Category: Sports News

The people have spoken and Joey Oakie is our No. 15 Cleveland Guardians prospect for 2026. Oakie raked in an impressive 40.6% of the vote, beating out Alfonsin Rosario (20.8%), Juneiker Caceres (16.0%) and (11.3%).

Oakie was Cleveland’s third round draft pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Ankeny Centennial High School in Iowa.

Unlike second round pick and fellow prep player Braylon Doughty, Oakie did not immediately debut in full-season Single-A to begin his professional career, instead kicking off in the Arizona Complex League in early May.

Oakie did not get off to the best start to his professional career, walking four players in two innings in his first game with three wild pitches. He ended up making 12 appearances (nine starts) with the ACL Guardians and while his strikeout rate was solid at 27.6%, he also posted a high walk rate of 13.5% with a whopping 7.46 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in 35.0 innings pitched.

Despite his struggles, Cleveland decided to promote Oakie to full-season Single-A Lynchburg. After arriving in the Carolina League, a switch got flipped for Oakie. Three of his six starts with the Hillcats were scoreless, with the final two being two of the most dominant outings of any pitcher in Cleveland’s system for all of 2025.

On August 28th, Oakie struck out 11 batters and did not allow a single hit while walking four in 5.0 innings against Washington’s Single-A affiliate. He followed that up five days later by obliterating the Baltimore affiliate with another 11-strikeout performance, this time only walking one and allowing one hit without allowing a run in 4.2 innings.

When the playoffs rolled around, Oakie was Lynchburg’s game one starter, tossing 4.0 innings with six strikeouts to lead the team to a 2-1 victory and Lynchburg went on to win the Carolina League championship.

Oakie stands 6-foot-3 with a significant amount of projection in every single one of his pitches. Walks still appear to be an issue, but the fact that Oakie’s performance got stronger in his final starts of this debut season is extremely promising. Most high school players struggle down the stretch, but if he can tap into the version of himself that became nearly unhittable, he could be one of Cleveland’s top prospects by the end of the 2026 campaign.

Now, it’s time to determine who is number 16 in the Guardians’ loaded farm system and you now have a whopping 10 players to choose from! Your options are below:

Juneiker Caceres, OF (Age 18)
2025 (CPX) 160 PA, .289/.419/.469, 3 HR, 5 SB, 16.9 BB%, 11.3 K%, 139 wRC+
2025 (A): 130 PA, .250/.331/.345, 1 HR, 2 SB, 6.9 BB%, 13.1 K%, 103 wRC+

Impressed at the complex league, then hit the ground running in a late season promotion to Single-A before running out of steam late in his age-17 season. Loaded with potential.

Dean Curley, 3B (Age 21)
2025 (NCAA) 294 PA, .315/.435/.531, 14 HR, 8 SB, 15.3 BB%, 16.0K%, 118 wRC+
2025 (A) 35 PA, .242/.286/.273, 0 HR, 1 SB, 5.7 BB%, 31.4K%, 67 wRC+

Cleveland’s second round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Curley plays all infield positions, but needs polish. He was part of Lynchburg’s championship run after joining the team late in the 2025 season.

Dauri Fernandez, SS (Age 18)
2025 (ACL) 176 PA, .333/.398/.558, 6 HR, 16 SB, 9.1 BB%, 12.5 K%, 147 wRC+
2025 (A): 24 PA, .273/.250/.318, 0 HR, 2 SB, 0 BB%, 12.5 K%, 57 wRC+

One of Cleveland’s top performers in the Arizona Complex League in 2025. Undersized, but makes solid contact and doesn’t strike out often. Earned a small taste of full-season ball at the end of the year.

Franklin Gomez, LHP (Age 20)
w/ Mets 2025 (A): 14 G, 82.0 IP, 1.85 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 21.4 K%, 11.7 BB%, 1.09 WHIP
w/ Mets 2025 (A+): 6 GS, 48.2 IP, 1.70 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 23.4 K%, 9.9 BB%, 1.83 WHIP

Acquired from the Mets in a trade for international bonus cash, Gomez lit up Single-A in his age-19 season, then improved his walk and strikeout numbers after being promoted to High-A.

Yorman Gomez, RHP (Age 23)
2025 (A+): 17 G, 76.0 IP, 2.84 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 27.3 K%, 9.5 BB%, 1.11 WHIP
2025 (AA): 10 G, 45.2 IP, 3.15 ERA, 2.50 FIP, 28.0 K%, 9.5 BB%, 1.25 WHIP

Venezuelan prospect who broke out in with increased velocity in 2025, putting up nearly identical numbers at both High-A Lake County and Double-A Akron. Gomez was added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster.

Josh Hartle, LHP (Age 22)
2025 (A+): 22 GS, 103.1 IP, 2.35 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 24.0 K%, 8.9 BB%, 1.05 WHIP
2025 (AA): 2 GS, 10.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 16.3 K%, 4.7 BB%, 1.50 WHIP

Acquired from Pittsburghin the Spencer Horwitz trade, Hartle was one of Cleveland’s most successful starting pitchers in its minor league system in 2025. Stands 6-foot-6, but doesn’t have a ton of velocity.

Austin Peterson, RHP (Age 26)
2025 (AA): 11 GS, 55.0 IP, 1.47 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 23.9 K%, 4.9 BB%, 0.84 WHIP
2025 (AAA): 15 GS, 90.2 IP, 4.27 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 20.2 K%, 7.8 BB%, 1.37 WHIP

Absolutely dominated Double-A to begin 2025 looking well on his way to repeating his tremendous 2024 season, but then struggled after an early-season promotion to Triple-A. Remains on the 40-man roster.

Gabriel Rodriguez, SS (Age 18)
2025 (ACL) 122 PA, .294/.393/.402, 1 HR, 11 SB, 12.3 BB%, 18.9 K%, 116 wRC+

One of Cleveland’s top recent international signings, Rodriguez put up strong offensive numbers in his stateside debut in his age-18 season in 2025. Expected to transition to full-season ball this year.

Alfonsin Rosario, OF (Age 21)
2025 (A+) 354 PA, .268/.362/.490, 16 HR, 12 SB, 10.8 BB%, 25.1 K%, 139 wRC+
2025 (AA): 145 PA, .211/.303/.391, 5 HR, 2 SB, 10.3 BB%, 33.1 K%, 105 wRC+

One of Cleveland’s most impressive hitters in its minor league system during his stint at High-A Lake County as a 20-year-old. Rosario has a unique combination of speed and power, but will need to overcome his strikeouts.

Andrew Walters, RHP (Age 25)
2025 (AAA): 12 G, 12.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 1.91 FIP, 46.0 K%, 18.0 BB%, 1.17 WHIP
2025 (MLB): 2 G, 1.1 IP, 13.50 ERA, 9.89 FIP, 33.3 K%, 0.0 BB%, 1.50 WHIP

Walters maintains his rookie status due to limited MLB appearances because of an injury in 2025. If he returns at 100%, he’ll once again be a factor in the back end of Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen.

Our list so far:
1. Chase DeLauter, LHH OF
2. Travis Bazzana, LHH 2B
3. Parker Messick, LHP
4. Ralphy Velazquez, LHH 1B/RF
5. Angel Genao, SH SS
6. Braylon Doughty, RHP
7. Cooper Ingle, LHH C
8. Khal Stephen, RHP
9. Juan Brito, SH 2B/1B/RF/3B
10. Jaison Chourio, SH OF
11. Kahlil Watson, LHH OF
12. Daniel Espino, RHP
13. George Valera, LHH OF
14. Jace LaViolette, LHH OF
15. Joey Oakie, RHP

Happy February A’s fans.

While the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics are sure to generate most of the immediate sports headlines, we’d be remiss not mention that baseball is back this month!

Athletics’ pitchers and catchers must report to Spring Training on February 12. The team will hold its first full-squad workout just a few days later on Monday, February 17 and then open its preseason schedule against the Chicago White Sox on the 21st. 

With only a couple of weeks left before the team assembles in Arizona, time is ticking for the A’s to improve their pitching staff. Scoring runs should not be a problem for the A’s this season. The team’s starting lineup from last season returns, including Nick Kurtz who enters his first full season fresh off a historic award-winning rookie campaign. The lone newcomer is Jeff McNeil, who the team acquired from the New York Mets to provide more production and stability at second base.

Last year, the team’s pitching held them back from winning more games. A’s pitchers allowed too many runs, especially during the team’s home games in Sacramento. Pitching was the A’s biggest need this offseason, yet so far the team has only signed relief pitcher Mark Leiter Jr.

Luis Severino, who will pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic this Spring, returns to anchor the rotation. Luis Morales has breakout potential in his first full-season. Left-handed pitchers Gage Jump, Jamie Arnold and Wei-En Lin are three of the A’s best minor-league prospects. All three have the potential to join Morales in the A’s rotation in the near future, yet it’s unwise for the team to waste another year of this impressive offensive core waiting for them to impact the club.

Right-handed pitcher Zac Gallen is still unsigned and could drastically raise this rotation’s ceiling if he bounces back from a disappointing 2025. However, signing him means the A’s would forfeit a valuable draft pick due to Gallen declining a qualifying offer.

If they decide that Gallen is too expensive or not worth the draft pick loss, then a reunion with Chris Bassitt could make sense as would Lucas Giolito or Zack Littell. Additionally, the A’s could benefit from taking a flier on Michael Kopech to boost a bullpen that projects to once again go closer by committee. 

Have a good Tuesday everyone!

A’s Coverage:

• Athletics Sign Jacob Wilson to Extension
• Athletics Community Prospect List: Nett Just Inches Out Bolte For Sixth Spot
• Extensions For Everyone! (Except Kurtz)
• Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contracts
• De Vries (No. 4 overall) leads Athletics trio on Top 100 Prospects list
• A’s Spring Training Report Date, and everything you need to know
• After monster stats as rookie, Nick Kurtz has a new number in mind: 162
• Projecting Nick Kurtz after Rookie of the Year campaign
• Analysts say this A’s outfielder could follow Pete Crow-Armstrong’s breakout path
• Two players the A’s can steal from the Colorado Rockies
• A’s prospect Mason Barnett has an atypical arm angle and an old school approach
• Blogfather Sabatoges Own Wins Over Replacement Hip (And A’s Stuff)

MLB News and Interest:

• Mariners acquire Brendan Donovan in trade with Cardinals
• Luis Arraez, Giants Reportedly Agree to Contract in MLB Free Agency
• Shohei Ohtani Won’t Pitch at 2026 World Baseball Classic
• NBA, MLB, NHL, WWE, Major Sports Leagues to Join NFL in Wearing ‘USA 250’ Uniform Patches
• Red Sox Trade Jordan Hicks to White Sox
• Why Francisco Lindor, Jose Altuve, More MLB Players Can’t Play in 2026 World Baseball Classic
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Looks like the A’s have work left to do this offseason to improve their roster.

Yesterday, the A’s officially announced Jacob Wilson’s contract extension.

For anyone seeking to understand the situation at the Oakland Coliseum.

Thank you for reading my first Elephant Rumblings post! My name isBen Wiley. I have been an A’s fan my whole life and now look forward to bringing you coverage of a team that has the talent to surprise people this year. Which pitcher(s) do you think the A’s should sign or trade for to improve their chances of contending this season?

Some baseball players are memorable for having long and successful careers. Some are memorable for coming up with a huge play or hit in a big moment. Some are memorable for the wrong reasons, like making a mistake in a big moment or for some other controversial reason.

Then, there are some who are memorable just because they have a funny name. With that in mind, a happy birthday to Chicken Hawks.

Nelson Louis “Chicken” Hawks
Born: February 3, 1896 (San Francisco, CA)
Died: May 26, 1973 (San Rafael, CA)
Yankee Tenure: 1921

Nelson Hawks was born in 1896 in California. Not a ton was out there to be unearthed about his upbringing, but he ended up at nearby Santa Clara University for his schooling. He first pops up in stat books in 1918, when he played for the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League.

Seemingly, Hawks didn’t get much playing time at any MiLB level until 1920. That year as a 24-year old, he hit .359 while playing for the Calgary Bronchos of the Western Canada League. That was apparently enough to get him a look with the Yankees, who purchased him from Calgary that July.

The Yankees brought him up to the big league team for the 1921 season, where he made his MLB debut off the bench on April 14th. Coming in as a pinch-hitter for pitcher Waite Hoyt, Hawks hit a two-RBI single in the seventh inning that gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead. However, they eventually lost the game to the Athletics 4-3.

Some early success got Hawks a run of regular playing time in May and June, but in total, he ended up appearing in 42 games for the 1921 Yankees.

Hawks posted a batting line of .288/.333/.479. That equated to a 104 OPS+ in a fairly offense heavy season across baseball. That being said, his .479 slugging was the third best of anyone on the team in players who got more than 10 at-bats, behind just Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel. Speaking of Ruth, Hawks was a roommate of the burgeoning legend during the 1921 season.

You would think that would’ve been enough to get Hawks another season with the Yankees, at least. However, the following January, the Yankees traded him to the minor league Vernon Tigers of the Pacific Coast League as a player to be named later from an earlier trade.

Hawks spent the next couple seasons as a minor league journeyman. He really broke out in 1923-24 while playing for the Nashville Volunteers of the Southern Association. He posted batting averages over .330 in both seasons and hit a career best at any level — at least according to the stats for him that we have — 11 home runs in 1924. Having played outfield for most of his career, including with the Yankees, Hawks also began playing first base in Nashville. That finally got him another major league shot, as the Philadelphia Phillies traded for him that offseason.

Playing semi-regularly at first base for the Phillies in 1925, Hawks was once again perfectly solid. Appearing in 105 games, Hawks hit .322/.387/.447 with five home runs. Again, the era was a little offense heavy, so that only graded out to a 106 OPS+, but again, that still should’ve been enough to get further run with some big league team.

However that December, the Newark Bears of the International League purchased Hawks from the Phillies. Hawks would then remain in the minor leagues for the remainder of his playing career. He continued playing through 1931 at age 35 before retiring.

Hawks then seemingly returned to his native California, where he eventually passed away in 1973 at age 77.

There wasn’t enough information out there that I could find that could explain exactly why Hawks’ career played out the way it did. Unless he was an absolute butcher on defense, a career OPS over .800 should’ve been enough to keep a roster place somewhere, even if he wasn’t a star or even a regular starter. Maybe it was due to minor league teams genuinely being independent and trying to win and not just develop players that led teams to going out of their way to acquire him from MLB teams.

Whatever the reason is, I feel like Chicken Hawks should be much more known than he is. His name is Chicken Hawks for Christ’s sake.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

In the early days of the off-season, the Mets signed Joe Jacques to a minor league deal. The left-handed side-armer has had a couple cups of coffee with the Red Sox and the Diamondbacks, but did not pitch in the majors in 2025. 

This is clearly a depth signing for the Mets, as there’s not much in Jacques’s profile that inspires a ton of confidence. However, as our Linus Lawrence pointed out when the Mets signed Jacques, his low arm angle, in very limited MLB innings in which to gather such details, Jacques generated a ton of ground balls. 

Jacques has also demonstrated an ability to keep the ball out of the air. In a relatively small sample size of 26.2 IP in 2023, Jacques recorded a 64.0% ground ball rate, ranking sixth among pitchers with at least 100 batters faced that season behind elite relievers like Jhoan Duran, Brusdar Graterol, and new teammate Clay Holmes.

Jacques, a Shrewsbury New Jersey native who went to Manhattan College and whose name is frustratingly pronounced ’Jakes,‘ was drafted in the 33rd round of the 2018 draft by the Pirates. Four years later, he was selected by the Red Sox in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft after having his best professional season across three levels of minor league baseball. Jacques throws a three-pitch mix, relying mostly on his sinker and sweeper, with a slightly different slider appearing now and then. He made his big league debut on June 12 of 2023, pitching to one batter (who reached on an error) and then being out of the game due to a long rain delay.

Over the next season and change, Jacques made another 23 appearances for the Sox, good for a 5.08 ERA with 22 strikeouts across 28.1 innings. After one appearance in 2024, Jacques was designated for assignment and was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks. He made just one major league appearance for the club, giving up two runs in one and a third innings pitched. He was traded to the Mariners mid-season in 2025 from the Dodgers, but despite being added to the active Seattle roster, never pitched for either club outside of Triple-A.

Since leaving the Boston system, Jacques has not had much success, but with both the mercurial nature of relief pitching and relative lack of public facing data from the minor leagues, it is hard to tell if there are underlying issues with his last two seasons or if a combination of bad luck, statistical noise, and hitter unfriendly ballparks made everything look worse than it actually has been.

We’ll see if a switch out of the hitter-dominated Pacific Coast League and some time with the Mets’ pitching lab can help Jacques regain his form and, hopefully, contribute to the big league club’s success. If Jacques can be a ground ball machine, especially as he still has a minor league option remaining, he could provide some value for the Mets out of the bullpen this year.

As the Mariners traded for Brendan Donovan, the Guardians boldly countered by bringing left-handed reliever Kolby Allard back on a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training.

In all seriousness, it’s nice to have Allard back who did yeoman’s work for the Guardians in a swing role out of the pen last year.

Nine days until all pitchers and catchers report for the Guardians in Goodyear.

After the Naylor signing at the very outset of free agency, the Mariners went uncomfortably quiet until the buzzer-beater Brendan Donovan deal yesterday. While we’ll get into more specific breakdowns of the AL West rosters over spring training, we were curious: with this latest move, how do you feel about the Mariners lineup (or team as a whole) compared to the rest of the AL West? As a jumping-off point, here’s what we’re imagining for the Mariners starting nine:

• Brendan Donovan
• Julio Rodríguez
• Cal Raleigh
• Josh Naylor
• Randy Arozarena
• Dominic Canzone/Rob Refsnyder
• Luke Raley/Victor Robles
• Cole Young (Colt Emerson?)
• J.P. Crawford

Feels a lot better than when we were trying to work Ben Williamson’s name into that, right? Spoken as a Ben Williamson truther.

Meanwhile, the now- Semienless Rangers look to line up like this:

• Brandon Nimmo
• Wyatt Langford
• Corey Seager
• Jake Burger
• Josh Smith
• Jac Pederson
• Evan Carter
• Kyle Higashioka
• Josh Jung

The A’s lineup, featuring longtime Mariners fantasy trade target Jeff McNeil:

• Nick Kurtz
• Shea Langeliers
• Tyler Soderstrom
• Brent Rooker
• Jeff McNeil
• Jacob Wilson
• Lawrence Butler
• Max Muncy
• Denzel Clarke

The oops-all-infield Astros:

• Jeremy Peña
• Yordan Álvarez
• José Altuve
• Carlos Correa
• Isaac Paredes
• Christian Walker
• Yainer Díaz
• Cam Smith
• Jake Meyers

And the Angels:

• Zach Neto
• Nolan Schanuel
• Mike Trout
• Jo Adell
• Yoan Moncada
• Josh Lowe
• Jorge Soler
• Logan O’Hoppe
• Christian Moore

I was listening to a Cardinals fan podcast and one of the hosts said, “if Brendan Donovan is the fifth or sixth best player on your team, you are a legitimate World Series contender” and was trying to think of which of these squads Donovan would be the “fifth or sixth best” player. While I’m not crazy about the right field mecha-platoon, I think the Mariners still check that box. I might put the A’s into that conversation too, if pitching wasn’t also a thing when considering World Series contenders. What do you think?

After the Brewers chose to exit their contract with Main Street Sports Group (the parent company for FanDuel Sports Network), they were looking for a new broadcast partner for the upcoming season. Yesterday, they announced that MLB will produce and distribute their broadcasts in 2026. Brewers’ President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger confirmed the arrangement in a press conference.

The new deal with MLB will ensure that broadcasts will remain uninterrupted through 2026. All 162 games for the Brewers will be available to watch in 2026, either through local distribution or through a national broadcaster. They will also all be available through MLB.TV, which is now owned by ESPN under their new media rights agreement. The exact schedule is still to be announced in the coming weeks. This will also include a selection of spring training games.

While there will be some changes to the distribution of games, overall the number of options will increase. Here’s the breakdown on how to watch games this year.

• Streaming in-market: The Brewers will offer a TV package available to purchase directly. Pricing will be announced in the next few weeks as well. It will likely be similar to what the Cardinals announced, which is a $19.99 per month or $99.99 per year package. One important note is you will need to be in the Brewers’ broadcast zone to purchase this package. This includes all of Wisconsin and Iowa, as well as parts of Minnesota, Illinois, and the upper peninsula of Michigan. (These areas match up with the Brewers’ blackout zone.)
• Streaming out-of-market: If you are not in the above areas, nothing changes. While the specific package for the Brewers will not be available, games will still be viewable through MLB.TV. The only restriction is that games in the local team’s market will be blacked out.
• Cable/satellite TV: Games will still be available through select providers. The specific providers and channels have not been announced but will be in the upcoming weeks. (A selection of games will also be broadcast over-the-air locally.)

This means that games will be distributed to more people, including some who haven’t had a way to watch the Brewers in previous years. With the cable TV distribution model, viewing games in-market could be challenging. Disputes between cable providers and the channels distributing the games could mean that games were pulled off of TV packages for parts or all of the season. In addition, people not living close enough to the team could find themselves in zones where they had no TV option available but were still in the blackout zone so couldn’t watch through MLB.TV either. One of the biggest examples was the state of Iowa, who had no local team yet was claimed as a blackout zone by six different MLB teams.

The new arrangement is much simpler. People who are in the blackout zone still have the option to purchase a cable, satellite, or streaming TV package that includes the Brewers. They can also choose to buy a package direct from MLB for just the Brewers. Outside the blackout zone, MLB.TV remains the primary option. There will be some blackouts included based on local teams, but the majority of games will be viewable.

As for the broadcasts themselves, it will be the same crew returning for the 2026 season. Adam McCalvy reports that the broadcast crew of Brian Anderson, Bill Schroeder, Sophia Minnaert, Tim Dillard, Vinny Rottino, and Jeff Levering will remain on the broadcasts.

The Brewers are not the only new team that MLB will directly produce and distribute. Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors notes that the Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Reds, and Royals will also fall under MLB’s umbrella. This means that at least 13 of the 30 teams will be produced by MLB in 2026. This also leaves just three teams — the Angels, Braves, and Tigers — still looking for a TV provider after the collapse of Main Street Sports. The Angels and Tigers will likely partner with MLB as well but are still reviewing their options. An additional factor for the Tigers is that the same group also owns the Red Wings, who are currently still under contract by Main Street Sports. As for the Braves, they may choose to start their own platform, similar to what the Rangers did last season. Depending on what they choose to do, MLB may produce the broadcasts for 16 of 30 teams — over half the league.

The main disadvantage of this arrangement is the money that the Brewers will receive. Even though the financial situation of Main Street Sports Group has been in question the last few years, they offered a more lucrative contract than MLB could. The exact numbers are not known, but in a recent post discussing payroll disparity, Travis Sawchik of MLB.com notes that teams earn about 50% of what they would earn with a traditional RSN deal. This is part of the reason that the Brewers have been reluctant to spend this offseason. McDonald also mentions in his article that MLB’s goal may be to hold on to these deals until after 2028. At that time, most of the broadcast deals expire, and these rights could be used as leverage in new deals.

As for Main Street Sports Group, they could be liquidated as soon as this week. Last week, Tom Friend of the Sports Business Journal reported that they could be forced to liquidate unless they reached last-minute deals with MLB teams (subscription required). Since several teams announced their partnership with MLB yesterday, that option has fallen through. While Main Street Sports intends to finish the NBA and NHL seasons, they reportedly missed their February payment to teams in both leagues as well. For now, those games will continue as planned, though regulations prohibit team officials from speaking on the current situation.

The new arrangement with MLB will make sure that Brewers’ games will be broadcast without interruption in the new season. There are still questions to resolve for revenue in the future, which is the main downside of this deal. At the same time, the demise of traditional regional sports networks continues, as well as the revenue they provided. The Brewers and other teams will have to adapt to this new reality, but for now, the games will continue to be viewable without interruption.