Welcome back to the Minor League Roundup!

As a reminder, you can find this roundup — covering everything you need to know about each of the Brewers’ minor league affiliates — every Tuesday morning right here on Brew Crew Ball. For consistency, all organizational prospect rankings will reference MLB Pipeline unless otherwise noted.

Triple-A Nashville Sounds

Current record: 71-58
Record this week: 3-3
This week’s opponent: @ Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
Next week’s opponent: vs. Louisville Bats

Standout weekly performances:

Tyler Black: 7-for-15, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 7 BB, 4 K
Akil Baddoo: 8-for-19, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Bo Naylor: 6-for-20, 3 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K
Brock Wilken: 6-for-21, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K
Colton Gordon: 11.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 13 K
Brandon Sproat: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Tyson Hardin: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Coleman Crow: 5.0 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

With rosters expanding on Sept. 1, it’s likely that one of the Sounds’ position players will be in Milwaukee by the time this article is published. Lefty reliever JoJo Romero seems like a good bet to be activated, but there are a couple of possibilities for the second and final roster spot.

Three of those options had big weeks against Jacksonville. Tyler Black, Akil Baddoo, and Bo Naylor all recorded four extra-base hits; Black went 7-for-15 with seven walks, good for a ridiculous 1.586 OPS, while Baddoo’s OPS (1.320) wasn’t far behind.

Naylor, who went 6-for-20 with seven RBIs, still feels like the most likely option. Milwaukee already has plenty of outfield options, making Baddoo somewhat redundant, and the same goes for Black, whose defensive fit on the current roster isn’t particularly obvious.

Meanwhile, Naylor gives the Brewers a third catcher with major league experience, which is important because Contreras will need days off to keep him fresh for the playoffs and Gary Sánchez isn’t a Gold Glover. With a .903 OPS in 60 at-bats since the trade, Naylor has also shown that he has enough offensive upside to be useful off the bench. It’s worth mentioning, too, that the Brewers liked him enough to go out and get him from Cleveland, trading away outfielder Blake Perkins and reliever Craig Yoho at the deadline.

Jeferson Quero is another possibility, and he’s had a solid season at the plate with a .755 OPS and 15 home runs, but there are reasons to think Milwaukee might prefer Naylor for September. Quero has thrown out a little under 16% of attempted base stealers this season in 116 attempts, and there are still questions about how much of a workload he can handle behind the plate. From June 28 through Aug. 15, Quero didn’t catch a game, appearing exclusively at DH. Add in Naylor’s previous major league experience, and he seems like the safer choice for a team with World Series aspirations.

Elsewhere, Brock Wilken continued his recent surge with two more homers, while Colton Gordon turned in a strong week on the mound. Gordon worked 11 innings across two appearances, allowing four earned runs while striking out 13 and walking only two. Brandon Sproat struck out seven over four one-hit innings, although he allowed two runs and walked three.

Double-A Biloxi Shuckers

Current record: 59-63
Record this week: 3-3
This week’s opponent: vs. Knoxville Smokies
Next week’s opponent: vs. Birmingham Barons

Standout performances:

Andrew Fischer: 6-for-16, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K
Braylon Payne: 8-for-22, 2 2B, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K
Mike Boeve: 6-for-18, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K
Luis Peña: 6-for-19, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K
Dylan O’Rae: 5-for-20, 1 3B, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
Bishop Letson: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Jaron DeBerry: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 5 K
J.D. Thompson: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K
Manuel Rodriguez: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Jack Seppings: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Jesús Made has finally encountered something resembling a speed bump.

Made went 4-for-18 this week to bring his line for the month of August to .204/.299/.280. It’s hardly concerning for a player who is still just 19 years old and has rocketed through the system, but the Southern League has provided a considerably tougher test than the levels below it. Made’s overall numbers (.773 OPS) remain impressive considering his age and aggressive assignments, but his production has cooled as the season has progressed.

Andrew Fischer has dealt with some adjustments of his own since arriving in Biloxi, hitting .183 over the month of August. He spent this week reminding everyone exactly why he’s one of the fastest-rising prospects in the organization, though, going 6-for-16 with four home runs and eight RBIs — three of those homers coming in a monster performance Thursday. He finished the week with a 1.575 OPS despite striking out seven times in 20 plate appearances.

While Fischer still had an .820 OPS last month, his batting average is worth watching, as are the strikeouts — although he hasn’t actually been striking out all that much more in Double-A (82 Ks in 246 Single-A plate appearances vs. 90 in 258 Double-A plate appearances). Still, he’s hit 42 home runs this year. Progress isn’t linear, and both Made and Fischer have proven enough so far that one down month doesn’t mean much. If both struggle tremendously to end the year, then it becomes a conversation, but as of now, it’s somewhat premature.

Braylon Payne continued his breakout season with another great week, going 8-for-22 with two doubles and two homers, while Mike Boeve went 6-for-18 with three walks.

Biloxi also got a trio of impressive performances from its pitching staff, headlined by Bishop Letson, who allowed just one earned run over five innings while striking out five. Jaron DeBerry and J.D. Thompson also held the Smokies to one run in their respective starts, although each pitcher issued five walks.

High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Current record: 63-55
Record this week: 3-3
This week’s opponent: vs. South Bend Cubs
Next week’s opponent: @ Beloit Sky Carp

Standout performances:

Eric Bitonti: 9-for-23, 7 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 4 BB, 7 K
Sawyer Strosnider: 9-for-24, 3 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Luis Lameda: 4-for-11, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
Tyler Rodriguez: 5-for-15, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
Daniel Dickinson: 7-for-24, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Wande Torres: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Josh Knoth: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Michael Fowler: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Andrew Healy: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Jarrette Bonet: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Eric Bitonti, who I highlighted as the Player of the Week in last week’s column, almost one-upped himself this week. He absolutely demolished South Bend pitching, going 9-for-23 with seven doubles, two home runs, and 12 RBIs. That’s nine extra-base hits in six games, good for a .391 average and 1.438 OPS. His best performance came Thursday, when he collected three hits, including a homer, and drove in four.

Bitonti, still only 20, is now hitting .273 with a .929 OPS, although he was far from the only notable Brewers prospect to have a strong week. Sawyer Strosnider continued to hit after his promotion to High-A, finishing 9-for-24 with three doubles and a triple. It’s hard to ask for a better start from Strosnider than a .328/.438/.507 line through his first 67 professional at-bats. Also, for the “eye test” people out there, look at this absolute beauty of a swing:

Daniel Dickinson also had another productive series, going 7-for-24 with a double, triple, homer, and three walks while striking out only four times in 29 plate appearances.

Wisconsin got two noteworthy performances from its pitching staff courtesy of Wande Torres and Josh Knoth. Torres, the Brewers’ Pitcher of the Month for July, might win again this month after putting up a 1.75 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 25.2 innings in August. He turned in the best start of the week, tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing only three hits and two walks. Knoth wasn’t quite as dominant, but put together another solid start of his own, allowing two earned runs across six innings while walking just one. Also of note: Knoth was promoted to Double-A Biloxi last Thursday, August 27th.

Knoth’s development remains particularly worth watching down the stretch. The former second-round pick missed all of 2025 following Tommy John surgery, so simply seeing him continue to accumulate innings is important. The results (4.33 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 4.42 FIP, 4.27 xFIP, 8.65 K/9, 3.41 BB/9) are becoming increasingly relevant, too, as Milwaukee gets a better idea of where he fits in among their top pitching prospects.

Single-A Wilson Warbirds

Current record: 64-59
Record this week: 1-6
This week’s opponent: vs. Hickory Crawdads
Next week’s opponent: @ Fredericksburg Nationals

Standout performances:

Frederi Montero: 5-for-11, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K
Handelfry Encarnacion: 4-for-11, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
Kyle Jones: 8-for-23, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
Rylan Mills: 7-for-21, 1 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K
Brailyn Antunez: 5-for-21, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K
Miqueas Mercedes: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Thomas Conrad: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
Tyler Renz: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Hayden Robinson: 7.0 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 6 BB, 7 K

It wasn’t a great week for Wilson as a team; the Warbirds went just 1-6 and were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday. They’ll wrap up their inaugural season next week with a series against the Fredericksburg Nationals.

While I’ll refrain from talking about everything until next week’s season recap (covering both A-ball affiliates), there’s a lot to be excited about down in Wilson.

Catcher Rylan Mills, who has an .813 OPS in 187 at-bats with the Warbirds, went 7-for-21 with three home runs, six RBIs, and three walks. Even more impressively, he put together multi-hit games with a homer on both Friday and Saturday. Mills’ power came with plenty of swing-and-miss — he struck out 10 times in 24 plate appearances — but three homers in a week will always play.

Kyle Jones had a slightly quieter week at the plate, although it wasn’t exactly quiet. He hit .348 with a double and three RBIs while striking out only twice. Jones, the Brewers’ third-round pick in this year’s draft, is hitting .304 through his first 69 professional at-bats.

On the mound, Miqueas Mercedes delivered easily the best performance of the week. Mercedes tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits without issuing a walk. He struck out three, relying more on contact management than overpowering hitters, but the results — seven shutout innings with a 0.57 WHIP — are hard to argue with.

Finally, as always, Handelfry Encarnacion and Brailyn Antunez continued to produce. Encarnacion went 4-for-11 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs, and only two strikeouts, finishing the week with a 1.007 OPS. Antunez went 5-for-21 with a double, four RBIs, and two walks, though he struck out eight times.

Play of the Week:

Shortstop Dylan O’Rae broke the Shuckers’ single-season franchise record for stolen bases with his 53rd of the season last Friday.

Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters. We made it to September!

The Orioles are still out west for the last few games of their long road trip. I personally find this stretch of games to be a touch on the ridiculous side. After an off-day on Monday, August 24th, the Orioles traveled to St. Louis. That kicked off 16 straight days without a day off. That is a really long stretch of games, but the travel on top of that is too much.

The Orioles traveled St. Louis (Central time zone) to Sacramento (Pacific) to Denver (Mountain). When their series with the Rockies is over, they will travel home to Baltimore (Eastern). They will play seven games in Baltimore before an off day. Sixteen games, four time zones, zero off days. I’m sorry, that’s bonkers.

Yesterday afternoon, the Orioles claimed outfielder Luis Robert Jr. off waivers from the Mets. The Mets are currently a last-place team with a bloated payroll, and the move saves them millions of dollars. Robert is still owed about $3 million of this year’s salary, which the Orioles will now cover. His contract also holds a $20 million club option for 2027 with a $2 million buyout. The Orioles are also on the hook for that. And because the Mets payroll is so large, they were paying 110% luxury tax on Robert’s salary. Getting another team to take Robert for 25 games is saving them north of $8 million.

The Orioles, for their part, are hoping that Robert can harness some of the talent that he showed earlier in his career. The White Sox signed Robert to a six-year contract with two club option years back in January 2020, when he had never played a single Major League game. That year, Robert came second in AL Rookie of the Year voting and locked up a Gold Glove for his defense in center field.

Since then however, he has been unable to stay healthy and productive. He has played over 100 games just twice. In 2023, he hit 36 doubles and 38 home runs in 145 games, racking up a 5.4 bWAR. And in 2025, he played in 110 games with a drop in both power and OBP. His offensive production dropped off significantly of his last three injury-marred seasons.

The White Sox picked up the first of Robert’s two options last November. In January, they traded him to the Mets. In six seasons with the White Sox, Roberts played in 577 games. He hit .253/.313/.455. He has always been considered a strong defender.

Robert broke camp with the Mets in March and was an everyday player until he went on the IL at the end of March with a lumbar spine disc herniation. He was not playing well when he went on the IL, and he got off to a slow start upon his return on July 2oth.

But for the month of August, he has been much improved. In 24 games, Robert had six home runs and seven walks in 84 plate appearances. His hitting line was .267/.321/.520 (.841 OPS). Once a pretty good base stealer, that has dried up. But he is still fast on the base paths.

With Tyler O’Neill on the IL and Leody Taveras atrocious against left-handed pitchers, the Orioles need a right-handed bat in the outfield. They just spent a lot of money to try and improve over the final 25 games of the season (and playoffs!), and it’s a risk I appreciate. I don’t care about their money; they should spend it all, as far as I’m concerned. But I know that some other clubs wouldn’t in the same position. That includes the John Angelos era Orioles.

Will it make a difference? None of us really knows. But it has the potential to, which makes it exciting. Let’s all hope Luis Robert Jr. stays healthy and productive and keeps Taveras where he belongs against lefties: on the bench.

Links

What will it take for the Orioles to clinch an AL wild card spot? – The Baltimore Banner
Written before last night’s game, Andy Kostka predicts it’ll take 83 wins, or 15-10 over the final 25 games. The story includes what several Orioles players are thinking about the odds as well.

Albernaz excited about addition of Robert; Bautista needs more rehab games; Orioles not committing to 6-man rotation – Baltimore Baseball
Notes about Luis Robert, who will join the team today. Also an update on Félix Bautista.

Because You Asked – The Bone Temple – MASN Sports
Roch Kubatko has a Q&A for the fans. He says it’s a mailbag, but is someone out there really asking about Nick Raquet? (Get well soon, Nick Raquet)

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have two Orioles birthday buddies, although neither is particularly memorable for their time in Baltimore. Eduard Bazardo is 31 years old today. He pitched 2.1 forgettable innings for the 2023. The Orioles traded him to the Mariners at the trade deadline of that year and he’s spent the last three-plus seasons in Seattle. He’s been particularly good out of the bullpen in the last two years. The trade return, Logan Rinehart, is no longer playing professional baseball.

Also born on this day in history is another pitcher, Dean Stone (b. 1930, d. 2018). Stone pitched in eight Major League seasons, the last of which was 1963 with the Orioles. A relief pitcher, Stone had a 5.12 ERA in 17 games. Cool name, though.

On this day in 1999, Albert Belle hit his 40th home run in a 3-1 win over the Rays. It marked his eighth straight season with 30+ home runs. It was also his final season with 30.

In 2000, the Orioles turned a triple play in Cleveland. With runners on first and second, Sandy Alomar Jr. hit a pop-up into shallow left-center field. Shortstop Melvin Mora raced out to catch it, but at the last second let it drop. The infield fly rule was not called. Mora threw to second base where Jerry Hairston applied the tag to Travis Fryman and stepped on second base to retire Wil Cordero. The third out came from Alomar, who assumed it was an infield fly and went right into the dugout.

In 2005, the Orioles released pitcher Sidney Ponson. He had one year and $10 million remaining on his contract, but the Orioles contended that his off-field conduct (multiple DUIs, one judge punching) warranted termination. MLBPA filed a grievance on Ponson’s behalf, and the two sides later settled.

In 2007, Clay Buchholz no-hit the Orioles in his second career start. That was embarrassing.

In 2011, the Rangers and Orioles completed the trade that sent Mike González to Texas at that year’s trade deadline. The PTBNL turned out to be Pedro Strop.

And on this day last year, the Orioles beat the Padres 4-3. They got to Dylan Cease for two runs in four innings, then added on two more against the bullpen. Kyle Bradish allowed two runs in four innings as well, but Baltimore’s bullpen was better. Jeremiah Jackson had three hits, including a home run. Samuel Basallo doubled twice.

Today’s Reflections

Oh, man, I was really wanting this article to be a celebration of PCA, the MVP(?) and a win of the series and start another streak of series wins.

But, Shota. Craig Counsell said, “We need Shota. We need Shota. We need him to have good starts.” That’s good to say, but there needs to be a replacement ready to go for the playoffs — and maybe before to make sure they even make the playoffs. The comfortable Wild Card lead is no longer comfortable, especially with the Brewers the focus over the next 10 games.

Counsell is not wrong — Imanaga has not had a bad season. He’s had a season full of CSPSHRs*, but now they are turning into two- and three-run home runs. “Needing him to have good starts” would be a drastic improvement from recent results, and a lot to hope for.

Yeah, that took a bit of the air out of the PCA bubble, but he can handle all the self-promotion with that magic bat of his. There’s been 40-40 talk for a few weeks now, and it was natural to assume that getting the homers are the hardest part. After Sunday, he’s two homers away. You can’t tell him to walk or turn every hit (inside the park) into a single just to steal eight more bases, especially with the playoffs are on the line. But I’m sure there will be opportunities for him to stack a couple of SBs here and there, so we’ll see.

You know all of PCA’s stats for each game, but for posterity, in the two games, PCA went 6-for-11 with six runs scored, five home runs and eight RBI. The Cubs need to keep him in bubble wrap between games.

For the other hitters this weekend — most of the action was on Saturday (obviously) but these two had a good pair of games. Alex Bregman went 4-for-9 with a run scored, two doubles, a home run and three RBI. Nico Hoerner quietly went 3-for-8 with two RBI.

Saturday saw Carson Kelly go off — 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run and 4 RBI. Tyrone Taylor keeps impressing, going 4-for-5 with a double and three runs scored. Seiya Suzuki went 3-for-5 with a walk, three runs scored, a home run and two RBI. And Pedro Ramirez went 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored.

Sunday had Ian Happ adding a 2-for-3 day with a walk and two runs scored.

It’s a good thing that the Cubs scored so many runs Saturday. Kevin Gausman allowed five runs over five innings, with five hits and two walks, but two of those hits were home runs. He did strike out seven. Hope it was just a little blip.

In the two games, the bullpen was (cautiously) good after the meltdown Friday. Over eight IP, the bullpen allowed one run (on Trent Thornton’s HR allowed), four total hits, three walks and six strikeouts.

Complimentary Starting Pitcher Solo Home Run*

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

Sunday’s Game Stories:

• Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs stand behind Shota Imanaga after he allows three homers in loss to Reds. “At least Imanaga lasted longer than the two innings he pitched in his last start a week before in Seattle, going five innings.”

• Jesse Rogers (ESPN): Pete Crow-Armstrong adds 2 more HRs, but Cubs fall to Reds. “Chicago dropped its third consecutive series.”

Saturday’s Game Stories:

• Andy Martinez (Chicago Tribune {$}): Pete Crow-Armstrong hits career-high 3 HRs to fuel Chicago Cubs’ 17-5 rout: ‘It’s a lot of fun to watch’. ““If anything, the most intimidating part of today was doing my pregame routine in front of Sammy Sosa and Billy Williams,” Crow-Armstrong said.“

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Bregman, PCA power 17-run outburst in Cubs’ huge win. “Meanwhile, Bregman has been playing at an exceptionally-high level for the past month as well.”

• Sean Holland (Cubs Insider): Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/29/26): Cubs 17, Reds 5 – MVPete Homers Three Times in Rout. “A massive offensive explosion was the deciding factor on Saturday.”

• Sean Sears (Chicago Cubs On SI): Cubs Rout Reds: 17 Runs, 3 HRs for Crow-Armstrong, Legends Fill Wrigley. “PCA gave the 150th Cubs anniversary team a show this Saturday afternoon!

Combo PCA-Mania — Sammy Sosa’s Magic Prediction — Cubs and MLB History — OH! and MVP Race:

• Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): The anatomy of Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong’s potential MVP season. “While working with assistant hitting coach John Mallee at Citi Field, Crow-Armstrong walked out of the cage and essentially said, “I found something that I’m going to be able to repeat for a long time.” He has.“
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Even Cubs legends are in awe of Pete Crow-Armstrong’s MVP campaign. “Jake Arrieta said, “For his third at-bat, his fourth at-bat, his fifth at-bat, we were glued to the actual gameplay live. I didn’t want to just watch it on TV. I wanted to see it happen live. We’re all standing there and you’re kind of shaking your head.”“
• Tom Ruminski (The Score): Cubs’ PCA: Sammy Sosa ‘told me I was gonna hit 3’ homers. “Cubs star outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said a Chicago baseball legend predicted his historic three-homer performance Saturday.”
• Andrew Gitto (Sporting News): How Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 3-homer day, Shohei Ohtani injury could help Cubs star pull ahead in NL MVP race. “The Dodgers announce that Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound is now postponed. He had been scheduled to start Sunday.”
• Matthew Sullivan (Sporting News): Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong makes MLB HR history not seen in 32 years. “Whenever someone can be compared to Ken Griffey Jr., it’s typically a great thing.”
• Gavin Groe (The Big Lead): Pete Crow-Armstrong pulls off what no Cubs player has done in 125 years. ““Pete Crow-Armstrong is the youngest Cub since 1901 to have a 3HR game,” wrote Cubs sideline reporter Taylor McGregor on X.“

• Cole Blair (Bleacher Nation): Pete Crow-Armstrong … and Other Cubs Bullets. “It was one of those ‘where were you when’ type games.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: Pete Crow-Armstrong crashes Chicago Cubs’ 150th anniversary party with historic day at Wrigley Field. “Fast forward 150 years, and a self-possessed player named Pete Crow-Armstrong homered three times to power the Cubs to a 17-5 win over the Reds before a packed house at Wrigley Field and a who’s who of all-time franchise greats.”
• Dayn Perry (CBS Sports): Pete Crow-Armstrong adds to his NL MVP case with three-homer showcase in Cubs win over Reds. “Crow-Armstrong is in the midst of a historic output in the month of August.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong makes NL MVP case with 3-homer day. ““Sometimes you feel it in your bones that you got a day like today in you,” Crow-Armstrong said. “And I did today.”“
• Brian Sandalow (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong hits three home runs to bolster MVP case. “Crow-Armstrong has 36 home runs and entered Saturday leading the sport in wins above replacement per FanGraphs and Baseball Reference.”

Assorted Pitching Stories:

• Jon Greenberg (The Athletic {$}): Why Greg Maddux, known for elite command, says he threw a wild first pitch at Wrigley Field. “Greg Maddux was known for two things in his Hall of Fame pitching career: immaculate command of the strike zone and a love of practical jokes.”
• Anthony Kerr (DaWindyCity): Javier Assad has no business being in Iowa amidst Cubs fight for the playoffs. “Chicago’s questionable roster decision has left them with a serious pitching problem.”
• Charlie Wright (MLBTradeRumors): Cubs Release Hoby Milner. “Milner passed through waivers unclaimed and is free to sign with another team.”
• Michael Gaither (Yardbarker): Why Cubs should promote Jaxon Wiggins before the postseason. “The Chicago Cubs don’t need Jaxon Wiggins to become a major-league starter overnight. They need another weapon for their struggling bullpen.“
• Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs’ key relievers might be regressing to mean at worst time. “After David Peterson at least gave the Cubs a chance to win, Trent Thornton all but removed it, allowing five runs in the sixth inning of a 10-8 loss to the Reds.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs may have uphill battle to keep Clay Holmes after latest MLB insider intel. “Maybe the Cubs won’t act like the Cubs for once.”

Assorted Batting Stories:

• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): The Chicago Cubs have something rare: A bench full of players capable of starting. “As the Cubs inch closer to a healthy roster, Craig Counsell has a chance to lead one of the deepest, most versatile groups of position players he’s had the luxury to manage.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$})): Sammy Sosa basking in rebuilt relationship with Cubs. “Of his relationship with the team he defined for 13 seasons, Sosa said he and the Cubs have put their old differences to the side.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Cubs Utility Prospect BJ Murray Reportedly Getting the Call to the Big Leagues. “The defensive versatility will help his big league bench profile, as will his ability to switch-hit.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs get another scare from top prospect carrying injury concern since being drafted. “Because, of course he has.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs Release Former Top Draft Pick Ed Howard. “Howard’s professional career was forever altered by a devastating hip injury.”

Assorted Stories:

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: Interrupting the Chicago Cubs’ ceremonies for a National League wild-card race update. “We interrupt this regularly scheduled celebration of the Chicago Cubs’ past to remind you there’s an extremely tight wild-card race developing in the National League.”
• Jordan Bastian and Adam McCalvy (MLB.com): Cubs’ divisional fate rests on the results of their next 10 days. “With seven games between the Cubs and Brewers over the next 10 days, this is Chicago’s chance to try to swing the momentum in this year’s division race before it is too late.”
• Jori Parys (CBS Sports): Jon Lester, Jody Davis both proud to be Cubs Hall of Famers. “Former pitcher Jon Lester, catcher Jody Davis, and broadcaster Vince Lloyd were all inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame over the weekend.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs’ 2026 success looks even better when remembering the Frank Schwindel era. “Frank Schwindel has forced me to confront realities.”
• Andrew Carter (Chicago Tribune {$}): One Wrigleyville corner hangs on to its roots and ballhawks as Chicago Cubs mark 150th anniversary. “The corner, though, remains the corner. Lawn chairs. Lifers. Good banter, some of which is even suitable for children.”

Food For Thought:

Altered Five Blues Band (originally known as Altered Five) is an American five-piece blues band. Formed in 2002 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, they have released six albums since 2008. Altered Five smokes, smolders and burns like a swig of good whiskey. The hip Milwaukee quintet is known for its strong brew of tough, original blues and hard-hitting live shows. Blues Blast raves that barrel-chested front man Jeff Taylor possesses a “smooth, warm-toned voice as monumental and undeniable as Howlin’ Wolf with the finish and flourish of B.B. King.” Downbeat declares stealth guitarist Jeff Schroedl “reaches the high bar of mixed invention and fluidity.” Fueled by a rhythm section laying down the deepest grooves this side of the MGs, the award-winning group has remained at the forefront of contemporary blues for more than two decades, performing in 13 countries around the world. 

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 dog days of August are over and the final month of the MLB regular season has arrived. Leading the Wild Card race, the Yankees are in good shape to return to the playoffs for the ninth time in the last decade (and 27th time in 32 years dating back to 1995), but they have a tall task ahead if they want to run down the surprising Rays for the division title and a first-round bye. Otherwise, a likely Wild Card Series rematch with the Red Sox awaits, with the winner behind the eight-ball in terms of pitching before they square off with Tampa Bay in the ALDS — the same scenario that the Yankees got burned by in 2025 with Toronto.

But let’s ponder the AL East for a second and be hopeful. FanGraphs gives the Yankees a 16.9-percent chance of winning the division. That’s not great, but 2025 AL MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh is hitting .171, so consider the odds about the same as Raleigh getting a hit in a given at-bat this year. Unlikely, but not impossible! Here’s how Yankees’ September lines up:

• September 1-2: @ Angels
• September 4-6: @ Padres
• September 8-10: vs. Rockies
• September 11-13: vs. Mets
• September 14-16: @ Twins
• September 18-20: @ Diamondbacks
• September 22-24: vs. Rays (doubleheader on 9/23)
• September 25-27: vs. Orioles

That’s 24 games. If they win, say, two-thirds to take 16, then they’ll need the Rays to only win 11 of their 25 to fully make up the deficit (unless they can sweep that four-game set against Tampa Bay to get the tiebreaker, which I’m not counting on). It’s a tall task, and while I have skepticism about the Rays, in my gut, I don’t think they’re a team that will have a losing month. I actually am optimistic enough on the Bombers that they can get a 16-win month against that batch. My concern is that—like their 18-win September 2025—it might not be enough.

But despite that missed opportunity last night, I can hope! Remember when the 2017 Dodgers were on an absurd win pace and then utterly bombed in September? And this Rays team is no 2017 Dodgers. What do you think?

Today on the site, Dani will discuss the new SB Nation app that just came out to help make your experience on the site (and others around SBN) much smoother! We’ll also have Michael’s weekly minor league report, Madison on the Rivalry Roundup, Kento on the birthday of a forgotten Yankee who starred at Dartmouth long before Ben Rice, Peter’s monthly GM poll, and Jonathan and Matt on our monthly check-ins on the AL Central and AL West, respectively.

As a programming note, there’s no minor-league recap today because none of the Yankees’ affiliates were in action.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels

Time: 9:38 p.m. EST

TV: YES, ABTV

Venue: Angel Stadium, Anaheim, CA

MLB.com | Ian Browne: Sunday’s blowout win over the Red Sox came with some minor controversies, but one of them was generated by a broadcast booth. Red Sox radio play-by-play commentator Will Flemming became irate with Jazz Chisholm Jr. stealing a pair of bases in the eighth inning with the Yankees up 7-1 at the time, calling first for Boston’s pitcher to drill Austin Wells (who was at the plate at the time) before turning his temper to Jazz as he walked over to home plate after Wells hit a home run and saying that the pitcher should start a fight with the Yankee second baseman. The Rivalry can certainly cause a flare of emotions from time to time, even if nowhere close to as often as the 2000s teams did, but Flemming truly crossed a line when he called Chisholm a “bush league player” for stealing those bases and adding that he “didn’t play the game the right way,” invoking the type of commentary that less than stellar folks tend to direct at Chisholm over a decision to swipe some bags in a game that was still very much up for grabs.

Aaron Boone, when asked about the incident on Monday, added that he was the one who told Chisholm to go for the steals since the Sox weren’t holding him at first and he wanted to rule out needing David Bednar in that game, even yelling at the Sox’ dugout that he would let Chisholm loose if they didn’t care to hold him. Boone also added that Flemming reached out to apologize about the incident, though he didn’t give that apology to Jazz. Chisholm, to his credit, took it in stride saying he didn’t care about an apology as he didn’t know who Flemming was until he was told about it Monday morning, and he’d forget about him soon after.

NY Daily News | Gary Phillips: The Yankees are keeping a watchful eye on Shoki Oda, an 18-year-old Japanese pitching prospect turning lots of heads as he weighs a decision to declare for the Nippon Professional Baseball draft or become an international free agent. The NPB draft is on October 22nd, effectively serving as Oda’s deadline, but if he chooses to go stateside teams wouldn’t be able to sign him until January 15, 2027. That pushes him into the 2027 signing class as opposed to the 2026 period, the latter of which the Yankees still have a rare pile of money to spend after previous agreements they made under international scouting director Donny Rowland fell through after he was let go by the organization. The Yankees are one of many teams highly interested in Oda, but they’re also showing a renewed effort in making connections with the Japanese market — an area they’ve been largely absent from since signing Masahiro Tanaka way back in 2014.

NJ.com | Bob Klapisch: Heliot Ramos didn’t get off to the most impressive start in his Yankees tenure, hitting 2-for-32 in his first 13 games in pinstripes. He’s turned it on of late though, encapsulated by his three-run homer on Sunday to break open the scoring in what became a rout, and having Ramos contributing goes a long way towards making the Yankee lineup a more balanced threat. Ramos was the right-handed addition to the offense at the deadline, and being able to slot him in around Aaron Judge once the captain returns will go a long way to building the deepest threat they have for October.

NY Post | Greg Joyce: In case you missed it, the Yankees continued their roulette spinning in the relief market by picking up John Schreiber off of waivers from Kansas City. Schreiber has been a solid enough reliever this year, owning a 3.65 ERA in 55 games, but his numbers come with a very obvious split: right-handed hitters have a .414 OPS against him while lefties have crushed him for a 1.024 OPS. He’ll get a chance to pick up innings against righty-dominant stretches of opposing lineups and carve out a niche for himself with the potential to earn a postseason roster spot if he succeeds, but the biggest impact he could carry is simply lightening the load a little bit from the Yankees’ top three arms in David Bednar, Paul Blackburn, and Brent Headrick.