The Philadelphia Phillies (5-3) will try to complete a three-game sweep over the Colorado Rockies (2-6). The Phillies won the series’ first two games by limiting the Rockies to a single run in each. Philadelphia's Taijuan Walker is scheduled to start against Colorado's Tomoyuki Sugano.
How to Watch Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 04: Brandon Nimmo #24 of the Texas Rangers catches a fly ball by Matt McLain of the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh inning at Globe Life Field on April 04, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, folks…
The Texas Rangers fell to the Cincinnati Reds yesterday by a score of 2-0.
The Cleveland Guardians (5-3) and Chicago Cubs (3-4) are playing a doubleheader after Saturday’s game was rained out. Edward Cabrera (1-0, 0.00 ERA) is scheduled to start the opener for the Cubs against the Guardians’ Slade Cecconi (0-1, 12.46 ERA).
The New York Mets (5-4) are looking to make it three in a row against the San Francisco Giants (3-6) in the final game of their four-game series. San Francisco won the opener but the Mets have taken the past two games by a combined score of 19-3. The Mets' Kodai Senga (0-1, 3.00 ERA) will pitch against the Giants' Logan Webb (1-1, 7.36 ERA).
How to Watch New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants
Oklahoma City's James Tibbs III is introduced before a minor league baseball game between the Oklahoma City Comets and the Albuquerque Isotopes at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Friday, March 27, 2026. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Saturday in the Dodgers minors saw a stellar combined pitching effort in Tulsa, while River Ryan pitched in his first game that counted in 602 days in Las Vegas. But like most days since the minor league season started, James Tibbs III stole the spotlight.
Player of the day
James Tibbs III has been hitting ever since the Triple-A season started on March 27, and there’s never been more of a lock for the Pacific Coast League player of the (extended) week. Tibbs singled in the first inning, then hit solo home runs in the third, fifth, and seventh innings.
JAMES TIBBS III GOES YARD FOR THE THIRD, YES THIRD TIME TONIGHT‼️
We’re not sure what he ate this morning but we're going to make sure he does it again tomorrow 😅 pic.twitter.com/zSvnkOvWoH
Tibbs through eight games leads all of the minors with seven home runs and 12 extra-base hits, hitting an absurd .514/.564/1.286. His OPS was an already gaudy 1.596 heading into Saturday and his monster game vaulted him up another 254 points. Tibbs already has three games with three extra-base hits this season.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
Despite Tibbs going off, the Comets managed only two other runs in a road loss to the Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics).
River Ryan stayed in Arizona for a bit after big league camp broke in spring training, but joined Oklahoma City on Saturday for his first competitive game since August 10, 2024. Ryan allowed only two singles through three scoreless innings, but ran into trouble with three hits and a walk in the fourth inning. Las Vegas scored three in the inning, aided a bit by an error from shortstop Noah Miller. There was a lot to like in Ryan’s outing, with six strikeouts and just the one walk.
Patrick Copen led all Dodgers minor league pitchers with 152 strikeouts last season, and started off this season with eight more punchouts in five scoreless innings in the Drillers’ shutout of the San Antonio Missions (Padres). Copen worked around three walks and two singles, and has allowed two or fewer runs in 12 of his 18 starts since getting promoted to Double-A last June.
The Drillers backed Copen with two home runs, providing all the offense they neededFirst baseman Kyle Nevin hit a solo shot in the first inning, followed by shortstop Elijah Hainline blasting a three-run homer in the fifth.
Wyatt Crowell shot way up my personal rankings of top prospects by getting the final nine outs in scoreless fashion to record a three-inning save, the first in the Dodgers minors this season.
Two home runs in the eighth inning broke a tie and gave the Tower Buzzers a second straight win over the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres).
Center fielder Brendan Tunink, who homered twice on opening day Thursday, broke the tie with a solo home run, and was immediately followed by another homer by Mairoshendrick Martinus.
Shortstop Joendrys Vargas hit a two-run shot earlier in the game, in the fourth inning.
The Los Angeles Dodgers (6-2) will aim for a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals. (3-5).The Dodgers won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 23-11, scoring at least 10 runs in each. The Dodgers' Roki Sasaki (ERA 2.25) will face the Nationals' Foster Griffin (ERA 3.60).
How to Watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 04: Freddy Fermin #54 of the San Diego Padres (left) and Mason Miller #22 of the San Diego Padres embrace after their ninth inning win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 04, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Better late than never – that is what they say.
For the San Diego Padres, that statement rang true when Fernando Tatis Jr., who had four strikeouts in the game, lined a two-out double to center field in the top of the ninth inning off Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman. Ramon Laureano, who had not recorded a hit in the game, followed with an RBI-single to left-center field which allowed Tatis Jr. to score to give the Padres a 3-2 lead. San Diego closer Mason Miller came out for the bottom of the ninth inning and made quick work of the Red Sox hitters, retiring all three in order with strikeouts.
The win helped the Padres move to 3-5 on the season, but it was yet another game in which the San Diego lineup struggled to get anything going. Miguel Andujar had three hits in the game while Tatis Jr. and Laureano recorded their only hits in the top of the ninth inning. Freddy Fermin and Ty France logged the other two hits for the Padres.
Left-hander Connely Early started for the Red Sox and that caused San Diego manager Craig Stammen to go with a righty heavy lineup that featured Tatis Jr., Laureano, Andujar, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Freddy Fermin and Ty France to all step to the plate before lefty Jake Cronenworth took his turn. Bryce Johnson, a switch hitter rounded out the lineup.
Padres starter Randy Vasquez completed six innings, allowing one run on six hits. He combined his start against the Red Sox with his start against the Detroit Tigers and has now thrown 12 innings with eight hits allowed and carries an ERA of 0.75.
Padres News:
Mason Miller debuted his new bullpen entrance during the first homestand of 2026 and it has received positive reviews from the Friar Faithful.
Matt Waldron missed some time in Spring Training due to a lower body surgery and has been building back up during his rehab in the San Diego minor league system. Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says he could help the Padres sooner than later.
Baseball News:
Jo Adell of the Los Angeles Angels took a home run away from Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh which kept the slugger homerless on the year.
Juan Soto is day-to-day with a calf injury, but will avoid spending time on the IL, for now.
Masataka Murakami and the Chicago White Sox returned to their home stadium where the Japanese slugger launched yet another home run.
The New York Yankees (7-1) will try to complete a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins (5-3) on Sunday. The Yankees won the series’ second game 9-7 on Saturday. Max Fried is scheduled to start for the Yankees while Chris Paddack pitches for the Marlins.
The second Sunday of the MLB season is here, and there are plenty of home runs to be hit.
My MLB home run predictions hone in on Ian Happ and Yordan Alvarez, who will benefit from some favorable matchups, as well as the HR king himself, Aaron Judge.
Keep reading for the full details of my MLB player props for Sunday, April 5.
Best MLB home run props today
Player to hit a HR
Odds
Ian Happ
+420
Aaron Judge
+210
Yordan Alvarez
+285
💲Today's HR parlay
+6106
Ian Happ (+420)
After hitting a solid 23 homers last season, Ian Happ has gotten off to a great start in 2026 with three dingers in seven games.
The Chicago Cubs outfielder has just five hits so far, but the ball flies out of the park almost every time he makes contact. With Slade Cecconi taking the mound for the Cleveland Guardians, I like Happ’s chances of going long again.
Cecconi was poor in his first start this season, giving up six hits, one homer, and six earned runs over just 4 1/3 innings. The right-hander allowed 24 homers in 23 starts last year.
Time: 1:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Marquee Sports Network, Guardians.TV
Aaron Judge (+210)
Aaron Judge rolled to his third AL MVP award last year after hitting 53 homers with an MLB-best .688 slugging percentage.
The New York Yankees star has picked up right where he left off with three home runs through his first seven games, including a two-run bomb against the Miami Marlins on Saturday.
The Marlins send Chris Paddack to the mound today after he was lit up for eight hits, two home runs, and eight earned runs over four innings by the Chicago White Sox last Monday.
A confident Judge and a shaky starter is a great recipe for a homer.
Time:1:35 p.m. ET
Where to watch: YES, Marlins.TV
Yordan Alvarez (+285)
Last year was one to forget for Yordan Alvarez, who hit just six dingers in 48 games due to a fracture in his hand. The Houston Astros slugger is finally back to full health, and he’s already gone yard three times in nine games.
Alvarez has been smashing the baseball with six extra-base hits, a .423 batting average, and an .885 slugging percentage.
Athletics starter Jacob Lopez was pretty bad in his first appearance of the year, allowing six hits, five walks, and three earned runs over four innings.
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Space City Home Network, NBCS-California
Today’s HR parlay
Ian Happ
Bet Now +6106
Aaron Judge
Yordan Alvarez
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.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 03: CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals hits a three run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Nationals Park on April 3, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
CJ Abrams is off to a hot start, and has homered for three straight games. Hot starts are nothing new for Abrams. The last couple years he has come into seasons really locked in. This year is no different. Hopefully Abrams can show more consistency this year, and I am bullish on that.
It is still early, but CJ Abrams is really doing a good job hitting flyballs to the pullside. Right now, he has a 31.8% air pull rate. The last couple years, he has pulled the ball in the air around 22% of the time, which is above average, but not exceptional. Blake Butera said the Nats are trying to “lean into” Abrams ability to pull balls in the air.
One thing Abrams does extraordinarily well is pulling outside pitches for damage. Usually hitters are told to take the ball where it is pitched. However, Abrams has always been really comfortable yanking those outside pitches to the pullside. It is not something that will work for everyone, but it is something in his bag.
CJ Abrams might be the best puller of outside pitches for home runs I’ve EVER seen
However, as we mentioned at the top, it is tough to call Abrams a changed player right now. It is not like he did not get off to hot starts under Rizzo and Davey. He posted a .992 OPS in March and April in 2024 and an .865 mark in 2025. The big thing for Abrams will be keeping that up for a full season.
Luis Garcia Jr. actually said something after the game that I found interesting. He said that Abrams is at his best when he is “concentrated”. Garcia added that when Abrams is locked in, they are looking at video of pitchers together a lot. As Abrams gets older and more experienced, I think his concentration will be able to sustain better for all 162.
It is a long season, so I don’t blame Abrams for not being totally locked in every game, especially on a bad team. However, as he becomes one of the older players on the team, he will have to find that consistency. I am bullish on him doing that, especially with this new coaching staff. When they warned him after he stared at a ball that was not a homer, Abrams took it well, which I liked.
The Nats are going to have an interesting decision to make with Abrams over the coming months. He has three years of team control left and was in trade rumors this offseason. Will the Nats trade him or could they possibly give him an extension that would be a big statement to the fanbase? He is a fan favorite and a player, I would not mind seeing get an extension.
That will be something we have to follow throughout the year. However, this start to the season has shown us why so many teams aggressively pursued Abrams. When he is at his best, CJ Abrams can be a really dynamic player. If he can unlock more consistency as he gets older, that would take his game to another level.
Another thing that would take his game to another level would be defensive improvements at shortstop. Most of the teams interested in Abrams, like the Royals and Giants, would have used him as a second baseman.
However, the Nats have him at shortstop, and I think he’s looked a bit better so far. This Dodgers series has not been as great defensively, but I think he has looked much smoother so far this season.
It is early, but CJ Abrams has looked more fluid defensively this year. You can see his natural athleticism translating on that side of the ball so far
Blake Butera noted that Abrams has looked better making plays “outside of his body”. That is not always natural for Abrams, who Butera called a guy who likes to make plays with two hands. However, he has the natural athleticism to make those plays. It is all about being more confident in himself to make those plays. We will see how it goes, but I think Abrams will be a better defender in 2026.
Overall, I am more confident in Abrams sustaining his hot start this year than I was in prior seasons, especially last year. That is due to a couple factors. One is the coaching changes, which we have harped on constantly. Another one is Abrams just being an older, more mature player. Despite just being 25, he has been in the big leagues for a while now. By Nats standards, he is a veteran.
I think he will be more empowered to take on a leadership role, and that will help him. When Abrams concentration may drop, or his swing may lose some steam, there will always be someone in his ear. I also hope his own standards will be raised this year. CJ Abrams has always had the talent, but I am bullish on the idea that this is the year where he puts it together.
It’s 2026, which means baseball is partially governed by robots. More precisely, the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system is in place with the challenge system. Lots of ink, including our own, has been spilled on the new system; personally, I’m a fan of this intermediate step between letting CB Bucknor do whatever he wants and replacing umpires entirely. ABS also adds a small layer of strategy on when to use a challenge or when to save it.
Today, I want to see how well the Tigers are doing with their challenges. BaseballSavant helpfully keeps a leaderboard for each team’s challenge metrics. I’ll be breaking those down here and examining where Detroit stands out, where they don’t, and why some of these metrics really don’t matter that much. These statistics are all based upon a league-wide “expected” challenge formula developed by Tom Tango. You can read more about it here, but put simply, by evaluating the distance from the edge of the plate, how much is left of the game, and how many challenges a team has remaining, Tango developed a method to determine how likely any pitch is to be challenged. This results in “net overturns more than expected” for four basic scenarios: the offense and defense when Detroit is batting, and the offense and defense when Detroit is pitching.
Offensive Challenges
Offensively speaking, the two categories of note are “net overturns more than expected for” and “net overturns more than expected against”. “For” is the category for when a Tiger batter initiates the challenge, while “against” means the opposing team’s pitcher or catcher initiated.
When trying to determine how good the Tigers are at challenging, it of course makes more sense to look at the “net for” category. There’s nothing they can do about “net against”; the umpire called a ball and the catcher, or occasionally the pitcher, said no. Short of swinging at it anyways, Detroit has no way to prevent that. Their 1.3 “net against” challenges ranks 18th in baseball, but really, it speaks to Padres’ catchers not getting the call on 2 pitches in the zone. Only one of their “net against” challenges got overturned into a strikeout, which is good. Hitters really shouldn’t be swinging at pitches that could have been challenged unless there’s 2 strikes.
Far more interesting to me is the “net for” category; this is what Detroit can control. These are pitches called strikes and Tigers’ batters requested review. Here they rate much more positively: 2.3 net overturns more than expected, 9th in the league. Detroit’s mostly succeeding here by challenging pitches very close to the zone and getting them right, which has outweighed some decently large misses. The picture below shows all 9 of Detroit’s offensive challenges so far. The green circles are challenges they won and got overturned, while they lost the gray ones.
The highlight here is Kerry Carpenter challenging that really close green one with 2 strikes, which flipped a strikeout on a pitch that was listed as “less than 0.1 inches” off the plate. Carpenter capitalized by walking on the next pitch, which must have felt good. Unfortunately, he didn’t end up scoring, which would have been the best outcome, but it’s still best practice to flip a strikeout the other way whenever possible.
My main takeaway here is Detroit probably stands to benefit from challenging a little more. They seem to be saving challenges for leverage situations, which is smart, but are probably leaving some obvious overturns on the table to try and save them for bigger opportunities later. If you combine their “net for” and “net against” scores, the Tigers’ hitters rank 15th in baseball. They aren’t taking many more chances than the median team, nor are they succeeding too much more than the median team.
Defensive Challenges
The exact same scenarios play out for defensive challenges, but in reverse. “Net overturns for” are when the Tigers are pitching and their catchers call for a challenge, while “net overturns against” means an opposing batter initiated the challenge.
The “net against” category means a little more here than with the hitters since how a catcher frames the pitch can fool both the umpire and the batter. The Tigers are 12th here at 0.1 “net overturns against more than average”. Basically, opposing hitters aren’t doing anything unexpected with their challenges versus Detroit. Interestingly, all four challenge attempts have come with Jake Rogers behind the plate.
“Net overturns for” is where Detroit – and really, Dillon Dingler – stands out. The team as a whole is 4/4 on defensive challenges; only the New York Yankees match their 100% success rate. Again, only having four defensive challenges is probably too few (it’s less than 1 per game), but hitting on all four is impressive. Furthermore, only 1 has been a gimme. That was Rogers against the Diamondbacks, and it stands out in the picture below. The other three on the edges were all Dingler.
Those three calls are certainly not gimme challenges. Considering how much a catcher has on his plate with pitch calling, the pitch com, and managing base runners, knowing the corner of a pitch’s trajectory clipped the zone on its way through is very impressive. The most impactful was a corrected strikeout on Fernando Tatis Jr on the pitch closest to the edge of those four.
Basically, add this to a list of things Dingler does very, very well, at least early in the season. A year after earning the AL Gold Glove as a catcher, Dingler’s already showing a new dimension to his defensive capabilities. Presumably his two years of experience with ABS in Toledo give him a leg up on most of his veteran MLB peers, and his overall framing skills handle the rest. So far, he’s rated at having saved the Tigers 0.8 runs in challenges through 7 games, third most in the league. Additionally, with Dingler leading the charge, the Tigers’ defense rates 4th with 3.8 total overturns above average. This really is a team built on pitching and defense.
On the whole, Detroit is 6th in all of baseball with 4.9 total overturns above average. The majority of that value comes from their exceptional catchers, while the offense is mostly just holding serve. The only way to improve would likely be challenging less conservatively in general, as both halves of the team are at an above-average success rate. Similarly to baserunning, risking a few bad calls is likely the price of correctly challenging a whole let more. Teams are surely still experimenting with the best challenge strategies, and we have little idea yet how sticky a skill this will turn out to be for catchers and hitters, but a more aggressive approach that doesn’t quite breach into recklessness seems like the right path.
Woodpeckers manager Ricky Rivera helps a young child put on his glove at the annual PLAY BALL Weekend baseball clinic and community giveback on Friday, June 14, 2024, at Segra Stadium. The events were a collaboration between Major League Baseball, The Two-Six Project, and Fayetteville native Vic Blends.
It’s Final Four weekend in college basketball, so if you’re more focused on that, you can be forgiven. It’s a thrilling event to take in, even if your bracket is busted.
For today’s question, it’s taking that concept and putting a baseball spin on it. What is your baseball “Final Four”? You can take this question any direction you want to take it, but from my point of view, I’m talking about things that make baseball baseball. That means hot dogs, scorecards, Fangraphs and baseball gloves. I usually only eat hot dogs when I’m at a baseball game, forgoing the other temptations that are at the ballpark. I love keeping score during a game, purchasing a sweet scorebook to do so. I’m on Fangraphs every day, twice a day and, well, a baseball glove is just about the greatest thing one can give to a person.
Everyone will take this question a different direction, which is what I’m interested in. Let us know.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 04: Jo Adell #7 of the Los Angeles Angels catches a fly ball hit by Cal Raleigh #29 of the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of the baseball game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 04, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Ryan Sirius Sun/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It took the Yankees two tries, but they managed to come back from losing positions to beat the Marlins, 9-7, putting them on the cusp of their second sweep in the first three series. After pitching carried them through their first six wins, it was encouraging to see the “never say quit” attitude displayed by the entire lineup, grinding out tough at bats against a stingy Marlins bullpen to come out on top.
That wasn’t the only exciting game in the AL, so let’s see how their Junior Circuit rivals fared.
Chicago White Sox (3-5) 6, Toronto Blue Jays (4-4) 3
On Wednesday it was an extra-innings loss to the Rockies. On Friday it was getting walked-off by the White Sox and last night brought another loss to the Pale Hose. The Blue Jays have now lost three straight games to the only two teams predicted to lose at least 95 games according to FanGraphs’ preseason projections. Both teams went with a bullpen game and did pretty well, Lazaro Estrada following Blue Jays opener Maso Fluharty’s first inning with four no-hit frames while Grant Taylor and Anthony Kay combined to give the White Sox 5.1 innings of two-run ball.
Munetaka Murakami has been electric since signing from NPB over the winter, opening the scoring with a sac fly in the first before crushing a 431-foot, two-run blast in the sixth to restore the White Sox lead for already four home runs, seven RBIs, and a 178 wRC+ in eight games — becoming the fastest Japanese player to four home runs in history.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grabbed Toronto a short-lived lead with a two-run tank in the top of the sixth, but that was immediately nullified by Murakami’s bomb and a solo shot from Colson Montgomery in the bottom half. Nathan Lukes cut the deficit to one with an inning-ending sac fly double play in the seventh, but Luisangel Acuña restored a two-run cushion in the eighth on a two-run single, a throwing error and Acuña subsequently getting caught in a rundown allowing both runs to score.
Detroit Tigers (4-4) 11, St. Louis Cardinals (4-4) 6
Even on a day when Jack Flaherty gave up five runs, the Tigers at no point looked like losing this game as Dustin May surrendered seven runs in just 3.1 innings. Detroit jumped on him early, Kerry Carpenter clubbing a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. They continued to pour it on in the fourth, Zach McKinstry crushing a two-run blast followed by a Parker Meadows triple and Matt Vierling sac fly.
St. Louis fought back admirably, putting up a five spot in the fifth. Alec Burleson got things started in the frame with an RBI double before Jordan Walker demolished a 459-foot grand slam — part of a five-RBI day for the former top prospect.
Unfortunately for St. Louis, the Tigers never took their foot off the gas pedal. Gleyber Torres led off the seventh with a home run and Vierling backed it up with a two-run shot an inning later. Four Tigers left the yard while three logged three-RBI nights to erase Walker’s career performance.
The Astros got their revenge for the Athletics scoring 11 on Friday by scoring 11 of their own in a dominant shutout victory over their divisional foes. Offseason signing Tatsuya Imai shook off his bumpy debut to give fans a teaser of his ceiling, twirling 5.2 scoreless allowing three hits and three walks against nine strikeouts. Out of his 94 pitches, 85 were four-seamers or sliders, yet he still managed to induce a 43-percent whiff rate on the two pitches combined.
It certainly helps when your offense can score double-digit runs despite hitting just a pair of solo shots, the Houston bats collecting 18 base hits and drawing 13 walks against a clearly hapless A’s staff. Four of those walks belonged to Yordan Alvarez while Cam Smith added a pinch hit solo shot late. However, this game was about the bottom-half of the Astros order. Four of the final five hitters in the lineup — Christian Walker, Joey Loperfido, Yainer Diaz, and Christian Vásquez contributed three-hit, two-RBI performances in about as complete a team victory as one could hope for.
The Red Sox woes deepen as they have now lost six out of seven games following an Opening Day victory. Boston Rookie Connelly Early allowed two runs on three hits and four walks in four innings, but it wasn’t enough to stand up against former Yankee Randy Vásquez’s six innings of one-run ball.
The two teams traded runs in the second, Freddy Fermin drawing a leadoff walk, advancing to third on a Ty France single, and scoring the opening run on a Bryce Johnson grounder before Marcelo Mayer responded with a sac fly after Willson Contreras led off with a single followed by a Wilyer Abreu walk. Fermin restored the Padres’ lead with an RBI double in the third after Miguel Andújar reached on a double of his own. Andruw Monasterio re-leveled the scores with an RBI forceout in the eighth after Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony opened the frame with a pair of singles, which allowed Alex Cora to hand the ball to Aroldis Chapman in the ninth, fresh off a 2025 campaign in which the erstwhile Yankees closer looked otherworldly.
However, Chapman surrendered a Fernando Tatis Jr. double to set up the go-ahead RBI single from Ramón Laureano, both with two outs. Mason Miller turned out to be a tougher customer than Chapman in this one, as he protected the 3-2 lead by striking out the side in a perfect ninth.
Los Angeles Angels (4-5) 1, Seattle Mariners (4-5) 0
This was a good ol’ fashioned pitchers’ duel, Emerson Hancock following up his six no-hit innings with nine strikeouts in his season debut with 6.2 frames of one-run ball against the Angels. However, it was Jack Kochanowicz who came out on top. He may have been the worst starter in baseball last season with a 6.81 ERA and -0.6 fWAR, but he turned in one of the best starts of his young career against Seattle — 5.2 scoreless innings allowing four hits and two walks against seven strikeouts.
The game started out with quite a bit of drama, Jo Adell robbing Cal Raleigh of a home run in the top of the first. In the bottom of the frame. Zach Neto led off with a booming 443-foot home run, and the Angels threatened to pour on more putting runners on second and third on a Nolan Schanuel double and Jorge Soler single, only for Schanuel to get thrown out at home to end the inning while attempting to score on a wild pitch.
In fact, that would constitute all the scoring in this contest.
The Mariners had their chances, loading the bases with two outs in the third and putting a pair on with no outs in the seventh, but the Angels pitchers averted the threat both times. The game ended in very much the same fashion as it began, Adell robbing another home run in the eighth — this time off the bat of Josh Naylor — before making it the trifecta by bringing a J.P. Crawford deep fly near the right-field foul pole back into the yard to preserve the 1-0 victory.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 1: Masyn Winn #0 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates with Ivan Herrera #48, Pedro Pages #43 and JJ Wetherholt #26 all of the St. Louis Cardinals after hitting a walk-off single against the New York Mets in the eleventh inning at Busch Stadium on April 1, 2026 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Depending on who you ask, the first week-plus of the 2026 season has gone exactly or nothing as planned for the St. Louis Cardinals. As they enter play on Sunday, they sit 4-4, which could easily be 6-2 or 2-6, whether you want to give props or blame to the bullpen. Despite being about as up and down as a .500 team could be through eight games, we have seen things to be excited about as we navigate the new waters of this rebuild.
I have done all the overreacting I could to the opening week of baseball, both doing an Opening Day Cardinals on my Time livestream and an opening weekend buy/sell podcast with Redbird Rundown, so I decided to use this week to dive into the timely news of the week. Now that we have settled down on the JJ Wetherholt first ballot Hall of Fame, 16-time MVP, and 46-time All-Star conversation, a more realistic talk to have is about his long-term value. And not just to the team in the midst of a rebuild. But also talking the money side, factoring in arbitration years, service time, and other prospects around the league taking home fat paydays with very minimal, or no, major league experience.
Konnor Griffin was forced to wait until the Pirates’ home opener to debut and then quickly signed a nine-year extension worth up to $140 million. This came after the Brewers locked up shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt, who had not even seen a pitch at Triple-A for eight years. Oh yeah, and of course Pete Crow-Armstrong signed a lucrative six-year, $115 million deal to haunt the NL Central for the next handful of seasons in Chicago. The question marks around 2027, prospect incentives, and potential salary cap concerns have created this explosion of early career paydays, but is it time the Cardinals got involved? The first year of a rebuild is hardly time to talk long-term contracts, but I do still believe this rebuild is different than others. The St. Louis lineup is full of pieces all 27 years old and younger. And these are not the same level of guys we see taking the field for the White Sox or Rockies. These are legitimate, or still project to be, major league-caliber hitters. The pitching has questions, as expected, and some of those will not receive answers this year. The offense is top-heavy when it comes to prospects, with the high profile players already being in St. Louis or Triple-A, while the rotation has more excitement brewing in the lower levels. This rebuild could really go anywhere.
Which members of the Cardinals’ young core should Chaim Bloom look to extend?
With those youngsters and owners apparently now finding out they can spend money, I want to look at the current Cardinals’ setup and see who I would start the conversation with if I was Chaim Bloom. However, I am not well-versed in contract negotiations enough to speculate length and salary, so I will allow you all to sound off in the comments for what you believe is fair value. Feel free to add or subtract from the list as well!
#1 JJ Wetherholt
Recency bias or not, there was probably the desire from both parties to at least get the extension conversation started. When Pratt was extended, slightly more attention turned to Bloom, but when Griffin got paid, it sort of seemed like the boat was missed for some reason. Especially when Sal Stewart and the Reds have also been open to the long-term contract talks. But it is not like a trade, where once an extension is signed, nobody else can do it. Quite the opposite probably, like we have seen, and maybe teams feel more pressure to get something done and add a year or a couple extra million bucks to sweeten a quick deal.
Griffin was immediately grabbed as a comp, but expecting a Wetherholt contract to hit the $140 million mark when compared to the Pirates’ infielder is a likely farfetched. The 19-year-old Pittsburgh phenom was the top-rated prospect in the sport, and rated greater than Wetherholt across the board in future projections. That is not to say that what Wetherholt has shown us in the first two weeks has not been impressive. The Opening Day homer, the walk-off hit the next day. Not looking completely overpowered at the plate despite a few more strikeouts. He is still taking his walks and already swiped two bags while settling in at second base. It is early, of course, but he does not seem to have the profile that will be exploited by pitchers for an extended slump.
Even with a couple misplays at second, Baseball Savant has him ranked in the 99th percentile in Fielding Run Value and he is near league-average in every other Statcast homepage metric. Not bad, even when compared to the bigger debuts of Griffin and Jose Fernandez. Wetherholt’s 425-foot flick of the wrist homer was impressive, especially coming at Busch Stadium from a prospect not expected to hit many more than 20 long balls per season. The sweet lefty swing, the athleticism, and the apparent baseball IQ we have seen from Wetherholt during his short time in the bigs should make him a safe bet to be the top of many of your lists for an extension.
In our Redbird Rundown conversation with Ethan Hannaford, I said the fact of the matter is, the average value of Griffin’s contract is about $15.5 million per year. If he is simply a league-average player for the majority of his career, that cost-certainty provides flexibility for future spending. If he becomes a superstar, then that is an unbelievable value for a team that would certainly hope to be contending for a championship.
#2 Ivan Herrera
The fall off in how obvious the talks should get after Wetherholt was steep. I bounced back and forth with all four of the next guys and where they should fall, or if they should even be included and if I just make this a three-man list. But that’s not fun. So I decided to go with Ivan Herrera at number two just to engagement bait any of my Herrera at catcher haters because the Cardinals are apparently fully committed to the bit until something goes horribly wrong.
The counting stats have been slow to… count for Herrera so far in 2026, but his Savant page is full of bright red, speaking to some bad luck or at ‘em balls that will find green sooner or later. To me, BABIP is the ultimate small sample size stat for both hitters and pitchers, but we can talk about that on another day. Looking at his exit velocity, hard hit percentage, and whiff/chase rates mean more to me and those are all above the norm. I am excited to check back in at the end of the month to see what kind of luck Herrera hit into and what the numbers show.
For why I put him at number two, though, is because of the catching. Even with the “catching freight train” heading to St. Louis, maybe the Cardinals play it safe and ensure they get a major league caliber catcher on the big league roster rather than play the risky prospect potential game we have seen them play with Andrew Knizner and Carson Kelly, and what they could do with Jimmy Crooks, Leonard Bernal, and further down the road Rainiel Rodriguez. For the here and now, though, Ivan Herrera is catching and doing a fine job. Even while playing three games behind the plate, Herrera has still played in every game this year and has not look hampered by doing so. The offense has not yet shown up on paper, but can we blame that on the catching? So far, no, since he has been hitting better on the days he wears the gear and the Cardinals are 2-1 with a total of nine runs given up in those games, all by the bullpen. Hm.
An extension for Herrera does not necessarily lock him in as the catcher of the decade, but it does not have to. His main tool is his hitting, and he is still showing he can do that while playing a premium position at a league-average level. The elbow surgery may not have helped him throw anyone out on the bases, but whenever I bring that up on Twitter, I am so nicely reminded that the Cardinals are “trying to lose” so it should not matter anyway. Call me weird for wanting my catcher to throw out a runner. But, the hope is that more time behind the plate and with Yadier Molina could only improve his throwing woes, and if not, Herrera has shown athleticism to potentially move to another position and not become a young DH-only. Before just saying he should play first base just because that is the suggestion any time a position change is brought up, he makes sense as a guy who can and should grab the oven mitt a time or two. Along with that, he has the potential to stand in the grass and do so well enough, especially in the black hole of left field offense, to find a home out there a couple times a week.
Any talks of a position change should come after this year for Herrera. If he is unable to stay healthy behind the plate, the Cardinals should move him to the DH role full-time, unless his injury allows him to spend time working in the minors for an extended period of time at t new spot. Then, next offseason, when the Cardinals hopefully have some final answers at other positions, the defense jockeying for Herrera can begin.
#3 Masyn Winn
Who wouldn’t want their 24-year-old cleanup hitter locked up for the next decade? Lineup jokes aside, if PCA can sign for nearly $20 million a year and the argument is “even if his hitting tails off his defense will provide enough value” then bring Winn to the table now. I wanted to put him number two, but the offense has been a bummer in the early season sample.
As a believer in Winn as a face of the franchise, it would be nice to see the offense progress in his third season in the majors. Healthy going into the season, the hope was the power and speed will result in homers and steals, but a car accident after his walk-off hit after a year-long struggle from the four-hole created some pause. He was in the lineup the next game, but pulled after soreness, but not from the accident. Supposedly from working too hard in the cage to correct his swing. My response? Chill, dude. It’s April 4.
I am in on Winn unless the offense craters to Brendan Ryan territory (don’t look too closely at their numbers), at which point, I have historically been against paying defense-first players with limited offensive ceiling. Because I do believe in his future ability to hit for average and spray the ball to both gaps, I have him third but understand if he would be fifth on other’s lists. With the Cardinals seeming set on Wetherholt playing mostly second base this season, Thomas Saggese is apparently the backup shortstop without a minor leaguer knocking down the door to be there in case things go awry quickly.
#4 Matthew Liberatore
I did not want to go full chalk with hitters but also am hesitant towards long-term pitching extensions in general, and I could not find anyone in the minor leagues that warranted a pre-debut contract. With Dustin May looking not good, Michael McGreevy being slow yet effective, Andre Pallante doing fine, and reminding myself that Kyle Leahy is nearly 29-years-old, Matthew Liberatore seems the best option here.
There’s definitely worse options than a 26-year-old front of this rotation lefty for this list, but a Libby extension should not be seen as a consolation prize, but an overall win for a trade that was, and apparently, still is viewed as a bust in some circles. Liberatore is making $2.25 million this season and will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason, assuming a normal negotiation period ensues after the World Series. Even if Liberatore does not develop into the rotation ace he was viewed as when he was a Tampa Bay prospect, if he can remain healthy, he will be a valuable piece of consistency in a rotation that could see a lot of turnover in the next few seasons.
Liberatore drew the Opening Day start and was featured at the front of Cardinal media multiple times this offseason. With basically everyone except for Libby working to prove their worth in 2026, Chaim Bloom shelling out some cash for consistency could be a good stabilizing move as the rotation goes younger and strikeout-heavy.
#5 Alec Burleson
Even after publishing, I will still wonder if I should flip-flop Alec Burleson and Winn on my list, and I probably should. I think one of the determining factors is simply just the age difference, even though Burly has a profile that may be the safer bet for the future and command a little more effort to lock down now. He smacked one of the coolest homers on Opening Day, and probably the only one that could have overshadowed Wetherholt’s from earlier, capping off a huge comeback.
The eldest of the group, he appears to have accepted the leadership role vacated by Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, whatever value you placed on their version of leading is up to you, and become to voice of the clubhouse, taking over for Lars Nootbaar. We saw him lead the congratulatory speech for JJ Wetherholt in the locker room after Opening Day, but have also heard him be talked about as a competitor who challenges himself by both Oliver Marmol and Brant Brown. For a team that is searching for its identity, Burleson can be written into the middle of the lineup everyday.
To me, he continues to be undervalued defensively by the metrics. First base is notoriously a difficult position to measure, but seeing Burleson once again near the bottom of the league in defensive value seems crazy. We have already seen multiple diving plays saving hits and looking confident scooping errant throws. I think Burly also has a little sneaky baserunning acumen that is going to result in taking extra bases or grabbing double digit steals on a yearly basis. If he can keep his ability to make contact with the ball while selling out for slightly more power, I would be comfortable locking Burleson down for a handful of seasons to help with the transition. While the other players would hope to be around for the next competitive team, Burly might age himself out slightly of that window, similar to what just happened to Brendan Donovan, but still be around to usher to next guys up to the league. With only Blaze Jordan right behind him at first, Ivan Herrera, Nolan Gorman, Yohel Pozo, and potentially Pedro Pages could eventually work behind Burleson in some capacity.
Let me know your thoughts on length of contract and overall or annual value! Or, since all of these guys are controlled for a few seasons, is there even a need to go to the table? Sound off below!
(I hope some of you thought Pages would be on this list from the picture <3)
SELF PROMO OF THE WEEK
In this potentially final rendition of my self promotion Sunday (check out VEB’s pod coming this week), Redbird Rundown had a busy week.
Random Cardinal of the Week returned with Ken Griffey Jr. baseball core memory leadoff man, Delino DeShields.
Ethan Hannaford joined Redbird Rundown to go over some mystery player stat lines. That turned into a little extension conversation but also what we think is sustainable throughout the season. This premieres tonight at 6pm, so drop in the chat there and talk to us there!
Cardinals on my Time will premiere an episode with Kevin Wheeler on Wednesday after the game. This will be linked later, but like/follow/subscribe to Redbird Rundown for the full release info.
Next Sunday, Josh Jacobs from Dealin’ the Cards and now covering the Cardinals for MLB.com will answer some questions. We will post that on our socials later this week.
Ian Happ
Aaron Judge
Yordan Alvarez
