Category: Baseball

Charlotte Knights
June record 14-11; Overall record 44-38

Knights Player of the Month
Ryan Galanie .355/.412/.671, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 76 at-bats

Dustin Harris .400/.465/.624, 7-for-9 stolen bases, 85 at-bats
Michael Turner .362/.423/.464, 69 at-bats
Andy Weber .293/.314/.424, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 99 at-bats
Dru Baker .283/.358/.467, 3-for-5 stolen bases, 60 at-bats
Rikuu Nishida .259/.333/.276, 2-for-4 stolen bases, 58 at-bats

Jairo Iriarte 1.26 ERA, 14 1/3 IP, 7 BB, 15 K
Garrett Schoenle 3.29 ERA, 13 2/3 IP, 5 BB, 15 K
Jonathan Cannon 4.66 ERA, 19 1/3 IP, 10 BB, 18 K
Shane Murphy 5.18 ERA, 24 1/3 IP, 9 BB, 20 K
Hagen Smith 5.40 ERA, 13 1/3 IP, 8 BB, 23 K
Mason Adams 5.74 ERA, 15 2/3 IP, 5 BB, 18 K

The Knights kept the good times rolling in June by finishing 14-11, although they closed the month on a four-game losing streak. Overall, the Knights have scored 518 runs, which is the most among all 20 teams in the International League. Charlotte’s +87 run differential is also No. 1 in the entire International League. In June, the Knights’ OPS was fifth in the International League in OPS (.827), and their ERA was 10th (4.84).

With Jacob Gonzalez making his way to the majors, first baseman Ryan Galanie, 26, stood out from the crowd in June. Galanie went 27-for-76 with five homers, two doubles, six walks, 17 RBIs, and he stole two bases without getting caught. With this excellent performance, Galanie’s overall season slash line is .265/.357/.521 (120 wRC+). Especially with Murakami set to return soon, the path to the majors is not straightforward for Galanie, but if he continues hitting anywhere close to this well, he will get there.

2026 Charlotte Knights Players of the Month
Jacob Gonzalez (March-April)
Jacob Gonzalez(May)
Ryan Galanie (June)

Birmingham Barons
June record8-18; Overall record 27-49

Barons Player of the Month
Anthony DePino .276/.413/.529, 1-for-1 stolen bases, 87 at-bats

Alec Briley .265/.333/.480, 3-for-4 stolen bases, 98 at-bats
Caleb Bonemer .267/.377/.378, 1-for-1 stolen bases, 45 at-bats (promoted from Winston-Salem on June 16)
Jordan Sprinkle .269/.381/.288, 5-for-7 stolen bases, 52 at-bats
Jacob Burke .241/.338/.310, 1-for-1 stolen bases, 58 at-bats
Colby Shelton .187/.245/.352, 3-for-4 stolen bases, 91 at-bats
Samuel Zavala .179/.301/.244, 0-for-1 stolen bases, 78 at-bats

Connor McCullough 3.80 ERA, 21 1/3 IP, 7 BB, 22 K
Dylan Cumming 4.21 ERA, 25 2/3 IP, 10 BB, 22 K
Lucas Gordon 5.12 ERA, 19 1/3 IP, 11 BB, 25 K
Jake Palisch 8.57 ERA, 21 IP, 9 BB, 7 K
Gabe Davis 13.22 ERA, 16 1/3 IP, 10 BB, 18 K

The Barons won the Southern League Championship in 2024 and 2025, but it is highly unlikely that they will pull off a three-peat. Birmingham is struggling immensely, only finding eight victories in June. During the month, Birmingham was sixth out of eight Southern League teams in OPS (.682) and last by a wide margin in ERA (6.34).

Once again, first baseman Anthony DePino was a diamond in the rough for the Barons. DePino went 24-for-87 with six homers, a triple, two doubles, 20 walks, 22 RBIs, and a stolen base in his only attempt. This is an offense that tends to stagnate for long periods, but DePino is not allowing the negative contagion to get to him. DePino has now won back-to-back Baron of the Month awards. The only other one this season went to Braden Montgomery, who has since been promoted to the majors, where he is off to a solid start. DePino, 23, is likely pretty close to a promotion to Charlotte, although Birmingham’s offense would be quite ugly if he moved up.

2026 Birmingham Barons Players of the Month
Braden Montgomery (April)
Anthony DePino (May)
Anthony DePino (June)

Winston-Salem Dash
June record13-12; Overall record 43-33

Dash Player of the Month
Boston Smith .293/.481/.603, 58 at-bats (promoted to Birmingham on July 1)

James Taussig .254/.375/.612, 67 at-bats
Ely Brown .253/.427/.329, 79 at-bats
George Wolkow .243/.328/.485, 3-for-4 stolen bases, 103 at-bats
Kyle Lodise .222/.393/.389, 10-for-11 stolen bases, 90 at-bats
Ryan Burrowes .221/.373/.316, 12-for-14 stolen bases, 95 at-bats

Justin Sinibaldi 2.18 ERA, 20 2/3 IP, 4 BB, 15 K
Riley Eikhoff 3.50 ERA, 18 IP, 2 BB, 15 K
Mathias LaCombe 3.52 ERA, 15 1/3 IP, 6 BB, 24 K
Drew McDaniel 5.03 ERA, 19 2/3 IP, 10 BB, 19 K
Grant Umberger 6.62 ERA, 17 2/3 IP, 8 BB, 10 K

The Dash finished June on a high note, winning four of their last six to complete their third consecutive month with a winning record. In June, out of 12 teams in the South Atlantic League, the Dash finished fifth in OPS (.802) and third in ERA (4.20).

Catcher and outfielder Boston Smith, 23, was a major contributor to Winston-Salem’s strong month. Smith went 17-for-58 with five homers, a triple, a double, 20 walks, and 13 RBIs. Smith is primarily a catcher, but he also has some experience in left field. The White Sox selected Smith in the sixth round last year, and he is off to a fast start to his professional career. Smith’s overall slash line for the season is .285/.436/.560 (157 wRC+), and that was enough for a promotion. Smith will open July as a member of the Birmingham Barons. Congratulations to Smith on his promotion, and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to Double-A pitching. Hopefully, Smith can provide the Barons with a much-needed spark.

2026 Winston-Salem Dash Players of the Month
Colby Shelton (April)
Boston Smith (May)
Boston Smith (June)

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
June record 11-14; Overall record 37-39

Cannon Ballers Player of the Month
Blaine Wynk 0.00 ERA, 15 IP, 1 BB, 11 K

Derek Cerda .319/.413/.493, 5-for-5 stolen bases, 69 at-bats
Matthew Boughton .297/.385/.473, 6-for-10 stolen bases, 91 at-bats
Efren Teran .278/.391/.333, 72 at-bats
Jaden Fauske .260/.330/.406, 9-for-10 stolen bases, 96 at-bats
Alexander Albertus .212/.395/.242, 2-for-3 stolen bases, 66 at-bats

Caedmon Parker 3.32 ERA, 21 2/3 IP, 9 BB, 30 K
Gabriel Rodriguez 3.79 ERA, 19 IP, 3 BB, 17 K
Alexander Martinez 5.87 ERA, 15 1/3 IP, 11 BB, 17 K
Truman Pauley 6.43 ERA, 21 IP, 15 BB, 22 K

After a horrible April and an excellent May, the Cannon Ballers settled for a mediocre month of June. The Cannon Ballers fell back slightly below .500 with an 11-14 month. The offense posted a poor month (.687 OPS, 11th out of 12 Carolina League teams), but the pitching staff’s ERA (3.76) was third.

Starting pitcher Blaine Wynk, 22, was mighty close to unhittable in June. Wynk did not allow any earned runs in 15 innings of work, and he collected 11 strikeouts while only issuing one walk. After this excellent month, Wynk’s season ERA sits at 2.38, and his FIP is 3.96. Overall, opposing hitters are slashing a modest .250/.322/.388 against him, and those numbers are certainly trending in the right direction. Well done to Wynk on his clean month, as he spearheaded the pitching staff’s strong effort.

2026 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Players of the Month
Max Banks (April)
Max Banks (May)
Blaine Wynk (June)

ACL White Sox
June record 5-16; Overall record 12-30

Complex Sox Player of the Month
Yordani Soto .390/.510/.585, 41 at-bats

Alan Escobar .345/.406/.483, 29 at-bats
D’Angelo Tejada .256/.370/.462, 4-for-4 stolen bases, 39 at-bats
Jordan Rich .256/.326/.282, 5-for-6 stolen bases, 39 at-bats
Alejandro Cruz .211/.262/.316, 6-for-8 stolen bases, 57 at-bats

Reinder Gomez 6.52 ERA, 9 2/3 IP, 7 BB, 9 K
Jeremy Gonzalez 6.97 ERA, 10 1/3 IP, 5 BB, 6 K
Justin Fuson 8.47 ERA, 17 IP, 3 BB, 16 K
Fabian Ysalla 9.17 ERA, 17 2/3 IP, 9 BB, 7 K
Fidel Montero 9.82 ERA, 14 2/3 IP, 11 BB, 21 K

The Complex Sox did not provide many highlights, as they are really suffering. In June, out of 15 teams in the Arizona Complex League, the Complex Sox posted the No. 14 OPS (.725) and the No. 13 ERA (7.99). Before anyone asks, yes, somehow, two teams had a worse June ERA, but regardless, it was a horrible month.

Despite the team’s poor performance, shortstop Yordani Soto, 17, was a force to be reckoned with. Soto slashed .395/.519/.651 in June to lead the way for the offense. Overall, Soto is slashing .290/.393/.540 (120 wRC+), as he has consistently been among the best players on this 12-30 squad.

2026 Complex Sox Players of the Month
Kendry García(May)
Yordani Soto (June)

DSL White Sox
June record 6-16; Overall record 6-16

DSL White Sox Player of the Week
Sebastian Romero .338/.430/.765, 4-for-5 stolen bases, 68 at-bats

Carlos Vielma .368/.542/.491, 57 at-bats
Hector Hernandez .316/.447/.421, 4-for-7 stolen bases, 38 at-bats
Ronald Cardozo .250/.391/.464, 1-for-1 stolen bases, 56 at-bats
Orlando Patino .275/.453/.375, 4-for-5 stolen bases, 40 at-bats
Dionys Medina .196/.366/.250, 5-for-5 stolen bases, 56 at-bats

Yordany Marte 4.26 ERA, 12 2/3 IP, 6 BB, 16 K
Ronald Kelly 6.00 ERA, 15 IP, 12 BB, 20 K
Roderic Ramirez 6.23 ERA, 13 IP, 8 BB, 13 K
Jefferson Timaure 7.59 ERA, 10 2/3 IP, 7 BB, 9 K
Alexander De Los Santos 8.03 ERA, 12 1/3 IP, 5 BB, 9 K

Yeah, the White Sox affiliates are not having a good time in the Rookie Leagues. The squad in the DSL just posted a .777 OPS (26th out of 51 teams) but a ridiculous 9.52 ERA (50th out of 51). Also, before anyone asks, the DSL Twins posted a 10.19 ERA.

Thank goodness for center fielder Sebastian Romero, 17, who was on top of his game. Romero went 24-for-71 with seven homers, two triples, four doubles, six walks, 27 RBIs, and he added four stolen bases while only being caught once. Romero’s big month resulted in a 154 wRC+, and he showed that he can be a jack of all trades.

2026 DSL White Sox Players of the Week
Sebastian Romero (June)

A week ago Tuesday, Pete Crow-Armstrong was on first base in a game against the Mets. It’s the top of the seventh and there’s one out. The Cubs are leading the game 7-3.

Then PCA took off for second on what turned out to be ball four to Michael Busch.

This is what happened next [VIDEO].

PCA was called safe at second, only to have the review crew rule him out for coming off the base and being tagged by Mets shortstop Bo Bichette.

Interestingly enough, in the video clip you don’t see second base umpire Stu Scheurwater make a call at all – as if PCA was just safe because Busch had walked. It should be noted that Scheurwater did not make an immediate judgment for the same reason umpires do not do so on missed tags or missed bases by runners. It’s not the umpires’ place to call attention to plays that are incomplete for any reason. It’s the players’ responsibility to know the possibilities and the alternatives, under the rules as written.

This play has happened at least two other times over the last couple of decades to Cubs runners.

On April 20, 2007, Ronny Cedeno was on first base with one out in the ninth in a game the Cubs were trailing 2-1. He took off for second as ball four was thrown to Jacque Jones.

Then this happened:

It’s much more clear here. Cedeno clearly came off the base and was tagged by Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein. Of course, there was no replay review back then, but the play was pretty obvious. That was a really bad play by Cedeno, under the rule he has to hold the base. If he had done so, he would have represented the tying run with one out. Instead the Cubs had a runner on first with two out, and Matt Murton popped up to end the game.

A similar play occurred June 9, 2023 in San Francisco. Nick Madrigal was on first base with one out in the top of the first. Ball four was thrown to Seiya Suzuki as Madrigal took off for second.

Here’s what happened [VIDEO].

The same thing happened. Madrigal briefly came off the base and was tagged out. This time, a review crew reversed the safe call and Madrigal was out. The Cubs eventually won the game anyway, 3-2.

For the sake of argument, let’s say the ball four pitches in each of these situations had been a hit by pitch instead. In that case, the ball is dead and the runner would have been safe.

So why not have the same situation if it’s ball four? In my opinion, this rule should be changed to make it the same as a HBP if a runner is going in that situation. In that case – same as a walk – the batter is awarded first base and any runners are safe at other bases.

Here are the rules in question.

MLB Rule 5.06 (3) (b) says, in regard to base advances:

Each runner, other than the batter, may without liability to be put out, advance one base when:

The batter’s advance without liability to be put out forces the runner to vacate his base, or when the batter hits a fair ball that touches another runner or the umpire before such ball has been touched by, or has passed a fielder, if the runner is forced to advance.

This applies to a hit, a hit batter, an error, many other things… except! This comment is below that rule:

A runner forced to advance without liability to be put out may advance past the base to which he is entitled only at his peril. If such a runner, forced to advance, is put out for the third out before a preceding runner, also forced to advance, touches home plate, the run shall score.

This is the situation we’re talking about here. On a hit batter, the ball is dead. But on a walk, the ball is considered “live” in this situation, and that’s the rule by which PCA was tagged out. There’s another place in the rule book where this play is specifically referred to, as a comment to Rule 5.09 (b) (6):

PLAY — Runner on first and three balls on batter: Runner steals on the next pitch, which is fourth ball, but after having touched second he overslides or overruns that base. Catcher’s throw catches him before he can return. Ruling is that the runner is out.

Again, this is precisely what happened on this play.

Here’s what Cubs manager Craig Counsell said about this incident:

“Umpires interpret rules correctly. They don’t get that stuff wrong,” Counsell said. “It’s a bad rule. It’s a terrible rule. I mean, I don’t know what else to say. Like, not a good rule.”

I concur with Counsell. The rule (or, more correctly, the comment noted above) should be changed to note that if that pitch is ball four and caught by the catcher, the ball should be dead and the runner given second base. The key here is “caught” – if the ball isn’t caught for any reason, sure, the play should then be live and continue.

That’s it. That’s the point of this article and my argument. Change this rule as noted above. That’s what I think. That’s what Counsell thinks. What do you think?

No snappy post-colon headline here. I can’t think of a better way to describe the Braves over the last two weeks, or in June as a whole, other than awful. While I’ll get to the actual horrendous stats in a bit, I do want to indicate that things aren’t awful because the Braves lost a bunch of games, or because they basically destroyed their division lead.

No, the reason why this is awful is because it’s the second year in a row that we’ve basically seen how the combination of not pushing full bore to win every game and an entirely self-inflicted adverse change in offensive approach can absolutely destroy a team.

If the Braves had hit a run of poor outcomes in one-run games (part of 2025), or a massive xwOBA underperformance (part of 2024), then you could say, “Yeah, but look at the first two months” and write it off as a correction (there’s that word again). But that’s not really what happened. This isn’t the space for it, and I’ll cover their self-inflicted gaping wound later, but fundamentally, the Braves did this to themselves. Again. So they’ll need to stop doing it to themselves, or else this is literally just going to be 2025-except-for-two-months-without-an-0-7-start-before-it. In case you forgot, the Braves started 2025 0-7, but then went on a bit of a tear afterwards, looking like the team they were earlier in terms of offensive approach, albeit with some inconsistency. Then, the offensive approach clearly shifted towards walking and slapping at the ball, and though maybe they couldn’t have overcome the injuries and one-run game stuff, the combination of all of those things destroyed the season.

The 2026 season isn’t destroyed yet, but the Braves can’t stay passive at the plate for much longer and continue to reap the withered fruit (and losses) from doing so. Whatever the rationale for changing how they approach plate appearances from April and much of May, it needs to be identified and crossed off, or else 2026 will just be 2025 compressed into four months and not six. It doesn’t matter what the pitching does, it doesn’t matter what they do or don’t do at the Trade Deadline, it doesn’t really even matter who is or isn’t healthy (within a reasonable level of injury): what matters is some collectively group of bats hitting akin to their talent level (a la, a top ten in baseball unit) and not something worse. If they can do that, this will be a good season, If they can’t, prepare for pain.

Anyway, onto the actual biweekly stuff:

Past summaries:

• So far, so good through mid-April
• Even better in late April
• May-be they’re just really good
• Late May just good, rather than absurdly awesome
• A June swoon so far

How did the Braves do recently?

Awful. At 3-9 in June’s second half, the Braves were definitively the worst team in baseball in that span. That two of those three wins came in a single series against the Brewers, of all teams, makes it worse, not better, as it means they went 1-8 against the Giants, Padres, and Cardinals. Though none of the games were these super-gigantic mismatches, the Braves should’ve gone something like 6-6 or maybe even 7-5 at the outside given the team talent levels and pitching matchups. They… did not.

The end result is that the Braves’ 9-14 June was their worst calendar month since last year’s 8-17 July… but the team was largely already dead by that point. The last time the Braves had a month with a sub-.400 winning percentage other than 2025 was August 2017, the last time it happened while they were relevant to the playoff picture was the September 2014 collapse that cost the Frank Wren regime their jobs and ushered in years of deliberate losing in Atlanta.

While some collapses are somewhat unjustified for various reasons, especially when concentrated in small samples, it’s hard to feel that way here:

• In June’s second half, the Braves were dead last in position player value (below replacement) and 29th in xwOBA. This is also true for June as a whole. The fielding was top ten-ish, but they also tossed away an entire game with bad fielding, so that doesn’t do much in the way of consolation.
• In June’s second half, the Braves were 23rd in pitching value (19th for the month). This breaks down into 27th in the rotation and 12th in the bullpen (26th and fourth for the month). The ERA-/FIP-/xFIP- ranks are 16th/19th/20th (and ninth/15th/17th for the month). This isn’t good, but it’s eminently survivable with good defense and actual hitting. The Braves… did not produce actual hitting.

So, put this together, and you have the Braves shedding, over the course of June:

• Four wins off their projected end-of-season total;
• About six percent in playoff odds (down to 92 percent);
• About 28 percent in division odds (down to 61 percent); and
• Going from the best record to the fourth-best record.

From June 16-on alone, they have shed:

• Three of those four wins;
• Even more in playoff odds (seven percent, over six); and
• 21 percent of the division odds.

How are the Braves doing overall?

This is a weird section / question to answer. On the season, the Braves look okay. But June was so aberrant and so problematic that things don’t feel okay, and they will quickly not be okay if any of June leaks into July. If June 2026 Braves was a virus, you’d need to quarantine it immediately, except that they went through all of June without doing it, so…

On the season, the Braves are now 19th in position player value and 14th in pitching value. They are underperforming their run differential by two games, but overperforming BaseRuns by two games. However, by WAR-wins, they have sunk down to a “should be a 42-41 team,” because their offensive performance has just been so unthinkably poor that it basically reverses the credit for all the good play they managed previously. Basically, it’s kind of an interesting thing, conceptually. The number of games suggests that one bad month will have a hard time counteracting two great ones, though I guess it’s technically possible if the bad month was horrendous. But, context-neutral performance without tallying wins and losses is a lot more granular.

I’ll just summarize it this way: if the Braves don’t start playing better now, they are already dead for the season, unless they luck into some kind of insane one-run game overperformance or something else that is unlikely to happen. They can’t play “the way they have been,” where that includes the season as a whole, because doing so will lead to them having a .500ish record at the end of the year.

How are the hitters doing?

What a psychotically stupid question to have as a standard biweekly recap section, past me.

The hitters died. Not literally, but figuratively. And also, if they had died literally, it’s not clear whether you’d be able to tell a difference in their results.

This chart probably says most of it here. The Braves only had two or three guys even play okay over the last two weeks. Mauricio Dubon is playing out of his mind, but no one else even played that well. On the season, this slide has transformed the team into one where they have five producers, and… nothing else. It’s basically half a lineup. Again, to be clear: the talent level is not “half a lineup.” But the overly-passive approach has killed any semblance of additional production that would push the roster into more than “half a lineup.” Drake Baldwin shed in two weeks basically a third of what he had accumulated in about two months.

Left side is last two weeks, right side is the season as a whole.

Mauricio Dubon deserves a medal for being the only guy really chugging in June, and Ozzie Albies basically stole a win from the Brewers with two cheap homers to right field that one time, but beyond those guys, Matt Olson, and Michael Harris II, the rest of the position players probably could’ve been submerged in a vat of acid and then brought back to the plate and I’m not sure June would’ve been any different.

How are the pitchers doing?

It’s kind of like the lineup…

Chris Sale is the only guy doing stuff, but he’s pitching like a normal-Cy Young-candidate-in-an-age-without-Jacob-Misiorowski. Everyone else, well… they didn’t help. Bryce Elder and Martin Perez have reasonable stats on the season as a whole, but got shelled recently — though Elder’s was largely HR/FB-related. The whole Grant Holmes saga and JR Ritchie failing to hit the ground running multiple times are additional, but nowhere near primary, reasons why June went as it did.

On the relief side, Dylan Lee, Didier Fuentes, and Robert Suarez all continued to be awesome, though it doesn’t really matter when they don’t get leads with which to pitch… or the team elects not to use them with said leads. Oh, and Robert Suarez got hurt. Lee in particular is having a ridiculous season: he has 1.4 fWAR already, and has already amassed a career-high 15 shutdowns.

Anyway, see you next month, if no one dips us all in a vat of acid. Which may be preferable at this point.

Sluggish bats, bullpen struggles doom Phillies in series finale against Pirates originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Both the Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates were forced to brave triple-digit temperatures in their series finale at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday afternoon.

The Pirates just braved ‘em a little better than the Phillies did.

The Phils concluded their last homestand before the All-Star break with a 6-1 loss to their cross-state rivals in front of a parched crowd of 37,851. The two teams split the four-game series.

Left-handed relief pitching proved to be an issue for the Phillies in the series. Kyle Backhus hit two of the three batters he faced – one of the HBPs forced in a run – in Wednesday night’s game, which the Phillies ended up winning, 10-6. He returned in Thursday’s defeat and gave up a solo homer to the first batter he faced in the ninth.

Earlier in the game, lefty Tim Mayza faced five batters in the fifth inning and gave up three hits and the tying run.

Two innings later, the Phils’ top bullpen lefty, Jose Alvarado, faced six batters and was tagged for three hits, one of which was a triple, and two runs as the Pirates took the lead.

Alvarado’s ERA stands at 6.10. He has allowed 41 hits in 31 innings.

Phillies baseball boss Dave Dombrowski has several holes to consider filling at the trade deadline. A late-game bullpen arm, possibly from the left side, could be one of them if Alvarado can’t get it going.

The bullpen struggles continued in the eighth inning when Lou Trivino gave up two runs, including a home run to Endy Rodriguez.

The bullpen was hardly the only culprit in defeat. The Phillies’ bats produced just four hits on the day and never built on an RBI double by Bryce Harper in the third inning. Harper has at least one RBI in eight straight games. He leads the team with 57.

Right-hander Alan Rangel started for the Phillies. He did not allow a run and left with a 1-0 lead after four innings. However, he needed 90 pitches to complete those four innings. Rangel is filling the fifth spot in the rotation until the Phillies add an arm in a trade or Andrew Painter returns from Triple A as a new man.

Pittsburgh got excellent pitching from Jared Jones, Carmen Mlodzinski, Gregory Soto and Mason Montgomery.

Montgomery struck out Brandon Marsh, Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott to end the game at 3:38 p.m. The temperature on the scoreboard read 105 degrees.

The Phillies hit the road for Kansas City after the game. They will play their next nine games on the road, taking them into the All-Star break. They are off Friday before starting a three-game series against the Royals on Saturday. After Kansas City, the Phils play three at Cincinnati and three at Detroit. It’s a favorable schedule for the Phillies as the Royals, Reds and Tigers are a combined 35 games under .500.

(More coming…)

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Philadelphia Phillies, July 2, 2026, 12:35 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are finishing off a four-game set against their in-state rival, the Philadelphia Phillies.

Taking the mound to close out the series for the Pirates is Jared Jones, who is making his seventh start of the season. In his last appearance on June 27 against the Cincinnati Reds, Jones pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four hits and three earned runs as Pittsburgh lost 9-7 at home to Cincinnati. Jones has only gone five innings in one of his six starts this season, so the bullpen might be tasked with picking up a few more innings than they normally would.

Countering for the Phillies is Allen Rangel, who is making his first start of the season. Rangel has made three relief appearances for the Phillies this season as a long reliever:

• Pitched 3 innings against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 22.
• Pitched 5 innings against the Washington Nationals on June 22, giving up one earned run.
• Pitched 4 innings against the New York Mets on June 27 in a 6-2 loss at Citi Field. Tim Mayza was the opener, and Rangel came in during the second inning. He gave up four hits and four earned runs as the Phillies struggled to give him much run support.

Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Jared Jones (1-1, 5.76 ERA) vs. Alan Rangel (0-1, 4.50 ERA)

BD community, chime off in the comments section below.

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

For the Pirates:

Let’s talk about it.

José Canseco is probably one of the most famous baseball players of recent times. While he had success in the major leagues, winning several awards and two championships, said fame is probably infamy more than anything else. He was always a bit of a character and his revelations about PED use, both by him and other players, only burnished his reputation as a wild card. His career with the Yankees wasn’t especially notable other than one moment or two, but he did end up winning a World Series ring.

As he celebrates his birthday today, let’s look back at the wild life and times of José Canseco.

José Canseco Capas Jr.
Born: July 2, 1964 (Havana, Cuba)
Yankees Tenure: 2000

Canseco was born in Cuba in 1964, along with a twin brother. Said twin — Osvaldo, more commonly known as “Ozzie” — would also make the major leagues, albeit with less success and fame. His family left Cuba shortly after Fidel Castro came to power, eventually settling in Miami, Florida.

In high school, Canseco was a bit of a slow developer, failing to make his school’s varsity team until he was a senior. However, he pretty quickly hit the ground running as a senior, catching the eye of former major league pitcher Camilo Pascual, who happened to be both the father of one of Canseco’s teammates and also a scout for the Oakland Athletics. He convinced his employers to draft Canseco, and the A’s picked him up in the 15th round of the 1982 Draft.

Upon getting drafted and working his way through the minors, Canseco’s talent started to draw rave reviews. His ability to hit monster home runs got him all kinds of lofty comparisons, with some even dubbing him “the next Mickey Mantle.” Oakland eventually called up Canseco to the big leagues in September 1985. He impressed in his short cameo, hitting five homers in that final month. The following year in his first full season, Canseco was good enough to be honored with the 1986 AL Rookie of the Year.

Two other important things for the A’s happened that season. One was that a midseason managerial changed led to them hiring Tony LaRussa. The other was that Oakland gave a MLB debut to another young slugger in Mark McGwire. The following year, McGwire won Rookie of the Year himself, as he and Canseco formed a powerful middle order combo that would be dubbed “The Bash Brothers.” (Later, wonderfully parodied by Andy Samberg and “The Lonely Island.”)

In 1988, Canseco broke out in a big way. Putting up the first-ever 40-40 season with 42 homers and 40 steals, he was named AL MVP, helping the A’s win the American League pennant. They would famously be upset by the Dodgers and Kirk Gibson’s heroics in the World Series, with Canseco going just 1-for-19 in the five games. Despite that, he had arrived into stardom.

Around that time, Canseco’s off the field antics also started to get him a name. Prior to the 1989 season, he was arrested for carrying a loaded handgun while on a college campus, claiming that he was carrying the gun for protection. Between that and injuries, he was limited to 65 games that season. However, he again helped Oakland win the AL, and this time around, he hit much better, as the A’s beat the Giants in the “Bay Bridge Series.”

Canseco and the A’s returned to the World Series in 1990, but fell to the Reds. Over the next couple years, Canseco generally continued putting up good numbers, but he continued to get unneeded attention off the field. Further legal issues and further tabloid fodder — such as a rumored affair with popstar Madonna — eventually became a bit too much for the A’s. Just ahead of the 1992 trade deadline, Oakland sent him to Texas.

With the Rangers, Canseco continued producing, but those teams generally went nowhere. Plus, the most famous moment of that stint was probably him failing to catch a ball on the warning track, allowing it to bounce off his head and over the fence for a home run.

Despite still mostly putting up decent numbers and still having his prodigious power, Canseco started to become a journeyman after that. Texas eventually traded him to the Red Sox, and after that he had stints back in Oakland, with the Blue Jays, and then with the early “Hit Show” Devil Rays. It was in Tampa Bay where in the midst of an injury-plagued 2000 season, Tampa Bay placed him on waivers. Somewhat shockingly, as they didn’t particularly need an outfielder/DH type, the Yankees claimed him and agreed to terms with the D-Rays on a trade on August 7th. Speculation was heavy that the Yankees only claimed him to keep him away from some of the other contending teams that might’ve had an interest in Canseco. By his own admission, Joe Torre didn’t really know what to do with him.

Canseco’s tenure with the Yankees wasn’t especially notable, except for a towering home run that he hit at Yankee Stadium.

Canseco put up just above average numbers, but he ended up being somewhat useful, as the Yankees stumbled down the stretch and just barely hung on to the AL East title. However, they caught fire in October, eventually beating the Mets and winning Canseco his second ring. Personally though, he didn’t have fond memories of his Yankee tenure, calling it “the worst time of my life,” due to his curtailed playing time.

Canseco played for the White Sox in 2001. That would be his last major league season, although not for a lack of trying. After failing to make the Montreal Expos in 2002 spring training and spending much of it back at the White Sox Triple-A affiliate, he announced his “retirement,” but continued playing in various independent leagues for several years after that. As late as 2018, he still appeared in some games for various independent teams, often trying his hand as a pitcher as well.

Now, it’s time to talk about the thing I haven’t been mentioning throughout all this: Canseco’s steroid use. Rumors around his PED use dated back to during his active playing career, but Canseco admitted to using them in his infamous book “Juiced” released in 2005. The book gained notoriety as Canseco not only admitted his own use, but accused several other famous major leaguers as well, including his former Bash Brother McGwire. He ended up being proven correct on many of the names. He said his own use dated back to his early minor league years and continued throughout pretty much all of his MLB years.

In recent years, Canseco has become a bit of a meme figure. He has a very interesting Twitter feed, a lot of which revolves around his hatred of Alex Rodriguez. He’s participated in some very odd celebrity boxing matches, including one with former child actor Danny Bonaduce. He lost an MMA match. He’s gotten himself in legal trouble on various occasions, including once where he tried to smuggle fertility drugs back over the US-Mexico border. I don’t know either.

There are many, many things you can say about José Canseco. Many of them aren’t good. However, you can never say that he’s boring.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

At the end of last season, Andrew Alvarez had five really nice starts for the Nats. He did not go that deep into games, but Alvarez proved to be effective with his breaking ball heavy attack. However, I was not fully convinced about the lefty. With a fastball that averaged 91, and middling results at AAA, I thought it was a flash in the pan.

This season Alvarez is proving me wrong one outing at a time. He is still not going deep into games, but he is just getting as many outs as the team needs. On the season, the 27 year old southpaw has a 3.05 ERA and 2.65 FIP in 41.1 innings across 11 appearances and 5 starts. The velocity is more in the 92-93 range and his breaking balls are as sharp as ever.

For a guy who does not throw hard, Alvarez gets a ton of strikeouts. This season, he has 48 K’s in 41.1 innings. He is striking out 27.6% of hitters, which has him tied with Braxton Ashcraft and Reid Detmers, two breakout arms who throw much harder than him. My favorite part of Alvarez’s game is his ability to finish guys off with two strikes. It is a skill that not many arms on this staff have, but he does it super well.

His go-to two strike weapon and his best pitch is his curveball. It is a really sharp curve that he throws quite hard and commands well. His other pitches do not really pop on most stuff models, but stuff+ really likes his curve. Despite not throwing his fastball that hard, his 83 MPH curveball is significantly harder than the average 80 MPH lefty curve. 

Most harder curveballs sacrifice some movement in exchange for the extra power. That is not the case for the Alvarez curve though. He actually gets more drop and break than the average curveball. It is truly a unique pitch and has been getting exceptional results. Batters are hitting .179 with a 35.1% whiff rate on his hook. Of his 48 strikeouts, 30 of them have come on the curveball. With that context, it is no surprise that the curveball is his most used pitch.

The curve is not Alvarez’s only swing and miss breaking ball though. He also has a slider which he throws 26.3% of the time, just 2% less than the curve. The slider comes in at about the same speed, so if you did not know any better, you would think it is a misread curve. However, if you look at the pitch plot, the two pitches have very distinct movement profiles. 

Having two breaking balls at the same speed with different movement is also a unique piece of Alvarez’s arsenal. The slider actually has a higher whiff rate than the curve, but it gets hit harder and he only has 11 strikeouts on the pitch. Here is a neat video of Alvarez getting strikeouts on the slider and the curve though.

It is no secret that Alvarez is a breaking ball reliant pitcher. He throws either the curve or the slider 54.7% of the time. That is his bread and butter, and he knows it. The fact that Alvarez knows himself so well as a pitcher is another strength for him.

The fastball is not a strength of Alvarez’s game, but he mixes in his 4-seamer and sinker just enough. Batters are hitting over .300 on both, but the heaters keep them honest and get a good amount of ground balls. On the season, Alvarez has an elite 55% ground ball rate.

Despite not having a great fastball, Alvarez still has good stuff, just not in the traditional way. His breaking balls grade out well, and he uses that to get strikeouts. He is a good example of a pitcher not having to throw 100 to be a swing and miss guy.

While Alvarez will walk some hitters, his overall command is strong. He does a nice job placing his curveball at or below the bottom of the zone and locating his 4-seamer at the top of the zone. Alvarez also spots his sinker down and into lefties, which is a nice spot to put it. His overall location+ grade is 106, which is better than average. 

Overall, I am very encouraged by Alvarez’s season. The fastball will limit him, and he is not necessarily a guy you want facing hitters 3 times. However, he is a really solid piece in this pitching staff. Moving forward, I think he could have a lot of success in a Brad Lord type role.

We saw Lord and Alvarez team up yesterday, and that is a cool concept. Those two could combine for 7 innings and create a very good starter in the aggregate. While Alvarez does not have the flashy velocity many teams are looking for, he is proving that his spin heavy attack is not a flash in the pan.

Some English soccer fans weren’t done getting their sports fix after their comeback win over DR Congo on Wednesday.

Following Harry Kane’s heroics that sent the Three Lions through to the World Cup Round of 16 in Atlanta in the afternoon, a group of supporters made their way to the Braves game against the Cardinals.

Standing in a section beyond left-center field, the fans threw their support behind Braves center fielder Michael Harris, singing songs like “Walking in a Harris wonderland” and “Baseball’s coming home again with Michael Harris.”

An appreciative Harris threw a ball toward the fans before the start of an inning.

“So it’s my first experience of baseball and we didn’t know what to expect,” an English fan named Nige told Braves TV reporter Wiley Ballard. “And what we’re trying to do is just bring a little bit of English atmosphere to what is obviously a slightly different sport. But it’s amazing, it’s fantastic to see something different. I love the whole build, I love the atmosphere, I love the fact that you guys do something so big. Just to be part of it for one night is really special.”

Harris went 1-for-4 with an RBI in Atlanta’s 5-1 win as the Braves improved to 50-34.

The NL East leaders are 2 1/2 games up on the Phillies entering Thursday.

Every match of the FIFA World Cup will air on either FOX or FOX Sports 1. If you don’t have cable, you can take advantage of a DIRECTV free trial to stream it all.

Prefer to check out the action live and in person? Shop World Cup 2026 tickets on SeatGeek and make sure to use promo code NYPOST10 for $10 off purchases over $250 at checkout if you’re a first-time SeatGeek user.

Harris, 25, was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2022, when he burst onto the scene by slashing .297/.339/.514 with 19 homers and 64 RBIs.

After a couple of down years offensively, Harris is hitting .293 with an .817 OPS, 14 homers and 44 RBIs in 78 games this season.

England now heads to Mexico City for a daunting match against Mexico at Estadio Azteca on Sunday.

The Cincinnati Reds have lost four straight games overall and all six of the games in which they have played the Milwaukee Brewers so far in 2026, and now they get to face the single most intimidating pitcher on the planet today. Great!

Following yet another late game collapse on Wednesday evening, the Reds are now seven games under .500 and should almost immediately begin going into hibernation mode, the 2027 season (ha) a much more realistic time to be ambitious than this disastrous 2026 one. And now, this Thursday afternoon, they get to face Jacob Misiorowki, who tops the FanGraphs fWAR leaderboard for pitchers so far this season while also topping the fastball velocity readings by nearly 2.5 mph.

Interestingly enough, it’s Cincinnati’s Chase Burns who sits second on that velocity list. Even though he’s 2.4 mph behind the Miz on average, he’s still one of the elite chuckers in the game, and that’s who Cincinnati will send to the bump in this series finale. There’s at least a bit of hope, if not much, that Burns can once again be the guy who stems the tide and gets this moribund franchise pointed back in the correct direction for at least one day.

It’s beyond bleak, folks. 85 games into the season, up against the most dominant arm in the sport, and knowing a loss would sink you a full eight games under the .500 mark? That’s a season-ending scenario just about any way you look at it, even though Nick Krall will point at the injured list and tell you it’ll be just like making a trade.

Cincinnati’s season isn’t just on the brink, it’s leaning over it.

First pitch on Thursday is a 2:10 PM ET matinee. Here’s how the Reds will line up to start:

The 2026 MLB trade deadline is a month away, and Steve Cohen suggested to the New York Post on Wednesday that the Mets will be selling because of their shrinking playoff odds.

But unlike most teams that end up selling this time of year, the Mets will not be doing so in the middle of a full-fledged rebuild. They could use prospects, yes, but they will also need pieces who can help them next year, when they intend to contend again.

Given those circumstances, this Mets deadline will be both complicated and pivotal. We reached out to some rival executives to get an idea of which players contending teams will see as assets and what they might give up for them. 

Here is a very early take on who is most likely to go and what kind of talent the Mets might be able to get in return.

All of this is speculative and subject to change depending on when the Mets sell: If they start selling now, they will find a market low on supply and middling on demand. If they wait until other teams sort out their fates, their assets will be part of a bigger supply, but demand might also be more drastic, too. In other words, stay tuned.

VERY LIKELY TO GO 

LHP Brooks Raley

Raley’s name comes up in almost every conversation about the Mets’ trade deadline. He is an experienced lefty who can handle righties and whose contract is expiring after this season. He is having one of the better seasons of his career, pitching to a 2.32 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 31 innings. The 38-year-old will probably be one of the better relievers available, and certainly one of the better non-closers on the market.

Given that, one could look to a few recent deals to inform a potential return: The optimistic extreme would be the Mets’ deal for Tyler Rogers last season, one in which they sent three prospects, two ranked in their system’s top 15, to the Giants in exchange for the veteran reliever. That might have been a slight overpay, and Rogers consistently ranks among baseball's best in terms of Stuff+ (His 133 is best among all relievers this year, while Raley is tied for 31st).

A more conservative comparison might be the deal the Mets made for Ryan Helsley last year, in which they sent three players to the Cardinals, also including two prospects ranked in their system’s top 15. Both of those deals came closer to the deadline.

LHP A.J. Minter

Minter, like Raley, is an experienced lefty who can also handle righties. Minter, like Raley, will be a free agent after this season. He has not allowed a run in 13 appearances since returning from shoulder surgery this year, has a 3.12 career ERA, and pitched in a World Series-winning bullpen for the Braves in 2021. His 101 Stuff+ does not inspire as much confidence as Raley’s, but his track record and performance should make him appealing to a similar group of suitors. His return seems likely to be less than Raley’s, particularly if teams have concerns about the fact that he is still within a year of major shoulder surgery. But one could spin it this way, too: He has fewer innings on his arm over the last two seasons than just about any proven reliever who will be available, which could make him fresher for October.

SP Freddy Peralta

Peralta struggled again against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, making it three bad starts in his last five. His 4.81 ERA is the worst of his career as a regular starter by nearly a full run, and he is battling his mechanics in ways that appear to be affecting his stuff and on-field morale.

Still, Peralta is a durable starter in a contract year, and because his issues appear to be the result of some inadvertent changes to his delivery early this season, pitching-savvy teams should have reason to believe they can fix him. He is also a good budget option in a starting pitching market that can often be rather costly: He is owed $8 million total this season, meaning any team trading for him would only inherit approximately $2.5 million prorated salary he is owed after the deadline. That would seemingly make him a good option for everyone from big-market teams looking for help to smaller-market teams hoping to bolster rotations without major investment.

Perhaps, obviously, the Mets will not get back what they gave up for Peralta. And his struggles will not help his value. Still, veteran Yusei Kikuchi was traded with a 4.75 ERA in his walk year two years ago, and that deal netted the Astros three prospects that ranked in the Blue Jays’ top 15 at the time, all of whom have since played in the majors. Track record counts for something.

Even in a worst-case scenario, consider the return the Orioles got last year for veteran Charlie Morton, who was more expensive, a decade older and pitching worse than Peralta when they traded him to the Tigers at last year’s deadline. He netted the Orioles a prospect named Micah Ashman, who struck out Cal Raleigh and Roman Anthony in the WBC this spring and has 50 strikeouts in 30 innings in Double-A this year. Proven starters can return value, even if it is not as much as the Mets gave up to get him.

SP Clay Holmes

Given the state of the Mets' rotation heading into 2027, they should probably consider extending Holmes, who was a stalwart for them earlier this season before breaking his leg on a comebacker in May. But if they are not able to do that, they should trade him, and multiple executives pointed to the deal that the Blue Jays made to acquire Shane Bieber last year as a potential template.

Holmes is not currently healthy. He is throwing his first bullpen since his injury this week, and he will need time to build back up to a starter’s workload from there. As such, he might not be available to audition for teams in time for the Aug. 3 trade deadline. If he is, he might not be able to offer much of a sample.

Bieber was even less of a sure thing when the Jays traded for him last year. He had not pitched in a major league game in more than a year and was due back from Tommy John surgery in the last month of the year. Toronto, needing starting depth, traded a respected pitching prospect for him anyway, planning for his return.

Holmes has pitched well more recently than Bieber had. He is not coming back from an arm injury. He is on an expiring contract that will owe him a bit less than $5 million in prorated salary for August and September, which is affordable for a frontline starter, but could be prohibitive for small-market teams. Still, all of that suggests the Mets should be able to get more than the Guardians got for Bieber – and they got a former second-round pick and a top-five prospect from the Jays system in Kahl Stephen.

Stephen needs elbow surgery that has stalled his rise up prospect rankings, but he was pitching to a 3.44 ERA in 12 Double-A starts before the injury.

IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT

RHP Huascar Brazobán

Multiple executives raised Brazobán’s name as one the Mets could consider moving at this deadline, even though he is not on an expiring contract. The formerly volatile righty is compiling the most consistent season of his career, pitching to a 1.94 ERA with a sub-1.00 WHIP in a variety of bullpen roles.

Unlike the other relievers mentioned here, Brazobán is entering his second year of arbitration and will not be a free agent until after the 2029 season. He is, therefore, a more affordable relief option than many available this time of year, which could appeal to contending teams trying to improve their bullpens on a budget. Because of his success this year and that extended team control, any deal for Brazobán should secure the Mets a legitimate prospect or two. If it doesn’t, they do not need to trade him: After all, the 2027 Mets will need cost-controlled relievers, too.

RP Luke Weaver

Multiple executives speculated about the potential availability of Weaver, who has not allowed a run since April 30. He has been one of the best relievers in baseball this season, walking just nine batters while striking out 39 in 36 innings and is maintaining a career-low 0.806 WHIP. He is also under contract through next season at a reasonable top reliever rate of $11 million for 2027 – a price any mid- or big-market team intending to contend next year would happily pay to lock down a bullpen stalwart before an unpredictable offseason.

But the Mets are a team that intends to contend next year, and keeping the pairing of Weaver and Devin Williams intact would mean not having to start from scratch in the bullpen, at least. Both Cohen and David Stearns have acknowledged the possibility that too much roster turnover, implemented too quickly, might have contributed to the 2026 team’s early struggles.

So Weaver’s status likely depends on more variables than, say, Raley's or Minter's. First, it depends on Cohen and Stearns’ goals for this deadline. If they decide they need to salvage as much as they possibly can from this season and strip the roster for every possible asset, Weaver certainly would bring significant value. But neither the owner nor his president of baseball operations has operated in extremes this year.

More likely, the plan for Weaver will depend on how many teams decide to sell and how many elite relievers are available. If supply is sparse, the potential return might help the Mets more in 2027 than Weaver would.

LONGSHOTS

SS Francisco Lindor

Cohen told the Post on Wednesday that he does not see the Mets moving either of their high-priced superstars, Lindor or Soto. That should end 95 percent of all speculation about whether Lindor will be traded. He is on this list for one reason: If the Mets decide they need to recalibrate the heart of the roster – whether due to clubhouse dynamics or multiple years of on-field malaise -- the last five-and-a-half years of Lindor’s $341 million contract are still easier to shop than the billions and eons remaining on Soto’s.

Could a team in need of a long-term middle infield solution and a middle-of-the-order bat decide Lindor is better than what will be available to them in the free-agent market? Or that cost certainty on a player of his caliber is an asset heading into the lockout? That does not seem impossible, particularly for a POBO with a history of trading big, veteran contracts for one another like Stearns did with Brandon Nimmo and Marcus Semien.

Still, Lindor is an extremely valuable hitter at his position who has committed himself to New York and proven himself capable of handling ups and downs here. It is not easy to envision the kind of deal that would inspire Cohen to part with him, let alone to shop him while planning to win again in 2027.

SP Sean Manaea

In keeping with the idea that all starting pitchers with any recent history of success qualify as treasured assets this time of year, Manaea is a starting pitcher with some recent history of success. Some team might be willing to bet his revived velocity, 3.53 ERA, and 3.16 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) marks since May 22 are representative of the pitcher he will be for the remaining year and a half of his three-year contract – or that they can make him even better.

But given how much he struggled early in the season, and the fact that he still has one-year remaining on a three-year, $75 million deal, he seems likely to appeal to a smaller group of high-payroll teams – unless the Mets want to pay down his contract. Then again, they will also need starters in 2027, not to mention down the stretch in 2026.

OF Tyrone Taylor

Right-handed hitting outfielders are notoriously hard to find, and Taylor is an excellent defender who provides credible at-bats as a fourth outfielder. He is making $3.8 million this year, so even at a prorated price, teams could likely find cheaper options. But the free-agent-to-be is known as a strong defender and could potentially fit a contender needing a veteran on the bench.

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The Texas Rangers have won six of the last seven and are -120 favorites to come out on top against the Detroit Tigers tonight.

My Tigers vs. Rangers predictions and MLB picks see value in backing them to slow a Detroit team coming off a sweep over New York.

Who will win Tigers vs Rangers today: Rangers moneyline (-115)

Nathan Eovaldi has posted an xERA of 2.11 or lower in three consecutive starts while striking out 24 batters.

His strong run of form should continue against the Detroit Tigers, who rank 21st in both OPS and OBP vs. right-handed pitching.

The Texas Rangers have a better matchup against Framber Valdez. Although he has pitched better of late, this is a spot where we could see a hiccup.

The Rangers lead the majors in batting average and sit second in wOBA against lefties since June 1. They should provide Eovaldi with enough support to get a win. 

Play this up to -125.

COVERS INTEL:Eovaldi ranks in the 93rd percentile in chase rate, which should serve him well against a Detroit team with the seventh highest strikeout percentage vs. righties.

Tigers vs Rangers Over/Under pick: Under 7 (+100)

Eovaldi has started six games over the last two months against teams striking out at a Top-10 clip. He's averaged well over six innings while posting a 2.56 ERA.

Playing in a pitcher’s park against a strikeout-heavy team missing one of its most productive bats against righties (Gleyber Torres), he should fare well.

Valdez owns a 3.23 ERA over the past month and has opponents hammering balls in the dirt, sporting a ridiculously high 63.5 GB% along the way.

Runs should be hard to come by, making the Under an appealing play up to -110.

Tigers vs Rangers weather

Tigers vs Rangers odds

• Moneyline: Tigers +100 | Rangers -120
• Run line: Tigers +1.5 (-210) | Rangers -1.5 (+170)
• Over/Under: Over 7 (-120) | Under 7 (+100)

Tigers vs Rangers trend

The Rangers have cashed the Under in 24 of the last 40 home games for +8.95 units and a 21% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. Rangers.

How to watch Tigers vs Rangers and game info

Tigers vs Rangers latest injuries

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2026 MLB Draft Preview: Jack Natili scouting report.

The 2026 is less than two weeks away — the first round kicks off on July 11, 2026 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #16, their second round pick is at #54, and their third round pick is at #89.

Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today we are looking at University of Cincinnati catcher Jack Natili.

Jack Natili is a 6’3”, 198 lb. righthanded hitting catcher for the University of Cincinnati. Natili went undrafted int 2023 out of high school in Pennsylvania, and played for Rutgers as a freshman before transferring to Cincinnati, where he’s played the past two seasons. A junior, Natili turned 21 in March.

Offensively, Natili is a power-over-hit guy. He has a swing that is geared towards getting the ball in the air, helping him make the most of his plus power. However, his swing is described as getting long, and he can have problems catching up with fastballs. He is described as making good swing decisions, so his issues are less about chasing pitches out of the zone and more about making contact often enough with pitches in the zone.

Defensively, Natili has a plus arm which is perhaps his biggest asset behind the plate. He’s described as having made strides in his work behind the plate, though he’s not considered a particularly strong blocker or receiver of pitches. Nonetheless, he is expected to be able to stick behind the plate. As is the case with most catchers, he has below-average speed.

Natili hit .230/.386/.367 in 183 plate appearances for Rutgers as a freshman, striking out 32 times and walking 12 with 5 homers. As a sophomore for Cincinnati, Natili slashed .338/.451/.556 in 244 plate appearances, striking out 53 times and walking 30 times with 9 homers. He took a big step forward power-wise this year, hitting 19 homers in 276 plate appearances while slashing .339/.424/.674, with 29 walks against 56 Ks.

Baseball America has Natili at #58 on their board. MLB Pipeline has Natili at #87 on their board. Kiley McDaniel puts Natili at #71 on his top 150 list. Keith Law does not have Natili on his board. Fangraphs does not have Natili on their board. Baseball Prospectus does not have Natili on their top 30 draft board.

Catchers are always in demand. Power is always in demand. Thus, catchers with power are always going to be attractive to teams.

Natili is seen as someone who is always going to have a lot of swing and miss in his game, with the question offensively being if he can handle velocity well enough for him to utilize his power, rather than just being blown away by professional pitchers at the upper levels. The possibility is strong enough for him to likely go somewhere in the second through fourth rounds.

Previously:

Liam Peterson

Tyler Bell

Aiden Robbins

Jared Grindlinger

Logan Reddemann

Cooper Harris

Justin Lebron

Cameron Flukey

Derek Curiel

Hunter Dietz

Logan Hughes

Carson Wiggins

Peyton Bonds

Ace Reese

Sawyer Strosnider

Gio Rojas

Chris Rembert