ATLANTA, GA - JULY 19: Starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) of the Texas Rangers prepares to deliver a pitch during the Sunday afternoon MLB game between the Texas Rangers and the Atlanta Braves on July 19, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Braves 8, Rangers 5
That didn’t go the way we were hoping.
Nathan Eovaldi was allowing homers and couldn’t go deep into the game, and the bullpen combined with some poor defensive decision making to allow a big inning late.
For all the angst about the offense, its the pitching that is particularly problematic right now.
Nathan Eovaldi gave up 10 home runs in 130 innings all of 2025. So far this season, in 115 innings, he’s allowed 22 home runs. If you want to know how he’s gone from a 1.73 ERA last year to a 4.21 ERA this year, well, that goes a long way.
Eovaldi’s career high in home runs allowed is 23, and hopefully he ends up breaking that mark, because otherwise it would mean he’s out for a lengthy period of time.
Evan Carter was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the sixth, rather earlier than would be ideal. That left Cam Cauley playing center field the rest of the way, and trying to make a play on the Matt Olson double that started things off in the seventh, the hit where all the trouble began.
I don’t know that Cauley should have made a play on that ball, or that Carter would have…but its one of those things where I’m wondering if Carter in the game means that’s an out rather than a double, and potentially all the rest of the nonsense from that inning doesn’t happen.
Wyatt Langford, at least, is continuing to rake, falling a triple shy of a cycle. The Rangers had 11 hits in the game, with ten of them coming from four players — Langford, Joc Pederson, Nicky Lopez and Jake Burger.
Going on the road and playing a good team, the expectation is that you’re going to lose two of three. The Rangers lost two of three. Expectations were met.
It doesn’t mean it isn’t disappointing, though.
Nathan Eovaldi’s fastball topped out at 95.1 mph, averaging 93.7 mph. Robby Ahlstrom reached 95.6 mph on his sinker. Cole Winn’s fastball touched 96.0 mph. Tyler Alexander hit 92.2 mph with his fastball. Peyton Gray maxed out at 94.0 mph with his fastball. Ben Peoples’ fastball topped out at 96.6 mph.
Jake Burger had a 107.8 mph single and a 101.7 mph single. Wyatt Langford had a 105.7 mph double, a 105.2 mph home run, and a 101.1 mph single. Nicky Lopez had a 101.6 mph single. Kyle Higashioka had a 100.6 mph single. Joc Pederson had a 100.2 mph double.
Back to Arlington, and hopefully, a productive homestand.
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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 19: Members of the New York Mets celebrate after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, July 19, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Phebe Grosser/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Meet the Mets
In the deciding game of a weekend series with Philadelphia, Nolan McLean struck out ten and brought his ERA that little bit closer to 3.00 as eight different Mets got hits. All of this to say, it was good.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 29: Braxton Ashcraft #35 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on June 29, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Pirates defeated the Phillies 11-7. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After an offseason in which the Pirates made a handful of moves to beef up a roster that went 71-91 in 2025, Pittsburgh saw an up-and-down first half. They now come to the Bronx for their only series of the season against the Yankees, looking to make up some ground in the tight NL Central race. Outside of the last-place Reds, every team in their division is above the .500 mark, including the Bucs, who are 52-48 and 10.5 games out of first but in possession of a Wild Card spot. They have the second-longest playoff drought in baseball, as they haven’t made it to October since getting blanked by the Cubs in the 2015 NL Wild Card Game.
While the Yankees split a doubleheader against the Los Angeles Dodgers to finish out their series, Pirates ace Paul Skenes posted a strong seven innings with eight strikeouts and only one earned run on seven hits in a 7-1 victory against Cleveland. And while Yankees fans won’t be able to see Skenes in person this season, they’ll still get plenty of exciting action against a Pirates team that’s looking to continue its fight toward the postseason.
So let’s take a look at what’s in store.
Monday – Ryan Weathers vs. Braxton Ashcraft (7:05 pm Eastern)
Following a relatively decent start to the season, it feels as if Ryan Weathers has fallen back down to Earth. He will take the mound in the opener of the three-game set against the Pirates, hoping to get back on track after seeing his team lose in three of his last games pitched. His last outing against the Nationals was a step in the right direction, as he pitched 5.1 innings and, despite allowing six hits, he only allowed one run. He also registered six strikeouts on 91 pitches.
Weathers sits with a 3-7 record and a 4.15 ERA, just slightly worse than the Yankees pitcher taking the mound the next night (which we’ll talk about in a moment), but against a Pirates team that has struggled against left-handed pitchers on the road, he may have the chance to get back to the level he wants to be at now that the second-half of the season is underway.
On the other side of the equation is Braxton Ashcraft, who made headlines around the Pirates and MLB for his first career All-Star appearance this year in Philadelphia for the NL. He replaced Skenes after the ace was voted to the team, but was unable to pitch following an outing against the Brewers the Sunday before the All-Star festivities. The 2018 second-round prep pick has earned recognition in his own right, though.
Playing in his first full MLB season, Ashcraft, 26, has started 19 games and has pitched 113.1 innings. Along with his 128 strikeouts, he has a 9-3 record entering his first start following his appearance in Philadelphia and a 3.49 ERA. And although his last start at Milwaukee ended in a no-decision, the four prior to that were all wins for the Bucs. Monday will be the first time Ashcraft will face the Yankees in his career, and it’s surely a relief to not have to face Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton in the process.
Tuesday — Will Warren vs. Bubba Chandler (7:05 pm Eastern)
Will Warren and Weathers have been somewhat indistinguishable at the back end of the rotation. However, both of them continue to be as important now as ever, with the Yankees waiting on the return of the two star left-handers, Max Fried and Carlos Rodón.
Like Weathers, the last five outings for Warren have been underwhelming. Three of them have been losses, and the other two were no-decisions. In fact, the last time Warren walked away from a game with a win to his name was all the way back on May 31st after six strong innings against the A’s (the same day as the 13-run inning). He went 4-1 in May, and that was his third win in a row, butit’s been downhill since June, with the Yankees going 3-4 in his last seven games.
Additionally, the last time Warren went six or more innings was that game against the A’s. The closest he got was in two straight starts — the first against Cincinnati and the second against the Red Sox — where he pitched 5.2 innings across 90 pitches each. But the start of the second half gives Warren a chance to begin somewhat anew and improve on his first-half numbers. However, he’ll have his work cut out for him on the other side of the equation.
The Pirates are going to throw out another one of their young guns who can throw absolute heat: Bubba Chandler. The 23-year-old right-hander averages 98.6 mph on his fastball, and he has another five pitches that he uses occasionally, but it’s more like a three-pitch mix than anything. The next-highest after his fastball, which sits at 47.9-percent usage, is his slider at 18.7 percent, and his changeup at just 16.9 percent. Chandler also has a sinker, a sweeper, and a curveball.
However, while he has the arsenal and the arm talent, Chandler’s first full MLB season hasn’t gone to plan. He has a 3-8 record, a 4.77 ERA, and 85 strikeouts over 94.1 innings pitched, good for a 92 ERA+. A huge problem for him has been walks, as he leads the entire league with 55 issued. So for the Yankees, if they want to help their starter out, discipline will be the key in the batter’s box.
Wednesday — Gerrit Cole vs. Mitch Keller (12:35 pm Eastern)
The final matchup between these two teams will be a Wednesday matinee with two of the team’s top-of-the-rotation starters taking the mound. For the Yankees, it’s Gerrit Cole, who, despite a great six-inning, eight-K performance against the Dodgers, had it overshadowed by a misplaced pitch to Max Muncy. In his last five starts, he has managed to pitch at least five innings, with his last two getting to six or over. However, four of his last five results and decisions have been losses.
After coming back from injury, Cole has had his ups and downs, as one would expect from an almost-36-year-old flamethrower. But despite a 3.93 ERA, the Yankees ace can certainly show his old form against his former club, and with the potential for a rubber match, there’s no better time. Interestingly, this will only be the third time in his career that Cole will face the team that drafted him with the first overall pick in 2011. He’s pitched 11 total innings and came out of those two games with a win and a 2.45 ERA. He’s tallied only seven strikeouts in those two appearances, but it’s been enough to get the job done.
As for the Pirates, it’s the right-hander Mitch Keller, who, after hearing plenty of trade rumors about him last season, has come out this season and outright struggled. In 19 games started, there hasn’t been much to write home about. A 6-7 record and a 5.14 ERA are the lowest on the team among qualified hurlers. His strikeout numbers have dropped to the second-lowest of his career, and it’s because his average fastball velocity has dropped to the lowest of his career as well.
Keller is looking for the second half of the season to start getting back on track; otherwise, things could look grim moving forward in the Steel City for the 30-year-old hurler. The 2023 All-Star is owed just over $38 million through the end of 2028.
Jul 19, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) reacts after hitting game winning three run home run in the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Welcome to week 17 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (62-37); 3-0 this week; 99.2% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Brewers swept the Marlins coming out of the break, as they completed a trio of come-from-behind victories with a pair of walk-offs.
William Contreras had the biggest hit of the weekend, as he launched a three-run walk-off homer in Sunday’s series finale, sending Milwaukee home with a 3-1 victory. Garrett Mitchell also had a big weekend, leading the team with five hits and driving in the winning run in Friday night’s walk-off win. Joey Ortiz had the only other homer, while the team combined for nine steals in 10 attempts, including a pair from Christian Yelich, Ortiz, and Jackson Chourio.
Shane Drohan had the longest start at six innings, allowing three runs and striking out nine in a winning performance. Robert Gasser and Logan Henderson had nearly identical lines in their starts, as each went five innings with one run allowed on three hits and no walks. The only difference was that Henderson struck out four while Gasser struck out five. Craig Yoho was the only bullpen arm to allow a run (and even he picked up his first career win with a shutout 10th inning on Friday), as Grant Anderson, Aaron Ashby, Trevor Megill, Chad Patrick, and Abner Uribe combined for 10 shutout innings and 14 strikeouts.
Milwaukee stays home this week as they’ll host the Mets and Rockies through next weekend.
2. Chicago Cubs (56-43); 2-1 this week; 79.6% chance to make postseason
The Cubs dropped their series opener against the Twins on Friday but bounced back to win the series with a pair of wins on Saturday and Sunday.
Alex Bregman and Michael Busch both homered this weekend, while Nico Hoerner led the team with eight hits in just 13 at-bats, driving in five. Pedro Ramírez and Seiya Suzuki added four hits each, with both picking up a pair of doubles.
Matthew Boyd worked six strong innings with one run allowed and four strikeouts, while Shota Imanaga turned in the best performance of the series with seven shutout frames, striking out four. Tyler Ferguson, Gavin Hollowell, Ryan Rolison, Trent Thornton, and Jacob Webb combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the bullpen.
Chicago wraps up the homestand to begin the week with three games against the Tigers. After an off day on Thursday, they’ll visit the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (52-48); 2-1 this week; 47.7% chance to make postseason
The Pirates visited Cleveland this weekend, taking two of three as they split a doubleheader on Saturday (after Friday’s game was canceled due to air quality) and won 7-1 on Sunday.
Esmerlyn Valdez continues to swing the bat like Babe Ruth, as he picked up three hits this week, all of the extra-base variety with a pair of homers and a double, driving home five. Nick Gonzales and Jacob Gonzalez both homered as well, with four other players adding three hits apiece.
Jared Jones and Paul Skenes both made strong starts, with Jones going five innings with one run allowed and nine strikeouts and Skenes allowing one run over seven innings with eight strikeouts. Mason Montgomery also worked as an opener for Khristian Curtis, with Curtis going five scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Isaac Mattson, Carmen Mlodzinski, Montgomery, Gregory Soto, and Yohan Ramírez all had scoreless weekends for the bullpen.
The Pirates now head to New York to face the Yankees before they return home to host the Cubs over the weekend.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (51-47); 1-2 this week; 27.3% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals dropped two of three in Phoenix this weekend, winning Friday’s series opener against the D-backs but dropping both Saturday and Sunday’s games.
Jimmy Crooks and JJ Wetherholt both homered this week for the Cards, with Alec Burleson leading the team with six hits and scoring four runs. José Fermín added four hits, and Jordan Walker picked up three hits, including a double.
Michael McGreevy had the lone quality start of the weekend, going 6 1/3 innings with two runs allowed (one earned) and five strikeouts. Justin Bruihl, Riley O’Brien, and Matt Svanson had a scoreless inning each in relief.
St. Louis will stay out west with a visit to the Angels to begin the week. They’ll then return home to host the D-backs for a makeup game on Thursday before welcoming the Reds to town.
5. Cincinnati Reds (45-53); 2-1 this week; 1.2% chance to make postseason
The Reds visited Colorado this weekend, taking two of three against the Rockies.
It was a homer-heavy weekend in the high altitude of Denver, as the Reds had 10 homers as a team, including a pair from Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino. Elly De La Cruz added a homer and led the team with six hits, while Sal Stewart also homered and led the team with five RBIs.
Brady Singer and Hunter Greene both earned wins with quality starts, as Singer went seven innings with two runs allowed and six strikeouts, and Greene went six innings with three runs allowed and seven strikeouts. Tejay Antone, Brock Burke, Julian Garcia, and Pierce Johnson combined for 6 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the bullpen.
Cincinnati will continue the road trip with visits to Seattle and St. Louis through the coming weekend.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 30: Tommy Novak #18 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates with Erik Karlsson #65 and Parker Wotherspoon #28 after scoring a goal in the second period during the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PPG PAINTS Arena on December 30, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Penguins finished the 2024-25 season with just 80 points in the standings, good for only seventh place in their division and 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Fast forward a year, and Pittsburgh was up to 98 points, a second place finish in their division that ranked seventh in the conference. Where did that turnaround happen? Let’s check the team performance split by opponent over the two seasons.
The highlighted segment of division opponents tells the tale at large. The Pens were just 9-13-4 against Metropolitan Division opponents in 2024-25. That turned completely on its head this past season by the tune of a 13-4-9 record in 2025-26. That’s as many wins as total losses but avoiding regulation losses is the name of the game – getting to OT against these opponents serves to cheapen the impact of their win. Two of the regulation losses were to the Capitals at the tail end of the season after Pittsburgh had clinched a playoff berth and iced less-than-competitive lineups to make the record that much more impressive for the games that matters.
To go from a full-season point pace of just 69 in 2024-25 when playing teams in the division to turn it into a pace of 110 in 2025-26 really sums up the Pens’ turnaround from one year to the next. It’s really about all that needs to be said, dominate the division and you are likely headed to the playoffs. Play horribly and it’s the draft lottery.
Improvements weren’t limited to the division, Pittsburgh managed a 15-15-2 record against the Western Conference in 2024-25, that improved to a 15-9-8 record this past year. While they didn’t add to the win total, avoiding regulation losses was once again a key to results, the pace difference from year-to-year was 82 to 97, showing just how critical picking up the so-called ‘loser point’ can be. They add up in the standings column just the same.
One area where results were a little less favorable was against the Atlantic Division, where Pittsburgh put up a 12-11-1 record. Somehow, Toronto dummied the Pens all season long (shakes fist at William Nylander) despite the Maple Leafs having a rotten year otherwise. Coming into the season, a season-sweep of Florida would have sounded more impressive than it ended up being at the finish of the year, the Pens did it anyways (3-0-0). Pittsburgh also helped sink the Yzerplan by going 3-0-0 against Detroit. At the same time, the Pens took a step back against Montreal (1-2-0 record after sweeping the Habs in 2024-25) and – as usual for Pittsburgh – continued to have trouble winning games against Ottawa and Boston.
The Pens’ performance against the two Stanley Cup Final teams of Carolina and Vegas show how they are so close, yet so far away. Pittsburgh took a 2-2-2 record against the two, losing four of the six games. However, the wins (5-1 over the Hurricanes on December 30th, 5-0 over Vegas on March 1st) were two of their more impressive games of the season. The regulation losses (5-1 to Carolina and 6-2 to Vegas, both in March) were extremely humbling experiences. The two extra time losses (both to Carolina) were back-and-forth battles where Pittsburgh erased third period deficits to earn a point. In the end, they didn’t quite have enough.
For next season, the Penguins will have to be looking to accomplish the same results against the Metropolitan Division to have a strong season. The NHL is tacking on two more games, and both are against division opponents. That means that one-third of the 84 game schedule (28 games) will be against rivals. 2025-26 showed that performing well in those games will set a team up nicely to qualify for the postseason. It’s easier to read a map than actually tread it, but the message and results are clear for division performance making Pittsburgh one of the worst teams in the league in 2024-25 when they struggled in that area, compared to being one of the better teams in 2025-26 when they were able to excel against their most important foes.
Jul 19, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) throws in the outfield before the second game of a double header against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The original plan was for Shohei Ohtani to start on Wednesday’s series finale in Philadelphia, putting him in the sixth rotation spot after the break, maximizing his time off from pitching to rest his left knee, while also pitching directly before an off day. But those plans changed over the weekend, after Ohtani felt discomfort while throwing off flat ground on Friday.
“He was on the schedule when we broke for the All-Star break,” Roberts said. “And then it was more of the training staff talking to him about, ‘Hey, coming out of the break, how does Wednesday look? How do you feel? If you don’t feel 100 percent, we have the opportunity to just kick the can.’
As with Blake Snell, who has already started a rehab assignment, and Tyler Glasnow, the goal for the Dodgers is to have them all ready to pitch in October. But unlike the others, Ohtani is also the team’s best hitter. From Katie Woo at The Athletic:
“A lot of it is where we’re at and how we’ve put ourselves in a good spot,” Roberts explained. “Could he probably do it? Sure. But right now, the benefits just don’t seem to outweigh the cost at this time of the season. So I think we still have plenty of time to get him to a good spot to then pitch.
“I think that’s why we’re trying to be a little bit more on the proactive side … so we don’t have to worry about it throughout the end of the season.”
Ohtani this season has a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts with 95 strikeouts against 26 walks. Among major league pitchers with at least 80 innings this season, he ranks second in ERA and third in xERA (2.70). Ohtani’s last pitching start was July 3 against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.
“In one game, it’s great,” Roberts said. “But the exponential effect that it has on everybody else, it is huge, and it’s hard to really nail down how valuable that is.
“If you have a guy that not only puts you in a position to win a game, but also saves a lot of arms, that goes hand-in-hand with the top end of the rotation guy.”
Yamamoto leads the majors this season averaging 6.65 innings per start.
The full NBA regular-season schedule is typically released in mid-August. The Sixers already know they’ll be in East Group B for the 2026 NBA Cup with the Knicks, Cavaliers, Heat and Pacers.
The Calgary Flames pulled off a couple of headline-stealing moves before and after the NHL Draft. First, they acquired defenseman Simon Nemec from the New Jersey Devils and stuck to their guns and kept their ninth overall pick. Then, when the dust settled on the first week of free agency, the Flames dealt veteran leader Blake Coleman to the Minnesota Wild.
Despite taking significant steps to continue their rebuild, Bleacher Report viewed Calgary's offseason as more average than impactful, handing the Flames a C+ grade.
Everyone knew going into the offseason that Calgary wouldn't make any big pitches in free agency; instead, their focus was on making room for prospects to crack the NHL lineup. As the days passed, the rumors continued to swirl around Coleman, who was entering the final year of his current deal, and many wondered if he'd be moved, despite his wishes to stay, to free up a spot for a youngster.
In the deal with the Wild, the Flames traded away Coleman and Olli Määttä in exchange for more draft picks and Jacob Middleton. Of course, draft capital can go a long way in a rebuild, but at first glance, Middleton will not have the same impact in the lineup as Coleman once did. It will be interesting to revisit this deal in a couple of years, when General Manager Craig Conroy uses or flips the draft picks.
Meanwhile, part of the skepticism stems from the expectation that Calgary could take another step backward in the standings in 2026-27. While the Flames continue to build around young players like Dustin Wolf, Matt Coronato and Zayne Parekh, the roster still lacks the offensive firepower needed to compete for a playoff spot and stop being one of the NHL's lowest-scoring teams.
Calgary fans have experienced a rebuild paying off before. After drafting players like Sam Bennett, Johnny Gaudreau, and Matthew Tkachuk in the early 2010s, the Flames eventually developed into a Pacific Division champion. Right now, the organization hopes its current young core can follow a similar path, even if that success is still a few seasons away.
Whether Bleacher Report's C+ offseason grade turns out to be accurate will depend largely on Calgary's young core. If Nemec develops into the top-pair defenseman, someone fills the leadership role vacated by Coleman, and prospects like Parekh, Coronato, and Wolf continue their upward trajectory to stardom, this offseason could eventually be viewed far more favorably than it is today.
MIAMI, FL - APRIL 12: Zaccharie Risacher #10 of the Atlanta Hawks dribbles the ball during the game against the Miami Heat on April 12, 2026 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. 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 Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Dallas Mavericks were part of a three-team trade Sunday that landed them Zaccharie Risacher from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Ryan Nembhard and a second round pick. With the move, Dallas swaps a part-time starter for the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft.
This is a very low-risk, potentially high-reward move for Dallas. The undrafted Nembhard was a part-time starter who brought stability to the team last season when guard play was in high demand. He showed flashes of brilliance when it came to ball handling, often producing absurd assist-to-turnover ratios for a solid stretch. Yet, Nembhard is a relatively undersized player who was all but certainly going to lose minutes to the returning Kyrie Irving and newly acquired Marcus Sasser.
Risacher on the other hand, is former first overall pick who has not quite lived up to the status that comes with such a selection, yet nonetheless finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2024-25 and who fits well with the Cooper Flagg timeline; he is two years younger than Nembhard and will play most of next season as a 21-year old. His contract is more robust than Nembhard’s, but the Mavericks hold virtually all the cards.
The nuances of the contract
Risacher comes to Dallas with two years remaining on his contract. The Hawks exercised a club option on him to lock him in for the 2026-27 season, which he will now play in Dallas, getting paid $13.8 million. 2027-28 is the final year of his current contract, but that too remains a team option, leaving the Mavericks with great control of the situation. However, that control comes with a caveat.
On the surface, it appears Dallas could simply walk after this coming season if they don’t like what they see, but there is more to the story. If the Mavericks plan on locking down Risacher and his $17.4 million for the 2027-28 season, they will need to do so just a few games into his Mavericks’ tenure. The Mavericks have until October 31, 2026 to exercise the team option for 2027-28 season. If they choose to exercise the option and Risacher does not work out, Dallas is stuck with him and a $17.4 million bill. If they choose not to exercise the option and Risacher has a breakout season, Dallas will have market competition to retain him. Risacher will no longer be an unrestricted free agent in this scenario, but Dallas will retain his Bird Rights.
What to expect
While we don’t know the philosophical approach the Mavs’ front office will follow, for my hypothetical money, Dallas is going to exercise their option on Risacher and commit to him for the remaining two years on his contract. To me, this is a no-brainer.
Risacher was drafted two years ago, but is of an age that he could easily have been in the Draft this past June. He is just shy of two years older than Flagg, so he is well aligned with the timeline of the face of the franchise. Ultimately, it’s difficult to determine any reason not to take the chance here. Risacher may benefit from a scenery change, and the tutelage of Dusty May, Joe Boylan and the player-friendly coaching staff forming in Dallas could yet bring the best out of him. For what relatively little they gave up to get him, it makes sense for Dallas to commit in the short term to see what Risacher can yet become. This is especially true if the forward-heavy team is trimmed down a bit if and when a veteran or two is moved. In a worst-case scenario, they will have a $17 million expiring contract to dangle as trade bait in 2027-28.
Whatever the case, we have just over three months (or less) until we find out. For now, Dallas continues to put together a young, long and rangy team of athletes around Cooper Flagg, with most of the summer yet to play out.
I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 19: Yaxel Lendeborg #1 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates after his team's victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2026 NBA Summer League championship game at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 19, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Warriors defeated the Grizzlies 94-90. 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. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It is not smart to overreact to what you see in NBA summer league; there are just too many examples of great players getting off to a bad start to their pro careers in Las Vegas.
Cooper Flagg and Victor Wembanyama didn’t have amazing summer league debuts. Jalen Brunson struggled mightily, Draymond Green was really bad, and Coby White couldn’t buy a bucket. Summer league is not that important. With that being said, it’s the end of July, and there isn’t much else to write about until LeBron James finally signs, so here are some summer league takeaways that verge into being overreactions based on what we saw in the sample in Las Vegas.
Peterson was something of a mystery box coming out of Kansas because he looked like a completely different player from high school to college. As a senior at Prolific Prep, Peterson had the look of a heliocentric guard who could pressure the rim and overwhelm opponents physically. The college version had to adjust after soft tissue strains and cramping zapped some of his explosiveness, and he promptly turned into an off-ball gunner who did most of his scoring from the perimeter.
Peterson said he’s healthy now, and after watching him at summer league, it feels like he’s better suited to run around screens and maximize his three-point rate than trying to be a do-everything guard right away. The Jazz already have a solid point guard in Keyonte George, and what they really need next to him is a high-level defensive playmaker who stresses the defense with his shooting gravity. I think that could be the best version of Peterson early in his career, partially because he can be really good in those areas, and partially because his rim attacks don’t look particularly overpowering at the moment.
I wish I sent this tweet.
Darryn Peterson’s path to stardom as a player comp is Sonics Ray Allen
Peterson’s three-point rate (percentage of field goal attempts from three) dropped from 46% at Kansas to 33% throughout summer league. Meanwhile, he had nearly as many turnovers (24) as assists (26). Get those threes up, DP, and the Jazz will be better off for it.
Free Noa Essengue from the Bulls
The Bulls’ new braintrust of lead executive Bryson Graham and head coach Tiago Splitter did not draft Noa Essengue with the No. 12 overall pick a year ago. Essengue basically had the worst rookie season ever, suffering a season-ending shoulder injury before he scored his first point. He’s still just 19 years old, and figures to be just starting to scratch the surface of his long-term upside. Essengue needs live reps more than anything else after being sidelined since Nov., but he immediately found himself in the doghouse in summer league with Splitter coaching the Bulls for the first two games in Las Vegas.
It sure seems like Graham and Splitter don’t care much about Essengue, because he’s not their guy. Fair enough I suppose, but Essengue has intriguing physical tools, a history of performing well against older competition, and a real path toward one day becoming a useful player — unlike the vast majority of the SummerBulls roster outside of Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain. Essengue’s numbers weren’t even that bad, 62.4% true shooting, a 20 percent defensive rebounding rate, an 8.1% block rate, and a 3.3% steal rate.
Okay, there were some ugly moments, from bad turnovers to missed free throws to falling over every 30 seconds because he can’t handle physicality. But Essengue is only 19 — he’s six months younger than Caleb Wilson — and he has some real potential pathways to value in switchability on defense, offensive rebounding, transition spacing, and maybe eventually floor spacing. I had Essengue at No. 10 on my draft board last year, and I think it’s completely ridiculous that a team with as little talent as the Bulls is already apparently writing him off. Essengue needs a franchise that will invest in his development, not yank around his minutes in completely meaningless summer league games. If the Bulls don’t care about Essengue, another franchise will.
Two Lakers summer league players are the key to their regular season
The Lakers have arguably the best offensive backcourt in the NBA with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and now they have a very good rim protector in Walker Kessler behind them. There’s only one problem: Los Angeles still needs athletic defenders on the wings, and they don’t really have any way to acquire them after spending every possible future asset on Kessler. Would you believe me if I said the answer might be hiding on their summer league team?
Chris Mañon and Adou Thiero could be everything the Lakers need. Both young wings played great during summer league, and have the exact skill sets that could push the big league club over the top. Mañon was a monster defensive playmaker out of Vanderbilt who slipped in the 2025 draft because of his offensive limitations. He showed a little growth as a shooter in the G League last year, and if anyone can make his offense playable, it’s Luka. Mañon thrives as a disruptive defender who can blow up screens, pick shaky ball handlers, and dart in for blocks and steals in a free safety role. The Lakers badly need a bulldog at the point of attack, and Mañon will be excellent there if they give him a chance. Thiero is just an athletic freak with a rare blend of speed and power. He crushes in transition, and has the tools to defend wing scorers.
If the Lakers are smart, they will have a developmental plan for both players in place to hopefully shape them into real contributors come playoff time.
7 second-rounders who will be solid rotation players
The second round of the NBA Draft was supposedly destroyed by NIL. While I agree with that narrative to some extent, there are still going to be players picked in the second round this year who go on to good careers, and I think summer league helped prove it. Here are seven second rounders from the 2026 draft who can carve out careers in the NBA:
Bruce Thornton
Meleek Thomas
Henri Veesaar
Trevon Brazile
Jack Kayil
Baba Miller
Nick Martinelli
Thornton and Thomas are my favorite of the group, and both looked tremendous in Vegas. Brazile landed in a great situation in Denver where he’s a perfect complement to Nikola Jokic, while Kayil surpassed expectations for me, and Martinelli continued to look like the Julius Randle of the North Shore. There’s always talent in the draft, and don’t let anyone tell you differently.
Khaman Maluach will look like a future All-Star by the end of the year
I was super high on Maluach entering the 2025 draft, and I still believe even after essentially getting redshirted by the Suns as a rookie. The big man was absolutely dominant in summer league by putting up 19.5 points, 12.7 rebounds, and two blocks per game with 40% shooting from three (on five attempts per game) and 70.4% true shooting.
I went over everything I love about Maluach on the Swish Theory podcast:
on Khaman Maluach:
"His Size is an A++ AND he can shoot!
Pure Play Finisher on Offense – he's gonna dunk the sh*t out of the ball and be a real weapon on pick-and-pops as a floor spacer.
Defensively, he's just the biggest guy in the world.
Yaxel Lendeborg will have a great career even if he’s an old rookie
The Warriors won the summer league championship behind the play of Yaxel Lendeborg. The rookie is just a couple months away from his 24th birthday, but his winding journey to the NBA is proof that players can develop on their own timelines and still reach the pinnacle of the sport.
I usually push back on the idea that older players are more “NBA ready” when they enter the draft. It’s true in Yaxel’s case. He’s going to be a valuable contributor to Golden State from day one.
Trey Gibson had the start today and pitched well despite taking the a loss. He allowed a run on a walk and a triple, but covered four innings and allowed just the one run. The game remained 1-0 until the seventh inning, when three runs came in against Hans Crouse before Crouse had retired a single hitter. On the other hand, Yaramil Hiraldo, Nick Raquet, Yaqui Rivera and Enoli Paredes all had scoreless outings.
Norfolk had just two hits on the day, a single apiece from Silas Ardoin and Enrique Bradfield Jr.
Down 3-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Baysox stormed back with four late runs, their second comeback win of the weekend
Brandon Butterworth got the scoring going for Chesapeake with a home run in the fourth. In the seventh, Willy Vasquez knocked in a two-run double. In the bottom of the eighth, Thomas Sosa hit a two-run homer, scoring himself and Aron Estrada.
Luis de León pitched well, with 4.2 one-run innings where he struck out five. He was followed by Zane Barnhart, who allowed two runs in under an inning. Micah Ashman threw 1.2 scoreless, Christian Heberholz allowed one run, and Jeisson Cabrera got the save.
High-A: Frederick Keys 17, Greenville Drive (BOS) 6
A day after scoring 12 runs on 20 hits on in Greenville, Frederick blasted six home runs in a 17-run, 25-hit donnybrook. This was a lot of hits. RJ Austin went 4-for-6. Ike Irish 4-for-7 with two home runs and six RBI. Creed Willems, in High-A rehabbing, finished 3-for-6 with a homer. Wehiwa Aloy went 4-for-5. I’ll put it this way: the top six Keys hitters each had two or more hits, and three each had four.
Starter J.T. Quinn gave up four runs in 2.2 innings on a three-run home run. Following Quinn, the bullpen pitched a solid 6.1 one-run innings. That comprised Todd Kniebbe, Riley Cooper, Cohen Achen, Trent Turzenski, Chandler Marsh, and Braeden Sloan.
Low-A: Salem RidgeYaks (BOS) 4, Delmarva Shorebirds 2
Starting pitcher Dalton Neuschwander got jumped on early, allowing three runs on a first-inning home run. He’d pitch into the fourth and allow one run after that.
The Shorebirds got two runs back in the second inning on a Junior Aybar RBI single and a double steal!
It was a three-hit day for Perez and a two-hit day for Mejía. DJ Layton hit a double. Jordan Sanchez, Andrés Nolaya, Elvin García, Miguel Rodríguez and Aybar each had a one-hit day.
The pitchers who followed Neuschwander kept it together: Adrian Heredia threw 2.1 scoreless innings. Brendan Parks threw 1.1 scoreless, and Zac Lampton each threw an inning-plus without letting in a run.
CORAL GABLES - MAY 09: Louisville outfielder Zion Rose (32) bats in the fifth inning as the Miami Hurricanes faced the Louisville Cardinals on May 9, 2026, at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, FL. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“It stinks for everybody to be out there in that situation,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You never want to be in that spot (late in the game), but that’s the spot we put ourselves in. And you know, with seven more games before an off-day, you’ve got to get a position player out there to keep people fresh to pitch tomorrow.”
There will be interest in relievers John Schreiber, Daniel Lynch IV and Alex Lange, too. But the most intriguing part of this Deadline will be what the Royals decide to do with their two veteran starters, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, the latter of whom is probably the Royals’ best trade chip this year. But trading them away is not so simple.
“Those [are] two guys we’re going to count on,” Picollo said. “We already have needs in our rotation. We’ll be open-minded to anything. But we have to be very, very pointed in what we want to get out of any one of those two. And also, they made a commitment to us. I think that’s important to the morale of the team. Where you have two guys that have done what they’ve done in their careers, and they want to be here.
“With that being said, teams want to talk about them — it’s never going to hurt to at least listen. I think those guys understand that.”
“You know, every day I hear somebody tell me about that,” Perez said of the record. “So it’s hard not to think about it. I don’t try to think about it when I’m hitting. I don’t like to put too much pressure on myself, you know.
“I try to see the ball and hit the ball. When it happens, I’m happy. Hopefully, I can do that quick.”
“He said he didn’t feel great playing catch, but then as he got on the mound, he felt better,” manager Matt Quatraro said Sunday morning. “The first couple of innings were pretty good. In the third inning, he felt more aggressive discomfort. They thought it was best to get him out of there.”
“I’m grateful to be here, with an organization that cares about their players, cares about their development, cares about the team,” Rose said. “A city that backs their team. I’m excited to get going.”
“I hate losing and I hate losing against people,” Rose said. “And I feel like, in this game, everything is a competition.
“It’s so great because it’s a team game, but in the box it’s one on one. So it’s me versus the pitcher. You know, I could care less who’s up there (pitching), and that’s the great part about it.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 12: Liam Doyle #12 of the St. Louis Cardinals on the National League Team pitches during the 2026 MLB Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today, I’m only going to cover the Memphis Redbirds and the starting pitching prospects at Springfield. On Thursday, the relievers at Springfield and the lower minors, but not the rookie leagues. I gave the update on the rookie leagues earlier this month. But there really aren’t that many interesting rookie league pitchers so it wouldn’t have added a ton to this post.
The problem Quinn Mathews is currently facing is that he has not managed to string many starts together where he seemed to have control. He walked four guys in his first start this season, and then over a period of three consecutive starts, the best he did all year was 5 walks. But you could only find one three-start period where he did that. His next highest was 6 walks over 3 games. Same thing. You were more likely to look at his last three starts and see 9 or 10 walks than 5 or 6.
Good news however: his most recent three starts involved just 3 total walks, for a BB% of 4.4%. I’m not sure what kind of sample the Cardinals are looking for, I kind of think they’d walk better control over a longer period than just three starts. But he might get called up next week. It is important to note that might actually have more to do with the no off-days in the schedule than them actually thinking he’s ready. But that’s his big thing right now: if only he walked less, he’d be in St. Louis already.
Speaking of inconsistency, Hence has not managed to find a rhythm this year at all. His ERA is updated, but his other stats will get worse because he threw 0.1 IP with a BB and HR allowed yesterday. Moved to the bullpen for what I would have assumed were innings concerns, there are now performance concerns. He seems to be facing an entirely different problem than he has in the past, when it was pretty much purely injury concerns. The good/bad news is that something has changed in his delivery or mechanics. And that’s good news because you change mechanics or delivery back to what it was before. The bad news is that if he never finds it again, he doesn’t have a future MLB career. He’s still just 23.
Tekoah Roby, RHP – 24 (VEB’s #11 prospect)
Acquired: Traded with Thomas Saggese and John King for Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton
Stats: N/A
Roby underwent Tommy John surgery in the middle of last season and is not likely to pitch this season.
I feel like Mathews has gotten plenty of headlines about how much he has struggled with control, but Mautz is really getting much attention and he’s been worse. He has a good ERA, somehow, but every other stat is not good. He isn’t striking out a lot of hitters and he’s walking a ton of them. The Cardinals are clearly avoiding calling up Mautz – they’ve had chances and they went with journeymen – and looking at these stats, I understand why.
So obviously rehab appearances are not about stats, but I would call these numbers concerning. My first instinct is that he’s still not healthy. He could just as easily be rusty. Certainly if his whole rehab goes like this, I would imagine he’s shut down again.
Hunter Dobbins, RHP – 26
Acquired: Traded with Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aitia for Willson Contreras
Last season, Dobbins threw just 78.2 IP all year. This year, he’s already at 84 innings. With over two months left to play, I think it’s pretty clear the Cardinals aren’t going to seriously restrict his innings, but I also think they’re trying to do minor stuff here and there to keep his innings lower than his full potential. Because he’s made 18 appearances across both the majors and minors, he’s one start behind all the MLB guys, and he’s thrown 24 less innings than McGreevy, 14 less innings than both May and Pallante, and 4 less innings than Kyle Leahy – who has also made 18 starts, but is making his 19th start tonight. He did throw 125 innings in 2024, so I assume the Cardinals hope he’ll reach that at least.
Pete Hansen, LHP – 25
Acquired: 3rd round pick, 97 overall in 2022 draft
I’ll give Pete this: he’s hanging in there. I haven’t really been a believer of his, because he’s always been okay while never being the young guy. He’s never been old for his level necessarily, just a guy posting okay stats at AA at 24-years-old is not going to get my attention. But he’s mostly maintaining his production at each stop. He struck out 21.1% of people in Springfield, so far it’s even gone up a bit. He’s been worse because of the walks, but as you can see with Mautz and Mathews, it’s apparently hard to not walk guys in Memphis and 8.5% is perfectly respectable. While his stats remain okay, this is probably the first time I can squint and see him with an MLB career.
Sem Robberse, RHP – 24(VEB’s #13 prospect in 2025)
Acquired: Traded with Adam Kloffenstein for Jordan Hicks
See, now this, this is the kind of performance I want to see in rehab. Who cares about the ERA in 9 IP? He has not walked a single batter and almost everything is being hit on the ground. Great sign. He only threw 14.2 IP last season, so I’m not sure how much they’re going to ramp him up cause obviously it’s going to be pretty easy to beat 14.2 IP with any kind of health.
The Cardinals traded two months of Phil Maton and one of the pieces they got back, who had made 7 appearances in High A at the time of the time, is in AAA less than a year later. Here’s some more fun news: Mason Molina was originally drafted by the Brewers, who traded him to the Rangers for Grant Anderson, a perfectly cromulent but whatever reliever. Molina will probably have to get groundballs at some point to be a starter though – not a lot, but he’d allow too many homers with anything lower than 30%.
Not really stats that make you think he belongs in the big leagues, actually I would describe those stats as good enough for exactly the role he has now – bullpen shuttle reliever.
Hancel Rincon, RHP – 24
Acquired: Internatonal amateur free agent signing of the Dominican Republic in 2019
That’s about as clear-cut of a multi-inning reliever as you’ll get. His three starts were not actually starts, at least not 5 IP starts. He has walked give guys in his two most recent appearances so I don’t think he’s close to getting called up.
Love ended up with not particularly impressive numbers in Springfield despite a fantastic start. The Cardinals promoted him anyway and I guess it shouldn’t be a shock that he has struggled. I was kind of hoping he was going to be an effective reliever, but given his age, it does appear to be a true longshot, despite him being on the door step to the big leagues.
I got to tell you, sharing the pitching stats are a real bummer. I’m pretty sure the offensive environment is a little bit crazy, so understand that a decent or even seemingly below average looking line is actually fine. But that is not an argument that these are good stats. These are an improvement over his performance last season in AAA, although it’s mostly just because he’s getting a lot of groundballs.
Well bad news: Winquest got rocked yesterday. I updated the ERA, not the other stats. And the other stats will get worse, mainly because he allowed a homer and didn’t strike anybody out. Good news though is that the K/BB ratio certainly suggests he’s very close to being MLB ready.
Murphy is a good example of how an injury can derail a career. Murphy had 11 good starts in AA – albeit a little over 3 innings per start – and then he essentially missed his the rest of that season and the next season (which was mostly spent on rehab appearances). So the Cardinals grabbed him up and ploppped him in the bullpen. And there might be something here with his GB rate being so high.
We probably should have expected some growing pains with Doyle. It was known he needed to work on his secondaries. And sometimes that leads to games like yesterday, when he walked 5 guys and struck out just 3 guys. Yesterday’s stats are not reflected in his FIP or xFIP, so those will be worse when you read this. But he is still missing quite a few bats, balls are maybe falling more often than they would in the majors, and I really don’t think the Cardinals care about Doyle’s specific stats.
Jurrangelo Cjintje, RHP – 23 (VEB’s #5 prospect)
Acquired: Traded with Tai Peete in 3-team trade for Brendan Donovan
Yes, I am aware Cjinjte is now in Memphis. He made his first start for Memphis yesterday, and wasn’t very good, allowing 6 ER in 3.2 IP and more walks than strikeouts. This is really not surprising because his stats at Springfield weren’t very good. So interesting move to promote him. I think the Cardinals are not looking at the same stats we are, or at least he’s doing something they are encouraged by that isn’t necessarily reflected in the stats themselves.
Brandon Clarke, LHP – 22 (VEB’s #9 prospect)
Acquired: Traded with Richard Fitts and Patrick Galle for Sonny Gray
You would have legitimately no clue that Clarke actually pitched pretty poorly on Saturday, because the attention was rightfully on the fact that he threw 103 mph. But he walked two and struck out 1 of the 7 batters he faced while giving up two runs. It also speaks to the fact that rehab appearances don’t really matter. When the Cardinals deem him ready for Springfield, that’s when I’m going to care that he’s walking more than he’s striking out.
As good as Hjerpe’s stats are so far…. he is not beating the reliever allegations with them. I’ve pitched it before, but certainly someone who is striking out 44% of batters could probably be an MLB reliever right now. I wouldn’t promote him right now, but I definitely would like to see him get innings in September. I don’t think this is a giving up on starting move – he didn’t throw an inning last season, so I don’t think the Cardinals are going to have him throw more than a few innings per start anyway. If the Cardinals are still in contention, try using him as a lefty weapon out of the bullpen. That’s just my hope.
Chen-Wei Lin, RHP – 24 (VEB’s #11 prospect in 2025)
Acquired: International amateur free agent signing out of Taiwan in 2023
While these are certainly not what I wuld call good stats, he is striking out 27% of batters while having a greater than 50% GB rate. There’s a starter toolkit here and considering injuries restricted him to 50.1 IP, it’s good to see he has been healthy.
I know Chaim Bloom has a reputation for taking things slow with pitchers, but there are kind of lot of pitchers in this system that were seemingly promoted aggressively and who don’t have particularly great stats at that aggressive placement. Davis made 8 total starts last year and missed a lot of bats and missed the strike zone a good amount. If they repeated Davis in High A, I’m sure they were confident he would have good stats, so they wanted to push him. I just kind of get the feeling that the Cardinals don’t want their starters to be too dominant because then they aren’t being challenged enough.
Blake Aitia, RHP – 23
Acquired: Traded with Yhoiker Fajardo and Hunter Dobbins for Willson Contreras
Davis is followed by another pitcher who honestly proves my point more. It does not feel like Aita gets promoted in an organization that promotes its pitchers too slow. It could be an entirely AAA to majors reputation that Bloom got here. It feels like pitchers are promoted aggressively honestly.
Thompson is currently in Springfield, hence why he isn’t in the Memphis section. Props to Randy Flores on picking this guy up in the 17th round, regardless of how far he ends up making it, Thompson looks more like a potential MLBer than the vast, vast, vast majority of 17th rounders ever do and that alone makes it a good pick.
And that’s where I’m going to stop. It felt kind of awkward, because I reached the end of Memphis and noticed that covering all of Springfield would actually make this a fairly long post, but I didn’t want to ignore Springfield completely, so today you get the starters, and on Thursday, you get the relievers plus the lower minors. Covering all the bullpen pitchers really adds up. Thankfully, I can pretty much ignore the bullpen guys in the lower minors. So I will get the pitching section finished on Thursday.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 23: A general view of the Giants equipment rack before the start of the game between the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants on May 23, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
It’s a full week of interleague play for the San Francisco Giants this week.
First up, the Giants take a quick trip east for a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals starting tonight. After that, they head back to Oracle Park to welcome the Los Angeles Angels to town for a weekend series.
As usual, it’s time to pick which series we’re most interested in this week. And I am met with a difficult decision, because the Royals and the Angels are (as of the time this is being written) two of the only teams in baseball with worse records than the Giants. They are also both former World Series adversaries. And I have much fonder memories of the 2014 World Series than I do the 2002 World Series. So I’m going to go ahead and pick the Royals.
Which series are you most interested in this week?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants play the first of three against the Royals tonight at 4:40 p.m. PT.
