Category: Sports News

This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”

Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers (26-30, 8.5 games back)

The Storm Chasers lost 5 of 6 at home to the Memphis Redbirds. On the mound, Mitch Spence had a very rough two starts. In total, he went 8.2 innings, allowing 22 hits, 15 runs, 4 homers, walking 1 and striking out 7. On the positive side of things, Ryan Ramsey had a quality start. The 25-year-old lefty, and 2022 13th round pick by the Royals, went 6.1 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, walking 2 and striking out 6.

At the plate, Brett Squires, who has been a name of discussion the last couple of weeks, went 5-for-20 with two more homers and a double. Kameron Misner was 7-for-22 with a homer and four walks. Abraham Toro went 9-for-17 with three doubles.

The Storm Chasers hit the road this week to take on the Columbus Clippers. The series runs Tuesday through Sunday.

Northwest Arkansas Naturals (22-28, 9.5 games back)

The Naturals got swept in their 6-game series in Tulsa, against the Drillers. At the plate, it was a tough week for all the hitters. Spencer Nivens was 5-for-13, Colton Becker was 4-for-15 with a homer and a double.

On the bump, Ethan Bosacker had a good start, he went 5 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 run, and a pair of strikeouts. Caden Monke threw 3.1 scoreless innings in two appearances. Justin Lamkin didn’t appear this week, no word on if it was an injury or managing his innings. Hopefully we will know soon, as he is moving quickly through the organization.

The Naturals are back home this week for the Midland RockHounds, the series runs Tuesday through Sunday.

Quad Cities River Bandits (22-26, 8.5 games back)

The River Bandits split their 6-game series against Cedar Rapids. Jordan Woods and Max Martin were both promoted from Columbia last week. Martin threw a scoreless inning and a third in his only appearance of the week, striking out 3 batters, he also took the win. Woods, went 4 innings, allowing 7 hits, 3 runs in his one start of the week. Both pitchers were dominating in Low-A ball. David Shields threw 5 innings of 2 run ball in his only start of the week. Josh Hansell threw 4 scoreless innings over 2 appearances with 4 strikeouts.

At the plate, Blake Mitchell was 5-for-20 on the week, with a double and two homers. On the season, Mitchell is slashing .201/.424/439. Tyriq Kemp was 4-for-21 with 5 stolen bases. Outfielder Nolan Sailors hit a pair of doubles and triples and stole 5 bases as well.

The River Bandits play a seven-game series at home against the South Bend Cubs, with a doubleheader on Friday because of an earlier season rain out.

Columbia Fireflies (23-28, 6 games back)

The Fireflies split their 6-game series against the Charleston RiverDogs. Right hander Luis Valdez got promoted last week. The 21-year-old from Nizao, Dominican Republic came up from rookie ball in Arizona. In his one appearance last week, he allowed 2 hits and 2 runs in just 2/3 of an inning. Kendry Chourio went 5 innings, allowing 1 run and 6 hits, while striking out 3 in his lone start of the week. Michael Lombardi threw 3 scoreless innings as well.

Yandel Ricardo was smashing the ball all week, hitting .471, with two doubles and a homer, while stealing 4 bases. Sean Gamble continues to heat up, going 4-for-16 on the week, with a homer and triple. After a brutal start to the season, the 19-year-old outfielder is starting to find a rhythm the last two weeks. Josh Hammond went 6-for-22 with a double.

The Fireflies are on the road this week, playing the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, the series runs Tuesday through Sunday.

Game Recaps

Diamondbacks Stifle Dodgers For Massive Series Opening Win by Alex D’Agostino [SI]

It was not an easy day at the office for Eduardo Rodriguez, but you’d never be able to tell that by his pitching line. The left-hander labored heavily in the early going, fending off base traffic, allowing an earned run in the third inning and scraping his way through with the help of some quality infield defense.

“We made some nice defensive plays behind [Rodriguez], but he pounded the zone. He set his tone with his fastball and then went to work and started pitching from there,” Lovullo said. “Overall, this day was set up by E-Rod and finished by some really heady, smart baseball plays.”

Rodriguez buckled down to throw his seventh Quality Start of the season. He allowed just the one earned run over the course of six innings, striking out three against one walk and five base hits. Two doubles in that troublesome third inning were the only blemish.

D-backs get contributions across the board to top red-hot Dodgers by Jesse Borek [DBacks.com]

If the win showed anything, it was that the current iteration of the club is one that will rely on its veterans, upstart youngsters and stars equally. Eduardo Rodriguez, in his 11th MLB campaign, tossed six innings of one-run ball to stymie a scorching-hot Dodgers offense, but he was backed by third-year outfielder Jorge Barrosa, who made a pair of running grabs that saw him lay out on the center-field turf. Homers from the 24-year-old Tommy Troy (the first career blast from Arizona’s No. 4 prospect), the 35-year-old Nolan Arenado and the 32-year-old Ketel Marte first tied the game, then gave the D-backs the lead and then iced it, respectively.

Once the bullpen door swung open, Taylor Clarke, Brandyn Garcia and Paul Sewald all delivered scoreless frames.

Diamondbacks News

Corbin Carroll says mom took care of Seattle homecoming; has caught up with Alek Thomas by Payne Moses [Arizona Sports]

With the Dodgers in town for a four-game series and top of mind, it will mark the first time the clubs meet since former D-backs outfielder Alek Thomas was shipped to L.A.

Carroll and Thomas made their respective MLB debuts within four months of each other in the 2022 season, and the former said he’s had a few conversations with the latter since the May 12 trade.

“Just kind of asked him how he was liking what he was working on, when he was doing his swing stuff. And yeah, he was complimentary. He said he liked what (the Dodgers’ coaching staff) were working on and saw he got into maybe an ACL game the other day, maybe trending towards getting back to really competing,” Carroll said. “I always wish a guy like that you’ve played so long with and had so much, just so many experiences with, you wish him all the best.”

Diamondbacks option Tim Tawa, make room for Pavin Smith’s return by Wendy Lopez [Burn City Sports]

After going 11-2 across four series against the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants, the Snakes couldn’t carry that momentum into their series against the Seattle Mariners. They suffered a three-game sweep, marking the club’s struggles against teams above .500, as they are 8-19 against such opponents.

Facing the defending champions, who are currently 38-21, the challenge only gets tougher.

The first baseman does have strong numbers against Los Angeles, however, hitting .364 with a .409 slugging percentage over seven games (22 at-bats) against the Dodgers last year. Having Smith back could help spark an offense that needs to break out of its slump following the Seattle series.

Shohei Ohtani Creates a Massive Challenge for Diamondbacks by Jack Sommers [SI]

Shohei Ohtani is making a serious run at winning the NL Cy Young award. Ohtani threw six hitless innings against the Rockies May 27. He has the lowest ERA of any pitcher with 50 innings or more pitched (0.82). He’s allowed one earned run in his last 18 innings and given up seven hits,

D-backs No. 11 prospect Mena set to undergo shoulder surgery by Jesse Borek [MLB]

Before his 2026 season could ever really get out of the starting blocks, Cristian Mena has seen it likely come to a close. The D-backs’ No. 11 prospect is set to undergo shoulder surgery in the coming days, a procedure that manager Torey Lovullo admitted is likely to knock him out for the rest of the year.

It’s been an arduous road back to the mound for one of the D-backs’ prized pitching prospects. Mena last appeared in game action last June 6, working an inning out of the club’s bullpen, before landing on the injured list with a right shoulder strain the following day. Five days prior — one year ago to the day — he picked up his first Major League win after tossing a pair of scoreless innings against the Nationals.

Around the League

10 big questions as Trade Deadline season approaches by Mark Feinsand [MLB]

Which teams are likely to be sellers?

The Giants and Rockies were the only teams more than seven games out of a playoff spot entering the week, and given the National League’s performance this season — 11 of 15 teams have winning records — it seems unlikely that either San Francisco or Colorado will climb back into the race.

MLBPA negotiator sees clear distance between 2 sides of CBA by Alden Gonzalez [ESPN]

Said Meyer: “We do not accept the premise that there’s some existential crisis going on.”

Even if he did, the MLBPA is adamant that a salary cap won’t fix it. The league is adamant that it would. A middle ground is elusive, and where the two sides go from here is hard to determine. In his statement, Caplin said the league is “ready to listen if the MLBPA wants to counter our proposal at the bargaining table.” Meyer said no meeting is scheduled but would be “in the near future,” adding that the two sides can still bargain on several non-economic issues.

He believes players will remain united against a cap.

“Our union has never been broken and never will be,” Meyer said. “Our players have what they have, including being the only sport that doesn’t have this ultimate restriction, the salary cap, because our players have always been the most unified. And that’s gonna continue.”

The Tigers Have Collapsed, but Not Because of Their Rotation by Jay Jaffe [FanGraphs]

Jansen and company certainly share a lot of responsibility for the team’s struggles in one-run games, but Detroit’s biggest problem has been an increasingly decrepit offense that’s scoring a major league-low 3.72 runs per game, with a very respectable March and April followed by an abysmal May: 

In their last 19 games, the Tigers have averaged just 2.52 runs, scoring more than four just once; they haven’t scored more than six runs in a game since May 3. While left fielder Riley Greene (.301/.391/.426, 134 wRC+), shortstop/third baseman Kevin McGonigle (.286/.390/.410, 130 wRC+), and catcher Dillon Dingler(.226/.313/.458, 115 wRC+) have been quite effective overall, Greene and Dingler were the team’s only two regulars with a wRC+ of 100 or better in May; everybody else besides McGonigle had a wRC+ of 82 or lower. First baseman Spencer Torkelson (.214/.317/.403, 104 wRC+ overall) has cooled off after a strong start, going from a 123 wRC+ and a 28.3% strikeout rate in March and April to an 82 wRC+ with a 36.3% strikeout rate in May. Third baseman/designated hitter Colt Keith is in the midst of a power outage, batting .280/.324/.342 (88 wRC+) without a homer this season; he sank from a 114 wRC+ in March and April to 57 in May. Beyond that, injuries to Torres, Parker Meadows, Zach McKinstry, Javier Báez, and Kerry Carpenter have been a significant part of the story, costing the team depth in both the infield and outfield.

2026-27 Club Options: NL West by Anthony Franco [MLB Trade Rumors]

Michael Soroka, RHP: $10MM mutual option ($1MM buyout)

Arizona added Soroka on a $7.5MM free agent deal. He’s playing on a $6.5MM salary and will collect a $1MM buyout at season’s end. Soroka has already added another $500K in incentives by making 10+ starts and could get up to $2MM in bonuses if he reaches 25 starts.

Soroka has been a surprisingly key piece of Torey Lovullo’s rotation. He carries a 3.25 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate against a tidy 5.5% walk percentage over 61 innings. Durability is an ever present question with the Canadian-born righty, who hasn’t reached 100 frames in a season since 2019. If Soroka can hold anything close to this level over the full schedule, his side will easily pass on the option. He should command at least two years and would have a case for three if he stays healthy, as he’s one of the youngest pitchers (29 in August) in what looks like a bad free agent class.

Good morning! The Mariners secured their seventh win in a row and second-straight walk-off last night, this time with Cole Young as the hero as his single sent Randy Arozarena home from third. Emerson Hancock held the New York Mets to just two hits off two home runs, and a lights out bullpen night helped the Mariners get the win.

Logan Gilbert takes the mound tonight at 6:40 PM for game two against the Mets.

In Mariners news…

• Don’t miss out on the cutest bobblehead of the season: Andrés Muñoz and his cat, Matilda. The special giveaway benefits Seattle Area Feline Rescue and will be available for the July 21st Mariners game.
• The Mariners are finally playing up to their lofty expectations thanks to their seven game win streak.
• Despite Cal Raleigh’s absence, the Mariners have used power and pitching to take over first place in the AL West.

Around the league…

• Minnesota Twins RHP Bailey Ober has been placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation, adding another challenge to an already-depleted Twins rotation.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks have activated first baseman Pavin Smith from the 60-day IL after completing his recovery from left elbow inflammation.
• Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol has undergone back surgery and could be out for the remainder of the season.
• The Cincinnati Reds have officially placed shortstop Elly De La Cruz on the 10-day IL with a strained right hamstring. Top infield prospect (and former Mariners prospect) Edwin Arroyo has been recalled in a corresponding move and will make his MLB debut.
• The Chicago White Sox have announced their 2026 Alumni Home Run Derby participants, which include fan favorites Jose Canseco, Alexei Ramirez, Gordon Beckham, Leury Garcia, Scott Podsednik and Daniel Palka.
• The recent struggles of the Detroit Tigers are a result of their major-league low 3.72 runs per game.
• Chicago Cubs RHP Ben Brown has perfected a new pitch that is fueling his breakout season.
• The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded reliever Justin Lawrence to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for cash considerations.

Patience, they say, is a virtue.

Especially if you’re a prospect in the Dodgers’ organization.

On a team that has won back-to-back World Series with a veteran MLB roster, and continues to boast one of the most highly-touted farm systems in the entire sport, big-league roster spots can be scarce, and MLB opportunities hard to come by.

Right now, that dynamic is applying to two young standouts in particular.

River Ryan (a right-handed starting pitcher ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline) and James Tibbs III (a left-handed-hitting outfielder ranked 10th) are having to wait their turns.

Ryan, of course, is the more familiar name to Dodgers fans.

A former two-way prospect in the Padres system who was acquired to little fanfare in exchange for the then-DFA’d Matt Beaty in 2022, the right-hander blossomed into one of the most talented pitchers in the Dodgers’ highly ranked pipeline, rising quickly to make his MLB debut in 2024 –– when he had a 1.33 ERA in four tantalizing starts.

That rookie campaign, however, was cut short because of Tommy John surgery.

And after spending all of last year recovering from the procedure, Ryan is still waiting to make his return to the big leagues.

The Dodgers were always going to be cautious with Ryan’s workload this year, especially early in the season, given the limited number of innings he will likely be able to pitch in 2026. That became even more true after he suffered a hamstring injury in April that sidelined him for a month.

Team officials have said repeatedly they want him to build a “foundation” in triple-A Oklahoma City before bringing him up to the big-league roster.

But, since returning to action three weeks ago, the 27-year-old has looked dominant.

He has given up just one earned run in his last three starts. He has built up from four innings to five to –– for the first time in his professional career –– six in his most recent outing last Thursday. He also racked up eight strikeouts in that latter game while –– for the first time this season –– not issuing a walk or hit batter.

“It was great to see him get to six innings,” Gomes said. “The stuff coming out of hand is awesome.”

Whether it has nudged him closer to a long-awaited call-up remains less clear.

With the Dodgers in the midst of a 19-games-in-20-days stretch right now, it’s possible that the need for an extra starter may arise at some point in the next couple weeks. But the team also currently has a locked-in six-man rotation, including newly-acquired veteran Eric Lauer. As long as that remains the case, it could be difficult to recall Ryan, as it would force them to play an arm short in the bullpen.

“We’re gonna keep building him up and try to build a nice foundation,” Gomes reiterated this week, “before we look to do anything there.”

Thus, Ryan might have to remain patient right now, even as he flashes a six-pitch mix headlined by a fastball that has touched 100 mph of late.

“I think the good thing about River, and what we try to tell our guys, is part of the benefit of being in our organization is that you’re gonna have really good resources, and the small downside is that there’s a lot of really good players,” Gomes said. “So I think it’s, keep your feet where they’re at and continue to perform. I think River also knows, when we optioned him out of camp, a lot of this is this is a guy that’s coming off Tommy John. We have to be mindful of his innings and workload, and not just be short-sighted, of like, ‘Oh, well, he’s pitching great now.’”

A similar dynamic is playing out with Tibbs.

A former first-round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants who was tried twice in a two-month span last year, Tibbs has found an obvious comfort level in the Dodgers’ organization.

Last year, he impressed with double-A Tulsa, posting a .900 OPS with seven home runs and 32 RBIs in 36 games after being acquired from the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline.

This year, the 23-year-old has elevated his game to a different level in Oklahoma City, batting .322 with a Pacific Coast League-leading 17 home runs –– including five over his last four games.

The start of that homer streak coincided with Teoscar Hernández’s hamstring strain last week, an injury that created an opening on the Dodgers’ big-league roster for a left-handed-hitting outfielder.

The club, however, opted to call up long-time prospect Ryan Ward, giving the once-overlooked slugger his first extended runway at the MLB level.

“I just think Ward-o has done this for a while and he’s certainly earned [this opportunity],” Gomes said. “It’s good to get him back up and into the mix and hopefully get a really opportunity here.”

Something working against Tibbs right now: He hasn’t played the outfield since May 7, while battling what The Athletic first reported is a minor forearm injury to his throwing arm. Instead, he has spent the last weeks exclusively as a designated hitter.

Still, just like Ryan, Tibbs’ time will come at some point.

“He’s performing great, obviously,” Gomes said. “The numbers are fantastic.”

For the Dodgers, it’s a good problem to have.

For their two most standout prospects so far this year, it means being patient a little bit longer.

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The hottest topic in Mariners-ville the last two weeks has been the decision by the Mariners front office to combine the starts of Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller into a “piggyback” start. Both pitchers have had their struggles so far in 2026, so the idea of letting each pitcher throw 4-5 innings at most using maximum effort seems like a pretty good solution on paper. In execution, it seems it could have been communicated a bit better to the players themselves who both expressed confusion after the first two starts, but have now seemed to accept this method into their lives and the Mariners have gone 2-1 in these piggyback starts. Rick Rizzs has been calling it “the twirling tandem” which rolls off the tongue better.

So I hit y’all with a bunch of pitching-related questions in the FEED last week, so let’s tally them up and throw some rankings on them using my patented and very scientific Mariners Hot Take Ranking System:

FIRST QUESTION

Do you like the concept of piggybacking starting pitchers IN THEORY? (Y/N)

The Noes have it, and I’m kind of surprised since this site has historically supported advanced stats and new approaches but maybe this one was a bridge too far. Rating this take as BRASH because all takes on this subject are heaters it seems.

SECOND QUESTION

Do you like the concept of piggybacking starting pitchers IN PRACTICE (Y/N)

The Noes once again have it, but this one is less surprising given the resulting drama and speculation about this decision causing a rift in the clubhouse. We saw Castillo visibly upset in the dugout after being pulled while still pitching well with a lead and we heard Miller’s initial version of “I’m just here to help the team win” said through gritted teeth and clenched fists. So I rate this one a BEAVAN because it’s to be expected.

THIRD QUESTION

Are the results so far good enough to override player/clubhouse vibes concerns? (Y/N)

The Yeses have this one by quite a bit. RESULTS BASED ANALYSIS, OH YEAAAAHHH. Now we’re cookin’. Wins are wins, babyyyy. Since RBA is the antithesis of advanced metrics/SABR in baseball, which is the approach LL was built upon, I have to give this a CLIFF LEE for this surprising heel turn into traditional baseball analysis. They don’t ask how, they ask how many.

FOURTH QUESTION

Would you prefer a 6-pitcher rotation instead of piggybacking? (Y/N)

The Noes have this one nearly unanimously. The six-pitcher rotation is officially dead in the dirt. I give this one a BOSIO because it’s the more conventional option when a team has this many viable starters, but it clearly impacts the rhythm of every starter instead of just the “twirling tandem.”

Finally, we did a quick poll:

Given how questions one and two went, these results are not surprising. The peopLLe have spoken and in spite of the positive results through three starts, y’all do not like the piggyback approach. Once again I must slap a BRASH rating here because of the lack of willingness to accept a new idea founded on getting the best result possible from two struggling pitchers. I get it, no one wanted to see Miller and Castillo upset and even though things appear to have been smoothed over PR-wise, the initial bad feelings could certainly linger and we’d all be the last to know about it.

Finally, I’ll just add that from a fan perspective, attending Sunday’s game for the third piggyback start was very fun to witness. When Miller is dealing like he was on Sunday, he is a true thrill to watch. And then knowing that around halfway through the game we’d get to watch Castillo in closer mode? Also thrilling! So purely from the spectator perspective, I find it very entertaining.

All right, folks, thanks for chiming in with your opinions and takes in the FEED. We’ll see where the twirling tandem takes us next or perhaps there will be a new drama bomb of some sort next week. Keep tabs on the FEED for more prompts and polls like this one.