It may be a long shot, but two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff would love to have a spot on the Milwaukee Brewers' World Series roster.

The one-time staff ace hasn't pitched since going 3⅔ innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 4 due to right shoulder inflammation. However, he was at American Family Field on Tuesday, Oct. 20, throwing 23 pitches to several of the Brewers' best hitters − Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, William Contreras, Christian Yelich and Jake Bauers.

Once his shoulder flared up for a second time after spending nearly two months on the injured list in May and June, Woodruff was supposed to undergo season-ending surgery in August. However, he gradually started feeling better and opted for another attempt at building up his arm strength.

Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

No. 38, Keegan Thompson (-0.2 rWAR)

Keegan Thompson’s first season with the Rockies may have been short, but it mirrored his career. It started off on a good note, but didn’t last.

Thompson made his debut on May 23 for the Rockies, who signed the 31-year-old RHP in January after he was waived by the Cincinnati Reds. The third-round pick from the 2017 MLB Draft threw 2.2 scoreless innings in a 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving up three hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Thompson allowed one run on one hit and posted one strikeout against the Giants in the Rockies 8-6 win on May 29.

The next three outings went much worse.

He was hit hard in the following 8.1 innings, being tagged for 10 runs on 15 hits. Thompson struck out eight during the stretch and didn’t walk any; however, by the time his five appearances were done, he had an 8.25 ERA — the worst season in his five-year MLB career.

Thompson’s fifth start came on June 7. By June 9, he was designated for assignment and Cole Carrigg took his spot on the roster.

Thompson cleared waivers and spent the rest of the season with Triple-A Albuquerque where he made 25 appearances, including 15 starts. He posted a 5.28 ERA with two holds, one save, 56 strikeouts, 35 walks and a 2-5 record in 73.1 innings. He also missed two-and-a-half weeks on the IL from the end of August through early September.

Thompson, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs, made his MLB debut in May of 2021. For two years, he served as a starter and reliever and enjoyed a decent amount of success. In 2021 and 2022, Thompson posted a 3.64 ERA in 61 innings (23 starts) with a 13-8 record and 2.2 rWAR.

Paralleling the end of his 2026 season in Colorado, he spent the next two seasons splitting his time as a reliever for the Cubs and their Triple-A Iowa squad. He made 43 appearances out of the bullpen for the Cubs in 2023 and 2024 with a 3.66 ERA, but just a 0.6 rWAR. By the end of 2024, he declared free agency and was signed by the Reds. He never appeared in the big leagues in 2025, pitching in 33 MiLB games with a 4.50 ERA.

When Thompson signed with the Rockies, he inked a one-year, $1.3 million deal. Thompson’s arsenal includes a four-seamer, a cutter and a sinker, with an occasional sweeper, curve or changeup. His velocity maxes out at about 92 mph, but his known for his ability to pound the strike zone, which the Rockies value under 2026’s new front office and coaching staff. Unfortunately for Keegan, it often resulted in other teams teeing off on him.

In the end, the inconsistency that has plagued Thompson throughout his MLB career continued in 2026.

It makes his future anything but certain come 2027.

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It is sort of amazing just how different the acquisition of Luis Robert Jr. looks in October than it did in January. Robert was brought in to play center field and be an offensive upgrade over Tyrone Taylor. Even though a lot of the underlying tools looked problematic, the possibility of 25+ HR power, elite center field defense, and above average speed was an enticing mix.

Unfortunately, like has been the case with Robert for much of his career, injuries got in the way. Robert was on the injured list with back issues from April 30 to July 20. And the team that he came back to was a very, very different one from the one he left.

Specifically, the team he returned to had A.J. Ewing manning center field and doing his best Luis Robert impression.

In 58 games for the Mets, Robert hit .223/.303/.399 with 10 home runs, while playing a good center field. Ewing played just about twice as many games as Robert did, and he hit .252/.324/.376 with 11 home runs. Ewing was not a perfect player for the Mets this year, and his age and inexperience showed. He has a lot of work to do on his game, but his natural abilities, especially his speed on both sides of the ball, presented a player that has looks like he may be able to grow into what Robert has been at his best, and do so for the league minimum salary.

When Robert returned from the IL, Ewing was already firmly ensconced as the everyday center fielder, and it looked like Robert wasn’t long for the team. While they couldn’t find a trade partner for him, he was claimed off of waivers by the Orioles in August. With a $20 million option on the table, the Mets just didn’t have a need for Robert as a fourth outfielder, and the team wasn’t going to put him on the depth chart ahead of Ewing.

It is a shame how his story with the Mets ended, because Robert looked like a fantastic fit for the club: some real power, decent speed on the basepaths, and bona fide elite center field defense. But you can’t blame the team for prioritizing developing a young player versus overpaying an older one, and that’s exactly what the Mets did.

Well now, that’s a provocative headline.

Here’s the story. Wrigley View Rooftop was one of a handful of rooftop clubs that were not bought out by the Ricketts family over the last few years (those that were, you can tell by the WRIGLEYROOFTOPS.COM signs on the buildings). Instead, they continued to operate under a deal made back in 2004 that gave the Cubs 17 percent of their revenue. That deal expired in 2023, and on Sept. 30 the rooftop club was permanently enjoined from selling tickets to watch Cubs games. You can read about that in detail in this ESPN.com article by Ben Strauss.

The owner of that club, Aidan Dunican, has appealed the ruling in federal court.

Per Michael McCann at Sportico, here’s why that appeal is very important not only to the Cubs and to Wrigley View Rooftop, but perhaps to all of Major League Baseball:

The sides are arguing over whether U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman should unseal the trial court record and all the financial information, contracts and potential trade secrets it contains.

Oh.

Yeah, that would be pretty important. Here’s more from the court filing:

The Cubs, Wrigley View Rooftop insists, “pick and choose what information” to reveal in court filings “so as to unfairly frame” the Cubs’ image “while deriding” Wrigley View Rooftop. The company maintains it would be in the “public interest” for the record to be released.

In addition, Wrigley View Rooftop argues the Cubs have violated the terms of a confidentiality order issued by Coleman, who set parameters for the two sides to discuss which materials ought to be designated as confidential and sealed. Wrigley View Rooftop maintains that the Cubs haven’t explained the rationale for opposing the removal of confidentiality designations.

The “public interest” is noted there. Yes, I think I, as a member of the public, would be pretty interested. So would you, most likely.

Here’s what the Cubs said in the filing in response:

Through a brief authored by Martin Roth and other attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis, the Cubs argue that it is unconvincing for Wrigley View Rooftop to ask Coleman to unseal documents both parties agreed to keep sealed—including documents Wrigley View Rooftop wants sealed—on the basis that the sealing “has somehow rendered [Wrigley View Rooftop] unable to speak to the press.”

The Cubs, which say they’re open to unsealing some documents with appropriate redactions, object to unsealing the entire record, particularly given that both sides have “legitimate business needs for confidentiality” that include “privacy required to protect the Cubs’ trade secrets or their customers’ personally identifying information.”

What the Cubs say in that filing doesn’t appear to be completely unreasonable, either. The team added:

“That a baseball team would incur expenses related to ballpark operations, payroll, construction and equipment, and related topics is obvious and comports with the Court’s comment that it also relied on ‘common sense,” the Cubs write.

In addition, the Cubs note that sharing “detailed financial information,” including the Cubs’ contracts with other rooftop businesses, runs counter to the fact that the Cubs, Wrigley View Rooftop and other rooftop businesses are all, to some degree, competitors.

The Cubs’ contracts with other rooftop businesses could contain “highly sensitive competitive information such as audit rights, margins, and payment terms,” the disclosure of which, the Cubs insist, “could harm competition in a competitive market environment.”

You can read more at the Sportico link, though yes, I’ve quoted quite a bit of it, which I think is important to the point being made. Wrigley View Rooftop didn’t sell out to the Cubs as many of its competitors did. You can learn more about that in the ESPN.com article. I take no position here on whether the Cubs should or should not be required to open that financial information to the public, as I am not an attorney and don’t know all the details of this case.

But you can be sure that U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman’s ruling on this will be anxiously awaited not only by Aidan Dunican, but Cubs fans and owners of other MLB teams. And that’s because, per the Sportico article:

In professional sports labor disputes, players’ unions often argue that teams are more profitable than they claim. Unsealed financial records from the Cubs could attract attention well beyond this litigation, including from the MLBPA as it prepares for a potentially contentious labor fight.

Indeed. So, as always, we await developments.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone and team brass spoke at the end-of-year news conference Wednesday and hit on a number of topics...

Status of Giancarlo Stanton

Stanton is in the final guaranteed year of his contract. While the team has a club option following the 2027 season, at this point it seems unlikely they would pick it up.

GM Brian Cashman was asked what Stanton's status with the club is following what was essentially a lost season for the slugger, and the longtime exec was seemingly optimistic about what Stanton can bring. But he said there were discussions that need to be had this offseason.

"He finished the season healthy, so he enters the winter healthy," Cashman said. "We know what he’s capable of when he is healthy. We look forward to seeing if we can deploy a healthy version of him next year. But obviously, that DH spot is up for grabs for other people that could benefit from it at the same time. We’ll have those conversations."

Stanton played in just 24 games after suffering two separate calf strains during the regular season. In that short span, he hit .256 with an OPS of .724 to go along with three home runs and 14 RBI. 

The Yankees owe Stanton $25 million for 2027 -- $15 million if you count what the Marlins are on the hook for -- but that hasn't stopped the organization from DFA'ing other notable veterans once their most productive years are over. 

Cashman wouldn't reveal what the organization is thinking at this moment, but hopes Stanton can be a realistic option for the team in 2026. 

"G is a very accountable, responsible, wired-correctly, professional athlete. It destroyed him that he wasn’t available to us to try to help us, impact us in a positive way," Cashman said. "He continues to fight through it, as someone who is wired right should. His leadership in there is not in question. His care factor is not in question, just obviously, keeping him on the field so he can help us in that win column. It was a huge problem for us, especially in 2026. 

"I can’t tell you how this roster is going to shake out as we enter this winter and assess what is available for us. I hope he becomes a legitimate choice once again for Aaron Boone to play with when he puts lineups together on a daily basis. But we’ll see."

Stanton was healthy enough to make the Wild Card and ALDS rosters. He had two pinch-hit at-bats and struck out both times. 

Luis Garcia Jr. at 2B?

As the Yankees assess their roster this winter, there is a noticeable hole in second base.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. will hit the free agent market and it seems the infielder will not be back in pinstripes. Is there a possibility that Garcia could slide in to play second base? Boone said there is, but gave the caveat that potential winter additions could affect the team's thinking on that front.

"He’s played second base a lot in his career prior to this season. Just watching him move and take ground balls and throw, he’s got a lot of infielder qualities to him. It’s possible," Boone said. " Never know how the winter is going to shape out. It’s at least possible that it could be a part of the equation."

Boone was asked about Garcia potentially playing third base, but didn't seem keen on the idea, despite not ruling it out.  

Garcia has played 508 games (480 starts) at second base in his career but has had a negative OAA in four of his six seasons playing the position. 

Aaron Boone is asked about managing the Yankees in 2027 on an expiring contract: "Doesn't bother me at all...I feel blessed to be able to do this job alongside a lot of amazing people" https://t.co/vYbAdOEU4e

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 21, 2026

Aaron Boone managing on an expiring contract

Boone will enter the 2027 season in the final year of his contract. Owner Hal Steinbrenner said he hasn't spoken with the skipper about a potential extension, and it seems the Yankees are okay letting Boone manage his way into a new contract. 

And Boone said Wednesday that the fact he doesn't have a guaranteed job past next season won't affect his ability to manage. 

"Doesn't bother me at all...I talk about perspective a lot. I feel blessed to be able to do this job alongside a lot of amazing people. And I'm going to go out there and do it to the best of my ability this year," Boone said. "That potential thing hanging over...it's fine. My focus is only on looking towards next year and trying to help us be the best possible team that we can be. That's where my focus lies."

Boone has one of the best all-time records as a Yankees manager. He's managed nine winning seasons, and has made the postseason in all but one. He's captured an AL pennant, but has yet to win the big one. The last two postseasons have seen the Yankees bow out quietly in the ALDS to AL East rivals, and questions about Boone's managerial style have swirled around the organization.

At the end of the day, Boone understands the questions and he can only go out and prove his worth.

"I believe [we can win a World Series] with me at the helm, but any answer I give in defense of that won't satisfy people. I think I'm good at my job. I think we have a lot of the right people in the building," he said. "At the end of the day, we haven't won a championship with me at the helm. That's what has to happen to satisfy myself and to answer those questions ultimately. Haven't been able to do it yet."

With the Mets out of contention at the end of July, the team began a sell-off that resulted in four key relievers getting traded. 

Left-handers Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter were pending free agents, so their departures at the deadline will have no bearing on how this offseason goes. But in addition to moving them, the Mets also traded two key cogs who were under team control beyond 2026. 

The biggest loss was Luke Weaver, who was in the midst of a terrific season (1.84 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in 42 games for New York) and under contract through 2027. Had he remained, Weaver would've been a late-inning option next season, and perhaps someone to turn to at closer if needed. 

While it put a dent in their bullpen for 2027, it was easy to see the rationale in trading Weaver given the year-to-year fluctuation of relief performance. Whether it showed the Mets selling high was prudent or was just randomness in a small sample size, Weaver's performance sagged on his new team as he posted a 4.96 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 18 games for the Pirates. 

The Mets also traded Huascar Brazoban, who was under team control through 2029. But the impressive numbers Brazoban put up with the Mets in 2026 were viewed as a bit fluky, and he regressed after joining the White Sox, pitching to a 4.40 ERA (5.19 FIP) in 14 games over 14.1 innings while striking out just seven batters.

Looking ahead to 2027, the Mets' bullpen depth chart looks something like this:

Devin Williams
Kodai Senga
Dedniel Núñez
Nate Lavender
Daniel Duarte
Austin Warren
Tobias Myers 

That group is solid, but filled with question marks.

And there's uncertainty when it comes to whether Senga will remain in the bullpen (or even on the team) due to his preference to be in the rotation.

With all of that as a backdrop, should the Mets sign free agent left-hander Adrian Morejon?

PROS

No matter how you analyze Morejon's numbers, the end result is that he's really good.

Looking at his standard stats, Morejon posted a 2.83 ERA (2.37 FIP) and 1.08 WHIP with 107 strikeouts in 86 innings across 76 appearances in 2026 for the Padres. Along the way, he allowed just four home runs as he pitched in 60 or more games for the third straight season.

Over the last three years, Morejon has a 2.58 ERA (2.46 FIP) and 1.08 WHIP in 223.1 innings while striking out 248 (a rate of 10.0 per nine).

A glance at Morejon's advanced stats via Baseball Savant suggests that his dominance should be sustainable.

In 2026, Morejon was in the 90th percentile or better in hard-hit percentage, xERA, average exit velocity against, xBA, fastball velocity, chase percentage, whiff percentage, strikeout percentage, barrel percentage, and ground ball percentage.

Meanwhile, his stuff -- primarily a two-seam fastball and four-seamer that both average a tick under 100 mph, and a changeup -- graded out near the top of the league.

Morejon is also young (entering his age-28 season in 2027) and has been relatively injury-free since 2023.

With Devin Williams' 2026 season being mediocre and with him perhaps best suited for a setup role, the Mets adding Morejon to close would be huge.

CONS

You can't poke holes in Morejon's performance, can't worry about his age, and shouldn't be concerned about his durability. There are possible drawbacks, though.

The first is that the Padres will almost certainly place the qualifying offer on Morejon, meaning a team that signs him will incur staff draft pick penalties.

Beyond that, it's possible the deal Morejon receives could be beyond David Stearns' comfort level.

Before Edwin Diaz left the Mets for the Dodgers last offseason, New York offered him a three-year deal worth $66 million that they eventually made small tweaks to. But the Mets reportedly didn't budge beyond that when asked by Diaz's camp for some additional sweeteners, and he wound up inking a three-year deal with Los Angeles for $69 million.

It felt like something might have gone haywire toward the end of the Diaz negotiations, though, so perhaps the Mets would be more flexible in a potential pursuit of Morejon.

Either way, given Morejon's age and dominance, he's likely in line for a pretty big deal in terms of both average annual value and years.

VERDICT

A possible signing of Morejon might be a bit complicated since the Mets arguably have bigger needs elsewhere -- including at the very top of the starting rotation and at first base.

In a world where New York doesn't ink Tarik Skubal to lead the rotation and/or passes on an impact player at first base, there should be a bigger emphasis placed on trying to sign Morejon, who could anchor the relief corps for years to come.

If the Mets go big elsewhere, a more prudent move in the bullpen could be to target lower cost but high upside options, such as Jonathan Loaisiga.

It may not be the be-all, end-all for production as far as batted balls go, but exit velocity goes a long way towards determining whether or not a ball ends up landing in the grass or the seats instead of the leather of a baseball glove.

Plus, it’s just plain cool to see a ball get hit really hard — especially if it’s for a base hit or even more. Fortunately, the Atlanta Braves had a lot of hard-hit balls in 2026 and now it’s time to take a look at 10 of the hardest that they hit during this past season. Let’s get into it, shall we?

No. 10 – Austin Riley, May 24 vs. Nationals, Single, 111.9 mph, .714 xBA

This was during that series where the Braves inexplicably couldn’t figure out a way to score more than one run across two games against the beleaguered pitching staff for the Washington Nationals — and at home, no less. There was a lot of hope that this rocket from Austin Riley would’ve been enough to spark the Braves. Instead, it just ended up being a footnote — a footnote that was interesting enough to make it onto this list, though!

No. 9 – Ronald Acuña Jr., May 31 at Reds, Home Run, 112.0 mph, 1.000 xBA

As you would imagine, Ronald Acuña Jr. is going to make plenty of appearances on this list. He still hits the ball extremely hard and as you can see based on the rest of his appearances on this list, he’ll hit it hard whether he gets all of it or not. This time, he got all of it and this batted ball also appeared on the Longest Homers list from earlier this week. As such, y’all get the Reds broadcast’s take on Acuña’s homer. Seems like they really enjoyed Acuña watching it go, huh?

T-No. 7 – Austin Riley, July 4 vs. Mets, Line Out, 112.2 mph, .820 xBA

There were plenty of fireworks (both during and after the game) for the Braves and their fans on July 4 against the New York Mets. Interestingly enough, despite the explosion of offense from Atlanta in this one, there was no harder-hit ball during this game for the Braves than this fly out from Austin Riley. Riley did end up with 3 RBI during this game but he could’ve had four if this one flew just a little bit further off of his bat. That’s the story of many fly balls, though.

T-No. 7 – Jorge Mateo, May 3 vs. Rockies, Home Run, 112.2 mph, .994 xBA

Coors.

No but for real, this was very likely the type of moment that doesn’t happen outside of this atmosphere — especially for a batter like Jorge Mateo. Mateo’s average exit velocity in 2026 was 87.5-mph and this was the second of a grand total of five homers for Mateo during the 2026 regular season. The stars and conditions aligned for Mateo to absolutely turn on this one and keep it fair for a laser beam of a dinger.

No. 6 – Ronald Acuña Jr., April 4 at Diamondbacks, Ground Out, 112.3 mph, .617 xBA

Here’s another appearance for Acuña on this list. Again, it won’t be his last but this time, he suffered some hard luck as this one got smacked directly to a Diamondbacks infielder for a routine out. As you’ll see from his other appearances on this list, Acuña’s hardest-hit balls really ran the gamut from making you go “Wow!” in a good way to making you go “Wow.” in a confused way.

T-No. 4 – Michael Harris II, July 31 vs. Nationals, Home Run, 112.8 mph, .923 xBA

Boy, that one got out of there Quick. We’ve seen some balls get hit to the Chop House in right field that seemingly took a long and majestic voyage either to the seats, the house itself, or even the roof. Money Mike sent this one on a laser beam and it got to its destination about as quick as it possibly could. It’s a miracle that it didn’t just knock someone’s beer right off of their table out there! Sheesh.

T-No. 4 – Drake Baldwin, June 16 vs. Giants, Home Run, 112.8 mph, 1.000 xBA

We covered this one in the Longest Homers article from earlier this week, so there’s not much more to say about it. Instead, let’s just enjoy the Giants TV crew and how they observed this one. Granted, they can’t be jumping up and down and throwing confetti everywhere for a home run against the team that they’re covering but there’s still a lot of awe and admiration on the call here.

No. 3 – Ronald Acuña Jr., May 29 at Reds, Home Run, 113.3 mph, .971 xBA

At this point in the season, Ronald Acuña Jr. was about as locked in as we’d ever seen him. This series in Cincinnati saw Acuña go on a rampage, as this is his second batted ball from that series alone to make this list. It would’ve been really nice to se Acuña tap into this vein of production for longer stretches during the 2026 season but when he did find it, it was a reminder of just what this guy is capable of when he’s firing on all cylinders. Wow.

No. 2 – Michael Harris II, April 20 at Nationals, Ground Out, 114.9 mph, .551 xBA

Baseball is a cruel sport. It’s the only sport where you can do everything right with regularity and still end up getting nowhere as a result. That was the case in this particular moment, as Michael Harris II absolutely put this one on the screws — only for it to be hit directly towards a Nationals infielder for a routine ground ball out. A just-about 115-mph bullet and it’s all for naught. That’s baseball for you!

No. 1 – Ronald Acuña Jr., August 23 vs. Brewers, Ground Out, 115.2 mph, .111 xBA

If you have a morbid sense of humor then you can also recognize that baseball is a hilarious sport. Not only was this the hardest-hit ball of the season for the Braves, it was enough to make the Top-70 of all batted balls throughout the entire 2026 Major League Baseball Regular Season. This. THIS! Money Mike’s bullet from second place was just barely hit hard enough to make the Top 100 for the entire season but this was just bizarre. Acuña hit it directly into the ground and it was all for nothing — well, it made the top of this list, so congratulations to him for this amazing achievement.

BONUS – Lowest Exit Velocity for a (Non-Bunt) Base Hit: Eli White, July 29 at Mets, Single, 29 mph, .359 xBA

Sometimes you get unlucky, sometimes you get very lucky. That was the case for Eli White, as he ended up benefiting from getting a perfectly soft bounce on a full swing that was essentially as good as a bunt. What made this possible is that Eli White’s Sprint Speed for 2026 was 30.3 feet per second, which meant that it was just slow enough for White to be quick enough to make it to first base. The tortoise and the hare worked together in true harmony in order to make this play work for White and the Braves.