The Lake Elsinore Storm became the first minor league affiliate to sweep a series this season and now have a winning record going into a tie for first in their division. The Low-A team, boasting many of the 2025 draftees of the Padres, has had many surprise players surge in the last couple of weeks. Two undrafted free agents join a couple of the top-rated draft prospects to form the nucleus of an offense that has heated up for the Storm.
Both starter Griffin Canning and reliever Yuki Matsui are reaching the ends of their rehab windows and will be joining the San Diego Padres soon. Canning should be fully built up and must be activated by Monday. Matsui has pitched in back-to-back games and has completed a two-inning appearance. He will join the Padres by this weekend.
Sung-Mun Song was the 27th man for the Mexico City Series but returned to El Paso after debuting with the Padres as a pinch runner. A brief glance at his numbers would make many wonder why he has not been brought up to the major league team. A little deeper look shows major concerns with barrel and hard-hit rates. He has almost no slug, has not stolen a base and has an alarming K-rate.
El Paso Chihuahuas (12-15 record with a 4-2 record in their last series, 3rd in Pacific Coast League East)
Outfielder Samad Taylor leads the team with a .325 average; infielder Pablo Reyes has a .438 OBP while outfielder Jase Bowen is tops in both slug .625 and OPS .968 and has seven homers. Infielder Jose Miranda leads with 18 RBI. The depth of the talent sitting in Triple-A is reassuring if reinforcements are needed for the Friars. The only real concern is that Bowen has 28 strikeouts in his 96 at-bats, a 29% K-rate.
RHP Evan Fitterer has started four games out of the six games he has appeared in and has a 1.23 ERA in the 14.2 innings pitched. Reliever Garrett Hawkins, who is on the 40-man roster, has a 2.08 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched. Griffin Canning has had four appearances (fifth should be in the books on Tuesday) with a 5,40 ERA in 10 innings.
San Antonio Missions (5-16 record that makes them last in Texas League South)
The Double-A Missions are having a difficult time so far this season but there is a big bright spot for Padres fans. Catcher Ethan Salas is heating up of late and is leading the team in OPS at .859 and slug at.481 and that includes two homers.
1B/DH Leandro Cedeno has only played in 10 games but is hitting .333 with a .415 OBP. Infielder Carson Tucker continues to hit, batting .317 in 13 games and has four stolen bases without being caught. He has an .806 OPS and .391 OBP.
Starter Miguel Mendez is on the 40-man roster and has started four games with a 3.68 ERA in 14.2 innings but had a rough start his last time out. Reliever Andrew Moore has a 1.29 ERA in five games and 7.2 innings and Eric Yost, who has made one start in his four games, has a 1.32 ERA in 17.2 innings.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (7-14 record, last in Midwest League East)
Outfielder Jake Cunningham, 23, who signed with the Padres as a minor league free agent in February, has had a good start for his new organization and their High-A affiliate. He leads the team with a .321 average, a .607 slug and a .965 OPS. He has hit four homers and has seven RBI. Outfielder Kasen Wells has a team leading .384 OBP with 14 walks and a .266 average. He also leads the team with three stolen bases. Outfielder Alex McCoy is continuing to show he can be an all-around player with a .324 average, four home runs and 12 RBI.
Starter Carson Montgomery has three starts and a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings. Starter Andrew Parra has a 3.12 ERA in four games with 17.1 innings pitched. LHP Kash Mayfield has four starts and a 1.65 ERA in 16 innings pitched with 19 strikeouts and could be pushing the organization into an early promotion.
Reliever Clay Edmondson has a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched and two saves.
Both offense and pitching has struggled so far this season for the TinCaps with the above exceptions noted.
Lake Elsinore Storm (12-9 record, swept the Visalia Rawhides 6-0, 1st, in a tie, in California League South)
The Low-A Storm got off to a slow start but several players are surging to push them into their winning ways. Infielder Bradley Frye is hitting .419 with a .621 slug and a 1.083 OPS with 17 RBI. Outfielder Connor Westenburg, the other undrafted free agent with Frye, is hitting .371 with a .935 OPS and has 13 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
Outfielder Ryan Wideman, the Padres No. 9 prospect, will shoot up the prospect rankings if he keeps this up. Wideman is hitting .299/.404/.529 for a .933 OPS. He has seven doubles, two triples, three home runs and 20 RBI with 17 stolen bases in 21 attempts. He also has 11 walks to 18 strikeouts while playing an excellent center field. Coming into the season, the concern was his hitting mechanics and whether he could adapt to higher velocity and spin. He chased out of the zone and there were questions about his ability to be selective. So far, he has altered his mechanics and seems to be adjusting well. He has plus-plus speed and a good arm with good defensive range.
Catcher Victor Duarte leads the team with a .490 OBP, collecting a team high 13 walks. He can also play first base and is in his fourth season with Lake Elsinore but has never played more than 54 games in a season.
Unfortunately, the Storm has lost outfielder Kale Fountain for the season with a shoulder injury requiring season ending surgery. He had a collision with an outfield wall.
Carlos Medina has pitched in six games and has started two games. He has 16 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 16 strikeouts. Winyer Chourio has a 2.25 ERA in four games/three starts over 12 innings pitched and 26 strikeouts. Bryan Balzer has 19 strikeouts over 18 innings pitched and four games started. One difficult outing upped his ERA to 4.50.
Reliever Javier Chacon has a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings with 21 strikeouts. Ethan Long has a 1.35 ERA in six games and 6.2 innings with three saves. Nick Falter has a 1.98 ERA in 13.2 innings in seven appearances with 14 strikeouts.
Jeremiah Estrada made one rehab appearance with Lake Elsinore, pitching one inning with a strikeout. The most encouraging sign was that his pitches were back up to his normal velocity and he allowed no hits. He should resume his rehab with El Paso.
New Padre Lucas Giolito made his first start and went 2.2 innings but was removed after a comebacker hit his pitching hand. He allowed two runs and two hits with three walks and reached 63 pitches. He must be added to the Padres roster by May 16.
Injuries
Miguel Mendez was placed on the IL with a neck strain after his last start. It is not likely to be a long stint. Luis Gutierrez was placed on the 60-day IL with a lat strain. Omar Cruz was sent to San Antonio to fill in for the injured pitchers.
Qrey Lott, an undrafted free agent sign, was added to Lake Elsinore to replace Fountain.
CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 28: Daniel Schneemann #10 of the Cleveland Guardians looks on prior to the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Grace Hoppel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Schneemann means “Snowman” in German and “Making Himself a Must-Play Hitter” in Cleveland Guardian.
Coming into 2026, it would surprise almost no one to hear Daniel Schneemann made the Opening Day roster. Despite entering the season with a career wRC+ of 84, Schnee was a good, if not great, defender at virtually every position on the field. This defensive flexibility more than makes up for the lower than average offensive production and allows him to almost perfectly fill the role of an everyday bottom of the line up utility player. What might be surprising for almost everyone is that through the Guardians first 32 games so far in 2026, Daniel Schneemann has been by a very wide margin the team’s most productive hitter, with a 167 wRC+ so far in 2026. The question we’re going to look at today is whether or not this offensive production is sustainable, or if this is just a blazing start to 2026.
I should start off by saying we are still very early in the season, and we’re going to be analyzing a very small sample size of plate appearances (87 to be exact), but there’s still a lot of data to look at and a lot of conclusions we can draw. The first number to look at is Schnee’s wOBA vs xwOBA, and as it stands currently, he’s outperforming his xwOBA by about .048. This is a pretty big outperformance, and as of writing sits at the 18th “luckiest” hitter per Savant. The positive side is looking strictly at his xwOBA of .369, which is still top ~80th percentile in MLB, ranking him 56 out of 273 qualified MLB hitters. The only two hitters with a better xwOBA on the Guardians are unsurprisingly José Ramírez and Chase DeLauter.
The set of data we want to look at next involves metrics that have high correlation with better quality of contact. If you’ve been listening to player and coach interviews, or the broadcast commentary, you’re probably aware that Schnee spent the offseason trying to build more muscle. Now it’s not wholly a 1 to 1 comparison, as there are a lot of other factors that contribute, but we can see this in the data a little bit, as his average bat speed is up from around 70.8 over his first 2 seasons to 71.5 in 2026, and he’s gotten his average exit velo up from around 88.8 to 90mph in 2026. Schnee has also gotten exceptionally efficient at getting this now harder contact into more optimal launch angles. The overwhelming majority of extra base hits come from batted balls in the 8-32 degree launch angle window. Statcast uses LA SS% (Launch Angle Sweet-Spot %) to denote the percentage of in-play batted balls that fall into this optimal launch angle window. Schnee is hitting this window on a staggering 46.2% of his batted balls. That percentage ranks him 7th out of 273 qualified MLB hitters on Savant. This is exactly what you want to do to be able to more consistently get extra base hits.
A lot of you may be sensing a “but” coming, and unfortunately your instincts are good. While everything we’ve talked about before is incredible, when we want to talk about sustainability, there’s a few big factors we haven’t looked at yet. The biggest one is Chase%. One of the most important aspects of hitting is making good swing decisions. Right now Schnee’s Chase% is up from 25.8 in 2025 to 35.1 in 2026. And his Whiff% is up from 29.6 in 2025 to 36 in 2026. How concerning is this? Well, on the surface the answer would be “Very concerning.” That Whiff% is in the bottom 5 percentile on Savant, and the Chase% is bottom 19 percentile.
A very high Chase% combined with high Whiff% is a very bad combination for hitters in general, and this is likely where we will get our answer of “is this sustainable for Schnee?” The obvious adjustment from the league is to throw more pitches out of the zone to try to get him to expand his zone and get himself out. The silver lining is that Schnee’s BB% and K% are pretty much in line with his career averages thus far. So it’s not a total panic yet.
If we were to profile 2026 Daniel Schneemann so far, he’d be considered a high risk, high reward, power- driven hitter. If he starts seeing more pitches out of the zone but is able to resist chasing more than he is now, and if we assume some regression to reel back in some of the batted ball luck so far, there’s no reason to think he can’t continue as a very solid 110-120 wRC+ super utility man. The batted ball metrics are great, the plate discipline is concerning – right now they balance out nicely to equal a phenomenal baseball player all around, especially considering above average defensive capabilities at many positions.
It’ll be very exciting to see how the month of May goes for Schnee, as we start to see if the League begins to approach him differently. Let it snow, Daniel, and keep playing your heart out.
Aaron Kleinman of Heartland Signal tells us about his enduring love of the Hartford Whalers, his home state’s former NHL team, whose final road game was against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
It’s been almost 30 years since the Whalers last took the ice at the Hartford Civic Center, the only rink in NHL history located inside of a shopping mall. While the team had limited success in its time, it cultivated a rabid fanbase that still misses its best players, legendary logo, classic marching band theme song and other quaint charms. But rooting for a goofball team in a very small market feels like you’re getting away with something. And as you try to keep the scam going for as long as possible, the jig always comes up.
As a born and bred son of The Constitution State and a huge sports fan from birth, Aaron lived and died by the Whalers and still carries with him the memories and scars from their eventual move to Raleigh, NC. He tells us about how the team excelled at falling just barely short of the playoffs, what it was like living across the street from Whalers GM Jim Rutherford (and in the same town as tough guy Glen Featherstone) and the particular indignities of having your team bought and moved by a guy sporting a ponytail. Aaron also talks about how the team’s off-ice strife shaped his outlook on the world, even at a very young age.
Of course, we do cover some Weird Islanders here including a legendary tough guy of our own and two defensive defensemen we never thought we’d ever get a chance to cover on the show. Turns out there’s a lot of connective tissue between these two teams aside from one game late in a lost season for both of them.
We can’t thank Aaron enough for his time and sharing his very vivid memories of his favorite team. He’s a great guy to chat with and has been a legendary sports poster for many years. Check out Heartland Signal and his own free newsletter, Radio Free America.
After time with the Flyers and Habs, with whom he won a Stanley Cup in 1993, Kevin Haller signed with an Islanders team “that’s on it’s way up” in 2000. The three-year deal didn’t work out and a groin injury cost him most of his first season with the club. He only managed one game the next season before being put on the shelf with abdominal issues.
Whether Islander or Whaler, Kevin Haller also hated Mark Messier. A true hero.
We’re always open to suggestions about other Weird Islanders to discuss. Remember the criteria. Candidates must fulfill one of the two of the following:
Played one (1) season or less for the Islanders or very short stints over multiple seasons.
Be a veteran NHLer who is not generally associated with his time on Islanders.
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ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 30: Spike Lee celebrates during the game between the New York Knicks against the Atlanta Hawks during Round One Game Six of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 30, 2026 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
I don’t even know why we make any other prediction than Knicks in Six anymore.
“His versatility is huge whether it’s offensively or defensively. Offensively, he pushes the basketball. He helps us play faster. Defensively, he gives us versatility. You can move him around because of how strong he is and the feel he has on that end of the floor. And then because of his ability to rebound, if you want to cross match and put a smaller guy on him, he can impact the game by hitting the glass.”
On Hart’s physical profile:
“It’s what you look for to have guys that are all 6-8, 6-9, tough and can all bring a lot of things to the table for you. Josh might disagree with his size so he might not be 6-8 or 6-9 but with his strength and toughness, he’s talented physically and he plays the right way, so he gives you those things, even though he is 6-foot-5.”
On OG Anunoby’s consistency:
“It’s huge. Again, he had a double-double (in Game 5), but he impacted the game at such a high level. He impacted it in ways that you can’t even really tell, because it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet. We need him, and he’s definitely been about as consistent as you’d hope and expect. And we need every ounce of his consistency at the highest level.”
On Quin Snyder and the Hawks making the Knicks better:
“I’ve got to give [Hawks head coach] Quin Snyder and his staff a lot of credit. They forced us — when I say us I mean not just our players, our coaches — they forced us to find ways to help the team be better. Sometimes when you win you make adjustments. Sometimes when you lose you make adjustments. You’re always trying to figure out how can we put our team in a better position to help them succeed on the floor. Not to say we have it figured out, but every single time that we step on the floor we’re trying to do that. We’re watching film, going through a million different hypotheticals, which you don’t do during the regular season.”
On the offensive changes after Game 3:
“We had to change (the offense), because every possession was a grind those first three games, especially down the stretch. And so we had to find more ways to put our guys in their strengths while getting to it quickly, while still having options. I’m not a guy that likes to call every play. I want our guys to be able to read where the advantage is quickly throughout the course of the action. And Atlanta forced us to find a way to do that and feel pretty good about where we’re at right now.”
On OG Anunoby’s Game 6:
“OG was phenomenal. He played 27 minutes, had 29 points on 14 field-goal attempts and rebounded his behind off.”
On Mikal Bridges’ Game 6:
“It was great. He just did what he’s capable of doing. Now, is he going to go 10-for-12 every night? No. But he was aggressive and took great shots. And it shouldn’t go unnoticed that his defense was phenomenal. … A big night on both ends of the floor by Mikal.”
On the team connectedness and clicking at the exact best time:
“Our guys, their connectedness right now is off the charts. When you lock into the detail and you’re connected like that, with a group that’s as talented and versatile as that group, you got a chance to do that.”
On the midseason and series adjustments:
“We changed the way we played offensively and defensively about halfway through the season and we changed again after Game 3. [The Hawks] forced us to put our thinking caps on and forced us to play different. Find ways to make the game easier while putting [the players] in their strengths, while trying not to hinder them. We changed what we done offensively, but again that’s because we were pushed to do it. We feel pretty good about what we fell into.”
On the Robinson-Daniels scuffle:
“I haven’t seen the film, and it’s tough because when you’re up that big, stuff happens. And it’s hard. If somebody feels like something that shouldn’t happen happens, it’s hard to keep your composure in that moment. But at the end of the day, that’s what we talked about, and our guys did a good job of that the rest of the game.”
Shaq was trying to revive the Atlanta Hawks 😭
They're down 83-36 in Game 6, the largest halftime deficit in NBA playoffs history 😅
“I’m always questionable depending on how my body feels. It was the back kind of locked up and then it went down to my hip, so that kind of happened the first quarter [of Game 5]. And then I tried to play through it the second quarter, and then at halftime it got a little tighter. I couldn’t really move too much.”
On guarding CJ McCollum:
“I think I had good physicality. I was able to force him into some tough shots. I was just trying to make life hard for him. Obviously, that’s a guy that’s got a lot of buckets in this league. That was something I thought, after Game 1 and Game 2 he kind of went off and kind of took over the game, that’s the matchup that I wanted going into Game 3 and after. I’ve had some conversations with the coaches about not taking me off him and those kinds of things.”
On Karl-Anthony Towns in Game 6:
“I thought KAT was amazing. To start the game blitzing, protecting the rim, he had some big blocks, his energy was huge for us. I just think the physicality, the attention to detail, focus on the gameplan, I think all those are at a very high level.”
On setting the tone in Game 6:
“It was huge for us because, like I said, we feel like we gave two games away. We wanted to come out with a great attention to detail and focus from the jump. I feel like our starts have been pretty good this series, and we wanted to set a tone from the beginning.”
On the blowout win:
“That’s something where it shows what we can do. And now we gotta continue to build off of it. Now we can’t sit there and not do it because we know we have what it takes to do it. It just reinforced the kind of team that we have, the players that we have, the coaches that we have.”
On the meaning of the Game 6 blowout heading into the second round:
“I don’t think it boosts confidence. It just reinforced the kind of team that we have, the players that we have, the coaches that we have. It was huge for us just because we feel like we gave two games away and we wanted to come out here with a great attention to detail, great focus from the jump. I feel like our starts to the game have been pretty good this series. That’s something that we wanted to set the tone with from the beginning.”
“I don’t know. I work very hard. We have a great team and the team has been finding me and I’m playing with force or whatever.”
On the Knicks’ start to Game 6:
“We just came out with intensity. We were ready to play from the very jump … We know what we’re capable of. We know we’re a great team. We just need to continue to do it.”
On the last time he was part of such a humongous blowout:
“That just shows the love that our fans got. They support us around the world. In a playoff series to make us feel at home, in another team’s city, speaks volumes about our fanbase. They’re the best fans in the world.”
On the Knicks’ Game 6 performance:
“We knew we needed to be at our best tonight, and we came close to doing that tonight.”
On not having a preference between Boston and Philly:
“I don’t think it should matter who we play as long as the Knicks play our best version of ourselves. When we do that, we can win every night.”
On adjusting to a new role under Brown and sacrificing for the team:
“I never doubted my ability. I never doubted the work I put in. It’s just – you gotta adjust, you gotta adjust. Especially (with) a lot of new things being thrown at you, you’re being asked to do a lot more things – some things that (haven’t) consistently been asked of me in my career so. It’s one thing anyone who knows me, who’s followed my career, I’m willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes for the team to win. And I think this year I’ve shown that again. Whatever the team needs me to do, the player the team needs me to be, I’ll step up to the plate, step up to the challenge.”
On answering the call offensively in Game 6:
“I just wanted to answer the call. You ask for the opportunities and they obliged and I got to repay that trust and that opportunity. I just want to impact winning. I got more opportunities to do that and I wanted to make sure not take advantage of the opportunity that I was given. I’m proud that I’ve been able to help us win.”
“I think, most importantly, (a performance like this) shows us what we’re capable of defensively. That’s really important. We still have a long road to travel, so staying locked in and knowing what we’re capable of is really important.
“Feel good about it tonight. Tomorrow, we turn the page.”
On the team’s ceiling:
“It’s good to see what we’re capable of when we play like that.”
On the Game 6 defensive dominance:
“We were able to get stops, run in transition, get layups. It really came down to our defense. It allowed us to play fast. Allowed us to play in transition. And we made shots. Most importantly, it shows us what we’re capable of defensively. I think that’s really important.”
On Karl-Anthony Towns’ first-round series:
“He’s played phenomenal. The way we’ve been able to trust each other, all of us obviously including him, it’s been great.”
On OG Anunoby:
“I think he’s one of a kind and getting to see OG, see his work ethic and see the person he is and what he’s just been able to do with his time as a Knick has been great. I’m so happy to have him and happy I don’t have to see him on that side of the ball. He just creates havoc and I think his game is growing. That’s what happens when you work hard and he’s been doing that day in and day out.”
“He was just doing everything — scoring, defense, rebounding, making plays. He’s doing everything out there and that’s what we need. And I think he’s gonna continue to do that for us.”
On staying confidence amid endless criticism:
“I feel like I’m always confident. Just happy to go out there and get the win. Just doing whatever it takes to win. That’s pretty much it. Just go do it for those guys.”
We have another three playoff games on the schedule tonight, with the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, and Vegas Golden Knights all looking to close things out.
My NHL player props analysis will highlight Alex Tuch, Nick Suzuki, and Pavel Dorofeyev.
img alt="Get a first bet encore up to $800 with the BET99 promo code COVERSNHL" width="100%" loading="lazy" src="https://img.covers.com/promo-articles/bet99nhlcreative2526.jpeg"Get a first bet encore up to $800 with BET99 bonus code COVERSNHL. (not available in Ontario)
Our best NHL player props for Friday, May 1
Take a look at our best bets and expert analysis below.
Prop #1: Alex Tuch Over 0.5 points
-145 at BET99
Alex Tuch has led the Buffalo Sabres in points in the playoffs, registering six. He has three goals and three assists across five games against the Boston Bruins.
Tuch has hit the Over in points in four of his last five, and he’ll be poised to respond after Buffalo’s 2-1 Game 5 loss.
Tuch finished the regular season with 66 points, and he’s collected three points in two road games in this series as the Sabres visit the Bruins tonight. He’s also had nine SOG across the last two games, signaling Tuch’s heavy involvement in the offense.
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Where to watch: ESPN
Prop #2: Nick Suzuki Over 0.5 assists
-160 at BET99
Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens are one win away from moving on, and the captain is producing at a high level in this first round.
Suzuki, who was fifth in the NHL during the regular season with 72 assists, has notched five helpers in the series. He’s cashed the Over in all but one game.
Suzuki has an assist in back-to-back appearances, and he is the Canadiens’ top playmaker. Playing on the top line with Cole Caufield (51 goals this year) and the PP1 with all of Montreal’s top stars, he’ll have lots of chances to grab another apple tonight.
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: ESPN2
Prop #3: Pavel Dorofeyev anytime goal
+170 at BET99
Pavel Dorofeyev is a huge reason why the Vegas Golden Knights are on the brink of advancing.
The 25-year-old scored once in Game 4 before bagging a hat-trick in Game 3 as Vegas won 5-4. He’s playing with a ton of confidence at the moment, and the opportunities are there.
He has nine SOG across the last two contests, and Dorofeyev was one of the Golden Knights’ top scorers during the regular season, scoring 37 times.
Given how hot he is over these last two games, you'd best believe Vegas will be getting him involved a ton. Another goal in Game 6 is very realistic.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
It's been almost a month since the transfer portal opened in college basketball, and most — if not all — of the big names in the pool of available players have been locked up by new teams.
Several Power Five conference programs — like Louisville, Indiana, Texas and Tennessee — pushed all their chips and resources into the transfer portals to address notable glaring needs on their roster with the hope that their finds — perhaps ones that are seen as "under the radar" — are the missing pieces to go on a deep run in March Madness next season.
That doesn't mean teams are done looking to fill holes in their roster, nor does it mean the pool of talent is all dried up. Teams are still very much active.
But with the dust starting to settle and teams starting to prepare for summer practices, it's gotten to the point of the transfer portal cycle where the review of teams' transfer classes picks up to see how well they did (or are doing), and where some of the best player fits are.
Here's a look at some of the best transfer pickups who ranked near or just outside of the top 50 rankings by Power Five conference programs:
Shaka Smart, coming off his first losing season at Marquette, needed to turn to the transfer portal to patch several notable roster gaps after years of relying solely on high‑school player development. The Golden Eagles coach — perhaps to some surprise — used the portal rather effectively, with one of his pickups being St. Thomas guard and Summit League Player of the Year Nolan Minessale.
Minessale hails from nearby Brookfield, Wisconsin and was a standout player at Marquette High School in Milwaukee. He provides depth in the backcourt for the Golden Eagles, who are bringing back building blocks Nigel James Jr., the Big East Freshman of the Year, and Adrian Stevens as well.
Granted he'll be facing better competition in the Big East than the Summit League, his shooting ability should be a nice welcome to the Golden Eagles, as he shot 56.2% from the field and 31.5% from beyond the arc last season. Marquette finished second-to-last in the Big East with a 31.8% 3-point shooting percentage last season.
Devin Royal, Villanova
Villanova struggled with size and athleticism in its front court last season. The Wildcats resolved that weakness in the portal by landing Ohio State forward Devin Royal — in addition to Kwame Evans Jr., who also transferred to Villanova from a Big Ten program (Oregon) this offseason.
On top of bringing Big Ten starting experience to the Wildcats, Royal will bring a physical presence around the basket with his 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame and the ability to knock down 3-pointers. He boosted his 3‑point accuracy to 31.6% last season, which was up from 27.6% the year before.
He averaged 13.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season, and a rather efficient 80.2% mark at the free-throw line.
There weren't many bigger transfer portal winners than Texas this cycle. One basket short of extending their impressive March Madness run into the Elite Eight, Sean Miller and the Longhorns landed four players in the portal, one being Elyjah Freeman.
Freeman played a key role in Auburn's NIT championship, averaging 10.0 points and 7.6 rebounds in five NIT games. He finished double figures in five of his final 10 games. It's worth noting — and considering — that the 2025-26 season was Freeman's first at the Division I level after starting his career at the Division II level, so he could be in line for a breakout season in Year 2 in the SEC after averaging just 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
He'll provide size and length to the Longhorns at the wing position and will look to find that more consistent success and production than he saw with the Tigers last season. He'll likely fill the role of Dailyn Swain, who declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, in Texas' lineup as well.
With Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngnonba II all returning to Duke next season — in addition to landing Wisconsin guard John Blackwell — the Blue Devils looked to have eyed in on adding some depth off the bench with their other portal acquisition. They were able to get that with Drew Scharnowski.
Scharnowski, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward, was one of the top mid-major players this past season in the Missouri Valley Conference at Belmont. He averaged 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds, which was good enough to earn All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team, All-Defensive Team and Most Improved Player of the Year honors.
At Duke, Scharnowski will be tasked with providing depth to the Blue Devils front court to go with Ngongba.
If there was a player made in a lab to play for Kelvin Sampson, Delrecco Gillespie would be right up there.
Gillespie's stats jump out on paper, as he averaged 17.7 points and 11.3 rebounds last season at Kent State while shooting 50.8% from the field, but so does his size and length at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds. He also fills some roster needs for the Cougars with freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. declaring for the NBA draft, as did team-leading scorer Kingston Flemings.
Where his impact will be greatly felt, however, is his rebounding and ability to dominate the glass, which makes him a perfect fit for Sampson and Houston. He finished fourth in the country in rebounds per game last year. Houston has finished in the top 10 in the Big 12 for rebounding each of the last three seasons, and has had a top 5 unit on KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency in four of the last five seasons.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 25: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Max Kranick #32 of the New York Mets in action against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on May 25, 2025 in New York City. The Mets defeated the Dodgers 3-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We may have just written about how the Nats bullpen was turning things around, but Paul Toboni is always on the lookout for new arms. The Nats have reportedly signed Max Kranick to a deal that is pending a physical. Before going down with an injury, Kranick was a solid arm in the Mets bullpen, posting a 3.65 ERA in 37 innings.
Right-hander Max Kranick and the Washington Nationals are in agreement on a deal, pending physical, league sources tell The Athletic.
After making the Mets out of camp last season, Kranick was a valuable multi-inning reliever for them. He showed off a solid combination of good stuff and great control. Kranick only walked 5 batters in 37 innings last year. He also averaged 95.6 MPH on his fastball.
However, the 28 year old went down with an elbow injury in mid June. He ended up undergoing Flexor Tendon surgery in July of 2025. Kranick missed the remainder of the 2025 season, and went unsigned after being non-tendered by the Mets this offseason.
Kranick has been throwing for teams though. It seems like he was throwing the ball well enough to catch the Nats eye. We are still not totally sure when Kranick will be ready to pitch in big league games, but presumably it will be at some point this season.
Free agent right-hander Max Kranick is set to throw for teams on Friday afternoon at Ascent Athlete in Philadelphia, The Athletic has learned.
I would assume this is a minor league deal for Kranick where he will get a shot at the big leagues if he looks good in AAA. If Kranick can return to his pre-injury form, he would be a solid piece for this Nats bullpen.
Kranick has a really good fastball that generated whiffs over 25% of the time last season. He can also spin several breaking balls. Kranick used a slider, a curveball and a sweeper last year, with the slider being his go to breaking pitch.
While Kranick did not strike a ton of guys out last year, he can be pretty electric when he is on his game. The breaking ball is not as good, but the plus fastball does remind me a bit of Gus Varland. Both Varland and Kranick have good, but not elite velocity. However, their heaters play up due to the shape of the pitch.
I am excited to follow Kranick as he builds back up and gets ready for big league action. He is likely to have a ramp up period and then pitch in the minors for a while. However, I think Kranick will have a role to play in this bullpen in the second half of the season. He has some intriguing pitch traits and has the ability to go multiple innings.
Last season, Kranick threw 37 innings in 24 outings. He has the ability to be a one inning guy or a multi-inning arm. The Nats new regime clearly values guys like that, which is why they are picking up Kranick. This could end up being a solid little signing.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR - APRIL 22: Will Bush #13 of the Corpus Christi Hooks bats during the game between the Corpus Christi Hooks and the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey-Stephens Park on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. (Photo by Braeden Botts/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below.
AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (16-14) lost 3-2 (BOX SCORE)
Sugar Land got on the board in the first inning on a Nelson solo HR. France got the start and went 4 innings allowing 3 runs. In the 6th inning, Nelson added another solo home run. The pen was solid tossing 4 scoreless innings but the offense was quiet the rest of the way as Sugar Land fell 3-2.
Logan VanWey, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (11-13) won 7-6 (BOX SCORE)
Hicks got the start but struggled a bit allowing 5 runs early. The Hooks offense responded though scoring 4 runs in the first inning on a Sullivan solo home run, Whitaker 2 run double and Guillemette RBI single. In the 6th, Lytle gave the Hooks the lead with a 2 run double. Swanson relieved Hicks and allowed 1 run over 3.2 innings while striking out 4. The game went into the 9th tied and in the bottom of the inning, Bush walked it off with a solo HR as the Hooks won 7-6.
Asheville got on the board in the 2nd inning on a Schiavone solo HR and a run scoring on a steal of home. They picked up another run in the third inning on Brutcher RBI groundout. Hertzler got the start and pitched well striking out 6 over 5 scoreless innings. In the 6th, Asheville got a run on a Brutcher RBI double. Rodriguez relieved Hertzler and tossed 3 scoreless innings. The offense added some insurance in the 9th on a Thomas hit by pitch, wild pitch and Schiavone 3 run home run. Guedez allowed a few runs in the 9th but held on for the 9-3 win.
Jose Guedez, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (10-14) lost 8-5 (BOX SCORE)
The Woodpeckers got on the board in the third inning on an Ochoa 2 run double. They picked up another run in the 5th inning on a wild pitch. Perez got the start and was pitching well but ran into some trouble in the 5th allowing 2 runs to score, and then another 2 runs after he was pulled, though only one was earned. Weber continued to struggle in relief allowing another 4 runs. The offense got 2 runs in the 8th on a balk and a groundout but that was it as the Woodpeckers fell 8-5.
The Vegas Golden Knights, ranked first in the Pacific Division with a 39-26 record, face the Utah Mammoth, who are fourth in the Central Division with a 43-33 record. The game is essentially a pick'em, with Utah at -105 and Vegas at -115. Vegas has gone 40-6-11 when scoring at least three goals.
How to watch Vegas Golden Knights vs. Utah Mammoth
The Tampa Bay Lightning, ranked second in the Atlantic Division with a 50-26 record, face the Montreal Canadiens, who are third in the Atlantic Division with a 48-24 record. The game is essentially a pick'em, with Tampa Bay at -115 and Montreal at -105.
How to watch Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - SEPTEMBER 20, 2025: Hunter Stratton #65 of the Atlanta Braves prepares to pitch during the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on September 20, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by George Kubas/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves lost the series finale yesterday against the Tigers, and although the offense was to blame for only scoring two runs, Joel Payamps was partly to blame as well as he came in and blew a one run lead in the eighth inning, and then to add insult to injury José Suarez came in the game and also gave up two runs.
The Braves’ bullpen has been one of the best in MLB in terms of ERA, but the writing was on the wall for both Payamps and Saurez who were the two odd men out that have struggled more than anyone else. After Payamps’ blown save yesterday, his ERA rose to 8.22 on the season. Suarez is not too far behind him with is ERA raising to 6.61.
It now becomes clear that yesterday was their last chance to prove that they earned another chance to stay on the roster after today the Braves announced that they will both be DFA’d and replaced with Hunter Stratton and Anthony Molina.
The #Braves today recalled RHP Hunter Stratton to Atlanta and selected RHP Anthony Molina to the major league roster. The club designated RHP Joel Payamps and LHP José Suarez for assignment.
We have not seen Anthony Molina yet this season for the Braves. He pitched 94.1 innings for the Rockies over the past two seasons and struggled to a 6.96 ERA, but if we know anything about the Braves’ front office, they love to take struggling relievers from the Rockies and turn their careers around. Molina has pitched 14.0 innings in at Gwinnett this year of 4.50 ERA ball but has had the best WHIP of any minors season of his career of 1.357. He also pitched 2.0 innings for Venezuela in the WBC.
Hunter Stratton was very good in his limited 16.1 innings so far at the MLB level for the Braves last season with a 2.20 ERA and 1.102 WHIP. It was honestly a bit puzzling when he was not part of the plan for the season to begin with.
With this move, the Braves have undoubtably improved their bullpen.
The Pistons won Game 5 in Detroit, 116-109, as they continue to climb back in the series. Orlando leads the series 3-2 and has the chance to close out in Game 6 at home Friday night.
The stars were out on Wednesday night. Paolo Banchero and Cade Cunningham each scored 45 points, while Tobias Harris (23 points) was the only other player to score more than 20 points. Banchero also led the game in assists with seven and Ausar Thompson led everyone with 15 rebounds.
The Magic went 16-of-30 (53%) from the free throw line in the loss and turned the ball over 16 times in the Game 5 loss. Detroit turned the ball over 17 times and held a significant edge from the free throw line going 28-of-35 (80%).
Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch Live: Magic vs. Pistons
Date: Friday, May 1, 2026
Time: 7:10 PM EST
Site: Kia Center
City: Orlando, FL
Network/Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
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Game Odds: Magic vs. Pistons
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Detroit Pistons (-170), Orlando Magic (+142)
Spread: Pistons -3.5
Total: 210.5 points
This game opened Pistons -3.5 with the Total set at 211.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: Magic vs. Pistons
Orlando Magic
PG Jalen Suggs
SG Desmond Bane
SF Franz Wagner
PF Paolo Banchero
C Wendell Carter Jr.
Detroit Pistons
PG Cade Cunningham
SG Duncan Robinson
SF Ausar Thompson
PF Tobias Harris (questionable)
C Jalen Duren
Injury Report: Pistons vs. Magic
Orlando Magic
Jonathan Issac (knee) is listed as DOUBTFUL for Game 6
Detroit Pistons
Kevin Huerter (hip) is listed as QUESTIONABLE for Game 6
Tobias Harris (ankle) is listed as QUESTIONABLE for Game 6
Important stats, trends and insights: Pistons vs. Magic
Detroit is 45-42 ATS
Detroit is 47-39-1 to the Under
Detroit is 23-19-1 to the Under as the road team
Detroit is 15-18 ATS as a road favorite
Orlando is 43-46 ATS and 22-21 ATS at home
Orlando is 9-4 ATS as a home underdog
Orlando is 7-6 on the ML as a home underdog
Orlando is 47-42 to the Over and 23-20 to the Over at home
Orlando is 7-6 to the Under as a home underdog
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s Magic and Pistons’ game:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Pistons’ Moneyline
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Pistons -3.5 ATS
Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 210.5
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PEORIA, ARIZONA - MARCH 14: Petey Halpin #0 of the Cleveland Guardians takes the field during a Spring Training game against the San Diego Padres at Peoria Stadium on March 14, 2026 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Guardians demoted George Valera to Columbus yesterday, without announcing a corresponding move. However, Petey Halpin was not in the Clippers’ lineup in Columbus last night and Stuart Fairchild was, so internet sleuths suspect that Halpin will join the Guardians in Sacramento today to play the A’s.
Valera was given the chance to earn a starting spot in left field, but was lapped by Angel Martinez and Daniel Schneemann. He will get a chance to get his bearings in Triple-A while Angel and Schnee try to show their work is sustainable.
Speaking of Columbus, I am not sure how long the Guardians can leave Franco Aleman there. He has a 0.00 ERA, a 1.62 FIP and a 13.5/2.7 K/BB/9. Daniel Espino is striking out 10.38 per 9, but his 6 per 9 walk rate is at least justification for leaving him down there, as is his need to get used to a reliever’s schedule. I was told Codi Heuer is doing well, but his 6.55/4.09 K/BB/9 doesn’t inspire. He’s limiting hard contact, but I don’t see anything that makes me think Heuer is a “can’t lose” guy if the team needs a 40-man spot in the future.
Barring any last-minute snags in finalizing contracts, it appears as though the Toronto Maple Leafs management is set with Hockey Hall of Famer Mats Sundin taking on a Vice President of Hockey Operations-type role and John Chayka serving as General Manager. However, it looks like the Leafs were aiming to speak with another currently employed GM with another franchise.
On the latest episode of the ’32 Thoughts’ podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman revealed who he believes the Leafs tried to speak to. “I believe that was Julien Brisebois of the Tampa Bay Lightning,” Friedman said. “I don’t think anyone is shocked here the Lightning would say no.”
A look at his resume makes it clear to see why the Leafs would be interested in Brisebois. He started with the Lightning in 2010 when he was hired by Steve Yzerman as an Assistant GM and oversaw the AHL team’s hiring of Jon Cooper and subsequent Calder Cup championships. When Yzerman departed to run the Detroit Red Wings, Brisebois was promoted to GM, and the club won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021.
Brisebois is known for his ability to weaponize the salary cap while being aggressive in making deals to compete in a championship window. An example of that was acquiring David Savard and Barclay Goodrow for first-round picks during that period. He has also been able to effectively sign players to cap-friendly deals, securing stars like Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point to long-term contracts with salary cap hits of $9.5 million. While these were seen as possibly below market value, the take-home pay remains high given Florida is a state with no
In Toronto, Brisebois wouldn’t necessarily have that specific tax luxury, but he would have had the full resources of MLSE at his disposal. He certainly fits MLSE CEO Keith Pelley’s desire for a data-driven GM, making it easy to see why the Lightning were quick to decline the request.
The Leafs appear to be in no rush to make a formal announcement on their new management structure as all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. Beyond the front office shuffle, the team's immediate future hinges on the NHL Draft lottery this Tuesday, May 5. The Leafs currently have the fifth-best chance of moving to the No. 1 spot, but they also face a 58.9 percent chance of losing their pick if they move down in the order. The Leafs lose their pick to the Boston Bruins if it does not land in the top five—a condition of the March 2025 trade that brought veteran defenseman Brandon Carlo to Toronto.
With the first month of the minor league season in the books, we‘re checking in on the top 25 Mets prospects who made our list ahead of the 2026 season.
I was a Nolan McLean skeptic coming into the season. It’s not that I thought he would be bad, but in the 48.0 innings he pitched last season, he was basically as good as the NL and AL Cy Young Award winners and I did not think that would be sustainable over an entire season. Well, here we are a month into the 2026 season, and by the eye test and by the metrics, it seems like it might be sustainable; the right-hander is somehow even better than he was last season! One month down, five more to go, if these trends continue, the Mets might be looking at their seventh Rookie of the Year and/or fifth Cy Young Award winner, either of which would be their first since 2019 when Pete Alonso won the former and Jacob deGrom won the latter.
It’s not exactly fair to grade Carson Benge the same way I am grading everyone else on this list (with the exception of Nolan McLean, but with him, it’s a moot point). Yes, Benge is struggling, but might he be excelling if he was in Triple-A? Might another hitter who is in the upper levels of the minors right now struggle just as much, if not more, if promoted to the majors tomorrow? Over the offseason, Benge spent a lot of time working with his former head coach at Oklahoma State, Josh Holliday; his swing during his time at OSU was decidedly not a major-league swing, with too much hand movement interfering with his ability to get them into optimal hitting position and to keep his body balanced. Early in the season, it was looking like Benge had gotten into that habit, something he eliminated just prior to signing with the Mets and going pro. Whether or not he is doing this intentionally, if so, if he begins to succeed with it or adjusts and streamlines his mechanics, remains to be seen. Regardless, this is certainly not the start that even the biggest Benge critic was expecting.
It’s been a confusing month for Tong. Outside of an elevated walk rate- command has been a weakness Tong has traditionally always had, though it really wasn’t much of a noticeable issue last season- Tong is still doing everything you want to see. He has limited batters to a .211 BAA and his 38 strikeouts are most on the team and second in the International League. Issuing all those free passes and allowing five home runs in 25.1 innings will screw with your ERA, though. I’m not too worried about Tong, and obviously I’d rather see excellent performance than poor performance, but I think the right-hander will start improving as the weather warms and he gets better acclimated to the Triple-A/MLB ball.
Two games in and A.J. Ewing already has 7 hits in Triple-A. That’s…something else. After having no trouble in Single-A, High-A, or Double-A last season, Ewing continued where he left off, demolishing the Eastern League until his promotion to Syracuse earlier this week. As I’ve said before, there are things Ewing could improve, mainly improving his groundball:flyball ratio, which was a not-that-great 55.1%:22.4% in Binghamton. While it would be great if he keeps posting impressive numbers and gets promoted to Queens sooner rather than later, I’d rather see Ewing not be rushed and improve on the things he could stand improving on, so he can truly be a big-time contributor when he gets the call
Reimer has gotten off to such a cold start to the season after having such a great year last year. He has been walking a lot, which has basically been sustaining his offense- such that it is- but he has also seen a spike in his strikeout rate by nearly 10%. The rest of his batted ball data is more of less in line with the numbers he posted in 2026, so here’s hoping this is just an adjustment period while facing better pitchers.
I repeated I don’t know how many times last year that when Ryan Clifford is on, he is capable of single-handedly carrying a team, but when he’s on the schneid, he is almost unwatchable. Such has been Ryan Clifford’s April. In his first two series’, he hit .219/.265/.250 in 8 games with 1 double, 2 walks, and 16 strikeouts. In his next series, he hit .200/.333/.333 in 6 games with 2 doubles, 3 walks, and 8 strikeouts. In his next, he hit .375/.474/.875 in 5 games with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, and 3 walks to 2 strikeouts. In his next, he hit .217/.296/.478 in 6 games with 2 home runs and 3 walks to 11 strikeouts. As I write this, Clifford has notched just one hit in the three games in Syracuse’s current series against Lehigh Valley while drawing 1 walk and striking out 7 times- and of course it was a home run. I’m just not a believer in Clifford’s hit tool; I mean, you’d hope with a .340 BABIP, a guy could do better than a .224 average, but here we are. He’s on the cusp of the majors, at this point, he is what he is.
I had very high hopes for Watson coming into 2026, and, well, they really haven’t been realized yet. He has roughly the same sample size in Double-A Binghamton in 2026 as he did last season, and basically everything is trending in the wrong direction (with the exception of his walk rate, which is slightly improved). He is inducing about 10% fewer groundballs and is allowing about 10% more line drives, contributing to the high BABIP and the more hits allowed than innings pitched. Hopefully, as the weather improves, so too does Watson.
Jack Wenninger has been one of the bright spots in an April that has seen so many players, in the majors and in the minors, under-perform. I’m happy that the right-hander is getting the recognition that he deserves. The stuff has been effective and there are no major red flags to think that he will be hit hard by the regression bug. I do think he is performing above his head a little bit, but I think Wenninger is unquestionably a major league caliber pitcher and will pitch in some capacity sooner rather than later.
Unlike 2024 first-round pick Carson Benge, 2025 first-round pick Mitch Voit was always going to be something of a project. Not considered nearly as polished as Benge, he ran roughshod over the lower minors, while Voit is not. The infielder has been treading water in Brooklyn, anchored down a bit by a sub-.300 BABIP that he should have the ability to raise in the long haul with more line drives hit with authority and fewer weakly hit fly balls- both things he is capable of doing.
Santucci’s 5.71 ERA is pretty deceptive. He is allowing too many walks- he’s always had that problem- but outside of that, he’s doing everything else right. He’s been limiting the hits, keeping the ball on the ground at a solidly average rate, and has been striking out a surprising number of batters; with a 53.1% LOB%, it just seems like Santucci is getting burned by the relievers after him failing to get outs.
What superlatives can we use that haven’t already been used? The youngest qualified player in the Florida State League, Peña is fourth in the circuit in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage, ninth in OPS, sixth in stolen bases and is walking more than he is striking out. His batted ball data is impeccable, and with the exception of not pulling the ball enough, almost perfect. Yes, he is just 18-years-old, but at this point, he is making the Florida State League look like child’s play. The Cyclones are gonna need some marquee players to put butts in those seats, let’s make it happen sooner rather than later.
Thornton was pitching exceptionally well in Double-A Binghamton last season, prior to an oblique injury sustained in early July that ended his season prematurely. This season? Not so much. So far in the young season, the left-hander is more hittable than he was last year, with his peripherals all trending in the wrong direction. Between the chilly weather and his shaking off the cobwebs, I wouldn’t be worried right now, but as a pitcher who is a sum-of-all-parts guy rather than someone with exceptional stuff, Thornton admittedly doesn’t have too much wiggle room for mistakes.
Through his first twelve games, Morabito hit .295. Over the course of his next 12, he hit .225. Nick Morabito is an extremely BABIP-dependent hitter given the fact that he hits over 50% of the balls he puts in play on the ground; case in point, he had a .333 BABIP over his first 12 games, and a .241 in his next 12. The outfielder has been walking a lot more, striking out a bit less, and has been showing a little more power as compared to last season, all of which is sorely needed ones if he wants to take the next step and become a meaningful MLB contributor on the offensive side.
Gordon began the season on the 7-Day Injured List with a lat injury. He began a rehab assignment with the St. Lucie Mets at the end of the month, allowing three runs on three hits while throwing 23 pitches, recording just one out.
Chris Suero was never going to run a particularly high batting average, but yeesh. Thanks to his power and his walk rate, he’s put up an above-average wRC+ though. Go figure. The backstop/outfielder has seen a 10% decrease in his line drive and groundball rates, and a massive 20% increase in his flyball rate. His Pull% dropped almost 20% while his Center% increased about 10% and his Opp% increased about 5%; in short, Suero is hitting more balls in the air, which is good, but he’s hitting fewer balls to his pull-side for power. All those extra flyballs are dying out there in center and right. Conceptually, should be a correctable issue, so here’s hoping.
Ross began the year on the 7-Day Injured List, suffering from ‘arm fatigue’. He appeared in four rehab games, two with Single-A St. Lucie and two with High-A Brooklyn, and looked fine in them. He has since appeared in a single game for Triple-A Syracuse after being activated, allowing a pair of runs in 0.2 innings, allowing a hit, walking two, and striking out one.
Lambert still is who he is; he’s been stingy allowing hits but negates that by allowing tons of walks, this season a bit more than last. Key to his schtick has been his ability to strike batters out left and right, and Lambert has not really been able to do that so far this season, at least up to his standards. Nothing about his performance has been all that red flag worthy outside of the uptick in walks and decrease in strikeouts, but we’re working with an 8.2 inning sample size here. I have confidence that things will normalize a bit as the season progresses.
Another player whose offense I expected to be depressed due to being in Brooklyn, I didn’t necessarily expect Jimenez’ batting line to be so depressing. Jimenez comes up to the plate looking to swing and swing hard, and that he does, resulting in plenty of strikeouts and plenty of poorly hit balls put in play for easy outs. Very few players hit their way out of Brooklyn, and Jimenez will likely have to either adapt, growing as a player and changing his approach to whatever degree, or risk posting the worst offensive numbers among every player in the minor league system like he is now.
Lantigua was held back in extended spring training when the minor league season began in order to better rehab a core muscle injury. He was activated at the end of the month and played in both halves of a doubleheader, notching one hit, a double.
The physical and baseball growth that was envisioned when Eli Serrano III was drafted still hasn’t manifested itself. The outfielder is walking plenty and has shown no major platoon splits against fellow left-handers, but the hit tool still isn’t up to snuff and the power still isn’t up to snuff; scouts and evaluators still rave about certain underlying hitting metrics and expected statistics, but at a certain point, we need to start seeing the results that have largely been absent.
Guzman got off to a slow start, hitting below the Mendoza line, failing to record a single extra base hit, and striking out at an elevated rate while barely walking. Around the middle of the month, things started clicking and hit a solid .275 with 4 doubles, 1 triple, and 4 home runs for the rest of the month, with 9 walks to 14 strikeouts. The strikeouts are baked into Guzman’s profile, but as long as he is hitting for power, you can live with that. He has about the same amount of games with St. Lucie this year as he did last year, and while he hasn’t been able to continue that torrid pace- he hit .333/.381/.604 with 13 doubles, 2 triples, and 3 home runs in 26 games- he has been looking solid since the middle of the month.
Expectations weren’t especially high for Gutierrez coming into the year. He showed some improvements as a hitter, the advanced metrics showed many were legitimate, and his defense generally got neutral-to-positive reviews. Playing in Brooklyn, I’m not surprised that he is struggling offensively, but more concerning to me is that there are more reports that his defense is bad. I knew he had a scattershot arm, but based on what I have heard, from what I have seen, and from the stats, it’s bad enough that he might not be able to stick behind the dish despite doing everything else back there solidly enough. As a 20-year-old catcher, there’s still plenty of time to figure things out, but he’s really going to need to improve his defense since his offensive profile is not exactly sky high.
Vargas started the season out slowly, but it looked like he was starting to come out of that funk towards the end of the month. In the last series he played in, against the Erie SeaWolves, he hit .412 with a pair of doubles and a pair of stolen bases, walking 4 times to 5 strikeouts. Unfortunately, he was placed on the on the 7-Day Injured List on the 29th with a shoulder injury.
Tuch Over 0.5 points
Suzuki Over 0.5 assists 
Dorofeyev anytime goal 
