Category: Sports News

NEW YORK — Mike Trout and Aaron Judge turned their baseball game into a heavyweight slugfest.

Trout’s second home run of the game bounced off the back wall behind the Angels bullpen in left-center, giving Los Angeles a two-run lead in the eighth inning on a night when Judge already had homered twice to put the New York Yankees ahead.

And there was more drama to come — after two three-time MVPs both homered twice in the same game for the first time in 70 years.

Trent Grisham hit his second homer of the evening (and season) to tie the score in the ninth. Moments later, José Caballero trotted home on Jordan Romano’s game-ending wild pitch to give the Yankees a pulsating 11-10 win that stopped a five-game losing streak.

“It was great. That’s baseball for you,” Trout marveled. “It’s what fans want, and to be able to see something like that, pretty cool.”

Only once before had a pair of players already three-time MVPs each homered twice in the same game, according to STATS Perform.

After Stan Musial had gone deep twice, Roy Campanella hit a tying, three-run drive in the ninth for his second of the game and Don Zimmer followed with a walk-off single to lead the Brooklyn Dodgers over the St. Louis Cardinals 9-8 at Ebbets Field on June 21, 1956.

Trout nearly hit a third. He flied out to Cody Bellinger in front of the center-field wall, leaving the bases loaded in the fourth after the Angels tied the score 4-all with four unearned runs following Caballero’s error on Trout’s leadoff grounder to shortstop.

Judge had looked forward to crossing paths with Trout in a Yankee Stadium weight room.

“I was going to talk some smack to him after the one he hit all the way to the warning track,” Judge said, “but I didn’t get a chance to and then he answers right back with two big homers for him. You put that guy in a clutch situation, a big moment and he’s going to show up every single time, so it’s fun going back and forth with a guy like that, especially in New York and the Bronx.”

New York had lost five straight after an 8-2 start and had been 0-6 in one-run games.

There were seven home runs that traveled a total of 2,846 feet — more than half a mile — with the Yankees hitting five. Judge’s first went 456 feet deep into the left-field bleachers and left the bat at 116.2 mph, the hardest-hit home run of the season.

Grisham and Trout each had five RBIs, and Judge had three.

Baseball’s top four active home run leaders were all in the game. Judge, with 374, moved one ahead of teammate Paul Goldschmidt. New York slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who leads active players with 454, missed by about a foot with a double off the center-field wall in the fifth. Trout has 408 homers.

Trout, 34, won AL MVPs in 2014, ’16 and ’19 but has struggled with injuries for much of the past five seasons.

“He’s the greatest of all time. It’s been fun to watch his whole career, coming up at such a young age and instantly just putting yourself at the top of the list. It’s special,” Judge said.

Judge, who turns 34 on April 26, won AL MVPs in 2022, ‘24 and ’25.

“Those are two of the greats, so it’s really fun to watch,” Yankees starter Will Warren said.

Judge and Caballero each hit a two-run homer off Yusei Kikuchi for a 4-0 second-inning lead on an unseasonably warm 77-degree night. After Caballero’s error led to the unearned runs off Warren, Grisham pinch hit in the fifth and connected for a three-run drive against Shaun Anderson for a 7-4 lead.

Trout countered with a three-run homer in the sixth against Jake Bird, who was demoted to Triple-A after the game.

Judge’s homer off Anderson leading off the bottom half gave him 47 multi-homer games, one more than Mickey Mantle and trailing only Babe Ruth’s 68 among Yankees.

“To be surrounded by some greats like that, it’s special,” Judge said.

Josh Lowe knotted the score at 8 with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, and Trout’s two-run drive in the eighth off Camilo Doval put the Angels ahead 10-8 with his 31st multi-homer game. Judge, watching from right field, shook his head.

“Every time he comes to the Bronx, man, he puts on a show,” Judge said. “I hate to see it, but it’s fun competing against a guy like that.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled to start the ninth against Romano, and Grisham reached down and pulled a slider into the right-field seats as the closer put both hands on his head.

Caballero doubled and stole third without a throw. And after Austin Wells walked, Caballero scored when Romano bounced a full-count slider to Ryan McMahon to the backstop on the ninth pitch of the plate appearance.

New York had not won a game while allowing double-digit runs since beating Minnesota 14-12 on July 23, 2019.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone described his own feelings as “tough ... for the belly.”

Then he switched his thoughts to his players.

“You get a lead, then you get another lead, and then it’s gone,” he said. “For the guys, maybe it was good to have a game like that where it was a little messy.”

PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes spent last season pitching on a razor’s edge, aware that one mistake could tilt the balance of a game, no matter how masterful the Pittsburgh Pirates ace might be.

Not anymore.

The offense that struggled to score whenever Skenes took the hill in 2025 — the main reason he had a 10-10 record alongside the 1.97 ERA that won him the National League Cy Young Award — has been transformed, both in personnel and in production, in 2026.

It reached the point during a 16-5 victory over Washington that Skenes was sort of hoping the Pirates would stop hitting during a 10-run sixth, if only so he could get back to work.

No such luck. By the time the inning was over, 14 batters had come to the plate, the Nationals had switched pitchers twice, and the clock for Skenes (3-1) to return to the mound had run out after six innings of brilliance.

“It just took forever, which is what you want,” Skenes said. “I feel like that inning everybody (was) just pulling the rope and passing it off to the next guy. It was cool to watch.”

A year ago, the worst offense in the majors produced three runs or fewer 18 times in Skenes’ 32 starts. The 23-year-old challenged the organization to get serious about winning in 2026, and the normally stingy Pirates made a series of aggressive moves intended to upgrade their lineup and help arguably the best young pitching staff in the majors.

The early returns are promising.

Pittsburgh, which was last in runs, home runs and RBIs in 2025, is in the top 10 in all three categories. Second baseman Brandon Lowe — acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay in December — became the first player in franchise history to have back-to-back five-RBI games when he hit a two-run single in the second and added a three-run homer to cap off Pittsburgh’s first 10-run inning at PNC Park in nearly 17 years.

Lowe, a two-time All-Star with the Rays, has six home runs. First baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn, signed to a two-year deal in free agency, has 13 RBIs. Outfielder/designated hitter Bryan Reynolds, surrounded by the deepest lineup of his seven-year tenure in Pittsburgh, is thriving.

Perhaps the biggest sign of hope is the performance of Oneil Cruz, the Pirates’ talented but inconsistent center fielder. The 6-foot-7 Cruz extended his hitting streak to 12 games by going 2 for 3 with three RBIs, one of them coming on a 114 mph rope off the fence in right field.

“It’s pretty fun to hit after a guy hits a ball (that hard),” Lowe said. “Gets the crowd a little loud. To watch his at-bats, to see the maturity that he has with the power and everything else he has going for him, he’s going to be a lot of fun to hit behind this year.”

And the Pirates could be dangerous for the first time in a long time. Skenes already is seeing the difference. Pittsburgh has scored 38 runs across his first four starts in 2026 after needing 11 starts to hit that total in 2025.

“I told the guys after the game it makes it easy to pitch,” Skenes said.

It also lets him take chances and evolve. He became the fifth-fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 400 strikeouts when he fanned Luis Garcia Jr. just two batters into his 59th start.

Save for a 100 mph heater that Washington’s CJ Abrams sent into the seats over the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right in the first, Skenes was nearly perfect as he mixed his fastball with reliable offspeed stuff.

“I mean we might go out next outing and only throw changeups,” Skenes said, joking he might throw “100 in a row” when he makes his next start against the Rays.

Probably not. But having another pitch he can trust is hardly a bad thing. Neither is the freedom that comes with knowing he doesn’t have to be flawless for the Pirates to have a shot.

The victory over the Nationals came just over 24 hours after Pittsburgh allowed the host Chicago Cubs to rally and avoid a sweep. The Pirates responded with their best offensive performance of the season and offered a glimpse of the resilience it will take if they want to get to where they want to go.

“I’ve seen it now for a couple years with the Brewers, the Cubs, the Reds last year made the playoffs,” Skenes said. “That’s what NL Central teams do really well, and so now we’re doing that. It’s really fun to watch.”

It’s still extremely early, and the sample sizes we’re analyzing and dissecting in the lower minors barely qualify as meaningful. However, that doesn’t mean everything should be dismissed as noise. A handful of early-season performances have stood out, not just for the on-field results, but for the broader developmental changes they may be signaling.

This week’s Rotoworld Dynasty Stock Watch examines 12 prospects on the rise with varying trajectories and timelines to the big leagues that fantasy managers should be prioritizing in trade discussions and on waiver wires.

⚾ Baseball is back! MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026! In addition to becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC Sports will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, the entire Wild Card round of the postseason, and much more.

RELATED: Check out this week’s MLB Power Rankings!

Franklin Arias, SS, Red Sox

There are hot starts, then there's the heater Arias is on as the fourth-youngest position player at the Double-A level this season behind only Jesús Made, Leo De Vries and Ethan Salas. The 20-year-old shortstop has been a known commodity in dynasty formats for a couple of years, but he’s opened the 2026 campaign as arguably the hottest hitters in the entire minors, batting .588 (10-for-17) with two doubles, two walks and just two strikeouts through six games for Double-A Portland.

He boasts some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the minors, evidenced by a minuscule 10.1 percent strikeout rate across 110 games over three levels last year, which was the fifth-lowest mark among all minor leaguers with at least 500 plate appearances. There’s still some physical projection remaining, as Arias figures to add strength as he matures, making it easy to envision a leap into the upper echelon of fantasy prospects given his already elite contact ability. It’s possible this is merely the starting point, with Arias positioning himself to be one of the top prospects in the entire fantasy landscape by the end of the year.

Joseph Dzierwa, SP, Orioles

Dzierwa recorded nine strikeouts over six shutout innings with an eye-popping 17 swinging strikes in his professional debut earlier this month, which he followed up by allowing two runs over seven innings last week. The early returns include a sparkling 1.38 ERA and a 12/1 K/BB ratio across 13 innings for High-A Frederick. The towering six-foot-eight left-hander was Baltimore’s second-round selection in last year’s MLB Draft and appears to be on a trajectory towards becoming one of the more intriguing pitching prospects in the fantasy landscape.

The 21-year-old has continued to add fastball velocity, touching 96.2 mph on his sinker during last month’s Spring Breakout game. He pairs it with an above-average changeup and a developing slider that remains a work in progress. The sinker/changeup combination alone gives him a chance to succeed at the highest level, provided he can throw strikes consistently. His dynasty stock should continue to rise as he racks up strikeouts in the lower minors, making this an ideal window to acquire Dzierwa before he potentially becomes untouchable as one of the game’s top pitching prospects.

Theo Gillen, OF, Rays

It’s hard to find a more intriguing early-season dynasty storyline than Gillen’s unexpected power surge. The 20-year-old former first-round pick from the 2024 MLB Draft recorded consecutive two-homer games over the weekend and is hitting .333 (9-for-27) with four homers and three steals in eight games for High-A Bowling Green. It’s important to not overreact to extremely small sample sizes, but Gillen is clearly making much more consistent hard contact this season after managing just five round-trippers in 324 plate appearances at Low-A Charleston last year when he missed time with calf and finger injuries.

What’s even more impressive is that Bowling Green grades out as one of the more pitcher-friendly venues in the entire Midwest League, according to Baseball America’s park factors. Gillen’s early-season metamorphosis from more of a hit tool and speed profile to more of a well-rounded offensive threat is a development worth monitoring in the coming weeks because it would make him an upper-echelon dynasty prospect in short order.

Luis Peña, 2B/SS, Brewers

Peña blossomed into an upper-echelon prospect from a fantasy standpoint last year when he batted .270/.335/.422 with nine homers and 44 steals between Low-A Carolina and High-A Wisconsin at just 18 years old during a highly impressive stateside debut. He’ll continue to understandably be overshadowed by Jesús Made, who looks like a future franchise cornerstone hitting .359 (14-for-39) as the youngest everyday player in Double-A this season, but he possesses a plethora of fantasy-relevant skills including an above-average hit tool and massive stolen base upside.

He’s off to a fast start back at High-A Wisconsin, hitting .500 (10-for-20) with a pair of extra-base hits and five steals through six games. There’s a chance he becomes an elite fantasy contributor down the road if he continues to fill out physically and grows into some additional over-the-fence pop.

Gage Wood, SP, Phillies

The biggest question facing Wood coming out of last year’s MLB Draft, when he was selected 26th overall following a standout collegiate career at Arkansas that included the third no-hitter in College World Series history, was whether he would ultimately stick as a starter.

The 22-year-old right-hander is beginning to answer those concerns, posting a 1.23 ERA with a 15/2 K/BB ratio across 7 1/3 innings in his professional debut at Low-A Clearwater. While it’s not uncommon for polished collegiate arms to dominate at the lower levels, Wood appears on track to reach the upper minors quickly thanks to an upper-90s fastball and a strong curveball. He carries more risk than some of his lower-minors pitching peers, but the strikeout potential is undeniable, and the fantasy upside is significant if he can put everything together and stay healthy long-term.

Jhonny Level, SS, Giants

Level has gotten off to a sizzling-hot start with multiple hits in five of six games and is batting an astronomical .519 (14-for-27) with two homers and three steals at Low-A San Jose this season. The 19-year-old switch-hitting shortstop was one of last year's biggest risers as he rocketed through a couple levels in San Francisco's system to finish at Low-A. He manages to hit for a ton of power considering his smaller frame and his hit tool is one of the strongest of any teenage prospect in the minors. He’s hit wherever the Giants have sent him over the last three seasons and his fantasy stock will reach stratospheric levels if he’s producing in the upper minors by the end of the year.

Anthony Eyanson, SP, Red Sox

Eyanson paired with Mariners top pitching prospect Kade Anderson to form a one-two punch for eventual national champion LSU last spring and has looked like a potential breakout arm through his first two starts at High-A Greenville in his professional debut, compiling a microscopic 1.23 ERA, 0.41 WHIP and 13/0 K/BB ratio across 7 1/3 innings. Those early performances are enough to put him firmly on dynasty radars, but the buzz began earlier this spring when he flashed increased velocity on the backfields.

The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier wrote for Baseball America earlier this month that Eyanson, a third-round pick in last year’s MLB Draft, touched triple digits for the first time in his career during Boston’s spring breakout game against the Orioles and is now routinely sitting in the upper-90s with his fastball. He fits the mold of a fast-moving pitching prospect and should be rostered in all dynasty formats.

Caleb Bonemer, SS, White Sox

Bonemer drew rave reviews during his professional debut last year when he hit .281/.400/.458 with 10 homers and 27 steals for Low-A Kannapolis before going deep twice in 11 games at High-A Winston-Salem to close out the year. The 20-year-old shortstop, who was Chicago’s second-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, has picked up right where he left off in the low minors, slashing .303/.385/.667 with two homers and seven RBI through nine contests at High-A this season. It’s early, but with all of the graduations at the top of dynasty prospect lists, Bonemer has a chance to be near the top when the dust settles in a couple weeks.

Kayson Cunningham, SS, Diamondbacks

Cunningham was widely regarded as the top pure hitter in last year’s MLB Draft when he was gobbled up by Arizona with the 18th overall selection, and he’s done nothing to dispel that notion, hitting .385 (10-for-26) with more walks (nine) than strikeouts (four) through eight games at Low-A Visalia this season. The 19-year-old’s advanced hit tool should make him an on-base machine and enable him to move quickly through the hitter-friendly environments in the Diamondbacks’ system.

He’s basically a complete zero in the power department at this early stage of his development, but it’s easy to forecast some growth there as he matures physically. He projects as a high-floor contact-oriented prospect with the upside to develop into a complete five-category fantasy contributor if he reaches his ceiling. His dynasty stock is going to skyrocket over the next few months if he keeps tearing the cover off the ball and reaches High-A by midseason.

Cam Caminiti, SP, Braves

Caminiti has been somewhat overlooked with Didier Fuentes and JR Ritchie making noise on the doorstep of the majors, but he has a chance to emerge as the most impactful arm in Atlanta’s system over the long term. The 19-year-old left-hander was selected 24th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft as one of the top prep arms in his class and has already shown an ability to consistently miss bats in the lower minors.

He’s still a long way from the big leagues, but his dynasty stock could soar over the next few months if he continues to deliver strong performances and reaches Double-A Mississippi before his 20th birthday in early August.

Marek Houston, SS, Twins

Houston, the 16th-overall selection in last year's MLB Draft, has gotten off to a nice start in the lower minors after a 15-homer effort during his final collegiate season at Wake Forrest. The fact that he’s adding some additional pop isn’t a surprise given his six-foot-three frame, but two homers in eight games is a noticeable uptick considering the Midwest League isn’t exactly a hitter’s paradise.

The 21-year-old is a phenomenal defensive shortstop, so any additional gains in the power department without sacrificing his athleticism will make him extremely interesting from a fantasy standpoint over the next few years. He's a name to watch in all dynasty formats.

Santiago Suarez, SP, Rays

Suarez has been a known quantity for dynasty managers in recent years, but a shoulder injury sidelined him for three months last season and likely pushed him off some radar screens. The 21-year-old right-hander has looked sharp through a pair of early-season starts at Double-A Montgomery, compiling a pristine 15/2 K/BB ratio across 11 innings.

The strong performances are even more notable considering he’s the fourth-youngest player in the entire Southern League this season. While he may not project as a prototypical front-of-the-rotation arm, Suarez features a deep arsenal built around a mid-90s fastball and solid secondary offerings. Perhaps most importantly, he’s shown the ability to command his entire repertoire and consistently fill the strike zone, which tends to be a key ingredient for sustained success at the highest level.

Bonus: Bryce Rainer, SS, Tigers

Rainer has been ice-cold, hitting .120 (3-for-25) through seven games this season at Low-A Lakeland, but he connected for a gargantuan 477-foot home run last Friday, showcasing the type of elite raw power that made him one of the fastest-rising prospects in the dynasty landscape before undergoing shoulder surgery last July. It’s going to take the 20-year-old power-hitting shortstop some time to knock off the rust, which is why this is the perfect time to target him in dynasty leagues. He could join Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark as core building blocks for Detroit at some point in the next few years.