The Braves secured a nother series win Wednesday in a game pitched by Tarik Skubal and that really is a symbol of how things have gone for Atlanta so far this season. Atlanta comfortably has the best record in baseball and the best run differential in baseball to back it up. Franchise player Ronald Acuna’s production hasn’t really hit it’s expected level, even as he’s been hitting the ball well, and Austin Riley continues to struggle, but Atlanta has an MVP candidate in Matt Olson, has gotten tremendous seasons from a number of star position-players so far, has gotten good if perhaps lucky production from the rotation, and seems to have a dominant bullpen. To make matters even better, they have a host of reinforcements incoming, as Sean Murphy and Spencer Strider are expected back in the next week or so, Ha-Seong Kim seems to be a few weeks away from his return, and some of Atlanta’s young pitching seems to be progressing well from their surgical procedures. This has been a special and exceedingly fun start to the season and there are plenty of reasons to think that this Braves team can carry something resembling this success forward as the season goes on.

Braves News

Spencer Strider will return from injury and make his 2026 debut on Sunday at Coors Field.

Dylan Lee returned from the paternity list (and dominated Detroit hitters), as the Braves opted to keep Didier Fuentes on the active roster and DFA’d Carlos Carrasco.

Matt Olson crushed a two run walk-off homer, turning a 1-run deficit into a 1-run win on Wednesday night.

MLB News

The Tigers hired former Cubs’ starter Kyle Hendricks to their baseball operations team.

Following Tuesday night’s game against Atlanta, the Tigers placed Casey Mize on the 15-day IL with an abductor strain and Javier Baez on the 10-day IL with an ankle sprain.

The Red Sox placed star pitcher Garrett Crochet on the 15-day IL with shoulder inflammation, never a reassuring diagnosis for a pitcher.

Former Brave Jarred Kelenic is joining the White Sox, as he replaces an injured Everson Pereira.

I don’t think it’s a particularly hot take to say that I hate blackouts. They inherently limit the number of fans who can view their team and forces those fans to subscribe to a dizzying number of broadcast services just to watch the games. It’s one of the reasons why I listed their elimination as my number one priority if I were magically granted the role of baseball commissioner for a day. I think it would fundamentally improve the game’s accessibility and by extension its popularity. This is a long-winded qualifier that I didn’t get to actually watch any of tonight’s game and instead had to piece it together by the Gameday feed and the Arizona radio. It was still a fun game regardless of how it was consumed though as the D-Backs marched onto the same field on which they were shellacked last night and played a crisp team win that was badly needed to set up a rubber match tomorrow afternoon.

To put it mildly, last night’s game was not a shining moment for the Arizona pitching staff, giving up 13 runs on 15 hits and walking an additional six batters. But with the new and improved Eduardo Rodriguez starting tonight and surprise staff ace Michael Soroka starting tomorrow, I felt pretty good coming into the game. Unfortunately, Rodriguez continued his slide of reversion back towards his mean of the last two seasons in the desert rather than the excellent form he showed in the World Baseball Classic and the first three starts of this season. Once again, the veteran lefty struggled with his command, walking four batters and striking out just four while throwing a middling 55% of his 87 pitches for strikes and generating only five whiffs. Those kinds of numbers rarely equate to a good pitching performance and tonight was no exception as he had his shortest outing of the year, but was able to limit the damage from Milwaukee to just two runs. The Brew Crew opened the scoring with a pair of doubles from Brice Turang and Jake Bauers in the opening frame and plated another in the third when Turang doubled home Brandon Lockridge. Outside of those two plays, the home team created plenty of traffic on six hits and four walks, but failed to capitalize on any scoring opportunity – combining for a miserable 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranding 8 runners on the game.

I’m fairly convinced that Milwaukee’s American Family Field (which still feels wrong to write out) sits on top of a magical pitching fount that’s able to turn reclamation projects into dominant relievers that the front office can then flip for more prospects from unsuspecting franchises. But for the first time in a hot minute, the Brewers have multiple exciting young pitching prospects in Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, and Brandon Sproat all of whom have had uneven starts to their careers but still have plenty of talent upside. We got to see both sides of Sproat tonight as he completely shut down the D-Backs through the first three innings, allowing just three baserunners, but lost his command and hit a wall in the fourth that significantly curtailed his outing. After collecting his fifth strikeout of Corbin Carroll to open the fourth inning, he gave up a solo home run to Adrian Del Castillo, singles to Ildemaro Vargas and Lourdes Gurriel Jr, and an absolute moonshot of a three-run blast to Nolan Arenado that gave the D-Backs the lead for good. The offense mostly shut down again thanks to the Milwaukee bullpen until the visiting half of the ninth when Ketel Marte and Carroll jacked consecutive homers to pad the lead and make it a much more comfortable outing for Paul Sewald to earn the save.

Sewald’s 13-pitch dramaless save was simply the cherry on the cake for an Arizona bullpen that was absolutely lights out tonight. The unit ended the night by retiring 13 batters in a row and allowed just one baserunner across the final 4.1 innings of the game after Rodriguez exited in the fifth. It’s part of a maddeningly inconsistent pattern for the relief corps that could just as easily be incredible or one of the worst in the entire major leagues. Optimistically though, this period could just as easily be seen as an evaluation period before some of the team’s higher-leverage relief arms return from injury later this season – namely AJ Puk and Justin Martinez – that can further bolster and stabilize the entire unit. If the team can correctly identify which relievers can be the most consistent and find their appropriate roles, the bullpen could be a genuine strength for the team for the first time in a long time.

Every time the Mets appear to take one step forward lately, they respond by taking two steps back.

That was again the case on Wednesday night. 

After their offense finally broke through with one of their best showings of the season Tuesday, they came back and got blown out by the Nationals in the middle of a three-game set. 

David Peterson had the matchup the Mets were looking for, but his struggles continued, as he lasted just 3.2 innings and allowed seven runs in his return to the starting rotation. 

And things only spiraled after he was pulled, as Sean Manaea entered with the bases loaded and hit the first batter he faced, then gave up a grand slam to officially put this one out of reach.

The two combined to allowed 13 of Washington's 14 runs on five walks and 12 hits. 

New York's offense did have opportunities to show some sign of life, but other than the locked in Juan Soto,theycouldn’t deliver the big hit needed against Washington's pitching staff. 

So with the Phillies having the night off due to rain, the Mets’ loss now puts them in sole possession of the worst record in baseball through their first 30 games (10-20). 

Having dropped 16 of their last 19, Carlos Mendoza isn’t looking for excuses. 

“We have to be better,” he said. “It’s been a long period of time where we’re not playing well, we have to fix it.”

With the opening month of the season set to come to a close on Thursday, New York certainly must get things fixed sooner rather than later. 

They’ll look to end the brutal month on a high note with Freddy Peralta on the mound. 

“It’s easy to let things compound, it’s easy to get caught up in it,” Peterson said. “But the only way we’re going to get out of it is by taking things one day at a time, trying to attack, and just trying to win tomorrows game.”

David Peterson’s return to the rotation went about as well as the rest of this cursed Mets season.

The left-hander allowed seven runs — all earned — in just 3 ²/₃ innings in Wednesday’s 14-2 loss to the Nationals at Citi Field.

And because the state of their pitching staff is so bad, Peterson will almost certainly remain either in the rotation or used behind an opener the next time through the rotation.

“He’s a big part of this team,’’ Carlos Mendoza said.

Peterson said his issues stemmed from falling behind in counts.

He also walked three batters, but insisted he could right himself.

“I’ve done it before,’’ Peterson said. “And I believe in myself and I know I have the stuff to do it.”

Mendoza also expressed belief that Peterson has the ability to be effective.

“We’ve seen flashes of it,’’ Mendoza said. “He’s got more than enough to compete in the strike zone.”

Peterson’s ERA in five starts this season is 8.10, compared to his success out of the bullpen, where he’s allowed one run in seven innings in two appearances.

And he’s also allowed six earned runs in the first inning of his five starts.

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“Out of the bullpen in his last couple of outings, he comes in aggressive and attacking,’’ Mendoza said. “He uses all his pitches and is competing in the strike zone.”

In the rotation, though, it’s a different story, but with so many pitchers struggling, the Mets have little choice but to keep going to the lefty.

Sean Manaea was as bad in relief as Peterson, allowing six runs in 2 ²/₃ innings.

Luis Robert Jr. remained sidelined by lower back tightness.

The center fielder had an MRI exam Wednesday, and Mendoza said they were awaiting the results following the latest loss.

The Mets have limited Robert’s playing time in an attempt to prevent the injuries that have plagued him the previous two seasons.

It’s not off to a great start.

“[His back] didn’t improve much after treatment,” Mendoza said before the game. “We’re doing everything in our power to keep him on the field.”

With Robert out and Juan Soto limited to DH duties as he deals with left forearm tightness, the Mets are willing to take advantage of Carson Benge’s ability to play all three outfield spots.

Soto, who went 3-for-5 with a solo homer in the Mets’ loss on Wednesday, entered the day swinging at the highest percentage of pitches outside the strike zone of his career (23.1 percent).

His career mark is a more selective 17 percent.

With Francisco Lindor out and much of the rest of the offense not hitting, Mendoza was asked if opposing teams will avoid giving Soto good pitches.

“Regardless of who’s in the lineup, a lot of teams pitch around him,’’ the manager said. “I feel like he continues to get, maybe not as many, [but] pitches to hit. If not, he’s got to trust his teammates.”

Francisco Alvarez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and is now hitless in his last 12 at-bats, with Mendoza saying the catcher is “in-between” in his at-bats.

A.J. Minter, rehabbing from last year’s lat surgery, is expected to pitch in two more minor league rehab games Friday and Sunday.

If all goes well, Mendoza didn’t rule out the possibility of the left-hander being activated at some point next week.

“We’ll see,’’ the manager said. “We said we’d take it slowly.”

Tommy Pham, designated for assignment by the Mets, cleared waivers and elected free agency. The veteran outfielder went 0-for-13 in his second stint in Queens.

He was replaced on the roster by another right-handed hitting outfielder, Austin Slater.

The Mets signed shortstop Jamari Baylor to a minor league deal.

The 25-year-old spent last season in the independent Atlantic League and has never played above High-A in the minors after being selected in the third round in 2019 by the Phillies.

Introduction

While it is still early in the season, I can’t help but notice that while the team is struggling at the MLB level, there’s several of the Dbacks top prospects playing very well for the D’Backs AAA level affiliate, the Reno Aces. There are also a couple veteran relief pitchers that have been pitching very well, who merit discussion, but who I won’t be discussing in this article. (NOTE: We’re just just under a full month into the Minor League Baseball season, so small samples abound, especially with the relief pitchers. Just a few good/bad outings and games can turn these numbers upside down, so this is just a fun exercise. It’ll be another month before any Minor League stats should be taken seriously. All stats in this article through 28th April, 2026.)

The Hot Hitting Prospects

Top 100 overall prospect Ryan Waldschmidt (Fangraphs |B-Ref player pages) has unsurprisingly been one of the Reno Aces best hitters. The 23 year old right handed hitting outfielder has played mostly center field in the 2026, but is capable of playing all three outfield positions competently. Through his first 131 plate appearences, he’s hit .303/.400/.505 with a 122 wRC+ and a .408 wOBA.

Tommy Troy ( Fangraphs|B-Ref), the 12th overall pick in the 2023, in his first 122 plate appearences is hitting .317/.405/.481 with a 120 WRC+ and .404 wOBA. Troy has seen the majority (60%) of his starts at second base, but surprisingly has spent a good chunk of time in left field and couple games worth of innings in center.

LuJames ‘Gino’ Groover III ( Fangraphs|B-Ref) through his first 127 plate appearances is hitting .340/.440/.427, with a 123 wRC+ and a .410 wOBA. He’s spent slightly more than half his time in the field this season at third base with the rest spent across the diamond at first.

Kristian Robinson’s ( Fangraphs | B-Ref ) history has been discussed so much that I’m not going to discuss it here other than the very short version. Once a top prospect, legal issues that came as a result of cannabis induced psychiatric episode along with pandemic kept him away from baseball for three years. Robinson is probably not the star outfielder we thought he was, but he is a perfectly servicable outfielder with an intriguing mix of power and speed. In his first 110 plate appearences in 2026, Robinson is hitting .286/.400/.484 with a 119 wRC+ and a .402 wOBA. Robinson is capable of playing all three outfield position as well, with a better throwing arm than any of the other outfielder on the MLB roster.

The biggest reason to not call up any of these four players is finding regular playing time, along with service time and roster considerations. Ryan Waldschmidt and Kristian Robinson are (arguably) an across the board upgrade over current Dback OFer Jorge Barrosa, but if they’re only on the roster as the fourth outfielder, they won’t get as much playing time as needed to further develop as hitters. With his .524 OPS and 46 wRC+, Tim Tawa has been a below average hitter in 2026, so bad that he’s been worth -0.3 WAR. Lourdes Gurriel may only have recently been activated of the Injury List, but he’s already matched Tawa in negative WAR despite having played in 10 fewer games. The aforementioned Barrosa’s job is arguably pretty safe, despite the 79 wRC+, he’s an above average outfielder who’s put up .2 WAR thanks to his defense. In a similar vein, the defensively gifted Alek Thomas is once again struggling offensively, and while he still is putting up positive value, his defense isn’t that much of an upgrade over Waldschmidt’s to make his job safe either. Theoretically Waldschmidt and Robinson could replace Barrosa and Thomas , and while there would almost certainly be a drop off defensively, the potential for a massive offensive upgrade could might very well be worth it.

Tommy Troy, who has the most defensive versatility thanks to his ability to play both infield and outfield, is an obvious choice to replace Tim Tawa on the roster. As long as the Ildemaro Vargas/Nolan Arenado experiment continues to be successful, and Jose Fernandez continues to rake, I can’t imagine we’ll see Groover anytime soon, unless Adrian Del Castillo just completely fails to provide any offense at DH. Which is unfortunate, as Groover statistically has been the best hitter on the Aces, while also having the exit velocity and batted ball data that legitimizes his production as more than a PCL induced fluke.

Pitching Prospects Having Success Shutting Down A Punishing PCL

Amongst the actual ranked pitching prospects on the Aces, Mitch Bratt (Fangraphs|B-Ref) has been the most effective of the starting pitchers in the Aces rotation so far. In his first five starts, he’s put up a 2.84 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, with a 50 ERA-. His 4.35 FIP and 4.64 xFIP aren’t exactly inspiring but overall those are very solid numbers for a starting pitcher in hitters haven that is the Pacific Coast League.

Yilber Diaz (Fangraphs|B-Ref) and Brandyn Garcia (Fangraphs|B-Ref) have combined to form a very effective relief duo. In his 10 relief appearances, he’s put up 13 ⅔ IP while striking out 20 batters (a 34% SO%) and walking just five batters (9.3BB%) His 1.32 ERA and 24 ERA- are absolutely stellar, though his 3.11 FIP and 2.90 xFIP do suggest his ERA won’t stay that low forever. Brandynn Garcia has also appeared in 10 games, putting up 12⅓ IP with 18 strikeouts and 10 walks. His 2.19 ERA works out to a 39 ERA-, though his stats do seem like they’re do for some regression, as indicated by the 4.58 FIP and 4.35 xFIP.

It’s almost certainly a matter of when, not if Yilber Diaz and Brandyn Garcia get called up in 2026, and there are already candidates in the bullpen for them to replace. The most obvious would be Paul Sewald, but arguements could be made for Ryan Thompson as well. Originally I was going to mention Andrew Hoffman, but the latter was sent down for Philip Abner whilst writing this article.

It’s actually somewhat fitting that the most obvious candidate in the starting rotation that Mitch Bratt could potentially replace is the pitcher the Dbacks traded away last summer to acquire him (along with Hagaman and Kohl Drake), Merrill Kelly. To be as blunt as possible, Merrill Kelly has not been good at all so far this season, and his performance so far has been troubling. In his first start back in a 4-3 win against the baltimore Orioles, Kelly pitched 5 ⅓ innings, allowing a pair of earned runs on five hits and four walks. It doesn’t sound that bad, but it was a messy outing saved thanks to Ildemaro Vargas and Jose Fernandez’s offense, though he does deserve some extra credit for a successful pickoff throw of a runner on third. Kelly’s 2nd outing was a disaster: 4⅓ innings, 8 earned runs allowed on 10 hits ans 3 walks. Of those ten hits, half of them went for extra base hits, three of which were homeruns. His most recent outing wasn’t any better. He pitched 5 ⅓ innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits and five walks, with another homerun allowed. All that adds up to a 9.20 ERA with 8.78 FIP, which has cost the Diamondbacks -0.5/-0.6 fWAR/bWAR. It’s still early and he can turn it around, but if his season continues like this, then I would think that eventually a move will have to be made. Alternatively, Ryne Nelson and his 7.71 ERA or Brandon Pfaadt and his 5.54 ERA aren’t exactly lighting the world on fire either.

Conclusion

Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen has quite a few options in AAA that could potentially bolster the Major League roster. Which of these players do you think is most likely to be able to contribute to an MLB roster right now? Is there a prospect on the AAA or even AA roster that you feel is more deserving of a call up?Which player on the MLB roster do you think will be the next to go after Andrew Hoffman? Who do you expect to be called up first? Let me know in the comments down below!

Next Week: We wrap up the Top Prospect series by finally ranking the Dbacks top pitching prospects.

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the bopping-est bar for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. So glad you decided to stop by. It’s been a great day and we hope to make it better. The dress code is casual. The hostess can seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

The Cubs beat the Padres today 5-4, which wraps up a 3-3 road trip to Southern California. Considering how good those two teams are and that they’re both likely to be playoff teams. that seems like a very good result.

Last night I asked you if the Cubs should continue to let Moisés Ballesteros catch or whether he should be made a full-time DH. The vote was close, but 53 percent of you would continue to develop him as a catcher whereas 45 percent would just let him hit (and maybe play first base once in a while).

Here’s the part where we listen to jazz and talk movies. You can skip ahead if you want.

Tomorrow—or today (April 30) depending on when you read this—is International Jazz Day and the home city this year is Chicago. An all-star concert will be held at Millenium Park starting at 3 pm tomorrow and you can watch it online if you can’t make it to the show.

International Jazz Day was Herbie Hancock’s idea when he was a UNESCO Ambassador and was adopted by that organization in 2011. Here’s Hancock in a 2018 International Jazz Day concert in Osaka, Japan. Also in this All-Star show was Kenny Garrett (alto sax), Marcus Miller (electric bass), John Scofield (guitar), Roy Hargrove (trumpet), Terri Lyn Carrington (drums), Josh Johnson (alto sax), Courtney Pine (tenor sax), Steve Turre (trombone), Mike Cottone (trumpet), Takuya Kuroda (trumpet), Sheila E. (percussion) and Pete Escovedo (percussion).

This is “Hang Up Your Hang Ups.”

Generally I only tell you about the films that I’ve watched that I liked, but the only film I’ve watched in the past few days is Wife vs. Secretary (1935), a romantic comedy directed by Clarence Brown with an all-star cast of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Myrna Loy. It also has a pre-star James Stewart in one of his first big supporting roles. It’s a typical mid-century (or so) story of a wife (Loy) who gets jealous of the secretary (Harlow) of her workaholic husband (Gable). Unfortunately, despite the powerhouse cast, the film is very light on the “comedy” part of a rom-com. Maybe the jokes just don’t translate after ninety years, because I didn’t get it.

Gable plays Van “Jake” Stanhope, a magazine executive who is madly in love with his wife Linda (Loy). He also is married to his work, which puts him in constant contact with his super-competent secretary “Whitey.” (Harlow) Jake comes up with a plan to expand his magazine’s reach by acquiring another publication, which means he is spending all of his time at the office to complete the merger. It’s also top secret, so no one can know his plans other than Whitey, who has to help him.

Linda is initially quite understanding and trusting of her husband, knowing that he deeply loves her. Whitey’s fiancé Dave (Stewart) isn’t so understanding when she gets called into the office at all hours and he wants her to quit her job after they get married. But Whitey actually loves her job and is super good at it and doesn’t want to quit it to marry Dave. Obviously she’s someone whom 40 years later would be an executive herself and not a secretary.

Anyways, all the gossipy other executive wives tell Linda that they’d never let their husbands spend so much time with a secretary that looks like Jean Harlow. That plants a seed in her head. And while Jake deeply loves Linda and thinks of Whitey as more of a business partner, a series of coincidences and random comments makes Linda start to doubt her husband’s fidelity. Meanwhile, Whitey isn’t quite sure who really has her heart, Jake or Dave, even though Jake has made no indication that he sees her as anything other than a secretary.

So it’s a basic misunderstanding plot with a double love triangle, although Stewart’s Dave really isn’t in the film enough to be more than a minor diversion. (He does get the last words, however!) The problem is that none of these misunderstandings are actually funny. They are just very ordinary basic things associated with the business deal and Jake’s complete inability to get anything done without Whitey’s help. All four of those actors have made very good comedies elsewhere, but none of them get to show that talent here. Jake is just clueless about his wife’s suspicions. Whitey isn’t sure if she’s not falling in love with Jake, but she’s a good girl and would never be “the other woman.” Linda just goes from trusting, loving wife to a helpless, green-eyed woman.

There were a few things about the film I liked. For one, Loy is allowed to play a very sexual wife, at least early in the film. This is a break from the stereotype of the dowdy wife versus the hot secretary. Conversely, Harlow plays Whitey as very professional and is dressed most of the time in proper business attire for women of the 1930s. (She does have a few sexy evening gowns when the situation calls for it.) Harlow is very much trying to shed her “blonde bombshell” image in this film, playing a capable businesswoman who doesn’t flaunt her obvious attractiveness. You can almost see her trying to have Katharine Hepburn’s career here as she aged had she not tragically died of kidney failure two years later.

The other thing I loved was the gorgeous Art Deco apartment that Jake and Linda lived in. In fact, most of the sets were in the best style of the era with a classy sophistication. The costuming was also a nice touch, with the wife Loy wearing a lot of attractive, stylish and sexy outfits and the secretary Harlow dressing down most of the time in some smart business attire. Gable also wore some fine menswear, although I couldn’t tell if he wore an undershirt. (Heh.)

Overall, the purpose of a comedy is to be funny and despite the stellar cast, Wife vs. Secretary just isn’t funny. Great looking, but not dramatic enough to be a good drama and not funny enough to be a good comedy.

Here’s the original trailer for Wife vs. Secretary. At least you get to see the great clothes here.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

The Cubs have finished the first month and change of the season with a record of 19-12, just half a game behind the surprising Reds. They’ve weathered a whole mess of injuries, especially to the pitching staff, and are still in prime position to win the division. They’re tied for second in the league in runs scored and home runs. They’re third in batting average and they lead the league on on-base percentage.

The Cubs’ pitching isn’t quite as good, with an ERA of 4.01. That’s seventh in the league, which puts them right in the middle of the pack. But that’s still not bad considering the number of injuries they’ve had. Probably good enough if the offense continues to produce like it has.

So what grade do you give the Cubs after one month (and change) of the season?

And by “April,” I mean the few games in March too.

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We’ve enjoyed having you all week. Please get home safely. We want to have you stop by again. Please recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.

The Rockies’ new pitching philosophy is no longer a secret. They promised to leave no stone unturned, and one month in, the results have been genuinely impressive. Depending on your preferred WAR metric, Colorado has had one of baseball’s most valuable pitching staffs — at altitude, no less. 

That story has been covered well, including here at Purple Row. So here’s the next question: When does experimentation become refinement? 

I started thinking about that while watching Tanner Gordon on Tuesday. The shapes of his fastball, changeup and sinker all looked…. similar. So, naturally, I spent my Tuesday night in a Baseball Savant rabbit hole. 

While looking at Gordon’s movement profile, the arm angle caught my eye: He is up from 43° last year to 46° this year.

The slot and the sinker 

That arm-angle change makes the curveball experiment logical. A higher slot can help create a more vertical breaking ball, giving Gordon a different plane from the fastball/changeup/slider foundation. 

The sinker, though, is harder to defend. 

Gordon has not been given a start yet, so this is an imperfect evaluation. He has mostly worked out of the bullpen, and the sample sizes are tiny. His sinker has made up only 12% of his pitches — 23 total. 

Still, in that tiny sample, hitters are batting .667 against it with a 2.000 slugging percentage, 100.4 mph average exit velocity, and no putaways. Hitters are not just seeing the sinker; they are ordering it off the menu. 

The concern is not only the results. It is the shape. The sinker visually lives too close to the fastball/changeup lane. If it is not creating grounders, weak contact, or a different plane, it risks becoming another version of a pitch family Gordon already has. 

Fewer pitches, better fit? 

The Rockies have had early success letting pitchers find footing in the bullpen, and Gordon can still offer rotation value because his command is legitimately excellent. He does not need overwhelming stuff to survive, but the pitch mix has to be coherent. 

Of course, pitches take time. Michael Lorenzen is a useful reminder. His curveball was barely part of his mix in 2023 at 1%, then grew to 8% in 2024, 11% in 2025, and 15% this season. That is what refinement can look like: not instant reinvention, but gradual trust. 

Still, patience and commitment are not the same thing. 

The Rockies may not need Gordon to throw more pitches. They may need him to throw fewer pitches that make more sense. 

So, After Dark: keep developing the sinker, reduce it, or lean harder into the curveball/changeup path? 

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks! 

The Mets thought they saw some positives from David Peterson as he put together back-to-back solid outings working behind an opener. 

The left-hander struggled mightily, though, in his return to the rotation on Wednesday.  

As has been the case all season, Peterson put the Mets behind from the get-go, as Washington was able to jump on him for a pair of runs on three hits and a wild pitch in the top of the first.

He's now racked up an ugly 10.80 ERA in the opening frame through five starts. 

Peterson then appeared to find his groove as he retired nine in a row, but things caved in on him in the fourth, as the Nationals made him pay for a one-out walk to Jacob Young. 

The lefty gave up two hits and another walk, then almost danced his way out without further damage, but a bases loaded free pass to James Wood to forced in another run and end his night.

Sean Manaea entered and things spiraled from there, as he hit a batter before giving up a grand slam, pushing Peterson’s total to seven runs in just 3.2 innings of work. 

“The first he fell behind hitters and they got to him,” Carlos Mendoza said. “In the fourth he lost a feel for all of his pitches -- even with the bases loaded he had a chance to get out to it getting ahead of Wood 0-2, then issues the walk.

“It’s just the feel for his pitches, not able to get in the zone consistently, and it cost him.”

That specific issue has cost Peterson not just throughout the early-part of this season, but also as he was knocked around during the second-half last year.

With his ERA now sitting at an ugly 6.53 through seven appearances (five starts), Mendoza said that the team will have more discussions about how they use him moving forward. 

While he’s going through it right now, they remain confident he can turn things around. 

“He’s a big part of this team,” the skipper said. 

"I've done it before," Peterson added. "I believe in myself and know I have the stuff to do it."