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Even when this team actually wins and wins a series, it ends up being vaguely disappointing. The Cubs won Wednesday night to salvage a split in the season series and a win in the Wrigley portion of the series. The Cubs outscored the Rockies in Denver 14-13, but only managed one win. The Rockies and Cubs tied 15-15 over the three games in Chicago. So in sum, the Cubs outscored the Rockies 29-28 while winning three of six. Not good enough. What a lost opportunity. The kind of thing you look back on after you just miss the playoffs.

On the one hand it was good to see the offense get in gear. But this game does nothing to assuage my concerns about them. They piled on, scoring seven runs in the second inning. I’ve made the statement that it feels like they pounce on a struggling pitcher when that happens and otherwise struggle to sustain any offense at all. In this one, they got seven runs in one inning and just one run in the other seven.

I suspect Pete Crow-Armstrong will hit hundreds of homers in his career, assuming relative health and longevity for a player of his skill level. To be fair, that may not be a fair assumption for a guy who plays the game as hard and fast as he does. But bear with the premise. If he goes on to hit hundreds of homers, he might never register a weirder one than the one he did in this game. Without digging, I’m pretty sure he’s already gotten a shorter one and probably will again (he has at least one inside-the-park homer). But the one he hit in this game, I saw a ton of replays of it and I’m still not sure it went out. It sure didn’t look like it at full speed. When slowed down, it kind of looked like maybe it did.

That was essentially the only offense after the first inning. Not good enough. That’s where I just keep coming back. Javier Assad pitched relatively well. But the Cub bullpen threw 3.1 innings, allowing four hits, two walks and four runs. Not good enough. It just keeps ending up there. But the bullpen was credited with a hold and a save. Those are pretty rare occurrences for this team. Somehow, so are series wins.

Generally not good enough. But on this night, it was enough. Just barely. But it beats the alternative.

Three Positives:

• Matt Shaw had a two-run triple and added a single. Shaw’s injury hurt this team more than most people acknowledged.
• Seiya Suzuki had a single, a double and drew a walk. He drove in a run and scored one.
• Javier Assad allowed two runs over 5.2 innings. Some forget that he had 29 starts in 2024 with a 3.73 ERA (though 4.64 FIP). He’s a reasonable back half of the rotation guy.

Game 75, June 17: Cubs 8, Rockies 6 (39-36)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Matt Shaw (.168). 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI, R
• Hero: Javier Assad (.115). 5.2 IP, 22 BF, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, K (W 5-1)
• Sidekick: Dansby Swanson (.062). 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, SB

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Ethan Roberts (-.037). 0.1 IP, 4 BF, 2 H, BB, 3 ER
• Goat: Pete Crow-Armstrong (-.022). 1-5, HR, RBI, R
• Kid: Nico Hoerner (-.020). 1-5, R

WPA Play of the Game: Matt Shaw’s two-run triple with no outs in the second drove in the first two runs of the game. (.175)

Rockies Play of the Game: Cole Carrigg drew a one out walk in the eighth inning with the Rockies down three. (.025) Hunter Goodman’s two-run homer with one out in the eighth to cut it to three had the same WPA.

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 73 Winner: Miguel Amaya nudged Pete Crow-Armstrong 66-47 (132 votes total)

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Michael Busch +25
• Pete Crow-Armstrong +13
• Ben Brown +12.5
• Michael Conforto +10
• Trent Thornton +8.5
• Edward Cabrera -9.5
• Phil Maton -10
• Caleb Thielbar/Dansby Swanson -11
• Seiya Suzuki -21.5

Up Next: An off day Thursday, then the defending AL champion Blue Jays come to town. The Jays won Wednesday to get to 36-38 but have a game Thursday afternoon in Boston before coming to Chicago. Neither team had announced starters. Friday should be Ben Brown’s spot (3-2, 1.74, 62 IP). Ben is the anti-2026 Cub starter. He’s allowed just one homer and is the only thing keeping the Cub homer numbers from being truly grotesque.

Win a game behind Ben and keep the Blue Jays under .500. The Cubs are more or less tied for the last wild card spot and are very much alive. But they’ve got to start stacking series wins again, particularly at home.

After selecting Kade Anderson with the third overall pick in last year’s draft, the Mariners undoubtedly secured the best lefthander in all of college baseball and broke something of a trend with their heavy emphasis on right-handed pitchers. With an opportunity to yet again secure the best left hander amongst the college ranks this season, Arizona State’s Cole Carlon looks like a highly appealing option for the M’s with the 24th selection and potentially grants them yet another arm that could figure into their big league roster construction rather quickly.

Carlon is one of the most physically developed pitchers in this entire class. With a strong 6’5 230lb frame, the southpaw possesses one of the the most electrifying one-two punches in the entire 2026 class. Launching the ball from a high slot, Carlon’s fastball sits in the mid-90’s and has touched as high as 101 this year, though the underlying shape underneath the premium velocity isn’t all that inspiring. More critically for Carlon, however, is his devastating slider. Given his incredibly high release point, the bullet spin on the ball causes immense problems for hitters and leads to a substantial amount of swing and miss. From a production standpoint, it was one of the best breaking balls in the country, and it could be argued it’s the primary pitch in his arsenal. He’s tossed in some changeups and curveballs as “show me” offerings, but his bread and butter is undoubtedly the fastball-slider tandem.

Despite being on the larger side, Carlon’s mechanics are incredibly fluid and repeatable. There isn’t an overwhelming amount of effort in his delivery and it’s all but assured he’ll be a starter as a professional given his track record to this point. It’s average strike throwing, above average stuff, and a premium frame from a 21 year old arm that’s produced for multiple years in the Big 12 conference; though the “projection” aspect of his profile isn’t overwhelming, it’s hard to argue what he currently possesses isn’t enough to succeed at the next level.

Carlon is a candidate to ascend through the minors rapidly, with many evaluators thinking he could find his way into a big league bullpen as early as next year. Triple digit fuel from the left side is far from common, and finding a starter that’s able to hold velocity deep into starts is even more of a rarity. Even if his extension/movement profiles are more mundane than other first round candidates in this class, it’s tough to ignore everything Carlon can do with no development necessary. Should the esteemed pitching lab in the PNW see an angle to extract some additional talent out of Carlon, they could yet again land an uber-talented lefthander to add to their farm system and ultimately give them a trio of minor leaguers that could contribute to the Major League roster by 2027.

Ah, the 40-man roster. The place that players crave to be as it means making either a full year’s salary by remaining on that roster all season, or a significant prorated portion for each day that player is on the 40-man roster. There might be hesitance from minor leaguers in regards to that particular part of the organization depending on the time of year as it means more money during the season, but a chance to be drafted by another team in the Rule 5 draft in the offseason, therefore offering a clearer path to playing time in a different organization if they are not on that 40-man roster.

Yet at this time of year, the bottom of the 40-man roster sometimes gets thrust into the spotlight. Teams are starting to jockey for position for the playoffs and that means they can no longer wait for the weaker part of their rosters to start to produce. Injuries are taking their toll. Teams are in need of fresh arms, fresh legs, players that can help those margins get a little more positive to maybe scratch out an extra win or two. So, with the Phillies possibly in need of making a few changes to their roster construction, let’s look at the (theoretical) bottom of the 40-man roster to see how they are performing and whether or not they deserve to continue to hang on to that coveted spot.

Garrett Stubbs

Stubbs started a game on Wednesday for the first time since June 2. In his time with the team, he has hit to the tune of a .417 OPS. He has been paraded as someone that can handle positions other than catcher and has at least stood at first base, third base and left field (besides being the position player pitching), yet his continued presence on the roster is baffling.

What purpose does he actually serve?

Sure, now with Adolis Garcia missing the rest of the season, someone is going to have ensnare the role of locker room DJ, but as far as actual on-field production, Stubbs is rather useless. Rafael Marchan has done next to nothing at the plate or at behind it, so if Stubbs is that badly needed, keep him as the backup catcher and move on from Marchan. Put that 26th roster spot to some good use, like maybe a different outfielder into the mix. But continuing to use a roster spot on Stubbs just makes no sense any longer.

Steward Berroa

Berroa was swinging a decent bat in Lehigh Valley before being called up to the Phillies….and playing almost not at all.

The team in the last few years have had this annoying habit of carrying a position player in the 13th spot on the roster and barely playing him at all. Many other teams have been successful at using players up and down their own rosters to wade through the slog of the 162 game schedule, but the Phillies rarely use that final spot. Berroa was the latest one to do so, Stubbs previously mentioned possibly taking that mantle at this point. He’s useful depth for the team to store in Lehigh Valley to call upon in case of emergency, but when called upon, they ignored him.

If that is going to continue to be the case, then what purpose does he actually serve that the team couldn’t simply rotate different freely available players into that spot over the next few weeks? If Berroa or currently Derek Hill are going to occupy a spot, it’s for the best the team finds a role to use, or else find someone else that can fill that spot with better potential results. In the end, Berroa is a AAAA-type player at best, but what exactly have the Phillies to lose by seeing if someone can get hot a few games or weeks at a time?

Nolan Hoffman

These are the places where the Phillies can begin looking to play the game of player roulette. Hoffman has already been called up once to the majors to be an emergency fill in, then summarily sent back down within hours, yet his performance at the minor league level is worth discussing. He’s pitched good enough to the tune of striking 28.7% of batters he’s faced, not allowing a home run yet, walking a few too man batters and generally being an example of the term “fungible reliever”. Every bottom of a 40-man roster is populated with them and Hoffman is really no different. Were the team in need of making someone available to waivers in order to add to their major league team, Hoffman is as good a candidate as any.

Grant Holman

Which brings us to Grant Holman. So far, in the year of our Lord 2026, Holman has been a name that can be seen buried on transaction wires that only the sickos look at with any regularity. He has been:

• designated for assignment by the Athletics
• claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks
• designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks
• claimed off waivers by the Dodgers
• claimed off waivers by the Tigers
• designated for assignment by the Tigers
• claimed off waivers by the Phillies

Many have ridden this rollercoaster, few have succeeded at sticking with a team. He’s only appeared in a handful of games for the IronPigs, but also has an ERA that starts with a 7. Maybe there is something in underlying stuff that belies that resul— oh wait, his FIP starts with a 7 as well?

Yeah, this is probably the guy that gets moved off the 40-man when a spot is needed.

Jean Cabrera

Perhaps no minor leaguer in the Phillies’ minor league organization has been as disappointing this season than Cabrera. Ranked in the top ten of the team’s list by more than one online group of prospect writers, Cabrera has had a horrid year almost all the way around. Virtually everything has gone wrong for him this year – lowered velocity, striking out fewer hitters, allowing more balls in play. His performance at Lehigh Valley was so bad (9.32 ERA) that it necessitated his going even further down the minor league ladder to Reading, where he has somehow accumulated an even worse ERA.

If push came to shove, with almost no trade value left, does the team cut bait with Cabrera and move on to someone else?

2026 MLB Draft Preview: Derek Curiel scouting report.

The 2026 is about a month away — the first round kicks off on July 11, 2026 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #16, their second round pick is at #54, and their third round pick is at #89.

Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today we are looking at LSU outfielder Derek Curiel.

Derek Curiel is a 6’2”, 192 lb. lefthanded hitting outfielder for LSU. He was considered a potential first round pick in 2024 coming out of Orange Lutheran High School in Orange, California, but had a down senior year and ended up withdrawing from the draft. He is a draft-eligible sophomore who turned 21 last month.

Curiel’s carrying tool since his high school days has been his hit tool. He’s described as a “pure hitter” with excellent contact ability and the ability to make hard contact, with strong exit velocities. However, he has also never hit for much power, in part due to his swing, which doesn’t generate much loft — he’s more of a ground ball and line drive hitter with his swing. His build and exit velocities indicate that there may be more power that he can tap into, but as of now, there are questions about whether he will ever have even average power.

Curiel has played center field for LSU this year, after primarily playing left field in 2025. His speed appears to grade out at a little above average, though one would expect that to drop a little as he fills out. His arm would be a problem in right field, but is fine for center and left. He doesn’t project as a great defender in the outfield, and it remains to be seen whether he will be good enough defensively to play center regularly long-term.

Curiel has put up pretty similar numbers in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. As a freshman, he slashed .345/.470/.519, with 53 walks against 56 Ks in 323 plate appearances. This year, in 274 plate appearances, he slashed .353/.431/.526, with 34 walks and 43 Ks while going 13 for 15 on the bases. After winning the College World Series in 2025, LSU didn’t make the field of 64 this year, so Curiel wasn’t able to show his stuff in the postseason this year.

Baseball America has Curiel at #13 on their board. MLB Pipeline has Curiel at #12 on their board. Kiley McDaniel puts Curiel at #17 on his top 150 list. Keith Law’s rankings have Curiel at #16 on his board. Fangraphs has Curiel at #30 on their board. Baseball Prospectus has Curiel at #17 on their top 30 draft board.

In the June 8 Baseball America mock draft, Carlos Collazo has Curiel going to the Rockies at #10. The BA staff draft on June 15 has Curiel going to the Pirates at #5. Jim Callis’s June 4 mock draft has Curiel at #13 to the Cardinals, though he’s mentioned as a possibility for everyone from #12 to #15. Jonathan Mayo’s June 11 mock draft has Curiel going the Cardinals at #13. Keith Law’s May mock draft has Curiel going to the A’s at #8. Law’s June 10 mock draft also has Curiel going to the A’s at #8. Kiley McDaniel’s May 29 mock draft has Lebron going to the Mariners at #24. Kiley McDaniel’s June 18 mock draft has Curiel going to the D-Backs at #15.

Curiel seems likely to go somewhere in the teens, and could be on the board when the Rangers pick at 16. He has the hit tool the Rangers prioritize in position players, and has had success in the best college baseball conference, which is also something the team puts emphasis on.

He’s a high-floor guy — I’ve seen him described as a “safe” pick — whose upside ultimately depends on how much his power improves as a professional and to what extent he can stick in center field. If he can’t get to at least average power, or play at least average defense in center field, its hard to see him as a starter, and so there’s real risk that he ends up a tweener fourth outfielder.

The person who came to mind when I was reading about Curiel is David Murphy. Murphy was drafted #17 overall by the Boston Red Sox in 2003 after a successful career at Baylor. Murphy had a solid hit tool but questions about his power, and he played center field in the minors but was stretched there defensively and primarily played left field in the majors, where he was mostly a platoon outfielder/fourth outfielder.

Previously:

Liam Peterson

Tyler Bell

Aiden Robbins

Jared Grindlinger

Logan Reddemann

Cooper Harris

Justin Lebron

Cameron Flukey

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Friday Junior has arrived, folks. The weekend is basically here, even if we still have to tiptoe through one more day.

I have a few MLB player props from today’s slate that should get things rolling early, and I am really liking spots for guys like Ben Rice and Bobby Witt Jr. this evening.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Kody Clemens	Over 1.5 total bases	+117
Ben Rice	Over 1.5 total bases	-112
Bobby Witt Jr.	Over 1.5 total bases	-149

Kody Clemens Over 1.5 total bases (+117)

Certain stats force me into making bets, and Texas Rangers starter Jack Leiter is serving up one of those spots. With Leiter allowing a 76% elevation rate to left-handed hitters over his last 30 batters faced, I have to find a lefty in a favorable matchup. That guy just so happens to be our good friend, Minnesota Twins outfielder Kody Clemens.

If you need a larger sample size, Leiter is still allowing more than a 70% elevation rate to lefties over his last 90 batters faced. During that stretch, he's also surrendered an 11.7% barrel rate, while left-handed hitters own a .300 xBA and .541 xSLG against him.

On the other side, Mr. Clemens has been an absolute rocket, get it? Over his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching, he is batting .429 with a 1.107 SLG and 1.574 OPS, while producing 44% hard contact and a 20% barrel rate.

The Rocket's son also finds himself with an elite rating over at Batters-Box, where he owns the highest arsenal coverage among today's elite-rated hitters, matching up with 94.9% of Leiter's pitch mix.

If you want to lay roughly -105 on his hits + runs + RBI prop, I fully endorse it. Personally, the plus money is doing all the talking for me.

• Time: 2:35 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: RSN, MNNT

Ben Rice Over 1.5 total bases (-112)

Insert the same beginning sentence for this prop too, because New York Yankees young slugger Ben Rice is in a real nice spot against Chicago White Sox starter Sean Burke.

The right-hander has been getting dominated by left-handed hitters. Over the last 30 batters faced, they have produced a 68.8% elevation rate, along with 50% hard contact and a 12.5% barrel rate. Need a larger sample size? Over his last 60 batters faced, lefties are still elevating the baseball nearly 65% of the time while barreling it at a 9.7% clip.

Rice enters today's matchup with an elite rating and has cashed this prop in six of his last 10 elite-rated spots. He also owns a 72.9% arsenal coverage rating against Burke's entire pitch mix.

Not to mention, the young fella has been everything to this Yankees lineup lately, batting .292 with a .667 slugging percentage and a 1.100 OPS. During that stretch, he's generated 52.6% hard contact and a 10.5% barrel rate.

Do not be afraid to pay a little extra juice in this spot. I'd be comfortable taking it up to -120.

• Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: YES, CHSN

Bobby Witt Jr. Over 1.5 total bases (-149)

It's always a blast backing one of the most consistent and exhilarating players in baseball, and today is a strong spot to ride Kansas City Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. Over his total bases prop this evening. The star shortstop carries a strong rating in Batters-Box default grades and an elite mark in the current season dataset.

When graded strongly at home, Witt clears this line 66.67% of the time, while also leaving the yard 20.37% of the time and doubling at a 42.59% clip. Yes, that is also a green light to sprinkle on the extra bases props.

Witt has also been scorching over his last 30 at-bats against left handed pitching, posting a .333 average, .844 OPS, and .375 wOBA, along with 52% hard contact and a 12% barrel rate.

He draws St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Matthew Liberatore, who carries a poorly rated matchup profile in both strikeout and ground ball rates this season. Away from home against right-handed hitters, Liberatore is allowing a 67.6% elevation rate, while opposing righties are hitting .287 with a .476 slugging percentage and a .358 wOBA.

Over his last 30 right-handed hitters faced, he has also allowed a .419 xBA, .660 xSLG, and .372 xwOBA. If you're not in the juice-paying business, the home run or double prop is the cleaner value angle.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ROYL, CARD

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Three separate starting pitchers struggled heavily in a disappointing day across the Dodgers’ minor league system, particularly in the higher levels.

Player of the day

While it wasn’t enough for the win, Zach Ehrhard did his part and then some, recording two home runs and four RBI in what has been an absurd month of June for the twenty-three-year-old.

Ehrhard is batting .345 with eight homers since the start of the month, securing nearly as many walks (12) as he has strikeouts (14), scoring 17 runs, and driving in 18.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

River Ryan dug too big a hole for the Comets to dig themselves out of as the right-hander allowed eight runs in 4.1 innings of work against the River Cats in a 9-6 loss. The deficit could’ve even been larger, but the River Cats left 13 on base against just five from the Comets, whose offense didn’t have a lot going on besides Zach Ehrhard.

The Comets’ leadoff hitter managed his third multi-homer game this month, going deep in both the third and seventh innings to reach 11 homers on the season. Unfortunately, the two hitters behind him, James Tibbs III and Jack Suwinski, didn’t reach base once, combining to strike out five times. The only other standout hitter for the Comets in the game was catcher Eliezer Alfonso, accumulating three hits, all of them doubles.

Double-A Tulsa

Ryan wasn’t the only Dodgers’ minor league starter who struggled on Wednesday, as Patrick Copen also didn’t give his team much of a fighting chance against the Naturals, letting in six of their seven runs in a 7-2 win against Tulsa.

With one of the Drillers’ runs coming on a wild pitch, allowing Mike Sirota to score, their only RBI came from the leadoff spot with Josue De Paula hitting a solo shot in the third. Speaking of Sirota, though, the offense’s issues didn’t go through him, who reached base four times.

High-A Great Lakes

Another game, another starter getting his doors blown off, as Zach Root allowed in 10 hits and seven runs, five of them earned, more than enough for the Captains to handsomely beat the Loons, whose 0 for 11 performance with runners in scoring position proved costly.

Take Charles Davalan, for example. The Loons’ number two hitter went three for four and yet didn’t score a run or drive in one, with the two hitters surrounding him going 0 for 8. All three of the Loons’ runs came from the bottom of the order in sacrifice flies or errors.

There was a second game scheduled between these two clubs, but the doubleheader was postponed for today, June 18th.

Single-A Ontario

At last, a win. Starter Cam Leiter tossed three scoreless innings, recording strikeouts in seven of his nine outs. Even with that, the bullpen didn’t make it easy in this eventual 8-5 affair with reliever Jholbran Herder coughing up a four-spot in the sixth.

Chase Harlan and Ching-Hsien Ko both homered in this one—Ko’s homer was of particular significance, breaking a long streak for a hitter whose last long ball had come nearly a month ago, on May 20th. First baseman Easton Shelton secured a couple of RBI behind those two, and in doing so, he reached 60 on the season.

Wednesday’s scores

• Oklahoma City 6, Sacramento 9
• NW Arkansas 7, Tulsa 2
• Great Lakes 3, Lake County 7
• Ontario 8, Rancho Cucamonga 5

Thursday’s schedule

• 10:05 a.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Christian Romero) vs. Sacramento (John Michael Bertrand)
• 2:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Christian Zazueta) at Lake County (Braylon Doughty)
• Game 2: Great Lakes (TBD) at Lake County (TBD)
• 5:05 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Peter Heubeck) at NW Arkansas (Steven Zobac)
• 6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (Dylan Jordan) vs. Rancho Cucamonga (TBA)

Entering the season, I would guess that Paul Toboni fully anticipated being sellers at the trade deadline. However, year one under this new regime has exceeded all expectations. The Nats are currently 39-36 and tied for the third wild card spot. This could create a conundrum for the Nats new President of Baseball Operations at the August 3rd trade deadline.

Yesterday, Jeff Passan released an article ranking trade candidates and also listed some potential suitors. There were 100 names on the list, but he only gave a suitor list for the first 25. The Nats were listed as a potential fit for Joe Ryan, Reid Detmers, Jose Soriano, Luis Arraez and Matt Chapman. With that news out there, this could turn out to be a very entertaining deadline.

The last time the Nats were buyers was all the way back in 2019, when Mike Rizzo patched up a leaky bullpen. Since then, the Nats have still been very active at trade deadlines, but they have been selling pieces off instead of buying.

We still have a long way to go before August 3rd, but the fact the Nats are listed as potential buyers is exciting. Unsurprisingly, almost all of the names listed as fits for the Nats have team control beyond 2026. The only rental listed is Luis Arraez, who seems like an unlikely target to me.

In my opinion, the cleanest fits for the Nats are either of the two Angels pitchers. Reid Detmers and Jose Soriano would both slide into the top of the Nats rotation alongside Cade Cavalli. Both have premium stuff and are under control for two years after this one. If the Nats want to maximize CJ Abrams, who is on the same timeline, these would be fun fits.

For most of the season, it seemed like Soriano would be the bigger fish. However, despite having a sub-3 ERA, he has really cooled off lately. Soriano has an ERA close to 5 since allowing only 1 run in his first 37.2 innings. Despite the hot and cold results, Soriano has nasty stuff and is going fairly deep into games. His fastball averages 97, and his splitter and curve are nasty. Soriano just needs to clean up his control.

A package with Ronny Cruz, Luke Dickerson, Alex Clemmey and maybe one more smaller piece may be enough. In my opinion, Detmers is likely to cost even more despite having a higher ERA and less velocity. The lefty has a 3.68 ERA, but that is dropping fast and his FIP is under 3. With Detmers, you don’t need to change much about his arsenal or control, you can just plug him in.

For a while, I was a Detmers guy because it seemed like you would be buying low. However, you are certainly not going to be buying low at this point. The Angels will and honestly should be asking for a similar value to what the Nats got back for MacKenzie Gore, maybe a little bit more.

I actually think Soriano is the smarter play of the two. He is likely to cost slightly less and needs to make a couple tweaks. However, his upside is even higher than Detmers, and he would be a fun project for Simon Mathews. Passan even noted that Soriano could be a fun target for teams with savvy development teams.

One final name that intrigues me is Matt Chapman. He is a different sort of target. Chapman is 33 years old and is under contract until 2030. However, acquiring the veteran could be a 3D chess move for Paul Toboni. As we all know, there is a looming CBA battle. There seems like a good chance that some sort of salary floor will be put into place.

Acquiring Chapman and the final 4.5 years of his 6-year $151 million deal would be a good way of getting ahead of that. Chapman still has gas in the tank, with 1.5 fWAR and 2.9 bWAR. Taking on a big chunk of that contract would be a good way to get closer to a potential floor and acquire a good player for not a lot of prospect capital. The Giants seem desperate to clear salary and build around Bryce Eldridge. Meanwhile, the Nats could get a veteran presence and an elite third baseman who still has a lot in the tank.

Another avenue the Nats could explore is to look for bullpen help. As we all know, this Nats bullpen is not very talented. Beyond Brad Lord and Orlando Ribalta, there are a bunch of question marks. One name I like that is actually 36th on Passan’s list is Daniel Lynch IV of the Royals.

While Lynch allowed a 3 run homer to Curtis Mead the other day, he is having a wonderful season. His ERA is 2.61, while his FIP and xERA are in the low 3’s. Lynch is a lefty with swing and miss stuff, which the Nats desperately need. He also has 2.5 years of control left. It would take a solid prospect haul, but the Nats would not have to send out any truly high end prospects either.

However, it is far from a guarantee that the Nats buy. In fact, a soft sell, or some combination of buying and selling feels most likely at this point. Rentals like Foster Griffin, Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell could still be on the block, especially if the Nats fall back in the standings.

There is also the looming question of CJ Abrams, who is 5th on Passan’s big board. However, Passan only gives an Abrams trade a 15% chance of happening right now. Teams would love to have Abrams, but Toboni’s asking price was high in the offseason and is likely even higher with the start Abrams and the team are having.

Abrams also has some warts in his profile that may prevent teams from meeting the sky high asking price. Between his rough defense, his streaky hitting and Toboni’s monster ask, it feels like teams will be scared off. Honestly, they should be scared off because the Nats should hold on to Abrams unless a team gives them an offer they can’t turn down.

The 25 year old has been in the middle of the Nats league leading offense, and why should Toboni break up a good thing. With this team ahead of schedule, they should be looking to compete in 2027 and 2028, rather than keep rebuilding. Toboni may have had plans to trade Abrams at this deadline, but it feels like times have changed.

If the Nats go on some big losing streak in July, we can revisit this, but for now CJ Abrams is a National for the rest of the year. Foster Griffin is a more likely candidate to move, but his future also depends on how the Nats do in these next six weeks. If the Nats remain in a playoff spot, it would be tough to sell off pieces.

This is shaping up to be the most fun Nationals deadline in a long time. Instead of looking at the prospect rankings, I am looking at other teams rosters to find potential targets. Of course, the situation is fluid, but buckle up folks because the next six weeks should be a doozy.

Worcester: W, 7-4 (F/10) (BOX SCORE)

In a bullpen game, the WooSox ended up fending off the IronPigs in extra innings. (Phillies AAA) Just as Nathan Hickey (who homered) and Vinny Capra (who drove in the game’s opening run) helped put some early runs on the board, they helped put plenty of padding on during a tenth inning offensive outburst with a knock apiece. It’s also notable that Kristian Campbell contributed in his own way by drawing three walks. This hefty lead allowed Kyle Keller to come in for a second inning and struck out two to slam the door and increase his total to four.

Portland: L, 4-5 (F/10) (BOX SCORE)

In a Patrick Sandoval rehab apperance in which a homer was his only hit allowed, the Sea Dogs were not as lucky, or rather, skillful at generating offense, in the tenth inning as Worcester was. The Patriots (Yankees AA) scored a run in the tenth off of Cooper Adams and the Sea Dogs couldn’t answer. In fact, the inning was a continuation of a pretty poor night where they struck out 14 times and had just 4 hits… even if one came from a budding Stanley Tucker. Romy Gonzalez would reach on an error and end up scoring. The Sea Dogs giving up walks, eight on the night, to be exact, was also a factor in the loss.

I’m going to be honest: I don’t have much hope for Patrick Sandoval. It was a bad contract with limited upside from the jump. Even if you’re among the last stragglers of belief in the 2026 Red Sox season (I’m not), this is not the place for Sandoval to make a resurgence. It’s great he’s pitching again and that he is about to come back from injury after such a long road. But he likely won’t make an impact on this ball club.

Greenville: L, 2-11 (BOX SCORE)

Greenville has now been outscored 24-6 in three games. Dylan Brown just allowed too many runs while striking out seven BlueClaws (Phillies High-A). The Blue Claws had 16 hits on the night and simply overpowered the Drive, and nothing of substance was happening with just five hits and stranding ten runners.

Salem: L, 0-3 (BOX SCORE)

The RidgeYaks are now losers of ten straight with this shutout loss to the Nationals. Leighton Finley again pitched well in his five-inning start, not letting his four walks or one hit score and striking six out. Salem only struck out four on the night, but also had to fight for hits. And when it was time to score, the offense couldn’t be found; they put their best Red Sox costume on and went hitless in eight attempts with runners in scoring position.

Have a great day!

The Cincinnati Reds are 73 games into their 162 game trek through the 2026 Major League Baseball season. They’re inching closer to being half-done with this latest experiment, and that’s a sample size large enough to begin to make some objective observations.

Some of them stick out like a sore thumb, particularly on the offensive side of things. Two areas in particular, two facets of the game wholly distinct, seem to be defining just who this team is – and, more importantly, why they find themselves sitting at just 35-38 and in last place in the National League Central division.

We’ll start with the positive.

The Reds have stepped to the plate 1540 times, respectively, with nary a runner on base so far this season. In that time, they’ve posted a collective wOBA ove .325, and only four clubs in the sport can boast a better mark. They’re on the heels of both the Chicago Cubs (.326) and the Las Sacoakvegas Athletics (.327), and when I checked this mark prior to yesterday’s series finale against the New York Mets they actually held the #3 mark on this particular leaderboard. In other words, in scenarios in which the bases are empty, only two teams (the Dodgers and Pirates) have been better offensively than the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cincinnati Reds!

Then, there are the scenarios in which the Cincinnati Reds step to the plate with runners on-base.

With runners on, there’s not a team in the sport who owns a lower wRC+ (82) than the Reds. Their .298 wOBA ranks 29th ahead of only the Kansas City Royals (.297), and again, when I checked this mark prior to yesterday’s loss to the Mets the Reds held sole possession of dead last outright. The basement here has been Cincinnati’s pretty much all season long, their .259 BABIP with runners on similarly last by a good margin (with Philadelphia’s .270 mark next-worst).

It isn’t as if the Reds become completely different hitters in these situations, either. With the bases empty, for instance, they own a 39.2% groundball rate, a 41.0% fly ball rate, and pull the ball 38.6% of the time. In these positions, they also own a reasonable .287 BABIP. With runners on, they own a 40.0% grounder rate, 41.1% fly ball rate, and pull the ball 38.1% of the time – again, this time with just a .259 BABIP.

Those are two profiles that sure seem similar enough to maybe, just maybe, suggest it’s merely some bad luck that’s in play for the Reds with runners on base. At least, that’s got to be the hope for them right now, seeing as their lack of timely hitting has cost them over and over again already during this season’s first half. And given how beat up and broken their bullpen is, it’s impossible to ignore that they’ll be tasked with playing in games with razor-thin margins for the rest of the 2026 season, scenarios that will inevitably beg them to get big hits with runners on if they’re going to win more games than they lose.

To date, though, they’ve been just about as opposite of one another as they can be in these very defined situations. Hopefully, the regression to the mean between the two is of the positive variety.

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The Los Angeles Angels have been dreadful on the road this season, posting a 13-25 record to date.

With the Athletics only priced at -135 on the moneyline, my Angels vs. A's prediction and MLB picks see value in backing Los Angeles' road woes to continue.

Who will win Angels vs A's today: Athletics (-135)

Jose Soriano has recorded a 3.62 ERA over the last 30 days despite a 4.68 SIERA and 5.15 FIP. That’s a strong indicator that regression is coming.

The Athletics are certainly capable of forcing the issue. They rank Top-5 in wOBA, OPS, and hard-hit rate against right-handed pitching at home. They also sit seventh in walk rate, which could highlight Soriano’s control issues.

Gage Jump has allowed a 3% barrel rate and 29% hard-hit rate. He should be able to limit power, putting the Athletics in a good spot to win. Back the Athletics to -145.

COVERS INTEL:Jose Soriano's FIP is 1.78 runs higher than his ERA on the road this season, the third-highest differential among today's starters. 

Angels vs A's Over/Under pick: Over 10.5 (-105)

This one has real potential for fireworks. Soriano has posted a 5.56 ERA over four starts against teams ranking in the Top 10 in both OPS and OBP vs. right-handed pitching.

The Athletics are Top-7 in both categories, and the wind is blowing out in a ballpark that is already conducive to scoring runs.

The Los Angeles Angels have hit .275 against righties in June while leading the majors in doubles. They are capable of chipping in a few runs as well.

I’m expecting plenty of offense in this game, and would play Over 10.5 to -110.

Angels vs A's weather

Temperatures in the mid-70s are expected throughout this game with winds of 10 miles per hour blowing out. The bats should see a boost.

Angels vs A's odds

• Moneyline: Angels +115 | A's -135
• Run line: Angels +1.5 (-160) | A's -1.5 (+140)
• Over/Under: Over 10.5 (-105) | Under 10.5 (-115)

Angels vs A's trend

The Athletics have cashed the Over in 26 of their last 45 home games for +7.2 units and a 15% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Angels vs. A's.

How to watch Angels vs A's and game info

Angels vs A's latest injuries

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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