Category: Sports News

A late rally fueled an exciting win for the Yankees on Monday over the rival Astros. A trio of big hits from Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones, Jazz Chisholm, and a Luis García Jr. homer to cap things off in the eighth and ninth secured the 9-3 win in the Bronx. It was a full slate of games elsewhere, as there was plenty of action around the Junior Circuit.

With a satisfying Yankee win in the fold, let’s take a look at what else went down on a busy Monday.

Tampa Bay Rays (79-53) 3, Detroit Tigers (62-71) 0

Despite a relatively tight score, the Rays were in the driver’s seat for the entirety of this game. They took an early 2-0 lead, thanks to hits from Jonny DeLuca and Cedric Mullins. From there, it was the work on the mound that got things done.

The talented Freddy Peralta was on the bump for Tampa Bay, and made quick work of the Tigers’ bats in easily his best start yet for Tampa Bay since coming over from the Mets at the Trade Deadline. Across six innings of work, the veteran righty struck out four while allowing just a pair of hits while keeping Detroit off the board. Peralta had previously allowed 17 runs in 21.1 innings for the Rays (7.17 ERA), but they’ve been working with him on ways to get back to a semblance of the form that motivated the Mets to trade for the erstwhile Brewers ace this past offseason.

The Rays later added some insurance in the sixth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly, before the bullpen picked up right where Peralta left off. Kevin Kelly and Tyler Wells combined to pitch three scoreless innings out of the Tampa Bay ‘pen, locking down the shutout victory for their squad. They remain 3.5 games in front of the Yankees

Other Games

Miami Marlins (68-66) 4, Boston Red Sox (73-60) 0: Speaking of shutouts, the Red Sox were on the wrong side of one against the Marlins. The Fish put up a run in each of the first two innings, thanks to a Heriberto Hernández single and an error by the Sox, before Ryan Gusto tossed 5.2 scoreless frames. The BoSox had plated at least three runs in all but one game over the course of the past month, and they’ve been MLB’s best offense in August. This time, however, they obviously never dented home plate in the loss — though they still have a solid cushion in the Wild Card race.

Chicago White Sox (70-63) 10, Texas Rangers (66-68) 4: For the second day in a row, the White Sox plated double-digit runs against the Rangers. Brenton Doyle led the charge for Chicago in this one, tallying four RBIs in his two-hit night, highlighted by a three-run blast in the sixth inning that put his squad up by a big number, while surprising All-Star Tristan Peters homered in his fifth consecutive game. A trio of Sox pitchers each tossed three solid innings, with Sean Burke getting the start. The White Sox’ 70th win of the season keeps their division lead at 2.5 games as they continue to impress. Texas took a hit in the Wild Card, but Houston’s loss means that they’re still just half a game back of the also-sub-.500 Astros in the AL West.

AL Wild Card Rock Fight

Cleveland Guardians (68-66) 4, Los Angeles Angels (52-82) 3: Elsewhere in the Central, the Guardians netted a close one against the lowly Angels to complete a sweep. Down for much of this game, they plated a pair in the top half of the ninth to flip their deficit into a lead, thanks to huge swings from Steven Kwan and Travis Bazzana. The win—their seventh in a row—helped Cleveland keep pace with Chicago, and keep hold of the final Wild Card spot in the AL.

Baltimore Orioles (65-68) 8, St. Louis Cardinals (66-68) 7: The Orioles won a slugfest on Monday, with an early outburst doing much of the heavy lifting. They plated seven runs in the first two frames, with a three-run shot from Leody Taveras as well as Pete Alonso’s 32nd bomb of the year. The Cardinals made their big move in the fifth, when they plated six runs to tie things up at the time, but Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s double in the ninth was the difference-maker for the Orioles in their win. They currently sit 2.5 games out of the Wild Card.

The Athletics (53-81) 7, Minnesota Twins (64-70) 4;
Toronto Blue Jays (65-69) 3, Kansas City Royals (59-75) 0:

The Blue Jays made easy work of the Royals to snap Kansas City’s nine-game winning streak, with Nathan Lukes’ three-run homer being all the offense Toronto needed. The Jays remain three back in the wild card race. Elsewhere, a four-run seventh inning propelled the A’s past Minnesota, as the skidding Twins are even with the Mariners (6-0 losers to Philadelphia) and looking upward at four teams in their hope for position in the Wild Card race.

Good morning friends!

The M’s dropped the series finale in a sleepy 6-0 loss to the Phillies yesterday that saw the offense unable to even muster a threat against Jesús Luzardo.

It’s a Mariners off-day today as the team heads across the border to Toronto for a weekend set with the Blue Jays.

In Mariners news…

• Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs checked back in on Cal Raleigh’s season-long numbers after his three-homer game.
• Bryce Miller was reportedly available out of the bullpen yesterday, possibly signaling some changes on the horizon for the starting rotation.

Around the league…

• Giants infielder Willy Adames has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain. The team has not yet decided whether he will get surgery to repair it.
• Cubs right-hander Ben Brown faced a setback in his rehab from a neck injury, leaving his availability for the stretch run up in the air.
• Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez underwent hip surgery, cutting his 2026 season short.
• TWG Global, the holding company run by Dodgers owner Mark Walter, issued a statement yesterday regarding a recent federal probe into the company.
• Buss Sports Capital — who recently sold its ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter — is joining Kwanza Jones and Jose E. Feliciano as part of the new Padres ownership group.
• With Dana Brown now gone, Patrick Dubuque at Baseball Prospectus poured one out for the end of an era in Houston. ($)

Anders’ pick…

• The 18th annual Run of Hope Seattle is coming Sunday, September 20 to support Seattle Children’s Hospital. Mark your calendar and get your race number!

Tomato, tomahto. You say pitchers’ duel. I say boring. You might counter point that I’d have viewed the whole thing differently if my team had the two runs. Or if it had held on to the four-run lead Tuesday. Or the lead on Saturday. In the end, it’s just a series of disappointments and questions about what might have been. I suspect none of this is going to do any long term damage to the Cubs. I never thought they had a very good chance of catching the Brewers and I don’t really think the Phillies are going to pass the Cubs. Recall that the Cubs have the tiebreaker and the Phillies will have to pass, not just catch the Cubs. While you might look at a bunch of games with the Brewers and see potential disaster. They have a similar bunch of games with the Braves and equal possibility of disaster. Or even switching spots with the Braves and wrecking them.

I’ve said it elsewhere in posts, at the end of the day I will hat tip Jed Hoyer and the terrific job he did bringing this team together. I continue to believe that this team has a non-delusional chance of winning the World Series. I also think, at best, they are running way on the outside against two (or more) very good horses on the inside. It’s not going to be easy and everything would have to break right. To think otherwise, you are into that delusional territory.

At the same time, one can raise an eyebrow at Jed. Pitchers with injury history are not any new market inefficiency. Yes, there is some value to picking up some discounted value for damaged goods. You are almost silly not to. I see the Brewers and Brandon Woodruff that way. A calculated risk at value for a guy who can be great but has injury issues. The problem is, so much of the Cubs pitching staff had injury history. At some point, you gotta get some horses who can pile up some effective innings. The Cubs got burned because seemingly every one of those guys with the injury history spent time injured. Compounding that, almost all of them had worst cased scenarios on the severity of their injury and/or the difficulty rehabbing the injury. At this late date, a key pitcher had his return pushed back due to a setback with his recovery.

You can give a guy kudos and a sideways look. There is a lot of good and some foreseeable missteps. Still, even with all of that. With one of the largest collections of pitcher injuries I’ve ever seen one team have, there was the Cub pitching rolling into Arizona. The club had a rough trip to Seattle and were looking to bounce back. The bright side? Arguably the team’s three best pitchers were lined up to start the three games in Arizona. Collectively they gave you 20 innings of one run baseball. Three Superhero awards for the starters in three days. That’s going to feel like it should be a sweep for the good guys. Worst case? Two out of three.

Darn. They only got one. That stings a little. This trip could easily have featured four wins and it’s not insane to imagine five or six. They got two. Three bullpen losses on the trip. Just when everything seemed to be settling down, old wounds reopened. Not optimal.

Still, this is a hat tip game. Diamondback pitching was fantastic. Diamondback defense was very good. Diamondback hitting was good enough. Come home, regroup. Get back after it.

THREE POSITIVES:

• Matthew Boyd threw six innings of one-run ball. Nice bounce back after a couple of rough ones. Final decision in fewer than 30 games, but in some order this series probably had your three pitchers for a three-game series.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong had the only extra-base hit out of two total team hits. He should have scored, save for a missed balk call that he forced with aggressive baserunning.
• Tyrone Taylor continues to impress. He had a single and stole a base.

Game 134, August 26: Diamondbacks 2, Cubs 0 (76-58)

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Matthew Boyd (.169). 6 IP, 20 BF, 3 H, 2 BB, R, 5 K (L 8-3)
• Hero: Trent Thornton (.045). IP, 4 BF, H, K
• Sidekick: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.017). 1-4, 2B

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.153). 0-4
• Goat: Alex Bregman (-.149). 0-3, BB
• Kid: Gabriel Arias (-.119). 0-3

WPA Play of the Game: Jordan Lawlar’s solo homer in the sixth off of Boyd. (.166)

Cubs Play of the Game: Pete Crow-Armstrong’s double leading off the top of the sixth. (.092)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 133 Winner: Clay Holmes received 61 of 62 votes. I did not think this was a unanimous choice situation. The Holmes start has long term implications. The Happ homer gave them their best chance of winning that game and was a terrific plate appearance.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong +26
• Alex Bregman +20
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Carson Kelly +12.5
• Javier Assad/Trent Thornton +12
• Edward Cabrera -12.5
• Jameson Taillon -13
• Nico Hoerner -14
• Dansby Swanson -17
• Caleb Thielbar -18.5

Scoreboard Watching: Will return following Friday’s game.

Up Next: An off day Thursday, then 13 straight games. So we go to Fangraphs for the pre-stretch look at potential record. Fangraphs had the Cubs at 4-2 on the trip, winning three close ones in Arizona before the trip, if I recall. They have this stretch at 6-6-1, breaking down to 4-3 at home and then 2-3-1 on the road with a pure 50 percent in the opener of the road trip being a pure coin flip game.

The Reds come to Wrigley at 63-71. An unusual thing ahead of an off day, but both teams have listed starters on MLB.com. They are showing David Peterson (7-7, 5.17) for the Cubs. David is 4-1 with a 3.93 as a Cub, significantly turning around his season. Ironically, his ground ball to fly ball ratio has actually dropped a bit as a Cub. So the Cub infield defense is not solely responsible for the improvement. David pitched well in Seattle in one of the games that got away, allowing two runs over six.

The Reds start 24-year-old righty Rhett Lowder (5-8, 5.13). Rhett is holding pretty steady at 2-2, 5.54 over his last seven starts. He allowed three runs over six against the Diamondbacks and won his last start. The Cubs had more luck against Lowder as a starter (3 runs in 3 innings) than as a reliever (2 scoreless innings).

I’m betting the Cubs offense bounces back in a big way in this series. The Reds are sometimes a target for Ian Happ’s big weekends. The Reds are 25th (4.53) in bullpen ERA, 25th in bullpen WHIP (1.43) and have the seventh most bullpen losses (27). So the bullpen can be beat if you can get starters out of these games. Fangraphs really likes the Cubs in this series, with this first one topping out at about 65 percent. The Cubs have a tricky September, it would be very beneficial to grab three right away (though those would obviously be August wins).

Team News

Lawlar’s homer, Rodriguez’s gem (with lucky break) lead D-backs to win
“Everything was working,” Rodriguez said. “It was one of those days where you just go out there and follow your catcher, throw what the catcher is calling. This is the best I’ve felt all year on the mound.” https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/jordan-lawlar-home-run-lifts-d-backs-to-win-over-cubs

Off the mat, D-backs snatch series win over Cubs thanks to Eduardo Rodriguez

“From a hitter’s standpoint, I can relate to it, it feels like standing in the box when somebody is just driving pitches in at you. They feel like they’re 10 feet tall and standing on top of you,” Lovullo said. “And that’s the feeling I think E-Rod has right now, that he can throw anything he wants, and there’s going to be weak contact or swing-and-miss.”

https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/off-the-mat-d-backs-snatch-series-win-over-cubs-thanks-to-eduardo-rodriguez

Torey Lovullo Addresses Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Outburst Over Balk No-Callhttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/torey-lovullo-addresses-pete-crow-armstrong-outburst-balk-no-call

Diamondbacks Reveal New Starting Pitcher For Thursday Game vs Giantshttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/diamondbacks-reveal-starting-pitcher-thursday-game-giants

Justin Martinez is blowing on his hand again

“Way different,” Martinez said of the experience. “Because this one took a little longer, and I got more time to prepare myself to compete. And now we’re here. “I was a little frustrated because I wanted to come back as soon as possible. But I understood that I had to be smart on this one because this is my second one. There’s no way I could have another one, you know? So I had to be really smart about it.”

https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/justin-martinez-is-finding-his-footing-again

This 6-foot-4 prospect has two 4-game home run streaks … this month!

https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/dbacks-prospect-avery-owusu-asiedu-hot-streak-august-2026?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

Other Baseball

Reds reportedly place 3B Eugenio Suárez on waivers, the same day his grand slam pushes team to historic comeback

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/reds-reportedly-place-3b-eugenio-suarez-on-waivers-the-same-day-his-grand-slam-pushes-team-to-historic-comeback-045658311.html

Crow-Armstrong, Cubs irate after umps miss pivotal balk callhttps://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49737610/crow-armstrong-cubs-irate-umps-miss-pivotal-balk-call

Dodgers’ Skubal starts Friday in Detroit; Ohtani targeted for Sundayhttps://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49736174/dodgers-skubal-starts-friday-detroit-ohtani-targeted-sunday

Five for Peters! White Sox LF ties rookie, club marks with HR in 5 straight gameshttps://www.mlb.com/news/tristan-peters-hits-a-home-run-in-a-fifth-straight-game

Schwarber becomes MLB’s 1st to 40 HRs, and joins elite company doing so
https://www.mlb.com/news/kyle-schwarber-reaches-40-home-runs

The White Sox won their 70th game today

That ties the most wins by a team following at least three consecutive 100+ loss seasons, with:

2014 Astros
1965 Senators
1925 Boston Braves

It’s August

Related: no team has made the playoffs following even 2 straight 100-loss szns
Yet https://t.co/sKaUdhtPxb

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 27, 2026

The Reds are now 3-1,917 all-time when trailing by 6+ runs entering the ninth inning

Today’s win joins:

5/8/1958 @ CHC
5/8/1918 @ STL

h/t @EliasSportshttps://t.co/XVPp5PKgT7

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 26, 2026

Rookies with multiple walk-off HR while trailing in a season:
 
2026 Ryan Waldschmidt
2006 Ryan Zimmerman
1994 Bob Hamelin
1943 Butch Nieman

h/t @EliasSportshttps://t.co/EpaDOVWfqg

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 26, 2026

"There's fucking four of you guys god damnit"

Pete Crow-Armstrong went nuts on the umpires because they didn't call a balk pic.twitter.com/sxp82gVEVA

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 27, 2026

Anything Goes

This day in history:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-27

This day in baseball:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/August_27

Rice is the oldest food we still eat today.

In 2003, scientists recovered 15,000-year-old burnt rice grains in Korea. This makes rice the oldest known food that we eat till the present.

The word “Checkmate” in chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat.”

Shah Mat means “the king is dead.”

Humans have just 1 bone fewer than horses.

Horses have an average of 205 bones or more while the adult human is set at 206. On average, horses will live for 25-30 years. 

Code red.

Five-alarm fire.

DEFCON 1.

Any term used to describe a crisis could be applied to the Dodgers right now, and that would be the case even if owner Mark Walter wasn’t under federal investigation.

Problems are stacking up, and with only a little more than a month remaining in the regular season, who knows if the Dodgers will be able to solve them before the start of the playoffs.

The Dodgers have offensive problems. They have defensive problems. They have bullpen problems. And in the wake of losing their first two games of their three-game series against the Atlanta Braves, they could soon have postseason bracket problems.

The concerns have become pronounced enough to where manager Dave Roberts has started to back off his recent tough-love approach, probably because maintaining that demeanor under these circumstances would create an overly negative atmosphere. 

“We had opportunities,” Roberts told reports at Truist Park following his team’s 6-5 loss on Wednesday.

The offense is stuck in neutral, the broken hand suffered last week by center fielder Andy Pages complicating the team’s efforts to emerge from an extended slump.

In Pages and catcher Will Smith, the Dodgers are missing two premium hitters who play premium defensive positions. Pages has been replaced by Alek Thomas and Will Smith by Hunter Feduccia and Ben Rortvedt, and at both positions, the substitutes represent major offensive downgrades.

Smith is on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment and should have about a month of major league game time to develop a rhythm in the batter’s box for the postseason. Pages won’t have any such luxury, as he could miss the remainder of the regular season.

Pages, 25, and Smith, 31, are particularly valuable to these Dodgers because some of their more experienced players are in obvious decline. Mookie Betts remains up and down, Freddie Freeman hasn’t homered since Independence Day, and Teoscar Hernández has basically been a Mendoza Line hitter for the last two months. Newcomer Kyle Tucker has just stunk.

In their last 30 games, the Dodgers have won a game by more than two runs only three times. They have scored an average of 4.2 runs per game in their last 39 games, down from 5.3 runs per game in their first 94 games of the season.

The effects of the diminished offense has been magnified by the team’s defensive shortcomings, which started becoming especially noticeable in the week leading up to the All-Star break. With Hernández in left field and Tucker in right, the Dodgers have two below-average defenders in their outfield. A defensive mistake by Hernández in the fourth inning on Wednesday turned the Dodgers’ 3-2 lead into a 4-3 deficit.

The Dodgers have played clean defense before, and they should be able to do so again. But will they be able to close out games?

When imploding $69-million closer Edwin Diaz was placed on the 15-day injured list last week, the Dodgers looked as if they would be able to manage the situation. They had other options. When Diaz was sidelined earlier in the season, Tanner Scott performed well in his place. The Dodgers also had a safety net in Roki Sasaki, the starting pitcher who was their primary ninth-inning pitcher in the playoffs last year.

So much for that.

Scott was the losing pitcher in each of the Dodgers’ first two games in this series against the Braves, reverting to the form from his disastrous first season with the team last year. As for Sasaki, he will be placed on the injured list with a ruptured blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. 

Considering their variety of issues, it’s little wonder why the Dodgers have lost 13 of their last 15 games against teams with winning records. The only series the Dodgers won this month were against teams with sub-.500 records – the Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Braves are now within two games of the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the NL. Only the top two seeds in each league will receive a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Regardless of whether the Dodgers can hold off the Braves, they will show up in October with a fighting chance.

The reason: Their starting pitching.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and either Shohei Ohtani or Tyler Glasnow will make up a postseason rotation that could be historically dominant.

If they don’t pitch up to that standard, the season could end with another emergency signal: Code blue.

---

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It was not the end to the homestand the San Diego Padres were looking for, but they did salvage the final game of the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 3-0 win that allowed them to finish with a 4-2 record before heading out on the road to face the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds.

Randy Vasquez delivered another strong outing for the Padres with five scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit over that time and did not allow a walk. Vasquez finished with two strikeouts. He was staked to a one-run lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a double by Jackson Merrill followed by an RBI-single from Luis Rengifo. That was all Vasquez and the rest of the San Diego staff would need to ensure the win.

The Padres did add runs in the bottom of the fourth and the bottom of the eighth innings, but the quartet of Kyle Hart, Griffin Canning, Yuki Matsui and Bradgley Rodriguez were able to keep the Pirates off the board. Pittsburgh had its chances against more than one of those pitchers but never could break through. The Pirates finished 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the game while the Padres finished 3-for-5.

Merrill was the offensive leader for San Diego and turned in a 2-for-3 day with an RBI, a run scored and a walk. Rengifo and Jake Cronenworth had the two other RBIs for the Padres and six players recorded hits in the game.

San Diego has an off day today before opening a three-game set with Tampa Bay on Friday.

Padres News:

• It takes all 26 players on an MLB roster to have a successful season, but some performances are more surprising than others. Who do you think has been the most impressive this season?

• The regular season is winding down for the San Diego minor league clubs and Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball tells you what you need to know about each team.

• Jeremaih Estrada returned to the IL and David Morgan was called up to take his place on the roster.

• Yu Darvish has started throwing bullpens but there is still no timeline for his return.

• Joey and Jesse Buss have an ownership stake in San Diego.

Baseball News:

• Kyle Schwarber reaches 40 home runs and leads the Philadelphia Phillies to a win over the Seattle Mariners.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks blanked the Chicago Cubs and earned a 2-0 win.

• Freddy Peralta threw a two-hitter and leads the Tampa Bay Rays over the Detroit Tigers.

• Hector Rodriguez hit two home runs and led the Cincinnati Reds over the San Francisco Giants.

• The Cleveland Guardians extended their win streak to seven games with a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angles.

Boy, that was a memorable game for all sorts of reasons:

• Matt Olson’s homer off the pole
• Signs of life from Sean Murphy, including a dinger of his own
• Outbarreling the Dodgers 5-1
• Drake Baldwin having a huge game, but with his biggest hit coming on a defensive misplay by the Dodgers
• Didier Fuentes walking in the tying run, but then getting what he needs — and escaping a second inning as well
• Victor Mederos, pumped once again
• The “I failed to field it cleanly but knocked the ball in the only direction that would’ve stopped the Braves from scoring” by Mookie Betts.
• The original pinch run for Sean Murphy decision forcing Ha-Seong Kim to the plate for the first time in 15 days…

… and of course, Kim coming through with a solid, 100+ mph, nearly 75+ mph bat speed single to win the game.

Maybe the only competition was the Chadwick Tromp Game (Braves score two in the tenth to tie, including a Tromp RBI, then walk it off via Tromp in the 11th), but that came against the Nationals, so not quite the same level of juice. What do you think?

The Dominican Summer League season wrapped up last week, and it was not a good one for the DSL Twins. They finished with a 19-35 record, allowing just under 9 runs per game, the 3rd most in the league. While its always good to win games, individual player development is prioritized in the minor leagues, and there are a handful of players that have stood out over the past few months.

The Pitching

As a team, the DSL Twins finished with a 9.33 ERA, totaling 374 walks and 372 strikeouts in 395.2 innings. While the staff completely lacked any amount of consistent production, there are a handful of intriguing arms that have the tools to turn into notable prospects.

Fernando Hernandez was the most reliable arm for the DSL Twins, posting a 4.05 ERA and 3.19 FIP and tallying 16 strikeouts and 2 walks in 13.1 innings. Still, this was in 1-2 inning stints with a 1.5 month absence in the middle. There is a solid sinker/slider combo, but with Hernandez standing at just 5’10” and turning 20 soon, this isn’t the young, raw pitcher with dreamy upside.

Enmanuel Mena and Josangel Braffit are 18-year-old righties with intriguing fastball/slider combos, but both struggled with command. Camilo Made was a late signing that showed off some impressive stuff with a plus fastball and a pair of nice breaking balls in limited action at 17 years old. Struggled a bit with command, but has long levers at 6’5” that could hold some nasty stuff if he can get his body in sync. These three have flashed some real potential, but need to find more consistent strike-throwing.

DSL Twins RHP Josangel Braffit struck out 7 over 4 scoreless innings this morning, the best outing we've seen from a DSL Twins pitcher this summer.

Fastball touches 97 with big run, ground ball machine. Slider looks above average. Changeup lacks feel but has elite specs. pic.twitter.com/sBMDqpGIC6

— Aidan O’Brien (@AidanOBrienMN) July 30, 2026

Right-handers Yolcar Garcia and Alam Soriano are the other two pitchers I want to mention, both being command arms with less explosive stuff. Garcia stands at six feet tall with a cut fastball around 90 MPH and a pair of average breaking balls. Soriano posted a 1.04 ERA and 3.20 FIP over his last 6 appearances after struggling with homers early on. His fastball pops at the top of the zone at 90-92. Slider gets solid spin and a little late bite. They are less exciting prospects with below average strikeout numbers, but the command feel gives them a significant edge over many of the other pitchers on the Dominican roster. If you look back at old rookie ball stats from current major league pitchers, size and command have a stronger tendency to translate than stuff and strikeout numbers.

Lots of 2-3 pitch repertoires in this group with a lack of changeup usage. This IFA crop lacks pitching talent, but there is no shortage of intriguing bats.

The $1.5 Million Man

The Twins’ top 2026 international free agent signing was infielder Enmanuel Merlo at just under $1.5 million. MLB Pipeline’s 34th ranked IFA signing showed off impressive tools in his first season as a pro. Merlo is 6’1” with some big power potential in his frame. Extreme ground ball rates limited his power production this year, but he consistently registered 100+ MPH exit velocities. As a switch hitter, he looked more polished from the left side, totaling more walks than strikeouts. Maybe a little more raw power, but also more whiff from the right side.

Merlo posted a 115 wRC+ on the season, but he slashed .403/.526/.581 over his last 20 games for a 175 wRC+ with 15 walks and 10 strikeouts. The contact numbers and approach have improved tremendously throughout the season as he looks more and more like a big league hitting prospect. With a strong frame and a talented bat that’s already showing great development at 17 years old, Enmanuel Merlo looks like one of the Twins’ top rookie ball hitters.

He split time between short and third this year, showcasing quality actions with an average arm. He has the type of frame that will typically beef up and turn into a bat-first corner infielder. He’s a little lumbery as a runner. Might make more sense as a first baseman if the arm doesn’t play enough at third. I’m seeing a Josh Bell profile with a high likelihood for more defensive value. His bat has a chance to push him through the minors very quickly.

The Walk Merchants

17-year-old 2B Jendy Martinez produced probably the most eye-popping statline on the team this year, tallying a ridiculous 58 walks to just 18 strikeouts. Martinez is a smaller switch-hitter with quick feet. He was primarily a second baseman, but mixed in a little center field. While he lacks raw power, the contact skills and swing decisions are looking incredibly advanced. His swing is smooth and simple from both sides of the plate. Over the last 20 games, Jendy slashed .403/547/.597 with 21 walks and 3 strikeouts. He mixed on 22 stolen bags on the season. He is a long ways out, but showing off a very fun profile in year one.

SS Daiyer Barboza cooled off after being one of the hottest hitters in the league for the first month or so. The 17-year-old has advanced spin recognition and contact skills from the left side of the plate while showing off quality power potential. He totaled 52 walks and 29 strikeouts on the season and smacked 4 homers while slashing .272/.487/.412. At 6’2” with a leaner frame, Barboza has room to add some muscle and grow into more power. He runs well and has played primarily shortstop so far, but may not have the quick twitch of a major league shortstop. Still, there is potential for positive defensive value somewhere in the infield.

Juan Holmann missed the last month of the season with injury, but his 170 wRC+ led the team as he slashed .310/.533/.535 in 27 games. Holmann has more whiff issues, but his patient approach led to him walking and striking out at a 29.5% clip. He looks a bit more muscular than the other two and generates excellent bat speed in his 6’0” frame. His swing reminds me a lot of Kaelen Culpepper. The righty infielder stole 14 bags and split time across the infield, showcasing a strong arm and quality defensive actions. At 17 years old, Holmann has hit tool concerns but is a high-upside bat with some advanced physical tools.

The DSL Twins have 18 runs through 5 innings and have jacked 3 homers off the bats of Abel Sosa, Juan Holmann, and Luis Suarez! pic.twitter.com/M5ALgzNQ2s

— Pete Maki Burner (@PrimeMaki) June 5, 2026

Talented Outfielders

While Abel Sosa and Jhon Gonzalez finished with average production in their age 17 season, they are toosly and talented players that add some nice depth to the bottom of the system and have a real chance to reach the majors.

Abel Sosa played a mix of center and right field this year. The righty stands at 6’3” with a lean frame, but impressive bat speed and a chance to grow into some real power. His swing is efficient and fluid. He is a more aggressive hitter, but struck out at just a 14.9% clip this season. While the contact rates were good and he showed off some impressive power, the quality of contact lacked consistency. He slashed .293/.385/.420, which was good for a 98 wRC+. Also showed off some solid movement skills. Has a good arm and projects to fit nicely into a corner outfield spot. Sosa’s bat is raw but could be well worth the wait.

Jhon Gonzalez possesses an intriguing set of tools as well. The 6’0” lefty is an aggressive hitter that struggles with chase and has some bigger whiff concerns, but there is real power potential and some impressive athleticism. There are some moving parts in his violent swing which contributes to the whiff concerns, but his 21.2% strikeout rate remained respectable. Gonzalez has flashed solid bat speed and exit velocities for a 17-year-old, but high ground ball rates limited his power production. He stole 10 bags in 46 games and was the team’s primary center fielder, showcasing a good arm and some range. It’s early, but Jhon Gonzalez has impressive tools with potential to impact the game in multiple facets.

While the DSL Twins struggled to win games, it was a good season for the offense, which once again included a handful of notable bats. The 2025 IFA class fared extremely well in the Florida Complex this year, and that level will be an important checkpoint for this 2026 group when they head to the states next season.