PITTSBURGH — The almost maniacal preparation Paul Skenes pours into every start already is the stuff of legend, just two years into his career.
Still, even the Pittsburgh Pirates ace knows no matter how his pregame routine goes, he’s never really sure what kind of stuff he’s going to have on a given day until he steps onto the mound and the leadoff hitter steps into the box.
Many times, such as in Milwaukee, it nearly is perfect.
Then there are afternoons like against St. Louis, when the command that seems to come so easily looks far more ordinary than extraordinary.
Skenes’ third pitch of the game landed in the right-field seats at PNC Park courtesy of Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt. Three batters later, Jordan Walker turned on a sweeper that didn’t sweep and sent it into the first row of bleachers in left to give the Cardinals the early momentum on their way to a 10-5 victory and a four-game sweep.
The loss dropped Skenes (4-2) to 0-5 against the Cardinals, though that number is a little misleading. His career ERA versus St. Louis sits at 2.95, even after allowing five runs, four earned, in his first rocky performance since a bumpy opening day in New York against the Mets.
That number is telling of the almost impossibly high standard Skenes has set for himself during his rapid rise from first overall draft pick to arguably the best pitcher in the game.
“Nobody expects more out of Paul Skenes than Paul does out of himself,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “I think when he has a game like today or the opener, we have to find a way to pick him, because he picks us up all the time.”
Yet given a chance to put a halt to Pittsburgh’s first rough patch this season, Skenes didn’t quite have it. He fell behind Wetherholt 2-0 before the St. Louis second baseman turned on a 95 mph fastball — a tick below the usual 98-99 range Skenes sits at — and laced it into the seats above the Roberto Clemente Wall in right.
Ivan Herrera followed with an infield single. Two batters later, Walker pounced on an 83 mph sweeper that caught the inside part of the plate. The ball sailed just over the glove of Pittsburgh left fielder Jake Mangum, sending the Cardinals on their way to their first four-game sweep at PNC Park since 2019.
Asked why St. Louis might have his number — relatively speaking — the 23-year-old Skenes responded with his typical mix of sarcasm and blunt truth.
“They score more runs than us,” he said.
Skenes settled in — his nine strikeouts were a season high — but when the Cardinals were able to make contact, they made things happen. They added a run in the third after an infield single by Alec Burleson and a throwing error by rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin led to an RBI single by Nolan Gorman. In the fifth, Burleson flipped his bat at a changeup well off the plate and dumped it into left field to drive in Wetherholt.
“I think that sometimes teams go up there, try to work his pitch count, try to get that up,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t seem to be the case. They’re going up there swinging and trying to get their swing off. ... They put some good swings on the ball today.”
The Pirates fell to 16-16, hardly the horrific start of a year ago that cost former manager Derek Shelton his job, but it also has them off the pace a bit in the hyper-competitive NL Central with first-place Cincinnati coming in for the weekend.
“I mean, every team is going to have skids,” Skenes said. “Just got to get back to who we are and just play our game. Not try to do too much. Just think we’re trying to do too much a little bit, especially today. Just got to be us.”
Pittsburgh second baseman Brandon Lowe said the quiet part out loud about how spoiled the Pirates have become when Skenes’ familiar No. 30 is standing on the mound.
“It’s pretty difficult when you sit there and you’re saying, ‘Oh, he struggled’ and he gave up three (runs),” Lowe said.
Lowe, one of a handful of veterans acquired in the offseason to surround the Pirates’ young core that includes Skenes and the 20-year-old Griffin, is not concerned about the last week snowballing into something that would put a damper on the positive vibes created during a season that began with plenty of promise.
“When you’re in the training room, you’re in the tubs and stuff like that, showers, you just kind of have conversations and talking with these guys for a long time,” said Lowe, who hit his eighth home run of the season in the seventh. “They have a pretty good head on their shoulders and the way they look at things. ... So it’s just one of those things, you kind of flush the bad ones and focus on the next one.”
Welcome to the Friday night pressure cooker, with three tasty Game 6s on tap, big-name reputations on the line, and a bonanza of NBA player props to dissect.
The Cavaliers will try to close out Collin Murray-Boyles and the frisky Toronto Raptors, while Desmond Bane and the Magic look to send the Pistons packing.
Then there’s LeBron James and the L.A. Lakers feeling the heat as a 3-0 series lead slips away.
Here are my favorite NBA picks for the May 1 action.
The Magic have the Pistons on the ropes, but they’ll need the best of Desmond Bane to land the knockout punch tonight, especially with Franz Wagner ruled out.
Bane is only shooting 38% from the field overall in this series, but he’s making his 3-pointers at a 43% clip.
Given his up-and-down points tallies, I prefer the Over on his triples here. He’s cashed this prop in three straight outings while making 16 of his 29 attempts from downtown.
After Paolo Banchero’s 45-point eruption in Game 5, we could see Detroit make some defensive adjustments to pack the paint, and any double teams would open up a little extra space for Bane from deep.
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Prime Video
Prop #2: Collin Murray-Boyles Over 6.5 rebounds
-112 at bet365
Collin Murray-Boyles has looked right at home from the moment he stepped into the playoff cauldron, and he’s a key man here as the Raptors try to force a Game 7.
CMB has been a beast in the paint, with 7+ rebounds in three of the last four contests despite battling Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, and he’s blown past this O/U number in both outings at Scotiabank Arena.
Foul trouble limited him to 26 minutes in Game 5, but he could be looking at his biggest workload of the series tonight, given his ability to switch onto the Cleveland guards and Jakob Poeltl’s struggles defending the pick and roll.
Murray-Boyles grabbed five offensive boards in Sunday’s win, and there should be rebounds up for grabs after the Cavs shot a combined 40% from the field in their two losses in Toronto.
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Prime Video
Prop #3: LeBron James Over 22.5 points
-112 at bet365
Look for LeBron James to come out in attack mode in Game 6, with growing fears that the Lakers could become the first team to blow a 3-0 lead. He won’t want that on his resume in the same week that he’s brought up the G.O.A.T. conversation again.
Even with Austin Reaves returning, L.A. needs James to be a high-volume shooter, and I like this Over on the heels of 25+ points in three of his past four games. LeBron’s slump from beyond the arc is a concern, but there are still positives for the Lakers if it nudges him into the post more often.
He’s shooting 51% on 2-pointers in this series, and that’s the recipe for JJ Redick’s men to escape with a victory here.
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Who will win Reds vs Pirates today: Reds moneyline (+116)
The Cincinnati Reds will send Brady Singer to the hill tonight, and he’s held the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup to a .234 average across 77 at-bats. Singer has also allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last three starts. In his last road outing, the righty allowed three earned to the Minnesota Twins across six innings of work.
The Bucs are hitting just .244 against right-handers, and they’ve dropped five games in a row. Pittsburgh was just swept at home by the St. Louis Cardinals. Mitch Keller has given up seven earned runs across his last two outings at PNC Park.
While he’s held the Reds to a .220 average in 118 at-bats, Cincy is playing good baseball right now, and their 10-3 road record is very impressive. The Pirates are just 8-9 at home.
COVERS INTEL: Mitch Keller has struggled in night games, posting an 8.00 ERA across two starts.
Reds vs Pirates Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 runs (+100)
Both starters have pitched quite well lately, giving their respective teams a chance to win. However, neither has been completely lights out, and both bullpens have been shaky over the last week, giving up numerous runs in the middle and late innings.
Also, the Over has comfortably hit in back-to-back meetings, with both games finishing 8-3. The Bucs were atrocious on the hill against the Cardinals, allowing 10 or more runs in two of the three contests – at home.
The Reds are a very good team on the road, and whether it’s against Keller, the Pittsburgh bullpen, or both, they will add to the Pirates’ misery with a solid offensive performance.
Quinn Allen's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets:9-9, -4.45 units
Over/Under bets:10-8, 0.48 units
Reds vs Pirates odds
Moneyline: Cincinnati +114 | Pittsburgh -126
Run line: Cincinnati +1.5 (+183) | Pittsburgh -1.5 (+158)
Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+101) | Under 8.5 (-116)
Reds vs Pirates trend
The Cincinnati Reds have hit the Moneyline in 10 of their last 13 away games (+8.65 Units / 66% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Reds vs. Pirates.
How to watch Reds vs Pirates and game info
Location
PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Date
Friday, May 1, 2026
First pitch
6:45 p.m. ET
TV
Apple TV
Reds starting pitcher
Brady Singer (2-1, 4.97 ERA)
Pirates starting pitcher
Mitch Keller (2-1, 3.18 ERA)
Reds vs Pirates latest injuries
Reds vs Pirates weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
LeBron James and his loveable band of misfits built a shocking 3-0 series lead over the Houston Rockets, much like the script from some 90’s Disney movie.
The past two games, however, have been more like a horror flick for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Houston has rallied to force a Game 6 showdown at home, and even with Austin Reaves returning for L.A., the Rockets are favorites to send this series to seven games.
I dive into the player markets for my best Lakers vs. Rockets props and NBA picks for Friday, May 1.
Best Lakers vs Rockets props for Game 6
Player
Pick
Luke Kennard
Over 1.5 threes
+140
Alperen Sengun
Over 6.5 assists
+110
Tari Eason
Under 7.5 rebounds
-125
Game 6 Prop #1: Luke Kennard Over 1.5 threes
+140 at bet365
Luke Kennard made the biggest splash among the Los Angeles Lakers’ role players early in this series. With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out, Kennard stepped into the starting lineup and knocked down eight of his first 11 attempts from deep.
The past three games haven’t been as kind to Kennard, who is a collective 1-for-11 from beyond the arc since Game 3.
After such a hot start to the playoffs, the Lakers haven’t shot the ball well as a team, but I expect this up-and-down success to level out in Game 6.
Kennard still played 30+ minutes with Reaves back in the rotation in Game 5, and it’s not like the Houston Rockets are clamping down on the perimeter. Over the past three games, 10 of Kennard's 11 3PAs have been graded as “open” to “wide open”, with the closest defender at least four feet away.
Projections for Game 6 range from 1.6 to 2.1 makes from beyond the arc from Kennard, with a healthy plus-money return on the Over.
Game 6 Prop #2: Alperen Sengun Over 6.5 assists
+110 at bet365
Alperen Sengun dished out eight assists in the Rockets’ win on Wednesday, and the Turkish center has been their most active passer in the series. Sengun has registered 61 potential assists through five games, with Houston converting those setups into 27 actual dimes.
His teammates made good on eight of 16 potential assists in Game 5, which is impressive considering how poorly the Rockets shot the ball in that slog of a win.
The return home tonight will give Houston a bump in field goal success (48.1% at home vs. 46.9% on the road), which means more of those potential plays will translate into buckets. Sengun’s projections all sit north of 6.5 dimes, with a ceiling of seven assists in Game 6.
You can find expensive Over 5.5 or plus-money Over 6.5 totals across the market. Shop around for what you’re comfortable with.
Game 6 Prop #3: Tari Eason Under 7.5 rebounds
-125 at bet365
Tari Eason has been excellent defensively during the Rockets’ turnaround. He’s drawn the daunting assignment of guarding LeBron while also cleaning the glass, averaging seven rebounds in the series.
Eason hit the boards hard in the opening two games, pulling down 18 total rebounds on 23 rebounding chances — a sharp surge from his season average. Over the past three games, he’s collected 17 total rebounds on 28 chances, including five boards on just nine rebounding chances in Game 5.
With Eason primarily guarding James, his floor positioning shifts with Reaves back in the L.A. rotation. LeBron takes over as the primary ball handler, playing more on the perimeter while Reaves looks to attack the Houston interior.
As a result, Eason is pulled out to the perimeter, which helps explain why his rebounding opportunities dipped with Reaves back in Game 5 — and why his projections fall short of tonight’s rebounding total. The 6-foot-6 forward is forecasted for around seven boards, with most models sitting south of 7.0.
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HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 01: Carlos Correa #1 of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting a home run in the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Daikin Park on April 01, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The last time we took a broad look at the “upside down” standings was two weeks ago, when the MLB season was at the 1/8th mark. This weekend marks the 1/5th mark, 20 percent of the way through the season. Out of all 30 teams, here are the bottom six:
It’s a good reminder that, as much as it doesn’t seem that way based on recent events, Boston isn’t the only city whose baseball team has greatly disappointed thus far. And possibly the most appalling tidbit in that screenshot is that the Red Sox are just 3.5 games out of the playoffs as we enter the month of May.
Remember the first week of the season when the Astros handily swept the Red Sox in Houston, and it looked like Boston wasn’t even in the same league as the team they were playing? They then went on to lose nine of their next ten, including being swept by the (not terrible) Rockies. The Astros have a worse record than the Red Sox this season.
We see the Astros again this weekend, and they are 4-12 on the road on the season. Their injured list includes pitchers Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai, Cristian Javier, and Josh Hader. It includes shortstop Jeremy Pena and outfielders Joey Loperfido and Jake Meyers.
Houston’s pitching is the worst in all of baseball this season, with a team ERA of 6.08, almost a full run worse than the next team (Washington – 5.11). The bullpen ERA of 6.63 is particularly alarming. The Sox will face Mike Burrows (6.25 ERA), Spencer Arrighetti (2.00), and a new addition to the rotation in Kai-Wei Teng (2.75) in this series. As a team, Houston is walking batters at an MLB worst 13.7%. Take a strike this weekend, will ya?
Which of these teams, the Astros or the Red Sox, has been the bigger disappointment thus far? What about throughout the entire league? (The answer is probably the Mets.) Discuss in the comments and enjoy the weekend!
TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 21, 2026: Eric Hartman #64 of the Atlanta Braves hits a single during the second inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 21, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
We are closing in on the end of the first full month of the season in the minor leagues, meaning some of the Atlanta Braves prospects have seen their stock change a bit since the end of spring training. This is a good chance to take a look at who has seen a change in their stock in April. You will notice that Didier Fuentes is not on this list, which is because I don’t think he has done anything to change his stock significantly either way since his outstanding spring training.
I did not include undrafted prep infielder Yamvier Carrero, due to playing just eight games so far in Augusta, but he is going to be a player to watch going into May. Dalton McIntyre is also a guy to note, after he struggled last year as well as in five games with Rome this year, but he has done very well in his first 10 games with Augusta and could be a guy to follow in May.
Stock Up
Ethan Bagwell, SP – Ethan Bagwell might be in Augusta for the third straight year, but coming into his second full professional season he had only made 11 starts there combined – 10 coming last year. Bagwell came into the year needing more innings after posting a 2.88 ERA, 0.98 WHP, and a 5.4 K/9 over exactly 50 innings here last year. So far so good, as he has already gone nearly half of last season’s innings total (22 IP) with a 3.27 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. Just as importantly he has been missing bats at a much higher rate, seeing last year’s 5.4 K/9 turn into a much nicer looking 8.6 this season – this is the second consecutive year where this has happened in Augusta, as Rayven Antonio made a similar jump last year with this coaching staff. Bagwell, who will only be age-20 all season, is looking like a more complete pitcher this year and a candidate to get bumped up to Rome at some point in the fairly near future.
Logan Braunschweig, OF – A ninth round senior sign out of UAB last year, Braunschweig has been consistently productive for Rome to open this year. He is hitting .300/.432/.417 with a homer and four doubles in 75 plate appearances, with 14 walks to 16 strikeouts. He’s an older player (already age-23) without a lot of power, but he makes great contact and has been regularly hitting the ball hard. He will need to keep proving himself as he moves up the ladder, but he could be playing himself into being a candidate for a future fourth outfielder type of prospect.
Conor Essenburg, OF – Although he has only played in eight games due to an injury that presently has him out, the Braves overslot fifth round pick from last year has looked great in the action he has seen. Essenburg has hit .207/.395/.414 with a double, triple, and homer in 38 plate appearances, to go with nine walks and 17 strikeouts. Beyond just the results, he had been taking good at bats and hitting the ball hard. That’s all you can ask for considering he is a kid out of high school making his professional debut, let alone that this is his first time focusing on just hitting after being a two-way star in high school. While the lack of games played will temper some of the excitement, it is still enough for a slight up arrow after the first month of play.
John Gil, SS – Gil finished last year with Augusta and a short stint in Columbus with a bit of a power spike, but it was a small sample size. We know he looked good there again this spring, and starred in the Spring Breakout Game, but he has continued his success in April. To date he is slashing .291/.388/.468 with three homers and a total of eight extra base hits. Gil is doing his part to prove the power gains that we saw over a short window last year are here to stay, and combined with his speed and on base ability, he is positioning himself to move up our next list of Braves prospects.
Luis Guanipa, OF – While Guanipa is starting out in Augusta for the third consecutive season, that’s mostly because injuries have ruined his last two years. He has been red hot to open the year, slashing .314/.351/.523 with four doubles, a triple, and four homers to go with a perfect 16 for 16 in stolen bases and five walks to 10 strikeouts in 97 plate appearances. Most importantly is the four homers in 21 games, which come after hitting just three homers in 87 combined games over the last two seasons – and matching his total in 46 games played in the DSL back in 2023. If the power spike can continue going forward, Guanipa could find himself moving significantly up the Top 30 list at midseason, as the lack of power in the last two seasons was as much of an issue with him dropping as his lack of health and production.
Eric Hartman, OF – A 20th round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, Hartman spent pretty much all of last year in full season ball – though did miss a little time injured, and was able to slash .248/.344/.374 with five homers and 26 extra base hits in 83 games. He got promoted to High-A to open this year, and has been on a month long tear, slashing .299/.378/.644 with eight homers and 13 extra base hits through 22 games played. Hartman not only has seen a spike in his power, but with a full year of pro coaching under his belt just looks more comfortable at the plate, and the results are showing that. Hartman, who is still just age-19 until mid-June, might end up forcing his way to Double-A before his 20th birthday if he can keep hitting like this.
Jim Jarvis, INF – Following a strong showing in spring training, Jim Jarvis has been a machine for the Gwinnett offense, slashing .324/.444/.477 with five doubles and four homers through 29 games. Add in nearly as many walks (22) as strikeouts (24) and the fact that he’s 14 out of 16 in stolen base attempts, and he’s just been filling up boxscores. This was a guy with a .652 OPS in Double-A with the Tigers before coming over for Rafael Montero at the deadline last year as a bit of an afterthought. Fast forward to not even a year later, and he’s now going to get a shot to earn a shot at the big leagues any time a spot opens considering his production and versatility.
David McCabe, 1B – McCabe seemed to be on the right track after the 2023 season, before Tommy John surgery essentially robbed him of his 2024 season. That meant he needed a bit of a bounce back last year, and he got it in Columbus, slashing .286/.379/.434 with 10 homers in 105 games – though that comes with a bit of an asterisk, as the power still wasn’t what you would like for a first base/DH. Fast forward to this season, and while he is back in Columbus, the power has started to emerge. He is slashing .273/.385/.610 with eight homers through his first 20 games played. It is important to remember that since he is already 26-years-old, a promotion back to Triple-A could be in the cards fairly soon for him. If McCabe can continue to bring the power to go with his quality on base ability, he could still end up as a potential future Braves roster option.
Nick Montgomery, C – An overslot fifth round pick out of high school in 2024, Montgomery was an exciting power hitting catcher that many had high hopes for last year. Unfortunately last year was abysmal, as he spent the entire year in Augusta and slashed .170/.272/.252 with five homers and 42 walks to 119 strikeouts in 356 plate appearances. He has rebounded in a big way so far, slashing .268/.415/.537 with three homers and 11 walks to 13 strikeouts in his first 53 plate appearances. With how poorly last year went, it would have been easy for Montgomery to lose all of his confidence – but he put in the work and seems to be turning things around. He dropped out of the Preseason Top 30 Braves prospects, but if he keeps this up he will comfortably find his name on the midseason list.
Rolddy Munoz, RP – While it might feel like Munoz or his brother Roddery have been in the Braves system forever, he is still just 26-years-old and in the midst of a breakout in Gwinnett. Rolddy has appeared in nine games, going 11.1 innings, and pitching to a 0.00 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, and 10.3 K/9. His dominance has also helped to limit base hits, as he has allowed only four all season. Munoz did pitch two innings in a game for the Braves this year as well, though those results were a bit more mixed. Munoz might be establishing himself as one of the first options should the Braves need to add a reliever.
JR Ritchie, SP – The now 22-year-old has finally been promoted to the big leagues and held his own in a pair of starts there. He was dominant in five starts with Gwinnett, posting a 0.99 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 9.2 K/9 with just a 4.9 H/9 across 27.1 innings there. In his starts against the Nats and Tigers he has pitched to a 2.92 ERA and 1.30 WHIP with 10 hits, six walks, and 11 strikeouts over 12.1 innings of work. Though he has been a bit prone to the home run, allowing two in his big league debut, and one more in his next outing, Ritchie is already proving himself as a competent big league pitcher as a rookie. The only real question for him is how he will be able to handle left handed hitters, who are slashing .294/.385/.588 with all three homers, while he has held righties to a slash of .000/.083/.000 – though only had 12 plate appearances against them.
Tate Southisene, INF – Last year’s first rounder has been excellent to open his first full professional season. He is presently hitting .271/.442/.494 with three doubles, two triples, four homers, 19 steals, and 20 walks to 27 strikeouts in 113 plate appearances. Southisene is doing everything, and has made great strides from the .219/.242/.297 slash line he put up in 15 games here last year. He is performing like a guy who could earn his way up to Rome at some point this year.
Dixon Williams, OF/INF – When I made this list initially, I wasn’t going to include Williams – just due to the fact that injury has limited him to only nine games so far. However with three hits, including a homer, in the final two days of the month, plus a recent game in center field, Williams earned a spot. He’s slashing .250/.368/.531 with three homers, and with the power and versatility on display, he is making himself someone to watch in this Braves system.
Stock Down:
Nacho Alvarez, INF – Coming into the year Alvarez had a pretty consistent track record. He may have struggled to hit in the big leagues, but he had hit at every stop in his minor league career – until this past month. To date he is hitting just .224/.299/.294, and his only extra base hits are six doubles. This is a guy who has never had an OBP lower than .381 at any stop in his minor league career, who is almost 100 full points below the lowest mark of his career to go with the fact he hasn’t been hitting for power. It might be reaching the point where if the Braves needed to bring someone up, Jim Jarvis may get the call over Nacho.
Landon Beidelschies, SP – The Braves sixth round pick out of Arkansas last year, Beidelschies has had a tougher year adjusting to Low-A competition than you’d expect out of a guy coming from the SEC. He has pitched to a 10.22 ERA, 2.43 WHIP, and 12.4 K/9 in 12.1 innings of work. Add to that the fact his stuff hasn’t been looking like what the Braves were hoping for when they invested in him during last year’s draft, and there is definitely cause for concern. There is still time, considering he is still just 22 and in his first year of professional baseball, but it’s a stock down for the first month.
Lucas Braun, SP – Lucas Braun has made a total of five starts, with four coming in Gwinnett and one with Columbus, totaling 24.2 innings. His 4.38 ERA and 1.42 WHIP are a bit inflated by one tough start with Columbus, but they aren’t awful numbers either way. The reason he is finding himself here is the fact he simply isn’t missing enough bats this season, particularly against Triple-A hitters. His K/9 is 6.2, but drops to just 5.9 in his four Gwinnett starts. Although this is a small sample size, it is in line with the 5.2 rate he posted in 19 innings across three starts for the Stripers last year, giving him a combined 5.5 K/9 in 39 Triple-A innings. For a pitcher who is going to need to survive on his pitchability more than his raw stuff, his strikeouts were never going to be huge at the big league level – but that is still a massive drop off from his Double-A 9.4 rate.
Hayden Harris, RP – Last year was a great year for Harris, who posted a 0.52 ERA and 0.75 WHIP with 13.7 K/9 between Double-A and Triple-A. That was enough to get him to the big leagues to make his debut late last season, though it was a short run in Atlanta. He followed that up with five solid outings in spring training this year, though was sent down surprisingly early before the cut down to the Opening Day roster. Things haven’t gone as well for him so far this year, as he is pitching to a 6.75 ERA, 2.08 WHIP, and 13.5 K/9 through his first 12 innings. Relievers are notoriously inconsistent from year to year, but for a guy who is already age-27, Harris needs to get the ship righted quickly considering he is on the 40-man roster.
Cade Kuehler, SP – A second round pick in 2023, Kuehler is coming off of missing last year injured. The results have not been pretty, as he has a 7.45 ERA, 2.02 WHIP, and 7.0 K/9 in 19.1 innings – and that’s after five and a third scoreless innings on the final day of the month. Making things even tougher for him is the fact that his stuff hasn’t been the same stuff we saw out of him in 2024 with Augusta – and that stuff was already below the stuff he had shown in college. It’s too soon to write off a guy in his first year back from surgery, but Kuehler is now firmly outside of the Braves Top 30 prospects based on the results and stuff.
Jhancarlos Lara, RP – This spring had to be disappointing for Lara, who many were projecting to help the Braves at some point this year. That would be because after spending the last few months in Gwinnett last season, he was sent back to Double-A to open his season. The disappointment has continued there, as he is currently pitching to a 13.50 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, and 13.5 K/9 through 6.2 innings. Command really hasn’t been his friend this year, as he has already walked 16 hitters in those 6.2 innings. Lara’s stuff is still elite, but he isn’t presently looking like a guy who could help the Braves this season.
Alex Lodise, INF – The overall results haven’t been ugly for the Braves second round pick from last year, but it’s more about what I’m seeing out of him than his stat line. He’s slashing an acceptable .260/.336/.410 with three home runs, even if it’s only in Augusta – despite 25 games with Rome after signing last year. However the cause for concern is with the swing and miss and the way he will chase pitches out of the zone, leading to 31 strikeouts in 113 plate appearances. If Lodise is chasing and racking up a 27.4% strikeout rate in Low-A, it’s hard to see how he will be able to hit enough against better, and more advanced pitchers as he moves up the ladder. Luckily for hm the Augusta staff is excellent at working with hitters with this issue, so all hope isn’t lost – it’s just that he is presently seeming less likely to reach his ceiling than he was before.
Cody Miller, INF – An underslot third round pick by the Braves last year, Miller posted a .905 OPS in 10 games with Augusta and .779 OPS in 16 games with Rome after signing last year. He was headed back to Rome to open this year, and with his proven hit tool he was seen as a guy who could potentially move quickly. That has not happened, as he is currently slashing just .169/.253/.289 with two homers and four doubles. Miller is striking out a lot (32 in 118 PA) while only walking a limited amount (8), and he isn’t having great results when he puts the ball in play either. There is plenty of speed and there is some pop in the bat, but he is going to need more work with his hit tool than initially anticipated.
Owen Murphy, SP – Expectations were high for Murphy coming into the year, considering it was his second year back from Tommy John surgery. Getting his first taste of the upper minors in Double-A, he has pitched to a 6.10 ERA and 1.79 WHIP, though has 11.8 K/9 in 20.2 innings. His stat line however isn’t the only reason he’s here, as his stuff just hasn’t taken the step forward that many were hoping for this year. Murphy is still going to be 22-years-old all season, but it is concerning to see his stuff play this way at the Double-A level.
Jose Perdomo, SS – Perdomo isn’t on this list because of what he has done on the field, rather for the fact that this is the third straight year where injuries have ruined his season. He was limited to just eight games in the DSL back in 2024, got 54 injury effected games in the FCL last year, with a .544 OPS, and has just two games played for Augusta this year – and isn’t expected to return soon. It’s a disappointing blow for the former high profile international free agent who came into spring training in the best shape of his life. I guess if you are looking for a positive, it would be that he will spend all of next season at just age-20 – but it’s hard to bank on him being healthy with his track record.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 28: Josh Jung #6 of the Texas Rangers hits a runs scoring single against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Globe Life Field on April 28, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers are 31 games into the 2026 season, and having closed the book on the month of April,* I think it is a worthwhile time to take a look at how the Rangers hitters have fared so far.
* Idiomatically, when we discuss the month of April in regards to the MLB regular season, we also include the few days when games are played in March. Similarly, when we talk about September, we also mean any regular season games in October. Baseball language is weird sometimes.
Big picture-wise, there is once again a fair-sized split in our Fangraphs measures the team’s offense and how Baseball Reference does. Fangraphs has the Rangers, as a team, with a wRC+ of 95, which is tied for 21st in the majors. B-R has the Rangers’ team OPS+ at 105, which is 9th in the majors.* If you average the two out you’d end up at 100, which is, by definition, league average. So you can say that the Rangers’ offense has been above average, average, or below average so far this season, depending on how you want to measure things.
* As a reminder, the split between FG and B-R is mainly due to the difference in park factors they apply to the Shed. B-R’s park factors have the Shed has extremely pitcher-friendly for its 2026 calculations, while FG has the Shed as more neutral.
One thing to also keep in mind is that the Rangers have played a very difficult schedule in the early going. So far in 2026, the Rangers have, per Power Rankings Guru, played the most difficult schedule on MLB.* ESPN has the Rangers playing the third-toughest schedule so far this season. 25 of the team’s 31 games have come against teams with a 110 ERA+ this season or better, with the other six coming against Baltimore (101 ERA+) and the Phillies (91 ERA+).
* The flip side of the difficult early schedule is that they show the Rangers as having the second-easiest schedule the rest of the way.
Below is a chart with each player’s xwOBA, wOBA, and the difference between the two numbers. All data is from Statcast.
That is…not really surprising, for the most part? Brandon Nimmo and Josh Jung are raking. Jung appears to benefitting from a little bit of good fortune, though his xwOBA is still barely behind Nimmo for second on the team among those with significant playing time.
Corey Seager is not off to a great start, even considering his xwOBA is 20 points higher than his wOBA. His biggest issue right now is that his K rate has spiked — he’s striking out over 25% of the time, compared to an 18.1% career K rate. Evan Carter’s expected numbers are also about 20 points higher than his actual wOBA.
What really jumps out to me here is the dichotomy between Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran. Smith has gotten off to an awful start to the season, while Duran has been putting up great numbers — Duran’s wOBA is almost 100 points higher than Smith’s so far this season.
In terms of xwOBA, however, Smith has actually out-performed Duran by 11 points. Smith’s wOBA is almost 50 points below his xwOBA, while Duran’s xwOBA trails his wOBA by almost 60 points.
Looking a little closer at their numbers, Duran is striking out more often than Smith (20% to 18.4%), while Smith has a 13.3% walk rate compared to Duran’s 9.2% walk rate. Fangraphs has their line drive rates as being almost identical, and has Smith with a hard hit rate higher than Duran.
Despite that, Duran has a .356 BABIP and .136 ISO, compared to a .242 BABIP and .024 ISO for Smith.
There’s been talk about Duran possibly eating into some of Smith’s playing time at second base, due to Duran’s hot start and Smith’s early struggles. When we drill down on their underlying metrics, though, Duran’s case for more playing time weakens.
The bottom two Rangers in terms of both wOBA and xwOBA are Andrew McCutchen and Sam Haggerty, two guys who are here as short-side platoon bats. This certainly helps explain why the Rangers have had so many issues against lefthanded starting pitchers this year.
The Lake Elsinore Storm became the first minor league affiliate to sweep a series this season and now have a winning record going into a tie for first in their division. The Low-A team, boasting many of the 2025 draftees of the Padres, has had many surprise players surge in the last couple of weeks. Two undrafted free agents join a couple of the top-rated draft prospects to form the nucleus of an offense that has heated up for the Storm.
Both starter Griffin Canning and reliever Yuki Matsui are reaching the ends of their rehab windows and will be joining the San Diego Padres soon. Canning should be fully built up and must be activated by Monday. Matsui has pitched in back-to-back games and has completed a two-inning appearance. He will join the Padres by this weekend.
Sung-Mun Song was the 27th man for the Mexico City Series but returned to El Paso after debuting with the Padres as a pinch runner. A brief glance at his numbers would make many wonder why he has not been brought up to the major league team. A little deeper look shows major concerns with barrel and hard-hit rates. He has almost no slug, has not stolen a base and has an alarming K-rate.
El Paso Chihuahuas (12-15 record with a 4-2 record in their last series, 3rd in Pacific Coast League East)
Outfielder Samad Taylor leads the team with a .325 average; infielder Pablo Reyes has a .438 OBP while outfielder Jase Bowen is tops in both slug .625 and OPS .968 and has seven homers. Infielder Jose Miranda leads with 18 RBI. The depth of the talent sitting in Triple-A is reassuring if reinforcements are needed for the Friars. The only real concern is that Bowen has 28 strikeouts in his 96 at-bats, a 29% K-rate.
RHP Evan Fitterer has started four games out of the six games he has appeared in and has a 1.23 ERA in the 14.2 innings pitched. Reliever Garrett Hawkins, who is on the 40-man roster, has a 2.08 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched. Griffin Canning has had four appearances (fifth should be in the books on Tuesday) with a 5,40 ERA in 10 innings.
San Antonio Missions (5-16 record that makes them last in Texas League South)
The Double-A Missions are having a difficult time so far this season but there is a big bright spot for Padres fans. Catcher Ethan Salas is heating up of late and is leading the team in OPS at .859 and slug at.481 and that includes two homers.
1B/DH Leandro Cedeno has only played in 10 games but is hitting .333 with a .415 OBP. Infielder Carson Tucker continues to hit, batting .317 in 13 games and has four stolen bases without being caught. He has an .806 OPS and .391 OBP.
Starter Miguel Mendez is on the 40-man roster and has started four games with a 3.68 ERA in 14.2 innings but had a rough start his last time out. Reliever Andrew Moore has a 1.29 ERA in five games and 7.2 innings and Eric Yost, who has made one start in his four games, has a 1.32 ERA in 17.2 innings.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (7-14 record, last in Midwest League East)
Outfielder Jake Cunningham, 23, who signed with the Padres as a minor league free agent in February, has had a good start for his new organization and their High-A affiliate. He leads the team with a .321 average, a .607 slug and a .965 OPS. He has hit four homers and has seven RBI. Outfielder Kasen Wells has a team leading .384 OBP with 14 walks and a .266 average. He also leads the team with three stolen bases. Outfielder Alex McCoy is continuing to show he can be an all-around player with a .324 average, four home runs and 12 RBI.
Starter Carson Montgomery has three starts and a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings. Starter Andrew Parra has a 3.12 ERA in four games with 17.1 innings pitched. LHP Kash Mayfield has four starts and a 1.65 ERA in 16 innings pitched with 19 strikeouts and could be pushing the organization into an early promotion.
Reliever Clay Edmondson has a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched and two saves.
Both offense and pitching has struggled so far this season for the TinCaps with the above exceptions noted.
Lake Elsinore Storm (12-9 record, swept the Visalia Rawhides 6-0, 1st, in a tie, in California League South)
The Low-A Storm got off to a slow start but several players are surging to push them into their winning ways. Infielder Bradley Frye is hitting .419 with a .621 slug and a 1.083 OPS with 17 RBI. Outfielder Connor Westenburg, the other undrafted free agent with Frye, is hitting .371 with a .935 OPS and has 13 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
Outfielder Ryan Wideman, the Padres No. 9 prospect, will shoot up the prospect rankings if he keeps this up. Wideman is hitting .299/.404/.529 for a .933 OPS. He has seven doubles, two triples, three home runs and 20 RBI with 17 stolen bases in 21 attempts. He also has 11 walks to 18 strikeouts while playing an excellent center field. Coming into the season, the concern was his hitting mechanics and whether he could adapt to higher velocity and spin. He chased out of the zone and there were questions about his ability to be selective. So far, he has altered his mechanics and seems to be adjusting well. He has plus-plus speed and a good arm with good defensive range.
Catcher Victor Duarte leads the team with a .490 OBP, collecting a team high 13 walks. He can also play first base and is in his fourth season with Lake Elsinore but has never played more than 54 games in a season.
Unfortunately, the Storm has lost outfielder Kale Fountain for the season with a shoulder injury requiring season ending surgery. He had a collision with an outfield wall.
Carlos Medina has pitched in six games and has started two games. He has 16 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 16 strikeouts. Winyer Chourio has a 2.25 ERA in four games/three starts over 12 innings pitched and 26 strikeouts. Bryan Balzer has 19 strikeouts over 18 innings pitched and four games started. One difficult outing upped his ERA to 4.50.
Reliever Javier Chacon has a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings with 21 strikeouts. Ethan Long has a 1.35 ERA in six games and 6.2 innings with three saves. Nick Falter has a 1.98 ERA in 13.2 innings in seven appearances with 14 strikeouts.
Jeremiah Estrada made one rehab appearance with Lake Elsinore, pitching one inning with a strikeout. The most encouraging sign was that his pitches were back up to his normal velocity and he allowed no hits. He should resume his rehab with El Paso.
New Padre Lucas Giolito made his first start and went 2.2 innings but was removed after a comebacker hit his pitching hand. He allowed two runs and two hits with three walks and reached 63 pitches. He must be added to the Padres roster by May 16.
Injuries
Miguel Mendez was placed on the IL with a neck strain after his last start. It is not likely to be a long stint. Luis Gutierrez was placed on the 60-day IL with a lat strain. Omar Cruz was sent to San Antonio to fill in for the injured pitchers.
Qrey Lott, an undrafted free agent sign, was added to Lake Elsinore to replace Fountain.
CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 28: Daniel Schneemann #10 of the Cleveland Guardians looks on prior to the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Grace Hoppel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Schneemann means “Snowman” in German and “Making Himself a Must-Play Hitter” in Cleveland Guardian.
Coming into 2026, it would surprise almost no one to hear Daniel Schneemann made the Opening Day roster. Despite entering the season with a career wRC+ of 84, Schnee was a good, if not great, defender at virtually every position on the field. This defensive flexibility more than makes up for the lower than average offensive production and allows him to almost perfectly fill the role of an everyday bottom of the line up utility player. What might be surprising for almost everyone is that through the Guardians first 32 games so far in 2026, Daniel Schneemann has been by a very wide margin the team’s most productive hitter, with a 167 wRC+ so far in 2026. The question we’re going to look at today is whether or not this offensive production is sustainable, or if this is just a blazing start to 2026.
I should start off by saying we are still very early in the season, and we’re going to be analyzing a very small sample size of plate appearances (87 to be exact), but there’s still a lot of data to look at and a lot of conclusions we can draw. The first number to look at is Schnee’s wOBA vs xwOBA, and as it stands currently, he’s outperforming his xwOBA by about .048. This is a pretty big outperformance, and as of writing sits at the 18th “luckiest” hitter per Savant. The positive side is looking strictly at his xwOBA of .369, which is still top ~80th percentile in MLB, ranking him 56 out of 273 qualified MLB hitters. The only two hitters with a better xwOBA on the Guardians are unsurprisingly José Ramírez and Chase DeLauter.
The set of data we want to look at next involves metrics that have high correlation with better quality of contact. If you’ve been listening to player and coach interviews, or the broadcast commentary, you’re probably aware that Schnee spent the offseason trying to build more muscle. Now it’s not wholly a 1 to 1 comparison, as there are a lot of other factors that contribute, but we can see this in the data a little bit, as his average bat speed is up from around 70.8 over his first 2 seasons to 71.5 in 2026, and he’s gotten his average exit velo up from around 88.8 to 90mph in 2026. Schnee has also gotten exceptionally efficient at getting this now harder contact into more optimal launch angles. The overwhelming majority of extra base hits come from batted balls in the 8-32 degree launch angle window. Statcast uses LA SS% (Launch Angle Sweet-Spot %) to denote the percentage of in-play batted balls that fall into this optimal launch angle window. Schnee is hitting this window on a staggering 46.2% of his batted balls. That percentage ranks him 7th out of 273 qualified MLB hitters on Savant. This is exactly what you want to do to be able to more consistently get extra base hits.
A lot of you may be sensing a “but” coming, and unfortunately your instincts are good. While everything we’ve talked about before is incredible, when we want to talk about sustainability, there’s a few big factors we haven’t looked at yet. The biggest one is Chase%. One of the most important aspects of hitting is making good swing decisions. Right now Schnee’s Chase% is up from 25.8 in 2025 to 35.1 in 2026. And his Whiff% is up from 29.6 in 2025 to 36 in 2026. How concerning is this? Well, on the surface the answer would be “Very concerning.” That Whiff% is in the bottom 5 percentile on Savant, and the Chase% is bottom 19 percentile.
A very high Chase% combined with high Whiff% is a very bad combination for hitters in general, and this is likely where we will get our answer of “is this sustainable for Schnee?” The obvious adjustment from the league is to throw more pitches out of the zone to try to get him to expand his zone and get himself out. The silver lining is that Schnee’s BB% and K% are pretty much in line with his career averages thus far. So it’s not a total panic yet.
If we were to profile 2026 Daniel Schneemann so far, he’d be considered a high risk, high reward, power- driven hitter. If he starts seeing more pitches out of the zone but is able to resist chasing more than he is now, and if we assume some regression to reel back in some of the batted ball luck so far, there’s no reason to think he can’t continue as a very solid 110-120 wRC+ super utility man. The batted ball metrics are great, the plate discipline is concerning – right now they balance out nicely to equal a phenomenal baseball player all around, especially considering above average defensive capabilities at many positions.
It’ll be very exciting to see how the month of May goes for Schnee, as we start to see if the League begins to approach him differently. Let it snow, Daniel, and keep playing your heart out.
Aaron Kleinman of Heartland Signal tells us about his enduring love of the Hartford Whalers, his home state’s former NHL team, whose final road game was against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
It’s been almost 30 years since the Whalers last took the ice at the Hartford Civic Center, the only rink in NHL history located inside of a shopping mall. While the team had limited success in its time, it cultivated a rabid fanbase that still misses its best players, legendary logo, classic marching band theme song and other quaint charms. But rooting for a goofball team in a very small market feels like you’re getting away with something. And as you try to keep the scam going for as long as possible, the jig always comes up.
As a born and bred son of The Constitution State and a huge sports fan from birth, Aaron lived and died by the Whalers and still carries with him the memories and scars from their eventual move to Raleigh, NC. He tells us about how the team excelled at falling just barely short of the playoffs, what it was like living across the street from Whalers GM Jim Rutherford (and in the same town as tough guy Glen Featherstone) and the particular indignities of having your team bought and moved by a guy sporting a ponytail. Aaron also talks about how the team’s off-ice strife shaped his outlook on the world, even at a very young age.
Of course, we do cover some Weird Islanders here including a legendary tough guy of our own and two defensive defensemen we never thought we’d ever get a chance to cover on the show. Turns out there’s a lot of connective tissue between these two teams aside from one game late in a lost season for both of them.
We can’t thank Aaron enough for his time and sharing his very vivid memories of his favorite team. He’s a great guy to chat with and has been a legendary sports poster for many years. Check out Heartland Signal and his own free newsletter, Radio Free America.
After time with the Flyers and Habs, with whom he won a Stanley Cup in 1993, Kevin Haller signed with an Islanders team “that’s on it’s way up” in 2000. The three-year deal didn’t work out and a groin injury cost him most of his first season with the club. He only managed one game the next season before being put on the shelf with abdominal issues.
Whether Islander or Whaler, Kevin Haller also hated Mark Messier. A true hero.
We’re always open to suggestions about other Weird Islanders to discuss. Remember the criteria. Candidates must fulfill one of the two of the following:
Played one (1) season or less for the Islanders or very short stints over multiple seasons.
Be a veteran NHLer who is not generally associated with his time on Islanders.
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ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 30: Spike Lee celebrates during the game between the New York Knicks against the Atlanta Hawks during Round One Game Six of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 30, 2026 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
I don’t even know why we make any other prediction than Knicks in Six anymore.
“His versatility is huge whether it’s offensively or defensively. Offensively, he pushes the basketball. He helps us play faster. Defensively, he gives us versatility. You can move him around because of how strong he is and the feel he has on that end of the floor. And then because of his ability to rebound, if you want to cross match and put a smaller guy on him, he can impact the game by hitting the glass.”
On Hart’s physical profile:
“It’s what you look for to have guys that are all 6-8, 6-9, tough and can all bring a lot of things to the table for you. Josh might disagree with his size so he might not be 6-8 or 6-9 but with his strength and toughness, he’s talented physically and he plays the right way, so he gives you those things, even though he is 6-foot-5.”
On OG Anunoby’s consistency:
“It’s huge. Again, he had a double-double (in Game 5), but he impacted the game at such a high level. He impacted it in ways that you can’t even really tell, because it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet. We need him, and he’s definitely been about as consistent as you’d hope and expect. And we need every ounce of his consistency at the highest level.”
On Quin Snyder and the Hawks making the Knicks better:
“I’ve got to give [Hawks head coach] Quin Snyder and his staff a lot of credit. They forced us — when I say us I mean not just our players, our coaches — they forced us to find ways to help the team be better. Sometimes when you win you make adjustments. Sometimes when you lose you make adjustments. You’re always trying to figure out how can we put our team in a better position to help them succeed on the floor. Not to say we have it figured out, but every single time that we step on the floor we’re trying to do that. We’re watching film, going through a million different hypotheticals, which you don’t do during the regular season.”
On the offensive changes after Game 3:
“We had to change (the offense), because every possession was a grind those first three games, especially down the stretch. And so we had to find more ways to put our guys in their strengths while getting to it quickly, while still having options. I’m not a guy that likes to call every play. I want our guys to be able to read where the advantage is quickly throughout the course of the action. And Atlanta forced us to find a way to do that and feel pretty good about where we’re at right now.”
On OG Anunoby’s Game 6:
“OG was phenomenal. He played 27 minutes, had 29 points on 14 field-goal attempts and rebounded his behind off.”
On Mikal Bridges’ Game 6:
“It was great. He just did what he’s capable of doing. Now, is he going to go 10-for-12 every night? No. But he was aggressive and took great shots. And it shouldn’t go unnoticed that his defense was phenomenal. … A big night on both ends of the floor by Mikal.”
On the team connectedness and clicking at the exact best time:
“Our guys, their connectedness right now is off the charts. When you lock into the detail and you’re connected like that, with a group that’s as talented and versatile as that group, you got a chance to do that.”
On the midseason and series adjustments:
“We changed the way we played offensively and defensively about halfway through the season and we changed again after Game 3. [The Hawks] forced us to put our thinking caps on and forced us to play different. Find ways to make the game easier while putting [the players] in their strengths, while trying not to hinder them. We changed what we done offensively, but again that’s because we were pushed to do it. We feel pretty good about what we fell into.”
On the Robinson-Daniels scuffle:
“I haven’t seen the film, and it’s tough because when you’re up that big, stuff happens. And it’s hard. If somebody feels like something that shouldn’t happen happens, it’s hard to keep your composure in that moment. But at the end of the day, that’s what we talked about, and our guys did a good job of that the rest of the game.”
Shaq was trying to revive the Atlanta Hawks 😭
They're down 83-36 in Game 6, the largest halftime deficit in NBA playoffs history 😅
“I’m always questionable depending on how my body feels. It was the back kind of locked up and then it went down to my hip, so that kind of happened the first quarter [of Game 5]. And then I tried to play through it the second quarter, and then at halftime it got a little tighter. I couldn’t really move too much.”
On guarding CJ McCollum:
“I think I had good physicality. I was able to force him into some tough shots. I was just trying to make life hard for him. Obviously, that’s a guy that’s got a lot of buckets in this league. That was something I thought, after Game 1 and Game 2 he kind of went off and kind of took over the game, that’s the matchup that I wanted going into Game 3 and after. I’ve had some conversations with the coaches about not taking me off him and those kinds of things.”
On Karl-Anthony Towns in Game 6:
“I thought KAT was amazing. To start the game blitzing, protecting the rim, he had some big blocks, his energy was huge for us. I just think the physicality, the attention to detail, focus on the gameplan, I think all those are at a very high level.”
On setting the tone in Game 6:
“It was huge for us because, like I said, we feel like we gave two games away. We wanted to come out with a great attention to detail and focus from the jump. I feel like our starts have been pretty good this series, and we wanted to set a tone from the beginning.”
On the blowout win:
“That’s something where it shows what we can do. And now we gotta continue to build off of it. Now we can’t sit there and not do it because we know we have what it takes to do it. It just reinforced the kind of team that we have, the players that we have, the coaches that we have.”
On the meaning of the Game 6 blowout heading into the second round:
“I don’t think it boosts confidence. It just reinforced the kind of team that we have, the players that we have, the coaches that we have. It was huge for us just because we feel like we gave two games away and we wanted to come out here with a great attention to detail, great focus from the jump. I feel like our starts to the game have been pretty good this series. That’s something that we wanted to set the tone with from the beginning.”
“I don’t know. I work very hard. We have a great team and the team has been finding me and I’m playing with force or whatever.”
On the Knicks’ start to Game 6:
“We just came out with intensity. We were ready to play from the very jump … We know what we’re capable of. We know we’re a great team. We just need to continue to do it.”
On the last time he was part of such a humongous blowout:
“That just shows the love that our fans got. They support us around the world. In a playoff series to make us feel at home, in another team’s city, speaks volumes about our fanbase. They’re the best fans in the world.”
On the Knicks’ Game 6 performance:
“We knew we needed to be at our best tonight, and we came close to doing that tonight.”
On not having a preference between Boston and Philly:
“I don’t think it should matter who we play as long as the Knicks play our best version of ourselves. When we do that, we can win every night.”
On adjusting to a new role under Brown and sacrificing for the team:
“I never doubted my ability. I never doubted the work I put in. It’s just – you gotta adjust, you gotta adjust. Especially (with) a lot of new things being thrown at you, you’re being asked to do a lot more things – some things that (haven’t) consistently been asked of me in my career so. It’s one thing anyone who knows me, who’s followed my career, I’m willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes for the team to win. And I think this year I’ve shown that again. Whatever the team needs me to do, the player the team needs me to be, I’ll step up to the plate, step up to the challenge.”
On answering the call offensively in Game 6:
“I just wanted to answer the call. You ask for the opportunities and they obliged and I got to repay that trust and that opportunity. I just want to impact winning. I got more opportunities to do that and I wanted to make sure not take advantage of the opportunity that I was given. I’m proud that I’ve been able to help us win.”
“I think, most importantly, (a performance like this) shows us what we’re capable of defensively. That’s really important. We still have a long road to travel, so staying locked in and knowing what we’re capable of is really important.
“Feel good about it tonight. Tomorrow, we turn the page.”
On the team’s ceiling:
“It’s good to see what we’re capable of when we play like that.”
On the Game 6 defensive dominance:
“We were able to get stops, run in transition, get layups. It really came down to our defense. It allowed us to play fast. Allowed us to play in transition. And we made shots. Most importantly, it shows us what we’re capable of defensively. I think that’s really important.”
On Karl-Anthony Towns’ first-round series:
“He’s played phenomenal. The way we’ve been able to trust each other, all of us obviously including him, it’s been great.”
On OG Anunoby:
“I think he’s one of a kind and getting to see OG, see his work ethic and see the person he is and what he’s just been able to do with his time as a Knick has been great. I’m so happy to have him and happy I don’t have to see him on that side of the ball. He just creates havoc and I think his game is growing. That’s what happens when you work hard and he’s been doing that day in and day out.”
“He was just doing everything — scoring, defense, rebounding, making plays. He’s doing everything out there and that’s what we need. And I think he’s gonna continue to do that for us.”
On staying confidence amid endless criticism:
“I feel like I’m always confident. Just happy to go out there and get the win. Just doing whatever it takes to win. That’s pretty much it. Just go do it for those guys.”
We have another three playoff games on the schedule tonight, with the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, and Vegas Golden Knights all looking to close things out.
My NHL player props analysis will highlight Alex Tuch, Nick Suzuki, and Pavel Dorofeyev.
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Our best NHL player props for Friday, May 1
Take a look at our best bets and expert analysis below.
Prop #1: Alex Tuch Over 0.5 points
-145 at BET99
Alex Tuch has led the Buffalo Sabres in points in the playoffs, registering six. He has three goals and three assists across five games against the Boston Bruins.
Tuch has hit the Over in points in four of his last five, and he’ll be poised to respond after Buffalo’s 2-1 Game 5 loss.
Tuch finished the regular season with 66 points, and he’s collected three points in two road games in this series as the Sabres visit the Bruins tonight. He’s also had nine SOG across the last two games, signaling Tuch’s heavy involvement in the offense.
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Where to watch: ESPN
Prop #2: Nick Suzuki Over 0.5 assists
-160 at BET99
Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens are one win away from moving on, and the captain is producing at a high level in this first round.
Suzuki, who was fifth in the NHL during the regular season with 72 assists, has notched five helpers in the series. He’s cashed the Over in all but one game.
Suzuki has an assist in back-to-back appearances, and he is the Canadiens’ top playmaker. Playing on the top line with Cole Caufield (51 goals this year) and the PP1 with all of Montreal’s top stars, he’ll have lots of chances to grab another apple tonight.
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where to watch: ESPN2
Prop #3: Pavel Dorofeyev anytime goal
+170 at BET99
Pavel Dorofeyev is a huge reason why the Vegas Golden Knights are on the brink of advancing.
The 25-year-old scored once in Game 4 before bagging a hat-trick in Game 3 as Vegas won 5-4. He’s playing with a ton of confidence at the moment, and the opportunities are there.
He has nine SOG across the last two contests, and Dorofeyev was one of the Golden Knights’ top scorers during the regular season, scoring 37 times.
Given how hot he is over these last two games, you'd best believe Vegas will be getting him involved a ton. Another goal in Game 6 is very realistic.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
It's been almost a month since the transfer portal opened in college basketball, and most — if not all — of the big names in the pool of available players have been locked up by new teams.
Several Power Five conference programs — like Louisville, Indiana, Texas and Tennessee — pushed all their chips and resources into the transfer portals to address notable glaring needs on their roster with the hope that their finds — perhaps ones that are seen as "under the radar" — are the missing pieces to go on a deep run in March Madness next season.
That doesn't mean teams are done looking to fill holes in their roster, nor does it mean the pool of talent is all dried up. Teams are still very much active.
But with the dust starting to settle and teams starting to prepare for summer practices, it's gotten to the point of the transfer portal cycle where the review of teams' transfer classes picks up to see how well they did (or are doing), and where some of the best player fits are.
Here's a look at some of the best transfer pickups who ranked near or just outside of the top 50 rankings by Power Five conference programs:
Shaka Smart, coming off his first losing season at Marquette, needed to turn to the transfer portal to patch several notable roster gaps after years of relying solely on high‑school player development. The Golden Eagles coach — perhaps to some surprise — used the portal rather effectively, with one of his pickups being St. Thomas guard and Summit League Player of the Year Nolan Minessale.
Minessale hails from nearby Brookfield, Wisconsin and was a standout player at Marquette High School in Milwaukee. He provides depth in the backcourt for the Golden Eagles, who are bringing back building blocks Nigel James Jr., the Big East Freshman of the Year, and Adrian Stevens as well.
Granted he'll be facing better competition in the Big East than the Summit League, his shooting ability should be a nice welcome to the Golden Eagles, as he shot 56.2% from the field and 31.5% from beyond the arc last season. Marquette finished second-to-last in the Big East with a 31.8% 3-point shooting percentage last season.
Devin Royal, Villanova
Villanova struggled with size and athleticism in its front court last season. The Wildcats resolved that weakness in the portal by landing Ohio State forward Devin Royal — in addition to Kwame Evans Jr., who also transferred to Villanova from a Big Ten program (Oregon) this offseason.
On top of bringing Big Ten starting experience to the Wildcats, Royal will bring a physical presence around the basket with his 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame and the ability to knock down 3-pointers. He boosted his 3‑point accuracy to 31.6% last season, which was up from 27.6% the year before.
He averaged 13.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season, and a rather efficient 80.2% mark at the free-throw line.
There weren't many bigger transfer portal winners than Texas this cycle. One basket short of extending their impressive March Madness run into the Elite Eight, Sean Miller and the Longhorns landed four players in the portal, one being Elyjah Freeman.
Freeman played a key role in Auburn's NIT championship, averaging 10.0 points and 7.6 rebounds in five NIT games. He finished double figures in five of his final 10 games. It's worth noting — and considering — that the 2025-26 season was Freeman's first at the Division I level after starting his career at the Division II level, so he could be in line for a breakout season in Year 2 in the SEC after averaging just 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
He'll provide size and length to the Longhorns at the wing position and will look to find that more consistent success and production than he saw with the Tigers last season. He'll likely fill the role of Dailyn Swain, who declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, in Texas' lineup as well.
With Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngnonba II all returning to Duke next season — in addition to landing Wisconsin guard John Blackwell — the Blue Devils looked to have eyed in on adding some depth off the bench with their other portal acquisition. They were able to get that with Drew Scharnowski.
Scharnowski, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward, was one of the top mid-major players this past season in the Missouri Valley Conference at Belmont. He averaged 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds, which was good enough to earn All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team, All-Defensive Team and Most Improved Player of the Year honors.
At Duke, Scharnowski will be tasked with providing depth to the Blue Devils front court to go with Ngongba.
If there was a player made in a lab to play for Kelvin Sampson, Delrecco Gillespie would be right up there.
Gillespie's stats jump out on paper, as he averaged 17.7 points and 11.3 rebounds last season at Kent State while shooting 50.8% from the field, but so does his size and length at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds. He also fills some roster needs for the Cougars with freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. declaring for the NBA draft, as did team-leading scorer Kingston Flemings.
Where his impact will be greatly felt, however, is his rebounding and ability to dominate the glass, which makes him a perfect fit for Sampson and Houston. He finished fourth in the country in rebounds per game last year. Houston has finished in the top 10 in the Big 12 for rebounding each of the last three seasons, and has had a top 5 unit on KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency in four of the last five seasons.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 25: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Max Kranick #32 of the New York Mets in action against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on May 25, 2025 in New York City. The Mets defeated the Dodgers 3-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We may have just written about how the Nats bullpen was turning things around, but Paul Toboni is always on the lookout for new arms. The Nats have reportedly signed Max Kranick to a deal that is pending a physical. Before going down with an injury, Kranick was a solid arm in the Mets bullpen, posting a 3.65 ERA in 37 innings.
Right-hander Max Kranick and the Washington Nationals are in agreement on a deal, pending physical, league sources tell The Athletic.
After making the Mets out of camp last season, Kranick was a valuable multi-inning reliever for them. He showed off a solid combination of good stuff and great control. Kranick only walked 5 batters in 37 innings last year. He also averaged 95.6 MPH on his fastball.
However, the 28 year old went down with an elbow injury in mid June. He ended up undergoing Flexor Tendon surgery in July of 2025. Kranick missed the remainder of the 2025 season, and went unsigned after being non-tendered by the Mets this offseason.
Kranick has been throwing for teams though. It seems like he was throwing the ball well enough to catch the Nats eye. We are still not totally sure when Kranick will be ready to pitch in big league games, but presumably it will be at some point this season.
Free agent right-hander Max Kranick is set to throw for teams on Friday afternoon at Ascent Athlete in Philadelphia, The Athletic has learned.
I would assume this is a minor league deal for Kranick where he will get a shot at the big leagues if he looks good in AAA. If Kranick can return to his pre-injury form, he would be a solid piece for this Nats bullpen.
Kranick has a really good fastball that generated whiffs over 25% of the time last season. He can also spin several breaking balls. Kranick used a slider, a curveball and a sweeper last year, with the slider being his go to breaking pitch.
While Kranick did not strike a ton of guys out last year, he can be pretty electric when he is on his game. The breaking ball is not as good, but the plus fastball does remind me a bit of Gus Varland. Both Varland and Kranick have good, but not elite velocity. However, their heaters play up due to the shape of the pitch.
I am excited to follow Kranick as he builds back up and gets ready for big league action. He is likely to have a ramp up period and then pitch in the minors for a while. However, I think Kranick will have a role to play in this bullpen in the second half of the season. He has some intriguing pitch traits and has the ability to go multiple innings.
Last season, Kranick threw 37 innings in 24 outings. He has the ability to be a one inning guy or a multi-inning arm. The Nats new regime clearly values guys like that, which is why they are picking up Kranick. This could end up being a solid little signing.
Desmond Bane
Collin Murray-Boyles 
LeBron James 
COVERS INTEL: Mitch 
Alperen Sengun
Tuch Over 0.5 points
Suzuki Over 0.5 assists 
Dorofeyev anytime goal 