PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 12: Ethan Salas #14 of the National League Futures team during the 2026 All-Star Futures Game Presented by Nike at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Good morning everyone!
The Mariners bats came to life yesterday as rookie outfielder Lazaro Montes had a debut to remember in a 9-6 M’s victory over the Red Sox. The two squads are set to square off again today with first pitch at 1:10pm PT.
In Mariners news…
The Mariners are coming off their worst month by run differential in nearly 50 years. Ryan Blake tried to make sense of it all.
Rays slugger Junior Caminero is having a great season — but he’s also grounding into double plays at record pace. Daniel R. Epstein at Baseball Prospectus wonders if he has a shot to make history on that front too. ($)
Did you know the Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t had Fangraphs playoff odds greater than 1% in September since 2016? Luke at Bucco Ball yearns for a team that is worth watching late in the season.
The strange season for Ketel Marte simply won’t end.
Unbelievably, a Ketel Marte home run ball just hit a member of the grounds crew who was working on the bullpen mound. Marte paused his BP to run out and check on him. pic.twitter.com/sEmYBAC44d
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 29: Elvis Alvarado #37 of the Athletics pitches against the Baltimore Orioles in the top of the ninth inning of a major league baseball game at Sutter Health Park on August 29, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Wednesday everybody.
Yesterday, the Athletics kicked off their September slate by dropping their fifth straight game and second straight against the Texas Rangers. While the Rangers are vying for postseason baseball, the A’s are on a collision course toward 100-plus losses for the third time in manager Mark Kotsay’s tenure. Given the number of injured players and league worst pitching staff, it seems a matter of when not if the team crosses that benchmark.
Since John Fisher assumed full ownership control of the Athletics in 2016, the club has often overachieved, winning games and making three postseason appearances despite his limited investment in the team.
Before the A’s played last night, the announcement regarding the Los Angeles Angels changing ownership sent shockwaves throughout the sport. It is a particularity bitter pill to swallow for A’s fans, as Fisher will have one less competitor for the worst owner in the league award.
There remains a possibility that Fisher will follow in Arte Moreno’s footsteps and sell the team for a massive amount of money a few years after they get settled in Las Vegas. Until then, fans of the Green and Gold must hope that he increases his investments to keep A’s competitive amidst a changing league.
The new general manager and his staff should receive full authority to upend how this organization operates, from upgrading its player development infrastructure, bolstering its major-league pitching staff and ultimately guiding this historic franchise back to the playoffs.
In the meantime, there are 22 A’s games left before what is expected to be a long, lockout-impacted offseason. Injury-prone outfielder Denzel Clarke seeks to make an impression over the next few weeks, while the team’s young pitchers, including Gage Jump, J.T. Ginn and Elvis Alvarado, aim to end their seasons on a positive note.
Which players are you looking forward to watching over the season’s final stretch? What keeps you coming back despite how this season has unfolded? Also, what qualities should the team look for in its search for a new President of Baseball Operations?
This will be a great opportunity for these two A’s minor league prospects to test their skills as they move one step closer to making their big-league debuts.
Further proof of why the A’s should have made more of an effort to retain Sean Newcomb in free agency this past offseason. It also shows just how impactful Nick Kurtz is to this team.
Sep 1, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It got a little weird at times, but the Yankees had control for the vast majority of last night’s game in Anaheim, a welcome return to normalcy after an ugly 10-1 blowout loss on Monday. Homers by Spencer Jones and Jazz Chisholm Jr. got them off on the right foot, and while stranded baserunners and a shaky sixth from Gerrit Cole allowed the Angels to stay in the ballgame, the Bombers pulled away late with some key insurance runs. They thus regained the game they lost on Boston yesterday (they’re now four games ahead of the Red Sox), and remained 4.5 back of Tampa Bay.
Here’s what else was going on around the American League on Tuesday night.
Tampa Bay Rays (83-55) 6, New York Mets (62-77) 2
The Mets might have scored a surprising victory at the Trop on Monday, but for those who have been exposed to more than their fair share of the Mets over the years, the Tuesday night showdown against old friend Freddy Peralta went exactly as expected. The one-time Brewers ace was traded from Queens a month ago when that experiment went sour, and given the opportunity, he of course spun six innings of three-hit ball while fanning seven, getting burned on a Francisco Lindor leadoff homer but really nothing else.
Meanwhile, the Rays got to Sean Manaea via the ol’ “death by a thousand paper cuts” approach. They sprayed 11 hits on him in 5.2 innings, getting their first couple runs on RBI knocks from Junior Caminero and Ryan Vilade before breaking it open a bit with three in the sixth. Nick Fortes doubled down the left-field line to plate Chandler Simpson, Fortes scored on a sacrifice fly, and Yandy Díaz swatted a 396-foot homer to make it a 5-1 game.
Despite the deficit, the Mets did have a chance to get back into this game. Garrett Cleavinger walked the bases loaded with one out in the seventh, bringing Mark Vientos to the plate as the tying run. Kevin Cash called upon Tyler Wells, who got Vientos to foul out before walking Lindor to bring home one of the runners. The moment was there for Juan Soto … and he popped up.
Alas. The Mets never got another man on base, the Rays tacked on an insurance run, and that was that.
Other Games
Boston Red Sox (75-64) 6, Seattle Mariners (65-74) 9: Amid an 8-15 tailspin that may have finally put the nail in the coffin for their 2026 season, the Mariners began September on a better note. They’re gonna need more than a few Hail Marys to save themselves, but they at least had the decency to snap their skid against Boston rather than waiting until they left town. The M’s treated September call-up Jedixson Paez like a minor leaguer in his Red Sox debut, blasting him for eight runs on 10 hits in 3.2 innings, with Dominic Canzone and the red-hot Randy Arozarena both going yard. Paez’s fellow rookie Lazaro Montes broke into the bigs in style with an RBI single off Paez in the third for his first career hit; he later took Wyatt Olds deep to check off his first career homer as well.
Bryan Woo tossed six solid innings with one earned run allowed, but because the 2026 Mariners are the 2026 Mariners, not even wins with nine runs scored come easy. Seattle led 9-1 entering the sixth, when Boston plated an unearned run with the help of an error by third baseman Brock Rodden. Eli White hit a two-run double a couple innings later and Yankees legend Jahmai Jones clobbered a two-run shot to make it a 9-6 ballgame in the ninth. So Seattle brought in Andrés Muñoz to slam the door, and he did the job for the final two outs.
Chicago White Sox (73-65) 5, Houston Astros (70-69) 1: The White Sox held serve on their three-game lead over the Guardians in AL Central by punching back after the Astros took the Monday opener. Ronel Blanco was effective in four scoreless innings for Houston, but 88 pitches forced him from the game early. The door was open for the Pale Hose to do damage against Kai-Wei Teng and Tatsuya Imai, and they obliged, with both Colson Montgomery and Randal Grichuk delivering two-run doubles. Sean Burke delivered 5.1 innings of one-hit shutout ball to lead the way for the White Sox on the mound.
AL Wild Card Rock Fight
Texas Rangers (69-70) 8, The Athletics (53-86) 5: Houston’s loss allowed the under-.500 Rangers to trim the Astros’ AL West lead back down to one game. Texas has been fortunate to draw the hapless A’s this week at home, and they’ve done what they’ve needed to do. The 8-5 final score belies the fact that Texas led this 8-1 through six thanks in great part in a 4-for-5, five-RBI night from Brandon Nimmo, and three of the A’s runs were scored off former Nationals righty Trevor Williams, who was only signed that day.
Baltimore Orioles (69-70) 2, Colorado Rockies (52-86) 4: It took the O’s just over four months to finally get back to .500 on Monday night with a miraculous catch by Colton Cowser to clinch it. Now they’re right back under after stumbling at Coors. A Jackson Holliday homer in his dad’s old stomping grounds tied it up at 2-2 in the seventh, but Baby Bomber alum T.J. Rumfield struck the decisive blow on a two-run homer after the stretch. The O’s had been just a half-game behind Cleveland for the Wild Card, but now they’re a game and a half back.
Cleveland Guardians (70-68) 6, Toronto Blue Jays (68-71) 1: The Jays entered a three-game set in Cleveland hoping to cut into the Guardians’ lead for the last Wild Card spot and instead took a step back (to 2.5 games behind). Gavin Williams dominated the opener, fanning 13 and allowing just two hits and an unearned run across seven brilliant innings. Patrick Bailey, Angel Genao, and Angel Martínez each hit two-run homers for the Guardians as they turned a 1-0 deficit in the fifth into a 6-1 final.
The Los Angeles Clippers were fined $30 million and star player Kawhi Leonard was hit with a $700,000 penalty by the NBA on Wednesday for violating salary cap circumvention rule, the league officially announced after ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the news.
The NBA announced today that the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard have been penalized for violating the salary cap circumvention rules contained in the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with the National Basketball Players Association.
The league came down hard on the organization after a nearly year-long investigation. The Clippers had said multiple times that they had done nothing wrong and expected to be exonerated.
Los Angeles maintained that stance after the league’s announcement.
“We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence,” the team said in a statement. “What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner (Adam) Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure it’s fairness and accuracy.”
The Clippers said they will “now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence. We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process.”
The NBA opened the investigation in September 2025 into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC — a company that filed for bankruptcy last year — broke league rules, following a report by podcast journalist Pablo Torre. Earlier this year, Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding investors and lenders of at least $248 million.
“I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family,” Leonard said in a statement issued through his new agent, Harrison Gaines.
The NBA said Leonard, through his former business manager and uncle Dennis Robertson, “violated the circumvention rules by pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities, successfully obtaining those opportunities, and failing to reimburse payments by the Clippers for personal expenses.”
“I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap,” Leonard said in his statement.
The league said Ballmer was suspended for “knowingly seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities,” among other issues.
Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors has been on hold pending the outcome of the investigation. The Raptors had said they still want Leonard, and he apparently is just as eager to return to the team where he won an NBA title in 2019, when he was Finals MVP.
“As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate,” Leonard said in his statement.
The Los Angeles Clippers were fined $30 million and star player Kawhi Leonard was hit with a $700,000 penalty by the NBA on Wednesday for violating salary cap circumvention rules.
The league came down hard on the organization after a nearly year-long investigation.
Owner Steve Ballmer has been suspended for one year, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has been suspended without pay for six months and president of business operations Gillian Zucker was suspended for one year, all for their involvement.
Guerin's update didn't provide anything new, but he confirmed that Gustavsson is undergoing physical therapy and remains on his initial timeline, with no setbacks at this point.
"He's still going through physical therapy," said Guerin. "He won't be ready for training camp, but we'll see how far into the season it is. I wouldn't expect him in the first couple weeks but we'll see how quickly he's progressing."
Guerin was then asked whether the hip injury could have hampered his play following his return from the Olympics, to which he replied that the injury had been affecting him for much longer than that.
"He played through a lot of discomfort with that, and I give him a lot of credit; he kind of bit his lip on it," Guerin continued. "Maybe he shouldn't have, but he was playing through quite a bit."
The 28-year-old finished the campaign with a .904 save percentage and a 2.69 goals-against average in 50 games last year, but he lost the crease down the stretch to Jesper Wallstedt, who also started all but one playoff game through the first two rounds.
Rumors surrounded both Gustavsson and Wallstedt through different parts of the 2025-26 season, but the Wild ultimately felt they were better off with both, or they didn't find a deal that made sense for them.
Gustavsson's injury likely hampered the Wild's ability to gauge the market for trades this off-season as they looked for center help. Nonetheless, Gustavsson now enters the first season of a five-year, $6.8 million AAV contract as he forms arguably the best goaltending duo in the NHL with Wallstedt.
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WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 01: Yohandy Morales #28 of the Washington Nationals celebrates with teammates after hitting his first career hit for a home run in the third inning of his major league debut against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park on September 01, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last night we saw two debuts and both went about as well as you could possibly imagine. Yohandy Morales and Jared Simpson were both thrown into the fire, but came out stronger. The two debutants helped lead the Nats to an uplifting win with their families in the crowd.
Yohandy Morales is the bigger name of the two, but he still had to earn his stripes. After being selected in the second round of the 2023 draft, Morales steadily climbed through the minor leagues. Before this season, he never put up bad numbers, but also never fully broke out.
Like so many Nats prospects, things changed this season. In AAA, Morales finally turned his impressive raw power into consistent home runs. He hit 25 homers at AAA this season. You can make a decent argument that he should have been called up sooner, but he is finally here now.
Morales found out he was getting called up while he was fishing in the rain with Trey Lipscomb. When Devin Pearson called him, his screen kept freezing. However, the message was eventually received and he called his family.
Morales’ family was in the building last night and went crazy when their boy took AJ Smith-Shawver deep in the third inning. He got a splitter inside and turned his hands inside, driving the ball out to left field. It was a surreal moment for the 24 year old and his family.
Yohandy Morales' first Major League hit is a home run!
Yohandy Morales’ family had to go through a lot to get to this point. His father was a baseball player in Cuba, but eventually defected. He tried to reach the big leagues himself, but could not make it. Instead, his son is the one living out his dream and you could see the emotion when his boy hit that homer.
The slugger’s night was not done after that homer though. He got two more hits including a double that almost went over the wall. Instead it banged half way up the wall and he had to settle for a double. Later in the game, he also got a single, meaning he was only a triple shy of the cycle.
Morales was not the only player to debut last night though. In the 8th round of that same 2023 draft, the Nationals selected Jared Simpson out of Iowa. For most of his career, walks have been a big issue for the lefty. Last season, he walked 57 batters in 52 innings.
However, he has been in the zone more often this year and that has let him rise through the ranks. Simpson actually spent most of the year in Double-A. After being called up to AAA though, he continued to impress and it earned him a September call-up.
We talked to Simpson before and after the game, and the lefty is quite a funny guy. He said that he knew his stuff played in the MLB when Ronald Acuna fouled off his fastball instead of going yard. Simpson also said that facing Matt Olson was a cool moment because he used him a lot in MLB The Show.
Jared Simpson is a really funny guy to talk to. Said that he knew his stuff played when he saw Acuna foul off his fastball instead of taking it deep. Also said he uses Matt Olson on MLB The Show a lot so facing him was cool
When Simpson got the call that he was going to the big leagues, he was actually at a Men’s Warehouse in Rochester buying clothes for a buddies wedding. Simpson had to buy some more clothes for his MLB debut too. He did not hide anything from the Men’s Warehouse employees, saying he told them he needed collared shirts because he was going to the big leagues.
Simpson also delivered on the mound. He came into a tight situation, with runners on first and second with nobody out. Simpson started his career with a twin killing, getting Drake Baldwin to ground into a huge double play. He ended the inning by getting Acuna to fly out.
The dream outing continued though. Simpson mowed down the Braves, getting nine outs on just eight hitters. A highlight of his night was painting a slider on the outside corner to Michael Harris to get his first career strikeout.
Between Erik Tolman and now Simpson, the Nats have a couple new and exciting lefty relievers. Finding effective matchup lefties has been a big problem all season. However, if Tolman and Simpson continue to produce, they could lock down spots for themselves.
Overall, this was a great night for the organization and the two debutants. Neither are the most hyped prospects in the system, but both showed up and produced. That tells you a lot about the development system being put in place. There is true quality depth being built down in the minor leagues.
As we head to 2027 and beyond, hopefully we can see more of these lesser known names make impacts and find big league roles. Pumping out solid big leaguers is a way to find sustainable success. That is exactly what Paul Toboni is looking to do, and so far we are seeing a lot of positive signs. Yohandy Morales and Jared Simpson are just two examples of that.
There is a funny thing about being right for the wrong reason.
Back in the spring, The Hockey News planted its flag on the Colorado Avalanche as its Stanley Cup favorite. The argument was simple: Colorado had finally built enough depth around Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar to avoid relying so heavily on its two superstars.
Then the playoffs happened.
Makar got hurt. MacKinnon got banged up. The Avalanche were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights, and suddenly the very depth that made Colorado such an appealing championship pick was being asked to compensate for the two players who make the Avalanche what they are.
Our Editor-in-Chief, Ryan Kennedy, isn't backing away from the prediction.
He recently doubled down on Colorado as The Hockey News' pick to win the 2027 Stanley Cup, and it's easy to understand why.
But there's one part of the postmortem I would push back on.
The Avalanche didn't lose to Vegas simply because Makar missed the first two games or MacKinnon wasn't quite himself.
That's playoff hockey.
By the time the conference finals arrive, nobody is healthy. Everyone is playing through something. Everyone is a lesser version of themselves.
Colorado wasn't uniquely unfortunate, either.
Vegas captain Mark Stone played through a torn adductor, the same injury Matthew Tkachuk battled through during the previous postseason. Noah Hanifin was dealing with an upper-body injury that could have kept him out for months during the regular season, while Brayden McNabb entered the playoffs dealing with two injuries before suffering the facial injury that became one of the lasting images of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Golden Knights were hurting, too.
And they still beat Colorado.
That's why the Avalanche's loss says less about bad injury luck and more about the matchup itself.
Vegas had the personnel, structure and discipline to attack the very things that made Colorado so dangerous. The Avalanche want to play fast, attack through the middle and turn broken plays into scoring chances before opponents can recover.
Vegas was built to make that miserable.
The Golden Knights could clog the middle, win battles along the walls and turn the series into the kind of physical, territorial fight that doesn't necessarily favor Colorado's speed game.
The injuries didn't help. Of course they didn't.
But the Avalanche didn't lose to an inferior team that simply caught them at the wrong time. They ran into a very good hockey team with a blueprint for beating them—and Vegas executed it.
That distinction matters when looking ahead.
Because Kennedy's larger argument remains difficult to dismiss.
Colorado has continued to build around its superstar core. Makar is locked in for eight years. MacKinnon remains the engine of the franchise. Martin Necas is coming off a 100-point season, while Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy give the Avalanche legitimate depth down the middle.
Brett Kulak is back on defense, and Jaden Schwartz gives Colorado another veteran forward who, if healthy, could become a valuable addition.
Then there's Zach L'Heureux.
If nothing else, L'Heureux gives the Avalanche something they have occasionally lacked: legitimate bite.
Colorado doesn't need to abandon its speed-and-skill identity. But there is a difference between playing fast and being easy to play against, and L'Heureux should make the Avalanche considerably more difficult to push around.
Fabian Lysell is another intriguing wild card.
If Colorado can turn Lysell into another reclamation success story, perhaps something resembling what it accomplished with Valeri Nichushkin, suddenly the forward group gets even deeper.
There are plenty of reasons to believe the Avalanche can win the Stanley Cup.
There are also plenty of reasons not to assume they will.
The Central Division remains loaded. Minnesota and Dallas aren't going anywhere, and the Western Conference is filled with teams capable of turning a playoff series into a war of attrition.
And if Colorado meets Vegas again, the Avalanche will have to prove last spring was an aberration rather than evidence of a genuine matchup problem.
So yes, Kennedy is sticking with Colorado.
And I understand why.
The Avalanche have the stars. They have the depth. They have the goaltending. And they’ve finally added some nastiness to a roster that has badly needed it for the better part of the last few years.
Now they have to prove all of it can hold up when the games become heavier, the space disappears and the margin for error gets razor thin.
Everything is there: the talent, the opportunity and, perhaps, the best roster Colorado has had around MacKinnon and Makar in years.
But after what happened last spring, certainty is a luxury this team hasn’t earned yet.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 01: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres celebrates after hitting a home run in the 9th inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on September 01, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Diego Padres haven’t been doing the best lately. After their ridiculously hot streak, they’ve cooled down significantly, dropping six of their last nine games. The Friars haven’t won a series since they swept the Minnesota Twins in their last homestand. They need a series win against the Cincinnati Reds, and the rubber match is the perfect stage.
Apart from Fernando Tatis Jr.’s two home runs, the Padres weren’t able to muster up much offense in Game 2. Reds starter Nick Lodolo limited the Friars to two runs over six innings before Cincinnati came back with two runs off of San Diego’s bullpen in the eighth inning. It’s the latest in a concerning trend from the Padres’ relievers. Hopefully, the club will be able to turn things around sooner rather than later.
Taking the mound
Brandon Williamson (CIN) v. Casey Mize (SD)
Williamson doesn’t have much experience at the big-league level, having made just 32 starts in parts of three seasons with Cincinnati. Much of that came in 2023, when Williamson made 23 starts for the Reds with a 4.46 ERA. He’s never been particularly effective, but has flashed some decent stuff.
Through six starts this season, Williamson owns a 6.11 ERA (28.0 IP). He’s given up four homers in that time, but has struggled more with command. The lefty has issued 20 walks this season, giving him a 1.64 WHIP. Williamson hasn’t pitched at the major-league level since April 29, so there could be some rust there.
It’s no secret that Mize has struggled as a Padre. Since joining the club, he’s given up an almost unbelievable 21 runs (16 earned). That’s resulted in Mize owning a 6.26 ERA across 23 innings with the Friars. He desperately needs to turn things around, and has proven that he can. Mize was one of the best AL starters, with a 2.70 ERA before being traded to San Diego.
It’s not totally his fault. Mize has been the subject of unfortunate circumstances. He hurt his ankle walking down the dugout steps and wasn’t pitching 100 percent in either start that he made during that time. Apart from his throwing error in his last start, Mize pitched quite well. He surrendered two earned runs across five innings versus the Tampa Bay Rays.
Batter up!
San Diego’s lineup simply couldn’t capitalize on their many scoring opportunities in Tuesday night’s loss. The Friars went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, with all but Tatis struggling to cross home plate. They’ll need their offense working tonight in order to back up Mize.
Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
Samad Taylor, LF
Manny Machado, 3B
Ty France, 1B
Jackson Merrill, CF
Luis Campusano, C
Dustin Harris, DH
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Jake Cronenworth, 2B
With newcomer Ethan Salas reported to be making his debut on Friday when the Padres return to Petco Park, it seems likelier that Campusano will handle catching duties in the series finale versus Cincinnati. The latter entered yesterday’s Game 2 as a pinch-hitter but will probably start today’s rubber match behind the dish.
Relief corps
Starter Randy Vásquez pitched quite well despite exiting in the fifth inning. He hasn’t been granted the same long leash he was at the beginning of the season, and was taken out by manager Craig Stammen quite early. The Padres went to Bradgley Rodriguez, Yuki Matsui, Adrian Morejon and David Morgan to finish the game. But it was, surprisingly, Morejon who gave up the game, surrendering two pivotal runs in the eighth inning.
That leaves Jhony Brito, Griffin Canning, Kyle Hart, Mason Miller and Wandy Peralta as options for Stammen to call upon once Mize exits. With the off day on Thursday, the Padres don’t have to worry too much about taxing the ‘pen, but it would be comforting to see a quality start from Mize.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 30: Adley Rutschman #31 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on August 30, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Retail therapy doesn’t work.
We know this, right? Buying something new for yourself — or even just considering buying something new for yourself — can provide a nice little jolt of dopamine. It can brighten up your day and, depending on what it is, help you imagine new and better future versions of yourself. This is true whether it’s something big, like a house, or something small, like a new pair of shoes.
But, ultimately, that jolt of dopamine is only temporary. Material objects — no matter how much we lust over them, no matter what kind of future versions of ourselves they let us imagine — do not actually have the power to fix the underlying and fundamental issues that define the human condition. The existential realities of your life are not altered by a new pair of pants, no matter how comfortably they fit or how how much they make your ass pop.
It’s good to remind ourselves of this every now again. But baseball fans shouldn’t need that reminder. We have the trade deadline.
Of the 44 remaining games, Rutschman’s probably only going to start around around 35 of them at most. If he maintains more or less the same level of production over those 35 games as he’s maintained all season, then we’re talking about 3-4 home runs, 6-10 doubles, and 25-30 total hits from Rutschman. That’s not that much!
Well, since that day, the Red Sox have played 22 games. Rutschman has appeared in 15 of them, making only 13 starts. He has just 1 homer, 1 double, and 9 total hits. He is slashing .170/.254/.245. And he’s not going to have much of a chance to bring those numbers up, because we’re going to see even less of him going forward:
Here’s the full clip of Chad Tracy talking about Adley Rutschman and his elbow.
Noted they’re not completely out of the woods. Said it’s “probably” something he’ll deal with on and off for the rest of the year.
I don’t think it’s fair to call the Rutschman trade a failure at this point, or even judge it all. There’s a not very far-fetched scenario wherein he comes back healthy next season and produces at an All-Star level. Maybe he even signs a team-friendly extension. Ten years from now we could look at the Rutschman deal as one of the moves that laid the foundation for a multi-year run of on-field success.
Bu, while it’s still too early to judge the trade overall, it may not be too early to judge the trade deadline — at least with respect to its impact on the 2026 Red Sox.
Viewed through the lens of helping the 2026 team, the Rutschman and Curtis Mead deals have been abject disasters. I’m not suggesting the logic behind the moves was bad — the Mead injury was as freak as it gets — but the results are what they are, and they are ugly.
Eli White has been good as a role player, but he is very much a role player, having had only 33 at-bats. Jake Rogers was fun for a few days. Erik Miller is really the only trade deadline acquisition who has worked out, and he has worked out fantastically. But, even still, middle relievers are only so impactful.
The trade deadline — much like the fall shopping season we find ourselves in right now as summer wanes and a new school year begins — brings with it the promise of renewal. But that promise is rarely kept for long. It’s been one month since the deadline and the 2026 Red Sox are more or less the same team today as they were back then. And guess what? You’re going to be the same person in your new ass-popping jeans, too. That’s not satisfying, but it is an immutable truth about life, one that the Red Sox are learning all over again.
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 21: Bryan Rust #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins shoots against Connor Hellebuyck #37 of the Winnipeg Jets at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 21, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The latest official Team USA to trade request is goalie Connor Hellebuyck. Before anyone asks, there’s no reason to expect he would be in Pittsburgh’s interests- or more importantly nor would they be on his list. The Athletic recently listed eight possibilities of teams that might make sense, and the Penguins were nowhere to be found. That about sums it up. Here’s some of the most widely speculated destinations.
We pulled hundreds of Connor Hellebuyck mock trades at PuckGM to find the most popular destinations & packages. #LetsGoBuffalo is the favorite. But after that…?
Buffalo, Carolina and New Jersey are among the most common – and that wouldn’t be welcome for the Penguins if Hellebuyck ends up in the division like the Hurricanes or Devils. There are enough top goalies in the Metropolitan already, for cryin’ out loud!
Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin’s situations are interesting, how awkward it’ll be if they can’t be moved before the season starts. Everyone knows they want out, from the fans to their teammates and everyone around the organization. Their hearts aren’t in it anymore, yet they’ve signed to play for NHL clubs who haven’t felt like they’ve gotten a good trade offer yet. How those stalemate plays out will be fun to watch from afar. It could escalate even further, with some chatter picking up that Hellebuyck might not report to training camp at all and start one of the first hold outs the NHL has seen in a long, long time for a contracted player.
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Sergei Murashov got a passing mention (at No. 12) for potential Calder Trophy contenders this season.
Overall, not to be a downer, but it’s probably even more unlikely than that. A goalie hasn’t won the rookie of the year award in the NHL since Steve Mason in 2009. The Penguins have a very casual relationship with all things defensively when it comes to limiting shots and chances of opponents. Nice to see Murashov on the radar and getting a smidge of national attention, if nothing else.
Elliotte Friedman: Re NHL expansion: This is just my theory…I think the NHL needs this expansion done for the next US TV deal, and if they can add Houston…and Atlanta…they think it's going to make them even more valuable as a TV property – 32 Thoughts (8/25) ____ NHLRR:…
The NHL has so many Canadian teams that they still have some really big areas in America to go after and try and raise their market share of fans. Adding teams in places like Houston, Atlanta and maybe even Phoenix would bring in huge, untapped markets. Being the first major North American pro league to go beyond 32 franchises is bold, but with the prices they are getting these days, it’s a no-brainer to keep growing.
What the means for the future will be interesting, most the headway seems to be pointing to going to 36 eventually, and the league reportedly doesn’t care about being unbalanced with 33 teams. Perhaps eventually they’ll split into six divisions of six teams and feature more geographic rivals.
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Jaromir Jagr, who the Penguins traded 25 years ago this summer, looks like he is finally completed his circuit as a player. For real this time.
54-year-old Jaromir Jagr has yet to suit up for his club, Rytíři Kladno, in training camp or preseason.
After 38 professional seasons, Jagr says he's "still keeping myself in shape, but I’m not training as if I were going to play.”
Jagr left the NHL in the 2017-18 season – playing for his hometown Kladno Knights in Czechia ever sense. It’s been a long drawn-down with him playing sparingly recently (Jags only played 15 games in 2023-24, and just six last season in 2025-26), but I mean he’s been 50+ years old so what can you expect? Most of his recent playing has been to drive interest at the box office for the perpetually struggling team that he once partially owned to try and make ends meet financially, while also winning enough to avoid relegation out of the primary pro league- not terribly different from Jagr’s efforts in the late ‘90s with Pittsburgh.
Along the way, he enjoyed every minute of the struggle. Next stop could finally be Toronto for the Hockey Hall of Fame if he truly is done as an active player.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 29: Will Smith #16 of the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium on May 29, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For the first time in nearly three whole months, Will Smith was back in the starting lineup for the start of the Dodgers’ nine-game homestand on Tuesday.
Smith finished the game going 1-5 with a double and two RBI on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals, but his impact could only bring so much to the table in what ended up being a 13-8 defeat. The Dodgers are hoping that bringing Smith back into the mix will help invigorate the lineup for the stretch run here in September, and Sonja Chen of MLB.com noted Smith as an “invaluable” part of the starting lineup.
“The experience, the calmness in the box, the managing of the pitching staff — all that stuff is crucial,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Although there were hopes that Shohei Ohtani would pitch over the weekend in Detroit, those chances ultimately fell through as the Dodgers decided to go with Tyler Glasnow for the road trip finale. The Dodgers are still undecided as to when Ohtani will return to the mound, but they do expect to have him back to his two-way duties at some point this season, per Jack Harris of the California Post.
“Obviously, it’s tricky navigating a build-up progression with someone who is also DH’ing by night,” Friedman told the California Post in an interview on Tuesday.
But, the veteran executive added, “he obviously wants to get back out there, helping the team on the mound as well.”
Tuesday turned out to be the roughest outing for Eric Lauer for any home start as a Dodger, as the left-hander allowed seven runs over just three innings, suffering his first loss as a Dodger at home across six starts. Lauer spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA postgame where he discussed how things began to unravel for him, specifically after allowing back-to-back two-out home runs in the second inning.
“I think, overall, my command wasn’t very good— too many misses, too many big misses. I didn’t feel like I really had a good grasp on where the ball was going today, and that obviously hurt. Trying to make in game adjustments, I gotta get better at that, and just making sure I don’t let things compound like that.”
On Monday, Bleacher Report released its last summer NHL Power Rankings ahead of September, listing the Calgary Flames at No. 31 on its list. Because the organization has spent the past couple of seasons swapping out veterans for younger players and draft capital, the Flames are headed for some dark days before brighter ones emerge.
Although Lyle Fitzsimmons doesn't go into much detail about Calgary's recent decline, he was wise not to mention the team's inability to score. Last year, the club tied the New York Rangers for the third-worst point total in the NHL and scored just 208 goals, the lowest in the league. If fans were once concerned, the Flames scored 12 fewer goals last year than in 2024-25, when they finished with 220 (29th overall) and missed the playoffs by three regulation wins.
After earning 96 points, Calgary didn't even come close to matching that total in 2025-26, barely reaching 77 points and posting its third losing season this decade.
Flames Management Embrace Full Rebuild
The last time the Flames skated in the Stanley Cup playoffs was in 2022, when they lost in the second round to the Edmonton Oilers. The only player remaining from that season's team is captain Mikael Backlund, since stars like Rasmus Andersson and Blake Coleman have moved on to Stanley Cup contenders.
In their place are youngsters who can barely score 20 goals and players who are not top-line skaters on other teams, but now are considered the leaders of a Flames team looking to avoid bottoming out last season at the Saddledome. Although there is a silver lining to winning the top pick at the 2027 NHL Draft, next year's crop of prospects boosts some potential game-breaking forwards.
For the past few years, Craig Conroy has collected top-prospect defensemen to help Dustin Wolf keep the puck out of the net. Now, with many of the team's top prospects getting their shot with the Calgary Wranglers, or in the case of Zayne Parekh, with the Flames, Conroy can turn his attention to rebuilding the top lines.
As much as fans want Calgary to qualify for the playoffs and extend the life of the 43-year-old Saddledome, it's one of the more far-fetched dreams the C of Red could have.
Fitzsimmons didn't sugarcoat the Flames' current state or their position in the NHL hierarchy. Unless Jonathan Huberdeau can turn back time and collect another 115 points, it's going to be a long season for Calgary, just like their provincial neighbors, the Vancouver Canucks. Moreover, the organization would be better off embracing the NHL Draft Lottery race than sneaking into a Wildcard slot and ending up drafting 16th overall while getting swept in the first round.
Whether the Flames outperform their No. 31 ranking will depend on how quickly their young core develops. Until then, the media will likely continue to view Calgary as one of the NHL's weaker rebuilding clubs rather than a playoff contender.
Well…it’s that time of year again! I’ll spare you a long-winded intro with a medium-winded intro instead. The Guardians are coming out of the MLB Draft having lost out on their second round pick, Logan Schmidt, who was a shoo-in for this list’s top 10, but they did a solid job replenishing needed depth around the system.
There are a couple new wrinkles to the list and the rankings that are vital to the process. Firstly, you will see star ratings on every graphic. Working similarly to college football or basketball’s one to five star scale, this will work similarly. How do we get to those star ratings? Great question. Everything else, namely the future value (FV for short) works like the traditional 20-80 baseball scale, from hit tool to power to defense and decisions. Another factor that plays into the star rating a player receives is their 80th percentile FV, or FV80. This is a grade I give a player based on what I believe their skillset can develop into at an 80th percentile level. This is less of “if everything comes together” kind of thinking as it would heavily cater towards heavy tools in flawed profiles, but it works more along the lines of projecting what a player has shown in their development thus far and casting a net to capture what their best likely outcome is.
One last note: if you see red stars, that signifies an extreme profile risk, whether for injuries or extreme tool flaws and/or extreme outcome swings.
We’ll look back briefly at the preseason Top 20 (only on Twitter, sorry) as we expand out to 45, and take a look at players who have graduated as three of my top 10 prospects have since moved onto bigger and much better things at the big league level for the Guardians.
Chase DeLauter (PRE #1 // 60 FV): DeLauter rakes, who knew! Fully living up to the 60 I threw on him pretty aggressively, DeLauter has been the best hitter for a Guardians offense in desperate need for anything and everything across the power/contact/approach spectrums. He hit a clear wall and then got hurt, but since, he’s been terrific. A clear #1.
Travis Bazzana (PRE #3 // 55 FV): I’ve been very critical of both Bazzana and the org’s overwhelming desire to play it safe living through his selection as the 1.1 in his class, but it’s critical within the realm of a 60-grade I placed on him. There are some real concerns with his quality of contact, and the bat speed is playing well below what I thought he could get to, but he’s been an above average hitter and positive value player even through his cold spells because he has shown different ways to impact games, and he’s also flashed the power potential when he consistently gets to his pull-side.
Parker Messick (PRE #7 // 50 FV): I screamed and shouted to anyone that listened that Parker Messick was going to be a good major league pitcher, and here I am, before god and country, admitting that even I underrated Messick. As a rookie, his fastball trails only Jacob Misiorowski’s ultra heater in run value, and he’s even seen an uptick in velo by over a full mph since last season, and his changeup is among the best in the league. An absolute stud who’s going to get a lot of Cy Young votes.
Alright, now let’s get into the NEW and IMPROVED and LONGER list, starting with our brand new number one:
Velazquez is a specimen unlike anything we have seen in this organization in quite some time. I ranked Velazquez second coming into the season despite Bazzana having a proximity edge over him, but that’s just how highly I think of the bat here. Thus far in Triple-A, Velazquez is running a 105.6 EV90, good for 84th percentile. It took Velazquez a minute to figure out Triple-A, and his chase and whiff rates have ballooned over 30% each, but for a 21 year-old who has only shown that he will figure out the level with the more at-bats he gets, I have no doubt that he’ll figure this level out as well.
Velazquez hammers all pitch types, though RHP changeups have been prone to giving him issues. Velazquez’s hot streak last season in Double-A saw him find elite power to all fields. This season, especially lately, he’s been finding optimized pull-side launch while his z-con% still hovers right around 80%. Velazquez has precocious feel for the barrel. His hard hit launch angle sits at 19°, well above the Triple-A average, showing that he’s getting his hardest hit balls lifted and with thump, and this is really where his ceiling comes into play. Ralphy has all-fields home run power, but to best optimize it in Cleveland, he’ll need to find it pull-side, and he is at a high level.
Velazquez has shown some defensive versatility, but in a perfect world, he’s manning first base for the foreseeable future.
A shortstop by trade who has found himself scattered across the infield since his promotion, Genao has proven right away to be more than just a ceiling to hope on but a high floor, immediate helper for a roster in desperate need of his skill set in Cleveland.
A switch hitter, Genao is once again fully healthy and has elevated himself back towards the top of this list, a list he sat at #1 on this time a season ago, after dealing with nagging injuries that depleted his production in 2025, causing him to drop to 5th on the preseason list.
Genao would be a lock for the top of this list if not for a couple of things, only one being in his control. Velazquez has ascended into the premier first base prospect in the sport, now knocking on the door for Cleveland, and Genao, while possessing above average power, has struggled for years now elevating his best exit velocities. Genao’s raw data reads like 50+ power potential. In Triple-A, Genao ran a 104.7 EV90 (76th percentile) and 45.5% hard hit rate (76th pctl), but that equated to a 5.5% barrel rate. This comes down to his pure ability to launch. The Triple-A average hard-hit launch angle (average LA on batted balls hit at 95+ mph) is 12°. Genao’s sits at 6°.
That being said, it’s not overly extreme, and it’s more separated by handedness. Genao lifts the ball better from the right side, running an 11° hard-hit launch angle, but his EV’s and overall hard hit rates aren’t as strong as those from the left side.
Defensively, Genao has already proven to be versatile, naturally gifted with a high baseball IQ and a plus arm. If he can develop into a plus defender, there’s a real outside shot at 5-tool potential here. Long story short, Genao is destined to play in Cleveland for a very long time, and we’re merely in the infancy of it now.
3) OF JUNEIKER CACERES | 55 FV | 60 FV80| #29 T100 PRESEASON RANK: 10 19 | L/L | 5’10” / 168 lbs | Los Taques, Venezuela ACQUIRED: IFA 2024 HIGHEST LEVEL: A+ LAKE COUNTY ETA: 2028
Caceres is the best pure hitter in the Guardians’ system at just 19 years old, and if his swing decisions improve as expected, he has 70 hit tool potential, the highest grade I’ve ever given a hit tool within this organization.
There are two key inflection points in 2027 that will make or break Caceres’s potential growth to #1 on this list sometime next season: can he collect himself against breakers (he hits them well and has no issue seeing spin, but he’s far too aggressive and will extend the zone too much) and can he start finding quality exit velocities when hitting fly balls? Caceres is a pure line drive hitter who has seen his own physical development lead to above average underlying metrics for his age (104 EV90 per TJStats), but his power potential is heavily tempered by his inability to find his best EV’s with home run-carrying launch.
So, why does this create an issue? It’s all in projection. Caceres has naturally gifted hands with barrel control that is second to none, the swing is just fairly flat. If anyone in this system could sell out to hunt for more consistent launch, it’s Caceres as his precocious hitting ability likely would not be hurt much, if at all. It’s vital to Caceres, as a 55 FV player, that he does develop 15+ MLB home run power because if his hit tool is the major carrying tool come two seasons from now, he’s more likely to be a 50 FV.
I have covered Braylon Doughty extensively both in written form and on any podcast that lets me talk, but this is the most excited I’ve been about a prep arm in this organization since Daniel Espino was rising the ranks. Doughty, while a bit undersized, has all the makings of a mid-rotation staple, but he’s now dealt with arm fatigue in August in each of his first two seasons. Getting stronger and building the capacity for innings will continue to be something he needs to work on and also monitor, but the pure stuff here is terrific.
Doughty is mechanically further along than just about anyone for his age and has done nothing but excel at every level he’s been at. Doughty began the season in Lake County, and right around May, he turned up a level, riding a strong May and June into a Double-A promotion. Doughty’s biggest strength is plus command across his entire six pitch arsenal, a repertoire that’s only deepened since he found more separation between his slider and cutter.
Doughty, outside of his first start (new team, new ball, etc.) has been terrific in Akron despite the aforementioned arm tightness, and even since he’s returned, he’s picked up right where he left off. The low-80’s curveball has double plus potential as its tremendous drop and 3,000+ RPM spin capability combine with tremendous command and big horizontal movement, creating a lot of swing and miss against either handedness.
It’s flat out one of the best curves in the minor leagues. Doughty’s ceiling right now feels a bit gray, but the floor is a big league starter, 4th or 5th in a rotation. The ceiling, if he can reach the 94-95 mph range on his heater consistently, feels like he can comfortably figure into a mid-rotation slot. The fastball shape is strong enough to be an above average pitch as he’s still reaching back for 96-97 early in starts, and though he settles back into 92-94 regularly, there’s a higher likelihood that he develops this into an offering that can be more 93-96.
The cutter and slider have slight separations and their usages based on handedness largely create their effectiveness. I see the slider developing into a beast of its own given Doughty’s spin propensity. The more separation he finds between the offerings, the more I think he settles in with a devastating slider.
Doughty doesn’t use his changeup a ton. The feel for it is easily his weakest and he exclusively uses it against LHH. He opts for a cutter/four-seam mix primarily against lefties, and he’s seen that drive up his swing and miss against them, but a changeup will be a pivotal development as he nears Cleveland.
Peterson was Cleveland’s first round pick in this Summer’s draft, and the Guardians are chasing the upside big time here. Peterson has big stuff. He toys with 100 mph, settling down into the mid-90’s on his fastball, and his size and 6.6-foot release height create a steep angle for the heater. There’s a lot of Gavin Williams to Peterson’s mechanics and breaking shape potential, and that alone is enough to buy in.
The fastball has all the desired traits from spin capacity to velocity (20+ iVB, 2500+ RPM), but Peterson’s inability to locate his entire arsenal plagued him all season as a junior at Florida.
The calling card here is the slider. Peterson’s mid-to-upper-80’s slider was a wipeout offering throughout college, generating big time miss rates north of 50% in his draft season.
When he can command it, it’s been unhittable, but he often found himself behind in counts, making him go away from the slider and lean way too much on the fastball, ultimately handcuffing his best two pitches. There’s also a low-90’s cutter that tries to escape from his slider at times, so just know that’s in there.
Peterson flashes a fringe average, upper-80’s changeup that feels like it has real potential to be a future above average offering for him. He’s still able to get high spin on it, and it generates big arm-side run while staying pretty vertical, letting it tunnel with the fastball well.
Florida does not develop pitching all that well (see: firing their pitching coach). That’s why valuing Peterson’s stuff, spin, and mechanical potential is vitally prioritized right now. Cleveland’s pitching dev team gets a lot out of most all of its high-end pitching prospects, and they’re primed to go crazy getting their hands on Peterson.
6) OF AARON WALTON | 45 FV | 55 FV80 PRESEASON RANK: N/A 22 | 6’4” / 218 lbs | R/R ACQUIRED: ‘25 Draft: CB-B, P66| Arizona HIGHEST LEVEL: AA-AKRON ETA: 2027 Walton has emerged as the top player thus far in what’s been a strong offensive ‘25 draft class, showcasing improved mechanics in the box as well as above average, pure effort defense in the outfield.
Walton has a unique leg kick that gets him going in the box. It’s about as big as you’ll see and it’s slightly altered from his swing at Arizona and a bit longer, but he does a good job keeping himself on time. My concern is, as he continues to see better pitching, if the moving parts there lead to struggles staying on time and in rhythm, but the newer leg kick has helped him get his lower half engaged in his swing, leading to a big power surge this season. Walton has seen his underlying metrics get a big boost, posting EV90’s north of 105 mph at both Lake County and thus far in Akron.
There’s all-fields power here, but the home run power is going to come pull-side almost exclusively. Some of his better contact thus far in Akron has also come at lower launch points, so seeing him elevate with more consistency will be vital as he continues to climb the rungs here. Walton has real 55-grade future value because his bat has potential to be a power-led above average stick while his defense has real plus potential. Walton shows average speed, gets strong reads, has an above average arm, and above all else, is fearless in centerfield. He can and will stick in CF, and that is vital to this high of a ranking as he creeps ever closer to T100 consideration.
Curley has remained the same profile at the plate, and thus far, he’s finding a lot of success with it.
An overly passive hitter (1st percentile swing rate and zone-swing rate), Curley’s approach is simply something you don’t see in MLB. The average z-swing% in MLB is 64.7%. Curley’s 47.9% mark would be the lowest in MLB among players with 150+ PA. Where this comes into play tends to be against breakers and offspeed. Does Curley’s passivity lend to his sub-20% chase rate, or does he see offspeed well? As in many cases, the truth rests somewhere in the middle, and the high K-rate is something worth noting as a player running ~80% z-contact% shouldn’t be striking out 30% of the time. That being said, Curley’s noted improvements at the plate have very little to do with how much or little he swings, and it’s why, despite his low defensive grade, I have him top-10.
Curley’s swing was very long coming into the season. A lot of his best contact was oppo because of a noticeable hitch in his handset. The positive for Curley is that his hand speed is quality with good bat speed, and he’s cleaned it up a bit, finding much better contact while finding better results against velocity. Curley has upped his air-pull rates
Curley has played a lot of shortstop, but he’s going to have to be a 3B long term. He just struggles mightily in all facets laterally, and his hands are sub-par. Getting him to a corner where he’s only covering a large portion laterally to his left is the clearest projection here.
8) IF WELBYN FRANCISCA | 45 FV | 55 FV80 PRESEASON RANK: 18 20 | 5’8” / 148 lbs* | S/R ACQUIRED: ‘23 IFA | Dominican Republic HIGHEST LEVEL: A+ LAKE COUNTY ETA: 2028 Francisca has had a full resurgence back to the status of prospect he was coming out of 2023. Between swing changes and injury, 2024 derailed his path briefly, but 2026 has been full go for Francisca as soon as he returned to the field.
Francisca is up 10 spots from the preseason, and he’s even up five spots from where he was this time last season. He has seen physical maturation (that 148 lbs is certainly wrong) turn into a full understanding of his approach, and it’s turned into a major power surge as Francisca has blasted 16 home runs in Lake County thus far.
There are some swing decision nitpicks with Francisca as he’s still a fairly free swinger, extending the zone quite a bit, but it’s necessary to split this up by handedness, with some help from TJStats.
Francisca has been obliterating right-handed pitchers, especially depositing fastballs with ease. His chase rate is significantly better than his overall mark, and he’s barely whiffing north of 20%. This is where the bread gets baked for Francisca, and the left side will continue to be why I remain high on his outlook despite his RHH woes because outside of Velazquez and Caceres, Welbyn’s bat from the left side is the bat I’m most excited about.
Defensively, Francisca feels like a better fit for 2B than shortstop. He has a strong arm, but it’s been a bit erratic, and his movements look much smoother overall at second. There’s even an outside chance be winds up in the outfield as his plus speed and aforementioned arm make for a possible transition out there.
REPERTOIRE 4-Seam: 93-96 T98 | Slider: 83-86 Cutter: 87-92 | Curveball: 75-78 Changeup: 82-84 HIGHEST LEVEL: AAA-COLUMBUS ETA: 2027 Campbell’s story is well known, and in his first season pitching in the Guardians’ organization, he’s been everything the dreamt of when drafting him back in 2022. Campbell is a big presence on the mound at 6-foot-5, and, similar to Peterson, works very vertically, getting on top of hitters with his fastball. Campbell’s heater sits ~94, reaching back for 97 and a rare 98 early in outings. It’s a big ride-n-run heater, generating north of 17 inches of vertical break and just shy of a foot of arm-side run. It’s an average pitch that can play up to plus at times. Campbell mixes in a quality, plus changeup off of it, generating nearly 17 inches of arm-side tail while cutting close to 10 mph off his fastball. He will tunnel it very well off the heater against lefties, and any solid contact against it is few and far between.
Where Campbell has thrived is in his ability to adjust. He dominated Lake County in a way we’ve not seen from a pitcher in years, but when he got to Akron, he was struggling to get the same consistent swing-and-miss and chase outside the zone. So, he adjusted. More cutter, less early count sweeper, and he found himself working ahead in the count, and over his final four starts in Akron, he was striking out 30% of batters while generating whiff rates north of 35%. He is still struggling to generate chases, but he pounds the zone with big stuff with a slider whose shape he’s still working on finding.
Campbell will need added to the 40-man this offseason, but Cleveland will have no issue doing that. From ulnar decompression surgery to Tommy John to wrist surgery, Campbell’s comeback story is nothing shy of a miracle. An oblique injury delayed his debut in Columbus by over a month, but he will finish out his season with the Clippers, capping off a tremendous first year of progress. Campbell will factor into the back-end of the rotation competition in ‘27 if all goes well, and at the very least, there’s a quality reliever in here if his arm just can’t handle to year to year work given the injury history.
ARSENAL: Fastball/Sinker: 91-94 T96 | Slider: 81-84 | Changeup: 84-87 | Cutter: 85-88 Rounding out the top-10 is Franklin Gomez, a pitcher who I strongly believe will be a capable back-of-rotation arm at the MLB level. Gomez dealt with an elbow injury scare in 2026, but thankfully, it wasn’t anything more than that, and he returned from the IL, going from Lake County to Akron. Similar to Doughty, whether it be new ball, etc, Gomez’s first outing was rough. He rebounded nicely, however, and looked like the same old Franklin Gomez.
Gomez possesses some of the best command in the system across his entire arsenal. He works from a high three-quarters slot, and his fastball has some cut-ride traits, generating above average ride. He also mixes in a sinker that he almost exclusively uses against lefties, and then runs a cutter that he’ll use to either handedness.
The real gems here are Gomez’s secondaries. His sweeper gets a lot of ugly swings and can be used against either handedness, but it’s especially effective against lefties for whiffs, and a lot of them. The changeup is a nasty change-of-pace offering that serves as an equalizing whiff and weak contact pitch. Gomez tunnels well, but it’s the area I want to see him continue to flesh out the most in Akron to end the season.
Gomez thrives on sequencing and command to generate weak contact. His changeup and sweeper are both running high quality wOBA against marks, and those two pitches will help carry him through this system and into a back-end starter role.
11) IF LUKE HILL | 45 FV | 50 FV80 PRESEASON RANK: N/R 22 | 5’11” / 193 lbs | R/R ACQUIRED: ‘25 Draft: 4:132 | Ole Miss HIGHEST LEVEL: AA-AKRON ETA: 2027
Hill already feels like the prototypical bat-first utility piece of the future, or at least that was before the oblique injury. He started the season off on a torrid pace in Lake County, and it was the power surge that shocked everyone, hitting more home runs in the first two months than he ever did in a single season at Ole Miss. Hill has shown sustained power ability, and even though it’s average bat speed, his quick hands, quality barrel control, and top flight swing decisions have made for exit velocities well above what he was showing in college. Hill’s EV90s at both High-A and Double-A are well above average, though because of the aforementioned oblique injury, it’s crept down a bit as of late.
Hill swings and misses a bit more than his profile would indicate, but the trade-off has been more XBH and home run power as well as trading some passivity for more aggression in the zone.
Defensively, Hill is a jack of all trades, master of none. He’s fringe average across the board, and below average at 3B, but the ability to be able to stick him at the three non-1B spots across the infield makes his versatility that much more valuable. He’s an average runner with a good IQ on the base paths. All in all, this is exactly the kind of player Cleveland needed in its system, and most importantly, he’s swinging from the right side.
Chourio has bounced back exactly how he needed to, coming off a 2025 riddled with injuries that affected his swing and everyday game significantly. While I still end up being the low man on Chourio – Baseball America had him in their Top 100 – the reasons largely come down to defense and approach.
At the plate, Chourio remains incredibly passive, but it’s better than it’s been in previous seasons. The groundball rate, while still high, is down overall, something he’s continually worked on. Now, the pull-side propensity has ticked up, but if he can start converting some of his pulled batted balls into line drives and flyballs, his above average raw power could turn into some fringe average to average game power. Chourio is much better from the left side, generating more consistent quality EV’s while lifting the ball, and his swing is tailored better to elevate the ball more.
Where Chourio struggles offensively is from the right side and with his overall passivity in the zone. We will touch on it more later, but he stares at fastballs in the zone quite often, leaving a lot of meat on the bone.
Defensively is where Chourio suffers the most. He’s a poor defender in centerfield who will have to make the move to a corner at some point. Despite plus speed, his reads are rough and routes are even worse. With more work, he can improve, but I don’t envision him ever becoming an average defender, eventually taking him off a premium position entirely.
Sims was Cleveland’s big prep signing after the debacle that was Logan Schmidt, and the 6-foot-8 right-hander has as much raw clay for the Guardians to mold as you’ll have seen in the system in a very, very long time.
Sims boasts a huge fastball with triple digit ability with a longer arm action. Sims notably raised his arm slot this year, and it’s seen his fastball generate more carry while finding the upper 90’s with more consistency as he continues to fill out his massive frame. The physical projection is as tantalizing as anything else. The velo is already there, the 6’8” frame is as well, but now it’s about building strength up from the 215 pounds and allowing his lower body to work more in tandem with his upper half.
The reliever risk is a vast amount of the projection, as it always is with size, traits, and velocity in this package. That being said, even below average to fringe average command would signal that Sims has a future as a starter, and the Guardians are going to give him a long runway into finding that out because a starter ceiling with this kind of stuff is limitless.
If you’re looking for your Guardians 2026 breakout prospect of the year, look no further than Ryan Cesarini. While I’ve been higher than most on Cesarini, I still didn’t have him within the preseason Top 20 (he was 26), and this should really show you a couple things; one, thanks to surges like Cesarini and Luke Hill and others we’ll get to later on, this has become a deeper system in the middle of the pack, and I think Cesarini is in a prime spot to emerge as a player who can separate from that pack a bit.
Cesarini had been a bat-to-ball, contact-centric swinger since the day he was drafted. He’s always been making solid contact, but this season, Cesarini approached his…approach…in search for more. Cesarini operated with a quick toe turn as a timing mechanism to quickly get his compact swing in motion to cover all fields. Now, Cesarini is looking to create damage, and he’s orchestrated a minor leg kick, allowing him to get more stable weight on his back leg to drive through his hips more efficiently. You’ll see in the 2025 swing in the gif above that Cesarini is a bit squatty and that his hips fly open, a commonality throughout his ‘25 tape. Now, his hips stay through his swing, and he’s in a much more athletic, stable base, allowing him to create the launch he’s been seeking.
Cesarini’s raw power output has backed up his results, with hard hit rates north of 40% in Akron, as well as an EV90 above 106 mph. Cesarini is an adequate defender with average speed, and he will be a corner outfield utility type who hasn’t shown any kind of weakness in splits. This is a huge rise for Cesarini, and I now firmly believe in him finding a way up to Cleveland some time in 2027 at the rate he’s going.
Where to even start with LaViolette? Top flight athlete, adequate to above average in the field, cannon of an arm, above average speed, 70-grade raw power. LaViolette has also found his best power to the pull-side. That’s all to say that LaViolette’s struggles are capable of completely derailing him.
LaViolette has a below average hit tool at a level right now that would disqualify him from ever being a big leaguer. The top of the zone completely owns him as his swing is tailored and grooved to win against low pitches, and his plate coverage is not strong enough for him to win along the outer third with any consistency, and it leads to some suboptimal quality of contact and a ton of strikeouts. Even getting that up to a 35, Gallo-esque hit tool could do him wonders considering the strengths of all his other tools being able to create value.
That’s what makes ranking LaViolette so difficult. He was poised to fall in rankings as he continues to work on changes to his stance and swing. Through changes come adjustments on the fly in the box, and we’re seeing that in real time in Akron as his overall numbers continue to fall. 2027 will be a huge year for LaViolette’s future within the org. If he progresses, there’s something here, but the flip side is just as likely, if not more so.
I have been lower on Cooper Ingle than most, and it comes down to two things: I don’t think he can stick behind the plate and an untenable approach at the plate. Ingle is an undersized catcher whose arm isn’t strong enough and defensive prowess lacks behind the dish. This has pushed him into a corner outfield spot both in Triple-A at times and fully at the ML level during his cup of coffee up in Cleveland. It goes without saying that Ingle struggled mightily in the outfield, and all it’s done is raise major questions about his future.
At the plate, Ingle possesses a fairly extreme profile. Prior to his promotion, Ingle displayed extreme passivity against all pitch types, but especially fastballs. MLB’s average swing rate against fastball types (fastballs/sinkers) in the zone is 65.5%. Ingle’s was 53.1%. Prior to his promotion, Ingle’s approach saw him running tremendous whiff rates, chase rates, and overall quality contact, but it simply wasn’t tenable with a minuscule 36% swing rate. The answer to why it wasn’t tenable is simple: MLB pitchers have no reason to fear Ingle and would attack in the zone at a much higher rate with better stuff. Ingle often found himself behind in counts, and he uncharacteristically struck out in 12 of his 21 at-bats in Cleveland.
Things have shifted a bit for Ingle since being demoted. That 53.1% zone-swing rate against fastball types has elevated up to 67.6%, now above the major league average. With more aggression against heaters has come more swing and miss across the board, namely against sliders. I think this is a net positive for Ingle though. He had to come off the extreme approach and be willing to actually put his hit tool to use. Ingle has above average bat to ball skills with quality barrel control that he harnesses in a quick, compact swing that he generates quality lift with. While there are some pretty extreme splits concerns here, if Ingle wants to profile as a major league bat, this was the change he had to make, and it’s a huge deal that he’s doing it now.
ARSENAL: Fastball: 93-96 T98 | Slider: 80-83 | Changeup: 81-84 | Cutter: 88-91 Zibin has found it in 2026. Command, mechanical consistency, sequencing, all of it. It’s night and day for Zibin from last season, his first pro season after missing three years due to various arm injuries (Tommy John in ‘23, ulnar nerve transposition surgery in ‘24). Like Justin Campbell in that same draft, the lengthy absence showed signs of rust, but the talent is breaking through in a big way in 2026.
Zibin took a few starts to adjust, but since the start of May, he’s largely been very good, and since his promotion to Lake County, he’s taken off. Zibin finished August with a 0.64 ERA and .132 batting average against. The command has taken leap from below average to fringe average potential, and his arsenal is beginning to flesh out into that of a starter’s.
Zibin’s fastball lives in the mid-90s consistently. It was the pitch he needed to find consistent command with, and he has. Shape-wise, the fastball can be a bit dead zone-y, generating as much run as ride, but he tunnels well off of it, allowing him to generate more swing-and-miss and weak contact than expected.
Zibin’s bread and butter is his changeup. It has plus potential with really sharp late bite. It generated a whiff rate north of 40% in A-ball, and it’s been just as effective thus far in Lake County. Zibin mixes this in against either handedness which is a bit unique in today’s repertoire splits, showing his comfortability and success with the offer. A new cutter has been mixed in, helping Zibin live in the zone a bit more, and it’s mixed well off the fastball as well as Zibin’s sweeper which has served effectively against right-handed bats.
Zibin has upped his strikeout rate by over 12% from last season while dropping his walk rate 2%. This is a real deal starting pitcher prospect now, and though some reliever risk still hangs around as the command is still a work in progress and the preexisting arm issues lurk, Zibin has made himself a name to watch in the org.
Khal Stephen probably had the most unfortunate 2026 of any Guardians prospect. Stephen’s command had previously been above average while flashing plus on certain pitch types. That all took a huge step back, namely with the fastball which he left center-cut way too often with diminished shape. All in all, Stephen’s time within the Guardians org has been spent struggling, and now he will go under the knife for Tommy John surgery, derailing his 2026 and all of his 2027.
ARSENAL: Fastball: 97-100 T101 | Slider: 90-93 | Changeup: Espino pitching in the major leagues in 2026 is nothing shy of a miraculous success story. Espino flashing 100 multiple times? We’ve never been more back.
Espino drops to 18 now for one reason, and that reason is that I solely see him as a reliever now. The care and overall caution this organization has handled Espino with this season not only makes a ton of sense, but it showed me that they don’t really see him as a starter long-term. While the dream of having Cleveland’s version of deGrom (Espino) and Cole (Gavin) seems dead, Espino’s future with this team is not. Daniel Espino has dominant backend reliever written all over him.
Espino’s fastball is still double plus, somehow, as its velocity, shape and Espino’s ability to optimize it at the top of the zone have culminated in a 52.8% whiff rate against big league bats. The big issue was his inability to find the zone, though a lot of that could come down to how seldom he was used. Espino has not pitched in consecutive days, and they rarely go to him every other either in Columbus or Cleveland. That kind of usage is enough to disrupt some outing to outing adjustments, and while understandable, it has been a bit frustrating.
Espino’s gyro slider is a 92 mph bullet train that stays verty and can serve similarly to a cutter earlier in counts, and his curveball is a pitch he’s been going to more since going back to Columbus, and he’s seeing huge swing-and-miss success with it now.
While Daniel Espino will likely never toe the rubber as a starter in a playoff game for the Guardians, he will absolutely do so as a reliever in big spots for years to come.
ARSENAL: Fastball: 95-97 T100 | Slider: 85-88 | Changeup: 87-91 | Cutter: 89-91 Oakie is among my biggest droppers, and it all comes down to a regression in command and overall mechanical deficiencies that scream reliever future. Oakie was a huge riser for me to end last season after showcasing better command over his final month and turning in the two most dominant starts by a Guardians pitching prospect in 2025. Enter ‘26, however, and the same ugly woes are back, and we’re right back down to 20-grade current command.
Oakie’s fastball command is bad right now. The buggy whip action he gets creates a ton of deception, and the velocity it generates does a lot of work, but he has no idea where it’s going right now. Oakie’s slider is a dominant offering in the mid to upper 80’s that can completely overwhelm hitters when he’s ahead in the count, but he rarely is.
The best move here is to just stash Oakie away for a rainy day next season and see what his mechanics look like. The long whippy action has to end, or we’re looking at another Chase Mobley.
Watson drops a bit here, solely due to the additions of Liam Peterson, Luke Hill, and Savion Sims as well as Jacob Zibin’s breakout. My outlook on Watson has not changed at all since before the season, but Watson has shown one area of improvement that may be what keeps him on a major league roster as a depth piece one day and buy him time to figure out his offensive approach, and that’s his above average, bordering on plus defense across the outfield. Watson is an average defender in center while showcasing some plus defense in the corners in Cleveland, including an above average arm and speed.
What holds Watson back is what’s always been Watson’s kryptonite: he whiffs too much at all pitch types. Watson has run a whiff rate north of 30% in Triple-A. That number is above 30% for fastball, offspeed, and breaking types. It’s so hard to succeed when whiffing that much, and while he hasn’t shown a penchant for chasing much in Triple-A, that discipline went by the wayside during his run in Cleveland as he was running an O-Swing% of 35.6%. Watson simply may need more time at the major league level to work out his kinks, but unfortunately, the line in front of him is pretty long.
Broussard was Cleveland’s third round pick out of the University of Houston, and he’s a very interesting profile worth keeping an eye on.
Broussard’s handset at the start of his swing is a bit high, above his head, and this creates an unconventional path to the ball. I think the Guardians will try and clean this up a bit, finding something a bit more natural to anchor a more consistent swing path.
Broussard was a pure bat-to-ball contact hitter in his last season at Houston, showcasing sub-20% whiff rates and high-80% range zone-contact ability. Broussard feasted on fastballs in the zone, and when the rare pulled flyball happened, he tended to hit them a long way. There’s more power in Broussard’s profile that his stats don’t tell you. Broussard posted a max-EV of 110.4 mph with strong average EV’s and what would equal out to be right around MLB average bat speed. Some swing and approach changes will be in the works here, and Broussard’s natural bat-to-ball ability should be able to survive a search for a more complete profile.
Defensively, Broussard is incredibly gifted in centerfield, and he will be able to stick there long-term. He has plus ability in center, and his double plus speed not only makes him a threat on the base paths, but it makes his already strong reads in the outfield even more advantageous.
Broussard will not make his affiliated debut until 2027.
Monstrous, sky-scraping power with surprisingly good swing decisions, Schubart differs from his fellow 2025 extreme hit tool partner in that one simple regard. Swing decisions. Schubart ranks low for a reason. He’s landlocked at the most non-premium defensive position on the field and/or a DH, and his bat profile is beyond extreme. There isn’t a single everyday big leaguer striking out 35+% of the time, and Schubart’s 64% zone-contact rate is 6% lower than the lowest of MLB. This profile rhymes with the extreme power hitting profiles of today’s game, but the overall success rate of someone of this level of extreme is low.
But enough about why it won’t work and more about why it could. Schubart just about whiffs equally at all pitch types, but he’s selective at what he does swing at. Schubart’s swing is so unique. He physically towers over the ball as he swings, getting bend on his upper body that you wouldn’t see anyone else generate. This does create two distinct features to Schubart’s swing: a ton of whiff above the thighs and prodigious power against anything below them. Schubart’s success across the minor leagues this season is driven by his ability to dominate the lower half of the zone with passable plate coverage without being overly aggressive and extending beyond it all the time. When Schubart does chase, it’s almost always down and away as he’s big game hunting, but he’s still poised enough to lay off the vast majority of the time.
I said it the other day, but Schubart is impossible to rank as I’ve never once put stock into a profile like his, and he may be among the most extreme 3TO profile that you’ll find, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t fun.
Herrera is a name you need to become acquainted with ASAP. Herrera was a bit older for the Complex League at 20 this season, but he dominated it to the tune of a .324/.487/.721 slash line with 11 home runs in 35 games. He received a promotion out of the CPX to Hill City where his keen eye and power production has continued.
Herrera is a Guardians special of a swinger. He controls the inner half, aims to lift and pull and finds his power that way. Herrera doesn’t expand the zone much, and he’s found success against all pitch types thus far.
What makes Herrera more advanced than others around his age in this system is his approach. Herrera is a two-handed finisher, finding his best power that way, but he’ll adjust his swing in two-strike counts, opting for a flatter bat path and one handed follow through, simplifying his approach to battle to get on base. Beyond that, Herrera has also flashed well above average power outputs for his age, and the Guardians may have something brewing here.
Defensively, Herrera is still a bit stiff behind the plate but has an above average arm. He’s done well controlling the run game thus far at levels where pitchers can’t be bothered holding runners, now he gets a chance to further develop his pitch to pitch mechanics back there. It can be harder to project out from A-ball, but Herrera lands as the highest ranked catcher who I think sticks behind the plate.
Huff has been a bit of an enigma this season, emerging onto the radar almost out of nowhere. Arriving in Cleveland’s system via the Cal Quantrill trade, Huff has scratched out a very good second season in Columbus, providing solid play across the diamond, from catcher to third base to first base. That being said, you’ll see by the grades that I think Huff has been playing above his skis in Triple-A, and I’ll explain why.
Since the All-Star Break, Huff has had a hard time finding consistency, namely against right-handed pitching. Even with some home runs against RHP at the end of July, Huff has struggled against them in this span, but he’s crushed left-handed pitching exclusively.
I had a hunch based on Huff’s whiff rates by pitch type and pitcher handedness in the first half that this would be how this enveloped, and thus far, that’s been who he is in the second half. This is why I have a hard time buying into Huff any more than I had already been coming into the season. The defensive versatility likely sees him some time in Cleveland, but outside of him coming up and crushing the ball right away when he does get that chance, I don’t see him as a long-term big league option.
ARSENAL: Fastball: 91-94 T96 | Slider: 80-84 | Changeup: 82-86 Hynes was the player taken with the comp pick received in the Josh Naylor trade. Hynes, just 19 years old, has a ton of physical projection left on his frame, firing from a three-quarters slot with capable velocity already.
Hynes has three pitches right now as he works on developing consistency in his mechanics and release point. Hynes’s fastball is more run over ride, generating big arm-side tail, working almost more as a 2-seam profile. The slider is his easiest pitch to project as it generates good spin rates with a ton of sweeping movement. The key with the slider will be keeping it from getting so loopy and staying up. When he can get the slider to bite, it’s been a huge swing-and-miss pitch, but right now, there’s a lot of shape inconsistency. His changeup has been used almost exclusively to lefties. It pairs really well with the fastball when he can locate.
Hynes is a ball of clay already being molded. He is younger than Savion Sims, for reference, and has all the chance in the world to develop into something of note here.
Lachance exploded onto the scene after a monster late season tear and eventual CWS run, winning the College World Series with Oklahoma. Lachance’s profile is very simple. He will swing and miss, he is hunting to hit bombs, and behind the plate, he’s more comfortable than he once was, showcasing more consistent footwork blocking balls.
Lachance’s calling card that can keep him behind the dish is his quick pop time and cannon of an arm. As we move into a world where more teams begin to call pitches from the dugout, Lachance’s profile behind the plate will likely emerge as the preferred one: big bat, control the run game, keep balls in front of you.
The hit tool will be the concern. Can he keep from whiffing too much as he climbs the ranks through the system? Time will tell, but the swing is geared for big power, and his personality is geared to win over this fanbase as well.
28) OF ROBERT ARIAS | 40 FV | 50 FV80 PRESEASON RANK: N/R 19 | 6’1” / 168 lbs | L/L ACQUIRED: IFA ‘24 | Dominican Republic HIGHEST LEVEL: A-HILL CITY ETA: 2030
Arias was poised for a huge leap up this list (I had him at 13 when I began putting this together in early June), but a fractured ankle on a really unfortunate play ended his season. It’s unknown right now if Arias will miss any time early next season, but my only concern is just how much an injury like a fractured ankle could affect a player whose speed and athleticism are the driving force behind their profile. Wishing Robert all the best, and if he comes back looking the same way he did before the injury, expect a massive leap up this list.
Martinez has had a stellar season thus far, taking a much more patient approach to A-ball after struggling in the short stint he spent there in his draft year. His swing decisions have been quality, his approach is very good, and he’s been aggressive in the zone while doing a lot of damage with quality plate coverage.
Martinez has showcased above average power thus far as well, exhibiting a 105.2 EV90 in Lake County thus far with hard hit rates over 40% at both levels this season, and this makes him a bit of a rare breed 1B bat across minor league baseball. Big power tends to have some give and take with some swing and miss, but not for Martinez. Martinez has supplemented his power with little swing and miss (18.3% whiff%) little zone expansion (22.4% O-Swing%), and elite zone-contact and swing selection rates (91% Z-con% with a 49.% Z-O Swing%). Should Martinez get up to Akron in 2027 and continue this, he’s going to skyrocket up these rankings.
30) SS DAURI FERNANDEZ | 40 FV | 50 FV80 PRESEASON RANK: 15 19 | 5’9” / 155 lbs | S/R ACQUIRED: IFA ‘24 | Dominican Republic HIGHEST LEVEL: A+ LAKE COUNTY ETA: 2030
One of the bigger fallers on this list, Dauri Fernandez is still a player I like quite a bit, but his approach at the plate has to clean up. Fernandez is a slash-n-dash profile whose contact ability and double plus speed make for a terror when he gets on base. Fernandez has really strong bat-to-ball skills, but a K-rate that’s jumped 8% (albeit from the CPX to affiliated ball) lends to some digging into. Fernandez is running a pretty extreme chase rate, and it’s affecting his ability to get on base at the rate he should. Fernandez has a good eye, but leaning on a solid bat to do all the work just isn’t going to work as the pitching gets better.
When Fernandez is on base, he’s a total pest. Fernandez has swiped 54 bags at the time of this release this season, though he’s been caught 16 times. Where his speed and suddenness helps him most is defensively. Fernandez doesn’t have the smoothest of hands, but he can get to balls many others can’t due to good reads across the infield and his quickness. He also possesses an average arm, and I think he can stick at shortstop.
Fernandez simply has to mature at the plate. The larger concern here is his frame may not have a lot of physical development in it of itself, so developing a better approach is paramount to his future success.
31-45
Rk.
Name
Acquired
Position
Age
B/T
FV
FV80
Synopsis
31
Kade Lewis
‘26 Draft: 4:123 | Wake Forest
3B
21
L/R
40
50
Bat-first 3B; quality swing decisions, not great athlete and likely to move off 3B long-term over to 1B
32
Carson Lane
‘26 Draft: 14:423 | UNLV
RHP
21
R/R
40
50
Starter with good fastball, command steers SP or RP
33
Alejandro Blasco
IFA ‘24 | Venezuela
OF
19
S/R
40
50
Undersized contact specialist with great approach; undersized w/ little physcial projection
34
Franco Aleman
‘21 Draft: 10:306 | Florida
RP
26
R/R
40
45
back-end RP potential with some shaky command; huge stuff, but struggles to get batters to expand zone
35
Svert Reinoso
‘26 IFA | Dominican Republic
IF
17
S/R
40
50
CLE’s top IFA signing of 2026, Reinoso flashed capable power and a good approach in his DSL debut
36
José Pirela
IFA ‘23 | Venezuela
OF
20
L/R
35
50
Has cleaned up some swing-and-miss
37
Yorman Gomez
IFA ‘19 | Venezuela
RHP
23
R/R
40
45
A reliever turned starter who is probably a reliever; fastball struggles have cratered 2026
38
Bennett Thompson
‘24 Draft: 13:385 | Oregon
C
23
R/R
35
45
Good bat-to-ball skills with great approach; severe lack of bat speed has made AA transition tough; fringy defender
39
Ryan Degges
‘26 Trade w/ PHI
RHP
23
R/R
35
45
Likely a reliever due to poor command, but big stuff positions a quicker rise for Degges through system
40
Alfonsin Rosario
‘24 Trade w/ CHI
OF
22
R/R
35
45
Swing-and-miss problems have made him among the worst hitters in AAA (36% chase rate, 43% whiff)
41
Tyler Howard
‘25 Draft: 11:342 | Portland
C
22
R/R
35
45
Bat-to-ball specialist; above average framer, blocker w/ fringe arm
42
Matt Scott
‘26 Draft: 8:243 | Georgia
RHP
21
R/R
40
45
Reliever arm with quality stuff + spin; solid mechanics w/ outside chance to transition back to SP
43
Andrew Walters
‘23 Draft: CB-B:62 | Miami
RHP
25
R/R
35
45
‘26 served as lost season; going under the knife again
44
Rafe Schlesinger
‘24 Draft: 4:113 | Miami
LHP
23
L/L
35
45
Groundball getter who flashed some strikeout stuff in LC; will need to improve sequencing & secondary command to grow
45
Ben Cleary
‘26 Draft: 12:363 | Santa Clara
SS
21
R/R
35
45
Contact savant with no power projection who will pepper the opposite field; above avg defender
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 10: A general view during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Sunday, September 10, 2023 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Loren Elliott/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
Last week, our fearless leader Brady and I had an entertaining conversation that stemmed from the San Francisco Giants partnering with Kalshi. I thought I’d share a bit of that because it leads into our prompt for today.
It started with Brady ironically using the Giants’ slogan: “It doesn’t get more Giant.” To which I replied, “How much do you think their PR team regrets that one?” Brady mentioned that he always thought “Game Up” was the silliest slogan. I added that “Giants baseball: there’s nothing like it” was pretty bad too, given how often it’s been memed by the fanbase.
This prompted me to suggest honest slogans for the current trajectory of the team’s future:
“Giants Baseball: And that’s a threat.” and “Giants Baseball: And what are you gonna do about it?” were my suggestions.
Brady’s suggestion was: “Giants Baseball: Deal with it.”
So now we’re bringing the conversation to you guys for your suggestions. What do you think the Giants’ slogan should be for 2027 and beyond?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants continue this three-game road series against the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon at 3:40 p.m. PT.
