Category: Sports News

Thursday was another busy day for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates. And before long, it will get busier, as we’re not all that far away from the start of the ACL and DSL seasons. Until then, it’s just A-ball, but there’s plenty of action, so let’s dive into it all.

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

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

News

Some fantastic news over on the East Coast: AA Richmond has activated third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL) off the Injured List! Harber injured his hamstring during a nice Spring Training showing, and has been rehabbing in extended, but is ready to go. Rather than having him do some rehab assignments in A-ball, the Giants are throwing him straight into the AA fire. He’ll make his AA debut today, as he’s in the Squirrels’ lineup.

To make space on the roster for Harber, LHP Dylan Carmouche was placed on the Development List.

The Giants also announced an international signing, 19-year old RHP Frank Quiroz out of the Dominican Republic.

AAA Sacramento (12-9)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies) 12-10
Box score

After getting shut out the day before, the River Cats emphatically did not get shut out on Thursday. That said, if prospects are your thing — and presumably they are if you willingly clicked on this article and signed up for a few thousand words about Giants prospects — then it was a pretty bad game. The pitching was awful and the offense, while successful, was propped up almost entirely by the players on the roster that are more accurately described as emergency depth than exciting prospects. We love when those players have good days, to be clear … we just also like it when the hot prospects do, too.

But Thursday was about the depth, and the biggest piece of that was second baseman Osleivis Basabe, who had himself a day. The 25-year old righty and cousin of Luis Matos is known for his glove, not his bat, but you wouldn’t know it based on this game, as he hit 2-4 with a grand slam and a double, while knocking in 6 of the team’s 12 runs, and also striking out twice.

This was Basabe’s 1st game of the year at a position other than shortstop, though he split time fairly evenly between second, third, and short a year ago. With Tyler Fitzgerald out of the organization (unfortunate update on Fitz, for his fans: he’s hitting 3-20 with 14 strikeouts for Toronto’s AAA affiliate), the Giants have no infielders on the 40-man roster that aren’t also on the active roster. Basabe is a strong defensively across the infield, though, so the Giants would surely be comfortable calling on him to fill the Christian Koss role should injuries ever mandate it. And while he does a good job limiting strikeouts, and will pop for a game like Thursday’s every once in a while, his value does come from his glove: he has just a .640 OPS and 69 wRC+ on the season.

Third baseman Buddy Kennedy doesn’t have as good — or as versatile — of a glove as Basabe, but he does have a better bat, and he also showed it off on Thursday, hitting 3-4 with a triple and a walk. The 27-year old Minor League free agent, who has played in 67 MLB games over 4 seasons, has been spectacular in Sacramento this year, with a .904 OPS and a 146 wRC+, while striking out just 17.1% of the time. It’s hard to envision how Kennedy could get on the Major League roster — it might require an injury to Matt Chapman or Luis Arráez, with Casey Schmitt filling in for them — but he’s another player who, should injuries and emergencies mandate it, the Giants would be quite comfortable temporarily plugging a leak on the roster.

Shortstop Thomas Gavello, Sacramento’s do-everything utility prospect, hit 2-3 with a double and a walk, while center fielder Turner Hill, playing in his 4th game since getting called up to fill the outfield hole left by the promotions of Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan, went 3-4 with a stolen base. Neither player is a capital P Prospect, but they both do a lot of good things, are beloved by their coaches and teammates for a reason, and could get cups of coffee some day. Great players to have on any Minor League roster.

So those are the less heralded names in the lineup. The more heralded ones did far less interesting things: first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) hit 1-5 with a strikeout hat trick, lowering his OPS to .835 and his wRC+ to 126; catcher Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) had a 1-5 as well (though without the strikeouts), which dropped his OPS to .845 and his wRC+ to 125; left fielder Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL) hit 1-4 with a hit by pitch, but did knock in 3 runs, and now has a .773 OPS and a 106 wRC+; designated hitter Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL) went 1-4 with a strikeout, dropping his OPS to a still-great .921 and his wRC+ to 157; and right fielder Grant McCray hit 1-4 with a walk, a strikeout, and an error, moving his OPS to .620 and his wRC+ to 86.

Eldridge in particularly is mired in a bit of a slump at the moment: while he’s having some loud outs, in his last 4 games the lefty has hit just 1-17 with 0 walks and 8 strikeouts.

On the mound, RHP Carson Seymour was unable to run with an opportunity. LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL) had another tough game on Wednesday, and has really kept the door open for Seymour to become the top depth option should San Francisco need a 6th starter at some point (and they will). But, while Seymour has had a solid season this year, his Thursday was a disaster.

He couldn’t find the strike zone, as he threw just 29 of 54 pitches for strikes, and also couldn’t find the third inning, as he was knocked out of the game after just 1.2 frames. Seymour issued 2 walks and a hit batter during that time, while allowing 4 hits — including a home run to former Major Leaguer Adael Amador. In all, he had 6 earned runs placed on his ledger, and all of them came while he was on the mound rather than the bullpen allowing inherited runners to score.

After 3 straight scoreless outings to open the year, Seymour has really regressed in his last 2 games, and it’s brought his ERA all the way up to 4.15, with a 4.95 FIP. He’s done some good things this year, but the lack of strikeouts is highly concerning: he has just 14 through 17.1 innings.

The bullpen wasn’t all that much better. RHP Spencer Bivens gave up 3 hits, including a home run and a double in 1.2 innings, with 1 strikeout and 3 earned runs. He has a 4.38 ERA and a 6.78 FIP and, unfortunately, has not been able to make the Giants regret leaving him off the Opening Day roster. RHP Gregory Santos gave up 2 hits and a run in 2 innings, while striking out 2, but still has just a 1.74 ERA, but a 3.76 FIP. He’s only walked 3 batters in 10.1 innings this year but, despite throwing triple-digit heat, only has 5 strikeouts.

RHP Trent Harris (No. 29 CPL) pitched for the 1st time in over a week, and while he didn’t allow any runs, he gave up a hit and 3 walks in just 1.1 innings, with 2 strikeouts. RHP Joel Peguero (No. 27 CPL) retired the only batter he faced as he continues his rehab. RHP Wilkin Ramos tossed 2 no-hit innings with 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 1 strikeout, lowering his ERA to 2.77 but with a 4.63 FIP.

AA Richmond (14-3)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Somerset Patriots (Yankees) 5-2
Box score

The magical season continues for the Flying Squirrels, and the magical season continues for center fielder Jonah Cox. With Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) sidelined for a few games, Cox is getting to remind us all of his center field chops, and while his great defense in the middle of the grass isn’t surprising, what he’s doing in the batter’s box is.

Cox had yet another brilliant day with the bat, hitting 2-3 with a solo home run and a stolen base. A 6th-round pick in 2023 whom the Giants grabbed from the A’s in the Ross Stripling trade (thanks, Oakramentegas), Cox has all the makings of someone who could fill the Jared Oliva role in the Majors one day. The 24-year old plays really strong defense at all 3 outfield spots, and he’s probably the best non-Oliva basestealer in the organization (though both Trevor Cohen and Josuar González would like to state their case before that award is doled out).

But what happens when a back-of-the-bench, speed-and-defense prospect turns into a good hitter? Hopefully Cox helps us find out, because he is off to an absolute tear to start the season, hitting .420/.508/.640 for an 1.148 OPS and a 201 wRC+. It’s still early in the season but … 15 games isn’t as small of a sample size as he had earlier in the season, to state the obvious!

Those numbers are, frankly, a little shocking for someone who posted a .738 OPS and a 103 wRC+ at a lower level last year, and is making his AA debut this season. It seems that Cox has improved his approach this year, as he’s bettered both his walk and strikeout rates by about 6 percentage points, which is a very significant number. And of course, he’s up to his usual tricks on the bases, as he now has 11 thefts in 13 attempts.

Keep it up, Jonah. The sky’s the limit if you hit like this!

Left fielder Scott Bandura is also trying to keep hitting like this, because he is on a serious roll. The lefty had another brilliant day, hitting 2-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch, and a stolen base. It was the 4th consecutive multi-hit game for Bandura, and the 2023 7th-round selection has been on a tear ever since a cold start to open the year. Since April 9, the 24-year old — who was born 2 days before Cox and taken 1 round after him — has hit 21-48 with 10 extra-base hits, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts, bringing him up to a .983 OPS and a 155 wRC+. In what has really been a theme for the farm this year, Bandura has done a fantastic job cutting back on strikeouts: he had a 24.1% rate in High-A a year ago, and a 30.6% rate during his AA stint to end the year; this year it’s an ultra-tidy 14.5% mark.

A little bit of an all-or-nothing day for designated hitter Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL) who hit 2-4, smacked a double, and stole a base, but also struck out twice and was caught stealing once. Ahuna, who also knocked in 3 runs, has an .820 OPS and a 112 wRC+, but a 32.4% strikeout rate as he seeks to figure out AA after just 11 games in High-A.

On the mound, LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) had probably the best start of his season. Whitman hasn’t been living in the zone enough this year, and that was again the case in this game, as he only threw 43 of 74 pitches for strikes, while walking 3 batters in 5.1 innings. But he also only gave up 3 hits (2 singles and a double), while striking out 6 batters.

Earned runs have a way of impacting our perception of a pitching performance, of course. Whitman held the Patriots scoreless, with just 4 baserunners allowed, for 5 innings, but walked a pair of batters in the 6th. He departed and was replaced by LHP Dylan Carmouche, who allowed both inherited runners to score, tattooing a pair of earned runs on Whitman’s line, and moving his ERA to 5.68 (though his FIP is a much-nicer 3.62, but that seems to be a trend with him). Not that Carmouche is to blame for letting inherited runners score, but it’s certainly a reminder of why ERA can be a tricky number. With all else in the stat line being equal, people would look at a 5.1-inning, 0-run start much differently than a 5.1-inning, 2-run start, even though what Whitman did was the same regardless.

Either way, it was an encouraging start for Whitman, whose ERA and FIP are nearly identical to his 1st pass through the level last year, but his strikeouts and walks have greatly improved (the former moving from 9.5 per 9 to 11.8, and the latter dropping from 3.6 per 9 to 2.8).

We haven’t mentioned RHP Shade Rademacher much this year, but he had a really nice game, with 2 scoreless frames in which he allowed just 1 hit and 0 walks, while striking out 2. The 25-year old UDFA is doing the exact same thing that he did last year during his strong season with High-A, before struggling after a late-season promotion: he’s not striking anyone out (5.8 per 9), he’s not getting ground balls (19.4% rate), and his FIP is awful (5.17) and yet …. somehow he keeps runs from scoring (2.89 ERA). Go figure.

High-A Eugene (14-4)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks) 3-1
Box score

Thursday was all about being effectively wild for the Emeralds. They held the Hops to just 1 run, despite walking 7 batters and hitting 2 more. That’s what happens when you strike out 12, only allow 5 hits, and don’t give up any extra-base knocks.

RHP Niko Mazza had his best start of the season, as the 2024 8th-round pick took down 5 shutout innings while allowing just 1 hit and striking out 6 batters. What a performance! Mazza did walk a trio of hitters, and he threw just 42 of his 74 pitches for strikes, but still. That’s a really nice game.

In his debut season last year, Mazza had a really nice ERA (2.22) but a rough FIP (4.36), the result of not having many strikeouts (8.7 per 9) and walking a lot of hitters (5.0 per 9). This year he’s turned up the strikeouts to 13.2 per 9 (awesome!) while also turning up the walks to 7.5 per 9 (terrifying!). But, once again, he’s proving incredibly difficult for Minor League batters to hit. Last year, Mazza ceded just 68 hits in 93.1 innings, and this year, the Southern Mississippi product has allowed only 9 hits in 14.1 innings. He’s also adjusting to the level quickly: in his 1st 2 starts, Mazza gave up 7 hits, 7 walks, and 7 runs in 5.1 innings; in 2 starts since, he’s allowed just 2 hits, 5 walks, and 0 runs in 9 innings.

RHP Austin Strickland was also effectively wild, with 2 hits, 1 walk, 2 hit batters, and 3 strikeouts in 2 shutout innings. RHP Ryan Vanderhei was a touch more traditional, throwing 8 of 13 pitches for strikes in a scoreless inning, though he walked 1 and had a pair of strikeouts. It’s been a nice season for the 2023 10th-round pick, who is walking too many batters but otherwise pitching very well.

There were no standout days on offense, but the trio of highest-profile hitters in Eugene’s lineup all had nice days while sitting at the top of the lineup: right fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL) and shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) both hit 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout, while center fielder Dakota Jordan went 2-4 with a double, but struck out twice. Cohen (.719 OPS, 109 wRC+) has had an up-and-down season; Kilen (.755 OPS, 105 wRC+) started as the hottest player in the system but has been slumping for a while; and Jordan (.948 OPS, 155 wRC+) is putting up gaudy numbers, but still swinging and missing about twice as much as the Giants would like.

Low-A San Jose (14-4)

San Jose Giants beat the Ontario Tower Buzzers (Dodgers) 9-6
Box score

It’s now a 4-game winning streak for the Baby Giants, who broke a tie with a 3-run 8th inning.

As for where those 3 runs in the 8th inning came from? Well, the world belongs to center fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL) and we just live in it. Yes, Maldonado did it again, blasting a 3-run bomb in the 8th inning to lift San Jose to victory. That alone makes for a great day, but it was far from all he did, as he reached base 4 times, hitting 2-3 with 2 walks, while also stealing his 8th base of the season (which is 3rd in the organization, and more than all of the San Francisco players combined this year).

Maldonado, a righty-swinging 22-year old taken in the 7th round last year, is on the tear of all tears. He spent his post-draft time and the start of this year adjusting to life in Low-A, and has now taken flight. Just look at these numbers:

2025, 17 games: 14-59, 0 home runs, 6 doubles, 11 walks, 18 strikeouts
2026, 1st 9 games: 6-34, 0 home runs, 0 doubles, 7 walks, 6 strikeouts
2026, next 7 games: 16-28, 7 home runs, 3 doubles, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts

My goodness! What is going on?! Whatever it is, please don’t let it stop, because this is a delight.

Catcher Junior Barajas had yet another stellar game, hitting 2-2 with a double and drawing 3 walks. The 21-year old lefty, takin in the 11th round in July, has been an on-base machine, hitting .302 with an 11.3% walk rate (and just a 17.7% strikeout rate!). Thanks to a bunch of extra-base hits, the JUCO product has a 1.064 OPS and a 157 wRC+, despite a very modest .316 BABIP.

A few weeks into the debut season at Low-A is far too early to take any victory laps, but so far the Giants later rounds in the 2025 draft sure are looking nice.

We haven’t talked about third baseman Dario Reynoso much this year, but so far he’s been doing what he did last year: hitting well enough to excite you, but striking out enough to scare you. Thursday was another case of that, as he hit 2-3 with a double and 2 walks, while also striking out. The recently-turned 21-year old righty has an .827 OPS and a 131 wRC+ on the year, but is striking out 35.7% of the time … that’s right in line with last year, when he had a .999 OPS and a 158 wRC+ in the ACL, but a 31.7% strikeout rate.

Usually when that happens, it’s because someone is swinging for the fences, but Reynoso is the rare player who has both a batting average and a strikeout rate that begin with a “3.” You don’t see that every day! But while the average (and walk rate, which was 17.6% last year and 19.6% this year) are great, Reynoso’s lack of power is a red flag when combined with his strikeouts. You can have one or the other, but not both. He’s not the biggest guy, and that’s showed in Low-A: after having 10 home runs and 12 doubles in 227 plate appearances in the Complex League last year, Reynoso has 0 home runs and 6 doubles in 113 Low-A plate appearances between the end of last year and the start of this one.

Nice games for second baseman Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL), designated hitter Jeremiah Jenkins, and left fielder Damian Bravo. Meola, a 2025 4th-round pick, hit 2-4 with a walk and 2 stolen bases, while striking out twice and committing an error, boosting his OPS to .634 and his wRC+ to 67; Jenkins, a 14th-round pick in 2024, hit 3-5 with 2 strikeouts, and now has a 1.098 OPS and a 174 wRC+; and Bravo, last year’s 15th-round selection, went 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a sacrifice fly, putting his OPS at .821 and his wRC+ at 96.

In very exciting news, RHP Argenis Cayama (No. 13 CPL) put together another awesome start. While the Giants top hitting prospects are off to strong starts to the year, things have been a little bit slower on the pitching front. LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL), RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL), and LHP Luis De La Torre (No. 14 CPL) have had wobbly starts to the year, while LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL) has yet to make his season debut.

But Cayama is flowing, and on Thursday handled the Tower Buzzers with ease, needing just 72 pitches to cruise through 5 innings. Cayama did give up 6 hits, which included a solo home run (the only run he allowed), but only walked 1 batter and he struck out 6. The 19-year old from Venezuela looks significantly more physically developed this year than last, and that’s probably a large part of why he’s pitching well in the Cal League after getting rocked there in a few outings after the 2025 ACL season ended.

Cayama got knocked around in his 1st outing of the year, but since then? He’s made 3 starts, pitched 14 innings, and allowed just 12 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs, while striking out 18 batters. That’s the guy we were all so excited to see!!

Things quickly went off the rails, though, as RHP Fernando Vasquez took the mound for the 6th and had one of the more bizarre outings you’ll see. The 24-year old faced 7 batters and none of them put the ball in play, as he struck out 2 and walked 5. RHP Garrett Langrell, a 16th-round pick in July, had a great game, giving up just 1 baserunner in 2.1 innings, with 4 strikeouts. Unfortunately, the baserunner he allowed was a bases-loaded double after inheriting Vasquez’s mess, so Vasquez was tagged with 5 earned runs on the day. Langrell, on the other hand, is down to a 2.08 ERA and a 3.09 FIP on the season, and has a delightful 12 strikeouts against just 1 walk in 8.2 innings.

Home run tracker

7 — Cam Maldonado — [Low-A]
2 — Jonah Cox — [AA]
1 — Osleivis Basabe — [AAA]

Friday schedule

Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Albuquerque (SP: Trevor McDonald)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs. Somerset (SP: Trystan Vrieling)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT at Hillsboro (SP: Hunter Dryden)
San Jose: 7:00 p.m. PT vs. Ontario (SP: Braydon Risley)

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

Introduction

Over the last few weeks, we’ve gone over the D-Backs top prospects, focusing exclusively on the hitters in the farm system. This week we turn our focus to the pitchers in the Arizona farm system, beginning with a few honorable mentions that didn’t make it into the top 15 for whatever reason.

Pitching Development Isn’t an Organizational Strength

The D-backs have had a decent amount of success as far as developing position players goes, but when it comes to developing starting pitching, they have had very few successes in the team’s 30 years. If you’re excluding pitchers who didn’t begin their professional career, or those that broke out only after being traded away, there are even fewer. As much as it pains me to say, the D-Backs are one of the worst teams at developing pitching, and there really aren’t many pitchers in the system that look elite starting pitchers, at least as far as I can tell.

Ranking the Diamondbacks pitching prospects feels like a futile endeavor that borders on masochism, especially since there’s essentially no consensus in ranking. In addition to looking at the rankings of various publications, I reached out to some of my fellow SnakePit writers and alumni who know prospects, and there were very few rankings in common, though there are definitely some pitchers more highly regarded than others. As far as my process for rankings goes, if I am presented with two players that are similar in terms of tools and stuff, I’m going to favor the player who is actually having success over the player who only has the potential for success. Starting pitchers will always be ranked more favorably than relief pitchers, especially single inning relief pitchers. The level of confidence in a prospect’s ability to stick as a starting pitcher is one major source of the discrepancy between rankings, so if you’re wondering why I might favor a pitcher more than someone else does, that’s probably why.

The Players Who Could Have Made The Cut

You’ll find Patrick Forbes on nearly every major publication’s top prospect list for the Diamondbacks, but you won’t find him with a ranking on mine. I have a hard time ranking a pitcher who has yet to make his professional debut nine months after being drafted and signed. Forbes is pretty consistently ranked near the top of the D-backs pitching prospects and there are some solid reasons for doing so. He was a high draft pick, the Dbacks selecting Forbes with the 29th overall pick, receoved as compensation for losing Christian Walker to free agent. If you’re taken that high in the draft, you’ve already shown the potential for success as professional. Forbes definitely had that potential at the University of Louisville, where he touched 100mph with his fastball while utilizing a funky 3/4 deliver. He only started pitching in college, so a slower than usual development timeline is probably to be expected. Forbes’s pro debut has been delayed even further thanks to a flexor injury in early April, which will likely keep him out of games until late May at the earliest.

Dean Livingston, who was taken with the 123rd overall pick of the 2025 draft, is another pitcher who’s a ranked prospect, yet hasn’t made his pro debut yet. Unlike Forbes, he isn’t a college pitcher, instead a high schooler who didn’t crack his team’s starting rotation until his senior year. Putting Livingston in the top ten of the D-backs pitching prospects isn’t that crazy, considering he’s a 6’4 projectable RHP with quick, intriguing arm action, who hit 97.5 MPH at the 2025 draft combine. In terms of pitch selection, Livingston has an already above average two-seam and four seam fastball, along with a low 80s slider that is coming along, and a high 70s curve that needs work. The potential is there, and I would not be surprised in the slightest to see him rocket up the prospects rankings.

Yilber Diaz is a player you’ll find on a lot of top prospect lists as well, but he’s left off of my list for a few reasons. Yes, his triple digit velocity and overall stuff is very impressive, giving him some of the highest ceilings of any pitcher in the system, but the inability to consistently command his pitches and lack of control has kept from having success in MLB. This is a player who made his pro debut two seasons ago, yet still has his rookie status intact. Currently assigned to Reno, he’s off to a fantastic start in his first 11 ⅔ innings pitched in 2026; Just one earned run allowed on four hits, four walks, and a hit by pitch, with eighteen strikeouts. His 0.77 ERA isn’t too far off from his 2.04 FIP and 2.62 xFIP, though that is a super small sample size and things can change very quickly once the weather warms up in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League.

Christian Mena made his Major League debut in 2024 for approximately one start before being waylaid with a right forearm strain for the rest of the season. Last year, Mena was again affected by an injury, this time a right shoulder strain that limited him to just nine starts in Triple-A (44 2/3 innings) and three relief appearances in the bigs. He didn’t pitch in a game after June 6. over the offseason, fellow Snakepit author Makakilo did an excellent writeup on Mena’s 2025 season that I’d recommend reading. Mena is still very young, just 23, younger than some of the pitchers who I will rank. If he was healthy currently, I’d consider ranking him near the top of the pitching prospects in the system, however, Mena hasn’t appeared in a game at all in 2026 and there’s no word of when he’ll begin his season.

Brian Curley is another from the 2025 draft that I refuse to put in my rankings yet, but unlike the aforementioned Forbes and Livingston, he has actually made his pro debut and pitched this season. A third round pick out of the University of Georgia, Curley began his season as the closer but was the Bulldog’s staff ace by the end of his season. Fellow SnakePit author Preston Salisbury has Curley as his number one pitcher in the system, when I had forgotten about him completely since the draft.

Next week we’ll look at our traditional fringey dark horse honorable mentions and begin ranking the rest of their pitching prospects.

The Colorado Rockies (10–16) are back on the road, taking on the New York Mets (9–16), and will look to have a short memory after yesterday’s heart-wrenching loss to the Padres.

Yesterday’s 10–8 loss capped a 3–4 homestand that saw the Rockies take two of four from the Los Angeles Dodgers and then nearly take the series from San Diego before the ninth inning slipped away.

Up 8–5. A couple of baserunners. One swing. Gone.

That version of the Rockies is still there — the one that lets things get away. But so is the other version, the one that can compete and make games feel alive.

Overall, the Rockies are 7–6 at home this season. On the road, they’re 3–10. This isn’t about correcting the road record overnight. It’s about whether this team can be functional away from home. Stay in games. Make the other team work. Give themselves a chance late.

Tonight feels like a pretty good test for that.

Michael Lorenzen gets the start for Colorado tonight in Flushing. Lorenzen has had his struggles to start the year, entering at 1–2 with a 7.48 ERA, but he’s coming off a serviceable outing against the Dodgers, allowing three runs over five innings.

Lorenzen isn’t walking many hitters, which helps, but he’s giving up hard contact far too often. Tonight’s job is simple in theory, harder in practice: keep things clean ahead of Juan Soto, get ground balls, and live with whatever contact comes.

Taking the ball for the Mets is right-hander Freddy Peralta, one of their premium offseason additions. Peralta enters tonight with a fairly pedestrian 1–2 record and 4.05 ERA through five starts, but the underlying profile is much louder. He features an elite fastball he throws about 50% of the time, pairing it with a plus changeup and curveball that generate plenty of whiffs.

At the end of the day, Peralta is a strikeout artist who thrives when hitters expand the zone.

That’s what makes this matchup so interesting.

He’s facing a Rockies lineup that swings as much as anyone in baseball, with a swing rate north of 50% and a tendency to chase. The game really comes down to whether Colorado can flip that script — ambushing fastballs early and forcing Peralta out of rhythm — or whether they fall into his game and spend the night chasing secondaries.

Look for Mickey Moniak and Hunter Goodman to set the tone. If they’re on time early, the game opens up. If not, Peralta has the tools to take over quickly.

First Pitch: 5:10 pm MDT 

TV: Rockies.TV 

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish) 

Mets SB Nation site:  Amazin’ Avenue

Lineups: 

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

Mets lineup

Bo Bichette – 3B
Juan Soto – DH
Francisco Alvarez – C
Brett Baty – RF
Mark Vientos – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Carson Benge – LF
Tyrone Taylor – CF
Ronny Mauricio – SS

Freddy Peralta – RHP

Rockies lineup

Mickey Moniak – DH
Hunter Goodman – C
TJ Rumfield – 1B
Tyler Freeman – 2B
Troy Johnston – RF
Kyle Karros – 3B
Ezequiel Tovar – SS
Jake McCarthy – LF
Brenton Doyle – CF

Michael Lorenzen – RHP

Broadcast info

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

First pitch: 6:10 Central

Weather: No hurricanes today

Opponent’s SB site: DRaysBay

TV: Twins TV. Radio: Sandwiches will be marrying Kris Atteberry this fall

Today’s Rays starter is Drew Rasmussen, and he is Darn Good. He’d thrown a total of 32.1 so-so innings of relief for the Brewers when they traded him for SS Willy Adames (just so-so himself) and RHP Trevor Richards (he briefly played for the Twins later and you missed it on your Sporcle quiz). Pretty soon, the Rays made Rasmussen a full-time starter, and he’s been excellent (when healthy) since. He throws a cutter, 96ish 4-seamer, sinker, and will dabble with some offspeed stuff; it’s mostly those three pitches, and they’re generally good, although his peripheral numbers are a bit off to start the season. In any case, the Twins haven’t had much trouble against good starting pitching recently; they’ve had more trouble scoring as much as they should against struggling pitchers.

There was a guy in my freshman college dorm named Remy Rasmussen. He was an odious monster of a human being; I won’t get into advanced detail, but he said he never wiped after pooping, since “that’s what laundry is for.” I don’t think the two people are related.

The Twins will be starting Taj Bradley, who is of both Mexican and African-American descent; he was selected for the Mexican national team for this year’s WBC, but opted out in order to stick with the Twins during spring training. Bradley used to be with the Rays; the Twins traded Griffin Jax for him. Jax has really had a tough time so far this season; neither his velocity nor spin rates have dropped, so I don’t know what’s troubling the guy.

I’ll probably always root for Jax, since he came close to missing out on a baseball career. When he attended the U.S. Air Force Academy, his understanding was that he’d be allowed to continue playing baseball after graduation, and complete his mandatory service requirement by being in the reserves. (Service academies are mostly free to students, but once they begin their junior year, they owe the U.S. government several years of service in the military or other allowed capacities. That’s how I got a year of college credit and a really frustrating Remedial Swimming course on your taxpayer dime.)

But in April 2017, the Department of MANLY WAR! Defense changed their policy, and it looked like Jax was going to lose at least two seasons of working his way up in the minors. Then it was announced that baseball would return to the 2020 Olympics. Jax was able to get a spot on the “World Class Athlete” program, which allows athletes with a chance at the Olympics to train instead of serve active military duty. (Jax did not make the U.S. Olympic team, although future Twins Joe Ryan and Simeon Woods-Richardson did.)

So’s here’s hoping Jax turns it around after the Twins score 10 unearned runs against him this weekend.

Incidentally, while refreshing my memory on the details here, I found a fun Fact: San Antonio Spurs HOFer David Robinson originally was accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy under their 6’6” cutoff limit. But then he grew MORE. In college! He ended up at 7’1”, which is just Too Tall for the tight passageways of naval vessels. The DoD made him serve one year of active duty as a paper-pusher, then realized that a guy who was probably gonna be a huge NBA star would be a good promo for the military, and worked out an agreement to let Robinson play. He was nicknamed “The Admiral” in his NBA career, although he was not actually promoted to admiral during a year pushing papers.

How’s Tropicana Field doing after losing its roof? It’s OK, there’s a new one. Do the Rays want a new publicly-funded stadium with all kinds of free land around it that they can develop property on? Well, they are a professional sports team in the United States, so of course they do. Neil deMause, as usual, has the details.

Finally, who doesn’t want to meet the Rays’ mascots? They’ve got three of ‘em!

That’s Raymond, DJ Kitty, and Stinger to you. You can Learn Things about them at this link, if you wish.

Raymond’s favorite activities include Rays baseball, belly dancing, hugs, high fives, full contact shuffleboard, extreme checkers, reading, and hanging with his friends. Stinger can’t find a glove big enough for his fin, and loves SpongeBob SquarePants. While DJ Kitty:

Throws: Down the hottest scratches

Catches: The beat, throws it right back

His favorite song is “Year of the Cat” by Al Stevens, because any “‘DDJ” Designated Disc Jockey’” knows Al Stevens is the hottest scratch of all.

Nah, I’ll just stick with Mr. Met:

The Seattle Mariners and the Tampa Bay Rays remain peas in a pod. On Friday, the Mariners announced they’ve traded recently DFA’d reliever Casey Legumina to the Rays for minor league RHP Ty Cummings. Despite some difficult outcomes with Seattle, Legumina’s capability to pitch multiple innings and tease a Paul Sewald-esque pitch mix. Unfortunately for Seattle, their immediate bullpen depth takes a hit, though their 40-man roster is still stuffed chock-a-block with relievers.

In return comes Cummings, who Seattle selected in the 7th round of the 2023 draft. The former Campbell Camel was the player to be named later in Seattle’s deal to acquire OF Randy Arozarena in 2024. He joins a healthy tradition of players the M’s have dealt away and re-acquired. Cummings himself has been an effective, efficient sinker/slider slinger, pitching his way up to Triple-A Durham a year ago. He’s returned to Double-A Montgomery where he’s been highly effective, if not imposing in the low-90s. Not on the 40-man roster himself, he may report to the Travelers in Arkansas or Rainiers in Tacoma depending on the organization’s keenest need for rotation depth. Cummings has the efficiency to become a depth starter.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns each spoke to the media on Friday regarding updates on some of the team's key players before New York began a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field.

Jorge Polanco 'feeling better'

After dealing with Achilles tendinitis/bursitis since the beginning of the season which relegated him to either designated hitter or out of the lineup as he tried to manage his discomfort, Polanco was finally placed on the injured list on April 18, retroactively to April 15, with a right wrist contusion.

Since then, the switch-hitting infielder has begun to feel better and started to do some baseball activity on Friday.

"Playing catch, hitting from the right side," Mendoza said. 

The skipper said aside from that there's not much else to report on Polanco, but was then asked if he considers the 32-year-old to still be a ways away from returning. While Mendoza said it's a "tricky" situation, citing Polanco is still dealing with both the Achilles injury as well as the wrist issue, he also mentioned that Polanco "could turn the corner at any point".

A few moments later, Stearns was asked about the veteran's possible return status and said he considers him "week-to-week".

"Every day we get a little more information," Stearns said. "He'll go through some more testing this weekend. My expectation would be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday next week we'll be able to have a little bit more clarity, but the best we know right now is week-to-week."

After signing a two-year, $40 million deal in the offseason, Polanco is slashing .179/.246/.286 in 14 games.

David Peterson back in the mix

Peterson's last start for the Mets came on April 13 against the Los Angeles Dodgers where he allowed four earned runs in five innings. It was the third consecutive rocky start for the left-hander who also got hit hard to end last season.

In his next scheduled outing, New York decided to go with Tobias Myers for the first two innings before Peterson entered the game where he was much better, going 3.2 scoreless innings in relief. 

When his spot in the rotation came around again on Thursday, the Mets opted to start Christian Scott who was promoted from Triple-A. Once again, Peterson came in relief after Scott lasted just 1.1 innings and threw 3.1 effective innings to help New York seal the series win. 

Following his brief departure from the starting rotation, it appears Peterson has pitched his way back in, in some form or another, after the Mets sent Scott back down to the minors. Mendoza laid out the pitching plan for the next few days which includes an off day on Monday.

"We're gonna stay with Freddy [Peralta] today, [then] Kodai [Senga], Nolan [McLean], Clay [Holmes] after the off day and then we'll see," the manager said. "Whether it's Peterson starting that day or — we told Petey to be ready to pitch that day, so whether there’s an opener in front of him [or if] he’s gonna start, we still don’t know but that’s kinda what we’ve got going right now."

Part of the unknown relates to how New York uses Sean Manaea out of the bullpen before Peterson's turn in the rotation. Manaea, one of the Mets' long-relievers, last pitched on April 17 where he had his first bad outing of the season, giving up five earned runs in four innings. Prior to that, the left-hander had a 2.25 ERA in 10.2 innings and can give the Mets length from the bullpen if any starter falters.

"It depends on how we use Sean in the next few days, but we feel good with Petey starting, obviously, but again we still gotta play 3-4 [games]," Mendoza said. "We got an off day on Monday, but the one thing we told Petey was just be ready to pitch on Wednesday."

A.J Minter's timeline

Out for nearly a full calendar year with a left lat strain, Minter's return to the team continues to get closer. 

"We're still on the same timeline," Stearns said. "Early May. First week, 10 days of May I think is realistic. That's roughly, I believe, where his rehab stint goes through. 

"A couple of benchmarks we still gotta clear -- two out of threes, we gotta clear back-to-backs, sort of the dirty inning cleanup, those types of things. Make sure he feels good and then we'll get him back here and he can help us."

The left-handed reliever has made five rehab appearances in the minor leagues and has a 1.93 ERA in 4.2 innings.

Keeping Juan Soto healthy

Soto is once again DHing for the Mets on Friday as the team continues to do whatever it can to keep the superstar's bat in the lineup. In three games since his return from a calf injury, Soto has yet to play in the outfield.

Mendoza mentioned that he thought about having Soto play the outfield on Thursday, but had he done that Soto would have probably been out of the lineup today so he opted to DH him both days. It's something that will likely continue to happen as New York wants to be smart about how it goes about keeping Soto healthy. 

However, with Francisco Lindor now out for the foreseeable future with his own calf injury and the offense struggling before Thursday's 10-run explosion, the Mets will not run Soto into the ground.

"We’re not gonna put him at risk," Mendoza said. "If he needs a day, he needs a day. Just like finding ways to keep his bat in the lineup while we’re not putting him at risk… As much as we need his bat in the lineup, he’s gonna get days."

Friday at 6pm CT on SECN+, Saturday at 7pm CT on SEC Network, and Sunday at 12pm CT on ESPN2.

The Tejas Long Fedoras (#4)

‘26 Record: 30-8 (11-6 SEC). The Long Fedoras opened the season 16-0 in OOC play, but since conference play started, have come back to Earth a bit. In OOC play, they ate cupcakes and Coastal Carolina.

Once conference play started, they took 2 of 3 from Ole Piss at home, the lost a midweek game to Tarleton State, and then took 2 of 3 from Auburn at War Tiger Field. They then lost another midweek game against Houston, but would proceed to sweep The OK Boomers in Austin, before taking 2 of 3 from The South Cackalacky Game Penises in Penis-bia. Any losses to the Penises this year should crush your confidence, and, as such, The Long Fedoras then got mini-swept 2 games to none in Milkman Station to those aTm Cultists. Last week, they took 2 of 3 from The Ramajama Gumps.

It would be phenomenal if we could win this series, as at least it is at The Hawk. If we take at least one, I’ll be happy. Oh fuck that, I hate these Fedora-wearing slabs of beef. Run them out of town on a bachelorette party pedal tavern, please and thank you. M’Lady.

Player to Watch: #33 Jr. CF Aiden “Pride of Holy Ghost” Robbins (.368/.444/.737 with 7 2B, 2 3B, 15 HR, 41 RBI, and 10-11 SB).  How many leadoff hitters have 15 dongers right now? No, forget I asked that. I am absolutely not looking it up. For comparison, our own leadoff slugger, The Mancino Man, has 12. Robbins has been tearing the cover off the ball, so you pitch around him, right? Well… then he’ll be off and running. Shit. I hate going against complete players.

Anchor of Gold Tiger Beat Hottest Pitcher: #99 So. LHP Dylan “The Lost City” Volantis (5-0; 2.13 ERA; 12.26 K/9). The Long Fedora Ace/Mythical city penned by Plato just flat out dominates. Hope to catch him on an off day. I’m not sure he’s had one yet, so he must be due, right?

Andrew VU ‘04 2026 All-Name Team Nominee: Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle has a team of mostly normal-named humans, but who does he employ on his coaching staff? That would be Nolan Cain, Troy Tulowitzki, and frontrunner for the 2026 Andrew VU ‘04 All-Name Team Name of the Year Award, Max Weiner.

No notes.

On the Mound

Friday @ 7:00pm on SECN+

Vanderbilt #39 Jr. RHP Connor “The Spice” Fennell (3-1; 4.74 ERA; 11.05 K/9)

vs. Long Fedoras #99 So. LHP Dylan “The Lost City” Volantis (5-0; 2.13 ERA; 12.26 K/9)

The Lineup

See you in the comments.

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

For the Braves:

Let’s talk about it.

The Milwaukee Brewers return home to American Family Field to begin a six game homestand against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks. The first matchup of this homestand is a doozy.

It’s a battle of the aces on the mound tonight with the wily veteran Brandon Woodruff pitching for the Crew while the Pirates will have the reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes. This is the back end of a back-to-back stretch against reigning Cy Young winners after facing Tarik Skubal on Thursday afternoon. It’s just the second time in MLB history a team will go through that.

Woodruff is 2-0 on the year with a 3.42 ERA while Skenes is 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA.

The Brewers made some roster moves ahead of Friday’s game. Tyler Black and Shane Drohan have been called up to the big league club.

“(Black)’s healthy and right now he’s one of our best 13 position players. Had a great spring, borderline made the club almost (out of spring).” Pat Murphy said “So it’s a no-brainer.”

Black will primarily play DH and first base for the Crew. Meanwhile Drohan is slated to be in bulk relief and is not currently scheduled to make any starts.

To make room, the Brewers optioned Carlos Rodriguez back to Nashville and designated Luis Matos for assignment. Matos hit just .200 (4-for-20) with a .438 OPS in nine games with the Crew. Rodriguez allowed one run in 4 IP across two outings during this stint with the Brewers.

As for the lineup tonight, Pat Murphy is stacking the lineup with left-handers against Skenes. William Contreras and Brandon Lockridge are the only true righties in the order. Brice Turang, Contreras, and Jake Bauers are atop the order. Tyler Black, just called up to make his season debut, is batting cleanup. Luis Rengifo gets the start at third with David Hamilton at short. Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, and Lockridge make up the outfield.

The Pirates have some lefties atop their order in Oneil Cruz and Brandon Lowe, followed by the switch hitting Bryan Reynolds. Konnor Griffin, the top prospect in baseball, is batting eighth.

The Brewers will be wearing their Wisco City Connect jerseys, still searching for their first win in the uniform after going 0-3 in that first weekend in them. They’ll have to do it against the best pitcher in the National League.