Category: Baseball

Rangers 6, Marlins 4

• This was not a game one was feeling terribly optimistic about beforehand.
• And it was a game that the Rangers lost.
• It was a winnable game. The offense had three baserunners in the first, and the bases loaded with no one out in the second, and scored just one run.
• Combined with the late comeback, which saw Texas bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth, it was an opportunity lost.
• The middle innings were the Rangers’ downfall.
• Cal Quantrill started what was effectively a bullpen game for the Rangers, facing nine batters over two innings and allowing a single run, to former Ranger farmhand, and key piece in the Nathaniel Lowe trade, Heriberto Hernandez.
• Hernandez is one of five former Rangers (or Ranger minor leaguers) who is a member of the Marlins, along with John King, Tyler Phillips, Liam Hicks, and the Accountant, Pete Fairbanks.
• The funny thing about it is that Miami didn’t acquire any of those players directly from the Rangers. Some other team acquired each of those five players from the Rangers, and then the Marlins ended up getting them for, essentially, nothing.
• The Marlins got Phillips from the Philadelphia Phillies for cash. Hicks was a Rule 5 selection, taken from the Tigers. King, Fairbanks and Hernandez were all free agent signings.
• King and Hernandez were traded by the Rangers in trades that worked out very well for Texas, and contributed to their World Series title.
• Fairbanks and Hicks were traded by the Rangers in trades that did not work out for Texas. The Fairbanks for Nick Solak swap was a coup for the Rays, though the Nathaniel Lowe deal more or less balanced that out.
• Hicks was traded, along with Tyler Owens, to the Detroit Tigers at the deadline for Carson Kelly in 2024. The 2024 team finished below .500 and Kelly didn’t play well for the Rangers. That said, the Rangers weren’t going to add Liam Hicks to the 40 man roster that offseason, and so would have been lost to the Marlins in the Rule 5 Draft anyway, unless there was something very Tigers-specific that happened once Hicks got to Detroit that wouldn’t have happened if he were playing the final month and a half of the 2024 season with the Roughriders that prompted Miami to want to select him.
• Hicks has been a very good 1B/DH/third catcher for the Marlins this season, and you know, the Rangers could use someone like that on their roster right about now.
• That said, I don’t think anyone expected Hicks to hit like he has this year (or even last year, when he had a 693 OPS in 390 plate appearances). Certainly Detroit didn’t, or else they wouldn’t have left him exposed in the Rule 5 Draft.
• I’d probably be more irked about losing Hicks if he’d been with the Rangers when the Marlins took him in the Rule 5 Draft. I’m not sure that makes sense logically, but then, what’s logical about sports fandom?
• Getting back on topic, Quantrill was followed by Jose Corniell, newly called up and making his second major league appearance.
• In Corniell’s first major league appearance, in the final game of the 2025 season, he pitched a scoreless inning against the Guardians, and then gave up a walkoff homer in the next inning, resulting in the Rangers going 81-81 instead of 82-80 on the year.
• Corniell, I regret to inform you, now has two major league appearances and two “L”s. The second batter he faced, catcher Joe Mack, homered off of him, giving the Marlins the lead.
• He then had a Very Unfortunate Fifth Inning. Two outs, a runner at first, Xavier Edwards hits a grounder up the middle that you think is a ball that will be the third out, but instead goes into center for a base hit.
• Thus setting the stage for Owen Caissie to thump a ball over the fence in right field for the most momentum shifting play in baseball.
• At that stage, it was 5-1, Marlins, and the game felt over. Hernandez doubled and Mack singled to make it 6-1, and this felt like the kind of game that would result in double digit runs being given up and Nicky Lopez pitching the bottom of the eighth.
• That didn’t happen, though. Corniell got out of the inning with no more damage being done, allowed a double and got a fly out to start the sixth, and then was replaced by Joe Ross, who went the rest of the way and kept the Marlins off the scoreboard.
• And it almost mattered! The Rangers threatened late, got back into the game, could’ve made Joe Ross a hero!
• Or, at least, the winning pitcher.
• That said, the Rangers played a game in June in the Year of Our Lord 2026, and the three pitchers they used were Cal Quantrill, Jose Corniell, and Joe Ross.
• If you were a time-traveler and came back from the past and looked at the box score and saw that, you’d say…

• But no, someone killed that fish. You know who you are.
• On the positive side, Quantrill, Corniell and Ross allowed the rest of the bullpen to have the day off. Jakob Junis and Robby Ahlstrom were probably not available after pitching the previous two days, and Jacob Latz had thrown 31 pitches the day before and so ideally would not have been used, which meant the Rangers’ pen was pretty thin for the game to start with.
• The offense had opportunities, but did little with them until it was late. An underwhelming 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. That’s not going to win you many games.
• A pair of singles in the first were followed up by a Brandon Nimmo double play ball. Josh Jung walked to put runners on the corners, but an Ezequiel Duran pop out ended things.
• The second featured an Alejandro Osuna single, a Jarred Kelenic walk, and a Kyle Higashioka bunt single to load the bases with no one out. And with offensive catalyst Nicky Lopez coming to the plate, we were feeling good.
• We were getting hyped. We were getting crunk. We were on fleek.
• Lopez did get a run home, on a U3 groundout that put runners on second and third. Osuna was thrown out at home on a Pederson fielder’s choice for the second out, and Wyatt Langford flew out to end the inning and lead ominous posts about how the Rangers were going to regret their misses opportunities.
• Texas did a whole bunch of nothing until the late innings, after Sandy Alcantara left the game. Brandon Nimmo homered to start the eighth to make it 6-2. Then in the ninth, against the Accountant, whose debits and credits have been out of balance this season, Pederson hit a two out homer, Langford reached on a HBP, and Nimmo tripled…
• And suddenly it was 6-4! And Josh Jung, who has been great this season, was at the plate as the tying run!
• Alas, twas not to be. Jung flew out. The game was over. The Rangers had lost.
• Cal Quantrill reached 95.7 mph with his fastball. Jose Corniell topped out at 95.9 mph with his fastball. Joe Ross’s fastball touched 95.2 mph.
• Brandon Nimmo had a 110.5 mph triple and a 105.9 mph home run. Joc Pederson’s homer was 106.7 mph. Kyle Higashioka had a 103.8 mph groundout. Ezequiel Duran had a 101.6 mph ground out. Josh Jung had a 101.1 mph groundout, a 101.0 mph groundout and a 100.0 mph groundout, with his ninth inning fly out being 97.1 mph.
• Two down, eight to go.

The Mets continue a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of a doubleheader at Citi Field on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m.

---

Mets Notes

• Since moving back into the rotation, Sean Manaea has a 3.18 ERA in 11.1 innings while striking out 11
• Following the conclusion of their series against the Cubs on Thursday, the Mets host the Phillies for a three-game series

---

Today's Lineups

---

The Pittsburgh Pirates made waves in the offseason when they signed Ryan O’Hearn to a 2-year $29 million contract in January. That signing was the largest ever handed out to a free-agent hitter in franchise history and was the first free-agent signed to a multi year contract by the club in a decade. Despite the big splash signing that it was at the time and what the left-handed hitter has done to this point in the season, O’Hearn finds himself on the outside looking in with regards to All-Star voting.

O’Hearn has quietly been exactly what the Pirates needed for their young team. O’Hearn provides a veteran presence for what is a very young clubhouse and has gracefully embraced that role since signing with Pittsburgh. Although his role in the clubhouse is usually attached to a player that’s over the hill, this couldn’t be further from the truth in the case of O’Hearn.

Ryan O'Hearn makes another nice catch in RF to rob Julio Rodriguez of extra bases pic.twitter.com/SwMhbrNRi2

— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) June 23, 2026

Not only does O’Hearn provide the steady mindset as a veteran player off the field, he also provides that on the field. The 32-year-old lefty has been one of the consistent performers in manager Don Kelly’s lineup that has completely transformed this offense. 2025 saw Pittsburgh as bottom dwellers for homers and runs scored, but 2026 has seen the club completely flip the script and suddenly the bats have awakened. O’Hearn has been a catalyst in that way. It hasn’t been flashy or over the top, but it’s been a steady driving force. On the year O’Hearn is slashing .274/.333/.447 with a .780 OPS. At the plate O’Hearn has gathered 11 homers, 65 total hits and 41 RBIs. He knocked in a career high six runs against the Athletics on June, 17.

Despite the model of consistency that O’Hearn has been, he finds himself not in the top percentage of players receiving All-Star votes. He’s made significant impacts for the team at first base, right field and as a designated hitter, but still is not receiving the votes that teammates like Oneil Cruz (outfield) and Spencer Horwitz (first base) are receiving. Even with the time Cruz has spent on the injured list, he’s still in the top 20 of votes for outfielders while O’Hearn is nowhere to be seen.

O’Hearn has been named to the All-Star team once in his career. Last season as a member of the Baltimore Orioles, O’Hearn was named to the American League All-Star team as the starting designated hitter. O’Hearn is currently on pace to replicate those same numbers that made him an All-Star just a season ago.

Ryan O'Hearn has six RBI tonight! 🏴‍☠️

(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/tsSpEweO1V

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 18, 2026

At the time of his signing, Kelly was very impressed with O’Hearn’s career path and said he could be a game changer for the Pirates.

“The resiliency that he showed in that moment of going from being DFA’d to starting in the All-Star Game, that’s what Pittsburgh is all about, is that toughness and that grit,” Kelly said. “Really excited to add him to the organization.”

Pittsburgh and O’Hearn seem to already be a match made in heaven as he really seems bought in to changing the organization and delivering a winner to the city. Even if he doesn’t make it on the National League’s All-Star roster, O’Hearn has more than impressed to this point as a Pirate and could end up being one of those special signings that the Buccos have made in recent history. O’Hearn has made his confidence in the team known since the minute he was signed.

“I couldn’t be anymore excited to be a Pirate,” O’Hearn said. “I love the stadium, I love the city, what it’s about. I did my research before I made a decision, and it’s a team that can pitch and just seemed like one or two pieces away from being a legit contender.”

Meet the Mets

The Mets lost their third-straight game, falling 9-6 to the Cubs despite a small ninth inning rally. Kodai Senga gave up seven runs in 3.2 innings, giving up two home runs and walking five batters.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post

The 2026 SNY Kidcaster joined the booth for last night’s game, and SNY released his audition tape.

Christian Scott is slated to pitch a game this weekend against the Phillies, as he’s set to be activated from the injured list.

Luis Robert Jr. has resumed baseball activities, taking a full batting practice as he ramps up his running progression.

The Freddy Peralta deal has been nothing less than a total dud for the Mets.

Francisco Lindor appears to be on the verge of a return to the Mets, and it could be as early as today, as after last night’s rehab game the Mets were internally discussing whether to activate him today.

The Mets claimed Jared Oliva off waivers from the Giants and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse.

David Stearns was asked when the cutoff is for them to decide whether the Mets will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, and the answer was: the trade deadline.

Laura Albanese asked whether David Stearns is up to the task of putting together a winning Mets roster.

This poor Mets season could have consequences that stretch beyond this year’s calendar.

Juan Soto came out of last night’s game after his back “locked up,” but he’s currently considered day-to-day.

Nolan McLean will start the first game of today’s doubleheader, while Sean Manaea will be on the mound for the second game.

Around the National League East

The Marlins held on despite a late game rally by Texas to beat the Rangers 6-4. Owen Caissie drove in three runs on a fifth inning home run.

The Phillies won a 14-9 slugfest against the Nationals. Edmundo Sosa drove in five of the Phillies’ runs, hitting a two-run double and a two-run home run during the game.

The Padres walked off the Braves in the tenth inning, winning 7-6. Raisel Iglesias gave up the winning run on a Manny Machado single that drove in Jackson Merrill.

Around Major League Baseball

MLB’s latest CBA proposal included potentially radical changes to the domestic draft and a hypothetical international draft, ones which would harm the majority of incoming players.

David Schoenfield listed the biggest strengths for the current top playoff contenders.

Rob Manfred wrote in a letter that the Giants’ guidance to the players who wrote Bible verses on their Pride caps was “not clear.”

The Brewers released Luis Rengifo, who began the season as their primary third baseman.

Officially halfway through the baseball season, there are some takeaways from a finally significant sample size.

The third annual East-West Classic was held on Friday at Rickwood Field, with some big names converging for the yearly matchup.

The Twins have stated they have “no plans” to trade All-Star centerfielder Byron Buxton.

After an inquiry, MLB has cleared Dr. Neal ElAttrache of any wrongdoing.

Aaron Boone was not pleased by Jazz Chisholm Jr. playing second baseman with a lollipop in his mouth.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

A Pod of Their Own returned with another episode.

Steve Sypa announced the thirteenth group of Mets Minor League Players of the Week.

This Date in Mets History

Jerry Koosman notched his 100th win as a Met 51 years ago today.

The Atlanta Braves have had a difficult week out West and dropped the series to the San Diego Padres after Tuesday’s 7-6 loss. In walk-off fashion, the Braves fell to 48-30 and watched the division lead dwindle to 5.5 games. 

JR Ritchie started last night’s game, and it was another underwhelming outing for the rookie. He allowed four runs in five innings, struck out seven, and issued four walks. Offensively, the Atlanta lineup tallied nine hits, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the lackluster pitching.

The Braves try to avoid the sweep tonight at 8:40 ET.

More Braves News:

Reliever Robert Suarez is dealing with forearm soreness, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.  

Prior to the season, there were plenty of concerns about the starting rotation. As of mid-May, those concerns are emerging again. 

Here is a scouting report on Gio Rojas, a pitcher out of Florida who has been linked to the Braves.

MLB News:

The Chicago Cubs are placing starter Edward Cabrera on the 15-day injured list after suffering a hamstring injury. He will undergo imaging today.

The San Diego Padres placed righty Lucas Giolito on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation. The move is retroactive to June 22. 

The Kansas City Royals placed third baseman Maikel Garcia on the 10-day injured list with a strained muscle in his hand. 

From the Feed:

Former Braves backstop Austin Wynns has joined the Texas Rangers on a minor league deal. 

The Mets continue a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Citi Field on Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. on SNY.

---

Mets Notes

• Carson Benge has an .856 OPS with two homers, one triple, and seven runs scored over his last eight games. Dating back to April 23, Benge is hitting .295/.351/.467 (.818 OPS) with eight homers in 55 games
• Luke Weaver hasn't allowed a run since April 30, a span of 18 appearances during which he has given up 10 hits in 20 innings while walking four and striking out 25
• Nolan McLean has a 1.64 ERA in 22.0 innings over his last four starts

---

Today's Lineups

---

What channel is SNY?

Check your TV or streaming provider's website or channel finder to find your local listings.

How can I stream the game?

The way to stream SNY games is via the MLB App or MLB.tv.

In order to stream games in SNY’s regional territory, you will need to have SNY as part of your TV package (cable or streaming), or you can now purchase an in-market SNY subscription package via MLB or Amazon. Both ways will allow fans to watch the Mets on their computer, tablet or mobile phone.

How can I watch the game on my computer via MLB?

To get started on your computer, click here and then follow these steps:

• Log in using your provider credentials. If you are unsure of your provider credentials, please contact your provider.

• Link your provider credentials with a new or existing MLB.com account.

• Log in using your MLB.com credentials to watch Mets games on SNY.

• Select the SNY Mets game you wish to view from the Multimedia Center.

How can I watch the game on the MLB App?

MLB App access is included for FREE with SNY. To access SNY on your favorite supported Apple or Android mobile device, please follow the steps below.

• Download the free MLB App.

• Open “MLB” and tap on “Subscriber Login” for Apple Devices or “Sign in with MLB.com” for Android Devices.

• Type in your MLB.com credentials and tap “Log In.” 

• To access live or on-demand content, tap on the "Watch" tab from the bottom navigation bar. Select the "Games" sub-tab to see a listing of available games. You can scroll to previous dates using the left and right arrows. Tap on a game to select from the game feeds available. 

For more information on how to stream Mets games on SNY, please click here.

The Dodgers snapped their two-game losing streak on Monday against the Minnesota Twins, but both Kyle Tucker and Dalton Rushing exited early and were out of the lineup on Tuesday.

After Tucker walked in his lone plate appearance on Monday, he was crouching in agony on the base paths, as Alex Call replaced him on second base in the top of the second inning. The Dodgers announced that Tucker left due to lower back spasms, but Dave Roberts expressed optimism about Tucker avoiding the injured list. If he’s not able to swing the bat by Friday then the Dodgers will make a decision regarding an IL stint, per Courtney Hollmon of MLB.com.

“I think that the four days, with the off-day, would be a middle [route],” Roberts said regarding a potential stint on the injured list. “And so hopefully he has taken advantage of this, obviously to get right, but also kind of a mental reset. Hopefully the four days will suffice… If he can swing the bat, ideally he would swing the bat tomorrow and do some type of activity to go into the off-day,” Roberts said. “But if he doesn’t, then we’ll probably have a tougher decision on Friday.”

Rushing took a foul ball from Trevor Larnach to the mask on the very first pitch from Will Klein on Monday, with Chuckie Robinson replacing him after two innings. Rushing was ruled out due to a potential concussion, but there is a more positive outlook regarding the team’s slugging catcher, per Hollmon.

“He said he’s good to go,” Roberts said. “So that doesn’t carry too much weight until I hear from the medical staff. But it is good to know that he said he’s good to go. My hope is that he’ll be available off the bench in some capacity [today].”

---

More history for Freddie Freeman

Freddie Freeman followed up his go-ahead home run on Monday with a three-hit game in the Dodgers’ 12-3 win over the Twins on Tuesday. Freeman collected a pair of doubles on Tuesday, and in doing so, he passed soon-to-be Hall of Fame outfielder Carlos Beltrán for sole possession of 28th place on the all-time doubles list.

It’s another accolade for what will go down as a Hall of Fame career for Freeman, as he registered career hit no. 2500 during the Dodgers’ three-game set in Pittsburgh. Freeman spoke about achieving another milestone to his career with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA following the win.

“You keep hearing these numbers you’re approaching, people you’re passing and doing certain things. It’s hard not to take a step back and appreciate.”

The hometown hero answers the Call

Out of all the Dodgers hitters that had played in at least 10 games this season entering Tuesday, Alex Call was the only hitter on the team without a home run. That all changed during Tuesday’s romp, as Call drilled his first home run of the year against Taylor Rogers to spark a five-run ninth inning.

Call, who was born 20 minutes south of Minneapolis in Burnsville, spoke with Watson about smacking a home run in front of his family and friends.

“I had some emotion on the home run. It’s really special to be able to do that here so close to home… Just really glad I could help out tonight.”

Today marks the official halfway point of the 2026 season for the Colorado Rockies. As they prepare to face off against the Boston Red Sox for the 81st game of the year, it seems appropriate to look back on some of the good, the bad, and the ugly qualities of this team at this point in the season.

The Good

New additions pulling weight

The Rockies’ new front office did as much as they could to reshape the roster this offseason, and some of those efforts have met with success.

TJ Rumfield has been a revelation at first base, thanks to his incredible first half, and he deserves recognition in the Rookie of the Year conversations. Speedy outfielder Jake McCarthy has rebounded with the Rockies as an everyday outfielder alongside Troy Johnston, who turned an unexpected Opening Day roster spot into a regular spot in the lineup and one of the best batting averages in the league.

Willi Castro, the lone major free agent signing among position players, has also been quietly consistent at the plate while utilizing his defensive versatility.

Meanwhile, Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) has held down the pitching front as the most consistent of the starting pitchers, leading the team in quality starts, and just generally giving the Rockies a chance to win ball games nearly every time he takes the mound.

Not just a fluke

One of the biggest questions heading into the 2026 season was whether Hunter Goodman and Mickey Moniak could replicate their success from 2025. Turns out the answer thus far is yes.

Moniak proved to be one of the best power hitters in MLB through his first 43 games of the season before dealing with an ankle injury. Prior to going on the IL, he put up 12 home runs and 28 RBI in 164 plate appearances.

Goodman, on the other hand, has once again positioned himself as one of the best power-hitting catchers in all of baseball with 21 home runs. He’s also been able to show off his skills with ABS challenges and is ripe to be an All-Star once again and perhaps even an intriguing trade chip.

Both of the 2025 breakout stars, managing to bring that consistency into 2026, hopefully break a trend of the last several years of the lackluster encore.

The Bad

Old habits die hard

The need for change has been a constant theme for the Rockies in 2026, and while there is plenty of evidence of progress, some old habits are hard to break.

The team has continued to struggle to sustain an offense driven by a sometimes overaggressive approach at the plate and a lack of power. Strikeout rates have been improving this season, but it will always be a thorn in the Rockies’ side if they don’t corral chase rates.

Meanwhile, the Rockies continue to struggle with walks for both the offense and the pitching. The Rockies are roughly middle of the road in both departments, which isn’t awful, but it’s not good. Considering everything that has happened with the team, things that are bad are still somehow much better than most things from 2025. A bad team with normal problems is a leg up over an ugly team with severe problems.

The 2026 Rockies have shown an ability to progress in these old habits; it’s just taking a little longer.

Tovar’s struggles

A clear example of struggling to change has been Ezequiel Tovar.

Since his tremendous 2024 campaign, Tovar has been unable to replicate that success by any measure. 2025 saw him struggle with injuries and inconsistency, while 2026 has been marred by a lackluster plate approach so far. While his defense remains on point, Tovar continues to struggle with his chasing tendencies as his strikeout rate has risen back to career-highs, and his walk rate is at a career-low 1.8%. He had a solid 20-game stretch in May where he seemed to have conquered the demons and was on the up-and-up, but he has collapsed in June, when he has slashed .175/.200/.281 with two walks and 24 strikeouts.

Signed through 2030, it’s hard to gauge where the 24-year-old fits into this team going forward if he can’t find consistency.

The Ugly

Pitching meltdowns

The goal of 2026 was to take steps to solve pitching in Colorado, and the front office has learned that’s easier said than done.

There was hope things could turn around after the pitching staff put up a solid month of April, but things have deteriorated quite a bit since then. The Rockies have the highest team ERA in all of baseball, including the worst ERA among starting pitchers and the second-highest among relievers.

Michael Lorenzen discovered that Coors Field is tougher to tame than he may have initially thought, leading to a lot of soul-searching on the mound. The bullpen, perhaps overworked at times, has run into a wall of struggling in the late innings while issuing walks. Both groups have struggled in the run prevention category, as the Rockies have a run differential that is the worst in baseball.

There have been hints of what good pitching for the Rockies looks like, but the puzzle is still getting solved. Until all the pieces are placed where they need to be, there is still going to be some ugly pitching for the Rockies.

Injuries

Every team deals with injuries and has to adjust accordingly. However, it doesn’t help when injuries start to derail plans and cost an organization players for an extended periods. The Rockies have dealt with their fair share of injuries this season, and the struggles of the pitching staff can partly be traced to injuries.

Tommy John surgery has cost the Rockies at least three pitchers in 2026. Pierson Ohl, RJ Petit, and Welinton Herrera all suffered the dreaded injury for pitchers, knocking them out of the year. Chase Dollander, who appeared to finally form into the pitcher the team hoped he could be, has undergone surgery to put in an internal brace for his elbow injury. Veteran starter José Quintana was supposed to help anchor the rotation, but he is out of commission with an elbow injury with no timetable to return any time soon. There have been other scary arm injuries that are also cause for concern, even when those players have returned. The injuries have depleted an already shallow pool of big-league arms and will be a major concern to address throughout the rest of the season.

Moving forward

Over the next 81 games, the Rockies have plenty of things to do. The trade deadline looms at the start of August. Prospects continue to pound on the door, demanding a seat at the big league table. Competition will only get better as teams fight for the playoffs.

The Rockies are definitely in a better place at this point in the season than they were a year ago. Excitement and hope are bubbling for the team, which is more than you can say about the last few years. This is a team that is continuing the climb, and the good, the bad, and the ugly help illustrate how far they’ve come and how far they need to go.

---

On the Farm

Triple-A:Albuquerque Isotopes 11, Salt Lake Bees 3

Albuquerque scored 10 runs through the first four innings as they cruised to an 11-3 victory. The team had 16 hits, with each of the four through seven hitters collecting three hits. Zac Veen led the charge with three doubles, Charlie Condon and Chad Stevens were both a home run shy of the cycle, while Sterlin Thompson had three singles. All of them had two RBI alongside Adael Amador out of the eighth spot in the lineup. Jordan Beck and Brenton Doyle both kicked off a rehab assignment. Doyle went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, while Beck went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Ryan Miller served as an opener, throwing two scoreless innings. Valente Bellozo then followed with 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with four walks. Evan Shawver went 2.2 innings, giving up a run on four hits. Andrew Baker closed out the game, getting the final two outs of the ninth inning.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 7, Portland Sea Dogs 5

The Hartford Yard Goat utilized plenty of speed on the bases to set themselves up on offense and held on to a 7-5 win over Portland. Hartford stole nine bases as a team as they collected seven hits, but went just 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They added two runs apiece in the first and second innings, then took the lead with a three-run inning in the seventh. GJ Hill had himself a day with four stolen bases, including swiping home twice. Aidan Longwell had a two-run single in teh first inning. Dyan Jorge also drove in two runs during the game. Jack Mahoney started on the mound, going 4.1 innings, allowing four runs, two earned, on nine hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Eventually, Fidel Ulloa secured his fifth save of the year in the ninth inning.

High-A:Tri-City Dust Devils 4, Spokane Indians 2

Despite collecting 10 hits to Tri-City’s eight, Spokane fell 4-2 on the night to kick off the week. Tommy Hopfe led the way with three hits while Max Belyeu, Tevin Tucker, and Kelvin Hidalgo had two hits apiece. The only extra-base hit Spokane had was a Jack O’Dowd double. Spokane went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position and had 11 strikeouts against just three walks. They managed to get the tying runs on second and third in the bottom of the ninth, but Tucker’s strikeout ended the game. Lebarron Johnson Jr. went six innings in his start, allowing four runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Tyler Hampu followed in relief with three scoreless innings.

Low-A:Fresno Grizzlies 6, Lake Elsinore Storm 4

Fresno scored all six of its runs in the top of the first inning, then managed to survive a late rally for the 6-4 win. Thanks to three hits, two walks, a hit by pitch, and an error, Fresno scored six in the first inning. They managed just two more hits the rest of the game as they struck out 10 times and drew six walks. Wilder Dalis had three walks and Jeremy Ciriaco had a two-run double. Brady Parker allowed just one run over six innings, striking out eight and allowing just four hits. Manuel Olivares gave up three runs in 0.2 innings, but Dylan Crooks and Grif Hughes managed to lock things down to secure the win.

---

Rockies prospect Montgomery, a first-round pick in 2021, retires | MLB.com

In case you missed the news, Benny Montgomery retired from baseball this week. Selected eighth overall in 2021, Montgomery stalled out in Double-A as injuries took their toll and he continued to struggle at the plate.

Strike 1: Coaching errors add to Rockies’ pitching woes | Mile High Sports

Mark Knudson laments some of the bullpen usage of the Rockies lately. He feels that the team should have more defined roles in the bullpen to help players in their routines.

Affected by Altitude Episode 215: Ninth Inning Nonsense | Rocky Mountain Rooftop

On this episode of the podcast, Evan Lang and I discuss the crowded outfield dilemma, the late-game woes of the bullpen, and check in on the CBA negotiations.

---

---

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Good morning.

• The Giants beat the Athletics last night, but other than that, things have been a whole bunch of awful for the team by the Bay. Grant Brisbee writes that the Giants are somehow making losing baseball look even worse (Free The Athletic reg. req.), including the Rafael Devers incident where he refused to leave for a pinch runner.
• Devers apologized to first-year manager Tony Vitello over the incident.
• However, Devers also blamed the media for making a big deal out of it all. (Free The Athletic reg. req.) Giants team president Buster Posey also defended Vitello, and said he still had the respect of the players. Ouch.
• On top of that, facing threatening letters from a US Senator and a threatened Civil Rights investigationfrom the Department of Justice, commissioner Rob Manfred blamed the Giants for not making clear that players were not required to wear Pride Caps. Manfred also reiterated that players are not allowed to write messages of any kind on their uniforms.
• Posey issued a statement about the Pride Night controversy, but then refused to answer any questions about it, despite repeated questions from reporters. (Free The Athletic reg. req.) Andrew Baggarly and Grant Brisbee report.
• Sarah Borus called the Giants “a stinking cesspool of bad vibes and bad baseball.”
• Maria Guardado reports that the Giants are open to trading pretty much any veteran other than Logan Webb.
• As long as we’re on the trade front, Jake Mintz, Jordan Schusterman and Russell Dorsey look at what kind of trade packages could land Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.
• Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray said he would consider waiving his no-trade clause. Dayn Perry reports.
• Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll said the team has “no plans” to trade center fielder Byron Buxton. Combined with Buxton saying he won’t waive his no-trade deal and it looks like he’s staying in the Twin Cities another year at least.
• Dayn Perry examines the slumping Braves and where they might get help in the trade market.
• Jay Jaffee looks at how bad the Freddy Peralta trade has been for the Mets.
• Jake Rill goes back over the trades the Orioles made this past winter and shows how much the team has benefitted from them.
• If you want to feel better about Cubs bullpen meltdowns, the Phillies were down two to the Nationals with two outs and no one on in the top of the ninth. The Phillies, who had been down to their final strike, then exploded for eight runs and won 14-9.
• Slightly better pitching news for the Nats comes from Spencer Nusbaum, who takes us inside their brand-new pitch design team. (Free The Athletic reg. req.) The article in particular looks at their work with Cade Cavalli.
• Anthony Castrovince has what we’ve learned through half a season already.
• Jeff Passan hands out his own original mid-season awards.
• David Schoenfield looks at the biggest strength of every playoff contender and whether those strengths will continue.
• Jason Foster has a few thoughts on the All-Star balloting.
• Travis Sawchik looks at the owners draft proposals and while he doesn’t like all of it, he does have some thoughts about what a better draft system might look like.
• Dan Szymborski estimates exactly how much money the owners’ draft proposal would cost the players. (Answer: a lot.)
• The Brewers released Luis Rengifo, who was their Opening Day starting third baseman.
• Davy Andrews tries to answer what’s wrong with Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan?
• A’s third baseman Zack Gelof had his 24-game hit streak end when he left the game after Giants third baseman Matt Chapman stepped on his hand with his spikes.
• Yankees manager Aaron Boone is upset that his second baseman, Jazz Chisholm, went out into the field with a lollipop in his mouth.
• Chisholm is also in the news for dealing with an exposed infield dirt camera by kicking dirt on it.
• This is an interesting article. Kiri Oler looks at which situations you should never use an ABS challenge.
• Cody Stavenhagen has the story of Tigers rookie Trei Cruz, who became a third-generation major leaguer after his grandfather José Cruz and father José Cruz Jr. (Free The Athletic reg. req.) The two younger ones all credit grandfather José’s determination and character for their success.
• Finally, let’s move on to the World Cup. Rays outfielder how much he idolizes Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi. Mesa has three Messi tattoos.
• Matt Slater went to Citizens Bank Park to ask Phillies fans about what they think of the World Cup.
• And finally, how do you get a loud, lively crown at a Marlins game? Just fill LoanDepot Park with Scotland’s “Tartan Army” fans. Since the Marlins were playing the Rangers, I’m almost surprised the Scotland fans didn’t come to blows with half of them cheering for the Rangers and the other half cheering for the Marlins, whom they insist on calling “Celtic” for some reason.

Good morning, baseball fans!

First, a note that this was written before yesterday’s “press conference,” so it will not include information about that or responses to that. Stay tuned until tomorrow on that front, because I have a lot to say, but not enough time at the moment.

Earlier this week, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley posted a response that he received from Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred. Hawley had initially reached out to MLB complaining that it was unfair to force the players to wear Pride hats in the first place, after their initial response to the San Francisco Giants pitchers who defaced theirs in the June 12th Pride Night game.

Manfred clearly didn’t want the full force of the United States Department of Justice to come down on MLB, so his response throws the Giants organization under the bus entirely, and probably unfairly. I’ll pull the most pertinent quote from Alex Simon’s reporting over at SFGate.

“Unfortunately, this year the Giants communication with players was inadequate and not clear. Some players apparently did not understand that they had the option to wear their normal uniform and elected to add messages to their hats bearing the pride logo as a result. The Giants players were allowed to wear the hats with the biblical references for the entire game. After the game had concluded, my office issued a routine oral warning about the uniform policy violation — unfortunately it was issued before we became aware of the Giants’ lapse in communication. The players were never fined or disciplined, nor will they ever be.

This reads as a load of blame-shifting garbage, in my opinion. It has been confirmed that members of the organization (such as manager Tony Vitello) were aware of the players’ plan to deface the hats well before the day of the game. So conversations were clearly had. Other players were well aware of their right to not wear the Pride uniforms at all if they didn’t want to. Because they chose not to.

While communication is clearly an issue within the organization, I don’t think the problem is with the team not letting the players know they weren’t required to wear the uniforms.

Also, and I cannot stress this enough, the players are grown adults with the ability to read their contracts and ask their teammates, coaches or organizational staff for clarification if they’re unsure about something. This reads as further infantilization of the players involved. See, they’re just wittle babies and no one told them they didn’t have to wear the uniforms!

If we decide to be generous and assume that any of this excuse is true, then that’s even more damning for the organization as a whole. Because what do you mean Vitello was aware of the protest and didn’t bother to inform the players involved that they didn’t have to wear them in the first place? Did he not know? And if so, why did he not bother to check?

This feels very much like an attempt by MLB to throw the Giants organization under the bus while also trying to state that the matter is now closed. It is absolutely not, but that is our update for today.

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants continue this three-game series against the Athletics tonight at 6:45 p.m. PT.

Juan Soto left the Mets’ series opener against the Cubs early last night, and the team announced that he was experiencing tightness in his lower left back. After he was removed from the game, SNY showed replays of his at-bats earlier in the evening, during which he appeared to be in discomfort after swinging the bat.

With Francisco Lindor returning as soon as today, any time that Soto might miss with the back issue would be another cruel twist in the team’s already-embarrassing season. The team’s two best players, Lindor and Soto have appeared together in just nine of the team’s 78 games thus far this season. Soto suffered a calf injury that landed him on the injured list from April 4 through April 22, and in the very game that he returned to the field, Lindor suffered an even worse calf injury that’s kept him off the major league field for two months.

The Mets say that Soto is day-to-day with his back tightness. Here’s hoping that’s really the case and that he’s feeling better soon. At 34-44, it’s silly to talk about a potential comeback in the Wild Card race, but the Mets would simply be more enjoyable to watch if their two best players were on the field at the same time.

No one expected JJ Wetherholt and Jordan Walker to be two of the best players in MLB. I had a hunch Wetherholt would be good, but not THIS good. I don’t think anyone realized the level of defensive range he brought, or the poise at the plate. I sure didn’t, at least.

Jordan Walker is the albatross causing much discussion on the true plans of Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals. He wasn’t supposed to be this for real-good and has been providing a lot of run creation dynamics. I suppose plans might be different if he was a non-factor.

As it stands with the 2026 versions of JJ Wetherholt and Jordan Walker, the Cardinals position players are a top 5 MLB team, with only the Dodgers, Yankees, Cubs, and Nationals ahead of them. And all but the Nationals (maybe?) spent a ton more than the Cardinals did to reach that total fWAR. The Cardinals are one of 10 teams to have produced at least 10 fWAR on the position side.

Look out now! the Cardinals are in a home run race vs the Cubbies! We are only 3 HR behind and the Cubs have played less games. Fun!

Perhaps, surprisingly, the Cardinals are one of the only team defenses in MLB that show as a net positive on fangraphs. Just outside the top 5, the Cardinals are not a liability on defense. Mostly because the middle infielders and center fielders offset the rest of the team, but it’s a good run prevent defense overall.

Is this positional player advantage some sort of mirage? Perhaps the team’s xwOBA can give us a hint: the Cardinals are the third best team in MLB on baseball savant according to xwOBA! This offense is maybe just starting to click.

That said, this is an offense forward team with good enough defense to make the pitching a little better than it is. The real question is if the pitching can actually improve enough to carry this team forward. Just as the offense seems like it is just beginning to tap into its true potential, the pitching staff shows few signs of encouragement. It almost seems like a miracle that the team is doing this well, considering that the pitching feels like it has been neglected at least to some extent by the organization. And if they deal away Dustin May, it will lose one of the only focal points to the season when it comes to the pitching staff. After him flirting with no hitters this year, he has stolen the spotlight.

***

One thing I’ve noticed about St Louis after moving here is that it loves its heavy metal bands. Hopefully, the fight of the metal can be instilled into the winning ways of this tenacious team. As part of a weekly writing project, I present to you a whole truckload of heavy metal for hardball fans! This focuses on 1991. Enjoy some black coffee with this!

1991 Heavy Metal Edition

• Sepultura – ‘Arise’ death thrash at its finest! This one put Brazil’s Sepultura on the world map, paving the way for the big success of ‘Chaos AD’ and ‘Roots’ as the decade progressed away from old school death metal sounds. On ‘Arise’, you will hear their early sound perfected into a masterpiece level recording. All killer, no filler, and Sepultura at their very best. One of my favorite heavy metal album covers as well…
• Corrosion of Conformity – ‘Blind’ more Headbanger’s Ball action here. Blind was COC’s only album with Karl Agell on vocals (love it or hate it). They were at their heaviest on this album, with massively dark and chunky thrash riffs and a pessimistic view of the future with a political bent. If you want to hear one of the most overlooked and/or underrated thrash metal albums of all time, look no further.
• Prong – ‘Prove You Wrong’ more MTV late night action! This is my favorite Prong album, mainly because that bass tone is absolutely insane. The last Prong album with Troy Gregory on bass, and the perfection of their early days sound out of NYC. Another forgotten classic metal album!
• Morbid Angel – ‘Blessed Are The Sick’ Morbid Angel as their ferocious early selves, one of their best albums and maybe even better than fan favorite from a couple of years prior, ‘Altars of Madness’. Death Metal Hall of Fame type album. My favorite OG Tampa Bay death metal band, with honorable mention to Death.
• Immolation – ‘Dawn of Possession’ NYC’s answer to Tampa Bay death metal, Immolation came storming onto the scene in 1991 with Dawn of Possession, a death metal sound like no other and as extreme as it gets. Another death metal classic! But a little more underground than the first four.
• Melvins – ‘Bullhead’ the Melvins further hone their Gluey Porch Treatments/Ozma sound into fan favorite sludge metal masterpiece Bullhead. On this album you can hear the song “Boris” which ended up being a similar Japanese band that named themselves after a Melvins song! The song “Zodiac” might be my favorite on the album, though.
• Death – ‘Human’ Chuck Schuldiner assembles a supergroup of studio musicians to learn his death metal creative vision and records this masterpiece! One of the first progressive technical death metal albums of all time, but possibly influenced by Atheist and Nocturnus releases a year prior.
• Protector – ‘A Shedding of Skin’ an unexpected find, I don’t think I would ever listen to a band like Protector if I was not purposely trying to find hidden gems, but this is one of the best-produced and overlooked heavy metal albums off all time, a total classic even upon first listen. Finding stuff like this makes it all worth it.
• Carcass – ‘Necroticism, Descanting the Insalubrious’ grindcore originators continue with the goregrind but make it a little more death grind. Lyrics featuring obscure medical terms and social commentary decorate so much fast shredding! Utter musical insanity.
• Atheist – ‘Unquestionable Presence’
• Coroner – ‘Mental Vortex’ Swiss technical thrash metal, laid down with cold timekeeping precision.
• Sadistik Exekution – ‘The Magus’ so fast as to be a blur, these Australian legends produced some of most rough, chaotic and raw extreme metal from anywhere in the world. One of a kind! An acquired taste.
• Massacra – ‘Enjoy The Violence’ more wild heavy metal from 1991! What a find! A bad message/dumb album title, but a fun listen nonetheless. Another hidden gem.
• Idolatry – ‘Devastation’ this is the kind of music I listen to when I do cardio at the gym. And yep, another hidden gem 1991 heavy metal find!
• Convulse – ‘World Without God’ some of the darkest, most brutal underground death metal you’ll find. Crusty tomb sounds. Way ahead of their times, there would be more death metal bands that sound like this years later.
• Bolt Thrower – ‘War Master’ the only heavy metal band to have a tie-in with a board game, Warhammer 40k! Literally the soundtrack to a fantasy miniature based war board game. And the music really does kick ass, this is no gimmick.
• O.L.D. – ‘Low Flux Tube’ perhaps the band MOST ahead of their time! No pun intended. No one else sounded like this back then. The weirdest band on the list, except for perhaps the mighty Melvins. Alt metal weirdness with high-energy fun sounds. Hidden gem!
• Jumpin Jesus – ‘The Art of Crucifying’ more weirdo metal you’ve never heard of, I find both the name of the band and the name of the album utterly ridiculous, but that was 1991 for ya! This is a real freakin’ good heavy metal album that all fans of the genre should hear.
• Morgoth – ‘Cursed’ an album about the Cubs!
• Revenant – ‘Prophecies of a Dying World’ there were PLENTY of warnings about environmental collapse that were unheeded, and yet here we are. Still dying… top tier death metal here.
• Gorefest – ‘Mindloss’ it’s like death metal hatched a giant egg of amazingly heavy bands in 1991! I can’t get enough of these heavy heavy old school death metal riffs…
• Sarcofago – ‘The Laws of Scourge’ the lesser know South American death metal band on the list, but faster and deadlier… probably just as influential as Sepultura, or close.
• Invocator – ‘Excursion Demise’ and the award for album cover that looks most like an old school Magic The Gathering card goes to: Invocator!
• Anacrusis – ‘Manic Impressions’ Anacrusis (as relatively unknown as they were) were one of the biggest heavy metal bands from St Louis in the 90’s! Check ‘em out!
• Skin Chamber – ‘Wound’ industrial metal at its finest! to round out 25 ultra heavy albums from 35 years ago

Tune in the same time tonight for more Cardinals hardball action at 6:45pm in St Louis vs the Diamondbacks! Cardinals stand 6.5 games behind the overachieving Brewers and a game and a half up on the cursed Cubbies, which is good for the first wild card. But, the Cubs are 7-3 over the last 10 games so they are on the upswing again. Watch out, Cardinals. There’s over half a season left to play. Do well.

Nate Eaton, known this spring as The Pride of Great Britain, has brought a spark of interest to the Red Sox lineup. He’s still Nate Eaton, a guy who didn’t stick in Kansas City during some lean years, but sometimes you need a presence. Mickey Gasper is all mustache, no real bat, glove, or arm. Nate Eaton fills that final roster spot (yes, they are both on the roster now) in a more useful way.

In the fall of 2025, as Roman Anthony went down, Nate Eaton came up. He had brief appearances in June, July, and August, but September was his time. Down the stretch Eaton hit an absurd .370/.420/.478 with a home run and 6 steals. He played all three outfield positions and third base. He pinch ran. That’s utility outfielder work.

This is one of the problems with the Red Sox outfield logjam. We’ll ignore that Roman Anthony has been injured for a minute here. The Red Sox went inot the 2026 season with Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Masataka Yoshida as the outfield/DH rotation. To his credit, Alex Cora (and later Chad Tracy) said that the priority would be to keep the Gold Glovers – Rafaela and Abreu – in the outfield and rotation the DH among Anthony, Duran, and Yoshida. Which is a solid plan. But it was missing something: outfield flexibility.

Duran can cover left and center. Masa can cover left (kinda) but might need a defensive replacement at some point. Roman Anthony could cover right field but he’s probably your left fielder or DH. And Rafaela was scheduled for center field and that’s it. No infield for him, and no DH rotation, though maybe as an occasional “half day off.”

Given the talent, if you’re looking to field your best team, Anthony, Rafaela, and Abreu are in there every game. That leaves you with a left/center fielder (Duran) and a left fielder (Masa) as the DH and guy off the bench. This lead to, while Anthony was on the IL and before Nate Eaton was called up, Wilyer Abreu playing every inning of right field. Which is not ideal.

And, in addition to another source of right-handed power, that’s where the roster fell short all season so far. There are more roster spots than ever at 26 and yet it felt like the team was always shorthanded. Which brings us back to Nate Eaton.

In six games – obviously a small sample size – the utility outfielder is hitting .333/.467/.750. More importantly, he was able to pinch hit in two games and pinch run in another. In three games he was the starter relieving Rafaela, then Abreu, then Duran in center, right, and left field, respectively. He’s stolen two bases. Last night he started the game with a leadoff walk.

Should Eaton be the leadoff hitter? He has a career .293 OBP so probably not. Can he fill in there? No one else has claimed it in Anthony’s absence so he can’t really be worse than some of the options that have cycled through if you’re playing matchups. And while it’s old school, having his speed in front of your better hitters is worth something. Being right handed helps too. Last night’s Rockies starter, Sean Sullivan, is a lefty so maybe that was all the thinking behind it. A low OBP leadoff guy is definitely not ideal, even with speed. Mostly we’ll see Eaton off the bench.

But he was a spark in September 2025. He’s flexible defensively. He hits from the side they need. He can run. As it becomes increasingly difficult to find positives while watching these games, he’s providing a high likelihood of something enjoyable to watch. Maybe that Great Britain team was right on their roster choice, even if they couldn’t nail down Aroldis Chapman.

The Milwaukee Brewers continue to boast arguably the top farm system in all of baseball and that’s even with a large number of graduations that have happened through the first two and a half months of the season. Because of those graduations, and a pretty good sample size of play down in the minor leagues, it’s time to make some updates and adjustments to our Brewers Top 50 prospects list from the pre-season.

There are some notable risers and fallers with their performances early this season. The recently extended Luis Lara is certainly one of them with his breakout season. But he’s not the biggest riser on this list.

Biggest risers: 2B/LF Dylan O’Rae (+17 spots), OF Braylon Payne (+16), RHP Jayden Dubanewicz (+14), RHP Jaron DeBerry (+10), OF Luis Lara (+9)

Biggest fallers: 1B/3B Eric Bitonti (-8 spots), RHP Melvin Hernandez (-4), OF Jose Anderson (OUT)

Graduations: RHP Brandon Sproat, RHP Logan Henderson, LHP Robert Gasser, LHP Shane Drohan, RHP Carlos Rodriguez, 1B/LF Tyler Black

1. Jesus Made, SS

2. Luis Pena, SS

3. Cooper Pratt, SS

There are no changes to the top three spots in the Brewers farm system. However, since the pre-season, Jesus Made has vaulted to the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball status and Cooper Pratt signed an eight year contract extension with the Brewers. Pratt was recently called up to make his MLB debut and has taken over the starting shortstop job in Milwaukee, which will likely be his for years to come, that is unless one of the other two names above him take that title.

4. Luis Lara, OF (Up 9)
5. Jett Williams, SS (Down1)
6. Josh Adamczewski, IF/OF (Up 8)

Luis Lara and Josh Adamczewski are the big risers into the Top 10 in this update. Lara has completely crushed Triple-A pitching and earned himself a long-term contract extension from the Brewers. It’ll only be a matter of time before he joins Cooper Pratt in Milwaukee. Jett Williams has struggled a bit offensively this year, leading to Lara surpassing him. Josh Adamczewski also put up big numbers in High-A Wisconsin before earning the mid-season promotion to Double-A Biloxi.
7. Jeferson Quero, C (Up 2)
8. Andrew Fischer, 3B (Up 2)
9. Blake Burke, 1B (Up 3)

Jeferson Quero continues to be blocked by William Contreras and Gary Sanchez, though he was able to make his MLB debut earlier this season. Quero has been solid in Triple-A and is ready when an opportunity presents itself. Andrew Fischer has been the talk of this Brewers system almost with his home run barrage this summer that pushed him up to Double-A. The strikeout rate is still a concern long-term, but in spite of it he’s hitting nearly .300 with an OPS over 1.100. Blake Burke, another former Tennessee Volunter, is also mashing in Biloxi with 15 homers himself, plus even more stolen bases. Keep an eye on Burke.
10. Bishop Letson, RHP (Down 2)
11. Marco Dinges, C —
12. Tyson Hardin, RHP (Up 4)
13. Braylon Payne, OF (Up 16)
14. Coleman Crow, RHP (Up 9)

Bishop Letson really struggled to start the season in Double-A, but has finally started to turn things around, which keeps him in the Top 10. Tyson Hardin has done much better after a promotion to Triple-A and he finds himself pretty close to making it to the big leagues given the amount of injuries the Brewers have had in their rotation. Braylon Payne has been one of the biggest risers in this update as he’s hitting the ball extremely hard in High-A and he’s also dropped his strikeout rate. That K rate will remain important to watch as the 19 year old develops. Coleman Crow has also gotten himself to the bigs and risen up the list. He’s on the IL, which has prevented him from graduating, but he will return and graduate soon.
15. Brady Ebel, SS (Up 2)
16. Luke Adams, 3B/OF (Down 1)
17. JD Thompson, LHP (Up 3)
18. Tate Kuehner, LHP (Up 6)
19. Jayden Dubanewicz, RHP (Up 14)

Luke Adams missed a ton of time early in the season with a wrist injury so the sample size is a bit smaller than the other hitters. Since returning from the IL, Adams has looked great and he could leap back up in the August re-rank. Lefties JD Thompson and Tate Kuehner get a nice boost as their development remains on track. Jayden Dubanewicz is another big riser as his stuff has looked nasty and he’s already pushed his way to High-A Wisconsin. In his first two starts there, he’s struck out 11 and is yet to walk a batter. Dubanewicz could be that next pitching lab success story.
20. Craig Yoho, RHP (Down 2)
21. Brock Wilken, 3B (Down 2)
22. Mike Boeve, 1B/3B (Down 1)
23. Brett Wichrowski, RHP (Up 2)
24. Bryce Meccage, RHP (Up 2)

Brock Wilken has not adjusted well to Triple-A, still hitting below the Mendoza Line with not a lot of home runs to make up for it. It’s not too late for him, but that future infield is looking crowded already and there are a lot of good ones right around him in the upper minors. Mike Boeve has looked a little better a year removed from shoulder surgery, but his numbers still haven’t returned to what they were pre-injury.
25. Ethan Dorchies, RHP (Up 2)
26. Manuel Rodriguez, RHP (Up 2)
27. Josh Knoth RHP, (Up 5)
28. Dylan O’Rae, 2B/OF (Up 17)
29. Jaron DeBerry, RHP (Up 10)

Some of the numbers are unsightly for the young pitchers across the lower levels when it comes to ERA, but that doesn’t mean their stuff has diminished. Numbers are like that all across those levels this year so I’ll take them with a grain of salt and not ding guys like Dorchies or Rodriguez too much. Knoth is returning from TJS and has looked good, ramping the velo up to 97 MPH but generally sitting around 94 with his fastball. Dylan O’Rae is having a great year after missing 2025 with wrist surgery. Jaron DeBerry is also putting himself on the radar in the upper minors with some strong outings this year.
30. Diego Frontado, SS (Up 8)
31. Ricki Moneys, SS (Up 6)
32. Brian Fitzpatrick, LHP (Up 8)
33. Josiah Ragsdale, OF *
34. Frank Cairone, LHP —

Down in the DSL, two of the Brewers big signings this year were Frontado and Moneys and they are living up to the hype, showing off power and bat-to-ball skills, giving them a big boost in this update. Brian Fitzpatrick put himself clearly in the big league bullpen picture before an elbow injury sidelined him. Josiah Ragsdale is the first player to make this list after missing the pre-season top 50. He’s showcased a combo of speed and contact skills with a little bit of pop in High-A. Frank Cairone is back in Arizona after recovering from a January car accident. He’s yet to see game action, but could be in ACL games soon.
35. Braylon Owens, RHP *
36. Tyler Renz, RHP —
37. Alexander Frias, OF *
38. Eric Bitonti, 1B/3B (Down 8)
39. Mark Manfredi, LHP *

Another handful of new faces here. Braylon Owens, a 10th round pick last year, has done really well in High-A and is among the organization’s leaders in ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP. Alexander Frias has finally gotten promoted to Low-A Wilson after tearing up the Arizona Complex League. He looks like he has big-time potential. Eric Bitonti is striking out at a high clip still in High-A and it worries me about his long-term viability. Mark Manfredi is up to 97 MPH on his fastball and his strikeout rate has ticked way up this year. Keep an eye on Manfredi as a bullpen option in Milwaukee in the near future.
40. Griffin Tobias, RHP (Up 4)
41. Handelfry Encarnacion, OF —
42. Pedro Ibarguen, OF (Up 4)
43. Jacob Morrison, RHP (Up 6)
44. Cameron Wagoner, RHP *

Some young players still with good potential with Tobias, Encarnacion, and Ibarguen here. They’re in the lower levels, Ibarguen in particular has had a nice year in Low-A. Jacob Morrison, out of Coastal Carolina last year, is on the IL right now but looked good in his limited action in Low-A. Cameron Wagoner is throwing upper 90s and hitting triple-digits on occasion after missing a long stretch due to injury. He could move up quickly as a bullpen arm.
45. Brailyn Antunez, OF *
46. Melvin Hernandez, RHP (Down 4)
47. Chase Bentley, RHP *
48. Joey Broughton, LHP *
49. MaKale Holden, RHP *
50. Luis Lameda, SS *

Brailyn Antunez was the big international signing last year, but struggled in the DSL. Upon heading to the ACL this year, there’s been some positive reports, and it’s starting to translate into on-field results. Melvin Hernandez has not pitched at all this year due to visa issues, per a source. He’s still a talented arm when he is on the field. This list is rounded out with some of the young, projectable talent the Brewers possess. Chase Bentley had the biggest “Day 3” signing bonus the Brewers gave out last year and has looked good. Broughton is back from TJS finally and has done well upon his promotion to Low-A. MaKale Holden also got a big bonus last year and has showcased some nasty stuff. Luis Lameda is hitting over .300 with more walks than strikeouts for Low-A Wilson.