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The 2026 season is officially over. Overall, I’d call the season a success, although it sure doesn’t feel that way. If the Cardinals had the same exact W-L total, but went 15-9 instead of 9-15 in September, I feel like the vibes would be much different. From ownership’s standpoint, they are probably happy it went the way it did, because the attendance barely took a hit and I feel like if the season started poorly, it would have taken a bigger hit.

The way to view the season – maybe any season really – is to think about where the team was at the beginning of the season. If you were given the rough details of what happened in that season, would you be happy with how the season went? It is absolutely not a universal yes – I’ve seen the comments lately – but I feel like most fans would have been happy with this season.

It’s not about the win-loss record. I mean sure, I think solely focusing on win-loss record would still produce quite a few yeses – Any betting market or projection system did not have the Cardinals with 77 wins and a few of them were a lot less wins. Granted, some of us – me included – called out the projection systems that saw 70 wins or less, but nonetheless I don’t think any foresaw 77 wins.

Here is one way to look at it: the Cardinals made entirely future focused moves last offseason – they traded their of their best players and Nolan Arenado. It’s ironic actually. The Cardinals have spent a few seasons trying to be just good enough to make the playoffs but not making the playoffs and when they finally pivot, there’s a pretty decent chance they would have made the playoffs if they didn’t trade their best players.

Of course it doesn’t work like that. Nolan Arenado had a resurgence because he got away from Busch Stadium. I don’t think it happens here. Third base was so bad though that he would have been an improvement no matter what. And Brendan Donovan probably has to be healthier for this playoff hypothetical to truly work. And Willson Contreras was also likely hurt by Busch Stadium – Fenway seems like a great park for him. I’m comfortable saying Sonny Gray could have had his season here though.

But at best, they’re where the Phillies are right now, and we’re kind of trying to get away from that. The whole argument against that strategy is not that it won’t sometimes work, it’s that you’re counting on a team with the flimsiest of odds to win a World Series when that’s the entire goal. We want to be the Brewers, not a team barely making the playoffs. This year was the first step to trying to make that happen.

This season was originally meant to be about individual players and the development they took. For the players not expected to be a part of the future, their value is primarily in what trading them will bring the Cardinals. For players expected to be part of the future or hoped to be part of the future, the goal was that you could pencil them in for whatever position they play and then move onto the next problem.

In that respect, the Cardinals had a few questions answered. They don’t need to look for a 2B. JJ Wetherholt is their long-term second baseman, solidified with the extension he signed. His defensive performance gives him a higher floor than we imagined and his offensive performance portends great things despite a not great 2nd half. He had a low BABIP but a high xwOBA, and his minor league BABIPs were all fairly high. He doesn’t strike me as a Matt Carpenter type where he will just underperform his xwOBA because he’s not really a warning track kind of hitter.

They also successfully replaced Willson Contreras and we’ll see if there’s an incoming extension, but possibly the 1B of the future in Alec Burleson. He was legitimately half a win better purely because he played first base competently and maybe even great instead of attempting to catch flyballs in left field. You know how bad you have to be defensively when moving to first base increases your WAR. There is also significant value in Burleson showing 2025 was not a fluke. And the underlying offensive numbers may suggest Burleson hasn’t reached his peak – he had more power, walked more, and had a higher xwOBA than 2025.

Also I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get to him, but Jordan Walker happened. Especially with my hypothetical posed at the beginning of this, I don’t think just about any of us expected his 2026 to happen. Remember when he had a terrible spring training? Yes, he has flaws in his game and superficially it looks like his defense has gotten better, but it really kind of hasn’t, but he finished his season with a 120 wRC+ and 2.8 fWAR. Whether you’re in the minority in wanting to trade him or think he’s the future, either way you have to call him a huge success – even if you want to trade him, he suddenly has a lot more trade value.

That’s three positions that are more clear than at the beginning of the season. I’ll throw in two more, albeit a bit more unproven: Leonardo Bernal is the catcher of the future and Joshua Baez is the LF of the future. These were uncertainties and I might argue Baez is still kind of an uncertainty thanks to his plate discipline numbers, but it’s hard to argue with 7 homers and 7 doubles in 29 games. If you told me that Joshua Baez would have a good enough 2026 that all of us would feel comfortable penciling him in for 150 games in 2027, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.

Bernal was a bigger surprise. Sort of. Given his offensive history, I would not have predicted that he’d have zero trouble adjusting to the majors. He was always crazy young at each level, so there was a reason his offense was merely a little above average, but it’s a guarantee those type of prospects will adjust to MLB pitching. Bernal looks more like the catcher of the future than I think even the Cardinals expected when they initially called him up. Bernal has in the short term answered an important question: who to trade? Answer: not Bernal and I’m way more comfortable trading both Jimmy Crooks, Pedro Pages, and even Ivan Herrera because of Bernal.

So five positions were answered thanks to this season. Two of them were pretty good bets (Burleson, Wetherholt), one of them was more of a matter of which player (catcher), but the other two positions were massive, huge question marks. We didn’t know if Joshua Baez was going to be another Moises Gomez. Minor leaguers have career seasons much the same as ones who make the big leagues. And getting anything out of Walker would have been considered a success, much less an All-Star appearance and a 20-20 season.

Starting pitching wise, it mostly went well, but there was no equivalent to “oh wow we have a Gold Glover at second base???” Just a moderately successful season, but no new ace appeared. Dustin May delivered two huge prospects at the deadline, which was the entire reason he was signed. Andre Pallante completely bounced back to such an extent that I think people will get very frustrated with me if I end up writing an article suggesting he should get traded, and I would have had very little pushback if I proposed that 5 months ago. Kyle Leahy actually looks like he can start now, which I viewed as very unlikely.

And now the bad stuff. If you want to put on the rose-colored glasses, third base gave us what we asked for. We got an answer. Nolan Gorman is not it. He hadn’t gotten a chance to play at the position the Cardinals drafted him at and to his credit, he proved significantly better on defense than expected. But he’s still lost without a paddle on offense. However, this was not a huge disappointment. He was coming off back-to-back 87 wRC+ seasons. I think I had reached a point where even a true Gorman bounceback would have me wanting to trade him – because I simply did not trust him to repeat it. Maybe I’m too burned by Tyler O’Neill.

They did not find the 3B of the future, but there are at least candidates in the system, none greater than Jesus Baez. Baez hit 41 homers this season if you include the minor league playoffs and while I’m sure the homers are inflated by whatever is going on with the ball down there, he hit 14 last year. You can’t just write off his season because of the ball. The 21-year-old Deniel Ortiz also had a very quiet good year. Both of them should be in Memphis next season. Blaze Jordan went from a player left off the 40 man roster to a player who forced his way into 58 games, prematurely ended by an injury. My point is only that if the MLB situation at 3B went as poorly as possible, at least the minor league portion went significantly better than expected.

I don’t have a lot of positive things to say about CF – call me the Nathan Church skeptic – but even then the minor league developments were extremely positive. Tai Peete looks like a very shrewd pickup in return for Donovan and Josiah Ragsdale just had a 145 wRC+ across two levels and will likely be in Memphis next season (Alexaner Frias is too far away for this type of post). Yes, what people hoped from Church is a significant departure from what they got and in that sense, one could call this the one position that looks to be in a worse position than at the beginning of the season – but I never fully bought into Church so I’m not sure that holds true for me.

And of course Matthew Liberatore. I mean the best you can say is that he actually did raise his strikeout rate and by quite a bit honestly. That is a fact. After that it entirely depends on how the Cardinals perceive that kind of improvement for his future. Either it means he can find swing-and-miss stuff, but can’t be a starting pitcher – certainly the majority opinion for the fanbase. Or he’s very close, but needs to clean stuff up. As a Liberatore apologist, I wouldn’t discount the second possibility – we literally just experienced this with Andre Pallante. But I don’t actually know where the Cardinals stand and if the bullpen is his future, I think it would improve the bullpen instantly.

As this is an overall positive post, I won’t spend too much time on the bullpen. I’m not going to put lipstick on a pig. But bullpen is a short-term problem. It is always a short term problem. You can’t trust it even if it’s good. In the context of looking forward, this happens to be a good thing coming off a very poor season. There’s nowhere to go but up. If your second baseman is below average one season, if you run with the same guy the next season, you can be pretty sure it won’t go well. If your bullpen is below average one season, you have no idea how they will perform the next season. The Cardinals will try different pitchers and the pitchers they have might see a random jump – maybe Cade Winquest is the closer next season. Amidst all the advanced analytics we have, bullpen is still as unpredictable as ever.

All in all, whatever doubts I have about how this upcoming offseason will go – they should absolutely capitalize on the excitement and goodwill they have and actually make moves to improve the 2027 team and not just future teams – at this very moment, I am happy with how the season went and the direction the Cardinals are going in.

When Trey Gibson took the mound for the nightcap of the Orioles’ September 23 doubleheader against Toronto, there was little reason to expect much. The 24-year-old was only there because Baltimore’s rotation had run out of healthy arms: Kyle Bradish was sidelined with a sports hernia, and the Orioles needed an extra starter for the doubleheader. Gibson’s big-league résumé to that point did not inspire confidence: a 7.36 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP in seven tries. One fantasy site called him a “high-risk option.”

Then he threw 6⅔ scoreless innings against a Blue Jays team that had still harbored playoff aspirations that morning. The righty allowed three hits and two walks, and struck out seven. It was the best start of his young career by a country mile, and perhaps, looking ahead to next season, a statement that there could be more where this came from.

Obviously, one start isn’t a season. So what did the rest of Trey Gibson’s 2026 actually say?

Gibson came into this season a former dark horse who was already building a name for himself. An undrafted free agent, Gibson was pitching for the collegiate summer team the Chatham Anglers when the Orioles signed him to a minor league contract in 2023.

Then, over parts of three seasons, Gibson’s star began to rise, capped off by 2025, when his 166 strikeouts across three levels led every pitcher in the system, resulting in his being named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Thus Trey Gibson had a head of steam entering this spring. But it turns out, MiLB is one thing, and the dance is another. After six starts at Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles handed him the ball at Yankee Stadium on May 3. He went 4⅔ innings and gave up three runs, two of them on homers. May was respectable overall for him: a 3.65 ERA in three appearances, including 5⅔ innings of one-run ball against the Rays.

June, however, was not. Over five starts Gibson got walloped: a 9.58 ERA, with opposing hitters averaging nearly .300 against him. Sure, there were OK indicators, stuff-wise: he struck out 25 in 20 2/3 innings, including eight at Dodger Stadium. But it was still ugly. This stretch was capped off, in a manner of speaking, by a June 30 outing against the White Sox where he posted this line: 2⅔ innings, seven hits, six walks, eight runs. Ouch. Back to Norfolk went Gibson, and it wasn’t clear he’d be invited back to the big leagues at all this year.

Back at Triple-A, at a surface level, Gibson actually got worse as the summer went on. He had a 3.55 ERA from March through July and a 5.27 ERA in August and September. But if you look closer, you’ll also see a walk rate that got cut in half (4.3 BB/9 through July, and 2.0 in August and September) and an uptick in strikeouts (though this had never been a problem for the righty). Gibson, during his struggles this summer, had lived too much in the zone and allowed too many hits. But by cutting down the walks, he made himself a different pitcher.

I’m not saying the Orioles were onto this when he was called back up for one last big-league start this season; by all appearances it was purely a move of necessity, when Kyle Bradish went down with a hernia. But as you now know, Gibson’s scoreless outing was a revelation, and certainly a moment he demanded to be taken seriously as a starting pitcher candidate.

What does Gibson’s season tell us, as we close the book on a lost season for the team as a whole and look ahead to 2027? Obviously, cautious optimism has to be the right answer. One start in nine tries is not much to go on. Also it came against a Blue Jays team that had been already eliminated from postseason competition in Game One of the doubleheader that day. And it’s true, Gibson is striking out fewer hitters than he used to. In 2025, when he was the organization’s Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year, he was a strikeout machine, with 12.4 whiffs per nine innings across three levels. At Norfolk this year it was 8.0 early in the season, and slightly rebounded to 9.0 per nine over the last two months. In nine starts as a big leaguer, he averaged 8.4.

One more interesting thing about Gibson. A mounting complaint about the Mike Elias regime is the failure to draft pitchers. Gibson is, in a way, no rebuttal to this at all, because the Orioles signed him in August 2023 after he went undrafted! (This was just after a stretch in which, by BirdsWatcher’s count, Baltimore didn’t draft and sign a single pitcher in the first four rounds from 2019 through 2022.) On the other hand, Gibson provides strong evidence that the Orioles can develop pitching, alongside 14th-rounder Michael Forret and Luis De Leon, who signed for $30,000. That’s a point in the front office’s favor, at least.

Trey Gibson was signed as a relative unknown, and he still remains such. He has a 95-mph fastball, a great work ethic, an ability to miss MiLB bats, one great MLB start to his name, and that’s pretty much it. But if you’re looking for an interesting contender for a spot in the 2027 starting rotation, you can’t overlook Trey Gibson.

We did it, folks.

We made it through another 162 games of Rockies baseball.

While they limped to the end and ultimately finished 58-104, there were plenty of glimmers of hope for the future (as well as many reminders of why they finished with a fourth-consecutive 100-loss season).

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be running our “Ranking the Rockies” series as well as continue to bring you as many updates as we can about the team.

But in the meantime, here are some updates from a busy final weekend of the MLB regular season!

Rockies News & Links

• Goodman reaches 40-HR milestone, and Rockies want more | MLB.com — Hunter Goodman finished 2026 with 41 home runs, becoming the first Rockie since 2019 to accomplish the feat. Thomas Harding caught up with the slugging catcher after the milestone on Saturday night.
• Condon’s full season, new mindset crucial for ’26 development | MLB.com — Charlie Condon (No. 2 PuRP) finished 2026 by being named the PCL’s “Top MLB Prospect” and an All-Star. Thomas Harding caught up with the top prospect, as well as some of his Triple-A coaches, about his 2026 season.
• Coors Field employees, regulars pray MLB avoids lockout | Kevin’s take | Denver Gazette ($) — With an MLB lockout likely looming on the horizon, Kevin Henry checked in with some folks who will also be affected: Folks who work at Coors Field, including ushers, concessionaires, custodial staff, security staff and others.
• The Rockies are the fifth MLB team to lose 100 games in four straight seasons. Here’s a historical comparison. | Denver Post ($) — It was another down year for the Rockies, who made dubious history once again with a fourth-consecutive 100-loss season. Kyle Newman breaks down how this season fits in a historical context.

Around MLB

• Here are the Triple-A All-Stars and award winners for the 2026 season | MLB.com — As mentioned above, Condon was named an All-Star and “Top MLB Prospect” for the PCL. Alongside him, Zac Veen (No. 6 PuRP) took home the MVP award and Sterlin Thompson (No. 16 PuRP) was also named an All-Star. Veen became the first Rockies prospect to earn MVP honors since Joshua Fuentes in 2018.
• Tigers’ emotional Justin Verlander leaves final career start to hugs | ESPN — In case you weren’t watching the Tigers-Pirates game on Saturday, it marked Justin Verlander’s final MLB start. And just warning you now: Have tissues handy!
• Brewers buck tradition, name Christian Yelich first captain in club history | The Athletic ($) — Christian Yelich has been a stalwart for the Brewers since they traded for him during the 2017-2018 offseason. The Brew Crew rewarded him by naming him Captain, one of three active players to don the title (Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Salvador Perez of the Royals). If the Rockies decided to name a captain, who would it be?
• Dan Wilson will not return as Seattle Mariners manager | ESPN — The Seattle Mariners struggled mightily in 2026 after 2025 saw them nearly make the World Series. Unfortunately for Dan Wilson, that meant the end of his tenure. He was promoted to manager on August 22, 2024 and went 186-171 in 357 games at the helm.
• Alonso becomes first player to win RBI title in both leagues | MLB.com — After 10 years in the New York Mets organization (six in the Majors), Pete Alonso signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason. He had a productive year, slashing .267/.363/.522 with 43 homers (1st in the AL) in 161 games with the O’s and became the first player to win the RBI title in both the National and American Leagues.
• Here are the final stats leaders from the 2026 season | MLB.com — TJ Rumfield won the OBP crown in the National League (and MLB), but doesn’t get a mention in this particular article.

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The Yankees gained an extra day of rest with a nor’easter canceling Game 162 against the Orioles on Sunday. It means they’ll have two days off before opening their 2026 playoff odyssey Tuesday night against the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series. Boston has one less day of rest after losing to the Cubs, 6-2, on the final day of the regular season. Earlier today, my colleague Josh provided a preview of Boston’s top-of-the-class pitching staff, and now we’ll look at the offense.

The Red Sox were seemingly dead and buried on June 24th after dropping two of three to the last place Rockies. They sat in last place at 32-46, 15.5 games back of the first-place Rays, listless after the ground-shaking April 25th firing of longtime manager Alex Cora. But then a four game sweep of the Yankees at Fenway catalyzed one of the most stunning mid-season turnarounds in recent memory. They won an astonishing 27 of 30 games between July 3rd and August 7th to seriously threaten the Yankees’ position in second place. This owes a lot to, as Josh covered, a pitching staff that was fantastic all season long. However, the sudden emergence of impact hitters from the margins of the roster deserves as much of the praise for ultimately getting them into this playoff series against the Yankees.

Before we look at the individual players, we should recap how the offense in aggregate performed across the whole season. They finished middle of the pack in terms of OPS (.718), wRC+ (99), stolen bases (107), and fWAR (20.3). They hit the fifth-fewest home runs (162) in the league while striking out and walking at a roughly league-average clip. And as the Yankees deal with uncertainty over Aaron Judge’s availability, the Red Sox just got their own star slugger back just in time for this series.

Willson Contreras missed eight games after being struck on the hand by a pitch, but returned to the lineup in the final game of the regular season. The longtime Cardinal seemingly had a point to prove all season after getting traded to the Red Sox over the winter, and he was far and away Boston’s best hitter, slashing .276/.387/.518 with a team-high 27 home runs, 81 RBI and 4.1 fWAR, his 152 wRC+ third in baseball among hitters with at least 500 PAs. He thrives against fastballs and anything on the outer-half, his one weak spot up and in.

Roman Anthony appeared poised to step up as the league’s next superstar after a breakout rookie campaign, but a torn finger ligament limited him to just 54 games. He returned with two hits against the Yankees on August 30th and posted a 123 wRC+ in his final 24 games, though he finished with just five home runs in 240 plate appearances. Like Contreras, he loves to crush the fastball, but is certainly vulnerable to breaking balls from righties and changeups from lefties low and away.

Before the season started, the outfield was expected to carry the offense. Despite Anthony missing most of the season, the outfield still produced the bulk of the position player value. Ceddanne Rafaela posted his first above-average campaign by wRC+ (108) while maintaining Gold Glove defense in center but did deal with some right leg injuries in the final weeks of the season. Wilyer Abreu didn’t quite take the next step that many expected him to but still produced plenty of value by matching his career averages by batting .248/.327/.446 with 24 home runs, 76 RBI, and a 112 wRC+, though his defense regressed significantly from its usual sterling standard. The pair do the bulk of their damage against the breaking ball so expect a heavy diet of fastballs inside to Abreu and away to Rafaela.

All this being said, the story of the Red Sox season and in particular the turnaround in fortunes has been the transformation of other teams’ castoffs and their own borderline MLB players into impact contributors, not dissimilar from the Yankees’ next-man-up movement in 2019. Chief among them was Mickey Gasper, who was claimed off waivers over the winter and was optioned multiple times early before exploding for a 130 wRC+ in 67 games (though will miss this series with a biceps injury). One-time Yankee Jahmai Jones thrived in a platoon bench role, posting a 184 wRC+ in 179 plate appearances, almost exclusively against lefties.

Caleb Durbin was a sturdy three-win player who batted league average. Former Yankees first round pick Anthony Seigler was a revelation for 49 games at second posting a 102 wRC+, though his availability is threatened by a wrist injury. Nick Easton floundered in his first two big league seasons but was good for a 104 wRC+ in 65 games.

There are some softer landing spots in the lineup. Adley Rutschman never quite adjusted to life with the Red Sox with just a 77 wRC+ in 31 games after moving to Boston at the deadline and could yield playing time to Connor Wong behind the plate. Jarren Duran endured a miserable campaign at a 70 wRC+ in 150 games and likely played himself out of a starting role in the playoffs. Trevor Story could only a muster a 68 wRC+ in 63 games of another injury ravaged season.

For Boston, the question becomes whether this accumulation of injuries to position players leaves them blunted for this series. That being said, their main protagonists are all available just in time, Contreras, Anthony, Abreu, and Rafaela representing a potent threat at the top of the lineup. If the Yankees can limit the damage done by those four they’ll be in a good position to advance.

Michael Wacha reached the 200-innings mark this year, writes Jaylon Thompson.

“Yeah, getting to that 200 mark is definitely a cool feeling,” Wacha said. “It’s always been a goal of mine as a starting pitcher to reach that number. And yeah, definitely a cool memory that I’ll have.”

Wacha gave up six runs — although only two were earned — in what turned out to be an 11-5 loss on Saturday to the Guardians.

“You know, he’s battled some things just like everybody does throughout the course of the year,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said pregame. “And having your body go through the rigors of pitching this many innings. But, he’s never wavered, and he takes a lot of pride in it. And we’ve seen him continually evolve year after year.”

Jackson Stone has more.

“He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever been around,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Professional, gives you everything he’s got. I know he was frustrated with the results tonight, but you look up and he’s out there in the seventh. … I love the guy. Love everything about him, love the way he competes.”

He also writes that Carter Jensen continues to set rookie records.

He’s now homered 20 times while batting leadoff and playing catcher, which is eight more such home runs in a career than anyone else in MLB history. 

That’s not your normal catcher.

“He’s driven. We talk about it all the time. He works, he’s committed, he wants to be better,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “I know he’s had a really good season. I mean, anytime you pass Mike Piazza in something, that’s pretty impressive. We talk about his growth on the defensive side of the ball as well, but overall, he still wants to be better. He’s not satisfied.”

Here is what this year’s MLB postseason bracket looks like.

Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler will start Game 1 of the Wild Card series against the Red Sox.

How the Tigers blindsided Justin Verlander with an emotional send off in his last game.

Kirby Yates makes his first career start in his final MLB game.

The AL West is officially the worst division in baseball history.

Francisco Lindor becomes the second switch-hitter with 300 home runs and 200 steals.

Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen will miss the postseason.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson won’t return next year.

Jarren Duran has the worst 20/20 season in modern baseball history.

The Mariners surprise longtime broadcaster Rick Rizzs with a tribute in his last weekend before retirement.

MLB is talking to the White House about playing a game in a national park.

Longtime White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper died last week.

Remember Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, ten years after his death.

Scientists detect radio signals coming directly from a planet outside our solar system.

An Indian-Pakistani restaurant in a Houston strip mall makes more Uber Eats deliveries than any other restaurant in the world.

Some Brits want to get rid of the big fuzzy hats at Buckingham Palace.

Your song of the day is Wolf Parade with Fine Young Cannibals.

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Some moments in baseball feel so cinematic they barely seem to be real, and this weekend we saw one such moment in the final start of Justin Verlander’s career. In A League of Their Own, Tom Hanks famously declares, “There’s no crying in baseball!” but this weekend proved that things were a little more like Moneyball. “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” As Verlander’s final career start came to an end, it wasn’t Tigers manager AJ Hinch who went to the mound to collect the ball from his starter, but rather Verlander’s eight-year-old daughter Genevieve. Verlander was clearly emotional, openly crying as he hugged his daughter before Hinch joined him on the mound and he shook hands and hugged his teammates before waving to the standing crowd at Comerica Park. It was, one might say, a perfect finale. Hollywood couldn’t have done it better.

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Verlander might not be the only ace calling it a career, though, as many speculate that Max Scherzer’s incredible final outing on Sunday in Toronto could very well be his curtain call as well.

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We look at that, and also the postseason picture below, because while some teams are packing it up and getting ready for next year, we still have plenty of postseason baseball to get through.

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Let’s get right into today’s links.

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• Jay Jaffe assesses the weakest positions on all the remaining NL contenders.
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• Jake Rill reports that Pete Alonso is the first player to win RBI titles in both the AL and NL.
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• Here’s your finalized postseason bracket. (MLB)
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• Keegan Matheson looks at Max Scherzer’s final game of the season, and quite possibly of his career.
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• Karl Rasmussen ranks the lineups of the remaining playoff teams. And also the pitching.
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• ESPN’s Postseason Preview.
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• Johnny Flores Jr. reports that the Brewers have selected Christian Yelich as their first team captain in club history. (The Athletic subscription required.)
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• In case you want a good tear-jerker for your Monday morning, this mound visit for Justin Verlander’s final game will get anyone a little weepy.
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How can you not be romantic about baseball? pic.twitter.com/SRitybOvCv

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 26, 2026

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• Cody Stavenhagen offers some insights into that final, emotional farewell. (The Athletic subscription required.)
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• As the regular season comes to an end, Dan Wilson is the first of the “offseason” managerial cuts, and will not return to the Mariners next year. Story by Daniel Kramer.
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• Davy Andrews explains why Steven Kwan is a force to be reckoned with once again.
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• Todd Zolecki shares that the Phillies had to survive quite a week to make it to the postseason. Story of their whole year, really.
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• Sonja Chen reports that while the Dodgers ended the season with win 100, there are still some questions about Shohei Ohtani.
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• Tom Verducci offers his top takeaways from the 2026 regular season.
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• Jim Bowden offers a postseason power ranking. (The Athletic subscription required.)
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• Colson Montgomery would rather not focus on setting the record for batter strikeouts this season. (AP)
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• Neil Patrick Harris will lead a Broadway revival of “Damn Yankees,” this time featuring… the Orioles? (Here’s a direct link to the Bluesky post for those reading on Apple News.)
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• Dan Szymborksi defends his ZiPS as to why it seems to hate the Brewers so much.
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• Five things Ben Clemens liked (or didn’t like) this past week.
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• Brandon Gawlowski explains how scouting survives and why it still matters as data and analytics become the norm for teams.
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• Here are all the regular-season stat leaders now that the season has wrapped. (MLB)
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• Giants’ manager Tony Vitello reached a season-high seven ejections this season. (AP)
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• Pope Leo was coy when asked if he offered a little divine intervention on behalf of the White Sox. (Here’s a direct link to the Bluesky post for those on Apple News)
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And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.

Welcome back to the Minor League Roundup!

As a reminder, you can find this roundup — covering… sorry, force of habit. With the Biloxi Shuckers’ loss in the third and final game of the Southern League Championship Series, the season is officially over for each of the Brewers’ affiliates, which means it’s time to take a look at what happened in the minors this season.

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Notable Graduations: 23 starts into Logan Henderson’s career, he has yet to have a bad start. Henderson hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any given start in his entire career, which ties him with Zac Gallen for the record. His 0.844 WHIP is the lowest by a rookie starting pitcher (min. 50 innings) since Elmer Steele, who did it in 1908. No rookie has pitched as well as Henderson since a guy who made his major league debut for the Boston Americans. Hard to overstate just how incredible he’s been as a steady presence in a rotation that’s been beset by injuries and, at times, underperformance.

Logan Henderson, Filthy 84mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/uz6E37UUFw

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 23, 2026

Other notable pitching prospects who graduated included Brandon Sproat, who flashed amazing stuff but will need to work on his control to become a viable major league starting pitcher, and Shane Drohan, who posted a 4.24 ERA and 1.34 WHIP through 123 innings this season. Despite having made his debut over two years ago now, Robert Gasser was still considered a prospect coming into the season, and he’s been an integral part of the rotation for much of the season. Recently, Gasser has seemed to flip a switch; since his emergency relief “start” on August 26, he’s put up a 1.67 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 32 1/3 innings, bringing his ERA for the season down to 3.38.

Bobby Diesel, Nasty 79mh Sweeper. 😨

8th K thru 5 pic.twitter.com/YTG7kUCHx6

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 26, 2026

Luis Lara came out hot this season, earning himself both a call-up and a contract extension by mid-summer. In 60 games with the Brewers, he’s only slashed .246/.313/.326, but his defense in right field has been stellar — one of the reasons he’s been worth 1.1 bWAR in less than three months. The other prospect to earn an extension was Cooper Pratt, who looks to be cementing himself as the shortstop of the future. Pratt is hitting .281 with a .716 OPS and has been worth 1.6 bWAR in 221 at-bats with Milwaukee.

---

Triple-A Nashville Sounds

Record: 80-69
Standout performances:

• OF Luis Lara: .321/.432/.470 in 287 at-bats
• 1B/3B Luke Adams: .259/.418/.509 in 212 at-bats
• 1B/OF Tyler Black: .246/.368/.387 in 354 at-bats
• RHP Coleman Crow: 105 1/3 IP (led Sounds), 3.59 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 102 K, 35 BB
• RHP Garrett Stallings: 82 IP, 3.95 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 78 K, 28 BB
• RHP Blake Holub: 55 2/3 IP, 2.10 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 66 K, 21 BB

Looking at Triple-A stats at the end of the year is always a bit weird because the best prospects (and a good number of the AAAA guys) usually don’t spend a ton of time at the level. It’s rare that a top prospect spends a full year raking in Triple-A; as with Lara, the organization usually will want to see whether said prospect can replicate their success in the majors.

With that being said, there’s still a lot worth mentioning out of Nashville. Luke Adams was ranked as a top-10 organizational prospect prior to last season, is still ranked at No. 13, and just posted an OPS well over .900 in 212 at-bats. He doesn’t have much more to prove in Triple-A, which theoretically would make him a candidate to make the big leagues next year.

The reason he’s not getting more love is that the Brewers are stacked with corner infielders and corner infield prospects. To illustrate my point: in some organizations, guys like Tyler Black (and maybe even Brock Wilken) would have gotten a real shot in the big leagues. Because the Brewers are as deep as they are, playing time is harder to come by. At the same time, Adams has hit at every level despite a somewhat unconventional swing (that has gotten more conventional in recent years) and just posted a career-high 16 home runs (13 in Triple-A). Should he get an opportunity — whether due to injuries or potential offseason moves — it won’t surprise me if he takes advantage of it.

Luke Adams just hit his third homer of the game to make it 10-8 in the 9th inning

102.6 MPH, 404 FT

1.013 OPS now https://t.co/BiKuHk4Jngpic.twitter.com/13lfzx6wy7

— Spencer Michaelis (@smichaelis234) June 21, 2026

Another player I’d like to see more of in the big leagues is Coleman Crow, who led Sounds starting pitchers in both ERA and innings pitched. In his brief time with Milwaukee, he impressed, and he reminds me a little bit of guys like Chad Patrick and Drohan who weren’t super highly-regarded prospects, but developed into dependable swingmen. Crow’s curveball also might be one of the best pitches in the entire organization. One thing worth mentioning is that, at 5’10”, 175 lbs, he’s a good deal smaller than Patrick and Drohan, and most pitchers — more Tim Lincecum-esque, if anything. Still, that hasn’t stopped him so far.

Garrett Stallings, who also pitched well in limited time with the Brewers, served as a dependable option for the Sounds. Guys who can show up in Milwaukee and pitch three scoreless innings out of the pen don’t grow on trees, so it speaks to the Brewers’ pitching depth that he’s a Triple-A arm. Also, he’s a great guy:

Your Community Player of the Year is Garrett Stallings 👏 Garrett was an impact player on and off the field, frequently volunteering at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital and our Sertoma Club Clinic. If you caught a game in Hit City this year, you likely saw him at our Sunday… pic.twitter.com/ZzpIw31Ttz

— Nashville Sounds (@nashvillesounds) September 24, 2026

Blake Holub also deserves some love, as a 2.10 ERA in 55 2/3 innings out of the bullpen is nothing to sneeze at.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that Jeferson Quero and Jett Williams, two top-10 organizational prospects coming into the season, both had somewhat disappointing years.

As signaled by the acquisition of Bo Naylor, Milwaukee seems to lack confidence in Quero’s arm being what it was prior to the labrum injury he suffered after his first at-bat of 2024. He started 48 games at catcher compared to 70 at designated hitter and by the end of the year was pretty much only a DH. Quero allowed 98 stolen bases in 116 attempts, or over two stolen bases per game, which works out to a pretty abysmal 15.5% caught-stealing rate.

Williams’ season also ended up looking less-than-ideal due to injuries, but there’s more cause for optimism with him. He had just one plate appearance since July 7 due to elbow and ankle injuries; in other words, he essentially missed the last three months of the season. Williams ended his season slashing .233/.340/.384 (.724 OPS) over 81 games; not a terrible line, but also not an improvement on his time with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate (.718 OPS). Still, he might have ended up in Milwaukee anyway had it not been for the injuries.

Double-A Biloxi Shuckers

Record: 66-68
Standout performances:

• 1B Blake Burke: .285/.367/.603, 30 HR in 375 at-bats
• 1B/3B Andrew Fischer: .254/.389/.637, 28 HR in 248 at-bats
• C Matthew Wood: .257/.398/.492, 18 HR in 303 at-bats
• LF Josh Adamczewski: .278/.382/.465 in 241 at-bats

Biloxi had a few mainstays — among them No. 1 overall prospect Jesús Made — but there was a good amount of roster reshuffling down in Mississippi, which explains why the Shuckers won their division in the first half but finished the second half under .500.

Still, despite finishing the full season with a losing record, the Shuckers had the most successful season of any Brewers affiliate. Their first-half division title guaranteed them a playoff berth, and they swept the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in the best-of-three division series to earn a spot in the championship series against the Rocket City Trash Pandas, where they lost the decisive third game by two runs.

What made this team special? Brewers farm director Tom Flanagan said this year’s Shuckers were “probably the greatest collection of high-upside talent” he’d ever seen on one club. This season, Biloxi rostered baseball’s No. 1 prospect (Made), the minor league home run leader (Andrew Fischer), the Southern League MVP (Blake Burke), and all four finalists for the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year award.

Made spent the entire season as the Southern League’s youngest player and still hit .271/.344/.430 with 14 home runs, 37 steals, and 91 RBIs, breaking Jackson Chourio’s franchise record of 90. The underlying numbers are even better: a 10.2% walk rate and a 14.3% strikeout rate as a teenager in Double-A is ridiculous. No more ink needs to be spilled on him; he’s the No. 1 prospect in baseball for a reason. Hopefully fans will get to see him in Triple-A to start next season.

Jesús Made delivers a pair of run-scoring hits in the playoffs 🔥

MLB's top prospect (@Brewers) has four RBIs in his past three postseason games for the Double-A @BiloxiShuckers: pic.twitter.com/jnSb9CFr0a

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 23, 2026

The refrain you’ll see with regard to Fischer is that he strikes out too much. That’s true — Fischer is the final boss of three-true-outcome prospects. If he makes the majors, he’ll be a rare case; Joey Gallo is pretty much the only player to strike out that much (33%) in the minors and become an established major leaguer, and even then, he didn’t last all that long.

Then again, Fischer also walked 102 times, hit 48 home runs (plus two more in the playoffs), and posted a 1.067 OPS in his first full professional season. His 48 regular-season home runs are the most by any minor leaguer since Ron Kittle hit 50 in 1982, and second only to Gorman Thomas (51 in 1974) among Brewers minor leaguers. He also led all qualified full-season minor leaguers in slugging (.654) and OPS. Maybe he’s just a unicorn? Nothing he’s done so far suggests that he isn’t…

2026 MiLB HR leader Andrew Fischer skies a home run in Double-A playoff action for the second straight game!@Brewers | @BiloxiShuckers | @BrewersPDpic.twitter.com/l9UV9nEgtR

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 23, 2026

Burke won Southern League MVP even though he was promoted to Nashville on August 10. Yeah, you read that right: Burke won MVP despite not being in the league the last month and a half of the season. In 96 games with Biloxi, he hit .285/.367/.603 with 30 home runs, leading the league in average, slugging, and OPS and setting Shuckers single-season records for homers and OPS. He needed only 88 games to reach 30 home runs, the fastest any Double-A hitter has done it since at least 2005. Burke also stole 29 bases and flashed the leather a few times at first base. I’m planting my flag: even though he struggled in Triple-A (.193/.299/.336 in 119 at-bats), I think Burke is the Brewers’ first baseman of the future.

Also of note: Made, Fischer, and catcher Darrien Miller were the three Shuckers sent to Nashville for the Brewers’ “stay ready” camp after the season ended, which is a nice little nod to how the organization views them.

Josh Adamczewski has raked everywhere he’s been, so it’s not necessarily a surprise that he had another great season. A 15th-round pick in 2023, he hit .331 with a 1.036 OPS for Wisconsin, got promoted in mid-June, and then hit safely in each of his first 12 games with Biloxi. He finished with a .278/.382/.465 line at Double-A and made the Southern League All-Star team. Across both levels, he hit .300/.417/.509 with 18 homers and 78 walks. Baseball America now has him at No. 88 overall, and he should be higher going into next season.

Josh Adamczewski (@Brewers No. 3 prospect) wallops his first homer of the playoffs to get the Double-A @BiloxiShuckers on the board in Game 1 of the Southern League Finals

Watch what happens next for FREE: https://t.co/ahTqRXbsvvpic.twitter.com/8CnFNAPXgm

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 21, 2026

Matthew Wood also merits a mention. The 25-year-old catcher, a fourth-round pick out of Penn State in 2022, didn’t make the Brewers’ top 30 list heading into the season, but he was one of the Shuckers’ best players this year. Not only did he post an .890 OPS with 18 home runs, but he also kept hitting in the playoffs, homering and driving in four runs in the game that clinched the division series against Pensacola, then doubling in Game 1 of the championship series.

The obvious caveat is age. Twenty-five is on the older side for Double-A, so it’s fair to want to see him do it in Triple-A before getting too excited. Still, remember what I said about Quero? Milwaukee’s catching situation beyond next season is murkier than it’s been in a while, and a left-handed-hitting catcher whom scouts have long considered capable of sticking behind the plate is exactly the kind of player who could sneak into the picture.

The career year continues for Matthew Wood! His 18th blast of the year goes 450 feet and gets us on the board!

📻 https://t.co/LIZcF8cgpH
📺 @bally__sports, https://t.co/Mw64C5PQhy#ShuckYeah#ThisIsMyCrewpic.twitter.com/4v26LKSxDa

— Biloxi Shuckers (@BiloxiShuckers) September 11, 2026

On the mound, Manuel Rodríguez was the Shuckers’ workhorse. The 21-year-old went 13-4, a new Shuckers record for wins, albeit with a 4.74 ERA. With that being said, his ERA in High-A last year was 3.01, and he led the entire organization with 133 innings, so the Brewers clearly see something in him. A 21-year-old throwing 133 innings with fairly respectable numbers is impressive in its own right.

By the end of the season, Biloxi’s rotation featured three starters ranked as top 20 organizational prospects. Bishop Letson and Josh Knoth are ranked No. 8 and 9, respectively, by MLB Pipeline, while J.D. Thompson comes in at No. 18. Letson’s surface numbers (4.85 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) aren’t pretty, but he finished strong. He posted a 1.69 ERA over his last three starts, then threw seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in the Shuckers’ Game 2 win against Rocket City.

Knoth missed all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery and came back to throw 87 2/3 innings with a 4.11 ERA and 87 strikeouts, including a 2.77 ERA in three late-season starts with Biloxi. For a pitcher coming off a lost year, it’s good just to see him stack innings, but his stats aren’t anything to sneeze at, either. Thompson, a 2025 second-rounder, missed time due to injury but put up a 3.98 ERA in 17 starts between High-A and Double-A.

Josh Knoth just turned 21 and put up a strong start in the first game of the Southern League Championship 🔥

Knoth's Line: 6.0 IP / 5 H / 2 R / 3 BB / 6 K#ThisIsMyCrewpic.twitter.com/hstMuAG8qu

— Brewers Player Development (@BrewersPD) September 22, 2026

Like Letson, both Knoth and Thompson finished strong this season after a couple of rough early outings, showing that they’re figuring it out. Knoth put up a 2.77 ERA in 3 Double-A starts prior to the playoffs. That’s all the Brewers — and Shuckers — want to see from three young, extremely talented pitching prospects.

High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Record: 80-69
Standout performances:

• 1B/3B Eric Bitonti: .270/.391/.525, 25 HR in 400 at-bats
• 2B Daniel Dickinson: .282/.428/.441, 60 SB in 390 at-bats
• OF Braylon Payne: .277/.369/.561, 23 HR in 367 at-bats
• OF Luis Castillo: .245/.357/.469, 20 HR in 310 at-bats

Wisconsin’s season was hard to evaluate because so much of its talent left town early. Fischer, Adamczewski, and Braylon Payne all started the year in Appleton before being promoted to Biloxi. Even so, the Timber Rattlers had one of the Midwest League’s better offenses.

The centerpiece of that offense should have been Luis Peña, MLB Pipeline’s No. 21 overall prospect, but unfortunately his season was defined more by what happened off the field than on it. Peña collapsed in the dugout, reportedly due to severe dehydration, in late April, and ended up missing a month. He had a second health scare a few weeks after his return, then missed another two weeks with a hamstring injury in June. When he played, he was very good, slashing .298/.384/.420 with 27 steals in 51 games.

Peña was promoted to Biloxi in mid-August, but fractured his fibula just a couple of weeks later while trying to steal third. The Brewers expect him to make a full recovery, but it will be anywhere from six to nine months before he’s back on the field, meaning he likely won’t be ready to play to begin 2027.

Eric Bitonti, ranked No. 26 in the system by MLB Pipeline, was one of the biggest breakouts in the farm system. He hit 25 home runs, all with Wisconsin, setting a new franchise record. He also hit .262/.378/.507 with 93 RBIs and 24 steals, all at just 20 years old. Bitonti’s raw power has never been in question; the question was whether he could do the other stuff well enough to stay on the field. This year, he did, and he played third base — not first — better than he ever has. All of that earned him a spot in Biloxi for the final week of the season. Frankly, I think he’s still underrated by Pipeline at No. 26.

Eric Bitonti was named to the Midwest League All-Star team as a 20-year-old 🏅

Bitonti showed off his 6' 5" frame at both 1st and 3rd base and continues to impress with his elite power (50% Hard-Hit) and lifting the baseball (60% Air rate) 💥

He hit 25 home runs (a… pic.twitter.com/EzZbT4XF0U

— Brewers Player Development (@BrewersPD) September 17, 2026

That home run record Bitonti broke? It was set by his teammate Payne, the Brewers’ first-round pick in 2024 and my pick for breakout player of the year. I’ve spilled a lot of ink on Payne already, but in short: he would have been a great prospect even if his power had never developed. It did.

Payne hit .277/.369/.561 with 23 homers in 77 games and made the Midwest League All-Star team. He didn’t slow down after his promotion to Biloxi, either, posting an .846 OPS in 25 games and homering in the playoffs. Put it all together, and you’ve got a speedy 20-year-old outfielder with 28 homers and 25 steals. He should be a consensus top-100 prospect going into next season.

Braylon Payne’s first postseason dinger leaves his bat at 117 mph 🔥

The 20-year-old's 28 regular-season roundtrippers ranked third in the @Brewers system this season: pic.twitter.com/D4bk0KMsza

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 18, 2026

Former sixth-round pick Daniel Dickinson doesn’t get the same attention, but he stole 61 bases (!) with 11 homers and an .866 OPS, mostly with Wisconsin, before a late promotion to Biloxi. Also of note: Luis Castillo led the team with 90 RBIs and hit 20 home runs.

Marco Dinges kept hitting this year, with an .855 OPS in nearly 300 at-bats, but he almost exclusively served as a designated hitter this year, starting 19 games at catcher and 55 at DH. Something to keep an eye on: with Wood and Darrien Miller both playing well in Double-A, his only catching three games there makes sense, but he started more than twice as many games at DH as at catcher with Wisconsin.

While Wisconsin got plenty of standout performances at the plate, the pitching staff, which ranked 10th of 12 teams in ERA, was less impressive. The exception was Wande Torres. Over his last 12 outings with Wisconsin, Torres went 6-0 with a 2.32 ERA, striking out 76 and walking 20 in 62 innings, and he won the organization’s Pitcher of the Month award in both July and August. His full-season numbers (4.15 ERA, 126 strikeouts in 115 innings) undersell how good he was down the stretch.

Single-A Wilson Warbirds

Record: 80-69
Standout performances:

• SS Brady Ebel: .261/.417/.420 in 383 at-bats
• OF Handelfry Encarnacion: .250/.379/.405 in 432 at-bats
• OF Brailyn Antunez: .339/.450/.573 in 124 at-bats
• RHP Miqueas Mercedes: 73 2/3 IP, 2.81 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 71 K, 45 BB

The Wilson Warbirds, formerly the Carolina Mudcats, had an eventful inaugural season. They went 64-66, but led the Carolina League with 13 walk-off wins. It’s worth mentioning that they were within a game and a half of a playoff spot in mid-August before losing their final 12 games. Like Wisconsin, the Warbirds could hit, finishing second in the league in runs.

Brady Ebel, the No. 32 overall pick in 2025, was named the top prospect in the Carolina League. Early on, that didn’t look probable at all, as Ebel went 2-for-35 over his first 10 games. However, after that, he slashed .261/.417/.420 with 10 homers, 96 walks, and 39 steals in 105 games before a late promotion to Wisconsin. Oh, and he led the entire organization in walks. A .417 OBP from a 19-year-old shortstop in his first full season is about as good a sign as you’ll get when evaluating a prospect. Pipeline clearly agrees, as Ebel is now ranked as the Brewers’ No. 4 prospect, behind only Made, Peña, and Adamczewski.

Brady Ebel flashes the leather 🌟

MLB's No. 99 prospect (@Brewers) makes a silky smooth play in his first action at shortstop for the High-A @TimberRattlers.

Watch what happens next: https://t.co/ahTqRXbsvvpic.twitter.com/xcKyr5ZNKX

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 19, 2026

His younger brother Trey Ebel, the Brewers’ first-round pick this summer, joined Wilson after Brady’s promotion and walked 16 times in 13 games. Plate discipline apparently runs in the family. Also — in an instance of baseball being weird — Trey got to finish a plate appearance that Brady started. That plate appearance ended with a walk.

What do you make of a hitter with 23 home runs and a .173 batting average? That’s the question with Jose Anderson. The 19-year-old led the team in homers and RBIs (70) and hit three walk-off home runs, including an 11th-inning walk-off grand slam against Salem. He’d hit 19 homers in 140 games over the two previous seasons, so the power is real. However, unlike Fischer, he hasn’t proven he can hit for average or get on base — Anderson had a 10.5% walk rate this year.

Brailyn Antunez might have raised his stock more than anyone in the organization over the final month. After a promotion from the Arizona Complex League, the 18-year-old outfielder slashed .339/.450/.573 with seven homers in 124 at-bats and won Carolina League Player of the Month for August. It’s a small sample, sure, but it’s hard to ask for a better introduction to full-season ball.

Brailyn Antunez has been the most dangerous hitter in the Carolina League and was awarded the Player of the Month award for August 🏅

Antunez put up a 1.093 OPS on 5 HR and 5 Doubles (.628 SLG) in his first full month at the Low-A level as an 18-year-old 🔥#ThisIsMyCrewpic.twitter.com/gPBAViP7pA

— Brewers Player Development (@BrewersPD) September 7, 2026

As in Wisconsin, the pitching staff, which also ranked 10th of 12 teams in ERA, couldn’t keep pace with the offense. There were a few bright spots, though. Miqueas Mercedes led all qualified Brewers minor league pitchers with a 2.81 ERA, although he also walked 45 batters in less than 75 innings. Swiss Army knife lefty reliever Jose Meneses posted a 1.88 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings before moving up to Wisconsin. Jarrette Bonet, an undrafted free agent signed in 2025, led the team with 100 strikeouts; his 4.86 ERA isn’t great, but it’s a solid first full season for a UDFA.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning Frank Cairone, the Brewers’ 2025 supplemental second-round pick, who was seriously injured in a car accident in January. He was back on the mound in the Arizona Complex League by July, then pitched for Wilson before the season ended. The numbers don’t matter; it’s just great to see him pitching.

Play of the Year

While there were a number of deserving plays this year, only one made history:

PERFECTION!

THOMAS PANNONE COMPLETES THE THIRD PERFECT GAME IN NASHVILLE SOUNDS HISTORY & JUST THE FIFTH 9-INNING INDIVIDUAL PERFECT GAME IN INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE HISTORY. pic.twitter.com/ZutA0JBfYv

— Nashville Sounds (@nashvillesounds) September 7, 2026

Good morning, baseball fans!

The 2026 San Francisco Giants season is officially over. For better, and mostly worse. I’ll have a lot more to say about this season as a whole in the coming days, as we all likely will, once the dust has settled.

But today, I wanted to check in and see what your initial reflections on this season are?

Personally, I feel relieved. I have loved this team since I was a child, and I have covered this team for 10 years and not one of those seasons has felt like such torture. On every front. Every part of this season has felt like misery to watch, write about, and I’m sure even to live for those involved in it.

So I am relieved. We are free of 2026 San Francisco Giants and I don’t know that I’ve ever been happier for a season to come to an end. That’s about all I’ve got at this point, so I’ll hand the metaphorical mic over to you guys.

What are your initial reflections on the 2026 season?

The MLB playoff teams are in place, with the Astros and Phillies qualifying yesterday.

Here is the schedule for the first round of the playoffs. No baseball today, then a bunch of baseball tomorrow.

Zack Meisel wrote about Austin Hedges’ miraculous season as a hitter. Truly remarkable that he ended up an above average hitter.

Guardians fans have been thanking Hunter Goodman and the Rockies by donating to a Colorado charity for kids.

Welcome to week 27 (the final week!) of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!

1. Milwaukee Brewers (103-59); 5-1 this week; Clinched NL Central

The Brewers capped off the best regular season in franchise history, as they went 5-1 against the Phillies and Cardinals to finish the year with 103 wins, easily surpassing the previous record of 97 wins set in 2025.

Brice Turang capped off a 20-homer, 100-RBI season with two homers and three doubles this week, driving in a team-high seven. Jackson Chourio added eight hits, including a homer, while driving in five, scoring seven runs, and swiping a pair of bases. Christian Yelich and Gary Sánchez also homered.

Jacob Misiorowski finished his historic season with another scoreless outing, striking out five over 5 1/3 innings to pick up his 16th win of the year. Logan Henderson turned in five innings of one-run ball, while Robert Gasser went six innings with one run allowed, striking out a team-high nine batters. Aaron Ashby, Trevor Megill, Antonio Senzatela, and Shane Drohan each picked up a save this week for the bullpen.

Milwaukee now enjoys a little bit of a break, as they’ll be closely watching the NL Wild Card Series between the Cubs and Padres. The winner of that best-of-three set will face the Brewers in the best-of-five NLDS beginning in Milwaukee on Saturday.

2. Chicago Cubs (89-73); 2-4 this week; Clinched NL Wild Card #2

Chicago limped to the finish line, finishing in the second Wild Card spot after dropping two of three to both the Marlins and Red Sox this week.

Alex Bregman, who exited last Sunday’s game after taking a foul ball off the face in the on-deck circle, returned with a bang, slugging two homers and a double as part of a four-hit weekend against Boston. Seiya Suzuki added the only other homer, while Pete Crow-Armstrong finished off a 40-homer, 40-steal season with three steals this week.

Matthew Boyd had the best start of the week, going seven innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts. David Peterson tossed five scoreless innings, striking out six, while Gavin Hollowell, Daniel Palencia, Colin Rea, Ryan Zeferjahn, and Jacob Webb combined for 9 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, striking out six.

The Cubs now travel to San Diego, where they’ll take on the Padres in a best-of-three NL Wild Card Series to determine who faces the Brewers in the NLDS.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates (82-80); 3-3 this week; Eliminated from Postseason

The Pirates ended their season on a high-ish note, as they officially clinched a winning season for the first time since 2018, going 3-3 against the Cardinals and Tigers.

Brandon Lowe slugged a pair of homers to lead the Bucs, while Konnor Griffin wrapped up a solid rookie campaign, picking up a team-high eight hits, including a homer. Rafael Flores and Jacob Gonzalez both added homers as their lone hits of the week.

Paul Skenes finished off another 200-strikeout campaign, going 6 1/3 innings with one run allowed and eight strikeouts. Jared Jones turned in a pair of solid outings, totaling 11 innings with no runs allowed and 14 strikeouts. Lake Bachar, Yohan Ramírez, Evan Sisk, Gregory Soto, Luke Weaver, and the retiring Kirby Yates combined for 15 scoreless innings, striking out 21.

4. St. Louis Cardinals (77-85); 1-5 this week; Eliminated from Postseason

The Cardinals continued their second-half freefall, dropping two of three to the Pirates before being swept by the Brewers, finishing the year eight games under .500.

Alec Burleson capped off a strong season with three homers this week, while Leo Bernal, Jordan Walker, and Iván Herrera added a homer each. JJ Wetherholt led the team with five hits on the week.

It wasn’t a great week on the mound for the Cards, but Matthew Liberatore turned in the best start, allowing one run and striking out six over 5 2/3 innings. Gordon Graceffo, Cooper Hjerpe, Brycen Mautz, Hancel Rincon, George Soriano, and Cade Winquest combined for 15 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 16.

5. Cincinnati Reds (75-87); 3-3 this week; Eliminated from Postseason

The Reds went 3-3 to end the season, winning two of three from the Braves before dropping two of three to the Blue Jays over the weekend.

Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez both slugged a pair of homers, while five others added a homer apiece. Carlos Jorge led the squad with seven hits, including a homer, and Héctor Rodríguez had six hits, including a homer, a double, and a triple, driving in five.

Andrew Abbott and Rhett Lowder both turned in strong starts, as Abbott went seven frames with two runs allowed and six strikeouts, and Lowder went six scoreless, striking out two. Tejay Antone, Graham Ashcraft, Brock Burke, Pierce Johnson, and Emilio Pagán totaled 12 scoreless innings for the bullpen, striking out 11.

Last Week’s Results:

• Tuesday: Phillies 6, Brewers 4
• Wednesday: Brewers 4, Phillies 1
• Thursday: Brewers 5, Phillies 1
• Friday: Brewers 8, Cardinals 4
• Saturday: Brewers 3, Cardinals 2
• Sunday: Brewers 6, Cardinals 4

Division Standings:

• Brewers 103-59
• Cubs 89-73 (14 GB)
• Pirates 82-80 (21 GB)
• Cardinals 77-85 (26 GB)
• Reds 75-87 (28 GB)

Last Week:

• Brewers 5-1
• Cubs 2-4
• Pirates 3-3
• Cardinals 1-5
• Reds 3-3

Top Pitching Performance of the Week

Jacob Misiorowski didn’t have the greatest start we’ve ever seen, but he gets the shoutout here because it capped off what has been a great season for the likely NL Cy Young winner. In Sunday’s regular-season finale, he went 5 1/3 scoreless frames, striking out five and picking up his 16th win of the year. Miz finishes the year leading the league in a good chunk of pitching stats, including strikeouts (252), WHIP (0.80), batting average against (.157), and ERA (1.80). Just look at this stat from the great Sarah Langs:

Jacob Misiorowski led MLB in strikeouts (252) and led all qualifiers in ERA (1.80) and opponent batting average (.157)

He’s the 4th pitcher since 1950 to lead MLB in all 3 of those for a season, joining:

1986 Mike Scott
1979 J.R. Richard
1965 Sandy Koufax

h/t @EliasSports

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 28, 2026

Shoutout to Robert Gasser, who went six innings with one run allowed and nine strikeouts to cap off what has been a great final month-plus for him, as he seems like the likely No. 3 starter behind Miz and Logan Henderson entering the postseason.

A career-high 9 Ks and another quality start for ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/SPJzOp9QHh

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 26, 2026

Top Hitting Performance of the Week

This was a two-way race between Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio, but I’ll give the upper hand to Milwaukee’s second baseman. Turang finished up arguably the best season we’ve seen for a primary second baseman in franchise history, as he collected nine hits this week, including two homers and three doubles, driving in seven to surpass 20 homers and 100 RBIs for the year.

What a milestone for Brice Turang https://t.co/toWB9CKnAkpic.twitter.com/8lZQt7mLG9

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 27, 2026

Not to be overshadowed, Jackson Chourio led the team with a strong .471/.550/.647 stat line, picking up eight hits, including a homer, and driving in five with a team-high seven runs scored. He also swiped a pair of bases, finishing the year with a career-high in homers (25) and steals (23).

Jackson Chourio is 3-for-3 today. He is hitting .340 in September 🤯 pic.twitter.com/dccNwlp5PU

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 27, 2026

Injury Notes & Roster Moves

• After LHP Colton Gordon made a valiant relief appearance on Tuesday night against the Phillies (5 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 K) to save the rest of the bullpen, he was optioned on Wednesday, as RHP Lyon Richardson was selected to replace him.
• Richardson, who did not appear in a game this week, was then designated for assignment on Friday, as RHP Bryse Wilson was activated from the 15-day injured list and replaced him on the active roster.
• Andrew Vaughn was placed on the 10-day injured list with an illness ahead of Friday’s game (he’ll be ready for the postseason). Outfielder Brandon Lockridge was recalled to replace him on the roster.
• Cooper Pratt was also scratched from Friday’s game with illness, though he then entered to replace what appeared to be a worn-down Joey Ortiz. Ortiz sat out the rest of the weekend, but an MRI came back with only “abdominal swelling” and a bruised knee. According to Adam McCalvy, Ortiz is also expected to be ready for the postseason.

On Deck:

• Monday: Off Day
• Tuesday: Off Day (Wild Card Series)
• Wednesday: Off Day (Wild Card Series)
• Thursday: Off Day (Wild Card Series)
• Friday: Off Day
• Saturday: NLDS Game 1 vs. Cubs/Padres (Time TBD)
• Sunday: NLDS Game 2 vs. Cubs/Padres (Time TBD)