Category: Sports News

Following what everyone would consider a failure of a year, Jay Johnson has been hard at work on returning LSU Baseball to the mountaintop as he’s done twice in his first five years. Helping him to that mountaintop were a few of the players that heard their name called on day 1 of the MLB Draft yesterday. While it’s been fairly clear which Tigers may be destined to advance their career to professional baseball, when they would be drafted was the big question. We got answers for three of those players, as Derek Curiel, Jake Brown, and Deven Sheerin each were drafted in the first four rounds.

While the additions from the transfer portal have been phenomenal, the core of the program is built through homegrown talent with recruiting classes. Classes that include players like Curiel and Brown. Unfortunately for those involved with building college baseball programs, the MLB Draft and it’s process can lead to a lot volatility. While coaches generally have an idea of who may or may not make it to campus, things can change quickly and that leads to ongoing questions about who will actually put on an LSU uniform.

Last year, Jay Johnson lost eight members of his recruiting class to the MLB Draft, including each of the top-6. Seven of those were gone by the end of the 4th round, which made for a really tough result for the Tigers and their crop of incoming freshman. Although a few guys like Omar Serna and Mason Braun burst on to the scene, hindsight makes you wonder what could have been.

So far in the 2026 Draft, things are looking far more promising for Johnson and co. Only three members of this year’s class were selected on day 1, which consists of the first four rounds. Shockingly, there are quite a few names still on the board that most expected to be gone by this point. Will they all make it to campus, absolutely not. But, if LSU is able to land one or two of the otherwise considered “longshots”, the future continues to look special for the program.

Current LSU players drafted

#5 – Derek Curiel by Pittsburgh Pirates (1st round, slot value $8,336,500)

After being one of the big surprises to pass on the draft and head to LSU in 2024, Curiel stepped on to campus and immediately became an impact player. He helped lead the Tigers to their 8th title as a freshman, then followed it up with another fantastic year after shifting from left to centerfield. In two seasons in Baton Rouge, Curiel hit .349 with a .452 on-base %. He drove in 101 RBIs and scored 131 runs. Pittsburgh is getting a super-athletic fielder and an elite bat-to-ball hitter. He struck out just 99 times in nearly 500 at-bats and also has incredible plate vision, drawing 87 walks.

#65 – Jake Brown by Seattle Mariners (2nd round, slot value $1,382,600)

Although his LSU career ended with a hamate injury in the back half of 2026, Jake Brown had a fantastic career as a Tiger. From forcing his way in to the starting lineup as a freshman in 2024, to becoming a top power bat in the SEC this past season, the junior became a fan-favorite. There was word that he was strongly considering a return to LSU for his senior season like Steven Milam, but when he showed up to the MLB Combine and scouts saw that he was one of the most athletic outfielders in the draft, the odds of 30 teams letting him slip back to campus were low. In his three season, Brown hit .304 with 28 homeruns and 110 RBIs. He was easily on pace to surpass 20 bombs in 2026, already having 16 when his season ended with 4 weeks left in the regular season. Seattle is getting an incredibly dynamic athlete that will be one of the fastest players on whatever team he’s on. He has a cannon for an arm, which is what got him drafted in the 19th round out of high school as a LHP. Brown will look to reunite with a former teammate and fellow member of LSU’s 2024 freshman class, Kade Anderson.

128 – Deven Sheerin by Philadelphia Phillies (4th round, slot $597,400)

Although Sheerin was a Tiger for two years, he only played in one season this past year. He bounced back from missing all of 2025 by being LSU’s most consistent pitcher this past season. He finished with a 4.78 ERA in 37.2 innings of work, striking out 58 along the way. Philadelphia is getting a massive, attitude driven competitor that looks like he’s trying to throw the baseball through his catcher. As a nightmare matchup against righties, he could become one of the top bullpen arms at the very least. With only 107.2 innings on his arm over the past three years, Sheerin is fresh and has even more projectability in his arsenal.

2026 recruits drafted

#59 – LHP Logan Schmidt by Cleveland Guardians (2nd round, slot $1,598,900)

The past few weeks have been a rollercoaster for Schmidt’s projection. A month ago, he was considered a lock to be selected early in the draft. Then, after some poor interviews at the combine, he suddenly changed agents just a few weeks before the draft, which is never a good thing. Seemingly requesting a high number for his signing bonus, it will be interesting to see what the Guardians ended up giving him to convince him not to go to LSU.

#84 – RHP Jensen Hirschkorn by Atlanta Braves (3rd round, slot $973,700)

Hirschkorn, too, had his projection in question leading in to the draft. He had always been considered a lock to be drafted and sign, doubts about his signability started to spread over the past week. His number was said to be up as high as $4 million, but as you can see with the slot value above, it’s likely that the Braves were able to negotiate his price down. Scouts believe that he would become a 1st rounder after a few seasons in college had he chosen that route, so Atlanta most-certainly had to still pay up to convince him to sign.

#115 – OF Wessley Roberson by Miami Marlins (4th round, Marlins: $677,500)

Never really expected to make it college, Roberson was the first position player of the class to be selected. He’s lefty with good contact and was ranked #175 by ESPN.

Stayed tuned in with us at ATVS more nonstop coverage of day 2 with rounds 5-20!

The Cubs defeated the Reds 5-3 Saturday night on the strength of homers by Carson Kelly and Alex Bregman, the latter a two-run blast. Those helped the team come from behind in the sixth and seventh innings.

But before I get to all of that, can I say that this team needs Daniel Palencia back — bad — or to trade for a shutdown closer, because it took Ryan Rolison and Trent Thornton 18 nerve-wracking pitches in the ninth inning to lock this one down. Yes, all’s well that ends well but yikes, I think I’d like a bit less of that, please.

All right, that said, let’s rewind to the beginning of this one.

Javier Assad and Nick Lodolo matched zeroes for three innings. In the third. Assad allowed a pair of singles to TJ Friedl and Elly De La Cruz that put runners on first and third with nobody out. One out later, Assad picked De La Cruz off first base:

That’s good work by Assad and Michael Busch. The Cubs had picked De La Cruz off in Chicago back in May on a similar play, with Busch not holding him on, then sneaking in behind him. JJ Bleday followed with an inning-ending fly ball — if he hits that without the pickoff, the Reds score a run and subsequent sequencing is different.

The Cubs didn’t score in the fourth, then Assad got touched up for back-to-back homers by Nathaniel Lowe and Eugenio Suárez. Suárez has, as you know, made a career out of homering off Cubs pitching. That was the 37th time he took a Cubs pitcher deep, the most for any active player.

The Cubs cut the two-run deficit in half in the fifth. With two out and nobody on base, Miguel Amaya singled and Pete Crow-Armstrong walked (one of two walks PCA had on the night, giving him 45 for the year in 95 games played).

Seiya Suzuki’s single scored Amaya to make it 2-1 [VIDEO].

The Cubs held the Reds scoreless in the bottom of the fifth in part thanks to yet another slick sliding catch by PCA [VIDEO].

Then the Cubs took the lead in the sixth. Carson Kelly led off the inning with his sixth homer of the year [VIDEO].

That ball went a long way [VIDEO].

More on Kelly’s homer from BCB’s JohnW53:

Carson Kelly’s game-tying solo homer in the sixth inning was the Cubs’ 14,000th since 1920, first season of the Live Ball Era. It was their 119th this year. They have averaged 130 per year.

The Cubs’ 14,000 homers are the sixth most in the era and second most among National League teams. The Giants began Saturday with 14,643, which were a distant second to the Yankees’ 17,284.

The other teams ahead of the Cubs, in order, were the Tigers, Browns/Orioles and Red Sox.

The Braves trailed the Cubs by just 32 going into the day.

After the homer, Lodolo had to leave the game due to a blister. Lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson entered, and Busch singled off him. After Nico Hoerner flied to center, Ian Happ’s double scored Busch to make it 3-2 Cubs [VIDEO].

Drew Pomeranz entered the game and Bleday hit his first pitch out of the yard to tie the game. Pomeranz was a reasonable chance to take after the Angels let him go, but so far the results haven’t been good. That’s already two homers allowed in just 4.1 innings with the Cubs for Pomeranz. He did make it out of the sixth without further incident.

The Cubs took the lead back in the seventh. Suzuki drew a one-out walk and Bregman then launched the aforementioned two-run homer [VIDEO].

For Bregman, it was his second homer in his last 10 games. He’s continued to draw walks (six in those 10 games) and even his outs have been hit harder than before. You can see signs that he might be coming out of his season-long slump. Perhaps the All-Star break will give him a chance to re-set and get going when play resumes on Friday.

More on Bregman’s blast from John:

Alex Bregman’s tie-breaking homer was the Cubs’ sixth of the season in the seventh inning or later. The first five all came between April 5 and May 27. Ian Happ hit the first and last, in the eighth and seventh innings respectively. Seiya Suzuki, in the eighth; Dansby Swanson, in the ninth; and Michael Conforto, in the ninth, hit the others. Conforto’s was a walk-off.

Now Cubs pitchers have to get nine outs without allowing two runs. Friends, with the makeshift bullpen that’s now the Cubs relief corps, you knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Caleb Thielbar, who has been hit hard recently, managed to get out of the seventh scoreless and Jacob Webb — perhaps the closest thing the Cubs have to a “closer” right now — managed a scoreless eighth, though with 23 pitches thrown you knew he wasn’t coming back out for the ninth.

Thus it was up to lefty Ryan Rolison to shut things down. Well, as soon as a lefty’s in the game, you know Terry Francona is going to send up right-handed pinch hitters. The first of those, Tyler Stephenson, singled on Rolison’s first pitch, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. A fly to right, the first out, put Stephenson on third. At this point the Cubs would have traded a run for an out, but they didn’t need to as Rolison struck out pinch-hitter Noelvi Marte.

So that left a runner on third and De La Cruz coming to the plate. Craig Counsell stuck with Rolison to turn De La Cruz to the right side, though this year the Reds shortstop has hit lefties well. Rolison walked De La Cruz and Counsell called on Trent Thornton to face a really good young hitter, Sal Stewart.

Thornton got ahead of Stewart 0-2 and then… [VIDEO].

Well. That’s not exactly an “easy” save but Thornton did nail it down, his third. The Cubs now have three pitchers with at least three saves (Thornton, Palencia and Webb, who has four).

Craig Counsell addressed the bullpen, and more, in his postgame remarks [VIDEO].

The Cubs got some good news out of Pittsburgh Saturday, where the Pirates did the Cubs a solid by sweeping a doubleheader from the Brewers, winning both games by one run. So the Cubs gained a game and a half on the Brewers in the division race and trail them by six. They remain 2.5 games ahead of the Cardinals, who defeated the Braves Saturday, and lead the Phillies (also winners Saturday) by half a game for the top wild card spot.

One more game remains in this series, and also before MLB breaks for All-Star festivities. Matthew Boyd, who was really good his last time out against the Orioles, will start for the Cubs and Andrew Abbott will go for Cincinnati. Game time Sunday is 12:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network. The BCB game preview will post at 10:30 a.m. CT.

The Phillies had a day to remember yesterday at the MLB draft. Not picking until the 36th pick thanks to their spending money on their major league team, they had to wait a while to make that first pick.

If there was anything this team needed in its farm system, it’s top flight hitters with power and starting pitching depth. Even with spending a large amount of capital on pitching last year, a simple scan up and down their various minor league rosters reinforces the idea that they can still use more. With their first pick in the draft though, they went with Tyler Spangler, a shortstop from a high school in California. Reading this Matt Gelb piece ($), there is some risk that they were willing to take to land a bat like Spangler.

The Phillies selected Spangler, a somewhat ironic pick in 2026 because one of their best prospects has been sidelined by a back injury all season. Aidan Miller might not play in a minor-league game this season. But the Phillies believe Spangler will be on the field at some point this summer. (Provided the two sides agree on a signing bonus.) Spangler has been cleared to return to action, said Brian Barber, the team’s amateur scouting director…[s]o, given the inherent risk of picking so late, it might have prompted the Phillies to take a bigger swing. The 36th pick comes with a $2.76 million slot value, and Spangler will command a much higher bonus than that despite not having played a single game during his senior season.

From there, they went with another big bat in Caden Bogenpohl, a powerful outfielder from Missouri State, before focusing in on pitching with their next three picks. Those picks – Ruger Riojas, Deven Sheerin, Jaxon Jelkin – all look as though they can move fast to either reinforce the bullpen in a year or two, or maybe even be some depth for their rotation.

As far as reaction the picks, there was a mixture. Keith Law at The Athletic didn’t get it:

With their first pick (No. 36), they took high school shortstop Tyler Spangler, a teenager with a back injury that kept him from playing all spring. Their second pick was Missouri State outfielder Caden Bogenpohl, who has otherworldly power and is a pretty good athlete but whiffs on pitches in the zone a ton, even fastballs. Their third pick was Texas senior right-hander Ruger Riojas, a solid pick for the spot who’ll move fast if they put him in the bullpen, followed by a future reliever in LSU right-hander Deven Sheerin, fine value for the fourth round. Philly’s last pick (compensation fourth round) was 23 1/2-year-old Kentucky right-hander Jaxon Jelkin, who has injury and makeup questions on his resume.

Baseball America is on board with the Spangler pick, thinking they may have gotten a steal ($).

I love this pick for the Phillies. Coming into the season, Spangler was right behind Grady Emerson in the conversation for being a top two or three high school player in the 2026 class. Spangler didn’t play his senior season, which obviously dinged his stock, but the talent and upside is still commensurate with players who went in the top half of the first round, and the Phillies were able to get him despite not having a pick until 36th overall.

Obviously, there will be many years pass before we can definitively put a grade on this draft for the Phillies. The early returns are that they did well for themselves despite not having one of the top thirty five picks in the draft. Be sure to keep an eye on our draft tracker throughout the day to follow how the Phillies put the finishing touches on this draft.

Day 1 of the MLB Draft is in the books. If you’re internet smart, you know that the Red Sox completely blew it by going way underslot with their first round pick and then failing to use that savings by going overslot on either of their next two picks. If you’re actually smart, you know that attempting to evaluate an MLB draft any sooner than at least two years after draft day is for suckers. But it’s still fun.

Draft Day 2 kicks off at 11:30 with the fifth round. The Sox will have the 22nd pick in the fifth and sixth rounds (#156 and #185) and then the 21st pick in every subsequent round until the draft ends at round 20. Today’s proceedings are not on TV, but you can stream them on MLB.com

If you prefer to watch prospects who are already in the pipeline, the annual Futures Game kicks off noon and will be broadcast on NBC/Peacock. Franklin Arias will start at shortstop for the AL, while Anthony Eyanson will be in the pen.

Talk about players who won’t be in a big league lineup for years to come and whatever else you want in this space. Be good to each other and go Sox.

The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been one of the best in all of baseball this year in spite of the numerous injuries they’ve dealt with.

Young right-handers Gavin Stone and River Ryan have yet to make their season debuts at the big-league level, while guys like Landon Knack are just now making their season debuts well over three months into the season. Tyler Glasnow has been out since early May, while former two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell has just one start at the big league level this year.

For Snell, who has amassed just three innings in 2026, it’s been another lost season so far, but his return is in the near distance. Sonja Chen of MLB.com notes that Snell threw live to hitters for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery, and the southpaw is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment after the break.

The next step for Snell should be a rehab assignment, manager Dave Roberts said, likely beginning the first weekend after the All-Star break.

“He says he feels better right now than he did when he returned before,” Roberts said of Snell, who has made only one start for the Dodgers this season after beginning the season on the injured list with left shoulder fatigue.

As for Glasnow, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register notes that there’s numerous setbacks where the right-hander feels good about throwing until he doesn’t. Glasnow was able to throw a fastball-only bullpen on Friday.

After tossing six innings in a loss on Saturday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto will not be pitching in this year’s All-Star game with his teammate Justin Wrobleski taking his spot on the NL All-Star team, per Chen and Jacob Gurvis of MLB.com.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Yamamoto said. “It would be better if I was able to pitch … because I [would] enjoy the atmosphere, and the whole show.”

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic notes that Kiké Hernández is expected to return to the Dodgers following the All-Star break should all go well with his rehab. Hernández has appeared in just two games this season, collecting hits in all four at-bats including a home run.

Carson Coleman knew what was happening. It was hard not to know.

He was aware as he entered the game on June 5th at NBT Bank Stadium in New York against the Syracuse Mets that teammate and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders starting pitcher Brendan Beck had not allowed a hit through the first seven innings. Although the other relievers in the bullpen were trying to honor that baseball superstition of not mentioning a no-hitter, subconsciously they were talking about it. 

Coleman got a groundout and two strikeouts in the bottom of the eighth to take the no-hitter into the ninth. There, he retired the first batter on a groundout, then walked the next batter. But his first pitch to Kevin Parada was hit on the ground to shortstop George Lombard Jr., who flipped to second baseman Jonathan Ornelas, who threw to first baseman Seth Brown for a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

The seventh no-hitter in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise history was complete.

“Doing it for two innings was definitely more nerve-racking,” Coleman said. “At the end of the day, you just go out and treat it like any other outing. It was awesome, exciting, especially for it to end on a double play and then celebrate with the guys and Beck. It was an awesome accomplishment for him.”

This was the second no-hitter Coleman was involved in as a member of the New York Yankees organization. On Sept. 28, 2022, he got the final three outs for the Double-A Somerset Patriots as they won the third and deciding game of the Eastern League Championship Series over the Erie Seawolves with a 15-0 victory.

That one was a little less stressful because of the lopsided margin. Starting pitcher Randy Vásquez went eight hitless innings with one walk and eight strikeouts. The Patriots scored nine runs in the bottom of the first inning to seize immediate control. Jasson Domínguez led the offense, going 3 for 4 with two walks, two home runs and six RBIs. Coleman entered in the top of the ninth and, although he hit the first batter he faced with a pitch, he got a fly out, popout and strikeout to end it. 

“It had been a really good season for me that year. I was more excited to hopefully be the guy to finish our championship, let alone a no-hitter,” Coleman said. “I just went out there and made pitches the best that I can and hopefully it came to fruition. Obviously, there can be a jam-shot single which you, as a pitcher, that’s not a bad thing, but it’s a hit. That’s baseball. There’s a lot of luck to it.

“But the championship was a lot of fun, especially throwing to Austin Wells as the catcher. Me and Austin both signed in 2020 and he’s one of my best friends. To finish off the no-hitter with a strikeout in the championship game and embrace one of your best friends and celebrate with that team which was a great group of guys was a lot of fun. Probably the best baseball memory I have. But the one with Beck is still awesome.”

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Coleman in the 33rd round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of the University of Kentucky, but he did not sign with them. The Yankees signed him in 2020 as a nondrafted free agent and he pitched for Low-A Tampa in 2021 before splitting time in 2022 with High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset. 

Coleman underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and missed all of that season. In 2024, he was taken in the Rule 5 Draft by the Texas Rangers. However, he never threw a pitch for them. At the end of his rehab from the right elbow surgery, he had a hard time recovering from workouts or bullpen sessions. It turned out he had a rare nerve entrapment issue and needed another surgery that put him out for 10 more months, causing him to miss all of the 2024 campaign as well. 

When Texas didn’t keep him on its roster, the Yankees had first dibs since he was a Rule 5 selection and they took him back. 

“I think they were excited to have me back, I was excited to be back,” Coleman said. “I love this organization, they’ve been more than great to me. I definitely am going to give my whole heart to this organization, I owe a lot to them. I’m trying to make them as proud as possible. Obviously I wish things would have worked out in Texas because it was a big-league opportunity. But it’s exciting to be back.”

Last season was the first time he was back on the mound since closing out that no-hitter in the championship game for Somerset in 2022. Coleman appeared in a combined 17 games at four levels and had two saves, one hold, a 1.59 ERA and struck out 15 in 17 innings. 

“It was great. I felt so happy to be out on a baseball field,” Coleman said. “Rehab is lonely and it’s a long road. Going back out, I could have gone five innings and given up 40 runs and obviously would not have been happy, but that’s where my head was at. I was back on the mound and that was such a big accomplishment after two and a half years. And last year went really well. I only threw like 20 innings and gave up just a run or two. All things considered, that was really good getting back into it. 

“First time in Triple-A this year. First normal spring training I’ve had since 2022. New level, new challenges, so it’s been a good experience. It’s been a dream.”

Since combining with Beck on the no-hitter in Syracuse, things have been spotty for Coleman. He retired all four batters he faced to get the win in relief at Indianapolis on June 23rd and threw two scoreless innings to earn a save against Norfolk on June 30th. But in six appearances and 8.2 innings, he has allowed seven runs and 11 hits with six walks and eight strikeouts. 

For the season, Coleman is 1-0 with one hold, two saves, and a 4.73 ERA in 24 games. He has 32 strikeouts in 32.1 innings. He has inherited 18 runners and allowed just three to score. Since April 18th, none of the seven runners he has inherited have scored.  

“Until the month of June, overall I felt like I was making some good steps,” Coleman said. “I’ve kind of been like a coin flip this last month. A lot of it is the game of baseball. After missing a lot of time due to injury sadly last year and early this year, I think a lot of it is getting my feet back underneath me. So I’ve kind of been mindful of that. Now it’s just learn from your failures and try to do better. Take it a day at a time and try to stack some good outings together. That’s the game of baseball, especially as a reliever.”

The best advice Coleman has received in baseball was to leave it in the showers, whether it was a good outing or a bad one.

“Despite any rough outing that’s discouraging, I know it’s part of the game,” Coleman said. “If you get two outings a week and they both don’t maybe go the way you want, it obviously can get you in the dumps sometimes. But I can’t even tell you what I did in my last outing. 

“When I was in college or even now, in the role of a closer, say I had a save. I’d see my parents and they’d be so happy and like ‘Great job!’ and I’d be not in a bad mood, but even keel. They’d be like, ‘What’s wrong?’ and I’d be like, ‘It’s good, it’s over with, I’ve got to do it again in two days. Maybe even tomorrow.’ Move on, it’s not worth taking home with you.”

Coleman is continuing to work on the little things that make the difference between a good outing and a rough one. 

“It’s a long year – 150, 162 games,” he said. “As a reliever, maybe you’re going to get 50 outings. Just try to make the most of those 50 outings as good as possible.”  

The MLB Draft is now a mega event, so welcome to Day 2! On Saturday, the Giants made their first five selections, taking UC Santa Barbara pitcher Jackson Flora with their first-round pick, prep pitcher Carson Bolemon with the compensation round pick they grabbed in the Patrick Bailey trade, prep pitcher Kade Waechter with their second-round pick, Rutgers outfielder Peyton Bonds (nephew of Barry) with their third-round selection, and Hofstra pitcher Carlos Martinez with their fourth-round choice.

Today, they’ll make 16 more selections, with the No. 15 pick in rounds 5-20.

You can follow all the action from yesterday and today by watching our draft tracker, which will give you info on all 21 picks. I’ll also have a few write-ups throughout the day. And if you want to watch the draft, well … here’s how to do so!

How to watch Day 2 of the MLB Draft

What: 2026 MLB Draft, rounds 5-20

When: 8:30 a.m. PT

TV: MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+

I spent last weekend at Coors Field covering the San Francisco Giants-Colorado Rockies series for Purple Row, and I was glad I did because a lot happened.

President of baseball operations Paul DePodesta took questions from media, and given that preparations for the MLB draft were in full swing and the trade deadline is fast approaching, there was plenty to discuss. Hunter Goodman was announced as the Rockies representative at the All-Star Game, and he answered questions about receiving that honor for the second consecutive year.

On two days, Goodman’s father, Robert, threw batting practice to his son, who hoped to be invited to participate in the Home Run Derby on Monday. Goodman was ultimately not invited, but it was still pretty cool to watch a father-son BP. That said, you had to be at Coors Field to see it.

The clubhouse was open, and players answered questions as did manager Warren Schaeffer. Rockies’ 2022 first-round draft pick Gabriel Hughes (No. 12 PuRP) made his MLB debut.

Here’s Kyle Karros discussing his monster home run on Sunday. The controlled swagger is a beautiful thing.

Ultimately, the Rockies took the series from a struggling Giants team. They are becoming a better and even a fun baseball team. They have scored an MLB-high 132 runs in the eighth inning or later. How is that not the good stuff for baseball fans?

If the Denver Post had a reporter there to cover the series, I never saw them.

Since Patrick Saunders left The Post, a pastiche of offseason sports beat writers has been in the clubhouse finding material for some scattered feature stories. For example, Nate Peterson spent an afternoon talking with Marlins fans at Coors Field about their experiences with a losing team.

The Post now takes game recaps from the Associated Press. It’s not unusual for those recaps to go up the next day as opposed to immediately after the conclusion of a game, as they did before. I can’t speak to what happens on the road, but in Denver, the AP has two sports writers with one covering each Rockies game. When the game is over, the reporter goes to the winning clubhouse for comments.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m a big fan of The Post’s sportswriters, but writing occasional feature stories and farming out game recaps doesn’t seem like a best practice.

Besides, when the Denver Broncos report to training camp, and the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche start their early-season work, how much time will those beat writers devote to their occasional Rockies feature stories? Listen, I don’t blame them. These reporters really good at their jobs, and that involves working their beat.

When a beat writer works with a team, they spend a great deal of time with players, coaches, and front office staff developing relationships. They build trust and learn off-the-record information that allows them to write more-informed stories. But it’s in that work — so much of that tedious standing around and asking questions — that the real reporting happens.

I suspect if you were to ask a sports editor at The Post about this decision, they would tell you that the Rockies are a bad team, and they just don’t drive enough traffic. Hey, I write for a Rockies site. Believe me: The entire staff of Purple Row is very aware of how little traffic the Rockies have driven in recent years.

But that’s changing.

The Rockies are an exciting young team with stories driven by compelling players and a front office trying to rebuild connections. I can’t speak for The Post, but our site traffic is up, in part because of an improved team and in part because Purple Row is committed to covering the Rockies, even if our resources are considerably more limited than those available to The Post.

That said, even if the powers that be at the Denver Post decide that the Rockies baseball team doesn’t particularly matter, surely they would feel compelled to cover the business side of the Rockies. Like any professional sports franchise, the Rockies are a big business that navigates the uneasy relationship between taxpayer money and owner financial interests.

If nothing else, surely The Post would be interested in what will probably an MLB lockout when the season ends. Given that Rockies owner Dick Monfort is a key figure in trying to get a salary cap — something that would fundamentally change the sport — surely The Post would want someone working that story now.

It is deeply unsettling that that the Colorado Rockies may well receive less attention from The Post for the rest of the season than they will perhaps devote to some high school football programs.

I reached out to The Post for a comment on the publication’s plans for the Rockies beat, but I did not receive an answer.

So here we are.

What’s to be done?

Me, I’m going to cancel my subscription.

Believe it or not, my Denver Post subscription costs more than my subscription to the New York Times. I can read AP gamers anywhere. Better yet, I can read gamers on Purple Row, where we write our own recaps that are published at the conclusion of every game.

I hate to do it. I believe that what newspapers do in local communities is vitally important. But it’s difficult to see The Post as doing anything other than dropping the ball when it comes to covering the Rockies.

To Read: Rockpiles

• Monday:Paul DePodesta provides a Rockies mid-season progress report | Renee Dechert
• Tuesday:TJ Shook reflects on his MLB debut | Sam Bradfield
• Wednesday:TJ Rumfield deserves more Rookie of the Year attention | Skyler Timmins
• Thursday:If you need a job done, give it to Willi Castro | Cory Cohen
• Friday:Rockies red-hot offense surging since June 1 | Joelle Milholm
• Saturday:Victor Vodnik is finding outs without finding the strike zone | James Riggenbach

To Read: News

• Rockies news:Gabriel Hughes got the call. Now he’s living in the moment. | Eli Whitney
• Rockies prospects:Zac Veen named Pacific Coast League Player of the Month | Renee Dechert
• Weekly Pebble Report:The player and person Roldy Brito wants you to see | Evan Lang & Eli Whitney
• Rockies draft:Rockies select Tyler Bell with the 10th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft | James Riggenbach
• Rockies draft:Rockies select Daniel Jackson with the 37th overall pick in the 2026 draft | Cory Cohen
• Rockies draft:Rockies select Logan Reddemann with the 38th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft | James Riggenbach
• Rockies draft:Rockies first-round draft selection Tyler Bell is eager to get to work | Renee Dechert
• Rockies draft: Paul DePodesta and Tommy Tanous discuss Day 1 of the Rockies MLB Draft | Renee Dechert

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Today’s Reflections

Well, what can you say when a pitcher, making his second start of the season and coming off a horrible season debut, is absolutely brilliant? Well, the Cubs hitters helped — 12 of the Cubs’ 16 strikeouts came with Hunter Greene on the mound. But credit is given where credit is due.

That said, the Cubs were outhit 13-4. The hot Seiya Suzuki had two of those, including a double, but with no one on base, they were for naught. And the Cubs, who have been recipients of plenty of walks of late, only managed one Friday.

Yes, Shōta Imanaga gave up yet another solo shot, but he stranded the other seven baserunners while striking out five. There is an article below that points out his big flaw, but gives him credit in every other facet of his game.

But. The bullpen. As shown below, it was easy come, easy go for Jake Woodford. He’s the reliever that turned Imanaga’s effort to dust, giving up a triple and three-run home run that turned a 1-0 game that wasn’t that close into a rout that might as well been 20-0. Thanks so much for stopping by, Jake.

Josh has done a great job covering the Cubs’ draft results. I added a few stories, including some for first-round pick Cade Townsend, below only for some variety of opinion.

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Friday’s Game Stories:

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (7/10/26): Reds 4, Cubs 0 – Greene Great in Shutout. “Newly returned ace Hunter Greene dominated the road team from the opening pitch and it was never much of a game.”

• Sean Sears (Chicago Cubs On SI): 3 Takeaways After Cubs’ Offense Flops, New Bullpen Arm Crumbles in Loss to Reds. “Hunter Greene baffled the Cubs bats for 12 strikeouts in tonight’s shutout.”

Cubs Analysis of the first four picks of the draft (although none are better than Josh’s, but this is just for some variety of opinion):

• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs’ 2026 first-round draft pick confirms Jed Hoyer wasn’t blind to crippling need. “Cubs might not be allergic to pitching.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Cubs 2026 first-round pick could immediately rocket up team’s prospect rankings. “Cade Townsend is a huge addition to the organization’s pitching ranks.”
• Jason Ross (North Side Baseball): Chicago Cubs Select Cade Townsend with the 23rd Pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, “Cade Townsend’s strength lies directly in his stuff.”
• Andrew Wright (North Side Baseball): Chicago Cubs Select Caden Sorrell with No. 62 Overall Pick In 2026 MLB Draft. “With their second pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Chicago Cubs grabbed Caden Sorrell, a college outfielder with some impressive pedigree.”
• Jason Ross (North Side Baseball): Chicago Cubs Select Myles Bailey with the 75th Pick In 2026 MLB Draft. “With the 75th pick in the MLB Draft, the Chicago Cubs selected FSU first baseman, Myles Bailey.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Cubs embrace love of pitchers with spin with third round pick in 2026 MLB Draft. “In his breakout 2026 campaign, it was spin or bust for this Nebraska right-hander.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs undercut by Royals as they provide early shockwaves in 2026 MLB Draft. “Wow.”

Trade Talk:

• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs trade deadline plans turned upside down thanks to Twins-Blue Jays trade. “Not ideal for our hopes.”
• Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Cubs trade deadline mailbag: Priorities, prospects and the ‘Pitch Lab’. “Who might the Cubs move ahead of the deadline?”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Cubs have a dark horse trade candidate that absolutely nobody is talking about. “I wouldn’t say it’s likely, but don’t know if we can completely rule this one out.”

Assorted Stories:

• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Shota Imanaga has given up more home runs than just about anyone, but Cubs thankful for what he’s given them. “Imanaga’s 22 home runs allowed are the second most in the sport. But despite that, the Cubs are happy he’s been able to pitch well, otherwise, and make 19 starts, helping out a pitching staff hammered by injuries.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: Despite lackluster 4-0 loss to Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs should be satisfied with their first half. “Who are the real Chicago Cubs? We’re still asking ourselves that question nearly four months…”
• Charlie Wright (MLBRumors): Cubs Designate Jake Woodford For Assignment. “Right-hander Jake Woodford has been designated for assignment by the Cubs, the team announced. Reliever Phil Maton is back from the injured list to take Woodford’s spot in the bullpen.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Michael Conforto bouncing back with best offensive season in years as Cubs laud veteran’s ‘selflessness’. “Conforto is hitting well this season, all while impressing his teammates with his willingness to fill any role after signing up as a former All Star and veteran of 10 big league seasons knowing he’s likely be a part-timer.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: Chicago Cubs reliever Phil Maton hopes to erase troubles, and Craig Counsell recalls his draft-day bonus. “How much of Maton’s first-half struggles were due to his knee issues?”
• Joey Ricotta (OnTapSportsNet): Who Can the Cubs Trust in the Bullpen Right Now? “The Chicago Cubs have a bullpen problem; there is no other way to put it. Where they stand and how they can improve the situation.”
• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports): What Are the Biggest Cubs Weaknesses That Could Derail Chicago’s Season? “While Chicago has rebounded from its early-season slump, some of the biggest Cubs’ weaknesses have been revealed.”
• Joey Ricotta (OnTapSportsNet): Pete Crow-Armstrong Pacing To Do What No Cubs Player Has Ever Done. “What Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is doing is remarkable, and he is on a path no other Cub has ever taken.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): How dazzling defense has helped Cubs survive injury barrage: ‘Best defensive team I’ve ever been a part of’. “The Cubs have not crumbled under the weight of an avalanche of pitching injuries, thanks in no small part to their excellent leather-wielding and cadre of Gold Glove defenders.”

Food For Thought:

Christian Willisohn (born January 22, 1962 in Munich ) is a German blues pianist and singer.
His musical career began in 1980 in Munich clubs; In 1986 he gave up his profession as a stonemason and sculptor. In 1987 he played with Zora Young for the first time in the US. Since then he has played with many international blues musicians. Today he performs throughout Europe with classics and original compositions with texts by his wife, Alexandra Mayer.

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