Category: Baseball

Detroit Tigers (59-61) vs. Chicago White Sox (62-58)

Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site:South Side Sox
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Jackson Jobe (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Sean Newcomb (1-3, 2.66 ERA)

So the D-backs have dropped out of a wild-card spot, for the first time in a while. They didn’t play yesterday, but the Phillies’ victory allowed them to sneak a half-game ahead of us. I think the last time that happened was after play on July 20th, when the team was part of the NL gridlock. Just one game covered five teams, separating 6th and 10th place in the standings. The Diamondbacks have played pretty well since then, going 13-9. The main problem is, the Padres have played even better, with a 16-6 record that’s the best in the league. The bad news, as far as this particular series is concerned, is that the Braves have also been hot, with a 15-7 mark.

I do wonder whether the team was perhaps burned by rolling out the back of their rotation against the Rockies. Not that Mitch Bratt, in particular, pitched particularly badly, but it’s always a tightrope figuring out when you should play the weaker cards in your hand. For instance, presuming you and your opponent’s starters are equal in ability, you could “throw” the first game by pitching your #5 against their #1, but then have an edge in the next two games (your #1 vs their #2, and your #2 against their #3). I guess platoon tendencies are also something which could factor into these decision. Atlanta are 7th by OPS vs. RHP, but a few slots lower (10th) vs. LHP.

What would you regard as a decent result for these series against the Braves and Red Sox? Obviously, it’s on the road, and that makes things tougher. Both teams are also comfortably above .500, and we know how the team has struggled there. However, they’ve performed better of late: things like the Dodgers’ sweep definitely helped. They are now 24-31 against opponents at .500 or better, which is right in the middle, ranked 15th, and basically at MLB average (25-31). The bad news? [Yes, more!] The opponents this week are both top five. So what are you wanting to see from these six games? Here’s a poll, and as always, explain yourself in the comments.

Ahead of Friday's series opener with the Blue Jays in Toronto, Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave a few injury updates on a trio of players...

Bellinger getting closer to a rehab start

Cody Bellinger has been on the IL since late July with a hamstring strain, but it seems the All-Star outfielder could be nearing a start in the minors.

Boone said that if all goes well with Bellinger as he continues his baseball activity, he could go on a rehab assignment sometime next week. Bellinger was doing some outfield work, namely catching flyballs in left field, hours before first pitch on Friday.

He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, so the initial timeline had Bellinger down for 4-6 weeks. If Bellinger gets into a rehab game next week, he would be in line with that assessment and could be activated before the end of the month. Boone did project that Bellinger would be back beforeGiancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, so his recovery is one to look out for as the Yankees hope to get back the outfielder's production.

Bellinger was slashing .259/.350/.420 with an OPS of .770 to go along with his 11 home runs and 53 RBI across 102 games this season.

Rodon's next step undecided

Carlos Rodon made his second rehab start on Thursday, and it was successful.

The southpaw struck out seven batters across 4.1 scoreless innings with Double-A Somerset. Boone said Rodon looked good in his rehab, but was not ready to declare what Rodon's next step will be.

Rodon could make another rehab start or could be activated next week to get him stretched out in the majors. If the latter is the direction the Yankees go, Boone has already said Rodon could be part of a piggyback situation. Rodon's schedule coincides with Will Warren, so those two could be the pitchers in that situation if it comes to that.

Chivilli lands on the IL

Angel Chivilli, the right-hander who was pitching well out of the Yankees bullpen recently before being optioned, was placed on the IL by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday. 

Boone confirmed the designation and said that Chivilli is suffering from "some posterior elbow stuff going on" and that a doctor will check out the pitcher soon. 

In 15 appearances with the big league club, Chivilli pitched to a 3.78 ERA. He had not allowed an earned run the entire month of July (12.2 IP), but was tagged for six runs against the Cardinals back on Aug. 3. 

Chivilli was optioned after the game due to the 24-year-old tossing 37 pitches in that outing. 

The Yankees did sign a reliever to a minor league contract on Friday, penning Justin Topa and assigning him to Triple-A.

Topa, 35, made 23 appearances for the Twins this season and pitched to an 8.05 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP.

⚾️ First Pitch: 6:40pm – PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

📺 TV: NESN

📻 Radio: WEEI

The Detroit Tigers were still very much in the thick of the AL Central race when they traded away ace and notable bad guy Tarik Skubal. Was he the problem with Detroit? Since his departure the Tigers have been on a tear, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have put up stinker after stinker.

What looked like it would be a semi-important series at a distance a few weeks ago has turned into likely the biggest series to date for the Chicago White Sox. With Detroit gaining three games on the White Sox in just the last 10 games, there are now just 2 ½ games separating these two teams atop the division.

In the first game of this crucial series, the Tigers are sending out Jackson Jobe to start. The third overall pick in 2021 has just come back from Tommy John surgery. In his first start of the season, on August 8, he threw five innings while allowing just one hit. The Tigers beat the Giants in that game, earning him the win.

Jobe has a five-pitch arsenal but relies heavily on the fastball and slider, with almost two-thirds of his pitches being one of the two. It’s tough to really have much of a read on him, as he has only started 11 games in his young career. With that being said, his 3.57 ERA in 13 appearances is certainly impressive.

The White Sox will throw out a pitcher much more experienced in Sean Newcomb. A mainstay in MLB since 2017, Newcomb sports a 2.66 ERA in 44 appearances this season. It would appear that Newcomb is nothing more than an opener tonight, so the main goal for him will be to try to get out of the first two or three innings unscathed.

Newcomb doesn’t generate a lot of swings and misses, but he does limit hard-hit balls. In a ballpark as pitcher-friendly as Comerica, the Tigers will certainly have to play small-ball if they want to get to him early. Unfortunately, Newcomb is susceptible to the bat of Javier Báez, who is hitting .500 against Newcomb in 14 career at-bats.

The White Sox will have to be careful in this series as the Tigers have the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals on deck after this weekend. If Chicago slips up and loses the series, or even get swept, the Tigers could quickly take control of the divisional race.

On the bright side, with the rest of the division struggling to do much since the All-Star break, a series win for the White Sox would make their divisional lead that much more secure. Who knows, maybe there’s even a sweep in store.

Here are the starting lineups:

First pitch is at 5:40 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on CHSN and can be heard on ESPN Chicago 1000. Drop your predictions and thoughts down below!

Mets Lineup

1. AJ Ewing – LF
2. Francisco Lindor – SS
3. Bo Bichette – 3B
4. Luis Robert – CF
5. Carson Benge – RF
6. Francisco Alvarez – DH
7. Marcus Semien – 2B
8. Jared Young – 1B
9. Luis Torrens – C

SP: Robert Stock – RHP

Nationals Lineup

1. CJ Abrams – SS
2. Abimelec Ortiz – 1B
3. Brady House – DH
4. Daylen Lile – RF
5. Keibert Ruiz – C
6. Jose Tena – LF
7. Nasim Nunez – 2B
8. Jorbit Vivas – 3B
9. Jacob Young – CF

SP: Andrew Alvarez – LHP

Broadcast Info

First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT
TV: WPIX
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Now be honest. You were thinking “Here we go again” after the Cubs didn’t have a hit through the first four innings — just like Thursday in Washington. And this was true even though the Cardinals didn’t have a hit through five, thanks to Clay Holmes mowing down St. Louis hitters.

Fortunately, all’s well that ended well. Holmes, Ryan Rolison, Ryan Zeferjahn and Jacob Webb combined to three-hit the visiting Cardinals and a Seiya Suzuki three-run homer was all the Cubs needed to start the homestand on a winning note, 3-0 over the Cardinals in front of a festive full house of 40,374.

Those first five innings went by quickly, in little over an hour, because both Holmes and Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore were retiring batter after batter. Holmes, in fact, started getting his signature ground ball outs after a few fly balls in the first and second. At one point he retired seven straight Cardinals via the ground ball.

The Cubs ended any thought of a Cardinals no-no with Nico Hoerner’s single with one out in the fifth. Nico stole second, but Carson Kelly and Ian Happ struck out to send the game to the sixth.

Holmes retired the first 16 Cardinals, but with one out in the sixth any thought of a no-hit or perfect game bid was over when José Fermin singled to right. Holmes retired the next two Cardinals in order to take a one-hitter into the seventh.

Before that, though, the Cubs scored the only runs of the game. Tyrone Taylor led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk and stole second. Taylor then took third on a single by Dansby Swanson, and Swanson also swiped a base, his 17th, putting runners on second and third. Pete Crow-Armstrong popped up, though, leaving those runners in scoring position with one out. The Cardinals removed Liberatore for George Soriano.

That’s when Suzuki launched a pitch into the bleachers [VIDEO].

More on Suzuki’s blast from BCB’s J0hnW53:

Seiya Suzuki’s tie-breaking homer was the Cubs’ 25th with two on base, most by any team. Nationals and Yankees have 22, and Mariners 20. The combined average of the 29 other teams is just 16. Suzuki’s was the Cubs’ 156th of the year, so their 25 with two on is 16 percent, about one of every six.

The Cubs did attempt to score more runs in that inning. Alex Bregman followed the homer with a walk and Michael Busch singled, but Hoerner hit into an inning-ending double play.

Holmes retired the first two hitters in the seventh and Craig Counsell left him in to try to finish the inning, but he walked Jordan Walker. Holmes then left to a loud ovation. Here’s more on Holmes’ outing [VIDEO].

And more on his pitch selection — that sinker was really working [VIDEO].

Still more on Holmes’ day from John:

Clay Holmes’ start was just the 22nd by a Cubs starter since 1901 of at least 6.2 innings pitched, with no runs, no more than one hit and no more than one walk.

Kyle Hendricks had been the last to do it, on June 10, 2023, at San Francisco: 8.0 IP, one hit, one walk.

The last at home had been Marcus Stroman, on May 29, 2023, vs. the Rays: a complete game with one hit and one walk.

Holmes’ was the 12th at home and second vs. the Cardinals. The first was 67 years ago, on April 21, 1959, by Glen Hobbie: a one-hit, one-walk complete game.

Frank Hiller did it at St. Louis on June 28, 1951: another one-hit, one-walk complete game.

Jake Arrieta and Ted Lilly did it twice, so Holmes is the 20th different Cub to achieve the feat. 

Ryan Rolison relieved Holmes and did retire the only hitter he faced, Nathan Church, though it took 11 pitches and a bunch of foul balls.

Ryan Zeferjahn threw the eighth and struggled a bit with command (27 pitches, 17 strikes), but he did finally strike out JJ Wetherholt with two runners on base to end the inning [VIDEO].

The Cubs got a couple of runners on in the bottom of the eighth but could not score, and so it was left to Jacob Webb to nail things down. Webb allowed a leadoff single and then Swanson and Bregman combined on this amazing force play [VIDEO].

This is a perfect example of how good the Cubs defense is — and not only the great stop by Swanson, but the situational awareness by Bregman to know that Nico was not going to be in position to take the throw and so he had to cover second. Great stuff here.

Speaking of Nico, he made this nice grab for the final out [VIDEO].

Great pitching, solid defense and timely hitting — those are the hallmarks of the 2026 Cubs, and all combined Friday to make a satisfying win over the Cardinals.

Here’s Carson Kelly with some postgame comments about Holmes [VIDEO].

The Cubs move to within 3.5 games of the Brewers in the NL Central, pending the Brewers game against the Dodgers later this evening at Dodger Stadium (9:10 p.m. CT). The Cubs will go for the series win Saturday afternoon (weather permitting!) at Wrigley Field. Matthew Boyd will start for the Cubs and Michael McGreevy will go for the Cardinals. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Boston Red Sox vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, August 14, 2026, 6:40 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are hosting the red-hot Boston Red Sox for a three-game set this weekend at PNC Park.

For the first matchup in the series, the Pirates will hand the ball to Bubba Chandler, who was coming off arguably the best start of his career. On August 8, Chandler pitched six scoreless innings, giving up just three hits in a 9-0 victory over the New York Mets. It was his second straight victory, and he looks to bounce back from a difficult start to the season.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox are going with rookie Jake Bennett, who is making his 14th career start. Bennett debuted for the Red Sox on May 1 and has been solid throughout his time with the team. The 25-year-old from Tulsa, Oklahoma, rattled off four consecutive victories in the month of July, but he has lost two of his last three starts, including his most recent appearance against the Athletics. Bennett pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five hits and four earned runs in a 7-3 loss at Fenway Park.

Since July 1, the Red Sox are 27-9, but five of those losses have come just in the past week. The Pirates could take advantage of their cold spell if they can build off of their 13-1 victory from yesterday’s contest against the Miami Marlins.

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Jake Bennett (7-5, 3.17 ERA) vs. Bubba Chandler (5-8, 4.26 ERA)

BD community, chime off in the comments section below for the game day thread. Enjoy!

Matthew Liberatore was his best self Friday afternoon as the St. Louis Cardinals entered the gauntlet of Wrigley Field to play the Cubs for the start of a crucial weekend series. The problem was that Cubs starter Clay Holmes was even better. The first 2/3 of the game was a scoreless and nearly hitless duel. Wheels would start to come off for the Cardinals in that last third of the game, though.

There are no offensive highlights to share with you from the first half of the game. However, there were a couple of defensive gems provided by the middle infield of the Cardinals. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Pete Crow-Armstrong was robbed by Masyn Winn. ROBBED!

The very next batter Suzuki was also denied base access, this time by future Gold Glove second baseman JJ Wetherholt. ROBBED AGAIN!

The Cubs would threaten to break through the scoring drought in the bottom of the 6th inning when Liberatore handed out a leadoff walk to Taylor. Dansby Swanson singled to center which gave Chicago runners at first and third with no outs. Matthew was able to get PCA to foul out to third for the first out, but that would be the end of Liberatore’s strong outing Friday. George Soriano was brought in to face Suzuki. During his at-bat, Swanson stole second giving the Cubs two runners in scoring position. The stolen base wouldn’t matter as Suzuki connected on an 88 mph changeup as it cleared the wall in left field traveling 390 feet and giving Chicago a 3-0 lead.

The Chicago Cubs 6th inning wasn’t over yet as Soriano followed the Suzuki homer with a walk to Alex Bregman and a single to Michael Busch still with just one out. Fortunately, JJ Wetherholt and Masyn Winn combined on a double play on a grounder from Nico Hoerner to end the inning with the damage already being done. The final stat line for Matthew Liberatore would look less impressive than the eye test where he looked extremely sharp for the first 5 innings. Matthew tossed 5 1/3 innings striking out 6 and only walking 1, but those 2 earned runs that crossed the plate along with the 1 Soriano was responsible for were a killer.

Peter Strzelecki handled the Cubs in the bottom of the 7th after the Cardinals failed to generate an offensive threat in the top of the inning. He pitched around an infield single by Carson Kelly to keep Chicago from adding to their lead. Ryan Zeferjahn was the Cubs solution for the top of the 8th inning. He struck out Masyn Winn, but Bryan Torres managed to pull a single into right field to give St. Louis a tiny bit of hope. José Fermín fought through a tough at-bat to draw a walk to give the Cardinals runners at first and second with just one out and the potential tying run coming up. César Prieto was that potential tying run, but all he could manage was a flyout to center for the second out. That brought up JJ Wetherholt who has had a solid season against Chicago pitching. Could he come up with a clutch hit? Nope. JJ struckout to end the Cardinals 8th. Wetherholt was 0-4 Friday.

Peter Strzelecki remained in the game to deal with the Cubs in the bottom of the 8th inning, too. He allowed a one-out double to Suzuki and also a two-out walk to Bregman to give Chicago runners at first and second for one more scoring chance. Fortunately, Strzelecki got Hoerner to ground out to keep St. Louis within 3 runs.

The St. Louis Cardinals top of the 9th inning would start with Iván Herrera. He would face Cubs reliever Jacob Webb who he would rip a single off of. Alec Burleson was next and he grounded into a fielder’s choice where Swanson and Bregman forced Herrera at second for the first out. It was Jordan Walker’s turn next. He quickly struck out on three pitches. Last hope for the good guys was Nathan Church. He flew out to end the game as the Cubs grabbed the victory.

It’s game 2 of the weekend series tomorrow as the St. Louis Cardinals battle the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field Saturday afternoon. Cardinals will give the ball to Michael McGreevy while the Chicago Cubs will start Matthew Boyd. First pitch is set for 1:20pm central time with the game broadcast available through Cardinals.tv.

Mark Vientos was back at Citi Field ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Nationals. 

Vientos has been building his way back up at the team facility in Port St. Lucie. 

Back in the Big Apple, though, interim manager Andy Green said the team is encouraged by Vientos' progress. 

“He looks really good,” he said. “He’s hitting, he’s progressing -- it’s good to see him bouncing around, taking groundballs and hitting, so he’s moving right along.”

Despite the positive progression, the Mets still don’t have a timeline for a return to game action. 

Vientos, of course, has been sidelined since fracturing his right hand on a Michael Wacha hit-by-pitch during a game in the beginning of July. 

The slugger had been in the midst of another disappointing season at the time. 

His struggles on both sides of the ball mainly relegated him to the short-side of a platoon with Jared Young at first base in the weeks leading up to the injury. 

Vientos was hitting .211 with just 20 XBH’s and a .644 OPS across 73 games.

Young, meanwhile, has taken hold of the bulk of the playing time against both righties and lefties in his absence so it'll be interesting to see exactly how Vientos will be used upon his return.

The stage is set for the Atlanta Braves to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Let’s take a look at the rosters.

Drake Baldwin is back in the leading spot and playing catcher. And hey! Look who’s batting in the ninth hole: Jim Jarvis is geared up for shortstop.

Now, both teams have put up similar numbers against each other’s pitcher, with all reaching above .500 OPS and over a .235 batting average. Both Chris Sale and Arizona’s Brandon Pfaddt are coming off successful stints in their past three games and have continued to show consistency landing their pitches in the zone.

Tonight will just be a matter of which team will show up the best.

Tune in at 7:15 PM to find out.

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Runs will be tough to come by tonight, as Seattle walks into Houston as +105 underdogs on Polymarket.

George Kirby and Peter Lambert go head-to-head, and we're leaning on their large sample size in this matchup as part of our Mariners vs. Astros predictions.

Let’s dive into my MLB picks for Friday, Aug. 14, and grow that bankroll before the weekend.

Who will win Mariners vs Astros today: Mariners (+105)

With 184 plate appearances under his belt, I'm tapping George Kirby to get the job done and cash us as a live underdog at Polymarket.

Over that span, the Houston Astros own just a .250 xBA and .286 xwOBA, while walking at just a 2.7% rate against the Seattle Mariners ace, giving us plenty to work with.

On the other side, Randy Arozarena (.251 xBA) and Julio Rodriguez (.358 xBA) are a combined 5-for-10 with a home run against Peter Lambert — let's ride this duo to the bank.

COVERS INTEL: One of the main reasons to feel warm and cozy about Mariners moneyline is Yordan Alvarez's numbers against Kirby. Over 22 at-bats, Alvarez is rocking a 29% K rate with just four hits to his name.

Mariners vs Astros Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-121)

Runs are going to be few and far between with this pitching matchup.

While Lambert doesn't have as large a sample size in this matchup as Kirby, he has still done a great job of suppressing runs here. Across 42 plate appearances, the right-hander is striking out this Mariners team at a 33% clip, limiting them to a .187 xBA.

Between these two pitchers, we should sail comfortably Under this number. I'd play this up to -130 at Polymarket.

Mariners vs Astros home run prediction: Julio Rodriguez (+474)

Rodriguez has the most success out of everyone on the Mariners against Lambert. The three-time All-Star is 3-for-5 with an xSLG of .942 in his small sample size.

It also helps that Daikin Park has given up the fifth-most homers in all of baseball. Rodriguez has found his power stroke, too, hitting a long ball in three of his last eight games. 

Mariners vs Astros weather

Daikan Park features a retractable roof, so the weather will not affect game conditions tonight.

Mariners vs Astros odds

• Moneyline: Mariners (+105) | Astros (-113)
• Run line: Mariners +1.5 (-186) | Astros -1.5 (+178)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+113) | Under 8.5 (-121)

Mariners vs Astros trend

The Under is 7-1-1 in the Mariners' last nine games against teams with a winning record. Find more MLB betting trends for Mariners vs. Astros.

How to watch Mariners vs Astros and game info

Mariners vs Astros latest injuries

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

This week, we asked the community to vote on who they thought the Rockies would call up next. Apparently, the Baseball Gods were listening because when we first asked, 53% of folks thought Zac Veen would be called up.

Later that same evening, Veen was indeed called up.

Then, on Tuesday, we asked once again who the Rockies would call up but changed the answers to reflect Veen’s promotion.

35% voted that Adael Amador would be called up next.

As fate would have it, Kyle Karros unfortunately suffered a concussion during Tuesday’s game after a nasty collision with Ezequiel Tovar, which forced the Rockies to make another roster move. This time, Amador was indeed called up to take his place.

Oddly enough, this also happened in June when we asked the same question, and 24 hours later Cole Carrigg was promoted, so we had to pivot our survey choices.

Now, we’re not saying we have any kind of sway with the Rockies… but apparently this poll was a good promotion predictor!

With that in mind, who do you think will be called up next?

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

A busy day for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Thursday, with all six teams that are still in-season in action. Let’s dive into it!

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.

AAA Sacramento (66-48)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 4-3
Box score

There was big news in this game: Marcelo Mayer was beginning his rehab assignment. Mayer, the former top-15 overall prospect (as recently as last year!) whom the Giants acquired from the Red Sox at the deadline, made his organizational debut on Thursday, playing second base. And he wasted no time making an impression.

Mayer struck out in his first at-bat — understandable given that he hadn’t played in a game in about 3 weeks. But in his 2nd at-bat? He smoked an absolutely gorgeous home run. He drew a walk in his 3rd plate appearance, before exiting the game. We’ll call that a smashing success and quite an introduction!

The Giants will need to ramp up Mayer to full games before bringing him to San Francisco, but it’s safe to say that his AAA stint won’t be long at all. He’ll be back in the Majors soon enough.

While Mayer was the big news — and certainly a star in his own right — the biggest star was left fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL), who is really starting to find his groove in AAA after a very slow start. A day after hitting his 1st AAA homer, Davidson was back at it again, hitting a brilliant 4-5 with a 2-run blast and 3 total runs knocked in.

Davidson’s hits were, in order: a 102.1-mph single, a 103.3-mph homer, a 97.2-mph single, and a 104.2-mph single. What a delight those numbers are! The lefty now has hit safely in 6 of his last 7 games, with 5 extra-base knocks in that time. It seems he’s starting to figure things out!

Also a nice game for center fielder Scott Bandura, who hit 2-4 with a walk and a stolen base. Bandura continues to excel in AAA following a slow start to his tenure after an early-season promotion. He’s up to an .832 OPS and a 119 wRC+ with the River Cats, and sure feels like a near-lock to be a Rule 5 protection this winter.

A rough day on the mound for LHP Matt Wilkinson, who was struggling to find both the strike zone and fool hitters. Wilkinson needed 101 pitches to make it through 5 innings, while only throwing 58 of them for strikes, which resulted in 4 walks. Tugboat gave up 5 hits in those 5 innings, and 4 of the 5 were doubles which, along with the walks, tagged him for 3 runs. Perhaps most damning, though, was that he only had 1 strikeout on the day, and had just 8 swing-throughs on his 101 pitches.

It’s been a stellar year for Wilkinson, whom the Giants acquired in the Patrick Bailey trade back in May. But questions abound about his ability to miss bats and get outs at higher levels given his low velocity, as his fastball is averaging just 89.9 mph in AAA. Interestingly, his fastball has still been his most successful pitch in the Pacific Coast League, but it has a terrifying hard hit rate of 50.7%. In all, it’s a 5.15 ERA and a 5.40 FIP for the burly southpaw.

RHP Braxton Roxby continued his recent tear, as he pitched 2 nearly perfect innings, giving up just a hit batter while recording 5 of the 6 outs by way of strikes. Despite those 5 strikeouts, he threw just 20 pitches! Absolutely absurd efficiency. Roxby, a 27-year old who came to the Giants in the Taylor Rogers trade, had a rough start to the year, but has been lights out for a few months now. He had an 11.00 ERA after his 1st May appearance, but since then has pitched 43 innings and allowed just 28 hits, 14 walks, and 10 earned runs, with 39 strikeouts. He’s down to a 3.63 ERA on the year, albeit with a 4.90 FIP.

RHP Eric Cerantola had far and away his best outing since joining the organization, as he struck out all 3 batters he faced. He’s been struggling a bit lately, but he has some excellent strikeout stuff.

AA Richmond (65-45)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) 7-2
Box score

Just as Davidson was showing off his prospect status in AAA, shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) was doing the same in AA. Last year’s 1st-round pick has adapted to life in the Eastern League brilliantly following a promotion last month, but yesterday was his best day yet. The lefty from Tennessee was an on-base machine, hitting 3-4 with not 1, but 2 triples, plus a double and a walk. The only stains on an otherwise perfect day were a strikeout and a caught stealing.

Kilen appears to have put his development in overdrive. You hope for players to come close to matching their numbers at lower levels as they move up the Minor League chain, yet Kilen has improved his across the line from his 1st half performance in High-A. His average is up (.282 to .330). His on-base percentage is up (.350 to .375). His slugging percentage is up (.462 to .527). His isolated slugging is up (.179 to .198). His OPS is up (.811 to .902). His wRC+ is up (114 to 133). His stolen bases are up (0 to 1, so technically true!).

The only things that haven’t improved are his strikeout and walk rates, which have both worsened by what amounts to a rounding error. It’s been a sensational adjustment to AA and, if he keeps this up, he’ll likely start the 2027 Minor League season in AAA, with an eye towards an MLB debut.

A pair of 3-hit days for prospects who have struggled to find hits, as second baseman Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL) and first baseman Sabin Ceballos both hit 3-5. Ahuna, a 4th-round pick in 2023, and Ceballos, a 3rd-round pick in 2023 (by the Braves) both have strong defensive chops and flash some good power, but are struggling to collect hits. The 24-year old Ahuna, who also stole 2 bases in this game, has just a .227 average and a 30.3% strikeout rate in his AA debut, leading to a .691 OPS and a 90 wRC+. Ceballos, who turns 24 in a few days and is in his 2nd AA campaign, has a lowly .222 average despite just an 18.2% strikeout rate. He has a .726 OPS and a 100 wRC+ on the year.

A really excellent start for RHP Yunior Marte (No. 25 CPL), who was overpowering for 5 innings. Marte needed a lot of pitches (97) to get through those 5 innings, but otherwise was sensational, giving up just 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run, while striking out 7 batters. What an outing!

Marte, who turned 23 over the weekend, has been hot and cold since getting promoted to AA at the start of June, and has a 4.32 ERA and a 4.20 FIP. He’s still allowing too many hits and homers (though none of the latter in this game), but he has 10.0 strikeouts to 3.2 walks per 9 innings, and those are stellar numbers for someone as young and electric as he is.

RHP Ben Peterson pitched brilliantly as well, giving up a walk and no hits in 1.1 scoreless innings, with 3 strikeouts. The 24-year old UDFA, who is in his 2nd season, has just a 4.00 ERA and a 4.84 FIP since getting promoted to AA, but has racked up 31 strikeouts in just 18 innings.

High-A Eugene (66-44)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (Mariners) 9-1
Box score

The hottest hitter in the system is staying hot! Yes, it was another lovely day for center fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL), who just won’t stop hitting the ball over the fence. Diaz only hit 1-5 in this game, but he didn’t strike out, he stole a base, and he smashed a lovely solo home run.

It was the Diaz’s 4th home run in his last 5 games, his 5th in his last 7, and his farm-leading 23rd big fly of the season. He has a staggering .795 slugging percentage in August, after a .635 mark in July. Not bad for a center fielder who, having just turned 21, is about 2.5 years younger than his average peer in the Northwest League.

The lack of walks — he’s drawn just 12 with Eugene, in nearly 350 plate appearances — are keeping his wRC+ down, but it’s still a 113 mark to accompany his .839 OPS, with some really solid defense and 9 stolen bases (though he’s been caught 7 times). But Diaz has really been a different beast entirely since the summer rolled around: since June 28 (a stretch that includes 6 games with Low-A San Jose), the Cuban has hit 50-150 with 14 home runs, 1 triple, 8 doubles, 7 walks, and just 24 strikeouts. He probbly should be getting a little bit more attention!

A trio of other hitters also had lovely games: left fielder Zander Darby hit 3-4 with a double, a stolen base, and a strikeout, boosting his OPS to .823 and his wRC+ to 117; shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) went 3-5 with a strikeout, raising his OPS to .844 and his wRC+ to 123; and catcher Onil Perez hit 2-4 with a double and a strikeout, and now has a .726 OPS and a 92 wRC+.

For all of Diaz’s brilliance, the star of the day came on the mound, where LHP Henry LaLane made his second appearance with the organization. A 6’7 22-year old who came to the Giants in the Heliot Ramos trade a few weeks ago, LaLane is a massively intriguing talent, and that was on display Thursday, when he really shut down Hillsboro’s lineup. LaLane went 6 innings into this game, while throwing just 83 pitches, and gave up less than a baserunner per inning, ceding just 4 hits (all singles), 1 walk, and 1 run. It’s pretty clear from those numbers that hitters were not at all comfortable against him, and it certainly looked that way.

LaLane only had 2 strikeouts, which is uncharacteristic, and certainly nothing to worry about. He’s certainly had no issue with strikeouts on the year, as he has 105 in 88.2 innings on the year. His starts are becoming must-watch TV, and even though he’s spent most of the year in Low-A, it seems likely that he’ll be in AA when the 2027 season opens up.

RHP Ubert Mejias had a nice game, allowing just 1 walk in 2 no-hit innings, with a strikeout. Mejias, a 25-year old, has a pretty hilarious profile through 11 appearances since getting promoted. He is absolutely brilliant from a strikeout and walk perspective, but awful from a hits standpoint: in 25.1 innings with the Emeralds, he’s registered 29 strikeouts with just 5 walks … but allowed 35 hits, including 6 home runs.

Low-A San Jose (61-50)

San Jose Giants beat the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 5-0
Box score

A fantastic pitching performance in this one, by a trio of pitchers who have been having fairly difficult years: RHPs Ben Bybee and Dylan Carter, and LHP Ricardo Estrada.

Bybee, last year’s 8th-round pick, got the start and had one of his best outings of the season, giving up just 3 hits and 1 walk in 4.1 scoreless frames, while striking out 3 batters. That was quite a nice bounce back, after he gave up 4 runs in 4 innings with 0 strikeouts in his prior start. Bybee has had a tough debut year, with a 4.96 ERA and a 5.41 FIP, and he’s only striking out 7.4 batters per 9 innings.

Estrada pitched next, and struck out 5 batters in 3.2 innings, while allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 0 runs. That came after 9 runs in just 1 inning his last time out! Other than that blowup outing, Estrada has been much better lately. After posting an 11.70 ERA in April, Estrada settled into a 2.86 May ERA, a 2.53 June ERA, and a 1.77 July ERA. That tough month and his last outing are still really impacting his overall numbers, though, as he has a 4.48 ERA and a 5.99 FIP.

Finishing it out was Carter, an undrafted free agent last year who retired all 3 batters he faced. Carter only has a 5.65 ERA and a 5.14 FIP, but this was his 3rd straight outing without an earned run.

Strong days for the top prospects in San Jose, as second baseman Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) and shortstop Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) both had strong games. González, who has thoroughly dominated the Cal League during his short stint, hit 1-4 with a triple and a walk, while Hernández, who has struggled adapting to the new level, went 2-5 with a strikeout.

González, an 18-year old switch-hitter, has a 1.014 OPS and a 151 wRC+ through 13 games at the level, while Hernández, a 17-year old right-hander, has a .599 OPS and a 48 wRC+ through 15 games.

Right fielder Tanner Mally continues to look oh so comfortable, as he hit 2-4 with a double. The righty, who turns 22 next week, is still the only player from the team’s 2026 draft class who has debuted. The 17th-rounder has hit safely in all 6 games as a pro, going 10-23 with 3 extra-base hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Quite a first impression!

Dominican Summer League Black (34-18)

DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Rockies 9-7
Box score

Bit of a funny start from RHP Simon Colmenares, a 20-year old from Venezuela in his 2nd season. For better and for worse, Colmenares barely let anybody put the ball in play: he pitched 4.1 innings and struck out 7 batters without allowing a single hit … but also walked 4 batters and hit 2, which ultimately put 2 runs on his ledger. That’s been quite an issue for Colmenares, as he’s allowed 21 walks and 8 hit batters in 35.1 innings this year, en route to a 7.64 ERA and a 6.13 FIP.

Right fielder Rainer Espinoza, who turns 18 next week, is starting to find his groove, as he hit 3-4 with a double. Espinoza, who had a solid debut season last year, has been limited to just 9 games due to injury, and in the 1st 7 of those 9, he hit just 1-18 with 0 extra-base hits. But this nice game came after smashing a home run on Tuesday, so he’s moving in the right direction!

17-year old shortstop Joniel Hernandez, one of the stars of the deadline deals for the Giants, hit 2-5 with a stolen base and a strikeout, giving him a .941 OPS, a 126 wRC+, and 9 stolen bases in his debut season. Catcher Luis Padron, a lefty in his debut season who turns 17 next week, went 0-2 but drew 2 walks and stole 2 bases. Through 14 career games, he has an .850 OPS, a 104 wRC+, and 3 stolen bases.

Dominican Summer League Orange (28-23)

DSL Giants Orange beat the DSL Pirates Black 8-1 (7 innings)
Box score

It was a very DSL game, as highlighted by the fact that the Giants Orange squad scored 8 runs in 7 innings without a single extra-base hit. That’s not easy to do at other levels!

The star on offense was shortstop Israel Alfonse, a 17-year old who started his debut season on the 60-Day IL, but recently debuted. The left-handed hitter from the DR hit 3-4 in this game, with a stolen base, and through 5 career outings is 6-16 with 1 home run, 4 strikeouts, and 2 stolen bases. Not a bad beginning to his career!

A nice outing from 20-year old RHP Frainer Mejias, who tossed 1.2 scoreless innings with 1 hit and 3 strikeouts. It was Mejias’ 4th straight game without allowing a run, and during that time he’s thrown 3.2 innings and given up just 2 hits and 1 walk, with 5 strikeouts. That said, he has just a 4.71 ERA and a 7.05 FIP on the year, and this is his 4th pro season.

Home run tracker

23 — Lisbel Diaz — [20 in High-A; 3 in Low-A]
21 — Bo Davidson — [2 in AAA; 19 in AA]
4 — Marcelo Mayer — [3 in MLB; 1 in AAA]

Friday schedule

Sacramento: 7:05 p.m. PT at Las Vegas (SP: TBD)
Richmond: 4:00 p.m. PT at Harrisburg (SP: Charlie McDaniel)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Hillsboro (SP: Niko Mazza)
San Jose: 7:00 p.m. PT vs. Fresno (SP: TBD)

Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV

MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospect list has been updated as of yesterday, and the Texas Rangers have three — that’s right, three — players in the top 100.

Infielder Sebastian Walcott, who is back in game action and hitting (if not yet playing in the field) after internal brace surgery during spring training, is at #9 on the list. He appears to be none the worse for wear, slashing .328/.379/.607 in 66 plate appearances over 15 games at AA Frisco while handling DH duties. I would imagine he will move up to AAA in the next week or two, and if he can show that he can handle Pacific Coast League pitchers, it puts him in a strong position to fight for a spot on the 2027 Opening Day roster for the Rangers.

Righthanded pitcher Caden Scarborough, who was also on the shelf at the beginning of the year — in his case due to treatment for a malignant melanoma, which was surgically treated in early February — checks in at #77. He has put up a 3.18 ERA in 39.2 innings for Hub City since his return from the injured list, with 46 Ks against 14 walks.

Finally, Gio Rojas, the righthanded pitcher that the Rangers took #16 overall in July out of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is #97 on the top 100 list. He is one of 10 players drafted in July who made the list.

MLB Pipeline also updated their top 30 prospect list for the Texas Rangers. Of note, Dalton Pence’s very solid 2026 season has seen him move up to #10. Connor Comeau and Brody Bumila, the team’s (above-slot) second and third round 2026 picks, are #7 and #11, respectively. Hector Osorio has made an impression with his breakout 2026 campaign, slotting in at #14, right behind Dylan Dreiling. And John Taylor and Marco Argudin, who were not on anyone’s radar at the beginning of the season, both make it on the back half of the list.