With just one player heading to arbitration, the Florida Panthers could be looking to strike a deal with Akira Schmid before their new deadline.
Typically, NHL teams and players can avoid meeting with an arbitrator by signing an extension before the deadline. Players file for arbitration to speed up the process of negotiating an extension.
But in some cases, if a deal cannot be reached, going to arbitration can yield a balanced outcome.
If the Panthers do not come to terms with Schmid within the next few weeks, they’ll be set for their arbitration date on August 1, according to puckpedia.com.
By filing for arbitration, players become eligible for a maximum of a two-year contract, but those one year away from becoming unrestricted free agents can only be awarded a one-year contract.
The arbitration process is completed by the team and the player, who present their case for the contract’s price tag. More often than not, the team low-balls, while the player puts an unrealistic price. An arbitrator is used to help find the middle ground based on production, age and the term, whether it’s one year or two.
The situation with the Panthers and Schmid is quite different than other arbitration cases. Whether the Panthers deal with an arbitrator or not, they will likely be signing Schmid to a short-term contract.
Backup netminders are rarely offered multi-year contracts, and one as unproven as Schmid almost never sees a contract exceed two seasons.
In his NHL career, the 26-year-old has played just 82 games, recording a .898 save percentage and a 2.66 goals-against average.
In the 2025-26 season, Schmid played a career-high 34 games with the Vegas Golden Knights, posting an .893 SP and a 2.59 GAA.
In all likelihood, Schmid’s next contract will be a one- or two-year deal, with an AVV under $2 million.
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Mar 3, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after his team scores against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
While not providing an immediate impact on the cap situation, as the extension doesn’t kick in until next season, Wemby’s decision does help the Spurs in several ways going forward.
The Spurs have gained a lot of certainty about their cap situation
While Wembanyama’s decision has been described as a pay cut, that’s not technically accurate. Not yet, at least. The most Wembanyama could have signed for was 25 percent of the salary cap, which is what he’s slated to get. What The Alien gave up is the possibility of getting paid 30 percent of the cap if he had made an All-NBA team or won Most Valuable Player or Defensive Player of the Year in the 2026/27 season.
The chances of Wembanyama reaching one of those benchmarks were likely, as he was recently unanimously named DPoY and made first-team All-NBA. Now, Wemby only just made it to the 65-game threshold for the awards, so there’s a case to be made that health could have prevented him from getting the 30 percent max. Even then, the Spurs wouldn’t have known until next season how much money Wemby would command.
The biggest immediate benefit to the Spurs is that they have gained certainty. They know for a fact that the most Wembanyama will get is 25 percent of the cap and can prepare for the future accordingly. They’ll also get to avoid the awkwardness of having Wembanyama’s health and rest intertwined with his earning power, but that’s a bonus.
Wemby’s sacrifice could push back the time for painful decisions
The added predictability to their cap situation should allow the Spurs to push back some tough decisions. Instead of making $54 million in 2027/28, Wembanyama will make $43 million. San Antonio will have around $202 million in committed salary for 11 players, including Luke Kornet’s partially guaranteed deal, narrowly below the tax line, estimated to be set at $211 million. The aprons will be set over the tax line.
In theory, the Spurs could keep Kornet, bring back Keldon Johnson to a smaller contract, and sign their first-round pick while not crossing the second apron line. If Johnson commands a higher salary than they are comfortable paying, they could let him go and use their mid-level exception to replace him while likely still remaining below the first apron. If they want to stay under the tax while signing their first-rounder, they could easily do so by letting Johnson go, waiving Kornet to save around $7 million, and filling out the roster with minimum contracts.
It’s unclear whether the Spurs will want to duck the tax or be fine with paying it while not crossing the second apron. What Wembanyama’s new extension does is likely allow them to do either while retaining their core rotation players. For now, at least.
The cap reckoning is still coming, but Wemby’s sacrifice could inspire others to take less to stay together
Wembanyama deciding to take 25 percent of the cap no matter what brought predictability and potentially delayed some tough decisions, but those tough decisions are still coming. What the Spurs can hope for is Wembanyama’s sacrifice to inspire others.
Eventually parting ways with De’Aaron Fox, who signed a veteran extension for 30 percent of the cap, seems inevitable, as the young Spurs whose small contracts are making his deal palatable become more expensive. Especially since the two players likely to earn max or near-max contracts are also on-ball guards. By 2028/29, San Antonio will have to get money off the books for a Stephon Castle extension, and if it doesn’t come at the expense of trading Fox for expiring deals before then, it will likely cost them their depth. There’s no escaping that reality.
What Wembanyama’s decision can affect is what happens next. Now, there would be nothing wrong about Castle and Dylan Harper signing for the maximum, whatever that might end up being. It’s not their fault the tax and the aprons are so punishing. But if they do take less, keeping both of them, along with Wembanyama, could be possible, at least for a while. Having 75 percent of the cap or more tied to three players would make team-building hard, but if the Spurs can get even small discounts from the guards, they could use their draft picks to add cheap depth while still having room for a couple of mid-sized deals.
Unless the CBA changes dramatically in 2029, paying three stars for the rest of their careers will be close to impossible, but pay cuts across the board could buy the core some time.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a few changes to their defense ever since John Chayka became the GM of the club in early May.
It's an area of the team that was particularly disappointing this past season. The Maple Leafs were the second-worst team in the NHL when it came to keeping the puck out of their net, averaging 3.60 goals against. That's the highest goals-against average the franchise has ever posted since registering a 3.68 in 1991-92.
Therefore, some alterations on the back end were required going into next season.
With those modifications, where do the Maple Leafs stand among their Atlantic Division rivals in terms of their defensive depth and how the blueline looks on paper compared to others?
Chayka's next move as Toronto's GM was to address the team's D-corps once again. This time, he made a big splash for Darren Raddysh, acquiring the 30-year-old blueliner from the Tampa Bay Lightning in a sign-and-trade.
He was inked to an eight-year deal that pays him $8.5 million per year against the salary cap. Raddysh will immediately fit in on the Leafs' top four on the back end, probably even as a top-pair defenseman and a spot on the first power-play unit.
Among those that remain from last season are Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jake McCabe, Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev and Troy Stecher.
Rielly is an interesting case because he's been attached to trade rumors for a large chunk of the off-season, with reports that he has provided a short list of teams to the Maple Leafs about destinations he'd waive his no-move clause for.
Tanev missed a large portion of last season, only being able to play in 11 games. He dealt with multiple injuries and setbacks, including a groin injury, an upper-body injury that he suffered against the Flyers on Nov. 1, and core muscle surgery. But he's expected to be ready for training camp, and his return for next season will almost be an addition in itself.
After the Maple Leafs claimed Stecher off waivers on Nov. 15, he enforced his will to become a regular player on the roster and impressed with his work ethic and his desperation to stay in the NHL. As a result, he earned himself a two-year contract extension with Toronto at $1.35 million per season.
It's shaping up to be another bloodbath in the Atlantic Division next season, with each team looking to make the playoffs and no one interested in looking ahead to the future or rebuilding. Therefore, the Leafs are up against some impressive D-corps in the Atlantic.
One defense group that the Leafs comfortably have the edge over in their division are the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings have an excellent, young top pair with Simon Edvinsson and Moritz Seider, but their supporting cast is nothing to write home about, with Justin Faulk, Ben Chiarot, Albert Johansson and Jacob Bernard-Docker. However, 21-year-old Axel Sandin-Pellikka could earn an NHL role, and while he's still young, he's capable of surprises.
Outside of Detroit, the rest of the order really depends on how individuals perform next season.
For example, if Rielly can find his stride again and play as he did before the arrival of Craig Berube, if Ekman-Larsson can repeat his impressive campaign from this past year, if Tanev can continue to be the player he always has been after missing all of 2025-26, essentially. It's even fair to question if Raddysh can pull off what he did this past year again, considering his 70-point campaign was the first time he scored more than 40 points.
There's certainly a world in which the Leafs' defense performs at a higher standard than the Lightning next year, taking their top scorer from that position in the past season. In response, Tampa Bay did acquire John Carlson, who is 36 years old, for what it's worth. Though he is still a talented blueliner who can score in bunches from the back end.
Along with Carlson, the other notables on Tampa's defense are captain Victor Hedman and J.J. Moser.
Hedman is 35 years old, turning 36 in December, and missed so much of 2025-26, with an injury-riddled campaign, as well as a temporary leave of absence.
Moser is an excellent two-way D-man who will probably have the biggest role on the team's blueline. He averaged the most ice time on the team this past year outside of Raddysh and was second in plus-minus with a plus-41.
To round out the Bolts' defence are 37-year-old McDonagh, as well as Erik Cernak and Charle-Edouard D'Astous and Emil Lilleberg.
On paper, the Maple Leafs should have the edge on the Lightning.
Another team the Leafs could be neck-and-neck with in terms of the makeup of their bluelines is the Boston Bruins.
Leading that group is Charlie McAvoy, a defenseman who probably looks down at the entire Maple Leafs D-corps. With him are Mason Lohrei, Hampus Lindholm, newly acquired Will Borgen, Henri Jokiharju, Nikita Zadorov and Connor Clifton. That's a solid blueline with all NHL regulars at ages between 25 and 32.
With Boston's defense up against Toronto's on paper, it's close. That decision could go either way, but if the Leafs' defensemen perform to their expectations, they have more difference-makers on paper.
Regarding the rest of the division, it's tough to make a case for the Maple Leafs having a flat-out better D-corps.
However, the team that the Leafs come closest to of the rest is the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa has one of the best defensemen in the NHL in Jake Sanderson, who is still just 24 years old.
Artem Zub and Thomas Chabot are solid top-four defensemen, and Jordan Spence can be a game-changer from the blueline with his offensive talent. Even Carter Yakemchuk can surprise the league the same way Detroit's Sandin-Pellikka can.
Ultimately, the Senators have better defensemen at prime ages, but the Leafs aren't far off if they can improve from this past year.
Even a team like the Buffalo Sabres, which moved on from Bowen Byram, still has the edge over Toronto, thanks to Norris Trophy finalist Rasmus Dahlin, as well as Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson, who had great seasons in 2025-26. Now, add Olen Zellweger to the mix, and that blueline is looking fast and skilled.
Of the remaining teams, the Montreal Canadiens show no signs of slowing down, and the Florida Panthers look ready to challenge for another Stanley Cup this coming year.
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Eight more games are on tap for Monday’s Summer League slate, and I’m highlighting my favorite values from Kalshi.
The Celtics come in as small dogs against the Hawks, but I’m taking them to win. The Heat go toe-to-toe with the Cavaliers, and I’m taking the Heat to prevail. No. 5 pick Caleb Wilson went off in his Summer League debut, and I expect him to lead Chicago to victory against the Jazz, who will be without Darryn Peterson.
Check out my NBA Summer League picks for Monday, July 13.
NBA Summer League predictions for July 13
Pick
Celtics moneyline
+156
Heat moneyline
-104
Bulls moneyline
-177
Today's Summer League Picks
Celtics moneyline (+156 at Kalshi)
A pair of 2-0 teams face off, but the Atlanta Hawks are heavy favorites, offering strong value in betting on a strong Boston Celtics team at +156.
Rookie second-rounder Dillon Mitchell has been electric, and the St. John’s product will look to build on a 24/8/2 performance with six steals and two blocks. Last year’s rookie class of John Tonje, Amari Williams, and Hugo Gonzalez have played big minutes in SL action, parlaying NBA experience into productive play time.
Atlanta sports a strong SL roster featuring Kingston Flemings and Asa Newell, but Boston’s depth and experience will keep them competitive and push them over the top in what should be a competitive matchup.
Heat moneyline (-104 at Kalshi)
Through two Summer League games, the Miami Heat have six players averaging double-digit points, including NBA vets Jahmir Young and Trevor Keels, who are averaging 20+ apiece.
Second-rounder Ryan Conwell posted 19 points in his SL debut and rested Saturday, so he should have fresh legs as he builds on a strong debut.
Fellow second-rounder Maleek Thomas has shined for the Clevleand Cavaliers, and they boast a pair of experienced players in Nae’qwon Tomlin and Malaki Branham.
Both teams have strong talent at the top of their rosters, but the Heat are a bit deeper and should have the edge as small favorites.
Bulls moneyline (-177 at Kalshi)
The Utah Jazz aren’t short on talent, but they haven’t won a SL game yet. Their path to victory won’t get easier tonight with No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson out of action.
The Chicago Bulls lost their lone SL game by a single point, staying competitive with a Grizzlies roster that may be the most talented in Vegas.
Rookie Caleb Wilson posted a monstrous 35 points in his debut, and he may be the best player on the court in tonight’s matchup. I’ll take him to deliver another strong performance and guide his team to its first win of the summer.
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Monday’s NBA Summer League parlay
Celtics moneyline
Heat moneyline
Bulls moneyline
+686 at Kalshi
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Born and raised in Morgan Hills, California, Aidan Keenan grew up playing baseball with his older brother, Tyler, who eventually went on to be selected by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth-round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of Mississippi. Aiden was just as good, but unlike his brother, he shone on the mound rather than at the plate. In addition to playing basketball and football, Aiden was a three-year letterman at Live Oak High School, winning the 2021 Blossom Valley Athletic League Sophomore of the Year Award and the 2023 Blossom Valley Athletic League Pitcher of the Year Award, in addition to others. In his senior season, he posted a 0.74 ERA in 47.0 innings with 75 strikeouts, and was considered one of the better prep players in California available in the 2023 MLB Draft, but had a very strong commitment to Stanford and withdrew from the 2023 draft class.
The right-hander did not see much action in his freshman season. All in all, he appeared in 5 games for the Cardinals, starting 2, and allowed 5 earned runs in 6.2 innings, resulting in a 6.75 ERA, allowing 4 hits, walking 10, and striking out 7. When he returned to Stanford in 2025 for his sophomore season, coach Esquer decided to use Keenan exclusively out of the bullpen, and the right-hander had a bit more success. Appearing in 24 games, he posted a 5.59 ERA in 37.0 innings, allowing 33 hits, walking 14, and striking out 43. That summer, Keenan played for the Santa Barbara Foresters of the California Collegiate League and looked good in the pair of games he started.
A junior for the 2026 season, coach Esquer moved the right-hander into the Cardinals’ starting rotation, but an oblique injury in mid-March cost him the majority of the season. In five starts in February and March prior to the injury and two more in May after returning from it, Keenan posted a 5.82 ERA in 21.2 innings, allowing 22 hits, walking 21, and striking out 25. Following the conclusion of the NCAA season, the right-hander appeared in a pair of games for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
The 6’2”, 200-pound right-hander throws from a low-three-quarters arm slot using a high-tempo delivery that has a bit of effort to it.
Keenan’s fastball sits in the mid-90s, reportedly topping out as high as 99 MPH. Coupled with the riding life that the pitch has, the pitch has the potential to be a well above-average offering, but on the whole, the pitch grades down because the right-hander does not have the best command of it.
The right-hander complements it with a sweeping slider, a cutter, and a changeup. His slider is the best of the three, a mid-80s, high-spin offering that features a tight vertical drop and impressive horizontal movement. His cutter, which sits in the high-80s, has tighter horizontal hop, but has been effective in inducing weak contact. Keenan throws two variants of his changeup, a high-80s circle changeup with more run and a low-80s split changeup with more vertical drop, but both variants are still developing and are only occasionally used during in-game situations.
As mentioned, Keenan has poor command not just of his fastball, but of all of his pitches. When he is on, he is more of a control-over-command pitcher, where he is still hitting the strike zone despite not hitting his spots, but when he begins tiring and losing stamina, he starts losing the entire strike zone.
LAS VEGAS — Izaiyah Nelson had played at Summer League like a guy who deserved his two-way contract with Orlando after being drafted in the second round last month. He showed promise.
Now he is sidelined for the next four months following surgery to repair a fractured left ankle suffered in a game at Summer League Sunday, the team announced.
The injury occurred in the second quarter of a game against Portland on Sunday, and it looked bad when it happened. The Trail Blazers' Quincy Olivari was attacking the basket in transition, and Orlando guard TyTy Washington was in front trying to take a charge and went to the ground under the basket. Nelson came flying in for a chase down block and got the rejection, but coming down was trying to avoid landing on Washington, came down awkwardly and was instantly in considerable pain.
Nelson was back on the bench at the end of the game, but in a full walking boot and was limping badly, needing help to move around.
Nelson, a 6'10" high-motor big man, had made an impression at Summer League, more with his energy and defense, but he added eight points across two games. He came to the NBA after four years in college, three at Arkansas State and a final season at South Florida.
Paul Toboni and his front office have officially completed their first draft class for the Washington Nationals, and while it will be years before we know if it was truly successful or not, my initial reaction is that they did a fantastic job of accumulating both talent and depth in the class. Let’s take a look at the class as a whole, and what each prospect is bringing to the table for the Nats.
Round One: 2B Chris Hacopian Texas A&M
Starting with the big fish, Hacopian can flat-out hit. He only posted a 116 wRC+ this season for the Aggies after transferring in from Maryland, but his batted ball profile was one of the best in the country, with excellent bat-to-ball skills, plate discipline, and raw power numbers. I am confident not only in his ability to be an above-average big league hitter one day, but to be one sooner than almost anyone from this draft class. It will be interesting to see how the Nats deploy him defensively in pro ball, as the middle infield is quite crowded currently, but he could likely handle third base if needed.
Round Two: OF Chase Brunson TCU
I was especially high on Brunson entering the draft, ranking him 17th on my overall big board, so I was thrilled to see the Nats snag him in round two. In 51 games in 2026, Brunson posted a 131 wRC+, with 10 home runs and 13 stolen bases for the Horned Frogs. He possesses above-average raw power and excels at both getting the ball in the air and to the pullside. The hit tool is roughly average, but the power potential and ability to handle centerfield are what make Brunson so appealing for the Nats.
Round Three: SS Luke Williams Franklin Regional HS (PA)
I was higher than perhaps anyone on Williams entering the draft, ranking my 44th on my big board, so getting him in round three was another pick I’d consider nearly perfect by the Nats. Williams is one of the very best athletes from this year’s high school class, and he displays it with solid power and elite speed. An ankle injury his junior season caused him to miss most of the 2025 summer circuit, meaning data on him against top competition is limited, but the Nats, and I, believe this means they got a steal on a great prep prospect due to limited sample size.
Round Four: RHP Cooper Harris Flower Mound HS (TX)
To cap off an already great day one, the Nats snagged right-handed pitcher Cooper Harris from Flower Mound High School in Texas in the fourth round, another prospect I was higher than most on, ranking him 49th on my big board, fantastic value for a pick outside the top 100. Harris has all the traits of a future big league starter: a big fastball, currently topping 96 MPH with more coming, a repeatable delivery, a feel for spinning breaking balls, and the ability to keep the ball on the ground. With some work to develop 1-2 more pitches in his arsenal, Harris could become one of the highest ranked arms in the Nats farm system.
Rounds 5-10:
5. 3B Daniel Cuvet Miami
6. RHP Cooper Allen UNC Wilmington
7. RHP Gage Peterson App. State
8. RHP Max Hansmann Evansville
9. C Cashel Dugger UCLA
10. OF Nick Williams Michigan State
The Nats kicked things off on day two with third baseman Daniel Cuvet from Miami, a power-hitting righty who has an eerily similar profile to another former Cane, Yohandy Morales. Cuvet has plus power, but will need to make more contact to successfully tap into it enough in pro ball.
Rounds six through eight were about finding upside arms while working on a budget, as money would need to go to afford the Williams and Harris picks from the day before. Allen, a junior righty out of UNC Wilmington, had a 2.79 ERA in 15 starts in 2026, posting a 21.3 K-BB% and 0.62 HR/9, two signs of a pitcher who controls what he can control very well. Peterson posted a 3.28 ERA in 15 starts for App. State, with a strong 29.4 K%, but shakier 10.7 BB%. Hansmann, a senior from Evansville, posted a 3.99 ERA in 15 starts, with a middling 13.7 K-BB%, a money-saving pick mainly from the Nats.
The Nats picked up 2 bats with their final top 10 picks, catcher Cashel Dugger from UCLA and outfielder Nick Williams from Michigan State. The 22-year-old Williams had strong numbers for the Spartans in 2026, hitting .333 with a 130 wRC+, but Dugger is the more interesting one of the two for me, as he is a plus defender behind the dish and displayed an excellent hit tool in 2026. His power output was close to nonexistent in 2026 for the Bruins, but based on his 6’3”, 200-pound frame, there may be more power yet to be unlocked in there.
Rounds 11-20:
11. RHP Weston Moss Texas A&M
12. LHP Matthew Dallas Wake Forest
13. RHP Cody Howard Texas
14. RHP Zack Konstantinovsky Rutgers
15. C Francisco Rivero Canyon del Oro HS (AZ)
16. OF Anthony Murphy Corona HS (CA)
17. SS Isaiah Galason Houston County HS (TX)
18. INF Avery Ortiz Oklahoma State
19. OF Jack Brooks Oregon
20. RHP Anson Seibert Johnson County CC
Rounds 11 through 20 were a mix of dart-throw pitchers and insurance policy hitters for the Nats. Moss is the highest ranked of the four consecutive arms from 11 to 14, a 6’4” righty with a below-average fastball, but excellent secondaries, including a nasty slider. He gets great extension down the mound, so if the Nats can find some way to improve his fastball velocity or shape, he could very well become the Brad Lord of this draft class for the Nats.
The Nats picked up three consecutive high school hitters from picks 15 to 17, and while Murphy and Galason are unlikely to sign unless something goes wrong in the signing process with Williams or Harris, Rivero is interesting. Ranked the 329th prospect on Over-Slot’s high school big board, Rivero was originally going to sign with the Dodgers as an international free agent in 2025, before being denied eligibility by MLB. He moved from Venezuela to Arizona to play ball and become draft-eligible, and the Nats grabbed him in round 14 on Sunday. A strong defensive catcher with a simple swing, there’s a chance the Nats get a deal done with Rivero and prevent him from ever stepping on campus at Arizona.
The Nats finished off their draft class with three more college prospects: 2 hitters and 1 pitcher. In total, the Nationals selected 12 hitters and 8 pitchers in their 2026 draft class, including 15 college prospects and 5 high school ones.
Overall, I thought day one of the Nationals draft was a home run, as they either tied or surpassed their pick value based on my big board rankings. Hacopian was one of the purest hitters from this years draft class, and could be in the Nationals big league lineup as soon as next year. Brunson has plus raw power and the abiltiy to handle centerfield, and is a slight plate approach change away from being one of the best outfielders in the Nationals farm system.
Williams is a tooled-up 18-year-old who could become a valuable big leaguer even if he is just a league average hitter, and I think he has room to become more than that. Harris has every trait you could look for in a high school arm to become a future big league starter, and I think with the Nats organization’s help, he can fill out the rest of his pitch arsenal and become a really fun pitching prospect.
Day two also looked how I hoped it would, snagging one of the better college bats remaining in Daniel Cuvet, a ton of dart throws on pitchers with good stuff, and a few insurance policy high school bats, just in case something goes wrong with signing one of the top 10 round picks.
Based on my limited research so far, I believe one of Allen, Peterson, Moss, or Dallas could wind up being a useful big-league arm for the Nationals one day. I am excited for all these prospects to put pen to paper on their contracts and begin their professional careers in the Nats minor league system.
The Chicago White Sox took shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the first pick of the amateur draft and Tampa Bay selected shortstop Grady Emerson one spot later.
Yes, both those teams currently are in first place.
Pro drafts — even those with lotteries — generally start with some of the weakest teams from the previous season. But because baseball doesn’t conduct its draft until the middle of the ensuing season, sometimes the teams picking at the top have already made impressive strides. The White Sox lost 102 games last year and Tampa Bay dropped 85. Now they’re in contention — and adding possible help for the future via the draft.
Here are a few teams that actually reached 90 wins the same year they had the top pick:
2008 RAYS (97-65)
This was Tampa Bay’s fourth No. 1 pick in a 10-year span, and the Rays haven’t had one since. Starting in that 2008 season, which ended with a World Series appearance, Tampa Bay became a lot more successful. The Rays didn’t take full advantage of that final No. 1 pick, selecting infielder Tim Beckham when Eric Hosmer and Buster Posey went later in the top five.
2024 GUARDIANS (92-69)
Cleveland won the draft lottery, then proceeded to win the AL Central. The Guardians drafted Travis Bazzana, who made his big league debut earlier this season.
1984 METS (90-72)
The Mets began their mid-1980s rise in ’84, finishing 6 1/2 games out of first place in the NL East with Dwight Gooden winning Rookie of the Year honors. New York would peak two years later with a World Series title, but this draft pick — outfielder Shawn Abner — never played for them.
1977 WHITE SOX (90-72)
Chicago’s rise in 1977 — from 64 wins to 90 — was short lived. But the White Sox drafted a keeper that year in Hall of Famer Harold Baines. He’d go on to play more than two decades in the major leagues and was part of division champions in Chicago in 1983 and toward the end of his career in 2000.
Trivia time
Cholowsky, of UCLA, became the school’s first No. 1 overall draft pick since Gerrit Cole in 2011. But there was another UCLA star, drafted in the first round, who has been worth even more wins above replacement than Cole. Who was it?
Comeback of the week
The Mets led 9-4 and, according to Baseball Savant, had a 94.2% win probability after Juan Soto’s three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth against Kansas City. The lead didn’t even last until New York’s next at-bat.
The Royals scored five runs in the fifth, then added seven more in the seventh on their way to a 16-12 victory.
Then the Mets blew a two-run lead in the ninth and lost to Boston 3-2 in 10 innings. Meanwhile, the rival Yankees swept three straight in Washington, coming from behind in the eighth inning or later in each game.
Performance of the week
Toronto’s Dylan Cease had a no-hit bid broken up in the ninth inning of a 10-0 win over San Francisco. He finished with 11 strikeouts and one hit allowed in eight-plus innings.
Honorable mention: Kansas City’s Tyler Tolbert went 5 for 6 with a homer in that big comeback victory over the Mets. He tied a major league record with hits in 12 straight plate appearances.
Trivia answer
Chase Utley, drafted with the 15th overall pick in 2000, was worth 64.6 WAR according to Baseball Reference.
NEW YORK — Chad Tracy notices how much baseball has changed in the 13 years since he took his last big league at-bat.
“You watch a Triple-A game, most everybody that’s coming out of the bullpen left-handed or right-handed is throwing 95-plus,” the Boston Red Sox manager said. “Back in the day, it was you’d get a lead and you’d get to the lower part of a bullpen and you’d see some guys coming out throwing 88.”
Heading into the All-Star break, velocity is on track to set a record for the sixth straight season.
Four-seam fastballs averaged 94.7 mph, up from 94.5 mph last year, 93.7 mph in 2021 and 91.9 mph when Major League Baseball first started tracking in 2008. The average was 94.4 mph for the first half of 2025, and this year’s final figure could increase by a tick.
“Definitely expecting anybody you’ve never heard of to throw a 95-plus,” said the New York Mets’ Marcus Semien, a three-time All-Star who made his major league debut in 2013, when four-seamers averaged 92.7 mph. “Before you’d know who the guys were who were throwing 98. Now, you just expect that this new guy is probably throwing 98. So that shows how everybody’s trained.”
Expectations have changed. In David Auburn’s “Proof,” which won the 2001 Pulitzer Price for Drama, a mathematical research work is described as “streamlined: no wasted moves, like a 95-mile-an-hour fastball. It’s just ... elegant.”
That figure no longer is notable.
Right-handed pitchers are averaging 95.2 mph in 2026, up from 95.0 mph last year. Right-handed relievers are averaging 95.6 mph.
The Triple-A average of 93.6 mph is up from 92.7 mph when tracking started at that level in 2022.
“People are learning the biomechanics of the body a lot better and it’s easier to figure out why people are throwing hard,” said Athletics pitcher Hogan Harris, whose four-seam average has increased from 92.6 mph as a rookie in 2023 to 95.0 mph this year. “There’s so many young kids throwing hard now and then you see a lot younger people in the big leagues, so my thought is they see a guy that’s throwing 100 when he’s 22 and, boy, he’s not going to throw 100 when it’s 30, so let’s get in there now.”
Six pitchers are at 100 mph in average four-seam velocity led by a pair of relievers, the Athletics’ Mason Miller (101.3 mph) and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Edgardo Henriquez (100.6 mph).
Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, a 24-year-old starter, is averaging 100.5 mph, up from 99.3 mph as a rookie last year. He has thrown a big-league high of 670 pitches at 100 mph or higher. The Brewers skipped his most recent start because of arm fatigue.
As velocity increases, so does pitch mix among fastball types.
Four-seamers are 30.4% of pitches this season, down from 31.8% last year and 35.8% in 2019.
Sinkers increased from 15.5% last year to 16.6% and cutters from 7.5% to 7.8%. Offspeed pitches rose from 13.6% to 14.3%.
“It is exponentially harder to hit and I hit .200 in my career, so that should show you how well I would do in the game today. The thing that I think gets me when I watch games is it’s not just one fastball anymore,” said New York Mets interim manager Andy Green, whose last big league season with extensive playing time was in 2006. “It’s easy for us that played a couple of decades ago to malign the offensive players for not hitting from a batting average perspective what used to be hit, but there’s so much to contend with, so much information, so much awareness of what hitter handles what fastball shape. The game’s gotten harder, there’s no doubt about it.”
Big league batters are hitting .244, just below last year’s .245 and above the .243 in 2024.
“At the end of the day, us as hitters have to find a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it,” Chicago Cubs star Alex Bregman said.
NEW YORK — After starting the season with high expectations and a payroll to match, the New York Mets stumbled into the All-Star break following their worst first half in 31 years.
Shortstop Francisco Lindor misplayed a potential game-ending, double-play grounder for an error that sparked Boston’s comeback in a 3-2, 10-inning win over the Mets.
New York lost for the 16th time in 22 games and at 40-57 matched its season low of 17 games under .500. The Mets had not been 17 under at the All-Star break since they were 25-44 in 1995, when the season’s start was delayed until late April by the players’ strike. They are 17 under at the break in a full season for the first time since 1993, when they opened 27-60 and finished 59-103.
“I think everybody understands what needs to happen going into the second half,” said interim manager Andy Green, who fell to 6-10 since taking over for Carlos Mendoza on June 26. “There’s cleaner, better baseball for us to play. We all bear a measure of responsibility for it. This organization, the fan base, deserve better baseball.”
New York squandered seven scoreless innings from rookie Zach Thornton and a pair of RBIs by Lindor in just his second two-hit game since his return from the injured list.
President of baseball operations David Stearns emphasized run prevention and a more resourceful offense while trading Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil and allowing Pete Alonso, the franchise’s home run leader, and closer Edwin Díaz to leave as free agents.
New York ranks 12th in the NL with 398 runs and has rarely fielded its optimal lineup. Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. — all opening day starters —- have combined to miss 259 games.
Juan Soto, New York’s lone All-Star, was sidelined for 15 games with a left quadriceps strain in April. Bo Bichette, signed in January to play third, is hitting .255 — 39 percentage points below his career average entering the year. He started the first 94 games before relegated to pinch-hitting this weekend due to sore legs.
Mets pitchers have a 4.27 ERA, almost a quarter of a run higher than last year’s 4.03 mark. Opening day starter Freddy Peralta, acquired from Milwaukee in a January trade, has a career-worst 4.66 ERA.
Devin Williams, who blew a save for the second time in a week, has a 4.83 ERA.
“It hasn’t been a lot of fun,” Williams said. “Not a lot of celebrating going on in this clubhouse right now.”
New York is 12 games out of the last NL wild card and will begin the second half with 19 straight games against teams currently occupying a playoff position.
“Unacceptable,” said Lindor, who is batting .216 with a .671 OPS in 40 games. “Just encourages us to continue to fight, At the end of the day, that’s the only thing we can do. We’re going to try to be better. We’re going to play as hard as we can in the second half and hopefully we put ourselves in a much better position because right now, it’s not where we want to be.”
As the eight sluggers try to square up as many baseballs as possible to win the competition, they'll also be playing for a $1 million top prize.
For some young players such as Kansas City Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone, New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice and St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker, that figure represents more money than they will make in salary for the entire 2026 season.
Throw in an extra bonus for the longest home run of the competition, and it could be a pretty profitable night's work in Philadelphia.
Home Run Derby payouts
Champion: $1 million
Runner-up: $500,000
Other participants: $150,000
Longest home run: $100,000
2026 Home Run Derby field: Who is participating?
Below is the list of players that are competing in the 2026 MLB Home Run Derby (with current home run total in parentheses):
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 12: Mikey Romero #72 of the Boston Red Sox takes batting practice during a spring training workout at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 12, 2026 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
What’s better than finishing off the pre-All Star break series against Rochester (Nationals AAA) with a walk-off win? Doing so while holding off a late rally on a day where both teams combined for 15 pitchers used.
The bullpen held the Red Wings scoreless for six innings, but the Red Wings tied things up to send the game to extras. It was there, though, that Tyler McDonough was driven in by a 2-out single by one of the only infielders in Worcester who hasn’t sniffed the Major League roster yet this season: Mikey Romero. This was appropriate timing, given that this weekend was the MLB Draft and Romero is a former first-round pick who has seen plenty of players selected in that round already making impacts on their Major League rosters (2022: Chase Delauter, Spencer Jones, Sal Stewart). This is not entirely any fault of Romero’s, who’s on a team that has held off on promoting plenty of talent too quickly over the years (save for Kristian Campbell, of course). He also has some heavy depth in front of him and also has struggled staying healthy. Romero has been decent at the plate, if a little disappointing for Worcester, slashing .239/.302/3.79, and bringing with him some defensive versatility.
Also, speaking of Kristian Campbell, he had a huge outfield assist from left field to catch prevent a run at home, and he had an RBI dribbler that was instrumental in this game even getting to extras.
Miguel Bleis? 0-for-5. Franklin Arias? Day off to play in the Futures Game (he went 0-for-2 with an RBI groundout in his first at-bat). Nelly Taylor had three hits, finishing a triple short of the cycle, and a white-hot Ronald Rosario added two of his own, and Jack Winnay extended his hit streak to nine games. But all of these factors didn’t help when the pitching staff gave up ten runs to the FisherCats. (Blue Jays AA) The game was ugly, the hole being as bad as 9-1 at one point.
I offer an apology to any Greensboro (Pirates High-A) fans, as I’ve been referring to their team as a Braves farm team all week. They’ve punished me by holding Greensville bats silent outside of Mason White, who’s taken them for six total hits in the last three days. The team as a whole had just three other hits on the afternoon and never had an at-bat with a runner in scoring position, turning what was a great start by Dylan Brown into an afterthought, especially from the home run Brown gave up all the way in the second inning, a slip-up he recovered from quickly by putting four more solid innings together. But, it wasn’t enough given the way Greenville was swinging the bat.
The FireFlies (Royals A) going 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position and stranding eleven runners cost them the game. Jose Bello (the only piece remaining in the organization from the Rafael Devers trade) allowing no runs despite allowing six hits and two walks in four innings was impressive. This game was deadlocked 3-3 going into extras, but the RidgeYaks powered two shots over the fence, including Ilan Fernandez’s second of the game. The second one, Starlyn Nunez’s third hit of the game, would put it on ice for Salem.
As the big leagues are off for a few days, so too is the farm, who returns to action on Friday night.
BALTIMORE — The frustration of struggling through a lackluster first half of the season became alarmingly evident for both the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals.
An errant pitch from Royals reliever Lucas Erceg that struck Baltimore’s Blaze Alexander on the left hand resulted in both dugouts and bullpens emptying onto the field near home plate during the seventh inning of the Orioles’ 8-2 victory.
Though both teams began the day in last place in their divisions, there was no shortage of emotion after Erceg hit Alexander with an inside fastball. Alexander took a few steps toward first base before shouting at Erceg, prompting Orioles manager Craig Albernaz to quickly restrain his infielder from charging the mound.
During that time, however, players from both teams emerged from the dugouts and pitchers from both bullpens charged in from beyond the outfield wall.
No punches were thrown and no one was ejected. But Alexander ended up with a non-displaced fracture of his left hand, according to Albernaz.
“Definitely a gut punch,” Albernaz said of the prospect of being without Alexander when the team returns from the All-Star break to face Houston.
Alexander leads the Orioles with a .312 batting average. He was not made available to the media after the game.
Erceg insisted the errant pitch was a complete accident — even though the previous batter, Samuel Basallo, homered for an 8-2 lead.
“There’s no ill intent. That’s baseball,” Erceg said. “I mean, guys are going to get hit, and you have to, I guess, kind of understand the situation. I understand why he’s mad. Obviously, you don’t ever want to get hit, especially in the hand. So sorry about that.”
It’s been that kind of year for the Royals and Erceg.
“I’ve got like a five-something ERA,” Erceg noted. “I mean, I’m not going out there to hit guys and put guys on and give up homers and this and that.”
Kansas City dropped a season-high 21 games under .500 (38-59) after being swept for the eighth time, most in the majors. The Royals have dropped five in a row, and a four-day break might not ease the angst they’re feeling.
“Frustration is one word. Disappointment, anger,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “You know, every emotion that you can think of we’re battling, not getting any results and it stinks.”
Culture, media and sport committee questions bear a striking similarity to those racing industry has been asking
Last Tuesday’s announcement by the Gambling Commission that it planned to introduce “financial risk assessments” – or affordability checks – for gambling customers seemed to mark the end of racing’s fierce, five-and-a-half-year campaign against the policy, but there has been a further twist to the extended tale after it emerged that the House of Commons’ culture, media and sport committee (CMSC) has written to the commission, requesting answers to a series of questions on the checks by 24 July.
The cross-party committee’s questions for the regulator bear a striking similarity to many of those that the racing industry has been asking – to little or no avail – since checks were first proposed under the last Conservative government in late 2020.
WASHINGTON — Not since 1910 — before Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson and so on — had the New York Yankees swept a series quite like this.
Ben Rice’s two-run triple in the eighth inning helped the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Washington Nationals. New York trailed in the ninth Friday and in the eighth Saturday and Sunday but still won all three games.
It’s the first time the Yankees swept a series of at least three games while trailing in the eighth inning or later in each of them since May 19-21, 1910, according to Sportradar. Back then it was the New York Highlanders taking three straight from the Cleveland Naps.
The previous time any team accomplished the feat was June 13-15, 2014, when Colorado won three in a row at San Francisco.
“Winning at-bats in different ways in all three games,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “A good job by the pitching staff of holding a really good offense enough in check, and giving us a chance to win each game, and the guys just did some really good things late in games.”
On Friday, the Yankees trailed 3-2 when Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth. Austin Wells added a solo shot and New York won 5-3.
Washington led 2-0 before New York’s four-run eighth Saturday, which included homers by Ryan McMahon, Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt.
On Sunday, the Yankees didn’t need any home runs. Down 3-2, Rice hit a drive that center fielder Dylan Crews was unable to catch against the wall.
“I didn’t think I got it quite right, but I saw it kept going,” Rice said. “The wind must have just been helping it just enough to make it a tough wall-ball play there.”
After another run in the ninth, the Yankees finished the series outscoring the Nationals 10-0 in the eighth and ninth innings.
Florida Panthers' Akira Schmid Files For ArbitrationThe Florida Panthers could have one arbitration case this off-season, as recently acquired goaltender Akira Schmid has filed for arbitration. 
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