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They’ve been trying to do it for years with players that have been posted from Japan. Failed pursuits of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki have resulted in the Phillies ramping up their attempts to bring someone from one of Japan, Korea or some other international baseball league to the team. This weekend, they were successful.

Chan-min Park represents one of the team’s biggest international signings since Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez. He’s got the goods to become successful should he reach that ceiling.

Park operates with a 91-93 mph fastball that has touched as high as 94. He can pound the zone with the offering and it has late ride, allowing him to blow it past more inexperienced batters. Working with a clean and repeatable delivery from a three-quarters slot, he pounds right-handed hitters in with some added sink to his heater.

His best secondaries are a pair of breaking balls in a curveball and slider. They’re presently just solid pitches, but could develop into plus in time, particularly the slide piece, which has already generated spin rates north of 2800 RPMs while sitting 78-82 mph. He has both a changeup and splitter in his arsenal, but has largely backpocketed the latter. Park likes to throw the cambio to both right and left-handed batters and it shows promise as a future putaway offering.

The team now has several high profile additions to their international group with Park and Francisco Renteria. It’s a good step in the right direction.

Meet the Mets

The Mets’ bats failed to get anything going in Miami for the second straight day, held to just three hits as the Mets fell to the Marlins 4-1. Despite pitching a season high seven innings, Freddy Peralta took the loss and Miami righty Max Meyer improved to 5-0 on the season with seven scoreless innings of work.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post

Righty Jonathan Pintaro was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse yesterday and Zach Thornton was sent back down.

Both Jared Young and A.J. Minter are nearing a return for the Mets.

Devin Gordon reflects on Mets fandom for the New York Times in what is likely to be another losing season.

Around the National League East

The Nationals shut out the Braves 2-0 in the other intra-division matchup yesterday. Jake Irvin struck out seven over five no-hit innings and Dylan Crews launched his first home run of the season for Washington. The Braves managed just one hit in the contest.

The Phillies blanked the Guardians 3-0 behind six shutout innings from Zack Wheeler.

Wheeler, who gave up just two hits in the game, has dropped his arm angle 15 degrees incrementally over the past five years. And the change has worked for him.

The Phillies signed Korean right-hander Chan-Min Park, thanks to extra international bonus pool money they acquired in trade that allowed them to make an aggressive offer that tempted Park to bypass a career in the KBO.

Around Major League Baseball

The Angels signed Taijuan Walker, who was recently released by the Phillies, to a minor league deal.

Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com went through eight early-season surprises that seem like they might be for real, like the Rays’ strong run of play and the powerful offenses of the Nationals and Pirates.

Benches cleared at Fenway in 4-2 Red Sox loss to the Twins after a home plate collision between Willson Contreras and former teammate Victor Caratini.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1973, the Mets won a marathon 19-inning contest against the Dodgers in Los Angeles that went well past 4:00am ET.

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There are 16 games on deck today and endless MLB player props to choose from. Luckily for you, I’ve narrowed them down to my three best bets.

Dylan Cease, Shohei Ohtani, and Jordan Walker highlight my MLB picks for Sunday, May 24.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Dylan Cease	Over 8.5 strikeouts	+106
Shohei Ohtani	Over 1.5 total bases	+101
Jordan Walker	Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI	-156

Dylan Cease Over 8.5 strikeouts (+106)

There hasn’t been a lot to love about the Toronto Blue Jays so far this season, but Dylan Cease is one of the only exceptions.

The right-hander is third in the majors with 84 strikeouts, racking up Over 8.5 strikeouts in each of his last three starts.

Cease ranks in the 97th percentile in Whiff % (36.5), thanks to his changeup (58.8 Whiff %) and slider (47.8 Whiff %).

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the fourth-most strikeouts per game (9.27) and are batting just .204 and .225 against the changeup and slider, respectively.

• Time: 12:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Sportsnet, NBCSN/Peacock

Shohei Ohtani Over 1.5 total bases (+101)

Shotime might officially be back, ladies and gentlemen.

Shohei Ohtani enters Sunday on a nine-game hit streak, with Over 1.5 total bases in eight of those contests. His home run numbers may not be there, but he’s still smashing the baseball, ranking in the 95th percentile in barrel % (17.2).

The Los Angeles Dodgers star will feast on a struggling Milwaukee Brewers starter in Brandon Sproat, who has a bloated 1.50 WHIP this season after allowing 38 hits in 40 2/3 innings.

This Brewers bullpen won’t be able to contain Ohtani either, sporting a mediocre 1.32 WHIP.

• Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SportsNet Los Angeles, Brewers.TV

Jordan Walker Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-156)

The St. Louis Cardinals have put up runs for fun against the Cincinnati Reds this weekend, scoring 14 times in two games.

Jordan Walker has been heavily involved in the action, recording two dingers, three runs, four hits, and seven RBI so far this series. He’s also hitOver 1.5 hits + runs + RBI in three straight games overall.

Reds starter Brady Singer has a massive 8.47 ERA and 1.82 WHIP in May, which sets up another big day for Walker and the Cardinals.

• Time: 1:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Cardinals.TV, Reds.TV

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Dylan Cease continues to give hitters trouble in the batter's box, and I’m expecting another strikeout-filled outing against this Pittsburgh Pirates lineup. 

Read on to see why with my Blue Jays vs. Pirates predictions and MLB picks this afternoon.

Pirates vs Blue Jays predictions

Pirates vs Blue Jays best bet: Dylan Cease Over 7.5 strikeouts (-160)

The Pittsburgh Pirates have struck out 23 times already in the first two games of the series. I’m expecting strikeout merchant Dylan Cease to continue mowing down batters in this matchup. 

He’s gone Over today’s posted total of 7.5 strikeouts with 9+ strikeouts in three straight outings. He's second in K/9 this season, averaging 8.1 strikeouts per start, while also ranking in the 97th percentile in whiff rate.

That should match well today against a swing-happy Pirates lineup, which owns the fifth-highest whiff rate in baseball. They have the fourth-highest team strikeout rate at 24%.

COVERS INTEL: Dylan Cease owns a 31.8% strikeout rate against this current Pirates lineup.

Pirates vs Blue Jays same-game parlay (SGP)

George Springer is heating up, riding a six-game hitting streak, while going 2-for-5 against Pirates starter Mitch Keller in his career. He’s also scored in three straight games and in four of his last six outings. I’ll take him to go Over 0.5 runs today.

Jesus Sanchez is quietly on a lengthy hitting streak of his own, recording a hit in six straight games and in 10 of his last 11 outings. He also ranks in the 88th percentile in xBA. I’ll add Over 0.5 hits for Sanchez as the final leg of my SGP.

Pirates vs Blue Jays SGP

• Dylan Cease Over 7.5 strikeouts
• George Springer Over 0.5 hits
• Jesus Sanchez Over 0.5 hits

Pirates vs Blue Jays home run pick: George Springer (+405)

This Toronto Blue Jays offense has picked up recently, but we’re still waiting on consistent power, so we’ll make this a half-unit wager. However, Pirates starter Mitch Keller has surrendered a home run in each of his last three starts. 

So how about another Springer dinger? The Jays outfielder is starting to find a groove at the plate with a hit in six straight games, homering three times in that stretch.

Pirates vs Blue Jays odds

• Moneyline: Pittsburgh +145 | Toronto -170
• Run line: Pittsburgh +1.5 (-155) | Toronto -1.5 (+130)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-110) | Under 7.5 (-110)

Pirates vs Blue Jays trend

The Blue Jays have covered the first five innings run line in eight of their last nine games for +6.9 units and a 68% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Pirates vs. Blue Jays.

How to watch Pirates vs Blue Jays and game info

Pirates vs Blue Jays latest injuries

Pirates vs Blue Jays weather

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Do you know the last game when the Atlanta Braves weren’t in first place by the end of the day? Do you know when Walt Weiss tackled Jorge Soler? If you know one then you know the other. Let’s go back to April 7th.

I don’t know that it saved the season. But for the first twelve games, the Braves were 7-5 and underperforming their xwOBA by .005. Since that point, they’re 29-12 and outrunning their xwOBA by .007. That works out to a wRC+ advantage of 9 before and after. They’re definitely managing to keep the HR/FB monster in its cage. They’re doing a tremendous job getting a song out of Martin Perez, Grant Holmes, and even Chadwick Tromp. But this dustup didn’t do Reynaldo Lopez any favors. He would blow up two weeks later in Washington, and hasn’t approached his 2024 form this season.

So did the Walt Weiss tackle save the season? I mean, no, but one thing that Walt Weiss has been doing is pursuing wins. He chases those down in the same manner that he chased down Jorge Soler in Anaheim. The Braves are up by 9.5 games in the NL East Division. Let’s hope that they run away from everyone.

The St. Louis Cardinals have passed every test thrown their way so far and are in the midst of another as they take on the NL Central in all but one series over the next two-plus weeks. How the rest of May ends up could tell us whether our expectations have shifted for what was supposed to be a rebuild year as the Cardinals could realistically be in first or last in the division by the first weekend of June. By that time, we will be more than 1/3 of the way through the season and I believe we can officially shift away from the overused small sample size arguments, if you have not already.

As we gain clarity on our true expectations for this season, I do not believe we are yet in the middle of the next great Cardinals team, although there are likely pieces here that will be involved with that next iteration of greatness. While we can figure JJ Wetherholt, Jordan Walker, and possibly Ivan Herrera and Masyn Winn will be key cogs for that era, Alec Burleson may just miss the cut simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite being one of the most consistent and dependable hitters on the roster, Burly’s age and position could have him out of St. Louis before he is able to see the fruits of his labor ripen up.

I originally had this article asking if Burleson is still underrated, but decided to make the change to under appreciated because of the things he does that the rest of the league may not understand by simply reading the stats. Burleson was a second round pick in the 2020 draft (a draft that only the Cardinals can be proud of), and made his major league debut just two years later. That is already impressive for a guy that maxed out as the Cardinals’ 10th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, but even more so is the fact that he has not played a game in the minors since his first promotion.

Each year, he has taken his offense to the next level, going from a .691 OPS in his first full big league season in 2023 to now sitting at an .827 OPS before the Reds series after coming off a utility Silver Slugger award last year. His numbers improve every year, raising his OPS+, walk rate, and production stats on a per rate basis since he did miss time last year with injury. What has surprisingly gone in the wrong direction, however, is his value as a defender. Since breaking into the league, the lefty slugger has spent time in left field, right field, and first base, with more time at the cold corner last season than his previous three seasons combined. With Paul Goldschmidt and Willson Contreras manning first base during Burly’s tenure, there simply were not enough innings to go around to Burleson until this year.

Alec Burleson’s underrated defense is tanking his overall value in an unfair way

After the still heartbreaking (to me) trade of Contreras, Burly has unofficially retired his outfield glove for the big pancake glove at first and, to the eye test, has been a solid contributor with the leather. When the eye test meets analytical measures, however, Burleson has technically been one of the worst defenders at first in all of baseball. Over the past two seasons, Burleson has spent 89 games at first base and according to FanGraphs, that minimal time there has totaled a -7 defensive value. This year, among the 19 first basemen who have taken at least 150 plate appearances while playing the position, Burleson is ranked 16th in defense, checking in with a -4 defensive value, as well as a -1 Outs Above Average and 1 Defensive Run Saved. Having watched the vast majority of the Cardinals’ 49 games this year, I came to the conclusion that there is simply no advanced metric that can fully grasp defensive value at first base.

When taking in Burleson’s offense and defense, FanGraphs pegged the slugger as a 1.2 fWAR player which ranks him as 9th-best in the league among primary first baseman. Looking further, though, Burly ranks 25th by measure of defensive value, falling below 30-grade fielder Munetaka Murakami, utility man Spencer Steer, and the rumbling Jake Burger. The other outlets are also down on Burleson’s glove with Baseball Savant giving him a 0 in Fielding Run Value (44th percentile) and -1 Outs Above Average (27th percentile), which again tells me that my eyes are either really messed up or the more likely fact that first base defense is tough to value.

Taking the metrics out of it, Burly has been asked to be the consistent piece of a Cardinals organization that has been going through a rollercoaster stretch for the entirety of his big league career. To his credit, he has taken every challenge in stride and challenging himself to become a more complete baseball player. On a team without any veteran leadership, Burleson has been a voice and example for the youngsters, while also being a solid foundation for Marmol to rally his team around. The issue, though, is that as the only veteran (until Nootbaar comes back), Burleson might miss the timeline for the Cardinals return to relevance if this year goes south.

Because of his early rise to the major leagues, Burleson will approach four years of service time and will be arbitration eligible for this offseason. This will put him as a free agent following the 2028 campaign, putting him firmly in the conversation of extension or trade piece in the next couple of years. Currently, the first base depth is thin behind Burleson, but that is typically a position that can be acquired relatively easily through trade or with cash. If Bloom feels that Burly will still be hitting at his current level or better in his age-30 and later seasons, an extension should be on the table despite his struggles against lefties. With Burly continuing to show his ability to adapt and improve, putting a ceiling on his potential might be premature.

Behind Burleson is Blaze Jordan, who I personally love as a prospect but wonder what the Cardinals feel about his future. Jordan has also played more third base this year so most of the first base starts have gone to 30-year-old Bligh Madris. Among prospects, Leonardo Bernal has played first this year while splitting time behind the plate with Jimmy Crooks and that could be a way to get the switch-hitter promoted quicker as the catching situation continues to be cloudy. Outside of those options, Ivan Herrera has been a common talking point from fans who say he should just simply move to first base, a position he has spent a grand total of eight games while playing in the Caribbean Series winter league in 2023 and I would rather not have a player learn a new position during the season.

Alec Burleson is an established major league hitter who continues to get better every season. He is still just 27-years-old but has been around the big leagues so long that it feels like he is even older. That could also just be because of the beard. Because of the extremely young team surrounding him and an unclear timeline in the organization’s expected return to relevance, Burly could find himself in an awkward in-between phase like teammate Lars Nootbaar may be in when he returns from the injured list in the next couple of weeks.

Columbus Clippers 7, Louisville Bats 3 F/7 Game 1
Columbus Clippers 0, Louisville Bats 5 F/7 Game 2

Clippers move to 26-24

The Columbus Clippers split their doubleheader with Louisville on Saturday. In game one, Ralphy Velaquez put on a show, going 2-for-4 with a double as he is settling in nicely at Triple-A and showing no signs of slowing down, just missing his first Triple-A home run by about a foot.

George Valera went 1-for-2 with two walks while Dom Nunez went 1-for-1 with a double and two walks and both Milan Tolentino and Kahlil Watson homered, with Tolentino’s being a grand slam.

Starting pitcher Ryan Webb had a strong showing, allowing two runs on five hits in 5.2 innings. He danced around five walks and had two strikeouts. Franco Aleman pitched a perfect seventh inning with two strikeouts.

In game two, no one reached base safely more than once, with Stuart Fairchild having the lone extra base hit — a double.

Starting pitcher Pedro Avila was tagged for four runs on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 4.0 innings. Andrew Walters struggled in relief, allowing one run on three hits in just 0.1 innings. Jack Leftwich pitched 2.2 scoreless frames out of the bullpen.

Akron RubberDucks 7, Harrisburg Senators 3

RubberDucks improve to 25-18

Jaison Chourio had the lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a walk. Alex Mooney tripled and Juan Benjamin, Nick Mitchell and Jake Fox all walked twice.

Starting pitcher Josh Hartle had his best performance of the season, allowing one run on three hits with eight strikeouts and a walk in 5.1 innings.

Jack Carey allowed one run despite not allowing a hit in 2.1 innings due to four walks. Reid Johnson earned the save by pitching the final 1.1 innings of the game.

Lake County Captains 9, Lansing Lugnuts 3

Captains improve to 22-21

Tommy Hawke had his best game of the season, going 2-for-2 with a triple, two walks and two stolen bases, setting the table perfectly for his teammates from the leadoff position as he scored three runs as well.

Jace LaViolette was one of the beneficiaries, blasting a three-run home run, his seventh of the season and he absolutely destroyed it.

Esteban Gonzalez also homered and Logun Clark walked twice, was hit by a pitch and scored three runs.

Starting pitcher Melkis Hernandez allowed three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks in just 3.0 innings.

Jogly Garcia was solid in the piggyback role, tossing 3.2 scoreless frames with four strikeouts and two walks and the bullpen closed out the game with 2.1 more scoreless innings to preserve the victory.

Hill City Howlers 5, Salem RidgeYaks 4

Howlers improve to 23-21

Luis De La Cruz led the way on offense, going 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a stolen base. Johan Rodriguez also was rock solid, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk while Cannon Peebles went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Starting pitcher Jacob Zibin had the best game of his young, delayed career, throwing 5.0 scoreless one-hit innings with eight strikeouts and two walks.

He’s worth keeping an eye on if he can continue this trend.

ACL Guardians 3, ACL Rangers 11

ACL Guardians fall to 10-7

Outfield prospect Steven Cruz had a perfect day at the plate, going 1-for-1 with three walks and two stolen bases.

Starting pitcher Erigaldi Perez allowed five runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings with five strikeouts and a walk. A rehabbing Matt Jachec pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout.