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The Cubs went 3-4 over the past week, which isn’t great… until you remember that they had lost eight in a row before the week began, and then the first two games of last week.

So let’s go with this: The Cubs have won three of their last five. Something to build on, anyway.

Here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.

Three up

Ian Happ. Yes, Ian Happ.

Happ went 0-for-3 in the first game of the road trip and 0-for-4 in the last one.

In between, in the other five games: .417/.417/.917 (10-for-24) with three doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI. Overall on the trip, then: .323/.344/.710. That’s a pretty good run, and Happ, as you know, is a very streaky hitter. Hopefully the streakiness will continue in a positive way this week at Wrigley Field.

Here’s his longest homer of the week, 407 feet in St. Louis on Friday [VIDEO].

Pete Crow-Armstrong’s bat came alive

At last, over the last seven games, we saw signs of the PCA we saw last year.

The best of it was the four-hit game he had against the Cardinals on Saturday, which included this massive 444-foot home run into a group of fans chanting “Overrated!” [VIDEO].

Then PCA ended that game with yet another five-star catch [VIDEO].

Ben Brown has arrived as a starter

In Brown’s two starts last week, one in Pittsburgh and one in St. Louis, he threw 13 innings, allowed seven hits and three walks (0.769 WHIP) and posted a 1.38 ERA (two earned runs). He struck out 13.

Here are the seven K’s he registered against the Pirates [VIDEO].

Brown has allowed one home run this year — to the very first batter he faced on Opening Day (Jacob Young of the Nationals). The 51.1 innings he’s thrown since then without allowing a homer is the longest active homerless streak for any MLB pitcher.

Great stuff, Ben.

Honorable mention to Alex Bregman, who’s on a 10-game hitting streak and homered Sunday. Maybe he’s finally coming out of it.

Three down

Jordan Wicks needs a return trip to Iowa

Two starts, 6.1 innings, 13 hits, one walk (2.211 WHIP), 11 runs (all earned, 15.63 ERA).

I’m beginning to wonder if a change of scenery would work for Wicks. But would anyone trade for him after those two bad performances in Pittsburgh and St. Louis?

Moisés Ballesteros, same as Wicks

Ballesteros went 3-for-15 (.200), all singles, with five strikeouts in five games on the road trip. For the month of May he batted .102/.206/.153 (6-for-59) with one extra-base hit (a home run) and 18 strikeouts.

Give Kevin Alcántara and Pedro Ramirez some DH at-bats and let Ballesteros get his batting stroke back in Triple-A.

Dansby Swanson’s bat has disappeared

Swanson did have one two-hit game in Pittsburgh but overall batted .136/.321/.182 (3-for-22) on the trip with nine strikeouts. The six walks make the OBP decent, but overall in May Swanson batted .151/.233/.215 (14-for-93) with 24 strikeouts.

He continues to play stellar defense, but that bat has got to get going.

You all know about the home run issues for Shōta Imanaga and Jameson Taillon, so I won’t belabor them.

Fresh off back-to-back sweeps of the A’s and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Mariners enter June in first place in their division, with a 31-29 record. Never a doubt, right? 

Game	Time	Mariners Starter	Mets Starter	Mariners Win%	Mets Win%
Game 1	Monday, June 1 | 6:40 pm	RHP Emerson Hancock	RHP Austin Warren / LHP Sean Manaea	52.6%	47.4%
Game 2	Tuesday, June 2 | 6:40 pm	RHP Logan Gilbert	RHP Jonah Tong	56.3%	43.7%
Game 3	Wednesday, June 3 | 12:40 pm	RHP George Kirby	RHP Freddy Peralta	55.5%	44.5%

Overview	Mariners	Mets	Edge
Batting (wRC+)	108 (2nd in AL)	88 (13th in NL)	Mariners
Fielding (FRV)	-15 (14th)	-6 (12th)	Mets
Starting Pitching (FIP-)	90 (5th)	94 (5th)	Mariners
Bullpen (FIP-)	90 (2nd)	84 (5th)	Mets

Let’s set the scene together, shall we? Think back to the early (and then not-so-early) days of this Mariners season, when everything felt chaotic in all the worst ways. Players were dropping like flies, former stalwarts looked awful and the vibes were all around bad. Take all that, stuff it into the New York media megaphone and then add many more millions of dollars of salary and stress. Ta da! You’ve got the 2026 Mets. Carlos Mendoza is treating every day like a gift (and by gift, we mean a package left on your doorstep, shoddily wrapped and disconcertingly lumpy, with no return label or other markings). But, credit to ‘em, they’re riding a nice little win streak of their own and could be in the midst of turning things around. Regardless of how the series transpires, it seems Mets fans are overwhelmingly unbothered by us PNWers.

Player	Position	Bats	PA	K%	BB%	ISO	wRC+
Carson Benge	RF	L	217	21.2%	7.4%	0.106	97
Bo Bichette	SS	R	258	16.3%	7.4%	0.089	69
Juan Soto	LF	L	180	14.4%	13.3%	0.292	175
Jared Young	DH	L	39	20.5%	12.8%	0.152	140
A.J. Ewing	CF	L	74	32.4%	12.2%	0.079	94
Mark Vientos	1B	R	192	20.8%	3.6%	0.165	83
Brett Baty	3B	L	195	28.2%	9.2%	0.110	87
Marcus Semien	2B	R	233	19.7%	6.9%	0.108	76
Luis Torrens	C	R	103	20.4%	4.9%	0.075	66

If you’re looking at this lineup wondering “Hey, this is a weird list of players. I thought [insert names including Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Kodai Senga and more] was on the Mets this year?” you’re absolutely correct. They’re supposed to be on the Mets, but they are instead, unfortunately, hurt. It’s been part of their whole issue. Other components to the Mets’ issues include Bo Bichette being what some physicians might diagnose as “refried ass,” Marcus Semien being old and Luis Torrens, sweetie pie that he is, being their everyday catcher. The outfield is Juan Soto and a duo of babies with promising upside, and former Doosan Bear Jared Young is having the season of his life. They’re an offense that’s been trending positively of late, but whether that’s because they set the bar so low at the start or because they’ve truly turned things around remains to be seen.

Probable Pitchers 

Updated Stuff+ Explainer 

• Stuff+ scores for Mariners starters

Pitcher	IP	K%	BB%	HR/FB%	GB%	ERA	FIP
Sean Manaea	34	23.8%	9.4%	7.5%	34.7%	5.56	3.65
Emerson Hancock	64.2	25.1%	6.0%	12.1%	43.5%	2.78	3.56

Pitch	Usage vRHB	Usage vLHB	Velocity	Stuff+	Whiff+	BIP+	xwOBA
Four-seam	60.9%	50.0%	90.2	97	90	79	0.356
Sinker	19.2%	43.8%	89.7	93	59	104	0.394
Cutter	9.4%	3.9%	83.9	96
Changeup	10.4%	2.3%	83.0	85
Sweeper	44.0%	60.2%	74.5	119	94	128	0.264

Sean Manaea enjoyed a resurgence in his first season with the Mets back in 2024, keyed by a new arm slot and a new sweeper. He struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness last year and was relegated to the bullpen to start this season. With David Peterson limping to a 5.18 ERA in 13 appearances, the Mets have opted to move Manaea back into the rotation. The team will use Austin Warren as an opener and then turn to Manaea for the bulk of the middle innings. He’s still reliant on his fastball-sweeper combo but he’s widened his arsenal by reintroducing a sinker and cutter into his repertoire. Those two pitches have helped him manage his platoon split a bit better this year.

Pitcher	IP	K%	BB%	HR/FB%	GB%	ERA	FIP
Jonah Tong (MiLB)	38	32.7%	14.3%	27.6%	42.2%	5.68	5.42
Logan Gilbert	68.1	25.0%	5.8%	13.4%	35.3%	3.69	3.97

Jonah Tong flew through the Mets’ minor league system after being drafted in the seventh round in the 2022 draft. He made his big league debut late last year after posting a 1.43 ERA across 22 minor league starts. Tong’s success rides on a plus plus fastball that has a ton of carry at the top of the zone. His secondary pitches are a little less developed; his changeup is the best of the lot but his cutter and curveball look decidedly average right now. Tong started the year in the minors but the Mets recalled him a few weeks ago when Clay Holmes went down with his leg injury. He’s worked behind an opener in his two outings and I’d expect the Mets to continue that strategy to protect Tong from over exposure.

Pitcher	IP	K%	BB%	HR/FB%	GB%	ERA	FIP
Freddy Peralta	66	23.9%	9.8%	11.9%	41.3%	3.55	3.94
George Kirby	74	19.7%	5.7%	10.0%	52.7%	3.77	3.47

Pitch	Usage vRHB	Usage vLHB	Velocity	Stuff+	Whiff+	BIP+	xwOBA
Four-seam	55.9%	52.7%	93.9	96	102	103	0.323
Changeup	20.2%	25.5%	87.3	87	87	104	0.249
Curveball	9.4%	16.2%	79.1	111	103	81	0.291
Slider	14.5%	5.6%	83.0	97	147	133	0.429

Freddy Peralta was one of the Mets’ headlining acquisitions this offseason. Acquired in a trade from the Brewers, Peralta was expected to give New York an ace to lead the starting rotation. His fastball is his best pitch; he gets a ton of extension down the mound and his short stature produces a flat approach angle that really fools hitters. He’s got a trio of above average secondary pitches, though the effectiveness of each has waned a bit this year. He can be a little wild with his command, but has enough deception to generate high chase rates out of the zone. At times, that wildness can lead to a bunch of walks, but he’s usually able to overcome those extra base runners with a ton of strikeouts.

---

The Big Picture:

Team	W-L	W%	Games Behind	Run Diff	Recent Form
Mariners	31-29	0.517	—	+30	W-W-W-W-W
Athletics	28-31	0.475	2.5	-34	L-L-L-W-L
Rangers	28-31	0.475	2.5	+7	L-L-W-W-W
Astros	27-34	0.443	4.5	-33	W-W-L-W-L
Angels	23-37	0.383	8.0	-51	L-W-L-W-L

The Mariners have a two and a half game lead in their division and are currently the only team above .500. If that feels fragile to you, how about this: Only five teams in the American League have a record over .500. If the playoffs began today, the 29-31 Toronto Blue Jays would have the third Wild Card spot. Everyone in the West embarks on interleague play this week, which should be varying levels of entertaining. Me personally? I’ll be tuning in to Rockies vs Angels. As the towering pile of laundry I promised myself I’d do yesterday but eschewed in favor of attending the M’s game can attest, sometimes a little mess can feel good. 

The Cincinnati Redsplaced shortstop Elly De La Cruz on the injured list with a strained hamstring on Monday, June 1.

De La Cruz suffered the injury in Sunday's game when he hit a booming fly ball off the outfield wall but could only limp to first base with a single.

"He feels like he caught it before it did anything worse," Reds manager Terry Francona said after the game. "Saying that, we're gonna get him scanned at nine in the morning and we'll know more. ... Let's kind of hope. He's a pretty miraculous kid. Let's wait and see what happens."

An MRI revealed a right hamstring strain and resulted in a trip to the IL.

The Reds announce that Elly De La Cruz exited today's game with right hamstring tightness.

De La Cruz appears to have been injured on this base hit. pic.twitter.com/Hn4Vo6iS25

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 31, 2026

The injury will end De La Cruz's run of 276 consecutive games played, the third-longest active streak in the majors.

To take De La Cruz's place on the active roster, the Reds are calling up top infield prospect Edwin Arroyo from Class AAA Louisville.

Arroyo, 22, was hitting .323/.383/.562 with 11 home runs and nine stolen bases in 53 games.

He had been playing multiple positions in the minors to increase his versatility when he eventually made his MLB debut. However, the Reds had hoped Arroyo would come up to play alongside De La Cruz, not in place of him.

Reds general manager Brad Meador told The Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, that Arroyo was most prepared to play shortstop, so the organization will at least have a chance to further evaluate him there.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elly De La Cruz injury update: Reds star shortstop put on IL

The month of May is in the rearview mirror, and a handful of select Cincinnati Reds farmhands are going to look back on it fondly for quite some time.

Here are four minor leaguers who absolutely smashed the ball during the most recent month:

Carlos Jorge, OF (AA Chattanooga Lookouts)

We’ve seen decent power from Jorge before, as he swatted 9 homers in 86 games with Daytona of the Florida State League as a 19 year old, slugging .483 in a league where power goes to die. We’ve seen ample speed with him, too – he’s swiped 169 bags in 439 minor league games across his career. We’ve also seen pretty elite control of the strike zone, as he reached base at a .400 clip in that Daytona stint and owns a .361 OBP for his minor league career.

This year, we’re seeing all of that – and some very well regarded defense in CF, where he’s finally found a home after playing all over early in his career. He also escaped Dayton for the first time in years, and is showing out at the AA level down in Southern League play.

Jorge poured in a rock-solid May hitting .337/.416/.483 (.899) with 11 walks, 10 steals, and 4 homers in 23 games played. The 22 year old is doing very little to suggest he’s anything other than Cincinnati’s CF of the future right now.

Jay Allen, OF (AA Chattanooga Lookouts)

The Reds once used a 1st round pick to pluck Allen out of high school, drafting him 30th overall out of high school in Florida. But while he’s shown, at times, an ability to take walks and control the zone, he’s never really hit much (.231 average in 1694 MiLB PA) or for much power (.351 SLG in those PA). He’s still just 23, though, and is finally putting together a more complete run for AA Chattanooga.

May saw Allen hit .309/.398/.519 (.916 OPS) with 4 dingers of his own in 23 games, a blistering run of form that helped pick up the slack from Austin Hendrick’s promotion to AAA and Cam Collier’s relative struggles from the left side of the plate.

Alfredo Duno, C (A+ Dayton Dragons)

If this entire blurb reads as if I were chuckling to myself while writing it, well, that’s because I was chuckling to myself while writing it. And, as it turns out, I was chuckling to myself while writing it because I had to make sure I didn’t accidentally put too many numbers in when listing what Alfredo Duno has been up to of late.

Duno, who’s still just 20 years old, is mauling the Midwest League in even more devastating fashion than he mauled the FSL last year. He’s one of the most elite hitting prospects on the planet, plays catcher, and I can’t imagine the Reds really wanting anyone else to be their top overall prospect right now than him.

In May, he did things only Duno does. He hit .338/.475/.713 (1.188 OPS) with 8 homers and nearly as many walks (20) as Ks (22). That even includes an 0 for 4 game on the first day of the month, but it also includes a ridiculous seven game stretch in which he homered in six games (and seven times overall), spreading that damage across games against the West Michigan Whitecaps, Lake County Captains, and Fort Wayne TinCaps.

Duno’s damage plays no favorites. I think he’ll be destroying Southern League pitching staffs very, very soon.

Steele Hall, SS (Arizona Complex League)

Steele Hall’s pro career finally got going in the month of May, and he promptly went 0 for 7 across his first two games played. That said, he homered in the third game he played and hasn’t blinked since.

In 20 games in May, he hit .297/.436/.608 (1.044 OPS) with 4 homers, 9 doubles, and 9 steals already under his belt. Cincinnati’s most recent 1st round pick is doing all this still at the fresh age of 18, and his 9 doubles currently sit tied for the most in all of Arizona Complex League play.

The Texas Rangers have signed outfielder Jarred Kelenic to a minor league contract, per the beats. He will be joining Round Rock.

Kelenic, 26, is a lefthanded hitting corner outfielder was the sixth overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft by the New York Mets, and was traded to the Seattle Mariners as part of the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade. He was a consensus top 10 prospect heading into the 2021 season, but struggled mightily that first year, and ended up being sent back down to AAA for a month. After another down year in 2022, splitting the year between AAA and the majors, but had a solid 2023 season for Seattle.

Kelenic was sent to Atlanta that offseason, along with Marco Gonzalez and Evan White, in exchange for Cole Phillips and Jackson Kowar. The deal was essentially dumping the ugly contracts that White and Gonzalez had on the Braves, while sending them Kelenic to make it worth Atlanta’s while. Gonzalez and White were shipped off within a couple of days by Atlanta, leaving them with Kelenic as their prize.

Kelenic didn’t hit well in 2024, however, and spent most of 2025 in AAA, where he didn’t hit, either. He was released at the end of 2025, and signed with the Chicago White Sox in January of this year. He started the year in AAA, but was called up in late April. After putting up a .226/.305/.321 slash line in the majors, he was designated for assignment a few days ago, cleared waivers, and became a free agent.

Kelenic was once seen as a future star with a tremendous potential at the plate. At this point, he’s AAA depth for the Rangers, though I imagine they hope to try to get him back on track offensively, at least to performing the way he was in 2023.

The Washington Nationals just promoted arguably their best healthy pitching prospect. Miguel Sime Jr. is headed from the Fred Nats to High-A Wilmington to join a stacked roster including Devin Fitz-Gerald and Ronny Cruz. The 19 year old Sime was a strikeout machine in Low-A, but will need to work on his control moving forward.

some filthy stuff headed to @WilmBlueRocks 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WvcHkprPcX

— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) June 1, 2026

Sime’s stint with the Fred Nats showed the good and the bad. When Sime was in the zone, he totally overwhelmed hitters. He struck out 54 batters in 26.1 innings, more than two per frame. However, he also walked 25 batters in that time, showing that he needs to work on his strike throwing.

Sime has absolutely electric stuff. His fastball sits at 99 MPH and can get up to 102. He combines that with a high 80’s slider he just learned this offseason that is a filthy offering that has plus-plus potential. Sime often threw the slider more than his fastball because he had a better feel for that pitch. Finally, he throws a low 80’s curveball with a ton of movement. He usually throws that to finish hitters off.

Sime’s 18.5 K/9 is the highest in the entire minor leagues. Honestly, there was not much of a purpose in keeping him in Low-A, despite the walks and an era over 4. Sime will have to learn to keep the ball in the zone and get quick outs. It is tough to do that when batters can’t make any contact against you.

Rather significant promotion on the farm, and well-deserved.

Sime had 18.5 K/9, the highest mark in MiLB (min 20 innings). Nothing left to prove in Single A. https://t.co/wpkXfqCbld

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) June 1, 2026

High-A is going to be a serious test for the youngster, and I would expect some early hiccups. His walk rate in Low-A was over 20%, and that is not going to fly at higher levels. Sime is going to have to find a way to consistently throw strikes. High-A hitters will have better approaches and won’t be as overwhelmed by his stuff.

However, if Sime is in the zone and throwing quality strikes semi-consistently, he will be fine. The hitters are not Miguel Sime’s biggest issue. His own command is usually his worst enemy. High-A hitters may not be quite as overwhelmed, but Sime still has the stuff to dominate them.

Miguel Sime Jr.: A —> A+

In 10 starts with Fredericksburg:
26.1 IP | 45.4-K% / 21.0-BB%
4.44 ERA | 1.52 WHIP | .160 BAA

Sime was untouchable in Low A, this promotion was due. The real test will be consistent strike throwing against more patient hitters pic.twitter.com/MaBlB0IV0y

— Nats Of The Future (@NatsOfTheFuture) June 1, 2026

Outside of the walks, Sime has just about everything you want to see. He obviously gets a ton of whiffs, but when batters do make contact, it is usually on the ground. His GB% is over 60%, which is elite. I am curious to see how that translates to higher levels.

This is a very interesting and gutsy promotion by the Nats. Sime is still so young and has a very clear control problem. However, the Nats new front office clearly believes he will be able to hold his own in High-A, and the promotion is what is best for his development. 
I think part of the calculus is knowing Sime as a person. If you listen to Sime speak, you can tell that this is a bright young man with a good head on his shoulders. He seems like the kind of character that can handle failing and take the right lessons from it. I am very excited to see what Sime can do in High-A because his ceiling is absolutely massive.

It may have been a short week for some with Memorial Day, but for the White Sox it was a full week without an off-day. And that busy week proved fruitful: For the first time since May 2023, the Chicago club enjoyed a winning month — a month that was capped with a 6-1 week.

For the first two months of the season, the South Siders only had to play seven games against the AL Central, all against the Kansas City Royals. That is, until this week, when a seven-game home stand saw two divisional foes come to town.

Minnesota arrived in Chicago having lost the last six games they had played against the White Sox. Monday, they would drop their seventh. Anthony Kay continued his fantastic May, giving up just a solo home run to Brooks Lee in his six innings of work. He earned the win and lowered his ERA below four. Munetaka Murakami and Drew Romo provided the three RBIs needed to win the ballgame via the home run. Given Mune is now on the 10-day injured list, please enjoy his first inning dinger that tied the game at one:

The Twins finally snapped their losing streak against the White Sox on Tuesday evening, handing Chicago a 5-3 loss. Sean Burke pitched seven strong innings of two-run baseball, striking out eight and walking two. With Rikuu Nishida on base in the bottom of the eighth inning, Murakami launched his 19th homer of the season to tie the game and take it to extras. Ultimately, Minnesota would edge out the White Sox in 11 innings. An extra-inning loss as the only loss of the week is something I will not complain about.

Wednesday was Illini night at the ballpark. Orange and blue flooded the stadium to celebrate Chicagoland University of Illinois students, alumni and fans. David Sandlin, who did not go to U of I, put on a show for the block I faithful. The second pitch of his outing was taken out of the ballpark by Byron Buxton, but the rest of his 61 pitches were spotless: The 25-year-old righty sat down 18 in a row over his six innings of work, striking out four and walking none.

It did not hurt that during this debut, Sandlin’s offense scored 15 runs. The 15-2 final is the largest victory by the White Sox since a 2020 game against the Tigers. There were a total of 18 hits and seven walks for the offense. Chase Meidroth led the effort with four RBIs, coming via his first career grand slam:

Also on Wednesday, Murakami hit his 20th home run of the season, becoming the first rookie in baseball history to hit 20 or more before June. I am very glad he reached this mark before straining his hamstring on Friday.

Davis Martin took the mound for the series finale against Minnesota and did what he has done all season. The righthander picked up his fourth quality start of the month and eighth of the season, going six innings, giving up one run, and striking out five. His season ERA is now at an even two and his WHIP is just shy of one. If you haven’t started considering that Martin might be on a Cy Young run, you might want to start thinking about it.

A special mid-weekly recap shout-out goes to Sam Antonacci, who is naturally an infielder but has been making a name for himself in left field. The diving catch he made on Thursday is just one in many of the impressive grabs supporting the pitching staff.

After the Twins were taken care of, it was time to deal with Detroit. Last season the White Sox were 5-8 against the Tigers. This season, each team is respectively having a opposite experience from 2025. The weekend sweep began with a seemingly boring game. The Tigers scored two runs in the top of the third inning and the White Sox only scored one.

The boredom stopped in the bottom of the ninth, when Nishida executed an RBI sacrifice bunt to tie the game and take it to extras. Zack Short put the Tigers in front 3-2 in the top of the 10th inning. The first two outs of the bottom of the 10th were quite quick.

Enter Miguel Vargas on a 0-1 count:

In Saturday’s 7-1 rout Edgar Quero, Colson Montgomery and Andrew Benintendi all got in on the long ball. This, plus Kay and the bullpen’s effort kept the White Sox in control the entire game. Credit where credit is due to Kay: The starter had a 6.64 ERA in the month of April but has since turned it around. In his six starts in May, the southpaw went 4-0 over 32 1/3 innings of work. His ERA this month was a stunning 1.95, which helped lower his season ERA to a more respectable 3.77.

Sunday’s series finale against Detroit was another game Chicago spent mostly trailing. The Tigers scored a run in the top of the first inning and it was all zeroes until the bottom of the seventh inning. That White Sox rally started with Montgomery’s 15th home run of the season to tie the game at one apiece. The dinger was followed by three one-out singles. The second was knocked by Jacob Gonzalez, giving him his first MLB hit in his debut. Tristan Peters’ RBI single brought Meidroth around to score the winning run ,which capped off the rally and lifted the South Side to a 2-1 victory. Southpaw, the White Sox mascot, truly enjoyed the gift of a sweep on his 22nd birthday.

This month was a good month. Highlights include tying the Seattle Mariners for the MLB home run lead with 42, ranking fifth in the league in scoring with 146 runs, improving the run differential to +8, and converting eight of 10 save opportunities.

As of today, the White Sox are just one game back from the division leading Guardians and have a better record than the Chicago Cubs. It may feel surreal, but this is the reality of the baseball season so far. The month of June is shaping up to be a tough one. The divisional games continue to flow, and the month includes games against the Phillies, Braves, Dodgers and Yankees.

For now, I will be soaking in the fact that my team won 30 games before the month of June for the first time in a long while.

Sunday afternoon in Great American Ball Park brought out the full range of emotions for the Cincinnati Reds. They picked up a win to stave off a would-be sweep by the Atlanta Braves, but watched as superstar Elly De La Cruz pulled up lame rounding 1B on a ball he hit to the wall in RF.

Our hearts sunk when Elly exited immediately. Our hearts woke up when, after the game, Elly said he felt pretty good and had hopefully avoided anything serious by pulling up when he did.

On Monday, we got the real news, though – Elly is going to hit the 10-day IL to rest this hamstring, and the Reds are going to turn to top prospect Edwin Arroyo to replace him on the active roster.

The #Reds today announced the following transactions: pic.twitter.com/aI0QRprjXL

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 1, 2026

Also noted here is the promotion of LHP Brandon Liebrandt back to the big leagues and the DFA of Yunior Marte, who was only just promoted this weekend during the spate of injuries the Reds faced in their bullpen crisis.

The big news, though, is the Elly/Arroyo swap. The former has obviously established himself as one of the elite talents in the game, but what Arroyo has managed to accomplish to this point is pretty damn impressive, too. While this hammy is the first injury that has shipped Elly to the sidelines in his career, Arroyo has the experience of having to overcome a major shoulder injury, surgery, and lost year that came with it. And though he rebounded in 2025 to show he was still a competent baseball player, his 2026 (so far) has shown that he’s once again one of the better regarded shortstops on the planet for his age.

He was a consensus Top 100 prospect when the Reds acquired him in the trade that sent Luis Castillo to Seattle. He’s also a former 2nd round pick out of Puerto Rico that received a full-slot bonus to buy him out of his commitment to powerhouse Florida State University, too. Outside of the shoulder years, he’s been elite just about every step of the way – defensively, if nothing else – but his bat has woken up at AAA Louisville this year to round out his prospect status. It’s been so good that he vaulted all the way to the #23 spot on Keith Law’s mid-season Top 50 overall prospect list last week, and now he’ll get a shot to show his chops in the Cincinnati infield.

Edwin Arroyo

22.8 / 5'11" / 173
2021 2nd Round Pick (SEA)
Acquired in Luis Castillo trade

AAA (250 PAs)
.323 / .383 / .562
7.2 BB% / 16.8 K% / 10.2 SwStr%
38.9% Hard Hit / 7.0% Barrel / 109.1 MaxEV

45.1 Pull% / 36.0 FB%

11 HR / 9 2B / 5 3B
9-for-9 SBs pic.twitter.com/gtDHMn8KOW

— Reds in Four (@RedsInFour) June 1, 2026

It will be interesting to see how the Reds rotate their infield since Arroyo, like Matt McLain, is a shortstop by trade who’s spent plenty of time at 2B given the presence of Elly within the organization. Maybe Terry Francona will rotate the two between those two spots (with some Sal Stewart and Spencer Steer sprinkled in at 2B), or maybe, just maybe, the Reds will let the switch-hitting shortstop prospect simply go play shortstop in Elly’s absence and keep as few of the other moving parts from having to move, too.

It’s obviously a bummer that Elly will join Hunter Greene, Emilio Pagan, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Brandon Williamons, Rhett Lowder, Pierce Johnson, Graham Ashcraft, you, me, them, and those other guys on the list of injured players on the Reds roster, but having Arroyo to promote – when he’s done so much to prove he’s ready at AAA this year – is about as good an insurance policy as there could be. Now, we just have to hope he hits the ground running.

After the good vibes from the previous week, reality hit the Twins like a semi truck, and now they are looking at a five-game losing streak. On the injury front, promising rookie Kendrys Rojas and Bailey Ober are hitting the 15-day IL. At the same time, Simeon Woods-Richardson was DFA’d earlier this week, so it remains to be seen whether he sticks with the team. The team is now 27-33, and has another full week of games, facing off against the White Sox and the Royals at home. It’s an opportunity to remain relevant in the AL Central, but with injury and personnel decisions plaguing the Twins, a turnaround seems unlikely.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
• Game threads and recaps are back! Commiserate with your fellow fans as we experience the season together.
• Zach Koenig reminisces about the good times – just three years ago in 2023.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Bobby Nightengale at the Star Tribune looks at the state of the rotation after a rash of injuries and personnel changes.
• Matthew Leach at MLB.com checks in on new coach Grady Sizemore and how he’s fitting in with the team.
• In case you were wondering who Mike Paredes is, Theo Tollefson at Zone Coverage has more on the newest Twin.
• Cody Christie at Twins Daily looks at a potential option for the Twins at pick No. 3 in this year’s draft.

In the World of Baseball:

• The Rays now only have a 1.5-game lead over the Yankees. The Guardians and White Sox sit third and fourth in the race, and the Mariners have taken over the AL West lead. There is quite a bit of parity though; there’s only a three-game separation between the sixth-place Blue Jays and the 12th-place Boston Red Sox.
• The National League has remained the same, with Atlanta becoming the first team, this season to hit the 40-win mark. The Dodgers are 1.5 games back of Atlanta and the Brewers still lead the NL Central.
• The labor battle has begun, as both the MLBPA and the owners swapped initial proposals. Evan Drellich at The Athletic breaks down the owners’ first offer and the implications of a hard salary cap.
• Jorge Castillo at ESPN looks at the MLBPA’s first offer and what the union is hoping to achieve this time around.

Rick Rizzs Happy Totals: 15
Dan Wilson Tough One Tonights: 13
Run Differential: +23

wRC+: 110 (8th)
Rotation ERA-/FIP-: 89/80 (10th/4th)
Bullpen ERA-/FIP-: 75/93 (8th/10th)
OAA: -5
BsR: 0.1 (15th)

Mariners fWAR leader: Bryan Woo, 1.4

Beef Boy Bombs: 0
Josh Naylor SB: 8 for 8
Julio HR-SB: 10-2
Ty France Memorial HBP Counter: Randy Arozarena, 5

Luke Raley wOBA: .475 (1st in MLB)
Mitch Garver hard-hit rate: 52.2%
Cal Raleigh games played: 9
Cole Young wRC+: 66
J.P. Crawford HR: 7 (tied for most of his career (Sept./Oct. 2023))
Julio Rodríguez HR: 10 (most of his career)
Leo Rivas PA: 32
Rob Refsnyder K%: 40.9%

Piggyback Starts: 3
Combined runs allowed across 3 piggyback starts: 6
Bryan Woo sinker%: 13.5% (lowest of his career by 7.1%)
Logan Gilbert HR: 7 (second most of his career)
George Kirby Whiff%: 20.6% (third lowest of his career)
Emerson Hancock FIP: 2.44 (17th in MLB)

Combined games missed by Matt Brash and Gabe Speier: 38
Andrés Muñoz xwOBAcon: .439 (4th highest of his career)
Jose A. Ferrer ERA/xERA: 1.64/1.93
Cooper Criswell hard-hit rate: 17.9% (3rd best in MLB, min. 10 IP)

Your favorite May stat not listed here: In the comments

Playoff position: 1st place in AL West, +2.5 games

Current overall record and run differential: 31-29, +30
On this date in 2025: 31-26, +7
2024: 32-27, -6
2023: 29-27, +24
2022: 21-28, -9

Randy Johnson: Luke Raley, +1.06 WPA
Rob Johnson: Andrés Muñoz, -0.85 WPA