Category: Sports News

Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals front office have spent the last year feverishly adding as much pitching talent to the farm system as possible. As ORSTLcardsfan noted in his article yesterday, this has been a “re-stock the pitching pipeline” year. 

I think most of us were happy with the pitchers and types of pitchers brought into the organization, but have the results followed the supposed increase in talented arms?

There are a couple of ways I want to do this. First, by looking at the team level statistics for each of the full-season clubs and how they are trending year over year relative to their respective leagues. The second is by looking at which individual prospects have taken major steps forward or back this season. I will keep the individual pitcher updates to a minimum since Gabe has covered that recently here for the upper minors and here for the lower minors.

Put simply: is the pitching pipeline actually getting better?

Team Statistics Overview

For the team level statistics, I am focusing on age, K%, BB%, and HR%. The average age is weighted by the number of plate appearances against. Yhoiker Fajardo’s 183 batters faced in High-A as a 19-year-old have a greater impact on the team’s average age than former teammate Aaron Holiday’s 56 batters faced as a 26-year-old. 

There has been an explosion of home runs at the three lowest levels of the minor leagues, so I also looked at leaguewide statistics. I think this is helpful because it gives some context on the performances of the Cardinals pitchers (and hitters, for that matter), but also gives us a more consistent baseline to evaluate against.

Changes in Prospect Grades

I am highlighting players that, in my opinion, have significantly changed their prospect grade based on their performance this year. My intent was to be very conservative  about moving players since we are still relatively early on in the year. For example, Leonel Sequera has a 9.07 ERA and has given up 12 home runs through his first 43.2 innings pitched. Obviously this is a horrible stat line, but he also showed improved velocity in spring training, moved up a level, and is running a 16.4% K-BB% as a 20-year-old in High-A. I consider him to be holding steady with his preseason expectations/grade. 

For injured players, I am delineating between players who were injured entering the year and those who have had injuries since the start of spring training. So, Cooper Hjerpe’s prospect grade has not changed since the start of the year, but Ixan Henderson and Frank Elissalt are trending down.

I am not saying this is the right or only methodology, but I am trying to measure progress relative to our offseason expectations and that is the best I could come up with.

Finally, I am including the FanGraphs preseason ranking for each prospect for reference. I don’t agree with their list completely, but it is a solid reference point. Now, on to Memphis!  

Memphis Redbirds

The first section in the table shows the year-over-year changes to the age, K%, BB%, and HR% for the International League as a whole. The second section of the table shows the Cardinals-specific performance in 2025 and 2026. Finally, the Cardinals vs. League section shows the Cardinals staff performance relative to the league year-over-year. The scores are scaled so that 100 is average and higher is better.  So, the Cardinals Age score of 104 indicates that their average pitcher is 4% younger than the International League as a whole. 

Overall, the Redbirds have improved in every metric. The average age of the pitching staff has decreased from 27 to 26.3, which is fourth youngest in the 20-team league. Strikeouts, walks, and home runs have all gone from just below league average to above. 

Prospects holding steady

Quinn Matthews (10), Brycen Mautz (17), Hancel Rincon (18), Pete Hansen (19), Luis Gastelum (31), Skylar Hales (38)

Prospect injured list 

Tekoah Roby (12), Sem Robberse (22)

Prospects trending up

Max Rajcic (NR) has transitioned from starting to relieving quite nicely. As a relief-only arm, he is probably not a top-30 prospect in their system, but he now looks like an actual major leaguer. Cade Winquest (NR) counts as trending up simply by virtue of being returned from the Yankees after being made their first Rule 5 selection since 2011. Winquest was ranked as the Yankees 12th-best prospect by FanGraphs, and based on his 40 FV grade, would have ranked between 23-33 on the Cardinals offseason list. Anyway, getting an arm like Winquest back in the system was a great break. He is pitching in relief now, but still throwing five or six pitches, so if everything breaks right, he could follow the Kyle Leahy path to the rotation. 

Prospects trending down

Tink Hence (11) has moved to a relief role and suffered a big drop in velocity and results out of the Memphis bullpen. After a stint on the development list, Hence at least showed better stuff in his return to Memphis.

Good to see Tink Hence's velocity back up in his return from the FCL.

He sat 94-95 MPH on his heater and recorded a season-high 96.3 MPH. pic.twitter.com/2cWOJg6KbE

— Kareem Haq (@KareemSSN) June 3, 2026

Still, Hence may fall out of updated top-30 Cardinals lists and is still taking up a spot on the 40-man roster. Never count a pitcher with Hence’s talent out, but he is running out of time. 

Ixan Henderson (16) is still working his way back from an arm injury that surfaced in spring training. He is apparently still on track to pitch in July or August, but the injury timing was quite unfortunate following his breakout 2025. 
The Matt Pushard (43) era ended after seven magical innings in St. Louis. The Rule 5 draftee was returned to Miami.

Springfield Cardinals

Home runs in the Texas League are up almost 40%! This is encouraging context for a star-studded rotation. The Springfield staff as a whole is not quite matching up to the historically effective 2025 team, but it is still above average and is significantly younger.

Prospects holding steady

Liam Doyle (2), Jurrangelo Cijntje (5), Chen-Wei Lin (15), Austin Love (32), Braden Davis (36)

Prospect injured list 

Brandon Clarke (6), Cooper Hjerpe (21)

Prospects trending up

Mason Molina (41) was the least heralded member of the Springfield rotation to start the year, but has been the best starter in terms of ERA and FIP. He came into the year as a lottery ticket (acquired in the Phil Maton trade) that likely profiled as a bullpen arm. Molina showed off a devastating fastball in spring training and now looks like he might profile as a backend starter. He is easily a top-30 prospect in the organization for me. 

Prospects trending Down

FanGraphs always includes relief pitchers with great arms like Randel Clemente (45) on their prospect lists. Clemente was not a real prospect coming into the season, in my opinion. He is still walking almost a batter per inning. He is striking out 40% of hitters, so he will probably keep getting chances, but the control is just not clicking. 

Peoria Chiefs

To one-up the Texas League, Midwest League home runs are up more than 50% with around a 2% increase in both K% and BB%. Peoria’s staff has the highest home run per batter faced in the league, but has improved strikeout and walk rates. It will be worth following to see if the bloated home run totals are still partially a small sample-size issue, or if the trend continues. 

Prospects holding steady

Leonel Sequera (28), Blake Aita (35)

Prospects trending up

Tanner Franklin (24) is probably the biggest up arrow guy in the Cardinals system. Keith Law ranked him as the 25th-best prospect in baseball at the Athletic. While this feels a little aggressive, he is poised to start joining other top 100 lists if he keeps up his current pace a bit longer.  Yhoiker Fajardo (33) is one of six 19-year-olds to pitch in High-A this year.He has the 11th-best K-BB% (minimum 40 IP) of any pitcher in the minor leagues at 25%. Fajardo has struggled with the home run ball, like everyone in Peoria, but he could be making a run at top 100 prospect lists by year’s end as well. Jacob Odle (NR) is the biggest arrow up pitching prospect in the system that was unranked entering the season. He has just one High-A start but terrorized the Florida State League with a wicked fastball averaging 97.1 MPH and 17.5 inches of induced vertical break (IVB). For reference, Chase Burns is the only qualified starting pitcher in MLB to throw harder (98 MPH) with more IVB (18.7). Odle has less than 100 professional innings pitched and is already 22, but he is officially on the prospect watchlist. 

Prospects trending down

Nate Dohm (34) was acquired in the Ryan Helsley trade and was one of the more popular picks to break out this year. As a former reliever with great stuff, he was in a similar category as Tanner Franklin entering the year. Unfortunately, he has battled command and only been able to get through 24 innings in nine appearances. I am not ready to write him off, but he is trending in the wrong direction. Jose Davila (37) has barely pitched this year and Frank Elissalt (42) has not appeared at all. Despite the low ranking, Elissalt has a lot of fans in the prospect-watching community thanks to a nasty fastball, but he is still working his way back from a hip injury suffered in spring training. 

Palm Beach Cardinals

Florida State League home runs are up 37%, right in line with the Palm Beach team’s year-over-year increase. Strikeout rates in the league have jumped almost 3%, which makes the Cardinals increase look a bit less impressive. The Palm Beach roster is light on prospects relative to the other teams in the system, but Brian Holiday is a non-ranked name to watch that has just joined the club after returning from his Tommy John rehab. 

Prospects holding steady 

Cade Crossland (23), Jack Martinez (39), Ethan Young (40)

Prospects trending down 

Yordy Herrera (44) is in the same category for me as Clemente, but I am including him for completeness of the FanGraphs list. He is still in Low-A and not getting results. 

Conclusion

So, where does that leave us? At the team level, every level except Palm Beach has gotten younger. All four teams are striking out between 3%-11% more than the league average. Three of the four teams have improved their walk rate relative to the league, with Springfield being the exception. Peoria’s staff has been a weird outlier on the home run front, but the other staffs are above average in that department as well. To me, the younger staffs and improved strikeout rates are encouraging signs that the talent level within the system is rising.

When looking at individual players trending up vs. trending down, I think the signs are encouraging as well. Franklin and Fajardo are both taking major steps forward.  Odle is one of the most exciting out-of-nowhere arms I can remember in quite some time. Mason Molina could be a back-end starter and getting Cade Winquest back in the system was a nice bonus. These developments more than offset the continued struggles of Hence, the injuries to Ixan Henderson and Frank Elissalt, and the poor start by Nate Dohm. 

Cooper Hjerpe made his first rehab appearance on Friday night in the complex league. How Hjerpe, Henderson, and Clarke pitch in the second half will have a huge impact on the pitching picture going into 2027, but based on what we’ve seen so far, Bloom’s plan is trending in the right direction. 

Good morning, baseball fans!

Another week of San Francisco Giants baseball comes to a close this weekend, which means it’s time to make our picks for Player of the Week!

It should come as absolutely no surprise that my pick for this week is Jung Hoo Lee! As of the time I am writing this, Lee has a 12-game hit streak going, and he’s racked up 20 in the last seven games alone. I’m always a huge fan of Lee, but this last couple of weeks have made me even more of one. I’m still kicking myself for not buying his jersey while I was at the park this year.

Who is your pick for Player of the Week?

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants continue their series against the Chicago Cubs this morning at 11:20 a.m. PT.

Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) was the player I hoped would be my favorite Rockie by now.

Hope can be an unfair thing to put on a prospect. Prospects are projections, not guarantees. Their timelines are rarely clean, and prospects should not become stand-ins for what we wish our baseball team was.

But fans do this anyway.

I did it with Veen.

And it was easy. The Rockies drafted him ninth overall in the 2020 MLB Draft as a first-round talent out of high school, and the tools flashed enough during his early minor-league days to make the hype feel reasonable.

There were warning signs, too: High-velocity fastballs, chase, and injuries all complicated the path. But for a franchise desperate for anything resembling a future, Veen became an easy place to put that hope.

Spring training 2025 put the hype on full display, bat flips and all. The disappointment when Veen did not break camp with the Rockies was real, but he went to Triple-A, kept hitting, and quickly got the call.

Veen hit .118/.189/.235 with a .424 OPS and a 37.8% strikeout rate across 37 plate appearances, and the pitch-level shape was not much kinder. Fastballs beat him, breaking stuff neutralized him, and pitchers had a clear path through the zone. Veen was soon optioned back, and while he finished the year with a measured rebound in Albuquerque, the timeline had split from the dream.

By the end of 2025, Veen was no longer the same prospect.

Spring 2026 showed he was not the same person either. 

Physically, Veen looked almost unrecognizable. This was not the same wiry kid. He showed up built out. The energy was still there, but the body was different: thicker, stronger, and more physically mature.

If spring 2025 was about hype, spring 2026 was about transformation. And the unseen transformation mattered more.

“Definitely one of the bigger, main things was sobering up,” said Veen. “I had a pretty big substance abuse problem for a few years. But I’m completely clean and sober. 

“There were times last year where it was out of hand. Coming home in the offseason, I had to look in the mirror and make some adjustments. And I definitely got closer to God, and it made me want to be the best version of myself in every aspect.” 

Scouting reports describe the machine. Stats show the output. But they cannot show what it means to look in the mirror and decide something has to change. 

For a little while, the baseball gave that change some joy.

Then the momentum was stopped by another injury. Veen landed on the 10-day IL on March 25 with a right knee contusion, went on a rehab assignment on March 31, and was activated and optioned to Triple-A on April 4.

The Rockies have not handed him anything. The new body, the honesty, the spring moment — all of it has to become baseball evidence.

And now, Veen is giving us reason to pay attention to the baseball again.

The present-tense case 

Across 192 at-bats in Triple-A this year, Veen is hitting .318/.416/.489 with an .927 OPS, seven home runs, and 37 RBI. If the season ended today, his .505 slugging percentage would be his highest since 2021 with Fresno. Veen also has 13 stolen bases, second on the team.

The PCL and Albuquerque always demand some skepticism, but his overall line still grades out at a 122 wRC+, and he is hitting .360/.452/.562 with a 1.014 OPS away from Isotopes Park.

Against lefties, Veen is hitting .318/.396/.529 with a .925 OPS. Against righties, the slugging is lighter, but the on-base skill is carrying the profile at .318/.440/.486 with a .926 OPS.

For a left-handed corner outfielder, handling lefties creates a cleaner path to starts instead of protected usage.

But the surface line is not the most interesting part.

The real case is in the underlying shape: improved approach, more walks, and evidence that the fastball question is becoming less glaring.

Profile repair, not power breakout 

Veen is not simply bigger now and therefore hitting the ball harder. His average exit velocity is roughly the same, and his 2025 Triple-A contact quality was stronger in several places: a .393 xSLG last year compared to .368 this year, and a 47.9% hard-hit rate compared to 43.4%.

The difference is the offensive shape. The walk rate has nearly doubled from 8.4% to 15.5%, the OBP has jumped from .359 to .422, and the strikeout and whiff rates have stayed in the same range. He is getting to a better line without needing every improvement to come from raw contact quality. 

May showed the adjustment 

May was the eye-opener outside the strike zone. 

Veen saw more pitches outside the zone in May than he did in April and swung at far fewer of them. That was the adjustment: stop helping pitchers, force more pitches into the zone, and let the strength and athleticism play from better counts.

The results moved with it. As the strikeout rate dropped and the walk rate climbed, the production followed: Veen went from a .353 OBP and .393 slugging percentage in April to a .495 OBP and .617 slugging percentage in May.

Over the past two weeks, Veen has swung at 55% of the pitches he has seen, and there has been regression in the approach. He is still producing, hitting .444 with a .714 slugging percentage to start June, but a hot streak is not the same thing as development fully holding.

The approach gains need to show up more consistently because big-league pitchers already know how to beat him — even if there is progress there, too.

The fastball question 

Veen’s first major-league look gave pitchers a clear plan, which makes the Triple-A fastball data meaningful. 

The fastball data is encouraging because the worst version of the problem has started to recede. In 2024, Veen was underwater against four-seamers across the board, with a .274 xwOBA, .158 xBA, and 25.5% whiff rate. The contact quality started to recover in 2025, but the approach remained aggressive: he swung at four-seamers 51.2% of the time.

This year looks more like a hitter choosing better fastballs to attack. That swing rate has dropped to 43.9%, while the .354 xwOBA and .279 xBA are both his best marks of the three-year sample. The whiff rate has also fallen to 19.7%. The .371 xSLG is not as loud as last year’s .437, so seeing that slugging return toward 2025 levels would be a logical next step if the improved discipline holds.

If the fastball progress is the green light, the slider remains the warning label. Veen is still swinging at sliders 60.6% of the time, with a .200 xBA and 36.0% whiff rate against the pitch in 2026. That gives big-league pitchers a clear place to test him.

Veen’s 21.8% Triple-A strikeout rate is playable, but Triple-A strikeout rates usually climb in the majors. Based on the typical FanGraphs translation, his rough major-league expectation is closer to 26–27%.

Still workable, but the margin gets thinner. The walks have to come with it, the power has to show up, and the chase cannot balloon.

That is the line between progress and arrival.

The development is showing up in the right places: better decisions, better fastball results, more walks, and usable production. Veen is doing enough damage to start making another major-league look feel realistic.

The old version did not arrive on schedule. This one might.

Different timeline, different hope 

The baseball case is stronger than it has been in a while, but this is where I keep coming back to Veen’s words.

He talked about looking in the mirror, making adjustments, getting closer to God, and wanting to become the best version of himself. None of that fixes chase rate. None of it guarantees another big-league role.

But the person matters.

Getting sober is hard. Not being sober is harder.

I know.

And maybe that is why the hope feels different now. The old hope was mine. It was about the player I wanted Veen to become for the Rockies.

Now the hope feels different. It is less something I am putting on him and more something I want for him.

I want Veen to feel hopeful about himself — not just about another call-up or a role with the Rockies, but about the life he is building.

The baseball still matters, and it is interesting again. But maybe the best part is that baseball no longer has to carry the whole story.

Different timeline. Different hope.

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On the farm

Triple-A: Salt Lake Bees 1, Albuquerque Isotopes 0

The Albuquerque Isotopes (33-28) got strong pitching performances but lost 1-0 to the Salt Lake Bees (31-29).

Blake Adams was excellent despite taking the loss. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits over five innings, walking one and striking out nine on 86 pitches. His only walk came in the first inning, and that runner scored on Josh Lowe’s RBI double for the game’s only run. Mason Green followed with 2 1/3 scoreless innings and three strikeouts, keeping Albuquerque within one.

Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) was the standout on offense, going 3-for-4 with two singles and his second triple of the season. The triple came off a 95.6 mph fastball and left the bat at 109.8 mph. Drew Avans added two singles and Vimael Machín had the other hit, but the Isotopes could not turn the traffic into runs, going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine on base.

Albuquerque had more hits, more stolen bases, fewer errors, and one fewer strikeout than Salt Lake, but the one run was enough. Isotopes pitchers also walked four batters, one more than the Bees, and the first of those walks came around to score.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 8, Portland Sea Dogs 7

The Hartford Yard Goats (29-24) scored six runs in the ninth inning to beat the Portland Sea Dogs (28-26), 8-7.

GJ Hill carried the offense. He went 2-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI, and two runs scored. His solo shot in the second gave Hartford a 2-0 lead, and his three-run homer in the ninth cut Portland’s lead to 7-5. Hill is now hitting .220 with a .738 OPS, seven home runs, and 24 RBI.

Bryant Betancourt finished the comeback with a two-out, bases-clearing double in the ninth to put Hartford in front. It was his 12th double of the season, and he is now hitting .257 with an .810 OPS and 33 RBI. The Yard Goats had only five hits but drew 11 walks and turned their biggest chance into the deciding inning.

The game nearly got away from Hartford in the sixth, when Griffin Herring (No. 10 PuRP) allowed all seven Portland runs while recording just two outs. His ERA jumped to 14.85 after the outing. The bullpen recovered from there, with Cade Denton throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and Andrew Baker striking out the side in the ninth for his fourth save. Baker now owns a 2.57 ERA.

High-A: Spokane Indians 12, Hillsboro Hops 5

The Spokane Indians (23-32) piled up 13 hits and went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position in a 12-5 win over the Hillsboro Hops (24-31).

Robert Calaz (No. 6 PuRP) led the offense, going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI, two runs, a walk, and his eighth stolen base of the season. He is now hitting .262 with a .729 OPS. Jack O’Dowd also had a big night, going 2-for-5 with his fourth home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. O’Dowd is hitting .412 with a 1.245 OPS.

Max Belyeu (No. 15 PuRP) added the biggest swing of the sixth inning with a two-run homer, his fifth of the season, and finished with three RBI. Roynier Hernandez went 2-for-5 with his fourth homer and is now hitting .306 with a .827 OPS. Alan Espinal also reached four times, going 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI, and a stolen base.

Jackson Cox (No. 16 PuRP) got the win after striking out 11 over five innings. He allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits, did not walk a batter, and has a 4.23 ERA on the season. Austin Emener handled the final four innings for his first save, allowing one run with two strikeouts. Spokane pitchers struck out 13 and did not issue a walk.

Single-A: Lake Elsinore Storm 9, Fresno Grizzlies 4

The Fresno Grizzlies (29-26) gave up seven runs in the fifth inning and lost 9-4 to the Lake Elsinore Storm (32-23).

Marcos Herrera took the loss after allowing nine runs on 11 hits over 4.2 innings. He walked four, struck out four, gave up two home runs, and his ERA rose to 9.28. Bryson Van Sickle kept the game from getting further out of hand, throwing 4.1 scoreless innings with one walk and one strikeout. He lowered his ERA to 2.84.

Carlos Renzullo had the biggest swing for Fresno, going 2-for-3 with his fourth double of the season and three RBI. He is now hitting .280 with a .725 OPS. Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP) went 2-for-4 with his 15th double and two runs scored, pushing his average to .332 with an .883 OPS. Tanner Thach added a hit and is hitting .357 with a 1.008 OPS.

Fresno had eight hits and went 2-for-5 with runners in scoring position, but Lake Elsinore had 14 hits, two homers, and 26 total bases. The fifth inning decided it.

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Scoring on ball that bounced off Adell’s head changed from HR to four-base error | MLB.com

On MLB.com, Thomas Harding explains the scoring change that took a home run away from Rockies rookie TJ Rumfield and turned it into a four-base error on Jo Adell. It is a tough break for Rumfield, who now has seven homers instead of eight, but the play gives him a pretty strange story about the homer he had for three days before MLB took it off the board.

Rockies Pitching Staff Showing Signs of Life, Feltner Returns and Reinforcements Near | SI.com

In a Rockies On SI piece, Laura Lambert looks at the state of Colorado’s pitching staff as Ryan Feltner returns from the IL and Jimmy Herget and Victor Vodnik move closer to rehab outings. The article does not frame the Rockies as suddenly fixed, but it does point to a little more stability with Feltner returning to a decimated rotation and bullpen reinforcements on the way.

Breaking Down the Diamondbacks’ 5 Potential Trade Options | SI.com

On Arizona Diamondbacks On SI, Alex D’Agostino looks at five possible left-handed bats Arizona could consider if it buys at the deadline, including Rockies first basemen TJ Rumfield and Troy Johnston. The piece notes both would fit the Diamondbacks’ need for a first base/DH bat, while also acknowledging the complication of trying to make an intra-division trade with Colorado.

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Today’s Reflections

I could post more PCA stories (and I probably did too many), but after I went through and posted the supportive and the mixed stories about his play, I came across a couple of closed-minded, well, fellows, who were looking for a new target for the shooting range. One guy’s title was “The rollercoaster Pete Crow-Armstrong experience is becoming far too much for Cubs.” He was below the “mixed” line, but only because his title was harsher than what he wrote. I do think that he either didn’t absorb what was happening or totally missed it with this short paragraph: “Even with the heroics on Thursday, PCA needs to reminded that he can’t give up on the play the way that he did once he realized the fly ball landed behind him. There’s no excuse, that was a bad look for Crow-Armstrong. Not the first he has had this season.”

Yes, PCA stood there in one spot, but he didn’t give up on the play. Running the video back few times, Happ and Suzuki were even with PCA at full speed, and as fast as he is, I don’t think he could have run them down in the next 60-70 feet. Plus, you don’t want three hands reaching for the ball. So, I think this author was “reaching’” in an attempt to match his tough-guy title.

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However, there’s no walking-the-line on this article, “How Do Cubs Fans Still Defend This Bum” – MLB Fans Are Laughing At Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Worst Play Ever”. Ever? Wowwww. I think with 950 career chances in his MLB career (up to Friday’s game), he can be allowed to lose a ball at dusk once. And, yes, it probably is his worst play ever. By a lot. Because he’s PCA.

“Athletics slugger Shea Langeliers hit one deep to center, and PCA could track the ball. Instead, he stood with open arms in the field trying to locate it. To make things worse, the ball landed way behind him.“ 1) Hopefully the first phrase was a typo because he couldn’t track the ball, or he would have made the catch. 2) I’m not an authority or a coach, but I was under the impression the main thing to do (other than scream ”I lost it!!!“ in front of 40,000 fans) is to hold your arms out in a non-waving position to signal to the other outfielders that he’s in trouble — that’s how Happ and Suzuki got the jump on getting to the ball. I mean, he could have dropped to the ground in a fetal position and waited out the play.

Here’s more: “MLB fans never hesitated to troll the slugger for his mistake.”

“How do Cubs fans still defend this bum?” one fan asked.

“Bro completely lost the ball in the lights and just stood there like it was someone else’s problem. Brutal,” wrote another fan.

“Then he just stares at it like a kid in t-ball,” another fan commented.

That’s only part of the comments IN the story. It doesn’t seem professional to use several comments by trolls to support your weak story. So it is a rather empty article without clear or original thought.

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I’m sorry — I don’t think I’m here to critique other writers’ stories in detail, but I couldn’t let these two go as regular links below.

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In much better news, I went to the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game Thursday night. Folks, you know how bad Dansby Swanson has looked at the plate? That is nothing compared to what I saw from Kyle Tucker — off-balance swings, weak contact on bad pitches, taking strikes. Beyond clueless. Dave Roberts seems to be one the nicest guys in baseball, but for him to say this about Tucker, “I think that it speaks to his toughness and fight to still try to perform,” Roberts said. “But it still wasn’t right, as far as not even close to being locked in.” That was almost a public flogging compared to his usual upbeat comments. TUCKER. LOOKS. BAD. That simple.

And I got a walk-off, too — Ketel Marte HR inside the foul pole. And that collision between little Vargas and the brick wall of Muncy? THAT was brutal. And no, I’m not becoming a D-Backs fan — I’m just passing the time until the Cubs come to town.

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• Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): Jason Benetti mends fences with White Sox, makes first Chicago visit for NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’. And he will be calling the game at Wrigley with Jim Deshaies — as it should be (just my thoughts).

Analysis of PCA’s night (and a bit about Swanson):

• Andrew Wright (Yardbarker): Pete Crow-Armstrong redeems himself for blunder with first career walk-off in Cubs’ comeback. “The Chicago Cubs may have secured the win that will turn their season around in front of an electric Wrigley Field crowd on Thursday night.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Redemptions for Pete Crow-Armstrong, Dansby Swanson as Cubs return to walk-off ways: ‘This is who we are’. ”Swanson, who’s been the biggest target for frustrated fan complaints thanks to the .183 batting average he carried into Thursday, got his own moment of redemption, delivering a two-out RBI single that tied the game in the ninth.“

About last night 😏 pic.twitter.com/mxH7SYWDMa

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) June 5, 2026

• Kevin Druley (Deadspin): Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Redemption Could Be Exactly What Chicago Cubs Needed. ““In the past I might have dwelt on that, and that always ends up affecting how you go about the rest of your day,” Crow-Armstrong said. “People having my back, me not hiding from the next at-bat, yeah, I’m growing up a little bit and I’m proud of that, but I’ve got to keep it going for the rest of the year.”“
• Shaan Donahue (Just Baseball): Who Is Pete Crow-Armstrong as a Hitter? “It’s time to dive into the ever-fascinating Pete Crow-Armstrong and figure out exactly who he is as a hitter.”
• Zoe Grossman (Chicago Cubs On SI): 3 Takeaways After Pete Crow-Armstrong Walks It Off for Insane Cubs Comeback. “The Cubs plated four runs in the 9th in an improbable comeback to salvage the series finale against the A’s in a 7-6 victory.”
• Brent Maguire (MLB.com): Lucky charm? Cubs legend spotted going Tarps Off before Cubs’ wild comeback. “Who’s to say if Rizzo’s presence in the ballpark helped spark a dramatic Cubs win that featured many twists and turns?”

Tarps off Rizzo was a game-changer. pic.twitter.com/IodpwdCY9t

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 5, 2026

Let’s continue to talk trades:

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Jed Hoyer Reminds Us of the Other Major Consideration for Major Trades at the Deadline. “The World Series odds are such a driving force when it comes to doing harm to the future of your organization (which is, by definition, what these trades are: some level of long-term damage in exchange for near-term help).”

Jed Hoyer on trade deadline aggressiveness: “Your World Series odds are probably going to be correlated to your odds of getting a bye and getting a bye is such a big deal…A lot of that aggressiveness is based on that ability to get the bye.” 1/2

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) June 5, 2026

Even though a wild card-ish team could desperately need him more than a 1st place team, it's the one in first that might land him. In other words, the Cubs need to get moving up the standings if they want to add in a big way! 3/3

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) June 5, 2026

• Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): Cubs urged to pay whatever price it takes to acquire Tarik Skubal. “ESPN’s Jeff Passan is urging the Cubs to acquire Skubal for whatever price the Detroit Tigers ask for. It would be a bold move, but for the Cubs, with a struggling rotation, Skubal is just what they need to become a legitimate World Series contender.”
• Patrick McAvoy (Chicago Cubs On SI): Cubs-Tigers Tarik Skubal Trade Would Flip NL Central On Its Head. “If the Cubs were to land Skubal, they would immediately be viewed as the favorites in the division, even over the Milwaukee Brewers.”
• Jon Conahan (Sporting News): Cubs have to fix biggest issue and can do so by making non-Tarik Skubal trade with Tigers. “One name in particular that they should keep an eye on is Casey Mize, with one CBS writer recently saying he should be traded.”
• Patrick McAvoy (Boston Red Sox On SI): Red Sox’s Aroldis Chapman Floated for 2 NL Central Clubs. “Two of Chapman’s former teams stand out as contenders that need bullpen/closer help.”
• Joey Mistretta (Clutch Points): Cubs’ perfect trade offer for Red Sox’s Aroldis Chapman. “Breaking down the perfect trade proposal the Chicago Cubs could offer the Boston Red Sox for star reliever Aroldis Chapman.” (**Uh-no.**)
• Casey McAleer (Da Windy City): Ian Happ reaches 1,000 career hits as Cubs veteran adds another milestone. “The longest-tenured Cub continues building a legacy that spans multiple eras of baseball on the North Side.” (**GIVE HIM HIS MONEY!**)

A hustle double for Ian Happ's 1,000th career hit! pic.twitter.com/N4emkgvmG9

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) June 4, 2026

Hitting and Pitching thoughts:

• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): As Cubs’ downward spiral continues, this brand of baseball ‘makes you sit in discomfort’. “As much as you want to put your finger on it and say, ‘Change it,’ the game makes you wait,” Craig Counsell said. “It makes you sit in discomfort for a little while.”
• Jared Wyllys (Allchgo.com): Cubs’ skid won’t end until offense comes back to life. “Though the pitching staff has suffered myriad injuries, none of that matters all that much when the team isn’t scoring runs. In May, the Cubs ranked 27th in OPS, with or without runners in scoring position.”
• Carson Wolf (Just Baseball): Alex Bregman Needs To Be Who the Cubs Paid Him To Be. “After a slow start to the 2026 season, Alex Bregman needs to return to form and help get the Cubs’ season back on track.”

Alex Bregman pushed back on the idea that seeing more breaking balls has led to his slow start to 2026, via @sahadevsharma.

“I really don’t think bat speed has anything to do with it. I think mechanics are everything, to be honest… I don’t really think the pitch type matters… pic.twitter.com/9WRQgoqnxX

— Baseball Is Dead (@baseballisdead_) June 2, 2026

• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Just like he did with Astros, Alex Bregman making presence felt with behind-the-scenes impact for Cubs. “Bregman, who got a $175 million free-agent contract last winter, brought a reputation as a strong clubhouse presence. And a former Astros teammate is seeing that with the Cubs.”
• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports.com): How Two Returning Starters Could Strengthen the Cubs Rotation. “This has linked Chicago to potential trades for starters, but if these veterans could return at a strong level, then they may be able to keep some of their top prospects.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): A Certain Power-Hitting Cubs Prospect is Up to Number 67 in Baseball. “Josiah Hartshorn’s breakout this year has been so impressive – so complete – that I think it’s useful to highlight the REALLY WILD stuff when it happens, even if it keeps happening.”

Food For Thought:

Samuel McClain (April 15, 1943 – June 15, 2015), better known as Mighty Sam early in his career, and later billed as Mighty Sam McClain, was an American soul blues singer and songwriter. He was born in Monroe, Louisiana.[2] As a five-year-old, he began singing in his mother’s Gospel Church. McClain left home when he was thirteen and followed local R&B guitarist, Little Melvin Underwood through the Chitlin’ Circuit, first as his valet and then as lead vocalist himself at 15.

While singing at the 506 Club in Pensacola, Florida, he was introduced to the record producer and DJ, Papa Don Schroeder and in 1966, McClain recorded a cover version of Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams”. Several recording sessions at Muscle Shoals produced the further singles. For 15 years, first in Nashville, Tennessee, then in New Orleans, McClain worked at menial jobs. McClain toured and recorded in Japan in 1989.

That’s at least three hours south of me. A friend saw one two hours to the northeast. Maybe they are closing in!

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

The Red Sox probably shouldn’t be buying with this roster, but if they choose to, there’s a mystery for us to pick apart. 

ESPN’s Buster Olney reported on the “Just Baseball” podcast that the Red Sox were actively seeking a right-handed bat to upgrade the offense, even at the expense of taking on a bad contract to do so. 

Should that really be the case when Boston probably has a few bad contracts to offload on its own end (i.e. Masataka Yoshida, etc.)? No, especially since this team still wouldn’t have enough to magically craft a postseason path. 

Nonetheless, for whatever motives the front office has, should the group pursue a bat that fits that description, here are five names to consider.

NOLAN ARENADO – Diamondbacks

Arizona just acquired Arenado in the offseason, but never say never to another transaction months later.

The Red Sox were constantly linked to the third baseman two offseasons ago before they signed Alex Bregman early in spring training. The 35-year-old is under contract through the end of the 2027 season and he’s been fairly serviceable with an OPS just under .800 with his new team. 

MATT CHAPMAN – Giants

The Red Sox traded a hefty contract to San Francisco with Rafael Devers last summer. Will the Giants celebrate the anniversary by returning the favor? 

Chapman makes $25 million annually through the 2030 season, giving Boston a new staple at third base if the team moves on from the concept of Caleb Durbin filling that stop. Unlike Arenado, Chapman has been brutal this season with a .652 in his age-33 season with regression over the last two years in San Francisco. 

MIKE TROUT – Angels

Rumors from 98.5 The Sports Hub went crazy about this last month. It WILL NOT happen, but we’ll throw it in here to be fun. 

ISAAC PAREDES – Astros

Paredes swirled through the rumor mill in connection to Boston all offseason before the Durbin trade that sent Kyle Harrison to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Astros are terrible and could revisit the idea. 

KETEL MARTE – Diamondbacks

Easily the most dynamic bat discussed in the Red Sox realm last winter, he’s a switch-hitter that instantly elevates the unit. This move would clearly be for beyond 2026 and require young pitching going back to Arizona. 

Worth it now to start building a functioning offense for 2027? 

What is the bare minimum you are expecting from Adolis Garcia the rest of this season? My hopes of his breaking out at any point have effectively been dashed by his poor play on the field, but I still reserve hope that he can at least be a threat in the box at any given time.

Maybe that’s the actual floor to what to expect.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Adolis Garcia has been searching, searching, searching for answers. Has he finally stumbled on the right formula for success ($)?
• Cristopher Sanchez has been a machine during his run of scoreless innings. His pregame routine has been a big part of that ($).

MLB news:

• The owners had a meeting this week to talk about the CBA negotiations. What can be gleaned from that meeting?
• One of the only good things to possibly come out of the negotiations could be the end of the local blackout rules ($).
• Looks like Max Muncy and Ildemaro Vargas both avoided a serious injury after a pretty bad collision at first base.

When Shohei Ohtani pitches, the chances are that his opponents won’t score.

Ohtani hasn’t allowed a run in five of his 10 starts this season. In another, he limited the damage to a solitary unearned run.

Only one run has been charged to him in the 25 innings he’s pitched over his last four starts.

Ohtani has been close to perfect.

He will have to remain that way until the end of the season if he is to have any chance to win the National League’s Cy Young Award.

As spectacular as Ohtani has been, this isn’t enough.

Not enough starts.

Not enough innings.

With the Dodgers using a six-man rotation to better manage their starters’ regular-season workloads, Ohtani has pitched only 61 innings this season.

The season isn’t even 40% complete and Ohtani is already 25 ⅓ innings behind the Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez, who has started three more games than he has.

In starts and innings, Ohtani is also behind other Cy Young Award contenders such as Jacob Misiorowski (12 starts, 71 innings), Chris Sale (12 starts, 72 ⅔ innings) and Paul Skenes (13 starts, 70 innings).

Overcoming such a deficit in quantity will require Ohtani to maintain a sizable advantage in quality.

Even the greatest pitchers are due for an occasional stinker, but Ohtani can’t afford to have one.

Sanchez was pounded by the Cubs for six runs in 5 ⅓ innings on April 23.

Misiorowski’s ERA in April was 3.58.

A game like Sanchez’s or a stretch like Misiorowski’s will likely end Ohtani’s Cy Young Award candidacy.

Ohtani is pitching as if he knows that’s the case.

“I think a lot of starting pitchers, you feel your way into the game, give up a couple (of runs) early and you bear down,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But I’ve noticed with Shohei, every run is a premium. He’s literally trying to throw a shutout every time out there where I don’t know that every starter has that mindset.”

In Roberts’ view, Ohtani doesn’t just bear down with runners on base. 

“He’s not trying to sit back and let the stress be created,” Roberts said. “He’s doing a good job of minimizing it from the onset.”

To Roberts’ point: Ohtani allows an average of 0.79 walks plus hits per inning pitched.

Now, it should be pointed out here that in the one year in which Ohtani was a qualified pitcher, in 2022, he pitched better and better as the season progressed.

He made a career-high 28 starts that season, pitching 166 innings for the Angels to finish fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting.

By season’s end, he was arguably the best pitcher in baseball. In his last 12 starts of the year, Ohtani’s ERA was 1.73. In his last seven, it was 1.00.

Ohtani thinks he’s trending upward, saying he felt better in his win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday than he did in his previous start when he pitched six no-hit innings against the Rockies.

“Well, I think it was better than last time,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “I don’t know if it was really good, but I think it was definitely better than last time.”

Ohtani has completed seven innings in two of his starts this season, but performances like that should become increasingly common for him. He should be a qualified pitcher. 

Even then, Sanchez will have him beat in innings pitched by a substantial margin. Ohtani’s challenge is to make his ERA look equally small by comparison.