.32, K: 59, WHIP: 0.90)

Weather: 74°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 41,363 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

For the first time this season, the Dodgers and the Padres will meet in their fight for NL West supremacy. Currently, the two teams are separated by only a half game, with the Dodgers having one more win than the Padres with the same number of losses.

The Padres have used the Dodgers’ struggles to their advantage, being able to stay so close to them even though the Padres offense has been lackluster all season – specifically, the big three of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill. The Padres have been hanging on with the strength of their bullpen and their starting rotation hanging in there.

Between those three aforementioned players, they have a combined OPS around .600. Machado and Merrill aren’t even reaching base a third of the time, and Tatis has yet to homer. The Padres’ run differential is +7 while the Dodgers’ is + 94. While the top of the Dodgers lineup has been better overall than the Padres, it is similar how the two offenses have been much more reliant on the rest of the lineup to power them to winning games.

The Dodgers have been finally dominating games like they should be. Yes, it was against the San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels, but the Dodgers are 5-0 in their last five games with a combined 39 runs scored, including one game in which they scored 15, their highest mark so far this season. The pitching staff only allowed five runs across that winning streak.

And so, this series with the Padres will be a test to see if the offense truly has gotten back on track. The series begins Monday night in San Diego with a matchup between Michael King and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Lifetime, Shohei Ohtani has seen King pretty well. He has a .429 BA, with three homers and a 1.681 OPS. Max Muncy, Mookie Betts, and Teoscar Hernandez have all homers off of King as well. King is 3-2 on the season with a 2.63 ERA and 50 strikeouts.

The Padres are coming off of a sweep of the Mariners in Seattle, in a game where Gavin Sheets went 3-for-3 with two homers, a double, and two walks. Ty France went 3-for-4 with three RBI, and those two players have been some of the main contributors to the Padres’ success.

While the division won’t be won or lost on the back of this series alone, it could be a good indicator of the current direction of both teams – whether the Dodgers offense actually is back, and if the Padres big three can get hyped up and going at the plate.

Monday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Padres
• Ballpark: Petco Park, San Diego
• Time: 6:40 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Toronto Blue Jays (21-25) open a four-game series against the New York Yankees (28-19). The Yankees lost the final two games of their Subway Series against the New York Mets. Scheduled starting pitchers are Patrick Corbin for Toronto, with a 3.93 ERA, and Ryan Weathers for New York, with a 3.00 ERA.

How to watch Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees

• Date: Monday, May 18

• Time: 7:05 p.m. ET / 4:05 p.m. PT

• Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

• TV Channels: YES, SN1

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Toronto Blue Jays: 21-25 (No. 3 in AL East)

• New York Yankees: 28-19 (No. 2 in AL East)

Odds

• Spread: New York Yankees -1.5

• Moneyline: New York Yankees -204 (64.4%) / Toronto Blue Jays +169 (35.6%)

• Over/Under: 9.0

Starting pitchers

Toronto Blue Jays: Patrick Corbin (1-1, ERA: 3.93, K: 22, WHIP: 1.40)
New York Yankees: Ryan Weathers (2-2, ERA: 3.00, K: 54, WHIP: 1.11)

Weather: 81°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 47,309 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

The upswing of the past few weeks has turned to a harsh downswing. The Yankees went on a terrible road trip last week, getting swept by the Brewers before losing two of three to both the Orioles and Mets — the first was an understandable blip on the radar, but the latter two are teams the Yankees are probably kicking themselves for not beating. The team also saw Anthony Volpe return from his brief descent into the minors after José Caballero got hurt, and Max Fried went to the IL with an elbow issue that will leave him on the shelf for an indefinite amount of time. Altogether, it was certainly a contender for the worst week of the season thus far.

On top of all of this, the Yankees have a clear bullpen issue starting to cascade. David Bednar’s habit of getting himself in trouble before converting the save has turned into getting in trouble and blowing the save, as his ERA spiked over five after giving up a game-tying three run shot to the Mets on Sunday. The pieces meant to bridge the gap to him have also been faulty, and at this rate the retooling of the ‘pen that Brian Cashman did at last season’s deadline is going to have to be dwarfed in scale this year. Can the Yankees get a jumpstart on the market, or will the muddied field of contenders prove to make things too difficult? Will the rotation settle down without Fried and with a shaky Carlos Rodón still finding his footing? If you have questions like these, or anything else on your mind, send ‘em in for a chance to be featured in our Yankees mailbag.

Answers will run on Friday afternoon. All questions received by the night of May 21st will be considered. You can leave your submissions in the comment section below or by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

The Braves start a four-game series in Miami today, before returning home for a weekend series. JR Ritchie will take the mound for Atlanta, while Max Meyer will start for Miami.

Walt Weiss is putting Austin Riley back into the cleanup spot, as he has shown some life of late after some early season struggles. Michael Harris follows Austin, batting fifth, as Dubon and Yastrzemski fill out the outfield. Dominic Smith also mans the DH spot, as Drake Baldwin starts at catcher.

Greetings from Miami 😎#BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/vqrxiU6KFk

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 18, 2026

You can see the Statcast breakdown of the lineups below.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, May 18, 6:40 p.m. EDT

Location: loanDepot Park, Miami, FL

TV: BravesVision, Gray TV

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

The Royals are already missing one member of their starting rotation, and now they’ll try to overcome the loss of another.

With Cole Ragans already on the shelf, the Royals announced that Kris Bubic has been placed on the 15-day Injured List with left-elbow soreness. Eli Morgan was called up to replace him on the roster. Bubic was scheduled to start Tuesday night against Boston, but the Royals have not yet announced how they’ll manage that start.

Kris Bubic felt more sore than normal after his start last week, prompting the #Royals to be cautious and put him on the IL. He’s optimistic it will be a short stint, but he’ll get checked out and go through all the testing.

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) May 18, 2026

Bubic exited his last start against the White Sox on Thursday after just four innings, having given up three walks and five runs, and getting just six swings and misses. In nine starts this year, he has a 4.11 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 50.1 innings.

Morgan has had a couple of stints with the Royals this year, and has a 2.61 ERA in seven outings with nine strikeouts in 10.1 innings.

The Royals could go with Luinder Avila to start on Tuesday. The right-hander hasn’t pitched since Thursday, and has a 5.28 ERA in 15.1 innings this year. Bailey Falter, who was activated last week and last pitched on Saturday, could also be an option.

3:26 update: It will be a bullpen day on Tuesday.

It’ll be a bullpen day tomorrow in Bubic’s absence. #Royalshttps://t.co/CtdjXa48k0

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) May 18, 2026

After promoting Yeremy Cabrera to High-A last week, the Nats made another noteworthy and overdue promotion. Paul Toboni and the Nats front office decided the time was right to promote Seaver King to Triple-A. After a rough first full season as a pro last year, King has come back with a vengeance, hitting .336 with a .989 OPS in 35 games.

The Nationals are promoting shortstop Seaver King to Triple-A Rochester, per multiple sources.

The 2024 first-round pick (No. 94 in Keith Law’s Top 100) has reached base in all 35 games he’s played this year.

Hit .336 with a .989 OPS in Double A.

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) May 18, 2026

My favorite Seaver King stat is that he has gotten on base in all 35 games he has played this season. A big part of that is a much improved approach. Last season, King walked just 5.8% of the time. This season, that number has more than doubled, with the 23 year old walking 13.3% of the time. King is looking like the top of the lineup table setter that the Nats envisioned when they drafted him 10th overall out of Wake Forest.

In some ways, this breakout was a surprise. His overall numbers last season were not pretty. King hit just .244 with a .631 OPS in 125 games in High-A and Double-A. Once he reached Double-A, King really hit a wall. The athletic shortstop posted a .600 OPS in 80 games at Harrisburg last year. With players picked behind him like Cam Smith and Trey Yesavage thriving, it was not a great look.

However, this breakout was not a total surprise either. As some pointed out, he was starting to turn things around down the stretch last year. In September of 2025, King hit .341 with an .817 OPS. That was just an 11 game sample, and King was still overly aggressive and not hitting for much power though.

Seaver King went 3-for-3 with a double, a stolen base and a walk last night for the @HbgSenators. He has multi-hit performances in two of his last three games. pic.twitter.com/zP3Q7eIbCJ

— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) September 6, 2025

King also had a famously strong Arizona Fall League last year. Top prospect Kevin McGonigle gave him some hitting pointers, and those ideas seemed to click for King. Despite the strong finish to the season, King still had a lot to prove heading into 2026. He needed to have a big year to quiet the critics and get his pro career back on track.

That is exactly what he has done. He is showing the electric toolset that got him drafted so high. The raw talent has never been in question for King. He is a freak athlete with an intriguing blend of quality bat to ball skills and underrated raw power. However, he had not been able to tap into his raw power due to his overly aggressive approach and ground ball heavy spray chart.

We have talked about the improvements to his approach, but King is also elevating the ball consistently. His ground ball rate has gone from 52.4% last year to 40.6% this season. That is a big reason why King has 5 homers this year, almost matching his total from all of last season, which was six.

seaver king is on FIRE 🔥

he's reach safely IN EVERY GAME THIS SEASON (25 games) pic.twitter.com/MvxDoXyrcL

— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) May 3, 2026

King still has an opposite field heavy approach, so that may tap into his home run totals. However, that approach will lead to a lot of doubles and triples thanks to his speed. King’s athleticism gives him a lot of versatility as well. He can play all over the infield, and can even play some outfield if needed. His defense at shortstop has been hit or miss this year, but he has the tools to play there.

I wonder if King’s promotion could start a promotion domino effect over the next couple of weeks. There are promotion candidates all across the organization, especially in the infield. This move could clear up a spot for Devin Fitz-Gerald in Double-A. If Fitz-Gerald leaves, one of Luke Dickerson or even Eli Willits could take his place in High-A. That would leave a spot in Low-A that could be filled by intriguing youngster Marconi German, who is performing well in the Florida Complex League.

King is one of the best stories in the system this year. He is a true success story for the new regime, who have played a part in turning around a distressed asset. Sure, you cannot give the new regime all the credit for this, but they do deserve a shout out. King looks like a different player, even from the one who had a strong finish late in the season.

He is finding pitches to hit and driving them with authority. King is also taking his walks, which is a massive step in his development. I am very excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for the 23 year old. If he plays well in Rochester, he has a path to big league playing time. 

There is still a chance that CJ Abrams gets traded at the deadline, which opens up an obvious spot for him. Even if Abrams stays though, I think King can break down the big league door. The Nats have been a great offensive team, but they have not gotten much from their second baseman with the bat. Nasim Nunez is the primary option at the position, but with his offensive limitations, a bench role might make more sense.

If King continues to hit in AAA, he can go from a distressed asset to a big leaguer in the blink of an eye. Sometimes, you have to bet on the tools, especially when there are people in the organization that can develop those tools. Seaver King is a perfect example of that, and I am rooting for him to make the big leagues this season.

The Mets’ offense continued to struggle during the beginning of this meter period on their West Coast road trip with the notable exception of the one ten-run game the Mets put together at Coors Field. But the Mets righted the ship at Citi Field last week, taking series from both the Tigers and their crosstown rival Yankees. There is still a lot of red on this meter to be sure; the Mets are very banged up (and have a new injury to add to the tally this week) and there are a few players on the roster who are depth guys who shouldn’t be seeing regular big league at-bats. However, with the notable exception of Bo Bichette, the regulars that remain in the lineup have mostly turned things around and Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing are providing a much-needed injection of youth and energy.

Player	Last week	This week
Francisco Alvarez, C
Brett Baty, UTIL
Carson Benge, OF
Bo Bichette, 3B
Vidal Bruján, INF	—
A.J. Ewing, OF	—
Andy Ibáñez, INF
MJ Melendez, OF
Marcus Semien, 2B
Hayden Senger, C	—
Austin Slater, OF
Juan Soto, OF
Tyrone Taylor, OF
Luis Torrens, C
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B

We’ll start with the new injury since it seems like we can’t have a meter without an injury report these days. Francisco Alvarez became the third Met this season to tear his meniscus and he will be out for quite awhile. He was replaced on the roster with Hayden Senger who is hitless in his first six plate appearances but does have an RBI. Luis Torrens, fresh off a brand new contract extension with the Mets, now finds himself assuming the role of starting catcher once again and has done better with the bat lately, putting up a 95 wRC+ in 31 plate appearances over the past two weeks, which is a number you certainly put up with given his defense. He’s been getting most of his hitting done with men on base and has six RBIs, which is the same number as Juan Soto over this stretch despite far fewer at-bats.

We’ll also peel Band Aid off early and address the glaring poop emoji next to Bo Bichette’s name. For awhile when the whole offense was struggling, his shortcomings did not stick out as much. But with so many regulars sidelined with injuries, especially the starting shortstop Francisco Lindor, the Mets need Bichette’s bat to heat up and it just…hasn’t. He has just five hits—all singles—in 52 plate appearances over the past two weeks, good for an abysmal 2 wRC+, which is the lowest on the team among players with double-digit plate appearances. The one thing you can say about Bichette is that he is taking his walks. His six walks are tied with Juan Soto for the second-most on the team. But walks and the occasional single is not good enough from Bichette, who was brought here to be one of the commanding presences in the Mets lineup and has thus far failed to be that.

The team leader in walks is rookie A.J. Ewing, who has been a revelation. With the bats floundering, Ewing was the one card the Mets had left to pull. They did so and he has rewarded them for it with a 1.088 OPS in his first six games. Because he came up in the middle of this meter period, he has far fewer plate appearances than the other regulars and yet leads the team in walks, as I mentioned, with seven, and has already racked up five hits, five runs scored, and three RBIs. He has also been solid in center field and shown off his speed on the base paths to boot, with two stolen bases in three attempts.

When Ewing was promoted, Andy Ibáñez was designated for assignment. Ibáñez was hitless with an RBI and a couple of errors in five plate appearances across two games. Ibáñez’s departure leaves Vidal Bruján as the sole backup infielder, retaining his roster spot because of his ability to play shortstop with both Francisco Lindor and Ronny Mauricio still out. Bruján is hitless in four plate appearances since joining the team and is mostly a “break glass in case of emergency” player who is serving as a pinch runner and potential defensive replacement.

The reason for this turnaround over the past week is that the rookies are getting it done. Carson Benge has been great of late as well, putting up a 157 wRC+ in 50 plate appearances over the past 12 games. He’s also had a walk-off hit and a walk-off fielder’s choice in the past five days alone. He leads the team in hits with 17 and is tied for the team lead in runs scored with nine. Of course, despite being Mr. Pulchritudinous, he has made a couple of miscues in the field, but has made up for them with his bat.

Marcus Semien is second to Benge in the hits department with 12 hits in the past 12 games and also matches Benge’s team-leading nine runs scored over that span. Semien isn’t hitting for much power; eight of the 12 hits were singles, though he did go deep twice in the past two weeks. But the Mets will certainly take a 130 wRC+ from Semien, who had been struggling mightily at the plate and is now contributing consistently of late. In addition to the nine runs scored, Semien drove in four runs, walked five times, and stole a base in the past two weeks.

Brett Baty has quietly turned his season around as well, posting a 131 wRC+ over his last 44 plate appearances and keeping himself in the green for the second meter in a row. Baty, now playing third base pretty much every day, racked up 11 hits—7 singles, 3 doubles, and a home run—five runs scored, five walks, and five RBIs. Unfortunately, Baty also leads the team in strikeouts with 11 in the past 12 games.

Unfortunately MJ Melendez struck out as many times as Baty did in 15 fewer plate appearances and it seems like the lightning in a bottle the Mets captured with Melendez is finally running out with a little overexposure. In 29 plate appearances since our last meter, Melendez holds a 51 wRC+ with just three hits. With Jared Young the only injured Met due back any time soon, Melendez is likely the first in line to lose his roster spot when he returns, especially given the fact that he has options. Austin Slater isn’t doing much better with his two singles in 12 plate appearances over the past 12 games, but Slater is right-handed and Young, like Melendez, is a lefty.

Juan Soto is back to playing the outfield despite his various minor ailments he is playing through. He had been struggling at the plate, but has gotten hot just in the past week or so, pushing his wRC+ up to 116 for this two-week period, which isn’t normal Soto production, but still positive. Soto has gone deep three times over the past 12 games, including against his former team. Those long balls were three of his ten total hits. He also walked six times, drove in six runs, and scored eight runs. It looks like the three hole has been kind to him.

Mark Vientos has been hitting behind Soto most days and the RBIs have been pouring in; he leads the team with ten runs batted in over the past 12 games, despite a mediocre 81 wRC+. Of his 11 hits, four went for extra bases, including two home runs. He also walked once and scored five runs.

Tyrone Taylor was heading straight for a poop emoji, but then he logged the single biggest hit the Mets have had all season yesterday in the form of a game-tying three-run homer against the Yankees in the ninth that helped break the Mets’ long streak of losses when losing after eight innings. Still, I couldn’t in good conscience give him a good grade for a 33 wRC+ overall over the past two weeks. But with Luis Robert lacking a timetable for his return and Juan Soto needing regular DH at-bats to keep him healthy, Taylor should continue to see plenty of playing time in the outfield.

Texas Rangers catcher Malcolm Moore has been named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week of May 11-17, 2026. Moore, who is repeating at high-A Hub City after his injury-shortened 2025 campaign, slashed .520/.571/1.160 with four homers.

Moore, the Rangers’ first round pick out of Stanford in 2024, is currently on an interesting trajectory. Drafted 30th overall as a bat-first catcher with questions about whether he would stick behind the plate, Moore slashed just .209/.298/.374 in 25 games at Hickory in 2024 after signing. He played just 62 games in 2025 between Hub City and (while rehabbing) the ACL due to a broken finger, and was not impressive either offensively (slashing .195/300/.276) or defensively. Sent to the Arizona Fall League to help make up for some of his lost playing time, Moore slashing .213/.275/.328 in 17 games there.

Moore didn’t seem to turn any heads in spring training, and he appeared to be one of those late first rounders who fizzles out early on, especially after starting 2 for 22 to begin 2026 in his return to high-A. Moore’s offense picked up after that, though, and he finished the month of April with a .231/.324/.400 slash line, and 7 walks against 15 Ks in 74 plate appearances in the month. Nothing spectacular, but a decent month, especially given the slow start.

Moore has been on fire in May, though. He has a 9 game hitting streak, has hits in 10 of 11 games he’s played in this month, and has at least two hits in each of his last seven games. For the month he’s slashing .444/.528/.822 in 53 plate appearances, with six walks and nine Ks.

All of which means we may need to be re-evaluating Moore’s prospect status.

Now, on the one hand, Moore put up those insane numbers last week in Asheville, an extremely hitter-friendly park. On the other hand, he went 6 for 14 in four games at Wilmington prior to the Asheville series.

Also on the one hand, Moore is a college player taken in the first round three years ago, and is still at high-A, a level he is repeating. Also on the other hand, he did miss substantial time in 2025 due to the broken finger, catchers due tend to take longer to develop than other positions.

Moore obviously isn’t going to continue putting up a 1351 OPS, but if he continues to hit well, one would expect to see him at Frisco sometime towards the end of June. His 2023 draft classmate, Dylan Dreiling, taken in the second round, is currently having a solid season with the Roughriders, slashing .299/.417/.486 while playing center field.

After taking just one game against the Atlanta Braves (boy that missed opportunity Friday hurts) the Boston Red Sox head to Kansas City at 19-27. The Royals, winning a game to snap a six-game losing streak, enter at 20-27. Most would agree the Royals are struggling. So whatever the Red Sox are doing…yikes.

The Royals entered the season in the large group of teams hoping to be in the hunt for a Wild Card. The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians were the division favorites, the White Sox and Twins were taking steps back, but the Royals could dream. As it would happen, Bobby Witt Jr. wouldn’t homer until April 26 (though he’s done it six more times since!), Jac Caglianone and Vinnie Pasquantino couldn’t recapture the Team Italy magic. The ageless catcher Salvador Perez would start slow. And the pitching would be a bit of a mess. Wouldn’t the Sox know it though, the strong part of the rotation is ready and waiting to take on the league’s weakest offense.

Sonny Gray kicks things off on Monday. Gray, likely second after Chapman in trade interest as the deadline approaches, is coming off a fine start. His second outing since an IL stint, the veteran tossed six one-run innings while striking out six, a season high. The Red Sox have won five of his seven starts this year. In his third year with the Royals, Seth Lugo has settled in for them as a contact guy with fewer Ks (20.8%) and a higher walk rate (8.6%) than his reliever days. But if they can get 200 innings out of him like in 2024 the Royals won’t complain. He’s been hit hard twice – by the Angels and White Sox – in his last 5 starts yielding 7 and 5 runs, respectively. He also had a four-inning, four-run outing against the Guardians. Over his first five starts, Lugo had a 1.15 ERA / 2.27 FIP and over the next four it’s a 7.59 ERA / 3.28 FIP. So maybe he’s working through a little something right now.

2026 ace, non-Tolle division, Ranger Suárez takes the second game of the series. He was absolutely cruising last time out against the Phillies until a disaster inning got him off track. But he didn’t allow any runs and struck out 8 over 5.1 in his first start since leaving after four innings against the Astros on May 3rd. Southpaw Kris Bubic has made 9 starts this season. Seven have been at least 5.0 innings. And he’s given up more than 3 runs just three times. Those were against the Detroit Tigers on April 21 and the Chicago White Sox last time out. He’s really struggles with walks this year. After three years of single percentage walks his BB% has ballooned to 12.6% against a 24.6% strikeout rate, which is comparable to 2025’s 24.4% mark.

Connelly Early finishes things up on Wednesday. The Red Sox most consistent starter, Early has allowed 3 runs or fewer in seven of his nine starts. He held the Braves offense to two runs on two hits in game the Red Sox would lose. Old friend Michael Wacha finishes the series for the Royals. He’s reach the seventh innings four times in nine tries this year, really giving the Royals innings. Pitching with reverse splits, righties have hit .231/.294/.462 against Wacha while southpaws are struggling: .169/.254/.274. Although as perspective, Caleb Durbin is slashing .165/.247/.245, so Wacha can’t turn lefties into the worst hitter in baseball.

Bobby Witt Jr has 7 home runs and is hitting .309/.383/.503 after a slow start.

The Pasquatch is at just .201/.286/.341 while his Italian-American copatriot Jac Caglianone is at .246/.318/.425 with 5 dingers.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Monday, May 18: Sonny Gray (3.18 ERA / 4.18 FIP) vs. Seth Lugo (3.76 ERA / 2.68 FIP)

Tuesday, May 19: Ranger Suárez (2.44 ERA / 2.83 FIP) vs. Kris Bubic (4.11 ERA / 3.71 FIP)

Wednesday, May 20: Connelly Early (3.21 ERA / 4.56 FIP), vs. Michael Wacha (2.83 ERA / 4.14 FIP)

When/Where to Watch

Monday, May 18: 7:40 PM ET on NESN

Tuesday, May 19: 7:40 PM on NESN

Wednesday, May 20: 7:40 PM ET on NESN

The Braves had a solid 4-2 homestand, winning both series and will now take a quick 4 game road trip to Miami before returning home. This would be a nice time to get greedy and take 3 or 4 from this series against the offensively challenged Marlins.

For game 1 today, they will send JR Ritchie to the mound, facing Max Meyer from the Marlins. JR has gotten pretty lucky to have not been crushed so far this season, as he’s struggled with walks. He has been a bit caught up with the Braves’ bullpen depth issue and been left in too long a few times. He hasn’t really done much impressive on the whole over his four starts, although he has done decently to prevent hard contact. For Ritchie to be viable longer term, the strikeouts will have to increase and the walks will have to dramatically decrease. He has a sub-par offense to deal with today, so hopefully he can build on a decent 4.1 inning outing last time out and give the Braves a solid start with some length.

Max Meyer on the other side is a former #3 overall pick from 2020, but has yet to make much of that talent at the major league level, posting three replacement-level seasons before having the beginning of what may be a breakout this year. Meyer has also struggled to remain healthy, but that shouldn’t mean anything to us today. Meyer has made things work with a 78th percentile K% and a 55th percentile BB%, despite somewhat below average contact metrics. He has a mid-90s fastball that is diminished by poor extension, but pitches primarily off of his slider and sweeper, which have been devastating this season. He’ll also mix in a changeup and sinker to fill out his five pitch mix. The sweeper has been a major development for him this season, only really introducing it last year and seeing a big jump in effectiveness this year. Braves hitters would do well to take advantage of his fastballs when he throws them, because those breaking balls are no joke. His sweeper in particular is thrown pretty hard and is a bit slurvy, but has impressive movement, while his hard slider is a fairly flat pitch, but an effective one.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, May 18, 6:40 p.m. EDT

Location: loanDepot Park, Miami, FL

TV: BravesVision, Gray TV

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan