Category: Baseball

The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Houston Astros scored five runs.

The Rangers led 3-0 early and then 4-1 late, holding that 4-1 lead into the seventh inning only for the Astros to tie the game in that ining and then take a 5-4 lead in the eighth because Texas was essentially forced into a quasi bullpen game while unfortunately also being quite thin in both available and reliable relief.

Nevertheless, No. 9 hitter Kyle Higashioka hit a two-out, solo home run to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth which allowed the Rangers to bring in their best reliever Jacob Latz and after a scoreless top of the ninth, they walked off a near-untouchable Josh Hader with three consecutive hits to begin (and end!) the ninth.

The Rangers go into the All-Star break leading the American League West and, hey, those Silver Boot dreams live on another day!

Player of the Game: Brandon Nimmo had three hits and the walk-off single but also big props to MacKenzie Gore for four innings of one-run ball after he asked to make the start on short rest after Jacob deGrom broke his ass or something.

Up Next: After a few days off for everyone other than All-Star Latz, the Rangers open the second half in Atlanta where they will take on the Braves beginning on Friday evening.

It’s Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! Earlier today, the first half of the season wrapped up, but before we turn our attention to the All-Star Break and beyond, let’s take a look back at this week’s social media spotlight. How has the squad been spending their time online? Let’s find out!

All-Star Invitations

Last week, Major League Baseball announced that a quartet of Yankees — Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, and Cam Schlittler — were headed to Philadelphia for the 2026 All-Star Game. Here’s the moment they found out:

A few days later, Rice accepted an invitation to participate in this year’s Home Run Derby, where his dad will be pitching to him.

Dave’s Thoughts

As usual, Dave Sims took to Instagram with his thoughts after this week’s slate of games.

Suzyn’s Day Off

Yankees radio broadcaster Suzyn Waldman went back to her roots and caught Death of a Salesman and Oh Mary — and even got a chance to take a snap a picture of the sound board!

Honoring Service

The Yankees took some time this week to honor Holocaust survivor Sally Muschel and made a donation to the Carlos Rodón Foundation.

Some Photo Dumps

To wrap up the first half, here’s some photos posted this week, by Yankees past and present.

The Atlanta Braves took a 4-3 win against the St. Louis Cardinals, and though they didn’t win the battle, they’ve won the war… or at least avoided being swept after dropping the series. Does that still count?

The sunny days just might be here again.

The Cardinals kicked off their bid on the scoreboard after an RBI double from Alec Burleson to bring Jordan Walker in. The Braves would drive in three of their own soon after.

The most impressive one was from Brewer Hicklen, knocking in a 109.1 MPH double for the first RBI of his career to drive in Jim Jarvis to give the Braves a two-run lead.

Danny Young, who was slated to start for the Braves at the last minute, only saw the first inning after allowing the first run and a walk from Lars Nootbaar right after. JR Ritchie, who was the original starter, went in for him before the end of the first inning and stayed until the bottom of the sixth inning (4.1 IP/ 1 H/ 0 ER/ 2 BB/ 2 K).

Pitching is what almost got the Braves in trouble as the Bullpen gave up two more runs later in the bottom of the sixth inning, tying the two teams until the top of the ninth where the Braves got a run off a throwing error by Cardinals’ Masyn Winn from a Mauricio Dubón RBI single to bring Ozzie Albies in.

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the first half of the 2026 season. Lots of positives, ran into struggles, but what team doesn’t? Now, it’s a matter of how they’ll get back on top in the second half, in the race to October.

The Mets' Double-A affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, won 10-5 today, and rehabbing big-leaguers Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. both had big days at the dish.

This was Semien's first in-game action since he was placed on the IL nearly three weeks ago with a hip flexor strain. Meanwhile, Robert has been ramping up his workload since his minor-league assignment began at the start of July, having hit the IL in late April with lower back disc herniation.

Semien clobbered a three-run homer to left-center field in the top of the fourth inning. He was removed from the game midway through the game, having earlier smacked a single. He finished 2-for-3 with a strikeout swinging.

Marcus Semien with a three-run homer for Double-A Binghamton pic.twitter.com/vyjlcTs3pf

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 12, 2026

Robert played the whole game, taking six at-bats and recording two hits, including an RBI single, but also struck out three times.

Mets interim manager Andy Green, speaking before Sunday's game, explained the team's expectations for Semien and Robert moving forward, including the three-day MLB All-Star break between Monday, July 13 and Wednesday, July 15.

Green explained that the plan for Semien during that time is for him to "get some live at-bats against Clay Holmes... more rehab games is the most likely scenario starting on Friday."

When asked about how soon the Mets could see Robert's return to the lineup, Green responded, "We'll see how he feels. He'll also get some live at-bats against Clay during the [All-Star] break... then, there's a good chance he will play in a couple of more games [in the minor leagues]."

"Hopefully, at that point in time, [Robert] will be ready to go," the interim skipper concluded.

The Orioles finally did it. They finally won a fourth straight game in the 2026 season. It was long past ridiculous that they hadn’t, as the team had seven three-game winning streaks that they did not manage to turn into a four-or-more-game winning streak. The eighth time was the charm. They took out 96 games worth of frustration on the woeful Royals and came away with a convincing 8-2 win to sweep their final series heading into the All-Star break.

Although the final margin of victory was six runs, this game had a lot in common with games that the Orioles have lost earlier in the season. Starting pitcher Shane Baz was not able to complete the fifth inning due to an elevated pitch count. The Royals got their first run and a prolonged rally following a throwing error by Blaze Alexander at third base. This gave the Royals an early lead in the game. The Orioles offense wasted a couple of promising scoring chances in the early innings. There was a second O’s error later in the game.

They overcame all of that. One reason that they were able to do this is Baz. You’d always rather see the starting pitcher complete at least five innings, but this was a decent enough game from him. Baz’s 4.2 innings saw him strike out nine Royals batters and he did not issue any walks. That helped him mostly scatter the seven hits allowed without too much damage. Even the one earned run charged to Baz was a cheap chopper that cleared an inexplicably drawn-in infield.

Kansas City struck first, with a triple following Alexander’s error to score the game’s first run in the top of the second. Baz handled that one in a way that Orioles pitchers often haven’t this season, getting a strikeout for the third out to strand the runner on third base. The O’s did not stay in the hole for long. Alexander atoned a bit for the error by leading off the next inning with a single. With one out, Alexander was still on base for Leody Taveras’s fourth homer of the season, a convincing bomb to deep center field that gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead.

The lead did not last. As Royals starter Seth Lugo failed at the shutdown inning when his offense gave him the 1-0 lead, Baz couldn’t deliver one in the top of the third after the offense put him on top. KC’s star, Bobby Witt Jr., led off the next inning with a double, advanced on a groundout, then scored on a single. Baz held the line again, even after giving up another single to put men on first and third with only one out. He limited the damage and stopped a disaster before it could move any farther along.

The score stayed tied at 2-2 until the Orioles broke it open in the sixth inning. Both starting pitchers were out early. Lugo pitched just four innings and took 89 pitches to do it. Baz’s 4.2 inning outing saw him throw 104. After he gave up a two-out double in the fifth inning, that was all for him. Anthony Nunez was brought in to finish the fifth inning. He’s had some rough outings recently. This one went fine. Nunez struck out Vinnie Pasquantino to end that inning.

With both starters out by the end of the fifth inning, it was a battle of the bullpens from there. Kansas City came up short when the day went badly for their pitcher Matt Strahm. Many days this season have gone poorly for Strahm, who entered the game with a 5.81 ERA. Many days have gone poorly for many Royals relievers.

Strahm struck out Samuel Basallo, the first batter he faced, and then things went off the rails. He walked Alexander, allowed a single to pinch hitter Tyler O’Neill, then another single to Taveras, easily scoring Alexander from second base to put the Orioles ahead for good at 3-2. They kept pouring on the hits for good measure: Another pinch hitter, Jeremiah Jackson, delivered an RBI double. Strahm balked in another run, then couldn’t stop Jackson from scoring from third as Gunnar Henderson hit an infield chopper off the back tip of home plate.

That was the end of the line for Strahm. His replacement only ended the inning after Pete Alonso hit an RBI single and made an ill-advised decision to try to stretch it into a double. That happened a lot in this series.

Because this is still the 2026 Orioles, there must be a cruel barb even in this moment of modest triumph where the team has achieved something positive. In the seventh inning, immediately following Basallo hitting a homer (his 16th of the year!) to make the game 8-2, Alexander was hit by a pitch by Royals reliever Lucas Erceg. The 1-2 pitch was inside and appeared to bounce off of Alexander’s arm before hitting one of his hands.

Alexander started shouting at Erceg, who shouted back, and the benches emptied, bullpens trotted in, and warnings were issued. No one punched or shoved anyone and the incident subsided without escalation.

The damage, however, was done. Alexander was lifted for a pinch runner, and after the game, manager Craig Albernaz revealed that the Orioles infielder has a non-displaced fracture in his left hand. It’s not immediately clear how much time he will miss as a result of this injury. The team has the next few days off to figure out what to do about that bad news. Orioles fans have one more grievance to lay at the feet of the Royals franchise.

Nunez, Grant Wolfram, Yennier Cano, Rico Garcia, and Andrew Kittredge combined for 4.1 scoreless innings across the bunch of them. This parade from the bullpen allowed only two hits and did not walk anyone. It sucks that even this feel-good win has had bad news come out of it.

It’ll be Friday at 8:10 Eastern before this show resumes. The Orioles will be in Houston after the break, the first part of a two city road trip. If they can keep the good feelings going through that road trip, this season might end up staying in a good direction at last. If not, well, that’s a familiar 2026 feeling.

**

It is a longtime tradition on Camden Chat to nominate a Most Birdland Player of the game after each victory. What is “Most Birdland”? Each person must decide for themselves. Sometimes, this is the game’s most valuable player. Other times, it is not. Let us know your pick in the comments below.

Dustin May did not have the kind of start that Chaim Bloom would likely have wanted him to have as the St. Louis Cardinals approach the upcoming trade deadline, however he kept the team in the game despite walks and a costly wild pitch. The St. Louis Cardinals would eventually make a game of it, but it would slip away in the 9th inning.

Jordan Walker showed off his defense skills that are now borderline elite as he tumbled into the netting for the final out in the top of the 1st inning.

The St. Louis Cardinals offense had a decent start to Sunday’s game versus the Braves before the bats went silent. In the top of the 1st inning, After his fine defensive play in the top of the 1st, All-Star Jordan Walker drew a two-out walk and stole second to get into scoring position. Alec Burleson made that pay off when he drove a 94 mph sinker off the left field wall for a double scoring Walker and giving St. Louis an early 1-0 lead.

The Atlanta Braves would pull even in the top of the 2nd inning as Dustin May would be punished by walks to the first two batters of the inning, Smith and Riley. Jarvis laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. May struck out Hicklen for the second out, but then threw a wild pitch past catcher Jimmy Crooks scoring Smith and tying the game at 1-1.

While the St. Louis Cardinals bats went quiet during the middle innings, Atlanta took the lead in the top of the 4th inning when Dustin May hit Austin Riley with a pitch. Two batters later, Hicklen singled moving Riley up to scoring position at second. He would then score on a single by Drake Baldwin giving the Braves a 2-1 lead. That would end Dustin May’s outing as he only lasted 4 innings while walking 4, striking out 4 giving up just 2 hits and 2 earned runs.

Justin Bruihl would enter the game in the 5th inning when he would keep Atlanta from scoring, but that would not be true of his time in the 6th inning when he would give up back-to-back doubles to Jarvis and Hicklen increasing the Braves lead to 3-1. The fact that the Cardinals only had one hit through the first 5 1/2 innings didn’t help the St. Louis cause.

The Cardinals second hit of the game would be a screaming single off of the bat of Jordan Walker two pitches after he was knocked down by Braves reliever Dylan Dodd in the bottom of the 6th inning. Alec Burleson flied out to right for the first out, but then Lars Nootbaar walked and Masyn Winn singled to load the bases for St. Louis with just one out. Oli Marmol chose to pinch-hit Bryan Torres for Blaze Jordan, but he unfortunately struck out on 4 pitches. That left José Fermín as the man with the make-or-break at-bat and fortunately he chose “make” with a clutch 2-strike single into center driving in Walker and Nootbaar tying the game 3-3 after 6 innings.

Gordon Graceffo had entered the game to get the last out of the top of the 6th inning and also handled the top of the 7th inning against Atlanta. It would take him a grand total of 5 pitches to get three groundouts and shut down the Braves in the 6th. Can’t ask for anything more efficient than that. Ryne Stanek was handed top of the 8th inning responsibilities. He gave up a two-strike hit to White who hit one of the end of his bat barely landing past JJ Wetherholt in right-centerfield. Ryne then coaxed a harmless pop-out from slumping, but still dangerous Austin Riley. Stanek then struck out Jarvis and got a weak groundout from Hicklin to end the Braves 8th keeping the score tied.

After the Cardinals failed to grab the lead in the bottom of the 8th inning, it was JoJo Romero brought in to keep the game tied in the top of the 9th inning. He faced the top of the Braves lineup and got Drake Baldwin to fly out to deep center. Ozzie Albies turned on a 93 mph Romero sinker that didn’t sink enough and drove it into the left field corner for a one-out double. JoJo was able to nurse a weak groundout from Matt Olson for the second ou t, but Albies advanced to third on the play. Michael Harris II sold the umpire that he was hit by an 0-2 Romero pitch which was somehow upheld on a challenge even though the replay looked like the ball clearly did not hit Harris II. Great acting job, though. Oli Marmol got tossed for giving the umpires an earful. The replay officials saw something, so I guess we have to trust that they saw something many of us didn’t. Unfortunately, Dubon grounded out to Masyn Winn who’s errant throw sailed past Alec Burleson that allowed Albies to score giving (literally) the Braves a 4-3 lead in the top of the 9th. Romero walked White which loaded the bases for Austin Riley who flew out to Nootbaar in center to end a top of the 9th that could have been worse, but sure should have been better.

The Cardinals could manage nothing in the bottom of the 9th inning which resulted in a very disappointing way to enter the All-Star break even though it was a series win against the NL division-leading Atlanta Braves. There will be plenty of Cardinals to keep track of early this week as Jordan Walker will participate in the Home Run Derby on Monday night and three Cardinals are on the NL All-Star roster for Tuesday’s game.

In all my time at South Side Sox, this is the sort of draft I’ve been waiting to cover for the White Sox, one where the club just kept digging up quality picks even late in the draft, as opposed to going completely off of the MLB board by, like, the fourth round. The South Siders struck once more in the 15th (!) round, taking a flier on MLB’s No. 250 talent, high-powered lefthander Cameron Johnson of the University of Oklahoma, with the No. 435 pick in the 2026 MLB draft.

The hits really do just keep coming for the White Sox this year, as Johnson brings a massive fastball that touches 99 mph and sits mid-90s.

But (c’mon, it’s the 15th round, there’s gotta be a but) Johnson has had some issues with control, so much so that despite an improved regular season in 2026 he sat out nearly all of the postseason as the Sooners made their run to the NCAA title.

I mean, Johnson is a bit of a mess. He had never before even been allowed to see regular starter’s innings in his career until 2026 — and that really is the crux of his improvement. But over 15 starts for the Sooners, he remained all over the place: a 6-1 record but 43 walks against 72 Ks, and still putting himself in enough compromising counts to get hit pretty hard (4.36 ERA, 1.547 WHIP).

Still, Johnson’s raw makeup is to dream on. As a 15th round gamble, he’s absolute gold.

The 2026 White Sox draft storystream contains all of our draft content.

LSU has seen it’s 5th player drafted in the 2026 MLB Draft as Santiago Garcia goes to the Toronto Blue Jays in the 12th round at #372 overall.

The LHP transferred from Oregon after the first to years of his career and became the top lefty option for the Tigers out of the bullpen. He threw 22.2 innings with a 5.96 ERA, striking out 35.

There was slight hope that he could return to Baton Rouge and improve his stock with an extra year of eligibility under the new 5-for-5 rule, but left-handed pitchers that throw in the mid 90s typically don’t get passed on very much.

Garcia is the 5th player drafted from the 2026 LSU roster.

After an up-and-down first half by the Minnesota Twins that still has them in the thick of the playoff race, it is nearly time for the All-Star Break and the 2026 MLB Draft! The Twins will have a busy first day in the draft with the third overall pick and five total day one selections. You can read Twinkie Town’s Aidan O’Brien’s breakdown of the top three prospects in this year’s draft.

The 2026 MLB Draft begins today at 12 PM CDT in Philadelphia to kick off All-Star Week. There’s a bit of a different schedule this year, with rounds 1-4 taking place today, including all compensatory and competitive balance rounds. Rounds 5-20 will begin on Sunday at 10:30 AM CDT.

Because MLB likes to make things extra confusing, the broadcast will also be different this year and will have the first round split between two different broadcast partners and the entirety of day one split into three. Picks 1-10 can be seen on NBC and Peacock after which the broadcast will shift to MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.TV, and MLB+ for picks 11-40. The rest of day one (picks 41-135) and all of day two will lose the MLB Network component.

Follow along on this post for the next few days. We’ll track each of the first-round picks and break down all of the Twins picks that they make along the way.

Twins Draft Pick Breakdowns

Round 1, Pick No. 3: Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech

After the consensus top two went with the first two picks, the Twins go with Lackey, the consensus third prospect. With Ryan Jeffers likely in his final year with the team, Lackey’s experience, athleticism, and defensive acumen should allow him to rise through the ranks quickly. There’s agreement among scouts that he can stick at catcher, but even in the rare situation where he can’t, his bat alone is still among the best in draft. Also of note: this is the Twins’ first first-round catcher since one first ballot Hall of Famer, Joseph Patrick Mauer. No pressure, Lackey.

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report (#3 Overall Prospect)

A late bloomer as a Georgia high schooler, Lackey didn’t receive any NCAA Division I offers until his senior year in 2023, and he didn’t draw much attention from scouts because he attended few showcase events. Now he’s the best catching prospect in the 2026 Draft and poised to join Jason Varitek, Matt Wieters, Joey Bart and Kevin Parada as first-round backstops out of Georgia Tech. He has dramatically improved each season with the Yellow Jackets, batted .397/.519/.772 as a junior and won’t last longer than the top three or four picks.

Lackey’s right-handed swing can get a little busy, but that doesn’t prevent him from making consistent contact to all fields. He’s extremely patient, rarely misses fastballs and has the plus raw power to provide 25-30 homers on an annual basis. His flat stroke produces too much groundball contact but he’s driving balls harder than ever and in the air a bit more often this spring.

Extremely athletic for a 6-foot-2, 215-pound catcher, Lackey isn’t quick out of the batter’s box but can flash plus run times once he gets going. He’s very agile behind the plate and should become a solid receiver and blocker once he improves his focus and consistency. His strong and accurate arm is another asset, and he looked capable at third base while playing 13 errorless games there in 2025.

FanGraphs Scouting Report (#1 Overall Prospect)

Lackey went from having no Division I offers as an underclassman to likely being a top 10 pick after his sophomore year, and then ascended further as a junior to become arguably the best player in the entire draft. He is a complete player with a bevy of strengths and skills on both sides of the ball, and no significant weakness. Though he was already a good contact hitter as an underclassman, Lackey’s power production took a leap as a junior, as he slashed .397/.519/.772 with 20 homers, doubling his career total and continuing a four-year trend of getting markedly better. At barely 21 years old on draft day, he remains physically projectable and still might have more raw power in the tank at maturity.

Lackey is a patient hitter who is dangerous throughout the majority of the strike zone. He can access power against pitches in the middle third and above, and on both edges of the plate, with enough strength to do oppo damage against fastballs away from him. Lackey has now posted consecutive seasons with a 90% contact rate against fastballs even though he uses a pretty big leg kick, including with two strikes. He’s strong enough to hit for some power even when his footwork is ill-timed, and he might be an even better contact hitter with a more focused two-strike approach than what he’s currently doing. He isn’t a clinical sweet-spot hitter, and his power might play down a bit as he mishits some infield contact that he must then attempt to beat out with his impressive speed (he’ll run sub-4.3 on occasion).

The sum total of Lackey’s parts on offense (above-average contact, plate discipline, and potentially power) is more than enough to clear the bar at catcher, and he also makes an impact on defense. He’s a pretty good pitch framer for his age (and should continue to improve with added strength) and has one hell of an arm, winging accurate throws from all kinds of odd platforms and angles when it’s called for. He’ll frequently pop sub-1.9, a plus-plus arm that is Lackey’s loudest tool. He projects as a top 10 catcher and multi-time All-Star.

Round 2, Pick No. 43: Carson Tinney, C, Texas

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report (#73 Overall Prospect)

Few players in this Draft can match his combination of raw power and arm strength.

At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds and with a right-handed stroke geared to crush balls in the air to his pull side, Tinney is designed to hit home runs. He generates high-end exit velocities, but there are concerns about his hitting ability and how much of his double-plus raw pop he’ll be able to get to in pro ball. He takes a lot of offspeed pitches for strikes and swings through a lot of offerings of all types in the zone, though he mitigates his excessive strikeouts with a healthy amount of walks.

Tinney can flash well-above-average arm strength, though it plays more as plus and he needs to improve his transfer and the accuracy of his throws. He lacks quickness and agility behind the plate, though he has become a better receiver and framer this spring and perhaps can become average in both regards. His best-case scenario is that he becomes a larger version of Hunter Goodman.

FanGraphs Scouting Report (#58 Overall Prospect)

Tinney is a monstrous 6-foot-3 catcher who had a power-hitting breakout as a sophomore at Notre Dame before entering the transfer portal and heading to Austin. He had a comparable junior year, with a .326/.483/.688 line, 22 homers, and some absurd peak exit velos (116 mph max, 112 EV90), plus-plus on the big league scale. He isn’t a skilled hitter and swings over the top of a lot of softer stuff, with a 73% contact rate and 23.1% strikeout rate as a junior. He’s always been able to throw and leverage his size as a ball-blocker, but Tinney’s receiving and framing improved in 2026, and he now more comfortably projects as a viable defensive catcher. His toolset reads more like that of a bat-first backup catcher, except with much more power than is typical for that role.

Round CB- B, Pick No. 74: Brett Renfrow, RHP, Virginia Tech

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report (#123 Overall Prospect)

From a size and pure stuff standpoint, Renfrow’s name belongs in the early rounds with some of the top college arms in the class. The 6-foot-3 right-hander can run his fastball up to 97 mph, sitting around 94, and it plays really well at the top of the zone. At times, Renfrow will show distinct upper-80s sliders and cutters, with the former featuring harder break with more depth than the shorter cutter, though they routinely blend together. He can fold in an 80-mph 12-to-6 curve effectively and will flash a solid, average mid-80s changeup, though he doesn’t incorporate the cambio as frequently as his other offerings.

While Renfrow has limited the walks this spring, it has been more control over command. When he’s locked in, like he was in a late April start against North Carolina State, tossing eight shutout innings and fanning nine, he misses bats with all of his repertoire. Often this year, however, he’s missed with his fastball in the zone too much, and it’s gotten hit. That’s made him a bit of an enigma, with his ceiling perhaps being in the second round, where former Hokies right-hander Drue Hackenberg went in 2023 after a comparable inconsistent season.

FanGraphs Scouting Report

Low-maintenance delivery, although he has the inverted-W arm action. Up to 95, sits 92-94 without great shape. Changeup flashes, average strike-stealing curve, don’t see the slider/cutter as a bat-misser. Good strike-thrower, control over command. Needs something to tick up in pro ball, or he’s going to be more of a middle-relief prospect. I’m a little lower on him than the models seem to be.

Round 3, Pick No. 79: Ethan Wachsmann, RHP, HS (CO)

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report (#87 Overall Prospect)

Coming out of the same Grandview HS program that produced Gausman, Wachsmann is a 6-foot-4 right-hander who can light up the radar gun but is still a bit raw as a complete pitcher. He routinely gets his fastball up to 97 mph and can comfortably sit in the mid-90s. He does have both a curve and a slider, with the former the better of his two breaking balls, occasionally flashing plus. That pitch was improving as the spring wore on, though evaluating his ability to spin the ball is still more projection than anything else. He’ll flash a changeup that could be average in time to round out his arsenal.

Like with a lot of prep throwers over pitchers, Waschmann is control over command, with more of a fringy feel for the strike zone. Teams that are interested will be buying the arm strength and velocity to go along with the projectable and athletic frame. They’ll also have to contend with a commitment to Wake Forest.

FanGraphs Scouting Report(#54 Overall Prospect)

Wachsmann had a growth spurt in the middle of high school and shot up from 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-5 in a relatively short span of time. His velocity grew, too, and he was creeping into the mid-90s and paving over Colorado high schoolers as an underclassman before struggling some during the summer against better hitters. He sustained upper-90s velo this spring and had the best mound session at the Combine, where he touched 100 with his final pitch.

Wachsmann is raw. He has a cutter, slider, and changeup right now, and they’re all of variable quality. He threw one breaking ball at 2,900 rpm at the Combine and the next was 2,300. There’s a lot of work to do here but also very exciting raw material, as Wachsmann has prototypical size, premium arm strength, and flashes plus secondary stuff.

Round 4, Pick No. 107: Tommy LaPour, RHP, TCU

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report (#107 Overall Prospect)

At his best, LaPour works at 95-98 mph and reaches 101 with heavy sink on his fastball, though it’s not as dominant as its velocity might indicate because its shape and command are ordinary. His mid-80s slider can be a plus pitch with two-plane depth at its best, though it breaks so much that he struggles to land it for strikes and rarely uses it when behind in the count. His fading upper-80s changeup is a more reliable offering and he also has tinkered with an upper-80s cutter.

Built like a linebacker, LaPour has a physical 6-foot-4 frame and has learned to repeat his simple delivery well enough to develop average control. His biggest proponents see a durable three-pitch starter who might have snuck into the first round with a healthy junior season. Other evaluators think he doesn’t miss enough bats and may be better suited for the bullpen, where his bulldog mentality would fit nicely.

FanGraphs Scouting Report

After missing most of the year, LaPour was healthy right at the very end of TCU’s season. He’s an average athlete with a large frame, more powerful than loose, with a clean enough arm stroke to start. He doesn’t get a ton of extension and isn’t especially deceptive. LaPour sits in the mid-90s and can touch 99, which he often does after giving up a knock. He shows some feel for moving the fastball, and can miss bats up in the zone with it. He doesn’t have great feel for spin, and the length on his curveball was more challenging for hitters than the slider, which is fairly firm in the upper 80s but isn’t especially sharp. He missed a few bats with his changeup, but he slows his body on the pitch in a way that hitters have no trouble picking up. Good arm strength and a four-pitch foundation make LaPour an intriguing prospect, though there are enough questions regarding his secondaries to consider him a likely reliever at the end of the day.

Minnesota Twins Pick Tracker

2026 MLB Draft First Round Picks

Note: picks 29-37 are all technically Competitive Balance Round A picks, which you can read about here. NYY and PHI pick in this round because of their pick penalties, not because they got extra picks. As a result of the same rule, LAD’s and TOR’s first selections technically fall in the second round. CB-A picks are considered first round selections since they take place prior to the start of round two and are the only draft picks eligible to be traded.

Good news and bad news.

Good news: It’s officially the All-Star Break.

Bad news: The Brewers pitching staff gave up 14 runs today.

In recent history, the Brewers and the Pirates have played in the final series before the All-Star break, and it has never fared well for the team in blue and yellow. That trend continued in today’s series finale as the Brewers fell to the Pirates 14-5.

As we’ve seen consistently throughout this long road trip, the Brewers’ opponents were typically the ones taking the lead first. That happened at the bottom of the second inning as Ryan O’Hearn drove in the first run of the game on a double to right field. A couple of at-bats later, Jackson Chourio narrowly missed robbing a two-run homer, but instead it went over the wall for Henry Davis’s eighth of the year.

The Brewers offense showed life in the top of the fourth inning as Chourio hit a double to drive in Christian Yelich to cut the Pirates’ lead down to 4-1. Later, Gary Sánchez grounded out and drove in a run as a result to make it 4-2.

That was about it for the Brewers offense in what quickly turned into a nightmare. In the bottom of the fourth inning, everyone in the Pirates lineup reached base before there was an out recorded. At that point, the Brewers found themselves down 11-2. After the Pirates recorded the first out, they scored two more runs to extend their lead to 14-2.

For the Pirates, that was it in terms of offense. For the Brewers, they’d have to wait until the top of the eighth inning to get a two-run home run from Brice Turang and an RBI double from Garrett Mitchell to bring the final score to 14-5.

There’s no doubt that the pitching was the problem this afternoon. Beginning with Jacob Misiorowski’s scratch from the game, and the announcement of moving Brandon Woodruff to the 60-day injured list. As for pitchers who actually appeared in the game, Robert Gasser was knocked around and pulled after three innings as he gave up seven runs on eight hits and allowed two home runs. Jared Koenig took things another step further as he didn’t record an out after allowing five runs on two hits and two walks. Grant Anderson did complete one inning but gave up two runs on three hits in the process.

On the bright side of things, Bryse Wilson made his return to the Brewers by throwing three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out four batters. On the offensive side of things, Chourio had the lone multi-hit game on the day, and Turang had the home run with two RBIs. Braden Shewmake struggled in his debut with the Brewers as he went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts before being replaced by Andrew Vaughn.

As for what’s to come next, nothing. At least for most of the week. William Contreras will be the lone Brewers representative in this year’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia, and you can find that game on Tuesday on FOX at 7:00 p.m. The rest of the Brewers will get a much-needed break as they prepare to be back home Friday night as they start a three-game series with the Miami Marlins.

Day 2 of the MLB Draft is a loaded one, as we’ve got 16 picks to get through over the course of the day. Jake guided us through the first six that have come in taking us through the 10th round, and now I’ll be taking over to recap what the Yankees do with their next five selections. It’s been a pitcher-led class for New York thus far, with their first two selections on Day 1 both going towards left-handed starters and three pitchers coming today including Luke Pettitte, son of the five-time World Series winner Andy. Catching has also seen some love as the team has selected two thus far, with Brendan Brock coming in the third round and Bear Harrison getting chosen in the fifth.

Where they go from here will be anyone’s guess, but you can catch updates as the picks are made and then check back here for more commentary as we look into the newest names that’ll be gracing the lower minor leagues before you know it.

Round 11, Pick 338: Anthony Potestio, SS, UC San Diego, 5’11”, 195 lbs.

The Yankees’ first pick back from the break is a shortstop from the Big West Conference. Potestio was a three-year starter out at UC San Diego and made the All-Conference team this past season after posting a .298/.431/.436 triple slash with four homers in 49 games. Potestio saw some time around multiple positions in his freshman year, including left field, second and third base, but has primarily played shortstop ever since and served as the Tritons’ leadoff hitter. Among other notes, Baseball America said the following about him:

Potestio is a selective, patient hitter who works the count and is difficult to strike out because of his swing decisions and solid contact skills. He doesn’t project for much power and never hit more than five home runs in a season, but does offer defense versatility.

That makes back-to-back shortstop selections for New York, who has also gotten a couple of third baseman as they look to replenish their athletic infield supply.

Round 12, Pick 368: Austin Berggren, P, Miami (OH), 6’3”, 225 lbs.

The Yankees go for a college reliever in the 12th round, selecting Berggren out of Miami University in Ohio. Berggren appeared in 25 games for the RedHawks this year as the team’s closer, tossing 44.1 innings with a 3.65 ERA to his name with 61 strikeouts against 13 works. It was a significant step up from Berggren’s debut season with Miami in 2025 when he ran an ERA north of 10 in 32.1 innings, getting four starts out of his 20 games played. Prior to that Berggren spent a year in JUCO pitching for Johnson County Community College in Kansas, and initially started his collegiate career with Nebraska in 2023, though he only pitched in 3.1 innings for the Cornhuskers.

Berggren has an interesting mix of pitches for a reliever, going with a three-pitch arsenal of a low-mid 90s heater, an 88-90 mph cutter, and a curveball that registers in the mid 80s as well. Baseball America noted in a writeup on Berggren earlier this year that he’s got hefty spin on all of his pitches and “it’s that outlier feel for spin that makes Berggren an outstanding name.”

(Thanks to our own RedHawk alum, Jeff Middleton, for his own insight on Berggren.)

Round 13, Pick 398: Lee Garris, OF, Maury HS (VA), 6’0”, 200 lbs.

The Yankees go back to prep school for their second outfielder of the draft. Garris is a left-handed hitting 18-year-old who earned first-team all-state honors in Virginia and is committed to James Madison University, so we’ll have to see if the Yankees can convince him to sign. Notably on that front, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel did rank him in his top 250 prospects at No. 235, and mentioned that he threw out any prospects that he thought were impossible to sign, so there’s room to negotiate here. Garris went through a rough patch at the start of his senior season that left him with some major doubts about his future with the game, as he struggled mentally to deal with the pressure. Fortunately, there was a local with a little bit of pro experience around to talk to him: former All-Star Michael Cuddyer, who gave him a pep talk and encouraged him to simplify his approach helping Garris find his form again.

Round 14, Pick 428: Diego Castellanos, OF, Saint Mary’s (CA), 6’0”, 190 lbs.

Going back to the college ranks, the Yankees pick up another outfielder in Castellanos that has some gap power in his swing. Castellanos hit .382/.458/.554 with six home runs and 21 doubles, scoring 61 runs in 62 games for the Gaels in his junior season, earning All-Conference first team as well as All-Tournament honors as Saint Mary’s made it to the NCAA Regionals. He set a program record with a 39-game hitting streak running into postseason play. Baseball America’s read on him is as follows:

Castellanos has a high handset and a hitch in his load, but he does a tremendous job putting the barrel on the baseball. He had standout overall contact (88.2%) and in-zone contact (92.1%) rates as a junior in 2026, and while most of his power is of the doubles variety, scouts think he has some sneaky power in the tank as well. Finding a way to tap into more power could be key for Castellanos because, while he can run a bit, he’s more likely a corner outfielder than a true center fielder.

Castellanos entered the transfer portal at the end of this season and visited Tennessee last month, but as of right now it doesn’t look like he’s committed to a new school. That might mean it’s a perfect time for him to commit to going pro instead.

Round 15, Pick 458: William Cutshall, SS, Seneca HS (SC), 6’2”, 190 lbs.

Another shortstop rounds out this batch of draft picks, as the Yankees go for the South Carolina kid Cutshall with the 458th pick. Cutshall was born in Panama and played for the country in the U-18 World Baseball Cup that was held in Japan last year. Cutshall also participated in Perfect Game’s Class of 2026 Tourney back in 2024 and earned rave reviews following a year where he hit .577 and drove in 53 runs in 43 games. Baseball America had Cutshall listed in their Top 500 High School list, where they noted:

Cutshall has a handsy swing with good bat-to-ball skills. He mostly showed gap power on the travel circuit, though he has shown more home run juice for his high school team.

Cutshall is committed to Ole Miss, and might be a more difficult signing for the Yankees to make than the ones they’ve drafted up to this point, but he’d be a talented addition if they can convince him.

The San Francisco Giants conclude this four-game series against the Colorado Rockies this afternoon from Oracle Park.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Trevor McDonald, who enters today’s game with a 5.46 ERA, 3.99 FIP, with 50 strikeouts to 20 walks in 59.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 9-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, in which he allowed eight runs on 11 hits and one walk in two and a third innings.

He’ll be facing off against Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen, who enters today’s game with a 6.46 ERA, 4.83 FIP, with 72 strikeouts to 35 walks in 92 innings pitched. His last start was in the Rockies’ 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, in which he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and three walks in six innings.

Game #96

Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 1:05 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Milton, Georgia native Luke McNeillie attended the eponymously named high school in the city, lettering all four years he attended the school and establishing himself as a prospect to follow. Considered one of the better high school pitching prospects in Georgia in 2023, the right-hander had a strong commitment to the University of Florida and went undrafted in the 2023 MLB Draft.

The results did not exactly match the stuff in his freshman season with the Gators. The right-hander 26 appearances in 2024, including two midweek starts, and posted a 7.07 ERA in 35.2 innings, allowing 33 hits, walking 21, and striking out 43. That trend continued in 2025, his sophomore season, where McNeillie posted a 4.82 ERA in 52.1 innings over 28 relief outings and 2 starts, allowing 44 hits, walking 24, and striking out 72.

That summer, the right-hander played for the Harwich Mariners Cape Cod Baseball League. Making four starts, he posted a 5.68 ERA, allowing 8 earned runs in 12.2 innings, giving up 12 hits, walking 8, and striking out 14. Returning to Florida for his junior season, the 21-year-old appeared in 18 games for coach O’Sullivan, making 3 starts. The right-hander posted a 3.97 ERA in 34.0 innings, allowing 40 hits, walking 17, and striking out 48.

McNeillie is 6’3”, 200-pounds and has a slim, athletic build. He throws from three-quarters arm slot with a long arm action through the back. His mechanics are simple and present no obvious injury red flags, but he has a problem repeating them, specifically keeping his arm angle up and repeating his release point.

The right-hander’s fastball sits in the mid-to-high-90s, reportedly topping out as high as 99 MPH. The pitch does not have the best shape, generally showing low spin rates for a four-seam fastball. The right-hander has occasionally unintentionally thrown the pitch as a sinker, lowing his slot and giving the pitch more running action, and the pitch would almost certainly be better if converted into sinker, given its natural sink.

He complements the pitch with a mid-80s, high-spin slider that is almost certainly an above-average or better offering. With readings reaching 2,600 RPM, the pitch features sharp gyroscopic break with a bit of horizontal movement and good downward action. McNeillie uses the pitch against left-handers and right-handers alike, but also has a changeup that has been effective at neutralizing the platoon advantage of left-handed batters.

Over the course of his three seasons at Florida, the right-hander has a cumulative 38.2% groundball rate, 21.6% line drive rate, and 40.2% flyball rate. With 16 home runs over 122.0 innings, McNeillie has a perfectly manageable 1.2 HR/9 rate, but against professional hitting, he will likely need to do something to improve on his groundball-to-flyball ratio in order to thrive.

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 39.

• Recalled from Triple-A Reno: SP Mitch Bratt
• Placed on 10-day IL: SP Zac Gallen (right elbow inflammation; retro to July 9)

Bratt makes his return to the D-backs rotation, after a brief outing on June 24. He went three innings and allowed one run, throwing 54 pitches. We probably won’t be getting too much more than that from Mitch this afternoon. He threw 57 pitches his last outing for Reno, tossing four shutout innings, and that’s likely to be the cap on what we should expect today. Still, with this being the last game before the All-Star break, we can empty the bullpen as necessary. If you’re going to have a game with a short starter, this is probably the best possible time to have one!

PhoenixSportsFan is on the guest recap, so stay tuned for that!

Box Score

Brewers top prospects Jesús Made and Luis Peña both represented Milwaukee in this year’s All-Star Futures Game, though neither could help the National League avoid a 6-1 loss in the seven-inning exhibition. While the game remained tied 1-1 through four innings, the American League pulled away late, scoring a run in the fifth and two runs in each of the final two frames.

The National League managed just four hits all afternoon and never generated much offense against a deep American League pitching staff, although Made wasted little time making an impact. Batting third for the National League, he came to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the first and looped a single into shallow right field against Mariners prospect Kade Anderson, widely regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. 

Made later accounted for the National League’s only run, driving in Pirates prospect Edward Florentino with an RBI groundout in the third inning. In his third and final plate appearance, against Ryan Sloan, the Mariners’ No. 2 prospect, Made flew out to right field. He would finish the afternoon 1-for-3 with an RBI.

The performance wasn’t enough to spark the National League offense, but Made still turned in one of the better offensive outings on the team. His first-inning single accounted for one of the National League’s four hits, while his RBI groundout produced the club’s only run of the game.

Peña, meanwhile, made his Futures Game debut after earning a starting nod at third base. The 19-year-old finished 0-for-3 at the plate, flying out to center field twice and left field once, but looked comfortable defensively throughout the afternoon. He handled all five of his chances cleanly without committing an error, highlighted by a terrific running catch in foul territory down the left-field line. Peña covered a ton of ground, ending up nearly halfway to the outfield wall, before making an over-the-shoulder grab to rob Guardians prospect Ralphy Velasquez of a hit.

While Peña didn’t record a hit, simply reaching the Futures Game is another milestone for MLB Pipeline’s No. 18 overall prospect. Despite missing significant time this season because of health issues, Peña has continued to show why he’s regarded as one of the game’s top young infielders whenever he’s been on the field.

Neither player delivered a headline-grabbing performance, but that’s not necessarily the point of the Futures Game. Made and Peña earned their invitations by establishing themselves among baseball’s premier prospects, and Sunday’s showcase served as another reminder that both belong on the same field as the sport’s brightest young talent. With Made continuing to strengthen his case as baseball’s consensus top prospect, Peña cementing himself as one of the game’s best young infielders, and a boatload of depth behind them, Brewers fans have plenty of reasons to be excited about the organization’s future.