Bryan Rincon of the Reading Fightin Phils is on the bases during a Minor League Baseball game at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, United States, on April 16, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
We’re almost at the point where you open this page to simply see if Felix Reyes hit another home run. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Buffalo 6, Lehigh Valley 5
Liover Peguero led the way for the Ironpigs, going three for four with a double and an RBI, but shoddy middle relief by Ryan Cusick gave this one to Buffalo. Dylan Carlson had two hits at the top of the order, basically the only life he has shown really since signing a minor league deal with the team in the hopes of cracking the outfield mix. Probably not going to happen.
Oh, and Reyes didn’t homer. Bummer.
Harrisburg 7, Reading 5
Bryan Rincon made his return from the injured list and hit a home run for the Fightin’ Phils, but it wasn’t enough as the Nationals’ affiliate beat up on a Reading bullpen to take the game. Adam Seminaris struck out ten in five innings for Reading, but he also allowed four in those five innings. The Reading offense struck out nine times in this one.
Frederick 3, Jersey Shore 1
Even with center fielder Carter Mathison going three for three and Luis Caucito also chipping in with two hits and an RBI, it was a meager performance for the rest of the offense as they scored a lone run and lost to the keys. The bright spot of the game was the pitching of Luke Gabrysh, who threw five solid, shutout innings, allowing one baserunner on a single hit and striking out six.
Clearwater 6, Dunedin 5
Robert Phelps has been swinging a hot bat with the Threshers and Saturday night was no different. Phelps collected three hits, which included a home run and a double, leading Clearwater to a victory. Will Vierling also had three hits on the evening, one his being a double. The rehabbing Pedro Leon also homered, his on a back to back with Phelps.
The performances helped Ramon Marquez, who started and threw 4 1/3 innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on only three hits, striking out seven and walking one batter. A solid performance from an interesting arm.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 19, 2026: Kevin Alvarez #11 of the Houston Astros throws to the infield during the third inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Miami Marlins at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 19, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below. Check out the previous day’s recap here.
AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (23-33) lost 9-1 (BOX SCORE)
Weiss started for Sugar Land but struggled allowing 5 runs over 3 innings of work. The offense got on the board in the 4th inning on a Nelson RBI single. The pen allowed a few more runs and the offense was quiet the rest of the way as Sugar Land fell 9-1.
Ryan Weiss, RHP: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Joey Mancini, RHP: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Sam Carlson, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Roddery Munoz, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Miguel Ullola, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Jayden Murray, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (23-27) lost 1-0 (BOX SCORE)
Gillis started for the Hooks and pitched well allowing 1 run over 5 innings while striking out 4. The pen pitched well too getting a scoreless inning from Chirinos and 2 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts from Rodriguez. Unfortunately the offense struggled collecting just five hits as they were shutout in the 1-0 loss.
A+: Asheville Tourists (11-38) won 10-8 (BOX SCORE)
Asheville got on the board in the first inning on a Powell solo home run. In the 2nd inning, they scored 6 more runs with 2 runs on an error, Thomas 2 run triple and Moss 2 run single. DeVos got the start and was solid allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, over 5 innings of work. The offense got 3 more runs in the 5th scoring 2 on an error and one on a Daudet RBI groundout. The pen allowed a few runs but held on for the 10-8 win.
A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (22-28) won 17-7 (BOX SCORE)
Carrera got the start for the Woodpeckers and went 4 innings allowing 5 runs. The Woodpeckers offense got on the board in the 3rd on a Huezo sac fly. In the 5th they got 3 runs on a Newman 2 run home run and Huezo solo home run. They got 2 more runs in the 6th on Salas and Sierra RBI singles. The offense blew it open in the 7th scoring 8 runs on an Alvarez RBI single, Janek RBI double, Salas 2 run double, Sierra 2 run double, a run on an error and a Huezo RBI triple. in the 8th, Sierra connected on a 3 run home run. MacRae allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, in relief and Cassedy closed out the game with a scoreless 9th as the Woodpeckers won 17-7.
Note: Alvarez is hitting .421 over his last 10 games.
Blue Jays vs Orioles best bet: Ernie Clement Over 1.5 total bases (+130)
Ernie Clement continues to be one of the Toronto Blue Jays' most reliable hitters, owning a .296 average, while recording a hit in 12 of his last 13 outings — with eight extra-base hits in that stretch.
His production against the sinker and slider only strengthens my conviction in his base total tonight.
Baltimore Orioles starter Kyle Bradish uses a sinker+slider combination, accounting for 81% of his pitches to right-handed batters.
Clement profiles extremely well against these pitches, owning a .348 average with a .522 slug-rate against them.
Additionally, Bradish has been victimized by opposing hitters when he’s pitching within the strike zone with an 89% zone-contact rate. Not only does Clement own a 93% zone contact rate this season, but he also owns one of the highest out-of-zone contact rates as well.
I’d play this to +110.
COVERS INTEL: Clement’s consistency at the plate has resulted in a 185 WRC+ over his last 13 outings, averaging 2.3 total bases per game.
Blue Jays vs Orioles same-game parlay (SGP)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has reached base 20 times in his last nine games, including a 4-for-5 game last night. He profiles well against the sinker as well, so I expect him to be on base often again. He’s come around to score seven times in that stretch.
Daulton Varsho is another Blue Jay who profiles well against Bradish’s sinker-slider mix. Varsho enters the matchup with extra-base hits in consecutive games and owns a .333 batting average against those pitches this season.
Blue Jays vs Orioles SGP
Ernie Clement Over 1.5 total bases
Daulton Varsho Over 0.5 hits
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 0.5 runs
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Blue Jays vs Orioles home run pick: Daulton Varsho (+440)
Bradish ranks in the 49th percentile in opponent hard-hit rate (38.9%), resulting in home runs in back-to-back starts, and has been taken deep six times over his last seven outings.
Six of those seven homers have come against his sinker/slider combination, a pitch mix Varsho has hit well this season.
He’s my home run pick for today’s afternoon affair.
2026 Transparency record
Best bets: 27-30, +1.10 units
SGPs: 11-46, +2.60 units
HR picks: 9-46, +2.3 units
Blue Jays vs Orioles odds
Moneyline: Toronto +110 | Baltimore -130
Run line: Toronto +1.5 (-180) | Baltimore -1.5 (+155
Over/Under: Over 8 (-115) | Under 8 (-105)
Blue Jays vs Orioles trend
The Toronto Blue Jays have covered the run line in 13 of their last 17 games (+11.10 Units / 49% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Orioles.
How to watch Blue Jays vs Orioles and game info
Location
Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD
Date
Sunday, May 31, 2026
First pitch
12:15 p.m. ET
TV
Peacock, Sportsnet
Blue Jays starting pitcher
Spencer Miles (2-0, 2.16 ERA)
Orioles starting pitcher
Kyle Bradish (2-6, 3.86 ERA)
Blue Jays vs Orioles latest injuries
Blue Jays vs Orioles weather
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 24: Ha-Seong Kim #7 of the Atlanta Braves in action against the Washington Nationals in the eighth inning at Truist Park on May 24, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a three-game absence, Ha-Seong Kim returns to the Braves lineup for Sunday afternoon’s series finale in Cincinnati.
Kim, who has struggled to generate momentum with a .095 batting average and no extra-base hits in 12 games and 42 at-bats after starting the season on the injured list, is getting another chance to break out after a breather of sorts to work out of his slump. He’ll hit eighth and play short.
That doesn’t come at the expense of Jorge Mateo sitting, however. Mateo, who has been filling in for Kim, will be the designated hitter for the second time this week to keep his productive bat in the lineup. Mateo is 6-for-16 (.375) with four RBIs in the last four games and delivered his third homer in Saturday night’s win. He’ll hit just ahead of Kim in the seventh spot in the lineup.
Austin Riley is also back in the lineup, hitting sixth and playing third after missing his second start of the season on Saturday. That moves Mauricio Dubon, who filled in on Saturday, back to left field.
Chadwick Tromp is also getting his turn at catcher and hitting ninth in the series finale as Atlanta goes for a sweep to complete what would be a 5-1 road trip.
Braves starter Spencer Strider (3-0, 3.46 ERA) has faced the Reds three times but hasn’t done so since 2023. That limits the number of current Cincinnati players who have faced him to just five. Nathaniel Lowe has a team-high six at-bats against the right-hander but only one hit (.167). TJ Friedl (2-for-3) and Eugenio Suarez (2-for-4) have had more success in a smaller sample size, with Suarez providing the only extra-base hits off Strider in a pair of doubles.
Overall, Cincinnati’s hitters are a combined 7-for-18 against Strider (.389) with four RBIs, seven strikeouts and one walk.
The Reds are moving JJ Bleday up three spots to the three-hole of the lineup after he provided their only real offense of the game with a two-run homer in Saturday’s 5-2 loss. Slugging rookie Sal Stewart drops a spot to the cleanup role.
Additionally, leadoff hitter Blake Dunn moves from right field to center, replacing TJ Friedl, who will sit. Will Benson — who is in a 2-for-23 slump — gets the start in right and will hit eighth. P.J. Higgins also replaces Tyler Stephenson behind the plate for his seventh start of the season, hitting ninth.
Reds starter Nick Lodolo has one career start against the Braves last year, giving him a limited but scattered experience against the Braves’ current hitters. No one has more than four at-bats against him (Kim, 1-for-4) and no one has more than one hit or one RBI off him.
Riley has a double and Michael Harris II has a triple, as Braves hitters are a combined 5-for-24 against Lodolo (.208) with three RBIs, 10 strikeouts and two walks.
The smoldering Ronald Acuña Jr., who has four homers in the last three games, has never faced Lodolo.
The Philadelphia Phillies face the Los Angeles Dodgers this afternoon in a series-deciding game.
My Phillies vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks have Yoshinobu Yamamoto cruising with his splitter-lead approach against a Philadelphia lineup struggling at the dish.
Who will win Phillies vs Dodgers today: Dodgers -1.5 (-108)
World Series hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws his splitter more than any other pitch for a reason — it’s devastating. Opponents have a .173 average and .219 wOBA against the offering.
The Philadelphia Phillies have the fourth-worst runs above average per 100 splitters seen (-1.76), and the third-lowest wRC+ (76) and highest strikeout rate (25.2%) against right-handed pitchers in the last 20 days.
Yamamoto will cook with his splitter, while the lineup behind him (league-high 121 wRC+ in the L20) will tag up Andrew Painter (5.40 ERA). Given the discrepancies in starting pitching and hitting, I’d play this up to -120.
COVERS INTEL: Philadelphia has the sixth-lowest contact rate and the eighth-highest O-Swing rate in the last 20 days. Yamamoto will pile up whiffs (78th percentile) against this ice-cold lineup..
Phillies vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (+107)
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’ve recommended the Under in the first two games of this series, and both hit, so let’s go for a third.
Philadelphia has cashed the Under in eight consecutive games, scoring no more than four runs in any of those games and posting a league-worst 55 wRC+ and .251 wOBA.
The Phillies have the best bullpen SIERA (2.31) in the last 20 days, and the Dodgers have the third-best FIP (3.13).
I have to bite with plus money available on the Under and multiple data points pointing in that direction.
JD Yonke's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 19-18, -3.36 units
Over/Under bets: 28-10, +17.41 units
Phillies vs Dodgers odds
Moneyline: Phillies +185 | Dodgers -225
Run line: Phillies +1.5 (-110) | Dodgers -1.5 (-110)
Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5
Phillies vs Dodgers trend
The Phillies are 1-7 straight up and 2-6 against the run line in Andrew Painter’s last eight starts. Find more MLB betting trends for Phillies vs. Dodgers.
How to watch Phillies vs Dodgers and game info
Location
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Date
Sunday, May 31, 2026
First pitch
4:10 p.m. ET
TV
NBCS-Philadelphia, SportsNet-Los Angeles
Phillies starting pitcher
Jesus Luzardo (4-4, 4.38 ERA)
Dodgers starting pitcher
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-4, 3.09 ERA)
Phillies vs Dodgers latest injuries
Phillies vs Dodgers weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
In the NHL playoffs, the difference between advancing and going home is often not talent—it’s timing.
If the Colorado Avalanche decide to move on from Jared Bednar, the most obvious replacement may already be sitting in the same conference.
Former Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch stands out as a natural candidate. In many ways, he mirrors Bednar: calm, composed, and analytically driven. But there is one trait where he has separated himself in a way Colorado has increasingly struggled to match—how quickly he adjusts when a series changes.
A surface-level argument would dismiss Knoblauch because he has not yet won a Stanley Cup as a head coach, and default to Bednar as the safer option. But that ignores how often modern playoff series are decided after they reach equilibrium, not before.
When The Game Stops Looking Like Plan A
Knoblauch’s coaching identity was shaped in Edmonton, where he quickly established himself as a steady but responsive bench boss. He took over the Oilers in November 2023 after the organization parted ways with Jay Woodcroft, stabilizing a team that had drifted early and reshaping it into a legitimate contender.
From there, his approach has been consistent: stay with a plan until the game proves it needs to change.
As ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark noted, coaching at this level requires balancing “the macro view -- looking at the totality of a team -- while blending in the micro,” where “those real-time, in-game decisions can be the difference between being a winning franchise or one that wonders what would have been if better choices had been made.”
That philosophy is built around flexibility. As the piece puts it, “It’s about having confidence in Plan A. But it’s about having even more confidence in knowing when to shift away from Plan A in favor of Plan B, Plan C or an entirely different plan altogether at a moment’s notice.”
Players noticed it quickly.
Former Oilers forward Connor Brown described Knoblauch as “a pretty analytical guy and pretty composed,” adding, “I think he sees it clearly in these high-pressure situations. I think his judgement is pretty clear.”
Defenseman Darnell Nurse echoed that same idea more directly: “He has a knack for making adjustments at the right time and not making an adjustment just to make one.”
The emphasis isn’t on constant change—it’s on restraint with purpose.
Control Without Panic
The most noticeable trait behind Knoblauch’s bench is what doesn’t happen: overreaction.
Even when games swing early or momentum shifts quickly, the response is measured rather than emotional.
That steadiness has translated into a team that tends to stabilize games rather than spiral in them. The changes come, but they come with intention.
It’s not about reinventing the system mid-game. It’s about recognizing when the game has already changed. For instance, perhaps Jared Bednar should have started Mackenzie Blackwood in Game 3. And when Brock Nelson struggled at second-line center, maybe the adjustment should have come sooner—shifting Nazem Kadri back into a role he’s far more accustomed to handling.
The Avalanche Question That Never Goes Away
For Colorado, the conversation has never really been about talent. The roster has remained one of the league’s most dangerous for years. The question has been what happens once opponents adjust and the series tightens.
In 2019 against San Jose, Colorado pushed the Sharks to seven games in the second round, but the series swung late as the Sharks found ways to counter and close it out.
In 2021, the Avalanche opened with two wins over Vegas before the Golden Knights adjusted, evened the series at 2–2, and ultimately took control to win in six.
In 2023, Colorado’s first-round series against Seattle became another example of a tightly contested matchup where momentum shifted as it progressed, with the Avalanche ultimately falling in seven.
In 2024, Dallas proved able to counter Colorado’s attack structure over the course of a six-game series, and in 2025, another extended battle with the Stars again highlighted how quickly series can turn once adjustments begin to dictate play.
Early control hasn’t been the issue—sustaining it has. Against top-tier opponents, Colorado has at times been outmaneuvered by coaches such as Peter DeBoer on multiple occasions, and more recently John Tortorella, who stepped in as a late replacement in Vegas following the firing of Bruce Cassidy. A sweep at the hands of the Golden Knights only intensified those concerns and raised further questions about whether a different voice behind the bench is necessary.
That is where Knoblauch’s profile naturally enters the conversation.
His time in Edmonton eventually came to a close after a first-round playoff exit to the Anaheim Ducks in 2026, a disappointing finish to a productive three-year run. But even as the results fell short at the end, the coaching identity that defined his tenure had already been established long before that final series.
One of the clearest examples came in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against Florida. Edmonton fell behind 3–0 in the series, but didn’t collapse. Instead, the structure shifted—matchups changed, lines were adjusted, and the game gradually tightened.
The Oilers forced a Game 7 before losing 2–1.
The result didn’t change the outcome, but it did reveal something more lasting: the series stayed alive because they didn't stick to the game strategy.
That is the thread running through Knoblauch’s coaching profile—less about dominance, more about adaptation under pressure.
And in the modern NHL, where series often turn once they reach 2–2 and become tactical rather than technical, that trait carries weight.
Because at that stage, the question isn’t who has the better roster.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 30: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres reacts to a home run during the game between the San Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Saturday, May 30, 2026 in Washington, District of Columbia. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The San Diego Padres have had an abundance of problems lately. Their offense has been rough, to say the least. Their starting pitching doesn’t look particularly great. But their bullpen has locked it down. On Saturday against the Washington Nationals, they did not.
After Michael King pitched six beautiful innings, he returned for the seventh and struggled. After giving up a leadoff single to CJ Abrams, José Tena reached on a fielder’s choice that failed to record the out. King lost control after that, issuing a walk to load the bases with no outs before hitting Dylan Crews with a pitch to make it a one-run game.
King likely should have come out before that ever took place, but with the bullpen taxed from Friday’s series opener and King sitting at a low pitch count, he continued to pitch and it led to the monstrosity that would eventually play out.
Bradgley Rodriguez came in and had the worst outing of his MLB career. He induced a ground ball from Drew Millas that should have been a double play. However, Xander Bogaerts failed to touch second base and Crews slid hard into the bag, forcing Bogaerts to fall over.
It only got worse from there. Manager Craig Stammen received the first ejection of his Padres tenure before Rodriguez walked in another run. An out was finally recorded with James Wood striking out and it seemed like the damage might finally be over.
But then Luis García Jr. hit a single to score two runners, making the score 6-3, Washington. Daylen Lile grounded into an RBI force out and Abrams came back up to finally end the inning by striking out. It was a dismal performance from Rodriguez in what has been a phenomenal rookie year thus far.
However, with all that in mind, the Friars slugged three homers and one of them was Fernando Tatis Jr. to end his season-long drought. Good things did happen for the Padres, but that one inning cost them the game. They’ll face off today in the rubber match against the Nationals.
Taking the mound
Zack Littell (WAS) v. Griffin Canning (SD)
Littell was a surprising signing by the Nats this offseason. The righty spent more time on the free agency board than most expected and had to settle for a one-year, $7 million contract with the club.
He hasn’t exactly rewarded that, posting a 5.23 ERA in 53 1/3 innings. But Littell has looked good lately, giving up just three runs over his last 17 innings pitched.
Despite Canning having a phenomenal outing in his last start, he lost because San Diego failed to score a run against the Philadelphia Phillies. Across 6 2/3 innings, Canning only surrendered three runs.
He’s looked better lately after getting off to a rough start. Canning has been saddled with a 7.54 ERA that doesn’t tell the whole story. He’s had some tough luck with balls in play but has performed serviceably. He shouldn’t have any trouble limiting this Washington lineup.
Batter up!
It was beautiful to see Tatis break his homerless streak. It’s been rough going, but the slugger has heated up lately. Tatis is batting .481/.548/.630 with an OPS over 1.000 in his last seven games. Here’s hoping the home runs come in bunches.
Fernando Tatis Jr., 2B
Gavin Sheets, 1B
Miguel Andujar, DH
Manny Machado, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Jackson Merrill, CF
Ramón Laureano, LF
Nick Castellanos, RF
Freddy Fermin, C
Machado, despite his lack of hits (.178 batting average), managed to mash his team-leading 10th homer of the season in Saturday’s game. He owns a .333 career average against Littell (12 at-bats).
The Padres have historically hit Littell well, with a combined .338 batting average and 1.148 OPS against the righty (74 at-bats). If they can rake against him today, a San Diego series victory would be markedly easier.
Relief corps
With the bullpen taxed after Friday’s game, the Friars only used Rodriguez and Wandy Peralta to finish out the game. That ended with an uncharacteristic implosion, but it shouldn’t today.
The Padres have plenty of options to turn to if Canning falters. Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Ron Marinaccio, Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon are all available to pitch in relief. If San Diego can clinch the rubber match, Miller will surely come in to pitch the save.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 30: CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals bats during the game between the San Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Saturday, May 30, 2026 in Washington, District of Columbia. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Legitimate signs of hope have been few and far between for Washington Nationals fans since the storybook title run in 2019. Pieces being sold, starting pitching being a revolving door of mediocrity (at best) and inconsistency, and the lack of a true team identity for much of the 2020s.
2026 wasn’t viewed as a turning point going into the season. A makeshift bullpen, a rotation with some steady pieces but lacking star power, and an offense that could flash potential but still contained too many questions to be counted on. Flash forward to today, the Nats are sitting one game over .500 at 30-29 on the last day before the calendar flips to June.
The bullpen continues to leave a lot to be desired, the rotation has just two starters posting a sub-4.00 ERA, and top prospect Dylan Crews, once projected to be one of the driving forces in the lineup, has bounced between AAA and MLB.
But, with all of that being said, the Nats just continue to get it done.
They have gone 4-0-1 in their last 5 series, with a chance to improve to 5-0-1 in the series finale against San Diego on Sunday. Foster Griffin and Cade Cavalli’s return to extended big-league action has anchored the top end of the pitching staff. Multiple relievers have put together runs of being late-inning options who can be counted on.
However, the star of the show is the offense. James Wood continues to be everything Nationals’ fans could’ve hoped for and more, and CJ Abrams is not far behind him. Joey Wiemer and Keibert Ruiz have provided sufficient depth when called upon, and arguably the biggest surprise of the season, Curtis Mead, has yet to stop hammering baseballs whenever given the chance.
Whether it’s offensive explosions, gritty pitching performances, or just doing whatever is possible to add to the win column, the Nats keep doing it.
Fans are back in the stands, with some even bringing the widespread “tarps off” trend into the bleachers. The farm system is producing new developmental success stories left and right. The coaching staff seems to be building a culture worth believing in. Baseball in the nation’s capital is as exciting as it has been in years.
While the National League continues to flex its muscles as the more competitive half of MLB in the standings, the Nats have kept themselves squarely in the middle of the playoff race as the season continues into its middle stages. Sitting 2.0 games back of a playoff spot and 4.0 games clear of the team closest following them, the Miami Marlins, Washington hasn’t wavered as the contenders begin to separate themselves.
A lot can happen from now until the start of October. Seasons can collapse, trades can shake up the foundation of the league, and teams can cement themselves as true competitors as the postseason inches closer. What category the 2026 Washington Nationals will fall into remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain. This team refuses to roll over and accept its presumed identity as a rebuilding franchise.
In a sport where the impending Summer can fuel electrifying stretches from the unlikeliest of places, why not the Nats?
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 30: Luis Castillo #58 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates his 1,500th career strikeout during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at T-Mobile Park on March 30, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The piggyback is the best thing going for the Mariners’ rotation right now.
The Mariners on Sunday will use Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo in a tandem start against the Diamondbacks. Miller will get the ball first and pitch for a while, then Castillo will come out of the bullpen to finish the job. It’s the third attempt at this strategy, and it’s likely the final one for at least a couple weeks. To be entirely up front, I hope it comes back.
I assume you know the story. Miller began the year on the injured list. Emerson Hancock took his spot, as he has in the past. But unlike the past, Hancock has been good — so good that it would be unconscionable to remove him from the rotation. That meant when the Miller returned, there was no natural, five-man rotation spot for him to claim. The Mariners have George Kirby, Bryan Woo, and Logan Gilbert as their main trio (with Hancock threatening to make it a quartet), and they have Castillo as their once-great veteran to round out the group. It’s not the best rotation in the league, but it’s a unique rotation, with four or five good starters and no true holes.
This dynamic created a handful of options:
Keep Miller in Tacoma after his rehab stint was up
Release or trade a starter
Move a starter to the bullpen
Adopt a six-slot rotation
Create a tandem start out of a five-slot rotation
The Mariners went with option five, asking Miller and Castillo to “piggyback” their outings, with one throwing half the game and the other taking what remains. They’ve done it twice, and both times it worked. The first, Miller started and Castillo relieved. The Mariners lost because they only scored one run, but together they combined for eight innings, 11 strikeouts, two hits and two runs. The second, Castillo started and Miller relieved. They covered all nine innings with 10 strikeouts, seven hits, and two runs allowed.
The tandem through two starts has thrown 17 innings with a 2.11 ERA, 2.34 FIP, 11.7 K/9, and 2.6 BB/9. That would be the Mariners best starter. The sample size is meaningless, and these numbers will be different by supper time. But there’s a reason it’s working, and there’s a reason it needs to.
The Mariners on the first turn through a lineup have a league-best 2.70 FIP. They’re striking out batters, limiting walks, and justifying their reputation as a dominant pitching organization. It’s across the board, too. Castillo, Miller — all of them — have been good on the first pass.
It gets sticky from there. On the second turn, the Mariners have been worse. This is to be expected: Batters gain an advantage the more they see a pitcher in a game. Five of the Mariners pitchers are still above average on the second pass — Woo has even gotten better — and they’re one of the best teams on this split overall. But Castillo has struggled mightily as soon as the lineup turns over, which is why he was chosen for the tandem.
The wheels come off for most of them on the third turn. The Mariners have been one of the 10 worst rotations by FIP after 18 batters, giving up lots of hard contact and homers. With their early-game excellence, no rotation has faced more batters on the third pass, making the drop quite abrupt. Note that Castillo looks a bit better on this split, but the sample is small because he’s often pulled before or during the third turn. Miller looks bad, too, though he reached the third pass just once in his first outing.
Regardless, we can see whythe Mariners would want to piggyback. They have six pitchers who’ve been great for one turn, they have five pitchers who’ve been good for two turns, and they have just two pitchers who’ve been passable late. The drop-off in quality has been an issue for this group dating back to last season (I even advocated for the piggyback over the winter).
That’s the logic of the strategy. Sticking two starters together allows the Mariners to cluster more innings around those first-pass splits and avoid both the third pass and the low-leverage bullpen. Sure, it may eat up a reliever spot, but because the piggyback can cover three or four turns through the lineup, they can get most or all the job done on their own. The piggyback and a travel day gave the Mariners bullpen two full days of rest this week, and it’s possible they could get a third with another strong performance Sunday.
This is also why I wince at the notion of a six-man rotation. It might solve the issue of needing to hoard quality starting pitchers, but it doesn’t address the fundamental, in-game longevity issue the Mariners face. It may even compound it by adding more games with starters unlikely to finish six, forcing more innings onto the low-leverage bullpen while still eliminating a reliever.
And so I’m disappointed to hear the Mariners will switch to a six-man rotation after Sunday’s piggyback, at least temporarily. The rationale is there are only three off days in June, and the arrangement will help manage their workload. They’re stalling, in other words.
Now, the issue with the piggyback — and the reason the Mariners are stalling — is it’s not popular with the guinea pigs. Miller and Castillo have each expressed dissatisfaction, and there’s been a few awkward shots of the fellas huffing and puffing in the dugout.
For Miller, it’s understandable. He’s been great, and he probably feels that he’s being punished for his injuries. That said, the Mariners aren’t wrong for holding him back initially. I wrote this winter that Miller last year showed a steep decline in velocity and release point on the third pass. It was worth being cautious, allowing him to ease back into the majors and start from a place of success.
And he has. His stuff is sharp and varied, with a massive, unpredictable arsenal chock full of plus pitches. And he’s held a mid- to high-90s fastball for as long as he’s been asked. The good and healthy version of Miller could be the Mariners best pitcher, and he looks good and healthy right now. The shift to the six-man rotation tells me the Mariners agree and are ready to see how he manages a proper workload.
Technically, this gives Castillo a sort of “prove it” period as well, but I think his fate is somewhat sealed at the bottom of the depth chart. He’s a former ace-ish pitcher in the decline phase of his career. What Castillo offers right now is something between a very good swingman and a perfectly fine spot starter. Anything more than that, he gets exposed. Anything more than that, the Mariners are worse for it. To be fair, it’s a unique situation, as Castillo would be a fine mid-rotation starter for many other teams. It’s just here where Castillo represents a notable dip.
But it’s also here where his specific skillset could be a boon. Whether it’s Miller or Hancock or even just a general, rotating piggyback, the Mariners have several pitchers who struggle deep in games. Somebody has to cover those innings, and Castillo remains a highly effective pitcher at medium length. He can still be a weapon for this team. He can still be a rock. Maybe it’s less of a piggyback, and more of a catapult.
LAS VEGAS — No strangers to controversy, the Golden Knights know the spotlight is going to shine even brighter now that they are back in the Stanley Cup Final with a particular glare on goaltender Carter Hart.
Hart is a major reason Vegas is playing for the Cup for the third time in their nine years and going after their second championship in four seasons. The first three opponents in the NHL playoffs failed to solve him, and now it will be up to Carolina — 12-1 in the playoffs — to take one last whack at finding a way to get pucks past Hart when that series opens Tuesday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Hart’s very presence in the NHL generated discussions about whether he should even be allowed to suit up. He was one of five 2018 Canada world junior hockey players acquitted of sexual assault last July. The NHL ruled those players were eligible to sign deals beginning Oct. 15 and to play starting Dec. 1. Hart signed a two-year, $4 million contract with Vegas and hasn’t looked back.
Hart has emerged as a credible Conn Smythe Trophy candidate for playoff MVP. His interviews the past couple of months have been limited but he is likely to face questions about the case before Game 1.
Golden Knights fans welcomed him from the beginning, clapping for him when he took the ice for the first time Dec. 2 against Chicago, some even bringing signs expressing their support. Those cheers have only grown during the club’s Cup Final run; he receives among the loudest ovations when the starting lineup is introduced before home games.
“Everybody here has been so awesome,” Hart said after the Golden Knights swept Colorado in the Western Conference Final. “You see it every day with the fans. They show up at the rink and our practices. The support that we get is unbelievable. They’re just so excited about the Vegas Golden Knights, and I’m so blessed to be here.”
Torts in his corner
Vegas might have been the perfect spot for Hart to land.
It’s a franchise that isn’t afraid to aggressively do what it can to win. Vegas also has a veteran locker room, and even more beneficial for Hart is that he is playing for a coach who knows him and strongly defends him as a person and a goalie. John Tortorella coached Hart in Philadelphia and was convinced the Flyers were turning into real contenders in the 2023-24 season when the league suspended the goalie along with the other four players involved in the scandal.
“I think he’s a strong kid mentally,” Tortorella said. “I certainly watched him when he came into the organization and played in his first couple of games, and I watched him play in an overtime game where he played really well. He’s dialed in ... He was growing tremendously in Philly until he had to step out of the league, and he’s right back at it.”
Cassidy had started Adin Hill, who backstopped the Golden Knights’ 2023 Cup championship, down the stretch. One of Tortorella’s first moves was to put Hart in net.
“I loved playing for him in Philly,” Hart said. “Super happy he’s here.”
Future was in doubt
The fact Hart is in Vegas was far from a sure thing last summer.
He was one of the junior players charged in 2024 in connection with an incident in London, Ontario, that occurred six years earlier. The judge overseeing the trial said the prosecution did not meet the burden of proof to convict the players and that the allegations lacked the credibility to justify the charges.
The NHL conducted its own investigation in 2022, and after the players were cleared of legal responsibility, the league announced they would be reinstated. With the league calling the players’ actions “deeply troubling and unacceptable,” there wasn’t a rush by clubs to start signing them.
The Hurricanes considered signing Hart and Michael McLeod, but ultimately decided to pass. Vegas had a different answer for Hart, agreeing to bring him aboard and later issued a statement about being “committed to the core values that have defined our organization from its inception.”
Hart read his own statement to reporters back then, saying he wanted “to show the community my true character and who I am and what I’m about.”
Rocky start with new club
The return to action wasn’t quite what Hart envisioned.
He went 5-3-3 with a 3.23 goals-against average and .874 save percentage, and that wasn’t even the worst of it. Hart suffered a lower-body injury during a Jan. 8 game against Columbus, taking him out of the lineup for nearly three months.
Vegas’ goaltending was, at best, inconsistent with Hill and Akira Schmid more or less sharing duties. Even with Hart expected to come back late in the season, there was little indication the Golden Knights would be able to rely on their goalies.
Tortorella saw something different, starting Hart in six of the final eight games. Hart went 6-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .930 save percentage.
Suddenly, there was no doubt who was the starting goalie.
“He (spends) a long day at the rink with his preparation and making sure he’s dialied (in),” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “It’s just fun to watch.”
Rolling in the playoffs
Hart has carried that strong play into the postseason.
He is 12-4 with a 2.22 GAA and a .924 save percentage. He has won six starts in a row, including a sweep of Colorado against a team that led the league with 3.63 goals per game but was held to 1.75 by Hart and the Golden Knights defense.
“I think he’s just been getting more and more confident each game, each round he’s played,” forward Brett Howden said. “There’s a lot of momentum in these rounds of games. Obviously, it’s going to go back and forth. I feel like he does an unbelievable job of keeping us in the game. He’ll bail us out if we need to be bailed out.”
The challenge doesn’t get any easier, going against a Carolina team that outshot Montreal 139-67 over the final four games in the Eastern Conference Final. Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen has been stellar in the net this postseason, with a 1.41 GAA and .931 save percentage.
Should the Hurricanes win the Cup, Andersen likely will be the one skating off with the Conn Smythe.
Hart understands the challenge.
“I have a lot of work to do,” Hart said. “We’ve just got to prepare for the next game. We’ll be ready for Game 1.”
The Knicks and Spurs will be facing off in a rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals, and fans have spotted an eerily accurate prediction from Karl-Anthony Towns ahead of his Knicks debut two years ago.
Prior to the October 6, 2024 preseason matchup at the Charlotte Hornets, Towns arrived at the Spectrum Center wearing a retro 1999 Finals tee featuring Tim Duncan and Latrell Sprewell.
Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks arrives at an NBA preseason game on October 22, 2024 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Getty Images
“Holy s— this is insane. Script Writers cooked on this one,” another added.
And a third said: “He knew everything from the beginning.”
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots during the second half of Game 4 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland, Monday, May 25, 2026. AP Photo/Sue OgrockiVictor Wembanyama hugs Devin Vassell after the Spurs’ Game 7 win over the Thunder. NBAE via Getty Images
Towns and the Knicks will hope their meeting with Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs goes better than the last Finals meeting between the two franchises.
In that series, the Knicks lost in five games and failed to reach 80 points three times as Duncan won Finals MVP.
The Finals will tip off on Wednesday with San Antonio hosting Games 1 and 2.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 15: Spencer Strider #99 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Truist Park on May 15, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This week’s Braves road trip has already been a success.
They’ve won two more series, bringing their series record to 16-2-1 on the season. They became the first team to reach 40 wins with Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, reaching a season-high 21 games above .500.
Atlanta looks to make it a 5-1 road trip in Sunday’s 1:40 p.m. EDT series finale against the Reds at the Great American Ballpark.
The Braves will give the ball to Spencer Strider (3-0, 3.46 ERA) as they look for a sweep of Cincinnati.
After a rocky, erratic season debut at Colorado, Strider has found a real rhythm in his last four starts. He’s thrown five-plus innings and allowed three runs or less in his last four starts, winning his last two and three of his last four.
He’s also posted a batting average against of .171 or lower in each of his last four starts, allowing 11 hits over 22 2/3 innings with 26 strikeouts and 10 walks.
Strider has a strong track record against the Cincinnati Reds, albeit not having faced them since 2023. He has a 1-0 record and 2.77 record in three appearances (two starts) with 25 strikeouts to three walks.
The Reds will counter with southpaw Nick Lodolo (1-1, 5.57). Like Strider with his oblique, Lodolo missed the start of the season with a blister. He made his season debut May 8, five days after Strider did and has made one fewer start (four).
Unlike Strider, Lodolo didn’t get off to a very strong delayed start, posting a 7.20 ERA and 0-1 record through his first three outings, striking out 11 and walking nine.
He’s coming off a breakthrough start, however, having thrown a season-high six innings and allowing one run on six hits, striking out seven and walking one in a 7-2 road win over the New York Mets on Monday.
Aside from chase percentage, there’s a whole lot of blue on Lodolo’s Statcast profile.
Lodolo has one career appearance against the Braves in May of 2025. He didn’t factor into the decision after allowing two runs on five hits over six innings (3.00 ERA), striking out seven and walking none in a game Atlanta won 5-4 in 11 innings.
Game Info
Game Time: Sunday, May 31st, 1:40 pm EDT
Location: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
KLAIPEDA, LITHUANIA - NOVEMBER 30: Luigi Suigo of Italy looks on during the FIBA World Cup Group D Qualifier between Lithuania and Italy at Svyturio Arena on November 30, 2025 in Klaipeda, Lithuania. (Photo by Rokas Lukosevicius/FIBA via Getty Images) | FIBA via Getty Images
From an international prospect perspective, no NBA Draft is ever complete without a prospect from the ever-colourful Mega Basket in Serbia. Mega Basket has run under many guises in the past due to sponsorship reasons; Mega Leks, Mega Bemax, Mega Soccertbet, Mega Mozzart, Mega MIS, and now Mega Superbet.
Regardless of the ever-changing name, there are two things that are consistent with this club: their pink jerseys, and their contribution of talent to the NBA Draft. Over the years, players who have been selected from Mega Basket include Ivica Zubac, Goga Bitazde, Nikola Jovic, and one Nikola Jokic.
The Atlanta Hawks themselves have made two acquisitions from Mega Basket: Alpha Kaba in 2017, and more recently Nikola Djurisic by way of a draft-night trade with Miami, though neither played for the Hawks in an NBA game. Djurisic has since returned to Mega Basket since being waived by Atlanta earlier this year.
Only three of the 17 Mega Basket’s draft selections have been selected in the first round: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Bitazde, and Jovic. However, it is unclear if Mega Basket will have another first round selection in 2026. 19 year old Italian center Luigi Suigo is the focus of today’s scouting report.
Suigo will hope to become the latest of a respectable crop of players who will be selected wearing Mega Basket’s famous pink attire and has produced a solidly productive season. Suigo averaged 8.5 points per game on 55.8% shooting on 6.4 field goal attempts, 30% from three on 1.8 attempts, 63% from the line on 1.1 attempts, five rebounds, two offensive rebounds, 0.8 assists, one block, and 2.8 fouls in 18 minutes per game in 32 games played, starting 20 of them, per RealGM.
Perhaps most critically when it comes to evaluating Suigo as a prospect are his official physical measurements at the recent NBA combine, which have only added to the intrigue that surrounds him. Suigo measures at a towering 7 foot 2.75 inches in bare feet, a 7-foot 5.5-inch wingspan, a standing reach of 9 foot 6 inches, while weighing at 289 pounds. Before even touching a basketball, this is elite size and, depending on the skill that surrounds it, could see Suigo drafted inside the first round.
Let’s take a look at the footage, and see, indeed, what level of talent and potential surrounds Luigi Suigo’s elite physical frame. Suigo wears the number 19, though you’re not likely to see it as the number coloring clashes with the colourful jerseys. However, given his size, it’ll be hard to miss Suigo.
Offense/scoring
Shooting nearly 56% from the field, Suigo was efficient on the attempts he did manage to see, and he didn’t see too many, averaging six field goals per game. Given his size, three easy sources of offense for Suigo include pick-and-roll, a target at the rim to aim for, and offensive rebounding for second chance points.
On the screen, Suigo rolls to the rim with pace and finishes ahead of the defender, who has no chance to block from behind:
Again on the screen up-top, Suigo rolls to the rim but displays more finesse and patience this time as he waits for the defender to leave his feet before finishing at the rim:
This seems like a good time to transition to Suigo as an arial/lob threat at the rim, where his size and athleticism makes him a good target for his teammates.
After some lax defense allows Suigo to stroll inside, he provides an easy outlet for the alley-oop finish:
You can see instances where Suigo’s sheer size allows him to finish opportunities that otherwise may not be possible, such as this alley-oop thrown behind Suigo, who manages to extend to guide home the basket:
Here’s another play which exemplifies Suigo’s size advantage as he runs in transition, receives the ball in the paint, and he is simply able to extend over the outstretched defense for a basket:
Suigo’s size also allows him to cause issues on the offensive glass and can also be an easy source of points.
Off of a miss from a teammate at the rim, Suigo is on hand to collect the offensive rebound where he keeps the ball above the defenders in the paint and finishes at the rim:
Again, Suigo’s size means that as long as the ball bounces the right way, there’s often not a lot the opposition can do to keep him off the glass, in this case Suigo scores the second chance at the rim:
Suigo’s size means, similar to converting alley-oops which are behind him, he can reach back to a greater degree than other players, in this he does so to guide home the offensive rebound:
These next two plays that Suigo made inside the arc that don’t fall in the category of pick-and-roll/alley-oops/offensive rebounding that are worth looking at, but they showcase Suigo’s offensive potential.
Faking off the three-point line, Suigo operates off the dribble and steps into the long jumpshot:
More of those types of plays would open up a lot offensively for Suigo. As would successful three-point shooting, which alludes Suigo right now, but 30% is a foundation to build on right now. Here are some of the looks Suigo made to get an eye-in for his shot:
Suigo also did a good job with his screen setting or using his body otherwise to carve out space for his teammates. We’ve looked at some of these in pick-and-roll scenarios where Suigo has finished at the rim or with an alley-oop but let’s look at additional scenarios.
On this screen, Suigo opens up the space for a three-pointer for his teammate which is converted:
On this play, Suigo sets the screen to create separation and then is able to carve out additional space to fend off the shot blocker, allowing for a finish at the basket:
There were a couple of possessions that concerned me, especially for a big-man. Sometimes, Suigo’s hands let him down, and he allows the ball to bobble about and lose control:
On this play, Suigo does well to realize his surroundings and when he receives the ball he shifts the ball over to the open man for a three-point attempt:
There’s quite a bit to discuss here, and while I’ve been positive on Suigo as a whole up to this point, defensively is where there are a number of concerns to be had relating to Suigo as an NBA prospect. Ultimately, I’d be extremely worried that he’d be too slow in the NBA defensively to stay on the court.
Mega Basket often had Suigo show/hedge on screens, but Suigo simply doesn’t have the mobility to do this and recover consistently; one way or another he ends up too far behind the play. We looked at Momo Faye recently, and while he may not enter the draft this year, he demonstrated how to successfully utilize his mobility to hedge on pick-and-rolls. Suigo cannot do this. When he shows on this screen, he cannot get back quick enough to the pick-and-roll big, who scores at the rim while Suigo is too far behind:
Again, Suigo shows on the screen, and he cannot get back to the three-point shooter on the screen, in this case, former NBA player Donatas Motiejunas, who hits the three:
On the pick-and-roll, again the ball is delivered to the big on the roll, and Suigo is unable to keep up with the play, which eventually ends with a basket at the rim:
On the screen and re-screen, Suigo shows on the ball-handler but when the ball is delivered to the roller Suigo is again unable to get back with the play and the shot block attempt is unsuccessful:
Suigo mistimes this block attempt badly, misreading the situation at the rim, smashing clumsily into the offensive player, and the basket is scored, plus the foul:
On a late rotation, Suigo does well to recognize the danger and makes the right read/rotation towards it, but commits the foul on the follow-through, leading to free throws:
On the pick-and-roll, Sugio shows on the drive and when the ball is delivered to the roll-man — his man — Suigo commits the foul on the block attempt at the rim:
There were other defensive moments that were not ideal when watching Sugio; these don’t fit into any particular category, but were moments that weren’t ideal.
On this play, Suigo is beaten by a standstill up-and-under move:
On this next play, Suigo squanders a good defensive position between himself and the baseline, and loses position underneath the basket where Suigo is beaten and concedes at the rim:
Right, that’s the negatives out of the way when it comes to Suigo’s defense. Not to glaze over these before moving onto the positives; these are glaring weaknesses that could really harm Suigo’s defensive upside and limit his NBA ceiling. If you’re exploited over and over again defensively, or too slow to operate defensively, eventually your game-time is just going to disappear.
Moving to positives now, Suigo’s size and length contribute to defenders thinking twice as they get into the paint.
On this drive to the rim, Suigo rotates and his vertical challenges forces the pass out away from the rim:
Suigo’s size also helps him contest shots to a high degree, such as on this drive where Suigo doesn’t even move to impact the shot; he just raises his hands and it’s enough to force a wild shot:
Suigo’s rotations can be effective, and beyond contesting/blocking shots, such as the rotation at the baseline on this play, which prompts a pass that leads to a turnover:
Luigi Suigo will naturally draw interest from NBA teams as his physical profile and measurements are elite for a prospect, especially one who just turned 19 earlier this year. Already, Suigo has a good physical frame and excellent physical tools. Suigo has elite size, and length, which is put to good use on both ends of the floor.
Let’s discuss Suigo further. Offensively, Suigo’s is most effective right now in pick-and-roll, as a lob threat, and on the offensive glass. The latter is the most likely to immediately translate, followed by his danger as a lob threat, and lastly pick-and-roll. None of these skills are elite as yet but there’s certainly enough for an NBA team to begin with in terms of development, plus the potential for more physical growth from Suigo. Suigo’s hands can be a concern at times but, overall, he put his physical tools to good use on the offensive end. Suigo is also a good screener, and this can certainly be immediately utilized.
As a three-point shooter, Suigo is a developing threat, and pick-and-pop scenarios would seem to be a good focal point for continued development. Realistically speaking, Suigo’s NBA effectiveness on the offensive end is going to be largely dependent on how effective he can shoot from three. If he was to become a consistent three-point shooter, then Suigo truly offers something unique in the NBA: elite size to combine with shooting. The rest — pick-and-roll, lobs, offensive rebounds — are helpful, but if Suigo is to truly succeed in the NBA, the shooting must emerge.
Defensively, Suigo’s lack of lateral quickness is a real concern. NBA teams will be smart enough to not do what Mega Basket did so often, which was to put Suigo in situations where he hedges/shows on pick-and-rolls — he’s just not going to be able to keep pace in any such scenarios in the NBA. Even excluding these scenarios, I think there’s reasonable cause for real concern that at 7-foot, 3-inches in shoes and 289 pounds, Suigo may be run off the floor defensively in the NBA.
Perhaps a team who runs a bit more zone could hide this weakness, but one-on-one it’s going to be difficult against fours who play as fives, and the more athletic fives in the league. A big, for example, such as Onyeka Okongwu would have no issue running rings around Suigo. Suigo has good moments blocking shots and contesting shots — these are aspects his elite size allows him to do quite well, but he struggles to shift defensively and is foul prone.
Suigo is going to require time to further develop, but you can certainly see the vision an NBA team may be enamored by: elite size, shooting potential, and a shot blocker. The road to get there is going to take time, but perhaps a team like Denver would be better suited to take such a gamble and by the time Nikola Jokic concludes his Nuggets-career.
Let’s take a look at what other draft experts/outlets have concluded in their own evaluations of Luigo Suigo.
Suigo is listed 32nd overall as part of ESPN’s ‘Best Available’ list, while ESPN’s mock draft projects Suigo at 39th overall. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic does not have Suigo mocked inside the top-60. Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports mocks Suigo as high as 22nd overall to the Sixers, with this to add on Suigo:
As for this choice, finding a center to play behind Joel Embiid needs to be prioritized. Embiid simply cannot be trusted to stay on the floor. Suigo has said he wants to be the Italian Wemby and, at 7-foot-3 with passing feel and shooting touch, you can see why a teenager might put that out into the universe. Suigo lacks the handle and self-creation chops to ever be the best player on a team, but his dynamic skills as a passer, shooter, and lob threat layer cleanly on top of baseline center duties as a screener, finisher, and rim protector. Becoming the Italian Marc Gasol is a more realistic goal, and would be a dream fit alongside Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe for many years to come.
This type of range and team makes sense for Suigo; it really is an upside swing for a team who has a cornerstone center. The Sixers make more sense for this reason, so the projection of team certainly fits. We didn’t touch on passing as much; in the games I watched of Suigo I thought these moments were fleeting but there were a couple of instances where Suigo’s passing was intriguing. As regards lack of handle and self-creation, it’s just not realistic to expect a handle or prowess off the dribble, though there were a couple of flashes of Suigo putting the ball down on the floor and making plays. I don’t think this is a selection you make to be ‘the best player on a team.’ It’s a additive selection which you hope blossoms alongside your young talent.
O’Connor also listed his perception of Suigo’s strengths and weaknesses:
STRENGTHS
Interior finishing: He rolls hard in ball screens, has good hands for lobs in traffic, and even if he’s not able to finish with dunks or layups right at the rim, he displays fantastic touch on hook shots.
Offensive rebounding: He shows a real nose for the ball on the boards, skying over defenders to extend his arms and grab the ball at its apex. He averaged 2.1 offensive boards in under 20 minutes per game this season and displayed a great feel for going right back up with it, except for the occasional instances he’d bring it down. On defense, he boxes out and has equally strong instincts on the boards.
Playmaking feel: Suigo hits cutters from the elbows, whips skip passes out of the post, and patiently handles doubles before delivering the ball with either hand. At the next level he’ll be useful in handoffs since he can execute plays or adjust and find the second option. And if his shooting skill catches up, he becomes a major threat.
Perimeter skill: He made 34% of his catch-and-shoot 3s with Mega. He looks extremely comfortable back-pedaling behind the line into the corners and wings, and pick-and-pops at the top of the arc. Even though he moves slowly, he even has a bit of a handle to attack closeouts and get to the rim.
Defensive upside: He’s a quick processor as a defender with the size, length, and effort levels to someday become a tremendous paint protector. He takes good angles as a help defender, rotates with awareness, and takes satisfaction in getting stops.
Let’s pause here for a moment. All of this so far checks out based on what we’ve examined, minus the superlatives on playmaking. As O’Connor notes, Suigo does possess a good read on the defensive end and does see some plays develop in front of him and rotates accordingly; sometimes he’s just not quick enough to do anything about it. Let’s continue.
CONCERNS
Offensive rawness: As promising as his skill-set is, he’s still not yet a reliable shooter. He’s still not yet a dominant roller to the basket, in part because he doesn’t set strong screens. So while the path is there for him to become a great talent on offense, he has a long way to go.
Perimeter defense: He moves fluidly for his size, but his movements are all quite slow. He could struggle defending in space on switches, hedging pick-and-rolls, or even getting back down the floor to stop a break. He’ll need to get stronger while also getting quicker.
Defensive discipline: He reaches for dribbles and tries to block too many shots when he should just use his size to deter drivers from getting into the paint. For now, he looks like a foul magnet early in his NBA career.
‘Getting stronger while also getting quicker’ is going to be challenging already at 289 pounds. If Suigo is too slow to move effectively defensively, it’s going to be an uphill battle. He could develop a great shooting touch, and it may still not be enough to hang around in the NBA if he’s stuck in mud.
Kyle Mann of The Ringer projects Suigo 30th overall to the Dallas Mavericks. Mann had quite a bit to add on Suigo:
STRENGTHS
Just turned 19 years old in late January and already very physically developed. Humongous presence in the paint at 7-foot-3, with a wingspan pushing 7-foot-6. Solid build in his upper and lower body. Could stand to define and add more muscle, but has wide legs and midsection, to the point that he can already dish out strong contact in the paint and on screens. Needs some runway to really hit full speed. Not a remarkable leaper, but with a path to jump, he can surprise with his ability to go up and get the ball on a lob.
The optics of Suigo’s perimeter shooting are slightly out of sync with the results. He has a pretty impressively effortless shooting motion for a player his size that is close to one motion, with minimal dip toward his waist off the catch and a release point that’s well above his head. The arc of his ball is high, and he has a nice coordinated rhythm to his catch-and-shoot looks, with a soft follow-through. He clearly has touch. That said, he stopped just short of real consistency—he hit on 34.3 percent of his 70 catch-and-shoot attempts from 3 last season. But all in all, he doesn’t seem like he’ll be easily neglected by defenses. Seems like this is where a lot of the ambition in his game is rooted, because he looks more schooled and technically polished in the pick-and-pop game than anywhere else.
Did well playing physically in the pick-and-roll and didn’t mind really establishing contact with his ball handler’s defender. Read the defense’s coverage response to the handler and chose his roller opportunities well. Huge target as a screener and difficult to navigate because of his solid build. Had a ton of roll gravity in the Baltic’s ABA League because he didn’t have many peers in terms of size. Has surprisingly soft hands when catching high or low passes and a good catch radius.
His offensive game is largely uncomplicated in that he’s either catching and shooting or rolling to the rim for something easy. Has soft overhanded touch near the basket. Still posted an impressive 73.1 percentage at the rim.
An elite shooting figure at the rim as reported by Mann; 73% is nothing to sniff at. Let’s continue:
WEAKNESSES
Can be a little spacey within the flow of the game. Will need to pay attention to more than one thing at a time, as the game will be much faster and more athletic in the NBA. Needs some time to learn how the power of his size and his positional wagering affect what players choose to do (or, more importantly, not do) in the paint. Can get jumpy toward drivers and chase a blocked shot or can get vertical prematurely and end up out of position, when in reality he could simply stunt toward players and dissuade them without creating an easy look for lurking offensive players cutting to the basket.
We see only rare glimpses of self-creation at this point. Has brief stints of attacking one-on-one if he’s caught a roller pass and has to make a quick move. Will also reel off the occasional post-up or maybe a move off an offensive rebound. Probably doesn’t have to be a craft savant to survive inside but will need to sharpen a handful of basic moves.
Looks like a coordinated athlete when he’s running at full speed in transition, but he’s not twitchy in the half court. His hips can be a bit lumbering in side-to-side shuttling situations, as well as when he’s flipping them and retreating back to his defensive assignment. Can get out over his skis against faster players in open space (most players his size do) or if he meets a ball handler at the level of a screen. Still learning what types of movements in relation to offensive players can put him in overextended and vulnerable positions. This isn’t a severe indictment so much as a likely indicator of his coverage capability.
Needs work owning his space and protecting the ball when he’s in traffic. Doesn’t always leverage that impressive frame of his by playing through the chest of the defender or powering through arms to finish. Would at times leave his feet too early from outside the restricted area and make himself smaller and easier to contest.
It’s hard to know exactly what to make of these colossal traditional 5s who have modern skill sets. Recent success stories can skew expectations. There could be a splash of “look at what Aday Mara just became” powering the interest in Suigo. He’s said that he’d like to be the “Italian Wemby,” but there just aren’t many players at that height who can sit down and mirror offensive players on the ball who are a foot shorter than them. “Italian Clingan” might be more attainable? In all likelihood, selecting Suigo at this stage would be a two- or three-year developmental bet, not unlike the one that the Blazers made by selecting Yang Hansen 16th in 2025. Overall, I think he will need to be taken by an organization with a strong developmental track record, but there are raw materials to mine.
Mann concludes by comparing Suigo’s ideal developmental trajectory to that of Luke Kornet:
Suigo is a bit of a throwback, but not in the way you’d expect. The NIL era of college basketball has changed scouting dynamics quite a bit. No need for a plane ticket: Young and talented international prospects are coming over and playing in the NCAA in droves. Suigo could very well follow that path, but there’s a lot of interest in bigs at the tail end of the first round and in the early second round, and he could be in line to capitalize. The massive Italian teenager spent the past year in Serbia playing for Mega, which has been an international prospect factory over the past decade-plus. Suigo boasts impressive mobility for a player his size and is eager to hoist shots from deep. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him follow Luke Kornet’s trajectory in the league, starting off as a stretch 5 before becoming a more classic at-rim finisher and rim protector as he navigates the paint with more nuance. His numbers don’t quite bear that potential out yet, but there are flashes of playmaking that teams might be keen to develop. His movement skills, at his size, scream first-round flyer, even if his passing and perimeter competencies are largely theoretical at this point.
This type of trajectory would be an enormous success for both Suigo and the team who makes the selection, but everyone would appear to be in agreement: it is going to take time to see any potential return on Luigi Suigo, but if Suigo can improve his mobility defensively, develop his three-point shot, and maintain and improve his foundation inside the arc (pick-and-roll, lobs, offensive rebounding), then it is possible Luigi Suigo may prove a steal near the end of the first-round.
One of the quietly underrated forwards of his NHL generation, Thomas Vanek was announced Sunday as a member of the IIHF Hall of Fame Class of 2026, earning the honor on the strength of an exceptional international career representing his home nation of Austria.
Vanek's induction is a fitting tribute to a player who, despite never quite receiving the mainstream recognition his numbers deserved, proved himself one of the most reliable offensive contributors of his era. Over 14 NHL seasons and 1,029 games, the Austrian winger accumulated 373 goals and 416 assists for 789 points.
Playing for seven franchises including the Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers, Vanek was most closely associated with the Buffalo Sabres, where he established himself as a consistent 60-plus point threat in his prime.
But it is his body of work in international hockey that earned him this particular honor. Vanek is arguably the greatest player Austria has ever produced on the ice, and his international resume backs that up. He appeared in two Winter Olympics for his country and was a standout presence at the IIHF World Championships, logging 17 points across 19 games in three tournament appearances.
Thomas Vanek is widely regarded as Austria’s most accomplished player, with a standout NHL career and major international appearances. 🇦🇹 #IIHFpic.twitter.com/BLxHMuxT3G
As a junior, he announced himself to the hockey world emphatically, posting a remarkable 17 goals and 11 assists for 28 points in just 16 games across three World Junior Championships.
His time in Detroit, though brief, was memorable on both ends as he joined the Red Wings at the start of the 2016-17 season and made an immediate impact, recording 15 goals and 23 assists for 38 points in 48 games before being dealt to Florida as Detroit navigated a difficult rebuild.
He liked the city enough to come back in what would be the final season of his career during the 2018-19 campaign. Vanek returned to the Motor City and put up 36 points in 64 games, still a reliable depth scoring option at the end of his run, and the kind of veteran presence the current Red Wings roster could frankly use.
Since hanging up his skates, Vanek has remained close to the game, working as a Team Consultant with the San Jose Sharks and has also served as an assistant coach for the Stillwater Bantam AA program. Sunday's announcement ensures that his underrated hockey legacy is finally recongized and is now officially enshrined.
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS - MAY 30: Ezequiel Duran #20 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with teammate Jake Burger #21 after Duran hit a walk off single to win the game against the Kansas City Royals at Globe Life Field on May 30, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, folks…
The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals yesterday by a score of 7-6.
Evan Grant writes that the Rangers come from behind victory sets them up to potentially have a winning homestand.
Joc Pederson homered in the win, and is looking like the guy the Rangers thought they were signing.
COVERS INTEL: Clement’s consistency at the plate has resulted in a 
