Category: Sports News

Special thanks to David Shovein for handling this column last week while I was away. He did a great job setting the stage for what should be an entertaining stretch run. I'm certainly reinvigorated for some chaos.

Featured in this week’s MLB Power Rankings, the division races in the NL West and AL West come into focus, Vinnie Pasquantino turns it on at the right time for the Royals, being a Bob is cool again, and Paul Skenes continues to do things pretty much nobody has ever done.

(Please note these power rankings are a combination of current performance and long-term projected outlook)

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Samuel Basallo earns a starting role, Bubba Chandler is here

Eric Samulski breaks down some of the top waiver wire adds for the upcoming week of fantasy baseball

• Eric Samulski,

Let’s get started!

Note: Rankings are from the morning of Monday, August 25.

1) Milwaukee Brewers

Last week: 1

The Brewers are 3-6 since their 14-game winning streak, but they still own the game’s best record. Kudos to the franchise for their celebration of Bob Uecker on Sunday, including customized jerseys for the players.

2) Detroit Tigers

Last week: 2

The Tigers nearly pulled off a perfect homestand as Tarik Skubal reached the 200-strikeout plateau for the second straight season. The defending AL Cy Young Award winner and Garrett Crochet are going back-and-forth for the MLB lead at the moment.

3) Philadelphia Phillies ⬆️

Last week: 5

The Phillies will bring a season-high seven-game lead in the NL East into a series against the second place Mets at Citi Field. It’s an opportunity to bury them for good, even though missing Zack Wheeler for the long-term is a tough blow.

4) Toronto Blue Jays

Last week: 4

The Blue Jays got exactly what they were hoping for in Shane Bieber’s first start back from Tommy John surgery last Friday against the Marlins.

Talk about a potential difference-maker down the stretch and into the postseason.

5) Chicago Cubs ⬆️

Last week: 6

The Cubs are on the upswing again, and so is Kyle Tucker. It was revealed last week that he was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his right hand back in June, which explains his sustained struggles. However, after going 25 games without a homer, he hit three in the span of two games during the team’s weekend sweep over the Angels.

6) San Diego Padres ⬆️

Last week: 11

31 games to go and the Padres and Dodgers are deadlocked in the standings. Oh baby. Nestor Cortes exacted a bit of revenge from last year’s World Series in Saturday’s start against the Dodgers, allowing just one hit and no walks over six scoreless frames. Speaking of trade deadline acquisitions, how great has Ramón Laureano been?

7) Los Angeles Dodgers ⬇️

Last week: 3

It’s safe to say that Shohei Ohtani is feeling this Dodgers/Padres rivalry.

Ohtani is up to 45 homers this year and boasts a 1.171 OPS for the month of August.

8) Boston Red Sox ⬆️

Last week: 12

Speaking of embracing a rivalry, Red Sox phenom Roman Anthony homered in the first inning in his first game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. The bat flip wasn’t overly flashy, but still authoritative.

9) Houston Astros

Last week: 9

The Astros recovered from the sweep at the hands of the Tigers by taking three out of four against the Orioles over the weekend. They’ll bring a two-game lead over the Mariners into the week, and they might finally get Yordan Alvarez back from the IL on Tuesday.

10) New York Yankees ⬇️

Last week: 8

The Yankees finally got the best of the Red Sox on Sunday after losing their previous eight games against the club. Up next is a big opportunity, as they’ll get the Nationals at home for three before hitting the road for a four-game series against the White Sox.

11) New York Mets ⬇️

Last week: 10

Two starts in and top prospect right-hander Nolan McLean has been a game-changer for the Mets’ starting rotation.

With Frankie Montas done for the year and potentially headed for Tommy John surgery, it’s possible that fellow prospect Jonah Tong could be next. The 22-year-old has been lights out through his first two starts in Triple-A.

12) Seattle Mariners ⬇️

Last week: 7

It’s not even September yet and Cal Raleigh is out here setting records for a catcher.

The “Big Dumper” will understandably say that the focus is on winning games in a tight AL West race with the Astros, but he has a real chance to win the AL MVP Award.

13) Kansas City Royals ⬆️

Last week: 14

No surprise here: Vinnie Pasquantino was named the American League Player of the Week after homering in five straight games to tie a franchise record.

Pasquantino’s streak got snapped on Saturday, but he got right back into the act in Sunday’s win over the Tigers.

14) Cincinnati Reds ⬇️

Last week: 13

In salvaging Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks, the Reds remain the only team in MLB who hasn’t been swept this season. Nipping at the heels of the Mets in the NL Wild Card race, the Reds will play three against the Dodgers on the road to begin the week.

15) Texas Rangers ⬆️

Last week: 16

Just when you think the Rangers are out, they pull you right back in. It’s been that kind of year for the Rangers, who swept the Guardians over the weekend. Now all eyes on are on Jacob deGrom, who will make his first start in 10 days after dealing with some shoulder fatigue.

16) Cleveland Guardians ⬇️

Last week: 15

The Guardians have hit just .178 as a team while losing eight out of their last nine games, including five straight.

17) Arizona Diamondbacks ⬆️

Last week: 18

The Diamondbacks remain on the fringes of the NL Wild Card race, but it’s going to be a challenge to catch up. Arizona has the most difficult schedule in the majors the rest of the way, with the Brewers and the Dodgers coming up this week.

18) St. Louis Cardinals ⬆️

Last week: 19

We’ve seen a recent wave of interesting prospects get the call, but could JJ Wetherholt be next? The 2024 No. 7 overall pick has done nothing but hit since his promotion to Triple-A, delivering a .328/.413/.648 batting line with nine homers, 20 RBI, and five steals across 31 games. He put together back-to-back three-hit games over the weekend as the clamoring continues.

19) Tampa Bay Rays ⬇️

Last week: 17

This home run by recent call-up Bob Seymour was a special one.

Believe it or not, Bob Seymour is the first "Bob" to hit a home run in the majors since Bob Smith (of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays) on April 19, 2002. Move over, Liams and Ashers of the world, we need more Bobs.

20) San Francisco Giants

Last week: 20

This hasn’t been the season Willy Adames and the Giants envisioned, but the shortstop’s return to Milwaukee on Friday was pretty cool.

21) Los Angeles Angels

Last week: 21

Rookie Bryce Teodosio is doing his best to make sure he’s part of the conversation for center field with the Angels next season.

Teodosio is already up to five defensive runs saved despite appearing in just 19 games.

22) Atlanta Braves

Last week: 22

Austin Riley is done for the year after undergoing core muscle surgery, but ace left-hander Chris Sale is close to making his return. The southpaw, who fractured a rib in June, allowed just one run over 4 2/3 innings in a rehab start on Saturday and could be activated as soon as this weekend.

23) Miami Marlins

Last week: 23

Jakob Marsee just keeps humming along. He’s hit safely in seven straight games and owns a .346/.416/.705 batting line with four homers, 23 RBI, and seven steals through his first 23 games in the majors.

24) Baltimore Orioles

Last week: 24

Samuel Basallo is up in the big leagues. That’s exciting. He signed an eight-year extension with the club. That’s exactly what the Orioles should be doing. The bigger question from here is if they can also reach long-term agreements with the likes of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, and Jordan Westburg.

25) Athletics

Last week: 25

Jacob Wilson doesn’t believe in the idea of rust. He’s hit safely in all three games since returning from a forearm fracture. The 23-year-old has been surpassed by teammate Nick Kurtz in the AL Rookie of the Year race, but it’s fun to see him back in action as part of this young core.

26) Pittsburgh Pirates ⬆️

Last week: 27

Fun stuff for Pirates fans: Bubba Chandler is finally up in the majors and Paul Skenes continues to be synonymous with history.

With Zack Wheeler going down, Skenes should cruise to his first (of many?) Cy Young Awards.

27) Minnesota Twins ⬇️

Last week: 26

The Twins turned to a pair of pitchers they acquired at the deadline over the weekend against the White Sox…and it didn't go great. Mick Abel (from the Jhoan Duran deal) gave up six runs in three innings on Saturday while Taj Bradley (from the Griffin Jax deal) was knocked around for seven runs in five innings on Sunday.

28) Washington Nationals

Last week: 28

This has largely been a lost year for Dylan Crews, who was a preseason favorite of mine. He missed nearly three months with an oblique strain, but here’s hoping he finishes the season strong. The vibes just feel different with him in the lineup.

29) Chicago White Sox

Last week: 29

After a rough stretch at the plate, rookie Colson Montgomery is back to hitting dingers again.

30) Colorado Rockies

Last week: 30

The Rockies were officially eliminated from postseason contention on Sunday, just in case you were holding out hope.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington said Monday he is recovering from quadruple bypass heart surgery. It's the first time he has publicly addressed the health issues that have sidelined him since late June.

He made the announcement while visiting the Angels for the first time since the operation eight weeks ago in California, calling it a day he had been looking forward to while recovering at his home in New Orleans. He is not returning to manage this season, but hopes to have that opportunity next year. He said he should be fully recovered by December.

“(Doctors) told me by the time I reach eight weeks I could start doing some light work, but my light work was to come up to Texas and be with the team,” said Washington, at 73 the oldest manager in the majors. "I feel great, I really do. ... I didn't come here to work, I came here to be around my guys and have fun with them."

Washington last managed a game in a 7-3 loss to the New York Yankees on June 19. The following day, the team said Washington was out indefinitely because of health issues after experiencing shortness of breath and appearing fatigued toward the end of that four-game series in New York.

After being cleared by Yankees doctors to fly home with his team, even though they initially wanted to keep him in New York, Washington underwent a series of tests in California. He said an angiogram there showed blockage in his valves that couldn’t be fixed by stents.

“This happened fast,” said Washington, who was hospitalized June 23, had surgery June 30 and was discharged July 7.

The Angels, without elaborating then, announced June 27 that he was on medical leave for the rest of the season.

“What happened to me saved my life,” said Washington, who added that he has quit smoking, changed his eating habits and is sleeping better. At one point, he raised the Angels hoodie he was wearing to reveal the scars from the surgery.

Washington wasn't so sure he had made it in the immediate aftermath of the procedure, when isolated and connected to medical monitors.

“Actually I thought I was dead because I was laying someplace where they had put me for a few days, and I said I didn’t make it," he said. "So I started pulling stuff off, and the guy saw me doing it, and he came running in and he grabbed my hand. He said, ‘What’s going on?’ I said, ‘Am I dead?’ He said, ‘No, you’re here.' Really.”

The well-liked Washington made the revelations before the Angels opened a three-game series in Texas, where he still has a residence. He plans to continue on to Houston with the Angels before skipping the final stop of the road trip in Kansas City. Washington hopes to be with the team the rest of the season after the Angels return home.

Washington is the Rangers’ winningest manager with a 664-611 record from 2007-14. He led them to their first two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.

After initially returning to the A's organization for two seasons, Washington was on the Atlanta Braves’ staff from 2017-23 and part of their 2021 World Series championship.

With a young roster after Shohei Ohtani’s departure in free agency and with three-time AL MVP Mike Trout limited to 29 games because of injuries, the Angels went 63-99 last year to set a franchise record for losses in Washington’s first season as their manager. They were 36-38 before Washington left the dugout this year, and went into Monday night’s game 25-31 with Ray Montgomery filling in for him.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who led them to their first World Series title two years ago, is the next oldest manager in the majors. The four-time World Series champion, who turned 70 in April, came into the interview room and went onto the podium to give Washington a hug while telling him it was great to see him.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

SEATTLE — Cal Raleigh had so much adrenaline pumping, he couldn’t even hear a crowd of 37,550 chanting “MVP!” following his record-breaking feat.

The Seattle Mariners slugger hit his major league-leading 48th and 49th home runs on Sunday against the Athletics, setting a single-season record for catchers and passing Salvador Perez's total with the Kansas City Royals in 2021. After hitting his second home run, which set the watermark for backstops, Raleigh exited the Mariners dugout to doff his helmet.

“With everybody on their feet cheering, I didn’t even notice,” Raleigh said. “It was just a really cool moment to tip the cap. That’s not something you get to do every day.”

Manager Dan Wilson, who has been beyond complimentary of Raleigh all season, had only one complaint about the catcher’s curtain call: That perhaps he didn’t stay out on the field long enough.

“What an incredible feat,” Wilson said after the Mariners beat the Athletics 11-4. “I don’t know that you can fathom how big that is when you look at some of the people he’s passed and just what the magnitude of that record is.”

Raleigh’s record-breaking home run also marked his ninth multi-home run game of the season, passing Mickey Mantle (eight for the 1961 New York Yankees) for most multi-home run games by a switch-hitter in a season in major league history. The overall record is 11 multi-home run games in a season.

The switch-hitting Raleigh, batting from the right side, homered off Athletics left-handed starter Jacob Lopez in the first inning to make it 2-0 and tie Perez. Raleigh got a fastball down the middle from Lopez and sent it an estimated 448 feet, according to Statcast. It was measured as the longest home run of Raleigh's career as a right-handed hitter.

In the second inning, Raleigh drilled a changeup from Lopez 412 feet. Both blasts prompted “MVP” chants from the hometown crowd.

“Obviously to do it anywhere would be really special,” Raleigh said. “But, to do it here in front of the fans and to give them that and see the appreciation was a really cool moment.”

The longballs were Nos. 39 and 40 on the season for Raleigh while catching this year. He has nine while serving as a designated hitter. Perez hit 15 home runs as a DH in 2021, and 33 at catcher.

Only four other players in big league history have hit at least 40 homers in a season while primarily playing catcher: Johnny Bench (twice), Roy Campanella, Todd Hundley and Mike Piazza (twice). Bench, Campanella and Piazza are Hall of Famers.

“I think we’re seeing that he’s starting to set a bar to nobody else that’s done this,” Wilson said. “And, that’s the newsworthy part of this thing is it’s getting to a point where you can’t compare him to anybody. He just keeps pushing that bar higher.”

Raleigh launched 27 homers in 2022, then 30 in 2023 and 34 last season. Should he continue at his powerful pace, Raleigh could become the first American League catcher to lead the major leagues outright in home runs.

A first-time All-Star at age 28, Raleigh burst onto the national scene when he won the All-Star Home Run Derby in July, just four months removed from signing a six-year, $105 million contract extension. He became the first switch-hitter and first catcher to win the title. He’s the second Mariners player to take the crown, after three-time winner Ken Griffey Jr.

With 31 games to go in the regular season, Raleigh also has an excellent chance of passing Griffey's franchise record of 56 home runs in a season.

Raleigh’s homer gave him 104 RBIs on the season. He’s the first catcher with consecutive 100-RBI seasons since Piazza (1996-2000), and the first American League backstop to accomplish the feat since Thurman Munson (1975-77).

But on Sunday, Raleigh stood alone when it came to major league catching royalty with one counting stat.

“We had a chance to see all-time history today, which is really cool,” Wilson said. “Forty-nine homers this season for a catcher, unbelievable.”