Category: Sports News

When records are being broken, all eyes are on those who break them. But it’s important to remember that in those moments, there are others around witnessing history that have stories to tell. Teammates of Aaron Judge will remember the 2022 season in which he broke Roger Maris’ franchise and AL home run record. No matter how many games they played in a Yankees uniform, they’ll be able to say they saw one of the greats do what he did best day in and day out.

Tex Clevenger was one of those teammates of Maris and Mickey Mantle, who could tell stories from his days playing alongside legends.

Truman “Tex” Eugene Clevenger
Born: July 9, 1932 (Visalia, CA)
Died: August 24, 2019 (Visalia, CA)
Yankees Tenure: 1961-1962

Truman was born in Visalia, California, attended Visalia High School, and then spent three and a half years at Cal State Fresno. He began high school standing 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighing only 86 pounds. He did not play his first year due to the coaching staff’s concern about his stature, but a new coach – Hank Viden – came on in his sophomore year and said that anyone who wanted to play baseball would be allowed to play. Clevenger was initially playing in the outfield, but when Viden came to the team and asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to pitch, Clevenger raised his hand and was given his start on the mound.

He was signed by the Boston Red Sox on June 9, 1953, after a scout named Tom Downey saw him throw his second no-hitter for the Fresno Bulldogs against the College of the Pacific. In the game, he struck out 20 hitters and went 6-for-6 at the plate with three triples, two singles, and a double.

When the Red Sox signed him, other teams made their own bids, and three reportedly offered more money. But Clevenger saw an opportunity not just to make the major leagues down the line, but also to work on his arsenal, specifically his curveball. He knew that to make it in Major League Baseball one day, he would need to develop a major weapon in his pitch mix. Clevenger got his wish and began his pro career with the Red Sox organization in 1953, he went 16–2 with a 1.51 ERA and 157 strikeouts over 155.0 innings. As a result, the 1953 California League MVP Award.

After his almost-perfect minor league season, Clevenger trained with the Red Sox in Sarasota, Florida, in the spring of 1954. He was sent to the Triple-A Louisville Colonels to begin the year. He was called up just a week later, before the season began, receiving praise from the Red Sox coaching staff as an excellent prospect. However, they were hesitant to rush him in the major leagues, fearing it might stunt his development.

It was clear that Clevenger was close to being ready, but he wasn’t quite there just yet. In 23 games pitched in 1954 (eight started), he finished the season with a 2-4 record and 4.79 ERA in 67.2 innings. His first major league game came against the Philadelphia Athletics on April 18, 1954. He pitched an inning without allowing a hit or a walk.

Clevenger was sent back down to Louisville and received more playing time there, spending the entire 1955 season with the Colonels. He started 21 games and pitched 39 total, finishing with a 9-13 record and a 3.77 ERA, including nine complete games.

The same happened in 1956 after Clevenger was traded to the Washington Senators. The Red Sox pulled the trigger on a nine-player deal that sent him to Washington, and he initially started the season with the major league club, taking the mound in 20 games, of which only one was a start. His time in the majors was, once again, nothing to write home about. In those 20 appearances, he pitched 31.1 innings and posted a 5.40 ERA before being sent back to Louisville, which had become the Senators’ Triple-A team after their time with the Red Sox. He posted a 5.94 ERA and a 2-11 record over 103.0 innings, including a nine-game losing streak individually at one point.

The 1956 season would not be the last that he saw in the minor leagues, but it would be for a handful of years. In 1957, Clevenger pitched the most innings of his major league career (139.2), added another two complete games to his major league resume, and saw a significant decrease in his ERA (4.19). And in 1958, his ERA ticked up to 4.35, but he actually led the AL in appearances that season with 55.

Clevenger would remain primarily a reliever for the Senators in 1959 and 1960, where over 246.0 innings pitched, he posted a 4.06 ERA (including the first and only ERA under 4.00 and ERA+ over 100 in his entire major league career in a season where he pitched over 50.0 innings), an ERA+ of 98, and a FIP of 3.79. But 1960 would be his last in a Senators uniform, as an upcoming expansion draft would require Washington to make some hard roster decisions. Clevenger was not one of the players protected, and the newly introduced Los Angeles Angels selected him with the seventh overall pick.

However, his time in the City of Angels was short-lived, as he appeared in only 12 games before being traded to the Yankees in early May, despite not allowing an earned run in his first seven outings and maintaining a 1.69 ERA at the time of the trade. The Angels believed they could get more out of who they received, particularly right-hander Ryne Duren (who we profiled back in February).

The Yankees, according to reports of the time, had been looking to acquire Clevenger for some time while he was with the Senators, but they never made the move until he was with the Angels.

So, in 1961, when Mantle and Maris were setting their own records of 54 and 61 home runs, Clevenger was in the bullpen for it all. He pitched in 21 games, finished with a 1-1 record and a 4.83 ERA over 31.2 innings, putting his season total at a 3.78 ERA over just 47.2 innings pitched. The Yankees won the pennant and advanced to the World Series to face the Cincinnati Reds, but Clevenger did not see any playing time in the five-game series, which the Yankees won.

The 1962 season was a different year, same story. Manager Ralph Houk expressed faith in Clevenger, but he threw him out on the mound for only 21 games, and that was after the right-hander started the year with the Triple-A Richmond Virginians. After closer Luis Arroyo was put on the DL due to elbow inflammation, Clevenger had the chance to show his stuff. But it was to no avail, as despite the best ERA of his career (2.84) in 38.0 innings, he did not see action in a World Series that went seven games against the San Francisco Giants.

Overall in his career, Clevenger compiled a 36–37 record with a 4.18 ERA, 298 walks and 361 strikeouts. Oddly enough, perhaps his best season was his last those 21 games with the 1962 Yankees.

Clevenger was sent back to Richmond for the 1963 season and pitched well. He thought it was well enough to find a spot on another major league team, but no one came calling, and after another season in the minors, he looked ahead to 1964, which would have been more of the same. After that, Clevenger decided it was time to call it quits, and he became an insurance underwriter for Mutual of New York back home in Visalia until 1964, when he purchased a car dealership, which he owned until it was sold in 1995.

After being inducted into the Fresno State Athletics Hall of Fame and having his number retired, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2008 and died due to the disease in August 24, 2019.

An excellent collegiate player who struggled to stick in the majors but witnessed some of the best moments in Yankees history, Clevenger may not be the most recognizable name. Still, it’s players like him that helped contribute on the side while the likes of Maris, Mantle, and Berra plied their trade. Happy birthday, Tex!

Fangraphs has a number of interesting and informative stats that we rely on in the industry for our commentary. One of those is an ongoing calculation of playoff odds. Playoffs odds are much like the stock market. We can forecast stocks in general with given information but those calculations will always change given the facts on the ground. The playoffs odds for the Astros sit here as of July 7th.

Playoffs: 34.0%
Division: 8.5%
Win World Series: 1.4%
Projected Record: 79.3 wins, 82.7 losses

These projections are based on their actual record, the state of their roster counting injuries and expected performance, and their remaining schedule. The Mariners are projected to finish 86-76 and the Rangers are projected to finish 82-80. The Yankees or the Rays will clearly be the first wild card team. The Rangers are the only other wild card representative currently projected over 80 wins.

Now comes the hard part. How much do you want to lean into slipping in as the second or third wild card in the American League? I think we can safely say that the Astros are not likely to win 87 games so either the Mariners must underperform or the Astros have to significantly surpass expectations. Is that possible? Sure. Anything is possible and when you consider guys like Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski coming back from injury you could definitely foresee a scenario where the Astros finish above .500 through sheer inertia.

Baseball operates differently than the NFL and NBA. A 42 win team in the NBA does not have realistic title aspirations. A 9-8 team in the NFL hardly ever makes any noise in the playoffs. However, there have been teams in baseball history in the new playoff format that have gone from wild card to pennant winner. It is not even particularly rare. Do the Astros have the roster to get through multiple playoff series?

The good news is that they have a three man playoff rotation that looks like it should be competitive at least. Moving Mike Burrows and Tatsuya Imai to the taxi squad would make this team look a lot better. They have a group of four or five relievers that are reasonably reliable. Teams have made it through October with far less. The bad news is that the offense has three or four solid hitters, one spectacular hitter, and a bunch of filler after that. Playoff pitchers have shown they can lock down lineups like that.

So, the deadline question is really two deadline questions. The first one is one we have already raised here at Crawfish: would you rather have another bat or another arm? That’s a legitimate question and not an easy one to answer. The second question is more important: do you go big or go small? It seems like an easy answer for the general fan, but there are some caveats and pitfalls to both approaches.

The primary pitfall is the current state of the farm system. Most experts rate the current Astros system in the bottom five of baseball. There aren’t many can’t miss gems there and you don’t want to give one up for a slight improvement. It also is troubling from a competitive standpoint. It is fine and dandy to say I want Tarik Skubal, but so do about twelve to fifteen other teams. There are probably five or six that could make compelling and competitive offers. Even if you were willing to give up an Xavier Neyens or Kevin Alvarez, would the Tigers see that as enough?

The second consideration is the tax threshold. The current tax threshold is at 244 million. The Astros have a payroll between 218 and 233 million depending on how you interpret that and the source you go to. Is Jim Crane willing to surpass it? That’s hard to say. It isn’t our money and there are other procedural and competitive disadvantages that come with surpassing it again.

So, the Astros could comfortably add a player or two that would come out to ten million dollars added. Keep in mind, that would be prorated to past the halfway point. So, adding ten million in real dollars would be the equivalent of adding 25 million depending on when the deal is struck. Everything is a gamble and it involves some projection.

The same prorating concept on salary also is tied to performance. A three win player really only adds about a win given that we are closing in on the two thirds point of the season as we approach the deadline. If you go from 79.3 wins to say 80.5 or 81 wins then how much do your playoff odds increase? How many wins are your competitors adding? Keep in mind the Fangraphs model might not be accounting for Blanco or Wesneski on the mound. Would adding those two and another outfielder vault you into a winning projection?

I know the conventional wisdom is to go big or go home, but I disagree with that assertion. A couple of targeted moves could elevate you to over 50 percent odds of making the postseason and give you a puncher’s chance of advancing once you are there. However, those targeted moves would keep your best prospects in house and would keep you under the tax apron. We want to take advantage of whatever good baseball players like Jose Altuve have left, but we also have to acknowledge that this current iteration of the Astros is in transition. Saving money and keeping those good prospects in house guarantee that the transition won’t be like the dead period between 2009 and 2014. We can’t and shouldn’t handle five years of bad baseball in exchange for guaranteeing a spot in the dance. We can both increase our odds and keep the future intact at the same time and that is exactly what we should do.

The Mets close out a three-game series with the Royals on Thursday afternoon at 1:10 on SNY.

Mets Notes

• Carson Benge has reached base safely in 19 of his last 20 games, and is hitting .310/.370/.512 (.881 OPS) with four homers during that span
• A.J. Ewing is hitting .316/.400/.608 (1.008 OPS) with six homers, five doubles, 13 runs scored, and 17 RBI in 90 plate appearances over his last 23 games
• Juan Soto is leading the National League in OBP (.410), OPS (.978), and OPS+ (168)
• Bo Bichette is a career .438 hitter with a homer in 16 at-bats against Royals starter Michael Wacha

Today's Lineups

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Thursday, in case you missed it...

• After a relatively quiet seven innings, the Mets scored five times in the eighth to pull out a 6-2 win over the Royals
• A.J. Ewing again played his part in the victory, ripping a leadoff homer and an RBI double
• Brett Baty delivered a clutch knock as well, lifting a two-run single to keep his hitting streak alive
• On the mound, Christian Scott was strong over five innings, but he's still looking to improve moving forward
• Pregame, the Mets did receive some tough news as Austin Warren was placed on the IL
• Warren expressed a level 10 concern about the injury, though his MRI ended up showing no damage
• Reports postgame indicated the Mets are recalling Dan Hammer from Syracuse for a fresh bullpen arm
• Will Sammon of the Athletic joined the latest Mets Pod to discuss Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto's relationship
• The guys also preview the Mets' impending sell-off, and MLB.com's Jim Callis joined to preview the MLB Draft
• In sad news, former Mets pitching coach Phil Regan passed away at the age of 89

On a team with, when healthy, an entire rotation of All-Star worthy pitchers, one name might not have come to mind at the beginning of the season – Justin Wrobleski.

Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were both selected this season. Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell have been selected in years previously. Wrobleski, while making an incredible case for himself this season, was not.

“You want to be an All-Star,” Wrobleski said. “It’s something that, regardless of the year, whenever, it’s always a big deal. It’s something I wanted to do. It’s frustrating to not get that nod.”

Wrobleski pitched seven innings of one-run ball on Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies. He lowered his ERA to 2.69 and sits at 10-2 with 73 strikeouts and 1.02 WHIP.

The lefty has come a long way since being back in the minors last season to work on his craft. He has focused on attacking batters from the get-go, and it shows. In Tuesday night’s game, he had a first pitch strike to 23 of 28 batters. He leaned heavily on Clayton Kershaw last season for advice, and has changed his mind set to much improved results.

“I just don’t want him to get dinged for not making a couple more starts that he potentially could have had,” Roberts said. “He’s won 10 games for us — to be able to get pitching decisions, you’ve got to go deeper in games — the ERA. It’s about winning, the ERA is stellar, innings per outing, and so I just think that he’s performed enough to earn that opportunity.”

There is still a chance that Wrobo could be selected – Yamamoto is not expected to pitch in the All-Star Game, and Wrobleski could be chosen to replace him.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic has more details here, including what he’s been able to do on the mound this season.

Baseball player turned analyst Pedro Martinez has nicknamed Wrobleski “The Shark”, and the team and Dieter Ruhle have been having fun with it. After finishing his outing in Tuesday night’s game, while he was pacing the dugout, catcher Dalton Rushing put his hand to his head to make a shark fin. Ruhle, the Dodgers organist, played the “Jaws” theme after each strikeout and when he walked off the mound after the seventh inning.

“If it happens, great,” Wrobleski said. “If it doesn’t happen, some time off and just chill for a couple days. Either way, I’m all good.”

Maddie Lee of the L.A. Times has some more details as well as covering some about Shohei Ohtani’s 300th homer here.

Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants welcome the Colorado Rockies to Oracle Park tonight to begin a four-game series. Because that’s what everyone wanted after a weekend series at Coors Field last week. Four more games!

I am, of course, kidding. Literally no one wants this, probably not even the players on either team. The Giants and Rockies are competing for last place. Not just in the division, but in the National League. (And potentially even in all of baseball, depending on how the Los Angeles Angels fare.)

Whatever the opposite of “an embarrassment of riches” is, that’s what this series will be. And we get four games of it! Because the baseball gods hate us, in particular, this season.

Best possible scenario, the Giants sweep and move into a more decisive fourth place in the division. But I stopped believing in any best case scenario with this team a long time ago. I’m fully expecting the Rockies to sweep. But these things seldom tend to go the way I expect, even when I expect the worst.

So how are you guys feeling about this series? Do you think the Giants will come out on top? Or do you think they’ll end up back in last place?

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants begin this four-game series against the Rockies tonight at 6:45 p.m. PT.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets 9, Norfolk Tides 3 – Game 1/F7

Cade Povich got roughed up in Norfolk’s first game of the day. He struggled with control, walking four across 3.1 innings, which (in part) led to the seven runs he allowed on six hits and two strikeouts. Cameron Weston came on to record the final two outs of the fourth inning, but not before allowing two of the inherited runners to score and then coughing up two more of his own runs. Yaramil Hiraldo and Andrew Magno combined for three scoreless frames in the back half of the game.

Norfolk had four hits and four walks in the losing effort. Bryan Ramos’ RBI double in the seventh inning was their only extra-base knock. Jonathan Rodriguez and Heston Kjerstad both had one hit and one RBI. Luis Vázquez scored twice. Enrique Bradfield Jr. went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 3, Syracuse Mets 2 – Game 2/F7

The nightcap saw much better pitching on the Tides part. They held the Mets to just two hits and two runs, all of which came in the very first inning. Chris Kachmar started and allowed those two runs over three innings of work. He was followed by Yaqui Rivera, who tossed 2.2 scoreless and hitless innings. Jose Espada earned the win with his 1.1 shutout effort to conclude the second game of the day.

Norfolk had just two at-bats with runners in scoring position. Their runs scored on a Jud Fabian sac fly in the first inning, and then a tw0-RBI double by Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the sixth. Bradfield had a single, a triple, a stolen base, and two runs scored.

Double-A: Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 8, Chesapeake Baysox 2

Despite the skewed scoreline, there actually was some good pitching in this game for Chesapeake. Juaron Watts-Brown, the starter, had yet another solid showing. Over five innings he allowed one run on four hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts. His 6.24 ERA at Double-A is still ugly, but that is now four straight starts in which he has thrown at least five innings and allowed three or fewer runs. Zane Barnhart (one inning, four runs) and Keagan Gillies (0.2 innings, three runs) had tougher stat lines. Tyson Neighbors came on to record the final four outs with relative ease.

Adam Retzbach had two of the Baysox five hits. One of them was his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot in the fifth inning. Anderson De Los Santos drove in the other run with a first-inning single to score Brandon Butterworth. Griff O’Ferrall went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

High-A: Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 9, Frederick Keys 5

It was a nice day at the plate for Yasmil Bucce. The catcher walked, doubled, and homered. Ike Irish added a pair of hits, including a double, plus a run scored. Randal Diaz, recently acquired from the Nationals, recorded his 10th double of the year. Wehiwa Aloy went 0-for-3 with two walks and two strikeouts. Victor Figueroa was 0-for-2 with an RBI.

Frederick used six pitchers to get through these nine innings. The starter, Yeiber Cartaya, lasted 3.1 innings and allowed four runs on four hits, three walks, and four strikeouts. No other pitcher threw more than two frames. Bradley Brehmer was the best of the bunch, deliver two shutout innings. Braeden Sloan, who has had a terrific season (1.71 ERA, 50 strikeouts, 31.2 innings) struggled a bit, giving up a pair of runs in his lone inning.

Low-A: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox) 9, Delmarva Shorebirds 8

Delmarva had oodles of baserunners in this one, collecting 12 hits and four walks en route to their eight-run performance. Jordan Sanchez and Elvin Garcia both homered. Adriander Mejía doubled twice, walked, and scored a run. Raylin Ramos had three hits, two RBI, and two runs scored. DJ Layton went 1-for-4 with two RBI.

It was on the other side of the ball where things fell apart. None of the three pitchers that Delmarva used were particularly “good,” but they certianly weren’t helped by a defense that made five errors behind them. For that reason, three of the nine runs they allowed were unearned. Andrew Herbert started and was charged with three earned runs on six hits, two walks, and four strikeouts over five innings. Eccel Correa worked two innings and gave up one earned run while striking out three. Kailen Hamson gave up two runs on four hits, two walks, and zero strikeouts.

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

Norfolk: vs Syracuse, 6:35. Starter: Christian Herberholz (1-3, 5.35 ERA)

Chesapeake: at Akron, 6:35 pm. Starter: Evan Yates (4-4, 5.25 ERA)

Frederick: vs Jersey Shore, 7:00 pm. Starter: Twine Palmer (3-3, 3.77 ERA)

Delmarva: vs Kannapolis, 7:05 pm. Starter: Brayan Orrantia (0-5, 5.18 ERA)

Jimmy Crooks has terrible timing. In more ways than one. In most organizations, he would be in a pretty great spot right now. Sure, he’s struggled pretty mightily in his second try at the major leagues. But he’s a catcher and considered a good defender at that. Teams will wait multiple years for your bat to show up. You will get every opportunity to prove you’re a starting caliber catcher and you probably have a nice backup role if your bat never comes around.

Jimmy Crooks is not in most organizations. He has the misfortune of being sandwiched between two established MLB catchers and two great prospects below him. One of them is unquestionably a better prospect than him and the other is debatable but at worst, they seem like they are equal prospects. And the latter will be MLB ready fairly soon and is also on the 40 man. He is unfortunately in more of a “you got to perform” situation than most comparable prospects to him this quickly into their MLB career.

Basically, he has poor timing for a very simple reason: if you swapped Pedro Pages and Jimmy Crooks timelines, I’m not sure Pages ever gets a real shot with the Cardinals. Pages has great timing, and to his credit, he has capitalized on it. After a poor rookie season, he has been worth 2.2 fWAR in 548 PAs the past two seasons. Not a star, but a really good bridge catcher honestly while you wait for the higher potential guys to be ready. Assuming Crooks does in fact get 218 PAs like Pages got in his rookie season, will he get more chances if he’s not performing? Tough to say.

So the Jimmy Crooks conversation requires some nuance. Because I am very vocal in being a Pedro Pages defender, because I believe in his glove. I have also been vocal – at least I think – that assuming Crooks is worst case scenario Pedro Pages with a better bat was…. not a good assumption. (Especially in 2026) It ignores how difficult the transition from AAA to the majors is. And most importantly, I was absolutely not assuming Crooks was Pages’ equal defensively for the same exact reason I don’t assume Nathan Church is as good defensively as Victor Scott: when the bar is set that high, I need actual proof. (I still don’t think Church is as good defensively as Scott, but obviously his bat is way better)

Actually, in this specific case, it has more to do with catcher defense in general more than Pages setting some unreasonably high bar. Make no mistake: the average fan is underrating Pages defensively. But my skepticism about Crooks has more to do with how insanely difficult it is to grade catcher defense. Unless they are egregiously bad at it, you basically can’t tell how good a catcher is at framing from the eye test. You can’t tell how good they are with the staff at all.

What you can see is how good they are at throwing out runners and blocking. And blocking might be the lowest impact part of catching of all the things you can grade a catcher for. It doesn’t feel like it is, but consider: Pedro Pages doesn’t seem great at blocking right? That has cost him a grand total of….zero runs. Yeah he has been a neutral blocker. Neither a positive or negative. Part of it is we probably underrate how many balls do actually get by an average catcher, but also… one extra base here and there just isn’t moving the needle much.

Willson Contreras was a good blocker and also good at throwing out runners and also bad enough at defense that he needed to move to a different position. Like the two things we can actually notice as fans, Contreras was good at, but he was bad at literally every other part of being a catcher. Scouting defense at catcher is impossible for the average fan and very difficult for a pro scout.

Back to Crooks, I am not actually worried about his defense. I don’t know how good it will be, but we’re dealing with a small sample size. Also, I think in the same way a rookie will struggle to adjust to MLB pitching, there’s probably a learning curve for catcher defense too. I’ve been comparing Crooks to Pages this whole article and I’ll do it again: Pages did not rate as a good defender in his rookie season. There’s an adjustment period.

Am I worried about his bat? Yes and no. No, because he does have a .314 xwOBA so he should be getting better results than he has so far. And even if he was deserving of them, again it should not be surprising that a hitter who struck out nearly a third of the time in Memphis is having trouble making contact at the MLB level. I was certainly not expecting Crooks to be good right away. Not every hitter struggles for the first time in the majors, it just so happened Crooks was the exact kind of hitter who usually does tend to struggle. Nothing that has happened has altered my view of Crooks.

But I am worried about his bat a little bit, unrelated to his MLB struggles, because I kind of think his power in Memphis was completely fake. It happened of course. So it was “real.” But I don’t think we can trust those numbers whatsoever. And it is entirely due to one stat: HR/FB%. Most of you know what that is, but I’ll explain for those who don’t. When a hitter hits a flyball, it becomes a homer a certain percentage of the time. That’s what the stat is describing.

HR/FB% is clearly a skill, but it’s a skill in the same way BABIP is: you can have a very high BABIP and maybe that’s a skill you have, but it usually isn’t. Sometimes you’re Matt Holliday… and sometimes you’re Alec Bohm (.334 BABIP in his first three seasons…. a lot worse since).

In 2025, there were 19 qualified hitters with a 20 HR/FB% or higher. With the exception of Christian Yelich, all of them had .200 ISO. And besides Mike Trout, all of them hit at least 29 homers and Trout hit 26 while only playing in 130 games. Basically, you’re an elite power hitter if you manage a 20 HR/FB%. The low 30s is about as high as you will get and that’s Aaron Judge territory.

Jimmy Crooks was at 44.4% in Memphis. His previous career high? 17.3%. To be fair, that was in 2025, so at least that wasn’t a few years ago, but yeah I don’t think he’s a true talent 20 HR/FB%. If he hit homers at an 18 HR/FB%, he would have five homers on the season. Which is solid pop for a catcher, but I really would not expect him to be a 20 HR guy.

So I’m not “worried” about Crooks necessarily, I just don’t really see the upside others do in his offense, because I do not believe in his power. And his current profile of high strikeouts and an average amount of walks doesn’t really translate to a good hitter without power. One only really needs to look at his projection to see what the successful version of this looks like: 6.9 BB%, 28.1 K%, .124 ISO, 83 wRC+. If his defense is as good as advertised, that’s a solid player, though not tremendously different than Pedro Pages. But yeah if you were wondering at the projection, it’s because it sees the insanely high HR/FB% with no history to back it up.

Competing against Crooks are an interesting duo. Ivan Herrera should probably move off catcher. They gave him a legitimate shot, he’s still a valuable player with his poor defense, but it doesn’t really make any sense with what’s behind him. None of the four catchers below him have any defensive questions. Only Rodriguez might come close to him with the bat, but Rodriguez is a short stocky, slow guy. Too slow for outfield, too small for first base. Maybe you try Herrera in the outfield, maybe you just stick him at DH, maybe you trade Burly and move Herrera to 1B. Maybe you trade Herrera. It just feels like catcher should not be in his future.

Then there’s Pages who is also a bit weird. For those who want to trade him, in theory I absolutely agree. But it doesn’t seem like he would have actual trade value. And he’s a little bit too valuable to give away for nothing. He’s certainly a much better third catcher than Yohel Pozo at the least. Nonetheless, he makes for a bit of an awkward fit being probably the only dude with no actual potential. As long as Herrera stays at catcher, Pages is staying as the third catcher. And Pages is a perfectly acceptable backup if they only have two catchers, but then of course other catchers come knocking.

As far as what’s coming, I think Leo Bernal only adds to the confusion. I do not mean this in a derogatory way, but Bernal is very much a Dylan Carlson prospect. I mean in the sense of being a prospect because of being consistently average at a very young age for the level he’s playing at. This profile works so much better at catcher than outfield so believe me, this is not a criticism. Nonetheless, kind of hard to gauge what his real potential is due to this. Sometimes, their young age means they will keep advancing and they have way more potential than their numbers say and sometimes… they are Nomar Mazara and never actually take that next step.

And then of course there’s Rodriguez, whose bat certainly seems can’t miss right now. It doesn’t matter how good anyone is above him, he’s kicking them to the side whenever he’s ready. He’s what’s giving everyone else a ticking clock, and he’s to some extent forcing a decision maybe not at the deadline but you would think in the offseason at the least.

And in the middle of all this stands Crooks. Both Bernal and Rodriguez might be ready in 2027. That should give him the rest of this year at the least. Someone has to get traded out of this group and because of poor timing, I kind of struggle to see it not being Crooks right now. But who knows? Maybe they’ll go after a top of the rotation starter, and maybe Bernal returns that or maybe they trade Herrera instead for that. Who knows? Lot of directions this could go. I’m fascinated to see it play out.

Today’s Reflections

Plenty has been written below about Matthew Boyd’s stellar performance Tuesday night. Not much was made about the team effort from the offense in the 5-2 game. Not a lot of glitz, but it needs to be mentioned.

Alex Bregman, PCA, Dansby Swanson and Miguel Amaya each had two hits in the game. Bregman, PCA and Swanson all had at least an RBI (Bregman had two). Amaya scored three of the five runs. Michael Busch walked twice and had an RBI-sacrifice fly.

PCA has a seven-game hit streak going (with four multi-hit games). Bregman is quietly producing, having hits in five-of-seven games (three multi-hit) with seven RBI in that period. Swanson is also five-of-seven with four multi-hit games. Amaya has very quietly had a hit in six-of-11 games (three multi-hit). He scored in four of those games, two runs once and three twice.

A couple of honorable mentions: Since a four-game hitless string in May, Busch has had at least one hit in 29 of the last 47 games (62 percent). Unfortunately, that hasn’t led to many runs scored or RBI yet, but he’s putting himself out there to be driven in. And Nico Hoerner, who went 1-for-4 with a single, stolen base and run scored, has hit safely in eight of his last nine games.

That was all to say — while it’s fun to watch a guy play out of his mind for a week or two, it’s these quiet, unspectacular, yet steady, levels of production team-wide that helps consistent winners.

And helps pitchers like Boyd feel comfortable enough to pitch six scoreless innings, strand five runners and strikeout seven. It looks like he’s back — just stay healthy, please.

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Tuesday Night’s Game Story:

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Boyd back to vintage form against O’s after injury-riddled season. “Boyd gave the Cubs six scoreless innings in a 5-2 victory over the Orioles in his third start since returning from the injured list.”

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Sun-Times): Matthew Boyd — after 6 shutout innings in 5-2 win — shows he could be key to Chicago Cubs’ 2nd-half success. “The Chicago Cubs know what a healthy Matthew Boyd can give them.”

• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Matthew Boyd is trending in the right direction as Cubs consider trade-deadline possibilities, “Boyd found it in Tuesday night’s 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles, throwing six scoreless innings at a rain-soaked Oriole Park at Camden Yards.”

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): PCA ignites Cubs’ offense once again from leadoff spot. “The Orioles got a firsthand look at the kind of offensive catalyst that Chicago has in its leadoff spot right now.”

Trade, Acquisition and Injury Talk:

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): With penchant for drafting position players, Cubs aim to invest more in pitching. “What the Cubs have struggled to do in recent years — even stretching back before the team’s previous playoff-caliber group — has been creating a deep pipeline of pitching prospects.”
• Elias Schuster (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs Prepared to Change Their MLB Draft Strategy to Fill Obvious Void. “The Chicago Cubs have targeted pitching less than the vast majority of teams in recent years, and it’s come back to hurt them.”
• Tyler Edmunds (OnTapSportsNet): It’s Now Or Never For Jed Hoyer And The Chicago Cubs. “For the last few seasons, we’ve heard the same old spiel from Jed Hoyer around this time of year. “Well, we’ll wait and see what happens these next few weeks,” in reference to whether he plans to make any moves by the annual trade deadline. Jed CANNOT do that this season.“
• Cory Sparks (North Side Baseball): 3 Affordable Pitchers Who Just Might Save the 2026 Cubs. “We know the Cubs have already fired most of their bullets when it comes to spending and prospect capital. We also know they still need pitching help. Who fits through the eye of the needle they’re trying to thread?”
• Mike Axisa (CBSSports.com): MLB rumors: Astros narrowing trade deadline targets; Cubs eyeing pitching help. “The trade deadline is less than a month away.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Crippling Pirates injury creates less complicated trade deadline path for Cubs. “Konnor Griffin’s injury could reset the Pirates’ deadline expectations, making life easier for the Cubs.”
• Jake Meisner (Cubbies Crib): Cubs could take a chance on a veteran reliever the Athletics just jettisoned. “This guy fits the mold we’ve seen the Cubs hone in on in recent weeks as they search for help.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs have obvious opportunity with former Giants pitcher weighing opportunities. “Gregory Santos is far from perfect, but that might not matter to the Cubs right now.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Starter Jameson Taillon on track to rejoin the Chicago Cubs after the All-Star break at the latest. “The Cubs are more inclined to have the veteran make one more minor-league rehab start before coming off the injured list, which would instead set up Taillon to come back when the second half resumes next weekend.”

A Few PCA Stories:

• Ron Luce (OnTapSportsNet): Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch Among Best Defenders in Baseball. “The Cubs have two of the best at their respective positions, with Pete Crow-Armstrong (+16) leading all centerfielders and Michael Busch (+5) leading all first basemen.”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Pete Crow-Armstrong is on Pace for Some Sammy Sosa-Level Cubs Franchise History. “No matter which way you slice it, the projection models are envisioning another 30-30 season for PCA in 2026. That would give him two, immediately tying Sammy Sosa for the franchise record.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Years marveling at this version of Pete Crow-Armstrong? ‘It’d be pretty special’ for Cubs. “Following up his spectacular June with a hot start to July, Crow-Armstrong’s teammates are continually wowed by the All-Star center fielder.”

Assorted Stories:

• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): The Chicago Cubs Are a Contender’s Lineup Stapled to a Rebuilding Team’s Pitching Staff. “If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, the Cubs are a baseball team built by one. That joke should feel less funny, given that Jed Hoyer is a powerful top executive. Instead, it hits too close to home.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Ups and downs: Hard way to fly — or to win World Series — but Cubs tout ability to move on from highs, lows. “Slamming down and soaring up doesn’t make for the ideal landing to a flight. Nor does it make for the ideal pace of a baseball season. But the Cubs insist they’re built to handle the whiplash that has been their 2026 campaign so far.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs starting lineup vs Orioles proves they’re enabling the Alex Bregman problem. “Alex Bregman has been extended a lengthy leash in the Chicago Cubs starting lineup, but that courtesy should be up.”

• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Why the Cubs are taking another chance on Drew Pomeranz before trade deadline. “With a slow-moving market for trades and four weeks to go until the Aug. 3 deadline, the Cubs want to see if the 6-foot-5 lefty reliever can still be trusted in big moments.”
• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports): Is Kevin Alcántaras Usage in 2026 Becoming a Concern for Chicago? “Alcántara has often been in the Cubs’ afterthoughts, and now it has become a major concern not only for the rest of 2026 but potentially for the future of the team as well.”
• Gordon Edes (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs reliever Ryan Rolison has earned the trust of manager Craig Counsell. “The lefty has a 5-1 record and earned his first MLB save last week.”

Food For Thought:

Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. Miller used various names, including Rice Miller and Little Boy Blue, before calling himself Sonny Boy Williamson, which was also the name of a popular Chicago blues singer and harmonica player. To distinguish the two, Miller has been referred to as Sonny Boy Williamson II.

Beginning in the 1930s, he traveled around Mississippi and Arkansas and encountered Big Joe Williams, Elmore James and Robert Lockwood Jr. He was also associated with Robert Johnson during this period. Miller developed his style and raffish stage persona during these years. In 1941, Miller was hired to play the King Biscuit Time show, where they began billing Miller as Sonny Boy Williamson, apparently in an attempt to capitalize on the fame of the well-known Chicago-based harmonica player and singer Sonny Boy Williamson.

In 1949, Williamson relocated to West Memphis, Arkansas, and lived with Howlin’ Wolf. He started his own KWEM radio show from 1948 to 1950. He brought his King Biscuit musician friends to West Memphis—Elmore James, Houston Stackhouse, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Robert Nighthawk, and others—to perform on KWEM radio. Williamson married Howlin’ Wolf’s half-sister Maggy and he showed Wolf how to play harmonica.

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

The first thing people learn about Willi Castro the baseball player is usually that he can play practically anywhere on the field. When asked back in April how many different gloves he has Castro said, “I have plenty with me. I think I probably have, like, 10 of them right now, and I’ve got way more back at home. But I’ll be prepared. I’ll be prepared for anything.”

As it turns out, he’s needed to use most of those gloves.

In his half season for the Rockies, Castro has played six(!) different positions. The only spots he hasn’t yet played in a game in 2026 are right field, catcher, and pitcher.

Between all of the positions he’s played, he’s accrued -2 Defensive Runs Saved and an identical -2 Outs Above Average this season. That’s not horrible, but on its face, that makes him a below-average defender.

It’s possible that if Castro were asked to dedicate his time all to one position, his trackable defensive performance would increase. Does that mean he’d be more valuable to the team sticking to his primary position of second base? Warren Schaeffer doesn’t seem to think so.

“It’s hard to put into words how helpful he’s been to this team,” Schaeffer said, “just the ability to in game make matchup moves to better our chances to win because you can put him somewhere else in the field defensively, and himself just being the switch hitter, and what he actually does defensively and offensively, it’s been incredible.”

Castro will move anywhere he’s asked to go, as a result he has been asked to move around a ton.

In total, Schaeffer has tasked Castro with changing positions mid-game 37 times so far this season. The value of that flexibility is hard to pin down. It’s likely not a significant difference in terms of wins, but at the same time, it’s probably not inconsequential.

Using the eye test, it’s easy to see what the defensive metrics are indicating about Castro’s glovework. No matter where he is on the field, Castro does not make fielding look particularly smooth.

First, let’s take a look at this play from June 7th against the Milwaukee Brewers where Castro was playing left field:

Castro takes a slightly odd route to the ball and then hesitates when he reaches the warning track while deciding how to play the wall. Even after taking that moment to plan, he proceeds to bobble the ball off the bounce… only to recover quickly with a grab and a nice throw.

Most dedicated left fielders would have gotten the same end result as Castro, he just took different steps to reach that result than they would have.

Most of the time, his athleticism and instincts make up for a lack of consistent repetitions at any given position. Nothing exemplifies this more than this play against the Texas Rangers from May 20th:

A dedicated second baseman perhaps would not have ventured as far into the outfield as Castro did because they’d have had a better sense of where their realistic range would extend to. Additionally, being distracted while figuring out where he was on the field in relation to the runners was enough to, again, cause him to bobble the pickup of the ball. Despite all of the mishaps to start the play, Castro was able to rely on a combination of audacity and tools to gun down Jake Burger attempting to advance to second.

That’s the sort of play that you just don’t see from most other players. With Castro on the field — anywhere on the field — you get to see slightly unorthodox “out of position” type plays most nights.

Of all the spots Castro has been asked to play this season, none are more unfamiliar to him than first base. According to Castro back in April, “It was in spring training when I started playing. (It was) my first time playing first base in the game.” With this inexperience, he doesn’t always present the typical statuesque target for other infielders to toss to. Sometimes he’ll misread an incoming throw and make a catch look much harder than someone like TJ Rumfield would have.

On the flipside, he throws himself at every batted ball in a way that most regular first baseman simply aren’t capable of.

That’s not the sort of quick reaction leaping grab that the typical power-hitting first baseman comes close to achieving. Some probably don’t even attempt it. Castro, on the other hand, flung his body with wild abandon at the ball, just like he would have anywhere else on the field.

For good measure let’s also look at a play that combines all the things that make Castro so memorable on defense:

That should have been a double. Castro had a quick reaction to get himself into a slightly awkward catching position, then managed to adjust and put himself in a weird crouched position before scuttling back onto his feet and getting the out with his 79th percentile arm strength.

That’s the ideal version of what he does literally anywhere Shaeffer puts him all wrapped up in one play.

What all of this comes down to is that while Castro is probably not anyone’s first choice to play any specific position — because he has a knack for making plays look more complicated than they needed to be — he is perhaps, the second choice to play everywhere.

That’s exactly why the Rockies signed him and he has delivered in stride. That stride may look a little wonky or cause his helmet to fly off, but he’s proven in his short time on this team that he will make it work. When asked last week whether he had a favorite position to play, Castro summed up everything he brings to this ballclub better than I ever could: “I just like to be in the field. I just like to play. Wherever they’re gonna put me, I will get the job done.”

It’s very possible Castro’s time in purple will come to an end by the trade deadline at the start of August. His two-year deal indicates that the front office should be shopping his services around the league. That being said, keeping him would make the looming roster puzzle of filling easier as he could fill in for almost anyone who is traded. The combination of that versatility and his below average surface stats could mean the Rockies see more value in him than other teams will.

However long Castro remains with the team it’s worth appreciating the spectacle he brings to each and every game.

On the Farm

Triple-A:Sugar Land Space Cowboys 5, Albuquerque Isotopes 2

This was what qualifies as a pitchers duel in the PCL. For the Isotopes Jake Brooks took the ball and threw six innings, allowed only six hits, and struck out six. That resulted in only three runs which was enough to earn him the loss even before Jeff Criswell relieved him in the seventh and allowed an additional two runs (one earned).

At the plate the Isotopes were stymied by good Space Cowboy pitching performances. Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) worked a couple walks but was the only player in the lineup to be on base more than once. Jordan Beck’s homer in the seventh drove in the only two runs of the game for Albuquerque.

Double-A:Hartford Yard Goats 13, Binghamton Rumble Ponies 4

Connor Staine pitched pretty well to start this game with five innings of one-run ball, and the lineup as a whole was very successful (they had twenty one hits), but it would be a disservice to focus on anything other than Jose Torres.

Torres got the start at third base batting ninth. He then proceeded to reach base all five times he came to the plate on two walks and three hits. That’s not all! A couple of those hits were home runs. All told Torres scored three runs and drove in four to lead the Yard Goats to a convincing victory.

High-A:Eugene Emeralds 10, Spokane Indians 2

Everett Catlett did not have a good night on the mound and Spokane never had a chance to catch up from that poor start. In the end, Catlett allowed eight runs, all earned, on ten hits and three walks over only four innings of work. In the remaining four innings, the bullpen only allowed another two runs but the damage was already done.

The lineup showed a bit more life with a combined eight hits and eight walks. Of particular note were Roynier Hernandez and Jacob Hinderleider who each reached base three times. Easily the best performance of the night for the Indians, however, was Tanner Thach who walked, doubled, and hit a solo home run.

Low-A:Stockton Ports 9, Fresno Grizzlies 8

In a strikingly similar line to Catlett for Spokane, Ethan Cole started the game for Fresno by allowing eight runs over four and two thirds innings. The Grizzlies, however, were able to fight back and go into the top of the ninth having tied the game up eight to eight thanks to three and a third scoreless innings from Manuel Olivares and Seth Clausen keeping the score where it was.

After finding themselves in that early deficit, the Grizzlies clawed back by scoring in four separate innings. Leading the way in the lineup were Jesus Freitez and Derek Bernard with two doubles apiece, Wilder Dalis (No. 24 PuRP) with four hits (including a double), and Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP) with a pair of hits and stolen bases.

Ultimately, despite the heroics, it wasn’t enough as the Ports would walk it off on a sacrifice fly from Cesar Gonzalez in the bottom of the ninth.

DSL:DSL Nationals 13, DSL Colorado 9

The final score hides how well the DSL Colorado starting pitcher Juan Villamizar performed. In five innings, Villamizar allowed two runs on only five hits (including a home run) and no walks. The Colorado bullpen did not fair nearly as well, which led to a deluge of runs for the DSL Nationals, but five of those runs were unearned as a result of a throwing error by Jendry Guaraco.

Luckily, the offense was not one-sided as DSL Colorado managed nine runs on ten hits and three walks. Of particular note were leadoff hitter Larry Suero and cleanup leftfielder Luis Morejon who each were on base three times and each had a double.

Strike 2: Who can the Rockies actually afford to trade? | Mile High Sports

Mark Knudson offers his take on where the Rockies priorities should be heading into the trade deadline on August 3. Knudson posits that the Rockies should not be swayed into short-term thinking by a hot June and should remain focused on the long-term vision for the organization. For him that means identifying a winning core and swapping everyone else for higher upside young talent.

Rockies looking to find 1st-round success with No. 10 overall pick | MLB.com

With the first draft for the Rockies under the Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrne regime set to start this weekend, Thomas Harding takes a look at their priorities and methodology. The influx of new front office personnel hope to bring a more consistent success rate to their drafting track record. They aren’t, however, ready to fully reveal exactly what they are looking for in players just yet.

It Is, In Fact, Getting Hot In Here | Baseball Prospectus ($)

There has been hum of talk around the league for the past few weeks about the spike in offense that began around the start of June. There has been speculation that changes to the baseball are to blame. Bradley Woodrum of Baseball Prospectus does not refute the possibility of that being a factor, but he dives into how the overall picture is complicated by the record heatwave gripping much of the country.

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The Cleveland Guardians and the Minnesota Twins had a back and forth battle that carried a tie into the ninth inning. Slade didn’t go deep in the game, resulting in the bullpen to be nearly emptied. It was compounded with the pitching staff giving up eight walks and Tim Herrin being hit on the back of his throwing elbow.

Zack Meisel did report that Herrin’s x-ray is negative, but it was very obvious that Herrin was in a lot of pain when he was leaving the game.

The Guardians ultimately lost as the Twins walked it off. The full recap is available on the front page.

Somehow, despite not having played in weeks, José Ramírez is still leading in Outs Above Average. But, quickly climbing the leaderboard is one Daniel Schneemann.

In Case You Missed It

Quincy took a look at Kyle Manzardo and the situation he currently is in as a hitter.

Matt Dallas gave a quick scout on the top pitchers available in the upcoming draft.

Lets Go Former Guards

Will Benson cleared waivers and was outrighted to Louisville.

Stuart Fairchild was picked up by the Mariners on a minor league deal.

Two familiar names will be joining the Mets. Xzavion Curry and Tobias Myers have been promoted to the Mets’ major league roster.

Around the League (And Beyond)

Justin Verlander has announced that he will be retiring after this season. This announcement came out shortly after it was announced that Verlander would be the Legend Pick for this year’s All-Star Game.

Jac Caglianone and Willson Contreras will be participating the Home Run Derby.

The All-Star Ball Crew was named. Kayla Corbett of the White Sox and Genevieve Ortega-Alves of the Padres will be the Ball Crew this year.

The Women’s Professional Baseball League has unveiled the names of the four teams making up the inaugural season. The Boston Hunters, New York Heights, Los Angeles Queens, and San Francisco Firebells will start play on August 1st. All teams were named after historic and influential women from each city and have phenomenal logos and jerseys.