Category: Sports News

Good morning everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed last night’s All-Star Game, in which the American League rolled over the National League 4-0.

We’ve got two more off-days for the Mariners before they get ready to host the Giants in a weekend matchup. How have you been spending your extra days off from M’s baseball?

In Mariners news…

• Amanda Lane Cumming continued her coverage of the 1996 Mariners by remembering their month of April, in which the team got off to a hot start but things began to get ugly for closer Bobby Ayala.
• Kate Preusser hopped on King 5’s Ultimate Seattle Sports Show to talk Mariners as they look ahead to the second half (catch her segment around the 32-minute mark).

Around the league…

• MLB owners are ready to allow players to participate in the 2028 Olympics, but the MLBPA says there are some concerns that still need to be addressed first.
• The MLBPA is prepared to go to bat for amateur players in order to maintain their eligibility to be drafted out of high school, reported J.J. Cooper at Baseball America. ($)
• Kiley McDaniel provided a complete recap of the MLB draft for all 30 clubs, analyzing his favorite picks and deep cuts from each team’s class.
• Jesse Rogers at ESPN went behind the scenes to reveal how the White Sox decided between shortstops Roch Cholowsky and Grady Emerson for the No. 1 overall pick, with direct quotes from inside the decision room.
• With the draft concluded, Baseball America is keeping tabs on all of the undrafted free agents teams are signing in the aftermath.
• You can seemingly cross one Mariners trade target off the list, as Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras said he’s unlikely to waive his no-trade clause this summer.
• Jay Jaffe at Fangraphs checked in on the contenders who are getting the least value out of their first and second basemen.
• A 2018 Bowman Chrome Superfactor Shohei Ohtani rookie card soldfor $3.3M, the third-highest amount ever for a modern baseball card.
• In honor of the All-Star Game, here’s an important Philadelphia-themed baseball history lesson for you.

On this very day 40 years ago, The Houston Astrodome would play host to the 57th annual All-Star Game.    Royals Second Baseman Frank White would ultimately score the deciding run that night and he’s our featured guest at The Crawfish Boxes.   

Q:  You were no stranger to All-Star Games, and your career spanned eras to a degree. What were those games like?

A:  Those All-Star Games were unbelievable.  In the 70’s, you were able to see Willie Mays and play against Hank Aaron and Clemente and all of those guys.   Frank Robinson was my favorite player and watching them go into the Hall of Fame was inspiring.   I still think about it, those guys were all so impressive.

Q:  Your final ASG, would be on this day in 1986.  You sure made it count! What do you remember about that game?    

A:  (laughs)  I didn’t start, I came in late and pinch hit.   Mike Scott was pretty much unhittable that year, and he had started the inning by striking out Cal Ripken and Jessie Barfield ahead of me.   He had me down 0-2 in the count and the Dome started to come alive with 45,000 people standing up anticipating a third strikeout.    I

 was hoping he’d try to sneak a fastball inside, often at that time when a pitcher had you down in the count, they’d throw you that pitch inside and he happened to miss.   I was able to hit a homerun.   That was something to make that happen.   

Q:  Did you know it was gone when you made contact?

A:  You know, when I first hit it, I didn’t think it was going to go out.   The Astrodome was huge of course, a tough place to hit homeruns.   I was glad it sailed over the fence.  

Q:  Was it extra special for you to be able to play for your manager Dick Howser in that game?  

A:  Without question.  I loved playing for him.   

He was a great manager, especially if you were a veteran player because he had spent most of his time previously with the Yankees and they didn’t have a ton of younger players.   They always had established guys who were ready to play, just like us.   He knew how to handle older guys.    

I put it all together in 1985 and Dick let me bat fourth in all seven games of that World Series since we couldn’t use the DH, and I led the Series in RBIs. 

Q:  When you see All-Star Games in this modern era, why doesn’t it mean as much?

A:  I think when we played the games meant more from a competitive standpoint.     Guys played to win.   Today there’s the home field advantage to justify it, but it’s not like when Pete Rose ran over Ray Fosse.    There was so much intensity back then. It’s more of a show now, it’s really for the fans.     

Guys are being interviewed while they’re on the field or in between innings, it’s more of a show and it’s not as physical of a game as it used to be.   

Q:  We have a special guy in Houston who plays second base just as you did.  In all probability, he’ll finish his career just as you played your entire career with Kansas City., he’ll play for one team.  What do you think of Jose Altuve when you watch him play?

A:  He’s a fun guy to watch, he always has been.   I’ve always been envious of the size of the park he plays 81 games in each year (laughs).  Kansas City was the biggest park in the American League back then.   

What I like is the overall consistency.   It just shows you, even with his size, you don’t have to be a big player to be successful in this game.   Jose can do it all.     He’s a Hall of Fame player, no doubt.

Q:  What was tougher?  Politics for you when you held office or dealing with a Roger Clemens fastball back in the day?

A:  When I faced Roger Clemens, I kind of knew what he was going to throw.    That being said, he dominated us in his career.     

With politics, your worst enemies are the politicians (laughs) so I was happy I did that for 9 years for the community, but I’m glad I’m out of it and enjoying my life now.    

San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller made his appearance in the 2026 MLB All-Star game in the top of the ninth inning. His appearance for the National League All-Stars was short, just four pitches, but effective. The right-hander did what Padres fans have come to expect, and he struck out Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox for the first out of the inning. Miller then gave way to the hometown closer Jhoan Duran of the Philadelphia Phillies who got the final two outs of the top of the ninth. The National League was not able to mount a rally in the bottom of the ninth and the result of the game was a 4-0 win for the American League All-Stars.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts managed the NL All-Stars and seemed to be handling the pitchers and their appearances well until the seventh inning when he let Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski throw two innings. It was an odd decision that resulted in Wrobleski allowing a run on a solo home run by Miguel Vargas of the White Sox in the top of the eighth inning, but he also recorded five strikeouts. Prior to Wrobleski, the NL manager had limited each pitcher to one inning of work. By throwing “his guy” for two innings, he shorted Miller and MLB fans of watching the most dominant reliever in the game. It was a tough to see the lone representative for the Padres be limited to just four pitches, but he can now take some time off and prepare for the second half of the season, which kicks off Friday in Kansas City.

Padres News:

• Fans of the Padres have been waiting all season for the sale of the team to be finalized. The hope was the new owners would be in place prior to the trade deadline, but according to a report from Dennis Lin of The Athletic, that does not appear likely.

Baseball News:

• Chris Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies was tagged for three runs in his one inning of work and ended up taking the loss despite playing in front of the hometown crowd.

The LSU Tigers’ baseball program landed yet another major victory following the MLB Draft, as prized infield signee Luke Tucker is set to honor his commitment to the Tigers despite receiving multiple opportunities to begin his professional career and childhood dream.

Rather than signing with an MLB organization, Tucker has chosen to head to Baton Rouge, where he believes head coach Jay Johnson can help elevate his draft stock.

“I know Coach Johnson’s going to do everything he can to make me a first-rounder,” Tucker told Geaux247.

This is another recruiting win for Johnson, who has built a reputation for developing elite talent and preparing players for the big league. His track record played a significant role in Tucker’s choice to pass on the immediate opportunity to play in the minors.

Tucker arrives at LSU as one of the top infield prospects in the 2025 recruiting class and is expected to compete for playing time early in his collegiate career. For the Tigers, keeping Tucker out of the MLB Draft could prove extremely valuable.

The Tigers add another high-ceiling talent to a roster that continues to attract some of the nation’s best players, while Tucker gets the chance to develop in one of college baseball’s premier programs with his sights set on becoming a future first-round pick and fulfilling his lifelong goal of being a professional athlete.

The Mets are bad. The trade deadline approaches: Monday, August 3 at 6 PM EDT. That means it’s time to do an inventory of what the Mets have to move and what they might get for those pieces.

Rental relievers

Relief pitchers on one-year contracts are perhaps the most obvious pieces for a deadline seller to move, and the Mets have a couple good lefty options here. Brooks Raley has a 2.04 ERA over 35.1 innings this season, though his peripherals (3.62 xERA, 15.5% K-BB%) are a bit less favorable. A.J. Minter has been even more effective in his 19 innings, with a 1.42 ERA and peripherals that largely match.

Neither of these guys quite break through into the top tier of arms, but a return similar to what Ryan Helsley fetched last season for the Cardinals—INF Jesus Baez, RHP Nate Dohm, and RHP Frank Elissal—is within the realm of possibility. Something a bit lighter given Helsley’s potentially elite upside (at least at the time of the trade) is more likely, but the Mets should definitely be walking away with a handful of interesting prospects out of both of these deals.

Potential Buyers: Cubs, Twins, Astros, Pirates, Mariners

Relievers with control

This is perhaps a bit more painful, but a selling team should also consider moving any relievers they have under contract (including those under team control). Could these guys help the 2027 Mets? Absolutely. But year-to-year reliever performance is mercurial, and selling high gets the Mets future value while also potentially setting them up to duck the highest level of tax penalties in 2027.

Huascar Brazobán is the first name to consider here who, despite lacking high-end swing-and-miss stuff, has a 2.76 ERA backed by a 2.90 xERA on the season. Brazobán is a credible opener, middle reliever, or even a 7th inning guy. He’s also under team control until 2030, but he’s already 36, which mutes the value somewhat. Expect a modest return but one that should be better than what the Mets gave up in 2024 (infield prospect Wilfredo Lara).

Luke Weaver is possibly the best reliever likely to be available at this deadline, as one of the 10-20 best bullpen arms this season. He’s also signed for a very reasonable $12.5 million in 2027, giving whatever team acquires him two bites at the apple. This is a guy the Mets are hopefully getting a top-100 level prospect for—again, not a Jhoan Duran or Mason Miller level return, both of whom are better and had more control, but something better than the previously mentioned Ryan Helsley return from 2025.

Finally, there’s Devin Williams, who is the least likely arm to be moved here. He’s signed for an additional two years and $30 million beyond this season and has a 4.83 ERA on the season, along with three blown saves. That’s not great, but maybe a team looks at his solid peripherals and chooses to buy low, similar to what the Braves did in acquiring Raisel Iglesias from the Angels in 2022. It seems unlikely that there’s a serious suitor here but if one appears, offloading this deal is definitely in the Mets’ best interests.

Potential Buyers: Varies by arm, but any contender could be in play for Weaver

Starting pitchers

With the Tigers surging in the standings and the Marlins currently sitting in a Wild Card spot, the Mets may actually find themselves in an advantageous position when it comes to starting pitchers. Freddy Peralta, for all his struggles this season, may very well be the best starter moved at the deadline. Clay Holmes, despite working his way back from injury, may be the second-best starter moved at the deadline. Obviously you don’t want to be in a spot where you’re selling in the first place, but holding a limited resource isn’t the worst spot to be.

With Peralta, the hope is that some team is willing to bet on a bounce back to his prior form. His stuff metrics—along with his strikeout and walk numbers—have gone the wrong direction this season, perhaps suggesting his inflated ERA is earned. On the other hand, he has a 3.82 xERA and was a significantly better arm as recently as last season. The Mets are unlikely to get two top-100 prospects back (which is what they gave up in the offseason for Peralta), but they should comfortably beat the QO pick they’d get by holding Peralta and offering him the QO after the season given current market conditions.

Holmes is even trickier. He’s yet to make it back on the mound after breaking his fibula in mid-May, with a potential rehab assignment scheduled for after the All Star break. He also has a player option, further complicating any negotiations given the potential downside risk to a buyer. Given these factors, Holmes might not fetch quite as much as you’d expect given his quality. Nevertheless, the Mets should be able to grab something interesting in a deal here.

Potential Buyers: Astros, Cubs, Braves, White Sox

Outfielders

Tyrone Taylor is the clear name to move. Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing are already receiving the lion’s share of the outfield playing time and should continue to do so for the remainder of the season. Beyond them, the Mets would likely be better off giving someone like Nick Morabito a bit of run in the majors rather than continuing to trot out Taylor, who is a free agent after this season. Taylor has bounced back a bit from his down 2025 with the bat but at this point is a 4th outfielder—not a real difference maker, but maybe there’s a team that could use some extra depth.

The more interesting name to consider here is Luis Robert Jr., who is nearing a return from a swollen lumbar spine that has kept him out since late April. Describing Robert’s injury history as “lengthy” doesn’t do it justice, but he was playing well early in the season before the injury slowed him down. He’s a good upside play capable of handling center field, and he has a team option for next year to boot if things go well. I’d anticipate the Mets wind up getting more back for Robert than they gave up for him initially, if only because Luisangel Acuña has been so bad.

Potential Buyers: Marlins, Phillies, Astros, Blue Jays, Guardians

Catchers

The Mets’ catching situation is odd at the moment. They made the strange decision to extend Luis Torrens, locking him on a two-year deal, and have since been giving him more playing time behind the dish than Francisco Alvarez. Torrens is a 30-year-old with a 71 DRC+ and bottom of the scale batted ball metrics who rates as a very good defender under both Baseball Prospectus’ and Statcast’s metrics (credit to him, he’s improved a lot back there). Alvarez, by contrast, is a 24-year-old with better-than-league average offense and supporting peripherals. Alvarez has been a mediocre framer this year and was poor last year, but was an above average framer in 2024—perhaps the hand injuries have sapped some skill there, or perhaps this is something he can eventually get back.

Given where the Mets are, their decision to prioritize Torrens behind the dish is questionable to say the least. Practically, however, it’s relegated Alvarez to more of a DH role, a spot where his offense isn’t nearly as valuable. If the front office’s view is that Alvarez isn’t a catcher anymore, capitalizing on a thin market—one where Hunter Goodman and Ryan Jeffers seem unlikely to move—could make sense. All else being equal, it probably makes more sense just to keep him barring a particularly large return.

As for Torrens, it’d be very odd (and likely a significant PR hit with players) to trade him so soon after extending him. You can almost certainly count on him sticking around through the deadline.

Potential Buyers: Yankees, Astros, Red Sox, Rangers

Bo Bichette

Bo Bichette’s contract structure makes him basically unmovable. It is highly unlikely that any team would take the risk on him getting hurt and opting in for next season, particularly given his performance to date and the “general leg and right ankle soreness” that held him out of games prior to the All-Star break. If someone is willing to take on any amount of money here, the Mets should pounce, but don’t count on it.

Potential Buyers: Slim to none

Francisco Lindor

You can bury your head in the sand if you like, but the reality is that Francisco Lindor’s name is out there in trade discussions. Reporters don’t typically get the inkling to ask about no-trade clauses out of the blue, there’s usually a root cause behind it. With a recent Steve Cohen podcast recently confirming the long-suspected tension between Lindor and Juan Soto – the younger, better, more highly paid player – it’s not even a stretch to think that Lindor might actually want out at this point. His answer to the aforementioned no-trade clause question didn’t do much to quash that line of thinking at the very least.

Lindor has absolutely been very good in his time with the Mets, and he’s largely paid for the extension the team handed him prior to the 2021 season. That does not mean, however, that his contract does not have negative value at this juncture. Lindor is a 32-year-old shortstop with five years and ~$170M remaining on his contract after this season, one who is also showing clear signs of aging across his athletic metrics and on-field performance. Is he cooked at 32? No, probably not, but his days as a reliably elite, 5+ win player are likely over. Couple that with his seeming unwillingness to move off shortstop and you’ve got a potentially prickly situation that the Mets, from a completely rational, unemotional, process-driven perspective, should explore extricating themselves from.

So who is going to buy that sort of asset? Very difficult to say. Ten, five, or even three years ago there would have been a line of suitors, but most teams are run better than that these days. The Mets would need to find either a team that has…let’s call them regressive tendencies or a contender who is willing to eat the out years for improvement on the infield this season. Oh, and it has to be to a team that Lindor would waive his no-trade clause to.

That limits the suitors somewhat. The Yankees could be a fit, but trading an aging former star to the cross town rival might be too big a PR hit for the team to stomach. You could imagine the Blue Jays rolling the dice here and they likely have the financial flexibility to do so (plus, trading him for Andres Gimenez’s bad deal would be a good bit), but Lindor probably wouldn’t waive his NTC to play in Canada. The Red Sox are perhaps a decent fit, especially if the Mets ate the last year of Trevor Story’s deal in return, but also just dumped Rafael Devers’ money (a much, much worse deal to be clear). The Giants and Padres don’t have the room nor the impetus given their place in the standings.

All of this means that Lindor probably doens’t get moved, at least not at the deadline. But don’t be surprised if the rumors swirl or even if a deal comes to fruition.

Potential Buyers: Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Mariners, Padres

Normally, there would be no minor league update for today, since the full season affiliates did not play yesterday.

However, this is a special, complex-league-only update because Sebastian Walcott, the top prospect in the Rangers’ system and a consensus top 25 prospect in MLB, made his 2026 debut yesterday. Walcott has missed all of 2026 after undergoing internal brace surgery back in February, and began a rehab assignment with the ACL Rangers on Tuesday.

Walcott was the DH and went 1 for 3 with a strikeout and a double before being lifted after three plate appearances. He will presumably continue to play in Surprise at least through this week before joining either Frisco or Round Rock.

2024 3rd rounder Casey Cook, who also has been sidelined this season, is on game five of his rehab assignment in Surprise. Cook was 2 for 4 with a triple, and is slashing .400/.500/.800 in 18 plate appearances for the ACL Rangers. Cook had a disappointing 2025 season, slashing .205/.302/.294 for Hub City, and my guess is that he will return to Hub City once he’s ready to go.

Two-way guy Seong-Jun Kim threw two shutout innings, walking two and striking out three.

2025 20th rounder Jay McQueen was 2 for 4 with a homer. 2025 17th rounder Noah Franklin was 2 for 4. Jack Wheeler homered.

ACL Rangers box score

DSL Rangers Red box score

DSL Rangers Blue box score

No polemic or argument here — just a what if. You fill in the blanks.

The Rule 4 MLB Draft is weird. On its face, without any historical context, it’s just a way of adding younger players to organizations in a structured way. Worse teams pick before better teams, and it loops around until there are no players anyone wants to add left. However, because the players have to be treated at least perfunctorily as people and not as objects, they get financial incentive to join the organization, with players picked earlier getting more such incentive since the cost of not having them is relatively higher.

That’s it, really.

Except then we’ve got the history of the draft as collectively bargained and sometimes unilaterally set forth, where it’s become this crazy thing with bonus pools and strategies and penalties for going over (but not if you only go a little over) and contingency bonuses and participating in the MLB combine to avoid getting too lowball of an offer. Some of these things were natural, perhaps needed evolutions. Some are just complicated for their own sake.

So, given all that: what if there was just a hard slot system? Team takes a guy, guy’s bonus is immediately set at the slot for that pick. Want to pay less? Pass on a pick. Want to pay more? Well, you can’t, without doing stuff that’s not allowed and possibly getting slapped on the wrist or worse by MLB. Guy doesn’t want to play for your organization for slot? Too bad for both of you: you lose the guy, the guy loses a payday and has to wait a year to get re-drafted by someone else. (Maybe this system would include more than a one-year signing ineligibility for players that avoid accepting the slot bonus.)

I’m not going to speculate much in the body, but I do think that if this went into place in a vacuum, the real action would be on all the interaction effects. If the Rule 4 Draft had hard slots, what would teams do in International Amateur Free Agency as a pivot? Would there be more focus on developing undrafted guys? You’d probably see fewer high schoolers taken overall, which might change the developmental role of college programs, and the structure of minor league programs, since they’d have fewer raw high schoolers other than the elite guys… but maybe more younger IFA signees to make up the difference.

I will note that any hard slot system will probably be part of an MLB attempt to lower the cost of the draft and/or amateur talent acquisition overall. But, it doesn’t have to: there’s no reason why MLB can’t pair a hard slot proposal with a vast expansion of the slot per pick.

Anyway, what do you think?

I started tossing out over/unders for the second half back when the Orioles were in the beginning stages of a rebuild. At the time, it felt like a fun exercise for the fans that remained engaged through all the losing. Eventually, Baltimore broke out. The subjects shifted from draft selection to playoff position. The team gave everyone plenty of confidence to make optimistic predictions, and I made callbacks to the dark times when we focused on Hanser Alberto and Rougned Odor.

The team took a significant step back last season. The topics flipped from trade acquisitions to major league players dealt away. I set a conservative number for players with 20 or more home runs and an outlandish total for the number of catchers used in the season.

That brings us to today. The Orioles entered the All-Star break five games under .500 but only two back from the final wild card. Mike Elias proclaimed last month that the team intended to buy at the trade deadline. O’s fans remained skeptical, but the Birds finally rattled off a four-game winning streak at the end of the first half.

You may not think this team is very good, but the American League isn’t exactly full of juggernauts. It’s a difficult time to make predictions in Birdland, but let’s give it a shot!

Over/Under 6.5 players with an OPS+ above 100

The Orioles entered the break with only five players with an OPS+ greater than 100. OPS+ adjusts a players on-base and slugging percentage to account for the ballpark and league that the player plays in. The number is weighted so that a league-average hitter possesses a 100 OPS+. An OPS+ in the triple digits indicates that the player has been an above-average hitter, while double digits indicates the opposite.

Baltimore’s offense was considered to be among the best in baseball heading into the season, but the team only has five everyday players with an OPS+ north of 100. Pete Alonso (129), Blaze Alexander (127), Samuel Basallo (115), Adley Rutschman (114), and Taylor Ward (113) have done their part, but Gunnar Henderson (95) and Jackson Holliday (98) have been disappointments.

It’s relatively easy to imagine Henderson and Holliday picking up a few more points, but could anyone else? Colton Cowser (83) is harmed by his brutal start to the season. Dylan Beavers (89) could maybe get there with a strong second half, but Leody Taveras (91) feels like he’s already maxed out. Jeremiah Jackson (87) is capable of getting hot, but Coby Mayo (83) would need to only face lefties for the remainder of the season.

Over/Under MLB players traded away 1.5

Over/Under MLB players acquired 1.5

I lumped these two together to let people take a crack at the whole buyers/sellers thing. Trevor Rogers and Taylor Ward will both be free agents at the end of the season and could help a team win games in the postseason. Yennier Cano is off to a great start, and Andrew Kittredge has the experience to help a contender down the stretch.

At the same time, the playoffs remain in reach for a motivated front office. The team has a glaring hole at third base with Blaze Alexander on the IL, and the bullpen needs multiple additions to be taken seriously.

There’s also a chance that the Orioles stand pat at see where the season goes. The organization could receive draft pick compensation if the Rogers and Ward leave in free agency after receiving a qualifying offer, but that’s up in the air with labor negotiations already underway.

Over/Under 4.5 combined saves for Ryan Helsley and Félix Bautista in the second half

Ryan Helsley is expected to avoid surgery despite some inflammation around his UCL. The Orioles signed Helsley to a two-year, $28 million dollar deal to be the their closer, but the former Cardinal has been sidelined multiple times with injuries. There’s no public timetable, but Helsley could return at some point in the second half. The 31-year old has eight saves this season.

The Orioles shared two weeks ago that Félix Bautista was throwing after undergoing surgery on his right labrum and rotator cuff last year. The team said The Mountain was throwing “really, really well” and believes Bautista could return by the end of the season. Whether the Orioles will be motivated to send out the flame-thrower could depend on their place in the standings.

Over/Under 11.5 home runs by Taylor Ward

In case anyone is feeling shy about sharing their picks, I’ll shed some light on my worst pick of the season. When asked for a wild prediction back in March, I said that Taylor Ward would hit more home runs than Pete Alonso this season. Baltimore acquired Ward after he tallied 36 homers for the Angels in 2025. I thought Ward would bring his power to Baltimore, and that Alonso could struggle early in the first year of his new contract. Alonso reached the All-Star break with a team-high 21 home runs. Ward hit six in 439 plate appearances.

Ward has reinvented himself with a team-high 75 walks, but the power is still in there somewhere. The free-agent-to-be should find the seats a little more often, but can he double his total over the final 65 games?

Over/Under 3.5th place in the AL Wild Card

This is an awkward way of asking if you think the Orioles will make the playoffs. The juice would definitely be on the under in this scenario. Fans had mostly given up hope last week, but the team picked up some momentum by winning four straight for the first time this season.

Baltimore will need a few more winning streaks to sneak into the playoffs, but they shouldn’t need to climb much higher than .500 for the season. Some team is going to take the third wild card slot. Why not the Orioles?

Rapid Fire

Over/Under a 2.84 FIP for Yennier Cano

Yennier Cano currently holds a 2.58 FIP. That number is south of his 2.84 FIP from his All-Star rookie season. The Orioles desperately need the reliever to keep it going. Will he?

Over/Under 0.5 players batting below .200

Tyler O’Neill (.195) and Coby Mayo (.193) both entered the All-Star break hitting below the “Mendoza Line.” Jackson Holliday is a lot closer than we’d like to admit at .210.

Over/Under 10.5 games played by Heston Kjerstad and Enrique Bradfield Jr.

This isn’t first time that we’ve wondered how many big league games Heston Kjerstad would play in a season. Kjerstad and Enrique Bradfield Jr. are both healthy and playing at Triple-A Norfolk.

Over/Under 161.5 games played by Pete Alonso

Alonso played 162 in 2024 and 2025. He did not miss a game in the first half.

Over/Under 11.5 wins for Brandon Young

Wins don’t move the needle like they used to, but Brandon Young is 7-2 this season. Does he get to 12 wins?

Over/Under

Thanks for following along. Share your picks in the comments below!