Rece Hinds is among many Orioles who provided no value — or negative value — this season. | MLB Photos via Getty Images
With the 2026 season officially behind us, Camden Chat will spend the next several weeks reviewing the performances of some of the Orioles’ most prominent players this year.
But before that, let’s pour one out for all the non-prominent players who made an appearance for the 2026 Orioles. The blink-and-you-missed-them, “wait, that guy was an Oriole?” kind of roster fillers who spent only a couple of weeks — or days — with the club before vanishing into the ether.
The Orioles used 60 different players this season, an almost paltry number compared to a year ago when they set an MLB record with 70 (which was broken days later when the Braves used their 71st). So here’s a quick look at the members of the 2026 Orioles who didn’t play enough, made too little of an impact, or just were too darn forgettable to merit an individual post in our upcoming series.
The injury-stricken veterans
For a second straight year, injuries were a key factor in the Orioles’ underperformance. Quite a few players that the O’s were counting on to contribute ended up missing significant time. And one of the cruelest blows came in the first week of the season, when Zach Eflin — who’d made an outstanding return from 2025 back surgery, dazzled in spring training, and won a rotation spot — left his season debut with elbow soreness and was forced to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery after just 3.2 innings of work. For that to happen after he’d battled so hard to come back, you have to feel for the guy. The Orioles might have interest in re-signing Eflin, who should be ready to return sometime early next season.
Also suffering an all-too-early injury was Ryan Mountcastle, the second-longest tenured Oriole (he debuted a week after Keegan Akin in 2020). It was a surprise when the O’s brought back Mountcastle for a $6.7 million deal instead of non-tendering him last offseason, and he was an even worse fit once the Orioles signed Pete Alonso, but the idea was that Mountcastle could serve as a right-handed power bat against lefties. In just his 15th plate appearance, Mountcastle broke his foot while running the bases in April, then strained his oblique while preparing to rehab in July. He never returned, and that’s likely the end of his seven-year tenure in Baltimore.
One guy who did return, quite unexpectedly, was Félix Bautista, whose torn rotator cuff and torn labrum in Aug. 2025 were expected to sideline him for the entire 2026 season. The big right-hander worked his way back in late September, albeit after the O’s were out of contention, and gave up three runs in two appearances. His velocity was noticeably down, but maybe having a full offseason will help him come back stronger in 2027. We can only hope.
The random relievers
The Orioles’ Opening Day bullpen included a number of unheralded names. Two of them didn’t last long. The 35-year-old lefty Dietrich Enns, who’d pitched well down the stretch for the Orioles the previous season, issued 11 walks in 16 innings and was banished to Triple-A. He continued to pitch so poorly with Norfolk — a 6.13 ERA in 31 games — that the O’s never brought him back. And right-hander Yaramil Hiraldo was dreadful, coughing up nine runs and 10 walks in 9.1 innings in three stints in the majors.
Anyone remember Lou Trivino? The veteran righty pitched twice, was bombed for six runs, and then returned to the Phillies from whence he came. Lefty Nick Raquet made four appearances; righty Jose Espada made one. And the O’s employed not one but two right-handers named Cameron: Cameron Foster, part of the Gregory Soto trade return, pitched six uninspiring games, and Cameron Weston tossed a scoreless inning in his major league debut before the Mets claimed him on waivers.
The hapless fill-in catchers
When Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo weren’t behind the plate this year, boy, did things get ugly. We’re going to have a separate post about the disaster that was Carlos Narváez, but a few others also tried their hand, with terrible results. Who could forget the painful experience of watching Sam Huff step to the plate? He had the swing of someone who had never held a baseball bat before. The O’s also brought back Chadwick Tromp for a second straight season, but jettisoned him after he went 3-for-24.
Third catcher Yohel Pozo brought good vibes to the Orioles but spent most of his time glued to the bench. He appeared in only 16 of the Orioles’ 51 games in August and September. We’ll toss Maverick Handley into this category even though he never actually caught an inning for the Orioles this year, making one pinch-hit appearance before the O’s waived him. And the Orioles briefly brought in longtime Tiger Jake Rogers to help their catching situation, but then threw him into the Rutschman trade with Boston after just three games. Rogers ended up playing with four different teams in less than two weeks.
The bench (lack of) depth
The Orioles’ obsession with stockpiling right-handed outfielders for the bench, presumably to match up against opposing southpaws, had one tiny flaw: none of them could actually hit. Rece Hinds may have cemented his status as one of the worst short-term Orioles in history with a truly galling final game last Friday in which he struck out in all five at-bats and committed multiple misplays in the outfield. You can’t make this stuff up. Hinds was 5-for-28 as an Oriole, and if you include his stints with the Reds and Marlins, he was 2-for-28 against lefties. Seriously, do the O’s even know how to check platoon splits? They’re right there on Baseball Reference.
Also failing to deliver against lefties was rookie Christian Franklin, acquired at the trade deadline from the Nationals. His .180 overall batting average in 21 games was bad enough; his .167 mark against southpaws was worse. The Orioles did finally acquire a guy who might’ve helped against lefties, veteran Luis Robert Jr., only for him to get injured after just three games. Their $3 million gamble in claiming him on waivers was a bust.
Long before those guys came along, the first-half Orioles tried their luck with utility man Weston Wilson, who played 19 games and even made three mop-up pitching appearances. He spent the rest of the season with the Mariners, where he was an even worse hitter (and pitched once more, for old time’s sake). But perhaps the most bizarre experiment was that of Johnathan Rodríguez, a marginal minor league hitter whom the Orioles immediately installed as their cleanup hitter on three different occasions. You’ll never believe this, but the O’s lost all three games.
Poor Heston Kjerstad clearly has no future in this organization. The O’s left him in Triple-A almost all season, then went out of their way not to play him once they finally called him up in September. He got just 19 at-bats, with four hits, and could become a 40-man roster casualty this winter.
Three other position players appeared in just one or two games each. Pop quiz! See if you can match these first names — Luis, José, and Michael — to these last names: Barrero, Siani, and Vázquez. Give up? Me too.
Some of the players discussed in this article might find their way back to an Orioles roster in the future. Most of them we’ll never see again. They won’t be missed.
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 26: Justin Verlander #35 of the Detroit Tigers is greeted by manager A.J. Hinch #14 while being hugged by daughter Genevieve Verlander as he is taken out of the game during the sixth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park on September 26, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Monday, everyone, though it is a bittersweet one as it is the first Monday of the offseason for Tigers fans. While the postseason will get into gear this week, the Tigers played their final games of the year over the weekend, and even those were a bit of a bummer. Thankfully, the festivities of saying goodbye to one of the greatest Tigers of all time helped create an atmosphere of happiness at the park as fans had an opportunity to send off Justin Verlander and cry a few tears in the process. It was a lovely weekend that reminds us all of the beauty of this game.
We’ll cover the highlights of the weekend in a different post, so here we’ll touch on some broader baseball topics like the first offseason managerial cuts, some previews of the postseason, and looking at what might have been the final game of another old friend, Max Scherzer.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have their sights set on a third consecutive World Series championship, a feat last accomplished by the New York Yankees from 1998-2000. But there are several other worthy challengers looking to knock them off.
The Milwaukee Brewers had the best regular-season record in the majors at 103-59, followed by the Dodgers at 100-62 and the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL at 98-64. But as we all know, anything can happen in the playoffs.
MLB playoff format
Here's how the MLB playoffs work, with the six teams from each league participating.
The top two division winners (best overall record) in each league receive an automatic bye into the division series. (AL: Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians; NL: Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers)
The third division winner in each league (as the No. 3 seed) hosts the third wild card team (the No. 6 seed) in a best-of-3 series. (AL: Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros; NL: Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves)
The other two wild card teams (Nos. 4 and 5 seeds) play each other, with the higher-seeded team hosting all three games. (AL: Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees; NL: Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres)
The winner of the 4 vs. 5 matchup plays the No. 1 overall seed in a best-of-5 division series, while the 3 vs. 6 winner plays the No. 2 seed.
The winners of those series face each other in a best-of-7 league championship series, with the winners advancing to the World Series.
MLB playoff schedule
The MLB postseason begins on Tuesday, Sept. 29 with Game 1 of each of the four wild card series. If necessary, a decisive Game 3 is set for two days later on Thursday, Oct. 1.
All four division series will start on Saturday, Oct. 3. If Game 5 is needed, those will be played on Friday, Oct. 9 in the National League and Saturday, Oct. 10 in the American League. The best-of-five division series is played in a 2-2-1 format.
The National League Championship Series will begin on Sunday, Oct. 11 while the American League Championship Series starts the next day on Oct. 12. The LCS round is a best-of-seven with a 2-3-2 format. If necessary, Game 7 is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19 in the NLCS and Tuesday, Oct. 20 in the ALCS.
The World Series will begin on Friday, Oct. 23. A winner-take-all Game 7 would be played on Saturday, Oct. 31, if necessary.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 27: Francisco Lindor #12 of the New York Mets rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the second inning during the game between the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Sunday, September 27, 2026 in Washington, District of Columbia. (Photo by Alyssa McDaniel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Meet the Mets
The Mets played their final game of the 2026 season, putting an end to a team we’ve grown to dislike in various ways and will end up missing as the days and weeks of the offseason pass.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - SEPTEMBER 27: A detailed picture of the scoreboard showing the Milwaukee Brewers as NL Central Division Champions before the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field on September 27, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This Milwaukee Brewers team is different.
I know people have been saying that for a couple of years now, but I really think this year is different.
This team does the little things. They play solid defense. They rarely make mental mistakes. They score runs and don’t rely on the long ball. They’re disciplined, both by themselves and by Pat Murphy, who has, on more than one occasion, benched a player for not showing hustle.
Rather than analyzing the team over the last 162 games, we can just look at this weekend’s sweep of the Cardinals.
The “why the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers can win the World Series” discussion begins even before Friday’s series opener against St. Louis. Just before the game, the team was forced to place first baseman Andrew Vaughn on the injured list due to illness. Shortstop Cooper Pratt was also scratched from the lineup, as a banged-up Joey Ortiz had to replace him.
Now, Vaughn and Pratt are by no means the leaders of this team, but they’re key pieces nonetheless. But here’s the thing about the Brewers — they’re built for absences like those. More on that later.
Looking at the first inning of Friday’s game, William Contreras — who was pulled late in Thursday’s game against Philadelphia after not hustling out of the box on a botched grounder — hit a grounder into the hole at short and slid into first base. Not only did he slide, but he slid headfirst. Any baseball person will tell you sliding into first is a big no-no, but here’s the thing — Murphy liked it.
William Contreras was pulled from yesterday’s game for not running hard so tonight he slid headfirst into first base in his first at bat pic.twitter.com/b9KhJhIVWp
It’s not often you see that kind of buy-in from a star player after he’s been benched. I would argue, rather, that most star players would have a negative reaction, especially at the major league level. But Murphy has proven over the last three seasons that he doesn’t care if you’re in your MLB debut or in your 13th season in the majors — you better be hustling and bringing your A-game.
Fast forward to the eighth inning of Friday’s game, and you’ll see another example of why this team is different. Remember how Pratt was scratched from the lineup and Ortiz had to replace him? Well, Ortiz looked a bit rough throughout the game (even while going 2-for-3 with a walk), and he was pulled in a 4-4 tie game. Pratt, who probably didn’t feel the greatest, took over, and while he grounded into a double play in his lone at-bat, the fact that he was able to come off the bench at all is a testament to this team’s depth and “next man up” mentality.
Speaking of next man up, in the bottom of that same eighth inning, with the game still tied at four runs apiece, here’s how the Brewers rallied:
Jackson Chourio single David Hamilton hit by pitch Garrett Mitchell sac bunt (reaches on error) Brice Turang two-run single William Contreras one-run single Jake Bauers sac fly Christian Yelich walk Pratt double play
How about that? Three hits — all of them singles — but four runs on the board. For most teams, that would be a strange inning, but for the Brewers, that’s basically an everyday occurrence. They finished the season with the third-best OPS in baseball (.744) and scored the second-most runs (832), and yet they had just 154 homers, ranking tied for 28th in the league (and just two ahead of the Blue Jays, who had an MLB-worst 152 homers). That’s insane.
Let’s jump to Saturday now.
Ahead of the second game, the Brewers named Christian Yelich team captain, the first time in franchise history Milwaukee has had a captain. Why? Because this team is different. There are several players who one could argue were deserving earlier in franchise history — Robin Yount and Ryan Braun are the first two that come to mind. But Yelich, who is in his ninth season with Milwaukee, is the first one to get that honorary “C” on his chest. And he deserves it, too.
In the game itself, Dustin May got the start, and he didn’t look great, going three innings with two runs allowed on three hits and a walk. But here’s where the next part of our “why the Brewers can win the World Series” argument comes in — Murphy then gave Kyle Harrison another chance.
Harrison can only be described as dismal since late August. Entering Saturday, his last six appearances (three starts) totaled 9 1/3 innings, allowing 25 runs (22 earned) on 31 hits, nine walks, and two hit batters while striking out 10. But Murphy, who clearly hasn’t fully settled his postseason pitching staff yet, continues to give the young lefty chances. And Harrison delivered.
Harrison went two scoreless innings, throwing 20 of 29 pitches for strikes and allowing just one baserunner via a hit by pitch. He struck out four to earn his 11th win of the season and first since August 18.
The lesson here is similar to the one about Pratt above — that “next man up” mentality is exactly what a team looking to win the World Series needs, and Murphy’s faith in his guys is just the cherry on top.
Then, in the fifth inning of Saturday’s game, Turang launched his 21st homer of the season, bringing in Chourio and giving the Brewers a 3-2 lead they would hold onto for the rest of the evening. Remember how I said the Brewers don’t hit lots of homers? Well, they still have a couple of home run threats — Turang, Chourio, Bauers, to name just a few — and there’s always a time and place for homers. Half of the battle in the postseason is delivering in clutch moments, and the Brewers have guys who can hit both singles and homers, meaning they’re ready for any situation. That’s something the rest of this postseason field might not bring to the table.
OK, last piece of the puzzle: Sunday’s game.
This is perhaps the biggest reason why the Brewers have what it takes to win a World Series: the monster that is Jacob Misiorowski.
Misiorowski went 5 1/3 scoreless innings in Sunday’s regular-season finale, wrapping up what is almost certainly an NL Cy Young-winning campaign. He finished the year among league leaders in virtually every category, including at the top of the leaderboard in strikeouts (252), ERA (1.80), WHIP (0.80), and batting average against (.157). He also drastically dropped his walk rate from a year ago, going from 4.23 BB/9 to 2.27 BB/9.
Lastly, late in Sunday’s game, Chad Patrick was struggling to maintain what was an early 6-0 lead. He entered to pitch the eighth and recorded just one out, allowing two walks and two hits, including a three-run homer to cut the lead to 6-4.
What do the Brewers have a lot of that many other teams don’t? Reliable length arms that can lock things down when other guys get in trouble.
Shane Drohan came in and pitched the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing no baserunners and recording a pair of strikeouts for his second save of the year. In fact, the Brewers had five wins this week, four of which had a save credited to them. Know how many different players got a save? Four. The usual closer, Trevor Megill, Drohan, Antonio Senzatela, and Aaron Ashby. For the season, 10 players had at least one save, and seven players had multiple. MLB bullpens only carry eight arms. That’s a well-balanced bullpen.
This weekend’s sweep of the Cardinals is a microcosm of the 2026 Brewers season as a whole. The Crew is balanced, hungry, and ready to win. They have several players who are in the very early stages of what are hopefully long careers — Pratt, Chourio, Luis Lara, Logan Henderson, Misiorowski, etc. — but they also have veteran leadership in the form of Yelich, May, Senzatela, JoJo Romero, and Brandon Woodruff, who you may have forgotten is still in that clubhouse, even if he isn’t on the field.
This Brewers team can win the World Series. Now let’s see if they can make it happen.
The 2026 season is over and the next step for the Braves could not be more familiar and perhaps appropriate. The Braves will host their division rival, the Phillies, for a best of three Wild Card round setup at Truist Park this week. Both Tuesday and Wednesday games will occur at just after 2PM Eastern, with Thursday’s game to be determined (if necessary). For many reasons, it will certainly be an exciting atmosphere in which the Braves will hopefully find quick and frequent success.
Mark Bowman looks at a few key factors that came together over the final week of the season that could impact the Wild Card round for the Braves.
MLB News
Along with the Phillies, the Astros were the other team to finalize their playoff spot on the final day of the season by winning the NL West over the Rangers.
UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 11: New York Yankees' bench coach Don Zimmer races towards Boston Red Sox' pitcher Pedro Martinez as Red Sox' David Ortiz (2nd l.) and manager Grady Little restrain Manny Ramirez in a fourth-inning fracas at Fenway Park during Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. Martinez had hit the Yankees' Karim Garcia with a pitch at the top of the inning; when Yanks' pitcher Roger Clemens then nearly grazed Ramirez, the bench-clearing brawl ensued. Zimmer, who was thrown to the ground by Martinez during the dustup, was taken to the hospital for observation, then released. The Yanks won, 4-3. (Photo by Linda Cataffo/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) | NY Daily News via Getty Images
Good morning! There is no baseball today. Normally that’s a sad phrase to read and write. But when you’re gearing up for the playoffs, a day of rest isn’t the worst thing in the world. Especially when you’re gearing up to face the Yankees in the playoffs.
Having said that, we can all acknowledge that these Sox-Yankees series don’t have quite the same bite that they used to. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The world is constantly changing. And the reason these series once felt so draining is that we used to be terrified of pinstripes. We used to watch with cosmic certainty that the Yankees would find a way to come out on top, no matter what.
Suffice it to say, that’s not the case anymore. I’m worried about the 2026 Yankees because they’re a good baseball team with a strong starting staff and they’re standing in between the Red Sox and the World Series. I am NOT worried about the 2026 Yankees because I’m convinced they are agents of Satan. Like I said, the world is constantly changing.
So how much do you really hate the Yankees today, and how have your emotions evolved?
Talk about the rivalry and whatever else you want in this space and, as always, be good to one another.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 27: Alex Vesia #51 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Sunday, September 27, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kavin Mistry/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Dodgers finished the regular season with an even 100 wins, after a sweep of the San Francisco Giants over the weekend at Oracle Park. It’s the sixth time the Dodgers have won in triple digits under manager Dave Roberts, along with 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
In the first 132 seasons in Dodgers franchise history, before Roberts, the club won 100 games six times — 1899, 1941, 1942, 1953, 1962, and 1974.
Forty-nine of those 100 wins in 2026 came on the road, including all three in San Francisco over the weekend coming with the Dodgers wearing their gray jerseys with “Dodgers” on the front. Here’s the breakdown of the Dodgers’ 2026 road performance, broken down by uniform choices:
“They wouldn’t have traded for me if they didn’t believe in me,” he said. “And I’m just forever grateful for the people who helped me develop my game thus far. There’s so many biometrics and weight training involved, there’s no stone left unturned here. They really emphasize being an all-around player, and that means getting the most out of your swing, defense, baserunning and going into every at-bat with a plan. It just allows me to be confident in what I need to do to be successful.”
Clayton Kershaw will be part of the NBC Sports broadcast team for the wild card series between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs at Petco Park. Kershaw is an analyst along with Jim Deshaies and Mark Grant for the series, with Dave Flemming on play-by-play.
KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 01: A general view of Kauffman Stadium on Easter, April 1, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. The scheduled game between the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Royals was postponed due to weather. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
“Yeah, getting to that 200 mark is definitely a cool feeling,” Wacha said. “It’s always been a goal of mine as a starting pitcher to reach that number. And yeah, definitely a cool memory that I’ll have.”
Wacha gave up six runs — although only two were earned — in what turned out to be an 11-5 loss on Saturday to the Guardians.
“You know, he’s battled some things just like everybody does throughout the course of the year,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said pregame. “And having your body go through the rigors of pitching this many innings. But, he’s never wavered, and he takes a lot of pride in it. And we’ve seen him continually evolve year after year.”
“He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever been around,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Professional, gives you everything he’s got. I know he was frustrated with the results tonight, but you look up and he’s out there in the seventh. … I love the guy. Love everything about him, love the way he competes.”
He’s now homered 20 times while batting leadoff and playing catcher, which is eight more such home runs in a career than anyone else in MLB history.
That’s not your normal catcher.
“He’s driven. We talk about it all the time. He works, he’s committed, he wants to be better,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “I know he’s had a really good season. I mean, anytime you pass Mike Piazza in something, that’s pretty impressive. We talk about his growth on the defensive side of the ball as well, but overall, he still wants to be better. He’s not satisfied.”
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 23: Roman Anthony #19 of the Boston Red Sox stands on deck in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park on September 23, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees gained an extra day of rest with a nor’easter canceling Game 162 against the Orioles on Sunday. It means they’ll have two days off before opening their 2026 playoff odyssey Tuesday night against the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series. Boston has one less day of rest after losing to the Cubs, 6-2, on the final day of the regular season. Earlier today, my colleague Josh provided a preview of Boston’s top-of-the-class pitching staff, and now we’ll look at the offense.
The Red Sox were seemingly dead and buried on June 24th after dropping two of three to the last place Rockies. They sat in last place at 32-46, 15.5 games back of the first-place Rays, listless after the ground-shaking April 25th firing of longtime manager Alex Cora. But then a four game sweep of the Yankees at Fenway catalyzed one of the most stunning mid-season turnarounds in recent memory. They won an astonishing 27 of 30 games between July 3rd and August 7th to seriously threaten the Yankees’ position in second place. This owes a lot to, as Josh covered, a pitching staff that was fantastic all season long. However, the sudden emergence of impact hitters from the margins of the roster deserves as much of the praise for ultimately getting them into this playoff series against the Yankees.
Before we look at the individual players, we should recap how the offense in aggregate performed across the whole season. They finished middle of the pack in terms of OPS (.718), wRC+ (99), stolen bases (107), and fWAR (20.3). They hit the fifth-fewest home runs (162) in the league while striking out and walking at a roughly league-average clip. And as the Yankees deal with uncertainty over Aaron Judge’s availability, the Red Sox just got their own star slugger back just in time for this series.
Willson Contreras missed eight games after being struck on the hand by a pitch, but returned to the lineup in the final game of the regular season. The longtime Cardinal seemingly had a point to prove all season after getting traded to the Red Sox over the winter, and he was far and away Boston’s best hitter, slashing .276/.387/.518 with a team-high 27 home runs, 81 RBI and 4.1 fWAR, his 152 wRC+ third in baseball among hitters with at least 500 PAs. He thrives against fastballs and anything on the outer-half, his one weak spot up and in.
Roman Anthony appeared poised to step up as the league’s next superstar after a breakout rookie campaign, but a torn finger ligament limited him to just 54 games. He returned with two hits against the Yankees on August 30th and posted a 123 wRC+ in his final 24 games, though he finished with just five home runs in 240 plate appearances. Like Contreras, he loves to crush the fastball, but is certainly vulnerable to breaking balls from righties and changeups from lefties low and away.
Before the season started, the outfield was expected to carry the offense. Despite Anthony missing most of the season, the outfield still produced the bulk of the position player value. Ceddanne Rafaela posted his first above-average campaign by wRC+ (108) while maintaining Gold Glove defense in center but did deal with some right leg injuries in the final weeks of the season. Wilyer Abreu didn’t quite take the next step that many expected him to but still produced plenty of value by matching his career averages by batting .248/.327/.446 with 24 home runs, 76 RBI, and a 112 wRC+, though his defense regressed significantly from its usual sterling standard. The pair do the bulk of their damage against the breaking ball so expect a heavy diet of fastballs inside to Abreu and away to Rafaela.
All this being said, the story of the Red Sox season and in particular the turnaround in fortunes has been the transformation of other teams’ castoffs and their own borderline MLB players into impact contributors, not dissimilar from the Yankees’ next-man-up movement in 2019. Chief among them was Mickey Gasper, who was claimed off waivers over the winter and was optioned multiple times early before exploding for a 130 wRC+ in 67 games (though will miss this series with a biceps injury). One-time Yankee Jahmai Jones thrived in a platoon bench role, posting a 184 wRC+ in 179 plate appearances, almost exclusively against lefties.
Caleb Durbin was a sturdy three-win player who batted league average. Former Yankees first round pick Anthony Seigler was a revelation for 49 games at second posting a 102 wRC+, though his availability is threatened by a wrist injury. Nick Easton floundered in his first two big league seasons but was good for a 104 wRC+ in 65 games.
There are some softer landing spots in the lineup. Adley Rutschman never quite adjusted to life with the Red Sox with just a 77 wRC+ in 31 games after moving to Boston at the deadline and could yield playing time to Connor Wong behind the plate. Jarren Duran endured a miserable campaign at a 70 wRC+ in 150 games and likely played himself out of a starting role in the playoffs. Trevor Story could only a muster a 68 wRC+ in 63 games of another injury ravaged season.
For Boston, the question becomes whether this accumulation of injuries to position players leaves them blunted for this series. That being said, their main protagonists are all available just in time, Contreras, Anthony, Abreu, and Rafaela representing a potent threat at the top of the lineup. If the Yankees can limit the damage done by those four they’ll be in a good position to advance.
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 27: Cole Carrigg #16 of the Colorado Rockies rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Sunday, September 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Kyle Sheridan/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
We did it, folks.
We made it through another 162 games of Rockies baseball.
While they limped to the end and ultimately finished 58-104, there were plenty of glimmers of hope for the future (as well as many reminders of why they finished with a fourth-consecutive 100-loss season).
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be running our “Ranking the Rockies” series as well as continue to bring you as many updates as we can about the team.
But in the meantime, here are some updates from a busy final weekend of the MLB regular season!
Rockies News & Links
Goodman reaches 40-HR milestone, and Rockies want more | MLB.com — Hunter Goodman finished 2026 with 41 home runs, becoming the first Rockie since 2019 to accomplish the feat. Thomas Harding caught up with the slugging catcher after the milestone on Saturday night.
Brewers buck tradition, name Christian Yelich first captain in club history | The Athletic ($) — Christian Yelich has been a stalwart for the Brewers since they traded for him during the 2017-2018 offseason. The Brew Crew rewarded him by naming him Captain, one of three active players to don the title (Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Salvador Perez of the Royals). If the Rockies decided to name a captain, who would it be?
Dan Wilson will not return as Seattle Mariners manager | ESPN — The Seattle Mariners struggled mightily in 2026 after 2025 saw them nearly make the World Series. Unfortunately for Dan Wilson, that meant the end of his tenure. He was promoted to manager on August 22, 2024 and went 186-171 in 357 games at the helm.
Alonso becomes first player to win RBI title in both leagues | MLB.com — After 10 years in the New York Mets organization (six in the Majors), Pete Alonso signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason. He had a productive year, slashing .267/.363/.522 with 43 homers (1st in the AL) in 161 games with the O’s and became the first player to win the RBI title in both the National and American Leagues.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 23: Trey Gibson #43 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the seventh inning during game two of a double header against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 23, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When Trey Gibson took the mound for the nightcap of the Orioles’ September 23 doubleheader against Toronto, there was little reason to expect much. The 24-year-old was only there because Baltimore’s rotation had run out of healthy arms: Kyle Bradish was sidelined with a sports hernia, and the Orioles needed an extra starter for the doubleheader. Gibson’s big-league résumé to that point did not inspire confidence: a 7.36 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP in seven tries. One fantasy site called him a “high-risk option.”
Then he threw 6⅔ scoreless innings against a Blue Jays team that had still harbored playoff aspirations that morning. The righty allowed three hits and two walks, and struck out seven. It was the best start of his young career by a country mile, and perhaps, looking ahead to next season, a statement that there could be more where this came from.
Obviously, one start isn’t a season. So what did the rest of Trey Gibson’s 2026 actually say?
Gibson came into this season a former dark horse who was already building a name for himself. An undrafted free agent, Gibson was pitching for the collegiate summer team the Chatham Anglers when the Orioles signed him to a minor league contract in 2023.
Then, over parts of three seasons, Gibson’s star began to rise, capped off by 2025, when his 166 strikeouts across three levels led every pitcher in the system, resulting in his being named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Thus Trey Gibson had a head of steam entering this spring. But it turns out, MiLB is one thing, and the dance is another. After six starts at Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles handed him the ball at Yankee Stadium on May 3. He went 4⅔ innings and gave up three runs, two of them on homers. May was respectable overall for him: a 3.65 ERA in three appearances, including 5⅔ innings of one-run ball against the Rays.
June, however, was not. Over five starts Gibson got walloped: a 9.58 ERA, with opposing hitters averaging nearly .300 against him. Sure, there were OK indicators, stuff-wise: he struck out 25 in 20 2/3 innings, including eight at Dodger Stadium. But it was still ugly. This stretch was capped off, in a manner of speaking, by a June 30 outing against the White Sox where he posted this line: 2⅔ innings, seven hits, six walks, eight runs. Ouch. Back to Norfolk went Gibson, and it wasn’t clear he’d be invited back to the big leagues at all this year.
Back at Triple-A, at a surface level, Gibson actually got worse as the summer went on. He had a 3.55 ERA from March through July and a 5.27 ERA in August and September. But if you look closer, you’ll also see a walk rate that got cut in half (4.3 BB/9 through July, and 2.0 in August and September) and an uptick in strikeouts (though this had never been a problem for the righty). Gibson, during his struggles this summer, had lived too much in the zone and allowed too many hits. But by cutting down the walks, he made himself a different pitcher.
I’m not saying the Orioles were onto this when he was called back up for one last big-league start this season; by all appearances it was purely a move of necessity, when Kyle Bradish went down with a hernia. But as you now know, Gibson’s scoreless outing was a revelation, and certainly a moment he demanded to be taken seriously as a starting pitcher candidate.
What does Gibson’s season tell us, as we close the book on a lost season for the team as a whole and look ahead to 2027? Obviously, cautious optimism has to be the right answer. One start in nine tries is not much to go on. Also it came against a Blue Jays team that had been already eliminated from postseason competition in Game One of the doubleheader that day. And it’s true, Gibson is striking out fewer hitters than he used to. In 2025, when he was the organization’s Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year, he was a strikeout machine, with 12.4 whiffs per nine innings across three levels. At Norfolk this year it was 8.0 early in the season, and slightly rebounded to 9.0 per nine over the last two months. In nine starts as a big leaguer, he averaged 8.4.
One more interesting thing about Gibson. A mounting complaint about the Mike Elias regime is the failure to draft pitchers. Gibson is, in a way, no rebuttal to this at all, because the Orioles signed him in August 2023 after he went undrafted! (This was just after a stretch in which, by BirdsWatcher’s count, Baltimore didn’t draft and sign a single pitcher in the first four rounds from 2019 through 2022.) On the other hand, Gibson provides strong evidence that the Orioles can develop pitching, alongside 14th-rounder Michael Forret and Luis De Leon, who signed for $30,000. That’s a point in the front office’s favor, at least.
Trey Gibson was signed as a relative unknown, and he still remains such. He has a 95-mph fastball, a great work ethic, an ability to miss MiLB bats, one great MLB start to his name, and that’s pretty much it. But if you’re looking for an interesting contender for a spot in the 2027 starting rotation, you can’t overlook Trey Gibson.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 27: JJ Wetherholt #26, Masyn Winn #0 and Jordan Walker #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate the team's 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on April 27, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
The 2026 season is officially over. Overall, I’d call the season a success, although it sure doesn’t feel that way. If the Cardinals had the same exact W-L total, but went 15-9 instead of 9-15 in September, I feel like the vibes would be much different. From ownership’s standpoint, they are probably happy it went the way it did, because the attendance barely took a hit and I feel like if the season started poorly, it would have taken a bigger hit.
The way to view the season – maybe any season really – is to think about where the team was at the beginning of the season. If you were given the rough details of what happened in that season, would you be happy with how the season went? It is absolutely not a universal yes – I’ve seen the comments lately – but I feel like most fans would have been happy with this season.
It’s not about the win-loss record. I mean sure, I think solely focusing on win-loss record would still produce quite a few yeses – Any betting market or projection system did not have the Cardinals with 77 wins and a few of them were a lot less wins. Granted, some of us – me included – called out the projection systems that saw 70 wins or less, but nonetheless I don’t think any foresaw 77 wins.
Here is one way to look at it: the Cardinals made entirely future focused moves last offseason – they traded their of their best players and Nolan Arenado. It’s ironic actually. The Cardinals have spent a few seasons trying to be just good enough to make the playoffs but not making the playoffs and when they finally pivot, there’s a pretty decent chance they would have made the playoffs if they didn’t trade their best players.
Of course it doesn’t work like that. Nolan Arenado had a resurgence because he got away from Busch Stadium. I don’t think it happens here. Third base was so bad though that he would have been an improvement no matter what. And Brendan Donovan probably has to be healthier for this playoff hypothetical to truly work. And Willson Contreras was also likely hurt by Busch Stadium – Fenway seems like a great park for him. I’m comfortable saying Sonny Gray could have had his season here though.
But at best, they’re where the Phillies are right now, and we’re kind of trying to get away from that. The whole argument against that strategy is not that it won’t sometimes work, it’s that you’re counting on a team with the flimsiest of odds to win a World Series when that’s the entire goal. We want to be the Brewers, not a team barely making the playoffs. This year was the first step to trying to make that happen.
This season was originally meant to be about individual players and the development they took. For the players not expected to be a part of the future, their value is primarily in what trading them will bring the Cardinals. For players expected to be part of the future or hoped to be part of the future, the goal was that you could pencil them in for whatever position they play and then move onto the next problem.
In that respect, the Cardinals had a few questions answered. They don’t need to look for a 2B. JJ Wetherholt is their long-term second baseman, solidified with the extension he signed. His defensive performance gives him a higher floor than we imagined and his offensive performance portends great things despite a not great 2nd half. He had a low BABIP but a high xwOBA, and his minor league BABIPs were all fairly high. He doesn’t strike me as a Matt Carpenter type where he will just underperform his xwOBA because he’s not really a warning track kind of hitter.
They also successfully replaced Willson Contreras and we’ll see if there’s an incoming extension, but possibly the 1B of the future in Alec Burleson. He was legitimately half a win better purely because he played first base competently and maybe even great instead of attempting to catch flyballs in left field. You know how bad you have to be defensively when moving to first base increases your WAR. There is also significant value in Burleson showing 2025 was not a fluke. And the underlying offensive numbers may suggest Burleson hasn’t reached his peak – he had more power, walked more, and had a higher xwOBA than 2025.
Also I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get to him, but Jordan Walker happened. Especially with my hypothetical posed at the beginning of this, I don’t think just about any of us expected his 2026 to happen. Remember when he had a terrible spring training? Yes, he has flaws in his game and superficially it looks like his defense has gotten better, but it really kind of hasn’t, but he finished his season with a 120 wRC+ and 2.8 fWAR. Whether you’re in the minority in wanting to trade him or think he’s the future, either way you have to call him a huge success – even if you want to trade him, he suddenly has a lot more trade value.
That’s three positions that are more clear than at the beginning of the season. I’ll throw in two more, albeit a bit more unproven: Leonardo Bernal is the catcher of the future and Joshua Baez is the LF of the future. These were uncertainties and I might argue Baez is still kind of an uncertainty thanks to his plate discipline numbers, but it’s hard to argue with 7 homers and 7 doubles in 29 games. If you told me that Joshua Baez would have a good enough 2026 that all of us would feel comfortable penciling him in for 150 games in 2027, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.
Bernal was a bigger surprise. Sort of. Given his offensive history, I would not have predicted that he’d have zero trouble adjusting to the majors. He was always crazy young at each level, so there was a reason his offense was merely a little above average, but it’s a guarantee those type of prospects will adjust to MLB pitching. Bernal looks more like the catcher of the future than I think even the Cardinals expected when they initially called him up. Bernal has in the short term answered an important question: who to trade? Answer: not Bernal and I’m way more comfortable trading both Jimmy Crooks, Pedro Pages, and even Ivan Herrera because of Bernal.
So five positions were answered thanks to this season. Two of them were pretty good bets (Burleson, Wetherholt), one of them was more of a matter of which player (catcher), but the other two positions were massive, huge question marks. We didn’t know if Joshua Baez was going to be another Moises Gomez. Minor leaguers have career seasons much the same as ones who make the big leagues. And getting anything out of Walker would have been considered a success, much less an All-Star appearance and a 20-20 season.
Starting pitching wise, it mostly went well, but there was no equivalent to “oh wow we have a Gold Glover at second base???” Just a moderately successful season, but no new ace appeared. Dustin May delivered two huge prospects at the deadline, which was the entire reason he was signed. Andre Pallante completely bounced back to such an extent that I think people will get very frustrated with me if I end up writing an article suggesting he should get traded, and I would have had very little pushback if I proposed that 5 months ago. Kyle Leahy actually looks like he can start now, which I viewed as very unlikely.
And now the bad stuff. If you want to put on the rose-colored glasses, third base gave us what we asked for. We got an answer. Nolan Gorman is not it. He hadn’t gotten a chance to play at the position the Cardinals drafted him at and to his credit, he proved significantly better on defense than expected. But he’s still lost without a paddle on offense. However, this was not a huge disappointment. He was coming off back-to-back 87 wRC+ seasons. I think I had reached a point where even a true Gorman bounceback would have me wanting to trade him – because I simply did not trust him to repeat it. Maybe I’m too burned by Tyler O’Neill.
They did not find the 3B of the future, but there are at least candidates in the system, none greater than Jesus Baez. Baez hit 41 homers this season if you include the minor league playoffs and while I’m sure the homers are inflated by whatever is going on with the ball down there, he hit 14 last year. You can’t just write off his season because of the ball. The 21-year-old Deniel Ortiz also had a very quiet good year. Both of them should be in Memphis next season. Blaze Jordan went from a player left off the 40 man roster to a player who forced his way into 58 games, prematurely ended by an injury. My point is only that if the MLB situation at 3B went as poorly as possible, at least the minor league portion went significantly better than expected.
I don’t have a lot of positive things to say about CF – call me the Nathan Church skeptic – but even then the minor league developments were extremely positive. Tai Peete looks like a very shrewd pickup in return for Donovan and Josiah Ragsdale just had a 145 wRC+ across two levels and will likely be in Memphis next season (Alexaner Frias is too far away for this type of post). Yes, what people hoped from Church is a significant departure from what they got and in that sense, one could call this the one position that looks to be in a worse position than at the beginning of the season – but I never fully bought into Church so I’m not sure that holds true for me.
And of course Matthew Liberatore. I mean the best you can say is that he actually did raise his strikeout rate and by quite a bit honestly. That is a fact. After that it entirely depends on how the Cardinals perceive that kind of improvement for his future. Either it means he can find swing-and-miss stuff, but can’t be a starting pitcher – certainly the majority opinion for the fanbase. Or he’s very close, but needs to clean stuff up. As a Liberatore apologist, I wouldn’t discount the second possibility – we literally just experienced this with Andre Pallante. But I don’t actually know where the Cardinals stand and if the bullpen is his future, I think it would improve the bullpen instantly.
As this is an overall positive post, I won’t spend too much time on the bullpen. I’m not going to put lipstick on a pig. But bullpen is a short-term problem. It is always a short term problem. You can’t trust it even if it’s good. In the context of looking forward, this happens to be a good thing coming off a very poor season. There’s nowhere to go but up. If your second baseman is below average one season, if you run with the same guy the next season, you can be pretty sure it won’t go well. If your bullpen is below average one season, you have no idea how they will perform the next season. The Cardinals will try different pitchers and the pitchers they have might see a random jump – maybe Cade Winquest is the closer next season. Amidst all the advanced analytics we have, bullpen is still as unpredictable as ever.
All in all, whatever doubts I have about how this upcoming offseason will go – they should absolutely capitalize on the excitement and goodwill they have and actually make moves to improve the 2027 team and not just future teams – at this very moment, I am happy with how the season went and the direction the Cardinals are going in.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 27: A general view of Oracle Park as the San Francisco Giants play the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 27, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
The 2026 San Francisco Giants season is officially over. For better, and mostly worse. I’ll have a lot more to say about this season as a whole in the coming days, as we all likely will, once the dust has settled.
But today, I wanted to check in and see what your initial reflections on this season are?
Personally, I feel relieved. I have loved this team since I was a child, and I have covered this team for 10 years and not one of those seasons has felt like such torture. On every front. Every part of this season has felt like misery to watch, write about, and I’m sure even to live for those involved in it.
So I am relieved. We are free of 2026 San Francisco Giants and I don’t know that I’ve ever been happier for a season to come to an end. That’s about all I’ve got at this point, so I’ll hand the metaphorical mic over to you guys.
What are your initial reflections on the 2026 season?
BILOXI, MS - SEPTEMBER 20: Andrew Fischer #25 of the Biloxi Shuckers looks on prior to the game between the Rocket City Trash Pandas and the Biloxi Shuckers at Keesler Federal Park on Sunday, September 20, 2026 in Biloxi, Mississippi. (Photo by Sierra Gatz/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
Welcome back to the Minor League Roundup!
As a reminder, you can find this roundup — covering… sorry, force of habit. With the Biloxi Shuckers’ loss in the third and final game of the Southern League Championship Series, the season is officially over for each of the Brewers’ affiliates, which means it’s time to take a look at what happened in the minors this season.
Notable Graduations: 23 starts into Logan Henderson’s career, he has yet to have a bad start. Henderson hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any given start in his entire career, which ties him with Zac Gallen for the record. His 0.844 WHIP is the lowest by a rookie starting pitcher (min. 50 innings) since Elmer Steele, who did it in 1908. No rookie has pitched as well as Henderson since a guy who made his major league debut for the Boston Americans. Hard to overstate just how incredible he’s been as a steady presence in a rotation that’s been beset by injuries and, at times, underperformance.
Other notable pitching prospects who graduated included Brandon Sproat, who flashed amazing stuff but will need to work on his control to become a viable major league starting pitcher, and Shane Drohan, who posted a 4.24 ERA and 1.34 WHIP through 123 innings this season. Despite having made his debut over two years ago now, Robert Gasser was still considered a prospect coming into the season, and he’s been an integral part of the rotation for much of the season. Recently, Gasser has seemed to flip a switch; since his emergency relief “start” on August 26, he’s put up a 1.67 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 32 1/3 innings, bringing his ERA for the season down to 3.38.
Luis Lara came out hot this season, earning himself both a call-up and a contract extension by mid-summer. In 60 games with the Brewers, he’s only slashed .246/.313/.326, but his defense in right field has been stellar — one of the reasons he’s been worth 1.1 bWAR in less than three months. The other prospect to earn an extension was Cooper Pratt, who looks to be cementing himself as the shortstop of the future. Pratt is hitting .281 with a .716 OPS and has been worth 1.6 bWAR in 221 at-bats with Milwaukee.
Looking at Triple-A stats at the end of the year is always a bit weird because the best prospects (and a good number of the AAAA guys) usually don’t spend a ton of time at the level. It’s rare that a top prospect spends a full year raking in Triple-A; as with Lara, the organization usually will want to see whether said prospect can replicate their success in the majors.
With that being said, there’s still a lot worth mentioning out of Nashville. Luke Adams was ranked as a top-10 organizational prospect prior to last season, is still ranked at No. 13, and just posted an OPS well over .900 in 212 at-bats. He doesn’t have much more to prove in Triple-A, which theoretically would make him a candidate to make the big leagues next year.
The reason he’s not getting more love is that the Brewers are stacked with corner infielders and corner infield prospects. To illustrate my point: in some organizations, guys like Tyler Black (and maybe even Brock Wilken) would have gotten a real shot in the big leagues. Because the Brewers are as deep as they are, playing time is harder to come by. At the same time, Adams has hit at every level despite a somewhat unconventional swing (that has gotten more conventional in recent years) and just posted a career-high 16 home runs (13 in Triple-A). Should he get an opportunity — whether due to injuries or potential offseason moves — it won’t surprise me if he takes advantage of it.
Luke Adams just hit his third homer of the game to make it 10-8 in the 9th inning
Another player I’d like to see more of in the big leagues is Coleman Crow, who led Sounds starting pitchers in both ERA and innings pitched. In his brief time with Milwaukee, he impressed, and he reminds me a little bit of guys like Chad Patrick and Drohan who weren’t super highly-regarded prospects, but developed into dependable swingmen. Crow’s curveball also might be one of the best pitches in the entire organization. One thing worth mentioning is that, at 5’10”, 175 lbs, he’s a good deal smaller than Patrick and Drohan, and most pitchers — more Tim Lincecum-esque, if anything. Still, that hasn’t stopped him so far.
Garrett Stallings, who also pitched well in limited time with the Brewers, served as a dependable option for the Sounds. Guys who can show up in Milwaukee and pitch three scoreless innings out of the pen don’t grow on trees, so it speaks to the Brewers’ pitching depth that he’s a Triple-A arm. Also, he’s a great guy:
Your Community Player of the Year is Garrett Stallings 👏 Garrett was an impact player on and off the field, frequently volunteering at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital and our Sertoma Club Clinic. If you caught a game in Hit City this year, you likely saw him at our Sunday… pic.twitter.com/ZzpIw31Ttz
Blake Holub also deserves some love, as a 2.10 ERA in 55 2/3 innings out of the bullpen is nothing to sneeze at.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that Jeferson Quero and Jett Williams, two top-10 organizational prospects coming into the season, both had somewhat disappointing years.
As signaled by the acquisition of Bo Naylor, Milwaukee seems to lack confidence in Quero’s arm being what it was prior to the labrum injury he suffered after his first at-bat of 2024. He started 48 games at catcher compared to 70 at designated hitter and by the end of the year was pretty much only a DH. Quero allowed 98 stolen bases in 116 attempts, or over two stolen bases per game, which works out to a pretty abysmal 15.5% caught-stealing rate.
Williams’ season also ended up looking less-than-ideal due to injuries, but there’s more cause for optimism with him. He had just one plate appearance since July 7 due to elbow and ankle injuries; in other words, he essentially missed the last three months of the season. Williams ended his season slashing .233/.340/.384 (.724 OPS) over 81 games; not a terrible line, but also not an improvement on his time with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate (.718 OPS). Still, he might have ended up in Milwaukee anyway had it not been for the injuries.
Double-A Biloxi Shuckers
Record: 66-68 Standout performances:
1B Blake Burke: .285/.367/.603, 30 HR in 375 at-bats
1B/3B Andrew Fischer: .254/.389/.637, 28 HR in 248 at-bats
C Matthew Wood: .257/.398/.492, 18 HR in 303 at-bats
LF Josh Adamczewski: .278/.382/.465 in 241 at-bats
Biloxi had a few mainstays — among them No. 1 overall prospect Jesús Made — but there was a good amount of roster reshuffling down in Mississippi, which explains why the Shuckers won their division in the first half but finished the second half under .500.
Still, despite finishing the full season with a losing record, the Shuckers had the most successful season of any Brewers affiliate. Their first-half division title guaranteed them a playoff berth, and they swept the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in the best-of-three division series to earn a spot in the championship series against the Rocket City Trash Pandas, where they lost the decisive third game by two runs.
What made this team special? Brewers farm director Tom Flanagan said this year’s Shuckers were “probably the greatest collection of high-upside talent” he’d ever seen on one club. This season, Biloxi rostered baseball’s No. 1 prospect (Made), the minor league home run leader (Andrew Fischer), the Southern League MVP (Blake Burke), and all four finalists for the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year award.
Made spent the entire season as the Southern League’s youngest player and still hit .271/.344/.430 with 14 home runs, 37 steals, and 91 RBIs, breaking Jackson Chourio’s franchise record of 90. The underlying numbers are even better: a 10.2% walk rate and a 14.3% strikeout rate as a teenager in Double-A is ridiculous. No more ink needs to be spilled on him; he’s the No. 1 prospect in baseball for a reason. Hopefully fans will get to see him in Triple-A to start next season.
Jesús Made delivers a pair of run-scoring hits in the playoffs 🔥
The refrain you’ll see with regard to Fischer is that he strikes out too much. That’s true — Fischer is the final boss of three-true-outcome prospects. If he makes the majors, he’ll be a rare case; Joey Gallo is pretty much the only player to strike out that much (33%) in the minors and become an established major leaguer, and even then, he didn’t last all that long.
Then again, Fischer also walked 102 times, hit 48 home runs (plus two more in the playoffs), and posted a 1.067 OPS in his first full professional season. His 48 regular-season home runs are the most by any minor leaguer since Ron Kittle hit 50 in 1982, and second only to Gorman Thomas (51 in 1974) among Brewers minor leaguers. He also led all qualified full-season minor leaguers in slugging (.654) and OPS. Maybe he’s just a unicorn? Nothing he’s done so far suggests that he isn’t…
Burke won Southern League MVP even though he was promoted to Nashville on August 10. Yeah, you read that right: Burke won MVP despite not being in the league the last month and a half of the season. In 96 games with Biloxi, he hit .285/.367/.603 with 30 home runs, leading the league in average, slugging, and OPS and setting Shuckers single-season records for homers and OPS. He needed only 88 games to reach 30 home runs, the fastest any Double-A hitter has done it since at least 2005. Burke also stole 29 bases and flashed the leather a few times at first base. I’m planting my flag: even though he struggled in Triple-A (.193/.299/.336 in 119 at-bats), I think Burke is the Brewers’ first baseman of the future.
Also of note: Made, Fischer, and catcher Darrien Miller were the three Shuckers sent to Nashville for the Brewers’ “stay ready” camp after the season ended, which is a nice little nod to how the organization views them.
Josh Adamczewski has raked everywhere he’s been, so it’s not necessarily a surprise that he had another great season. A 15th-round pick in 2023, he hit .331 with a 1.036 OPS for Wisconsin, got promoted in mid-June, and then hit safely in each of his first 12 games with Biloxi. He finished with a .278/.382/.465 line at Double-A and made the Southern League All-Star team. Across both levels, he hit .300/.417/.509 with 18 homers and 78 walks. Baseball America now has him at No. 88 overall, and he should be higher going into next season.
Josh Adamczewski (@Brewers No. 3 prospect) wallops his first homer of the playoffs to get the Double-A @BiloxiShuckers on the board in Game 1 of the Southern League Finals
Matthew Wood also merits a mention. The 25-year-old catcher, a fourth-round pick out of Penn State in 2022, didn’t make the Brewers’ top 30 list heading into the season, but he was one of the Shuckers’ best players this year. Not only did he post an .890 OPS with 18 home runs, but he also kept hitting in the playoffs, homering and driving in four runs in the game that clinched the division series against Pensacola, then doubling in Game 1 of the championship series.
The obvious caveat is age. Twenty-five is on the older side for Double-A, so it’s fair to want to see him do it in Triple-A before getting too excited. Still, remember what I said about Quero? Milwaukee’s catching situation beyond next season is murkier than it’s been in a while, and a left-handed-hitting catcher whom scouts have long considered capable of sticking behind the plate is exactly the kind of player who could sneak into the picture.
The career year continues for Matthew Wood! His 18th blast of the year goes 450 feet and gets us on the board!
On the mound, Manuel Rodríguez was the Shuckers’ workhorse. The 21-year-old went 13-4, a new Shuckers record for wins, albeit with a 4.74 ERA. With that being said, his ERA in High-A last year was 3.01, and he led the entire organization with 133 innings, so the Brewers clearly see something in him. A 21-year-old throwing 133 innings with fairly respectable numbers is impressive in its own right.
By the end of the season, Biloxi’s rotation featured three starters ranked as top 20 organizational prospects. Bishop Letson and Josh Knoth are ranked No. 8 and 9, respectively, by MLB Pipeline, while J.D. Thompson comes in at No. 18. Letson’s surface numbers (4.85 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) aren’t pretty, but he finished strong. He posted a 1.69 ERA over his last three starts, then threw seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in the Shuckers’ Game 2 win against Rocket City.
Knoth missed all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery and came back to throw 87 2/3 innings with a 4.11 ERA and 87 strikeouts, including a 2.77 ERA in three late-season starts with Biloxi. For a pitcher coming off a lost year, it’s good just to see him stack innings, but his stats aren’t anything to sneeze at, either. Thompson, a 2025 second-rounder, missed time due to injury but put up a 3.98 ERA in 17 starts between High-A and Double-A.
Josh Knoth just turned 21 and put up a strong start in the first game of the Southern League Championship 🔥
Like Letson, both Knoth and Thompson finished strong this season after a couple of rough early outings, showing that they’re figuring it out. Knoth put up a 2.77 ERA in 3 Double-A starts prior to the playoffs. That’s all the Brewers — and Shuckers — want to see from three young, extremely talented pitching prospects.
High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Record: 80-69 Standout performances:
1B/3B Eric Bitonti: .270/.391/.525, 25 HR in 400 at-bats
2B Daniel Dickinson: .282/.428/.441, 60 SB in 390 at-bats
OF Braylon Payne: .277/.369/.561, 23 HR in 367 at-bats
OF Luis Castillo: .245/.357/.469, 20 HR in 310 at-bats
Wisconsin’s season was hard to evaluate because so much of its talent left town early. Fischer, Adamczewski, and Braylon Payne all started the year in Appleton before being promoted to Biloxi. Even so, the Timber Rattlers had one of the Midwest League’s better offenses.
The centerpiece of that offense should have been Luis Peña, MLB Pipeline’s No. 21 overall prospect, but unfortunately his season was defined more by what happened off the field than on it. Peña collapsed in the dugout, reportedly due to severe dehydration, in late April, and ended up missing a month. He had a second health scare a few weeks after his return, then missed another two weeks with a hamstring injury in June. When he played, he was very good, slashing .298/.384/.420 with 27 steals in 51 games.
Peña was promoted to Biloxi in mid-August, but fractured his fibula just a couple of weeks later while trying to steal third. The Brewers expect him to make a full recovery, but it will be anywhere from six to nine months before he’s back on the field, meaning he likely won’t be ready to play to begin 2027.
Eric Bitonti, ranked No. 26 in the system by MLB Pipeline, was one of the biggest breakouts in the farm system. He hit 25 home runs, all with Wisconsin, setting a new franchise record. He also hit .262/.378/.507 with 93 RBIs and 24 steals, all at just 20 years old. Bitonti’s raw power has never been in question; the question was whether he could do the other stuff well enough to stay on the field. This year, he did, and he played third base — not first — better than he ever has. All of that earned him a spot in Biloxi for the final week of the season. Frankly, I think he’s still underrated by Pipeline at No. 26.
Eric Bitonti was named to the Midwest League All-Star team as a 20-year-old 🏅
Bitonti showed off his 6' 5" frame at both 1st and 3rd base and continues to impress with his elite power (50% Hard-Hit) and lifting the baseball (60% Air rate) 💥
That home run record Bitonti broke? It was set by his teammate Payne, the Brewers’ first-round pick in 2024 and my pick for breakout player of the year. I’ve spilled a lot of ink on Payne already, but in short: he would have been a great prospect even if his power had never developed. It did.
Payne hit .277/.369/.561 with 23 homers in 77 games and made the Midwest League All-Star team. He didn’t slow down after his promotion to Biloxi, either, posting an .846 OPS in 25 games and homering in the playoffs. Put it all together, and you’ve got a speedy 20-year-old outfielder with 28 homers and 25 steals. He should be a consensus top-100 prospect going into next season.
Braylon Payne’s first postseason dinger leaves his bat at 117 mph 🔥
Former sixth-round pick Daniel Dickinson doesn’t get the same attention, but he stole 61 bases (!) with 11 homers and an .866 OPS, mostly with Wisconsin, before a late promotion to Biloxi. Also of note: Luis Castillo led the team with 90 RBIs and hit 20 home runs.
Marco Dinges kept hitting this year, with an .855 OPS in nearly 300 at-bats, but he almost exclusively served as a designated hitter this year, starting 19 games at catcher and 55 at DH. Something to keep an eye on: with Wood and Darrien Miller both playing well in Double-A, his only catching three games there makes sense, but he started more than twice as many games at DH as at catcher with Wisconsin.
While Wisconsin got plenty of standout performances at the plate, the pitching staff, which ranked 10th of 12 teams in ERA, was less impressive. The exception was Wande Torres. Over his last 12 outings with Wisconsin, Torres went 6-0 with a 2.32 ERA, striking out 76 and walking 20 in 62 innings, and he won the organization’s Pitcher of the Month award in both July and August. His full-season numbers (4.15 ERA, 126 strikeouts in 115 innings) undersell how good he was down the stretch.
Single-A Wilson Warbirds
Record: 80-69 Standout performances:
SS Brady Ebel: .261/.417/.420 in 383 at-bats
OF Handelfry Encarnacion: .250/.379/.405 in 432 at-bats
The Wilson Warbirds, formerly the Carolina Mudcats, had an eventful inaugural season. They went 64-66, but led the Carolina League with 13 walk-off wins. It’s worth mentioning that they were within a game and a half of a playoff spot in mid-August before losing their final 12 games. Like Wisconsin, the Warbirds could hit, finishing second in the league in runs.
Brady Ebel, the No. 32 overall pick in 2025, was named the top prospect in the Carolina League. Early on, that didn’t look probable at all, as Ebel went 2-for-35 over his first 10 games. However, after that, he slashed .261/.417/.420 with 10 homers, 96 walks, and 39 steals in 105 games before a late promotion to Wisconsin. Oh, and he led the entire organization in walks. A .417 OBP from a 19-year-old shortstop in his first full season is about as good a sign as you’ll get when evaluating a prospect. Pipeline clearly agrees, as Ebel is now ranked as the Brewers’ No. 4 prospect, behind only Made, Peña, and Adamczewski.
Brady Ebel flashes the leather 🌟
MLB's No. 99 prospect (@Brewers) makes a silky smooth play in his first action at shortstop for the High-A @TimberRattlers.
His younger brother Trey Ebel, the Brewers’ first-round pick this summer, joined Wilson after Brady’s promotion and walked 16 times in 13 games. Plate discipline apparently runs in the family. Also — in an instance of baseball being weird — Trey got to finish a plate appearance that Brady started. That plate appearance ended with a walk.
What do you make of a hitter with 23 home runs and a .173 batting average? That’s the question with Jose Anderson. The 19-year-old led the team in homers and RBIs (70) and hit three walk-off home runs, including an 11th-inning walk-off grand slam against Salem. He’d hit 19 homers in 140 games over the two previous seasons, so the power is real. However, unlike Fischer, he hasn’t proven he can hit for average or get on base — Anderson had a 10.5% walk rate this year.
Brailyn Antunez might have raised his stock more than anyone in the organization over the final month. After a promotion from the Arizona Complex League, the 18-year-old outfielder slashed .339/.450/.573 with seven homers in 124 at-bats and won Carolina League Player of the Month for August. It’s a small sample, sure, but it’s hard to ask for a better introduction to full-season ball.
Brailyn Antunez has been the most dangerous hitter in the Carolina League and was awarded the Player of the Month award for August 🏅
Antunez put up a 1.093 OPS on 5 HR and 5 Doubles (.628 SLG) in his first full month at the Low-A level as an 18-year-old 🔥#ThisIsMyCrewpic.twitter.com/gPBAViP7pA
As in Wisconsin, the pitching staff, which also ranked 10th of 12 teams in ERA, couldn’t keep pace with the offense. There were a few bright spots, though. Miqueas Mercedes led all qualified Brewers minor league pitchers with a 2.81 ERA, although he also walked 45 batters in less than 75 innings. Swiss Army knife lefty reliever Jose Meneses posted a 1.88 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings before moving up to Wisconsin. Jarrette Bonet, an undrafted free agent signed in 2025, led the team with 100 strikeouts; his 4.86 ERA isn’t great, but it’s a solid first full season for a UDFA.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning Frank Cairone, the Brewers’ 2025 supplemental second-round pick, who was seriously injured in a car accident in January. He was back on the mound in the Arizona Complex League by July, then pitched for Wilson before the season ended. The numbers don’t matter; it’s just great to see him pitching.
Play of the Year
While there were a number of deserving plays this year, only one made history:
PERFECTION!
THOMAS PANNONE COMPLETES THE THIRD PERFECT GAME IN NASHVILLE SOUNDS HISTORY & JUST THE FIFTH 9-INNING INDIVIDUAL PERFECT GAME IN INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE HISTORY. pic.twitter.com/ZutA0JBfYv
