Category: Baseball

Anybody in sports management has to make a lot of decisions that may or may not pan out. GM Chris Getz made some last offseason that went well, and some at the trade deadline that have proven dismal. Manager Will Venable has to make decisions in-game that may or may not work that particular day, like the lineup, pitching changes and substitutions, not to mention all his off-field management of the team.

But even in a year that has wildly exceeded expectations even if they go 0-for-the-rest-of-the-season, the White Sox have one decision coming up that could ruin all the goodwill amassed so far, or make them heroes nigh on forever — or at least until next season, whenever that may be.

That decision is what to do about Sean Burke.

There’s no question the ace of the staff is struggling. He was just absolutely pounded by the Pirates, but he’s had a hard time of it for a month. Even in the only start with a good finishing line, allowing no runs to Houston, it took him 104 pitches to get through 5 2/3 innings.

Something has to be done. But what?

Well, that’s why Getz and Venable get paid the big bucks.

Burke is obviously out of gas. Not all pitchers indicate so by a drop in velocity — some, like Burke, lose command and/or sharpness instead. He’s already 22 innings beyond his total for 2025, and Steve Stone says you can increase a pitcher’s workload from year to year but usually not by much. Stone also points out that it’s not just how many innings or pitches you throw, but the pressure under which you’re working — and the pressure of performing as the ace of a team with a narrow division lead is a whole lot different than just being another guy on a team heading to 100 losses.

Midseason, you could afford to rest him. But with just 18 games to go — three more turns through the rotation for him — and just a two-game lead on Cleveland for the AL Central title and 1 1/2 games on the Astros for the No. 2 playoff seed — how do you do that?

There are two directions to go.

You can realize that without a long rest Burke will be useless in the playoffs, potentially leaving the Sox with no starting pitcher they can really rely on in the postseason, and so find him a handy blister like the one that put Davis Martin on the 15-day IL and bring him back for one appearance to warm up before the playoffs. But that could very well mean not making the playoffs — so the point would be lost.

Or, you can decide that without Burke for the rest of the regular season you’re apt to fade out of playoff status, and keep him in the rotation and hope for the best. Even if he is totally tanked, if you somehow get to the postseason anyway, you can still claim, “We made the playoffs, we made the playoffs!” no matter what happens at that point.

With a loaded staff, the decision to rest Burke would be easy. But while the bullpen rates first place in Baseball-Reference’s Wins Above Average by Position (and is itself starting to look very tired), the starters are on the fade. After his restful IL stint, Martin came back with a strong game in Houston — but that’s one game, which may or may not be indicative of how he’ll be the rest of the season (this is written before he faced the Pirates). Anthony Kay is showing a lot of wear and tear, getting through three innings or so looking like Sandy Koufax, but then getting shelled in the fourth or fifth every time. Luis Castillo, the alleged innings-eater, has proven to be an over-the-hill huge mistake. José Urquidy has been awful except for one game, and is apparently now hurt.

That leaves Erick Fedde as the ace if Burke is out. Fedde has been OK since being reinstated from the bullpen in mid-August (maybe a nice rest there helped), with six runs in 21 2/3 innings in five starts or pseudo-starts. But do you really want to depend on Fedde in a big game?

Of course, rest Burke and you need to either really stretch out Hagen Smith before he’s ready, tax your already-tired relievers with regular bullpen games, or bring up someone from Charlotte. Several of the minor leaguers have thrown well … in the minors, that is. In brief stints with the Sox, not so much.

The choices don’t appear attractive. But decisions have to be made.

What say, Will and Chris?

And, for that matter, handed control of the team, what would say you?

The Cubs, hopefully, will right the ship soon or any postseason play they do qualify for — and yes, there’s now a chance they won’t make it at all — will be short.

They lost to the Brewers 8-6 Wednesday evening in Milwaukee, and the game wasn’t that close. That’s a series sweep for the Brewers and the Cubs’ fourth straight loss. How was your Wednesday?

Let me get straight to the first Craig Counsell managerial choice I disagreed with.

The Brewers took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a three-run homer by Christian Yelich. Yelich is not the player he was a few years ago and that was just the second home run he’d hit in his last 19 games. Both of those homers are off Cubs pitching.

Anyway, Kevin Gausman, who was so good against Milwaukee last week at Wrigley Field, clearly didn’t have it on this night. He gave up two more hits after the homer and threw 33 pitches in the first inning.

Javier Assad is available. He last pitched Saturay in Miami, that’s three days rest after an 88-pitch outing. Surely, Assad could have given the Cubs four innings or so. Right? (Also, there’s an off day today, a perfect time to use a pitcher like this.)

Wrong. Gausman was sent out for another inning, and another home run was hit, this one by Jackson Chourio, and the ball was last seen heading down I-94 toward Chicago. (Not really, but it went 436 feet at 109 miles per hour, yikes.) A walk followed, and then William Contreras launched one and this game was pretty much over.

BCB’s JohnW53 described this to me as a “brutal” fact:

The third home run off Kevin Gausman was the 221st surrendered by the Cubs this season, the most they ever have served up through 147 games of a season.They allowed 219 in 20o0.

Gausman was left in for four innings and 94 pitches and I’m still picturing Assad, sitting forlorn in the Cubs bullpen, wondering if he’ll ever get to pitch again. Hey, Iowa’s season has a week and a half to go! Can’t waste that option, right, Jed Hoyer?

You’ll pardon the sarcasm, but…

Oh, yes. More on Gausman’s start from John:

Kevin Gausman’s start was the fifth this season by a Cub of four or fewer innings in which he allowed at least seven runs.

Edward Cabrera had two of them: eight and seven runs, both in 3.2. Jameson Taillon gave up seven in 4.0, the same as Gausman. David Peterson surrendered 10 in 3.2. One runs off Gausman was unearned. All the others were earned.

Anyway. After Nico Hoerner made a rare throwing error in the third, the Brewers scored yet another run to make it 7-0, that one unearned off Gausman.

Meanwhile, Logan Henderson retired the first nine Cubs. Pete Crow-Armstrong singled for the first Cubs hit leading off the fourth and went to second on a passed ball. He took third on a fly to right by Seiya Suzuki and scored on this ground out by Michael Busch [VIDEO].

Trent Thornton relieved Gausman in the fifth and threw a scoreless inning. The Brewers scored a run off Daniel Palencia in the sixth, unearned due to another throwing error, this one on second baseman Pedro Ramirez. That made it 8-1.

Caleb Thielbar and Colin Rea added scoreless innings, one each, in the seventh and eighth. Assad sighs and sits in the bullpen with the rest of his teammates.

Then the Cubs put together a rally in the ninth, which, unfortunately, came up a bit short.

PCA led off with a walk, advanced to second on a throwing error on an attempted pickoff by Brandon Sproat, and then Sproat threw a wild pitch, sending PCA to third.

Sproat then walked Suzuki and Busch to load the bases with nobody out. Hmmm. Could something actually happen here?

Alex Bregman then struck out, but Sproat then walked Ian Happ to force in a run [VIDEO].

At that point Brewers manager Pat Murphy had seen enough of Sproat and brought in Abner Uribe. Nico then singled to left to make it 8-3 [VIDEO].

The bases remained loaded for Ramirez, who grounded out, with a run scoring to make it 8-4 [VIDEO].

So now the Cubs are down by four, with runners on second and third. Both runners scored on this double by Michael Conforto [VIDEO].

Well.

Now it’s 8-6 and the tying run is going to step to the plate. You don’t suppose…

Here’s where I take issue with another Counsell choice. Carson Kelly was the next due hitter. Counsell sent B.J. Murray Jr. up to bat for Kelly, I suppose to get the platoon advantage with Murray, a switch-hitter, batting left-handed.

Sometimes managers overthink the platoon advantage and I think Counsell did so here. Kelly had that key two-run double on Tuesday and was 1-for-3 in this game. Murray’s a rookie with nine MLB at-bats in which he’d gone 1-for-9.

Now which guy would YOU have had take that at-bat? Me, I’m picking Kelly 100 times out of 100.

But Counsell chose Murray. Credit to Murray for running the count full, but Uribe struck him out to end the game [VIDEO].

Here are Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

The Cubs didn’t lose the game just because of those two decisions, still, I would have chosen otherwise.

The worst part of this defeat wasn’t just the loss, it was the Phillies win over the Astros, which put the Cubs 1.5 games behind Philadelphia for the top wild card spot. The Cubs lead the Padres by 2.5 games and the Diamondbacks by three. The latter two teams will play their last three games against each other in San Diego and that series might make or break the Cubs’ postseason chances.

Is this a collapse? Not yet, fortunately, but the Cubs are going to have to right the ship quickly.

The Cubs return to Wrigley Field Friday after an off day today to open a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Shōta Imanaga will start for the Cubs. Braxton Ashcraft will go for Pittsburgh. Game time Friday is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Pirates market territories).

Nature is healing, as they say. For two very distinct reasons.

Reason 1: The Braves, having sauntered to a pretty lofty record despite mediocre production, have been absolutely ravaged by some combination of baseball’s luck dragons and/or the Tampa Bay Rays’ sublime-in-this-series defensive positioning. Seriously:

• First game: the Braves actually out-xwOBAed the Rays, .334 to .326, but managed just a .156 wOBA while the Rays managed a .426 wOBA. That was the Braves’ biggest xwOBA underperformance of the year. Amazingly, the Rays outhitting their xwOBA by .100 in a single game didn’t even fall in their top ten xwOBA overperformances for the year.
• Second game: in nearly a repeat of Game One, the Braves put forth a .336 xwOBA… and a .197 wOBA. The Rays out-xwOBAed them (.347), but not by much, and certainly not to the extent that they out-wOBAed the Braves (.339).

If this is how the universe attempts to set things to rights for the Braves leading the division while sliding towards the bottom third in position player production, well… the rest of the season is gonna suuuuuuuck. So let’s hope that doesn’t happen. It probably won’t, but we’ve seen this team run extended xwOBA underperformances for a while, and it’s awful every single time.

Reason 2: I have to cover another Martin Perez start. Sigh. Maybe this means that Perez Pachinko will turn up positive for the Braves, though I wouldn’t count on it. But at least I’ll get to complain about it if it doesn’t.

On the season, Perez is up to 124 1/3 innings and 1.2 fWAR on the back of a 78/104/104 (ERA-/FIP/xFIP-) line. He’s been fine and the defense has done a good job of preventing runs behind him… which means that he’s a prime target for getting blooped and bleeder-ed to death by the Rays, given the way this series has gone. Perez is coming off pretty much his worst pitching of the year. The media narrative has been that extra rest messed with his command, but let’s be real: it was the eighth time in 23 outings that he walked more than he struck out, so it seems more like it was just one end of the gamut of possible starts you get when you employ Perez, moreso than anything else. It just so happened to be paired with his third-lowest grounder rate of the year, which is why he got knocked around by the Phillies before exiting after 3 2/3 innings of work.

In addition to the universe and/or the Rays’ defensive positioning, the Braves will need to contend with Nick Martinez as they try to avoid getting swept at home and possibly dropping the division lead down to two games ahead of a weekend set with the Phillies. Martinez has had a weird year — he’s put up 2.6 fWAR in 160 innings, but it’s come with a 73/95/108 line. It’s tempting to say that the Rays made some set of big fixes to get more out of the journeyman despite him playing in his age-35 season, but his 108 xFIP- is similar to his career 111 xFIP-. He’s just running a low HR/FB and getting fortunate when the ball remains in play. Some of that is going away as the season progresses: he’s at 90/97/105 since the All-Star Break compared to 63/93/110 before, but whether you believe that trend will keep up against the Braves right now is up to you.

In his career, the Braves have been a mixed bag against Martinez. He’s dominated them in his most recent two outings, but the Braves tagged him pretty handily in the other two that came earlier. Martinez-as-Ray is a bit different, and the most recent start he had against the Braves came as a Red in 2024, so I’d sweat whatever the baseball gods have planned for the Braves far more than their history against Martinez.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, September 10, 12:15 p.m. EDT

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV/Streaming: BravesVision

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM

It’s a bit hard to imagine right now because Adley Rutschman’s only played 19 games in a Red Sox uniform (including just four of the last ten), but when the regular season ends, he’s the only man I’d expect to see behind the plate. Every inning, every game! Not only will the stakes be orders of magnitude more important by that point, pushing the Sox out of their current “rest and recover” mode and into a “you need to win every game right now” mode, but if you make a legit run in the postseason, it’s littered with off-days.

Let’s be optimistic and say the Sox win both the Wild Card round and the ALDS in their maximum three and five game versions. In that scenario, their schedule over the first two weeks of the playoffs will look like this (with off-days in bold):

• 9/28 (Off-Day)
• 9/29 (Game 1)
• 9/30 (Game 2)
• 10/1 (Game 3)
• 10/2 (Off-Day)
• 10/3 (Game 1)
• 10/4 (Off-Day)
• 10/5 (Game 2)
• 10/6 (Off-Day)
• 10/7 (Game 3)
• 10/8 (Game 4)
• 10/9 (Off-Day)
• 10/10 (Game 5)
• 10/11 (Off-Day)

And again, assuming the Red Sox win both of these series, this is the minimum amount of off-days they would get over this stretch. They could just as well win the Wild Card round in two games or the LDS in three or four. That means there’s even a scenario out there where they make it to Game 1 of the ALCS with nine days off in the previous 14.

I’m not going to go on another rant about how ridiculous I think this element of the postseason format is today, but for Red Sox purposes, it does present them with an intriguing opportunity and decision. Specifically, is Connor Wong even necessary on the postseason roster? And, if not, what else can they add in that spot?

From the Rutschman side of things, if he’s going to become a permanent fixture behind the plate, you really only need an “in case of emergency, break glass” guy as the backup. That’s completely different than the “we need somebody to start half the games behind the plate while we rest the main guy” role the Sox are using Connor Wong for right now. That more traditional backup catcher role is not going to exist by the end of the month.

The ideal guy for the postseason Sox backup catcher role is instead somebody who can hit and be useful in other situations, and then — if and only if you absolutely need somebody else in there to catch at the end of a game thanks to a ten run blowout or an injury — you put them in there. And wouldn’t you know? The Red Sox seem to have just the guy for that role.

Last night adds even more evidence to this theory. In a mostly forgettable game that saw the Sox fall behind 6-0 early on a rainy night at Fenway in which they also had to compete with the Patriots season opener for New England’s attention, there was one very notable element: Mickey Gasper started behind the plate and caught all nine innings.

I don’t think that’s a “hey, let’s make this a permanent thing” kind of start.” I think that’s a “hey, let’s make sure you can do this in a pinch if needed” kind of start because we want you on the postseason roster.

Remember, once the Wild Card series starts, the rosters have to go back down to 26 men, and that almost certainly means 13 position players and 13 pitchers. Not only are the Red Sox using 14 position players right now, but they also will be adding Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela back later this month, meaning simple math says that three guys gotta go.

Two of them are pretty obvious from where I’m sitting: Andruw Monasterio and Nate Eaton. Monasterio served a key role for this club in the summer months, but with his bat cooling off (a .398 OPS in the the last 30 days dating back to August 10th) and the team seemingly committed to Trevor Story, Nick Sogard and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the middle infield, he becomes an easy target to squeeze out. Eaton on the other hand is really only here because of injuries, and while his stay could get extended if the Sox get bad news on Eli White’s foot, it’s hard to imagine him surviving into October.

From there (assuming health, which is admittedly always a dangerous thing to do), the decision gets much more complicated. The Sox would either need to drop one of the Story / Sogard / Kiner-Falefa trio, drop Jahmai Jones and his elite ability to crush lefties, or drop Eli White who has top notch speed and the ability to cover all three outfield positions.

This is the compelling bottle neck teams run into when you have 13 men available in a DH environment and a need for a backup catcher. Specific bench roles dwindle, and you really only have room for three specialists not in the starting lineup. But again, what if you don’t really need a backup catcher outside of emergencies? All of a sudden you can get a fourth, useful bench guy in there as long as he can backup catch. And folks, that’s exactly where I think Mickey Gasper fits into the puzzle.

Much of it is probably still going to depend on how hot he can stay in September, and the last few days alone provide an interesting case study. Gasper’s suddenly gone hitless in his last four games, but he’s also walked five times with just one strikeout during that stretch. Compare that to Connor Wong who is batting .170 with a .513 OPS since July 18th and has only two walks during that time, and I just don’t think there’s any real use for Wong on a postseason roster if he’s not going to see much (if any) time behind the plate.

So for all the throw away stuff you can very much ignore from Red Sox baseball during the last week as they prepare for October, Mickey Gasper getting the start behind the dish last night isn’t one of them. That little maneuver feels highly significant!

The Twins added 21 draft picks to the organization on July 11th and 12th, and we got a glimpse of 9 of them over the final month of the season. While draft year production in such a small sample size is largely unimportant, looking into the underlying numbers does help us evaluate each player’s tools. Its always tough to know how a high school or college player’s game will translate to professional baseball, so this quick look is worth paying attention to. Scroll through as I rank the 7 position players and 2 pitchers that debuted this season based on my renewed and expanded view on them.

1. C Vahn Lackey

Talking about Vahn Lackeyseems to be the only reasonable way to kick off this article. The No. 3 overall pick this summer appeared in 15 games for the Mussels and 10 games up in Cedar Rapids after a dominant junior season at Georgia Tech. Lackey absolutely looked the part in his first taste of pro ball, slashing .250/.435/.424 for a 137 wRC+ with more walks than strikeouts. He showed off an extremely patient approach with borderline plus contact skills and an impressive feel for pulling fly balls. Power development will ultimately determine how high his ceiling is, while impactful defense at catcher and good speed on the bases increase his floor. You will continue to hear a lot about Lackey next year as he hopes to push his way towards the majors.

2. C Carson Tinney

While Lackey was promoted to High-A at the end of August, 2nd round pick Carson Tinney stuck around in Fort Myers and absolutely mashed for 24 games. Strikeouts and whiffs will always be an issue, but the 70 grade power and patient approach are already on full display. Tinney slashed .203/.400/.532 with a 21.9% walk rate, finishing with a 143 wRC+. He posted exit velocities up to 114.9 MPH and registered a 14.7% chase rate. He needs to be more aggressive in the strike zone, but the raw tools present a superstar ceiling. He is a limited athlete, but there is hope that he can develop into an average defensive catcher. If it doesn’t work out behind the dish, a slugging first baseman is not a bad fallback.

3. RHP Thomas Burns

The Longhorns closer, Thomas Burns, made his Single-A debut in the last weekend of the season and struggled in it, but his stuff immediately becomes some of the best in the organization and gives him a good chance to fly through the minors in 2027. Fastball command is a clear issue, but with plus carry in the upper 90s, the pitch has the potential to become one of the most dominant heaters in the world. Burns pairs it with an above-average cutter around 90 MPH. His changeup is a rarely-thrown third pitch that lacks any command feel, but it has quality shape with strong velo separation in the mid 80s. If Thomas Burns can be a consistent strike-thrower, then his stuff has a real chance to push him all the way to Target Field next year.

4. 2B Colby Turner

Twins’ 12th round pick Colby Turner broke out at Michigan this past spring, and his profile intrigued me when I first dove into it. Turner validated me by dominating Single-A for 25 games, slashing .330/.436/.505 for a 152 wRC+. He has a short and quick swing with impressive bat speed. This combo generates strong contact rates with quality power. He is a more aggressive free-swinger with high chase rates, especially against fastballs. He’s an average athlete with questionable defense, playing a mix of second, third, and corner outfield. The talent in his bat presents a real path to the majors. After just one month, Colby Turner’s offensive talent has nearly forced him into my top 40.

5. RHP Max Bayles

Twins’ 7th round pick Max Bayles was a strikeout machine at Santa Clara, striking out 209 batters over 137 innings in his last two years. At 6’3” with excellent extension from a high release point, Bayles possesses good physical traits for a starting pitcher. His repertoire is interesting, led by a cut fastball around 90 MPH and may not be a big whiff pitch, but it has good spin and enough bite to generate a lot of ground contact. His best pitch is a more loopy breaking ball around 80 MPH that gets good two-plane break with spin rates near 2,800. He locates it well around the bottom of the zone and generates a lot of whiff with the pitch. He will mix in a 4-seam fastball that sits around 90-91 with an ideal plane for hitters to tee off on the pitch. It is effectively a two-pitch arsenal at the moment. He nibbled a lot throughout his college career, increasing strikeouts but also leading to heavy walk rates. Bayles needs to be more of a strike-thrower if he is going to work as a starter in the minor leagues. There are a lot of areas to improve, including adding velocity, broadening the repertoire, and increasing strike-throwing efficiency, but the ingredients are there for him to work his way to the majors, likely as a bullpen arm.

6. SS Isaiah Lane

While Isaiah Lane doesn’t quite have the best underlying numbers, his monstrous production over 23 games at Single-A is noteworthy. The 13th round pick slashed .288/.430/.548 for a 155 wRC+. He’s an extremely patient hitter with a chase rate just under 10% in the small sample size. Fringy contact and power is holding him back, but there is potential for impact on the defensive end. He likely gets pushed off shortstop in the upper levels, but Lane is a quality defender who can be impactful somewhere in the infield.

7. SS Charlie Scholvin

15th round pick Charlie Scholvin is well-regarded for his contact-oriented approach. He holds limited power and posted a rough slash line of .183/.359/.200 in 20 games, but the underlying numbers were strong as his early returns display a plus hit tool. He made impressive swing decisions in the small sample, remaining aggressive in the zone while recognizing spin extremely well and limiting chase against breaking balls. The power is severely limited with poor raw pop and a line drive approach, but Scholvin is a very mature hitter with an impressive on-base profile. He has already accumulated a highlight reel of defensive plays while playing a mix of infield spots. He didn’t commit a single error in 20 games and is a reliable defender with good range, but he may not have the twitch and fluidity to play shortstop at a high level in the majors. Still, Scholvin looks like a good utility infielder with a fringy bat.

8. OF Aidan Teel

Aidan Teel had a disappointing spring after transferring to Mississippi State. The strikeout rate skyrocketed as his hit tool that once looked plus has lost some of its spark. He ran a respectable .238/.364/.349 slash line for a 98 wRC+ in 19 games with the Mighty Mussels. He struck out at a 26% clip, but above-average contact rates and good swing decisions suggest that the hit tool isn’t anything to worry about. Teel didn’t produce much of any power this year and his max EV of 102 MPH in the short Single-A stint doesn’t create much hope. He is a solid athlete and projects to be a reliable corner outfielder. A fine all-around baseball player, but nothing in his profile presents much upside.

9. C Hideki Prather

Drafted in the 17th round, Hideki Prather is a skilled catcher with an accurate arm and solid pop times. While the exit velocities were below the 10th percentile in his 14 game stint in Single-A, Prather smacked 14 homers at Cal this spring and has a solid barrel feel. The power production still projects to be well below-average, but his hit tool has translated to pro ball well so far as he posted a 91.5% zone contact rate in the small sample. His quality of contact needs to improve significantly, but Prather’s defensive profile sets a high floor. There probably won’t be enough juice in the bat to make it to the majors, but there is no problem with getting some minor league catching depth in the late rounds.

Jesús Luzardo has been one of the best pitchers in baseball the second half of this season. After being awarded NL Pitcher of the Month for August with a 3-0 record and 1.31 ERA, Luzardo began September with the first complete game shutout of his career. His step forward into becoming an elite starter has given the Phillies an enviable rotation as the postseason creeps closer.

In fact, that rotation gives them some options on how the team could opt to deploy it in the postseason. Nothing is clinched yet, but it appears likely that the Phillies will be playing in the Wild Card series, with their most likely opponent being the Chicago Cubs. Earlier this week, Matt Gelb of the Athletic broke down the reasoning for using Luzardo out of the bullpen in Game 1 of that potential series. Below is an excerpt of Gelb’s reasoning:

“If Luzardo were to sit in the bullpen for Game 1 and pitch on what would normally be his day for a side bullpen session, he could still start a potential Game 3. It’s asking a lot, but a three-game series calls for extreme tactics. In an ideal world, the Phillies could craft a plan in which their Game 1 starter records 17 or 18 outs with Luzardo and Jhoan Duran being asked to secure the final nine or 10 outs.”-Matt Gelb in the Athletic

It’s an interesting proposition, as the Phillies’ struggles with building a bridge to Jhoan Duran have been evident this season. That’s even before taking into consideration the fact that their bullpen has been one of the major culprits in some of their early postseason exits in recent seasons.

The Phillies best chance to win a postseason series, especially a short Wild Card series, would be to use their bullpen outside of Duran as little as possible. Deploying Luzardo there gives them that ability to do just that. That would of course mean that Luzardo would not start Game 1 despite possibly being the hottest hand, but as Gelb notes, it would not preclude him from starting a potential Game 3 or Game 1 of the NLDS. Luzardo also has experience pitching out of the bullpen in the postseason, as he did it in last year’s NLDS against the Dodgers when he threw 1.2 innings in extras and was charged with one unearned run.

So, how would you use Jesús Luzardo in a potential Wild Card series?

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The Atlanta Braves are slim 53% home favorites this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays, with first pitch scheduled for 12:15 p.m. ET from Truist Park. 

My Rays vs. Braves predictions side with the visiting underdogs, as Nick Martinez is in good form and Martin Perez is struggling to limit damage. 

Find out more in my MLB picks for Thursday, Sept. 10. 

Who will win Rays vs Braves today: Rays (48%)

For help understanding probabilities, see our odds calculator.

Nick Martinez takes the mound today, and he has been extremely reliable. The veteran owns a 2.81 xERA across his last five starts with pinpoint command and minimal home-run damage allowed.

Martinez has also limited opponents to a 34.7% hard-hit rate during that span. For what it’s worth, he has held current Atlanta Braves hitters to a .222 average across 81 at-bats.

Martin Perez, meanwhile, is struggling. Over the last month, the left-hander owns a 6.61 xERA with major control issues, surrendering 5.18 BB/9 across his previous five appearances.

The Tampa Bay Rays have a 103 wRC+ over the last week, while Atlanta sits at just 67 across its last six contests.

The edge is not massive, but Tampa Bay is the cleaner look.

Play this pick up to 50%.

COVERS INTEL: Perez has allowed a 50% hard-hit rate over his previous two starts. That's compared to his season average of just 38.1%. This is a clear opportunity for Tampa to feed off his struggles. 

Rays vs Braves Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (50%)

I’m leaning Over 8.5, mostly because of the late-game scoring paths. Atlanta’s bullpen has been vulnerable recently, posting a 4.55 FIP over the last week, with a 1.88 HR/9.

Tampa Bay’s relief corps has been even shakier, owning a 5.54 xERA across its previous 23 frames with a 1.57 HR/9. That gives both lineups a chance to do damage once the starters exit.

Atlanta’s offense is cold, so this isn’t a perfect Over angle. But with both bullpens allowing a lot of long-ball damage, this game doesn't need a full early explosion to clear 8.5.

Play this pick up to 53%.

Rays vs Braves home run prediction: Junior Caminero (20%)

Junior Caminero is a consistent power force for the Rays, and he’s in good form right now. The slugger has left the yard twice in his last six games while posting a .304 ISO.

The underlying numbers showcase just how loud he's been at the plate. Caminero owns a 58.8% hard-hit rate and 17.6% barrel rate during that span. While he isn’t putting the ball in the air a ton lately, his 40% HR/FB rate shows the damage he can do when he gets lift.

The Braves’ bullpen has been prone to homers, and while Perez does not allow a ton of bombs, his hard-contact issues create some vulnerability.

Play this pick up to 25%.

Rays vs Braves weather

Weather looks warm and hitter-friendly at Truist Park this afternoon, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures climbing from the mid-80s toward the upper 80s. Winds are very light around 2–3 mph, and rain chances stay near 0%–3%, so there’s no real delay concern. The heat could slightly help carry.

Rays vs Braves odds

• Moneyline: Rays 48% | Braves 53%
• Run line: Rays -1.5 (36%) | Braves +1.5 (65%)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (51%) | Under 8.5 (50%)

Rays vs Braves trend

The Tampa Bay Rays have hit the Moneyline in 19 of their last 25 away games (+12.50 Units / 39% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Braves.

How to watch Rays vs Braves and game info

Rays vs Braves latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Meet the Mets

The Mets held an 8-o lead early in the finale against Miami, lost it, jumped out to a six-run lead, and then barely hung on 15-14. The pitching all around was awful but the offense showed enough resiliency to earn the victory and finish off a sweep of the Fish.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Daily News, MLB.com, NY Post

Brett Baty left the game early with a leg injury but his recent play has showed the team that he can be a productive player for the Mets.

Nolan McLean is firmly in the Rookie of the Year race after pitching some of his best baseball down the stretch.

Devin Williams is working his way back to the team from injury so what does that mean for Kodai Senga who is currently serving as the team’s closer?

Around the National League East

The Braves fell 7-2 to the Rays to drop the series against Tampa.

The Phillies defeated the Astros 11-7 with the help of a Kyle Schwarber grand slam.

The Nationals’ ugly West Coast trip continued with a 9-2 loss to the Padres.

Around Major League Baseball

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani could still land on the IL with a right arm issue after he was held out of the lineup yet again.

The Yankees placed second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the IL with a sprained thumb after he injured it sliding into second base.

The Yankees will need to be careful with Aaron Judge and his return off the IL if they want to keep him healthy for the playoffs.

For the first time in MLB history, three rookies have hit 30 home runs in the same season.

Some unpleasantness went down between the Pirates and White Sox after Brandon Lowe took exception to a Sam Antonacci slide.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

On the latest episode of A Pod of Their Own, the latest Dodgers scandal was discussed.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1969, the Mets won both games of a doubleheader which helped them pass the Cubs and move into first place.

As the month of August was coming to a close, the Yankees added two veteran right-handed pitchers to help them survive the season’s final push: Michael Fulmer and John Schreiber. While we all can hope that Ryan Weathers, Clarke Schmidt, and Fernando Cruz can return, be effective, and give the ‘pen some much-needed depth before the October lights start to shine, I thought it would be a good time to examine what these two journeymen bring to the table.

Fulmer was once a trade rumor darling that Yankees fans heard plenty about. It might have taken years and a lot of lost shine, but as always, Brian Cashman eventually got his man. Fulmer began this season on a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants after spending the 2025 season bouncing between three organizations while trying to return to form. The veteran missed all of the 2024 season after having UCL revision surgery, essentially Tommy John light, in October of 2023.

In 2026, Fulmer pitched well in Triple-A Sacramento for the Giants, posting a 2.98 ERA with 10 saves over 37 appearances. The team never gave him a call-up despite their struggles and released him in early August. Fulmer then signed with the Angels and tossed 3.2 scoreless innings across three relief appearances while striking out four. The Angels DFA’d Fulmer after getting a few players off the injured list, and he signed with the Yankees on August 26th. The Yankees are his seventh organization in the last two years alone.

The former Rookie of the Year is now working primarily with a cutter that sits at 89 mph. Fulmer attacks righties with a sweeper that comes in at 81-84 mph, tunnels well with his cutter, and has an elite spin rate exceeding 2,800 RPM. You might remember this pitch, as it was the one he used to freeze Yordan Alvarez for his very first strikeout in a Yankee uniform.

Righties have not been an issue for Fulmer, as they have an .501 OPS before play on Wednesday, but lefties have gotten the better of him, posting a 1.012 OPS. Most of that damage by lefties was the result of his four-seamer getting crushed. When going after lefties, Fulmer has used the cutter and is now using his changeup.

Never before a staple in his arsenal, Fulmer’s changeup is now averaging 14.9 inches of horizontal tailing action alongside 10.2 inches of vertical drop. It effectively falls off the table away from lefties. Fulmer’s changeup has an xBA of .074, and it appears to be a developing weapon for the veteran. With the Yankees, Fulmer has tossed 5.1 innings, giving up two earned runs while striking out six with a WHIP of 1.50.

Fulmer’s days of fireballing four-seam fastballs are over. However, this would not be the first time the Yankees picked up a player with an elite pitch metric and then allowed Matt Blake to craft sequences and tinker with usage rates to find success. After the journey he has had, it is easy to cheer for the guy.

Schreiber had a less dramatic pathway to pinstripes. After making 55 appearances for the Royals, the team decided to cut the veteran, free agent to be, in a mix of a cost-savings and see-what-we-got-elsewhere move by Kansas City. Schreiber is a nightmare for right-handed hitters due to a low or even, nine-degree arm angle. This true sidearm release point creates an incredibly unique visual approach and is like watching an old wooden rollercoaster whip around a corner.

In a much larger sample size against MLB hitters, Schreiber has faced 107 lefties and righties before play on Wednesday. Lefties have posted a .992 OPS, while righties have a .405 OPS. None of his pitches have elite profiles, and his underlying metrics are mostly what the kids would call, booty. However, he has gotten decent results, and though they might not be pretty or stuffing the cool new stats, he has a 3.42 ERA in 52.2 innings worked.

One super cool thing to note: Schreiber’s sinker moves 15 inches to the right, while his sweeper moves 15 inches to the left. These pitches look identical for the first 25 to 30 feet until they take off in one direction or the other. Schreiber’s best pitch this season has been his four-seamer, which has an xBA of .185. This pitch and its tunnel/movement compared to his sinker he also throws creates the illusion that the ball is “riding” over a hitter’s hands.

Since getting out of the Kansas City last-place heat, Schreiber has appeared in four games as a Yankee. In those three games, he has tossed 4.1 innings of hitless baseball with a WHIP of 0.46. I always like having a guy who is different coming out of the ‘pen, and I personally cannot imagine going from facing one of the Yankees’ big four starters to this guy in the same evening.

Here is to hoping these veteran journeymen can help the bullpen navigate the end of the season. They might not be the high-powered, high-strikeout arms many crave out of the ‘pen, but if they can get outs and pass the ball off cleanly, they’ll get the job done nicely.

Mariners 3, Rangers 2

• So, apparently, the Rangers don’t want to score runs for Cody Bradford.
• Bradford made his seventh start of the season in this game. He had his second straight outing where he only went four innings, which isn’t great.
• Bradford picked up the loss, and is now 0-5 on the year.
• Bradford’s first start in the majors since 2024 was a 4.1 inning outing in a 6-0 Rangers win.
• The Rangers have lost all six starts he has made since then.
• In those six starts, they have scored four runs twice, one run once, and been shutout once.
• One of the three runs Bradford gave up in this start was on an RBI single by Taylor Ward.
• Ward, you may recall, was acquired by the Baltimore Orioles from the Anaheim Angels in the offseason, in exchange for Grayson Rodriguez.
• Rodriguez, in case you are wondering, has put up a 6.28 ERA in 17 starts for the Angels this year.
• Anyway, Ward was dealt to the Mariners at the trade deadline by Baltimore.
• In 24 games for the Mariners, Ward has slashed .115/.216/.141.
• It was a trade deadline deal that didn’t really work out for Seattle.
• Ward has 5 RBIs in 24 games for Seattle, and 6 runs scored, and 9 hits.
• He had one of each in this game.
• Tyler Alexander and Trevor Williams and Robby Ahlstrom handled the final four innings,.
• I’ve seen more of Trevor Williams than I was hoping to since the Rangers signed him.
• Both Rangers runs came on solo homers, one by Jake Burger, one by Corey Seager. It would have been preferable for there to be a runner or two on base when one or both of those homers were hit, but twas not to be.
• Cleveland and Houston both lost, at least, meaning the Rangers didn’t lose any ground to the teams they are chasing in the division race and the Wild Card race, respectively.
• So that’s something.
• Cody Bradford hit 89.9 mph with his fastball, averaging 88.4 mph. Tyler Alexander touched 93.0 mph with his fastball. Trevor Williams’ fastball reached 91.5 mph. Robby Ahlstrom topped out at 96.6 mph with his sinker.
• Jake Burger had a 109.6 mph fly out and a 105.1 mph home run. Brandon Nimmo had a 106.5 mph single and a 104.5 mph single. Ezequiel Duran had a 105.6 mph groundout. Elias Diaz had a 102.0 mph fly out. Corey Seager had a 100.4 mph home run.
• Okay, everyone think really hard about a Rangers win in the finale. We are going to will them to victory.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the final stretch of their push to get to the end of the season, and while they are winning much more as of late, they have to do their best to stay ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the second seed in the NL as they are still dealing with injuries to key players.

Wednesday night’s game saw both Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman out of the Dodger lineup, with and Ohtani headed for the injured list. Jack Harris at the California Post has more.

The earliest Ohtani can return from the IL is September 23, with five games remaining in the regular season.

Meanwhile, Freeman is dealing with a knee issue, and the team is hoping that by giving Freeman the night off before an off day, he will be able to return to the lineup on Friday in Miami.

Bill Shakin of the L.A. Times writes about why the Dodgers need that first round bye, of course with their injuries being first and foremost, and that the team would benefit from giving their aging stars the most rest possible before their portion of the playoffs begin.

Sonja Chen of MLB.com further discusses Freeman’s sore knee and how the team don’t see an IL stint for him at the moment.

“Freddie does a really good job of hitting against his front side, and then when you can’t do that with your front side, your right knee, then you’re compromised,” Roberts said. “I see there’s a lot more swing-and-miss the last few days. That’s just not who he is.”

As stated, the team will rest Freeman Wednesday, have an off day on Thursday, and will assess on Friday. He could also sit that first game of the Marlins series in Miami, but Dave Roberts said Freeman going on the IL is “absolutely not” a possibility.

1927
With a 11-1 loss in the nightcap of a doubleheader in Washington, the White Sox began a 12-game losing streak, which remains tied for the fifth-longest in franchise history. The South Siders came into the game at a respectable 65-68, but losing 15 of 20 to end the season dumped them down from 30 to 39 1⁄2 games off of the pace in the American League.

The last-season collapse also started a streak of nine straight losing seasons — by far the longest stretch in team history. The White Sox, in fact, had only suffered back-to-back losing seasons once in the first 29 years of team history.

1930
Future Hall-of-Famer Luke Appling made his White Sox debut. It was the start of the legacy of great Sox shortstops, which would include Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio and Ozzie Guillén. 

Appling went 1-for-4 in a 6-2 loss to the Red Sox. 

1939
With a 5-1 loss to Detroit in the opener of a doublheader, White Sox hurler Johnny Rigney saw his 11-game winning streak snapped. The righthander hadn’t lost since June 30 (and in that, a complete game defeat yielding just one earned run), throwing 117 innings to a 1.92 ERA, 2.81 FIP, 1.051 WHIP and .198 opponents average. Ironically, the winning streak came on the heels of a five-game losing streak for Rigney.

For the season, Rigney had a 3.70 ERA (129 ERA+), 3.28 FIP, 1.335 WHIP, 4.5 WAR over 35 games/29 starts and finished 20th in AL MVP voting.

1954
Paul Richards, one of the greatest managers in club history, resigned to accept a dual position of general and field manager for the Baltimore Orioles. Richards was the man credited with turning around the fortunes of the franchise in 1951 with his aggressive running/pitching/defense philosophy. White Sox pitcher Billy Pierce called Richards the smartest manager he ever had. Richards was also credited with turning around Nellie Fox, helping transform him into a very good hitter. 

Richards left because the White Sox were not willing to give him a multi-year contract extension or a raise, and because of personal disagreements he had with GM Frank Lane. Marty Marion, who had just retired after 13 years in St. Louis playing for the Cardinals and Browns, replaced Richards.

1967
Coming off of two straight losses to the Tigers and in danger of falling out of the pennant race, Joe Horlen threw a 6-0 no-hitter in front of 23,625 fans at Comiskey Park.

White Sox second baseman Wayne Causey saved the no-hitter with a grab of a smash up the middle off the bat of Jerry Lumpe in the ninth inning. Causey’s throw just nipped Lumpe at the bag. Horlen hit a Tiger and another reached base on an error, but other than that he was perfect on the afternoon. Horlen got Dick McAuliffe on a ground ball to shortstop Ron Hansen for the final out of the 12th no-hitter in White Sox history.

Rookie Cisco Carlos then shut out Detroit, 4-0, in the second game, vaulting the Sox right back into pennant contention, just 1 1⁄2 games off of the lead. It was the last time in franchise history the White Sox threw doubleheader shutouts.

1976
Nolan Ryan struck out 18 White Sox in a Angels 3-2 win at Comiskey Park. Chicago rallied to tie the game, 2-2, in the bottom of the sixth, after a walk to Jim Essian, a single by Jim Spencer and a two-run double from Jorge Orta. Two more walks (Ryan had nine in the game) loaded the bases with two outs, but Alan Bannister popped out to right field to end the threat. California came right back during their next bats to take the lead, on a run-scoring double.

Ryan finished strong, striking out the final five White Sox batters he saw in the game, but only after loading the bases again in the eighth inning.

Also, it was on this day the White Sox activated 52-year-old Minnie Miñoso, making him an active player in the majors for his fourth decade. He would make his season debut in the next day’s game.

1977
White Sox pitcher Wilbur Wood tied an AL record by hitting three Angels hitters in a row, in the first inning of the club’s 6-1 loss at Anaheim. With two out and a man on, Wood hit Dave Kingman, Don Baylor and Dave Chalk.

1981
The White Sox purchased Jerry Hairston from the Mexican League, where he had played for almost four full seasons after having been sold by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hairston was a third round pick of the White Sox in 1970 and saw his first five seasons in the majors on the South Side.

The outfielder was brought back to Chicago mainly in a sub/pinch-hitting role, the latter at which he truly excelled. The White Sox kept him in uniform until 1989. He finished his career with 94 pinch-hits, not far behind the all-time AL leader, Gates Brown, with 107.

1983
White Sox Triple-A affiliate the Denver Bears completed a sweep to win the American Association title. The club was skippered by Jim Mahoney, and had finished the regular season 73-61. The offensive environment at Mile High Stadium and in the American Association in general led to some gaudy offensive numbers for the Bears, as 11 of their 15 batters on the season boasted an OPS better than .800; conversely, just two of 14 pitchers kept their ERAs to less than 4.00.

While many of the players on the Bears roster did make the majors, none had consequential careers, with the closest such players being Daryl Boston and Joel Skinner — unless you count end-of-career reliever Al Hrabosky, pitching in his last pro season.

The Bullpen is not a problem long-term

I think most of you know this, but the bullpen is a 2026 specific problem. That isn’t to say that the Cardinals shouldn’t try to improve it in 2027, that isn’t to say they shouldn’t make changes. But bullpen doesn’t really work like other positions. Third base and centerfield are bad this season and thus they are a problem that needs to be figured out long-term. Bullpen is exclusively a short-term position, even when it’s good.

And there are hidden gems. I’m a believer in second half Gordon Graceffo, who has been an entirely different pitcher from the first half. He is on a speed run to have a reasonable strikeout rate by the end of the season by striking out every other hitter whenever he can. If 2nd half Graceffo is 2027 Graceffo, he is a true weapon. Luis Gastelum got off to a slow start and has had a few too many homerable pitches, but he is striking out over 30% of hitters with a reasonable walk rate. If he pitches anywhere close to his 3.03 xFIP next season, he’s another weapon.

Cade Winquest did not pitch well today at all, but it was his 6th career game. He struck out 34.8% of hitters in the minors and had an average walk rate. He also had an over 50% GB rate. The Cardinals need two of those things to translate and he’s a good reliever. (The Ks, the walks, or the groundballs). And of course, the starting pitchers. Maybe it’s Matthew Liberatore, maybe it’s Cooper Hjerpe, maybe it’s Tekoah Roby, maybe it’s Ixan Henderson, I mean I could go on. Whether it’s for innings concerns, or a true move to the bullpen, there will be starting caliber pitchers whose stuff will play up in the bullpen next season and in seasons beyond.

Bullpens are random. Consider that a good thing for the Cardinals and their future. A move or two and this could be a good bullpen next year and I’m not taking crazy pills because that’s just how baseball works.

George Soriano’s Struggles

There has been an emerging narrative that I’ve noticed that George Soriano is struggling because he is reaching career high in games pitched. He has, after all, not had a very good second half, most recently helping to blow a six-run lead to the Giants yesterday. It’s one of the easiest narratives in baseball, guy struggles because he is worn out.

I don’t buy it. I’m sorry I don’t. I think fans desperately want to believe this to be the case, because they think he’s a better pitcher than he is. I acknowledge that not all innings are created equally. I acknowledge that he has appeared in a career high amount of games pitched. I even acknowledge that sometimes high leverage innings can stress out your arm more than low leverage innings. It’s just too easy though. Let’s look at his history.

He was first moved to relief in the middle of the 2022 season. He appeared in 8 games, started 6 of them, at the AA level, but only threw 29 innings. He got promoted to AAA and pitched 47 innings in 32 games. He threw 76 innings in 40 games pitched in 2023 overall. The next season, he became a true multi-inning reliever. He pitched 17 games and threw 25.1 innings in AAA, and in 26 games at the MLB level, he threw 52 innings. Overall, he pitched in 44 games and threw 77.1 IP.

Moving onto to last season, he threw in 29 games at AAA, throwing 42.2 IP. In his MLB time, he pitched in 24 games and threw 36.2 IP. Combined, that makes it 53 games and 78.4 innings pitched. I don’t know guys, he’s not pitching in as many games, but this is about as heavy a workload as you’re going to get from a reliever in 2026. I know they weren’t high leverage, but that is a LOT of innings.

On top of that, his 1st half performance wasn’t really supported by advanced stats. He struck out 21% of batters and walked 9.6% of them, which was “good” for a 4.44 xFIP. He didn’t really allow homers (3.90 FIP) and had a .225 BABIP. Things have obviously gone in the opposite direction in the 2nd half. Before yesterday’s game, he had a 4.03 xFIP and struck out 26.7% of batters (more walks too) in the 2nd half. But he had a .346 BABIP and 6.52 FIP because the home run luck dried up.

His season BABIP is still just .275 so one could argue he’s still getting lucky on balls in play during the season as a whole. He’s been unlucky on homers, but his career rate is 16.9% and his season rate is 14.9% so based on 179 career innings, he’s going to allow a few more homers to leave the park than expected. Too small a sample size of course, but perfectly in line with his career.

He has a career 4.51 xFIP, his ERA on the season is now 4.50. I just think this is who is guys. He’s just gotten to this place in a very strange way. I just find it difficult to buy into this narrative. You could not more perfectly design a reliever more “ready” to throw a lot of innings and in a lot of games than Soriano. It’s just easy to miss that because his stat page doesn’t show the minors unless you seek it out.

Also his struggles this year are easily explainable. He can’t get right-handed hitters out. In 2026, he has a been a true reverse splits guy. Left-handed hitters hit for a .263 wOBA and strike out 26.6% of the time with an 8.4% BB rate. Right-handed hitters hit for a .386 wOBA with a 19.2 K% and 14.4 BB%. That’s season stats. Also might I remind everyone: the first batter Soriano faced yesterday, he induced a weak groundball that’s an out for probably 90% of batters but Jonah Cox has 99 percentile sprint speed, at 30.1 feet per second. He had a .090 xBA. He suddenly does his job if someone slower is batting. Unfortunately, baseball is cruel.

The Stopgap for 3B is Here, it shouldn’t be for CF

The two weakest positions this season have been third base and centerfield, both from players initially seen as a potential long-term answer. The Cardinals should move on from Nolan Gorman, but in the meantime, I actually think Thomas Saggese and Blaze Jordan showed enough in 2026 to keep the spot open for them. Obviously, they’re both right-handed so this isn’t a platoon situation, but with Saggese’s ability to play other positions, and then Blaze occasionally platooning with Alec Burleson, there’s plenty of PAs for both.

And I say this not really believing either is the answer. But that’s okay because I think the answer is in the organization. I don’t know which specific player is, but I would be surprised if there’s not a long-term answer among Saggese, Jordan, Jesus Baez, Deniel Ortiz, and even Raniel Rodriguez maybe. I don’t necessarily think any one of them is a good bet at 3B specifically, but taken collectively, you got to like the odds.

Saggese should be a good defender at 3B, and projection-wise, he should have between a 90 and 100 wRC+. His minor league history suggests there may be more there offensively. He is 25 next season. He is the perfect stopgap option. But we aren’t even completely depending on him. Jordan is 24 next season. He had a 137 wRC+ in AAA and a .317 xwOBA and displayed better than expected defense. Do I buy the defense? No, but I’m intrigued to see more. He has earned more opportunities. These are great stopgap options.

However, I have no idea what to do with centerfield. I am fully out on Nathan Church being a starting centerfielder. Obviously, his offense has been disappointing. He is good at not swinging and missing. That is the extent of his positives as a hitter, at least how he’s played in 2026. Go to his Statcast page, it is bleak. Everything but K% and whiff% is blue. He is 3rd percentile in chase%, 8th percentile in average exit velo, 20th percentile in bat speed, 12th percentile in hard-hit%.

It’s hard to see that kind of profile and see a route to becoming a good hitter. If the Cardinals plan to go into next season with him as a starter, they need to have a serious talk with him about not chasing. Of all the stats, that is the only route for optimism. He was never this extreme and he did hit the ball hard, but Alec Burleson went through this. Just hammer that home. Wait for your pitch more. In the best version of how this could go, him selectively choosing better pitches to hit improves all his batted ball metrics.

But I’m not making him the starting CF if I’m in charge. Like I said, Burleson’s Statcast page was never this bleak so it feels like I’m hanging onto a lot more hope and wishful thinking to think Church will improve to that extent. He’s still on my team next year. I tell him he has to earn back a starting spot. Not chasing is the way to do it, if results follow, you will get your job back. Outfield is one of those positions where everyone gets hurt, so he will still play.

Of course, who the hell is starting if not Church? Certainly nobody in the organization. I don’t want to go the Victor Scott route again. It seems like the Cardinals have moved on anyway. I don’t think Joshua Baez can play CF. I can read War and Peace faster than it will take Chase Davis to adjust to a new level, so I don’t think he’s the answer to our 2027 problems. In the absolute best case scenario, I suspect Josiah Ragsdale is going to have Joshua Baez’s season next year. (They slow cook him and wait until August)

My main point is that I want to attempt to compete. I’m not asking to go all-in. I feel like Saggese/Jordan is an attempt to compete. Running it back with Church is a rebuild kind of move. Just give me somebody who has an okay chance to be good. It’s not like we’re swarming with outfielders in the near term, all the backups right now are literally infielders. In the offseason, I will probably look for an answer to this question.

Good morning, baseball fans!

My life has been in shambles for the past few months, between my day job, life, and the dumpster fire that is both reality and the San Francisco Giants 2026 season I’m just flying at the speed of light and trying to hold on.

Which is why it has taken me until now to stop and really come to terms with just how much it sucks that Mike Krukow will be retiring after this season.

Mike Krukow IS Giants baseball, to me. He and his broadcasting partner Duane Kuiper have been calling Giants games for the vast majority of my life. I literally cannot remember a time before we had their delightful banter, inside jokes, crowd observations, life observations, and excellent baseball commentary.

There’s never been a bad Giants game under their watch, because they could turn even the most dull and lifeless game into one of the most memorable broadcasts you’ve ever heard. Even if they rarely commented on the actual game in question.

Somehow, I always expected that they would retire together when the time came. And somehow, despite the fact that I know how time works, I still always assumed that that time would be at least twenty years away. When I pictured the (ever unlikely) scenario of retirement, it always included a fruity beverage on the beach with the sounds of Kruk & Kuip calling a game. They were going to call games for all of time, if I’d had my way.

But we seldom get our way in reality. So all I can do is be forever grateful for the time we’ve had with Mr. Krukow on the call, and appreciate every bit of time we’ve got left this season.

What are your favorite Mike Krukow-isms and memories?

The Colorado Rockies only have 17 games left in the 2026 season. If they played football that would constitute an entire season. Instead, because they play the marathon that is baseball, these final 17 games may seem inconsequential.

It’s true that the Rockies are eliminated from the playoff race, so in a sense, the remaining games are inconsequential. If we’re being honest with ourselves, though, the Rockies have been realistically eliminated from postseason contention for the past half decade, and there have still been plenty of reasons to watch them play.

There may not be too many games left, but that doesn’t mean the final three weeks of the season won’t provide opportunity for some entertainment. Let’s take a look through the remaining schedule, series by series, to wring out every last inch of exciting baseball before the long offseason (and possible lockout) arrives.

The Detroit Tigers Series

I’m not going to lie: The existence of this series almost scuttled the premise of this entire article.

There’s very little specifically interesting about a late-season matchup between the Rockies and the Detroit Tigers. Both teams are outside of playoff contention, they aren’t division rivals, and the number of former Rockies on the Tigers is limited (unless you’re still a big Tyler Kinley fan).

The Tigers, while they may not have much connection to the current Rockies, do employ the clear frontrunner for American League Rookie of the Year. If the only baseball that you have time to watch is Rockies games, this series will be your one chance to see Tigers rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle play before taking home the 2026 AL RoY award.

That being said, if you are afraid of how many times the broadcast booth may struggle to pronounce McGonigle, this would be the one series remaining that you wouldn’t be missing too much if you skipped.

The San Diego Padres Series

This four game series against the Padres is the Rockies best opportunity to play spoiler.

The Padres started off strong with an 18-7 April, struggled to stay around .500 in May through July, before turning things around with a 17-11 August. As things stand, the Padres are 78-68 just barely holding on to the third wild card spot in the National League with a half game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

They come to Denver hoping to keep their lead and reach the postseason for the fifth time in the past seven seasons. So far this year the Rockies have been beaten by the Padres in eight out of their nine games, making even a tie in this four-game set seem like a longshot. All that losing, however, would make it even more wonderful if the Rockies are able to eek out some wins against their division rival right at the end when it matters the most.

Besides, when these two teams play, anything can happen.

The Seattle Mariners Series

With their poor play since the All-Star break, it’s possible that by the start of this series, the Seattle Mariners will also be mathematically eliminated from the playoff hunt. Unlike the series against the Tigers, however, there are still some side stories to look forward to.

First and foremost, the Saturday game will feature the unveiling of Todd Helton’s statue outside Coors Field. As with the Larry Walker statue unveiling earlier in the year, Helton is expected to be in attendance for a pre-game ceremony. The club has not announced any other media appearances yet, but Walker was on the broadcast the night of his statue’s unveiling, so it seems likely that a similar appearance for Helton is in the cards.

Additionally, the final Friday home game of the season means one last chance to see the Rockies play in the pastel colors of their City Connect uniforms. The previous green City Connects were only in use for three seasons and 2027 will be the third year of the current generation. Given the uncertain status of the 2027 MLB season, it’s entirely possible this is one of the last chances to see the sunset inspired jerseys donned in game.

The Arizona Diamondbacks Series

As with the Padres series, this could be a chance for the Rockies to play spoiler in the playoff race. Unlike the Padres, I have never gotten the sense that most Rockies fans hold much ill will towards the Diamondbacks.

More importantly, we’ll all get to see Nolan Arenado who is potentially on the cusp of his third trip to the playoffs since leaving the Rockies before the 2021 season. Seeing Arenado playing meaningful baseball this late in the season should provide a wistful well meaning bit of nostalgia all by itself.

That being said, the current season series between the Rockies and Diamondbacks sits 4-6 D-Backs. A Rockies sweep of this three game set would push them ahead in the season series. The Rockies have already won their season series against the San Francisco Giants, adding a second NL West team that they were able to best would be a nice consolation prize at the end of another long season.

The Chicago White Sox Series

In 2026, the Rockies have shown progress towards righting the ship after an abysmal 119 losses last year. It has, however, shown that the climb back up to being a competitive team remains steep. Ending this transitional season against the breakout Chicago White Sox, and getting to see Brenton Doyle for the first time since his mid-season trade, is perfect.

The White Sox represent hope in the form of an example that it is possible to quickly become an exciting baseball team again after a historically bad season. Even if, by the time of this final regular season series, the White Sox have dropped out of the lead in the AL Central or even the wild card race, seeing the turnaround the franchise has made since their 121 losses in 2024 is exactly what we as Rockies fans need.

The energy in the southside of Chicago, win or lose, will be a preview of what’s possible for the Rockies within the next few seasons. It will be the perfect hopeful send-off for the 2026 Rockies into a pivotal and uncertain offseason.

On the Farm

Triple-A:Albuquerque Isotopes 8, Reno Aces 5

Jack Mahoney (No. 15 PuRP) started the game for the Isotopes and managed to get through four and two thirds innings with 87 pitches. Mahoney was pulled after allowing four runs on seven hits the final of which was a two-RBI line drive from Jose Fernandez. While it wasn’t a stellar performance on paper, given the running scoring environment of the Pacific Coast League and the fine performance from the Isotopes bullpen, it was enough to get the job done.

At the plate the Isotopes lineup took an early lead on an Edouard Julien two-run double in the first inning and continuously added to that lead throughout the rest of the game. All told the Isotopes scored in six separate innings on a whopping 13 hits and six walks. Five different Isotope hitters collected extra base hits but the star of the game were the aforementioned Julien, who reached base four times, and Sterlin Thompson (No. 16 PuRP) who was a triple shy of the cycle.

Double-A:Hartford Yard Goats 4, Somerset Patriots 0

Both Jose Quintana and Kyle Freeland set the tone for this game in rehab appearances. The Yard Goats as a whole followed their lead en route to their 65th win of the season.

Quintana started the game and threw two innings in which he only allowed a single and a walk. Freeland took over to start the third inning and threw three scoreless of his own. While Quintana only managed a single strikeout, Freeland collected five in his three innings of work. Connor Staine finished out the final four innings of the game while only allowing three hits and a walk but no runs.

At the plate the Yard Goats got things started early. Jared Thomas (No. 8 PuRP) was hit by a pitch as the first batter of the game and eventually came around to score after a Jacob Humphrey double and a fielder’s choice hit into by Braylen Wimmer. Hartford would rest on that one-run lead throughout the majority of the game until tacking on another couple in the eighth on a two RBI single from Roynier Hernandez (No. 29 PuRP). Thomas would go on to drive in a final unnecessary insurance run with a single in the ninth.

Yankees may regret trading TJ Rumfield, who ‘absolutely’ knew he could star for Rockies | The Athletic ($)

As the Rockies were preparing to visit Yankee Stadium earlier this week, Brendan Kuty of the Athletic was reflecting on the offseason trade that brought TJ Rumfield to Denver from New York. Rumfield himself appears to have been surprised by the deal at the time as he was, at the time, focused on forcing his way onto the Yankees roster despite knowing that he was blocked by incumbent first baseman Ben Rice.

Strike 2: Manager Don Baylor knew why avoiding 100 losses mattered | Mile High Sports

The Rockies attempt to avoid a fourth straight 100 loss season will come down to the final few weeks of the year. Mark Knudson reflects on the Rockies first manager, Don Baylor, and why keeping the fledgling expansion team from reaching that mark was a key focus of his.

Breaking Down the WPBL Playoffs | Baseball Prospectus ($)

In non-Rockies baseball news: The WPBL regular season came to an end this past weekend! Bradley Woodrum did a deep dive on all four teams as they entered the postseason on Wednesday. There’s been a lot of good narrative writing about the WPBL so far in it’s inaugural season but this piece applies a level of numerical analysis we, as baseball fans, have grown accustomed to having access to. Very worth the read whether you’ve been watching the WPBL or not.

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