Category: Baseball

The Mets will call up Zach Thornton to pitch in Wednesday’s game against the Nationals, according to Carlos Mendoza. It is unclear whether he will get the start or pitch behind an opener, but he will be used in some capacity.

Thornton will pitch in place of the injured Clay Holmes, who suffered a fractured fibula after taking a line drive off the bat of Spencer Jones in his last start against the Yankees. Holmes is expected to miss significant time and not return until well into the summer, leaving the team in need of a new arm. Other options under consideration including using Tobias Myers (in a potential bullpen game) or calling up another prospect, such as Jack Wenninger or Jonah Tong.

Thornton started the year in Double-A Binghamton, posting a 3.60 ERA in five starts for the Rumble Ponies before being promoted to Triple-A Syracuse. In two starts there, he posted a 2.25 ERA, allowing three earned runs across 12 innings pitched. He has struck out 40 batters across 37 innings this year between Double-A and Triple-A.

Thornton entered the year ranked No. 13 in the Mets’ farm system by MLB Pipeline, and No. 14 by Amazin’ Avenue. In his preview of the left-hander, Steve Sypa wrote:

The 6’3”, 170-pound left-hander throws from a high-three-quarter arm slot and has plenty of deception in his delivery with a funky, up-tempo delivery that incorporates an extremely long arm action through the back and a slingy, crossfire release. Despite all of the movement in his delivery, Thornton has above-average command of all of his pitches. He can pound the zone with pitches, throw borderline pitches to get batters to chase, and work to all quadrants of the zone with all of his pitches. While no one pitch that the left-hander throws is more than an average offering, his large repertoire keeps batters guessing and his impeccable command helps all of those pitches play up to their greatest potential. Coming into the 2025 season, he made attacking batters and putting them in pitcher’s counts earlier a goal, a strategy that paid major dividends for him.

Thornton throws a four-seam fastball and a two-seam fastball, and while the two pitches bleed into each other a great deal, they remain two distinct pitches and two distinct grips that the left-hander uses. Coming into the 2025 season, his fastball generally sat in the high-80s-to-low-90s, topping out as high as 95 MPH, but after doing off-season weight and strength training, his fastball has more consistently sat in the low-to-mid-90s. When thrown up in the zone, his four-seam fastball has averaged a slightly above-average induced vertical break a bit over 15 inches, while his two-seam fastball has roughly MLB average downward and horizontal movement.

The left-hander’s slider generally has been his most effective strikeout pitch. Like his fastball, off-season weight training during the winter of 2024-2025 gave his slider a little extra velocity, and the pitch now sits comfortably in the mid-to-high-80s, previously sitting more in the low-to-mid-80s. The pitch has slurvy two-plane break, and like his other breaking balls, works best down in the zone thanks to its vertical drop.

Rounding out his arsenal is a curveball and changeup. His curveball sits in the mid-70s and has big 11-5 break, while his changeup sits in the low-80s with late fade and tumble. Both pitches generally induce more weak ground balls or lazy fly balls than strikeouts; In 2024, the left-hander had a 49.5% groundball rate and 25.0% flyball rate, and while both have regressed, the 43.2% and 35.2% rates he posted, respectively, still make Thornton an effective pitcher.

It is worth noting that Thornton is not on the 40-man roster, so the team will have to make a move to make room for his return. There are several players who could be options to be transferred to the 60-day IL, including Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr., neither of whom appears close to returning to big league action. Earlier today, the team transferred A.J. Minter to the 60-day IL to make room for Daniel Duarte, whom they recalled from Triple-A (while optioning Joey Gerber to Triple-A).

While the Yankees’ bullpen wasn’t a real problem statistically over the first several weeks of the season, its weakness and relative lack of depth have reared their ugly head over the last week or two, blowing multiple inherited leads during a 2-7 road trip that saw the Yanks lose ground to the Rays in the early divisional race.

Well, after overworking said bullpen in the final two days of the Subway Series at Citi Field, the Yankees are adding another arm to the fray, selecting the contract of right-handed reliever Yovanny Cruz and optioning fill-in fifth-starter Elmer Rodríguez back to Triple-A ahead of Monday’s series opener against the rival Blue Jays.

Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
• Optioned RHP Elmer Rodríguez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
• Signed RHP Yovanny Cruz (#96) to a Major League contract and selected him to the active roster.

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 18, 2026

This move is the culmination of a tremendous rise for Cruz, whose MLB dreams seemed as far away as ever as recently as this offseason. He originally signed with the Chicago Cubs out of the Dominican Republic in August 2016 and slowly rose through their system, but stagnated after the COVID-19 pandemic due to injuries and struggles with command. He elected free agency after 2023 and bounced from the Padres’ system in 2024 to the Red Sox’s Double-A squad in 2025, pitching to a 3.54 ERA in 89 innings across both seasons, but walking 60 as he struggled to command a high-90s fastball.

After allowing just one run in 18.2 innings with Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League, he was invited to Yankees’ spring training this February and lit up the radar gun, turning heads in the stands and in the clubhouse. Aaron Boone suggested he was seriously considered to break camp with the team, but was ultimately assigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he’s pitched to a 3.00 ERA in 18 innings with 23 strikeouts to just nine walks.

Cruz’s arsenal is centered around his truly electric fastball, which has touched 102 mph down in Scranton and consistently sits 99, while he complements it with a high-80s slider/cutter and the occasional splitter. His performance has actually waned a bit over the last two weeks after an incredible start, but the Yankees clearly don’t see it as inhibitive towards their belief that he can contribute in the bullpen.

Yovanny Cruz, 101.5 mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/UynkqElj4J

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 13, 2026

The demotion of Rodríguez is interesting, as he allowed one run in 4.1 innings on Sunday in his third major league start. With no off days in the foreseeable future, the Yankees will need a fifth starter again on Friday against the AL East-leading Rays, and he cannot be recalled without an injury.

Could this be an indication that they’re willing to end Gerrit Cole’s rehab one start earlier than anticipated to make his long-awaited season debut? It doesn’t seem to be getting ruled out.

Yankees still discussing possibility of Cole pitching Friday at the Stadium vs. Rays, per Boone. “It’s on the table” but nothing official yet.

— Pete Caldera (@pcaldera) May 18, 2026

For the second time this season, the San Diego Padres swept the Seattle Mariners. They did so in terrific fashion, outscoring their opponents 17-7. It was production the Friars desperately needed before heading into tonight’s series against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Lucas Giolito had an encouraging debut. He pitched five innings of one-hit ball before emerging for the sixth and failing to record an out. And, to be honest, it wasn’t totally his fault. Colt Emerson was walked on a ball four call that caught some of the plate. But, after that, the command fell off a bit and Giolito loaded the bases on three walks.

Yuki Matsui limited the damage, but not by much. The lefty gave up a walk to force in a run before allowing consecutive sacrifice flys to make the score, 7-3. He finally got out of the inning by striking out Cole Young.

But the story of the game (and the series) was Gavin Sheets’ incredible offense. That was apparent more so in this game than anywhere else, as the slugger went 3-for-3 with two walks, two homers and four RBIs. The Friars will need him to keep that up if they hope to beat the rival Los Angeles Dodgers this week.

Taking the mound

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD) v. Michael King (SD)

Yamamoto pitched great at the beginning of the year but has looked slightly worse for wear in his recent starts. He’s given up 15 runs in his last four outings. That’s still good for a 3.60 ERA, but he’ll be looking to right the ship after surrendering a season-high five runs to the San Francisco Giants in his last outing.

Limiting hard contact has been the biggest problem for Yamamoto. He allowed five home runs in that four-game span. In his last start he gave up three to the Giants. The Padres have faced him before and struggled but could take advantage of his recent trouble tonight.

King, on the other hand, has been fantastic this season. It’s been a return to normalcy after an injury-plagued 2025 season. He boasts a 2.63 ERA across nine starts.

Ironically, the name of the game has been limiting hard contact. King has only allowed four homers all year. It will be interesting to watch what happens when the slug-happy Dodgers lineup faces him tonight.

Batter up!

The lineup has worked well the last few days, and it seems likely that manager Craig Stammen will stick with it. Fernando Tatis Jr. has played a ton of second base. But the club may want him in the outfield for his defense against L.A.

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Miguel Andujar, DH
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Gavin Sheets, 1B
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Jackson Merrill, CF
7. Ramón Laureano, LF
8. Sung-Mun Song, 2B
9. Rodolfo Durán, C

Sheets had himself a fantastic road trip, batting .625/.739/1.438 with a 2.177 OPS. Those almost feel fictional, but he’s really been that elite. The breakout is hopefully here to stay for this series.

Machado has swung a cold bat lately, but could return tonight against Yamamoto. The third baseman owns a .375 batting average and 1.194 OPS in his career against the right-hander (8 at-bats).

Relief corps

With Giolito’s debut going just about as well as it could have, the Friars only needed to use two of their relievers. Matsui and Bradgley Rodriguez covered the final four innings (two apiece), not allowing a hit and striking out five.

That leaves plenty available for game on against the Dodgers, with Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Ron Marinaccio, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta and closer Mason Miller all fresh. All but Marinaccio and Peralta are high-leverage options that will likely be used tonight if the game is close.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres

• Date: Monday, May 18

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET / 6:40 p.m. PT

• Where: PETCO Park, San Diego, CA

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

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

Team records

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

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

Odds

• Spread: San Diego Padres +1.5

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

• Over/Under: 7.5

Starting pitchers

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

Weather: 67°F at first pitch

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

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

How to watch Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs

• Date: Monday, May 18

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET / 4:40 p.m. PT

• Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

• TV Channels: Marquee Sports Network, Brewers.TV

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

Team records

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

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

Odds

• Spread: Chicago Cubs -1.5

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

• Over/Under: 10.5

Starting pitchers

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

Weather: 74°F at first pitch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monday game info

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

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

How to watch Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees

• Date: Monday, May 18

• Time: 7:05 p.m. ET / 4:05 p.m. PT

• Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

• TV Channels: YES, SN1

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

Team records

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

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

Odds

• Spread: New York Yankees -1.5

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

• Over/Under: 9.0

Starting pitchers

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

Weather: 81°F at first pitch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 18, 2026

You can see the Statcast breakdown of the lineups below.

Game Info

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

Location: loanDepot Park, Miami, FL

TV: BravesVision, Gray TV

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

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

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

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

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) May 18, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) May 18, 2026

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

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

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

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

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) May 18, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

seaver king is on FIRE 🔥

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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